Shattered Reflections

Chapter 5: The Darkening Mirror

Caleb gave her a puzzled look as he stepped further into the room. His brow furrowed in concern as Elise's hand trembled against the doorframe. She wasn't making any sense. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn't know how to help.

"What do you mean, stay away from the mirror?" he asked, his voice gentle but confused. "There's nothing wrong with it."

Elise swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously to the reflective surface on the opposite wall. She couldn't explain it—didn't even know how to begin. But she could feel the cold energy radiating from it, like a pulse beneath the glass, calling to her, threatening to drag her into the abyss. It wasn't just a mirror anymore. It was something alive, something malevolent.

"I... I've been seeing things," she admitted, her voice shaky. "I see... I see you in the mirror, but it's not you. It's like you're—" She hesitated, trying to find the right words. "It's like you're different. And I heard your voice coming from it."

Caleb's eyes widened, and for a moment, Elise thought she saw genuine fear flicker in them. "What do you mean, different? Like... how?"

Her throat tightened, and she found herself backing away from him, her eyes locked on the mirror once again. The reflection of her room stared back at her, unchanged, but something about it felt wrong. She could almost feel the mirror breathing, its surface rippling like the surface of a pond disturbed by an unseen force.

"Like..." she whispered, almost afraid to say it aloud. "Like you weren't really you. Like you were... something else. Something dark."

Caleb's gaze softened, and he stepped closer, placing a hand on her arm in an attempt to comfort her. "Elise, I don't know what's going on, but I don't want you to be afraid. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out together."

His touch felt warm against her skin, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Caleb's presence was comforting, yes, but it also felt like he was slipping away from her, as if the very space between them was growing larger. She wasn't sure whether it was her mind playing tricks on her or something more sinister at work.

"Maybe you're just exhausted," Caleb suggested gently. "I know you've been through a lot lately. We've all been under a lot of stress. It's okay to be scared, but we need to take things one step at a time."

Elise nodded, trying to steady her breathing, but she couldn't help the dread that twisted in her stomach. She wanted to believe him, to trust that everything would be okay. But the voice in her head, the one that had been haunting her for days, kept telling her otherwise.

"You don't understand," she muttered. "This isn't just stress. I know what I saw. I know what I heard."

Caleb's face softened even further, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll figure this out. Together."

The words were comforting, but they did little to quell the growing unease in Elise's chest. She glanced back at the mirror, and this time, she saw something that made her blood run cold.

A figure.

Not Caleb. Not anyone she recognized. But a shadowed figure, barely visible, standing behind her in the mirror. It was almost as if it was waiting for her to notice it, as if it had been standing there, watching her all along. The figure's shape was blurry, distorted, but it was unmistakably there.

"Elise?" Caleb's voice broke through her panic, and she quickly turned back to him. But when she looked at him, the fear in her eyes must have been evident because his expression shifted into one of concern.

"What's wrong? What did you see?"

Elise's breath came in sharp gasps as she turned back to the mirror. The figure was gone. In its place was only her own reflection, her wide eyes staring back at her, full of terror. But she could still feel it—its presence, lingering just beyond the surface of the glass. Her pulse raced, her hands trembling as she reached toward the mirror.

"I—I saw something," she whispered, her voice quivering with fear. "It was standing right behind me."

Caleb looked over her shoulder toward the mirror, his face scrunching in confusion. "There's nothing there, Elise. Are you sure you're feeling okay? Maybe you should lie down. I'll stay with you, I promise."

Elise didn't answer him. She couldn't. Her eyes were locked on the glass, watching it as though it might shift again at any moment. Her body felt frozen, the weight of the unseen figure pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Please," she begged, her voice breaking. "Don't leave me. I don't know what's happening, Caleb. I'm so scared."

Caleb's expression softened. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this, I promise."

But even as he spoke, Elise felt the coldness return, creeping up her spine like a creeping fog. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. The mirror wasn't just showing her reflections—it was trapping them. Trapping something in the glass.

Suddenly, she gasped as the surface of the mirror rippled again, the air thickening with a tension she couldn't explain. Her heart raced, and she felt as though the ground beneath her was slipping away.

"Elise, look out!" Caleb shouted, his hand reaching for her, but it was too late.

With a sudden, violent shudder, the mirror cracked. A sharp sound echoed through the room, and Elise felt something—something dark, something cold—reach out from the shattered glass.