He hefted the shovel, gripping the wooden handle and stepping out into the dying sunlight.
He hated this part the most. The destruction, the burial, the pleading and asking how they could be so bad. They could destroy them, and he wasnt going to give them a chance.
He approached the man, sitting down in the dark green grass, looking out at the sunset.
"Shes beautiful, isnt she?" the man questioned him, gesturing vaguely ahead.
"I assume you speak not of the sun."
The man chuckled, "no, unfortunately not."
"That is incredibly unfortunate for you, friend."
The man continued to stare off into the distance, his blue eyes glinting in the sunlight as his blonde hair rustled in the breeze. The man in the field was a doppelganger of the man with the shovel. Everything about the pair was the same, except for one key piece of information.
"Thats why I cant allow this."
"My existence you mean?"
Every time, they ask him the same question. Every doppelganger. Every fool who decided to be different. He nodded at the mans back and stepped forward, hefting the shovel.
"I am sorry, my friend." the Doppelganger whispered as he approached.
He swung the flat part shovel at the back of the Doppelgangers head. The man fell, crumpling to the dirt in a heap. He kept hitting him. And hitting him. Shouting, cursing, crying. The Doppelganger's face was destroyed, painting the dirt bright red.
He sat next the mess he had made, holding the shovel in both hands, sobbing softly to himself. "I am the most sorry. For all of you."
He stayed in that field for a while, until the sun disappeared behind the hills, his tears and the blood becoming dry in the dirt.
He stood, brushing the dirt off his pants and slinging the shovel over his back. He picked up the corpse of the Doppelganger, carrying it back to where he had buried the others.
He walked through the darkness of the night, following a path he had traveled many times before this under the same circumstances. The trees seemed even more close together on this path than the others, suffocating him slightly.
Just as he was genuinely getting uncomfortable, the path opened up to a clearing with several small wooden signs scattered about. He chose an empty spot near the rest, put the body down and began to dig.
He dug a fairly deep hole, making sure the body could fit. By the time he had finished and placed the body inside, the sun was returning on the horizon. As a new day arrived, he buried the body, filling in the hole he spent a night digging.
He retrieved some more wood to make another sign, sticking the post into the ground above the grave. Carefully he carved her name into the wood, trying to etch each letter as best he could with the little woodworking knowledge he had before nailing it to the small post above the grave.
He stood, looking at the several other signs around.
"I am sorry for every single one of you." he said loudly as he headed back on the path.
Another Doppelganger would appear soon enough.
And another shovel would be used.
