Chapter 2: The World Inside the Mirror
“What are you talking about? This must be Judy’s prank again,” Daniel counters. He doesn’t want any commotion in the hotel, but his face is just as pale as the rest of us.
“I’ve got rooms for you. It’s getting late. Let’s go to a room for two.”
Among the girls, only Judy gets on with me. Now there are only 17 of us, so naturally, I have a room to myself.
The thunder outside sounds like it will be rumbling all night. I can’t sleep well, either. I finally doze off at about four o’clock in the morning, and in my dream, I see Judy standing in front of me, holding out her hand. I wake up from my imagination and open my eyes. It is just six o’clock.
I rub my aching forehead and look out of the window. Clouds are still gathering outside. Strange things happen when I try to open the door. The door and the door frame seem to grow together. Is this door broken?
Suddenly, the patterns on the walls and ceiling begin to change. The markings gradually become vivid.
Wrist-thin vines break through the wall and wrap themselves around my limbs. The vines are tearing my body in all four directions. I try to open my mouth to make a sound for help, but a vine fills my mouth.
My mind is drifting. Am I dying?
The door of the room seems to be split after a loud noise. The vines that have entangled me before quickly retract back to the wall. I am thrown to the ground. Am I saved? I lost my consciousness.
“Emma, Emma, wake up.”
When I open my eyes again, I see Mika.
“Mika, am I dead? Why are you here?” I throw myself into Mika’s arms, tears streaming down my face.
“No, you’re still alive. This place is dangerous. I need to get you out of here right now.” Mika anxiously pulls me up from the ground.
“My friend Judy is missing. Could you please help her too?”
I can see the hesitation in Mika’s eyes.
“Well, I broke the law to come here anyway.”
Law? What law? I haven’t had the time to ask, and Mika has taken a mirror out of his backpack. The mirror is a little bigger than the palm of his hand. Mika bites his finger and smears the blood on the mirror.
Bummer. The bloody mirror flies into the air by itself.
“Emma, take my hand. Don’t be afraid.” Mika holds out his hand.
“I trust you no matter what,” I say to myself as I took his hand.