We're Not Safe Here (2025)

[bunniefuu]

It's okay, Mommy.

Neeta.

Everything All right?

I'm ready for winter break.

Yeah, me too.

- You ever hear from Rachel?

- No.

You get ahold of her,

you tell her to call the school

and, I don't know,

give an update or something.

Yeah, sure.

Hey.

Want a drink?

What?

You look like

you're about to fall asleep.

Yeah, I stayed up all night,

just working.

Trying to start a piece.

How's it going?

Well, I hold the brush,

I look at the piece.

Try to focus and I don't see it.

You're just blocked.

This is more than blocked,

I'm anxious.

I...

I just don't know

if I should do this anymore.

You are the most

together person I know.

Don't doubt yourself

or your art.

I gotta go.

I am meeting someone for dinner

and I don't want to be late.

Sorry for...for whining.

You're not whining,

you're venting.

And you know you can talk to me

about anything.

Anytime.

Rachel.

- Hey, Neeta.

- I've been calling, what's--

You okay?

Yeah.

What's going on?

Your students, everyone's

been asking about you.

I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry.

No, we're just worried

about you.

I've been wanting

to talk to you,

I just--I'm dealing

with some stuff.

What stuff?

Can I come over?

I know it's late, um,

but I really want

to talk to you.

Of course.

We're all around you.

- Hi.

- Hi.

This is it?

Oh, it's nice.

Is all of this your art?

Yep, I was just upstairs

working on a piece.

Oh, I love this.

This one.

I framed it,

but I don't think

it's finished yet.

You know,

it looks like something,

like a--like a hand.

Hey.

We don't have to talk

about this right now.

I'll be here when you're ready.

I'm just a little worried

how you're going to take it.

No. No, don't worry

about me. I'm okay.

It's a lot.

We have all night.

Where do I even start?

Start wherever feels right.

Um...

I'm sorry, um,

I just haven't been--

I haven't been sleeping

much lately.

I keep--

I keep having this dream.

There are people,

shadows all around me.

Watching me.

I know they're moving closer.

I see hands reaching out for me.

It feels so real, you know?

It's terrifying.

And during the day,

I've been--I've been having

these, like blackouts?

I'll be in bed, or on my sofa,

and it--and it just happens,

you know,

I get this feeling of dread,

like my body knows

it's about to happen.

And then I feel nauseous

and my muscles tense up

and then I wake up.

And all this time has passed.

When I come out of it,

it's like waking up

from a dream.

Like I'm not sure if I'm--

if I'm awake or not.

Like I might still

be in the dream.

My heart is racing

and I'm just--

I don't know, I'm disoriented.

How long have you been

having these blackouts?

A really long time, actually.

Since I was little.

Something happened

when I was little.

So, growing up,

my best friend Lilly,

she lived next door to me.

She was like my sister.

During summer

we had the same routine.

Every day, she would--

she would wake me up

by throwing little pebbles

against my bedroom window.

And then I would run downstairs,

and grab my bike,

and we would just pedal

to the park

and play for hours.

Though this one day.

Same routine.

I grab my bike,

and head outside,

and I can see right away.

She seems...shaken up.

So I ask her what's wrong,

and she won't tell me.

Which is weird because we always

told each other everything.

She's really agitated

and she says I don't know

if I'm supposed to tell you.

I'm not supposed to tell anyone.

But I can't stop

thinking about it

and I just don't know

if I can keep it inside me

any longer.

So I'm trying to make

her feel comfortable

and I say to her,

"Look, whatever this is,

it's okay, you can tell me.

You know, you're my best friend

and I want to help you."

I'm telling her all of this,

but at the same time

I was also--

I was also really curious,

you know?

Like I wanted to know

what could put her

into such a state.

And this is what she told me.

More or less.

So this happened near

where I grew up,

but a long time ago.

Like 50 or 60 years ago.

Maybe longer.

This little girl, very sweet.

Very well behaved.

One night, she wakes up,

gets out of bed,

and stabs her mom

while she's sleeping.

Young single mom,

it was just the two of them.

Grabs a knife out of the kitchen

and just stabs her mom.

Over and over.

And then she strips off

her mom's clothes,

and ties like a pillowcase...

...over her head.

So her mom doesn't have to see

what's going to happen to her.

Then she drags her mom

across the house.

No one's sure exactly

how she did that.

She's, you know, tiny.

And her mom is badly hurt,

but she's still alive

and she's much bigger.

Somehow she does all of that

and she stuffs her mom

into a closet.

She attacks her mom,

and then stuffs her in a closet.

- Yes.

- Why?

Her friend in the closet

told her to do it.

That's what she said.

He was lonely,

and he wanted to meet her mom.

So, the next day

the police go to the house

and they find this little girl

sitting in the closet.

Brushing her mom's

bloody matted hair.

Just talking away

with this friend.

Her mom is stuffed

into the back corner.

Barely alive and bleeding out.

She died on the way

to the hospital.

So I ask her,

"Who told you this?"

And she says,

and I'll never forget this.

"My grandmother told me.

She told me last night.

She made me promise

not to tell anyone."

I was shocked.

Lilly's grandmother was dead.

She'd been dead

for at least a year.

I knew that.

I went to the funeral.

You don't think

that maybe she was making it up?

No. No,

Lilly would never lie to me.

She might have been

trying to scare you.

She wasn't trying

to scare me, okay?

But I was definitely scared.

I remember, in that moment,

hearing all of that.

It was like something

inside me changed.

Like every cell in my body

was suddenly alert, and afraid.

You know, I looked around

and it was like the trees

were closing in on us.

I told Lilly I wanted to go home

so we just grabbed our bikes

and we got out of there.

We're taking

our usual route home.

And the whole time

my head is just spinning.

Like I can't stop thinking

about what Lilly told me.

It's like I'm hearing it

over and over in my head

on this endless loop.

And what finally

snaps me out of it is,

I see Lilly up ahead.

She takes this sharp turn

and she starts going

a completely different

direction.

So I'm yelling at her, "Stop.

Like, what are you doing?

Where are you going?"

But she's not listening.

She's just pedaling

faster and faster,

and I'm struggling

to keep up with her.

Until she finally

just skids to a stop

right in front of a house.

So she hops off her bike

and she's just--

she's just staring at this house

for a while.

I say to Lilly,

"Come on, it's getting late.

We need to go home."

And she doesn't take her eyes

off this house

but she says something.

And it sounds off,

the way she says it.

She says, "We are home."

And I'm staring at this house,

this creepy abandoned house.

And I realize,

this is the house.

The one she was just

telling me about.

Have you heard of this house?

No, I don't think so.

You know how every neighborhood

has that one house?

Little kids dare each other

to take a step inside?

Mmm-hmm.

This is that house.

And Lilly was staring at it

so intensely.

She wouldn't take her eyes

off of it.

By now, like, I'm starting

to get a little scared

so I'm saying,

"Come on, let's go."

But Lilly doesn't listen.

She just starts walking

across the lawn.

Like she's been there before.

She walks around, and...

What's wrong?

I keep hearing something.

You still hear it?

No.

Come on.

Um, so I make it

into the back yard,

and Lilly is at the back door.

It's just hanging wide open,

like someone had broken in.

But Lilly doesn't stop.

She doesn't even slow down.

She just walks right in,

like it's her own house.

And I'm following her

as she's moving

through the rooms.

We just keep pushing deeper

and deeper into this house

until we're in

the living room.

Rachel. Rachel.

No, I keep--

I keep hearing something

-moving around in here.

-There's nothing in here.

You don't hear it?

Look. Nothing.

Rachel.

What are you doing?

There's nothing here.

Rachel.

Who is that?

I don't know.

Rachel?

Rachel.

So Lilly and I are looking

around the living room.

And I notice

this framed photograph

on the wall.

It's really old

and covered in dust,

so I reach up and I wipe it off,

and I just froze.

The photograph looked old.

It was all cracked and faded

and yellow from the sun.

But it couldn't

have been old at all.

It was a photograph

of me and Lilly,

on our bikes,

riding up to the house.

Like it could have

only been taken minutes ago.

We were wearing

the same clothes.

Everything was the same.

Everything,

except for Lilly's face.

I couldn't see it. She had

something pulled over her head.

It looked like a pillowcase.

And I was just frozen,

looking at this photograph

on the wall.

This photograph

that should not be there.

And it hit me all at once.

We are in danger.

We need to get out

of this house,

-right now.

-Rachel. We don't have

- to talk about this.

- Please.

I really want to tell you.

So I turn around to tell Lilly,

and she's already looking at me.

Her eyes are as wide as saucers.

And she doesn't say anything.

She just mouths

the word, "Listen."

So I'm standing there,

and I'm listening.

But I don't hear anything.

It's like so quiet, it's loud,

if that makes sense?

Mmm-hmm.

So Lilly starts pointing

at this closet

that's just outside

the living room,

like this, over and over again.

Like whatever she's hearing

is coming from that closet.

And that's when I hear it.

This scratching sound.

Real soft. It's not long,

but it's long enough

for me to know,

it is definitely coming

from that closet.

I had to go

and see what was inside.

It was like there was a magnet

pulling me closer and closer.

I'm moving real slow

and I'm trying to listen

but I'm not hearing

anything now.

Except for my heart.

I can--I can hear

my heart pounding in my chest.

I'm standing at the closet door.

I grab the doorknob,

I take a deep breath,

and I pull the door open.

I feel this rush of air.

And maybe it was me

just pulling

the door open so fast,

but I don't know.

I'm looking inside this closet,

and it is just so, so dark

and...

Whoa, that's weird.

I'm sorry. Can I...

can I use the bathroom?

Um, it's the second door

to your left.

Okay.

I'm just gonna wash up.

It's next to the record player.

Are you okay?

Please stop. Please stop.

Please, please leave me alone.

I don't want this.

Please leave me alone.

Please.

Go away.

Rachel?

Rachel.

Um, I was just listening

to the music.

This is nice.

I wonder...

I wonder whose it was,

like originally.

Uh, I don't know.

It was old and broken, so...

It isn't broken.

What do you mean?

These things last forever.

It was so dark in that closet.

Just pitch black.

And I didn't know what to do.

I was too afraid

to reach inside and feel around.

But I was just as scared

to run away.

So I was just frozen.

Until I heard Lilly gasp.

I turned around,

and her mouth was hanging open

and she wasn't quite looking

at me.

It was more like

she was looking through me.

At something else.

I knew she saw something,

and I knew whatever it was,

it was right behind me.

And that's when I heard it.

This whisper.

It was too soft

to make out any words,

but I definitely heard it.

And I looked at Lilly

and I could tell

she heard it too.

We both screamed

and ran out of there,

got our bikes,

and just rode all over town

until we were exhausted.

We finally stopped at a

convenience store just to rest.

And I remember

asking Lilly over and over,

"What did you see?"

But she wouldn't tell me.

She was really shaken up.

All I could do

was get her to promise

she would tell me tomorrow.

So we went home.

Couldn't sleep that night.

I think I just stared

at my ceiling until morning.

I waited to hear those pebbles

hitting my bedroom window.

I waited and waited and waited

until I heard the sirens.

Lilly was gone.

The doors to her house

were wide open,

not a thing was out of place.

But she was gone,

her mom was gone.

They just vanished.

Did you ever tell anyone

about what happened?

I told the police

that we biked to the house

and looked around

and then we biked home.

But I didn't tell them any

of what I'm telling you

right now.

You should have told them.

I was too afraid

to say anything.

Even to my parents.

I thought

they would get mad at me

or they would accuse me

of making it up.

- Rachel--

- Shh. Shh.

Just listen. Please listen.

Do you hear it?

You really didn't hear that?

It feels--it feels close.

Like it's always

right behind me.

I don't hear any--

Oh. I'm sorry.

This just keeps happening,

it keeps sliding down.

Who is she?

My mother.

She died a couple years ago.

I'm sorry.

I didn't--I didn't know that.

I miss her.

I could tell her anything.

Hold on.

Um...

I brought you something.

So, I couldn't talk

to people about this stuff.

So I started taking notes.

Like writing things down.

What I was seeing,

when I was seeing it.

I thought maybe if I did that,

I could--I could figure out

what was happening and why.

-Can I see it?

-Yeah. Please.

How long

have you been doing this?

A long time.

Years.

- Did it help?

- I don't know.

I mean, I've written

a lot of things down.

But I've never been able

to pull it all together

into answers.

I only end up more confused.

I get that.

The confusion.

The not knowing what's real.

I keep having this nightmare.

I'm lying on this sloping hill.

And it's covered

in this green lush grass.

And I'm looking up at the sky.

The only sounds I hear

are the birds chirping

and my own breathing.

But then I hear something else.

It's faint at first.

This siren.

An old one.

It's far away,

but it gets my attention.

So I gently lift my head

and I see something

in the horizon.

Just at the edge.

These dark clouds.

They're low.

They're black.

And they're rolling

across the sky.

Really slow.

Until the whole sky is black.

It's like this chorus of sirens,

shrieking at me.

And it's loud.

The hill,

it just starts to tremble.

I look down,

this huge black pit appears.

It gets steeper,

and I start falling into it.

I'm screaming.

And then everything

just goes dark.

The air, it's, like, alive

with the sound of these sirens.

And then I wake up.

But you know what's funny?

I don't feel

like I just woke up in my bed.

I feel like I fell

through that pit

and landed in my bed.

By the time

I finished high school,

I couldn't take it anymore.

I left town,

I enrolled in college,

I found an apartment,

found a job.

And then it stopped.

That's it? Just like that?

I stopped feeling

the eyes on me.

I stopped feeling scared

all the time.

For a long time, everything

was really calm and quiet.

Until it wasn't.

Rachel?

When did it start up again?

I was at a bar

with some friends.

Rachel?

Sorry, um...

I was at a bar

with some friends.

Not good friends.

More like acquaintances.

We'd been there a while,

and it was late.

And I was a little tipsy.

The bar was packed

full of people.

You couldn't really

even see much,

aside from those

right in front of you.

But at some point

I looked around and,

there she was.

Like she appeared

out of nowhere.

This woman, off in the corner,

standing by herself.

She waved me over

and when I got to her,

she leaned in close

and whispered something to me.

"He likes you.

Aren't you curious?"

She wrote something down

on a napkin, and then she left.

Once she was gone,

I opened it up.

She'd written an address.

On Essex Road.

And right then,

I realized something.

The woman, she looked familiar.

I hadn't seen Lilly in years,

but she had the same

bright red hair.

I ran outside to find her,

but she was already gone.

It was like she disappeared.

I saw this old woman

just standing there

on the sidewalk

staring at me,

like she was waiting for me.

I asked if she saw someone

come out of the bar

but she just smiled and said,

"keep praying."

I looked around, and...

Hey.

Hey!

Rachel!

- What was that?

- I'm sorry.

I, um, I told you,

I have--I have blackouts.

That was not a blackout,

I don't know what that was.

But it was like an episode.

Um, it's a--

No, I'm fine.

I want to keep going.

-I need to finish this.

-No, no, no. We're done.

Listen, we are done, okay?

I'm not letting you

drive home tonight.

Okay. All right.

Okay.

Hey, I couldn't sleep.

I think I'd like to keep going.

After I saw the old woman

outside the bar,

I was so shaken up.

I didn't even

say goodbye to my friends,

I just got in my car and left.

It was late, and dark.

There were no cars on the roads.

I was sitting at a stoplight,

just... thinking.

Trying to sort out

all these emotions. And...

suddenly I felt

this wave of nausea.

Then all at once,

my muscles tensed up

and I blacked out.

I don't know

how much time passed.

But when I came to,

my car was parked

and I wasn't at my apartment.

I was looking at the house.

I can't explain it.

It felt exactly

like all those years ago.

Like I wasn't in control

of my body.

Like something was pulling me

through the backyard

into the house,

all the way to the living room.

And ever since that night,

I realized I can't avoid this.

I can't make it stop.

That's why I came here.

I need help.

I need to talk to someone.

To tell someone.

I'm glad I chose you.

So, how do you feel?

I don't know.

How do you feel?

I--I'm still processing it.

I have a lot of questions--

You have questions.

So you're curious.

Who are you?

Shh. Listen.

Shh.

Listen.

Do you hear it?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

What do you want?

I'm right behind you.

Always right behind you.

I'm not afraid of you.

Rachel!

Help! Help!

No. No. Please.

Please stop.

Please,

I can't take this anymore.

Please stop it.

Please stop it. Please!

I can't take this anymore.

I'm here.

I'm right next to you.

I'm everywhere.

No, no, no, no, no. No!

Please. Please.

This is going to hurt.

But it's not going to be

as bad as you think.

It's okay to be afraid.

Your eyes.

They look just like my mother's.

So beautiful.

Fear is the path to grace.

It's what brought you here.

Led you to us.

Right here.

There's so many of us.

Look. Look outside.

See them?

Yes.

It's okay.

He's going to show you so much.

He's going to show you

the truth.

Shh, listen.

Shh.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Never stop.

Keep praying.

He's coming.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Keep praying.

Rachel?

Rachel?

You went inside.

You went inside the house.

How do you know?

Did you check the closet?

Did you check the closet?

I found this.

I've seen this.

On your desk at school.

It's yours, right?

I don't--I don't know.

It is yours.

Why did you put it there.

Shh.

Why did you put it there?

I don't understand.

You went to the house,

you were in the house.

- What?

- No, you should--

you should have--

you should have seen something!

You should have heard something!

Oh, my God.

This is--this is wrong.

I have to go. I have to go.

-Where are you going?

-No, I shouldn't--

I shouldn't have--

I shouldn't have told you this.

I told you everything

and you didn't understand it.

I thought--I thought

you would take this seriously.

You need to take this seriously.

What?

What?

What? What is it?

You don't see it?

What?

What? What is it?

Oh, my God.

I'm sorry, Neeta.

Why are you doing this to me?

I tried so hard to fight it.

I knew you would hear him

in the story.

Calling to you.

Like he called to me.

This is your demon now.

Hey, I have been calling you.

What's going on?

I--I'm sorry, I'm sorry

I showed up like this.

And if it's a bad time,

I can go.

No, it's fine. What's happening?

I'm sorry, I just--I feel like

I really need to talk to someone

and something happened,

but I don't...

But what?

I just--I needed--

I need to talk to you.

I really need to talk to you.

Is that okay?

Come on in.