The House That Never Was

VI: The Reflection

Making it back upstairs, Jack found himself confused. He was sure he had come that way, but nothing looked the same. The halls were different. The turns were different. Even the decorations and lighting weren't the same. He found himself wondering if he had gone the wrong way. Then, he thought that was impossible since he hadn't turned anywhere. He went back the direction he had come when he went downstairs.

"What is going on here?" He asked himself. "I know I came this way."

He couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had come over him. He felt that the situation was hopeless. He and his friends were in the middle of an inexplicable  situation. His girlfriend had vanished while she was with them. All these thoughts made him feel helpless. Lisa disappearing like she had, was an absolute feeling of terror. All Jack could think about was finding Lisa and his friends, and then, getting out of that house as soon as possible.

Each and every step felt like an eternity in Hell. Each and every turn made Jack feel like a rat caught in a maze. With each step and every turn, he felt like he was moving farther and farther away from his friends. Like Lisa was slipping farther away from him. He felt lost, not just lost in the house, but lost without her. He didn't know what he would do without her. He loved her with all his heart. He kept thinking if anything happened to her, he'd make that old couple suffer for it. They were crazy. They were weird. They had something to do with Lisa's disappearance. He just knew it. But deep down he knew he had to shake those thoughts. He knew he had to keep believing that she was okay. Otherwise he would have no feeling of hope left. He wanted to find her so he could wrap his arms around her again, and tell her how much he loved her.

Standing at one end of a long hallway, he looked toward the other end. There looked to be at least a dozen doors along the hall. He was prepared to search every single room to find his love. He had searched several of the rooms and found nothing out of the ordinary. As he was closing a door, Jack heard what he thought was a woman's voice. Then, he realized not just any woman's voice. It was Lisa's voice.

"Where are you?" Cried Lisa. "I can't find you."

"Baby?" Jack called out. "I'm right here."

"I can't find you." She repeated.

"Where are you at?" Jack shouted.

Jack began looking in more rooms, calling out to her. He had no luck finding her until he came to the last room on the left. He opened the door to see the strangest thing. It was Lisa in the mirror. She was wandering around in a fog of some sorts. Looking around, she began to cry. Jack couldn't believe his eyes. He thought he was going crazy.

"Lisa?" He called out. "Where are you, baby?"

She turned around and looked around. "I can't find you."

"I'm right here." He replied as he put his hand on the mirror.

At that moment, she turned to face him.

Looking right at him, she asked, "Why didn't you save me?"

Backing away, and with tears in his eyes, he replied, "I tried, baby. I tried."

Lisa's image began to fade from the mirror. Jack began to cry. He couldn't believe what just happened. He had seen his girlfriend in a mirror, and then, she faded away. He couldn't help but think maybe he and the rest of his friends would all meet a similar fate. At that moment, Jack noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw that it was Lisa. She appeared to be unharmed. He ran over to her and threw his arms around her. She wrapped hers around him.

"Oh my God, baby!" Jack exclaimed. "I'm so glad I found you."

"You are?" Lisa asked.

"Of course I am. Don't be silly." He told her as he wrapped his arms around her even tighter.

"Then, why didn't you save me?" She asked.

Jack pushed away from her just a slight bit to look at her. To his horror she now looked like a rotting corpse. Jack pushed her completely back. As he stepped back he stumbled and fell.

Lisa stood above him and leaned down until her face was right in his. Then again she asked, "Why didn't you save me?" Her voice sounded demonic. It was deep and high pitched at the same time. It was like she was speaking with two different voices. It scared Jack like he had never been scared before.

Then, the lights went out. When they came back on, Lisa was gone. Jack got up and ran out of the room. He knew he had to find his friends as soon as possible. He knew they had to get out of that evil place.