How can you tell if someone you know — your best friend, your teacher, even one of your parents — has been replaced with a Splinter?

 

They look just like the unfortunate humans they take. They act just like them.

 

Maybe out of the corner of your eye, you've caught a flaw in their shape. Or you have the feeling your friend wouldn’t do this, or your mom wouldn't say that.

 

In that case, you're lucky your friend or relative was so poorly replicated. Many Splinters give no discernible indications at all, but here are the most common signs to look for:

 

1: Temporary distortion of shape, often accompanied by a sound like snapping wood.

 

2: Increased interest in sensory experiences, commonly food.

 

3: Aversion to certain intense sensations, often loud, high pitched sounds.

 

4: Lost understanding of human concepts, including the importance of time.

 

5: Preference for the company of other Splinters.

 

6: Unexplained absence, ranging from hours to days, while replication takes place.

 

7: Age of at least eleven years (no younger cases have been recorded in humans)

 

The only Splinter replacement location I'm aware of is hidden somewhere in the woods of Prospero, California, but we must consider the possibility that there are others.

 

What's happening in my town could be happening in others. It could be happening to you, and the fight is not for everyone.

 

Keep track of your families. Avoid Splinters. If you can, do what I can't. Run.

 

Because the Splinters around you will continue to splinter, and soon you could find yourself living in an entire town of them, if you continue to live at all.

 

Mina Todd