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Sierra was five when she could first remember looking into a mirror only for eyes — that were not her own — to stare back at her.
The other kids in the Digi-den had told her a story whilst they all played with the light projection toys. In the den, they are free to play with all sorts of light-based toys. They are older, and perhaps a little smarter — so they used the mini-projectors to add some extra flare to the story.
“Once, there was a mirror so large it could swallow the world!” a boy speaks, ripping open the aperture of the toy to spill light across the room.
“But then, it shattered into a million pieces, and that is how we got mirrors! Only… the mirrors are alive… and when you aren’t paying attention…”
The boy pauses; opening his eyes wide to stare into Sierra’s. “THEY COME AND EAT YOU.”
She cries out and steps away only for the boy to follow her, gnashing his teeth over and over. He backs her up; further and further until she’s outside of the ceiling mirror’s Light Array, plunging her into absolute darkness — as though there was a barrier between the world of light and the world of darkness. In truth, her ReflectNet — the only reason sight is possible — chip simply stopped picking up the light-signal.
She tries to turn; tries to reconnect — but the boys push her away, forcing her to stay in the darkness. She feels something behind her, brushing up against her leg. She starts to cry, starts to beg them to let her back in. They do not. She jumps forward, her forehead smacking into one of the boy’s mouths and forcibly closing his teeth around his tongue. He screams out, taking a staggered step back, and then points to Sierra, talking through a blood-covered mouth.
A door opens and hands drag her from the Digi-den, pulling her through the darkness until her chip connects to the mirror outside the den and gives her sight once more. A man and woman stand above her, looking down with chiding looks.
“Sierra! This is the second time this week you’ve hurt someone!” the man speaks, his voice harsh and loud.
“I didn—“
“What, didn’t mean to?” the woman’s voice comes like a fist to interrupt. “You said that last time.”
She taps her arm a few times, looking down at Sierra, then takes a glance over at the man, a cruel smile stretching her lips taught. “I think it’s the solitary den for you. If you can’t play nice, then you aren’t allowed to play at all.”
The man nods, sagely. “Yes, yes. She needs some Latin practice. What better time to do it?” He says, then grabs her arm and drags her towards a small box barely a meter tall. For a girl like Sierra who is large for her age, it is a tight fit.
When she doesn’t immediately get in, they shove her forwards, then cram her into the box, throwing her legs under the desk. Sierra sniffles… and then begins to cry, her body contorted into a strange shape that hurts her neck and back.
“Alright, now Sierra—“ she says, then reaches out her hand and smacks her. “—stop crying!”
“You’re going to work on your Latin for the next… four hours until the Home Lights come on. Do you understand?”
Sierra nods her head slowly. She knows it will do nothing to beg. They close the door, shoving it closed to fit her in, the cold metal pressed against her. Her vision goes and returns, everything pitch black except for the desk in front of her.
For the next four hours, that is all she sees.
---
Home Hours have begun. Sierra’s Mater grips her bag tight and her daughter tighter as they board the Lightrail towards their portion of the city. In Home Hours, everybody gets light even if they don’t connect to the ReflectNet — and you get to see the entire city of Iridon.
As the lightrail pid whisks them through the winding maze of skyscrapers, she sees the full city; a great collection of gleaming surfaces and mesmerizing reflections that seem to defy the laws of nature. Buildings soar high into the sky, their exteriors adorned with intricate patterns of glass and metal, shimmering in the free-light.
Her eyes are drawn to two buildings; large white skyscrapers that even eclipse the other buildings, a distinct elegance in their craftsmanship. They lean, almost as if they would fall into each other, but they’re stopped by a large brick-like connector at the very top.
The streets below are full of the constant flow of people moving almost like synchronised dancers. Mirrored walkways crisscross beneath towering structures, projecting a lattice of light and shadow. The sidewalks are adorned with subtle luminescent strips that devour the light that reaches them and recycles it.
Statues dot the landscape, carved into the sides of buildings or placed in the middle of sidewalks, their forms seeming crafted from liquid reflection. She looks away, her heartbeat rising in her chest.
There’s not a speck of dust or smudge on any of the surfaces — even amidst the bustling crowds. The mirrors in every ceiling, every corner, every side of a building… Sierra feels them watching.
There’s one staring at her right now. A mirror. She catches a glimpse of people moving only for her to look where they should be and find nothing. She even catches words, sometimes. She doesn’t like it — and never has.
“Why don’t you get along with the other kids, Sierra?” Mater asks. She has chosen to look nice today. Fiery red locks cascade around delicate features, her porcelain complexion almost like a mirror — reflecting just as well. Freckles adorn her cheeks.
Sierra doesn’t like it when Mater puts on this Reflection. Typically, Mater is just like Sierra; tawny skin, and brown hair. But today she decided to be like this.
Sierra shrugs, keeping an eye on the mirror in the corner.
Mater looks, then shakes her head slightly, the red hair glitching for just a second and turning back to the normal brown. “They aren’t going to bite you, Sierra. They’re just mirrors.”
“There are people, Mater. In the mirror.” She says, but the Mater just smiles.
“No, there isn’t, Sierra. There is nobody in the mirrors other than the reflections.”
Sierra frowns. They never listen.
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“Sierra, why are you attacking your classmates?” she asks again, this time putting her hand out to touch the young girl’s leg. “It can’t be good for your… self.”
“I didn’t mean to! I just jumped back into the light, and I hit him. I didn’t mean to.”
She leans back, looking up at the ceiling. “That’s not what the staff said. They said a boy was playing with you and you struck out. Don’t lie to me, Sierra.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re going to write a letter of apology to the boy — and his parentes. We do not need issues right now… your Pater might be able to land a better job soon.”
Sierra nods. It’s better to just accept the punishment. Her hand cramps as she thinks about the time spent in the box. Her eyes flick to the mirror in the corner.
---
Home comes into view; or at least the building home is inside. A tall, cylindrical building without any of the shiny-surface of the others. Instead, it is a large, black and blocky thing that rises higher and higher. It’s the home of all of the Erebii — those above the Chromatii but below the other spectrum's.
For whatever reason, Sierra felt much more at home with it. It absorbs light rather than reflects, an almost velvet texture to the walls. No ornate patterns nor intricate details adorn it, only smooth and sleek contours that seem to merge with the shadows.
The corridors inside are hushed, an almost respectful silence carried through them. Dimly lit hallways cast long shadows caused by muted light. This doesn’t bother her. As they wind through the spiral walkways to reach the elevator, she begins to feel dread.
Home is on the 167th floor of 700.
The elevator ride is long, and though the building doesn’t have the mirrored finish of the others; inside the elevator is a mirror that looks at Sierra.
Her heart beats like a rabbit. When this one reflects, and she sees someone in there… there’s nobody else it could be reflecting.
Her Mater puts a hand on Sierra’s head and turns it away. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”
She doesn’t believe her. Nobody ever has… but she sees them. She hears them. They’re in there; watching her. She knows it, even if nobody else does.
The elevator stops; door opening to pitch black before the ReflectNet recalibrates and floods the room in light-signal that pours from the mirror-strips above. Once more, they rotate by walking in the spiral corridors until they reach a door. Mater swipes her hand across the mirror next to the door and they enter.
As Sierra steps inside, the familiar scent of home mingles with a comforting ambience… even if the mirrors in the ceiling bear down on her as they stream light into the apartment.
The layout is simple; a long hallway leading to either the bathroom or the kitchen, or to go left and head up the stairs to the bedrooms. The only other object in the hallway is the steel hold-all pressed up against the stairway. Pater stands at the top of the stairs, looking down at Sierra, holding Lily in his arms.
Her younger sister.
Pater takes heavy steps down the stairs, looking at Sierra the entire time. “Young lady, I hope you are going to go straight to the table and write that letter of apology.”
Sierra nods. Mater and Pater must have spoken over the ReflectNet. He wears his ’Vox’ reflection, with a much more well-defined physique than his normal body, though a little shorter. Flawless complexion, hair styled in sleek waves, a strong and noble face — and nothing like his normal self.
Normally, he was much more subtle… much more friendly-looking. She walks towards the kitchen, her foot reaching around the corner… only to stop. The mirror… at the end of the hallway.
It’s as tall as Pater, as wide as two Sierra’s put together, inset into the wall, staring down the hallway with watching eyes.
The frame twinkles in the light, sending focused beams into her eyes like bullets.
It’s silver on the rim, made to look like a tree growing branches… but they’re gnarled.
She doesn’t like it, more than any other mirror.
A sigh comes from behind; Pater steps forward into the open — the mirror can see him. He waves his arms around, spinning and doing a silly little dance that makes Sierra giggle even as she keeps an eye on the mirror.
His voice goes high pitched and funny as he speaks. “Eat me! Eat me!” he begs the mirror. It doesn’t move… it doesn’t eat him. She’s still not sure, but she goes to hug her Pater.
Her eyes lock with her reflection’s. Immediately, she’s uneasy, unsafe.
The picture distorts in the smallest of ways — like waves in a pool, an invisible swimmer breaking the calm.
Her gaze is held captive. The room grows smaller. She shakes her head. Pater pushes her, smiling. She resists. He picks her up, takes her over to the mirror and places her right in front of her fear. He holds her head and forces her to watch the mirror.
It distorts further, the reflection-Sierra’s flesh twisting to give way to broken teeth. Whispers creep like shadows from the mirror, barely-caught words that echo in her mind; flashes of a thousand movements. She tries to pull away. Her Pater holds her strong. “Look, Sierra, nothing is hurting you!”
The man in the mirror smiles, his large, grotesque teeth and long, stringy, fleshy arms reaching out of the mirror. His eyes are a shade of green malevolence. Her breath catches in her throat. He’s coming. He’s coming to kill her! To kill them all! She’s not safe! She has to run! The man is coming!
“I’ve told you a million times, Sierra! Mirrors don’t eat people!”
A flash of orange erupts from the mirror, a blade stabbing out of the reflective surface, spitting open a carbon sheathe to produce a white-hot blade of pure, distilled light. It cuts upwards into Pater’s armpit, dismembering the limb in the flash of a second. He becomes a screaming, panicked mess and rips Sierra away, throwing her behind him. She tumbles and smashes into the steel hold-all.
The man from the mirror reaches out a large, grotesque hand — a limb far too large to be natural — and clenches his hand together, the blades on his thumb and finger forming a pincher that decapitates Pater and sends his blood-streaming head onto the floor. The man steps from the mirror, which warps around him, donning him in a layer of thick silver-reflective liquid that clings to his body and hardens like armour.
Mater drags Sierra up, her other hand holding Lily, and presses her hand out, summoning a gout of flame in her palm which she shoves out. It licks the walls of the hallway and immediately sets them aflame, creating a barrier of fire.
She wrenches Sierra around and aims for the door; but a crackle of orange energy sparks and blurred form appears in front of the escape. The man stares down at them with a giddy look on his face. “Red bitch.” He speaks, smiling like he’s on a first date. “Fire won’t do anything to me. Not in this.”
Mater releases Sierra and throws her palm out, splaying her hand wide and releasing a stream of fire into the man’s face only for the mirror-flesh to seep upwards and protect him. He puts out a foot in an instant, sending a booted heel into the sternum of Mater.
The Reflection shatters, revealing her true form, and her spine impacts on the banister of the stairs. She holds Lily tight, and jumps up. Her glance lingers on Sierra for only a second before she sprints up the stairs, leaving Sierra alone with the man.
The man looks at her, then laughs, laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs, then puts a fleshy hand on her shoulder. It smells like blood.
“Hmm. Indigo. Unfortunate; I would have let you live.” He says, and then he drags his blade across, smacking her with the burning edge. It cuts into the flesh on her face in an instant; searing horrific agony into her skin.
She falls backwards, and he advances on her, simply holding the blade in front of him. When she hits the wall, the blade sinks into her left side, burning a hole into her being in less than a moment.
The pain is too much; she falls to the ground, unable to stop her legs from shaking or her vision from swimming. He stomps away. She can’t feel anything. She hears a scream — it’s her own, but then another joins it, almost harmonious.
The flames from Mater’s barrier lick at Sierra’s face as the man descends the stairs, a screaming child in his arms. Lily!
She doesn’t move, even when he sends a kick into her face. She has to be dead; she has to not move. Whatever instinct serve her — it serves her right even as her face sears from the flames.
The man watches for a second as Sierra’s face becomes fuel for the fire, and then walks through it. The last of him Sierra’s sees is his disappearance into the mirror; his leg stamping on Pater’s skull to send a stream of viscera in all directions. She fades out of consciousness; then feels a grabbing at her leg.
Mater pulls her, a fresh wound in her stomach that leaks blood. She drags her out of the room; into the hallway, then drops to her knees, her face smashing against the floor a second later. She pushes out a weak, gripping hand to surround Sierra’s.
“Sierra… Sierra… you have to be alright. I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry.”
Her eyes fade. With her Reflection broken, Sierra finally gets to see the true Mater. The frilly brown hair, the brown eyes and light-brown skin. She hasn’t seen it in so long.
Sierra looks directly up… at a mirror above her. She can feel those eyes staring at her. There’s a man… in the mirror. There always has been. Nobody believed her.
Now they’re dead.