The Empty Room

The Empty Room

My name is Tommy Jones, and I am locked in a room.

I looked around and realized I was sitting in an empty room with a deadbolt locked on the door in front of me. I could unlock the door and leave, but I had no idea why I was there or what would happen if I opened it.

I knew I needed answers before I went anywhere, so I sat down and tried to remember what had happened that day. I had done everything the same way I always did before work, but somehow everything had gone terribly wrong.

I started my morning by driving to work. Like I usually did, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop to get my morning cup of coffee. While I was there, I heard someone yelling and screaming about a monster inside the store. Everyone seemed frightened, so I paid for my coffee and quickly left.

When I got back to my truck, something strange started happening. I looked around and saw little dinosaurs jumping on my truck. At first, I couldn't believe my eyes. Then I looked ahead and saw a huge dinosaur standing in the middle of the road.

I panicked. I stopped my truck, jumped out, and ran into the woods.

That was when I saw the giant dinosaur chasing me.

I ran as fast as I could, but the creature kept getting closer. My heart was pounding, and I was terrified. I had no idea where I was going. I just knew I had to get away.

Then I saw a building nearby. I ran toward it and rushed inside. The monster followed me and started hitting the walls, trying to break through. I could hear it crashing into the building repeatedly.

I knew I had to go farther inside to protect myself, so I kept moving until I found the empty room where I was now hiding.

Now I have a choice. Should I go back outside, or should I stay here longer?

The room was completely quiet. I could not hear the dinosaur anymore. Maybe it was gone. Maybe it was safe.

I thought about everything that had happened. I wasn't a perfect person, and I had taken drugs before, but I had never experienced anything like this. The hallucination felt completely real.

After what seemed like forever, I slowly reached for the door handle. I opened the door just enough to look outside.

Nothing was there.

No dinosaur. No monster. No danger.

I carefully stepped out and looked around. Whatever had been chasing me was gone.

My truck was still sitting in the middle of the road, so I walked over and moved it out of the way. After taking a few minutes to calm down, I finally found the courage to drive back to the coffee shop where everything had started.

When I arrived, I couldn't believe what I saw.

Police cars and fire trucks surrounded the area.

I walked inside and discovered that there had been a terrorist attack that morning. The attackers had released something inside the building, and I had been exposed to it.

The police asked me to get into an ambulance, and I was taken to the hospital to be examined.

The doctor told me I was going to be okay. He explained that I had been exposed to LSD and that the hallucinations would eventually wear off.

I went back to work later that day with one of the strangest stories anyone had ever heard. Luckily, I had a doctor's note explaining why I was late.

About halfway through the day, a police officer named Sergeant Sowell called me. He wanted to schedule a time to hear my story for his report. He said he wanted to meet with me in person.

An FBI agent also interviewed me. He asked me to carefully think about everything I had seen before entering the coffee shop and everything I saw afterward.

I told them about the person who had screamed at a monster inside the store. Looking back, I realized that probably planted the idea of dinosaurs in my mind before the LSD fully took effect.

When someone is under the influence of a powerful hallucinogen, sometimes all it takes is one suggestion for the mind to create something terrifying.

Later, I found out that fifteen people had been drugged that day. One other person lost control of their vehicle, drove off the road, and died.

I was one of the lucky ones.

Somehow, even though I was running for my life from a dinosaur, a small part of my mind knew it wasn't real. The building I ran into turned out to be a church, and that was where I found safety.

The next day, a lawyer called me to sue the coffee shop for exposing me to LSD and causing my terrifying experience.

I thought about it for a few minutes.

Then I decided it wasn't the coffee shop's fault. They were victims too. I told the lawyer no and wished him luck with the other victims.

I figured he would keep asking people until he found someone willing to file a lawsuit.

As for me, I wanted to get as far away from the whole experience as possible. I just wanted my life to return to normal.

When I got home that night, I decided to watch Jurassic Park just to see if I could figure out what kind of dinosaur had been chasing me.

I knew it wasn't a Tyrannosaurus rex, but it was some kind of large predator. Of course, it didn't really matter. I just wanted to put the whole strange day behind me.

From that day forward, I decided I would probably skip the coffee stops on my way to work.

For the next few weeks, I tried to convince myself that everything was back to normal. Later, I learned that the FBI had arrested six people involved in the plot. They were now in jail, each in their own locked room.

My friends at work, Kevin and Mike, wanted to hear the story again.

At first, I didn't mind telling it. It was unbelievable, and honestly, I still couldn't believe it had happened.

"You're telling me you saw dinosaurs chasing you?" one of my coworkers joked.

"Maybe you should write a book," another one laughed.

I smiled and said, "If I write a book, maybe I'll make some money."

Sometimes, on my way home, I stopped by the church just to look around. I thought about how scared I had been that day and how I had prayed for help.

Somehow, that church was there exactly when I needed it.

One day, I asked a worker if I could see the back room where I had hidden.

I learned that the room was a storage room that just happened to be empty that day.

Or maybe there was something more to the story.

Maybe it was a reminder that sometimes prayers are answered in ways we don't expect.

When you are afraid and don't know where to turn, help can appear in the most unexpected places.