The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Don’t Watch the Footage
by A.F. Stewart

“It’s not real… it can’t be real… What did Rebecca shoot? Why did she send it? Is that why… missing…Whatever you do, don’t watch the footage. Please, Dave, don’t watch…” The badly recorded message from Ally trailed off into incoherent mutterings.

What the hell was she talking about? Rebecca’s footage was fine. Then I checked the date on the message. Two days ago.

Weird, I never noticed it before today. I have been busy, I guess.

I glanced back at the running computer where I had uploaded the recordings Rebecca sent. Just b-roll. Background shots of the asylum. Great video, but nothing out of the ordinary. I frowned.

How did Ally get a copy? Did Rebecca send her the stuff too? Why?

A sound caught my attention, and suddenly the computer screen fritzed. The video had stopped playing; a green-tinted, bleary image showed.

Hey, that’s the inside of the asylum. Rebecca was taking exteriors.

I moved closer, staring.

I don’t remember that video. There’s someone in the shot. Is that a woman?

I moved even closer, touching the screen.

She looks familiar. Oh, my—I think that’s Ally!

The screen flickered and the figure turned. She looked straight at me.

That is Ally!

“I’m sorry, Dave. I tried to warn you.”

As Ally’s voice echoed, her fingers reached out to the screen and touched mine. Pain raced up my arm and exploded in my head. My world went black and cold. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes. Everything was tinted green and shadowy, and strangely fuzzy. Almost like… static on bad video. I shivered.

What happened? Am I dreaming? Wait, there’s light. Is that a window?

 I gasped.

Is that my apartment? My empty apartment?

A hand touched my shoulder. Ally’s voice whispered in my ear.

“I’m so sorry, Dave, I’m so sorry. Why did you have to watch the footage?”

Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from A.F. Stewart:

Visions and Nightmares

Tragedy spares no one… and takes no prisoners.

In the twilight shadows, secrets are revealed past the whispers of madness.

Wander into the realm of the old gods with Elenora, where humanity and marriage are a prison.
Step through a looking glass of dark horrors with an Alice you never knew.
Join with Zenna to seek the truth as her death by magic grows closer.
Journey with Olivia as she crosses paths with a monster of the forest and runs for her life.
Watch Isobel summon the faerie to solve her problem of an unwanted husband.
Shiver as Doctor Killbride experiments with corpses to create life from death.
All that and more await within the pages.

Ten stories. Ten women.
Who will survive? Who will fall? And who will succumb to their inner evil?
Find out in Visions and Nightmares.

Warning: This book contains disturbing scenes that may be upsetting to some readers.

Available on Amazon!