A street light flickers, and Cole’s eyes snap open. His body trembles, and he slowly pushes himself up from the rough concrete, his heart racing with confusion and fear.

His breath hitches as he mumbles, “W-Where am I?”

He frantically looks around, his eyes meeting rusty chairs, worn-down tracks, and a slightly lit-up ticket booth. How did he end up here?

Standing in a run-down train station, his mind spirals with all the possibilities of how he got there.

All he remembers is that he fell asleep while trying to test blood work for a recent murder case he had been assigned. He’d been working on it for weeks, and the strange thing was, he’d been passing out a lot lately. But he didn’t think anything of it, since he was working on a complicated case day and night and was probably tired.

_Am I dreaming? I must be,_ He thinks.

As he takes in his surroundings, he looks down at a black suit accompanying his tired body, which, strangely enough, wasn’t what he was wearing before. In fact, these clothes weren’t something he even owned.

He fidgets uncomfortably with the sleek fabric of his suit, not used to wearing anything but baggy clothes. Suddenly, a metallic scent fills his nose, and he grabs his suit with uncertainty. His eyes catch faint blood marks on a dirty white tie on his fast-beating chest.

“What the hell?” he sputters out. He quickly glances around, his eyes on the cracked stone floor with a faint trail of blood eerily staining it. The rusty street light flickers once again as Cole shifts his feet, massaging his forehead while trying to think.

All he knows is that he needs to get out of here, so he makes the unwanted decision to call his roommate, which he knows will most likely make this situation a laughing stock.

He annoyingly heads to a rusted bench, his back aching from lying down for what could have been hours on uncomfortable concrete. He bites his lip while searching for his phone in his strange attire. His hand grips the rough silicone and dials irritating numbers onto his phone.

Cole knows he will answer, since he’s always up late watching romcoms with a tub of ice cream, crying his heart out. That’s the kind of thing Kai does.

Cole looks intensely at his phone, and finally, Kai answers. He clears his throat, “Kai.”

“Shh,” Kais’ voice is low and hoarse as he whispers in a high-pitched voice, “I’m flying, Jack," imitating Rose from Titanic.

Cole rolls his eyes before blurting, “KAI!”

“Dudeee. You've ruined my favorite part of Titanic."

“OH MY GOSH KAI.” Cole’s agitated scream echoes through the empty station, and he tenses at the sound before sighing, "Look, I’m not home, I’m at some weird-” he glances around, puzzled before continuing, “-run down train station. I swear I have no idea how I ended up here. You’ve got to get me. I’ll share my location.”

A dramatic sigh bursts through the speaker. “Fine. I’m on my way.”

_

An hour later, at an unkempt apartment, Cole chaotically paces around, as his roommate sits in confusion on a worn-out couch, trying to piece together everything Cole has told him.

"Kai, I wasn't drunk. I swear- I was testing blood work when I got super tired and just passed out. And then before I know it... I'm in the middle of a train station," he exclaims as he rubs his temples, now starting to think he might be going crazy as well.

"Okay, okay," Kai softens his face. " I just-it’s just weird, okay. I don’t understand, is all I’m saying.” Kai’s eyes trail on the blood staining his shirt before saying, “And what’s with the blood? By the way, I have never seen you wear something like…” Kai judgmentally stares down Cole's suit before continuing, "-that. Did you have fun at the bachelor’s party?" Kai hysterically laughs, humoring only himself. He walks to the kitchen, still chuckling while rummaging through the pantry.

“I-“ Cole stutters while closing his eyes frustatingly, wishing this were all a dream. He sighs, “I dont know. It all happened-“

_Zzzzt, Zzzzt._

Cole's phone vibrates in the back of his pocket, and he takes it out. A disruptive call meets his weary eyes, and panic sets in.

”Shit."

Kai chews loudly, holding an almost-empty family-size Lay's bag. “Who is it?"

"I’ve gotta take this."

Cole hesitates before sliding his hand across the answer button.

_I must be asking for a death sentence_, he thinks.

Suddenly, the speaker pops as an angry yell emerges. "Cole. It's been _five _fucking hours and Iv'e been texting and calling non stop. If you don’t get the results back to us in the next 24 hours, I will fire your ass.” Cole’s ears ring as his manager screams ballistically at him, though it’s not so bad since he's used to the angry outbursts.

“I’ve almost got the results back, Stewart. Just chill out.” He clenches his teeth hard at the lie.

But it was only a half-lie, because he did have the tests half completed, just not the results.

“Chill out? A girl has been murdered. I’m doing my job, so how about you do yours?” Stewart blurts out.

“I know. I’m working on it. I have hair samples. I’ll be there in two hours.” Cole hangs up before his ears can have the chance to explode.

He looks back at Kai and says, “Clean this place up—and keep your hands off my snacks.”

“Sure thing, detective,” Kai winks at him, heading to the pantry to grab Doritos.

Cole heads to his room, which doesn’t take long since their apartment is merely the size of a dollhouse (minus the charm).

As he opens the door, papers and chemical bottles flood his room, and he walks to his messy desk. There sits a rusted mirror, and Cole gazes upon his beaten-up and bloodied suit, as well as his dead-beat face.

Confused, he bites his left cheek as a chill rushes through his body. Something feels off. Thoughts race through his mind as he stares back at his reflection, nerve-racked by the events that took place not long ago.

He stares, and stares. Almost looking at himself for an answer.

_What’s wrong with me? _He wonders, biting his nails fastly.

He sighs and quickly heads to his desk to finish the tests.

A red office chair greets him, and he slumps down into it, and it makes a loud squeaking noise. A small bag containing a couple of drops of blood waits on his desk, and he stares at it eerily, as if something’s wrong. He brushes off the emotion and puts white gloves on his bruised hands.

He sighs. _I’m almost done. Just need to get this to Stewart. Everything will be fine,_ he thinks.

He carefully lifts the paper and places a small piece of sample hair onto it, confident it won’t take long. After murder rates skyrocketed in 2045, scientist Stephen Ram found a more straightforward way to test hair, prints, and blood samples. You just put the paper with the hair into a DNA computer, and it shows you the photos immediately.

He glances at the paper again before placing it into the machine. Green flashes as loud, glitchy robotic sounds occupy his mind.

_Why does something feel so off about this? _He thinks.

He stares intently at the scanner before a ding abruts, indicating it has finished.

The screen loads as Cole taps his foot impatiently.

Then. A photo pops up. Just one result. An image of… himself?

"No." Cole stares, wide-eyed and frozen, while clutching his computer, shakingly. DNA results stare right back at him.

But it couldn’t be?

Cole whimpers in confusion. "But- I."

Suddenly, a loud ringing fills his ears, and everything turns black. A distant, faint, and raspy voice seems to whisper his name, echoing around him.

_“Cole.”_

_What’s happening!? He screams, only in his mind._

_The black slowly disappears, and he’s met with a bright room with blue chairs and medical equipment. He’s in a doctor’s office?_

_“Cole,” The voice echoes again, this time more serious._

_Coles lifts his hands over his head in fear as it echoes once more._

_“Cole. Im sorry. You have a personality disorder. It won’t get better. You need to-“_

Suddenly, everything stops, he stumbles with terror, and opens his wet eyes in realization.

“I-I remember.” His voice trembles.

He had a personality disorder. He was waiting in fright at a doctor’s office, as shocking words informed him of it. The doctors had tried to help. They had told him it would get worse. He wouldn’t remember anything once he shifted. But he refused. And he ran. The blood on his shirt was the girl’s blood. He had killed her that night in the train station, without even knowing it.

He cries, tears burning skin, "I did it. I-"

Suddenly, Cole’s eyes fill with tiredness, and his body twitches and shifts. Quickly, it straightens, and a grim smile slowly fills his cheeks.

Psychotic laughter fills the room, “Oh, Cole," he tsks, "Dont give yourself all the credit. It was _my_ idea, and _my_ knife I stabbed her with. You were merely just a body to use.” Cole giggles and stands up. ”I suppose I dont have much more time until I have to leave this town since you exposed our little secret.” He sighs with disappointment. “Not much time either before we shift back into the sweet-wholesome agent. So?” He heads to the mirror, lifting his hand while swiping away sweaty hair.

"How’s that roommate of yours doing?"