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    Found Footage: A Tale of the Mantis Man
    Found Footage: A Tale of the Mantis Man
    Found Footage: A Tale of the Mantis Man
    Ebook171 pages1 hour

    Found Footage: A Tale of the Mantis Man

    By Mary Fan and Jason Whitley

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    About this ebook

    There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky-or unlucky-few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNeoParadoxa
    Release dateApr 21, 2022
    ISBN9781949691948
    Found Footage: A Tale of the Mantis Man
    Author

    Mary Fan

    Mary Fan is a sci-fi/fantasy writer hailing from Jersey City, NJ. She is the author of the Jane Colt sci-fi series (Red Adept Publishing), the Flynn Nightsider YA dark fantasy series (Crazy 8 Press), the Starswept YA sci-fi series (Snowy Wings Publishing), and Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon, a YA steampunk fantasy (Page Street Publishing). She is also the co-editor of the Brave New Girls YA sci-fi anthology series about girls in STEM (proceeds are donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund). In addition, she has had numerous short stories published in collections including MINE!: A celebration of liberty and freedom for all benefitting Planned Parenthood (ComicMix), Magic at Midnight (Snowy Wings Publishing), Tales of the Crimson Keep (Crazy 8 Press), and Thrilling Adventure Yarns (Crazy 8 Press). In her spare time, when she has any, she can usually be found in choir rehearsal, at the kickboxing gym, or tangled up in aerial silks.

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      Book preview

      Found Footage - Mary Fan

      Chapter One

      Just outside Princeton, New Jersey

      April 2003

      Shadows mottled the forest floor, still damp from last night’s rain. Being careful to avoid slipping on the leaves, Jenny Chen slid her tripod—a flimsy gray thing that refused to stand straight—forward by a few inches. She huffed as the camcorder she’d borrowed from her parents teetered, barely supported by the ill-fitting screw. This is what I get for buying the cheapest tripod at RadioShack. But even though she was now a high school junior, her parents had refused to up her allowance. Something about teaching her financial responsibility.

      Keeping her eyes on the minuscule screen sticking out the side of the camcorder, she did her best to straighten the picture. A stiff breeze blew her straight, black ponytail into her eyes, chilling her through her crimson zip-up sweatshirt as a cloud passed over the pale late afternoon sun. So much for spring. But she didn’t mind the gloom—or the air of creepiness that came with it. In fact, it was just what she needed for her filmmaking project.

      It doesn’t have to be perfect, you know. Standing a few yards ahead in a bright blue dress, Stacey Mandelbaum hugged her arms and nodded at the camcorder. The outfit, which Jenny had selected because it popped nicely against the brown-and-gray, not-yet-really-green forest, was a far cry from her friend’s usual preference for comfortable earth tones. You can always straighten it later when you’re editing.

      ‘Fix it in post’? Really? Jenny cocked an eyebrow.

      Well, if you’re going to take forever, I’m putting my jacket back on. I’m freezing. Though we should hurry up and shoot the scene before it gets dark. Stacey’s sharp nose and thin lips accentuated her annoyed expression. Her mature cheekbones often led people to assume she was several years older than Jenny, who, despite being seventeen, was often handed the kids’ menu at restaurants.

      But just because Stacey looked like she could be Jenny’s teacher didn’t mean she was in charge. It was Jenny’s movie, and she wanted everything to be as perfect as she could make it. Don’t move. I need to frame the picture around you, and your jacket will mess up my colors.

      "Fine. But you’d better not complain about anything I do when we shoot my movie next week."

      Still fiddling with the tripod and camcorder, Jenny grinned. "I reserve the right to be an on-set diva. You did get my note about having candy dishes with only red Skittles within reach at all times, right?"

      Stacey rolled her eyes.

      Jenny crouched down to adjust one of the tripod’s legs. Another wind blew, and the shadows grew deeper beneath the trees, which remained scraggly despite the few brave leaves unfurling from a handful of branches. A shudder ran down her spine, and she internally laughed at herself. Guess when you make a horror movie, everything has you jumpy.

      Something rustled—a quick yet sharp fluttering noise. She jumped up, looking past Stacey in the direction of the sound.

      What? Stacey glanced behind her.

      Jenny narrowed her dark, angled eyes and looked around but found only the expected tangle of brush. I don’t know…

      Stacey put her hands on her hips. Is this your way of getting me into character?

      Jenny shook her head. Sorry. Ignoring an uncanny feeling of being watched, she finished adjusting her camera set-up. I hope this scene creeps out our class as much as it’s creeping me out right now. Okay, done. She stood and positioned herself behind the camera.

      Finally. Stacey bent her knees and put on a frightened expression.

      Jenny hit the record button. Rolling. Forest chase scene, take one. She waved her hand before the lens as a makeshift slate. Action!

      Stacey ran toward the camera, a look of feigned panic in her wide brown eyes. Don’t hurt me! She looked back, sending her loose chestnut curls flying over her shoulder, then screamed and tripped. Please! She dug her hands into the ground and crab-walked toward the camera. No! She curled up into a ball, her hands over her head.

      Jenny counted silently to three. And cut!

      Stacey stood, brushing the dirt from her dress. How was that?

      Pretty freaking good, actually. But this time, can you cheat your face forward when you look back?

      Sure. Stacey returned to her mark, right next to a rock Jenny had stuck in the ground earlier.

      Also, can you— Jenny broke off with a gasp. Something had moved—and there was no breeze this time.

      Stacey whirled, then turned back to Jenny with an amused smile. If you’re trying to get me to method act, well, it’s kind of working.

      Something’s out there.

      ‘Something… from the realm beyond. Maybe a ghost… or something darker.’ Did I get the lines right?

      I’m not kidding, Stacey. That creeped-out feeling of being watched clung to Jenny as much as the cold sweat breaking against her skin. I heard something move.

      We’re in the woods. Something’s always moving.

      Jenny took a step forward, searching. Though the feeling remained strong, she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, it was hard to tell with so many trees and shadows. She wasn’t exactly a deer hunter or anything. Yeah, you’re right. She returned to her spot behind the camera. Ready to go again?

      Stacey inhaled and assumed her about-to-run position. Yup.

      Rolling… Forest chase scene, take two. Action!

      The gravel of the wide towpath along the Delaware & Raritan Canal crunched beneath Jenny’s worn sneakers, which looked like crap but were too comfortable to be thrown out. Staring at the camcorder’s three-inch screen, she followed Stacey back toward the parking lot.

      Can’t you at least wait till we get to my car? Stacey said. You’re gonna trip.

      Hush! Jenny waved her off. The auteur is at work!

      In the playback, Stacey peered out from behind a tree. The sun had been much brighter when they’d filmed that scene, and Jenny had taken so long finding the perfect spot for the chase scene and setting up for it that there was no way the audience would believe that the two moments took place within minutes of each other. Ugh, Stacey was right. I shouldn’t have been so picky.

      What’s wrong? Stacey asked.

      What?

      Your face is all scrunched up like you smelled dog poop. Did I miss my mark or something?

      Jenny looked up at her friend, who almost looked like a shadow under the fading light. You were right.

      Stacey stopped in her tracks and cupped her ear. Whoa, what? Am I hearing things? Maybe there really are ghosts or demons lurking—

      Giggling, Jenny smacked the other girl. Shut up! I can admit when I’m wrong.

      Oh, really? The bluish-white light from the screen highlighted Stacey’s skeptical expression as she leaned closer.

      Ugh, look at this. Jenny turned back to the playback, which now showed Stacey stumbling through the woods. You can totally tell that it was filmed an hour and a half after the other scene. Also, I swear it didn’t look that dark when we were shooting.

      Well, you can always adjust the brightness later and—

      Fix it in post, Jenny finished with a slight laugh. I guess that’s why God invented editing software. Oh, and speaking of religion… She reached into her pocket and retrieved Stacey’s gold Star-of-David necklace. Here, before I forget.

      "Oh, trust me, I wouldn’t have forgotten. Stacey took the necklace and fastened it around her neck. I’ve worn my grandmother’s necklace every day since first grade. I feel naked without it."

      It’s been, like, twenty minutes since we wrapped. You could’ve reminded me sooner… you must be awfully comfortable walking around naked.

      Stacey raised her hand as if to smack Jenny but froze, her eyes widening. What was that?

      Very funny. Is this your way of getting back at me for—

      Rewind the playback! Stacey reached for Jenny’s camcorder, accidentally shoving her shoulder.

      Already overbalanced by the tripod strapped to one shoulder and her forest-green backpack hanging off the other, Jenny landed flat on her butt, instinctively lifting the hand holding the camcorder even though that meant taking the full force of the fall. Hey! What—?

      There it is again! Staring at the camcorder, Stacey pointed. Rewind it!

      Jenny may have been the type to say made you look, but Stacey wasn’t. And she was hardly a good enough actress to feign the startled, frightened look on her face. Jenny would know—she’d been trying to get that expression out of her friend and star all afternoon. Okay… what’s going on?

      I don’t know, but I think… Stacey shook her head. Just re-watch it.

      Jenny hit pause and rewound at half speed. On the screen, Stacey slowly uncurled from the ground, sat up and moved into a crab-walk position, and crawled forward. It looked so creepy backward and in slo-mo that Jenny wondered if she could somehow use it for the movie—

      Something flashed in the background.

      There! Stacey cried. At the same time, Jenny hit pause.

      Behind the tangle of shrubs, shrouded in the shadows of the trees, yet unmistakably outlined by the waning sun, stood a figure with glinting eyes. Bulbous and black—and likely only visible because of a quirk of light and digital recording technology—they stood to either side of a triangular head. A long, thin neck and body extended downward until obscured by branches, and a pair of large forelegs, angled together as if

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