Once Upon a Dreary Midnight

Cursed

Meanwhile, Brian was at his home office looking up some slender man facts on the internet machine.  "This is slender man? Interesting but not very scary," Brian said to himself. Right after that, Brian looked up from the computer screen to the window and got jumpy because he thought he saw slender man standing in his backyard. He got up and and looked around him. In fear, he asked himself Was that slender man? A part of him said yes but the other part said no. He turned around and faced the window and tried to sharpen his vision by squinting his eyes. The faceless man in a black suit came into view again. This time, Brian started to see fuzzy, static stripes along with random sentences and words. Slender man enjoys playing with people's minds. He made Brian fall asleep so that when he wakes up, he convinces himself that this was all just a dream. Manipulating people is one thing he never fails at. Slender man didn't want to kill him, yet. He wanted him to get paralyzed, scared, and metally unstable first. That's the kind of torture he likes to use.    

When Brian woke up, he found a yellow sticky note with an operator symbol, a circle with an X drawn through it, on his computer's screen.  "What in the world is this?" Brian whispered while picking the paper up. When he lifted his head up to see if there's anyone in his backyard, hoping there wasn't anyone but having a feeling that there was, he saw a guy in a geisha mask. At first, Brian thought it was Max playing a prank on him like he always does. But then, when the lights started flickering, Brian knew this isn't a joke. Was it slender man? Is this real life or just another bad dream? Brian didn't know. He picked up his phone and called his dad. That was an instant reaction. He didn't even know what he was doing or how he had his dad's number. 

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Brian?"

"Yes. Dad it's me Brian, I- I- The- I'm," Brian was drowning in his own thoughts. He got dizzy and almost passed out but luckily he had a glass of water on his desk. 

"Calm down son, what's the matter? Are you alone?"

"Yes. I'm alone. My mom is out of town; she's visiting NaNa and t-there is- guy- mask he- outside in the backyard." It got really difficult to put his words together.

"Listen, Brian, I need you to calm down and call a friend who lives near you to come pick you up. Right now. I'm going to hang up," Jay then hung up.

"Justin. He lives on the other side of the street," Brian whispered as he went through his contact list on his phone.  "Pick up your phone, Justin. Please! Come on, pick it up," Brian said while tapping his feet and chewing his nails. 

"Hey Brian how's it going?" The fact that Justin answered comforted Brian a little bit.

"Not so well! Listen, my mom is out of town and there is this weird guy in a mask in my backyard. I know I sound like a coward right now but I'm really scared. Never been this scared since I was nine. I need a place to stay." Brian didn't know if Justin would let him stay in his house for awhile, but he assumed that Justin is going to let him stay and left the house immediately.

"Mate, you're not a coward. We all freak out and panic sometimes. It's all going to be alright. I'll come pick you up in 10 minutes. You're not staying in that house."

"No it's fine I'll walk to your house I'm alright." Brian hung up. He had to make another call; it was to his mom, but she didn't answer. He left her a voice message telling her about what happened and hoping she's okay. "First it's a serial killer on the loose and now it's a creepy guy in a ma.." He didn't even finish the sentence until he saw him. It was the guy in the mask, only a few meters away from Brian. Brian had two choices: either to run or stay and fight. Since he didn't know what this guy was capable of doing, he chose to run for his life.  

When he finally made it to Justin's house without being killed, Brian took a moment to pray and thank God. After that, he rang the doorbell. He was breathing too hard that he had to press his palms against his chest to make sure his heart doesn't burst out of his rib cage. 

"Hey, come on in."

"Move," Brian said while pushing Justin out of his way. All he wanted was some water. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Brian turned around and replied sarcastically, "Nothing, just some random guy following me. It's not that big of a deal, don't worry. You know it happens all the time." His sarcasm made Justin roll his eyes. 

"I see you didn't get clothes with you, it's cool you can wear mine. You're gonna sleep on the couch. I'll go get you some sheets and a pillow." 

"Alright, cool man." Brian replied as he sat on the couch which will be his bed for the next few days.  

"You know you're safe here. Just get some rest and we'll figure this out tomorrow morning," Justin said while handing Brian the pillow and sheets.

"Easy for you to say"

"You're welcome."  

Brian has been a heavy sleeper all his life, but definitely not tonight. A knot in his stomach along with an uncertain feeling that something awful will happen kept him up all night. He was too afraid to sleep because if he slept he's going to lose control. If he loses control, the guy in the mask is going to use this opportunity and kill him. However, Brian's attempts to stay awake failed and he fell asleep at last. It wasn't a long sleep. A scream coming from the first floor woke him up and he rushed to see what's going on. After making it half way through the stairs, his body froze. He didn't want to know what happened. It felt like all the blood in his body has now moved to his legs and now they're anchored to the floor. His lungs felt so heavy like they were somehow filled with bricks. He heard the scream once again and instantly ran to Justin's room. The door was open just a crack. Brian slowly opened the door. Justin wasn't there, but his blood was covering his bed sheets. Brian just stood there as a statue, like a monument frozen for eternity. The fear he felt was a being in itself because it wasn't just in him; it was all around him. There was a piece of paper laying on Justin's bed. It had the same operator symbol like the sticky note he found on his computer the day before. As he got closer to the paper, the writings on the other side of it became clearer. He then picked it up and shook his head in denial. His nostrils flaring, his eyes flashing, his mouth quivering. He is now driven by hate and consumed by anger. The letters on the paper were written in blood. Justin's blood. It said...

We will wait for you no more

Control is being taken away from you

From the start it's been a game for us

NOT ANYMORE

I'm coming for you  

Brian has had enough. He had no ability to find his way as he was drowning in his own thoughts. Should I call the cops? Do I call Justin's parents? Where are they anyways? Do I leave the house or look for Justin's body? Where do I go? Look for slender man? Do I go alone or have someone else with me? Who is going to believe me anyways? Too many questions left unanswered. Brian decided to go to the police station himself and tell them what happened. He had no care in the world what they might think of him.