The Duplicate

Sirens blared in the background. Were they getting closer? Sheila couldn't tell for certain. However, she didn't stop running, She knew every step led her closer to freedom. She dared not stop now.

She knew they wouldn't risk sending dogs to track her. Nor would they come with guns blazing. Their techniques would be subtler. They would try to convince her there was no escape.

Her life had been a happy one in the beginning, despite the fact that she'd been abandoned as a baby. She was fostered early on into a large family that was full of love and laughter. She excelled in school, getting high grades in English, math and the arts. She loved to draw and paint and write poetry.

It wasn't until she turned 15 that things began to change. Her adopted parents pulled her aside one day and informed her she would no longer be part of their family. They tried to soften the blow by telling her she was receiving early entry into college and that her tuition and boarding was being covered by the state.

She remembered thinking that a bit odd, wondering why the state would want to spend that much money on an orphan. However, in the long run, she had no choice but to accept the fate. It was that or she would live in a state institution until she turned 18. Then she'd be forced out automatically with just $100 to her name.

Being separated from the only family she had known took a toll on Sheila. Once outgoing and friendly, she became introverted and suspicious. Perhaps that is why she easily noticed the strange things that started taking place around her.

She was certain she was being watched. She could feel eyes on her at almost every turn. Because of that, she became reclusive, staying inside her dorm room, in the library or class most of the time. She never went out with her friends. Of course, the truth was she didn't have many of those to begin with.

Attempts to contact her former siblings proved futile. The O'Briens had moved and left no forwarding address. Try as she might, Sheila could not locate them, even through the Internet. It was as if they had never existed.

That's when she decided to find her birth parents. She took on a part time job and hired a detective to help her. It didn't take him long to discover her mother had not died at birth as had Sheila had been told. She was alive and living in Dallas, Texas. The daughter of a wealthy businessman, Celia Stinton was a lawyer turned politician. The scuttlebutt was she was being groomed for the oval office within the next 10 years.

On her 18^th birthday, Sheila decided to take a chance and give her mother a call. The phone rang six times before anyone answered.

"Is this Ms. Stinton?" Sheila found herself speaking breathlessly.

"Yes, who is this?" The tone was curt and impatient.

"This is your daughter," Sheila finally managed to get out.

The line went quiet for several seconds before the woman spoke again. "Who is this and what do you want? I don't have a daughter."

"Yes, you do. I was born in San Antonio, Texas 18 years ago today. Please, all I want to know is why you abandoned me. Answer that and I will never bother you again, I promise."

"Look, I don't know who you are or what you want, but I never gave birth to a child. I'm barren!" With that the phone was slammed down with finality.

Confused and hurt, Sheila thought about abandoning any further effort to make contact with her mother. Something in the back of her head; however, wouldn't let it go. She eventually turned back to the detective for more help.

He confirmed that Celia Stinton was indeed barren and had been since a serious childhood illness. He went on to share that it appeared that Sheila's birth certificate had been faked although he didn't know how, by whom or why.

Only a few days passed between her birthday and a series of threatening phone calls telling Sheila to drop her investigation "or else." After that, she was more certain than ever that she was being followed. The detective confirmed that both her phone and dorm room were bugged.

Now scared beyond reason, Sheila was determined to find out what was going on. She researched the Net to find pictures of Celia Stinton. She was shocked to note that age 18, she and Celia could have been twins. There had to be some familial connection and she wanted to know what it was.

She decided to make a trip to Dallas for a face to face with Ms. Stinton who was lecturing at a local university. It wasn't difficult for Sheila, herself a student, to get into the audience. What was difficult; however, was the moment she and Celia Stinton came face to face in the hallway.

It was then that Sheila was 100 percent certain the woman wasn't her mother. The shocked look of recognition on the woman's face was genuine but it didn't read like that of a mother looking at her only child. Of that Sheila was certain.

Following the chance meeting, her bodyguards quickly ushered the heiress into her limo, leaving the lecture crowd puzzled and Sheila with more questions than answers. She only made it as far as the airport before she was stopped and hauled into custody by the local police. "You'll have to come with us, Ms. Schaffer," the policeman admonished.

"But what have I done?" The question escaped Sheila's lips even though she didn't expect an answer in return.

"Let's just say you should have kept your questions to yourself." With that the officer pushed the young blond into an unmarked squad car. He didn't take her to the police station; however. He took her to an underground bunker somewhere on the outskirts of Dallas.

She waited locked alone in a room for hours until an older gentleman finally entered. "You should have minded your own business," he said as he sat across from her scowling with anger and something else - - hate! "You upset my daughter very much and I don't really appreciate that."

"I don't understand," Sheila started. The man reached across the table and grabbed the petite girl by the throat.

"You don't need to understand. You have been given everything; a happy childhood and a free education. Why couldn't that be enough for you?"

"I just wanted to know my family," Sheila stammered, barely able to get the words out beneath his thick hand. "I wasn't trying to hurt anyone."

"You don't get it, do you?" The man let go of Sheila and gazed at her with utter contempt. "You don't have a family, you little idiot. You aren't even human. You're just a clone. You were bred to be there in case my daughter needed you. You live because I gave you life and you'll die when I say so."

Her fury gave Sheila momentary strength and she managed to hit the man over the head with her dinner tray, somehow escapting the guards and running into the night. Now here she was literally running for her life. If she were found, she was certain she would be imprisoned until her organs were finally needed. But that wasn't life and Sheila wasn't having any part of the plan.

Finally halting her run, gasping for breath, at the top of bridge overlooking the river, Sheila wondered. "If God didn't create me, do I even have a soul?" It was a thought she knew she could not bare. So as the siren sounds grew closer, she did the only thing she could do. She whispered a final prayer and dove into the black murky water.