It has been more than twenty-four hours since Aubrey went missing. After the girl crawled upside down on the ceiling and disappeared into the dark hallway, Lorraine hasn't heard any news about her adopted daughter's whereabouts. And it tears her apart.

Sandra and Bob have been staying with her to keep her company and to keep her sane. She can't argue because she knows that she's close to losing it. Aubrey's disappearance throws her back to the day Claire got killed. After so many years, the wound of losing her best friend is still raw. She wakes up every day thinking about how things would turn out if she listened to Claire's warnings. She wishes she took her words seriously. The idea of losing someone she cares dearly once again, to the same demon, wrecks her.

Lorraine hasn't changed clothes since prom night. For now, her appearance and hygiene is the last thing that bothers her. She just doesn't want to waste another minute on getting dressed when she hears some news. And that's what happens when Bob bursts into the kitchen.

"They found her! She's alive and they're bringing her to the hospital now!" he says in one breath.

Lorraine ditches the tea she's just finished brewing. Grabbing her purse from the hallway, she dashes to Bob's car in the front yard. "Where did she find her? Is she alright? Is she awake? Is she hurt?" Lorraine asks with a shaky voice, mirroring her tremor hands that are trying to fasten the seat belt.

"Let me." Bob takes the latch plate from Lorraine before inserting it into the buckle. "Aubrey is unconscious but they said there are no serious injuries. A group of hikers found her deep in the forest."

🔹🔹🔹

"One of these doors must be the exit." Aubrey paces back and forth in the dark corridor. "But none of them is accessible. They're all locked."

"How did you get out of here the first time?" Her mom's voice echoes from inside the room. "Can you do the same thing?"

"I was dreaming. Everything stopped when I woke up... wait, what brought me here then? Because I found the mirror after the dream." When there is no response from her mother, Aubrey calls, "Mom?"

"Aubrey." Claire calling her real name instead of her nickname prompts Aubrey to hold her breath. "Before your first visit, I'd been calling out for you. I knew it was around the time for him to come to you. And then I did the thing that I wasn't supposed to do."

"What did you do?"

"I prayed for you. I prayed to whom I shouldn't pray."

Goosebumps prickle all over Aubrey's skin when the scene in her dream replays in her head. "Is that why you got tortured like that? Was it even real?"

"Yes, but listen. My prayer must've reached you and brought you here. The demon didn't plan it, because you shouldn't be able to access this place unless you find the gate. And as far as I know, it's not that easy. The other possibility is the demon summons you but then your soul is held captive, like us."

Aubrey's blood runs cold. "Does it mean I'm now held captive and going to be stuck here forever?"

"No. If that was the case, you would have occupied one of the rooms." Claire's voice sounds tentative. "I do believe it's the mirror. It used to be my gate to the spirit world when I played around with the occult objects back in the days."

Aubrey frowns. "If it was the mirror, how do I go back without having it with me?"

"Did you hold the mirror when you entered here?"

Aubrey tilts her head, trying to recall the scene in that living room. "I believe so."

"You should have had the mirror with you when you arrived here..."

The image of Asher undressing her and assaulting her body makes Aubrey whimper. "I was on the verge of fainting when I jumped here. Maybe I dropped the mirror in the process? Or..." Aubrey glances at her surroundings.

"The demon who possessed you dropped the mirror deliberately to prevent you from coming back," Claire finishes her line. The screeching sound of her iron chains indicates she's walking back and forth across the room. "My friends and I often used the mirror to communicate with the spirits and visit their world, but never this place. Until I learned that it brought more harm than advantages. I then tried to destroy it a few times, but it kept coming back. I remember Franz told me that the mirror needed to be destroyed in the spirit world, where it belongs, then it will be destroyed forever. We need to bring it here."

"But how?"

"I was already dead when my soul was sent here for good, and I didn't have the mirror with me when I got killed. But your body is still out there; alive and breathing. We should be able to bring it here through you."

"But if it's destroyed here, how are we going to get out of here?"

"We will find a way. Once we get you out of here, I'll destroy it for good."

"What do you mean by–" Aubrey's voice falters as a familiar growl thunders in the air before the door in front of her swings open.

The room is exactly how she remembers it. Worn-out wallpapers, the wooden planks over the window, the hanging golden lamps, and the iron chains. Only, her mom is now levitated. Between her auburn hair that is falling all over her face, her eyes widen in horror but her lips are tightly pressed into one line. An immense dark figure stands behind her. It looks almost like a human. Two horns protrude on both sides of its bullhead, and its eyes gleam a golden-red hue.

It sneers. "Hello, my child. Enjoying a reunion with your beloved mother?"

🔹🔹🔹

Lorraine wraps her interlaced fingers around Aubrey's limp hand. Prayers never stop flowing from her lips. Her eyes are fixed on the girl who is still lying unconscious in front of her. An IV fluid is hooked up to her arm, as well as the wires from the EKG machine. Sandra, who is standing behind her, puts her hand on Lorraine's shoulder as she says her prayer too.

"She will be alright, Lori. Things could have been way worse than this, but they didn't. Because they can't kill her. Aubrey's body and soul aren't theirs," says Sandra.

"But she hasn't been awake for two days." Lorraine feels the sting in the corners of her eyes, the familiar sensation before the tears start forming. She's never cried this much in her life. Even when Claire died, she didn't cry for a while because she was angry at herself. "I've never been so scared like this, Sandra."

"We will keep praying for her. Hopefully, it will bring her back to us." Sandra squeezes Lorraine's shoulder gently. "The pastors are coming tomorrow. We will get help."

Lorraine places her hand over Sandra's. "Thank you for being here with us for all this time."

"Don't mention it. Aubrey is a family to me despite what happened in the past. You are a family."

Lorraine sniffles. "I should've told her about Bob. I should've done it a long time ago. I was just not ready to answer the rest of the questions about Claire. I'm still not."

"I understand. But I agree that you should've done it earlier. She has a right to know about her brother. Also, Bob is dying to call her sister in front of everyone."

With a stiff smile on the lips, Lorraine reverts her eyes to the girl. "I kept telling myself that not telling her now would protect her. But it turned out, it was me I was protecting, not her. I've been so selfish." Lorraine wipes off the tear on her cheek with her fingers. "I promise I will make it right. She just needs to wake up."

"She will. And on that note, I'm going to go home now," Sandra says as she glances at the bag on the table. "I'll bring some clean clothes for you later. Is that your coat that Aubrey was wearing when they found her? I can wash it for you."

Lorraine follows Sandra's eyes. "Oh, yeah. I don't think it's still in one piece."

Lorraine stands and trudges to the table. When she pulls the black garment out of the bag, a small object glides down and falls on the floor, creating a cracking sound. Lorraine looks down. A dark mirror with a golden metal frame lies on the floor, split into two.

🔹🔹🔹