Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/x2s54j/first_day_of_school/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Oh, how I wish that I was crazy. A psychotic break and a need for institutionalization would be preferable to reality. I ran through the play-by-play of my day as I lay in bed last night. Every time my apartment creaked, I would bolt upright in anticipation of the man, or thing, making his return. Truth is, I have no idea what the entity is. Normal men do not typically appear and disappear at their behest. On my way out of the cowork building, I asked the woman that works the front desk, Linda, if she had seen anyone else leave before me. She casually mentioned that I was the only one that had been in the building that day. I noticed a new silver locket around her neck that almost seemed to glow. I thanked her for the information and complimented her on her necklace. Apparently, it is a family heirloom that was passed down through her family. The only thing passed down to me was a handful of issues.
I have taken to referring to the thing as Patchwork, because of the state of its skin. Just thinking about it sends chills across my skin. The goosebumps have been frequent visitors since my unfortunate introduction to it. I have doubled up on my anxiety medication to maintain some semblance of normality. Unfortunately, they are slight sleep aids and can really mess me up if I am not careful. This has led to an increase in my caffeine consumption. What am I becoming? A patchwork of self-medication.
Every single notification that erupts through my phone or laptop gives me pause. Thankfully, I have not had any new interactions since the class. Trying to research what the hell Patchwork is has not been easy, to say the least. It took me far longer than I would like to admit figuring out what to type into the search bar on my browser. Most of my searches were fruitless endeavors. I was pulling up any articles or testimonies from people. Subjects ranged from shadow people to Mothman and even mentioned possession being a possibility.
I am not religious, but I can’t rule it out. I’m operating in an unknown area here where the world I thought I knew is gone. Nothing is off the table for now. When I decided to shift away from perusing through the paranormal ramblings of strangers, I decided to search for information on the name he gave me. I don’t understand why this is happening to me. Turns out that the only Montague Druitt that I could find is dead. Although, that is the least interesting, or terrifying fact about him. He was suspected of being Jack the Ripper. Yeah, the Ripper. He was found dead in a river with rocks in his pockets to keep his body submerged. I wish I was crazy. As I said, it would be preferable to my visit from Jack.
This left me with more questions than answers, unfortunately. How can one defend themselves against someone who has been dead for over 130 years? How far is his reach? I mean, I live in the U.S. and this thing was able to send me direct messages in a Zoom meeting when that function wasn’t even available. Why is the ghost/demon/remnant/entity of Jack the Ripper coming after me? Especially since I am thousands of miles from where he died. If it was some creep trying to pay homage to the memory, I would oddly feel much better. There is only one entrance and exit to the building though. No way someone could have snuck in and out.
As much as I would love to avoid my next class Professor Frederickson has an instant drop policy if any students miss one of the first four classes. I need to do research on how to defend myself against vengeful entities that can make themselves take a corporeal form. I can still feel the warmth of his breath on my neck. Going to head over to my cowork building to research more about spirits, hauntings, and defense in hopes of preparing for my next run-in with Jack. Something inside me knows that I will be seeing him again, soon.
****
Okay, well that was a lot, to say the least. I didn’t expect to be updating again this quickly but things have changed.
I arrived at the building, greeted Linda on my way in, and headed upstairs to the area where I do all of my work. It was uncomfortable and difficult to get settled in returning to the proverbial scene of the crime. I checked every nook and cranny of the loft area where I work. While the area is mostly open and exposed, there is a single conference room with blinds hiding the contents of the room and a single janitorial closet. I’d be lying if I said I was able to open that closet without second-guessing myself. My hand was shaking so violently as I reached for the nob that I had to use my other hand to steady it.
I’m not lying when I say that my heart skipped a beat pulling that door open. I nearly fainted on the spot. I was standing face to face with those same dead eyes. The unflinchingness of the gaze made me scream. When he screamed back, I realized it was the janitor and I had scared him as much as he scared me. Apparently, he takes breaks in the closet. In his defense, it is much roomier than I imagined and he even has a lawn chair set up with a small radio for entertainment.
I apologized and stammered through an excuse of looking for some paper towels to clean up a spill. He pointed them out to me and I thanked him, walking away without even grabbing them. He probably thinks I am a psycho. I wouldn’t blame the poor man. With my adrenaline still coursing it was much easier to do a quick clear of the conference room. Thankfully, there were no janitors there to scare years off of my life.
More at ease and coming off of the adrenaline spike, I was able to settle in and start figuring out what to do. I would love to deliver good news here. Like, “yeah apparently I just have to rebuke him in the name of Jesus and I’m set.” That wasn’t how it went at all. The internet is split on how to defend, injure, or hurt malicious spirits. Advice is even harder to find when you mention the thing is corporeal. I’m embarrassed to admit that the closest thing I found to sensible advice was from a Supernatural fan forum. Yes, the television show that stars the two hot guys fighting monsters all the time.
One of the forum posts mentioned that the use of silver in trying to harm a ghost is real and is passed down from generations of ancient texts. The user “DeansHentaiDom1978” even linked some of the sources. I clicked on one of the links and tried to decipher if it seemed legit. As far as I could tell they were reputable.
A creeping cold crawled over me and I could feel someone watching me. I feigned indifference and started digging through my purse. It was not fooled, and I could hear the erratic breathing and the creak of the floor as the mass approached me. I was able to get my hand on the lanyard attached to my keychain. My peripherals confirmed what I feared. A patchwork of flesh dressed in old-time garb hurling itself at me. I yanked my keys out and fumbled with the attachments until I found the thing I was looking for. A small silver replica of Frodo’s sword from the LOTR trilogy. In my lizard-nerd brain, I half expected it to glow blue in the moment.
I couldn’t have timed it any better if I tried. Dropping my purse on the ground, I held the pointy end out in front of me and stood to meet whatever was approaching. I felt the point pierce the wool vest and drive into flesh as his cold hand wrapped around my throat. He was gone and I was coughing up a lung. The force he applied in such a small amount of time left me grasping at my neck. I looked around, swinging the 3” dull blade in front of me. I was alone again. Thank you, DeansHentaiDom1978. You saved a life and you will probably never know it.
Linda came bounding up the stairs and asked if I was okay. Apparently, she heard him running and then me coughing. I wanted to tell her that I was attacked, but knew I would look crazy. I just told her that I had to run across the room to grab my inhaler from my purse because I could feel an asthma attack coming on. She mentioned that I must have been gripping so hard at my throat because she could see bruises forming in the shape of fingers.
I felt completely vindicated. At that moment all doubt was driven away. I wasn’t fucking crazy and someone else could see evidence of what was going on. I thanked her for the concern and sat back down at my computer. She glanced at my screen and broke into a beaming smile.
“Oh my god,” she said. “I am such a fan of spooky and dark history. I had no idea you were into the supernatural.”
“I’m relatively new to it all,” I said. “I’m still on the fence of whether I believe in most of it.”
“It is real, girl,” she said. “My new necklace..”
She motioned to it, clearly proud of it.
“It isn’t just a normal family heirloom. There is so much more to it than that. It was one of the only things found on the body of Montague Druitt. He was the..”
I cut her off, “ripper.”
She nearly jumped with joy, “Yes! I thought you were new to this stuff. That’s a fairly specific piece of history.”
I took a breath and asked her to sit down so I could tell her a story. She agreed and I relayed everything that had happened to me over the last day. She never once laughed or looked at me like I was crazy. The entire time I talked, she nervously rubbed at the necklace. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at it over and over again. I felt compelled. Part of me wanted it. I cast the thought out of my mind and finished recapping the events to Linda. I ended with my most recent run-in and her coming up to check on me.
She sat in silence for a few moments. I imagine she was trying to process everything I had thrown at her. Finally, she looked up at me and scrunched up her face.
“It has to be the necklace,” she said. “I have heard of spirits attaching themselves to specific objects and being able to affect the world around them. We have to destroy it.”
I nearly broke down into a mess of tears and sobs. It felt so good to finally have someone sharing the weight of this experience with me. I wasn’t alone anymore.
“I get off at 5 tonight,” she said. “take down my number and I will text you with my address when I leave here so you can meet me and we can put an end to this.”
We exchanged info, hugged each other, and I headed back to my apartment to wait for her text. I am going to try to nap and get ready for whatever lies ahead of us. I will provide an update after we finish this.