Family Doesn't End in Blood

Chapter 1

"Taylor, don't forget to grab the sleeping bags!" Carson shouts up to me from the bottom of the attic stairs.

"I won't!" I answer back, picking up two sleeping bags, one bright orange and a dark blue, before throwing them down the stairs towards Carson. "Heads up!"

I hear an "Oh crap!" followed by an oomph from down below. Then, a moment later, Carson once again shouts up, "You could have told me sooner!"

"Sorry!" I smile to myself, not sorry in the slightest. "Is there anything else we need in the attic?"

"Nope, I think we have all we need for our trip to the Upper Penisula of Michigan," answers Carson.

"Great, I'll be coming down in a moment. Just want to double-check."

"Alright, but be quick. We are leaving early tomorrow morning, and we still have other supplies to pack."

"Got it. I won't be long."

As I take one last look around the attic, my eyes stumble upon a rectangular-shaped antique mirror sitting in the corner of the room. It's Victoria style, with a dark brown wooden frame, and as I got closer, I saw strange-looking symbols carved into the frame. My eyes travel around the edge, noticing that one of the signs appears five times, one in each corner and at the top of the frame. The sign has a circle with a star in the center and wavy sun rays coming out from the circle's perimeter. I rack my brain to figure out if I have seen these symbols before, but I came up with nothing. I go to grab my phone from my jean's pocket to help me find out what some of the signs might mean, but I realize that my phone is charging downstairs in my room. So, I start to leave to fetch my phone when I hear something odd. I stop in my tracks and listen. At first, it sounds like a breeze, blowing through the air. However, I know that all windows are closed in the attic. Then, as I stand and listen, I hear something else—a voice. It's saying something, but I can't quite pinpoint what the words are.

Unconsciously, I turn my body to face the mirror again and find that the spoken words are clearer to hear but still muddled. As I take steps towards the mirror, I slowly begin to understand more and more of what the voice is saying. Finally, when I am standing directly in front of the mirror, the words are clear as day.

"Ad regnum alterius, ire necesse est.

Fata enum tua nunc ibi requiescit."

When the voice finishes, silence fills the room. At first, it's for a moment, but it starts to become unbearable as the silence continues. I'm not sure what I should do or if I should do anything at all. So, I stand there, looking in the mirror, trying my best to keep my rapidly beating heart steady.

Suddenly, a hand comes flying out of the mirror and grabs the front of my shirt. I don't even have enough time to react as the hand pulls me through the window, and everything goes black.

*Latin translation - "To another realm, you must go. For your fate now rests there."