It was the technology that started it. Dolly was the first step. Once they cloned her then it was only a matter of time before they moved up the food chain. After the sheep it was a cow, then a dog, then a monkey and finally they perfected the process for humans. It was originally only the rich who could afford it and they went crazy over it, it was the new accessory. If there was just one of you, then you were a no-one. The problem started when it became available to all.
The process started off slow and expensive, but UriTech found a way to simplify. CloneU booths turned up on every corner, it was like Starbucks, but instead of a vanilla chai tea latte you got a perfect replica of yourself. This was technology at its greatest – you could now go to the beach while your clone went to that meeting, or take two girls out at once, the possibilities seemed endless. But then they turned. Dolly died before they noticed an effect, the same with the cow and the dog, but the monkey survived long enough for them to notice. Janice was his handler when he began exhibiting signs of odd behaviour and though she reported her observations, they were ignored. He began flinging his faeces (more than usual), would sit perfectly still for hours and then began attacking the others apes. At first it seemed like he was just agitated, in a bad mood, but then the attacks became uncontrollable. She had raised this monkey from an infant, but it no longer responded to her calls – it simply wanted to kill. It was only when it ripped the jaw off another ape that the programme agreed to terminate the clone.
Janice knew that something was wrong. She had worked with vicious animals before, but this was different. Her chimp had ignored all other urges and concentrated solely on the desire to kill. She had returned home that night, picked up her son Eddie, slipped their clones an overdose and disappeared. It had been on the news the next day; the first cloned monkey was terminated and then his trainer went missing with her son, while their clones were murdered. There was going to be an enquiry, but in the days that followed there was much bigger news.
The capitals were hit first, with political figures the first victims. The senate was a blood bath, the House of Commons a massacre. It was portrayed as a series of terrorist attacks, but Janice knew better. Soon it moved from the parliaments to the exclusive residences; Beverly Hills, Kensington, Marbella, the Hamptons were all melting pots of blood and gore. It wasn’t until Oprah’s clone ripped out Oprah’s throat live on her show that people sat up and paid attention. But by then it was too late. It stopped being on television, now the rampages were in your town, on your street, even in your living room. Janice ran.
Freddie was asleep by the fire. Janice couldn’t stop staring at him, he was so perfect. She wondered why it had ever seemed like a good idea to copy him, or indeed herself. Everything about him was amazing, from his laugh to his tears – one was enough. It had been like a fever though, everyone was doing it, and now they were paying the price for the ‘advances’ that had been made. She had been lucky that she realised early, it had allowed her to equip herself. It had been odd to kill herself, to see what looked like her body take its last breath, and it had almost killed her for real when she had given Eddie’s clone its overdose. To see his sweet little body lie still had made her blood run cold, but it wasn’t really him. It had to be done to keep the real Eddie alive. She was lucky too that they had found others like them, people who had seen the signs and prepared for the event.
Barbara and Malcolm had heard her screams as she was chased past their condo and their quick thinking had managed to keep her and Eddie alive. They had fortified the place pretty well, with the windows and doors boarded up and a patrol on the roof at all times. It was just the six of them now; her, Eddie, Barbara, Malcolm, Lewis and Jenny. The latter two were strangers that Barb had rescued a few days before Janice. Lewis and Jenny had been with a couple when they were spotted, but the clones got a hold of the other guy before he could reach the house and tore him apart. His girlfriend had committed suicide a day before Janice and Eddie arrived.
Janice liked Barbara and Malcolm, and Lewis was OK, but Jenny was very nervous at all times. Janice understood that the situation they were in made it difficult to ever relax, but Jenny was flat out paranoid. Her eyes would flit from person to person as they sat around the dinner table, as if the enemy was all around her as opposed to safely contained outdoors. Janice looked at her now and she was sat perfectly still in the corner of the room. Something about that girl just gave her the creeps. Barb and Malcolm were cuddled up together, asleep on the sofa. They were about 60 or 70, but in good physical health and they were very kind. Barb was very mumsy, with her aprons and her perm and she tried her best to make appetizing meals with the canned goods they had collected. Malcolm was a gentle man too and very good with Eddie. He had been a real help in distracting him from the situation they were in, showing him model airplanes and trains. Janice had a sneaking suspicion that Malcolm had enjoyed playing with them almost as much as Eddie had. Lewis and Jenny were younger, probably mid 20s. Lewis was always wearing one of those hooded sweatshirts, though Barbara had tried numerous times to get him to switch to one of Malcolm’s shirts. She joked that it wasn’t becoming of a man to dress like that for dinner.
Janice’s eye was suddenly drawn to the corner was Jenny had been sitting. She had turned around now and had fixed Janice with a stare, a stare so cold that it sent chills down Janice’s spine. She recognised it immediately and by the time Jenny was upon her, she had managed to grab a poker from the stand by the fireplace. Jenny dived at her throat, her teeth bared, but Janice connected the poker square with her jaw. Jenny went flying backwards and the commotion woke the others. Lewis sprang into action and, seeing Jenny on the floor, ran to her side. Janice screamed for him to stop, but Jenny jumped up and sank her teeth deep into his neck. He screamed in agony as Jenny ripped a chunk of his flesh and spat it onto the floor. Janice threw the poker to Malcolm and grabbed the coal shovel from the same stand. The two of them ran for Jenny and knocked her to the floor. Malcolm raised the poker to strike a final blow, but slipped in the mass of blood forming around the rapidly dying Lewis. The minute he hit the floor Jenny was upon him and began ripping at his clothes, but Janice smacked her again and sent her hurtling away. Jenny landed on all fours and turned to face them again, ready for another attempt, but Barbara jumped on her back before she could pounce. The little old lady was able to knock Jenny off balance, but not for long and the clone rounded on her, tearing into her stomach and chest. Malcolm howled as he saw his wife ripped to shreds and pummelled the poker into the back of Jenny’s skull. It was too late though and after the racket of the attack, the silence in the room was deafening. It was broken as Malcolm began to scream and weep over the remains of his wife.
Hours passed and still Janice sat in shock. She had assumed Jenny was the real version, but of course there was no way to check. Her paranoia made sense now. She knew her time was limited and she knew what they would do to her if they had found out. Her enemies had indeed been in the very room with her. Malcolm was numb. He covered Barbara in a bed sheet and moved Lewis and Jenny’s bodies over to the far wall. It was just the three of them now, and Janice said a silent prayer that she and Eddie had survived. She had held him for at least an hour after the attack but now he had moved to be alone. She looked over at him in the corner, where he was sat perfectly still...
