MISSING

      She reaches for the light switch, fumbling around in the darkness. "Gotcha!" she says, with momentary victory. This was the first time she had accessed the house. Jay hadn't talked to her sister, Diana, in almost 5 years. Now Jay was standing in her house, alone. Diana's belongings were scattered, as if she were to be back any minute. Jay sat on the ugly green couch, a piece of paper on the coffee table caught her eye. She felt an emptiness overcome her as she stared at the piece of paper, it was a photograph. The photograph was of herself. The photo had been taken shortly before Diana had made the move from New York. The picture was different, distorted. Jay's eyes had been scratched repeatedly, resulting in black lines distorting their faces.

      She was stunned at Diana's act of resentment. She placed her hands on her thighs and pushed herself up, she was exhausted from the long flight. She grabbed the single bag that she had brought with her, and retreated to the guest room. The house wasn't very large, two bedrooms and one bath. She walked past her sister's bedroom, and as she could have guessed it too was how her sister had left it. While Jay unpacked her belongings, she heard it. A thump followed by a dragging sound. She stopped, hesitant to move. She had locked the door, she was sure of it. Was Diana back, she thought to herself? Diana had been missing for a little over a week. Jay, still hesitant began to cross the room. She made her way out into the hall way, seeing a shadow move into the bathroom. "Diana?" Jay hesitantly asked, the figure non responsive.

      The door was closed, Jay twisted the knob and pushed. In the middle of the bathroom there she was. Jay sighed a breath of relief, she recognized the brown hair, and the silver bracelet around the woman's wrist. Jay had given her the bracelet as a gift, years before the fight. "Diana, where the hell have you been?" Jay said with authority in her voice. Diana did not acknowledge Jay, she stood still, but not quite silent. A low rattle started to erupt in Diana's throat. The sound grew in volume. "Diana, what is wrong?" Jay said shouting over the death rattle. She reached her arm out to Diana, grabbing her shoulder. Diana turned, her face pale, eyes glazed over, and her jaw unhinged overflowing with blood. Jay fell back onto the hard tile floor, slowly pushing herself back away from the walking corpse. Diana followed Jay to the floor, her nonfunctioning limb resulting in the fall. She grabbed Jay's feet, pulling herself closer to Jay. Jay shrieked, trying to remove the being from her feet. Diana ignored Jay's efforts, pulling herself closer to Jay's face. For one final time Jay looked at Diana, her blue eyes were cold and hazed. Jay closed her eyes as the sound grew in volume.