SNAP! and the Alter Ego Dimension Read Free Page B

like the cat that swallowed the canary. She was almost purring. “Cute little Wayne,” she breathed his name provocatively, “he’ll be glad to see that my pimple has vanished into thin air!”
    Tammy felt both hands of her alter ego on her face, then on her throat. Ice cold fingers clasped her neck. So hard that she couldn’t breathe.
    Tammy grabbed the other Tammy’s hands. At the same time she lifted her knee and struck her alter ego as hard as she could between her legs. Even as she lashed out she wondered if it would hurt to strike herself. It didn’t. She felt nothing except the impact of her knee against the second Tammy’s groin.
    Alter Tammy squealed. The sound was distorted, empty and hollow, but the girl’s hands held tight, keeping their murderous grasp around Tammy’s throat. They pressed even harder.
    Tammy felt her strength draining away from lack of oxygen. She knew she had only seconds before she would lose consciousness. She had to act now, break the grip or lose the battle. 

    Tammy was not the kind of girl who picked fights with other girls. Never before had she even wanted to slap someone, except, perhaps, Wayne this morning. But now it was different. She had to do something or she would die. On her mother’s advice she had taken up martial arts lessons at the Mixed Martial Arts Academy. Her mother wanted to keep her safe in a South Africa plagued by a soaring crime rate. Now she must use her knowledge of self-defense against herself. Her other self. Because of the lessons, she knew exactly how to free herself from this grip . . .
    “Ah, you’re thinking about mixed martial arts,” snapped alter Tammy panting. As fast as lightning she released Tammy’s neck and grabbed her underneath her armpits. Tammy sucked in air. At last.
Oxygen
.
    “You’re forgetting that I know what you’re thinking, even as you’re thinking it,” alter Tammy said mockingly as she tried to pull her arm over Tammy’s head.
    Tammy ignored the voice as she worked out what her enemy was doing.
    Hell’s bells! she exclaimed inwardly as she realized the danger. Alter Tammy wanted to do the ‘guillotine strangle’ on her. If she succeeded, Tammy would lose consciousness for several seconds. Time enough for alter Tammy to store her here? No way was she going to let that happen. She must be strong. Enemy Tammy must not succeed.
    Unable to apply the ‘guillotine strangle’, alter Tammy tried to put her arm behind Tammy’s neck to cut off her air supply. Again Tammy parried, quickly putting her arm between her own neck and the alter Tammy’s arm. She knew exactly what alter Tammy planned, because they both knew the different kind of grips taught in mixed martial arts.
    Again Tammy lifted her knee, but this time she hadn’t enough strength left for a powerful blow. It felt as if alter Tammy was sapping her strength. She didn’t know how long she could withstand her onslaught.
    “I . . . I didn’t like the pimple, that’s all,” Tammy stammered, trying to convince this other self that she really liked and enjoyed her life. “I love my mum’s house. I like Wayne. I even like Dad when he hasn’t been drinking. Please, let go of me. I’ll never, ever be discontented with myself again . . . ”
    Tammy was interrupted by a loud and ugly laugh. “I like your life on earth, too. Do you think it’s pleasant to be stored here, in this grayness? With nothing to do except watch how you’re wasting your life? My life. Especially now that we alter egos can think for ourselves and know that we don’t have to hang around waiting for little snatches of real life? Do you think we like not existing for long periods of time? I want your life on earth and you are not going to stop me. Now you’re here, in my world, your better self will overpower you sooner or later.” Alter Tammy emphasized the word ‘better’. “So, the quicker you lose your strength, the quicker we can get this over with. Nobody will miss you