CHAPTER TEN/EPILOGUE
"Where am I?" I asked, opening my eyes.
"In The Haze," A2 replied.
I was lying on dying grass, surrounded by a strange purple mist that smelled of petroleum and vanilla.
"The what?" I slowly stood up and A2 crossed its arms.
"The Haze—it's the land of us doubles. This is where we wait until we are randomly summoned—until we are given the opportunity to have a life."
"Are you not considered to have a life here?"
A2 responded, "We wreak havoc because we watch humans who don't reach their full potential every day. We watch humans let chances slip through their fingers. You mortals have everything, yet you do nothing with it."
"Am I supposed to feel sympathy for you?" I scoffed.
"Yes. I expect you to. Because you are mortal and good—in Earth's standards anyway," it answered.
"So what happens here? Do you kill me?" I asked.
"No. You'd think that there would be a great battle or something, which I would prefer, but obviously I'm not a mortal creature. It's not fair."
"You doppelgangers don't seem to care about that when you're ruining our lives. What's the difference here?"
"Would you prefer a great battle? Because I assure you that you will lose," A2 chuckled.
"How does this work?" I asked, trying to get on with the process. "Why is it just us here?"
"What everybody else sees right now, is your unconscious body and my unconscious body. Our physical beings are lying on the floor back at headquarters. But our spirits—our inner selves are here."
A2 urged me to follow it somewhere, and I walked behind my doppelganger. I had no other choice. There was no way to escape.
Ava 2.0 brought me into a grey stone building. We walked through the doorway, and I was met with...Laura. She was tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth.
"Is she a doppelganger or did you kidnap her somehow?"
"I can't say..." A2 laughed, "I guess we'll find out. Here, take this."
It held out a small dagger.
"I don't want that."
"You have to. You have to take it."
I reached out and took the weapon. It looked newly sharpened.
"Now what," I asked.
"What do you think? It's a test of morality—your loyalty. You have the chance to do something to someone who has hurt you—with no consequences. Here, in The Haze, we don't take punishment lightly. One pierce through the heart is all you need."
"She's an awful person, but I don't want to kill her."
"You must. Don't you want to get out of here? If you don't, then I win. Simple as that," A2 explained. "Don't worry. You won't be arrested or trialed for murder. You—you will be free, but only if you use that dagger. Otherwise, I will. I have no problem with that."
"Of course you don't."
Laura was just sitting still. She looked a little loopy, probably slightly sedated. I slowly walked up to her. I didn't want Ava 2.0 to win.
"I want my life. I want my life back," I uttered.
"Then take it back," A2 smirked, "If you even have the guts. Laura ruined your family, and you—you're viewed as the bad guy."
"Because of you!" I yelled.
"I helped you. And now, you have the chance to rid your life of me, but only if you make the necessary sacrifice."
"Sacrifice Laura...for myself," I whispered.
"That's what you've wanted all along, isn't it? To get rid of Laura," A2 circled her.
"She already lost her baby. Wasn't that a sacrifice? Wasn't it enough?" I asked.
"Babies are pure. It didn't count. You must make an immoral sacrifice. You must sacrifice those who have hurt and tortured and made such an impact that you have changed. I never intended for that child to lose its life, I assure you. But that's what happened, and now...well, it's up to you if you want that baby to have a mommy wherever it may be."
"Just one pierce through the heart is all it takes?" I asked.
"Yep, that's it," it replied.
"Okay," I agreed.
"Go for it." A2 stood beside Laura, as I moved forward.
I placed the tip of the dagger directly over her heart and pushed slightly, but not breaking any skin. I started tearing up. I didn't know what to do. I despised this woman, and I had the chance to have her disappear with no consequences. Why was I so hesitant? I took a deep breath and tightened the grip on the dagger. I had to do this. I had to.
"I fucking hate you!" I shouted before plunging the dagger into that disgusting flesh, that sick and evil being that ruined my life. Dark blood surrounded me as I let go of the dagger, leaving it in the punctured wound. The smell of blood mixed with the petroleum and vanilla in the air, making the atmosphere more toxic.
I took a step and looked at what I had done.
Her eyes were wide open, staring up at me from the ground. I looked at its face and then at the dagger in its chest and then back at its face again.
"Sorry, Laura," I said and reached out to remove the duct tape and untie her.
"Nice work, mortal," Laura—whom I now realized was a doppelganger admired my work.
Ava 2.0 lied on the ground, still bleeding.
"I stabbed her instead. What happens now?" I asked. "Do I lose?"
"No, you...have the power to return now," Laura's doppelganger answered, "Allow me."
It placed her hands on my head and I closed my eyes. I blacked out again, but just for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was back at the headquarters.
"Ava?" Torrie stared down at me.
"It's me," I said.
"They gave us this weird serum thing," she explained, helping me up from the ground.
"It allows all of us to see what happened in The Haze," Mr. Williams further explained.
"You didn't stab Laura," Scottie 2.0 answered, "You won."
"I did?"
"Your doppelganger will not be bothering you anymore."
"Will you explain what happened in there?" I requested, "I'm confused."
Delilah stood up and gave me a hug. "You sacrificed a part of yourself, as opposed to your enemy. The way it works in The Haze is...if you choose to sacrifice your enemy, your doppelganger wins. Because it shows that you harbor that evil in you, and that the beliefs of the doppelganger are important to your existence. Since you chose to sacrifice your double that shows that you would rather put aside your own hatred. That pure hatred is not a necessity to your own being. You have a good soul."
"So...those of you who are doppelgangers," I said, looking around the circle, "You won because your mortal counterparts chose to sacrifice their enemies?"
They all nodded.
"And Delilah, you didn't? You killed your double?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Mr. Williams?" I said, facing our teacher. "Your brother..."
"He killed my doppelganger. My double was the one in the chair when he was being tested."
"I'm so sorry," I said.
"Me too," he replied. "But you, Ava, made an excellent choice."
"Did you ever have to make that decision?" Torrie asked.
"We only get one doppelganger. I never had to face mine because my brother killed it."
"Instead of killing me," Scottie 2.0 added, "And now, I'm here."
"Does that mean we're free to go?" Torrie asked.
"Of course. But your memory of what happened will slowly deteriorate, Torrie," Scottie 2.0 answered.
"I will escort you out," Delilah informed us.
"Thank you, everyone," Mr. Williams said, standing up from his seat.
"Yes, thank you," Torrie said, shaking her head in disbelief. This was proving to be too much for her.
Delilah walked us out to our car and waited until we made it past security. Our car ride was quiet for about twenty minutes before Torrie finally spoke up.
"Does that mean I might have to face my double someday?" she wondered.
"Possibly, but you wouldn't know. And somehow we will be physically incapable of letting you know. The information skews in our minds, so we are not able to assist you," Mr. Williams said, "There is so much more to learn about these types of things. I was a non-believer, but I quickly realized that there is much to this world we live in and beyond."
EPILOGUE
It's been seven months. Torrie and I have moved forward with our regular lives, knowing that things may never be the same. Mom and Dad officially filed for divorce, but fortunately Mom had the guts to fight for custody over us. We still live with her, thankfully.
Laura is expecting another child, but it's not my father's. She was found to be sleeping with the husband of another friend. I guess that's her joy in life—to steal people from others. Who knows if karma will ever hit her?
Maia has mellowed out a little bit. She doesn't curse as much as she used to. That change came after Laura's other affair was found out and Laura seemed to be done torturing our family. Plus, she's slowly accepted that our father was not the man we thought he was. He tried to come back a couple times. He groveled, but Mom was done. Mom has returned to work on a regular basis, and I'm glad to say she has a secret admirer. Maybe this man will be better for her.
And if you're wondering, we have not had any more surprises from doppelgangers.
...Not yet, anyway...