Writing for Fun
October 2016
Doppelganger - Bob Wendelkin
‘Are you coming to the Pub for a drink’ asked his work mate.
‘Not to-night, I’ve got to go down to the woods tonight as I’m working on a story’ replied Tony.
‘What are you working on this week?’ asked his mate who was also a fellow reporter.
‘Nothing much it’s more of a time filler for the summer when stories are a bit slow. I heard that there is a Black Magic Coven who go down to the woods when the moon is full, and to night it’s at its fullest for this century. If they are going to cast any spells tonight’s the night’
‘You don’t believe in any of that stuff do you?’
‘Me, no I’m a 21st century man,’ was his reply, but his friend didn’t see that behind his back he had his fingers crossed. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow then perhaps we can go out for that drink.’
He left the newspaper office and made his way to his car. He still had a few hours to kill before he had to make his way to the woods, just before the witching hour. Perhaps he should have gone for a drink with his friend but sometimes he had just one drink too many.
About 11 o’clock he made his way to the woods he noticed that there were a few cars parked along the lane. Were they from members of the Coven or were they just lovers enjoying the privacy of the woods in the romance of the moonlight?
Tony had been told that the coven usually met in a small clearing about quarter of a mile into the woods. A few days before he had carried out a reconnaissance, using some information from one of the Coven, so he had an idea where they usually hold their meetings.
He looked at his watch it was getting close to the Witching Hour. About fifty yards from the clearing he settled into a bush to conceal his presence. At midnight he could hear some chanting and a fire started to burn and naked figures wearing masks started to dance around the fire. In the centre stood a hooded figure, who Tony suspected was the High Priest of the Coven. Every so often the fire would flare up as if some combustible liquid had been poured on to it.
The coven began to circle the fire a little faster and the chanting became more repetitive, faster and louder.
Tony wanted to see more of what they were doing so cautiously he moved closer to the group. With one of the flare ups he saw that they had made a low alter and on it they had tied something covered in a white sheet but he couldn’t quite see what it was. Was it an animal or was it a young naked girl. Being a reporter he hoped it was a young girl as it would make the National Papers.
As he moved closer he trod on a fallen branch, he couldn’t believe the noise it made as it snapped. From the reaction of the Coven it was clear that they had heard the branch snap. They stopped their circling and chanting and they all looked in his direction and pointed their fingers at him. Once again the fire flared up much brighter than before and the whole area was bathed in a flickering light.
Tony was just standing there unable to move. The High Priest raised his wand and pointed it at him and from its tip a lightning bolt shot out and before he could react Tony was stuck down.
The next thing he remembered as he came too was being held up by two naked members of the Coven in front of its High Priest.
‘You have violated our sacred service, you have come here to cause harm to us, you have come here to betray us to the general world,’ said the Hooded High Priest stabbing his wand into Tony’s chest.
‘I didn’t come here to harm you, only to report on what you were doing,’ was Tony’s reply.
‘I know who you are, you are a reporter and you would write a story that would destroy our secrets and hold us up to mockery, derision and disrespect.’
‘I would only ever tell the truth of what I had seen.’
The naked members of the Coven started to close in on him. If it was not so serious some of these naked bodies in the light of the fire were fat and quite funny. They began to chant words that he should be punished and made to regret that he ever ventured into their world. Tony became frightened at their words would they kill him?
The High Priest raised his hand and the Coven fell silent.
‘You will be punished in a manner that will cause you to suffer in a very mental way.’
With these words the High Priest removed his hood, as he did so the fire once again flared up giving light to the scene. There before Tony stood the High Priest without his hood his face fully illuminated by the fire and it was as if Tony was looking into a mirror. There stood before him was his face, it was as if he was looking at himself, he was looking at his doppelganger.
‘You will have to pay for your trespass into our affairs,’ said the High Priest as he once more raised his wand and pointed it at Tony. There was a flashing bright light and Tony felt a fierce blow to his chest and he remembers nothing more.
It must have been some hours later, as the sun was beginning to rise, that Tony found himself slumped in his car at the edge of the woods. What happened to him last night all seemed more than a little hazy to him. He stayed in his car for more than an hour gradually pulling himself together so that he was fit to drive back to his home.
When he got home he had a strange feeling that his home had been violated, some things had been moved and he was certain that some of his clothes had gone, and there was a strange odour. He thought he would investigate his home later.
However time pressed so he quickly showered and changed his clothes and set off for his office.
‘What are you doing back here?’ asked his Editor, ‘you were only here ten minutes ago.’
‘I’ve only just arrived, I’ve just driven from home,’ replied Tony.
‘I think you are losing it, you were here only a few minutes ago and I sent you off to cover that Market story but I did forget to ask you when will you let me have your thousand words on the Coven in the Woods?’ asked his Editor.
Tony was beginning to feel strange, had he really been in the office ten minutes before? was he going mental, was he losing his mind did he have the early onset of Alzheimer’s? No, he thought, I’m too young for that, it’s because I had a rough night’s sleep, but that doesn’t account for the Editor thinking I was here only ten minutes ago, perhaps he’s losing it.
Tony drove off to interview the Principle Market stall holder who was having all the bother with the local Council.
‘Hello Mr Jackson can you tell me what the problem is you are having with the Council?’ asked Tony.
‘I told you all about it ten minutes ago, are you going crazy or something? Just go away will you, I’m too busy to go through it all again, anyway you have a copy of all my correspondence with that lot,’ replied Mr Jackson with a degree of irritation in his voice.
Tony went on to his next story only to find that they believed that he had already interviewed them.
This problem persisted every time he got to his appointment they said he had just been there. He found that he couldn’t write his stories as the people wouldn’t talk to him again. This problem went on for more than a week, did that doppelganger of a High Priest have anything to do with his problems?
Tony was beginning to become very frightened as his doppelganger was controlling his life, just as the High Priest had threatened. Tony thought he would get himself a gun, and he knew just the right people who could help him, and they did at a price.
When Tony returned to his home there sitting in his favourite armchair was his Doppelganger just laughing and mocking him.
Without hesitating Tony pulled out the pistol and fired two shots at this mocking apparition only to find that the two shots he fired somehow struck him in his own chest. He collapsed to the ground and there standing over him was his doppelganger just laughing at him as Tony’s world began to close in on him and finally faded away into darkness with only the echo of that mocking laugh still ringing in his ears.