AN ONLINE CHALLENGE GOES TOO FAR
*snap* *snap* *snap* *snap*
All I wanted was to try this new online challenge: Stay awake for 3 days straight. At first I was tired but it was bearable…soon, however, things started to go wrong…
Background
This is a graphic work of fiction, written by Emma Eva Harvey. Any similarities to actual persons and/or events is purely coincidental. The main character — and narrator — Tiffany Rogers, is a twenty-one year old single girl, living alone in a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Boise, Idaho.
October 5th, 2005
Hi guys! This is my new blog! My name is Tiffany and I’m 21 years old. I’ve created this blog because I wanted to try this new dare going around. It’s quite simple: You simply have to stay awake for 3 days straight! I’m sooooo excited! And I can’t wait to get started, and write down my experiences for your guys to enjoy!
Day 1. October 6th, 2005. 12:00pm
I started last night and I haven’t slept a blink. I’m tired but it’s bearable. I have had lots of energy drinks, coffee and other stuff to keep me up. I played games the whole night. Round after found of Mario Cart and Call Of Duty. I almost fell asleep once, but I caught myself!
So far so gooooood! I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow, bye!!
Day 2. October 7th, 2005. 7:35pm
Hi guys! Well, today went a little weird. I started hearing things? I don’t know, I couldn’t exactly make out what the sound was, but went looking for its source and couldn’t find it anywhere…it sounded kinda like water dripping like *drip* *drip* *drip* *drip*
Funny thing is, it only goes three times; pauses for a beat, and then starts again…maybe I’m going crazy! Nah, I’m sure it’s just the old kitchen sink — always something wrong with it. I think it’s just just being shy and stopping when I look, you know, to mess with my head! Anyways…talk to you soon. Bye!
Day 2. October 7th, 2005. 10:48pm
Okay okay…this is getting really weird. I have to write about this and tell you guys, so you know I’m not crazy. I figured out what the sound was; and you might think I’m crazy but…it’s snapping!
Like finger snapping, you know Snap! Snap! Snap!….which, I know, doesn’t make any sense but that’s what I’m hearing…I swear to God, I’m starting to think maybe someone’s hiding in my apartment but it always sounds like it’s right in front of me. Update you soon, bye!
Day 3. October 8th, 2005. 8:00am
Ok. I’m really scared now. I’m starting to really freak out. Now when I hear it, I can also see something in the corner of my eyes; but when I try to look it directly, disappears…
I don’t understand what’s happening!
Why can’t I see it!
Can someone please explain what the hell is going on…?
Day 3. October 8th, 2005. 3:28pm
Well I’m back…but now it’s getting much worse...it’s getting louder in my head and I’m starting to see things, actual things…I keep seeing the black figure just snapping his fingers. I can see it clear as day out of the corner of my eye; but every time I try to see it directly and in focus, it just dissolves into nothing!
I just can’t see him fully. Am I going crazy? I’m starting to think something is wrong in my eyes, or in my head that is causing me to see things….maybe I should make a doctor’s appointment and get it checked out…Yeah. I’m gonna call my doctor and setup an appointment to check it out…I’ll see you guys later. Bye!
News Report. October 12th, 2005. 8:00am
Earlier today, local police had to break into an apartment downtown after neighbors reported a young lady by the name of Tiffany as gone missing. Police sources report that her neighbors, friends and family grew worried after not hearing from her after more than a week.
The preliminary report goes on to say that when police first entered the premises, they did not find any signs of struggle and — judging from the pictures on the mantel — nothing seem to be missing, ruling out a robbery gone bad.
It wasn’t until a young officer notice a faint, but familiar scent that the truth about the fate of young Tiffany was revealed. The unmistakable scent was human blood.
They followed the scent into the bathroom and there on the bathtub, they saw her. She was laying face down, blood on her hands…they weren’t sure if she was dead or not. Paramedics on the scene were quick to confirm the obvious, she was dead.
When the Crime Scene Unit began their preliminary examination of the body, they discovered something even more frightening, what they saw was terrifying. Young Tiffany had gouged her eyes out with her own fingers…all there was left were the bloody sockets and her eyes, clutched in her hands.
On the side of the tub, written in her blood was a desperate cry: “Snap, snap, snap…stop the snapping…just stop it”.
No one really knows what prompted Tiffany to take her own life in such horrific fashion; but an online diary, or blog, has been unearthed that may shed some lights on her final days.
Police believe she took part in what is being called an online challenge. A kind of dare young people are spreading on the internet where you challenge others to do various stunts in return for likes and followers. Authorities say the last such challenge urged young people to go without sleep for three days, or 72 hours straight.
Medical sources have confirmed to us that such an extended period without sleep — in addition to the consumption of large quantities of caffeine and energy drinks — would cause major cognitive deficits and hallucinations; possibly even death.
No one will really know for certain what happened to Tiffany. Was she the victim of foul play, or did she succumb to a psychotic episode brought about by her lack of sleep?
Regardless, take this as a cautionary tale…and hopefully it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
