EPISODE 10 — WHICH ONE IS REAL?
1391 Words
Nora couldn’t move.
Four Leas stood in the doorway.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same frightened eyes.
But only one of them could be real.
Or maybe none.
They spoke together.
“Which one of us is real?”
Nora stepped backward.
“Leah?”
All four smiled.
“Yes.”
Nora’s heart raced.
She remembered what the older Nora had told her.
Don’t trust Leah.
But which Leah?
The first girl stepped forward.
“Nor, it’s me.”
The second shook her head.
“Don’t listen to her.”
The third began crying.
“Nora, please.”
The fourth remained silent.
Nora looked at them carefully.
“Tell me something.”
The first answered immediately.
“You hate thunderstorms.”
The second said:
“You sleep with the light on.”
The third whispered:
“You call me Nor.”
The fourth said nothing.
Nora frowned.
“You’re all wrong.”
The four women stopped smiling.
Nora continued.
“Leah knows I stopped sleeping with the light on years ago.”
The second woman’s face twitched.
“And Leah doesn’t just call me Nor.”
The third woman frowned.
“She calls me Nor-Nor when she’s teasing me.”
The first woman’s smile disappeared.
Nora looked at the silent one.
“You haven’t said anything.”
The woman slowly lifted her head.
“I don’t need to.”
Nora’s heart sank.
That voice.
She knew it.
“Leah?”
The woman smiled.
“Nor-Nor.”
Nora ran to her.
They hugged.
For one second, everything felt normal.
Then Leah whispered:
“Don’t trust me.”
Nora froze.
“What?”
Leah pulled away.
“Don’t trust any of us.”
The other three Leas began screaming.
Their faces distorted.
Their mouths opened impossibly wide.
Nora stumbled backward.
Leah grabbed her hand.
“Run!”
They sprinted down the hallway.
Behind them came footsteps.
Fast.
Leah pulled Nora into a room and slammed the door.
“Hold it!”
They pushed a table against it.
The creatures slammed into the other side.
BOOM!
Nora gasped.
“What are they?”
Leah was breathing heavily.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
Leah looked at her.
“I am.”
Nora’s stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“Because I remember.”
“Remember what?”
Leah looked toward the window.
“The night we were thirteen.”
Nora stared.
“You were there.”
“So were you.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
Leah sat down.
“My mother brought me to this house.”
“Why?”
“She wanted me to hear the phone.”
Nora’s blood ran cold.
“What happened?”
“I answered.”
“And?”
“I heard my sister.”
Nora whispered:
“The girl with the balloon.”
Leah nodded.
“She told me she was trapped.”
“Where?”
“Inside the phone.”
Nora stared.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Nothing here does.”
The door shook again.
Leah continued.
“My mother told me I could save her.”
“How?”
“She said I had to give the house someone else.”
Nora’s heart stopped.
“Who?”
Leah looked at her.
“You.”
Nora went silent.
“You brought me here?”
“I tried.”
“What do you mean, tried?”
“You were already here.”
Nora’s face went pale.
Leah continued.
“You were nine years old.”
“I was nine when we met.”
“No.”
Leah shook her head.
“We met before that.”
Nora stared at her.
“Where?”
“Here.”
A loud bang hit the door.
The table moved.
Leah stood.
“We have to go.”
“Not until you tell me everything.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because she is listening.”
“Who?”
Leah pointed toward the phone on the floor.
Nora looked down.
The phone screen was glowing.
A recording had started playing.
Nora’s own childhood voice came from the speaker.
“Leah?”
A younger Leah answered.
“I’m here.”
Young Nora whispered:
“I’m scared.”
Young Leah replied:
“Don’t be.”
“Will it hurt?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Nora’s eyes filled with tears.
“What did you promise me?”
The recording continued.
Young Leah whispered:
“If you answer the phone, I’ll answer with you.”
Nora looked at Leah.
“You lied.”
Leah nodded.
“I was thirteen.”
“You knew what would happen?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because my mother told me.”
The recording changed.
An older woman’s voice came through.
Leah’s mother.
“If Nora answers, the house will leave you alone.”
Nora stared at the phone.
Then another voice appeared.
A child’s voice.
The third daughter.
“You promised me.”
Young Leah began crying.
“I know.”
“You promised you’d bring her.”
“I did.”
“But she isn’t the one.”
The recording stopped.
Nora whispered:
“Then who is?”
Leah looked terrified.
“I don’t know.”
The door suddenly stopped shaking.
Silence.
Leah slowly approached it.
“Don’t open it,” Nora whispered.
Leah didn’t listen.
She moved the table.
Then opened the door.
Nothing stood outside.
The hallway was empty.
Leah stepped out.
Nora followed.
At the end of the hallway, a little girl stood holding a red balloon.
But this time, she wasn’t looking at Nora.
She was looking at Leah.
“You broke your promise.”
Leah began crying.
“I was trying to save you.”
“You weren’t.”
The girl looked at Nora.
“You were trying to save yourself.”
Nora looked at Leah.
“Is that true?”
Leah shook her head.
“No.”
The girl smiled.
“She knows it is.”
The lights flickered.
Nora’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her own voice whispered:
“Nor…”
Nora closed her eyes.
“I’m listening.”
“Go to the basement.”
“Why?”
“Because the first body is there.”
Nora’s eyes opened.
“Whose body?”
The voice went quiet.
Then:
“Your mother’s.”
Nora dropped the phone.
Leah grabbed her.
“No.”
Nora stared at her.
“You knew.”
“I didn’t.”
“You knew she was here.”
“I knew she came here.”
“And you never told me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that!”
Nora screamed.
“Protect me from what?”
The little girl answered.
“From the truth.”
She pointed toward the stairs.
“Your mother didn’t die.”
Nora looked at her.
“She was killed.”
“By who?”
The girl smiled.
“Ask Leah.”
Nora turned.
Leah was gone.
“Leah?”
No answer.
Nora ran down the hallway.
“Leah!”
The house was silent.
Then the basement door opened by itself.
Nora stopped.
Cold air rose from below.
Her phone vibrated.
A message appeared:
SHE’S WAITING FOR YOU.
Another:
BRING LEAH.
Nora whispered:
“She isn’t here.”
A final message appeared.
SHE IS.
Nora looked behind her.
Leah stood at the top of the stairs.
Her face was expressionless.
“Nor.”
Nora stepped backward.
“What happened to you?”
Leah smiled.
“I remembered.”
“Remembered what?”
Leah pointed toward the basement.
“Who I killed.”
Nora’s blood turned cold.
“You killed someone?”
Leah nodded.
“My mother.”
Nora stared at her.
“That isn’t possible.”
Leah’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was thirteen.”
“Why would you kill your mother?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then who did?”
Leah’s smile disappeared.
“She did.”
“Who?”
Leah pointed toward the darkness beneath the stairs.
The little girl with the red balloon was standing there.
She whispered:
“Me.”
The basement door slammed shut.
And from behind it came the sound of a woman screaming Nora’s name.
“NORA!”
Then another voice answered.
Leah’s voice.
“Run.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD