Mara stared at the floor.
For several seconds, she couldn’t make herself look away from it.
The door.
Elias had said it so calmly.
As if the word itself explained everything.
It didn’t.
“What door?”
“The one your grandfather warned her about.”
“You mean the room upstairs?”
“No.”
Mara’s stomach tightened.
“Then what?”
Elias glanced toward Rowan.
The younger man had gone unusually quiet.
“There may be a structure beneath your house,” Elias said.
Mara stared at him.
“A structure.”
“Possibly.”
“Under my house.”
“Yes.”
“How deep?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know it’s there?”
“I don’t.”
Mara pointed at him.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Giving me half an answer.”
“I’m trying not to give you an answer I can’t prove.”
Mara folded her arms.
“Then prove it.”
Elias looked at Rowan.
Rowan shrugged.
“She’s going to do it anyway.”
“Do what?”
“Go looking.”
Mara pointed at Rowan.
“Exactly.”
Elias sighed.
“I knew I shouldn’t have introduced you two.”
Rowan smiled.
“You like me.”
“I tolerate you.”
“That’s practically friendship.”
Mara shook her head.
“Focus.”
Elias became serious again.
“The symbol on your cylinder, your grandfather’s notes, the mirror, and the Meridian facilities on my side are connected somehow.”
“Somehow?”
“We don’t know enough yet.”
“Then we investigate.”
“Not tonight.”
Mara glanced at the dark window.
Outside, Bellwood slept peacefully.
The thought almost made her laugh.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dark.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark.”
“I am.”
Mara looked at him.
Elias shrugged.
“I’ve learned to respect it.”
That answer silenced her.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Mara nodded.
“Tomorrow.”
She almost made it to bed.
Almost.
At 2:17 a.m., Mara woke up.
She didn’t know why.
There was no noise.
No nightmare.
Nothing.
She simply opened her eyes.
The bedroom was dark.
Moonlight slipped through the curtains.
Mara lay still.
Then she heard it.
Knock.
Her heart stopped.
She sat up.
Another.
Knock.
This time, closer.
Mara reached for her flashlight.
The beam swept across the room.
Nothing.
She got out of bed.
Her feet touched the cold floor.
“Hello?”
No answer.
She opened her bedroom door.
The hallway was empty.
The mirror room was at the end.
Its door was open.
Mara was certain she’d closed it.
She moved slowly toward it.
Another knock.
Knock.
She stopped.
The sound had come from inside the room.
Mara gripped the flashlight.
“Who’s there?”
Silence.
Then—
Knock.
Mara pushed the door open.
The mirror stood in darkness.
Its glass reflected the room.
Nothing else.
No Elias.
No ruined station.
No strange lights.
Mara exhaled.
“Okay.”
She took one step closer.
The mirror flickered.
Elias appeared.
He was sitting at a desk.
His rifle was within reach.
He looked exhausted.
“Mara?”
“You’re awake.”
“So are you.”
“I heard something.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“Knocking.”
Elias stood immediately.
“Where?”
“Inside the house.”
He looked around his side of the connection.
“Did you answer it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Mara frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I heard it too.”
She went still.
“What?”
“The knocking.”
“When?”
“Just now.”
Mara stared at him.
“You heard it from there?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
Elias looked toward the walls.
“Nothing about this is supposed to be possible.”
The mirror flickered.
For a second, Mara saw Blackridge’s hallway.
Then Whitmore House.
Then Blackridge again.
The images overlapped.
Two worlds occupying the same glass.
“Elias.”
“I see it.”
The geometric symbols appeared.
One after another.
Then four numbers.
01
02
03
04
Mara stepped closer.
“What are they?”
Elias shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
The numbers disappeared.
The mirror went black.
“Elias?”
No answer.
“Elias?”
The glass remained dark.
Then—
a faint light appeared at its center.
Mara held her breath.
A symbol formed.
Four circles.
A line through the center.
Then the mirror displayed two words.
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.
The light vanished.
Mara stared at her own reflection.
Then she heard something behind her.
A soft scraping sound.
She turned.
Nothing.
She swept the flashlight across the room.
Still nothing.
The scraping came again.
From underneath the floor.
Mara slowly lowered the flashlight.
“No.”
She stepped backward.
The floor creaked.
Something moved beneath it.
Mara ran.
She reached the stairs.
Her foot hit the first step.
Then something small darted across the hallway.
Mara screamed.
The creature froze.
They stared at each other.
It was a mouse.
Mara clutched her chest.
“You.”
The mouse ran into the pantry.
Mara leaned against the wall.
“You’re going to kill me.”
She waited until her breathing slowed.
Then she laughed.
Quietly.
Nervously.
Maybe she really was losing her mind.
She went downstairs, filled a glass of water, and returned to her room.
She did not investigate the floor.
She did not investigate the basement.
She did not investigate anything.
Tomorrow.
She would investigate tomorrow.
Morning arrived with sunlight.
And problems.
The electricity went out while Mara was making coffee.
She stood in the kitchen holding the kettle.
“No.”
The refrigerator stopped humming.
The lights died.
The house became silent.
Mara looked toward the upstairs hallway.
“Not funny.”
Nothing happened.
She checked the breaker.
Everything appeared normal.
She reset the main switch.
Nothing.
Then, after thirty seconds—
the lights came back.
The refrigerator hummed.
Mara stared at the ceiling.
“Fine.”
She poured her coffee.
“Today is going to be one of those days.”
At nine, she returned to the mirror.
Elias appeared almost immediately.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Badly.”
“Same.”
“Did you hear the knocking?”
“Yes.”
“From where?”
“Inside Blackridge.”
Mara’s hand tightened around her coffee cup.
“Did you investigate?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you weren’t there.”
She looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“I didn’t know if it was connected to you.”
Her expression softened.
“Thank you.”
Elias nodded.
“How’s the house?”
“Electricity went out.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
His face tightened.
“How long?”
“About thirty seconds.”
“Any other changes?”
Mara hesitated.
“The floor.”
“What about it?”
“I heard something underneath.”
Elias became very still.
“Where?”
“The mirror room.”
“Don’t go back in there.”
“I already did.”
“Mara.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not the point.”
She smiled faintly.
“You worry too much.”
“Someone has to.”
She looked at him.
For some reason, that sentence stayed with her.
Someone has to.
She changed the subject.
“I want to test the mirror.”
“How?”
“Objects.”
Elias nodded.
“Small ones first.”
“Agreed.”
Mara looked around the kitchen.
She picked up a spoon.
“Can this cross?”
“We’ll find out.”
She held it against the glass.
Nothing.
She pushed.
Nothing.
She tried again.
The spoon slipped through.
Mara gasped.
The spoon disappeared.
On the other side, Elias caught it.
He stared at it.
Then laughed.
“First successful test.”
Mara grinned.
“A spoon.”
“A spoon.”
“Human civilization has achieved something remarkable.”
“Indeed.”
She tried a pencil.
It crossed.
A small notebook.
It crossed.
A stone from her garden.
It crossed.
They began measuring.
Weight.
Size.
Material.
Time.
After several attempts, Mara placed a one-kilogram bag of rice against the glass.
It crossed.
Then another.
Elias held it up.
“Two kilograms.”
Mara checked the scale.
“Exactly.”
They tried a third.
It wouldn’t move.
The bag remained on Mara’s side.
“Interesting.”
Elias nodded.
“Two kilograms may be the limit.”
“For now.”
“For now.”
Mara smiled.
She looked at the growing pile of supplies beside her.
Rice.
Beans.
Salt.
Coffee.
Medicine.
Seeds.
Tools.
Suddenly, the mirror didn’t feel like a mystery anymore.
It felt like an opportunity.
She looked at Elias.
“How much food do you have?”
He hesitated.
“Enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s enough for several weeks.”
“How many people?”
“Nine.”
Mara did the math in her head.
“Then you need more.”
Elias looked at her.
“You can’t feed my settlement.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“But I can help you grow food.”
His expression changed.
“Seeds.”
“Exactly.”
For the first time, Elias looked genuinely hopeful.
“Seeds.”
Mara nodded.
“We don’t keep sending food forever.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s not sustainable.”
She pointed toward the fields outside.
“We grow it.”
Elias looked toward the dead landscape behind him.
Then back at her.
“You think we can?”
Mara smiled.
“I know we can.”
He stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said quietly:
“Okay.”
That evening, Mara stood alone in the mirror room.
The house was quiet.
The strange knocking had stopped.
The cylinder sat on the table.
The Aetherite sat beside it.
She had moved both away from the mirror.
She had decided not to touch either again until they understood more.
That was the sensible decision.
So naturally, she was standing in front of the mirror.
Mara looked at her reflection.
“Grandma.”
The glass remained still.
“Why did you know about this?”
Nothing.
“Why did Grandpa write about four?”
Still nothing.
She touched the wooden frame.
It was warm.
Mara frowned.
She moved her hand.
The warmth remained in her palm.
Then—
a thin line appeared in the frame.
A crack.
Mara stepped back.
The crack slowly spread.
Not across the glass.
Through the wood.
A sound came from inside the house.
A whisper.
So faint she almost missed it.
“Four.”
Mara froze.
The word came again.
“Four.”
She looked toward the hallway.
Nothing.
Then the mirror pulsed.
The glass went completely black.
And from somewhere beneath Whitmore House—
something knocked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Mara held her breath.
Then came the fourth.
Knock.
END OF CHAPTER FIVE