HELLFIRE CROSSROADS: Introducing... by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Midnight Street Press
Published: 2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

SCREAM

THROUGH WATER

Light from the evening sun straddled two sides of the house, painting the cream exterior orange. The other half of the house was in shadow, trees clustered around that side, their branches caressing the tiled roof.

Mathew and Jessica walked hand in hand to the front door of their new home. Autumn leaves crunched under their feet. Mathew looked back at the car, regretting his choice of a t-shirt as the evening air drew goosebumps on his arms.

Inside, the house was much like it had looked online. It had been a gamble, buying a house without seeing the inside for themselves. So far, their gamble had paid off. The previous owner had left in a hurry, if the realtor could be believed. The house was affordable, assuming Mathew could find work to boost the income from Jessica’s design work.

Either way, the house fit their budget and their plan of living out of town in New England – not too far out, but enough that you couldn’t see the neighbours. Away from the house the trees thickened into forest, with lakes beyond.

Driving to the house through narrow tree-lined roads had convinced Mathew they had made the right decision, and the inside of the house confirmed it.

Mathew looked at the only brick in the house – the chimney over the fireplace in the main room. His eyes followed the line of bricks to the ceiling. The bricks scraped his fingers as he drew his hand along them. He made a mental note to get on the roof tomorrow and make sure the chimney was still in good condition.

A shout from Jessica made him turn around and race through the house.

Jessica pointed into the back room. Matthew peered over her shoulder, shivering as a whisper of cool damp air touched his cheeks. It was even colder than the air outside, despite the room being like all the others: half-stripped paint, wide light wood board floor, and a squared window. The only difference was the mirror leaning against the wall.

“Strangest mirror I ever saw,” said Mathew.

The mirror stood five feet tall, not tall enough to reach Mathew’s chin. There was a thin wooden frame around the edges, two fingers wide and stained dark. The surface of the mirror commanded their attention, being completely black, like ink spilled over glass.

Mathew reached out to touch it. “Is that soot?”

Jessica’s hand shot forward, pulling his back. “Don’t touch it! It’s creepy,” she said.

Mathew looked out of the thin window, to see the day’s light fading noticeably. The trees outside shivered in the breeze.

Jessica inhaled and touched a hand to his chest. “Did you see that?”

“What.”

“The mirror. Something…moved. Across it. No, behind it.” Her eyes were wide and white. She swallowed. “Like an animal trapped under the black.”

The mirror looked black as ever to Mathew. “Probably just a shadow from outside. Look, those branches are right up against the window.” This was true, the ends of bare autumn branches reached out to the window like thin fingernails, tapping and scratching at the glass.

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