A short story
George ran out of the woods, terrified. The thing that was chasing him wasn’t human, he knew. It moved like nothing he’s seen before, but it wore his face. It looked just like George. It was silent and out to kill him for reasons he didn’t know. George started to feel the soft, familiar sand beneath his feet as he continued to run, but it was not comforting. He always ended up on the sand and it never meant anything good. The sand is deep and his feet trip over each other and he lands with a hard thud. Within seconds, his clone comes at him and promptly stabs him. George doesn’t feel any pain, just the sudden dampness on his stomach before he opens his eyes.
He wakes with the roaring sound of his heartbeat in his ears. He frantically looks around for anything to reassure him that he's alive and well. He sees his lamp, emitting a dull, yellow light in the back corner of his room. He stares at it for what felt like hours while trying to get his hands to stop shaking. God, he hates that dream. It happens too many times to count and he wakes up the same way every time: crying and trembling, begging for help from an empty house.
The next time he finds himself in the dream, he's in the dark woods, standing still. He hears rustling behind him and he turns, gazing into the eyes of himself but George knows that it isn't him and he freezes. Everything came all at once. The rush of wind, the leaves flying, and himself, sprinting right at him. George didn’t move a muscle, but it didn’t last long as he’s suddenly pinned to the ground. It’s wet and muddy as he fumbles around for anything he could find to defend himself with. His hand lands on a rock and right before the clone could do anything more, George whacks it over it’s head and watches it crumple to the ground beside him. Breathing hard, he sits up and looks at what he's done. It’s face is still his, but it looks so calm like it’s been sleeping for decades. He wishes he felt as relaxed as the face looks. He’s victorious in defeating his killer, but he's far from relieved. It’s cold and damp, but George just sits there and watches until he feels the heat on his face. He opens his eyes and sees the sun through his window. He sat up in bed and looked at his hands. They're still shaking and his heartbeat is still thundering in his head.
The dreams were supposed to be over, but they were not. This one was different than before, though. This time George felt a sense of power. He looked at his hands, and one had a knife. He's suddenly filled with dread as he looks into the bushes and sees himself looking frantically from branch to branch around him. He doesn’t know what’s happening until he feels himself rush forward towards himself. It all comes too quickly and all too familiarly. Instead of him being hunted, he was being the hunter. He saw his clone start to run, but it was already too late. He felt himself tackle him and plunge the knife into his chest. He couldn’t do anything about it. It was inevitable. He wakes, but not like usual, he's not panicking or grabbing around to ground himself, he's sad. He feels tears going down his face as he looks up at the ceiling.
It’s been weeks since he last dreamt that dream and George actually thought they were gone for good. He was left with one more. It was short and similar but different. He didn’t feel the overwhelming fear or the panic. He wasn’t even in the woods like he usually starts out. He was sitting on the beach in front of a little pond. He recognized this beach because he ended up here for almost every one of these dreams he has but it has never ended well. He feels so calm. Calmer than he's ever felt here. He feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders and has been left with his thoughts. He has never been left with that. But he feels sad again. The realization hit him. The threat was gone, but at what cost? Killing himself twice? Why? What kind of punishment is that? And why is he rewarded for it? George asked so many questions, but he knew in his heart, as he looks up at the stars, that they’ll never be answered. And he woke from that dream for the last time.
