Doctor Whitlock's Experiment

Chapter 3

As Dr. Whitlock turned the doorknob, Seraphina took an involuntary step back from the horrors her imagination told her were behind that door. Then another. And another. Her feet carried her backward until she tumbled onto her bottom. Then, she just sat there, staring as the door creaked open.

Dr. Whitlock turned to face her. "Whatever is the matter, dearest Seraphina?"

"I... don't want to go down there..." Sera whispered. She felt weak, and she hated it. She hated the urge she had to continue to scoot backwards.

"And why is that?" Dr. Whitlock asked innocently.

"I... um... I don't know..." Sera's cheeks flamed with embarrassment at her inability to explain her fear. She convinced herself, yet again, that her fear was silly. She climbed to her feet.

"Being as it is summer, and my cabin is not air-conditioned, it is cooler in the basement," her father's-best-friend explained simply. He had to be what Sera was trying to convince herself he was: not an untrustworthy stranger just a trusted friend of her dad. You read too many science fiction novels, she chided herself. Everything is fine.

With that, she followed the strange man into the basement, completely unaware of what lay ahead. She shivered a bit as she slipped, dream-like, down the stairs behind Dr. Whitlock. Was it merely because it was indeed colder in the basement?

At the bottom of the stairs, a hall stretched out in front of them. Seraphina brushed away the feeling of claustrophobia as they walked down the hall. She had an odd feeling that this was not a normal basement. She tried to pull away from her suspicions, but they stuck like extra sticky bubble gum.

Soon, Dr. Whitlock came to a stop in front of a blue door and gripped the lever door handle. He pushed the lever down, and the door slowly creaked open. He flicked the lights on as Sera stepped obediently into the room. Her surroundings flashed before her. All she could utter was a small squeak, but in her mind she was screaming one word: No.