REFLECTION

Genre: Horror

 

 

 

REFLECTION

By Randy Romero

 

 

From the moment she opened her eyes, Rachel Madden noticed the precipitous change in room temperature. She rolled out of bed slowly, lazily, and checked the thermostat. It was set to seventy-five. The next thing she checked was the baseboards. She could hear the gentle rattle of the baseboards, but she could not feel the heat emanating from them.

Her body was cold and weak, and she could not recall the events of the prior evening. She felt like she was coming down with something. She remembered she had been drinking the night before, but that’s about all she could remember.

But Rachel knew what a hangover felt like. And this wasn’t a hangover. It wasn’t even the onset of a hangover. This was something else, something different. Rachel used her left hand to touch her right arm. She was ice cold, her skin like winter.

Her first thought was to call Tanya and ask her what happened the night before. But she couldn’t find her cell phone. She looked to the nightstand, where it was usually plugged in while she slept, but it wasn’t there.

Drained of life, Rachel moved sluggishly as she looked around her room. She searched her bed and looked under her pillows and blanket. Then she went to check her dresser. She walked past her bedroom window and the sun touched her skin. For the first time since waking, she felt heat, and it wasn’t a pleasant sensation. The sun hurt her eyes and burned her skin.

She moved away from the window and checked her dresser, even looked in all her drawers. Nothing, nada. She finally found it under her bed and phoned her friend.

“Hey, it’s me,” Rachel said when she answered.

“Hey, girl. How you feeling after last night?”

“Sick to my stomach.”

“Hungover much?”

“No, not hungover. Just…sick. The heats on full blast but I’m freezing. I can hardly stand up. And the sunlight is killing me.”

“Maybe you caught a bug from your little friend.”

“What little friend?”

“The guy at the bar last night. Mr. tall, dark, and handsome. Jet-black hair, all slicked back. Piercing brown eyes. You guys wandered off together after a couple of drinks. You don’t remember that at all?”

“No…I don’t. I…I got to go. Tanya, I’ll call you back.”

She hung up and put her palm to her head. Her forehead was like a sheet of ice. She ran her hand through her hair, down to her neck, where her blonde shoulder-length hair was hiding something. Two deep, concentric puncture wounds. But that’s not what disturbed her the most.

She couldn’t find a pulse.

Rachel cried out as she turned around. She had been in such a hurry to find her phone she hadn’t even noticed it before. She could see the vanity mirror above her dresser, but the mirror could not see her.

Her reflection was gone.

She could feel something inside of her, changing her, infecting her. Taking all of Rachel Madden away. Leaving her with nothing other than an unquenchable thirst for something warm and red.

She found her phone again and called Tanya back.

“Hey, everything okay?” Tanya asked.

“Yeah, sorry about before. I’m feeling much better now. Why don’t you come over? We can talk about last night. You can tell me all about my mystery date.”

“Sure, I’ll be over soon. I’ll grab coffee and bagels if you want.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting,” she said and grinned, flashing her fangs.