The Creature In The Mirror, By Jonathan Kittrell

(A quick note from L. Y. Levand: This is an interesting flash fiction; however it's more of a horror-type story, and thought I should let everyone know - just in case. It kept my attention, let me tell you!)

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They pulled into the driveway and she got out of the truck.  She ran to the driver’s side.  “Be safe,” she told him.

The man looked at her and said, “You too.”  They were silent for a moment.  Crickets were chirping and the moon was full.  “I’ll be back in the morning,” he told her.

“Okay,” she answered.

They kissed and she walked into her house.  The man rolled up his window and backed out of the driveway.  That was the last she saw of him before she closed the door.

The woman walked upstairs, to her room, and into the bathroom.  She undressed and got into the shower.  When she turned the knob, nothing came out of the faucet.  Instead, she heard an unnatural hiss.  She turned it back and tried again.  The hiss came out again.  She was very frustrated at this point.  When she reached for the knob a third time, water poured out from the faucet, before she had touched it.

Disregarding the happening, she started to wash herself.  Afterward, she walked to the sink and picked up a brush.  When she looked into the mirror, she screamed at what she saw.

The next morning, Henry drove back up his girlfriend’s driveway.  He parked the car, pulled the keys from the ignition, and got out of the truck.  When he got to the door, he knocked and waited patiently.  There was no answer.  He tried again, but this time he knocked a little louder.  No answer again.  There wasn’t even a small stir in the house.

He was frustrate and a little worried now.  For the third time, he banged on the door.  When there was no answer again, he got out the spare key that she had given to him a couple weeks ago, from his pocket.  He unlocked the door and walked in.  The house was dark and a chill went down his spine when he stepped in.  It reminded him of the house they had stopped at the other day.  It terrified him and he felt the urge to run back out at once, but he remembered that his girlfriend was still here.

He started up the stairs when the front door slammed shut.  A cold breeze chilled him but there weren’t any open windows.  He was once again reminded of the house they had visited yesterday.  Something must have followed them here from that house.

Once he was up the stairs he called her name.  There was nothing but a hiss coming from the bathroom in reply.  He walked towards the bathroom to investigate.  His heart stopped when he walked in.  On the wet tiled floor lay his girlfriend’s limp naked body.  He stooped down to check if she were still breathing.  He gave a sigh of relief when he felt the gentle release of air from her nose.

Henry pulled down a towel from a ring on the wall and wrapped his girlfriend in it.  He then picked her up and as he was about to walk out he saw a man in the mirror.  He was wearing red and black clothing.  There was a grin on his face revealing fangs.  He was a very dark looking man, if that was what he was.  In fact, the thing in the mirror resembled a man less and less the longer he stared at it.  Henry ran out of the room carrying his beloved from the evil creature.  It didn’t pursue him but gave out a loud ominous laugh. 

Henry ran down the stairs to the door and twisted the knob with his free hand, but nothing happened.  The door would not open.  He tugged at it again with the same result.  He then ran to the back door and tried to open it.  It wouldn’t budge either.  Henry then tried to open a window and the same thing happened as with the doors.  He laid his girlfriend on the couch and picked up a lamp from the coffee table.  He threw it at the window as hard as he could.  When the lamp collided with the window, it smashed to pieces that flew throughout the room.  There were only a few options left to him.  He ran into the kitchen and snatched up the phone.  He hastily dialed 9-1-1 and waited.  It just kept on ringing without an answer.  He ended the call and slammed the phone down on the counter top. 

Henry went to the laptop sitting on the dining room table and opened it.  He found the screen cracked and a yellow sticky note on the keyboard.  It said:

You will never leave my house.  No one will find you. 

You are dead to the world, and you will soon be dead to me as well.

Henry couldn’t breathe for a moment.  What kind of thing could be this evil?  They didn’t do anything to deserve this.  They were just ordinary, good people.  Henry’s girlfriend sighed.  The noise startled him, and he went to her.  She was still unconscious, probably dreaming he thought.  “I hope you are having good dreams now, because you’re going to wake up to a nightmare,” he whispered.  He then kissed her cheek. 

He ran back up the stairs and went straight into the bathroom where he had found his girlfriend.  He looked back into the mirror and saw only his own reflection staring back at him. 

“Where are you?” Henry yelled. 

He heard a laugh and then, “Over here.”

Henry turned to the door, where the voice had come from, and saw a terrifying creature staring back at him.  He whirled back around to look for a weapon.  All that he saw was a hairdryer, a brush, and air freshener.  He grabbed the brush and threw it at the creature.  It started running toward him, its teeth barred and ready to strike.  Henry then grabbed the air freshener and sprayed it into its eyes.  He then kicked it and ran out of the room.

Henry ran down to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.  The creature started walking slowly down the stairs after him.  His heart started to beat faster and faster as the creature came closer to the bottom of the stairs.  He readied himself to kill the evil thing.  The footsteps grew louder and louder until suddenly they stopped.  After a few moments, Henry grew too anxious to wait and turned his head to the stairs on the other side of the wall.  There was nothing.

Henry’s heart beat faster, where could it be?  He felt a drop of some sort of liquid on his head and looked up.  The creature was on the ceiling.  It hissed at him and jumped down on his head.  He felt its claws ripping up his arms and back.  He then felt it sink its teeth into his neck.

Henry felt his strength being drained from him as every drop of blood in his body was drained from him.  He grew more tired with every moment that passed.  He wanted to give up and sleep.  All that he wanted was to close his eyes and give in, he was tired of fighting.  As he sank to the floor he thought of his girlfriend.  Did he want her to have the same fate as himself?  Was he ready to sentence her to death as well?  No.  He wouldn’t let her die.  He raised the knife, aimed, and plunged it into the side of the creature’s head.  It screamed and fell to the floor.     

Henry stood for a minute, trying to remember what had happened.  He was so tired and couldn’t remember where he was.  Then he fell to the floor along side the dead creature.

The woman woke up, wondering why she was on the couch.  She remembered an evil looking man hurting her in the bathroom but nothing more.  She got up to look around when she saw the evil man.  He was lying beside her love.  They were both dead.