You should press play.

I have to keep saying it until you understand how it goes.

---

Detective Wells and I remained frozen in place. The room is quiet as realisation slowly took hold. The CD shook slightly in the detective’s hands and I think he was thinking about the same thing that was on my mind.

Who knows I’m here? Apart from the police, who else will know I’m here?

The detective shifted his gaze away from the CD and locked eyes with me before handing the dreaded package over. As soon as it was in my hand, he quickly stalked towards the door, moving his hand to rest on the firearm he had by his waist. I returned my attention to the package and my throat seized up.

I had no idea about what was happening and why someone was so keen on getting me to watch snuff videos. I’m not saying I’m an innocent guy. Everything to do with my dad and my mother screwed me over. I had a few crazy stunts in my past but nothing ever too serious.

I glanced around at my siblings before resting on my mother. She looked troubled, bright eyes staring back at me as if pleading for my safety. It made something move in me but I killed it. My life was in danger. No time to be pulling on old wounds in an effort to fix something that can’t be fixed.

The door to the house slammed shut as the detective walked back towards us. He had an exasperated look on his face as he picked up his phone to inform one of his colleagues. At this point, it sounded like the wisest thing to do.

“You going to play that then, eh, Will?” my brother said, nodding to the CD.

I licked my lips and gave him a weak laugh.

“I’m not tapped in the head, am I? You heard the story we told you. Why would I play this?” I replied.

“Well…” he began, scratching his chin, “...it beats standing around in silence like we’re statues. Someone’s pranking you.”

I frowned at that. A prank was usually supposed to either make you laugh or annoy you. Not freakin’ give you a nightmare. Or come with gift-wrapped pieces of humans.

“I, for one, say we should play it. And the kind officer here can find out who sent it,” Laura said in a voice that sounded calm though she didn’t seem it. She was as frightened as I was. I could see it in her eyes.

I looked at my sister who shrugged and then at the detective. He looked like he was on the fence before nodding begrudgingly. My eyes found the CD player underneath the television and I moved to set it up, with Tristan assisting me.

Behind me, away from my vision, I could hear Sara talking to the detective in quiet tones. She was beginning to sound as scared as my mother did and it almost made me stop. Truth be told, I wanted to leave the house and just walk away to Katie’s.

Katie.

I whisper a quick apology to Tristan as I jumped up to my feet to call my new girlfriend. It would be tragic to lose her after only just getting her. As my phone screen lit up, I see the numerous messages that she had sent. She had initially thought I was ignoring her before she tried to drop by my place.

And when she saw the police tape, her messages had gotten frantic. I saw a few missed calls and voicemails but I figured I would call her directly. Might as well.

I dialled her phone and it only rang once before her voice filled my ears.

“Baby?”

“Hey, Kate…” I said, sighing despite myself.

“Baby, are you okay? Please, tell me you’re okay. I came by your apartment. I saw the police tape. Something about ears and tongue…”

“Babe, I’m good. Just having a weird flipping day. I’m-I’m fine. Just give me a couple hours and I’ll come to you, okay?” I said, trying to calm her down.

“Baby, don’t go…” she said through shaky breaths and I could tell she had been crying.

“I’m here, baby. I’m here. Just need to sort out something with the detective, that’s all,” I said.

“There’s a detective? What happened baby? Are you hurt? Did someone-”

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt, I am-”

My voice trailed off as the television changed to the channel for the CD player. Static filled the screen before changing into a dark blue hue with the name of the player coming on. I could hear Kate in the background, asking if everything was alright.

“Babe, everything’s good. Just wait…”

I trailed off again as Tristan popped the CD onto the tray and inserted it into the player. The sound of the disc spinning in the player filled the room for a short second as the rest of us descended into a tentative silence.

“Baby?” Katie said through the phone.

“Hold on, babe,” I replied.

The black screen on the TV changed to that of a familiar scene.

An empty room with a single steel chair placed in the middle of the room. It was the same room, with the addition of a grey carpet just in front of the chair. Concrete walls marked the back of the room, with small windows placed to the top, just before the wall met the ceiling. There was a single light in the middle of the room, shining solely on the chair underneath it.

Something about the room unnerved me but I couldn’t decide on what it could be. There were no weapons or guns or anything particularly dangerous in the scene. Just the chair, the light and the dull carpet.

After a few seconds, the camera zoomed in on the chair, like it had done in the first video in the living room. Unlike before, the masked woman who I took for my mum had been sitting but now, it remained empty. Static noise emanated from the speakers and I could just about hear the voices of people talking in the background.

Then, a person walked in front of the camera. From the little that could be seen, the person had their hands secured behind them and they gently rocked from side to side. From the corner of the screen, another person walked behind the first, standing behind the steel chair.

“Sit,” the person behind the chair said and I swallowed. It was the voice of the man in the Oni mask.

The figure rocking stopped and slowly took their seat.

The whole room gasped as we tore our eyes from the screen to look at my mother and then back to the screen.

Sitting on the chair, was someone who looked like my mother, down to the tiniest details. I looked at my mum and even she seemed lost for words, frowning as she leaned forward to take a closer look. I hear the detective swear behind me and I could understand the sentiment.

Sara kept looking back and forth between the Laura-lookalike on the TV and the one sitting on the couch.

“How…?”

“Don’t talk. Not while we work,” the Oni-masked figure barked and we all jumped. It felt like it was directed to us.

TV-Laura giggled before sitting properly, resting her back till her head was resting on the masked man. There was a smile on her face, wide and somewhat creepy. With a flourish of hand movements, a butcher’s knife appeared in his hand and he held the blade to my mother’s counterpart. Sara shouted, moving towards the couch. Toward my mother.

“Say it,” the masked man said.

“You are now in the game. Before enlightenment, one must suffer. And to suffer, they must lose that which is dear to them. Thank you for pressing play, Will,” she said in a voice just like my mother’s.

As she finished the sentence, the call I was on cut. Before I could react, Katie’s name forming in my throat, the masked man moved the blade across TV-Laura’s neck with blinding speed.

Blood sprayed into the air, as the masked man exited the scene. TV-Laura remained sitting, as she bled to death all the while smiling. Sara cried out and I turned to see a thin line of blood form on my mother’s neck. Blood began to pour out like she had been cut and she bled profusely. Tristan ran to get the first aid kit as the detective radioed in for the ambulance.

I remained frozen in place as Sara hugged my mother, crying her eyes out. But my mother. She seemed unfazed by it all. Instead, she locked eyes with me and smiled widely.

Just like her TV counterpart.