The Things That Follow

“This place is creepy.” Brad said as they entered the abandoned mansion.

“It’s perfect!” Emmit replied. “Just the kind of place people love to watch other people explore.” Brad walked around in awe as he stared at all the dust covered statues and warped paintings. They scaled the twisting flights of stairs as Emmit looked into his phone’s camera and talked into the small microphone to all his potential audience. Brad paid no mind to him as he explained the location they were exploring that day. Brad couldn’t believe what all he was seeing. He thought the home him and his parents lived in was big, but it had nothing on this.

He marveled at all the expensive jewelry and clothing that were left behind and scattered. Emmit had no shame in pocketing some of the items off camera.

Brad typically wasn’t too interested in urban exploration, but Emmit was obsessed and he was always more than willing to support his friend. This place, however, wasn not like the other places Emmit had dragged him to. This place was eerily elegant. He couldn’t help but to admire the entirety of the place, as well as the heavy feeling of something being off. He had never been so unsettled and yet intrigued before.

Emmit continued filming for a while, occasionally asking Brad for his input. Then they came across a small room, separate from the rest of the house. It reminded Brad of a shrine like you would see in movies or TV shows. Only there were no pictures. Just a single black book positioned on a pedestal. Brad picked it up and examined it. A little brass lock kept him from being able to open it. “What’s that?” Emmit asked excitedly.

“A book of some sort. I can't open it.

“Take it with. We can pick the lock later.”

“We shouldn’t be taking things.”

“Why? No one lives here. Obviously no one is going to miss it. Besides, It’ll make for a good reveal at the end of the video.” Emmit smiled at Brad expectantly. Brad sighed and put the little book in his pocket.

The rest of the time spent at the mansion felt even more off than before. Brad couldn’t explain it, but he knew they weren’t alone. “Can we hurry up and finish this thing?” Brad whined.

“Fine. Just give me a minute.” Emmit started wrapping up the video and Brad turned to look behind them. He could have sworn he had heard someone else speaking. “No way!” Brad heard Emmit squeal. He whipped his head around to see what was going on. Emmit was holding a briefcase. Stick around until my next video and we’ll show you what’s in the book and the suitcase!” Emmit said excitedly before finally ending his video.

“What do you think it is?” Emmit couldn’t contain his excitement as he began prying at the frail looking locks that kept it shut. Brad just watched. He had a bad feeling, but his curiosity was getting the better of him as well.

It didn’t take long before Emmit was opening the case and staring dumbfounded at its contents. “Well? What is it?” Brad asked.

Emmit turned the suitcase around, his mouth hanging wide open. Stacks of cash laid neatly inside. Brad couldn’t move. In his head the suitcase had a golden glow around it as he stared at all the green pieces of paper. “There has to be at least twenty thousand dollars in here!” Emmit’s voice cracked. Brad went to say something but Emmit put up a hand. “Remember. It’s been sitting here for years. No one will miss it. No one is to know about this. Got it?”

Brad thought for a minute. He wasn’t sure how moral it was, but he nodded his head. “Now let’s get out of here. The fans are gonna love this!”

Brad sat in the passenger seat of his friend’s beat up truck and skimmed through the footage to waste time. He made it to the part where he found the book and things began to get weird. Their image froze and suddenly they were surrounded by grey, faceless figures. The only other feature Brad noticed was their eyes. They too were black, but a halo of light encircled them. It was like looking into an eclipse.

They moved among his and Emmit’s frozen bodies. “Thief!” Brad dropped the camera and sat in terror.

“What was that?” Emmit asked annoyed. “Be careful! That camera was expensive. You good?” Brad took a breath and nodded. He replayed the video again. This time everything played as it should have. Confused and scared, he put the camera back in its case.

That night Brad laid in bed. The black book protruded from a zipper in his bag. His eyes were glued on it as his mind raced. He wanted to try and pick the lock. He felt he had to know what was in the book.

A light flicked on outside his bedroom door. Light poured in through the cracks. The air grew heavy. Brad could feel his heart speed up. He curled up into a ball and watched the light under the door. Fast, weighted footsteps teased him from outside. Then came the shadow. What looked like feet on the other side of the door interfered with the yellow glow. Brad heard what he could only explain as a low, guttural sound that was a mix between a growl and a scream. Then the door squeaked open. Brad witnessed the shadow grow as light spilled in the pitch black room. But the doorway was empty. Chris thought he was going to faint.

The light in the hallway flickered and in an instant he was surrounded by the gray figures from the video. Dozens of them encircled his bed. He felt the mattress shake and he held his breath.

Shallow breaths were being blown in his ear. He turned to stare at what had just crawled in bed next to him. He barely got a glimpse of the halo glow of the eyes before hands reached up through the pillow and forced his head straight. His eyes stared up at the ceiling that was beginning to crack. Small pieces of ceiling rained down.

The cracks grew wider and hand reached out, followed by another. Two of the glowing eyes became visible as the thing began pushing his way through the all too small hole in the ceiling, sharp fragments of wood and tore at the rubbery, gray flesh as the creature forced its way through. Brad tried screaming but felt what he thought was another hand clamp around his vocal cords.

“You took what was ours.” The wispy, demonic voice began. “If you do not return it, we will take from you.” The blank face of the creature was within inches from Brad’s face now. The image set before him began to change and the next thing he knew he was staring at his mother’s face, then his dad’s, and then his sister’s. Finally the face morphed into that of his best friend’s. Emmit’s face stared coldly at him. “Hurry.” The voice warned. Emmit’s face began to appear loose on the creature’s face and started to peel from the gray skin below, ultimately falling on to the side of Brad’s face. He managed a small shriek and everything was back to normal. There was no sign that what he had just witnessed was real except the face of his best friend that had fallen from the creature. He picked it up and noticed how different it was. The skin looked like it had been sitting in the desert sun for weeks with no moisture. The words Tick Tock were engraved on it.

Brad didn’t hesitate. He got dressed and grabbed his bag with the book in it and snuck out his bedroom window. For miles he walked until he stood before the abandoned structure they had explored just hours before. The figures watched him as he made his way through the giant manson, finally coming across the room where he had found the book. He placed it back on the pedestal and instantly the room began to spin. “Do not come back here.” The voices hissed. Then everything went black.

When Brad woke, he was outside his bedroom window. He rummaged through his bag, saw the book was gone, and breathed a sigh of relief. The images of those things kept flashing through his mind. What were they? Demons? Aliens? He decided it didn’t matter what they were. He never wanted to see them again.