shook
724 Words
The pen shook in Jeheak’s hand.
Not because he was scared—
(he was)
—but because something else was pushing back.
The page wasn’t blank anymore.
It was waiting.
Behind him—
The thing that used to be Kaneki took another step forward.
Slow.
Dragging.
SCRAAAAAPE.
Jay whispered, “Yo… if this works, you’re officially the main character.”
“Not helping,” Jeheak muttered.
Kat stepped beside him. “Just write.”
Jeheak took a breath.
Pressed the pen down.
“The monster stops.”
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The thing froze.
Completely.
“…nah,” Jay said softly. “Nah that actually worked?!”
Jewels looked between the monster and the notebook. “Do it again.”
Jeheak swallowed.
The pen felt heavier now.
Like writing cost something.
He wrote slower this time.
“It can’t move.”
The monster twitched.
Like it was fighting something invisible.
Then—
It stopped again.
Locked in place.
“…okay,” Maria said, breathing out. “Okay… that’s good. That’s really good.”
But the notebook—
Wasn’t done.
New words started forming under his.
Not written by him.
“Not for long.”
The lights flickered harder.
The monster’s arm jerked.
Just a little.
“…Jeheak,” Kat said quietly. “It’s breaking it.”
Jay backed up. “Yeah nah, write something stronger bro—like, I don’t know, ‘it explodes’ or something!”
“JAY!” Jenni snapped.
“What?! I’m brainstorming!”
Jeheak’s hand tightened.
“…I can’t just write anything.”
Everyone looked at him.
“It’s like…” he struggled for words. “It has to make sense. Like the story won’t let me cheat.”
“…you’re kidding,” Jay said. “We’re in a horror movie with rules now?!”
The monster’s head twitched.
A small crack sound echoed from it.
Jeheak wrote again.
Faster.
“The monster weakens.”
This time—
The reaction was instant.
The thing staggered.
Its shape flickering like a bad signal.
Jenni stepped forward without thinking. “Kaneki…?”
The monster froze again.
Then—
A voice came out.
“…help…”
Everyone went still.
“That’s him,” Jewels said.
“That’s actually him,” Maria added, eyes wide.
Jay shook his head. “Or it’s pretending to be him. Y’all saw horror movies, right?!”
“…he’s still in there,” Jenni said, ignoring him.
The notebook wrote again.
“He hears them.”
The monster’s head snapped toward them.
Fast.
Too fast.
Jeheak flinched.
“I didn’t write that.”
“…it’s helping him,” Kat said.
“…or helping it,” Jay added.
The thing stepped forward again.
Stronger now.
“Back up,” Jeheak said quickly.
He wrote again, almost panicking now—
“They get space.”
The front door BURST open behind them.
Fresh air rushed in.
“GO GO GO—!” Jay didn’t wait.
He bolted outside.
Maria and Jewels followed.
Kat grabbed Jenni’s arm. “Move!”
Jenni hesitated.
Looking at Kaneki.
“…we’re not leaving him.”
The monster took another step.
Closer now.
Jeheak grabbed her. “We’ll come back—but not like this!”
She looked at him.
Then nodded.
They ran outside.
Cold air hit them all at once.
For a second—
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Jay bent over, breathing hard. “Okay… okay… we’re alive… that’s good… I like being alive…”
Kat looked back at the house.
“…it’s not over.”
The front door slowly creaked.
EEEEEEE—
Opening wider.
Inside—
Darkness.
No movement.
Then—
The notebook in Jeheak’s hand burned cold.
He looked down.
New words.
“You can run.”
“You can fight.”
“Or…”
The last line wrote itself slower than the rest.
“…you can become something worse.”
Jeheak’s grip tightened.
“…we’re not running anymore,” he said.
Jay groaned. “Bro you said that LAST time and it got worse.”
Kat cracked a small smile.
“…yeah. But this time—”
She looked at the notebook.
Then at Jeheak.
“—we’re ready.”
Behind them—
Inside the house—
Something slammed against the wall.
Hard.
And this time—
It didn’t sound like just one thing anymore.
- Writer
