I rushed in through the doors of the hospital, nearly running to the receptionist desk.

“ I'm here to see Jason Allen” I said breathing heavy as my heart pounded hard against my chest.

“ He is in intense care, family members only.”

“I'm his sister”, I lied

She nodded her head .“ Room 183b.”

I didn't wait for her to say anymore as I took off heading towards the elevator. The doors opened and I stepped in pressing the third floor button. The ride up seemed to be eternal as I impatiently waited my stop.

The elevator stopped and it binged open. I almost slammed into the doors as they opened too slowly for my liking. I ran out, running past room after room and the occasional nurse.

181a …..

181b…..

182a ….

182b…..

My heart flew as I saw I was almost to his room

183a….

I came to an abrupt stop in front of room 183b.

Jason was behind this door and I didn't know now whether I wanted to see him if he was in a bad condition. Before I could talk myself into turning around and walking back downstairs, I grabbed the door handle and quickly turned it, stepping into the room. I prepared myself for a horrible scene as Jason missing half of his body or being casted from head to toe, but I came face to face with a curtain. I panicked for a moment, remembering that usually nothing good was behind curtains in movies. Grabbing the edge of it, I slowly pulled the red curtain to the side, holding my breath.

I sighed in relief as I saw that Jason was all in one piece, and without a cast, laying on the hospital bed. He did have a white bandage on his head, along with bruises and stitches here and there, but not enough to affect his appearance. He was still my Jason.

I made my way towards the bed, quietly grabbing and dragging a chair along the way, and sat myself next to him. I watched as he lay there asleep, the heart monitor to his right beeped at a steady rate.

Even at a time like this I couldn't stop myself from admiring his handsome features. His sweat covered hair matted his forehead, and still managed to have a luminous shine to its brown strands. My hand reached towards his face, caressing his cheek gently. His skin, while damaged by cuts and bruises, still looked and felt soft as ever. I felt him stir beside me. I straightened my back and stared into his eyes which were now open. I felt myself drown in the depths of the bright green orbs, viewing everything that I love within them.

“Hey good-looking,” I whispered, not breaking eye contact. I saw his eyes gleam as he smiled in a breath taking way, making my heart beat faster. I was surprised at the things this boy made me feel, even when he was in such a broken state as this.

“Hey beautiful,” he said hoarsely, his eyes held a flickering gleam of sadness, “ I thought you wouldn't come.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, bewildered that he would think that I wouldn’t come. I loved him. Of course I would, especially when he was in such a bad state. He turned his head away from me, looking out the window to his left.

“I don’t know…” he started, “Maybe because I don’t deserve someone like you?..” he trailed off, now looking at me. I just stared back at him with a blank expression.

Too good for him? Where did he get that ridiculousness from?

Without saying a word I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, kissing him softly. I broke away staring intently into his eyes, trying to put my feelings behind the look. “Don’t say that. I love you and there’s no one else I’d rather be with than you” I leaned back towards him kissing him again, passionately, trying to show with this kiss how much I truly loved him. His arm went to my neck as he pressed my head to his and I felt a thousand little sparks go throughout my body. With it, I also couldn’t help but feel like this would be the last time…..

Jason suddenly pulled away, leaving a defined absence where his lips had once been. “Anna… promise me something” he said quietly, his voice oddly weak.

“Anything,” I responded instantly.

“Promise me that you'll always love me and remember me,” Jason whispered, now struggling to keep his eyes open, “Promise me you will only ever love me.”

“Yes… yes I will.” I promised, not even bothering to process his words. I did love Jason. He was my everything. I had absolutely no doubt about it.

“Thank….you…just waiting for you…” he breathed, closing his eyes, his lips turning into a small smile. I watched his face intently, wishing that we weren't in this woeful situation. His eyes flew open suddenly as he whispered, “Oh and Anna….someday we’ll meet again.”

Huh? What did he mean? Like in Heaven?
Before I could ask him what him meant by that, the green in his eyes seemed to fade and dull. His eyes began to drop as he whispered “ I love you Anna”

His eyes closed and the hand he had on my cheek fell down to hang off the edge of the bed.
Oh my God no…….

I cried out in pain, as I heard the heart monitor ring a single flat tone signaling that my Jason was gone.






?
?









Seven years later…….



I sat in shock as Mark bent down on one knee and took something out of his pocket. My eyes widened as he opened a small black satin box that held an silver diamond ring. Mark turned his head towards me and stared into my eyes.

“Anna, I have loved you since the first day we met, and I promise to love you for the rest of our days. I swear with everything I have that you will be the only one I will have eyes for. I want to be by your side every moment that I shall live and I hope you feel the same way. Anna Lee, will you marry me?”

I felt my heart beat faster and harder against my chest as I replayed his words once more through my head, making sure I had not misheard him. I had been dating Mark for the last year and a half and today we were at Melisse celebrating our anniversary. For some time now, I had been playing this exact scenerio through my head wishing for the day that it would finally play out. All that thinking and planning had not prepared me for the initial shock and wave of contentness that I now felt. I was surprised to still have my chest intact, as I felt it would burst at any second.

I looked into his eyes and I saw love and adoration in them. Wihtout wasting anymore time, I stood and placed myself in front of him and said very clearly, “ Yes, I will”

He slipped the ring onto my left hand as he stood up too. He placed his hands on my waist and leaned in to kiss me. I wraped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, tears running down my cheeks. I heard someone clap and soon the whole restaurant was clapping and cheering. My face flushed a slight pink as Mark pulled away and wipped away my tears with his thumb.

“You have just made me the happiest man on earth,” he said, “Come, let’s take you home.” He took my hand and led me out of the restaurant, as people gazed at us with smiles on their faces.






----------------------------------------




I dropped my bag as I closed the door behind me, stepping into my apartment. I flicked on the light as I made my way down the hall towards the bathroom, in dire need of a relaxing shower. Turning on the bathroom light, I started the water and stripped out of my dress, feeling my muscles relax immediately as the water poured down on me.

The night’s events came back to me as I started scrubbing my hair, and a smile placed itself onto my face. I was engaged and would soon be marying Mark. As I thought abouit this I remembered that I still had my ring on. I rinsed my left hand, getting rid of the soap, and pulled my ring off not wanting to ruin it. I pulled the curtain a little open, just enough so I could slip my hand through and place the ring on the side shelf. As I was about to place it on the shelf, it slipled from my hand and it hit the floor with a small ping, causing the diamond to crack. Staring at it in confusion, I bend down slowly as I reached for the ring that had landed near the shower. I brought it close to my face as I looked it over, wondering how it was possible it had cracked. It didn’t make sense, as the bathroom floor wasn’t hard enough to crack a diamond. I moved it away and I placed it on the shelf closer to the wall, making sure that it didn’t fall again. Wow, leave it up to me to break something like an engagement ring within the first hour.

I went back to scrubbing my hair while humming. I was in the middle of the refrain when I felt I cold breeze sway the shower curtain. I stop humming and I listened for any noises. It was quite so I poked my head out off the curtain and looked towards the window. I saw that it was closed, so I went back to finish showering.

When I was done I turned off the water, and slipped my arm through the curtain reaching for a towel, then wrapping it around myself. I slid the shower curtain open and let out a scream loud enough to wake the dead.

On the mirror above the sink, written blood were the words “ You‘ll always be Mine,” with hand prints covering the whole mirror. I shut my eyes tightly, willing it to magically go away. I backed up against the shower wall, as once again I saw the bloodied mirror. Shaking inside, I cautiously stepped out of the shower and onto the hard cold floor, moving towards the mirror. Reading the message again, something caught my eye. There was a spot in the mirror that was darker than the rest of it. Leaning in, the outlines of a figure became known. Before I could further study it, something banged the mirror causing me to jump back, as I shut my eyes tight. I slowly opened them and sighed in relief. I made my way back to my bedroom, scolding myself about watching horror movies, and quickly put on my pajamas. Slipping under my covers, I willed myself to forget the whole bathroom incident. It wasn’t long before sleep over came me.









*******************


I was standing outside the door to the chapel. Right on cue, Pachelbel Canon started playing as there was thumping from people standing up. I nervously played with my dress, making sure everything was in place. Pulling my veil in front of my face I grabbed my bouquet and stepped right onto the middle aisle, that lead to the altar. I ignored the faces of all the guest in order to keep my nerve and walk at the pace of the music towards the front of the altar. I focused on placing one foot in front of the other as I slowly made my way to the figures in front, recognizing one as Mark. When I finally reached the altar, Mark lifted my veil from my face and offered me his arm, which I took. We turned towards the father as he welcomed us to this union. The ceremony proceeded, as I gave little notice to it. I was too busy thinking about how I was really getting married.

All of a sudden, I felt a cold shiver run through me, as I felt empty stares looking at me. I knew that the guest were behind me, but they were all people I knew. I shouldn’t be feeling this way…

I listened to what the father was saying as I tried to ignore the penetrating stares at my back. A minute passed when I couldn’t take it any longer. I turned around and I let out a ear-deafening scream. The guest were gone, and in their place stood dead corpses of people who once where alive. I watched as they all shifted their eyes from the father to stare at me with their bulging eyeballs. I felt myself shake in fear as their stares bore thorough me, filling me with dread. I grabbed onto Mark’s arm and found it rather bony and skinnier than the last time that I had taken hold of his arm. I turned to look at him and squealed as I saw Marks face gone. I stared into empty sockets as my hand went to my throat, feeling aghast. His face was just like the rest, dead and skeletal. His horrible face stretched into a smile as he said, “ Is something wrong?”

I turned around and ran down the isle, towards the door from which I had walked in from. Someone let out a sinister laugh. I ran farther and farther away from the altar as I heard a voice whisper :

“ You will always be mine…… it was a promise that you broke……”





************************




I woke up gasping with sweat running down my face. That last part of the dream repeating itself over and over in my head.


A promise that you broke……


A promise? What promise? Why was my subconscious coming up with this creepy stuff? First the mirror and now this? I shook my head to try and clear it as I threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. I decided I needed to clear my head and go for a swim. I looked at the clock on the far right wall. It read four o’clock in the afternoon.
Whoa. I had slept in extremely late, even though I did get home at two in the morning. It was a good thing it was Saturday and I was off work, otherwise I’d surely be fired. I decided the best place to swim now would be at the local gym, so with that in mind I quickly changed and walked out of my apartment, grabbing my gym bag and keys along the way. I took the elevator down and stepped out onto the underground parking lot, where my car was parked. Getting into my black Mercedes, I turned on the ignition. It purred to life and I pulled out, heading towards the exit gate.

Once outside, I noticed that the sky was mellow. Gray clouds covered every inch of sky and the wind blew a little too hard to be a lovely breeze. It would probably rain within the next two hours.

I pulled into the gyms parking lot and parked near the door, not wanting to have to run across the parking lot if it started to rain. I swiped my card and opened the gym door, and headed towards the girls’ locker room. I quickly threw my stuff into a locker , just keeping my iPod and headed up to the weight room. Going for a tread mill, I started jogging at a relatively fast speed, turning my iPod’s volume up so that the only thing I heard was coming from my earphones. During the sixth song, I felt a gaze on my face and looked up, to meet a pair of black eyes from across the room, belonging to a creepy bald man. I quickly averted my eyes and looked around realizing that the rest of the room was empty, leaving me alone with the creepy man. I panicked and decided it was time to go for a swim, so I stopped the tread mill and walked out of the room. In the locker room I changed into my swimsuit and grabbed a towel, then headed to the pool are. Hanging my towel on a rack, I looked around to see that there were a few other people in the pool swimming laps. I dove in and started swimming laps, getting lost in the motion. I let myself stop thinking as I swam back and forth in the pool.

I didn’t keep track of the time I was in the pool, but decided I was done when my skin got all wrinkly. I was out of the gym doors moments later, after a quick shower and getting dressed.

Deciding on heading over to Mark’s, I pulled out my cell phone and called him, frowning when it went to voicemail. I tried once more and it went to voice again. I checked the time, and it was a little past seven. I decided that I would just drop in since I did have keys to his apartment and surprise him.

The sky above, was now pitch black, as the wind roared and lighting split the sky. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed over to Mark’s. Rain started to pour down as I felt my stomach tighten and a bad feeling sank in. I tried to ignore the feeling and excuse it as the weather.

I saw Mark’s apartment building come up and I parked along the side walk. Zipping my sweater up and pulling on my hood , I made a run for the door. Once inside I made way towards the elevator, greeting the doorman along the way. The elevator door opened and I stepped inside pressing the eight floor button. Leaning against the wall I closed my eyes and listened to the annoying elevator music. The feeling I had, creeping back in even as I tried pushing it away. My chest tightened as I felt a deep pain go through my throat, as if someone were running something sharp across it. I grasped my neck trying to recompose myself. The elevator door opened and I stepped into the hallway, walking straight to the door at the very end.

I knocked on the door before slipping the key in the lock and opening the door. The lights were off as I stepped into the living room.

“Mark,” I called out only to be responded by silence. I walked over to the kitchen, to find it empty, before thinking that maybe it would be better to go home and wait for him to call me back. I made my way back and was almost to the door when I heard slight movement coming from his room.

“Mark?” I called out once more,“ Are you there?”

Once again I was met by silence. Gathering up my courage, I made my way to his bedroom door and pressed my ear to the door, listening for any sound. Hearing a quiet thump once again, I decided to go in. I grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned it slowly, opening the door enough to be able to peer in. From behind the door, lighted only by moonlight, I saw there was a figure sitting in a chair facing the window, as the thunderstorm raged on outside and the rain bounced against the glass.

Without a word, I opened the door wider, making a space big enough for me to walk through. The first thing I noticed as I walked into Mark’s room was the sickening rotting stench that seemed to fill the room. Trying not to gag I made my way towards the seated figure, as that earlier feeling of wrong came back, only more potent this time. Lighting struck and filled the room with flashing light and I could recognize the back of Mark’s blond hair. I let out a sigh of relief now that I could see it was Mark, though that feeling still present and tightening my chest. I was now behind Mark so I place a hand on his shoulder shaking him lightly.

“ Hey Mark, it’s me Anna. I tried call…..” I stopped as I let out a horrified scream as Mark’s head rolled off his shoulders and hit the ground landing right at my feet. I let go of his shoulder watching his face, frozen in an expression of horror, stare up at me. I started sobbing loudly, each sob dripped heavily in sorrow. His limb headless body slumped to the floor.

“No no no” I yelled, not believing what was in front of me, rejecting the thought of Mark being dead. How could something like this have happened? Mark couldn’t be gone. He just couldn’t be. I loved him. He couldn’t have left me. Why did this happen to us…..to him…. to me?…..


Because you promised…. a male voice whispered in my head. I immediately stopped crying

Oh my God, Jason


“Don't you just hate people who lie,” a familiar voice said as the room seemed to grow cold and the sickening stench drew stronger. I stiffened and was filled with dread as I slowly turned towards the voice. I held in a scream as I came face to face with Jason, knowing it’s him despite the lack of resemblance to the Jason I last saw.

His once vibrant hair was now a dull, lifeless brown and most of it was gone, leaving a few patches of hair, while the rest of his head showed a bald, gray scalp. His nose was gone, and in its place a triangular hole. His skin was missing on half of his face, showing nothing but bone and teeth and gaping areas where flesh used to be. The other half of his face that held a form of skin, was rotting away and turning to an ugly gray-black, some of it hanging on the side of his face, just waiting to fall off. Jason’s eyes had lost their lids and just had two muddy green eyeballs, that threatened to pop out of their sockets at any second. His clothes, ripped and stained with blood and dirt, revealed his half rotten inner organs, which somehow managed to have partly survived despite being decomposed.

I watched as he took a slight step forward. The simple notion one of his organs to fall to the ground, roll towards me. Looking down at it I realized it was his heart, all black and rubbery. I cringed and backed up against the wall, trying to put as much space between us as possible. The stench still heavily present in the room, made my head spin and sight blur as the effect of inhaling it finally taking part. I blinked my eyes and looked towards him once more, as his hands caught my eyes or actually the condition of his hand. Both hands were covered in mud and bloodied grass, appearing as those of someone who had been digging lately.………

My eyes widened as realization hit me. I let out a small sob, trying to cover it by placing my hand over my mouth. Tears streamed down my face as Jason’s lips, or what was left of them, spread into a sinister smile that made my stomach drop.

“I told you we'd meet again, Anna. But this time…. I'm not leaving alone”….