What a fun game of hide and seek, I wonder who'll win...

...

I continued running down the deserted streets of this strange city. There were still no lights or people except for me and Thomas, who was still counting far away from here. I had no idea what number he was at now, but I could tell that he was getting closer to the end.

Everything was so barren and empty, he could probably hear my echoing footsteps as I ran as fast as I possibly could.

Maybe I would have more luck if I entered one of the buildings. If I stayed outside he could find me easily since I would be out in the open.

I opened the door to a large apartment building, and like everywhere else in this place there was no life in sight. There was some mould on the walls, however. I didn't even want to think about how it got there. Everything seemed destroyed

Alright...now what?

I expected Thomas to try and find me, I'm sure he's already finished counting to one hundred now. Maybe he's already trying to search for me.

Maybe he already knows where I am...

Paranoia started to invade my mind as I ran up the staircase, yet doing so quietly in case he was here.

Just like at the bottom floor, the walls and ceiling were covered in mould. I guessed that nobody lived here to clean it up, but Alyssa should be able to do it at least.

Once I reached the hallway, I was surprised to see everything destroyed. If there was nothing that lived in this place, then what could have destroyed this place? Maybe a tornado?

I started to feel really uneasy as I slowly made my way to the other side of the hallway. I felt like someone, or something, was observing my every move.

I almost screamed as I heard a noise coming from behind me. I frantically turned my body to see what it was, turned out it was just a bug. It seemed to be the same kind that made my sword and Thomas made, but what was it doing here?

I instantly became infuriated as it started buzzing around me, the sound it generated was close to making my ears bleed. Not even covering my ears could block out the awful noise.

I just tried ignoring it and I continued walking down the long hallways. Sighing in relief as I heard the bug leave, I opened one of the many doors that this hallway had to offer. They all had numbers on them, so they were obviously the apartments of the people living here. Then again, no one did live here so this kind of area seemed pointless.

Surprisingly, it was unlocked. Instead of an apartment that I expected, it was a very small room that only had a bed in it. The bed itself was messed up, like it hadn't been made in ages.

Seriously, why would a bed be here if there was no one to use it? Unless there was someone here and I just didn't know about it...

I closed the door and moved on, but now there were two bugs who were making that familiar unpleasant sound. I tried slashing at them with my sword, but they were far too small to be hit.

Eventually they flew away, and I could keep exploring this strange place. I had a feeling that they would be back though.

I got bored as I checked out each room, all of them were the same. The only difference was that the bed was messed up differently in each room.

I wanted to stop exploring and go to a different location to hide from Thomas, but if I left now then it would easier for him to find me...maybe the only option was to go forward.

Soon after I continued walking, I stopped in my tracks once I heard something. It was coming from under the carpet, and it sounded like a very quiet sob.

I guess I'm not alone here then...I thought to myself.

Once I removed the carpet, I saw the trap door that was beneath it. I struggled to open it, but once I did it revealed a staircase that led to a dark room.

As I walked down, the candles started lighting up by themselves. That was oddly convenient, it was as if it was planned for me to come here.

Grateful that this wasn't an endless staircase as I reached the end, I ended up in a large bedroom. Claudia's bedroom, to be exact.

I swear, this just kept getting weirder, and I was feeling rather disturbed at seeing my sister's bedroom in a place like this. But what disturbed me the most were the noises that I heard in the cupboard. It was the same quiet sobbing that brought me to this place, now I could finally see what it was making those noises.

I slowly advanced towards the cupboard, aware that this could be another trap. Whether it was or not, my curiosity got the best of me. There was no turning back, anyway.

I slowly opened it, and as I did the sobbing grew louder. Once I saw what was inside I almost gagged.

It was Claudia. But this wasn't the Claudia I knew.

She was covered in bruises and wounds, and her mouth, hands and legs were held together by duct tape. She kept screaming incomprehensible while staring down at the ground. I tried calming her down by telling her that it was alright and there was no need to fear me, that seemed to do the trick.

As soon as she stopped her insane rambling and shrieking, she looked up at me with a scared face. I ripped the duct tape off her face, causing her pain. At least she could tell me what was going on.

"O-owen..." she muttered quietly.

"Claudia? What happened? Who did this to you?!"

Whoever did this to her, they would pay. I would make them regret it until the day they die...

"I...I'm not Claudia..."

Huh? How was that possible?

"But, you look and sound like Claudia..."

Well, except for the injuries that were painted all over her skin.

"I'm just a copy of her."

"A copy?"

I knew that this was too good to be true, this must have been some kind of trap.

"Where's the real Claudia then?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"I don't know where she is. Maybe you should ask him."

"Thomas?"

She shivered in fear as I mentioned that name.

"P-please don't say his name..."

"Well, he's hunting me down right now..."

It was then her sanity broke, she started screaming and flailing her arms like a lunatic, I couldn't understand a word that came out of her mouth.

I didn't know what do to calm her down, I could just slay here with my sword but I felt pity towards this fake Claudia. I also needed answers, and I needed them quickly.

She pinned me down to the floor, and she kept trying to claw at my face savagely, still screaming. With my instincts kicking it, I dug my blade as deep as I could into her chest. Guilt crept up on me as I felt her blood stain my clothes.

Once I pushed her off me, I almost felt sick as I saw her dead body discarded on the ground. I did that, I was the one who killed her, it was my fault...

I felt exactly like Thomas, who hurt Claudia so many times, and now I killed her. I tried to hold back the tears that were swelling up, but they kept flowing out.

I tried resting my hand on the location of her heart, close to her bloody wound. No heartbeat...

Wait...

I instantly removed my hand as I felt a faint heartbeat. Her fingers twitched slightly, and her eyes began to open.

I didn't think it was possible...but she somehow managed to revive himself. I held my sword firmly in my hand as she eventually managed to get back up.

She didn't attack me though, she just stood there with an emotionless face, not afraid of me at all.

"Congratulations...you messed up."

"W-what?"

"You don't understand what I am...I belong to him. I was made for him. Now you've brought him here. That's why I took my anger out on you like that."

"H-him? You mean Thomas?"

She nodded.

"I am not the Claudia you're trying to save. I don't know where she is, but I'm sure that they know."

If the "him" she was referring to was Thomas, then the other person must be Alyssa...

"So if you're not Claudia, then what are you?"

She looked like she was going to break into tears, but somehow she managed to stay calm.

"I'm Claudia's copy. I was created for Thomas as a gift if he obeyed her commands."

"So...I've been fighting with the real Thomas all this time? He's not just one of Alyssa's creations?"

"That is correct."

I...I didn't expect this. I thought that he was just a replica, until now...

What disturbed me the most was when the fake Claudia said that she was a "gift" for Thomas. It still made me so sick how he treated her. I swear I was close to vomiting once I looked at the many cuts and bruises that the fake Claudia had. The real one probably had many of these too and I never noticed, not even after all these years...

The fake Claudia noticed that my eyes were on her injuries, and she sighed.

"There are many more of us you know...in this world, many clones like me are suffering."

"Then I have to save them all!"

I noticed a small smile form on her lips, but she held it back. I couldn't help but wonder how long it took for her to successfully hide her true feelings like that.

"That's not important...you need to save the real Claudia."

"I'll have to find her then..."

Before another word was spoken, three of those annoying bugs started flying around once again. I covered by ears, trying to block out the awful buzzing noise. Claudia, however, looked terrified.

"H-he's..." she muttered.

I took my hands of my ears, trying to withstand that awful noise so that I could understand what she was saying.

She ran up to me, grabbing my elbows and shaking me as if something just terrified her.

"He's here! He's come to get me! He's here!" she screamed as tears fell down her face.