The Chip | #DigitalAMAwithRheea

The Chip

She trembled for a while, then became steady. But something about her appearance was off. Her cheekbones looked a little lower than they were before. I blinked a few times and looked again. It was no illusion.

Her face was morphing.

The lips were now thinner. Her hair slowly started turning black from the earlier blonde. The former beauty was no longer seen. Instead, a familiar face looked into the trees and smiled devilishly.

I stumbled back as I recognised the face. The way her eyebrows were tilted, the way her hair flowed across the ears was just like...

Mine.

She had transformed into me.

She slowly turned and directly faced me, smirking.

"There she is!" I heard footsteps but couldn't see their sources; I was transfixed by this woman on the bench.

"It's Zaisa!" Someone yelled as the woman rose. I started to back away.

"Catch her!"

I didn't want to get caught in this chase, I was better off staring at other women. Who was she? An alien? A shape-shifting monster? Whatever she was, I had to get away. I turned and ran right into a group of men.

One of them grabbed my neck.

"Running is of no use now." He snickered. "We can see through your tricks."

He squeezed his hand tighter around my neck. I struggled to breathe as I tried to tell him I was the wrong person they had caught.

"I- I'm not-" I stammered, partly mumbling. "Lemme go-"

"Shut up!" He raised his fist and landed a blow to my chin. "You'll come with us. You have got some explanation to do," he said. "Let's go!"

Another one of their group lifted my legs and they started to carry me like a stretcher. I tried to break free by twisting and squirming, but my conatus  yielded no result. I was put into a truck.

Inside, they handcuffed me and sat me down.

"Let's start with your name. What's it?"

I looked directly into his eyes. "I am not Zaisa," I spoke firmly.

He raised his eyebrow and addressed to the person sitting next to me.

"Show her the chip."

He proceeded to grab my arm and lifted up the sleeve. As I looked on, he rubbed my skin till it became dark. A black square was embedded

I looked back at the person in horror.

"There's no mistaking it," he sneered. "You're her."

I closed my eyes as I sensed his eyes widening. I had to do this right.

"Stop her!" He ordered, while reaching out for my hand. But it was too late. I headbutted the man beside me and bit on the chip.

Everything went dark.

My vision cleared to reveal a gorgeous woman on a bench. I approached her, for I had spotted it on her golden dupatta: the chip. My body, driven by an unseen force, leaped at her. In lieu of grabbing it, my hands found the ground.

I had failed.

"Run the simulation again."