nine

A black screen.

For a moment, nothing played. Then—

A faint static noise.

The video started. Dan appeared on the screen, panting as he walked through the darkness. His surroundings were barely visible under the night sky. Shadows swallowed everything around him.

He placed the camera on the ground and sat in front of it. His face was pale, his body language and face seemed tired and confused. He checked his surroundings again and again. He was sitting on dark grassy ground, a few trees were visible behind him. The dark place was giving some horror vibe.

'Hey guys, it's me Dan, and I am pretty sure the people watching are Adi, Anne, and Peter' swallowing hard.

'You guys must be thinking, how do I know? Because I made those clues only solvable with you three working together. Adi knew the password of the laptop and figured out that it was a date for the password of this video, Peter solved the number pattern, and Anne was the only one who knew the date.' said Dan, then took a pause.

Another pause. A deep breath.

'Listen to me carefully.' His voice wavered. 'If you're watching this, it means… I'm dead.'

'There is…something wrong with m-my brain' pointing at his skull with his finger 'I don't know what's happening, I-I kept seeing dark images, dreams. It all started two weeks ago, and also since then some men have been following me everywhere' taking a pause and giving his surroundings a check 'I'm losing control of my-my brain, I-I know I am going to die, I just know it' his voice broke, after a deep breath he spoke again 'don't go to the police, there is something wrong about them in this thing, I-I have no idea what I'm saying OK'

'I'm losing control.' His voice cracked. 'I know I sound crazy, but… just trust me. There's something wrong. I've never felt like this before.'

Dan's expression darkened.

'There is this dream, I see it like every time I sleep for the last two weeks. In that dream, I got hit by a car and died but for the last two days, I'm just seeing a tall building going up. I don't know what is that supposed to mean. Guys, if I am dead, found the truth behind my death' a pause 'This little brain is telling me that my death won't be normal…trust me'

Video ended

There was a silence, three of them were in a state of shock that was hard to overcome, scent of fear was growing around them. Their mind was flooded with questions - where was he? What happened? Was he mad? He knew he was going to die. Did he really commit suicide? – Deep thoughts in their mind were just drowning them in an endless sea of fear.

The silence was broken by Anne's scared sobs 'O my god, I ca't imagine wh' he went through' Tears rolling down her cheeks, she dropped herself onto the sofa.

'Oh man, that was not healthy to watch' A shocked expression took over Adi's face.

'Did he seem crazy to you?' asked Pete, his eyes were wet

'This is something a person could say before…' Adi didn't need to finish the sentence '...but I still don't believe he committed suicide'

Peter's jaw clenched. 'I don't want to believe it… but after watching that—' His voice broke. 'He seemed so scared, man. Oh my God.' He dropped to his knees, silent tears falling.

Adi slowly sat on the other couch and said 'We should get some sleep, we-we'll talk about it later' he was not able to make eye contact with any of them

Anne after a while walked away into the guest room but still crying, Peter stood up and dropped dead on the couch.

Adi went to sleep on the other couch after locking all the windows and doors. Dan's last words echoed in his head. My death won't be normal… Trust me.'