THE OTHER ME

Episode 𝑬𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 : 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆

ETHAN WALKER

That night, I couldn’t sleep. The dream—if it even was a dream—felt too real, too vivid to just be a product of my imagination. Every moment kept replaying in my mind. The men in suits, Mr. Krane’s cold eyes, the way they grabbed me, tied me down. I could still feel the weight of their hands, hear Krane's voice as he talked about the clone, and my own body betraying me. Was it real? Or was my mind messing with me?

I tried to distract myself. Lying in bed, I grabbed my phone and scrolled mindlessly through Instagram Reels. Video after video of influencers, memes, and stupid dance challenges, but none of it could take my mind off what I had seen. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the clone. My clone. Or was it me?

The next morning hit me like a truck. I felt drained, weak, and disoriented as if I hadn’t slept at all. My head was pounding, and my body felt heavier than usual. When I stumbled into the kitchen, Mom noticed immediately.

"Sweetheart, you're burning up," she said, touching my forehead. "You’re not going to school today. You need to rest."

I couldn’t afford to stay home. Not today. I had to see Mr. Krane. I had to know if what I dreamt—what I thought I dreamt—was real. And even if it wasn’t, I had to make sure I accepted his offer and perfected myself, for Jenna’s sake, for the game. I couldn’t let Jake Callahan ruin everything.

"I’m fine, Mom. I can’t miss today; it’s important." My voice came out weaker than I intended, my resolve already faltering.

But she wasn’t having it. "You’re staying home. I don’t want you collapsing on the field tomorrow. You’ll be no good if you push yourself too hard now."

I sighed, defeated. I couldn’t fight her. She was right, after all. I did feel terrible. Still, my mind was buzzing. Today wasn’t the match day, at least. I had one more chance tomorrow, but I had to visit Mr. Krane before then. That thought kept gnawing at me.

The day dragged on like a nightmare. I spent most of it lying on the couch, flipping between random TV shows and movies. At least I had the house to myself after Mom left for work. I tried texting Sam, but he didn’t respond. He was probably already at school, going through the motions, unaware of the mess I was tangled in.

I drifted in and out of sleep, but every time I woke up, the weight of the situation sank deeper. By the time evening came, I had made up my mind. Tomorrow would be the day. I would see Mr. Krane, confront him, and if the clone was real—if any of this was real—I’d get answers.

The next morning came, and although I still felt weak, I was better. At least good enough to put on a show for Mom. I had to be perfect. If she sensed anything was off, she’d keep me home again, and I couldn’t let that happen.

"I’m fine, Mom," I said at breakfast, trying to sound as normal as possible. "I need to go to school today. They’re testing for the competition spots."

But she wasn’t convinced. "I don’t want you overworking yourself when you just got better. It’s not worth risking your health, Ethan."

She didn’t understand. My whole future was at stake. But no matter how much I pleaded, she wouldn’t budge. We finished breakfast in tense silence, my mind racing. As soon as she left for work, I threw on my clothes and headed out. I wasn’t going to school—there was no point if I couldn’t play today. But I had to get to Mr. Krane’s lab. I had to know the truth.

When I reached the lab, the door was locked, but I could hear voices inside. I knocked and shouted for Mr. Krane, my anxiety spiking. After a moment, the door opened slightly, and Mr. Krane yanked me inside, quickly shutting the door behind us.

"Keep your voice down!" he hissed, locking the door with shaky hands.

I could hear faint cheers from inside his office. Football chants. Confused, I walked toward the noise. "What the hell is going on?"

"Be careful," Krane warned, but I barely heard him.

As I entered the office, I saw a large screen on the wall, showing our school’s football field. My heart stopped when I saw Jenna standing at the sidelines, watching the game intently, along with a group of other girls. The crowd erupted in cheers as someone scored a goal. The person who scored...

It was me. Or, at least, it looked like me. I watched in disbelief as I jumped up in celebration, doing the Cristiano Ronaldo “Siu” move, and the crowd went wild. My stomach dropped. That wasn’t me. It was him. The clone.

"That’s the clone you wanted," Krane said softly from behind me.

I spun around, rage boiling over. "I didn’t want this! I didn’t even agree to your offer! So my dream was real, wasn’t it? You guys took my saliva and hair! This wasn’t supposed to happen without me. We were supposed to plan this together!"

My voice was rising with every word, but before I could say more, there was a knock at the door. Krane’s eyes went wide with panic. He lunged at me, covering my mouth with his hand, his breath quick and erratic.

"Shut up!" he whispered harshly. "For your own sake. If they hear you... they’ll kill you."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My eyes widened in shock, and I stopped struggling. I didn’t know who was outside, but from the fear in Krane’s voice, I knew this was serious. Deadly serious.

My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at the door, wondering if I’d make it out of here alive.