I don't have much time. She's coming to get me and I need help before she gets here. How could I have been fooled for this long? Why me? Who are you Lisa? I think back to how it all happened.
...
Just like any other day, I was scrolling through Tinder, Bumble, and the like, trying to find matches. This has turned into my daily routine. I'm a college grad, don't get out much, and book keep for a local business, so I don't really interact with people. My only hope for meeting the love of my life would be scrolling past countless selfies. After an endless amount of left swipes. I found her. She was perfect. My type to a T. If I had to build my wife, she would be it. It was like... she was made for me. And now I'm starting to think that she was.
I swiped right and shortly after, surprisingly, she did too. Talking was seamless. It didn't feel awkward, or forced. It was so natural. And now that I look back at it, maybe too natural. Like she always knew what to say, how to respond, the right words. I didn't notice at first. I was desperate. I was getting old and I wanted someone to love. Someone to settle down with and start the family I’ve always wanted and the family my mom always nags me about.
When we hung out for the first time, I knew she was the one. She... she was even more gorgeous in person. Almost as if a few of her features were enhanced. I didn’t think much of it. Pictures never really show the true appearance of a person. But somehow, she seemed to get prettier and prettier every time we hung out.
It was something I didn't start to pick up on until the body alterations became more noticeable. At first it was just little things like birth spots and moles appearing and disappearing in various places around her body, but then it got stranger. When we first met she had this tattoo on her torso. It was hard to miss. One day I commented that I thought it was a little big. The next time we got together, it was gone. I was baffled. Of course in the heat of the moment, I didn't say anything, but I could've sworn she had a tattoo there. Maybe she had it drawn on with marker before? Did she get it removed? But it got weirder.
I don't think she sleeps. The first night she slept over, I woke up in the middle of the night to see her eyes wide open staring at me. It's pitch black in the room. Her eyes, were studying me more than loving me. I asked her what she was doing awake and she just said some lousy excuse like I was snoring and then rolled over. But I knew she wasn't sleeping. It seemed like she wasn't even breathing. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest or the pounding or pulse of her heart anywhere on her body.
When we moved in together, I picked up on more strange habits. Her daily routine was immaculate. She left the house and arrived home at the same time without fail. Down to the very second even. She was always on this schedule.
I got curious one day and I followed her to her job. She never told me much about it when I asked her and I just wanted to know what was so demanding of her time.
I think this was my biggest mistake.
She worked very far from home. It could explain why she left so promptly early in the morning and was gone all day. She spends nearly 3 hours of her morning driving. A 6 hour round trip. This is crazy.
Her car didn't slow down, speed up, waiver. She drove smoothly. Perfectly even. Too perfect possibly.
She eventually veered off the main roads and started driving deep into a remote forest.
A building popped up behind a few trees. It was a shack of some sort. I parked my car to the side of this dirt road and decided to walk the rest of the way to the building. I couldn’t let my wife know I was following her. That is like Trust 101 and something was telling me that this wasn't a place open to the public. Lisa parked her car next to the shack and walked in. I just camped behind a tree and waited for a minute to see what was going to happen. A few hours passed and Lisa walked out of the hut and drove off.
I thought this would be my chance to see what the hell my wife is doing for a living. Is she a spy? A secret agent? Maybe that's why she acts so strange and stoic.
I made my way to the shack and entered. It was dark. Run down. Clearly was not connected to main power or water. Completely off the grid.
I stumbled into this office and nearly vomited at what I saw. I saw... drawings of my wife. Like models of her. Each body part dissected and modeled. I saw replicas. I saw various limbs and organs spread around the room. All were either identical or variants of her own.
I looked closer at the stack of papers on the desk. There was a folder with my name on it. Inside were my social media profiles. This person has been monitoring what models I liked on Instagram, what girls I used to date, girls I right swiped, and even quotes of me describing my ideal girlfriend to my pals that used to pester me about my singleness. Someone’s been watching me. But why?
On their computer I saw lines and lines of code for something. At this point I'm presuming it's my wife's programming? I can't believe this. He has reports and notes of critiques I’ve given her. And I guess he corrects them. I....
"YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"
I nearly fall over at the shout of his voice shaking the room.
"What have you done to my wife, is she some sort of fucking science project to you, you fucking creep?"
“She's not the experiment Michael, you are.”
His words yanked at my stomach. I didn't know how to respond. I ran out the shack and booked it to my car. I had to get the fuck out of there.
"You're making a big mistake michael." he shouted as I ran off.
I gunned it. I don't know what to do. Certainly my wife will be home soon.
My wife? My... my... I don't know what she is at this point, but I'm not looking forward to finding out.
I went to a motel. I just needed time to catch my breath, gather my thoughts and form a plan.
What is my wife? Is she human...? Could she just be a super stalker. Monitoring everything about me to match my preferences? But why would she have all these anatomically crafted drawings and limbs of herself? Is that where her tattoo went? She just put on new skin? And aside from her appearance, I’m starting to realize she doesn't act human. She doesn't make mistakes. From the day I met her... she's been perfect.
Ding
"Hey babe, where are you?"
I read her text coldly.
Any other day, I would text her back in a heartbeat, but I just can’t bring myself to type a response. How would I even respond? She hasn’t been who I thought she was all this time. I’m… I’m horrified.
Ding
I nearly jumped at the noise of the notification.
“Lol why are you at a motel? I’m on my way, be there in 30.”
She is coming! She tracked me down. What do I do? Should I run? Should I act like everything's normal? If she knows where I am, does that random guy in the shack do too? Is he coming? Is he the one who is or has been texting me?
Please, please help me!
