Quinn's fingers touched the cold surface of the mirror.
At first, it felt strange—neither solid nor air.
Then—
Her entire hand sank in.
"Ah—!" Quinn yelped, jerking back.
But it was too late.
The mirror swallowed her forearm like water. A pale, silvery ripple danced across the glass, and in the blink of an eye, it began dragging her in deeper.
"No—NO!" Quinn shrieked, struggling wildly.
"Quinn!" Noah and Jamie shouted in unison, lunging forward.
Jamie grabbed her waist; Noah held her shoulders. Their feet scrambled for balance, the slick stones below groaning under the sudden weight.
"What the hell is happening?!" Jamie cried.
Quinn sobbed, "It's pulling me—IT'S—!"
And then they saw it.
From within the mirror, a hand emerged—not theirs, not Quinn's—but one of thin, glistening silver, like mercury molded into a human shape. It coiled around her head lovingly and began pulling.
"No, no, NO!" Jamie tightened his grip, his knuckles turning white. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"
Noah's breath hitched.
The air in the room changed.
From the mirror's warped surface, a shape began pushing through. Humanoid. Feminine.
It looked like Quinn.
Her face.
Her eyes.
But her smile—
It curled too far, too perfectly. Her expression gleamed with that strange, dreamlike charm that sent ice shooting through Noah's chest. His instincts screamed.
This shouldn't exist.
"Get her OUT!" Noah shouted, digging his heels in.
Quinn's body was now halfway through. Her eyes were wide with terror, tears streaking down her face as she mouthed, Help me.
Then Jamie shouted in pain—his hand had touched the mirror for too long.
Another silvery hand emerged, latching onto his.
The same was happening to Noah.
Their reflections—distorted, unnatural, smiling wrong—were pressing their faces against the other side of the mirror. They mirrored them… but something was off.
Their hands reached out too.
"Jamie—NO!" Quinn screamed.
The mirror pulled harder. The books around them vibrated. Shelves rattled. A low hum began to build into a screech.
It was winning.
It was pulling them all in.
Until—
BANG!
A massive crack burst through the mirror like lightning. Something—someone—had hurled a rusted bookend straight at the silver Quinn.
The smile shattered.
The reflection screamed—no, wailed—as if the wind itself had cried out in pain.
And just like that—
Quinn was flung out.
Her body flew backward, colliding with Noah and Jamie. All three crashed into a bookshelf, the weight sending it tumbling with a wooden groan. Dust choked the air as the mirror returned to stillness.
The trio panted, stunned, staring at the ceiling, unable to speak.
Then—
A voice.
Ragged. Sharp. Terrified.
"What the fuck is this?!"
They turned their heads.
Standing near the edge of the steps was a teenage girl holding a broken pipe, breathing heavily.
She looked like an older, feminine version of Jamie—kind of tomboyish, stronger, and very, very real.
Jamie's eyes widened. "Big sis?!"
Quinn blinked. "Paige!?"
Footsteps echoed again from the stairway.
Another figure appeared—a familiar face.
Noah's breath caught.
"Leah?"
His sister looked down at him, confused… and scared.