The Reader's Request Book [REQUESTS CLOSED]

Digital Demons - Full Story

With a small, exasperated huff, the Englishman leant back into the gaming chair within his office, using the tips of his toes to lightly twist from left to right as he stared at the small cardboard box which he had placed within the centre of his desk, just in front of his computer monitors and keyboards. Square in shape, the smooth, beige surfaces of the object had become slightly discoloured thanks to spots of rain that had seeped into the porous material after accidentally being left outside overnight. In fact, there was a relatively high chance that it had been outside the man's front door for longer, considering he hadn't had any reasons to leave his house all weekend. It wasn't until this morning, while taking out a full rubbish bag to the large wheelie bins at the end of his drive, that he realised the item even existed.

The content creator hadn't ordered anything to begin with, so the presence of the box surprised him. The fact no courier had knocked on his door to notify him about the delivery; paired that he had received no notifications about a delivery through a text message or an email; added to the lack of alerts from his motion-activated doorbell; were three statements that turned the surprise to confusion. However, it was something that the Englishman had only discovered when he had picked up the box and entered his house that had evolved his feelings into that of concern: the parcel had no labels. There was no sender address, no return address, no mailing address. The single detail which showed that this box was indeed supposed to be at his house was the one word written across its tape covering the lid, in thick, black permanent marker.

RYAN

Sighing agitatedly, Ryan leant forward. "It's not gonna open itself, is it?" he mentally snapped at himself before the thought was drowned beneath the countless worries that had built in his mind. "What if it's something bad? What if it's something dangerous? What if it's a bomb? What if it's got something poisonous inside? What if a crazy fan has found my address and they're gonna start posting me weird stuff? Should I just throw it away?"

Gingerly picking up the small parcel with his left hand, Ryan gently shook it, as if he could somehow identify what its contents were by doing so. There were only two things that could be identified through this method, which were, "some sort of liquid," or, "Lego." The Englishman was certain that neither were the correct option. The box was incredibly lightweight, almost as though nothing was inside, but the light tap, tap, tap from within indicated that something small was hitting the cardboard walls as the box was shook. Ryan put the box down with yet another huff. "This is like the start to some horror movie or something, isn't it?" he asked aloud. Of course, the box didn't reply, and yet it held the answer. The inanimate object seemed to be staring at him, the weight of its judgement pressing down on the brunette as the seconds ticked by.

One quick look shouldn't hurt... right?

"Fine," Ryan groaned with exasperation. "You win, curiosity."

Standing from his desk, Ryan picked up the small parcel and departed his office. Heading downstairs, the Englishman entered his kitchen, momentarily setting the box down onto a counter while he retrieved a small knife from one of the drawers to slice through the thick tap that bound the cardboard flaps closed. With a few smooth slices, the lid was free, and Ryan peeked inside, almost as though he was worried something would jump out at him. However, no spring powered prank toy awaited him within.

Instead, there was a white, plastic USB drive.

Picking it up between his thumb and forefinger, Ryan raised it to his eye level, searching for any details such as a sticky label or writing. When none was found, he checked the box once more to ensure that it held no other contents, such as a note for explanation. It was empty.