I don't know how long I've been here. I've tried counting seconds, but the voices in my head won't stop overlapping. They talk all the time. I wish they would stop. Please stop.

It hurts to see. I've tried closing my eyes to get some relief, but the white has been burned into the back of my eyelids. As if someone dumped a bottle of bleach into my eyes, white is the only thing I see.

My head is always throbbing. There is no relief here.

Sometimes I sleep. I don't remember falling asleep half the time. I just find myself laying on the white ground, wondering how I got there.

My palm healed some, the large gash from my carousel encounter crusted over some time ago. However, the skin around it looks red and puffy. I no longer feel pain from the back of my head. I hope that isn't bad news. But the house won't let me die. It needs me.

Sometimes Allison visits me. She talks to me and keeps me company. It's nice. It keeps me sane.

White.

White.

White.

I hate the white.

Allison hates the white too.

Sometimes Allison says we should paint the white red. She scares me when she says that.

I feel weak today. Weaker than I normally do. Allison's visit wore me out last night. She had me walk around the whiteness with her. She told me I need to keep moving. I listened to her.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I still feel tired. Maybe I should just go to sleep. I wish I could sleep for longer because I never feel rested.

"Hello?" A voice called out.

It sounded like Allison, but it didn't look like her.

It looked like Kara. She was dead though. That's weird.

"Trevor? What's going on? I came looking for you. I went through all these rooms and the roller coaster... I almost fell off it. What is going on here? There was an evil clown and a sea of blood," Kara said panicked. She wrapped me in a hug, squeezing my weak body hard. Her hands snaked up to my face, gripping my cheeks.

"You are alive," I said in shock.

"Barely. That roller coaster almost got me." Her blonde hair looked exactly the way it did earlier. In a messy updo. Patches of dried blood stained her pale complexion. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too. I thought you were dead."

"The other room said that this was the last room. What do we do to get out of here?"

"Uh oh," I whispered. My eyes widened in terror as I remembered the rule.

"What? What's wrong?" Kara asked, confused. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she met my eyes. 

"Only one of us is allowed to leave." 

"Huh?" she asked.

"I have to go. The door will open for me now. I will bring help. I won't leave you."

I would come back for her. I would get her out of here. She would understand. Kara was nice.

"Trevor, wait!" She grabbed my arm. "What do you mean you have to leave? Trevor, you aren't making any sense!"

"Only one of us can leave. The other one stays. I have to go. But I will bring people to get you out of here. Don't worry." I gave her a reassuring smile.

She didn't look reassured though. Horror hid behind watery eyes and upturned lips.

"Trevor, no! What are you doing? I just found you! Don't leave me alone in here." Tears stung Kara's eyes.

I wish I could bring her, too. It felt wrong leaving her, but I had to go home. Then I will get some help. 

A pop caught my attention. To my left, a door similar to the front door of the house appeared in front of me. The same wood. The same knob. 

I smiled. Sunshine peeked from the bottom of the door, inviting me to open it. 

"I will be back, Kara," I said, turning the knob.

"What? Trevor wait—" Her voice dissipated as I stepped through the doorway.

The smell of fresh air washed over me as I stepped forward. Flowers in bloom and pine needles carried with the breeze. Sunshine bathed the earth in its rays, warming my frozen body. The blue sky lay cloudless.

Birds chirped loudly, singing sweetly in the trees overhead. I had never heard a sound so lovely.

Slowly, I hobbled off the rotted porch. It's planks still groaning underneath the pressure of my weight.

At the bottom of the porch, my car keys sat untouched by the elements. I didn't know how long I had been in the house, but surely the house must have hidden them away somewhere until I escaped. It was such a crafty house. I wanted nothing more than to burn it down to the ground. But Kara was still in there. I couldn't leave her. She survived this long. She deserved to get out too.

Looking over towards the driveway, I saw my car sitting in pristine condition. No dirt or pollen had built up on it. Maybe I hadn't been in the house as long as I suspected myself to be. Maybe it wasn't even 6 o' clock yet. She would be so happy to see me, and I her.

Slipping into the car, I stuck the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life, settling to a gentle purr. I hit the button on the radio, seeing if the static still consumed the speakers. To my surprise, the speakers played a jovial tune.

I grinned.

Freedom tasted so sweet.

Putting the car in reverse, I took one last look at the house. It looked so innocent from the outside. Just an old house with some damage. Inside lurked anyone's worst nightmare. I was going to make sure that nobody stepped foot in that house again.

"I will be back for you, Kara," I whispered.

She would not stay in there like I did. I would get her out. I would. Nothing would stop me. 

The gravel popped underneath the tires as the car rolled down the driveway.

Turning up the radio, I listened to the melodies. I hadn't heard music in the longest time. It sounded wonderful.

After one song finished, a weather update followed. Then a briefing of the local news.

"Police are closi—"

Static blared through the speakers.

"Work damn it!" I smacked the dashboard.

"Please contact police with any information regarding his whereabouts. Now, back to Pop 105.0."

Music played again filling the car, the sound sending a pleasant tranquility over me. Memories lurked in the back of my mind. Poking and prodding at my brain like cattle. How easy it would be to succumb to the overwhelming wave. But I must stay strong for Kara and Allison.

I pulled into my drive, smiling at the familiar house before me. It looked unchanged from the last time I had seen it. The two-story building stood tall, with blue shingles wrapped around the exterior. Allison's garden in front of the house had started to bloom. Flowers of all shapes and sizes painted the area different shades of the rainbow. The sunlight's heavenly rays shining down in beams upon the hues.

Catching a glimpse of my appearance in the mirror, I found myself to be in rough shape. I looked pale—paler than I appeared back in the carnival room. My once brown hair chased out by a pepper grey. The stubble along my cheeks and chin had grown into a long beard, reaching halfway down my neck. Even the blue in my eyes faded into a dull grey.

Allison would have so many questions. As long as I saw her, everything would be worth it.

I stepped out of the car, quickly making my way up the porch. I hesitated at the door. Flashes of all the doors I went through sting my mind. This wasn't a trick. I was out of the house. I earned my freedom.

The keys jingle as I place them into the lock. It's probably because my hands are shaking so much.

Clicking, I swing the door inward. Groans of protest comes from the hinges.

The house smelled like her. Brandy and raspberries.

"Allison? I'm home."

No answer.

My shoes click on the hardwood as I walk towards the kitchen.

The room is empty when I entered. Fruit sat in a basket with a card attached to it on the countertop. The front of the card had the words 'Thinking of You' in cursive lettering. On top of the marble countertops sat stoneware with tin foil covered over the tops.

A white piece of paper caught my eye, sitting alone on the island. Curiosity drove me forward.

Had she known I was coming? Could she feel it?

In black ink, Allison's familiar handwriting sat in between the lines of the notebook paper. I picked up the paper, bringing it up to my eyes. The white on the paper glowed, stinging my eyes. The white room still haunting me. 

Trevor,

I don't know why I am writing to you. You will probably never read this. It's been three years since I last saw you. But now that the police officially closed the case... I'm taking matters into my own hands. I know where you went. They won't listen to me. They keep telling me they searched the entire house. Nothing. Just dust and cobwebs They found nothing. Kara, your realtor friend, went missing too, but they still shrug it off. They think someone ambushed the two of you and took you to another location. But I know you are in there. You wouldn't leave me. You promised that you would come home to me.  I'm coming to find you and get you out. I love you, Trevor.

I read the note again. Again. Again.

"No!" I shout, the letter falling out of my hands. It falls like a feather, landing with a soft thud on the ground.

Like a slap in the face, everything comes rushing back at once.

Kara's blonde hair fades, turning into a raven color. Her facial features shifted, turning into a pointed nose and full lips. The scuffed appearance remained on her pale skin.

Kara never entered the white room.

The weight fell on my chest like an anvil. I crumpled to floor, a scream escaping me.

I left Allison in the house.

"I came looking for you." She even told me when she found me. How could I not recognize her touch? Her gentle caress? Guilt ate me inside out. I left her to rot in the house.

I blinked away tears. More memories ripped into me like the jagged edge of a knife.

I didn't drive here. My car never sat in wait outside the house. I walked. My vehicle most likely had been taken in as evidence in my disappearance.

How could I have disappeared for three years?

A fire ignited in my bones—a new determination.

I pulled myself up, using the countertop as support. Dust clung to my fingers. Everything looked different now. The ripe fruit sitting in the basket now was rotten. Gnats swarmed the decaying matter. A thick layer of dust coated the marble. The small plant in the windowsill reduced to nothing more than a slumped over, wilted brown stem.

She must have left weeks ago.

I had to find her. I needed to save her. She should have been the one to walk through that door. Not me.

I grab a water out of the fridge and shake out a few pain meds out of a bottle. I pop them back, gulping them down with a swig of water.

I am going to save her.

I won't let her suffer.

The house can throw anything at me. I will be ready.

I open the front door, shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight.

"Hands where I can see them!" A voice barks.

Through squinted eyes, I make out a man in a blue uniform.

"I—I have to go. I have to save my wife," I muttered.

"Put your hands behind your back. You are being brought in for the disappearance of Allison Steele." The man moved forward, gun cocked.

"No, no you don't understand. I need to save her. I left her there. She's alone."

"Hands behind your back!" He grew angrier with my words.

I could handle him. I handled the house.

Rushing forward, the officer pulled out something from his belt. He fired it at me and jolts of electricity shocked my body. I dropped to the ground fast, convulsing. Everything hurt. Everything was on fire.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." He ripped my arms out from underneath me, pulling them together behind my back. The clicking of the handcuffs sounded. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?"

Allison. I couldn't save her. I left her.

They would never believe me if I told them what I went through in that house.

The pain lingered, but the convulsions stopped. The officer ripped me up off the ground, leading me to the back of his police car. He ducked my head, slamming the door once my body was fully inside.

From the window, I could see the yellow crime scene tape on the door. I broke it when I entered the house.

The house won in the end. It always stayed one step ahead of me.

The police car pulled away.

My house became a blur.

Allison became a blur.

White.

Overall total: 20,002

A/N

Please note that over the next few days, I will be editing a few chapters, adding words to meet the 20,000 word count.

Thank you for reading.

Did you predict the ending?

Did you like the twist?

Final thoughts?