-mare

It was a long hallway. The late evening made each step more drowsy than the last. He passed door after door; marched onward towards his goal. Time played tricks on him here, thirty seconds felt like a quarter hour and then a quarter hour felt like thirty seconds. Points of reference blurred into each other. The hall couldn't possibly have an end, he realized... just an infinite series of doors. He started counting them:

One

Two

At three he stopped, slowly, not entirely sure what he expected to find on the other side of his door. A uncomfortable heat radiated out around the edges. Finally, he took his master key and turned the lock.

Mirrors. There were at least thirty mirrors in the room beyond the third door; and they all shone crimson against the darkened walls. None were exactly alike, even in the reflections they offered. Mark noticed that only a few of the mirrors even seemed to even emulate the room around him. Of the rest, some showed movement when there was none or none when there was some. Others seemed to show alien locations that he didn't recognize at all. Shapes were distorted and twisted. Worst of all, loathsome figures moved about in most of the reflections. Mark couldn't make out their details, he didn't want to.

"They're nightmares, kid." said a familiar voice. He didn't bother turning around, he knew who was standing behind him. "They are fear and the realization of fear. They are pain and death. They are the worst imaginings of humanity."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"Now, since you're here I can offer you a interesting choice. Do you see that small mirror in the center of the far wall? The vanity that reflects this room almost perfectly right now? You can go look at your reflection in it if you wish, but that is all I can allow you to do... although I should warn: you might find it difficult to reach. Whichever you choose, don't do so lightly, your decisions here affect everything."

Mark paused, considered the offer, and finally put a determined foot forward. The mirror in question made a crack like thawing ice. Something had taken a step towards him as well.