Lady Luck: Hoodie x Reader

Chapter 9

            I tapped the pencil on the table as I stared at the blank sheet of paper, slouched over deep in thought. After spending most of the night thinking over my next move, I'd returned to the library the next morning with a new plan. Random searches didn't seem like they would be too effective given the limited time I had to use the computers, so instead I decided to take a more direct approach and ask about it.

           Hundreds of millions of people populate the internet. Surely someone knew something about this thing. The problem was just how to get their attention. My plan was simple: I'd post my story on Reddit and hope for the best. Reddit was a pretty big site after all, and the voting system on posts would guarantee some views. Sharing my story left me pretty apprehensive, though. Talking about it even online behind the mask of anonymity felt dangerous. But at this point, I was desperate for information, so eventually I pushed my doubts away and started writing.

            Fifty minutes and three sheets of paper later, I sat at the computer posting my final draft. I kept my tale as simple as possible, giving only details I thought they'd need. This involved not only the monster itself, but also my encounter with Hoody. I kept all details about him to a minimum, referring to him only as "the man in the ski mask" and telling how I'd blacked out while talking to him. Otherwise, though, I put the focus on describing my encounter with the monster and all of the symptoms I'd experienced.

            Even as I typed it, I knew that my story sounded ridiculous and unbelievable, especially as I got to the chase. Teleportation is a thing of science fiction and fantasy, and monsters themselves only appear in stories. The only reason I believed it was because I'd experienced it myself. However, I didn't care if it made me sound crazy or loony. I just wanted answers.

             Typing the draft took about fifteen minutes, editing it as I worked to make it flow smoother. After reviewing it for five more minutes to be sure it was good, I pressed submit and the post was made. With that done, I switched to Google to continue searching from there. No point in constantly hovering over the thread, I might as well do some research while I waited and periodically checked it.

            Unfortunately for me, by the time my hour was up the thread had only gotten a few comments, most of them just saying "interesting story" or "I don't know". To be fair, it was early on a Saturday so most people would be at work or sleeping in. Only time would tell if it would work. Sadly, though, I didn't have a chance to check the thread the next day. Summer weekends were pretty slow for the library, and this town happened to be the center of small town America. As such, they didn't bother opening on Sundays because no one goes there.

            While I was pretty anxious about finding out if there were any replies, it didn't take long for it to get pushed to the back of my mind. After all, I had plenty of other things to do and/or worry about. In fact, a brand new concern appeared the very next day, first thing in the morning. See, the previous night I went to sleep in my tent, all snug and cozy in my sleeping bag.

            When I opened my eyes, I saw the clear blue sky above me through a thick canopy of leaves.

              Startled by the sight, I started to sit up only to yelp as my hand touched nothing. The next few seconds were a blur. One second I was falling, and then I found myself clinging to a tree branch for dear life. A glance down revealed the ground to be ten feet below me, sending a shudder down my spine. No grogginess for me this morning. Death is much better at waking you up than a cup of coffee.