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you only made him up?
    The door to the bathroom slammed shut and Christy spun, heart in her throat. The air had come in and pulled it shut?
    She was about to yank it open, but something in the corner of her eye gave her pause. The mirror was there, right in front of her, and the memory of Lawson’s voice was whispering through her mind.
    Look in the mirror long and hard, it said.
    She turned back to the mirror and stared.
    The girl looking back at her was her. Christy knew that because she looked enough like her to be her. But she was more than a few pounds heavier. Her neck was thick, nearly the width of her head. The end of her nose rose too high. There were more than a few pimples on her chin and cheeks, a couple too pronounced to cover with makeup. Her teeth weren’t straight.
    It was an illusion, of course. But it was strong enough to stop her cold, awash with horror.
    She slowly backed from the mirror, mind stuttering. This isn’t real. This can’t be real. I’m not that ugly. This is just an illusion. This isn’t even an illusion—it’s just a dream.
    But her face refused to change.
    And then another thought edged into her mind. It had to be an illusion, of course it did, but that meant she was capable of having illusions. Ones that looked this real.
    So then she was insane?
    Her heart slogged thick and heavy in her chest. Chills washed down her arms. She lifted them and saw that they, too, were thick.
    This was her?
    She couldn’t accept that!
    You’re delusional, Christy. And maybe this isn’t the delusion.
    The thought swept over her like a frigid wave from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. She was breathing heavily, fixed and unmoving, as if her feet had been nailed to the floor.
    She had to stop this! She had to get out!
    Uttering a low moan, filled with horror and disgust, she tore her feet from the ground and staggered toward the door.
    Grabbed the knob with thick fingers and twisted.
    The door was locked.
    She grabbed with both hands and tugged, twisting with all of her strength, but the door refused to budge.
    Christy whirled, smothered by the realization that she was trapped alone in a small bathroom. But it wasn’t a small bathroom.
    It was, but the walls had changed. Instead of white paint, the walls were made of mirrors. She backed into the closed door. Bumped into it. Felt that it too was made of glass.
    She was in a room of mirrors reflecting infinite images of her grotesque body. The new, ugly her, not the plain her. Hundreds of hers. Her legs began to shake.
    Everywhere she looked she saw only the singular sickening image of someone she despised. Her mind began to fold in on itself.
    Grunting with panic, she tried again to get the door open without even a hint of progress. Then again. She erupted into a flurry of frantic attempts to fix what was wrong, wheezing, sweating, sobbing, slamming the door with her fists.
    None of it made a difference. The images were still there, mimicking and mocking her every move.
    You’re an ugly girl, Alice. Look at yourself. Look long and hard and see just how ugly you are, inside and out.
    Christy closed her eyes, sank slowly to her seat along the bathroom door, wrapped her arms around her head, and began to rock gently.
    Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

Chapter 10

    AUSTIN WOKE with the tang of metal in the back of his throat. His tongue throbbed in lockstep with his pulse. He slowly moved his jaw and was rewarded with a sharp pain that stabbed down his neck.
    Details of his ordeal filtered into his mind. As he’d hoped, they’d taken him. The question was, where?
    He’d been nearly electrocuted by the hallway door the moment he’d made contact. This explained why the attendants had made no attempt to chase him. The voltage had immobilized him almost instantly and made short work of the attendants’ security problem. His whole body still prickled with pain.
    He pried his eyes open. They felt like they’d been packed with