David’s drenched t-shirt clung to his torso, sucking the heat out through the skin on his back. Shivering, he drew the already damp towel around his shoulders. A pool of water grew about his bare feet. David’s swimming trunks were still dripping wet.

Lockers lined each side of the empty hallway, vanishing at infinity.

Wasn’t there a math test today? David’s schedule, along with some dry clothes, was in one of those infinite identical lockers. Even if he could find the right locker, what combination would open it?

David stiffened. Something had brushed against his ankle. He looked downward to see a cinnamon cat hugging his shin. The pool of water continued to grow at David’s feet. It had begun to extend down the hall.

The cat slipped between, then behind David’s feet. David spun around to see where it was going. The hallway behind him also extended to infinity. But a pillar-shaped object punctuated his field of vision. Light streamed from above.

David blinked.

The something was a staircaseIt spiraled through the ceiling and through a circular aperature in the the floor—a choice. Upwards, toward the light? Or downwards, into the darkness?

The cat uttered a plaintiff cry and scurried down the stairs.

David willed his foot out toward the staircase, over the aperature. He steadied himself by the metalic railing that followed the staircase. It was cold, damp. He allowed his weight to rest on one of the steps. The raised metal grating of the surface pressed upward against his bare foot.

David craned his head toward the ceiling. Overhead, the staircase vanished into the blue, cloudless sky. Warm sunlight landed on his cheeks. He could smell the fresh air with a hint of —what was it? Salt? He brought in a deep breath and held it.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

David looked down. Beneath his feet was blackness. David’s skin tingled as each tiny hair stood at attention. (David would come to know this blackness. He would later refer to it the Palpable Void.)

Piercing through the inky nothingness, came the soft, plaintiff whisper of the cinnamon cat. That whisper alone brought calm to David’s skin. The goosebumps relaxed. This was the direction he would take.

As David continued his descent into the blackness, the illumination from above closed in upon itself. For an instant, only a dim point remained. When David’s foot struck the floor below, even that point vanished.

David blinked. A rectangle of soft light, smaller than a thumbnail, hovered before he face. He reached for it. It flickered.

David shifted his head to the right, then to the left. This allowed him to regain a small amount of the depth perception he hadn’t even noticed he’d lost. The rectangle of light was distant. Beneath it—possibly nearer to David, shimmered a pair of cat’s eyes.

David extended his arms to either side. He hoped to find a wall—or anything—to ground himself. He found nothing. David took a step toward the light. The cat uttered a soft cry.

David took another step. And another.

He found himself adjusting his gait to match a rhythm. A subtle beat had filled the space. David stopped, but the beat remained. It pulsed through his whole body.

David resumed his approach to the rectangle of light, bare feet splashing in shallow water. The once subtle beat had now transformed itself into a course, rhythmic whine.

As he continued forward, the rectangle of light became a glass window. David found himself before a wooden door. Shadows wavered beyond the translucent glass of the door’s window. The cat pawed the base of the door and peered up toward David, expectant.

David grasped the doorknob. It was cool, damp, like the staircase railing. David twisted the knob. He felt a vibration as the bolt slid out of the door jamb. It produced a loud metalic click which the darkness immediately swallowed.

David tugged at the knob. The door turned on its hinge. A sliver of light escaped. The cat squeezed through the opening.

David peered through the crack. His eyes blinked at the overpowering light.

Before he could see anything, a female voice addressed him from beyond the door.

“You’re late!”