Hearing this, the old woman shook her head. "You can't. The only thing you can do is not look at the cursed picture again. Don't even think about it."
"But it keeps sending the picture!" Mason literally screamed.
"Then destroy your phones," she snapped.
"Do it now."
Instantly we went outside, with Cody first as usual, then he picked up a heavy rock from the ground.
Turn by turn he began smashing the phones as we handed them to him----- his first, then mine, Mason's and...
"Where's Talia's phone?"
Hearing that, Cody whipped his head up, looking at Talia.
"Bring your phone here."
"No!" She said and shook her head.
"My insta, my WhatsApp... No I'm not giving up my phone."
Suddenly Mason pounced on her, tackling her to the floor. "Give your phone here you bitch."
"Give him the phone Talia," Cody added.
" NOO!!!!" She shrieked.
Somehow she was able to kick Mason off her despite his large weight, and ran for the woods.
... And Mason and Cody in despair ran after her.
But just when I was about to go after them, I suddenly decided it was best if I stayed back.
At least here was safe.
However when I turned, I found the front door locked.
Panicking I pounded on the door, calling out to the old man inside, "Let me in."
"I'm sorry," he said from inside.
"I cannot let you lead the curse to us again. It's already left my wife blind."
"So we're on our own?!!" I rasp.
"You're leaving us to die!!!!!"
I bang on the door repeatedly with both of my hands, but the old man refuses to answer.
Frustrated and in despair, I grimace and slowly take my hands off the door.
Then I turn and run off after Mason and Cody.
---
The first thing I see when I get into the woods is Talia perched up on the dry branch of a tree, opening her phone.
... And I'm instantly alarmed.
Turning her phone on could bring whatever is chasing us right to us.
Cody and Mason are on the ground trying to reach her.
"Turn of that phone!"
"You'll get us all killed!!" They yell.
"Talia whatever this is, we can sort it out!" I shout.
But she gives me the middle finger, " Fuck. You."
Then, before any of us can react, she turns the phone to face us, showing us the image of the smiling dog.
Instantly I avert my gaze, covering my eyes with my eyes.
But Mason and Cody are a second too late and collapse to the ground twitching violently.
Their body bending, their bones cracking and their head raising to look at me, a plastered wide grin spread all over their lips as their eyes burst out if their sockets, blood welling in the empty area, sliding over...
... Their still smiling face.
Mason dies on the spot from the bleeding, but Cody survives, crawling and sweeping his hands blindly over the patchment of dried leaves on the ground.
I move to help him, but suddenly he grabs a rock...
And begins bashing his head with it over and over and over and over again.
"Cody stop! You're hurting yourself!!" I scream in tears, shocked by what he was doing to himself.
"STOP ITTTTTT!"
Suddenly he stops, and turns to me, causing me to gasp at his state.
Blood is soaked over his head, and has stained his white top, and half of his face is mashed and all mangled.
Then he grunts even louder, smashing the rock into his face even harder and faster till his body convulses, the rock drops from his hand and he falls to the ground.
.. dead
I'm frozen in horror so much that I don't even realise that I'm screaming, and I don't realise that Talia is climbing down the tree.
Suddenly a hand grabs me by my shoulder, and I turn to see a smiling faced Talia.
Her eyes are rolled back so all I can see are her white pupils, as tears of blood slip down the corners of her eyes.
"Smile back Harper."
I scream, startling myself so much that I stumble, falling down to my ass on fallen leaves.
She looks at me, tilting her head at me while she dips her hand into the pocket of the shorts she's wearing, and brings out a pen knife.
I gasp, my heart launching to my throat as I begin crawling backwards on my arms and ass.
"Stay back! Don't come any nearer!!"
But she follows me anyway, moving closer and closer till she grabs me by my ankle and yanks me towards her.
"Nooo!! Stop Talia."
With a grin on her face, she sits on my stomach.
"You need to smile," she says, pulling her phone close to my face.
My eyes widen in fear and horror, "No, don't."
I whimper. "Talia please I'm begging you."
She chuckles, still grinning, "I need to spread the word Harper. It said I should spread the word."
She laughs again, "Now smile."
But I close my eyes, tightly, shaking my head as tears slip down my closed eyes.
Suddenly the sharp end of a knife presses to my throat, and I jerk, barely managing to keep my eyes closed.
"Open your eyes or I'm slitting your throat."
She growls in a deep voice, then suddenly starts giggles for no reason, returning to her normal voice, "Open up and smile."
When I don't do that, the knife starts cutting into my skin, warm blood coating me.
In desperation, I open my eyes, coming face to face with the image of the smiling dog on the screen.
I go completely still.
... And Talia lets go of my neck, pulling the phone's screen off from my face.
She sighs in contentment, lifting her hands in the air as she smiles wider and deeper than I ever possibly thought she could've.
Her skin stretching so hard that the corners of her lips start tearing.
"Yesss. Yessssss. YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!"
Her body explodes then, blood, bits and pieces of her falling and scattering everywhere in the woods, some on my face, coating me in the thick red fleshy bloody mixture.
I sobbing quietly, my body raking up on its own in grief and fear, both flooding my mind in equal proportions.
Finally I go still, and raise my hands to my face, wiping out the bloody mess away as my lips twitch, curling up into a smile, my eyes glowing red as the words tumble out of my lips.
"Spread The Word."