The rainy night Elijah Powerson put into the South Carolina city seemed as if it had been going for weeks.
It was nearly morning, and Elijah found the nearest bar willing to serve him. After eating he asked the waitress how to get to St. Jerome's hospital. The rain was just as heavy as he tried to hail a cab and got nothing. He began walking, not wanting to wait.
St. Jerome's was a collection of gray buildings attached by skyways, full of people even at the early hour. He spoke to the receptionist, who told him at first that visiting hours wouldn't be for a while, and asked for his name. When she heard it, she meekly told him to go to room 495, busying herself, and Elijah walked on, leaving a trail of rain from his trench coat behind him.
Room 495 was as any other -- a bit bare, perhaps. Its single occupant, an older man with shaved head and deep wrinkles, was asleep. Elijah shook him up.
"Uh!" The man shouted as soon as Elijah touched him. His eyes darted about the room, finally settling on Elijah's face. "Is it you?"
"It's me, William," Elijah said. "What's so important that you had to take me away from my work? Why are you in here?"
"Please, give me a moment to collect my thoughts," William said, putting his head down on the pillow once more. Rain struck the window in a cold tattoo. "Three nights ago I was walking with Tierra and Hector. We had just left dinner, and we were trying to find a cab to take us back to my study. It was a cold night, and we were all huddled into our coats, trying to keep the chill away." William looked up at Elijah. "Have you been hearing what's happening in the city?"
"Why would I? I live six hundred miles away."
"Of course, of course. There have been a rash of . . . imposters."
Elijah grimaced. "You made me cancel a week of classes to tell me there have been imposters."
"For the past few months, every few days there has been a new report of someone posing as someone else, trying to withdraw funds from the bank or sell, or buy, or this thing or the other. Police, the courts, even government officials have gotten involved, but no one has been caught; none of the stories have been verified."
"So?"
"We left dinner, trying to find a cab. We had our heads down, and there was a person coming toward us. When he passed us, I . . . I only caught a glimpse, but I was sure of it. It was Hector."
"You said Hector was with you."
"He /was!/" William shouted. A nurse stepped into the room with a pinched look, but William pointed her out. "I stopped dead, and turned around, and tried to get another look at him. he was already retreating, walking fast with his head down, wearing a hat. Hector asked me what was the matter.
"When I looked at my friend, I knew what I had seen. There was no doubt, but the man we'd just passed was a perfect double!"
Elijah leaned back, surprised. "You're certain? You hadn't been drinking?"
"A . . . bit. Not enough to think such a thing, I assure you." William tapped his head with a shaking finger. "I saw it with more than just my eyes. The information got lodged. I can still recall how the other Hector looked the moment he passed me. Perfectly."
Elijah crossed his arms. He'd finally begun to dry. The hospital's noise was filtering in through the open door. "So you see a man similar to Hector."
"Not similar. Identical. The same." William glared at Elijah with wide eyes. "The same height, the same face, the same step, and . . . the same scar on his hand."
"From the horse?"
"After the man walked by us I grabbed Hector's hand. It was the same curve, the same two deeper prints from the front teeth, the same inflamed look when it gets too cold. I told Hector and Tierra what I had seen, and they dismissed it as a drunk hallucination. I implored them to believe me; they didn't."
"And then?" Elijah asked, interested.
"We went back to my study. I thought about all the other impersonation cases that had been in the paper and brought out any old copies I still had, scanning through them. They gave precious little details, but one thing became apparent. Even people who knew the person were fooled by the imposter. A perfect physical double. The only reason they become known is the person that was copied complains."
"An accomplished character thief. Why did you have to bring me all the way down here?"
"Because I think it's more than that. A dedicated group of them, perhaps, but just one?" William shook his head. "It's been happening nearly day-in for months. It can't be just one person."
"So a group of people made to swindle others out of their inheritance and possessions. Please, William, get to the point you're trying to make. It's been a long night."
William nodded. "The next day I begged off work to visit the library, and gathered the papers from the last months. I looked at all the cases that have been reported."
He sat up in bed. He wore a long white gown and moved carefully, favoring his trunk. "I collected the people that had been targeted by the imposters. I saw a trend. At first they didn't seem at all connected -- store owners, house wives, businessmen, janitors, radio workers, even students from the university -- but after a bit of digging I saw it. The Mayor of the town, Ernest Thimbel. I know you know little about him, but this isn't a big town, and a man like Thimbel holds a lot of power."
"How can you be sure? And what's the point?" Elijah asked.
"The people that complained about impersonators -- I assume they're just a small amount of the people that were /actually/ impersonated -- were connected to Thimbel in some way. Businessmen that had worked for him or with him . . . radio personalities that were for or against him . . . students that had supported him. The list goes on, every aspect of his life covered from the big to the small and down to the old man that used to clean up his high school. As to why?" William shifted in his bed, grunting. "I can only guess. But, without a doubt in my mind, something nefarious."
"This is insanity," Elijah said. "You can't really believe this."
"I found it just as hard to swallow, but I remembered what I had seen the night before. I searched for alternatives, looked at other stories, discussed other possibilities . . . but nothing else fit so snug."
"So you took it to the police, of course," Elijah said, knowing his friend.
"Yes . . . I told them I believed there was a plot to undermine or damage Thimbel, but when asked how I knew this information, what could I tell them? I simply told them I know."
Elijah watched his friend for a moment. "I'm sure that convinced them. I suppose you put on a sandwich board the day after that?"
"Nothing so dramatic. I contacted Dryfus."
Elijah shot up, pushing his chair back against the wall, creating a sharp clatter. "You did /what/?!"
"I believe this is important, and he thought the same thing! He's the man we go to when we don't understand what's happening! He's the one that puts things together!"
"If you're wrong-"
"Then I would have been drummed out of our little club and forced to wander the streets, dealing with my delusions and paranoias alone. But I wasn't wrong," William growled. "He looked at all of it. He even contacted an associate and was able to use one of their mainframes to create some sort of sheet that shows the spread of information all at a glance." He eyed Elijah. "You should see it. I got a chill when I first laid eyes on it. Beyond a shadow of a doubt it proves . . . something, anyway. The lines are there, but I don't know who drew them, or where they lead."
"Are you telling me that Dryfus agrees with you?"
"At the very least he doesn't think I'm crazy. /And/ at the very least he told me to get in contact with you. Blame him if you didn't want to be sucked into this, but you are now."
"Why did he tell you to bring me in? What can I do to help at this point?" Elijah crossed his arms. "It sounds like you have it all figured out."
"More manpower," William replied. "Hector, Tierra, and I weren't enough to check everything out, and you were the closest person. If only you had been closer."
"Are you finally going to tell me how you got in here?"
William sighed. A tiny slice of sunlight was burning its way through the rain on the window. The hospital had woken up, and was bubbling with energy. An orderly pushed a tray into the room, and was surprised by Elijah. "Don't worry, I need him here," William told the man, who nodded and left. Elijah stood to bring the breakfast to William, but he shook his head. "I couldn't bear eat at the moment. Perhaps later, after I've told my story."
"Start, then," Elijah said, pulling his chair back and sitting.
William nodded, thinking back. "It was two days ago that I contacted Dryfus and sent him the information, and two days ago that I contacted you. After leaving Dryfus, I went to Hector and Tierra's house and conversed with them about what had happened. They were as shocked as you were about my going to Dryfus, but when I told them that he agreed with me, they were mollified. Everybody in the area was convinced something was happening, but we had no next step."
Elijah watched William stare at the ceiling and recall. "I asked that we go back to the place where I'd seen the man that had impersonated Hector. It was a number of miles away, and when we got there it was late, about the same time it had been the day before. We went up and down the sidewalk, looking for any sort of hint or clue. Tierra was getting quite cold, and Hector was tired, but I surged on, telling them that it was worth it. Finally, they got the better of me, and we decided to stop in for a cup of coffee at a local diner."
"It was a crowded place, and we were lucky to get a table. The waiter stepped up to us, brought us our orders, and asked Hector if he'd like the same as the night before.
"All three of us seized. Hector nearly went blue. He asked what the waiter meant, and said that he had never been in the particular diner before. The waiter told him he had been in the night before, and that he had served Hector a cup of black coffee."
"Hector takes his coffee black?"
"Just like his father. As you can imagine, Hector was rather unhinged. Tierra told the waiter three coffees and sent him hurrying away. I asked if Hector was alright. He didn't speak."
"Why would someone impersonated Hector?" Elijah asked. "I never remember him saying anything about this Mayor Thimbel character. There's no reason to dress as him, especially when he could run into an impersonator on the street."
"A question we haven't fully answered. Our coffees came, and Hector glared at his like it was a lizard. After a few minutes, I got up and found the waiter, asking him if he knew what 'Hector' had been doing in here the night before."
"A question, I'm sure, that he responded to without the barest trace of surprise, fear, or confusion."
"Do you think you could be serious for a moment?" William asked, frowning. "I was quite serious, and the waiter could see so. He said that the man he believed was Hector had sat and talked with none other than Mayor Thimbel."
"A coincidence."
"Don't be a fool!" William shouted. "Even you have to see that there's something going on! Of all the damn fool things to say!" William puffed out, and waved away an orderly that had stuck his head in. "I can tell you Tierra and Hector didn't give me any glib tones. They knew something bad was happening. I told them the only thing we could do was go directly to Thimbel. No easy task; he's a busy man, and doesn't have all day to listen to theories from a collection of crazy townsfolk." William nodded. "I know what I'm telling can sound crazy, but I believed it then and I believe it now."
Elijah nodded. "I've known you long enough to know you're a person that doesn't say things like this at a whim. I'm sorry, go on."
Instead of continuing, William narrowed his eyes in Elijah's direction. "I suppose you have known me for a while. Hector and Tierra, reluctantly, agreed, and we left the diner. I called in sick to work the next day and drove to the mayor's office with the other two. When we told the receptionist we sought audience with Thimbel, she asked us what about. This we had discussed before-hand, and told her that we were lobbyists for the steel industry, and we were interested in donating to his re-election fund. The woman told us to sit and we waited for almost half and hour before we were allowed to enter.
"When we did, we found Thimbel gazing at a bubble floating in the middle of his office, no bigger than the nail on your thumb. The three of us found ourselves equally . . . transfixed."
William looked down at his lap, smoothing it out again and again, eyes drilling down into the cloth. Elijah reached out and shook him gently, and William looked at him with tired, sorrowful eyes.
"The bubble popped, and its strange spell on us disappeared. The Mayor rose and greeted us with the smile I'm sure he reserved for money. At once we told him we had lied to the receptionist, and that we were present to try and save his life. He seemed surprised, and asked us what we meant.
"We told him everything, all the information we knew. I did all the talking, and at the end of my speech, I asked him if he'd ever seen Hector before. He started to say something, then shut his mouth and shook his head.
"I told him that I thought there was a plot to take his life, or to remove the public's faith in him, or something of the sort . . ." William had his chin planted on his chest and his arms crossed. "He nodded, smiling."
"Smiling."
"Smiling, like the devil himself had cut it into his face. Tierra took a step away, understanding before the rest of us. 'I think my life is quite safe,' the mayor said, and then . . . it was as if his body turned to static before our eyes." William looked ready to weep. "And before us stood Hector, dressed like the night I'd seen him pass us. Another shift into static, and he was the mayor once more . . . or the alien creature that posed as him."
"You ran?"
"Of course we ran," William whispered. "But just before we did, he opened his mouth and blew, and a bubble ejected itself, glimmering in the air just like the other one. He focused on it for a moment, then popped it with his finger, finally looking up at us with the wide, unblinking eyes of a man who has just trapped the beast he was hunting in the forest.
"Hector barreled his way out of the office with Tierra and myself behind him. We raised a ruckus in the office, yelling that the mayor was an imposter, all of us, just yelling and trying to get out. We hit the front doors and found ourselves face-to-face with . . . "
"Yourselves," Elijah said. "Three imposters, just like the three of you."
"Yes . . ." William stuck him with a look. "How did you guess?"
"It wasn't difficult."
William remained staring at him for a second. "We ran off to the side, trying as much as we could to escape the building grounds. They tracked us, but we just barely managed to escape a gap in the fence. We ran as fast as we could to find a cab, but none showed itself to us. We kept moving. Every person on the street seemed like one of the copiers . . . one of the blanks."
"Blanks?"
"They were blank people, able to change their appearance to anyone they wanted, face, voice, height, clothes. We knew we had to get to Dryfus and warn him, but the streets seemed bare. After sheltering ourselves in an alley to catch our breath, we thought that we had lost our imposters, and were finally able to find a car to take us to Dryfus. I urged the driver to greater speeds after the promise of a fat tip, and we got to our destination after only ten minutes. We went into Dryfus' office, but . . . I'm sure you can guess what we found."
Elijah smiled grimly, nodding. "I'm sure I could."
"I'm sure you could," William said. "We entered his office, not knocking, and saw him pop a bubble just as we laid eyes on him." William paused. The sun, breaking through the wet clouds, warmed the room, and made William's bed glow yellow. "He gave us the same hunting smile as Thimbel had, and we ran back outside. We got back to the street and ran in any direction, trying to figure out what to do next. We didn't have a chance to figure it out -- the three Blanks masquerading as us appeared around the corner and set us running again. I led us toward a tall building."
Elijah listened intently as William told the story. "We pushed our way in, trying to get away and have a few moments to collect ourselves. The Blanks chased us, now as police officers -- we could do nothing to stop them. We kept running, up stairs as fast as we could. We reached the roof in a few minutes, and they followed us.
"The three of us against the three of them. We didn't know what they were capable of; we didn't know what else they could do. They approached us, all three wearing the smile. Hector felt for his gun, but he hadn't taken it. I'm no slouch at brawling, but the other two . . ." He sighed. "I'm sorry, I need a moment."
Elijah nodded, watching William collect himself. "You're in here . . . I know it didn't go well for you."
William shot him with a hard look, eyes wide. "They rushed us, knocking Hector off the edge of the building in a moment. I heard him scream his way down. I took the one that had attacked me and made him follow. Tierra and the one that looked like her were tangled, so I went to the false Hector. It hit me-" He indicated his side. "And nearly pushed me off the ledge. I heard a scream, and saw Tierra rushing for the false Hector. I thought I had a chance. I rose and joined her, but . . . she turned and knocked me down. A dirty trick. Tierra and Hector were already dead.
"The false Tierra didn't have any extra strength, and I was able to throw her off. I could see three bodies on the ground already . . . one of them looked . . . I don't know. Almost as if it was made of sludge. It was yself and the false Hector left, and I injured. I tried to gain ground away from the ledge, and managed to knock it down. It hit me again in the ribs and I heard one of them break. The pain nearly overtook me, but I maneuvered him toward the edge, pushing with all my might, and finally got him off-balance.
"He grabbed me as I fell. I almost slipped off the ledge after him, but held on to the building's lip, hitting my ribs again." He caught Elijah's eye. "That's it. The police and an ambulance came, and I told them a story about being attack by three strange people -- the best I could come up with. The Blank's bodies didn't look human anymore, so I hope some information is public now. Elijah." Elijah lifted his head. "It's your job now. The mayor, Dryfus . . . everyone we know in the city could be a Blank. They're going to take us over. First the mayor, then the world." He reached out and grabbed Elijah's arm. "You have to stop it. Trust no one." He put his head back. "I'd like some time to rest, please."
"Can we do anything?" Elijah asked. "Who can we go to know?"
William shook his head and didn't open his mouth.
Elijah stood and put his coat back on. "Their deaths won't be in vain, William," he said, standing in the doorway. "We'll drive the bastards out."
William nodded as the other man left and strode down the hallway, coat pulling out behind him, fury rising as he tried to understand the task before him.
In William's room, the man in the bed smiled. He opened his mouth and a bubble was formed. He focused on it for a minute, then popped it with his finger. "First the mayor, then the world."
It was nearly morning, and Elijah found the nearest bar willing to serve him. After eating he asked the waitress how to get to St. Jerome's hospital. The rain was just as heavy as he tried to hail a cab and got nothing. He began walking, not wanting to wait.
St. Jerome's was a collection of gray buildings attached by skyways, full of people even at the early hour. He spoke to the receptionist, who told him at first that visiting hours wouldn't be for a while, and asked for his name. When she heard it, she meekly told him to go to room 495, busying herself, and Elijah walked on, leaving a trail of rain from his trench coat behind him.
Room 495 was as any other -- a bit bare, perhaps. Its single occupant, an older man with shaved head and deep wrinkles, was asleep. Elijah shook him up.
"Uh!" The man shouted as soon as Elijah touched him. His eyes darted about the room, finally settling on Elijah's face. "Is it you?"
"It's me, William," Elijah said. "What's so important that you had to take me away from my work? Why are you in here?"
"Please, give me a moment to collect my thoughts," William said, putting his head down on the pillow once more. Rain struck the window in a cold tattoo. "Three nights ago I was walking with Tierra and Hector. We had just left dinner, and we were trying to find a cab to take us back to my study. It was a cold night, and we were all huddled into our coats, trying to keep the chill away." William looked up at Elijah. "Have you been hearing what's happening in the city?"
"Why would I? I live six hundred miles away."
"Of course, of course. There have been a rash of . . . imposters."
Elijah grimaced. "You made me cancel a week of classes to tell me there have been imposters."
"For the past few months, every few days there has been a new report of someone posing as someone else, trying to withdraw funds from the bank or sell, or buy, or this thing or the other. Police, the courts, even government officials have gotten involved, but no one has been caught; none of the stories have been verified."
"So?"
"We left dinner, trying to find a cab. We had our heads down, and there was a person coming toward us. When he passed us, I . . . I only caught a glimpse, but I was sure of it. It was Hector."
"You said Hector was with you."
"He /was!/" William shouted. A nurse stepped into the room with a pinched look, but William pointed her out. "I stopped dead, and turned around, and tried to get another look at him. he was already retreating, walking fast with his head down, wearing a hat. Hector asked me what was the matter.
"When I looked at my friend, I knew what I had seen. There was no doubt, but the man we'd just passed was a perfect double!"
Elijah leaned back, surprised. "You're certain? You hadn't been drinking?"
"A . . . bit. Not enough to think such a thing, I assure you." William tapped his head with a shaking finger. "I saw it with more than just my eyes. The information got lodged. I can still recall how the other Hector looked the moment he passed me. Perfectly."
Elijah crossed his arms. He'd finally begun to dry. The hospital's noise was filtering in through the open door. "So you see a man similar to Hector."
"Not similar. Identical. The same." William glared at Elijah with wide eyes. "The same height, the same face, the same step, and . . . the same scar on his hand."
"From the horse?"
"After the man walked by us I grabbed Hector's hand. It was the same curve, the same two deeper prints from the front teeth, the same inflamed look when it gets too cold. I told Hector and Tierra what I had seen, and they dismissed it as a drunk hallucination. I implored them to believe me; they didn't."
"And then?" Elijah asked, interested.
"We went back to my study. I thought about all the other impersonation cases that had been in the paper and brought out any old copies I still had, scanning through them. They gave precious little details, but one thing became apparent. Even people who knew the person were fooled by the imposter. A perfect physical double. The only reason they become known is the person that was copied complains."
"An accomplished character thief. Why did you have to bring me all the way down here?"
"Because I think it's more than that. A dedicated group of them, perhaps, but just one?" William shook his head. "It's been happening nearly day-in for months. It can't be just one person."
"So a group of people made to swindle others out of their inheritance and possessions. Please, William, get to the point you're trying to make. It's been a long night."
William nodded. "The next day I begged off work to visit the library, and gathered the papers from the last months. I looked at all the cases that have been reported."
He sat up in bed. He wore a long white gown and moved carefully, favoring his trunk. "I collected the people that had been targeted by the imposters. I saw a trend. At first they didn't seem at all connected -- store owners, house wives, businessmen, janitors, radio workers, even students from the university -- but after a bit of digging I saw it. The Mayor of the town, Ernest Thimbel. I know you know little about him, but this isn't a big town, and a man like Thimbel holds a lot of power."
"How can you be sure? And what's the point?" Elijah asked.
"The people that complained about impersonators -- I assume they're just a small amount of the people that were /actually/ impersonated -- were connected to Thimbel in some way. Businessmen that had worked for him or with him . . . radio personalities that were for or against him . . . students that had supported him. The list goes on, every aspect of his life covered from the big to the small and down to the old man that used to clean up his high school. As to why?" William shifted in his bed, grunting. "I can only guess. But, without a doubt in my mind, something nefarious."
"This is insanity," Elijah said. "You can't really believe this."
"I found it just as hard to swallow, but I remembered what I had seen the night before. I searched for alternatives, looked at other stories, discussed other possibilities . . . but nothing else fit so snug."
"So you took it to the police, of course," Elijah said, knowing his friend.
"Yes . . . I told them I believed there was a plot to undermine or damage Thimbel, but when asked how I knew this information, what could I tell them? I simply told them I know."
Elijah watched his friend for a moment. "I'm sure that convinced them. I suppose you put on a sandwich board the day after that?"
"Nothing so dramatic. I contacted Dryfus."
Elijah shot up, pushing his chair back against the wall, creating a sharp clatter. "You did /what/?!"
"I believe this is important, and he thought the same thing! He's the man we go to when we don't understand what's happening! He's the one that puts things together!"
"If you're wrong-"
"Then I would have been drummed out of our little club and forced to wander the streets, dealing with my delusions and paranoias alone. But I wasn't wrong," William growled. "He looked at all of it. He even contacted an associate and was able to use one of their mainframes to create some sort of sheet that shows the spread of information all at a glance." He eyed Elijah. "You should see it. I got a chill when I first laid eyes on it. Beyond a shadow of a doubt it proves . . . something, anyway. The lines are there, but I don't know who drew them, or where they lead."
"Are you telling me that Dryfus agrees with you?"
"At the very least he doesn't think I'm crazy. /And/ at the very least he told me to get in contact with you. Blame him if you didn't want to be sucked into this, but you are now."
"Why did he tell you to bring me in? What can I do to help at this point?" Elijah crossed his arms. "It sounds like you have it all figured out."
"More manpower," William replied. "Hector, Tierra, and I weren't enough to check everything out, and you were the closest person. If only you had been closer."
"Are you finally going to tell me how you got in here?"
William sighed. A tiny slice of sunlight was burning its way through the rain on the window. The hospital had woken up, and was bubbling with energy. An orderly pushed a tray into the room, and was surprised by Elijah. "Don't worry, I need him here," William told the man, who nodded and left. Elijah stood to bring the breakfast to William, but he shook his head. "I couldn't bear eat at the moment. Perhaps later, after I've told my story."
"Start, then," Elijah said, pulling his chair back and sitting.
William nodded, thinking back. "It was two days ago that I contacted Dryfus and sent him the information, and two days ago that I contacted you. After leaving Dryfus, I went to Hector and Tierra's house and conversed with them about what had happened. They were as shocked as you were about my going to Dryfus, but when I told them that he agreed with me, they were mollified. Everybody in the area was convinced something was happening, but we had no next step."
Elijah watched William stare at the ceiling and recall. "I asked that we go back to the place where I'd seen the man that had impersonated Hector. It was a number of miles away, and when we got there it was late, about the same time it had been the day before. We went up and down the sidewalk, looking for any sort of hint or clue. Tierra was getting quite cold, and Hector was tired, but I surged on, telling them that it was worth it. Finally, they got the better of me, and we decided to stop in for a cup of coffee at a local diner."
"It was a crowded place, and we were lucky to get a table. The waiter stepped up to us, brought us our orders, and asked Hector if he'd like the same as the night before.
"All three of us seized. Hector nearly went blue. He asked what the waiter meant, and said that he had never been in the particular diner before. The waiter told him he had been in the night before, and that he had served Hector a cup of black coffee."
"Hector takes his coffee black?"
"Just like his father. As you can imagine, Hector was rather unhinged. Tierra told the waiter three coffees and sent him hurrying away. I asked if Hector was alright. He didn't speak."
"Why would someone impersonated Hector?" Elijah asked. "I never remember him saying anything about this Mayor Thimbel character. There's no reason to dress as him, especially when he could run into an impersonator on the street."
"A question we haven't fully answered. Our coffees came, and Hector glared at his like it was a lizard. After a few minutes, I got up and found the waiter, asking him if he knew what 'Hector' had been doing in here the night before."
"A question, I'm sure, that he responded to without the barest trace of surprise, fear, or confusion."
"Do you think you could be serious for a moment?" William asked, frowning. "I was quite serious, and the waiter could see so. He said that the man he believed was Hector had sat and talked with none other than Mayor Thimbel."
"A coincidence."
"Don't be a fool!" William shouted. "Even you have to see that there's something going on! Of all the damn fool things to say!" William puffed out, and waved away an orderly that had stuck his head in. "I can tell you Tierra and Hector didn't give me any glib tones. They knew something bad was happening. I told them the only thing we could do was go directly to Thimbel. No easy task; he's a busy man, and doesn't have all day to listen to theories from a collection of crazy townsfolk." William nodded. "I know what I'm telling can sound crazy, but I believed it then and I believe it now."
Elijah nodded. "I've known you long enough to know you're a person that doesn't say things like this at a whim. I'm sorry, go on."
Instead of continuing, William narrowed his eyes in Elijah's direction. "I suppose you have known me for a while. Hector and Tierra, reluctantly, agreed, and we left the diner. I called in sick to work the next day and drove to the mayor's office with the other two. When we told the receptionist we sought audience with Thimbel, she asked us what about. This we had discussed before-hand, and told her that we were lobbyists for the steel industry, and we were interested in donating to his re-election fund. The woman told us to sit and we waited for almost half and hour before we were allowed to enter.
"When we did, we found Thimbel gazing at a bubble floating in the middle of his office, no bigger than the nail on your thumb. The three of us found ourselves equally . . . transfixed."
William looked down at his lap, smoothing it out again and again, eyes drilling down into the cloth. Elijah reached out and shook him gently, and William looked at him with tired, sorrowful eyes.
"The bubble popped, and its strange spell on us disappeared. The Mayor rose and greeted us with the smile I'm sure he reserved for money. At once we told him we had lied to the receptionist, and that we were present to try and save his life. He seemed surprised, and asked us what we meant.
"We told him everything, all the information we knew. I did all the talking, and at the end of my speech, I asked him if he'd ever seen Hector before. He started to say something, then shut his mouth and shook his head.
"I told him that I thought there was a plot to take his life, or to remove the public's faith in him, or something of the sort . . ." William had his chin planted on his chest and his arms crossed. "He nodded, smiling."
"Smiling."
"Smiling, like the devil himself had cut it into his face. Tierra took a step away, understanding before the rest of us. 'I think my life is quite safe,' the mayor said, and then . . . it was as if his body turned to static before our eyes." William looked ready to weep. "And before us stood Hector, dressed like the night I'd seen him pass us. Another shift into static, and he was the mayor once more . . . or the alien creature that posed as him."
"You ran?"
"Of course we ran," William whispered. "But just before we did, he opened his mouth and blew, and a bubble ejected itself, glimmering in the air just like the other one. He focused on it for a moment, then popped it with his finger, finally looking up at us with the wide, unblinking eyes of a man who has just trapped the beast he was hunting in the forest.
"Hector barreled his way out of the office with Tierra and myself behind him. We raised a ruckus in the office, yelling that the mayor was an imposter, all of us, just yelling and trying to get out. We hit the front doors and found ourselves face-to-face with . . . "
"Yourselves," Elijah said. "Three imposters, just like the three of you."
"Yes . . ." William stuck him with a look. "How did you guess?"
"It wasn't difficult."
William remained staring at him for a second. "We ran off to the side, trying as much as we could to escape the building grounds. They tracked us, but we just barely managed to escape a gap in the fence. We ran as fast as we could to find a cab, but none showed itself to us. We kept moving. Every person on the street seemed like one of the copiers . . . one of the blanks."
"Blanks?"
"They were blank people, able to change their appearance to anyone they wanted, face, voice, height, clothes. We knew we had to get to Dryfus and warn him, but the streets seemed bare. After sheltering ourselves in an alley to catch our breath, we thought that we had lost our imposters, and were finally able to find a car to take us to Dryfus. I urged the driver to greater speeds after the promise of a fat tip, and we got to our destination after only ten minutes. We went into Dryfus' office, but . . . I'm sure you can guess what we found."
Elijah smiled grimly, nodding. "I'm sure I could."
"I'm sure you could," William said. "We entered his office, not knocking, and saw him pop a bubble just as we laid eyes on him." William paused. The sun, breaking through the wet clouds, warmed the room, and made William's bed glow yellow. "He gave us the same hunting smile as Thimbel had, and we ran back outside. We got back to the street and ran in any direction, trying to figure out what to do next. We didn't have a chance to figure it out -- the three Blanks masquerading as us appeared around the corner and set us running again. I led us toward a tall building."
Elijah listened intently as William told the story. "We pushed our way in, trying to get away and have a few moments to collect ourselves. The Blanks chased us, now as police officers -- we could do nothing to stop them. We kept running, up stairs as fast as we could. We reached the roof in a few minutes, and they followed us.
"The three of us against the three of them. We didn't know what they were capable of; we didn't know what else they could do. They approached us, all three wearing the smile. Hector felt for his gun, but he hadn't taken it. I'm no slouch at brawling, but the other two . . ." He sighed. "I'm sorry, I need a moment."
Elijah nodded, watching William collect himself. "You're in here . . . I know it didn't go well for you."
William shot him with a hard look, eyes wide. "They rushed us, knocking Hector off the edge of the building in a moment. I heard him scream his way down. I took the one that had attacked me and made him follow. Tierra and the one that looked like her were tangled, so I went to the false Hector. It hit me-" He indicated his side. "And nearly pushed me off the ledge. I heard a scream, and saw Tierra rushing for the false Hector. I thought I had a chance. I rose and joined her, but . . . she turned and knocked me down. A dirty trick. Tierra and Hector were already dead.
"The false Tierra didn't have any extra strength, and I was able to throw her off. I could see three bodies on the ground already . . . one of them looked . . . I don't know. Almost as if it was made of sludge. It was yself and the false Hector left, and I injured. I tried to gain ground away from the ledge, and managed to knock it down. It hit me again in the ribs and I heard one of them break. The pain nearly overtook me, but I maneuvered him toward the edge, pushing with all my might, and finally got him off-balance.
"He grabbed me as I fell. I almost slipped off the ledge after him, but held on to the building's lip, hitting my ribs again." He caught Elijah's eye. "That's it. The police and an ambulance came, and I told them a story about being attack by three strange people -- the best I could come up with. The Blank's bodies didn't look human anymore, so I hope some information is public now. Elijah." Elijah lifted his head. "It's your job now. The mayor, Dryfus . . . everyone we know in the city could be a Blank. They're going to take us over. First the mayor, then the world." He reached out and grabbed Elijah's arm. "You have to stop it. Trust no one." He put his head back. "I'd like some time to rest, please."
"Can we do anything?" Elijah asked. "Who can we go to know?"
William shook his head and didn't open his mouth.
Elijah stood and put his coat back on. "Their deaths won't be in vain, William," he said, standing in the doorway. "We'll drive the bastards out."
William nodded as the other man left and strode down the hallway, coat pulling out behind him, fury rising as he tried to understand the task before him.
In William's room, the man in the bed smiled. He opened his mouth and a bubble was formed. He focused on it for a minute, then popped it with his finger. "First the mayor, then the world."