I'm Not Scared of a Trapdoor

I'm Not Scared of a Trapdoor, written and narrated by Jason Goldlist. I wrote it by hand in 1994 when I was eight years old.

Chapter 1: The Trapdoor

One day, I was going to school, on a bright, sunny day. I've been at this school all my life. When I was seven years old, I found a trapdoor in the hall. I haven't explored it yet, but I've looked in it. It was very neat. I'm now eight years old. I said I was going to explore it this year. I'm in grade four and “I'm not scared of a trapdoor,” I said to my friend Gabe.

One day, I asked if I could go to the washroom. My teacher said yes. Instead, I went to meet Gabe.

Gabe was getting a drink. I thought it was a good time to prove that I could go and open the trapdoor and jump in. I found Gabe drinking water. When he was done, I said I was going to explore the trapdoor. When nobody was around, I went to the hall and went inside. But I couldn't. It was just floor under it. So I was starting to go back. I felt my face was getting red. Gabe was laughing so hard he almost gagged.

Before I got back, I decided to go break the trapdoor. I went back to the trapdoor, and I jumped on it. But before I knew it, I was falling.

I called for Gabe, but he went in the classroom. I called for help, but no one came. Then I realized that school was over. Everybody goes down the other hall.

Chapter 2: Four Sturdy Walls

Suddenly, I felt like I had to look around. All that was around was walls. Four sturdy looking walls, I thought. Then I wanted to make sure. I started running into the walls. Number one, two and three were sturdy. I tried the fourth one, but I realized that there was no fourth one. But I was already charging.

I kept on going, until I tripped. I fell right beside a rock. I moved the rock away so I could get up. It was a big rock. It kept rolling over little rocks. But it hit a little rock and stopped. I wondered why. So I kicked the little rock away. But it didn't budge. I went down on my knees and pushed it. It didn't budge, so finally, I stepped on it.

I didn't know until it was too late. The floor started to fall. I yelled and yelled. Finally, I hit the ground, hard, real hard.

I got up. I looked around. There were two ways to go. One way it was dark, pitch black. The other way there was a little light. I decided to go the way with the light. When I reached the place with the light, it wasn't there. I was tricked!

I started to go back, but suddenly the roof and both sides caved in. I was trapped! I started to go the other way. Suddenly I felt like I had to make a turn.

And would you believe my luck? There was a fork in the road. On the fork there were two ways. One way said “Home of...” and the rest was faded out. The other way said “Monsterville.” I decided to take the way that said “Home of...” I thought that was the better way.

I started to go. I saw light up ahead. It hurt my eyes because I had been in the dark for a long time. It took a long time for my eyes to adjust.

Chapter 3: The Red Button

When they did, I continued to walk. Suddenly, I found a red button. I decided to push it. Suddenly, the wall started to turn. So I jumped in. The instant I jumped in, the wall shut close. I pushed to open it, but it didn't move.

At least there was light. And spikes on the wall! Yikes! I almost jumped right out of my skin. Then I realized that they were closing in and there was only one way out. The hatch on the top!

I started to climb the spikes. I jumped off the spikes, caught onto the hatch and climbed up. I made it.

I looked around. I was outta there. Outside. Hallelujah! But I was in a graveyard. Beyond the graveyard there was a castle. A big castle. And millions of tombstones. They all looked old, I think.

I started to walk towards the castle but I wasn't. I was headed in the wrong direction! I fell back in the hatch door. Luckily the spikes were closed, so I just jumped out. I went the right way towards the castle.

Chapter 4: The Castle

I jumped over tombstones. I pretended I was playing football and dodged all the tombstones, and I did the same with hockey. Then, finally, I made it to a drawbridge.

Suddenly I realized it was starting to close! It was my last chance. I had to get into that castle and explore. I jumped to get it, but I missed. Instantly, I started to fall, down into the water. Thousands of alligators and crocodiles must live in there, I thought as I fell. This is it. The last second of my life.

And then, I fell head first into the water! Whoa! I bounced right back up. Then I saw that it was a hologram. There's really a trampoline down there, I thought.

But I couldn't get in. The drawbridge was closed. Then, I saw windows. I caught on to one and pulled myself in. I was scared, really, really, really scared.

I walked out of the room and into the hall. It had a lot of pictures. Pictures of bats, people screaming, scared people, and bats biting people, and vampires biting people. Really lifelike. Almost like someone took them from a camera.

I heard a noise from the ceiling. Suddenly bats came down from the ceiling. Millions and zillions came down. I thought they were vampire bats. I was right. I started to run for my life. All these things were coming down from the ceiling. Like fake ghosts, devils and all sorts of things.

I stopped. There was nothing there. Then again I had the sense of the floor sinking. But it wasn't sinking. I was sinking. Sinking in quicksand.

Then I looked down, but I couldn't. The quicksand was up to my neck! I struggled to get out. I got out easily. "Another dumb hologram. I'm getting sick of technology," I said out loud.

Then I stopped short. To make sure nobody tracked me down I started to go again. Next time I wouldn't even slow down.

The same thing happened. Vampire bats again came down. I didn't slow down. But this time I felt the wings flapping. I started to run for my life. I turned a corner, then another corner. Finally, there were no more bats.

Chapter 5: Nets and Holograms

I started to walk again. Oh no! I tripped again. I got up and tripped again! Then I look for what I tripped on. Aha! A brick.

I stepped on it and started to walk away. But right when I stepped on it, a net came up from the floor, and trapped me to the ceiling. Not again. Another trap hatch.

I had to. I climb up. Steel walls everywhere. Then, they started to close in. No spikes to climb, no hatch. Except the one I came through. But it only opened from the bottom!

Ha! Another hologram. Nothing much. But I had to make sure. I ran into one. It wasn't a hologram.

When they came close enough, I put my hands on both walls and started to push. One was steel, but the other one was a hologram. Then I saw the window at the other end. I ran to it and jumped out.

I knew there was going to be a trampoline. But I was wrong. I was on the wrong side. It was too late. I jumped already.

I was on target for the drawbridge. It was open. This was no illusion. Then I hit the bridge. I got up. I was still alive.

But, as soon as I got up, the place where I was standing broke. I caught on just in time. But my fingers were starting to loosen. I was trying to pull myself up. It was too late. I fell. The end.

No way! The trampoline bounced me back up. I landed on the other side of the hole. I rested for a few minutes.

Chapter 6: The Cave

I thought about everything I had done. About how nice it would be to have something to eat for dinner. Without noticing the drawbridge was closing. Just when I was thinking about my escape. "What a day," I mumbled.

Then I got up and walked around. I made up my mind that I had to go to sleep. It was a long, exhausting day.

I saw a cave. I looked inside. I instantly saw bats. I ran out. I saw one of those things you put around your neck. Obviously I put it around my neck. I jumped in the cave and started to walk around. I started to lie down. Soon I started to fall asleep.

When I heard a sound early in the morning, I said "Only 5 more minutes Mom." But when I heard more sounds I said "Okay I'm getting up." Right when I got up, I looked around expecting to see my mom with a mad look on her face and yelling "You're late for school."

But instead I found out that it wasn't Mom. It was bats. Thousands of vampire bats.

I stood up straight. I knew that the bats would be scared because of the smell that the thing around my neck had. But they kept coming. As anyone would do in this situation, I started to run for my life.

I finally got out of that cave, ran for the drawbridge, up the drawbridge, on to the grass and I'm out of here. Oops! I ran into the drawbridge. It wasn't opened.

I was so tired from that get up and run thing I almost fell asleep. But instead, I slumped onto the wall. There was brick sticking out.

Then I said something very embarrassing to me because people tease me by calling me strong. I really am weak. And guess what, I said "Oohh."

I was so mad, I slammed my hand on the brick. The brick moved in and like many times, something I knew would happen. I just knew. And I was right!

But this time it was scary. The roof caved in. I felt like I was going to die. Dead meat. But, as I should put it, it was... guess! No. Not a hologram. No. No. No. It was something that really wasn't waiting for me. It was purely my imagination. No. It was real.

Then, it hit me. "Ouch!" I said out loud. Again embarrassing. But I learned to not stop short. Just a few stones. Not many. I was really relieved.

Chapter 7: The Pyramid

I made my way out of the castle. I was curious about what was behind the castle. Oh my! A huge pyramid was behind there.

I am not going to go in, I thought to myself. And so I didn't go in. I slept beside it. When I woke up, I was in the entrance of the pyramid. Sleepwalking, I thought.

I am not going in there. But I was wrong. This kind of force was pulling me in. From the second I stepped in, I knew I was going to get lost. And that second I was lost.

I could go backwards, I could go forward, I could go right, I could go left, or I could go up a ladder and go up. I decided to do just that.

I started to climb. Half the rope broke. I fell hard on the floor. A trick! I thought. But I was determined. I ran backwards. Then I started running full speed forward. I jumped and caught on. I started to climb quickly. I got up.

I was still on the rope when I thought the floor was too thin to step on. So I took my house keys out of my pocket. I was holding on tightly to the rope, and on to the keys. I took my keys and lightly tapped it. It didn't break. So I carefully put a foot on the floor, but it broke. I instantly put my foot back on the rope.

Then I started to climb higher. Finally, after maybe 15 minutes, I got to see something small move. I wanted to see what it is. I started to climb faster than before. Then I started to slow down. I was scared. But again, I was determined. I started to climb. Then I saw that it was only a spider. I was really, really relieved.

There was only a little more rope to climb to the top. I finally got to the top. There was nothing there. Rats!

I stayed up there to think what I was going to do next. Then the rope broke again. Down, down, down. Until I hit the ground. Something embarrassing came out of my mouth. "Ouch!" I couldn't believe I let it come out.

I got up and stretched. I started to do 50 jumping jacks. Forty-eight, forty-nine, ahh! The floor broke.

I wasn't that scared anymore. It could have been 1) an illusion 2) a hologram 3) real. Number three was right.

But this is a pyramid, I thought when I was falling. How could this happen? Then it occurred to me that this could be a never ending hole. What a dreadful thought. Or I could be discovering the tomb of prince Koho-Ru. It could be the best find since King Tut's tomb. Wow, I thought.

Then, out of nowhere, a neon sign was in the wall. It was flashing this: GRAVITY GETTING WEIRD. Then I started to slow down. Then I was going back up. I was screaming my lungs out.

Then I thought if I wanted to find the tomb then this is trying to stop me. I held on to something sticking out of the wall. Then with all my might, I jumped off. The lights on the sign went out. I started falling again.

Then I hit the ground. No, the floor. No, stairs? Yes. It was stairs. The whole place was full of them.

Chapter 8: The Mummy

I didn't want to move. I'll just get lost. Lost, lost. Then I thought that if I get lost it would be an adventure. (Like it already isn't.) So off I went.

Meanwhile in the pyramid, the mummy awoke by the sound of screaming. Since this mummy is blind, and is new to this part of the pyramid (he was in King Koho-Ru's chamber. He liked it there), he just staggered toward the noise. I think you should know what happened. But I'll tell you anyways. He fell in the floor.

The next day when I woke up, I saw a mummy around, maybe, ten stairs away. He was coming to get me, I thought.

Now the mummy was mad. He heard someone, now he only heard silence. What a bad break.

I started running silently away. I went upside on stairs, sideways, the other way, down stairs. Any way you could think of. Amazing, I thought.

I started to slow down. One, because the mummy wasn't chasing after me. Two, I thought I saw a little red device on a stair.

I wonder what it is. I also wondered what it was doing there and what it's for. I walked over to it. Then I touched it. It felt cold and dry. How could it feel that way. But when I touched it, it disappeared. I was so surprised that I fell off the stairs and a big long drop off was what I was in for.

Meanwhile the mummy, mad as he was, was staggering toward the red device. Because he thought he heard a scream.

I was still holding tightly on the stairs.

Frightened, what I really was. I couldn't pull myself up because I haven't eaten anything for a few days. I had nothing better to do than drop. I'll probably end up in a T.V. station or something. Here I go! Ahhhh!

I let go of the stairs. I was falling for a few seconds when I hit something hard. I didn't know what I had hit. And I didn't think I wanted to. I opened my eyes and looked around. STAIRS! Yes! No! No no no no. The mummy fell off too! The mummy was going to land on me!

"This is it," I said out loud. I started saying my prayers. Bless thy word... the mummy hit. Ouch.

I jumped up through the mummy and started running. Head down, fast, faster running. My head really was down, so I didn't see the fork in the stairs saying “Home of...” and the other one said “Monsterville.” I hit the fork in the stairs. I looked up and said "No way I'm not going in any one." But I had no time. The mummy was three steps away!

I didn't know what way to go. I could go this way or that way. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I decided to go above the fork and jump off. That's what I did.

I fell for maybe two hours. Then I didn't hit something hard. I hit something soft. Soft as sand. And it was garbage. I looked around. A dark alley. Yuck. I hate garbage.

A few seconds later, the mummy was coming. This time I knew what I was going to do. I came out of the garbage can and took a banana peel. When the mummy was in the garbage, I put the peel beside the garbage can.

When the mummy came out and slipped on the banana peel, he fell back into the garbage can. Then I said "What's wrong mummy, want your daddy?" and I started to crack up.

But it wasn't so funny. The mummy was really really mad. Suddenly, the mummy blew a really sharp whistle. Instantly, two huge monsters came right behind me.

I didn't care about the mummy right now. There was a two stories high monster running after me. I was running so fast. I was really exhausted because I haven't had food in a long time.

Chapter 9: Wonderland

Then I saw an elevator. There was a huge line up. I am certainly not going to wait in line. I ignored the line and ran into the elevator.

We started to go up. It was a nice elevator. It was all made of glass. I looked down. I saw the monster climbing after me. I looked at what floor we were at. It said 12, 13th storey.

Then the elevator wire snapped. Everyone was yelling and screaming. I was too. Feuff! It was over. I had killed the monster.

I went out of the elevator. Then I realized I was at Wonderland. What? How could I be here? I live in Pennsylvania. No way! Here in Orlando, Florida? I couldn't believe it!

But my thoughts were interrupted. I heard an angry growl. I turned around. I saw the monster. Probably, when the next ride went in the Tower of Terror, he came out. I was too late. The monster grabbed me.

Very quickly I jumped out of his grasp. It was pretty close to flying. I thought I was going to fall and die. But instead I fell on an inflatable raft that you bounce on.

I was bouncing so high that I thought the monster was going to grab me again. So, I bounced and forced myself to move away from the monster. But I couldn't. The monster struck. He made contact with me. Ouch! I screamed. But he didn't catch me. I was flying. This was it. No bouncing raft to catch me. I'm dead meat.

I closed my eyes. There was no way I was going to see what was going to happen. Oof! I hit something. Not hard, it was pretty soft. I opened my eyes.

I was in the front seat of a roller coaster. We were going up the steepest roller coaster hill in all the park. The monster was so mad that he didn't watch what he was stepping on. (Like he always does, ya right.) I thought about jumping out and back onto the inflatable raft.

The monster was running as fast as an airplane. The monster slipped on a hot dog stand. Earthquake! The monster was just laying there when he saw me. He instantly popped right up and made a grab for me in the roller coaster. He missed.

I was going down the hill. The roller coaster was going so fast that the monster grabbed a girl in the back seat. When the monster saw that it wasn't me, it was that girl, he threw her back. She landed on the roller coaster tracks. Boom. The roller coaster ran her over.

Since I was in the very front, I was the first one to duck. I had to duck so guts and intestines wouldn't hit me in the face.

I saw the monster, he was furious. My only way out is to jump off on to the bouncing raft. Too late! Nooooooo! I screamed. The monster stepped on the inflatable raft. All the air squirted out at me. I was blown out of my seat because I never put on my seat belt.

But you already know what I'm about to say. I said (anyways) "This is it, I'm dead meat." I was like maybe a few more seconds 'till touch-down. Well, might as well enjoy the last few seconds of my life, I thought.

But no. I landed (yes once again) in the babies' ride. The airplanes that go round and round. Yessss! If this guy couldn't catch me in the roller coaster, he could never ever catch me on this.

Wrong. The monster took one swing with his hand and boom. I was off. Lucky I had time to buckle my seat belt. It was, as they say, going, going, gone. Ouch!

By now you should know what I'm about to say. The park's police officer probably phoned the military. Because I saw tanks, cannons and about everything else they could bring.

Chapter 10: The Military

Hold on a moment. The park had been evacuated except for the military and army and all those kind of things. All electricity was shut off. All this was a total blur but I managed to make all this out from inside a plane spinning in the air.

But everything was lit up by shooting bombs and all that. Then I saw a multi missile launcher. All six missiles at once. Bombs away. Now the monster was burning with fire.

Ouch! I'm not even going to say this again. Ahhh! I've hit oil. Gallons of oil was pouring out. Oh yeah! The monster was on fire, and oil was hitting him, so now he was red, red, red hot.

I had to get a drink. Oh yes! A water fountain. Mmmmm. I turned it on. Gasoline squirted out. Luckily I moved my head in the nick of time. It started hitting the monster. He was toast. I mean, real toast.

Oh wow! I haven't eaten for weeks. Now I can enjoy a nice slice of toast. I started to walk over, and I picked up the piece of toast.

Then I faced the military and said "Anyone have any butter?" "Sorry," said the chief of the military. "We only have margarine." "I'll settle for that," I said.

Then the chief of the military said "evom kcab, knat rebmun owt derdnuh dna ytfif-enin." I thought it was some kind of code. Then he said "mia, erif!"

Right then I figured out the code. Everything was backwards. He really said "move back, tank number two hundred fifty-nine." Then he said "aim, fire."

What! Aim, fire? It was tooooo late. I saw a lot of gunpowder coming out of the tank. This... you should know. Well anyways, "This is it. I'm dead meat."

Lucky I could change my molecules around. I changed them around so I could be Superman. I used my super eye vision to stop the cannon, and send it back where it came from.

Chapter 11: Rewind

Later on in jail.

"Judge, I'm innocent. Judge, I tell you. How do you think that I knew that was an atomic bomb? Anyways, look on the good side: 1) you still have a job, and... 2) half the town is still here. What could be better?"

"Okay. Okay, you could have a whole town."

"Well, you only spend the rest of your life in jail, so get used to it," said the judge.

Well anyways, I don't like it here. And when I don't like something, I don't like it. So I didn't just stand there and get sent off to jail like most people.

I changed my molecules around until I was the angel of death. I came up and took the judge up to hell. I left him there and came back to earth.

Since everybody in the world was looking for me, I decided to turn into something in the meantime. That's it. I could turn this into a T.V. series. No. If Power Rangers are breaking children violence codes, this would be off the air in one episode.

That's it. I could turn myself into a tape and rewind myself. That is it. All the way to the beginning. Perfect.

So I changed my molecules around until I was a video tape. Then I started to rewind. Back. Back. And even further back. Until the beginning. Back. Back, back, back.

Yes! Finally made it.

One day I was going to school on a bright sunny day. I've been at this school all my life. When I was seven years old I found a trapdoor in the hall. I haven't explored it yet but I've looked in it. It was very neat. I'm now eight years old. I said I was going to explore it this year. I’m in grade four and “I’m not scared of a trapdoor,” I said to my friend Gabe.

One day I asked if I could go to the washroom. My teacher said yes. Instead, I went to meet Gabe. Gabe was getting a drink. I thought it was a good time to prove that I could go and open the trapdoor and jump in. I found Gabe drinking water. When he was done, I said I was going to explore the trapdoor.........

This has been I'm Not Scared of a Trapdoor, written and narrated by Jason Goldlist. I wrote this story by hand in 1994 when I was 8 years old. It was 50 pages long.