“What a shitty song,” Charlotte commented.

“Well you have to admit it has some sort of catchy rhyme to it,” Dana chimed in.

“Whoever came up with it has a shitty taste then,” Charlotte said. “Why are we talking about it, anyway?”

“W-well…” Naomi stammered, “Do you think… the Stitched-Mouth Man will come after us? W-we picked on Amy earlier…”

“Oh grow up, Naomi!” Charlotte exclaimed. She was pretty loud so everyone in the cafe glanced at them, “It’s just a stupid myth! There’s no such thing as Stitched-Mouth Man. Besides, those kinds of things go after kids if it’s real anyway. They won’t go after teenagers!”

“B-but Carson–...”

“He’s. Not. Real.”

Naomi fell silent while Charlotte rolled her eyes and sipped on her soda. She noticed Dana shifting in her seat, glancing back and forth from… something then to the table. She groaned and placed the cup she was holding on the table.

“What is it, Dana?” She hissed.

Dana didn’t respond. She kept glancing back and forth and Naomi looked towards what her friend was seeing. She froze. This irked Charlotte more.

“What?” Charlotte growled, growing frustrated and afraid of their behavior. Without warning, both Dana and Naomi gathered their things and fled from the cafe. They just booked it. Charlotte groaned but then she paused. Her eyes focused outside the cafe.

A person with a stitched mouth and a cross on one eye was standing outside.

Charlotte watched a customer walk out of the cafe. When she turned to look at the person again…

There was no one.

Her blood ran cold.

She scrambled for her purse and keys and scurried out of the cafe.

It was night. Darkness already crept over the town. The lights from the lamp posts were dim. “They really need to do something about the lights,” she grumbled under her breath.

The bus stop wasn’t that far but the dim streets made it look like that. She had to squint her eyes to see it. No signs of Naomi and Dana waiting for her there. She grumbled again and started walking towards the bus stop.

Charlotte had walked this street many days, many nights. With her friends and by herself, and never once she felt the looming dread over her. Cold wind began to blow and she swore she heard whispers along with it. She brushed it off, thinking that it was her own feelings and fears that were playing with her. She quickened her footsteps towards the bus stop–...

Heavy footsteps followed the rhythm of her steps. She halted and turned around. Half of her expected someone familiar would be behind her.

There was no one.

Her heart thumped as she turned forward and began to run.

The heavy footsteps got louder.

Charlotte panted. She was sprinting. She and whoever it was were in sync. The bus stop was in view now and Charlotte scrambled for her phone in her pocket, tapping on Naomi and Dana’s contact numbers and calling for them.

Neither of them answered.

“Come on! Pick up!”

Both calls entered their voicemails and Charlotte was already shedding tears. The footsteps were getting close now. Almost directly behind her.

But then finally, finally, she reached the bus stop.

She looked behind her.

No one.

Shivers ran down her spine.

She called Naomi and Dana again.

“Come on! Pick up!”

She tried a couple of times and every try ended in voicemails.

The same heavy footsteps were drawing closer.

She looked up.

The Stitched-Mouth Man was marching towards her.

Closer…

Closer.

Her voice stuck in her throat. She can’t even scream.

She broke into a sprint.

Charlotte never ran so fast in her life. Not even in tracks, where she often avoids running.

He was real.

She tried to type ‘9-1-1’ but she tripped and typed ‘9-1-2’ instead. The footsteps behind her were approaching. She could almost feel the man breathing down her neck.

Charlotte skidded into an alley. Her back was against the wall and she collapsed on the ground. With shaky fingers, she typed in ‘9-1-1’ again. Tears were falling and her breaths shallowed as she attempted to calm herself down while waiting for the beeps to change.

Relief washed over her.

“H-help me… Someone’s following me!” She whispered. She tucked her legs to her chest. She didn’t care if her voice was trembling when she spoke. She just needs the police to come to save her.

“S-someone… someone’s following me… A-a man! H-he was wearing a mask w-with its mouth stitched and o-one eye has an X mark…”

She peeked out of her hiding place. Her eyes rapidly scanned the empty streets.

No one.

She breathed out a sigh.

But as she leaned back in relief…

A shadow loomed over her.

She froze.

Not even a scream was heard from Charlotte.

Her phone lay forgotten on the ground as the 911 operator continued to call for her.