MirrorMirror

53 / The Red

Greg turned to Cassidy and Jazz.

"What is this? You're worse than I thought!"

"It's not us."

"Fuck's sake. You're so fucking sad. You think you can get me with a trick mirror? Once I've got rid of you, I'll smash this piece of junk up. Bury it with your bodies."

"You're not going to kill us," Cass said as confidently as he could.

"I wouldn't bet on that, shithead. It's been a while. I wanna make sure I haven't lost my touch. And you did ask for it by coming for me. Least I can do."

Leave them alone.

"Give it a rest," Greg said. "I ain't impressed."

It's not them, Father.

It's me, Amyboo.

"Woah, you guys did your homework. Anyway," he turned to Cass and Jazz, "I said stop."

"We're not doing anything. It really is her. How do you think we found out about you when the police couldn't?"

"They were fucking useless. I could have had her blood in my arms and they'd miss it."

"Well," Cass said." It really is her, whether you believe it or not. A dumb fuck like you would never understand, anyway."

Greg was on Cassidy before the other could react. Jazz was ripped from his arms and kicked away, and the man's knee was pressing against Cass's chest. His large hands gripped his neck and started to squeeze. He was pressing slowly, increasing pressure gradually, as if there was no rush. Nobody was coming. No one was going to be able to stop him.

Cass grabbed Greg's wrists and tried, futilely, to pull his hands away. He tried to bring his own knees up into Greg's back, but he didn't have the strength to make enough of an impact to be noticed.

Jazz crawled from the end of the bed, where she'd rolled to a stop, and tried to punch Greg's back. Again, it went unnoticed. Amy's father was lost in the act of murder. He had forgotten just how exhilarating it could be. He did notice the girl, but her weak attempts to hurt him only meant she was in easy reach when he'd finished with her brother.

Cassidy's legs had stopped kicking. His arms had dropped to the floor. His struggles were fading.

The pain in Jazz's stomach wanted to remind her it was there and exploded. She grunted and doubled over, suckling air through tightly clenched teeth.

"STOP!"

The voice didn't belong to any of the three in the room. It was younger and decisive and female.

They stopped.

Greg stared at Jazz, who shook her head, smiling through the pain. He stared at Cassidy, who managed a smile too.

He turned and stared at the mirror, the direction the voice had come from. The word was written in large letters.

STOP!

Greg fell back, releasing Cass, and Jazz moved over to her brother. They struggled up to sitting and held each other tightly.

"Fuck off!" Greg yelled.

He was aiming his cry at the glass, rather than the brother and sister. He moved across to stand before the mirror.

"Fuck off," he said.

No Father.

I can't.

You trapped me here.