The Mystery Box Containing Deadly Secrets

The Box arrived with a loud thud, catching Robert by surprise as he stepped out onto the porch. A medium-sized square package, about the size of a shoebox, covered in bloody fingerprint smudges.

Robert’s heart raced while wondering who had sent the package. The bloodstains on the Box were an obvious message. Peeling back the tape, the Box revealed two objects inside and a bloodstained note with the words “YOU HAVE 3 DAYS”. Robert’s mind raced to make sense of what was happening. Who had sent this package? What did they want?

As he bent down towards the package, trying to puzzle it all out, Robert heard a loud buzzing noise coming from overhead. The drone crashed into a tree after flying away. - what was happening?

Robert tried to determine if anyone was nearby. The neighborhood was quiet, with the birds singing and no neighbors in sight. Robert went inside and placed the package on the kitchen table. The content - a small transparent Box and an archaic object covered in strange symbols. These things were very intriguing. Robert was a historian with 20 years of experience deciphering ancient text.

Robert scratched his head while looking over at the bookshelf in the living room. Books about ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and old Christian symbolism were staring back at him. There weren’t books with the same symbolism.

He was sitting in the living room trying to understand the note. The number 3 was written in red ink, and he wondered if the coloring had a specific meaning. He noticed that the writing on the strange object looked archaic.

Sitting in the living room, he was trying to decode the message. A loud knock sounded throughout the room. While Robert’s heart skipped a beat, he slowly stood up and opened the door, but there wasn’t anyone there. Maybe it was paranoia and went back to his favorite chair. There was another knock soon after. He was certain someone was there. he opened the door and peered outside, but there wasn’t anyone there.

The knocking continued for a few minutes until it stopped. Robert was trying to figure out what was happening when he locked the door. The paranoia took over Robert’s body. He grabbed the package and threw the things inside and his car keys from the kitchen table. Robert opened the door and looked around to see if there was anyone there. There was nothing to see, so he ran to his car.

As the rain fell, it looked like a flood was forming outside his door. With no hesitation, he turned the ignition and sped away into the dark, away from the house.

He drove for hours, trying to distance himself from the events unfolding. He needed time to think about what was happening.

Robert stopped at a rest stop and got out of the car. He walked around for a while, trying to clear his head. The past days’ events were swirling around in his head, and he couldn’t make sense of it all. He wanted to wake up. He seemed like he was in a nightmare. But this was real - it was happening to him.

As he came back to the rest stop, a thought struck him: the library. He spun away in his car, and towards the university library.

As he arrived at the university, he could barely see out the car window. Running up the steps and pushing through the doors, he saw Spencer, the security guard.

“Robert, shouldn’t you be home in this weather? Classes are not until Monday”.

“Good evening Spencer” Robert replied. The rainwater covered his sweat. “I need to look at some books in the library... it’s for some research that needs to be done before Monday,” He lied.

“Of course Robert, and you are in luck. Emma is also here. She’s been here all day, so you won’t be alone. Just come to my office when you both are finished, so I can set the alarm.”

“Of course,” Robert replied as he almost ran away.

Emma was just the person to ask about these unidentified carvings. She was also an expert in her field of deciphering ancient texts. But he was afraid to mix her into his situation without knowing what was going on.

He approached her, not wanting to startle her. “Emma,” he said, “I need your help.” “Good evening Robert, what are you doing here so late... and in this weather?” She replied. “I need your help with something. I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s connected to these carvings.” Robert showed her the mysterious object.

“Let me look,” she said, taking the object. She looked at it, turning it over. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s not like any ancient text I’ve ever seen.”

“Can you help me figure out what it is?” Robert asked.

“I’ll try,” she said, “but I can’t promise anything.” She sat down at the desk and examined the object more closely.

Robert sat down next to her, waiting anxiously for any information she could give him. He hoped maybe she could help him make sense of this nightmare he was living in.

“I think I might have seen these types of carvings before. Let me just check something” Robert went over to one bookshelf and pulled out a book. He thumbed through it before finding what he was looking for. “Here, look at this”

Emma looked at the book and then back at the object. “Yes, they look very similar,” Emma replied. “But I can’t be sure without more information. Where did you find this?”

Robert hesitated, not wanting to tell her the whole story. But he knew he had to trust someone, and she was the only one he could think of. “I found it in my house,” he mumbled.

“Your house?” Emma said, surprised. “How did it get there?”

“This is going to sound strange, but a drone delivered a package and dropped it on my lawn,” Robert replied.

“A drone?” Emma said, her brow furrowed. “That makes little sense.” She looked back at the object, deep in thought.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Robert said, “but I swear it’s the truth. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I know these carvings are connected to whatever is happening to me.”

“I need to do some more research,” Emma said, “but I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, you should keep those things hidden. If someone is sending you these things, they might not be friendly.”

Robert nodded, understanding her logic. He didn’t want to involve Emma any further, but he knew he needed her help. For now, he would keep the objects hidden and wait for her to get back to him with more information. Hopefully, she could help him make sense of this whole situation.

Thank you for your help, Emma,” he said as he got up to leave. Robert tripped over a chair and dropped the transparent box. The lid came off and a loud thunder erupted at the same time the lid came off. Robert picked up the box and phased around the library, looking for books with the same characters as the mysterious object.

A half hour went by when Emma called out to Robert.

“I found it! come and look at these three books. These are not ancient writings, as you might think, Robert. They are Demonic ritual carvings..” They both stood in silence for a moment, taking in the new information.

“What does this mean?” Robert asked, as his heart raced.

“I’m not sure,” Emma replied, “but I think it might be connected to calling a demonic presence.”

Robert nodded, his mind racing with the implications of what she had said. Demonic ritual carvings… it sounded too crazy to be true. Who in their right mind would be sending him these ominous things?

“We need to find out more about this: Do you know anything about Demonic rituals and symbolism?” Emma asked.

Robert stood for a moment thinking, “I have never had any relevant texts about demonic subjects. I am baffled that someone would even send this to me...”

“Well, I know father Thomas. He was our family priest. Maybe he can help us to understand these objects?” Robert said.

“That’s a good idea,” Emma replied. “I’ll come with you.”

Robert nodded, grateful for her support. Together, they left the library room.

“Oh wait, we must go to the security office to tell Spencer we are leaving. He wanted to lock up after us,” Robert remembered. Emma nodded.

As they went down the hallway, the light was flickering, and it felt as if was getting colder.

“I am freezing!” Emma said, rubbing her arms.

“Me too. come on we need to hurry up and find Spencer,” Robert said with a sense of urgency in his voice. They both began to run down the hallway toward the security office.

When they arrived, they saw the door open as they walked in and saw something that was supposed to be Spencer... Emma screamed and ran out of the room. Robert tried to follow her, but something was holding him back.

He felt paralyzed by fear as he looked at the lifeless body of Spencer. There was a large gash from his throat down to his stomach, and his eyes were wide open in terror. Blood was everywhere, pooling on the surrounding floor.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut and Robert was alone in the room with Spencer’s body. He felt a presence behind him, and he turned around to see a figure cloaked in black standing there. The figure reached out and touched Robert’s forehead, and he felt a surge of energy course through his body.

The last thing he saw before everything went black was the figure’s face, twisted in a sadistic grin.

When he woke up, he was lying on the floor of the hallway. Emma was crouched next to him, looking worried.

“What happened?” she asked. “After I ran out, I saw you standing in the security office, and then the door slammed shut and I heard you scream. I came back and pushed the door open and found you passed out on the floor.”

Robert sat up, trying to remember what had happened. He saw the gruesome image of Spencer’s body flash before his eyes.

“Spencer is dead,” he said, his voice shaking. “And there was someone else in the room with me. A figure in black.”

Emma’s eyes widened in fear. “What figure? I only saw Spencer’s body and the blood on the wall behind him,” Emma replied.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I couldn’t see its face,” he lied, “But it touched my forehead, and I felt this surge of energy go through me.”

Emma was silent for a moment, digesting this information. “We need to get out of here! Where is the church of this father Thomas that you know? Is your car outside?” Emma’s questions were morphing into an incoherent mush of words. Robert’s head had taken a blow that left a ringing sound in his ears.

“Yes, it’s parked out front of the library,” Robert replied.

“Let’s go then!” Emma said, standing up and helping Robert to his feet.

They hurried out of the library and got into Robert’s car. As they drove away, Robert couldn’t help but feel that they were being watched. And he had a feeling that whoever killed Spencer was coming after them next.

“Robert you are shaking,” Emma noticed. “Sorry, Emma but I need to stop and get my bearings right” Robert replied.

They saw the sign for a diner a few miles ahead. “Let’s stop there and get a cup of coffee and maybe think this through a little more. I took the books from the library. Maybe they can tell us something,” Emma said. Robert was out of words and just nodded.

They pulled into the parking lot, and Robert could feel his hands shaking. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. “Let’s go inside,” Emma said, taking his hand.

As they walked into the diner, they were both silent. There was something about this place that made them both feel uneasy. The only sound was the jukebox in the corner, playing an old song from the fifties.

They sat down in a booth, and Emma asked the waitress for two cups of coffee. “So, do you think those books will tell us anything?” Robert asked.

“I don’t know,” Emma replied. “But it’s worth a shot.

The waitress brought their coffee, and they both took a sip. Robert looked around the diner, and his eyes fell on the jukebox in the corner. There was something about that song that was familiar to him. He couldn’t quite place it, but it was nagging at the back of his mind.

“That song,” he said, pointing at the jukebox. “I know that song.”

“What song?” Emma asked.

“The one that’s playing right now,” Robert replied. “I can’t remember where I’ve heard it before, but it’s been stuck in my head for the past few days.”

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Emma said.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Robert replied. “I think that song is trying to tell me something.”

He got up from the booth and walked over to the jukebox. He put a few coins into the slot and selected the song. As it started to play, he closed his eyes and tried to remember where he had heard it before.

And then it hit him. The song was playing on the radio the night that his parents were killed.

“That’s it,” he said, turning to Emma. “I remember now. This was the song that was playing on the radio the night my parents were killed.”

“What are you talking about?” Emma asked, confused.

“My parents were killed in a car accident when I was a kid,” Robert replied. “I was in the car with them, but I survived. This song was playing on the radio right before the accident happened.”

“That’s a coincidence,” Emma said.

“No, it’s not,” Robert replied. “This day has been strange altogether, everything that is happening, this can’t be a coincidence. Why here? Why right now? it is like something here knows me...”

As soon as he said those words another big thunder burst came from the sky outside, and the rain smashed against the windows making them bounce back and forth in their frame.

“We have to get going, we can’t stay here,” Robert said with a scared voice, and Emma nodded in response.

They paid the waitress and hurried outside to the car. As they got in, Robert looked at the diner one last time. And he could have sworn he saw somebody watching them from the window. But when he blinked, the figure was gone.

“Did you see that?” he asked Emma, but she was already in the car.

“See what?” she replied.

“Never mind,” Robert said, shaking his head. “Let’s just get out of here.”

As they drove away, Robert couldn’t help but feel that they were being followed. He just had a feeling that something had been following them ever since the library.

The church felt like a tall shadow reaching toward the sky as they drove into the parking lot. Robert could not shake the feeling he had since the diner. As they got out of the car, he looked around for any sign of someone watching them. But there was nothing.

“Come on,” Emma said, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go in and see if father Thomas is here”

Robert took one last look around before following her into the church. He had a strange feeling that something here was watching them, but whatever it was, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He just hoped that father Thomas would be able to help them figure out what was going on.

As they crossed the threshold of the church, father Thomas came towards them with a warm smile.

“Welcome, my children,” he said. “What brings you here so late in the evening and in this weather.”

Robert and Emma both felt a wave of comfort wash over them as they looked into the priest’s kind eyes. They both knew that whatever was going on, father Thomas could help them.

Father Thomas was an old man, but he still had a sharp mind. They told him everything that had happened, starting from the strange objects that had been sent to Robert, to the attack at the university. The old man listened carefully, his brow furrowed in concentration. When they finished, he was silent for a moment, thinking.

“These are very powerful objects,” he said. “But I do not know why they were sent to you, Robert. Do you know who sent them?” father Thomas asked.

“No, I am trying to figure that out, and what it means,” Robert replied.

“We need your help, father,” Emma said pleadingly. “Someone killed the university guard, and they came after us, too. We don’t know who to trust or where to turn.”

Father Thomas was silent for a moment, thinking. “I will help you,” he said.

He took the objects and went into the room behind the altar, while Robert and Emma sat in the front church row and waited.

The flames of the candles hanging on the walls began to go out one by one. Emma looked scared at Robert as the bright church room became darker and darker.

Emma quickly got down on her knees facing the church door.

"Hide" she whispered to Robert. Robert crunched down beside her.

A door beside them at the end of the row began to open and close slowly, and it kept opening and closing. It made a strange noise...

They could see a shadow inside, but it was not moving....

-To be continued...