Perfect Clones

Rose petals fluttered in the gentle breeze as the sunlight warmed the flowers. The sky was clear and the birds were singing a rapturous melody. A sea of green grass swayed in the wind, dancing to the birds' song.

And I was running for my life.

Oh, sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Ty, and I’m thirteen years old. My only family, at least since the plague hit, is my little sister. Since my parents died, I’ve attempted to scrape out a living by stealing small, unnoticeable items, and selling them. I’ve been doing this since I was about nine years old, but I’ve never been caught until now. Let’s go back to be running for my life.

My heavy leather boots trampled the roses and grass, spooking the birds and causing them to fly away. My legs ached from running, but I knew that if I stopped that I would get caught. Roots grew in the most inconvenient of places, and I nearly tripped over several as I ran, my leather satchel bumping against my hip. The king's guards were not far behind me, and their horses could go for hours without tiring.

I turned around briefly to see that the guards were indeed a few mere paces away. Several readied their bows and shot at me, barely missing by a hair. One grazed my cheek, and I had to bite down on my tongue to keep the pain from getting to me.

"Come on, men!" the captain of the king's guards shouted. "Charge!"

The guards replied with a cry and urged their horses to go faster.

I muttered an insult under my breath. I looked up, and I saw a huge oak tree. Stopping right before it, I hastily climbed up its sturdy trunk and hung onto a thick branch.

The guards stopped before the tree. The captain got off of his horse and shouted, "Come down now, young man, and we will be lenient to you. You have been charged with trespassing on royal territory."

"I stole a small bag of figs!" I shouted back. "I won't come down!”

The captain of the king's guards nodded at one of the other guards. The other guard strode towards his horse and untied something, which I, unfortunately, could not see because several tree branches blocked it from view. He set it down. I edged along the branch and nearly fell from what I saw.

"Come down now and we won't harm your sister!" the captain shouted, pushing forward a ten-year-old girl.

"Abbie!" I cried. Abbie looked up, her small, dirty face streaked with tears. She had a black eye, which I was guessing she got by fighting the guards. Her simple pink dress was torn, one of the long sleeves gone. "Hold on, Abbie, I'll get you!"

I panicked as I tried to think of some idea to get my sister back. I glanced around, and then I saw it. A plain wooden cottage. It would do nicely. All I had to do now was to put my hasty plan into action.

"Fine, fine!" I pretended to sob. "I'll go with you! Just let me say goodbye to my sister first."

The captain of the guards nodded. "Of course. Come on, men!" The guards all left Abbie by the tree as they went to tend to their horses.

I slid down the tree trunk and enveloped Abbie in a hug.

"Ty!" she whispered, crying a little. "I thought that you were going to leave me."

"I would never do that," I promised. Quietly, I said, "In five seconds, run to that cottage. I'll follow you."

Abbie nodded, her sweet blue eyes never leaving mine.

One, two, three, four... I mentally counted. Right on time, Abbie turned and sprinted towards the cottage, with me right behind her.

"HEY! STOP!" the captain hollered. But it was too late for them. Abbie quickly opened the door and we slammed it closed. There was a simple lock on the door, and I swiftly locked it and tied some rope that was lying around into a knot that was too thick for even the guard's swords.

Overwhelmed with exhaustion, I collapsed in a heap. Abbie followed my lead and snuggled close to me, and soon we were asleep.

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A scream awoke me from my dreamless sleep. I jolted awake and found that I was in a cage that dangled from the ceiling.

"Abbie!" I cried, "Abbie, where are you?!"

A small sniffle echoed throughout the room. "Ty?" Abbie whimpered.

"I'm here, Abbie. Don't worry- we'll get out of here." But I was doubtful. I rattled the bars of the cage, but none of them were loose. I looked down and saw Abbie tied to a chair in front of a massive black cauldron. Pale, whispy smoke drifted out of the cauldron and slid onto the floor, circling Abbie's ankles. A bluish liquid was boiling away, yet there was no fire below the cauldron.

Black magic, I thought frantically.

Suddenly, a young woman materialized next to Abbie. I wanted to look away, but I found that it was nearly impossible not to. This young woman was so unlike the others in my village.

She had flawless olive-toned skin, long, slender fingers, and luscious dark brown curls that slid over her shoulders like waterfalls. Her unique, almond-shaped eyes were a pale pink.

The beautiful young woman wore a dark purple dress, similar to a noblewoman's, that ended at the ankle and plain black shoes.

"Oh, how cute!" the young woman's voice was soft and honeyed. "A little child! You're adorable!"

Abbie screamed and attempted to inch herself away from the young woman, but the latter merely put her hand on the chair to keep the former from moving.

"Now, sweet child, who are you?" the young woman asked.

"Who are you?" retorted Abbie.

The young woman laughed, a pure, sweet sound that I wished I could hear forever. "My name is Rosemary," she said.

I jolted. "Rosemary?" I whispered anxiously. I knew that I had heard that name somewhere... but I could not remember why or how.

Rosemary looked up and noticed me. "Oh! A young man! How interesting!" she murmured, her lips curving into a smirk.

"Let us go!" I shouted. I felt around for my satchel, but noticed that it was gone.

Rosemary gave me pouty eyes. "Sure, fine, once the little one and you have a small meal before heading out. I accidentally cooked too much.”

I exhaled, all the tension running out of me, still slightly wary. Rosemary used a ladle standing in a corner and scooped up some of the liquid. She absent-mindedly pointed her finger at the cage I was in, and the door to it sprang open. I gaped at it, but then shook my head and jumped down.

Rosemary poured the liquid into two small bowls. She pointed a finger at Abbie, and the ropes suddenly untied themselves. Rosemary motioned to a second chair, and I sat in it. She brought over the two bowls, and I breathed in a scent like cinnamon that followed Rosemary. Two spoons appeared on the table, and Abbie and I both dug into the stew.

“Oh!” I let out a cry of surprise. This… taste was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted, but not in a good way.

As I watched, my fingers started slimming and became more delicate. My rough, short blond hair turned brown and flowed over my shoulders like waterfalls. My skin turned a different shade, and my eyes narrowed.

Then, too afraid to look up, I peered at my sister.

She was Rosemary. I screamed and stared into a broken mirror. I was Rosemary too! I panted nervously, hitting myself on the head to see if this was just an illusion.

It wasn’t.

Rosemary -the original one- laughed maliciously. “Yesssss…” she hissed. “BECOME USSSSSS!”

All at once, replicas of Rosemary moaned and crept out from behind boxes, under tables, and lunged for me. As soon as one of their perfect hands touched my forehead, the world went dark.