#Mandela calamity au

[fizzzyz]

Mandela Calamity

Volume 1 part 2 of my tmc au :]

It’s kinda slow in some parts and I’m still working on my writing so critique is appreciated as long as it isn’t rude!

CW: I don’t think there are any warnings for this part? Tell me if I should add some but I dunno

How long has it been now? It feels like an endless episode of misery, a surreal nightmare that tears through your heart. It felt like as if decades had passed, but it also felt like yesterday. Will it ever end? I don’t even feel like myself anymore. Whoever I used to be is long gone in the past. A past I crave to return to. To the happy days. Days when we spent every moment together. And all of that got swept away from us. Snatched by something twisted and sinister, finding pleasure in our agony. I can’t stand being away from you. Why do I even keep fighting, knowing I’ll never see you again?

Yet every day I pray; I pray and hope for you to appear in the doorway, the doorway I stare into for hours per day. I pray for the impossible. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. I see your face everywhere, but you aren’t there. I feel your presence anywhere I go, is this you? Or is it only my desperate mind losing its grasp on reality? I’m losing my faith in everything, my family, my friends, myself, God. It’s not fair. Please come back to me. My chest is a gaping hole without you. I don’t feel human anymore. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. It's not fair. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. Please come back to me. Please come back to me.

Marilyn woke up and quickly sat up, her heart racing and breath heavy. She felt like a dead frozen corpse yet sweat was still running from her face. She glared into the nothingness of the plain white wall in front of her. It took a while for her to process where she was and what had happened. Everything felt completely alien to her for a short while. She slowly began to calm down and her heart started returning to a more normal pace.

“Good morning, Mary.” Mary heard her sister say from across the room, sitting in a sofa and reading a news article. “Another nightmare I suppose?” Anna continued as she turned the page of her newspaper. Mary looked at her before looking away again. She couldn’t really remember anything. All she could remember from her dream was a blurry image of her daughter. Just like all of the other dreams. Nothing out of the ordinary. At least of what she knew. As soon as she wakes up all memories of her dreams vanish every time.

“I guess.” She muttered and threw the blanket to the side as she got out of bed. She didn’t feel so happy about waking up in a motel room right now, especially in Mandela County. She’d prefer to be in her own house and own bed. But she had to do all of this for her sister. Her eyes shifted to the nightstand where the digital clock stood, 9:13, later than she thought it was. It was a pretty long day yesterday and it took what felt like eternity to fall asleep. She would’ve felt like a wreck if she woke up earlier.

She still felt exhausted from all of her feelings, which seemed to bite harder now when she was in the place she swore to never come back to. “I got breakfast for you, when you’re done, we’re going to the town center …would be good if I found a job right away.” Anna noted and continued looking through her newspaper she had been reading. Mary looked over to her and saw a tray with a sandwich and coffee standing on the table next to Anna. She didn’t feel hungry, but she still had to eat. Letting out a sigh, she wandered over to the table, took a seat and grabbed her sandwich. It looked squished and old, like as if it had been in a freezer for two weeks. She took a bite out of it despite her lack of appetite, it didn’t taste very good, and it was pretty chewy.

Anna stood outside the motel on the parking lot beside her car, waiting for Marilyn to finish and come down. It took a good while. Normally Anna was always the late one, but their roles were reversed now. Anna glanced over the horizon. The morning sun had risen, and the sky was a nice pastel blue with only a few clouds to be seen. The breeze felt nice, it was neither too cold nor too warm. Just like what any other early September day felt like, except for the rainy days. Finally, after about 8 minutes Marilyn came rushing out of the motel to Anna in the parking lot. She seemed frustrated and tired.

Anna sighed and unlocked the car “Took you long enough.”. Both of them got into the car and put their seatbelts on in a hurry. “Says the one who’s always late.” Mary replied after she got in. Anna chuckled and smiled. “Not this time though!” She started the car and the old engine started running. She drove out of the parking lot and out on the road, on their way to the town center. It was only a 5-minute drive as the town wasn’t very big. Anna searched for a good parking lot, which wasn’t too hard to find either. She quickly parked the car and got out of it in a rush like an excited child. Mary, on the other hand, was in no hurry at all, she didn’t understand why Anna was rushing everything.

“Are you stressed?” She questioned while getting out of the car and slamming the door shut. “No, I just really want to get a job as soon as possible.” Anna replied and stepped onto the sidewalk. “Well, geez you don’t need to rush, it’s not like the jobs won’t be there tomorrow as well. And I mean, we have almost the whole day on us!” Mary said, hoping it would calm Anna’s mind, for both of their sakes. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” Anna walked at a fast pace anyway, completely ignoring Mary’s advice. Mary sighed as they walked together on the sidewalk. She had a feeling this day wasn’t going to be a calm and peaceful one.

They had been in 2 stores already, but no job so far. They either didn’t need it, or Anna just didn’t meet the requirements. It only made her stress worse, which also made Mary feel stressed. “Mary, look at this sign!” Anna shouted as she had stopped in front of a sign tilted against a lamp post. Mary glanced over at her, and then walked over to where she was standing near the sign. Open 9-19, looking for part-time workers. Golden oddities market. There was an arrow underneath the text, pointing towards the road to their right. It wasn’t a store Mary recognized, it was a long time since she last was here, but she still remembered most of the stores.

“Come on!” Anna grabbed Mary’s hand and without warning she pulled her with her down the road the said store was. Mary almost fell over as she did and stumbled quickly across the road to keep up. “Anna!!” Mary yelled as she kept pulling and dragging. “I can walk by myself you know!” Anna finally let go of Mary’s hand when they had reached the shop. There was a sign above it, Golden oddities market, gems you can’t find anywhere else. There were two big windows on each side of the entrance, and a bunch of products stood as displays in them. Anna pushed the door open, and a bell rang as she entered. Mary went in after her, her eyes shifting at every strange thing she could see in there. Weird sculptures, games she had never heard of, pirated VHS movies, old Gameboys, weird equipment for cameras and such, and way more odd stuff you don’t normally see in stores filled the shelves. The store wasn’t very big, but it still had so much stuff, it almost made her feel dizzy.

She noticed her sister had already started making her way towards the cashier counter, and she hurried over to her. An old man, probably in his 60s, sat behind the counter solving a crossword. He had long beautiful gray hair, it looked like strands of silver as it glittered in the light. He was wearing a red cap with a retro label and had a fit looking like it was taken straight out of the 80s. His clothes were colorful and pretty, but didn’t fit that well together. There was another counter against the wall behind the counter, where he seemed to have a tiny workshop with tools and such. A dog, a really old German shepherd, was sleeping on a big and comfy red dog bed that was placed on the workshop counter, which also had a little ramp that led up to it.

“Excuse me?” Anna said and stepped a little closer to the counter. The old man looked up and put down the pen he was holding. “I’m looking for a job, and I saw the sign you had put up.” She explained, as she hoped that she would get it. The old man looked at her for a while before he replied. “You seem older than the usual, mostly teens come here to work for the summer. But that’s no problem.” He said and sat up straight. “Is this… shop new here? I haven’t seen it before, from what I remember.” Marilyn asked as she stood next to Anna. The old man looked at Mary as if she said she saw aliens, he seemed almost offended. “New? I’ve owned this store since I had color in my hair!”

Mary felt a little embarrassed, she didn’t want this to be her first impression if Anna was going to work here. “Oh- I’m so sorry, I haven’t been here in so long.” “You don’t live here?” He asked as he folded the newspaper, he was doing his crossword on. “We’re from Bythorne, we used to live here about 10 years ago.” Anna replied and forced a smile, she didn’t have time for small talk, she just wanted this job already.

The man leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Hmph, I’ve owned this store for about 25 years. But what brings you back to your hometown?” Anna looked at Mary for a short moment before she looked back at the man. “I just need a fresh start with a new job. Nothing special.” She replied. “About the job?” She continued, already feeling a little frustrated because of her stress. The man nodded and sat up straight again as he opened a drawer behind the counter. “This week you can come in Thursday, and you might as well stick for Friday and Saturday if you want a better paycheck. With shifts for about 3-4 hours.” He said and looked through the drawer he had pulled out. “Is there any chance I can take fulltime instead? I’m willing to work as much as possible.” Anna asked eagerly as she hoped he would let her have it.

The man stopped looking through the drawer and looked up at Anna. “Fulltime, eh? That’s a first.” He mumbled and pulled out a sheet of paper from the drawer, along with a pen. Anna nodded as she held her hands together and could barely stand still. “I…, ma’am, you’d make more money working fulltime somewhere else. There’s not much you can do here fulltime.” Anna quickly stepped closer to the counter and held her hands in front of herself in a begging way “Please, I really need a job and I’m not qualified anywhere else.”

The man glared at her for a brief moment, unsure what to reply. “…I suppose it could work, I could use some more help cleaning and restocking the shelves sometimes, I’m getting pretty old.” He said and scratched the back of his neck. It almost looked like as if he felt bad for her. Marilyn didn’t understand why it was so urgent for Anna and why she couldn’t carefully spend her time finding a more proper job. She hadn’t even actually moved into the house yet, they were just sleeping in a motel for now. It all made her question her actions and decisions more and more, it didn’t make sense, something was definitely going on.

“Are you sure, Anna?” Mary asked, concerned for her. “Yes.” Anna replied, almost in a harsh way. Mary sighed and crossed her arms. The man held out the pen he had gotten to Anna, waiting for her to grab it. “You can sign here, and then the job is yours.” Anna took the pen and quickly signed her name on the sheet of paper in front of her. She seemed so careless about everything, she didn’t even spend a second looking at the policies and agreements on the paper.

“The name is Kevin by the way, yours?” The man asked and smiled as he took the paper when Anna was done signing. “Annette Allen, Anna for short, and this is my younger sister Marilyn.” She said and nodded at Mary. “Marilyn Allen?” Kevin said “I think I recognize your name from your news articles. They’re really interesting.” He uttered and put the pen back into the drawer it originally came from. Mary was shocked to hear that. She was a journalist, but she wasn’t famous of any kind. To hear someone recognize her and her work made her feel flattered. “Oh? Well- thank you!” She said and smiled.

“So, when can I start working?” Anna asked, still seeming like she was stressed out. Kevin looked to his left at a calendar on the wall, and then returned his sight to Anna. “Hmmm… how about tomorrow?” Anna smiled and nodded, she seemed more relieved and happier, now when she finally got what she wanted. Mary was still confused about her behavior. She couldn’t possibly make enough money out of this job to fix her house, it would take centuries. “Well… thank you so much, sir! See you tomorrow.” Anna said as she grew a big smile on her face and waved at Kevin, before grabbing Mary’s hand and dragging her out of there. “See ya!” Kevin replied and smiled back, returning to his crossword. Mary pulled away her hand from Anna and walked after her. Anna always used to grab and pull her ever since they were kids, but she still got annoyed by it.

(dw the og characters will show up soon..)

[fizzzyz]

so I'm making a tmc au that I'm becoming more and more obsessed with.. I haven't really read any other au, so idk how good this will be but I'm taking a lot of inspo from ofc tmc but also stranger things, horror movies, murder documentaries, some games etc.

I hope you all will like it :]

cw: Vulgar language (Gore, suicide mention, violence etc. in other parts)

Mandela Calamity

Volume 1: Hiraeth

Part 1

Rain slowly started to pour harder and harder every minute and the storm seemed to grow stronger. The sky was covered with dark fluffy clouds and the air was cold and misty. Marilyn stood on the porch, leaned against the wall as she just threw away her cigarette and stomped on it, squeezing it out. The smell of rain brought back memories. Of the days before everything went to hell. Mary sighed as she watched the moving company move her older sister’s belongings into the truck, box after box, furniture after furniture. She couldn’t believe she was moving back to that place, she thought they had made an agreement, to leave all memories behind. She was finally beginning to forget some now, or at least to stop thinking about them, but they would all run her over now when she’d be returning to that place.

The wind started to blow harder and colder, as the rain became more violent. Mary glared into the ground as she pondered. She understood why her sister had to quit her job, if she continued, she would have a mental breakdown and get fired anyway. But she didn’t understand why she had to look for a job in Mandela, and that she even had to move there. It made her upset, but she had to support her sister’s decision. “Mary, are you ready to go?” Marilyn looked up when she heard her sister. She nodded slightly and followed her from the porch to her sister’s car. As she opened the door and sat down, she felt her stomach tied in knots and anxiety overtook her. She felt tense. Like as if she was stuck in place.

 She took a deep breath when her sister got in the car after her. “I still don’t understand why you have to do this, Anna.” Her sister looked at her and sighed, thinking for a bit before she responded. “I’ve told you this a million times, I need a new job, and there’s nothing for me here.” Mary got irritated by that one same reply she had gotten every time, she was like a dumb robot that couldn’t explain something properly. Her sister, Anna, started the car, having to turn the key a few times before it eventually started. “And out of all places you choose Mandela County!?” Mary burst out as she got more frustrated. She tried to hold in her anger, but it was difficult. “Because it’s a place I’m familiar with! It’s easier to get a job there.” Anna replied and started driving out of the driveway onto the road. “Can’t be that damn hard to get familiar with a new place!” Mary muttered as she crossed her arms and looked outside the window to her right.

Anna’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as she drove towards the highway. They both felt tense and tired of each other, but there wasn’t much any of them could do. “Please Mary… I already bought this house, it’s too late to change it.” She said, trying to cool down the situation a bit. Mary sighed again as she kept looking out the window. She just wanted to shut out all of her feelings and thoughts, and just relax. She felt so stressed and frustrated, this conversation only drove her more insane.

The trees went flying past them as they were getting closer to their destination. The storm had calmed down, and the rain had stopped. A sunset started to form into warm pastel colors as the clouds started to break up and reveal the sky. It had been about an hour since they left, and there was only a bit left. Marilyn just wanted to get this done, she wanted to get home already. She didn’t even know why she followed in the first place, it was her decision to go or not. She only did it because she cared about her sister and knew she’d need some help. But she felt like there was something else to it… that last bit of hope to find her daughter again, or to at least know what happened. She knew it was impossible, she disappeared 12 years ago, it would be a miracle if she was still alive.

Mary felt a shiver down her spine when she saw that sign she hadn’t seen in years, “Mandela County”. A sign had never made her feel so disgusted and anxious before. They quickly went past it, but the image was stuck in her head. It made her feel a sense of dread that brought back all the trauma. She tried her best not to think about it. It was not a good time to have a breakdown now. As they drove past stores, apartments, and other buildings, they started to get closer and closer to the new house. She noticed some new stores in town, and new buildings as well. She never thought she’d set foot here again, but here she is. Mary sighed quietly when they reached the suburbs. The streets didn’t look too different, everything just looked more depressing now after all that had happened. Anna finally found her new house, and she drove onto the driveway, parking the car. “Well... here we are.” She said before pulling out the car keys and getting out.

Mary didn’t want to get out of the car, she never wanted to be here in the first place, but she had to. She got out of the car and turned around to look at the house her sister had bought. It was small and a few decades old, but it was still nice. The walls were painted white, and the roof had dark red brownish tiles. The porch was small and built out of stone, the door was brown but most of the color seemed to have faded away. The house definitely needed a new paint job, but neither Mary nor Anna could afford it right now. Anna opened the trunk and started unpacking smaller boxes and other stuff. She didn’t have that much stuff with her as she sold most of it, but she didn’t need much for her new and small house. Mary opened the door to the back seats and started to unload the stuff that had been put there. She tried to put all her focus into helping her sister and not to overthink the situation too much. She hated this place so much, but she had to deal with it.

After about 10 minutes the car was empty, and all of the stuff had been carried onto the porch. Anna reached for the keys in her pockets and searched for a while before eventually pulling them out. Mary had never seen the house before, so it was interesting to see how it looked on the inside. Anna put the key in the lock and turned it before she opened the door. The entire house was empty. All that was left was old and plain wallpapers. The sisters stepped inside, carrying some of the things with them. It didn’t smell very good in there; it smelled like as if someone had poured spoiled milk over a rotting carcass. Mary understood now how Anna could afford this house. It was old, greasy, small, and simple. Yet she still had to work so much and sell so many of her things to buy this house, she even had to take a loan. Since Mary was completely against the idea of moving back to Mandela, she didn’t help with any of the costs. She was worried for Anna. What if she couldn’t find a good enough job to pay back her debts? What if she had to live in this junk for the rest of her life?

After she put down the things she was carrying she took a look around, to see if there was at least something positive about this place. Most of the wallpaper had seemed to shift from its original color to a greasy brownish yellow. It must’ve been a long time since anyone has taken care of this house, it looked like a complete mess. There was no furniture anywhere, even if there were there would’ve been no idea to keep them considering the condition of this house. Mary walked through the empty doorframe to the left. She seemed to have entered the kitchen, but it looked like a junkyard. The countertops were covered with dust and other nasty stains, there was no fridge, some of the cabinets had missing doors, and the sink needed to be repaired. The cost of repairing all this would probably be more expensive than the house itself. It would’ve been smarter to just buy a house that isn’t rotting.

She continued on into the living room, which also had an empty doorframe, to the right in the kitchen. The windows still had curtains, with what was probably a flower pattern. Anna hadn’t said anything about the condition of the house, just that the house was small and close to the city. Mary felt her heart sink to the bottom of her soul. She regretted not helping her. She was pissed that she had moved to Mandela, but she didn’t want her to live in an absolute nightmare. It was too late now. She had already bought the house. All she could do now was to help her fix it. She went on through the next door, which led back to the hallway. There were 2 doors on the wall to her left. They seemed pretty beat up as well, but they were good enough. She slowly opened the door closest to her. It had one window in the middle, and the rest of the room was empty just like the other rooms. There wasn’t much to see there, so she continued on to the last door.

The door creaked as she opened it and a cloud of nasty smells hit her. She squinted her eyes and backed away a bit as she slightly gagged. It smelled like feces and expired food mixed together. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand as she peeked inside. The room was small, with a toilet, bathtub, and sink. The tiles on the floor were greasy and so were the rest of the stuff in there. This place was horrible, not even a rat would live here. Mary felt even more frustrated and confused with Anna’s decision to move here, why would she want to live in this dump!? She already had a pretty nice home back in Bythorne, but she’d trade that just for a job. She quickly closed the door as she stepped away from it and stopped by the wide-open front door.

Anna was carrying the last stuff inside and placed them in the hallway. “I... Anna. What is this?” Mary said, the disappointment clear in her voice. Anna sighed and looked into Mary’s eyes. “Do not get upset. I didn’t waste all of my money on this house, I’m using the rest to renovate it. It might look bad right now but when I fix it it will be perfect and look brand new, I promise.” She explained and tried to convince Mary that it was a good idea. Marilyn couldn’t understand what her sister was thinking, was she out of her mind? “Annette. A normal house would’ve been worth it even if it costs a little more. You’ve made a mistake. It might work in the end, but this house will need years before it’s fixed.” She responded. Her voice was strict and harsh. She was really disappointed of her; all of this was making her reach her limit. “For god’s sake it’s too late to change anything! Can’t you see how hard I’m trying!?” Anna yelled and gestured with her hands. “If you actually tried your best we wouldn’t be standing here, I thought you were better than this!” Mary yelled back and grunted.

She was so tired of this. She never wanted to be here. She hated this place. She hated it with all her gut. This place already made her feel like she was at a breaking point, but her sister only made it worse. Anna seemed to get pretty upset as well, she really just wanted Mary to understand her. “Can’t you just fucking listen for once!?” Anna lashed out, with her voice becoming trembly, like as if she was about to cry. “Why can’t you listen!??” Mary yelled back at her. “I can’t stand you!!” Anna screamed and ran into the kitchen. Mary watched as she fled the scene. She grunted and walked outside, grabbing her lighter and cigarette pack from her pocket. This day was already too much. She wished she could just get into bed and sleep already.