It had black hair with tangles and fiery eyes. Its shirt matched mine except for the blood splatters on the middle. As I was frowning, it was smiling. I put my hand up to my face and it did the same. I shook my head and it followed. But my blood stopped cold as it let out a deafening witch-like crackle, and flipped it's hair to the side.

"Stop calling me it. I'm a girl, just like you. My name's even Ara too!" She said with a smile on her face. I stumbled back, this was so unreal. It was like a ghost living in my mirror. Stunned, I wasn't sure what to do. The girl suddenly reached out her hand from the mirror. I could see her arm coming out of the mirror, but yet, it was ghost like, clear and transparent. With no explanation, I felt like I was choking on air and had a massive head ache. My feet were actually floating above the ground! I let them dangle and just stared down at the barely-visible fingers wrapped around my throat.

"Stop...please let me go.." I croaked, and I felt her grasp soften. With a flick of her wrist, I fell to the ground. So many questions raced through my mind as I wrapped my hand around my neck. Am I still effing dreaming? Who the hell is this maniac? WHAT IS GOING ON?!

"Wha-what was that f-for," was all I could gasp and looked up at her, my eyes round. The girl in the mirror tossed her hair again and let out another high pitched crackle. She was sounding more and more like an evil witch from fairy tales Ara was read to when she was young. The "witch" took a moment to reply.

"That’s what you get for calling me 'it'. I like respect around here." She grabbed my shirt and pulled me up. I stood wobbling and grabbed my dresser for support. I could feel her staring into my eyes, reading my mind again and I tried to use the rest of my energy to shut her out. She frowned and pushed me against the wall, using her invisible power again to hurt me.

"Come on, I need to know what your thinking, just a peek." She looked hard into my eyes and I closed them just like I had done to Fasha. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it was my only strategy. It must of stopped her though, because she grunted, and grabbed my neck again to force my eyes opened. Her grasp was too strong and just like she intentioned, my eyes flung open with fear. Her eyes bore into mine, and she obsorbed everything she could.

"That’s more like it." She laughed. "An interesting life I've got here. This'll show Grandell." She muttered and let go. I coughed and fell to the ground again. Grandell? I thought, but then stopped myself. Since she could read my mind, I had better not start questioning what she said or I could end up headless. She just laughed, oblivious to what I had just thought, and I slowly rose to my feet. Somehow I found the last speck of energy coiled up inside me, and with it, I bolted to the door.

"Hey, where you goin?" The girl yelled but she couldn't reach me as I stumbled out of the room, my head spinning. As I took the stairs three at a time, the world seemed like it was tilted. I had no idea where I was, where I was going, and most defiantly, what was going on. That freak ghost was in my mirror, but I could feel her in me too. I fell to the front door, took a quick glance behind me, and then fiddled with my keys, tossing silver and gold ones over my shoulder until only the gold key with the skull on the end was left. Typical! It's the last one I hold in my hand! I thought before another, more important, thought rose in my head.

MY SWORD! My eyes wandered back up the stairs, and a cold shiver ran down my backbone. I couldn't leave with out it, no exceptions, and I had learned that the hard way. My grandfather had once caught me without it two years back at a simple grocery store, and man, did I get a beating. "No Cromwell will ever leave without his or her mighty sword. You never know when the unexpected could happen." I caught my breath, and shaking my head, I crawled up the stairs. As soon as I entered the eerie room, I immediately looked at my mirror. No one was there. Letting out a sigh of relief, I went to my closet where my sword was kept.

I opened a black case that was laying in the corner of the closet, holding by breath all the while. But for some reason it didn't surprise me when there was nothing in it. Empty, completely empty. I threw the case down in anger, and when I came out of the closet, she was there again, in the mirror with her finger sticking out.

"Looking for this?" She said and my eyes followed the direction of her finger. There, laying on my bed, was my glistening sword. It took me a moment to realize that on the tip of the blade were drops of deadly, red blood.

"But I haven't been hunting in ages..." I gagged, my hand over my mouth to prevent me from throwing up, and I looked back at the girl. She was laughing bitterly again, and just staring dead on at me. Her response was short, but hell, it packed a punch.

"Oh, but I have, Ara Cromwell, I have..."