Part 1 Part 3

The aluminum flooring creaked and groaned in protest as I crawled through the vent. It felt as if I were traveling through a portal to a new realm. And maybe I was…

The path was impossibly dark. I slipped my pen light from my belt and clicked it on. I expected to see the tunnel end at some point but it didn’t. Not before the light was swallowed up by the abysmal darkness at least. 

Suddenly it didn’t feel like the fun adventure I had thought it would be. An uneasy twinge was slowly swirling in my stomach. 

“Be careful!” I heard Ginny holler from somewhere distant, back at the store. 

I didn’t bother responding, for some reason I felt like if I did, something deep within these walls would know I was here. And I didn’t want to alert it to my presence. 

Besides… It's not like Ginny cared for me. Well, not in that way anyway. I knew that, I wasn’t delusional. But I couldn’t stop how I felt about her… and that was the worst part. 

Shit, I should be at an end by now. 

I’d traveled a few hundred feet at least. Logic would say I’d be in the rear parking lot by now. This didn’t make any sense at all. 

Just as I was starting to flirt with the idea of somehow spinning around and making my way back it felt like the floor had been taken out from under me. 

My guts launched up into my throat as I dropped several feet before sprawling across… beige carpet?

“What the hell?” I muttered as I struggled to my feet. 

Wow. 

I stood awestruck with my mouth agape. I couldn’t even comprehend what this place was… this room? It was enormous, like a parking garage. But every single surface, except for the can lights, were covered in beige carpet. 

Carpeted beams lurched upwards to a fifteen foot tall ceiling. It was warm and cozy but so very empty and vast. 

How was this possible? Where was I? Somewhere below the store? Underground? I had so many questions but not even an inkling to a rational explanation.

Wait until I tell Ginny about this. I was about to head back up the vent tunnel when I spotted a blue door on the other side of the carpeted room. 

Was that there before? It must have been but I hadn’t seen it just a moment ago. 

Curiosity got the best of me. Snags of frayed threads grabbed at the soles of my sneakers as I made my way to the door. The handle was brass and cool to the touch. I half expected it to be locked but it twisted freely and the door opened with a groan. 

Another room. 

One with about two inches of standing water. It quickly started to rush in and permeate the carpet. I jumped through the threshold and slammed the door to stop the leak. 

I felt the water soak in through my shoes immediately and saturate my socks. 

Ugh…

The walls were covered in white subway tile. The fluorescent lights danced across the pale blue water. More pearled porcelain lay underneath. 

“Weird…” I whispered. 

This room was much smaller, almost like a connecting room you’d see at a doctors office. A red door rested in a maroon frame not ten feet to the other side. 

The ceiling was so low I could feel the hair on the top of my head graze against the grout joints as I made my way across. 

I placed my hand on the brass knob and nearly recoiled. It was so warm, as if flames flickered on the other side. A silent prayer that it wasn’t a fire lay on my lips as I slowly pried it open. 

I sighed in relief, there was no inferno. 

But the relief quickly died somewhere in my chest. The eeriness of the hallway that lay before me caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. Gooseflesh broke out across my arms. 

Lockers lined both sides of the hall as the fluorescent lights flickered above. A red emergency light spun in a strobing pattern half way down just before the light ended. The darkness at the end of the hall seemed overwhelming… something was there. I could feel it.

Whispers crept into my ears. They weren’t discernable. Almost like chatter from a crowd. Too many voices to make any single one out. 

A low vibration growled across the floor, sending a tremor up through my knees. 

Just as I felt a scream bubble up into my throat I felt someone grab my hand and pull me back through the door into the water room.

I could hear the red door slam behind me as I almost went face first into the tiled water. 

I spun around with a fist raised over my head, ready to sock whoever it was in self defense. 

“Ginny?!” I gasped, lowering my arm. 

“Why were you gone so long?” She asked. 

“What are you doing down here?”

“I came looking for you after a while, I’m just so glad you’re okay.” She wrapped her arms around me in a gentle embrace. 

I went stiff as a board at the unexpected touch. She had never hugged me before. But as she nestled her face into my collarbone I melted like butter. A small ache began to throb in my heart. 

“Uh-hum… well yeah, it’s okay, I’m fine.” 

“I was so worried.” Her breath was hot on my neck, sending a tingle up my spine. 

“It’s okay, really.” I dared to run my hand through her short hair. My stomach did somersaults when she didn’t smack it away. 

“Let’s go home.” She whispered, standing back from me. Her eyes were different… They were full of warmth. She laced her fingers in mine and pulled me towards the blue door.

“Okay…” My mind was blown. The affection was even more strange than the entire existence of these back rooms. 

As she opened the door, the water began to rush onto the carpet like before. She giggled as she pushed me through the opening and shut the door behind us. 

“What has gotten into you Ginny?” I chuckled. 

“What do you mean?” She bit her lower lip playfully. 

“You’re never… like this. With me… you know?”

“Well… I want to be.” 

“You do?” 

“Yes.” She uttered softly, grabbing my chin between her thumb and index finger. 

My heart thundered in my chest like a rabbit thrashing against its cage. She gazed deeply into my eyes and then pulled me into a kiss. 

Her lips were soft and warm, they were everything I had imagined them to be. Her tongue slipped behind my teeth and danced with mine. An urge stirred beneath my jeans as I felt her hands fumble at my waist. 

Just as I became lost in her the lights suddenly went out. 

Everything went black. I tried to grab Ginny but felt her slip away. I fumbled a few feet in the darkness, trying to find her but my hands swiped the open air fruitlessly. 

“GINNY WHERE ARE YOU?” I shouted. 

The lights flickered back on. I spun around. She was nowhere to be seen. The sea of beige carpet stretched out in the expanse before me. But no Ginny. 

Thump, thump, thump, thump… 

It sounded like someone was traveling through the vent at the edge of the room. The one that led back to the store. She must have gotten freaked out when the lights went out and booked it back to the tunnel. 

I sprinted over to the opening. 

“GINNY WAIT FOR ME!” 

I clambered up through the vertical section and pulled myself through until I was on my hands and knees once again. 

“GINNY!” I called, but to no reply. 

I fumbled through the tunnel as fast as I could. Pain radiated from deep within my knee caps, but I pressed on. 

After a few minutes I could see the light of the store shine through the darkness. I went even faster, half afraid and half dying to be back in her arms. 

Even through the absolute insanity of the back rooms all I could think about was her. It was finally our time. 

I spilled out into the store. 

“GINNY?!” I hollered.