Try To See The Looking Glass

Hide and Seek

"WAKE UP!"

Jim's voice exploded through the cloudy fog of my sleep and brought me abruptly back to reality.

I turned left and right in confusion for I had, for a second, forgotten where I was. I saw that Alexandria was sitting in the corner, silently crying, with a fresh bruise under her eyes. When she saw I was awake, she put her index finger on top of her mouth and shook her head violently.

Jim hoisted me up by my collar and pushed me against the wall while shouting. I could smell the alcohol on his breath - disgusting just like him.

"Explain to me why this goddam mirror is saying I'm stupid?" He slurred.

For a second I had no idea of what he was talking about until I saw an object in Jim's fat hands. It was the mirror! How did Jim find the mirror? Then I remembered that I didn't pack the mirror back after my conversation with reflection Benjamin. How could I have been so stupid?

"Yeah boy, I'm talking to you!" Jim shouted.

"I don't know," I whispered with my eyes on the floor.

"What?"

"I said, I don't know," I shouted back with a newly acquired confidence. "Why don't you ask it?"

Jim's reaction could have been funny to watch if I wasn't dreading the coming punishment for speaking up. As predicted, Jim punched me. I slammed against the wall with a grunt when a kick connected with my knees. The pain was blinding and my vision threatened to black out as I slid to the floor. Another blow came from Jim and another and another. It was hard to concentrate or even think when every second a new pain exploded in my body.

Then all of a sudden, Jim fell back with a shriek; clasping his hand and whimpering as he retreated towards the door. But the door was closed. It seems the mirror had burnt Jim's hand.

I was in so much pain that I hadn't noticed that Jim stood in a circle made with a white powder until now.

It all happened in blur. One second, Alexandria was chanting. The next second, she was throwing the mirror in the middle of the circle with Jim. Now scared, Jim was trying to pray. The circle started to glow.

Alexandria ran to me and started to speak urgently in my ear.

"I'm so sorry, Benjamin. They didn't want me to tell you. The plan is happening, Benjamin. We are going somewhere safe. Just wait for it,"

The circle started to shine more brightly and Jim started screaming. Whatever was happening, it seemed painful. Jim let out one last scream when the circle exploded. A rain of the white powder was falling when I heard an unearthly sound.

I turned to see, not Jim, but a completely black creature where Jim stood. It had the body of a very large man, with its two legs and two arms but no other similarity. It's frame could hardly fit the room; it was hunched over. It had no eyes but you could sense that it was watching you. There was only one opening on its "face" and it housed rows of razor-sharp teeth. A black tongue was sticking out of its mouth, forked like a snake's.

I heard Alexandria gasp. Perplexed, I was silent.

I have never seen this creature in my life but its name was on the tip of my tongue. It seemed that Alexandria had the same idea when we both spoke at the same time.

"Demon..."