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"Jeremy. Jeremy! Private Dooley!"
The shorter man startled out of his daze and into attention, but sighed when he realized it was his friend. "For fuck's sake Matt, don't do that."
Matt adjusted his grip on his rifle. "You've been staring into space an awful long time. You alright?"
"Yeah. Just... can't shake the feeling that we've done this before." He shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his jacket.
"What, like deja vu?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
Matt laid a free hand on his shoulder. "I think you're letting this war shit go to your head."
Jeremy smirked. "One more battle?"
"You know it."
"RELOADING!"
Jeremy crouched down and popped open hit shotgun, spent shells dislodging and landing at his feet. Matt was instantly above him, machetes in hand, watching the zombies creep ever closer.
"Last two shots," Jeremy said, loading them into the barrels and snapping it shut.
"Three infected. Make 'em count," Matt replied as he stood up.
Jeremy squared off his shoulders and pressed the shotgun into his right one, lining up his sight with the nearest zombie's head. "You ever get the feeling we've done this before?"
"What, like deja vu?"
"Something like that."
"Every goddamn day, Jeremy."
"Is it ex-PEC-to or EX-pec-to?" Matt asked Jeremy, looking up from his book.
"Hmm?" Jeremy looked over, finally breaking his stare with the fireplace. "Sorry mate, I wasn't listening."
"You've been distant all night. Are you okay?" Matt set his wand in his book to mark his place and shut it.
The smaller man scrubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know. Been feeling weird all day. Like we've done this before."
"What, like deja vu?"
"I guess. I'm not sure how else I can describe it."
"Look, you've been studying too hard." Matt pulled a slip of parchment out of his robe pocket. "I got the password to the kitchens. What do you say we forget this rubbish and go get a snack?"
Jeremy grinned and nodded.
The door to the shop jingled and Matt walked in. "Special delivery!" he said, holding two large coffees above his head.
Jeremy was sitting at his drawing, one tattooed hand propping up his chin, the other tapping a pencil against the paper. He sighed loudly.
"JEREMY!" Matt shouted at him.
He jolted and the pencil tore the paper down the middle. "Aw shit, what the hell did you do that for? Ugh, this sketch is ruined."
Matt stared down at the torn paper and clicked his tongue piercing between his teeth. "Doesn't look like much anyway. What is that, a rooster?"
"Trying to design an idea for a customer's quarter sleeve. This is bullshit." He grabbed one of the coffees and took a big swig. "I don't know man. I feel like we've done this before. A lot."
"What, like deja vu?"
"I think so."
"Well, I do come in with coffee a lot." Matt shrugged and ruffled Jeremy's bright green hair. "Come on, I thought you were gonna pierce my septum today."
"How many times have I told you not to do that? I ain't fucking five."
Matt grabbed a cloth and wiped the blood from his knife. "Oh man, this is the most fun we've had in a long time."
Jeremy was staring down at the cooling body, not moving.
"Hey. HEY!" Matt shouted, and Jeremy jumped. "You alright? Been quiet today."
"You ever feel like we've done this before?"
Matt laughed loudly. "What, like deja vu?"
"No. Yes. Maybe."
"We've never done THAT before," he said, pointing with the knife at the growing puddle of blood. "Although I would like to do it again. And maybe a third time. Is there a such thing as pre-deja-vu?"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "That sounds dumb."
"What if I let you pick the sacrifice next time?"
The crowd was going nuts as Matt finished his routine but Jeremy was sitting at his makeup table, oblivious to the noise.
The tall man walked in and fluffed his ostrich feather fans in Jeremy's face to startle him. "You up next?" he asked, sitting down and unbuckling his shoes.
"No, I'm closing tonight," Jeremy said, shaking his head. "I feel like we've done this before."
"What, like deja vu?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"I don't know how you'd be having deja vu, that was a new routine. And aren't you doing something new on the pole tonight?"
Jeremy grinned. "I finally managed to get the butterfly right. I'm bringing it into my 'Baby One More Time' routine."
Matt's jaw dropped. "I can't wait to see it! I'll get dressed and sit in the crowd." Matt kissed Jeremy on the cheek. "See you later."
"Hey."
"What?"
"You ever wonder why we're here?"
"It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of--"
"No, jackass. I meant, do you ever feel like we've done this before?" Dooley heaved a sigh and took off his maroon helmet, setting it on the table.
"What, like deja vu?" Bragg's orange helmet ended up next to Dooley's. He looked around and realized they were alone in the mess hall.
"I think so."
"The red versus blue civil war is generations old at this point. Maybe we're our great-great-grandfathers, reincarnated and doomed to fight this same fight over and over again until we get it right."
"That sounds more like purgatory than deja vu."
Bragg shrugged and rubbed his freshly-shaved head with a gloved hand. "Purgatory in a box canyon isn't so bad. We could be in worse places."
"What, like Texas?"
Both men laughed.
Jeremy was staring into the distance, thumbing over the buttons on his controller absentmindedly. It took Matt calling his name three times before he finally heard him.
"Hmm?"
"You gonna sync or what?"
"Oh. Sorry. This is Jeremy syncing, one two three, one two three." He set his controller on the desk and cracked his knuckles.
"You alright?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Yeah..." Jeremy trailed off. "You ever get the feeling we've done this before?"
"What, like deja vu?"
"I guess. I can't think of any other way to describe it." He looked up at his friend and sighed. "It's nothing. Come on, let's get this shit recorded."