A Replaced Person

200110711 Cynthia黄禹萌

"Wake up, wake up, there is someone downstairs." I was sleeping, but my boyfriend had suddenly woke me up. I opened my eyes and saw his frightened eyes in the dark. I could see that he was very nervous as I said, "Hey, when did you come back?" This person, who was supposed to be on a business trip, had suddenly reappeared beside me. I glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed; it was half past one in the morning. We lived in a duplex loft apartment, the second floor was our bedroom, and the door was a combination lock. But now my boyfriend was telling me that someone downstairs could enter our bedroom at any time.

The bedroom door remained closed but not locked. I saw a ray of light coming from the gap under the door. Before going to bed, we would repeatedly check whether the lights downstairs had been forgotten to be turned off. "Did you turn it on when you came back?" Matthew shook his head in denial. And now, someone downstairs had turned on the light. A thief? No, a thief wouldn't turn on the lights so blatantly. Is it a burglar? Or a serial killer? Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

Da-da-da. The footsteps were heavy; it probably was be a man. We both heard clearly that the footsteps stopped abruptly in front of the door, but then, the sound disappeared, as if it had never appeared, but I knew he had stopped at the door.

My heart was beating fast and cold sweat was dripping from my forehead. At this moment, an unexpected sound came from the door. "Cam?" Hearing this voice, my mood was like riding a roller coaster, and my tension was relieved. This voice was very familiar to me. It was the voice of my best friend, James. He was a policeman. James, as my friend, knew me and my boyfriend. When we had had cats before, James often helped us feed the cats when we were on business trips, so he knew our passwords.

Although I didn’t know why James had chosen to come directly at this time without telling us, my heart had finally relaxed. When I was about to open the door, I heard James say in a very solemn tone, "Cam, is Matthew in the room?" Matthew was my boyfriend's name. I was about to answer when a hand suddenly reached out and covered my mouth. It was Matthew. At this time, his expression was very strange, and he shook his head at me.

"Cam, you must listen to what I say next. If Matthew comes back, you must not let him in! Immediately call the police!"

I was stunned and asked: "Why?"

James said solemnly: "Just now, there was a malicious murder in an old residential building in Western District, and the victim was a fifty-year-old man. After the murderer injured him in an abandoned residential building, he cruelly abused the victim. Later, the old man had managed to fight him, but he resolutely kicked the old man and finally killed him. I just checked the surveillance and found that the murderer is Matthew. Then he ran away, and I guessed he might have gone home." My whole body became cold, and I looked at Matthew in disbelief: this man who has always been very gentle. I couldn’t believe that Matthew would kill people viciously and torture a fifty-year-old to death so cruelly. However, there was no reason for James to lie to me. He is my best friend. We were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Before I met Matthew, when I was in trouble, James was the first to appear by my side.

"No, it's not me, the murderer is James! You know, Camilla, I've been on a business trip. I came back suddenly because the police had found me secretly and told me that James's true identity was a serial killer, and his next target was you, Camilla. The police want me to come back to protect you and work with them to catch James! But after I came back today, someone had knocked me out, and when I woke up, I found I was here! "

"Camilla, listen to me. Now you must believe me; the murderer is Matthew, and he didn't go on a business trip today but went to the suburbs. I have photos to prove it!" James's words made me suspicious of Matthew again, but only a little.

I said, "James, let's calm down. I have already called the police, and they will arrive soon." Matthew sat next to me and held my hand. Suddenly, I saw blue-purple pinch marks on his legs, so I quietly pulled my hand out of his and moved away from him.

I glanced at the clock; it was 3 minutes before the police would get here.

There was still a minute before the police would arrive. It stood to reason that the police would have at least been downstairs, but I didn't hear any sirens.

At this time, my mobile phone received a text message again, "Miss, we are at the door of 1111". I quickly responded, "I'm right here! Come in quickly. The password is 546427"

Matthew's expression became very strange. He looked at me with a very suspicious look, and his eyes were complicated and pitiful. There was no sound outside. I suddenly heard a clear electric buzz. "Miss, we've already come in, but where are you?" This text stabbed my eyes. I panic. I shouted downstairs, "I'm here! I'm here!" But the text message came back quickly. "Miss, I hope it's not a prank. We're already in your house, but no one is inside.” Was I really in 1111 now?

"James, where am I now?" I asked.

James was silent for a while, and then said, "Cam, we are in your home, 1111."

"You lie! You are both lying to me; this is not 1111 at all, right?" My fingernails stabbed into my palm, but I didn't feel any pain. Standing outside the door was my good friend of ten years and inside the door was my boyfriend who had been in love with me for a year. But now, I couldn't believe anyone. Each of them had a kept secret from me. The darkness was like a huge net, wrapping me so tightly that I couldn't breathe.

I called 110 directly. The policeman on the other end of the phone said impatiently, "Miss, please don't waste our time. We are at 1111 now, but we don't see you."

I held back my trembling and said with a hint of tears, "I don't know where I am, but I really need you all. Can you locate my phone?" The policeman on the other end of the phone was very professional and quickly calmed me down, saying that they were already locating my phone.

Suddenly, a message from the police made me seem to fall into the abyss. "Miss, you... are now on an unknown island 300 kilometers away from the city center."

How I wished it was a bizarre dream. The ornaments, carpets, wardrobes, and even the knickknack that I had accidentally knocked over yesterday were exactly the same as in 1111. So many similarities so that I would have no doubts. The people who reproduced 1111 had achieved a level of detail that was extremely terrifying. This man knew me very well. There were two people who know me so well, my childhood sweetheart James and my boyfriend Matthew.

“Don't worry, Miss. We have dispatched a rescue helicopter! It goes fast..." The police kept comforting me on the phone, but his words made my whole body even colder. He lowered his voice and said in a very solemn tone: "But Miss, you must listen carefully to what I say next. Now there is a serial murderer by your side, his name is Oliver, and we have been tracking him for five years. But in the past five years, he has had plastic surgery so to change his appearance and even replaced the identity of the victim by killing the victim. Miss, Oliver is very cruel but also a very smart person. Before he chooses a victim, he will conduct a strict screening. From the perspective of body shape, voice, and height, he will choose the person who is as close as possible to his criteria. We have contacted the General Administration, and we believe that Oliver's next target is you. "

My hand holding the phone trembled slightly. I bit the tip of my tongue and the pain kept me awake and calm. I'm on an island now, so how did James find this place outside? Unless he is Oliver! It was he who transferred me and Matthew here and then directed and acted as if in a play. Matthew held my cold hand, "Cam, what did the police say? "

I gasped and said in a low voice, "Matthew, James is Oliver; we have to escape from here."

James's voice became more and more impatient, "Camilla, this is really not 1111, I didn't tell you the truth at first because I was afraid that Matthew would hurt you! No, you shouldn't call him Matthew; he is Oliver! I know this man very well. He likes acting to the point of being morbid. And after I learned that he was going to transfer you to here, I snuck into the helicopter. Cam, you must believe me; this is my police card. " A certificate was slipped under the crack of the door. I picked it up and saw that it was indeed James's police card. But it was very likely that Oliver had killed James so long ago and then pretended to be James.

Matthew grabbed my shoulder, "Camilla, look at me, I will explain everything to you, but it's too late now; trust me." Suddenly he pushed me towards the window, "Run! "

The door suddenly opened. I saw James's gloomy and angry face. At this moment, the police's voice clearly reached my ears through the phone. "Miss, we already know who this murderer is disguised as, he is..." Suddenly, the call came to an abrupt end. My phone was dead. "Camilla, run!” Seeing that James was about to break into the door, Matthew yelled at me.

I jumped down and fell on the grass, shouting at Matthew, "Hurry up!" Matthew had already stepped over the window sill. But suddenly, a black shadow appeared behind him! "Be careful!" My pupils contracted violently. James suddenly pulled Matthew back. "I won't let you hurt Camilla! I have protected her for more than ten years!" The two scuffled violently. The moment I heard this sentence, I was stunned. But I didn't have time to think too much. I held my phone and ran forward at a loss. The police should be here soon, I have to find a place to hide.

Luckily, I found a narrow cave and hurried into it. The phone still had a black screen and I hated myself for having not had charged it before going to bed! My tears finally fell uncontrollably at this moment. I cried for a while, wiped my tears, and then calmed down and wanted to organize my thoughts. But suddenly my head hurt so badly that I couldn't think.

"Where did Camilla hide?"

I was about to speak and tell Matthew that I was here when I heard James's voice. "I don't know. This woman is more cunning than I thought." Another voice appeared. I was stunned in place as if I had been doused with a basin of ice water. What are they talking about? Why can't I understand a word? And at this moment, my phone unexpectedly lit up. This happens occasionally on my phone. I held my breath and shivered to open an unread text message. During this period, I had made mistakes several times because I was too nervous. Finally, I saw the text message from the police.

"Miss, we just got a piece of information that we neglected: Oliver didn't commit the crime alone; there were two murderers. They are a pair of brothers; the elder brother's name is Oliver, and the younger brother's name is Owen. And we also found that today on their way to your apartment, Oliver and Owen brutally killed an old man. This is a pair of vicious brothers. We are about to arrive on the island; please hide yourself well. "

My body trembled uncontrollably and tears fell on the screen. At that point, all the power of the mobile phone had finally exhausted and it fell back into black. Where were Matthew and James? Had they been killed? But strangely, when I tried to think about when Matthew and James being replaced, I found that I couldn't recall any events related to them at all. As if they never existed in my world before. “Ding-” Suddenly I fainted.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in the hospital. And several policemen were sitting in front of me asking about my situation. After that, I was told that I had been in a coma for five days after I was attacked by two people. I remember it all. I don't know Matthew and James at all. To be precise, I didn't know them until I found the man they tortured to death in that old building. They're serial killers, and I'm just a passerby with bad luck.

-THE END-