The last locker

An original narrative about returning to an empty changing room.

After the evening swimming session, I realised that my locker key was still beneath the bench. The receptionist assured me that the changing room was empty and held the door open. Inside, the strip lights hummed above rows of blue lockers, while water crept slowly towards the drains.

The key was exactly where I had dropped it. As I reached down, a locker door clicked shut somewhere behind me. I stood up quickly. Every locker appeared to be closed. Near the showers, one of the cubicle curtains moved slightly, although the air in the room felt still.

I called out, but my voice returned as a thin echo. A wet footprint marked the tiles beside my shoe. As I watched, another dark print appeared nearer the exit. I told myself that both marks must have been left by the last swimmer, but I tightened my grip on the key.

The lights went out. In the darkness, something scraped across the wooden bench. When the lights returned, the towel I had left folded at the far end of the room was lying on the floor beside me.

How does the writer make the narrator's return to the changing room seem frightening?

You should write about:

• the changing room
• the unexplained sounds and movements
• the narrator's reactions.