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Speaker 1: My home town of Cedar Creek, Colorado, had a woman

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who every one loved to hate. Her name was Miss Gatlin,

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and she was both my elementary school's janitor and the

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scapegoat for all unfortunate events around our town. The Cedar

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Creek elderly despised her for having a son out of wedlock,

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and the town parents scorned her for giving set son

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too much freedom, a parenting style which had supposedly led

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to his death at the hands of our town's eponymous river.

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As for the children of Cedar Creek, we didn't care

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at all about social conventions or parental negligence, but we

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all agreed that Miss Gatlin was an ugly lady, and

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that was enough to warrant our cruelty. My best friend

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at the time was a curly headed Menaceter society named Isaac,

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who by fifth grade had established himself as a ringleader

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amongst the neighborhood boys. He did his best to inconvenience

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Miss Gatlin, though his pranks did little to rattle her.

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If we spread rumors about a poor hygiene just within earshot,

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Miss Gatlin didn't bat an eye if we released bugs

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inside a janitorial closet, she'd calmly sweep them outside. If

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we stuffed rotten food inside a locker, she'd clean it

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out quietly and without complaint. Our usual tricks never worked

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on Miss Gatlin, and all of us unimaginative kids were

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stunted by how to best a woman whose job it

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was to clean up messes of all kinds. In my

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last year of primary school, Hannaka fell a week and

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a half before we were dismissed for winter break. All

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of the Jewish children thoroughly enjoyed showing off their gifts

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to the rest of us, who had to wait an

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eternity for our presence. Thanks to impossible spy kids and

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totally spies, every kid in Cedar Creek was obsessed with espionage,

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so Isaac's gift of a spy tech kit for kids

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made him even more popular than usual. Most of the

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kit was cheap plastic junk, but there was a small

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spy radio that seemed very well manufactured. It consisted of

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an earpiece and a button sized microphone that was supposedly

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capable of transmitting audio up to a radius of five miles. Isaac, myself,

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and the rest of our crew spent most of the

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week before winter break, running around town and testing the

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capabilities of the device. The audio quality was surprisingly good,

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although the earpiece of microphone could only be separated for

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about three miles before the sound became too distorted to understand.

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It was a novel concept for a few days, but

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after a while we grew bored of playing walkie talkie.

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Isaac wanted to use it for its intended purpose, surveillance,

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and he had the perfect target in mind. On the

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last day before winter break, Isaac and I glued the

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button sized device to the back of an old brooch

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we had found in his sister's jewelry box. We covered

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it up with a strip of velvet and then glued

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on the pin and catch, and by the time we

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were done, you couldn't tell anything was amiss. We put

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it in a small white box, which we put in

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my backpack for later. We determined that I would be

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the one to deliver it, given Isaac's reputation as a prankster.

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After school, I found Miss Gatlin in the staff break room.

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She barely looked at me. As I walked in the room,

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I noticed along the far wall of the break room

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a wall of cubbies, each one marked with the name

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of a staff member. All of them were filled with

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gifts and letters, presumably from parents or other employees at

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the school. All of them, that is, except one. You

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can't be in here, kid, miss Catlin said to me

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in a gruff voice. I know. I saw my backpack

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onto my stomach and fished around for the box. It

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had gotten a little banged up in my bag, but

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I figured she wouldn't really care. I procured it and

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held it out to her. But I wanted to give

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you this before the break. She stopped packing up, turning

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fully towards me. For a long time, she just stood there,

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staring suspiciously at the box. Setting her bag down, she

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took a few steps forward and grabbed the box out

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of my hand. She gave it a slight rattle and

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then opened it slowly. When she saw the brooch, she

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gingerly took it out of the box and turned it

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around in her hand. Then she paused again, looking between

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the glittering fake emerald and me. It's not new, sorry,

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it used to be my mom's, I told her. Going

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off the script, Isaac and I had conceived to add

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more authenticity to the handoff. She doesn't wear it anymore,

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but I thought you might like it. Miss Catlin kept

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staring at me, her expression unreadable. I half expected her

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to chuck it into the garbage bin in the corner

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of the room, but to my relief, she gave me

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a single nod. Thank you, she said, and pinned the

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brooch on to a cardigan carefully, like it was a

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precious gem and not some cheap hunk of plastic. I

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gave her a smile that she did not return, and

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then she shewed me away. Isaac was waiting for me

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in the woods outside school. I flashed them the thumbs up,

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and he slapped my back twice in congratulations. He pulled

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the earpiece out of his backpack and held it between us.

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I put my ear next to the speaker and was

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delighted when I could hear movement. The sound was slightly

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more muffled now by the velvet backing, but the audio

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quality was still really good. We heard the sound of

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snow crunching under Miss Gatland's feet as she walked herself

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through the woods. Home. We listened giddily for a few minutes,

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then raced back to my house to celebrate. Our success

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with hot chocolate. Since we had the attention span of

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two ten year old boys, we forgot about our triumph

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until just a few minutes before Isaac's mom came to

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pick him up. When I remembered, I pulled out the earpiece,

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which we had decided would live at my house since

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it was closer to Miss Gatland's and listened more than

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last year, but not as much as the year before last.

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What do you think about that? Do you like it?

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Can you feel it? I see me personally, I've loved

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it since I was a little girl and falls so prettily.

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What the heck is she saying? Isaac asked me, as

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if I had any clue. The better question, in my mind,

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at least, was who the hell was she talking to?

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She had no kids or husband and didn't have any

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ends as far as I knew. I don't know. I said,

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she's talking about snow. I think, though, the question can

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you feel it? Seemed an odd thing to ask anyone.

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We sat there listening to a talk for five minutes straight.

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I'd never heard Miss Catlin talk that much in my life,

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even though I'd seen her most days since I was

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only five years old. Looking back. I'm not entirely sure

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what we had expected, but it certainly wasn't a monolog

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of that length. We strained our ears listening for another voice,

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but heard nothing. Maybe she's s Guido forensic. Isaac volunteered.

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I had no idea what that was, but I trusted

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his authority. His mom showed up to take him home,

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and I turned the speaker off to walk him outside.

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After that, every once in a while, I would turn

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the speaker on and listen. It seemed that, no matter

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the time, be it early in the morning or late

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at night, Miss Catlin was always talking. She talked about

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all kinds of things, everything from clothing to stocks, to

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the weather to politics. Sometimes she prayed, talking so quickly

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and quietly that I could only make out one out

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of every five or so words. She apologized often and

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spoke constantly of a promise. Sometimes when I turned on

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the speaker, all I heard was sobs, And sometimes the

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conversations were so strange that I couldn't make heads or

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tails of them. A young woman smiled at me today

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at the grocery store. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?

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I felt like it's been so long since someone's smiled

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at me like that, Yes, I know she was just

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doing a job. Probably it doesn't even know my name.

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Oh how hard this has been, how lonesome. But I

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am so very close to the finish line. I won't

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break my promise now. A few days before we returned

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to school, Isaac and I made the trek over to

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a house in an attempt to figure out who she

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was speaking to. I'd seen a house a few times before,

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and each time I was taken aback by how small

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it was, isolated and weathered. Her home stood at the

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edge of the Southern Woodlands, on a large plot of

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land off of a street with very little through traffic.

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I remember standing on the side of the road with Isaac,

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staring at the little shack like house, which must have

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only had room for a bedroom, a bathroom, and maybe

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a tiny kitchen. There's no way anyone else lives there,

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Isaac said, after a while of standing and staring. We

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were too far away to peering through the windows, but

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we were also too afraid to venture any closer. She's

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either a witch or she's just some sad, ugly old

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lady who went crazy from having no friends. Isaac got

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bored quickly, so we left not too long after that.

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After we had made our way part way down the street,

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something compelled me to turn around and give the house

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a final look. When I did, I saw the unmistakable

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shape of Miss Gatlin standing on the porch, staring in

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our direction. I turned away and grabbed a hold of

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Isaac's arm. She's watching us, I whispered to him. His

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eyes grew wide. Damn, he said, Should we run? No,

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that'll look suspicious. Let's just keep walking. We walked until

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we were out of eyeshot, and then we ran all

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the way home. I'm not quite sure what spooked us

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so badly, but for some reason, even when I was

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back in the safety of my own home, I couldn't

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shake the feeling of eyes boring into my back. And

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soon they'll all be coming back. It's hard seeing them sometimes,

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knowing my Oliver was among them once. Sometimes I think

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I see him. At Least it'll get easier soon, thanks

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to you. By the time we went back to school,

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my friends had grown bored of the spy gear. I

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volunteered to return Isaac speaker, but he said it was

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practically useless now since we couldn't retrieve the microphone. Surprisingly,

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Miss Catlin continued to wear the brooch every day. It

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was always pinned to her non work clothes, so the

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only time she was unbugged, as Isaac put it, was

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when she was in her janitorial outfit and my school

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seeing her guard the brooch so carefully made me feel

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kind of bad. Was that the only gift she had

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gotten for Christmas? Was it the only gift she had

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gotten in the past decade. Maybe she wasn't a witch

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or crazy. Maybe she was just lonely and had learned

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to cope by talking to herself. Months passed, Isaac and

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company finally coming to terms with the fact that they

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would never get the rise they were looking for out

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of me. Misscatland moved on to terrorizing the curmudgeonally old

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man who lived across from Cedar Creek Elementary and was

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always yelling at kids for one reason or another. I

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was happy for Miss Scatlan. One day in March I

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found her sitting on a bench at the edge of

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campus during lunch. I took a seat next door, not

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expecting much. She took one look at me, then fixed

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the gaze back, and a sad looking sandwich in her hand.

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What do you want, she asked, without looking at me. Nothing.

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Just wanted to sit here, she picked at the sandwich.

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We're not friend's kid. I know you don't have any friends.

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That's right, she nodded. Maybe one day, though, I said,

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and to my surprise, she laughed. I didn't realize she

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was capable of laughing. She looked at me properly for

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the first time in our brief conversation, and I noticed

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that she was smiling. It was an unpracticed smile, but

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a genuine one. Yeah, she said, maybe one day. Miss

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Catlin packed up and headed back to the school building.

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After that, she left a bag of mini oreos on

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the bench next to me. I think she did it

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on purpose. I grew accustomed to checking up on her

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every now and then, listening to her conversations with herself.

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Sometimes it almost felt like she was talking to me.

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Looking back on it now, I realized what a little

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villain I was, and what an immense invasion of private

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I was committing. I wish that I could take it

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back now, especially considering what happened next. Friday, May seventeenth

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marked the ten year anniversary of Oliver Gatlin's death. I

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kept an eye on Miss Gatlin throughout the day, but

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she didn't seem any more dejected than usual. Maybe things

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were finally looking up for her. In any case, although

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I hadn't checked in on her for a while, I

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decided that evening to see how she was doing. My

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parents were gone for the week, and I was only

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allowed to stay at home alone if I stayed inside

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the whole time, so I ainate nothing better to do.

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Not long after sunset, as I lounged on the floor

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of my bedroom, I turned on the earpiece. Miss Gatlin

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was talking to herself as always, but there was something

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strange about her tone. She sounded more excited than ever.

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Almost there, almost there, almost there. She repeated those two

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words over and over until at exactly eleven forty four

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p m. She let out a sound that I understood

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years later to be a cry of triumph. It is done.

238
00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:35,319
It's done, dark Angel, thank you, thank you. Ten years

239
00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,920
of solitude and it was worth every second. Now Angel,

240
00:17:39,039 --> 00:17:43,680
bring him back, bring him back to me. What was

241
00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,200
she on about? Now? Were those song lyrics or something?

242
00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,960
I strained my ears listening for another person out of habit,

243
00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:57,880
But of course there was only Miss Gatland's voice. After

244
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:02,079
a moment, her cries of happiness faded, a voice taking

245
00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:07,359
on her confused tone. What do you mean? No, I

246
00:18:07,519 --> 00:18:10,640
that can't be true. I kept my promise. I followed

247
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,920
every rule. I let no one in, kept no companions,

248
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,880
made no friends. I kept my wish a secret. As

249
00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,079
you told me, my angel I. I sat up slowly,

250
00:18:21,759 --> 00:18:24,759
the building terror in her voice, putting me on edge,

251
00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:29,160
even from miles away. And then she asked the question

252
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,759
that still haunts me to this day, what do you mean?

253
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,319
I had an audience. There was a moment of silence,

254
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,880
and then the sure fire sound of the velvet backing

255
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,799
of the brooch being ripped away. I could hear a

256
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:52,680
breath sharper and clearer than ever before, as she repeated

257
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:57,079
a single word, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

258
00:18:57,079 --> 00:19:02,279
no no. She withdrew for the microphone, her rapid breaths

259
00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,640
replaced by what sounded like a front door being thrown

260
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,319
open with a bang. There was no more noise from

261
00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:14,480
the microphone. I remember standing up in my bedroom, not

262
00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:18,640
quite understanding what had just happened, and not quite knowing

263
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,079
what to do next. Something told me that I should

264
00:19:22,079 --> 00:19:25,000
go downstairs and make sure that the doors were locked,

265
00:19:25,599 --> 00:19:28,400
so I tore myself to man off and forced myself

266
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,319
down the stairs to the dark first floor. I made

267
00:19:32,319 --> 00:19:35,680
my way around the whole house, checking the doors and windows.

268
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:43,559
Once I was done, I just stood there. Somehow I

269
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,599
knew she was coming and that there was nothing I

270
00:19:46,599 --> 00:19:50,200
could do to stop it. I thought I was hearing

271
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:55,119
the wind, but as it grew louder, I realized I

272
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,319
was hearing wailing. I heard it long before I saw her,

273
00:20:00,079 --> 00:20:03,279
that good wrench and cry, that sound that I had

274
00:20:03,279 --> 00:20:07,920
previously heard only pale imitations of in movies where a

275
00:20:08,039 --> 00:20:12,279
mother loses a child. Standing in the darkness of my

276
00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:15,279
living room, I watched the sprint from the tree line

277
00:20:15,319 --> 00:20:19,400
towards my house. Her mouth was wide open, her eyes

278
00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,839
glazed over, and her body dressed in a white nightgown.

279
00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,720
She looked and sounded like something out of my worst

280
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,799
night terrors. I dropped to the floor and crawled away

281
00:20:30,799 --> 00:20:37,319
from the window, taking cover behind a couch. Why she howled,

282
00:20:37,559 --> 00:20:40,640
her moaning voice rising and falling as she ascended the

283
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,559
steps to my front porch and slammed a fist against

284
00:20:43,599 --> 00:20:49,559
the door. Why I needed to get to the phone,

285
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,480
but the house phone was right next to the window,

286
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,200
and I was petrified. She hit the door so hard

287
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,599
I was afraid that the hinges would give way. How

288
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,640
could you do this to me? I climbed a hand

289
00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,599
over my mouth. She couldn't possibly know for certain that

290
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,759
I was in the house, could she. The origin of

291
00:21:12,759 --> 00:21:15,880
the wailing shifted as she rounded the wrap around porch,

292
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,079
the heavy knocks of a fist against the door giving

293
00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:21,160
way to the thudding of her shoes and the wooden

294
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:25,160
porch floor. I stuck my head around the couch and

295
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,240
saw no one at the front window, But when I

296
00:21:28,279 --> 00:21:31,480
looked at the side, I saw a face hovering inches

297
00:21:31,519 --> 00:21:35,079
from the glass. I screamed at the top of my

298
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,920
lungs as her fist came into contact with the glass,

299
00:21:38,319 --> 00:21:42,000
shattering it. I was so horrified by the rain of

300
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:44,920
blood speckled glass that I almost missed the sight of

301
00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,359
the shotgun scabbard strapped to a Torso certain I was

302
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,000
about to die, I screamed at her to go away,

303
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,480
to leave me alone, and she screamed right back at me,

304
00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:00,400
asking me questions I didn't understand. Dogs. I had begun

305
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,079
to bark at the commotion, and my next door neighbor's

306
00:22:03,079 --> 00:22:08,480
porch light turned on. Please just go away, I shrieked

307
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,039
as I finally found my footing and raced to the phone.

308
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,559
I grabbed it from its holder and started the Type

309
00:22:14,799 --> 00:22:18,119
nine one one as I decided whether or not I

310
00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,799
should risk running up to the neighbor's house. When I

311
00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:25,319
looked at the broken window, though she was nowhere to

312
00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:30,599
be seen, the wailing had rescinded, growing fainter and fainter

313
00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:37,359
until I couldn't hear her at all. I stood there

314
00:22:37,799 --> 00:22:45,880
dumbly until the sound faded entirely, my hand shaking. She

315
00:22:46,079 --> 00:22:50,759
was gone, I was sure of it. Should I still

316
00:22:50,759 --> 00:23:00,359
call emergency services? After that moment, I heard another fainter

317
00:23:00,519 --> 00:23:06,079
sound and recognized the statugy audio immediately as the transmission

318
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,759
from Isaac's spy gear. I raced upstairs, still clutching the phone,

319
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,960
and grabbed a speaker from the floor where I dropped it.

320
00:23:16,599 --> 00:23:19,559
I pressed it against my ear, listening to the faint

321
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:24,480
sound of a familiar voice. I hope this was worth

322
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:30,160
a kid, it said, calmly and coldly. I hope you

323
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:37,720
and your friends can laugh about this. I heard a bang,

324
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:49,400
and then I heard nothing at all. It took two

325
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,119
weeks for the police to find her body. Her final

326
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,480
resting place was deep in the woods, under a thick

327
00:23:56,519 --> 00:24:00,519
shroud of junipers, not far from the banks of Sea Creek.

328
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,680
As her face was mutilated beyond recognition, her body was

329
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:10,519
identified by the shotgun lying beside her. They say that

330
00:24:10,759 --> 00:24:13,799
although she was covered in enough blood to entice every

331
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:18,200
animal within a three mile radius, her corpse was untouched

332
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,519
by the beasts. Even the insects seemed hesitant to feed,

333
00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:26,720
and the fungi slow to grow upon a body, as

334
00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:32,119
though even the lowliest creatures feared contamination by the lonely

335
00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:38,559
woman in the woods. They did not find a brooch

336
00:24:40,039 --> 00:24:53,640
on her person. It all started when I was sixteen.

337
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,359
It was Halloween and my friends and I had all

338
00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,680
had a bit too much fun pushing each other to

339
00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:03,359
douce something dumber and dumber. We'd snatch the bottle of

340
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,480
red from my parents' dash and passed it around when

341
00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:09,200
one of us came up with the idea to check

342
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,640
out the old mall by the Freeway. The place had

343
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,319
been closed a few years prior, and none of us

344
00:25:15,319 --> 00:25:18,160
had been there more than a couple of times as kids,

345
00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:21,440
but we figured it could make for a good story.

346
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,480
The five of us crammed into a car and made

347
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,759
our way out there, blasting music as we went along,

348
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:34,519
God Smack Pod PM five K. It was a different time.

349
00:25:36,319 --> 00:25:39,079
Rod was up in the front seat trying to smoke something,

350
00:25:39,519 --> 00:25:43,000
but the rest of us kept interrupting him. He had

351
00:25:43,039 --> 00:25:45,599
this stupid hang up and a joke where if you

352
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,839
reminded him of it, he wouldn't stop laughing. He could

353
00:25:49,839 --> 00:25:54,839
boil down to a single word and he'd burst. As

354
00:25:54,839 --> 00:25:58,599
we got there and poured out on the concrete, a

355
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,720
chill passed through me, more so than the autumn air.

356
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,519
The pillars outside reminded me of a rib cage, making

357
00:26:07,559 --> 00:26:11,799
the whole place look like a giant concrete corpse. In

358
00:26:11,839 --> 00:26:15,160
the dark of a Halloween night, pretty much anything can

359
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:20,920
look terrifying. That's just where your mind wanders. We made

360
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,279
our way in through a loosely bordered glass door, stepping inside.

361
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,400
All the light we had were our flip phones and

362
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:32,440
the moon slipping in through the skylight. I'd been in

363
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,640
that mall a handful of times over the years, but

364
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,440
what I was seeing there and then was something different.

365
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,000
Without the people and the ads and the billboards and

366
00:26:44,039 --> 00:26:49,680
the stalls. It was just a husk, something left behind.

367
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,519
Still we found a bunch of stuff. There were still

368
00:26:54,599 --> 00:26:57,319
metal racks in one of the old clothing stores which

369
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:00,920
we could climb. There was a counter the Sandwich place,

370
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,319
where we could pretend to take orders. There were windows

371
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,440
to break, and these huge empty spaces where our voices

372
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,559
would carry all throughout the building. The only place that

373
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,559
held some sort of reverence to us was the toy

374
00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:19,720
store on the second floor that had once been the

375
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,200
center of our attention. We were just sixteen, and most

376
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,880
of us remembered a time when we would beg our

377
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,240
parents for a trip there. It had been the biggest

378
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,240
toy store in our world, and there was always something

379
00:27:33,319 --> 00:27:37,519
new to look at. But seeing it then and there,

380
00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:41,000
it was just as dead as the rest of the place.

381
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:46,599
Not even the sign remained. As the others made their

382
00:27:46,599 --> 00:27:50,400
way inside, I split off to take a walk, lighting

383
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:54,319
up the hallway with my phone. They mocked me on

384
00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,559
my way, saying, whoever splits off the group is always

385
00:27:57,599 --> 00:28:03,160
the first to die in horror movies. Hilarious. I went

386
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,759
past what remained of the old stores, the gift shop,

387
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,640
the flower boutique, the book store. I could almost see them,

388
00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:16,559
but only in my mind. Now it was all concrete

389
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,799
and cheap sandstone tiling. The place wasn't even old enough

390
00:28:20,839 --> 00:28:24,160
to be dusty, yet remaining in this sort of space

391
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,359
between living and dead like a man on life support.

392
00:28:28,599 --> 00:28:31,240
It'd only take the flip of the switch and this

393
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,079
whole place would come alive, ready to welcome people back.

394
00:28:36,319 --> 00:28:41,880
But of course that wouldn't happen. Then at the end

395
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:46,240
of the hall, I came to a full stop. It

396
00:28:46,359 --> 00:28:50,000
turns out we weren't the first people with the idea

397
00:28:50,119 --> 00:28:54,480
to come here. There was a resting area in the

398
00:28:54,519 --> 00:28:59,559
far back, a sort of alcove, benches set around an

399
00:28:59,559 --> 00:29:04,240
empty where stalls were supposed to be, all centered around

400
00:29:04,279 --> 00:29:09,000
this massive red marble column. I called the others over.

401
00:29:09,839 --> 00:29:14,000
They had to see this. My voice easily carried all

402
00:29:14,039 --> 00:29:16,839
the way across the mall, and the others came running.

403
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,799
Someone had been here. They'd flipped all the benches onto

404
00:29:21,799 --> 00:29:24,759
their backs and placed several pots and planters in a

405
00:29:24,799 --> 00:29:29,599
circle around the column. Hell, they even planted something. I

406
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:34,319
could see little blue sprouts poking up. But the freakiest

407
00:29:34,319 --> 00:29:38,799
thing was the column itself. They'd taken the old mall

408
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:43,480
posters and plastered the thing with them. These posters were

409
00:29:43,559 --> 00:29:47,160
just the picture of a smiling, middle aged woman dressed

410
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,960
in a sort of fifties attire, a generic yellow sun

411
00:29:51,079 --> 00:29:55,279
dress with little white flowers on it. She also had

412
00:29:55,279 --> 00:29:59,759
the most generic stockpholt of smile you could imagine to

413
00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:05,839
Right on every poster was a cartoonist speech bubble. They

414
00:30:05,839 --> 00:30:11,640
were just old sayings bordering on cliches, like Mama used

415
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,440
to make them. The more the merrier, happily ever after,

416
00:30:17,039 --> 00:30:21,279
For the freaky thing was not the posters themselves, but

417
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,799
what had been done to them. Someone had burned out

418
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:31,200
the eyes, leaving them covered in scorch marks, with the

419
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:35,240
red marble in the back. My brain sort of short circuited,

420
00:30:35,839 --> 00:30:38,759
making me think I was looking into a empty socket,

421
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:44,119
seeing the gore behind the eyes. It was unsettling and

422
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:50,559
probably intentional. They also modified some of the sayings, crossing

423
00:30:50,559 --> 00:30:58,640
out certain words Mama used more ever after. It was unsettling.

424
00:31:00,039 --> 00:31:03,039
Some of us called the Halloween vibe of it, thinking

425
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,640
it fit perfectly with what we were up to. Others

426
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,160
could sense it like me, But this wasn't just a

427
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:17,039
fun thing someone did for fun. This was deranged It

428
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,920
must have taken hours to arrange this sort of scene,

429
00:31:20,519 --> 00:31:23,079
and we couldn't imagine a good reason to do it.

430
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:29,640
That's Lady Lockley, said Rod, pointing over the posters. I

431
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,359
had a crush on her. Looks like my babysitter. She's

432
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:39,920
like fifty, I added, still got a great rack. The

433
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,279
others agreed it was funny, but I couldn't bring myself

434
00:31:45,319 --> 00:31:50,440
to laugh. This felt like rot in the same way

435
00:31:50,519 --> 00:31:54,599
that corpse decays. This was the way old buildings decayed.

436
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,359
It made me feel filthy, like I was some kind

437
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:03,359
of bacteria infecting this place and breaking it down, corrupting it,

438
00:32:03,759 --> 00:32:09,119
diy chesting it. I felt sorry for Lady Lockley. She

439
00:32:09,359 --> 00:32:15,839
deserved better and happily. Ever after, once we got bored

440
00:32:15,839 --> 00:32:18,440
of wandering around, we made our way back to the

441
00:32:18,599 --> 00:32:21,839
entrance on the other side of the building. One of

442
00:32:21,839 --> 00:32:29,799
the guys squealed in delight he'd found a ballpit. Looking

443
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:33,279
at it, it was clear that this thing wasn't sanitary.

444
00:32:34,319 --> 00:32:39,039
We could hear something moving in it, probably rats. Part

445
00:32:39,079 --> 00:32:42,720
of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a dead wire hanging

446
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,279
like an open nerve, and the whole place was covered

447
00:32:46,359 --> 00:32:50,880
in a thin layer of concrete dust. Someone's gotta go in.

448
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:55,839
They said, we ain't leaving until someone goes in, not me.

449
00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:02,799
I added, no way, and that settled it. I was

450
00:33:02,839 --> 00:33:06,119
the first to decline. I had to be the first

451
00:33:06,119 --> 00:33:09,799
to go in, no matter if I wanted it or not.

452
00:33:11,359 --> 00:33:14,319
The others grabbed me and pushed me into the deep

453
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:20,640
ended face first. Plastic balls rattled against my ears. I

454
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,200
was fully prepared to be drenched in rapie and bite,

455
00:33:24,359 --> 00:33:29,839
but nothing happened. There was concrete dust covering my scalp

456
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:34,880
and forehead, but apart from that, I was fine. It

457
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:39,039
tickled my nose a bit. The pit was deep enough

458
00:33:39,039 --> 00:33:41,680
to reach about half way up my body, but I'd

459
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,480
sunk into the bottom. I could feel the rubber flooring

460
00:33:45,599 --> 00:33:48,960
against my cheek. The others were lighting me up with

461
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,640
their phones. The lights coming through the balls made a

462
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,880
sort of kaleidoscope of past our colors, stretching the shadows

463
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:02,440
out into long, distorted shapes. As I struggled to regain

464
00:34:02,519 --> 00:34:06,039
my balance, I fumbled a realm with my hands, trying

465
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:16,639
instinctively to grab something, but instead something grabbed me. It

466
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,719
was only a silhouette, a face somewhere in the swirl

467
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,000
of colors, the shape of her head with two holes

468
00:34:24,039 --> 00:34:28,039
where the eyes were supposed to be. It gasped excitedly.

469
00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:32,159
Even from a distance, I could taste the ammonia on

470
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,159
its breath. Its icy fingers interlocked with mine, wanting to

471
00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:42,719
bring me closer. I recoiled, shaking my head. I think

472
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,400
I let out a scream, but I don't remember doing it.

473
00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:48,880
My pulls shot through the roof as I forced myself

474
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:53,320
back to my feet, scrambling to get back to the others.

475
00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,199
They were laughing their asses off, thinking I was just surprised.

476
00:35:00,039 --> 00:35:03,079
As my head breached the surface. They were standing in

477
00:35:03,119 --> 00:35:07,440
a half circle, shining the lights at me. Of course,

478
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,480
there was nothing in the ballpit. I wiped my dusty

479
00:35:12,519 --> 00:35:15,159
hair and prepared myself to drag one or two of

480
00:35:15,199 --> 00:35:20,400
them down there with me, but something in the air changed.

481
00:35:21,679 --> 00:35:26,960
Their faces went from gleeful joy to careful curiosity to worry.

482
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:34,760
Turning back towards the pit, I could see why. On

483
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:40,079
the side of every ball in the pit was an eye,

484
00:35:40,599 --> 00:35:45,880
lovingly hand painted with a sharp eye. The others helped

485
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,920
me up and tried to diffuse the tension with puns

486
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:52,280
and jabs. It didn't take long for the chill to

487
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:57,920
leave our spines, but it took me the longest. Looking

488
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,199
down in my hand, I felt called like something had

489
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:06,280
really touched me, something just as real as the mall

490
00:36:07,119 --> 00:36:13,079
and the people who invaded it. We left shortly after,

491
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,039
taking the car back to town, blasting our music again.

492
00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:22,159
We filled the rest of the night with more stolen wine, games, stares,

493
00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:28,559
and laughs. But something in me had changed. I couldn't

494
00:36:28,639 --> 00:36:31,599
let go of that image of Lady Lockley and the

495
00:36:31,679 --> 00:36:35,400
red marble in the back of her head. Through every

496
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:41,960
chuckle and every smile, that feeling held me back. Something

497
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:49,400
had changed forever. That night, as I slept on the

498
00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,960
Rod's couch, I watched the moonlight cast a shadow on

499
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,639
the opposite wall. The cross of the window shaped the

500
00:36:56,719 --> 00:37:01,639
light into four perfect squares. I lay there, half drunk

501
00:37:01,679 --> 00:37:05,800
and half asleep. I imagine them as little television screens,

502
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:11,400
each showing whatever came to mind, old memories, dreams, hopes.

503
00:37:13,119 --> 00:37:16,599
But every made up show I imagined always ended the

504
00:37:16,639 --> 00:37:20,559
same way, with the mental image of a middle aged

505
00:37:20,679 --> 00:37:25,920
nineteen fifties housewife, her dead smile, a southern drawl, and

506
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,679
the red infected cavity in a skull her eyes ought

507
00:37:30,679 --> 00:37:36,360
to be. The next day, it all felt like a

508
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:40,679
bad dream. Some of the guys were hungover, and most

509
00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:43,119
of us just made our way back home to sleep

510
00:37:43,119 --> 00:37:47,800
it off. I didn't want to go home. My parents

511
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:50,039
were so focused to my older brother at the time

512
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:53,840
that they didn't care what I did. He was the

513
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,000
one with the problems. I could get away with pretty

514
00:37:57,079 --> 00:38:01,159
much anything. Being gone for a day was nothing compared

515
00:38:01,159 --> 00:38:05,679
to a heroin addiction. Still, I had to get back home,

516
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:11,559
much like expected. My parents weren't around. They left a

517
00:38:11,599 --> 00:38:14,000
note to say there were some leftovers in the fridge

518
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,480
and that I could call them if I needed something,

519
00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,719
but that was it. I'd never once called them on

520
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:26,800
that number. Making my way up to my room, I stopped.

521
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,119
We have these two windows at the top of the

522
00:38:31,159 --> 00:38:35,079
staircase with two knobs in the middle. For a moment,

523
00:38:35,639 --> 00:38:39,400
I imagine those two knobs as little eyes. I could

524
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:45,000
imagine them blinking all throughout the day and the next

525
00:38:45,599 --> 00:38:49,400
This would become a repeating pattern. Two coins on the

526
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,639
counter could send a shiver up my spine. The rings

527
00:38:52,639 --> 00:38:54,800
of a scissor grip would make me think of those

528
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,719
gaping eye sockets. Two soda cans with their pull taps

529
00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:04,119
standing at attention brought me the same image. Every combination

530
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:08,400
of two circles, spheres, or rings, it all forced that

531
00:39:08,559 --> 00:39:13,000
image back into my head, that joyless smile of Lady

532
00:39:13,119 --> 00:39:18,760
Lockley and her icy fingers interlocking with mine, bringing me closer.

533
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,880
It came to a point where people started to notice.

534
00:39:24,119 --> 00:39:27,320
For example, when I had dinner with my parents, they

535
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,280
had a beer each. The bottles were placed next to

536
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,119
one another, and the top of the bottles formed those

537
00:39:33,159 --> 00:39:37,360
two holes. It took me a while to notice, but

538
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:41,760
when I did, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It

539
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,199
physically made me itch and I had this intense need

540
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:49,079
to separate them. Once I did, the two of them

541
00:39:49,159 --> 00:39:55,400
just looked at me, not a word spoken. I tried

542
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,960
to ignore it. I reorganized my space to make sure

543
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,840
there was nothing around it to remind me, but every

544
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,599
now and then there'd be something. It could be something

545
00:40:05,639 --> 00:40:08,599
as little as two people passing on the street and

546
00:40:08,679 --> 00:40:14,880
their heads reminding me of floating eyeballs. But it got worse. Once,

547
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,920
as I stepped out of the shower, I spotted myself

548
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:22,840
in the mirror. Even seeing my own eyes looking back

549
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:27,800
at me, sent me into this spiraling anxiety. I could

550
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:32,000
imagine myself eyeless, with that infected red cavity in the

551
00:40:32,039 --> 00:40:35,000
back of my skull. I could see it to the

552
00:40:35,039 --> 00:40:38,199
point where I convinced myself that it was true that

553
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:42,000
I had no eyes to begin with. My eyes would

554
00:40:42,039 --> 00:40:45,960
close and I couldn't bring myself to open them. I

555
00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:48,960
would try to bry them open with my fingers kneeling

556
00:40:49,039 --> 00:40:53,519
on the cold bathroom tiles, but it wouldn't work. Nothing

557
00:40:53,559 --> 00:40:59,880
would come on. I'd cry, come on, but it just

558
00:41:00,039 --> 00:41:04,599
wouldn't work. It was so infuriating that it tickled the

559
00:41:04,679 --> 00:41:11,559
back of my brain into a joyless smile. No one

560
00:41:11,559 --> 00:41:14,639
else was suffering from this. I had no one to

561
00:41:14,679 --> 00:41:17,880
talk to, and no one would understand why I was

562
00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:22,360
feeling that way. It was impossible to describe, and to

563
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,320
a group of guys who mostly talked about women and games,

564
00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:30,360
there wouldn't be much interest in mental health. So I

565
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:35,840
decided to do something about it myself. Much like exposure therapy,

566
00:41:36,679 --> 00:41:40,000
I had to go back. I was going to tear

567
00:41:40,039 --> 00:41:43,239
down every poster, set fire to the damn ball pit,

568
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:46,559
and proved to myself that there was nothing to fear.

569
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:52,480
I was going to destroy it, Lady Lockley, I was

570
00:41:52,519 --> 00:41:55,679
going to break those icy fingers and stare into an

571
00:41:55,679 --> 00:42:00,760
eyeless face unflinching. I had this crappy mode that i'd

572
00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:04,159
saved up four one summer. Enough time had passed for

573
00:42:04,199 --> 00:42:07,800
the first Minnesota snow to fall, so I had to

574
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,280
be careful not to slip and slide. I loaded up

575
00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:14,920
a backpack with all kinds of destructive tools. I didn't

576
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,360
even bother to read the note left on the kitchen counter.

577
00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,360
This time, no one else was going to fix me,

578
00:42:21,199 --> 00:42:24,559
so I had to do it myself. I kept the

579
00:42:24,599 --> 00:42:28,400
wheel steady, feeling the snow slush stained my chup jeans,

580
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:34,719
cold water soaking into my second hand shoes. By the

581
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:39,199
time I got there, I was shivering. A cold wind

582
00:42:39,199 --> 00:42:41,960
had picked up from the overcast, and there was no

583
00:42:42,039 --> 00:42:48,280
moonlight to guide me this time. Still I'd prepared. I

584
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:51,679
had a great flashlight with plenty of spare batteries packed away.

585
00:42:52,679 --> 00:42:55,519
My dad had this battery box in the garage full

586
00:42:55,559 --> 00:42:59,519
of whatever kind he might possibly need. I brought the

587
00:42:59,559 --> 00:43:03,719
whole thing. I made my way inside through the loosely

588
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:08,800
bordered updoors. The place felt warmer, but maybe it was

589
00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:13,159
just me being angry. I had this frustration pent up

590
00:43:13,159 --> 00:43:17,039
in me, forcing me forward. I went past all the

591
00:43:17,079 --> 00:43:20,679
hollow shops, the broken benches, the empty planters, and the

592
00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:25,239
dry fountain. I climbed up the dead escalator and followed

593
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:29,639
the familiar shops towards the resting area. I could see

594
00:43:29,679 --> 00:43:32,960
the red marble column from Afar sticking out like a

595
00:43:33,039 --> 00:43:37,159
sore nerve, the posters plastered to it like a band

596
00:43:37,199 --> 00:43:41,840
aid to an open wound. My footsteps echoed as I

597
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:47,960
made my way closer, clutching the flashlight harder. There were

598
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,320
little sprouts in the pots and planters now, some with

599
00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:55,079
a little blue bud. Others had barely poked through the dirt.

600
00:43:56,039 --> 00:44:00,440
One I had grown quite tall. There were more posts now,

601
00:44:01,559 --> 00:44:04,880
Some had been stuck to the walls, others lay strewn

602
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:09,239
about on the floor. Someone had been there recently. I

603
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,159
could tell a few chairs from one of the downstairs

604
00:44:13,199 --> 00:44:17,199
restaurants had been dragged up there and smashed, forming a

605
00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:21,679
kind of plastic half circle across the floor. It didn't

606
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,599
matter to me, this was all going to burn either way.

607
00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:29,639
I put down my back back and brought out a

608
00:44:29,639 --> 00:44:33,320
bottle of gasoline. My dad always kept a spare can

609
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:35,679
in the garage, but I didn't want to bring the

610
00:44:35,679 --> 00:44:39,679
whole thing, so I just filled up three plastic bottles instead.

611
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,880
I unscrewed the top and just started chocking it at

612
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:48,239
the column, tainting the posters. They were made with some

613
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,920
kind of plastic that didn't react well to gasoline, making

614
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:55,320
part of the ink melt a little, making Lady Lockley

615
00:44:55,440 --> 00:45:01,320
smile into a frown and then a garbled mess. I

616
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:06,119
went all around the column using two of my three bottles.

617
00:45:06,559 --> 00:45:08,760
It was messy, and I got a whole lot of

618
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:11,800
it on my clothes. I'd have to wash it when

619
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:15,639
I get back. My parents didn't ask a lot of questions,

620
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:19,840
but if I were to come back home drenched in gasoline,

621
00:45:20,119 --> 00:45:25,079
they might have something to say. As I finished, I

622
00:45:25,119 --> 00:45:27,719
put down my bag and got a hold of a lighter,

623
00:45:29,079 --> 00:45:32,519
one of those with a long neck for lighting fancy candles.

624
00:45:33,239 --> 00:45:35,760
I tried to wipe the gasoline off my hands, but

625
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:39,119
doubt was getting to me. I didn't want to set

626
00:45:39,159 --> 00:45:47,800
myself on fire. Then again, this place had to die.

627
00:45:48,199 --> 00:45:51,679
For a brief moment, I got stuck staring at the posters.

628
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:57,400
Even with the ink melting off, the holes remained dozens

629
00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:01,000
of empty eye sockets staring at me, some with a

630
00:46:01,119 --> 00:46:07,119
barely human face attached. Some were relatively unscathed, still carrying

631
00:46:07,159 --> 00:46:11,639
the various slogans and sayings of Lady Lockley. There was

632
00:46:11,679 --> 00:46:15,719
even a fully intact, happily ever after poster, smiling back

633
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:20,599
at me. I put away my flashlight, letting the darkness

634
00:46:20,599 --> 00:46:24,719
of the place overwhelm me. The overcast was doing me

635
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:30,639
no favors. I held the lighter up, inched closer, and

636
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:38,000
clicked it a single light in the dark. But something

637
00:46:38,119 --> 00:46:42,280
was wrong. A chill worked its way across my right cheek,

638
00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:49,119
making me squint, then a breath of air. The light disappeared,

639
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:53,159
and my nostrils were assaulted by the sudden smell of ammonia.

640
00:46:55,239 --> 00:47:01,400
And right behind me, grazing my cheek was something cold,

641
00:47:03,039 --> 00:47:06,679
something I was gently placing his fingers on my left shoulder,

642
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:12,480
inching up towards my neck. I bent down, snatched up

643
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:16,960
my flashlight and turned around. The cone of light swayed

644
00:47:17,039 --> 00:47:22,199
back and forth, finding nothing. As I backed away, my

645
00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:25,920
feet was stepping on their own, seemingly out of my control.

646
00:47:27,039 --> 00:47:30,000
My lungs felt stiff, like I couldn't push any air

647
00:47:30,039 --> 00:47:33,719
into them. There were puffs of smoke with every little, forced,

648
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:41,360
panting breath. I wasn't alone. I didn't even think about

649
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:44,159
how far I backed up until my back hit the

650
00:47:44,199 --> 00:47:50,760
red marble pillar. I just stood there, frozen. I could

651
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:54,760
feel the eyeless holes turning towards me, waiting for me

652
00:47:55,000 --> 00:48:01,559
to turn around. Something was running down my arm. It

653
00:48:01,639 --> 00:48:05,920
made its way to my fingers. I looked down only

654
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:09,840
to see fresh blood droplets formed to the edge of

655
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:14,199
my fingertips, pulling up and dropping to the floor. The

656
00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:17,000
back of my head felt wet, same with the back

657
00:48:17,039 --> 00:48:21,960
of my pants and jacket. I carefully stepped away and

658
00:48:22,079 --> 00:48:29,400
turned to face the pillar. Blood. It wasn't just red marble.

659
00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:35,400
It was bleeding. The gasoline had made the posters slip off,

660
00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:38,880
falling to the floor one by one, leaving the pillar

661
00:48:39,039 --> 00:48:43,320
raw and unprotected. Little pulls of blood ran across the floor.

662
00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:48,599
It was so quiet, just little tips and taps of

663
00:48:48,719 --> 00:48:52,559
drops hitting the floor, mixing with the echoes of my breathing.

664
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,480
I could hear the battery in the flashlight rattling as

665
00:48:56,480 --> 00:49:01,639
my hand shook from the cold, and in the distance

666
00:49:03,639 --> 00:49:10,360
a hiss. My ears homed in on the sound. I

667
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:18,000
whisper coming from one of the nearby stores, hot them back.

668
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,599
I just stood there, trying to comprehend what I was hearing,

669
00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:29,880
what it was demanding. Then from another store, from across

670
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:35,639
the mall, a louder sound put it all back. And

671
00:49:35,719 --> 00:49:39,920
from a third store, an old fast food kitchen hout

672
00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:46,000
me back. Looking down at the pools of gasoline and

673
00:49:46,039 --> 00:49:50,880
blood mixing with the misshaped plastic posters, I shook my head.

674
00:49:52,159 --> 00:49:55,760
I didn't want this anymore. All the anger had turned

675
00:49:55,800 --> 00:49:58,360
to fear, and all I wanted was to grab my

676
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:04,519
stuff and leave. I'm I'm going, I said, I won't

677
00:50:04,519 --> 00:50:10,119
come back. There was no response, Just like back home,

678
00:50:10,719 --> 00:50:14,159
there was no one to listen to me. Maybe I

679
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:17,440
was speaking to an empty room, making up stories in

680
00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:21,760
my head. I won't come back, I repeated, This is it.

681
00:50:22,159 --> 00:50:26,079
Screw them all, and whatever game you're playing, I won't.

682
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,760
I suddenly choked on my breath. I could see them

683
00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:35,880
in the distance, human shapes stepping out of the storefronts,

684
00:50:36,559 --> 00:50:40,880
all with the same cheerful yellow dress, the same hair,

685
00:50:42,199 --> 00:50:48,880
the same smile. Then something grabbed me. It wasn't like

686
00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:52,440
the first time, where icy fingers daintly slipped into my hand,

687
00:50:53,360 --> 00:50:58,840
but something violent, angry nails digging into my scalp, grabbing

688
00:50:58,880 --> 00:51:01,639
a handful of my hair, forcing me forward with a

689
00:51:01,679 --> 00:51:05,880
dead man's cramped grip. I went from standing to kneeling,

690
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:09,119
having my face pressed into the floor. In a heartbeat.

691
00:51:11,039 --> 00:51:14,679
There were no more than two hands, maybe four five.

692
00:51:15,719 --> 00:51:23,679
Something heavy pushed against my spine. No, it wasn't just

693
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:29,880
one word. It was a choir, a dozen identical voices

694
00:51:30,239 --> 00:51:35,360
speaking as one from across the mall. Two cold fingers

695
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:39,519
touched my eye lids, forcing me to blink. I forced

696
00:51:39,519 --> 00:51:43,159
my eyes shut, trying to squint them away. I could

697
00:51:43,199 --> 00:51:47,000
barely breathe. I tried to move my head away, shaking

698
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:51,000
the fingers off, but I couldn't no matter how far

699
00:51:51,119 --> 00:51:54,519
I forced myself back. They pushed on until the pain

700
00:51:54,639 --> 00:52:00,360
started dis mounting, pressure causing bright, painful spots that dance

701
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:06,400
across the inside of my head. It was excruciating. I

702
00:52:06,519 --> 00:52:10,159
was panicking, trying to turn, but I couldn't. There was

703
00:52:10,199 --> 00:52:15,239
this raw, primal emotion bubbling inside me, forcing me to scream.

704
00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:20,599
I begged and pleaded, but it was too late. I

705
00:52:20,599 --> 00:52:25,800
had wronged them and they were relentless. Had he gone

706
00:52:25,840 --> 00:52:32,320
any further, i'd be blind today, maybe dead, but it didn't.

707
00:52:34,199 --> 00:52:38,199
I heard footsteps approaching, and father fingers slowly let up.

708
00:52:39,239 --> 00:52:42,519
Pressure released from my spine, and the hands holding me

709
00:52:42,559 --> 00:52:47,760
down loosened their grip. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking

710
00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:52,079
away the spots of pain, only to see a man.

711
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,840
He had a flashlight of his own, casting deep shadows

712
00:52:56,840 --> 00:53:00,239
on his wrinkled face. He must have been in his

713
00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:03,440
early sixties. I was dressed in some kind of maintenance

714
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:08,480
get up, A janitor perhaps. He walked up to me

715
00:53:08,719 --> 00:53:11,280
as the last hand let go and offered to help

716
00:53:11,320 --> 00:53:15,039
me up. I accepted it and got back my feet.

717
00:53:16,239 --> 00:53:21,280
I didn't dare turn around. I could hear them, feel them,

718
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:28,920
smell the ammonia. Don't do anything stupid, he whispered, give

719
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:34,440
them a moment. We just stood there. I looked down,

720
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:37,719
try my best not to bring any attention to myself.

721
00:53:39,199 --> 00:53:42,079
At the edge of my vision, I could see flowery

722
00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:46,760
yellow dresses shuffle past me, back into the empty storefronts,

723
00:53:47,599 --> 00:53:52,000
back into the mall. He patted me on the shoulder

724
00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:56,480
and I looked up. The last silhouettes slipped into an

725
00:53:56,519 --> 00:54:01,599
old outlet space, leaving the two of us alone. He

726
00:54:01,639 --> 00:54:03,960
got some blood on his hands from touching my shoulder

727
00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:07,840
and wiped it off on his legs. He stepped back

728
00:54:07,960 --> 00:54:12,159
to pick up something. He'd brought a stack of posters

729
00:54:12,199 --> 00:54:16,719
in a tool box. Walking up to me, he had

730
00:54:16,719 --> 00:54:22,320
this almost apologetic look on his face. So she picked

731
00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:28,280
you too, ah, he sighed, That makes what four of us.

732
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,639
Using a bucket and a still working hose in the back,

733
00:54:33,199 --> 00:54:35,679
we got enough water and soaked to clean the pillar

734
00:54:35,679 --> 00:54:40,559
a bit. It had stopped bleeding coagulated in a way.

735
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:45,440
We ended up putting up new posters, still with the

736
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:50,719
eyes burned out. She likes them this way, he said.

737
00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:54,360
The kids always did this to the posters long before

738
00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:58,159
the place closed. She thinks they're supposed to look like this.

739
00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:03,920
We spent some time collecting scrap and piling it into

740
00:55:03,920 --> 00:55:08,039
a circle around the pillar. That and drawing eyes on

741
00:55:08,159 --> 00:55:13,440
various white surfaces. She doesn't have any eyes of her own,

742
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:18,280
so she needs us to give us some. We spent

743
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:23,320
hours just wandering around, touching up the place, watering the plants,

744
00:55:23,519 --> 00:55:30,559
cleaning up the gasoline. The lady Lockley seemed calmer. I

745
00:55:30,599 --> 00:55:33,320
could see them shuffling about in the back of the stores,

746
00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:36,679
catching a reflection off their perfect teeth every now and then.

747
00:55:38,119 --> 00:55:41,280
Still I couldn't shake the feeling that any threat to

748
00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:45,920
this place would have me swarmed. Do you have to

749
00:55:46,039 --> 00:55:53,079
do this, I asked, like often, yeah, he nodded. What

750
00:55:53,280 --> 00:55:59,320
happens if you don't? I think you know what happens.

751
00:56:00,079 --> 00:56:02,159
At the end of the night, as I left them

752
00:56:02,199 --> 00:56:06,719
all behind, I saw a final swaying flowery dress in

753
00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:11,519
the cracks of the wooden boards. Even now I was

754
00:56:11,599 --> 00:56:21,679
being watched, judged, weighed, but for the moment I was safe.

755
00:56:23,639 --> 00:56:27,719
At first, I went back like once a week. Once

756
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:30,119
I brought ping pong balls and painted eyes on them.

757
00:56:31,760 --> 00:56:35,559
They seemed to like that. Another time I filled up

758
00:56:35,559 --> 00:56:39,840
the water fountain. The janitor would return at times too,

759
00:56:40,519 --> 00:56:45,360
bringing freshly printed posters and scrubbing the floor. I wonder

760
00:56:45,480 --> 00:56:49,679
it wasn't dusty. I tried to stop going back there,

761
00:56:50,559 --> 00:56:55,760
but it would just build this pressure in me. I'd

762
00:56:55,760 --> 00:56:59,719
feel her eah. I would start to focus on circles

763
00:56:59,719 --> 00:57:03,280
and as if my body was reminding me that I

764
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:07,280
was being watched. I'd sometimes feel something cold at the

765
00:57:07,400 --> 00:57:11,159
edge of my vision, something I see brushing against my ear.

766
00:57:12,559 --> 00:57:15,440
It would put me on edge, as if expecting something

767
00:57:15,480 --> 00:57:19,880
to grab me at any moment, for that damn smile

768
00:57:19,960 --> 00:57:22,679
to come out of the dark and become the last

769
00:57:22,679 --> 00:57:28,559
thing I ever see. Places like this don't get torn down.

770
00:57:29,639 --> 00:57:32,440
The land is dirt cheap, and the effort to break

771
00:57:32,480 --> 00:57:38,840
and ship off all that concrete just isn't worth it. It

772
00:57:37,239 --> 00:57:40,920
remains there to this day. I would go back every

773
00:57:40,960 --> 00:57:44,159
now and then to fix the place up, to make

774
00:57:44,199 --> 00:57:48,639
sure she was happy enough to leave me alone. Weeks

775
00:57:48,679 --> 00:57:52,360
would turn to months, and over time they trusted me

776
00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:55,480
enough to come back only once every six months or so.

777
00:57:57,039 --> 00:57:59,960
I'd make a day out of it. The plants would

778
00:58:00,039 --> 00:58:04,159
blossom into these six feet tall, radiant blue sunflowers, and

779
00:58:04,199 --> 00:58:06,440
a creeping vine would slither up the side of the

780
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:12,719
marble pillar. She seemed to like the vines. Sometimes there

781
00:58:12,719 --> 00:58:17,039
are new people. I don't really know their names, but

782
00:58:17,400 --> 00:58:19,960
we can kind of recognize each other at a glance.

783
00:58:21,039 --> 00:58:24,719
Some young, some old. We've tried to board the place

784
00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:28,440
up to keep people out, but every now and then

785
00:58:29,000 --> 00:58:33,159
some smart ass gets through. I don't think they all

786
00:58:33,159 --> 00:58:36,719
make it out. Some of the things I've seen over

787
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:41,920
the years tell a gruesome story of their own. I'm

788
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:45,320
in my mid thirties now, I've done this for half

789
00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:49,199
my life as a sort of stewardship, a part of

790
00:58:49,239 --> 00:58:53,599
my life that I can't share with anyone. I've gotten

791
00:58:53,679 --> 00:58:57,599
to know her wants and needs. There is a personality, there,

792
00:58:58,159 --> 00:59:03,880
an intelligence. Sometimes they can get these strange whims. I

793
00:59:03,920 --> 00:59:05,800
once saw one of them trying to break through the

794
00:59:05,840 --> 00:59:09,000
loose boards, only to be dragged away by the others.

795
00:59:10,280 --> 00:59:13,000
I've seen them gently crest the leaves of the sunflowers.

796
00:59:13,719 --> 00:59:16,800
I've seen them dance on tables, walk hand in hand

797
00:59:16,840 --> 00:59:21,920
down the empty walkways, and once just staring up at

798
00:59:21,960 --> 00:59:28,679
the moon. I think she's like an immune system, like

799
00:59:28,760 --> 00:59:33,199
something remaining to stop the decay. This building has been

800
00:59:33,239 --> 00:59:38,159
closed for decades, but from looking at it you couldn't tell.

801
00:59:39,960 --> 00:59:42,639
Most buildings that have been empty for that long just

802
00:59:42,679 --> 00:59:46,679
look way down and worn, but not the dead eye more.

803
00:59:48,039 --> 00:59:51,760
It's still spry and waiting, as if expecting people to

804
00:59:51,800 --> 00:59:58,280
come back, and every now and then they do. But

805
00:59:58,639 --> 01:00:02,800
it's a service I perform under threat of death, and

806
01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:08,639
to this day it terrifies me. While I'm not as

807
01:00:08,639 --> 01:00:12,679
bothered by circles or rings, I still have this feeling

808
01:00:12,719 --> 01:00:16,360
that I should be like I shouldn't be normalizing this.

809
01:00:17,559 --> 01:00:21,320
I shouldn't have to compromise. There something unnatural and otherworldly.

810
01:00:23,159 --> 01:00:29,280
But I just don't know what the alternative is. I

811
01:00:29,320 --> 01:00:32,719
have this feeling that sooner or later she'll turn to

812
01:00:32,760 --> 01:00:38,519
me dissatisfied, and that day she'll interlock her fingers with

813
01:00:38,679 --> 01:00:43,079
mine and drag me to a dark place I can't

814
01:00:43,079 --> 01:00:58,280
come back from ever after, I barely made it home

815
01:00:58,320 --> 01:01:01,880
in time. One minut I was singing along to the radio,

816
01:01:02,480 --> 01:01:05,599
and then next I was staring slack jawed at the

817
01:01:05,599 --> 01:01:10,199
most menacing storm clouds I'd ever seen. As someone born

818
01:01:10,239 --> 01:01:12,840
and raised them for a month. I was no strange

819
01:01:12,880 --> 01:01:17,320
as the snow squalls, but there was something foreboding about

820
01:01:17,360 --> 01:01:22,320
the dark clouds blowing in over the mountains. After reaching

821
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:25,400
my house, I opened my car door and stepped out

822
01:01:25,519 --> 01:01:29,199
into a cold evening. The wind lashed at my face

823
01:01:29,519 --> 01:01:32,440
and made a terrible howling in my ears as I

824
01:01:32,559 --> 01:01:35,360
raced up the steps and slipped through the front door

825
01:01:35,440 --> 01:01:39,719
to my house just in time, Luke said to me

826
01:01:39,960 --> 01:01:43,880
and greeting. My husband was staring in front of the

827
01:01:43,920 --> 01:01:48,719
living room window, surveying the mountains beyond our city. By

828
01:01:48,760 --> 01:01:51,519
the time I walked over to him, I could barely

829
01:01:51,559 --> 01:01:55,559
see two streets down. Seemed like we would be spending

830
01:01:55,599 --> 01:02:01,599
the evening inside. Came out of nowhere, I commented. Before

831
01:02:01,719 --> 01:02:04,239
I so much as set my bag down, I heard

832
01:02:04,239 --> 01:02:09,599
the doggy door open. We didn't own any pets, but

833
01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:13,199
we often entertained visits from a neighborhood cat, whom Luke

834
01:02:13,360 --> 01:02:19,079
had called RIGATONI. Sure enough, an old orange cat soon

835
01:02:19,119 --> 01:02:22,000
appeared in our living room, leaving a trail of muddy

836
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:26,320
Poor Prince as he trotted over to Luke. Ah, the

837
01:02:26,400 --> 01:02:29,880
serial couch surfer returns too cold out there for you,

838
01:02:30,719 --> 01:02:33,599
he asked the cat, currently rubbing her head against his shin,

839
01:02:34,199 --> 01:02:39,280
whom he yowed as if in affirmation. Tony wasn't terribly

840
01:02:39,320 --> 01:02:43,400
fond of most people, but Luke had away with animals.

841
01:02:43,920 --> 01:02:47,400
He reached down to Petter, eliciting a melody of purse

842
01:02:47,679 --> 01:02:53,159
from the contented cat. Come on, he said, standing, I'll

843
01:02:53,159 --> 01:02:58,519
fix you some dinner. Thank god, I'm starving. I wasn't

844
01:02:58,559 --> 01:03:02,760
talking to you, Luke said, with a warm laugh, walking

845
01:03:02,840 --> 01:03:04,800
into the back of the house to fetch some cat

846
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:09,519
food for Tony. Half an hour later, just as Luke

847
01:03:09,559 --> 01:03:13,119
and I had finally sat down to eat, we heard

848
01:03:13,119 --> 01:03:17,360
the doggy tour open once again. I raised the brow

849
01:03:17,440 --> 01:03:22,519
at my husband. Tony was our only regular four legged visitor.

850
01:03:23,519 --> 01:03:26,199
I wondered who else could have let himselves inside our home.

851
01:03:27,800 --> 01:03:32,639
I didn't have to wonder for long. Seconds later, a

852
01:03:32,639 --> 01:03:36,760
Border Collie tore into the dining room, barking and whining

853
01:03:36,760 --> 01:03:40,760
with urgency. Luke and I rose sharply to our seat

854
01:03:40,800 --> 01:03:43,559
to the table, watching the dog as it came to

855
01:03:43,639 --> 01:03:47,400
a stop in the corner of the room. I realized

856
01:03:47,599 --> 01:03:50,360
as the poor creature lowered its head and tucked its

857
01:03:50,400 --> 01:03:56,400
tail between its legs that I recognized it. Hey that's

858
01:03:56,440 --> 01:04:00,599
missus Johnson's dog, I said, rounding the table to check

859
01:04:00,719 --> 01:04:05,639
if the dog was hurt. Tucker, Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

860
01:04:06,199 --> 01:04:10,079
I see her walking him all the time. I crouched

861
01:04:10,079 --> 01:04:12,880
down next to Tucker and slowly reached out my arm.

862
01:04:14,400 --> 01:04:18,679
To my surprise, the usually sweet tempered Border Collie pulls

863
01:04:18,719 --> 01:04:22,639
its lips back in a snarl, lunging forward slightly and

864
01:04:22,719 --> 01:04:27,320
snapping his teeth. It was a warning, not on an

865
01:04:27,360 --> 01:04:30,800
attempt to hurt me, but I backed off all the same.

866
01:04:32,559 --> 01:04:37,159
Luke shot me your worried look. He's a usually more

867
01:04:37,199 --> 01:04:40,679
mild mannered. I'll give her a call and let her

868
01:04:40,760 --> 01:04:45,000
know he's with us. Luke left the room to grab

869
01:04:45,039 --> 01:04:47,960
his phone while I studied Tucker from a safe distance,

870
01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:52,119
looking for signs of injury. His frantic barks had been

871
01:04:52,159 --> 01:04:57,440
replaced by occasional mournful wines. He was no longer racing around,

872
01:04:57,880 --> 01:05:01,159
seemingly content with his place in the corner, but his

873
01:05:01,239 --> 01:05:06,039
posture remained fearful and defensive. It was hard to tell

874
01:05:06,159 --> 01:05:08,559
with the way he was carrying, but I saw no

875
01:05:08,719 --> 01:05:13,679
visible wounds on him. Do you have signal, Luke shouted

876
01:05:13,679 --> 01:05:17,039
from another room. I took my phone out of my

877
01:05:17,079 --> 01:05:23,440
pocket to check, and to my surprise, I didn't. We

878
01:05:23,639 --> 01:05:27,159
had generally reliable coverage, and I couldn't remember the last

879
01:05:27,159 --> 01:05:30,880
time I'd lost cell service. I tried restarting my phone,

880
01:05:31,280 --> 01:05:34,239
walking around at different spots in the house, and turning

881
01:05:34,280 --> 01:05:41,079
airplane mode on and off. Nada. Unfortunately, if it was

882
01:05:41,079 --> 01:05:44,079
affecting both of us, it was probably an issue with

883
01:05:44,119 --> 01:05:47,679
our service provider, meaning there was little we could do.

884
01:05:49,239 --> 01:05:50,920
I was about to ask if he still had Wi

885
01:05:50,920 --> 01:05:54,199
Fi on his phone when a light but urgent tapping

886
01:05:54,360 --> 01:05:59,159
sound filled the room. I listened for a moment trying

887
01:05:59,199 --> 01:06:02,840
to place the r of the sound, and soon traced

888
01:06:02,880 --> 01:06:07,760
it to the bathroom, or more specifically, the bathroom window.

889
01:06:09,719 --> 01:06:13,000
When I got there, I saw a small, fuzzy animal

890
01:06:13,119 --> 01:06:18,000
standing on the window sill and scratching fervently at the glass.

891
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:22,800
What in the world the little creature didn't seem to

892
01:06:22,880 --> 01:06:26,840
notice my presence. I took another step forward into the bathroom,

893
01:06:27,559 --> 01:06:30,719
and I realized as I approached that the animal had

894
01:06:30,760 --> 01:06:35,039
torn right through the window screen. No cell service, no

895
01:06:35,199 --> 01:06:38,159
Wi Fi, no nothing. At least the lights are on.

896
01:06:39,280 --> 01:06:41,960
Luke trout off as he entered the room, looking over

897
01:06:42,000 --> 01:06:46,880
my shoulder at the frantic creature. Is that a weasel?

898
01:06:47,840 --> 01:06:51,480
I asked my resident animal lover, who shook his head.

899
01:06:52,039 --> 01:06:58,039
Pretty sure, that's a Martin neat. I was about to

900
01:06:58,039 --> 01:07:02,440
compliment his identification skill before I looked over and saw

901
01:07:02,559 --> 01:07:06,199
the look in his eyes. Don't ask me what I

902
01:07:06,199 --> 01:07:10,440
think you're about to ask me. Please, they're endangered. You

903
01:07:10,519 --> 01:07:14,039
know this isn't Noah's ark, Luke. We can't shelter every

904
01:07:14,079 --> 01:07:18,320
animal in Vermont. I swear the rodent took a break

905
01:07:18,320 --> 01:07:20,519
from ripping through my window screen to glare at me.

906
01:07:21,440 --> 01:07:25,800
Ay glared right back besides, this little thing here looks rabid.

907
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:30,960
Luke and I spent a couple minutes arguing. I wasn't

908
01:07:31,039 --> 01:07:34,480
keen on taking in any more impromptu guests, but Luke

909
01:07:34,599 --> 01:07:38,159
was adamant on saving it from the storm. There's something

910
01:07:38,159 --> 01:07:41,800
off about how desperately he's trying to get in, he said.

911
01:07:42,119 --> 01:07:43,880
It might be on the verge of freezing to death

912
01:07:43,960 --> 01:07:48,760
or something. After a while, he convinced me to take

913
01:07:48,800 --> 01:07:52,800
pity on the Martin. I had to admit the way

914
01:07:52,880 --> 01:07:58,400
it was throwing itself against the glass was a little unsettling. Reluctantly,

915
01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:01,519
I opened the window and allowed it to squeeze through

916
01:08:01,519 --> 01:08:05,440
the hole in the screen. However, I didn't realize that

917
01:08:05,480 --> 01:08:09,760
the Marten wasn't the only creature waiting to get inside.

918
01:08:10,199 --> 01:08:13,519
Before I could shut the window, a flurry of about

919
01:08:13,559 --> 01:08:17,800
twenty mice searched into the bathroom from the hole. They

920
01:08:17,880 --> 01:08:20,119
must have been sitting on the sill as well, but

921
01:08:20,199 --> 01:08:23,600
I guess I overlooked them, mistaking their fluffy white bodies

922
01:08:23,600 --> 01:08:28,520
for snow. I jumped backwards, swallowing a shriek as one

923
01:08:28,560 --> 01:08:32,840
of them landed right on my foot. Eventually I managed

924
01:08:32,880 --> 01:08:36,159
to shut the window without stepping on any mice, but

925
01:08:36,239 --> 01:08:40,199
not before a red bird, a cardinal, I think, squeezed

926
01:08:40,199 --> 01:08:44,399
this way in as well. Stunned, I hurried after the

927
01:08:44,439 --> 01:08:46,840
animals as they made a bee line for the center

928
01:08:46,880 --> 01:08:50,800
of the house. When I entered the dining room, I

929
01:08:50,880 --> 01:08:53,920
saw not only Tucker and the animals who had just

930
01:08:54,039 --> 01:08:57,119
burst in through the bathroom, but also a cat and

931
01:08:57,199 --> 01:09:02,600
two dogs that I didn't recognize. Cursing, I realized that

932
01:09:02,640 --> 01:09:05,359
they must have entered through the doggy door, so I

933
01:09:05,479 --> 01:09:07,960
yelled out to Luke to lock it. As I tried

934
01:09:07,960 --> 01:09:09,880
to make sense of the scene in front of me,

935
01:09:11,560 --> 01:09:15,000
the animals gave each other a wide berth. The cat

936
01:09:15,039 --> 01:09:17,720
didn't so much as look at the mice, nor did

937
01:09:17,760 --> 01:09:21,720
the dog seem at all interested in the cat. All

938
01:09:21,800 --> 01:09:25,600
of them were carrying, shivering as they pressed themselves into

939
01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:29,960
corners or squeezed into whatever hiding spot they could find.

940
01:09:30,479 --> 01:09:34,479
The dogs whined, the mice squeaked. Even the cardinal was

941
01:09:34,479 --> 01:09:39,600
making a strange, almost mournful sounding chirping noise. The only

942
01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:44,479
one who was behaving normally was Rigatoni, who I had

943
01:09:44,520 --> 01:09:47,359
to show away from the trooper mice hiding under the

944
01:09:47,439 --> 01:09:52,399
china cabinet. The hell is going on? Luke asked, and

945
01:09:52,520 --> 01:09:56,960
I had no explanation to offer. We had nast these

946
01:09:56,960 --> 01:09:59,920
storms before, but never had I seen one in si

947
01:10:00,119 --> 01:10:06,199
by such desperation in our local wildlife. After another failed

948
01:10:06,199 --> 01:10:09,840
attempt at coaxing Tucker out of his corner, I made

949
01:10:09,840 --> 01:10:12,199
my way to the living room and stared out the

950
01:10:12,279 --> 01:10:17,279
large window. A total whiteout stared back at me. I

951
01:10:17,279 --> 01:10:20,039
could only see a few feet out in every direction

952
01:10:20,600 --> 01:10:23,479
before the world was swallowed up by darkness and snow.

953
01:10:25,159 --> 01:10:31,239
It was eerie, but it was beautiful in a strange way, hypnotic.

954
01:10:32,479 --> 01:10:35,039
It was easy to loose myself in thought as I

955
01:10:35,119 --> 01:10:39,439
watched the snow fall. What could have spooked the animal

956
01:10:39,560 --> 01:10:42,960
so much? I wondered? Could it really be the cold alone?

957
01:10:44,640 --> 01:10:48,199
The weather hadn't seemed all that bad. Sure, it had

958
01:10:48,239 --> 01:10:52,600
been cold outside, but not a blizzard cold. When I

959
01:10:52,600 --> 01:10:55,880
had opened the bathroom window, i'd been distracted by the mice,

960
01:10:56,600 --> 01:10:59,439
But when I thought about it, I didn't remember a

961
01:10:59,520 --> 01:11:04,159
freezing cold wind sweeping into the house alongside our animal guests.

962
01:11:05,079 --> 01:11:07,680
I raised my arm, pressing the back of my hand

963
01:11:07,680 --> 01:11:14,800
against the glass, and then stilled. Loo. I quietly called

964
01:11:14,840 --> 01:11:20,279
out he appeared around the corner seconds later, Tony cradled

965
01:11:20,279 --> 01:11:24,479
in his arms. Is it just me or it's the

966
01:11:24,520 --> 01:11:29,920
glass warm? Luke stepped closer, shifting to hold the cat

967
01:11:30,000 --> 01:11:32,880
in one arm and placing his free hand against the pane.

968
01:11:34,319 --> 01:11:37,680
He didn't respond, but the way his mouth set into

969
01:11:37,720 --> 01:11:41,000
a thin line told me that he felt the same thing.

970
01:11:42,720 --> 01:11:50,720
What does this mean? I don't know. We both stood

971
01:11:50,800 --> 01:11:54,560
in silence for a while. The wind howled outside, but

972
01:11:54,720 --> 01:11:57,399
either sense that if I opened a window and stuck

973
01:11:57,439 --> 01:12:02,279
my hand out, it wouldn't feel cold. I didn't want

974
01:12:02,319 --> 01:12:05,960
to find out, though, opening any windows or doors at

975
01:12:05,960 --> 01:12:10,159
that point seemed like a bad idea. In fact, I

976
01:12:10,199 --> 01:12:12,199
was about to check that all entry points to our

977
01:12:12,199 --> 01:12:19,520
house were secured when Luke pointed at something outside. A

978
01:12:19,680 --> 01:12:24,880
large black mass ambled its way towards us. At first,

979
01:12:25,439 --> 01:12:29,119
I didn't understand what I was looking at. Its shape

980
01:12:29,159 --> 01:12:31,560
and gait were so strange that I thought I was

981
01:12:31,600 --> 01:12:35,039
looking at a brand new animal. But once it stepped

982
01:12:35,079 --> 01:12:38,479
fully into the faint glow emanating from the porch light,

983
01:12:39,439 --> 01:12:43,560
I realized that it was a black bear. Its lower

984
01:12:43,640 --> 01:12:46,560
jaw on one of its hind legs had been ripped

985
01:12:46,600 --> 01:12:50,000
off and from the trail of blood it had left

986
01:12:50,000 --> 01:12:54,680
in its wake, it was clear that the wounds were fresh.

987
01:12:54,880 --> 01:12:58,800
The bear stumbled closer, stopping only inches from the glass.

988
01:13:00,199 --> 01:13:04,680
Everywherey step I could make out another laceration on its body.

989
01:13:06,119 --> 01:13:09,520
I watched in horror as the massive creature stared directly

990
01:13:09,560 --> 01:13:11,960
at us, with a look in its eyes that it

991
01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:16,600
could only be described as pleading. I held its gaze

992
01:13:16,640 --> 01:13:20,119
for a few seconds, and then the creature collapsed onto

993
01:13:20,159 --> 01:13:23,960
its side. A puddle of dark red pulled outward from

994
01:13:23,960 --> 01:13:28,680
its body, and soon the strangest expansions and contractions of

995
01:13:28,680 --> 01:13:34,159
its rib cage ceased. Never once did it look away

996
01:13:34,199 --> 01:13:39,079
from us as it bled out and died. There was

997
01:13:39,079 --> 01:13:42,640
a long silence before Luke and I dared to speak.

998
01:13:44,359 --> 01:13:49,119
You think, Luke began, You think that's what the animals

999
01:13:49,119 --> 01:13:55,039
were afraid of? I hoped so that something in my

1000
01:13:55,119 --> 01:14:00,079
gut told me that it wasn't. After all. Even if

1001
01:14:00,119 --> 01:14:02,760
that was the creature that had been running from, the

1002
01:14:02,840 --> 01:14:07,159
question still remained, what could have inflicted that level of

1003
01:14:07,199 --> 01:14:12,119
trauma on a black bear of that size. I think

1004
01:14:12,399 --> 01:14:16,640
we should get away from the windows. As we made

1005
01:14:16,680 --> 01:14:19,159
our way to the middle of the house, the lights

1006
01:14:19,159 --> 01:14:24,279
flickered once twice, and then abruptly went out all together.

1007
01:14:25,720 --> 01:14:29,039
We were plunged suddenly into darkness, and it seemed to

1008
01:14:29,039 --> 01:14:32,920
put the animals even more on edge than before. The

1009
01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:36,680
squeaks and wines increased in volume. As I procured two

1010
01:14:36,720 --> 01:14:40,800
flashlights from our kitchen cabinet, I handed one to my husband,

1011
01:14:41,239 --> 01:14:43,640
and then the two of us tug to the dining room,

1012
01:14:43,880 --> 01:14:46,279
sitting on the floor with our backs against one of

1013
01:14:46,319 --> 01:14:51,479
the walls. Luke was calm on the surface, but I

1014
01:14:51,520 --> 01:14:54,960
could tell that the strangeness of the situation was causing

1015
01:14:55,039 --> 01:14:58,920
him distress. At least, Tony's presence seemed to bring him

1016
01:14:58,960 --> 01:15:03,840
some peace of mind. For some reason, she was unaffected

1017
01:15:03,840 --> 01:15:08,319
by whatever ailed the others. I studied her as she

1018
01:15:08,399 --> 01:15:12,199
relaxed in loose lap, her eyes closing, as he absent

1019
01:15:12,279 --> 01:15:18,000
mandily stroked her fur. Why was it that she was unafraid?

1020
01:15:18,720 --> 01:15:20,760
She had come to our house right before the blizzard

1021
01:15:20,800 --> 01:15:24,279
set in, whereas the rest of the animals likely had

1022
01:15:24,279 --> 01:15:28,039
been outside for longer. Had they seen something out in

1023
01:15:28,079 --> 01:15:31,680
the storm? If they had, could it have been the

1024
01:15:31,720 --> 01:15:37,800
same thing that killed the bear? Hey, Luke's shaky voice

1025
01:15:37,840 --> 01:15:44,239
broke through my thoughts, do you hear that? I didn't

1026
01:15:44,279 --> 01:15:49,159
hear anything, And then I realized I didn't hear anything.

1027
01:15:50,399 --> 01:15:54,479
No wailing of the wind, no sounds from the animals, nothing.

1028
01:15:55,680 --> 01:15:58,199
It was like the whole world had suddenly gone quiet.

1029
01:16:00,159 --> 01:16:03,600
Around the room, all of the animals was so still

1030
01:16:04,439 --> 01:16:07,319
it was as if they were afraid to move. I

1031
01:16:07,399 --> 01:16:11,119
clicked my flashlight off, wanting to attract as little attention

1032
01:16:11,239 --> 01:16:16,920
as possible, and Luke followed suit. For a moment, we

1033
01:16:17,079 --> 01:16:25,960
just sat there in the dark, listening, and then I

1034
01:16:26,079 --> 01:16:36,079
heard a voice. Hello, clear as day, the voice of

1035
01:16:36,119 --> 01:16:40,880
a person was calling to us from outside our house. Hello,

1036
01:16:41,479 --> 01:16:46,319
anyone in there, it asked. It's tone far too nonchalant

1037
01:16:46,479 --> 01:16:50,119
with someone weathering the full brunt of a blizzard. I

1038
01:16:50,239 --> 01:16:55,479
need some help out here. Next to me, Luke shifted

1039
01:16:55,920 --> 01:16:59,319
as though you were about to stand up. I reached

1040
01:16:59,319 --> 01:17:02,399
out and grabbed hold of his arm, grabbing Tony and

1041
01:17:02,439 --> 01:17:06,600
pulling Luke back down to the floor. There wasn't a

1042
01:17:06,720 --> 01:17:09,479
chance in hell I was about to let him investigate

1043
01:17:09,520 --> 01:17:13,640
the voice. It was so strangely quiet that I could

1044
01:17:13,640 --> 01:17:16,399
hear the crunching of footsteps in the snow as the

1045
01:17:16,439 --> 01:17:23,600
person moved outside. Please the voice said, It had gotten closer,

1046
01:17:24,239 --> 01:17:28,720
like it was circling the house. Please, I really need help.

1047
01:17:29,319 --> 01:17:31,840
Can I just come in for a minute. It's so

1048
01:17:32,000 --> 01:17:38,439
cold out here. My grip tightened on Luke's arm. The

1049
01:17:38,479 --> 01:17:42,000
complete lack of emotion in the voice's tone sending a

1050
01:17:42,079 --> 01:17:46,840
chill up my spine. He reached over, holding my hand

1051
01:17:46,920 --> 01:17:50,279
in his as the source of the voice moved even closer.

1052
01:17:51,600 --> 01:17:54,800
Come on, now, don't you have room for one more?

1053
01:17:58,119 --> 01:18:02,079
It was right outside the dining room window. I closed

1054
01:18:02,079 --> 01:18:05,039
my eyes like a coward, not wanting to see whatever

1055
01:18:05,079 --> 01:18:09,359
it was about to step into view. Next to me.

1056
01:18:10,439 --> 01:18:16,600
There was a single, sharp intake of breath for what

1057
01:18:16,760 --> 01:18:21,319
felt like an eternity. Neither of us moved, and then

1058
01:18:21,600 --> 01:18:25,279
there was a light chuckle from outside the window. There

1059
01:18:25,279 --> 01:18:29,039
were more footsteps, but this time they were moving away

1060
01:18:29,079 --> 01:18:32,199
from us, and they seemed to be taking the silence

1061
01:18:32,239 --> 01:18:37,079
with them. The wind remembered itself, returning with a howling

1062
01:18:37,159 --> 01:18:41,560
vengeance in the visitor's absence. Luke's hand had gone slack

1063
01:18:41,640 --> 01:18:43,920
in mind, but I held on to it for a

1064
01:18:43,960 --> 01:18:48,880
long time, sitting there with my eyes shut tight. It

1065
01:18:49,000 --> 01:18:51,039
must have been an hour before I dared to open

1066
01:18:51,119 --> 01:18:56,680
my eyes and breathe normally. Again, are you okay? I

1067
01:18:56,760 --> 01:19:02,960
finally asked. No response. I tried asking again, a little louder,

1068
01:19:03,760 --> 01:19:11,159
and still my husband didn't respond Luke. When I clicked

1069
01:19:11,199 --> 01:19:14,640
on the flashlight, I saw Luke staring at the window.

1070
01:19:15,520 --> 01:19:19,159
His face twisted into an expression of horror I'd never

1071
01:19:19,239 --> 01:19:23,680
seen before. His skin was pale, and his body was

1072
01:19:23,880 --> 01:19:28,239
rigid as a corpse. And try as I did, I

1073
01:19:28,279 --> 01:19:30,800
couldn't get him to respond to me in any way.

1074
01:19:32,239 --> 01:19:35,920
His look of sheer terror never once changed, even as

1075
01:19:35,920 --> 01:19:38,439
I carried him to the car and drove us as

1076
01:19:38,479 --> 01:19:44,159
fast as I could to the hospital. The doctor said

1077
01:19:44,600 --> 01:19:49,319
it was a stroke. Of course, I was incredulous that

1078
01:19:49,399 --> 01:19:52,279
such a thing had happened to my fit, none smoking,

1079
01:19:52,399 --> 01:19:55,840
twenty nine year old husband, but no one could offer

1080
01:19:55,920 --> 01:20:00,640
me a better explanation. For the next few days, I

1081
01:20:00,720 --> 01:20:05,079
waited for a recovery that never came. Then the days

1082
01:20:05,119 --> 01:20:08,640
turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months

1083
01:20:08,680 --> 01:20:13,600
into years. While Luke regained some very minimal motor control,

1084
01:20:14,319 --> 01:20:18,239
blinking and twitching his fingers, it was clear that he

1085
01:20:18,279 --> 01:20:23,399
would never be the same. I became his full time caretaker,

1086
01:20:23,960 --> 01:20:27,000
spending my days attending to all of his needs, and

1087
01:20:27,079 --> 01:20:30,319
my night's praying that he would make a miraculous recovery.

1088
01:20:32,199 --> 01:20:35,880
As of this evening, five years have passed since the storm.

1089
01:20:37,199 --> 01:20:40,960
Old Rigatoni is still alive and kicking somehow, and her

1090
01:20:41,079 --> 01:20:43,920
visits always seemed to make Luke perk up just a

1091
01:20:43,960 --> 01:20:47,840
little bit. She's sleeping on his chest as I tell this,

1092
01:20:48,680 --> 01:20:53,479
taking care of him in her own way. I'm glad

1093
01:20:53,479 --> 01:20:56,720
to have her around, but even though I try not

1094
01:20:56,800 --> 01:21:00,960
to be superstitious, her presence always brings me back to

1095
01:21:01,039 --> 01:21:04,920
the night of the blizzard. I think about Tucker, who

1096
01:21:05,000 --> 01:21:08,159
ran away after the storm passed. I was never seen again.

1097
01:21:09,039 --> 01:21:11,399
I think about the Martin and the mice and the bear,

1098
01:21:12,520 --> 01:21:14,800
and the way all of them acted like they were

1099
01:21:14,840 --> 01:21:18,760
fleeing from something terrible. I think about the look on

1100
01:21:18,840 --> 01:21:22,840
Luke's face, and I can't help but wonder if they

1101
01:21:22,880 --> 01:21:27,439
all saw the same thing. Maybe Luke saw something he

1102
01:21:27,600 --> 01:21:31,560
wasn't meant to, something that his brain had destroyed itself

1103
01:21:31,840 --> 01:21:37,239
trying to comprehend. I look at my husband, the love

1104
01:21:37,279 --> 01:21:40,479
of my life, and can't help but mourn what was

1105
01:21:40,560 --> 01:21:44,560
taken from me that night. If I had opened my eyes,

1106
01:21:45,199 --> 01:21:48,439
if I had been brave enough to look. Would I

1107
01:21:48,640 --> 01:21:53,960
have met the same fate? What did you see? I

1108
01:21:54,039 --> 01:22:00,439
asked him, like I have a thousand times before, never

1109
01:22:02,279 --> 01:22:15,520
get an answer. Most tuba drivers serve a wide variety

1110
01:22:15,560 --> 01:22:19,159
of customers. Some probably have never seen the same person

1111
01:22:19,199 --> 01:22:23,079
more than once. But I've been serving the same person

1112
01:22:23,920 --> 01:22:29,079
for almost a year now. At first, it was a coincidence.

1113
01:22:30,199 --> 01:22:34,159
He lived relatively close to me, so when I accepted

1114
01:22:34,159 --> 01:22:37,439
the ride and picked him up, he, for some reason,

1115
01:22:37,920 --> 01:22:42,960
seemed relieve that someone had come. Then I saw why.

1116
01:22:44,840 --> 01:22:48,039
His route was a four hour ride all the way

1117
01:22:48,119 --> 01:22:52,279
to the nearby seaside town, a town often visited in

1118
01:22:52,319 --> 01:22:56,279
the summer months, but he was heading there in late autumn.

1119
01:22:57,279 --> 01:22:59,920
I figured people canceled on him once they saw the room,

1120
01:23:00,920 --> 01:23:05,439
so my accepting it gratified him. I needed the money,

1121
01:23:05,840 --> 01:23:09,720
so I figured it was worth the time. He was

1122
01:23:09,800 --> 01:23:13,079
quiet the whole car ride and never spoke as he left,

1123
01:23:13,880 --> 01:23:16,439
not even a thank you for making this absurd trip.

1124
01:23:17,520 --> 01:23:21,039
And being new to uber, I started to realize what

1125
01:23:21,159 --> 01:23:25,760
I experienced riders would decline such a route. I was

1126
01:23:25,800 --> 01:23:29,720
stuck in the town with barely anyone doing anything, since

1127
01:23:29,760 --> 01:23:33,560
it was outside of peak activity, I made a few

1128
01:23:33,600 --> 01:23:36,840
routes for some locals, trying to scrape some extra cash

1129
01:23:36,880 --> 01:23:40,720
before heading back, but it was nowhere near the rates

1130
01:23:40,720 --> 01:23:44,800
of the city where I lived. Dejected and I was

1131
01:23:44,840 --> 01:23:47,960
ready to head back when I saw a ding near

1132
01:23:48,000 --> 01:23:52,319
where I dropped the guy off. I accepted, and to

1133
01:23:52,399 --> 01:23:57,279
my surprise it was him. The route was to take

1134
01:23:57,359 --> 01:24:01,960
him back home another for our ride, which would make

1135
01:24:02,039 --> 01:24:04,800
the day's profits far higher than if I'd done a

1136
01:24:04,840 --> 01:24:08,840
whole day in the city. Ecstatic at the thought, I

1137
01:24:08,920 --> 01:24:12,319
drove him back again in complete silence until I dropped

1138
01:24:12,359 --> 01:24:16,960
him off and called it a day. Overall, it was

1139
01:24:17,000 --> 01:24:20,760
a strange sequence of events, and at the time one

1140
01:24:20,920 --> 01:24:25,079
I did not want to repeat until I saw the tip.

1141
01:24:26,600 --> 01:24:29,520
He had left a hefty thirty percent tip on top

1142
01:24:29,560 --> 01:24:35,319
of the already expensive ride both ways for someone struggling

1143
01:24:35,399 --> 01:24:40,439
for money, This was a godsend. When I accepted a

1144
01:24:40,520 --> 01:24:43,800
route the next day and went to the location, I

1145
01:24:43,880 --> 01:24:46,920
was surprised to see that it was him again. The

1146
01:24:47,039 --> 01:24:49,600
route was readying for a four hour ride back to

1147
01:24:49,680 --> 01:24:53,880
the seaside town. It was obviously strange that he would

1148
01:24:53,920 --> 01:24:56,640
go so far yet again two days in a row,

1149
01:24:57,560 --> 01:25:02,600
but knowing what he was paying. I accepted again. This

1150
01:25:02,760 --> 01:25:05,479
time I didn't even bother doing any of the local

1151
01:25:05,560 --> 01:25:09,079
routes there. I just hung around and grabbed a drink

1152
01:25:09,119 --> 01:25:12,159
with the app open, the map hovering where I dropped

1153
01:25:12,199 --> 01:25:18,159
him off, and like clockwork, around two hours later, a

1154
01:25:18,279 --> 01:25:22,600
ding popped. I quickly finished the drink and accepted the ride,

1155
01:25:23,680 --> 01:25:29,279
and it was him ready to go home. I relaxed

1156
01:25:29,319 --> 01:25:32,319
when I finished my shift and lit up when I

1157
01:25:32,319 --> 01:25:35,880
saw that yet again, he dropped a thirty percent bonus

1158
01:25:35,880 --> 01:25:40,760
on top. The next day, when I started my routine

1159
01:25:40,800 --> 01:25:43,840
of checking the app, I was doubtful that he would

1160
01:25:43,840 --> 01:25:47,039
want to go there again. It was preposterous that he

1161
01:25:47,079 --> 01:25:50,399
even went twice like that, but a lingering hope in

1162
01:25:50,439 --> 01:25:52,720
the back of my head made me check if there

1163
01:25:52,720 --> 01:25:56,520
were any roots around where I picked him up, and

1164
01:25:56,560 --> 01:26:00,880
my jaw dropped when I saw one there exactly where

1165
01:26:00,880 --> 01:26:06,159
I usually picked him up. This set my routine for

1166
01:26:06,199 --> 01:26:10,680
the next few months. Every weekday I would start up

1167
01:26:10,720 --> 01:26:14,000
my app at around eight am, driving to the town,

1168
01:26:14,640 --> 01:26:19,199
waiting around two hours, and then driving back, each time

1169
01:26:19,319 --> 01:26:24,039
getting a juicy thirty percent tip on top. God knows

1170
01:26:24,039 --> 01:26:26,000
if he did this on the weekend with someone else.

1171
01:26:26,560 --> 01:26:28,560
But I was not going to do this seven days

1172
01:26:28,560 --> 01:26:33,119
a week. I'm not a very torgative person, but I

1173
01:26:33,199 --> 01:26:37,560
sometimes tried to start a conversation, but I'm just met

1174
01:26:37,600 --> 01:26:41,520
with silence. I even tried to offer my personal number

1175
01:26:42,119 --> 01:26:44,520
in case he wanted to do this outside of Uber,

1176
01:26:45,039 --> 01:26:47,600
so they wouldn't scrape their fees from the payment and

1177
01:26:47,680 --> 01:26:51,560
make it cheaper for him. But no, he would just

1178
01:26:51,640 --> 01:26:55,760
look out the window and watch the roadside, eyes glazed over,

1179
01:26:56,359 --> 01:27:04,000
lost in thought. So when he finally spoke, I nearly jumped.

1180
01:27:05,960 --> 01:27:12,159
The town means a lot to me, he said. His

1181
01:27:12,319 --> 01:27:14,720
voice sounded like some one who had just woken up,

1182
01:27:15,239 --> 01:27:17,680
making me wonder if this was the first time he'd

1183
01:27:17,720 --> 01:27:22,239
spoken to any one in a long time. I froze,

1184
01:27:22,520 --> 01:27:25,199
but didn't want to pass up the opportunity of knowing

1185
01:27:25,239 --> 01:27:32,039
more So I asked why He opened up about his

1186
01:27:32,079 --> 01:27:35,119
connection to the place, and he used to go there often,

1187
01:27:35,560 --> 01:27:38,239
and now that he was no longer working, just wanted

1188
01:27:38,239 --> 01:27:41,560
to spend his days there. I asked him if he

1189
01:27:41,640 --> 01:27:45,079
was retired. He said that he wasn't, but that he

1190
01:27:45,159 --> 01:27:49,479
lived off of passive income that supported his lifestyle. It

1191
01:27:49,560 --> 01:27:54,279
was intriguing learning about his unique circumstances, and despite the

1192
01:27:54,319 --> 01:27:59,000
long ride, we soon neared the location and he quietened up.

1193
01:28:00,720 --> 01:28:02,920
On the way home. He talked about the things he

1194
01:28:03,079 --> 01:28:06,119
liked there, the local ice cream shop that made their

1195
01:28:06,159 --> 01:28:09,039
own flavors, the bi quintals that let you see the

1196
01:28:09,119 --> 01:28:13,079
scenes in good time. The corpse I shopped around was

1197
01:28:13,159 --> 01:28:18,119
suddenly animated of life with nostalgia, even recommended places for

1198
01:28:18,199 --> 01:28:21,079
me to go. Somehow, knowing that I now waited for

1199
01:28:21,159 --> 01:28:25,159
his ride back, I dropped him off with a smile,

1200
01:28:25,840 --> 01:28:30,880
excited to learn more. The day after, when I got home,

1201
01:28:31,479 --> 01:28:35,199
my eyes widened. When I checked the uber app he

1202
01:28:35,359 --> 01:28:39,359
slammed me with a fifty percent tip, far exceeding what

1203
01:28:39,439 --> 01:28:43,039
he had tipped before. I almost wanted to return it,

1204
01:28:43,520 --> 01:28:45,279
but I didn't want to look a gift horse in

1205
01:28:45,279 --> 01:28:49,560
the mouth. And helped me so much with my financial issues,

1206
01:28:50,159 --> 01:28:52,359
and he seemed to have an endless sort of income

1207
01:28:52,680 --> 01:28:59,399
to have supported this strange lifestyle. The day after, I

1208
01:28:59,479 --> 01:29:03,359
tried asking him more questions. I was curious about more

1209
01:29:03,399 --> 01:29:07,920
of the local experiences and his connection to them. Despite

1210
01:29:07,960 --> 01:29:10,880
having been there so much, I knew next to nothing

1211
01:29:10,920 --> 01:29:15,439
about the place, but I was only met with stone

1212
01:29:15,479 --> 01:29:19,520
cold silence. It was like he had reverted back to

1213
01:29:19,600 --> 01:29:23,000
how he was just solemnly looking out the window of

1214
01:29:23,079 --> 01:29:26,840
the whole ride. The way back was all the same.

1215
01:29:28,319 --> 01:29:31,119
It seemed he had expended his burst of social energy

1216
01:29:31,680 --> 01:29:36,680
and fell back into his usual routine. I tried again

1217
01:29:36,760 --> 01:29:41,000
the day after and was met with more silence. The

1218
01:29:41,079 --> 01:29:45,760
tips reverted back to thirty percent, nothing to scoff at,

1219
01:29:46,000 --> 01:29:50,399
but short of the big payday I was. After a

1220
01:29:50,479 --> 01:29:54,159
while went by like this, A silent ride there, A

1221
01:29:54,279 --> 01:29:59,159
silent ride back Sandwich, between visiting the few spots he recommended,

1222
01:30:00,119 --> 01:30:02,199
which were just as good as he had hyped them

1223
01:30:02,279 --> 01:30:06,760
up to be. Yet despite visiting all the places he mentioned,

1224
01:30:07,880 --> 01:30:12,039
he would never be there. Maybe it was a coincidence

1225
01:30:12,680 --> 01:30:16,560
we would always miss each other, having gone to different spots.

1226
01:30:17,159 --> 01:30:19,760
The time only allowed me to see one, maybe two,

1227
01:30:19,840 --> 01:30:23,199
depending on where I went, But after weeks of this,

1228
01:30:24,000 --> 01:30:28,279
surely we would have lined up at least Once. I

1229
01:30:28,359 --> 01:30:31,119
was jolted again in the middle of a midweek drive,

1230
01:30:32,199 --> 01:30:37,479
he broke the silence with another nugget of information. I

1231
01:30:37,600 --> 01:30:44,520
go there to see my wife, he said bluntly. This

1232
01:30:44,760 --> 01:30:50,479
answer raised so many questions. Long distance is often almost

1233
01:30:50,680 --> 01:30:54,239
entirely reserved for young people or people who cannot afford

1234
01:30:54,279 --> 01:30:57,560
to move in together, but he was neither of those.

1235
01:30:58,840 --> 01:31:01,279
Before I could ask him about it, he went on.

1236
01:31:02,840 --> 01:31:06,039
He spoke of how much he loved seeing her, describing

1237
01:31:06,119 --> 01:31:10,119
how she looked, middle aged, full blonde hair, with a

1238
01:31:10,199 --> 01:31:16,680
button nose, slender but not too slim. He was infatuated,

1239
01:31:17,600 --> 01:31:23,640
glowing as he spoke, not only animated but happy, a

1240
01:31:23,800 --> 01:31:27,640
sharp contrast to how he usually seemed, so much so

1241
01:31:27,800 --> 01:31:30,119
that I didn't want to interrupt him with my curious

1242
01:31:30,439 --> 01:31:36,319
yet benign questions. Sadly, he only started talking near the

1243
01:31:36,439 --> 01:31:39,600
end of the trip, so by the time an opportunity

1244
01:31:39,680 --> 01:31:42,920
came up to ask him my questions, we were pulling

1245
01:31:43,000 --> 01:31:48,399
up to his stop. I waited around, too curious to

1246
01:31:48,479 --> 01:31:51,479
do much in the town, only grabbing some food and

1247
01:31:51,560 --> 01:31:56,319
waiting with excitement. After spending so much time with him,

1248
01:31:56,800 --> 01:32:00,319
I was invested in his story, only dripped to me

1249
01:32:00,520 --> 01:32:04,720
in rare times. When I got the ping, I hurriedly

1250
01:32:04,720 --> 01:32:08,039
picked him up, my mouth bursting with the questions I

1251
01:32:08,079 --> 01:32:12,039
had bottled up. I tried to broach the topics calmly.

1252
01:32:12,920 --> 01:32:15,680
I asked him why they lived apart, why he didn't

1253
01:32:15,760 --> 01:32:18,199
just live in the town, and why they only see

1254
01:32:18,199 --> 01:32:22,000
each other for such a small window each day. I

1255
01:32:22,079 --> 01:32:25,720
did so as politely as possible, who was only met

1256
01:32:25,760 --> 01:32:30,800
with a silence I was all too familiar with. When

1257
01:32:30,800 --> 01:32:34,840
I got home, I had two amounts for the trips,

1258
01:32:35,439 --> 01:32:38,560
a fifty percent tip on the way there and only

1259
01:32:38,640 --> 01:32:43,319
thirty percent for the way back, a curious hint about

1260
01:32:43,359 --> 01:32:49,479
how he wanted things. On the plus side, I was

1261
01:32:49,560 --> 01:32:53,159
able to start living how I wanted. The first thing

1262
01:32:53,199 --> 01:32:57,039
I reinvested in was a new car. I was spending

1263
01:32:57,119 --> 01:33:00,439
so much on fuel, so to get something more reckonmical

1264
01:33:00,760 --> 01:33:05,000
was basically an investment, though the luxury extras were me

1265
01:33:05,159 --> 01:33:09,720
treating myself. Then I felt too scruffy to be seen

1266
01:33:09,800 --> 01:33:13,039
in the thing, so I even got some nice new clothes,

1267
01:33:13,840 --> 01:33:16,600
standout brands that would make it look like I didn't

1268
01:33:16,640 --> 01:33:22,279
just steal the car from the lot. It took a

1269
01:33:22,319 --> 01:33:25,960
good few months before he spoke again. I was scared

1270
01:33:26,000 --> 01:33:29,680
my broken questions had offended him. But when he spoke,

1271
01:33:30,680 --> 01:33:35,800
he dropped some heavy information, answering my questions as if

1272
01:33:35,840 --> 01:33:40,840
i'd only just ask them. The reason we don't live

1273
01:33:40,880 --> 01:33:50,560
together is because she died, he said, dejectedly. My heart sank.

1274
01:33:52,279 --> 01:33:57,399
This answered a surprising amount of my questions. The whole

1275
01:33:57,439 --> 01:34:01,680
bizarre routine started to make more sense. It was a

1276
01:34:01,720 --> 01:34:04,560
saddening twist of the tail that was being drip fed

1277
01:34:04,560 --> 01:34:08,640
to me. He told me stories of their time together,

1278
01:34:09,520 --> 01:34:12,399
That she was with him from rags to riches, and

1279
01:34:12,439 --> 01:34:16,199
that despite making something out of himself, he said that

1280
01:34:16,279 --> 01:34:20,079
he cannot share the fruits of their labor together. This

1281
01:34:20,239 --> 01:34:24,239
explained why he frivously spent on ubers every weekday just

1282
01:34:24,279 --> 01:34:29,039
to keep up this ritual. This time, he talked almost

1283
01:34:29,039 --> 01:34:33,479
the entire four hour ride there. He shared personal details

1284
01:34:33,479 --> 01:34:37,479
about their relationship, the ups and downs, the things he

1285
01:34:37,520 --> 01:34:41,680
didn't realize he'd miss until she was gone. It was

1286
01:34:41,760 --> 01:34:46,479
touching and really progressed me emotionally for when I finally

1287
01:34:46,520 --> 01:34:51,000
meet someone worth sharing my life with. When he exited

1288
01:34:51,039 --> 01:34:57,279
the car, he shared one piece of final wisdom. It's

1289
01:34:57,359 --> 01:35:00,840
the routines that matter. Make sure sure you keep up

1290
01:35:00,840 --> 01:35:05,960
a good routine. This way you never forget what happened.

1291
01:35:08,479 --> 01:35:12,159
It was cryptic enough to apply to many things. I

1292
01:35:12,319 --> 01:35:15,359
chose to hold on to it and to hopefully fully

1293
01:35:15,399 --> 01:35:20,720
know the meaning of this proverb. The right back was silent,

1294
01:35:21,640 --> 01:35:25,279
but in a good way, resting in the good energy

1295
01:35:25,279 --> 01:35:29,640
of openness, I got home to a fifty percent tip

1296
01:35:29,800 --> 01:35:34,000
both ways, and I felt content that we finally had

1297
01:35:34,000 --> 01:35:39,920
a rapport. The day after, I asked him more questions

1298
01:35:40,000 --> 01:35:44,000
about his wife. He seemed more animated and alive when

1299
01:35:44,039 --> 01:35:47,199
talking about her, so I hoped that I could breathe

1300
01:35:47,239 --> 01:35:50,840
some new sense of purpose for him. Even if it

1301
01:35:50,920 --> 01:35:53,479
meant I would lose out on this amazing uber gig,

1302
01:35:54,079 --> 01:35:58,720
I would feel content to see him real live his life. However,

1303
01:35:59,359 --> 01:36:02,560
when I looked back in the rear view mirror, he

1304
01:36:02,680 --> 01:36:08,359
was looking out the window, silent like before. I tried

1305
01:36:08,399 --> 01:36:11,359
to probe once more, but we were back to our

1306
01:36:11,439 --> 01:36:17,960
usual routine. The following weeks were the same. Each time

1307
01:36:18,000 --> 01:36:20,279
I thought I had made enough progress to get to

1308
01:36:20,319 --> 01:36:24,000
know him, he closed up. It was only when I

1309
01:36:24,119 --> 01:36:28,000
tried to start conversation, so I noted that it always

1310
01:36:28,039 --> 01:36:35,039
had to be him, no exception. So I waited, and

1311
01:36:35,119 --> 01:36:39,880
eventually the day came when the silence was once again broken.

1312
01:36:42,600 --> 01:36:47,640
One week from now will be the anniversary, he muttered.

1313
01:36:49,520 --> 01:36:53,039
My heart sank, but this was just the beginning of

1314
01:36:53,119 --> 01:36:58,600
the heart wrenching details. He told me how things happened

1315
01:36:58,600 --> 01:37:02,399
from his perspective, He said, they went to the seaside

1316
01:37:02,439 --> 01:37:05,880
town for a few days, booked a nice hotel, and

1317
01:37:06,000 --> 01:37:08,560
planned to spend a few days there just to relax.

1318
01:37:09,640 --> 01:37:12,199
It was the start of autumn, but it was also

1319
01:37:12,279 --> 01:37:16,079
their anniversary. They didn't care that it would be cold

1320
01:37:16,319 --> 01:37:19,520
and that it would basically be a ghost town. They

1321
01:37:19,640 --> 01:37:22,359
just wanted to share their special day together in the

1322
01:37:22,399 --> 01:37:27,039
place that meant the most to them. This touching scenario

1323
01:37:27,560 --> 01:37:31,560
was ripped from my gut as he explained what actually happened.

1324
01:37:33,640 --> 01:37:37,319
They were walking near the pier. It was early afternoon,

1325
01:37:37,720 --> 01:37:41,760
broad daylight when he lost sight of her while distracted

1326
01:37:41,800 --> 01:37:46,239
for only a moment. There weren't many people around and

1327
01:37:46,319 --> 01:37:50,039
not many places she could have gone, Yet despite this,

1328
01:37:50,840 --> 01:37:55,399
he couldn't find her. Afterwards, he looked nearby, and when

1329
01:37:55,399 --> 01:37:58,399
that didn't work, he checked places they usually went to,

1330
01:38:00,079 --> 01:38:02,199
went back to the hotel to see if she had

1331
01:38:02,199 --> 01:38:09,640
maybe forgotten something, and went back empty. He couldn't believe

1332
01:38:09,680 --> 01:38:13,199
she had just vanished, so he waited around spots they frequented,

1333
01:38:13,800 --> 01:38:18,760
occasionally switching locations to see if she'd be there. When

1334
01:38:18,760 --> 01:38:22,840
it started getting dark, he reluctantly called the police to

1335
01:38:22,920 --> 01:38:28,199
file a report. He was assured she was probably lost,

1336
01:38:28,800 --> 01:38:31,960
not being local and all, and that this happened often.

1337
01:38:33,079 --> 01:38:35,960
So they sent out a few search parties to check around,

1338
01:38:36,920 --> 01:38:41,800
but days went by and nothing was found. It was

1339
01:38:41,880 --> 01:38:46,119
only after a week that she was found, and hearing

1340
01:38:46,159 --> 01:38:50,119
it was like a punch in the gut. She was

1341
01:38:50,159 --> 01:38:55,119
found floating below the pier. Despite the scenario that she

1342
01:38:55,119 --> 01:38:58,840
had made fallen in, evidence showed she was abducted and

1343
01:38:58,880 --> 01:39:04,159
brought back there. Vowl play was immediately ruled in the

1344
01:39:04,199 --> 01:39:07,800
sea washed away all forensics, so it was already a

1345
01:39:07,840 --> 01:39:15,880
cold case. I was devastated hearing this, yet despite this,

1346
01:39:16,399 --> 01:39:19,720
he held a hopeful smile, maybe clinging on to the

1347
01:39:19,840 --> 01:39:24,720
cherished memories rather than the grim. Ending for this story

1348
01:39:24,960 --> 01:39:29,760
was followed by a request. The next Wednesday was going

1349
01:39:29,800 --> 01:39:33,560
to be their anniversary date. He asked that I be

1350
01:39:33,640 --> 01:39:35,560
around to make sure I could take him to the

1351
01:39:35,600 --> 01:39:42,960
seaside town without hesitation. I wholeheartedly agreed. I even offered

1352
01:39:43,000 --> 01:39:48,199
my personal number in case something happened, but he politely declined.

1353
01:39:50,159 --> 01:39:53,039
The ride home was silent, but with an air of

1354
01:39:53,159 --> 01:39:58,720
solemn optimism, A hope lingered in the air. No words

1355
01:39:58,720 --> 01:40:02,880
were exchanged, nor did they need to be. I now

1356
01:40:02,960 --> 01:40:06,800
felt I was doing something bigger than myself, a duty

1357
01:40:06,960 --> 01:40:11,079
to the calmer of the universe. When I got home,

1358
01:40:11,760 --> 01:40:14,560
I checked the app and was hit with an eighty

1359
01:40:14,600 --> 01:40:19,159
percent tip both ways, a hint that said to make

1360
01:40:19,199 --> 01:40:26,960
sure I was ready on Wednesday, and I was. When

1361
01:40:27,000 --> 01:40:32,520
I picked him up, I was surprised. From the cocoon

1362
01:40:32,720 --> 01:40:36,640
of a dreary middle aged man emerged the dapper gentleman

1363
01:40:37,600 --> 01:40:40,520
who wore an elegant, long black pea coat over a

1364
01:40:40,560 --> 01:40:45,039
suit that wasn't too formal but definitely stood out. The

1365
01:40:45,119 --> 01:40:48,319
day was chilly, so it's hands sat in nice fur

1366
01:40:48,399 --> 01:40:53,319
lined leather gloves. This was the sharpest contrast from what

1367
01:40:53,399 --> 01:40:55,720
I'd seen in the many months I'd been with him.

1368
01:40:57,000 --> 01:40:59,880
I felt like an underdressed chauffeur rather than an new

1369
01:41:01,760 --> 01:41:05,760
I smiled without a chauffeur hat to tip, and proceeded

1370
01:41:05,840 --> 01:41:10,199
to the town. The silence was pleasant, this time around,

1371
01:41:10,800 --> 01:41:14,600
lingering with a sense of hope and wonder. I fully

1372
01:41:14,640 --> 01:41:17,319
believed that he was there to enjoy the memories of

1373
01:41:17,359 --> 01:41:20,600
his time with his departed wife, and I smiled the

1374
01:41:20,640 --> 01:41:24,239
whole ride, hoping he got what he wanted from this endeavor.

1375
01:41:26,079 --> 01:41:30,399
This time, he spoke. On the way back, I did it.

1376
01:41:30,920 --> 01:41:37,239
He was exactly like before, he yelled animatedly. He described

1377
01:41:37,399 --> 01:41:41,479
doing everything like He remembered that it was just like before,

1378
01:41:41,920 --> 01:41:45,600
and that he felt a strong connection to her. Even

1379
01:41:45,640 --> 01:41:48,560
said he might be able to move on, which stung

1380
01:41:48,600 --> 01:41:51,439
a little the thought that this routine could come to

1381
01:41:51,479 --> 01:41:54,960
an end, But he topped it off with a feeling

1382
01:41:55,359 --> 01:41:58,520
that this routine made him too happy, and that for

1383
01:41:58,560 --> 01:42:04,960
the foreseeable future this will continue. When I got home,

1384
01:42:05,640 --> 01:42:09,920
I was met with its biggest tip yet, one hundred percent.

1385
01:42:11,680 --> 01:42:15,199
I was happy. He was happy. It was the best

1386
01:42:15,279 --> 01:42:19,159
day of my life, living it vicariously through this interesting

1387
01:42:19,239 --> 01:42:23,520
man I had became acquainted with. The rest of the

1388
01:42:23,560 --> 01:42:27,439
week was silent bliss. Each day he'd tip a hundred

1389
01:42:27,439 --> 01:42:31,720
percent both ways, his new standard for my dedication to

1390
01:42:31,800 --> 01:42:36,760
his routine. I relaxed on the week end, sitting back

1391
01:42:36,880 --> 01:42:40,399
in a nice restaurant, a multiple course meal lined up,

1392
01:42:41,279 --> 01:42:44,079
a far cry from the ramen I had become accustomed

1393
01:42:44,079 --> 01:42:49,560
to many months ago. I had started living my life

1394
01:42:49,600 --> 01:42:52,600
not just because of the generous source of income, but

1395
01:42:52,680 --> 01:42:58,359
to strive to be more like my inspirational passenger. Until

1396
01:42:58,399 --> 01:43:02,600
my phone dinged with a note of for It was

1397
01:43:02,640 --> 01:43:06,279
the week end, so it couldn't be uber, And when

1398
01:43:06,319 --> 01:43:12,039
I checked, I saw it was a news notification. I'd

1399
01:43:12,039 --> 01:43:14,800
spent so much time in the seaside town that I

1400
01:43:14,880 --> 01:43:19,000
sometimes got news notifications from the area my phone's location,

1401
01:43:19,279 --> 01:43:24,880
thinking I reside there. It was an emergency notification about

1402
01:43:24,920 --> 01:43:30,119
a missing person. The picture looked familiar, yet it was

1403
01:43:30,119 --> 01:43:34,760
someone I'd never seen before, middle aged, full blonde hair

1404
01:43:34,880 --> 01:43:40,680
and a button nose, slender but not too slim. It

1405
01:43:40,760 --> 01:43:45,279
wasn't someone I'd seen before, but it was someone I remember,

1406
01:43:45,359 --> 01:43:50,239
having imagined almost exactly how the man described his late wife.

1407
01:43:51,960 --> 01:43:56,760
The details chilled me. She went missing in the early

1408
01:43:56,840 --> 01:44:03,960
afternoon near the pier. No other details were known, just

1409
01:44:04,000 --> 01:44:09,720
that they were still currently looking for a whereabouts. My

1410
01:44:09,800 --> 01:44:13,760
heart sank. He didn't just say the day went well.

1411
01:44:14,720 --> 01:44:20,119
He said it went exactly like before. It didn't take

1412
01:44:20,159 --> 01:44:24,800
a genius to piece together what might have happened. He

1413
01:44:24,920 --> 01:44:28,720
was a man of routine, and I guess this constituted

1414
01:44:29,359 --> 01:44:34,199
as his new ritual. But as I looked at the

1415
01:44:34,239 --> 01:44:37,800
food in front of me, the new car outside, and

1416
01:44:37,840 --> 01:44:43,680
the nice clothes I could finally afford, I couldn't bring

1417
01:44:43,720 --> 01:44:57,640
myself to turn him in. I live under the greatest

1418
01:44:57,640 --> 01:45:02,920
horror known to man, the home Owners Association. The scrutiny

1419
01:45:02,920 --> 01:45:07,199
of the Reesotoic rules is benign only to them. You

1420
01:45:07,319 --> 01:45:09,880
may hear tales of h oa's that are sticklers to

1421
01:45:09,960 --> 01:45:13,960
strict laws, but let me tell you that mine is

1422
01:45:14,159 --> 01:45:17,880
far worse. I once saw them sit an old lady

1423
01:45:17,880 --> 01:45:21,760
for undesirable decorations in a house. They were napkins that

1424
01:45:21,800 --> 01:45:25,960
were blown around a porch after a barbecue. Driving through

1425
01:45:26,000 --> 01:45:29,640
the streets, the neighborhood almost looks like a movie set.

1426
01:45:30,600 --> 01:45:38,359
Within minutes of being expressed, all sense of personality is crushed. Still,

1427
01:45:38,560 --> 01:45:40,920
I moved here at a much better price than if

1428
01:45:40,960 --> 01:45:45,479
I lived in the city. I've more space too. For

1429
01:45:45,560 --> 01:45:47,800
the cost of my house, I would be living in

1430
01:45:47,840 --> 01:45:52,159
a small studio apartment that I wouldn't even own. So

1431
01:45:52,800 --> 01:45:55,600
I put up with the h OA simply by almost

1432
01:45:55,720 --> 01:46:00,399
never being at home. The only downside for me is

1433
01:46:00,439 --> 01:46:04,680
the commute. I have to travel far to get to work,

1434
01:46:05,279 --> 01:46:08,520
and even further if I want to do anything recreationally.

1435
01:46:09,520 --> 01:46:12,800
But it's not too bad knowing that I've never caused

1436
01:46:12,840 --> 01:46:19,920
any reason to be cited until One day, I was

1437
01:46:19,960 --> 01:46:22,960
sitting in my little cubicle at work when I got

1438
01:46:22,960 --> 01:46:27,760
an email. At first I thought it might have been spam.

1439
01:46:27,880 --> 01:46:30,600
It was a citation from the HOA that I was

1440
01:46:30,640 --> 01:46:34,359
being written up about something. I thought this couldn't be

1441
01:46:34,359 --> 01:46:36,560
the case, since my home looked pretty much the same

1442
01:46:36,560 --> 01:46:40,159
as when I first moved in. But I opened it anyway,

1443
01:46:40,680 --> 01:46:45,920
just in case my disbelief faded. It must have been

1444
01:46:45,920 --> 01:46:48,800
real because it had all my details that I used

1445
01:46:48,840 --> 01:46:52,399
when I signed for the house through some hoity toity

1446
01:46:52,479 --> 01:46:55,600
nonsense speak that they were obviously using to try some

1447
01:46:55,800 --> 01:46:59,439
more professional than they actually were. It was a warning

1448
01:46:59,560 --> 01:47:03,199
about a fine i'd get if I didn't clean my yard.

1449
01:47:04,760 --> 01:47:08,000
This couldn't be the case, I thought to myself. But

1450
01:47:08,159 --> 01:47:11,319
sure as day, there was an attached picture of a

1451
01:47:11,359 --> 01:47:15,880
heap of mess on my lawn. It didn't look like

1452
01:47:15,880 --> 01:47:19,119
a trash can had fallen over. The pile was of

1453
01:47:19,199 --> 01:47:23,039
large pieces of junk, containing a mixture of broken furniture

1454
01:47:23,319 --> 01:47:28,760
and discarded housing materials. Furious, I quickly opened my doorbell

1455
01:47:28,840 --> 01:47:34,039
camera feed and checked through the day. Sure enough, there

1456
01:47:34,079 --> 01:47:38,560
it was a dusty looking pickup truck that pulled over

1457
01:47:39,119 --> 01:47:42,640
quickly launched the stuff off the back and then sped off.

1458
01:47:44,000 --> 01:47:46,800
Now you'd think this would suffice that I had good

1459
01:47:46,840 --> 01:47:49,159
reason that it wasn't me, and that I was a

1460
01:47:49,239 --> 01:47:54,119
victim of what looked like a random dumping. However, nothing

1461
01:47:54,119 --> 01:47:58,239
I said absolved me of any wrongdoing. I would be

1462
01:47:58,279 --> 01:48:00,920
fined if the site wasn't clear by ten p m.

1463
01:48:01,079 --> 01:48:06,479
That evening. Begrudgingly, I got on with work and sped back,

1464
01:48:06,960 --> 01:48:09,159
hoping I had enough time to clear it up by

1465
01:48:09,199 --> 01:48:13,439
the set deadline. When I bowled up to my drive,

1466
01:48:14,279 --> 01:48:16,800
I was daunted by the task that lay ahead of me.

1467
01:48:18,119 --> 01:48:20,720
The mount of rubble looked smaller on the wide angle

1468
01:48:20,800 --> 01:48:25,319
lens of my doorbell camera. In person, however, there was

1469
01:48:25,359 --> 01:48:31,640
a heaping mountain of splintery, rusty, nail riddled junk. I

1470
01:48:31,680 --> 01:48:34,359
went to my shed, put on the thickest work gloves

1471
01:48:34,399 --> 01:48:38,239
I could find, and prayed to the hepatitis gods. Then

1472
01:48:38,359 --> 01:48:42,920
I wouldn't get a visit from them. Fortunately, I had

1473
01:48:42,920 --> 01:48:45,399
a small trailer attached to the back of my car.

1474
01:48:46,399 --> 01:48:48,680
I'd used it to move from the city all the

1475
01:48:48,720 --> 01:48:52,079
way to this neighborhood in one trip, knowing that the

1476
01:48:52,159 --> 01:48:55,199
cost of renting a van would have been astronomical for

1477
01:48:55,319 --> 01:48:59,880
how little stuff I owned. I loaded Peace after peace,

1478
01:49:00,319 --> 01:49:03,960
narrowly avoiding cuts and splinters with each item hurled into

1479
01:49:04,000 --> 01:49:08,479
the trailer. It was getting close to the deadline when

1480
01:49:08,479 --> 01:49:12,319
I was nearly finished. Aside from a few small pieces

1481
01:49:12,359 --> 01:49:18,920
skewed around, the last large item remained a door inset

1482
01:49:19,000 --> 01:49:22,039
into the lawn soil from how much weight had been

1483
01:49:22,079 --> 01:49:26,239
on top of it. It was old looking, but not decayed,

1484
01:49:27,159 --> 01:49:29,359
more so in the sense of its build and lock.

1485
01:49:30,760 --> 01:49:33,920
It had inset grooves that reminded me of a museum piece.

1486
01:49:34,920 --> 01:49:37,760
Even the smell of damp soil brought out that aroma

1487
01:49:37,840 --> 01:49:40,960
you only get from an antique shop that only stocks

1488
01:49:40,960 --> 01:49:44,920
from the freshly deceased. The door knob was a marred

1489
01:49:44,960 --> 01:49:50,039
brass that had long lost this metallic luster. I tried

1490
01:49:50,079 --> 01:49:52,479
to pry the edges of my fingers for the perch,

1491
01:49:53,159 --> 01:49:57,760
but couldn't get between the wood and soil. Goodness knows how,

1492
01:49:58,079 --> 01:50:01,239
but it was perfectly flushed with the ground, almost like

1493
01:50:01,319 --> 01:50:05,000
it was painted there. I grabbed a thin piece of

1494
01:50:05,039 --> 01:50:07,640
scrap from the trailer to try prying it from the

1495
01:50:07,680 --> 01:50:10,760
ground at least enough for me to get my hand under,

1496
01:50:11,920 --> 01:50:14,840
But my luck being the way it was. The piece

1497
01:50:14,840 --> 01:50:20,439
of scrap snapped almost instantly. I stood there for a

1498
01:50:20,479 --> 01:50:24,000
few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. I

1499
01:50:24,039 --> 01:50:27,439
lived alone and far away from friends, so I had

1500
01:50:27,479 --> 01:50:30,680
no one to call for a helping hand. I was

1501
01:50:30,720 --> 01:50:33,439
put off the idea of asking a neighbor, knowing that

1502
01:50:33,560 --> 01:50:35,920
the h away could be any one of them, and

1503
01:50:36,000 --> 01:50:39,560
I had no intentions of interacting with them. So I

1504
01:50:39,600 --> 01:50:44,199
did what any man would do in this situation. I

1505
01:50:44,359 --> 01:50:47,399
tried whatever I could think of as soon as it

1506
01:50:47,439 --> 01:50:51,880
popped into my head. I kicked down on a corner

1507
01:50:52,039 --> 01:50:55,600
to see if the other side would rise up an inch. Nothing.

1508
01:50:56,680 --> 01:50:58,840
I looped a rope around the doorknob and pulled to

1509
01:50:58,880 --> 01:51:04,079
the side, hoping it would slide out. Nothing. I even

1510
01:51:04,119 --> 01:51:06,359
tried to see if the previous house owner had left

1511
01:51:06,399 --> 01:51:12,000
any old tools in the shed. Nothing. The only bit

1512
01:51:12,039 --> 01:51:15,319
of movement I got was the doorknob idea, which gave

1513
01:51:15,319 --> 01:51:20,600
a slight, barely noticeable rise when I pulled. So I

1514
01:51:20,680 --> 01:51:26,159
focused on that angle and tried more ideas. If pulling

1515
01:51:26,199 --> 01:51:28,920
to the side didn't help, maybe using it as a

1516
01:51:28,960 --> 01:51:32,520
handle would. So I tied a rope around it and

1517
01:51:32,640 --> 01:51:38,159
heaved upwards. The door rattled with each pull, almost like

1518
01:51:38,239 --> 01:51:41,720
someone trying to check a locked door, but the bevel

1519
01:51:41,800 --> 01:51:44,359
of the knob made it so my terrible tying skills

1520
01:51:44,439 --> 01:51:48,199
were made apparent. The rope slipped off every time I

1521
01:51:48,239 --> 01:51:52,159
felt I had a good purchase on it. This left

1522
01:51:52,159 --> 01:51:55,800
me with my final option to try it by hand.

1523
01:51:57,520 --> 01:51:59,960
My grip was far from that of a rock climber,

1524
01:52:00,760 --> 01:52:04,319
so I didn't feel confident in this, but it was

1525
01:52:04,399 --> 01:52:09,520
worth a shot. I squatted down, gripped it with both hands,

1526
01:52:10,000 --> 01:52:15,840
and heaved as hard as I could. That minute lift

1527
01:52:15,960 --> 01:52:20,439
gave but nothing more than that. Whatever this was made

1528
01:52:20,439 --> 01:52:23,279
from must have been the heaviest wood known to man.

1529
01:52:24,279 --> 01:52:26,399
No wonder the people ditching it didn't want to take

1530
01:52:26,439 --> 01:52:29,560
it to the dump. Knowing that I'd somehow have to

1531
01:52:29,600 --> 01:52:32,600
heave this into a skip was just as daunting as

1532
01:52:32,640 --> 01:52:37,279
handling it. In the moment, with a heavy huff, I

1533
01:52:37,359 --> 01:52:42,159
gave it one last hard pull. As I adjusted my grip,

1534
01:52:42,800 --> 01:52:45,039
the door knob did what it was designed to do

1535
01:52:45,680 --> 01:52:50,680
and twisted as I pulled, And as it did, I

1536
01:52:50,840 --> 01:52:56,840
heard a familiar click. Suddenly my ass was wet on

1537
01:52:56,920 --> 01:53:02,479
the lawn as the door flung open. In hindsight, the

1538
01:53:02,560 --> 01:53:04,960
thing was the weight of a normal door that I'd

1539
01:53:05,000 --> 01:53:09,199
forced open with all the might I could muster. This door,

1540
01:53:09,359 --> 01:53:14,079
haphazardly left crooked on my lawn, opened and a gust

1541
01:53:14,119 --> 01:53:18,520
of musty air seeped from underneath. And when I stood up,

1542
01:53:19,920 --> 01:53:25,159
I saw why the wind whistled, and the edges of

1543
01:53:25,239 --> 01:53:29,720
the nowt upright door, which somehow opened into a tunnel,

1544
01:53:30,560 --> 01:53:33,479
perfectly lined up to the angle the door had been left.

1545
01:53:34,960 --> 01:53:38,880
I was no longer amused by the incident. However, the

1546
01:53:38,920 --> 01:53:42,880
swirl of emotions never settled, so I still can't quite

1547
01:53:42,960 --> 01:53:47,640
place how I truly felt about the situation. The door

1548
01:53:47,720 --> 01:53:51,520
sat nearly upright, just tilted far enough that it didn't

1549
01:53:51,560 --> 01:53:56,439
immediately snap closed, But that angle was the furthest it sat.

1550
01:53:57,840 --> 01:54:00,239
I tried pushing down on it to somehow snap off

1551
01:54:00,279 --> 01:54:03,239
its hinges, to try and get rid of it, knowing

1552
01:54:03,279 --> 01:54:05,520
the new hole in my garden was going to have

1553
01:54:05,600 --> 01:54:11,239
to be a future issue, But to no avail, I

1554
01:54:11,319 --> 01:54:14,239
dared not look into the hole for a while. I

1555
01:54:14,279 --> 01:54:17,720
was daunted by the prospect of the job. Had it

1556
01:54:17,760 --> 01:54:21,239
breached any important pipes or wires. Was it a straight

1557
01:54:21,359 --> 01:54:24,359
drop which would be a danger to the neighborhood kids.

1558
01:54:24,680 --> 01:54:26,840
What could even have made such a hole in such

1559
01:54:26,840 --> 01:54:30,119
a short time. I hadn't seen anything that could have

1560
01:54:30,159 --> 01:54:33,359
caused it. On the video from the doorbell camera, all

1561
01:54:33,399 --> 01:54:37,479
I saw were the workers dumping the junk in my yard.

1562
01:54:37,920 --> 01:54:41,800
This hole was a whole new development and something the

1563
01:54:42,000 --> 01:54:48,119
HOA would ever feel day with. When I finally peered in,

1564
01:54:49,560 --> 01:54:53,640
something struck me as odd. On top of the oddity

1565
01:54:53,720 --> 01:54:57,079
of the whole situation was the angle in which the

1566
01:54:57,119 --> 01:55:03,000
hole went. It was steep, but sloped just enough to

1567
01:55:03,039 --> 01:55:07,000
be able to walk down, and my cellphone's flashlight didn't

1568
01:55:07,039 --> 01:55:11,199
tickle the depths it boasted. Even sticking my arm as

1569
01:55:11,239 --> 01:55:14,279
far as I could didn't reveal where the hole ended.

1570
01:55:15,319 --> 01:55:18,000
Though this was me lying on the edge so I

1571
01:55:18,039 --> 01:55:22,359
couldn't reach far. I didn't dare walk down without a plan,

1572
01:55:23,640 --> 01:55:26,600
so that was the next step I took to figure

1573
01:55:26,760 --> 01:55:32,880
the whole situation out. I grabbed a helmet I had

1574
01:55:32,920 --> 01:55:36,039
stashed for the bike. I never used a flashlight I

1575
01:55:36,079 --> 01:55:38,920
had forth the power ever went out, and a stick

1576
01:55:38,960 --> 01:55:42,079
from the junk pile in case I needed to poke something.

1577
01:55:43,560 --> 01:55:47,079
I was obviously inexperienced, but I didn't let this stop

1578
01:55:47,119 --> 01:55:49,840
me from trying to scope out what I was dealing with.

1579
01:55:51,560 --> 01:55:56,640
The door, when opened never lay flat, standing nearly vertical,

1580
01:55:57,319 --> 01:56:02,600
just past ninety degrees, but it held open untouched. So

1581
01:56:03,239 --> 01:56:06,760
I slowly made my way in, using my dim flashlight

1582
01:56:06,840 --> 01:56:12,000
to penetrate the thick darkness below. I made sure I

1583
01:56:12,079 --> 01:56:15,960
was always in sight of the exit. However, the further

1584
01:56:16,039 --> 01:56:20,720
I went in, the deeper it went. I took a

1585
01:56:20,760 --> 01:56:24,279
few more cautious steps before I realized that the tunnel

1586
01:56:24,479 --> 01:56:30,319
did not end, but rather it split in different directions.

1587
01:56:30,880 --> 01:56:34,039
Whenever this hole was it seemed to lead into a

1588
01:56:34,119 --> 01:56:37,520
system of underground channels that ran much further than I

1589
01:56:37,560 --> 01:56:42,119
planned to go, so I had to rethink my plan.

1590
01:56:44,199 --> 01:56:46,359
I made my way back out and put on my

1591
01:56:46,439 --> 01:56:51,279
thinking cap. From what I saw, it was just hollowed

1592
01:56:51,279 --> 01:56:55,159
out dirt. But my new fear was the direction one

1593
01:56:55,199 --> 01:56:59,840
of the tunnels went. It turned towards my house, making

1594
01:57:00,079 --> 01:57:04,560
you worry about the structural integrity. If this ran under

1595
01:57:04,560 --> 01:57:08,000
the foundations, I would be in a world of trouble

1596
01:57:08,279 --> 01:57:13,600
if the unsupported hollows fell through. I decided on one

1597
01:57:13,680 --> 01:57:17,359
last foray into the darkness. This time it equipped to

1598
01:57:17,479 --> 01:57:21,039
something to help me find my way back. I tied

1599
01:57:21,079 --> 01:57:23,840
a couple rows of garden twine around a heavy piece

1600
01:57:23,880 --> 01:57:26,720
of junk I placed back of my yard, and I

1601
01:57:26,800 --> 01:57:30,800
unwound it. As I went back in, I had one

1602
01:57:30,800 --> 01:57:35,079
hand slowly unraveling the twine while the other held the flashlight.

1603
01:57:36,000 --> 01:57:38,319
I had the stick under my arm for the time being.

1604
01:57:39,960 --> 01:57:43,720
Going down again, a strange thought crossed into my head,

1605
01:57:44,640 --> 01:57:48,279
one that whispered before, but feeling it the second time

1606
01:57:48,520 --> 01:57:53,560
was too patterned to notice. The slope had rhythmic bumps,

1607
01:57:54,359 --> 01:57:58,119
interludes of rounded edges that were too perfectly aligned to

1608
01:57:58,159 --> 01:58:02,560
be natural, near smooth in the middle, but very apparent

1609
01:58:02,600 --> 01:58:07,119
when looking at the concave sides. It was almost like

1610
01:58:07,159 --> 01:58:10,239
there were once earthen stairs that had been worn down

1611
01:58:10,279 --> 01:58:14,760
through use. I didn't want to dwell on that too much,

1612
01:58:15,279 --> 01:58:18,399
knowing this hole wasn't here for my entire time living here,

1613
01:58:19,159 --> 01:58:22,760
so to see something so used was too much to bear.

1614
01:58:24,680 --> 01:58:27,479
The whistling of the wind outside faded the further I

1615
01:58:27,520 --> 01:58:32,119
went in, mixing in with some faint chatter. Maybe some

1616
01:58:32,159 --> 01:58:35,520
passerbys were just as confused as me about an open

1617
01:58:35,560 --> 01:58:39,520
door on a lawn, And soon I was at the

1618
01:58:39,520 --> 01:58:44,439
cross roads I found before I peeked left and right,

1619
01:58:45,079 --> 01:58:47,600
but knew the left turn would lead under my house,

1620
01:58:48,279 --> 01:58:54,399
the section I was most worried about. I toyed in

1621
01:58:54,479 --> 01:58:57,840
my head for a while about just turning back, maybe

1622
01:58:57,920 --> 01:59:03,760
calling a professional, Oh, a professional what? I did not know,

1623
01:59:05,319 --> 01:59:08,680
someone else to take a look, But I mainly just

1624
01:59:08,800 --> 01:59:11,359
wanted to make sure that my house would at least

1625
01:59:11,399 --> 01:59:18,399
make it through the night. This decision was soon taken

1626
01:59:18,439 --> 01:59:24,039
from me. The wind, there was only a whine before

1627
01:59:24,479 --> 01:59:29,119
gave a loud howl. It was a strong gust between

1628
01:59:29,119 --> 01:59:31,680
the many small whispers it had been doing until then.

1629
01:59:32,720 --> 01:59:35,680
But the gust must have lined up perfectly with the door.

1630
01:59:36,760 --> 01:59:40,000
Its slam shut with an earth and thud rather than

1631
01:59:40,039 --> 01:59:43,840
a wooden bang you'd expect from a door slam. The

1632
01:59:43,960 --> 01:59:47,000
line was taught now. The twine held in place by

1633
01:59:47,039 --> 01:59:50,359
the closed door, so I followed it back up to

1634
01:59:50,399 --> 01:59:53,880
try to get it loose and try again, maybe next time,

1635
01:59:53,960 --> 01:59:58,479
propping the door open for security. But as I gave

1636
01:59:58,520 --> 02:00:04,119
the door a push, it didn't budge. Silly me was

1637
02:00:04,159 --> 02:00:06,800
pushing with the muscle memory strength used to open a

1638
02:00:06,880 --> 02:00:11,680
regular door, but this was horizontal, so I realized I

1639
02:00:11,760 --> 02:00:14,880
needed to add some heft to pry it open, so

1640
02:00:14,960 --> 02:00:22,880
I tried again with more gusto nothing. I forehewed at this,

1641
02:00:23,399 --> 02:00:31,319
trying again harder nothing. Worried, I perched the leg higher

1642
02:00:31,319 --> 02:00:38,199
in the slope and shoved nothing. I crouched damn near

1643
02:00:38,239 --> 02:00:41,439
into a ball, twisted the handle and jumped with the

1644
02:00:41,479 --> 02:00:47,920
door flushing my back. Nothing. It didn't even give a

1645
02:00:48,000 --> 02:00:52,880
rattle even on my strongest attempt. It was well and

1646
02:00:53,039 --> 02:00:59,520
truly stuck. Now I bashed repeatedly, hoping that the voices

1647
02:00:59,560 --> 02:01:04,279
outside could hear me, but all that remained was silence.

1648
02:01:05,439 --> 02:01:08,039
Pressing my ear against the door didn't even yield the

1649
02:01:08,039 --> 02:01:14,560
wines of the wind outside. Eventually the silence was broken,

1650
02:01:15,000 --> 02:01:20,399
but not from the outside. It was subtle at first,

1651
02:01:20,920 --> 02:01:25,439
but unmistakable. There was a scuttling sound in the dirt.

1652
02:01:25,760 --> 02:01:29,880
Deeper into the tunnels. The banging seemed to have stirred

1653
02:01:29,880 --> 02:01:34,279
something dwelling in the darkness. This left me with the

1654
02:01:34,359 --> 02:01:38,359
ultimatum of my life, stay and keep trying the door,

1655
02:01:38,920 --> 02:01:42,159
knowing I was far into a dead end, or go

1656
02:01:42,239 --> 02:01:45,760
further in to find an alternative exit, to at the

1657
02:01:45,840 --> 02:01:49,119
very least have a chance to move away from whatever

1658
02:01:49,279 --> 02:01:54,439
was waking in the tunnels. I gave a final silent heave,

1659
02:01:54,920 --> 02:01:58,439
putting my entire body into a hard squat, making sure

1660
02:01:58,479 --> 02:02:04,039
the doorknob was turned, but to no avail. I was

1661
02:02:04,079 --> 02:02:09,000
stuck with option B. I knew the twine I brought

1662
02:02:09,079 --> 02:02:12,119
was finite, but I still opted to use it as

1663
02:02:12,199 --> 02:02:15,479
much as possible. I made my way to the cross

1664
02:02:15,560 --> 02:02:18,520
roads and made the left I originally settled on when

1665
02:02:18,520 --> 02:02:22,279
I first went in. My hope was that if this

1666
02:02:22,479 --> 02:02:25,319
was a system centered around my house, there might have

1667
02:02:25,399 --> 02:02:29,119
been another exit in my house, though the thought of

1668
02:02:29,199 --> 02:02:31,600
that was something I didn't want to dwell on too

1669
02:02:31,680 --> 02:02:37,000
much in the moment. I carefully carried myself forward, trying

1670
02:02:37,000 --> 02:02:41,039
to stay composed between more scuttling sounds or dirt sprinkling

1671
02:02:41,079 --> 02:02:45,439
from the low ceiling. My senses were on edge, and

1672
02:02:45,520 --> 02:02:49,880
they only got more heightened with each step deeper. I

1673
02:02:50,000 --> 02:02:52,760
kept my light downward, like the head lights of a car.

1674
02:02:53,640 --> 02:02:56,159
I didn't want the bloom to bleed too far forward

1675
02:02:56,520 --> 02:03:00,159
in case something surprised me. Up ahead, I kept my

1676
02:03:00,199 --> 02:03:04,880
presence as small as possible, minimal sounds, slow breathing, and

1677
02:03:05,039 --> 02:03:10,520
slow steps. But a sound trickled into my ears, making

1678
02:03:10,600 --> 02:03:16,319
my hair stand on end. Something so distinguished and recognizable

1679
02:03:16,880 --> 02:03:20,199
that I couldn't logic it away as dirt or paranoia.

1680
02:03:22,039 --> 02:03:25,479
A huff of a deep breath into the tunnel behind me.

1681
02:03:26,920 --> 02:03:30,399
This was only exasperated when, on top of that, I

1682
02:03:30,560 --> 02:03:34,840
felt the slightest tug on the twine. He must have

1683
02:03:34,880 --> 02:03:40,239
stepped on a bit of slack in the darkness. The

1684
02:03:40,319 --> 02:03:43,479
relief I felt from having looked into the correct direction

1685
02:03:44,279 --> 02:03:47,159
was overwritten by the feeling that it was stalking me

1686
02:03:47,239 --> 02:03:51,680
from behind. No matter how far removed, it seemed to

1687
02:03:51,720 --> 02:03:55,239
still be there, matching my pace, as if watching me

1688
02:03:55,399 --> 02:04:00,199
like prey. This was coupled with an intrusive thought, this

1689
02:04:00,319 --> 02:04:03,720
was only making me move deeper and deeper into the tunnels,

1690
02:04:04,359 --> 02:04:09,239
further away from the only exit I knew of. I

1691
02:04:09,359 --> 02:04:12,520
was so preoccupied with this that my face made a

1692
02:04:12,520 --> 02:04:15,880
soft thud with the wall in front of me, and

1693
02:04:15,920 --> 02:04:18,920
this was the tipping point for whatever was following me,

1694
02:04:20,600 --> 02:04:22,720
like the pop of a starting gun at a race.

1695
02:04:23,439 --> 02:04:29,720
Whatever stalked now hunted. I heard its skitters rapidly pound

1696
02:04:29,720 --> 02:04:34,000
the ground as it sprinted towards me. My fear of

1697
02:04:34,000 --> 02:04:36,560
a dead end was short lived, as I saw it

1698
02:04:36,640 --> 02:04:39,720
was another split. I dropped the twine and grabbed the

1699
02:04:39,760 --> 02:04:42,880
stick from under my arm, knowing the twine wouldn't last

1700
02:04:42,920 --> 02:04:45,680
to run and I needed my arms free to run

1701
02:04:45,720 --> 02:04:50,399
as fast as possible. Having turned left before, I chose

1702
02:04:50,439 --> 02:04:53,920
to go right this time and sprinted away, hoping I

1703
02:04:53,960 --> 02:04:58,039
was at least matching its pace to keep distance. With

1704
02:04:58,119 --> 02:05:01,279
the light now pointed forward, could see the next cross road,

1705
02:05:02,199 --> 02:05:05,640
I chose left and kept running, still hearing the scratching

1706
02:05:05,720 --> 02:05:10,680
sprint behind me. Another turn, another cross road, more turns.

1707
02:05:11,359 --> 02:05:14,640
It wouldn't let up, and as I reached another fork,

1708
02:05:15,600 --> 02:05:18,279
I heard a new set of scratching that started heading

1709
02:05:18,279 --> 02:05:22,920
in my direction. Another one joined the fray. This forced

1710
02:05:22,920 --> 02:05:27,239
my choice to the direction opposite to the sound. I

1711
02:05:27,319 --> 02:05:30,199
ended up making so many turns and splits that I

1712
02:05:30,319 --> 02:05:33,720
was well and truly lost. There was no way to

1713
02:05:33,720 --> 02:05:37,199
backtrack my direction or choices, with how preoccupied I was

1714
02:05:38,680 --> 02:05:43,479
turn after turn, randomly choosing whenever a choice presented itself.

1715
02:05:44,199 --> 02:05:49,079
I reached another split, for this time something was in

1716
02:05:49,119 --> 02:05:53,119
front of me. With flickers of my flashlight swings from

1717
02:05:53,119 --> 02:05:55,760
my sprint. I didn't get a good look at the thing,

1718
02:05:56,760 --> 02:06:01,680
but what I did take in was sharp claws with

1719
02:06:01,760 --> 02:06:05,319
concaves like They were made for tunneling, but doubled as

1720
02:06:05,399 --> 02:06:10,760
extremely dangerous weapons. I didn't have time to stop, so

1721
02:06:10,840 --> 02:06:13,479
I lurched my arm into a swing and lashed out

1722
02:06:13,479 --> 02:06:17,880
of the thing with my stick. It barely gave any

1723
02:06:17,960 --> 02:06:24,560
resistance before shattering. Without a doubt, it did no damage,

1724
02:06:25,399 --> 02:06:29,600
but it stunned enough for me to slip by. I

1725
02:06:29,680 --> 02:06:32,439
discarded what remained of the stick and headed away from

1726
02:06:32,479 --> 02:06:35,600
the thing, knowing that the others were also catching up.

1727
02:06:36,600 --> 02:06:39,479
I dipped around, bends and turns as best as possible,

1728
02:06:40,159 --> 02:06:42,960
but I knew my endurance was reaching its limit, and

1729
02:06:43,039 --> 02:06:47,560
these things showed no signs of slowing down. This was

1730
02:06:47,600 --> 02:06:52,960
their domain and they held all the advantages here. As

1731
02:06:53,000 --> 02:06:56,880
I ran, I caught glimpses of the walls. Occasionally there

1732
02:06:56,880 --> 02:07:01,000
were mars of marks in a symmetrical pattern, obscenely long

1733
02:07:01,079 --> 02:07:05,520
gashes left by their tunneling claws. Some were set deep,

1734
02:07:06,119 --> 02:07:09,000
more than lethal if they were to hit me, showing

1735
02:07:09,000 --> 02:07:13,800
me the consequences of being caught, I took a turn

1736
02:07:13,960 --> 02:07:18,680
fast and my foot caught on something. I flopped face

1737
02:07:18,760 --> 02:07:21,720
down into the dirt, my helmet saving me from a

1738
02:07:21,720 --> 02:07:28,039
broken nose. If slowing down was a danger, this was

1739
02:07:28,079 --> 02:07:32,279
a death sentence. I pulled my leg up to check

1740
02:07:32,279 --> 02:07:35,239
the damage, trying to be conscious of every second spent.

1741
02:07:36,119 --> 02:07:39,600
But as I looked down, I saw what I had

1742
02:07:39,600 --> 02:07:48,000
tripped on. A body. It wasn't human. It was one

1743
02:07:48,039 --> 02:07:54,079
of them. It's more hung agape, life long since gone

1744
02:07:54,119 --> 02:07:57,359
from its eyes. Signs of decay had set in all

1745
02:07:57,399 --> 02:08:00,600
over the thing that made me rule that death of

1746
02:08:00,680 --> 02:08:05,039
natural causes. With the puncture, wounds littered all over the body.

1747
02:08:06,239 --> 02:08:09,720
Whatever did it went deep, but some that must have

1748
02:08:09,800 --> 02:08:15,000
ricocheted stuck out. Thin metal needles protruded from some of

1749
02:08:15,039 --> 02:08:21,399
the wounds. I was distracted. I realized I'd been staring

1750
02:08:21,439 --> 02:08:25,239
too long, enamored by the sight before me. At the

1751
02:08:25,239 --> 02:08:27,359
pace that I heard them, they should have been on

1752
02:08:27,399 --> 02:08:35,239
top of me any second. However, they weren't. I could

1753
02:08:35,319 --> 02:08:40,079
still hear them, but they slowed, then stopped. There were

1754
02:08:40,119 --> 02:08:43,760
a few confused potters before as quickly as they came,

1755
02:08:44,640 --> 02:08:50,479
I could hear them slowly scatter away. I didn't have

1756
02:08:50,560 --> 02:08:53,680
time to ponder and what caused this, as I heard

1757
02:08:53,720 --> 02:08:57,840
more steps coming towards me. But these were much heavier,

1758
02:08:59,119 --> 02:09:01,960
powerful thuds that I could almost feel while still on

1759
02:09:02,000 --> 02:09:06,319
the floor. In the direction I was headed. I saw

1760
02:09:06,359 --> 02:09:12,199
a new figure, larger, more humanoid, and slowly lumbering my way.

1761
02:09:13,279 --> 02:09:16,560
Its eyes reflected a faint green, and he was holding

1762
02:09:16,600 --> 02:09:21,279
something in both hands, but I couldn't see what. I

1763
02:09:21,359 --> 02:09:24,800
tried to stand back up, but I couldn't. My leg

1764
02:09:24,920 --> 02:09:27,760
twisted under me, and I could tell the heat I

1765
02:09:27,880 --> 02:09:32,359
felt was my leg swelling. Even if I had made

1766
02:09:32,399 --> 02:09:35,319
it up, I did not know which direction to run.

1767
02:09:36,439 --> 02:09:41,159
There was doom in either direction. I slumped back down,

1768
02:09:41,560 --> 02:09:44,000
choosing to die in the comfort of the floor than

1769
02:09:44,039 --> 02:09:48,399
the pain of running, and as the lumbering behemoth walked

1770
02:09:48,439 --> 02:09:53,920
up to me, it stopped short. I looked back up,

1771
02:09:54,399 --> 02:09:56,600
feeling that it was the last thing I would see,

1772
02:09:57,920 --> 02:10:01,159
but was stunned trying to pros what was in front

1773
02:10:01,159 --> 02:10:07,119
of me. Beneath all the metal and technology that stood

1774
02:10:07,119 --> 02:10:12,319
there was a man. I could see parts of his

1775
02:10:12,399 --> 02:10:15,840
lower face, and I recognized the gloved hand of a human.

1776
02:10:17,079 --> 02:10:19,119
The top half of his face was covered with a

1777
02:10:19,159 --> 02:10:21,880
helmet that seemed to have lenses where his eyes should

1778
02:10:21,920 --> 02:10:25,000
have been, most likely a peripheral to let him see

1779
02:10:25,000 --> 02:10:28,880
in the dark. He was decked out in something I'd

1780
02:10:28,880 --> 02:10:32,560
only imagine from a sci fi movie. I saw what

1781
02:10:32,640 --> 02:10:36,439
he held in his hand, some sort of gun, though

1782
02:10:36,479 --> 02:10:39,640
one I didn't recognize from my limited knowledge of current

1783
02:10:39,680 --> 02:10:44,560
era weaponry. Looking at him, just stood there, not saying

1784
02:10:44,640 --> 02:10:48,439
or doing anything. I think he was as stunned as

1785
02:10:48,479 --> 02:10:54,319
I was. Eventually it was him who broke the silence.

1786
02:10:56,159 --> 02:11:02,359
Who are you? He muttered, his mind probably settled on

1787
02:11:02,439 --> 02:11:05,399
it in the jumble of thoughts we were both in.

1788
02:11:06,199 --> 02:11:09,680
I started to introduce myself, but I think the reality

1789
02:11:09,720 --> 02:11:13,000
of the situation kicked in, so he interrupted me before

1790
02:11:13,039 --> 02:11:18,640
I began, and told me to follow him. So I did,

1791
02:11:19,199 --> 02:11:26,880
and he only led me to more questions. Where he

1792
02:11:26,960 --> 02:11:29,840
took me was a stark contrast to the dark hells

1793
02:11:29,880 --> 02:11:33,439
I just came from. I was in a makeshift room

1794
02:11:33,840 --> 02:11:38,640
carved into what looked like a scientific facility. People worked

1795
02:11:38,680 --> 02:11:43,439
on intricate machines, chemicals, and computers. A few men standing

1796
02:11:43,479 --> 02:11:46,319
around were in the same exo skeleton suits as the

1797
02:11:46,359 --> 02:11:50,640
man who brought me here. To avoid collapse, thick metal

1798
02:11:50,680 --> 02:11:54,960
beams acted as pillars to the installed metal ceiling. The

1799
02:11:55,000 --> 02:11:58,399
metal panels lined the walls, which looked structural as well.

1800
02:12:00,239 --> 02:12:03,159
Time so one glanced at me, they would do a

1801
02:12:03,239 --> 02:12:08,279
double take the second time, wearing a shocked expression, followed

1802
02:12:08,279 --> 02:12:12,000
by quickly getting back to whatever task they had on hand.

1803
02:12:12,800 --> 02:12:15,520
I don't know who'd win if there was a competition

1804
02:12:15,640 --> 02:12:20,800
for more questions. I sense no hostility, though a step

1805
02:12:20,880 --> 02:12:24,680
up from the horrors I'd been pulled from. Soon I

1806
02:12:24,800 --> 02:12:27,880
was brought to another man wearing another exo suit, but

1807
02:12:28,039 --> 02:12:31,439
marred with more damage and a collection of symbols which

1808
02:12:31,439 --> 02:12:35,840
I could only assume marked his higher rank. Hey, Captain,

1809
02:12:36,520 --> 02:12:39,399
I got a weird one. Found the guy on patrol.

1810
02:12:41,920 --> 02:12:45,640
He looked at me inquisitively, a pause hanging in the

1811
02:12:45,680 --> 02:12:53,800
air before he plainly demanded speak tell me everything, A

1812
02:12:53,880 --> 02:12:57,760
simple request. I had no reason to hold anything back,

1813
02:12:57,840 --> 02:13:01,039
so I caught him up with everything that had happened.

1814
02:13:03,439 --> 02:13:06,399
He was amused that this started with me just trying

1815
02:13:06,399 --> 02:13:10,600
to sort out a fickle h oay situation, but he

1816
02:13:10,680 --> 02:13:14,840
had no reason to doubt anything I said. After more thought,

1817
02:13:15,520 --> 02:13:21,800
he finally uttered a call to take him to the room. Wait,

1818
02:13:22,239 --> 02:13:26,960
what's going on? How do I get back? This is

1819
02:13:27,000 --> 02:13:29,640
all I managed, the mutter as my arm was grabbed

1820
02:13:29,680 --> 02:13:33,680
and pulled away. I blurted out more questions, but they

1821
02:13:33,680 --> 02:13:37,920
were ignored. I tried asking my now prison guard, but

1822
02:13:38,000 --> 02:13:41,199
he stayed silent under the watchful eye of the captain.

1823
02:13:42,760 --> 02:13:45,079
When he let go, I was in a room with

1824
02:13:45,159 --> 02:13:49,039
a few others. This crowd did not look like they

1825
02:13:49,079 --> 02:13:52,479
stumbled in here like I had. They were dressed like

1826
02:13:52,560 --> 02:13:55,279
some of the people working the equipment in the main room.

1827
02:13:56,880 --> 02:14:00,600
Stay here, we'll figure out what to do, he said

1828
02:14:00,720 --> 02:14:03,960
in an assuring tone, though there was only so much

1829
02:14:04,000 --> 02:14:08,359
assurance I could have in this situation. He closed the

1830
02:14:08,439 --> 02:14:13,560
door and I heard it latch shut. In a futile attempt,

1831
02:14:13,720 --> 02:14:19,119
I tested it and it was indeed locked. Questions though

1832
02:14:19,199 --> 02:14:22,640
swirling around my head. It wasn't long before I was

1833
02:14:22,680 --> 02:14:27,760
the one to broach conversation. What is going on? What

1834
02:14:27,960 --> 02:14:32,479
is this place? A pause of silence followed as they

1835
02:14:32,520 --> 02:14:36,680
gathered their thoughts, for one of them spoke up, giving

1836
02:14:36,800 --> 02:14:42,279
me their best attempt at enlightenment. So you really don't

1837
02:14:42,279 --> 02:14:44,960
know what this place is. You weren't sent here from

1838
02:14:44,960 --> 02:14:49,119
the higher ups, one man said. Before I could answer,

1839
02:14:49,760 --> 02:14:53,920
another captive deduced the answer. Look at him, he's not

1840
02:14:54,000 --> 02:14:58,840
in uniform, He's just some guy. This doesn't make sense.

1841
02:15:01,359 --> 02:15:05,000
I started to get frustrated. I was in some place

1842
02:15:05,119 --> 02:15:10,319
beyond imagination, with horrors above my comprehension. Yet I was

1843
02:15:10,399 --> 02:15:15,640
treated as the anomaly here, so I snapped at them, Look,

1844
02:15:15,920 --> 02:15:18,560
I just stumbled in here. I have no idea what's

1845
02:15:18,640 --> 02:15:22,760
going on. I've been lost, god chased, nearly damn well killed.

1846
02:15:23,600 --> 02:15:27,720
Just tell me something, anything, I I don't know what

1847
02:15:27,800 --> 02:15:32,640
to do. I child off at the end my outburst,

1848
02:15:32,840 --> 02:15:36,600
quickly losing gusto, knowing that they were as captive as me.

1849
02:15:38,399 --> 02:15:42,479
Another pause before the first man spoke of my name

1850
02:15:42,640 --> 02:15:46,800
is doctor Jamieson, and you've somehow wondered into base ivory

1851
02:15:46,800 --> 02:15:50,039
of the He was cut off by a hushed too

1852
02:15:50,159 --> 02:15:56,479
much before he continued, Look, you've somehow stumbled into an experiment.

1853
02:15:57,319 --> 02:15:59,840
We found a way here through a door, I sort

1854
02:15:59,840 --> 02:16:04,399
of dimensional anomaly. We scientists were stationed here to make

1855
02:16:04,439 --> 02:16:08,199
grand discoveries. You've seen our personal guard, the men in

1856
02:16:08,239 --> 02:16:11,479
the tech fits. They were assigned to protect us while

1857
02:16:11,520 --> 02:16:17,319
we carved out an outpost to work in. However, as

1858
02:16:17,319 --> 02:16:21,479
he took a moment, the other's faces dropped the signal

1859
02:16:21,720 --> 02:16:28,800
of bad news. Our door just stopped working, or at

1860
02:16:28,840 --> 02:16:32,520
least somehow jam shot. We don't know if it was

1861
02:16:32,559 --> 02:16:36,200
intentional from the higher ups. They've been known to experiment

1862
02:16:36,280 --> 02:16:40,440
on the experimenters, but since this happened, we've not been

1863
02:16:40,440 --> 02:16:43,840
allowed to work on an exit strategy. The tech fit

1864
02:16:43,959 --> 02:16:48,159
marks have us working on our experiments regardless of circumstance,

1865
02:16:48,840 --> 02:16:51,639
following the commands of those who sent us here, and

1866
02:16:51,680 --> 02:16:56,079
they refuse to deviate despite the circumstance. This room is

1867
02:16:56,079 --> 02:17:01,520
where they put people who tried to do otherwise. At

1868
02:17:01,520 --> 02:17:06,200
this more silence fell. But I had a lingering thought

1869
02:17:06,440 --> 02:17:11,680
itching in the back of my brain. So what does

1870
02:17:11,719 --> 02:17:16,239
this mean for me? He just looked back at me

1871
02:17:16,479 --> 02:17:23,079
one more time and said, I don't know. This ended

1872
02:17:23,120 --> 02:17:28,879
the conversation, as we all had things to think about. Eventually,

1873
02:17:29,120 --> 02:17:31,600
a call was made from outside that it was time

1874
02:17:31,680 --> 02:17:39,360
to sleep, so we settled into the bunks. I awoke

1875
02:17:39,520 --> 02:17:42,680
to some yelling at what sounded like the pinging of metal.

1876
02:17:43,879 --> 02:17:48,479
At this, I bolted up and looked around. It seemed

1877
02:17:48,680 --> 02:17:51,479
I was the only one perturbed by this, but my

1878
02:17:51,600 --> 02:17:56,360
motion seemed to have stirred Doctor jameson awake. What's going on?

1879
02:17:57,040 --> 02:18:01,440
I asked, Probably the males. One must have gotten close

1880
02:18:02,639 --> 02:18:07,399
the moles, I asked back, yeah, you said you were chaste,

1881
02:18:07,440 --> 02:18:09,959
so I'm guessing you saw them, or at the very

1882
02:18:10,040 --> 02:18:15,280
least heard them blind mammillion tunnelers. We discovered them after

1883
02:18:15,319 --> 02:18:18,479
losing contact from the higher ups, so we were never

1884
02:18:18,520 --> 02:18:22,600
given a name for them, so we just call them moles.

1885
02:18:23,920 --> 02:18:27,200
In my head, I scoffed at the mundane name, but

1886
02:18:27,319 --> 02:18:30,239
chose not to let it out to keep conversation flowing.

1887
02:18:31,159 --> 02:18:35,680
So what are they? We don't know. It's one of

1888
02:18:35,680 --> 02:18:42,000
our tasks down here, examining local species. He spoke of

1889
02:18:42,079 --> 02:18:45,000
this like a job rather than a fight for survival,

1890
02:18:45,920 --> 02:18:51,040
but his casual nature did give some slight assurance. Having

1891
02:18:51,120 --> 02:18:53,799
ran out of questions, he took my silence as the

1892
02:18:53,920 --> 02:18:58,479
end and rolled back over to sleep, knowing there was

1893
02:18:58,479 --> 02:19:03,360
nothing more to do. I did the same. When I

1894
02:19:03,360 --> 02:19:07,920
awoke next, there was a metallic bang. The door rattled

1895
02:19:07,920 --> 02:19:10,719
from the other side, and an authoritative voice yelled for

1896
02:19:10,840 --> 02:19:13,879
us to wake up. With the lack of urgency the

1897
02:19:13,920 --> 02:19:17,040
others had, I assume this was just a routine wake

1898
02:19:17,120 --> 02:19:21,319
up call. We stretched the sleep away and opened the door.

1899
02:19:22,280 --> 02:19:24,559
A guard stood there and glanced at the room and

1900
02:19:24,639 --> 02:19:31,319
stepped aside. I frowed my brow in surprise, thinking that

1901
02:19:31,440 --> 02:19:33,920
if we were to escape he had left more than

1902
02:19:33,959 --> 02:19:37,559
an opening, but I was even more surprised when I

1903
02:19:37,600 --> 02:19:41,879
saw the others meander out of their own accord. What's

1904
02:19:41,920 --> 02:19:45,200
going on? Are we being let go? I asked Doctor

1905
02:19:45,280 --> 02:19:50,239
Jamison as he walked by. It's breakfast, we're being let

1906
02:19:50,280 --> 02:19:54,719
out to eat, he replied. I lowered my voice to

1907
02:19:54,760 --> 02:19:58,719
a hush, but this is the perfect time to escape. No,

1908
02:19:59,399 --> 02:20:02,799
it's just one guy. I glanced over to him. He

1909
02:20:02,879 --> 02:20:07,680
doesn't even have a weapon. This gave Doctor Jamieson a

1910
02:20:07,799 --> 02:20:12,120
chuckle and go where we're safer here then out there,

1911
02:20:12,760 --> 02:20:17,840
and they know this. At this he joined the line

1912
02:20:17,879 --> 02:20:22,639
filing out, and I followed in suit. We ended up

1913
02:20:22,680 --> 02:20:26,159
in a sort of makeshift mess room. Tables and basic

1914
02:20:26,239 --> 02:20:31,239
kitchen appliances. Stacked high were large boxes, and each person

1915
02:20:31,280 --> 02:20:33,520
in turn put their hand in and pulled out a

1916
02:20:33,600 --> 02:20:39,600
random metaic bag. Damn Curry, I hate this one, one muttered,

1917
02:20:40,239 --> 02:20:42,399
and he took it over to a kettle and started

1918
02:20:42,440 --> 02:20:46,840
preparing it. Everyone pulled something out, and I was last,

1919
02:20:47,280 --> 02:20:51,920
reaching in to find a bag labeled LAMB. I looked

1920
02:20:51,920 --> 02:20:57,520
at it confused, and Doctor Jameson peeked at what I had. Wow, lucky,

1921
02:20:58,200 --> 02:21:02,959
that's the best one trade you, he muttered. Do you

1922
02:21:03,000 --> 02:21:05,600
not get to choose what you get? I asked back,

1923
02:21:06,680 --> 02:21:09,719
I mean, yeah you could, but the randomness of what

1924
02:21:09,799 --> 02:21:12,200
you eat is damn near the only entertainment you can

1925
02:21:12,239 --> 02:21:15,719
get down here. I'm pretty sure hitting the lamb jackpot

1926
02:21:15,959 --> 02:21:19,319
is what gets some people's saying down here. I looked

1927
02:21:19,360 --> 02:21:22,719
down at my bag of food, knowing he probably needed

1928
02:21:22,719 --> 02:21:26,040
this more than me, so I agreed to the trade

1929
02:21:26,280 --> 02:21:31,200
without seeing what he had. His bag was labeled Cowboy Casserole.

1930
02:21:32,479 --> 02:21:35,280
I followed the instructions in the bag and prepared it

1931
02:21:35,319 --> 02:21:39,920
as best as possible. It wasn't a spectacular taste, but

1932
02:21:40,000 --> 02:21:44,079
it wasn't bad either. These were probably standard issue m

1933
02:21:44,159 --> 02:21:46,399
or ees they'd brought with them when they set this

1934
02:21:46,479 --> 02:21:52,840
place up, damn near unperishable food for long expeditions. When

1935
02:21:52,840 --> 02:21:56,840
doctor Jameson opened his lamb bag, I expected a divine

1936
02:21:56,840 --> 02:22:00,959
aroama compared to what I was putting up with, But no,

1937
02:22:02,399 --> 02:22:06,280
it was just as mundane as mine. I think they

1938
02:22:06,360 --> 02:22:10,200
must have created a placebo of a lamb hype. Maybe

1939
02:22:10,280 --> 02:22:13,399
someone initially started the rumor, knowing it would add some

1940
02:22:13,440 --> 02:22:16,520
excitement to some one's day and have others looking forward

1941
02:22:16,600 --> 02:22:21,159
to something, thinking that he was a pragmatic ideal. I

1942
02:22:21,239 --> 02:22:24,799
kept my thoughts to myself and ate as much as possible.

1943
02:22:26,440 --> 02:22:29,879
When we were done, we were lined up. The soldier

1944
02:22:29,920 --> 02:22:32,760
walked back and forth a few times, glaring at us

1945
02:22:32,760 --> 02:22:38,719
occasionally before speaking up. As you know, delinquency and insubordination

1946
02:22:38,920 --> 02:22:42,280
is not tolerated. You have been designated to the room

1947
02:22:42,360 --> 02:22:46,879
indefinitely for your actions. However, this is your daily chance

1948
02:22:46,920 --> 02:22:50,200
to come out, return to work, and do not cause

1949
02:22:50,239 --> 02:22:56,479
trouble for the others with your plans. Silence fell, and

1950
02:22:56,559 --> 02:22:59,399
a few dropped their heads into feet and stepped out

1951
02:22:59,399 --> 02:23:04,040
the room. After a while longer, he spoke once more,

1952
02:23:04,200 --> 02:23:09,799
in a defeated tone. Okay, then everyone else follow me

1953
02:23:09,840 --> 02:23:16,440
back to the room. The remaining people shoveled back, myself included.

1954
02:23:17,719 --> 02:23:20,079
Knowing I'd be stuck back in that room for a while,

1955
02:23:20,680 --> 02:23:23,840
I paid more attention to my surroundings, trying to get

1956
02:23:23,879 --> 02:23:28,959
as much information as possible. I noticed much more now

1957
02:23:28,959 --> 02:23:33,440
that adrenaline wasn't altering my focus. I saw things that

1958
02:23:33,520 --> 02:23:37,479
were working on, sampling the dirt, picking apart the bodies

1959
02:23:37,520 --> 02:23:40,200
of the moles, and tinkering with pieces of the armor.

1960
02:23:40,239 --> 02:23:45,239
The guards where and other technologies. I got some glances back,

1961
02:23:45,840 --> 02:23:48,920
presumably from people who hadn't seen me the first time around,

1962
02:23:50,000 --> 02:23:54,840
but one scientist in particular had a startling gaze. He

1963
02:23:54,920 --> 02:23:58,440
looked like something in his head clicked into place, maybe

1964
02:23:58,440 --> 02:24:01,920
an epiphany on something he was working looking on, Yet

1965
02:24:01,959 --> 02:24:05,840
his expression never shifted back to his work. It was

1966
02:24:05,920 --> 02:24:09,959
solely focused on me. When we returned to the room,

1967
02:24:10,600 --> 02:24:16,440
we were simply told to await further instruction. The conversation

1968
02:24:16,559 --> 02:24:20,440
in the room was dry. Either they were socially inept

1969
02:24:20,959 --> 02:24:24,799
or purposefully closed me out, and I couldn't figure out which.

1970
02:24:26,079 --> 02:24:29,319
The closest to answers I had was doctor Jamison, but

1971
02:24:29,399 --> 02:24:32,000
the way he was cut off showed they didn't trust

1972
02:24:32,040 --> 02:24:35,680
me with the information. If I could get him alone,

1973
02:24:35,920 --> 02:24:38,719
I was sure I could get him to spill more details,

1974
02:24:39,239 --> 02:24:44,399
but it was impossible with this room situation. Suddenly there

1975
02:24:44,440 --> 02:24:47,760
was a scuffling sound from outside and people were shouting.

1976
02:24:48,639 --> 02:24:51,120
I couldn't distinguish what was said through the thick door,

1977
02:24:51,680 --> 02:24:56,559
but it sounded heated. The door banged then quickly opened.

1978
02:24:57,440 --> 02:24:59,879
The scientist that was pressed up against it, falling in

1979
02:25:01,000 --> 02:25:04,200
his face, scrunched up in anger and expletives were thrown

1980
02:25:04,239 --> 02:25:08,840
at the guard, who ignored him as he locked the door. However,

1981
02:25:09,680 --> 02:25:14,040
the second the door clicked, his facade dropped, his expression

1982
02:25:14,120 --> 02:25:18,760
lightened up, and he set to a sly grin. When

1983
02:25:18,760 --> 02:25:21,440
I got a good look at him, I recognized him

1984
02:25:21,479 --> 02:25:24,159
as the man glaring at me when I walked back

1985
02:25:24,159 --> 02:25:30,680
to the room, Hi, he opened with. However, it wasn't

1986
02:25:30,719 --> 02:25:34,360
a universal greeting to the people in the room. He

1987
02:25:34,520 --> 02:25:41,680
was directed solely at me. Oh ah, hi, I mused back.

1988
02:25:43,680 --> 02:25:47,280
Not deterred by my hesitation, he went on a lot

1989
02:25:47,319 --> 02:25:49,799
more open than the people I'd been stuck with so far.

1990
02:25:51,440 --> 02:25:55,159
My name is doctor Kirkland. You're obviously not from around here,

1991
02:25:56,280 --> 02:26:02,120
so how did you get here? He asked. I went

1992
02:26:02,200 --> 02:26:05,639
on to explain my situation, though I wasn't happy with

1993
02:26:05,680 --> 02:26:09,760
a lack of reciprocation. Each time I did this, his

1994
02:26:09,879 --> 02:26:12,799
face displayed his feelings on each bit of information he

1995
02:26:12,879 --> 02:26:16,639
extracted from my tail, not hiding his thoughts on my predicament.

1996
02:26:18,319 --> 02:26:24,639
After some deliberation, he broke his silence. Look, I want

1997
02:26:24,639 --> 02:26:27,319
to get out of here, need to get out of here,

1998
02:26:28,239 --> 02:26:32,559
and I want your help. I just wore a shocked

1999
02:26:32,559 --> 02:26:36,959
expression at this, he continued, gesturing to the people around

2000
02:26:37,000 --> 02:26:39,399
him to listen in, who are now leaning in to

2001
02:26:39,440 --> 02:26:45,479
pay attention. We are safe here, We of use. You don't,

2002
02:26:46,879 --> 02:26:52,719
he pointed at me. Your safety is not guaranteed. He

2003
02:26:52,760 --> 02:26:55,760
almost sounded like a salesman giving his best pitch to

2004
02:26:55,799 --> 02:26:59,559
sell his idea. But I also couldn't refute his logic,

2005
02:27:00,360 --> 02:27:05,040
especially with how little I knew. Before I could even respond,

2006
02:27:05,440 --> 02:27:09,440
the roused crowd started to pipe in, Sure we have use,

2007
02:27:09,760 --> 02:27:12,920
but to compromise the facility with escapers grounds for termination.

2008
02:27:13,600 --> 02:27:17,719
They would not let that fly. One chimed in. Harms

2009
02:27:17,760 --> 02:27:21,719
of agreeance resounded from the audience. Even if we did

2010
02:27:21,760 --> 02:27:24,719
get out, where will we go? These aren't some pushovers

2011
02:27:24,760 --> 02:27:28,079
like the FBI or c I A another person interjected.

2012
02:27:29,440 --> 02:27:32,040
I was surprised that he spoke so lightly of what

2013
02:27:32,120 --> 02:27:35,159
I was led to believe were the best. This must

2014
02:27:35,159 --> 02:27:39,360
be deeper than I could possibly imagine. This is a

2015
02:27:39,479 --> 02:27:42,760
room for the smartest people in this dimension that he

2016
02:27:42,840 --> 02:27:46,600
called the shots, but wear the brains behind everything. You

2017
02:27:46,680 --> 02:27:49,799
don't think we could manage something easy like this. I

2018
02:27:49,879 --> 02:27:52,000
know for a fact some of you have achieved feats

2019
02:27:52,040 --> 02:27:56,639
that make this lugg child's play. At this, he shot

2020
02:27:56,639 --> 02:28:00,440
some specific glances to certain people, which they look back

2021
02:28:00,520 --> 02:28:04,840
with growing confidence. Which again I had no context to

2022
02:28:04,879 --> 02:28:09,280
what he was talking about. Remember, we don't just work here.

2023
02:28:09,879 --> 02:28:14,399
We made this place. He didn't think I would think ahead.

2024
02:28:14,959 --> 02:28:18,200
At this, Doctor Kirkland pulled out a pale blue device

2025
02:28:18,600 --> 02:28:22,440
with a mismatched asymmetrical pattern on the end, almost like

2026
02:28:22,520 --> 02:28:26,159
the teeth of a skeleton key. If his speech hadn't

2027
02:28:26,159 --> 02:28:32,479
fully convinced everyone, this revelation certainly did. In turn, everyone

2028
02:28:32,520 --> 02:28:35,399
who thought themselves of use chipped in with info or

2029
02:28:35,440 --> 02:28:38,799
services they could provide. I know the code for the

2030
02:28:38,799 --> 02:28:42,040
equipment room. There's a set rotation the guards follow. I

2031
02:28:42,120 --> 02:28:45,360
made the schedule. The north side tunnels the least guarded.

2032
02:28:45,559 --> 02:28:51,120
We'll have our best shot there. Excitement grew in the room,

2033
02:28:51,479 --> 02:28:56,399
and I started falling for it. It seemed individually no

2034
02:28:56,440 --> 02:29:01,120
one had any look towards escape, but together they were

2035
02:29:01,159 --> 02:29:06,559
the jukes or pieces that fell perfectly into place. Once

2036
02:29:06,600 --> 02:29:10,360
the plan was set, all we had to do was

2037
02:29:10,479 --> 02:29:17,399
wait for the perfect time. One man had his ear

2038
02:29:17,440 --> 02:29:20,239
to the door, the room silent for him to make

2039
02:29:20,239 --> 02:29:23,920
the call for action. Doctor Kirklin stood by with his

2040
02:29:24,040 --> 02:29:28,239
strange key, ready to move on the signal. After many

2041
02:29:28,360 --> 02:29:32,000
agonizing moments, the man up front raised his hand and

2042
02:29:32,079 --> 02:29:37,280
everyone snapped into place. Though these people were only the scientists,

2043
02:29:38,040 --> 02:29:40,760
I could tell they had some form of military training.

2044
02:29:42,120 --> 02:29:45,959
No words were uttered, only silent hand motions directed the

2045
02:29:46,000 --> 02:29:49,239
squad on how to move, even the way they walked

2046
02:29:49,239 --> 02:29:53,239
to minimize sound a lot. Compared to them, I sounded

2047
02:29:53,280 --> 02:29:56,280
like a lumbering giant, even though I was trying my

2048
02:29:56,360 --> 02:30:01,000
best to mimic their posture. We slipped around corners, the

2049
02:30:01,040 --> 02:30:04,360
front man moving with confidence, knowing we were moving through

2050
02:30:04,360 --> 02:30:08,520
blind spots. We reached the turn and he double checked

2051
02:30:08,559 --> 02:30:11,399
if it was clear. He made a motion with his

2052
02:30:11,479 --> 02:30:15,280
hand and another man turned the corner. When I moved

2053
02:30:15,319 --> 02:30:18,040
round to follow the rest of them, he quickly entered

2054
02:30:18,079 --> 02:30:21,239
a combination on a number pad and opened a thick

2055
02:30:21,360 --> 02:30:26,719
metal door. Inside was something that looked like something from

2056
02:30:26,799 --> 02:30:31,360
the future, equipment that I hadn't the faintest idea did what,

2057
02:30:32,719 --> 02:30:36,000
But it seemed I didn't need to, because each scientist

2058
02:30:36,120 --> 02:30:40,239
went straight for what they needed. Some grabbed goggles that

2059
02:30:40,360 --> 02:30:43,239
had a green hue on the lens to grab the

2060
02:30:43,280 --> 02:30:46,360
large rifles I saw the guards carrying and others grabbed

2061
02:30:46,399 --> 02:30:50,000
things I hadn't seen before. Since I was apparently not

2062
02:30:50,040 --> 02:30:52,920
given a crash course on how this tech worked, I

2063
02:30:53,000 --> 02:30:56,639
was simply left with my bike, helmet and flashlight. Much

2064
02:30:56,719 --> 02:31:00,760
to the degrading looks from the others. Bets were placed

2065
02:31:00,799 --> 02:31:04,159
on who would die first. All of them would have

2066
02:31:04,200 --> 02:31:08,239
bet on me. We left the room as silently as

2067
02:31:08,319 --> 02:31:12,200
possible in a single file. I followed the point lead

2068
02:31:12,239 --> 02:31:15,520
around more turns. We passed by rooms that looked like

2069
02:31:15,559 --> 02:31:18,520
they were used for storage or an office, but other

2070
02:31:18,639 --> 02:31:21,639
rooms were so beyond what I understood that I had

2071
02:31:21,680 --> 02:31:25,440
no idea what they did in them. As we reached

2072
02:31:25,440 --> 02:31:28,879
the straight tunnel that transitioned from metal to dirt, a

2073
02:31:29,000 --> 02:31:32,559
sure sign of an exit, we heard yells from behind.

2074
02:31:34,159 --> 02:31:37,159
I couldn't fully understand what they said, but I picked

2075
02:31:37,239 --> 02:31:42,520
up on the distinct word escaped. They knew we were

2076
02:31:42,559 --> 02:31:48,280
gone and would soon be behind us, and now the

2077
02:31:48,399 --> 02:31:52,840
chase was on. We stopped, just shy of the darkness,

2078
02:31:53,520 --> 02:31:56,799
some adjusting their goggles the scene the dark, others pulling

2079
02:31:56,799 --> 02:31:59,360
out strange looking devices that lit up the tunnel in

2080
02:31:59,399 --> 02:32:03,440
front of them. Doctor Kirkland turned to me and adrenaline

2081
02:32:03,479 --> 02:32:08,079
fueled grin beaming at me. Okay, where is the entrance

2082
02:32:08,079 --> 02:32:12,799
he came in from? He asked? What? Oh, I don't know.

2083
02:32:13,159 --> 02:32:17,280
I was lost when they found me, I replied. His

2084
02:32:17,399 --> 02:32:21,440
face dropped. Wait did you hinge this entire plan on that?

2085
02:32:21,760 --> 02:32:26,360
Doctor Jameson blurted. A look of confidence reappeared on Doctor

2086
02:32:26,440 --> 02:32:31,200
Kirkland's face, though this one looked more forced. Don't worry.

2087
02:32:31,639 --> 02:32:34,479
Have he got in It means we can get out,

2088
02:32:34,959 --> 02:32:40,600
he roused. We all made our way, deeper footsteps picking

2089
02:32:40,680 --> 02:32:44,479
up behind us. I didn't have the hard to tell

2090
02:32:44,559 --> 02:32:51,280
him that my DoD jammed just like theirs. It wasn't

2091
02:32:51,319 --> 02:32:55,920
long until all hell broke loose. I was held up

2092
02:32:55,959 --> 02:32:59,799
in a dark cubby with Doctor Kirkland running so fast

2093
02:32:59,840 --> 02:33:02,120
that some of us got split up on the first fork,

2094
02:33:02,520 --> 02:33:05,920
and the scuttling forced more of us to separate. The

2095
02:33:05,920 --> 02:33:08,559
ones carrying the rifles when needed at the front, but

2096
02:33:08,680 --> 02:33:12,239
lagged behind due to the weight. And when I saw

2097
02:33:12,280 --> 02:33:15,799
on fire, it sent the scientists near horizontal from the

2098
02:33:15,879 --> 02:33:19,959
kick back after only a few shots. What shots landed

2099
02:33:19,959 --> 02:33:22,559
on the mall well and truly killed it, but the

2100
02:33:22,559 --> 02:33:25,959
loss of control sent a few shots into innocent bystanders.

2101
02:33:27,040 --> 02:33:30,239
The wounds left behind were near perfect holes straight through

2102
02:33:30,959 --> 02:33:34,680
the wall behind, having the remnants of metal spikes, a

2103
02:33:34,799 --> 02:33:38,319
caseless rail gun shot that could be used for long excursions.

2104
02:33:38,559 --> 02:33:42,120
I was told during some downtime I had lost track

2105
02:33:42,159 --> 02:33:45,680
of Doctor Jamieson with the footsteps followed by shots and

2106
02:33:45,799 --> 02:33:49,360
screams told me that the guard's leniency had been spent.

2107
02:33:50,760 --> 02:33:55,399
It was either stay in work or die, and we

2108
02:33:55,680 --> 02:34:00,959
had all chosen the latter. Doctor kirk and myself were

2109
02:34:01,000 --> 02:34:03,639
holed up in a cubby just big enough to fit

2110
02:34:03,799 --> 02:34:08,799
us a blind spot if someone ran past. We stayed quiet.

2111
02:34:08,840 --> 02:34:11,319
When we heard a scuttling and felt a breeze of

2112
02:34:11,399 --> 02:34:15,559
moles rushing towards the commotion. I have to get out.

2113
02:34:15,760 --> 02:34:17,399
I have to get out. I have to get out,

2114
02:34:17,959 --> 02:34:22,479
Doctor Kirklin kept muttering to himself. Despite the chaos and

2115
02:34:22,520 --> 02:34:25,719
all the lives lost, he was driven to get out,

2116
02:34:27,479 --> 02:34:30,760
him not saying us or we had me rethinking his

2117
02:34:30,840 --> 02:34:34,680
pragmatic coaxing of the group, where we just fodder to

2118
02:34:34,719 --> 02:34:38,920
help him escape. There were noises still, but far off,

2119
02:34:39,879 --> 02:34:44,159
so I had to find out. Talk to me. You

2120
02:34:44,280 --> 02:34:46,799
had a plan to get here. What do we do now?

2121
02:34:47,280 --> 02:34:51,239
I whispered this seemed to break him out of his stupor,

2122
02:34:51,920 --> 02:34:54,799
and he sat there for a while in silence, thinking

2123
02:34:56,280 --> 02:34:59,239
I need to get out. We need to get out

2124
02:35:00,239 --> 02:35:04,239
until they've passed, and we moved forward. It was such

2125
02:35:04,239 --> 02:35:07,120
a vague plan, no thought beyond what I could have

2126
02:35:07,159 --> 02:35:10,920
come up with myself. What sickened me was the lack

2127
02:35:10,959 --> 02:35:14,680
of initiative to help the others. We just sat there

2128
02:35:14,920 --> 02:35:18,600
hearing their cries for help. They were secondary to his

2129
02:35:18,600 --> 02:35:23,840
own escape, myself included most likely, so I pried, and

2130
02:35:23,920 --> 02:35:28,000
what I was more curious about in that moment, why

2131
02:35:28,040 --> 02:35:31,280
do you need to get out so badly? I asked bluntly.

2132
02:35:33,159 --> 02:35:38,959
At this, he took another pause, contemplating a response. I

2133
02:35:39,000 --> 02:35:42,559
have a family. I missed them. We were sent here

2134
02:35:42,559 --> 02:35:45,159
on the promise of returning. We were to set up

2135
02:35:45,200 --> 02:35:49,520
the facility, then cycling scientists to work here. I was

2136
02:35:49,520 --> 02:35:52,319
one of the first in I need to get out.

2137
02:35:52,840 --> 02:35:56,440
I need to see them. He was fixated on this.

2138
02:35:57,639 --> 02:36:00,920
He must have thought this humanized his actions, but the

2139
02:36:01,000 --> 02:36:03,879
screaming and dying in the distance made it all the

2140
02:36:03,959 --> 02:36:08,600
more selfish. Who knew how many families were losing someone

2141
02:36:08,639 --> 02:36:12,639
here just for him to try to see his all

2142
02:36:12,680 --> 02:36:15,200
I knew was that he grabbed one of those insanely

2143
02:36:15,239 --> 02:36:19,120
put together weapons, so sticking with him was still my

2144
02:36:19,200 --> 02:36:25,120
best shot. The screaming and fighting were dying down. We

2145
02:36:25,239 --> 02:36:29,840
quieted down ourselves as our surroundings did, and as we did,

2146
02:36:30,360 --> 02:36:35,040
heavy and deliberate footsteps approached, no doubt one of the guards.

2147
02:36:36,520 --> 02:36:39,760
They were creeping with caution, on the lookout for hiding

2148
02:36:39,840 --> 02:36:45,600
scientists and violent moles. Her barely audible whisper trickled into

2149
02:36:45,639 --> 02:36:50,600
my ear. If he sees us, point to your flashlight

2150
02:36:50,639 --> 02:36:56,200
in his eyes, I will do the rest. My mind

2151
02:36:56,280 --> 02:37:00,120
boggled with responses. Was he planning on us taking the

2152
02:37:00,159 --> 02:37:04,280
guard down together? Were using me as bait? I no

2153
02:37:04,360 --> 02:37:08,799
longer had faith in his motives. However, the footsteps were

2154
02:37:08,879 --> 02:37:12,479
drawn nearer, and each step taken was taking away time

2155
02:37:12,520 --> 02:37:16,760
to reply. I hadn't decided on what to do, so

2156
02:37:16,840 --> 02:37:21,040
I let myself move in the moment. The steps clung

2157
02:37:21,120 --> 02:37:24,360
to a stop before us, and a pause lingered in

2158
02:37:24,399 --> 02:37:29,000
the air. The crackle of static rang out, and he

2159
02:37:29,079 --> 02:37:35,079
spoke into his radio. I've got one ear ready to engage. Click.

2160
02:37:37,399 --> 02:37:40,559
We were compromised, so now was the time to strike.

2161
02:37:41,479 --> 02:37:44,719
I heard doctor Kirkland yell out and out of reflex.

2162
02:37:44,959 --> 02:37:47,559
I flicked my light on and swung it around, looking

2163
02:37:47,600 --> 02:37:50,719
to get in in his visor, but as soon as

2164
02:37:50,760 --> 02:37:56,159
I found his head, we both stopped. He wasn't looking

2165
02:37:56,200 --> 02:38:00,920
at us, but was looking further down the hallway. However,

2166
02:38:01,319 --> 02:38:04,319
our outburst made him turn to face us, to which

2167
02:38:04,319 --> 02:38:08,239
he flinched from being blinded by my light. I guess

2168
02:38:08,280 --> 02:38:11,760
doctor Kirkland was right. Whatever they used the scene, the

2169
02:38:11,879 --> 02:38:14,879
dark seemed to flash back his vision with a direct

2170
02:38:14,959 --> 02:38:21,360
light sauce. A screech followed straight after, but it wasn't

2171
02:38:21,360 --> 02:38:26,280
from the guard, it was an even human. A sprinting

2172
02:38:26,360 --> 02:38:29,600
thud crashed from where he was looking at and as

2173
02:38:29,639 --> 02:38:34,239
I turned, a mole dove straight at us. Doctor Kirkland

2174
02:38:34,280 --> 02:38:37,360
fired a few stray shots, and one pierced straight into

2175
02:38:37,399 --> 02:38:41,639
his abdomen, But like before, the shots also sent doctor

2176
02:38:41,719 --> 02:38:45,159
Kirkland falling back, and this left him no time to

2177
02:38:45,200 --> 02:38:48,879
get out of the way. With the mole's momentum, it

2178
02:38:49,040 --> 02:38:52,920
landed claws first into both doctor Kirkland and the guard,

2179
02:38:53,479 --> 02:38:57,319
who never stood a chance or blinded. The guard fell

2180
02:38:57,319 --> 02:39:00,319
from his hit and the mole dug its nails oddly

2181
02:39:00,360 --> 02:39:04,200
at both of them, goring them into a mess. Each

2182
02:39:04,319 --> 02:39:08,639
swipe slowed down until it stopped still perched between them,

2183
02:39:09,159 --> 02:39:13,639
and slunk onto the floor. Turning my light towards it more,

2184
02:39:14,360 --> 02:39:16,559
I saw it had bled out from the wound Doctor

2185
02:39:16,639 --> 02:39:25,479
Kirkland had inflicted. In silence remained. I froze, now flying

2186
02:39:25,559 --> 02:39:29,360
so low. If doctor Kirkland had a hollow plan that

2187
02:39:29,440 --> 02:39:33,639
he was loosely following, I was now left entirely alone

2188
02:39:34,600 --> 02:39:39,520
a ship in open water with no wind. The guards

2189
02:39:39,600 --> 02:39:43,559
radio crackled a deep voice, repeatedly asking for an update

2190
02:39:44,360 --> 02:39:46,600
for who knows if they knew the exact turns he

2191
02:39:46,639 --> 02:39:49,639
made to find him, or what was left of him.

2192
02:39:49,680 --> 02:39:55,000
At least, However, one tiny piece of information was the

2193
02:39:55,040 --> 02:39:59,200
basis for my steps forward. The direction we heard the

2194
02:39:59,200 --> 02:40:03,000
guard come from was my right, which told me that

2195
02:40:03,200 --> 02:40:07,440
was the direction of the facility. So I turned left

2196
02:40:08,399 --> 02:40:13,559
and started walking. I opted not to take the weapon.

2197
02:40:14,680 --> 02:40:17,239
I had seen it get someone killed more than it saved.

2198
02:40:18,079 --> 02:40:22,879
The tunnels rewarded agility over brute force, but this didn't

2199
02:40:22,879 --> 02:40:29,280
ease my mind, and the challenges that faced me time

2200
02:40:29,360 --> 02:40:33,520
passing was mental agony. I'd been wondering the tunnels for

2201
02:40:33,559 --> 02:40:37,200
what must have been hours, sometimes running from the skittering

2202
02:40:37,280 --> 02:40:40,879
chase of a mall, other times lurking in cutaway channels

2203
02:40:40,879 --> 02:40:44,719
from the guards. Through the distant chatter I would occasionally

2204
02:40:44,760 --> 02:40:47,479
hear on their radios. They were looking for only one

2205
02:40:47,600 --> 02:40:51,280
or two more scientists, but it was still kill on site.

2206
02:40:52,920 --> 02:40:55,520
If they would so easily dispose of people a million

2207
02:40:55,559 --> 02:40:59,239
times more useful than me, I would be squashed like

2208
02:40:59,280 --> 02:41:05,079
an ant on sight. They wouldn't even think twice. The

2209
02:41:05,159 --> 02:41:08,159
distance I'd create from the guards did not provide safety.

2210
02:41:09,319 --> 02:41:12,040
Each step away from them was also a step away

2211
02:41:12,079 --> 02:41:15,319
from the safety that they used to provide. I was

2212
02:41:15,399 --> 02:41:18,840
past the protection of their capture, however long there would

2213
02:41:18,840 --> 02:41:24,799
have lasted. Gunfire broke me out of my thoughts. Nearby,

2214
02:41:25,639 --> 02:41:28,680
war cries rang out, and footsteps of all types were

2215
02:41:28,719 --> 02:41:32,879
bouncing around. The lighter skitters, though, were headed towards me,

2216
02:41:33,399 --> 02:41:37,319
scared half in my direction. I turned on my light,

2217
02:41:37,840 --> 02:41:40,760
knowing that stealth was no longer an option, and ran

2218
02:41:40,799 --> 02:41:43,360
away from the noises as fast as I could with

2219
02:41:43,479 --> 02:41:48,559
my still swollen ankle. The gunfire rang out every so often,

2220
02:41:49,200 --> 02:41:54,000
screeches of beasts and men intertwined. It was an even fight.

2221
02:41:55,120 --> 02:41:59,319
Skirmishes that happened sporadically between the Mole's retreats and attacks

2222
02:42:00,159 --> 02:42:04,760
hit and run tactics. Each battle created more distance between

2223
02:42:04,799 --> 02:42:08,559
them and me, but they would catch up between fights,

2224
02:42:09,040 --> 02:42:13,120
Whether intentional or not, each turn I made they would follow.

2225
02:42:14,200 --> 02:42:16,280
It was impossible for me to tell if the Molese

2226
02:42:16,360 --> 02:42:19,799
thought my footsteps was one of theirs back up leading

2227
02:42:19,840 --> 02:42:22,639
the guards into a trap, or if they knew the

2228
02:42:22,719 --> 02:42:25,760
guards were hunting me, setting up a distraction for them

2229
02:42:25,799 --> 02:42:31,040
to ambush. I dodged around turns, making each choice as

2230
02:42:31,159 --> 02:42:34,680
randomly as possible, but all the parties were still on

2231
02:42:34,760 --> 02:42:39,200
my tail. Another skirmish broke out, and it only sounded

2232
02:42:39,200 --> 02:42:42,600
a few turns away. I was too slow with my

2233
02:42:42,680 --> 02:42:46,120
hobbling run. It wasn't long until they were on the

2234
02:42:46,120 --> 02:42:49,600
same corridor as me, so I looked for somewhere to hide,

2235
02:42:49,799 --> 02:42:54,360
hoping they'd pass by. Fear came over me, knowing this

2236
02:42:54,479 --> 02:42:58,280
plan had its flaws. Images lingered in my head that

2237
02:42:58,399 --> 02:43:01,120
they'd find me curled up, or that I was caught

2238
02:43:01,200 --> 02:43:05,520
in some sort of cross fire. My light lit up

2239
02:43:05,559 --> 02:43:07,719
a turn that deviated from the tun while I was in,

2240
02:43:08,440 --> 02:43:14,120
but the dirt sloped something insect caught my light color

2241
02:43:14,879 --> 02:43:17,600
standing out from the dull brown and gray of the ground.

2242
02:43:18,639 --> 02:43:24,719
Thin and linear. It was my twine. I had somehow

2243
02:43:24,840 --> 02:43:29,280
made my way back. I rushed up the slope, my

2244
02:43:29,360 --> 02:43:33,639
legs burning from my monumental journey so far. As soon

2245
02:43:33,680 --> 02:43:36,079
as I reached the top, I grabbed a handle and

2246
02:43:36,239 --> 02:43:40,120
paused with a silent prayer. With a make or break

2247
02:43:40,159 --> 02:43:43,559
war cry, I twisted and shouldered the door as hard

2248
02:43:43,559 --> 02:43:50,239
as I could, expecting resistance. Instead, it flung open with ease,

2249
02:43:50,799 --> 02:43:54,719
sending me reeling out. I rolled on the ground from

2250
02:43:54,719 --> 02:43:58,799
the momentum and quickly scrambled to my feet. I slammed

2251
02:43:58,799 --> 02:44:02,239
the door shut, silencing the battle beneath, and grabbed the

2252
02:44:02,280 --> 02:44:07,239
heaviest thing nearby, dragging it on top. I had to

2253
02:44:07,319 --> 02:44:12,319
catch my breath. Lost from both exhaustion and adrenaline, I

2254
02:44:12,360 --> 02:44:16,000
slumped onto my back, the weight of everything keeping me grounded.

2255
02:44:17,440 --> 02:44:20,159
I was still for the first time in so long,

2256
02:44:21,799 --> 02:44:26,799
and I was relishing it. The sun was dull, which

2257
02:44:26,840 --> 02:44:29,760
I estimated to be the late afternoon to early evening.

2258
02:44:31,200 --> 02:44:36,719
Turning my head gently, I saw where I was Scrapped

2259
02:44:36,799 --> 02:44:40,959
cars and discarded belongings scattered around a crane in the

2260
02:44:41,040 --> 02:44:43,840
distance that was used to whole mess around into a

2261
02:44:43,879 --> 02:44:52,920
nearby compactor. It was a dump. My peace was short lived.

2262
02:44:53,959 --> 02:44:57,559
I felt a multitude of shakes, but not from the door.

2263
02:44:59,040 --> 02:45:03,440
My phone buzzed repeatedly in my pocket. I had almost

2264
02:45:03,479 --> 02:45:06,479
forgotten about it since losing signal, I was stuck down there.

2265
02:45:07,719 --> 02:45:11,760
The battery had the slimmest of red lines left. Still

2266
02:45:12,239 --> 02:45:15,239
there was enough to see the notifications now rolling in.

2267
02:45:16,000 --> 02:45:20,079
The signal returning, opening the floodgates of everything I'd missed.

2268
02:45:21,639 --> 02:45:25,479
Messages and missed calls from work rolled in, ranging from

2269
02:45:25,520 --> 02:45:28,719
asking to where I was, to anger about skipping a shift,

2270
02:45:29,159 --> 02:45:34,040
to concern about my whereabouts. Their concern warmed me a little.

2271
02:45:35,440 --> 02:45:38,719
I had messages blasted from family asking where I was,

2272
02:45:39,520 --> 02:45:41,799
a range of jokes at first about overdoing it on

2273
02:45:41,879 --> 02:45:45,120
a late night out, to genuine fear of my well being,

2274
02:45:47,159 --> 02:45:52,920
and finally a single email. It was from the h

2275
02:45:53,000 --> 02:45:56,479
OA telling me that I had not removed the mess

2276
02:45:56,479 --> 02:45:59,799
in time, so they hired some contractors to clear it up,

2277
02:46:01,440 --> 02:46:10,920
the bill of which would be added to my fine.

2278
02:46:15,120 --> 02:46:17,799
Working as a park ranger was a big deal for me.

2279
02:46:18,840 --> 02:46:21,959
I've always loved the outdoors, and getting paid to patrol

2280
02:46:22,079 --> 02:46:25,200
hiking trails and check on campsites felt like a dream.

2281
02:46:26,600 --> 02:46:29,159
It was only a seasonal job, but I was still

2282
02:46:29,200 --> 02:46:33,559
content with the allocated time I was given. I'd been

2283
02:46:33,600 --> 02:46:38,360
assigned to a remote national park, miles from anything resembling civilization.

2284
02:46:39,520 --> 02:46:42,639
My station was a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere,

2285
02:46:42,959 --> 02:46:47,079
surrounded by dense forest. There wasn't even sell service most

2286
02:46:47,120 --> 02:46:51,760
of the time. First day in the job was pretty standard.

2287
02:46:52,920 --> 02:46:57,680
I met ed my supervisor. He's this older guy, maybe

2288
02:46:57,680 --> 02:47:01,239
in his fifties, with a kind of weathered that says

2289
02:47:01,280 --> 02:47:04,920
he's been out here way too long. Nice enough, but

2290
02:47:05,280 --> 02:47:09,200
kind of distant. He handed me a basic book full

2291
02:47:09,239 --> 02:47:12,760
of protocols, how to check the trail damage, what to

2292
02:47:12,840 --> 02:47:15,639
do if you encounter a bear, how to handle lost

2293
02:47:15,680 --> 02:47:21,120
hikers so that few'd expect. But then tucked in between

2294
02:47:21,159 --> 02:47:27,319
the normal sections there was this page titled Special Procedures.

2295
02:47:27,920 --> 02:47:31,399
The front looked older, like it hadn't been updated in years,

2296
02:47:31,959 --> 02:47:37,840
and it stood out immediately. The rules on the page, well,

2297
02:47:39,200 --> 02:47:45,879
they were different. Ignore the screaming after midnight. Never acknowledge

2298
02:47:45,920 --> 02:47:48,760
the lake when it reflects the moon. If you hear

2299
02:47:48,760 --> 02:47:55,200
footsteps behind you, do not turn around. I actually laughed

2300
02:47:55,200 --> 02:47:58,120
when I first read them. I thought it was some

2301
02:47:58,239 --> 02:48:00,719
kind of joke the older rangers played on the newbies.

2302
02:48:01,760 --> 02:48:05,200
But when I asked ed about it, he didn't laugh,

2303
02:48:06,479 --> 02:48:11,600
He didn't even smirk. He just said, follow them and

2304
02:48:11,639 --> 02:48:19,399
you'll be fine. That's it. No explanation, no elaboration. I

2305
02:48:19,440 --> 02:48:22,440
even tried pushing him a little, asking why these rules

2306
02:48:22,440 --> 02:48:24,360
are in there and if this was some kind of

2307
02:48:24,399 --> 02:48:28,639
hazing thing, but he just shrugged and said, you'll see.

2308
02:48:30,600 --> 02:48:33,159
So I put the book down and figured maybe it

2309
02:48:33,280 --> 02:48:36,399
was just some weird tradition or superstition the Parksteff kept

2310
02:48:36,440 --> 02:48:42,239
alive for fun, maybe a way to freak out new hires, whatever, right,

2311
02:48:44,239 --> 02:48:47,159
But my first few nights of the cabin started to

2312
02:48:47,239 --> 02:48:52,479
change my mind. You ever stay somewhere so quiet that

2313
02:48:52,559 --> 02:48:56,120
it almost feels a loud. That's how it was out

2314
02:48:56,159 --> 02:48:59,959
there at night. It was like the forest that's sat

2315
02:49:00,280 --> 02:49:04,399
was holding its breath. Sometimes the only sound was the

2316
02:49:04,440 --> 02:49:08,639
wind pushing through the trees. Other times there wasn't even that.

2317
02:49:10,120 --> 02:49:12,959
The stillness made me jump at every creak of the cabin,

2318
02:49:13,360 --> 02:49:17,559
every rustle in the bushes outside, And then there was

2319
02:49:17,600 --> 02:49:23,319
this feeling like I wasn't really alone, even when I

2320
02:49:23,360 --> 02:49:29,440
knew I was. It was my third day in when

2321
02:49:29,440 --> 02:49:33,639
I first heard the scream. I was sitting at the

2322
02:49:33,719 --> 02:49:37,440
tiny table in the cabin, halfway through a lukewarm cup

2323
02:49:37,479 --> 02:49:40,840
of instant coffee. My eyes were glued to the book

2324
02:49:40,840 --> 02:49:43,600
of Rules again, trying to make sense of it all.

2325
02:49:45,120 --> 02:49:50,280
It was late past midnight, but I wasn't tired. Something

2326
02:49:50,280 --> 02:49:54,159
about the cabin made it hard to relax. Maybe it

2327
02:49:54,200 --> 02:49:57,360
was how the floor creaked randomly, even when I wasn't

2328
02:49:57,399 --> 02:50:00,319
moving all the way. The wind outside never it quite

2329
02:50:00,440 --> 02:50:05,920
sounded like just wind. I was flipping through the rules

2330
02:50:06,520 --> 02:50:13,600
when it started. At first it was faint. I thought

2331
02:50:13,639 --> 02:50:17,040
it was the wind again, But then it got louder,

2332
02:50:17,719 --> 02:50:21,360
a sharp, piercing scream that cut through the stillness like

2333
02:50:21,399 --> 02:50:27,360
a knife. It sounded human, a woman maybe, or a kid.

2334
02:50:28,920 --> 02:50:34,079
My stomach dropped, my froze, my hand gripping the edge

2335
02:50:34,079 --> 02:50:38,159
of the table so hard my knuckles turned white. My

2336
02:50:38,239 --> 02:50:43,520
eyes darted back to the Rules, to that stupid yellowed page.

2337
02:50:43,840 --> 02:50:50,959
Ignore the screaming after midnight. Ignore it easy to write,

2338
02:50:51,559 --> 02:50:53,920
harder to do when it sounds like someone's out there

2339
02:50:54,200 --> 02:50:58,840
begging for help. I sat there for what felt like forever,

2340
02:50:59,600 --> 02:51:04,440
just listening. The scream would rise, hold for a few seconds,

2341
02:51:04,799 --> 02:51:10,239
and then fade. Then it would start again. My heart

2342
02:51:10,319 --> 02:51:13,559
was raising, and before I knew it, I was standing

2343
02:51:13,600 --> 02:51:17,719
by the cabin door, my hand on the knob. I

2344
02:51:17,799 --> 02:51:21,600
told myself it had to be something explainable, a hiker

2345
02:51:21,680 --> 02:51:24,479
in trouble maybe, or an animal that just sounded like

2346
02:51:24,520 --> 02:51:29,520
a person. I mean, I'm a park ranger, It's literally

2347
02:51:29,559 --> 02:51:35,159
my job to check these things out right. I stepped outside.

2348
02:51:36,559 --> 02:51:40,879
The cold hit me first. It wasn't a normal cold,

2349
02:51:41,479 --> 02:51:45,280
It was biting, the kind that sinks into your bones.

2350
02:51:46,600 --> 02:51:49,600
The forest was pitch black except for the faint cone

2351
02:51:49,639 --> 02:51:54,319
of light from my flashlight. The scream came again, louder now,

2352
02:51:54,920 --> 02:51:57,680
and I swung the beam in its direction, trying to

2353
02:51:57,719 --> 02:52:02,120
see through the trees. My throat was dry, and every

2354
02:52:02,239 --> 02:52:09,440
step I took felt heavier than the last. Then it stopped,

2355
02:52:11,760 --> 02:52:18,479
not just the scream, everything, the wind, the rustling of leaves,

2356
02:52:18,799 --> 02:52:23,639
the distant sound of nocturnal animals, it all just cut out,

2357
02:52:24,200 --> 02:52:27,520
like someone hit the mute button in the world. The

2358
02:52:27,600 --> 02:52:30,680
silence was so thick I could hear my own breathing,

2359
02:52:31,280 --> 02:52:36,639
quick and shallow. I don't know how long I stood there,

2360
02:52:37,040 --> 02:52:42,479
frozen in place, But eventually I turned back toward the cabin.

2361
02:52:44,239 --> 02:52:46,479
Whatever I thought I was going to find out there,

2362
02:52:47,399 --> 02:52:51,920
it wasn't worth it. My skin crawled the entire way back,

2363
02:52:52,280 --> 02:52:55,280
like something was watching me, just beyond the edge of

2364
02:52:55,319 --> 02:53:01,239
the flashlight's reach. When I got inside, I locked the twice.

2365
02:53:03,719 --> 02:53:07,879
The next morning, I asked Lisa about it. She's another

2366
02:53:07,959 --> 02:53:11,479
ranger works the main station closer to the visitor center.

2367
02:53:12,639 --> 02:53:15,920
Lisa's the kind of person who always seems upbeat, like

2368
02:53:16,000 --> 02:53:20,079
nothing rattles her. But when I brought up the scream,

2369
02:53:20,399 --> 02:53:25,680
her face changed immediately. She went pale, and her eyes

2370
02:53:25,799 --> 02:53:28,360
darted around the room, like she was checking to see

2371
02:53:28,360 --> 02:53:33,000
if anyone else was listening. You didn't follow it, did you,

2372
02:53:33,920 --> 02:53:39,360
she asked, her voice low. I hesitated, not sure how

2373
02:53:39,440 --> 02:53:46,239
much to admit. I stepped outside, I said, finally, didn't

2374
02:53:46,280 --> 02:53:53,079
go far. Lisa's expression darkened. She looked at me like

2375
02:53:53,159 --> 02:53:57,719
I just signed my own death warrant. That's how it starts,

2376
02:53:58,360 --> 02:54:01,879
she muttered. She stood up and walked out of the

2377
02:54:01,959 --> 02:54:06,920
room like I wasn't even there. Later that day, I

2378
02:54:06,959 --> 02:54:09,399
went out to patrol one of the popular trails near

2379
02:54:09,440 --> 02:54:13,000
the cabin. It was my first time on that route,

2380
02:54:13,520 --> 02:54:18,280
and for the most part it seemed normal, just trees, dirt,

2381
02:54:18,879 --> 02:54:25,360
and the occasional squirrel. But about halfway through I noticed

2382
02:54:25,399 --> 02:54:30,239
something hard. The ground had these scoff marks, like someone

2383
02:54:30,239 --> 02:54:33,600
had been running off the trail. The branches on the

2384
02:54:33,600 --> 02:54:37,079
bushes nearby were broken, and the dirt was churned up.

2385
02:54:37,399 --> 02:54:41,000
I gave me in a struggle. I followed the marks

2386
02:54:41,000 --> 02:54:46,239
for maybe twenty feet before I found it. A single boot,

2387
02:54:47,559 --> 02:54:52,120
muddy torn, just sitting there in the middle of the forest.

2388
02:54:53,680 --> 02:54:58,440
There was no sign of its owner. My stomach twisted

2389
02:54:58,600 --> 02:55:02,520
as I stared at it. It wasn't just the boot itself.

2390
02:55:03,559 --> 02:55:06,079
It was the way it was sitting there, like it

2391
02:55:06,079 --> 02:55:10,200
had been dropped deliberately. It didn't feel like something someone

2392
02:55:10,200 --> 02:55:16,040
had just forgotten. It felt wrong. When I got back

2393
02:55:16,040 --> 02:55:20,120
to the station, I told Ed about it. He barely

2394
02:55:20,159 --> 02:55:25,319
looked up from his paperwork. The forest takes what it wants,

2395
02:55:25,959 --> 02:55:31,879
he said, shrugging. Then he went back to his coffee

2396
02:55:32,639 --> 02:55:37,719
like that was the end of it. The first time

2397
02:55:37,799 --> 02:55:42,639
I broke a rule, I told myself it didn't really count.

2398
02:55:43,920 --> 02:55:46,520
It was maybe a week in and I'd almost started

2399
02:55:46,559 --> 02:55:49,959
to feel like I heard a routine down. Sure, the

2400
02:55:50,040 --> 02:55:53,600
rules are weird, and yeah, the nights were unnervingly quiet,

2401
02:55:54,440 --> 02:55:57,399
but I'd convinced myself that things weren't as bad as

2402
02:55:57,399 --> 02:56:03,280
I'd made them out to be. Then the footsteps started.

2403
02:56:05,639 --> 02:56:09,200
It was late, probably around one a m. And I

2404
02:56:09,280 --> 02:56:13,520
was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep. At first

2405
02:56:13,879 --> 02:56:16,559
I thought it's just the sound of branches tapping against

2406
02:56:16,559 --> 02:56:22,920
the cabin, but then I realized it was rhythmic, slow, deliberate.

2407
02:56:24,280 --> 02:56:29,840
Some one was walking around the cabin. My froze, my

2408
02:56:29,920 --> 02:56:33,200
heart was pounding, but I kept telling myself to stay calm.

2409
02:56:34,479 --> 02:56:38,479
I remembered the rule if you hear footsteps behind you,

2410
02:56:38,959 --> 02:56:44,479
do not turn around. Okay, fine, The footsteps weren't exactly

2411
02:56:44,520 --> 02:56:48,559
behind me, but the logic seemed the same. Just don't

2412
02:56:48,600 --> 02:56:55,639
engage right. The pacing continued. It circled the cabin, slow

2413
02:56:55,719 --> 02:57:00,360
and steady, and I swear whoever or whatever it was

2414
02:57:00,760 --> 02:57:04,920
would stop right by my window. I could feel it

2415
02:57:05,120 --> 02:57:10,159
lingering there, just out of sight. The sound went on

2416
02:57:10,239 --> 02:57:14,520
for hours. I tried covering my ears, but it didn't help.

2417
02:57:15,479 --> 02:57:18,239
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was waiting for

2418
02:57:18,280 --> 02:57:22,239
me to look. I held out as long as I could,

2419
02:57:22,799 --> 02:57:26,680
but by three a m My nerves were shot. I

2420
02:57:26,719 --> 02:57:30,120
figured if someone was actually outside, I needed to know.

2421
02:57:31,200 --> 02:57:33,680
What if it was a hiker I got lost? What

2422
02:57:33,760 --> 02:57:37,079
if I was in danger? I pulled back the curtain,

2423
02:57:37,520 --> 02:57:44,159
just a crack. Nothing. There was nothing out there, just

2424
02:57:44,200 --> 02:57:47,559
the trees, the dirt path, and the faint glow of

2425
02:57:47,639 --> 02:57:52,399
the moon. But the second I looked, the footsteps stopped,

2426
02:57:53,399 --> 02:57:57,440
like they'd been waiting for me to break. The silence

2427
02:57:57,479 --> 02:58:01,840
that followed was even worse. It was thick, pressing down

2428
02:58:01,879 --> 02:58:04,520
on me, like gravity was being turned up on a dial.

2429
02:58:06,040 --> 02:58:11,799
I didn't sleep that night. The next morning I noticed

2430
02:58:11,840 --> 02:58:15,680
something was off. My boots weren't by the door where

2431
02:58:15,680 --> 02:58:18,479
I had left them. They were in the middle of

2432
02:58:18,559 --> 02:58:21,920
the room. My radio, which I left off, was on,

2433
02:58:22,479 --> 02:58:25,959
hissing with faint static, And when I glanced at the window,

2434
02:58:26,879 --> 02:58:29,680
I swear my reflection didn't move in time with me.

2435
02:58:30,920 --> 02:58:34,680
It lags just a split second, but enough to make

2436
02:58:34,719 --> 02:58:40,639
my stomach drop. I told myself it was nothing, just

2437
02:58:40,680 --> 02:58:48,120
my mind playing tricks. But then I patrolled the lake.

2438
02:58:50,479 --> 02:58:53,559
A few days later, I was out patrolling the trails

2439
02:58:53,600 --> 02:58:57,680
near the lake at dusk. The sky was this brilliant orange,

2440
02:58:57,959 --> 02:59:01,520
and the moon was just starting to rise. When I

2441
02:59:01,520 --> 02:59:05,040
got to the water's edge, I noticed the Moon's reflection.

2442
02:59:06,639 --> 02:59:13,200
It was too much, too bright, too vivid, almost like

2443
02:59:13,239 --> 02:59:17,920
it wasn't just reflecting the moon, but amplifying it. I

2444
02:59:17,959 --> 02:59:22,760
stood there for a second, hypnotized, before the rule clicked

2445
02:59:22,760 --> 02:59:27,680
to my head. Never acknowledge the lake when it reflects

2446
02:59:27,719 --> 02:59:31,799
the moon. I snapped out of it and took a

2447
02:59:31,799 --> 02:59:35,719
step back. But as I turned to leave, I saw

2448
02:59:35,760 --> 02:59:40,200
a ripple in the water. There wasn't any wind, no

2449
02:59:40,319 --> 02:59:45,079
fish jumping, just that ripple spreading out from the center,

2450
02:59:46,440 --> 02:59:51,680
and for a split second, I swear I saw a hand,

2451
02:59:51,959 --> 02:59:57,360
pale and thin, reach up toward the surface. I didn't

2452
02:59:57,399 --> 03:00:00,920
stick around to see what came next. I stumbled back

2453
03:00:00,959 --> 03:00:03,760
to the trail and didn't stop until I was half

2454
03:00:03,799 --> 03:00:08,760
way to the cabin. That night, I had a dream.

2455
03:00:10,040 --> 03:00:13,440
I was back at the lake, standing at the edge,

2456
03:00:13,639 --> 03:00:19,520
but the Moon's reflection was shattered like broken glass. I

2457
03:00:19,520 --> 03:00:24,079
could hear something crawling out of the water, slow and deliberate,

2458
03:00:24,760 --> 03:00:29,879
dragging itself towards me. I couldn't move, couldn't even scream.

2459
03:00:31,319 --> 03:00:36,959
I woke up drenched in sweat, my heart raising, but

2460
03:00:37,040 --> 03:00:40,719
it wasn't just the dream. When I swung my legs

2461
03:00:40,719 --> 03:00:45,319
out of the bed, I felt cold, wet fabric. My

2462
03:00:45,360 --> 03:00:53,239
boots were soaked, caaked with mud, and there were footprints, muddy, unmistakable,

2463
03:00:53,840 --> 03:01:03,399
leading from the door to my bed. Looking back, I

2464
03:01:03,440 --> 03:01:06,920
think the first real warning sign wasn't the footsteps or

2465
03:01:06,959 --> 03:01:12,360
the lake. It was Lisa. She'd been one of the

2466
03:01:12,399 --> 03:01:15,000
first people I'd met on the job, and while she

2467
03:01:15,079 --> 03:01:20,799
wasn't exactly friendly, she was present. She cracked a joke

2468
03:01:20,920 --> 03:01:23,559
now and then talk about the hikes she liked to take.

2469
03:01:24,399 --> 03:01:29,719
But after the footsteps and the lake, she changed. She

2470
03:01:29,840 --> 03:01:36,120
was still around technically, but she wasn't Lisa anymore. Her

2471
03:01:36,200 --> 03:01:40,079
skin looked pale, like she'd been sick for weeks, and

2472
03:01:40,120 --> 03:01:43,959
her eyes I don't even know how to describe it.

2473
03:01:45,079 --> 03:01:48,239
They just didn't seem to focus, like she was looking

2474
03:01:48,319 --> 03:01:52,680
through me, not at me. She barely spoke unless it

2475
03:01:52,760 --> 03:01:58,079
was necessary, and even then her voice was flat, almost mechanical.

2476
03:02:00,079 --> 03:02:03,959
Morning I asked her if she was okay. She just

2477
03:02:04,000 --> 03:02:10,920
shrugged and said I'm fine, just tired. But she wasn't fine,

2478
03:02:12,719 --> 03:02:19,079
And the worst part ed didn't seem surprised if anything,

2479
03:02:19,959 --> 03:02:24,360
he avoided her. When I brought it up to Ed later,

2480
03:02:24,920 --> 03:02:28,559
he snapped at me, Ed the guy who'd spent most

2481
03:02:28,559 --> 03:02:32,120
of my first week cracking dad jokes and calling me nuby.

2482
03:02:33,120 --> 03:02:36,079
The rules are there for a reason, Nick, he said,

2483
03:02:36,399 --> 03:02:39,520
glaring at me, like I just insulted his entire family.

2484
03:02:40,639 --> 03:02:43,120
You don't follow them, and you deal with the fallout.

2485
03:02:43,959 --> 03:02:48,920
That's it, no exceptions. What kind of fallout are we

2486
03:02:49,040 --> 03:02:54,959
talking about? I pressed, what's actually happening here? You don't

2487
03:02:54,959 --> 03:02:58,719
want to know, he muttered, turning back to his coffee,

2488
03:02:58,840 --> 03:03:02,719
like we hadn't just had them unsettling conversation of my life.

2489
03:03:05,559 --> 03:03:08,959
Later that day, I went out to patrol, trying to

2490
03:03:09,040 --> 03:03:12,920
shake the weird tension between us. It was supposed to

2491
03:03:12,920 --> 03:03:17,920
be a normal route when I'd done twice before, but

2492
03:03:18,079 --> 03:03:22,600
something was different. The trail I was on didn't feel right.

2493
03:03:23,440 --> 03:03:26,600
The trees seemed taller, like they were leaning in towards me,

2494
03:03:27,239 --> 03:03:29,200
and the air was colder than it should have been

2495
03:03:29,239 --> 03:03:34,920
for midday. Still I pushed forward. I don't know why.

2496
03:03:36,000 --> 03:03:40,920
Maybe I was hoping to find something proof that I

2497
03:03:41,000 --> 03:03:46,799
was still in control. Then I saw them carvings in

2498
03:03:46,879 --> 03:03:52,879
the trees faces they were warked and stretched, their mouths

2499
03:03:52,959 --> 03:03:57,280
open in silent screams, their eyes too big, too round.

2500
03:03:58,559 --> 03:04:00,680
They weren't there the last time I'd work this trail.

2501
03:04:01,719 --> 03:04:07,840
I swear my life, they weren't. As I stood there staring,

2502
03:04:09,120 --> 03:04:13,680
I heard something. It started as a faint whisper, like

2503
03:04:13,760 --> 03:04:18,600
wind through the branches, but it grew louder words. I

2504
03:04:18,600 --> 03:04:25,120
couldn't make out voices, dozens of them, maybe more, all overlapping.

2505
03:04:26,520 --> 03:04:29,280
My chest tightened and I turned back the way. I came,

2506
03:04:29,719 --> 03:04:34,159
practically running until I was back of the cabin. That night,

2507
03:04:34,799 --> 03:04:41,159
the scream came back, louder, closer. It didn't just echo

2508
03:04:41,239 --> 03:04:44,040
through the forest this time. It felt like it was

2509
03:04:44,159 --> 03:04:48,879
inside my head, rattling around my skull, clawing at my thoughts.

2510
03:04:50,399 --> 03:04:55,079
And then I swear to you, I heard my name.

2511
03:04:56,879 --> 03:05:01,079
It was woven into the scream, whispered at first, then louder,

2512
03:05:01,879 --> 03:05:05,719
my name, over and over, like it was begging me,

2513
03:05:06,479 --> 03:05:11,159
calling me. I grabbed my flashlight and stood by the door,

2514
03:05:11,520 --> 03:05:17,239
my hand on the handle. I almost opened it. I

2515
03:05:17,280 --> 03:05:21,319
don't know what stopped me. Maybe it was instinct, maybe

2516
03:05:21,360 --> 03:05:25,040
it was the rule. Either way, I let go of

2517
03:05:25,079 --> 03:05:31,639
the handle and stepped back my whole body shaking. I

2518
03:05:31,799 --> 03:05:38,120
didn't sleep that night. I wish I could tell you

2519
03:05:38,639 --> 03:05:42,040
this is where it stopped. That after ignoring the scream

2520
03:05:42,079 --> 03:05:45,159
and the whispers and whatever the hell happened with the lake,

2521
03:05:45,799 --> 03:05:48,079
I just rode up my time and left the park

2522
03:05:48,200 --> 03:05:52,959
like a normal person. But that's not how it works here.

2523
03:05:54,959 --> 03:05:58,840
It was the manual that tipped me off. One morning,

2524
03:05:59,079 --> 03:06:01,879
I woke up to find it sitting on my kitchen table.

2525
03:06:03,120 --> 03:06:05,440
I swear I had left it in the drawer, but

2526
03:06:05,520 --> 03:06:10,079
there it was, right next to my untouched breakfast. I

2527
03:06:10,120 --> 03:06:13,639
thought someone had just left it out, but then I

2528
03:06:13,680 --> 03:06:20,280
saw the writing. The rules had changed. The old ones

2529
03:06:20,319 --> 03:06:23,840
were still there, ignore the screaming, don't look at the lake,

2530
03:06:24,879 --> 03:06:30,360
but new ones had appeared, scribbled in handwriting. I didn't recognize.

2531
03:06:30,559 --> 03:06:35,959
One read the cabin lights must stay on after dark. Another,

2532
03:06:37,000 --> 03:06:40,680
if you hear knocking from inside the walls, don't investigate.

2533
03:06:42,399 --> 03:06:45,079
But the one that made my stomach drop was at

2534
03:06:45,120 --> 03:06:49,879
the bottom of the page. You are part of the cycle.

2535
03:06:51,200 --> 03:06:58,040
You must stay. I stared at it for a long time,

2536
03:06:58,639 --> 03:07:02,440
hoping I misread it, losing my mind. Part of me

2537
03:07:02,559 --> 03:07:05,319
wanted to crumple the page, toss it in the trash

2538
03:07:05,639 --> 03:07:11,600
and pretend I hadn't seen it, but I couldn't. Something

2539
03:07:11,639 --> 03:07:17,719
about it felt final. It wasn't instructions. I could just

2540
03:07:17,799 --> 03:07:24,000
ignore That. Afternoon, I went to find Ed. He was

2541
03:07:24,040 --> 03:07:26,959
sitting on the porch of his cabin, sipping coffee like

2542
03:07:27,079 --> 03:07:32,159
everything was fine, like none of this was happening. Ed,

2543
03:07:32,840 --> 03:07:36,239
I said, holding up the manual, What the hell is this?

2544
03:07:38,760 --> 03:07:43,280
He barely glanced at it. It's the rules. Don't give

2545
03:07:43,319 --> 03:07:48,280
me that the rules are changing. Look. I flipped to

2546
03:07:48,319 --> 03:07:52,040
the new entry, shoving it toward him. What does this mean?

2547
03:07:52,479 --> 03:07:55,040
What the hell is the cycle? Why does it say

2548
03:07:55,040 --> 03:08:00,719
I have to stay? Ed didn't say anything at first,

2549
03:08:01,600 --> 03:08:06,799
He just stared at the horizon, his face unreadable. Finally,

2550
03:08:07,239 --> 03:08:12,000
he sighed and put down his mug. I told you

2551
03:08:12,200 --> 03:08:15,239
follow the rules, Nick, that's all you had to do.

2552
03:08:17,200 --> 03:08:20,879
What does that mean? My voice cracked, but I didn't care.

2553
03:08:21,719 --> 03:08:24,760
You knew this was going to happen, didn't you. You knew,

2554
03:08:24,959 --> 03:08:30,360
and you didn't say anything. His eyes met mine, and

2555
03:08:30,399 --> 03:08:34,000
for the first time I saw cracks in his calm demeanor.

2556
03:08:35,719 --> 03:08:42,639
He looked tired, defeated. The rules aren't just there to

2557
03:08:42,719 --> 03:08:47,479
keep you safe, he said quietly, they're part of the agreement.

2558
03:08:48,840 --> 03:08:54,639
What agreement with the forest, he said, his voice barely

2559
03:08:54,680 --> 03:08:59,079
above a whisper. It takes what it wants. The rules

2560
03:08:59,120 --> 03:09:01,840
are how we keep it at bay. But once you

2561
03:09:01,840 --> 03:09:07,200
start breaking them, he trowled off, shaking his head. You

2562
03:09:07,319 --> 03:09:13,319
can't undo it, Nick, It's already claimed you. That night,

2563
03:09:13,920 --> 03:09:17,680
I didn't bother trying to sleep. I sat at the table,

2564
03:09:18,120 --> 03:09:21,719
the manual open in front of me, The words you

2565
03:09:21,799 --> 03:09:28,959
must stay burned into my brain. The footsteps started around midnight.

2566
03:09:30,040 --> 03:09:33,719
At first they were faint, just a soft shuffle outside

2567
03:09:33,760 --> 03:09:38,559
the cabin. Then they grew louder, circling the walls, passing

2568
03:09:38,600 --> 03:09:42,079
by the windows. I kept my eyes on the manual,

2569
03:09:42,479 --> 03:09:48,040
my foot shaking nervously, trying to focus. Then came the knocking.

2570
03:09:49,639 --> 03:09:53,280
It was slow at first, deliberate, like someone tapping their

2571
03:09:53,360 --> 03:09:57,440
knuckles against the wood. But it didn't come from the door.

2572
03:09:58,920 --> 03:10:04,040
It was inside the walls. I tried to block it out,

2573
03:10:04,440 --> 03:10:08,000
repeating the rules in my head like a prayer. But

2574
03:10:08,120 --> 03:10:12,959
then I made the mistake of looking up. My reflection

2575
03:10:13,200 --> 03:10:17,920
was in the window, staring back at me. Except it

2576
03:10:18,000 --> 03:10:23,120
wasn't me. It looked like me, same face, same clothes,

2577
03:10:24,159 --> 03:10:29,000
but his expression was wrong. Its mouth curved into a grin.

2578
03:10:29,159 --> 03:10:32,719
I wasn't making its eyes darker than they should have been.

2579
03:10:34,159 --> 03:10:39,079
He raised a hand, pointing behind me. I turned around.

2580
03:10:40,360 --> 03:10:45,959
Nothing was there, but the footsteps inside the cabin didn't stop.

2581
03:10:48,879 --> 03:10:52,319
Ed came to my cabin the next morning. He didn't

2582
03:10:52,399 --> 03:10:55,559
knock or asked permission to come in, just opened the door,

2583
03:10:55,879 --> 03:11:00,959
stepped inside, and stood there like he belonged. You're taking

2584
03:11:01,040 --> 03:11:05,440
the North patrol to day, he said. His voice was flat,

2585
03:11:05,840 --> 03:11:08,760
like we hadn't had that whole conversation about the cycle,

2586
03:11:09,319 --> 03:11:12,799
like I hadn't spent the entire night hearing footsteps inside

2587
03:11:12,799 --> 03:11:17,760
my cabin. I didn't argue. What would have been the

2588
03:11:17,799 --> 03:11:22,120
point if I refused. He'd just give me some cryptic warning,

2589
03:11:22,520 --> 03:11:26,440
maybe shove the manual at me. I nodded and grobbed

2590
03:11:26,520 --> 03:11:30,920
my gear. The manual stayed on the table. I didn't

2591
03:11:30,920 --> 03:11:34,920
want it near me. The patrol route was one of

2592
03:11:34,959 --> 03:11:38,399
the longer ones, winding past the lake and cutting through

2593
03:11:38,399 --> 03:11:41,239
a part of the forest I'd avoided since I started

2594
03:11:41,239 --> 03:11:45,680
the job. It was in a hard trail, but something

2595
03:11:45,680 --> 03:11:50,479
about it felt heavy, like the air itself was thicker,

2596
03:11:50,959 --> 03:11:56,079
harder to breathe. I passed the lake first. The surface

2597
03:11:56,159 --> 03:12:00,680
was glassy, perfectly still, reflecting the sky like a mirror.

2598
03:12:02,079 --> 03:12:05,239
I kept my head down, refusing to look too closely,

2599
03:12:06,159 --> 03:12:09,360
but out of the corner of my eye, I swear

2600
03:12:09,399 --> 03:12:17,040
I saw something someone just beneath the surface. Lisa, her

2601
03:12:17,079 --> 03:12:22,239
pale face, her eyes wide, staring up at me. I

2602
03:12:22,280 --> 03:12:24,360
don't know if it was real or if my mind

2603
03:12:24,440 --> 03:12:29,079
was playing tricks, but I hurried past, not daring to stop.

2604
03:12:30,440 --> 03:12:33,479
Further down the trail, I found a flashlight that belonged

2605
03:12:33,479 --> 03:12:37,840
to Harris, another ranger, lying in the dirt. It was

2606
03:12:37,959 --> 03:12:41,959
caked with mud. The lens cracked. I picked it up

2607
03:12:42,000 --> 03:12:47,799
without thinking, then immediately dropped it. The metal was ice cold,

2608
03:12:48,239 --> 03:12:50,879
like it had been sitting in a freezer, not out

2609
03:12:50,920 --> 03:12:55,159
in the open sun. That's when I started to notice

2610
03:12:55,479 --> 03:12:59,760
the forest wasn't quiet anymore. There were faint whispers coming

2611
03:12:59,760 --> 03:13:04,319
from the trees, layered and overlapping, like a hundred voices

2612
03:13:04,440 --> 03:13:08,879
murmuring just out of earshot. I couldn't make out the words,

2613
03:13:09,719 --> 03:13:14,280
but I didn't need to. I knew they were for me.

2614
03:13:16,719 --> 03:13:19,680
By the time I reached the park boundary, my legs

2615
03:13:19,719 --> 03:13:23,520
felt like lead. The air had a strange pull to it,

2616
03:13:23,959 --> 03:13:28,479
like the forest itself was holding me back. I stopped

2617
03:13:28,520 --> 03:13:31,120
at the edge of the tree line, staring out at

2618
03:13:31,120 --> 03:13:36,879
the empty road beyond, and an intrusive thought hit me.

2619
03:13:39,120 --> 03:13:44,399
I could leave right then, right there. I could drop

2620
03:13:44,399 --> 03:13:47,840
my gear, walk out of the forest and never look back.

2621
03:13:49,159 --> 03:13:52,719
I'd lose the job, sure, but I'd keep my life,

2622
03:13:53,399 --> 03:13:56,719
my real life, the one I'd had before all of this.

2623
03:13:59,600 --> 03:14:03,719
But then I thought about the manual, the rules Head's warnings.

2624
03:14:05,000 --> 03:14:08,639
The forest takes what it wants, he'd said. What if

2625
03:14:08,760 --> 03:14:12,559
leaving wasn't an escape? What if I took something with me,

2626
03:14:13,159 --> 03:14:17,159
whatever this was, and it followed me home, Or worse,

2627
03:14:17,680 --> 03:14:21,319
what if leaving through everything off balance, broke the agreement

2628
03:14:21,719 --> 03:14:25,840
and dragged someone else into this nightmare. I stood there

2629
03:14:25,879 --> 03:14:30,000
for what felt like ours, staring at the road. My

2630
03:14:30,120 --> 03:14:34,680
mind was screaming at me to run, but my legs

2631
03:14:34,680 --> 03:14:40,319
wouldn't move. The whispers grew louder, circling around me, wrapping

2632
03:14:40,360 --> 03:14:45,840
me in their invisible grip, and then just like that,

2633
03:14:47,719 --> 03:14:56,200
they stopped. The forest went silent, completely, utterly silent. I

2634
03:14:56,280 --> 03:15:02,000
turned back, my heart pounding the true He seemed taller, darker,

2635
03:15:02,600 --> 03:15:04,440
and the trail i'd come down looked like it had

2636
03:15:04,520 --> 03:15:09,319
never been there at all. I don't remember much about

2637
03:15:09,360 --> 03:15:12,799
walking back to the cabin. It felt like the forest

2638
03:15:12,840 --> 03:15:16,120
that swallowed me whole, and when I stepped through the door,

2639
03:15:16,719 --> 03:15:20,120
I couldn't tell if I'd escaped or walked deeper into

2640
03:15:20,200 --> 03:15:24,959
something far worse. The air inside was stale and cold.

2641
03:15:25,719 --> 03:15:29,159
My body ate like I'd run a marathon. But the

2642
03:15:29,200 --> 03:15:34,200
exhaustion wasn't just physical. It was in my bones, my mind.

2643
03:15:35,639 --> 03:15:38,920
I locked the door, bolted it twice, and sat down

2644
03:15:38,959 --> 03:15:45,399
at the table. The manual was still there waiting. I

2645
03:15:45,440 --> 03:15:50,319
opened it, slowly, flipping through the pages. The rules were

2646
03:15:50,319 --> 03:15:55,440
the same, or at least I thought they were. I

2647
03:15:55,479 --> 03:15:59,479
read each one carefully, over and over, like I was

2648
03:15:59,559 --> 03:16:06,840
memorized in scripture. I understood now. The rules weren't suggestions,

2649
03:16:07,239 --> 03:16:12,520
they weren't folklore. They were survival. As long as I

2650
03:16:12,680 --> 03:16:18,399
followed them, I could stay. I wouldn't disappear like Lisa,

2651
03:16:18,920 --> 03:16:23,120
wouldn't dissolve into whispers like Harris. The virus might have

2652
03:16:23,200 --> 03:16:26,479
claimed me, but it wouldn't take me all at once.

2653
03:16:29,200 --> 03:16:32,959
I fell into a routine after that, patrol during the day,

2654
03:16:33,479 --> 03:16:37,479
locked the door at night, I didn't ask questions anymore.

2655
03:16:37,959 --> 03:16:40,879
I didn't peek through the curtains when the footsteps started.

2656
03:16:41,520 --> 03:16:45,479
I didn't let myself think about leaving, because I knew

2657
03:16:45,879 --> 03:16:52,280
there wasn't anywhere to go. Sometimes I still heard the scream.

2658
03:16:52,959 --> 03:16:57,559
It's always distant, now muffled, like it's coming from miles away.

2659
03:16:59,040 --> 03:17:03,040
Maybe that's what happened. You fade into the forest, slowly,

2660
03:17:03,799 --> 03:17:09,079
until you're just another sound in the dark. I don't

2661
03:17:09,120 --> 03:17:13,159
know how long it's been. Time gets slippery out here.

2662
03:17:14,159 --> 03:17:18,799
The days blurred together, and the nights feel endless. I've

2663
03:17:18,840 --> 03:17:23,600
stopped counting the seasons, stopped looking at the calendar. The

2664
03:17:23,680 --> 03:17:29,760
forest doesn't care about dates, so why should I. But

2665
03:17:30,479 --> 03:17:36,000
something new has changed things. Last week I saw headlights

2666
03:17:36,040 --> 03:17:39,879
through the trees, a new ranger pulling into the station.

2667
03:17:41,319 --> 03:17:44,440
I watched from a distance as ed handed in the manual.

2668
03:17:46,040 --> 03:17:50,879
The kid looks so young, so confident. I wanted to

2669
03:17:50,920 --> 03:17:53,879
warn him, wanted to scream at him to leave now

2670
03:17:53,959 --> 03:18:00,399
while he still could, But I didn't. I guess the

2671
03:18:00,440 --> 03:18:08,440
forest was watching, and the rules are clear. He has

2672
03:18:08,600 --> 03:18:13,840
unknowingly became a player in this game, and I just

2673
03:18:13,959 --> 03:18:17,079
pray he doesn't lose