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Back in April of twenty thirteen,
I was a building and zonning inspector for

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Munk County, West Virginia. We
were situated in an office up in Morgantown,

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where I usually worked with his owning
permits an annual municipal building inspections.

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Not the most exciting job, but
in my line of work, the best

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day in the job is the day
when nothing happens. The fight against entropy

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is constant, and I had a
sign hanging above my desk to remind me

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of such is simply read everything breaks
in cursive with a baby chirub in a

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corner. I remember being called up
early one morning there had been some sort

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of geological event and every inspector would
be pulled off desk duty. We needed

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immediate building inspection in the area surrounding
the outskirts of Greenbrier Valley. We were

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to coordinate our efforts with a central
command up in Green County. That morning,

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it seemed like everything was topsy turvy. The local news talked about an

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escaped murderer, and we were getting
calls about a lake being drained. The

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local hospital desperately needed blood donations,
but couldn't tell us why. Overall,

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something was up, and neither of
us liked it, but we went along

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with it. I was assigned to
a full inspection of a farm close to

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the epicenter, the Oak Valley Grain
Farm. I was handed at dossier on

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the owner, employees, tax records, zoning permits, all that stuff.

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But I was practically pushed out the
door before I got the chance to go

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through any of it. I'd only
finished half my morning coffee when I found

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myself standing in the parking lot with
a stern looking man impatiently tapping his foot

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waiting for me to get on my
way. Given the way they were hurrying

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us, I got the impression that
something terrible had happened, and yet we

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were told to expect minimum damage,
if any at all. Still, I

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had to remind myself of the external
darge. Everything breaks, that includes old

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barley farms. Once I was out
on the road, I took some time

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at a rest stop to go through
the dossier, mostly to get a feel

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for the place and an idea of
what to look out for. So the

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Oak Valley Grain Farm a seventy five
acre area originally established in eighteen eighty two.

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The site was used both as a
barley farm and a lumbers storage yard,

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as most of the surrounding area was
covered in oak trees. A few

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years into operation, they expanded into
having an offsite cooper and making their own

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barley malt for whiskey production. The
original malting facility and accompanying barrel storage was

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still in use to this day.
The one problem I could spot was the

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historical buildings. Oak Valley had a
series of Prohibition eerror buildings and underground storages,

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some of which were still being used. It was all legitimate and more

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of a quirk than anything, but
those areas had not been properly inspected for

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years. The landowner had been reluctant
to allow an inspector's free reign, and

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mon County hadn't seen the use and
harassing the owner because of what could be

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at most considered her curiosity. There
was about a dozen employees, not counting

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irregular extra labor, the offsite cooper, workshop, and seasonal farm to table

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event organizers. I got there at
about ten am. Even from the parking

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lot, I could see rolling hills
of sprouting barley. Red birds were circling

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overhead some kind of migrating species that
had come home to roost. There was

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a constant low droning in the area, both from the machinery and emerging spring

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in techs. The air was dense
with the smell of rain, drenched manure

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and fertile soil. I was greeted
by one of the equipment operators, Elsie,

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a quiet, middle aged woman with
a permanent squint on her face,

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like she was always blinded by the
sun. I stifled the instant to ask

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if she'd had a vision checked in
the past six months, and settled with

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shaking her hand. Welcome to a
hoak valley, she smiled. Lacey will

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be out in a minute. Is
the landowner in I asked, mister er

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Kettleman and as Kettleman, Yeah,
he is usually not around that much,

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Elsie side. Lacy is the de
facto boss lady runs the day to day

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operations, and As is a sort
of hands off kind of guy ever since

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he got saiatica. Sorry to hear
that. I nodded, Let's see the

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boss lady. Then Elsie showed me
past the office and the silos. I

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was regretting not putting on more appropriate
footwear, but most of my onside inspections

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were usually municipal buildings. This was
out of my comfort zone, and my

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feet would have to suffer for it, manure ridden water pressed into my socks.

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I met Lacey Kettleman outside of the
workshop. She was busy trying to

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get a hold of someone to finish
the repairs on a secondary combine. Lacey

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was in her early thirties but had
already started to go gray. She held

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up her finger as we approached,
finished the phone call and turned to me

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with an eagerness to walk right through
me. I'd met a lot of people

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like Lacey Kettleman before, but there
was something about her that put me off.

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There was something there. What's this
about, then, she asked,

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crossing her arms, a standard inspection. M'm I said, on account of

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the geological event in the area.
We ain't had any geological events, she

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shrugged. So your services aren't necessary. This series a sizeable property, I

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said, I'm sure you haven't had
the time to check if everything is up

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to code. I can help you
with that, then I'll be on my

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way. I appreciate that, but
no, no need business as usual.

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I looked over at Elsie, still
hovering on the outskirts of the conversation.

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I clutched my dossier and resumed eye
contact. Miss Kettleman, do you mind

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explaining the problem with your combine harvest? I'm not entirely sure, she said,

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That's why I'm trying to get a
hold of someone who does. Then

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would you mind me having a look
at your garage or Betty yet the combine?

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The combine doesn't constitute a building,
sir, Not much use for a

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building inspector to take a look at
that. Let's start with the garage then,

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Well Lacy took off with her cell
phone in hand. Elsie stayed by

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my side and guided me around the
property. Turns out Elsie was supposed to

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be the one to operate the second
combine. Since it was out of commission,

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she didn't have much to do.
She only had access to a few

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buildings, but it was enough to
get me started. Burst Off was the

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garage. Well Lacy had said there'd
been no noticeable geological event, there were

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clear signs of disturbance. Several items
had been knocked off the walls, and

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there were weblike cracks in the concrete
floor. Nothing major, but enough for

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me to take note. There was
no way Lacy was unaware of this.

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I took some pictures, made some
notes, and wandered off to check the

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storage sheds. Over the next few
hours, Elsie escorted me through the grounds.

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While most buildings were off limits to
her and Lacy was nowhere to be

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found, I could still check the
exterior, and while I didn't see anything

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obviously dangerous, there were clear signs
of the area being disturbed. I could

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see the ground having shifted downhill from
the storage sheds, entire rows of barley

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were bent. While waiting for Lacey
to meet us by the offices, Elsie

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and I started wondering by the edge
of the grounds. There were plenty of

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oak trees there, historically used for
making their own barrels, and there were

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several old trails snaking through the undergrowth. We were walking past the gazebo when

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I noticed an old well. Nothing
out of the ordinary at first sight,

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but I noticed something strange about its
algae. I took her closer look.

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Turns out the well was overflowing with
water. Elsie seemed just as surprised as

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I was. It's been dried out
for years, she said, that's definitely

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new. There was a pulse to
it, gulps of water making tiny bumps

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in the surface, tension algae and
lily pads overflowing, making a green circle

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around the stonework. It had a
strange smell to it, like salt and

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ammonia lake water. This wasn't normal. We met up with Lacy and I

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explained the various signs I'd seen around
the farm. Elsie quietly retreated, not

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wanting to be dragged into the conversation. Lacy just nodded along but didn't seem

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to react as I told her about
the cracked concrete, the tilted rows of

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barley, or the various disturbed shelves. Seeing as there were clear signs of

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the area being affected, I told
her I had to take a closer look

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at the structural integrity of the main
buildings, and finally, there was the

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well. This time she reacted.
She had nodded and accepted everything up to

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that point, but all of a
sudden she was defending herself. She tried

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to explain that the well was backed
up and that they'd had a problem with

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water runoff in the past. There
was nothing in the dossier about flooding,

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but Lacy was at also arguing with
her. Didn't do us any favors in

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gaining access to the farm interior.
You can stall all day, miss Kettleman,

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I reminded her. But we're not
done until I say so. We're

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not keen on government folks skulking around. Sir Lazy smiled. This place has

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history. I told her I'd be
back the next day, and the day

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after that, as many days as
it took for me to do my job.

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Lacey just grinned. She wouldn't make
it easy for me. I took

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some time checking in with the other
inspectors. It turns out I wasn't the

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only one who'd noticed some strange abnormalities, a lot of bursting pipes. It

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seemed the local high school was also
a mess. Not to mention the elementary

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school over in Juniper. I was
given no details about it except that no

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one was allowed on the premises and
the entire school was sealed off, even

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for inspectors. By comparison, I
overflowing well was nothing, and still I

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couldn't check the feeling that something about
Lacy was off. I checked the dossier

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over and over that night, trying
to make a game plan for the following

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day. I take some extra time
checking the irrigation and plumbing and putting emphasis

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on the interior. Lacy would just
have to comply, and yes, I

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would even check the old prohibition era
storages. She'd just had to deal with

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it. I was up bright and
early the following morning. I got to

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the Yak Valley Grain Farm at about
seven am, only to notice that it

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had been closed. Lacy had put
up a sign of the door closed for

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renovations. That was it. Maybe
she figured we wouldn't have to conduct any

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inspections if there was no current business
being conducted, but that's not how things

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work. I tried calling her,
but got no response. I sent her

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a single text. She was either
to open up the facility for inspection or

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I had to take legal action.
Shortly afterwards, she assured me she'd be

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there one hour and thirty minutes later, Lacy came out to the main office

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building. Apparently she'd been there all
along. Strange though she had no car

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in the parking lot, she was
out of her work clothes, just having

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slapt on a gray hoodie and a
pair of torn jeans. She looked exhausted.

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Pleasant morning, I asked. I
cursed myself for forgetting to bring appropriate

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footwear. Again, Lacy didn't respond. She just wrapped her arms around herself

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and kept her head down. Something
was wrong. We headed into the main

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building. Nothing out of the ordinary, no damage, no problem with the

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plumbing. All in all it seemed
perfectly fine. I couldn't figure out why

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she was so reluctant to show it
to me. Then I double checked the

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dossier. Of course there was the
prohibition earer seller all right, I sighed,

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timed her head underground. Is that
absolutely necessary, Lacy asked. It's

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a mess. We don't use it
for much. You've been putting off an

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inspection for a long time, Miss
Kettleman. Given the circumstances, I can't

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really motive putting it off any further. It's a seller, she shrugged.

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There's not much they can go wrong
with it. Everything breaks, ma'am.

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The door to the cellar was so
small I had to move sideways to fit.

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How they moved contraband whiskey through their
back in the day was still a

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mystery to me. Still, I
was there to check for damages, not

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side seeing. We came down to
a large open space with an eight foot

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drop into a storage area. It
was about sixteen by twenty feet in total.

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There was an odd steel ladder leading
down, with two open paths leading

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deeper. A set of flashlights were
hanging on the wall, so I brought

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one with me. As I put
my hand on the first rung of the

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ladder, I noticed Lazer's expression change. While she'd been angry or frustrated before,

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she looked almost apologetic. Now this
will complicate things, she sighed,

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But we'll work it out somehow.
Sure thing now the support seemed fine,

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I said, climbing down, but
there might be damaged further in. I

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stepped away from the ladder, taking
in the smell of salt water and ammonia.

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The moment I did, Lacy pulled
up the ladder. This caught me

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completely by surprise. I hadn't even
considered that an option. The ladder just

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rattled away. I was left down
there. It was so sudden. I

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didn't know what to say. I
just threw my arms out in a confused

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shrug. What the hell, I'm
sorry? Like how you are put the

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ladder back? I can't. I'm
calling the police. There was no coverage.

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We were too far underground. I
was slowly realizing that she was going

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to leave me down there. All
I had was this flimsy flashlight and a

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couple of hours of battery on my
phone. Lacy remained up there holding the

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ladder. I could feel my heart
pounding, drowning out the background noises in

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my head. I was growing short
of breath, struggling to exhale. I've

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never been claustrophobic, but this was
something else, something darker, a real,

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actual threat to my life. They
came to me looking for shelter,

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Lacy said, they speak, You
know, what are you talking about?

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They said you were coming, and
I want to hear what else they have

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to say. You can't keep me
here, You just need time. What

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do you There was a sound coming
from one of the side corridors. My

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heart shrunk and floated up into my
throat. I held my breath, trying

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to hear the sound through my hammering
pulse. I could feel my finger tips

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growing cold. It was a strange, hissing sound, like someone trying to

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start a dying motor. Lacy stood
her attention, listening intently. Something was

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down there with me. We came
into their home, Lacy whispered, now

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they're coming into ours. I backed
into the corner of the room, only

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now noticing the thin layer of water
covering the dirt floor. I turned off

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the flashlight and listened, trying to
calm myself enough to not go into hyperventilation.

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Something was coming this way. Footsteps. Hello, Lacy whispered, will

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you speak to me? The footsteps
stopped. There was another hissing noise rattling

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me. It felt like someone was
playing fiddle with my nerves. Of course,

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said Lacy, he's all yours.
I could hear her stand up to

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leave, taking the ladder with her. The footsteps came closer. I tried

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to move, but I made too
much noise. The footsteps stopped for a

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moment. I thought I'd scared it
frightened it made it hesitant, then it

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burst into a sprint. I turned
my flashlight back on and ran down the

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corridor on the opposite side of the
room. I tore down all kinds of

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debris as I went, planks,
old barrels, empty jars. Whenever I

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could get my hands on. I
glanced back, catching a pair of eyes

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coming out of the dark, A
wide shark like mouth, a side room,

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some kind of meeting area. I
jumped over a table, knocked it

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down, and backed away. Seconds
later, the table was smashed into fragments

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of woods scattered across the room,
making my nose itch. But the thing

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stopped. It stayed just outside my
vision, on the edge of the flashlight.

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It hitsed again, sending another shiver
up my spine. But somewhere in

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that vibration I heard something. It
wasn't a word, but a collection of

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scrambled thoughts, much like a word
square, a jumble of information that you

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had to find your own meaning in, but rest assured there was meaning.

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Fear, anger, hunger. What
do you want from me? I asked.

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My flashlight flickered and the thing twitched. It was ready to strike,

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like a coiled snake. It hissed
in response, Hunger, hunger, sadness.

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I retreated into the corner of the
room, accidentally knocking over a shelf

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of empty prohibition error bottles. I
could see the reflection of those dark eyes

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shining back at me as they patrolled
back and forth looking for an opening.

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Another hiss, a pleading, a
promise, a bone chilling coldness. It

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was starting to sound like language,
an old primal language, a language that

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could summarize so much with so little. I fumbled with my hands, looking

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for the biggest bottle I could find. Finally, I got a hold of

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an old wine bottle, waiting for
the creature to hiss again, I ready

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the bottle for a throw. As
soon as I felt that tingle in my

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spine, I knew I was about
to hear it. I stood up,

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lowered my flashlight, and threw as
hard as I could. There was a

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thick, fleshy thunk. The hissing
stopped, and I could see the dark

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eyes rise another two feet into the
air. The thing had been hunched over.

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Now it was taller than the tunnel
itself. It flinched, spitting out

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another word. With that single word, a series of impressions washed over me.

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Cold water tunnels, the crunch of
raw fishbone in my mouth, dying

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men in black togas giving praise to
a drowned god, hoping against hope to

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see another dawn. I didn't notice
I'd been zoning out. I'd leaned the

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flashlight downwards, and I could see
those dark orbs inching closer. I backed

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up against the wall and inched the
way, effectively sidestepping my way around the

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room. The creature followed my movements, matching them. I ended up with

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my back against the corridor, so
I turned to run. It was right

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behind me, and it was fast. I just kept going, hearing the

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hissing coming closer. Hunger, joy, hunger, warmth. I went straight

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to the storage and into the posing
corridor. It twisted and turned, only

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just spit me out into a room
with a slightly lower floor. I fell

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forward haphazardly, spraining my ankle and
dropping the flashlight. In an instant,

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the flashlight flickered and died. I
fumbled through my pockets, bringing out my

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phone. My hands were shaking so
bad I couldn't unlock the screen. On

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the third try, I got it
open and the flashlight app came on.

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This time, the creature was almost
upon me. It screeched and retreated,

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blinded. It had too many limbs, too many everything, anger, desperation.

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Leaving my phone on, I tried
to get back on my feet.

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I couldn't. My foot was too
badly. I could hop around a bit

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at most, but I was no
match for whatever was out there. Instead,

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I looked around the side room I
was in. It must have been

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some kind of armory. There were
broken wooden crates and used up shotgun shells

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littering the floor. I used the
bald oil lamp on the wall. Don't

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come in here, I said aloud. I'm not dying here, hissing a

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strange word hidden in the fog of
my mind. A man handing a venomous

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snake to a golden woman, rolling
hills of endless crucified men, a certainty

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of a violent death, the wailing
song of the doomed. It didn't understand

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my fear. I was already doomed. There was no point in fighting it

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to the creature in the dark.
Time was an insignificant factor. I realized

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I'd been sitting there listening to it
hissed to me for at least ten minutes.

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My cell phone was running hot,
and the water level had risen by

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about an inch. Of course,
the water level had to be water coming

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from somewhere. Everything breaks. It
was a miracle that I hadn't seen it

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before. There was an overturned table
in the middle of the room. That's

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what I'd sprained my ankle on kicking
it with my good foot. I revealed

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the crack and the dirt floor,
from which water came bubbling up. A

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few lily pads plopped up their coloration
as strange blue, like a sad sunflower.

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The crack in the floor might have
been the remains of a well or

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the start of a tunnel going deeper
underground. Either way, I had to

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take a chance. There was no
telling how deep it went. I could

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drown, but I could also find
my way out. I left my cell

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phone with a flashlight shining on the
entrance, holding the creature back. With

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a final screech, it conveyed a
final picture, wept fingers deep underground,

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tearing a human body to pieces.
I took the plunge. I crawled my

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way forward, inch by inch.
The wet dirt barely gave me any grip,

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and the water stung my eyes.
My nails hurt from other debris trying

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to dig into my fingers. I
could feel my chest tightening, cramping a

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fork in the path. I went
left a current, a stream, rushing

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something slimmy out of my face.
I tilt upwards, cold. I can't

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00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:08,160
feel my arms. Hunger reaching,
hunger. I broke through the surface.

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I was in the stone well.
I threw myself out, gasping for air,

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looking back, only to see something
just under the surface of the overflowing

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well. Two black orbs retreated into
the dark, sinking back into the unfathomable

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depths. I made my way to
the nearest road and flagged down the first

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car I could see. Racy Kettleman
was brought in for questioning, but that's

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all I know. There was no
trial, no debriefing. I just told

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about my experience to a stern looking
man in a suit, and that was

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00:28:49,799 --> 00:28:56,119
that. I was told to sign
an NDA lasting a minimum of ten years.

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It ended recently, and I've been
waiting to tell my story, and

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as Kettlemen eventually took back control of
the Oak Valley grain farm. As far

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as I know, Lacy never went
to jail. Something must have happened,

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though she was missing for the better
part of a decade. Maybe she had

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something they wanted. I think that
whatever I met in Oak Valley had something

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to do with the crisis of twenty
thirteen. There are a lot of rumors

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coming out of that area, and
I'm sure at least some of them originated

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with whatever Lacy had invited to stay
in a cellar. There haven't been many

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00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:52,240
others coming forward about their experience of
the incident, but I know they're out

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00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:59,640
there. Maybe they're hoping we've all
moved on or forgotten. Maybe they've been

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safe behind their contracts and fear tactics, but I'd like to remind them as

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much as I remind myself every day
everything breaks.