Doppelganger

*This story mentions or contains scenes including mental health, self-harm, and violence.

“You live in an alternate world where twins can feel each other’s pain.  You are an only child.  One day, you’re walking down the street and you feel a burning pain in your chest.  What do you want to do?”

“Ooh, so I must have a twin somewhere in this world.  But you said I was an only child…  I roll for perception.  Oh, this heartburn is killing me.  I think it was the chicken wings.  Do you have any antacids?”

“Yeah, in the bathroom cabinet.  Water’s in the fridge.”  

“Thanks.”

“What did you roll?”

“Nat 20 plus a modifier of two.”

“You believe you feel a knife going through your chest, but there is no wound.”

“Wait, does that mean my twin was just killed?  Oh, excuse me.  Blue cheese, nasty.” 

“You don’t believe he is dead, but you notice you are weakening slowly.  Take five points of piercing damage.  For every minute that passes that your twin is not healed, take another one point of damage.”

“Five points for imaginary pain and I’m unstable even while still conscious?  Brutal.  I look for my parents.  Maybe they can tell me more about my brother.”

“You run home and find your mom crying.  In her hand, she is looking at an old photo.”  

“I examine the photo.”

“It’s a family portrait.  You see yourself  in the photo, only you don’t recognize anything about the picture.  The clothes you’re wearing, the background, and even the other people in the photo are unfamiliar.”

“I’m dying over here.  This campaign is awesome.”

“Thanks, I found it online.  Jeremiah, are you okay?  You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I don’t feel so good.  I think I got food poisoning from the chicken wings.  Can we pick this up next week?”

“Sure.  Go take care of yourself.  Can you get home ok?”

“Yeah, yeah.  I think I just need to sleep it off.”

“Ok. Drive safe.”

***

“… next in your local news at nine, a man was found with a knife wound to the chest on the south side of town.  The police are combing the area surrounding the crime scene for clues.  The victim is reported to be a Dr. Grant Ringer, a psychologist who has spent his whole career studying the lives of twins.  Dr. Ringer was recently a guest on our news program, talking about his work, and the effect it has had on his own life.  It is believed that the doctor was visiting one of his test subjects when an unknown suspect walked up to him and stabbed him. As of yet, the police have made no arrests and no comment has been made regarding a suspect in the case.  Dr. Ringer was picked up by helicopter and taken to University Hospital.  He is in critical condition.  In other news…” 

***

“Mom?”  

“Are you ok?  You don’t sound well.”

“Yeah, I don’t feel so good.  I think I have food poisoning.  At least, I hope it’s food poisoning, haha.”

“Do you need me to come over?”

“No, no.  I’ll be fine.  I just need to sleep it off.  But can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.  If you want to know how to soothe your stomach ache, I recommend ginger ale and crackers with peanut butter.”

“I don’t think I can eat anything right now.  No, it’s something else.”

“What’s going on?”

“Um, this is going to sound crazy, but I don’t have a twin brother do I?”

“What are you talking about?”  

“Did you watch the news a few minutes ago?”

“Only the weather report.  I think your dad watched the sports announcer.  You know I don’t like watching all that bad news.  I much prefer a good book.”

“Mom…” 

“I mean, really.  How many times can I watch about murder and mayhem before I’m too afraid to walk out my front door?”

“MOM!  Can you please listen to me for a moment?”

“I’m sorry, honey.  I’m keeping you from resting.  Remember.  Ginger ale and crackers.  Call me in the morning.”

“Let’s hope I last the night…  Maybe she’s right.  Sleep would be good.  I’m imagining things, right?  I can’t really have an identical twin with a stab wound.  I really need to stop listening to the voice in my head.”

***

“… And now it’s time for a special report update.  Dr. Ringer, who was stabbed at eight o’clock last evening by an unknown assailant, has woken up after having surgery to repair damage caused by the wound.  The surgeon in charge has commented that the victim is “lucky to be alive.”  The assailant is still at large.  Maybe he’s stuck in traffic.  How’s it looking out there…”

***

“Oh, God.  Oh, my head.  Where’s my phone?  There’s no way I’m working today.  Hey, Bob.  It’s me.  Yeah, I can’t make it in today.  I’ve had food poisoning all night.  I’ll see how I feel and hopefully tomorrow… Yeah?  Yeah, sure.  I’ll take care of it tomorrow.  Thanks.  You too.  Bye.  

Ugh.  When did I spill ketchup on my shirt?  Was that there yesterday?  Where’s the remote?”

“… Dr. Ringer is expected to recover…”

“… after suffering from a near fatal stabbing…”

“… says he was visiting a patient in the area…”

“Geez, is there anything else on?  Reruns of old westerns, game shows?  Anything other than the news?  Wait a minute…”

***

“… The doctor has spent the last ten years studying the lifestyles of identical twins, stating that he himself had a twin brother that he lost contact with after being adopted at the age of six.  The following is a clip from his visit to our newsroom last week…

“My brother suffered head trauma at that time and developed a form of schizophrenia which erased all memory of me from his mind.  Any time I was introduced to him throughout his life, he would black out and attack me, as if my very existence threatened him.  Our parents decided it was best, for both of us, for me to be given up for adoption.  

“It wasn’t an easy decision, of course.  However, I was in constant contact with my parents and we even tried every few years to meet.  Unfortunately, my brother was never able to accept me.  Even to this day, I have to stay out of sight of him in case he relapses.”

…Dr. Ringer is expected to recover from his attack.  The police are still investigating and are not ready to hand out any information regarding the attack at this time…”

***

“Mom?  There’s a man on the news that looks dead on me.”

“Sweetie, what are you talking about?  I think I should come over.  You aren’t well.  Maybe we should call Dr. Franks and set up an appointment.”

“No, Mom!  No!  I’m not sick.  I’m telling you, I have a freaking doppelganger on the TV.”

“I’m coming over.  We can talk about it when I get there.”

***

“Mr. Zwilling, it’s been a long time since our last session.  How are you feeling?”

“I swear, Doc, I’m fine.  I just keep seeing this man who looks like he could be my identical twin. Mom overreacted, so I told her I would at least talk to you about it.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?  When did you start to see your twin?”

“He’s not really my twin.  He just looks dead on me.”

“Ok.  Shall we call him your double?  When did you start seeing him?”

“The night before last.  I was playing a game with my friends.  A roleplaying game.  Really freaking awesome campaign about a world where twins can feel their siblings’ physical pain.  My friend thought of the idea after seeing something online.”

“Sounds like fun.  Was your double in the house with your friend?”

“No.  I left early because I started to feel sick, but on the radio they started talking about this guy, a psychologist who was stabbed in my neighborhood.  In the morning, he was on the news again.  He was on every channel.  But when I took a good look at his face, it was like looking in the mirror.”

“I remember seeing the news coverage of his stabbing.  It’s a miracle he survived.”

“I mean, I couldn’t believe it.  I felt like I was pulled into my friend’s campaign in real life.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, last night I was feeling a pain in my chest.  At first I thought it was heartburn, but it kept getting worse, you know.  And in the campaign, my character was feeling the effects of being stabbed, but there was no wound.  Surreal, you know?”

“I’m sure it was.  Let’s start over.  What did you do before you went to your friend’s house that night?”

“I went out to eat.  Chicken wings.  Ugh.  That was a mistake.”

“Did you meet anyone at the restaurant?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No.  I think I would remember meeting someone for dinner.”

“Ok.  Take a deep breath.  In. Out.  That’s it.  Now, close your eyes.  Take another breath.  On the count of three, I want you to remember the restaurant that you went to.  Can you see it?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get takeout or did you sit down at a table?”

“I sat down.  Is this necessary, Doc?”

“Remember, Jeremiah, you have to trust the process.  I can’t help you unless you allow me to.  Now, you said you sat down.  Was it a booth?”

“High top.  I remember, because Grant was there.  He was swinging his foot against the leg of the stool.”

“Your twin brother’s name is Grant.”

“Yeah.  Mom could never tell us apart.  We were always playing tricks on her growing up.  Right up to the day Grant had to leave.”

“Why did Grant have to leave?”

“There’s something off about him, you know?  Like, he always liked to hit me whenever Mom wasn’t looking.  He even left a bruise on my arm once.  So, I hit him with a bat.  I thought I killed him that day, but he kept coming back.  So, I kept trying.  It wasn’t fair.  Why didn’t he just die?  WHY DIDN’T HE JUST DIE?”

“Ok, remember to breathe.  In. Out.  I’m going to snap my fingers.  When I do, I want you to open your eyes.  Jeremiah?  Are you all right, now?”

“Yes.  Of course.  I swear, Doc, this man looks just like me.  They said on the news he was stabbed.  What if the attacker thinks I’m him and he comes after me?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, Jeremiah.  I’m going to have a talk with your psychiatrist about changing your prescription.  Also, you’ll be getting a call from our hospital’s psychology department.  They’re going to run a series of tests.  Just the usual check-up, you know what I mean?”  

“Thanks, Doc.  I’ll talk to them.”

“I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for the day.  If you visit the front desk, my assistant will set you up for our next appointment.  And of course, you can call me at any time if you need to talk.”

“Thanks again.”

***

“Hello?”

“Mr. Jeremiah Zwilling?”

“Yes?  Can I help you?”

“We have a few questions to ask you regarding a Dr. Grant Ringer.  Can we come in?”

“Who?  Oh, the guy that was stabbed down the street.  Of course.  I don’t know how much help I can be to you, detective, but I’ll try.  Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you.  Mr. Zwilling, are you acquainted with Dr. Ringer?”

“No.  The first time I heard of him was on the news.  I hope you catch the person who did this.  This was a safe neighborhood before all this happened.”

“We’ve got several leads to follow up on.  If you don’t mind my asking, where were you when Dr. Ringer was attacked?”

“I was on my way to a friend’s house.  Game night.”  

“Can I have your friend’s name and address?”

“Why?”

“Just standard procedure, Mr. Zwilling.” 

“Am I a suspect?  Me?”

“We are asking everyone in the neighborhood, sir.  Until we catch the suspect, we have to follow every lead, no matter how small.  You understand.”

“Oh, right.  Right.  Well, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“We’ll let you know.  Thank you for your time, Mr. Zwilling.”

“Have a good day, detectives.”

***

“… a verdict was made today in the case of Dr. Grant Ringer, who was stabbed last month.  Mr. Jeremiah Zwilling, Dr. Ringer’s twin brother, was placed in the care of his psychologist, who admitted him to University Hospital’s Mental Health Department.  It was determined that Mr. Zwilling suffered a psychotic episode after seeing his brother on television.  Zwilling invited Dr. Ringer to a local bar and grill down the street from his house.  The waitress on scene reported to police that one of the brothers was incredibly agitated and even threatened the other with a steak knife at the table.”

“Zwilling’s friends say they would never have guessed that he had committed such a heinous crime only minutes before visiting their home.  “He seemed the same as usual.  Upbeat and joking.  I can’t believe he is capable of such a thing.”

Dr. Ringer has stated that he plans on visiting his brother in the near future in an attempt at freeing them both from this illness.  “I hope that soon I can bring Jeremiah the peace he deserves.”

***

“Dr. Franks, how can I help you?”

“I was hoping I could have a talk with you, Dr. Ringer.  About your brother, Jeremiah.”

“Oh?  How is Jeremiah?  I went to see him last week.  He seemed to be much better.”

“Yes.  Actually, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.  I believe Jeremiah would benefit from being left alone for the time being.  Ever since your last visit, he keeps insisting that you are trying to kill him.  He even showed me a stab wound in his chest that he swears you gave him.  We believe it was self-inflicted.”

“And you want me to leave him alone until he calms down.  I understand.  I would hate to make his situation worse.  Ok, I’ll stop visiting him until you tell me otherwise.”

“I appreciate that.  Thank you, Dr. Ringer.”

“Now, if you don’t mind, I have a game night to get to.  My friends are waiting.”

“Of course.  Have fun.”

***

“You’ve reached the end of the adventure.  You defeated the doppelganger and destroyed his doomsday machine.  You return to your hometown where your parents welcome you with open arms.  All is well in the world and even the twins of the world have stated that they no longer feel any pain.”

“That was a good game.  Do you want a beer?”