Blurry's The One I'm Not

Friends To The Rescue

"Tyler! What are you doing? Let's talk about this!" He stands up out of his chair and inches towards me.

"Stay back or I will shoot." The man immediately backed away. Why kill myself? He's obviously afraid and he needs me alive. I could easily escape.

"Take off the restraints." I demand.

"Tyler-" He starts, with a shakiness in his voice.

"Now!" Not a wave in mine. He does so, his fingers fumbling the whole time. Despite my purity, I love seeing him under such a cloud of fear.

When the restraints are off, I jump up and leave. My doppelgänger couldn't do anything about it. Guards ran toward me, but he told them to stand down. I walked out without a scratch.

I have no idea where I am so I don't really know where to go. They took my phone so I have no contact with the outside world. I continue walking anyway. I make it to a main road, but although my feet are in excruciating pain, I don't trust hitchhiking.

Not many cars pass by me, which makes me wonder how far out I really am from my home. Ah, my home. I love the orphanage. It's nothing like the ones you see in Annie. It's like one really big family. My best friend though is Josh. I miss him most of all. While he's just average at academics, his true talent lies with people. All the kids love him. He's probably the most popular guy in school and one of the biggest class clowns. Football is his star sport, but he's decent at pretty much every sport. Me, on the other hand, basketball is pretty much my only talent. His height makes him great for a post, and I play point, so together we're unstoppable. Man I miss that guy.

Up ahead I see an old telephone booth. I could call Josh and he could pick me up. I know he's probably still awake at this hour.

I don't have any change on me, but I get lucky. 2 quarters were lying in the corner of the phone booth. I plop them into the machine and dial his number. He answers almost immediately.

"Josh it's me, Tyler! I was kidnapped! I escaped but now I'm stranded. I have no clue where. I'm at a gas station called 'Corner Quick.' Please come as soon as you can! I have to talk fast because I only have one quarter left." I'm out of breath from talking so fast.

"I'm on my way, buddy. Hold on it'll be okay." I reply with a thanks. It's so good hearing his voice. Knowing he's okay.

Hours pass and still no sign of Josh. I hope he's okay. What if my doppelgänger got him? I start to have a panic attack, but then I see his broken headlights in the distance. I sit up from the roadside curb and wave my hands. It was him. Josh came.

He runs around to the other side and gives me a tight hug. Not even a bro hug saying 'what's up' a true caring hug saying 'I'm glad you're okay' I'm so lucky to have him. I climb into shotgun and he does a turn around.

"I was so worried." He finally says after moments of silence.

"Me too." I respond.

"Did they hurt you?" He takes his eyes off the road to look at me. That's when he noticed the marks around my wrists and neck.

"Tyler!" He pulls to the side of the road and slams on the breaks. I saw the pain in his eyes, the concern.

"I-I'm fine, really."

"What happened? Why you?" He asks.

"It's a long story."

"The drives 4 hours." We really are far out.

"Okay, just keep driving." He does so and pulls back onto the abandoned road. I explain everything. The mystery serum, my doppelgänger, Jenna, the chains, the gun, everything. Tears were in Josh's eyes by the end of my story.

"I'm so sorry. I should have been there." That's the thing about Josh, he always puts the guilt on himself. I just hope it doesn't crush him.

"It's not your fault." He keeps his eyes on the road. "Do you think he'll come back?" I ask.

"If he does, I'll kill him myself." I'd never be complete but I don't want to ruin the thoughtful moment so I stay quiet. "Get some rest Tyler." I nod and roll to my side. I can't sleep though, too much on my mind. So I stare out at the blurry road. Eventually I fall asleep to the rhythm of the tires against the bumpy road. I wish I stayed awake.

My night is full of nightmares. My mystery man eve haunts my sleep. He taunts me. Threatens to kill Josh. It's not a dream though, it feels so much more real. It feels like he's trying to communicate through my sleep to me. He gives me a warning, telling me to return. I can't get him out of my head. I tell myself over and over to wake up, but I can't. I'm trapped in my own sleep. I hear my name over and over and I know it's coming from Josh, but I couldn't wake up if I wanted to. I feel water splash over my face, but I'm still in my trance. And I'm still watching Josh be killed before my eyes.

"Wake up!" I scream to myself. The man smiles his devilish smile as he drops Josh's limp body to the ground. Then he vanishes. I'm finally released.

I wake up in a cold sweat and an all around jumpiness.

"Tyler! You can't do that to me." I gave Josh a hug, not caring that his hands were on the wheel.

"I didn't want to. It was the man, he found his way into my sleep."

"That doesn't make sense."

"None of this does."

"Stay awake then. Stay free." My shirt was soaked from Josh's water bottle, but I know he was just trying to help wake me up.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be. If I wasn't trapped, it would've worked."