Ava couldn't sleep.
Not because of the chill in the air.
Not because of the bright white lights that flickered on and off without pattern.
But because of the TV.
There was no TV in her room earlier. She was sure of it.
Now it sat in the corner—an old, square box model with a curved glass screen, humming softly. It wasn't plugged in.
The screen flickered. Static. Grey waves and white noise that seemed to breathe.
She turned her back to it.
And that's when the static spoke.
"Ava... Ava... wake up... it's in your teeth."
She spun around.
The screen was still static—but the snow began to melt, forming shapes, dark and writhing. Something was moving beneath it. A mouth? No… a grin. Rows of jagged teeth made of shadow.
"Do you remember the way your jaw broke?" the voice whispered.
She covered her ears. "Stop it!"
The door flew open.
Dr. Rhain stormed in, his face unreadable but not surprised. He grabbed the TV by the sides, as though it were infected, and wheeled it out wordlessly. A trail of something dark—oil? blood?—dripped from its base onto the floor.
He didn't speak until he reached the threshold.
"You weren't meant to see that. They must be testing new triggers on you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ava snapped. "Why was there a TV in my room?"
Rhain paused, then said calmly,
"There is no television in your room."
And shut the door.
The next morning, Ava was given permission to visit the Rec Hall.
A room filled with crooked furniture, artificial plants, a piano with no keys, and half a chess board.
She wasn't alone.
The boy was there again. Milo. Sitting cross-legged by the window, drawing something with chalk on the wall. She approached slowly.
"They told me not to talk to you," Ava said.
"Then don't talk. Just remember."
She glanced at his drawing. It wasn't a picture—it was a map.
Of the facility.
And there, marked with a red dot, was Room 9. But it wasn't labeled Room 9.
It was labeled:
"The Mirror Box"
"What's the Mirror Box?" she asked.
Milo didn't look up.
"It shows you the part of yourself you buried… the part that screams in your dreams. They say it eats whatever you won't accept."
"And you?" she asked. "What did you see?"
Milo met her gaze for the first time.
"My reflection blinked… and I didn't."
That night, Ava woke to a loud grating sound.
The door to her room was open.
And in the hallway, the cameras were turned. Facing the walls. All of them.
There were red footprints leading away from her door.
And at the far end of the corridor, she saw something…
A figure, wearing her same hospital gown, covered in blood.
Its jaw dangled loose.
Its eyes were stitched shut.
But it was smiling.
To Be Continued...