Lumberpond stared at his feet, almost oblivious to his surroundings, to the outside world…..HONK! A car angrily sped past him as he regained his focus, “Oh, I’m sorry” he hazily walked across the rest of the street onto the plaza sidewalk. He had been to this plaza coffee shop, Benny’s, almost every other day for the past 5 years, yet nothing could prepare him for the dramatic change this place would have that day. Lumberpond quietly walked through the coffee shop, holding the door for an elderly couple on their way out, Lumberpond was a kind soul, he never meant any harm to anybody and just wanted to continue his life peaceful and safe, though, change was awaiting in a chair of that coffee shop.


“Can I just have the usual, Tom?” He asked the cashier as he handed him a 5 dollar bill. Lumberpond took a quick glance around the room waiting for his coffee, he saw all the regulars, the ones he saw every Wednesday, but he came across a woman about his age sitting in a seat in the far corner by her self. Was she new in town? He had never seen her face before, but it was gorgeous.


“Here you go Mr. Van Cecilbond, have a nice day!” Lumberpond thanked Tom and took his coffee in his hand.


“Hey Tom, have you ever seen that girl here before?”


“No, I’m sorry I can’t say that I have.” Lumberpond could not stop himself from gazing at her with such awe at her beauty. He wanted to talk to her, get to know her, find out where she is from, and ask her why he hasn't seen her around before, so he did. Lumberpond calmly made his way to the corner of the coffee store, with every step he thought over what he would say, what he would start out the conversation saying. He reached her table, his heart racing.


“Hi, I’m Lumberpond; I don’t believe we've met before?” He could smell her perfume, “Do you mind if I sit?” He asked, motioning towards the chair across from her. She smiled as he took a seat.


“So, you like to look at me from across the room, don’t you?” She said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee.


“I didn't think you saw me,” Lumberpond laughed. “Is there someone you are meeting here?”


“No I’m actually here writing a speech for the mayor. I found a Disney marathon on last night and didn’t even come close to finishing this, so here I am!” She was perfect. Lumberpond loved nothing more than a good Disney movie and procrastinating. What else could make her so wonderful?

“So do you come here often? I don’t think I’ve seen you before, and I come here almost every day!”

“Yeah, I used to live on the other side of town but I got a promotion and now I write for the mayor, what do you do?”
“I’m actually a vice president for Newton National Bank. It has it’s up’s and down’s.” They talked and talked for what seemed like forever, bonding. They were perfect for each other.
“Well, I should get going; I’m going to be late.”
“Oh, Ok. Well can I give you a call sometime maybe?”
“Sure.” She said as she slipped him a card with her number in fancy handwriting.
“Thanks, I’ll call you!” He said as she left the store. He looked down at the card, catching a name, Pam. He smiled, wondering how he got so lucky to meet this woman!

Lumberpond ventured off to work, unable to focus, this woman would not leave his brain! But in a way, he didn’t want her to leave. He finished his work day and drove home, taking a deep breath, he felt happy, excited, alive in a word. Would he see her tomorrow? Pulling into his driveway he shut off his car and entered his home, locking his car behind him. He threw his keys on the counter and walked down the hallway, and as he entered the room to his right, there, down the steps in the middle of the room was another human that looked exactly like Lumberpond, almost like a clone. “Hello Churchill!” Lumberpond said as he walked up to him, Churchill looked up at Lumberpond, “No, Churchill. You know I can’t let you out, you’re dangerous. I know you’re my clone but that doesn’t mean I can trust you. Do remember what happened last time you were out in the world? I can’t let that happen again, but anyway Churchill, I met a girl today, she’s everything a man could ever want in a woman, she’s smart, she’s funny, and she even likes Disney movies!” Churchill stared at Lumberpond, wondering why he gets to be free and not locked in a basement, meeting new people and going to work every day. Why couldn’t he see the world for a day? If he could just smell the grass and look at the sky! It all seemed so far away to him.
About a month went by, and almost everyday, Lumberpond would walk down the steps with a bowl of food and water, and begin to tell Churchill all about this girl he’d began dating. It seemed serious, but all this talk of freedom and being out and about began to annoy Churchill.
So one day, as Lumberpond had done so many times before, walking down the steps after work, food and water in hand, Churchill seized his moment, he waited for Lumberpond to reach the last step, and swung a metal pipe violently, striking Lumberpond and knocking him unconscious.
“I’m sorry Lumberpond, but I want to see the world again and you can’t stop me.” So Churchill tied Lumberpond’s hands behind his back, walked up the steps, through the door and locked the basement door shut behind him. Churchill went into the next room and lied down on Lumberpond’s bed. It was so soft! This was Heaven! Dropping like a fly, he instantly passed out on the cocoon-like bed. How great this felt!
The next day, Churchill awoke to the sun breaking through the windows, what a sight to see. He rose, feeling a weight on his ankle, it was just his tag, Lumberpond told him awhile ago that it was just in case they got separated and Churchill somehow got lost. He began to rummage through Lumberpond’s clothing drawers, picking out an outfit he found to suit him best, which to him was a sweater with a tie, and tan cargo shorts with knee high socks. Continuing his newfound freedom, he walked downstairs, enjoying every step. Looking around he noticed the kitchen, and started to get a little hungry. The only reason Churchill knew his way around the house and knew what the rooms were, was because Lumberpond had talked about them all before, and he could hear Lumberpond’s footsteps throughout the day, and he studied the whole outlook of the home he was in. Churchill approached the toaster, wondering what this contraption was; he pushed down the lever and stared at it for a few minutes, figuring out what its purpose was. Suddenly, POP! Churchill jumped back and started growling at the toaster, he knew he should stay away from this death trap of a machine. Still shaken, he grabbed a bag of bread that was on the countertop. Churchill opened it with caution and slowly pulled a piece out, taking delicate little bites. He noticed this was good food, and would not harm him, so he continued eating until the bag was empty.
Full, he opened the refrigerator door to find a clear liquid, just like the one Lumberpond gives him every day, he called it water. Curious, he takes the bottle from the fridge and reads the label, Uncle Ed’s Vodka. Churchill shrugged and began to gulp down the clear liquid. After a minute or two he lowered the bottle, burped and wondered why it tasted so different than the liquid he had been drinking in the past, but Churchill continued drinking, quenching his thirst. He polished off the bottle threw it on the ground; he was starting to feel funny. The room began to spin and he felt like he was falling. Churchill walked through the front door and out of the house and started sprinting, his ankle tag beeped, feeling the wind in his face and his long hair being pushed back by the wind, he felt like a bird. This reminded Churchill of the times him and Lumberpond would watch the Olympic Games together in Churchill’s room. Lumberpond would drag a TV on wheels into his room and they would watch the runners race each other, amazed at their speed! Churchill began to feel like one of those runners, he felt like he could out sprint anyone! Halting, he hadn’t even realized how far he had run, all he could see were cars whizzing past him like bees. He became frightened and froze; he had no idea what to do! He decided to conquer one of these large bees so he could cross the street. He held out a hand as he stood in the direct path of a bright yellow car, little did Churchill know that this was traffic, and the ‘high speed bee’s’ he saw, were taxis, inching their way through traffic, going no more than 5 miles per hour.
Miles away a buzzer began to light up the room of what looked like armed soldiers, everyone in the room froze, it finally happened, they have prepared for this day. “Alright boys, this is it! He finally got out. Let’s go find this conniving bastard!”
Lumberpond’s eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry from being out cold so long.
“...What the..?” Lumberpond found the bowl of food and water spilled at the foot of the basement steps, “Oh no no NO!” He began shaking and yelling in hopes that someone would hear him. How did Churchill get out? How did his hand get tied? He needed to call for help, to let someone know he was in here and that his clone of him was on the loose, then he remembered, his phone! It was in his pocket, along with Pam’s number! He quickly attempted to shake and wiggle his phone out of his pocket, Pam’s number falling out behind it, he used the tip of his nose and began dialing, and hopefully she was already at the coffee shop by now.
Ring Ring, Ring Ring, Ring - “Hello?”
“Pam?”
“Hey, Lumberpond! Are you ok, you sound out of breath?”
“Pam I need you to listen to me very carefully, you might not believe me and you probably won’t understand, but I’m going to need your help right now, are you at Benny’s?”
“Yes Lumberpond, what’s going on?”
“Pam…..I have a clone.”
“A clone?”

“Yes and he is loose right now. He looks just like me but he has longer hair and a beard, whether he is dangerous or not, I can’t take that risk, you have to help me find him.”

“You sound ridiculous?!”

“Pam! You need to trust me, please!”

“Sure, I - I - I guess.” She said almost frightened.

“But first, I’m going to need you to come over and get me out of a little mess…”

Churchill stood there, in the middle of traffic with his hand halting a taxi in front of him. “Hey, you moron get out of the way!”

“I’m standing up to you bee’s!” Churchill ranted to the taxi driver. Little did people know, Churchill was no threat to anyone, just like they weren’t a threat to him, yet, the belief that he was a raging, psychotic monster, was still in everyone’s brains? It all began back when Lumberpond was in college; he was an overachiever, a straight a student looking for that extra bit of attention to win over his teachers and classmates. So one evening, while in the university’s lab, Lumberpond began testing, doing experiments, and making progress. What he was doing was never done before, Lumberpond was on his way to perfecting, a human clone. He didn’t want this going public so he took samples of his own DNA, his hair, his skin, and began experiments towards making a second Lumberpond Van Cecilbond. But later that month, he had found what he thought would ensure his cloning test, and decided it was ready for what he’d been waiting for. He strapped himself into the pod, turned some levers and pushed a big red button. Lights began to bounce around the room and Lumberpond shut his eyes. The noises stopped and Lumberpond gently looked around the room, he heard breathing in the pod next to his. With a careful motion he unbuckled his straps and leaned over into the other pod, in front of him was an exact copy of himself, he had done it! It was alive! He took his clone by his arms began yelling with overwhelming excitement! “I did it! Wake up! You’re me! You’re alive!” Lumberpond took a large inhale and said, “I think I’ll name you, Churchill, do you like that name?!” Like a crazy man Lumberpond skipped around the room, singing, and clicking his heels.

Over the next couple of months, it was Lumberpond’s duty to teach Churchill how to speak and act in society, showing him what is right and wrong and showing him how similar each other were! It was going so well, since they were both the same person, until a knock on the door ruined their session. Bang! Bang! Bang! “Open up!”

“May I ask who’s there?”

“Frederick Davis, F.B.I.” Lumberpond quickly opened the door and allowed the 3 large men into his study. “We were tipped off that you are in possession of a ‘clone’?”

“Yes, it’s my clone. Why does this concern you?”

“Because this ‘clone’ of yours, isn't technically an American citizen, or a citizen of any country considering there are no birth records of any kind. We’re here to take him permanently, and dispose of him for the greater good of this city; he could be a potential threat to society.”

“No! You can’t take away my own clone?! He’s practically a child; he’s only been alive for a few months!? I can keep him hidden, he won’t do any harm to anyone I promise! I keep him locked away with me!”

“Sir, we would be breaking so many rules if we let you keep this clone even for a few days without any records.”

“Please, he’s basically me, you can’t kill him!?” Lumberpond pleaded. Frederick Davis rubbed his hand across his forehead and looked across the room to Lumberpond.

“Ok kid.”

“Thank You Si-..”

“But remember kid,” Frederick interrupted, “If he manages to escape your house, and we, or any law enforcement sees him roaming around in public, we will gun him down without hesitating. Were going to attach this tag to him, no one else besides us can detach this, and this will let us know if he escapes your house, even if he just steps off your yard, we’re coming after him.” Frederick turned around walking out the door. Churchill, sat in the corner still taking notes of what Lumberpond had written on the board, unaware of what the men and Lumberpond had been discussing. Lumberpond looked back at Churchill, feeling sorry for him, feeling guilty that he had created him only to be put in this kind of danger and risk. Churchill looked up, smiling at Lumberpond, Lumberpond smiled back, guilty.


“Move out of the way, you idiot!”
Churchill was still dizzy, staggering out of the road. He put his hand on a wall, gaining his balance again. He began feeling sick to his stomach, he never felt like this before, his throat opened and he vomited several times along the wall of the building. He puked from looking and smelling at his first puke more than he did from just being sick. He wiped his mouth of the throw up and looked up at the bright yellow sign of the building he just threw up on, Benny’s Coffee. He decided a drink could wash out the bad taste in his mouth, but no more sour water!
“I’ll be right there Lumberpond! Just hold on!” Back in the coffee shop, Pam closed her phone and grabbed her purse in a hurry, as she stood up to leave, she bumped into a man walking through the front door of the coffee shop. “Oh pardon me! That was my mista-...oh my god..,” She stopped, staring at the face that excused himself and brushed past, it was Lumberpond but with a beard and long hair. She thought to herself, was this Lumberpond’s clone he was talking about? She regained herself and slowly approached him at the counter, staring. She couldn’t believe it; she was staring at an exact replica of Lumberpond! “Uh, hi!” She managed, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Hello!” Churchill said brightly.
“I’m Pam, what’s your name?”
“My name’s Churchill,” He asked. Was this the same Pam that Lumberpond had been talking about for so long? “Do you know what’s good for a stomach ache?”
“Oh, of course! Um, Tom?” Tom looked up from behind the counter. “Could I have one ginger ale?” She slid the money across the counter.
“I wish I could pay you back, but I don't have any money on me.”
“Don’t worry about it, so are you new in town? I don’t think we’ve met before?”
“Uhhhh yeah I am,” Churchill hesitated, “I just moved here with my brother.” He wasn’t very good at lying. Tom slid the ginger ale across the counter to Churchill. “Thank you!”
“Churchill, do you think we could talk in private for a second?” Churchill’s eyes widened, unaware of this woman’s intent. Was she hitting on him?
“I guess so, sure.” He followed Pam to the back of the restaurant, out of view of the rest of the customers.
“I know who you are Churchill. Lumberpond told me, and according to him, I can’t let you be out in public! You’re a danger to this town! But yet, I don’t find myself afraid of you in the slightest.”
“You are the Pam Lumberpond has been bragging about!”
“He brags about me?” She blushed.
“Pam,” He began, changing the subject, “I don’t understand why everyone thinks I’m dangerous, and I’m not, honest! Please don’t take me back!” Pam looked at this man, a grown man, begging to her to just let him walk around for awhile. He seemed more like a 10 year old boy than the grown man he appeared to be, maybe he wasn’t dangerous after all?
“Churchill, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure!”
“Why did Lumberpond tell me you’re dangerous?”
“I wish I could tell-..” RING! RING! A loud ringing from Pam’s purse interrupted him, she answered quickly, keeping her eyes on Churchill, who began to laugh at a butterfly that landed on a leaf outside.
“Hello?”
“Pam! Where are you?!”
“I’m sorry Lumberpond I completely forgot, we will be right there!”
“We?”
She closed her phone on Lumberpond and took a deep breath. “Churchill I’m sorry but we have to take you home, something is obviously wrong with you being free and I need to follow Lumberpond’s directions. Will you please just take my hand and come with me?” She held out her hand, signaling Churchill to do the same. He shook his head and took her hand, and almost like a mother and her son, they walked hand in hand all the way to her car.
Back at the house, Lumberpond rose, gaining his balance, still groggy from being out so long, he did his best to walk up the steps with his hands behind his back. Groaning, he looked at the door, then his shoulder, and back at the door again, he knew it was all he could do. He lunged at the door, hitting it with tremendous force, again, and again.
Cruising down the road, this was Churchill’s first time in a car; he began fiddling with the knobs on the radio. A song came on that he had heard before at home. He slightly tapped his foot and bobbed his head to the beat. Pam looked at Churchill from the driver’s seat, “You like this song?” She asked with a smile, Churchill shook his head, his hands in his lap, just like a child. “You know this was my favorite song as a kid?” Churchill smiled, he had never had a mom before, but to him, she was the closest thing to one. He felt safe with her, only knowing her a short period of time, she was like a protector to him. He looked at her hair, curled, brown, and just below her shoulders, she dressed beautifully, he thought. He had seen motherly figures on television and thought about how wonderful it would be to have a woman love you and care for you just like the ones on T.V., but he knew that being a clone, he didn’t have a mother, and to Churchill, Pam was the closest thing to one. “So, why did you run away?” Pam got the nerve to ask, Churchill looked out the window, rain pouring. “Was it because of Lumberpond?”
“No, in fact he’s been quite good to me! We watch T.V all the time, and we like all the same foods, plus, he likes to talk about you to me a lot. I like to listen to the stories between you two.”
“Oh does he?” She said giggling.
“He really seems to like you a lot!” Gripping the steering wheel, her eyes formed the smallest crystal tears. “I’m sorry! I didn’t want to make you cry!”
“No, you didn’t do anything,” He grabbed a tissue from the glove box and wiped the tears from her face, “That was just very touching Churchill, thank you.” She couldn’t find one harmful thing about this child-like man quietly sitting in her passenger seat, watching the cars go by. She smiled at him, he smiled back.
The car crept up the driveway of Lumberpond’s home and came to a halt. “Well, here we are, Churchill. I guess we should go inside and get Lumberpond; he’ll know what to do from there.” Churchill flashed a smile, looking down the street through the corner of his eye. Pam and Churchill opened their car doors, and that’s when Churchill made his move. Darting down the driveway and heading down the street, he wasn’t going to stop. Freedom was his. “Churchill! Churchill no! Oh crap!” Pam quickly ran into the house, frantically looking around for signs of Lumberpond. She heard loud thuds and crashes coming from the door ahead of her to the right. The door swung open, bits of wood and hinges flying.
“Pam!”
“Lumberpond he’s gone! We got out of the car and he just made a run for it!”
“Damnit! Well, we have to act fast, hurry, cut my wrists free!” She ran to the kitchen, getting a knife and slicing the rope that Churchill tied on Lumberpond’s wrists. They quickly ran out the door, through the pouring rain and into Pam’s Range Rover. They sped out of the driveway, screeching as they raced down the street.
“Lumberpond will you please tell me what’s going on! Why do you need to keep him locked up? He wouldn’t hurt a fly!?”
“I know that Pam! It’s not that he’s dangerous; it’s not that at all! That’s just what I tell him so he won’t attempt to leave!”
“Well then tell me why we are chasing him right now!” Lumberpond took a deep breath, and began to tell the story of Churchill’s creation, everything, the moment he was created, and the moment he was almost taken away and killed. He told her how, since the day Churchill moved in, they bonded. He knew that because they were exactly like each other that they would like the same things, but beside all that, Churchill became a brother to him. He cared about him, he loved his brother. He also told her the consequences of his escape, the tag on his leg and how the Special Forces would gun him down the second they find out he left the house. Pam was astonished; looking straight ahead she put the accelerator to the floor.
Frederick Davis sat in the passenger seat of a Jeep, Special Forces sitting in the back, rifles ready. “Where is he headed now?”
“It looks like he’s headed to West Mountain, sir.”
“Alright boys, then that’s where we're headed. We warned this freak.”
Churchill stopped running, he was tired. He regained his breath and glanced upwards, there stood a towering piece of land that scraped the surface of Heaven, known as West Mountain. He crouched down to feel the grass as it began to rain, the grass grew wet and slowly stood up. He wanted to see the view from the top; he wanted to be on top of the world. So that’s what he would do, he began his ascent up the large mountain.
Racing down the road, Pam and Lumberpond’s eyes frantically searched all around the area. “Do you see him?” Pam asked.
“No I can't see anythi-...wait. I see him! He’s climbing West Mountain! Go! Go! Go!” They sped up, braking and skidding at the foot of West Mountain.
Churchill was sprinting up the face of the mountain, he wasn’t stopping for anything, for this site was too good too pass up. He climbed each step with willfulness and determination, something he hadn’t really experienced before, he didn’t want to quit until he was on the top of this mountain.
Lumberpond and Pam drifted their car through the slick road and stopped at the foot of the mountain, another car, filled with Frederick Davis and his special forces, along with three other cars, halted right behind them. Lumberpond quickly got out of the car, squinting as he tried to see Churchill through the pouring rain.
“Churchill, run! Run Churchill!” Lumberpond did his best to scream through the rain, knowing what was about to take place.
“Alright boys, take aim!” Frederick demanded. Lumberpond began in a sprint after Churchill. “Ready!” Churchill reached the top, turning around to see the most beautiful site of all, the entire city, surrounded by purple clouds like scoops of ice cream “Fire!” Shots rang out from behind Lumberpond; he could hear the searing of the bullets ripping past his body as he trudged up the hill, only missing him by inches, his eyes grew wide and he looked up to what was the most horrible site, Churchill collapsed to the grassy mountain terrain. Lumberpond screamed. He raced up the mountain, mud flying behind him, the ground became more slippery and wet, with every step he sunk into the ground, eventually becoming weaker; he collapsed beside Churchill’s limp body gathering him in his arms, the rain barely hiding his tears, he couldn’t hold them back if he tried, the pain shot through him like electricity leaving him motionless, he cursed. Lumberpond looked into the sky and screamed at the top of his lungs, regretting bringing Churchill into this world that he was not ready for. The emotional pain was unbearable, blood rushed from Churchill’s torso and head like flowing water, eyes blankly staring and skin paling, he was gone. Lightning ruptured the skies.

And almost like looking in a mirror, he gazed into Churchill’s lifeless blue eyes and managed, “I’m so sorry, brother.”