.
“Who are they?” she was confused.
“They,” the other she shrugged31. “The ones who make and control us. And now they are trying to erase32 us for some reason.”
What?!
“I haven’t done anything illegal. What is happening?” she said.
“Listen, we don’t have much time, so let’s get the hell out of here first and then we can properly catch up33,” the other she 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 extended34 her hand and … her head exploded35 like a watermelon.
***
Two dead people in one morning might seem like nothing on the global scale of things but seeing your other copy getting shot in front of you could make anyone go insane36.
Is that what it was?
She was going crazy and was seeing things that weren’t there? Nope. The mums are screaming, and the grandmas are trying to run away. There was definitely some shooting just now. Is she the next target?
The other she said that they are trying to erase them. Click. The brain started to work again.
It took her a couple of minutes to get into the endless stream37 of people hurrying to their work. She stopped by the curb38 to catch her breath when a car tires screeched39 next to her, and the passenger door opened.
“Get in fast,” 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 agitated40.
He knows her name!
***
She gaped41 at him. It was him. Her man. 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.”
“You’re his copy,” it dawned on her42.
He nodded.
She couldn’t stop looking at him.
“He was trying to make you leave the apartment this morning. To save you,” he said. “He just needed a bit more time.”
What?! He knew?!
“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 accelerating43 engine.
“He was adamant44 to keep you out of it,” he said breaking the silence.
She felt tears running down her cheeks and his face became blurry45.
“How do you … Did you know him?” she asked.
“We just met him last night,” he said after a pause.