Crying

It was just another day. Another normal day at high school. Except for the incident at lunch. That was different.
I had just sat down in the school's cafeteria that backed up to the trees. Packed neatly into my lunch box was my normal lunch, sandwich, chips, and carrot sticks. But there was a napkin. I rarely packed a napkin, I just felt like I didn't need one, so what was the point? It felt damp like something had been spilled on it. It smelled... salty. Like tears. Then I heard the crying.
My ears perked up, thinking maybe I had imagined it, or maybe it was some kind of bird. But no. It was definitely crying. I knew because my little sister had done it a lot after she was born. But this was quieter, less frantic, and more sad. I walked towards the trees, trying to see past their thick branches. Something, a dark shape, was huddled right behind the bushes. Just then, my phone rang. Something skittered off through the brush, not making a sound.
Confused, I answered my phone. "Mom?"
"Honey... come home. Now."
My first thought was, Oh no, am I in trouble?
I didn't remember doing anything in the past few days.
"Please, Charlotte, it's your sister! She's gone!"
My blood ran cold. Autumn had always been a little distant. But she would never run away.
I ran the three blocks to my house, feeling like it was a mile. The door was wide open, my mom standing, waiting.
"Autumn? She's gone? What happened?"
My mom opened and closed her mouth a few times like she wanted to say something but couldn't. I turned around, and there she was, face soaked and eyes red. "Autumn! Where were you?" I cried.
She didn't respond but walked slowly into the house.
The next day was Saturday. Autumn hadn't said a word since she had come home, and her eyes were still red and watery. I walked up the stairs that morning, hoping to find some kind of clue in her room. There had to be something, I just didn't know what. But Autumn was in her room. She was crouched near her bed, her position reminding me of something I had seen in the past few days...
But I walked away instead of demanding answers.
I wanted to talk to someone, but who? Quora was too big a site, my question would never get answered. My mom and Autumn were on every social media platform I was on. That left Minecraft.
I joined my friends' world and began to help them build while joining Skype.
<CharizardCharlotte> Hey guys, something weird happened yesterday...
<KittyPlayz> What do you mean?
<CharizardCharlotte> My sister, Autumn. She went missing and then came back home.
<DisasterDude> That's weird...
<CharizardCharlotte> And she was crying... But that's not the weirdest part of yesterday.
<ChocolateRain> What was?
<CharizardCharlotte> Well... at lunch... I heard this weird sound.
<KittyPlayz> Like what? A bird?
<CharizardCharlotte> That's what I thought... But it was crying. From the trees.
<ChocolateRain> What? You mean the trees by the back of the outdoor cafeteria?
<DIsasterDude> Obviously, those are the only trees around our school besides the tiny ones in the "sapling garden."
<CharizardCharlotte> Anyway, it was coming from the trees, so I went over and saw...
Suddenly I heard a noise in the world. I plugged in my headphones to make sure it wasn't coming from outside. It wasn't.
<KittyPlayz> What? What did you see?
<CharizardCharlotte> Guys. Listen to the Minecraft server, do you hear that?
Crying_Girl joined the game.
<DisasterDude> Wait, what? Who is that?
DisasterDude: Who are you?
Crying_Girl: Why?
I nearly fell off my chair. Who was this? My mind flashed to Autumn. I ran to her room, where she was sitting on the computer. She exited a Minecraft server and was left with the title screen on her PC.
"Autumn, you have Minecraft? What's your username?"
I crossed my toes, hoping it was Crying_Girl.
"Uh... Autumn_Love..."
"Ok.. well... That's great. You can keep playing."
I returned to my room, confused.
<ChocolateRain> Charlotte? Where are you?
<CharizardCharlotte> I'm here. I was talking to Autumn. She has a new Minecraft account-
<DisasterDude> Crying_Girl?
<CharizardCharlotte> No. Autumn_Love.
<KittyPlayz> Hmmm...
<DisasterDude> What?
<KittyPlayz> Give me a second... Yes! It does!
<ChocolateRain> What?
<KittyPlayz> Crying_Girl and Autumn_Love have the same amount of characters! 11, and 11!
<CharizardCharlotte> And you're saying that means they are the same?
<KittyPlayz> It could.
<CharizardCharlotte> Wait, where's Crying_Girl?
<DisasterDude> She left. Almost right after you got up.
About the same time I ran into Autumn's room, maybe...
<CharizardCharlotte> ......
I thought about it. Crying and Autumn and Minecraft and my friends...
My brain started to hurt.
<CharizardCharlotte> Maybe we can just... play normally and think about it later when we're not in the game.
Later that night, I decided to write down my findings. Opening the Notes app on my phone, I recorded everything I knew already.
- Weird shape in the bushes
- Autumn gone
- Autumn back
- Autumn in room
- Minecraft server
- Weird noise (crying)
- Crying_Girl
- Autumn with new account
- Crying_Girl + Autumn_Love same amount of letters
- Crying_Girl gone
- Playing normally
So what if...
Autumn was the shape in the bushes, then she was crying. That would explain her red eyes. And what she was doing in her room... that was the same pose as the thing in the bushes! Then she made a new account, Crying_Girl, then joined our server after we heard the weird noise. It was crying, I'm sure of it. She had a new account, and she couldn't think of a name with a different amount of characters? That could just be a coincidence, though. When I went into her room, Crying_Girl left. She also left a server.
The next morning, I joined the Skype call, joined the server, and told my friends my findings.
<DisasterDude> So you're saying your sister is some crying weirdo? That's a little sick.
<KittyPlayz> But it's probably true. I looked up Autumn_Love in the Minecraft archives. Nothing. Crying_Girl was made yesterday with the email account autumn.lover@gmail.com.
<CharizardCharlotte> That's her email address. It's her.
<ChocolateRain> So what do we do?
<DisasterDude> Well, we could-
<CharizardCharlotte> Wait. Guys. Listen.
There was a crying sound coming from the call. I muted my computer. It stopped, but I felt breathing down my neck.
<CharizardCharlotte> Oh god. Don't turn around guys.
<DisasterDude> What? What is that? It doesn't even look human-
He was gone from the call.
<ChocolateRain> Um... I think he's gone. Wait, Mom? I'm coming! Bye guys.
<KittyPlayz> Wait, don't.
<ChocolateRain> (from far away) Who are you? *thump* What are you? *scream*
She was gone too.
<KittyPlayz> Oh no. They're gone. I'm leaving. Nope nope nope nope nope.
She left too. I disconnected, then turned slowly. There was nothing there. But Autumn was in the hallway, looking like anything but human. Red, red eyes, pouring water. But no sound. I suspected that was on the abandoned Skype call. She ran off after a few seconds, after my escaped friend. I only had one thought. Run.
So I packed things I might need. Granola bars. Phone with Minecraft PE and Skype, just in case. Solar-powered power pack. Handbook for Boys found at a Boy Scout store. I ran down to the kitchen and eased a butcher knife out of the knife block. I couldn't cry, or Autumn could track me. That I knew. So I just carved things into our wall with the knife.
Dear Autumn,
If you are here, I am gone. You won't know where I'm going, and that's good. I just wanted to say that you are a monster. Like a fairy-tale monster. The dragon or the troll. And I wanted you to know that I am coming for you. Just like a knight in a fairy tale. YOU WILL DIE.
Yours very truly,
Charlotte
P.S. Thanks for killing my friends... NOT.
Then I set out. Toward Katie's (KittyPlayz's) house. We could survive. We would set out after Autumn, to kill her. We would survive the dangerous world we lived in, together, helping each other. Watching each other's backs. Just like in Minecraft.
Category:ClareBear737
Category:Creepypasta
Category:Players
Category:Moderate Length Pastas