Page 10 of Waste
Electricity ran through her body as she recalled hearing a name. Mary Worth. Shelley immediately flipped open her laptop and brought up a search engine. Well, there was certainly information about Mary Worth. The legend had it that Mary had been a seventeenth-century witch, living in the New England area of America.
Mary was believed to have kidnapped and killed children. For her crimes, she was burned at the stake, but not before she released one last curse on the townspeople. She swore that if they said her name in a mirror, she would return, and their lives would be forfeit. Shelley noted that the Bloody Mary story was probably based on Mary Worth.
Why would the ghoul be calling Mary Worth?
Confused, Shelley dug deeper and looked for a link between the ghoul and Mary Worth. Not finding one, she sat back andtried to figure out what she’d seen. The ghoul had definitely disappeared into thin air. And she certainly remembered Mary Worth’s name being spoken. Mary was meant to appear in mirrors, and while some sites mentioned she’d eat your soul, and others indicated she’d come through and murder you, the mirrors were important. Did they act as portals?
Shelley clicked on a link claiming there was proof Mary existed. A page with several videos opened, and Shelley selected the first. Three teenagers sat in front of a mirror and called Bloody Mary three times. It lasted mere seconds, but a frightening vision of a woman briefly flashed up. The teenagers screamed and scrambled away, and the image grinned.
Shelley paused the video and studied the frozen frame. Long, straggly black hair fell to the woman’s hips. Pure black filled her eyes, with no white visible whatsoever. Lips as red as blood were pulled back in a hateful snarl, and her cheekbones were high while her cheeks sank in. The woman’s skin was as white as the ghoul’s, forcing her features to stand out even more. Shelley noted the figure wore a torn and ragged black dress that hung in shreds around knobbly knees, and her raised hands were thin and bony with clawed fingers.
Shelley clicked on several further videos and sat back. They all were from different sources, yet the brief image in them showed the same woman. It was very interesting or incredibly frightening. Shelley was unsure what to do, then her eyes rested on her large mirror, and she flinched.
She got to her feet, rushed into her bedroom, grabbed a blanket, and slung it over the mirror. Had Mary Worth or the ghoul been watching her through it? Shelley felt suspicion rise, but shoved it back down. She refused to let it smother her, as it threatened to.
She’d lived with panic for a few weeks and had struggled to beat it, but Shelley wouldn’t allow paranoia to bring her down low.
Even so, a shiver ran down her spine. What had she stumbled into?
Mary Worth/Marie
“Oh, that won’t work,” Mary muttered as she shifted to another view and stared at Shelley as she gazed at her large mirror.
Mary shook her head; there were other reflective surfaces in Shelley’s living room. And now she watched through one of them. Shelley had clearly figured out something, but Mary was unsure of what. She called to Drew in her mind and felt him answer, knowing he was heading for her tower.
Mary stayed in her monster form; the mirror network didn’t work as well for her in her human body. In this shape, though, Mary was the Mistress of the Mirrors and ruled supreme. Mary tapped her nails as she studied Shelley. The young woman appeared frightened, but she wasn’t allowing it to rule her. Mary could and did admire Shelley’s strength.
“What is it?” Drew asked as he entered the mirror room.
“Your female knows what you are, as in a ghoul. She’s been researching you since the attack. And Drew, there is an issue. She remembered you saying my name. Now, your Shelley is curious. I don’t think it will be long before she calls my name,” Mary said.
Drew blanched. And Mary understood why. Mary was not compelled to respond to a summons, but she did occasionally like to mess with people.
“Don’t answer her; you don’t have to,” Drew replied, and Mary snorted.
“Drew, Shelley will not quit, which may put her at risk from Hunters.”
Mary saw a chill run through Drew. The Hunters would have no qualms about taking Shelley and torturing her for information before killing her.
“What should I do?” Drew asked.
“I think you should tell her to stop. Visit her as Ghoul and let her know she’s in danger if she continues,” Mary suggested, and Drew stiffened.
“That is unacceptable,” he said emphatically.
“Then she will attract the wrong attention and die,” Mary replied callously.
Drew sent her a horrified look.
Mary held his gaze as Drew decided what to do.
A sigh escaped him. “Open a portal, I’ll go through,” he muttered sullenly.
“Knock on her back door; don’t enter her home. A scream coming from her house would alert the neighbours. They probably know she was attacked and will be vigilant to anything irregular around her,” Mary warned as she opened Ghoul’s mirror.
As he shifted into Ghoul, Drew sent her an angry look, but Mary brushed it off. She guessed from the way he’d capitulated so easily that he was looking for an excuse to see her again. Mary smirked as Ghoul disappeared and settled in to watch. He was the only one out tonight, so he had her full attention. Did that make her a voyeur? Mary didn’t care at all. She enjoyed watching her siblings stumble over themselves.
Ghoul/Drew
