Hi everyone,
I have some disturbing news to share, unfortunately. Yesterday, Douglas was found dead in his home by his wife, who had just come back from a business trip. He had been alone in his house for a number of days now.
The police have put tape around his house, and no one is allowed to see his body. I’m sure you have all heard the rumors, but I am here to clear up some things. I was at a bar with Douglas out late the night before he died. He seemed a bit… off. His eyes showed that he wasn’t really here; his mind was somewhere else. When I tried to ask him what was wrong, he just shrugged and said he hadn’t been getting good sleep. I tried to ask him further questions but he wouldn’t let me push it. He was non-responsive like this for most of the night. He refused to drink a single drop of alcohol, noting that beer made him sleepy and he “couldn’t afford to sleep again.”
When it was around 1:30 AM, we started the walk home. When we came to where we normally parted ways, he just stopped. I looked back and asked him what was wrong, but he just looked down at the ground. When I walked closer and questioned him again, he grabbed both my shoulders and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. Crazed eyes. I’ll never forget what he said that night: “It watches me, Daniel. It watches me as I sleep. I’ve seen it. It just stands and stares with this smile on its face.”
“Woah, woah, woah…” I told him. “Slow down.”
“Daniel… I think it’s going to take me away. It wants me, Daniel,” he said, his voice becoming more and more crazed.
I tried to calm him but he wouldn’t listen. He started begging. “Daniel, please… I need help. It’s going to take me.”
So I walked him home, determined to help. I walked into his bedroom, and it looked viscerally normal. I opened the closet and checked everywhere with him. “See? No monsters here,” I said to him, patronizingly, like I was talking to a child. I regret not checking twice.
He bid me farewell, but I could still sense a deep fear in him. He closed the front door, and I walked to the street. For a second, I wondered if I should stay with him for the night. I reassured myself that he’d be fine and it was just his imagination. That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
This morning, I woke up, and I had the urge to check on Douglas. So, I walked over to his house and I saw three police cars outside and yellow tape around his house. At the moment, they’re ruling it a suicide, but an autopsy hasn’t been completed yet.
This may be controversial, but I think the cops are wrong. There was something there. Something in Douglas’s house. Something that killed him. So please, I urge you all to keep yourselves safe and stay on the lookout for anything suspicious.
Thank you,
Daniel