Doppelganger: Anamorphosis

Chapter nineteen. Interference

Judy would have preferred to stay asleep, but alas, she had regained consciousness. It was not a pleasant awakening. Reality came crashing down on her with the weight of a tombstone shattered on her head.

She squirmed, trying to figure out where she was. Something soft and warm felt beneath her cheek, which on a quick inspection turned out to be not earth but the fabric upholstery of the car's interior.

- How are you feeling? - Nathan asked from the front passenger seat.

Yeah, I've been kidnapped again," Judy said. She saw the hands with the long red fingernails resting on the steering wheel and concluded that Camila was in the driver's seat.

Now where did the mystical couple take their victim? To the underworld?

Where the hell did they get a car!

Riding it straight from the looking glass, like Princess Death and her loyal Heurtebise?

Behind the tinted glass, familiar scenery whizzed by, but so fast that looking out the window made Judy blush.

- Where are we going? - she voiced the burning question.

The girl groaned and sat up, rubbing her temples. Her head felt like it was a viscous, jelly-like substance, and her thoughts were tight, sluggish, and slow.

Somehow Judy didn't feel any fear of her impending fate. Perhaps she was just tired of being surprised by all sorts of incredible things and had exhausted her emotional range. She suddenly didn't care - where they were taking her, they were taking her. The doppelganger would find her no matter how much she tried to escape.

It takes courage to accept defeat. Accept it.

- There is something you have to see, - Nathan said.

- What else is there? - Judy asked tiredly. She gave herself a mental smack and dug up some mental strength for a languid rebuttal: - I don't owe you anything...

- No, - the doppelganger confirmed, - but you wanted answers yourself.

"I changed my mind."

The girl nodded in agreement. She shifted a little in her seat, changing her angle. Nathan's hoarse voice did not deceive her; the man himself looked a little bruised and frowning.

But it's unlikely that Judy's head bump did any serious damage to him. What was the cause? Was he tired from opening the grave? Or did the Faceless One not like what he saw there? What a gentle monster! Just a long-decomposed corpse!

And Camila didn't want to jump into the conversation, which was alarming.

The car slowed down, cutting into a street in his native suburb.

- I promised my mother I'd come home, - Judy reminded herself, noticing Sandy Davis's cabin glimmering outside. - If you're planning to kill me, can I at least say goodbye?

- No one is going to kill you, - Nathan objected.

- Of course, - the girl muttered.

She caught Camila's gaze in the rearview mirror and shuddered. They'd always disliked each other, but the raven woman had never looked at Judy the way she did now. It wasn't hatred, not disgust, but something else, something inexpressible. The woman's eyes seemed dead. They were sucking the life out of Judy, too.

Camila was the first to break the agonizing eye contact. She pressed her scarlet lips together as if she wanted to scream, but suddenly she was speechless.

What had he done to her? - Judy was frightened, glancing at the doppelganger. What had he done to his assistant for disobeying him?

He's definitely a monster. Louise Richard must have told Judy the truth.