Author's Note: This one is so much better than last week's match. We're back with Ju and Yao. Last time, they got some creepy photos in the mail. I decided to countiune with that. Again, I used picutres from a Reddit post for the pictures. And the match wrote itself from there. This will be interesting to see where this will go next. Speaking of which, I already know where we're going to go next week. Stick around for that. For now, enjoy tonight's match.

Match Thirteen: Photos, VHS Tapes, and Phone Calls:

-Ju-

I stared at the photos on my bed. They creep me out as I look at them. I'm not sure why I haven't thrown them out. I don't know why I'm keeping them either.

"Where did you get these?" Yao asked as he turned one of them over in his hand.

"I don't know," I said. "There wasn't a return address."

"So you don't know who sent you these?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Hm…" he said. I quickly turned over one picture on the bed. I think it was the one with the ruined and burned-out abandoned room. I'm not going to turn it around and look.

"Why were they sent to you?" Yao asked. I gave him a look.

"Shit if I know," I said.

"What do you want to do with them?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said. "I thought about throwing them about but I honestly don't know why I haven't." I had been turning them over as I talked.

"Do you want to throw them away?" he asked. I pressed my lips together. I already know what the answer is but why won't it come out? Why can't I say it? Yao put his hand on mine. I nearly jumped.

"Do you want me to throw them out?" he asked. I shook my head. My husband looked just as confused as I was earlier.

"No?" he asked. I shook my head again.

"Then… do you just want to leave them?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said again. Yao frowned.

"I don't know how I can help you here," he said. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't think you can," I said. That was more to myself.

"Hm?" Yao asked. I shook my head. I looked down at the photos turned downward on the bed. Just looking at the backs of them made me shiver.

Those pictures weren't the only thing that we got in the mail. (I didn't show anyone else the pictures, by the way. I don't know why I didn't.) I woke up and went out to get the mail. I could barely open the door because of the box in front of it. Huh? What the hell? I managed to push the door open enough to get the box. I looked around at the label on the box. No return address. But this box was addressed to us.

"Yao! We got another box!" I shouted. I carried it into the living room. I set it down on the coffee table.

"What? What is it?" Yao asked as he carried Jing with to the living room. I pointed down to the box on the table. My husband frowned.

"Another one? Who is it from?" he asked.

"It didn't say," I said.

"Wrong address then?" Yao asked.

"No," I said. "It was addressed to us." I walked into the kitchen and came back with a knife. I cut open the tape with the tip.

"Ju!" Yao shouted. I ripped open the box. He came over for a look. He and I looked so confused.

"What the hell?" Yao asked. This box has many VHS tapes inside. Now, I have seen Ringu and many cursed tape horror films. I should throw this box along with the photos in the trash. I really should do that. I really should.

"There's a VHS player in the attic," I said. "Hang on."

"Ju?" Yao asked as I turned and walked up the stairs. I came back moments later with the big clunky machine in my hand.

"I'm going to plug this into the old TV in the den," I said. "Take the box in there with us."

"Ju," Yao said.

"Please," I said. My husband sighed.

"Fine," he said to himself. I carried the VCR to the den in the back of the house. (The flat screen in the living room is not friends with it.) Yao followed behind Jing and the box of tapes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"No," I said. I didn't know why I was doing this. But I couldn't stop. I walked over to the box and pulled out a tape. No label on the front or side. I turned on the VCR and the TV.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Yao said. His voice was distant in my brain. Not even the static and white noise could snap me out of it. Was I really going to do this? The VHS disappeared into the machine. I had my answer when I hit play.

That burned-out abandoned room from the picture popped up on the screen. The footage looked grainy. Yao sat down next to me.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Shhh," I whispered. The image of that room lingered for three minutes. Suddenly, the cameraman walked closer into the room. My heart started pounding in my chest. I grabbed onto Yao's hand. People dressed in heavy cloaks stood against the wall. They looked like they had their heads down. They swayed back and forth. There was no audio. That was probably a good thing. Yao and I kept watching. What was this? Where was this going?

Suddenly, the image changed in a jump cut.

Now, we were in a dim living room. Two figures sat on a couch that was falling apart. They looked like children, a boy and a girl. At least that's what I thought they were. They had their heads down. Sacks were tied around their heads and bodies. There were only two big holes for eyes in the sacks over their heads. A reached forward and grabbed one of their heads upward. I think it was the girl. It might have been the boy. The camera zoomed in closer to the face.

Then there was another jump cut.

By now, Yao and I were sitting there looking confused. What were we watching? I tried to will my arm to hit stop. But we are still watching it.

Now, we are in the woods from one of the pictures. The trees looked dead. This time, there is sound. I couldn't be sure but I think it was the wind or someone blowing into the microphone. The image stayed still for a moment before I noticed something or someone moving in the trees. They ducked out of view from the camera in a flash. The camera looked back and forth for a moment. It started to move forward. I drew my knees to my chest. I think I was biting my nails. Part of me wanted to scream out to the cameraman.

Don't do it! Turn back! Turn back!

The camera got closer to the trees and then…

The tape just stopped I am about stumbled backward. Yao grabbed me by the shoulder. I whipped my head around. I blinked at him.

"That's it?" I asked. White noise came from the TV after the video stopped. Yao and I didn't know what to say at first. I blinked and pressed my lips together.

"So… what happens now?" she asked.

"I don't know," my husband said. I kind of looked away as a thought crossed my mind.

"You think we're going to get a call saying we're going to die in seven days or something?" I asked. Yao was about to speak when my phone rang. I jumped up with a scream. It took me a while to realize that it was my phone. Yao didn't say anything as I reached into my pocket.

"H-H-H-Hello?" I asked.

"Ju? Are you okay? You sound shaken up. Did something happen?" a familiar voice asked. I relaxed as I breathed out and sank to the floor.

"Oh, Tina, it's you," I said. I looked over at Yao. He stared at me as I completely calmed down.

"Um… I'm fine. Yao and I just watched something weird," I said. "What's up?" I walked down the hall as I talked to my dear friend.

The rest of the day happened with nothing eventful. I couldn't get wrapped up in some creepy shit. I had work today. So did Yao. Someone has to keep this clan together. A scary video and scary pictures aren't going to stop me from working.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked.

"Don't know," Yao said. I took a moment to think.

"Let's do takeout instead," I said. "Sound good?"

"Sure," he said. I made the call. Dinner was nice. It was from a small Thai place that opened. They've had good reviews so far. Mei was the one who told me about it.

"They're really good," she said. As always, she is right. It's so good that Yao and I are too busy eating to talk at first.

"Are we staying in tonight?" he asked at last.

"Uh-huh," I said. This was the type of dinner where you go to bed afterward. I finished up my curry. Already, I wanted to go to bed. Don't get me wrong. Dinner was good but the food was too much. I might have to finish all of this over the week. I looked over at Yao's plate.

"You having trouble finishing your plate too?" I asked. He looked down at his plate. Yao wrinkled his nose as he frowned.

"I'm going to finish this," he insisted. My husband shoved more food into his mouth. I just sat at the table and shrugged. I don't get between him and food at moments like this. I did the best I could with my food. In the end, it wound up in the fridge.

After that, I took a bath, watched a little bit of TV in bed, and went to sleep.

In the morning, I woke up to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. I felt around for it before pulling it under the sheets with me. I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the screen. One missed call and I didn't recognize the number. Oh look, there's a voicemail. Because I wasn't thinking too clearly so early in the morning, I unlocked my phone and played the message.

All I could hear was garbled whispering for ten seconds. I couldn't make out what they were saying. And then the call ended. That wasn't going to be the last strange call I would receive. For now, I deleted that message.