Link to article: The Lesser of Two Evils.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] "Awaken, Brother." The man on the altar slowly opened his eyes. He was certain he hadn't moved, yet the surroundings were clearly different. Before, he had been in what had seemed at first to be a church, but with all religious symbols removed. Now, although everything was in the same place it had been before, it appeared...warped, somehow. Twisted and distorted in a way that he couldn't quite describe, but at the same time felt right. Like he was finally seeing this place as it truly was. The church wasn't the only thing that had changed. The people that had brought him in here had seemed like ordinary, if a bit strange, citizens of this uncharted city in the middle of nowhere. Now, though, they took on the appearance of scaly beasts with gleaming red eyes. In their eyes, he thought he saw the images of the people they had appeared to be before the ritual, their faces contorted in a perpetual silent scream. The priest, who had spoken, and who had led the ritual, raised a large mirror. He saw in the mirror another of these scaly demons, but with a television in place of a head. In the static of the television's screen, he could almost make out the image of a similarly-headed human. "What did you bastards do to me!?" he demanded. "Isn't it obvious?" asked a resounding voice that seemed to come from all directions at once. "You have become one of the Followers." "What the fuck does that mean?" "It means that you are now part of the greatest thing to ever happen to this dreadfully dull world of yours," the voice responded, seemingly coming from the very walls and floors of the church. "The man you once were is dead. I am your life now. You get to be a part of me." "Where are you? Show yourself, you damn coward!" "I revealed myself to you the moment you opened your eyes." The doors of the church opened on their own accord. The former doctor stumbled out of the door, unused to his new clawed feet. Where had once appeared to be a normal-looking small town, was now a twisted mess of what could only be described as organic structures. The former buildings now seemed like appendages of a colossal, grotesque living being. "You get to be a part of my great rebirth," the voice said, causing the buildings to shiver slightly. "Long have I waited to recruit one of your Foundation. The first one may have been a nobody that nobody missed, but you? They will investigate your disappearance. You will bring in more. And when I have enough Followers, I shall shed this sessile form, and the world shall know my true glory." The doctor simply yawned in response. "You do not seem impressed by my glory." "I've heard it all before," he snarked. "In my line of work, I've seen the very worst this universe has to offer, and frankly, as far as eldritch abominations that pose a threat to all existence as we know it go, you're...slightly above average, if I'm feeling generous. And let's be honest...I'm not." The buildings trembled slightly more. "You dare to look upon my infinite greatness and not prostrate yourself in total service?" "Frankly," the man said, "I'm more pissed off that you //killed// me over this than anything else." "Your death was a necessary means to this end. The living cannot yet see my true form. Your death, and rebirth as a Follower, was the first step in the path to your destiny!" The man crossed his arms. "Yeah, um...no." The buildings expanded and contracted, as though the great monstrosity was sighing. "I suppose I should have expected resistance from you. My Followers! Restrain him!" With a collective snarl, the Followers burst from the church, and all the surrounding buildings, running on all fours, looking more like giant monitor lizards than human beings. The man shook his head, reached into his pants, and removed a gun. Without so much as flinching, he fired, and hit the priest squarely between the eyes. The other Followers stopped dead in their tracks, staring in disbelief at the unmoving, bleeding priest. "He...he's dead," one of the other Followers said. "How can this be?" the voice asked. "You cannot kill that which is already dead." The man cocked his gun and took aim at the nearest Follower. This was going to be fun. [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]