Chasing My Reflection

Chapter 10: Ruins

It was 6am. Liam's father was awakened by his alarm clock.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Nelson stretched then yawned. He turned off the alarm clock that was on the dresser beside him. "Better go wake up Liam." He said to his wife who was also getting up. Nelson stepped onto the floor and jumped when his feet felt something strange.

"Ow!!" The voice on the ground said.

Liam's mother quickly turned on her lamp. "Liam?!" She yelled as she saw Liam on the floor holding his stomach.

"What on Earth are you doing down there." His father asked rubbing his eyes.

Liam simply got up off the floor. His parents watched him as he went to the door. He opened it. "What's the point. You wouldn't believe me anyway." He said then closed their door.

On the way to school Liam could barely keep his eyes open while Ned was talking to him.

"You look like you haven't slept in ages." Ned said.

"Huh? Oh yeah." Liam said. "Hey. I ask you something?"

Ned nodded. "Sure anything?"

"Do you know a girl named Scarlett?" He said.

"Last name?" Ned asked.

"Not sure." Liam said. "She's a girl, sixteen years old, always look worried and her shoes are tacky looking. Her eyes are grey and she wears dresses most the time."

Ned looked at him. He blinked a few times. "The only Scarlett I know is Scarlett Siedad."

"That's it! Yes her. Who is she? Where does she live? Do you know her?" Liam said. He was fully awake now.

"Everyone knows her Liam. The whole town knows Scarlett Siedad. She's one of the victims out of fifty four who died in Saint Rida's Orphanage 80 years ago." Ned said.

Liam could feel his heart beating and his face turning pale. He swallowed then heavily breathed out the words, "what happened."

"You okay? You look scared." Ned said.

"What happened." Liam said again.

"Well they say the man who was in charge of the Orphanage was a Russian Wiccan. He would often practice his witch craft with or on the children. The children were being abused daily by the man. When the cops found out, they arrested the man. One day the place caught on fire and no one knows how. All the children died along with the new person in charge.. It's a mystery that was never solved." He said.

Liam just stared at Ned. He couldn't believe it.

"Hey, how do you know what she looks like? They had no pictures of her." Ned said.

Liam hesitated. He looked out of the window. "I saw her." He said.

Ned's eyebrows arched together. "Yeaaah right. You're saying you saw a ghost?"

"Well yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. I've seen her. She spoke to me. She drew in my note pad. She told me not to open the mirror but we did, now something's haunting me." He said.

The bus pulled in front of the school. "Okay. Everyone out. Have a nice day." The bus driver said to the students. "Come to my house. We'll talk about after school okay?"

Liam knew he couldn't but he didn't want to go back home. He nodded. "Okay."

***

After school Liam took the the bus to Ned's house. They got off together. Ned lived in a small brown house. The outside was decent but the inside was a wreck.

Ned opened the front door to his house. "Come on, my rooms down the hall." He said.

They were walking down the hall when a really skinny women wearing a lose dress came out of the kitchen. Her yellow hair was beyond uncombed and there was a horrible smell coming from her breath as she spoke. "So you done finally made a friend. What's ya name kid?" She said in a low voice.

"Liam."

She put her hand under his cheek. Liam felt really uncomfortable. "Nice to meet ya." She said then walked into their living room.

Ned took a deep breath. "I though she was going to hit you." He said.

"Why would she do that?" Liam asked.

"That's what she does when she's going to hit me. She places her hand under my chin then WHACK a big ol slap right across the face." Ned said.

They walked into Ned's small room. There was a bed big enough for one person the sleep in. The floor was made of wood and there was a TV and loads of video games in a cabinet under his TV. He had a Wii, Play station one and two, a Nintendo, Nintendo DS and two game boys. Liam could tell he loved video games. There was also a laptop his room.

"What does your dad do about it?" Liam asked referring to the slaps given by Ned's mother. He sat onto Ned's bed.

"Oh my dad left. Him and my mom divorced when she started drinking. But I still get to talk to him. He sent me this laptop and all these game systems. He said I'll come live with him." Ned sighed. "One day."

Liam nodded. "Oh that's cool." Liam said, not really knowing what else to say.

"So." Ned said laying onto one of his bean bags that were on the floor. "Tell me everything."

***

"Well sounds like you got a real problem!" Ned yelled. Liam had told him everything even about what happened last night.

"You think! I can't sleep at night. Everywhere I go in that house I feel like someone's watching me. The worse part is that my parents won't believe me. They'll never believe me." Liam said.

"What's with the mirror though? Seems your problems didn't start until you guys opened it." Ned said getting up to get his laptop.

"Well yes that's true. But what about the air conditioner and the door? There was something already there. Whatever it is, it's been watching me since day one. And each day that goes by whatever it is its soon to make another appearance." Liam said looking at the door.

"Okay you're scaring me. But look here." Ned said pointing to the screen of the laptop. "Says after the fire there was a mirror found on the ground unburned and no where near destroyed. Fire fighters says it was freezing cold when they found it."

"Weird. But keep reading." Liam said.

"After the news spread about the mirror and what happened, a rich family, The Dawson's, purchased the mirror. The family often complained of strange noises coming from the mirror during the night. Screams and moans.They moved when their son was sent to a home for killing one of the neighbors."

"Whoa." Liam said.

His cellphone started to ring in his pocket. "Uh oh. I think its my dad. I'd better get going." Liam said.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Be careful."

***

Liam walked down the street until he saw the small graveyard and the ruins of the orphanage. It didn't burn too much but not too little either. Liam turned away and started back towards home. There was a cold tap on his shoulder. It was Scarlett. Liam stopped.

"Hi Liam." She said.

"Hey." Liam said. He started walking again. Scarlett walked beside him. "So why didn't you tell me you were a ghost?" He said in a low voice.

"Not many people would respond well to that." She said.

"How am I able to see you then?" He asked.

"It's because you moved into the house." Scarlett said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He said.

Scarlett stopped walking and stopped him. She looked into his eyes. "Because that's my home." She said. "That's where I was murdered. You have to help us Liam. We're both in danger."