After Dark

I woke up, feeling extremely groggy. I rubbed my head as I sat up slowly, trying to get my bearings. I looked around the dimly lit room. It seemed to be relatively small, with only a small bed and a tiny lamp in the corner near the door. I stood up slowly, not wanting to fall over from a head rush. This wasn’t my hotel room, I could tell that much.

Where am I? I thought, moving towards the door. I looked down at my clothes and blinked with confusion, frowning. They weren’t the clothes I had worn to the park nor were they my pajamas. They were some sort of uniform, it seemed. The shorts were snug and comfortable, and there was a belt around my waist with several different items that I couldn’t make out in the dark. My shirt was a plain white V-neck t-shirt, and I had a black & white vest on with a small patch on the right side. I couldn’t see what it was, but there was an emblem on the patch. My fingers moved over it, but I couldn’t tell the shape. I moved towards the door, needing to figure out where I was.

I opened the door to hear voices. I moved out into the hallway, following the voices until I reached a room filled with a few other kids that looked my age, all dressed in the same uniform I was. There were two boys and another girl, all talking amongst themselves. They looked up when I walked into the room.

“Another one.” The biggest boy said. He was obviously the tallest out of all of us, standing about 6’3”. He was really buff too, and his skin was a melted chocolate color. His dark hair was cut short, and instead of shorts like me, he had jeans. His shirt was white like mine, and his emblem was the standard Disney emblem: the Mickey Mouse head silhouette. But the head was orange, red, and yellow, colored to look like flames.

“How many of us do you think there are?” The other girl asked quietly. She was small, the smallest out of us. She looked to be barely 5’. Her hair was a light blonde, and it floated around her face, ending at her shoulders. She was extremely pale, and her outfit was identical to mine. Her emblem was like the boy’s, but instead of being colored like flames, hers was colored with light gray, light blue, and white. It looked like clouds.

“I don’t think there are any more. There were only four rooms, and now there are four of us.” The other boy said. He was tall, but skinnier than the first boy. He looked to be about 6’ even, and his hair was messy. It was a dark brown, and his eyes matched it. His skin was light, a little darker than the girl’s, and his uniform looked just like the first boy’s. His emblem was different as well, colored with different shades of blues and greens. It reminded me of the sea.

“Who are you?” The first boy asked me, looking at me with expectation, as if I were to have all the answers.

“My name is Evie.” I said. I took a glance at my emblem now that I was in a lit room, and it was colored with greens and browns like earth. I looked back up at the other three.

“I’m Aaron. This is Joey and Marianna.” The biggest boy said, pointing to the other two in turn. I nodded at them.

“I would ask if you know why we’re here, but it’s apparent you don’t.” Joey said, glancing up at me. I nodded.

“I don’t know. I wish I did.” I said, and then the door to the room opened again. We all turned around to look at the woman who was walking in gracefully. She was the same woman from before, the one who had followed me, the one who had given me food, and the one who had put me into the hospital and knocked me out. She was dressed in a business suit, looking extremely professional. I moved to stand next to Marianna, out of the woman’s way.
She stood in front of us, regarding us regally. We all stayed silent; although I’m sure we were all wondering the same question.

“You’re here because you were specially chosen.” The woman said, finally speaking. It was as if she read our minds. We all stayed quiet, wanting to know more.

“You have no need to worry about your family. They will not be disturbed. They will go on as if nothing has happened.”

“You mean they forgot about us?” I couldn’t help but exclaim, before biting my tongue. She smiled at me like an adult smiles at an ignorant child.

“No, my dear. You have merely been replaced with a copy of you. As we speak, your clones are waking up in the hospital.” Apparently all of us had been poisoned to get here.

“Clones?” Joey asked skeptically. The woman nodded.

“We could not steal four children without some precautionary measures. Your DNA was taken while you were in the hospital, and used to create a clone. Your families will not be disturbed or worried. You have no reason to fret about them.”

I felt odd. I felt relief, because my mother wouldn’t worry, but I felt angry, because I had been replaced against my will and I didn’t even know why. I didn’t understand anything. Why was this happening? We all looked at each other, and looked back at her. Aaron opened his mouth to say something, but the woman cut him off.

“Please do not be upset. There is a dire situation that we need help with. Please, sit. This story may take some time.” We all did as she asked, taking a seat in the four seats behind us. I wanted to shout at her, tell her to let me go home, but I knew she wouldn’t listen. The only thing I could do was sit back and listen.

“You will have to excuse any seemingly untrue statements. Everything I am going to tell you is completely honest.” She started, taking a seat in front of us, folding her hands primly in her lap.