Chapter 1: The Game Begins
There was a long silence as the night carried on, no animals made a sound, no people were awake except for a few stragglers that kept to themselves, and all the machinery in the area only made a quiet hum. In short, the town was the representation of peace and quiet. Taurtis glanced over at his roommate; the small rabbit hybrid was deep asleep. With a deep, quiet sigh, Taurtis shifted a bit, careful not to make too much noise. He contemplated waking his roommate so he had someone to talk to but decided against it, Sam stayed up late to do their homework so it wouldn't be right to do that to him. Instead, Taurtis grabbed their shared phone and checked if anyone was online. None of his friends were on but there was a new message on it from an unknown caller. He read it quietly, "Taurtis, call me, it's really important. Don't tell Sam, let him sleep. You also need to delete this message after the call." Taurtis paused and waited several moments to decide what to do, he begrudgingly chose to head outside to the porch and answer the call. It only rang once before the voice answered. "GoOd ChOiCe, GaMeR." "Who are you?" "My NaMe Is NoT iMpOrTaNt, BuT I'M hErE tO wArN yOu." the familiar yet unknown voice said calmly. "Warn me about what?" "ThEy'Re GoInG tO sTeAl HiM fRoM yOu. YoU cAn'T lEt ThEm. DOn'T lEt ThEm StEaL yOuR rAbBiT. ThEy'Ll ChAnGe HiM. ThEy'Ll RUIN HiM. PRoTeCt YoUr RaBbIt. NeVeR lEt AnYoNe TaKe HiM. NeVeR lEt HiM lEaVe YoU, nOt LiKe EvErYoNe ElSe." The voice continued, it's voice getting sharper and angrier as it continued. "Wh-what are you talking about? My rabbit? What? Are you talking about Sam? What are you going on about, who are you?!" However, the next voice, came from both behind him, and through the phone, making the voice more clear. "TuRn ArOuNd JoEy."
Taurtis froze, nobody uses his real name except Sam when he's emotional and Taurtis's parents before they... He slowly turned to look at the person, and froze. It was himself, but, he was covered in blood and held an insane look to himself, bloody knife included. Taurtis's throat got tight. "Who are you?!" "CaN yOu ReAlLy NoT rEcOgNiZe Me? I'm YoU." The clone(?) said through sharp, smiling teeth. Taurtis shook his head and slowly backed up to the door. "I could probably run inside and call Rowan and the swat team from mine and Sam's room while keeping the door locked to keep this loon out. That's what you're thinking, IsN't It? SoRrY tO bE tHe BeArEr Of BaD nEwS, BuT yOu CaN't EsCaPe YoUrSeLf." With a determined grimace, Taurtis tried anyway, only to see that the clone had gotten behind him somehow and was blocking the door. "Wh- how?!" "YoU sUrE lOvE rEpEaTiNg ThE sAmE qUeStIoN. BuT I ToLd YoU aLrEaDy. YoU cAn'T eScApE wHo YoU aRe." "This...this has to be a dream, you're not real!" "Am I? TeLl Me TaUrTiS, dOeS tHiS-" the clone then, in an instant, surged forward and slashed Taurtis's arm, causing a red, bloody gash to form along his arm. "-fEeL rEaL?" With a pained gasp Taurtis grasped his arm and backed up, this guy was insane! The clone slowly approached, matching Taurtis step for step. "ShH, dOn'T bE sCaReD, iF yOu DiE I CeAsE tO eXiSt As WeLl. We WoUlDn'T wAnT tHaT." "Why are you here!" "I wAnT cOnTrOl." "Control of what!?" "...Us, YoU dOn'T hAvE tHe StReNgTh To PrOtEcT oUr RaBbIt, So I'Ll Do It FoR yOu." "You're not touching Sam! I won't let you!" "AnD hOw WiLl YoU sToP mE?" "I don't care if I have to kill myself to stop you, you're not going near my best friend!" "Is ThAt AlL yOu WaNt? To Be HiS bEsT fRiEnD? NoThInG mOrE?" "It doesn't matter what I want. I only want Sam to be happy." "He CoUlD bE hApPy WiTh Us, We JuSt GoTtA gEt RiD oF tHe CoMpEtItI-" "I said no! Now leave or I really will do it! Don't test me!" The clone glared at Taurtis. "YoU wIlL sEe My SiDe SoOn EnOuGh TaUrTiS, oH yOu'Ll SeE."
With that, the clone dissipated into the ground, and the silence returned. Taurtis grimace and went inside, cradling his arm as he went to the bathroom and cleaned up the gash. You don't feel true pain in your dreams, you feel fragments and ghost pains, but not true pain, it's never this graphic. He knew something was wrong. He knew it really happened, but he didn't want to believe it. He froze halfway through bandaging his arms and bolted out of the bathroom to his and Sam's room before relaxing again. Sam was safe and the clone wasn't around. Sam was exactly where he left him. With a sense of relief flooding over him, he went back and finished treating his arm, Sam was safe, that was all that mattered. After treating his arm properly he went back to their room and changed into a long sleeve shirt, he didn't want to scare or worry Sam. Its best he keeps this to himself and maybe Coach Rowan. Yeah, its best to tell Rowan so he can help keep an eye out for that crazy clone. After a bit their alarm clock went off, waking the hybrid. Like usual, the early rising male got up with a yawn and a cheerful smile before turning to Taurtis's bed to wake him, only to see that he was already awake. "Oh! Morning Taurtis! You're up early for once!" Taurtis smiled at the rabbits energy. "Morning Sam, sleep well?" Sam frowned for a very brief moment before smiling "I slept well enough, I had a nightmare but I slept well enough." Taurtis frowned softly "What about?" "It was just a silly nightmare, it would never happen. It's okay Taurtis." Taurtis sat beside Sam, "I'm your best friend, it's my job to care." Sam sighed and fidgeted uneasily, his ears tilting and moving with his uncertainty. "Really Taurtis, it's fine!" Taurtis just shook his head and pat Sam on the head. "Alright, alright, I'll back off since it's bothering you so much. But I'm here for you if you change your mind." Sam smiled and got up to hug Taurtis, which was gladly returned. "Okay Bunny boy, you best get ready while I finish getting ready so we have time to eat and pack a lunch." Sam pouted, "Don't call me that!" Taurtis laughed and raced out of the room shouting "Bunny boy, bunny boy, bunny boy!" "Tauuuuuurtissssssss!" Most of the morning was filled with yelling, laughing, and chaos as everyone got ready.
-Hey! Author's note, sorry the chapters are so short! But don't worry, I plan to have quite a few chapters to make up for it. This story is going to be a very slow update just as a warning. I can only work on it every now and again because of how busy I am all the time. Hope you enjoy!
-Firre