Chapter 2: The First Glimpse

Anna’s breath hitched as the movement in the mirror grew clearer. At first, she thought it was just her reflection shifting from the flickering candlelight, but then she realized it wasn’t copying her. While she stood frozen, the reflection tilted its head slowly, an eerie smile curling across its lips.

“Anna?” Logan’s voice broke the silence, snapping her out of her trance.

“I…” She blinked, and the reflection snapped back to normal—her own face staring back at her, wide-eyed and pale.

“What did you see?” Mia asked, clutching a throw pillow tightly.

Anna hesitated, glancing at the mirror. “Nothing,” she lied. She wasn’t sure if she imagined it, and she didn’t want to scare the others. “It’s just a game.”

Ryan snorted. “Lame. I was expecting something cooler.”

“Maybe you’re just bad at it,” Logan teased. “Let me try.”

Anna stepped aside reluctantly, watching as Logan took her place in front of the mirror. He adjusted his leather jacket, smirking. “Alright, let’s see what this ‘game’ is all about.”

He repeated the chant, his voice dripping with mockery: “Mirror, mirror, show me what’s true. What I seek, reveal to me, too.”

The room grew colder again, the candle’s flame flickering violently. Logan leaned closer to the mirror, squinting. “See? Nothing’s happening—”

The flame went out.

Darkness swallowed the room, followed by a loud crack! The group screamed as the sound echoed.

“What the hell was that?” Sophia’s voice trembled as she fumbled for her phone’s flashlight.

The light illuminated the mirror, now splintered with a jagged crack running through it. Logan stepped back, his smirk replaced with genuine fear.

“Who broke it?” Ryan demanded, but no one answered.

Suddenly, a whisper slithered through the silence: “You shouldn’t have looked away.”

Everyone froze. It hadn’t come from any of them.

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The whisper lingered in the air, sending chills down their spines. Everyone looked around frantically, but there was no one else in the room.

“Did… did anyone else hear that?” Mia whispered, clutching Anna’s arm.

“Of course we did,” Ryan snapped, his bravado cracking under the pressure. “What kind of joke is this?”

“It’s not a joke!” Anna shot back, her voice sharper than she intended. She glanced at the broken mirror, dread pooling in her stomach. “The book said not to break the mirror. We should’ve stopped.”

Logan, still staring at his fractured reflection, swallowed hard. “It was an accident. I didn’t touch it.”

“Then who did?” Sophia’s voice wavered as she stepped back, her flashlight trembling in her hand.Before anyone could answer, the candle reignited on its own. The small flame burned brighter than before, casting an unnatural, bluish glow that made their faces look ghostly. The room fell deathly silent, except for a faint tapping sound.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was coming from the mirror.

“Is this part of the game?” Ryan asked nervously, his eyes darting to Anna.

“No,” Anna said, her voice barely audible. She remembered the book’s warning: Do not look away from your reflection. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the cracked mirror.

The tapping grew louder. From the fractured surface, a hand pressed against the glass, pale and skeletal, its fingers scraping down the cracks. mirror.

The tapping grew louder. From the fractured surface, a hand pressed against the glass, pale and skeletal, its fingers scraping down the cracks.

“Everyone, back away,” Logan said, his voice low and commanding.

“No,” Anna whispered, her feet rooted to the floor. “If we look away, it might get worse.”