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trashyreptilian · 2 years

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Lurking Danger, September 12th 1992 (Part 1)

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Author's Note: Before you read this, keep in mind that a lot of the events from TMC are changed in my AU. Gotta make it work somehow.

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Next Parts:

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 2)

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 3)

Lurking Danger, September 16th 1992 (Final Part)

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Characters: Cesar Torres (he/him) and Mark Heathcliff (he/him).

Summary: Meeting up with his now graduated friend, Cesar invites Mark over to his house since his parents were out for work. Everything seems to be going well but there's this lurking presence he keeps feeling. Like someone is watching him. Is he imagining things or is he being followed? (Word count: ~2 500)

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The ringing of school bells echoed throughout the halls. Cesar didn't notice until people around him started packing their stuff. Oh god, is it over already? Did I even listen to anything? Normally, he always looked forward to the drama club after classes, but he had his mind on something else. One of the club members noticed his unusual silent demeanor.

"Hey..." Putting their hand on his shoulder. "You were nowhere near as dramatic when we did those warm-up exercises" Cesar let out a chuckle at the remark. They faintly smiled. "Wanted to make sure you're okay, you looked totally out of it today. Quite unlike you, if I'm being honest." Cesar sighed. "I'm okay, thanks for asking though. It's just that, uh..." He paused, scratching his head. "This is going to sound weird but do you remember Mark?" There was a minute silence before they answered. "Oh! Mark Heathcliff, right? I don't remember much about him besides that he only hung around you. Did something happen to him?" He shook his head. "Well, no. He just graduated early and..." Looking down on the ground, scratching his head again. "Ah." Sounded like they understood what was going on. "I see. Getting used to him not being around anymore, huh?"

"Yeah... We'd always talk during recess and our lunch breaks. He would try to convince me to skip my classes for no damn reason and other stupid shit like that." They started patting his back. "Aww, you two must be very close."

All of a sudden, both of them heard a name being called out by other students by the door. "Ah shit, my friends are here. I don't think they can wait for me anymore." Swiftly grabbing their bag and giving a couple more pats on Cesar's back before leaving. "Sorry but I gotta run, I'll see you tomorrow! If you see Mark, tell him that I hope he's doing well!" They ran off and waved goodbye. Waving back as he got up from his chair. Left alone with his thoughts.

He looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. 4:30 p.m., better get going. Rushing out the door, nearly forgetting his own bag and leaving the lights on, he headed to the school's parking lot to meet up with Mark. As Cesar walked down the crowded hallways, he kept thinking about what the club member had said. "You two must be very close." Are we really? Bumping into other students by accident, he couldn't help himself from questioning his friendship. While he did see Mark as a close friend, it was never clear if he felt the same way about him. Whenever he'd open up about his struggles and family problems, Mark listened and tried to help but if Cesar ever asked what was going on with his life, he completely avoided answering the question and changed the subject matter. God forbid if he even dared pushing him to answer because he'd get pissed off. Come to think of it... When I asked him why he was graduating early, he gave me some dodgy excuse... But who am I to judge, I guess. Although, I wish he was a bit more honest with me and-

As he was getting closer to the exit, Cesar accidently bumped into someone and knocked over the stuff they were carrying. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! Here let me just pick this up for you." He wasted no time grabbing everything off the floor and handing it over to the person. "Again, really sorry about that!" Letting out a nervous laugh, he continued to walk towards the exit. His gaze shifted downward. Dammit, can I PLEASE go outside without embarrassing myself? Finally reaching for the door handle, he made his way to the parking lot.

A gentle autumn breeze blew across Cesar's face, molten-red leaves scattered across the ground. He started to look for Mark's car. Could have taken the bus as usual but this was one of the few ways of maintaining contact with his friend. While wandering around and aimlessly searching, his name was shouted, followed by a loud whistle.

Looking over to where the voice came from, he saw Mark waving a bit further away. With a smile on his face, Cesar ran up to him. "Well, you took your sweet time." Mark complained as he finished smoking his cigarette. "And you still overdress for school, never change man." He pulled out a pack of cigs, opened it up and offered to Cesar. "Want one before we drive off?" Cesar snickered. "Look who's talking, you're still wearing the same get up! A dirty hoodie and worn-out jeans. Also, no thank you. You know I don't smoke." Mark shrugged and put the pack back in his pockets. "Then get in, I have a night shift in a few hours."

Both of them settled themselves inside the car, and soon they drove away. Cesar enjoyed watching the view from the window, the trees had a nice warm glow under the sunlight. "Hey uh, by the way, I saw you earlier outside but when I called out, you ran off. What was that all about?" There was an awkward silence before Cesar answered. "Uh... I don't think that was me because I didn't leave school until you know, I finished all my classes."

"Huh..." Mark pondered. "Maybe I'm just imagining things. This job got me fucked up." Taking a brief gander at his face. "Yeah, those bags under your eyes are getting worse. I know you're not much of a sleeper anyway but holy shit, who thought it could get worse."

"I'm lucky if I get 5 hours sleep." Both mockingly chuckled. After half an hour, they found themselves in one of the richer neighborhoods. No mansions but the houses were definitely bigger and nicer than your average home. "Here we are." Mark said as he pulled up in front of Cesar's house. "Now get out." Jokingly patting at his shoulder. Cesar got out but didn't leave just yet. "Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it, it's better than riding those overcrowded buses."

"Don't mention it. I'll give you a call when I'm free for another ride." Mark started the engine but Cesar interrupted. "Hey listen, I don't know when we'll be able to meet up again with your busy schedule. My parents are out of town for a while, why don't you come over? I'm sure you have some time to kill before your shift!" Mark silently groaned and tilted his head down. "Man, I'm a little too tired..."

"Oh, come on, I'll cook dinner! It beats eating the shit that you make." Insisting, Mark stroke his chin. "Tempting...Very tempting." Cesar rolled his eyes and sighed. "Do I have to bribe you with alcohol for you to hang out with me?" With a cheeky grin on his face, he responded. "Perhaps..."

"FINE. One drink from my dad's liquor cabinet. But only one, okay?" He hated doing this but one drink shouldn't hurt if it means spending more time with him. "You got yourself a deal." Getting out of his car and heading towards the house. "Come on now, I don't have all day!"

Cesar caught up to him and pulled out his keys as they approached near the door. While unlocking it and letting Mark in first, the nearby trash cans violently got knocked over. Startled but dismissed it to some large rodent causing that. Locking the door behind him, he went to his bedroom to change his attire then headed to the kitchen where his friend was waiting with a drink in his hand. Already got to the alcohol, of course... He put on an apron, preparing himself to cook.

Some time passed, he managed to whip up something good in the little time that he had. They ate stuffed peppers, while Cesar thought that he could have made them tastier, Mark scoffed it all down like he hadn't eaten for days. "Shit man, I sometimes forget how good your cooking is. This is amazing." About to thank him, but the unexpected sound of what seemed like someone throwing a pebble at the window caught him off guard. "Wait, did you hear that?" He got up from the dining table and went to check it out. As Cesar opened up the window, loud rustling came from the bushes near the house. His heart pounded faster. What the hell...? Before he could call over Mark to take a look, the rustling stopped. I swear to God, if someone is actually messing with me...

"Something wrong?" Asking with a worried tone. "No... Just admiring the view." Cesar laughed it off nervously. Mark frowned, didn't look like he believed him. Cesar crossed his arms; eyes began to shift. "Oh hey, would you look at the time! Isn't your shift starting soon?" He pointed at the grandfather clock across the room. "Ah shit, you're right." Mark swiftly finished the last few bites of his dinner before getting his jacket. "Thanks for the dinner and alcohol, it's nice to not have to starve yourself again. I'll see you soon, it was good catching up with you!" Both of them headed for the door, Mark ran to his car. Waving goodbye before he was gone.

Back inside, he noticed that it was getting late rather fast. I should probably call it a day. Cesar yawned and went upstairs to his bedroom for some well-deserved shut-eye. Cleaning himself up, changing into his pajamas, and despite all the odd little occurrences, he managed to fall asleep. However, his sleep was disturbed by a startling sound.

Cesar felt his heart drop, this time it certainly wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him. Shattering glass echoed outside his room. Quickly getting up from his bed, he locked the door and put his ear against it to listen more closely. He could make out distant footsteps somewhere. SHIT. Okay, okay, don't panic. Think this through... Clearly, he needs to call 911 but there were only two phones available. One in the kitchen and the other in the security room, as his parents called it. Wait... What if it's an alternate? I need to check the cameras then... He hoped for it to be human but there was no way of telling unless he confronted the person himself. His heart was beating out of his chest as he thought about precisely in which direction he needs to run to.

Cold sweat poured down his face as he unlocked the door and peeked through it. The house, pretty much plunged in darkness besides a few areas lighted by the moonlight. Hands shaking profusely; he took a deep breath before making a run for it. Luckily, he didn't have to run far, but he nearly tripped along the way. Nothing chased him but once he got inside the security room, he had to take a breather. Beginning to calm down a bit, he frantically searched for the remote to the TV monitor. Aha! There you are. Having found it, he turned on the TV and switched on to live feed. Checking each camera, nothing out of the ordinary appeared until he examined the kitchen. An unnaturally tall figure was standing in the corner. Shit, I can barely see him. In the shadows, there was a pair of white glowing dots. Are those his eyes...?

The mysterious figure slowly crept up towards the camera. Cesar's eyes widened, a sudden urge to vomit overwhelmed him. It's an alternate... The thing had a shockingly wide smile, its teeth were elongated. The torso looked like it was on the verge of breaking in half. Those glowing dots were its pupils, the rest of the eyes were completely black. He turned off the monitor when he heard it laughing. Deranged cackling filled the kitchen, their voice was unstable. Cesar dropped to the ground, his heart was racing, his vision slowly got blurry. He was on the verge of tears.

Dear god... What the fuck do I do now...? Almost impossible for him to concentrate under all the sudden pressure. Wait, the T.H.I.N.K principle... I'll be fine, just have to stay calm and focus. What were the steps again? Pulling himself together, taking deep breaths. First is to tell an authority figure. Immediately dialing 911, his sweaty hand made it hard to hold the phone properly. It rang once, twice, three times, he had become certain that he'd be ignored when the fourth ring was interrupted by a click.

"911, what's your emergency?" An operator answered.

"An... An alternate is in my house... I locked myself in a room and I think it's still in my kitchen." Cesar felt the shakiness in his voice, breathing became heavier.

"Okay, have you followed the rest of the T.H.I.N.K principle? Did you identify what type it is?" They asked.

"I- I think it's a type 3, it looked like me but it had a lot of uncanny features." Cesar recalled how Mark said that he had seen him earlier. Was it stalking me the entire time? His body, shaking from the adrenaline.

"A flawed impersonator. If safe to do so, try to neutralize it with a fire arm. I have already traced your address from this call and help will be sent over to you. Please stay where you are until the police arrive." With that, the line went dead.

He held the phone up to his ear, listening to the beeping. Expected the operator to stay on the line longer. Assuming that they must have their hands full with other emergencies, he put the receiver away.

Slightly relieved, he continued to follow the procedure. Okay, next, what the operator said. Neutralize... That was out of the question, even if he had a gun with him, he wouldn't muster up the courage to face that creature. Shit, okay well I can't fight back. That leaves me with the final step. Know your place in reality... Cesar touched around his face and body. Well... I'm here and alive, for now... Looking at his surroundings. Stuck in here... With no food... Or water... But it's FINE. Help is on the way. I'll be fine, right...?

The room had one single window, his only view of outside. He could try to escape from there but the height was too dangerous. He could scream for help but it might agitate the alternate. I'm stuck, ha-ha... I'm really fucking stuck in here... SHIT... His mind kept shifting from calm to terrified. He sat in the corner, far away from the door.

Deafening silence filled the house but Cesar knew it was still inside his home. Him and his impersonator alone together.

#old writing style #the mandela catalogue #mandela catalogue #best friend au #cesar torres #mark heathcliff #fanfiction #my writing

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starry-cosmos · 2 years

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[Event Translation] Sleepless Night at the Campeggio 「眠れぬ夜のカンペッジオ」Chapter 5

Thank you En for proofreading this chapter!

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

[Splash!]

Murr: Phew!

Murr: Look look, I got something amazing! It's bigger than Chloe's face!

Heathcliff: I-Is that really a shell...? It seems to be hissing…

Nero: Isn't its mouth open?

Murr: Ahaha, I got bitten!

Shino, Lennox: .....

Rutile: .....

While Murr was picking up some mysterious shells, just a little away from the beach, Rutile, Lennox and Shino had gathered around to work on something.

Rutile was focused with a small tree branch in his hand, while Lennox and Shino quietly watched over him.

Rutile: ... Ah.

Lennox: Have you lit it?

Rutile: No, I broke the branch.

Shino: What now.

Akira: Uhm, what are you three doing...?

Shino: We're preparing a bonfire. When wizards make camp they use their magic to light fires up. But humans scrape wooden planks and branches together to make fire.

Lennox: Rutile wanted to try doing it like the humans, so he's now attempting that.

Akira: I see...! It's definitely something you'd do on a deserted island.

Rutile: Isn't it? I've been wanting to light up a fire survival-style for a really long time now!

Rutile: Alright! I'm going to try it again.

Following his enthusiasm, Rutile rolled up his sleeves and once more gripped onto the branch with his hands.

Rutile: .....

Shino, Lennox, Akira: ....

Rutile: ... Sigh. It's not easy after all.

Rutile: "Ortonik Setomaouge"

Shino, Lennox: Ah.

Akira: (He lit up the fire using his spell in the end...)

Bustling with the cheerful voices of the wizards, the beach seemed wide and free, with everyone mingling together with no obvious order, and with the freedom to do whatever.

It went a little differently than expected, but in the here and now, this may actually turn out to be a fun holiday.

Lennox: Master Sage. I think we should procure the foodstuff for dinner before the sun sets.

Akira: Good thinking. Shall we all get to our preparations before sunset?

Figaro: I'll set up our base in the time being. Mitile, want to help out?

Mitile: Sure, leave it to me!

Nero: Guess the rest of us will be in charge of the foodstuff while we leave the base to you two, then.

Murr: I'll be off to find the ingredient for the Dream-Eating Wheel!

Heathcliff: Huh? Murr?

Rutile: He's already off... I wonder if he will be okay by himself?

Shino: He’ll be fine. He's the most familiar with this island after all.

In our search for foodstuff, we went to the forest first.

Nero: Now, if we were to find anything edible on this island…

Shino: It'd be meat.

Nero: That's just something you want to eat.

Shino: I saw footprints of wild beasts and nests marks on our way here.

Shino: There are definitely some huge kills in this forest. I'm going to hunt them down.

Lennox: I'm trusting Shino on this. We'd need plenty of bait if we are hunting down prey this big.

Rutile: We might need to get some fish and fruits as well. How about borrowing the fishing rod that Mitile made earlier?

Lennox: Good idea. I'll be fishing with Rutile then.

Akira: Looking forward to all the fish!

Heathcliff: Take care, you two!

Rutile: I'm going to reel in a huge one, so look forward to it! We're off!

Shino: And we're not losing to them. Nero, let's hunt down a big one.

Nero: A'ight.

Heathcliff: I'm coming t-

Shino: You don't have to, Heath. You're only going to drag us down.

Heathcliff: ..... What are you trying to say?

Shino: Nero and I are fine hunting by ourselves. Go find some fruits with the sage.

Heathcliff: ..........

Alright.

Heathcliff: Let's go, Master Sage.

Akira: Ah.... Alright.

Nero: You two... Don't just start a fight in a place like this.

Shino: We weren't fighting.

Shino: I was just telling the truth about him holding us up. He isn't used to the sight and smell of blood, so killing live animals isn't for him.

Shino: When we went out hunting for the first time, Heath didn't manage to strike down the prey that was right in front of him the entire time.

Nero: He's a kind one, that's why.

Shino: Yeah. He's kind and smart and these are very admirable traits. Which is why it's alright if he can't hunt.

Shino: Because that's my job. Since he's not good at hunting, it's alright if I just bring back the head of the kill to him.

Nero: ........

Shino: Heath and I are different. I can do what only Heath can't do.

Shino: And that's it really, but he never gets it.

Nero: ... I see, alright.

Shino: Don't pat my head like that. I'm not a kid.

Nero: Haha. ...Hm?

Nero: (What was that just now...)

Nero: (Could it be...)

Shino, Nero: ...!

Shino: Did you hear that? The howl of a beast.

Nero: A beast... Huh.

Shino: It's coming from over there. Let's go.

Nero: Ah... Yeah.

Nero: (... Ugh, I'm definitely overthinking this...)

Heathcliff: Oh! That tree…

After a while of walking around the forest, Heathcliff pointed upwards.

On looking, a tall tree with red items dangling off its branches came into view.

Heathcliff: I saw these in a guide before. They're found in a certain part of South Country.

Heathcliff: There are signs of birds having eaten into some of these, so I think us eating those should be fine.

Akira: Wow, so we did find some fruits! Let's pick the remaining uneaten ones for ourselves.

Akira: ...The fruits are quite high up, however. I guess we have to climb up and pick them.

Heathcliff: Ahaha. Master Sage, that won't be necessary. I'm a wizard after all.

Heathcliff: "Repsev Aivulp Sunos!"

As Heathcliff recited his spell, the fruits slowly fell into our hands like a gentle drizzle.

Akira: Wow... Thank you so much, Heathcliff. It smells sweet. Let me have a bite.

Fumbling for the fruits on my outer clothes, I enthusiastically bit into it in an unrefined manner. A refreshing sweetness then filled my mouth.

Akira: It's delicious...! It's cooling and crunchy, and reminds me of how it's like when you eat watermelon sherbet.

Akira: Heath, would you like to have a bite as well?

Heathcliff: Ah... Alright, I'll have one too…

Heathcliff awkwardly took the fruit and copied me from earlier, nervously biting into it.

#mhyktl #event translation

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