It was nearly 6 years later that I finally found the original story that Dad told me that night. It was buried deep inside an old history book in the abandoned library. Don't ask me how I got in or how I know- I just 'figured it out'.
He modified the original story so I wouldn't be a panicking eight year old who had nightmares for two weeks. The story he told was much more...innocent.
Apparently, the Masked Man would take and kill his victims and hide the bodies somewhere in the woods. And there was no record of how many bodies he has, or if he's still out there, waiting for his next victim.
"Okay, that's enough supernatural shit for one day..." I closed the book and slipped it into my backpack, carefully stepping over fallen pieces of wood to get out of the library. Since they built the new library in town (and right next to the school district), there was no need for this historic site, so they let it go to rot, along with every book inside of it.
I stepped out of a hole in the wood, and came out to a forest, with my bike perched against a tall, mossy tree. I strapped my backpack around my waist and mounted my bike, following the trail back to civilization.
I came across a gravel road and rode on it until I came to a suburban development, not far from my home. I passed by some of the kids from my school, along with a police car and a few playful dogs who wanted to chase me.
I jumped off of my bike as I came up to my driveway, with my Mom's car sitting in isolation on the side of the street. She must be dropping by for lunch.
"Hey Mom," I walked inside, my backpack still strapped to me. Mom looked up from her work papers and took a sip of her juice.
"Hi, sweetie," She greeted, smiling her ruby lips. "What were you out doing?"
"Just, you know, exploring," I lied. "Are you here for lunch?"
"Well, yes, and I also had to pick up some papers for work that I forgot this morning." She scoffed. "I better get going. Don't do anything stupid," She smiled and kissed my cheek. "Love you, honey."
"Love you too, Mom." The door closed behind her as I jogged upstairs to my room. I kicked open the door and unhooked my backpack. "Let's make a trip to the woods." I said aloud, grabbing my outdoorsmen backpack off of the wall. I loved to explore and build things in the woods behind our house. Dad and I built a little tree house/cottage there last summer for when I wanted to spend a night in the woods without being too far away from home. I usually spend a majority of my time there.
I went downstairs and grabbed some snack foods and my music theory homework. "Might as well do this while I'm there," I thought, checking to make sure I had everything I needed. I opened the patio door and wandered to the backyard.
The lush grass grazed against my legs as I made my way to a forest trail. The forest wasn't that thick, a lot of light streaming through the tree, but the forest was huge. It made it great for exploring children.
I followed my dirt path onto a back dirt road, not many people knowing about. Trees lines the sides of the road, leaving a clear view of the sky. I trekked along, almost to my cottage. I came to a smaller dirt path jutting out from the road, and followed it to my cottage. It was hidden among the trees, and blended in with the valley.
I went into my cottage and placed my bag down on a wooden chair. There were so many things I could do while I was here, but what should I start with?
***
Hours passed, and I was sprawled out on the floor, looking up at the ceiling after I completed a few tasks. Finished my music theory assignment, played some violin music, researched more about the Masked Man, and finally took a nap. I would call this day a success.
I started to pack up my things and made my way home before it got too dark. The house lights weren't on, which meant my parents were not home yet. That made my day even better.
"Let me check the mail..." I waltzed around the side yard to the mailbox and retrieved the mail. I walked up the front porch steps and stumbled upon an interesting sight.
There was a box, perched up against the front door, with a circle slashed with an X through it, written in sharpie over a white address label. All personal information was blacked out, and on the box read WATCH ME. I could only think of this being a cruel prank. I picked up the box and went inside.
I dropped the mail onto the kitchen counter and went upstairs to my room and closed the door. I sat down at my desk and took out my pen knife and sliced the tape undone. I opened up the cardboard to see dead leaves on the inside, and on the bottom was a USB port.
"Well, whoever this was just lost a really good USB drive..." I thought, plugging it into my laptop. There was only one thing on this port: a video file. I downloaded it and began to watch:
The frame started off black but then it revealed a scene: me sitting in the cottage while playing violin. The camera was filming my back side as I sat on the floor. I immediately got creeped out.
"Whoa...what the fuck?!" I jumped, as the camera moved about, but still staying focused on me. I could hear someone's breathing from behind the camera, but it sounded muffled. I was scared. Something was watching me.
"Okay," I yelled. "That's a funny prank, you can give it up now..." I turned around in my chair and faced my room. I breathed out, and unplugged the flash drive and placed it on my desk. I heard the front door slam shut. My parents were home.
***
I went downstairs for dinner and talked to my parents about day to day things. We then watched a TV show and I finally went up to my room for bed. I gazed at my desk after I came out of my bathroom and noticed that the flash drive from earlier was gone.
