red thread

“Big Man is a pretty fucked up name.”

“Yeah, hah,” she smiles, and her lip cracks, a droplet of blood beginning to pool in the line before she licks it clean with a thick tongue. “I don’t think its the name he gave her. She gave it to him herself.”
“Anyway, Big Man always seemed nice from what she told me. But then, one day, something happened and... my friend’s house burned down. Her parents died inside. She woke up outside on the lawn with no memory of how it happened.”
“She told me later that her dad hit her that day and her mom didn’t say anything about it. She told me she was sure Big Man did it.”
[]“Did that make her scared of him?”
[]Swallow your sick. “So like, she did it obviously.”

[]“That’s creepy.”

“It wasn’t at the time. I think for her it was nice at the time. She had a... tough home. So for her, it was like she had a best friend built in. Someone to talk to all the time about anything she wanted.”
Jen twitches slightly, and makes a small mournful sound.
“I don’t think he liked that part very much. I don’t think he liked her at all, in the end.”
[]“How do you...”

[]“How do you...”

“Anyway, Big Man always seemed nice from what she told me. But then, one day, something happened and... my friend’s house burned down. Her parents died inside. She woke up outside on the lawn with no memory of how it happened.”
“She told me later that her dad hit her that day and her mom didn’t say anything about it. She told me she was sure Big Man did it.”
[]“Did that make her scared of him?”
[]Swallow your sick. “So like, she did it obviously.”

[]“Did that make her scared of him?”

“No, see, that’s the thing. She got even closer to him. She came to stay with me for a couple weeks after it happened, that’s when she told me about him. Right after, like, the day after that, she moved away to her aunt’s house on the other side of the country.”
[]“What happened to Big Man?”

[]Swallow your sick. “So like, she did it obviously.”

“No!” Jen shouts, before catching herself. “No. She would never. It was him. It had to be him.”
“See, afterwards, she got even closer to him. She came to stay with me for a couple weeks after it happened, that’s when she told me about him. Right after, like, the day after that, she moved away to her aunt’s house on the other side of the country.”
[]“What happened to Big Man?”

[]“What happened to Big Man?”

“I think he went with her. But then I...” Jen scratches at a spot under her sleeve, a spot that looks pretty well scratched already. The blood on her lip is now in the spaces between her teeth. Her eyes are black.
You don’t feel well.
You can’t deal with this kind of thing. Not today.
[]“Listen, Jen, I’m sorry, but I really have to get back to work.”
[]“Okay. I believe you that Big Man was a ghost. I have to get back to work now, and so do you.”

[]“Listen, Jen, I’m sorry, but I really have to get back to work.”
[]“Okay. I believe you that Big Man was a ghost. I have to get back to work now, and so do you.”

“He wasn’t a ghost. He was something else. And I think he’s found me.” Jen says, digging her fingertips into the table, her nails scratching across the linoleum.
[]Your blood runs cold. “What?”

[]Your blood runs cold. “What?”

“Will you, will you take him?” She asks, her eyes red and wide. “Will you take him from me? He keeps saying things... not even 1807 wanted him. Not even 1669.”
[]Stand up. “What the fuck are you talking about, Jennifer?”

[]Stand up. “What the fuck are you talking about, Jennifer?”

“PLEASE,” she screams. The entire cafe goes silent, and then she’s scrabbling over the table and towards you, her pupils black and blood pooling in her teeth. “TAKE HIM, HE’S YOURS. HE’S FOR YOU.”
[]Try to run.

[]Try to run.

You try to run, but her fist catches the back of your shirt and yanks you back against the table, your head hitting the corner with a crack, your vision splitting to white and then black as you lose consciousness.
[]Where have I gone?