A bright spotlight shone into my eyes, nearly blinding me.

“Say it again.” Fold demanded, stalking around behind the halo of light.

The chair had high armrests, and I clutched at them, their rough texture providing a grounding anchor for my storm of thoughts.

“The monster…” I whispered, “The monster in the mirrors is a dog.”

A sharp click, and the lamp in my face blinked off, leaving spots all over my vision. The recording equipment set up all around me was pulled away by Fold as he began wrapping up all the stuff and shoving it back into the cupboard he’d whipped it out from.

“Great, what was all that for?” Riley asked, watching the entire production over the frame of her glasses.

“Needed to get it on tape.” Fold explained, clicking out a tape from one of the cameras, “To provide a solid testimony.”

“They won’t believe me in-person, you think a recording is going to work?” I asked. I had agreed to it when he had given the idea, but that didn’t convince me that this would have any effect.

“It’ll work if you die and this is your post-mortem testimony.” Fold told her. My heart jumped to my throat.

“Don’t say things like that, Fold.” Riley frowned at him, “She’s scared enough as it is.”

Fold nodded, looking genuinely apologetic, “I’m sorry. Maybe this is getting too intense. But you need to consider, after your stunt just now, it might just happen.”

Yes, I knew that. The target on my back had been burning a hole into my back ever since the howling had started for real.

“I still don’t understand. Why do you think there’s a dog?” Riley asked, “Because I’ve heard the entire story, and I still don’t get it. There was noise, and then there wasn’t. No hint of a dog at all.”

“The howling.” I explained, “It got loud, and at first, I thought it was an echo. Lots of reflective surfaces for sound to bounce off, very quiet area, of course a loud sound would seem deafening in there.”

“But…?”

“It wasn’t just the police dog’s howls.” I continued, “Something was screaming back through the void. And it was really mad.”

“And also invisible, if you are to be believed.” Fold noted, “Any idea how an invisible dog got stuck in there?”

I levelled a blank look at him. He clicked his tongue.

“Right, police experimentation on animals. I should have guessed that already.”

“Why would you have guessed it?” Riley asked, “It’s a fantastical idea. Out of this world, almost.”

Fold and I stared at each other in bafflement. Had we truly forgotten to tell Riley about the mirror visions? It had completely slipped my mind.

“I worked for a project involving dogs being sent to the mirror hallways.” Fold explained hurriedly, “The hypothesis I’m working with is that one of these dogs suffered an accident, which has led to the monster in the hallways.”

“Prudent.” Riley hummed, tapping her chin.

I could see what Fold was doing. Giving her an explanation so that I had an out. Removing any pressure to tell her about what I was going through. But he didn’t need to. I could deal with people knowing.

“Also, there’s another thing.” I fidgeted with my fingers, “We think some… other kind of creature – maybe the mirrors themselves, maybe a person, maybe something else entirely, I don’t know – is attempting to communicate with me through the mirrors. Showing me things from the past. From the future. Giving me warnings and guiding our investigation along.”

That made her sit up and take notice.

“Are you sure they’re friendly?” She asked, “This thing… they could be sabotaging you. Gaining your trust to throw the entire investigation off the rails.”

It wasn’t like that thought hadn’t occurred to me before now, but I didn’t even want to contemplate something like that.

“The first time I saw one of these visions, it was pointing me towards Dave. Telling me to protect him.” I began hollowly, “I just didn’t stand up and take notice until too late. And he’s- and he’s-” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Riley squeezed her eyes shut and offered her hand out in comfort. I took it, but only because it looked like she needed the solid touch, too.

“I could’ve saved him.” I whispered, head hanging low.

“Okay, so we put our trust in mirror-person.” Riley decided, “I really wish you guys had told me this before, really, because this could have been written into my cue cards ages ago.”

“Sorry, what?” I blinked. Even Fold seemed to be thrown for a loop, nodding along with me.

Riley rolled her eyes, “Cue cards! For all the interviews and activism I’m doing. Action 210 is going to be voted upon next week, and everyone’s desperate to hear from the family of the superstar who kicked it all of. I’ve been preparing everything for weeks now.”

“When? You’ve been sleuthing for us the whole time!” Fold replied, waving his hands around in outrage.

“I can multitask, dude.” She laughed, already pulling out a pack of cream-colored flashcards from a pocket in her dress, flipping through them frantically, “Okay, okay, I’ll have to plant of seed of consideration into people’s minds without sounding like I’ve totally drunk the Koolaid. I might be able to insert it here, though, so what do you think of ‘it is my belief that the mirrors as a whole are benign by nature. The actions of the users is not reflective of the intentions for which it was discovered and popularized’?”

“Take out the reflective pun, otherwise it’s chill.” Fold agreed. My mind was still whirling in confusion. I had almost forgotten about Action 210. Or, well, I hadn’t forgotten it. It was hard to forget something when the posters followed me everywhere in the halls and outside. But I had just given up on that front. Been content to sit by the sidelines and watch as conditions worsened and worsened.

Yet here Riley was, trying to change it for the better. Something I had never thought I could do, so hellbent on proving the innocence of the mirrors that I had lost sight of the imminent threat of my livelihood.

“That’s brave of you.” I managed out, trying to disguise my shaking hands, “I don’t think I could do something like that.”

“Sure you can, you do brave stuff all the time!” Riley insisted, swinging around to grab me by the shoulders, “You went looking for my sister, all by yourself. Even when you didn’t have to and it wasn’t your problem and we could’ve gotten someone else to do it eventually. That’s brave, you know? I could never do that, either.”

“But that’s because you don’t know how to reflection hop.” I told her, “Tell me you wouldn’t give it your best shot if you could do it now?”

Riley screwed her mouth shut, clearly stuck in a battle between badmouthing herself and encouraging me. Finally, it was Fold who interrupted her dilemma.

“It’s not a competition or a debate, guys. Us being here and sticking around is a better testament for how brave we are to be doing this.” He insisted, “And all that work is about to go splat, so chop chop.”

“I know I’m partially paying you to take the lead here, but that doesn’t mean you get to boss me around.” Riley grumbled, gathering up her cue cards, “We’ve all got our plans in motion, yeah? Got the itinerary set up and ready to go?”

“Yep.” I agreed, more as a reflex than anything. I was still stuck on finding the rainy place that served as the backdrop for every attack, and Fold was now focusing all his energy on the ‘mirror dog’ hypothesis. Riley had been relegated towards more route-finding and digging up specific information about old police mirror and animal experiments. But that last one might have to wait for a bit, if she was to make her interviews like she had told us.

“We’ll make do without you.” Fold assured her, “Just come back with something in a week, alright?”

Riley’s eyes flared underneath the brim of her straw hat, “I’ll make it in half the time.” She promised, marching out of the office with the poise I had only ever seen from a Minto. She really was incredibly cool.

“Okay, so let’s split up, too.” Fold told me, “I’ll go to the library and you do… whatever you do.”

I nodded sharply and spun around to head towards the mirror, but Fold reached forward and grabbed me by the hand. It wasn’t a harsh grip, but there was desperation in his eyes that stopped me from immediately yanking it off.

“Not to butt in on your business, but you’ve just been through a very traumatic event.” He whispered, “It hasn’t even been a full day. Maybe- maybe don’t go there, just yet?”

He was scared, I realized after a beat. He was scared for my wellbeing. And he had every right to be. Just weeks ago, I had violently thrown up over a situation much less grotesque than this, and I hadn’t been any better in the days after. By all rights and purposes, I shouldn’t have shaken it off as easily as I had now. But I had.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

And all I could think to myself was how badly I wanted to bring this beast to justice. There wasn’t any fear anymore. Just pent-up anger that had nowhere to go.

Still, I supposed that I wasn’t really over the shock of it all, yet. Two people had died in front of my eyes mere hours ago. I wasn’t supposed to bounce back from that easily. Maybe the adrenaline running through my system was messing up my judgement. So, I nodded back to him.

“Fine. Maybe I do need a break. I’ll… go grab some coffee.”

He raised an eyebrow, “I doubt I need to tell you that that’s not going to help your nerves, but sure, do that if you think it’ll help.”

I wrinkled my nose at him and marched out through the door, just like Riley had done minutes ago. If she was any other person, I’d almost expect her to be waiting outside to give me a pep talk or check in or something, but Riley had obviously rushed off, not even taking notice of the things she had dropped on the way. I picked up the stray glove and ticket stubs she must have left behind in her rush to and shoved them into my pockets. They probably weren’t important if she’d overlooked them so easily, but I figured that she wouldn’t mind if I returned them.

Wandering through the city was much more time-consuming than the hallways. Much louder, smellier, and harsh in every sense of the word, too. Yet still, I walked. Soon, this might become the only reality I knew. That scared me a little.

Out of spite, I went to a local store and got myself a coffee. Bet they were glad for the extra business, even if it wasn’t medically acceptable or whatever. After that, though, there was nothing left to do. I had applied for a leave from the post office, even if it opened me up for termination with the rising tension around reflection-hopping. There wasn’t any work to do.

Like I had always done in the hallways, I allowed my mind to drift and my feet to wander. And they led straight me to the hospital where Dave was being kept.

The nurse recognized me, and she shot me a dirty look, but there was nothing she could do about it. I had walked in and signed at the visitors’ entry just as protocol demanded.

Inside the room, Dave was… awake.

I froze in my tracks, scarcely daring to believe it. But my eyes weren’t seeing things. Dave really was sitting up slightly in bed, his eyes slightly open and pupils flicking around sluggishly. He didn’t seem to be completely aware, but he was there. Alive, healthy, and lucid, at least. Even short an arm.

“Hey, buddy.” I whispered, “How’re you doing?”

His eyes shifted over to me, but he didn’t say anything in response. Didn’t even react, except for a slight clenching of his jaw.

“He’s nonresponsive.” The attending nurse told me, looking at me as if I was daft, “Up to his ears in sedatives. He can see you, and he’ll react a bit, but he won’t be able to communicate.”

“That’s okay.” I whispered, “I’m just glad that he’s alive.” And I really was. It was enough to make eye contact with my friend and lay my hand on his. Dave was awake, and that was enough.

The nurse seemed to understand, her gaze softening as she took in the scene, “I suppose that’s all anyone would want, if their friend managed to survive… that.”

Of course, she knew about the mirror monster. Everyone knew. It was all over the newspapers. Reporters gave live updates about the situation with every public development. At least those made by civil service departments. No one gave notice to the investigation being carried out by Maximillian Investigates.

“Yes.” I nodded, taking a moment to smooth Dave’s hair back before stepping away, “I’ll see you later, Dave. Be lucid next time, will you?”

He didn’t seem to comprehend the question, head lolling to the side. The nurse rushed past me to adjust his body against the bed, so it was hard to tell whether that was on purpose or not.

“Have a good day, too.” I nodded to the nurse. She cracked a smile back.

----------------------------------------

Once I left the hospital, I tried to go directly to a mirror. Unfortunately, any mirror that I could have comfortably fit in was restricted from outsiders. Even the mirrors on sharp corners had barriers around them so that if anyone tried to reach over to jump into it, they would make a big scene.

So, I flagged down a cab. The cabbie gave a fair charge, but the very thought of paying to do something I did for free every day of the week chafed on me.

The radio played, crackling audio filling the silence between us. It took me a moment to realize that instead of regular classic tunes, the channel he had selected was a talk show of some sort. A talk show with a very familiar voice speaking over it.

“My sister’s death. It was a tragedy.” Came Riley’s quivering voice. She sounded close to tears, a stark difference from her serious and calm demeanor just an hour ago. How much had changed in that time?

I was consumed by the urge to call her up immediately and check in on her mental state. But there wasn’t a payphone nearby and I sure wasn’t going to stop the cab for this. No, all I could do was sit tight and continue listening.

Riley Minto continued to sniffle, “She was so passionate about everything she committed herself to. Even the worst production she was ever part of, she threw herself into it with great gusto.”

“She sounds like she was an incredible person.” The host of the show murmured in comfort.

“She really was.” Riley agreed, followed by a honking sound that almost sounded like she was blowing her nose, “And she doesn’t do this light-heartedly. She’d never commit herself to an activity that would have caused death and destruction in the way that people are making it seem.”

For a striking moment, I wondered if Riley was lying. Not lying about Celina’s character, of course. But lying about her current reaction. There was no way she could be genuinely sobbing her eyes out in an impersonal studio. I refused to believe it.

I resolved to ask her about it tomorrow. Or whenever we next crossed paths. In the meantime, though…

“Can you change the station?” I asked the cabbie. He grunted in response but complied. The dulcet tones of smooth jazz began playing over the tinny speakers.

I settled down and let my thoughts run wild. It was harder without the heavy pounding of feet against smooth marble and the feeling of moving under my own strength, but I managed it somehow.

Soon, the cab stopped in front of the park. I paid, wrapped my brown coat closer to my chest and wandered out into the endless greenery. There was a lake in the middle of the park, and that was the reason I had come here. There weren’t many people at this time of year, so it cut down the chances of me being seen by any busybodies.

The lake waters were steady and calm, creating a perfect reflection of the entire world. I wandered onto the pier and looked into the deep blue waters. Big eyes blinked back, not giving any hint at what lay beneath. Better than a glass reflection, at least.

Going through water reflections is a very touch and go thing. On one hand, you knew it worked, because a lot of hallways inside the mirrors were made up using reflections from puddles and pools and other water bodies. On the other hand, if you missed the reflection, then you’re going to end up soaked.

Still, there was nothing to be done about it. I stuck one foot forward, edging it closer and closer to the water’s surface, which rippled menacingly. Just a slight movement, but enough to disrupt the image I was planning to reach into.

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself off the pier. Wind whistled through my ears, and then my toes touched wet, warm water. I had missed. I was going to drown. Time slowed down, but my body continued falling, more water spraying up, splashing around my body as I went down like an anchor. My eyes closed on instinct, but nothing more than spray hit me. I was still falling. Something was wrong.

The idea barely struck me when I whipped my eyes open. Too late. The solid, glistening floor was coming closer and closer to me with every passing moment.

I landed with a crunch, breaking my nose upon impact. A weak whimper slipped out of my mouth as I reeled backwards, clutching my nose. Warm dark blood was splattering on the ground. A headache was working its way through my mind. Was it a concussion?

Pinching my nose managed to stop the nosebleed, and I rolled onto my back to catch my breath. At least there didn’t seem to be a head wound or anything. But there was mildewy dampness working through my clothes that made it obvious that I had been hit by a major spray of water when going through the lake’s reflection. I hadn’t thought to account for the fall from the horizontal reflection. Rookie mistake, I know, but there was nothing to be done about it.

No point in bothering to continue the search today. I’d have to go to the hospital and get myself checked for a concussion. The dog would have to wait another day.

I sat up, taking care not to lean against a reflection and risk slipping through to the other side. My eyes followed the amorphous, fuzzy reflections surrounding me. The hallways were a bad place to be concussed, with the bright light and psychedelic imagery coming from every direction.

There was something different about one of the mirrors, I realized. It didn’t have a natural reflection. This was fabricated. Another vision from the helper in the mirrors. What was the message this time?

I squinted at the blurry image – or was it my vision that was blurry? I wasn’t sure – and tried to make out what was happening in the mirror.

There was a factory of some kind, I guessed, after heavy deliberation. Lots of smoke coming out of chimneys, trucks rolling around piled high with chopped down trees. Oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any person in the vision. Usually, I was shown people I knew, walked through a scene with their emotions projecting out of the mirror in some sort of telepathic manner I still couldn’t understand.

This time, I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a person at all. Just the factory, puffing away with regular activity, with no hint as to what it even produced. There wasn’t a sign that I could see, nothing with any names on it, or any other way to identify it. What could it have to do with this mess?

I was so tired of this game of abstract charades we were playing. Had been playing for days now.

“Hey?” I called out, by throat straining against the effort as I broke the funereal silence of the hallways, “Could we stop with the games and just speak with real words? You can write it down if you can’t speak!”

Nothing moved. Instead, another reflection changed to show the face of an actor, looking off to the side and putting a finger on his lips. Another one of the visions, it seemed. And it wanted me to be quiet.

Why?

The phantom echo of the dog’s howls rang in my head. Oh, yes, that made sense. The mirror monster was attracted by noise. Hence, I had to stay quiet. But I needed my answers anyway, so I continued stubbornly, but in a much lower voice.

“Listen, I won’t shout again, but would you please come out and talk to me?” I whisper-shouted, “Some plain words would seriously help me out here!”

No response. The line was clear. It wasn’t going to tell me what it was or how it did anything. I groaned and got back onto my feet. I couldn’t pass out here. That was just asking for an accident of some kind. I needed to go… somewhere.

I passed over a reflection on the floor, a cascading mosaic of tiny, fragmented scenes, all coming together in a way that was characteristic of a chandelier. This one, when I peered into it, seemed to be from the Medley National Theater. Or at least, that was what the sign on the edge of the lobby said. I extrapolated from there.

Tiptoeing around it, I continued my journey, even as my head swam around me and my vision began to fail. I had chosen a very bad time to hit my head. Of course, there’s never a good time for that to happen, but this was definitely one of the worse times.

Maybe the dog was as telepathic as the mirrors, because only moments after that thought had occurred to me that the situation got a whole lot worse.

There was no indication that the dog when the arrived. Just a thrill down my spine as the mirrors all around me took on that warning purple tinge they had done when I was hiding near the police officers. But I knew it was there. And it was coming for me.

Because I was on a higher alert, and there wasn’t as much noise this time, I actually managed to hear it.

Nothing major, just the soft footsteps of paws much bigger than a dinner plate, and subtle hard clunks of something dragging behind. Glass on glass.

It was big, ruthless, and much faster than me. No matter what I did, I wasn’t going to escape this alive. The feeling of dread and fear began creeping up on me, the exact feeling I had felt emanating from my bathroom mirror during the only future vision I’ve ever had.

The thing behind me perked up, the glass clunking sounds getting more aggressive. Almost like it was wagging its tail. The footsteps were getting louder and faster. Soon, I would be recreating the vision all over again.

I didn’t even try to run. Just ducked to the side in the first reflection I felt. Didn’t even look into it to see what I was getting myself into. Anything would be better than the beast.

For the second time that day, I landed face first onto the ground. Except this time, the fall was softened by piles and piles of mud. Sheets of water slammed into my back, sent from the heavens with all their wrath.

I dug myself out from the muddy slop and looked around, hardly daring to believe it.

Somehow, I had stumbled into the exact muddy rain ridden landscape I had been looking for all this time.