Sergey Redkin
As Long аs I'm With You
Chapter 1
We will figure this out
.
She could not believe what she was looking at. This is impossible2. How could this happen? Only an hour ago, everything was fine. She thought she was one of the happiest3 women in the world. She had everything: a man who loved her, an excellent job, a bunch4 of friends, and a cute car. She could not wait to wake up every morning and go spend her day with a big smile on her face. And now… Well, now she was not sure that her life would ever go back to what it was. No, come to think of it, she was not sure that she had life anymore. How did this all happen?
It all began this morning when he told her that he was leaving her. Things went downhill5 afterwards6.
“You what?” she asked.
Having just done her morning yoga routine, she was sitting on a tall stool near the kitchen island in her sportswear. Still on her first cup of the day as the words spilled from her mouth with the coffee.
He was standing near an open window, still in his pajamas with his hair untidy from the night’s sleep. It was a bright day and it looked as if he had a halo over his head. What an irony!
“We can’t be together anymore,” he added and looked out of the window rather nervously.
“What are you looking out of the window for?” she tried to stay cool. “Is your new girlfriend waiting for you out there?”
Staying cool did not seem like an option.
“I’m sorry, but we have to end it today,” he said looking at her.
“What do you mean today?! What? Do you already have a breakup plan7? Or did you decide8 just then, while drinking your coffee?” she asked, barely controlling herself and slowly realizing that it was not some sort of joke.
“Listen. We’ll figure this out. Believe me, it’s for the best,” he said.
“Are you being serious right now?9” Slamming her cup down on the kitchen table, she suddenly10 realized that she could throw it at him right about now11.
He opened his mouth and at that precise moment something outside cracked12, he fell on the floor, his head was covered in blood. Then her phone started to ring.
***
She answered in zombie mode, still not realizing what had just happened.
“You’d better13 leave now,” a female voice said on the other side of the line.
Ah? was she could master, with her eyes fixed on the motionless body on the floor.
“Go now or you’ll be lying next to him in a minute,” without a hint of compassion14 in the voice.
“Who are you?” she was almost screaming.
“Don’t believe anyone. Run!” the same coolness15.
Then the phone went dead.
She looked around her apartment. What was going on? She ran to him, still hoping it was a terrible prank16. Nope. This was blood on her floor. And this was one dead man. Her man. Well, her ex-man. She was just about to check his pulse, just in case17, when she heard someone running down the corridor outside her door. She jumped up.
***
The morning street felt strange. How can these people go about their business when he is lying dead on the floor, up there in their apartment? Where is she supposed to go now?18 Somehow, calling the police did not seem like a clever idea. But why? She did not do anything wrong. She just had a cup of coffee while her soon-to-be-proposing boyfriend was murdered in the process of breaking up with her. Should she call the police after all19? Perhaps, she should.
She looked for her phone, but … Oh no! She left it on the kitchen table. All her contacts. She doesn’t remember any numbers by heart20. Who does? Are there still payphones on the streets these days? Whom should she call even if she finds one?
“Don’t scream,” the same cold voice from the call, but … behind her.
She stopped in disbelief21.
“Keep walking,” a slight shove on the back.
She complied22. A decision triggered23 by her survival mechanism24 rather than her brain.
“Who are you?” she asked quietly. “In a minute,” the stranger said. “Turn right here,” with another nudge the back.
They stepped into a quiet alley where most of the benches were occupied with elderly people and mothers rocking their baby strollers25.
“Here’s good,” the stranger said when they reached an empty bench. “Sit down.”
“May I turn around?” she asked, sitting down.
“If you want,” the stranger said.
She did.
Perhaps, it is not a good comparison, but what she saw shocked her almost as much as the death of her boyfriend.
***
She was looking at herself. Well, she was looking at a young woman who looked exactly like her, as if they were identical twins in different outfits. The stranger was wearing a plain dark blue hoodie, a pair of black jeans, and, what looked like, Dr. Martens black leather boots. Her hair was a bit shorter.
“Yes, I know,” the stranger said. “It took quite some time for me to wrap my head around this26 too!”
“Are you …?” she began.
“You?” the stranger finished her sentence. “Yes. I am you.”
“From the future?” in bewilderment.
“Not really,” the other she said. “I’m your other copy.”
“My other copy?”
“Yes. Some of us come with a back-up copy, but they never tell us that,” the other she said as if it was common knowledge27.
“Who are they?” she was confused.
“They,” the other she shrugged28. “The ones who make and control us. And now they are trying to erase29 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 up30,” 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 extended31 her hand and … her head exploded32 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 other copy’ getting shot in front of you could make anyone go insane33.
Is that what it was?
She was going crazy and was seeing things that weren’t there? Nope. The moms are screaming, and the grandmas are trying to run away. There was definitely some shooting just now. Was she the next target?
The other she said that they were trying to erase them. Click. The brain started to work again.
It took her a couple of minutes to get into the endless stream34 of people hurrying to their work. She stopped by the curb35 to catch her breath when a car tire screeched36 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 agitated37.
He knows her name!
***
She gaped38 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 her39.
He nodded.
She couldn’t stop looking at him. He looked exactly like the man who was going to marry her. 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. Also, he was wearing a rather chunky40 diver’s watch with a steel bracelet on his right hand, unlike her boyfriend who had his dress watch on a leather strap on the left hand.