Part 1- You are here

Part 2

We moved into our new house just a few weeks ago.

Yesterday, though now it seems so long ago, my mother handed me a strange and tattered list. Her eyes were unfocused and her movements were shaky. I asked her what was wrong, but she shuffled away without a word.

Confused, I began to read.

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Welcome to your new house! However this was delivered to you, it is vital that you follow each and every rule very carefully as long as you live here. Only you-- Whoever received the letter is bound to the rules and their consequences. Please remember that any writing in strange penmanship is meant to deceive you. Usually, these will be crossed out, but if they are not, please cross it out yourself. The rules are as follows:

1) If anything goes wrong in the events of rule 2 or you don't follow rule 3, you must ^(go outside)~~~~~~~~. head to the kitchen and pour sea salt in a circle around you before covering your ears. Once the clock reads 5:00, you can clear away the salt and go back to what you were doing prior.

2) If, at night, you hear a window creak open and you wake up, you must not show you're awake. Count to 30 in your head and try your best to go back to sleep. If something goes wrong, follow rule 1. ^(listen to the voices. I would never lead you astray, right?)

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After an exasperated sigh, I stopped reading and let go of the worn out paper, watching it drift to a stop, going right past the table I'd intended it land on, and going straight onto the floor. What a joke.

Obviously, my mother must have thought it would be hilarious to mess with me like this. I stormed into the living room, where she sat in the recliner watching a Wheel of Fortune rerun on the cable TV. I showed her the list. "What even is this?" I asked.

She stared at me blankly, looking a little confused. "..I don't know, what is it, hon?"

I tried to tell her that she'd given it to me just a few minutes before, but she denied it and said she'd been watching TV for the past half an hour. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with it, so I walked away.

On my way upstairs, I heard crying. I rounded the corner and found the source: A girl facing away from me with her hands covering her face; my older sister.

I set a hand on her shoulder, asking her what was wrong. She turned around and I found that she was quite obviously not crying, but instead had an eerily calm and happy expression. Something about her face felt off. We sat there staring at each other for a moment before she ran towards the stairs, giggling.

I ran after her, but when I reached the stairs, she was gone. I went to ask my mother about it, but she frowned and told me that it was rude to lie; my sister had gone out that morning. Afterwards, she asked if I was feeling alright.

I nodded and ran upstairs, passing a note on my sister's door that hadn't been there before.

going out to a party with friends. be back at 10 PM. call if something's wrong. -Sara

I dashed towards the table where I'd dropped the rules and continued reading frantically.

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3) Do not, under any circumstances, go outside at night, and if you find yourself outside of the house when night falls, stay out until day. If you don't follow this rule for whatever reason, follow rule 1.

4) If you see a family member facing away from you in a hallway and crying, stay away. It's not your family member. If you fail to do this, for 3 nights after the incident, you will be hunted down. During this period, none of the protective rules will apply. Nighttime is considered 10PM to 5AM.

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I froze. I wanted to believe this was a joke, but my sister had never been a good actor. If it were fake, she'd have fallen over laughing before she could finish it; not to mention how could she vanish into thin air.

I checked the clock. 9:31 PM. Half an hour until showtime. I gathered up a kitchen knife and decided I'd rather stay somewhere public, where someone can protect me. Slipping the knife into my pocket, I headed downstairs and grabbed my mother's car keys.

I googled what places might be open at night, but the only results were restaurants, and so I headed to the airport. Yes... to the airport, with a knife. I had bigger things on my mind at the time.

When I got there, I glanced at my watch. 9:59. I watched as it ticked closer and closer to 10 PM. Obviously, though, it must have been a bit off, as it showed 10:00:08 when I heard the glass shattering.

I watched in horror as a huge quadrupedal creature with smooth jet black skin and no eyes scuttled into the airport with passerby's not reacting. I thought I even saw the creature run through them once or twice.

Of course.

How could I be so stupid?

Obviously they wouldn't acknowledge it as a monster. The rules had clearly stated that this was my burden and mine alone.

Its jaws snapped from left to right as it sniffed the air, turning to face me while hissing. It bounded through the airport at me. Not knowing if it would be injured and not having much to lose, I swung at its exposed stomach.

It stepped back, looking mildly annoyed. Then... it charged me again. Great, I'd succeeded in giving it a stomachache and securing myself a spot in the afterlife.

I instinctively dashed to the side and simply got the crap clawed out of my shoulder instead of my collarbone. I pushed through the crowd and surprisingly didn't get yelled or cursed at, or acknowledged at all.

I reached a dead end at the Bath & Body works shop. Why they had that at an airport, I didn't know. Desperately, I picked up a bottle of perfume and threw it at the monster

It reared back, repulsed. I quickly grabbed a can of shaving foam.

I sprayed shaving foam into its nose. After discovering it could not, in fact, breathe the stuff, it began coughing. Obviously, I ran away while I could.

I dashed into a side room and sat there for a moment, catching my breath. I heard an outraged roar as it stormed the airport, unable to smell for me.

Shakily, I picked up a rock and threw it at the window behind me, hoping to shatter it. Unfortunately, it bounced off.

The creature turned around, storming into the room. I saw its nose twitch and as it spun around, looking for me. Unfortunately, I saw it began to slow down as it turned towards me, and so I sprayed it in the nose again with my trusty shaving foam.

I dashed around it as the monster tried to reorient itself, slashing my cheek in the process. I found a side entrance, likely for employees, and escaped into the parking lot.

I fumbled with my mother's keys and finally managed to start the car. I heard it breaking through the glass- would they fix it if it was caused by a monster?- and tearing through the parking lot.

I managed to veer onto the highway, hoping to mix my scent with a hundred other people and their polluting cars.

Not being able to smell me, the creature seemed to be checking the most densely populated areas first. Taking this into consideration, I turned into the first exit and parked on the side of the road.

Then, I walked to the nearest place devoid of people, which just so happened to be an abandoned warehouse. I hid behind one of the shelves, hoping to find some medical supplies. Instead, I found a cell connection.

So that brings me to where I am right now; posting what's happening to me on Reddit, just in case I don't live through this. If I survive, I'll post an update.

If I don't... well, you know what happened to me.