Drowning. I was drowning in a sea of never-ending darkness, praying for a ray of light to offer me a breath of relief. The air felt thick. So thick that I was suffocating. Every movement labored. Each beat of my imprisoned heart seemed to send me sinking lower and lower into the abyss.

"Really funny, Allison," I grumbled loudly, fumbling around my jean pockets for my phone. My heart's rhythm beating like an African drum in my throat. "I can't believe you followed me all the way out here just to scare me."

My fingers clasped around the phone, ripping it from my back pocket. I clicked the home button, sending an illuminating glow throughout the room.

Air. The small beam compared to a ray of heavenly sunlight breathing the breath of life into my withered, blackened lungs.

I was alone. Dust particles floated in the light's path as I moved the device around, getting a grasp on where I was.

This doesn't look like the room I came in. Where am I?

Green paint, almost the shade of vomit, covered the peeling walls. Some portions of the interior had dark stains that unsettled me. Large holes appeared in numerous places along the rotted floorboards.

Movement behind me sent a prickle up my spine as the drums in my throat silenced. The sound of nails scratching a chalkboard made me flinch. I swallowed hard, my heart plummeting several stories towards my stomach. Like a cinderblock thrown into the open ocean, my heart sank until it reached the bottom, never hoping to return to the surface again.

It's all in your head, Trevor. My thoughts fell on deaf ears as the scratches got closer and louder.

"Trevor!" The woman's disembodied voice cut through the air like an electrical current, sending an icy jolt through my body. The air surrounding me turned the temperature of a meat freezer. I could practically envision the carcasses around me – except they weren't animal carcasses in my vision.

Imagination. Just my imagination.

"Turn around Trevor," the voice whispered in my ear. The feeling of ice-cold breath tickled my ear.

Allison. Allison is pulling a cruel prank on me.

"TREVOR!"

I turned around in a flash, expecting to see Allison laughing on the ground at her convincing prank. But Alison wasn't there. There was no one there.

I shone the flashlight up to the wall to find a message engraved in crimson ink. The ink oozed, carrying a rusty scent in the air.

Play the game. Survive.

"What? What game? Let me out of this damn house! Allison, this isn't funny anymore. You win, okay?" I never heard my own voice sound this shaky.

The scratching sound returned, and to my disbelief, words appeared before my eyes in the wall.

Get to the door. Death follows he who falls.

"Wha—"

"No cheating," the familiar voice whispered behind me. I quickly whipped around to attempt a glimpse at this mystery woman. This mystery was one I wished never could be solved.

Across the room floated a woman. A blue aura enveloped her like that of an electric field. Her hair seemed to consist of an eternal cerulean flame. Horns sprouted upward from the sides of her temple. Fire hid behind her red eyes, looking to set anyone who gazed upon her ablaze.

This was no longer a figment of my imagination. This was real.

Behind the apparition, a red door glowed bright.

Was this where I needed to go? Would this lead me out of this hell on earth?

Loud cracks sounded from the floorboards. I quickly shone my flashlight towards the ground to find sharp, black claws splintering the wooden flooring. The claws flailed around viciously, looking to grab any object that was in reach.

"I said no cheating." The blue woman growled. A sinister smile spread across her face.

Darkness started devouring the phone's light. My chest rapidly rose and fell as a feeling of lightheadedness washed over me. The suffocating darkness engulfed me once more.

Death was upon me.

"Find the door. You fall you die," the woman's voice echoed.

Paralysis took ahold of my body.

I can't do this. This is insane—this is impossible. I'll never make it.

"The floorboards won't hold them forever," the voice teased.

Shit.

I took a hesitant step forward. Nails scraped against the wood, making me second guess myself and take a step back.

Shit!

The sound of splintering wood at my feet caused me to jump a mile in the air. I landed forward slightly, feeling the breeze against my ankle from the demon's claws.

I need to move.

Slowly, I moved a foot forward. The creak of the floorboard sounded as loud as a freight train.

Now they know where I am. Great.

The scraping stopped. Bones cracked, and wood creaked.

Now is my chance.

Hoping that I hadn't turned a different direction, I took several steps forward, checking each footfall carefully.

The familiar crack sounded where I had been seconds ago. Claws scraped against the floor once more, filling the silence.

They are behind me. If I can just reach the door quietly, I can make it.

Step after cautious step I took. I don't know how, but I had a pull in my gut that I was headed in the right direction. If felt as if the door had its own energy pulling me in the right direction.

One misplaced step sent a creak throughout the entire room. I hurried, taking a step forward without thinking, trying to get enough distance between me and the demons before they came busting through the floorboards once again. My foot, however, did not contact wood. Instead, my shoe fell through a hole, sending me down to the ground with a loud thud. My foot in the hole dangled in the darkness. Heat blazed at the sole of my shoe.

I tried pulling my leg out of the hole, but the splintered wood surrounding the edge bore into my leg.

Think. Think!

The heat grew hotter on my heel. Finding no other option, I kicked the jagged wooden edges until a satisfying crack filled my ears. I pulled my leg upwards until a strong force pulled it back down. My fingernails bore into the wood, trying to get a grip before I slipped into the inferno below.

The claws ripped into my leg. I sucked in a sharp breath as white-hot pain raced over me. Red, glowing eyes with obsidian pupils stared up at me through the darkness. Everything I had ever done wrong in my life came rushing back up to the surface as I stared into the eyes of the devil. Every dirty secret. Every woman I had lusted over but resisted. Every lie.

As the guilt and grief piled on, giving in to the clawed beast seemed like the only option.

"Come with me," it hissed. Its voice sounded like sandpaper. "I can ease your suffering."

Trevor. The voice inside my head wasn't mine this time. It was Allison's. First sign of anything weird and you leave that place. Promise me.

I promise, Allison. I'm coming home.

The sound of her voice washed away the guilt from me. The demon seemed to notice that my willingness had faded. I was not going down without a fight.

Pen. Stab it with the pen.

I ripped the pen from my shirt pocket, stabbing the demon in its ruby colored eyes. Fire spouted from the wound as the beast howled inhuman noises in pain. The fire lit up the room for a brief second, illuminating the room faintly. Standing only feet away from me was the red door I had seen earlier.

Without hesitation, I shot up and bolted for the door. The howling stopped as soon as my fingers touched the doorknob. Gone was the light of the demon. Only pitch-black gazed back at me.

With a deep breath, I turned the knob with hopes of seeing the light of day behind the frame. Instead, I saw something much worse.