Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-44913174-20200123010341

'''Have you ever seen something, which looks like something else, or someone else, in the darkness? A blur, an illusion, or maybe just your wild imagination. Then, with the power of a second look, you realise that it wasn’t what you first thought it was. But what if these occurrences weren’t just mere coincidences, but rather they were controlled by something, superior. My name is Edward, and this is my story.'''

 

'''Ever since my birth, I have lived in a suburban neighbourhood with my mother. My father allegedly ran away at my birth, and to add insult to injury, I was an only child. Despite my father’s lack of presence, the optimism of my mother Isabelle, would make up for it. In the toughest of times, she always tried to keep herself and me happy, and she would always put her heart and soul into making sure I made it through the early phase of life. She may have been slightly overprotective, but that didn’t matter. My childhood was kept safe in the caring hands of my mother.'''

 

'''I remember in our house, the basement door would always remain locked. I never saw Isabelle go into the basement, and I was told not to go there. I once asked her why, but she just smiled, and responded with, “You’ll know when you’re older.” From that point, the basement rarely crossed my mind.'''

 

'''My mother wasn’t the only person who was important to me during my youth. My energetic best friend, Eric was another person who made my childhood so memorable. He had too many talents to count, and not a single conversation I’ve had with him was ever boring. He’d always stick by my side, and nothing really bad happened between us.'''

 

'''I remember in Year 7, I didn’t have the nicest teacher. Our teacher, Mr. Stevens, was that type of person who couldn’t resist getting angry. He would constantly abuse his power to get students he didn’t like in trouble. Unfortunately, I was one of them. One day, I made a simple mistake in answering a question, and he shouted at me with such a volume, that I thought the windows would crack. However, Eric stepped in, and had the courage to stand up to our teacher. Obviously, Eric got in quite a quandary for this, so I asked him about it. The only thing he said was, “You’re a good kid, Edward. You don’t deserve to be yelled at like that.”'''

 

'''Our neighbour Anna was someone else who made up my childhood. She always seemed so laid-back, and nothing seemed to really faze her. Any time I needed help, she would look at me with those deep, blue eyes, and sort the problem out. With her empathetic personality, she got me through some of the roughest storms. I consider myself lucky to have a neighbour like her.'''

 

'''In year 7, I was facing a bullying problem at school. Apart from Eric, I didn’t have many friends, and some of the other kids felt the need to push me down for it. They would always somehow track me down and would spit insults at me. They also wouldn’t be afraid to get physical and would beat me every so often. One day, I came home from school, holding back tears and with bruises covering my body. I saw Anna, peaking over the fence, and she instantly knew that something was wrong. “What’s the matter, Edward?” she asked.'''

'''“Kids haven’t been very nice to me. They said I have no friends.” I choked.'''

“Isn’t your best friend Eric?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Doesn’t he have a green belt in karate?”

“Um… yes.”

“Alright then, you should stick with Eric for most of the time.”

'''She waved goodbye and went back into her house. After that, I began to stick with Eric, and the bullying eventually ceased, thanks to Anna’s words of advice.'''

 

'''I hope you’re still with me, because now the story really begins. It all started when I was twenty-five. I had recently gotten a degree in finance degree, and I had found a new job in the finance department, which would pay me well. The downside was, it was 2 hours away from my home suburb. I would have to wake up ridiculously early everyday, just to get to work. So, I decided to move into an apartment that was just a ten-minute walk away from my workplace. Even though it was an exciting new opportunity, I had to say goodbye to the place I came from. I had spent my youth in that neighbourhood, but now I had to leave my memories behind.'''

 

'''During breakfast the morning I was moving, I noticed my mother going into the basement. “Mum, what are you doing, you said not to go in there, so why are you going in there?” I asked.'''

'''“Don’t worry Eddie, you’ll see why!” she called back, as she descended into the basement. I opened my mouth to protest, but I thought against it, and returned to eating my breakfast. After 5 minutes, she returned, with something in her hand.'''

 

“Hold on Eddie!” she exclaimed blissfully, “I have something to give you before you go!”

'''“Mum? What is it?” I questioned.'''

“This!”

'''She gave me something very peculiar. It was a soft, green frog puppet, with a tiny little crown on its head. It looked at me with corny googly eyes, which rolled around with every slight movement. But what really caught my eye, was a small tag on it, with the word, “Kinfroket”. For some reason, it looked quite amusing to me. “Take it before you go!” Mum blurted, interrupting my fixed gaze on the frog. “Okay, thanks Mum!” I replied. The second I left the house, questions shot through my mind. Why did she give me this? Does this represent something? Did she have this as a child? As I drove away, I was filled with excitement, sadness and confusion.'''

 

'''Once I arrived, I smelled the urban smell of the city. Buildings towered around me, and people quickly passed by. I looked to my right and saw my workplace. It was quite modern and was about twelve storeys high. I looked to my left and saw my apartment building. It looked just like an average apartment and was about eight storeys high. This would be my new home. In my apartment, there was a bedroom with an attic, a living room and a bathroom, all with the bare minimum of furnishing. It wasn’t exactly the best, but it satisfied. I settled in and got a bite to eat for lunch. Work started tomorrow, so I had the rest of the day to relax. Everything was going great.'''

 

'''Work came sooner than I knew it. It started at 9:00am and was in walking distance, so I got to wake up at a reasonable time. As soon as I walked through the door, I was instantly greeted by the huge smile of my new boss David. David was... the mental image of a boss to say the least. “Hello, Edward! Ready for your first day?” he beamed.'''

“Um, yeah David.” I timidly responded.

'''Something didn’t seem right. On the day of the interview, when I first met him, he never had been this jolly. As a matter of fact, his mouth wouldn’t even dare to curve a smile during the interview.'''

 

The first thing I saw when I set foot in my new workplace, were beaming faces, all looking at me.

“Alright everyone, meet our new employee, Edward!” David exclaimed.

“Good morning Edward!” Everyone said in sync, like a classroom welcoming a teacher.

“Um… good morning everyone.” I said, with a hint of uncertainty.

'''I looked back at David. He had an unimpressed expression on his face. At first, I thought he wasn’t happy with my response, until I realized he was looking behind me. I turned around to see a brown-haired guy, who seemed around my age, looking at David with bewilderment.'''

 

“Now Jared, is that how we welcome our new employee?” David scolded.

'''“What do you mean?” the guy responded in a thick American accent. “We’ve never done this.” David’s frown grew. “How rude of you Jared!”'''

Jared shrugged, and continued his work.

'''Everyone frowned at Jared and took their seats. David sighed, and turned to face me.'''

“I apologise for that.” David said.

“T-that’s okay, I mean he didn-” I began.

'''“Jared is a bit rude sometimes. I think you should just stay away from him.” David responded, interrupting me.'''

 

Just a second after, David burst into that same grin, and asked, “Ready for your tour, Edward?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Alright then!”

'''And the tour began. David first showed me around the whole office. As we were doing the tour, I saw that everyone was working diligently. Next, he showed me my desk. It was actually quite nice, with a computer, a notepad, stationary and other accessories. For the final part of the tour, he introduced me to everyone, except Jared. I don’t remember anyone, but I recall they all had one thing in common. Their smiles seemed… exaggerated.'''

 

'''After my first day of work, I saw Jared, walking to the same apartment I was walking to. I decided to talk to him, so I began walking towards him. “Well, hey uh- “I began to say. He turned to face me. “Don’t worry new guy, it’s Jared.” Jared responded'''

“So, um… what exactly happened this morning?” I asked.

'''“I actually don’t know, new guy. We never have welcomed new employees like that. Sorry for that, I must have done something wrong.” he responded.'''

“No hard feelings Jared.”

'''“Thanks. I just feel like that everyone is acting… overly friendly, in a bad way. And our boss really was a drag, but now it’s the opposite. Hey uh, what’s your name again?”'''

“It’s Edward.” I replied.

“Edward, it’s just… this is a bit too weird for me.”

'''He started to walk to the apartment again, and I followed him. Remember how David told me to stay away from Jared? Ironically, he ended up being a good friend.'''

 

'''The next day of work was just normal. I spent the majority of work, in the finance department. Nothing really special happened, until lunch. At lunch, I decided to talk to Jared. Jared was sitting next to a tree alone, and just eating his lunch. I sat next to him and tried to begin a conversation. “Hey, um… Jared, you okay?” I asked. Jared looked at me, with a blank expression. “I have to be honest with you. I’m in a really bad mood.” He replied'''

“Well what’s wrong?”

'''“Everyone treated me like crap, for no good reason. I honestly don’t know why.”'''

“W-what did they say?”

“They said that I didn’t belong here, and I was stupid and grumpy,” Jared spoke, “It’s a pretty petty insult, but it just seemed out of character for them.”

“Well, that’s kind of something stupid for them to say, you’re literally the only one here who acts like a normal human.” I responded.

“Well thanks a lot, Edward-”

'''“I think Eddie rolls off the tongue better than Edward. Just call me that.”'''

 

“It’s been quite strange lately, and I know something isn’t right.” Jared started.

“Yeah, I think we can see that.” I acknowledged.

'''“Well, yeah of course, but I feel like this is something... different. Someone or something is pulling the strings.”'''

'''I gave Jared a puzzled look. “You okay, Jared?” I asked.'''

'''“Oh, sorry. I got carried away.” he responded.'''

“It’s just that you’re acting a bit… off.”

'''“Well, uh…  it just that I’ve been quite interested in the paranormal for a long time. I kind of learnt it from my uncle. Jerry was interested in the paranormal too. He was always telling me about it in my earlier days, but my parents didn’t like that. However, that didn’t stop me from being interested in it, so I kind of became an expert.”'''

“Well, you do you.” I replied, and I returned to eating my lunch.

 

'''The week went by quickly, and nothing fell out of the norm. That was, until Saturday. I was just getting a bite to eat for lunch in a local burger joint, when all of a sudden, I saw Jared, waiting in line. Once we got our burgers, I decided to sit down at the same table he was sitting at. Once I sat down, Jared looked at me with shock. “Holy crap…” Jared Gasped.'''

“What is it?” I replied.

“We… we have the same burgers!” Jared exclaimed.

 

“Yeah, I always get this kind of burger.” I asked.

“Holy crap, why the hell do we have that similarity?” Jared laughed, almost oblivious to the people around him.

“That’s really something to have in common.” I replied.

'''“Yeah, it’s like we were long lost brothers! Oh, speaking of which, my uncle told me many scary stories about long lost brothers. Brings me back to the good old days when I was a kid. Real nostalgic. Oh, and I also found my old PlayStation the other day! Just like that, brings back good memory-”'''

'''“Um, Jared, you’re going a bit off topic there. It went having a slight similarity, to nostalgia.”'''

'''Jared paused. “Oh, sorry,” he replied, “I do that often. I just have so many things to talk about, like that one time-”'''

“Jared stop, you’re doing it again.”

 

“So, how long have you lived here, Jared?” I asked.

“I’ve lived here for a year and a half, but I’ve worked here for a year.” he answered.

“Oh, I came here earlier this week,” I said, “I’ve lived in a town for the majority of my youth, but I moved here for the job, considering it’s a 2-hour drive from here.”

“Yeesh, that’s one sacrifice for good pay.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.”

 

'''Eventually, we finished our burgers and left a generous tip. However, before I went back to my apartment, Jared asked me about something. “Hey uh, I’m finding it a bit strange how everyone is acting different. I mean, when you weren’t here, no offense, everything was a bit bland. Normal in a sense. However, when you came along, I don’t know. It’s like… ever since you’ve came along… everyone is out of place.” He replied.'''

“Weird huh.” I answered.

'''“Oh yeah! I decided to give you something!” Jared exclaimed. Jared reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. “You should take this.” Jared spoke.'''

“Why are you giving me this, Jared?” I asked.

'''“Two years ago, I was a smoker. I always wanted to get out of the addiction, but it’s not as easy as that, really. I honestly thought I’d tried everything, until I met a smoking counsellor. Her name was Natalie, and she was really nice. She helped me get out of the addiction, cause… well, she used to be a smoker too. So, after counselling, I managed to stop buying cigarettes, and I put away the lighter. But I decided to give it to you, as a gift, for, well… being the only normal one here.”'''

Jared handed me the lighter, and I put it in my pocket.

“Don’t go in the same path as I did, that’s my only advice.”

 

'''The next night, I had just finished brushing my teeth, when all of a sudden, I heard something like a whisper. I looked around. Nothing. “Um… hello?” I asked. Silence was the only response. “Edward, you’re just a bit… paranoid.” I muttered to myself. As I put my toothbrush away, I heard the soft whisper again. In a flash, all of the lights in the apartment went out. I sighed and got a flashlight from the kitchen. The whisper returned again, only more intense. As I shined my light around the apartment, I had a nagging feeling, that something was in the corner of my eye. I decided to just go to bed. It was night, and the power might come back in the morning. As soon as I got there, my flashlight flicked off, I saw something that made my blood run cold.'''

 

'''At the end of my bed, just resting on my pillow, was a horrifying sight. It was the head of a girl, with a pale face, long dark hair and two black eyes nearly as big as its face. That was all, nothing else. No nose, mouth, or ears. It stared at me blankly, not moving an inch. Just with those huge, dark eyes, piercing through my soul.'''

 

'''I took a step forward into my room, my heart pounding. This can’t be real, I thought, I’m just seeing stuff. As I got closer, I saw something off about it. It didn’t move, and just didn’t look like how I first saw it. All of a sudden, the lights flicked back on and what I saw surprised me. What I first thought was something terrifying, was actually my frog puppet.'''

 

'''I exhaled deeply. I had no idea how my frog puppet could’ve been seen as something scary. I turned off the light again, to see the same thing I saw before. I turned the light on, to see the innocent face of my frog puppet. I even decided to make a joke about it. I turned the light off. “Me without coffee in the morning.” I said. I turned on the lights. “Me with coffee.” I said again. I continued making quips, until I got bored of it. I put the frog puppet away and went to bed.'''

 

'''The next day I saw Jared, sitting all alone on a bench. I sat down, and tried to start a conversation. “Hey, Jared. You okay?” I asked. Jared turned slowly towards me. He had deathly, dark bags under his eyes. “I don’t really k-know.” He responded shakily.'''

“My god, what happened to you?”

“I feel like… I’m losing my mind.”

“What do you mean?”

'''“Everyone just… stared at me. They didn’t say anything, they just stared.”'''

“Ok um-.”

'''Jared suddenly shot a glare. “Just, give me some space, I think I’m gonna puke.” he snapped, before walking away. As he walked away, things about what was happening to Jared plagued my head.'''

 

'''The next day, Jared didn’t show up at work. I didn’t see him at all. I asked David about Jared, and he assured me he was probably sick. However, weeks passed and there was no sign of Jared. I didn’t see him anywhere, not at work, the park, the burger joint or the apartment. What was worse, is that I couldn’t get in contact with Jared to figure out what happened. I didn’t know what apartment room he stays in, and I didn’t know his phone number. And besides, I really didn’t believe that Jared was sick.'''

 

'''4 weeks after Jared’s disappearance, stuff started to get weird. The optimistic atmosphere began to die down, and my co-workers weren’t as nice to me as before. My co-workers would refuse to help me, and if I started a conversation with them, they would try to leave it as soon as possible, usually with the response of, “I dunno, bye.” It eventually turned into, “I don’t care, bye,” then to nothing at all. They didn’t to say anything mean to me, but they didn’t really like me. David was worse, however. David would get cross at me at every opportunity and would try to find an excuse to yell at me. I shrugged this off, as maybe David was becoming the person he was in the job interview, and this optimism was just a phase. I thought that maybe Jared just left town, because he was tired of the job. I thought that maybe this was all just a coincidence, and nothing strange was happening. Although, I had this feeling that I was letting my guard down.'''

 

'''As the week progressed, I gradually lost sleep. These things kept occurring to me, my co-workers were still acting strange, and I was running out of excuses for why I shouldn’t worry. Thus, I found it harder to get to sleep with all of these thoughts digging into my psyche, and I would wake up in the morning drenched in sweat and feeling awful. What was worse, is that… thing I saw at the end of my bed that night, began to plague my dreams. That girl, with the pale face, long black hair and those eternal dark eyes. These dreams felt so real, that I sometimes woke up wondering if the nightmare actually happened.'''

 

'''As a cause of my exhaustion, I was heavily fatigued at work. Focusing became a difficulty, and caffeine didn’t really seem effective on my exhaustion. I remember on one day, I passed out while walking to my apartment. When I woke up, I found myself in the same place I had passed out in. I was perplexed to how no one seemed to care about me passing out, and I was really expecting to be in hospital. I eventually cleared my mind of it and walked to my apartment room. Eventually, the week came to an end, and I could finally get a break.'''

 

'''At around noon on Saturday, I decided to give my mother a call, to check in with her. I was feeling quite homesick, and I wanted to talk some people out of the city. The only response I got, however, was her familiar pre-recorded voice message. I gave it a couple more shots, but it proved futile. I tried to call some other people from outside the city, but none of them responded. Frantically, I tried to call nearly every contact I had, just to get an answer, but there was no odd result. Eventually, there was one contact left. David. And to my surprise, he responded. “I don’t care Edward, goodbye.” David’s voice crackled from the phone, before I was hung up on.'''

 

'''The next day, I decided to try to leave the city as a break from work. Taking a break seemed like a good way to clear my mind from all of the weird stuff that has been happening recently. I got in the car and drove away from my apartment to the exit of the city. Expecting to see the exit, instead I was greeted by a huge tree that had fallen onto the road, along with a couple of workers, just sitting there. I asked them if there was a way I could get around it, but they just responded with, “None of your business, pleb.” I tried to find another way to get past the tree, but when I tried to get around it, they would just yell at me. What made this even worse, was that when I tried to use the other exits of the city, it would be the exact same situation. Tree fell down and the workers wouldn’t let me exit. Tomorrow was going to be Monday, and I wondered how things could get worse.'''

 

'''However, returning to work wasn’t as bad as I thought. Nothing really new had happened, and the strange atmosphere of my workplace soon seemed normal to me. A rude boss, lack of sleep and co-workers trying to ignore me now just seemed like an average day. As a matter of fact, I began to find ways to get around being yelled at by David and the strange behaviour of my co-workers. I felt confident, and thought I had everything in control. And besides, this strange behaviour was only present at work, right?'''

 

'''On Thursday, rather than going back to my apartment after work, I decided to go to the park. However, when I got there, I saw something peculiar. A green bench with a sign saying, “Please do not sit on the bench.” There was no indication why I couldn’t sit on it. I walked towards the bench and touched it to see if it was wet. To my surprise, it wasn’t wet at all. I saw somebody walking by and asked them why I couldn’t sit on the bench. “I’m not sure, but goodbye.” The person replied. I asked a couple other people the same question, but they had the exact, word-by word, same response. As a matter of fact, whenever someone saw me, they would try to walk away. To make matters worse, they sounded strikingly familiar to my co-workers.'''

 

'''However, it didn’t stop there. When I was driving back to my apartment, something bizarre caught my eye. There was a toy shop, but the only thing on display, was the same frog puppet my mother gave me before I left. I decided to go into the shop to check it out, and the only toys that were there, were frog puppets, that looked just like the puppets on display. There was a young girl at the counter, so I decided to ask why there were only frog puppets. “I don’t care, bye.” was her response. I didn’t know what was more bizarre. The fact she refused to help, or that it was the exact same response of my co-workers. Before leaving however, I took a look at one of the tags on one of the frog puppets. Only one word was on it: Kinfroket.'''

 

'''The next day, I was feeling calm, and confident. It was the last day of the week, and I would be able to get a break. However, my swagger was stopped by the presence of David, as he asked me about something. “Hey Eddie, I’m gonna need you work on Saturday and Sunday this week.” David said. Dread began to brew in my stomach. “Ok, um… what hours?” I asked.'''

'''“7am to 10pm. But don’t worry, I’ll pay you double. Also, I’m gonna need you to work these hours on Tuesdays, and Fridays.”'''

'''I was already exhausted, and David was going to make it even worse for me. “Um… I don’t think I can work those hours…” I began.'''

'''“Well you have to. It’s not like you have anything else on.” David snapped, before walking away. As I speechlessly walked towards my desk, I felt like throwing up.'''

 

'''I couldn’t quit work. There were no other jobs hiring in the city, and the exits were still blocked off. I couldn’t call anyone, as no number outside of the city would work. I was stuck, like a king in checkmate. I would be forced to live this horrible, exhausting way, for God knows how long. As I began to sit down on my desk, I noticed a small, bleach white envelope resting on my desktop. I looked at it from the back. No name, I thought. I opened it and found something strange. A letter, written in a dark, chalky and viscous substance. The letter read, “Everything happens for a reason, Edward.” I examined the substance with my finger. Upon touching it, I suddenly felt a brief feeling of fatigue hit me. I was expecting it to be a message from one of my co-workers, until I saw what was at the bottom. On the bottom of the paper, there was a picture. A small girl, with a white, dirty dress, and arms and legs seemingly amputated. She had long, black hair, and a pale face with no facial features, other than two, huge black eyes.'''

 

'''Working was torture, throughout the weekend. Although there were no co-workers, David was worse. David watched me every second I worked, and me making a tiny mistake would be considered a felony to him. However, this wasn’t even the worst of it. If I showed any sort of gesture of exhaustion, David would walk over, and yell me back to action. Even though he was present the entire time, David never even suppressed a yawn. It was only two days, but it felt like a week.'''

 

'''Once it was Monday, I could barely stay awake. My eyelids felt heavy, and I couldn’t think properly. Fortunately, David left me alone, so I didn’t have someone keeping me awake the entire time. Yet, there was something that was making me anxious. I found various pictures of that girl, all over my workspace, stamped everywhere, like in my mind. Furthermore, everytime I really gave one of the pictures a good look, I would begin to hear voices in my head, speaking unintelligibly, accompanied by the fatigue I got when I touched that chalky substance on that white envelope. One of the voices even sounded like Jared. However, there was only one word that I could make out them saying. Kinfroket.'''

 

'''At some point on Tuesday, I was having trouble with the photocopier. I looked around and saw one of my female co-workers. “Hey uh, there seems to be a problem with the photocopier, can you help?” I asked.'''

'''“Oh wow! It’s Edward, the disappointment to his two-member family! Your father ran away the second he saw you!” she barked back and stormed away. I was shocked, not only because of her being rude for no reason, but the fact she knew things about me that I had never told her. I walked to another one of my co-workers to tell them about the situation. I found another co-worker I didn’t know, but this time he was a man, around 30 years of age. When I approached him, he turned away and stormed off. “Go to hell, Edward!” he yelled, flipping me off. I tried asking some of my other co-workers for help, but they all had the same reply. For the rest of the day, I didn’t try to talk to a single soul.'''

 

'''That night as I laid in bed, something horrific occurred to me. Jared had been talking to me a lot about his employees being rude to him while he was still around, and how they said mean things to him. Now, I was in the same situation he had been in. I remembered what happened to him. He went missing, without a trace, and didn’t come back. Maybe, I would turn out like him. As I turned to my right to turn off my lamp, I saw that frog puppet I put on my bedside table. Maybe, it was the reason for this.'''

 

'''During lunch that Wednesday, I decided to try and talk to one of my co-workers. I looked around from the bench I sat, and saw that everybody was standing around, silently eating their lunch. None of them tried to talk to each other. However, from that point of time I had already seen enough abnormal occurrences, so it didn’t faze me. As I stood up to approach one of my co-workers, all of my co-workers walked in all different directions, like a flock of birds flying away from danger. This is hopeless… I thought and retook my seat on the bench. However, to my left, there was one of my co-workers. I looked closer, and realised it was the lady who yelled at me yesterday, who was oblivious to me being there.'''

 

'''I approached her and tried to initiate a conversation. “Hey um… what’s your name?” I asked. She turned around. “I’m… Rachael. And what’s the deal with you?” she replied.'''

“I just need to know something, um… have you heard anything about Jared?”

“Who the hell is he?”

“He worked here, like 8 weeks ago-”

“Edward, what are you talking about?”

“How long have you worked here?”

“For about… a year now.”

“Jared’s worked here for a year…”

“Who are you talking about-”

“Remember that time where David introduced me?”

“Yes…”

“And remember how you all greeted me?

“Yes.”

“Jared didn’t greet me, and David got mad at him…”

'''“Don’t remember that. Now leave me alone.”'''

Rachael walked away, flipping me off.

'''After work that day, I decided to ask my boss about Jared. “Hey David, remember a guy here called Jared?” I asked.'''

“What are you talking about, Edward?” he replied.

“You know, on the first day there was this guy who didn’t greet me, and you told to stay away from”

“Still don’t know him.”

“He worked here, but he left for some reason.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” he snapped, before walking away.

 

'''That Friday, I tried to avoid everybody. I thought that if everybody hated me, it would be best to stay out of their way. So I did that, and it seemed to work out fine, until work ended. While I was walking to the exit, I accidentally bumped into Rachael. “Oh, I’m terribly sorr-” before I could even finish, I I felt a sharp pain in my cheek. Rachael had just punched me, and with an unbelievable strength. I fell to the floor, clutching my face. “Shut up Edward!” Rachael screamed. Suddenly I felt a shoe dig into my back. “Go to hell!” screamed another voice. Eventually, more of my co-workers came over, and began to beat and insult me. One of them even slashed me with a knife. Eventually they stopped and walked away. With tears in my eyes and a broken nose, I got up, and carried myself to the exit of the building.'''

 

That night, as I lay in bed, I felt a feeling… of exhaustion, stronger than I had ever felt before, as I fell asleep.

 

'''As my eyes shifted, I looked at my digital clock. “7:00 Monday.” What the hell? I thought, I slept straight through the weekend. Suddenly, my eyelids began to close, and I fell asleep. My eyelids opened. “7:00 Tuesday.” I quickly leapt out of bed and got ready for work. My boss is gonna kill me… I thought, as I dashed to my workplace.'''

 

'''Expecting to walk through that door, and experience the wrath of David, I instead was met with a dead silence. Everyone was staring at me, without any emotion. “Hello?” I said. No response. I remembered back to what Jared said, about everyone staring at him, and not even talking to him. I was in the same scenario, and I would end up like him. As I walked to my desk, their heads constantly turned in my direction, some in impossible and disturbing ways. I looked down onto my desk and tried to ignore the glare of my co-workers. However, there wasn’t any work I could do, so I decided to leave. As I walked back to my apartment, that same feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I fell down, on the rough, cold pavement.'''

 

'''I woke up, lying on the hard cement, and looked at my watch. 6:00pm. Suddenly, I felt a powerful need, to leave. I didn’t care about my job, my apartment, anyone or anything. I just needed to leave. I got up, and ran through the city, until I got to the road blocked off by a tree. As expected, the construction workers were there, guarding the road like knights. I hid behind a parked car and peaked out, looking for the right moment to strike. However, before I even attempted pursuit, one of them found me.'''

 

'''“What are you doing here, get out!” the worker screamed. He raised a wrench. “If you don’t leave, I’ll make you leave!” He approached the car and swung the wrench at me. I quickly jerked my head out of the way and began to run in the opposite direction. “Get back here!” the worker yelled and ran towards me. I ran faster, and my legs began to ache. Eventually I lost him, and I collapsed onto my bed, the second I reached my apartment. However, the ordeal was not yet over.'''

 

'''An abrupt knock came from the living room. “Hello?” I called. No answer. “Hello-” I called again, but I was cut off by a faint roar from the living room, followed with more knocks, but more violent. As I walked towards the living room, I felt my stomach begin to scrunch up. As I got closer, the roars became louder, and more coherent. It now sounded human, and I could feel a sense of familiarity as I listened closer to the roar. However, once I saw what was outside my living room, my blood ran cold.'''

 

'''David was there, with his bloody fingers sticking into the glass and screaming in a tone of malice. His eyes were completely black, and just looking at them gave me a pounding migraine. Through his screaming, I could make out the words, “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU EDWARD!” He began to bang at the window with all of his strength. He banged once. A small crack. He banged again. The crack had grown. I turned and sprinted in the other direction. As I made it to my bedroom, I could hear the final crack. Except this time, I heard the glass shatter.'''

 

'''I closed the door and barricaded it with all the furniture I could find. I could hear his stomping through the hallway outside my room, and I looked desperately for a place to hide. I looked up, and something caught my eye. The attic. My gaze was interrupted by the banging on my bedroom door, and I took action. I put down the ladder and climbed up into the attic. As soon as I shut the attic door, I heard my bedroom door bust open, and David enter.'''

 

'''“Where the hell are you Edward!” David screeched, “I know you’re here!” I didn’t dare move. I heard David search the room, and eventually leave. I exhaled in relief and looked around the attic. It was pitch black, and it had an ominous tone to it. Yet, it was better than being beaten to bloody pulp by David. Suddenly, I heard a whisper. I didn’t answer in danger of alerting David, but I got up, and tried to find the source. “Edward” the whisper called, in a deep American accent. “Jared?” I whispered back.'''

“Over here.”

'''The voice kept guiding me, for what seemed like an eternity. Once I finally found the source, I saw the face of something that had been tormenting me ever since I had set foot into the city.'''

 

'''It had a pale, round face, with the only facial features being two black voids as eyes, nearly as big as its face. Its eyes pierced through me, without pupils. It had long, dark hair, that seemed to move as if it was in the wind, that reached down to the floor. It had amputated arms and legs, and a torn dress as small as its torso, covered in dirt. As I came into its gaze, I couldn’t move a muscle. I just stood there, staring into its immense dark eyes. I knew what this was. This was Kinfroket.'''

 

'''Suddenly, a long dark tentacle extruded from the creature’s back, and swiftly wrapped around me, with a loose grip. As soon as it touched me, a wave of fatigue hit me, and I could feel my eyelids begin to rest. I tried to remove it, but I couldn’t find the strength to rip it off, despite the loose grip. Another tentacle from the creature wrapped around me. Another wave of fatigue hit me, and I could feel myself losing consciousness. More and more tentacles wrapped around me, until the only part of me not consumed by the tentacles was my eyes. As my vision faded, I could see the creature. It looked… satisfied.'''

 

'''I woke up, lying in a patch of grass. As I sat up, I began to make out my surroundings. I was in a forest, with moonlight shining in. Everything was incredibly devoid of saturation, as if it was in black and white. I got up and began to wander around the forest. As I walked through, pangs of nausea hit me constantly. The paths seemed to shift, and I quickly found myself lost. After countless strolls, I found another patch of grass, different to the one I started on. However, on the patch of grass, I saw something sinister.'''

 

'''There was a group of people, holding hands, standing in a circle. As I got closer, I noticed their eyes were closed, and a viscous black liquid was seeping from their mouths. Suddenly, the people moved, and two of them disconnected hands, and made a gap. A gap meant for me. I entered the center of the circle, and I saw many different people. They all seemed to be around my age, except one of them. One of them, was a man who looked like an older version of me. However, one person truly caught my eye. Jared. As I got closer, I could hear the footsteps of the people, shuffling again. I looked behind me, and I saw the gap was closed. I looked back at Jared, and he began to give me a weak smile. I looked around, and I saw everyone was wearing that same smile. Then, they began to cry. I looked back at Jared, and heard a whisper coming from Jared. “Please Edward. Help us.”'''

 

'''Suddenly, my eyes opened, and I saw the creature, wrapping more tentacles around me. I felt my strength returning, and I tore the tentacles off of me. I ran to the attic entrance and fell down. The first thing I saw was David, blocking my path. “There you are Edward!” David growled. Unexpectedly, I began to feel sick. “When I’m done with you, they won’t even be able to find your body!” David taunted. Yet, I had an idea. As he raised his fist, I felt bile in my throat crawl up, and I spewed. In David’s face.'''

 

'''As he fell to the ground, I raced out of the room, and headed to the kitchen. As soon as I got there, I saw that goddamn frog puppet, sitting on the kitchen table. I remembered when I first saw it, I was filled with amusement. Now, I wanted to tear it to bits. “You son of a bitch...” I mumbled under my breath. Just as I said that, the frog puppet began to giggle. “What’s so funny, huh?!” I screamed. It just laughed louder, and louder, until it was maniacally cackling. I saw something else next to it. The lighter Jared gave me. As soon as I grabbed it, something grabbed me, and tore me back. I looked behind me, and saw the creature, and a wave of exhaustion hit me again.'''

 

'''Another tentacle wrapped around me. I tried to light the lighter, but my thumb kept slipping. Another tentacle wrapped around me. My thumb kept slipping, and I felt my eyelids grow heavy. Once I had finally lit the lighter, I was nearly enveloped in tentacles. My arm was the only part not engulfed in tentacles. “Thanks Jared.” I whispered underneath my breath, before with all the strength I had left, I threw the lighter at the frog. I felt heat behind me, and I saw the creature, Kinfroket, burning. I slid across the kitchen floor and moved away from Kinfroket. Once it was nearly engulfed in flames, the creature reached out to me one more time, before burning into ash.'''

 

Well anyway, I better try and wrap this up quick.

 

'''I woke up in a hospital bed, with David, and many of my co-workers standing over me. They were incredibly apologetic for their actions, and many of them gave me gifts. One of them even gave me a bottle of wine. David decided to give me a week off work and told me that he would apologize to Jared too, and give him a week off work. The next day I got out of the hospital, and I decided to visit my hometown, as the week off work gave me that opportunity.'''

 

'''Once I got there, I saw Eric, walking down the avenue. As I was talking to him, he always would get distracted, and look away. When I tried to tell him about the good times we had together, he explained to me in a monotone voice how in those moment, he didn’t truly feel like himself, ever since he was a child. However, Anna was worse. When I saw her, I immediately noticed a tone of annoyance in her voice. She told me that ever since I was born, she had no clue why she was nice to me. She described it as “like having no control over yourself.” During the entire conversation, she expressed hatred for me, and in the end sprayed me with a hose, to make me go away. I eventually came across my mother’s house, and decided to have a word with her, about giving me the frog puppet.'''

 

'''When I saw my mother, she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, despite the fact it was midday. She was overjoyed to see me, and I asked her about the puppet. However, something was seriously off about her. I asked why she was out of character, and her response surprised me. Similar to Anna’s answer, she said she didn’t have control over herself giving the puppet to me, and said ever since my father went missing, she lost her control. When I told her I burnt the puppet, she was even happier. Eventually, the guy who I saw in the forest, and who looked like an older version of me came at our door, and my mother instantly ran over to him. Apparently, that man is called Jake, and is my father, and he never ran away. According to him, when I was born, my parents were gifted a frog puppet from the nurse, and my mother put it in the basement. The night after I was born, Jake was getting the frog puppet from the basement for me, and he disappeared. That was the point where my mother took care of me as a single mother. After the explanation, I was confused, and decided to return to the city.'''

 

'''Once I got to the city, I saw Jared, walking out of my apartment. I ran over to Jared, and reunited with him, after he had gone missing for a month or so. We decided to go to the burger joint for afternoon tea, and I thought it was a good opportunity to discuss with Jared what had happened. “So, Jared, what exactly happened to you?” I asked.'''

'''“Well, it was on the day everyone was staring at me,” he started, “work had ended, and I was walking back to my apartment. However, I noticed on my doorstep, a small little green frog puppet. Suddenly, I felt something wrap around me, and began to feel tired. After more and more things wrapped around me, I fell asleep. And today, I finally woke up. In the hospital.”'''

'''“Alright then. That frog puppet was gifted to me by my mother.”'''

“Do you still have it?”

“Nah, I burnt it.”

“But why, exactly?”

'''“Well, ever since you left, people have started to act rude, disrespectful and even violent towards me. One night, I was attacked by David, and I realised there was something wrong with the thing. However, once I burnt the frog puppet, everyone was very apologetic.”'''

“Everyone else has said the same things to me.”

“Well, you’re the paranormal expert Jared, so what do you think happened to everyone?”

'''“Considering I’ve known these people for years, Eddie, I don’t ever think anyone of my coworkers would act like that. Don’t call me a skeptic, but I think the frog puppet was taking control of everyone in this city. It made everyone really rude to us, to mess with us.”'''

'''It sounded a bit obnoxious, but after the experience I had endured, it seemed plausible. “Well, I returned to my hometown today, and everyone is acting different to how they acted before I came here. As a matter of fact, some of the people I know there went even far to say they had no control over themselves.” I explained.'''

“How long have you had this puppet?” Jared insightfully asked.

“From what I know, it’s been in the basement for my whole life.”

'''Jared suddenly looked down in shock. “Edward, I think that thing’s been pulling the strings for your entire life.” '''

 

'''Mum, Dad, Eric, Anna, David, Rachael and Jared, if you’re reading this, let this be an explanation on what has been happening. Maybe you’ll all understand. But, if you’re someone else, you have two choices. Believe me or think this is all bullshit. I honestly don’t care. Because the truth is, the thing is dead. It doesn’t matter anymore. To me, nothing matters anymore.'''  