My alarm woke me up nice and early. I slept like a baby. I didn't hear anything strange last night.
Heading downstairs for a glass of water, I passed the front window—and that's when I saw Leon, just standing outside. I opened the door.
"I didn't think you were a morning person," I said—but then I followed his gaze.
In the distance, a house was crushed, reduced to splinters. Massive craters pockmarked the streets.
"What the hell happened?" I asked.
"You should've seen it," Leon said, his voice shaky. "Some big figure showed up. It locked eyes with me, glowing eyes. Then a girl screamed, and… and I heard a munching sound coming from the monster."
"Slow down," I said, raising a hand. "Your story doesn't make any sense—just breathe."
"How am I supposed to calm down? Someone died!"
"Just… get inside."
We sat at the kitchen table, and I handed Leon a glass of water. The others—Dahlia, Penny, and Kara—soon joined us, drawn in by the tension in the room.
"So," I said. "Tell us everything."
Leon took a deep breath. "Last night, while I was up, I heard a weird sound outside. I stepped out, and the whole street was foggy. The sound got louder. Then I saw two balls of light—eyes, huge ones—staring right at me. It looked away, and then I heard a scream. After that, I heard… something. Flesh being crushed. And then silence. The fog disappeared. That's when I saw the house, destroyed. The craters looked like footprints. Whatever it was, it came into town and ate someone. A monster."
Before anyone could respond, the clock struck 9.
The lights began to flicker.
DING.
A loud chime echoed through the house. When the flickering stopped, we heard a knock at the door.
"Who wants to answer it?" Dahlia asked.
"I will," I said.
I opened the door. No one was there.
"There's no one here."
Leon stepped over beside me. "The mailbox… it wasn't like that before."
He stood by the door as I walked over and opened the mailbox. Inside was a small package. I brought it inside.
"Well… this is definitely for us," I said.
I opened it. Inside were five cards—each with one of our names—and a letter. Two smaller boxes were packed beneath them.
We all looked at our cards.
Connor
Role: The Heart
Description: You are the lifeline, the mood, the spark, the laugh track. When spirits fall, you lift them. When chaos comes, you are the first to face it.
Challenge Involvement: Mandatory
Punishment Default: Absorption
"…What the hell does that mean?"
Leon
Role: The Fool
Description: You are the noise, the chaos, the unexpected move. Your purpose is to distract, disarm, and entertain.
Challenge Involvement: Mandatory
Punishment Default: Chaos Echo
Dahlia
Role: The Face
Description: You begin the show. You shine, even as it darkens. The audience will love you.
Challenge Involvement: Frequent
Punishment Default: Emotional Fracture
Penny
Role: The Eye
Description: You see what others miss. Your lens is the window to the Feed. Without you, the Feed collapses.
Challenge Involvement: Frequent/Occasional
Punishment Default: Silencing
Kara
Role: The Ghost
Description: You are the support. The invisible fix. You keep the machine running when no one else sees it breaking.
Challenge Involvement: Frequent
Punishment Default: Isolation_
On the back of each card were the same words:
Welcome to the Feed.
Daily content required.
Audience satisfaction is mandatory.
Failure results in consumption.
"Okay, what the hell does this mean?" Leon asked. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
"Wait a minute," I said. "There's a letter. And those two boxes—maybe they'll tell us something."
I opened the letter and read it aloud:
"To the five:
Welcome to your new home.
You have been chosen to bring light to the dark.
This house thrives on creation.
Each day, a new challenge will arrive at 10:00 AM.
Each day, your contribution will be expected.
Each day, the Feed must be satisfied.
Participation is not optional.
Completion is not negotiable.
Everything you need for the first challenge is in the two boxes.
Entertain. Perform. Post. Or Perish.
We will not warn you again.
Number Consumed: 1."
"Someone open the damn boxes," Leon snapped.
Kara grabbed the wide, flat one. Penny took the other.
Inside Kara's was a computer.
"It needs a password," she said.
"How many letters?" Dahlia asked.
"Four."
"Try Feed," I said.
It worked.
"It's already logged into YouTube," Kara said. "There's a channel open. Wait—this is our channel."
I looked.
House of 5.
A single button at the bottom: POST.
Penny opened her box. Inside was a camera.
"Okay, we got creepy cards, a creepy letter, a camera, and a computer," Dahlia said.
"The only apps on here are YouTube and EditLab Pro," Kara added.
Leon leaned forward. "That letter… it said 'Number consumed: 1.' That means someone really did die last night."
"Let's think about this," I said. "We each got roles. We got a setup. This place wants us to make content—every day—starting at exactly 10. They gave us tools, rules, and a warning. If we don't play along… someone else outside pays the price."
"Anyone got a phone?" Leon said. "Call 911. This is some twisted prank. What happened last night wasn't real. But whoever's doing this belongs behind bars."
Right then, the clock struck 10.
DING.
Another knock at the door.
Leon answered it and stepped outside. No one.
The mailbox was shut again.
Leon opened it and pulled out another letter.
"Who wants to read it?" he asked.
"I will," I said, taking it from him.
"Time to kick the channel off with a BANG!
Today's challenge is simple:
Make us laugh.
Genuinely. Creatively. Shamelessly.
You have until 4:00 PM to post.
The Feed is watching.
The Feed is waiting.
Miss the mark, and the laughter ends… somewhere else.
Remember: Post or Perish.
Number Consumed: 1."
Leon snatched the letter, crumpled it, and threw it in the trash.
"Looks like we ain't doing shit today. This has to be some kind of joke, right?"
"Leon, someone died last night," Penny said. "We can't risk it."
"I hate to say it," I muttered, "but maybe it was just a sick prank. Either way, we're keeping this stuff. Whoever sent it doesn't get it back."
But we all knew the truth. Deep down, we knew. Someone had died. We were just pretending everything was okay.
"Meet back in the living room at 3:45," I said.
The rest of the day was spent trying to calm our nerves.
I spent 20 minutes in the hot tub, then a while in the pool. I explored the house. Made some meals for the week. Tried not to think about any of it.
At 3:45, we met back in the living room.
"So why the early meetup?" Kara asked.
"Well," I said, "if something's going to happen at 4—maybe a knock—we might be able to catch whoever's behind this. Put an end to it."
"I like it," Leon said. "Alright, Connor—you open the door the second you hear the knock, and I'll rush out."
We waited. At 4:00 PM, the lights flickered.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
After the first knock, I threw open the door.
"…What? There's no one here," Leon said.
He checked the mailbox.
"Guess what. Another letter."
He opened it.
"You have failed to meet the deadline.
The challenge was ignored.
The laughter did not come.
The Feed is hungry.
You will be punished."
The moment Leon read the word punished, a deafening noise pierced our ears.
We all screamed, vomiting blood as pain wracked our insides. For seven seconds, I felt like my entire body was being ripped apart.
And then—it was over.
Dahlia was crying. "What was that?!"
The sky turned dark, though it was only 4 PM. Fog rolled in through the streets. Heavy footsteps echoed through town.
Closer. Louder.
Then—a scream in the distance.
The sickening sound of flesh being crushed.
The footsteps slowly faded into the distance. The fog vanished. The sky cleared.
SLAM.
The mailbox shut on its own.
Leon, trembling, opened it.
Inside was one last letter:
"One has been taken.
Number Consumed: 2."
This wasn't a prank.
This wasn't a game.
This was real.