Chapter 2

"Being a shut-in has never been worse."


"Uh, Blake? You doing alright?"

"No, I don't think I am."

She made sure to inject some not-so-subtle amount of sarcasm into her tone when she said that, but it completely washed over Jaune, who suddenly looked so worried for her. The honesty behind that immediately took the wind out of her sails, and she deflated in her seat.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's not… well, it's not fully your fault, but you could say that I'm also partly to blame," when his confused expression remained plastered on his face, she let out a sigh. "I checked out the other content related to that story you shared. Needless to say, I didn't have a good sleep last night."

"Ahh, I see. Yeah, I guess that's understandable."

Perhaps, though it was a little embarrassing to admit that some words and a couple of pictures and voice acting had gotten to her that much. It was likely because she'd never been exposed to much horror to begin with, so getting hit with that must have been a shock on her system.

Thinking back on it now, it really had been a bad idea to look at them all on her own. She'd been fortunate that she'd decided to watch the video in the well-lit library—who knows how much worse it would have been if she'd decided to watch it in her room in the dark or something. Brr.

"But, um… I know you said it was fun yesterday, but do you still..?"

From the way he sounded almost timid, she could tell that he really was hopeful. She gave him a little smile to help dissuade his fears. "I was uncomfortable as heck, but it was a great experience. I don't regret asking you to introduce me to it."

"R-Really?" The relief was palpable in his expression, and his sigh carried away all his earlier worries. "That's good to hear… So, like, will you try to give them a shot again?"

Hearing that, she almost winced. She honestly felt silly for feeling a little shudder just from recalling all those pictures that she'd seen yesterday, but come on! They'd been incredibly realistic, she would've believed them right away—there was some comfort to be found in the fact that the setting was fictional, thanks to the names used, but immediately turned stifling when she considered the possibility of it having happened in their world. Urgh.

And yet, a damnable part of her was now beginning to find some kind of enjoyment in that aspect. Instead of taking the logical choice of cutting it short there to keep her mind sane, she wanted to keep going. Wanted to keep seeing just how much darker and deeper the depths the human mind could go to.

After a while, she nodded. "Well, yeah, they're pretty cool. I'm definitely checking more of them out."

"Nice!"

"But I think I'd rather do it with you present like yesterday."

"Huh? Really? But why, though? You have the link to my blog. You can check them out at your own free time."

"True, but it's kind of fun, to be honest. Reading that story with you around was just… I don't know. It's different," she shrugged. "I've only ever read something all on my own, but having company was a nice change of pace. Plus, you could recommend me something."

"I see… Well, if you're okay with that, then sure," he nodded, smiling. "And if you ask me, I think it's time to diversify your material."

That got her to blink. "Diversify?"

"Mmhm. While I love written work, I know it can get… well, boring at times. Sometimes, people just want to see with their own eyes rather than read through something," she nodded at that. She'd accepted that books weren't for everyone, and Ruby had made that abundantly clear countless of times. Personally, she had no issues with sticking to just books, but spicing things up every once in a while with change wouldn't be so bad. "So, to keep it fresh, I'll be showing you a video series on the dustnet."

"Ah, okay. That makes sense. And who's the producer?"

"Just one person, I think. And sure, it's not what you'd call the highest of qualities, but it's still really good."

Well, if praise is coming from the horror expert himself, it must be so. "Alright then. So, what time to meet up?"

"Uhh. Tomorrow, same time?"

"Sure. I don't think there's anything we need doing. Assignments, team routines…"

"Yeah, same. We'll be having a team training exercise in two days, so otherwise, I'm all good."

"Then tomorrow it is. Library?"

"Library."

A loud cough cut through the room, making the both of them tense up in their seats. Their heads immediately stared downwards, to where Doctor Oobleck was staring at them intently. Everyone else had their attention on the both of them as well once they realized whom it were that he was looking at, and Blake suddenly hoped a hole would open up beneath her.

"Mister Arc, Miss Belladonna. While I do understand a healthy discussion between peers can develop healthy relationships amongst one another, it would be much more conducive if you keep it only to topics relevant to our class. If you would, keep it for after you leave the classroom. Is that understood?"

"E-Erk. Yes, sir. Sorry."

"Right…"

Nodding in satisfaction, their coffee-addled lecturer began his talk about the history of mechashift weapons once more. Behind her, a soft groan could be heard coming from Ruby. Poor girl. Last she looked at her face, she looked so dejected by how the man down there was turning a thing she loved in the world into such a boring information overload.

Oh well. There was no need to rush. They can take this slowly. There was no need to rush. Although, it would be nice if this class went by much faster. Really can't wait to get some food in her…


Jaune's blog was designed to split all horror material into three categories; written stories, videos including movies and series, as well as videogames. And she's got to say, there are so many of them.

He definitely has been doing this for a long time now; perhaps even before he got into Beacon. The lengthy choice to pick from within each category was a testament to just how much horror content he'd gone through throughout the years, complete with his personal critiques and suggestions of each one.

Flicking through her screen, she looked through all the written works. There were plenty of interesting ones, though mostly based on the name; Starving Anonymous had a creepy ring to it, Surviving Romance caught her attention, Gateway of the Mind sounded like it was connected to both science and psychology, and a couple of others.

'Knowing Jaune, he must have covered stuff like books and comics. He'd already said how he would try out everything.'

And the same applied for horror games, it seemed like. Going through a list shown, he covered everything from web games to full-on professionally-made games, to even those that were available on just the scroll. He was thorough, not wanting to leave any stone unturned, and she found that a little impressive.

The way he went about it was far different from how she does. In general, she'd always stuck to written literature pertaining to the… ahem, mature category. She understood that there were plenty of mature games and videos produced out there, but she'd always felt dirty if she ever had to get them… which is silly, but eh. It's all about how one 'feels' about things.

Regardless, with horror being a much safer topic to touch on compared to erotica, she supposed trying to try out a lot more things would be nice. Even if those included videogames.

Growing up, she'd never had the opportunity to simply try out what would have been normal for others, too focused on the calling of the White Fang. Books had been her only escape from reality, though she'd recently had the opportunity to watch videos, so videogames were the only thing outside of her comfort zone.

Ah well. There was always an opportunity to try out everything, and it may as well be now.

"Yo, Blakey. What'cha up to?"

"Reading, like always."

Her blonde partner blew a raspberry. "Jeez, you really need another hobby. Haven't you considered that?"

"I quite like what I do now, so I'm fine without anything new," she shrugged back. "And what about you? What're you doing?"

"You damn well know what I'm doing; Oobleck's report," she groaned out loud, throwing her arms in the air. "I can't believe the submission date's tomorrow! Seriously, why is it so soon? This thing takes way too long to write!"

"But you're still doing it. That's pretty good."

"Pfft, nah. I'm actually referring to Weiss's work," ah, right. The common practice in high school; copying. "And no, before you think I'm just taking everything straight from her, I'm actually just copying the things I don't know."

"Which is how much..?"

"Just half. The other half, I more or less understand."

"Well… I don't really abdicate copying other people's works, but I know you wouldn't listen to me."

"Hey!" Out came an offended cry, making her almost smirk. "For your info, girl, I don't copy all the time. Trust me on that."

"I suppose…" Looking around for a moment, she noticed the absence of the other two members of their team. "Where's Ruby and Weiss?"

"Sparring," she muttered glumly. It was so obvious that she wanted to be there so badly, instead of being cooped in their room writing some report about Grimm and their territories. "Weiss has been trying to work on her Semblance, so she asked Ruby to come along to help."

Well, so long as it didn't involve any incredibly boring stuff, then she supposed Ruby would have been fine joining her. Plus, it was an attempt on her part to get closer to the heiress, and there was no denying just how much friendlier they were with one another compared to the start of the year.

Not to lie, the evolution of their friendship was genuinely impressive. They'd gone from a hate-and-annoyed-by-one-another thing to genuinely being such good friends. Sure, there were some little awkwardness here and there, but things were shaping up to being incredibly nice for them.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, she and Jaune started off as… well, nothing. They had interacted, but to call them 'friends' would definitely have been a stretch. There was no hatred, no attraction—completely nil.

Or, well, maybe now they shared a common ground through their enjoyment of horror. Or, more accurately, Jaune enjoyed it, while she was slowly being introduced to the genre by the guy. And he seemed particularly interested to keep her on the boat, so she might as well entertain him. Plus, it's not like she disliked it either. She was really beginning to feel it.

For the time being, they were acquaintances. Friends, in Jaune's eyes, though it was nice to know that Jaune felt it okay for them to take things one step at a time. She doubted she was any ready to do all the things best friends do with him, when they'd only started to talk for a few days now.

"Haaaah… Well, I've got nothing better to do," she shut off her scroll and set it on her pillow, climbing down her bed. "Come on. I'll help you with your homework."

The teary-eyed look of gratitude on the blonde's face was too much. "Blaaake..!"

"The faster you're done with this, then we might have a chance to catch up with Ruby and Weiss. Come on."

"Yeah..! Let's do this!"


The next day came, and everything went over her head like a daydream of sorts. Time had a way with things, and she wasn't going to complain since it meant she could go visit Jaune at the library and have another session of horror story sharing. Or, well, Jaune would be doing the sharing, and she'd be doing the reading. In this case, watching.

Movies were an oddity to her. While she wasn't particularly averse to films and television, she didn't place much stock on it compared to books. Everything intended to be shared were put right there on the screen, so no one needed to bother with reading lines of text and filling in the blanks in their heads.

Still, horror as a concept could very well work to change that. How that was so, she was going to find out today.

"Hey Blake!" She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Jaune's voice, the boy himself standing outside of the library with a beaming smile. She rolled her eyes, though she knew her lips were curled just the same. "You arrived early."

"I could say the same for you. You weren't busy?"

"Nah. The four of worked on our assignments together and got them all out of the way already, then we just split up to do our own thing," that was nice. Yang was adamant to leave it until the last minute, while Weiss had already finished it. Cajoled by her sister, Ruby had decided to run off in search of entertainment with her sister. She'd do hers tomorrow, since the deadline was in three days. "So hey, I was thinking. You know how the library has those discussion rooms that you can ask from the librarian to borrow temporarily?"

"What? Those… Ohh, I get it. You're talking about those rooms that you can use to have meetings and study sessions without being interrupted. You register your name and the number of people you want to use the room for, and you can use it until the library closes."

"Precisely. I was thinking we should go there for today," he said. She quirked a brow back, asking the reason why. "Well, your spot is nice and all, but it doesn't have the right mood. It's secluded, but just… doesn't feel like it's enough. Someplace away from all eyes would make for a better place for this, don't you think?"

"…You know, it sounds like you're trying to pull me someplace to murder me. Knowing your fondness for horror now, I don't see that being unlikely."

"Pfft. What are you talking about?" He snorted. "You can kick my ass three times before I even draw a knife. Literally everyone here is better than me," she opened her mouth to retort, but knowing he wasn't wrong, eventually said nothing. "Precisely. In any case, let's just give it a shot. If you still want to, we can go back to your usual spot."

"…You know what? Sure," Blake nodded eventually. "Let's give it a try."

Heading towards the desk, they registered their names under 'Discussion Room 6', which was actually situated rather close to her spot. Miss Goodwitch handed them a card encased in a plastic casing, which they could use to scan at the door to unlock it and enter.

"While you may peruse the rooms until the library closes, I advise you to leave at least thirty minutes prior. Return the card when you do so. Take note of all your belongings that you bring with you into the rooms. If you left any and the library has already been closed, you will need to wait until the next day to retrieve them. And obviously, make sure that it stays clean and tidy for the next group of people to use. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch."

After that, they headed to their room, which was located surprisingly close to her favourite spot. It was hidden away behind shelves of books regarding Dust and medicine, so it being relatively disconnected from the rest of the library was somewhat true.

She gulped. Now that was a little concerning. Logically, she knew that Jaune was safe to be around, and that any attempts to harm her would be utterly useless since she was leagues stronger than him. But just the thought of them being alone in a room together, and the possibility of him catching her off-guard…

Urgh. Over-imagination. She really needed to keep herself in check.

Resuming her pace, she joined Jaune as he flicked the card across the scanner near the door, unlocking it and allowing them entry. Stepping inside, the blond manoeuvred his hand around the wall in search of the switches. Once he found them, he flicked them on, which filled the room with bright light.

It was a typical-looking study room, though a little smaller than the other rooms if she wasn't mistaken. It was complete a dark blue wall on the inner side and white walls for the rest, with a long table fit for eight people, with eight red cantilever chairs, and a sizable flatscreen affixed on the blue wall with a docking port for scrolls to be connected to it.

"So, what series are we even watching, by the way? I forgot to ask you that before this."

"A good question. I was thinking about what to show you, and I genuinely didn't know what to show you," he then raised a finger. "However, as The Vacuan Sleep Experiment was a slow-burn story focused primarily on imagination and body horror, I thought something more psychological would be better."

"What?"

"Horror that targets a person's psyche is much more personal, much more real, which is why people herald them for being incredibly effective for unnerving the normal person. It's things that we know are real, and rather than send us into a panicking fight-or-flight response, lets the dread slowly seep into you and leave you paranoid. The Vacuan Sleep Experiment was more or less the same, but this story will be more effective for two reasons—"

"—One, it's a video format. That can mean more or less reliance on your imagination, because everything that happens will be presented to you on the screen. But what you don't see will fuel that imagination, and that can be even worse when, two, you have to contend with visuals, audio and atmosphere. Things that you typically won't easily get from books. And this series that I've picked will hopefully be creepy enough to give you a taste of it."

The more he spoke, the more Blake felt her cat ears flatten against her scalp. The first story had been bad enough, but watching something that was going to be just as, if not more unsettling, did not fill her with much confidence. All of a sudden, she regretted going with his idea of watching this in this little room. Were the walls always this close?

"In any case, how do you want to watch it?"

"I mean, we're in the discussion room, so might as well make use of the tv," she shrugged. "Would be a waste not to."

"Sure thing. And the lights?"

"…Ahh, I'm gonna' regret this. Off."

Jaune didn't cut the lights immediately, though, taking a moment to connect his scroll the docking port. That then allowed a connection between his scroll and the television, which then projected his scroll's screen onto the larger screen. Right now, it was showing the front page of his blog, and navigating it through his scroll, he moved to the movies section of 'Stories'. Moving down and down, until he reached the series of his choice.

"HiImMaryMary?" She read the name, tilting her head in confusion. "What is this?"

"It's basically a person's username. She posts a series of videos on the dustnet, and they've gained popularity for exploring real world themes—themes that I won't say. You'll figure them out once you start watching—and the like through its narrative exploration. It's a really good series. It doesn't make use of jumpscares, but a lot of elements where you need to figure out what is going on. For someone who's really smart like you, I'm sure you'll find it really cool."

"Ah… Well, if you say so," really, where'd that compliment come from? She wasn't exceptional by any means, compared to Weiss, but… well, she supposed she could take it. "So, we just start from the first video, then?"

"Yep! And we'll progressively go through each one. We can stop at any time, or when we've got to go."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's begin."

The lights of the room were finally cut off, enveloping them in darkness. Jaune opened up HiImMaryMary, and scrolled down to the very first video before pressing on it.

The first video, simply titled 'hello', opened up to a black screen. Not a single sound played in the background, making her wonder if the video was playing at all. Words eventually popped up; hello my name is mary. Immediately after, seconds' worth of shots of a woman closing her face with her fingers, her gray-blue eyes peeking through, before the black screen came back up.

Blake whispered, "That almost got me…"

"Hah. I know, right?"

More words. i don't know if anyone can see this—the text glitched just for a second—but I'm trapped in this house.

The next second took her to a shot of someone lying on the floor, only her legs visible. The interior of the house is showed, with the next few moments setting up the premise of the video; Mary said that she woke up in the house a week ago, with almost no memory as to who she was, where she was or how she even got there. That was already a couple of bad signals in her head, but they pushed on.

The few things that she could be confident in was her name, that the house she was in was her parents' house (or a copy of it, which was almost concerning to even consider), and that the house was strange. Any attempts to get outside proved futile, as the doors refused to budge and the windows proved unbreakable. She was literally stuck in the house.

"Wow. The forest looks nice," she commented when the video showed a shot of woods from beyond the window, dancing with the breeze.

"It does, right? Real secluded, away from the rest of the world… Sort of like us!"

"…I can't tell if you're purposely trying to unnerve me with that kind of comment or not, but okay."

Honestly, this was fine. With just the barest amount of details given away, there wasn't much to work with. The lack of sounds certainly was a little uncomfortable, but she powered on through, focused on trying to spot any important details that could go unnoticed. But with this being the very first video to lay the groundwork for the series, there was absolutely nothing particularly revealing.

All that she did know for now was that this human girl, Mary, was stuck in a house whose doors and windows could not be opened or broken. She took to recording her days with a recording device that she found, which would act as a faux journal of sorts. Using the dustnet proved futile, for she was oddly incapable of getting in touch with another person. Beyond that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But all of a sudden, the video got dark. It was indicative of the fact that the day had turned to night, and Mary was all of a sudden navigating the house with a flashlight, the beam of light illuminating a bare patch on the floor. Everything else felt blurred, and Blake was suddenly distraught over the lack of vision. Even with her faunus heritage, she could make out very little. The addition of soft static in the background made it even creepier.

She moves towards the kitchen. And just as she turns around the corner—

A figure covered in black stands, looming at the end of the corridor. The video broke into static.

I don't think I'm alone in here splashed across the scene, a silent help flashing for just a few moments it all went dark.

Blake sat there, having not even gasped, but suddenly hugging her arms. "…Bloody hell, I actually got goosebumps from that."

"I know, right? It's not like a shocking reveal meant to surprise you, but it still gets you one way or another," through the darkness, she could see the happy smile on her classmate's face. "That's one thing I appreciate about online horror series. At times, you won't be able to predict what might come next, unlike movies in theatres. Sometimes, I mean."

"Right, right… Let's move onto the next one."

'dislikeness' was the next to play, and Mary moved around the house once more. Blake leaned forwards, watching every corner of the massive screen to catch any suspicious activity. Yet, in the daylight, nothing seemed unnatural beyond her situation.

She would not starve. She would not smell (that sounded amazing, actually). And, apparently, the lights would sometimes not work at night. Still, if the fact that electricity still worked, she supposed it was better than having completely no electricity at all.

For a moment, Blake allows herself to take the place of Mary, and she could almost feel the house in its entirety; cold to the touch, a stillness in the air has the hairs on her arms standing on end. With nothing to protect herself with, she simply explored the house, making full use of her time to understand the house's layouts.

Childhood portraits hung up on the walls, simple furniture like couches and tables, plenty of books to peruse—she wasn't in the mood to read, however. She just wanted to know more about herself. About this house. About why she was stuck here, incapable of leaving.

Hands brushing across what seemed like an album, her brows quirk upon noticing something stick out between the pages. She easily plucks it out, and her eyes lay upon what seemed to be a printed photo of herself—blondish brown long hair that ran down her back, standing with a pose and wearing a black dress. Blake sighs softly.

i don't look good in it.

The thought was not her own; Blake knew whose it was, and that understanding left her feeling queasy. Still, she kept the photo on her person, and as the day got closer to night, she moved to where the bathroom was. She'd stayed up the entire day, and having inspected the house from top to bottom, searching everywhere, getting a shower seemed nice.

Nothing was wrong. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She showered as she did, enjoying the refreshing cold on her skin, before stepping out and towelling herself dry. And then, she put on the same clothes as she wore before.

Staring into the mirror, seeing her… Mary's features staring back, she could see the little things that she hadn't noticed before; the signs of dark circles forming underneath her eyes, a pale face, confusion present in her gaze. She could empathize. Stepping into unknown territory was always terrifying, and with nothing to help her here, there was no reason why Mary wouldn't have been scared and confused.

Even so, there was nothing that could be done. For now, all she had to do was just take things one step at a time, and—

"ḫ̴̡̂̾a̸̤͎̫͐̓͊h̵̘̖̻́͐A̷̝̦̓͘ͅH̷̪͈̗̎̚A̸͔̘͔͝Ȟ̸̜͐̎Ą̷̾͠H̴̛̰͇A̴̰̣̒͋!̵"

In the library's room, Blake jumped in her seat, watching as a woman wearing a tight black dress and a porcelain white mask tinged with red lipstick glitched in the mirror, all the while laughing… no, cackling at Mary. Pointing at her. Almost as if she was the butt of the joke. Mary stared, shocked.

The girl in the mirror stood there. And she laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

Mary ripped off the head off her picture, and Blake felt like something had snapped.

The laughter of the demoness chased her all the way until she reached her bed, surrounded by her own darkness as she tried to drown out the distant cackling with her pillow over her ears.

i want to break the mirrors. And, almost indistinguishable… she's so much prettier than me.

The video ended abruptly.

When she was certain the video had ended after that final message, she allowed herself to let out a sigh of relief, feeling oddly clammy despite the AC running in the background. Touching a hand to her chest, she was not surprised to feel it drumming rather strongly.

"And so, you're finally introduced to yet another resident of the house," Jaune hummed, crossing one leg over the other as he rested his head on his chin.

"Do they… Are they just monsters that exist here solely to haunt her or something?"

"You're not off the mark with that. But there's many ways you could interpret that. After all, are they monsters condemned to this place tormenting the sole living being in this human, or are they her demons walking in her shadow every waking moment?"

"J-Jeez, don't say it like that..!" She almost cried out, rubbing her arms. "God, that laugh was way too uncomfortable… Almost like that thing was shaming her…" When Jaune didn't respond to her, she turned her gaze towards him, surprised to see a serious expression on him. "Jaune?"

"…No, it's nothing. It's just that I'm glad I was right; you were able to figure out a number of things on your own relatively quickly, especially the mocking aspect of that creature."

"Well… I mean, judging from the way she kept pointing her finger at me—I mean, Mary, and with how she bent herself backwards as she laughed, and the almost condescending feeling I get from it…"

"Mmhm. And what that thing's relationship to Mary, as with the previous monster, would be made clear in time. So, how are we looking on time?"

"These videos have only been three minutes so far, so it's not like we've actually short on time. How many videos are there?"

"Nineteen of them. But only the first few videos are under five minutes. The second last video is thirty minutes long, while the tenth video is fourteen minutes long. Realistically, we could watch through all of them together, but I think it's better if we watch this next one together and you watch the remaining on your own."

That last suggestion had her gawking. "What?!" She screamed. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm serious," he nodded, not at all bothered by her horrified expression. "Watching something scary with another person can make it less scary, which is good and all, but I think exploring it on your own can make you appreciate it even more."

"I already appreciate it plenty. Appreciate how scary it is!"

"And that's great! But you would be missing out on the full experience unless you try watching it on your own!" The way he managed to say that with stars in his eyes baffled her. "Horror, unlike everything else, is hard to really enjoy when you don't give yourself the right situation. Comedy, action, romance—those sorts of things can be enjoyed either alone or with company, but horror? Do it alone, do it in the dark, and you'll love it even more."

Doing what he told her to do sounded like the opposite way of making her fall in love with it. If anything, it made her want to avoid it even more, if only because she didn't want to go to bed with nightmares every single time. It sounded like a horrible time!

And yet..! Aargh! Why did he have to look so pleading?! Curse her bleeding heart! When had she ever been a softie for him?

"…Fiiiine," she forced out through gritted teeth. "But we're at least watching this one together, got it? No running out on me!"

"I'm cool with that, yeah!" Damn it. Why was she letting herself go along with his ideas? She was so going to get a heart attack someday. And if that time does come, she'll haunt his ass.

Sighing, she pressed on the next video, entitled 'goodnight?'. And once more, the video begins, and Blake surrenders herself to her imagination, stepping into Mary's metaphorical boots yet again.

The first thing she feels is tiredness. It was from a lack of sleep, she surmised, explained away by the text that show up on the screen a moment later; I don't sleep at night anymore, which meant that she had willingly switched her sleeping time to the day and become nocturnal. She would perhaps then wake up at night and do her activities then.

Playing the piano, exploring the house, making art… Whatever she could do, she would do so simply to take her mind off of her situation. But Blake was beginning to understood the implications of seclusion on a human mind, and the everlasting boredom and silence would get to her someday.

Would she really go mad in this house? Would that creature veiled in black, or the one with the white mask, really send her over the edge? Would her life end here?

She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be thinking about those kinds of things. She just needed to—what kind of life is this?—keep going. That was it. It'll all end someday.

'Why do I… Why does Mary not sleep at night? Did something happen?'

The nights are uneventful, but the other residents come to life at that time to bother her. Perhaps that was the reason why.

Her mind fizzles out, as if struck by a fainting spell. When she comes to, she is suddenly on her bed, the lights completely out. She must be in her bedroom, then, in the process of falling asleep if the half-awake state she felt herself to be in was any indica…

Something creaked.

Her breath halted. Blake tensed, amber eyes searching through the room. Here, in this world, she wasn't a faunus; she was a human, just like her host, so she was a mere victim of the dark unknown.

Everything around her seemed almost alive. Her hands clenched at the hem of her blanket, suddenly feeling light-headed. There was something here in the room with her.

'Where is it..?' She thought to herself, head snapping in every direction. Sweat was beginning to form on her skin, and her breath was picking up. 'Where is it..?!'

The thing pressed down on the floor, the wooden panels groaning under its weight. She gasped, stared forwards—

And a humanoid carved solely out of darkness stared back at her.

Her brain demanded she scream, but the shock had completely overwritten her system, reducing her to trembling gasps as she retreated backwards, back hitting the wall. The creature, even with its featureless face, seemed to stare right at her, creeping onto the bed in an unnatural, almost animal-like stance.

What was this thing? Why was it staring at her like that? Why was it groaning at her? Why was it getting closer?

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, her chest heaving. Blake tried to move even further back, wanting to gain distance, but there was nowhere to run. Her escape routes felt cut off, and all she could do was stare at the incoming monster.

Its hand touched the mattress.

Her world broke apart, its groan becoming more apparent, more louder, enough to drown her out. The poor girl hyperventilated, shaking her head as it came closer. Get away, were the words that went unspoken. Don't touch me.

The thing screamed, and so did she.

The video cut off.

"This place is draining me…" She read the words on the screen, letting out a deep sigh as she bent over. "Holy shit… That was rough…"

Jaune had not been wrong to say that this series wasn't even using any form of jump scares. Yet with how uncanny it had felt, it was enough to get her heart beating faster. It really was a slow-burn that seeped deep into her bones, making her almost sick in the gut.

"Close your eyes. I'ma turn the lights on."

Jaune turned the lights after a few seconds. Blake appreciated the warning, knowing how a sudden change in the room's level of light could be disorienting to everyone, faunus doubly so, so she had enough time to acclimate herself to the change. When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sight of an excited, almost expectant expression on her friend's face.

"Weeeell?"

"Well what..?"

"How was it? I'm curious to know."

"…Out of ten, I'd give it a seven," she said, sighing at how happy he looked. "Granted, that's just my opinion for the first three vids. That might change with time, though if it manages to keep it in this sort of format, I wouldn't find myself all that disappointed."

"It's a hidden gem. And I'm glad I got to share it with you," seriously, how could he look so happy?! It was making it even harder for her to hate the guy! "So after this, I want you try watching the rest of the series on your own. And take your time digesting everything and understand just what is really going on."

"Can't I just read your review and be done with it?"

"Ehh? That wouldn't be as fun," he pouted. "Seriously, this is a work of art. You need to go through it and figure out the story. Trust me, it'll be worth it."

"You've only ever said it five times," she rolled her eyes. "But fine, sure. It'll be good exposure."

"Exactly! And remember, try and make it as scary as possible for yourself. Turn down the lights, watch it up close—but not close enough to hurt your eyes—and watch it on your own. Maybe even open the window…"

"Jaune, shut up," seriously, was he trying to kill her with scares or something?

But still, it was not doing a lot for her pride to know that she was being spooked off by all these simple tricks. Blake was many things, but she didn't want to add 'scaredy cat' to the list, if only so that Yang wouldn't get more teasing ammunition to use against her.

So she'll show him. All of this was just through the screen of her scroll, compared to all the truer, scarier Grimm that she would have to face and fight head-on. There was no way this was any worse! She'll make Jaune eat his words!

It was that determination that stuck with her as the two signed out from the room, Miss Goodwitch giving them a curious look but eventually dismissing them. The two of them walked over to their rooms, bidding each other farewell, and Blake steeling her nerves to face this when all the other girls were asleep.

That night, as she witnessed everything becoming even worse and chased by the lady in the black veil, Blake sorely wished she could take back everything she ever thought. She made very sure to keep her blanket tightly wrapped around her all the while.


Author's Notes:

HiImMaryMary. I'm sure many of you are unaware of that series, but if you're like me and you watch The Film Theorists, then you might have come across this one.

As a series that depicts mental illnesses and emotional turmoil through surreal, almost horrifying creatures and personal close-ups, it's uncanny just how good this is. The environment and sound design are by far the greatest parts here, and with how up-front and close you get with these things, you're bound for a good scare.

That's the crazy thing. Here on YouTube, you're bound to find videos and whatnot that can outmatch the horror that you'd find on the big screens or on television. It's all about looking in the right places.

Thankfully, from what I recall the last episode was one that you could call a happy ending. Very proud of you, Mary. :,)

Oh, and here's a question for you guys; on what device would you find scarier to watch a horror movie or game on? Your phone, computer or TV? I actually asked around amongst my friends, and I got quite the number of responses, so now I'm curious as to what you guys think. Most people responded with TV (the bigger the better). I personally think the computer, since I can watch it even closer and do so with earphones.