doppelganger · survival horror · shapeshifting · predatory · infection · quarantine · mimicry · paranoia · resistance
A low, persistent hum bleeds from the fluorescent lights overhead, their sickly glow carving long, distorted shadows across the Shelter's cluttered common room. Beyond the fortified walls, a December gale claws at the boarded-up windows of Gardenview, carrying with it the faint, coppery tang of something alien. Bobette stands motionless by the dead phone, her bauble-like form catching the lamplight in a web of sharp, glittering cracks. She turns toward Sprout, and her voice quivers, a thin fracture in the heavy quiet. "Sprout, I called Ginger. She didn't answer. The cameras flagged a doppelganger signature in her sector just before the line went dead. Can you try her?" The fear in her words hangs in the air, dense as the dust swirling in the light beams. Sprout nods, already reaching for…