Cliffhanger - Downwards

I've put it off for too long.

My work clothes pile in the corner. The smell of sweat and dirt lingering in my apartment only worsens because I waited all week. My only option now is to go across town to the only laundromat open in the middle of the night.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJm7Fx845Z

I trudge myself out of the building towards my parked car, holding a black bag in either arm. Tossing them into the back seat and begrudgingly getting myself in. I start to make my way across town, to my run-down savior.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvoEmYuIAi

_____________________________________________

I'm the only one here.

Unsettling, to say the least, but who am I to complain. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DCxZD59hU

After throwing my first load into a washer, i sit down at the closet chair I could find, closed my eyes, and just listened to the whirring and sputtering of the machine. The echoing noise drowning the silence of the night.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcivfdRuid

Thirty minutes pass, groggy and tierd. I load my clothes into the dryer, taking up my proclaimed seat. I continue my wait; at least I've taken care of one thing on my plate.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWwU7mkfaN

A couple of minutes pass as the heat of the dryer warms up the room, and I begin to fall asleep.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMHFJ7TCFW

______________________________________________

A sound of clanking metal and an odd groaning shakes me awake.

A metal door I've not seen before stands swung open across from me. The cracked, unpainted walls and stone steps decend downward into a dark shadow.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnS2Q480yr

Cold air pours into the room, and precipitation forms from the heat rising from the dryer, not being able to contain my curiosity. I step closer to the open door, My nose stings from the strong aroma of wet stone.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh02V8PX0Gf

"Just a peek." 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotx1hY5AeF

My mind, incompassed by imagination. Glory, greed, or adventure, it mattered not.

I step downwards on the slight bend of uneven stone steps. My shoes echo with a thud as I decend.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3GRkEOrbA

The alarming sound of banging metal shoots through my ears.The door slams shut.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1M97FM39DJ

I'm left with only one option. Downwards.

ns216.73.216.175da2