Chapter 6

Door 1

Six Months ago

Day 1

Mara and Willow followed Eddie inside. At first glance they thought they'd chosen the right door. It was all very similar to home, but it wasn't home. Quickly they tried to go back, but the door closed and it wouldn't open again.

Day 2

They decided to sleep on it, promising themselves they'd find a way out again later. The next morning, they tried again. "It's opening!" Mara exclaimed.

"What? Was it just locked before or someth-" Eddie cut himself off as he realized that it wasn't opening to the four door room, but just the outside.

"But... but how do we get home?" Willow asked. Mara and Eddie wanted to know that themselves.

Day 3

They started noticing that their memories were slowly slipping away after Mara asked Willow what her favorite breakfast food was. They'd all been stressed the day before, trying to figure out how to fix the door, and the next morning had been presented with muffins. Willow was the most stressed, and to take her mind off of it, Mara asked her an innocent conversation starter, and Willow couldn't answer. Not because she didn't have one, but because she couldn't remember. Mara had been trying to be level headed about it, but soon enough she was taking it worse than anybody. It was hard enough wrapping her head around what was happening before she started to forget things. That would be expected, not that any of them were taking it well, How does one react to losing their memories?

It wasn't until later on that day when she finally cracked. She made a mess of things, it was very bad. Suddenly people arrived to take her away. This was Eddie's breaking point.

"What are you doing to us!" Eddie yelled. Willow watched with horror as her friends fell apart. They took Eddie as well, and she didn't see her friends again for hours. When they came back, they weren't the same.

Willow knocked on Mara's door, she laid quietly. She was just waking up. "Mara? Are you okay?"

"I'm great." Mara said quickly. "Everything's great. I'm happy."

Mara looked far from happy. Willow shivered.

Day 5

They couldn't remember any of their old friends. They tried the door every time but was met with the same thing. So they did some exploring. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Normal furniture, normal house. Infact, if it weren't for slowly losing every memory they've ever had, the place was completely normal.

Then they got to the attic, and Willow supplied Eddie the a hair pin. Just as he was about to unlock the door, the people came and took them away. Not to the same place they took Mara and Eddie, just back downstairs away from the Attic door.

Day 11

There were few things they still remembered. Willow made a list. Eddie remembered, "My name. I'm the Osirion. My dad is a principal, but I don't know what the school's name is, or his name for that matter. Some red head girl. My leather jacket."

Mara remembered, "My mum. I remember her face. I can't remember anything else about her. My dad, he used to push me to do something. Dunno what. A very big house with a very kind woman, and a very scary man. Some blonde lady saying bad things."

"What did she say?" Eddie wondered.

"Who knows." Mara shrugged. "That's about it."

"I remember," Willow started. "Egypt. I don't think I've ever been though, strangely. I remember a black dog, many pictures of a black dog. A few people, not many. I don't know their names. One very pretty blonde girl and one very funny boy. I don't know what's funny about him. I just know he's funny. Another boy, very handsome. Do you guys remember the four doors?"

They shook their heads. She bit her lip. "I think it's how we got here."

It was just as well. She couldn't remember the four doors by the time she went to sleep that night, just that she had once had a thought about four doors.

Day 15

"I think they're all gone." Mara said. "I can't remember anything. You guys?"

"Nothing." Eddie said. "Willow?"

"I remember remembering things but I don't remember the things that I remembered." Willow said thoughtfully. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." Mara said. "I followed."

"If we can't remember anything, how are you sure our names, the ones that we're calling each other at least, are our names?" Eddie asked. Mara looked thoughtful.

"They're the names we called each other when we... when we..." Mara trailed off.

"Remembered?" Willow supplies. Mara nodded. This seemed to satisfy Eddie.

Day 45

"What do you think the world we came from was like?" Willow asked dreamily one morning. Eddie and Mara looked over quickly.

"Willow, shh..." Mara said very quietly, then spoke louder. "Why would you care about the world we came from?"

"Yeah, it's great here." Eddie droned eating a grape and sounding a bit like a machine with sarcasm. Mara rolled her eyes at Eddie.

"Seriously?" Mara asked exasperated. "Seriously?"

Eddie sighed and turned to Willow. "I don't know where we came from, but... I don't ever... want to go back."

Eddie actually attempted for that to sound convincing. Mara knew, and didn't say anything else. Willow knew what would happen if she kept talking the way she had for a few days now, but she didn't stop. "So then I guess you're glad they took your memories."

Eddie sent her an exasperated look. "Yeah I guess I am."

Willow shook her head and left, and the other two watched her go.

Day 67

Mara and Eddie were getting increasingly better at making it seem like they enjoyed their time at the place, like they didn't mind what happened to them. Willow was not. Willow had yet to have it happen to her, and the other two were trying desperately to keep it from happening. But it seemed Willow could only take so much.

One morning, she wouldn't eat anything. Then she abruptly left from the table knocking her chair over and not bothering to pick it up.

"Willow?" Mara said hesitantly.

Willow stopped walking right in front of the door. Eddie and Mara followed her, they had a feeling this was her the day it would happen. "I don't know who I am."

Eddie gulped. "Okay well just sit down and... and..." Mara was better at this than he was.

"And what?" Willow asked. "Join your conversation about how great it is here? Maybe you guys can pretend everything's-"

Eddie and Mara stepped forward and Mara took the lead this time. "No one is pretending Willow, it takes some getting used to but-"

Willow pushed Mara away from her. "Screw you! Who am I?" she asked seemingly more to herself than anyone else. She looked up to the ceiling. "HOW CAN YOU JUST TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME, AND EXPECT ME TO BE OKAY WITH IT?"

Mara and Eddie watched it happen, as Willow screamed louder and louder until the men came and took her away kicking and screaming,

Day 68

Willow had learned.

She learned she was supposed to be happy.

Always.

Always happy.

Day 92

"HELLO?" Eddie screamed. Mara was in her bed groaning and crying. She'd been sick all day. "CAN SOMEONE HELP ME? I'M NOT A DOCTOR!"

And then he wondered if maybe he was. He looked in the mirror. No he was too young. Maybe he studied medicine at some point. He looked around wondering where if he'd see the people. He mumbled angrily and took some paper and a pen and wrote, "Aspirin?" And held it up to the cameras. He had no idea where they were, so he just held the paper up towards the ceiling. When nothing happened he slammed it on the table.

"Come everytime we express unhappiness but the moment we actually need them, nothing." Eddie muttered. It was what made him crack that one day that felt like light years earlier now. When they showed up they thought they were alone. But it turns out there were others, and they were watching them, providing no help while they suffered. It broke him.

But an hour later he went back in the room and the note was gone. In it's place was a bottle of Aspirin.

Day 130

Try the door.

That was the note they got from the watchers. All three of them stared at the door. "Are they saying we can go outside?" Mara asked.

Willow knocked on it, nothing happened. They were at it for hours before they gave up and just sat on the steps outside for a little while.

Day 152

Mara took out a book she read five times. She was going to sit outside. She couldn't help but wish there was a library in the house. She opened the door and her jaw dropped.

"Guys... I think I figured out what the note meant."

Willow and Eddie basically ran out and stared open mouthed. In front of them was the inside of a library.

"How did you..."

"I just thought about a library and I opened the door and..." Mara said.

"Ooh let me try!" Willow closed the door, closed her eyes, and opened it again. In front of them was a lake with mountains behind them. Eddie sighed.

"We've been here five months and only now we learn of this particular feature."

Day 182

It had become increasingly easier to pretend to be happy after learning of the door. In fact, most of the time they weren't even pretending anymore. One day were sitting eating scones and croissants when they heard the door open. All three of them looked up and at each other, thinking for a moment that one of them had gotten up and gone somewhere, but they were all there.

"Who in the world could that be?" Mara asked them.

Eddie shrugged. "I don't know."

The door opened. Willow looked up at the doorway to the kitchen, they all did. There was a girl. She looked a little confused. Her eyes were green, her hair was red, her expression was confused, but also hard and determined. Willow smiled at her, obviously liking the idea of a new friend. Eddie found himself smiling as well. As much as he loved Willow and Mara, it'd be nice to talk to someone else, someone new.

"Hello!" Willow smiled. "Take a seat!"

The girl stood rooted to her spot for a moment, before taking a seat next to Eddie. She spoke, "Um... I found the way back home. Fabian and Amber did, I mean."

Eddie's heart stopped. Mara stopped buttering her scone. She talked to them as if she knew them. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. "We are home."

"Our real home." the girl said. Eddie stared at the girl. Was this girl from where her was from? He couldn't look too eager and too interested in the girl who may be from home. The others must have caught on to this as well because they all went back to eating as if they didn't have a care in the world.

"So what's your name?" Eddie asked.

The girl looked angry at him when she said that. "Is that a joke?"

"I don't think so," Eddie said truthfully. He truly had a hard time remembering what exactly a joke was. He did joke sometimes he thought, but he wasn't really sure if he was doing it right because when he did, sometimes the other girls got mad. She was staring at Eddie, and then she was staring at Mara, and then she went back to staring at Eddie.

"You don't remember me?" she asked finally.

Eddie gulped choosing his words correctly. "Should I?"

Should I know you? Should I remember you?

"Yes!" Red screamed startling Eddie a bit.

"Well..." Eddie said. "I don't. Sorry."

The girl looked heartbroken. It wasn't a look he liked on her face.

"Could you remind me?" Eddie said. "My name is Eddie." Although he knew there was a good chance that-

"I know your name!" the girl yelled at him. She looked at him and the others. "You're Eddie! And you're Mara and you're Willow!"

So that confirmed their names. "Well then we're at a disadvantage, because I haven't the slightest clue who you are." Mara said. Eddie could see what she was doing. Mara was trying to tell the girl. They didn't know anything.

"Patricia!" the girl finally told them. Patricia. Eddie nodded. It suited her.

"Nice to meet you Patricia." Willow smiled politely. Eddie could see Patricia's mind working. Then she came to a conclusion, one she did not like.

"Do you remember... anything?" Patricia asked.

"Of course we do." Mara answered. Eddie stared at her, why would she lie?

"What's the first thing you remember?" Patricia asked.

"Walking in here." Mara said. Okay, that was definitely not a lie. Patricia's jaw dropped.

"You mean an hour ago?" Patricia asked. Eddie and Willow and Mara all stared at the girl, now they were confused.

"That was six months ago." Eddie said slowly. The look on her face was pure surprise, which worried Eddie. "Are you sure you remember everything?"

When Patricia didn't answer, Willow began to explain. "The three of us walked into this house. We went exploring a bit, and finally I believe we didn't like it here." Quickly she covered herself, "Dunno why."

"We tried to leave but the door wouldn't open." Mara said. "We were stuck here."

"You seem like awful happy prisoners." Patricia said. Maybe they had gotten too good at pretending to be happy.

"This isn't a prison." Eddie said quickly. "It just took some getting used to."

He decided to beef it up some more.

"But this place is truly amazing. You can do anything."

"Except leave apparently." Patricia answered. Eddie was worried, she shouldn't keep talking like this...

"We can leave," Willow told her. "We just couldn't that first day, We can go anywhere we want, just not... not..."

The four doors. Willow said something about it before she forgot. It was their only clue.

"Wherever we came from." Mara finished.

"We think that's where we wanted to go the first day." Eddie said.

Patricia stared at them with an unreadable expression, before getting up and saying, "Well we'll figure out whatever the hell is wrong with you later, right now we're going back."

Eddie watched her leave. Mara turned towards them excitedly. "Do you think she's really from where we're from? Do you think she can... uh... help us?"

Help us escape she means.

Eddie shook his head. "She came the same way we did. I doubt she can figure out what all three of us couldn't. If anything she may have just broken the door and we can't leave again."

Mara scowled and followed Patricia. "What the hell?" the girl said as she attempted to force the door open. Mara's heart sank, but she made sure she didn't look like it.

"That's what happened with us the first day as well." Mara said quietly. "We can hope that the door starts working again tomorrow. Then we can go wherever we want."

"I'd like to go home."

Join the club.