The first thing she felt was the numb sensation that enveloped every limb. The second was the aching cold.

  Darkness hugged her tightly in its twig-like arms, each thorn pricked her skin. The two chanelling streams of noise sparred as they passed each other on the volume scale. The sound of the tires on the asphalt and her lover's worried voice buzzed into the background, and the radio station tuned to a rush of concerned rambles and arguing.

  Her eyes snapped open.

  Tori jolted upright in a panic immediately. The icy hands of decay quickly consumed her senses.

  "She's up!" Hunter called, staring at her in surprise.

  Tori's eyes darted around the scene, realising what had happened.

  "Hey, can you hear me?" Hunter spoke softly, carefully kneeling down and taking her stiff hands in his own. "You're alright."

  The corpse nodded reluctantly. She'd considered it possible that this body's injury would be enough distress to drag her back, but she hadn't expected to actually feel the shock of it as if it were fresh.

  Her gaze fell on the side of her leg. The large line of stitching that had fallen out had left a harsh laceration in her dry flesh exposed. There were only a few drops of blood, given that this body didn't have much to spare, but the pain lingered. If memory served her correctly, this was one of the first injuries this body had received after reanimation. She guessed that the stitching was simply too old to hold itself together anymore.

  "You're not speaking." Hunter faked a smile of anxiety.

  Tori didn't know what she was supposed to say. The pain was too distracting. Instead, she simply nodded.

  "Carly?!" Hunter called again.

  Carly rushed out to the backyard with a small medical kit, rambling apologies with every step.

  The girl knelt beside Hunter and inspected the open wound.

  "Be great if Zach were here." She grumbled as she began to clean the injury.

  Tori hissed the second the alcohol wipes made contact.

  "How bad does it hurt?" Hunter asked stupidly.

  Victoria snarled.

  Hunter gulped and looked away.

  "Noted."

  The corpse sighed and turned her focus to her uneven breathing. There were at least two small holes in her lungs that she could sense, and her throat was almost charred, but she clearly had no other option.

  Take me back.

  I don't wanna be here for this. I want to be back with Zach.

  A few more unbearable moments followed, before her prayers were answered.

  The abyss once again drew her in, grabbing her by the throat and clawing her down into the shadows from which it came. The numbness returned. As her perception once again swapped, this time she was met with a warmth. A comforting, fire-like aura that felt like home, and smelled of cinnamon.

  Her eyes opened, and she was back in the car.

  "What happened?" She murmured, disturbed at the sight she found herself in.

  We were still in the backseat, but I was upside down. My upper body was down in front of my seat, my feet were against the car ceiling, and she was half climbing over me.

  I smiled nervously.

  "Welcome back."

  "What the hell did I miss?" She scoffed. "I was only out a few seconds!"

  "You got weird." London laughed. "Decided that you wanted to bite Zach."

  "What?!"

  "Not in an aggressive way," I assured her, sitting back upright with a huff, "It was more like how Tori decides she absolutely has to go after the neighbour's cat every few days."

  "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Autumn held her hands to her chest, unsure what to do. "I didn't mean to be Tori again."

  "Is she alright?" I asked.

  Autumn nodded.

  "In a lot of pain, but she'll be fine once Carly stitches her back up."

  I hissed and averted my gaze.

  Autumn furrowed her brow.

  "She wont hurt Carly, Zach."

  "Mm..." I tilted my head. "Every time I stitched her up, I got claws in my face."

  "That was because you'd pin me down with your super-strength and I'd panic."

  "I'm not convinced."

  "Look, if she tries to hurt anyone, I'll know."

  I sighed in resignation and nodded.

  "We're almost there, anyway," London offered, "Only like two streets away."

  Autumn took a deep breath.

  This was it. She was about to be face-to-face with her own dead body.

  She was honestly fearing for her lives.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Diego had never been the type to enjoy the thought of hurting anyone.

  Even after decades of being a vampire, he'd never found the act of feeding fulfilling. It was a chore, a subscription, an addiction to a drug he never wanted to take. His days of stalking the shadows of the city and feeding on the deserving had passed with his youth, and although he knew he was still in his thirties physically, he felt as if he'd been alive for eons.

  Working as the principal of a high school was a real test sometimes. But it wasn't because of the constant stench of human blood – he rarely struggled with self control. What drew out his days was something else. A stray dog he'd picked off the streets.

  "Diego?" Apple called tentatively as she creaked open the door. "You home?"

  "What are you doing here?" He was at the door in an instant, the scowl on his face dark. "You know you have to message first."

  "It was unlocked." Apple defended quietly. "I need to talk with you."

  Diego gritted his teeth and turned back to check the kitchen. His daughter hadn't seemed to notice the intruder, too occupied with the dinner she was cooking herself. He sighed.

  "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

  "It's not something I can talk about at work." Apple replied firmly.

  Diego rolled his eyes and let her inside despite himself.

  Apple beamed and hopped through the doorway, her honey-like curls bouncing in her ponytail with each step.

  "Avery!" She chimed.

  The woman froze halfway through cutting a carrot. She looked over to her visitor and grinned wide.

  "Apple!"

  The two hugged tightly, making Diego shake his head.

  "How have you been?" Avery smiled. "How's work going?"

  "Eh, here and there." Apple shrugged. "What are you making? It looks incredible."

  Before his daughter could reply, Diego grabbed Apple by the arm and dragged her into his office.

  "Come on." Diego growled, locking the door.

  Apple scoffed and crossed her arms.

  "That was a little rude!"

  "You reek." Diego snarled, grabbing her by the collar. "What is that? Vodka and cigarettes?"

  "I-I'm sober!" Apple yelped. "I swear!"

  "You're a terrible liar, Apple. You always have been."

  He let go of her shirt and marched over to his desk. Apple stood frozen for several moments, her heart racing.

  "You promised me you'd stay away from that shit if I hired you." Diego began to pace. "I shouldn't have trusted you. I was clearly naive."

  "I've been trying so hard!" Apple pleaded. "I've been feeding on animals like you told me to for months. It was starting to drive me insane. I just wanted one night off–"

  "You're a vice principal, for god's sake!"

  Apple gulped.

  "You don't get nights off! You don't get the luxury of being careless and going to parties to get high from the blood of intoxicated strangers!" Diego barked. "I fought for you to get clean for four years, and you not only threw it all away for a little nostalgia, but you're defending it."

  The woman leaned against the wall behind her, her shoulders tensing like a cornered sheep.

  Diego sighed.

  "Avery heard me." He muttered, his ears straining to pick up his daughter's shift in heart rate. "Damn it."

  Apple's eyes widened.

  "You said this room was sound proofed–"

  "Yeah, unless you make me raise my damn voice!"

  Silence fell once again.

  "I'm sorry." Apple whispered.

  "I'll believe it when I see it."

  "Dad?" Avery knocked at the door.

  Diego's demeanour instantly softened and he opened it gently.

  "What's wrong, sweetie?"

  "Is it okay if I go for a walk for a bit?" Avery frowned.

  Diego felt his heart shatter with guilt. He gulped his feelings down and nodded.

  "I'm sorry."

  "I'm used to it." Avery shut the door and collected her things.

  He knew she'd meant for those words to be comforting, but all it did was reinforce his shame.

  Apple took the fleeting moment of silence to sit herself down on a chair and prepare her excuses and apologies in her head. Diversion opportunities were also welcomed, but she was struggling to find any good enough.

  "What did you come here to talk about?" Diego's tone turned quiet and weak as he leaned against the door.

  Apple blinked up at him.

  "Oh. Um," She fiddled with a loose thread on her jeans, "It's about Dahlia."

  Diego raised a brow.

  "There was a recent sighting in Alaska, but the details are all fuzzy." She explained. "Apparently she's found a new... trick."

  "Meaning?"

  "Well, as we know, when Dahlia transfers, her new host's powers surge for the first few days. That was enough of a problem in itself, but... word is, she's realised that each fresh body refreshes her compulsion."

  "You're saying she gets it back? How is that possible?"

  "I can only assume it's because it's a psychological ability?" Apple offered. "It's not something in our DNA as much as things like agility or strength. I guess, if the brain think's it's freshly turned again, it'll start it back up."

  Diego paled.

  The implications were daunting. Dahlia had been the one that got away for years, and now it seemed like he'd never be able to track her down. His feet sent him pacing again.

  "So when a body-hopper transfers, their non-physical abilities can be reactivated? That means that if she wanted to, Dahlia could make a habit of swapping hosts every time the abilities fade again." He fought the urge to tear his hair out. "She could maintain permanent compulsion capabilities, completely covering her tracks."

  "That's why I wanted to tell you in person," Apple mumbled, "I don't know if that information is 100% correct, it might be totally false. But if it is true..."

  Diego stiffened.

  "If it's true, then that means Victoria Evans could do the same thing."

  From the moment she stepped out of the car, Autumn was bombarded with noise.

  Like a microphone had been pointed to its own speaker, the closer she got to her other half, the more the two perspectives overlapped. She could hear what Hunter and Carly were saying all the way in the backyard almost as loudly as she could hear what London was saying right beside her. Her other senses soon followed the trend of melting together. Waves of Autumn's heat and Tori's cold hit her almost rhythmically with every breath. Touch was the next to blend, and her knees almost felt damp from the grass the other version of her was sitting on.

  "Wait," She grabbed my arm.

  I halted my steps and gave her my full attention, worry spiking.

  "Take your time. There's no rush."

  "It's just really overwhelming. I think I need a minute."

  "You sure you're gonna be okay? You can barely stand."

  "I have to do this eventually."

  "If you're not up for this–"

  "There won't be a better time." Autumn insisted. "I'll just have to manage."

  I nodded in respect.

  London led us around the side gate and into the yard, where Carly, Hunter, Malachi, and Tori all sat under the oak tree. I'd made sure to warn the others about the plan before we arrived, but they weren't all confident in it. Malachi especially had argued in the group chat, insisting that this was all too sudden, and Autumn needed more time and exposure back in her old life first. While deep down I actually agreed, I knew how stubborn the girl was, even if she was on the verge of a panic attack.

  The closer we approached, the faster Autumn's heart raced, and the shallower her breaths became. Ever since meeting this version of her, I'd had my suspicions about her anxious personality. It wasn't like her. The Tori I knew had incredible self control and self regulation, and only ever lost the fight to nerves if there was truly a disaster before her eyes. But this girl? Every single emotion she'd slapped on and spat out had been performative. When she had been angry and bitter to me at the start, it was really just her trying to protect the both of us. While sometimes she did an incredible job at masking her thoughts, she couldn't hide her heartbeat from me, nor could she hide the look in her eyes. The only genuine feeling I'd sensed in her at all was fear.

  I desperately hoped it was the effects of the trauma she endured, and not anything supernatural.

  But now I was having second thoughts.

  The others had never met Autumn, and it was easy to read their different opinions on the situation. Carly was concerned, like usual, and tightened her grip on Tori's cold hand. Hunter was cautious, expecting something bad to happen. Malachi was hurt, just hoping he'd be able to sleep at night after this.

  Autumn stopped in place a few metres from everyone, truly at her limit. Tears were forming in her eyes and she was struggling not to cry from the worsening overstimulation, let alone the pure mind-fuck that was having to meet your own corpse. I let her cling tighter to my arm and ignored the sting of her claws digging in.

  London sat down on the other side of Tori, tapping her shoulder.

  "Tori?" She spoke softly.

  The corpse looked up from the stick she'd been fully engrossed in.

  London tried to smile. She placed a hand on the zombie's cheek and turned her head to get her to look my way.

  And the moment the two Victorias locked eyes, they both shrieked in agony.