Mimic

Chapter 12

Emily

I open my eyes and find myself in a seemingly abandoned mansion. Beau, who was across the room, rushes up to me, taking my hands and starts talking fast, like there's something urgent he's telling me, but I can't hear him. Everything is muted. He notices that I'm confused and pauses. I can just make out the words, 'Are you okay?'

'I can't hear you,' I mouth back instead of talking, afraid that I might accidentally yell.

'Maybe it's your Shield? Maybe you haven't let your guard down completely, so you aren't all the way in the illusion. You've definitely let it down halfway already. That's how you're able to see this. You just have to give in completely.'

I look at Beau, who gives me a reassuring look as he lets go of my hands, and I nod as I feel the Shield melt the rest of the way away from me.

"Better?" Beau asks, his voice ringing in my ears after the silence.

"Yeah." I look around the room to get a better idea of what we're dealing with here. "Where are we?"

"I don't know."

The room is a tall, vaulted ceilinged hall like you'd find in old European ruins. Apantilo, as it's now called, has tours that you can take to visit these ruins, but no one can get "across the pond" nowadays, as the old people say, not unless you're filthy rich that is. The gray stone walls stretch out in both directions with a door at either end. By one of these doors, the one to our right, is a staircase leading downstairs. In the center of the hall, right in front of me and Beau are two staircases leading to a balcony and another door.

"I guess we should go check it out?" Beau suggests tentatively.

"Yeah," I agree. "There?" I point to the door up the stairs in front of us.

"Yeah. Keep close. I don't trust this," he tells me.

I nod, and he takes my hand as we make our way up the stairs. When we reach the top, I try the door, keeping hold of Beau's hand. It doesn't budge. He tries it with me, but still nothing.

"Well... should we try the ones downstairs?" I ask, turning to the door that is to our right now that we've turned around.

"Yeah."

We walk back down the stairs hand in hand toward the door on the far side of the room. The door takes some effort to open, but eventually, it has swung out enough that we can get into the room.

The room is dark, the only light coming from the doorway we just came through. I gradually start to hear voices around me and Beau, and I squeeze his hand a little tighter, hoping beyond hope that we won't be separated. I don't know when it really started, but now I can hear all of the different voices in the room clamoring over one another. Beau tenses. Before I get a chance to make sure he's okay, I understand what the voices are saying.

'You'll never be able to save everyone.'

'You've dragged them all into this, and now they're all in danger.'

'They're all going to die because of you.'

'It's all your fault.'

'How dare you? You're a terrible friend and a terrible person.'

I feel a tear run down my cheek as I listen to what the voices are telling me. 'You've probably dragged your family into this too.' They're telling the truth. 'Your little brother and sister—they're in danger now too.' Why shouldn't they? They're right. 'Your parents too. Your dad had just put this kind of danger behind him.' I'm never going to be able to do enough to keep everyone safe. I caused all of this, and I'm the only one who can stop it.