"Ugh..." I groaned, my eyes slowly fluttering open to stare up at the ceiling; bright spots dancing around my vision as I regained consciousness.

My shaky arms shifted by my sides, one of my hands moving to rub my pounding head.

I knew i'd passed out, and I remember all that had happened before everything had went black— I knew I hadn't hit my head hard so I wasn't too concerned about myself, however I was concerned about the dream I had had while I was in my odd dream state.

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling dry as I carefully pushed myself into a seated position at the bottom of the stairs.

The lights in the house were off, and from what I could tell from the windows, i'd been unconscious all day; as it was now completely dark outside compared to just a while earlier when I had answered the door to speak with Laurie.

I sighed, not enjoying how fast the days seemed to be going by.

With that, I carefully pushed myself to my feet and stumbled into the kitchen, flipping the light switch on and flinching when the ceiling lamp turned on, burning my adjusting eyes.

I lowered my head and made my way slowly to the fridge, where I proceeded to pull it open and pull out a small ice pack to rest against my head.

As I held the pack against my forehead, I used my free hand to grab a cup and fill it with water to clear my throat— completely unaware of the masked man standing just a few feet behind me, blood rolling slowly down his hands and dropping silently to the floor.

Eventually, I set the cup down and turned around, finding nothing to be unusual about my surroundings other than the few drops of blood that had appeared at my feet.

My eyes trailed down to the floor, narrowing in on the red splotches that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Perhaps it was the puppy? Or Mrs. Olif?

I held my breath and bit the inside of my cheeks before making my way quietly up the stairs of the house and to the second floor.

What if one of them were hurt? Last time I examined the new puppy he seemed to be in perfectly good condition! What if I left something out that got him hurt?

Had I cleaned up all of the glass shards from my mirror that I had broken just a few days earlier?

Maybe he stepped in some?

I quickly set everything down and wandered over to the stairs, studying the ground to see if anymore blood was visible.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and made my way slowly up the stairwell, flipping the hallway light on when I reached the second floor.

The puppy wasn't in the hallway— where could he be?

I ambled over to my bedroom door and pushed it open, jumping when the tiny hound bounded out of the room and down the stairs with a not so mighty bark.

I smiled softly, relieved to see that it couldn't have been my new puppy that was bleeding.

Was it Mrs. Olif?

I furrowed my brows curiously and slipped back into the hallway, inching closer to the older woman's room with every step I took against the creaking floorboards.

Only— the bathroom door caught my attention halfway through my small travel.

Through the cracks on the door, I could see the light from inside the room, melting into the wooden floor.

Was Mrs. Olif inside?

I sped up my walking speed and stopped in front of the washroom door, raising my hand and knocking hesitantly, pressing my ear against it.

"M'mam? Are you in there? Can I come in?" I asked, unsure of the situation at hand.

I waited another moment, sighing when I gained no response.

"I'm coming in. I hope you don't mind." I stated, placing my palm around the doorknob and carefully pushing it open, poking my head into the room to see the shower curtain pulled shut, a dark silhouette stationed behind it. Water seemed to have been overflowing from the tub, which made my heart skip a beat.

I swiftly slipped into the bathroom and hurried to the bathtub, pulling the curtain back and jumping in surprise when Mrs. Olif's body slumped over in the bowl of the shower, her body contorted into an uncomfortable position whilst her head laid beneath the water.

"O-Oh!" I blurted, quickly leaning forward and shutting the tap off, stopping the water from flowing from the bath before taking a step back to examine the scene before me.

I stared blankly, watching intently as a dark red began to mix into the water, coming from the body that laid within it.

My lips parted as if I were about to speak, but instead I jumped again, startled by the sound of my unnamed puppy barking from downstairs, seeming alarmed and set off.

I spun around, peering over my shoulder to look at Mrs. Olif one more time before directing my attention to my dog, who continued to bark from the first floor.

I sped down the steps, the floorboards creaking loudly as my feet thumped against them.

I slipped into the hallway, making my way into the living rook to search for my puppy, though there was no sign of him, and I instead heard a loud yelp sound off from within the kitchen. And then the house was silent.

"Puppy?" I called, growing concerned for the well being of my brand new pet.

I took slowly steps back into the long hallway; the lights in the house shut off, leaving me to search helplessly through the dark for the tiny dog.

"Where are you?" I whispered, slouching forward in an attempt to get a closer look at the ground incase the puppy was nearby— I didn't want to step on his tail or anything.

I continued onward, stopping when I entered the kitchen so that I could flip the light switch on. The light bulbs in the ceiling lamps flickered for a moment before deciding on lighting up the room.

I sighed in relief and glanced around, beginning to panic when my puppy showed no signs of responding. There was no way I could locate him if he didn't give me a sign!

I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth and made a "tsk tsk" sound, hoping to gain the young dogs attention, "Come on... Puppy..." I called again, clapping my hands together as I kneeled down on the ground to look under the table.

That's when I heard the scratching against the back door.

I sat up, whacking the side of my head against the table, "fuck!—" I exclaimed, standing up and rubbing my head slowly, stumbling towards the back door as I recovered from my millionth hit to the head in the span of just a few days.

I inhaled slowly, resting my forehead against the door for a moment, unaware of the tall shape that had stationed himself at the end of the hallway to watch me; his head tilted with curiosity.

With that, I exhaled and pulled the door open, the puppy hurrying inside with a wag of his tail to accompany his uplifting entrance.

I grinned, bending over and picking the dog up so I could give it a warm hug.

Poor thing! How did he get out there? It was cold outside due to winter approaching, I wouldn't have let him out on such a chilly night.

...

My eyes scanned the kitchen surrounding me for a moment whilst I rocked the dog in my arms. I planted a small kiss against his snout before slowly setting him down on the ground and watching as he hurried down the hall and up the stairs to who knows where.

I narrowed my eyes, the dark hallway completely empty.

"Mm..." I grumbled, marching towards the kitchen counter, where I proceeded to grab a large knife from its wrack.

I stared at my reflection against it for a moment before holding it against my side.

There was definitely someone here.

Someone that wasn't Mrs. Olif.

Someone that wasn't me.

And someone that definitely was not my puppy.

I swallowed hard, my grip against the knifes handle tightening as I snuck into the corridor, nearing the turn that brought you to the office— which eventually lead you to the stairs.

So, as I approached the stairs, I took a step up and began ascending to the second floor of the building, makings sure to be as quiet as I could. I didn't want to alert the intruder to my presence and make them hide again. I wanted them gone. Even if it meant killing.

I wasn't new to the idea— it's the whole reason I was the way I was.

I held my breath, forcing those incorrect memories out of my head so I could focus on the task at hand.

Intruder.

If Michael was here he'd be able to protect me from the stranger within my house. He'd take care of them so I wouldn't have to.

I miss him.

...

Fuck off.

I frowned and furrowed my brows, reaching the second floor and looking around, my fingers adjusting their hold on the knife.

I slinked down the hall, eyeing my closed bedroom door and sighing, there was no sign of anyone being inside.

I made my way to the bathroom, pushing the door open and cringing when I saw Mrs. Olif in the same position as before, only— all of the water within the tub was a dark red.

I bit my bottom lip and made my way to the final room. Mrs. Olif's room.

I gently opened the door and stepped inside, stopping to stare at the floor. The sheets were thrown about, the bed completely bare except for the wedding dress I had worn on halloween, strewn flat along the bed as if calling me to put it on.

My mask— the mask Michael made for me when we were children sat just above it. My dark tights and black flats stationed beside the white dress on the mattress.

I gasped at the sight, knowing for a complete fact that I was no the one to do this.

I dropped the knife and stumbled forward, flinching when the blade hit the floor with a thud.

My jaw dropped and I placing a hand over my mouth, shocked and confused by the display. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what it meant.

Who would do this and why?

"Whoever is in here... Get the fuck out! Stop hiding!" I screamed, taking a step back and slamming my fist into the wall to cause a loud slam.

I clenched my jaw as pain shot through my wrist, but I refused to seem weak. I wanted this intruder out.

"Come out!" I shouted, storming towards the bed and picking up the dress, only to throw into the the floor with a growl.

I inhaled heavily, holding my throbbing hands in fury, trying to ignore the pain I had caused myself.

When no sounds came from around me, I sighed, feeling crazier than I already was.

"Come out please..." I whimpered, turning around and staring at the doorway, my eyes falling half lidded as tears welled in my eyes, my stinging fist resting against my chest.

"Please... If you're here to hurt me... Just do it. I'm tired of all of this... I just— I just wanna lay in bed... I don't wanna..." I attempted the beg, only to slouch forward and cover my face with my palms, tears spilling down my cheeks as I clenched my eyes shut and bared my teeth.

"There's no point for me without him... Come out please... Just do whatever it is you want already... I'm tired of waiting..." I pleaded, my mental stability finally snapping.

I lifted my head after a moment of crying into my hands, feeling a sudden presence only mere inches in front of me.

My heart skipped a beat, the sound of heavy breathing alerting my senses.

The feeling of eyes locked onto me making my anxiety run wild.

I slowly opened my eyes, staring down at the ground, studying the boots that the intruder wore.

My e/c eyes slowly trailed up the strangers body, a dark blue mechanics suit clung to their body.

"..." I couldn't bring myself to speak as my eyes finally landed on the white mask that stared down at my tear stained face.

"I-I... Michael.... I thought... You were dead...." I whispered, growing lightheaded in reaction to this discovery.

And then I fainted.