61. Clone Hunt (Patreon)

Shoulders wet, hair plastered to his forehead, Rowan blinked away the rain. It's not raining that hard, but damn, it gets annoying.

He wiped the rain off his forehead and shivered, just once. The apron dragged at his shoulders, weighed down with rain. His eyes drifted to a dry nook between buildings, out of the persistent rain, but he shook his head and turned away. I can't. I need to find a clone.

Another corner. Clones everywhere, but none of him. Rowan frowned and pressed on. The streets wound on, maze-like, twisting and turning in all directions. He moved at random, choosing left and right arbitrarily. Are the clones hiding from me? This is insane. I should have found one by now.

Ahead of him, a door creaked open. A boy in a leather apron stepped out into the rain.

Unhesitating, Rowan charged. The clone moved numbly. Even at the final approach, it didn't react. His spade sliced across its neck, and it fell.

Standing over it, Rowan panted. He tightened his grip on the spade as adrenaline roared through him, heart rate spiking. I-- I killed myself.

No. It's not me. Just a clone, a clone. He wiped his hands on his apron, inexplicably nervous.

This game is wrong. It's fucked up. Making us kill clones, kill ourselves? Isn't it drilling into us that life is worthless, that we shouldn't hesitate to kill? Is this... It's this really how we want to choose our ruler? The most ruthless, the most numb to death--is that who would rule us?

He shook his head and wiped his hands again. It's fucked up. That's why we've got to bring it down.

The clone began to fade. Realizing he'd stood still too long, Rowan jolted back into motion. He checked his watch.

One hour remaining.

Plenty of time. I'll head back for now. No need to kill any more clones today.

Resuming his stiff clone-walk, Rowan wandered down the streets. Each looked the same as the last. One street had slightly larger windows. The next, a few extra. How the hell am I going to find the road we agreed to meet on? I can't even retrace my steps, after what happened with Lou.

Hesitating, Rowan looked around again. From all directions, tall stone buildings blocked him in. It was a dead end. And close to the fountain. Are there street signs, maybe? A map? Hopeful, he popped open the System.

No new tabs awaited him. Annoyed, Rowan was about to shut it when he noticed a number in the upper right corner. 257m. 258m. 259m.

Is that the distance to the party? He turned and jogged in the opposite direction. The number grew lower. Rowan sped up, and it fell faster. Down to 200, 150, 100, 50.

He turned the corner and found a clone of himself standing in the middle of the road. The numbers dropped as he approached. Standing before the clone, the number settled at 1.

A clone-finder. It's helpful, but not what I was looking for. Slightly disappointed, he hefted the spade. Can't hurt. I don't agree with this game, but that doesn't mean I can't play it. I'll get eliminated if I lose, after all... Whatever that means. Killed, probably.

The clone toppled. Rowan wiped his hands on his apron and put the spade away. No blood. I'm not really killing anyone. It's just a clone.

Curious, he checked the leaderboards. Still at the bottom, his team was up to five points. At random, he clicked through the other teams until he confirmed: the only ones he had faces for were the ones he'd met in person.

The ones I know I've met in person, at that. I still don't have confirmation on whether I'd see a face on the board if I unknowingly met a real person, but thought they were a clone.

Clicking the last group, Rowan furrowed his brows. Wait, where's Lou? She wasn't on any of the teams, and the girl I met definitely wasn't a clone. I should have her on my list. Just to be sure, he clicked through the board again, but Lou's picture refused to materialized. What on earth is up with her? If she isn't part of the Scenario, how is she here?

"Rowan!" a familiar voice called.

He turned and smiled. "Ikara!"

She jogged over and leaned against him, panting for air. "I thought I lost you. I don't know where the meetup point is, I'm so lost..."

"Me too," Rowan admitted.

She looked at him, despairing. "How are we going to find Kaidu?"

"I can find you," Kaidu replied from above. They glanced up as he jumped down the buildings, delicately leaping from windowsill to windowsill.

"Whoa, how'd you get up there?" Ikara asked.

Kaidu landed with a thump, water splashing. He flicked his ponytail over his shoulder and smirked. "Secrets."

Rowan rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon."

"The day's almost over. Do you have points?" Kaidu asked.

"Two!" Ikara replied.

"Same," said Rowan.

Kaidu nodded. "This way."

"Where're we going? I just came from that way," Ikara asked.

"End of the day's coming. Safe haven. The most dangerous phase of the Scenario."

"Huh?" Rowan asked.

Flicking his ponytail in response, Kaidu led the way down the road, rain pattering off his shoulders and sticking the fur trim on his coat to his neck.

Ikara and Rowan exchanged a glance. Rowan shrugged, Ikara shrugged back, and they followed after Kaidu.