Things in the Mirror by DJ Shaw Read Free Book Online Page B

contact I let go of the hands holding mine, backing up until my back hit the wall. Almost as soon as my hands let go, the spell, or whatever it was, broke. Nina and the other girls laughed nervously. Then Nina turned on the lights, “Well that was a bust. But at least now we know Tom was just trying to scare me. Come on, let’s go. Class will be starting soon.” The girls followed her out and I inspected the three scratches on my arm. They weren’t really that deep, but they were bleeding and stung. I cleaned them up with soap and water, patted them dry and went to class. My fear of mirrors continued to grow.
     
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    My musings had found me in my living room. I tried to have a seat on the couch to wait for Terry to get home, but my trip down memory lane had made me so anxious that I couldn’t sit still. I wandered slowly through the house, my eyes starting to adjust to the darkness. My mind continued to stray back to Bloody Mary and all the weird things that began happening after my friends and I had called her. The scratches on my arm had only been the beginning. I started seeing her in every mirror I came across. I asked my friends about it, but they claimed nothing like that was happening to them. Every reflective surface I passed, a mirror, a clean window, or even a shiny appliance, would show her face. She had been haunting me and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it. I had been afraid to tell my mom, afraid she would chide me for being so foolish. I threw my hands up in the air. There seemed to be no way to get around thinking about my past and what kinds of things could happen with mirrors in the dark.
    I made my way into the kitchen to get a cold glass of water, trying to calm the fears that were threatening to overwhelm me. Once the flood gates had opened, there seemed to be no way of stopping the rush of memories I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on for years. All I could do was try to hold them at bay and pray Terry made it home before they overtook me completely.
    On impulse, I decided to go into the bathroom and face the mirror. It was beyond time for me to lay my childhood fears to rest. Terry would be home soon, and if things went south then at least he would have no choice but to finally believe me. There was only one problem: which fear would be waiting for me to face? Bloody Mary or the purple blob? Or would it be something else entirely? Mirrors were said to be portals to other realms and I truly believed that, but if there were any good ones to be seen or reached, I had yet to find them.
     
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    I was standing at the threshold of the master bathroom, trying to work up the courage to cross it and go to the mirror. My memories were mixing with every horror movie scene, flashing through my mind as I attempted to take a timid step forward. My hands, gripping the doorjamb, were slick with sweat, and my heart was racing. I was fast approaching hyperventilation but my brain didn’t seem to be in control of my body anymore, so it was hard to see past the fear.
    While I was struggling to get calm, I heard the noise. It was a scratching sound coming from the bathroom. My heart seemed to stop as I strained my ears and my eyes darted around the bathroom, looking everywhere but the mirror. The scratching came again and there was no stopping myself from looking any longer. The sound was coming from the mirror!
    My limbs went limp with fear, causing my legs to go out from under me, and I landed in an untidy heap of arms and legs in the doorway. There were shadows moving within the mirror but I couldn’t make out what they were. I really didn’t want to see what they were going to be but all reason had fled my mind when function had left my body, leaving me frozen in place with no other choice.
    My eyes were riveted to the mirror and the shadows writhing inside seemed to be getting a sick, perverse pleasure out of my frozen, fear-ridden state. I couldn’t tell what they were; they