Beyond the Walls

Mirror House

*Crash crash crash

By now anyone can tell it’s not human that is coming inside the mirror house. With loud and uncareful banging, there’s no way a human will make loud noise like that.

“W,what is that?” Aaron grimaced as Lucas tried to pull him off from the floor.

“Mutants.”

“Ah… ah. G,great.” fighting with his numbing legs to go forward while Lucas is carrying another bag.

“Give that to me. I can at least carry it.”

Without discussion, he handed the bags to Aaron and put his hands around his shoulder as he began to walk.

*Growl

The stench is stronger and the growling sound is closer. Something made him look back and there he found the mutant.

Glowing red eyes hunched back, with dangling long arms and it’s dark colored patched wrinkled skin is like sticking to it’s bones, without muscles in between.

They met eyes and it began screeching loudly.

It’s spike teeth are like sharpened knives and glued inside its large mouth.

‘It’s….!”

The mutant begins to rush forward to them but then it runs to mirror and then another one.

“This way!” Aaron was feeling the way out as they turned around the corner, A mutant’s opened mouth received them.

“f**k!” Aaron exclaimed as he threw the bag to it.

*Bite

*Crash!

It was only a mirror that both of them had attacked.

“Leave it!” Lucas said as he pulled Aaron back after attempting to get back the bag.

*CRASH! This time, the crashing was directly to their side, the glass shards came flying to them. They are now facing the side profile of the mutant who is confused on the mirrors.

*CRASH! Another crushing sound resounded from behind them.

Both exits are now blocked. He bit his lips as he looked around seeing there is a small space in between the mirror and the wall he seized the chance and tug Aaron to that side.

“Wha-Hmmp”

He immediately covered Aaron’s mouth and pushed him inside the space. He also squeezed in and moved the mirror to hide himself more.

“ARWAUGHHHHHH!” a howl that is not too terrifying had been let out.

*CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The mutants became more violent, maybe because the humans were gone all of sudden. Lucas tightly closes his eyes as the mutant comes closer and closer to the mirror they are hiding.

*STAB

A long hand crashed and made a hole in between Aaron and Lucas' head. A part of Lucas' face had been scratched with mirror shards and pulled it down making a mess. The mutant only then stopped after reaching the floor and it began to drag it’s long arms out of it.

The traces of two humans behind the mirror can be seen, but maybe because of terrible lightning inside, those traces were not seen properly.

*BANG BANG BANG

The mutant started banging it’s head on the mirror next till it broke apart. The inside of the mirror was revealed. Then it growled more. It’s stinking breath is swirling around.

The mirror that the mutant breaks apart is the mirror next to Lucas. If it had been his mirror side then he would be sustaining multiple stab wounds before being alive.

A spot had been opened to his side.

*Thud

Lucas swallows his dry saliva as he sees the foot of the mutant coming forward, then next is it’s wide forehead, deconstructed nose and the sharp yellow teeth.

He held his breath long as the mutant looked to the other side and started advancing that way.

*Drip

Blood had dripped to the broken glass. It was from Lucas scratched cheeks. The mutant had stopped in its movement and looked in his direction fast.

But no one was there.

*Creak

The mutant moved closer to where Lucas was hiding and looked closely ahead but there was nothing there except for a bag and a few drops of blood. It momentarily stops there and sniffs the surroundings.

*CRASH!

“UWARGHHHH!” The mutant immediately ran at the sound of crashing.

On the empty messed up pathway, A leaning broken mirror moves a little and an eye peek through the hole. Reflecting on the mirror are the mutants going farther away.

Crawling out is Lucas, maybe because of the rampage of the mutant earlier, the glass from the other side came out and leaned forward next to the hole it created between Lucas and Aaron. Thanks to that he was able to escape the mutant’s sight.

“They are gone.” Aaron whispered. He already picked up the bags.

This person was responsible for the noise earlier. Because he had a space in between the mirrors, he had let himself travel out while the mutant was rummaging.

Lucas took Aaron’s hand and got up. With Aaron already recovered, moving is easier. They soon reach the end of the mirror maze house.

Lucas pulled Aaron back after spotting a moving object by the counter.

“Uwarghh. Uwargh.”

Leaning their back on the mirror, Aaron didn’t notice that the bag had lightly touched an unstable mirror as he squeezed himself on the gaps again. As the mirror begins to move back and forth. Lucas notices it when it is already falling. His eyes widened as his body moved on his own.

*swish

They are dead once this one shatters. Lucas slid his body and took it all his body.

“Ughhh.” He just didn’t expect this one to be this heavy. It was heavier than his muscles can take. They fell on top of his body, It covered him wholly.

Lucas swallowed his pain. He looks to the side and sees a set of disgusting feet not even a feet away.

“Uwarghh!”

It’s a mutant again. This time, it is standing beside him.

*Thud thud thud

*c***k *Crash

Two more mutants came from the mirror maze.

Lucas' feet were in a terrible position, It is being crushed underneath but he refuses to move or even cry in pain. His cold sweats are dripping at the mutants just surrounding him.

Judging the calm behavior of the mutants then either him or Aaron had been spotted.

The mutant stepped heavily on the mirror and Lucas only closed his eyes. As another stomping was given to him. The glass on his side is starting to c***k.

This kind of beating. Lucas is used to these. He is used to not making any sound as others beat him. Even if the sharp edges of the mirror are starting to dig his skin. It still doesn’t compare to his previous life.

At tough times like this, he always closes his eyes and imagines his sister being healthy. If this is what he needs to put up with he can do it.

“Ugh…” The broken mirror shards he is lying from is starting to penetrate his skin.

*STOMP STOMP

The mirror rained on him.

An undead tried to kick the mirror away but Lucas with bleeding hands is holding the mirror in place.

‘I… I can’t die here.’ He said to himself though he can’t feel his legs anymore and the pain is chillingly tormenting.

*Creak Creak

As the mutant comes up above the mirror, it’s balance is tilting on the sides and because of this Lucas not only needs to hold on to it painfully, he also has to swallow every scream every time a mirror shards dig into his skin or when he is being crushed under.

Sweat and blood are mixing together. His firm grip is becoming slippery and the mirror starts slipping away.

“Uwargh”

Another mutant had tried to go up but the other mutant pushed it out. Stumbling down and laying flat on the ground it falls back and faces the ceiling up. If it falls sideways, Lucas would have been spotted immediately, but luck hasn’t abandoned Lucas yet. The mutant’s view of him was covered by the mutant’s own legs.

“UWARGH!!!” The fallen mutant roared and brought itself up. It roared several times again and the other roared back.

*Thud thud thud

The thrown mutant came in charge and jumped on the mutant standing above Lucas’ spot. As the two of them rumbling and rolling to down to the ground, they let themselves out, releasing Lucas from the pressure of being crush underneath

“Haaa..” He can finally breathe. The shards stop digging to his skin.

The roaring is still ongoing. Only parts of the rambling can be seen on Lucas’s position, but it is enough to know the fight will continue. He knows it well too.

Mutants are evolved species, a scary part of the ‘evolve’ term is that monsters are able to retain a bit of man's ego but since they are still monsters, they don’t have a sense of camaraderie. Of course they are smarter and unique than regular undead but still not smart enough to out-wit humans nor come up with a plan but squatting and looking at hiding places is natural to them…

“UWarghh! Arghh”

“ARwuargh!”

*Bite

The mutant undeads start tearing each other up. That’s the reason why mutants don’t travel in packs or hordes. They are not smart enough to work with others.

*bite bite

One of them pulled the arm of the other and severed it.

As one of them is leaning to victory, Lucas is crawling out of the mirror when he feels a cold thing has brushed his arms. It was a long blackened nail. Slowly turning to have a look at the end side of the nail…

“.!!!” His heart jumped out. Cold fear and suppressed horror and panic washed him all at once.

A mutant is bent in an unusual way and its scary wrinkled face is partially placed underneath the mirror, together with him.

*Bite

The mutant tried biting his face off but he was able to back in at the last second.

*Creak creak

As the mutant tries to come in, the mirror is being lifted. The shards are now being taken care of but a bigger problem has arrived.

“Uwargh! Argh!” The mutant growled and in the tight space, the decayed smell of it’s breath was fully inhaled by the weakened him.

His stomach is twisting and turning, as if any time he would vomit anytime now.

*Bite

Another attempt has failed again.

Lucas slides his body off as it comes closer. Though his ankle is still trapped a little bit more, the mutant will be able to lift but the problem is which will come first, his freedom or the teeth of this monster.

The odds are against him. This mutant type has a long set of arms. If it is able to squeeze one of its arms inside then he is as good as dead.

The mutant is still trying to squeeze it’s upper body and the space is getting wider, and Lucas’ position is becoming precarious.

Already reviewing his options. Running outside is not an option. Outside are two other mutants he will be torn apart before he knows it. Running inside the mirror house is another impossible option, the mutant will be able to grab him once he turns his back on this monster and he will be torn apart before he knows it. The third option sounded more ridiculous than the first two… That is to kill it… with a mirror shard. Before he gets close, it’s long arms can stop him and be torn apart. If not, there is less than 10% chance of him killing it in one stab. Either he has the strength to push the shard into its brain or he is confident enough in his speed to repeatedly stab it before it’s teeth sinks into him.

“...”

In the end he knows he does not possess either skills or qualities against this mutant.

“Uwargh!!!” The undead roared as it brought up the mirror freeing Lucas’ trapped ankle.

He crawled out immediately.

Times up.

He is now facing the mutant.

What is your decision? Run out, Run In or Fight?