Chapter 41: The Reflection That Wasn’t His

The station was silent. The kind of silence that seeped into your skin, made the air thick, and turned every shadow into a lurking presence.

Kai stared at the mirror, his grip tightening around the envelope.

The reflection should've moved when he did.

It should've moved.

His heart pounded against his ribs.

Taylor stood a few feet away, flipping through Nathaniel's notebook. "Kai?"

Kai barely heard him.

Instead, he took a slow step toward the mirror.

His reflection—his not reflection—stood there, still as stone.

His breath caught in his throat.

He took another step.

And so did the reflection.

His stomach clenched.

Did I imagine it?

He reached out—just a little—toward the surface of the mirror. His fingers hovered inches from the glass.

A voice, low and hollow, echoed in his head.

"Don't trust your reflection."

Kai snatched his hand back.

His reflection smirked.

Not a normal smirk. Not the kind of movement that happened naturally.

It was too slow.

Too deliberate.

Taylor's voice cut through the tension. "Kai, seriously, what's—"

Kai turned to him. "Look at the mirror."

Taylor frowned, stepping closer. He squinted, scanning Kai's reflection.

Seconds passed.

Then—

"…It looks fine to me."

Kai's blood ran cold.

Taylor could see his reflection. But he didn't see what Kai saw.

Kai forced himself to breathe. Think.

Nathaniel's letter wasn't a warning about reflections in general. It was about his own reflection.

The thing in the mirror wasn't mimicking him. It wasn't just a trick of the mind.

It was something else.

Something watching him.

And it was waiting.

Unseen Strings

Kai didn't sleep that night.

He sat in his apartment, shotgun across his lap, staring at the covered mirror in the corner. He had thrown a sheet over it as soon as he got home.

But he could feel it.

Like an itch under his skin.

Like something shifting just out of sight.

He checked the clock. 1:34 AM.

His fingers traced the edge of the shotgun. His mind replayed Eleanor's words.

"If you don't stop it, it'll make sure you never leave."

And yet, how was he supposed to stop something he didn't even understand?

The answer had to be in Eleanor's book.

Or maybe—

Maybe it was buried deeper.

In Stowntown.

The place where this all began.

Kai exhaled, rubbing a hand down his face. His instincts screamed at him—he wasn't alone in this room.

His eyes drifted back to the covered mirror.

He could hear something.

A faint, almost imperceptible scraping.

Like nails dragging across glass.

His stomach twisted.

He tightened his grip on his shotgun.

Then—

A whisper.

Low. Hollow.

Coming from behind the sheet.

"Kai."

His muscles locked.

It knew his name.

He didn't move. Didn't breathe.

Another whisper.

"I see you."

The air felt wrong. Thicker. Like the walls themselves were closing in.

Kai's throat was dry. He had two choices—he could ignore it and hope it left him alone.

Or he could face it.

His fingers twitched around the shotgun.

Slowly, he stood.

And in one quick motion, he ripped the sheet away.

The mirror was empty.

For a fraction of a second, relief flooded his chest.

And then—

His reflection lunged at him.

A Shadow That Wears His Face

Kai barely had time to react. His own image burst from the mirror, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall.

His lungs seized. The thing holding him—it was him, but it wasn't.

Its grip was like iron. Cold. Too strong.

Its eyes—Kai's eyes—were hollow pits of darkness.

It smiled.

"You're running out of time," it whispered.

Kai gritted his teeth. His hand flew to the shotgun at his side.

He didn't hesitate.

Boom.

The blast tore through the reflection's chest.

It didn't bleed.

It just shattered—like glass.

Fragments of it exploded outward, vanishing before they hit the ground.

Then—

The room was still.

Kai collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. His throat burned where the thing had touched him.

He turned toward the mirror.

It was cracked. Jagged lines ran across the surface, but his real reflection had returned.

He stared at himself.

Breathing hard. Shaken. But alive.

For now.

The Clock Keeps Ticking

Kai didn't sleep.

At dawn, he drove straight to Taylor's place, banging on the door until his partner answered.

Taylor took one look at him and frowned. "Jesus, Kai, you look like hell."

Kai pushed past him, throwing the notebook, Eleanor's book, and Nathaniel's letter onto the kitchen table.

"I don't have much time," Kai said.

Taylor rubbed his face. "What happened?"

Kai exhaled. "My reflection tried to kill me."

Taylor blinked. "Come again?"

Kai pointed at the notebook. "Nathaniel wasn't insane. That letter—'Don't trust your reflection'—it was a warning." He ran a hand through his hair. "And I already screwed up."

Taylor's eyes darkened. "You saw it."

Kai nodded. "And I didn't just see it. It saw me."

Taylor cursed under his breath. He paced, hands on his hips. "So what now?"

Kai looked down at the notebook.

Then at Eleanor's book.

Then at the calendar hanging on the wall.

He counted the days.

He had 22 days left.

His jaw tightened.

"We need to go back to Stowntown," he said.

Taylor stopped pacing. "You think the answers are there?"

Kai's eyes were cold.

"I think it started there," he said. "And if I don't end it, it's going to finish what it started."

Taylor hesitated. Then he nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Kai grabbed his shotgun.

This time, he wasn't running.

This time, he was hunting.