Desolation, J. B. Everett [reading a book txt] 📗

me.

I suddenly feel dizzy again and have to grip the sides of the couch to keep myself stable. I feel someone's hand clasp mine and glance up to see Ian. He is looking at me with a concerned expression on his face.

"Are...are you okay?" he asks me.

I swallow hard.

There is one thing that I have to do.

I suddenly stand up and immediately walk towards the bookshelf. Just as I am about to lean on it to make it revolve, I hear Ian shout out,

"Tessa, wait!"

I turn around.

"Why?" I ask.

"You shouldn't go back in there..." he murmurs.

"Yeah, your boyfriend's right" Eve chimes in annoyingly.

I stare at all of them for a few moments.

"I...I need to see her again" I say.

Ian shakes his head.

"You shouldn't Tessa. It's too creepy" Nikki says.

But I don't listen to them. Instead, I lean against the bookshelf, causing it to slowly revolve. It completely rotates until there is the door on the other side. I put my hand on the knob and twist. Slowly, the door creaks open, revealing the secret room. After taking one deep breath, I step inside.

In an eerie silence, filled only by the ominous humming of the machine that the girl is hooked up to, I slowly walk towards her. I can literally hear my heart, which is pounding in my chest like a drum. Goosebumps prickle up on my skin as I get closer and closer to her.

Finally, I arrive by her side. When I look down at her, I nearly faint again.

She looks exactly like me.

From her dark wavy hair to the freckles lightly speckled on her cheeks, there is no doubt that this person is identical to me.

I stare at down her for a few moments, frozen in a sort of sinister mesmerization. I would of thought that she was dead, but after further examination, I can see that her chest is slowly rising and falling. Cautiously, I reach out and lightly place my hand on her arm. Her skin is as cold as ice.

"Tess?"

I jump, whipping around to see Ian standing a few feet behind me.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

I am currently staring at my unconscious doppelgänger, Ian.

"Erm...I don't know" I say quickly.

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He nods slowly.

"This is just really strange. I...I mean someone who looks exactly like me? This can't be a coincidence" I say shakily.

"It's not a coincidence. This is what they did" Ian says flatly.

"But...how did they do this? How did they make an identical copy of me?" I ask.

Ian shrugs.

"I don't know Tess" he says.

I look back at down at her, swallowing down the lump that has begun to form in the back of my throat. I suddenly feel one of Ian's arms wrap around me and turn around, looking up at him.

"We should leave this room. This is all just too weird" he says.

I nod.

"C'mon, let's go"

After taking one last long look at Tessa #2, I begin to walk away with Ian. Before we leave the room, Ian presses the button on wall, turning off all of the lights. When we arrive back into the main room, Ian rotates the wall until the bookshelf is back into place. Once I hear the click as the bookshelf locks into place, I feel a small wave of relief.

Ian puts both of his hands on my shoulders, looking at me in the eye.

"Let's forget about what's in that room, okay?" he asks.

"Okay" I reply, even though I know that the image of Tessa #2 is never getting erased from my mind.

He gives me a small smile, then leans in, pressing his lips softly against mine.

"Hey, there's a shower in here!" I hear Dylan shout excitedly from across the room.

I break apart from Ian and turn around to see Dylan standing by a door that none of us saw before. We all rush over and look in to see a small bathroom with a shower.

A real shower.

The thought of a nice, warm shower right now seems like the best thing ever.

"Who's going first?" Dylan asks.

"Let Tessa go first" Ian says.

I look up at him, raising my eyebrows.

"You should get to go first" he says, nodding.

"Alright then. Tessa, you're first. But please, don't be a girl and take two hours in the shower" Dylan says.

I shake my head, rolling my eyes.

"Girls do not take that long in the shower" I say, walking into the bathroom.

I close the door behind and walk towards the shower. Even though it is dank and grimy, it still has body wash and shampoo. I twist the knob and water begins to rush out of the head. While I am waiting for the water to warm up, I take off my clothes and put them on the sink counter.

And that is when I see my reflection in the mirror.

All the time on this island, I haven't seen myself in a mirror. I look at myself and gasp. My hair is one huge knot, matted haphazardly in all directions. But that isn't the worst part. The worst part is the scrapes, cuts and bruises that cover my entire body. I stare at myself with my jaw open, lightly tracing my fingers over them. When I finally cannot look anymore, I turn away and step into the shower.

I close my eyes, trying to relax as the hot water cascades down over my body. I try to clear my mind, but I cannot shake off the unnerving thought that my clone is in the next-door room. I don't know how long I stand there but I jump when I hear a knock on the door.

"Hurry up Tessa!" I hear Dylan shout.

Rolling my eyes, I quickly wash my body. My attempt to shampoo my hair is utterly fruitless; there is no possible way that I can lather and untangle my knotted hair. Finally, I turn off the shower and step out. After drying myself off with a towel, I throw my clothes back on and walk out of the bathroom.

Everyone looks up at me.

"How was it?" Dylan asks.

"Um...as good as a shower can get" I say.

"Sweet" he replies, grinning.

I sit down on one of the couches as Dylan goes into the shower next. Ian sits down next to me, wrapping his arm around me.

"Where's Eve?" I ask, looking around the room when I see that she isn't there.

"She went outside to get some fresh air" Ian replies.

"I think I may need to do that to" I say.

The stuffy air in this room is starting to get to me.

I stand up.

"Do you want me to come?" Ian asks.

"No, it's okay. I'll be really quick" I say.

I walk over to the ladder and climb up it, pushing the glass hatch open when I reach the top. Shakily, I climb up and out onto the jungle ground. A soft, cool breeze greets me and I close my eyes for a moment, breathing in the sweet scent of the jungle. It really does feel much better to be outside.

I begin to walk around. Judging by the deep orange and pink colors of the sky, it is nearly sunset. The birds in trees have begun to quiet down and are replaced by the chirping choir of crickets. It's funny how familiar and almost comforting these sounds have become to me.

I continue to walk through the jungle, trying not to stray too far from the hatch. Knowing me, I will definitely not be able to find my way back if I walk too far away.

Suddenly, I stop when I see Eve, walking towards me.

Ugh.

She smiles, but I can't tell if it is genuine or fake. We begin to walk next to each other, a tense silence between us. Finally, Eve breaks it.

"So, how are you feeling about your clone?"

I look up at her.

"Uh...I don't know. A little weirded out I guess" I say.

A little weirded out is a total understatement.

She nods.

"Yeah, it is pretty weird. Kinda fascinating though, isn't it?"

I stop, looking at her incredulously.

"You think that it's fascinating?" I ask.

"Yeah, don't you? I mean think about it; it is an identical copy of you!" she exclaims.

"I mean, I guess" I say.

"Wouldn't it be cool to talk to her?" Eve asks.

"She's unconscious" I say flatly.

Eve stares at me for a few moments, then says something that makes my heart stop.

"So let's wake her up tonight" Chapter Forty-Four

I stare at Eve for a few moments, my eyes widened in both shock and confusion.

"What?" she asks bluntly.

I swallow hard.

"Um...don't you think that it's not a good idea to wake her up?" I ask hesitantly.

Eve stares at me for a few moments, then says,

"Why would it be a bad idea?"

How do I even phrase this.

"Because I don't want to wake up my clone! It's really creepy!" I exclaim.

"But wouldn't it be cool! It would be like having an identical twin! And who knows, maybe she knows some information that we don't" Eve says.

"I...I don't know" I murmur.

"I knew you were a scaredy-cat" Eve mutters under her breath, crossing her arms and turning to walk away.

I suddenly snap.

"Fine! We can wake her up tonight!" I shout.

Eve turns around, looking at me with raised eyebrows. Then suddenly, her lips break into a smile.

"Sweet" she says.

I sigh.

What have I got myself into?

It has begun to get dark. The bright, silvery moonlight filters down through the canopy of trees, illuminating the jungle floor.

"We should head back" I say.

We begin to silently walk back towards the hatch, Eve leading the way. Finally, we arrive back to the glass hatch and I kneel down, sliding the door open. I carefully climb down the ladder, followed by Eve.

"Where the hell were you two?" Nikki exclaims. rushing towards us once we enter the main room.

"We were just talking about something" Eve says.

I glance up at her and she looks down at me with a don't-tell-anyone-what-we-just-talked-about look in her eyes.

"Talking about what?" Nikki asks.

"About life" Eve says quickly.

Nikki looks at us suspiciously, her eyes meeting with mine.

"Alright then" Nikki says, nodding her head slowly.

Exhausted, I walk over and plop down onto one of the couches, letting out a huge sigh. Ian must be in the shower; I can faintly hear the water running from the bathroom. Dylan is back in the kitchen area, pounding away at food, and Tristan is sitting on the couch across from. His eyes flit up for a moment, locking with mine. I give him a small smile and he awkwardly smiles back.

Just as I am about to say something to him, Nikki and Dylan come over and sit down on the other couch. Dylan wraps his arms around Nikki, pulling her close against his chest.

Damn, they are cute together.

Suddenly, Tristan stands up.

"I'm going to go get something to drink. Do you guys want anything?" he asks, turning to Dylan and Nikki first.

When both of them shake their heads, he looks at me.

"Do you want anything Tessa?" he asks.

"I'll have a glass of water if you don't mind" I say.

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He nods.

"Sure" he says, then walks over towards the fridge. A minute later,