The next morning, I awoke to the sound of an alarm I didn't set. I lay there for a minute, thinking. I remembered waking up last night- and then some fire, and a couple weird people. I sat there in struggling thought for a few minutes, then gave up and jumped out of bed. When I did, I was thrown into dizziness and sat back down on my bed. I stayed still for a moment, sitting there, completely out of it. Finally, I tentatively stood up, finding that if I moved slowly, I was able to get where I needed to go. I shuffled around, pulling on jeans, a long sleeve shirt, then a brown t-shirt over that. I walked to the bathroom, where, as I brushed my teeth, I looked in the mirror. What I saw made me freeze. There, for just a second, my reflection looked...crazy. It was tall, much taller than me, with a wild ginger mane, the same kind of costume Millie wore yesterday, but much more wild and...well, scary. The figure smiled at me, seeming diabolical. But as soon as it was there, it faded away and I saw myself, staring at my reflection, jaw dropped and eyes frightened. I glanced to each side, placed my toothbrush down, then slowly backed out of the bathroom. Then I turned around and ran, ran downstairs and looked in the mirror that hung in the hall. There was no freaky reflection, just myself, dark green eyes wild and scared. I slowly walked back upstairs and went into my room, where I grabbed my jacket, shoes, and backpack. Then I skirted down the stairs and into the kitchen, tossing my stuff down by the front door.
When I walked into the kitchen, Millie was already sitting at the table, sipping a mug of steaming tea while reading the newspaper. Her gray eyes flicked up to look at me. "I see we match," she said sarcastically.
I glanced over her. True to her word, Millie was wearing blue jeans, a white long sleeve undershirt, and a graphic brown tee on top. "Wonderful," I replied, just as sarcastically, momentarily forgetting my fright. Then I glanced around the kitchen, and skirted to the cabinets and poured myself a bowl of cereal.
"Someone's paranoid this morning," my cousin called from her place at the table.
I glared at her. "You would be, too, if some creepy half human half cat thing showed up in your mirror right after you woke up," I shot at her, not caring that I sounded completely insane.
What happened though, instead of her sharp tongue insulting me, her head snapped up. Her icy shell was gone, and underneath was one of fright and something like...protectiveness, maybe? "What did it look like?" she whispered. "Did it have crazy fur? Ginger? Really tall, with sunken in yellow eyes?"
I stared at her. "Don't you want to tell me I'm crazy? Insult me?" I asked, surprised.
"Answer my questions!" Her voice wasn't above a whisper, but it packed the force of a scream into her words.
"Uh...yeah."
Millie looked away from me, staring off into space. Her lips moved, forming silent words. Suddenly, she stood up. "We have to get going, twerp," she said, starting to pull on a pair of brown boots.
I stared at her. She glared right back. Finally, I shook my head and pulled on my sneakers. I gulped down my cereal while she dashed upstairs to get her bag, and then took a piece of gum so that my breath didn't stink. When Millie still hadn't come down after five minutes, I yelled up the stairwell, "Millie! We gotta go!" No response. Annoyed, I trudged up the stairs. I heard her voice coming from in her room.
"No, Teaser! Macavity was looking at him!" My brow furrowed as I leaned against her closed door. "Yes, Macavity!...Yesterday, I thought it was him. ...Well, duh! We need to tell Munkustrap. ...No, don't tell him! Not now. We aren't sure about him. I can pretty much guarantee that we found Coricopat. ...Yes, I know. I think we can wait another week, and then, if Macavity doesn't show any interest in Jerry, then I think we've got the wrong guy. Hey, did Mistoffelees get Cory's bike back to the house? ...Good. Alright. I'll see you in a little bit." There was a click, and I realized that Millie was about to come out of her room. I turned and bolted down the stairs, scooping up my book bag that way I would look like I wasn't listening to her conversations. I leaned against the wall next to the front door, attempting to look like I'd been there the whole time. Millie trudged down the stairs, seeming to be in a relatively bad mood again. She walked out the front door, ignoring me.
I followed her out, but ran over to the side of the house and looked behind the fence. And there, sat my bike, where I was told it would be.
Millie walked quickly down the street, stopping at the corner and looking both ways before dashing across the street. I followed her. "You know we have to stop and wait for Jerry, right? At the next corner?" I said. She didn't respond, but when we got to his street, she stopped and leaned against the street post. We waited there for a couple minutes, until, all of the sudden, Jerry was tearing down the street. He stopped by us, panting.
"What's wrong?" Millie asked, brow furrowing.
"Rehgahn...creepeh red thin'...told meh tuh go an' ge' tuh 'ou goiuys," Jerry panted. Millie lips tightened, and her eyes widened. She looked up, and watched Jerry's house for the ten seconds it took Reagan to come flying out. I stood there, confused.
Regan came running down the street, and when she got to where the three of us were, she was smiling as she panted. "Le's ge' goin'! Weh don' wanna beh la'e!" she called, dashing across the street and heading towards the school. Millie followed like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Me and Jerry looked at each other, completely and utterly confused. Then we followed then, silently walking behind them. We didn't talk, and, because of that, I was able to hear Millie and Reagan's whispered conversation.
"No," Millie said. Her voice was strained. "It's happening too soon. We've only been in contact with them for a day!"
"Oi know. Bu' 'e said tha' some realleh strong phycic thingeh 'appened. Somethin' tha' gave Coreh a 'eadache."
There was a few seconds' pause. "We need more protection," Millie said finally. "I'll call Misto."
"Oh, you onleh wan' 'im cause 'ou're in looooove," Reagan said.
I could imagine the glare Millie gave Reagan. "I am not," my cousin said defiantly. "But he offers the best protection of those close to our age."
I finally had the nerve to glance up, and I caught Reagan making her hand look like it was talking, muttering, "Blah, blah blah," under her breath.
Meanwhile, Millie pulled out her cell phone, hitting a button as it went up to her ear. I drew back from that conversation, then glanced over at Jerrie. He was sulking. "Are you okay?" I asked him.
His bright green eyes flicked up. "Oi jus' realleh go' a bad feelin'," he said.
"I do too," I sighed, readjusting my bag on my back.
Jerry sighed, then pulled his mini sketch pad out of one of his endless pockets, along with a pencil. He flipped the pad open, and started sketching, going into his little drawing trance. I looked ahead blankly as the four of us made it into the school, getting into Mr. Kell's class right before the bell rang. He gave us one of his Better be faster looks, then gathered up papers for our lesson.
I fell into my desk, slouching as my mind reviewed this morning. I glanced over at Jerry, and saw what he was working on. It was a drawing of the creepy half-human thing I had seen in the mirror, and I realized that he must have seen it, too. I slunk lower in my desk, trying to make sense of all of this. It was impossible.
Millie was impatient all day. At lunch, she glanced around as if she was expecting someone. It wasn't until the end of the day, when she seemed to have given up hope, did someone yell her name.
"Millie!" My cousin whipped around, and when I turned, there was a guy waving his arm at her, running over.
"Mike!" Millie shouted, her face breaking into a grin. Mike hurried over, throwing his arms around Millie, then Reagan. Then he stepped back, and I had the chance to get a good look at him. He was short, though taller than Reagan. He had black hair and was unusually pale, to a point where his skin was almost white. He grinned when he saw me looking him over, with bright blue eyes that glinted with energy, and again, with the un-human glint that belonged to both Reagan and Millie.
"Already protective of her?" he asked slyly.
My brow furrowed, and then Reagan whacked on the arm. Then she grabbed his black t-shirt, yanking him down to her level, and hissed something into his ear. His face made an 'oh' look, then changed to 'whoops'. Reagan let go of his sleeve, and he straightened up. "Sorry," Mike said. "I was confused."
I nodded slowly. "Uh...Millie? Wanna tell me who your friend is?"
"Rude as ever," my cousin muttered. "This is Mike. He's my friend. Mike, this is my extremely annoying cousin, Cory, and his friend, Jerry. You know Reagan."
Mike nodded, raising a hand in greeting.
The five of use stood there rather awkwardly. It was so quiet, that I suddenly became aware of a scratching noise. I looked up from my sneakers, which I had found rather interesting for the past five minutes. The scratching was Jerry's pencil in his little sketchbook, again. He wasn't paying any attention to anything else. I glanced around, and the other three were staring at him as well. Jerry didn't look up, and kept drawing for another minute. Then Reagan took two silent steps towards him, then swiped the sketchbook right out of his hands.
"'ey!" Jer yelped, grabbing at his book.
"Nope," Reagan said, holding it out of his reach. Then she pulled it up close to her eyes. Millie and Mike looked on either side of her, and I walked around to peer over Mike's shoulder, whom I was a few inches taller than. The four of us looked down at the drawing. What I saw was a colored pencil drawing that was exactly what I saw in the mirror this morning. Jerry had captured an evil in the was the ginger streaks on its face contorted into an unnerving smile.
"I never would have thought," Mike said under his breath. "Mungojerrie, an artist." I assumed that I wasn't supposed to hear him. Without saying anything, Reagan handed Jerry his sketchbook back. He swiped it out of her hand, then knelt on the ground to tuck it safely into his backpack. "Coffee, anyone?" Mike said when Jerry stood back up. We all nodded, then walked our way into town, down to the coffee shop where I had gotten the mental message yesterday. When we walked in, I warily glanced around to check for ginger-haired men. Today there were more people, mainly students looking forward to the weekend and enjoying a Friday afternoon snack. Mike stepped up to the counter, telling the cashier that our group was on him. I started to object, at the same time that Millie did. Mike put up a hand, and insisted.
We spent the next twenty minutes in the shop, gathered around tow small circular tables. At this point we actually started talking, laughing every once in a while. By the time we left, Jerry and I were much more at ease with Mike.
By the time I got home with Millie, I felt much safer. My mind dismissed what I had seen in the mirror as a figment of my imagination. Plus, I had been half-asleep this morning when I brushed my teeth. Feeling happy to have a reasonable explanation, I fell asleep quickly when I laid down that night. I had no idea that the peace would only last for a little bit, until my life was changed completely.
A/N:
I hope the end isn't too draggy. I try really hard to make each chapter at least 2000 words, and I needed a transition chapter. So this one is kinda slow at the end.
BroadwayKhaos- Thanks. I think Millie is my favorite character to write in this one so far.
r1y2r3e4s- Well, you'll just have to wait and see!
mirany stone- I'm continuing!
Vio- A threat that I know better than to take seriously. If I died a terrible death, then how could it be continued?