A.N.: Had to re-write this chapter a few times before I was finally satisfied with it. Enjoy!


The first time it happened, it came as a surprise.

After entering the mirror world for what was now the third time that day, Sebastian stood with his hands clasped to the sides of his head and fingers rubbing circles into his temples.

"Is something the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Pursing his lips, the detective took a brief moment to gather his bearings before letting out a soft chuckle.

"You could say that again."

Truth be told, Sebastian was starting to enjoy her blasé comments in spite of himself. It was certainly a lot more comforting to hear than the unnatural silence of the world outside and it gave him something to look forward to whenever he came back. Plus, having somewhat friendly company to be around wasn't half bad either. The detective signed his name in the usual place at the bottom of the page and gave a nod to the nurse, turning his attention towards the mirror at the end of the hall with the intent to leave. He'd left Jimenez alone for long enough and, while the distraction was sufficient enough to thin the number of monsters, it wouldn't last forever. As much of a stubborn jerk the doctor was, he still seemed to know more about the situation than he let on and Sebastian would love to sit down and talk with him once they get out of dodge. Unfortunately, leaving required him to clear out the area first, a necessary evil that was becoming increasingly more common the longer he was in this world.

Knowing that, he gave a swift kick to the entrance of the building, brandishing his revolver at any creature that decided to take advantage of his sudden entrance. Seeing no immediate threat, he proceeded outside but not without caution. Sidestepping over broken planks of wood and brushing past piles of burning hay, Sebastian steadily made his way to the center of town slightly off put by the lack of creatures that would normally be going for his throat. If it smelled like a trap, looked like a trap, and seemed like a trap, then it was probably a trap. Sebastian had been in enough staredowns and shootouts with drug gangs and domestic abusers to know when things weren't as they initially seemed.

Almost as if on cue, the detective was ripped from his thoughts as a bullet tore through his left shoulder, ending any speculation that he might be drawn into an ambush. He clutched the spot where the shot had left its mark, feeling past torn cloth to remove the projectile that had embedded itself deep within his shoulder. Hearing a guttural moan from behind him, Sebastian pulled his revolver around to fire at a monster that shuffled too close for comfort. The bullet blew off a significant portion of its head but didn't stop its attack as its mouth made contact with the detective's ruined shoulder. Pain made way to searing agony and it took all Sebastian had to keep from screaming out entirely as he shoved his assailant off him.

Hearing the ghastly screams of decaying monsters, Sebastian had no time to bemoan his injuries before turning on his heel and sprinting towards the far side of town. What was once one monster had since multiplied to fifteen and was steadily increasing in number as the scent of blood drew them nearer to each other.

"Shit, shit, shit!" No matter which alleyway he ran into, no matter how high he climbed, more and more of those things arrived as they found the body that they were looking for. There wasn't enough bullets in either of his guns to deal with them all, but if he could find something that could take them out at the same time...

Taking a hard left, Sebastian sprinted towards a cracked window attached to an abandoned farm house with the hope that the smaller area would make it harder for his pursuers to attack in unison. He ducked under the windowsill as he entered and picked his way through the maze of broken furniture to make himself less noticeable from the outside. When he took a look outside and nothing came up, Sebastian turned his attention to rapid footsteps coming from the stairwell at the far side of the room. For a brief moment, he stood in stunned curiosity as a creature pulled a lever just beyond his field of vision. Said curiosity immediately turned to dread as he heard the preparation of a trap somewhere inside the building. Not knowing where it came from and not wanting to find out, Sebastian jumped through the corridor near the entrance of the house just in time for a spike to whizz by his face and puncture the ground below.

Before he had time to catch his breath, the sound of a door being broken down on his blind side alerted him to the impending crowd that he thought he had ditched. Out of options, out of places to run, and out of viable options, he brandished his shotgun in an effort to hold his ground. As the monsters made a beeline towards him, the detective started blasting. He knocked a few of them off their feet and watched as the ones behind them staggered from the inertia, but was unable to rush forward and light them up with a match as originally intended. Much to his annoyance, the monsters in the back moved forward to fill the gap where their companions once stood. Frustration wormed its way to his face as he repeated the action of blasting and reloading. Finally, the last wave was blown off their feet and he had enough leeway to break out a match and drop it in the pile of bodies. At this point, it felt very relieving to kill the opponents that gave him so much trouble before; dropping match after match until he ran out and the ground was alight with the blaze of burning bodies.

Standing back to survey his work, there was an air of apprehension as he scanned for anything that decided that it wasn't done yet. Seeing only charred remains, Sebastian turned back to enter the main area of the house only to jump back again as he avoided a torch aimed straight for his face. Frustrated once again, Sebastian brandished his revolver and fired, blowing a chunk of the monster's head of at point-blank range. Unfazed, the monster took another swing at Sebastian, catching his sleeve and lighting his shirt on fire. The detective recoiled away from the flames, rolling on the ground to extinguish the fabric before rolling up on one knee to plant a final bullet in the skull of the monster. With the creature downed and the house finally silent, Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. He stood to dust himself of the ashes that still clung to his shirt, but as he did so, tripped a wire that decided to solidify in place exactly where he stood. There was a bang. A flash of light. And the world went dark.

XXXXXX

The first time it happened, it came as a surprise.

After entering the mirror world for what was now the third time that day, Sebastian stood with his hands clasped to the sides of his head and fingers rubbing circles into his temples.

"Is something the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Pursing his lips, the detective took a brief moment to gather his bearings before letting out a soft chuckle.

"You could say that again."

Again.

Like molten silver, a burning, unsettling sensation of deja-vu rippled through Sebastian. He toed the floor with the front of his shoe and subtly glanced from side to side, looking to see if anything, anything at all, was out of place. Checking to see that he had signed the paper (he did; strange, he couldn't remember doing so), Sebastian headed straight for the edge of the hall. He didn't stop even as he faded from one reality into the next and bashed open the front door not caring if he was heard or not.

Sebastian nearly sprinted to the middle of town, jumping over boxes and rushing through semi-lit piles of hay. Seeing nothing did little to ease his already heightened sense of anxiety and only served to make his paranoia worse. For a man who thrived on keeping his cool in the tensest of situations, seeing him in such a position was completely unsettling. The town was (thankfully) quick to clear out. With the element of surprise and a relatively few number of monsters to attack, Sebastian had an easy time maneuvering around without facing too much trouble.

When he entered the house with the broken window, however, that is when he froze. Hearing footsteps coming towards the bottom of the steps, the detective had already retrieved the gun from the holster, aimed the barrel, and fired a round that connected head on with the skull of the creature fumbling towards the switch at the end of the hall. He watched the body as it tumbled down the remaining flights, feeling slightly smug that he managed to get the drop on it before it did the same to him. It almost felt like he knew it was coming and just reacted accordingly. Closing the distance between the two, Sebastian picked up the torch that the monster once held and used it to inspect the switch on the wall. He brushed the tips of his fingers over the handle in an attempt to pull the lever, but held back out of instictive fear. Sebastian couldn't say that his reactions to the situation were purely up to dumb luck and he couldn't just brush it off as chance, but there was certainly something inherently wrong with the situation and that was what disturbed him the most.