The mask had disappeared beneath the dirt Daniel was piling back into the grave. Now that it was no longer visible,
Daniel was consume with the urge to run away from it. He knew better, though. If he turned his back now, there would be no escaping the mask. He had to see the job through to the end, otherwise the mask would just find its way back to him.
He felt a chill run down his spine as he remembered Bethany. Poor, poor Bethany. His closest friend, and the first victim the silver mask would claim.
*****
Daniel rushed to the door when he heard a knock and breathed an audible sigh of relief when he saw Bethany on the other side.
“Damn, Daniel,” said Bethany, stepping in and taking off her coat, “you look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”
“Not a ghost,” said Daniel, “a mask.”
“A what, now?” asked Bethany, raising an eyebrow.
“Follow me,” said Daniel, leading his friend to the living room where the mask lay upon the mantelpiece. “This mask,” he said, gesturing towards it.
“It’s… it’s a mask,” said Bethany. “Am I missing something here?”
“Shush,” said Daniel, holding a finger to his lips. Bethany became silent, and in that silence the whispers started to become prominent once again.
“Do you hear that?” asked Daniel. “It’s coming from the mask!”
“What?” said Bethany, “How is that possible? It must be…”
“Air through the mouth hole?” asked Daniel. “What air? There is no breeze in hear, nothing making the air move around. I was trying to explain it to myself while you were on your way. Just put your ear to the mouth piece and see for yourself!”
Bethany obliged, her eyes widening with fear when she realized that Daniel was telling the truth.
“And then, about five minutes ago, I noticed something else,” said Daniel. “Look at the eyeholes.”
Bethany looked close and said, “There’s something… there.”
She poked her finger through the eyeholes. “I thought there might be some kind of plastic on the other side. It’s so… stranger and shimmery.”
“I know!” said Daniel. “There is something very weird about this thing. I am terrified and curious at the same time.”
“Have you tried putting it on?” asked Bethany.
Daniel frowned. In all this time it hadn’t even occurred to him to put the thing on.
Bethany rolled her eyes and said, “Leave it to you to not think of the most obvious thing.”
She picked the mask up, examined it a little and then looked up at Daniel.
“Well?” he asked. “What are you waiting for? Put it on!”
“Why should I do it?” asked Bethany. “It’s your mask. You put it on!”
“It was your idea!” said Daniel. “If you’re not putting it on I am just going to throw it away. There’s something about this mask that unsettles me.”
“Fine, fine!” said Bethany. “You’re such a baby. I’ll put it on.”
She hesitated for a moment, then brought the mask up to her face. The mask seemed to fit perfectly, and for a moment Beth went perfectly still. In fact, after a few seconds Daniel realized that she was entirely too still. She was almost rigid.
Daniel was just about to reach out to her when Bethany started to scream.
