Green Door

Sally never understood the term radio silence. How could a radio possibly be quiet? There was either the static melody of the wrong channel or the confident voice of an announcer playing different kinds of songs every minute. Sally didn’t understand a lot of things, such as how she hadn’t had a boyfriend in years, how her parents kicked her out, or how she still couldn’t get a job after two months of being unemployed. She searched everywhere—newspaper articles, friends, even the radio that occasionally betrayed her by playing her ex’s favorite song. She was driving home from yet another job interview. This one was for a barista, though she doubted she would get the job. Sally flipped through the radio channels while she merged onto the interstate, hearing the DJ’s voice boom as she checked the clock: 7:46. She let out a small sigh and continued driving as the DJ continued to fill the silence in her car.

The announcer’s voice cut off quickly to some Taylor Swift song Sally didn’t recognize. She rolled her eyes. Sally hated Taylor Swift, her constant demeaning of men and how she hated them, but all her songs were about breaking up, which didn’t bring back good memories for Sally. The sun finally set behind the tarmac horizon in front of her, Sally let out another deep sigh. The announcer’s voice rang out again, but this time to proclaim a commercial break. On the second commercial, a young woman’s voice, sweet and charming, reached out of Sally’s stereo:

“Are you tired of dead-end jobs? No interview, earn 200 dollars tonight, no catch.”

A number flashed across Sally’s screen. Why shouldn’t she pick up that phone? she thought. She quickly entered in the number to her phone. Next thing she knew, she was on the phone with the sweet-sounding young woman.

“Please do not open the customers’ products or bags; this will result in automatic termination. Thank you for calling. I will send you the first destination and the address to our facility. That way you can pick up the customers’ packages before you leave. Don’t wanna go without them, silly.” The female voice on the other line was sweet like honey but hung up instantly—almost too nice, Sally thought.

A 40-minute drive, Sally thought, flipping through the radio again—all static, which she thought was weird. It wasn’t that far from the city. The radio stations should still have signal, right? She took exit 33 not long after. She was driving through a dense forest, unease coursing through her body as the tall pine trees swayed like they were greeting her and bidding her farewell at the same time.

The trees only resembled bars on a jail cell as the dark night stars barely lit up the forest beyond. The radio static was slightly clearing as the GPS chimed happily:

“Destination 2 miles away.” Sally’s eyes started to droop slightly.

Why was she doing this? She thought this is so dumb, taking up a random job within seconds. Was she that desperate for money?

“1 mile away.” The automated voice reminded her of the task she was given—or more like accepted.

After a little while, she pulled into the stagnant trees along a dirt road and her car tore over the rocks. Her eyes started once more throughout the trees, wondering which direction might hold the secret entrance she was hoping for. Then suddenly her instincts guided her toward the front of her car. Sally stared. A creature crawled out of the woods, almost human but not. Glowing yellow eyes like orbs bulged from its bony skull.

It looked like someone sewed on a dog snout to a human. Long, talon-like claws connected to bent and crooked fingers that traced the side of a tall cedar tree. A smile that stretched unnaturally wide as loose flesh hung on its bony build as it smiled wickedly at her.

“Destination, 18 feet ahead.” Sally blinked uncontrollably, trying to figure out what was wrong.

It looked at her with such intent, like the thing in the bag she was supposed to deliver wasn’t what was on the menu. One more text shined from Sally’s phone. She reached for it, not breaking eye contact with the monster as it stalked the tree line. She quickly glanced down at the text. The bone-chilling words stabbed into her eyes:

“Hello Sally.” The text message sang in an almost harmonious tune.

Then another voice from her phone echoed through:

“Destination, 5 feet away.” Sally’s blood ran cold.

Her eyes shot up, but before they could even reach their intended target, a loud thud rammed on top of her Subaru. The monster was now face-to-face with Sally. Its revolting eyes fixated on her like a hawk. It smiled, stretching wider far past a normal grinning capacity. It was breathing, but not the normal in-and-out breaths. Over the static of the radio, Sally could hear it—its raspy breathing like a clogged pipe, as if its lungs were filled with cement and collapsing in on themselves. It reached one of its disgusting claws and dragged it down her windshield. The ear-shattering noise created was deafening.

“SHRRRREEEEKKKKKK!”

The glass seemed to be pleading for help to make its damnation stop. Suddenly, the monster opened its jaws. Mucus-like slobber dripped from its yellow, molding teeth. Its eyes grew wider and almost gleeful as it stared into Sally. Fear shook her. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she sat shivering uncontrollably in her seat. Do something, do something, do something, her mind screamed at her as the creature raised another ugly claw. But before it could, Sally slammed on the pedal, flinging the animal into her windshield and then braking, slamming down on her brake pedal and flinging the monster into the tree it was once creeping around. It let out a disgusting yelp of pain as its body bent backwards, attaching itself to the tree like a leech.

“HISSSHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAKKK!” was the noise the monster made as it screeched.

It was a mix between a humanoid scream of pain and a shriek of agony from a velociraptor. Sally suddenly turned her car into overdrive, flipping her gear into reverse, and as fast as she could. It took the creature a few seconds to recover—a few seconds that felt like hours to Sally. It gave her enough time to drive into the tree slightly and do a complete U-turn with her car. She looked in the rearview mirror to see the monster trailing behind and a chime of her phone.

“Destination, 15 feet away.” Sally was panting as adrenaline coursed through her, pumping in her veins faster than ever.

“Destination, 25 feet away. Please make a U-turn at the most possible convenience,” Siri said, her mechanical voice sounding somewhat annoyed as she quickly called out 30 feet, then 45 feet, then 2 miles until the entire trail disconnected.

Sally was terrified as she drove back into town. The lights in the distance offered a sense of comfort to her, knowing she’d be around actual humans and not misfired creatures. She saw her apartment building off in the distance and decided to pull in. She needed sleep, but that thing—whatever it was—was still on her mind.

She parked her car and as soon as she shifted into park, she leaned back in her seat. A small sigh escaped from Sally’s lips as she opened her car door, locking the Subaru Outback behind her. She suddenly lumbered toward the door of her apartment, number 306. She thought third floor. She entered the building. The automatic doors greeted her with a cheerful chime as she walked through. She ambled into the elevator and hit number three. She didn’t want to check her watch, knowing that the answer would disappoint her either way. After a long walk down the seemingly bland hallway, she finally reached her room, sticking the key inside the lock and jiggling it slightly, finishing with the lock before it opened. She let out another breathless yawn as she threw off her shoes and, not even caring that she was wearing jeans, tucked into bed and turned the lights off. Her eyes started to water, not from fear but from tiredness from the yawning most likely. She plugged in her phone. The activity had drained it, but as soon as she did, Siri’s voice lit up the room.

“Rerouting… destination arrived.” Then radio silence.