My name is Jason Lee and I have gone to MTAC (Middle Tennessee Anime Convention) three years in a row. My friend, Mark, convinced me to go three years ago. I told him I didn't have a costume, but he just told me to wear a baseball cap, put fake blood on my outfit and body, and people would think I looked like
I took his advice and people actually loved it. That weekend went by in a blink of an eye. I have never been looked at twice in my life but dressed up as Glenn actually made people stop and talk to me. That is why I kept going year after year. Mark tried to convince me to go to the other anime conventions, but I felt like MTAC was all I really needed. Shit, the rest of my year was normally so shitty that MTAC actually became something I looked forward to all year long.
This year, I went as Glenn again but I actually put a little more thought into my cosplay. My friend, Nathan, that was actually pretty good at makeup made my face look like there was a huge hole on the side of my head and also made it look like my eye was popping out a little bit. Mark drank a couple of beers while he waited for Nathan to finish. When he was finished he took a step back and clapped his hands before saying, "Well, you are definitely going to be turning heads this conference. I'll do this for you every morning, but you have to get me a bottle of Absolut vodka every night." I gave him a smile and nodded my head before showing Mark the end result. He looked me over for a couple of seconds before laughing and saying, "Well shit Nathan. I didn't know you were that good. I thought you were just telling us you were good so you could actually have friends during MTAC." Nathan playfully punched Mark on the shoulder and we walked out of our hotel and towards the Sheraton Hotel.
We stood in a line for around 40 minutes before we showed our badges to the people in the front. Once I stepped inside of the hotel I lost my breath for a second. For some reason, it always felt like my first time. The entire day passed by in a blur of photos with other people, minute long conversations, and the smell of sweat and thick perfume. I fucking loved it. The only complaint I had with my cosplay was a couple of people complaining about me spoiling the show for them, but there was always a person close by to tell them it happened long enough ago for it to not be a spoiler anymore.
There was one thing that bothered me besides the complaints. The whole day I kept catching a man wearing a jean jacket, black pants, and a red shirt staring at me. Every time I looked up at him he would turn away, but he never walked away. I thought about walking up to him, but the blank look in his eyes made me feel absolutely uncomfortable.
I managed to ignore him for the rest of the day, but I still had the feeling of someone staring at me.
When we got back to the hotel, Mark told us that he met a girl and he was going two floors down to her room. Nathan told me he was going to sleep, but I asked him, "Hey man. Did you see that weird dude that kept following us around? He kept staring at me and it's really fucking with me right now." Nathan sat up and looked at me before saying, "Shit dude. I didn't see him, but why didn't you tell the security there? They can at least talk to the guy and tell him to stop being a fucking creep." I shrugged my shoulders and took a swig of vodka before falling asleep.
The next day Nathan redid my face for me and we stood in line in front of the Sheraton for 20 minutes before walking inside. I stopped one of the security guards in the front and described out the man and what he was wearing and told them that he was following me around and staring at me. He gave me a nod and told me that he would relay the message and they would keep a lookout for the man. That day went by a lot better. People were still complimenting my cosplay and I didn't see the man all day. Around 11 pm I was ready to head back to the hotel. Nathan and Mark were going to the bar so I told them I would meet them back at the hotel.
In the middle of my walk, I felt a piece of cloth go over my face. I tried to scream but the hand over my mouth was far too strong. I took a deep breath and tried to scream again but my body started to get numb and then everything started to look fuzzy before I blacked out.
When I woke back up, I saw a man sitting in a chair in front of me. It was the man that was staring at me the day before. I groggily asked him what he was doing, but he just frowned and put his index finger up to his lips before saying, "I couldn't help but admire your cosplay. You really do look like Glenn and I appreciate that. You see, Glenn has always been my favorite character in the Walking Dead and the Walking Dead is my favorite show of all time. That is why I brought you here. I want to admire you and reenact one scene from the Walking Dead with you. If you manage to live past the scene you will be able to leave. Sound fair?"
I didn't know what else to do so I just nodded my head and looked around the room. It looked like I was in the basement of his house. The floor and the walls were completely gray while the ceiling was white. There was a fridge in the opposite corner of the room from me. The stairs were maybe twenty feet away from me. It was only five wooden steps. Just five steps between me and my best chance at freedom. I tried to move my arms, but I was handcuffed and tied to the chair with a thick piece of rope. He gave me a nod and said, "Well tomorrow is when we will do the scene so try to get some rest."
I couldn't sleep that night. I was fucking scared shitless and the man kept coming back downstairs. He would stand at the bottom of the stairs and stare at me while whispering the same thing over and over again. "C'mon Jeff, you planned this all year. Don't fuck it up." I tried to think of a way to get out of the rope and the handcuffs to escape, but every time I began to think up of a plan, I would hear the door opening and he would come back downstairs and whisper the same line over and over to himself.
The next morning, he walked downstairs and tried to hand-feed me some bacon and eggs but I just told him I wasn't hungry. After resisting the meal for the fourth time, he stood back up and took out a gun from the back of his pants and placed the barrel in the middle of my forehead. After a small sigh, he said, "You don't eat this shit I will blow your goddamn brains out. You need the food to have enough energy to recreate the scene. Eat." Obediently, I opened my mouth and took the food he offered. Once I finished the plate, he took the gun off of my head, took the empty plate, and walked back up the stairs.
It felt like I was alone for an eternity. I kept thinking of ways to get out again, but I just couldn't think of a plan that I was planning to risk my life for. I sat still until he came back downstairs dressed exactly like me. He had fake blood on his body, but his face was completely clean. When he got to the bottom of the stairs I noticed he was carrying a black leather jacket in one hand and a wooden bat wrapped with barbed wire in the other hand.
I started to scream as loud as I could. I begged him to not kill me, but he just stared at me with the same blank eyes he gave me at the convention. After a couple of seconds, he placed the leather jacket and bat on the ground and walked up to me. He put the gun back on my forehead while he untied the ropes off of me with his other hand. When he took the handcuffs off of me he said, "Okay. I'm going to keep this gun on you until you give me the death a hero truly deserves. Put the jacket on and then bash my head with the bat. I'm going to keep my gun on you so you don't try to cheat me out of this death or we are both dying together."
I stretched my arms out before walking over to the jacket. I slowly put on the jacket and picked the bat up. I looked up at him and said, "This shit doesn't have to end like this. I can just go back home. I can tell my buddies I was busy with a girl. Don't make me do this shit man. I can't just kill you like that."
He gave me a frown before aiming the gun right at my head and said, "No. Don't think you can talk me out of it. Ever since Glenn died it has been my goal to be given the same death. You can't take this shit away from me with a cheesy speech. Fucking bash my head in before I shoot you and end your life instead.
After letting out a loud scream, I raised the bat over my head and swung it at his head as hard as I could. I looked up and he gurgled out, "Hit me again. I'm not dead yet." I swung the bat towards his head again and he fell to the ground before shouting out, "Wait!" I stood in front of him as he took a couple of deep breaths and said, "Maggie, I will wait for you." I took a second to look at him. His head was gashed in and blood was starting to pool around his head. He gave me a quick nod before I brought the bat down on him one last time.
He didn't move or say another word after the last hit.
Without a second thought, I ran up the stairs and ran out the door. I looked to my right and then to my left and saw the front door. I ran up to the door and opened it. Before I ran out the door I saw a picture sitting on top of a small table on the left side of the door. I looked at the photo and I couldn't help but feel bad for the man. It was a photo of him standing next to a woman. They were standing in front of the Grand Canyon. Written on the photo was, "Maggie, I will find you."
It's been about a month and a half since this happened, but it took this long to finally find the courage to get this out to you guys. Of course, I had to go through hours upon hours of answering questions to the police, but luckily, they reached the conclusion that I was not at fault for the murder of the man. He kidnapped me and threatened to kill me. It was my only way to survive. They told me that I couldn't leave the city for the time being in case they need me to answer more questions. I'm fine with that. I mean, I really don't want to leave my house anymore anyways.
Like I said, I have gone to MTAC three times now. I thought I was safe as long as I was in a setting with a lot of people, but I have learned that you are never truly safe.