Chapter 2

Darkness lived in the daylight for me. That name haunted my thoughts and it just wouldn't leave me alone. But I was torn. What would you do. Would you expose yourself and tell them that you were spying on them and cause all this stress and do the right thing, or would you let it be and see what happened? I couldn't bring myself to tell them that I didn't trust what they were doing. I was not the shining example of morality myself. I was conflicted.

I decided to make sure my plans were cancelled for this weekend I figured that what ever was going to happen, was not going to take it's time. I needed to know what was going on so I decided to go back to the dorm room the following day. It didn't take me long to get there. I opened the door, I am always invited into the place because of what I do. And the computer screen was surrounded by all four of them. They were all chatting online to this...thing. I was alarmed. They were laughing and having a good time though. But they seemed to have a weird look in their eyes, and they didn't notice me at all.

This couldn't have been good. I don't know what they were seeing but the screen was flashing colors, strobing different colors. Red, green and blue. I had no idea what it meant. But it seemed they were seeing something different than I was. It was actually kinda creepy. You'd think four women sitting around a computer would be hot, and hot they were, but what they were doing was disturbing.

Even their laughs were chilling. They were coming from their mouths, but they seemed to come from somewhere else. I could stand no more. I went for the cord and was about ready to pull it, but then everything stopped. The screen stopped flashing and it was as if time froze solid. four pair of eyes, gazing dead into the screen, into nothing actually but a simple screen saver. I touched Brianna's shoulder, then my mind screamed. I saw something terrible I could not describe flashed into my mind for a horrible second. Thankfully it was cut short by the unision of screaming and terror. Apparently the spell had been broken and all four of the ladies broke out screaming in in such away that not even my vision could withstand it. I was brought back to reality, thankfully. I was covering my ears. One lady screaming is loud enough. Four of them all at once was like something out hell itself. I had to make it stop, I didn't know how. Eventually it died down. "What in the hell was that all about?" I had to ask.

They didn't know I was even there, they had no idea what I was asking about. They had no memory of anything that had happened. It was a weird moment of silence. One of those. You know what I'm talking about, one of them. I sat down, obviously I was concerned with this recent development. "Ladies. This is really weird. You know," I said, collecting myself and my sanity from what I saw myself recently.

"There isnt anything wrong here. I think you are the one are who is all shaken up" Karen said to me, but her tone was flat and dead. I've seen movies with aliens pretending to be humans with more spirit than this. "No, you don't understand. A second ago you were all screaming and laughing at a flashing screen, what was in that screen?"



"Screen, oh. We were just talking to that guy I told you about last night. then you came in. and you are far more important than some guy on the internet," Karen said in that same horrible flat monotone voice. "Right, well. Could you do me a favor and not talk to that guy anymore. You all are seeming kinda weird ever since you started," God help me but that was only last night. I was talking like it's been months, but it wasn't even twenty four hours!

"Alright, you win. We wont do it anymore." Melanie said with a smile, and a slight giggle. It didn't even seem like anyone was home inside there, an automatic programmed response. I had no idea of what to say to it, but to agree to what she said. I mean, seriously what else could I do? "Hey, I could use a snack." Brianna said and the others seemed to agree, with too much vigor, but it was the first life like sound I heard them make the entire time I was here. I was weirded out and this internet thing was getting too deep for anybody. Of course I was the only one who could ever see it that way. The cell phone opened up and the number was dialed in the time it took me to think that this whole situation was creepy. "Yeah, four medium pizzas...everything on em..yes even them....Alright thirty minutes sounds fine." Brianna said to who ever was on the other side of the conversation and hung up the phone. "Ladies our food is on the way!" With all the shrill enthusiasm of a cheerleader Brianna was usually the quiet one. Now I knew something was wrong.

"Guys, um, seriously. What was that on the screen not more than ten minutes ago? Something is seriously wrong here," I wasn't kidding around, but then they all got this weird blank stare in their eyes when I mentioned it. The zombie stare just before they lunge and attack in a group. I got the chills as the life drained out of them at the mention of something was wrong. "I'm sure it was nothing, just my imagination," It was best to change the subject, and this time it worked, I didn't want to risk my inner thoughts becoming my current reality.

The next thirty minutes was filled with creepy unison talking, they were almost on the same wavelength of ideas, and the word "Pizza" was mentioned at least seven times, but I don't think they realized what they were saying. It was mostly several sentences that were never finished. Have you ever seen a dog who hasn't eaten in a few days, that look in their eyes is empty and vicious. I was getting a lot of that look from the ladies here, mostly towards me. I really didn't want to stick around much longer, if the food didn't get here, I was beginning to imagine their fingernails tearing into me and them transforming into hideous monsters from someones worst nightmares, not mine of course. They couldn't be that bad.

Then the knock on the door came, and the tension I felt melted away. Amanda went to the door and opened it. The guy standing there had no name tag, at least I couldn't see one. I didn't notice any kind of pizza box markings, just a plain white box, well four of them. Amanda took the boxes and took a step back from the door, closed it. There was no money exchange there. None at all. I was again worried that this "Delivery Guy" was now in on it. Or maybe they just knew one another. I didn't hear the other side of the conversation so maybe this was supposed to happen. But like it or not, I was getting kinda paranoid. None of this was making sense to me but it was all pulling me in like the gravity well as inescapable as the black hole in the distant cosmos.