Sirens howled as the ambulance sped away with whatever remained of Jory.
Once again, three of them were questioned.
Mindy, Harry and the rest had denied having been at the scene of the crime.
The Principal, Mr. Silas Crone, stood beside the inspector.
The same skeptical dark-skinned police lady was there.
They had separated the three of them as they questioned them simultaneously.
All accounts were identical, yet, no one knew what to believe.
"It can't be written off as suicide!" Jory's mother cried.
The officers tried to calm her down.
"My son was murdered!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
She screamed threats at the principal, saying she'd sue the school and whatever legal action that laid within her power.
Ray's dad and Sarah's mother arrived at the same time.
Both of them knew that Reflections were more than just a made-up theory.
"We didn't do it." Sarah blurted out.
Darrick patted Ray's shoulder.
"Give me a second, let me speak to the Principal."
Ray watched his father walk towards the chaos, clutching the ice pack he had been given over his swollen jaw.
"Let me see." Mrs. Tolen said as she peeled his hand away.
She gasped as she saw the cut.
"How could they accuse you? It's clear you were beaten up!"
"Which is enough motive for me to kill Jory." He completed for her.
Her eyes darkened with rage.
"Who else was there?" She asked.
Sarah laid a hand on her mother's hand.
"They'll deny it. It's no use."
Mrs. Tolen scoffed.
"Let them. They'll see what I have to say about that!"
With that, she stormed off, her scarf flying in the wind.
"Another day of rain." Kirby murmured.
"Where's the shard?" Ray suddenly asked.
"Relax." Sarah said, producing the tiny object.
He sighed in relief.
"Do you think they'd let us go home? I can't spend a night in a cell - it'd ruin my already- thin chances of going to Yale."
Ray ruffled his hair.
"That's not what you should worry about. Worry about what you just saw - we could be next."
Sarah stiffened.
"Is there like a pattern to all these deaths?"
Kirby leaned closer.
"We can't know for sure."
Ray ran a hand through his hair.
"But where are they coming from? We need to know."
Sarah shook her head. "The most important question is, why do they look like us?"
Kirby looked absolutely lost.
"Doesn't the Mirror theory explain it?"
Ray turned back to the commotion. Mindy and the rest of the gang were standing there.
Then, he turned and met Ray's gaze.
Ray knew they'd lie. Calling the ambulance was not exactly considered as a safe alibi.
"We're in trouble." Kirby said with a sigh.
"My dad would get us out of it… somehow."
Sarah leaned her head on his shoulder.
"If only we could prove to these dumb cops that Reflections are real."
Kirby clicked his tongue. "There are so many mirrors on their cars, if only one would just pop out and…"
Just as he spoke, the Reflection of the black cop lady emerged from the side mirror of her assigned vehicle.
Shouts erupted and a gun was fired.
Two, actually.
All three of them stared at each other.
"What did you just do, Kirby?" Sarah asked, her lips trembling as she spoke.
He raised his palms up. "I didn't do anything, I swear."
Both of them laid on the floor, the cop and her Reflection.
The cop that had shot the Reflection inched closer and gave her a little kick.
"Call an ambulance!" He shouted.
People scurried to assist, calling for help using their radios.
Darrick glanced at his son.
Sarah wrapped her arms about Ray.
"Would they believe us now?"
"We can only hope so."
Jory's mother stared with her mouth open. It all clicked with the story about her son - but she wanted justice.
"He was my only boy!" She wailed, clutching her hand bag.
"I'll take you all home." Mrs. Tolen said as she approached.
"My parents are still on their way." Kirby said, averting his gaze.
"It's fine. We'll see you later, then."
She ushered Sarah and Ray to her car.
"Would they press charges?" Ray had to ask.
Mrs. Tolen clasped her seatbelt and gripped the steering wheel before answering.
"No. They won't."
Her knuckles were white.
Ray and Sarah exchanged glances.
The car turned into the main road.
"Would you be able to stay on your own, dear?"
Ray glanced out the window, colouring. He was seventeen and he could swing a baseball bat as well as any expert.
"Yes. I believe I can."
"I'm not convinced. I'll tell your dad to pick you up at our place."
Ray leaned against the chair.
There was no arguing.
Sarah shot him a pity glance.
They pulled up at Sarah's house.
She lived there with her mother and two brothers.
Both were attending college, leaving Sarah alone with her mom. But they had both come home briefly to attend the funeral. Ray saw them as older brothers.
Sarah's dad had died when she was three, before she moved to their neighbourhood.
The house was painted white, adorned with pretty flowers and trees.
The blonde woman threw her keys on the counter and unwrapped her scarf.
"Make yourself comfortable, Ray. If you want to take a shower, you can use Benet's things upstairs, he should have a shirt or two that would fit your thin body."
He nodded. The comment was meant to be lighthearted, but the reference to his stature made him feel unhealthy.
His dad was trying. None of them could serve a decent meal, no matter how many Youtube videos they watched.
Sarah went upstairs ahead of him.
"I'll make meatballs!" She called out.
He had no appetite.
What he had an appetite for was discovering what the mirror theory was all about.
He entered Sarah's room.
She had thrown her bag on the bed and was looking out the window.
He scanned the room for mirrors. There were none.
Her room was mostly grey, black or white. She hated bright or girly colours.
"Are we going to live in fear for the rest of our lives?" She asked.
Ray stilled.
He had asked himself the same thing every time he went to bed.
"Unless we can do something about it, the answer would be yes."
She spun around.
"There has to be a reason this is suddenly happening. Everything was fine before."
He sat at the edge of her bed.
"What can people as insignificant as us do about it?"
She shrugged.
"Nothing. Anything. Everything."
He smiled - or at least it resembled a smile.
"It's dangerous enough without us doing anything. Doing something would be the end of us."
"So be it."
He narrowed his eyes on her - she was never reckless.
"So be it." He repeated.