*CRACK.*
A harsh and unusual noise was heard after Narratio's reply, a sound identical to that of the glass breaking after being hit by an object.
Lee turned back to see reality itself formating cracks, almost as if it was a mosaic.
The cracks were further developing with remarkable speed, trying to take a concrete form, which appears to be that of a door.
Once the door's limit was established, reality cracked into more and smaller fragments.
*Cric. Cric. Cric.*
Gradually, one by one the small pieces of glass began to fall to the ground, dematerializing once it came into contact with it. Then come the medium-sized ones, allowing a glimpse of the space that lies beyond the door.
Lee tried as much as possible to leave fear behind, concentrating as much as possible on seeing the mystery that lay behind reality.
After the larger pieces of glass fell, the door was now completely open. Behind reality lurked a pitch-black darkness, not even comparable to that of a starless night sky.
Lee took steps back, coming shoulder to shoulder with the invisible barrier, trying to stay away from it as much as possible.
*I don't know what it is. But it's definitely it doesn't give me a good presentiment.*
For a moment there was a deafening silence, except for Lee's labored breathing. No sound could be heard from the door, so maybe it was safe to go in, however there was no guarantee that there would be any possibility of return.
Lee looked around, time he was still frozen.
In search for an escape route, Lee's gaze was caught from the glass walls present at the entrance.
*I should try kicking them.*
*But they look like bulletproof glass. I can clearly see the thick layer.*
Having no others options, Lee began to take steps towards the door.
*What if I throw the book to check what's inside?*
He took a look at the book on his left hand, finding it a valid option to test this theory.
So, Lee took aim, and from below, he threw the book into the portal.
*Bum*
The book bounced off the door and falling a step near it, just as if Lee had thrown an object at the wall istead of an interdimensional portal.
Lee just looked disappointed by his attempt.
*Oh...It only works with me?*
*And if..If i refuse?*
Lee's eyes widened, a small smirk visible on his face like that of a spoiled child who has just screwed someone.
Lee was supposed to enter the portal and then who knows what to do. However, nothing forced him to enter. It was that simple. He had to strike until Narratio got tired and decided to release him.
Narratio is surely an impatient entity, it will give up and look for another unfortunate person to kidnap.
So he picked up the phone once more and started typing his vile blackmail.
*I won.*
Lee thought to himself after finding the solution.
*A game requires the player to move in order to function.*
*But now...*
Lee let out a sigh of frustration, To keep his plan concrete he must fight time, waiting days if necessary.
*Drin Drin.*
*Huh?*
Lee turned around, from right to left, then from top to bottom; he could swear that he had just heard the sound of a little bell, similar to those of when Santa Claus arrived at the door to bring presents.
*Drin Drin.*
*Is this supposed to be its game? Drive me crazy with a little bell?*
Lee I let out a small, light yawn from his mouth and then strained his ears, trying to hear where the sound was coming from.
*Drin Drin.*
His eyelids grew heavier, making it more difficult and heavy for him to move his body.
*Is it from the portal?*
*No wait; comes from the right?*
Lee took slow steps to the area he suspects, listening intently for every change in the sound. Nothing it seemed to be different, no variation in vibration: the sound was neither less present nor less absent; it was constant from every point of the store, as if the walls themselves produced it.
*Yawn* Lee gave another deep yawn, his head becoming more and more swollen by the exhaustion.
*Am I having a dream?*
*Maybe this is the alarm bell.*
*Drin Drin.*
His body was gently losing control, while the mind was clouding of a thick and dense state of trance.
He began to take steps unconsciously towards the doorl, unable to stop your legs as if someone was controlling them.
The mind became much slower, unable to respond or carry out any long reasoning, producing only short, fleeting thoughts.
*I'm dreaming...*
*What an idiot I am.*
Lee was cheering in his very soul. Surrendered his body to the flow that had replaced his mind.
*It's just a dream.*
*Ugh, I'm about to wake up...but I don't want to.*
5 steps from the door
Lee no longer had control over his body, he had given up. Half asleep, he was watching with his eyes is own body involuntarily heading towards the door, performing Narratio's will without putting up any noticeable resistance.
*This weird portal is really beautiful...*
*I've never seen...the sky so clean.*
Lee was three steps away from entering the portal. His right arm, almost guided by invisible strings controlled by Narratio, reached out to touch the portal to gently caress it.
The hand was the first to be engulfed by the portal and disappear into thin nothing.
*Thud.*
Next came his right leg, brave as a soldier, to go to the front ranks in a battle.
Lastly, the head and chest also made their exit.
In his last moments, Lee gently turned his head back, trying to keep his left eye opened to briefly see the phone is on the floor, fallen out from his trouser pocket.
Lee decided not to give it much weight and decided to close both of his eyes istead; prefering to savor every single moment of this sleep, burying every kind of anxieties and chores that were bothering him.
Lee finally got himself eaten whole by the portal.
New pieces of glass began to form from the air, closing the door exactly like the broken glass mosaic at the beginning, almost surgically following the putting the pieces back into their place.
Once the last little piece was put in place, and the void in the doorway was filled, Lee's phone began to disintegrate into glass and fly into the air like leaves.
The world thawed from time, people returned to their usual activities; forgetting about Lee and his existence.