Say Hey Deac
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Cool pic, tsy! Look at that fucking ghost! Amazing!
Paranormal Activities
- Thread starter TWDeac
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
haha what is that?
Also, anyone else gonna take a big passssssss on going to see the movie Ouija?
Also, anyone else gonna take a big passssssss on going to see the movie Ouija?
No clue. My guess would be some sort of weird reflection. Here's a cleaned up and lightened image.
Some say it looks like:
DieselDeac
Gamma Omicron '00
Owl?
Deacfreak07
Ain't played nobody, PAWL!
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
Could be made up (duhhh, its the Paranormal Thread!) but a girl has been posting her story on reddit over the last three days and it's getting a lot of attention. Worth a read, and she has a very creative mind if it all turns out to be a hoax:
It’s been almost two days since my roommate came home.
Normally I wouldn’t worry. Ally’s a “work hard, play hard” kind of girl, the kind that stays out ‘til last call and goes home with the hot stranger that was flirting with her at the bar. It’s not unusual for her to stay out for a few days at a time, and like I said, I wouldn’t give it a second thought otherwise.
It’s just those texts.
See, Ally and I have this system. Whenever one of us stays out all night and doesn’t return by morning, we text the other just to check in. Safety first, y’know? Make sure that your roomie wasn’t drugged, jailed, or in danger, that kinda thing.
The first night she went out, and the last night I saw her, it was the Wednesday after her big Chemistry test. She’d been freaking out over it for the last few weeks, seeing as it was worth about ten percent of her grade. She came home that afternoon crazy happy, not only because that weight was off her shoulders, but because she was sure she aced her exam. In typical Ally fashion, it was time to celebrate, and she begged me to go with her to the bar, but I declined in favor of Netflix. I’m kicking myself now, because maybe if I had gone, none of this would be happening!
Ally left around ten; by then I was already in my fat pants watching movies and relaxing with some pizza. She left and I fell asleep about an hour later. Everything was normal.
It’s just… those fucking texts.
I woke up Thursday morning and did the first thing pretty much everyone does – I checked my phone. The first thing I saw was the text alert. I assumed that it was Ally, checking in and telling me all about the wild shit she was seeing at the bar. I was partly right.
The time of the first text read 11:17, just shortly after I’d retired for the evening. It read:
Bar SO busy tonite!!! Holy shit. Already kinda drunk, lolol. R U sure you don’t wanna come? I’m at Max bar. Text me.
It was a completely normal, average drunk roomie text, nothing exceptional. Next text was at 11:32:
Bitch, u r missing out! fuckin hot guys here holy fuck. Free drinks 3 times already! Best night ever!!!
Ally’s a beautiful woman, so guys hitting on her was a pretty common event, and I was happy that she was having a good time unwinding from her test stress. The next text came a while later, at 12:44:
having fun. Details l8r. ; )
The final text was… disconcerting. Ally sounded wasted, but more than that, she sounded weird. Sent at 3:23 in the morning, it read:
I’M fine. Will see u soon. I’m fine. I’m fine. See u soon. I’M FINE.
Feeling cheeky, I texted back:
But are you fine?
No reply. Setting my concerns aside, I went about my morning like usual. Gym, food, shower, study. It wasn’t until 2:51 that afternoon that my text alert chimed. It was Ally.
COMING HOME SOON. COMINGSOON. SEE U SOON. SEE U. I SEE YOU.
Was she still drunk from the night before? The text was so bizarre! I decided to give her a call, just to ease my mind.
I called her number. The phone rang once before heading to voicemail. I left her a message, told her I was worried and that she should call me back because she sounded drunk or something, and it was not even three in the afternoon, and that level of drunk is best left for reality shows. Not one minute after I hung up, this text appeared:
Do not worry. U will see me soon. I’m fin. Isee u soon.
Do not worry? Are you kidding? I called a few mutual friends, but none of them had seen her since Wednesday afternoon. I tried to push my concerns out of my mind. Ally was probably just holed up in some hot guys place, drunk on sex and cheap beer. She’d be back by night, surely.
When Ally wasn’t back by nine that night, I texted again. No reply. I went to bed at ten, but I tossed and turned most of the night.
I woke up at six this morning to my text alert going off. It was Ally. At first I was relieved, but my relief soon turned to confusion and a sinking sense of dread. The message made no sense. It was this:
We are fine. We are fine. end. Less. There is no. fine. Be fine.
That’s the last message I’ve received from her. I wasn’t sure how to reply… she sounds drunk still, high maybe. Was the text for me, or someone else? I don’t know. I’m calling her mom in a few minutes. I need to have someone else call her or text her, let me know that she’s okay. I’m so worried. Will keep you updated.
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Okay guys, here’s the update so far. I’ve got good news, I guess. At the same time, I’m really not sure what to say about this whole screwed up situation, and I’ve got more questions than ever. I guess I’ll start where I left off and go from there.
I called Ally’s mom right after I posted. I’d only spoken to her a few times before, so I didn’t know how awkward it would be. When I called, the phone went straight to voicemail, which wasn’t a surprise because I figured she would be at work. I left a message basically detailing what happened, skipping out on all the incriminating stuff about how her daughter likes to go to bars and get laid. Told her the texts word for word, said Ally hasn’t come home, that I’m worried. To call her daughter and call me back ASAP.
Then I waited, and basically paced the floor for an hour. I texted Ally that I had called her mom and was worried, despite her saying that she was fine, but I didn’t hear back.
A couple hours after I left the message, Ally’s mom called me. The first thing she said was “Everything’s fine, so just take a deep breath. I just spoke with Ally on the phone.”
Relief washed over me like you wouldn’t believe. “So she sounded okay to you? Normal? Like, no chance she’s under duress or something?”
Her mom sighed and gave a little chuckle. “Ally’s totally fine, aside from being an idiot. She told me that she was still a little tipsy when she texted, and thought sending weird things like that would be funny. A prank or something, I guess.”
“Well thank God she’s fine,” I said, with a sigh. Annoyed, relieved, and more happy she was okay than anything.
“I told her to call you,” her mom continued, “and apologize for acting like such a moron. I’m really sorry, my daughter doesn’t think sometimes, and you don’t deserve that stress. School’s hard enough on you girls!”
We chatted back and forth for a few minutes before I hung up. I waited for Ally to call me back, to apologize and explain why she thought fucking around with my emotions was an okay thing to do to her friend. After fifteen minutes, I got tired of waiting and decided to call her myself.
Unlike my call the other day, it didn’t ring once, but rather continued to ring. Four times, actually, long enough for me to wonder if Ally was ignoring me because she didn’t want to have to fess up to the prank.
On the fifth ring, the phone suddenly screeched at me, loud enough that I pulled it away from my ear.
The tinny, familiar voice of the phone operator said: “We’re sorry, but this call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang – We’re sorry, this call cannot be completed as dialed.” The voice started deepening, slowing, stuttering. “Please –we’re sorry, this call cannot be – cannot, cannot be completed as dialed. Please—help this call cannot be completed – complete, complete, completed – we’re sorry--“
Then the phone went dead.
I had to stop myself from throwing the phone across the room, instead tossing it onto the couch and hugging my shoulders to stop from shivering. What the hell was that??? The recording was glitching like crazy, almost sounded like it was melting at the end. I had never heard anything like that, like some phone operator from hell.
I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes, trying to center myself. That plan halted dead in its tracks when I heard my cell’s familiar ring tone.
I had gotten a text.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I slowly lifted the phone to view the message. It was from Ally.
Talkd 2 mom. I’m FINE. See u soon. FinI’m fine. Sttop worrying. NoTHING is wrong. Be therr so0on. ; )
Suddenly the house seemed too quiet, too cold. I grabbed my purse and decided to head out to campus to relax in the commons around other people, because I couldn’t stand to be alone anymore. Even worse, I didn’t know if I wanted to be there when Ally returned, if she did at all.
I drove to campus and settled down at the small corner café with a hot latte and a scone. My stomach in knots, I picked at the pastry while staring at my phone. Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone and called a mutual friend of ours, Sam. I gave her the rundown of the messages I had received, and she agreed to meet me at the café to talk about Ally. I needed a second opinion.
Sam arrived about fifteen minutes later, with a hug and a look of worry on her face. She sat down next to me in one of the cushioned chairs and leaned in.
“No word from Ally yet,” she said, frowning. “I’ve texted her about twenty times since you called me but she’s not answering. She won’t pick up the phone, either.”
“I talked to her mom earlier,” I said, shrugging. “She said she spoke to her and it’s all a prank, but I can show you the texts. They’re just really, really bizarre. I mean, Ally doesn’t do shit like that. She doesn’t pull stupid jokes to freak out her friends, you know? Her mom didn’t seem worried, though, so I don’t know…”
Sam pulled back, confusion furrowing her brow. “Wait, you said you talked to her mom?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “why?”
“Because I just spoke to Ally’s mom, like, 5 minutes ago,” she said, puzzled, “right before I got here. She said she hadn’t spoken to her since Tuesday and she’s freaking the hell out.”
My heart froze. It couldn’t be.
“No,” I insisted, “I spoke to her this afternoon… she said…”
My words faded as my mind raced. I had to have spoken to her mom, hadn’t I? I had her number on my contacts list, after all, so I couldn’t have misdialed. She sounded like Ally’s mom, too, but… thinking about it, did I really remember what her mom sounded like? We hadn’t spoken in several months. She sounded like the woman I remembered, but could I be sure?
Sam had pulled out her phone and was pressing buttons. “I’m going to call her right now so you can talk to her,” she said, holding the phone up to her ear.
“Hi,” she said, speaking into her cell, “it’s Sam. I’m here with Jess, she wants to talk to you about Ally.”
Sam handed me the phone and I held it up to my ear.
“Hello?” I said tentatively, “Mrs. Connolly?”
“Jessica,” Ally’s mom replied, sounding concerned. “Please tell me that you’ve heard from Ally. I’m worried sick and I’m about ten minutes from calling the police and flying down there myself.”
“Only texts, but…” I wasn’t sure how to continue, how to ask what I wanted to without sounding crazy. “Didn’t we talk earlier today? About Ally?”
“No,” she said firmly, “I was at work all day and just got home a few hours ago. The only one I’ve talked to today was Samantha. I had no idea that Ally was missing.” Her voice sounded thick and teary.
I told Ally’s mom all about the texts, recounting the bizarre exchange. I left out the part where I called her, where I called Ally, because I wasn’t sure how to bring those things up without sounding unstable.
Mrs. Connolly and I agreed that filing a missing person’s report would be the best course of action, and that she would fly up as soon as she could. As I hung up the phone, I couldn’t help but wonder about my conversation with her earlier. I handed Sam’s phone back to her and picked up my own. Unlocking the cell, I checked for new text messages before bringing up my call history. My heart fluttered as I saw the history.
No calls for Ally’s mom. No calls for Ally. Just a string of numbers and symbols:
23 5 19 5 5 25 15 21 #23 5 19 5 5 25 15 21 # 23
Every call I had made to Ally or her mother had redirected to that… number. Was it a number? I felt dizzy.
I stood up, shoving the phone in my purse. “I’m going to grab a few things from home,” I told Sam, my voice shaking, “and then I’m going to the police station. Do you want to come with me?” I prayed she would say yes.
“Can I meet you there?” She held up a thick essay in one hand. “I gotta swing by my professor’s office and drop this off really quick before it’s closed.”
We agreed to meet at the police station in half an hour. As I drove home, I felt nauseous, confused, and scared. None of it made sense. Where was Ally?
As I got out of my car and jogged up the steps to my apartment, I stopped in my tracks. The door was open. Just a crack, just the tiniest sliver, but enough to shake me to my foundation. I was in a hurry to get out of the house but, yes, I was sure that I had locked the door.
I backed down the steps, walking quickly to my neighbor’s place, where I rang their doorbell. My neighbor came out, a short man in his twenties, hair disheveled and eyes tired. I vaguely remembered seeing him around the complex a few times.
“Can I help you?” He was annoyed.
“Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you, but I’m from apartment 10C,” I said, gesturing to my building. “I locked the door before I left this afternoon but when I came home, the door was open. I was hoping you would maybe come with me, just to make sure it’s safe? I mean, it could be my roommate, Ally, but you can never be too careful.”
“Yeah, sure, just let me get some shoes on,” he grumbled.
I lagged behind as he made his was up to our building, heart pounding as he pushed the door wide with an outstretched palm.
“Hey, anyone here?” He bellowed into the empty space of our living room, his voice low and intimidating.
He stepped back as someone came to the door. It was Ally, wearing the same outfit she’d had on when she left for the bar on Wednesday.
“Jessica?” She looked at me and her mouth drew into a grin. “Hey, you’re home!”
“Ally!”
My heart was racing. Thank God she was home, that she was okay! I ran up the steps and leapt at her, enveloping her in a desperate hug.
“You dumb fuck,” I yelled, smiling and tearing up at the same time, “You scared the shit out of everyone! Why didn’t you answer your phone?!”
Ally was stiff in my arms at first, but then relaxed back into my embrace. She was really warm.
I pulled back slightly as my nose caught a whiff of something… off. Hard to describe, but it smelled kind of sickly sweet and spoiled. Faintly, though. She probably needed a shower, I told myself, after a few days drunk off her ass with God knows who. I was just so happy to have her home.
“Yeah, I was pretty drunk,” she said with a smile. “I’m sorry I scared you. But I really am fine. Totally fine. Don’t worry, Jessica. I’m fine.”
“Call your mom,” I scolded, still shaking with adrenaline. “She’s about to call the police and fly out here. I’ll call Sam and let her know that you’re okay. Goddamn. I about had a fucking heart attack, you know that?”
I called Sam and gave her the good news, while Ally called her mom and let her know that she was home. And for a few hours, I was okay. But then I started to think.
Ally’s home and everything should be fine, right? But I still don’t understand what happened with the phone, and the texts. Ally was in her room all night, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about what happened yet. I have so many questions.
Just one final thought before I end this post… I don’t want to make something out of nothing, especially when everything else that’s happened up to now has been so weird, and I should be happy just to have my roomie back. But Ally left the lights on in her room last night. Like, all night. I went to bed at 11 and woke up a few hours later to pee, and the lights were still on. I thought maybe she had fallen asleep with them on, but when I walked up to her door I could hear her talking.
At first I thought she was on the phone, but she was speaking so rapidly and quietly, I don’t see how she could have been. It was almost a whisper. I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but I stood there for about a minute and she was still going. It was really strange. I don’t know how to bring that up with her tonight, or if I even should. I don’t want her to think that I’m snooping. But at the same time…
More than anything, I just want answers. I’ll keep you updated when I get some.
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Update. I’m shaking so hard my fingers keep striking the wrong keys. I need to get this all off my chest, even though typing it out I feel as though I’m losing my sanity. Nothing seems real right now. I’m doubting everything.
How did it get this bad? I’ll tell you. Can’t promise you’ll believe me, though. Not even sure I believe myself.
Ally didn’t come out from her room until late afternoon, nearly four. It was so unlike her. She gets up early on the weekends and hit the gym for an hour; she calls it her “me time”. Not yesterday, though. I think it would’ve been relieving in a way, to see her get back to her regular routine. Easier to convince myself that everything was okay, then, I think.
I fought the urge to wake her, but by one o’ clock I was starting to worry. What if she was on drugs? What if she’d come home and injected something, and that’s why she was up so late talking to herself? Could she have overdosed? I didn’t think I would feel comfortable until I knew either way.
I walked up to her bedroom door and knocked tentatively. No answer.
I knocked again, then, louder. “Ally,” I called. “Hey, Ally, you okay in there?”
Silence.
My heart pounding, I placed an unsteady hand on the doorknob and turned. The door began to creak open.
“Jessica.”
I gasped and stepped back. Ally was standing in the doorway, expressionless. She was still wearing the clothes she’d had on from Wednesday, and that smell was still there. Worse than before, even.
I could only see maybe a few inches into the room, but from what I could see, it was pitch black. It was strange, because the day outside was bright and cloudless.
I exhaled sharply. “Ally, God,” I stuttered, brushing a nervous hand through my hair, “you scared me.”
She stood there, motionless, silent. Clearing my throat, I continued. “I just wanted to see if you’re okay. You don’t normally sleep this late, and your clothes… I mean, you must want a shower, right?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “So nosy.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to… just… you were up so late last night. And you still haven’t told me--”
“You must be curious about my absence,” Ally interrupted. Her smile widened. “Don’t worry. We will show you, and you will understand. But not yet.”
She shut the door in my face. We? Was she talking about the guy she hooked up with?
I backed away from her door, not wanting to turn my back to it.
I spent the next few hours at the campus library. I told myself I would go there to study, but I ended up spending most of my time texting back and forth with Sam. She seemed concerned but skeptical. I didn’t blame her. Sam’s a very practical person, and what I was saying didn’t make much sense. She kept saying that it could be drugs. I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Around four o’ clock my phone dinged with a text notification, this time from Ally. Adrenaline coursed through my system as I clicked to read it.
Leavving 4 fRiends. Bak tonite 9. Am FInE. Wwwill discus evrything. See y0u.
I copied the text and sent it to Sam. She was now convinced that Ally was under the influence of some kind of narcotic, and I warily agreed that it could be the case. I didn’t want to say anything, but this felt so much darker than that, so much worse in a way I couldn’t quite describe.
I know you’re probably going to think I’m crazy, but I decided to go back to the apartment. I wanted to get there before Ally returned. I wanted to check her room.
This is the point in the movie where you’re all screaming, “Don’t go in there, you idiot!” Right? Well, I had that voice screaming, too. The thing is, I didn’t know what other option I had. Ally was back, and she looked normal. Besides the weird texts, I didn’t have any proof that something else was going on, and if I started talking about all I had seen, all that had happened? I would look like the one on drugs.
As I entered the apartment, I listened carefully for any sounds of life. Nothing.
I walked slowly and nervously up to the door of Ally’s bedroom. Holding up a trembling fist, I knocked once, quietly.
“Hey, Ally, you in there?”
Silence.
I knocked again this time, loudly and with urgency, until the door shuddered in its frame. “Ally, hey, open up! We need to talk!”
No sounds escaped from beyond the door.
I began to turn the doorknob, my heart hammering in my chest. It was open. I pushed, then, nudged the door open so it swung inward with a low groan.
The room was dark as pitch, save for one small sliver of light coming from deeper inside. Taking a hesitant step forward, I took a shuddering breath in and felt my stomach heave. Oh, God, the smell. It was the scent I had picked up on Ally earlier, but it was so much worse in here! Overpowering, like warm spoiled meat in the thick, musty air.
Holding my shirt up over my nose, I took a few more steps inside. My hands reached to toggle the light switch on. I clicked it up and down several times; nothing.
Shaking, I dug into my pocket for my phone and turned it on, using the illumination from the screen to help me see deeper inward.
I gasped. The room had been destroyed. The bed was on its side, mattress torn open, springs and filling spread onto the floor. Clothes were piled on one side, shoes on another; the windows had been taped up with black trash bags to prevent any light from coming in.
I held my phone in front of me like a shield, raising it up and down to inspect the damage. The walls, once creamy white, were now covered with scatters of writing. Symbols, text, and formulas of indiscernible origin spread haphazardly like buckshot across every surface. Lifting the light, I drew my eyes higher. Just above her ruined bed, a thick patch of blackening cobwebs crowding the corner where the wall met the ceiling. I watched in horror as a fat droplet of –something—oozed down from the web to come to a muffled splat on the carpet below. I wondered if that was where the smell was coming from. I wasn’t going to get close enough to find out.
Feeling suddenly dizzy, I stumbled from the room and into the bathroom. My breath came in shallow bursts as I splashed my face with water in an attempt to calm down. I had to call someone. More than that, I had to get out of this apartment.
My phone chimed. I had a text. I looked down at the screen with growing dread. It said simply this:
n0sy
I wish I could say that I was braver than I was, but I shot out of that apartment like a bat out of hell. I drove around campus until I could get ahold of a friend that had a free couch for the night. I’m there now, in the living room on my computer, phone shut off and battery removed. I called Ally’s mom and Sam and left messages, told them they could reach me at my friend’s number, that I had something of urgent importance to discuss.
The worst part? I know that words won’t be enough, I know I’ll need to show them Ally’s room to make them understand. But God help me, I don’t want to go back in that house. I don’t know if I could keep my sanity if I did.
I will update when I have more information. For now? I don’t even think I can sleep.
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New update. Not sure how long I will be on this computer. I don’t think I’m safe here.
I spent the night on my friend Rachel’s couch, falling in and out of a turbulent sleep. Every time the house would settle or the floor would creak, I would startle awake, my heart leaping into my throat. When I dreamed, it was about that room, Ally’s room. I could feel the damp, musty air pressing in on me, the smell of rotten meat choking my lungs. Somewhere far away, there was laughter.
Rachel woke me shortly after five in the morning. When she touched my shoulder I jumped with a gasp. As I cleared the sleep from my eyes, I noticed the first rays of the rising sunlight peeking through the living room curtains. It felt strange to admit, but I felt so lucky to have survived the night unharmed.
She held her phone toward me with an outstretched hand; she looked tired herself. “It’s your friend, Sam,” she said with a yawn. “She says she needs to talk to you.”
I sat up and took the phone from her. “Thanks, Rachel,” I said. I watched as she padded softly down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Pulling my knees to my chest, I spoke. “Hey, Sam, thanks for getting back to me.”
“Jess.” Sam sounded worried. “Are you okay? I got your message. Why aren’t you home? Did you have a fight with Ally or something?” She paused, lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Did you find the drugs?”
“God, I wish,” I replied. Taking a deep breath, I explained everything that I had seen last night. Even as I spoke, I realized how insane I sounded. I wondered if Sam would think I sounded crazy, too.
“Jesus, Jess,” she said with a gasp when I finished speaking. “What are you going to do? What can I do? Should I go talk to her?”
“No,” I shouted, “don’t go to the apartment! Please, it’s not safe!”
“Then we’ll meet Ally at the library,” Sam said, “have an intervention or something.”
“You still think it’s drugs?” I scoffed. “It can’t be drugs! I don’t know what it is, but it just can’t be. It’s more than that. It’s worse than that. It feels like Ally’s… gone, somehow. Like her body is this shell and something’s just walking around inside of it. And it looks like her, sounds like her, but that person – that’s not our friend.”
There was silence while she took in what I said. After a moment, Sam spoke. “You think something happened to her when she was missing.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” I said, “something horrible. And I don’t know what, but I don’t feel safe around her anymore.”
“Have you talked to her mom about this?”
“No,” I said. “I called her last night and left a message, but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“Let me call,” Sam said, “see if I can get ahold of her. It’s early enough that she should still be home. I’m sure between the three of us we can figure this out.”
“Yeah,” I said. I wasn’t sure that the three of us could figure this out at all, but I didn’t want to say it. “I think I’m gonna go try and do some digging, see if I can find someone that saw her that night. I don’t think the bar opens ‘til noon, so I think I’ll hit the computer lab.”
“Okay,” Sam said. “Your phone is off, right? I’ll email if I hear anything from Ally’s mom, let you know the game plan.”
“All right. Just stay safe.”
After hanging up the phone, I threw on some clothes, grabbed a coffee, and drove to the campus library. It was even busier than usual for a Monday morning, with dozens of college students pouring through textbooks and typing on laptops, but I was thankful for the company. Anything was better than being alone with the memories of that room.
Heading down to the computer lab, I found a seat at a secluded desk and plugged in my laptop. I pulled up Google and paused, unsure what to search for. I typed “roommate acting weird”, but most of the results were crap from Yahoo Answers, roommates acting distant, or drugged out roommates. No one reported seeing anything like I had seen. Too vague, I figured.
Maybe someone at school has experienced this, too. I pulled up the college’s campus forum, made a throwaway account, and clicked to submit a new thread. I decided to leave it short:
Hope someone can help. Friend went missing for 2 days, now she’s completely different. Maybe possessed. This is NOT a joke. Please PM me if you can help!
I continued searching. I looked for something to explain the quickly growing cobweb, the smell, and the symbols. After fifteen minutes of Googling, one answer seemed to stand out among the rest: possession.
And yet… I’m not a religious person, and neither is Ally. I don’t really know if I believe in a God, and I definitely don’t believe in demons possessing human bodies. Her behavior ticked off a lot of the boxes for possession, though: the change in behavior, the weird symbols and messages, the smell. Even if that’s what it was, I wondered, were there even priests that perform exorcisms anymore?
I shook my head. I had to keep looking for an answer outside of the supernatural. Allowing myself to believe in demon possession might have me tumbling down a rabbit hole too far to ever escape, you know? I didn’t want to end up one of those crazy people speaking in tongues and dancing with snakes or something.
My laptop chimed an alert; I had a message. Already?
I pulled up my inbox. The new message was highlighted, the title reading simply: GO.
My fingers shook as I clicked it.
*Go now*. It hunts at night. DO NOT LET IT FIND YOU.
Another alert chimed as I received the second PM, only moments after the first. This one had no title. It read:
Phone not safe. Beware the stench of death. It will find you.
My stomach lurched. Someone could just be fucking with me, I thought, this could just be a joke. But then they mentioned the phone…
With trepidation, I clicked to reply and began to type:
Who are you? Can you help me? Can we meet?
I clicked to send, then drummed my fingers on the table impatiently, heart racing. My inbox alert chimed a third time. Then a fourth, a fifth. I looked with horror as my inbox filled with messages, all of which had the same title, sender unknown.
W3 sEee You
I screamed, slamming my laptop shut. “Sssh!” The girl seated next to me glared, and I shrugged weakly in apology.
I stumbled out of the library, taking deep breaths and reveling in the warm, comforting sunlight. I stood there for several moments before looking down at my watch. It was 11:20, nearly time for the bar to open. I was unsure whether or not to even go. At this point, I was ready to heed the advice of the email and get the hell out of town. I couldn’t just leave Sam to face Ally alone, but maybe I could convince her to come with me. I would talk to the bartender, I decided, and after that I would drive however far it took until I was safe.
Now, though, I wish I had listened. I wish I had run when I had the chance. Maybe she would still be alive. Maybe…
I need to stop this for now. I will share the rest tomorrow, but for now I need to get off the computer. I’ve already been typing long enough, and I fear if I continue it may find me. Be safe. Stay in the light.
It’s been almost two days since my roommate came home.
Normally I wouldn’t worry. Ally’s a “work hard, play hard” kind of girl, the kind that stays out ‘til last call and goes home with the hot stranger that was flirting with her at the bar. It’s not unusual for her to stay out for a few days at a time, and like I said, I wouldn’t give it a second thought otherwise.
It’s just those texts.
See, Ally and I have this system. Whenever one of us stays out all night and doesn’t return by morning, we text the other just to check in. Safety first, y’know? Make sure that your roomie wasn’t drugged, jailed, or in danger, that kinda thing.
The first night she went out, and the last night I saw her, it was the Wednesday after her big Chemistry test. She’d been freaking out over it for the last few weeks, seeing as it was worth about ten percent of her grade. She came home that afternoon crazy happy, not only because that weight was off her shoulders, but because she was sure she aced her exam. In typical Ally fashion, it was time to celebrate, and she begged me to go with her to the bar, but I declined in favor of Netflix. I’m kicking myself now, because maybe if I had gone, none of this would be happening!
Ally left around ten; by then I was already in my fat pants watching movies and relaxing with some pizza. She left and I fell asleep about an hour later. Everything was normal.
It’s just… those fucking texts.
I woke up Thursday morning and did the first thing pretty much everyone does – I checked my phone. The first thing I saw was the text alert. I assumed that it was Ally, checking in and telling me all about the wild shit she was seeing at the bar. I was partly right.
The time of the first text read 11:17, just shortly after I’d retired for the evening. It read:
Bar SO busy tonite!!! Holy shit. Already kinda drunk, lolol. R U sure you don’t wanna come? I’m at Max bar. Text me.
It was a completely normal, average drunk roomie text, nothing exceptional. Next text was at 11:32:
Bitch, u r missing out! fuckin hot guys here holy fuck. Free drinks 3 times already! Best night ever!!!
Ally’s a beautiful woman, so guys hitting on her was a pretty common event, and I was happy that she was having a good time unwinding from her test stress. The next text came a while later, at 12:44:
having fun. Details l8r. ; )
The final text was… disconcerting. Ally sounded wasted, but more than that, she sounded weird. Sent at 3:23 in the morning, it read:
I’M fine. Will see u soon. I’m fine. I’m fine. See u soon. I’M FINE.
Feeling cheeky, I texted back:
But are you fine?
No reply. Setting my concerns aside, I went about my morning like usual. Gym, food, shower, study. It wasn’t until 2:51 that afternoon that my text alert chimed. It was Ally.
COMING HOME SOON. COMINGSOON. SEE U SOON. SEE U. I SEE YOU.
Was she still drunk from the night before? The text was so bizarre! I decided to give her a call, just to ease my mind.
I called her number. The phone rang once before heading to voicemail. I left her a message, told her I was worried and that she should call me back because she sounded drunk or something, and it was not even three in the afternoon, and that level of drunk is best left for reality shows. Not one minute after I hung up, this text appeared:
Do not worry. U will see me soon. I’m fin. Isee u soon.
Do not worry? Are you kidding? I called a few mutual friends, but none of them had seen her since Wednesday afternoon. I tried to push my concerns out of my mind. Ally was probably just holed up in some hot guys place, drunk on sex and cheap beer. She’d be back by night, surely.
When Ally wasn’t back by nine that night, I texted again. No reply. I went to bed at ten, but I tossed and turned most of the night.
I woke up at six this morning to my text alert going off. It was Ally. At first I was relieved, but my relief soon turned to confusion and a sinking sense of dread. The message made no sense. It was this:
We are fine. We are fine. end. Less. There is no. fine. Be fine.
That’s the last message I’ve received from her. I wasn’t sure how to reply… she sounds drunk still, high maybe. Was the text for me, or someone else? I don’t know. I’m calling her mom in a few minutes. I need to have someone else call her or text her, let me know that she’s okay. I’m so worried. Will keep you updated.
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Okay guys, here’s the update so far. I’ve got good news, I guess. At the same time, I’m really not sure what to say about this whole screwed up situation, and I’ve got more questions than ever. I guess I’ll start where I left off and go from there.
I called Ally’s mom right after I posted. I’d only spoken to her a few times before, so I didn’t know how awkward it would be. When I called, the phone went straight to voicemail, which wasn’t a surprise because I figured she would be at work. I left a message basically detailing what happened, skipping out on all the incriminating stuff about how her daughter likes to go to bars and get laid. Told her the texts word for word, said Ally hasn’t come home, that I’m worried. To call her daughter and call me back ASAP.
Then I waited, and basically paced the floor for an hour. I texted Ally that I had called her mom and was worried, despite her saying that she was fine, but I didn’t hear back.
A couple hours after I left the message, Ally’s mom called me. The first thing she said was “Everything’s fine, so just take a deep breath. I just spoke with Ally on the phone.”
Relief washed over me like you wouldn’t believe. “So she sounded okay to you? Normal? Like, no chance she’s under duress or something?”
Her mom sighed and gave a little chuckle. “Ally’s totally fine, aside from being an idiot. She told me that she was still a little tipsy when she texted, and thought sending weird things like that would be funny. A prank or something, I guess.”
“Well thank God she’s fine,” I said, with a sigh. Annoyed, relieved, and more happy she was okay than anything.
“I told her to call you,” her mom continued, “and apologize for acting like such a moron. I’m really sorry, my daughter doesn’t think sometimes, and you don’t deserve that stress. School’s hard enough on you girls!”
We chatted back and forth for a few minutes before I hung up. I waited for Ally to call me back, to apologize and explain why she thought fucking around with my emotions was an okay thing to do to her friend. After fifteen minutes, I got tired of waiting and decided to call her myself.
Unlike my call the other day, it didn’t ring once, but rather continued to ring. Four times, actually, long enough for me to wonder if Ally was ignoring me because she didn’t want to have to fess up to the prank.
On the fifth ring, the phone suddenly screeched at me, loud enough that I pulled it away from my ear.
The tinny, familiar voice of the phone operator said: “We’re sorry, but this call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang – We’re sorry, this call cannot be completed as dialed.” The voice started deepening, slowing, stuttering. “Please –we’re sorry, this call cannot be – cannot, cannot be completed as dialed. Please—help this call cannot be completed – complete, complete, completed – we’re sorry--“
Then the phone went dead.
I had to stop myself from throwing the phone across the room, instead tossing it onto the couch and hugging my shoulders to stop from shivering. What the hell was that??? The recording was glitching like crazy, almost sounded like it was melting at the end. I had never heard anything like that, like some phone operator from hell.
I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes, trying to center myself. That plan halted dead in its tracks when I heard my cell’s familiar ring tone.
I had gotten a text.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I slowly lifted the phone to view the message. It was from Ally.
Talkd 2 mom. I’m FINE. See u soon. FinI’m fine. Sttop worrying. NoTHING is wrong. Be therr so0on. ; )
Suddenly the house seemed too quiet, too cold. I grabbed my purse and decided to head out to campus to relax in the commons around other people, because I couldn’t stand to be alone anymore. Even worse, I didn’t know if I wanted to be there when Ally returned, if she did at all.
I drove to campus and settled down at the small corner café with a hot latte and a scone. My stomach in knots, I picked at the pastry while staring at my phone. Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone and called a mutual friend of ours, Sam. I gave her the rundown of the messages I had received, and she agreed to meet me at the café to talk about Ally. I needed a second opinion.
Sam arrived about fifteen minutes later, with a hug and a look of worry on her face. She sat down next to me in one of the cushioned chairs and leaned in.
“No word from Ally yet,” she said, frowning. “I’ve texted her about twenty times since you called me but she’s not answering. She won’t pick up the phone, either.”
“I talked to her mom earlier,” I said, shrugging. “She said she spoke to her and it’s all a prank, but I can show you the texts. They’re just really, really bizarre. I mean, Ally doesn’t do shit like that. She doesn’t pull stupid jokes to freak out her friends, you know? Her mom didn’t seem worried, though, so I don’t know…”
Sam pulled back, confusion furrowing her brow. “Wait, you said you talked to her mom?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “why?”
“Because I just spoke to Ally’s mom, like, 5 minutes ago,” she said, puzzled, “right before I got here. She said she hadn’t spoken to her since Tuesday and she’s freaking the hell out.”
My heart froze. It couldn’t be.
“No,” I insisted, “I spoke to her this afternoon… she said…”
My words faded as my mind raced. I had to have spoken to her mom, hadn’t I? I had her number on my contacts list, after all, so I couldn’t have misdialed. She sounded like Ally’s mom, too, but… thinking about it, did I really remember what her mom sounded like? We hadn’t spoken in several months. She sounded like the woman I remembered, but could I be sure?
Sam had pulled out her phone and was pressing buttons. “I’m going to call her right now so you can talk to her,” she said, holding the phone up to her ear.
“Hi,” she said, speaking into her cell, “it’s Sam. I’m here with Jess, she wants to talk to you about Ally.”
Sam handed me the phone and I held it up to my ear.
“Hello?” I said tentatively, “Mrs. Connolly?”
“Jessica,” Ally’s mom replied, sounding concerned. “Please tell me that you’ve heard from Ally. I’m worried sick and I’m about ten minutes from calling the police and flying down there myself.”
“Only texts, but…” I wasn’t sure how to continue, how to ask what I wanted to without sounding crazy. “Didn’t we talk earlier today? About Ally?”
“No,” she said firmly, “I was at work all day and just got home a few hours ago. The only one I’ve talked to today was Samantha. I had no idea that Ally was missing.” Her voice sounded thick and teary.
I told Ally’s mom all about the texts, recounting the bizarre exchange. I left out the part where I called her, where I called Ally, because I wasn’t sure how to bring those things up without sounding unstable.
Mrs. Connolly and I agreed that filing a missing person’s report would be the best course of action, and that she would fly up as soon as she could. As I hung up the phone, I couldn’t help but wonder about my conversation with her earlier. I handed Sam’s phone back to her and picked up my own. Unlocking the cell, I checked for new text messages before bringing up my call history. My heart fluttered as I saw the history.
No calls for Ally’s mom. No calls for Ally. Just a string of numbers and symbols:
23 5 19 5 5 25 15 21 #23 5 19 5 5 25 15 21 # 23
Every call I had made to Ally or her mother had redirected to that… number. Was it a number? I felt dizzy.
I stood up, shoving the phone in my purse. “I’m going to grab a few things from home,” I told Sam, my voice shaking, “and then I’m going to the police station. Do you want to come with me?” I prayed she would say yes.
“Can I meet you there?” She held up a thick essay in one hand. “I gotta swing by my professor’s office and drop this off really quick before it’s closed.”
We agreed to meet at the police station in half an hour. As I drove home, I felt nauseous, confused, and scared. None of it made sense. Where was Ally?
As I got out of my car and jogged up the steps to my apartment, I stopped in my tracks. The door was open. Just a crack, just the tiniest sliver, but enough to shake me to my foundation. I was in a hurry to get out of the house but, yes, I was sure that I had locked the door.
I backed down the steps, walking quickly to my neighbor’s place, where I rang their doorbell. My neighbor came out, a short man in his twenties, hair disheveled and eyes tired. I vaguely remembered seeing him around the complex a few times.
“Can I help you?” He was annoyed.
“Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you, but I’m from apartment 10C,” I said, gesturing to my building. “I locked the door before I left this afternoon but when I came home, the door was open. I was hoping you would maybe come with me, just to make sure it’s safe? I mean, it could be my roommate, Ally, but you can never be too careful.”
“Yeah, sure, just let me get some shoes on,” he grumbled.
I lagged behind as he made his was up to our building, heart pounding as he pushed the door wide with an outstretched palm.
“Hey, anyone here?” He bellowed into the empty space of our living room, his voice low and intimidating.
He stepped back as someone came to the door. It was Ally, wearing the same outfit she’d had on when she left for the bar on Wednesday.
“Jessica?” She looked at me and her mouth drew into a grin. “Hey, you’re home!”
“Ally!”
My heart was racing. Thank God she was home, that she was okay! I ran up the steps and leapt at her, enveloping her in a desperate hug.
“You dumb fuck,” I yelled, smiling and tearing up at the same time, “You scared the shit out of everyone! Why didn’t you answer your phone?!”
Ally was stiff in my arms at first, but then relaxed back into my embrace. She was really warm.
I pulled back slightly as my nose caught a whiff of something… off. Hard to describe, but it smelled kind of sickly sweet and spoiled. Faintly, though. She probably needed a shower, I told myself, after a few days drunk off her ass with God knows who. I was just so happy to have her home.
“Yeah, I was pretty drunk,” she said with a smile. “I’m sorry I scared you. But I really am fine. Totally fine. Don’t worry, Jessica. I’m fine.”
“Call your mom,” I scolded, still shaking with adrenaline. “She’s about to call the police and fly out here. I’ll call Sam and let her know that you’re okay. Goddamn. I about had a fucking heart attack, you know that?”
I called Sam and gave her the good news, while Ally called her mom and let her know that she was home. And for a few hours, I was okay. But then I started to think.
Ally’s home and everything should be fine, right? But I still don’t understand what happened with the phone, and the texts. Ally was in her room all night, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about what happened yet. I have so many questions.
Just one final thought before I end this post… I don’t want to make something out of nothing, especially when everything else that’s happened up to now has been so weird, and I should be happy just to have my roomie back. But Ally left the lights on in her room last night. Like, all night. I went to bed at 11 and woke up a few hours later to pee, and the lights were still on. I thought maybe she had fallen asleep with them on, but when I walked up to her door I could hear her talking.
At first I thought she was on the phone, but she was speaking so rapidly and quietly, I don’t see how she could have been. It was almost a whisper. I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but I stood there for about a minute and she was still going. It was really strange. I don’t know how to bring that up with her tonight, or if I even should. I don’t want her to think that I’m snooping. But at the same time…
More than anything, I just want answers. I’ll keep you updated when I get some.
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Update. I’m shaking so hard my fingers keep striking the wrong keys. I need to get this all off my chest, even though typing it out I feel as though I’m losing my sanity. Nothing seems real right now. I’m doubting everything.
How did it get this bad? I’ll tell you. Can’t promise you’ll believe me, though. Not even sure I believe myself.
Ally didn’t come out from her room until late afternoon, nearly four. It was so unlike her. She gets up early on the weekends and hit the gym for an hour; she calls it her “me time”. Not yesterday, though. I think it would’ve been relieving in a way, to see her get back to her regular routine. Easier to convince myself that everything was okay, then, I think.
I fought the urge to wake her, but by one o’ clock I was starting to worry. What if she was on drugs? What if she’d come home and injected something, and that’s why she was up so late talking to herself? Could she have overdosed? I didn’t think I would feel comfortable until I knew either way.
I walked up to her bedroom door and knocked tentatively. No answer.
I knocked again, then, louder. “Ally,” I called. “Hey, Ally, you okay in there?”
Silence.
My heart pounding, I placed an unsteady hand on the doorknob and turned. The door began to creak open.
“Jessica.”
I gasped and stepped back. Ally was standing in the doorway, expressionless. She was still wearing the clothes she’d had on from Wednesday, and that smell was still there. Worse than before, even.
I could only see maybe a few inches into the room, but from what I could see, it was pitch black. It was strange, because the day outside was bright and cloudless.
I exhaled sharply. “Ally, God,” I stuttered, brushing a nervous hand through my hair, “you scared me.”
She stood there, motionless, silent. Clearing my throat, I continued. “I just wanted to see if you’re okay. You don’t normally sleep this late, and your clothes… I mean, you must want a shower, right?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “So nosy.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to… just… you were up so late last night. And you still haven’t told me--”
“You must be curious about my absence,” Ally interrupted. Her smile widened. “Don’t worry. We will show you, and you will understand. But not yet.”
She shut the door in my face. We? Was she talking about the guy she hooked up with?
I backed away from her door, not wanting to turn my back to it.
I spent the next few hours at the campus library. I told myself I would go there to study, but I ended up spending most of my time texting back and forth with Sam. She seemed concerned but skeptical. I didn’t blame her. Sam’s a very practical person, and what I was saying didn’t make much sense. She kept saying that it could be drugs. I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Around four o’ clock my phone dinged with a text notification, this time from Ally. Adrenaline coursed through my system as I clicked to read it.
Leavving 4 fRiends. Bak tonite 9. Am FInE. Wwwill discus evrything. See y0u.
I copied the text and sent it to Sam. She was now convinced that Ally was under the influence of some kind of narcotic, and I warily agreed that it could be the case. I didn’t want to say anything, but this felt so much darker than that, so much worse in a way I couldn’t quite describe.
I know you’re probably going to think I’m crazy, but I decided to go back to the apartment. I wanted to get there before Ally returned. I wanted to check her room.
This is the point in the movie where you’re all screaming, “Don’t go in there, you idiot!” Right? Well, I had that voice screaming, too. The thing is, I didn’t know what other option I had. Ally was back, and she looked normal. Besides the weird texts, I didn’t have any proof that something else was going on, and if I started talking about all I had seen, all that had happened? I would look like the one on drugs.
As I entered the apartment, I listened carefully for any sounds of life. Nothing.
I walked slowly and nervously up to the door of Ally’s bedroom. Holding up a trembling fist, I knocked once, quietly.
“Hey, Ally, you in there?”
Silence.
I knocked again this time, loudly and with urgency, until the door shuddered in its frame. “Ally, hey, open up! We need to talk!”
No sounds escaped from beyond the door.
I began to turn the doorknob, my heart hammering in my chest. It was open. I pushed, then, nudged the door open so it swung inward with a low groan.
The room was dark as pitch, save for one small sliver of light coming from deeper inside. Taking a hesitant step forward, I took a shuddering breath in and felt my stomach heave. Oh, God, the smell. It was the scent I had picked up on Ally earlier, but it was so much worse in here! Overpowering, like warm spoiled meat in the thick, musty air.
Holding my shirt up over my nose, I took a few more steps inside. My hands reached to toggle the light switch on. I clicked it up and down several times; nothing.
Shaking, I dug into my pocket for my phone and turned it on, using the illumination from the screen to help me see deeper inward.
I gasped. The room had been destroyed. The bed was on its side, mattress torn open, springs and filling spread onto the floor. Clothes were piled on one side, shoes on another; the windows had been taped up with black trash bags to prevent any light from coming in.
I held my phone in front of me like a shield, raising it up and down to inspect the damage. The walls, once creamy white, were now covered with scatters of writing. Symbols, text, and formulas of indiscernible origin spread haphazardly like buckshot across every surface. Lifting the light, I drew my eyes higher. Just above her ruined bed, a thick patch of blackening cobwebs crowding the corner where the wall met the ceiling. I watched in horror as a fat droplet of –something—oozed down from the web to come to a muffled splat on the carpet below. I wondered if that was where the smell was coming from. I wasn’t going to get close enough to find out.
Feeling suddenly dizzy, I stumbled from the room and into the bathroom. My breath came in shallow bursts as I splashed my face with water in an attempt to calm down. I had to call someone. More than that, I had to get out of this apartment.
My phone chimed. I had a text. I looked down at the screen with growing dread. It said simply this:
n0sy
I wish I could say that I was braver than I was, but I shot out of that apartment like a bat out of hell. I drove around campus until I could get ahold of a friend that had a free couch for the night. I’m there now, in the living room on my computer, phone shut off and battery removed. I called Ally’s mom and Sam and left messages, told them they could reach me at my friend’s number, that I had something of urgent importance to discuss.
The worst part? I know that words won’t be enough, I know I’ll need to show them Ally’s room to make them understand. But God help me, I don’t want to go back in that house. I don’t know if I could keep my sanity if I did.
I will update when I have more information. For now? I don’t even think I can sleep.
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New update. Not sure how long I will be on this computer. I don’t think I’m safe here.
I spent the night on my friend Rachel’s couch, falling in and out of a turbulent sleep. Every time the house would settle or the floor would creak, I would startle awake, my heart leaping into my throat. When I dreamed, it was about that room, Ally’s room. I could feel the damp, musty air pressing in on me, the smell of rotten meat choking my lungs. Somewhere far away, there was laughter.
Rachel woke me shortly after five in the morning. When she touched my shoulder I jumped with a gasp. As I cleared the sleep from my eyes, I noticed the first rays of the rising sunlight peeking through the living room curtains. It felt strange to admit, but I felt so lucky to have survived the night unharmed.
She held her phone toward me with an outstretched hand; she looked tired herself. “It’s your friend, Sam,” she said with a yawn. “She says she needs to talk to you.”
I sat up and took the phone from her. “Thanks, Rachel,” I said. I watched as she padded softly down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Pulling my knees to my chest, I spoke. “Hey, Sam, thanks for getting back to me.”
“Jess.” Sam sounded worried. “Are you okay? I got your message. Why aren’t you home? Did you have a fight with Ally or something?” She paused, lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Did you find the drugs?”
“God, I wish,” I replied. Taking a deep breath, I explained everything that I had seen last night. Even as I spoke, I realized how insane I sounded. I wondered if Sam would think I sounded crazy, too.
“Jesus, Jess,” she said with a gasp when I finished speaking. “What are you going to do? What can I do? Should I go talk to her?”
“No,” I shouted, “don’t go to the apartment! Please, it’s not safe!”
“Then we’ll meet Ally at the library,” Sam said, “have an intervention or something.”
“You still think it’s drugs?” I scoffed. “It can’t be drugs! I don’t know what it is, but it just can’t be. It’s more than that. It’s worse than that. It feels like Ally’s… gone, somehow. Like her body is this shell and something’s just walking around inside of it. And it looks like her, sounds like her, but that person – that’s not our friend.”
There was silence while she took in what I said. After a moment, Sam spoke. “You think something happened to her when she was missing.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” I said, “something horrible. And I don’t know what, but I don’t feel safe around her anymore.”
“Have you talked to her mom about this?”
“No,” I said. “I called her last night and left a message, but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“Let me call,” Sam said, “see if I can get ahold of her. It’s early enough that she should still be home. I’m sure between the three of us we can figure this out.”
“Yeah,” I said. I wasn’t sure that the three of us could figure this out at all, but I didn’t want to say it. “I think I’m gonna go try and do some digging, see if I can find someone that saw her that night. I don’t think the bar opens ‘til noon, so I think I’ll hit the computer lab.”
“Okay,” Sam said. “Your phone is off, right? I’ll email if I hear anything from Ally’s mom, let you know the game plan.”
“All right. Just stay safe.”
After hanging up the phone, I threw on some clothes, grabbed a coffee, and drove to the campus library. It was even busier than usual for a Monday morning, with dozens of college students pouring through textbooks and typing on laptops, but I was thankful for the company. Anything was better than being alone with the memories of that room.
Heading down to the computer lab, I found a seat at a secluded desk and plugged in my laptop. I pulled up Google and paused, unsure what to search for. I typed “roommate acting weird”, but most of the results were crap from Yahoo Answers, roommates acting distant, or drugged out roommates. No one reported seeing anything like I had seen. Too vague, I figured.
Maybe someone at school has experienced this, too. I pulled up the college’s campus forum, made a throwaway account, and clicked to submit a new thread. I decided to leave it short:
Hope someone can help. Friend went missing for 2 days, now she’s completely different. Maybe possessed. This is NOT a joke. Please PM me if you can help!
I continued searching. I looked for something to explain the quickly growing cobweb, the smell, and the symbols. After fifteen minutes of Googling, one answer seemed to stand out among the rest: possession.
And yet… I’m not a religious person, and neither is Ally. I don’t really know if I believe in a God, and I definitely don’t believe in demons possessing human bodies. Her behavior ticked off a lot of the boxes for possession, though: the change in behavior, the weird symbols and messages, the smell. Even if that’s what it was, I wondered, were there even priests that perform exorcisms anymore?
I shook my head. I had to keep looking for an answer outside of the supernatural. Allowing myself to believe in demon possession might have me tumbling down a rabbit hole too far to ever escape, you know? I didn’t want to end up one of those crazy people speaking in tongues and dancing with snakes or something.
My laptop chimed an alert; I had a message. Already?
I pulled up my inbox. The new message was highlighted, the title reading simply: GO.
My fingers shook as I clicked it.
*Go now*. It hunts at night. DO NOT LET IT FIND YOU.
Another alert chimed as I received the second PM, only moments after the first. This one had no title. It read:
Phone not safe. Beware the stench of death. It will find you.
My stomach lurched. Someone could just be fucking with me, I thought, this could just be a joke. But then they mentioned the phone…
With trepidation, I clicked to reply and began to type:
Who are you? Can you help me? Can we meet?
I clicked to send, then drummed my fingers on the table impatiently, heart racing. My inbox alert chimed a third time. Then a fourth, a fifth. I looked with horror as my inbox filled with messages, all of which had the same title, sender unknown.
W3 sEee You
I screamed, slamming my laptop shut. “Sssh!” The girl seated next to me glared, and I shrugged weakly in apology.
I stumbled out of the library, taking deep breaths and reveling in the warm, comforting sunlight. I stood there for several moments before looking down at my watch. It was 11:20, nearly time for the bar to open. I was unsure whether or not to even go. At this point, I was ready to heed the advice of the email and get the hell out of town. I couldn’t just leave Sam to face Ally alone, but maybe I could convince her to come with me. I would talk to the bartender, I decided, and after that I would drive however far it took until I was safe.
Now, though, I wish I had listened. I wish I had run when I had the chance. Maybe she would still be alive. Maybe…
I need to stop this for now. I will share the rest tomorrow, but for now I need to get off the computer. I’ve already been typing long enough, and I fear if I continue it may find me. Be safe. Stay in the light.
Say Hey Deac
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TownieDeac
words are futile devices
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lolz
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
I'd say the chances are high. Fun 15 minute read, however.
DeaconCav06
Dickie Hemric
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Where is the last installment? Or is she dead?
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
She's been posting once a day, that last one was yesterday evening I believe.
Screamindemon3
Well-known member
"It's just those texts" multiple times in the opening post is what raised the fake flag for me
Say Hey Deac
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The thing that raised the red flag for me was the whole story.
leftcoastdeac
Robert O'Kelley
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The way she referred to the texts messages too; nobody would recount the events of a few days prior like that in real life. It's a good short story though.
TownieDeac
words are futile devices
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It was entertaining enough until she went into the room. Then it becomes hard to suspend disbelief.
ThinkingWithMyDeac
Well-known member
Yeah and all the reactions are straight out of a movie plot. Weird shit like that you get as many people as you can to confirm what you are seeing and experiencing not hide in the library. Also she must have been watching Jim Carrey's best work when she came up with the random text message numbers.
wfudkn
cookout = blabbermouth?
Looks like the grinch to me