Alfredo's Lost Cause
Copyright © 1990-2009 Mark A Lindner

Alfredo found himself in a large room. The windows were so high above the floor as to be unreachable. Faint light came through the windows. This made it possible to see some of the objects in the room. However, it was still impossible to see very far. The walls were hung with draperies. The furniture was uncomfortable, old, and torn. Even the books and musical instruments lying around couldn't give the room life. The atmosphere was sorrowful. Everything about the room was gloomy.

Alfredo looked in all directions and spotted the entrance to a tunnel behind the old, tattered couch. He moved cautiously toward the opening. It was a long, dark corridor, dimly lit by sunlight which seeped through cracks and fissures in the ceiling. He began walking along the dusty path.

On and on he walked down the seemingly endless tunnel. Suddenly, the floor beneath him disappeared and he found himself surrounded by murky, clammy water. He shivered, then began swimming across the pool.

Halfway across to the other side, he noticed a live wire dangling from the ceiling far above him. As it was dark, Alfredo mistook it for a rope and grabbed hold of it. A sudden burst of electricity sent him shooting out of the water.

He landed in a heap in another hallway. This one was much darker than the last. Feeling drunk and dizzy, he stumbled along the path. Somewhere along the way, Alfredo tripped on a rock and fell. The floor beneath him pivoted downward, and he slid downward. Ahead of him he could see a pool of toxic substances and poisons. He was almost upon it when he noticed a short rope above him. With every ounce of energy he had left in him, he grabbed hold of it and hung on. There he was, dangling in the darkness. He contemplated on what to do. Finally, his strength gave out and he plunged downward into an unknown abyss of darkness.

He was falling when something came into contact with his hands. He tightened them, the object in his grasp. The tightrope he was clinging to had stopped his descent. He began to move along the rope, hand over hand. He finally reached the wall to which the rope was fastened. Alfredo noticed a small ledge below him and let go of the rope.

Another tunnel led away into the side of the wall. He entered it and began running. Soon the tunnel became wider and higher. Before him he could see a door above which was inscribed in big letters the word EXIT.

He was almost to the door when two walls appeared on either side of him. Alfredo stood there, paralyzed and shocked. Motors whined and the walls began to move toward him. He began running about, clawing at the walls, but on the walls came.

Now he was holding them apart with his arms. The motors became louder and the walls began pushing harder. Then, in one final burst of energy, they slammed together.