by Rue Volley
“Okay, Sara... but this is it. Nothing the rest of the year,” I said.
She bear hugged me and screamed... it echoed so loud through the room, that I squinted my eyes.
“Bonfire!” she yelled out as she hugged me.
“What...?” I asked. She pulled away from me. “You already said yes... no backing out now.”
***
Johnathan and Josh had spent days sitting outside the house. They tried to get into it, but every door was locked and the windows were unbreakable. They sat on the ground looking at it.
“Fuck this,” Josh said as he pushed himself up.
Johnathan stood up. “What are you doing?”
“I am going to find another place to rest. Get some food and hopefully a mirror, so we can try to get out of here.”
He started to walk and Johnathan looked towards the front door. It opened slowly.
“Hey,” Johnathan said.
“What?”
“Look,” Johnathan said as he stepped towards the house.
Josh turned around and stared at the door.
“Oh… I had to give up for it to open, huh?” he yelled out to the sky.
“Who are you talking to?” Johnathan said.
“This stupid memory,” he said as he started to walk towards the house.
“I wouldn't expect you to understand, it's Rue. She's fucking with me,” Josh said as he stepped up on the porch.
“No really, what is this place,” Johnathan said.
“Well... wouldn't you just rather I touch your head and then ‘poof!’ You'll know all about it?” Josh said, as he reached towards him.
Johnathan backed up. “No, just talk to me,” he said.
“Fine... okay, when we portal through a mirror someone has to be on the other side to let us through. If there is no one there…we end up here, it's a memory...
All the memories absorbed into a mirror when people sit and think about crap. Sometimes the memories are put here on purpose, by a protector. This one was built by your estranged father... Caine. It seems to be a mixture of him and obviously Rue at twelve, I would guess.”
“Caine? You mentioned Caine before, when you asked me to stab you,” Johnathan said. “I thought you were delirious or something. You were in pain... confused.”
“No, not confused Johnathan. Caine almost killed me, I jumped into the mirror to get away from him.”
“He is alive! How…? Oh my god, why didn't you tell me before...? Oh my god, we've got to get out of here. If he hurts Rue, I don't know what I'll do!” Johnathan yelled at him.
“See this is why I didn't tell you, you freak out like a girl,” Josh said sarcastically.
“I do not!” Johnathan said as his voice pitched.
Josh rolled his eyes. “I'm guessing that Elin put you here,” Josh said to him.
“Yea... that crazy bitch will not die,” Johnathan said as he peeked in the door.
“Oh yea, she's dead now... you killed her,” Josh said.
“What?” Johnathan said as he turned to him. “I did not, I wish I had though!”
“Well… you did in a way, I guess,” Josh said as he leaned against the railing.
“Stop talking in riddles, you dick,” Johnathan said as he crossed his arms.
“Okay… don't get all emotional. Listen, things are much worse than you know. You see, somehow Caine looks just like you, feels like you too,” Josh said as he stared him down. “That's why I didn't trust you when I found you here Johnathan.”
“What the fuck?” Johnathan said, as he relaxed his arms.
“Yea, so we need to get the hell out of here and back to Rue, fast. Up there, it's probably only been maybe... forty-five minutes or an hour at best. Time moves quick here... slow there.”
“Oh my god, I'm gonna puke,” Johnathan muttered as he leaned over the railing and hurled.
Josh hit him on the back. Johnathan stood up and wiped his mouth.
“Are we better?” Josh asked him with a grin.
“How can you be so calm. Oh my god, if he touches her. I will kill him!” Johnathan yelled.
Josh grabbed his arm. “I need you to focus, got me…? We have to get out of here and I don't need you all jacked up.”
Johnathan straightened up and nodded.
“Good,” Josh said as he rolled his eyes. “Now, this house has to have mirrors in it... We need to find one and portal.”
“How do you know that we will end up back home?” Johnathan asked him.
“Well I don't, but we have to try at least. I'm going to send a bubble of energy to Sam, hopefully she will feel me. This is the furthest I've ever tried with her... but we have a strong connection, so if anyone will hear me, it'll be her.”
Johnathan watched as Josh stepped into the darkness through the door. He sucked in his breath and followed.
They both stood there staring at the house. It was all cobwebs and spooky. Johnathan ran over to the stairs and looked up. Josh stepped forward and peeked in the living room. Everything looked old and weathered.
“God your house looks like shit Johnathan,” he said.
Johnathan walked over to him and looked at the living room. “This is not what my house looked like.”
“Well, in Rue's mind it did.”
“Wait! She thought this house was haunted when she was twelve. She had some story about Caine and Sophia... something about Caine being born in the basement and him killing his brother Able.”
“Well that's just peachy... She was a morbid pre-teen wasn't she?” Josh said, as he wiped cobwebs from the doorframe.
They both heard footsteps run across the ceiling and they looked up. They looked at each other.
“Sounds like a child, let’s check it out,” Josh said.
“We don't have time to go on a ghost hunt, we need to find a mirror Josh,” Johnathan said as he grabbed his arm.
“If we find Rue we find a mirror, this is her memory of your house, she knows where a mirror is... I'm sure of it,” Josh said, as he jerked his arm from Johnathan's grip.
“Good point,” Johnathan muttered.
“I hate being right all the time... it gets boring,” Josh muttered.
They heard something crack upstairs and someone yell out. They both hit the stairs running, Josh a little slower from the cut on his leg that had not quite healed yet. Johnathan stopped as he skidded into the hallway. Josh came up behind him and leaned around him to look. They heard a woman's voice cry out and they ran down the hallway, pushing on every door. Finally one opened.
They opened it slowly and stepped into a room, filled with flowers. A huge bed sat in middle against the back wall. White linen draped it. They heard a whimper and they stepped forward. Johnathan reached up and Josh hit his hand. Johnathan gave him a ‘what’ silently. Josh pulled his blade from his back and Johnathan nodded. He reached up and quickly pulled it back. The bed was empty, but a huge bloodstain was in the middle. Johnathan looked at it and then to Josh.
“What the hell?” he whispered.
“She is in the basement.”
They both spun around quickly as they gasped and Rue stood there with flowers in her hand. She was plucking the petals, letting them fall to the floor.
Johnathan leaned forward. “Who is in the basement?” he said.
“Sophia, she is having her baby,” Rue said as she stared up at him in a blur. Her eyes swirled silver.
Johnathan stood up quickly and moved back from her.
“Okay,” Johnathan said.
Josh gripped his blade in front of him. Johnathan looked at it at the same time as Rue did. He put his hand on it, and lowered it to Josh's side.
“Why do you have a blade?” she asked as she tilted her head.
Josh grinned. “Did you make me wait to get in this house?” he asked her.
She smiled at him. “Yes, I thought you would leave, but you didn't. You gave up finally, and I won,” she said as she jumped up on the bed.
She lay down in the blood.
Johnathan reached out to her. “Oh, no... don't lay in that, it's gross.”
Rue leaned over and put her hand in it and raised it to her mouth. Johnathan raised his eyebrows. She lowered her hand and laughed.
“You should have seen your face! That was funny,” she said as she laughed.
“Oh, awesome. She is just as aggravating here... a little more I think,” Josh muttered.
Johnathan nudged him.
“Yea, it was funny Rue... Listen, we need your help. We need to find a mirror,” Johnathan said.
The house vibrated and Rue jumped up from the bed. A look of fear came across her face.
“He is coming,” she whispered.
“Who is coming?” Josh said as he lifted his blade.
“Caine...he is born every day, and then he hunts me,” she said as she backed up, staring at the door.
“What, some evil baby chases you every day?” Josh asked as he looked around the room.
“No, he is not a baby,” she whispered.
Johnathan knelt down. “Listen, he cannot hurt you, I won't let him... I promise.”
A voice echoed through the house, “Rue Volley...! It is time to play!”
Rue backed up and knelt down quickly, she opened a small door behind the chair, close to the floor and crawled through it. Johnathan lunged forward, but she had it closed before he reached it. He heard it lock from the other side. He looked back at Josh and he ran his hand across his blade, making it glow.
“Looks like we gotta fight the boogie man, before we get her to tell us where the mirror is,” he muttered.
“Great,” Johnathan said as he rolled his eyes.
The light started to fade in the room. The sun was setting again. Josh closed his eyes and his blade started to glow brightly. Johnathan pushed himself up and they headed for the door. Josh reached it first and Johnathan ran into him from behind.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
Josh gave him a mean look.
“I don't like you that much Johnathan,” he muttered.
Johnathan sighed. “Just step out there, we gotta find Caine, or ‘memory Caine’... or whatever it is,” Johnathan whispered to him.
“Okay... could you back up? I can feel your breath on my neck... it's freaking me out,” Josh said.
“Yeah… sorry,” Johnathan said as he stepped back a little.
“Okay listen to me, this thing she has here... this scary Caine... is real enough. He is whatever her mind made him, so don't think that he can't kick our asses because he might try,” Josh whispered.
A voice called out, sounded like it was downstairs. “Rue...? Come out and play, we always have so much fun. Don't hide!”
“God, what a creeper,” Josh said, as he stepped out of the room with Johnathan right behind him.
They stood in the hallway and a figure stepped out from around the corner.
“Oh shit,” Josh muttered.
“Oh and who would you be?” Caine asked, as he raised his head up.
Johnathan stepped up. “We are friends of Rue's and she doesn't want to play with you asshole!” he yelled at him.
Josh sighed. “Nice introduction Johnathan.”
“I'm not messing around with this piece of shit, let’s kick his ass and find Rue,” Johnathan said as he clinched his fists.
Caine flashed up to him and reached out, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off of the ground. He struggled and grunted as Josh raised his eyebrows.
“What did I say?” Josh said to him.
Johnathan tried to talk, but Caine tightened his grip on his throat.
“Okay... now I will show you how to do this.”
Josh closed his eyes and started to chant in Latin. Caine stumbled. Josh started to glow white, with traces of black coming off him. Caine groaned and dropped Johnathan to the floor. Johnathan rolled to his side choking, as he grabbed his throat. Josh raised his hand and a flash of light came out of his palm and hit Caine in the chest, he cried out and faded like mist. Johnathan pushed himself up and looked at Josh.
“You didn't say that you could get rid of him that way,” he coughed and spit on the floor.
“Well, you didn't ask... you wanted to go in all bad ass,” Josh said as he laughed. The light started to fill the house again.
“Did the sun just come back up?” Johnathan asked.
Josh looked around. “God damn it... Rue is controlling the time here. We have to find her fast.”
***
We all returned home and I really didn't want to do the party thing. I really had hoped that with all the crap that had happened, that no one would remember my birthday, but there we were again. I sat at my vanity and looked at my broken image in it. I leaned up to find a spot that didn't make me look so crazy, and brushed some powder on. I walked to my closet and looked at it. OMG... it's never gonna get any easier to get dressed is it? I reached in and Sara came running into my room. I sucked in my breath as my door hit the wall.
“Ooops! Sorry,” she said as she looked behind it at the wall. “No hole!” she said as she smiled at me.
I grinned, even if she had torn a hole in the wall with the doorknob, I wouldn't be mad at her. She ran up to me and handed me a box. I looked at it, then up at her.
“I got you a present,” she said as she winked at me.
“You didn't have to,” I said.
“Oh whatever...! Open it up!” she said as she sat down on the floor in front of me.
I knelt down and laid it on the floor. The package was so pretty... all red, with a black bow. My colors, well before I found out that I owned “blue” like the only person in the world, from what I gathered.
I pulled the bow and lifted the lid. I pulled back the tissue paper and looked in. “Oh,” I said as I reached in and pulled out a dress, it was black with white stripes. I held it up in front of me and stood up, holding it up to me and looking down. “Well?” Sara said as she stared at me.
“Oh... I just love it Sara!” I said as I pulled it over my head. It fell into place like it was made for me.
“You look hot!” Sara said as she stood up and looked at me.
I turned around to the broken mirror on my vanity and looked at myself.
“Yes… I do,” I said.
Sara laughed. “Awesome! Finally… you see it!”
I grinned at her. I didn't think I looked “hot” exactly, but it made her happy to hear it. I did look good though. Sara smiled and walked to my door.
“I am going home to change. I will meet you all there,” she said.
I smiled at her and she disappeared down the hall. I turned around and tried to figure out a way to wear my hair. Everything I did looked awful.
“Screw this,” I muttered.
I ran into the bathroom and picked up the scissors. I looked at myself and grinned.
“New age, new look,” I whispered.
I raised the scissors and hair fell all around me. I bent over and shook my head. I stood back up and stared at myself. I cut it super short, I left more on the top, but it laid flat. My bangs were short. I brushed my fingers through it and pushed it to the side. I grinned. I felt like a whole year of crap had just been cut away... literally.
“Now, I feel hot,” I said, and I hit the door, running downstairs.
***
Johnathan had spent an hour looking around upstairs. Josh took the lower floor. They had not been able to hear or see anything since Rue had crawled through that door.
Johnathan yelled down the stairs, “I don't think she's in the house, Josh!”
Josh came to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him.
“Listen she is in here somewhere. Let’s check the basement.”
Johnathan ran down the steps and when he reached the bottom, they heard a scream. It came from under them. Josh looked at Johnathan and they flashed to the basement door.
Josh jerked it open and called down. “Rue?”
“I'm down here,” a small voice replied.
They both hit the stairs running and came out into a stoned hallway. Josh looked around. Skulls lined the walls and torches were lit.
“God, I swear... she is just twisted,” Josh muttered.
“She is just a kid, this looks like a nightmare,” Johnathan said, as he shoved past him.
Josh looked down the hallway. “Yeah, some bad b movie.”
Johnathan looked back at him. Then he grabbed his forehead. “Oh god,” he said as he pressed his fingers against his head. He stumbled and caught himself on the wall. Josh flashed up to him.
“What happened?” Josh asked as he leaned in.
“My head... I just had a sharp pain in my skull, it felt like fire,” Johnathan blinked his eyes and looked at him.
“Not good,” Josh said as he started to move down the hallway. Johnathan caught up with him.
“What do you mean by ‘not good’?”
Josh muttered something, but Johnathan couldn't understand him, Johnathan grabbed his arm and spun him around to face him. “What?”
“Caine is probably drawing memory from you,” Josh said as he looked back down the hallway.
“What…? Like taking my memories...? Why?” Johnathan asked.
“Well, how else is he going to get Rue to believe him, that he's you.”
“Oh… that son of a bitch...! Do you think that he is with her right now?” Johnathan yelled.
“Well, I don't know Johnathan! I am here with you,” Josh said, as he came to a door. He looked down and laughed. The doorknob was a small metal skull. “Jeezus,” he muttered. He turned it and they both stepped into a chapel. Josh looked around the room.
“What the hell is this.” he said, just half laughing.
Johnathan looked up and saw a figure move from behind the pulpit, it flashed to the right. He stepped up and looked over to the side and saw Rue balled up in the corner. He reached his hand out to her and she took it.
“Are you okay Rue?” he asked her. She nodded and put her hand on his face. He smiled at her and placed his hand on hers.
Josh cleared his throat and leaned in. “She is twelve, dude.”
Johnathan shot him a look. “I know how old she is, Josh.”
Rue took her hand off of Johnathan's face, and walked to Josh. She stood in front of him and looked upset. He leaned over and grinned at her, and she smacked him in the face. He stood up and stared at her.
