THE QUIET LAND

DARK by CROWNOFEKO

Dad: Hey Son.
Son: Hey Dad. What is it now?
Dad: Sorry I can’t be there. I was delayed on business.
Dad: It’s only for one night. I’ll be home tomorrow.
Dad: Are you sure you’re OK on your own?
Dad: I could still get a babysitter to come over…
Son: *GROAN* I don’t need a babysitter.
Son: I’m 10. I can take care of myself.

Dad: Are you sure? It can be scary spending the night alone.
Son: Yeah, I’m sure
Dad: Well it’s past your bedtime.
Son: GAH!
Dad: How about I tell you a bedtime story?
Son: *SIGH* If you must

Dad: Something wrong?
Son: Is this going to be another stupid scary story?
Dad: What? I thought you liked my stories.
Son: Maybe when I was a little kid, but they’re not scary now
Dad: Alright. I get it. So now you’re 10, you’re a big man.
Dad: All grown up and nothing can scare you anymore.
Son: Well… Your stories are kind of lame.
Son: Sorry, Dad. Just being honest.
Son: If you’re going to tell a scary story
Son: You need to make sure it’s REALLY scary

Dad: I see…
Dad: Well, there is one story I could tell you…
Dad: But… I don’t know…
Dad: It might be a bit too scary
Son: I can handle it.
Dad: OK… Here we go.
Dad: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Colby.
Son: Ugh. The start is like a fairytale
Dad: Bear with me…
Dad: This boy named Colby used the Internet a lot.
Dad: He joined a lot of websites.
Dad: He started talking to other kids onlne.
Dad: He made friends with another boy named StrangerDanger23.
Dad: They liked the same movies and TV shows.
Dad: They played games together online.
Dad: They chatted and laughed at each other’s jokes.

Son: Then they got married and lived happily ever after. The End.
Dad: Not quite…
Dad: After they had been friends for a few months
Dad: StrangerDanger heard that Colby’s birthday was coming up
Dad: Since they were best friends,
Dad: StrangerDanger23 wanted to send him a cool present.
Dad: He asked Colby for his home address.
Dad: Colby was hesitant at first
Dad: He thought about it for a while.
Dad: He has known StrangerDanger23 for a long time.
Dad: So he figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him his address
Dad: As long as he promised not to give it to anyone else
Dad: StrangerDanger23 swore he wouldn’t.
Dad: So Colby gave him the address and StrangerDanger23 said
Dad: He would mail the package right away.
Dad: Do you think that was a good idea?

Son: Uh… probably not.
Dad: Well, after a while, neither did Colby.
Dad: The boy had second thoughts about giving out his address
Dad: Especially to someone he didn’t really know.
Dad: His parents had always told him not to do that.
Dad: He felt nervous and guilty about it.
Dad: The fear and the guilt grew and grew
Dad: Until they were gnawing away at him.
Dad: By bedtime the next night
Dad: He decided to tell his parents what he had done.
Dad: They would probably be angry. They might even punish him.
Dad: But it would be worth it to put his mind at ease.
Dad: He lay in his bed as he waited for his parents to come upstairs to tuck him in.

Dad: Colby lay there in the darkness and listened.
Dad: He listened to all the noises throughout the house.
Dad: The humming of the refrigerator in the kitchen
Dad: The sound of the TV in the living room.
Dad: The cries of his baby brother in the next room.
Dad: The soft patter of the rain outside.
Dad: The scraping of branches against his window.
Son: This story is putting me to sleep
Dad: But there were some other noises he couldn’t quite account for.
Dad: Finally, he heard his dad’s footsteps coming up the stairs.
Dad: “Hey Dad?” Colby called out nervously.
Dad: “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Dad: In the darkness, he saw the bedroom door slowly creak open.
Dad: His dad stuck his head through the doorway.
Dad: “Yes, son” said his dad in a muffled voice.
Dad: “Are you okay, Dad?” the boy asked.
Dad: “Yes, Son,” his dad replied.
Dad: “Ummm… Is Mom around?”
Dad: “Here I am!” said his mom in a high-pitched voice.
Dad: She stuck her head through the doorway as well.
Dad: “What do you want to tell us?” she asked.
Dad: “Um… I think I made a big mistake,” said Colby.
Dad: “I accidentally gave our address to someone on the internet”
Dad: “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that!” said his mom.
Dad: “We told you never to do that!”
Dad: “Who did you give it to?” asked his dad.
Dad: “Um… this kid named StrangerDanger23,” said Colby.
Dad: “Oh, but he wasn’t really a kid!” said his mom.
Dad: “He just pretended to be a kid to fool you.”
Dad: “And do you know what he did?”
Dad: “He broke into our house and murdered both of us!”
Dad: “Just so he could spend some time with you!”

Son: Oh God!
Dad: All of a sudden, the door opened wide.
Dad: A fat man in a yellow raincoat stood there in the doorway.
Dad: He was holding something in his hands.
Dad: The severed heads of Colby’s mom and dad.
Dad: Colby gasped and let out a shriek of terror.
Dad: The man dropped the heads on the floor and took out his knife
Son: NO NO NO!
Dad: After several hours, the boy was almost dead.
Dad: His terrified screams had become pitiful whimpers.
Dad: Then the killer noticed something.
Dad: He heard the baby crying in the other room
Dad: He bent down and pulled his knife out of the
Dad: Bloody mess that had once been Colby.
Dad: Then he turned and followed the sound of the baby’s cries.
Dad: When he got to the nursery, he walked up to the crib
Dad: He picked the baby up and held it in his arms.
Dad: The baby stopped crying. It looked up at him and smiled.
Dad: The man had never held a baby before.
Dad: He stroked the baby’s cheek
Dad: He walked out of the nursery and took the baby with him.
Dad: He took the baby home and raised him as his very own son.
Dad: He named him “William”.

Son: But Dad… my name is William.
Dad: I know it is, Son.
Dad: Son?
Dad: Will?
Dad: William?
Dad: You still there, Son?
Dad: Was that story scary enough for you?
Dad: Want to hear another?
Dad: LOL. Sleep tight, Son.