The Mandela Catalogue

something is here

I wake up in my room, fox by my side, bean is perched on the end of my bed.
It's 8:45, I get up and go into the living room where Jackie and Michael are talking. Twig is nowhere to be found
"What's up big D!" Michael says.
"Never say that again." I say.
He laughs.
"Where's Twig?" I ask.
"Gone for a walk.' he says.
The door opens. Twig walks in.
"Hello." They say.

'I will fool the shepherds' I hear from the TV.
"Oh no." Twig says.
"Why is it saying that?" Michael asks.
"Did you plug the TV back in?" I ask.
'I will know their greatest fear'
"I was bored!" Michael says
"unplug it!" I say.
'I will know your greatest fear'
Michael rushes over and reaches behind the TV to unplug it.
I hear a click but the TV doesn't turn off.
'wake up Joseph'
"What are you doing!?" I yell going over to see the commotion.
'wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up...'
I push him out of the way and unplug the TV.
'wake up, wake up, wake-'

"That's not the end." Twig says.
"I know." I turn to the others in the room.
"Now when or if it appears, don't listen to it." I say.
"I'll go tell Fox, I'll be right back, it can't affect me." Twig says, leaving the room.
"So there's just an alternate Spying on us right now." I say.
A person materialises in front of us, whispering.
"Cover your ears." I say.
Everyone does so.
They have a weird face.
"Everyone is going to leave you eventually." It whispers.
"Are you just telling me the thoughts I have everyday?" I say.
It whispers.
"I know your main goal is to get me to kill myself by telling me something that may not even be true." I say.
It just carries on.
"I actually just don't care. I've been through a lot and I'm genuinely just numb to it now, I'm pretty sure the rest of us are like that too." I say.
It silences.
"Did the whole country really go Bezirk over something as useless as you? Your harmless." I say.
"Even if you survive the rest, it'll just come to him." It says.
"Nothing is worth the risk." It says before disappearing.

Twig comes back.
"We survived the alternate attack." I say.
"What happened?" They say.
"It said something about something and I said that I just didn't care and that I was numb to whatever the hell it could say to me and that it was harmless. Then it said 'even if you survive the rest, it'll just come to him.' and 'nothing is worth the risk' then disappeared." I explained.
"Gabriel." They say.
"Pardon?" I ask.
"It was referring to Gabriel when it said it'll just come to him." They say.
"Didn't you say Gabriel could be their leader?" I ask.
"Yes." They say.
"Yeah but there's no way that out of all of the people that may be left in the world, Gabriel can't specifically come to us." Michael says.

A deer howls in the distance.
"That's new." Michael says looking out the window.
A large creature strides down the street. It had long legs and a thin furry, brown, body. It had claws and a long thick neck that connected to the head of a deer skull, with big antlers.
"A howler." Twig says.
"Oh great, that thing exists now!?" I say.
"All these creatures have existed you just haven't seen them until now." Twig says.

"Well shit." I say.

(602 words)