Eerie, Indiana fanfiction: Mirror
The blinds were up and a patch of mid-afternoon sunlight lay across the laminate wood floor. Tiny motes of dust sparkled in the golden glow and some of the translucent ghost-cats which prowled the neighborhood batted lazily at them with incorporeal paws. Others lay on their backs, the memory of their soft furry bellies turned up to a warm that no longer reached them, at least not in a way the living could understand.
Mary C. Carter stepped over them, crossing in front of the large bay window in the process, and a dozen unseeing eyes narrowed in irritation at the passing shadow. One of the ghost-cats, a huge ginger tom whose spirit was apparently tied to the begonia patch that he'd spent twelve mortal years pissing in, chirruped his disapproval. Marisea ignored him.
The room was bright and airy, with high ceilings and a fresh coat of paint in a pale blue. The large gilt-framed mirror hung over the mantelpiece should have caught the rich, creamy sunshine and reflected it back over the well-used sofa and armchairs. Instead, a greasy grey haze seemed to hover just beneath the glass, out of reach of any dust-cloth or cleaning spray. Living people crossing in front of it were reflected as amorphous shadows moving behind the ever-present mist. In the summer, in the long light evenings sat by the open windows, she'd been content to ignore the half-seen shapes that flickered and gibbered behind the looking glass. Now, with the leaves turning and the nights drawing in, it couldn't be put off any longer.
The polished surface began to bubble and steam the moment the first droplets of holy water came into contact with the silvery glass. The ghost-cats hissed and scattered, their half-seen tails rigid and bristling.
Mary C. Carter pulled an improvised safety mask over her face. It had once been a grey-skinned alien-monster marketed to trick-or-treaters in the run-up to Halloween, and she'd picked it up from the bargain bin at the World o' Stuff a few days before Thanksgiving. The surface had been coated with a layer of collidal silver, and sprigs of lavender hung over the mouth-hole like a green and purple moustache. The once-bulging eyes were now black and glittering hollows where she had spent long hours gluing layers of iron filings around the peep-holes, and the inside of the mask was lined with a thin layer of silver mesh that also covered her eyes and mouth. It was hot and difficult to see, but she'd spent three weeks last spring levitating and speaking in tongues after an accidental poltergeist inhalation, and had no desire to repeat the experience.
Behind the glass, the grey haze was moving. Dark shapes pressed against the clear surface, the merest suggestion of human forms. Marisea kept spraying, standing on tip-toe to reach the far edges of the mirror. The smell of burning came to her, even over the lavender, and she retched behind her protective rubber alien.
With a ringing crack the glass fractured, jagged fault lines spreading over the once-smooth surface. The splintered mirror reflected only the room, although distorted and fragmented by the thick black lines running across it. Marisea stepped back, removing the mask and taking deep gulps of air. The living room door opened behind her and she shrieked and whirled, thrusting the alien's painted face up and outwards as though it was both sword and shield.
Andrea blinked, adjusting her grip on the two bulging sacks of groceries she held in her arms.
"Okay," she said. "I was going to ask if you wanted to make cupcakes, but evidently you have other things going on right now."
One of the ghost-cats returned, winding around Andrea's ankles and purring like the sigh of the wind through a graveyard. Andrea nudged it away with the toe of one sneaker'd foot.
"Sorry," said Marisea. "I know we said we'd get rid of the haunted mirror together, but it was driving me crazy."
Andrea set the groceries down near the doorway. Immediately the other ghost-cats came swarming, drawn by the rustle of paper bags and the smell of food they could no longer eat.
"Well, do you need a hand getting it out onto the cleansing pyre round back?" she asked.
Marisea sighed in relief.
"That would be great," she said. "Could you hold the French doors open for me? I just need to get my exorcism kit and the chains of binding out of the downstairs bathroom."
"I think the chains are in the garage," said Andrea. "I used them to banish that giant evil spider-demon last weekend."
"I keep saying, that wasn't a demon, it was just a big spider. You could have just hit it with the newspaper, you didn't need to drop thirty pounds of enchanted metal on it."
"Well, it looked demonic," said Andrea. "And I hadn't finished the crossword puzzle yet, and also it was huge and disgusting and I didn't want to take chances."
"And yet you're fine when a soul-sucking smoke-monster sets up shop in our living room mirror."
"It's a big cloud of grey smoke," said Andrea, gathering up the shopping once again. "I mean, sure, if a person stares at it too long they'll spend eternity trapped in a desolate hellscape with only their own screams for company, but it doesn't have an unnecessary number of legs and it doesn't skitter." She turned and began walking down the hallway that led to the kitchen.
"Oh, they had blessing sage at the World o' Stuff, so I stocked up," she called. "So, if you want to clear out that mould-spriggan in the guttering, we can tackle that this weekend too."
"'Kay," said Marisea.
A few slivers of mirrored glass had fallen onto the hearth-rug in front of the fireplace. The huge orange tom-cat gave them an inquisitive sniff, chirped in disapproval, and peed on them.
The Andrea/Marisea Series
Marys by froodle, in which Mary C. Carter takes on her new role
The Microwave by froodle, in which Andrea Fantucci returns to Eerie after a considerable absense
The Eldritch Abomination in the Room by froodle, in which the microwave is most definitely not discussed
Twelve Sleeps! by froodle, in which Andrea does not enjoy Christmas shopping
Invitiation by froodle, in which Mary C. Carter makes use of Marshall's well-honed delivery boy skills
Figurehead by froodle, in which Lake Eerie's ghost pirates encounter the lighthouse
Awakening by froodle, in which Marisea must confront an unhappy spectre at an unreasonable hour
4.57pm by froodle, in which Mary C. Carter waits for a bus