I was scrolling through 4Chan and came across a weird advertisement.
“Film me, a serial killer, a diary, if you have the right equipment please apply and be paid well,” along with the normal post there was a response with a link for an application. I had just gotten out of film school, I had bought some nice cameras and microphones and was crippled by my loan debt so I decided to apply. I figured it was just some internet ass playing a prank or something like that but the application was genuine.
It had a section to list previous work and references, if this was a joke it was a damn well thought out one. I listed out everything and sent it.
The next day I had an email from an account I didn’t recognize.
“I looked over your application, you seem like you’re the perfect person for this position, please meet me at XXX on XXX at XXX sharp,” exacts were removed for obvious reasons but all you need to know is that it was a subway station. I meet him at the station at the exact date and time specified. He said he would be wearing a green and red striped polo and grey sweatpants with a red skull on each knee.
I found him within a few minutes. He was sitting on a light grey composite bench, overall it and he blended into the station like a bat in the pitch-black night. I sat next to him and he started.
“Are you XXX, for the diary?” he asked.
“Yup,” I responded.
“Do you have any questions about the job?” he asked.
“Yeah one, are you an actual serial killer, or do you want me to just film you as the star of a sho’-” he cut me off.
“Allow me to demonstrate, but first.” he stood up and motioned me to join as he checked his watch, an activity he had been doing since I had him, every ten seconds or so.
“For you to do this job, I need you to confirm something for me,” he continued as he stared at his watch.
“Hm?” I sounded.
“You’re gonna see some things, things you won’t like, things you will never forget.”
“I want you to agree right here and now, are you in or are you out.”
He looked up from his watch and stared at me while we walked toward the tracks.
I didn’t think he was still being serious, I mean who the fuck just puts up an ad like that on 4chan right.
“Yeah I’m in,” I said as he started to put his hand up.
“Start filming, now,” he said as we got closer to the tracks, I pulled out my camera and started filming.
“So what train are you going on?” I asked so I could be aware of our location.
“We aren’t going on a train,” he said, looking from his watch again and getting behind a small crowd of people.
“Then why are we here?”
He stood there in silence for a moment, I thought to ask again, maybe he couldn’t hear me through the noise of the station, in fact, it just got even louder as a train not stopping at this station was readying to bullet by any second.
I prepared to ask again, but I was halfway through my words when the train almost met the station, and he pushed one of the women in the group onto the tracks. With only ten or so feet of space between the woman who fell and the train, she had barely any time to react as the train blasted through her body as if it hadn’t even been there, splashing the onlookers with blood and viscera, everyone standing in shock before panic broke and the subway became a madhouse.
I threw down my camera in a moment and ran in the opposite direction that the man ran and made it to my home.
I bunkered down, no one would know I was there, the subway had cameras, yes but they were so cheap they didn’t even work on most days and it was far too hectic for them to simply see a man with a camera.
After several days and nights of haunting terror, fear, and guilt and several more of indoor seclusion, I had received mail.
It was a decently sized manila envelope with a fair heft to it. On the outside where a shipping address should’ve been found a small and brief note was written.
“I retrieved the video from the card of your camera, great job on the capturing, here is your payment, I’ll hit you up next time I need more work.”
In the envelope was several thousand dollars in crumpled and old hundreds. I think I have to move.