Chapter 1

Chapter 1: "That Night"

It is a normal night for the Hunter family. The date: May 23, 1849. The world outside of their home is quiet and peaceful as if it were holding a breath.

In the large and elegant family home of the Hunters, the movement is slight, but words echo warmly off of the walls. The words sail through the air, originating from the family room- where the Hunter family have gathered for the night before they all headed to bed.

A man of 23 years of age, sat with his wife of 22 years of age. The two watched their children: Four-year-old twins, and their one-year-old son listen to their grandmother’s story. Another couple sat across from the young couple. A man of 23 years of age, sat with his wife of 21 years of age. They two watched their three-year-old, two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son listen as well.  The two men are brothers: the older of the two is Jonathan and the younger of the two is Alexander.  Jonathan’s wife is named Baillie, and the wife of Alexander is named Emma.

The children are named Rachel, Catherine, Andrew, Maria, and Matthew and Michael. Rachel, Catherine, and Matthew are the children of Jonathan and Baillie. Andrew, Maria, and Michael are the children of Alexander and Emma.

The older lady? She is the mother of the Jonathan and Alexander and the grandmother to the lovely children sitting in front of her. She is a sweet lady, nearly fifty, her warm caramel hair slowly turning gray, like the turning of the seasons. She has warm green eyes, like the green in those peppermint candies.  

As she continued her story, Matthew and Michael had started to doze off against Rachel and Catherine. Rachel pulled their brother into her lap just as Catherine pulled Michael into her lap. (Matthew and Michael were so close in age- just a day apart- and so close in appearance, that the Hunter family called them twins even though they were not.) Andrew and Maria leaned against each other,  their eyes beginning to drift shut.

The older woman looked up, a soft smile played upon her soft pink lips. She bookmarked the yellowing page and closed the book, the two halves making a thudding noise as they met each other once again. She drew a strand of gray hair from her face as she stood up. This caused the other women to also stand up.  Baillie picked up her son Matthew, as Emma picked up Michael. The older woman, her name being Kristina, picked up Maria.  Alexander picked up his eldest child, as Jonathan picked up his twins, who held onto him.

The group of parents started to head up the stairs towards the rooms of the children. Emma and  Baillie headed towards the nursery, which was just two rooms connected by a set of doors. It was helpful for the two boys to play together. Kristina carried Maria to her room, and got her all ready for bed, before helping her eldest son with his twin girls.  Baillie went to help with them, as the others headed off to bed, well except for Kristina.

Once the girls were settled into bed, Baillie and Jonathan headed off to bed. Kristina sat in the little sitting area that was in the middle of the large floor space, off of the stairs. From the darkness below her, she could hear the chimes of the grandfather clock. It chimed to alert it was now 10:00.  Kristina’s heart rate increased with anxiety.

“An hour. An hour,” she muttered to herself, muttering a time for something that was unknown to the rest of the household.

Her blue speckled green eyes began to close as she relaxed in the chair, her ears attuned to the sounds of the lonely grandfather clock, in the empty hallways below. It seemed only like a heartbeat, when the clock began to chime, once more. 11:00, it’s eleven chimes echoing like haunted calls throughout the house. The old woman’s eyes flying open as she heard them. She hurriedly stood and scurried over to where the twin’s rooms were located.

She grabbed outfits that they could run in, she had already been dressed in one. The outfit would consist of riding pants, shirt, and boots. She woke each of them up and quickly changed them. She took their hands and they stalked through the darkened floor, towards the stair, where a small lit candle was at.  

Kristina picked up the candle and started to lead the two young girls down the spiral staircase. If the staircase was flooded with the light it would be seen to be a mahogany wood with the rail heading down would be a made of cherry wood. Their footsteps echo slightly through the dark air, as the descended the stairs. When they were half-way down a loud metallic crash sounded from the darkness, carried by the quietness. It came from the direction of the kitchen.

She whispered, “Hurry girls.”

They nodded and the three of them continued to walk down the staircase. They reached the bottom and followed along a wall turning a corner. Another crash was heard as they turned the corner, from further down the hallway, that they had left. She hurried them in front of her and turned again.

After several turns, and near misses, Kristina opened the door to a room. She ushered her granddaughters inside, before shutting the door as quietly as possible. She sat the candle on the floor. The room that the three people stood in, was small and contained only a mirror and a chair in the corner.

Kristina moved slightly and asked, “What do you see in yourselves that are the same?”

The two girls turned to look at the mirror. For several minutes, silence filled the room, two pairs of hazel eyes looked at their reflections. They turned around slowly to face their grandmother once more.

“We have the same eye and hair color,” they said, “and the same weird mark on our wrist.”

“Never forget each other. Time may go by and memories may fade, but the memory of your family never will,” Kristina said as she scored Catherine up, holding her in her arms.

Rachel reached up to be held too, but Kristina waved her hands away. “No. Go sit in the corner, shield the flame.” Catherine was scared now and was crying.

Kristina muttered under her breath as she took a step through the mirror, disappearing from sight. Rachel hid between the chairs in the corner shielding the candle.

Catherine and Kristina were now standing in an alley, rain pouring down in dark, heavy, drenching waves as the wind blew to chill them to the bone. Kristina crept the mouth of the alley and looked across the road.  Across the street from where they were, was a large brick building, half-seen by the blinding rain. A small sign stood in front of it, telling what it was.

Kristina picked up Catherine, who was shivering in her wet clothes. She looked around once more, and ran out of the alley, her body briefly illuminated as she passed underneath a streetlight. She ran across the street, water splashing up as her boots hit the pavement. She ran up the stairs and set Catherine on the main porch.

“I’m sorry that I have to leave you,” Kristina whispered, kissing her forehead before she slid something into her hand, before running away, disappearing into the dark, pouring, bone-chilling rain.

Back in the rightful time of this family, sat Rachel- sobbing heavily onto the knees of her pants. She was scared and terrified since her grandmother and sister were gone. She whimpered, tears flooding down the lightly tanned young innocent face. She looked over to the mirror, where they disappeared, and blinked. Her eyes opened and there stood her grandmother- soaking wet, but there.