The Nightmare Project

11-The Evil Twin

"Charles , what grade did you get on the math exam? inquired Chris of his best friend as they walked home from school.

"I got 96 %. I only lost two marks on the last problem. What about you, Chris? "Charles asked kicking an imaginary ball as he walked along the concrete pathway along the road. Chris hesitated to answer because he was not as bright as Charles and struggled with Math. "Umm, 62%, I'm happy I didn't fail. " Chris uttered softly. Charles was the brightest student in Grade 6 and everyone else lay in his shadow. Although they were best friends Chris always felt embarrassed to discuss school work with Charles. Not that Charles would belittle him but it felt like he was trying to compete with a genius.

Charles replied , " Well try harder next time . We can study together next weekend if you like. "

As Chris was about to reply, he tripped suddenly on something. He looked down and noticed some strange footprints up ahead. They led down to a muddy track.

"Charles, cool. Look at these weird footprints. What do you think made them? They looked unusual. Let's follow them and see what animal it belongs too. "

It was a hobby of both Chris and Charles to track and trace animal footprints.

"Okay. Let's go investigate. "Charles agreed. As they walked down the muddy track, the weather suddenly changed. The wind began to howl and blew fiercely. The raindrops came down like bullets, hitting them hard. The only shelter that was in sight was that strange large tree in the distance. The boys darted towards the tree as the rain got heavier and heavier. They noticed as they got closer to the tree the strange foot prints disappeared.

"Weird!" concluded Chris, "Whatever it is must have gone under the tree." The boys walked up to the tree. The tree stood up in front of them like a gigantic pillar. Its branches on one half of the tree were twisted around each other and were a sickly brown. However the other side was a lush bright green and the branches stuck out forming a large canopy. The boys stared at the weird tree. Their jaws dropped in terror and amazement but they needed shelter. As far as the boys could recall this area was only a field of grass with no trees. The rain got heavier and despite their suspicions they took shelter. That's when the unthinkable happened.

Suddenly there were flashes of forked lightning that brightened the darkening sky. The lightning only seemed to flash around the tree. Charles and Chris quickly huddle under the tree's thick canopy for shelter , the lightning mysteriously hit the tree. The blinding light caused Charles to stumble backwards and he fell. As a result, he scraped his knee against a root that was jutting out of the ground . The storm all of a sudden stopped.

"Ouch!" cried Charles cried as scrape stung badly . "Something cut my knee, Chris! look at my knee! He continued. Before Chris could look at Charles' injured knee, the wound miraculously healed. "What are you talking about? I don't see anything?"

"What are you talking about ? I don't see anything. Chris stated confused. " b-but but ," stammered Charles , "my knee was injured. As the words came out of his mouth , he noticed that there was a sign on the tree . "Chris , there's a sign .. It's called the Double tree. ." "The double tree?" repeated Chris confused . "Look here!" he commanded. When Chris looked he noticed the sign, "Double Tree". He also noticed some fine print underneath the heading so he pointed to Charles , " Hey , there's some information . " Before they got a chance to read about the tree, it disappeared into the ground. There was no sign that a tree was ever there. Chris and Charles exchanged horrified glances. Their mouths were wide open. The boys could hear each other's heartbeat. Their feet were glued to the very spot they stood. It took them a minute to compose themselves before they could flee.

"What are you talking about? I don't see anything." Chris stated confused. "B-But but ,"stammered Charles, "my knee was injured . "As the words came out of his mouth he noticed that there was a sign on the tree.

"Chris there is a sign it's called the Doubletree."

" The Doubletree ?" repeated Chris confused.

"Look here." he commanded.

Chris noticed the sign and underneath was some information.

"Hey look !"he pointed.

Before they got a chance to read the entire tree was swallowed up. The ground where the tree stood was undisturbed. The boys exchanged horrified glances with wide-open mouths. They could have others heartbeat. Their feet cemented to the very spot they stood. After a few seconds the boys gained enough courage to flee. Chris and Charles where to scared, too terrified, too stunned to speak. They didn't stop running until they reached the lane. They were too afraid to look back. By the time the boys got there they puffed and whizzed. Chris and Charles leapt over the fence and darted to the front door.

They securely locked the front door. At the moment no one was home so the boys quietly crept into the kitchen. Chris' parents, doctors, were not at home. He placed out two TV dinners into the microwave. Charles sat the computer waiting for it to load. The throbbing pain and his knee came back. He stretched out his hand and touched his knee but no bruise. He kept it to himself after all they have been through enough. "Pepsi or grape?" he said from the kitchen.

"Pepsi please."

The boys ate as the search engine loaded the search for the DoubleTree. The only result which turned up was "Friend of a Friend "blog . The users spoke about a strange alien tree appearing in residential areas creating a twin for either the most promising child or the most disgusting child . If two weeks after the appearance of the twin is not brought to the double tree that twin replaced the victim permanently.

It is believed that people of the alien race lack unique personality. They believe in a balance of good and bad people so whenever there is an imbalance exist, they steal one from the earth the world above. They boys read the comments with other persons confirming reports in the other parts of the world where the double tree existed and seen but no one reported on how to get rid of the twin.

Charles asked Chris to keep this a secret because their classmates wouldn't believe them. They were would be called weirdos like in 5th grade. The boys came up with the idea that humans were actually living in a lab controlled by aliens and that all teachers were holograms and not real. They proves could never really prove it but it was just a hunch they had. The last three days of the week were uneventful- the twin never showed up. Maybe after all it was another product of their wild imagination.