❝ come on, it’s not as hard as it looks, i promise. ❞ with a smile, he slides across the piano bench, then pats the now empty space for @ghostas to sit beside him. ❝ i’ve been both a professional and a teacher, i know what i’m doing, so don’t worry. ❞ digits find their way to their needed place on the instrument without much thought. he’s already knows the tune he’s going to teach.
❝ so, have your fingers like this ... and you’re going to play one, two, three. ❞ on each count, he plays a different key. then repeats. ❝ that’s a, d and f. and you’ll just want to keep playing that, over and over. think you can do that? ❞ whilst explaining, he continues to play the three keys, before abruptly stopping, leaving an opening for kai to continue.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018: an encounter with @ghostas.
today, i have for you perhaps one of the most terrifying experiences i've ever faced in all my experience as a writer. the email i received claiming to be from one of you was actually from the subject of today's article: the ghostface. i was led to a park in queensland by them, claiming that ghostface was there. however, dear readers, the tale i have for you today is one of survival. one where i not just met ghostface, but lived to tell the tale. i ask you now, dear readers, are you ready to step into my world?
great valley park is a small park in the middle of nowhere. however, if you're actually curious, it's a three hour drive from sunshine coast. the park itself is beautiful. if you like camping as much as i do, it's perfect. plenty of wildlife, plenty of foliage, beautiful trails, even a small pond to take a little discrete dip. the weather was perfect while i was there. i have absolutely nothing bad to say about the park. if ghostface isn't there, i'd say it's the perfect vacation spot.
i first arrived in the park in june. when i arrived, a park ranger was quick to arrive. they introduced themselves as kai, the one who sent the email. kai is . . . in a word . . . odd. if you opened the dictionary to the word boy scout, that would be kai. olive green pants. olive green shirt. bowl haircut. super, mega dorky. he's a little shorter than me, seemed knowledgable at first glance. however, as the week went on, i started to notice little oddities that made me question his qualifications as a park ranger. but why the hell should i have done that? who would fake being a park ranger?
they were annoyed by me. i could tell. i would ask about something like wifi or water or even a trail map and i'd be fronted with some sigh of annoyance. i then took it as my personal challenge to make kai like me. i wasn't expecting this from them —— you see, my dear readers, i get many emails. many, many emails. typically, many of you will send a second email to try and get my attention. not that i was expecting special treatment from kai, but i wasn't expecting him to act like i was the bane of his entire existence. by monday i knew he didn't like me. by saturday, i knew why.
i spent a lot of time hiking. trying to find this ghostface, this knife-wielding killer that apparently haunted and slayed multiple people all over the globe and was now squatting at the park. however, the worst thing i found during the majority of the trip was a dead squirrel. i thought that i had made the journey to this beautiful park for nothing —— even if i did enjoy myself during the beginning of the week. seriously, i cannot recommend this park enough. here's some pictures of my favorite spot, seen from my tent.
on friday, kai came to my tent with a message for me: we got some other campers reporting some suspicious activity in that patch of woods over there. i was going to check it out myself, but they way they were talking about it made it seem like your kind of gig. i obviously lept at the opportunity. i love camping, okay? but by that point, i was bored out of my skull. i didn't come for a week-long getaway in the mountains, i came to find this supernatural entity that wanted everyone dead. so, i didn't question anything. i didn't even hesistate a little. it was already a little dark outside, so i went ahead and grabbed my head lamp and flashlight. i didn't need to be snuck up on in the australian wilderness. he headed out with me at first. atticus and kai, off adventuring in the woods at sunset. but all of a sudden, kai disappeared. i assumed it had something to do with ranger duties, so i thought nothing of it.
the clues i was given lead me to a meadow —— a pretty meadow by all definition, but one that is permanently ruined in my mind's eye until the day that i die. they heard some rustling in the bushes. swore they saw a white mask. isn't that your kind of thing? kai told me. so i went digging in all these bushes. a ton of bushes. my fifth bush, i finally found something, but it wasn't something i wanted to see. there was blood, lots of it. dried, but still enough for me to know that if it were wet, it would likely be pools and pools. some drag marks. was it too late? did i miss the ghostface? i followed the drag marks, and what i found next was something i never wanted to see.
now readers, i don't know how many of you have experience with dead people. for those of you who don't, let me sum it up for you in a word: don't. it's wildly unsettling, horrible to look at. despite my line of work, i have not run into many corpses in my day. unfortunately, this day will be added to the days where i've seen corpses. his throat was slashed, body left crumpled and naked in yet another bush. it was pale, cold. something, however, caught my eye. something resembling a patch, ripped in half. i squatted to look at it, but didn't touch. while i normally like to dig myself into cases like this, there's a dead body involved now. that's way past my line of expertise. anyways, the patch, even though it was frayed and dark outside, i recognized it instantly as a national park connoisseur. the badge on the ground was a park ranger's badge. the body i'd found belonged to the real park ranger.
instantly, my heart sank. if this was the park ranger, who was kai? who killed the park ranger? i had so many questions i needed answered. the second i turned around, there was kai. but they were different than the park ranger i'd pestered all week —— i didn't recognize him with the daunting expression on his face. even though my headlamp and flashlight were on him, there was a darkness about him that i can't quite convey. in my line of work, dear readers, it's normal to be frightened. i put myself in harm's way each and every time i write one of these articles, even if i don't convey it at some point. but for the first time in my whole life, i thought i was going to die. i thought i was going to be left for dead with that park ranger, and i'd started to accept it.
they knocked me down, held their knife to my throat. i swore they drew blood as they did so. it was in this moment i knew i'd annoyed kai —— no, ghostface all week —— he was going to play with his food whether i wanted him to or not. i was speechless. you talked all week and now you have nothing to say. cat got your tongue? their face was twisted. they were smiling, and smiling big. this'll only hurt a little . . .
i don't know what being was out there looking for me, but i'm convinced there was something that wants me alive and that's the only reason i'm here writing to you today. something crunched behind us, not immediately there but close enough that they could tell what was going on. we wrestled a bit. thankfully, i'm bigger than them. i was able to use size to my advantage, and i ran. i turned my lights off and ran as fast as i could, left my tent and everything behind and sped away.
i wasn't able to return to my apartment for weeks. my friend beau let me stay with him, for which i am eternally grateful. i was terrified they might find me, try to finish what they started. you see, dear readers, the kai i'd spent the week getting to know was actually the thing i was hunting — ghostface. he lured me there, tried to kill me —— and i escaped. i'm not going to lie to you, it's been harder than i expected to get over this. i have nightmares. i wake up feeling the cool steel of the knife pressed to my throat, and it terrifies me all over again. but i'm safe. they haven't tried to find me since then, at least as far as i know. all i can do is pray to whatever god is out there that he'll never find me again. i don't know if i'd survive the ghostface a second time.
now, unfortunately that will be it for today, dear readers. but remember this — it’s a scary world out there, more than people let on. few people have imagination for reality.
It’s forgivable if you’re not watching MTV’s Ex on the Beach Season 3, which has a pretty lackluster cast and more strings being pulled than a Joann’s Fabric aisle, but here’s a random post punk band I heard in an episode. It sounds like We Got the Beat by the Go Gos if you’re into that.
send me a url and I’ll write some positivity for it
i just think you are the coolest fr …. the energy you invest into your muses is incredible and your world-building is so rich and nourishing. i adore your presence on the dash and you have so much care to share with others . i love reading your replies and absorbing every word you put to ... keyboard hehe . you are a very kind and caring person ... you have this very warm aura which is so comforting and you are very easy to talk to . tonia .... i am so glad we met and love being mutuals, ily .
“Come out … come out …” like a sing song , tip of their blade wandering against the wall while they moved . “Let’s play a Game , Just you and me .”
amongst the thrum of bass , sweat and sticky bodies , a chilling voice calls . hot on her tails . trips over her knees as she shuffles behind the clumsy , sagging couch . way to keep it together , rose ! sweaty fingers curl around the rusty curtain hook , wincing as the corrogated edge pierces her wet skin . shit , can they smell it ? taste it ? chris was right , college was a shitty idea . this party was a shitty idea . her whole life was a shitty fucking idea . on her knees , she crawls . such a stupid idea , she feels bare without her daddy's jacket . he can't protect her now .
rose lives off-campus , but hell , she needs friends . a class-mate had invited her out of pity , she supposes . hates this ; isn't accustomed to kindness . tries to be good , tries to be caring , tries to be a good friend ! had only checked on her classmate when they had been in the bathroom a beat too long . having recited cpr videos from youtube in her head , it proved fruitless when she was instead met with their demise at the gloved hands of the masked assailant who now pursues rose . introduction to criminology my ass , it didnt save christy when she was gagging on her own tongue . now she was next .
" fuck you .... " mutters to herself , squeezes her eyes together and refuses to look , breathe . play this creep's stupid game . energy thrums in her fists . maybe ... just maybe she can make a run for it ...
Hi , did you know that you’re cool and amazing and so talented ? Seeing you on the dash always makes me so , so happy 🥹 I’m so glad we’re mutuals okay ? Okay ! Have a wonderful evening 😭♥️
this is SO sweet of you ♡ the feeling is mutual tonia !! your love for your character is so obvious and that level of creativity and passion really ignites the same enthusiasm in the spaces and people around you — you help foster an inventive , fun community and i’m glad you’re here !! thank you for dropping this cute message in my inbox . it means a whole lot ☺️
@ghostas asked: ❛ i’m every nightmare you ever had. ❜
“i don’t have nightmares,” michael replies matter-of-factly, a rather blank look on his face. part of him knows this is the other’s way of threatening him, but michael has never and will never be the type to get threatened by anyone or anything. he always takes things literally too, so whatever fear kai was trying to shove into michael, it didn’t work. “i don’t even dream.”
@ghostas asked: The Ghostface seemed to appear next to the shape out of nowhere , slipping gloved hand between larger one , curling fingers around it . “You did so well last trial , I am very proud .”
anyone else would have gotten startled by the ghostface’s sudden presence, but michael doesn’t move at all, doesn’t even turn his head to look down at them... that is, until they curl their fingers with his own, holding massive palm so kindly. proud...? guess it makes sense, since michael ended up hooking three of the survivors last trial instead of just killing them with his knife like he normally does. slowly, he raises kai’s gloved hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on their knuckles through his mask. as always, michael appreciates the praise. adores it. adores kai.
