Was it worth it

“Was it really worth it?” He asked himself that question every single day.

He found the little black book in a hidden compartment in his grandfathers desk. It had a series of numbers next to dates going forward at least twenty years that appeared to be lottery numbers. At the end of the book there was a warning that read “Never win more than $20,000 or IT will come for you”

He looked at the book and discovered that the numbers had all been the winning lottery numbers for the dates listed. This left him with only two questions. If his grandfather had this book why did he not seem to be wealthy and what did the book mean by “IT”? The question that bothered him the most was why hadn’t his grandfather ever mentioned the black book to him before.

A few weeks went by and once he was unable to resist the urge he played the first few in the next set of lottery numbers so that his winnings wouldn’t exceed $20,000. He wasn’t certain that he believed but the warning had shaken him nevertheless. He paid off some of his debts and breathed a sigh of relief. He promised himself that that was the end of it and he put the little black book away.

After months the money had dried up and he decided that it was worth the risk. He removed the book from its hiding place and bought a lottery ticket for the date and won millions but immediately knew that he would find no relief this time. The warning flashed in his mind and seemed to rip as if a lock were being broken. He tried to push it aside but the feeling of dread lingered and wouldn’t fade no matter how much he wanted it to.

He spent millions on the best security systems and guards with trained dogs for his mansion who assured him that there was nothing to worry about.

But every night he could hear footsteps and a voice in his head that whispered “Was it worth it?” Every night it got a little bit louder and he knew it was getting closer. Every morning the guards checked the security cameras but saw no sign of what the man had heard.

Wanting to protect the next unwitting fool he tried to destroy the little black book but found that it was gone and all that was left was the warning page that had most of the writing blacked out. The only remaining words on the page that he could still read was “IT will find you”.

It has been five years since he ignored the warning and the voice seemed to be right beside him now. He had tried everything he could think of. He moved into a new mansion and even lived on a yacht for half a year but still the footsteps continued now accompanied by wet footprints that lead to his bedside. He knew that he wouldn’t have much longer until he finally came face to face with “IT” and he was absolutely terrified.

On the final night he finally got his long overdue answer to what “IT” was. “IT”turned out to be a creature that resembled a tall slender man in an old well worn black duster with a crumpled top hat. He couldn’t make out any features other than a set of red sinister eyes. It raised his face to the light and With a crooked grin it whispered in the voice that had haunted him for the last five years “So tell me. Was it worth it?”