Random short stories

Breaking Out (part 4)

He returned to the where the grandfather clock awaits. Returning the once missing hands back in place. The clock then starts to chime. Like a wake-up call. Once the chimes had stopped, the cupboard underneath the clock opened revealing a key. Ethan knew where it needed to be. He took the key and went straight to the entrance door. This was it. It was time. At last, he confronted the locked door, its surface smooth and unyielding. With trembling hands, he fumbled for the key that would grant him passage, his breath catching in his throat as he turned the lock and pushed the door open.

Inside, a large mirror stood at the centre of the room, its surface covered by a heavy blanket. A single light illuminated the mirror, casting eerie shadows across the walls. With a sense of dread, Ethan approached the mirror and pulled back the blanket, revealing his own reflection staring back at him. But this was no ordinary mirror. As Ethan looked into its depths, his reflection seemed to come alive, twisting and contorting into a grotesque caricature of himself. "Back again?" his reflection sneered, its voice dripping with malice. "Why are you still alive, Ethan? Why did you survive when they didn't?"

Terrified, Ethan stumbled back, only to find himself surrounded by mirrors on all sides. His reflection leered at him from every angle, mocking him with its cruel smile. "You couldn't save them, Ethan," it taunted. "And now you're doomed to suffer for eternity." It laughed at Ethan. Its words stuck a knife into his heart. Ethan questioned himself. Why? Why did he? He reminisces the times when his comrades used to laugh alongside him. Chatting, play roughing, and sometimes insulting each other playfully.

Then he remembered what one of them had said, "You know, boys. If any of us were to end up not making it out. Always remember, that we are sworn brothers. We are family by anything but blood. No matter where we may be, we would always have each other. So, if we die, we will always watch over each other. But don't go recklessly dying on me just because I said that, got it?!" The boys then laughed at his remark. Mocking him for being a sap. That's right. How could he forget? Man, he was an idiot.

With newfound courage, Ethan faced his reflection head-on, his voice steady as he spoke. "I may have survived, but I will not let their sacrifice be in vain. Their memories live on inside me, guiding me forward. And I will not let you hinder me or let anything stop me for trying to move forward. Now get out of my sight!"

As he yelled, the emerald gem glowed brighter still, casting a brilliant light that engulfed the room. And when Ethan opened his eyes, he found himself standing in front of the mirror, the thorn vines and black goo gone without a trace. With a sense of peace settling over him, Ethan made his way to the entrance door and stepped outside into the cool night air. The weight of guilt that had burdened him for so long was finally lifted, replaced by a newfound sense of purpose. As he walked beneath the stars, Ethan made a vow to honour the memory of his fallen comrades, to live his life in a way that would make them proud. And with his grandmother's necklace glowing softly against his chest, he knew that he would never be alone again.