Chapter 11 The mirror
Rain’s POV
Night crawled in like a cold shadow by the time Rosee and I arrived at the abandoned textile district. I suggested we go tomorrow morning but he said there was no time to waste.
The place looked cursed.
Old factory signs half-rusted, broken windows staring like hollow eyes, the scent of dust and forgotten lives filling the air.
Rosee stopped the car, the engine rumbling under the dark night sky.
“This is where your brother came,” he repeated, looking around with those sharp eyes.
“Yes,” I whispered. “He always came here.”
His jaw flexed. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t wait for me to breathe before he stepped out of the car, coat sweeping behind him like a storm cloud. I followed close, my nerves tightening with every crunch of gravel under my shoes.
Rosee pushed open a broken warehouse door, and the smell hit us immediately.
Smell of blood.
A thick mixture that made my stomach twist.
“This area is old but…” Rosee scanned the floors. “Something happened here recently.”
“How do you know?”
He pointed. Drag marks. Shoe prints.
And something else, a spot where the dust had been disturbed in a perfect circle.
My heart thudded painfully.
“That’s where he used to stand,” I whispered.
“That circle… he always stood there to wait for someone.”
Rosee’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmh interesting”
We moved deeper into the warehouse. Every step echoed.
At the far corner was a door half hanging off its hinges.
Rosee kicked it open.
Behind it was a small house-like space hidden inside the warehouse, one of those illegal apartments gang members used sometimes.
We stepped inside, and Rosee immediately raised his hand.
“Stay behind me.”
I obeyed… until he turned away, and I wasn’t behind him anymore.
The house split into two directions.
A hallway on the left, another hallway on the right.
We exchanged a glance.
Rosee nodded at the right hallway. “I’ll check this side.”
I nodded at the left hallway. “I’ll check here.”
“Rain.” he called out and I paused.
“Don’t touch anything.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, sir.”
His glare could’ve melted iron.
I grinned and walked off.
The room on the left was small and cold, dust collecting like snow on abandoned furniture.
But something caught my eye immediately.
A mirror.
Old, tall, framed with gold leaves and completely out of place.
Like someone placed it there intentionally.
I approached it slowly. My reflection looked pale, tired, and confused.
Just like my life.
I touched the frame gently.
“This wasn’t here when my brother came… was it?”
I moved closer, squinting.
That’s when the mirror trembled.
A small shake barely noticeable.
“Huh?”
I stepped back, heart racing.
Then…
WHOOMPH!
A golden light burst across the entire surface of the mirror.
“What in the world is happening!”
I stumbled backwards, shielding my eyes.
But the mirror wasn’t done.
It shook harder like something inside was fighting to get out.
My breath hitched.
“Rosee!” I yelled.
No answer.
“Rosee?? Something is happening!”
Still nothing.
The golden light grew brighter, spreading across the room… wrapping around me like glowing vines.
“No… nonono stop!”
I tried to run, but the pull was stronger.
A wind roared out of the mirror, dragging me forward.
“ROSEE!!!”
My scream exploded in the room but It was too late.
The mirror swallowed me whole.
Rosee’s POV
She should’ve answered.
“Rain.” I called out again.
“Rain.” still no answer.
I rolled my eyes in anger. This is the third time I called her.
I stormed out of the room I was searching, boots echoing against the floor. My power crackled at the edges, my patience gone.
She couldn’t have wandered far, I told her to stay alert.
Of course she didn’t.
“Stubborn little…”
I marched down the hallway, irritation simmering… until I reached the doorway of the room Rain had gone into.
“Rain, if you touched anything I swear...”
I froze.
The room was empty and on the floor lies her phone. Screen cracked.
My chest tightened.
I moved deeper into the room, eyes sharp, scanning every corner. Nothing seemed out of place except something glimmered near the mirror.
Rain's glove.
Slowly, I approached the mirror, eyes narrowing.
A normal mirror wouldn’t make me tense.
A normal mirror wouldn’t feel like it was breathing.
This one did.
I placed a finger on the surface.
The glass rippled like water.
I yanked his hand back, eyes wide.
I heart pounded once, hard enough to hurt.
“Rain,” I growled softly, voice low with something dangerously close to fear.
I pressed my palm into the mirror again.
It rippled again.
I clenched his jaw.
“Rain. If you can hear me ANSWER!”
“Rain?” my voice cracked. “Come out.”
Still nothing.
I slammed my fist into the mirror, It rippled but didn’t break.
I cursed, grabbed the frame, and shook it hard.
“RAIN!”
My voice echoed through the abandoned house.
Nothing answered back.
I stared at the mirror like it was the enemy.
My pulse thundered in my ears.
Wherever Rain was…
She was not on this side anymore.
My grip tightened on the frame, knuckles white.
“I swear,” I whispered, voice low, furious, scared, “if something took you..”
The mirror shimmered.
Mocking me.
I inhaled sharply, gathering power into my fist.
“I WILL BREAK THIS ENTIRE DIMENSION APART.”
I punched the mirror and the mirror swallowed my hand.
I froze.
The glass wasn’t glass.
It was a portal.
A portal that Rain was inside.
Beneath my breath, I whispered:
“Rain… what the hell did you walk into?”