The damp, narrow alleyways twisted like a labyrinth, the walls seeming to close in on Adrian and the girl with each step they took. The night was cold, and the only sounds were the faint dripping of water from rusted gutters and the distant hum of the city. Adrian's breath was ragged, his heart racing as they ran deeper into the maze of forgotten streets.
He had no idea where they were going, but the urgency in the girl's voice had kept him moving. There was no time to stop, no time to ask questions. All he knew was that they needed to get away, far from the shadows that seemed to materialize out of the very darkness itself.
The girl stumbled, and Adrian reached out, catching her just before she fell. Her face was pale, her breaths shallow, but there was a determination in her eyes that mirrored his own fear.
"We can't keep running like this," Adrian said, his voice barely above a whisper as they pressed themselves into the shadows of an alley. "What do they want? Why are they after me?"
The girl looked up at him, her expression a mixture of pity and urgency. "It's not just you. It's... it's what you did. The past. You brought them back."
Adrian's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? How could I have brought them back? I don't even know what they are!"
She hesitated, biting her lip before answering. "The woman, Evelyn. She's tied to them. She never left—she was taken, and now they're coming for you. They've been waiting."
"Evelyn?" Adrian's mind reeled at the mention of her name. He hadn't thought of her in years. She was part of his life that he'd locked away, just like the memories of the hospital, of the things he'd seen—things he couldn't explain, things he didn't want to understand. "That's impossible. She's gone—Evelyn's dead."
The girl shook her head, her eyes pleading. "No, Adrian. She's not dead. She's trapped. And now, they want you too."
A cold wave of dread washed over him. He wanted to deny it, to push it all away as delusion or madness. But deep down, something told him she was right. The memories he had fought to suppress were scratching their way to the surface, forcing him to confront the truth he had buried so long ago.
"Why now?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Why after all these years?"
"Because you opened the door," the girl said, her voice trembling. "You went back to the place where it all started. You broke the seal."
Adrian's head spun as he tried to piece it together. "The hospital... I never should have gone back."
Suddenly, a noise shattered the silence—a soft, scraping sound, like something being dragged across the pavement. Adrian's pulse quickened, and the girl stiffened beside him.
"They're here," she whispered, clutching his arm. "We have to move. Now."
Without another word, they darted out of the alley and into the next street, their feet splashing through puddles as they ran. Adrian's mind raced along with his body. Evelyn, the shadows, the hospital—it was all connected, somehow, but he still didn't understand how or why. All he knew was that the darkness that had haunted him for years was no longer content to stay in the past.
Ahead of them, the street opened into a deserted courtyard, the faint glow of a streetlamp casting long, eerie shadows across the cracked pavement. Adrian scanned the area, searching for a place to hide, but there was nothing—just empty doorways and boarded-up windows.
The sound came again, closer this time. A low, guttural growl, like the breath of something not quite human. Adrian's chest tightened with fear.
"Adrian..." the girl's voice was a desperate whisper. "They're coming."
He turned, ready to run again, but something stopped him. In the center of the courtyard, half-hidden in shadow, was a mirror. It was old, with a tarnished frame and a surface that shimmered unnaturally in the dim light. It seemed out of place, like it didn't belong there, and yet, it drew him in.
"That's it," the girl said, her eyes wide with terror and recognition. "The mirror. It's the gateway. We have to destroy it."
Adrian stared at the mirror, his mind racing. The notebook had mentioned the mirror, but he hadn't understood until now. It was the source of everything—the portal that connected their world to the shadows, the reason Evelyn had disappeared, and the reason the creatures were hunting him.
Without thinking, Adrian grabbed a loose brick from the ground and ran toward the mirror. His heart pounded in his ears as he raised the brick high above his head, ready to shatter the glass and end the nightmare once and for all.
But just as he brought the brick down, a figure appeared in the reflection.
It was him.
Adrian froze, the brick hovering in midair as he stared at his own reflection. But it wasn't just his reflection. It was something else, something darker, with hollow eyes and a twisted grin that made his stomach turn.
"Adrian," the reflection whispered, its voice like nails on a chalkboard. "You can't run from yourself."
Adrian stumbled back, dropping the brick as the reflection stepped out of the mirror, its grotesque grin widening.
"No," Adrian gasped, backing away in horror. "This isn't real."
The reflection laughed, a cold, mocking sound. "Oh, but it is. And now, you belong to us."
The last thing Adrian saw before the shadows closed in around him was his own face, twisted and grotesque, staring back at him from the mirror.