Dirt

Genre: Comedy

Plot: A Taxi Driver who is Hailed by His Doppelgänger

Words to use: cab, directions, mirror, backseat, stranger, look-alike, twin, Deja-vu, mystery, resemblance, dream, vision, destination, reflection

The smell of rain on asphalt filled the night air, a mix of oil and chemicals co-mingled. It washed the stench of humanity’s lower orders down the drains. No one of any quality was down on street level anymore. My cabancient, the yellow paint dulled through time. It wasn’t equipped with all the modern conveniences, like the cabs that took the wealthy to their fancy areas a half a mile up in the sky. I drove and waited for fares to come my way, hoping to stave off hunger for the day. Changing the dial of the radio, I hopped from one old station to another. I am so happy they still have this ancient technology to broadcast news and music through the old stations; it gives me something to listen to while I waited and drove through the dark, dank streets of the bustling metropolis. I remembered that I haven’t seen the sun in months. Those days were few and far between now after the last war.

My dream was to find a way up to the top. I watched the skies, the zipping cabs, the wealthy in their long coats and sparkling dresses that traversed the walkways. I changed a station, “now in the news, a new break through in DNA technology. You can clone yourself, with the tiniest amount of DNA….,” boring, I thought and changed it quickly to my usual jazz station. The sounds of brass and despair echoed within the cabin of my cab. Outside, the sound of water hitting the undercarriage as my tires found deep potholes, like the lakes for rodents. Driving through them seemed to have rearranged my insides. Out of the corner my eye, I saw the motion of a hand raised, beckoning me to stop, so I pulled over quickly, I had to eat. People never disappointed me. 

The stranger got into the backseat, their black jacket wet, the hood pulled tightly obscuring the face. Their reflection was barely visible, only a pale protruding nose that seemed familiar. I was fascinated with the mystery that this new human brought to me. 

“Where you headed?” I asked, trying to find the stranger in the dark recesses of the backseat. 

“Keep heading east,” the deep voice was barely a whisper. Strange, I thought, but this city teemed with strange people. 

“Can do,” I pulled away from the rotting curb and I heard the rustle of fabric, and I declared exasperation at the night we were experiencing. The stranger agreed with the assessment. It was quite a dreadful night in amongst all the other dreadful nights that existed down here in the squalor. “Do you have a particular destination, because I will need directions.”

“Just keep going, I will let you know when we are closer,” the voice began to feel impatient so I decided to just let them be, I didn’t need to worry. The farther we went, the more they owed me and the that meant more money I’d have to bring home. I’d drive them all night if I had to. 

“Pull over here,” a rustle of movement shook me from my mindless task. I knew where we were, a coincidence that we were outside my apartment building. Must be a coincidence, right? I couldn’t be crazy, I hadn’t started seeing the vision like the other ones. I stayed away from that trash. 

“Strange you wanting to stop here,” l turned in my seat, the strangers face was illuminated by the bright lights of the convenience store that was still opened. It was the same store I shopped for necessities all the time. I hoped to go get myself something good for tonight’s dinner later. Deja-vue struck me while looking at his profile, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. At least not from the side.

“Is it strange?” His voice hit my ear drums differently. It was me, but not the same echo inside my head. 

“Maybe not,” the stranger turned toward me. It was like looking at myself in the mirror. A twin…how could that be? I didn’t have a twin. I sat staring at the stranger. “Who are you?”

“What do you mean, who am I?” My look-alike mimicked me. The resemblance was uncanny now, in the fluorescent lights. “I am you.”

My stomach dropped and nausea spread through my arms and legs, my fingers tingled. What does this mean, my eyes widened. What was going on? What was the news program talking about earlier? Doppelgängers and DNA? Dazed and confused, I sat and watched the stranger pull out his hand from his pocket and blew the contents of his palm in my direction. The world turned colors, spinning like the old carnival rides from decades ago. The next thing I knew, I was laid in a pool of blood, but not my blood. A gun rested in my hand and the cops surrounded me reading me my rights. Oh sh……