Another late night. Hours spent staring deeply into the bright window searching for answers. Long past when any normal person would be awake the sounds of a keyboard continue to clatter on into the twilight.
The room is filthy, clothes are strewn about the floor without a care, garbage barely clings onto the edge of the bin before it falls unceremoniously to the ground, and a row of monitors illuminate the room casting a large shadow against the wall however, the one seated barely stirs.
The human body can only resist the need to eat and drink for so long before it physically begins to urge you into action.
A large gurgling croak that lasts several seconds rouses the night owl from their perch.
“Wow, ok… I guess it’s time for me to eat.” Lawrence murmurs to himself.
Carefully he makes his way through the clutter and into the hallway leading to the kitchen. Opening the fridge it hums to life as the glow brightens up the room, revealing a stack of discarded plates in the sink, a sad looking plant that looks like it needed watering days ago and an assortment of gaming magazines and manga.
It only took one look in the fridge to know it had been far too long since he had gone grocery shopping and promptly closed the fridge plunging the kitchen back into darkness.
“Convenience store dinner it is then!”
Fumbling around in the dark Lawrence begins his search for his house keys. First, feeling around the base of his potted plant to no avail. Next underneath the stack of magazines, only resulting in an avalanche of paper rustling its’ way down onto the floor. Then stopping briefly in front of his sink, before convincing himself that if his keys were in there then he’d never find them. So he slowly made his way down the hall back into his room.
The lights from the monitors had dimmed indicating they’d entered sleep mode. So he’ll have to traverse the path to his chair by memory this time. However, the first step was an unpleasant one. The carpet squelched beneath his feet and he immediately drew his foot back into the hallway.
“Oh great! I must have spilled something on the way out.” While hopping on one foot, he reaches for the light switch near the frame of the door. Tracing his way along the edge he feels an unnaturally rough surface brush up against his hand. In shock he falls onto his back in the middle of the hallway. Propping himself up against the wall he stares into his room straining against the darkness.
Over the next few minutes all he could do was stare in disbelief as the scenery beyond the door frame began to take shape in front of him. Rolling hills, trees a large mountain range looming in the distance. All of it illuminated by the bright light from a pair of two distant moons.
His mind was reeling from the situation he was in at the moment. Instead of his bedroom a whole countryside seems to be residing there instead. The mental gymnastics his mind was performing to rationalize this scene was Olympic level. Once it had settled on an appropriate delusion he began to pick himself up off the hallway floor.
“Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok… So, I must’ve hit my head after I slipped back into the hallway! My head’s concussed and I’m just seeing things!” Taking a step towards his door again his right foot slipped on the hardwood due to how damp it was. The reality of the situation hadn’t dawned on him yet, ignoring the obvious indicator he took his wet sock off and threw it on the floor. “Alright, that’s what I need to do. I just have to close the door and it’ll be gone.”
Leaning into the door frame and reaching for his doorknob he pulls the door shut ending the illusion. Breathing a sigh of relief he turns the doorknob again. With a hint of trepidation he pushes open the door again. Immediately his is assailed by the bright lights of his monitors.
“Oh thank god!” he exclaimed loudly. “I thought I was going crazy for a second.” Stepping back into his room he makes his way to his desk and grabs his keys. “Dinner time then bed, my lack of sleep and food is making me see things.” Before leaving he pulls on a fresh pair of socks and closes the door behind him. Back in his hallway he spots the wet sock, a supposed figment of his hallucination. Turning on the lights told a different story. The floor was splattered with wet mud. An impossibility, mostly because it hasn’t rained in months and that he hasn’t been anywhere that could have tracked mud all the way into his room with him noticing.
All he could do was stare in horror. Turning back to face his door he cautiously grasped the doorknob. This time however it felt heavy, like a firm handshake there was some heft to it. There was an audible click as the door opened. Under a single silent breath Lawrence whispered to himself.
“Shit…”
Write a story about someone finding a magical portal in their house.