Cassie spread open the curtains of an abandoned hall in the school and started coughing.
"Why is here so dusty?" She asked Bella.
"That's because it hasn't been used in a while. For some reason my mom wants to throw a Halloween party" Bella replied.
"Cool. I wonder what costume I'll wear. Wonder woman? Tinkerbell? I can even go with Velma!".
"Snap out of it Cassie. That's for red bloods. In S.U.M.S, during Halloween parties, our costumes are our true selves" Bella said taking a large table cloth off the long dining table.
"By our true selves you mean everyone will have to spend what? Like five hours looking like monsters?!".
"We are monsters. Today is about accepting who we are".
"What do you think Linda?" Cassie asked Linda who was dusting the cupboards.
"It's okay. Bella is right after all" Linda replied trying to hide how scared she was. She couldn't attend the party because she isn't a black blood. She came up with several excuses but Cassie wasn't buying any of them.
Should she just run away only for today? Or maybe cast a spell of sickness on herself? But it could have really bad consequences. She took a deep breath and continued cleaning.
"Linda there are two more rooms to clean. Why don't you take the one on the left and I'll take the one on the right?" Cassie suggested. Linda nodded and walked to the left side, she tried opening the door but it couldn't open.
"This door is locked" She said.
"What? I didn't hear you!" Cassie said from the other side.
"I said the door is..." Before Linda could finish her sentence, the door slowly creaked open. She shrugged and entered inside. The room was shrouded in an eerie half-light and the air felt charged with an unsettling energy. She saw an old mirror in a distance and approached it. As she approached it, it's surface seemed to ripple with shadows, inviting her to gaze into it. She stood in front of it, staring at her reflection.
"Linda! Are you done cleaning?!". She heard Cassie ask from outside.
"Not yet!" She replied and wanted to turn to leave but she saw her reflection slowly change. She saw herself in S.U.M.S but the school was in utter chaos, she saw someone, a monster killing everyone in sight. It approached her and dug it's sharp claws into her chest and brought her heart out. Linda screamed as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She saw herself fall to the floor coughing up blood with no one to save her. The monster turned back into human and wanted to leave but she held it's leg.
"Who... Are... You?" She asked.
The person squatted down and replied, " I am you". Linda fell to the floor.
What was happening? Was this her doom? Is the mirror some sort of future revealing artifact?
She stood up from the floor and gazed into the mirror again. She could hear faint whispers coming from it. She placed her hand on the mirror and she immediately got sucked inside. She found herself in a very dark empty space.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" She asked but got no response.
"Cassie? Bella?" She called turning around. She suddenly heard someone laughing in a distance.
"Who's there? Show yourself?". The laughing continued leaving her in a state of confusion and frustration.
"I said show yourself!". The laughter drew closer but she saw no one. She said a few spells in her mind and lit up the place but the lights went out after two seconds.
"Oh you silly white blood. Your magic doesn't work here" A voice said.
"Where are you?!".
"Behind you" The voice whispered. Linda immediately turned her back but she saw nothing. The laughter became louder.
"I said show yourself!" Linda shouted, her eyes turning white. She saw a weird creature that walked using both it's hands and legs.
"I see you've found me but can you catch me?" The creature said in a high pitched voice and ran into a distance.
"I have no interest in playing games with you. Where is this place? What was the meaning of what the mirror revealed to me?".
"Questions, questions. I hate questions. I'll tell you all you need to know but what can I get from you in return?".
"Uh... What do you want?".
"Freedom. I want freedom. I'll tell you whatever you wish to know if..."
"If?"
"If you get me the soul of the one you cherish".
"And who will that be?" Linda asked.
"I see someone, a girl. She's standing right outside calling your name. She looks really worried about you. I suppose she's the one whom you cherish?".
"Cassie? I'll never do anything to hurt her!" Linda replied.
"Sucks for you, you'll never be able to leave this place" The creature said and vanished. The place suddenly lit up and she saw herself surrounded with different mirrors, each one replaying the scene she saw. The sounds coming from them were deafening and she felt her heart ache anytime the monster dug it's claws into her chest. She fell to the floor, writhing and groaning in pain.
"Cassie... Please save me" She said and closed her eyes, tears dropping from them.
"Just give me the soul of your friend and you wouldn't have to go through this" The creature said moving closer.
"No! Never".
"Well then, I'll leave you to suffer in pain to you eventually die!".
"Linda" She heard Cassie call. She slowly stood up looking around.
"Cassie?".
"Linda, I need you to trust me. Follow my voice". Linda looked around trying to find where Cassie's voice was coming from. It was coming from one of the mirrors but which one?
"Linda, I need you to trust me and trust your instincts. Together we can save you".
There were hundreds of mirrors there and she could hear Cassie's voice coming from all of them.
The creature burst out laughing, "I'd like to see you try your best to get out of here". Linda entered the mirror in front of her but she still found herself in there with the creature laughing hysterically. She went through different mirrors but nothing changed and she fell to the floor, feeling hopeless. She turned to her right and noticed a particular mirror that stood out from the others. She got up and walked towards it.
"No! Don't you dare!". Linda paid no heed to the creature and went through the mirror. She found herself in the room with Cassie standing in front of her.
"Linda! Thank goodness you're alive. You've been in there for over seven hours!" Cassie said to her holding Linda's palm.
"Seven hours? I'm sorry I missed the party".
"Don't be. I find S.U.M.S Halloween party idea really boring. Come let's go, it's almost dinner time". Linda smiled and followed Cassie.