CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE CLONE

A grumble erupted in Jess's stomach, making her manager whip his head towards her and laugh. Cory Walichs was a mousy guy who was a year older than her with cropped hair.

"Shut up, I haven't had anything to eat today," Jess rolled her eyes as she lazily flopped through the day's schedule.

"Not the smartest thing to do before an eight hour shift."

"That you assigned me." Jess quirked a brow when Cory looked back at her, shocked.

"You know I can fire you," Cory tilted his head and tsked. The phone rang and Jess gave him a smirk as she turned to answer it.

"Hawkins Public Pool, this is Jess, how can I help you?" That line tasted sour on her tongue and her head started to pulse with an oncoming headache. It was only a summer job, so one more month to go.

"Jessica, this is Mrs. Wheeler," a feigned sweet voice drifted through the receiver. "I am here to reserve five lounge chairs for me and my girls."

"Okay," Jess write down Mrs. Wheeler's name onto the sheet of lounge chair reservations. "What time?"

"We'll be around in ten minutes."

"Okay," Jess refrained from breaking the pencil she used to write this whore's name and smiled into the phone. "You're all set. Anything else?"

"Yes, do you know if Billy has any swim lessons available?" Jess bit her lip and steam poured out of her ears.

"Karen, you're literally 50. Don't you think you're a bit too old to be taking swimming lessons from an 18 year-old?" Cory refrained from laughing as he watched Jess argue with Mrs. Wheeler.

"I beg your pardon! I demand you to book me for a lesson." Jess rolled her eyes and tried to sound as nice as possible.

"I'm sorry, there are no lessons available."

"Check again."

"I don't need to- "

"Check again!"

Jess held the phone to the clipboard and flipped the pages dramatically without even taking a glance at it. After a moment, she brought the phone back up to her ear.

"Nope. Nothing."

"Fine. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"See you soon!" Jess gave an artificially laugh and then slammed the phone onto its mount.

"I should've probably fired you for that," Cory laughed. Jess crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

"Yeah, but you won't." Jess patted his back and rounded the counter. "I'm off, thanks!" Grabbing her sack of a backpack, Jess made her way to the women's locker room. There, she changed into a simple blue two-piece swimsuit.

She walked out to find her boyfriend, Billy, walking out of the men's locker room at the same time. He gave her a cheeky smile as he turned and walked away, towards his lifeguard chair. He kept a stoic face as every teenage girl drooled over him, even flat-ass Heather.

He suddenly blew his whistle when he caught a glance at a kid running on the pool deck. Jess was just about to jump into a lane when she froze, knowing that even Billy would be angry with her if she moved.

"Hey, lardass! No running on my watch!" Billy lifted his finger accusingly at the poor child and proceeded to insult him. "I gotta warn you again and you're banned for life. Wanna be banned for life, lardass?"

The kid shook his head vigorously as a sign of "No."

"Didn't think so." Billy blew his whistle again and everyone went back to their pool shenanigans. Jess dove into the water, loving the feeling of cool currents against her skin. When she emerged, she started to freestyle across the lane, pushing off the wall with her feet.

When Jess decided to take a break, she leaned against the pool edge, admiring her boyfriend as he gazed out into the pool scene. His eyes fell into her and she pushed off of the wall, gracefully going into a backstroke.

Billy couldn't help but watch her intently, the water overlapping every curve of her body. He found himself wishing he were the water that surrounded his girlfriend.

With a small smirk playing on his lips, Billy walked down the lifeguard chair and picked up one of the pool towels and held it open for Jess as she got out of the water. As soon as she was on dry land, he immediately engulfed her with the towel, warping his arms tightly around her.

"What are you doing?" Jess laughed as Billy kissed her wet cheek. He gave her a loving look and kept looking at her until she hit his chest. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Can't I admire you?" Jess shook her head, sending small water droplets everywhere.

"You're a hopeless romantic, Hargrove," Jess stretched onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. As she was walking away, she felt a tap on her behind and squealed a bit. She turned back to find Billy smirking and pretending like he didn't do anything.

Walking around the deck and back to the locker rooms, Jess felt foggy and it clouded her mind with every step she took. Her body felt heavy as she tried to trudge on.

When she blinked, the world turned dark and cold. The sky was angry with red lightning and specks of dust floated around her head. She heard a low rumbling of a creature and she turned around to see a dark shadow look down on her.

The pool deck was empty, no one was in sight. Billy wasn't in his chair and Karen wasn't in her lounge. Kids weren't screaming in the pool and teenagers weren't running around.

But as the shadow crept closer, Jess felt her feet move her towards the entrance of the public pool. She dropped the towel she held and sprinted out, pushing the doors open.

The sound of wind howling followed her outside on the grassy lawn. The shadow soon turned into a tornado, swallowing Jess up.

She screamed and cried, telling it to go away, to leave her alone. She held onto the grass so tight that dirt uprooted and sprayed everywhere. A figure emerged from the shadows, a small petite shadow.

It was her. Jess started right back at herself.

"What do you want?!" Jess screamed above the wind. "Who are you?!"

"We want you to build." The cloned Jess responded back. They didn't need to raise their voice for the sound seemed to vibrate through the air.

"What?" Jess couldn't stop the tears that trailed down her cheeks. She was frightened and terrified for her life.

"Build what you see." The cloned Jess just stared blankly at the brunette who laid helpless on the grass.

"What do you want from me?!"

"We will come when you have succeeded." Lightning cracked in the sky, making Jess scream and cover her ears.

"I don't understand!" Jess sobbed uncontrollably as she watched her clone walk back into the clouds. "Leave me alone, I don't understand!"

-

"Jess! Jess!" Cory shook the screaming girl upright. Her eyes were open and glazed over as she watched the clear blue sky in terror. Cory looked at their surroundings to see if there was anybody around who could've made her this frightened.

"Jess!" Billy ran out and past the crowds of people that gathered around to see what was happening. When Billy came close he ripped Cory away. "Get off of her!"

"Hey, man, I didn't do it!" Cory lifted his hands up as Jess continued to cry.

Billy took her into his arms and let her place her head on his chest. Her blank eyes frantically searched for Billy. She couldn't see him yet, she was still trapped in the other dimension. She could feel his warmth and she could smell his scent, but as she searched the dark, cold world, she couldn't find him.

Billy rocked them gently as Jess calmed down. The color returned to her face and her eyes seemed to return back into their world.

"B- Billy," Jess shuddered. "They're coming. They're coming."

"Who?"

"I saw myself," Jess sobbed. "It wants me to build." Jess shook her head as Billy gripped her arms tightly. "I don't understand..."

"Come on," Billy helped the brunette up and she cradled herself close to his body. They walked slowly towards his car and he set her carefully inside.

The heartthrob made his way towards the manager once he closed the car door. People began to disperse back into the facility and it was just them.

"I'm going to take her back. She'll call you if she can make it tomorrow." Cory nodded as he watched his employees ride away in the Camaro.

What am I gonna tell management?

The ride back was quiet. Jess has calmed down and she stared blankly out the rolled-down window. Summer felt nice on her skin and she was grateful that she wasn't down in the other world again.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Billy glanced at his girlfriend with concern. He didn't want to pry but when you see your girlfriend run out of a building and start screaming on the lawn, you'd wanna know what happened.

Jess lifted her head and glanced at him, then cleared her throat. "Just another seizure. The doctor said that they will be worse this month. It's close to the anniversary of... of almost killing Taylor."

That wasn't true. She just made that up to send him off on a different trail. She really didn't want to get into specifics with him. And not only that, she didn't want to drag him down with her to that dark and horrible place.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Billy offered, placing a hand on her exposed thigh and giving it a squeeze. She shook her head.

"No thanks, but if you could bring my car and stuff back, that would be awesome," Jess gave him a small smile. She just realized that she was still in her bathing suit.

"Sure, I'll be around later tonight."

"Okay."

Once Jess got back into her house, she felt hot and she checked on the AC. When she got to the control panel, she saw that it had been switched off. Grumbling under her breath, she turned it on to sixty-seven degrees and started to walk up the stairs.

"Mom? Dad?" She called for her parents, hoping that one of them would be home. Alas, they weren't so she went straight for the shower. She scrubbed away the dirt and blood that accumulated onto her skin as well as the terror and freight that had left their sticky marks on her cheeks.

After the shower, Jess thought it best to sit down with her notebook to track what had happened today.

Day 302

Something worse has happened today. I get these visions of another world that looks identical to our own- items like books and lamps are in the same place- yet it's cold and dark with vines everywhere and dust in the air. But today was different. I blinked and I was back there, but there was a shadow in the sky that chased me out to the font of the pool.

The monster in the sky sent a clone of me to talk. It looked exactly like me, bathing suit and all. It wanted me to build something, "What I see." I couldn't understand what it was asking me to do.

I was terrified, it looked like it wanted to kill me. It told me that they will come once I succeed, but I have no idea what they want me to do. This may be good, since I have no idea what's going on, I couldn't "succeed" and they won't come. Maybe we'll all be alright.

Jess let the notebook flop shut and she set it on her nightstand. She sometimes gets dreams about the Other World and she'll jot down what she saw.

A knock on the door traveled up the stairs and to Jess's tired ears. She leaped up and held her towel tightly with her fist and answered the door.

Billy stood there, waiting for her to open the door. He held her backpack in hand with a toothpick in his mouth. He turned to see her with a towel for a coverup and he just about laughed.

"Well isn't this my lucky night?" Billy leaned on the doorframe. Jess rolled her eyes and tugged him inside. He slammed the door shut and Jess kissed him harshly. Her emotions were mixed and she was glad to see him but she was also terrified of the monster that greeted her.

"Wow," Billy kept his eyes shut even after Jess pulled away. He seemed to be swept up in bliss as Jess grabbed her backpack.

"Thanks, Billy. You didn't have to do all that," Jess said as she walked up the stairs.

"C'mon, Killer, you're my girlfriend. I'm kinda obligated to do that." Jess turned around on the staircase and quirked an eyebrow at him.

"And I'm not kinda obligated to have sex with you." Billy looked offended as she walked away and into her room.

"That's not fair," Billy whined. "After eight months of it, I'm kinda hooked. You don't get it, Jess, I'm an addict."

"That's too bad for you," Jess shrugged as she slipped on a bra over her towel then shimmied it out. She then skillfully put on underwear underneath her towel. "I'm kinda over it."

As soon as she dropped her towel to put on pants and a shirt, Billy grabbed her and playfully threw her onto the bed. Jess laughed as he pretended to eat her neck.

"Can you at least let me get clothes on before you throw me around?" Jess sighed as she stood up. Billy let her go and watched a bit while she picked out some light wash shorts and an electric blue halter top.

"What's this?" Jess turned around to see Billy picking up her notebook from her side stand.

"Nothing," Jess said quickly, grabbing the notebook out of his hands before he could read a word. "It's just an old notebook from science. Boring. Boring stuff."

"Uh huh," Billy clicked his tongue and shrugged, getting up. "So, how about some food? Do you feel up for that?"

"Yeah," Jess nodded as she tucked the notebook into one of the drawers of her dusty, vintage desk. "What place?"

"Well there's that new mall," Billy suggested. "There's bound to be something there."

"Yeah- " a sudden choking feeling stopped Jess from talking any further as she coughed sporadically.

"You okay?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, I just- " Jess coughed again while holding a finger up to Billy to signal him to give her a minute.

Say no.

"Um, the mall is fi- " the choking happened again to the point where Jess knew It was trying to talk to her. "I mean no."

"No?"

Something swept over the brunette as her face became stoic.

"No."

"Okay," Billy threw his hands up in defense. "We don't have to go to the mall."

"There's this diner on Cornwallis. It's quiet and I think that's what I need right now," Jess nodded, mentally swatting away the small pulsating throb in the back of her head. She plastered on a fake smile as Billy nodded.

"Okay, sure. Let's go." Jess grabbed a corduroy jacket and slipped it on as she walked out the door. Billy gently guided her out the front door and to his car, being gentlemanly when he shut the door closed.

Rock music softly played and filled the empty air of the Camaro as Billy sped down the road. Every second he had to spare he glanced at his girlfriend, his concern growing with each minute Jess spent staring into a void.

Inside her mind, she tried to gain control of her face back. She couldn't feel a thing other than an eternal frown pulling at her skin. It felt like pins were lodged into her cheeks keeping her face as stoic as possible.

Her heartbeat started to increase with each foot the car passed. She knew something was coming, something that she wouldn't like. It, the living thing inside her, managed to tell her to tense up, to prepare herself.

Billy tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, glancing at Jess again and again. Sweat rolled down the brunette's hairline and her heart pumped as fast as it could. Adrenaline started to course through her veins and soon, she felt that they were there.

Something hit the windshield and cracked it, making Billy exclaim and drive the car off the road. He hit a wall of vines and he cursed loudly. Jess barely moved. She seemed like she didn't even notice that they were hit by something.

"Shit!" Billy cursed loudly. "Jess, are you okay?"

Jess didn't respond.

"Are you okay?!" Billy asked louder.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

"No," Jess whispered, momentarily gaining back the feeling in her face. At that, It got mad at her and fully took control of her body, locking her inside a box and hollowing her out like an empty shell. It made her walk out of the car and round it to come in front of an abandoned steelworks factory.

"Jess, get back in the car!" Billy screamed at her, needing her to stay safe.

"There's something out here..." Jess said in a sing-song voice. Getting fed up, Billy got out of the car and brought his girlfriend behind him, examining the terrain.

"Who's there?" A rustle sounded from the right, making Billy's head whip in that direction. "I said: who's there?!"

All of a sudden, Billy was yanked to the ground and dragged towards the factory. Jess stared blankly at his treadmarks, following aimlessly behind.

"Jess!" Billy's screams fell on deaf ears as he frantically cling onto a door frame that led down to the basement of the factory. "Jess!"

Her petite figure walked straight towards him. He looked up at her, a tiny sliver of hope flashed through his eyes when she bent down to his level.

But it was quickly demolished.

Jess took his hands that grabbed the doorframe and pried them apart, making him lose his grip. "What are you doing?! Don't!- "

And with that, Billy fell into the pit to be sacrificed. Jess stood there, stoic. It let go of her, making her eyes roll to the back of her head and she fell limp on the floor.

a/n 'tis the end of the beginning