[WP] A non-linear time travel story that ends where it begins.

Oh no.

I was gasping for air as I recovered from a fight with what I can only explain as my doppelganger.

I had just killed a man. The man looks... no, he is me. There was no real way to tell, but I could feel it in my gut. I had just killed myself.

"I've got to hide the body." It was the only solution I could come up with in such short notice. How can I explain this? There was a dead man whom looks exactly like me. I would have to bury him out in the mountains. If I leave now, I should get there by nightfall.

Just as I was getting ready to lift the corpse to carry it away, out of the corner of my eye, I see my neighbor staring in shock and horror through my window.

It's over. My life. It's over. Everything that I have done. Everything good or bad. All for nothing. I was going to get put away forever.

Within the hour, there were police banging on my door. By the end of the week, I was put on a transport vehicle to some prison where I would spend the remaining days of my life.


I've learned to just accept things as it is. The best way to survive prison is to be as inconspicuous as possible. Stay out of trouble. I had no friends, no groups I hung out with.

Staying invisible seemed too easy. The other prisoners treated me as if I didn't exist. Even the warden would sometimes forget to put me into my cell before calling lights out.

A few weeks in, I was sitting by myself eating my lunch when Johnny came and sat across from me. Johnny was considered the crazy guy. His eyes were constantly bloodshot and he would always be muttering something under his breath. Everyone always kept their distance from him.

Here he was sitting in front of me. Staring. It was as if he were trying to bore holes through my head with how hard he was staring at me.

I speak up, "What's up?"

Without missing a beat he responds, "You're disappearing." He spoke fast and monotone. Almost robot-like.

"You've done something haven't you? You're disappearing. You have to go back. You're disappearing. You've made a mistake. You're disappearing."

As much as I'd rather not listen to this lunatic, somewhere in the back of my mind, I could tell that he was right. I was slowly disappearing.

Johnny pulled out a white pill from his pocket and put it on my plate.

"Eat it. Swallow it. You've got to go back. Stop yourself. It's the only way." He hasn't blinked a single time since he sat in front of me.

"What's in it?" I ask.

"Eat it. Swallow it. You've got to go back. Stop yourself. It's the only way." He repeats. He was like a broken record.

With some hesitation I take the pill and swallow it. What's the worse that could happen? I'm already in jail for the rest of my life.

I black out.


I can't believe my eyes. In front of me is myself. The other me is also surprised. Before I can react, he... I punch myself. I end up in a brawl with him. It must be a rule that's engraved into our brains to fight if you see your doppelganger.

He was on top of me with his hands clasped around my neck. I couldn't breath.

My vision fades with the last thing I see is my own face, distraught and full of horror.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread