Tangled Tales – part one

I’m done with the first part! Chapter, episode, whatever you wanna call it. I’ve decided to call this series “Tangled Tales”, you’ll find out why later on! It’s not very long but it’ll probably (hopefully) my chapters will get longer as I keep writing. I hope you all enjoy this! Please let me know what you think! Gosh, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this show on the road!

Prologue

I’ve never told anyone this before…but I’m going to tell you.

Someone once told me a story, long ago.

A Tale of descendants we never knew existed.

Until now.

 

 Chapter One

 

Knock, knock.

My eyes snapped open and immediately fell to the glowing red clock on my nightstand. 12:13 Am. No, no, no! How long had the knocking been going? And I slept through it. Ugh, I slept through it!

I sat up in my twin sized bed, pushing the old purple quilt to my waist, and looked to the window.

Knock, knock.

The noise made me jump. It was dark outside, the moon barely making enough light to see. Swallowing, I quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to my window. “Please prove me wrong,” I whispered to the moon.

Knock, knock, knock. The knocks were getting louder, harder, angry almost. I jumped and turned around, facing my mirror. It was happening again. I glanced back at the moon once. Traitor. Now, focusing all my attention on the mirror, I watched, mesmerized at the soft swirling lights, the blue and purple illuminating my room in a hazy glow. I took a careful step toward my mirror, feeling the carpet sink between my bare toes. Tap, tap. It was soft, like the tip of a finger. Each tap making a small ripple move across the glass hypnotically.

I move closer, holding out my hand and getting just close enough I could touch it. My finger hovered just above the glass, the colors still swirling and bubbling across it like a light show. I took a shallow breath, and then I touched it. A zing traveled up my arm and I pulled it close, watching the ripples shallow out and disappear into the edges of the mirror.

The tingle slowly moved up and down my arm and i suddenly felt dizzy, my knees buckling under me. I felt it in my fingertips, almost a vibrating sensation that made them twitch.

I tried picking myself up off the floor only to discover I was too weak to do anything but sit there and watch my fingers move against my will. I tried once more but just that little bit of effort made the corners of my vision darken and I crumpled the rest of the way down and lay there, unconscious.

***

“Scarlet? Honey, time to get up!”

My mother’s voice was distant and muffled. “Come on, Hon –…Scarlet, what are you doing in your floor?”

I groaned and opened my eyes a slit, my vision still blurry with sleep. Rolling to my back, I felt my shoulders ache from laying in such an odd position all night, and saw my mother leaning in my doorframe, her long brown hair laying over her shoulder, holding a stack of towels.  “Hi, mom,” I groaned.

She rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way into my room, holding out a hand to me with an amused smile. “Hi, hon. Come on and get up, you still have to do some work, even on summer break.”

Yeah, yeah. I took her hand and pulled myself up, doing my best to straighten out and ignore my sore muscles. “What do I have to do again?”

“Drop those books off at the library, and pick up some butter so we can have pancakes while Allis is over.”

“Right,” I said with a yawn, stretching my arms above my head. “I’ll go get ready, I guess.”

“Mmk, Hon. No rush, just be back by four to help start dinner, please.” Mom walked out down the hall to put the towels away.

After taking a quick shower, letting last night’s memories wash down the drain as I have many nights before, and getting dressed, I gathered up my purse and wallet and headed down stairs.

I looked around the house on my way to the kitchen for mom. “Hello? Mom?” I yelled after not seeing her. “I’m gonna go now, I’ll be home soon. Love you!”

Grabbing the keys from the counter I headed out the front door. The air smelled like rain and the sky was overcast. It gave the morning an eerie yet cozy sensation. I breathed in the smell of rain and silently prayed that it came soon. I skipped down the steps onto the damp grass and headed for mom’s car. Something black moved in the bushes on the edge of the yard when I opened the car door. My head snapped in the direction of the noise.

It was suddenly quiet, almost too quiet. I scanned the bushes, not seeing a thing. Slowly, I crawled in the car and shut the door, still keeping my eyes on the bush.

I jumped in my seat and squealed when a black creature jumped from the bushes. The bird flew into the neighbor’s yard and landed on a tree, its head cocked to the side, watching me.

You’re just being paranoid, I told myself. But, I thought, you have good reason. No. Just stop. I shook my head and started the car, pushing everything to the back of my mind, and drove into town, trying to ignore the feeling of being watched. By more than just the bird.