A Mirror

The room beyond was smaller than Lois had imagined. Bare concrete on all sides, a single dim bulb providing light that didn't quite reach to every corner. In the center of it all, standing free in the middle of the room, was a full-length mirror.

Lois approached it cautiously. Her reflection stared back at her. It was roughly rectangular, about six feet tall and three feet wide, and the frame looked to be bronze—with a motif like a braided rope. No, not a rope—serpents, intertwined. She could see their heads join together in an arch at the top of the frame.

The reporter saw, rather than heard, the door shut. The whole scene was reflected perfectly in the glass before her. The darkness of the door closing over the brightness of the garage beyond. She turned to look behind her, just in time to see the door close.

No sign of anyone opening or closing the door—Lois reckoned it was a trick. This whole scene reminded her of some magician's fun house...possibly a way to initiate new recruits for the cult. Whatever it was, Lois would play along, for now.

She turned back to face the mirror...and was shocked at the sudden flash of skin. Her reflection was naked. Instinctively, Lois moved to cover herself, but when she looked down her own clothes were still on. Jacket, shirt, those tight red pants...but in the glass, she was nude. The reporter felt a blush spread across her face, and saw it reflected in her doppelganger.

Biting her lip, she turned around, looking over her shoulder. The reflection followed her every move, baring that familiar ass...and Lois' heart skipped a beat as she saw the small birthmark, just above her left asscheek. No-one could have known about that, yet there it was.

Lois did a quick circuit of the mirror, walking all the way around it. It was free-standing, the ancient frame mounted on a much more recent-looking bare and industrial steel, bolted to the floor. She touched the cold frame and tried to move it, but it was rooted firmly, unwilling to budge. There was nothing else to the room itself: no cameras, no electrical outlets or graffiti. Lois completed the circuit at the closed door. There was a push-bar, like on an emergency exit. No visible locks.

She could, probably, escape at any time. But then, who would let her back in? She had come this far, there must be something...

Lois turned back to the mirror. Her reflection was still there, still nude. A beautiful naked woman in the darkness. Lois thought, without a hint of pride. She walked towards it, wondering how they had done it, and why. The mirror was key to whatever this room was, she knew. It was like a puzzle.