Chapter Three: It Follows II
Abandoned Warehouse, Detroit, Michigan
April 20, 2002 – 10:52 P.M.
The scream tore through the rusted bones of the warehouse, rattling loose bolts and sending dust raining down from the rafters. It wasn't just sound—it was pressure, like nails hammering into skulls. Jay shrieked, her body straining against the duct tape binding her wrists. Keshaun felt his knees want to buckle, but he gritted his teeth, forcing the Force through him like steel braces against the storm.
"God damn!" he shouted, bracing his stance, one hand still stretched toward the cracked pillar where the thing had landed. His voice came out raw, heavy with adrenaline. "Shut yo' creepy-ass mouth!"
The entity's head snapped unnaturally to the side, eyes rolling until their milky whites fixed on him. Then it moved—no, glided—across the broken floor, each step echoing too slow, too deliberate.
Behind him, Hugh stumbled back, panic ripping across his face. "No—no, it's not supposed to notice anyone else! Only her! What the hell are you?!"
Keshaun's glare cut to him. "Nigga, shut the fuck up! You brought this shit in here!" He snapped his wrist, and a wrench from a workbench zipped through the air, slamming into the entity's skull. The tool clanged off like it hit steel, dropping uselessly to the floor. The thing didn't flinch.
It kept coming.
Jay sobbed, muffled through the duct tape. Her legs kicked wildly against the chair.
Keshaun flexed his fingers. The Force flared again, wrapping around the chair. With a grunt, he yanked, tearing the whole rusty frame back across the floor, away from the entity's path. Jay gasped as she skidded across the concrete.
The entity stopped, its head rotating toward him again—bones popping like branches snapping in winter. Its lips pulled back in a too-wide grin.
Then it sprinted.
"Aw, hell nah," Keshaun muttered.
He threw up his hand. Barrier.
The Force surged, an invisible wall flashing into place just as the creature slammed into it. The impact shuddered through him, his arms shaking under the strain. The thing's hands pressed against the unseen wall, its face inches from his, snarling, grinning, eyes like empty voids.
The barrier flickered. Cracks of blue light spiderwebbed across it.
"Shit, shit, shit—" He poured more energy into it, but the wall was already splintering.
Hugh backed toward the side door. His hands were shaking, eyes wide. "It's too strong—you can't fight it! You can't fight it!"
Keshaun snapped his head toward him. "Nigga, don't you fucking move!"
But Hugh did. The coward turned and bolted out the door, his footsteps slamming down the metal stairs until they faded into the night.
"Bitch-ass—" Keshaun's curse was cut short. The barrier shattered like glass under a hammer. The entity surged forward, shrieking.
He threw himself sideways, grabbing the chair Jay was strapped to with a telekinetic shove. The chair screeched across the floor as he sprinted beside it, his sneakers slapping hard against the concrete.
The entity lunged.
Keshaun spun, thrusting both hands forward. The Force exploded outward, a telekinetic shockwave that blasted the creature back through a stack of crates. Wood splintered, debris raining down.
"Get us the fuck outta here!" he barked at himself, ripping the duct tape from Jay's mouth with a flick of the Force.
She gasped, choking. "Wh-what the hell is that thing?!"
"Later!" he shouted, skidding toward a side exit, shoving the heavy steel door open with another burst of power. "Right now we run, nigga!"
Empty Detroit Streets
April 20, 2002 – 11:08 P.M.
The night air hit them like a slap, cool and wet with the smell of rain. Keshaun dragged Jay's chair into the street before ripping the metal apart with a violent twist of his hands. The rusted bolts screamed, snapping free. Jay stumbled out, wrists raw and bleeding, tears streaking her face.
"Move," he ordered, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward. His tone left no room for argument.
She stumbled beside him, barefoot on the cracked pavement. "Where are we going?"
"Away from that creepy-ass thing." He glanced back, senses stretched wide. The Force hummed like an alarm system, every nerve lit. He couldn't see it yet, but he could feel it. "It ain't done chasing."
Jay's breaths came in ragged gasps. "Hugh—where is he?!"
Keshaun's jaw clenched. "That nigga dipped."
Her eyes widened, disbelief and fury mixing. "He… he left us?!"
"Hell yeah, he left. You saw him. As soon as shit got rough, he hauled ass. That's why we won't find him. He knows what the fuck this is. And I'm not lettin' him hide."
They cut through an alley, Keshaun leading, his Force Sense tugging him toward safer routes. Trash cans clattered as they passed. Rats darted. The hum of danger stayed constant, like a growl in his chest.
Behind them, faint but steady, came footsteps. Not Hugh's. Not normal. Heavy. Slow. Deliberate.
Jay froze, turning. "It's following us."
Keshaun pulled her forward again. "Of course it is. That's the whole point." He spat to the side. "Some curse-demon shit, man. And Hugh out here playin' keep-away with life."
Vacant Apartment Building, Detroit
April 21, 2002 – 12:03 A.M.
They broke into an old brick building, windows boarded, graffiti sprawling across the walls. Keshaun shoved the door shut behind them and dragged a heavy shelf across it with the Force.
Jay collapsed against the wall, hugging herself. She was trembling, her breaths sharp.
Keshaun crouched in front of her, his hoodie damp with sweat. "Look at me."
She didn't. Her eyes darted toward the boarded window, like she expected the entity to phase right through.
"Look at me."he said again, voice firmer.
Finally, she met his eyes.
"You gon' be alright," he told her. His tone was rough, but there was steel underneath. "I ain't lettin' that thing touch you. You hear me?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Why? Why are you even helping me? You don't know me."
Keshaun leaned back, snorted. "Shit, you think I'm gon' sit back and watch some demon nigga walk you down like a dog when I have the power to stop it? Nah. Not how I roll, not that I think that I'm a superhero or something. I'm Keshaun by the way."
"Jay," Jay wiped her face with her sleeve, her breathing steadying slightly. "How did you get your powers? Where did they come from?"
"Aint that the same question? Anyway, it's better for you not to ask questions about those because the further you get involved with the supernatural, the more you become unable to return to your normal life. The more you interact with the supernatural, the more you attract the supernatural. You get what I'm saying. If you still want to be involved once this is all over I tell more," Keshaun could sense that Jay wasn't a high level force-sensitive but she had some level of force sensitivity. Keshaun had no idea if this version of the force was still harder to learn for adults.
It was an idea, Keshaun had come up with the idea of starting an organization that deals with supernatural threats as well as recruit and train friendly supernatural beings giving them a safe place where they belonged and had purpose. Kinda like X-men and Professor X School for Gifted Children. This was a long-term goal for Keshaun cause right now he was only a nine year old orphan at the moment.
"I think, I understand," Jay finally noticed how young her unsuspecting savior actually is " How old are you and where are your parents?"
"I turn ten in two weeks. About my parents I don't know, never met them. " Keshaun stood, pacing. His mind burned. He replayed Hugh's words in the warehouse. It can look like anyone. It only stops if you pass it on. Before Jay could feel bad about bringing up a sour topic, Keshaun turns his attention to her. "Anyways, that doesn't matter right now"
"That bastard Hugh," Keshaun muttered, fists clenching. "He knows everything. He set you up. And he tried to set me up too, leaving us like that."
Jay looked at him, panic flashing again. "Then we need to find him."
"Damn right." Keshaun stopped pacing, turned, eyes hard. "And when we do, he gon' talk. I don't care if I gotta choke him with my bare hands, or throw his ass through ten walls. He gon' talk."
Jay swallowed. "And if he doesn't?"
Keshaun's mouth twisted into a humorless grin. "Then I'll make him."
Hugh's Apartment Complex, Detroit
April 21, 2002 – 2:14 A.M.
The streets were dead quiet, save for the distant hum of traffic. The complex loomed ahead—old red brick, windows glowing faintly in a few units. Keshaun and Jay crouched in the shadows of a nearby alley.
Jay whispered, "What if he's not home?"
Keshaun smirked. "Then I drag his ass out wherever he is. It doesn't matter. I'll find him."
The Force pulsed inside him, hot and restless. His anger was rising, and he didn't even bother to push it down. Not tonight. Tonight, he wanted Hugh scared.
He closed his eyes, stretched his senses. The building came alive in his mind: heartbeats behind walls, slow breaths of people asleep, the hum of electricity in the wires. Then—there. A jittery, rapid heartbeat on the second floor. Fear. Guilt. Hugh.
Keshaun's eyes opened, burning. "Got him."
They crept forward, slipping through the cracked door. The stairwell reeked of piss and mildew. Jay followed close, her bare feet silent on the steps.
Second floor. Apartment 204.
Keshaun raised his hand. The lock clicked. The door swung open.
Hugh sat on the couch, clutching a half-empty bottle of whiskey. His eyes went wide when Keshaun stepped in, the Force humming around him like static electricity.
"You—" Hugh started.
"Shut up," Keshaun snapped, his voice like a whip. He strode forward, grabbed Hugh by the collar, and slammed him back against the wall so hard the picture frames rattled.
Jay flinched but didn't stop him.
"You left us," Keshaun growled, his face inches from Hugh's. "You left her strapped up like bait. You left me to fight that shit alone. You gon' tell me everything, right the fuck now."
Hugh's face crumpled. "I—I didn't have a choice—"
"You always got a choice, nigga," Keshaun barked, slamming him again. "Now stop bullshitting. What is that thing? How do we kill it?"
Hugh stammered, tears forming in his eyes. "You can't kill it. Nobody can. It's—it's forever. The only way out is passing it on."
Jay's voice cracked. "You mean… you gave it to me?"
Hugh's face twisted with shame. He couldn't answer.
Jay gasped, covering her mouth.
Keshaun's fury surged. His hand clenched tighter on Hugh's shirt. "So you fucked her just to hand her a death sentence? That's your plan? You sick motherfucker."
"I—I didn't want to die!" Hugh cried, voice breaking.
"Then maybe you shoulda thought about someone else for once." Keshaun's voice dropped low, dangerous. "You gon' help us stop it. Or I swear, I'll feed you to it myself."
The Force pulsed with his words, pressing down on Hugh like a physical weight. The man sagged, trembling, breath ragged.
"Okay," Hugh whispered. "Okay. I'll tell you everything."
Keshaun released him, letting him drop to the floor like trash.