I have no idea what’s going on with my younger brother and his friends. As I got older I sort of lost touch with some of the trends and I know every generation has it’s fads but I’m concerned.
I am currently visiting family for Thanksgiving. I rarely see them so I don’t always know what’s going on. As soon as I saw my little brother I knew something was off with him. He’s thirteen now and is starting to go through his ‘teenager’ phase. He is usually very respectful and when I see him he always asks about my work and what it’s like living in a big city.
This time he just said ‘Hi.’ and nodded and went into his room. I asked my mom if anything had happened or if anything was wrong with him but she said he was fine. His grades were good and he had a group of friends that didn’t get into trouble.
I walked up to his door and was about to knock, but I thought I could hear something so I listened in, but then it stopped and it was silent. I lightly knocked on the door.
“Hey dude, hows it going? Can I come in?”
“Yes.” he said plainly.
I talked to him for a few minutes to see if anything was going on. He kept saying everything was fine and that he was just ‘tired or something’. I thought I would give him his space and left him alone. At dinner he seemed okay and was talking normally to mom and dad, and seemed more aware than earlier.
I figured that he must have just been tired then, at least that was until a few days later. Mom said he was having friends over and that her and dad were going out so just keep an eye on them. Around 8, or so I went downstairs to check in on them. But when I got down there I was shocked.
I figured they would be playing video games, or a board game, or watching a movie… but when I got downstairs I gasped. They were all just standing there doing weird poses staring at the TV. At first I thought the screen was off but then I took another glance and saw in the corner it said ‘‘Mr. Troubles Challenge’.
They were completely motionless, the five of them, and it seemed like they didn’t even notice. I tried calling to them.
“Hey guys?”
“Guys?!”
Then I shouted a bit “Guys! Snap out of it for a second will you!”
They still stood motionless. At that point I was a little freaked out and walked over to the computer and clicked off of the video.
“BRO! You ruined it!” my brother shouted angrily.
“Why are you just standing there like some freaks! And ignoring your older brother isn’t cool bud.”
“Aghhh. It’s the Mr. Troubles challenge! Your not supposed to move. You don’t even get it!” his friends said nothing but they were sat on the couch clearly upset as well.
“Oh… okay. Well sorry then, but if I ask you something I need an answer kiddo. Basic respect right? Here let me restart it and you guys can just try again.” I said trying to fix what I done.
“No… it’s too late. Just please… Go away.” he was clearly mad. He had never acted like this before.
I brought it up to my mom and asked if she knew anything about Mr. Troubles. She said she had no clue but Dad said that he had noticed the boys playing similar games. Last week he said he saw them staring at a blank screen but didn’t have time to say anything and forgot to ask about it later.
Mom said that the boys were at the park and asked if I could pick them up. I agreed and drove over to the local park. When I got there I couldn’t believe it. There was my brother and his friends but there were also twenty other kids just standing in a circle staring at each other in silence.
Not again I thought.
They were all fixed on the center of the circle. I waved my arms at my brother in spite of how weird and creepy I thought there game was. I didn’t want to upset him. He gave no response. I started to get frustrated, after a few minutes of attempting to get his attention I went over to him and lightly grabbed his arm and tried to pull him aside. As soon as the circle broke all the kids turned 180 degrees and started running in straight lines.
“What the…” I said out loud. “What are you guys doing out here! It’s like 0 degrees right now! You should be moving around. Is this that ‘Mr. Troubles’ thing again? Tell me what this ‘game’ is about!” I was somewhat angry at the stupidity of it. Watching the kids run off like that in unison honestly gave me the shivers thinking about it.
“You don’t get it! Just stop ruining the time I have with my friends!” then he shook free and ran towards the car. He ignored me the whole way home and was basically silent at dinner. I told Mom and Dad what had happened and they said it was probably just some new ‘fad’. I told them maybe so but either way this seemed exceptionally ridiculous as far as fads go. What kind of fad is just standing motionless in silence?
Today we woke up in a panic. Mom said my brother was gone and she had gotten several calls from other parents asking if they had seen their children. I looked through my brothers belongings but found nothing. That was until I saw his journal. I wouldn’t have read it normally but did in the circumstance.
All it said on every page was ‘Today I watched Mr. Troubles. I won.” I dropped the book in horror. What was this Mr. Troubles really and why was my brother seemingly so obsessed with him! Were all the kids like this? I quickly opened my phone and searched for the channel.
Zero results.
It made no sense. I went downstairs and logged into the family laptop that the boys were using earlier. It was signed into my brother’s account. I typed in the name of the account again ‘Mr. Troubles’. Who was this guy? I searched for the video they were watching that day and gasped.
It was different, it was no longer a black screen, it showed five figures doing the strange poses that my brother and his friends were doing. Why could I see it now? I clicked back on the channel and looked at the latest video and immediately called 911.
“Children of (My parents town) Mr. Troubles is doing a meet and greet! Time for another game!”
The video only showed longitude and latitude coordinates, but when I looked it up it was in the middle of nowhere in the woods. I told the police where I suspected the kids had went and got in my car and put my foot on the gas.
When I got to the location I saw random teens walking along the highway, straggling along. The police where already there. I called out for my brother for the next hour and a half. I saw some I recognized from the day at the park. They were just staring at trees blankly. Eventually I got a text; my brother was home.
We spent hours asking him what he was doing there and who was Mr. Troubles. He barely said anything, he just kept nodding and shaking his head. At one point my mom started crying. He wasn’t completely mute or anything but he just gave vague careless answers.
“SHOW SOME RESPECT! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!” my Dad yelled at him hammering the table and walking out of the room.
That was hours ago now. My brother went back into his room. I went to check in on him, and was about to knock on his door. Just like before I heard a sound. I listened more closely than before. It was my brother mumbling under his breath.
“Today I watched Mr. Troubles. I won.”
“Today I watched Mr. Troubles. I won.”
“Today I watched Mr. Troubles. I won.”
He was saying it repeatedly like it was some kind of chant. I stepped back slowly almost knocking a photo off a table in the hall. My jaw hung open.
What had happened to my brother?