Eli's world was swallowed by darkness. Cold hands clamped around his wrists, pulling him down. He thrashed, heart pounding, but the Other Eli was impossibly strong.
"Let me go!" Eli gasped, struggling to break free.
A low chuckle echoed in the void. "It doesn't work like that."
The air around them shifted, warping like rippling glass. Eli's stomach lurched as the weight of something unseen pressed against him. A force—cold, suffocating—wrapped around his body like invisible chains.
Then suddenly—
Light.
Eli slammed onto a hard surface, gasping for breath. His head spun as he blinked up at the familiar ceiling of his bedroom.
What…?
He sat up, chest heaving. His room looked normal. The bed, the desk, the posters—everything was exactly as it should be.
Had it been a dream?
But then, his gaze landed on the mirror across the room.
And his blood turned to ice.
The reflection staring back at him wasn't his.
It was close. So close. Same hair. Same face. But the eyes…
They were just a little darker. Just a little emptier.
Eli scrambled back, his breath catching. "No… no, no, no—"
The reflection smirked.
Not a normal smirk. Not his smirk.
Something twisted.
Wrong.
"Took you long enough." The Other Eli's voice echoed through the room—except his lips never moved.
Eli's stomach dropped. He turned, scanning the room. His own reflection was watching him, but he was alone.
"You're on the wrong side now," the Other Eli said, tilting his head. "Welcome to the mirror, Eli."
Eli's breath hitched. He stumbled forward and slammed his hands against the glass. It was cold, solid—unbreakable.
"Let me out!" he shouted.
The Other Eli just chuckled and turned away, walking toward the door.
Eli banged against the mirror. "STOP!"
The Other Eli paused in the doorway, looking back one last time.
"Don't worry," he said, voice dripping with amusement. "I'll take good care of your life."
Then he walked out.
And left Eli trapped in the glass.