Okay first of all I just want to say that I do not know if I will continue this or not. one because writing stuff takes up A LOT of my time and second because I don't know how well this will be received.

But all things considered I hope you enjoy this story! Constructive Criticism is Always Welcome! 😊

Chapter 1

Genesis

Do you believe in monsters? The Boogeyman? Vampires? Zombies? Or are you just oblivious to the fact that something terrifying does exist?

It was just an ordinary afternoon in the summer of 2015. Lauren had just been driving down to her best friend Kate's house to check up on her and help her with moving. Kate had a history of mental issues and frequently visited many doctors to help cope with them, yet for whatever reason, she never wanted to discuss them with Lauren. Kate eventually decided on moving to a new house when she had a panic attack and had to be rushed to a mental health clinic. Her reasoning was that she was just having a really hard time coping and where she was living wasn't helping. Lauren asked Kate if there was more to it than that, but again, Kate refused to explain. But that didn't really matter to Lauren. She was just happy that Kate was doing better, and was confident about her decision to move.

"Nearly there!" said Lauren enthusiastically. "I hope Kate's doing ok... I was really worried after that panic attack that she had, but... I'm just glad she's doing better... I guess... She was acting very strange during our last visit though..." Lauren reached the dirt path that led to Kate's house in the woods. As she began to turn down the road she heard a loud noise. It sounded like a snapping noise. Suddenly, she looked up to see that a large tree was falling. She stepped on the brakes just in time to avoid the car's hood being crushed. As the tree fell to the ground with a huge crashing noise, Lauren exclaimed, "Holy crap!" There was silence. "That was close! But how will I get to Kate's now? The tree's blocking the path..." "Well... I guess I'm walking..." Lauren exited the car and slammed the door shut. As she climbed over the fallen tree, she noticed the billboard advertisement showcasing Kate's phone number. "Land for Sale, call Kate: 555-7273". "I'm glad at least someone took the offer," said Lauren.

She began walking down the dirt path. It was very quiet...almost...too quiet. As she ventured further down the path it began getting darker. "Geez, it's already getting dark? I better hurry and get to Kate's!" said Lauren. As she started sprinting, it just got darker...and darker...and darker. She finally reached Kate's house and was surprised to see that her front door was ajar. "Huh. That's strange..." Lauren slowly approached the door and every step closer made her even more and more unnerved. She slowly pushed open the door. The house was quiet... too quiet... As she entered the house she felt a sudden wave of uncertainty and nervousness wash over her. "Kate?!...are you here?!..." there was no response...only silence.

Lauren entered the living room... It was in complete disarray. Books scattered all over the floor, furniture overturned, picture frames smashed... It looked ransacked. "Oh my god... Kate?! Kate!" Lauren screamed Kate's name in a blind panic, but again, received no response... Kate... was gone... and nowhere to be found.

Lauren began searching the house in vain, trying to find any sort of clues as to what happened to Kate. Kitchen, nothing, dining room, nothing, laundry room, nothing, books, furniture, everything was a complete mess... and still no sign of Kate. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" shouted Lauren to herself becoming more and more upset and angry at the situation. She soon noticed the home phone laying seemingly untouched for hours on the family room table... Unsettling to say the least. Lauren picked up the phone and tried dialing Kate's mobile number but the phone didn't work...

The phone line was dead.

"Crap!" Lauren exclaimed as Resumed Searching for clues and Came across the answering machine in the Kitchen where the home phone was supposed to be but wasn't. "I wonder if there is anything on here?" Lauren Pressed the play button and it turns out there was one old message.

*ANSWERING MACHINE*

YOU HAVE ONE OLD MESSAGE

Hey, Kate Its CR Again I Hope Everything's Ok I Know that there's been a lot to take in and wrap your head around but I hope selling the house will help take a little load off of your mind. It Was really nice of Lauren to help out to. from what you have told me she seems like a pretty nice person and I would like to finally meet her one day. Give Me a call when you get a chance so we can talk and try to figure things out take care.

Oh, and one more thing…. Until we're ready… don't tell Lauren about me… not yet… ok bye.

END OF MESSAGE

*Back to Lauren's Perspective*

"What the… Who is CR? Has Kate been talking to someone that I didn't know about? Well, that doesn't matter right now but if… when I find Kate She definitely has some Explaining to do!

Lauren then started up the stairs and discovered the hallway leading to Kate's bedroom was pitch black. Lauren remembered that she had left her Flashlight in the car and rushed back to the car in the darkness and then back to the house making a 5-minute roundtrip in 1 minute. Back at the hallway she switched on the light and began methodically searching each and every room only to find a small key but what it opened was unknown to her.

Lauren soon made it to the end of the hall and with it was the door to Kate's bedroom. Lauren was extremely unnerved and afraid to open the door knowing that behind the door could very possibly lie Kate's dead body. However, Lauren managed to move past this fear and slowly began tugging at the door handle only to find that it was locked. Then a lightbulb went off in Lauren's head she tried the key that she had picked up earlier… it worked... and with that Lauren slowly pushed open the door only to find something truly terrifying.

Kate's room was barely recognizable. drawings with scratchy, unsettling writing covered almost every inch of the walls many of them depicting a tall lanky suited figure. Along with the drawings was a drawing on the wall next to Kate's desk in red marker also in scratchy writing the same as the drawings "Can You See It" Was Written under a drawing of a radio tower.

Lauren was just about to flee the room in fear when suddenly… a familiar voice let out a sharp ear piercing cry from beyond the back gate.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

To Be Continued In Chapter 2: Into the Darkness…