You decide to go outside to enjoy the evening air. You pass by a mailbox in front of an empty lot that looks like it once hosted a building, but it has long ago been demolished. The mailbox isn’t in much better shape; someone obviously took a bat to it for fun. Yet, it stands.

Suddenly, the door on the front begins opening and closing on its own, making a squeaking and clacking noise. You also hear a voice with a thick Boston accent say, "got a message for ya."

A rolled-up piece of paper covered with a dark liquid squirts halfway out of the mailbox. The liquid covers the inside and drips down out of its mouth.

"Oh, fine," the mailbox says, spitting the liquid onto your clothes. "I’ll read it for ya."

The mailbox clears what would be its throat, if it had one. You sincerely hope it does not have one.

"Yesterday, The Wolf in the Woods pulled into fifth place in the Inkshares Horror Contest! I am very grateful for everyone’s support, and as thanks I have uploaded a new story, "Monitors". If I’m being honest, Monitors is a smidge rough compared to other stories I’ve uploaded because it’s very new and I haven’t edited and rewritten it like I have stories like "Because It’s Beautiful" and "This and Every Year." But, I wanted to upload this one because there is a surprising amount of video game fiction on Inkshares, and I wanted to join the club.

If I keep up my momentum, I have a real shot at third place. I know it’s a crummy thing to ask, but I need you to help me get pre-orders, or the book won’t be published and you’ll just get a refund instead of a rad book of scary stories. Be annoying. Use peer pressure on your family. Sacrifice your friendships for me.

--Benjamin Gray"

A particularly large wad of dark liquid leaps off the mailbox’s door and hits you in your eye, and you blink. When your eyes open again, the mailbox is gone.