It was a Saturday night. Her parents were out. They weren't returning before midnight and she had the whole house to herself. Perfect.
After rechecking whether the doors and windows were all locked, Lily grabbed a bag of chips before crawling under her blanket with her sketchbook and a radio beside her. She turned on the radio to her favourite channel, tracing lines on the off-white paper while listening to whatever song came up. Her mother had told her to finish her homework before they were back but it could wait. She had the whole night to herself, after all.
A few minutes pass before the radio turned staticky. "Damn it..." Lily mumbled a few curses under her breath and got up to fix it. After a few minutes of trying, she gave up. Devices weren't her area of expertise, she only knew how to make basic use of them.
She decided to go downstairs and cook something to pass time. A knock on the front door halted her in her tracks. Lily frowned. Who could it be during this time? Nobody was supposed to visit that night.
She stomped to the door. But just as she had opened it, her rage was instantly replaced with fear and confusion.
"Mom?"
Her mother stood outside with a smile, while her father was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, well, you're... early. Where's dad?"
She remained silent as Lily shifted from one foot to another. Giving up on getting an answer, she moved aside to let her mother in. She didn't have the mood to deal with this. Her night plans were ruined and she was furious, but she kept silent.
Her mom got inside. Locking the door, she turned around and kept staring at Lily with the same unnerving grin.
"Uh, do you need something?" Mrs. Adler shook her head and Lily sighed in relief. Finally a response.
"I'll be in my room then." She hurriedly scurried to her room. Well, that was an awkward interaction.
As soon as she entered the room, a newscast started on the radio, giving her a second mini heart attack. Wasn't this a channel for songs? Nonthelesss, she started listening to it.
"Warning.
This is a national emergency alert. Do not ignore this. I repeat, do not ignore this.
Over the past few hours, people have reported witnessing strange cases around the country. The victims have reported coming in contact with beings identical to their friends, family, and other acquaintances. They have claimed these creatures are disguising as their loved ones with the intention of harming them. They are reported to be extremely hostile and some have claimed them to be extraterrestrial beings. Till now 67 people have been found dead and the cause of death is suspected to be the same 'entities', who are currently referred to as 'Doppelgangers'.
In this situation, you are advised to—
•Stay inside in all circumstances.
•Lock all your doors and windows and use curtains.
•Do NOT interact with someone you haven't seen in 12 hours.
•Keep weapons, if possessed, close to you.
•Pray to the Almighty.
Signs to identify 'them'—
•They are ALWAYS smiling.
•They can seemingly teleport. (Example: One second they're seen in one spot, the next in another.)
•They have poor verbal skills and so prefer to mostly stay quiet.
•Staring at them for prolonged periods can cause discomfort, heavy anxiety, nausea, blurry vision, tinnitus, etc.
What to do when encountering one of 'them'—
•Run and hide if possible.
•Fight back only if you are armed.
•Pray to your God. Don't beg 'them' for mercy, they don't feel empathy.
•Give up------
The voice started glitching, soon fading into static noise. Lily gulped. It was only a prank, right? Yeah, it was definitely a special programme the station had aired. After all, they wouldn't broadcast such bogus-
A noise coming from the doorway broke her chain of thoughts. Her heart almost leaped out of her ribcage as she saw the smiling face of her mother. How long had she been standing there?
"M-mother...?" She shakily called out to her. Her voice sounded dry, laced with evident fear, and her 'mother's' grin only seemed to widen at this. She would have thought that she was acting strange from the effects of exhaustion, but listening to that radio broadcast had changed her perspective completely.
'It' stood at the door, blocking the only exit from the room. Its grin felt like a mockery towards her helplessness. As the creature inched closer and closer, Lily knew the only thing she could do was the last two steps that had been told:
Give up, and pray for your life.
------------------------
Amanda was getting ready for bed when she heard a loud shrill. It was the daughter of her next door neighbour. She was a helpful, sweet and energetic girl, and Amanda wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she abandoned her in danger. She quickly threw on a jacket, grabbed her keys and made her way downstairs, unaware of the surprise waiting for her. She jumped slightly seeing the grinning face of her husband staring at her through the living room window.
"James...? Weren't you out of town?" As she was about to go towards him, the landline rang. "Ah, let me pick it up. Why don't you come inside, James?"
After unlocking the main door, she answered the telephone.
"Hello?"
Nobody responded. Instead, a monotonous voice started reading out seemingly a script of a news.
"Warning.
This is a national emergency alert. Do not ignore this. I repeat, do not ignore this....."
.
.
.
Fin.
