The Dark Side of YouTube

Part 2 - Our New Reality

We didn't get much time to start for the second Kathryn hit record, everything went to shit. The building began to shake. Screams were heard, but no one could move. My wings disintegrated to nothing.

I fell to the ground, hugging my knees to my chest. The familiar ringing of my head came back stronger than ever. The want to scream just as strong. A pain in my back struck me. I threw my head back, screaming as loud as my voice could. All I could feel is pain and agony.

Suddenly, everything stopped.

I panted heavily, looking around at everyone. Mark had a red echo of himself much like the one in the videos. Same went for Sean. Tyler and Ethan had the same as Mark while Felix matched Sean. They hadn't looked towards me yet. I looked back to find real, black, feathery wings on my back. I swallowed heavily.

"What's going on?" Sean asked. His voice deeper. He seemed to twitch uncontrollably. I looked at everyone in a panic.

"I don't know." Mark replied, his voice much deeper and echoing. My breathing grew erratic, much like it does when I get those headaches.

"What the fuck?" I turned to Felix who finally noticed my craziness. His voice, much like Sean's, is deeper as well. He also twitched wildly. I bit my lip, scrambling backwards. I knocked over a camera or two with the wings.

"Ashley, you need to calm down." Amy encouraged me. She started walking to me. I flinched, shielding myself. My wings knocked her back. Mark was quick to catch her. Tears flooded my eyes. Ethan appeared in front of me having been ten feet away. I pressed myself against a wall.

"It's okay, Ashley, none of us know what's going on." Ethan whispered. His voice is a bit deeper with a small echo. He kneeled down before me. I looked at him, taking in the new appearance. Ethan's outline of his shadow is blue. Tyler's is silver and Felix's is white. My panic seemed to settle as I looked around. I blinked a few times. I slowly realized that we had become the alter egos we created.

"Since all of us have strange voices, let's here yours." Tyler said. His voice is more like Mark's than Ethan. I ran my tongue over my teeth, feeling two on the top that are sharper than they were. I didn't want to open my mouth. I shook my head. I looked down. Ethan sat down next to me.

"Is Amy okay?" I asked softly. My voice is raspy and demonic like. Ethan's eyes widened a bit. I'm pretty sure he was the only one capable of hearing me.

"Yeah, she is." Ethan whispered back. "What about you? Are you okay?" I slowly shook my head.

"Who is? Look at us. We've become the monsters we've created. We created these characters for fun, but they've taken over." I said slowly, terrified by the idea. My eyes landed on the camera that is still recording. I scrambled to it, stopping the recording. The whole room flashed white before everything became normal once again.

"What the fuck just happened?" Sean asked. His voice is normal again. We all looked at one another. My wings are back to the fake ones and the sharp teeth are gone.

"She stopped the recording." Ethan answered as I hurriedly took off my wings. I ran into the bathroom to take off my dress and get back into my normal clothes. Once I left the bathroom, I looked at everyone who still seemed to be in shock and confusion.

"We need to figure out what just happened." Mark told us. "So, when Kathryn hit record, an earthquake came. We were all screaming. Then, it stopped and we all became our alter egos. Ashley stopped the recording and we are normal again."

"What if we hit record again?" Tyler suggested.

"Well, Ashley isn't in costume, so we could see if we can record without them." Felix said. Kathryn hit record. The ground didn't shake and nobody screamed, but they did transform back. I didn't. Kathryn turned the recording off and they shifted back to normal.

"So, we can record as long as we aren't in costume." Sean finalized. Amy came up to me with a scared smile.

"Did I hurt you?" I asked quietly. She shook her head.

"I'm just startled." She whispered in response. I softly nodded, giving her a hug.

"I'm sorry."

~ Third Person

Everyone returned to their homes hours later. For some reason, each of them looked into a mirror at the same time. Instantly, they were their darker half.

Ashley blinked a few times, looking down. She looked back up again and she was normal.

Until the screams of agony returned.

That's part two! The reality of the situation.

Peace.
Love.
Out.