The Haunting

Chapter 1 (Matt's POV)

As he walked off, the emotion boiling inside started to disappear, replaced by realization and...fear. What've I done? I stared after him, watching as he rounded the corner, back to the entrance of the complex. I could feel the fiery stare from both Sam and Bailey burning into the back of my skull.

"Cut the camera." I turned around, facing them, both sharing a look of worry and fear.

"D-did he just quit?" Sam muttered. I walked back over to the car, where they both stood.

"Yeah. He just quit. Straight up, he just quit."

"Well, I mean...what do we do now? Are we gonna keep going without him, like..." Bailey questioned. I paused for a moment, thinking. Can we really continue this project without one of its primary subjects?

"He made his choice. He left us, the project, the team. What do we do? We move on." They both stared at me with uncertainty. Do they think this is my fault?

"I mean, shouldn't we at least make sure he's okay, like, contact him later, instead of just completely cutting contact with him because he wasn't comfortable with this." Sam suggested sheepishly. You're kidding...

"Now you're accusing me too, huh?"

"Wha- no! I'm not trying to ac-"

"It's always my fault! If something goes wrong, it's always put on me! I thought I could at least trust you to be loyal." Both Sam and Bailey just stared on in shock. Sam had something else, however. A glint of sorrow glimmered in her eyes, her gaze wavering.

"Everyone blames me for this, everyone leaves me because of all of this." I gestured to the complex. "Y'know what? Forget it...Let's just go back to the studio, forget this even happened." I pushed past both of them, opening the car door, getting in the driver's seat. I heard them both murmur something as I shut the door. Sam got in the passenger's seat and Bailey got in the back seat.

I started the car, pulling out of the spot, passing by all of the parked cars, back out of the parking lot. On the drive back, we passed by many old childhood places. Schools, play areas, old creepy houses, just about everything screamed nostalgia...longing. As the drive progressed, the atmosphere became increasingly more unsettling, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. Finally, I broke the silence.

"You all trust me, right?" Both Sam and Bailey shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact, looking out the window or at the floor. Finally, Sam spoke up.

"I mean...you haven't really given us a good enough reason not to trust you..." Right...

"I've stuck my neck out for this team, putting my life on the line. They just don't see it." I glanced over at Sam. "Sam, you've been here since the beginning, you're kinda deeply tied into this. You were here when we found the keys to the Mountaineer, when we found the Apple II, even on the absolute date. There's files of you we found, confirming you're tied into all of this. You've been by my side since the beginning..." I glanced in the rear view mirror, back at Bailey.

"Bailey, you just joined this whole mess not that long ago, but you've been actively part of it. You were here during the confrontation, during all of this ghost writing and voices and stuff. You're about as loyal as they come." They both avoided eye contact throughout the entire conversation, clearly extremely uncomfortable. As the silence grew, I continued.

"You both are so tied into this, you can't leave, right? You...won't leave, right? Leave...me...?" After an awkward pause, Sam eventually spoke up.

"I think the same rules apply here. If everything gets too crazy and uncomfortable, we stop, right?"

"I mean, yeah, like...when is too far for you, Matt? Two employees just quit. The ghost or whatever it is gave us directions to Woods' home. What will be too far for you?" Bailey muttered.

"You all always ask me that question like it's my fault we're in this situation, like I'm to blame. I need to know what's going on, how to stop this madness and just be done with it. If we lose people along the way, so what? They're just cowards for not seeing my intentions. Whatever it takes to end this, I will achieve it by any means necessary." Both gave an awkward glance out the window, disturbed and frightened.

"You've proved that point already," Sam muttered under her breath. I ignored it. If they don't see what I'm trying to achieve as good, that's their fault. The rest of the drive was made in silence, tension hung in the air. As we rounded the corner to the studio, I pulled into the lot, the atmosphere still tense. I located my spot, pulling in, stopping the car and unlocking the doors. We all got out in silence, heading towards Blue Base to reconvene.

Well, guess this is how it's gonna be, huh? I'm the villain of the story again.