Pictures of You

It was still raining, it had been since last night when a violent storm bled all of the power from the town. The outage inevitably reached her school forcing it to close for the day. Unfortunately for Alice the downed trees and snapped power lines made hanging out with her friends only a distant fantasy. Finding things to do in her house was nothing short of difficult, especially with the power off. She tried to go back to sleep but only tossed and turned. She made breakfast that she didn't eat. 

Eventually, a sharp and itchy boredom drove her to the place she despised most, the attic. She absolutely hated that place, it was dark and damp and the amount of dust in there could send somebody into a coma. She tried to avoid the attic as best she could, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. 

After spending what felt like an hour sorting through the random array of boxes. She plopped down in the corner near the small skylight, so caked with dirt that barely any light came it through. She had a huge leatherbound album in her lap that she had found in a box of her childhood things it was peeling at the edges and it kinda smelled how she imagined a dead squirrel would smell. But it was the most interesting thing up here so she might as well explore. 

She regretted opening it immediately as a cloud of thick dust assaulted her throat sending her into a coughing fit. 

Once the tears left her still burning eyes she could clearly see the photos in front of her. There seemed to be around six pictures; in the first two photos, all of them filled with blurry smiles and a kind of nostalgia that seemed to cling to her skin. A soft smile graced her lips as she gazed at a picture of her older sister's graduation.

“You miss her don’t you?”

She spun around looking for the source of the voice. But the area behind her was completely empty. 

She closed her eyes for a long moment willing herself to slow her racing heart. She spent one more long minute of scanning the room before diverting her gaze back to the album. But something was different. She noticed it in one of her old birthday photos, her fifth maybe. It looked normal at first glance everyone was smiling, she could almost smell the sugary tang of frosting. But it was what was at the table, sitting across from a young her. It was her, older, she looked maybe seventeen in the photo. 

It was smiling, much too wide to be natural. Rows of baby teeth are revealed by two thin lips that were peeled back much too far. 

She threw the album back with a sick feeling to her stomach. It had to be fake, a trick of the light or something. She crawled forward and peered back into the album but it was still there smiling back at her. She reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the picture scrambling down the stairs as fast as she could till she reached the kitchen. Panting she slammed the picture down in front of her mother.

“Mom what the hell is this-?!”

The color drained from her mothers face.

“Where did you get this?”

“The attic, what is it?”

But her mother did not answer, instead she took the photograph in shaking hands and tore it in half. Alice tried to reach for the photo to stop her mother but her mother just kept tearing it until it was nothing but little white pieces against the black of her counter.

“Mom what the hell-?!”

“Don’t ever speak of that again. And stay away from the damned attic!”

She opened her mouth to argue but her mother was already pushing past her and into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. 

Alice tried to stay downstairs, she really did, but there was a kind of silence pressing on her and the curiosity to know what it was, was practically suffocating. She walked towards the stairs, her gut screaming at her to let it go but she started up anyway. When she reached the bottom of the stairs to the attic she paused, focusing on the sound of rain pounding on the roof. She felt the adrenaline from earlier start to ebb out of her body and she slowly turned back to her room.

“Do it.”

She ran full sprint into the attic, heart pounding a bit too fast and her curiosity overwhelming. 

But it wasn't worth it. With the album back in her lap and seeing what was in front of her she wished that for once she had listened to her mother.

It was next to her in every single photo, and every birthday it came closer. On her first birthday it was barely noticeable, just a faint shadow in the background. On her tenth birthday it was holding her hand with slightly too long fingers. She wanted to see more but the album didn't go any further. She could however see it in normal family photos like Christmas and Halloween. She dropped the album with shaky hands and pressed her face into them trying to stop the overwhelming fear that was pressing against her heart. 

“Alice-”

Her head shot up to see who it was but still no one was there.

“Oh, Alice! How I’ve dreamed of today!”

Something wrapped around her throat. But when she reached up to feel nothing was there.

“Don’t worry, not much longer.”

She screamed, kicking at something that wasn't there as she scrambled to get down the stairs.

“MOM!”

 Nobody called back to her.

She froze all of the sudden wet breathing sounding from next to her ear. She could smell it too. It smelled like rot and wet earth. 

“Dont go down there.”

It was her own voice sounding in her ear, but it didn't come from her. She spun around to face the empty hallway behind her eyes wide and shaking so hard that breathing became difficult. 

“Who's there!?”

She stumbled to her door pushing her way inside and collapsing to her knees. Tears blurring her vision. This has to be a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream. Sobbing she pushes herself to her knees stumbling to her bed. But she never makes it to her bed because on her desk there's a photograph. She wipes her eyes to see if it's a trick of the light but when she pulls her arm back it's still there. 

She pads slowly over to her desk and picks up the photo. It's from this morning. She's sleeping curled against the wall like always. But it's standing over her, with the same hair and face. Its hollow eyes gazing down at her sleeping form as its slightly too long fingers comb through her hair. Then she notices something, the photo was taken from the closet. She slowly puts the photo down and backs away from her closet. It's closed, but that doesn't help the sick feeling rising in her chest.

She turns to leave but is stopped in her tracks by a low creaking sound. Her closet door is opening, and the only thing inside is a tiny blinking light. Slowly Alice walks towards it, the ground beneath her seeming to tilt with every step. 

It's an old camera with a little blinking red light indicating that it's on.

“Mom-!” She backs away but hits something hard. But there's no one there.

She pushes past the invisible barrier and runs tumbling down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a sickening thud. 

She pushes herself up slowly, one of her arms protesting the movement with a sharp pain. 

“Mom…”

Her mother is at the counter hunched over something that she can't see. 

The floorboards behind her creak and something wraps around her ankles.

Her mother finally turns around tears streaking down her cheeks as she slowly walks towards Alice and slowly kneels in front of her. She reaches out smooth fingers cupping her cheeks.

But after a moment the smile on her mothers face turns sour and she drops her hands slowly standing up.

The grip on her ankles loosens and then after a moment fully disappears. Alice scrambles away while she has the chance moving till her back hits the counter and she has to turn around.

Now she sees it, it's right there a few feet away from her and it's hugging her mother. It looks just like her, every detail the same as her own. 

“Welcome home, sweetheart.”

Her mother smiles warmly at the fake, the tears on her cheeks starting to dry. 

Alice pushes herself to her feet, bracing her uninjured arm on the counter to pull herself up.

Her hand hits something cool and smooth almost like a-. The photograph is of her standing where she is now staring down at the counter, but in the photo the creature is already looming over her rusted cleaver held high.She looks up at her own face and as a cry for help tears from her lips.

“Mommy-”

The cleaver begins its descent. Alice throws her arms up to block her face bracing for a blow that doesn't come.

After a few long moments she slowly lowers her arms only to see that there's nothing there.

The room is completely silent now too; the only sound is her own heavy breathing and her mother's muffled sobs.

Her eyes land on her mother and for a moment, neither of them moves. Then her mother begins to cry. Not a few tears, but full on sobs that wrack her body.

 "Oh, Alice."

She sounds exhausted. Like the life force had been sucked from her body.

"Why did you have to look?"

Alice just stares at her, her mind reeling to catch up with everything happening.

"What?”

"I told you to leave it alone."

“Mom-!

 Alice is cut off by the shuffling of clothing behind her. For a moment she just stares at her mother who's head is now lowered to face away from her frantic daughter. She slowly turns her head, her eyes beginning to blur with terrified tears.

The creature is back, it's standing in the doorway hunched over like it can't support its own weight. The only difference is its face, it doesn't resemble her anymore, not even remotely. Its likeness to her has vanished, replaced by ashy skin and hollow sockets where its eyes should be.

"You were never supposed to see the photographs."

Her mother's voice sounded from behind her, raw and pained.

"What is it?-"

There's a shaky breath from behind her.

"It's all my fault I should have protected your sister-."

Her mother begins to wail but all Alice can do is stare in shock.

"What?"

"She found it first. When she was seventeen."

The floor seems to fall out beneath her feet and she has to brace herself on the counter.

"No."

"It followed her for months. It appeared in her photographs. In her mirrors. Sometimes-”

"Stop."

"She used to say it was watching her while she slept-”

"STOP!"

She doesn't realize how loud she had yelled until she sees her mother flinch. Her mouth gapes open to apologize but nothing comes out and for a few moments, all Alice can hear is the rain.

Her mother's voice is just a whisper when she continues 

"The night your sister died, she came downstairs and told me there was a woman in her closet.”

Her mother takes a shaky breath.

“She said it looked like her.”

Alice’s stomach tightens.

"And I saw it, I saw both of them. One was standing in the hallway."

Her mother looks at the creature.

"The other was standing beside me."

Her mother sobs behind her.

“I didn't know which one was my daughter.”

Alice feels sick.

"Which one was she?"

Her mother doesn't answer. She didn't have to.

The creature takes one slow step into the kitchen.

"I thought I had chosen the right one."

Alice lifts her head to gaze at her mother.

"You killed her?"

“YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND-!”

Alice flinched, shrinking back from her mother's assault.

“IT LOOKED JUST LIKE HER!”

There's a moment of silence before Alice slowly looks down at herself, at her trembling hands, at her fingers. 

She blinks back tears and presses her tongue to the back of her teeth. There are too many.

"No."

Her mother reaches for her.

"Sweetheart—"

"NO!"

Her eyes train on her mother.

“Don't touch me.”

Her voice is shaking so hard that she can barely recognize it.

"I thought if I kept you away from the attic, it wouldn't remember."

The creature opens its mouth, a slow smile spreading across its hollow cheeks. Inside, rows of tiny teeth glisten in the dim light. Then it speaks, but this time the voice that comes out isn't her own, it's her sisters.

"Mom?"

The creature turns its gaunt face to her mother and takes another step.

"I picked the wrong one."

Her mother cries out, burying her face in her shaking hands and sinking to the ground. 

After that the creature seems to lose interest in her mother and turns to Alice. Slowly its face begins to change. Its hollow eyes fill in with green ones and the stretched lips shrink down until all that's in front of her is a familiar face.

Her sister's face. Exactly as Alice remembers it, young, beautiful, and taken too soon. It smiles a sad smile and kneels in front of her 

"Oh, Alice."

Her sister extends a pale hand in offering.

"You have no idea how long I've been in there."

Alice reaches out, taking her sister's outstretched hand.

"Come on," she whispers. "It's your turn."

“My turn?”

Her sister nodded.

“Just for a bit, because in order for me to leave someone has to take my place.”

Alice's vision begins to blur, the world around her becoming a dark cell. Somewhere in the house she hears the attic stairs being lowered and from somewhere in the darkness, Alice hears her own voice begin to scream.