-O- Chapter Two: Reflections -O-
Zach froze. He could of sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. Reluctantly, he responded, "E-…Excuse me?"
Silence…
Dial tone
She had hung up.
Zach sat there in shock, for more than one reason. One, because of the nature of the ghastly call, and two, partially, because he was surprised he was so freaked out in the first place. After all, it's not like 'Dore hadn't been prone to pull pranks on him in the past. Like that time when they were young and Theodore had poured liquid soap into his soda. And you know, had Zach not been so freaked out by his situation, he would of most likely chuckled at his treasured memory.
But alas, no chuckle came. No smile, no joy. Just silence. But why? What was the big deal? It was just a tape, right? Zach had to admit, though; parts of it reminded him of his clouded past; maybe even familiar to him, though he'd rather not admit it. He couldn't remember much of his childhood; especially after… 'The Incident'. But he had moved on. He was fine the way he was. Alone.
Or so he liked to think, anyway.
Zach continued to sit gawking for a minute before actually putting the phone back in its roost. He sat there for another second before he got up and walked into the kitchen. He walked over to his freezer and pulled out a microwave dinner. He didn't really feel like cooking right now. He popped it in the microwave for the designated time and then sat down at his small table. He still couldn't figure out why he was so freaked out over this. He was probably just paranoid. A boy in his position had a right to be.
-O-
"Mommy, where are you going?" the young child asked.
His mother smiled and bent down to his level. "I've got to go to work, sweetie"
The child tilted his head curiously. "Why?"
The woman placed her hand on her son's head warmly. "Well, Zach, I've got to go to work so you can keep all of the beautiful things you own, like your bed and your toys"
"Oh"
I'll see you later, honey" she kissed Zach on his forehead and got back up, picked up her purse and walked out the door.
The young toddler sat on the rug in the huge mansion inquisitively. He tilted his head at the door before realizing that his mother wasn't going to walk back through it.
"Mommy…? Mommy?!"
-O-
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sound of Zach's dinner shook him from his memories. He got up and picked the plastic tray up out of the microwave. It was hot, but he didn't care right now. He set it on the table and got a fork from his drawer. He sat down in front of his food, but did little more than poke it for the meantime.
'I don't need them…I never needed them…'
Zach stubbornly smashed his fork into his food and began gulping it all down. He didn't know why he even continued living like this, but he did it none the less. He had always had an undying will to survive, to thrive and flourish. Besides, he wanted to prove to them that he could make it on his own…Without their "work".
-O-
Zach threw the empty plastic container away and walked upstairs. He needed rest, and knew it. He walked into the bathroom and began to brush his teeth. As he spat in the sink, he thought he saw some motion in the mirror. He turned around on instinct to find nothing there. But as he turned around, he found his own reflection had been replaced by someone else entirely.
"WAH!"
Zach jumped back a bit at the sight of her. At least, he thought it was a her. The new presence's face was hidden by a huge mop of black hair, and the rest of her body was covered by a tattered white dress. There was some red mixed in on parts of it, though, what Zach assumed to be blood stains. He stood gawking at her for a couple seconds before a hollow whisper filled the air, the words indistinguishable.
And just as quickly as she had appeared, the girl was gone.
Zach stared blankly for a second at his own reflection. "What in the worldjust...I must be hallucinating…" it was inevitable now. Zach needed sleep, and badly.
Zach quickly finished in the bathroom and changed into his pajamas. He walked across the hall into his bedroom. "Maybe I'm sick or something…" he sighed as he turned off all the lights and crept into bed. "Maybe I can just sleep it off" He curled up under the covers and swiftly drifted off to sleep, never once noticing the presence in his doorway looming over him.
Soon…
-O-
Corner of Pranktitude: Yup, chapter two. Finally. I originally didn't notice the thing with the mirror and the chapter title until like, the end. Kinda funny how life works, 'ya know? Hope yoy enjoyed it, chapter three's not far behind!