Virginia sat for a moment, stunned. She needed medical attention, but John was the only doctor in town. Mindlessly she gathered all the tea that he had made and packed it into her knapsack. The larger city of Gainsburg was over thirty miles from her location. She would need to get to town and take the bus to Gainsburg.

With her plan in place, she jotted down a quick note and slipped it into her bag. She feared that she might not be able to tell medical professionals her situation. Virginia quickly slipped on her heavy winter coat and stepped outside. The flurries from earlier had become a blizzard, but she trudged onward.

Half an hour later, Virginia was exhausted. All the adrenaline from the shock and anger earlier had left her. It was taking all of her strength to put one foot in front of the other. So that was what she concentrated on. “One, two, just a few more, three, four.”

When Virginia woke, she was back at her cabin. Looking over toward the kitchen, she saw that John was making tea. Virginia glanced at the wall, and her trusty shotgun was still there. If she was going to do something, she needed to do it quickly. She grabbed the gun and promptly pumped it, leveling the barrel at the John.

“Wait, Virginia!” The man held up his hands. “It’s Mike.”

Virginia took a closer look at him. Even though they were identical twins, they were different in appearance. The face in front of her was not the drawn serious one of John. It was the warmer smiling one of Mike. Virginia lowered the shotgun. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a strange call from John. He was incoherent. Muttering something about the Hippocratic oath and your name. “Mike explained. “John’s never been stable mentally, but my parent’s ignored that aspect of him. He is brilliant but very twisted. I know my brother, so instead of trying to get something out of him. I came to check on you. Why were you on your way to town?” He finished making the tea and brought it to her.

Virginia panicked, “Don’t drink any tea here! It’s poisoned.”

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, looking into the tea mug in shock.

“John poisoned all the tea he gave me. I was going for help. I don’t know how much time I have left. He’s been poisoning me for weeks.” Virginia explained.

Mike looked stunned as he stepped over to the sink and dumped the mugs. “I knew he had taken a liking to you. But I never thought…” He shook his head. “Can you walk?” Virginia tried to stand up but stumbled. “Let’s go.”

“Take the backpack. I put the tea in it so it could be analyzed,” Virginia said.

As Mike reached for the backpack, the door of the cabin flew open. “You!” He said, pointing a pistol at Mike. “I knew you were seeing her behind my back. Your car is outside. That wasn’t very discreet.”

“You poisoned her, John. How could you do that to someone?” Mike asked.

“I knew when she said no, there was someone else she was thinking about,” John cocked the pistol.

The men seemed to forget that Virginia was in the room as they glared at each other. “You really are beyond hope, aren’t you.” Mike shook his head. “My entire life, mom and dad made excuses for your behavior. The killing of my pets. The stealing of my things. You even once took my ID and pretended to be me.”

“There should have been only one!” John shouted as he aimed the gun at Mike. “Why should you get everything I wanted—the love of our parents, the attention of others in school. I became a doctor, and I thought that would gain me the respect and reputation you already have. But it didn’t work. People shy away from me unless they are sick. I find the woman I want to spend my life with, and she denies me because she likes you!” John’s finger trembled on the trigger.

A resounding bang assaulted their ears, and John grabbed his chest. He seemed to drop in slow motion as his gun fell to the wooden floor of the cabin.

Mike ran over to John and kicked the pistol away. He grabbed John’s wrist, looking for a pulse. Finding none, he glanced over at Virginia. “Are you OK?” She nodded. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Mike grabbed the knapsack and threw it over his shoulder before picking up Virginia along with her blankets.