Suzy feels warm, all over her body. It’s a nice warmth, broken only by the creeping sense of realigning thoughts. This process takes several long minutes, the girl feeling her brain wring itself out at a glacial pace.

The last thing she remembers is… is Gina’s joke. “Amazon Primate.” So silly it got her to laugh. But she does not remember laughing, or anything after that.

“Damn it!” Suzy curses into her pillow as she finally fully wakes up. “It happened again!” She sits up from the bed, rubbing her eyes with harsh motions of her hands. “Hey, Gina, we gotta review the tape. I think…”

Suzy stops talking. Gina is not in the room anymore. Neither is the camera Gina used to record last night’s events. Those two facts get Suzy worried. A small part of her conscience reminds her this was a possibility when she asked Gina to record her. Gina had sounded unwilling to participate in this activity, claiming it was all to “get in her pants”.

Suzy’s cheeks blush as she pictures what getting a hand, or more, inside Gina’s pants would have been like. As she looks back down on her bed, imagining Gina lying there with her “Goth-lite” clothes on, she sees her bedside clock. The time on it shows “10:43”.

Suzy’s blood turns to ice. “Damn it!” she exclaims again. “I’m late!” She springs up from her bed, and then falls backwards as a strong sensation of vertigo reverses her forward motion. Her vision goes white as a ringing sound fills her ears. It lasts just a few seconds, but it still shocks her. She manages to stand up afterwards with no problems beside the fact she has already missed one of her classes and will likely miss another one by the time she gets ready to go.

Suzy speeds through her daily preparations, washing her face and pits instead of taking a full shower. A few touches of makeup help her look good in the mirror, but it does not reflect in her nerves. Once she gets her clothes and supplies ready, she heads for the door. She almost misses the notification on her cell phone’s screen as she picks it up. There is an unread message on her phone’s voicemail. She checks the call number and finds her own phone number there.

“This is… me?” Suzy stares at the message log, trying to figure out what this means. She quickly comes up with a solid answer: This is the OTHER me, trying to tell me something. Standing just by the door, she debates between finding out what this voicemail says and going on with the rest of her day. Curiosity leads her to play the message, placing her phone by her ear.

“Hello, Suzy. You remember who I am, don’t you?”

Suzy nods automatically. How could she ever someone who looks just like her but sounds so robotic and… better? No, this Suzy isn’t better than her, just different.

“By the time you hear this message, Gina will have gone back to her normal life. If you want to see what she recorded, you will have to speak to her directly.”

Suzy tilts her head a bit in confusion. Why would this other Suzy not tell her directly? She seemed confident in the recordings.

“It will not be hard to do this, Suzy. Just tell her the words, “Directive Sixty-Two, Code Hypnos”, and she will follow your instructions.”

Follow her “instructions”? Suzy does not like how that sounds.

“Please review the footage Gina gives you at your own discretion. If you wish to speak to me again, leave a voice message on your phone as I have done here. It will be much easier this way than by video. I assure you. Or,” she adds with a short chuckle, “You could just forget about all this and keep living your normal life. But I think we both know what you are going to do.

“Think about it, Suzy. I am here for you, if you need me.”

The message ends there. Suzy, the current Suzy, stands frozen in place with her mouth hanging slightly open. What “instructions” does she mean? And what happened to make Gina leave the room with the camera? She has all the footage of last night, so something must have made her mad. Maybe Suzy really did get in Gina’s pants?

“No, no, that’s not it.” Suzy puts her phone in the pocket of her day pants like she usually does. “I can find this out on my own, without those instructions.”

Easier said than done.

The day is bright and warm; Suzy does not feel bright or warm inside. She keeps her eyes down, her personal items close, and her lips shut. Other students and professors walk by, lost in their own conversations or interests. Suzy is just one more member of the student body here, her secret knowledge hidden among the masses.

Considering how many students are on the campus grounds during the daytime, it comes as a surprise for Suzy that she finds Gina inside the second building she enters. This building is the fitness center, with lockers and changing rooms adjacent to gymnasiums and weight rooms. Suzy recognizes all of these things from her visits here at least twice a week, doing a simple workout routine after the day’s classes.

Today is not a workout day for Suzy. However, Suzy’s mind gets a workout when she spots Gina exiting one of the locker rooms, a duffel bag looped over her left shoulder.

Suzy goes up to Gina before her confidence leaves her adrift. “Hi, Gina,” she greets when she gets close enough to speak.

Gina stops a few steps away from the door and looks back at Suzy. “Hi.” Recognition does not flash in her eyes, scaring Suzy a bit. Does she remember what happened?

“Hey, uh, how are you today?” Suzy’s questions sound very awkward to herself, but it is the only way she can think of to keep Gina’s attention on her. “I guess you stayed up late last night with the… the “experiment”.” She waves her fingers in the air at the word “experiment”, hoping it will be enough.

Gina nods, seeming to remember what Suzy is talking about. “Tired, really,” she admits. “I don’t often stay up so late. But a workout today helped me get over it.” Gina’s eyes flick back to the locker room she just left. It is only now that Suzy notices a thin gleam on Gina’s skin; a clear sign of the energy she put into the workout.

Suzy feels her throat dry up a bit. “Oh. W-Well, I have something to say about last night.”

“What’s that?” Gina shifts her posture, leaning back towards the lockers. She does not look willing to keep the conversation going, at least not without doing something else.

Suzy looks around, fearing someone would overhear her. No one is near them. As Gina raises an eyebrow, waiting for an answer, Suzy takes a deep breath.  She’s really going to do this. This is a step towards figuring out what is wrong with her, to solving her own problems. Nothing else.

“Gina, remember Directive Sixty-Two, Code Hypnos.”

“Huh?” Gina looks confused for a second. Then, as her brain picks up the exact words Suzy is saying, her expression turns into a dormant blankness. Her eyes glaze over, becoming foggy over the span of a few seconds. Suzy sees it happen, softly gasps, and grabs Gina by her shoulders before the girl falls and causes a scene.

“Gina! Are you okay?” Suzy holds Gina up and tries to wake her via sharp whispers. Gina does appear to wake up, but only so far as to not fall if left alone. Her eyes are still foggy, though, like a thick mist over a swamp.

“Awaiting commands, Instructor,” Gina quietly says in an eerie monotone voice.

Instructor?! This is not what Suzy is expecting to hear. She steps back from Gina, an automatic response to such strangeness. Gina looks at Mina, barely blinking, for several heartbeats. Suzy waits for the other shoe to drop, for Gina to start laughing, for her to admit this is a joke.

How did this happen? Suzy glances behind her, seeing no one there. No one else is out here; it’s just her and Gina, all alone. This is a good moment to find out more about what is happening, in a logical sense. In an instinctive sense, Suzy wants to be far, far away from here.

Suzy steps forward again and puts a hand to her chest, trying to calm down. She looks back to Gina and straightens her shoulders. “Gina, uh, listen closely.” Suzy leans in a bit closer. “I need you to give me any video evidence of what happened last night, with our, uh, investigation.”

“Yes, Instructor.” Gina blinks again, her eyelids closing and opening like large swinging doors instead of quick shutters. “I must access my locker to do this.”

“Oh. S-Sure.” Suzy lets Gina access her locker, taking the time to stand by some adjacent lockers and watch. Gina moves with no strange twists or motions, but those movements seem practiced to an absurd degree. Suzy’s mind begins crafting farfetched theories about why this is but comes up with nothing genuine. All the while, Gina’s eyes stay fogged over, a sign she is still following instructions.

Suzy stands away from the lockers at the same time Gina does. Gina gives Suzy a black USB drive, opening Suzy’s hand with a firm grip and slipping the object inside her palm. “Here is the recorded footage, Instructor. Some footage is not suitable for viewing in public.”

Suzy blushes madly as Gina closes Suzy’s palm, the warmth of Gina’s hand on hers leaving her inexplicably wanting more. “I-I… Sure, thank you.”

A slam comes from further down the hall. Someone else has come inside. “Instructor,” Gina immediately asks Suzy, “are you finished with your commands?”

“Yes, yes! Just change back into Gina already! Go back to normal!”

“Yes, Instructor.” Gina’s eyes close as she shifts back into the position she was in when S used the “Directive”. When Gina next opens her eyes, they have no trace of the fog in them. “Huh? What did you say?” she asks in her normal voice.

Suzy remembers how close she is to Gina and panics. “Nothing, sorry. Hope your day goes well. Bye!” She rushes off, her hand closed around the precious USB drive and her cheeks red from blushing so hard.