Title: The One Rule
Rule #1: Never look inside the Red Door.
That was the only rule at Saint Morrow's Home for Children. No curfew. No lights-out time. No assigned chores. But the Red Door? That was sacred. Forbidden. Sealed by more than just locks. Everyone whispered about it. Some said it led to another dimension. Others claimed a beast slept behind it, devouring children who got too curious.
I was seven when I came to Saint Morrow’s. Abandoned with nothing but a paperclip in my palm and no memory of my name. Sister Helena found me, wrapped in a fraying blanket, and gave me a name: Eli. She looked into my eyes and said only one thing that mattered:
“Never go near the Red Door.”
I nodded.
For six years, I obeyed. I watched kids come and go. Some were adopted. Some ran away. And a few? A few just... vanished. Helena always had an explanation: they found a home. They moved. They weren’t happy here. But no letters ever came. No visitors ever returned.
On the eve of my thirteenth birthday, the door began to call to me.
---
It began with a whisper.
“Come closer.”
The words slipped through my dreams at first. Soft, beckoning. Then they came during the day. When I swept the West Wing hall, where the Red Door stood like a bloodstain at the end of the corridor, glowing faintly beneath the flickering light.
One afternoon, I saw it move. Just a flicker. A *shape*. A pale hand pressed briefly against the other side of the door.
I ran to Helena.
Her face turned to stone.
“You didn’t *touch* it, did you?”
“No, but I—”
“Then forget what you saw. And don’t speak of it again.”
She turned and left. I stood in silence.
That night, I dreamed of fire. Screams. My mother’s face. And the Red Door swallowing her whole.
---
The full moon rose. Helena always locked herself in the chapel on full moon nights. She claimed to be deep in prayer, but I’d heard strange chanting behind those doors.
I waited until midnight. I had stolen her keys the night before while she was distracted punishing Joseph, one of the newer boys. My hands trembled as I stood before the Red Door. The key turned easily. The chains rattled to the ground. I pushed.
The door opened.
And there was *nothing*.
A void. Blacker than any darkness I’d ever seen. It wasn’t a room—it was an absence. Of color. Of light. Of time.
I stepped in. The door slammed shut behind me.
Panic.
I spun around. No handle. No walls.
"Welcome back, Eli," said a voice.
Female. Ancient. Gentle.
“Who’s there?”
“Someone you’ve forgotten. Someone you were meant to remember.”
The void shifted. A rush of memories flooded my mind. A burning house. A scream. A child—*me*—pulled away. The Red Door glowing in the smoke.
“This is your truth,” the voice whispered.
Suddenly, the darkness gave way. I was inside a room—rotted, moldy, filled with chains and broken cots. Children crying behind bars. Sister Helena injecting a needle into a boy’s neck.
“No... this can’t be real.”
“It is,” said a new voice.
A girl stepped out of the shadows. My age. Silver hair. Eyes like glass. Reflective. Empty.
“I was the first,” she said.
“First?”
“The first to open the door. The first to remember. The first to be trapped.”
“What is this place?”
“A prison for us. The gifted. The forgotten. The ones they called dangerous.”
I stared down at the paperclip in my hand—it glowed with faint blue light.
“It’s not a paperclip,” she said. “It’s a cipher. A memory key. Your parents gave it to you. Before the fire.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the last. The final piece. You can break the lie.”
Light shattered through the ceiling. The void screamed. The world began to collapse.
“Go,” she said. “Set them free.”
“Come with me!”
She smiled sadly. “I can’t. But I’ll be watching.”
I ran.
---
I woke in my bed. Covered in sweat. The Red Door was gone. Sister Helena was gone. The children’s rooms? Empty. Saint Morrow’s had crumbled.
But I remembered.
And I knew it wasn’t over.
That night, I left with the cipher in my hand. I walked until the stars faded. Until I saw other doors. Other homes. Other children who stared just a little too long into the shadows.
They were like me.
I found them. One by one. Told them the truth.
And when they were ready, I showed them how to open their own doors.
Because once you break the one unbreakable rule, you don’t just see the truth.
You *become* it.
And once you become it, there’s no going back.
Only forward.
To freedom.
To revenge.
To justice.
And I will not stop.
Not until every Red Door is opened.
Not until every child is free.
Chapter Two: The Echoes Beyond
The night air was crisp as I stepped away from the ruins of Saint Morrow's. The cipher in my hand pulsed with a gentle warmth, guiding me forward. Each step felt purposeful, as if the path ahead was already laid out, waiting for me to traverse it.
I wandered through towns and cities, seeking out places that felt... off. Orphanages with too many secrets, schools where children disappeared without a trace, homes where the laughter of children was replaced by eerie silence. In each place, I found a door—sometimes red, sometimes another color—but always emanating the same unsettling aura.
One such place was the Hollow Creek Orphanage. From the outside, it appeared welcoming, with its freshly painted walls and manicured gardens. But inside, the atmosphere was heavy, oppressive. The children moved like shadows, their eyes void of the spark that should come with youth.
I befriended a boy named Marcus. He was ten, with a mop of curly hair and a quiet demeanor. Over time, he confided in me about the nightmares that plagued him and the strange room at the end of the hallway that no one dared to enter.
"It's always locked," he whispered one evening. "But sometimes, I hear voices from inside. They call out names—names of kids who aren't here anymore."
I knew then that the cycle was repeating. That night, using the cipher, I unlocked the forbidden room. Inside, I found a vortex of memories, a swirling mass of pain and fear. But amidst the chaos, I also found fragments of hope—memories of laughter, of dreams, of love.
I realized that the cipher didn't just unlock doors; it unlocked the truth. It revealed the hidden traumas, the buried secrets, and the suppressed memories. And with each revelation, I grew stronger, more determined.
I began to train others—children like Marcus, who had the strength to face their fears and the courage to confront the darkness. Together, we formed a network, a resistance. We called ourselves the Echoes, for we were the voices that refused to be silenced.
Our mission was clear: to find and free every child trapped behind these cursed doors. To confront those who perpetuated the cycle of pain. And to ensure that no child would ever have to suffer in silence again.
---
Chapter Three: The Gathering Storm
Word of our actions spread. Some saw us as saviors; others labeled us as troublemakers. Authorities began to take notice, and soon, we found ourselves hunted. But we were prepared. The cipher had shown us the truth, and with truth came power.
We discovered that the Red Doors were part of a larger network, controlled by an ancient organization known as the Veil. Their goal was to harness the unique energies of gifted children, using their fears and traumas as fuel for their dark rituals.
The Veil had infiltrated institutions worldwide, hiding in plain sight. But with each door we unlocked, their grip weakened. We exposed their secrets, disrupted their rituals, and freed their captives.
But the Veil was not to be underestimated. They retaliated, capturing some of our members, including Marcus. I was devastated, but I knew that succumbing to despair would only play into their hands.
Using the cipher, I traced Marcus's location to a remote facility hidden deep within the mountains. Gathering our forces, we launched a daring rescue mission. The battle was fierce, but our unity and determination prevailed.
We freed Marcus and the other captives, dealing a significant blow to the Veil. But I knew this was just the beginning. The war was far from over.
---
Chapter Four: The Final Confrontation
Years passed, and our ranks grew. The Echoes became a symbol of hope, inspiring others to rise against oppression. We continued our mission, dismantling the Veil's operations piece by piece.
Eventually, we traced the heart of the Veil to an ancient temple hidden within a dense forest. It was here that the original Red Door was created, the source of all the others.
We prepared for the final confrontation. As we approached the temple, the air grew thick with tension. The Veil's leaders awaited us, cloaked in shadows, their eyes glowing with malevolence.
A fierce battle ensued, magic clashing against magic, will against will. The cipher in my hand blazed with light, countering the darkness that sought to consume us.
In the end, we prevailed. The temple crumbled, the Red Door shattered, and the Veil's influence dissipated.
---
Epilogue: A New Dawn
With the Veil defeated, the world began to heal. The Red Doors vanished, and the children once trapped behind them were free to live their lives.
The Echoes disbanded, each member returning to their own path, carrying with them the lessons and scars of our journey.
As for me, I continued to wander, the cipher now a dormant relic. But I remained vigilant, ready to act should darkness ever
React
