Strings
Finally, I have ridden this land of the villain in office. No more shall his corruption strangle the land. No more shall we suffer under his reign. I, Powell, will be this nation's new leader. I will be a leader with charisma, intelligence and most of all; a leader with the power of change life for the better.
I could barely sleep that night when I finally defeated that ruthless man. His face was so cold and emotionless; it was like he was dead before I had plunged my dagger into his heart. I was for a ploy; a trick for me to let him gain a sucker punch on me with some poisoned needle of sorts. I was ready for him; he was not going to escape. I had my hand around his neck and my knees on his forearms. There was no chance for him to escape. What surprised me during the ordeal, once I had tackled him to the ground, he never struggled. He simply said, "You're next."
I watched his life fade away from his eyes, his skin turned clammy and chilled within seconds. For a moment, I felt sorry for him. I felt sorry that I had to take the life of a man. Then again, I remembered what a tyrant he was. A man who lived off over-taxations and propaganda; a man who did nothing to solve the organized crime cells in the city streets; this man was marked for justice.
For some superstitious reason I kept my dagger in his chest, the blood eventually stopped flowing through his white shirt and frockcoat. It spilled into a crimson red pool around him as I searched his office for any traps that could lay hidden. I was careful around his desk. It was there I would find his journal.
I opened it cautiously with the spear from his suit of armor on display. If it was a bomb, I would surely be out of the blast radius. But it opened up, no noxious fumes, no powder, nor supernatural demonic screams. It was just a journal. I carefully edged over and half glanced at it, afraid of some dark power that would blind me or snatch my very soul. It was just a journal. I carefully read the first page; I saw the writings of the man I just killed. He too was an avatar of justice for the times. Dethroning a tyrant like I. How is it that he had become what he hated so much? Power? Madness? I could not understand. I read on, he wrote on how he regretted this undertaking to become our land's leader. He cried each night for the sins he committed against his family, former friends and former comrades. "Why did you do this?" I screamed in my mind. It made no sense for a perfectly logical man with a heart to do this.
I did not hear the door opening at the front of the room. I did not even notice the dark cloud of fog unfurling its tendrils out from behind the shadow of the hallway. I only noticed it when a figure of my height arrived. I looked at it, he was exactly my height. He had my exact facial features, even down to the stubble hair on my chin.
"Who are you?" I asked my doppelganger.
"I am your new associate," he chuckled, "Well you are now my new associate."
"What do you mean by that?" I put on a bold demeanor to conceal my fright of seeing my reflection. He was much paler in skin; he was grey with black eyes and shadows around his eyes. It was like staring at my evil twin.
"I have inhabited this tower for many ages and each new associate who replaces the old one, I assume their form. I am the true puppet master behind this. Your land will never prosper because I will it to be."