Behind The Reflection: Study attempt 1
This is part 9 of 12. More coming Thursday.
After my first interview with Alan, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said—five hundred years in a world where mirrors became doorways and sunlight rained darkness. I had to know more. So I got to work.
I built a camera.
Not a regular one—this one was custom, rigged with experimental tech, and reinforced to withstand almost anything this strange world could throw at it... I think. My plan was simple: figure out a way to slip the camera through the mirror without breaking it entirely. I wanted to open a portal just wide enough.
But it didn’t work.
No matter what I tried, the mirror refused to open again. It just sat there, silent, reflective, and sealed. Hours passed. I kept adjusting the frame, tweaking the lens, and running calculations, but nothing happened. It was just a mirror now.
That’s when Abigail came back.
She walked into the lab with a hollow look in her eyes. Pale. Shaken. She didn’t say a word at first. Just sat down at one of the workbenches, hands trembling slightly.
Concerned, I walked over and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
She didn’t meet my eyes. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“He’s insane.”
Before I could press further, she opened up like a floodgate—words spilling out faster than I could process.
“He shows signs of being a serial killer—but with even less empathy. Less care. Like, he doesn’t like anyone anymore. Not his wife. Not his children. He claims he’s forgotten who they were. He doesn’t see people as people anymore—just as threats. Or meals.”
I stared at her. Frozen. “That couldn’t be real.”
But Abigail wasn’t the type to exaggerate. She was one of the most grounded scientists I’d met—methodical, logical, and deeply ethical. If she said something disturbed her, I trusted it.
Still… I had to hear it from him myself.
I immediately applied to interview Alan again. Whatever he was—whatever that world had turned him into—I needed to see it with my own eyes.
And when I finally did?
I found that Abigail had understated his condition.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. This is part 9 of 12, so if you are interested in how this story continues, hit subscribe. And all stories are better to talk about with friends so please share the story. thank you again, hope to see you soon.
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