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“Quachil Uttaus?” Victoria read aloud, double-checking the name with the files to make sure it was perfectly spelt. She calmly looked up, glancing at the nine-eyed entity levitating before her, who was watching and waiting to be let inside.
No… wait… ten eyes. The ten-eyed entity.
The real Quachil only had nine.
Putting the building on lockdown and picking up the phone, Victoria dialed the DDD as the creature behind the glass and metal sheet began screeching its head off and banding on the metal to be let inside. These Doppelgangers were so much more violent than the ones she usually dealt with and the banging was enough to let her know letting them in would be even worse than letting in the usual ones. Tying her long, red hair into a ponytail, Ms. Metamor sat under the desk and waited for it all to be over.
It was only recently she started having nightmares. She’d see dreams of herself hiding from humans or running from her neighbors who just wouldn’t leave her alone despite how much she cried out in hunger and fear, begging for them to just go; run. But even with all of those nightmares, none of them felt as real as this one.
She’d never be able to escape her job, even in her dreams. She found it surprising it took this long for her to realize it.
Her head and heart were pounding. She felt nauseous as the banging died down. Standing back up, she reached into her bag on the desk and grabbed a glass bottle from inside. Victoria opened the cap and took a sip of the red liquid inside.
Scarlet Milk, or, as humans called it, Deer Blood. It was enough to satiate her hunger, especially during the longer shifts.
As she put the bottle away, Victoria saw the metal door open and the DDD agent stepping up to the window. “Cleaning Protocol has been completed, Victoria,” He spoke to her. “You may continue your job.”
She sighed, closed her eyes, and took off her sunglasses. “Thank you, Mr. Koda,” She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“You know you can call me by my first name, right?” He asked her. “We’ve been friends for almost a year and a half at this point.” She could sense a smile from the other side of his mask.
“Yes, but we’re also coworkers,” She insisted, opening her eyes to look at him. “And I’m not human. They might be more lenient with you, but I’m not so sure they’d treat me the same.”
If they had more time in the day, the conversation would’ve continued. But they both had jobs to continue. They quickly traded goodbyes before Mr. Koda ran out the door and Victoria put on her glasses.
Mr. Koda had been the one to recommend to the DDD that they should let her live all that time ago. He taught her how to properly blend in with humans, how to not act suspicious, and taught her a few of his favorite card games. He even recommended she take the job of Door-Woman. If only she knew what would come when she inevitably took his advice.
During the moment of silence, she glanced at the List to see who was on it that night. There were seven people on the list and two of them hadn’t yet shown up; Quachil and Shub. All of them had some kind of resemblance to her neighbors. Though, she didn’t make the connection until Nyogtha showed up.
Like Gloria, Nyogtha was pleasantly caring, a perfectionist, and, even though she smelt of the corpses she buried at her job, to a Doppelganger like Victoria, it was like smelling freshly cooked salmon.
There was a potluck coming up in the apartment complex and, now that Victoria had caught what was a familiar scent, this nightmare had its pro; she now knew what to bring to the potluck.
Stop losing focus! She thought to herself, shaking the thought out of her head as Shub appeared at the window. You can’t keep getting side-tracked like this! Salmon isn’t going to help you if you let in a Doppelgänger! Now buckle down and do your job!
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After letting in the correct Shub, dealing with a violent Abducius Doppelganger caught red-handed, and giving the real Quachil inside, Victoria finally allowed herself the chance to stretch. Looks like her job for the night was over. She calmly took out her bottle of Scarlet Milk and took a sip. Now, all she had to do was wait for herself to wake-
“Do you want to play a game?” Nearly choking, she swallowed the gulp of Scarlet Milk in her mouth and looked through the window.
A clown stood on the other side of the glass. The purple hair it had on the sides of its head were drooping down and it stared at her with its beady, black eyes. She would’ve asked about the blood on its gloves if it weren’t for the fact that she’d seen much odder things by this point. This clown wasn’t on the List.
“I said, would you like to play a game?” It repeated, its creepy smile turning into an annoyed frown.
“Who are you?” Victoria spoke, her voice starting to drip with venom. The Abducius Doppelgänger encounter had really taken a toll on her patience and she wasn't in the mood to play a game. Besides, wasn’t she warned not to play any game with a clown? She couldn’t remember.
“My identity,” the Clown stated, “is not important. Now answer my question.”
It wasn’t going to leave her alone, was it? She sighed, gritting her teeth as she stared down the clown.
“Step out of the building,” she instructed with a grumble, standing up from her chair. “I’ll meet you outside for this game of yours in a minute.”
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She could see the surprise and defensiveness on the Clown’s expression and body language the moment she stepped outside. She didn’t blame it. After all, it’s a terrifying sight to see a lanky, threatening doppelgänger walk toward your direction. The Clown remained in a defensive stance as she loomed over it, locking eye contact with her blue, snake-like eyes.
Once she sat down on the dead grass to be the same height as it and changed her expression to look more annoyed than threatening, it didn’t take long for it to connect the dots.
“Very well then,” it stated, keeping its untrusting eyes locked onto her. She watched its hands reach into its pocket and bring out a stack of cards. It let her shuffle the deck.
“So, what are we playing?” She asked, breaking the silence. “Famous Five? Bridge? Poker?”
“I’ll explain,” It clarified, taking back the deck. “Pay attention because I’ll only explain the rules once.
“When playing with these cards, the winner will be the one who runs out of cards,” the Clown stated, passing her four cards face down from the deck as it spoke. “We’ll take turns and can only use one card per turn. Only a card greater than or equal to the one in play can be used, or any of the wild cards, Ace, Jack, King, and Queen. These cards can always be played.”
Just as she was about to ask, it answered before she could speak. “Any card beats a wild card.” She then listened as it continued. “If you can’t use a card, you must draw one from the deck. If you can play the new card, then use it. Otherwise, your turn ends until you have six cards.
“We will play best of three,” The Clown finished. Victoria recognized this game. She could never remember the name of it, but it's Mr. Koda’s favorite card game.
“Good luck,” she subtly cautioned. It probably wouldn't be the best to let her opponent know she had an advantage.
“Likewise,” it muttered. With that, the game began.
Victoria checked her cards; A two hearts card, a Queen of Clovers card, a plus-one card with the Clown’s face on it, and a ten hearts card. Smiling, she played the plus-one card angring her opponent. Grabbing another card from the deck, the Clown played a three hearts card. She played a ten hearts card and watched as the opponent played a Jack of Spades card, her favorite card.
Checking the two cards left in her hands, Victoria played her Queen of Cloves card. As the Clown played its King of Hearts card, she smiled and played her final card. The Clown frowned when the score changed from 0 – 0 to 1 – 0. The next round began.
This time, the Clown played one of its cards first; an Ace of Clovers. Victoria had a Queen of Clovers, a six clovers card, a Jack of Clovers, and an eight hearts card. She looked at her cards before placing her six clovers card. As her opponent played its six spades card, she used her eight hearts card. The Clown frowned as it was forced to grab a new card.
And then, it had to grab another. Victoria could only assume it didn’t have a card to match up with the deck. It then smiled and laughed wickedly as it placed a plus one card on the deck.
It quickly stopped laughing when it heard a low, predatory growl emanate from the Doppelgänger it was playing against. Calm down, Victoria had to remind herself. Calm down. It’s just a card game. A card game against a very annoying clown. It’s not the end of the world.
Besides, she was able to return the favor when she immediately placed the plus one card she’d just been given.
It played a two diamonds card as she played her Jack of Clovers. Only one card was in her hands now. As the Clown played its six diamonds card, she played her Queen of Clovers– her last card.
The score was 2 – 0.
Victoria Metamor was the winner.
The Clown frowned, frustrated with its loss. It picked up its cards and muttered in huff, “You may have won this time, but there will be another opportunity.” It then promptly stood up, ready to take its leave. “We will meet again, I’m sure of it. And you may not have the same luck next time.”
As it began to walk away, Victoria watched it and frowned, the wind blowing and making her hair dance with the air. Sure, this clown was annoying and came at a really inconvenient time, but she really enjoyed the game. She then felt a card hit her feet; a King of Diamonds. Picking it up, she inspected it for a second before looking at the Clown.
“Hey!” The Clown immediately turned around with an annoyed expression. It looked confused when it saw her flick something right at it, only to realize she’d given it back a card it almost left behind. It looked up at her as Victoria gave a more friendly smile and reverted back to her human form.
“Good game,” She smiled. “Can’t wait for the rematch.”
It couldn’t help but return the smile as it pocketed the card. “See you later,” it said with a smile as it turned around again and disappeared.
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Victoria opened her eyes, squinting as sunlight found its way through the curtains of her bedroom and to her eyes. The dream was over. Yet it still felt so real.
Now’s no time to think about that. She got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and grabbed her sunglasses. It was a new day and she didn’t want to be late for work.
As she stepped out of her property near the DDD facility, she walked to the apartment complex she worked at as the crisp fall air mixed with the fresh dew of the early morning. Her mind wandered back to her dream for just a moment.
Perhaps if she saw Donald Koda today, she could ask if he wanted to help her cook the salmon for the upcoming Potluck that coming weekend. If not, they could just play his favorite card game.
That game was starting to grow on her.