Tyler tiptoed with his shoes off as he climbed the staircase to his room. He began to tiptoe slower than before as he reached the doorstep of Miss Texla, the apartment owner who he owes rent. Suddenly, the door opened and a voice mentioned his name - it was Miss Texla. "What's up with the shoes off, Ty?" Miss Texla asked as she went and stood in front of him. "Hello, Miss Texla. I thought you were not there," Tyler said, forcing a fake smile on his face. "Really? And is that why you've taken your shoes off and tiptoeing?" she asked. Tyler took a deep breath, noticing the look on Miss Texla's face. "My rent, Ty," she said. "I know, I just don't have the money yet. I just lost my job today, but I promise I am going to pay back double as soon as I get a new job tomorrow. I promise," Tyler said. "You have tomorrow, Ty, and you're out," Miss Texla said, and went back to her room.
Tyler went to his room and went straight to bed because he had had a hectic day. He was still in bed when he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He got up and went to check, and to his surprise, he found a certain man who had the same stature as him, busily in the kitchen helping himself with some food to eat. Tyler took a baseball bat from the corner and moved a little bit closer. "Who are you?" Tyler asked. I turned around, and there he was standing right in front of me - the original me, the one that I'm a duplicate of. "I said, who are you and what are you doing in my house?" he asked again, raising the bat up. "Okay, easy there with the bat. Well, I am you. I'm the duplicate of you from the world of duplicates, and I need your help to save both our worlds," I said, which I could tell from the look on his face sounded weird to him. He stared at me for a moment and started laughing. "Are you insane? What do you mean you're the duplicate of me? Come on, every thief has their own story, but yours is really weird. Who will fall for that, although we look exactly like twins?" Tyler said as he placed the bat down. "Look, what I'm saying is true, and I'm serious about it," I said. "Blah... Blah... Blah... look here, man, I've had a very bad day, and I've got to figure out how to pay my rent, or else I'm out of this place. But you can sleep here for tonight, and you're out first thing in the morning," he said as he went to his room and came back with a pillow and a bedsheet and dropped them on the floor and went back to sleep. I took the pillow and placed it in the sofa chair and slept in it, using the bedsheet to cover myself. "Good night, Dad," I said as I closed my eyes and went to sleep.
Tyler woke up in the morning, and his house was neatly cleaned, and breakfast was already served. "Oh, you're awake? Good morning. I made breakfast," I said as I placed the fried eggs on the table. He looked amazed at how his room was neatly cleaned and later took a seat. "Did you do all this?" he asked in amazement. I stared at him and smiled and took a seat opposite him and started eating my breakfast. "What's your name?" he asked. "I already told you last night that I am you, your duplicate," I replied. "Can you f***kin' stop saying that you are me?" he said, raising his voice. "My name is Tyler, just like yours," I said. "Won't you go to work today?" I asked. He kept quiet for a while and spoke. "I got fired yesterday, so I don't have a job," he replied. "And any moment from now, Miss Texla will come knocking on the door for her rent money," he added. Suddenly, we heard a heavy knock on the door and a voice calling out Tyler's name to open the door. "Oh no, it's Miss Texla. She's coming for her money," Tyler said, looking desperate. "I can help you," I said. He stared at me and asked if I really could. "Yes, I can, but on one condition," I said. "And what's that?" he asked. "You help me in my mission to find the device I'm looking for, and I'll help you get money. A lot of money," I replied. He stood there considering for a while as Miss Texla continued to knock heavily on the door. "Fine, I agree," he said as we shook hands and sneaked out from the apartment through the window.
A portal opened in the middle of the mall, and Commander Gibbs came out from it accompanied by some soldiers. "So this is what the original world looks like," Commander Gibbs said as he ordered them to follow him with a tracking device in hand. The people at the mall stared at them in surprise.
_END OF CHAPTER 2_
