“Connor, tell us one of your famous stories.”
“Fine. But only if Jim puts more wood on the fire.”
Jim sighed and tossed another log into the flames.
Connor nodded.
“Good.”
“Why?” Greg asked.
Connor glanced toward the dark tree line.
“Don’t want the thing in the woods bothering us.”
The group fell silent.
Jim leaned forward.
“The thing in the woods?”
Connor waved a hand.
“No, no. I already told that one.”
He settled back against his log.
“Instead…”
A smile crept across his face.
“How about The Doppelganger?”.
The group passed around drinks and snacks.
Good snacks.
Jerky, honey roasted peanuts, chips, and of course, s’mores supplies.
We didn’t skimp.
We knew better.
Unlike Kevin.
But we’ll get to him.
“The Doppelganger is basically a mimic that decided preying on a person’s life, taking it over completely, was more fun than hunting for fear or blood.”
“That’s hardcore,” Jim interrupted.
“I know. Now shut up and let me tell the story.”
The fire crackled.
“Our idiot human of the day was named Kevin.”
Connor pointed into the darkness with a roasting stick.
“And unknown to him, a doppelganger was already living in his shadow.”
He smiled.
“Copying him.”
“Perfecting him.”
Jim and Greg finished making their s’mores and leaned in closer to the fire.
“Kevin is so screwed,” Greg said.
“Very screwed,” Connor agreed.
He grabbed a handful of honey roasted peanuts and tossed them into his mouth.
“Kevin got ready for the day exactly as he normally did.”
Connor paused.
“First mistake.”
Jim chuckled.
“Then again, it’s not like he knew what was waiting for him.”
Connor pointed into the darkness beyond the fire.
“He drives to work. Nothing unusual. Traffic sucks. Coffee sucks. Life sucks.”
Greg nodded.
“Sounds like Kevin.”
“It gets worse.”
Connor leaned forward.
“He pulls into the office parking lot and finds someone parked in his spot.”
“That bastard,” Jim muttered.
“I know.”
Connor shook his head.
“Kevin doesn’t think much of it. He just parks somewhere else and heads inside.”
“The receptionist looks confused when she sees him.”
“Because there are two of him?” Greg asked.
Connor rolled his eyes.
“No. Because Kevin said good morning.”
The group laughed.
“Receptionists are either ignored or hit on. Nobody knows there’s a middle option.”
Connor grabbed another peanut.
“Anyway, Kevin heads toward his desk.”
The fire crackled.
“He walks through the office.”
“People are staring.”
“He notices.”
“He doesn’t know why.”
Connor smiled.
“Then he gets to his desk.”
The smile widened.
“And to his surprise…”
Connor pointed his roasting stick dramatically.
“He’s already sitting there.”
Kevin jumped back in shock.
Sitting in his chair was… Kevin.
Same hair.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same stupid tie he regretted wearing the moment he put it on that morning.
The only difference was that the thing sitting at his desk looked slightly better.
Slightly healthier.
Slightly more confident.
Slightly more Kevin than Kevin.
“Who are you?” Kevin asked.
The doppelganger laughed.
“Don’t be stupid.”
It leaned back in the chair.
“I’m you, of course.”
Around the campfire, Greg frowned.
“That’s creepy.”
“I know,” Connor said. “It’s one of the reasons we don’t invite doppelgangers to parties.”
Jim looked up from his s’more.
“We invite things to parties?”
“Focus, Jim.”
Connor pointed his roasting stick at him.
“The important thing is that Kevin immediately made his second mistake.”
“What was the first?” Greg asked.
“Waking up.”
The group nodded.
“Fair.”
Connor continued.
“See, entities have rules.”
“Most humans never figure that out.”
“Doppelgangers especially.”
He tossed another peanut into his mouth.
“The trick is getting inside their heads.”
“You have to convince them their disguise isn’t working.”
“Make them doubt themselves.”
“Make them think nobody believes they’re really you.”
Greg blinked.
“That’s it?”
Connor nodded.
“That’s it.”
“They usually leave after that.”
A smile spread across his face
“Most humans can’t pull it off though.”
“Why not?” Jim asked.
Connor looked into the fire.
“They break.”
The flames crackled.
“Weak minds.”
He shrugged.
“Like Kevin.”
Kevin stared at the doppelganger.
The doppelganger stared back.
Neither moved.
Now, a smarter person would have left.
A smarter person would have run.
A smarter person would have immediately started questioning reality.
Kevin, however, was curious.
And curiosity kills far more than cats.
Connor grabbed another handful of peanuts.
“Seriously. Cats are fine most of the time.”
Greg nodded.
“They’re surprisingly durable.”
“They really are.”
Connor pointed at him.
“Thank you.”
He returned to the story.
“With only two other people in the office, nobody seemed to notice Kevin standing there talking to himself.”
“Or they noticed and didn’t care,” Jim said.
“Also possible.”
Connor thought for a moment.
“Though they probably had their will drained by The Director.”
Jim laughed.
“Ha! Yeah, most likely.”
The others around the fire nodded knowingly.
“Wait…” Greg frowned. “Who’s The Director?”
Connor ignored him.
“Anyway…”
He poked at the fire.
“With such a low staff count, Kevin Two was able to take over Kevin’s job without anyone batting an eye.”
The doppelganger answered emails.
Attended meetings.
Filed reports.
Shook hands.
Made small talk.
All the horrible things office workers are forced to do.
Meanwhile, Original Kevin stood there trying to explain that he was, in fact, Kevin.
Nobody listened.
Which, to be fair, was also a fairly normal day for Kevin.
Kevin grew more and more frustrated watching the doppelganger take over his life.
His desk.
His job.
His coworkers.
His future.
Finally, he’d had enough.
He pulled out his cell phone and hurled it at the doppelganger.
Of course he missed.
Because not only was Kevin an idiot…
He also had terrible aim.
Greg nodded.
“Checks out.”
Connor pointed at him.
“Right?”
The group laughed.
“But apparently Kevin rolled a natural twenty for luck.”
The phone sailed past the doppelganger’s head and slammed into the wall behind him.
Hard.
Way harder than a cell phone should.
The battery exploded.
Flames erupted from the drywall.
“Oh,” Jim said.
“Oh indeed.”
Connor leaned closer to the fire.
“The nearest employee immediately ran over and pulled the fire alarm.”
Suddenly the office erupted into chaos.
Red lights flashed.
Sirens screamed.
People scrambled for the exits.
And that’s when Kevin noticed.
The strobing lights.
Every flash revealed something different.
A cheek that wasn’t quite attached correctly.
An eye slightly too large.
A smile stretching wider than a human face should.
For a fraction of a second, the illusion cracked.
Then returned.
Then cracked again.
The doppelganger noticed too.
The sirens grew louder.
The lights flashed faster.
The thing covering its ears stumbled backward.
Terrified.
Exposed.
Seen.
With a shriek, Kevin Two bolted for the emergency exit and disappeared into the crowd.
“See?” Connor said. “Rules.”
The fire crackled.
“Once people see the cracks, the disguise starts falling apart.”
Greg nodded.
“So Kevin won?”
Connor stared at him.
“No.”
“Oh.”
“Kevin absolutely did not win.”
The group laughed.
Connor continued.
“Kevin waited in the parking lot while the fire department cleared the building.”
“And?”
“And then the police arrested him for arson.”
Jim nearly choked on his s’more.
“What?”
“The phone was registered to Kevin.”
Connor shrugged.
“Witnesses saw Kevin throw it.”
“Reasonable conclusion.”
The laughter around the fire grew louder.
Meanwhile, somewhere across town, Kevin Two quietly returned to the office.
Returned to Kevin’s desk.
Returned to Kevin’s life.
Connor tossed the last peanut into his mouth.
“See, not everything needs to kill you to win.”
The group fell silent.
“Some things trap you.”
“Some things kill you.”
Connor smiled into the fire.
“And some things use bureaucracy.”
Connor tossed the empty peanut bag into the fire.
“All right. Jim’s on fire duty tonight.”
Jim sighed.
“Again?”
Connor nodded.
“Again.”
The smile vanished from his face as he glanced toward the dark tree line.
“Keep it lit.”
The group immediately grew quiet.
Greg followed Connor’s gaze.
“You really think it’ll come back?”
Connor shrugged.
“I really don’t want to find out.”
Nobody argued.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody asked questions.
The group finished their snacks, doused their plates, and drifted back toward their tents.
One by one, the campfire stories came to an end.
Only Connor remained.
He lay down near the roaring fire and watched the shadows dance between the trees.
After a few moments, he smiled.
“Kevin would’ve lasted five minutes out here.”
Something moved in the darkness beyond the firelight.
Connor’s smile widened.
The thing moved away.
Satisfied, Connor rolled over and went to sleep.
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