​Fragment

is this a good start ?

Chapter 1 – Fragment

Leaning on an oak dresser. Hal glared at the mirror. A stranger stared back.

Stumbling until he hit the wall. His brain skipped, and a metallic taste coated his tongue. Grounding himself before shuffling forward, he traced over his face, unable to correct his eyes, fingertips gliding past the lie. Old. Wrinkled. Gray.

The resemblance was uncanny, familiar, but aged. A clasp tightened around his bones. His heart thumped against his ribs. A hollow echo that pulsed between his ears. Clamping his eyes shut, he held his breath and counted backwards. Metal crushing screeched and a scent of rubber tires burning lingered in his lungs. As the memory fleeted to a faint whisper tickling the back of his neck.

“You shouldn’t be here, my love,”

The voice of his dead fiancé. He shot his eyes open. Suddenly, the grip clutching him loosened. The reflection was honest. Smooth skin and a gold head of hair. Young again. The lights flickered and the air crackled with radio static. His shoulders jerked to his cheeks and sweat bubbled on his forehead.

——-