Tales of the Scarecrow

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It was a dark and rainy night. As usual, I lived alone in my apartment. Watching YouTube videos and the norm. It was my only happiness. I'm anti-social and my circle of friends is very limited. I watched different videos. From Gaming, to Documentary, to Funny videos. My small PC entertained me more than enough.

Then out from nowhere, a pop-up covered my screen.

I took no time and I closed the ad instantly. Who the heck likes pop-ups? They're very annoying. I continued watching some videos and after a minute or two, the ad returned.

"This is irritating me." I said, closing the ad back again.

My YouTube streaming was smooth sailing for another few minutes, until the ad returned back once more. Pissed off, I closed the ad back again, only to be redirected to a certain annoying website.

"Now it's sending me to pornsites." I muttered.

I was about to close the page. Until something caught my eye. The pop-up page itself was totally typical. But a certain icon changed my choice. It was another link to a new page.

A very peculiar page.

Curiosity got the better of me. I clicked the link below the icon and a new page surfaced.

It was a forum page.

It was filled with discussions. Ranging from small topics to huge issues. It captured my attention, and I even linked my social media account in the site. I joined a few forums and had fun learning about different things. I dived deeper, until I found a forum with only one member inside. I could've avoided it, but the unusual title piqued my interest.

"HOW DO PEOPLE DIE?"

It creeped me out. At first, I dismissed it as a joke but my mind was telling me something else. With a shiver, my finger clicked the cursor and I got inside the forum. I stared at the date and I found it very strange. The forum was on for six years and the creator was still active in it. It was very eerie and I suddenly got a gut feeling that I should close the page quickly. It's almost midnight and rain was heavily pouring outside my window. It's been active for so long but people have been avoiding it, so I thought it was an unkempt topic. I was about to close everything,

Then the forum admin started the topic.

"How do people die?"

I thought it was peculiar. There were no previous messages, and the forum was already running for six years. What's more, the creator is still in it and is very active. I replied as his question drove me out from my drowsiness.

"What do you mean?" I typed.

There was no response for a moment. I waited patiently, and after another minute he replied.

"You can know about how you die."

I was starting to think that maybe this page is controlled by an A.I bot who typically replies with scripted answers, that I am just talking to a computer. I set my thoughts thinking that the person behind the screen I'm talking to is only a computer program created from ones and zeros, so I played his game.

"Okay. So, how will I die?" I typed.

Then after I sent my message, I got redirected to another site.

A site with a blank black page with only a video clip on the middle. Then creepy messages popped up around the background of the screen.

"HELP ME. . ."

Something was definitely wrong. My body started to sweat and my fingers started to tremble. Hesitantly, I opened the clip.

Watching the video was something that I regret.

In the first two minutes, all I ever saw was a blurred video quality with woman's voice crying and pleading for help. The audio was static and covered with wails and screeches that only sent chills down my spine.

"Please... help... need... get... out... kill... me... can't... take.... any.... longer..." Was the jumbled words she muttered.

My heart was pounding in and out of my chest and my body was washed in sweat. I tried closing the browser but my fingers were frozen. I couldn't move a muscle.

Then in the following minutes, everything changed.

The video screened death in various ways. People were getting killed. Some were mutilated, some had their heads chopped off, and some got killed in grotesque unimaginable ways. They were all crying and saying the same thing.

"HELP."

The next minute, the message popped up again.

"THIS IS HOW YOUR LIFE ENDS."

In the next minute of the video, I saw myself in my apartment, sitting on my chair. The window outside was also raining and I was watching the same video. Seconds later, an unknown character stood behind me. The "me" in the video turned around and suddenly made a scream from terror. Then the masked person raised a gun and shot directly at my head, blood splattering behind.

Adrenaline washed over me and I instantly turned the PC off. I could not stop my self from shivering anymore. Did the last part just show me my death? The time was midnight, and it was also raining outside. Something was creeping me out. Was the video real? As my eyes focused at the empty screen, I saw a silhouette. Someone was standing behind me.

Then I made my last scream.