So I Found a Key

It was a really hazy afternoon and I was hungry to an insatiable point, and honestly there was nothing to eat in the house. The pantrys were stocked of course, but with nothing peaking my interest. I plucked a couple wrinkled dollars out of my nearly empty wallet and stuffed my phone into my pocket. I shuffled down the stairs and stopped right at the door yelling a quick “I’m going a couple blocks down to get some food, mom! I’ll be back soon, love you!” met with a sweet toned, “Alright sweetie, be back before dark alright? It’s getting late.” I closed the door behind me and stepped into the breezy afternoon. I started walking along the sidewalk casually hearing the satisfying crunch of leaves beneath my boots. A chill pricked the back of my neck and I got an uneasy feeling in my chest. There wasn’t anyone around, or at least anyone anyone that I could see, but it felt like someone was. I could see a Wendy’s a block or two down the street so I quickened up my pace. I could just grab a quick burger and some fries and head home, if I had some spare time I could stop by the nearest bookstore and shop around. I reached the Wendy’s and opened the door with a high pitched squeak. The girl behind the counter looked just about my age and greeted me with a phony smile.

“May I take your order?”

I told her my usual order and waited in a booth, taking out my phone and scrolling through my contacts when suddenly a new text popped up from an unknown number.

Expecting it to be a wrong number I opened it up.

“hey dude, it’s liam. got a new phone and i remembered ur number lol, what’s up?”

“nothing much man, where you at?”

“just at home, where are you?”

My food was done and I went up to get it, sitting back down and taking a savory bite out of my burger.

“wendy’s dude, late afternoon dinner i guess haha”

It continued like that for a while before I finished and decided to head out, it was getting pretty dark anyways. My mom would kill me if I was out too late.

I opened the squeaky door I came in through but my foot bumped something on the way out. My gaze immediately dropped to the ground and there laying in all it’s ordinariness, was a key.

I picked up the key, it was sleek and bronze and dirty around the edges. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture and sent it to liam with the caption, “there are directions that came with the key, looped through the hole. should i follow it before i go home?”

Within seconds I had a reply that read, “definitely lol” which was very simple but I decided to go with it.

The sun wasn’t quite down yet so I had some time to kill. The first direction said to walk towards 88th ave. which was just beyond my neighborhood. It was a bit chilly outside so I tugged my jacket tighter around myself. Soon I made it to my house, and tried to pass nonchalantly without having my mom see me and ask questions. I finally made it to the avenue which I haven’t been to too many times because the roads around there lead to the rural area in town. It said to turn left and walk down until you see a dirt road with a couple fake owls surrounding it. I made down the relatively thin road and, wow what a surprise, it was eerie. I thought I already had a bad feeling, but this place intensified it by like a hundred. I don’t know what I expected to be honest. Rural dirt road? Did I really think it sounded pleasant?

I checked the directions attached to the key again and it said there should be a metal dump yard in the distance. It appeared that this back road was a way for people to get to some rusty old metal dump yard so they could throw away their old truck parts. I continued slightly hesitant now, the sun was setting slowly tonight. I made my way into the junkyard and looked around, there was a somewhat big building with a metal door and lock on it. I suspected the key to open this door but when I came closer I realized the lock was already busted open. My stomach dropped, I was scared but I was too curious to quit.

I slowly pushed the rusty door and entered a room containing 3 other rooms. The directions said to unlock the second door with a bright white number 2 painted onto it. I went up to the weathered black door, worse than the one that led in here, the bronze key dangling from my index finger. I unlocked the lock on the door hastily in a rush to get in and out. So I could just see what was inside and go back to the comfort of my room.

Opening the door I was met with a rancid odor. The room looked disgusting and it had a smell to match it. Suddenly my phone vibrated in my pocket, and of course it was none other than Liam.

“hey dude did you get there yet?”

“yeah dude it’s creepy. i think i’m gonna get going home in a couple.”

“haha goodluck. hope you enjoy room 2.”

My blood ran cold. I never told him where I was. This wasn’t him.

The door slammed shut behind me. My adrenaline was pumping now, I threw myself against the door, it was locked from the outside. I inspected the room, almost pitch black, save for the one light bulb hanging limply from the ceiling. The walls were dented all over and seemed to be made out of nothing but metal. There were blood stains on the wall, adding to the sick metallic smell. I noticed underneath the light bulb there was something lying on the ground. When I saw what it was, my heart stopped.

It was a picture of me on my computer, shot through my bedroom window, taken two nights ago.