Golden (short story)

Hello there! I was bored, and I couldn't think of what to write. So, I decided to try something new. I found a genre wheel and a random word wheel (links below) and decided to make a short story with whatever they landed on. This is kind of also based on Coraline, which is scary to anyone who says it's not! So here we go!
Genre: horror
Word: Door

It wasn't Zoe's fault.

Of course she was the one blamed for Austin's expulsion. After all, she was his big sister. It didn't matter that they didn't even go the same school, or that she wasn't the one who told him to pull the fire alarm. To her parents, the boy's only problem was his sister wasn't there. Except where had her parents been?

The bar and work, respectively.

Zoe looked around her new room, completely empty except for a bed and her boxes of things which she hadn't emptied yet. She already hated this place. It had been raining for the past few days, and as far as Zoe was concerned, it would stay like that forever. This wasn't her home. It was her house maybe, but that was it.

"Hey Zoe? Can you take me to the library? Dad's sleeping and mom's not home yet," Austin asked, coming in her room.

Zoe looked up from her book and at her brother. He was 5 years younger than her, but he seemed even more little. He looked almost identical to her except practically everything about him was shorter. Zoe still couldn't understand why he had pulled the fire alarm anyway. It wasn't like him. He had the best grades in his grade, and all his teacher's considered him an absolute joy in class.

Zoe put her book down on her bed. "Can't you wait til dad wakes up," she asked. Austin shook his head. "You know how he is when he wakes up." Zoe sighed. She really didn't want to leave the house, but then again, she was completely bored.

"Get our coats, I'll write a note to tell mom and dad where we are," she said, getting up. Her brother cheered and ran down the stairs. Zoe laughed a little to herself before going down to the kitchen to grab a pen and post-it.

She passed her dad, pinching her noise to not smell the obvious alcohol stench coming from the room. She then checked the clock. It was 6:07. Her mom should've been home an hour ago. She sighed and continued her journey to the kitchen.

When she got there, she noticed the door.

She never had seen it before. As far as she was aware, it had never been there. It was small, like a dog door, except she was sure she could fit through. She crouched down in curiosity and opened it. Where it led to she had no idea. It was a dark tunnel. There was no way it led to anywhere in the house. Zoe squinted to get a better look, but it didn't help.

She looked back. Austin usually took 10 minutes to put on his shoes and jacket. She had enough time to at least check it out.

She began to crawl through the door. It was very dark and somehow Zoe felt a breeze against her face. She saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel and increased her speed a little.

She hadn't realized she had made it to the light until she fell to the ground. Luckily she landed on a rug, but it still hurt a little. She looked around at where she had ended up.

"Zoe Young, I've a feeling you're not in Kansas anymore," she muttered to herself.

The place was brightly lit from some windows. It wasn't raining, in fact the Sun was shining so bright Zoe couldn't look out without hurting her eyes.

The room she was in seemed to be a living room. While it seemed familiar, it also seemed happier. The walls looked freshly painted. The couches looked like no one had ever sat on them before. To Zoe, it looked like her living room, except back when the house had just been built.

Suddenly, Zoe heard footsteps and she hid behind one of the couches. The person, whoever it was, looked around the room as if they thought something was in there. Zoe poked her head out slightly to see and almost gasped.

The person was her. Or at least it looked exactly like her. Same dark eyes, same black hair, even her posture seemed exactly the same. The only difference was the clothes this other Zoe was wearing. She had on expensive jewelry and a flowy blue dress.

Zoe pulled her head back, but, distracted by the other Zoe, accidentally hit her head against the side table.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing her head. She pulled her hand back and looked at it to make sure she wasn't bleeding. When she looked up, she was met with familiar eyes. She yelped.

"Who are you," other Zoe asked, looking at the girl curiously.

Zoe took a deep breath, but still stuttered. "I-I'm Zoe, Zoe Young. I came from that door," she said, pointing a shaking hand at the small door in the middle of the wall. The identical girl looked at it and then back at Zoe, smiling wide.

"Twin! I finally get to meet you," the girl exclaimed. She stood up and pulled Zoe up with her. "We got to tell mom and dad! Oh, and Austin! He'll be so excited," she said. Before Zoe could object, her twin pulled her through the hallways.

They finally stopped in the kitchen. Other Zoe's mother was cooking something on the stove. It looked exactly like Zoe's mom, except, like her "twin", she was wearing more expensive clothes. Zoe's eyes widened.

"Mom, look who I found," the other Zoe said excitedly. Her mom turned around and saw the girl. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Oh my! It is so amazing to see you! My name is Mary, but you can call me mom," other Zoe's mom said, sticking out her hand to shake. Hesitantly, Zoe shook it.

"Look, could you please tell me what's going on? I just went through a door and on the other end was this place."

"Why of course dear. That door you came through? it's a portal to different realities. This one brought you to ours. No one has come through before, but we're so glad someone finally did, especially the doppelganger of our little Zoey," the mother explained.

Zoe didn't know how to react. She had loved reading about weird things like this. Her favorite show was The Twilight Zone after all. However, she never really believed in the things she read and heard about. They were just stories. Nothing more.

"Should I go get Austin and dad," other Zoe asked. Her mom nodded. "They're outside playing catch." other Zoe ran out, smiling.

"I need to sit down," Zoe said, sitting down at the table. The mom handed her a bowl of stew. "Careful, it's very hot. I've been cooking it the whole day," she said.

Zoe looked up at her. "You mean you weren't at work?"

"Work? Oh, you really are quite the comedian, dear. No one works here," her mom said. Zoe raised her eyebrows. "No one?" Her mom nodded.

Suddenly, Austin and her dad came in. They looked at Zoe, smiling brightly.

"I can't believe I get another sister," Austin said, running over and hugging Zoe. The girl looked down at her "brother". He had never hugged her before. Her dad came over.

"Okay champ don't go squeezing the life out of her," he said, patting Austin's back. Zoe smelled the room. It still smelled like roses, just like before. She smiled a little.

"Dear, you're free to stay for dinner. I assume you have to go back home soon," her mother said. All the thoughts about going back home flew out of Zoe's head. She nodded and ate a spoonful of the food.

It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

Zoe and the family all ate and talked. Zoe wasn't used to that. Most of the time, her family ate in silence. It was kind of unnerving at times. Here, she felt home. This was home.

After they were done, they all had ice cream with whipped cream and sprinkles. It was even better than the actual food.

"I should probably go back to my home. My Austin is probably terrified right now," Zoe said.

Other Zoe shook her head. "Don't worry! Time works differently here. Back there he's probably still tying his shoes. Want to play charades with us? Please?"

Zoe couldn't say no.

She had never had so much fun. The family knew how to play where it wasn't too hard or too easy. They were funny as well.

In fact, they were perfect in every way.

"It's pretty late, do you want to just stay over tonight," Zoe's dad asked after they had played the game for multiple hours. Zoe didn't even think before nodding.

She was given a sleeping bag and laid next to other Zoe's bed. It was strangely comfy, almost comfier than her actual bed. Soon enough, her eyes closed.

But soon enough she saw the eyes. Inhuman, golden eyes, staring at her like she was lunch. Zoe woke up, gasping for air. She checked to make sure her "twin" was still asleep. She was. Zoe got up and decided to get some water.

She walked through the house groggily, not really sure where to go but not too worried either. She opened a door. However, it wasn't the door to the bathroom. Zoe would've just closed the door without a thought, if she hadn't heard the whispering of one word, and one word only.

"Help."

Zoe looked down the stairs but like the tunnel she couldn't see anything. So she decided to go down.

When she reached the bottom, she found out why she heard the voice.

On the ground were the bodies of a bunch of children between the ages 9-16, all mangled and bloodied. The strangest part was their eyes, or lack thereof. It looked like someone had carved them out. Zoe almost gagged from the putrid scent.

"Help."

Zoe looked around, squinting to get a better look. That's when she saw the small boy in the corner of the room. He looked around 10, but he had also seemed to have seen things no 10 year old should ever see. He had blood all over his body, but Zoe couldn't tell if it was his or someone else's.

She practically ran to the boy's side, helping him up. "What happened to you? Why are you here," she asked, as quietly as she could so no one would wake up.

The boy shook his head. "I-I thought I'd get to play here, be a kid forever with-with a loving family. They...they're monster's," he said, his voice hoarse, like he had been screaming for hours upon hours.

"Who," Zoe asked. But she already had an idea. It wasn't one she liked though. She hoped he would say she was wrong.

"The family upstairs."

He didn't.

Zoe looked back at the door of the basement. "What did they do to you," she asked.

"They said they had been waiting to meet me. That they wanted me to stay. I said yes. When I did, they wouldn't let me leave. Then they threw me down here." Tears formed in his eyes. "They're working for a monster. He haunts my dreams with his, with his golden eyes."

Zoe perked up at that. "Golden eyes? I saw those too." The boy's eyes widened in fear. "Then that thing is coming. We have to go! It's going to kill me!"

The poor boy tried to run, but he barely could move without his whole body aching. Zoe caught him right before he almost face planted onto the solid cement floor.

"Listen," she said. "We can't let them know we're trying to get out. We can't risk it. I'm sorry, but running's not an option." The boy seemed frantic still, but he nodded. Then, painfully slow, Zoe helped him up the stairs.

"What's your name," Zoe asked the boy.

"Tom-Thomas," he stuttered out.

Zoe nodded with a small smile. "Alright Thomas, we're almost to the living room. That's how I got here."

They made it to the room and Zoe spotted the door. It seemed to glow in the darkness, a comforting golden glow, the complete opposite to the eyes she had seen in her dreams.

She opened the door. It was high up, but she and Thomas would be able to reach it by standing on the couch nearby.

The tunnel to the real world looked different than it had when she had first went in. More dangerous. Maybe because now she knew that it led to a monstrous family who killed children.

She was about to help Thomas get to it when she heard someone.

"What are you doing?"

Zoe turned around sharply to see the other Zoe. The girl looked at Zoe and then saw Thomas. Her eyes filled with sadness.

"No! You can't leave! You just got here," she whined, loud enough for the whole house to hear. Zoe jumped down and put her hand over the girl's mouth, but it was too late.

She heard footsteps running down the hallway. Thomas tugged on her shirt. "We need to go," he said. Zoe looked at him, and then at her lookalike, who was still trying to yell.

Other Zoe's mom and dad came into view. Both looked terrified, until they saw the real Zoe and Thomas. Their eyes filled with fury.

"You're not going anywhere dear," her mom said. She grabbed a bat that Zoe guessed was "her brother's". She swung at Zoe, who ducked right before it hit her.

"Come on champ, go back to the basement," her dad said to Thomas coming towards the boy, who kept moving away from the man, whimpering.

Zoe didn't know what to do, but she knew that if they caught her now she would never get out. She grabbed a plate that had been left on the table and without thinking threw it at other Zoe's dad. It shattered on his head and he collapsed to the ground.

Her mom shrieked and swung again, missing only by a few inches. She swung so hard the bat got caught in the wall.

"Go, go, go," Zoe yelled. She helped Thomas in first and came crawling after him, but the other Zoe grabbed her leg.

"Don't leave me! Please don't leave me," she yelled, crying. Her nails dug into Zoe's skin, leaving marks. Zoe fought and kicked.

"Don't leave us! Please!"

Zoe kicked hard enough with her other leg and the other Zoe fell back, letting go.

Thomas and Zoe crawled as fast as they could. Zoe heard her lookalike wailing still. "Come back! Don't leave me!" That only made her crawl faster. She wished Thomas was in better condition so he could go faster. It seemed that the tunnel got longer as they kept going.

Finally, they saw the light of Zoe's kitchen. They crawled out of the door and once they were both out Zoe kicked the door shut. She backed up away from the door breathing hard. Just before it closed, she banged her head against the side of the counter.

Her eyes got droopy. She wanted to sleep. Soon, all she saw was darkness. The last word she heard was Thomas calling her name.

.......................................................................................................................

When Zoe woke up, she was in a hospital bed. She looked around and realized she was completely alone. There were no windows. The only exit was the door opposite of her.

Suddenly, a doctor came in. Zoe could barely see his face over his mask and cap.

"How did I get here," she asked him. He furrowed his eyebrows. "You're brother found you unconscious in the kitchen. He called us and we brought you here," he explained.

Zoe shook her head. "Believe me, I'm fine. I just tripped. Where's Thomas?"

The doctor smiled. "You mean the boy in your house? He's fine, he's coming to visit you soon." Zoe nodded with a smile. She looked over at the wall, which is when she saw it.

She saw his shadow.

It was inhumane, with claws and teeth. She looked back at the doctor, who just smiled.

She hadn't escaped.

Zoe tried to get up, but she then realized her arms and legs were tied to the bed. Her eyes widened as she looked at the doctor. He took out a syringe and a scalpel.

"Don't worry," he said. "This isn't the painful part."

Zoe fought as hard as she could, but she couldn't move. The doctor stuck her in the neck with the syringe, holding her head while he pressed the sedative into her neck.

Zoe continued to fight, but her muscles became weaker and weaker. She wanted to sleep, to rest. No, she repeated to herself. Don't fall asleep. Not now. But nothing helped.

The last thing she saw before she passed out were the doctor's eyes.

Golden eyes.

I actually don't hate this as much as I thought I would. This was fun, so I might do this again at some point! If you'd like to do it, the links are right here! Have a good day.

Genre wheel: https://wordwall.net/resource/455438/genre-picker

Word Wheel: https://wordwall.net/resource/3864482/arts/word-generator

P.S: I also may have used a name generator because I couldn't think of a name for the main character, so here if you'd like to use it as well.
https://ahaslides.com/features/spinner-wheel/name-wheel-spinner/