As the darkness enveloped him, he felt no fear. It seemed normal to be falling. Even the debris surrounding him didn't seem unusual. What was odd was how slowly he seemed to be falling. It was more like he was in place and everything was rising around him. He looked around as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and was able to make out shelves lining the walls of the hole he was apparently in. He looked up and saw a puddle of light that got smaller and smaller as he traveled downward. Turning his attention back to the shelves he saw a number of interesting objects. He was falling slowly enough that he could reach out and grab them if he chose. A teapot, a flute, a book, a knife, and even a sword caught his attention. But the only thing he chose to reach for was a teddy bear. He looked at it with a frown as he fell. He felt as though he'd seen it somewhere before. It wasn't new. It was small and worn out in places and the ear had been chewed on. He blinked slowly as the smell of smoke came from the small toy. He wasn't sure why it smelled that way but it felt like he should know.
He drifted downward and eventually placed the small bear on another shelf. He watched as a fireplace in the wall got closer and closer. Above the fireplace was a large portrait of a King, a Queen, a small boy and a baby, presumably a girl as it was dressed in pink. The portrait burst into flames as he passed by. The King and Queen were burned but the two children were untouched.
He didn't have time to dwell on it as he found himself suddenly on solid ground. He looked up, seeing only a pinprick of light at the top off the hole he'd just come down. There was no way he could climb out. He looked around and found only one way out, so he took it.
The small door led down a winding hallway. Pictures lined the walls. Each picture was of a blonde woman. Each different, yet they looked similar. As he followed the hall the pictures got younger and younger until the last picture showed a young boy. He paused in front of the last picture. The boy was probably in his early teens. But it seemed out of place among all the women. He frowned, but shrugged and continued on into a large room. The room was empty except for a table. There was a door on the far end. He approached the door.
He twisted the knob and was rewarded with an electric shock.
"Ah ah ah! No entry without the proper clearance."
He looked closer at the door and noticed that the door had a face. The face looked as though it was carved into the wood. The handle of the door looked more like a mechanical claw than a doorknob and it appeared to be holding something.
"How do I gain clearance?"
"There's a microchip on the table. You must use that."
He looked up at the table, which seemed much larger than it had before. He went to it and attempted to climb up. He grew frustrated and turned back to the door.
"Is there another way?"
The doorknob extended and the claw opened, dropping a small box. He opened the box and inside was a small cake with "Eat Me" written in frosting on top.
He frowned. Sweets were not his thing. He looked at the door, which seemed to be looking expectantly back at him. He shrugged and bit into the cake. It wasn't too sweet, which he appreciated, but he still didn't see the point of it.
He took a second bite. Still nothing happened. A third. A fourth. A fifth bite and the cake was gone.
"Is something supposed to happen?"
Just then, he started to grow. He grew and grew until he filled the whole room. The door began to laugh.
"Well a little of that went a long way!"
"What now?" he asked, starting to get agitated. This place made less and less sense the longer he was in it.
"Try the box, naturally." The claw handle stretched out and dropped another box in front of him.
He opened the tiny box with a great deal of difficulty and pulled out a tiny bottle of liquid. He remembered to grab the tiny microchip before putting the contents of the bottle on his tongue. It was a tiny drop of something that tasted familiar, but he couldn't place it. Was it soup? Or maybe it was juice. Maybe it was just water. He wasn't sure. The only thing he knew was that he rapidly began to shrink. He held tightly to the microchip as it got larger and larger.
Soon, he was staggering under the size and weight of the chip. He managed to get the thing over to the door.
"What…do…I…do…with…this?" he ground out with a great deal of effort.
"Insert it into the slot…if you can reach it."
He looked up and saw the slot several feet above his head, just above the door's eyes. He dropped the chip as he looked around for a way to reach it. There was nothing he could stand on. The box with the cake had disappeared as had the one with the tiny bottle. The table was gone as well. The chip was the only object left in the room.
The door continued to laugh at him.
As the door laughed, he could see a garden through its mouth. He couldn't get the chip into the slot, but that didn't mean he was trapped here. He knew he would only have one chance at this. He gathered his courage, ran and jumped into the door's mouth.
