Reversal (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 21: Through the Looking Glass

XXI.

Cold blooded murderer or misunderstood messiah, I knew that whoever this girl was, she would always have a place within me; that was something that would never change.

But it was time to get some answers, and for me, that change was inevitable.

Lucid dreaming had never been my strong suit, not that it was really common in anyone. The moment my body lifted off the ground however, I knew that this was yet another time when I was going to need to muster my power of concentration, as limited as it was. Jolted into focus by the sound of my heel on the marble floor, I looked up to take in my dark surroundings. It was familiar; not enough to the point where I could start navigating around, but I took comfort in the fact that I wasn't on another planet.

A slow, terrifying creaking sound made my skin crawl from the base of my spine to the middle of my neck. I turned around and saw that there was a large wooden door a few feet away, open to a room that was emitting just a hint of light. With a sigh, I did what any good explorer would do, and began to walk towards it, letting my subconscious show me what it needed to.

"Hello?" I asked, noting that my voice echoed off the walls. "Is someone there?"

I was met with silence, and took it as a queue to continue by pushing the door open and stepping inside. It was a slightly smaller room, the walls and windows all visible through the darkness. Eyes drifting to the middle of the room, I stopped cold.

It was the second floor of Dinah's art gallery, reduced down to only highlight my most sickening fear. Lauren's figure was the one prominent, standing in the centre of the room with the dark, bleeding mass at her feet. I called her name a few times, my displeased voice echoing harsh off the walls. But I received no response. Drawing nearer, time started to slow down, from the speed of my movements to the weight of the air around me. Once the scene properly shuddered into view, I screeched to a halt next to the girl and looked down.

The body was of a man, middle aged with a medium build. He was dressed in an outfit that resembled a SWAT uniform, equipped with a large dark vest, kneepads, and black piece of cloth that covered his mouth. Eyes closed, the mans features were peaceful, and if it wasn't for the dark pool that was slowly spreading under his body I would have thought he was asleep.

What confused me the most was that there was a gun in his hand lying limp against his open palm. Matched with the bullet wound that was clearly embedded in his torso, the elements didn't quite add up. I didn't get much time to think it through, as moments later my body lifted off the ground and went flying backwards. My spine and the back of my head slammed hard into the opposite wall, and I slid down to the ground just in time to see Lauren turn around slowly and look behind her.

Calling out her name in question, something about the girl's appearance struck me as wrong. It wasn't until I got a proper look that I realized why. Her eyes, the one thing that my peanut sized brain associated with Lauren the most were completely different. Rather than the comforting green that I become so used to, the girl's irises were dark. It looked wrong, almost eerie; so much so that I was on my feet again and heading towards her, desperate to find out what was going on. Two paces, and I was cut off by the movement of a shadow cross my line of sight. It was followed by another, then another.

I watched them blur into focus, realizing that they too were men dressed identical to the first. There were three in total, two with good sized handguns, and one with a large spiky ball that sat on the end of a stick. It looked like an old fashioned mace that had been repurposed for a costume store more than it did a weapon. My blood ran cold as the guns aimed at Lauren, and fired.