Figuring that a little bit of fresh air might help with her headache, she tied the handles of the plastic bag into a knot, slipped into her sneakers, and headed outside. The community garbage disposal sat at the end of their street. They lived at the rear end of a townhouse community, their little neck of the woods ending in a cul-de-sac that was frequently used as a turning around point for drivers who had lost their way.
The townhouses themselves were split into units of four, with a thin strip of green space dividing each of the buildings. Kayleigh hated walking alone on the street at night, as she imagined monsters lurking in those tight spaces, all waiting to pounce and feed on anyone foolish enough to get close to their realm after dark. The sun was beginning to set, so it was still light enough to make her feel comfortable out alone, although shadows were starting to spill out of the alleys, like long fingers reaching out to touch her feet.
“I really need to stop watching so many horror movies,” Kayleigh muttered aloud as she turned her walk into a jog.
She reached the gates that were in place to hide the industrial-sized garbage container from view, but as always, someone had left one of them open, allowing the stench of rotting garbage to spill out. Tucking the bottom half of her face inside her shirt, Kayleigh stepped inside the gates and launched the bag into the trash. Trying not to gag, she turned away from the garbage can and closed the gates with her behind, the latch catching with a satisfying click.
As she was about to head back up the street, she saw a pair of kids on bikes, pointing over her head, a look of horror etched on their faces. Every instinct told her to keep walking and not look back, but curiosity got the better of her. Turning around, she saw the robed man standing on top of the garbage can, his eyes barely visible through the holes in the sack covering his face.
The kids bolted, their legs pumping furiously as they pedaled their bikes out of sight. Following their lead, Kayleigh turned and ran, the cackling laughter of the robed man echoing in her ears. Halfway home, she dared to look back, expecting to see the man hot on her heels, but he still stood atop the garbage container, motioning with his hands in what appeared to be a figure-eight pattern.
Reaching the front door, she looked back down the street once more, but he was gone, which was not in any way a relief. For all Kayleigh knew, he could be skirting around the back of the buildings and preparing to creep up one of the alleys, just ready to pounce. She threw open the front door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her, throwing on both locks in the process. She pulled back the curtain on the narrow window beside the door and peeked out, but the street was empty.
“Are you alright?” Sean asked, coming up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
Kayleigh jumped at his touch, wheeling around and swatting his hand away before turning back to the window.
“Fuck. Chill, Kayleigh. What the hell happened out there?”
Sure that no one was outside, Kayleigh rested her head against the door and began the process of trying to catch her breath. It wasn’t a long run from the trash to the front door but spending eight hours a day sitting at a desk had done little for her cardio. “He was out there,” she finally said.
“Who was out there?”
“The fucker in the robe. Standing on top of the garbage, proud as you like, laughing at me.”
Grabbing Kayleigh by the back of her shirt, Sean stepped back and pulled her into the living room, where April sat staring at them both with a confused look.
“What’s going on?” April asked.
“Give her a minute to relax,” Sean said, steering Kayleigh to the couch, where he sat her down.
It took a few minutes, but Kayleigh finally caught her breath. Her friends watched as she walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out three beers. Popping the tops and dropping the lids into the sink, she carried them back to the living room and placed them on the coffee table.
“Um, are those all for you, or are we sharing?” Sean asked, flashing a mischievous grin.
Without speaking a word, Kayleigh slid beers to April and Sean before downing her own in one go. “Cheers,” she said, placing the empty bottle on the table and unleashing a belch of epic proportions.
Cheers indeed. Now, you wanna tell us what happened out there?” Sean asked.
Starting slowly at first and choosing her words carefully, Kayleigh said, “He, the robed man from the video feed, he was out there, watching.” Reaching out and grabbing April’s untouched beer, she continued. “I might not have seen him if it hadn't been for the kids out on the street.”
“Whose kids?” April asked.
“Not important, Apes, not important at all. Anyway, they pointed him out. He was standing on top of the garbage bin, laughing like he was having a jolly old time.” She took a drink of the beer and continued. “You know how I always say that I hate those pathetic girls in horror movies? The ones that run away or fall to pieces at the first sign of any danger? I became one of those girls. I ran. I fucking ran.”
“I think any of us would have. Yes, it’s just a game, but you don’t think about that in the moment,” Sean said.
“On the plus side, I think I might know the answer to the clue.”
“Did he say something to you?’
“Nope, but he was moving his hands and making an eight shape. I think that the nine and the six were the obvious clues. The misspelled seven is there to add some confusion. The last word in that riddle is ate, but I think they mean the number eight.”
Picking the paper up off the table, Sean scanned the riddle once more, snapped his fingers, and said, “Shit, Kaylz. You might just be right. There are eight lines in that shitty little poem. Shall we try it?”
“Why not, we still have two more tries if I’m wrong.”
The laptops sat stacked on the kitchen island. Sean lifted the one on top and took it back to the couch so that they could all see what was happening. He typed in the URL and waited for the page to load. The cursor blinked once, twice, and then he typed in 9-6-8. Almost immediately, the video feed appeared, showing the girl on the floor, drinking water out of a bowl like a dog. Her hands were free, but she was still secured to the chair by shackles around her ankles.
“Why doesn’t she crawl away and pull the chair?” April asked, appalled at what she as seeing.
“Look closely. The chair is bolted to the floor,” Kayleigh said.
“Where is the creeper?”
“Probably still making his way back from here. We should watch it until he shows up. Based on how long it takes, it might give us an idea of how close this place is to our house,” Sean said, looking at his watch.
They watched as the girl continued to drink. The seconds ticked by slowly and stretched into minutes, but the man did not return. Sean leaned into the screen and squinted his eyes.
“Shit,” he finally said. “This is on a loop now. It’s subtle, but this is a video loop.”
“What now?” April asked.
“I think the fun is over for the night,” Kayleigh said. “You guys need to work tomorrow, and I need to drive your sorry asses there. How about we watch a movie then go to bed?’
“Sounds good to me,” Sean said.
“April, you choose the movie. I could do with some lighter fare.”