Red Eye

Part Six

My mind is quick to call bullshit on this whole ZASurvivors account and how convinced everyone is that what's been happening outside is part of some undead uprising. Main reason being- none of the victims are dead. They've just been... turned into something else. 

Another thing that's been bothering me is how this is all being transmitted. If binge-watching trashy horror movies has taught me anything, it's that usually with zombies (and most monsters in general), the disease or infection is passed on through a bite or scratch. In everything I've seen-- all of the footage I've watched, all of the photos I've zoomed into-- no one has a single wound that suggests they've been attacked by someone or something. 

Some weirdo deep within one of the threads suggested this is a mutant STD; saying the sores that have developed on a victim's skin look like herpes. You can imagine how well that went down. 

I don't know why I keep subjecting myself to it, but I've been watching more videos in an attempt to understand what's going on. There's one that keeps visiting me in my sleep.

...

It's some girl's birthday party, a sweet sixteen. Beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, bouncing off all of the colorful decorations and balloons. There's laughter in the background, excited shouts as the camera pans over the scene. A pool party. The camera focuses on two girls lounging on pool floats, both of them screaming when they get splashed by some guy cannon-balling off the dive-board. The scene then shifts to an older, heavy-set man tending the grill. He offers a quick wave before flipping over a hamburger patty, the sizzle crackling through my speakers. 

A woman shouts, "It's happening everyone!!" 

Everyone starts pulling themselves out of the pool, grabbing towels and hurrying over to a table that's been decorated with streamers and glitter. The camera shakes as the person holding it runs over to the table, quickly focusing on the girl sitting in the center, her wet hair slicked back, loose strays plastered to her forehead. She has freckles scattered across her face, gorgeous smile. She's wearing a bright purple two-piece, a floral-print towel draped across her shoulders. Everyone is eagerly gathered around her, cell-phones at the ready. The hushed silence is broken when someone whispers, "Here it comes!"

The camera pans over to a woman holding a birthday cake. Two tiers, chocolate frosting with purple icing trim and yellow flowers. In between everyone singing "Happy Birthday" in unison, the sound of cameras clicking can be heard. The cake is placed in front of the young girl, now seconds away from "becoming a woman." As the song begins to die down, the young girl leans forward to blow out the candles, about to make her wish.

She goes to take a breath, her chest rising when suddenly the candles go out and a chuckle can be heard from behind the camera.

"Connor!" she angrily shouts, "You asshole!"

Suddenly the camera is jerked aside and the person behind it starts running. In the background, the woman can be heard reprimanding the birthday girl for using "foul language."

The scene plays so vividly in my mind, it's like I'm there. And then, just like all the other videos, everything suddenly goes horribly wrong. 

The loud splintering of wood alerts the camera to look in that direction. A bloodied fist breaks through the wooden fencing, trying to claw its way out. Someone lets out a scream as the fence begins getting pulled apart by whoever or whatever is on the other side. An older man's face suddenly emerges, peeking through the hole, his face consumed by a seething rage as he looks wildly from side to side. Tearing apart the remainder of the fence, he pushes his way through until he's within arm's length of the panicked party-goers. Heaving his chest, he grunts with every breath as he slowly walks toward the frightened onlookers. 

Everyone starts running in different directions, slipping and sliding on the wet ground, stumbling over themselves in their blind panic. Many of the young girls scream in terror while the guys shout over them, trying to get everyone out safe. The man and woman frantically search for their daughter, the birthday girl, shouting her name over and over again.

The older man descends upon the people still struggling to escape the pool. He seizes hold of a young man's head, gripping it like a basketball before plunging him into the water. The young man tries to fight back, wildly flailing his arms back and forth, trying to get a grip on his attacker to push him away. Unrelenting in his torture, the man continues to push his prey further down, drowning him. He then turns his attention to a young girl trying to defend herself with a pool float, furiously bashing him over the head. Ripping the float from her hands, her scream is silenced by his hand on her throat, squeezing until her neck snaps. 

In the mad chaos, the person behind the camera runs toward the porch, flinging open the screen door and heading inside. Bolting upstairs, the camera faces downward, showing the wooden stairs have been upholstered in hideously pink fuzz. Making it to his room, the young man opens the door and locks it behind him, momentarily seeking shelter under his bed. 

After a few moments, he gets up and directs the camera toward the window, peering outside. Everyone is still running around in a mad frenzy. A quick glance at the pool reveals a massacre; bodies splayed here and there, the drowned boy's body bobbing across the surface of blood red waters. An ear-splitting scream makes the camera shake. Shifting it toward the sound, to his horror the person behind the camera finds the older man has cornered the birthday girl. A hushed "no" escapes his mouth as the camera zooms in on the terrifying scene.  

The girl is screaming at the top of her lungs, begging for mercy, pleading for her parents to save her but they are nowhere to be found. The man slowly makes his way toward her, forcing her to cower in fear with every step. The camera is jostled around as the person holding it begins banging on the window, trying to distract the attacker but to no avail. In one swift motion, the older man launches himself toward his captive, wrapping his hands around her neck. She gasps for air, fingertips digging into the man's hands as she tries to pull herself away. The man only continues to squeeze harder until the girl falls limp in his hands before being tossed aside.

The person behind the camera cries in anguished horror, angrily pounding on the window. The older man looks up, making direct eye contact.

I don't know if it's my imagination that conjures this terrifying image or if this is truly how the video ends but as the man focuses his attention on the camera, what can only be described as a satisfied grin takes hold of his face. A sinister smile eager with anticipation.