The Silver Mirror

The Arcade

The bell of the school echoed down the hallway. Ellie sighed and started packing up her bag to leave when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see Blaine...or was it Jae? She wasn't able to tell them apart yet.

"Hey Ellie!" he smiled. "Whatchya doin after school?"

Ellie shrugged and looked at the desk next to her. She noticed all the bits of eraser was sitting there.

"Well I figure a small and fragile girl like you would want someone to walk you home?" he said.

She looked at him with surprise and started shaking her head, raising her hands up a little bit.

"Aw no need to thank me," the twin took Ellie by the arm and started leading, practically dragging, her of the room. The other twin was waiting outside.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"She asked me to walk her home," the other lied.

The twin that was waiting outside turned to Ellie and asked, "Is that true?"

Ellie shook her head furiously and squirmed to get away. The twin smiled and said, "Well I can't let my brother escort you alone, can I?"

Both twins, each taller than her, lifted her up by her arms and started running with her dangling. Ellie tried to kick at them but each time she risked them dropping her and her face planting into the cement.

Once they were outside the school, Blaine or Jae, whichever one it was, asked her, "Where's your house? If you don't tell us-"

"--We'll just keep on running," the other finished.

Ellie whimpered and gestured in the direction of where to go with her feet. She had pulled up her legs so not to have her feet just dragging on the ground.

After turning left on main, one of the twins stopped and proclaimed, "Wait a minute, Ellie do you have a time you need to be home?"

Ellie gave a confused look in response.

"I guess that's a no," the other twin said.

"Let's go to the arcade! They don't close until ten tonight!"

Ellie made grumbling noises in protest not to go but, of course, she was ignored and whisked away by the twins. She didn't know the neighborhood well and was afraid she could get lost. On the bright side, she could slip away when they're busy playing games. She made a whole scenario in her head. She'll hit one over the head with a chair and while the other goes to attack her, she'll duck under him, kick him, and then book it for the door. Yes. That's exactly how it'll happen. It's foolproof.

They took a path that wasn't on the street, so Ellie was immediately lost. She'll have to use the GPS app she's been using to go back, saying her phone isn't dead already. If her phone's dead she'll just have to trust the twins to get her back home.

When they arrived at the arcade, the twins set Ellie down in a chair and stood to look at her.

"This is the arcade," one of them said, pulling out his phone to look at the time. "The others should be here shortly. So glad you could make it."

Others? Ellie thought. She thought it was just going to be the three of them, save a few other people from the neighborhood, and that's it. Now there's others? Ellie was worried. Maybe the other's they're referring to are nice people? What if they end up taking Ellie home in one piece? But then, on the other hand, what if they're one of those scary biker gangs Ellie read about? What if they want to tear Ellie a new ass? She'll never see her mom, dad, or Cooper ever again! I need to leave.