Day 566

This street definitely wasn't on the tourist map.
There should be a wall here or a shop of some sort, yet here the narrow cobblestone street was.
Buildings lined both sides of it, their windows grimy and black stained, like the big city ones.
This was a town though, many hundreds of miles from the capital and sleepy in comparison.
It was the kind of place where nothing really happened.

The tourist walked down the shouldn't-be-a-street and onwards to some kind of adventure.
As they passed by the buildings hands darted out and closed curtains or slammed windows shut.
The tourist never saw any bodies during this, only spindly arms and skeletal hands.
They made to turn back only to find the entrance they took gone entirely.
It seemed that the street was more of a conveyor belt, you went one way until you reached the end.

What was the end though?
The tourist pondered this as they passed by dozens more slammed windows and bony arms.
As the street took a sharp turn and splintered off into seven separate pathways they halted.
"Ah, so this is where the adventure really begins!" they exclaimed in their mind.
The mere thought of discovering some lost part of the town drove them on excitedly.

They picked the centremost path and continued on with renewed vigour.
In their haste they failed to notice all of the windows opening behind them and the arms reaching out.
The spider-like limbs linked hands and began to pull.
As they did all of the buildings drew together, sealing the street shut.
The tourist paid them no mind, too busy searching for some kind of new thing to brag about.

After what felt like hours, their energy ran short and they stopped to sit for a while on a dented bin.
As they caught their breath they saw the arms in the distance behind them closing the street off.
Panicking they ran and the street began to seal itself closer and closer behind them.
Taking turn after turn, choosing pathways at random they eventually stumbled back into the town.
Collapsing in the street they dared to look back, seeing those arms frozen inches from their back.