Chapter 21 - The Hall of Mirrors
We followed the mysterious footprints through a service corridor until we reached a massive steel entrance labeled simply:
MIRROR WING.
The blueprint inside Daniel's notebook had been real.
Rick refused to cross the doorway.
He whined softly, pacing back and forth while staring into the darkness beyond.
The elderly woman rested one hand on his head.
"He remembers."
"What does he remember?"
She looked away.
"I wish I knew."
The automatic doors slid open.
Rows of mirrors stretched farther than the flashlight could illuminate.
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
Thousands of them.
Every reflection looked normal...
Until I noticed one detail.
Rick had no reflection.
Neither did the realtor.
Only I appeared in every mirror.
And in each reflection...
I was doing something slightly different.
One version smiled.
Another stared at the ceiling.
Another appeared to be whispering.
Another slowly turned around despite the real me standing completely still.
The realtor grabbed my arm.
"Don't look at them too long."
"Why?"
"I think they're watching us back."
The mirrors began changing.
One by one.
My reflections disappeared.
New people appeared instead.
Families.
Children.
Elderly couples.
All living inside houses that looked strangely familiar.
Every mirror showed another home.
Another hidden surveillance feed.
Then every person inside every mirror suddenly stopped moving.
At the exact same moment.
They all turned toward me.
Thousands of strangers.
Looking directly into my eyes.
One little girl lifted her finger.
She pointed behind me.
I turned instantly.
Nobody stood there.
When I faced the mirrors again...
Every reflection was gone.
Only one mirror remained illuminated.
Written across its surface in dripping black letters were six words.
May you like
YOU ARE INSIDE THEIR MIRROR NOW.
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