The Doppelganger

A blinding flash of lightning, illuminating the dark spacious warehouse. A furious rumbling of thunder followed. The storm was raging, harsh droplets hitting the creaked windows as if intending to shatter the remaining resemblance of a glass into tiny fragments. I let out a sigh to calm my thudding heart, emitting a puff of mist in the process. My shaking hands were now feeling slippery with sweat and cramped for gripping the M-14 riffle tightly for long. I pulled out the magazine and inspected, "fully loaded ", l thought. There were twelve unused rounds in the 1.8 calibre gun with a three bullet per half second cadence. I can't afford to miss if push comes to shove, because l am dealing with an unknown enemy yet feels like l have known him all my... The metal doors creaked open with a groaning sound as if they had been unused for decades. A silhouette of a tall man clud in dark leather from hat to boots stood by the door way, looking inside the dark space as if he could see through the walls. A dark cloth was masking most of his face except the eyes which were disguised by dark glasses. A black briefcase swinging in his hand. He stepped into the room, sounds of his rough, tough-soled boots echoed in the vast space. He carefully dropped his briefcase and dipped his hand in the pocket of the leather jacket then fished out a ring of keys. The steel chain clanked as he locked the metal doors. Before turning around, he assessed the lock ensuring there would be no chance of it opening. He picked his briefcase and walked to the wall then flicked the lights switch. I suddenly started to feel exposed as the overhanging funnel lit casting a small yet intense light from corner to corner. Suddenly feeling the urge to throw up as my nerves were starting to get the best of me, l held my breath. The man started to make slow foot steps heading towards the thick concrete pillar l was hiding behind. As his footsteps approached nearer and nearer, l was carefully rounding the pillar trying to make sure that my body remained aligned with my cover. Getting dangerously close to my hiding place, l steadily traced my fingers down the barrel of the gun to its trigger and readied myself. Surprisingly the man walked past the pillar to a pile of locked wooden boxes in the middle of the room. I unintensionally let out an audible sigh of relief and cursed myself afterwards because it almost gave me away. The man placed his briefcase on the pile of boxes. He pressed the security code buttons then wore latex surgical gloves before opening the lid. I craned my head around the the pillar straining to have a look at what was in the box. In the process l dropped a pocket knife. "I think it's better if you show yourself!, introduce ourselves to each other properly, no need to hide", the man echoed without a trace of fear in his voice. Without taking any chances of loosing the upper hand, l swiftly rounded the pillar and aimed the red laser light of the gun to the back of his head. "Get your hands over your head and turn around, or else..." "Or else what, you'll shoot, haa", he let out a mocking laugh. "You can barely kill a cat, baby girl. To think of you killing a human, that's a classic joke ". A bead of sweat rolled from my forehead and alongside my face then further down, only stopping when the droplet got absorbed by the lace choker around my neck. A reminder of my terrible nervous condition. The loose strands of hair that had escaped the hairband were now irritatingly sticking to my face. I so much wanted to brush away the strand that was almost getting into my mouth but l wasn't going to risk taking my hand off the gun. I adjusted my posture for more balance and fired a threatening shot barely missing his ear by less than half an inch. "Then tonight you will be my first", l retorted boldly. The man didn't seem a tiny bit moved by the stunt l had just pulled on him. He continued rummaging the briefcase without any hurry whatsoever. "I had been expecting you, Kristen Austen", the man said calmly as he inspected a white chemical bottle in his hand. "How did you know my name?", l asked careful to not let my guide down. "I have always known you, 'sunshine rays', that's what your so called mother called you. Did you even know what it meant", he said as he lifted a tranquil gun from the box and inserted a tranquiliser injection. "Step away from the box and turn around!", l shouted in panic. "Very well ", he said as he stepped backwards and turned around but the gun still in his hands. "Drop that gun or else I'll shoot ", l tried to say it in a low intimidating voice but it came out as a pleading whisper. "...the reason why she called you sunshine rays is because...", he sighed before continuing, "you reflect different characters from one person,you are the mother clone" And just then a piercing pain shot through my body. One; from my neck, two; just above the cleavage then; third and last on my thigh. I lost grip on the gun before buckling down to my knees whirling in dizziness. My vision became feverish despite trying very hard to concentrate and stay conscious. As if drowning in water, l heard the words, "goodnight sunshine ", and just then darkness consumed me darkness utterly.