The Phantom Shard

Chapter three

When dawn broke that early morning, I woke up with a jolt. I heard my dad's faint heavy foot steps and it didn't take a genius to tell that he was coming over here. I scrambled to my feet and raced to cover the mirror.

The sheet got caught under a loose floor board. I bend and tugged it with all my might, even more harder with every step I hear he took. He's getting closer, my heart races. But when I finally tugged it free, I heard a sharp stinging noice.

The sheet now has a slit.

It tore from a corner up until the middle section of it. I inspected the fault, there were in no way in hell was I going to repair this soon. I looked up to the mirror to see that it had a new edition to it.

A hand print.

I heard the steps of my dad grew louder. I panicked, and just covered the mirror as it is.

The door slammed open. He entered and his frame filled a quater of my room. He glared at me and tilted his head towards the mirror. His body language seems off, not the usual bow-down-peasants aura. Though he still wore a cleanly pressed suit with his hair combed back in elegance.

His dark eyes wandered around the room, never settling on anything for too long. And when his eyes landed on the mirror, he physically relaxed.

He scoffed, "Disgraceful." And slammed the door closed.

I heard the locking of my door. "Wait, wait!" I slapped my hands on the door, on my knees. He punches my door and I took it he wants me to be quiet. I laid there, on my door. Sad as it is, I was about to beg for food.

"...She brought it upon herself."

"What should we do, James?"

"I say we leave it..."

"But Claire-"

"Shush!"

Those hushed voices I recognized as my parent's. Before anything else, they walked out of my hearing range. But their words lingered into my mind. What did I bring upon to myself?

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I smell smoke.

I woke from where I laid, still on the door. My room was filled with black smoke. In a faze, I stood up and had a bit of a coughing fit. My lungs felt like collapsing as my heart felt like failing me. With all the smoke filling the space in my room, I noticed fire dancing outside my window.

I went to it, I knocked on the glass. Sadly, the window was too small for me to pass through but it was enough for something else.

I punched the glass and my knuckles burn when bits of glass penetrate the skin and thin rivers of blood slowly oozed from them. The window was now bare of glass and I went to grab my quilt. I fan the smoke out, quickly and as swiftly I could.

"Mom! Dad!" I screamed as my arms started to burn. I was covered with sweat, and the heat was starting to get to me.

"Help me!" My shrieks didn't have any replies.

The quilt suddenly was on fire. I panicked and threw it outside the window, stupid. The flame now grew wild and the smoke grew thick. I was coughing, surely I thought blood would appear soon. Without wasting anymore time, I uncloaked the mirror and I fan the sheet out like a mad person.

I was exhausted. "Mom, please! Please, be out there. Help me!" My body wrecked with tears as I sobbed loudly. Tears and smoke blurred my vision and in all that seems lost, I gave up.

I backed away from the window until my back touched a cool surface despite the soaring temperature. I slid down until I sat on the floor. I covered my nose and mouth with my palm, though I was still choking for air.

In the amidst of my misery way to death, I heard the three taps.

Tap

Tap

Tap.

I realized now by each sound, the surface behind me shook a bit. I turned to see that I leaned on the mirror. I studied it through teary eyes, no doubt I'm hallucinating.

A piece of the ceiling fell to my right and I let out a surprised yelp. The heat radiated from it was intense, I could feel my clothes dampening by the second and my hair glued to my face. Then many more followed, and pieces of the ceiling dropped to the floor, one by one.

I was desperate now, I want to be safe. And as if in slow motion, I saw a fist contacting with the mirror but from the other side, the inside of the mirror I mean. I was horrified, what is happening? The ghostly hand punched the mirror and in each punch, the mirror cracked under pressure.

Still in a daze, I watched the hand. My eyes grew heavy and I knew I was close to fainting. I dodged a falling broken wood, just barely. My vision was starting to see stars but until then do I realized that, the flame now touched my feet. I scooted away and felt the aching burn tortured by the fire. I cried, I sobbed, yet no one came.

But then, it suddenly rained glass.

In the second before, I saw the fist gave it's last punch and the glass exploded at my direction. The shards of glass stabbed me everywhere exposed. I covered my head to only receive stabs to my arms. I cried out in pain and dropped to the floor.

The hand earlier then dragged me into the mirror. In the middle was a jagged hole with sharp ends around it. My limbs grew weak and I felt no will to fight back from the hand. As my upper body passed through the hole, my shoulder blades were cut by the sharp ends. I opened my eyes to only see a dark abyss.

My body was now fully through the mirror, and was seconds away from slipping away from conciousness. I closed my eyes for an easy five seconds before opening them.

I saw in that dark abyss, a jagged hole. And through that hole, I saw my bedroom filled with smoke that was ready to consume me and fire that itched to burn me.

My heartbeat slows down but then quickens when I heard a voice. The deep voice whispered good nothingness into my ears and was moving some of my hair away from my face. It was comforting, not sure why I was alarmed in the first place.

"...You're safe now."

Am I?

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