Dweller of the Cave

Twelve

My room was pitch black when I woke up. My nose was stuffy and my arms sore. Like a ghost, I drifted from my room to the bathroom down the creepy hall. It stood wide open, the haunting night light by the sink glowing dim and flickering. And finally dying. My heavy body shrugged at the loss.

I turned on the bright light overhead, stinging my tired eyes. The chilling water ran over my hand as I waited for it to heat up.

Then the lights cut off.

I flicked the switch a few times, only to be shocked by the loud crash of thunder outside.

"Andy?" I called out. “Jesus…”

The thought of his terror-stricken face hiding under the covers scared me more than the storm. But if Andy could watch horror movies at nine years old and still sleep with a creepy doll at night, a bit of rain was like a sunny day. The face in my head was mine.

Though I wanted to check on him, I shuddered at the thought of opening the bathroom door, facing the deathly staircase lined with old pictures and record covers. Shadows seeped in every corner like a flood of thick tar.

I glanced in the mirror.

My veins glowed purple beneath my skin, lightly disguised by faint outlines of Zodiac signs. Two lines streaked from the tip of my nose and curled into two horns on my forehead. The Aries sign. Vibrant pink flushed my face, illuminating the freckles and blotches I didn't know I had. My normally brown irises were hollow and clear like glass.

The mirror blacked out, with stars shimmering in the void. Real stars.

I stumbled back and banged my head on the towel rack.

Swirling around, they formed a twinking handgun. The trigger twitched on its own, without a holder. And in seconds, the blast of gun smoke rung in my ears. Cracks branched from the bullet hole shot in the dead center of the mirror. Distant stars bled from the wound.

Bam!

Glass and glittering stars exploded into the room, coating the sink and floor in shimmering shards. It rained onto my skin, slicing my raised arms.

Then the rain faded along with the thunder.

I curled up, sweating and panting through the guttural, boiling pain in my blood.

Tears wet my face and pooled in my throat.

Dread rose within me.

I'll never see them again, I thought, feeling Andy’s soft, curious touch before he realizes what happened to his brother.

And Mom…

I saw my name carved in a gravestone, made of the same stars I saw in the gym…

Still stunned, my hands didn't even twitch at the vivid image. Or more of a memory. A memory I didn't want to repeat.

I curled my fingers into my fist. I wiggled my toes in my slippers. And after steadying my breath, my legs trembled like jelly as I rose to my feet.

At some point, my jelly legs barely carried me into the hall and to Andy's bedroom. I creaked open the door.

Sound asleep, he basked in the now back on air-conditioning, atop his covers.

I didn't want to wake him.

The bright bathroom light fluttered back on, with the loud hum of the vent above the shower shelf.

I finally lumbered back to my dark room, switching on the small night lamp I had. Sitting beside it on the nightstand was a ham sandwich and a dripping water bottle.