February 22 nd, 2016.

Erickson 1

Reversing Reality: Look Into the Mirror

Part 1 Chapter 1
In the small town of Riverside, things happen that make you want to think twice about it.
Karlik tells me he knows nothing, Valentijn ignores me after I ask, and Mieko just had this
conclusion it was the aliens. Will I find out when I see it, or will I be blind to whatever happens?
Riverside always had some strange vibe. I always had this curiosity of being here, and
where we came from. My paranoia would set in whenever I spoke, or carried out some boring
conversation with my friends. The reason being, I simply could not trust them. Its just this town
could be full of honest people or liars.
When I was twelve my wish was to live a happy life. However; since my mother past
four years ago, my life had been full of pain and sorrow. As time went by, I would wake up with
more bruises than ever. It got harder to focus and to ignore the pain both physical and mental. I
had began to lose sleep because of it, all from what father did to me.

One morning before school, I got up around the same time to leave the house. I usually
met up with my friends by the corner of the block except today was different; Karlik never
showed up to walk with us. So, I was left to walk with Mieko alone.
Mieko was one of the most unique girls at my school. She had perfect blonde hair; she
was also short and cute, but very violent most of the time, she was like a protective mother
towards me and Karlik.
It was a bit strange walking alone with her because of the awkward silence between us.
Halfway to the school at the fork in the road, that wed always pass. I was stopped by a fairly
odd question from Mieko.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 2

Hey, Dean, do you believe in magic and beings not from this world? she asked.
I looked up at her. Uhm, I guess. If this has to do with your alien stuff again, leave me
out of it, I turned forward and began to slowly walk away. A few paces, I stopped after noticing
Mieko wasnt following me. Looking back at her, I could see the tears swelling in her eyes as she
stomped and trotted past me.
This has nothing to with my alien crap! She cried, You, idiot!
To be honest, I couldnt help but smirk as we continued on our way to school. She always
acted like this whenever I brought it up, because she thought Karlik was an alien.
It was different not seeing Karlik though. He was someone that was easily noticeable
because of his stunning blue hair, blue eyes as the deep-dark ocean. I just didnt know what to
think, when he never showed up or even cared to send us a text.
Have you heard anything from Karlik or Valent? asked Mieko.
Startled by her after a long walk of not speaking to each other I replied, No nothing from
Karlik, however Valen did text me last night about some transfer student that should be in our
class this week.
Almost to the schools gates Mieko held her hands up to her face with a concerned look,
Does it worry you Dean? That Karlik hadnt said anything about his whereabouts? She asked.
I stopped within my tracks as I replied to her, Sure I guess.
It just doesnt make sense; Karlik would always ask me where you were, and now he
wont tell us where he is, Mieko exclaimed. As she paced back and forth while she said, He
worries about you too much, and he should know that you can handle yourself.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 3

I went silence as my mind shut out everything, all that I could hear were my own
thoughts. Knowing that Mieko was unaware about my situation, including Karlik, Valen was my
only friend who knew about it. I began to space out which caused me to bump into the back of
someone, and I snapped out of my thoughts, it had been Valen.
Once I recognized him, I immediately began to apologize, Ah my bad Valen. Sorry for
bumping into your shoulder. I was just lost in my thoughts. We exchanged a handshake and the
start of a casual-boring conversation. Valen, have you seen or heard anything from Karlik? I
asked him.
He clutched his stomach and placed a cupped hand over this mouth, as Valen laughed in
disgust, Karlik?! Ha! Heck no! Why should I even bother caring about that trash?!
A shadow of blur pushed me aside and there I saw Mieko standing in between us,
Trash? TRASH?! Youre the one whos trash, Valent! She exclaimed, At least he isnt as
heartless as you!
Mieko being the protective mother-like-figure of Karlik and me, anybody talking down
about us would have to go through her first. She would tell them off and make them regret their
words. Sadly many people in this town disliked Valen. Only because of his not bad decisions in
his past, however I was the first to be nice to him and a friend.
Stupid brat! Mind your own business. Valen bellowed Mieko, as he stepped back away
from her.
She got closer to him and yelled, I would if you stopped talking crap about Karlik!
He is no friend to Dean if he cant even let Dean know whats going on! Let alone where
he is! At least I would tell my best friend first!! Replied Valen as he pointed at me.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 4

You are NOT even close! Mieko exclaimed, I dont even think you should be friends
with Dean, because all you are is an unsupportive person!
The argument continued on as I stood there lost deep in my thoughts again. Karlik was
still nowhere to be seen; still no messages had been received from him. All I wanted to know was
what could he not tell us?
Dean, where are you? Were going right now! Mieko said as she grabbed my wrist and
dragged me to class.
It was a bit painful, since my arms and wrists were covered in bruises, which my sleeves
hid. Mieko threw me into the chair at my desk, and turned me around to face her. Why do you
hang out with the likes of him? She asked, He is no good, and has no positive influence in your
life. One of these days hell get you into trouble or worse.
I stood up looking at her as I rubbed my wrist that she had grabbed, He has stuck by my
side since I came to this town, I explained, I only met you and Karlik once I started high
school, silence flooded the room for a moment, I could tell that Mieko was overly upset.
Maybe if you would trust us more, there wouldnt be any issues, we will always be there
for you. Mieko exclaimed, You keep everything to yourself, and hide inside your thoughts!
Mumbling under my breath, I turned away,There are things Id rather not speak of.
Once the bell rang Mieko left to her seat as I sat back in mine. Our teacher was late as
usual, probably for a stupid reason, and those reasons irritated me to my breaking point. There
was a side of me which I didnt even know, eventually it would harm me. Valen had seen it once,
and said it was a terrifying image, as if I was some kind of monster.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 5

Classes were more boring than ever, nothing interesting happened at all. I stood up from
my seat, and looked towards Mieko as she glared daggers at me. I sighed and looked away
knowing she was still mad as ever. I grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder as I
headed out of the classroom. Mieko could hold a grudge against me for up to a month, but I was
used to this kind of attitude from her.
Dean, Hey wait up dude!

I stopped and turned around a bit to look to see who had

yelled at me.
Hey dude, Sup? Its been awhile. A male with dark maroon hair said as he caught up to
me, his voice was cheerful but with a hint of sadness mixed somewhere in it.
Oh hey, Ryoichi, it has been. How are you and Karalynn? I asked.
Good good. How are you and your father doing? Are you two still having issues?
Ryoichi questioned, as he put his arm over my shoulder.
I try not to see him as often, I have a couple part time jobs, but Im still surviving. I
said with a grin on my face.
Im sorry, man. I hope everything gets better for you, dude. If you need any bailing, just
text me. Ryoichi replied.
I sighed, as Ryoichi patted me on the back. Yeah, I will when I get into any trouble.
Well, man, I got to go. Karalynn is waiting for me, See ya, dude. He said he waved at
me.
Bye I watched him as he jogged down the hall to meet up with his girlfriend, Karalynn.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 6

I arrived in front of my locker after a couple minutes of walking down the hall, as all the
voices around me disappeared into the air as if I had stepped through a sound barrier. The area
was surprising quiet now. I looked around, as an alarm went off in my head, no one was around. I
ran to the front entrance doors, looked out if the small widows, and saw a dense fog surround the
school.

Part 1 Chapter 2
The atmosphere within the school suddenly changed in a matter of a few minutes from
the bright peaceful atmosphere the school usually possessed, to a dark and demonic one. The
place now seemed dead like I had stepped out of reality. The lights around me flickered, and
suddenly came crashing down around me, the sound of sparks and glass shattering echoed
around the empty school. Then silence flooded the school, and then was follow by a sound of a
low growl that seemed to echo through my ears.
Panic begun to set into all my veins, and my heart raced. I had to find someone, but my
legs wouldnt let me move, it was as though my feet were glued to the floor. There was no use
trying to move because, every time I had tried to move, a sharp pain was sent through legs into
my spine, making me want to collapse to my knees. My anxiety grew; to the point where I felt
tears begun to swell up within my eyes I was helpless.
What a weak human, a deep voice of a male echoed through the corridors of the school
around me. Ive seen others with more fight in them than you you just stand there in fear, while
you look like youre about to lose it. The voice of the person came from nowhere, I looked

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 7

around. I still couldnt move. Dont worry little human, you wont have to suffer for much
longer, The voices laughter echoed around me, Ill let my creatures have you since I have no
use for a weak and useless human. The voice faded, as a dark blob made its way towards me, it
looked like tar, but with eyes. It was quite disgusting.
Our creator. Captured our meal. A voice of multiple pitches came from the blob, as it
sat at my feet while it looked up at me. This human. Is too weak. It will not help us. It spoke
again towards me.
What was this thing I was so confused and terrified at this point, This cant be real! I
screamed as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, All of this had to be a dream, I mustve just fallen
asleep at my desk in class, thats it Im only dreaming, I just have to be. I tried to fool my mind,
to calm myself down.
Sadly, this is all reality, Dean. A familiar voice came from above me, as a screeching
suddenly sounded and faded. The tension soon left my feet once the screeching died out, and I
felt my knees give out under me as I collapsed. I opened my eyes slowly blinking a few times till
the image was clear in front of me, a persons shoes, and they seemed familiar.
Youve already forgotten me after only about eight hours? Whoa, youre more scattered
brained than ever. The person chuckled softly at me as my eyes focused to a hand reaching out
to me. I saw the face of the person behind the hand with stunning blue hair, a smile you couldnt
help but sm, eyes as blue as the deep ocean. There was no one in the school with hair as blue as
his, it had to be Karlik.
Karlik. I said, surprised.

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 8

Yep, that is my name; try not to wear it out will ya. Karlik said with another chuckle
following it as I grabbed onto this hand he helped me up from the ground, as my legs wobbled a
bit.
Where have you been? Weve all been worried, except Valen, I spoke to him, my voice
cracked still trying to return to normal from all that had happened, and I looked up at the
bluenette because, there was quite a height difference between us.
Well, Valentine isnt the best person, like Valentines Day isnt the best day of the year.
See what I did there. Karlik said sarcastically, as he attempted to joke about Valen, like he
always liked to do.
Still calling him Valentine, that nickname for him never gets old for you, does it? I
questioned him, as I flicked his nose.
Karlik flinched then replied to me, It will never get old, because hes a hopeless
romantic, see what I did again! He grinned down at me childishly.
You like making jokes about Valen, dont you? At least you dont usually fight him, like
Mieko does like every day. I sighed.
Mieko is like our mom, Dean! You gotta respect her! Karlik exclaimed as if I was
talking bad about her.
Karlik, how can she be , if were both older than her? You need to come back to our
situation.I spoke, and then sighed again with disbelief.
Oh, right! Were in this distorted reality. I almost forgot. Karlik grinned childishly
again, but it faded eventually, This distorted reality is to target weak souls. Not many live

February 22 nd, 2016. Erickson 9

through theses, to actually make it out, they get consumed by the Zions, like you saw, but not all
Zions are blobs of tar, most take the form of the humans they have consumed. So, if I didnt
make it here when I did, youd mostly be a zombie in a sense, youd no longer possess your own
body, but it would still be walking around. Thats the best I can explain it, this is my first time
experiencing one. Karlik explained to me in a more serious tone, a voice that seemed nothing
like Karliks, like he had went through some sort of change during the time he wasnt around.
I couldnt tell, if I could trust what he was saying, or to just simply walk away, but if I
walked away, and everything he was saying was true Id be in some trouble, if I was being
targeted. The best option currently was to go along with him. I should try to trust him more than I
have been, because we are within a game of life and death as it appears on the outside of the
situation, which it could end up being much more than just that. I could surely be walking into
my own grave, or leading my own friend in his grave. This was a serious situation, one to not
joke about, because we could all lose our lives if I mess up on my decisions.