1
00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:05,559
Speaker 1: When I first started working at the Lost Airline luggage warehouse,

2
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,080
I thought it would be the kind of job you

3
00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,919
could do an autopilot, you know, sorting through suitcases, matching

4
00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,879
tags and occasionally finding the weird stuff people left behind,

5
00:00:17,879 --> 00:00:20,839
like that one time someone backed an entire taxidermid raccoon.

6
00:00:22,199 --> 00:00:25,839
But after a few months, the novelty wore off and

7
00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,000
it became just rose and rose of unclaimed baggage waiting

8
00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:33,759
for someone who was never going to show up. The

9
00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:38,520
place is massive, like a graveyard for forgotten lives. We

10
00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,880
hold onto bags for ninety days. If no one claims them,

11
00:00:43,119 --> 00:00:46,880
the contents are auctioned off and the cycle starts over.

12
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:53,359
My supervisor, Dale once joked that every suitcase holds a secret,

13
00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,479
but most of the time it's just dirty laundry and

14
00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,759
charges for phones no one uses anymore. But then I

15
00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:06,439
noticed something strange. A section of the warehouse I hadn't

16
00:01:06,439 --> 00:01:10,040
paid much attention to before. It was tucked in the

17
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:15,000
back past the rows of unclaimed baggage. The area was

18
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:21,959
marked with a faded sign that just said claimed. At

19
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,680
first I didn't think much of it. I figured they

20
00:01:25,719 --> 00:01:29,439
were bags people had come to collect, But the weird

21
00:01:29,439 --> 00:01:35,519
thing was they were all still there, perfectly stacked, perfectly clean,

22
00:01:36,359 --> 00:01:40,760
no dust, no tags, no signs of wear, and they

23
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:45,560
didn't show up on the logs. One night, during inventory,

24
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,040
I asked Dale about it. What's the deal with the

25
00:01:49,079 --> 00:01:54,319
claimed bags? I said, trying to sound casual. He didn't

26
00:01:54,359 --> 00:01:58,200
even look up from his clipboard. Some things are better

27
00:01:58,319 --> 00:02:02,719
left alone. He must then change the subject to tomorrow's

28
00:02:02,719 --> 00:02:06,400
auction prep. That answer should have been enough for me

29
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,639
to let it go, but the bag stuck in my head,

30
00:02:11,199 --> 00:02:14,879
something about how pristine they looked, like they didn't belong there,

31
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,039
or maybe belonged too much, like they'd always been there.

32
00:02:22,159 --> 00:02:24,520
The thing about working late in a place like this

33
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,319
is that your mind starts to play tricks on you.

34
00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:31,919
The warehouse is dead quiet after hours, except for the

35
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000
hum of the overhead lights and the occasional creak of

36
00:02:35,039 --> 00:02:38,639
the metal shelves. It's the kind of silence that makes

37
00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,479
you jump at your own shadow. One night, I was

38
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:50,719
wrapping up some inventory when I heard it shuffling. Something

39
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:55,319
was moving in the far corner of the warehouse. My

40
00:02:55,439 --> 00:02:59,080
first thought was a stray animal, maybe a raccoon that

41
00:02:59,159 --> 00:03:03,159
snuck in somehow, or knowing Dale, it could have been

42
00:03:03,199 --> 00:03:06,919
some dumb prank to spook the new guy. I grabbed

43
00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:11,360
a flashlight and headed toward the sound. The shuffling stopped

44
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,960
as soon as I got close to the claim section.

45
00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:19,039
There was nothing there, just the same neat rows of

46
00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:25,199
pristine bags untouched. But when I looked closer, one of

47
00:03:25,199 --> 00:03:29,159
the bags was out of place. It had been moved

48
00:03:29,199 --> 00:03:33,800
to a different aisle. I was sure of it. I

49
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:44,120
called out, Dale, you're messing with me. No answer. I

50
00:03:44,199 --> 00:03:48,039
stood there for a while, listening, but all I heard

51
00:03:48,159 --> 00:03:50,639
was the hum of the light and my own heart beat.

52
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,800
Finally I choked it up to me being tired and

53
00:03:54,919 --> 00:04:00,319
went back to my work. The next day, I didn't

54
00:04:00,319 --> 00:04:05,319
stop thinking about that bag. It didn't make sense. No

55
00:04:05,319 --> 00:04:07,840
one else had been in the warehouse that night, and

56
00:04:07,879 --> 00:04:12,960
the logs didn't show anything unusual. Curiosity got the better

57
00:04:13,039 --> 00:04:16,600
of me, and I decided to take a closer look.

58
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,639
I picked a bag at random, a sleek black duffel

59
00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,920
with no tags or identifying marks. My hands were shaking

60
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,519
as I unzipped it, half expecting to find something gruesome

61
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,279
like those urban legends about body parts in lost luggage. Instead,

62
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:44,120
I found my childhood. The first thing I pulled out

63
00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:48,040
was a tattered copy of The Hobbit, the exact same

64
00:04:48,199 --> 00:04:50,399
edition my dad used to read me when I was little.

65
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,920
The corners were bent in the same way, like someone

66
00:04:53,959 --> 00:04:57,560
a dog eared the pages. Then there was a faded

67
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,879
red jacket, my mom's jacket. I hadn't seen it in years,

68
00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,319
but I recognized the frayed cuffs and the small ink

69
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:13,040
stain on the pocket. And then I saw the photo.

70
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,639
It was a picture of me as a teenager, standing

71
00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,279
in front of what looked like a campfire. For the

72
00:05:20,319 --> 00:05:25,720
people around me, I didn't know any of them. They

73
00:05:25,759 --> 00:05:28,879
were smiling, leaning in like we were all best friends,

74
00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:34,920
but I couldn't place a single face. What really got me, though,

75
00:05:35,319 --> 00:05:41,720
was the photo itself. It wasn't just old, It looked wrong.

76
00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,560
The edges were warped, like the image had been stretched

77
00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,319
too far, and the sky in the background was a

78
00:05:48,399 --> 00:05:51,720
sickly shade of green. As it did, the bag up

79
00:05:51,759 --> 00:05:54,600
and shoved it back on the shelf, my heart pounding.

80
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,480
Maybe it was some kind of elaborate joke, maybe someone

81
00:05:59,519 --> 00:06:02,319
had found my stuff online or dug through records to

82
00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:10,079
mess with me. But deep down I knew better. I

83
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,560
should have let it go. I should have zipped that

84
00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,920
bag up and walked away for good. But when you

85
00:06:15,959 --> 00:06:18,560
see pieces of your own life staring back at you

86
00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:24,240
things you can't explain, you can't just ignore it. At

87
00:06:24,319 --> 00:06:29,839
least I couldn't. The next night, I stayed late again.

88
00:06:30,519 --> 00:06:35,240
I told myself I was finishing inventory, but really I

89
00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:39,759
couldn't stop thinking about that bag. I needed to see

90
00:06:39,879 --> 00:06:44,319
if what I found was still inside. Maybe I'd imagined it,

91
00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:48,560
maybe someone was screwing with me. But when I opened it,

92
00:06:49,759 --> 00:06:55,160
the contents had changed. It wasn't the book or jacket anymore.

93
00:06:56,199 --> 00:07:00,759
This time there was a watch, my watch, the one

94
00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,480
i'd lost three years ago on a camping trip. Next

95
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,319
To it was a folded up piece of paper, and

96
00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,839
when I opened it, I nearly dropped it. It was

97
00:07:11,879 --> 00:07:18,759
a note written in my handwriting, You're almost there, keep looking,

98
00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,959
but I didn't remember writing it. And then there was

99
00:07:24,959 --> 00:07:28,480
the toy plane. It was identical to one I used

100
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,040
to have as a kid, right down to the chipped

101
00:07:31,079 --> 00:07:36,079
wing and the faded blue paint. It couldn't have been coincidence,

102
00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,800
it just couldn't. I zipped the bag back up, my

103
00:07:41,879 --> 00:07:46,160
hand shaking and shoved it back in the shelf. For

104
00:07:46,279 --> 00:07:48,839
the rest of the night, I tried to act normal,

105
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,920
but my head was spinning. What the hell was happening,

106
00:07:54,600 --> 00:08:00,000
Who could have put those things in there? And why?

107
00:08:00,279 --> 00:08:05,800
Day things got weirder. Dale was jumpy more than usual.

108
00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,279
He barely looked at me when I clocked in, and

109
00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,680
at one point I caught him on the phone. He

110
00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,759
was pacing near the breakroom, muttering under his breath, but

111
00:08:16,879 --> 00:08:21,240
I swear I heard him say another one's getting close.

112
00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,199
When he noticed me, he hung up fast and walked off,

113
00:08:26,519 --> 00:08:32,480
pretending like nothing had happened. Other people started noticing things too.

114
00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,240
A couple of the guys joked about hearing whispers when

115
00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,399
they passed the claim section. One of them, Chris, said

116
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,679
it sounded like someone was calling his name, but he

117
00:08:43,759 --> 00:08:47,759
laughed it off. This place as creepy as hell at night, man,

118
00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:51,279
he said, shaking his head. I'm not going near that

119
00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:58,600
corner again. And then the dream started. The first one

120
00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:03,200
wasn't bad, just strange. I was sitting at a dinner

121
00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:08,279
table with a family that felt familiar, like I should

122
00:09:08,279 --> 00:09:13,279
have known them, but I didn't. They were laughing, talking,

123
00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:19,080
passing dishes around. It was warm, comfortable, But when I

124
00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,720
woke up, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

125
00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,279
I don't have a family like that. I never have.

126
00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:33,320
Then exttreme was worse. I was standing in a church

127
00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:39,720
wearing a tuxedo, holding someone's hand, a bride. I couldn't

128
00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,120
see her face, but I knew, I knew I was

129
00:09:43,159 --> 00:09:47,759
supposed to know her. My heart was raising, not from fear,

130
00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:53,080
but from something else, like longing or regret. When I

131
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,480
woke up, I felt this crushing emptiness, like I'd lost

132
00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:04,320
something I never even had. Every night there was something new,

133
00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,200
a birthday. I'd never been to a road trip, I

134
00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,600
never took a life that didn't belong to me, but

135
00:10:12,799 --> 00:10:16,720
somehow felt like it did. It was like the bag

136
00:10:16,799 --> 00:10:22,039
wasn't just holding objects, he was holding memories, pieces of

137
00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,759
a life that I was starting to think might have

138
00:10:24,879 --> 00:10:31,159
been mine, or could have been mine. I couldn't stop

139
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:38,679
thinking about it. I couldn't stop going back. It was

140
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:43,000
around midnight when I was finally alone, and I decided

141
00:10:43,039 --> 00:10:46,279
to investigate anything that could tell me what was going on.

142
00:10:47,639 --> 00:10:50,240
I only had enough access in the computers to check

143
00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,919
data on the main luggage. We sorted. Dale was a

144
00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,840
stand up guy, but not the smartest when it came

145
00:10:56,879 --> 00:11:01,960
to technology, so getting into his account was easy. His

146
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,799
password was on a sticky note under the monitor. The

147
00:11:07,039 --> 00:11:12,039
claim section wasn't in any of the official documentation. It

148
00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,440
was like it didn't exist. The first thing I noticed

149
00:11:16,799 --> 00:11:20,919
was how sparse the records were. There were no flight numbers,

150
00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,519
no name of passengers, no airports of origin, just dates

151
00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:30,120
and vague location tags. But then I scrolled further back

152
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:38,840
and my stomach dropped. The logs listed names, names of people,

153
00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,519
former employees, frequent travelers, even a couple of warehouse delivery drivers.

154
00:11:45,759 --> 00:11:51,480
Each name was flagged as unaccounted for missing. The timestamps

155
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,759
in the logs didn't make sense either. They showed dates weeks,

156
00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,440
sometimes months after these people had supposedly vanished, like the

157
00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,759
system was still tracking them even though they were gone.

158
00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,399
I didn't sleep that night. Every sound in my apartment

159
00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,440
made me jump, and every shadow felt like it was

160
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,720
creeping closer. By the next morning, I knew I couldn't

161
00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:23,679
keep this to myself. I cornered Dale during lunch, catching

162
00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,919
him off guard as he stood by the vending machines. Dale,

163
00:12:28,519 --> 00:12:32,080
what's going on? Were the claimed bags? I asked, keeping

164
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:38,279
my voice low. His expression shifted instantly. It wasn't just fear,

165
00:12:39,399 --> 00:12:44,879
it was resignation, like he'd been waiting for this. You've

166
00:12:44,919 --> 00:12:49,440
been poking around too much, he muttered, glancing nervously toward

167
00:12:49,519 --> 00:12:53,519
the security cameras. Why are their names tied to the bags?

168
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,120
People who went missing? What the hell is this place?

169
00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:05,200
I demanded, dale side, his shoulders slumping. You weren't supposed

170
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,759
to dig this deep. Look those bags they're not normal.

171
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,879
They don't belong to any airline, any traveler. They belong

172
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:24,039
to people have been taken, taken by who? Not who? What?

173
00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,960
He said, his voice dropping to a whisper. Those bags

174
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:35,039
are like anchors. They're tied to something else, somewhere else.

175
00:13:35,799 --> 00:13:39,559
When you open one, you're inviting it in. It starts

176
00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:44,159
pulling pieces of you, rewriting things. The more you interact,

177
00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:49,639
the harder it is to stay here. Eventually, you just go.

178
00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,399
I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.

179
00:13:56,519 --> 00:14:01,159
It sounded insane, but every strange thing I'd seen in

180
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,240
that warehouse suddenly felt like a puzzle snapping into place.

181
00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,279
Why didn't you warn me, I asked, my voice shaking.

182
00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:17,240
I tried, he said, but curiosity always wins. It's why

183
00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,200
they keep sending people like us to work here, people

184
00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,720
who need the job but won't be missed. If something happens. Now,

185
00:14:25,519 --> 00:14:31,799
you're in too deep. Whatever's in those bags, it's noticed you.

186
00:14:34,919 --> 00:14:38,080
That night, when I walked into the warehouse for my shift,

187
00:14:38,879 --> 00:14:41,320
the first thing I saw was a new bag in

188
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:46,559
the claim section. It wasn't there before. It was smaller

189
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:52,679
than the others, almost like a carry on. My name

190
00:14:53,240 --> 00:15:00,639
was printed on the tag. My froze, my stomach twisting into.

191
00:15:01,519 --> 00:15:05,840
The bag was locked, but as I stood there, I

192
00:15:05,919 --> 00:15:11,600
heard it a faint tapping from inside, like someone was

193
00:15:11,679 --> 00:15:19,200
knocking to get out. I knew I was in over

194
00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,399
my head, but by this point, the bag with my

195
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,799
name on it was all I could think about. It

196
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,519
wasn't just curiosity anymore. It felt like a compulsion, a

197
00:15:30,519 --> 00:15:35,480
pull I couldn't ignore. That night, I waited until the

198
00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:40,159
warehouse was empty and the cameras were angled away. My

199
00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:47,480
hands were shaking when I broke it open. Inside there

200
00:15:47,559 --> 00:15:53,639
was no clothing or trinkets, no personal items, just a shimmering,

201
00:15:53,960 --> 00:16:01,039
mirror like surface. It was unnatural, almost liquid, but solid

202
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:05,799
at the same time. I leaned closer, and my reflection

203
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:11,960
stared back at me, except it wasn't quite right. My

204
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:17,399
face looked older, tired, The scar on my chin from

205
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:22,120
middle school wasn't there. Before I could process it, the

206
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,919
surface rippled and I felt myself being pulled forward. I

207
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,279
tried to step back, but my legs wouldn't move. The

208
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:36,879
world around me blurred, and suddenly I was somewhere else.

209
00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,960
The warehouse was still there, but it wasn't the same.

210
00:16:44,279 --> 00:16:49,879
The lights flickered erratically, casting long, distorted shadows. The air

211
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:55,279
was thick, suffocating, and everything was silent, not the kind

212
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,240
of silence where you could hear you and breathing, but

213
00:16:58,399 --> 00:17:04,839
avoid like didn't exist. The aisles stretched endlessly in every direction,

214
00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,279
and every bag in the claim section was there, stacked

215
00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:15,400
high and moving ever so slightly on their own. Then

216
00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:23,799
I saw him, another me. He stepped out from one

217
00:17:23,799 --> 00:17:27,440
of the aisles, and I almost screamed. He looked just

218
00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:33,240
like me, but older, maybe by ten twenty years. His

219
00:17:33,319 --> 00:17:38,240
eyes were sunken, his skin pale and gaunt. He moved

220
00:17:38,319 --> 00:17:42,400
like every step was painful. But there was something worse

221
00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:48,960
than his appearance. It was the look on his face. Desperation.

222
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,640
You shouldn't have opened it, he said, his voice hoarse

223
00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,359
but clear. You need to leave now. What is this?

224
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:06,440
Who are you? I demanded, though my voice cracked halfway through.

225
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,319
I'm you, he said, his voice tinged with something close

226
00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:17,000
to regret. Oh I was, And if you don't leave,

227
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:25,240
you'll become me. I didn't understand, how could I? But

228
00:18:25,319 --> 00:18:28,839
he kept talking, fast and frantic, like he was running

229
00:18:28,839 --> 00:18:34,319
out of time. The bags aren't just lost luggage, they're markers.

230
00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,240
If you open yours, you'll bound to this place, this

231
00:18:38,839 --> 00:18:43,519
other version of the warehouse. He'll lose everything, your life,

232
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:50,079
your memories. You'll become a part of it. I tried

233
00:18:50,079 --> 00:18:55,119
to speak, but then I saw them, shadowy figures emerging

234
00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:00,880
from the aisles, moving slowly but deliberately. Arms were vague

235
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,759
like smoke, trying to take shape, but I could see

236
00:19:04,759 --> 00:19:11,160
the hints of faces, some anguished, some expressionless. They were

237
00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,680
the ones who would open their bags, victims trapped here forever.

238
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,559
They'll take you if you stay, the other me said,

239
00:19:20,839 --> 00:19:28,640
his voice trembling. Please don't let them take you. I

240
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,640
could barely breathe. The figures were getting closer, the void

241
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,880
like silence pressing down on me. The other me reached

242
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,480
into his own bag, his version of my bag, and

243
00:19:40,599 --> 00:19:45,519
pulled out the mirror like surface. This here's your way out,

244
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:53,279
he said, use it, don't look back. I hesitated, my

245
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,480
mind raising, but then I saw the figures reach for him.

246
00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,640
His face twisted in panic as he sh the mirror

247
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:07,200
towards me. Go, he screamed. I grabbed it and felt

248
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:11,559
the pull again, the same sensation as before, but reversed.

249
00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:18,680
The distorted warehouse blurred around me, and suddenly I was

250
00:20:18,759 --> 00:20:22,400
back in the real one, sprawled on the cold concrete

251
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:27,039
floor next to the bag. It was zipped shut like

252
00:20:27,079 --> 00:20:32,559
I'd never touched it. The silence was gone, replaced by

253
00:20:32,599 --> 00:20:36,440
the hum of the fluorescent lights, but my hands wouldn't

254
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:40,880
stop shaking. I stared at the bag, half expecting it

255
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:46,319
to move, but it didn't. I scrambled to my feet

256
00:20:46,599 --> 00:20:53,960
and ran, leaving everything behind. When I went back the

257
00:20:54,039 --> 00:21:00,680
day after opening my bag, something felt half. I walked

258
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,079
into the break room and my usual coffee mug, this

259
00:21:04,279 --> 00:21:09,640
old chips aamic one with my initials, wasn't on the counter. Instead,

260
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,759
there was a sleek, brand new travel mug I'd never

261
00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:17,119
seen before. Some one probably just moved it, I thought.

262
00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,400
But then I opened my locker. The photos of my

263
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:27,640
niece and nephew that i'd taped inside, gone, my spare

264
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:34,160
hoodie gone. In their place were things I didn't recognize.

265
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,039
A set of khakis I didn't own, a pair of

266
00:21:37,039 --> 00:21:41,400
sunglasses I'd never seen before. They weren't just random items.

267
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:47,960
They felt like placeholders, substitutes for my own life. When

268
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,359
I asked Dale about it, he gave me this blank look,

269
00:21:51,839 --> 00:21:55,759
like he didn't even know who I was. You knew

270
00:21:55,759 --> 00:22:00,319
here or something, he asked, scratching his head. The guy

271
00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:04,160
who trained me, who signed off my first paycheck, was

272
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,000
now acting like I was a stranger. I thought maybe

273
00:22:08,039 --> 00:22:11,160
he was screwing with me, But the way he looked

274
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:17,160
at me, confused, almost scared, it didn't feel like a joke.

275
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,119
The worst part was the claim section. My bag wasn't

276
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:27,680
there anymore. I combed through every aisle, every shelf, but

277
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:34,839
it was gone. Instead. There were new bags, ones I

278
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,799
didn't recognize, and I swear some of them were moving

279
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:47,400
ever so slightly, like they were breathing. I couldn't stay there.

280
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:53,400
The warehouse had changed, or maybe I had. Either way,

281
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,200
I left, I didn't even bother clocking out. I just

282
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,680
got in my car and drove, telling myself i'd never

283
00:23:01,759 --> 00:23:06,799
go back. For a day or two, I thought I

284
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,839
was in the clear. I stayed in bed, ignored my phone,

285
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:17,200
and tried to convince myself that everything was fine. But

286
00:23:17,319 --> 00:23:21,839
then the bag started showing up. The first time it

287
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,000
was in my car. I unlocked the drive to the

288
00:23:25,039 --> 00:23:29,519
grocery store, and there it was, sitting on the passenger

289
00:23:29,559 --> 00:23:33,160
seat like it had always been there. It wasn't the

290
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,799
same bag I'd opened in the warehouse, but it was

291
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:43,039
unmistakably one of those bags, pristine, untagged and humming faintly

292
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:48,519
with that same low static sound. I left my car

293
00:23:48,519 --> 00:23:53,480
in the lot and walked home. Then one appeared outside

294
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:59,960
my apartment door, same type, same unnerving hum. I didn't tell.

295
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,359
I stepped over it, slamming my door and shoved a

296
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,200
chair under the handle. When I finally worked up the

297
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:10,640
nerve to peek through the people a few hours later,

298
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:17,720
it was gone, but they kept coming, and I walked

299
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,160
to the park. I saw one sitting on a bench,

300
00:24:20,599 --> 00:24:25,000
perfectly placed as if waiting for me. Another was on

301
00:24:25,039 --> 00:24:27,559
the side of the road, half hidden in the weeds,

302
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:33,319
but I knew it was meant for me. They're not

303
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:41,240
just bags anymore, the markers, warnings, reminders. Then I can

304
00:24:41,319 --> 00:24:46,880
feel them closing in. I thought quitting would end it.

305
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,319
I thought walking away from that damn warehouse would mean

306
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,640
I could finally sleep, that I could leave all this behind.

307
00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,200
I was so wrong with the bags, those claimed bags.

308
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:06,119
They don't leave you alone. After I left, I moved

309
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,200
back in with my parents for a while, the thought

310
00:25:09,319 --> 00:25:12,640
of being alone in an apartment made my skin crawl.

311
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,000
Even now, I keep my blinds drawn and double check

312
00:25:17,039 --> 00:25:21,960
the locks on every door, every window, not that it helps.

313
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:27,480
The paranoia is always there, like something just out of

314
00:25:27,559 --> 00:25:34,319
sight waiting. The bags don't stop, or at least the

315
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:38,839
feeling of them doesn't. Sometimes, when the house is quiet

316
00:25:39,039 --> 00:25:42,920
and I'm trying to fall asleep, I hear faint tapping.

317
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:49,039
It's soft, rhythmic, like someone drumming their fingers on the floor.

318
00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,200
It always comes from places where something could hide, a

319
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:57,880
closet under the bed, even the trunk of my car.

320
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,960
Once I'll sit up, heart pounding and tell myself it's nothing.

321
00:26:04,559 --> 00:26:11,519
But I don't go locking, not anymore. Every now and

322
00:26:11,559 --> 00:26:15,519
then I dream about the warehouse. I see the rows

323
00:26:15,519 --> 00:26:20,000
of bags stretching into infinity, amaze I can't escape from.

324
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:25,319
Sometimes I hear Dale's voice echoing through the aisles, warning

325
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:31,480
me to stay away. Other Times I see myself, not

326
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,759
me as I am now, but a different version of me,

327
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,920
one who stayed, one who opened all the bags, one

328
00:26:40,599 --> 00:26:46,240
who never left, and he just smiles like he knows

329
00:26:46,279 --> 00:26:52,440
something I don't. I've tried to piece it all together

330
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:57,319
to make sense of it, but there's no explanation that satisfies.

331
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:03,839
The claim section wasn't unclaimed luggage. It was something else,

332
00:27:05,319 --> 00:27:09,559
a doorway, maybe a trap, or maybe just the cruel

333
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:14,720
joke the universe decided to play on me. I don't

334
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,799
want anyone else to go through what I did. If

335
00:27:18,799 --> 00:27:24,319
you ever lose your luggage, pray it's days last. Because

336
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,160
if you see your name on a bag that isn't yours,

337
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,480
don't open it, not even once,