The drone showed a young woman barely out of her teens swaggering into shot. She wore a crushed velvet tracksuit and carried a large magnum-sized bottle of alcohol. Fee's expression turned from mild confusion to outright horror as her identical twin waved back at her. Every nuance was accounted for, right down to the way she spoke and held a cigarette. The only difference was the crimson eyes, which twinkled with mischief.

  "Surprise!" The Clone said.

  "What the hell is going on?" Fee said.

  "I am you, that is the hell that is going on."

  Fee took a step back. "Whoa. That was weird."

  "Very weird. You see, I know exactly what you are going to say. If I remember correctly, this is the part where I stumble across an old house?"

  Fee panicked and pressed 'Stop'. She wanted to race out of the house and never look back; it was the only way of retaining sanity in this cursed place. Despite her reservations, a curiosity nibbled hard on the side of her mind. She just had to see it through; she had to know. Fee nervously pressed ' Play ' after pacing around for what felt like minutes. The video returned to the sight of her clone, whose impish glee was replaced with irritation.

  "Well, that was rude." She said. "You don't see me turning off my camera in a huff."

  "I freaked out." Fee said.

  "We all freak out, mate, it happens. Can we get to the reason you are here?"

  “How is this possible?"

  "I will get to that when you stop interrupting."

  "Interupting? This is a video recording. I shouldn't even be having this conversation."

  "It just goes to show what a great memory I have."

  Fee nodded and decided to test it for real.

  "Okay. How many fingers am I holding up?"

  "May I remind you, you're talking to a video recording?" The Clone said and rolled her eyes. "Two."

  "Ha! No, it's three." Fee said, holding up two fingers and a thumb.

  "Thumbs don't count, dumb ass." The Clone said. "Also, you're doing it wrong. Those aren't horns, that's sign language for 'I love you'. Honestly, you call yourself a metal fan?"

  "Okay, what am I thinking now? Chocolate Leider..."

  "...Hosen. Okay? Did I pass the audition? Can we get on with it now?"

  Fee forgot momentarily that she was arguing with herself.

  "This is insane." She said, sitting down. "Why is this happening?"

  "What will really cook your brisket is that you know exactly why. Think hard. The first thought will be impossible to grasp, but it will be the right one."

  Fee squinted. "You're me from the future?"

  "Ehh, close. You're almost there." The Clone said, gulping down Bubbly. "You're not pretty, but at least you're smart."

  “Wow, way to lay on the self-loathing,” Fee said. Her clone snorted. "So what happened?"

  "Sorry, no spoilers. It takes the fun out of knowing, but if you look at me, you know it's all good."

  "All good? When did I become a sell-out?"

  "A sell-out?” The Clone said. “No mate, a survivor." The girl signalled for the floating camera to get in closer. "Would you like to see what you have survived?"

  Once the camera drifted past the balcony, it showed the sky drenched in pastel yellows, with the sprawl of skyscrapers replaced by a sea of trees. The camera zoomed in on a crowd of people, their eyes perfectly white like polished marble and dressed in what appeared to be grey flannel pyjamas. They were all dragging a large statue with several massive chains over their shoulders.

  Fee watched in horror as the nightmare vision played out before her.

  "Oh my God." She said, upon witnessing the waking nightmare.

  "To some, you are a God." The Clone said, stepping onto the balcony. These people think of nothing more than pleasing their Empress. Many billions were spent trying to defend their planet, when they should have been protecting their own minds." She tapped her head. "Not that they could!"

  "That's horrible."

  “I can’t remember if I said ‘Horrible’ or ‘Terrible’,” Other-Fee said, then shrugged. “No matter. Right now, you're preparing for a massive alien invasion. Guess where you're going wrong?”

  "There's not going to be an invasion?"

  "Invasion?” Other-Fee said. "We’re already here, mate. Been here for almost a century, pulling your strings, buffing your species with advanced tech. A fair exchange between humans and Aliens. And we needed a few unsuspecting bodies to play with.”

  “All those abductions.”

  “Part of the deal: live specimens for future tech. If you Monkeys were any more crooked, you'd be a circle.”

  “I guess.”

  “We call it 'Junkie Consumerism'. If you give a planet something it can't live without, it will beg for more. Aliens rewrote themselves into a story where they were no longer invaders, but generous benefactors, bringing the world together with trade, industry and advanced technology. Soon enough, Corporations fell over themselves to serve. Governments bent the knee at the expense of their own people. We have your children, we your celebrities and your crooked little officials with blood on their hands and gold in their pockets. What’s funny is you were so happy to hand them over.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “How?”

  “Put it this way, why bother going to the expense of invading, when a subtle assimilation is all that’s needed? Turns out, you lot are happier with our influence.”

  Fee needed a moment to process everything she had been told.

  "So what do you want with me?"

  "Right, back to it," Other-Fee said. "Some big, bad space Armada is on its way, and your first instinct will be to help defend the Earth. That's fine, you've been trained to do exactly that, but here is what you should really do...ignore it. Let it all happen, let humanity end and ride this Tilt-a-whirl to near-extinction."

  "What? That's stupid."

  "Those were your exact words, mate.”

  Fee looked sheepish. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  “I would suggest you find a nice spot on the beach and sit this one out."

  "I do like beaches."

  "Who doesn't? You think you can stop us, but we're already here. You think you can outgun us, but we know all your tricks and that big, bad army coming toward you is nothing more than a neighbourhood dispute. So I am asking you to join us, here in the ivory tower. The human race can never advance, it can only stagnate, wallow and bury itself in its own stockpile of outdated tech." She took a chocolate mint from a porcelain bowl. “We are the future. You meat-sacks got lazy and complacent, so it’s time for an upgrade.”

  "Why wouldn't I help the Earth?" Fee said.

  "Because you can't win and you'll die trying."

  "I see. If I die, you'll cease to exist?"

  The Clone chuckled lightly.

  "Normally, that would be the case." She said. "Unfortunately for you, I am in a parallel reality. What happens to you won't affect me. Kill yourself if you want, I will still be here, ruling the world as usual."

  "So why do you care?"

  Other-Fee lifted her tracksuit top slightly to reveal a sizeable wound in the side of her body. The camera flew in for a close-up.

  "See this? Someone threw a spear at me. A spear like a pissin’ caveman! Barely escaped with my life. This is what you have to look out for when the time comes. Everyone will turn on you. You'll be feared and hunted, an outcast. So get away while you can, avoid all that messy business."

  "Why would they hunt me? I have done nothing wrong."

  "Now we come to the meat of it. Why are you so popular, all of a sudden?"

  "If this turns into an info-dump," Fee said. "I'm leaving."

  "Fair enough, but remember all I offer is the truth. 'All cards on the table', as Tommi says."

  "Tommi's alive? Can I see her?"

  "Whoa, whoa. I ain't giving away the farm here, mate. You get what's on offer."

  "Fine. Let's hear this so-called truth, then."

  "First, you must open your mind," Other-Fee said. "Everything I say, no matter how fanciful or ridiculous sounding, is based on actual evidence." Fee kept silent. "At the risk of boring you with details, you should know that a single royal family runs the Galaxy. When the ruler and patriarch of that family died, Earth, as we know it, was originally promised to the next in line."

  "Okay. Off to a good start."

  "Like I said, only the truth."

  "Earth as an heirloom? Good luck dusting that."

  "I know, right? It turns out the King of the galaxy had an affair that produced a son, which interrupted the natural line of succession. This revelation obviously enraged the daughters of the King, who felt they were cheated out of an inheritance, which inspired them to launch an invasion in an attempt to restore the balance."

  "An invasion. The Dark Armada?"

  "The one and only."

  "Okay, so what happened to this bastard son?"

  "The boy was brought to Earth for his own safety, where he was adopted and given a new identity. I believe you are acquainted? His name was Pickford Green."

  Fee scrunched up her face in confusion.

  "Dad was..." She said. "You know what? I am not even going to say it."

  "The rightful heir to an Alien kingdom. A title which passes to his firstborn."

  "Of course. He can't just be any ordinary Alien baby, that would be too easy."

  "His firstborn is said to be the reincarnation of an elder blood God, Tet-se-Tet. The Empress. Lady Darkflower.”

  "I'm sorry, none of this is making sense. Dad is not an alien; and I am not some ancient blood God.”

  "I tell ya, I broke down the first time I heard it.”

  "This is all a trick," Fee said, jabbing a finger at the screen. "You’re trying to mess with my head."

  "Jeez, would you listen to yourself? If I was gonna trick anyone, I wouldn't be using the most unbelievable story I could dream of. Do me a favour."

  Fee started pacing wildly, raking back her hair.

  "I am not an Alien, I'm not."

  "Half-alien. Yeah, that doesn't make it better.”

  "Why would I believe you?"

  "You are having a conversation with a video recording. I think that's proof enough. Truth is hard to let go, when you’re already convinced. And I know you, it’s already taking root."

  "Shut up, shut UP." Fee said. "You're wrong. Mum would've told me. She would have." Tears filled her eyes. "She would have."

  "She doesn't know," Other-Fee said. "Good luck with that, by the way."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  "All I can say is we are two pieces of a larger puzzle. When that puzzle is complete, great things will happen. Everyone will regret messing with you. You can't jump out of the way of it, you can't win. Better to accept it and save your own skin. Ooh, that rhymes!"

  Fee huffed with contempt. "That's your answer? Chicken out, run away?"

  "That's how crazy things have got," Other-Fee said, tapping a dry cigarette on the box. "I can't prevent anything, but I can offer you a choice. Turn left at the gate, go AWOL and live life while you can. Of course, the downside is that Mum will never let you hear the end of it." She rolled her eyes. "A small price to pay."

  "What's the other option?"

  "Turn right, take your chances."

  "I think I'll risk it, thanks.

  "It's up to you, mate." The girl said, with a shrug. "One day in the future, you'll be giving this same speech, from this exact same balcony. Now, if you'll excuse me, it’s time for my little siesta." She picked up a little dog and waved a perfectly manicured hand at the camera. "Culz."

  The screen went black, leaving Fee in a daze.

  "Culz?" She said. " 'Catch U laterz?' Why do I know that?!! She tried to process what had taken place, but it felt unreal. Her mind was shrinking, unable to contain the new truths she had learnt."Talk about being your own worst enemy." She said, her voice quivering with disbelief. "I mean, what the hell?" A flash lit up inside the machine, followed by white wisps of smoke seeping out from within. "Self-destruct, are you kidding me?" .

  Questions rang in her head. Should she heed the advice if it were a future warning? What if this was an elaborate ploy to keep Fee from destroying a specific target? Daughter of an Alien king? Set to inherit the Earth? The questions tumbled like dominoes. Was fate a railway track she just rode to the end? Or a dirt track which went in any direction? Fee looked at the digital readout on the video machine. Time read a quarter to one in the afternoon. The castle! She turned to the exit when something shifted in her peripheral vision. The top sheet on the bed began to move by itself. First there was a flicker of the corner, before the blankets were slowly peeled across the bed by an invisible force.

  “Oh shit, no.”

  Fee hurried down the stairs and exited the house. Bent over, she had a hard time inhaling as the crisp air filled her lungs once more. The dog trotted past her, looking out toward the front gate. The message was clear: time to leave. After taking a few paces, something occurred to Fee, making her turn back. Who lit the fireplace?

  "You're not a real dog, are you?"

  The animal merely barked again and watched the front gate. Fee nodded and headed toward the barn.