"And don't come out until you find all eight of them," My friends said as they locked the gates. I watched them go back into the safety of their car. I was a bit grateful they'd given me a flashlight and a camera at least. I mean, worst case scenario, the footage would be great for the music video we were going to start editing in the morning.
With a sigh into the summer air, I clicked on the flashlight and began recording. It was an old dare around my town. There was this closed off area where people were killed. I mean, legally speaking, if I get caught here, I'm fucked. Not going to lie. Anyway, supposedly, the people that do come in here, are supposed to collect eight little pieces of papers with notes and doodles on them, possibly drawn by children the demon that was living in this area had kidnapped.
"Okay," I said, turning on the camera before turning it to myself. "This is Jenna, here to collect all eight notes. Now, why must we collect the notes? What is the purpose of them? Do they hold some weird meaning? Or, what? What do these notes mean?" I then smiled into the camera before turning it back to the path before me. "How about we find out together?"
I began to walk down the path, listening to the gravel crunch beneath my feet. As I moved, somehow, I began singing the song from Blue's Clues. "We gotta find the next paw print, that's the second clue. From who's clues? Blue's clues!" I sang, smiling a bit as I moved. "Something, something, something, that's the final clue!" I laughed to myself. "To anyone stuck watching this footage, I'm so sorry. I know my singing is shit." I froze a bit when I heard something move behind me. Curious, I turned, seeing nothing there. "Huh. Must've been an animal. Guess I should've asked if there were any predators in here," I mumbled to myself before turning around. I jumped when I swore I saw a figure in the distance, dropping my flashlight. Quickly, I dropped down and picked it up.
Looking back at where I saw the figure. However, nothing was there. Only the trees. "Okay. I'll have to go back through the footage but, I thought I saw someone standing there in some kind of Hitman cosplay." I sighed and made my way down the path, calming down a bit. "That was creepy. Must've been a trick of the light or something."
With a deep breath, I continued on my way, seeing something white on a dark tree. Focusing on it, I approached carefully. Sure enough, it was one of the legendary notes. "Wow. Didn't think they would have the notes here," I mumbled more to myself. "Before you ask, whoever is watching this, yes. Yes, I do talk to myself a lot." Scribbled on the paper in charcoal were the words "Leave me alone" with a single tree beside it. I studied it wanting to know more about it. Awkwardly, I managed to fold the note and put it in my pocket.
I then studied the area. "Hello?" I called out, knowing I probably looked ridiculous. "There is a legend about a spirit that is here. A demon." Nothing but the wind was my response. "Did you write these? Is this you speaking to me?" When no answer came yet again, I pressed on, making my way through the forest again. This time, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the figure again. However, just as I was about to glance over, my camera echoed static, making me stare at it. "Don't bug out on me." I told the camera as I smacked it lightly. When it calmed down, I smiled and began to move again.
All was so quiet. I was completely alright. I gathered almost six notes now. One depicted a tall man with no face among trees. Two said "Can't Run" and "Help Me". Another said "Follows" with a picture of a tall man by a tree. The last one I held in my hand said "Always watches. No eyes."
"Based on everything I've found, these notes hold clues on surviving against this supposed demon. He must be fairly tall and has no face, based on the lack of one in the pictures. Having said that, there is a possibility that whoever drew these must not have looked at the face from sheer fear."
A twig snapped by me, making me freeze. I clicked off the flashlight. My heart hammered against my bones as I swallowed my saliva nervously. Nothing seemed to be approaching. Even though I really wanted to look at the source, I knew it was a bad idea. My instinct was telling me to run and I would have, until I remembered the note. "Is that you, demon?" I called out. The air grew still. "To be fair, I don't know what to call you. You're a legend to the people in this town. I'm just the new kid that gets to play your game." Something seemed to move behind me and I licked my lips. "Can't run...Does that mean, if I run, I die?" No answer. "You're not able to speak then." I concluded before beginning to move forward.
My heart was still beating quickly as I found a park restroom. I knew it was a bad idea to go inside. It felt like a good trap. Honestly, if I were a serial killer or even just trying to prank my friends, I would throw them in an area I knew every nook and cranny so I could predict their movements. That's me though, been watching too much CSI lately. Instead, I moved cautiously around the corner. Sure enough, my light caught sight of the note on the wall. "Don't look... or it takes you," It said.
I stared at it for a long moment before stuffing it in my pocket, not caring if it was wrinkled. I then made me way through the area, finding that I was backtracking to the gates. As the gates came into view, I heard my friends call out. "Did you find them?" One of the guys asked.
"Just one more, my man!" I shouted back, smiling a bit. I was relieved, knowing my friends were within sight. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the final piece of paper. "I found it!"
"Alright! Great job, Jen!" The only other girl in our group cheered. The two boys and the girl cheered for me as I snagged the last note before moving down the path. I heard something hissing in the air. For some reason, all my sense left me and I'd glanced over my shoulder. The camera glitched on static covered it as I stared at what was several feet behind me.
There stood the figure I swore I'd seen before as well as in the pictures. My body kicked into over drive and I was running as fast as I could towards the gate, not bothering to look over my shoulder. Sensing my panic, my friends opened the gate for me and I slammed my body into the backseat of the SUV.
When I finally calmed down, we were driving down the road to Milly's house. "Jen?" Michael asked, looking in the rear view mirror. "You alright?"
"Never make me do that again." I ordered through my teeth. Jacob stared at me and Milly didn't move in her passenger seat. I still held the last note tightly in my hand. I didn't look at it, not sure what to think. "Can we t-turn on some music?" I asked.
"Sure," Jacob said, reaching over the area to push the radio button. I didn't hear the music as I rested my forehead against the cool window. I was so petrified by what had happened that I didn't even register who was shaking me until I heard Jacob say, "Jenna!"
"Yeah?" I asked, looking up at him. Everyone was looking at me worriedly. "I'm fine. That...that whole thing was just too creepy."
"Did you see a body, or something?" Milly asked cautiously.
"No. I..." I remembered the note in my hand and smoothed it out, noticing that the sweat from my palm was soaking it. It showed the tall man that I'd seen with "No, no, no" written all around it. "I saw this." I showed them the picture and they all just sort of shared a look. "I think it might've been a hallucination based on fear and the darkness."
"Could be," Michael muttered. "Oh well. Let's get inside and sleep."
I started to get out of the car happily until I looked down at the inside of my palm. What looked like a scar was simply a circle with an X over it. I looked up and in the distance I saw it again. The creature from the woods. With a gulp, I knew one thing.
It wasn't over.