Short Stories

Crimson Red

By: Lexie3234

 I watched my pencil move at lightning speed as I finished my final math problem, moving on to my english homework. My music blasted through my headphones and I finished the homework with ease. Finally having finished what typically consumed most of my time at home, I laid down, deciding I would rest for a while before I had gymnastics. I closed my eyes and listened to my fan whirl around as it had always done.

Suddenly, I felt a presence in the room with me and my eyes shot open. I looked up, but saw nothing. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brother, Ian, sneaking around my desk.

"What do you want," I questioned, irritated.

"We should go," he answered vaguely, looking me straight in the eyes with a smile that told me he was up to no good.

"We should go where?" I asked, waiting for an answer that I could actually understand. I'm pretty sure my kid brother was dropped on his head as a baby.

"On an adventure," he said, spiking my interest. "Please Reina. I want to go, but I don't want to go alone," he continued.

"Fine," I replied. "I'll go."

He seemed too excited when he squealed and almost tore my arm off pulling me through the house. He pulled me through the living room and dining room, and then we went down the stairs into the basement. I looked at him curiously, wondering what we were doing down here. The basement had always been off limits. Ian kept pulling me until we were finally where he'd wanted to go. We were by the mirror I'd had in my room years before. The thing still gave me nightmares. Ian then did something I would have never expected. He pulled us through the mirror.

I looked around at the strange world before me as a surge of emotion pulsed through my veins. We were in a world where the skies looked as if they were trapped in a permanent sunrise. The birds and bees flew freely. It was beautiful. Well, it was. Then I saw the people who lived here. They were absolutely awful. They came up to greet Ian and I and they smelled awful. They were all the definition of disgusting in my mind, and their attitudes definitely did not make up for the horrible way they looked.

I suddenly realized that I'd just been transported to another dimension. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I looked towards my brother who just stood there, grinning. He looked up at me and waved, like I was going somewhere. I turned around and saw that the creatures from earlier were gone, replaced with one large, crimson red lion. It was huge. I would never be able to defeat him, but I couldn't run either because when I whirled around my brother had a knife pointed directly at my throat. I began breathing faster, looking at the wry smile my brother plastered on to his face.

"Bye, bye," he said in a high pitched tone as I listened to the pounding footsteps behind me. I had to think of a way to save myself. I thought and thought, listening to the footsteps suddenly close in. Then I had an idea. It would be hard to accomplish, but I could do it. I grabbed the hilt of my brother's knife and took it, cutting him in the process. I ran towards the lion and threw the large knife straight into his heart. The red blood that matted his fur stained the ground as well. Unfortunately, the blow wasn't deep enough into his skin and he charged forward once more. I reached for my brother and shoved him in the way of the lion. I sprinted for my life, running towards the portal we came from.

I made it past the portal and ran up the stairs out of the basement. My mom was waiting for me with my gymnastics bag, her back turned towards me.

"Mom," I said, exasperated. "I think something's wrong with Ian" She turned around, with a small knife in her hand. Her eyes, now completely black, reflected the mischief her small smile showed.

"Who's Ian?" She asked.