"But what do you think it is?" my twin sister asked.
"I don't know, but it has to be real, right? I mean, both of us see it," I replied, still shaking a little from the sight of that... thing.
"I guess it has to be real, but what is it? It's really scaring me." She tightly holds me in an embrace.
"I know, it scared me, too."
"Can't you two just stop your wild imaginations," my eldest brother, John, had commanded, "Monsters aren't real."
"But we saw it! And it keeps writing notes for us!" My twin looked as if she was about to slap John.
"John!" my sister, Alice, called, "Where do we keep the rags again?"
"In the left cabinet in the laundry room," John called back.
"We're completely fine," I started, "We don't need any cold rags. It's not like we have fevers or something."
"Well, something has to make you two sane again," my brother, Dan, commented.
"Shut up! We know what we saw!" My twin was up in a rage again.
"Fine, fine. Say that this thing is real," John told, "How's come we can't see it?" My sister and I didn't answer. We knew that he wouldn't believe us.
"Hey, uh," I started, "I think that we both just need some rest."
"That's reasonable," Alice panted, after running up the stairs.
"Geez, you need to work out, Alice," Dan teased.
"Shut up!"
"Both of you shut up," John commanded, "And you two twins just get some rest."
"Okay," the two of us replied.
Everyone left the room except for my twin and myself. We looked at each other, still frightened by the weeks that we've seen this thing.
This thing had been haunting the two of us for three weeks now, ever since our parents left on a business trip. It's not very harmful... physically, but it damaged our sanity. It's a very creepy thing to look at, as it's just a... shadow. It has no physical features, except for it's black-as-night figure. It's been leaving notes around for my sister and I, but once we read a note, it somehow gets misplaced.
So far, we've seen notes like this:
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Hello, children. I am a faceless cousin of someone you may be familiar of. My cousin is the Tall Man, as you may call him. Now, I wish not to harm you, as I am too bored to do so. I would only like to play a game. Kids like to play games, correct? Well then, let it begin. The game is to find out who in this house is... me. I disguise myself as one of your siblings. Find out who it is...
Hello again. It seems that you have no idea who to suspect yet. All of your siblings seem to reject the idea that something like me lives here. In that case, I will give you several hints. I cannot leave the property of this household. That means if someone can reach the street or another house, they are not me. Also, if you see me and do not see someone's face while I am physically near you, then that person could be me. It's hard to explain. Of course, I do try to block out everyone's face when I am near you. It makes the game more fun.
It's nice to see that one of you has figured out that John is not me. He ran out into the street after seeing you, girl, almost get hit by a car. Of course, now Dan questions your sanity. This game may be over soon. Hopefully. Have fun.
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It's spoken to us a few times, but too quietly that we couldn't hear it. We guessed that it's a girl, by the sound of it's voice.
We haven't seen anyone's faces when it's around; we haven't even seen each others' faces. Only when it disappears do we see our siblings' faces. And apparently they can't see it, even when it's right in front of them.
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We sat down on my bed.
"I'm not going to sleep until that thing is gone," my twin stated.
"I don't feel like sleeping, either," I mumbled, still upset by the thought of the shadow thing.
"At least we know it's not John. After all, he went outside to get me off the street."
"Yes, but it could still be Alice or Dan."
"Well, I guess that I can run out again."
"Not until John goes to get groceries, because he could try to go out and the whole action would be pointless."
"Hm, that's true." Just as she finished talking, we heard the front door open, then close.
We went downstairs to find Dan and Alice in the living room near the front door.
"John went out," Dan told us. And that's when we both dashed out of the door.
Dan was near us, so he quickly caught my arm. Alice tried to run after the other twin, but only caught up after they both had crossed the street.
It must be Dan. Once everyone was inside, my sister and I looked at each other, determined to end this game.
We went into the kitchen and found a note.
'You probably think that you know by now. Well then, go on and kill me. It's been a fun game, and I could use some rest.'
My sister grabbed the butcher knife, looking crazy. She dashed into the living room, and I heard screaming. I walked in to see Dan dead and Alice trying to hold back my twin.
"You're a fool, Anna," I said to my 'twin'. Both girls looked at me directly at my face. They then screamed.
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A/N
And thus ends the series of short stories that were posted on the before-two-hundred-users days of Penana. God, to think that it already has over two hundred... I love this site.
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