The Mirror - by J. Allan Miller

It's been a while since I've done any posting but I have had my nose buried in a book, not just any book but The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft. A master of horror fiction and a favorite author of Steven King. So I felt inspired to try my hand at a short 5 minute read to see if I had any skill as a story teller. I always wanted to write fiction but never had the confidence to try. So here it goes, I hope you enjoy and we'll see what happens.

THE MIRROR
By J. Allan Miller
@steelthong

A loud clap of thunder woke Carly from her sleep. Her eyes gazed confused for a moment about the strange unfamiliar room. Lightning flashed outside, casting a bright light on her surroundings for a few seconds. She heard the rain pounding against the roof as memory flooded back and she realized she was in her own bed in the old farm house she and her husband Mark had purchased a week ago.

She heard him now snoring, sleeping soundly and unbothered by the raging storm outside. She stared at the ceiling and let her thoughts wonder. It was all still surreal, they had stumbled across the old farm while on a Sunday drive, getting some relief from the noisy city. The forsale sign looked to have been there for quite some time and the bushes were overgrown and in need of trimming, but the house was adorable and Carly fell in love with it. They had pulled in the long drive and called the realtor. The asking price had seemed cheap and Mark could keep his job in the city, the commute would only be about an hour and twenty minutes.

A loud creaking noise followed by a flash of lightning drew Carly out of her reverie. It sounded like someone walking in the hallway outside their bedroom. She tried to shake Mark awake but it was no use, he was exhausted from day's work and dead to the world, his snoring continued uninterrupted.

Carly threw her feet off the bed and stood there in her long nightgown feeling around with her foot for her slippers. She reached for the light but after turning the switch she realized the power was out. Well welcome to country life and above ground power poles she thought. The occasional lightning flash gave her enough light to see by as she walked out to the hallway. The floor creaked again, this time under her own foot. I really should wake up Mark, she thought but then shook it off and blamed her imagination for getting the best of her.

Making her way down the hall she heard another creaking noise only this time it seemed to come from the ceiling above her. She stopped to listen, she thought she could make out a kind of bumping sound but just then just then a loud clap of thunder sounded making her jump. Lightning flashed again and again outside.

Reaching the attic door at the other end of the hall Carly reached for the door knob and then pulled her hand back as if it had bitten her. The hair on Carly’s neck rose and an unknown fear washed over her making her tremble. Her heart raced in her chest. This is silly she told herself, it's probably just a couple of squirrels that found a way in and have nested up there. Reaching again for the door knob Carly turned it and pulled it open. Darkness greeted her swallowing what little dim light there was in the hallway. Lightning flashed again and revealed the steep dust covered steps that led up. Carly retrieved a candle from the small hallway table and reached for the matches they kept in its drawer. The light from the candle washed away the darkness about her bringing the courage she needed.

Carly headed up the stairs, they creaked loudly as she climbed them. Her head soon came above the floor level and she raised the candle to look about. They hadn’t been up here when they walked through with the realtor. Carly wasn’t sure what she expected to find but she was feeling disappointed, the attic was empty.

She quickly climbed the last few steps and stood on the dust covered attic floor. She walked towards the center of the large room. Once there she turned slowly looking about and was startled when she saw a glint of light coming from the darkness. She calmed a bit as she realized it was a reflection of her candle. She walked towards it, the light revealing an old antique dressing mirror.

Carly could now see herself staring back from the mirror and holding the candle. Scared of my own shadow she thought. At that moment a bright flash of lightning illuminated the room followed by a deafening boom of thunder causing Carly to glance at the small attic window. When she turned her head to look back into the mirror her heart stopped. Staring back at her was no longer her own reflection. She froze with fear, two dimly glowing green eyes stared into hers, surrounded by a grotesque and ghoulish face wearing a fiendish grin. It laughed, mocking her fear. Long skeletal claw-like hands reached from the mirror to close about her throat in an icy grasp. Carly could not have screamed even if she wanted too as the hands pulled her back into the mirror. She felt herself falling, then and the last thing Carly heard before the darkness took her was a loud snapping sound.

---

The bright morning sun washed over the cheerful looking farmhouse as swirling wisps of fog arose from the ground still wet from the rain last night. There was a distinct chill in the air that would soon be washed away as morning gave way to afternoon.

Sheriff John Mallory stood looking at the house as Charlie, the county coroner, oversaw the body of a young woman loaded into the waiting Hearst. The Sheriff waited for him to finish before speaking to Charlie.

“What do you think Charlie?” ask the Sheriff

“Definately suicide Sheriff. I’ll need to do an autopsy to confirm it but I’m sure, no doubts.” replied Charlie with confidence, “Her neck was broken.”

“Kind of odd though, don't you think Sheriff?” said Charlie.

“Oh how's that?” The Sheriff looked at Charlie knowing he was thinking the same thing.

“Well what’s the chance that another woman would hang herself in the very same spot as old lady Merriweather right down to a broken neck too?” Charlie questioned, “And did you see the look on her face? I’ve never seen another corpse other than old Merriweather's that looked so terrified.”

Feedback and constructive critism always welcomed!