Duality Doesn't Exist [Set It Off] [[DISCONTINUED]]

heckin heck

--------------
Right Side Up

Rayne
--------------

Zach made a stop at a Gas Station. Not everyone woke up, seeing as it was one in the morning, but Cody sat up.

"Why are we stopping?" I heard him mumble as I opened the trunk door, making a bolt inside and immediately going to the restroom.

'please be okay please be okay please don't be dead.'

The glaring light of the lights nearly blinded me once I stepped in, I could barely see when I was trying to get my bearings.

It was a one-person bathroom, thank God. A small mirror sat above a dingy little sink, and the toilet looked spotless. 'At least they clean that.'

I leaned on the sink, looking into the mirror with teary eyes. "C'mon," I whispered. "Where are you?" I tapped my head slightly. "You in there?"

No answer.

I bit my tongue, grabbing at my hair restlessly. "Come on, you said you would hold out."

"I said try," a familiar voice- my voice- coughed. The mirror flickered to a dark scene, I could barely make out anything. "Fuck me, this is bad."

There they were. My mirror. They were extremely hurt, bleeding out most likely. Their right cheek was badly cut and had something sticking out of it. Their glasses were gone and their shirt torn to hell.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "Wait, how are you here? What mirror are you using?"

"A little thing I found," they replied. They backed up, appearing to be crouching, and speaking in a hushed tone. "Listen, I can't let this happen again, and I still need to get y'all back here."

"You can come with us," I tried to reason, but they stopped me.

"I'm not sharing living space with you. I need to bring y'all back here before you kill yourselves."

"You mean before you kill yourself," I shot back. "Jeez, Zach was right. You're just trying to stall us." I knew this was a bad idea. I stepped away from the sink and to the door.

"No, no!" they hissed, coughing and touching the mirror. It almost looked like we were skyping. "No, listen! All this running around is doing nothing! When you killed Pistol, you really shook everything here. You shouldn't have killed Pistol, you fucking idiot." they dropped their head, clearly unable to keep it up. "Thanks, now everyone is pissed, screaming and breaking their mirrors. We're all just- we're all just gonna die here if you don't come back."

"Can't you just do what Mirror Maxx did and just get out?" I asked, keeping my voice low to keep the echo quiet. "And then you can enjoy all our world has to offer without hurting us."

"You really think we'll fit in there?!" Mirror Me demanded, snapping their head up, the glaring lights flickering above. "Our eyes fucking glow, and we're beaten up, bloody and bruised. People are gonna ask questions, and that's the last thing we want." their shoulders shook as they dropped their head again. "Look, just tell the guys to come back-"

"No, you'll kill us!" I interrupted.

"Oh, you're already gonna get mauled," they replied, shifting their position to be more comfortable. "And have glass crushed on your face- Dan is gonna do that, by the way."

"Shut up," I whispered, stepping away from the mirror. "I shouldn't have checked on you, fuck you."

"Gimme a time and place," they snapped back. "But remember that what happens to me happens to you, so I'd tread carefully."

"Fine," I snapped. "I dare you to try and hurt those guys. You'll have to get through me first."

"We're the same person, Rayne." they stared at me, taking their hand away from the mirror. "And I'm going to find you, even if it's the last thing I do."

"You'd be better off dying," I said as a final goodbye, not regretting anything I said. "Get eaten by dogs, choke on your own blood, see if I give a shit."

"But- that would happen to you too."

"Did I stutter?" I asked, walking back to the sink and staring them in those glowing eyes. "All I know is that you're a danger to all of us, and if I have to die so you'll leave them alone, so be it. I'm willing to do that."

"No you're not," Mirror Me laughed. "You're scared of dying. I know what you're thinking, I know how you feel. You're scared to die."

"And you're scared of being wrong." that was true, I had an irrational fear of being wrong about everything, so so did they. "I'm not scared of dying anymore. Not if it gets rid of you."

"You can't just say that!" they growled. "You're gonna kill yourself just so some guys you barely know stays alive?"

"Huh." I turned away, hand on the doorknob. "It's like you can read my mind."

I opened and quickly shut the door, surprised to see Zach standing outside the door, along with Cody, who looked way more angry than Zach.

"What the fuck was that?" Cody demanded, throwing his hands in the air. "The very first rule we ever made here was that you don't talk to the mirrors, what were you thinking?!"

"I dunno," I answered truthfully and quietly. "I'm stupid, I thought they were being real."

"What did they want, anyway?" Zach asked, being the barrier between me and Cody as we all walked back to the van.

"They want us to go back home, they said that- that said that they'll die if they- if we don't."

"That's such bullshit," Cody hissed. "Why'd you even waste your time?"

"I dunno." I kept my glare aimed at the floor as I climbed back into the trunk, immediately curling up into a ball. Everyone else was awake and confused, but no matter how many times Benji tapped me on the shoulder, I didn't answer. I didn't even answer to Mirror Maxx when he asked if I was okay.

'Why did I even bother with you?' I asked, hoping my mirror would hear me. 'Why do I even bother trying to do anything? It's not like I ever help. I'm just going to stop trying to help, that'll be the most beneficial.'

'All I can do is stay out of the way. That's all I'll ever be able to do.'