Semblance Grimace Novels & Stories

But as they turned, the illusion shattered. It wasn’t a man. It was a woman. Homeless, maybe, or just choosing to wear the filth of the streets like armour. Her skin was ashen, lips cracked, but her eyes… they were wrong. Hollow and too wide. Too aware. Then she grinned at me—a crooked, terrible smile. Her teeth were blackened, some missing entirely, jagged edges catching the sunlight like broken shards of bone. It was the kind of smile that should never exist on a human face.

An evil smirk, filled with contempt for anyone else, was chiseled on her face. The only break in the pattern was the very last one. It was the same pose, but both the twins’ heads were up and gleeful smiles painted their faces. The woman was there. There was something wrong, though. Something not properly conveyed in a still shot. The smirk was gone. Her face drooped even more. An oddness drifted about the eyes. They looked almost near-dead.

Absolute, undeniable shock. His eyes widen, his jaw slackens almost imperceptibly. He looks at me, then back at the documents, his gaze darting between the two. His earlier composure crumbles, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated astonishment. For a split second, I glimpse a raw vulnerability in his eyes, a flicker of something similar to fear, quickly masked. Then, the shock dissipates, replaced by a slow, spreading grin. It starts small, a twitch at the corner of his mouth, then stretches wider, revealing perfectly aligned teeth. It’s a terrifying grin, devoid of warmth, full of triumph, and something sinister.

They had stick-thin arms, oddly bowed spines, and their knees bent the wrong way. One turned, and Grace caught a glimpse of its face. The bones were prominent and sharply defined, giving it a gaunt look. Its chin was at least four inches long and unnaturally pointed, its eyes were massive, ovoid things that took up half its damn face, and its mouth and nose were just slits. A second pivot was enough for her to see its face as well. It looked exactly the same as the first. That was why they reminded her of ants. They were all identical and worked with silent, single-minded focus.

It looked really creepy. He raised a human hand. Seeing Ms. Anastasia, he gave a terrible smile that made all his teeth visible. His lips stretched unnaturally wide, revealing a row of yellowed teeth that looked like they hadn't been brushed in years. The corners of his mouth turned up in a sinister grin, and his eyes glinted with malice. It is a smile that sends shivers down the spines of those who see it, a smile that promises nothing but trouble and pain.

“Of course, we’re here for a makeup. What else did you think of? You need a makeover too.” “What crap are you talking about! Don’t you know that I’m pregnant; are you trying to poison my baby? And what’s so good about makeup; it only makes a person look like a creature.” When Grace heard what Sherman said, she pinched her ear. “Who said so; who looks like a creature?” Grace was really good at pinching ears that Sherman squealed in pain, “It’s me; I look like a creature.”

“Hm.” I grimaced.

“Just ask Liam." At first Grace didn’t seem to understand what she meant, and Vivienne couldn’t stop herself from smirking with vindictive satisfaction as the Botox-smooth skin around Grace’s mouth went slack with understanding. The woman’s blue eyes flew wide open with indignation, her mouth hanging open in stunned and chagrined silence. Pleased and in a far better mood, Vivienne took the opportunity to spin around on the pointed toes of her heels and exit the painting room, leaving the older woman to stew in her own bitter emotions and ineffectual rage.