Chatterbox: Inkwell

The Five Doors Series

This is a book I'm writing. Feel free to compliment, critique, and suggest! (Please, please, PLEASE don't just be nice to make me feel good. If I made a mistake, or something doesn't make sense, or you just don't like the plot, say so! I want criticism here, people! Be truthful!) Also, I would love someone to copy-edit this!

Chapter One

THUD

____________________~~~~~______________________

I sat calmly in the sky tram as it rattled along the line. The distance from myself to the ground didn't bother me much, and neither did the fact that if the sky tram happened to snap off the flimsy line, I would plummet 30,000 feet to my death. I didn't really mind, either, that looking out the window, an eerily empty chasm waited silently for my doom. Ok, maybe I was a little worried by the prospect, but I remained calm and composed for the entirety of my ride, bumpy and creaky or not. As the noisy sky tram made its way slowly along the line, a tall stone building materialized out of the mist. It looked out of place on the rocky mountainside, towering up unevenly, and yet, it also looked like it belonged. I took a mental picture of the strangely interesting building so that I would make certain not to forget it. I had a very good memory, and could lock things into my brain and make them stay there forever. It was weird, but then again, I liked weird. 

The sky tram jolted to a stop, hurling me to the other side of the car. I stood up and shook myself off, a little shaken from the bump, but otherwise in tact. The doors of the tram car slid open squeaking, and I stepped out onto a platform. The platform that I had stepped onto was old and creaky, much like the tram car, and I wasn't exactly eager to tread on the rotting planks of the bridge, especially since the consequences of falling could, and would, be fatal. But nevertheless, I didn't let it get to me, and resolved to put my total and complete trust in the unstable bridge. After all, it had lasted this long, hadn't it? What could a few more light steps from a girl my size do? I walked swiftly but softly along the bridge, my heart skipped a beat every time the boards squeaked, and many of the boards were missing, but eventually, after what seemed like a thousand years, I made it across the treacherous platform and onto solid ground. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, and walked on. The ground was rocky and bumpy, but I was much more comfortable here than on either the rotting bridge, or in the breaking sky tram. I reached a long pathway made of stones of different sizes and shapes, all worn with age and many feet treading upon it. I trotted briskly along until I reached large oak double doors. I reached out and pressed the big brass doorbell. Silence. It wasn't surprising in the quietness that had been ringing in my ears since I was brought here, though I had been expecting sound. I resorted to the doors, hoping they were unlocked. They were as heavy as they looked, and once I had a firm grip on the shiny brass handles, it took me three tries until I finally heaved both doors open. "Hello?" I called into darkness. No one seemed to be here, or if they were, they were hiding. The lights were off, and a damp and musky scent made its way into my nostrils. The grim silence was getting to me, and a cool breeze sent chills down my spine. I wrapped my thin jacket tighter around my body and turned to leave. If there was no one here, there was no reason to stay, either. Although it didn't make any sense, the call must have been a hoax. I would've gone home, told my family, and after dinner, curled up in bed with my dog. And after that my life would've gone on as usual. As if the phone call had never come, I had never been brought here, or ridden in the sky tram, or gone across the chasm on a rotting old bridge, or tried the door. At least that's what would've happened. If I didn't hear a THUD behind me.