VANISHED (#1 in the VANISHED series) #NaNoWriMo2019 ✔

e l e v e n ✔

She stopped breathing, her skin tingling as she pulled the hem of her top down to her upper thighs, covering her leggings. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Maybe a janitor had snuck in; one who enjoyed whispering to him or herself while working.

She flushed the toilet, and as the water swirled, the mumbling occurred again, but much closer. As if someone stood outside her door and tried to speak to her. But she noticed no shadows, no protruding shoes, not a hint of someone hovering there. Nothing was there... yet the whispering continued.

"Clean... come... clean..."

"Okay, Stel, this isn't funny." She kicked the door open, expecting to find Stella perched on the sink counter, mouth covered as she hissed the words, hoping to scare her.

But no one sat on the counter. No one loitered near the sink, the hand-dryer, the door. And upon checking once more, Arielle found no one in the other stalls.

"What the fuck?" She shrugged as she tiptoed to the sink. "This campus is haunted, even in the freaking bathrooms."

She turned on the faucet, letting the warm water drizzle over her trembling hands. As she neared the soap dispenser, she looked up, curious to see if her fear showed—

She squealed. Someone lurked behind her; a blob. Obscure, distorted, its features and figure hard to discern.

"Hey!" She yanked her wet hands from the sink and flipped around, ready to scream some choice insults at this person who thought sneaking up on people was entertaining—

But no one was there. The spot where the shadow-like individual had been, seconds before, was deserted.

"Okay... no, this is ridiculous." She slid her damp fingers through her curls and blew out her cheeks as she swung to her reflection. "What the actual fuck? Am I losing my mind or something?" Her eyes were wide and alert, her skin drained of color, her movements tense. "Too many investigations in the past few days. I'm seeing shit. I'm seeing shit."

She switched the water to cold and cupped her hands underneath the flow, gathering liquid to splash it under her chin. The cooling substance trickled down her spine and soothed her; but she hesitated to peek into the mirror again.

Do it... do it, Ari, and you'll see nothing, because you're insane.

She lifted her gaze, and sure enough, no one towered behind her.

"Oof, I'm checking myself into rehab after this trip." She finished rinsing and trudged to the fancy hand-dryer, shaking her head at her idiocy. Too many creepy places in so little time had affected her more than she wanted to.

Needing one last glimpse at herself, to ensure she didn't freak Stella out, she crept over to the mirror—and almost slipped. "Huh?" Emitting a squeak as she grabbed the edge of the counter to avoid falling, she realized the floor was wet. "What the heck? Did I spill that much water?"

Her hands were dripping when she swerved around to observe the being she thought was behind her—but this growing puddle on the tiled floor was huge. As if she'd poured several glasses of water on it, with the malicious idea of making someone trip.

She hauled herself up straight and peered at the mirror. "What's going on? What the fuck is going on?" She racked her brain for legends or stories about bathrooms at Queen's University; but she recalled nothing of the sort. No ghosts haunting mirrors and sinks and spreading liquid all over the floors. "I need to get out of here."

As she stepped backward, avoiding the puddle, she noticed something on her face, beneath her lower lash-line. Smeared crayon, crumbling mascara, smudging eye-shadow, maybe? But she hadn't put anything on her eyelids today. She'd only dabbed on some powder and a light lipstick on her lips; her eyes had been too puffy and bloodshot for makeup.