Shatter

Chapter Eight

Monday, October 4, 2025

Sylvia

I woke up to a blinding light in my face. I sat up, and a sharp pain sent a lightning bolt through both of my shoulders. I had no memory of where I had been before I came here, and as I looked around, nothing familiar rang in my mind. The room was small, with rough gray walls and old flooring. There was no door in sight. I could hear muffled voices coming from the room beside me.

A voice startled me. "You're awake." I whipped my head around and saw a doll that looked strangely like my older sister. She had wavy, bright red hair and was perched on top of a cardboard box. Her dark brown eyes pierced mine. "It's been long, hasn't it?"

I almost stopped breathing. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember me?" She dangled her legs on the edge. "Autumn? Your sister?"

"A-autumn?" My voice caught in my throat. "What are you doing here?"

A shout sounded from the room next to us, followed by a loud thud. I jumped. "Where are we? Heaven?"

Autumn laughed, and a million memories shot through me like bullets. Of us spending time together by ourselves, without a care in a world. Of us putting Mom's makeup on each other, laughing at each other's horrible attempts. I swallowed and squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears.

Autumn stopped swinging her feet. "Scarlett's dead."

I turned my head back towards her and let out a nervous chuckle. "Haha, funny."

"I'm not joking, Sylvia. She's dead. And your friends are about to be dead if you don't save them."

I grew still, terror rippling through me. Scarlett is dead, Scarlett is dead, Scarlett is dead, Scarlett is dead...

"Go," Autumn murmured to me. "Save your friends before it's too late. Break the wall with this." She pointed at the hammer that lay next to her. I couldn't move, though. It seemed like a heavy rock was keeping me down from moving.

Autumn reached over to me, her plastic hands resting on mine. They were no longer soft, but the touch created for an old memory to flash back.

After Grandpa died, Autumn and I stood in front of his coffin after the funeral on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Mom and Scarlett were talking with our relatives outside, but I couldn't seem to move to follow them. A tear rolled down my cheek as I stared at Grandpa's portrait set on a table next to the ashes.

Autumn slid her warm hand in mine and squeezed. "It'll be alright," she whispered. "Remember when I told you two to be strong?"

By then, Autumn had changed ever since she became ill - she cut her hair short and dyed it black. Her entire wardrobe had changed, but one thing would always stay the same. She would always be my older sister.

"I remember," I say, using the back of my hand to wipe the tears from my eyes. "But I don't want to be strong now."

Autumn didn't reply as she stared at Grandpa's smiling face, her face rigid and emotionless. "Will you miss me when I'm gone?"

"Don't say that," I say, my voice trembling. "You can't leave me."

"Just promise you and Scarlett will stick together, okay?" I was about to resist when my eyes caught Autumn's, which used to be so bright and warm. Now, they were cold and passionless. At that moment, I knew. I knew that Autumn would be gone soon.

"I promise."

Something inside of me strengthened after the memory. If Scarlett was truly gone, I would be strong. I would make her and Autumn proud. I still wasn't sure if this was a dream - but if it was, I wanted to make the most of it. I turned to face Autumn and squeezed her tightly. I had no idea how she was a doll, or how she was talking, but it didn't bother asking.