The mirror didn't just crack.It opened.
Not like a door.Not like reality-tearing.It opened the way a wound does .....slow, wet, and wrong.
A thin line split across the glass, and from the crack leaked a dark, thick liquid.Not blood.Not shadow.Something in between.
Mom gasped, finally turning toward the mirror.But she didn't scream.She froze.
Her breath hitched.Her pupils shrank.And her hand tightened around mine with such force it almost hurt.
She called out my name softly"What… is that?" she whispered
I wanted to lie, to tell her it was a hallucination.But my throat closed as the crack widened with a sickening pop .... like bone snapping under pressure.
Then they appeared.
The children.The ones I failed.
Not as they once were.As they died.
A small hand shot out through the crack, fingers dripping black liquid.Then a head pushed through…No.A skull.
The child had no eyes.Just two dark holes where eyeballs should've been, thick black tears pouring out and dripping down its chin.
Its jaw dangled sideways, broken, held on by a single strip of skin.
Mom slapped a hand over her mouth, choking on a sound that wasn't quite a scream.
The child tilted its head at me.Even without eyes, I felt it staring right into my bones.
"Y/N" (your name)Its voice was wet, like someone speaking through a mouth full of mud."Why… didn't you open the door?"
I shook my head violently."I tried! I swear I tried...."
The child pressed its forehead to the glass, smearing more black liquid.Its tiny fingernails scraped against the mirror, leaving gouges."We waited. And waited. And waited."
Mom backed away, trembling so violently the bed rattled."STOP....please stop....stop it!!" she cried.
But it wasn't listening to her.None of them were.
The crack tore wider, and more children emerged.
One girl had no lips .... just rows of exposed teeth stretching across her face in a permanent, horrific grin. Black saliva dripped down her chin as she whispered my name like a chant.
Another child had no nose, just a gaping hole where her face dipped inward… crawling with small black insects that skittered out and disappeared into the cracks in the floor.
A boy stumbled out with both legs twisted backwards, bones jutting out of torn skin.He dragged himself across the floor toward me, leaving a trail of black and red behind him.
Mom screamed then ; a raw, primal sound that didn't sound like her at all.
The lights flickered wildly.The machines beeped in frantic patterns.
And suddenly the entire room felt too small… too full… too alive.
and the Visions hit
My head snapped back .... not from hitting anything, but as if invisible hands grabbed my skull and yanked.
A stabbing pain ripped through my eyes.Then the visions came.
Fast.Merciless.
VISION ONE:The children screaming inside the burning house, flesh melting, banging on the windows while I stood outside holding the knife.Not helping.Watching.
VISION TWO:My own hands slamming the door shut.Locking them in.My voice whispering, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry...."
VISION THREE:The shadow behind me, guiding my hand.Whispering instructions.Telling me the sacrifice had to be completed.
VISION FOUR:A glimpse of my face afterward ..... black eyes, bleeding smile, skin cracking like porcelain.
I screamed.It didn't sound human.
The visions tore through me like claws ripping flesh.
When I opened my eyes again,the room was shaking.The walls bending like rubber.The children crawling closer.
Mom collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably."Stop this… please… my baby..."
But I wasn't the baby she knew.And I wasn't sure if I ever had been.
And then the Shadow arrived...
A chill swept across the room.The children froze.
Even without eyes, they turned toward the same spot.
The shadow stepped through the crack in the mirror.Tall.Silent.Head tilted like before.
He didn't walk.He glided.Feet hovering just above the ground.
The kids scrambled back, whimpering.Terrified of him.
He knelt beside the bed, his face inches from mine.His touch hovered just above my cheek .... cold enough that frost formed on my skin.
"Shh," he whispered."Don't cry. You're remembering too fast."
I choked on a breath."What did I do?"
He smiled.Too wide.Too wrong.
"Nothing they didn't deserve."
One of the children let out a shrill, animalistic shriek.Another vomited black liquid all over the floor.The room smelled like rot and burnt meat.."Let her go… please…"said my mom
He didn't even look at her."She asked to see," he said calmly."She asked to know the truth."
I tried to back away, but the bed wouldn't move.My body wouldn't move.He placed a finger over my lips.
"Don't be afraid."His voice oozed into my ear."You're not done remembering."
He lifted his hand....and touched my forehead.
The world dropped out from under me.