The Levels | Teen Ink

The Levels

June 8, 2015
By SavageCabbage BRONZE, Coronado, California
SavageCabbage BRONZE, Coronado, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There is nothing left to do but get drunk"
-President Franklin Pierce


Odie was a boy of 17, and of a contradictory nature. He was fearless and courageous, but yet he was shy and timid. He was a risk taker, but also cautious. His emotions seemed to shift with the tide. He could be and ecstatic and overt one moment,  then self-conscious and depressed the next. He loved playing video games but felt an overwhelming sense of guilt whenever he did. He loved exercise, but was enervated 3 minutes in. He wanted his life to shift and become something completely new, but at the same time he dreaded change in his life, and prayed for the same repetitious routine every day. One day, Odysseus Douglas Sherman was forced into a life that he prayed would come, but feared all the same.

He awoke to the melodious tune of Chopin spewing from his alarm clock. He reached for his alarm clock on the night stand adjacent to his bed, but he was unable to find it by just slapping his hand around on the surface. He sat up in his bed and bellowed a deep morning yawn to greet the new day. He rubbed his eyes, and entered his reality in which he existed. He noticed immediately that he was not in his room. The contents of his room were all similar, but the walls, the door, and the window were all different. Odie was confused by this strange phenomenon, so he decided that he was still in a dream, and laid himself down to rest once more. His eyes were burst open by a loud noise at the foot of his bed. “Good day!” blasted a booming voice. Odie sat up instantly in anxious surprise. “You have 10 minutes to get ready, or  else your adventure will not be a pleasant one!” Erupted a mountainous voice. There, stood a monstrous bull of a man. He was composed of nothing but pure muscle, and was about 8ft tall. The large was wearing thick armor that covered his shoulders, torso, and wrists, and had a face covered in a thick beard. “Hurry hurry” the man said while tapping his pocket watch. “If I were you, I’d wear some jeans and a t-shirt. Trust me.” And with that, the tall man burst out the door with the same ambience as when he had entered.

 

 

Odie was very puzzled by this strange turn of events. He sat there for a moment confused by what was happening. He looked about his room once more. The walls seemed to be made out of a sort of adobe stone mix, and were a pleasant tan color. The entire room was bleached in garnish light coming from the window. Odie could hear the thick sound of conversing peoples coming from outside. He walked to the window and peered out. His breath was nearly stolen from him. There, stood a mighty city built on a shifting desert. Odie was able to see nearly the entire town from his window. The sun sat dimly off in the distance, about to rise from its deep slumber. Though the day was young, and the morning brisk, the city boomed and bustled. Directly below Odie was a busy street filled with vendors and stalls selling all kinds of items. The   street was an animated and vibrant one, covered with customers bargaining for the best price, vendors advertising their product, and assorted textiles that radiated beauty. However, something in the distance made Odie a bit perplexed. Floating there, beyond the city, stood a mountainous upside down pyramid, that suspended just beneath the clouds. It was massive, almost overshadowing the entire city itself. It bobbed and rotated very slowly, as if to draw attention to it.
“Ah yes! The Dungeon!” exclaimed a voice from behind Odie. Odie flinched in surprise. There stood a short, old man wearing the clothing of someone from the middle east.  “Ha! Sorry about that young man, didn’t mean to frighten you. I couldn’t help but notice your intriguement of the Dungeon. It sure does stick out like a sore thumb, doesn’t it?
“Uh, where am I exactly?” Odie inquired, gazing about his room.
The old man gave a toothless smile, “Follow me, I’ll show you everything you need to know.”
Odie was about to follow the man out the door, when he realized he was not yet dressed.
“Could I have a moment to change please?” Odie asked the old man.
The man smiled,
”Of course. Of course. I’ll let you change,” he said gently.
Odie waited for the man to leave, but he just stood there staring.
“Like, as in you leave the room.”
“Ah yes, of course. Of course.”
The man scooted out the door, but continued to stare with a peppy grin on his wrinkled face.
“Are you a pedophile or something?”

The man giggled lightly, then closed the door.
Odie then proceeded to get dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a T-shirt that he got from a concert, and his sneakers, just as the giant bull man had instructed. Odie opened the door to see the old man whistling suspiciously. Odie shrugged it off and made a gesture for the old man to lead the way. The man led him down a narrow corridor, and through many twists and turns, to a wrought wooden door. He opened the door open and gestured Odie through. The other side of the door was pitch black. This made Odie a bit hesitant. “Oh dear, I forgot to light a candle. I’ll light one once we enter,” the old man said, picking up on Odie’s hesitation. Odie was only half way through the door, until he stopped, realizing the door actually led to a dank cave. “Hey, wait--” The man shoved Odie through the door completely. Odie tripped over himself and fell to the floor damp stone floor. “Good luck,” The old man said, slamming the door shut. Odie got up and rammed the door with his shoulder, hoping to bust it open. His anger turned to desperation as he began to slam the door with both fists, screaming for the man to open up. The door began to glow very brightly, causing Odie to step back in anxious curiosity. It wasn’t until the door was too bright to look at, that it began to disappear. The door that was once there dematerialized, and the howls of beasts and monsters echoed in the distance.


The author's comments:

I'm doing this for extra credit, and I wrote this for fun.


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