Glitch

There he was. Snoring and lying shirtless inside the backseat of the car while we waited for the end of the world.

I wanted to reach out to his husky body, to feel his sweaty skin with my trembling fingers. Or just lay my head on his heaving belly to listen to him while I tuned out the rest of the world that had gone mad.

Everyone had multiple versions of ourselves running out on the streets. Some had gone insane while others decided to end their lives: some threw themselves in front of speeding cars while others just found sharp or blunt objects as they stabbed or pounded their confused brains.

We found a secluded area on Highway 85. It’s been 4 hours, and we haven’t seen any Glitches. Glitches were random people who looked like us from different worlds and tried to exist in our world. (Or that’s what we suspected.) Greg had killed two of his Glitches. I was impressed and terrified at how he’s taken them down with speed and efficiency with his machete and .45. I saw one of my Glitches, but thankfully she jumped off the bridge. Greg told me that she had impaled herself from the jagged rocks below. I looked at Greg’s face; his expression was dead and lifeless. For all I know he was a Glitch.

Greg felt me staring at him. He patted his chest as if he knew what I wanted. I laid my head on his chest, immediately feeling safe and secure. I moved his heart-shaped locket to the side, wondering whose loved one was inside. I could hear his heartbeat, lulling me to sleep. I embraced his belly, feeling its warmth. My head felt his beard as my cheeks felt his left nipple. I felt like a child, desiring to suck on it. But I did not; I just moved my head in a circular motion, feeling Greg’s thick chest on my right cheek.

The moment I closed my eyes, two Glitches appeared in front of the car. My Glitch was in the driver’s seat while Greg’s Glitch appeared in the front passenger seat. My Glitch held a small gun and aimed it at me. While Greg’s Glitch was completely confused, I briefly thought just how handsome he was.

My Glitch hit my head with the butt of her pistol when I quickly moved up. I landed on Greg’s belly, waking him up. Greg grabbed his gun from his right side, but his Glitch was fast enough to steal it away from him.

“Where the fuck are we, and who the fuck are you?” my doppelganger screamed as she nervously pointed his gun at me.

I didn’t reply. There’s no use explaining something like this.

“Why the fuck do you look like me?!” she yelled even louder.

I wiped the blood off my nose, and that’s when my Glitch shot me on my left shoulder.

“Motherfuck–” Greg jumped towards my Glitch, but his Glitch punched him on the face.

Greg fell to his back, and I couldn’t even feel my gunshot wound as all I could think about was Greg.

My Glitch looked at me, then at Greg. I believed that I saw her smile.

That’s when I found the opportunity to grab her gun. As we fought for it, she pulled the trigger, shooting Greg. My Greg. On the head.

My Glitch was apologetic and dropped her gun. I impulsively grabbed it and shot her in the left eye.

Greg’s Glitch didn’t move. Instead, he put both hands up and dropped the gun he took from my Greg.

“Push her out,” I ordered the remaining Glitch as I pointed to my Glitch. He quickly followed my instructions as my Glitch fell off the road like a bag of bricks.

I then looked at Greg. I put my head on his belly. It was unmoving and quiet. I cried, my tears mingling with his sweat and blood. I got out of the car and opened his side of the door. I pulled him out and dropped him on the side of the road.

I got back to the back of the car. I looked at Greg’s Glitch, still unmoving after pushing my clone out.

“Come here,” I said.

He quickly crawled to the back where my Greg used to be sleeping.

I looked at him. I couldn’t believe how he looked exactly like my Greg.

“Take off your shirt,” I ordered him.