The last rays of daylight had long since faded below the horizon, leaving only what appeared to be a peaceful darkness in the atmosphere. Not even a stray bird call dared to interrupt the quiet, as if nature itself was fearful of retaliation. A certain group did not share the same inhibitions, however, as they approached a forest clearing that appeared to be the center of the strange silence.

"Come on, just go touch it, what's the worst that could happen?" urged one of the boys in the group as the rest stared on at the object in the center of the clearing, "We're already trespassing anyway."

"Why don't you get near it then," the subject of the previous boy's encouragement replied.

"No way, you're the ghost expert here," the boy shot back.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the other boy questioned, his dark eyes flashing in the night.

"Did you forgot why we're here in the first place?" said the first boy as an exasperated look cast over his sharp facial features, "People have been seeing strange lights near here recently. Apparently some people were even found in a coma. Those are huge signs of ghostly activity."

"Yeah, and your grandma taught you all about ghost stuff during her weird witch exorcisms," one of the previously quiet boys spoke up, giving a small chuckle as he finished.

"Yeah right," the dark eyed boy gave a sarcastic response,"You guys know my grandma is just a crazy bat, obsessing with cauldrons and make believe spirits. I hardly even paid attention to the things she tried to teach me."

"You're still the most qualified person here," the sharp faced boy insisted.

The dark eyed boy stayed quiet for a minute, taking a moment to contemplate the strange object causing this debate. In the center of the clearing sat an inconspicuous mirror, oblivious to the surrounding disruptions. The decrepit thing had been shattered an unknowable time ago, and was seemingly forgotten by whoever had placed it in its current position, given the green overgrowth encroaching on the mirror's ornate frame.

Said frame perfectly outlined the cracked center in a deep black that seemed to leech in the surrounding moonlight. Etched into the dark material of the frame were a number of exquisite carvings depicting a plethora of images that the dark eyed boy could only just identify from his position. The images vaguely resembled a piece of abstract art, being nothing more than a series of interconnecting shapes with soft edges.

A closer examination might have netted more details, but the boy was in no hurry to approach the...mirror. Right, the boy thought it flickered to something else for a second, but nobody else had given a reaction, so he attributed it to nerves.

Regardless, the object seemed to emanate a distinct feeling of eeriness, sending occasional shivers down the spine of each boy in the group. The shivers unnerved the group, but each boy also felt some sort of attraction to the creepy mirror, preventing them from outright running from the clearing.

While the dark eyed boy was not entirely comfortable with approaching the shattered mirror, he couldn't deny the curiosity growing within him. He had originally joined this little expedition after hearing about a number of disappearances in this area, and was now sure this broken mirror was related to the mystery.

This line of thought brought the boy back to the comments about his witch grandmother, and he vaguely recalled some of the more eccentric objects she liked to keep around her home. The mirror reminded him of few objects that his grandma kept hidden in sealed cases. Each of them also emanated some sort of emotion.

The dark eyed boy grasped the pendant around his neck, a gift from his grandmother many birthdays ago. It was one of the emanating objects, albeit a far less sinister one. The feeling it gave contrasted with the mirror, clearing his mind of fear. In this new state, the boy finally resolved himself.

He gave a passing glance to the rest of the group, and silently took his first step forward. The sharp faced boy gave a small cheer at that, glad his convincing was successful. Ignoring the sound, the dark eyed boy walked on. His first steps were slow, wary as he entered the clearing. Another second later, the boy's speed suddenly increased.

The boy was overcome by an overwhelming desire, a need, to reach the mirror. The shattered object created a longing within his being, steadily becoming stronger the closer he approached. The boy's rapid steps continued until he was within arms reach of the shattered mirror. Entranced, the boy gave no attention to his warped reflection staring from within the mirror, reaching his hand out instead.

As the boy's arm moved from his side, a light white glow started to emit from the pendant around his neck, almost holy in tone. The light steadily brightened as the boy's hand inched ever closer to the mirror, until the mirror started to absorb the light. It did so violently, leaving jagged holes in the otherwise impeccable white light. It appeared as if the objects were competing to see which could work faster; the pendant was constantly brightening while the mirror voraciously sucked in the light. The battle reached its peak just before the boy's fingers brushed against the mirror, until contact was inevitably made.

At the moment of contact, the rest of the boy's hand was suddenly drawn against the cracked surface, throwing him off balance. The objects also resolved their combat, with the pendant's white light withdrawing to only thinly cover the boy's body. But even this covering was flickering as the boy's body jerked towards the mirror. Before his other limbs could make contact, a repulsing force threw him back, the white covering having finally failed.

Stunned from being thrown against the ground, the boy awoke from his trance-like state. He quickly got up and turned his head to make sense of the situation, only to see the group of boys still at the edge of the clearing. They all had awed looks on their faces, and the dark eyed boy shifted his gaze to where their attention was directed. There he saw...himself? Confused, the dark eyed boy blinked, but the image remained the same. He was currently standing up, but also laying down.

Disregarding the boy's apparent bafflement, his body on the ground started to fade out, until there was no trace of it. Blinking again, the boy looked back over to where his group had been, but discovered they had also disappeared. Unable to comprehend what just happened, the boy turned towards the likely cause.

Unchanged, the mirror remained where it had been before, offering no answers to the dark eyed boy's many questions. Failing at his attempts to understand the night's events, the boy reached for his pendant, the object which had provided him with a sense of calm just moments earlier. His hand only grasped air though, and once the boy realized that, he entered into a panic much greater than the one earlier.

The dark eyed boy had worn that pendant for as long as he could remember, and it not being on him created a disharmonious feeling within him. He had to find it, and started to search the ground around him, hoping it had only been knocked off by his previous fall. After a minute of frantic searching, the boy realized that it was a fruitless endeavor, causing him to descend further into despair.

Crack! A sudden noise interrupted the boy's wallowing. He looked up to determine the source, only to see a greatly disturbing sight. The sinister mirror responsible for his dilemma was transforming. The frame that fed on light was slowly elongating as branches of darkness extended into the mirror itself. While the shoots of dark steadily increased in size, the reflective surface was engulfed, disappearing. The darkness then merged into the frame, fitting in seamlessly. This process finished, the frame focused entirely on growing and altering its shape, generating sizeable amounts of creaks and groans as it did so.

Gradually, a figure could be made out within the writhing material. At first glance, the figure was similar to a human, but many discrepancies were visible when inspected further. A pair of constantly changing horns grew from the figure's head, resembling a ram in one instant and a bull in the next. The proportions of its body were also strange. The figure's body seemed longer than it should be, and its arms looked stretched out with the hands almost touching the ground. Its legs were smooth cylinders, almost excessive in their thickness. Of particular note was the lack of contours across the figure's body, with no visible elbows or knees. Overall, the figure was far more geometric than any living being had a right to be.

Most horrifying to the boy, was how the figure amplified the frame's original properties. Natural light vanished upon reaching a certain threshold around the figure, leaving only a void. The void ceaselessly shifted, and all the boy could think of when looking at it was tangible chaos. As the mirror's transformation drew on, the void surrounding it expanded.

Having no desire to find out the possible dangers of this mirror-creature and its aura, the boy dashed away from the clearing. Refusing to look back, he ran until the clearing was far behind him, only stopping once he was out of breath. Taking a second to orient himself, the boy unceremoniously plopped down behind the nearest tree, heaving for breath.

With time to finally reflect on the situation, the boy couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Why had the mirror transformed? What was it transforming into? Also, where even was he? The boy had run without regard for his surroundings, and was now hopelessly lost among a sea of trees. He would've tried to retrace his steps, but that would only lead him back to the mirror-creature. He didn't think staying in one place would help the situation either, so decided to set off in a random direction, figuring the forest would eventually end if he walked long enough.

Unfortunately, a short time after his departure, the boy came across another strange happening. As he was walking, he had started hearing a disturbing crunch sound. The crunching sound appeared to be nearby, and the boy wondered whether he should investigate. He probably shouldn't, as it might be something related to the mirror-creature, but it could also be something that would help him. The boy wasn't sure how anything out here could possibly be helpful, but decided to be hopeful.

Peeking from behind a tree, the boy was able to observe the cause of the sound. A person was hunched over in-between some trees, with their back facing the boy. But the person looked wrong somehow. They were clearly shorter than a normal people would be, and were naked aside from a small loincloth, giving a clear view to the numerous blemishes makring their body. Grotesque warts and sores covered every appendage, and while the boy couldn't see their face, he was sure it would be the same. The weirdest thing about the person though, was the sickly green light that rolled off their matching green skin.

The boy normally wouldn't judge appearances, but the obvious disfigurement of this person made him think it wasn't quite a...person. As for what the not-person was doing, the boy couldn't be sure, but its arms were rapidly moving between the ground and its face, while its head was bobbing irregularly. In sync with the head movements, the light around it gave slight fluctuations, darkening by almost imperceptible amounts as it did so.

After another moment of observation, the creature shifted slightly. The new view allowed the boy to see that it was eating something. A small bunny-like animal was laying on the ground in front of the creature, its side torn open. The boy wasn't sure why, but the animal looked as if it had been dunked in water, its fur wet and matted. The animal also gave off a quickly fading blue light, much like the green creature.

The scene of two glowing creatures undergoing one of nature's miracles was very bizarre to the boy, and he promptly decided nothing here would be able to help him. But just as he turned away, a white glow lit up his body. Startled by the sudden light emitting from him, the boy stumbled. The small noise created caused the green creature to pause, turning its head towards the boy.

Now that the boy could see the creature's face, he wished he hadn't. As he had thought, multiple protrusions were visible. What the boy hadn't expected, was the small tusks emerging from the creature's bottom lip, blood dribbling from them to eventually soak its chin. Horrified by the bloody visage, the boy put the white light out of his mind and tried to back away.

At first, the green creature merely stared with widened eyes. Then, as the boy moved farther away, its head gave a sudden twitch. Immediately following, the creature launched itself forward, using its arms for arms for extra propulsion. The boy gave up any pretext for backing away at this, and opted to turn around and madly sprint away.

The boy had a slight lead, preventing him from getting caught right away. But when he risked a glance over his shoulder, he realized the creature was closing the distance between them. Panicking, the boy pressed himself to move even faster.

The boy had no idea where he was running to, only knowing nothing good would happen if he was caught. Trying to think of ways to get away, the boy noticed an area where the forest shrubbery was particularly dense. He figured anything was better than this losing race, and ducked into the bushes. But after a few seconds of dodging through flora, the boy's foot got caught on a stray plant root, sending him sprawling on the ground. Hurriedly getting up, the boy suddenly noticed something. He could no longer see the green creature behind him.

Rustle! The boy's head shot upward, only to see the green creature falling towards him. Not taking any time to think, the boy rolled to the side, straight into a bush. Ignoring the numerous thorns lodging themselves in his skin, the boy scrambled away, breaking free from the shrubbery. He went to start running again, but was forced to pause when he looked up.

Standing in front of the boy was a figure shrouded in black emptiness. Terrified at the sudden reappearance of the mirror-creature, the boy limply fell to the ground. Behind him, the green creature was just emerging from the bushes, ready to tear him apart. Noticing the dark figure though, the creature started to shake and give out loud whimpers.

The mirror-creature directed its gaze towards the green creature, which caused it cower even more. After a second of staring, the mirror-creature gave a slight nod. Taking that as some sort of sign, the green creature turned around and ran, disappearing into the forest.

With that matter out of the way, the mirror-creature looked back towards the boy, or more specifically, the white light still glowing on the boy's body. It seemed to hold some weird fascination with the bright light. Almost hesitantly, the mirror-creature slowly reached its arm towards the boy. The shroud of darkness responded to the movement, gliding forward.

The white light also gave a response to the movements, surprising the boy. The light condensed around the boy, growing brighter as it did so. At the same time, the light started to penetrate into the boy's skin, invading his body. The resulting sensation almost made the boy cry out from how uncomfortable it was. Then all at once, the light rushed to the boy's head, and his mind, unable to handle the strain, gave up and passed out.

The mirror-creature panicked at the sudden occurrence, but seemed unsure of whether to retract the darkness or attempt to forcibly stop whatever was happening. During this small moment of hesitation, the boy vanished, leaving only an imprint on the ground where he was sitting. The mirror-creature stared at the spot for a few moments, before giving a motion reminiscent of a shrug and turning around.

***

Slowly, the boy's consciousness came back. He struggled to awake at first, seduced by the comfy surface he felt beneath him. Then the memories of what he had just been through rushed through his head, and his eyes shot open. The boy noticed he was laying on a bed, a distinct beeping audible off to the side.

As he was getting his bearings, a shadow came over the boy's vision. He gave a slight jump at this, before seeing the wrinkled face now hovering above his head. Shocked by the familiar face, the boy's jaw opened, but no sound came out.

"Grandma?" the boy questioned when he finally got over his surprise.

The elderly woman gave a small cackle at the response before answering, "It's good you remember to always wear that old trinket I gave you." In her hands was the small pendant the boy thought he had lost, which she then tossed onto the boy's lap.

Picking up the pendant, the boy asked, "What happened?"

"You just came across an old friend, that's all," answered the woman. The boy pondered that for a minute, before giving an eerily familiar shrug. He decided it was probably best to leave everything to his grandma, and just be happy he was ok. After a small glance at the rest of the room, which was full of medical equipment, the boy closed his eyes and layed back down.

With all the tension out of his body, the boy quickly drifted to sleep, his last thought being how he should never let himself be convinced to enter creepy forest clearings again.