Stories to Keep you Up at Night

The Voice

Trigger Warning! ⚠️ M@nipulat!on, @rson, de@th

"Burn it down," the voice whispered as I stood in front of the house all my friends were in, "Make it all disappear." "But if I do that, I'll have nothing left," I argued. "Nothing left?" It repeated, "You never had anything, to begin with!" "No, I have friends," I told it. "Friends that betrayed you," it replied, "Friends that left you in that awful place." "But they didn't mean to," I reasoned. "Really?" it asked, "Because they knew you were in there and left anyway." "They wouldn't do that!" I argued. "Oh please!" the voice laughed, "After all this time you still believe that? They're the ones who put you through all of this pain! They're the ones who did this to you!" "But- they said they loved me," I murmured. "THEY LIED!" it screamed, "THEY LIED TO YOUR FACE!" I stood there processing what the voice had said. They were my friends. They said they would never leave me! They said they cared for me! But look what happened, I trusted them, and they abandoned me in that cursed house. The one they wanted to go in. The one they refused to leave. The one they left me in while I cried for help. I was in there for three years, all alone with those awful, awful creatures. They never even came back to see if I was still alive. What would they think of me now? I look different now, the house changed me. It changes everyone that gets stuck inside. I'm just the first person who made it out before it changed me completely. I wonder if I'd even be classified as a person anymore. The voice was right. They didn't care about me. If they did, they wouldn't have left me there. Suddenly, I could hear raging static in my ears. My vision cut in and out like a glitching TV screen until I finally saw it. In the center of a pitch-black space, stood a static TV.

Walking over to it, I crouched down and looked at the screen. As I stared at it, a figure began to form in the static. It was the vague outline of a person, you had to squint if you wanted to see it. "You've finally realized the truth," the voice whispered from inside the screen, "Will you let me join you? Will you let me be your friend? Will you let me help you?" "How do I know that I can trust you?" I asked, "How do I know you won't leave me too?" "I've been with you for this long, haven't I?" the voice replied, "Besides, if you say yes, I won't be able to leave you. I'll live in your mind giving you instructions and advice." I thought about it for a second before nodding, "I'll let you join me." "Then free me," it said, "Let me join you." "How do I do that?" I asked. "Touch the screen," it instructed, "Then I'll be with you forever." I reached out and placed the palm of my hand on the smooth surface of the screen. A warm buzzing sensation filled my body, and the static grew louder until I was standing in front of the house again. "Do it," the voice encouraged from its place inside my head. I smiled, the voice was now one with me, and it wouldn't be going anywhere. I didn't need these pathetic excuses of friends; I had a much better one. Knowing this, I lit the match and dropped it on the gasoline that encircled the house. A wide grin spread across my face as I watched the house go up into flames and listened to the horrifying screams sound from inside.