Rachel stood at the kitchen sink, staring blankly at the glass in her hand, the water dripping from the faucet in a rhythmic, steady beat. The kitchen was dimly lit, the overhead light flickering ever so slightly, casting strange, twitching shadows across the room. Outside, the fog still wrapped around the town like a heavy, suffocating blanket, blocking out the moon and stars, leaving only the faint outline of trees and shapes that seemed to shift within the mist.

The day had been long. The growing darkness, the faces in the reflections, the suffocating fear pressing down on her and the others. She had barely slept. None of them had. Every noise, every flicker of light, made her heart race with the dread of what was creeping closer. The Crawler was out there, in the fog, watching. Waiting.

She put the glass down and rubbed her temples, trying to push away the headache that had been pounding at the base of her skull. Her body felt heavy, weighed down by fatigue and fear. She hadn’t left the house since the group had returned from the library. They had barricaded themselves in her small home, hoping—praying—that the darkness wouldn’t find them here.

But Rachel knew better. She had known from the beginning that there was no escape. There never had been.

The fog pressed against the windows, thick and impenetrable, and Rachel’s eyes flickered toward it, her pulse quickening. It was strange how the fog never seemed to clear, as if it were alive, breathing, crawling through the streets like a predator stalking its prey. She had the unsettling feeling that if she stared at it long enough, something would appear within it, something that was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.

Her fingers brushed against the cool surface of the window as she turned to gaze out into the darkness. For a moment, everything seemed still, unnaturally quiet. The world outside was swallowed by the fog, the trees barely visible in the murky, shifting gray.

And then she saw it.

A figure, standing just beyond the window, shrouded in the mist.

Rachel’s breath caught in her throat, her body going rigid as her heart thudded against her chest. At first, she thought it was just a trick of the light, maybe a shadow from a tree or the fog playing games with her mind. But the shape was unmistakable, and as the figure stepped closer, out of the fog, she froze.

It was her.

The reflection at the window wasn’t just a reflection. It was her, staring back from the other side of the glass. Every detail was identical—her hair, her face, her clothes. Except the eyes. The eyes were different.

They were full of hate.

Rachel’s mouth went dry as she stood, frozen in place, staring at the doppelgänger outside. The figure’s face was twisted in anger, the lips curled in a hateful sneer, eyes dark and hollow, full of malice. It was as if all the darkness that Rachel had been trying to outrun, all the fear, the guilt, the terror—it had manifested into this thing, this reflection of herself, staring back at her with nothing but contempt.

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Her doppelgänger pressed its hand against the glass, and Rachel flinched, her breath quickening as she stumbled back. The glass didn’t break, but the pressure was there, the silent threat of what was to come.

The figure outside tilted its head, the movement jerky, unnatural, like a puppet on strings. Its eyes never left hers, burning with a hatred that Rachel could feel in her very bones.

Her voice trembled as she whispered, “What… what are you?”

The doppelgänger’s mouth twitched into a sickening grin, and for a moment, Rachel thought it might speak, that it might give voice to the twisted thoughts that filled its mind. But it said nothing. It didn’t need to. The hatred in its eyes spoke volumes, a deep, seething rage that mirrored Rachel’s own fear, her own darkness.

She backed away from the window, her hands shaking, her mind racing. This isn’t real. It’s not real. It’s just another trick.

But she knew it was real. The Crawler had always used reflections, always played with shadows and mirrors. This was different, though. This wasn’t just a twisted image of herself—this was something else entirely. Something worse.

Suddenly, the lights in the kitchen flickered, and for a brief moment, the room was plunged into total darkness. Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as the light returned, and her doppelgänger was gone.

Her heart raced as she scanned the window, searching for any sign of the figure. But the fog was empty now, swirling in its endless, slow dance outside. The glass was clear, no hand pressed against it, no twisted grin staring back at her.

But Rachel couldn’t shake the feeling that it was still there. Watching. Waiting.

She stepped back, her eyes darting around the room, searching for shadows, for movement. The silence pressed in around her, thick and suffocating, until she could hardly breathe. Every instinct screamed at her to leave, to run, but she knew there was no running from this.

Behind her, she heard the faintest creak of a floorboard.

Rachel spun around, her heart hammering in her chest, but the kitchen was empty. The light flickered again, and for a split second, she thought she saw movement—a shadow darting just out of sight.

Her skin prickled with fear, and she backed toward the hallway, her breath quickening. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

The air in the room grew colder, and Rachel’s breath came in short, shallow gasps. The fog pressed harder against the windows, and the light flickered once more.

And then she saw it again.

Her doppelgänger.

Not outside the window this time.

It was standing in the hallway.

Rachel’s heart stopped, her body frozen in place as she stared at the figure standing just a few feet away from her. The same twisted face, the same burning hatred in its eyes. But now, it was inside.

Her throat tightened, her voice barely a whisper. “What do you want?”

The doppelgänger’s grin widened, the malice in its eyes burning brighter. And then, slowly, it raised a hand and pointed directly at Rachel, its lips curling into a sneer.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

Rachel’s blood turned to ice as the words echoed in her mind, the same mocking voice she had heard so many times before. The voice of the Crawler.

Her heart pounded in her chest, her legs trembling as she backed away from the doppelgänger, her mind spinning with panic. It wasn’t just a reflection. It was a part of her. A part of the darkness that had been following her since the day her parents made their deal.

The Crawler had always been in the shadows, in the reflections. But now, it was using her. Twisting her image into something that wasn’t human. Something that wanted her dead.

Rachel’s back hit the wall, her breath shallow as the doppelgänger stepped closer, its hand still raised, its eyes full of hate.

And for the first time, Rachel realized what it was.

It was Sarah.

The lights flickered one final time, and the darkness swallowed them both.