P.S: The picture isn't the exact scene as they would be inside the house, not outside, but that's an idea of the scene.

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The Second Door

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CLARISSA CANNOT leave here. You must ensure this! There is a party and you will go, but you have to make sure she's inside when you set her only exit to flames.

My only exit? That had to be a door in my house and if setting it to flames means exactly what it does, then she's planning to burn down my house and possibly kill me in the process or give me major-degree burns that will zero my chances of leaving here before a week is over.

"We have to go. Now. We can't waste any more time," I said and rushed to leave, but stopped when only my footsteps resounded around me. I veered around to see that he was still standing at the same spot with one of his hands clenched and gazing hard at the floor.

"Kai? What's wrong?" I said with tentative steps toward him.

"It's just... do you have to go?" he started and when his eyes met mine, the intensity of emotion in them would have swept me off my feet if I wasn't secure. And it was nothing like the one that I'd seen in Mariana's and Aunt Vera's eyes. No, this was different.

"What I mean is, you are quite safe here. What if you just..." he hesitated.

"I'm safe, but how will I know which door to pass through? The person who's going to tell me the door is someone I know, someone I've spoken to for the past few days, and that person is going to be at the party. If what this letter says is true, then she is planning to burn my house down. She thinks I'm going to be in there so she wants to burn it and..." I paused, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat just from the thought that my aunt was considering killing me.

"What if someone else gets stuck, someone I care about? Tony, my dad, Jane. I can't just stay here and be safe while knowing that they're in danger. I have to go."

"But... The last time Mariana stabbed you, you came back acting as if nothing happened. What if this time it's worse and something happens? You go on talking about your real life, well from my point of view, this is my real life and I want you to be safe. I don't want you to go," he said and before I could reply, he continued.

"And I don't mean it in the evil way that your aunt and Mariana must have done," he said, and I chuckled. The sound seemed to bring some relief to his tight shoulders.

"Kai, I understand. I know how you feel. This must seem..." I sighed. "Weird, but I can't stay. I am my future self and this is my past. I don't belong here. It's still the same as me, just that I've grown. That's why I don't belong here, but my past self does, and you have her. That wouldn't change. I know you're worried and there's no assurance that everything would be fine because I don't know what's going to happen after all this."

I took the clenched hand in mine and pried it open to interlace our fingers. His eyes zeroed in on it.

"I know you want what's best for me. But I also know what's best for me at this moment is going back home. There's nothing more that I would want."

His eyes met mine before his lips claimed mine. Our fingers disconnected as he pulled me closer and I clenched his shirt tighter. The kiss wasn't like the one we shared earlier. It was one of longing, fear, and hope. We both didn't know what would happen after this, but I had more idea than he probably did.

Back home, he wouldn't be there and our relationship's future hung in uncertainty. So I kissed him back with as much emotion as he kissed me until he pulled back.

His voice was soft as ever when he spoke. "You're right. You have to go back and I understand that. Now come on, let's get you back home."

He brought his lips to rest on my forehead and I closed my eyes to draw strength from him because goodness knows I would need all the strength I could get.

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The highest of all houses meant its flames would stain the dark sky the most. Even if I woke up with no recollection of all that happened, the way the crimson flames and ashen smoke tainted the white around it would forever remain etched in my memory. A memory I would never be able to forget.

The day we first moved in. I was quiet all day, but when we got here, Dad said I could pick whatever room I wanted first, and that somehow was enough to lift my sullen mood. I still had fond memories of the house, and now they were all burning along with it.

The snow was against us as it made our steps sloppy as we tried to run faster than the snow permitted. Despite how far we were, I could see it, rising above all other roofs, and I could feel the commotion before we saw the full devastation.

It was all the confirmation I needed to know that my aunt had done as instructed. The fire was as bright as the morning sun, distorting the familiar white of snow to something less cozy and far more daunting. The thick smoke hovered around like black clouds and the environment wasn't as chilly as you would think it would be during winter.

Despite the thick snow, I pushed faster till I got there. There was a commotion outside as people were still trickling out with their hands over their mouths and some forcing out breaths as black as the smoke. My eyes moved in frantic motion, motivated by fear as I tried to spot Dad, Jane, or Tony until there was a tinkle of relief when they finally landed on Tony.

I rushed to envelop him in a hug. Thank goodness he was alright.

"Tony, are you alright? Are you okay?" My eyes and hands moved and patted around every part I could.

"Yes, yes I am," he coughed. When his eyes met mine, they shined with so much intensity, I would have thought he was someone else. The intensity was one even I couldn't attribute to the fire that raged ahead of us.

"You must go, Clara, before it gets burned down. My room is your way out of here." It didn't take up to two seconds after he made the statement for me to realize what he meant.

"Clara," Kai spoke from beside me. "If he says his room is your way out, then you could ask him if there's another way. One that goes back to your home."

I nodded in understanding before turning back to Tony. He still looked like he was in a haze, so maybe he could have an idea about this, too.

"Tony, your room is my way to the third chance, but I can't do this anymore. I have to go back home. Is there any way I can leave this place entirely?" I asked, with my eyes unblinking to not miss anything, not even a single detail.

He looked at me and tilted his head to the side a bit, studying me with an unfamiliar gaze before he said, "I think... I think your room is quite special like you are."

Kai and I shared a look. That was it, the second door. I looked back and hugged Tony as tight as I could because if this all works, I'm back to the cabin in the woods, and back there, we're not exactly on good terms.

I rushed towards the house but noticed Kai was following me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm following you," he said, and before I could retort, he went on. "I'm not letting you enter a burning house on your own. Since this is your way out, I have to make sure you pass through just like last time. I wouldn't be at ease unless I see you pass through that door. And don't think you can talk me out of this because I've made my mind up," his voice held so much determination that I groaned. I could never match his stubbornness.

"Okay. Let's go."

There was no point or time to argue. A few things about Kai couldn't be disputed. One of which was his determination. Whenever he put his mind to something, he would have thought as much as he could about it. When he concluded what to do, no one could change his mind. It was never a problem since he didn't just put his mind to anything or everything.

I don't know how we did it, but we clambered up the hot and shaky stairs, and just as Kai made it through; they collapsed. My eyes flashed with concern. That was his way out of here when I would be gone.

"Don't worry, c'mon," he said and gripped my hand before he pulled me to the rooms. Tony's room and mine were opposite each other, but Kai didn't even bat a lash at Tony's room as he stormed toward mine. He held the doorknob to open it but pulled his hand back with a hiss.

"It's hot and locked."

"Wait! I have my key. I felt the need to take it, so I did," I said as I dug it out of my pocket.

I slot the key through, but as I opened the door, Tony's door flung open to reveal a portal of blue and green chasing and raging at each other before it started pulling us and everything towards it.

Kai lost his balance, but he held onto the doorframe while I held onto my doorframe with my two hands outstretched and my back to my room and front to him.

"Kai!" I screamed.

"I'm fine! Go!" His dark hair thrashed around as the air kept sucking things around into the battle of blue and green behind Tony's door.

I whipped my head back to my room to find a portal of gold and purple colors. I'd seen the combination before, but now wasn't the time to ponder upon it.

"I can't leave you here! What if-"

"Don't worry about me. The important thing is that you get back home! I'll be fine, but only after you've gone through that!"

I didn't have a good feeling about this. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision, but I tried to force them away so I could take in every feature of his. It felt like that night. My senses had heightened again as I took in everything.

The white of his knuckles as he held on for his life. The way his shirt whipped and moved with the unnatural wind. How the gold and purple behind me shone against the brown of his irises. And, if I focused more, a vague silhouette of me in his eyes.

"I love you!" he screamed. "Now go!"

I love you.

But it died in my throat as the door frame ripped from the wall. The same door frame he had been holding on to. So I took a step back while I was sure he could see me so that whatever happened, he would at least know what I went through.

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I was falling with closed eyes and familiar yet unfamiliar voices drifting around me.

"How was she able to do that?" a girl asked. I knew that voice. It sounded young and had the same edge mine did when I got frustrated.

"This is exactly why we should have kept her." This one was of a man and I could sense his anger around me somehow. I also knew this voice but was having a hard time orienting anything.

"Now we've lost her and all that power. What do we do now?" the girl asked.

"Not really, we haven't, but for now, we wait."

"Wait?"

"She didn't go through the last chance and you know what happens when they don't."

"It means they didn't hold up their end of the deal. Just like with Jessica."

"It's similar, but this, this is much bigger," the man replied.

"Then we shouldn't worry. She will be back and by then, we will be ready for her." I couldn't understand the emotion or undertone of her voice and just as I tried to open my eyes, I felt the wind knock out of my lungs as I fell on something. Something hard.

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Woah! What a chapter. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think Kai would be alright and did his theory of doors work?

I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapters for answers.

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The Sparkling Authoress
Mis. A

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