20 Feb Horror Story – DiscoverDeath.com
The Questionnaire
Two friends are just arriving to one of their apartments, distracted by the news on the radio, as a guy walking on the street crosses in front of them and they almost run him over. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and khaki pants. He bangs the car and yells at them: “you fucking morons! Watch where you’re going!” Francis thought that was overly hostile—after all, they were going at 5MPH. But she didn’t think much about it, because on the radio, a reporter was talking about what seemed to be the latest trend: a website with a questionnaire that told people how they were going to die. Surprised by the news, and skeptical of the terror the newsperson seemed to want to inflict, Francis and Natalie made their way to her apartment and opened up her laptop. They typed in the URL: “Discoverdeath.com”. A vintage-looking site with a really sketchy vibe opened up. The title read “Discover Your Death” and the subtitle said: “We’re all going to die anyways.” There was an “Enter” button, and a bit wary, she clicked on it.
The first question had her picking a Grim Reaper out of eight options. “Stupid,” she said. She picked a woman with black angel wings. Easy enough. The second question was to pick what her tombstone would say. She picked: “Truth to your own spirit.” All the other options seemed too out of character for her. After all, she was a deep girl. Next, she had to decide on a final meal, and she picked her favorite: a piece of steak. She laughed at the irony of it being bloody. “Steak, yes! I’m starving. And speaking of yummy things, we have to pick out a cake and buy decorations for Nick’s birthday party. We’re hosting at my house, right?” says Natalie. “Yeah, we do. We can go later this week,” replies Francis.
She continued on with the questionnaire. She had to pick, out of six options, what she would do on her last day alive. She decided on “Spending the day with her loved ones”, because they would be the ones to miss her when she was gone. Suddenly, this questionnaire seemed too real for her, and gave her the chills. She debated whether she wanted to continue, but she was sure this wasn’t real, so it didn’t really matter. But the activity was interrupted by a Tinder message. “Oh, wait. I started talking to this guy this morning and he already wants to meet up,” said Francis to her friend. “What! Let me see his pics,” said Natalie, followed by a: “He’s cute! You should go out with him.” “Yeah, I think I will. Tonight,” said Francis. And she continued with the questionnaire.
Her next task was to pick where her body would be laid to rest. She debated between a traditional cemetery and the water, where her family could throw her ashes, but she decided on the latter. She figured it’d be more fun. But the last question truly creeped her out. She had to decide what she believed happened after one dies. She ended up going with: “Who cares? Focus on being alive” because that seemed like the least dark option. And she pressed “Submit.”
And there it was: a balloon. She burst out laughing. “What the hell? How will a balloon kill me? Am I going to fly away in one, never to be seen again?” She closed her laptop and carried on with her day.
Date Night
It was 8pm, almost time for her date. She hoped Ed would be everything she wanted in a future boyfriend. She was ready again for a relationship, after having recovered from her last disastrous one. But the date didn’t really go as planned. He was awkward, creepy, and honestly, kind of a loser. They had dinner, a beer each, and parted ways at the door of the restaurant. She walked one way, he walked the opposite way. As Francis was walking away, she kept looking behind her to make sure he was really gone. He had given her a strange feeling she couldn’t describe. All throughout the date, he kept touching her arm and squeezing it hard. Maybe he thought it was endearing, but it was just plain weird. He also asked her if he could smell her hair, which for some reason, she felt obligated to agree to. The whole thing was just odd and she was glad it was over. But suddenly, she sees him turn around towards her. And he was walking fast. She didn’t know whether to run, or just slow down and see what he wanted.
To not make things more awkward, she stopped and waited for him. He seemed to be a bit out of breath. “Hi again. I’m sorry, I just had to talk to you again. What did you think of the date? I’m sorry if I came off as too bizarre but you have to understand I don’t go out much. Much less on dates with beautiful women like yourself. I just have to see if there’s a connection here,” said Ed as he grabbed and kissed her on the lips. Disgusted, Francis pulled away and told him she wasn’t interested in seeing him again. Ed asked for one last hug, and he pulled in closer and took out a syringe filled with Pavulon. Her muscles paralyzed, and her breathing stopped. She stared him in the eyes and she collapsed in his arms. His would be the last arms to ever embrace this beautiful woman, and that made him feel like a winner.
The Next Day
Natalie is talking to Richard, one of her classmates, about how she hasn’t heard from Francis in two days: “I’m just worried because last I knew, she was going on a date with a Tinder dude. Her phone is turned off, and I have a feeling in my stomach something might have happened.” “Yeah, maybe we should call her parents or stop by her house or something,” says Richard, as they walk around the store and pick out party decorations for their friend’s birthday celebration later that night. “The balloon is probably ready, I’m gonna go get it while you finish shopping around,” says Richard.
He walks over to the counter and says: “Is my balloon ready? It’s under ‘Natalie’ and says Happy Birthday.” “Yes, here you go. Enjoy your party,” says Ed, as he hands him the balloon.
