Marble Hornets Your POV

P5. It this reality?

(Warning: Can be pretty violent! Read at own risk!)

I wake up with a pounding headache and my body aching all over. My vision is completely black; I'm blindfolded. My arms are tied to a chair, and the sound of people talking around me throbs through my head.

"Okay, everyone, silent please," a man's voice commands. The room falls silent. The man removes my blindfold, and a sharp, bright light blinds me. It hurts. As my vision adjusts, I see Tim, Brian, Jay, and my parents sitting around a dining table, singing "Happy Birthday" to me. This is all happening in my house. The sight of them lessens my fear, and I begin to feel somewhat normal again.
They place presents in front of me and start unwrapping them since I'm still tied to the chair. The first gift is from my parents—two cameras and some tapes, just like the ones I received for my 14th birthday. Seeing them stirs up confusing emotions. The others also give me fun presents.
Then, a man behind me speaks. "Now that everyone has given their presents to Y/N, I'd like to give my present to Y/N." The excitement in the room grows. The man's voice sounds eerily familiar. He steps from behind me to stand in front of me. I look up and see Alex's face, the same Alex I remember. Panic surges through me.

"Tim... Brian... Jay... Help me! This guy—" I start yelling, but Alex interrupts me with a calm, infuriating tone.

"Shhh, it's okay. They won't do anything, Y/N. They can't do anything. This is my simulation. I control what happens here," Alex says, his voice dripping with arrogance.

He holds up a present and begins to unwrap it in front of me. My eyes widen in horror as I see what's inside. "Happy birthday, Y/N," Alex says, holding up a gun that he took from the gift.

Alex stands up and aims the gun at my parents. A cold dread fills me as I scream, "ALEX, NOOO!!" Tears flood my eyes.

Bang The gun fires, and my mother collapses with a bullet to the head. Bang My father falls next. "NOOOO!!!" I scream in agony.

Alex's voice is disturbingly calm. "Well, you knew your parents were going to die once you saw the gun. That's familiar for you, right? But it seems you and these three guys have gotten close."

I look at Alex, tears streaming down my face. "What do you mean? I don't know these guys," I say, my voice trembling.

"Yes, you do, Y/N, and I know you know them," Alex says with a sinister grin. "Funny enough, I know them too! They were my friends once."

"What? How? When?" I demand, my anger rising.

"We were in the same class when we were younger. We started making a film together, but strange things began happening during filming. You know, the tall guy problem. I know you're familiar with that," Alex says, a twisted satisfaction in his voice.

"It's true, I know them, and I know about that thing. But one question for you, Alex—who the hell wants to be friends with a psychopath like you?" I ask, my voice laced with fury.

Alex's expression darkens. "Listen here, you little shit. This is how it's going to go: I kill these guys, then I kill you, and then... well, it's a happy ending for all of us. Sound good?"

"No," I retort, "I'm going to escape these ropes, kill you, walk away, and start a new, happy life. That's how it's going to go."

Alex sighs, shaking his head in mock sympathy. He walks up to Jay and stands directly in front of him. "Sorry, Y/N, but that's not how it's going to happen."

Alex then grabs the gun from the table and aims it at Jay's stomach. Tears stream down my face as I plead, "Please, Alex, don't! We can discuss something else. Just please don't kill them!"

"Sorry, Y/N," Alex replies coldly. "You and these guys have a disease. To stop it from spreading, you all have to die."

"What disease, Alex?! We don't have anything!" I shout, desperate.

"You're being followed and watched by that figure," Alex explains with a chilling calmness. "Everyone who gets involved with him will suffer the same fate. That's why it has to be stopped."

I stare at Alex, feeling numb, my thoughts frozen.

"So it's time to end this once and for all," Alex says.

He pulls the trigger, and the gunshot echoes as Jay falls, blood pouring from his wound. I cry out, watching helplessly as one of my friends slowly dies before my eyes.
Alex walks over to Brian, shooting him in the leg and then slitting his throat. Brian gasps, blood spilling from the gash.
Next, Alex approaches Tim. He shoots him in the shoulder and leg, then starts making deep cuts across his body. Finally, he ends Tim's suffering with a shot to the head.

"NNOOOOO!!!!" I scream, my voice breaking as I sob uncontrollably. The scene fades to black, consumed by darkness.

I wake up in my bed, crying and yelling, still shaken from the nightmare. Tim, Jay, and Brian rush into my room, their concern evident as they try to calm me down. I look at them, and the realization hits me: it was just a nightmare. I pull them all into a tight embrace, my body trembling with relief.

"What happened, Y/N?!" Tim asks, his voice filled with worry.

I'm still in shock, my words coming out as jumbled, unclear fragments. Once I manage to collect myself, I recount the nightmare in detail, explaining every horrifying moment.

"It's okay, Y/N. He's not here, and we're still here with you," Tim reassures me, his voice gentle.

As I finally start to calm down, we decide to go to the city for some ice cream and shopping at the center. This time, we all go together, hoping that the day will be uneventful and that nothing bad will happen again.