Find Me (Another HoM original short story)

March 27, 2023

Good morning, House of Madness students:

There haven't been many films that have interested me recently, so I apologize for all the short stories of late. I really do enjoy writing them though, so as always, I hope you enjoy reading them!

Find Me

Aidan Hoyle was burning the candle at both ends lately, trying to finish up his mythology paper he'd been avoiding since Christmas break. With the due date on said paper being in two days, time was of the essence, and sleep, beer, and girls would just have to wait. Aidan's main issue wasn't writing the paper itself to be precise, but the school library had always given him the creeps, and every time he's there he swears he hears voices and sees things he's positive aren't there. His dorm room is a no-go, as his roommate Spencer parties like Keith Richards in the 1830's, and his girlfriend Sara is busy trying to wrangle free time in her own room. So the library is Aidan's only choice whether he likes it or not.

Today Aidan definitely feels 'not' when it comes to today's trip to the fortress of knowledge, but when he woke up, Spencer was still drinking hard across the hall, and would soon turn their room into a stench-filled blabberhouse oozing with shenanigans. The library it was. As Aidan found his usual spot in the back left corner, he felt a chill come over his body that he just couldn't quite shake, but he opened up his binder and pushed on through the creeps. After about a half an hour, the room suddenly went black, and Aidan could see the silhouette of a dark hooded figure with eyes that shone blacker than the midnight sky peering not just at him, but into him as a whisper filled the room stating "fiiiiiiind meeeeeee". Suddenly, the lights came on, and everyone in the library was back where they were before the room went dark, exactly the way they had been, seemingly oblivious to the spectacular event Aidan hadn't just witnessed, but been completely consumed by. "What the actual FUCK!" Aidan screamed into the silence and was immediately greeted with a resounding "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" from that nerdy girl in his Sociology class, who also gave him a look that would melt puppies to go along with it. "Sorry" Aidan whispered, and got back to work.

Aidan was able to get a little more work done in the next hour or so, but his nerves were shot, and he was on edge to the point of doing shoulder checks every 30 seconds or so, just to make sure he was alone in his little corner. Aidan decided to head back to his dorm in hopes of grabbing a quick bowl of Froot Loops, and if he was lucky, maybe do the rest of his paper in there if Spencer was good and passed out. It seemed again that fate wasn't on his side, because not only was Spencer a drunken mess, but the Froot Loops scattered all over their dorm floor made it apparent that Aidan would be heading to the caf for lunch today, but hey, at least it wasn't haunted, or whatever he wanted to call the library. After finishing his soggy fries and Dr. Pepper a lot slower than he normally would have, Aidan put the refuse in the bin and slowly started making his way back to the hellish library. "It's all in your fucking head." Aidan said to himself with little certainty, but was relieved to see the library was busy when he arrived, and his spot was still available for him to blend into the background.

Another hour passed, then two, and Aidan had almost forgotten about the day's earlier episode when the room went black again, this time the shadow figure half the distance than the last, eyes as black as a witch's cauldron, and once more he heard "fiiiiiiiiiinddd meeeeeeeee" which seemed to echo directly within his soul. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Aidan screamed, as he covered his head with his arms, but when he was finally brave enough to open his eyes and look around, all he saw were annoyed faces and scathing glances coming from the people that weren't laughing uncontrollably. "Sorry" Aidan said again to no one in particular, but he wasn't sorry, he was fucking terrified. Aidan packed up his things faster than a tardy traveler heading to the airport, and bolted back to his dorm room, where he stepped and dodged as many Froot Loops as he could before reaching his bed, and hid under the covers like a child on their first night in their own room. Thankfully Spencer was finally asleep (or unconscious), but even if he hadn't been, Aidan wouldn't have cared as he seeked refuge from whatever had been in the library under his freshly washed duvet. Aidan was right where he wanted to be, and intended on staying in his fortress of solitude until morning - maybe longer.

Aidan awoke at 7:30a.m. to the sound of his girlfriend Sara's rapping on his door. "Babe? You in there?" she inquired softly. Aidan came out from under his covers in a fog, almost ready to admit to himself that it had all been a dream, but he knew better. As he opened the door, Sara said "There you are! Don't you answer your phone anymore?" with a sort of relief, to which Aidan gave yet another "Sorry" as she stepped inside. "What the fuck happened in here?" Sara asked as a Froot Loop crunched under her shoe. "Guess" Aidan said, as he nodded towards the resting corpse of Spencer. "You need a new roommate." Sara said dully, but then brightened as she said "I'm almost done my thesis! Will you come with me to the library later?" to which Aidan's stomach sank, but being put on the spot, all that came out of his mouth was "Sure, what time?". "Meetcha there at 10:30!" and she kissed him softly on the lips before she spun around and headed out. "Fuck me" Aidan thought, and then started to get dressed before he came up with a plan.

Aidan's 'plan' consisted of him insisting on sitting in the middle of the library with his hand, foot or whatever appendage he could touching Sara at all times. This, he thought, was a fool-proof method of keeping whatever that thing from yesterday was away, as it surely couldn't happen in the middle of the library while he was in direct contact with another person. So he thought. As Sara was reading her thesis to him in order to garner his perspective, the room suddenly went black again, but this time there was no shadow figure to be seen. At the sight of this, Aidan felt a tiny sense of relief even though his heart was pounding through his shirt, and he was already sweating. Just as he was getting his eyes ready to return to the light, he heard a whisper from behind saying "fooooooouuuuuuunnnnnd youuuuuuuuuuuu", and Sara was suddenly reading to no one.