Chapter 2
Sarah wakes with a start, head whipping around the unfamiliar room, heart hammering in her chest. “Christ..” She murmurs, placing a hand over her chest. She had been dreaming about her ex Vic and how he would surely be coming after her soon. “I need to get out of here...” She rationed, thinking of her clone’s safety as if it were second nature.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, she grabbed her things and quietly headed for the door, thinking that Beth wouldn’t be awake at four in the morning, but of course she was wrong. She could hear the shower in the other room as she crept to the front door, willing Beth to stay in the bathroom for just a few more minutes.
“I’m sorry.” Sarah mumbles, closing the door behind her with a soft click. She padded off the stoop before bolting down the sidewalk, boots thudding rhythmically against the concrete. She didn’t stop until she reached the stairs to her brother’s flat, only then did she take a moment to breathe. Thoughts of Beth’s conversation clouding her mind as she climbed the stairs, wondering if she had made the right decision.
There was no holding back, however, once she stood in front of Felix’s door, an overwhelming sense of being home overtook her senses as she knocked on the cool metal. It took a few moments before the door slid open, revealing a very tired, very grumpy looking man. His dark hair stuck up around the back of his head, bags hung dark under his eyes, and he wore nothing to hide his lithe figure but a flowered, silk robe that seemed like it was better off on someone of Sarah’s size.
Felix looks down at his sister with a look of confusion, lips pursed at the older woman. “Do you know what time it is?” He asks, a brow raised at his sibling as though he hadn’t been awake before she had knocked.
“Of course I do, dipshit.” She replies, pushing passed her brother, tossing her bag onto the couch as she goes. “I had some shit to do last night...but I needed to come and see you so, you can get over yourself.” She says, kicking her shoes off before flopping into his bed.
Felix lets out a sigh as he closes the door, locking it with the usual screwdriver, rolling his eyes as he makes his way to the bed as well. “I suppose you aren’t going to tell me about any of it.” He says, climbing in next to his sister, secretly pleased to have the woman home again.
“Maybe after a few more hours of sleep.” Sarah yawns, curling up on her side, bunching the blankets around herself. She feels a little uneasy, knowing she could potentially put her family in danger, but couldn’t bring herself to regret her decision to come home.
They’re awakened by the shrill tone of Felix’s cellphone ringing through the air, startling Sarah into an upright position. “Fuckin’ hell, Fe, answer your phone.” She groans, running a hand through her mess of hair.
Felix grumbles lowly, answering the phone with a gruff hello, only to frown. “Alright, keep your panties on.” He huffed and handed the phone over to Sarah, before pulling the blanket over his head. “Who the hell is Beth?” He mumbles finally.
Sarah lets out a sigh, before answering sheepishly. “Hey.” She murmurs, ignoring the way Felix shifts on the bed, trying to listen in.
“Don’t you hey me, where the fuck are you? I told you to stay put, do you want to put yourself in danger?” Beth’s harsh voice sounds from the receiver, making Sarah flinch slightly.
“Jesus, I just came to see my brother, I had to get out of your guest room, like shit yesterday was overwhelming, cut me some slack, asshole.” Sarah replies her tone just as sharp, she had never taken well to being yelled at.
Beth sighed over the line and Sarah could almost picture her pinching the bridge of her nose the same way she did anytime she was angry. “Look, Sarah, I get it, you want to be home, you want to feel safe, but you’re not doing yourself any favors by getting your family involved..at least let me figure things out before you go and see your daughter, okay? If these guys find out about you or worse figure out that you can have children...it could be bad.”
They’re both quiet for a moment as Sarah thinks, finally the punk lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Alright, fine, but if we’re doing this I have to tell my brother, I can’t keep him in the shadows, why don’t we meet up somewhere safe and talk?”
There’s another awkward pause as Beth fights with her better judgement, before finally caving. “Fine, fine, meet me back at my place in an hour, we’ll figure some shit out, please be careful.”
Sarah can’t even answer before the line goes dead, leaving her to stare at her brother’s face which had popped out from under the blanket sometime during the exchange. “What was that about? What are you keeping me in the dark about?”
“You’ll see soon, come on get ready, we don’t have a lot of time.” Sarah says, her brain already on autopilot as she shuffles out of bed and heads to brush out her mess of hair.
Felix is left on a state of confusion until they arrive at the townhouse an hour later. “What are we doing here?” He asks, frowning at the well home.
“Be patient, yeah?” Sarah scoffs, knocking on the door. There’s a pause where you can hear a cupboard shut and feet padding across the wood floor, before the door swings open to a mirror image of Sarah. “Morning Detective.” The punk winks, ignoring the sounds of disbelief coming from her brother.
“Hey Trouble.” Beth replies as she ushers them in, shutting the door behind them firmly, locking the deadbolt before following them into the living room. “Please take your shoes off.” She sighs, looking tired and frustrated, staring the two down until they both kick their boots off. “Thank you.”
Felix is quiet long enough for Beth to pour them all a drink, before finally breaking the stubborn silence. “So, are either one of you going to explain why you two look alike, or am I just supposed to pretend this isn’t an issue?” He asks, brows raised at the two women.
“Sarah and I are clones, two of many actually.” Beth starts, looking to Sarah for a moment, before shrugging. “I’m supposed to be picking up some information from another like us, it’ll help explain some of this.”
Felix opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by his sister who looks far more excited than she should. “How many others are there?” She asks, hands clutching her drink.
Beth chuckles lowly, sipping at her drink as she mentally counts all of the faces like hers. “There are nine, including you, that we know about anyway, who knows how many are out there.” She shrugs, glancing at her watch.
“Got somewhere to be?” “Sarah asks, brows raised at her clone, a slight smirk on her face. Felix looked about half confused and half amazed at everything. “Or do you have time to answer some of Felix’s questions?”
“I need to get back to the station soon, I’ve got a hearing to go to, look Sarah you should stay here for a while, Felix is welcome to come and see you but I want to get a handle on things before you go and see Kira, okay?” Beth says, her voice soft.
“Wait, wait she’s actually a cop? I thought you were kidding when you called her detective..” Felix pipes in, brows furrowed at the woman.
Sarah lets out a chuckle, a smirk on her lips. “Yeah, she’s actually a cop, you know with as much as you get caught, I’m surprised you haven’t seen Beth before.” She teases, watching Beth check the time once more. “Alright, Beth, I’ll stay here and lay low for a bit, I’ll have Fe bring my stuff back over here.”
Beth nods before extending a hand to both of them. Felix looks at her like she might be contagious, grabbing her hand between two fingers and shaking it slightly. Sarah rolls her eyes, grabbing the offered hand firmly, giving it a nice shake before letting go. “Get to work, nerd.”
The cop pauses like she’s going to say something, but thinks better of it before turning on her heel and walking to the door. “Don’t break anything!” She calls over her shoulder, making Sarah grin as the door shuts.
“Well..that was a trip.” Felix mutters, running a hand through his hair, glancing at his sister who was now scavenging the fridge. “You seem completely unfazed, why?”
“I dunno, maybe my brain is in shock.” Sarah shrugs in reply, grabbing a container out of the fridge, grinning when she opens the lid. “Lasagna and it’s from two nights ago.” She taps the date written in a neat scrawl, humming to herself.
Felix rolls his eyes, watching his sister putter around the kitchen for a little while before shaking his head. “Alright, well I have things to see and people to do, so I’ll bring your stuff back later, alright?”
Sarah snorts, nodding while she pops the container into the microwave. “Yeah, yeah, please sex responsibly and all that jazz.” She chuckles, turning to smirk at her brother. “I don’t think you could afford catching another STI.”
“Oh shut up, like you haven’t had your fair share of ‘fun’ experiences.” Felix retorts, his cheeks stained pink. “Asshole.” He mutters, even as Sarah comes around the counter to wrap her arms around the man.
“I missed you.” She murmurs, squeezing him gently before letting go. “Now, stay out of trouble.”
Felix smiles down at Sarah, a slight smirk on his lips. “I miss you too, loser.”
She watches him leave, before letting her guard down, slumping against the counter as her food heats up. There had to be a way to see Kira, a way to see her and yet make sure she’s safe. “This is all a mess..”She mumbles as the microwave dings, even as she pulls the container out she knows she won’t be eating, she’s far too nervous now.
She’s asleep on the couch when Beth comes home, making the cop smile slightly as she walks through the door, kicking her shoes off in the foyer. “Sarah.” She says softly, setting the take out on the counter. “Sarah, wake up.”
Sarah grumbles as a cold hand is placed on the back of her neck, making her bunch the blankets up and around her head. “Leave me alone.” She huffs, a pout forming on her lips.
“I guess you don’t want sweet and sour chicken then.” Beth chuckles, moving away from the punk to dig through the bags on the counter. She can already tell Sarah is behind her before she hears her soft yawn. “Sit and I might share.”
The punk rolls her eyes but sits on the bar stool nonetheless, accepting the box of food with a tired smile. “Thanks.” She murmurs, flipping the lid to find noodles and chicken and a little tub of sauce. “How’d you know this was my favorite?”
“It’s mine too, I just assumed we might share the same tastes in food.” Beth grins, handing over a pair of chopsticks before digging into her own food. “Seems I was right.”
Sarah let out a grunt of approval as she stuffs her face, not realizing how hungry she was until there was food in her mouth. “I haven’t eaten all day.” She mutters off-handedly, trying to excuse the way she’s eating.
Beth’s brow furrows as she looks at the woman, taking a pause from eating as she speaks. “There’s food in the fridge, you could have helped yourself.” She offers, biting her lip as she observes the way Sarah slows to a stop. “Unless that’s not why you didn’t eat.”
Sarah takes a slow breath, sorting through the images in her head before snorting. “I just...I came back home to see my daughter and now I can’t even do that...” She lets out a soft sight, shoving the container away from herself.
“I’m sorry Sarah, I really wish I could speed things along, find a way to get you there without the danger...” Beth trails off, before slapping the table. “Actually, I might be able to have my friend help you out, just give me until tomorrow night, okay?”
Sarah tilts her head to the side, brows raised at the woman. “Okay, that’s not vague at all” She replies, confusion etched onto every feature.
“Just trust me.” Beth smiles warmly as she shrugs out of her jacket, revealing a red patch of skin with elegant script across her bicep.
“What’s that?” Sarah asks, leaning forward to read the words scrawled across the cop’s flesh. “Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness.” She reads aloud, smiling slightly.
“It’s one of my favorite quotes, I got it today...I figured after you saved me, well I must be a sign that I need to keep fighting so...” She pauses, glancing at the tattoo before smiling. “Thank you.”
Sarah can feel her cheeks burn, but can’t be bothered to care, there was just something in the way the cop smiled at her , that had Sarah feeling lighter than air. “Anybody would have done it, I mean...you’re a dipshit and all but someone else would have come along and rescued you.”
Beth chose not to argue, chose to keep her past to herself as she nodded at the punk, biting her lip a bit. “If you say so, Sarah.”