BXBX NOVEL Chapter 157 Perfect Replica
Though Harker had told them that the curse was still present and his hunger for flesh was strong as ever, it didn't feel right for anyone to make him sleep in the confinement room again. And so they all headed for a hotel with him wearing a scented face mask to hopefully drown out the human scent.
It didn't do much, but it's better than nothing. Harker already knew himself well enough to know that unless someone gets really, REALLY close, he won't just pounce on people like he did before.
He really felt sorry for that bodyguard who lost his arm. But the fella happened to be a very chipper one, as all he said was:
"Haha, it's no problem! I still have another one, and I happened to be left-handed so at least I didn't lose my dominant hand!"
Roland assured him as well. "We will have a prosthetic arm be done for him in just a few days. Don't worry about it."
The bodyguards of Faust residence were truly a resilient lot. After experiencing a lot of things that most humans would never experience in their lifetime— namely fighting with literal monsters— they still manage to brush it off and treat it like any other task assigned to them.
Roland booked shared rooms for the four of them. It was basically four bedrooms connecting to one single living room and kitchen. This was one of the most expensive suites, and they had the whole floor to themselves for safety reasons.
Since Roland was the only one that may be victimized by the wendigo curse, he had to take the room next to the elevator in case of emergency. It was also the room farthest to Harker's, since next to his room was Mina's, then Harker's, then Joan's.
"But I want Harker and I to share a room together." Mina said.
Harker scratched the back of his head. "After what happened, I didn't really wanna risk anything even if I don't feel any hunger towards you. But at least we share the same bathroom since we had the rooms in the middle, right?"
This convinced her, and the implication of him stating that fact was clear. Mina's face was blushing, and she nodded. "Okay, then…."
Joan looked away and carried her luggage inside her room. "I'll go hit the hay now. Good night, folks."
Roland and Harker both bid her good night, while Mina looked like she'd much rather watch the room's fancy spiral decor than to say anything to the college professor.
Roland nudged her shoulder. "Should could be one of your professors once you get into college, you know. Be nice."
Mina just ignored this and just talked to Harker about how beautiful the ornamental plants that had curly leaves were. Roland sighed and also went to unpack his things.
Once they were truly alone, Mina took Harker's hand.
"You and I will have a lot to discuss tonight. I need you to meet me in my room as soon as you settle in." She said seriously.
This brought a twinge of guilt in Harker's heart. "Alright then."
That guilt was because during their ride to the hotel, Joan slipped in a small piece of paper in his pocket that has the words:
[We need to talk. My room. Tonight.]
Both women needed him tonight, and he didn't want to let either of them down.
As nighttime came, Harker was brushing his teeth in his green pajamas while thinking about what he must do. The solution was simple, but at the same time, it felt a little wrong. He doesn't know why that is.
Maybe it was because he didn't know the cloning ability that well yet, and unprecedented accidents might happen with it. Or maybe….
It was because it felt like he was two-timing both girls.
Both of them must be expecting that they will be the one Harker chooses. The only one. And Harker couldn't, since his heart was being tugged on both sides.
"Ugh…." He rubbed his face after mulling it over. "Fine. Let's just do this."
He focused on controlling his own cells. Transforming into another creature and having their traits had always been easy and almost immediate. But it's different when creating a literal clone.
It took him some time, because he had to visualize the structure of it down to the molecular level. He was turning black squiggly organic matter into a human being from scratch.
This required deep knowledge of himself, and though Harker did improve in that regard, he could tell that he was still not an expert in that. And it wasn't the physical aspect of the clone that was hard to think about. He knows his own body pretty well.
No, it was the mind that was difficult to develop.
But after Harker opened his eyes and looked at this new creature, he felt he didn't do that badly, considering. It looked just like him. The creature's eyes were closed, and it was naked.
Now for the moment of truth.
"Do you know what you have to do?" He asked.
The other Harker opened its eyes slowly. Then…..
A smile came into his lips.
"Of course. I'm here to help you, buddy."
Harker sighed in relief. It also spoke and acted like him. That's good, but…..
It was natural for him to feel a little spooked too due to the uncanny valley. He felt that it would have been better if he could detect any small differences that no else but him could notice.
But this other him was a perfect replica, and he almost did TOO well in creating him. And that's exactly what makes the experience unsettling.
Still, he took the pair of similar pajamas that he had prepared and handed it to Harker 2.0.
"Here. You take the left room, I take the right." Harker said. "Then once you're done talking to her, you go back here and meet me."
"Sure thing, boss." The clone wore the clothes, and went on his way.
Harker let him go first. He could actually see what Harker 2.0 saw, which was also a good thing. He had already expected that since Legion was aware of what Blank and Ahanu were up to.
It was disorienting to have two consciousness at once, though. It was like trying to play a video game character while also doing tasks in real life. Except it's 10x worse as he could not just see what he sees, he could also smell what he smells, feel what he feels. Everything that Harker 2.0 does was shared with him.
Harker tried to get himself to focus more on what's in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.
It's time that he had this talk with her.