Young Writers Society

When you come to, you find yourself in a room full of mirrors. The ceiling is white, and the floor is a silky soft black carpet that stretches to the corner of the room, but the walls are covered in mirrors. This isn't your typical mirror funhouse at the carnival though. These mirrors don't warm your reflection, they reflect your deepest desires... your wildest fantasies. Your dreams you may not dare to dream, or think are too high and lofty to ever be realistically within reach.

At first, though, they just look like normal mirrors, and a quick glance into them will only show your face looking back at you. But if you look into them long enough... well, the visions before you will look so real you could almost touch it.

But maybe it's not as far out of reach as it seems.

When Kira first came to, she was in a room full of mirrors.

The last thing she remembered was the meeting. Maybe someone had altered the Center again. Most liked to keep things uniform; only the youngest of them actually used the Center to its full extent. Walls lined with mirrors were something she hadn't seen before, but it wouldn't be out of the question.

She got to her feet.

When she glanced around, she couldn't find any kind of exit. Even thinking of one failed to make it appear. Maybe one of the mirrors had a trick exit - if she looked hard enough, she would be able to find it.

But all she saw was her face reflected back at her.

Kira let out a sigh. She reached into her pocket for her phone, only to remember that she had left it outside the meeting room - it was Illence's new rules.

She sighed again.

If she was lucky, Ray would notice she was gone. One of the others might, too, but it was Ray who was always seemed to care.

She reached a hand up and fingered the necklace dangling above her chest.

The bed of grass and his scratchy blanket were gone. James opened his eyes and found himself lying on his back, with all of his belongings gone. He knew what was happening at this point - something, someone, somewhere had brought him to this terrible, terrible air-conditioned room to do something.

For a moment though, he hoped it was all a dream. James pinched his eyes shut and opened them again. He didn't feel like he was sleeping. He wasn't sure he felt very awake, though either. Either way, the room still remained, and he stared up at the blank white ceiling. There were long tube light-fixtures that lit the room, but this didn't feel quite like a regular home.

He sat up, looking at the wall of mirrors around him. Seeing so many reflections himself in such clarity felt distinctly unsettling, and the only comfort he had was on the dark floor. A comfort that was quickly ripped away when he touched it and found it was soft like a velvet rabbit. He didn't want to know what the carpet was made of, and he couldn't explain why the texture made his skin crawl, but it did.

Though he noticed others lying on the floor around him and waking, he couldn't bring himself to look up. He kept catching glimpses of himself, and he hated seeing his reflection. He didn't understand why anyone would fill a room with mirrors, but knowing his luck, it was probably to make him and everyone else uncomfortable anyways.

Well, they succeeded.

James stared down into his lap, trying to prepare himself for the inevitable.

If finding a way out was possible, he would, but this didn't feel quite like the other times he'd found himself far from home. This felt different. This room couldn't be all there was.

Adam woke in an unfamiliar place. It wasn't his bed, and Mary wasn't beside him. He worried. She was seven months pregnant now, and it was proving to be a difficult pregnancy. Mary was often in pain, so he felt like he had to be there for her. And yet, the doctors said their girl would be healthy. Maybe it was just that with Adam and Mary both pushing forty, they weren't young anymore.

He was in a room full of mirrors. How had he gotten here? Maybe it was a very vivid dream. There were two others. A man and a woman, both younger.

Adam stood up, looking at the mirrors. Something was strange, though he couldn't put his finger on what.

Bobby opened his eyes and immediately panicked. But the funhouse-

His gaze darted around, and it dawned on him that this was not the funhouse. He got shakily to his feet and backed up, away from the group of people who were just starting to wake up like he was.

One thought repeated over and over in his mind, and endless, spiraling line of bad code.

What's going on?

He jumped before he even realized someone touched his shoulder, whirling around as his breath quickened.

"Whoa, kid," Queenie had her hands up in surrender, her lips twitching into a small smile, "It's just me."

He calmed down a little and huddled closer to her, trembling. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Hey, hey," she gently nudged him away, "Stand up straight. We'll figure it out faster if you're not clinging to me like a lost puppy."

The sharpness in her tone made him flinch, but he nodded and corrected his posture.

When Adam looked into the mirror, at first he only saw his reflection. Then, before he had the chance to introduce himself to the others, it changed.

The boy he saw in the mirror was himself, though subtract about thirty-five years. He hadn't thought about that part of himself in a long time. He was standing in the grass, wearing shorts and a green and blue striped shirt. A baseball cap.

He was wearing a mitt too. Four year old Adam caught a baseball. Then he had a chance to see who had thrown it. His father. He was wearing a short-sleeved button down and corduroy pants, looking more presentable than Adam ever remembered him being. His hair combed and gelled back, he looked sharp in the sunglasses he wore.

Sitting a ways from them on a picnic blanket was his mother, reading a book. Casino Royale. The book he'd always tried to get her to read and she never did. She waved to the two, and that was when Adam noticed the McDonald's box. She took out three burgers and sodas out and laid them. Adam and his father went to join her. And beside Sarah was... a baby carriage. The mirror didn't show who was in it, but Adam knew. His sister, Susan.

And then, just like that, it was over. Adam took a deep breath. His face felt hot. Why show him this, something had never happened? And had the others seen it?

James took in a deep breath and stood up. There was an older man near him who was maybe in his 30's or 40's by the looks of it and probably from a modern version of earth.

What was displayed in the mirror seemed like a memory playing out like some kind of video on the mirror's flat surface, except something about it was more life-like. It didn't feel like he was looking at a screen. It felt more like looking through a window. A knot formed in his stomach as the realization quickly sunk in: if the memories of this man were showing, that meant his probably would too, if he looked in the mirrors.

At that moment, he determined to not look in any mirrors. At least, until he had a better idea of what was going on.

He focused his gaze on the man instead, determined to avoid any direct glances in the mirrors. He drew a little closer, noticing the man's expression and flushed face.

"Are you alright?"

When other people appeared, Kira knew that something was wrong.

She could feel the sense of unease settling in her chest - this wasn't just some kind of prank. She didn't recognize anyone else there, and she tried her best to remember the faces of the newest dei. She took a deep breath to steady herself, tried to shake away both her unease and her tiredness, and decided to check their souls.

Four floating human hearts, nestled next to actual ones of tissue and blood. They weren't reapers. They weren't dei. And their souls were bound to the rest of their bodies, so they had to be living.

She fingered her necklace again, trying to fight off the darkness.

She took a step towards the two men - ready to offer a word of comfort of her own - but then she caught a glimpse of her reflection. She stared at it, desperately trying to make sure that she wasn't slipping in her panic. She wasn't. She could find comfort in that.

She started to turn away.

But then she saw a glimpse of long, dark hair and an outstretched hand, and her grip on her necklace tightened so much that the metal started to dig into her skin. This couldn't be real. She knew it couldn't be. But, Council above, she wanted to think it was him. She wanted him to step out from behind the glass and comfort her like he had when she first joined the Circle.

She blinked away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and fully turned away from the mirror he had appeared in.

Adam was about to answer the other man when he was distracted by the dream version of his family playing out on the mirror in front of him. His mother had had taken Susan out of her baby carriage and Adam held her now.

It was so real he could touch it. He approached it, and pressed on the mirror. And before he knew it, he smelt first the mountain air. Then, meat on the grill. He heard the laughter of children. And The Beach Boys Surfin' Safari playing on someone's stereo.

Adam looked down and saw his clothes. He was dressed in a short sleeved blue and white striped polo, khaki pants and Oxfords. Sharp sunglasses. If people saw him next to his father now, they'd look like twins.

He was there. He was actually there. This park existed. It still did. His family just never went to it.

Adam took a deep breath, and tried to place his family. That was when he saw them a ways off. Still, his legs felt like lead. He couldn't do it.

Queenie was about to give Bobby another word of advice - by the gods, that boy was paranoid - maybe tell him to keep his mouth shut and let her do the talking, when suddenly they were in a different place.

She felt Bobby's hands twisting in her hair, braiding the ends of it, undoing it, and braiding again. Quick, nimble fingers barely doing more than swaying the strands. She wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't so acutely aware of the boy hunched over behind her.

She was still, her eyes surveying the park, the people. "Where are we?" she asked the guy closest to her, a tired-looking man with shaggy brown hair. She asked the question pleasantly, in her stranger-voice, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she'd seen this guy before.

James almost wished the sudden and alarming change of scenery was a surprise, but at this point, he almost expected it. When the man opened the door, the image in the mirror became a reality for all of them apparently, and they were immersed in the memory.

He watched as the man's clothes suddenly changed, seeming to fit with the style of the other people in the park. He was relieved to still be in his own clothes.

He was about to ask his question again since them man seemed too in shock to reply, but the girl with the little boy came up beside him.

Bold of her, to assume he knew where they were.

James nodded in the direction of the man who'd opened the door and dragged them all with him (though he likely didn't mean to).

"We're in this guy's memory, I think. He saw all this in the mirror before he pushed the mirror open like a door, and then we were here," he said quietly, not sure if they were supposed to disturb the scene. "That's all I know."

Kira was used to jarring transitions from one place to the next, but she wasn't used to it happening in a place that wasn't the Center. It didn't even seem like she had gone through a rift - the only change that had happened was the older man going through what should have been a mirror.

She took a deep breath and assessed the situation. Going off of the outfits and the music playing on a stereo somewhere in what had to be a park, they had to be somewhere in the past. She tried to recall when she had seen outfits like that. When she had dressed in outfits like that. 1960s, maybe? Council above, that was before Ray had even been created.

The 1960s were nice, she guessed. It just wasn't where she really wanted to be right now - especially with barely any explanation for how she had gotten there in the first place.

"We're in the 1960s," she said, finally joining the others. "I think we are, at least. I'm a little rusty on my years."

She didn't add that it was hard to keep track of them, given how old she was. If everyone else was human, she knew that she had to pretend she was one, too. It was how things were always done, and how things would always be.

"I'm Kira," she offered, clasping her necklace's charm in one hand.

James looked over at the other girl who walked up. Kira.

"James," he offered.

Adam realized the others were introducing themselves and quickly waved. "Adam."

He realized, if they were where he thought he was, the ice cream stand wasn't far. And it was probably cheap too.

That's when he saw it. 25 cents a cone. The line was a few people long and he stood and waited, not thinking to ask the others if they wanted any. After a moment, he became aware of a man standing beside him. His father.

Adam took a deep breath. Jay didn't seem to notice, but of course, why would he?They were more or less the same age. Still, as the line grew deeper, Adam thought of something to say.

"We could be twins," he managed.

Jay smirked. "My wife said she saw someone she thought was me the other day. Maybe it was you."

"Maybe," Adam replied, knowing full well it wasn't true. "I'm Adam."

Jay smiled again. "That's my son's name."

Adam laughed nervously. "It's a good name. And yours?"

"Jay." As they shook, his hand was warm to the touch. Like it never was in real life. Something about this was wrong. Just then, the music changed. Brian Hyland's Sealed With a Kiss.

"Your family here today?" Adam asked, playing dumb.

"Indeed we are," Jay said. "They've all requested ice cream."

"Good on a day like today."

To this, Jay simply smiled. And Adam thought about how he was going to talk to his family. His sister was here too.

God.

Queenie picked a persona. Idyllic, charming place. Good place for a family picnic. Family...She put an arm around Bobby's shoulders and drew him in close, trying not to think about how he definitely had lice, and put on a smile.

"Hi," she greeted the guy who looked suspiciously like....shit. "I'm Queenie," she said, keeping a nearly perfect facade despite that evaluation, "My little brother and I are a bit lost. We were supposed to meet our parents...um, somewhere," she gave an embarrassed laugh, "I'm sure we'll figure it out. Um, where are we?"