Four Against One; Two Fight Three

Chapter 2

Pleased. Shall play again.

A familiar voice pleaded to me, pulled me out of the darkness. The shadows peeled away. My fiance's terrified face sat in front of me.

"Ani?" he asked quietly. I nodded. Every bone in my body ached. My hands burned. My heart pounded. He held me tight. "What the fuck happened? I woke up and you-- this-- this thing--"

"I have no idea," I muttered, though my eyes were drawn to my palms. Scratches crisscrossed my palms. "I..." I looked at him as tears started to fall down my cheeks. "I don't know if you'll believe me."

We sat on our bed, he held me close. While I had been running for my life, a black mist had encased me. My fiance explained a burning sensation emanating from it. He had seen it lash out at me and cut my palms. He tried everything to get to me, but it was like pushing a brick wall.

I was out of tears when I spoke again.

"I think it's going to take me back."

"Think we can prepare for it?"

I shrugged, exhaustion slamming into me. I slumped against him. "We can try."

He kissed my forehead, and I slowly drifted to sleep.

I woke up to my fiance stroking my hair. He offered a teasing smile.

"Your dream boy is alright. Looks shaken, but he uploaded while you slept."

"I told you," I muttered in my haze. "He's not my dream boy. You are."

He kissed my forehead again. "Still think you need better dreams."

He went back to the computer room as I grabbed my phone. Sure enough, Mark had uploaded a new video. A vlog, specifically. Bracing myself, I clicked it.

"Hey guys."

His voice was shaking, though the only reason I could tell was knowing where he had been.

"I meant to stream today, but something came up. I know, I know. Unfair and all that. And, well, honestly, I want to tell you all what happened, but..." He trailed off and looked away from the camera. He jumped a bit as Chica decided it was lap time. He hugged her around the neck, then looked back up at the camera. "It's a pretty fucked up thing, honestly. And I don't think its over. So. Just." He hesitated. My stomach churned.

"I hope you are safe."

I paused the video. He looked as terrified as I felt. In the flood of comments, I wasn't sure what to make me stick out. So many viewers expressing confusion but support, saying they would stay safe, he shouldn't worry about them. But that wasn't what it was, was it?

A shudder ran down my spine as I typed two simple words.

Bing bong.

I stared at the letters for a long while. A throw away joke we had given, but maybe? And my YouTube name included my actual name. Would he know how it's spelled?

I hit submit and unpaused the video. It amazed me that he was able to keep the perfect cadence on his farewell.

It took a while, but eventually the little red number appeared next to the bell. I opened the message from Mark's channel, my brain still trying to comprehend that that was happening. He expressed mild confusion at my choice of identifying myself, it had taken him a bit, but was happy I was safe. The rest of the message...

Was a jumbled mess. Though not as if he couldn't type it. Something had glitched the words. Not even the special glitchy text I had seen allover the internet, but shifting, moving, black shapes. It was horrific to watch. I wondered if he saw it too. I tried to reply with what had happened when I got back. When I hit send, the text moved and shifted in the same way as his. A harsh whisper needled my brain.