The Thing // Mark & Cesar

Chapter IV - House

It should've ended by Mark walking away, out of the house and never seeing that creature again. But something... Attracted Mark to it. It felt human-like. If he took it home, it would be a massive benefit for him. It was like Cesar was still there. Or, the alternate could be the new version of his friend. It was like a cry for help.

And as he put his hand on the doorknob, he paused.

...

"Get in the damn car."

...

He felt stupid for making this decision.

The alternate was in the backseat of the car. It glanced around, fascinated by everything that was in it. A small hanging picture of Cesar and Mark was attached to one of the chairs, one of the car lights were damaged, and the seatbelt was all tangled up and hard to pull over its body without it almost strangling itself.

On the other hand, Mark knew he wasn't going to enjoy this. As the alternate waited for him to start up the car, he put his hands on the steering wheel and stared off into the distance. Instead of dying, there was a human-like alternate in the back of his car, which was going to stay at his own house. He felt utterly stupid.

The alternate stayed silent. It felt like it shouldn't talk. It shouldn't. It knew that it would irritate Mark to the core. Despite the alternate not experiencing feelings, it could sense another human's feelings well. It was easy to tell by their body gestures.

Mark's hands were tightly clenching the steering wheel. He was spaced out, thinking of all the events that led up to this moment. Up to the moment where he let a monster into his car. Up to the moment where he was going to drive it home. I guess he could make the best out of it, if that was even possible to do. 

"Are you going to drive?" ... "Oh, right..."

Mark shoved his key into the ignition and grabbed the gearstick, changing it to neutral, and started to drive away. The alternate watched the car move away from the house. And deep down, Mark felt a cramp in his stomach. He wanted to claw at his stomach and scream in pain. His heart was tight, he could feel the sweat on his forehead... It felt like he was about to break into a panic attack.

"I can drive if you're anxious." ... "I'm not anxious." ... "It's clear you're anxious."

It was... Very clear. But he did not respond with a remark. He drove in silence, and the creature copied. It knew that a human's heart could be fragile. So were their bodies. And it was strange how it wasn't attacking Mark.

The alternate didn't feel like itself. Something gave it life. Something was controlling it. And that something deeply wanted to protect Mark with all of its heart. It felt like the creature had a living soul. It could kill easily before, every chance to kill Mark, it missed. But now it was harder. Mark was sitting in front of it, and he couldn't even raise its finger.

Mark whistled a tune to calm himself down. It was the tune that he and Cesar always used to sing as kids in elementary school. And as the early breeze seeped through the window, hitting both of their faces, the tension was gone.

And something was holding the alternate back.