OTHER HALF

"Mirabella, go get the present!" asked Mira to Mirabella as soon as they walked into their home. Mirabella responded with a bark and sprinted to the top of the stairs. She grabbed the gift for Bella, which was placed on top of Mira's bed.

"Better," Mira uttered as she smiled in front of the mirror after fixing the red ribbon tied on top of her hair. She applied another coat of lipstick, retouched her makeup with some powder she found in one of the drawers, and added a touch of color to her face with the blush she found right next to the powder.

Mirabella arrived with the present dangling between its fangs and a beaming smile on her face. "Let's go?" Mira stated as she finished straightening her dress.

Upon seeing the time on the clock, Mira let out a sudden gasp. She placed her palms over her lips without ruining her newly applied coat of lipstick as her jaw dropped before bolting out the door. "Oh, the keys!" Mira hurried back to the bureau to collect the keys, then dashed out onto the street to avoid missing anything important in Bella's mini birthday gathering.

[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬

"S—Spa-re… M—Mi-ra…" While struggling for air, Anastasia managed to utter her final words between choking and sobs.

A cacophony of wicked laughter resounded around the room when Bella regained consciousness.

Bella couldn't believe what she was seeing and shook her head. "No... no, no, no..." Her widening eyes welled up with tears, and she burst into sobs as she cried out.

The moment Bella observed that blood had smeared her nails, her body trembled even more and came to a complete halt before she could even grasp Anastasia in her arms. It made her shudder to see Mira's mother, Anastasia, who was on the verge of death, lying down on the freezing floor close to her mother's lifeless body, Macy.

Bella had reached the point where she could no longer bear what was going on and made the decision to shut herself off from the circumstances she was in at the time. Her other half took advantage of the situation and succeeded in corrupting her psyche and gaining complete control over her body and mind.

With the assistance of Bella's physical body and mind, the other half of Bella roamed around the house and went into Bella's room to clean herself. She was humming to herself as she washed the blood off her hands and feet. She then wiped the blood that had splashed on her cheeks with the use of a dampened cloth.

Bella stripped off her clothes, leaving them on the floor before changing into the red dress she had discovered hanging on the wall. With a long slit on the right side, the dress emphasizes her feminine proportions and complements the curves of her body.

At this point, it was impossible for Bella to muster the strength to fight back with her other half as she already felt hopeless and miserable.

With Bella being under the influence of her other half, her ruby red eyes brightly shone when she began to recite the words--

"I am Bella! Ruler of the realm of the dead, reigning from the ruins of the undead. I command you to rise to your feet and follow my comma--"

Bella was cut off when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Who dares?!" gritted Bella, her fury visible in her eyes.

"Mom?" called Mira as she rang the doorbell one more time before knocking on the door. "Aunt Macy?"

When Bella regained consciousness upon hearing Mira's voice, the other half of Bella became agitated as she had lost total control over Bella's mind. The crimson glow in her ruby red eyes gradually faded away, and she became utterly still.

"Mira?" uttered Bella. A smile instantly formed on her lips as soon as she imagined Mira being on her side.

Bella moved her feet forward with glee and excitement until her other half reminded her of what she had done. The smile that had formed on her lips was gradually fading away. Her brows creased when her other half attempted to jog her memory of everything that had happened. Bella began to feel anxious and fearful.

"Oh, no. How could you face Mira?" Bella's other half mocked.

Bella's mind is all tangled and lost. Her body quivered as she had flashbacks of how she had slain both of their mothers. She went running back to her mother's chamber to check whether it was all just a nightmare.

A cacophony of vicious laughter erupted in her head, filling her with dread and making her feel nauseous as she tried harder to shut her ears and refused to listen.

"Run!" screamed a voice within her head. "Runaway."

When Mirabella began barking incessantly for an extended amount of time, Mira had a dreadful feeling in her stomach. The doorknob was turned by her as a last resort when she couldn't get anyone to open the door. The door had been left unlocked and swung open.

"Mom?!" called Mira as she crept into the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the trail of blood on the floor.

Mirabella quickly approached the trail of blood and slid the small paper bag that had been dangling between her teeth to the floor, and got a whiff of the blood.

Mira's brows knit together in concentration as she traced the bloody footsteps which would lead her to the location where Bella and the two dead bodies lay.

"Aunt Anastasia?" called Mira as she stealthily looked for something she could use to defend herself in case the housebreaker was still on the premises. She silently groped for the piece of metal and climbed up the stairs in silence. "Bella?" Her hands tightly clenched the piece of metal in her palms with both fists.

Mirabella let out a soft whine. Her expression was disturbed as she picked up the small gift and hung it in between her teeth. Mirabella discreetly followed Mira around the house.

After reaching the top of the stairs and noticing a blood trail heading to Bella's room, Mira took off running, utterly oblivious to the fact that the homicide suspect was still inside the room.

When Mira arrived inside Bella's chamber, she found no one in the room. She saw Bella's used garments left on the floor and discovered the end of the blood trail inside the bathroom. Mirabella growled, attempting to draw Mira's attention and telling her that it was on the other side of the room—Macy's room.

Bella, who was feeling some uneasiness, decided to listen to what the voice had been telling her to do for a while. She leaped out of the window before Mira could get into the room and find her standing there. She landed on the grass and rolled over, completely ignoring the discomfort she was feeling. Bella quickly rose to her feet and bolted as fast as she could away from the scene.

When Mira reached Macy's room, she dropped the item she was holding in her hand. The piece of metal made a loud clang as it hit the ground.

"M—MOM?!" exclaimed Mira as soon as she found her mother, who was lying down on the cold bloodied floor. Throughout Macy's chamber, blood had spilled all over the floor.

Mirabella dropped the present she was clutching in between her jaws and started barking at Bella from the window. When Bella refused to glance back and continued running away, Mirabella whined in both frustration and concern.

Bella could clearly hear Mirabella and Mira's cries.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" cried Bella as she bolted away from the scene in her bare feet.