“Okay so, the way it works according to these instructions is that after 10:00, we are all have to be touching the box. One of us turns the crank and we have exactly 60 seconds to get to hiding. Mary will announce herself and the game begins. We have to survive until 10:00 am” Will said and put the instructions away

“That’s it?” Alex asked

“Yep” Will replied

“What happens if we get spotted?” Jane asked

“You get murdered, obviously” Alex said, sarcastically

“Shut up” Jane replied

“Where can we go?” Thomas asked

“It doesn’t say where we can’t go” Will said

“Sweet, I’m hiding in the floorboards” Alex joked

“I’ll join you” Will joined in

“Okay it is 10:00 now” Thomas announced

All 4 of them put one hand on the box. The box itself wasn’t anything unique. It was small and brown, with a lid you could lift and close. The crank was also a small gold handle. With both hands, Will began turning the crank. After a few turns, Will felt a small resistance and let go. The ticking began.

“Okay, so we hide now?” Thomas asked

“I guess” Jane replied, looking around to see if anything happened.

“Okay if nothing happens after a while let’s all regroup and call it a night” Thomas said

“Yeah”, “Sure” “Definitely” Jane, Will and Alex said and the group began moving. Will and Alex went together to the top floor and Jane and Thomas stayed on the bottom floor. Alex and Will then separated and went to hiding. Alex went into an old room and hid in the window curtains. Will went to the far end room and hid underneath a bed. Thomas went into the kitchen and hid in the pantry as Jane went to the living room and hid behind the couch. After they stopped moving, the only sound that was present was the ticking, which began to get louder and louder. As Alex was waiting, he began to notice a thick fog slowly began creeping in. “What the…” he whispered to himself. The ticking got louder and louder and when it finally ended, a voice was heard to everyone, loud and clear.

“Ready or not, here I come!” a female voice was said as it echoed across the entire house.

The mansion was suddenly silent. No one dared to move or make a noise, in fear of what just happened. Alex walked out of his hiding spot and looked out the hall, before going to where Will was.

“Will?” Alex asked and moved down to see Will

“Quiet!” Will hushed, extremely scared

“Did you hear that too?” Alex asked, slightly scared now

“Of course I did!” Will asked, his voice breaking

“Fuck it, I’m staying with you” Alex said and moved to the other side and joined Will

“Dude, fuck off this is my spot” Will said in protest

“The buddy system” Alex replied and got settled in.

The two lied still and didn’t move, staring at the doorway. After what felt like an entirety they saw a pair of feet walk across. The feet was bare and only showed the ankles, as the rest was covered by a white dress. Will had to cover his mouth to stop himself from screaming as Alex was in awe.

“Is that?!” Will asked in a hushed tone

“No fucking way, someone is fucking with us” Alex said with confidence but was also terrified.

Downstairs, Thomas and Jane also heard a female say the phrase and Jane peaked up, looking around but seeing nothing. As she was looking, she felt a tap on her shoulder and her heart instantly stopped

“FUCK” Jane screamed, but stopped when she saw who it was

“DON’T DO THAT!” Jane screamed in a whispered, as she slapped Thomas’ arm.

“Sorry” Thomas replied and settled next to Jane

“Was that you? Be honest” Jane said extremely angry

“I promise that wasn’t me” Thomas said with complete honestly. “Plus, I couldn’t even get my voice that high” he added on

The two continued peaking over the couch and waited, hoping to catch sight of whatever said that. Jane secretly hoped it was Alex fucking with them, but even she knew there was no way he could do that. Suddenly the two heard the staircase creak and they saw her Mary. Except this time, Mary wasn’t a girl. She was extremely tall, probably taller than Thomas. Her black hair was completely draped over her face and her white dress was covered in patches of blood. She was also completely drenched from head to toe, with her dress clinging tightly to her body, making her appear extremely skinny and thin. The way Mary walked made it so her top half didn’t rock or sway, she was extremely still. Mary continued down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Thomas looked back at Jane with the most terrified expression he could muster. The two continued subtly peaking at Mary as she walked around the kitchen, checking the pantry and under the table before leaving and going out of sight. Thomas prepared to get up.

“What are you doing?!” Jane shouted in a harsh whisper

“Keeping an eye on her” Thomas said, not sure why he was moving

“Are you fucking insane? We need to leave” Jane said, trying to pull him back

“I’ll just do a quick peak” Thomas replied and began getting up

As Thomas slowly stood up, he was no longer covered by the couch. Before he could walk, he felt Jane pull on his arm. Thomas looked at Jane as she pleaded with him to stop but he continued walking and Jane let go, knowing she couldn’t stop him. When Thomas turned back, he saw Jane standing still. Thomas froze up and waited, wondering if he should move or stay still. Suddenly Mary turned and sprinted at Thomas with incredible speed. Thomas was instantly tackled and Mary began stabbing him with a cleaver.

“AHHHHHHH” Thomas screamed out in pain and tried stopping Mary, but she was incredibly stronger than Thomas was. Thomas’ screams soon turned to gargling and then nothing as Mary hacked into him 10 times, before stopping. Jane could only watch in horror as her friend stopped moving. Mary stood up and then continued walking. Alex and Will heard the scream and debated what to do.

“He’s fucking with. They both have to be” Alex whispered to Will

“You know Thomas, he wouldn’t pull that kind of shit. Plus did you not hear that voice” Will replied. “We got to check on them” Will said and began moving.

“Are you insane?!” Alex said, not moving from his spot. “It’s not Mary, it’s probably some crazy axe, serial killer” Alex replied, trying to make a rational point.

“I’m just going to peak, okay” Will said as he continued walking.

“Get the fuck back here!” Alex angrily said, but Will continued walking.

As Will stepped out of the room, he noticed several wet footprints that continued down the hallway. Will followed them, but was making sure he was quiet as the mansion began creaking. Will peaked over the railing and moved down the stairs until he could just see the view of the living room.

“Hello?” Will whispered loudly, but he heard no response. Will repeated a few more times, but nothing, so he returned. Jane was almost tempted to reply, but was terrified to. Will walked back to the room and stood in the doorway.

“Nothing, I called out and there was no reply” Will said to Alex

“Congratulations, now get the fuck back here” Alex said, his voice trembling

Before Will could reply, he was suddenly tackled by Mary.

“AHHHHHHHH” Will screamed in pain as Mary began hacking into him. Alex immediately left the bed and went to help his friend. Will’s screams turned to gurgles as his throat was hacked clean. Mary got 5 hits in before Alex pushed her off. Mary rolled off, but quickly got up. Alex got an up close look at Mary and was shocked as she towered over him. Alex then punched Mary in the face and she didn’t react. She stood still. Alex quickly went from worried to terrified as Mary dropped her cleaver and tilted her head. Alex was about to throw another punch when Mary ran towards him. She gripped his throat and lifted him up, before using the momentum to push forwards and slam Alex to the ground. Alex was dazed as his head contacted the ground, before Mary then lifted his head and pushed it back, stunning Alex again. With Alex now incapacitated, Mary turned and picked up her cleaver, before slicing into Will 5 more times. Mary then turned and hacked into Alex. Jane heard the commotion and was wondering if she should investigate. Part of her wanted to leave, but another part knew she had to help her friends. She slowly began walking to the stairs and as she made her way up, she heard the thuds of a body hitting the ground. Jane was now terrified, as her heart began beating extremely fast. She slowly walked up the stairs and when she got to the top, she creeped to the edge of the corner and peaked. There, Jane saw Mary hacking into Alex. Mary stopped, got up and recomposed herself, before continuing her search. Jane saw both Alex and Will, bleeding from multiple wounds. Jane gave a small yelp and Mary turned her head immediately. Jane ducked just in time, but immediately went back downstairs when she heard Mary’s footsteps coming to her.

Jane ran downstairs and headed straight for the front door, opening it with excessive force and ran out as the footsteps of Mary were right on her trail. As Jane ran into the thick fog, she was immediately lost. Jane kept moving, her heart beating and not willing to stop in case Mary caught up. Jane kept sprinting, hoping to find the train tracks. After a minutes, the footsteps stopped. Jane kept running and to her horror, she saw the broken mailbox. Jane then turned and went the opposite way and after a minutes, she saw that broken mailbox once more. Jane quickly turns around, not being able to see past the fog. As Jane stands still, scared that she can’t escape, she is struck by the cleaver.

“AHHHHHH!” Jane screams as she falls to the ground. Jane continues crawling but is struck by Mary more times. After the 6th strike, Jane stops screaming as her lungs are filling with blood. Mary lands the final strike on her head and Jane stops moving. Mary removes the cleaver and stands back-up, before going back inside the house.

The fog is lifted and the bodies of the group are now gone. The only thing that remains in the mansion is the wooden box and the instructions Will put into his pockets. The next day, the old man who sold the box to Will enters the mansion and picks up the box and note, before stuffing it back into his backpack and heads home. The next day, the old man sits the box on a table filled with other random items and continues talking to people who are looking around.