The Thing was in the mirror. Standing next to the desk, just like me.
Instead of me. Instead of my reflection.
We stared at each other. It smiled. I didn’t.
“Kat?” Dad asked, and everyone turned to look at me. “You okay?”
I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. If they looked in the mirror, would they see it? Or would they see me?
But before I could speak, a distant scream sounded from the floor above us.
Mi Jin flew across the room and threw the door open, then took off down the hall, camera still on her shoulder. Grandma and Oscar were right behind her, but Dad waited for me.
“What is it?” he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I forced a smile. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
We hurried down the hall and up the stairs to the third floor. Just as we reached the top, there was a loud crash, followed by lots of shouting and yelling. My heart was pounding out of control as we sprinted down the hall to the source of the noise. Was it the poltergeist? Or had the Thing actually attacked someone?
Dad and I had just reached room 313 when Lidia came out, holding someone by the elbow. A girl with long, dark hair, shaking and stammering. For a split second, I went completely numb. Then I recognized her as one of the Talchul Films crew members, the one who looked around Mi Jin’s age.
A few doors down, Roland pulled another Talchul person from a room, closely followed by Jess, who was still filming.
“Is Jae-Hwa here?” Lidia asked them calmly. “Does he know you’re doing this?”
The girl swallowed and shook her head. The guy Roland had found didn’t look nearly as freaked out, but his expression was contrite.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he kept saying, nervously glancing at the cameras. The rest of the crew had gathered around them in the hall. “Jae-Hwa doesn’t know, I promise. We just . . . we thought it would be a more interesting episode, if . . .”
“If you pretended to be the poltergeist,” Lidia finished. She didn’t sound angry at all, but I could tell by the way her lips were pursed that she was upset. Oscar and I glanced at each other worriedly. “Look, I know you guys need publicity for your movie. But now . . . I don’t know if we can use any of the footage we’ve taken.”
Wincing, the guy murmured another apology. Tears streamed silently down the girl’s face. But she wasn’t looking at Lidia. Instead, she kept glancing toward room 313.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Grandma said comfortingly. “Yumi, wasn’t it? We’ve still got the rest of the night to film, dear. Don’t fret.” Yumi swallowed and nodded, her eyes still fixed on the door. Dad glanced at it, then back at her.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
After a few seconds, Yumi let out a shaky breath. “I saw . . . something.”
Silence fell. I saw Roland and Jess exchange a skeptical look, and I couldn’t help feeling the same way. After all, these two had just tried to fake us out with soft knocks and screams. But Yumi did seem genuinely upset.
Grandma put a comforting arm around her, and Mi Jin moved closer. “What did you see?”
“A light,” Yumi whispered. “In the corner of the room. And something . . . moving.”
Dad pushed open the door and glanced inside. “Room 313 . . . this is the room with the portal sightings, right?” He turned to Lidia. “We were planning on spending some time in here, anyway,” he told her. “Maybe we can get started while you give Jae-Hwa a call?”
Lidia nodded, gesturing for Yumi and the other guy to follow her. The rest of the crew traipsed inside room 313. Oscar and I lingered behind in the hallway for a moment.
“Do you think she was lying?” I whispered, glancing at Yumi as she disappeared into the stairwell.
Oscar shrugged. “Dunno. She sure looked freaked out. But she could just be a really good actor.” He paused. “Speaking of . . . what happened downstairs? Right before we heard that scream?”
Avoiding his gaze, I pulled the Elapse out of my pocket and hung it around my neck. I should’ve told them downstairs, pointed to the Thing in the mirror so everyone could’ve seen. But it was too late now. I wasn’t even sure Oscar would believe me. “Oh, nothing.”
“Yeah, you know who isn’t a good actor?” Oscar said. “You. Come on, Kat. What did you—”
“Kat? Oscar?” Dad called, and I hurried inside room 313 before Oscar could finish the question.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
In: DRAFTS
From: [email protected]
Subject: I’m coming home
Dear Mother,
I’m so sorry for everything. Now I’m ready to be the daughter you’ve always wanted. The old Kat will be gone soon, and then you and I can be together forever.
Love,
Kat
“SO.” Roland leaned against the wall next to Sam, hands in his pockets. “Do we air all of that nonsense, or not?”
Jess set her camera down on the bed and sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s the season finale, and what do we have—a few kids sneaking around, knocking on doors and running away?”
“Well, like Edie said, we’ve got the rest of the night to film.” Dad frowned thoughtfully. “And to be honest, I think maybe that could be a great way to start the episode. Outing the fake stuff right away, even before the first commercial break. It might give us more credibility with the more skeptical fans, you know?”
“Good point.” Jess made a face. “Although I have to admit, this makes me wonder how much of what they told us yesterday is actually true. All the stories about the poltergeist, the portal . . .”
Sam ran his fingers over the wallpaper, moving to the far left corner. “This room does have a different energy than the others,” he mused. “Seems chillier, too.”
Roland rummaged around in his bag and pulled out his thermal camera attachment, which he slid onto his phone.
