They almost made it.
Noah and Jamie turned the final corner, the broadcast room just ahead—when the hallway darkened.
One by one, they emerged.
They almost made it.
Noah and Jamie turned the final corner, the broadcast room just ahead—when the hallway darkened.
One by one, they emerged.
Silver-eyed students. Teachers. Janitors. Some walked stiffly, while others moved with eerie grace. All of them blocked their path.
Jamie froze, the mirror trembling in his hands. "What the hell…"
His eyes scanned the crowd and stopped.
A girl from his science class. She was soft-spoken and always borrowed his notes.
He had a crush on her once.
Now her eyes gleamed with liquid silver, and her mouth stretched unnaturally wide as she whispered,
> "Hello, Jamie."
"Damn it," he muttered. "Even the cute ones."
They were surrounded.
"Stay calm," Noah whispered. "We can talk—maybe."
He stepped forward slightly, raising his voice. "What do you want? Who are you?"
The crowd spoke in perfect unison, their voices stacked unnaturally over each other:
> "We are reflections. We see. We learn. We replace."
Noah gritted his teeth. "Replace who?"
> "You."
A chill raced up his spine.
> "We prepare for his coming."
Noah furrowed his brow. "Whose coming?"
The answer came in a single syllable, cut off before it was spoken:
> "G—"
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing tone echoed through the halls.
The mirror in Noah's hands shuddered, vibrating as if in pain.
The reflections screamed, their silver sheen flaring as their disguises dropped. Hollowed features. Elongated limbs. Raw, faceless forms glitched in and out.
"Noah!" Jamie shouted.
A silver hand burst from the mirror's surface, grabbing him.
Noah shoved Jamie aside just as the hand dragged him in.
---
In the broadcast room, chaos erupted.
The sound was working.
Speakers cracked, windows splintered, and lights exploded in showers of sparks.
And then—
Bang!
The door slammed violently.
Hairline cracks spread across the metal.
"Stop it, Quinn," a voice purred from the other side. "It hurts."
Quinn turned pale. "Paige?"
A twisted version of her smiled through the glass. Her once-kind eyes were now chrome pits.
"Please," she whispered, hand splayed against the door. "It's tearing us apart."
From behind her, Quinn's brother appeared, silver tearing through his skin.
> "Stop that bitch!" he snarled, his voice layered and broken.
Ezra slammed her back into the door, holding it shut. "Don't listen!"
"They're trying to confuse you—increase it!"
Quinn hesitated—
Then turned the dial all the way up.
A shockwave of pure sonic energy erupted.
Every glass in the building shattered.
---
Noah plunged through shards of silver.
Each shard was a mirror, suspended in an infinite space. Around him were people—frozen, suspended, screaming silently. His eyes widened—
Paige.
Leah.
Others—faces he recognized from school, people thought to be missing.
They were all trapped.
Noah spun, trying to reach them, but then he saw it.
Himself.
Or rather, his reflection. It stepped forward, perfectly matching his posture, mimicking his breath, tilting its head just like he did.
But as it raised its hand, its face cracked.
And then the space around him began to shatter.
The high-pitched frequency hit this place like a bomb, rupturing the false mirrors and breaking apart the suspended prison.
A burst of silver light shot through the void.
Noah shielded his eyes—for just a moment. But in that moment, he saw one mirror flicker strangely.
A teenager, sitting at a desk, writing in a journal. The same one from the drawings. The same clothes from the sketches.
And then—
Light.
---
Back in the hallway, Jamie watched as the mirror erupted.
A silver column of light tore through the air like a silent scream, expanding outward and consuming the corridor. The silver reflections convulsed, twisted—and melted into mercury.
Then silence.
As quickly as it came, the light vanished, dissipating into thin air.
Silver-eyed students. Teachers. Janitors. Some walked stiffly, while others moved with eerie grace. All of them blocked their path.
Jamie froze, the mirror trembling in his hands. "What the hell…"
His eyes scanned the crowd and stopped.
A girl from his science class. She was soft-spoken and always borrowed his notes.
He had a crush on her once.
Now her eyes gleamed with liquid silver, and her mouth stretched unnaturally wide as she whispered,
> "Hello, Jamie."
"Damn it," he muttered. "Even the cute ones."
They were surrounded.
"Stay calm," Noah whispered. "We can talk—maybe."
He stepped forward slightly, raising his voice. "What do you want? Who are you?"
The crowd spoke in perfect unison, their voices stacked unnaturally over each other:
> "We are reflections. We see. We learn. We replace."
Noah gritted his teeth. "Replace who?"
> "You."
A chill raced up his spine.
> "We prepare for his coming."
Noah furrowed his brow. "Whose coming?"
The answer came in a single syllable, cut off before it was spoken:
> "G—"
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing tone echoed through the halls.
The mirror in Noah's hands shuddered, vibrating as if in pain.
The reflections screamed, their silver sheen flaring as their disguises dropped. Hollowed features. Elongated limbs. Raw, faceless forms glitched in and out.
"Noah!" Jamie shouted.
A silver hand burst from the mirror's surface, grabbing him.
Noah shoved Jamie aside just as the hand dragged him in.
---
In the broadcast room, chaos erupted.
The sound was working.
Speakers cracked, windows splintered, and lights exploded in showers of sparks.
And then—
Bang!
The door slammed violently.
Hairline cracks spread across the metal.
"Stop it, Quinn," a voice purred from the other side. "It hurts."
Quinn turned pale. "Paige?"
A twisted version of her smiled through the glass. Her once-kind eyes were now chrome pits.
"Please," she whispered, hand splayed against the door. "It's tearing us apart."
From behind her, Quinn's brother appeared, silver tearing through his skin.
> "Stop that bitch!" he snarled, his voice layered and broken.
Ezra slammed her back into the door, holding it shut. "Don't listen!"
"They're trying to confuse you—increase it!"
Quinn hesitated—
Then turned the dial all the way up.
A shockwave of pure sonic energy erupted.
Every glass in the building shattered.
---
Noah plunged through shards of silver.
Each shard was a mirror, suspended in an infinite space. Around him were people—frozen, suspended, screaming silently. His eyes widened—
Paige.
Leah.
Others—faces he recognized from school, people thought to be missing.
They were all trapped.
Noah spun, trying to reach them, but then he saw it.
Himself.
Or rather, his reflection. It stepped forward, perfectly matching his posture, mimicking his breath, tilting its head just like he did.
But as it raised its hand, its face cracked.
And then the space around him began to shatter.
The high-pitched frequency hit this place like a bomb, rupturing the false mirrors and breaking apart the suspended prison.
A burst of silver light shot through the void.
Noah shielded his eyes—for just a moment. But in that moment, he saw one mirror flicker strangely.
A teenager, sitting at a desk, writing in a journal. The same one from the drawings. The same clothes from the sketches.
And then—
Light.
---
Back in the hallway, Jamie watched as the mirror erupted.
A silver column of light tore through the air like a silent scream, expanding outward and consuming the corridor. The silver reflections convulsed, twisted—and melted into mercury.
Then silence.
As quickly as it came, the light vanished, dissipating into thin air.