Phobophobia - A Mandela Catalogue AU

Chapter 1

Mark sputters in front of him, coughing up blood. Cesar watches in horror as the voices consume his mind and cast shivers to his soul.

"Kill him."

"He's dying!"

"A zombie maybe?"

"ALTERNATE!"

The voices got louder and louder, getting more and more demanding. They told Cesar to kill Mark, kill himself, hurt someone, anyone, anything... 

This was all the plan from Him to torment the poor little county that was Mandela.

The PSA's blaring alarm woke him from the nightmare.

There Cesar was, laying on the couch. he must've looked groggy and unethical, something he couldn't stand others seeing him like. He got shaken out of his thoughts as the PSA went on.

"We are currently receiving countless reports of unidentified hostile organisms that we'll refer to as Alternates. Until we have a complete understanding of the threat, it is important to stay home, lock all doors and windows, and have access to a loaded firearm or any ranged weapon at all times."

"Huh. That's weird," Cesar thought, laying back a bit into the couch and trying to fix his hair with his hands as the static-like voice went on;

 "You will know if an Alternate exists solely based on their physical characteristics. If you see another person that looks identical to you, run away and hide. If you see a person that has biologically impossible characteristics, run away and hide."

Cesar watched, silently agreeing to that. This was nothing new. As he was about to doze off once again at the PSA being played another million times, one new sentence came up that make his blood run cold.

"If you see a person that has phobia-related characteristics, run away and hide."

The screen then showed people with multiple hands, erratic holes on their body, and weird realistic eyes plastered on their face.

Cesar immediately shot up, eyes widening. This wasn't here before. This was new. Eeriee. M.A.D. inducing. "Phobias? They're using fears people have to be used against us?" Cesar thought, but as he watched on, it got worse.

"As you might know, these intelligent lifeforms utilize elements of psychological warfare to take advantage of their victims. If one manages to break into your home, refrain from any kind of communication or contact with the threat. Do not look at it, even through a mirror or any reflective surfaces. If it sees you, you have already los-"

The PSA abruptly cuts to static, and begins to show the THINK principle. Cesar sat in shock at the new information, trying to let it all sink in for himself to process.

There's the thing; he couldn't process it.

While Cesar was stuck in his thoughts, something knocked over a glass and Cesar gasped softly at the sound of glass shattering. The PSA went on behind his back, and it called out to him behind his back.

"Do not try and attack Type 5 beings. You will always lose."

Cesar walked around the kitchen, slipping on some slippers and carefully sweeping up the glass. As he threw it away, the crickets stopped chirping. The dishwasher stopped suddenly, even though the dishes have been running the whole time. It felt like the whole world took a breath, waiting in fear for what was about to unfold.

Cesar screamed as he saw the alternate. The "type 5."

Cesar fell to the ground, grabbing a kitchen knife and pointing it at the ghastly thing. It got closer, scooting inch by inch, and suddenly Cesar heard lots of chattering in the room. It was like he just got out of a movie theater before they all closed down recently, with kids screaming, parents chatting, and teenagers shoving everyone else around.

God, he hated it.

Cesar instinctively covered his ears, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked away from the alternate. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. He looked down at himself and noticed his body was turning into something else. The voices flooded his mind screaming at him, the movie theater folks talking even louder, screams of terror getting louder, louder, louder--

Cesar could barely hear his own screaming as he felt a warm liquid drip down his chest. He looked at his hands, which turned into the same claws that thing had that gave him... this.

He felt salty tears drip down his face, stabbing himself, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 times in the chest. He didn't want to be an outcast. He wanted to blend in. He wanted to be human.

In a dizzy haze, he crumbled to the ground, flowing in and out of consciousness. The things he had feared this whole life came true.

He took what he thought was a final breath, and bid adieu to the life he once had.

But he woke up again.

In a pool of his own blood.

And the knife in his chest.

Why wasn't he in the afterlife?

Was there no afterlife?

Did Cesar not get accepted?

What happened?