(sinister music)
- [Amanda] The car accident that killed my 15-year-old son
was the worst day of my life.
I kept replaying how it happened in my head,
the way his body contorted with the metal of the door.
Kevin, my husband, he took it the hardest,
blaming himself for not paying more attention to the road.
But I should have stayed up to keep him awake.
After years of therapy, things were starting to look up,
but everything changed when the Telos arrived.
Kevin ordered it from some website on the dark web.
The box it came in was worn with age,
and had several addresses written and crossed out.
Kevin reached his arm inside the box
and pulled out the Telos,
a glossy, dark orb no bigger than a softball.
He cupped his hands beneath the Telos
and faced it towards me.
It had a strange Egyptian symbol etched into its surface,
resembling an eye.
"Amanda, make a wish," Kevin said.
"But say Telos first," He added.
I thought he lost his mind, but I still played along.
"Okay, Telos," I said.
The mysterious symbol lit up.
I turned to Kevin, glaring at him suspiciously.
He knew what I would ask for next.
I mean, there was only one thing I wanted.
Kevin urged me to go on.
I looked back at the Telos,
struggling to find the words.
"I,
"I want him back," I said.
"Say his name," Kevin interjected.
I continued.
"I want my boy back, I want J," I stopped.
I couldn't say his name.
My hands were trembling.
Kevin smiled and finally said it.
"Jacob."
The Telos glowed,
illuminating the room with a purplish hue.
The lights in the house flickered for a few moments,
then came to an abrupt stop.
The orb went dark again.
An uncomfortable silence fell in the room.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door.
(knocking)
We immediately turned to face it.
I could hear my heart beat.
The knob turned slowly and the door opened.
I shook my head in disbelief.
It was my son.
"Jacob!" Kevin shouted from behind me.
Tears ran down his cheeks
as he squeezed Jacob in his arms.
I tried to contain myself, but there he was, alive.
I knelt down and wrapped my arms around him.
I cried, too.
I didn't care if it didn't make sense.
I was just happy I could hug my boy again.
Suddenly, something began rapidly scratching
at the walls in the living room.
No one was in there,
so we all stared into the dark space with fear in our eyes.
I grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen drawer
and shined it into the dark room.
I held my breath as I saw what was carved into the wall.
"If you yourself cannot release,
"then it will come to take a piece."
I didn't wanna believe it.
I always thought the Look-See was just an urban legend,
preying on those that grieved for too long.
Moonlight shined through the slider windows,
creating an ominous shadow on the floor.
As I waited for my eyes to adjust,
I heard a strange clicking sound.
(soft clicking)
a large hand with red gloves
and long white fingers piercing through the holes
slapped the glass of the window.
I jumped out of my skin.
I turned to Kevin and yelled,
"We need to wish our boy away now!"
Jacob looked at me with fear in his eyes.
"Mom, I don't wanna go away!"
I leaned in and hugged him tight,
knowing it would be the last.
"I love you Jacob," I said under my breath.
The clicking sound got closer.
The slender white fingers wrapped around
the side arch of the door.
I could see a leathery head start to appear.
"Telos," I exclaimed in a panic.
The orb's symbol lit up.
"Shut your mouth!" Kevin aggressively interrupted.
The lights flickered on and off
as the orb shook and illuminated the room.
Suddenly, I could feel my mouth closing.
I tried to pry it open with my hands,
but I couldn't find an opening.
I looked in a mirror and saw that I no longer had a mouth.
It was just skin.
I couldn't breathe.
"Amanda, stay calm, I'll fix it!" Kevin shouted.
Then I heard it, the clicking sound.
It was right behind me.
I turned around slowly
until I finally came face-to-face with the Look-See.
Its face was made up of stitched patches of skin,
and it seemed to have no eyes or nose.
Blood oozed between the stitches
as it smiled wide with razor-sharp teeth.
I couldn't scream even if I wanted to.
I ran to the kitchen counter
and grabbed a steak knife from the drawer.
The Look-See was coming toward me.
I looked back at Kevin fuming with anger and fear.
I pointed to the Telos,
directing him to do the right thing.
"Telos," Kevin said.
Nothing.
"Telos," Kevin repeated.
Still no response.
"Leave her alone!" Jacob shouted from behind the Look-See.
It turned its head around like an owl.
The rest of its body followed as it motioned towards him.
Kevin shielded Jacob with his body.
The Look-See jumped on Kevin
and tore his arm off with its bare hands.
The Telos rolled across the floor.
Kevin shrieked in agony
as blood gushed out of his arm socket.
The Look-See then stood over Jacob.
It opened its mouth wide and chomped down on his head,
swallowing it whole.
Jacob's headless body fell to the ground.
My knees crashed to the floor at the horror.
Kevin could barely stay conscious,
but he made one last attempt.
"Telos!" He shouted.
The light from the orb finally beamed on.
He continued,
"Bring Jacob back and kill the Look-See!"
The lights flickered and the house shook.
Suddenly, Jacob's body began to transform and grow bigger.
His head even came back,
but it wasn't his own anymore.
It mutated into some vile and terrifying
Telos-created monster.
It stood tall with hundreds of long, narrow teeth
protruding from the mouth.
Its skull was large, with hollow, black eyes.
There were deep-rooted scars
crisscrossed above its eye sockets.
It shrieked with anger.
The Look-See turned around to face the Telos monster,
maintaining its eerie smile.
Then it charged at the Telos monster,
pushing it against the wall
until its feet were no longer touching the ground.
The Telos monster snapped its teeth in every direction
until finally it managed
to chomp down on the Look-See's shoulder,
ripping through the cartilage beneath the suit.
Blackened blood from the Look-See sprayed the walls.
The Telos monster continued
to snap its jaws at the Look-See.
With the knife in hand,
I charged at the Look-See from behind
and stabbed it in the back.
The Look-See turned to face me,
Jacob's flesh still dangling between its teeth.
It pulled the knife out and dropped it to the floor.
It then viciously swiped its sharp claws across my face.
It sliced through my cheeks,
creating a new opening for my mouth.
I let out a painful, bloodcurdling scream.
The Look-See moved closer to me.
Then, from out of the darkness,
Kevin appeared with a baseball bat in one hand
and smashed the Look-See in the face.
The Look-See fell down to the ground.
Kevin stood over it, panting hard.
But just before he could deliver a final blow,
the Telos monster came from behind
and chomped down on Kevin's neck,
tearing into the spine and snapping it instantly.
Kevin tumbled to the floor,
choking to death on his own blood.
The Telos monster then jumped on top of the Look-See,
snapping its jaws at its face.
When the Look-See tried to push it away,
the Telos monster managed
to bite off its hand entirely.
The Look-See then turned the Telos monster over
and aggressively clawed at its body,
tearing through its flesh.
The Telos monster stopped moving.
The Look-See proceeded to open its mouth wide like a snake
and swallowed the Telos monster whole.
I couldn't believe it.
When the Look-See finished its meal,
it turned to face me.
I closed my eyes, expecting the worst.
After a few moments, I opened them.
The Look-See was gone.
I scanned the room,
taking in the horrific scene,
surrounded by blood and gore.
I wanted to scream,
but my new Glasgow smile would make it too painful.
I turned to look at the Telos,
which laid on the floor next to Kevin's mutilated body.
I picked it up and stared at the dark orb for a moment,
deciding what to do next.
I wanted my old life back,
but I was afraid of what it would cost me.
I knew wishing them back would be too dangerous,
but how could I live without them?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Telos."