Three's a Crowd

In a season full of twinkling lights and rosy cheeks, there exists a bubble suspended in time. Frost covers the dark, wet ground underneath the feet of two people.

Nothing about this moment is significant to anyone in the world, except for the shadowy figure squatting unceremoniously between the juniper bushes. The icy breeze brings tears to her eyes, at least she tells herself it is from the wind. Janice presses her palms firmly against her temples; her mind, normally bustling with sound, repeats the same shrill note. 

The wind starts to pick up, muffling the sound of the other two women as they continue gossiping amongst themselves. Janice stiffly shifts to her hands and knees, the dirt on her jeans acting as a sense of normalcy in the midst of so much hurt and confusion. The sound of a lighter clicking, a quirk Marsha has when she is particularly invested in whatever she is saying. The small flame’s reflection dances mockingly on the wet material of Janice’s knees, content to only give the illusion of warmth. 

A deer approaches the two friends huddled together under the streetlight, possibly curious at the commotion while crossing along their path. A sudden burst of laughter shared between them causes the deer to startle. As it runs back, one of the women squeals in fear at the noise.

“Ronnie, let’s get out of here! I’m not about to be a snack for some sleepwalking cryptid.” Marsha retreats into her fur coat, continuing to whine quietly. 

“Are you kidding me, Marsha? We live in the godforsaken middle of nowhere, what kind of monsters do you really think we’d find around here?”

“I don’t know, Ronnie, maybe the kind of monsters that like ripping pretty girls to shreds miles away from the nearest hospital?” Marsha’s harsh tone gives an oppressive chill to the already chilled environment they all share. 

A soft silence shrouds the still clearing, while just outside of this shared bubble stands a house with pulsating lights, muffled music, and happy young adults drinking to their heart’s content. How Janice wishes that she had just stayed with the others in their blissful ignorance. Never before has Janice felt so unsure of herself, but how confident can someone be when they overhear their best friends say such nasty things? The words keep repeating in her head:

I can’t believe we’ve put up with her all these years. After all that, she has the nerve to get drunk and dump her life story on us? How can someone be so stupid, no one cares about some spoiled city girl like her. Especially a gay one. I told you there was something wrong with her. Hey, maybe she likes you, Ronnie?

A loud shriek snaps Janice back to the present. She does not think twice about standing up, heart pumping as she fears something happened to her still dear friends. Sprigs of juniper nestle into her hair as she sees Marsha and Ronnie clinging to each other, eyes locked on a pair of bright glowing orbs hovering in the dark trees in front of them.

“Ronnie? Marsha?” Janice meekly calls to them, realizing the embarrassing situation they find themselves in.

“Janice? Janice get back. Something’s not right, go get help, please!” Ronnie calls out, a blush visibly crawling to her ears.

Instead of turning around, Janice stands in horror as she watches a tall creature step gracefully into the light of the streetlamp. Even with the body of a person, the face of this creature looks uncanny. It continues to creep towards the group, now shuffling its feet along the wet leaves. As it gets closer, it becomes clear that the creature is wearing a face that is too similar to Janice’s; even down to the acne scars on her nose and her cream colored birthmark underneath her left eye, there is no mistake who this monster is trying to replicate.

“J-Janice, what is that thing?” Marsha turns her head to the side to glance back, a mix of confusion and anger on her face.

Could she possibly think that Janice is behind this somehow? Even with her harsh words earlier, she has to realize how ridiculous an accusation like that sounds. She does, right?

Janice takes a step forward, swallowing hard in an attempt to keep her heart steady.

“Who are you? What do you want from us?”

As she addresses the figure in front of her, Marsha pushes Ronnie to the ground and makes a break back to the house. Not even sparing a glance back to the two behind her and not a word spoken as she dives into her car and guns the engine. Before anyone can move or speak, all those present watch as Marsha tears down the long driveway until the sound of her car is completely gone.

“Wait, Marsha! What-” Ronnie quickly interrupts her plea as she remembers the situation at hand.

An unspoken rule is carved out between Ronnie and Janice as they stand in the cold: do not take your eyes off of it. Janice slowly makes her way to Ronnie’s side. She places a hand on Ronnie’s shoulder. Instead of taking a step back, Ronnie instead squares her jaw and straightens her back.

“So what do you want?”

The creature says nothing, it has not made a sound since its arrival. With a presence like nothing either friend has seen before, it stands as firm as if it had always been there. If it were not so tall and terrifying, it would almost seem like it belonged out here. The more Janice looked at it, the more calming and comforting its presence seemed.

Time seemed to slow again, back to the standstill from before, making the creature feel as peaceful as the deer from before. A sudden wetness made Janice look above her: snow, the first snow of the year. She looks back down just as the second Janice lifts a long finger to point at Ronnie. Its eyes never leave Janice, almost as if it is trying to tell her and her only.

“It wants… me?”

“I think, maybe, it came here for my sake.” Janice meets her own eyes, looking desperately for some other meaning.

“What do you mean, for your sake?” Ronnie starts to shiver under Janice’s hand; another sense of normalcy in such a bizarre situation.

“I’m not sure why, but it feels like it’s here to protect me. Protect me from you.”

Horror flashes across Ronnie’s face as she remembers the bitter things Marsha and her were saying. She starts to shake her head, backing up until she stumbles and falls. Tears form in her eyes as Ronnie looks back and forth between the two Janices in front of her.

“You-you would never let something happen, right? You know we weren’t being serious, Marsha just likes to be a dick sometimes. I just was going along with it so she would stop talking, you know I would never hurt you.”

Normally, Janice would believe Ronnie and her silver tongue. After all, the sweet nothings she whispers to Janice are what made her fall in love with Ronnie in the first place. The nights they shared play in Janice’s mind, something that used to be so comforting in her worst of times. Now, they just bring bile to her throat that she has to bite back.

“I used to think that too, Ronnie. You were my everything, truly.”

Before either could say another word, Janice looks to her other self and steels her gaze.

“Do it.”

Ronnie takes off into the woods, away from them both, the second Janice immediately chasing after her. Wild screams echo from the darkness, landing on deaf ears. The first Janice turns to pick up the half burnt cigarette and lighter from the ground, putting it to her mouth and lighting it as the screams stop. Silence once more fills the woods. With one last glance towards the trees, she turns to head back to the house.

After all, winter is her favorite holiday, she deserves to enjoy herself a little before she has to see her best friends’ faces in the missing section next week. Just the thought of all the sad faces comforting her brings a small smile to Janice’s face. Maybe this is where her life truly begins; on the night of the first snowfall is where she is reborn. Nothing will ever hurt her again, this she knows for certain. One tear slides down her face, landing on the ground. Janice wipes it away as she enters the backdoor and grabs her red cup from the counter. The small crowd greets her with smiles and, despite it all, she smiles back. Things are different now, but only Janice can know that. This is where her life will really begin.