Heather
Heather stared blankly out the foggy window of the diner. Time and stress had slowly set wrinkles into her young face, making her appear much older than her actual age. She picked up the cream colored napkin off the table that always wobbled and wiped stubbornly at the coffee stain sheâd just created on her blouse. She sighed after a while, giving up. Just like she always did. Her reflection stared wearily at her in the window of the diner, almost disappointed. When did life lose its luster, she thought.
âHeather Pickens?â a cheery voice stated behind her. Heather turned to find a tall, expensively dressed looking woman standing confidently beside her booth. âDo I know you?â Heather questioned, clearing her throat. The mystery woman glided into the seat across from her, unwelcomed, setting her leather Gucci purse on the table top. Heather snuck a look at her own Target brand stachel and sighed.
âDonât you remember? Itâs Carly Devers! We were roommates at Hollins!â Heather only stared meekly back with an annoyed expression, this woman was obviously not taking the hint. She clearly remembered Carly, how could she forget after all that happened?
âYes, I remember nowâ she said âHow are you?â Carlyâs eyes lit up with selfish pride. âIâm doing so great! I got that job with Professor Barnabe after all! Weâre finding a cure for bone cancer. Itâs really just a great feeling knowing that Iâm gonna be changing so many lives you know?â Heatherâs fists clenched under the table, droning out the rest of the conversation. Sheâd been offered that job before the incident. The last time sheâd seen Carly since that day. She seemed so much more hostile then.
âWhat about you?â Carly said suddenly. Heatherâs pale brown eyes flickered with emotion at the familiar question. âIâve been better.â she said reverting her attention back to the rainy weather. âOh, Iâm so sorry I forgot I-â
âCome on Carly- donât play dumb. You didnât come here for the crappy coffee.â Heather said, gesturing to Carlyâs Jimmy Choo heels. Carly pursed her painted lips and sighed. âYouâre right Heather. You must know why Iâm here. To apologize, to make amends. I saw that youâre looking for work and I wanna help you. Please, I feel terrible about how we left things.â Carly rested her hand on top of Heatherâs open palm. Heather shook her head and pushed her away.
An impatient waitress dropped the check for Heatherâs meal on the table top. It occurred to her suddenly that she couldn't pay her bill.
âWhatâs the job?â
Heather parked her Toyota Camry in the parking lot of the abandoned Winn Dixie. The cold air of the night bore into her fragile skin like daggers when she turned the key of the ignition. She checked the clock and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her coat pocket. Arrive at 8 pm at the Winn Dixie parking lot. It was 8:10. She was already late. Stepping warily out of her car, Heather wrapped her thin jacket across her shivering shoulders. âGod itâs cold,â she said to herself under her icy breath.
She sprinted out of the lot towards the trail beside the parking garage. She could already make out the hulking form of the house from the street. Heather sprinted through the woods. The crunching of leaves under her own boots made her eyes wander anxiously and her feet quicken in pace.
After what seemed like hours of anxiety, Heatherâs pupils widened at the sight of the house. It was a mansion, old and rotting. A small light was on at the roof of the mansion, reflecting off the hazy glow of the moon. Heather ascended the aged steps of the house and pushed open the giant door. The interior of the mansion intrigued Heather even more. The entry hall had wide and vaulted ceilings and velvet curtains draped across the cracked walls. Mazes of staircases criss-crossed the middle space of the hall, giving off the look of a spiderweb.
âHello?â Heather exclaimed, relishing the echo her voice sent in response. âCarly?â she yelled again. No answer. Could she be late too? Heather sighed and fished the paper out of her pocket again. Use the staircase that leads to the West platform and meet me there.
Heather scoffed at the vague note and Carlyâs perfect penmanship. Sheâd use the stairs closest to the door, that made sense. The door. It was closed. When had she closed it?
Heather felt her breath catch in her lungs and hurriedly climbed the creaky steps. Clouds of dust billowed around her with every unsure step. The house was old, abandoned. Carly didnât mention that during their conversation.
Heather pulled her phone out of her jeans and dialed Carly. A sign at the top of the stairs caught her eye. She leaned in, straining her eyes through the darkness.
âHello?â Carly said, her voice muffled and staticy. Heather jumped and pushed the plastic tarp covering the sign to the ground.
âHey Carly! Itâs Heather. Iâm at the address you sent me. Are you here?â
âYeah Iâm here. Iâm in the entryway. You just pull up?â
Heather shook her head and ran her hand along the tape on the door.
âWell youâre obviously not in the entry hall because Iâm in the entry hall.â
Crime Scene Do Not Cross
What the- Heather felt the phone be ripped across her hand and she fell to the ground. A scream resounded through the house. What was that? âCarly!â she yelled.
A flash of light caught her eye in the now open door of the alleged crime scene. Carlyâs muffled questions were the only noise in the suddenly cold hall.
Heather couldnât move, she felt heavy and her bottom lip began to quiver. Eventually, she gathered the courage to stand and made her way through the taped door. She ignored the number markers and stains on the carpet, rushing towards the only light in the room, her phone. She grabbed it, âHello?â she said shakily into the phoneâs receiver. Static. Heather grasped onto her elbows, trying in vain to ease the panic she felt in her stomach. âItâs ok, itâs ok,â she whispered to herself, heading towards the exit.
But something caught her eye. Something she wished she hadnât saw. Something sheâd do anything to never see again.
A purple, dead-eyed silhouette drifted lonely in the corner. There was something almost sad about it. The floating figure hypnotized her, both our of fear and curiosity. She didnât hear the door close behind her. She didnât hear the humming start. She didnât feel the light turn on. She couldnât hear the glass break. She only saw the shadow. Until it moved. She snapped out of her trance.
The sound of her screams made adrenaline pump through her body and she pounded on the latched door. âHelp me! Please help!â she screamed into the splintered wooden frame. The menacing figure continued to drift slowly towards her in a shroud of maddening anger.
âI donât want to die,â Heather said plainly between sobs. âPlease-Iâve got so much-so much to do.â A burst of hideous laughter shook Heather to the core. The voice sounded melodious and familiar. No way. Not again.
Heather brought her phone to her face and switched on the flashlight. It was horrifying, the reality of it all. It was Carly. She was dressed in a black cape that swallowed her small frame. Her black eyes were filled with hate. She held a small video camera in her right hand, almost identical to the one she had the last time. Heather sat broken against the door, gasping for breath. Not sure of how to react. She only felt shattered and broken- thinking she should trust Carly.
âItâs you. Itâs always you.â she said. Heatherâs eyes flickered through the last of Carlyâs pranks, the incident. She went crazy in front of the whole student body.
Carly wiped a tear of amusement from her horrible eyes and bent down to Heatherâs level. âYouâre stupid, you know that?â she said condescendingly, holding the camera up to Heatherâs face. She could only imagine how insane she looked now. They would probably try and put her in the hospital again if the video got out.
âYou really thought I was gonna help you? That I wanted to make amends?â Carly laughed another one of her disgusting laughs. âPoor, poor Heather. Alone and broke. A failure. Thatâs what you are. Youâre a pathetic loser. You havenât changed at all.â
Heather sat lifelessly on the glass covered ground, willowing in her own pity, not having the strength to lash back.
Carly shook the obsidian cloak off her shoulders revealing a perfectly manicured outfit underneath. How could someone so cruel look so beautiful?
âThatâs it Heather? Oh come on, do something exciting! You remember the last time? You really put on a show. Do something, donât be so-â
Heather didnât move. She thought it was another cruel joke. Heather even laughed at Carly this time and called her final attempt at a prank predictable. She even pulled the glass shard out herself, eager to prove to herself she was not stupid. She knew the blood wasnât real. But it was strangely warm and Carly was strangely quiet. Her eyes were pleading, her lean fingers grasping onto Heatherâs wrists.
And thatâs when Heather really snapped out of it. She saw the broken glass at her own feet. She felt the weight of the camera in her own hands. She saw the cloaked demon in the corner.
Heather didnât do it. She didnât kill her. It was that-thing in there. Â She didnât stick that shard of glass into Carlyâs throat. Because Heather never really did anything.















