Blearily blinking, I was getting tired of being drugged and dumped and the spotlight blinding me wasn't making things easier. I sat up in a chair and felt something crush beneath my bare feet. A sweet smell wafted up to my nose. I would know this smell anywhere. Poppies. The smell from the dorm bed was poppies! Not that it means anything but at least I know what the smell was now.

I loved poppies. They were my favorite smell. Mmm…

Again, I’m losing the ability to be on my guard. The mastermind is too clever for me. Hmm...

The juice and smashed petals smeared onto the bottom of my heels and I leaned down to scrape them off. I just don't get anything that is going on.

Why would the mastermind take my shoes and leave me here... in a... field...?

God, I'm slow. Who cares about the what or the why? I'm outside!

I inhaled the sweet, sweet air and smiled.

Twisting to look behind me, I was in a field of poppy flowers with trees scattered at the far ends of what I could see. The sun was bright and warming to my heart. The wind picked up, blowing gently loose petals that flew past me and up into the distant but clear sky. To my left, I saw a steady stream of smoke beyond the trees but nearby, proof that there were survivors and I made to move... But my foot sunk into the mushy dirt and it almost felt like as if something had grabbed it.

I prepared to tug it free when... “Spencer is trying really hard.” A voice. My voice said amused. I felt hands grip my shoulders, keeping me from looking behind and pushing me back into the seat. “He must be dying under the weight of his guilt. It's almost painful to watch... But I have nothing better to do. If I don't laugh, I might cry instead.”

The weight on his hands vanished and the sun grew brighter. I held out a hand to block out the glare of the sun and heard flapping before something hard dropped on the ground. Squinting, I could see the outline of a chair being placed down and a person sitting in it.

“What are you talking about?” My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw myself sitting across from me in a white chair. Great, I'm hallucinating.

“Hey... Don't ignore me.” The person sighed, mumbling his complaints before continuing. “I'm doing you a favor because I think this is it for me. They're going to burn down a special place of mine... They've been burning my stuff  for a while, being in denial and all... Spencer might have been the one to suggest it and like saps, they listened to him. Too bad, they don't know he's already found you. Again. They might turn against him if they knew. Hint. Hint.”

Blond with curls that never gave in to any brush. A stupid Ponytopia greeter's uniform. Hot racing pink slacks and green mint striped vest. And that dumb smile that flexed all the mosquito bites everyone else called 'freckles' on my face. I tried not to smile like that often. Spencer used to say when we were younger that it made me look a dork looking to get his lights punched out.

Who the hell was this guy?

“They have no idea what they're doing.” He stressed, leaning back on the chair with his hands behind his head. “They're only making it worse. I wish I could feel bad for them but being caught in righteous anger as I am right now... It's too damn fine… Fuck, I’m tired of feeling like shit.”

He... I was in perfect health. No bandages or blood on his clothes. Looking back down at myself, I couldn't figure out what I was wearing. Long robes or something. Or where I got them from. I might as well stop thinking on how these things happen. There were some symbols in red, sown on the hem of the sleeves... If I stared closely and ignored the pain rushing to the back of my neck, they almost looked like words.

“I could try to highjack 'your' body... Direct it to the right place...” My doppelganger said, making exaggerating air quotes and chuckling. “But the ponies would sense me out, being mechanical hounds, and stomp me out. They did it last time and time before that.” He snorted before pointing to each of my shoulders. “Sorry. I didn't know that they could 'taste' me.”

“I forgive you...?” Then I felt a phantom ache after he said those words and because I couldn't think of anything else, I glared at him. “But what do you mean by highjack? Aren't you, me?”

“There's an infect-ion going on.” Answer denied. “Maybe it's nanomachines or a disease or even something supernatural. Whatever it is, everybody's got it. The sicker ponies... You can spot them at a distance. Broken and crazy. They want to contain it. They see themselves as 'immune' and think the problem can be fixed by some body repairs... You know, put the naked in a suit and a suit on the naked... Or break a jaw to fix screaming... That kind of thing...”

“Everybody's got it? You're serious?!”

“Wow, that almost sounded like something I would say.” He snickered, smacking his hand on his knee and leaned forward. “At least you're learning. There's some spirit in you, yet! To not have to repeat myself, just remember all I said few seconds ago and replace 'pony' with 'human' and you got the gist of the problem.”

“The cops...” I tried to ask.

“Are very busy.” He mocked, shaking his head while shrugging. My doppelganger started counting his fingers, frowning at some imaginary number, before continuing. “The ones who responded first to the distress call, I bet they've already committed suicide by now. Guns are quick, needed things around here. The main frame master computer aka the thing that runs this dump also has the infect-ion. That's bad because the resort is an island to itself.”

Suddenly, he was right next to me, nudging me with his elbow. He pulled on the hood I didn't realize I even had on and whispered into my ear.

“Pay very close attention what I'm about to say. The main bridge, leading in or out, is up. Signals going out have been jammed. Boats just going by, they are persuaded to keep their distance. All gates, doors and anything that could go in or out of place that's using electricity, consider it compromised. Also, mind the color of the lights. Let's you know who's running that particular area.”

He reappeared in his seat, seeming lost in his thoughts before announcing his next words as if I was slow.

“And I hope you're not as stupid as the few crowds who thought it was safe to swim to freedom. At least, the sea gulls got a good ending and a large happy meal...”

“Then what do I do? I don't know what's going on! Why all of this is happening?” I groaned, pulling my legs on to the chair, gripping them tightly. “Am I going to turn crazy like them!”

“Wait, you actually care about that? I figured you would be more 'mwahahaha'. None of this actually concerns you. Go frolic in some fields or set a house on fire. Whatever strikes you, haha! Get it? What’s with you all of the sudden?” He asked abruptly before shaking his head in a patronizing way. “Come and laugh with me. Mwahahaha! Hehehe! Generic evil laughter. It will make you feel better. Only when I laughed, did anyone come to save me...”

I smelled smoke and turned my head to see a large wildfire making its way to us. My doppelganger rolled his eyes and muttered something else under his breath, before saying “Donna was never one to half-finish a job, was she?” The fire zipped and zigzagged left and right as the poppy flowers caught on fire. Once the fire touched them, their forms distorted and they burned into papers and painted cardboard.  

“Pay attention to me! Why doesn't anyone do it! Why do I have to hurt people to get what I want!” He snapped his fingers in front of my face and yanked on my chin. His hands felt cold and wet and I recoiled from his slimy touch. “Don't listen to anything and I mean anything Spencer says. Not only did he leave me to die, he thinks if he can recreate the same incident, he'll get 'me' back!”

“Spencer wouldn't do that!” I snarled, getting pissed.

Spencer was our best friend! Best friend! Didn’t those words mean anything, anymore? He's saved me loads of times and my doppelganger would talk shit about him like that? Only I talk shit about him and it's never serious shit on top of it!

“What the hell happened to you! To us! Why is all this happening? Can't you just give me a straight answer! I don't need to deal with all this! None of this is my fault!”

I tried to stand up but vines rose from the ground, tying me to the chair.

“Look, our friend Spencer... He's not a nice guy anymore. Whatever you're thinking in that trusting, friendship head of yours... This isn't normal friend behavior! This is crazy, psychotic freak behavior! Spencer's only being patient because you look like me. Keyword: Patient. He's not trying to save either of us…! Well... You... I'm not involved in this!” He shouted, his voice turning anxious and bitter. “Not anymore! These flames will send me to next world! Cause I'm deader than a doorknob, haha! I'll tell you and he won't accept it!”

The fire burned away the field, revealing a stage set. A pair of doors floated in space before another version of me, see-through and wounded ran through them. He only made it a few feet before collapsing and spitting out blood. Then he crawled, dragging his body forward until he laid over a weird symbol on the floor. Something shined in his right hand and he held it close to his chest.

Chilly hands covered my eyes. “This isn't something you should see.” He said in a hushed tone. “I didn't die here but this is where I made the call. You have to figure how I did it. It's the only way. You have to make the call to the outside to end all of this. They took things from you. Important things. Get them back. Make them pay and maybe we'll see each other again.”

His hand pulled away and I was back in that room. The security room.

I honestly wished Spencer was with me, despite everything my doppelganger said.

He could make everything alright.

He was my best friend. Next Chapter: If One Remains Nothing... Estimated time remaining: 16 Minutes