The dark alleys

Written for Photo prompt for Wrimo India Activity #FridayFiction 

It took a while for him to adjust his eyes to the darkness. He could now see the long corridor converge into the black. Cold, he shivered. He looked around to find the source of dampness. His ears twitched at the faint voices and he moved forward towards them. He pulled the hood over his head and buried his hands into the pockets.

The stairs were to the right. He tapped his foot on the first step in indecision and then climbed up. At the top, he stood facing a wall of black. He could hear faint voices. They spoke without turns making it difficult to understand. Suddenly he saw a burning red ember shot across him. In an attempt to dodge it, he stepped back and almost tumbled down, almost. He saw the ember flew in a sharp arc to the right where it hit a blue ember. The blue ember bounced around under the impact. He saw some flickers burst out of both, more embers generated. They were multiplying, fewer blues, more red. They flew around and attacked each other. With each impact, they multiplied. There were more voices now. All talking at once. There was sobbing, wheezing, crying but not a person was in sight. He looked around and saw another fleet of stairs going up. 

He walked up to the next floor. There was a faint light there. It was open and vacant. He could feel the presence of nothing. He found his body stunned as the calmness engulfed him. The hair on his body stood at the sound of silence. He ran back down. 

The floor down was now illuminated with blue and red ember zapping across. There was utter chaos, he felt better. The voices had turned into shouts and screams. He closed his ears and sat down watching the spectacle with interest. Then suddenly it struck him, the voices were all his. 

A shock ran through his body and he ran down the stairs, through the corridor, through the consciousness of his mind. It looked long and unending. Memories came rushing towards him, hitting him, identifying themselves as he ran through the dark alleys of his mind. Then he stopped and turned. His feet ran to the first floor into the pandemonium. He sighed. He felt at home.