THE MOMENT
Steve turned around and froze in place. It was almost 1 a.m., on a cool, moonlit night. He knew it was an odd time to be taking out the trash; but, he happened to be awake. He liked to get his chores done after his stream so he didn't have them waiting for him when he woke up the next day. It wasn't the first time he'd taken a trip to the curb in the middle of the night. However, it was the first time he noticed a door on the sidewalk.
The light from the full moon was bright enough for Steve to see the mystery door clearly. It was painted a forest green color with a depiction of the Earth on it. It wasn't there when he brought the trash out; but, he was curious enough to go and inspect it.
"Don't go in that door...," he chuckled the reminder to himself as he paced a circle around it. It was a running joke with his chat and it became somewhat of a catchphrase for his channel. He glanced around the quiet neighborhood just in case someone was around. He felt confident no one knew where he lived. At the same time, this seemed like a perfectly tailored prank for him. He stood on one side of it for a closer look. This side didn't have the same Earth art and he felt like he was looking at the back of the door. His theory was confirmed when he heard the doorknob jiggle.
The side he was staring at became a door-sized black portal. He leaned over to look at the front and saw it was open. A teenage girl with twin afropuffs on her head walked out of the door and closed it again. But, she didn't linger for very long. As soon as she was out, another, rounder, black portal opened in front of her and she walked in without noticing Steve. He was glad for it, and it only made him more curious as the teen complained to herself as she went from portal to portal.
"Super tired of spiders already...," she grumbled before she was gone again. After she disappeared, Steve moved quickly to catch the door before it closed. Looking in from the front, he could only see the black portal and nothing beyond it.
"Spiders...?" he asked himself. He glanced back where the teen had left from to make sure he was gone. Then, he chuckled some more at her. She didn't sound particularly afraid; but, that didn't stop Steve from making the assumption anyway. She was just a teen, and a girl at that. Steve was an adult, a successful streamer, and he worked hard to keep his body in shape. "I kind of want to see the baby spiders that scared her away....," he made the decision in real time and defaulted to narrating his thought process like a stream. He glanced back at the house, then shook his head. "If I let go of the door, I might not be able to get back in. I guess we're doing this one without a camera," he added. Now that someone exited the door, he wasn't sure it would stay there if it closed.
"Wish me luck guys, I'm going in the door...," he took in a deep breath for courage and held it as he rushed into the darkness. He was struck by bright, blinding sunlight as soon as he was out the other side and he froze again with his eyes shut. "Holy crap it's bright here!" He waited a moment, then peeked his eyes open slowly to let them adjust.
"Whoa... dang... I wish you guys could see it...," he looked around in awe once he could keep his eyes open. A brilliant golden sun hung in a clear azure sky. He stood in the center of an endless plain. The lush grass swayed in the breeze and it was the most picturesque sight he'd seen. Faint purple mountains could be seen in the distance. Then, he noticed the timer. "...huh."
Giant white numbers decorated the sky directly above him. It took some maneuvering to find the right angle; but, he realized it was a timer. And, it was counting up. So far, 10 seconds had passed.
"I wonder what that -," *CRUNCH* He felt something pop under his foot as he was focused upward. He looked down and lifted his foot to check his slipper. There was nothing stuck to it, but a small, marble-sized golden sphere lay in the grass. Then, he noticed a white tarantula crawling toward him. And, several more as he looked around. "These are the baby spiders she was scared of?" Steve chuckled to himself. He felt like he already killed one of them, and stepped on the closest one to be sure. He felt the same uncomfortable pop under his slipper, then lifted it. It left behind another gold marble. He reached for it, but his fingers went through it as if it wasn't there. "Why won't you- AHH!!" He felt something furry graze his foot and he jumped up. He shook his leg wildly. His slipper flew off, along with the two tarantulas that had crawled onto it. He realized he was surrounded by about a dozen more of them, and he didn't want to squish any of them with a bare foot.
"Time to retreat I think...," he said. He started moving back toward the door and stomped spiders on the way. Steve was trying to split his attention between the growing number of spiders on the ground, and looking up to find the door. Except, the door wasn't anywhere around. He spun around quickly several times to be sure; but, it was gone. "No way...," He looked down to focus on killing spiders while he tried to figure out his next move. Now, there were at least 30 around all moving toward him. Then, he heard a solid, almost metallic click, like the sound of tongs snapping together. He looked up and saw a handful of several larger spiders. Unlike the lemon-sized tarantulas, the new spiders were all almost as large as a dog. They were shiny, emerald green with large, purple pincers that made a clicking sound as they closed in on him. He was so awestruck that he stopped moving and instantly felt a sharp, burning sting on his bare foot.
Luckily, that was the last thing he felt, even if he was still alive for a handful of minutes. The toxin paralyzed him completely, he couldn't scream; but, he couldn't feel the rest of the spiders biting him either. He was glad, at the very least, that his mind still worked. However, he could feel it starting to slow down. He comforted himself in his last few moments by thinking about his viewers. He couldn't laugh, but he found his last thought amusing as it faded into darkness.
"Guys. I shouldn't have gone in that door."