The buzz of her phone drew a muffled shriek out of Georgia, and with fumbling hands she reached for it.
It was from Natalia, her death twin.
We were, weren't we? Do you know what's happening?
An impossible relief at not being alone in this washed over her, and she allowed herself a breath.
«I have no clue. I’ll be over in ten»
After finishing her text she pulled on a green, ribbed tank-top and some high-waisted black jeans shorts, pulling her hair up into a bun and rushing out after slipping on some shoes. The only thing she grabbed was her keys, wallet and phone.
She was there in no time, knocking on Georgia’s door at precisely 10 minutes after she’d texted.
Still wide-eyed and bed-haired, Georgia rushed to get the door. "Nat!" she gasped, pulling her friend into a scared hug.
She hugged her friend tightly, biting her lip in nervousness. Once she pulled away she took a deep exhale. “Do you think it was something with the system? Maybe our numbers aren’t logged anymore?” She said, going straight to the problem that they were both facing
Paling significantly, Georgia backed up enough to let Natalia in. "Oh god," she breathed hoarsely. "Do you think we were taken out of the system?"
“I don’t know, but if we are that means that we’d have to move if we wanna live. We’d have to skip town, never see anyone again unless it’s quick and we trust them not to tell” she replied, immediately sitting on the sofa due to her still hyperventilating
Breathing in her own stable breaths, Georgia went to sit by Natalia, putting a comforting hand on her shoudler. "I really don't want to do that."
She paused. "I guess that means we don't call police."
"I guess not." she muttered, finally getting her breathing under control. "What the hell do we do?" she said, thinking out loud but open for answers too.
Georgia kept silent, shook her head. "It's not like we can look up an answer. Or appeal to some online forum. Has this ever even happened before?" she asked quietly.
"I haven't a clue. This hasn't happened often if it has before. I've heard about this phenomenon but I always was told it was a myth." she muttered, watching her hands as she tried to think of a solution or something to explain their situation.
"I… we have to stay hidden, or leave, or something. Dylan will be coming by for my dead body. What if he comes and finds us alive?"
(brother)
"Well, he didn't know my death date, so I could just say that I already came for you?" she asked, hoping that'd work.
Georgia nodded slowly, silently. "You're sure he doesn't know about yours? And what if he asks to see me? Will I have to play dead? "
"I can say they already came to take your body. That I couldn't stand to see it" she replied, getting up and beginning to pace. "I can make it look like I was crying." she explained, pushing her hair out of her face once more.
"Okay," Georgia breathed, watching her friend pace. "If that works for you…"
She stood, and without warning pulled Natalia into a tight, grateful hug.
"Of course it works for me" she laughed weakly, hugging her back gently, squeezing her as she tried to calm herself down. She was trying not to freak out, but it was hard.
"Okay."
And as if right on cue, footsteps sounded outside. Georgia backed away from Natalia, gaze shooting to the drawn curtains by the window. She silently gave Natalia a terrified stare, and took off upstairs.
Natalia began crying after wetting her eyes, mascara running down her cheeks and darkening her under eyes. She sat on the couch, messing with her hair and beginning to bawl, trying to imagine if Georgia was actually gone.
Dylan was at the steps when the crying started. He froze– who was already here?
She wiped tears away, her breath shaky. She was so damn scared. She covered her death date tattoo with her watch, fidgeting as she stood up, kneeling down next to the couch.
It took him a second to gather up the courage to knock. Did he really want to walk into the house where he knew his little sister waited, dead? But he knocked anyway.
Knock knock. He prayed he knew the person. He couldn't afford to breakdown in front of another stranger.
She walked over to the door, opening it to see Georgia's brother. "They took her already. She's gone" she muttered, taking in a shaky, deep breath.
"She's freaking gone" she muttered, beginning to sob.
Dylan stared at Natalia, studying her stained face. It was over. Like she'd said, Georgia was gone. He stumbled back, trembling, falling backwards into a heap. A scream ripped through him, wracking his body with violent shaking. "You're lying!" he shouted at Natalia, head down.
Natalia’s whole body shook at his reaction, his words driving more tears from her eyes. This was a time that she was grateful for her interest in acting. She placed herself down near him on the floor, sobbing, not bothering to wipe her tears. She spoke in a shattered voice, “I damn well wish I was” she cried back at him, her vision blurry from the tears
He sucked in a breath and made every effort to contain his tears. "Why didn't you wait for me?" His voice was now deadly calm. "She was my sister."
She went dead silent as well, her eyes throwing daggers into his own. “You think i had a choice? They took her from me!” She yelled back, her voice cracking often
"You should have told them—" He inhaled sharply, gathering his thoughts. "You should have told them they should wait for her family."
Georgia was watching. She at the upstairs window, looking down, tears streaming down her face.
“They were already loading her into a truck when I got here! I would’ve, I swear to god I would’ve, but they already took her” she cried back at him, burning hot tears streaking down her cheeks
"Okay," he spat. "Okay. I'm leaving. I hope you feel bad, Nat. I really do."
And he was off, shoulders hunched and shaking, fists clenched.
As soon as he left she nearly broke down. Her brother was an amazing guy and never deserved anything like this, but he’d want them to live rather than get hunted down by the government. “He’s gone” she called out to Georgia, her hands shaking