Which: The Final Key
"Where's the third key?"
I can hardly see anything in this grayscale world as I turn to the headless, heartless, mannequin lady following behind me. "Do you know where it is?"
We stand at the bottom of the stairs, and the lady doesn't respond. I sigh in exasperation, throw my hands up, and start to trudge back up the stairs, but I'm stopped by a tap on my shoulder before I can get very far. She's pointing down the hall, towards the kitchen. I raise an eyebrow and turn off in that direction.
All the drawers and such are open, except for that one door with the heart printed on it. It's locked, with the lady's heart inside, taunting me until I find its key.
I scan the area with my small flashlight in hand, and to my surprise, come to a door when my back is facing the cabinets. You don't notice everything you should when the entire world is just some shade of grey.
I slowly open the door. Inside is a small half-bathroom, with a toilet in the far corner and the sink closest to me, on the right. Something reflects in the sink, and I notice it's a key. When I try to grab it, however, it slides down into the drain. I curse and bend down, removing a piece of the pipe. They key pops out.
I feel my spirits lift as I clutch the key in my hand. Are we almost out of this madhouse?
I stand and turn, but jump in shock for that lady is standing less than five inches away from me. Static covers my vision, and the next moment, she's gone. Probably back upstairs. I let out a breath, allowing myself a moment to marvel over what she does that I can only describe as teleporting, and make my way back upstairs.
Door three is at the very end of the upper floor hallway, and that's where the lady waits for me, turned towards the door. I watch her for a bit, and then concentrate on the sound of my feet on the floor as I make my way down the hall and open the door.
The room is dark, even with a window at the end. A large vanity is closest to me, and I make my way over to it. All the drawers and things are closed, almost inviting me to open them.
The first cabinet, the one on the top left, holds a key. I pick it up, inspecting the tag hanging off the keychain. All it has printed on it is the outline of a head. So is this the key to the head door?
The lady seems to notice, as she turns and walks towards the head door near the front of the hall. I turn to follow, but the 3 door is jammed on something then I try to close it. I bend down to inspect it, and here's another key, this one with a faded heart on the tag. I shrug, put it in my pocket, and make my way back to the lady.
She waits patiently by the head door, her hands clasped at her waist. I finally notice the dried white blood at the base of her neck, and the same around the heart-shaped hole in her chest. Who did that to her?
Speaking of which . . . how did I get here? I just woke up in front of the downstairs window. I don't even know who put me here . . . and hid all those keys . . . and trapped us inside . . .
A touch on my shoulder jerks me out of my thoughts.
The lady is still waiting for me, impatiently now. I turn and unlock the door, opening it gently. It's another half-bathroom, with a toilet on the far side again and a sink right in front of me. Nothing in there, but I recoil when I inspect the toilet. A head lies in there, eyes that are merely slit pupils staring at me.
"Hey . . . lady . . ." I step outside. "I found your head . . ."
She seems to perk up and nearly darts inside. I watch her from the outer door frame- she gently picks up the head and holds it tight against her breast, as if hugging it. I feel a fuzzy something in my heart: the feeling I get when I know I've helped someone.
She places the head on the base of her neck, twisting it a few times, and finally, when it's positioned right, the eyes blink to life. We look at each other, both thinking about the code. The door unlocks- the final door- when she finds her heart or her head.
Another static burst covers my vision, and she's gone. I turn and see her in the room with the 1 on the door, trying the handle to the window that leads to what I think is an outside. It still won't open.
She makes a frustrated noise at the back of her throat and turns. Suddenly, she stops, and my flashlight shines on the wall as I come up behind her. We read what's written on it slowly.
One person plus a key equals the door. It does not equal one key plus two people.
I drop the flashlight and start to back away. She realizes it too, looking over at me. One of us will have to die if the other is to get out.
And then I see it.
A gleaming butcher knife in her hand.
I scramble backwards, feeling for the door that leads to the hallway, but now it's just a solid wall. Irrationally, I give a shout and start banging on it, but who else is there to hear me?
A strong hand grips my shoulder tightly, whirls me around, and I only catch a glimpse of her narrowed eyes as the knife is embedded into my stomach. The breath leaves my body before the scream can make it to my throat, which results in a cross between a gasp and a groan coming from my mouth. She yanks it out and stabs me twice more before I crumple onto my knees, clutching the wound and biting back moans of pain. A fist clutches my hair and yanks my head up as she raises her knife again.
The last key falls out of my pocket. My mind reels quickly, and after a crazy idea, my hand shoots up and grabs the blade right before it stabs me again. She looks at me, eyes wide, as I lift up the key to her with my other hand.
"Take it . . ." I breathe. "The . . . key . . . to the heart . . . your heart . . ."
My grip loosens and I fall on my side, everything going black.
My vision is blurry when my eyes slowly open. Everything is white. Blinding white. Only a grey humanoid figure stands over me, preventing it from killing my eyes.
As my focus clears up, I notice the lady looking down at me softly. She gives me a small smile, as if to say thank you.
"Did you . . . find your heart . . .?" I breathe. She gently touches the spot on her chest where her heart's supposed to be and nods and I see it glow white faintly. I'll take that as a yes.
She then stands, holding her hand out to help me up. I grasp it, and she pulls me onto my feet. I wobble slightly, but she wraps her arm around my shoulders to steady me and starts to lead me farther into the whiteness. I trail after her with one question. "Why . . . did you try to . . . kill me before?"
She gives me a look that says the codes.
That's right. One key equals heart or head.
One person plus one key equals a door.
So two keys equal both heart and head?