Laura stepped into the pulsating nightclub, the bass thudding through her chest like a primal heartbeat. At 29, she had seen her share of wild nights, but tonight something felt different. The air was thick with smoke and neon haze, and the crowd swirled around her like shadows. She squeezed through to the restroom, craving a moment to collect herself.
As she stood before the cracked mirror, her reflection wavered strangely. Blinking, Laura frowned. The face staring back was blank. No eyes. No mouth. Just a smooth, pale surface where her features should be. She shook her head, heart pounding. It had to be a trick of the light, a prank of her tired mind.
But then the blank face smiled. A slow, sinister curl that wasn't her own.
Frozen, Laura’s breath caught. She reached out, fingertips brushing the cool glass. The mirror rippled under her touch like black water. Behind her, the thumping music faded, replaced by a whispering chorus of voices that seemed to seep from the walls themselves.
Suddenly, her reflection moved. A chilling, alien motion that her own body refused to make. The blank face pressed a finger against the inside of the glass, beckoning.
"Come join me," it seemed to say.
Laura stumbled back, knocking over a bin. The bathroom lights flickered violently as the whispers grew into screams. She scrambled toward the exit, but the door slammed shut with a deafening bang.
Her reflection remained, blank and smiling.
Trapped between two worlds, Laura realised the horror she'd glimpsed wasn't just in the mirror. It was inside her, waiting to erase everything she was and become her instead.