Alternate Universe – Part 3

By: Chloe Kong
Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here
“Ah welcome back, dear. What happened to you?! Why are you dripping wet?!” Without looking at the face, Aiko knew very well who was talking to him. She turned her head to the left to hide her face. If it were not for this lad’s height, she would have nowhere else to hide. Right now, if both of them met, she was sure that the person who was talking to him would be in more shock.
“Oh who is this?” That person’s voiced seemed muffled all of a sudden. Her mind became a blundering mess. What was going on? All she wanted to do now was to leave this place as soon as she can. Without waiting for any reply, she quickly stumbled towards the entrance. Her doppelganger calling out to her but she did not care.
‘What is this place? Just what is this?!’ She thought. Then, her surroundings began to spin like a blackhole and with every step, her body sank further into the unknown. Soon, her body was completely submerged into the dark pit and her consciousness left her.
‘I want to return home.’
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‘Riiiinnngggg’ went the alarm clock, signalling the time for getting up.
Drowsily, Aiko slammed her hand onto the the snooze button and went back to bed.
“Aiko! Aiko! Aiko, wake up! You will be late for school!” An extremely familiar voice yelled in annoyance. ‘Is it time to get up yet? Man, I feel drowsy. Mom, is that you?’ She thought in her sleepy stupor but just as she was about to fall back asleep, the image of her doppelganger flashed into her mind and she instantly jolted.
“What was going on?” She muttered to herself.
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Meanwhile…
A heated discussion sparked up in a lab far from the current location. Scientists, donned in white lab coats were debating over their test subjects of a major project. Images of each and every one of these ‘guinea pigs’ were clearly displayed on the screens of many monitors.
“Subject 1104 is just wasting our time! All the other subjects have already shown positive results of the tests but yet Subject 1104 did not even meet the minimum criteria!” One of the scientists said irritably as he pointed at the monitor. “What is the point in keeping this subject?”
“I agree! She is just a waste of space, time and resources!” Another scientist echoed the thought.
“I say, we terminate her at once!” More disagreements filled the room until they became a blur of protests. Muffled, irritated, these protests came from scientists who devoted their energy and attention to this major experiment. Different voices, all united with a single similar protest.
“Gentlemen!” Three thundered across the vast room. “Why the rush? We still have time?” A tall man chided.
“‘Why the rush, you say?’ Because every minute, every second is precious here! We cannot afford to waste anytime, Hyde!” The previous scientist bellowed, followed by a couple of whispered approval.
“Patience, Mister Clyde. It is a long process and we know it,” The man with the name Hyde chided his colleague. “Let’s give this bona vide a chance, shall we?”
“But, Mister Hyde,-” An anxious, young scientist interjected but was cut off by Hyde’s raised hand.
“Do not worry, the time for Subject 1104 to awaken will be soon.”
-To be continued-