Rebirth

Chapter One

The ache in your back zipped down to each side of your hips, through your legs and reaching all the way to your toes. So maybe heavy lifting up three flights of stairs wasn't the best idea. But at least you were finally done. You slumped down on a stack of boxes and let out a sigh. Your new home was empty but already beginning to feel a thousand times better now that you had finally moved in. You had a tiny little apartment big enough for just you and your cat.
Voices from the hallway started to grow closer. You perked up and looked at the doorway just as your friends carried their own last round of boxes.
"It's pouring out," A girl complained, her jet black hair long and straight like a mirage of shadows, "We have to get home soon," She was talking to you.
"Yeah, it's totally fine, Sage," You told your friend. ou waved a hand and smiled at her, then Vanderlinde, her boyfriend and your friend as well, "I'm just glad to finally be out of that place. Not that I didn't like being your roommates," You laughed lightly as they chuckled along, "It's just nice to have my own space now, ya know?"
Vanderlinde stood tall, he was extremely well built and twice the size of Sage. They made for an odd couple and they were your closest friends. Vanderlinde smiled, "It's all good, (Y/n). We wish could stay, we were going to help you unpack but... " He sucked in a breath, "We can't leave the dogs out in the rain,"
"No! No! It's okay!" You shook your hands back and forth in front of you, "It's alright, I've got this little demon with me," Just as you said that your orange tabby tomcat slithered out from one of the empty rooms. He purred loudly as you brushed one of your hands over his head.
Neither Sage or Vanderlinde dared to reach out and pet your cat, "I'm not going to miss that bastard," Sage joked. Almost as if he could hear, your cat looked up at Sage and his bright yellow eyes dilated into slits of black.
You picked him up, resting him in your lap, "You're not evil, isn't that right, Buck?" Your cat simply looked turned his head in a different direction, "You're just a dumb little bastards boy, huh? Little dumby who hates everything, that's you," As if you had annoyed him, Buck squirmed from your lap and lept away, tail high as he walked off to somewhere else.
"I'm never going to forgive that fatass for destroying my favorite sweater," Sage said with a grin, "He's evil, I know it, I have a sense for these kinds of things."
You rolled your eyes and followed your friends to the door, "He just doesn't like... Like.. you?" You trailed off, now realizing Sage might be right. You stuttered your sentence back together, "H-he just doesn't like being touched..."
As they passed through the doorway, they both chuckled while Vanderlinde lifted his hand. You could see all the deep scratches cut into it, "Yeah I found that out the hard way. I hope he calms down, you've only had him a few weeks,"
"Maybe the two huge dogs were stressing him out," You defended your cat, "He'll chill out now. You just wait and see, the next time you guys stop by he'll be as cool as a cucumber."
"Ugh- Okay," Sage shook her head, fake disgust on her face, "We have to go," She said with the hint of a smile. The two of you hugged while you gave Vanderlinde a wave.
You shared your goodbyes and your friends headed home. You were alone now in the empty white apartment. Boxes cluttered every inch and you had to weave in and out between them. At least you had some stuff already unpacked. You had a couch set up in your tiny living room with your TV already unpacked. Thunder crackled in the sky above as the rain washed over the city. You turned on your TV to fill the silence with some background noise while you wandered into your bathroom.
Old sweat still clung to your skin from the several flights of stairs you climb over and over again. As you turned the bathroom light on, it flicked a couple of times before staying lit. You could hear the little tink tink tink of the electricity struggling to flow through the bulb. You felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise, but you didn't think anything of it. It was already very cold so you just chalked it up to shiver.
You opened the glass door to your shower and turned it on and while you waited for the water to warm up, you peered at your reflection in the mirror above the sink. As soon as the water got warm enough you shed your clothes and climbed into the shower. While you washed away the dirt and grime of the day, your cat, Buck, pushed the bathroom door ajar even more as he sniffed out the steam from the shower, clearly also seeking warmth in this chilly apartment.
From inside the shower, you could hear little taps behind the tile wall. You thought it was the pipes as the shook with water and heat. While you lathered the shampoo into your hair you heard a few more pipes tapping away from within the wall. You turned yourself around, back to the wall while you washed the suds out of your hair. As soon as you turned your back a container of soap slipped from the shower self and nearly crash-landed on your foot. You let out a little startled yep when it smacked to the floor.
There was this odd feeling swelling in the pit of your gut but you choose to ignore. You told yourself you were just new to this place, that you just moved in, so of course, things would feel off and unsettling. You turned the knobs of the shower and pushed the door open. The steamy bathroom was thick and warm. You plucked a towel from a box just outside the door. You notice a streak of condensation running down the mirror as you started to dry yourself off. You draped the towel over your head, vision block for only what felt like seconds as you dried your hair.
When you threw the damp towel to the ground you noticed something... not right. Buck was still in the bathroom, he was perched on the top of the toilet and watching your every move. But that wasn't what was off, Buck always followed you around ever since you got him. No... it wasn't him. It was the lines forming in the steamed-up mirror.
Even in the thick heat of the bathroom and steam you still felt the coldest chill climb up your spine and into your quick fluttering heart. What the...? You saw four straight lines. Then suddenly right before your eyes you saw a third horizontal line connect the first two.
It was an H. Suddenly and E appeared and that's when you could read the word HELL in your god damn mirror. You wanted to scream but it didn't stop until once last letter was spelled out in the steamy mirror. It ended with a large O.
You felt a wave of electricity wash over you as you read the word on the mirror, "Hello..?" You spoke it out loud. What in God's name... You had no idea how it got there and you could hardly believe your eyes. You watched those letters form as if an invisible hand had traced them there. You looked away for just a second. just long enough to look over your shoulder, to notice that Buck had bounce away and left you alone. When you looked back at the mirror you nearly screamed.
You slapped a hand over your mouth, scared and ready to run out of the bathroom. There you saw a smiley face. Except the smile was too big and reach beyond its eyes.