Chapter 1: You

The rest of that week, I stayed in bed with the biggest headache of my life. My parents are always at work, so the house is always empty; thus they don't know I skipped school. I refrained from telling Alyssa about the events of that tent, as she probably wouldn't believe it. One other person knowing is enough, and it's with a new kid of all people. Aspirin, or any other form of pain-killer, did not help with the borderline migraine, and I was unable to sleep soundly. In fact, I always woke up with an even worse headache. It was by Friday that the pain died down.

On Saturday morning, a knock sounded on my door. I put on my usual white t-shirt, and hurried downstairs to answer the door. Awaiting beyond the portal was a familiar blank stare topped with messy grey hair, and headphones. The guy was wearing a black hoodie, with his sleeves rolled up….in the middle of summer. "Yo," was all he could muster up as a greeting, and he then asked for permission to come in; which I hesitatingly granted. He looked around my fairly large house, possibly criticizing my parents' sense of interior design.

"Nice place you got here," he complimented.

"Yeah," I replied, "We've been meaning of sizing down to something more manageable. This house belonged to my grandfather, and we inherited when he passed away." I led Krono to the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. "How did you find where I live?"

Krono, gladly accepted the glass and chugged it down the water. He gave a nice gasp, signifying his thirst was quenched. "Remember? My parents work at the hospital. It was a matter of just middle-manning and walking here," he explained as he sized up the kitchen while putting his glass down. "I thought I'd say hi, since we kinda...shared quite an experience together," he chuckled. The grin never left his face.

I retorted with a forced chuckle myself. After I caught my breath, I looked him straight in the eye, and asked, "Alright. What are you really here for?"

The boy straightened up his face and gave me a serious look. "Man, you're suspicious of people. Well, you got me. I came to ask you if you've been having headaches as well." That statement caught my attention. He continued, "After the thing with the girl in the tent, I've had a headache this week that I couldn't get rid of."

"Lemme guess, pain-killers didn't help and sleeping only made it worse the next day?" I inquired.

"Sounds like, we're both having the same issue then."

"I've been skipping summer school this week cause it hurt so much. Come on, let's sit in the living room." I led him to the living room where we were greeted with two couches: a long one and a shorter one. Krono took his seat across from me on the shorter couch, and we discussed the issue at hand.

"Wait, I thought you can't skip summer school or else you'd fail."

"I had a bout with my teacher, and kinda handed him a packet of work; and told him I'm not coming to class this week."

"I don't think he's gonna let that happen…" Krono said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Nah, I've done it before. He says he's not, but Mr. Samuels just accepts things how they are."

Krono's face perked up as if recalling something. "Oh yeah! I was talking to Alyssa after you left. She says you're actually ahead of the class. "

"I am...when I was a kid my parents always had me take extra lessons, or they lectured me during the summer. And they either encouraged me or had the school give course challenges so I didn't have to "retake" everything. And, once I hit high school, my grandfather died; so our family inherited the hospital and they're now always gone."

Krono hung his head down and looked at the ground. He rubbed his temple in discomfort. I can't blame him, I'd do the same thing. "You, must be really popular at school then, being the "genius" and all."

I looked away from him after he said that statement. I contemplated whether or not to tell him how things worked at our campus; I didn't wanna give him some bias or have him feel pity for me. Yet, I felt that he was genuinely trying to make a connection with me. It felt like how I first met Alyssa and Scott. Yet, I know even if I accept this invitation to friendship, I'll just disregard it. Friends come and go too much. He looked at me with such an interested stare, and I guess that was what made me spill it.

"It's not…" I started, "It's tough being the odd one out. Seniors see you as a person that does not belong cause it's weird. They demand respect because I'm so young, it's the tradition of this town. People my year see it as something freaky, like I'm some sort of overachiever. They're intimidated by my parents since they're the ones that kinda put me through all this academic stuff. Following all of this tradition, I've been outcasted due to these views on 'normality.' After a semester of that, I just sorta, y'know, prefer sitting alone during lunch."

Krono stood up and stretched his legs and arms. "You do have Alyssa and this Scott fellow I keep hearing about. You aren't totally lonely." he groaned.

"Yeah," I sighed, "A few days with them kinda tire me out. Alyssa just takes all the energy out of you."

Krono laughed, and nod his head in agreement. "I spent about 2 hours with her, and I'm still tired from that on Tuesday. I know what you mean." He looked at the clock and widened his eyes. It read 12:05. "Oh crap, I gotta go."

"Alright, got plans?"

"Yeah, Freshman Orientation. My parents are encouraging me to go, make some friends. I don't get along with people, but they keep insisting I should talk to people. Ugh, I guess that's why we get along so well. You and I share the same perspective on people." He reached out his hand, "It's been nice meeting you. Hope I can see you around."

I returned the greeting with my hand as well. Our hands grasped each other for a firm handshake "Same."

My head started ringing again, and the world started spinning around me. I looked at Krono and saw he was in more discomfort than usual as well. A few seconds later, everything stabilized and Krono was walking out the door. My headache actually got better than what it felt like today. Krono waved his hand goodbye, and paced out.

I never saw Krono again that summer until it was mid-August. School went by normally, and by normal I mean I did my work ahead of time and turned it in to Mr. Samuels. By August, summer school was over, which meant that the rest of my school days will be electives and AP classes of my choice. I remember the date: August 15th. My headaches died down to constant slight throbbing. Why didn't I talk to my parents about it? It wasn't bothering me too much at that point; I didn't think much of it. But my family soon had to get involved. It was August 15th, that a series of dreams started occurring. Everyday, it was the same thing. In some sort of fashion, someone was killing me. Fall, murder, pushed into a bus, even odd things such as being burned alive. Everytime, the shock of it woke me up in gasping breaths and cold sweat.

Then on Saturday, it was the start of it all. I cannot recall what happened, but I remember waking up in the middle of the night screaming. A sense of fear swept over me. My face was hot, and my ears were ringing. I could hear my heartbeat very loudly. That state of shock was broken when my door bursted open. A shorter woman with black hair, and a lab coat stood there. My mother had an extreme look of despair and fear on her face. An older man with graying hair walked up to the door and looked into my room with the most dumbfounded face. I looked back at them, panting.

I can't imagine how it feels for a parent to find out their son might be at risk for a fatal condition. But, my mother cried that night; she was devastated. Under normal circumstances, this might not have been as serious of a problem. However, with the night terror problem going around, my health may have been in danger. Concerned, my parents decided that the best course of action was to have me stay at the hospital to monitor me. Though, it seems like it was going to be a terrible experience with hospital beds and the whatnot, my grandfather built the place with executive rooms for benefactors staying in town. A few days later, I found myself sitting in the bed of what resembled a hotel room. My dad stood on the side hooking up a machine to my head.

"Alright, Miles," he began, "Hook this up to your forehead and we'll record the results later."

"Dad," I said, "You sure this won't get in the way of when I'm sleeping?"

"Alright," he muttered under his breath. He started walking around the room, adjusting the curtains.

"I mean, I've heard stories of what happened to these people." I sighed. He looked at his clipboard,pondering.

"I'm...almost too afraid to go to sleep now. Like, what if it is the weird thing going on?"

"Miles," he said, " What are these dreams about?"

I was surprised by the sudden question and stammered, "Well...someone is always trying to kill me."

"Mhmm," he hummed. He muttered under his breath, "Just like all the others" in the most quiet tone he could do.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

My dad got up and started messing with the machines. "Setting to midnight" he mumbled, "And we might have some data on these early symptoms." He then started heading out the door.

"DAD!" I just screamed. He jolted his head over in surprise with a confounded look on his face. "What's going on with me?" I then sighed. He had a worried look on his face.

He shook his head in discomfort and put his hand to his forehead, and turned around. "Just...get some sleep."

"I'm too afraid to."

My dad grumbled something under his breath, looking at his clipboard. He then walked out and closed the door, leaving me alone in the room once again.

School started fairly soon in September, thus marking the start of my Junior year. The hour was approaching lunch, and I prepared to pack up. Once the sound of my zipper resonated throughout the room, chaos ensued as my fellow classmates started packing things up and getting on their feet. The teacher tried to control us, but the students were too loud and many, thus allowing them to trudge out the door. Then, the bell for dismissal sounded, which I happily followed and waved bye to the educator. Today's special was macaroni and cheese at the cafeteria; which drew me to the eating facility. On the way, a certain spunky girl started dashing up to me with an excited look on her face.

"MILESSS!" she screamed, and tackled me to the ground. She got up and gestured to someone I couldn't see.

A scrawnier looking guy with kept brown hair and glasses loomed over me and reached out his hand with a smile. I gladly accepted the gesture for him to help me back up. His thick frame glasses glistened a little, and his face was smoothed out with boyish features. The guy wasn't that much shorter than me however, but his polo shirt was baggy enough to hide what his stature looked like. He opened up his mouth and began to speak.

"Long time no see, Mr. Alexander," he greeted with a chipper tone. His voice was a bit deeper than I recalled.

"Hey Scott...nice to see you again," I sighed.

Scott looked at Alyssa and chuckled at her. She gave a giddy smile and looked at me. "Sorry my girlfriend tackled you down on the ground. She was quite excited to see you; and as was I"

"It's fine," I sighed annoyingly.

"We were wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch!" Alyssa chirped.

The invite was tempting. But, my mind for some reason just told me to decline.

"Nah, I'm sorry. Thanks for the offer though."

"Oh…." Alyssa replied, hanging her head down.

Scott started talking, "Well, if you change your mind, we'll be at Mike's Diner. I'll see you around, I suppose." With that, they walked off.

The bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period. Which was weird, because I felt like the period went by faster than usual. Just to make sure, I checked my pocket watch, but when I clicked it open the hands were stopped on 11:05 and showed no sign of working. That can't be right since lunch starts at 11:45. I disregarded it and told myself to buy a new battery for it, and walked back to class. Classes went as normal for the day, and the final school bell rang. I was the last one to walk out of class as hallways bustled with students scrounging to get home, or making plans for the next few hours. When I walked out the door, a person caught the corner of my eye. He was waiting for me by the door. That unforgettable grey hair turned to face me, and greeted me with a slight grin. Krono nodded his head to the side, inviting me to walk with him.

At the school courtyard, other students were standing in groups chatting. I could hear the clamor and the echoes of talk about the latest fads and trends going around. The two of us walked to the center, catching up on what happened after our last meeting. However, it was stopped short by a someone standing in our way. The guy was tall, with black hair; that was all I could tell from behind.

"Excuse us," I quickly said. The guy looked like he didn't hear me and kept walking forward a little. Then after a few steps, he turned around. What I saw was like looking in a mirror, it was someone who looked like me! His eyes looked soulless however (granted I think that doesn't really mean anything when it comes to me), and he had the biggest sneer looking at us.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" I yelled in a panic.

"Why, I'm you," he answered. His voice sounded like mine, except had some sort of reverb or something, "And you're me."

I turned to Krono, "Are you seeing this?"

"What?" he questioned, looking at me with a dumbfounded face, "Who are you talking to?"

"You mean, you can't see the guy standing in front of us who looks JUST like me!?"

"I mean, yeah I do. But I figured he was someone you knew or something."

This didn't make sense. Here was a commotion in the middle of the courtyard, but why was no one responding or looking at us. We were practically yelling. I turned to my "twin." "Again, who the hell are you? What are you?"

"I won't say it again," he barked, "I. Am. You."

Krono stepped forward and looked intuitively at the guy. He put his hand to his chin. "Interesting, the data never said of something like this happening."

I jerked my head towards him. "What data? You know what's going on?" I asked. Before I could continue, I was interrupted by the sound of a maniacal laugh coming from my "twin."

"Hahaha. You know, I hate people like you." he sneered, "Always think they know what's going on with me; always thinking they know what's best for me. But they don't know shit!"

Krono put his hand in his pocket and looked at me with an inquiring glance. "I didn't know you felt this way about me."

That statement found me flabbergasted. "I don't! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it's supposed to sound like!" yelled the other me."I know the truth. People should stop approaching me, what do they know? It's always the same. They want something from me. Asking to be my friend, but all they really want is my work to copy off of. Dragging me to places, thinking they can get something out of it. So what if my family's a bit well off?"

"SHUT UP!" the talk was making my head hurt.

"Why should I? They're the ones that should stop taking advantage of me. Just cause I'm better than them. Human beings are just leechers, only thinking of themselves. I hate all of them. They have to earn the right to be affiliated with me. I'm smarter than them? They patronize me. it's always me taking the punishment. And now, not even my parents see me as a son. To them, I've become just another piece of data!"

"STOP IT!" I screamed. My head felt like it was about to explode.

Krono looked at this guy, and asked, "So these are your true feelings. That's what the bald guy was referring to; and that grey haired girl's puzzle. It's all falling into place."

"No!" I retorted at him. I looked back at the annoyance in front of me. "What gives you the right to say all that stuff? You don't know me!"

"Oh but I do. You know why?" the other me asked.

"Why?"

"Because I'm you. And you're me."

"NO!" a ringing sound buzzed in my ears; my head ready to burst at any second now. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

The moment I said that, some kind of black light emanated from him. The aura started swirling around, and completely swiped the kids around us out of existence. The next thing I knew, we were in the middle of town; the street where the Clock Festival was.

"I was waiting for that. Someone needs to put you in your place!" The black aura surrounded him, only showing a silhouette. I could see his body changing, getting bigger. A shockwave emitted, knocking me down and forcing myself to lie on the ground. I sat myself up, only to be greeted by quite a sight. Some kind of giant man's body, clothed in white tunic. He had the same black hair I did, but it was his face that horrified me; or lack of in this case. It was just completely pale, and flesh color. Stitches ran down to the middle of his head, his hands looked mutilated, and his chest bore a cross with the roman numeral XIII on it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?" I panicked out. A moment of silence fell upon the street. The...creature tore open the stitches on his chest, reached in and pulled out a scythe! It looked at me, and chuckled.

"I am a shadow. THE TRUE SELF!"