October Writing Prompts- Pinterest List by ZellyKatArt
I am behind but I will be writing and posting short stories every day this month for October. Get ready for some spooky stories for the month of October. Enjoy!
October 1st- Spells
Lauren stared at the mirror. She ran her fingers down the ugly scars that had been left behind from the car accident. It had been over a year now and the doctor who had promised to help her had vanished with her money. Now she had nothing. She was about to be kicked out of her house since she couldn’t get a job because of her face. Too many people turned her down because she’d scare others. Lauren had tried to find a legit home job, and had sent in her resume, but still nothing.
She sighed and got dressed. She had an interview, even though she knew what would happen. She’d walk in, the boss would get a good look at her face, and he’d say no. Lauren had tried putting on makeup before, but she had an allergic reaction to a few brands, and others just didn’t cover it all up. So, here she was, scars and all.
“Let’s get this over with,” Lauren muttered to herself as she left her house with keys in hand. On the seat sat her resume, even though there was no point in taking it with her. Lauren glanced at it and felt like crying.
Lauren backed out of her driveway and followed the GPS to where she was going to have her interview. Lauren glanced around as the clean streets she was used to now was dirty and the area looked creepy. She turned on a side road that looked more like an alleyway and parked in front of a building that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. Swallowing hard, Lauren climbed out of her car and walked to the front glass door. The glass was still in the door, but the spider webs from the cracked glass made it hard for Lauren to peek inside.
She pushed the door opened to find it empty. “Great,” she said. “It was all fake.” Lauren turned to exit the building, but a voice caught her attention.
“It’s not fake, Lauren.”
She turned to find five women standing behind her. They were striking women, dressed well, their hair flowing down their backs, and a twinkle in each of their eyes.
“Excuse me,” Lauren looked at the women who just stared at her, smiling.
One woman with the deepest red hair and the greenest of eyes walked forward and held out her hand. “I’m Ms. Janet Coral. I am the one who set up the interview.”
Lauren shook her hand, lost for words. She stared at Janet’s flawless face. Janet laughed and pulled the awed girl closer. “Follow us, Lauren.”
Lauren couldn’t do anything but follow the five women through a broken door and into the back. The room was small, clean, and had rows of shelves with bottles and other intriguing items on them. The women walked behind a table with an open book, a cauldron looking pot, and other items scattered over the wooden top. Lauren stood in front of the table and glanced around the eerie room. The door closed behind her and the sound made her jump. The women laughed and waited for Lauren to calm down before they proceeded.
“We wanted to see if you were a good fit for us, Lauren.”
“We are looking for a sixth member of our coven.”
“We’ll teach you all the magical spells your little heart desires.”
“Even one that will make those scars go away.”
Lauren touched her face. How could that be? They were just normal women, weren’t they? Lauren stepped back from them. “What’s the catch?”
The women laughed and Janet cocked her head to the side. “Only catch is that you have to be a part of our coven for the rest of the life.”
Lauren smiled. “I can do that.”
“And you have to do what we say. No matter what,” Janet said as she narrowed her eyes at Lauren. “You also can’t tell anyone about us or about what you’re doing when we sent you out to run errands for us.”
Lauren didn’t care. She would do anything in order to learn the spell to cover up her scars. Spells? Did she even believe in any of that? Well, she would now if it meant she could hide the scars, get a job, get a guy, and move on with her life. She stepped closer and grabbed a feathered pen from the table. “Where do I sign?”
The women laughed again and Janet provided a piece of paper. “You sign this.” She snatched it away when Lauren tried to sign it. “With your blood.”
One of the other girls, with thick wavy black hair and almost black eyes, grabbed Lauren’s hand, took the pen from her, and stabbed Lauren’s finger with the tip. Lauren yelped and watched as the pen drew out her blood. Once it had enough for a signature, the woman let Lauren go and handed the pen back to the startled woman. She took the pen back and with a shaking hand, she signed the paper without reading the fine print. Janet and the others screamed in laughter while Lauren looked at them as if they were crazy.
“Now…” Janet leaned forward, blew in Lauren’s face, and mumbled something in Latin. When she was done, she held up a mirror and showed Lauren her face. Lauren flinched, ready to see her scarred face, but the scars were no longer there.
Lauren grabbed the mirror and laughed as she ran her fingers over her smooth, glowing face. She looked at Janet and squealed in delight. “Oh, thank you, thank you.” She put the mirror down and danced around the room.
“Lauren, it’s time for you to do a task for us,” a blue-haired woman said, her baby blue eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Oh, anything, anything at all.” Lauren stopped dancing and rushed back to the table. “What do you want me to do?”
Another red haired woman handed her a picture. “Find him and bring him to us.”
Lauren looked down at the handsome man, who stared into her eyes from the photo. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She nodded and waved goodbye to her new friends. As she rushed out of the building, there was a strange popping sound. When she turned, the building behind her was gone. It was as if it hadn’t existed at all. Lauren shrugged and got in her car, staring at the picture. Why did he look so familiar? She sat the picture down on the passenger seat and drove off. She wanted to go shopping and find a new outfit for her new face.
Lauren parked in front of her favorite mall and hurried inside. She knew she should keep her money for her bills, but after she showed off her face to a few places, she’d get that money back in no time. Lauren went to the spa first and got a new haircut, so her mousy brown hair looked better now that her face had no scars.
Lauren enjoyed the lady’s fingers as they messaged her head with shampoo. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten her hair done. When she was done with her hair, she headed for a shop that sold expensive dresses. Lauren eyed a few in her favorite color, purple, but a gorgeous summer dress caught her eye. It was white and covered in sunflowers, in bright oranges and yellows. She took it off the rack and sighed. She had to have it.
“Would you care to try it on?”
Lauren turned and came face to face with the man in the photo. His nametag read Dallin. Lauren looked into his deep hazel eyes and gasped. That was why he looked so familiar. She had been crushing on him for a few years now, but had never had the nerve to talk to him. She wondered why her new friends wanted him and how she could convince him to go with her.
“Hi, yes hi….” She held out the dress, unable to think of what else to say.
Dallin laughed and took the dress, leading her to the dressing room. As she tried it on, the mirror in front of her swirled, then shifted, and she saw Janet. “Janet, I found him. I just don’t know how I can get him to you.” A thought crossed her mind. “Why do you want Dallin, anyway?”
“We need his heart for a certain spell we are trying to cast. He has a good heart. It’s strong, full of love and compassion. Exactly what we need.” Janet smirked as she crossed her arms over her blue blouse, her black and silver nails sparkling in the mirror.
Lauren gasped. “You’re going to kill him?”
Janet didn’t answer, just laughed.
Lauren shook her head. “No, never! I won’t let you do that. I love him.”
“Do you really think he would love you with the scars?” Janet snapped her fingers and Lauren saw the scars on her face in the mirror beside the woman. She looked away, horrified. “No, he wouldn’t. So bring him to us like a good little girl.”
Lauren screamed at the mirror and slammed her fists in it. She watched Janet fall in the shattered glass. Janet laughed as Lauren screamed no repeatedly. “You said you’d do anything for us.”
“No, I won’t let you kill him,” Lauren screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Are you okay in there?” Dallin asked and knocked on the door.
Lauren threw the door open, and he screamed when he saw her face. He backed away from, horrified. Lauren looked at him strangely, then looked down at the mirror. She covered her face and wailed, falling to her knees. They had reversed her spell, and the scars were back, but more hideous than before.