The only problem he realizes, that the door had a tiny lock on its knob. “So weird.”
He pull the knob, but it was locked; searching the room for a key, he noticed a spider crawl along his shoulder. Dom was bothered, so he flicked it off. When strangely another appeared below his waist, then multiple invade along his entire body. He shook violently, overwhelmed by many insects that stuck along his body.
“Man! Get this shit off me!”
After being attack by many spiders, he ran out of the closet shaking off the crawlers. While heavily breathing, he checked his entire body finding not a single insect, realizing it was only a hallucination. “What!…how can this be”
Grabbing back his attention, he continued searching for a way to the underground room.
Anxiously curious about the mysterious hidden place, and what secrets he might discover, he goes outside in search of something powerful to break the door. Suddenly, of nowhere, the skies turn dark, and the forest light began to fade away. Also, the change in atmosphere was odd, as the day was full of sun and humidity. Dom started to notice the difference between the times in Guatemala and L.A.
“Stupid weather! I just got here, and it’s already becoming dark.”
Dom hurried but became difficult to find tools anywhere outside; he decided to clear out the table in the bedroom, to use it as a lever against the basement door. Dom’s behavior changed and had no idea why it was happening, but most of his movements were uncontrollable like a possession.
The door broke in half, squeezing through and rolling down the stairway below. Dom found an old second door with multiple locks and more symbols engraved on it. Suddenly, a voice whisper “PLEASE! HELP ME!” through Dom’s ear, his pupil’s transition to a black color and the skin on his fingers were shrinking. He moved forward to reach out to the voice by touching the door, and his body felt senseless. Enough to collapse on the floor struggling to accomplish the voice wish. As Dom became paralyzed, in his sleep, a recording machine played a message repeatedly from his brother saying dreadful things “Thank you! To getting yourself played, and I hope to see you in the deepest of hell! I’ll be waiting for you….” After hearing words, Dom was shocked.
“It cannot be him, no! It’s...impossible!”
Dom could not move by being tied to a chair. Next, he felt agonizing pain in his chest. He tried to figure out the pain in the darkness, but from nowhere a figure blended in, touching him in all sorts of ways. Dom begs to stop, and a screech bursts through, making his ears and eyes nearly bleed.
Dom awakes a few moments later, to find himself still tied to the chair with his hands full of scratches. He looks around the room and sees a large table with multiple candles, and a strange painting is watching down on him with a hollow bird mask.
His mind cannot remember what recently happened, the only thing for sure; is this reality or another terrible illusion? The candle scents reminded him where he was. However, the smell was so pure like a person’s blood…it could not have been anything else unless mixed with some hallucinogens. Dom kept on wondering how the candles produce such change in his emotion and perspective. “Ding Ding Ding! You figured it out!” A cocky voice said. “You’re finally awake, I was starting to lose patience and thought about beating you senselessly awake…don’t worry it was only an alternate solution.”
Dom look around the room afraid and alert trying to find the mysterious man speaking.
“I’m over here bud!” Popping behind him, Dom jumps a bit while the man laughs until he was out of breath. A man wearing a bird mask with a large beak guarding his appearance had cracks and even stains of what appeared to be dry blood. His eyes did not blink a bit, and they were bloodshot. He had a human-bone cane, which he swept around steadily, with a handle formed with a tiny skull.
“Let me introduce myself, I am…Ramon Desylvia. Once at the service of the Amora family and a dark punisher.”
Dom kept a cold stare while moving his fingers sideways, trying to loosen the rope around his wrists. “Now! You, sir, seem like you are in deep shit…and I get it; you visited the prohibited basement, right! While taking a whiff of those candles, one smell and it will paralyze ya for hours…good thing I helped you emptied it out, by beating the crap out of ya,” Ramon implied.
“What is this place?” Dom asked.
“Good question! This is my home dumbass…do you want me to shove my cane up through your thick skull…No worries!
I’m only joking ha-ha…you get me!” the man boasted,
Dom gave a scold, “Anyways! I’m deciding whether to kill you or not…hmm…I am still thinking about it.”
Suddenly, the rope drops and Dom sprang over to reach Ramon.
“Hold it!” said Ramon.
The cane release a gun barrel, which point directly at Dom’s head; Ramon held the trigger and squeezed it softly as he giggles quietly without firing. Dom froze placing his hands up, he felt utter and found no other idea, but relying on karma.
“Yes! You’ll do just fine, after escaping those ropes you manage to give me second thoughts, and for that, you will be a good use for me after all!”
Using his cane to push Dom’s legs to make him stand up, and told him to start walking, shoving the staff behind his back a few times. As they walk, Dom suddenly felt his legs begun to numb, as if his muscles were shutting down. His eyes felt stingy, but his head was utterly calm and painless, he had no clue of this sudden change.
“Stop!” Ramon shouted.
Then, he orders Dom to enter through the door in front of them, leading to the outside.
In the horizon, a massive volcano can be seen erupting through the skies with violent lava, and beneath stood a cliff edge, where a city lies in pillars, in which a doormat had the words “Welcome.”
“This is where you leave…now a good day!” Ramon said,
“Wait! Hold on…it doesn’t have to end this way,” Dom plead. “If you want money I got loads of it,”
“Oh! Do not worry! I’ll assure that your death will not account! Not yet anyway.”
Ramon quickly kicks Dom off the cliff, falling to the bottom depth. After hitting the ground, Dom immediately wakes up finding himself in bed. The room was similar to the one back in the valley, but for some reason, it was all neat and clean. He still wore his clothing, but his cuts disappeared on his hands, including the blood that stained his shirt.
He quickly gets up from the bed and opens the door. Outside of the cottage, the forest disappeared, but a manor occupied the land, and a few trees remain surrounding the cabin in which Dom stood, while skies turned dark without the moon.
“This has to stop!” Dom shouted.
“Why am I being tortured like this? Why!”
“Why you say?” A voice repeated.
Dom turned around to see Ramon standing in the cottage doorway smiling.
“You’re… real!”
“Yes, I am!”
“I just woke up from a nightmare, appearing in this house, and then my eyes see this huge mansion occupying the land,”
“That is because your perspective is stuck in a reality loop,”
“Reality Loop?”
“Every time you die or faint, it’ll send you to random realities.”
Ramon then went inside the cottage without a further answer; Dom continued wondering what he meant by reality loop.
Ramon came back out holding a small mirror in one hand. Throwing it on the ground, he tells Dom to pick it up and look into it. As Dom grabbed it, saw his reflection, his eyes pure white and his skin rotted by dark spots. He drops the mirror from his shaky hands after his appearance shocked him.
“What you saw is preventing you from returning to reality,” Ramon explains.
“How do I fix it?” Dom asks.
“Ha! I might have a spare potion…maybe.”
Ramon reaches into his pocket and brings out a tiny bottle, filled with blue liquid labeled “Reaper.”
“I might hand it to you if you d
o me a favor,”
“If it's money, what is your price,” Dom said.
“Money…never solves problems sometimes. You can have it if you promise me to bring back an item of great value,”
“Check your left pocket.”
Dom reaches inside and grabs a crumpled piece of paper. A picture of an owl statue appears.
“Get it, and I’ll give it to you,” Ramon said.
“What does this owl mean to you, is there something dangerous to this, why don’t you go retrieve it yourself?”
“Just get it! Do not delay with more questions. Do you want to live or not?”
“Where do I start?” Dom asked.
“The answer lies with you!”
“??”
Ramon throws dust over his face, which gave him an acidic feeling. “This will temporarily help you, to secure your return. Be prepared; anything can happen…and I mean to you.” Ramon warned.
Dom rubs his eyes frequently, until his pupils and face reformed back to normal, while the dust stuck to his face. Nevertheless, his vision started to fade off into black, and his mind plug-in fresh memories. Of the fond moments, he found love with a woman he once knew and lost to a terrible accident, in which he forgot for such a long time.
Chapter 3
The Owl
The lights of the morning sun, shined through a crack in the ceiling, and the birds chirp as they sing along the forest. Until, the bed in which Dom slept made unsettling creeks and noises causing him to rise to his feet.
He looks around trying to figuring out where he is now while recognizing the bedroom with the bizarre candles. Everything he remembers was only a dream, a lousy daydream, and all threats were non-existent as he thought out. He concedes that the masked man may not be real, but also felt most of his beatings and injuries realistic.
He lifts his shirt to find a clear chest without injury and then feeling his face without pain. Dom had vague memories, although he recalls the strange door below the secret room, which made him act unusually. It made him think whether it was hungover of recent alcohol, but it came to his mind that he never drank any that night before the events.
Therefore, he exits the room to investigate the trap door, if there was any. Walking into the closet, he found a barrel blocking the passage. Dom lifted it to a side, discovering the trap door from before merely torn, having a hole in the middle. Dom concludes that maybe some of those dreams were real. He squeezes through the hole, lunging himself down the stairs while avoiding tumbling down the steps.
The room was made of clay and wood along with old torches clung to the wall. Dom saw the door in his dream standing in front; his heart became sore as it pounded across his chest. The measly door change, no such iron but wood and chains did not wrap around the outside.
Dom became intrigued, so he walked forward without controlling his movement and laid his hand to reach the door. His sweat became intense, and soon he stops before touching it, to run back from the room. He immediately covers the entrance with the barrel, even putting a few extra things on top.
“This is impossible! How?” Dom asks himself. He ran into the bedroom to retrieve his shoes and exit the cottage. Finding the trees oddly curvy and increasing in numbers, the branches diminished the skies as it shadowed the sun.
Dom began to regret his trip to this country as strange things are popping around him. He suddenly remembers the reason he came, “Wait…Josh!” searching his pockets, he unfolds the piece of paper, and this reminded him of his brother’s presence, especially the deal with the mysterious mask man. Dom took a deep breath to let out the paranoia, and then went back to the bedroom for his luggage, to snatch his laptop.
He brought one of the barrels outside and sat typing a new page into a document. He believes writing would help ease his mind and nerves, so he ignores the evil thoughts and focuses calmly on his latest idea, for his next novel.
As time flew, Dom began to feel impatient and somewhat bore at the same time, rinsing out his old plan and bringing new ideas, he struggled to plot a story. His headache was not getting any better, as he looks from side to side to make sure he was not being watched. His paranoia brought him a significant lack of energy and sleep that even he forgets the time of day.
Suddenly, branches snap somewhere nearby, Dom quickly drops his laptop and looks around to find where the noise came. “Who’s there?” Dom wonder. “Josh! Is that you?” taking careful steps he moves slowly where the sound came. Dom stopped to observe something running behind the bushes; a man was leaning over picking sticks from the ground.
Dom attempted to sneak behind him in case he was not friendly; Grabbing a stick in defense. He discovers an old man; Dom quickly froze, foolishly dropping the branch, as he gazes upon the stranger.
“Why are you sneaking up like that?” The stranger asks. “You know almost give me stroke,”
“My mistake, I apologize, I didn’t know other people live around here,” Dom said.
He was a native Mayan; his clothes were colorful handcrafts with figures. He also carried a rugged bag that contains overloaded stuff poking from inside.
“Why are you collecting sticks anyways?” Dom decided to break the ice.
“Nothing that you have to concern yourself,” The man said.
“…I have one question,”
“Speak”
“Have you seen another gringo, a person like me…wandering these woods lately?”
The old man dropped his stick pile and took a breath, “I might have,” The old man said.
“Can you tell me where!” Dom insisted.
“Follow the path, pointing to the right, and soon you shall encounter a ceiba tree, there you’ll find the white man.”
“What is a ceiba tree?”
“It’s an enormous tree; you’ll find it since it’s the only one there,”
The old man gathers the sticks into his backpack.
“Where are you from?” The old man asked.
“I’m from California; I’m staying at this weird cottage,”
“Hear me out boy…,” The man said. “Be aware of your surroundings…you are not leaving anytime soon,”
“What does it mean? Is there something out there?”
“Stay safe; I must go now, I am in a hurry.”
The old man left without answering. Dom wanted to chase after him, but his advice kept him profoundly distracted. Turning his eyes to the house, as soon as he left, the Indian was nowhere to be seen, but only a dagger left on top of a tree.
Dom took the dagger and returned to the cottage. After arriving, the barrel that he sat on was gone, and his laptop destroyed, the parts scattered across the ground into pieces.
He gazes at the hardware wandering what happened here.
A loud sound came from within the cottage; Dom quickly held the knife and shook until he had control. He cautiously made his way into the cabin, his heartbeat race throughout his torso, while sweat nervously tears down his skin.
The interior seems untouched, everything was in place, except for the bedroom; the walls and floors covered with, what appeared to be blood, even a horrible odor stuck to the air, which made his stomach sick.
Dom let out his fear internally to vomit on the floor unable to withstand the stench. He stood up, finding a message written on the bloodstains. “NEW TOY,” behind him another word, “MORE FUN,” to the left and right were the figures of an “OWL (LECHUZA.)” Then below his feet, a smear smirk belonging to an unrecognizing face drawn with pieces of flesh and pints of blood.
“No!” Dom shout.
His sanity broke off, and he ran into the forest hoping to find a way back to the city. As the dirt path lead him back to the signpost, he continues sprinting along the dirt path. Dom races for the exit, to his surprise, he seems to find himself back in the cottage again, the trail behind him disappears as he turns.
Dom goes into the primary pathway once more, trying to correct his direction this time. Finding the signpost, he reads
the arrows carefully and determines the path. One said “Antigua cabana,” pointing to the direction he went through, and the other “Amora Mansion,” an unfamiliar route that needs to explore.
Dom persists in taking the same route to reach the exit, so he walks hoping this time it’ll work.
As the path ends, he loops back to the same place again only utter disappointment and shock. “This is impossible! Why can’t I get out?” Dom said. He kicks the hardware pieces around in frustration and tries to calm his insanity.
More noises surface inside the cottage; Dom began to step away slowly while wielding the knife; running back to the pathway, he reaches the signpost again finding a change in the arrows. One said, “LIMBO,” pointing to the cottage area, and the other “HELL” to the North.
Dom gulped, placing his hand up to his chest praying to God briefly, “Help me cleanse these demons from my mind, to aid me through to this torment,” then continuing to head north following the old man’s information. Forgetting the last events back in the cottage and erasing his recent disturbing thoughts, he grips the knife tightly and uses his grunt to silence the voices behind him.
The further he went, the voices began to disappear, when a stronger aura was starting to flow through his body. Somehow, his mind became calm once more and his sweat fade, as he saw a huge tree above, with multiple dead trees upon the path.
Exiting the woods, Dom was astonished at how big the tree was, and how large the branches were. How may this tree consume the others around? This thought kept his curiosity alive.
Behind the tree, a mansion stood covered in plants that grew over. Dom climbs the hill passing the tree, and from a short distance, he visualized an unknown figure moving sideways sluggishly in the shadows. For an instant, Dom began to presume it was his brother wandering. He starts running swiftly across the walkway, passing the field over the stepping-stones, and ignoring the blazing winds.
The figure seems to have gone into the front entrance, closing the door behind him. Dom made a quick stop, to rethink the situation; as he feasted upon the visuals of the manor, his heart began transmitting corrupt thoughts through his perspective. He wonders if the figure was not his brother or maybe a threat luring him into a deceptive trap.
Behind the Lock Page 2