Adrian stumbled backward, his eyes wide in disbelief as the distorted reflection slowly stepped out of the mirror, its limbs bending at odd angles as though it wasn't constrained by the same rules of reality. The air around it shimmered with an unnatural, almost liquid quality, as if the very fabric of the room was being torn apart to accommodate its presence.
The thing that had once been his reflection now stood before him, its twisted grin etched permanently across its face. Adrian's heart raced, his body frozen in place as a primal fear gripped him. The figure's eyes were the worst part. They were his eyes, but somehow wrong—deeper, darker, as if they housed an endless void that could swallow him whole.
"W-who are you?" Adrian stammered, his voice barely a whisper, his legs trembling beneath him.
The figure tilted its head to the side, the smile widening further, impossibly so. When it finally spoke, its voice was a distorted echo of his own, as if the words had traveled through some dark and twisted tunnel to reach him.
"I am you," it said, stepping closer, its feet soundless on the cracked tiles. "The you that you've kept hidden. The you that you've denied."
Adrian backed up until his spine hit the cold wall behind him, the impact jarring him from his frozen stupor. His hands scrabbled against the rough surface as he desperately searched for a way out, but the room offered no escape.
"That's... that's impossible," Adrian muttered, shaking his head in denial. "You're not real."
The reflection chuckled, a low, guttural sound that made Adrian's skin crawl. "Real?" it mocked. "What is real, Adrian? Is this hospital real? Are you real?" It leaned in closer, its breath cold against his skin, though no warmth left its lips. "Or have you always been just another reflection?"
The words gnawed at the edges of Adrian's sanity, feeding into the doubts and fears that had already begun to creep into his mind ever since he entered this cursed place. He didn't know what was real anymore. The hospital, the girl in Room 413, the strange markings—everything seemed to blur together in a whirlwind of confusion and terror.
"Why are you here?" Adrian asked, his voice shaking. "What do you want from me?"
The reflection's smile faltered for a moment, its expression shifting from amusement to something darker—something more predatory. It straightened its crooked form and began to circle Adrian slowly, like a wolf stalking its prey.
"You came here, didn't you?" it said, its voice dripping with venom. "You wanted answers, but you weren't prepared for what you would find. Now you're trapped—just like the others."
Adrian's brow furrowed, confusion mixing with the fear that already gripped his heart. "The others?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
The reflection stopped in front of him again, locking its dark, hollow eyes with Adrian's. "Everyone who has ever searched for the truth in this place has ended up like you. Lost. Broken. Forgotten."
Adrian's pulse quickened, a deep sense of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want to believe it, but there was something in the reflection's voice—something that resonated with the nightmares that had plagued him ever since he arrived. He could feel it in his bones, in his blood. This hospital was more than just a haunted building; it was a trap. A labyrinth designed to consume the souls of those who dared to seek its secrets.
"No," Adrian whispered, shaking his head as if the simple act of denial could free him from the terrifying reality closing in around him. "There has to be a way out. There has to be!"
The reflection chuckled once more, its mocking laughter echoing off the walls of the small room. "You think you're the first to say that? You think you're the first to try? Look around, Adrian. There's no way out. There never was."
The words crashed into Adrian like a wave, pulling him under. His mind raced, searching for any possible way to escape the nightmare he had found himself in. But the reflection's voice gnawed at his thoughts, sinking deeper and deeper until it felt like his own.
A sudden flash of memory cut through the haze in his mind. The file on the computer—Patient Zero. The girl in Room 413. She was the key. She had to be. If there was any way to end this madness, it had to start with her.
"I don't believe you," Adrian said, his voice suddenly steadier than he felt. "I'm not like the others. I'll find a way out."
The reflection's smile vanished completely, replaced by a cold, angry glare. "You think you're special? You think you're different?" it hissed, its voice taking on a dangerous edge. "You'll see. Soon enough, you'll see."
Before Adrian could respond, the reflection lunged at him, its body flickering as it moved with inhuman speed. Adrian barely had time to react as he threw himself to the side, crashing into the wall with a painful thud. The figure twisted and contorted, moving in ways no human body should be able to, but Adrian didn't wait to see what it would do next.
He scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door, wrenching it open and practically falling into the hallway beyond. His heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline surging through his veins as he sprinted down the corridor, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls.
Behind him, the reflection let out an unearthly scream, the sound reverberating through the hospital like the wail of a banshee. Adrian didn't dare look back. He couldn't. Every instinct in his body told him that if he turned around, he'd see something that would shatter whatever remained of his fragile grip on reality.
He rounded a corner, his breath coming in ragged gasps as his legs burned with exertion. The hospital seemed to stretch endlessly before him, the once-familiar hallways warping and twisting into an unrecognizable maze. Doors that had been there minutes ago were now gone, replaced by blank walls. The lights flickered overhead, casting long, ominous shadows that danced at the edges of his vision.
But then, up ahead, a single door stood slightly ajar, a faint light spilling out from within. Adrian skidded to a stop, his chest heaving as he stared at the door. Something about it felt different—important. Without thinking, he rushed toward it, pushing it open and stepping inside.
The room was dimly lit, its walls lined with old, dusty filing cabinets. A single desk sat in the center, papers strewn across its surface. But what caught Adrian's attention was the small, black notebook lying open on the desk.
His pulse quickened as he approached the desk, his eyes scanning the notebook's pages. The handwriting was messy, almost frantic, but the words were unmistakable.
‐-------------------------------------------------------‐--------------------
"The mirror is a portal. It shows you the truth, but at a cost. Beware the reflection, for it seeks to replace you. Once it steps through, there's no going back."
‐--------------------------------‐-------------------------------------------
Adrian's hands trembled as he read the words. A portal? The reflection wasn't just a twisted version of him—it was trying to become him.
Before he could process the implications, a shadow fell across the room. Adrian's blood turned to ice as he slowly turned around.
Standing in the doorway was his reflection.