The Room with No Door

Anna didn’t remember falling asleep, but when she woke, she was in a strange room. The air was heavy and stale, tinged with the faint scent of mildew. She sat up, looking around. It was empty and cold, the walls covered in peeling gray wallpaper. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, casting a dim, yellowish glow over everything.

“Hello?” she called, her voice echoing oddly. No one answered.

Trying to stay calm, Anna stood and walked around, running her fingers along the walls. She moved carefully, heart pounding. But as she made a full circuit, she realized something horrifying—there was no door. Not even a window. Just four walls, enclosing her in a tight, silent box.

“This… this doesn’t make any sense,” she whispered, panic creeping in.

She slapped her hands against the walls, desperately looking for any seam, any sign of an exit. But the walls were solid, unbroken. She was trapped.

Her breathing quickened, and her mind raced. How had she gotten here? Was this a nightmare? She pinched herself hard, wincing at the pain. No, she was awake.

“Let me out!” she screamed, her voice cracking as it bounced off the walls. “Please, someone, help!”

Silence. Then, from nowhere, a faint voice echoed back, sounding almost like a whisper.

“Anna…”

She froze, her blood turning to ice. “Who’s there?”

“Anna…” the voice repeated, soft and raspy, as though it were barely holding itself together. It came from behind her, but when she turned, there was only the blank wall. She backed up, her heart hammering.

“Please,” she whispered, fear choking her. “Let me out.”

The light bulb flickered, and she felt a sudden, bone-deep chill as the voice grew louder, closer.

“You left me here…”

The words were familiar, triggering a memory Anna didn’t want to revisit. She remembered her best friend, Lily, a girl she’d once been inseparable from. They’d explored an abandoned building together one night, but they’d gotten separated in the darkness. Panicked, Anna had run back outside, leaving Lily behind. By the time she’d gotten help, it was too late. Lily had fallen, alone, in the cold.

“Lily?” Anna whispered, her voice barely audible.

The light flickered again, then dimmed, casting long shadows over the empty room. Anna took a step back as a shape materialized from the wall—a dark, wavering figure with hollow, unblinking eyes that bore into her.

“You left me… alone,” the figure rasped, moving closer, its form blurring in and out of focus.

“I’m sorry,” Anna stammered, pressing herself against the wall. “I… I tried to find you. I didn’t mean to leave you—”

The figure’s face twisted into a broken, ghastly smile. “You didn’t come back…”

Anna’s back hit something cold and hard. She turned, and where there had been only solid wall, a narrow doorway had appeared, a sliver of darkness beyond.

Without thinking, she bolted through it, her pulse racing. But as she stumbled into the next room, her heart dropped.

It was identical to the first. Same walls. Same stale air. And no way out.

Behind her, the voice whispered again, close enough to feel its chill on her neck.

“Don’t leave me alone.”