It's raining tonight, makes it hard for people to see the person that could be lurking in the shadows waiting to jump out and attack. The streets are getting dangerous especially for young girls to walk home. I pick up my pace hoping the splashes beneath my feet don't alert anyone close by. I keep my eyes ahead and carefully side eye all the shadows in between each building and alley. A bolt of lightning brightens the sky and I see a shadow in the darkness move, I pick up my pace. My feet move fast now, my head looking all around for any other person who could be looking to help.

More lightning brightens the sky, I use this opportunity to figure out what I should do...as quickly as I can I reach out and grab her arm and yank her to me "don't you dare scream" I say as I drag her back to the shadows of the alley way.

Once we are engulfed in darkness I whisper through the rain, "You really shouldn't be out here alone now should you darling..."

My prey is caught.

I'm cold, I am always cold now...it has seeped into my veins , into my bones, into my very being. I have made this corner of the room my own, it feels the most warm, the most safe.

I know I am not safe, I think maybe I am just used to it. The constant tests, the needles, and the incessant beeping beeping BEEPING all the time...

I don't remember my family, I think I had one but since I have been sick since birth I never got to know them. My life is four walls and a ceiling, stale food with no flavor and a gown in the most beautiful shade of salmon you can imagine....nurses try to be nice, but they have to be cause I'm dying. I have forgotten who I really am, this is me now.

Bound to a bed, a forgotten soul in a tortured body.

This is where it ends, right here in the grass with the cool breeze brushing against my face. My entire existence has come down to this very moment, of all the places I could have gone this had to be it. The drums in the distance sync to the beat of my heart, my tears dry on my cheeks as I quietly begin to cry. I had to be stubborn and independent and take this trip alone into the wilderness...I miss my family...I miss my dog.

The drums are getting louder now, closer. I can feel the blood trickle down my waist into the grass, I explore my side gripping the arrow debating if pulling it out will help or not...but it's too late, I can't run like this. I can hear them talking now, it's muffled...I don't think I am fully concious anymore, I am slipping into the in between. Rough hands grip my ankles pulling me through the grass, this is it...I focus on my hands gliding along the blades and weeds and I close my eyes.

Remember me...

I had driven down this road many times, It was how I had gotten to work everyday. I opt for this route cause the trees on either side are much better to look at than a boring highway full of cars. I work a regular 9-5 job with little to no excitement, but I do make good money. Just showing up to work looking good in a suit and acting confident while ass kissing your boss does wonders.

I have a wife Julia and two kids Nathan and Ethan, twin boys...I never expected to have kids let alone twins but honestly they are amazing. Julia is a great mom and wife, she works her ass off for this family and I appreciate that. She is so caring I often feel bad for the three bad habits I indulge in. She thinks I don't smoke any more; but I do. I also drink after work and she thinks I just work late...at least I am a faithful man. The cigarettes and booze help with the nonsense that plays in my head 24/7. Any bit of respite is welcome even if it has to be while intoxicated.

The drive this morning was nice, it was raining hard and the lightning and thunder were angry sounding. I liked days like this...it made everything quiet in my brain and muffled all sounds. I lit a smoke and took a big haul and exhaled some happiness. Off in the distance I saw a man hitch hiking, he was soaked to the bone and very rough looking. I pulled over just behind him and stopped, I felt apprehensive about picking him up for some reason but I also couldn't let him stand there and get soaked.

He turned around as I stopped and walked toward the driver side of the car, I rolled my window down "Hey man, you need a lift?" He smiled, hesitated a bit looking around then replied "yea I guess it's better than getting soaked". I unlocked the doors and he walked around to the passenger door and got in.

"My name is Oliver" said the man, "what's yours?" I smiled staring ahead still, "It won't make a difference if you know my name or not" I said quietly. He gave me a strange look and I reached down into the door compartment found my knife and swiftly stabbed Oliver in the throat. "You should be more careful on whose car you get into" I said. Oliver's gurgles grew louder and louder as he gripped his throat, blood pooling in his lap.

I turned up the radio, lit another cigarette and kept driving. I should probably get rid of this habit first.

It started with one at our farmhouse, she got off a bus and asked for our help, we helped cause she was old, she thanked us then she left. But one thing was different after she left, It only takes one small change for it to start. That is how they get you, they change something when you are not looking, It could be a new object that wasn't there before or they will change something you already own. It could be small or big, but the key is noticing it before it grows and becomes alive. If you can't figure out what is different you will have to wait for the first wave, that wave will come when the new object begins to move. Take that object and destroy it when u find it.

If the change you notice happens to a person then it's too late for them. Once they come; fighting is hard, they will come in packs of four or five and will do whatever it takes to get inside and kill you. Fighting is key though, if you want to stay alive but stay back and fight at a distance if you can.

Yes, they are like zombies but far stronger and they are smart, they will learn from you. Barricade everything, finish them off and hope the signs stop showing up and you get rid of them. My mom and I have been trying to get rid of ours for months now but they keep coming back, after the old lady left our farm life hasn't been the same.

The people at the small general store know about them too they have helped us and now it has spread to them too. Is it better to stick with them? ...Or does that mean a higher chance of things changing?...Will there be two signs for us to find or just one if we stick together? I guess there is only one way to find out....

March 6th 1992

I heard the noise again, I don't know what it is but it appears to be coming from the attic. This is the second night that I have been woken up by it, when I asked Mom and Dad about it they laughed and said I was probably dreaming. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake and I definitely was. The noise is a very light scratching, but not like from an animal or anything but as if something large and slow was trying to move around. It seemed to have stopped for now...i'm going to get some sleep.

March 14th 1992

The noise hadn't happened for a while now but it came back last night. It seemed to be coming from the attic again, which is right above my bedroom. It was also different somehow it was more frantic and almost sounded like there was multiple of the same noise. I'm thinking of going up to the attic tonight, my parents say it's just a raccoon and to stay out if I don't want to get rabies.

March 15th 1992

I woke up last night to the sound of muffled crying, I grabbed my flashlight and the butter knife I left on my plate from my after dinner snack as a weapon in case I ran into anything. There was a lock on the attic door, I don't ever remember it being there before but I was able to get it open using the bobby-pin that was holding my bangs out of my eyes. I don't know what I was expecting to find but it definitely wasn't 4 children chained to the walls each with their own mattress. It smelled of fecees and the air was hot and thick. Some of the kids where sitting some barely looked alive, They looked at me with terror in their eyes and started make frantic noises. I couldn't understand them at all and noticed their mouths were sewn shut. I slowly back up and ran out the door locking it again behind me and jumped into my bed to process what I just saw. I'm still trying to process this, I can't stop crying...I think one of the kids is a missing boy from last year...oh god oh god I need to lay down.

March 17th 1992

I spent yesterday avoiding my parents and trying to figure out what to do, why are they keeping the kids up there? They were so malnourished and some of them were missing limbs that had been haphazardly sutured closed. I need to come up with a plan something to save the kids...

March 18th 1992

Holy fuck, I need to get out of here I need to get to a police station. I think I know why the kids are here, my dad has been making these new recipes all summer and feeding it to our family, I knew I didn't like the taste, it was gamey and tough but he just kept saying that's what fresh meat tastes like....my parents are slowly eating the kids in the attic....limb by limb...oh my god...I can't stop shaking I think I'm in shock.

Shit my dad just called me to help him grab something from the attic, does he know I know?! He is going to kill me isn't he, if I don't make it out alive whoever finds these letters please share them with the police...wish me luck. I'm sorry I couldn't help the children...

January 2nd 2023 

"Hey Jessica, I found these weird letters stuck in the floor boards by the air vent", "it may be from an old owner, let's take a break from carrying all these boxes in and have a drink". Paul yelled from upstairs, "great idea" Lexi yelled back, "bring the letters and we can read them".....

All letters written by Brenda a 11 year old girl who lived in the Malory house with her family in 1992, several children's bodies were found the following summer along with two adults. The authorities deemed it as a house invasion with the killer at large, no killer was ever found the truth remained a mystery...until now

Death gave me a flower today I said no thank you and turned him away. He looked at me wth saddened eyes, As if my rejection sent him to his demise.

Death gave me a flower today, I laughed at him putting him on display. A single tear ran down his boney cheek, As if his hollow eye socket sprung a tiny leak.

Death gave me a flower today, In front of all his friends in the sick bay. I grabbed the flower between my two hands, And crushed it gently into a hundred strands.

Death did not come today, Perhaps I finally scared him away. My skin did hurt and my head felt hot, My eyes they ached, my stomach was in a knot.

Death came back and gave me a flower today, I took it this time smiling his way. He snapped his fngers and my body went slack, My eyes they fluttered and everything went black...

All the outside noises had vanished, it was quiet again. Amelie sat on the dirty mattress on the floor staring a the static on the Tv, it was the only possession she was allowed to have besides a thin torn blanket.

Most of the time the tv didn't work but every now and again a picture would come through suddenly and vanish just as quick. The stone walls of the cellar were damp and cold, it soaked through her bones making her feel perpetually ill.

Amelie had no idea how long she had been down there and she wondered if anyone at the shelter knew she was missing...of course not, no one cared for her...It had begun to rain again and the tiny barred window began to leak and sending water dripping down the wall. It was night time now and she lay down to try and rest, to keep as much energy as she could. The tv stayed on like it did every night, she felt comfort in the static somehow.

She woke up to a faint crying, it was dark still except for the glow of the tv static. Amelie sat up and pressed her ear to the tv...the crying got a bit louder. She leaned back and looked at the glow of the static on the tv darting around as if it were alive somehow, suddenly a small hand pressed up against the Tv. Amelie froze staring at this small hand, slowly she put hers up against the tv to match...the small hand curled it's fingers through the Tv and wrapped them around Amelies, there was a pop, bang and sparks sending her backwards...the tv glass had exploded, and now Amelie was alone for real...