Doppelganger Smile

By Kyle Pratt

A sudden squall hurls Lisa into the raging sea.

On a leisurely sailing trip with her boyfriend, a sudden squall hurls Lisa into the raging sea. Sinking ever deeper she knows death is certain. Then a flash of light and she stares into the eyes of another woman with her in the dark water.

The woman looks just like her. 

Doppelganger Smile is a 5,000-word Twilight Zone style short story with a psychological twist.

Kyle Pratt is an award winning and Amazon bestselling author of post-apocalyptic thrillers including Through Many Fires, A Time to Endure and Braving the Storms.

Doppelganger Smile is a 5,000-word Twilight Zone style short story with a psychological twist.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Camden Cascade Publishing
• Release date: Mar 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732896406

Kyle Pratt

Kyle Pratt is the bestselling author of speculative fiction. His latest novel, A Time to Endure is the second book in the Strengthen What Remains series after the bestseller Through Many Fires. Through Many Fires is the first book in a post-apocalyptic series released in paperback, Kindle and on Audible in August 2013. Within two weeks the novel appeared on the Kindle Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic list, reaching #10, and reached #1 on the list on December 2, 2014. Through Many Fires has earned its way to the #1 spot on the Kindle Dystopian and Military list, and #39 on the Mystery, Thriller and Suspense list. Kyle grew up in the mountains of Colorado and earned an Associate in Arts degree from Mesa State College in Grand Junction.  When money for college ran low he enlisted in the United States Navy as a Cryptologic Technician. "I thought I would do four years and then use my veteran's benefits to go back to college," he once said. His first assignment was with a U.S. Navy unit at the Royal Air Force base in Edzell, Scotland. While on leave in Israel he met Lorraine from Plymouth, Devon, England and married her the next year.  Together they spent the remainder of his twenty year naval career traveling across the United States from Virginia to Hawaii and on to Guam, Japan and beyond. Even before he retired from the service he wrote short stories. In July of 2012 his debut novel, Titan Encounter, a science fiction space adventure, came out on Kindle and later in paperback. His second book, Final Duty - The Speculative Fiction Anthology, was released in January of 2013.  The anthology is regularly updated with new short stories and samples. Today, Kyle and Lorraine live on a small farm in Western Washington State.  Kyle believes the future of publishing is digital.  You can easily find and follow him online.

Book preview

Doppelganger Smile

On a leisurely sailing trip with her boyfriend, a sudden squall hurls Lisa into the raging sea. Sinking ever deeper she knows death is certain. Then she sees another woman with her.

I jotted the idea for this story in my notebook several years ago. Other, more pressing projects, kept me from writing it until recently. When I finished I thought this story, like my story Grandma’s House, had a Twilight Zone quality to it.

* * *

The blue, gold and silver light shimmered on the surface of the water, yet seemed so far away. She kicked hard, but sank ever deeper. Lisa struggled to reach the surface even as every stitch of clothing acted like a weight dragging her down into darkness and death.

Why had she let her boyfriend talk her into a boat ride on that cloudy gray day?

Holding tight on the wheel Ron had looked out over the dark churning waters. We’ll make it back to Key West, but…where’s my life vest?

Only then did Lisa realize she didn’t have one and went aft looking for them.

The sun peeked through a break in the clouds just as she found the vests near the stern. She held them up and shouted, Here they are. Then she saw it, a monstrous wave crashing toward the starboard side of the boat. Shouting a warning, she struggled with the straps of her life preserver as the freak wave slammed into the side of the vessel. Lisa flew from the boat and splashed into the choppy sea.

Flailing in the water, she