The Second Person

All week, you've held onto the feeling that you are being watched. Even checking all the closets and closing the blinds didn't settle the anxiety that plagued you. You've been afraid to leave your home, afraid someone or something will get you. Tonight, you are alone at home and hear a noise.

You stand up, trembling. "Who is there?" You demand. Nothing answers you. You head down the stairs, trying to mask your fear with anger. Alas, you find nothing in the kitchen or living rooms, so you hesitantly open the creaking basement door. The lights in the basement have been broken for a while, and you always keep the door closed at night. The dark room scares you, though you'd never admit it.

"Is anyone there?" You whisper into the darkness. You take a few steps down the stairs. "Hello?" You dare to raise your voice slightly. Nothing answers you. Losing your nerve, you leap over the top two stairs and close the door behind you. You lean against the door, holding it shut, as you attempt to catch your breath. You return to bed as quickly as possible and will yourself to fall asleep.

Before you know it, morning has come. The light wafting through your thin curtains comforts you, as it is common knowledge that nothing can get you in the light. Light chases all monsters away. You enter the kitchen, intent on getting breakfast, then notice a strange shadow on the ground. It doesn't move, but it looks out of place. Turning the corner, you find that the shadow was simply cast by the basement door. But a chill crawls up your back as you come to the realization that the door that you are sure you shut last night is now wide open.

Feeling like a stranger in your own home, you decide to go to town and get breakfast there. After starting your car, your phone beeps. You've gotten a notification. It says 'Don't forget! Passport photos are taken today!' You remember that your new passport photo is being taken today so that you can go on a business trip to Europe. This means you will need to go back inside your home and change, brush your teeth, comb your hair, and all else you do to get ready. Sighing heavily, you turn the car off and return to your house.

After getting prepared as fast as you possibly could, you drive to your favorite cafe for breakfast and then to the photographer's. The bell above the door rings merrily upon your arrival. You sense a presence behind you, and look over your shoulder anxiously. There is nothing behind you except for the busy street and cars parked along the sidewalk. Surprisingly, there is no line, and pictures go fairly well. You look over the pictures and agree with the photographer that a certain one looks most like you. After the emailing process is done, you exit the shop and get in your car. Feeling unnaturally calm, you decide that the door must have not been properly latched and had blown open that night, so there was no reason not to go straight home.

Pulling into the driveway, you park and go to your mailbox to get the day's mail. After you gather the mail, you walk back towards the house while sifting through it. As you check your mail, you notice a letter that makes you stop in your tracks. Your name, phone number, and address are made of cut-up newspaper letters, as ransom notes are in kidnapping movies. There is no return address. Whoever sent it is clearly trying to scare you, and it is working. You rush to your bedroom to open the letter. Your hands tremble as you tear the envelope open. Inside is not a letter, but a single photograph. You recognize it as one of the photos taken of you earlier for your passport. You gasp, nearly dropping the photo, as you notice a detail in the corner of the photo.

It is blurry, but it is definitely there. A black humanoid figure with sharp yellowing teeth and no face. It certainly was not there earlier when you looked at all the photos. Was it there when the photo was taken? Your heart beats so violently that you are afraid it will break through your chest. You turn over the photograph, afraid to look at it, and notice writing on the back. In a slanted and skinny script done with red pen, it says There is a second person. Suddenly, you hear the unmistakable sound of the front door opening from downstairs.

Your horror is unable to be hidden. You throw the photograph down and look around frantically. Heavy footsteps are trudging up the staircase, looking for you. There is nowhere you can go, so you slip into the closet and close the door as silently as possible. The closet is the first place they'll look, of course, but there is no other option. The footsteps reach your room. You can see a bit of the room through the crack, but make a point of not looking through it, for you don't know if you'd be able to contain your scream if you saw whatever the creature was standing in your room. You hear blankets shuffling, and figure it must be checking under your bed. The footsteps come near the closet. They stop. Your breath is loud in your ears. Surely they will open the door and find you. Instead, the footsteps walk away from the door. You hear a scratching sound, and the footsteps exit the room. Soon, you hear them go down the stairs. The front door slams closed.

You tentatively peek out, and see the photograph is propped up on one of your pillows, and there is new writing on it. Upon closer observation, the writing is deep red and very liquefied. It has a metallic scent to it. The words are hard to read, but you can make out the words 'Watch out for the second person.' Your fingers smear the words, and you recognize the liquid as blood. You feel the need to report this, so you gather the photograph and the envelope, and head to the police station. All the way there, you feel uneasy. As soon as you get out of your car, you feel a chill. Something is deeply wrong. You can feel it. And before you can do anything about it, a deep pain sears across your back, and your vision clouds.

Police Report

Today's Date: 9/7/19

Officer: Hanster

Witness: Brian McNally

Witness Testimony:

"I was passing by the police station on my way downtown and saw someone lying face down on the pavement. I got out of my car to check on them, because something was clearly wrong, and their pulse was slowing. I ran inside and told the first cop I saw and they called an ambulance."

Observations: Victim has large cut down their back, presumably made by a small knife or dagger. Cut goes deep enough to cause serious damage or kill. Other nearby passerby reported that they had seen the victim exit their car along with a second person.