Other

“AAAAAH! Don’t scare me like that, Vanessa!” Josh cried. He was always such a baby. “You’re twenty-three. Don’t you think it’s about time to stop acting like a child?”

“So? You’re seventeen, and you still act like a baby,” I quipped. I walked into my mother’s kitchen and gave my mom a peck on the cheek. She swirled around, half expecting my father, but she brightened up even more at the sight of me.

“Oh, dear! I was wondering why your brother was yelling. Did you scare him again?” She didn’t wait for me to answer and continued on prattling off other questions. I ignored most of them, only supplying a few yes’s and no’s to some. I was twirling a pink and blue bauble on the kitchen table that only had half of my attention. There were a lot of things swirling through my head.

“Don’t sit like that!” my mother scolded. “Sit like a young lady, Vanessa.”

I was sitting with one leg bent up to my chin and the other hanging. I rolled my eyes and straightened. I came over to visit, and she gripes. I haven’t seen her since Christmas, and she’s going to complain about little things. At that moment my dad walked in, bellowing out names. He must have seen my car because he called out my name. A second later he walked into the kitchen, gently kissing my mother’s cheek. He walked over to me and gave me a bear hug, lifting me from my seat. Josh walked in. For once in a long time, all of us were together for dinner.

*****

I drove home, half asleep. I stayed later than I expected at my parent’s house, talking about old times. Something brightened the car for an instant. Startled, I looked around for headlights. There were none. I must have been sleeping. When I walked through my front door, the same thing happened. I seriously needed rest. I crawled into bed exhausted but woke up even more restless.

My dreams troubled me from the moment I had lain my head down, but I overlooked them. I have always had an overactive imagination, even as a child. I would have dreams of something following me wherever. The thing was not friendly; it wanted my life; it wanted me out the picture. Of course I dismissed it, for I always watched horror movies before going to bed. The creatures would simply follow me to bed to create my nightmares. I would wake up and jot them down. I would give them to my English teachers. Some of the dreams disturbed the teachers, but generally, they would tell me that I should write short stories or novels for a living. That’s what I want to do. I’m getting my degree in English, and then, I’m going to write.

This dream last night, though, was different. It felt so much more real than any other dream I have ever had. I couldn’t shake this awful feeling I had. It followed me through the work day. Every dropped file, every sniffle, every breath made me jump. Even the simple grunt made my heart pound. My heart felt like something was gripping it and making it pump harder. The sheer force had made my chest ache. Someone yelled my name, making jump ten feet in the air and landing on the floor hard.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” It was Tony. He was new here, started two weeks ago. He put out his hand to help me up, but I was already half way there. He took his hand back, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Oh, it’s okay. A bad night leaked into a bad morning leading to a bad evening. What can I do for you?” I asked, not really knowing what else to say.

“Oh, um, yeah, the boss man wants you to file these,” he replied while handing me the five files.

I thumbed through the files. These weren’t the kind of cases I usually dealt with. “I don’t do these cases. Why does he want me to file them?” I’m a secretary at a law office.

“I don’t know. I get told what to do, not why. He wants them in the downstairs filing area.”

“Of course he does. I deal with the deals, not the lawsuits. But whatever, I’ll go down into that roach and rat infested room with dim lights all by myself.” Any other time I would have been more than happy go down there but not today. Today is off.

“I have heard of you fearless reputation, Miss Daïé. Do you mean to tell me that this is not true?” he teased.

“I love horror. Any other day I would have snatched those files so fast that you would have ten paper cuts and would have been down there in three seconds. However, today is not a very good day for this. I have been having a bad feeling all day,” I explained. He would surely understand, right? However, he disappointed me. He busted out laughing. I walked passed him to the stairs that let down to the basement.

It felt odd being in the basement, like I didn’t belong. I walked passed quickly through the aisles. The files I had to be brought all the way to the back. Stupid files. I honestly felt horrified that I had to walk back there. Something was not right. Chills started to run up and down my spine. I had goose bumps all over my skin, exposed and unexposed. I felt something at my back. I turned around quickly. Nothing was there. I gave myself whiplash. My rubbed my neck. Every few steps I would glance behind just to make sure nothing was following.

I finally reached the back, but I could not find the place the files were meant to go. I saw a flash. It was the same brilliant, white flash from last night. I turned around and gasped., but nothing there. I turned around, and that’s when I saw it. No, I saw me, grinning wildly. I winked then disappeared. I dropped the files and ran like Usain Bolt. I think I ran even quicker than he could. I was up the stairs a second later and trampled over Tony. I fell on top of him but quickly scrambled back up and ran to my cubicle. I snatched my things and headed home.

*****
I was speeding down the highway when I heard woop woop. Red and blue lights flashed in my rearview mirror. I sighed and pulled over. The officer walked up to my window. I rolled it down, looking up at him anxiously.

“Where were you going in such a hurry, Ms. Daie?” the officer asked. I knew that voice.

Then it clicked. “Michael!” I half yelled. Relief flooded over me. “Sorry, it has just been a bad day. I just got the scare of my life, and I just want to go home.”

“You scared? Ha! I’m sure,” he joked. “Actually, you do look a little freaked. It must have been some scare if it has you bugged. I’ll let you go with a warning. Be careful and have a nice night.”

I smiled my thanks and breathed in deeply when he had walked off. I needed to get home to my nice, fluffy pillow and soft bed, so again, I sped off to my house. I nearly knocked my door over in my rush to get inside. I dropped everything on me and ran upstairs to my bed. I didn’t even bother changing clothes before lying down.

I walked into my bathroom, light shining through the window. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and started to brush, but I noticed something was not right. I looked at the mirror closely. The mirror put down my toothbrush, but I still had my toothbrush just hanging in my mouth. I spit out everything out in my mouth. I’m crazy. I washed out my mouth and splashed cold water on my face. I looked back up in the mirror. I noticed it was dimmer now. I looked at through the window-nighttime.

I shook my head as I walked past the mirror. Something still wasn’t right. I was smiling the world’s biggest smile, but I wasn’t smiling. I was frozen with fear. This isn’t real. This isn’t real, I thought.

“But isn’t it?” I spoke, without saying a word. It was coming from the smiling demon. The smile was engrossing the entire face, revealing small, pointy teeth. As the smile grew, the skin receded, as if it was taking off a hood of skin. What it uncovered was burnt bone; it was charred and almost black. A blood curdling scream exposed my fear; the creature seemed to revel in my terror. I ran from the bathroom. I heard the mirror crash behind me, making me go faster.

I threw the front door open and stopped. I locked the door when I got in, but the scampering down the stairs made me forget the lock. I ran down my street not knowing where to go. I heard tapping as the creature’s bone feet ran after me. I tripped over a random branch, a very big, random branch. I didn’t have enough time to get up; the creature pounced on me. I screamed. I sat straight up in my bed.

I was gasping for air. I was still in my clothes from last night. They had mud and rips in them. It was all a dream, though. I sighed, thinking maybe I did it as I walked through the yard last night. It had rained earlier. I walked cautiously into the bathroom. At least, here was no shattered glass covering the floor or counter. I let out a breath of relief. I went through my daily routine with no scares. I was only dead tired.

*****

I dragged into work. I sat my stuff in my little cubicle just before I heard : “Vanessa!”

“Yes?” Why did my boss, Mister Codway, look so angry. I only just got in. Since when was he bald.

“Vanessa, did you think that was funny?” Mr. Codway fumed.

“What do I think is funny? I just got in,” I explained.

“I just got in,” he mocked. “Let me refresh your memory, Miss Daie.” He grabbed me by my arm and drug me around the entire place until we got to his office. His office was covered with papers. Some were tacked to the wall, others glued. It had spelled out: Mr. Codway wears a toupee. His toupee was glued at the right on top of the sentence. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is your laughter your confession?”

“Not at all. Mister Codway I promise I didn’t do this,” I answered, still laughing.

“Then, who did? You were the only that’s been in my office.”

“I just got in. I honestly didn’t do this, Mister Codway.” I was becoming infuriated with his accusations.

He breathed in deeply. He closed his eyes and through clench teeth he said: “Miss Daie, I asked to run off papers for me and put them on my desk. Who else could have done this?” He pointed to the wall.

“I didn’t do this because you never asked me to do this since I just got in five minutes ago. How would I have gotten your toupee anyway?” I was yelling now.

“One minute it was on my head the next it was on the wall.” He pointed to the wall again. “I know you have a reputation for pranks Miss, Daie.”

“Not funny pranks. I tend to scare people.”

“Well, you just pranked yourself out of a job!”

I stood there dumbfounded. He just fired me for a prank I didn’t do. I couldn’t move at first. I slowly turned around and walked to my cubicle. I grabbed my stuff and walked out. I sobered up by the time I got to my car. I put my things in my trunk. I was about to get into my car when I heard my name. I breathed in deeply to keep myself from snapping at the person. It was Tony. I smiled in relief but he looked mad.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, befuddled by his obvious anger at me.

“Thanks for trashing my car, Vanessa,” he seethed.

For the first few times I tried to talk, I was incoherent. “I didn’t do that.”

“Oh I’m sure. Someone else just scratched your name into the paint, right?”

“What are you talking about?” He grabbed the same arm Mister Codway had grabbed and dragged me halfway through the parking garage. I was seriously getting annoyed with this. We got to Tony’s car; it looked like he wrecked it. The windshield was broken in; the bumper was smashed in, crumpling the hood. The inside had glass everywhere. I guess the brown stuff all over the place was coffee. There was a speck of what looked like blood.

“Did you cut yourself?” I asked, worried.

“No,” he replied, confused. “Why?”

“Look, right there.” I pointed where the blood was at. There was a drop in the point of the glass and some had dripped down the side of it.

“Did you when you did this?” he accused.

“No! I didn’t do this. Look!” I showed my hands to him. I took off my jacket and rolled up my pants leg to show him my arms and legs. I even showed him my back, side and stomachs, so he could that there was not a single cut on my body. “Happy!” I shouted. That’s when I noticed my name. It was definitely my handwriting. I traced the carving with my fingertips, astonished.

“Your handwriting, right?” I nodded. “So why did you do this?”

“Tony, I promise you I didn’t do this. I just got fired for being accused for something else I didn’t do.”

“You mean the toupee thing.” I nodded. “Vanessa, I saw you doing that. You even winked and waved at me.”

My mouth just dropped open. “What! I just got here,” I looked at my watch, “twenty minutes ago, and I’ve been fired for thirteen of those minutes.”

“You changed?” he asked all of the sudden.

“No, why?”

“You were wearing a skirt this morning, though, when I saw you. You have great legs, you know.” He was smiling at the memory of it.

I slapped him over his head. “Since when do I wear skirts, Tony?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only been working here for a few weeks. I never did see you in a skirt though. Unless you have a twin, Vanessa, then you did all of this.’

That’s when everything clicked. The look like alike in my dreams and the pranks all made sense. “DoppleGaengers,” I muttered. “You’re a genius, Tony.” I was so elated that I grabbed him and kissed his forehead.

He blushed, “I try. But what am I genius about?”

“I’ll let you know if I’m right about this,” I yelled over my should as I ran to my car.

I got in my car and sped out. Luck was on my side today, kind of. There were no cops out today. I was home in twenty minutes, which was twenty minutes sooner than usual. I ran all through the house, but I didn’t see it or her or whatever it is anywhere. I slopped down onto my couch in the backroom. I fell asleep instantly.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw it, her, the DoppleGaenger. I cringed back slightly at the sight of it. As usual, the thing was smiling. I slowly picked myself up to a sitting position. I locked eyes with it. I suddenly became very determined to get rid of this thing.

“What do you want?” I asked sternly. The thing reeled back, not expecting my coldness, but the smile returned, even bigger.

“Your life, of course. You have a wonderful life. And that cop, delish, literally I mean.” Her smile turned to that of hunger. I wanted to throw up. I never thought that they actually ate people. “But somehow, you clever human, trapped me in your little dream world. At the age of five!” She smacked me. She, no it, was angry.

It was my turn to smile. “Angry a bit? Upset that a mere five-year-old found a way to trap a DoppleGaenger?” I jumped on top of her, knocking us both to the ground. I jumped up and ran. I went to grab my baseball bat. I dashed into one of the spare rooms. I heard clicking on the wooden floors. I hope it’s not in that burnt skeletal form. I sneaked a peek, and it was. It was checking all the rooms.

“Come out, come out! Wherever you are!” The monster stopped between my room and the room I was in. That was when I swung the bat. It fell to the ground. I swung the bat at its head again, but this time, it caught it. She tugged the bat out of my hands and threw it down the hall. It pushed me through the wall. It was on top of me in seconds. It put its hands around my throat to choke me, but it stopped. “ I want to know how,” it whispered into my ear. “Tell me how you put me in your stupid dream world.”

I didn’t know how I did it. “I don’t know,” I choked out. It slammed my head against the tile floor. I felt something warm trickle down my neck. I was becoming disoriented. I remember all the monsters I imitated after watching its movie. I remember the monsters being in my dreams later that night. I remember seeing her one night before closing my eyes. They always just followed me to my dreams. That was how I did it. “Every monster followed me to my dreams,” I muttered.

“What?” it yelled. It slammed my head again against the tile, more blood streaming out. I retreated internally. I needed to figure out a way to defeat this thing. I doubt I could kill it here in my dream world. How did it get out before?

“How?” I barely muttered. No answer. “How did you get out of this place before?”

“Oh, simple. We were touching when you woke up. Why?” She was becoming aware of something. She tried to scramble off of me, but I grabbed onto her tight. I was forcing myself to wake up.

I was on the couch that I fell asleep on with the DoppleGaenger on top of me. It was no longer burnt bone; it was in a business suit. She had on a tan jacket and skirt and a white blouse. She did not get that from my closet. She jumped off of me and tried to run, but I was quicker. I grabbed its leg. The monster fell to the ground, hitting its head on the corner of the television stand. It was out cold. I ran to the kitchen to grab a knife, but when I returned to the room, it was gone. I felt something tackle me from the side. The knife fell from my hand, and I landed on my stomach. Something sharp pricked my stomach. The knife. Copper filled my mouth-blood. It flowed from my mouth onto the royal blue carpet. The sun shining through the windows, brightened the area where I laid. The thing walked around, kneeling in front of my face. I lifted my head to look at its smirking face.

“You gave a tough fight for eighteen years, human. It was only time before I would have won.” Its words infuriated me. I couldn’t let win.

I brought my arms up to brace myself, so I could rise. “Get. Out. Of. My. Face,” I said, my voice full of conviction, as I raised myself up. The smile disappeared from its face. Good. It ascended as I did. We were facing each other; our eyes locking. Every muscle in my body tensed. My body screamed as I pulled the knife out. I did not let any emotion register on my face. It could not be allowed to see the pain, the anger, the misery. Fear spread across its face, giving away how it felt. I breathed in deeply, blood gushing out of my wound. “You do not win.” I plunged the knife into its heart. The abomination didn’t even try to flee. It was frozen in place, too scared to move. Its blood, a thin and even richer red, dripped to the floor, and so, did it. It vanished in thin air. I fell on to the floor next to the blood. I managed to get my cell phone out of my pocket to call 911.

I was in the hospital for a week. I knew I was going to die. It was always said to see ones DoppleGaenger, is an omen of ones death. I didn’t have the strength to recover. I lost too much blood. The knife happened to puncture I major organ. It was odd. I knew when I was going to die, so I made myself write all of this down. My family was not going to believe this; I knew that, but maybe it will be a fascinating, little story for others to read. I just hope no one else sees their DoppleGaenger. It was like facing my own personal demons, but in the literal sense.