Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Today’s story is brought to life by the following prompt…

This is my submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday.

A Doorway Away

Electricity cascades throughout the room like waves of water, creating a miniature ecosystem as winds begin to tug and pull at the computer consoles. Thunder cracks, lightning strikes, and a black oily void tears open in the middle of the room; fire ignites around it, burning a hole in the very fabric of existence.

“T-T-THAT’S ENOUGH, JACOB, SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN!” Ezekiel screams as he shrouds his face from the relentless winds.

“I-I-I, I CAN’T!” Jacob calls back as he crouches behind the main control panel.

“CAN’T, OR WON’T?”

Jacob shrugs his shoulders while pointing at the countdown timer displayed on his watch. “BOTH!”

Explosions erupt around them as the winds start working their way into something more devastating, ripping the room apart, then the building, until the small area of the office that the two cower in is all that remains, with the winds circling like a tornado, and they are in its eye.

“HOW ABOUT NOW?” Ezekiel calls out. “DO YOU THINK NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO TURN THE DAMN THING OFF?”

Jacob peers over the console, spying on the void as it bubbles like a boiling pot, then sinks back down. Shaking his head, he says, “I-I-I, I CAN’T, NOT WHILE WE’RE THIS CLOSE! AND BESIDES,” he adds with a nervous glance over to Ezekiel, “I DON’T KNOW WHERE IT’S DRAWING ITS POWER FROM NOW, SO I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF PULLING THE SWITCH WILL DO ANYTHING ANYWAY.”

They trade a silent moment before Ezekiel drives a fist into his tattered desk. “BULLSHIT! STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND PULL THE GODDAMN LEVER!”

“J-JUST GIVE ME A FEW M-MOMENTS MORE, WE’RE ALMOST T-THERE!” Jacob begs.

Ezekiel shakes his head disapprovingly and rushes towards the console. “IF YOU WON’T END THIS, I WILL!” he screams as he reaches out to grab the lever, but before he can, an explosion erupts from the void, grabbing Ezekiel and dragging him into its murky, oily depths.

Jacob tears his eyes away and swallows nervously. “I-I’m sorry, old friend, but what we’re doing c-can’t be stopped, not until the pathway stabilises,” he mumbles, glancing at his watch. Sweat cascades down his brow, stinging his wide eyes. He drags his arm across his brow, soaking up the sea of sweat with his sleeve. “J-just a few more, j-just a few more,” he stammers, his eyes widening. He jumps back in fright as his alarm screams to life. For a few seconds, he sits in awe, then shakes himself awake, leaps up, and pulls the lever down. The room falls silent and dark. Then, as if rebooted, all the computers come back to life around him, the room whole once again.

“W-What have you done?” a voice asks from across the room. Jacob turns to see a figure standing in front of the void, as the liquid that fills it softly spins.

“A-A-Are you h-him?”

“I cannot be identified by your petty constructs. I am beyond that. I am beyond you,” the figure says as the world lights up around them, exploding in a sea of hot-white.

Jacob cowers, shielding his eyes in desperation. “I-I-I BROUGHT YOU HERE! I OPENED THE DOOR! Y-Y-YOU’RE BOUND BY RIGHT TO ANSWER MY QUESTION!” he calls out. The room suddenly grows silent again.

Wearily, Jacob slowly peers out from beneath his trembling fingers and gasps with horror, the breath catching in his chest. Before him stands the figure, towering above him with wings of flesh and flame, surrounded by endless stars and planets.

The being looks down upon him. “Then ask your question, my child.”