The Dead: Silent

The Old House

I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. The stone was still clutched in my hand, and I couldn't help but wonder what it meant. I tried to focus on my daily routine, but my mind kept wandering back to the strange occurrences and the mysterious woman.

As I walked back to the lake, I found myself taking a detour through the woods. I had no idea where I was going, but my feet seemed to be leading me somewhere.

After a while, I stumbled upon an old, abandoned house. The windows were boarded up, and the door was hanging off its hinges. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I approached the entrance.

But something about the house seemed familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but it was as if I had been there before.

I pushed open the creaky door and stepped inside. The air was musty and stale, and cobwebs clung to the walls. But as I made my way deeper into the house, I started to notice something strange.

The walls were covered in old photographs. Pictures of people I didn't recognize, but somehow seemed familiar. And then I saw him - a man with piercing blue eyes and a kind face.

He was standing in front of a lake, surrounded by trees that looked eerily similar to those near my own home. And then it hit me - this was his house.

The same house where he used to live before he disappeared.

I felt a wave of frustration wash over me. Why had I never known about this? Why had no one ever told me about his past?

As I turned to leave, I heard a faint whisper in my ear. "You're getting close."

I spun around, but there was no one there. The whisper seemed to come from all around me, echoing off the walls.

As I stood there, trying to process the revelations I had just uncovered, I felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over me. My head began to throb, and I stumbled backwards, trying to find my balance.

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at myself. But it wasn't just any reflection - it was a perfect duplicate of myself, down to the smallest detail. I was standing in front of me, smiling and staring back with an unnerving intensity.

I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that this was no ordinary mirror. It was as if I was seeing a future version of myself, or perhaps a parallel universe version.

The duplicate of me began to speak, its voice identical to mine. "You're getting close," it said. "But you're not ready."

I felt a surge of frustration and confusion. What did it mean? What was I getting close to?

The duplicate began to move closer, its eyes never leaving mine. I tried to step back, but my feet felt rooted to the spot.

"You don't understand," it said. "You don't understand what's happening."

As it spoke, the room began to blur and distort around me. I felt myself being pulled towards the mirror, towards the reflection that was somehow becoming more real than my own reality.

And then, everything went black.

When I came to, I was lying on the floor of the old house, my head throbbing in agony. The room was quiet and still, except for the sound of my own ragged breathing.

I stumbled to my feet, determined to get out of that house and back to the lake. But as I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of myself in the broken mirror on the wall.

And for a moment, our eyes met.