FFM: Day 29

There were seven doors spread out in a half circle before him. They were all painted a dark, royal red and seemed at once both strangely obscene and colourless, leached by the shadows that clung to the charcoal walls. There were no handles, the doors were not meant to be opened by normal means.

Before them sat the toad. Glistening darkly on the pinewood floor, his eyes lowered into slits, the pale bulge of his throat round and full in the dim light. The guard, the door-keeper, ancient warden of the half tower.

Sam watched him with narrow eyes, the riddle clutched tightly in his fist. He was only a boy, but knew not to underestimate the creature. You would have to be a fool not to see the malevolent glint in the creatures eye. Oh no, Sam knew full well what the toad was capable of. But he also knew that he had to get beyond those doors, or more specifically, the right door. Everything depended on it.

Licking dry lips, he adjusted his backpack and advanced across the floor. His footsteps soft, though there was no use in trying to conceal his presence. Now that the moment was here, he didn't think he could do it. The decision was far from an easy one, and depended almost entirely on luck. He had only the vaguest rumours and myths to guide him now.
If he picked the wrong door, everything he had worked for would be lost, and already he could hear the thunder of pursuit coming up the staircase behind him. His time was almost up.

The toad croaked at him, and opened it's eyes wide, but he did not meet its gaze. He skirted around it where it squatted on the floor and paused before the second doorway, seized by terrible indecision, even now when the enemy was so close.

Taking a deep breath, he slammed his shoulder into the doorway and stumbled through into a flood of light. For a moment he was blinded and could do nothing but stand with his hands before his eyes, trying to block out the brilliance. But then his eyes adjusted and the room was revealed.

He smiled. It appeared he had made the right choice.

Behind him the thundering sounds came to a screeching halt just before the doorway, and there were a few slams and a surprised exclamation of 'Eddie!' as the toad was scooped up from his post in the centre of the floor. Sam scooted to the edge of the door with a smug grin, put his fingers in his ears and waggled them.

"You guys are too late! I got the best room!"

When you were part of a large family, you learned to be fast.