Musings in Manila: Paper Mask X Reader

Chapter 2-The Fall

The rest of the work day dragged on and on. It was only a few more hours, but it felt like days. And it was absolutely terrible.

The boss ended up coming in due to an unexpected issue. And of course, this time he chose you to help fix it. It wasn't too difficult, but it meant less time doing your other tasks. And your coworker Radley, who was usually quite a menace to everyone, decided to focus his efforts on you today.

"What are you doing?" He would ask condescendingly.

"Fixing the issue that our boss needed help with." You replied.

"You're not doing it right." He told you.

He would then drone on about how he should just get a raise and promotion already since he was the only one keeping the company together. You tried your best to ignore him, but he got on your nerves. You ended up snapping at him, telling him to shut his mouth. It was unfortunate timing, but the boss walked in at that very moment. This earned you a talking to about kindness to other employees, and smug looks from that jerk Radley. After all of this, you finally got back to your normal work.

Just as always, it wasn't great. You spaced out often and did a lot of things on autopilot. You were used to many of these tasks by now. Your mind came back to the stories your coworkers told at lunch. The Backrooms. A place outside of reality. At that moment, it sounded nice to you. Even with the monsters. I put up with monsters on a daily basis. You thought, picturing Radley in your mind.

Because of the extra task your boss had you help with, you didn't get out of work at the same time you normally do. It was an hour later before you got to go out to your car. It was 6:30PM, and it was already dark outside. Exhausted, you walked out of the building without saying any goodbyes. Not that anyone would care if you did.

It was eerie and noiseless outside. The cold night air hit your face as you stepped out into the open. It was the gentle breeze of Autumn, but crisp like Winter at the same time. The seasons were so close to changing, and it was apparent in even the weather. You looked up at the sky, hoping for some stars. But it was just another cloudy night. You sighed, your breath visible due to the cold. You walked the short distance from the building to your car, feeling the slightest bit of water droplets on your face.

"Aw man, don't tell me it's going to rain." You said out loud.

You really wanted to get home, and there were already too many stupid drivers on the road at this time. One thing you've noticed about the rain is that it makes people drive even worse than usual. Nevertheless, you got into your car and started it up. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the interstate, you began your journey home.

It wasn't long before rain began to gently tap on the roof of your car. After a few minutes the tapping turned into knocking, which ended up turning into pounding. Within ten minutes of leaving work, you found yourself in quite the horrible rainstorm.

"I really do have the worst luck today, don't I?" You said out loud, annoyed.

You turned your windshield wipers on and your music to a higher volume as rain drops continued to pour down. The rain made the already dark night even darker and more difficult to see through, but you managed. A good twenty or so minutes later, you successfully made it back to your house in one piece.

You pulled into your driveway and parked the car, then rushed inside, trying your best not to get soaked. It was already 7 O'Clock in the evening when you got home. You changed into nighttime clothing, then walked into the living room and switched on the TV. The news channel popped up, and you left it on while you went to the other room to make dinner. Because it was so late, you just grabbed some of last night's leftovers and warmed them up. While waiting for your food, you heard the news anchor mention the guy who used to work at your job.

"Over a year later and no traces of David Miller have been found. This is the third strange disappearance this city has seen." The voice from the TV spoke.

You shuffled into the living room again and changed the channel, then went back into to the kitchen to get your dinner. Then you trailed back to the living room and ploppped down on your chair. Your finger clicked the remote a few times, trying to find a good channel. You eventually settled for the nature channel and began to slowly eat your dinner. You weren't really focused on the TV. With the day you had, you just wanted a few minutes to let your brain be free of responsibility. You listened to the rain battering the windows as you stared into the screen. The exhaustion started to take over and your eyes slipped shut, leaving you asleep in your chair with half a dinner still in your lap.

You were asleep for only a few hours. It was about 11:00PM when you awoke to a loud crashing noise. It startled you out of your sleep, causing you to jump up from the chair and knock the rest of your food on the floor. You looked around the living room, panicked. The TV was no longer playing the nature channel you had set it to, but instead displayed distorted static. You heard the loud noise again. The sounds were coming from outside the front door. There was the crashing and banging noises, but you also heard your car's alarm going off. Someone is breaking into my car.

The thought ran through your mind as you creeped towards the door, trying to be quiet. You heard clearer the closer you got. There were scraping sounds, as if your car was being dragged across the pavement outside. Then all at once, the noises ceased. You peeked out of the window that was a few feet across from the door. You didn't see your car, nor did you see any people. You waited a few minutes before deciding to take a closer look.

You walked outside into the pitch black night. The rain had lightened up, but not stopped entirely. The only light was the streetlamps lining the road. You gasped as you looked around. Your car was completely gone. There was no sign of a struggle either. It looked as if it had just poofed out of existence. You stepped further outside, searching the area were your car was parked. But there was nothing.

Worry gripped your mind. How would you get to work in the morning? How expensive would it be to buy a new car? Would you even be able to afford it? These weren't the only thoughts plaguing you. What had happened to your car? What were all those strange noises? Why was it so eerie outside?

The only noise now was the patter of rain. There was no wind, no sounds of traffic in the distance. It was completely dark, with no moon or stars to light up the sky. You tensed up, feeling freaked out. You felt as if you may be attacked by something in the dark, but did not feel like anything was there. It was a strange, fearful yet lonely feeling. You figured you would just go back inside and deal with this in the morning. You began to walk back to the front door, but you never made it there.

About fifteen paces away from your house, your foot slipped. You felt your heart drop as your body also started to fall. By some uncanny occurrence, your foot had gone through the ground, and the rest of you along with it. You were swallowed by the earth, engulfed in darkness as you felt yourself plummeting downwards. About a million thoughts ran through your head at once as you fell. All you could hear was air rushing against your ears. Dread took over and caused you to pass out before you hit the floor.