From the Bedroom

By Rich Cole

It's another morning and Craig wakes up perturbed. His night has been riddled with an odd dream that he can neither decipher nor remember.

Getting out of bed, he decides to go through his usual routine and start his day. Heading into his bathroom, he ends up in a strange room. All attempts to return to the familiar space prove futile.

He figures he's stuck in a labyrinth of strange rooms with no seeming escape route. These rooms slowly become more and more weird, complex, intricate, dangerous and at a point, life threatening. Stuck in this labyrinth, Craig is unable to get out. Is this some dream or did he get lost in an experiment perhaps? Will he ever get out? Alive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seagull Editions
• Release date: May 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223777069

Book preview

FROM THE BEDROOM

© 2021 Seagull Editions s.r.l.

www.seagulleditions.com

CHAPTER ONE

––––––––

I tossed and turned severally. It was one of those dreams where you are hunted by characters and individuals that you could neither recognize nor recall. I can't tell how many times I've had that dream or what had happened. This is because upon waking up, the dream seems to fade away and if I wasn't feeling so shocked and fluttered, I could even doubt that I had had the dream in the first place.

I can only assure you of one thing. Each time I struggled, tossing and turning in my sleep, I woke up the same way; with a start. I jerked up from sleep, my heart pounding loudly in my chest, my breathing irregular.

It seemed like today had happened before. Like I had been caught in this dream over and over again. I blinked the bright light from my window causing my eyes to hurt a bit. Turning to my side, I picked up my alarm clock and looked at it. It was exactly 8 am. Shutting my eyes, I tried to recall what day of the week it was but memories from the dream kept flashing across my mind and causing me to cringe.

Wish I could meet one of those guys that swear they could tell you your dreams right now, I muttered to myself before pulling over my blanket and getting out of bed. I walked towards the window and lifted the blinds. Looking straight ahead, I tried to quietly observe the flowers and neatly tended garden behind my house. The day of the week struck then. It was Saturday. A small smile stole across my lips. I liked Saturday, I didn't have to leave my house or go to work. I could do whatever I wanted. Be whoever I wanted. Walking across the room, I opened my closet and grabbed my towel. Holding it in my hand, I walked towards a brown door at the far end of the room and turned it open. Walking into my bathroom, I froze. The room was dark and dimly lit with a single chair, placed in the middle.

There were no white tiles, no showers, no bathtub and mirrors. Just an empty room with a single yellow bulb and a chair.

What the hell is this? I asked no one in particular as confusion wrapped itself in knots around my head. I closed my eyes and shook my head. It had to be a dream. Perhaps my horrible nightmare was coming to hunt me. When I opened my eyes, I was still right there. I swallowed and turned around in an attempt to leave the room and return to my bedroom. Stepping outside the door that I had come in through, my heart slammed loudly against my chest, causing me to drop my towel to the floor.

But..buhhh... this was my bedroom! I cried. I came out through this door! I cried louder, a small sense of fear and panic rising slowly within my chest. My bedroom was gone and all that remained was a strange-looking room.

My body shook and puffs of white air came out through my nostrils as I breathed. My hands took on an icy feeling as the cold spread through every inch of my being.

My bedroom had become a sitting room with several sofas arranged in a single row and covered with a dusty silk clothe. The room reeked of dust and had a strange musky scent yet was probably as cold as the North Pole, even though I'm greatly exaggerating. I shook and walked into the room. I turned around a couple of times, trying to reassure myself to remain sane and not completely freak out.

Be calm, Craig. It's a dream. It has to be a dream, I muttered, walking around the strangely arranged sofas. I walked towards the door that I had come in from and headed out. At this point, the panic became red and raw. Clutching unto my skull and laughing in my eardrums. The room was a classroom with a whiteboard in front. A marker lay across the room open with notebooks all over like it had been left in a hurry. I walked in with a sigh, grateful that I was at least out of that cold room. Passing a desk, I could see a notebook strewn across the floor. On the page were scribbled words in fine writing. Bending down, I tried to give the inscriptions a closer look. I lifted the book and suddenly it felt much heavier than it looked on the tiled ground.

I dropped it in slight shock or surprise and the book fell to the ground, stubbing my right toe. I yelped, my voice echoing around the empty room and took some steps back. I bent down to pick the note again when it suddenly hit. It was one of those moments of realization that were not just shocking, they were scary and felt like a sledge hammer had been slammed against your skull. It sounded like a mocking hiss that whispered gently in my ears.

Can you possibly feel if this is a dream? The thought whispered its voice carrying a mocking tone. I coughed, shaking and stepping back.

I.. I... I didn't feel that. It didn't... I stuttered shaking my head.

You didn't? When the book hit you just now, didn't you yelp in pain? The thought mocked.

I shook my head harder, panic setting in. It couldn't be. This had to be a nightmare. One of those nightmares that when I woke up, I would have completely forgotten. I rubbed my hands against my arms in an attempt to get some warmth but the fear was even chiller than the previous room.

Pinch yourself. The voice urged.

I refuse to be deceived or panicked. My head is playing with me. This is all in my head. This cannot be a reality I muttered in a vain attempt to console myself.

It felt like my mind laughed. Like if it were human, it would clutch its stomach and laugh at me really hard.

Deceived? Pinch yourself, It suggested again and this time I did.

Really hard so I could convince myself that it was only a dream. Well, I guess I did. The pinch hurt so bad, I shook. I could almost feel my eyes watery. The only source holding the tears from running down my cheeks was another string of thoughts that men of my age, don't cry. They shouldn't. How could a man past thirty be so broken?

I staggered backwards and slumped into the chair, taking some time to dully observe the room. It seemed like it must have belonged to little kids. The drawings on the wall are in different colors. Purple, blue, pink and red. The chairs were also rather small and I hadn't noticed earlier in my panic about how the world seemed like it was falling apart. Well, my world.

There were several books on the desks and a bag at the far end of the room. Turning my head to look towards the end of the room, made the room seek to expand. Like it was going on and on for miles. I froze and shook my head. What the hell was going on? Squeezing my eyes, I turned and looked once again towards the far end of the room and once again, it seemed like the room was endless. Rows and rows of chairs lay arranged for miles. I was almost positive that there was no door.

Bu...Bu... I.. I could see the bag, I stuttered, confusion seeking to kick my good senses out and take home in my brain. Standing up, I walked across the room, ignoring the black books on the desks and the books on the floor. The farther I walked, the farther the door seemed. Was I stuck here? Couldn't I at least go to another room?

I could feel a new kind of panic crawling up my wrists. It was one thing to be stuck