The other side of the Mirror (boyxboy)

Chapter 14.

DPOV



A loud, screeching noise awoke me. I had no idea what time it was, but judging from the pitch-black, starry sky outside, it was definitely past midnight. I felt my heart whimper from the sound, as it once again filled the air and made it seem chiller than it was.

“W-What was that?” I asked, turning my head towards Aabel, only to see that he was underneath me – I was practically sleeping with a head on his chest and my buttocks on his -..

“Why is it here?” He asked instead of answering me, and before I could reply, I felt his warm body push me aside and leave the bed to cool off. My flushed skin was now being assaulted by the cold air in the room, and I shivered slightly from the feeling. I almost wanted to cover myself with the blankets, but I realized I’d be too scared to fall asleep with that thing crying outside. God, I was such a scaredy-cat.

I sighed and quickly left the bed, getting on some slippers before I went to follow Aabel outside. He was cautiously holding a frying pan when I found him, standing in the corridor, ready to leave.

“W-where are you going?!” I whispered, trying not to wake up my mom. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew she went to bed late. I never understood what she did in her room for such a long time before going to sleep.

“Just stay here.” He ordered and left the house bare-footed, not even bothering to put some socks on. Well, it wasn’t like I had any on my feet either …

Naturally, I followed – no way I’d say in the house alone, waiting for him to return. What if he used this as an excuse to return to the mirror and leave me or something.

Although that .. would be a good thing, right? I mean, if he leaves, everything might be back to normal. Or I’ll be alone against those monsters outside.

Wasn’t he scared?

“A-Aabel, wait!” I hissed behind him, trying to run in my slippers. I could barely see his elegant silhouette in the darkness, with the frying pan in his hand. He was running towards our neighbor’s pool, which was surrounded by a wooden fence, and ..

He jumped over it.

“This is private property!” I whispered as loudly as I could, jumping over as well. God, I felt like a criminal. I hope mister Jefferson’s dog was not left to freely wander around their yard. Then again, it is their yard, and their dog, so they didn’t have anything to worry about, not to mention some guys breaking in with a frying pan and slippers.

I finally reached Bell, finding him in front of the pool with his ‘weapon’ ready to strike. I had no idea what was he going to do, but he looked extremely scared and .. curious. He was staring at his own reflection, examining in thoroughly, sticking his tongue out and blinking just to see how his face changed.

“D-do you like your reflection?” I asked, not quite sure what to do in a situation like this. It felt like I was observing a dolphin. You know, dolphins were one of the few animals that were self-aware. If you give them a mirror, they will look at each other, make faces, and try to see their bellies and tails. They were definitely smart, and I really liked them! E-except for that one bit when they rape people …

Come to think of it, Aabel did rape-kiss me. If that’s even a word.

“Oh? Yes, I suppose .. Am I handsome? Is this what you consider handsome?” He asked, turning around to look at me. A moment after, he frowned.

“I told you to stay home.”

“I-I couldn’t, I was scared …” I admitted. I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep with that bird-like screech echoing in my mind like a bad memory. I knew my mom was in the house too, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as safe with her as I did with Aabel.

The white-haired boy sighed and opened his lips to say something, when a sudden battle cry filled the air and I immediately pissed my pants realized it was the same sound that woke me up. Aabel quickly turned around and lifted his head, looking up. I mimicked his movement, unknowingly taking hold of his shirt when I saw that it was the creature with the red, pulsing light on his belly – the same thing that kidnapped my reflection. I immediately felt my heart sink in fear and suffocate as the thing saw us and locked its big, bird eyes on ours.

It found its prey.

“Devin, duck!” Aabel suddenly shouted and I whimpered, falling on my knees as the creature flew directly at me. I didn’t see what happened – my eyes were shut tightly from the fear of getting devoured in a single moment. I bet I was a conveniently-formed food for him, bite-sized. Full of vitamins, proteins and whatever our bodies were made of.

The only thing I heard next was a dull, metal sound and some loud thuds, after which the creature screeched in pain and Aabel groaned. My mind was blank as I concentrated on the noises. I could hear some grass and flowers getting stomped on, as well as some water splashing, but I didn’t open my eyes until I heard the frying pan hit the creature’s, supposedly, head and it seemed to have fallen in the pool, along with something else, possibly the weapon.

“I-Is it gone?” I asked, but when my answer took more time than I could wait, I warily stood up and opened my eyes, seeing that I was alone in my neighbor’s yard. Aabel was gone, the creature was gone, no sight of blood or anything similar …

Where have they gone?

Out of curiosity, I looked at the pool with the almost-frozen water, only to see that the thin layer of snow was ruined, and you could actually see the creature struggling to get out, screaming from the low temperatures.

That was when I saw someone else with it, as well.

“AABEL!” I screamed from the top of my lungs, seeing him fight for his life as he kept hitting the vile creature with the frying pan. Of course, the volat (at least, that’s what I thought it was called) was not dumb either, as it kept pushing the white-haired boy down in the water, trying to drown him. He was on the verge of drowning – coughing water and trying to push the monster’s wings and claws away from himself whilst he kept swallowing water. He was going to drown if I didn’t do anything, because he obviously couldn’t swim even if the monster wasn’t holding him down.

And the worst part was that I couldn’t swim either.