Disclaimer: I completely forgot to do this in the first part! That could be a very bad thing. Don't follow my horrible example you guys... Anyway, these characters belong to S.E. Hinton, obviously, and I am not making any cash off of this, so I'm safe. The plot belongs to me and my spook. And Allison of course.
We were right in thinking it was going to rain. We just underestimated how hard. It was past midnight, heading on one o'clock, and I couldn't sleep from all the noise the storm was making. It had started shortly after Two- bit and Steve left and I felt somewhat bad that neither of them had brought a car to drive home in. But not badly enough after the way Steve had mocked me mercilessly. Nope. He lost whatever sympathy I had for him.
On normal nights I love thunderstorms. As long as I'm inside and reading a book or watching TV, they don't bother me and I tend to enjoy them. They're somehow relaxing and fun. They're some how soothing and enchanting with the pattering of the rain on the windows, or the heavy flow of water on the streets, just depending on the severity. But not tonight. It's when they get to the point that I can't fall asleep on a school night that I don't care for them anymore. That and when I do manage to fall asleep, they wake me right back up within an hour. It really doesn't serve me well to be a light sleeper.
Soda had tried to stay awake to keep me company, but he had fallen asleep sometime along the way. It was all right with me, though. I didn't want him tired the next day just because I couldn't sleep. He didn't deserve that. He had to work and I didn't want him to be upset. It was getting boring, however. I didn't want to get up and go find something to do, because then I'd never get to sleep, but lying around bored was almost worse. I had tried to read to make me tired enough to block out the thunder, but it hadn't worked. Maybe I'll ask Darry to buy earplugs next time he does the shopping. That would help, I'm sure.
Because I had nothing better to do, my mind was wandering to all different tangents. I was tired enough that I couldn't keep focused on one particular thing. I thought about the test I took in Auto that I was sure to have passed with Soda's help, the movie Two-Bit and I saw at the drive-in, the book I was reading in English, the math assignment I never finished that would be due first thing in the morning, and finally landed on the thought of Two-Bit and Bloody Mary. I smiled to myself and tried not to laugh, out of fear of waking Soda.
After dinner, my curiosity about Soda and his experience kept on bothering me, so I asked him about it. He was glad to tell me, but he acted as if it pained him. If I wasn't so sure that she wasn't real it would've worried me. I never suspected him of lying so I wasn't sure what to think about his part anymore. He thought it was so true, he must've formed a story in his head that he believed honestly was real. I couldn't wrap myself around it because it was so far-fetched, but I know Soda wouldn't lie to me. He had me more confused than anything.
Just to see how his story matched up to Two-Bit's, I asked him about the mirror breaking – but he said that it didn't happen. I also asked about how he did it the chant. It didn't compare at all. Two-Bit told me that he had to blindfold himself and chant, "Bloody Mary, come to me. Proclaim the immortal existence of thee" five times. Of course he would listen to something like that. Soda's story was different, though. He very distinctly remembered that he had to simply close his eyes, spin around three times while saying "Bloody Mary," during each turn, then face the mirror and she'd be staring back at him.
With that, I asked him what she had looked like. Who ever said curiosity killed the cat? I allowed him to think I was absorbing every word he said, and although it creeped me out with every word he spoke, it didn't change my mind. He told me that she had been gaunt and white. She had long, thin, black hair that was stringy and soaked with fresh blood. When he finished describing her to me, I asked,
"Like a witch? She looked like a witch?"
"No…" His eyes wide. "No… Not a witch. A devil, or something like that. She was evil. Whatever she did to get herself that afterlife had to be… I dunno… but it could've been good. I doubt she ever did a good thing in her life. She's like a demon."
I let it settle with him after that. He was starting to get worked up like Two-Bit had and I had began to feel uneasy myself.
Ready to forget all about it, Steve had to stick his nose in my business and taunt me.
"So, you've really never done it?" he asked, while sitting next to me on the couch.
"No. What does it matter to you?" I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Especially not in my own house. I'd talk to him however I wanted to.
He laughed a short, fake laugh. "It doesn't. I just can't imagine a Curtis being enough of a pansy to not give it a go." He had stepped over the line with that one.
"I ain't a pansy, Steve. I just have more sense than some of you guys."
"Ah...I suppose you're right," he said, trying to lead me on by and looked in another direction, twiddling his thumbs in that gawd-awful way. Typical. "I forgot the rest of the story."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know..." he started, waiting for me to catch on, which in turn made me feel like an idiot. "Come on... you know... the part about you not being able to do it..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I had absolutely no idea if he was being serious or not and I had ever intention of find out. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing I was possibly falling for his hijinks, but if by chance he was telling the truth, I wanted to know. I'd just decide that for myself later.
He stared at me cold and hard. "Kid, since Soda's done it, you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because! God, you're stupid... Since you're in the same family, you can't do it twice in the same house. Everyone knows that. It's just how it goes." He propped an arm on the back of the couch and crossed one ankle on his other leg's knee. He acted like he own the place. Shoot, I owned it more than him, and that's not saying a whole lot.
"Why? What happens?"
"How am I supposed to know? It ain't never happened to me! I'm figurin' you'll die or something," he said nonchalantly. Oh God, that was stupid. I bored him with an incredulous stare. Now that was shit if I ever heard any. If he thought I was going to fall for that, he was crazy.
"Fine," I said at last. "Then that's my reason for not doing it."
He rolled his eyes to the heavens. "Pansy."
"I'm not a pansy, Ass. You want me to die?" I was surprised at my own bravery with that one, but I have to admit that it felt pretty damn good.
Then just to make me mad, in his own cruel way, he leaned over and pretended to sniff at my head. "Smells like a pansy to me. Like a fully blossomed, fuckin' pansy." How the hell he knew a pansy was a flower was the least of my problems, although it did spark a little interest. But the fact that he was crossing his boundaries like that was more than enough for me.
So, I stood up, leaned forward and sniffed at him before walking off. "Better a fuckin' pansy than a fuckin fool." Luckily for me it took him a minute to catch on that I had insulted him, and by that time I had taken refuge in Darry's room, claiming to need the quiet serenity of it to do my homework.
But what he had said was playing at me all night and I couldn't get it off my mind. I always knew how little he thought of me, but to let on that he thought I was a chicken just about did it in for me. It was because of that I almost decided to try it out. Then I realized I'd be doing exactly what Steve wanted me to do. He wanted to trick me into doing something that might make me wet my pants so he could have a good laugh at me when I returned from the bathroom. It wasn't happening.
I rolled over and scooted a little closer to Soda. It was colder than normal with the rain and wind tonight. The hair was sticking up on my neck and it was driving me crazy that I couldn't shake the chill. If I didn't know any better I would've thought that Darry had turned off the heat. Soda was perfectly warm, though, so maybe I could get a little of that if I faced him.
I sighed. My eyes were burning from lack of sleep and my body and mind were ready to fall into a deep slumber. But every time a bang of thunder shook the house, or a crack of lightning illuminated the sky, I would be brought back to full wakefulness and have to start the process over again. If I could only get to a point where I could warm up and clear my mind quick enough to fall asleep faster, maybe I wouldn't wake back up until I absolutely had to.
Clearing my mind seemed impossible though. I kept on hearing the voices of the guys playing at me. I knew I should've let them get to me, but they had, and now I couldn't forget them. I'm sure they all did it because I was the youngest and they had nothing to lose from me trying it out. I couldn't stand giving the two of them, meaning Two-Bit and Steve, the satisfaction of knowing that I had done it or even given a thought about trying. But everyone's voices, the hidden meaning, and the purposeful ridiculing kept pounding at my head.
"She broke my mirror and held up this...switch thing, and pointed it at me! So I beat it outta there, man. I wasn't ready to die."
"I'm sure there was a reason they didn't tell him..."
"... She's like a demon or something."
"Like a fully blossomed, fuckin' pansy."
That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to give it a go, but I had to. I wasn't going to be able to make peace with myself tonight unless I did it. I had to try so that I wouldn't keep on dwelling on it and keep myself awake all night. It wasn't worth it. No one had to know that I had taken in what they had said and no one had to know that I had tested it out for myself... And if they did find out, that's the story I'd stick to. I was doing it for myself. No one else.
I threw the covers off me, made sure they were still comfortable on Soda, and crept out of the room as quietly as I could. I wasn't aiming to wake anyone else up. No one was going to know about this. No one. And they certainly weren't going to watch me do it, or catch me in the act. That was the last thing I wanted, with them and what they considered playfully teasing me. I'd wash my hands of the entire experience before I let them know what I was doing.
I made my way down the hall and into the bathroom. That part hadn't been hard in the least. The way everyone had described it, they made is sound like a walk down death row, and that was pretty serious stuff. They had to be cowards if that's how they felt about it. I flipped the light on and closed the door behind me, locking it for double the security. And then I stood there for a second before turning around.
I felt so incredibly ridiculous about doing this, and at the same time I was scared out of my mind. My heart was pounding in me chest with so many thoughts, questions, and fears of being found fluttering inside me. The feeling had hit me so suddenly, it was hard to imagine that it hadn't been there a minute ago. There was no turning back now that I had gotten myself up to do it. I couldn't prove Steve right. I had to prove to myself that Steve didn't have the final say about what was right and wrong about me. He didn't know if I could handle this or not. It wasn't up to him to make the call. And then there was Two-Bit who thought that it should be part of every kid's childhood experiences. He did it when he was younger, Soda did it, and so did Steve. I never asked Darry if he had, but I'm sure he did. And if he did, he wasn't scared, so why should I be?
After mentally preparing myself, reviewing all the things I had just gone through in my mind, I switched off the light. The room became instantly ebony black and eerie – darker than usual. It was like the moonlight had been shut off and nothing was letting off light anymore. I had to remind myself that it most likely was. There was a storm going on, and it would be difficult to get a regular amount of light.
Facing the mirror, I stared at my reflection. It looked perfectly normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. And that's the way it should've been, nothing different. I remembered one of the guys say something about her presence taking over your reflection, and you disappeared. And since that was more ludicrous than anything else I had heard about the stories, I was thinking I wouldn't have to worry about that. So, if that was true, that meant all I had to do was do the chants and actions, look at myself and leave. Nothing to it. I could handle that.
Right then, an overwhelming sense of foreboding overcame me. Mistaking the feeling for something else, I reached over and flipped the light back on. Someone was standing outside the door. They had to know that I was in there and were just waiting, because I hadn't heard them knock. But they were there, waiting. I breathed deeply, letting out air I hadn't realized that I was holding. Quickly I turned around, unlocked the door and opened it to let them know they could have the bathroom. I was finished. It wasn't worth it. It was a dumb idea anyway.
No one was there.
Crossing my eyebrows I stepped forward and stuck my head into the hall to see if he had just gone back or what. But, he wasn't out there. Period. It didn't make sense. I could've sworn there was someone there.
I leaned back and chuckled lightly. I couldn't believe I had done that to myself. No one was there, they never were. My mind had been wracking with excuses to turn back and never try this again. It wasn't going to work. I had more control of myself than that. No way was I going to get scared over a stupid ghost story.
Once more, I closed the door and turned the light off. I shook my head. I wasn't going to let that happen again. Not a chance. I'd do it all fast and get it over with. Then I would go back to my room and fall asleep peacefully in the bed that Soda was keeping warm for me. Yeah, that sounded just about right. One, two, three, laugh at the guys in the morning and forget all about it. Sounded just fine to me.
Ignoring Steve's forewarning from earlier, I got myself ready to do it. I took one last glance at myself in the mirror and closed my eyes. I was ready. Waiting a couple of seconds, I regulated my breathing before beginning. I deciding to take Soda's approach at it and I started to turn in a slow circle. "Bloody Mary," I whispered.
I paused momentarily as I almost lost my balance. Without opening my eyes, I grabbed for the counter to steady myself before I tripped over something. My stomach flopped with a sensation that I was still going to fall. I was tempted to stop right there and open my eyes, but I didn't.
I spun again. "Bloody Mary," I said it a little louder than the first time. My voice vibrated through the room and then it went silent again. There was ringing in my ears, it was so quite.
Again, I almost lost my balance. It didn't make sense that I couldn't stay steady, but I tried to forget about it. I felt oddly scared. I could've sworn I felt someone's eyes boring into my skull and it was a horrible feeling. Like I'd never feel peace again. Like my world wasn't going to continue from there. My life might as well have been over, according to the chilly air and gut gnawing feeling. But I didn't stop. It was too late to think about that now. The sooner I got it over with the better. The sooner I finished the sooner I'd feel better.
I took the final three steps to complete my last turn. "Bloody Mary." I said it the loudest that time, and I'd be surprised if it didn't wake up the others.
That time I was perfectly steady and didn't have to find myself any support. It would've been comforting except for the fact that I knew I still had to open my eyes. But that's all I had to do; open my eyes, see nothing, feel nothing, go back to bed, and forget all about it. Besides, I felt an overbearing rush of warmth which could only mean I had conquered a temporary fear. There was no other way to explain it. I was done with it. Finished. I smiled to myself and raised my head to greet my own image.
It wasn't that easy.
I could see her before I opened my eyes all the way. Her skin glowed, providing the only light in the room, causing me to squint against it's unnaturalness. It was overly domineering and powerful, and I couldn't draw my eyes away. I wanted to avert my eyes elsewhere – like my room, but it wasn't happening. I was frozen to the spot.
I could smell the gawd-awful stench before I knew what it was I was smelling for. It was the all too familiar scent of old, dried blood. How could I not know the smell? It was overpowering and I became instantly lightheaded; my eyes lolled slight.
Her face was caked in brown blood, even on her white lips, but was almost instantly covered as fresh blood began to drip out of her scalp and mouth. It was set thick against her ash-toned skin, running in slow, steady streams.
Feeling the wall behind me, I clenched onto the towel rack. Tightly. I couldn't move. I couldn't blink.
She stood there unmoving, staring through me with hallow eyes...or what should've been eyes. They were empty sockets blackened by years of cruelty and uncertainty. They looked like dark, endless tunnels that hadn't ever seen a lick of light. Although they weren't there, I could feel their stare and it chilled me to the core. She was gazing right at me, but I had the unnerving feeling that she was looking into me.
My mouth ran dry and my hands were shaking. My mind was screaming to run, but my body was immobile, unable to move. They weren't cooperating at all. I wanted so badly to leave, to hide under my covers like a child. But I couldn't. I tried to speak, to scream, to make some sort of noise, but my throat was clenched too tightly.
I was in complete, utter, disbelief. I couldn't see myself in the mirror anymore, but instead I was replaced by this infamous female fiend whom I thought didn't exist. It felt like a hand was clutching at my throat. I couldn't breathe well and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the site that sat before me. She hadn't moved at all since I first saw her, yet I could feel her all around. It was hard to comprehend that she wasn't standing in front of me or behind me, or anywhere other than the other side of the mirror.
Within a few seconds, though, I was reaching for the doorknob. Yanking at it, I struggled to do the most simplest of tasks. It wasn't opening. I rattled it frantically but it wouldn't budge. It wasn't making any sense to me. It wasn't possible for a non-human to control something like a door, right? What was happening? My arms were shaking and I couldn't get a tight enough grip...
Breathing heavily, and mustering up some courage, I looked back in the mirror. But I wished I hadn't. She had moved and her gaze trailed me to the door. And if that wasn't enough, her mouth began to move in inaudible words. No sounds escaped her lips, but she was definitely trying.
The room began to spin around me. Colorful objects blurred together and my stomach started to flop from the motion. The sides, under my jaw, twinged as the juices of sickness flooded my body. Then as if there was a banshee in the bathroom, the eeriest, high-pitched scream penetrated right through my skull. I clapped my hands over my ears, trying to stifle the noise, but it wasn't working. It only grew. It was so loud and so high my head felt as if it was going to combust. The scream pierced so deeply, my brain felt like it was swelling and my eyes were blinded my a redness I couldn't explain.
I dropped to my knees.
Still clutching my ears, I leaned forward to the floor, unable to get up. My body was on fire. It felt as though a thousand red-hot needles were being plunged deep into my skin and I couldn't do anything about it. I had lost control of my body.
Falling to my side, I groaned against the horrific pain. Acid burned in my stomach; bubbling, rising, threatening to escape. My tongue swelled and my teeth chattered despite it. My entire body convulsed causing my head to slam against the tile flooring. I couldn't feel it's pain from the throbbing of the constant scream; however, it caused my teeth to sink into my tongue and blood started to drip out of my mouth and onto the floor. Again my head thrashed uncontrollably, this time aimed at the porcelain bathtub. Green and red sparks flew about in my mind.
In spite of the feverishly-pitched wail, I distinctly heard a shatter and bits of glass sprayed all over me, some slitting the top layers of my skin. The pain couldn't affect me. Nothing else affected me like the sound of that which I was experiencing. Not now that I was going deaf from the screech. My head throbbed and smacked itself against the tub once again, sending more sparks flying. The third blow sent a wave of numbness over my body and I started to relax. I could feel my eyes rolling backwards into my head and there was nothing I could do about it. The numbness was dissolving the pain slowly.
Or was the pain dissolving the numbness? The reverse effect was now taking place, and I flipped onto my stomach. The banshee-like cry grew louder and more overbearing than before. I rolled onto my back onto my back, as well as I could and coughed against the heavy amount of blood that trickled down my throat. I gagged and tried to spit it out, but was distracted when something fell to the floor, jolting my body. I tried to open my eyes, but all I saw was the burning red film. I couldn't see anything. My hands were still clamped over my ears, but were suddenly yanked away by a couple of clammy sets of fingers. I flinched as the coldness stung my skin, overpowering the burning sensation. The rapid change of temperature sent my body back into some form of shock.
My body jerked violently and then stopped...
Slowly, I melted into some illusory, hazy, deep realm of my mind.