So here it is. A little late I know, but the fact of the matter is I have nothing to prove. This is for myself to prove I can do it and show my own commitment. If anything I'm proud of myself and can't wait to see what I come up with next. Any critiques will be greatly accepted. Hope you guys enjoy!
P.S If you haven't checked out my fiancee's blog yet I suggest you do she did some major updates. Just go to http://kuriouserkate.blogspot.com and she'll follow you, at least get around to it heh.
Standing, looking in front of a mirror. I've investigated all those stupid myths and urban legends. I've stood in so many closets, visited so many asylums, so many half way houses, spent so much time in the dark, all too see if there was any truth to any of those stories kids tell to frighten each other. Wanting there to be more of an answer then just a person's over active imagination. I should have just started with this one and been done with it. There's so many variations, I've tried them all. If this one doesn't work, then I'll give up on the mirror and try another object that's said to grant you power. It would all be mine too, I mean who else would be foolish enough to try all this rituals, besides me anyway.
That's what my thought process was, I spent so many hours reading stories and studying folklore that I would need to at least investigate some of it. This mirror one was the silliest of all in my mind. How many young school girls with sleepovers have you heard about going crazy or getting divine power? Not many in my memory. They just didn't know what I did, which wasn't even something I knew. It was more of an accident anyway.
So standing there with hesitation, half expecting this to work without even starting the ritual that I had previously studied and obtained online, I couldn't help but notice my heart beginning to race. This sensation was new to me, no matter the ritual I tried I never experienced any sort of goosebumps before. Only if I had followed my intution. Then again, when you’re on a hunt for evidence of a true urban legend, intuition means little compared to hard facts. Then again, that’s not what I was really interested in, otherwise I would have stopped this silly journey a long time ago.
I stood in front of my bathroom mirror for what felt like hours. I chanted every name that could come to mind. Whether it be bloody mary, Ol’ Nick, or even Candyman, nothing seemed to work. No matter how much light, or how little or how many candles, nothing had worked. I looked at my watch. 3:33 AM. I had to do a double take, because if my watch was accurate I had been in there for three and a half hours! I sighed at the thought of another wasted night. Everyone wonders why I don’t have a social life or a girlfriend. If I could just find one true urban legend, none of that would matter. Yet, I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.
With a sigh of defeat I went to turn on the light when I had accidentally cut my hand on a razor. It hurt, but the wound wasn’t too terrible. I cursed quietly to myself and continued my hand to the light. When I flipped the switch, the lights didn’t come back on. Flipping it a few more times, I then postulated that the bulbs burned out or a fuse blew. Either way, a minor annoyance. I quickly reached for the door handle to let myself out into the hallway, a sense of dread completely encapsulating me. They would say mirror's, much like doorways, are a gateway. Only If I had known that truth.
I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I slowly turned my head toward the mirror. The blood which was released from my cut had somehow gotten onto it, and I was compelled to wipe it away, only to find that it would not come off. At second glance I saw it had appeared to be on the other side of the mirror. As panic rose in my heart, I tried to quench my fears with the reminder of the scientific studies done showing that prolonged exposure to a mirror in the dark would cause people to see different things. That's what I kept telling myself as it started to distort. My eyes where so focused on the mirror that I barely noticed the strange images and distortions that where appearing in the mirror, where beginning to effect the entire bathroom. That's when it appeared.
Not as much as an it as a she. All the stories of Bloody Mary or any other character being hideous or wicked seemed to be false as an angelic figure clothed in white surrounded by a white aura whispered my name. The sound of her voice calling me, it was too haunting and yet too soothing to resist. A siren had cursed my ears. Out of all the rituals and myths I had tried to pursue, I would never think one involving a mirror would have any bearing towards being true. Yet She reached her hand through the mirror as the environment changed to a peaceful place. Without resistance I took her hand and was pulled through the mirror effortlessly.
At first where I stood was surrounded by clouds and the figure that had pulled me through was surrounded by a white auroa and wore what appeared to be an eloquent white silk dress. Even though she looked like she was in her early teens, her smooth peach white skin and dark flowing hair would make any man go insane with absolute lust and any woman with envy. The way she spoke was as if a soft breeze flowed through your ears. Her eyes where wide and blue. It was heaven I thought to myself
She sat herself down on a chair made out of what seemed to be ivory. She stared at me in the eyes and spoke softly to me "It has been power that you are seeking correct?" I stood there puzzled. I replied with a gentle no. She stood up firmly and replied with the same question. I again answered, this time with a firm no. She gave a malicious grin that sent a wave of fear throughout my entire body. She gazed more deeply then before.
As I averted my attention, the clouds I thought I had been standing on turned to gravel and I felt na intense heat. Fire had surrounded me. The location of the mirror was that I had entered through I had not known. As I slowly looked back I nearly fell in fear (I would have fallen into one of the pits of fire if she had not grabbed me with her bony pale hand with long twisted fingernails) at her sudden change of appearance. What was once a beautiful young lady had turned into a disgusting old hag. She was nearly bald with a few strands of gray hair, her skin was wrinkled (Some of it looked as if it was peeling off leaving exposed bone) and her eloquent white gown had turned revealing itself to be blood stained. The eyes which I was so enamored with had grown pitch black with light seemingly vanishing into them. That's when I noticed the throne upon which she had risen from, it still looked ivory except now it was obvious it was crafted from bones. The source of which I would prefer not to know.
"You are one of the few. The few to even dare try to summon me." She spoke in a raspy sore voice that sent shivers down my spine. I tried to Cover my ears and eyes from the grotesque speech and looks, it didn't work. She flawlessly was able to, with a flick of the wrist, force my hands to the side. It was nothing short of torture. "Most who do, as you can tell by my throne, do not survive. However, it takes an especially dark soul to encompass my interest."
"No!" I sharply yelled and quickly stood my ground.
"So I was correct. Your ability to stand and still look dead in my eyes. I have been watching you for a quite a while. Studying your folklore and legends. Not just any though, those that would grant you immaculate power."
"I JUST WANTED PROOF!"
"So you could exclaim to the world your not insane or wrong? Or so you could come across it and obtain what I have."
I stopped for a second. I wanted to rebel, but I felt a pricking inside my mind and a thought occurred... What was she offering? The moment that crossed my mind she replied "Yes, I am offering something. I have great power, only when summoned though. The perimeters necessary are vague, yet you stumbled across them. The few that have been able to cast me forward into your world did not have the darkened heart and soul you possess. They died upon sight of my figure. Those who didn't, well I used them the same alive or dead. And yes, that groping in your mind you feel now is the sensation of it being explored. Let's just say those who did not die upon first sight knew great suffering. And no, this is not Hell. Your foolish mortal need for a vaster truth leads most to know where, coming up with fairy tales about creation and death. Your ability to stand and listen, you are the first not to succumb. So I will grant you a choice."
I stood there deathly pale. The heat from the nearby flames, slowly burning away at my skin, what choice would I have but to hear her out? This is what I had been wanting all along... isn't it?
"You can die now, I cannot promise a fast or a painless death. In fact the torture that awaits you will be horrific. Your skin will slowly melt off at the intense heat of this environment. Then your stomach will burst and the acids will start eating away at your innards. Then I will sink my teeth into your shriveling flesh and bite it off piece by piece. You will not die yet, for this place always for limited amounts of rejuvenation. I will leave you grasping for air as I make incisions through each part of your body and rip out each bone to add to my collection. Before you finally die, I will engulf you in flames. Once you are nothing but ash, I will take your essence and revive you within me to grant me greater power. You will face these same tortures for every part of eternity, much like the predecessors before you that are forever remembered on my throne. However, if you obey my commands, you will live through this and be granted power and immortality."
"What sort of power?" I asked without a second of hesitation.
"Just the sort I thought you were. No regard for anything but absolute dominance. If you obey me, you will know immortality. You will have the strength to force those to do your will or punish them severely."
"That's no question then."
"No did I think it would be. However, I knew your answer from the start so the deed is done."
"What deed?"
"Your now my replacement. I have grown weary of this place and wish to move on. You have taken my place."
"YOU TOLD ME IMMORTALITY AND POWER!"
"Do not worry, you will have those, all you must do is as I did. Anyone foolish enough to stand in front of a mirror long enough in the dark, you will be able to pull through. Once you do, you may do as you please with them. The majority will not survive long though. You will be granted your power and immortality once you meet another like yourself."
"How long will that take?"
"For me, it four centuries. For my predecessor, longer. It seems as time goes, the more people want power and will do what is necessary. Once you find another like yourself you will move on."
"What happens then?"
"I'm about to find out myself, and do not object unless you want an eternity of torment."
With that I sighed and accepted. It seemed that those who had found their way to her lair had been erased from history and left to suffer in her kingdom of anguish. Now that I have taken her place, my memory from the world had been erased leaving me as a forgotten soul. However, my wish was finally granted. As terrible as this place is, it does have a charm to it. The vast amounts of decaying flesh and skulls does eventually turn into a pleasantry. More importantly, each lake of fire allows me to see you through any mirror which you might stand. That's how I'm able to tell you all this. I want you, I want my replacement. I'm looking for another like myself, one searching for power. All you must do is stand in front of a darkened mirror long enough, and I will reach you. So come to me, and maybe you'll be the next to succeed and obtain what I have, what she had, and those before had. You're souls.
You are a really good writer dude. I jelly :s
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