Alter Ego

Prologue

"Take the pills!" Elisa shouted at Travis from across the kitchen counter.

"Shut up woman!" Doug shouted back at Elisa trying to drown out her suggestion. "Listen Travis. Don't take the pills. It's better this way."

"Yeah Travis," agreed Kat who was sitting beside Doug on the living room leather couch, fixing her hair.

Travis paced back and forth with a butcher knife clenched in his right hand. It dripped of dark crimson blood. He raised his hand, staring at his reflection on the bloody knife. His face in half. One half was smiling with a wide grin and malice in his eyes while the other, the face of a confused, troubled guy with tears trickling down his face.

Disgusted by his reflection, he threw the knife towards the front door where it fell to ground with a clang from its steel body.

His legs started to tremble. Hands started to shake. His exhausted legs couldn't hold his body up anymore. It crumbled down.

Leaning down against the couch, he stared at his hands. Blood. It started to drip on the beige carpeted living room. The once clean white kitchen counter now covered in blood stains.

Elisa stared at him with anger in her eyes. "Take the freaking pills already Travis!" She shouted again. "This is for your own good!"

"Don't listen to her!" Kat shouted to Travis in reply. "Don't listen to that lying woman. You know what would happen if you take those pills."

And Travis did know what was going to happen. He already listed the pros and cons of taking the pill several times before. Hell, he even wrote it down on post-it notes and stuck it in his room, his car, on the refrigerator, on the drawer were the butcher knife was, and on the cabinet where his pills were.

He would choose to take it but in a matter of days, he would ignore the reminders and not take it. He would even go on a rampage taking down every reminder and burning it behind his house. He would watch it turn into ashes and scatter in the wind.

His life depended on it. The choice whether or not to take the pills. He knew full well what each decision meant.

"Goddamn it Travis! Take the damn, freaking pills already!" Elisa shouted again from the kitchen eyeing poor Travis who was now chewing on the fingernails of his left hand. His mouth started to drip of blood that were once before on his fingers. Tears trickled more down his face.

"B-but," he stuttered. "I would lose them. I would lose Doug and Kat if I-I t-take the p-pills." His speech slurred from the amount of blood in his mouth.

"Travis. Listen to me," said Elisa. "Take the pills. Please. For your own sake."

"B-but I don't know h-how," Travis replied softly.

"I'll tell you how. First, where are your pills?"

Travis turned his attention from his bloody fingers to the cabinet near Elisa.

"Good. Good," said Elisa. "Now, stand up and walk towards the cabinet."

Travis slowly rose up to his feet.

"Don't you dare do it Travis," yelled both Doug and Kat in unison who was now staring at him still from the couch.

"Ignore them Travis. Just walk towards the cabinet." Travis obeyed Elisa's command and walked towards the cabinet. He turned slowly slightly to his left to face the cabinet. It was the only place left in the kitchen that was spotless. Not even one single drop of blood was on it.

"Good. You're almost there. Now, open the cabinet and take out your pills."

Travis opened the white cabinet to reveal a little bottle inside with a purple top cover. It was labeled, "Pills for Travis." Beside the bottle was a yellow post-it note. He plucked the note and started to read.

"If I don't take a pill: Friends like Doug and Kat. Happiness. Blood everywhere. If I take a pill: No more Doug and Kat. Miserable Travis. No blood."

He crumped the little yellow paper and threw it on the sink where it sunk into a pool of blood. He grabbed the bottle and closed the cabinet door.

Upon the sight of the bottle, both Doug and Kat sprung up to their feet and ran towards Travis. They stopped to his right side and stared at him.

"You know you're going to lose us if you take pills!" Doug shouted, infuriated at even the thought of Travis taking the pill, more so, taking it.

"Don't listen to him Travis. You have to do this. You have to take the pill," said Elisa. "Now for the final step, open the bottle and take a pill."

And so, he did. Travis opened the bottle and upon taking out a white oblong pill from the bottle, laid it on the bloody kitchen counter. He opened his mouth where blood proceeded to drip from his mouth like a waterfall to the white ceramic tiles of the kitchen floor. He grabbed a bottle of water and put the pill inside.

"Please don't do it," begged Kat.

Travis swallowed the pill and proceeded to drink half of the water bottle. He stared at both Doug and Kat then to his surroundings. He shrieked in horror.

THUD!

Travis collapsed to the floor, unconscious, laying down on the puddle of blood.