The Masked Man | ✔️

"AHHHH! Why did the power go out?"

I was with Katharine in our shared room in the cottage when lightning flashed against the dark night outside. Both our parents were out at the store which meant that it was just the two of us alone. Just as I was about to see what was wrong, the thunder crackled outside with a loud boom, sending me running straight back into my bed. I wasn't one to be typically scared of thunder, but something about this cottage made me cautious and weary. Many times Katharine and I would hear suspicious sounds, and they weren't normal.

"You should text your parents and I'll text mine to tell them what's wrong," Katharine said as she quickly got her phone out. "They might know what to do."

"Wait. This could actually be fun." I quickly replied. As much as this cottage was creepy, I was more in for a good scare and adventure. I knew that Katharine wouldn't agree, but she relied on logic and would try to get me to change my mind.

"Lauren, you know that isn't going to be a good idea."

See. It wasn't hard to predict exactly what she would say. Just as I was going to explain why it wasn't a bad idea, I heard a knock at the door. Then, all of a sudden the lights turned back on and then flickered off again.

"Alright, I think we should call our parents. Skip the texting." I frantically whispered. Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone and dialed my parent's number. The phone kept ringing and it felt like minutes before the phone went to voicemail. I tried to call back again when my phone's screen went black. And so did Katharine's. Then we heard the knocking again.

The knocking didn't stop and it started to turn to banging, rattling the door. It didn't help that lightning flashed and thunder cackled outside at this exact moment. But the brief lightning allowed me to see past the curtains that blocked the outside near the door, and I saw a silhouette of a man.

"Hello? Anyone home?" said the man fiercely. "Please let me in."

I don't know what I felt that second but part of me wanted to let him in. I quickly realized I was out of my room and walking towards the door where the man stood behind.

"What are you doing?" Katharine whispered frantically, following behind me. "Stop it."

"It's fine. We could just let him in and see what he wants." My adventurous side had won and soon I got to the door.

I hesitated slightly but decided to get this thing over with quickly. I put my hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it to open the door. When the door was fully open, I saw the man more clearly. He was wearing a suit but it was all black. What was even stranger was that he had... a mask on. It was all white except the black eyes and sinister smile that was on the mask. There were also three black lines on both sides where the cheeks were. He walked in the cottage and seemed to tower over me and Katharine. In his right hand, which had a white glove on, he held a black briefcase.

"Excuse me young ladies for wasting your time, but I have something that might interest you," he spoke slowly. Something about him seemed familiar and even his voice sounded eerily like I have heard it somewhere before.

He walked over to the living room and his steps boomed throughout the house. He quickly set the briefcase on the coffee table and opened it and took something out. The something was a glass ball. It was around the size of a tennis ball and was completely clear. If you looked closely enough, you could see that there were words or symbols etched in it.

The man held the ball out towards Katharine and me and said in a soft but steady voice, "This here, as you can see, is a glass ball or what I would call a glass orb. At first glance, it may seem ordinary, but I assure you that this is nowhere near the case. It offers... protection."