The Passage to Another Life

I had always looked up to my older sister, I guess it was just because of the OCD that I had, but I had never gone so far to go behind her back to do exactly what she told me not to; at least not after the first time. That was about three years ago, when I had first turned 17 and Ana was 21, we had been really close then, not that we still aren't close, but there were much different circumstances then. I suppose you would like to know just what happened then, wouldn't you. Let me start from the beginning then, when everything was normal.

"Mom I'm heading out to the library to study! And I'm taking the pickup!" I yelled up to my mom who was giving Ana, who had suddenly come down with a bad cold, soup.

"Alright, just don't be out long!" She replied right back. I grabbed the keys and my bag then headed to the old rusty truck that I had ridden in all my life.

By the time I was on the highway, I was already feeling guilty about lying to my mother; I really did want to tell her where I was really going, but Ana would not have let me go at all. Ana didn't want me to be in the "club" that she was in; she said it was too old for me. Come on, I'm not three years old! When I saw the old hotel, I sort of felt like I was though.

I had only seen it once before, but it still looked the same; worn down, trashed, and empty. Much worse then what it was supposed to have looked like in the 60's when it had first opened that's for sure. The darkness of night didn't really help with the creepiness either, so I was getting very tempted to turn right around; but I knew I couldn't fight that urge to be exactly like my sister.

"Knock, knock, knock" the echoes sounded like they filled the entire place with a suffocating emptiness, and they were trying to engulf me into it as well. The chill it created was almost too much for my thin red jacket to take.

Completely focused on trying not to turn and run, I couldn't help but jump when the booming and powerful voice asked down to me, "What do you want?" All I could do as a response was to gaze up at the eyes staring down at me from the opening in the door. "If you're just going to stand there go away," It said again starting to close the door to the opening.

"N-no! I mean, I'm here to join the group!" I blurted out, though all I got as a response was a short laugh, and that made me upset. "Listen," I said with more force this time, "my name is Riley Cornel, Ana Cornel's sister, and I will join this group."

"Well then, if you had said that the first time, I would have let you in earlier," the voice, which belonged to the tall man, responded in a much more polite tone. Moments later the door opened to a bright red hallway that didn't match the outside at all, and I was quick to go inside.

Bright red walls that were surprisingly welcoming, some kind of wood flooring that was polished enough to see our reflections, and so much furniture and decorations that it looked more like a mansion than the old hotel. This club sure had a lot of money and class; why was Ana so weary about me joining?

"So this is our little guest," a tall man in the middle of the room said, "My name is Ricardo, I am the vice-president for this cult. What do I need to thank for this visit?" He was Hispanic with flowing brunet hair and dark hazel eyes that perfectly complemented his tan suit.

This sudden warmth and comfort that came from the room Ricardo filled me with confidence that kept my words steady, "My name is Riley Cornel, Ana Cornel's sister, and I would like to joint this cult." I could see how Ricardo was going over what I had just said, and I was pleased when I saw the smile go across his face.

"We would love you here," He replied, "I just have one question to ask you, does your sister know that you are here?"

The question puzzled me, but I answered anyway with a no that seemed to send everything into a fast forward frenzy. I could hear Ricardo exclaiming with happiness and shouting orders. I was being led off to a different area, and suddenly everything vanished. Then I felt the warm comforting feeling go away, and everything felt like it did outside; cold and very empty.

I had been strapped to a table of some sort, but I couldn't see anything that was happening, and the metal was very cold on the bare skin of my arms where my jacket had been taken away. There was a sudden prick on my arm, but I could not move it because I was fastened down to the table.

"What is this? What is going on?" I yelled trying to get answers. The pain in my arm was getting worse by the second.

"This, my dearie, is the initiations into the cult. We have to know that you are able to find the passage to this side, and it might be easier if you relaxed," Ricardo explained from the side of the table. There was no way for me to talk back though, everything hurt and I was slowly going into darkness. I needed to find a passage or something to stay alive. There was nothing though, just emptiness, the same emptiness that tried to suffocate me at the entrance. I should have listened to Ana. I should not have lied to my mom. I should be studying at the library, but instead I was being killed by some crazy people who wanted me to find a passage with no light. That was what I was doing.

I was giving up hope, and then the voice came. "Come on Riley you can do it, just find my voice," it plead. I knew the voice from somewhere, but I could not figure out who it was. I wanted to call out to it, but my voice would not work. I just had to follow the voice and hope for the best.

Then I saw it, the little white lining of the door I was searching for. It pushed open easily, like butter spreading on bread, and I could see who it was that had been speaking to me; Ana, and she only had one last thing to say, "I wanted you to be the normal one, the one that didn't have to be faced with this curse. But I guess we can't help who we are. We're all destined to find the passage to another life. I just hope it's all that you wanted it to be."

Morgan Spencer

9th grade

Mrs. Augustus

Shawnee High School