Day 4) Hole
Altair couldn't have imagined waking up to something so strange and bizarre. A ten foot wide hole in their room. How deep does it go? Where did it come from? Maybe they'll find out.
Altair gazed at the chasm that had suddenly appeared in their room, the sizable hole that was about ten feet wide. There were no tremors, no signs of what had happened or what made the hole appear. Yet the sight was familiar to manokit for some reason. The hole's depth was undeterminable; it might've even been bottomless. It was almost like the intensely deep hole was staring right back and the manokit, taunting them, awaiting their curiosity.
The hole seemed to be completely dark all the way down the further Altair inspected it from the comfort of their bed. Or perhaps more accurately the bed and save for a few objects on the nightstand, everything else in their room was gone.
A thought popped into the manokit's curious mind: "Maybe if I throw something down it I can know how deep this hole is." They quickly moved from the middle of their bed to the nightstand beside it. They grabbed a pencil from it and tossed it down into the gaping abyss. The pencil flung down into the hole. As time passed no sound could be heard, no clatter of that pencil. Altair's heart sank; they were breathless at the revelation.
Even worse, the loud sound of a gulp echoed from the hole, something swallowed their pencil. The manokit's heart pounded heavily like an erratic drum. Each thump rattled against their purple and fluffy ears. The only sound in the room was their beating heart.
Curiosity beckoned to Altair, like a siren's voice oozing into their mind: "WHAT is in that hole?" Yet the why and how of the very nature of this chasm didn't seem to even briefly frolic in the manokit's mind. As if something inside that hole wanted them to focus on exploration, discovery, unveiling why lay within that hole. The manokit shook their head violently and tried to see if there was a way out of their room.
Altair finally noticed a very slim rim around the hole, a carved outline that could lead to their door. Safety, escape, a sense of freedom from the ever curious pit. Yet the more they thought about freedom; their mind became entrapped with what was in that hole. SOMETHING had to be in there, something unknown, something new, exciting.
What is in that hole?
What is in that hole?
What is in that hole?
What is in that hole?
What is in that hole?
What is in that hole
...
The thought teased Altair, mocked him for the mere fleeting fruitless figment of escape. Breathing grew heavier, their chest rose and fell back and forth, the manokit's eyes shook. The hole kept looking at them with an impatient plea etched into the cracks along the wooden floor.
Altair couldn't take it anymore; they had to look, they needed to know what lingered in depths of the chasm. They edged the entirety of their figure toward the foot of the bed, eyes affixed to the bottom of the hole.
Why is there nothing!?
How is there nothing!?
Why am I looking here!?
What is in this hole!?
Why is there nothing!?
As if the hole was giggling at the curiosity of its seeker it provided no further evidence of anything inside it. In fact the void seemingly was even darker than before, the pit was almost seemingly empty, featureless. Even stranger was not a hint of the hole being part of Altair's room. It was almost like a separate entity that fed off that tinge of curiosity and fear.
The manokit stuck one of their feet into the hole and wiggled it back and forth. Not much longer a sudden gust of air blew heavily onto the foot. Altair leaped backward to the wall and panted heavily. Yet, they immediately moved back towards the foot of their bed shortly after. Addicted to the adrenaline pumping through their body, the manokit stuck both of their feet into the hole below.
That very moment a heavy pull pushed Altair right into the hole. They desperately clawed and clung to their bed yet it was no use; whatever was pulling them was leagues stronger.
There is something in the hole.
It was waiting for me.
It wants me.
It calls for me.
This hole was meant for me!
I was always meant to fall down this hole!
I knew it the moment I looked at it!
Altair fell down the chasm that seemed to stretch onward endlessly. Their body plummeted into the darkness. Despite how rapidly they fell, it never seemed to bring any closure, no landing, just abyss. A soft squishy sensation rushed across the manokit's figure, warmth, tightness.
There used to be a shimmering light from where Altair had fallen, but it was gone now. Warm, tight, smothering, squelching darkness. A gulp rolled through the manokit's ears. They whimpered quietly as realization settled in the pit of their stomach.
Deeper.
Wetter.
Tighter.
Squishing so thoroughly.
I can feel it all around me.
It wants me.
Each tight clutch sunk Altair deeper into a wet abyss. A sense of where, a sense of time, and place it all began to grow so hazy. Something strange ran through Altair's mind, a serene sense of calm. Like laying within one's bed after a long and exhausting night. Even as their body shifted through tight wetness. They landed inside what seemed to be a stomach. A pleasant sticky and sweet aroma filled the air. The manokit could taste honey on their tongue. Their eyes fluttered back and forth. Tight, compact, squished, squeezed, every fleshy sensation rolled over Altair. Eventually their eyes closed and believed oblivion to follow close behind them.
Their eyes flung wide open. Altair gazed at the chasm that had suddenly appeared in their room, the sizable hole that was about ten feet wide. There were no tremors, no signs of what had happened or what made the hole appear. Yet the sight was familiar to manokit for some reason.