Mirror Image

What you see isn't always what you are.

Trees rushed past me in blurs of green and brown, their fixed shape impossible to define and instead melded together into a long blob of nature. My heart was racing; the feeling was almost painful, as if it was trying to escape from my chest. I don’t blame it. I knew that it was behind me, its mind fixated on one thing, getting me. My feet were crunching all of the leaves and twigs that rested on the earthy floor, giving the only other noise to be heard apart than my constant panting, and making an even more terrifying situation.

  I could sense it catching up to me, bloodthirsty and determined. I sharply turned a corner and almost fell over my own feet, knowing that if I had of it would’ve been the end. I started to regain my footing, gasping for breath with every step; I didn’t know how much longer I could keep going. Before I knew it I was on the ground, my foot crushed beneath me. A branch had caused me to fall, and that was the last straw. I tried to get up again but the pain in my foot was excruciating and every step made me scream out in pain. I fell again, defeated by my weakness and low pain tolerance. I lay there, waiting for my doom to wash over me like a cloud of smoke.

  It was coming for me; I could hear the leaves move with its presence as it crept closer towards its prey. A vague silhouette was visible behind the wall of trees that towered around me. How much longer before it would notice that I was there, if it hadn’t already?

  Running was pointless, any sign of movement or noise would draw the thing towards me, and it all would be over. I’m shocked that the loud drumming of my heart hadn’t already caught its attention. Blood trickled down my forehead, making it almost impossible to stay still. The small red river had begun to form running from the top of my head to the tip of my nose, and dropping down to the ground. The feeling was unbearable, a tickling sensation that I desperately wanted to go away. I slowly lifted my hand to wipe away the blood when I heard it. It was walking towards me, its footsteps getting louder as the distance between us slowly got smaller.

  I held my breath, my hand still lifted from before. I wanted to scream, to close my eyes and for it to all go away, but I was paralysed with fear. I waited there, knowing that my doom was only a few meters away. The noise stopped. There was nothing. The footsteps had stopped, there was no wind and even my heartbeat wasn’t to be heard. If the noise had been terrifying, then this made me want to curl up in a ball and cry, the calm before the storm.

  Tap tap tap. A slow tapping noise began, like someone knocking on a window with their fingernail. I looked around to find the source. Tap tap tap. It was here, so close it could have been right next to me. I turned my head, but all that could be seen was the lush environment around me, apart from one tree. It was unlike the rest of them. While the others looked green and harmless, this one was white. Not a single leaf rested on its branches, and it wasn’t the same rough texture. I walked closer; the aura was pulling me in, almost involuntarily. The smooth trunk was right in front of me, it was almost like it had been filed down. Not a single bump was to be seen, or even a small piece of bark, just, nothing.

  I walked around the tree; it wasn’t very tall, and looked as though it was planted long there not that long ago; and yet it was fully grown. Then it caught my eye. On one side of the tree was a full length mirror. It didn’t have a frame, and the sides of it looked burnt into the trunk. All around it the trunk was black, as if fire had caught to it from where the mirror was. I stood in front of it, my reflection staring at me. The pale blue eyes stared into mine and the long black hair was oily and hung in tangled strands around my waist. She was deathly pale, almost white and her lips were blood red. It was me, but an almost unrecognisable version. She wore a long black dress that was frayed at the ends and her feet were bare. I looked at her forehead, there was blood dripping down, the stain from where it had dripped down my face was there, contrasting with her skin. I raised my hand to wipe away the blood and she did the same. It was hard to believe that it was me, a distant reflection.

  I stared; nothing was going through my mind. I wasn’t even questioning the mirror, it just seemed normal. She smiled at me, and raised her hand against the glass, but I hadn’t moved. My heartbeat began again, getting faster and louder as the fear kicked in. She knocked on the mirror. Tap tap tap. Her smile wasn’t friendly; she wanted to get out, to get me. Tap tap tap. I began to back away, my eyes still fixed on the mirror. Tap tap tap. A soft voice spoke, but it wasn’t a comforting one, it was evil, and manipulating.

  “What’s wrong Tara? Are you scared? Don’t you want to help me out? Come on, help me, all I want to do is shake your hand. No? Fine, I’ll do it myself” She pressed her hand against the glass as a crack began to emerge. The glass began to break as her eyes changed from the blue to a dark red. Shards fell off and landed on the floor as she began to walk through the spaces that they left. She was out, walking towards me, almost floating above the ground. She had scratches up her arms and blood was beginning to drip down, leaving red streaks where they pass. Her arms were hanging down as she drifted closer. My breathing was getting heavier, she was so close. She reached out her hand to touch me, her icy cold hands passed across my face.

“Why so scared? This is what you created, this is who you are. Come on, come with me.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me back to the mirror. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t scream. Her cold hand was gripping my wrist, hurting it with the power and sheer coldness. The broken mirror was facing me calling me in. She pushed and the mirror sealed behind, putting a thick shade of glass between me and the forest outside. I banged my fists against the glass, screaming for someone to let me out. She waved from behind the glass and smiled a bloodthirsty smile, her menacing voice speaking slowly and viciously.

“Now you’re stuck with yourself, see what you become.”

Author's Note

This is only the beginning of my new story, it's not even close to done yet.

Reviews

[Sunny]

You have a good imagination! Great job! I love the main ideas.

[Imara]

Wow this is amazing. (I wrote something similar to this a few years ago so it makes the whole thing have that much more creepy feeling) I was worried the entire time. Great Job. I want to read the rest!

[Aly-Cat]

Thank you, that's what I was trying to do :)

[Imara]

Welcome ^^