The Reincarnation

John didn’t waste any time. He drove to the Lab and abandoned his car on the side of the road, a short distance from the gate. Slipping past the computer gatekeeper, he headed for the room that he was convinced held his salvation. He had forgone the tracker, knowing where his prey lay.

John peered out of the darkness into the well-lit hallway of the laboratory. Trying to correlate the spot outside with the right room inside was a bit easier than he expected. Trying to sidestep the security system, however, was a lot easier than he expected – they might as well have put a welcome mat out for him. He quickly reached the wing where he wanted to be.

John was surprised to find a nurse asleep at her post. Oh well, he thought, no witnesses. The feeling of wholeness he had the night before was gone now. He passed it off as nerves. No time to wonder why, he thought as he strode to the man’s room. Creeping into it like a cat, he pulled the gun out as he walked. Just a few more steps.

John walked through a cleared path between the machines surrounding the bed and threw back the blankets. He looked in disbelief at the two pillows he found under them.

His hands clutched in anger and the gun went off.

A few miles outside of town, a very skinny man slept with a cat on his lap while a woman in a nurse’s uniform drove like hell.