Marsh
Active Ranker
The Last Message
The rain had not stopped for three days.
Theo hated storms. Marsh always laughed at him for it.
"One day you'll realize monsters don't live outside," Marsh would joke. "They live where you least expect."
Three years later, Marsh was dead.
At least... that's what everyone believed.
---
It was 11:59 PM when Theo's phone vibrated.
Marsh: Don't open the door.
Theo's heart nearly stopped.
The sender's name was unmistakable.
Marsh.
His best friend had died in a cliffside car crash. Theo himself had attended the funeral. He had watched the coffin lowered into the ground.
A loud knock echoed through the house.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Another message arrived.
Marsh: Whatever you hear, don't answer.
Then came his mother's voice.
"Theo? It's me. Open the door."
His mother was supposed to be in another city.
His phone buzzed again.
Marsh: That's not your mother.
The lights went out.
The knocking became frantic.
Theo backed away from the entrance.
Then...
Silence.
Another message.
Marsh: It's inside now.
Theo slowly turned.
Nothing.
His breathing steadied.
Maybe someone was playing a cruel prank.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from upstairs.
He grabbed a flashlight and climbed the stairs.
Every room was empty.
Except Marsh's old bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
Inside sat an old laptop.
It turned on by itself.
A video began playing.
Theo and Marsh were children, laughing together.
Then the recording glitched.
A man appeared behind them.
Watching.
Smiling.
Theo had never noticed him before.
His phone vibrated.
Marsh: He has been with us since we were kids.
Theo slammed the laptop shut.
Another message arrived.
Marsh: You were never supposed to remember.
Memories flooded back.
The cliff.
The rain.
The car.
Marsh hadn't been driving.
Theo had.
They argued.
Theo lost control.
The car plunged over the edge.
Theo escaped.
Marsh didn't.
His mind had buried the truth.
Another knock echoed—
Not from the front door.
From inside the closet.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Theo opened it.
Nothing.
Only a mirror.
He looked into it.
His reflection...
...didn't move.
It smiled.
Theo stepped back.
His reflection whispered,
"Thank you for bringing me home."
The mirror shattered.
Darkness swallowed the room.
---
The next morning, police found the house empty.
Only Theo's phone remained.
The final message was still on the screen.
Marsh: I wasn't trying to save you...
A second message appeared on its own.
I was trying to save everyone else.
The officers stared at each other.
One picked up the phone.
A new text was automatically sent to an unknown number.
Don't open the door.
The officer frowned.
"Who sent this?"
His partner looked toward the front entrance.
Someone knocked.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
The story had begun again.
The rain had not stopped for three days.
Theo hated storms. Marsh always laughed at him for it.
"One day you'll realize monsters don't live outside," Marsh would joke. "They live where you least expect."
Three years later, Marsh was dead.
At least... that's what everyone believed.
---
It was 11:59 PM when Theo's phone vibrated.
Marsh: Don't open the door.
Theo's heart nearly stopped.
The sender's name was unmistakable.
Marsh.
His best friend had died in a cliffside car crash. Theo himself had attended the funeral. He had watched the coffin lowered into the ground.
A loud knock echoed through the house.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Another message arrived.
Marsh: Whatever you hear, don't answer.
Then came his mother's voice.
"Theo? It's me. Open the door."
His mother was supposed to be in another city.
His phone buzzed again.
Marsh: That's not your mother.
The lights went out.
The knocking became frantic.
Theo backed away from the entrance.
Then...
Silence.
Another message.
Marsh: It's inside now.
Theo slowly turned.
Nothing.
His breathing steadied.
Maybe someone was playing a cruel prank.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from upstairs.
He grabbed a flashlight and climbed the stairs.
Every room was empty.
Except Marsh's old bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
Inside sat an old laptop.
It turned on by itself.
A video began playing.
Theo and Marsh were children, laughing together.
Then the recording glitched.
A man appeared behind them.
Watching.
Smiling.
Theo had never noticed him before.
His phone vibrated.
Marsh: He has been with us since we were kids.
Theo slammed the laptop shut.
Another message arrived.
Marsh: You were never supposed to remember.
Memories flooded back.
The cliff.
The rain.
The car.
Marsh hadn't been driving.
Theo had.
They argued.
Theo lost control.
The car plunged over the edge.
Theo escaped.
Marsh didn't.
His mind had buried the truth.
Another knock echoed—
Not from the front door.
From inside the closet.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Theo opened it.
Nothing.
Only a mirror.
He looked into it.
His reflection...
...didn't move.
It smiled.
Theo stepped back.
His reflection whispered,
"Thank you for bringing me home."
The mirror shattered.
Darkness swallowed the room.
---
The next morning, police found the house empty.
Only Theo's phone remained.
The final message was still on the screen.
Marsh: I wasn't trying to save you...
A second message appeared on its own.
I was trying to save everyone else.
The officers stared at each other.
One picked up the phone.
A new text was automatically sent to an unknown number.
Don't open the door.
The officer frowned.
"Who sent this?"
His partner looked toward the front entrance.
Someone knocked.
Knock... Knock... Knock...
The story had begun again.