This was fun but so hard to write. I know it's not as good as it could be and it's shorter then some of the other chapters so I'll attempt to length it later on. Overall I like the plot of it.
Chapter 4
Mirror Image(Annabeth)
I was afraid of the dark. Always have been. It's not that strange I suppose. Most little kids are afraid of the dark right? Well, I have a legitimate reason. It's one of the most common fears from what I'm told. They call it nyctophobia I think. It's more server then a fear, phobia's are a lot worse.
It set in quickly. The lights faded around me and I felt alone. My heart felt the way it does when the bass is too loud in your car. My hands were trembling against my body causing me to shake.This had happened before and I was taught the techniques to keep myself from having a panic attack, but this situation was something I had never had to cope with.
"Riley" My voice scratched against my throat, if anyone was in earshot they probably would not have been able to hear me anyway. I felt as if my body was becoming one with the darkness, like soon I would be lost in it forever. Something strange washed over me then. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was the end for me, that in a few moments it would all be over.
I think it was supposed to be. A light at the far end of the room brought me out of my darkness. Still in panic, like a runner about to begin a race, I jolted toward the light. I tripped over my own feet in an attempt to reach my mysterious saviour. Ignoring any sort of safety rule, I threw my body into the light. My eye caught a glimpse of the orb of light just before my body smashed into it.
My eyes were closed but I knew I was safe. I opened them to see a ceiling light right above me. Using my elbows as props, I set myself up to look around the room. It was small and quaint. A perfect square room with wood paneling, two white oval windows on opposing ends of the room, a small wood table with four wood chairs surrounding it, a dresser, and the most appealing thing in the room.
Across the room I could see a large standing mirror. The edges were platted with what looked like diamonds, their beauty instantly catching my eye. I lifted my body off the ground and walked toward the inviting mirror. Perhaps even more then normal, I just could not take my eyes off...well myself. It's was the clearest mirror I had ever seen, it was as if a clone of me was standing there.
My hand caressed my face as if without thinking. A small glow of light appeared where my hand had touched. The imperfection rattled me and forced me to struggle with fixing it. My hands wiped across my normally perfect skin in an attempt to erase the flaw. No matter how hard I tried the strange glow wouldn't disappear.
"No no, go away. You have to go away!" I scrubbed the spot even harder begging it to leave.
As I scrapped at the spot something began to happen. At first I thought it was working but what happened was like a nightmare. My skin started to flake off and fall onto the hard wood floors. In a panic I tried to keep it from fall off my face, slowly but surely all the skin on my body started to shed onto the floor. What was left behind was horrific.
I covered my eyes as the last bit of skin touched the ground. My hands could feel the aftermath of the shed skin but I was still too afraid to look into the mirror. Slowly I slid my hands away from my face to reveal the image of old, wrinkled, aged skin. Not like you would normally see either, this was an extreme case. I felt my face with my fingertips to make sure this was no trick of the mind.
I screamed. Panicking I clawed at the floor to try and recover the bits of youth that had fallen from my face. The pieces of skin just floated through my fingers and into the air. It was hopeless. The beauty that I once held so dear was now laid out on the floor.
"You were beautiful. Envied and lusted after by many. You never paid attention to how you looked on the inside. Ugly and rotting. Pretending to be kind to everyone you meet while you flaunt your beauty on the inside and outside. Now you see the future, how eventually your beauty will fade and only your disgusting inside will remain." A deep female voice announced.
"No! None of it's true! Shut up!" I smashed my fist into the mirror shattering it crystal clear pieces all around. My hands were bleeding slightly but I didn't care. I looked down at the broken glass to see bits of my reflection. The once wrinkly rough skin had since changed back to my original flawless skin. My face lit up but with the realization that I had broken then beautiful mirror.
"Your only hope to leave this room, is to restore that which is broken." The voice said again.
"Who are you?" I said aloud.
"I am exactly who you think I am."
"What are you talking about? I have no idea who you are." All these riddles were beginning to piss me off.
"You do not yet know what you know."
"I am done talking to you. Sound like freaking Dr. Seuss." I looked down at the broken mirror. "How on earth am I supposed to fix that?" I examined the other half of the mirror. Picking some pieces of the glass off the floor I tried to put them back into place on the mirror. They of course fell right back onto the floor.
"This is so crap." I said in frustration. All I could do was stare at the mirror and just wish it would magically fix itself because there was no way I could do it. Then as if my thoughts became reality the once broken mirror was replaced with a perfectly brand new one. "Wow" was all I could say as I sat in front of a mirror that was nothing short of miracle.
"I would say I am surprised, but I am not. Go, and defeat that which ales you." The voice said. The walls around me started to rumble and shake. I held onto the mirror for dear life as the earthquake shook the room. The far wall came unhinged and fell to the ground, then like dominoes the other walls fell as well. The contents of the room sank into the ground and within moments I was left in the middle of a corn field all alone.
"Follow the path before you, but be careful. One of you has failed. For that they will face the ultimate consequence. Be wary." The mysterious guides voice disappeared into the air. The wind picked up and blew perfectly toward a path to me left. As if this day couldn't get any weirder. I ran my fingers through my hair and shook them a little bit to make myself presentable.
"I wonder what she meant by 'one of you has failed'. Something strange is defiantly going on." I walked down the path which the wind had led me, hoping to find more answers.
Previous Chapters
Chapter 1 - Somebody
Chapter 2 - Nostrum own via
Coming Soon
3-9 to be read in any order.
Check out one of the other any order chapters!
(completed chapters have a link provided)
Chapter 3 - Monster
Chapter 4 - Mirror Image
Chapter 5 - Rage, For Beginners
Chapter 6 - What Happens In A Corn Maze...
Chapter 7 - ...Stays In A Corn Maze
Chapter 8 - A Whole Lot More Then Nothing
Chapter 9 - The Green Eyed Man
This is really good, so keep up the great work!