PHASE ONE
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SAMSON
"Guys? Where are you?" Samson asked with rising fear. The sudden wind that blew into the room was gone and so were his friends."Guys?" Samson shouted even louder looking extremely worried. He ran to the door and tried to open it so he could get out of this place but the door was stuck shut. He struggled to open it, using all of his strength but the door wouldn't open. He began trying to break it open but still no luck.Suddenly, he heard a soft voice whisper his name. "Sam...Son" the eerie voice called out in a hushed tone."Who's there? Guys, is that you?" Samson asked after hearing the voice.There was no response and Samson could tell that he wasn't alone in here. Someone or something was watching him."I said, who's there?" Samson asked aggressively, trying to sound intimidating."Samson!" The voice called out again and he noticed a figure in the distance. The figure began moving towards him while calling his name."Samson!" It said with so much pain and agony like it was asking for his help."Whoever you are, stay back!" He warned the strange figure but it kept moving towards him."Samson!" It called out again."Help, somebody, help me!' Samson began screaming and banging on the door, hoping someone outside might hear him and come to his aid but nobody was around to help.Samson was still desperately hitting the door when he realized that the voice wasn't calling his name anymore. He turned around but the strange figure was gone.He started to move forward slowly, unsure of why. The rest of the building ahead of his sight was completely dark and silent except for the sound of water dripping. The dripping sound was echoing from his left and then his right, up, down and everywhere and it was getting louder.Samson wasn't sure where to go or what to do. He continued moving forward slowly and was startled when someone grabbed his hand. The coldness of the person's grip felt like ice and Samson gasped in fright and turned around to see the last person he was expecting to be here; His little brother, Jamie."Jamie, what are you doing here?" Samson asked and held Jamie's shoulders.Jamie was dripping wet and his skin was as cold as ice. His skin was very pale and his eyes were bulging."You left me, Sam. You didn't come with me to the clinic. You abandoned me!" Jamie said to him with a voice that sounded like multiple people speaking at the same time."I didn't abandon you, Jamie," Samson assured him."LIES!!" Jamie yelled and pushed Samson to the ground."You're a liar," Jamie said and he began screaming. From out of nowhere, a hand burst out of his mouth.Samson watched in terror as another person crawled out of little Jamie. The person was also Jamie or at least had his face. They both stared at themselves and then at Samson and they launched at him."Noooo!!" Samson cried out.PEACE
"Guys, what's happening?" Peace called out but no one answered. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny." She said angrily.
A spotlight suddenly came on in the centre of what seemed to be the living room of the old building and someone was tied to a chair and gagged at the mouth underneath the light. The person was struggling, trying to get free of the ropes that tied him.
"Darryl, is that you?" Peace asked when she saw the person. It was Darryl, she thought. She ran to him and began to untie him.
"Darryl, what the hell is going on? How did you get tied up to this chair and where are the rest of the guys?" Peace rained him with questions, questions he couldn't answer because his mouth was still gagged.
She took off the gag and Darryl let out a grunt. "Peace, please get me out of this chair. Hurry!" He begged and she began loosening the ropes faster until she untied him.
He stood up and gave her a hug of relief. She gladly took the hug since she was emotionally vulnerable because of what was happening.
"Who tied you up?" She asked him.
"I don't know. The last thing I remember was that strange wind blowing into the house, the lights went out and I felt someone hit me on my head and I passed out. I woke up and I was tied up to that chair. I was so scared, I didn't know what was going on." Darryl told her.
"Where's Nelly and Sam and Jennifer?" Peace asked him.
"I don't know and to be honest, I don't care. I'm just glad that you're okay." Darryl said and Peace couldn't help but think that what he just said sounded strange.
"What do you mean you don't care?" She asked, confused.
"I'm glad they're not here because I can finally do something I've wanted to do the entire night," Darryl said and pushed her to the wall.
"Darryl, what are you..." But before she could ask, he kissed her affectionately with hungry lust.
Peace was struggling at first because she wasn't expecting this, but she slowly began to succumb to the sweetness of the kiss and how it made her feel. She grabbed his head and pulled him closer. She started to take off his shirt and he did the same to her.
He kissed her on the neck and she moaned in sweet ecstasy. She began to unbuckle his belt when he started laughing.
"What's so funny?" She asked him, unsure of why he was laughing.
"Your lust! It's sickening. How can a child like you, of what, 16 years of age be so lustful?" Darryl asked, his eyes becoming red.
"Darryl, what's wrong with you?" She asked in fear and began backing away from him.
"I'm not Darryl but I can give you what you want from him." He said and grabbed her neck and slammed her to the floor. She screamed but it did her no good as 'Darryl' grabbed her legs and dragged her into the darkness with her screams echoing.
JENNIFER
"Guys, where are you?" Jennifer asked. The room was so dark, she couldn't see a thing. She saw her purse in the corner and quickly grabbed it. She went through it and found her phone. She turned it on and was about to dial 911 when the phone suddenly fell from her hands.
She bent down to pick it up but it moved by itself a few yards away from her. She gasped in fright, unsure if she was dreaming or if she saw right.
She slowly moved closer to her phone and tried to pick it up again but the phone slid away from her again. Now she was sure something weird was going on. She stood still in fear, and she decided not to try and pick up the phone again.
The phone suddenly came on and began ringing. The phone rang and rang and rang but she was too scared to try and pick it up. It stopped ringing and her voicemail began taking in a message. It was from her mother.
"Jennifer, where are you? Your father and I got back to the house and we've been so worried because we've been trying to call you but we couldn't reach you. Please pick up the phone, dear." Her mother said.
Jennifer ran to the phone and picked it up, talking to her mother in a rush. "Mom, mom, I'm here. I'm in a building in the woods and something's after me. Please, Mom, I need your help. Please!" She said quickly, desperately in need of help.
"Slow down honey. I can't hear a single thing you're saying." Her mother replied.
"Mom, I said I need help," Jennifer said again.
"Help? And why should I help you?" Her mom asked.
"What are you talking about Mom?" Jennifer asked with tears already filling her eyes.
"Your father and I have given you everything you've ever wanted. We've spoilt you and made you completely dependent on everyone else except for yourself. Aren't you ashamed?" Her mom said to her through the phone, as meanly as possible.
"Why are you saying all these things to me Mom?" Jennifer was now crying.
Her mother appeared behind her, with the darkness of the room concealing some parts of her face.
"I'm saying all this because it's the truth." She said and Jennifer turned around and saw her. In her fright, she dropped her phone, fell backwards to the floor and began to crawl away from her.
"You need to learn to fend for yourself, you lazy child." Her mom said and began to grow larger.
Jennifer was screaming in fright and crying hysterically.
"No daughter of mine will be a weakling. I'd much rather kill you myself than let that happen." Her mother said, now completely giant. She raised her foot and stepped on Jennifer, crushing her into pieces.
DARRYL
"Guys, where are you?" Darryl asked in confusion.
Just like the others, he too was transported to a different version of the room where everyone was gone but him. He tried his hardest not to panic so he could think with a clear head.
"Jennifer?" He called out her name, wondering if she was alright. He was really worried but he kept his cool, that was until something also happened to him.
He saw the backpack that Jennifer brought for their party. He remembered that along with the electric lamp, it also contained a flashlight. He moved towards the bag and grabbed it. He opened it and took out the flashlight.
He could hear whispers coming from just ahead but he didn't know who or what was whispering. He turned on the flashlight and faced it in the direction of the faint whispering but there was no one ahead. His hand was trembling and he held onto it with his other hand, trying to get a hold of himself because now was not the time to be afraid.
He began moving closer to the sounds and then he realized that the flashlight felt a lot softer. He looked at the flashlight in his hand but what he saw was not a flashlight but a snake. He screamed after seeing this and tried to throw the snake away but it was curled around his hand tightly and would not let go. He used his other hand to try and pull the snake off him but it was wrapped around him very tightly.
"Get off me!" He screamed in fear but the snake was going nowhere.
He hit the snake on the ground, trying to force it off but it held on relentlessly and wrapped itself even tighter around Darryl's hand.
The snake became agitated by Darryl's struggling and bit him. Immediately after inserting its fangs and releasing its venom into his body, the snake unwrapped itself from Darryl's hand and slithered away into the darkness.
Darryl started to feel the effects of the snake's poison almost immediately. He became drowsy and he staggered around the room until he couldn't stay on his feet anymore and fell to the floor. His vision was woozy and he could feel the venom doing its work.
The venom was moving through his blood very quickly and he could feel his internal organs shutting down.
"Someone help me." He said in a whisper as he crawled on the floor, trying to get help however he could.
As he lay on the floor, waiting for the poison to do its work and kill him, a spotlight suddenly came on above him. The room was brightly lit and he could see everything clearly but he still couldn't move because the venom had paralyzed him.
He heard a hissing sound, the hissing sound of a snake. And then, he saw the snake that was making the sound. Judging from the patterns of its scales, it looked like the same snake that had just bitten him but it was larger now, much larger. It slithered out of the dark part of the room into the spotlight where Darryl was and it stared right at him.
Darryl was so scared because he knew he was about to be devoured by the huge snake. And then suddenly, the snake opened its mouth and spoke.
"Look at you, you foolish child. Look at where your obsession over some girl has gotten you." The snake said in the voice of Darryl's father. It sounded exactly like him.
"Dad?" Darryl managed to get the word out of his lips.
"I told you that she wouldn't be able to make you truly happy but you didn't listen. Now you'll die without ever seeing her again." The snake said and began wrapping itself around Darryl.
The snake coiled itself around Darryl and began squeezing the life out of him. It squeezed so tightly that Darryl could hear the sound of his bones being crushed while he was still alive. It took one last look at Darryl before biting his head into its mouth and slowly devouring him.
NELLY
"Arghhh, get off me" Nelly shouted at the devil-like creature that was attacking him. The creature had already bitten Nelly's neck but he was still alive, struggling to stay that way for as long as he could.
The creature snarled at him and continued trying to bite him again. This monster was terrifying to look at. It had long, sharp, black claws, its eyes were dark red, its skin was pale and it looked and felt like it was melting or decaying, it had clothes on but they were torn and withered, it had long fangs and the sound it made was demonic.
As it tackled Nelly on the floor, sticky gooey saliva seeped out of its mouth and landed directly on Nelly's face. He became even more desperate to get away from this disgusting creature so he used his hand to search for anything he could use in his favour. With one hand holding the creature at the bay, he used his other hand to look for a weapon on the floor. His hand touched something and it felt like a metal rod. His fingers were grazing the rod and he tried really hard to fully grab hold of it until he finally did.
With a quick swing, he struck the creature across its face and it fell on the floor, away from him. This was his chance to make a run for it. Nelly got up and began running but the creature grabbed his leg and he fell down. It began pulling Nelly closer and Nelly screamed hysterically.
"Nooo! Nooo! Let me go!" He screamed but the creature continued pulling him and growling in anger. It pinned Nelly down and smiled at him.
"Time to die." The creature said in a sinister voice. It opened its mouth so wide and was about to take another bite out of Nelly.
"Let me go," Nelly yelled and he struggled with his eyes closed.
"Nelly, it's me," Samson said to him but he didn't listen and continued struggling and screaming.
"Nelly open your eyes and look at me!" Samson said to him.
Nelly began to relax and he stopped struggling. He opened his eyes and saw Samson looking down at him. He was so happy to see a familiar face.
"Sam? Is it really you?" He asked, his voice shaking.
"It's me, Nels. It's me." Samson assured him. Nelly sat up and gave Samson a long hug.
"I thought I was gonna get eaten by that monster." THE MONSTER, Nelly remembered and stared around looking for it.
"Where is it? Where did it go?" He asked in fear.
"There's no monster Nelly. It was all just an illusion. I think whatever was in that box was probably a chemical of some sort and it's making us see things that aren't there." Samson told him.
"What do you mean it was an illusion? I felt the pain and it was real." Nelly claimed.
"It wasn't real, Nelly. Whatever you saw wasn't real." Samson tried to convince him.
"Look at my neck! That creature took a bite out of my neck, look at it." Nelly said loudly, pointing at his neck.
"Nelly, your neck is fine," Samson said and Nelly touched his neck and it was completely fine. There wasn't any blood or wound or anything.
"Samson, where's everyone else?" Nelly asked with a look of shock.
"There they are," Samson said and pointed at the rest of their friends sitting or lying on the floor, looking like they were in a catatonic state.
Nelly got on his feet and he and Samson approached Jennifer, Darryl and Peace who were still unconscious.
"What's happening to them?" Nelly asked Samson.
"I don't know but by the looks of it, they must be having crazy scary illusions as you did and like I did. We can only hope that they wake up soon." Samson said.
"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Nelly asked.
"We need help and we have to find a way to get out of this fucking place," Samson replied and stared at the door that led to the exit.
A WEEK AGO.... SAMSONSamson woke up from his deep sleep thanks to the persistent ringing of his alarm clock. He rolled around on his bed, not wanting to respond to the call so he pushed the clock off his nightstand and it fell to the floor.Samson covered himself up with his blanket and went back to sleep only to be suddenly forced awake by his little brother Jamie, who jumped on top of him in an attempt to wake him up."Wake up, Sam. Wake up! It's time for school. Mom's already made breakfast and I need you to drop me off at my school." Jamie said in his innocent, adorable little voice."Get off me, Jamie. It's the last day of school before the holidays. We don't need to go early so leave me be." Samson said and tried to sleep again."Let's go, Sam." Jamie cried out and gave Samson a smackdown, landing hard on his belly."Oh, that hurts!" Samson said in playful anger. "You want to wrestle, little man? Let's do it then, come on." Samson said and picked up his little brother and
JENNIFER"Hey, assholes! What's up?" Jennifer wrote in her text and sent it to the group chat."Well look who finally decided to get out of bed, little miss sunshine." Peace wrote."Hey, unlike the rest of you, I need my beauty sleep." Jennifer texted back."Unlike the rest of us, you can sleep in for as long as you want because your parents are loaded." Nelly texted."Some people find luck, others are born with it." She wrote back."Tell them, Babe!" Darryl, the final member of the group and Jennifer's boyfriend said in a text."Morning handsome. Are we going to have some fun today?" She specified the question to Darryl."Of course, gumdrop. We should all meet at the rendezvous by nine and all head to school together." Darryl wrote back."Sure" - Peace"Alright, see you guys there" - Samson"Let's do it" - Nelly"Let me make myself all pretty for you and then I'll meet you there Babe." - Jennifer wrote to Darryl."Sounds good babe. See you soon." "Wait! You forgot to send me a morni
Samson stood in the corner with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took a long suck and let out the smoke from his mouth which was carried by the wind."A little too early for that, don't you think?" A voice said to him from the corner of his eye."Peace! There you are. I've been waiting for you guys." Samson said and reached in for a hug but none was forthcoming.Peace only pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it in the ground and stepped on it."Why?" Samson asked like a little child whose toy had been taken away from him."Those things will kill you. And what will Jamie think if he saw you doing that stuff?" She asked, seemingly concerned about him."That's why I don't do it in the house," Samson answered and brought out the cigar box to take another."Don't even think about it or I will burn the entire box." Peace said.She sounded serious so Samson put the box back inside his backpack and said, "Later then.""How about Jamie? How's he doing?" Peace asked."He's good, he's g
"Students! I know you're all eager to begin the holidays so I'll keep this short." The principal said on the PA system."The year has been long, and we've all had our ups and downs but I'm glad to see how it all turned. The Brimwood Supernovas, our senior soccer team lifted the state championship title just a few months back. Timothy Sherwood represented Brimwood in the Inter-State School spelling bee and brought back home the gold. Mr and Mrs Goldberg, in their generosity, solely funded the availability of the new cafeteria menu, providing the students and faculty with healthier and more delicious meals and the one accomplishment I'm most proud of, the remodeling of the teacher's restroom. With all that being said, it has indeed been a very productive school year and I'm so sad to see it come to an end. See you all in the summer. This is Principal Bradley, wishing you all a very merry Christmas."With the announcements over, the entire student body burst out of their classes in celeb
"Good morning guys. It's finally almost Christmas. Are you all excited?" - Samson asked on the group chat after logging in on the morning of Christmas Eve."Is this a rhetorical question?" - Peace"Yeah what the hell, Sam? Why would we be excited about Christmas? All our lives suck and there isn't really much to celebrate or be excited about." - Darryl"Woah! Didn't know you both felt that way. What about you Nel, you excited for Christmas, got any plans?" - Samson asked Nelly."Sure I'm excited. Tomorrow's gonna make it exactly 11 years since my Dad left me and my Mom. My Pops has been admitted into the hospital because his condition got worse. My Mom is never at home anymore because she's got to work twice as hard to pay his hospital bills and to top it off, I'm still feeling the effects of almost dying last week at Jennifer's cocaine party. So, yeah, I'm excited. Bring on Christmas, the season of bullshit." - Nelly"Sorry for asking." - Samson texted back."Hey don't blame my party
Samson and Nelly were the only ones awake while the others were still unconscious. Samson went to the door to try and get it open while Nelly watched over their friends. They were all breathing heavily and sweating in their sleep so Nelly used his jacket as a fan to cool them off. "I don't understand how this door got stuck and why it refuses to open!" Samson complained and kicked the door in anger. "Whatever's messing with us doesn't want us to leave this place," Nelly said to Sam from where he sat. "Nothing is messing with us, Nelly. I already told you that we were all just probably exposed to some sort of chemical that made us have those hallucinations." Samson said. "And what chemical would that be? Joker gas? This place is haunted and you know it." Nelly said loudly to Samson. "This place isn't haunted, Nelly," Sam replied. Nelly's behaviour was starting to get on his nerves. "Yes, it is. Think about it, Sam! The door is locked shut and you can't open it, our phones have ab
Peace opened up the horror book and on the first page, it wrote:"This is the life's tale of Kristokulos, the demon that haunts the spirit of Christmas in its anger of being separated from his own family on Christmas day. He infects your mind and uses the things you love as a weapon against you, showing you your deepest fears and bringing them to life."."Go on! Keep reading. We have to find out more about this thing and what it wants." Jennifer told Peace and she continued reading and flipped the cover to the next page."But Kristokulos wasn't always an angry demon. He was once an ordinary man who loved his family but his one moment of weakness and desperation condemned him for all eternity, making him the monster that he is today."THE STORY BEGINSOnce upon a time, in the days of old. There lived a hardworking woodcarver name, Kristopher. He had a wife named Nalia and two beautiful daughters and they were his entire world. Kristopher was not a wealthy man so he had to work really
A wise man once said that no matter how hard things get, how hopeless the situation is, how futile all your efforts seem, as long as you have hope in your heart, you can scale through every obstacle and overcome the greatest of setbacks. That is kind of what Christmas is all about. It's about scaling through the problems the year brought your way and celebrating your triumph at the end of it, knowing that life tried to knock you down but you stayed strong and got through it with the closest people in your life by your side. This is the true spirit of Christmas. But, unfortunately for Darryl, his year hadn't come to an end and he was still living through the horrors that came with it."Nelly? Nelly?" Darryl called out. He took out the flashlight and turned it on but the light was flickering on and off until it stayed off.A faceless figure lingered in the shadows watching him while he struggled with the flashlight. The figure had a mouth on its face but it had no eyes, nose, or ears.