Halves

The Mirror Maze

Compared to the Mansion, the mirror maze was obnoxiously bright. Both Mark and Isabel winced and shielded their eyes, trying to adjust to it.

"Is there a point to this?" Mark growled, pausing in the entrance in front of Isabel. It was a mirror maze, like it said on the front. Endless reflections of the two spread out to their sides.

"To whomever is behind this, probably. Let's just get through here quickly."

Mark led the way, arms out in front of him, while Isabel kept a hand on his shoulder and watched behind.

"Do we know where the exit is?"

"No."

Several times Mark would catch glimpses of movement in the mirrors that didn't seem to match him or Isabel. Variations in Isabel's grip on his shoulder said something was spooking her too. Mark turned another corner and stopped.

"What?" Isabel hissed, peering over his shoulder.

"It's a camera."

Both walked toward what looked like an old-fashion camera on the ground. Mark picked it up, examining it closely.

"It's just a camera," he finally said, shrugging. Isabel grabbed it from him, then gave it back with a bemused expression.

A flicker in Mark's peripheral vision made him whip the camera up and take a picture. The flash blinded him and, from the yelp he heard, Isabel too. Blinking away the spots, Mark heard the camera buzz and watched a square of white slide from the bottom front. He grabbed it and shook it, trying to get the image to appear.

After a minute or so it did. Mark's face was hidden by the camera in every reflection, though Isabel's wasn't. She was looking at Mark oddly, probably wondering what he was doing. Behind her though, in the mirror, was a negative version of her. White hair, black/blue skin, white on black eyes, even her jeans and green shirt had become shades of black and white.

"The hell?" Mark muttered, staring at the figure. He shook the image, frowning at it. The negative girl seemed to be grinning manically.

"What?"

Isabel took the photo, stared at it, then looked warily at the mirrors around them.

"What?" Mark asked, watching her eyes flick back and forth.

"Have you ever heard of a mirror monster?"

Mark shrugged.

"An evil reflection come to life? Yeah, why?"

Isabel looked at him, turning the picture to face him. He laughed, before asking, "Do you really think there's a mirror monster in here?"

Isabel glanced behind her.

"You saw it. You took a picture of it."

Mark quit laughing. That actually made a kind of twisted sense. His logical mind said that monsters didn't exist. His reptilian hind-brain insisted yes, they did, and had teamed up with the middle part saying that there was something in the maze with them. His earlier encounter with Slenderman wasn't helping his logic's case.

"How do you know it's a mirror monster? Can you fight it?"

Isabel shook her head.

"We can't fight anything here. It will probably look likeTHAT!!!"

Mark whipped around and stared. At (what he thought was) the end of the hall, a second Isabel stood. There were several differences, however. The thing at the end of the hall had claws and fangs, for one. Where Isabel's eyes were brown and human, the other Isabel's were solid red.

"Hhhhhhiiiiiiiii," it hissed, reaching toward them.

"RUN!!!!!!" the real Isabel shrieked, grabbing Mark's arm and yanking him after her. The mirror creature gave chase, though obviously could only run as fast as Isabel. Mark sped ahead, pulling her with him and trying to avoid slamming into the mirrors.

"Thhhere iiiisss nnnooo uuussseee," it called after them, "nnnoonnneee cccaaannn essscaaape thhhe mmirrrorrr mmonnssterrr!"

"That would be true if you ran faster than you talked!"

Mark couldn't help but snigger hopelessly at Isabel's comment. They had gotten turned around at some point and had lost whatever sense of direction they had, so they were flying blind. And of course the only person he had developed a wit in time to taunt the monster currently chasing them while said monster had home field advantage.

Then Mark saw several things that gave him hope: in many mirrors around them a square shot of the outside. The exit.

Forced to weave desperately around turns and roundabouts, he and Isabel finally burst from the building, stopping before seeing the mirror monster follow them out.

"Ddiiid yyouuu rreeaalllyyyy thhhiinnkkk yyouuu coouullddd essscaaape mmmeee?" it questioned, fingers twitching.

Isabel suddenly wrenched herself out of Mark's grip and threw herself into a shadowed area by a booth, vanishing in the darkness.

"Isabel!"

"Ssseeemmsss yyouuu'vvve bbbeeennn aabbannnddoonnneddd," the creature snarled, taking a step closer to Mark.

It faltered. Mark, who had raised his hands in defense, watched in confusion as the thing's skin began flaking off.

"Wwwhhhaaatttt?"

"There can be no reflection in the dark," Isabel's voice rang out, inciting a furious scream from the disintegrating image. It then burst into a flurry of shards, which vanished when they hit they ground. Isabel reemerged, brushing dirt off her clothes. Mark ran over to her.

"How did you know that would work?" Mark asked, staring at her. Isabel grinned guiltily, now fixing nonexistent imperfections in her shirt.

"I...didn't, actually."

Mark gaped at her.

"You DIDN'T?!"

Isabel shrugged, eyes following a moving point on the ground.

"Well, if it didn't work I was going to help fight it! Of course, now that I look at you, you probably wouldn't have needed help. You look like you work out."

Mark blinked in confusion before shaking his head.

"That's not the point!"

"I improvised and it worked! It's not something I do often, so quit worrying!" Isabel suddenly snapped, stalking past him. Mark opened his mouth only to close it again.

"C'mon. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary."

Like an out-of-season snow, her anger melted, and she just sounded exhausted. Mark followed her, wondering why he felt guilty. She was at fault, but...

Panic usually freezes people. He should be glad she thought this time and didn't just stand there like she had with Slender chasing them.

That made Mark frown. She practically switched personalities between the mansion and the mirror maze. He watched her trudge forward, head bowed. He'd have to watch her more closely.