Mirror (by Liliane Lalonder)

Ah yes. The familiar feel of glass. A magnificent mirror under the touch of my fingertips. There is a crack. The glass is cold. Cold breeze of the dark alley hits my sweaty neck and gives me chills. I ignore it. The mirror is the only way and it seems easy to push. [[Push the mirror!]]

At first it feels as if nothing were behind it, but after few centimeters I have to add some force. Then I stop. Something must be blocking it from the other side. There is a crack between the mirror and the wall. A sudden wave of cold air comes from behind. I start shivering. It is something one does not expect in the middle of August. And the weather this year has been ecceptionally hot. I push the mirror again. It is harder to push now for some unknown reason. Little did i know! The mirror falls on the floor of the hall behind it and shatters to hundreds of pieces. [[Continue.]]

The sound of the shattering glass is loud. I begin looking around in a hurry, checking if anyone has heard the noise. I wait a a few seconds. It seems no one did. I run out into the middle of a street, leaving the dark alley behind me. The street is just one block from the main road, yet, i can´t hear any traffic. There is a bridge over the river, but there are no cars. No way! There should be at least some at this hour. I think to myself. I begin to panick a little. Then suddenly my phone gives a buzz. I take it out and unlock the screen. The first thing i look at is the time. The numbers are flashing and they keep changing, as if time has lost its meaning. It doesn´t make sense. But still, it makes me happy for some reason. I look at the notification. It is from FAC. So the Fantasy Action Comic have a new release? [[Let´s see.->click on the notification]] [[May be later.->leave it be]]

I click it on impulse. The episode begins loading. I hope it is not for a hiatus. I sit down on the warm pavement, waiting for the episode to load. It takes lot longer than usual, but it does, at last. After it loads, I begin reading it. The first few lines go as usual. The creator is grateful that I chose to read their piece, but as I come to the fifth line, something hits me. The line is still in basic letters, but I just simply can´t read it. Nor the rest of the page. It is gibberish. They seem like normal words, but with all the things happenning around, the text simply fails to translate into anything meaningfull. I play it off as a joke - a cruel one at that. Then I stand up. I take a long breath... and I sigh. I look back into the alley. Even from the street I can see the overwhelming whiteness from behind the mirror. I aproach. Standing in front of the mirror is weird. Behind it there is a long, white hall, apparently with no end. Taking into account the side of a relatively small building, this is not something i would expect. Chose the [["step-in ending"]] or opt for the [["go-home ending"]].

This is really not the time for reading. I can always come back to that later. I have a different thing to worry about now. What is going on? A shattered glass pane which should not shatter? A road with no traffic at a place otherwise busy at this hour? Is this some kind of joke? Am I being filmed for a cheap TV show? Now, come on! Take a long breath and [[try to stay calm]]. No, no, no! There ´s no time for it. I must [[search the area]] for some cues.

I enter. The opening where the mirror used to be is now sealed away. One of the white tiles gets lowered into the ground, and a moment later, a chest comes out. A transparent square appears in front of me. Written on it there is a text. It says: "SCENARIO ONE - THE LABYRINTH - UNLOCKED!" Ending 1: A Mysterious Place.

This is too much. I´d better go home and forget all about this. ...Right? I head towards a nearby bus station. The next bus should be comming soon. And then I realize how pointless this all appears - waiting for a bus with no people on the streets, no traffic and a heap of crashed cars in the middle of a blocked bridge. I stand up and walk quickly in the direction where my home is. I spend the rest of the day in my room. No one is coming back home that day. Nor the day after. It has been a few weeks now since I last saw somebody. Everyone dissappeared. I think I might be going insane. This isolation is not doing me much good. Ending 2: A Mad Woman.

I sit on the pavement, breathing in and out to calm myself down. I decide to read read the announcement in the phone. It begins with a thank you note from the creator and under the note there is just encripted text. Now, at first glance it did look like encrypted, but after closer inspection i seem to be able to actually read it. My brain infused with fantasy novels and comics automatically comes up with an answer. "The protagonist' power?" I chuckle. So this is a story and I am the main character? Cool! I scroll further down the page to leave a comment about the weird font, but instead, I find a note. I am surprized. The creator is leaving a link? They never add notes, especcially not in a form of an active link. [[http://prtl.hl->Portal]] This is absurd. I never click on unfamiliar links. I should forget all about this and chose the safe [["go-home ending"]].

I run down thre street, looking into the shop windows to see if there is anyone inside. I reach the end of the street without finding a living soul. I head towards the bridge. Oh, thanks God, cars at last! But wait! There are no people in them. And they are crashed into eachother. It seems as if the people driving them litarally disappeared into thin air. Let´s [[search the cars]]. Better [[keep searching the area instead]].

I begin searching the cars. Either for people or for some supplies - not that I need any or know if I do. I try my luck with a white truck. A "Metropolitan Plumbing Company" it says. I open the back door. I find stuff inside, supplies of some sort, ...uhm, no idea what for. Aha! Plumbing! Just as I thought? I pick up a crowbar, just in case there is an apocalypse happenning and a crow or two to bar with. Then I open the passangers door and look in the glovebox. I take the car medkit and stuff it in my bag. [[Go further.]]

I leave the cars where they are and continue my search all the way over the bridge. After some walking I realise I don't seem to be getting closer to the end. Huh. Something is definitely off. I begin running to try if it would get me anywhere, and, as expected, nothing. Now, the only thing to do is to either to stay on this bridge or jump off it into the river, which is something I really don´t want to do. [[Jump into the river.]] [[Stay on the bridge.]]

I step into the portal, my eyes shut as I pass through. I feel my foot reaching the ground. I slowly open my eyes. It appears to be the Purple Forest. "Hailey..?" a female voice behind me says. I recognise it. "May?" I quickly turn my head just to find out it is indeed my good friend May. I run, my arms spread. Somebody at last! Then a hug. Ending 3: In the Arms of a Good Friend.

The portal turns from purple to green and then to burning red. Ok. I step in now! I feel warmth and after a moment a smell of something burnt. My foot is burning. I am burning. Flames of crimson fire lick my body. I burn into a crisp. Ending 4: Burning Bright.

For some reason I ignore all the other cars and go over the bridge to the other bank. At the traffic lights I come across a telephone pole. Is that what they call this thing? My head seems focused on the pole. I feel I could just smash it open with something to test my character´s skills. [[Smash it.]]

I climb over the railing, one leg first and then the other. "Am I really doing this?" I ask myself. Finally I pose myself on the other side of the railing, holding it tightly behind my back and look down into the black mass of water. "Here goes!" Continue to the [[jump-in "ending"]].

No way am I getting into that dirty river. Plus, the bridge is really high up so there would be a small chance of getting out of the river alive after smashing into it. (Okay, the author is exaggerating a little here, but it was really high up to be honest!) Although, there really seems to be no other way to get out of here. I am ready for a [["go-back ending"]].

Wow. This feels nice. The wind flowing through my hair makes me feel like a dog for some reason. Then I remember that I am not good at swimming, oh oh...! My eyes widen with sudden understanding which makes the covering of my wide open mouth, even with both hands, quite a pathetic gesture. I really messed up this time, huh? Ending 5: A Little Fish in the River (Belly Up)

I direct my steps back the way I came here, hoping I will get somewhere this time. But, as surprising as it may be - to some, or not be - to others, I really get nowhere different. I start counting the cars and remembering their license plates and colors to find out that ...they repeat. Ending 6: Stuck in a Loop.

Ah, wait a moment! I still have to pull the crowbar out of my bag. Nice. Now I can smash things! I smash the pole. Really hard. I smash the metal box on the pole with all the electric thingies, sparks bursting out. To my astonishment, a little hand, or rather a claw, reaches out and opens the door to the box. "What have you done? Do you know how crazy expensive these are? If you don´t pay up, I will call the police on you! And I am not one to mess with! I am an ex-sheriff!", says the little creature. It just keeps talking and talking. [[Pay up and apologise.]] [[Don´t pay, be rude.]]

"I am really sorry, sir, eh, madam? I really didn´t know anyone lived here. Are you okay? I hope I didn´t hit you," I said. "No, you didn´t hit me. But you still have to pay for the damages to my door!" "How much does a door like this cost? I am really glad you are okay," I said to the creature. "Hmm, this door isn´t the original brand, but not a cheap one either. So I would say about 20 gold and a penny." "Uhmm, how much is a gold into dollars?" "Oh geez, can´t do simple math? 1 gold is about 25 cents." "Oh! so it is about 5 dollars and a penny, is that right?" "Yes it is. Now give me the coins!." "Okay. I don´t have coins, but i do have bills. Shall, say, a ten-dollar bill cover the spoils?" The creature now looks a little shocked. "T-ten dollars? Are you sure?" "Yes I am. I can´t express how sorry I am, so this is the least I can do." "Well then, if you are sure you won´t miss 10 dollars." The little creature reaches out its arms and I place the bill in its claws. "Thank you," it says. Then it turns and utters in a lower, conspiratory voice, "Do you need any help?" Ending 7: Friend of a Box Creature.

"Police? I would like to see if there is anyone else here apart the two of us. And how was I supossed to know you lived here? It´s a metal box. Do all ex-sheriffs in these parts live in metal boxes on telephone poles. Aren´t you affraid of the electricity inside?" The creature scoffs and looks me up and down. "Youngsters are so rude nowadays. I tell ya! You know what? I did warn you I would call the police." The creature made a hand gesture - or a claw gesture to be precise - representing a phone and then "dials" the police just like children do, when they play games. A minute later it said "Bye!" to its claw, turned to me and snapped: "They will be here any minute now! Be prepared for spending the rest of your life in a cell not much bigger than the house you destroyed." And just as he finishes, I feel tiny claws touching my wrists and pulling them behind my back. I am handcuffed and teleported to a jail cell. Ending 8: A New Inmate.

I click on the link. Instantly, my phone begins to vibrate, the screen lighting up in bright colours. Before i can do anything, my head is almost blown off by an explosion of light comming out of the display. I throw the phone away and it lands on the road. With my blurred vision i see a watery oval shape forming just where my phone has been a second ago. A portal? Chose the [["step-into-the-portal ending"]]. Chose the [["wait-a-moment ending"]].