Shadow Taking Over

3- Poison in the air

Half limping on her right, Eve trudged behind Alice up each tall step and down the lengthy halls. She couldn't remember the hallway being this long. To balance herself, she pressed her palm to the wall. Because of this, several permanent burnt hand prints decorated the old fashioned wallpaper. A wiff of burning charcoal caught her nostrils. Eve tried to ignore it, but it was intense. She then noticed something odd. Even though the smell should have brought tiny tears to her eyes, nothing happened. Each eye was a barren desert. Uncomfortable dryness left Eve's eyes twitching open and shut. She trudged forward with heavy steps. All Eve wanted was to collapse, however a darker force inside of her shouted angrily that she must keep moving.

Alice pulled her tee shirt up over her chin and mouth to protect her nose from the stench. It was a mystery as to why the entire house hadn't combusted already. The temperature of the house had gone up in significant degrees. Sweat beads broke on her skin. By the time Alice led Eve into her bedroom, the place felt like a sauna. Her lungs took in raspy breaths. She feared that the two of them would overheat in these conditions. Although, when Alice looked Eve over she realized that her sister displayed no physical signs of perspiration. The hairs on her neck tingled. She was on edge. Lance escalated the plan far sooner than Alice had anticipated. Her father was not much of a risk taker. He strayed from jumping before knowing where he would land. Hopefully he would get his impulses under control soon. In this state, he was unpredictable and dangerous.

"Put these on," Alice said. She threw a crumbled mess of clothing at Eve's feet.

Eve stared at her a moment, unmoving and expressionless. Alice could not bare to return the gaze. Unsatisfied, Eve crouched low to pick up what Alice had thrown. She separated the mess out on the floor to get a good look at each article; a high collar jacket with lengthy sleeves, form fitting pants, and a pair of lace less sneakers. Each piece of clothing was made out of a black material that she could not identify. It had the look of leather, but not the feel of it. The shoes were sleek and reflected in the light. Carefully, she slipped into the pants and pulled into the jacket. Her arms were toothpicks inside the sleeves. Eve turned her head at a mirror. She looked like a child wearing grown up clothes.

"They were suppose to be for when you turned 20, but he was.. impatient," Alice gestured to the bagginess of the clothes. "He designed each piece specifically to hold in the heat you produce. Nothing can get in or out of that material. It not only protects you," she paused to bite her lip, "it protects those around you."

Awkward silence fell over the two. Eve kept her eyes glued to the mirror. Her freshly cut fringe drooped over her eyes. Alice walked to the window to allow some fresh night air inside. A gust of cool wind whipped into the room. Eve hissed at the chill, backing up against the wall. The cold was poisonous to her, she figured that out quickly. Out of an unnatural instinct, Eve thrashed her arm at the window. The shadow of the mirror burst from the ground and collided with the window frame. With sharp, contorted claws, the shadow shut the window tight. Eve dropped her arm and slouched.

"Father wishes for you to sleep here tonight," Alice murmured while staring awestruck at the window. "I'll be taking the couch."

Eve said nothing. She kept her eyes averted to the mirror. Alice retrieved a key from the dresser and turned to exit. Before she shut the door, she looked back at Eve. "Don't sleep on the bed- you might burn it."

And with that, Alice left Eve to herself. The door locked twice behind her. The next morning, Eve would be found standing in the same spot in front of the mirror. Every piece of furniture in the room was now nothing but piles upon piles of ashes.