Everyone was on edge. There currently two Byrons. One was an imposter, the other was real. The initial assumption was that the Byron that was outside wasn't real, but Ellis looked through the peephole and it was Byron. He had all of his equipment, vest and all. He was covered in black ichor and was missing his tactical knife. The other Byron was in better condition and had all of his equipment. They went through the usual bit of telling each other only information that Byron would know, but each Byron knew enough to confirm their identity. Lisa asked for ID from both, but Byron left his wallet in his room.
"Okay," Ellis said, still holding the door, "We need to figure this out. The Byron outside has a key and the Byron inside checks out." He studied the one inside and something felt off. He couldn't put his finger on it. "Hey Byron," he said to the one inside, "How did you escape the creature from the Station?" The Bryon inside answered first, "I got lucky. I ran into another one and the two slammed into each other. I ran while they fought." The other Byron answered next, "Those things have an excellent sense of smell. I was lucky to find a dead one and hide inside it. Apparently they'll ignore the corpses of their brethren."
"It explains why you're covered in shit," Ellis responded, "Anyone else got any bright ideas?"
"We could let them both fight to the death, keep the winner," Lisa said. "No, no no no no," Gabby responded, "I am not going to settle for a fake! Ellis will agree with me." Ellis called back, "And I'll do it now. We don't know what the fake Byron is capable of. We don't even know if they are the same person or not. Just try and come up with something that will help us figure this out and don't do anything rash."
Lisa took a step towards the Indoor Byron. "Hey Byron," she said, "You're left-handed right?" Indoor Byron nodded, "Yes I am, why?"
"Just checking," Lisa said and walked away. Ellis turned back to the door. He then heard something swing through the air and something heavy hit the floor. He turned around sharply to see the Indoor Byron dead on the floor, head separated from his shoulders. "What the fuck Lisa!" he shouted, "I said not to do anything rash!" Lisa cleaned off her saber and put it back into the scabbard, "You also said to come up with something and I did. Byron is left-handed, this one is not."
Ellis took another look and realized she was right. He released the door and opened it for the real Byron. The Byron that was outside had his entire kit was fitted for a someone who was left-handed. When he looked back at his encounter with the other Byron, he remembered that he was using his right hand. When he checked the body, he found the copy's kit was the exact same as the real Byron. But, it was set up for someone who was right handed. Byron knelt down and picked up the severed head. "This is too weird," he said, "What do you think this thing is?"
"Could be a Doppelganger," Ellis said, "He had all of your memories and looked exactly like you."
"Not all," Lisa said, "He said he had kids, not 'the kids.' Plus he did not know he was suppose to have a key and knock a certain way. Safe to say the memories are not complete."
"He certainly knew enough to fool everyone," Byron responded and the head began to dissolve in his hand, "Oh fuck. That's gross." The body, both flesh and clothing, turned into black goo. Ellis turned his nose away at the smell, "It's like the ichor that came out of those monsters. We better clean this up."
Over the course of the remaining day, the house came together to clean up the remains of the Doppelganger and compare notes from the exploration. Gabby spent time with Mary, keeping the little one occupied while everyone got to work. "How are you doing?" Byron asked while cleaning up the Doppelganger's remains, "You got hit pretty hard back there."
"I did," Ellis said, "The damn thing broke a few of my ribs from the impact alone. Shoulder got dislocated when I hit the ground." Byron looked him up and down, "You look okay, a little bit of bruising, but that's about it." Ellis sighed, "Something weird happened. I healed from it all. I'm pretty sure I also got a concussion, but it quickly turned into a headache. When my shoulder healed, it popped right back into its socket. I only experienced a stiffness in the muscles."
"Could be something is looking out for us. I didn't see anyone else on the streets though. Seems like everyone is trying to stay indoors and away from the monsters. Did you feel anything before you were healed?"
"A warmth before my my shoulder and ribs were fixed and kind coolness before my head cleared. Could've been the Raven."
"What raven?" Byron asked. Ellis explained, "We came across a raven with blue stripes. It showed up right before I was healed."
"Got any information in that head of yours to explain why?"
"No, not without more information," Ellis said and collected the used paper towels in a rash back. He took it to the back yard to be buried. It was early evening and the sun was beginning towards the horizon. He heard a Raven call out to him. He turned and found the Raven with blue stripes, sitting on the roof. "What do you want," he called up to it. It cawed once and flew down to perch on the fence. "You could've warned me about the doppelganger," Ellis told it. It cawed.
"I'm sorry I through the rock at you. You ready to help us out now?"
Caw.
"Then why talk to me, huh? I'm pretty sure you have better things to do."
Caw.
"I guess the life of a bird can be pretty boring. Got anything to say about this black stuff," Ellis said referencing the ichor. The raven cocked its head then cawed again. Ellis furrowed his brow, "Don't eat it, got it." He grabbed a shovel and began digging a hole. he still had a few hours before the sun set and he would have to go back inside. He dug a sizeable hole before dropping the bag of trash into it.
He stepped back inside in time for the sun to set. He checked to make sure the door was locked and walked though the house to check the front door. It was also locked. Inside the building was calm, everyone was winding down from the day's excitement. Byron had washed up and was waiting by the front window, watching the street through the curtains. Gabby was curled up on the couch with little Mary in her arms. Lisa was cooking dinner and Gabe was nowhere to be found. Ellis joined Byron at the window.
"How's it looking?" he asked. Byron shrugged, "Looks clear. You should get cleaned up. You smell horrible."
"Yeah I do. Talked to the Raven again."
"What did it say?"
"That I'm an idiot and we shouldn't eat the black goo no matter what," Ellis explained. Byron chuckled, "At least its right about something. Still got no sight on that thing keeping us up at night."
"Keep looking, I want to know how to kill it," Ellis said and made his way to the bathroom. he turned on the water and made his shower as quick as he could. The hot water felt good on his shoulder. It was still stiff from the healing he received, but it loosened up under the water. He washed his hair and scrubbed himself clean, not knowing when he would get another chance. When he was done, he wrapped himself in a towel and went into his room.
Ellis changed into a set of shorts and a loose fitting tank top. His eyes started to feel heavy. Exhaustion was starting to creep up on him. A knock came at his door. "Food's ready," Lisa said. He was about to join them when he heard a tap at his window. The window was covered by curtains to prevent anything from looking inside. The tap came again. Ellis found a knife and creeped towards the tapping sound. He didn't know if it was the thing that was trying to get in, but he was going to find out what it was. He drew back on the curtains slightly to see the Raven again.
It cawed, wanting to be let in. Ellis didn't blame it. He took a breath and made his decision. He opened his door and called out to the house, "Hey, the Raven is knocking on my window. Should I let it in" Byron called back after a time, "Why not? Maybe you can get it to tell what's out there!"
With permission from the house, he returned to his window. The Raven was still there, waiting patiently. With his knife still ready to strike, he opened the window just enough to let the Raven in. It flapped its wings and hopped over to his dresser. It got comfortable and Ellis closed the window in time to see something move outside. "Do you know anything about the thing that is out there?" he asked it. The bird seemed to shrug and went to work preening itself. Ellis left the bird to its work and joined everyone for dinner.
The meal a combinations of leftovers still edible in the fridge. The whole group gathered. Mary was just old enough to to start eating solid foods. Gabe's eye red and puffy, he sniffed from time to time. Everyone sat silently as they ate. It was a somber night. Ellis could not get the screams of Gabe and Mary's parent's out of his head. The sight of the monster he saw as well as the thought that there were more. Scratching was soon heard coming from the back door. Everyone stopped eating to listen. "Gabe?" a voice sounded, "Mary? Are you there?"
Gabe looked up and at the door. He clutched his utensils with white knuckled hands. "Ignore it," Ellis said, "I may sound like your parents, but that is not them."
"What is it?" the boy asked. "No idea," Ellis said, "It might be a type of spirit or another monster. We haven't been able to get a good look at it. The Raven claims to have no knowledge of what it is." Mary perked up at the sound off her mother's voice and said, "Mama, come here." The scratching turned into knocking. Bryon stood and went to his room. He pulled out a shotgun he had apparently stashed there and walked over to the door. "What are you doing?" Gabby asked. "I'm shooting it," Byron said, "I am tired of this thing trying to trick us into leaving."
"We don't know how to kill it," Ellis said. Byron responded, "Stab and shoot it. It worked with the other things, it'll work now."
"We got lucky. For all we know, that could be a Wendigo out there."
"Then lets open the door and find out," Byron said and took another step towards the door. Lisa stood and blocked him. "Listen to Ellis," she said, "Or you might just get us killed." Byron paused for a moment. There was a pregnant silence that hung over the room. The only sounds heard were the thing outside and Mary's attempts to see her mother. "No, that's not her," Gabby insisted to the toddler. Ellis stood and put his hand on the gun, "Give it here. Let's try to sleep on it and think of a plan in the morning." Byron relented and handed it over, "You better think of something or next time I really am opening that door."
With what little mood there was spoiled, everyone turned in for the night. Lisa gave up her room for Gabe and Mary. Lisa and Byron would share a bed for the first time. Ellis was the last to sleep. He sat in the living room, listening to the back door. The creature had moved on, but it would be back the next night. Whatever it was, he needed to figure out how to kill it. He stood after a time and collected some of the scraps from the meal. He carried them to his room with the intent on feeding them to the Raven. What he found left him speechless.
When he opened the door, his room was a mess. His clothes were scattered on the floor. Books were taken off of their shelves and stacked haphazardly. The Raven was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a dark-skinned woman laying in his bed. Her hair was long with blue streaks in it. She wore some of Ellis clothes and she was waiting for him. "Took you long enough," she said in a seductive tone, "Mind joining me for the night?" Ellis stood in the door confused, "What the fuck?"