We arrive at another Wednesday, with heavy rain and winds. I really don't want to go to work today. Hibernating is a much better option. Ah well, puts food on the table and I really like to eat.
The prompt I used this week is You look like a vampire on a day pass
By the time they got close
enough to touch the box, Emma could clearly see the woman in the glass. She was
beautiful, for sure; a cold beauty that chilled Emma to the bone. Burning black
eyes stared from a pale face, twisted with rage. Clawed hands reached for them,
but Emma wasn’t about to let that happen. With the last of her strength she
sent them crashing into the sideboard. Ash cried out as he overbalanced, but
Emma didn’t have time to worry about him. Picking up the music box, she threw
it with all her strength at the mirror.
Somewhere beyond the edge of
hearing a scream tore at the silence and the mirror exploded, followed, one by
one, by every other mirror in the room, showering every part of it with tinkling
slivers of glass.
Ash had fallen to the floor
and was lying sprawled on his back, his eyes closed. Emma was afraid the glass
would cut him, so she threw herself to the floor and bent over him, protecting him
with her body.
When at last the glass
stopped falling, there was total silence. Lifting her head, Emma looked around. The woman had vanished. There was nothing
left but empty frames, like blind eyes watching ; waiting. Not a single sliver
of glass clung to the frames. Instead, they carpeted the floor and glittered in
Ash’s hair. The music box seemed to have gone.
Surprisingly, despite the
rain of glass, Emily was not cut. As she
straightened, the glittering shards showered down around her from her shoulders
and hair
Dazed, she shook her head and
glass flew around, falling onto Ash’s face. He didn’t flinch.
“Ash?”
Ash was sprawled on the
ground, one arm lying across his stomach and the other thrown out from his
side. His eyes were closed and his hair spread out around his head, glittering
with glass. There was blood on his wrist,
a thin trickle that ran down to splash on the floor beneath. It was not, by any
means, a lot of blood but, reflected back from the thousands of tiny mirrors,
it turned the floor under his arm, red.
Trembling, Emma brushed glass
from Ash’s face. To her enormous relief
he stirred under her fingers and his eyes flickered open. For a moment he stared at her, his eyes empty
and cold, causing her heart to sink.
Then they slowly filled with confusion and he turned his head to look
around, wincing at the sound of broken glass.
“What…? What…?” Ash stirred again, and raised a hand
to his temple, rubbing it as if he had a headache.
“Ash, thank God. Are you alright?”
“Um.... what...what
happened?”
“I told you not to open the
music box.”
“What music box?
“Don’t you remember?”
“No. What did you do to the mirrors?”
“I didn’t.... exactly.”
“What the hell happened,
Emma? I feel like someone hit me over the head and kicked the hell out of me.
The last think I remember is… is…. I don’t know. Did I fall and hit my head?
Did something fall on me?”
“No. Don’t you remember
dancing? Or the woman? Don’t you remember the music?”
Ash frowned. “Music. I
think…maybe.” He frowned and shuddered, pressing his fingers to his temple.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so. I’ve got a bitch of a headache. Help me up.”
They both climbed stiffly to
their feet, shaking off the glass.
“Aw.” Ash sucked at his bleeding wrist and made a
face. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Emma asked, frowning. “You’re dead pale, like a vampire on a day pass.”
Ash gave her a small smile.
“I can almost feel my fangs coming in.” He sighed. I’m alright. I’ll be better
when I get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
As they reached the door,
there was a tremendous crash. They both spun and were horrified to see the
chandelier had fallen. Crystals were still dropping to the ground and rolling
among the glass. They exchanged glances. A moment sooner and they would have
been crushed.
“Come on.”
Ash grabbed Emma’s hand
and towed her down the crumbling steps.
There was something sinister in the way the whole veranda creaked. Before they
reached the wood an enormous cracking sound rent the air and the summerhouse
collapsed.
“What the hell’s going on
here, Em?”
“I don’t know. It’s…. Something weird. I just want to get as far
away from here as I possibly can.”
“I agree. I…feel weird. I
just want to go home.” Ash stopped Emma, with a hand on her arm. “I want to go
home, Emma. Really home. I hate this place. I’ve got a really bad feeling. I
feel…. I feel that if I stay here, I’ll die.”
A shiver went through Emma
and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She forced a smile onto her
face. “Don’t be silly. You’re not going to die. No one is going to die. This is
our home now and we’re just going to have to make the best of it.”
Ash looked over his shoulder.
“There is no best. There’s nothing good about this place, nothing. It’s
cursed.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s just a
bit spooky that’s all.” Emma reached for his hand, it was icy. “God, Ash,
you’re freezing. Where did your jacket go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s get you back before
you freeze.”
Ash flashed her a brief smile
and broke into a jog. By the time they got back to the house, Emma was feeling
warmer, but Ash was turning blue.
Now, do go check out all the other wonderful writers
He's turning blue? O_o uh-oh
ReplyDeleteDon't get too excited, he's just cold :) Very cold. Very, very, very cold.
DeleteLove the line - There was nothing left but empty frames, like blind eyes watching ; waiting.
ReplyDeleteI was about to comment on being worried about him turning blue - but I see your response to Elyzabeth - whew!
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