Chapter Two: It Follows I
Hank's Auto Repair, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 8:15 P.M
The last wrench clattered into its drawer, and Keshaun wiped the grease from his hands with a rag. Six months. That's how long it had been since he woke up in this new world. Six months since he'd rebuilt his life from scratch inside the body of a broken nine-year-old boy.
Now, he was different. Stronger. Smarter. His control of the Force had grown by leaps and bounds. He spent all of his time working and training, but he just wanted to relax.
He slipped out of the shop, tugging his hoodie tight against the cool spring air. A couple of bucks he'd stashed away would buy him a ticket and popcorn. First movie night in this world. Guess I'll see how 2002 cinema stacks up.
Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 9:02 P.M
The lobby buzzed with chatter and the smell of buttered popcorn. Keshaun bought his ticket and slid into the darkened theater just as the previews rolled. He sat near the back, half-watching, half-letting the Force hum quietly in his mind like background music.
Then, a whisper of tension.
A couple sat two rows ahead of him. The guy—tall, nervous, maybe early twenties—leaned close to his girlfriend.
"You see her?" he muttered, voice tight.
The girl frowned. "See who?"
"The woman in the yellow dress. Right there."
Keshaun's gaze followed—and froze.
A woman in a pale yellow dress stood at the far end of the aisle. Her eyes were locked onto the young man, unblinking. Step by slow step, she walked forward.
The Force roared in Keshaun's chest, heavy and urgent, like a warning siren. Danger.
But the girlfriend turned, squinting. "I don't… I don't see anyone."
The man stiffened. "We gotta go. Now."
Keshaun's eyes widened. The memory surged unbidden, perfectly clear thanks to his photographic recall. No way. This is just like… It Follows.
Outside the Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 9:17 P.M
The couple rushed out to their car, the girl confused, the man desperate. Keshaun trailed them, slipping through the crowd with Force-enhanced speed, his sneakers barely whispering against the pavement.
The car peeled out of the lot. Keshaun exhaled, focused, and let the Force flood his body. His muscles tightened, lungs expanded, and the world slowed.
Then he ran.
Streetlights streaked past as he pushed his body beyond human limits, every stride carrying him faster than a sprinting deer. The car was quick, but Keshaun was relentless.
Jay Heights and Hugh, he thought. The names clicked in his memory like puzzle pieces. This is it. It's really happening.
Abandoned Parking Lot, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 10:04 P.M
Keshaun crouched behind a rusting dumpster, watching.
The car sat parked in a dark lot. Inside, Hugh and Jay were already tangled together, kissing hungrily. The Force prickled with unease. Keshaun didn't interfere—yet. He knew what had to happen first.
Minutes later, Hugh slipped something from his pocket. A rag. A bottle. Chloroform.
Keshaun's fists clenched, but he held back. He had to see it play out.
Jay slumped unconscious in the passenger seat. Hugh's jaw tightened as he dragged her out.
Abandoned Warehouse, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 10:46 P.M
Jay's eyes fluttered open. She was strapped to a rusted wheelchair, duct tape binding her wrists. Her muffled sobs echoed in the cavernous warehouse.
Hugh knelt in front of her, his face pale with fear—not of her, but of what was coming.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I had to. You won't understand, but you will. It's… it's following you now. It'll never stop."
Jay shook her head, terrified. "What are you talking about?"
He swallowed hard. "It can look like anyone. But only you'll see it. If it touches you, you're dead. The only way to escape is to pass it on. Sleep with someone else. Give it to them."
Keshaun stayed hidden in the shadows, the Force thrumming violently now, like a drumbeat of dread.
Then, he saw her.
A naked woman, face blank and eyes empty, slowly stepped through the far doorway. Her feet dragged, but her eyes were locked on Jay.
Jay whimpered. "Oh my God…"
Hugh pointed, panic twisting his voice. "You see her! You see her, don't you? It's real!"
The entity moved closer. Step by step. Each one deliberate. Inescapable.
Keshaun stepped forward at last. "Yeah hoe, I see her too."
Hugh spun. "Who the fuck—"
But Keshaun was already moving. He thrust out his hand. The Force surged like a tidal wave.
Boom.
The entity was ripped off its feet and hurled across the warehouse, smashing into a concrete pillar hard enough to crack it.
For the first time, the thing stopped. Its head turned toward him, slow and unnatural, bones grinding audibly.
Its mouth opened.
The scream that followed wasn't human. It was jagged glass and ripping metal, a sound that clawed at the air and shivered against Keshaun's bones.
He gritted his teeth, the Force wrapping him like armor. "Yeah… I thought you'd notice me."
The warehouse trembled with the sound of something far older and darker than death itself.
And Keshaun knew—his real fight in this world had only just begun.