Ashley didn’t know what was going on. She had come on this trip to relax from the stress of college, and now she was swimming across a lake to lose her pursuers. This was not what she had signed up for. Then again, who plans to be swimming, fully clothed, across a lake for dear life, it's not a common hobby. It’s a good thing she liked swimming at least.

The lake wasn’t massive, more of a large pond really, and Ashley could see the opposite shore from where she started. Hopefully she could make it and escape into the forest that swallowed the landscape. Had Jason bought her enough time? She wondered if he was alright.

These musings distracted her from the burn that had built up in her muscles, but soon she found that the water had become too shallow to swim in anymore. Wearily she hauled herself through the shallows. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped onto the beach. She’d made it.

It was then that she felt something grab onto her ankle, wrenching her off her feet. As she splashed into the surf, Ashley saw Jack standing over her, slitted gills standing out starkly on his neck. Which, in a word, was a little disconcerting.

“That was fun. I always did like fishin’, just normally with a beer and my shotgun.” He said a little hysterically. “But play time’s over. It’s time ta take you ta the doc.”

“I think you need a doctor.” Ashley retorted in defiance.

Jack paused before responding, “Yer probably right.” Then he began to drag Ashley into the depths, like a B movie horror monster from the 50s. Ashley found herself futilely clawing at the sand, attempting to prevent herself from being carried off by this madman. Her efforts were in vain, however, until her hand came upon a loose stone in the sand. Frantically she hurled it at her captor. Jack had not turned around as he drug Ashley away, instead moving backward into the lake. This was a mistake as the stone connected squarely with his exposed left eye.

Jack howled in pain, and quickly covered his eye, trying to staunch the flow of fresh blood. Taking advantage of this, Ashley kicked her ankle out of his grip, and fled out of the water and into the looming thicket. She continued to run frantically through the foliage, hoping to leave as much distance between her and Jack as possible. When she was too exhausted to go any further, she collapsed into the undergrowth. She waited for some time to see if any of her pursuers had found her trail. When she was confident that she truly had escaped, exhaustion overtook her, and she fell into a deep slumber.

Ashley woke with a start to the sound of someone moving through the thicket. It was dark and the moon barely shone through the branches of the trees. There was the light of a flashlight and the sound of labored breathing.

A voice muttered, “Dumb doctor, tried to kill me. Jus’ wait till I get my hands on ‘im. The girl too, I’ll kill em both.”

Ashley peeked through the shrubbery, where she was hidden. She saw Jack combing through foliage with a machete. He was clearly looking for something, or someone. She lay still, hoping that he wouldn’t notice her and would move on.

“Got you!” He suddenly yelled, and Ashley heard a high pitched scream. Frantically she looked and saw his back to her. Moving rapidly, she sprang up behind him jamming her fingers into his left eye socket. Howling with pain, he again clasped his hands over his wounded face, dropping his machete in the process.

Ashley hastily retrieved the fallen weapon. Without hesitation, she slammed the edge into Jack’s neck. The blade was dull, however, and stuck into the bone with a dissatisfying thud. Jack crumbled. He was not yet dead, though not far from it, enveloped in a world of utter agony.

Seeing that Jack was no longer a threat, Ashley turned to see who had screamed. She was surprised to see that it was a girl. She looked to be roughly fifteen years of age with long dark hair and pale skin. Upon seeing Ashley, she bolted out of her cover and deeper into the woods.

“Wait!” Ashley shouted, running after her. “I don’t wanna hurt you!” Her words fell on deaf ears, as the girl ran deeper and deeper into the undergrowth. Ashley sprinted after her, trailing her silhouette and refusing to lose her in the dark. Unfortunately, one's refusal to succumb to the harshness of reality does not affect one's athletic ability, and by the time she emerged into a clearing the strange girl had disappeared.

“NO!” Ashley shouted into the night. Frustrated, she collapsed in the center of the clearing. It seemed like nothing was going right today. Well actually, things started off right, but now it seemed like everything had unraveled around her. She was being hunted by maniacs through the woods, and it seemed that everyone had abandoned her.

While Ashley was thinking these incredibly cheery thoughts, a shadow fell over her.

“What are you doing down there?” She heard a voice ask. Sitting up, Ashley saw that it was the girl.

“I was just resting while pondering some of the questions of life.”

“Like what?”

“Typical things like: Why am I being hunted by complete strangers who seem to want to kill me? You know, things like that.”

The girl smiled. “I see. Have you found the answer yet?”

Ashley gave a wry smile in return. “Not yet. My name’s Ashley, by the way, what’s yours?”

“I’m Sarah.”

“So, what’s someone so young doing out here all by yourself?”

“I came here with my mom for the company outing. You might have seen us when the two groups merged.”

“Sorry, I didn’t even notice you. What are you doing all by yourself now? Did you and your mom get separated?”

Sarah laughed. “I have a talent for being forgotten and ignored. I don’t mind, though. It lets me see what’s going on without being disturbed. By the way I’d like to thank you.”

“Thank me for what?”

“What you did to that guy. When everyone scattered my mom ended up in his way. Without a second thought he just… pushed her into the campfire.”

“Oh...” Ashley said. That was all that she could say. There was a long period of silence. Ashley just stared at the ground. She didn’t want to think about what she had just heard, but it was all that she could think about.

The silence was broken by the sound of a breaking branch behind Ashley. Sarah straightened up, alarmed.

“We’ve got to get out of here. Now!” She said, grabbing Ashley’s arm. She pulled Ashley into the woods, and they hunkered down behind a large tree. Sarah signaled for Ashley to stay quiet, and the two of them waited in tense anticipation.

They heard the slow footsteps of someone casually strolling through the tall grass of the clearing. This gave way to the cracking of broken twigs and rustling of leaves as that person entered the woods. Peering slightly round the edge of the tree, Ashley could just make out the beam of a flashlight piercing the dark. This was followed by a figure draped in a long coat.

Suddenly the figure stopped. “How about you come out. I know you’re here.” He said quietly. His voice could barely be heard above the wind, but it seemed to cut like a razor blade. Ashley sank back behind the tree, trembling.

Turning to look at Sarah, she could see her standing tall. Her face was set in bold determination, and Ashley thought that she was about to step out to face the man. Ashley watched her turn to step out from behind the tree and moved to try and stop her, but she was too late.

Yet at the same time, she didn’t move. Ashley stared, confused. What had just happened? Suddenly there was a noise as someone broke into a sprint in the trees, followed by the rapid pursuit of the man in the coat. Ashley was now even more confused.

“What just happened?” She whispered.

Sarah turned to look at her, smiling. “I lured him away. Come one, let’s get out of here.” She started quickly out from behind the tree, and Ashley hurried to catch up.

“You didn’t answer my question. What just happened? Who was that?”

“That was me. I told you; I lured him away.”

“So what, you can clone yourself?”

“Kind of. Think of it more as a projection. Listen, all I know is I got sick and then could suddenly do this. I think it has something to do with that man you just saw.”

“And who is he?”

“His name is Dr. Forisch. From what I’ve observed, everything is a science project to him, including us. I don’t think he’ll stop until he gets what he wants.”

“And what do you think he wants?”

“Our organs in a jar on his desk with a thick binder of research notes.”

Ashley laughed, but stopped when she saw the serious expression on Sarah’s face. She continued, “I’ve been watching things ever since I got here. After all, nobody notices the shy fifteen-year-old girl. That man is a monster, and his disguise is slipping. Trust me.” With that, Sarah turned and pressed deeper into the woods with Ashley following close behind.