As Long аs I'm With You

“From the future?” the only guess she could venture[29 - решиться, осмелиться].

“Not really,” the other she said. “I’m your other copy.”

“My other copy?”

“Yes. Some of us come with a back-up copy, but they never tell us that,” the other she said as if it was common knowledge[30 - всем известный факт, общеизвестно].

“Who are they?” she was confused.

“They,” the other she shrugged[31 - пожала плечами]. “The ones who make and control us. And now they are trying to erase[32 - стирать, подчищать, вычеркивать] us for some reason.”

What?!

“I haven’t done anything illegal. What is happening?” she said.

“Listen, we don’t have much time, so let’s get the hell out of here first and then we can properly catch up[33 - наверстать упущенное, обменяться свежей информацией],” the other she said looking around.

“But I don’t understand …” she started.

“No talk. Let’s go,” the other she said quickly and stood up.

The stranger extended[34 - протянула (прошедшая форма глагола extend)] her hand and … her head exploded[35 - взорвалась (прошедшая форма глагола explode)] like a watermelon.

***

Two dead people in one morning might seem like nothing on the global scale of things but seeing your other copy getting shot in front of you could make anyone go insane[36 - безумный, душевнобольной, ненормальный].

Is that what it was?

She was going crazy and was seeing things that weren’t there? Nope. The mums are screaming, and the grandmas are trying to run away. There was definitely some shooting just now. Is she the next target?

The other she said that they are trying to erase them. Click. The brain started to work again.

It took her a couple of minutes to get into the endless stream[37 - бесконечный поток] of people hurrying to their work. She stopped by the curb[38 - обочина] to catch her breath when a car tires screeched[39 - завизжали (прошедшая форма глагола screech)] next to her, and the passenger door opened.

“Get in fast,” the driver yelled.

What next?

Will it ever end?

Why does this voice sound so familiar?

“Come on, Lizzy. We don’t have much time!” he sounded agitated[40 - взволнованный, возбужденный].

He knows her name!

***

She gaped[41 - уставилась, пялилась] at him. It was him. Her man. But how could that be?

“I know,” he said without taking his eyes off the road. “It took me awhile to understand this, but I’m not who you think I am.”

“You’re his copy,” it dawned on her[42 - её осенило, до неё дошло].

He nodded.

She couldn’t stop looking at him.

“He was trying to make you leave the apartment this morning. To save you,” he said. “He just needed a bit more time.”

What?! He knew?!

“We found him first and told him everything.” he said. “He thought we were from the future,” he added with a sad smile.

He kept quiet for a while. Only the sound of the accelerating[43 - ускоряющийся] engine.

“He was adamant[44 - непреклонный, твёрдый] to keep you out of it,” he said breaking the silence.

She felt tears running down her cheeks and his face became blurry[45 - расплывчатый].

“How do you … Did you know him?” she asked.

“We just met him last night,” he said after a pause.

He looked at her for a second.

“Listen, we both lost important people today,” he continued. “I know this is all messed up[46 - запутано], but we need to stay together. At least for a while to get to the bottom of it[47 - узнать правду о (ситуации) (идиоматическое выражение)].”

She couldn’t see and hear him anymore. Emotions finally broke through the barrier of shock.

He took her hand and quietly said: “Don’t worry, Lizzy. We’ll figure this out.”

Then he took a ramp to merge into the highway out of the city.

Chapter 2

Lizzy’s Diary

6 DAYS BEFORE THE JUMP

I guess the most difficult thing in this crazy story was to accept that there was nothing crazy about it. I have 6 more days before the jump, and I must put all my memories together while they’re still fresh and painful. Yes, pain. I don’t know if I feel it after the jump. It connects me to the past. My past. My life seems to be so long ago. Will I still be me if I lose it?

In any case, I’d better start from the beginning.

I was in the car with Mark, or Mark’s copy, and my life was disappearing[48 - исчезала, терялась (The Past Continuous Tense)] in the rear-view mirror[49 - в зеркале заднего вида]. When we put a good hundred kilometers between us and the city, he started to slow down.

I had no more tears in me and was just staring out of the window thoughtlessly[50 - бездумно].