A short time later, Ashley arrives at Ridgewood Forest, adorning a tight, pink catsuit that she had recently purchased, she carefully creeps her way through the trees until she discovers the strange door that was mentioned in the email.
“What the...?” Ashley says aloud as she inches closer to the door. An oddly out-of-place structure for being so deep in the abandoned forest, surrounded by a small hill and a concrete wall, implying that there was some sort of hidden area within the hill, or underground. Ashley tugs on the door handle, but it’s locked. A small numerical keypad is positioned to the right of the door. No doubt the means of access to this mysterious threshold. Ashley raises an eyebrow as she glances over at the keypad. She reaches out her index finger and presses the number ‘1’ four times before a small LED glows red on the keypad. Ashley quickly reaches over to the door knob and tries to turn it, but it’s still locked.
“Hmm…” Ashley murmurs as she looks over at the keypad again. This time she tries the combination of ‘1, 2, 3, 4’. The LED glows red, indicating that her code is again incorrect. Ashley stands for a moment, baffled as to what the code might be. Then it hits her.
“Oh yeah! Text when I arrive.” She says in a heuristic manner. She then reaches for her phone and opens her email app. She replies to the initial email that she received earlier with the word ‘Here’, then presses send. Mere seconds later, Ashley’s email notification chimes indicating she has a new, unread email from the unknown person.
“8 4 3 3. Leave your phone at the door.” The new email reads. Ashley looks around the forest, but sees nothing but trees for miles. She apprehensively sets her phone down on the ground and reaches over to the keypad.
“8, 4, 3, 3.” She says aloud as she presses the buttons on the keypad. The LED indicator turns green and Ashley can hear the sound of a mechanical lock open on the door. She turns the door handle and the door opens with ease. Behind the door, a dark staircase that leads down to what appears to be a dimly lit hallway. Ashley peers down the small shaft and slowly begins to descend down the dark flight of stairs into the unknown corridor.
