ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: expect there to be a mandela catalogue reference in here! i know the game is pretty tame when it comes to horror, but i want to try and make it a thousand times scarier! 💗

[february 18, 1955]

y/n sat cross-legged on her bed that morning, her dog argus sprawled lazily beside her as she stared at the crumpled napkin in her hands. the address she had scribbled almost well over a week ago— half-faded from coffee stains— was now practically burned into her memory. still, she reread it for the hundredth time. "1531 west harrow street," she mumbled, rolling the words over her tongue like a mantra.

to calm her nerves, y/n took a deep breath and recited her practiced introduction under her breath.

she was so nervous, she didn't know what she was going to say when she got there. it wasn't until argus lifted his head lazily, his deep brown eyes watching her with mild curiosity before huffing and laying back down y/n bothered to say something. "thanks for the vote of confidence..." she muttered, giving him a half-hearted pat before grabbing her bag and heading out the door. the city was unusually quiet today...maybe it was her imagination, but the air felt heavier like it was holding its breath.

she walked briskly, the napkin clutched tightly in her hand, her heart racing the closer she got to the address.

when she finally arrived, she stopped dead in her tracks. the building before her was...stunning. a sleek, modern apartment complex towered above her, its polished glass windows gleaming under the pale morning light.

the landscaping was immaculate—trimmed hedges and flowerbeds lining the cobblestone path leading to the front doors. the building itself looked like it belonged to people who had money, the kind of money y/n could only dream about. "wow..." she whispered under her breath, momentarily forgetting her nerves as she took in the scene. part of her marveled at the sheer luxury of the place, but the other part prayed it meant the job would pay her well.

surely, a place this fancy wouldn't skimp on security salaries, right?

with a deep breath, she steeled herself and stepped inside. the lobby was just as impressive as the exterior—marble floors that gleamed like water under the light, tall ceilings, and a front desk. of course, there were some safety measures to keep a distance between y/n and the person in front of her—the most prominent one being a large glass window in front of their faces. despite this, it still managed to look like it had been plucked from some high-end hotel. nervously, y/n approached the desk, her bag clutched tightly to her side. "hi..." she began, trying to keep her voice steady. "i'm y/n. i'm here for the, uh, doorwoman job? i called a few days about the position?" she stated.

the receptionist, a man with a sharp suit and an unreadable expression, nodded curtly before picking up a phone and making a quick call. without another word, he gestured for y/n to follow him. what she expected next was maybe a quick tour or a casual chat with the manager. instead, she found herself ushered into a small, sterile room where a handful of figures were waiting: the manager, a thin, wiry man with graying hair, and two d.d.d. agents, their imposing hazmat suits making the room feel claustrophobic.

her stomach dropped.

what followed was an hour of interrogation so intense it left her head spinning. they asked everything—where she was born, her family history, what she had for breakfast that morning. they made her repeat certain answers multiple times, watching her intently as though searching for the slightest crack in her demeanor.

"do you often feel like you're being watched?"

"no."

"have you ever experienced a sudden and unexplained memory lapse?"

"no."

"have you noticed anyone in your life behaving strangely lately?"

"...no?"

their questions dug into every corner of her mind, and by the end of it, y/n wasn't even sure she knew who she was anymore.

eventually, after what felt like an eternity, they deemed her 'clean'. one of the agents—who she now knew as allen—handed her a neatly folded uniform. "nice work," he said, his voice muffled by the circular filter on his helmet.

"thanks...?" she replied hesitantly, still dazed and disoriented.

allen crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, his visor reflecting the dim light. "you gotta get changed, yeah?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"um, should i?" y/n asked, unsure if she was meant to do it here and now.

"after," he said bluntly.

"after what?" the h/c-haired woman raised an eyebrow when she heard this.

"you gotta watch some videos before you officially start, newbie," allen replied, his tone matter-of-fact as he gestured toward a battered chair behind her. "take a seat. this is gonna take a while." he added. y/n nodded meekly and did as she was told, setting the uniform aside and sinking into the chair. her nerves, which had settled slightly after passing the interrogation, were starting to creep back.

allen, meanwhile, shuffled over to a stack of vhs tapes piled haphazardly in the corner. the technology looked out of place— like it had been plucked from a different era entirely— but allen didn't seem to care. he sifted through the tapes before selecting one and shoving it into an old tv that buzzed faintly with static. once the tape was in, allen turned to leave.

"i'll be outside the door if you need anything," he informed, his boots clicking on the cold tile as he made his way to the exit.

"wait—" y/n began, but was interrupted when he flipped off the lights and stepped out without another word. the door clicked shut behind him, leaving her alone in the dimly lit room. the only sounds were the crackle of the tv and the faint hum of the tape starting to play. shadows danced across the sterile walls of the small room, the static from the television humming faintly in the background before finally giving way to an unsettling, grainy black-and-white screen. y/n sat stiffly in the chair, her fingers gripping the armrests as a cold, robotic voice began to speak. its tone was chilling, devoid of any warmth or humanity, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

"we are currently receiving countless reports of unidentified hostile organisms that we will refer to as alternates," the voice droned, its cadence mechanical and precise. "in the event you come across one, it is important to stay inside, lock all doors and windows, and have access to a loaded firearm or any ranged weapon at all times." y/n swallowed hard, her mind racing. the room seemed to shrink around her as the weight of the words settled. she leaned forward, unable to tear her gaze away from the flickering screen. "you will know if an alternate exists solely based on their physical characteristics," the voice continued, its clinical tone only heightening the tension. "if you see another person that looks identical to you, run away and hide. if you see a person that has a biologically impossible characteristic, run away and hide." the voice instructed.

the words echoed in her mind, and a new, chilling thought crept in. an alternate that looked identical to her. y/n's stomach twisted as the realization hit. she'd spent so much time fearing the idea of seeing a stranger transformed into one of these creatures, but the notion of something trying to be her was far worse.

she frowned deeply, her hands tightening their grip on the armrests as she tried to focus on the voice, which droned on without pause: "if one manages to break into your home, refrain from any kind of communication or contact with the threat," it warned, the static crackling faintly in the background. "these intelligent lifeforms utilize elements of psychological warfare to take advantage of their victims. while we heavily discourage any kind of contact or communication with an alternate, we make exceptions for attempts at executing them yourself." it explained.

y/n's breath hitched, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard. 'execute them myself...?' she thought, her heart beginning to race, and she opened her mouth, muttering to no one, "wait, wha—" before she could finish, the screen abruptly shifted, cutting off the voice and transitioning to the next segment without warning. her confusion deepened as bold, white text appeared on the screen, accompanied by an overly cheery, upbeat tune that felt completely out of place. 

"the t.h.i.n.k. principle," the text announced brightly, the letters bold and clean against the otherwise grainy display. beneath it, smaller text began to appear in sequence, each letter of the acronym explained in unnerving detail. t stood for tell—"alert others to the presence of an alternate immediately," h meant hinder —"attempt to delay or prevent its progress if possible," i for identify —"determine if the entity is truly an alternate using its physical traits," n for neutralize—"find a way to incapacitate or eliminate the threat."

then came 'k'.

y/n leaned closer, her brow furrowed as the upbeat music abruptly cut off, leaving the room silent except for the sound of her own breathing. 

her eyes widened as she read the words that filled the screen: kill yourself.

she froze, her body locking up as the stark and horrifying instruction sat on the screen for what felt like an eternity. no music, no voice, just those two words, glaring and absolute as her eyes drifted to the words at the bottom of the screen: "there's not enough room for the two of us." the air felt heavy in her lungs, and she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears as she stared, unable to look away. the silence was deafening. she understood why they put that as the last outcome. if a double were to force her hand, that's about all she can do to prevent them— or any other dopplegänger— from either using her as leverage or replacing her completely and stop them from infecting other civilian's lives.

finally, the screen flickered again, and the words were replaced with a new text: "know your place," and the music resumed. y/n let out a shaky breath, realizing she had been holding it. her hands trembled slightly as she sat back in her chair, her mind spinning. she had no idea what she had just watched, but one thing was clear: this job was far more dangerous than she had anticipated. the tape crackled and shifted, the robotic voice cutting out abruptly as the words "know your enemy" flashed ominously across the screen in stark, blocky letters.

y/n stiffened in her chair, her fingers digging into the armrests. the static faded into the first pair of images: two side-by-side photos of a woman. the woman on the left had thick brunette hair that framed her face perfectly, her visible eyebrows arched confidently. she wore a black hoodie with white strings, and her lips curled into a natural, almost charming smile. y/n studied her carefully, noting every detail. then her eyes darted to the photo on the right. the second woman looked almost identical— the same confident smile, the same hoodie— but her hair was a shade darker, and her height seemed slightly off, shorter by what could only be an inch or two.

y/n squinted, trying to decipher which was human and which was the alternate. the tape gave her no answers, offering no clues to differentiate them. her pulse quickened as she leaned forward, hoping for something, anything, that would make one stand out from the other. but before she could reach a conclusion, the screen blinked, and the images vanished, replaced by the next pair. this time, it was a young man. his features were less inviting, more neutral, though something in his thousand-yard stare made y/n uneasy. his round chin and very short brown hair framed his expression, which was more frown than smile. he wore a plain white t-shirt, his figure average and unremarkable. beside him stood his supposed duplicate. at first glance, they seemed the same, but then y/n noticed it—his neck. the alternate's neck stretched unnaturally long, as though someone had pulled it upward like clay. his hair was buzzed shorter, almost to the scalp, creating a harsh contrast to the human's slightly more casual cut.

the subtle differences felt like a cruel joke, and y/n's stomach churned. how many people had been fooled by such minute changes? her breathing quickened, and she clenched her fists to keep herself grounded.

the tape shifted again.

the screen flickered before settling on the final pair, and this time, y/n recoiled. the woman in the first photo was beautiful, with long black hair that flowed over one shoulder and spilled out of the frame. she gazed directly at the camera, her features calm and serene, almost hauntingly perfect.

then her eyes flicked to the alternate and y/n nearly gagged. it looked the same—at least, at first. the same long black hair, the same silhouette, the same poise. but where there should have been a face, there was nothing.

no eyes. no nose. no mouth.

just smooth, unbroken skin stretched tightly over where her features should have been. y/n's hand flew to her mouth as bile rose in her throat. the longer she stared at the featureless duplicate, the worse it became. the alternate seemed to move, not in reality, but in y/n's mind—a trick of the imagination that made the formless face seem like it was watching her despite its lack of eyes. "oh, god..." she whispered, her voice trembling as she fought the urge to look away.

the tape offered no reprieve. the screen lingered on the horrifying image for several seconds, as though daring her to blink, before cutting to black without warning. y/n flinched, her own shallow breathing the only sound in the now-dark room. sweat dripped down y/n's temples, her breathing shallow as her thoughts churned uncontrollably. she couldn't shake the image of the featureless alternate from her mind—the smooth, blank surface where a human face should have been.

it was burned into her memory, like a brand she couldn't escape.

she rubbed her palms against her thighs, trying to ground herself, but the flickering screen seemed to whisper that it wasn't over. the oppressive silence in the room bore down on her, a weight that made it hard to think clearly. the line between reality and nightmare blurred, and for a moment, y/n wondered if she could even trust herself. what if one of them looked like her right now? would anyone know? would she know? her chest tightened, and her nails dug into her palms as her spiral deepened, threatening to drown her in paranoia, until finally— 

ＢＡＮＧ！

the door slammed open, the sound echoing through the room like a gunshot. y/n shot to her feet with a sharp gasp, her heart pounding in her ears as she spun around to face the intruder. her muscles tensed, ready for the worst—but it was only allen. 

he stood in the doorway, his hazmat suit casting an eerie silhouette in the dim light. the blacked-out visor of his helmet glinted faintly, obscuring his eyes and leaving her to stare at her own pale reflection. his body language was casual, one shoulder leaning against the doorframe as though he hadn't just scared her half to death. "you just about done?" his voice came through the distorted filter of his mask, low and muffled but tinged with something that almost sounded like amusement. 

y/n blinked, her breath hitching as the tension in her body began to ease. she pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart hammer beneath her fingertips, and forced herself to nod. "y-yeah..." she stammered, her voice shaky. 

as she spoke, she thought she heard a quiet chuckle come from behind his mask. it was subtle, nearly drowned out by the steady hiss of the respirator, but it sent a flicker of irritation through her. she didn't question it, though—there was no point. besides, he spoke again almost immediately, cutting through the thick atmosphere. "well, alright." he straightened up, his gloved hands brushing against the doorway as he pushed off it. "let's get a move on then." his tone was light, almost flippant as if she hadn't just endured one of the most unsettling experiences of her life. y/n hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking to the still-dark screen behind her, as if expecting it to flicker back to life at any moment. 

"right...okay..."