I felt that too. What was that?” Raphael was confused and looked at Ted.
“You both sure did take a while to wake up. Do you still want to go to the mansion?” Ted asked.
“Yeah sure, let’s go.” Leon saw Ted lead the way this time. They saw the cemetery. At night it even looked scarier than during the day.
“See? Here is the road to the mansion.” Said Ted. He turned around and smiled. They walked on the pathway. It made awkward clicks and cracks as they walked on it. It was too dark to see what made the sound. All the sudden they stood in front of a staircase leading to an enormous door. “We’re here. All you need to do is say your name and tell them what you are.”
“Got it.” Said Leon and Raphael. Ted knocked on the huge door. It creaked and opened slightly.
“Who’s there?” Said a low voice.
“I’m Ted, I’m a zombie.”
“I’m Leon, I’m a zombie.”
“I’m Raphael, I’m a zombie.”
“Come on in.” The voice said. The door opened. Leon and Raphael’s eyes widened when they saw the figure standing near the door. It looked like a vampire and it looked very scary, and real. The vampire glanced at them both. “Newcomers I see. Enjoy our Halloween party and candies.” He said and laughed.
“Leon! This is crazy! I have a feeling we don’t belong here.” Raphael whispered to Leon.
“Come on! They are just people wearing costumes! Don’t let their act deceive you. I’m going to take this makeup off. It’s disturbing. Ted is there a bathroom around here?” Ted pointed to the left, but all they could see are spider webs.
“Behind there.” He said.
“Yuck!” Raphael cried. Everyone turned to look. “Uh, I mean, that’s cool!” Everyone then turned away except for a young boy. He walked up to Raphael.
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“Oh I’m 169 years old. You’re new that means! How did you die?” One of Raphael’s eyes twitched at the question, but he decided to play along since it was only just a child.
“I got bit.”
“Oh I see. I got run over by a horse.” The boy walked away laughing.
“Creep.” Raphael said and followed Leon into the bathroom. “Do you need a tissue? Here.”
“Thanks.” Leon took it and started wiping the eyeliner away. “Is it off? Where is the mirror?”
“Hey it’s not coming off! Let me help.” Raphael said in surprise and took the tissue. He rubbed real hard.
“Ow! You’re going to pop my eyeballs out!”
“Yeah okay but it’s not coming off. Are you sure you didn’t by mistake use a permanent marker?”
“I’m sure. Now where is the mirror?” Leon looked around.
“Umm…its right behind you but…” Raphael froze.
“What?” He turned around and gasped. The mirror was there. It was giant, old, and cracked. “What the…” All Leon and Raphael could see was their clothes.
“Where am I? Where’s my reflection?” Raphael waved his hands in front of the mirror. Ted came walking into the bathroom. “Can you explain this?”
“You’re dead. Everyone in this mansion is dead.”
“No we’re not dead!”
“Yes you are. I killed you. You decided you wanted to come so I had to do something.”
“Woah woah wait! So you mean you’re a real zombie and you bit us? Is this why our reflections don't show? This is not makeup? We are actually…DEAD?” Leon asked.
“Yes.” Said Ted.
“NO WAY! LIAR!” Raphael said in terror.
“This is just a dream.” Leon said and shut his eyes. “I will wake up…now!” He opened his eyes again. Ted was still standing there with one eyebrow up.
“Don’t worry. This is a good thing. Now you can’t feel pain anymore. You are immortal.” Ted said and smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“This can’t be happening! I’m going home!” Raphael said and grabbed Leon’s arm and dragged him out.
“Well I think I should be going home too.” Said Ted and sighed.
“Look I think that mirror is not working. Let’s go home and check it out, okay?” Raphael said.
“It’s no use. Ted is telling the truth.” Leon was sad. He would rather have stayed at home for the entire Halloween instead of this.
“Well it’s worth a try!” Raphael looked back. “Ted is following! I’m not letting him manipulate us anymore! Come on hurry up!” They sped up. “Did you think about what you’re going to tell your mom? Answer me this time!”
“I’m just going back home and accept whatever.” He stopped in front of the house. “It’s getting late, you should go home too.”
“No I’m coming in too. I’m not letting you suffer alone.” Raphael said. Leon smiled and opened the door.
“Leon! Is that you? Where were you? You are grounded for the rest of the year! How dare you disobey your mother!” Leon’s mother came rushing up to him, ready to slap him. Leon and Raphael all the sudden felt weird, and then a smile appeared on their faces.
“Delicious.”
The Demon with my Brother’s Face
“Dad! Where is Chris?”
“Gone.”
“What do you mean?”
“He disappeared.”
Those were the only words Sunny could remember her parents told her, about her elder brother Chris.
Four years past and the war finally ended. Chris and many of his friends tried to defend the city against the invaders, but they never returned home. Sunny’s parents did not want to talk about it. They were too sad and never were able to accept the loss.
Sunny would sneak out at least once a month to search around the city but it was of no use. All she saw was damaged buildings and shadows in the moonlight. Tonight she was going to try again.
“Go to sleep now. It’s getting late.” Said Sunny’s mother while watching television. Sunny nodded and went up the stairs. She had many ways to secretly escape. She usually used a rope to get off the balcony. If she was stuck outside because the rope broke, she used the ladder that was hidden in the plants.
Sunny locked the bedroom door and went to her balcony. She tied the rope to one of the pillars and made sure it was fixed safely. She started climbing down slowly and felt certain she would find Chris today. Once her toes reached the ground, she let go of the rope and made sure it was still safely fixed to climb back up. Sunny walked out of her neighborhood and went to the field where the big battle had taken place. It was abandoned as always, people said the spirits of the dead soldiers roam the field at night. She felt this was the closest she would get to find Chris one day. She searched everywhere. No bodies, only weapons, mostly rusted, hidden in the grass and under rocks. Last month she took a nice looking shiny dagger home. She would give it to Chris when she found him.
After two hours of searching, Sunny sat down on a rock; she was starting to lose hope. ‘What if Chris is really dead or floating somewhere in the ocean?’ Sunny lightened up, why didn’t she think about that before? She headed to the ocean. It was not far, all you had to do is go to the cliff and climb down. When she reached the beach, another thought came to her mind. It made her hit the ground with her fist. “What was I thinking? It’s been two years; there is no way I can find him in the ocean! It’s too large!” Sunny started crying. Suddenly she felt a chill; it came from behind. She looked over her shoulder. There was a cave. She ran to the entrance and stared into the darkness. “Chris?” She yelled. All she heard was her own voice echoed back from inside. She started walking into the cave.
The cave opening looked small from the outside, but as she walked in, it got bigger and wider. The chill got worse. She zipped up her jacket but it didn't help. A shadow rushed passed her, Sunny was quick enough to react and see that it had black hair. It reminded her of Chris’ hair. “Chris? Is that you?” ‘No way, he can’t run that fast. Maybe I should get out of here.’ Sunny ran as fast as she could. She felt another blast of cold wind
touch her face, it felt like something was chasing her. The air got warmer as she ran. Sunny knew that she was near the entrance. She looked behind her. No one was there. She sighed in relief and slowed down as she saw moonlight from the entrance and heard the ocean. The waves were crashing the shore harder than before.
She was tired and decided to go back home.
Sunny often looked behind her, it felt like someone was following her. She hoped it was Chris. But her inner voice kept on telling her that he was dead.
She grabbed on to the rope. It was cold. Sunny ignored it and climbed up. She looked out from the balcony. It was past midnight. It was a beautiful view with the stars above and the lights from the city. She remembered years ago before the war, she would sneak out with Chris to go look into the pond behind the house, because the lights would make it sparkle. “Good old times…” She sighed and went to bed.
The next morning, Sunny got dressed and went down for breakfast. She sneezed and felt warm and cold at the same time.
“Are you alright?” Sunny’s mother was standing in the kitchen door, watching her make breakfast. “Did you catch a cold?”
“Probably, mom.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. ‘It was so cold last night!’ Sunny thought and resumed making her breakfast. Her throat hurt badly. She tried drinking water but it didn’t help. She even had trouble eating her breakfast.
“You should stay in your bed today.” Sunny’s mother said softly, “And wear the thick pajamas, it’ll help you.”
“Okay, mom. Thanks.” With that, Sunny went back upstairs to sleep. Something woke her up. It was the