Winning Stories 2009
The Doorway by Susan Dowell
‘What’s in here then?’ Corey comes up beside me and squints into the cage.
‘A python.’
He watches it with me for about five seconds. It looks sad in there, all curled up on itself.
‘It doesn’t do much, does it?’ He taps on the glass. The python doesn’t stir. He taps again.
‘It says don’t bang on the glass,’ I tell him, pointing to the sign.
He narrows his eyes at me, says, ‘You always follow the rules, don’t you?’
It makes me smile, because he’s so wrong. I'm about to turn the whole world upside down. Upside down and inside out.
We walk out of the reptile enclosure together. I look at my watch. I’m late.
“So, where to next Trix?” says Corey, looking at his map.
“Listen, Corey, I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Oh, well, ok then. See you.”
I say goodbye and walk away. Exiting the zoo, I cross the road and then glance around me furtively before darting into Ramwell Forest. I take the path that isn’t marked and it’s not long before I find myself in a familiar clearing. I slow down my pace and look around.
“Hello? Guys, it’s me...”
I wait, and it isn’t long before four figures emerge from the trees closest to the clearing.
Ellery reaches me first, Aaron and Logan close behind her. Jayden is the last to reach me but he comes the closest, his expression eager.
“Did you get it?” He asks in an excited voice.
“Of course,” I reply, dropping the vial of snake venom into his outstretched hand.
“Yeesss...” The glee is evident in his face as he holds it up for inspection.
Ellery moves forward for a closer look.
“Well done Trixie! Now we can finally change the world into something better.”
I glow from her praise as Jayden turns to Aaron.
“Is it ready?” Jayden asks him, and Aaron moves without speaking to the middle of the clearing. Within seconds he has bent the long grass back to reveal a large wooden arch lying flat on the ground.
The arch is made from many different kinds of wood – oak, birch, ash, beech – and there are strange symbols carved into them. Pieces of metal have been bent into the arch as well, and they catch the sun as Aaron lifts the arch into a standing position.
Jayden comes forward and I realise that the moment I have been waiting for since I was 14 is finally about to happen. Then, with antagonising slowness, he slots the vial containing the venom into the gap at the top of the arch.
At first, nothing happens. I hold my breath, waiting. Suddenly, a white light shoots along the carvings in the arch. It begins to lift into the air, staying upright when Aaron lets go. A rainbow coloured mist fills the centre, the colours dance as the arch comes to a stop just above our heads. My eyes are wide as I stare up at it. The Doorway is complete.
Ellery breaks the silence that has fallen over us abruptly by shrieking.
“We did it! We really did it! We made a doorway into another world! I can’t beli…”
Ellery trails off when she hears the noise that we all hear – the sound of someone moving in the bushes. Jayden looks at Logan, who nods. So quickly that I almost miss it she runs into the bushes. We hear a short scuffle and then she reappears, pushing a struggling teenager forward. He looks up, and I gasp.
Corey.
Jayden looks at me sharply, and then back to Corey.
“Do you know him?” He asks, and I notice the accusing tone in his voice.
“Yes…He’s…He’s my best friend.” I stammer. “Don’t worry; he won’t try to stop us. Just let me explain to him.”
Jayden’s eyes are sceptical but he nods, and Logan lets go of Corey. I smile and turn to him. I’ve wanted to tell him about The Doorway since we first started making it two years ago. Now I have my chance.
“You’ve always agreed, haven’t you Corey, that the world we live in is full of too much pain. Global warming, child and animal abuse, murder and other terrible things? Well, Jayden found a way to change all of that. I know this sounds hard to believe, but there’s another world, running parallel to our own, where everything is pure and good. And by using this,” I pause and point to the arch. “We can join the two worlds together, and the good with cancel out the evil. Yes, there will be some major changes, but they will all be for the better.”
Corey stares at me, his face unreadable. Finally he speaks.
“If it’s for a good cause, then I – I want to help.”
Jayden and the others relax. I smile and turn towards the arch.
“So, who’s first?” I joke and everyone but Corey laughs.
“What if The Doorway’s not safe?” he asks.
Suddenly Logan pulls a knife from her pocket. I catch the glint of silver flashing through the air before the tip of the blade is pressing against Corey’s throat.
“Logan, what are you doing?” I shriek, and dart forward to help Corey. A hand shoots out and stops me; Jayden shakes his head at me.
“Trixie, he knew what the door was called. I’m guessing he’s known about this all along, and he’s against it.”
“What?” I shout, tearing my arm out from his grip. I glance at Corey. He shakes his head.
“They’ve been lying to you Trix. The parallel world isn’t good, it’s evil. And they’re from it. These are their true colours. Look at them Trixie, really look at them. Don’t you notice anything strange about their appearance?”
I blink at Corey and then turn back to Jayden. I’ve never looked at him closely before, and I start to notice odd things. The strange texture of his skin, almost scaly, like a snake. The way his lips are set into a cruel, hard line. The eyes that look back at me are dark – too dark. There’s no life in them, only cold calculation.
“They look…” I start, but then stop. They look like they’re from an evil world.
“Trixie, he’s just playing mind tricks on you,” says Ellery. “We’re your friends, he’s the evil one.”
“We’re your friends,” repeats Jayden. “And every moment we waste now is another ice cap melted, another disease caught, another life lost.”
My gaze returns to Corey. Whatever he may be or whatever his opinion is, I know that he is still my best friend. I also know that I want the better world that Jayden described to me. I’m stuck in the middle, being forced to make the hardest choice in my life so far.
Who to believe.
I want to know what the truth is. Well, there’s only one way to find out.
I turn swiftly and, before anyone can stop me, I jump head first through The Doorway.
All I can hear is white noise, and I’m surrounded by the rainbow coloured swirls – they dance all over me. For a split second I feel like I’m falling, then I hit the ground with a thud. I lay in a heap for a moment. I can feel the warmth of sunlight; see the brightness of its rays. I smell something sweet in the air and hear the sound of a bird singing its heart out.
I smile, letting out a sigh of relief. Jayden is right. This world is beautiful, and soon it would be joined with my own. Happiness washes over me.
Then I sit up.
The Doorway hovers above me, and I’m in an almost identical clearing to the one I’ve just left. Something is wrong though. The sun is blood red, like a ripped out heart pulsating in the sky. It’s surrounded by clouds in varying shades of grey. I look around me and see that the grass is brown and brittle. The trees are dead; their leafless branches reach to the sky like gnarled fingers contorted in agony.
A gun shot rings out. The bird song stops.
The air becomes sickly sweet and I gag on it, choking. I try to stand up and stumble.
No. NO! My world can’t become merged with this!
Corey was right. The parallel world is evil.
I stumble again. Another gun shot rings out and someone laughs cruelly. I steady myself.
I know what I have to do. I need to protect my world. I pick up the nearest branch and smash it straight into the vial.
The venom sprays everywhere as the wood begins to crumble. The rainbow swirls begin to blacken. Suddenly a hand shoots through. I grab hold of it without thinking, and Corey pulls me back to safety.
* * *
The four died with The Doorway. As for a better world – well, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Susan Dowell aged 14
Archive - Henrietta Branford Writing Competition 2009 - 10th anniversary year
The Branford Boase Award for authors and their editors
The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for young writers
