Curiosity

• Liam Bocquee, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

The eerie glow of the celestial moon penetrated the glass dome of the ancient building. The violent howl of the wind echoed through the unified walls of the museum. The arched wooden frame of the doorway towered over the pathway below. An army of ants retreated into small crevices in the concrete pathway. Golden sunburnt leaves glid down from the autumn trees and scattered across the ground.

Dylan stumbled on some misplaced rocks and plummeted to the ground. As he raised his head from the gravel he noticed a faint glow through an open hatch on the side of the building. He slowly got up and trembled over to the hatch, as he got closer his view became clearer and started making out shapes in his head. Eventually he got to the wall where he had noticed the glow and peered through the foggy face of the glass hatch. He looked through an open doorway parallel to the hatch and noticed a glass box encasing something of which he had not yet determined. Dylan wanted to get a closer look, his abstract curiosity pulled him closer to this mysterious object that perhaps had some significant purpose but Dylan wasn't certain. He thoroughly scanned the area around him for any witnesses . . .
None, the coast was clear. He opened the hatch just enough for him to squeeze himself through the narrow opening, he seemed to be in an office. Before he could go any further into the museum, an unexpected gust of wind blew through the office slamming the door close that was holding the main part of the museum, then a quiet click. NO! NO! NO! He thought. The door locked. This poor boy, who’s curiosity led him into this mess, was now trapped in the head office of the museum. He would be in so much trouble if he got caught, he had to get out of here IMMEDIATELY.

He tried to open the door with a bit of force, no luck. He tried to barge through the door with his elbow, like they do in the movies, still no luck. He tried this one more time but with a little run up as well. As he charged at the door he stumbled on something. There was an unordinary lump in the door mat, he raised the mat and revealed a polished silver key. Without a second thought he grabbed the key and opened the door, it took Dylan a second to readjust massive change in space. Dylan suddenly felt like something was desperately pulling him . . . tugging him away from his own will he glanced over at the glass case he had noticed before. Inside the case there was a book made of ancient leather and parchment and leather. A smooth round stone started glowing intensely fast, dylan put his hand on the glass case, an eerie darkness fell upon the museum and dylan drifted off into an endless void.