Do Not Enter

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.


The prompts: This story must contain the phrase: "You must never open that door"


Do Not Enter

Addison mentally ambled by the room with the big DO NOT ENTER sign on it. He gave the rusty old padlock a little jiggle.

Bet I could knock that old lock off without any trouble, he thought.

His daily routine was emotionally inert. Work was work. He neither loved nor hated his job. Addison simply concentrated on what was in front. For him, a wondering mind wasn’t a good thing.

Still, that room ...

It’d been years since he’d even considered going in for a look. Thoughts like Why shouldn’t I? or What harm could it do? sat on his shoulders like little devils whispering weak rationale for poor choices.

He’d built that room.

Years ago, there had been some – trouble. His dad had taken him to see an old man. Addison didn’t remember too much about him other than he spoke with a soft voice. His name was Ron.

Together, he and Ron had built the room. It was constructed of steel and cement. At the time, they had joked that it would be a good place to be during a nuclear attack.

Ironically, it wasn’t built to protect those inside of it from what was outside. It was quite the opposite.

When they were done, Ron had cautioned him, “You must never open that door.”

Now Addison stood in front of the forbidden structure. Maybe just a peak, he thought, reaching for the lock. It crumbled in his hands.

Slowly, he turned the knob.

The door blew open as several long arms reached for him. Dozens of caressing hands thanked him over and over. He welcomed the sensation of being “whole” for the first time in many years.

Addison felt a sneer-like smile spread across his face. He and his demons had some catching up to do.

Word count 299