LITMIR.BIZ

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the hell out of here first and then we can properly catch up35,” Lizzy’s copy said, looking around.

      “But I don’t understand…” she started.

      “No talk. Let’s go,” the other she said quickly and stood up.

      The stranger extended36 her hand, another cracking sound somewhere in a distance, and… the copy’s head exploded37 like a watermelon.

      ***

      Two dead people in one morning might seem like nothing on the global scale of things but seeing your boyfriend and your copy, whatever that meant, getting shot in front of you could make anyone go insane38.

      Is that what it was?

      Was Lizzy going crazy and was seeing things that weren’t there? Nope. The moms in the alley were all screaming, and the grandmas were trying to run away. There was definitely a shooting just now.

      The cracking sound. Was she the next target?

      The twin woman had said that they were trying to erase them. Another click. Lizzy’s brain started to work again.

      It took her a couple of minutes to get into the endless stream39 of people hurrying to their work. She stopped by the curb40 to catch her breath when a car tire screeched41 next to her, and the passenger door opened.

      “Get in, quick,” the driver yelled.

      What next?

      Will it ever end?

      Why does this voice sound so familiar?

      “Come on, Lizzy. We don’t have much time!” He sounded agitated42.

      He knew her name!

      ***

      Lizzy gaped43 at him. It was him. Her Mark. But how could that be?

      “I know,” he said without taking his eyes off the road. “It took me awhile to understand this, but I’m not who you think I am.”

      It dawned on her44.

      “You’re his copy.”

      He nodded.

      She got into the car.

      She couldn’t stop looking at him. This man looked exactly like Mark, the boyfriend who was supposed to propose Lizzy soon. They both had round faces and blue eyes. Only his hair was combed in a different way, to the right side, and he wasn’t wearing pajamas, but a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. The man’s skin was tanned as if he had spent a lot of time under the sun. Mark was not a big of fan of sunbathing and preferred to stay inside. Also, the stranger was wearing a rather chunky45 diver’s watch with a steel bracelet on his right hand, unlike her boyfriend who wore his dress watch on a leather strap on the left hand. She remembered that because she had given him that watch as a birthday present. It was only a few days ago. It was expensive and it had taken her a while to choose it in the department store that was near her office.

      “He was trying to make you leave the apartment this morning. To save you,” he said. “He just needed a bit more time.”

      What?! How does he know about what happened at my home?

      “We found him first and told him everything,” he said. “He thought we were from the future,” he added with a sad smile.

      He kept quiet for a while. Only the sound of the accelerating46 engine filled the air.

      Lizzy felt that the numbness which her body had gone into to protect her from the shock of losing Mark and watching the assassination of the woman who was supposed to be her copy was slowly melting away and the intense mix of emotions and feelings she had never experienced was about to overwhelm her.

      “He was adamant47 to keep you out of it,” he said finally, breaking the silence.

      She felt tears running down her cheeks and his face became blurry48.

      “How do you … did you know my boyfriend?” she asked.

      “We just met Mark yesterday,” he said after a pause.

      He watched her for a moment.

      “Listen, we both lost important people today,” he continued. “I know this is all messed up49, but we need to stay together. At least for a while to get to the bottom of it50.”

      She couldn’t see and hear him anymore. Grief finally broke through the barrier of shock.

      He took her hand and quietly said: “Don’t worry, Lizzy. We’ll figure this out.”

      Then he took a ramp to merge onto the highway out of the city.

      Chapter 2

      Lizzy’s Diary

      I guess the most difficult thing in this crazy story is to accept the reality of it and get used to wearing Beth, my twin copy, clothes. The latter isn’t a big problem because we were the same size and she had good taste. I have six more days before the jump, and I must put all my memories together while they’re still fresh and painful. Yes, pain. I don’t know if I’ll feel it after the jump. It connects me to the past. My past. My life seems to be so long ago. Will I still be me if I lose it?

      In any case, I’d better start my diary from the beginning.

      I was in the car with Marco–my Mark’s copy–and my life disappeared51 in the rearview mirror52. When we put a couple of hundred miles between us and New York, he started to slow down. I had no more tears in me and was just staring out of the window thoughtlessly53.

      The car stopped.

      “Here’s where we’ll meet him,” Mark said.

      “Who?”

      “The man who knows the answers,” he said and opened the door. “Are you coming?”

      “How do you know that man?” I asked Mark when we got out of the car.

      “You told me about him. I mean, Beth. She found him a while ago or he found her. I’m not sure how that happened. In any case, he told us to bring her copy–you–to him. To save you.”

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