The darkness of the stairway drowned out his vision. The silence drowned out the protests coming from his radio that begged him not to go. Lower and lower, deeper and deeper, down the creaking stairs until the static overtook the nagging voice. Soon the static was all there was; Jonah was gone.
As Adam approached the bottom of the stairs, the darkness was broken by a TV screen showing yet more static. He didn’t know what he was walking into, and yet, also understood completely what it was that he had to do. Something in him was screaming out. Something he didn’t understand, didn’t know if he wanted to, but knew he had to. He sat down on the floor, hard and cold, staring into the blinding screen. Then there was a face, one that he’d never seen before, but knew all too well.
“W̸̮͛h̷̕ͅa̶͚̍ṱ̷̐ ̸͈͛h̴̜̚a̷̭͊v̷̬̍e̸̼͗ ̸̮̐ŷ̵̖ȍ̴̯u̸̧̐ ̶̖͂d̵͚͘o̴͕͐n̴̜͗e̷͕͋?̸̧̃”
“I did the right thing,” he replied, the answer coming from a place that he couldn’t name. He didn’t know what he did, or how it was right. He only knew that he did it.
“F̴o̶o̸l̷i̶s̷h̴ ̷l̶i̸t̵t̸l̸e̶ ̵b̴o̴y̴,̷ ̷d̷o̵i̷n̷g̴ ̸t̴h̸a̴t̷ ̶a̷n̶d̸ ̸s̴t̷i̴l̵l̴ ̶d̸a̷r̵i̵n̷g̸ ̴t̶o̵ ̷s̶h̴o̶w̷ ̷y̵o̵u̶r̸ ̸f̵a̸c̸e̵ ̴h̷e̷r̷e̷.̶ ̸W̷e̷ ̸k̵n̶o̴w̴ ̸w̸h̴y̸ ̸y̷o̷u̸'̶r̷e̴ ̵h̷e̶r̵e̶.̴”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Y̸̱͆o̴̟̓ụ̸̓ ̷͓͋c̶̙̉a̵̱̕n̵̨̚'̸͈̀t̸͚͆ ̸͓͐h̸͖̑a̴̞̐v̸̟̍è̵͚ ̸̳͋ȍ̶̦n̶̟̉ĕ̷̪ ̴̻͗f̸̖͋ȯ̷̠o̶̭͘t̷̞̿ ̴̧͗i̷̖͑n̴͚͋ ̵̫͝e̸̯̅a̴̛̻c̶̭̈h̵͖́ ̶̳͂w̸̱̾o̷̫͐r̶̲̉l̶͕͐d̸͔̆.̸̝͒ ̸̦́C̴̮̓h̶͎͐o̵̫̚o̵͙͂s̴͙͐e̶̙͠ ̸̜̇w̶͍͐į̴̿s̶̢͂e̴͓͋l̶̠̔y̵̙̏,̸͔̄ ̷̣̔Ă̶̬d̷͉͆a̶͔̚ṁ̷͈.̶̧͗ ̵͇́”
There was an odd smell in the room, if it could be described as that. It was a scent, but not a scent, but something he picked up on all the same since before the door to the basement opened. If that painful static had a smell, then the feeling that invaded his senses would be that. It burned his nose, just as the TV and radio burned his eyes and ears. It hurt like hell. He wanted it. It was magnetic. Whatever it was, he couldn’t resist its pull.
The dark shape of a hand swept across the screen of the television. The face on it didn’t move or change, but Adam sensed that it was annoyed. Displeased. At him? At whoever that hand belonged to? He couldn’t tell. Both, perhaps. But the owner of that hand stepped out of the deep darkness behind the screen, standing tall and imposing over Adam.
“Well hello, dear Ä̴̦́d̵̢̾à̷̦m̸̼͋! F̸̞̒i̴̟͊ṋ̶̾å̵̝l̴̨̽ļ̶̃ỹ̷̯-̸͍͒á̶͜l̷̘̅l̴̡̔y̶̨̅-̵͎͠l̸͝ͅỷ̵͔ we meet!”
He could barely make out any of its features. They seemingly blended in with the surrounding black. He could make out a mouth that barely moved as it spoke with a young-sounding voice that would sound normal for one moment before degrading into static not unlike the voice of the man in the television.
It came closer. “Don’t look so frightened,” it crooned as if comforting a scared kitten, crouching down to meet Adam’s eyes. More features became clear: two piercing white eyes, and a clean-pressed suit. “You sought me out. Not the other way around.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because there’s something you w̵̗͕͔̗̣̯̱̠̘̪̐̑́͐͆͆͗̕͠a̸̧̰̟̹̮̮͚͇̪̣͌̐͌́̕͝n̴̼̲͍̲̍ţ̵̲̠̹̠͔̣͗͑̓̕ from me.”
This thing was full of shit. That was what Adam wanted to tell himself. He had no idea what it was talking about… and he also did. He knew everything. He just wished he didn’t. He wished he could drown out the voiceless voices screaming in the back of his head.
“Tell me, then. Because I still have no idea what either of you are trying to say,” Adam snarled, hoping they were just bluffing. These creatures were incredible liars.
The thing reached forward with a hand. Adam tried to pull away, but he wasn’t fast enough. The hand, hard and cold, took hold of his chin. “To know the touch of your own.”
No. No, no, no, this wasn’t happening. Adam had no idea, and did, and didn’t, and he was filled with fear and disgust that this thing pulled those primitive thoughts of need front and center. Now they both knew. The throbbing under his tight jeans only proved it.
Its mouth, the little of it that Adam could see, turned upward in a cruel smile. “Cannot say that I e̵x̸p̷e̸c̷t̷-̶e̴c̴t̵e̷d̵ for another to come looking for me for this, but I gladly a̵c̶c̴e̸p̸t̷ ̵y̶o̶u̵r̷ ̵o̶f̵f̶e̸r̸, Adam.”
“What are you?”
“I think a better question would be, who am I? You a̸l̴r̸e̴a̷d̶y̶ know what I am. I’m the same as you. You merely haven’t a̴c̴c̷e̶p̸t̸e̵d̸ ̸i̶t̸.”
“Fine. Who the fuck are you?”
“You can call me C̷e̷s̶a̵r̵.”
There was no way that was its real name. Stolen from someone else, as was how alternates always did. But there was nothing else to call him. He would just have to settle with the answer he was given. Its body, much larger than his, crept onto him and pushed him down until he was on his back, his head falling uncomfortably against what felt like a stone floor. Behind the impossibly tall humanlike figure looming over him he could see the man in the television. Watching, staring, then gone. The face receded into the background of static that served as the only source of light in the room.
The alternate clicked its tongue in annoyance. “Oh Six, ever the prude! Well, that’s just fine. He’s not one of ų̴̬̋s̸͍̦̿̐, not really, so he would never understand anyway.”
Adam laid limp on the floor. The alternate’s hands went to unbuckle its belt, but rather than unbuckle it, it simply snapped it clean in half. Did it not know how a belt worked…? No, no, that wasn’t it. The damn thing was just putting its brute strength on display. A reminder that even if he didn’t want this, he would have no choice. He would be powerless to fight against it.
Then it’s a good thing you do want this, he could hear the voiceless voices taunting him. The only reason you’re even here is because you wanted it so bad.
“Cesar” was much more precise with Adam’s pants, unbuttoning and unzipping him despite his somewhat large hands and pulling his pants down. It exposed everything that Adam had never shown to anyone, not even a single doctor. Everything that he was forced to see daily that reminded him that he wasn’t a human being. He was different from all the people around him, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It folded up his pants in a neat bundle and set it down under Adam’s head. Foolishly, for a moment Adam thought the creature was showing him a small act of kindness. But then it wrapped the legs of the pants around over his mouth to gag him. Adam reached up to touch it with his hands, but Cesar grabbed them and pinned them to the ground above his head.
“Don’t you worry. It’s just so that h̸u̵m̴a̸n̵ ̵f̶r̷i̷e̵n̷d̶ of yours won’t hear you. Wouldn’t want him interrupting and seeing you for what you are, would we?”
Adam hesitated. Then he nodded and grunted in agreement.
“That is to say, fair warning: You will need it,” it said, and it said it so matter-of-factly that Adam started to worry about what that meant. Not that he was given much time to think about it, because when his wrists were no longer pinned he could feel those large fingers playing with the large bud of skin he had where a real human would normally have a penis, directly above a deep slit that glistened with a thin layer of moisture. “Look at this. You know that no human would ever understand w̵h̷y̶ ̵y̸o̸u̸r̸ ̸b̷o̵d̸y̸ is like this.”
Cesar gave the nub a particular squeeze, fingers pulling away in opposite directions while pushing the bundle of skin up until a long appendage unsheathed itself, slimy and erect. When the hands were removed it threatened to retreat back into its cover. Cesar brought his hands back to force it back out.
“Poor boy, so c̴l̶u̸e̸l̷e̷s̷s̴-̷e̸s̶s̶ ̴t̶o̷ ̴w̸h̷a̵t̴ ̵y̴o̴u̴ ̴a̴r̵e̸ that you don’t even know how to use your parts yet. You can hold it out by yourself. Go ahead and try it.”
Adam grunted, flexing muscles in his lower body until he got a feel for which one controlled his “dick”. It wasn’t something he ever had to use before, or knew about in the first place; he never needed it. If he needed to piss, he’d push it out with his hands in the same way that Cesar was doing to him now. But now, as weird as it was, keeping it unsheathed without his hands was as easy as flexing an arm and holding it there.
“See? Very easy. You just needed some help from your own.”
Under his dick, Cesar was testing the slit with its fingers. One at a time, knowing that its hands were much bigger than Adam’s. Even if he’d touched himself before, it would never be enough to prepare him for what was about to go there. One finger turned to two, and the moans from behind the gag grew louder.
Then the alternate gave Adam a wide grin, one with rows of uncanny human teeth that didn’t belong on something so inhuman. It went back to working on its own pants, pulling them down until a penis-like appendage of his own sprung free. Then another directly underneath it, Adam noticed, after Cesar didn’t stop lowering its slacks until after both were free. They were frighteningly long. Segmented as well, extending and stretching out when they were exposed to the open air.
The dark gray appendages drew closer to Adam as Cesar settled between his legs. The topmost appendage wrapped around Adam’s, adding another layer of slick fluid to his already soaked cock, before sliding up and down the length without the alternate using its hands. Adam moaned and bucked his hips with each downstroke. This was completely different from anything he’d ever felt. He’d touched himself plenty of times before, but it felt different with… “Cesar”. His hole grew wetter until it was dripping out onto the floor, and just like that he was craving whatever this alternate had to give him. One taste and he was hooked.
The second appendage poked and prodded at the opening, testing the waters before pushing itself in and tearing a loud scream from Adam’s gagged mouth. It hurt like hell to have the whole thing shoved in so quickly, and yet… Adam also felt relief. He felt like he found something he needed for years. His legs hooked around Cesar’s as the alternate started ramming into him. No build-up, no waiting, just a raw carnal pounding that he knew would leave him aching in the morning.
Fresh tears pricked at his eyes from the overwhelming sensations of pain and bliss. His fingers clenched into Cesar’s shoulders, bunching up fistfuls of the suit. Holding on for dear life, lest he be violently thrown off of this wild ride.
The prehensile appendages squirmed and writhed on their own, one still stroking Adam off while the other dug deeper into him than he ever thought possible. He quickly learned why his fingers alone could never do it for him—the spot that felt the best was too deep for him to reach. Too deep for any human to ever reach. Only another alternate’s cock could hit all the right notes that had him wailing from his throat. And no toy could replicate the sort of natural “lubricant” that seeped from Cesar’s cocks, or the way the narrow, tapered head speared into him just right.
“Do you understand now? You could h̴a̵v̷e̷ ̴t̸h̴i̸s̴. You could have it every day if you wanted. All you have to do is w̶a̵k̵e̸ ̸u̴p̶ and stop pretending you’re human. No human could sate your hunger. Leave us, and you’ll always be wanting for more.”
Oh, he couldn’t stomach the thought. Never having this again for the rest of his life sounded like torture.
The creature leaned forward and grinned against his neck. Adam could feel those awful, terrible eyes piercing through him. “I can see it in your eyes. You’ve made your decision. Haven’t you?”
The beast above him, just moments ago polite and cordial, suddenly took to snarling and growling into Adam’s ear as if proving a point, slamming itself in harder, stopping after a few thrusts to grind itself into Adam’s walls, then resuming its brutal pace. Adam’s body slid back and forth against the rough floor each time he was pulled into a thrust and then shoved away by the force of it, rubbing his back raw even through his clothes. Those strong hands were now gripping him by the hips hard enough to leave bruises. Behind gritted teeth, it sung its praises into Adam’s ear. Beautiful, perfect, everything it could want. All the things that no human has ever said to him not once in his entire life. Then the praises became warnings—”Almost, almost, be ready for me, I hope you can take this,” it babbled to him over and over, driving Adam closer to the edge.
Adam hated knowing that finishing meant this would be over, and he’d have to go back to the “real world” for a little while, but he reveled in it knowing that he could make his choice and come back. He had little care for the people in his life. Jonah? Sarah? Amanda? Evelin? Who cared about them? It’s not like he was friends with any of them. At least three of those people fucking hated him anyway. Even if Jonah didn’t, then whatever; no great loss there.
Adam couldn’t hold back the tiny little whimpers that escaped from his throat with each hard snap of Cesar’s hips. He would cum any second, he could feel it. His toes curled from the force of the climax, completely blowing anything else he’d ever felt out of the water. This was it, he’d been shown enlightenment, and there was no going back to the way things were. Thick cum dribbled out of his cock while heavy loads poured out of both of Cesar’s. The cock wrapped around his own drenched his legs in the filth. The other filled him until he felt like he was about to burst.
Cesar took the makeshift gag out of his mouth. “Brilliant. I wasn’t expecting much, but I’m p̶l̸e̸a̶n̶t̸l̴y̷-̷l̷y̷ ̸s̸u̴r̶p̷r̴i̷s̴e̷d̸,” he said, pulling his softening dicks away and tucking them back into his pants. “Stay with us, and I’ll let you have as much as you like. Think on it, if you must. I will welcome you with open arms, m̷y̴ ̸d̵e̶a̸r̵ ̸A̶d̸a̴m̴.”
Adam let the excess fluids fall out of him before he even tried putting his underwear and pants back on. Then he left, barely registering his surroundings as he made his way up the stairs and out of the house.
The van was gone. He’d have to walk home.
So he thought, for a while. Walking down the road, eventually he discovered the van, and a dead Jonah not far away, motionless and cold in the snow.
Well, if he was already dead, then that meant he wouldn’t need the van anymore. Adam barely batted an eyelid as his dead companion, getting inside the van and driving himself home without him. There were more important things to worry about… like cutting off his contact with Sarah. Forever. Or at least until the alternate uprising came to claim her, too.
He made his choice, and he wasn’t looking back.