How long had it been? I glanced up at the clock, for maybe the thousandth time. Three o’clock. It had been two forty-five when I looked last. The seat under me was too hard, made of little rocks all crammed into a fabric covered trash bag. That’s what it felt like anyway. The lights were way too bright, whiter than I remembered. Then again, I had never been in this room.

A few hours ago, the same man who had picked me up several weeks ago led me down the longest hallway of my life and into this room, which was marked as a “Waiting Room”. Despite the fact that Headquarters looked like a giant hospital from the outside and inside, this was the first “waiting room” I’d never seen.

“What am I waiting on?” I had asked, sitting down on the boulder chair.

“I’m going to pick up a girl who has just recently lost her reflection. She’s not been handling it very well, according to our agents in the field. Our research says she would be a good match for you to go in, but we have to calm her down first,” he answered, holding that book under his arm. I’d thought one too many times about stealing it from him and reading it.

When he first picked me up, he had used the book’s hand drawn diagrams and pictures to tell me about the other world which had no name, the world where our reflections were disappearing to. I remember that it looked ancient, yellowing edges and hand binding. He’d never let me touch it, only pointing at it with his pencil fingers, neatly trimmed nails. Every time I saw him he was in a suit, one of three colors: navy, gray, or black. He changed it up by wearing matching ties and cuff links. Every day, I wanted to ask where he went suit shopping.

“Good, it’s getting sort of lonely in here,” I said to the empty walls, listening to the sound of the clock. When Harris, the old man, had picked me up, I hadn’t went back to my house. There were rooms in the HQ, and no one had noticed I was gone yet. After a few days of being here, Harris decided to let me stay. I was an adult; my parents could get over it.

I looked around the room, noticing the pictures on the wall. Landscapes, all of them. It was a collection of beach scenes. I didn’t remember the last time I went to the beach. As wealthy as we were, my family didn’t have time for vacations. My family didn’t have time to do anything together. At least here I ate dinner surrounded by way too many people in the cafeteria. While people complained about how loud it was, it was like music to my ears.

There was a knock at the door, and it swung open without a sound. Like a hospital, everything around here was eerily quiet. A woman in a black dress stood in the door, holding a clipboard. She had blonde hair, pulled up into a high bun. She looked at me with a smile.

“Will you come with me, Logan? There’s someone Harris would like you to meet,” she said, a voice smoother than cream cheese on a bagel. It gave me goosebumps. I simply nodded, standing up. She took off at what felt like a sprint, the sound of her heels a sharp drumbeat against the marble tile. These hallways were much more familiar, since they were the same first hallways I had seen. Blank white walls, white floors with little black flecks in the marble. Each door was black metal, numbered in silver paint on the front. At the end of the long hallway there was a set of frosted glass french doors. I remembered wondering if there had been something to hide over here when I was on the other side.

The woman stopped when I did, her hand on the door handle.

“What’s her name?” I asked, not wanting to be rude or scare her. I’d been told that my blue eyes were intimidating.

“It’s Olivia,” she said with another smile.

[[I hope you don't mind that I write in third person. I write it everywhere else so starting to write in first would confuse the hell out of me.]]

Olivia stood, an irritated expression on her face, as she stared as the entrance to the building she was being led into. It looked like a hospital and admittedly scared her a bit. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked up into the pouring rain as it soaked her hair and her coat, splashing into her face like sad little needles. She closed her eyes and sighed again, a tight feeling growing in her stomach. Her parents were probably looking for her. Would that man help her explain everything to them? Luckily they didn't know about her shadow so they wouldn't try to admit her into a psych ward but still.

The young man, who was waiting for her to step through the door, cleared his throat and ran his hand to slick his now wet black hair back. Olivia's head swung back down, staring daggers at the man. "You know, you really should cut your hair if you're so irritated by it." She told him, walking past them and through the door as if he hadn't cleared his throat at her. She heard him sigh from behind her as the door closed and she heard his soft footsteps behind her slowly gaining on her and over taking her.

"This way." He spoke curtly, walking down a long hallway. She tried her best not to show her disgust at this place on her face, the blank white walls, black speckled marbled floors; it made her want to vomit. With a blank expression, she continued to follow the man down the hallway. Eventually, they came to some frosted doors, they looked pretty ornate, and he opened them for her. She casted him a small glance before walking past. Inside was a square table with a large square gap in the center. It had cushioned chairs all around the outside.

A small smile formed on Olivia's face as she realized they were rolling chairs. The smile slowly grew into a grin as she raced over to one and swung it around quickly, jumping into it. She crashed into the chairs nearby but didn't care. With a giggle, she pushed herself away and began to spin gleefully. "Finally, something moderately fun!" She shouted, grinning at the man that had let her in. "By the way, what's your name?" She asked, the smile remaining on her face.

He didn't answer her but gave her a rather condescending look before leaving the room. Olivia puffed out her cheeks and blew her tongue out at the door he'd left from. Then, shrugging her shoulders, she scooted herself closer to the table and propped her feet up to lean back and take a nap.

The next thing she knew, she was startled awake to the sound of voices and turned to see where they were coming from. They were muffled but she'd always been a very light sleeper. She could sort of tell where it had come from and held her breath as the knob turned. Her face held a blank expression as she watched with silent anxiety.

((I'll switch then, so there's some uniformity. It'll annoy me if I'm doing something you're not! XD))

Logan felt the knot in his stomach contract. He took the door knob from the blonde woman, fighting to hold it still because of the sweat on his palms. As the woman walked away, he bit his lip.

Meeting new people had never been his favorite hobby. With his parents, networking was the most important thing you could do. Life was all about who you knew and what they could do for you. In school, he had kept quiet, dog paddling his way to graduation. Life was about surviving. Logan glanced down at his feet, sighing. Better face up to it, he thought to himself, turning the door handle and pushing his way in.

The room was surprisingly empty. He had expected to see Harris, of all people, arms crossed and face blank. Yet, there was only one person in the room, a girl about his age, who looked like she might die of boredom. He walked further in the room, listening to his shoes squeak against the marble. The chairs were all messed up, turned every which way and pushed away from the table. It looked like she had been running an obstacle course while she waited. Yet, she was so- It took Logan a minute to find the words. Empty. That was a good word for her face.

Logan let out a breath and sat down across from her, propping his elbows up on the glass table. The glass was covered in fingerprints, like it hadn't been cleaned. He knew for a fact the cleaning crew scoured the place everyday. It was unlikely that they hadn't been here, which meant the room was used often. How many new people came through here everyday? Quite quickly, Logan realized he was zoned off into his world. He looked up from staring, giving the girl a smile. Wait, giving Olivia a smile.

"You look immensely bored," he said, with a laugh, "Nothing ever happens around here; so, you should get used to it." He rolled back and forth in his chair, sweat forming in his palms again. He could feel his cheeks getting red. God, calm down, he thought to himself, biting the inside of his cheek, it's just another human being. "How long has yours been gone, if you don't mind me asking?" He figured he could leave the specifics to Harris, whenever he was. Logan knew the details of the mission at hand; he just wasn't a messenger.

"Sucks, don't it?" he added in a whisper, standing and holding his hand over the glass table. It served as a mirror. Where his hand should have been, there was nothing. The first time he'd been in the room, Harris had said the exact the same thing, holding his withered hand over the table.

She looked up at the guy that entered. He looked about her age, maybe older? She couldn't tell. There was something about him that screamed, 'tired.' Like, in a weird way, his face looked aged like teachers or presidents do after teaching or being in office for a few years. She stared at him with an empty expression on her face. It was how she greeted almost all new people, well the ones she wanted to get to know. The man that led her in, she'd probably never see him again right?

Regardless, she watched him for a few minutes silently as he moved to sit in front of her. She raised a brow at him as he stared at the table before looking back up and smiling at her. She snorted softly before humorously waving at him.

"You look immensely bored," he said, with a laugh, "Nothing ever happens around here; so, you should get used to it."

"I lost my shadow and my reflection, I wouldn't call that nothing." She returned, chuckling. "But I understand your point. It's not every day you walk into the base of a place called, 'the Secret Service' which looks much like a hospital. You know, we should put up a fund to get this place remodeled. Get a few game room set up..." She rambled, looking around the room.

"How long has yours been gone, if you don't mind me asking?"

She looked back around from her rambling and gave him a sort of surprised look. Cutting right to the chase, huh? She thought, amused. "Just a week or two. I noticed two Fridays ago but it might have happened earlier than that... whatever happened." She explained, rubbing the back of her neck, a nervous habit. She'd never admit she was getting nervous, but talking about this made her feel like a crazy person. At least earlier, it sort of sounded like she was joking.

"Sucks, don't it?" he added in a whisper, standing and holding his hand over the glass table.

"I guess... I... I don't know." She began, not really wanting to say everything. She knew it would sound weirder coming out of her mouth then in her head. Her face shifted into a depressed/pained expression as if she was struggling with some huge dilemma, which she was. "Listen. I just want to get it back and go back to normal. That old dude said he could help. Now, where the fuck is he?" She asked, suddenly feeling irritated. Her anger was also another way that she avoided sad or otherwise depression emotions, though she wouldn't admit it or even acknowledge it.

Though, as if she'd summoned the bastard, the door behind her back opened slowly and Harris stepped out, wearing suit and tie as usual. He coughed to announce himself then walked over to another side of the table, rather far away from this new guy and Olivia.

"I trust you've met Olivia?" He asked, obviously speaking to the other guy. Olivia's eyes flitted from him to the other guy to gauge his reaction.

Logan laughed at her suggestion to build a game room. That would definitely bring the place to life. Yet, her lighthearted chat quickly turned serious. He watched her become jittery, looking around the room and rubbing the back of her neck. She didn’t want to talk about it; that much was clear.

“Listen, I just want to get it back and go back to normal. That old dude said he could help. Now, where the fuck is he?”

Her tone had shifted again, this time to anger. He sensed that she had fickle emotions, that she was trying to cover up something else. Honestly, she probably thought she would sound crazy. And she would. But so would Logan. What was he supposed to say to comfort her, hey, my sister died from this shadow-stealing thing, and so don’t be afraid. you’re not crazy. Yeah, that wouldn’t scare her or anything. He didn’t know how to comfort her, to ensure her that it was going to be okay.

Heck, he wasn’t sure it was going to be okay. He just wanted to make it out of here alive with his shadow.

Logan didn’t have a chance to answer her, because Harris came in, like he had heard her summon him. He had that perpetual lost-in-thought look on his face, lines around his mouth stuck forever. His forehead made him look concerned, or worried almost, lines deep between his eyebrows. Logan found comfort in his presence, in the way he sat down at the head of the table and turned towards Logan without paying any mind to Olivia.

“I trust you’ve met Olivia?” he asked, and Logan saw the girl look over at him.

“Yes, sir. I have.”

“Your initial impressions?” Harris understood how observant the boy was, in every situation. Logan had a knack for reading people, seeing what was going on under surfaces. He wasn’t always right, but that was besides the point. The boy thought for a moment, popping his knuckles.

“I think she is spontaneous,” he started off, meaning emotion wise. “I think I’ve seen four different emotions while we’ve been sitting in this room. That’s not a bad thing; it means she’s adaptable. She’s got a sense of humor, which can mean she has a good personality.” He paused for a minute and smiled at the girl. “But that’s just from observations.”

Harris coughed again, making Logan look back at him. Maybe the man was sick.

“And I trust you’ve met Logan, Olivia?” he asked, swiveling his chair to face the girl.

Her eyes darted from one person to the other and back, making her a bit dizzy in the process since they were so far away. Her friends back home probably would have made fun of her for this. She remembered one guy used to say she looked like a confused chicken, whatever that meant.

She wanted desperately to explode in this guys face and demand he tell her what the hell was going on, but somehow she knew, just by looking at him now, that that act would probably get her written off and unmanageable or some shit. Just like everyone else in her life. Okay, maybe that was being a little melodramatic. She'd had a good life and the people around her had been nice to her, for the most part. ...mostly.

There was that one time that-

She was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of Harris, asking the boy what he thought of her. Her eyes widened and she stared at him, sitting next to her, waiting for the response.

“I think she is spontaneous,” he started off. What the hell did he mean by that? She couldn't tell if he meant it as a bad or good thing and definitely wouldn't want to ask for fear of it being the former.

“I think I’ve seen four different emotions while we’ve been sitting in this room. That’s not a bad thing; it means she’s adaptable. She’s got a sense of humor, which can mean she has a good personality.” He paused for a minute and smiled at her. “But that’s just from observations.”

Olivia raised a brow and made a mental note to be more cautious around this guy. Odds were that if she ever said anything bad about this place that could get her in trouble, he'd rat on her to Harris. The way he looked at the man, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were close, or at least closer than she would have liked. If she wanted to break the rules for any reason, she'd have to do it without this boy, which suited her just fine. These past few weeks, being alone has made her realize that she almost likes it better than way.

“And I trust you’ve met Logan, Olivia?” he asked, swiveling his chair to face her.

"Considering he never told me his name, I'd have to say yes and no, sir. I have met Logan superficially but I don't like to judge books by their covers, yanno? I'll have to spend more time chatting with him to really say I've 'met' him." She replied, smirking at the both of them.

Harris chuckled for a moment, a rare smile on his face. "It's good to have such a refreshing young lady join our ranks, Ms. Woods. You must have many questions."

And there it was. He'd opened the can of worms.

"Ooooh boy. Do I have questions mister." She began, smiling brightly. She stood up from where she'd been seated before and made the moderately long walk closer to Harris before slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her. "Man, I've always wanted to do that..." She mumbled under her breath. Then, realizing what she'd just done, she coughed and raised her head up suddenly to stare at Harris.

"Where the hell did my shadow go? It's ruined my life and I don't appreciate it. Where is this place? Who are you people? And... most importantly of all... Where the hell is the bathroom? I've had to pee for like the last hour but I couldn't work up the courage to ask Mr. Tightwad back then." She asked, suddenly clutching at her stomach.

Harris' eyes went wide before they softened and he broke out into laughter. He couldn't speak so he simply raised his hand and point in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

Olivia's cheeks got rosy red as she rose and bolted in the direction he pointed.

Logan felt a little dizzy just watching her. She seemed to sprint between topics, never really relaxing for even a moment. She was insulted by his comment; he could see it on her face. But she made it even more clear by her snappy comment. Harris asked if she had any questions, and she bolted up from her seat.

"Ooooh boy. Do I have questions mister,” she said, walking right up to Harris. When she slammed her hands down on the glass table, Logan jumped. He thought the glass might shatter, feeling it shake under his elbows. She seemed pleased with herself, being as obnoxious as she was being. Logan just watched her, as she rattled off her list of questions, calling the man that led her here names. Logan bit his lip, knowing he would be the one to answer her.

Instead, she demanded to use the bathroom and ran off, her face the color of a bright red apple. Harris was still laughing at her, holding his stomach in pain. Logan didn’t think he’d ever seen the man laugh, at least not this hard. The boy watched his mentor’s face grow red, lines burrowing into themselves at the corner of his mouth.

“Harris, are you sure she’s the right one?” Logan asked, quietly, so she wouldn’t hear him, if there was any chance she could. The walls were thick, though. He knew this because Harris would tell him about the arguments that took place when new children were brought in. Yet, Logan never heard a thing. Harris told him the walls were insulated to keep the peace, when everyone’s nerves were on edge. The old man stopped laughing, gasping to catch his breath.

“She’s been through a lot since her shadow was stolen. She’s not stable right now,” he answered, sniffling and coughing to catch his breath again. “But she’s sturdy, and, like you, she wants to save herself. If she isn’t the one, she will do her best. We are all guessing here, Logan.”

Logan simply nodded. No one knew anything for certain in this place. All decisions were made on whims and assumptions. He didn’t like Olivia’s arrhythmic personality; he craved a partner who was more calm. But if Harris though this girl who ran around like a chicken with it’s head cut off was meant to be his partner, then oh well. He would make do.

After relieving herself, Olivia made her way back to the room with a calm expression and sat in a completely different seat from her other, which sat across the room, facing the wall. "Alright, spill." She said, speaking to Harris, her eyes watching him calmly.

Harris' mouth curved into a soft grin before he explained the situation. "Yes. Your shadow has been... shadow-napped? Is that what you all call it now?" He asked, looking towards Logan. "Ah, it doesn't matter. It's been taken by something on the otherside. We still aren't sure what 'they' are, but it's pretty clear that shadows/reflections are being taken." He began, resting his elbows on the clear glass in front of him, "What we do know is that the only way to save these shadows is by going into what we've been calling the "Shadow World", though it's probably far from looking like a shadow world, but you'll see that for yourself eventually. There's also the matter of the comatose patients. Nearly every comatose patient in the world are products of dead or near dead shadow halves." He paused to take a breath, "Each person has a shadow half. They aren't necessarily a good or bad side of you, but they are a part of you as far as we're aware. It's like losing half of you, like a twin. Our job is to go into that world and rescue shadows. We even have a few people that have managed to regain their shadows but still enter the world as veterans to help other regain theirs. You'll be going with one such person on your first trip." Harris explained, stealing glances at Logan as he spoke.

Olivia simply sat, taking it all in, her brows furrowed as she looked down at the table in front of her. She rubbed the glass with one finger absentmindedly. After a few moments of silence she lifted her head to look at Harris. "So... when do I go in?" She asked, looking over at Harris and Logan expectantly. She wasn't really wanting to accept everything but she felt that she needed to. Crazier things had happened to her over these past few weeks, it wasn't like this was anything new.

"There's... one last thing. When you enter this world... You'll gain powers that you can only use in that world. In an effort to curb the usual side-effects you'll need to go through some training. Logan's been through the training so I'm going to let him go through it with you so you can know what to expect and have a partner there with you." Harris explained, looking to Logan for help.

Logan sat up in his seat, honestly surprised at her reaction.

“So… when do I go in?” she asked, without even a blink. Logan had freaked out at first, analyzing every possible way he could die. It was a dark week for him, sitting in that stupid hospital bed upstairs in his hospital clothes breathing in hospital air. And here she was, just ready to dive head first in to the Shadow World. Logan chuckled, as Harris looked at him for help explaining the side effects of entering the Shadow World.

“The side effects are more like benefits,” he said, thinking back to his first time going in. While he hadn’t spent very long in there at all, it had almost seemed like a dream. You’ll be able to do pretty awesome things, but your body will drain energy really fast. Since shadow’s aren’t technically physical beings, they don’t use the same sort of energy that our metabolisms create. As a result, our bodies tire much faster than our shadow’s would. It’s like a balancing system, so we aren’t invincible. If you tire out, someone will have to come in for you, and no one likes to be on the rescue team.”

He leaned back again in his seat, scratching his head. He’d been rescued several times, which is why they had decided that they should move forward on a buddy system. It wasn’t safe to be in alone, anyway. He shivered as a cold chill rushed over him, looking down at the reflection of the lights in the glass table. He wouldn’t admit to her that he needed a partner.

“Would you tell Olivia what it’s like in the Shadow World?” Harris prodded, after the silence had stretched as long as he liked it to. Logan just looked at him, swallowing. He wasn’t scared of the place; it just gave him the heebie-jeebies.

“Um… It looks just like our world, with buildings and everything. There’s trees, grass, landmarks, everything. You’ll see some shadows, going on about their business, but it’s like looking in a mirror. Everything’s a reflection of our world, if that makes sense,” he said, shrugging.

“And what happens if we don’t find our shadows within a certain amount of time?” Harris kept prodding, trying to squeeze information out of the boy like a lemon. Logan looked up at him, giving him a look.

“We die,” Logan said, bluntly. “And there’s no way to tell how much time we have left. If there’s any signs of the time coming, we don’t know of any. It isn’t like we can ask the dead for help.” And asking the shadows didn’t do any good. They didn’t like to talk to the humans that went in. “There’s your ultimatum,” Logan said with a chuckle, “You go in with the judgmental kid, or you sit and wait for your unavoidable death. Good thing you’re going in."