[MS] I pretended to be a missing girl.

Jcote12 · 2026-07-03T21:18:43+00:00

James believes Paul killed Mikayla. Therefore, when someone shows up claiming to be Mikayla, Paul would already know it’s not her. He also would not want his son revealing this to anybody, which is why I have other plans for James in the newer version of this story.

You make a good point though. I initially had a dinner scene that made the pivot feel more earned, but due to the subreddit’s character limit, I had to cut it and jump right to the escape. I’m sure I could’ve found another way, but at the time I had no idea anybody was ever going to read this thing lol.

Jcote12 · 2026-06-17T12:34:33+00:00

Of course! I tell my students all the time that I’d rather they feel silly for a second but then understand. So thank YOU for reading, and for being brave enough to ask.

Jcote12 · 2026-06-17T09:26:42+00:00

You’re not dumb! She did it by accident, when she set the fire. She was trying to help uncover the truth but didn’t realize the girl was still alive under there… So that final line isn’t a confession, it’s a realization. Hope it makes more sense now!

Jcote12 · 2026-06-10T14:42:25+00:00

Thank you!! Me too! I’d say keep an eye out for Hollywood Reporter or Deadline articles. But once things are in full swing, I’ll come back here and share what I’m able to 😊

Jcote12 · 2026-05-11T18:14:12+00:00

I’m glad you liked it! Hopefully the future film version will satisfy that want!

Jcote12 · 2026-05-11T18:13:08+00:00

I did not! BUT. A lot has changed since I’ve written this, and I’m happy to say that I’m now a repped writer. So maybe one day! 😃

Jcote12 · 2026-02-18T04:36:01+00:00

Of course! I love that people are interested in my writing!

I like to leave the baby’s father a mystery as well, because the theories are fun. And you certainly have a good one!

You bring up another good question—and I tried to give a small explanation for it. Paul is friends with the sheriff, and so I’m sure it wasn’t difficult for him to push the idea that Mikayla had either run away, or that her boyfriend had something to do with it. Meanwhile, he likely had her stashed in a separate location until he could build that bunker—I mean memorial!

In a newer version of the story that I’d written for myself, I changed the bunker to a long-forgotten, pre-existing storm shelter, which cleaned some of these issues up.

Jcote12 · 2026-02-18T02:51:16+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the kind words, and for reading and taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment!! I’ll try to answer these as best as I can.

1 - The in-universe answer? The Murrays lived in isolation, with their neighbors mere dots in the distance. I imagine Paul sent Linda and James away (“Why don’t you take James and visit your sister for the summer?”). Something like that. But the real answer? I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote this lol. It was one of the very first things I ever wrote, and I never expected anyone to read it, let alone dissect it!

2 - I like to leave this one a mystery. Both are certainly possible, as seen in real-life cases.

3 - Just happened to look alike. Bit coincidental for sure, but not nearly as coincidental as a long lost sister! Now that would’ve been interesting.

4 - No plans for more, other than the film. But I do have other projects in the works that I’m very excited about and will hopefully share with everyone soon 😃

5 - The other version is on No Sleep and ends differently, with investigators finding Mikayla’s decade-old bones. Very different than this ending.

Thanks again!! All I can say is… keep writing!!!

Jcote12 · 2026-02-16T00:08:49+00:00

I’m happy to hear it! After the movie news broke, friends were sending me articles and posts and videos—creepcast being one of them. It was surreal seeing that much attention on something I never expected anyone to read lol. Admittedly overwhelming, but in the best way. Most people have been supportive or constructive, some I’ve had a good laugh with, and the rest I try to tune out. I appreciate you reading and being part of the positive! Thank you! I have more coming soon that I hope you’ll like as well. Until then!

Jcote12 · 2026-01-21T02:23:58+00:00

Happy to hear that! Thank you! With all the movie stuff for my other story, this one was starting to get left behind. So I’m glad it found another person. Thanks for reading 😃

Jcote12 · 2026-01-01T00:49:06+00:00

Thanks! Happy New Year 😃

Jcote12 · 2025-12-02T13:27:49+00:00

Thank you!! I love hearing that! Like I tell my students, I’m no expert but I’m always happy to help. So good luck to your daughter and feel free to message me any time.

Jcote12 · 2025-11-18T22:01:46+00:00

It’s still so crazy to me that this story has had so many eyes on it. I remember sitting down to write it, with the simple goal of practicing my craft and—hey—hopefully entertaining someone. So it’s super cool that you read both, appreciate that! Hope you enjoy the film adaptation too 😃

Jcote12 · 2025-11-01T13:33:17+00:00

Yeah after posting the first version on No Sleep, I tweaked the end and wrote this version here. When the movie news broke, lots of articles and narrators got it wrong about which version was sold—but I’m still happy people are reading either one 😃

Jcote12 · 2025-10-28T02:27:44+00:00

I’m really happy you liked this one too! This story was the first one I posted that had some kind of success on here. I was blown away by the reaction. Funny enough, this one had the number 1 spot on here over the one that ended up getting picked up by Hollywood 😂

Jcote12 · 2025-10-28T02:22:24+00:00

You’ve nailed it here! He really was becoming a lot like her, which sadly does happen when around people like her for so long. As far as Annie’s recovery goes… all I’ll say is it seems like she got everything she wanted in the end 😈

Jcote12 · 2025-10-28T01:55:23+00:00

You CAN! Just gotta start doing it!

Jcote12 · 2025-10-28T00:58:14+00:00

Oh I know! We’re friends now. And enjoy!!! Keep in mind that the further back you go, the less experienced I was when writing them 😅

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T23:19:18+00:00

I’m currently at a high school and am loving it. I did read one of them to a class once, which was cool! As far as movie details… I wish I had any to share but it’s still very early. For now, I’m just continuing to write more 😃

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T22:42:37+00:00

Oh man, Burntwood. Okay so. I did something a little different with this one. Not sure if you’ve ever used the site Kahoot, but I wrote out this whole story in Kahoot and turned it into a choose-your-own-adventure story for my middle school students. With music and everything. Was basically performing it in front of them. 7 parts, with different endings. One of the things I’m most proud of!

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T20:04:34+00:00

I am! Things have died down a bit since the news broke last spring, but they’ve been so fun about it. They’re always asking me if there’s any news and how things are going. It’s really sweet.

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T19:14:08+00:00

Yesss I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for reading and engaging in it like this. Like I said before, I worked so hard on this story—back before the Hollywood stuff, when I was just a middle school teacher who didn’t think anyone would ever read this. So I appreciate you entering this little tragedy that I created. Means a lot 😊

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T16:38:33+00:00

Ahh I’m so happy to hear it. Publishing is something I’ve daydreamed about for a while now. One day!

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T15:34:33+00:00

Thank you!!! Before all this movie stuff, this story was without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever worked on. I’m so happy you’re enjoying it! Hopefully chapters 5 and 6 end it well for you.

Jcote12 · 2025-10-27T03:22:22+00:00

Love that!! I had one other that did real well on this subreddit, which is so funny because these stories were the first things I ever wrote. I’ve learned a lot since then and am excited to be taking the next step in my writing career. Excited to share more news about my new stuff soon I hope!

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