Dark Hallway

• Mia Elphick, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

Floorboards creaked under his bare feet. The dim light at the edge of the hall flickered. Rain pounded on the roof like enraged gods trying to get in. Door handles rattled as he tried every door. It was like the hallway never ended. Mylo poked his head around every door, examining the empty rooms. He leaves every door gaping wide open so he knows which one he had checked. Most rooms were vacant, having been abandoned decades ago, but some rooms still had little items scattered around or glass shattered on the timeworn ground. He continued down the gloomy hallway.
Step by step, door by door, he reached the end of the hallway. The light above his head flickered as Mylo touched the door handle. This door was a little different. It looked new. Not like the old ones he had checked before. The handle was more....shiny. Like it had been cleaned recently. The wooden door looked as if it was polished wood, instead of the old, rough bark that was used for the others. Mylo twisted the handle. The door creaked open, revealing another dark hallway. He was trapped.
Mylo ran back through the corridor, running past all the empty rooms, running away from whatever this place was. When he was back where he started, Mylo gripped the handle, swung the door open and stopped abruptly. He looked down. Below him was a big, open hole. Where had the stairs gone?!
Mylo turned his head in every direction, looking for a way to escape. His eyes scoped the edges of the hole. The wall of the big crater was about 7 metres in front of him. He couldn't jump that far. Suddenly, a deadly thought popped into his brain. Mylo picked up a sharp rock and dropped it. After what seemed like hours, only it was 30 seconds, he heard a loud "PLOP!"
Water. To cushion his landing. Mylo inhaled deeply, his eyes squeezed shut.....and jumped into the hole.