The 3000 Steps Of Terror

• Ruvi Leibovitch, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2013

One day Jake and I were walking home from a bar at night, taking a shortcut through the park. After a few beers, Jake was a little tipsy.
“Hey Tim,” Jake slurred, “Imagine one day we’d be walking down this very path and then this giant door just drops right in front of us and we open it and there is a staircase with blood dripping down.”
I laughed at Jakes imagination. “Nah, I don’t think that will ever happen, Jake. You’ve been watching way too many horror movies”.
Just then a giant double door dropped right in front of us with the door creaking open, with blood dripping down from a staircase, and we heard a faint cry coming from the top of the stairs.
We both stood there rooted to the spot for a few seconds. Awoken from his drunkenness Jake whispered, “Should we climb it, Tim?”
But I wasn’t listening. There was some writing engraved on the door that caught my attention. It said, ‘Beware reader, for danger waits.
One thousand steps are all it takes.
Many have tried, only a few have passed.
Rewards apply for those who are fast.’
“Okay Jake, but no injuries are my fault”.
We started climbing the stairs, but all of a sudden we heard the same cry again, this time it was closer, and before we could say “boo” the door behind us closed. Right in front of us were two weapons a silver samurai sword and a flamethrower hanging from the ceiling with a note attached to it. It said, “Take these weapons for your protection and fight through the stairs of Terror”.
I went for the silver samurai sword and Jake went for the flame thrower. We continued walking up the stairs until all of a sudden a zombie came stumbling down the stairs. It tried to attack us, but thank goodness, Jake was fast enough to use the weapon he was holding. In no time the zombie was burned down to ashes.
“That was creepy Jake” I whispered in fear.
We were up to step one hundred when on the side of the stairs there was windows with mutated bugs crashing through it. So we started sprinting away until I remembered that I had a sword.
“Good timing”, I thought to myself.
With that I ninja sliced the mutant, cutting up them until there was sushi sized pieces of these disgusting creatures.
“Phew, that was close” we both said at the same time.
We kept on walking, being alert for anything that was about to jump right at us at any given moment. For a while the walk seemed uneventful, so we relaxed our guard. And all of a sudden, at step one hundred and thirty six we thought they heard the faint cry again. And this time it sounded really close and put us on alert with a cold shiver running through our bodies. We turn around to find a little girl right behind us crying. After the initial shock, we asked if she was okay. Before we heard her answer, the sight of her made us freeze. As she looked up we recognized a ghost in girl’s clothes. Feeling desperate, I throw my chain with a golden cross at the ghost. Before we could blink, the ghost and the chain were gone. Although we were relieved that this encounter was over, in my thoughts I was worried about what lay ahead and with no cross to protect us from any other ghosts, and now there was no turning back.
Exhausted we fell asleep at the one hundred and eighty second step. It felt as if we only closed our eyes, when we were woken up by stomping sound. It was hard to see in the dark, but when two vampires were within hand reach, we leaped in the air and used all both of our weapons to fight them off.
This was the point when we regretted ever starting the adventure. We had no time to take a break when a really frightening, bloodsucking Gorilla started running up the stairs from behind but since I had really great samurai sword and some experience with using it I easily defeated it. We were at step two hundred and thirteen when there were long spikes hanging from the roof and they were about to fall so we had to run so fast to miss the spikes. Right before we ran across two shields with a note attached. It said “This might help”.
We took the shields and made it past the spikes. We got up to the three hundred and twenty fourth step, when a room made of glass filled with toxic gas appeared out of nowhere. On the door it was written, “Short Cut”.
“Tim, you can hold your breath for a while, right?” Jake asked.
“Yes, but can you hold your breath for that long?” I was a bit concerned.
“I can only try”, Jake sounded confident.
We both wanted to get out of that madness, so a shortcut was very welcomed. So into the room we went and both held our breaths for ten seconds, then fifteen seconds then at the twentieth second Jake let go of his breath because he could not take it. He started getting sick from the toxic gas. It was awful to watch him suffer and not being able to help. Even though the door opened and we were free to go, Jake was too weak to continue. “Go alone,” he whispered, “do it for my will”,
I was very hesitant to leave Jake behind. He was my closest friend. But before Jake closed his eyes, he looked straight into mine and I knew that I had to continue without him. At the exit it said that we’ve bypassed to eight hundred and fifth step. “We” I thought, because I still felt Jakes presence next to me.
Just as I reached what was marked as step nine hundred and forty seven, I broke down in tears. Remembering all the good times we had together. I forced myself to continue for Jake’s sake. As I reached the top all I can see is a bag full of money waiting for me. “This money is not worth losing a friend”, I thought to myself.” I wish I could exchange it and have Jake back instead.” I wished out loud.

I left the bag where it was and slowly walked away. Back in the parking lot as I was approaching my car, I saw Jake sitting on the curb, holding his beer. I ran to him and hugged him tightly “I’m glad your back”, I cried. Right then a giant double door just dropped from the sky, the door creaked open and there was a giant staircase going up.
“Should we climb it?” Jake asked. “No! We are not climbing it” I replied “We are going home”.