What Exactly Happened: Part 6

And then it was gone. Just like that. Just as quickly as it had come it was gone, leaving him swaying weakly against the wall. His eyes stung with the effort of keeping open and his chest heaved with uneven breaths.

He looked up. It seemed impossible that the light of the moon had changed so quickly. But it had. He could see it perfectly, shining brighter than ever before and filling the room with an eerie orange glow, casting everything in a sickly yellow hue. Everything except his reflection appears distorted, as though the mirror he was staring at was moving. Swirling and twisting, as though it was fighting itself.

The reflection suddenly split apart, splitting into two separate mirrors, one on each side of the room.

Then he understood what was happening. What he should have understood a lot earlier. The reflection was a reflection. It didn't exist. It couldn't exist. It was his reflection. That's why he recognised the person behind the glass. He stared at himself in silence, taking slow steps forward, reaching out his hand towards the reflective surface. He stopped in front of the reflection, gazing deeply into his own eyes.

A flash of white and blue erupted in the reflection and suddenly everything was clear. Like he wasn't looking at his reflection anymore, but rather a stranger's.

His body started trembling uncontrollably and he lowered his head, closing his eyes tightly, his breath shuddering from the intensity of the emotions coursing through him.

He opened his eyes again and stared at the man standing before him. At the reflection. For a brief moment, he was able to see clearly, to see the man he had spent so many years trying to forget. To see the look of pure hatred written on his features. To see the expression mirrored right back at him, the man that haunted his nightmares, the man that caused his life to crumble and burn in the aftermath of his actions.

"Ryan."

His name fell softly from his lips.

Ryan lifted his head to meet the man's eyes, the recognition finally settling in. Recognition that he shouldn't feel, recognition that he knew was far too late to stop. Recognition made his blood turn cold as he realised that the man satan standing before was him. That Ryan was standing in front of him. That Ryan was facing him for the first time in years. That Ryan hated him beyond words and would kill him the moment that their paths crossed.

Ryan stepped away from the mirror, turning around to leave. Before he could walk a few steps, however, he paused. And glanced back once more. In the reflection, his eyes met the stranger's own.

There was no way that Ryan wouldn't recognise him. Even though he'd been gone for fifteen years already, the last seven months had certainly not been kind to him. His skin was pale and lifeless, his hair unkempt and greasy, his clothes torn to shreds. He looked like he'd been living in a cave for ten years instead of five days. The bags under his eyes were darker than ever, his skin even paler than normal. And yet Ryan still recognised him. If it weren't for the fact that Ryan was well acquainted with him, if it wasn't for the way his face remained frozen in an expressionless mask, if not for the way his jaw tensed, he might have mistaken Ryan for someone else. And that was exactly what he feared.

But that's not who Ryan thought he was. That's what Ryan saw. That was the man that he'd fought tooth and nail to save, the man that he'd risked his life and limbs for. And Ryan knew that he would do the same thing again. No matter what happened. No matter the consequences.

To be continued...