#i lieeeeeeed

[mechanicalowls]

Want Me To

a terrornoss fic inspired by my possibly in michigan animatic

chapter 1 - the mall

warnings: none

rating: t (this doesn't apply to later chapters)

chapter below the cut:

He was here again.

A shopping mall, an ancient one at that. Not dilapidated by any means, but completely unpopulated. There were signs of life everywhere, the lights were on, albeit dim, the grills in the food court sizzled from ever present grease that never seemed to burn. Music hummed through each store, the playlist of one clashing with another and another and so on and so forth. A near silent echo bounced off the walls, like there were people here, walking, talking, and going about their business.

But he was alone.

There was no one else.

Well, except for him.

Brian wasn't sure what would've freaked him out more; being completely alone, or knowing someone else was here. 

Day in and day out, he found himself here, in this mall. It seemed as though it was stuck in time, yet whoever owned it refused to let it die. No one ever entered, well, besides Brian, of course. The parking lot was always empty, as were the stores within. No customers, no employees, no one.

Except for him.

For weeks now, Brian found himself being called back to this place. He'd black out one minute, then regain his senses the next and he'd be sitting in his car, in the barren parking lot. 

And he'd always get out.

And he'd always go in.

Brian wasn't exactly sure what compelled him to keep coming back. He'd only discovered this place doing some urban exploration. He'd seen some videos of guys finding and exploring crazy abandoned places, getting into all sorts of trouble with vagrants and lawmen alike. Deciding he needed something in his life that wasn't wholly depressing, Brian drove around his city for hours in search of places to do his own urban exploration.

He wasn't a professional by any means, but he wasn't stupid either. He didn't touch anything he found, he checked floors of decrepit buildings for sturdiness before stepping onto them, and he kept his phone charged and silent at all times.

The last thing he wanted was to get lost.

Unfortunately, he'd run into a number of “professional” urban exploration groups along the way, each more insufferable than the last. They were all made up of the most spoiled, egotistical people he'd ever laid eyes and ears upon; all wanting to be the next big thing and get their five minutes of fame.

So when his usual stomping grounds became overrun with pests pointing cameras at him, he had enough. Brian jumped through spot after spot, somehow meeting the same two groups over and over again.

They were following him, probably.

Yet somehow, they hadn't found this place. At least, not yet anyways.

During one of his drives to escape the wannabe vloggers, Brian pulled into the parking lot of this mall. Like every time after, he didn't even realize he had until he blinked and took in his surroundings.

The big, almost new looking sign proudly displayed the name Blue Cascade Shopping Mall: Something for Everyone!

(Brian had yet to figure out what his something was.)

A quick Google search had shown him the mall had been in business since 1979, and the website displayed pictures taken no sooner than 1992.

Despite this, Brian felt (for what he didn't realize would be the first of many times) a compulsion to push onward into the shopping center.

Ever since then, he'd been coming here regularly.

And ever since then, he'd been seeing him regularly.

A man, Brian guessed, completely cloaked in darkness. Even in the dim neon lights that illuminated the whole mall, Brian could only make out the man's eyes and teeth; always curled upwards in a smile, and always watching him.

Brian was terrified, of course he was. The figure never moved, yet somehow followed him everywhere. He never spoke, yet Brian felt as though he was the one that beckoned him to come back almost every day.

Despite this, Brian could never stop himself from coming back day after day. If he skipped a day, choosing instead to stay at home or go to work, he felt ill. He felt lightheaded, he felt queasy, and he ached. Yet, once that silent voice drew him back into the mall, Brian was instantly alright again. The mall didn't fill him with a sense of euphoria, or calm, or anything that would make him want to come back.

It just made him normal again. No matter how hard his heart beat in his chest when he spotted the shadow man gazing at him from behind a clothing rack or service desk. It made him normal again, and that's all he could really ask for; even if this place was to blame for his ailments in the first place.

The mall haunted him, not just beckoning him back during his waking hours, but drawing him in during his limited night’s sleep.

He was always in the mall, wandering the halls like he did most days. The only difference? The shadow man came to him. He'd get closer and closer, his gaze predatory and lustful. 

His wispy arms would wind all around him, grasping around Brian's middle, trailing up and down Brian’s arms, gently massaging his shoulders.

Pulling Brian’s hair violently, slapping Brian across the face.

Closing tightly around Brian's throat.

Brian would scold his dreaming self for never fighting back, never resisting, even when it seemed as though the shadow man was out for blood.

His blood.

When he was able to escape the shadow man's clutches, he would merely wander the mall the same he would during the day, the shadow man not far behind.

They would talk sometimes.

Why don't you come back to me, Brian? I get so lonely here by myself.

“Why don't you ever come ta me when I'm there?”

A chuckle.

Your fear, Brian. It elates me. When you finally see me and freeze like the little deer that you are, it fills me with such a wonderful feeling.

Brian would bristle at that.

“Would you let me get close if I wasn't afraid?”

A cold, shadowy hand curled around the side of his neck, carding upwards towards his chin, the corner of his eye, and finally rooting in his scalp; grasping, but not yanking. Brian froze in place.

Would you let me get close?

Another hand snaked up his back and closed around his throat, applying enough pressure to let Brian know it was there. He stiffened a bit, leaning his head backwards. He felt the cool and sturdiness of the shadow man's chest against his back; his wispy arms closed around his own like a cage.

Brian blinked, and let out a shaky breath. He felt the shadow man tense, like he had looked a greek monster in the eye.

“Would you hurt me if I did?”

Wrong question. 

The shadow man wrenched his scalp backwards, digging his nails in harshly. His fingers around his neck squeezed his throat, pressing deep into his flesh like he was trying to squeeze the air out of a balloon.

Or out of a person.

The shadow man growled deeply. Brian gasped for air and clawed at the hand around his airway. 

As much as he struggled against the shadow man's grasp, he didn't try to get away. He just wanted the man's grip to loosen, not to cease entirely.

He could feel the frigid breath of the man on his ear.

I think you want me to.

And Brian would wake with a start.

~~~