Prologue
Nettleton Public Library
8:43 pm
Jack's first instinct was to hide the chat window. Chat wasn't allowed on the library's public computers, which of course didn't usually stop him, but one of the librarians was standing right behind him messing around with the incessantly flickering floor lamp and he hardly wanted her to see whatever inane message his girlfriend had chosen to send on to him this time. Jack checked surreptitiously over his shoulder, then looked back at the screen, already mentally composing his irate reply. Damn Kate, she knew she wasn't supposed to message him first when he was at the library.
But the sender wasn't Kate.
Unknown, read the name next to the little green circle on the minimized chat window. Jack blinked at it, then shrugged and clicked on it. The librarian was over by the end of the shelves now, putting magazines on the rack or something, and wouldn't notice.
The message popped up.
esduy ehwf re eribckl?
Jack blinked, but the letters didn't move. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was he getting messaged by spambots again? As he watched, the message repeated itself.
esduy ehwf re eribckl?
He shook his head and hit the X on the chat window. He didn't have time for this shit.
The window popped back up. esduy ehwf re eribckl?
He clicked the X again.
For a minute, nothing else happened, and Jack had just returned to wading through the morass of email he had gotten since Monday when another chat window popped up. It was Unknown again. Jack muttered a curse under his breath and was just about to hit the X for the third time when he registered that the message was different this time.
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
As he watched, the message repeated itself, faster and faster until the letters were almost a blur on the screen. Then Jack hit the X on the corner of the whole browser, not just the chat window, and closed down the entire program.
The screen went black.
"Hey," Jack started to say, about to call for the librarian's help – where was the desktop? – when he thought he saw something reflected in the screen. He leaned forward, looking past his own face's reflection, searching the blackness. He could see himself, the curve of the shelf next to him, and – there! An indistinct form, standing right behind him, arms outstretched towards him.
He whirled around.
No one was there. Not even the librarian.
Jack turned back to the computer and nearly let out a scream. This time he could see a face, indistinct but unmistakable. It was right there, right next to his, and he could see the mouth moving, lips forming soundless words. He shoved himself back from the computer, panting, but the face didn't disappear. Instead it filled the screen, eyes deep pits of shadow, and then the screen flickered and text replaced the face.
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
LTME LE
Jack opened his mouth to scream.
And then the face was right before him, full color, mouth twisted into a horrible rictus of rage, clawlike hands reaching out for him. Jack threw himself away from it, felt the chair tip underneath him and send him crashing to the floor. The thud seemed to echo throughout the quiet room as Jack lay there, trying and failing to breathe. Then he saw it again, the face, leering at him as its hands reached out for his throat. He could hear screaming now, but it was faint and kept fading in and out, like a badly tuned radio, but he couldn't make out if there were words or not. He couldn't breathe, and he could taste blood now, filling his mouth and his throat and still the face was there, above him. The thing raised one bloody hand and plunged it back down.
Then even the screaming stopped.