Mandela Catalogue stuff???

Story 6: Something bad is about to happen to me...

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Cesar's POV before dying. 

(Title inspired by 'Dark Red' by Steve Lacy)

TW: Blood, body horror, gore, uncanny features, feelings of paranoia (thought I'd put that there, just in case :-]), sharp objects / knives (again, just wanted to put that there :-]), swearing etc. Stay safe please!

(NOTE: I've put a not-so-secret reference to one of my previous stories in this one, as well as an obvious volume 1 reference, see if you can spot it!)

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Cesar's car slowly came to a stop outside his house, and immediately he felt as though something was off. He always felt overly paranoid whenever at home - let alone being home alone - but right now was just too much to comprehend. Perhaps it was just the forest outside his house. 

Cesar shivered in his prom tuxedo as the cool September air flowed around him before opening the car door and cautiously stepping out. He was so used to seeing Mrs Torres, his mother, waiting at the front door to embrace her son, but since she was on a business trip, he felt more uneasy than ever. What made matters worse was that he hadn't heard from her in two days. Mark always said he struggled with relatives being a long distance away too, but Cesar thought otherwise. It was those alternates. Those ghastly beings who use elements of phycological warfare to drive their victims into killing themselves. He hated that thought.

 The rain-covered gravel of the driveway crunched under Cesar's shoes as he slowly stepped towards the front door. Reaching into his trouser pocket and looking down, his uneasiness scaled higher once he saw his spare house keys were laying beside his outside plant instead of underneath it. He exhaled sharply, consoling himself and reaching deeper into his pockets to reach his keys. 

(MINI TIME SKIP (like 30 seconds later) WHAT AM I DOING????)

Shakily reaching for the door knob after turning the lock, Cesar took a breath. He hated this part of the evening - getting inside, knowing damn well he's home alone and an alternate could've easily slipped through a crack in the door or an open window whilst he was gone. The front door creaked loudly as he took his first step inside, and a breeze even colder than the September weather outside greeted him immediately. He shivered again, ignoring the urges to run out of the house and never look back, and went inside. 

Now his paranoia was at its peak. Everything in the house looked wrong - how all the lights were on, how the shadows in the corner morphed into uncanny figures from the corner of his eye, how the living room door was ajar despite him closing it fully earlier before leaving, everything. Without thinking, he ventured to his kitchen, which surprisingly, is the only room without a light on. His shoes echo on the tiled flooring as he moves to turn the light on. But when he does, a distressing sight greets Cesar from behind him...

Cesar turned back around to see an alternate looming over him, dilating eyes staring back in what one could assume was pity.

Though Cesar could tell it was anything but pity.

Staggering back towards a kitchen cabinet, Cesar couldn't help but just watch in disbelief as the alternate almost copied his own movements, inching closer every second or so. Reaching for the nearest weapon he could find, his trembling fingertips eventually meet contact with a large kitchen knife, and shot it up at the doppelgänger's uncanny grin. 

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I'LL F**CKING KILL YOU!" Though Cesar's pleas did no effect, as the doppelgänger began taunting and mocking him, repeating his begs for mercy and laughing manically. Tears of utter fear cascaded down Cesar's cheeks as he pleaded endlessly and held the knife up at the alternate. 

And without thinking, Cesar lunged forward...

'Uh-oh! Bad decision, Torres!'

(author note: Ooooo two different references in this one (I assume one is more obvious than the other). Hope you enjoyed!)