voracious

Chapter 1

Julie never liked the House of Mirrors, specifically. The one at her town's Halloween festival. Julie never scares easily; she would consider herself a horror fanatic, which is why the Halloween festival was always her favorite event to attend every year. She loved almost everything about it, the rides, the food, even the haunted house. Still, there was something about that building that didn't sit right with her be it the dimmed lighting the lack of security cameras or the mirrors that were so supposedly so old and decrepit that you could barely see out of them, whatever it was Julie had made it clear to her friends that she would never set foot in the building ever yet here she was standing in front of the house waiting for her friends to join her.

Usually, Julie would wait outside while Gabe and Nancy went in, since they were the only ones who enjoyed it, claiming it was the best way to end their day at the festival. This time, however, she decided to give in to their insistence, begging and pleading, and join them this year. Julie felt that she was getting too old to be scared of old buildings, and it wouldn't kill her to go in with her friends. Julie and her friends were supposed to have already gone in by now, before the festival was about to close. Still, Gabe wanted to head to the Halloween shop to grab something and took Nancy with him for some reason, leaving Julie to stay behind to make sure the attraction didn't close. All this waiting was making her anxious; however, all Julie could do was stand there and try to keep herself from getting frustrated. As she was calming herself down, she heard someone calling her name from behind and turned around to see her friends. Gabe, a tall, slender man with long, jet-black hair and olive skin, was walking up to her, waving one hand in the air and the other tucked behind his back, presumably hiding something. Nancy, a short, muscular woman with brown, curly hair and cream-colored skin, had both of her hands in the air, waving them frantically. Julie smiled and walked towards them. " What took you guys so long?" Julie said while pulling Nancy into a hug. Nancy returned the hug and gave Julia a squeeze before pulling back to look at her."I'm so sorry, but this guy was taking forever at the horror shop." Nancy said, smiling while thumbing a finger at Gabe, who held his one free hand up in defense."Hey, I had to take a while to get my friend this," Gabe said, untucking his other arm from behind his back, his back revealing a small black box in his palm. Julie's smile brightened as she carefully took the box from Gabe's hand. Her smile widened as she opened it, revealing a black leather bracelet with a smooth, red, circular Stone that almost resembled a red moon. "A blood moon bracelet! How did you find it!?" Julie explained as she frantically began strapping the bracelet to her wrist. Julie was obsessed with things involving werewolves, from silver bullets to pictures of possible sightings; however, one thing Julie truly liked was werewolf artifacts, such as a blood moon stone that would glow when a werewolf was near. Gabe smiled smugly as he folded his arms, satisfied with his friend's reaction. " Happy birthday! Someone at the horror shop custom-made it for me; it only took me so long to get it because the guy wanted to charge me more, but I was able to get him to give me the proper price. At least someone remembered and brought you a present."Gabe boasted as he gave a quick glance at Nancy. Nancy rolled her eyes." I do have a present for her, it's just ready to be given to her on her actual birthday." Nancy retorted. Gabe shrugged."I'm only one day off, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that I got her a better gift." Gabe said proudly. Nancy scoffed and turned to Julie. Anyway, birthdays aside, are you ready to finish this day off with one of the best attractions ever made? Nancy asked Julie in a not-so-serious tone. Julie sighed and looked at the attraction, then back at her friends. She never told them that she was afraid to go into the house of mirrors. The excuses she always used were that she found it boring or that she was too tired to go, and her friends had accepted it. But this year was different; it would be their last Halloween festival together. At the end of this year, Nancy will be moving back home to follow in the family's footsteps in the carpentry business, and Gabe will be heading off to college to study engineering, leaving Julie all alone in her small town. On the outside, Julie was happy for them. Still, on the inside, she was devastated. Gabe and Nancy were her only friends, and now they were abandoning her. She knew it was selfish to think this way, but she really hoped that the three of them could stay together forever. Alas, it was never meant to be, and Julie knew that. But Julie was not going to let her fear prevent her from spending the last Halloween with her friends. Julie smiled at Gabe and Nancy."I'm ready, let's get this over with," Julie exclaimed, trying not to sound nervous. "Don't worry, guys," Gabe said, wrapping his arms over Julie and Nancy's shoulders, slowly leading them into the building. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Nancy tried to show that she wasn't scared as her and her friends slowly walked through the hallways that were surrounded by mirrors it wasn't just the mirrors that Julie didn't like it was how close everything was with the only lights being a few red bulbs that hang over the ceiling making the rooms look dark and ominous in the mirrors that would Warp your face when you look at them making her think someone was next only realizing that it was just her reflection and the close tight spaces that made her feel like she was suffocating. She couldn't help but feel a small sense of fear when she was there; her friends didn't notice this as they were too busy making faces in the mirror and jumping around making jokes. Whenever they would look back at Julie, she would smile and laugh. Seeing them have fun did help calm her nerves for a bit. Still, they reached the next room, which only made her feel worse. It was the mirror maze, a room filled with nothing but mirrors at every corner. Julie used to watch videos with parents who would have their little kids run through the maze, then have them smack themselves against a mirror. Of course, she found it hilarious at the time, but actually being in that type of maze horrified her imagination. Herself being trapped in a place like that, not knowing where to go, seeing nothing but warped faces staring at her, and she's tried to escape, only to come face to face with the distorted version of herself. The thought drove Julie insane.Julie stayed close to her friends, hoping that if she stayed near them, she wouldn't get lost. Until Gabe had a bright idea. "Hey, I bet I could make it out of this maze the fastest!" Gabe said excitedly, then, without warning, suddenly bolted through the hallway and disappeared around one of the corners. "Hey, that's cheating!" Nancy yelled before chasing after him. Julie tried to keep up as best she could, focusing on nothing other than Nancy's back, hoping as long as she was in her sights, she'd be fine. Suddenly, her foot caught on a loose tile, and she stumbled for just a second, but as soon as she recovered and looked up, she was alone. As soon as Julie realized this, she began to panic, her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, and she could no longer breathe. She placed her hands on her thighs and took a couple of breaths, trying to compose herself as soon as she calmed down for a bit. She surveyed her surroundings, trying to see where she was." Gabe! Nancy! Where are you?" Julie yelled. No one responded. She was just about to start tearing up when she shook her head. "Everything is fine, we just have to keep moving forward," Julie said as she began to walk through the hallway, hands outstretched to make sure she didn't hit a wall. She took a deep breath every step she took, as well as telling herself she was fine. Suddenly, she began to hear a creaking noise. Julie stopped for a second; "Gabe, is that you!" She called out. She heard nothing but the creaking. It sounded like someone was walking around, and it was slowly getting closer with each creak of the floor. "Nancy!" She called again, looking for someone, but found no one. She knew she wasn't alone, but she couldn't figure out why. It felt like someone was behind her, getting closer. Julie tried to quickly move through the maze, but every time she turned a corner, she found herself staring back at her. When she heard the creaking footsteps coming from behind, she spun around to see who it was, but saw nothing. Just then, while finding herself at another dead end, she felt it. A feeling of someone or something looming behind her. She wanted to scream or run, but all she could do was stand still. Her mouth felt like a desert, and her legs wouldn't stop shaking as tears began to swell in her eyes. 'She had to move, she couldn't just stand here,' so with all the strength she had, Julie began to slowly turn around, and as she did, what she saw was nothing but her reflection. Julie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw nothing there. Julie began to turn around to continue walking when suddenly a hand clamped around her throat, and she felt her body lift into the air. In a split second, Julie's body was slammed against the wall, the mirror behind her cracking under the pressure as what little air that was left escaped her lungs, leaving her struggling to breathe. Julie used what little strength she had to claw at the arm holding her throat as she looked at the assailant. She could see nothing from the hooded figure except for two glowing yellow eyes and a set of perfectly white teeth that were as sharp as razors twisted into a smile. The figure then suddenly released its grip from Julie's throat and grabbed the top of her head, slamming it against the mirrored wall, disorienting her before moving her head to the side, revealing her neck. Before Julie could recover, she felt a sharp pain in her neck as the assailant dug its teeth into her, causing her to let out a scream. Julie tried to fight back as best she could, kicking and clawing at the figure with all her might, but they didn't seem bothered by her actions. Her body was starting to feel weak as she felt all her blood leave her body. Her body went limp as she began to lose consciousness. Suddenly, she heard someone yell, "Get away from her!" As she felt the figure being pulled off her, causing her to fall to the ground, her body slumped against the wall before sliding to the side, leaving her lying on the floor. She opened her eyes just a bit to see Gabe slamming her attacker against the wall before closing her eyes again.