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Speaker 1: Most people don't know about the ICD, the Integrated Contamination Division,

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and that's exactly how they like it. They've been around forever,

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quietly cleaning up the world's loose ends, the things that

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don't make sense, that don't belong. They're scoop top, locked

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away and forgotten. Officially, the ICD handle's biological hazards and

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experimental preservation. Unofficially, they're in the business of making the

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impossible disappear. I worked for them long enough to know

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better than to ask questions. Facility one twelve wasn't my

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first assignment, but it was the last. Places like that

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aren't for the curious. It's a simple job, a good

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fit for someone like me. I was used to it.

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You don't work for the ICD without learning to accept

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the strange. You hear things, rumors of living shadows, creatures

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with too many teeth, things I vanish. If you look

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directly at them, you don't get attached, you don't wonder,

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and you definitely don't ask what's in the sealed containment pods.

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You just keep your head down and follow the rules.

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The facility has tucked away when no one would think

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to look. It's not glamorous, and it's where they send

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the most dangerous and valuable finds. My job was to

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keep people out and things in. I'm not a scientist

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or an analyst, just one of the guards who patrols

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the halls, checks badges, and watches security feeds. The day

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they brought it in, the whole place felt wrong. Facility

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one twelve was usually quiet, sterile, almost for that day.

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There was this heavy tension in the air, like everyone

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was waiting for something bad to happen. I was stationed

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at one of the checkpoints when the transport team rolled through,

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eight people in hazmat suits wielding a massive containment pod,

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and no one was talking. It wasn't the usual protocol.

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It was fear. Even the scientists who normally treated these

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things like interesting puzzles, looked like they'd rather be somewhere else.

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I wasn't supposed to see it. My job was to

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check their clearance, make sure the path to containment Wing

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Sea was clear, and move on. But I lingered just

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for a moment, and when they opened the pod I

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saw it. After that I couldn't stop staring. The thing

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was enormous, at least twelve feet tall, Its wings folded

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against its body like dark shimmering curtains. The surface caught

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the light in strange ways, shifting like oil on water.

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Its body was covered in thick, dark fuzz, almost soft looking,

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but its eyes, its eyes were alive, black, unblinking and endless,

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like staring into a void that stared back. The moth

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didn't move, not once, not even when they locked it

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in the chamber. I hated looking at it. The longer

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you stared, the heavier it felt, like the air around

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it was pressing down on your chest. It was beautiful,

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but not in a way you could admire. It was

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the kind of beauty that made your stomach twist. It

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took some deep instinct in your gut telling you this

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thing wasn't right, that it wasn't supposed to exist. I

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told myself it was just another anomaly. That was the

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only way to get through it. You pretend these things

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don't matter, that they're just part of the job. But

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the moth wasn't like the others. You could feel it

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even from a distance, like it was waiting for something.

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You weren't supposed to care about the things they brought in.

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That was rule number one. But the moth made that impossible.

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I couldn't stop thinking about it, even when I wasn't

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on shift. It wasn't just the size of those unblinking eyes.

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It was the way the air felt heavier around it,

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the way it seemed so perfectly still but alive at

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the same time. I'd seen plenty of weird things come

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through Facility one twelve, but this was different. It wasn't

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just contained. It felt like the moth was letting us

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hold it, like it wanted to be there. It started

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to bother me more than it should have. On patrol,

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I passed by containment wing Sea, glancing toward the reinforced doors,

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like I was expecting something as shift in the air,

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as sound anything. The moth never moved, but its presence

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was constant, oppressive. I couldn't stop myself from wondering where

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it had come from, how the ICD had managed to

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capture something so alien so massive. Curiosity got the better

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of me, and I broke my own rule. I asked questions.

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It wasn't a big direct interrogation, just quite conversations off

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the record when no one else was around. I started

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with the other guards, guys I knew wouldn't report me

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Most of them shrugged it off, muttering things like big

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wig orders and above my pay grade. But then I

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got lucky. Henderson, one of the transport team members, was

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still stationed on site. He'd been part of the group

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that brought them off in. He wasn't supposed to talk

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about it, but he liked the sound of his own voice.

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You really want to know, he asked one night, leaning

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in conspiratorially during our shared break. His voice was low,

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and the hum of the vending machines was the only

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other sound in the room. This one's a special case.

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Came from deep in the Appalachia hillbilly country. You wouldn't

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believe the mess they found it in. He didn't wait

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for me to answer before launching in. Henderson never needed encouragement.

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Couple of hillbillies caught it, he said, smirking, like the

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whole thing was a joke. They found it just sitting

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there in the middle of the night in their barn.

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Can you believe that, as big as it is, just

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perch there, wings all folded up, didn't move a muscle.

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They thought he was some kind of demon. Chained it

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up and threw a tarp over it. Didn't even fight back.

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I frowned. It didn't move at all now once, he said,

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not when they tied it up, Not when they started

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poking it with sticks. They were trying to see if

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it was alive. You know. Even when we got there,

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it just sat there. The locals didn't know what to

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do with it. Claimed it was some kind of omen,

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said it showed up after the livestock started getting bigger.

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I hesitated bigger, how faster, stronger, muscles bulging. The farmers

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thought it was the feed of something until the horses

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started disappearing. Then the family started acting weird, didn't want

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to leave the barn, wouldn't eat anything that didn't come

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from the farm. By the time we got there, they

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were half feral dragging raw meat into the barn in

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the middle of the night. The words stuck in my throat.

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And the moth it just let you take it, folded

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its wings up real neat, like it was helping, Henderson said,

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shrugging like it was no big deal. Didn't resist, didn't

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make a sound. Weirdest damn thing I've ever seen. He

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said it so casually, but his words churned in my head.

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Long after creatures brought a facility one twelve were usually

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terrified or aggress if. I'd seen things the rash and

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containment pods and heard them screech and wail as the

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iced He's handlers wrestled them into their new cages. But this,

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this was different. The moth hadn't been captured. It had

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let itself be taken. Why and the family? I asked,

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After a long pause. Hennerson's smirk faded, his tone shifting

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like he realized he'd already said too much. Scrambled, he said, quietly,

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tapping his temple. Wipe clean. Like everyone else in that town,

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they didn't remember a thing, just thought. The horses got

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spooped and bolted. No, aren't done typical ICD work. But

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I started, but he cut me off with a sharp

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shake of his head. Look, man, you're better off not

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knowing the rest they handled. Okay, the locals, the farm,

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all of it. His gaze darted toward the door, as

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if someone might be listening. Forget I said anything. He

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stood up, rushing imaginary crumbs off his pants, and left

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the break room without another word. For a moment, I

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sat there in silence, staring at the empty chair he'd

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left behind. I wanted to stop thinking about it. I

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wanted to convince myself he was exaggerating, or at least

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then it wasn't my problem. That night I didn't sleep.

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I couldn't shake the image of a twelve foot creature

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calmly folding its wings, letting itself be captured. There was

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something wrong about that. Every time I closed my eyes,

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I saw those black, endless staring back at me, unblinking,

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like they already knew how this would end. Facility one

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twelve always had this sterile, chemical tang in the air,

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like bleach and burnt circuits. You got used to it

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after a while, to the point where you didn't even

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notice it anymore. But lately there was something else, faint

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but persistent, a metallic edge, sharp and clean, like the

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coppery taste you get when you accidentally bite the inside

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of your mouth hard enough for it to bleed. It

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hung heavier in the corridors near containment wing Sea, subtly

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enough to ignore it if you tried, but it was there.

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People noticed it. I could see it, and how they

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paused for just a second too long, nose twitching, glancing

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around like they couldn't place it. Then they'd shake it off,

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keep walking, keep pretending. Many of us had been at

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Facility one twelve for years, and you don't last that

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long without learning how to pretend. But pretending only worked

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for so long. I noticed other things, too subtle at first,

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but impossible to ignore once you knew what to look for.

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Wilson was the first. He wasn't exactly subtle. He'd always

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been a loud guy, the kind of person who filled

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the silence with stories about his kids or the lake

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he was building a dock for. But over the past

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week something about him had shifted. It wasn't like he

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stopped talking. It was how he spoke. His voice was steadier,

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more deliberate, like he'd stripped out every unnecessary word. It

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was a natural. It was a fear, and it wasn't

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just his voice. One day I caught him hauling a

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crate of equipment that usually took two people. He carried

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it like it weighed nothing. When I pointed it out,

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he gave me this tight smile. But there was something

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about the way he looked at me, like I was

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the one being weird. Feeling good lately, was all he said,

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before setting the crate down with a soft thud and

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walking off his stride, smooth, almost too smooth. Then there

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was Ramirrors. She was sharp, always had been, but lately

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her sharpness had taken on a different edge. She moved faster, quieter,

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like she'd been practicing. I caught her during her patrol,

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walking the carridor outside containment wing Sea. Normally you'd hear

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a boots echo against the concrete, but this time I

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didn't hear her until she was right in front of me.

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She nodded as she passed, and I nodded back. There

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was this brief moment when her eyes met mine. It

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was in a look exactly, It was more like she

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was assessing me. Even Henderson, the guy who never stopped talking,

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wasn't the same. He still ran his mouth, but there

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was an intensity to him now, I called energy that

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hadn't been there before. When he spoke, he leaned in

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too close, his words clipped and precise, like he was

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trying to convince you of something without outright saying it.

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And then there was me, and I felt it too,

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not in the same way, not yet, but enough to

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make me uneasy. Every time I passed by the observation window,

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I'd catch myself slowing down like my feet were stuck

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in honey, staring at the monitor feed. The moth never moved,

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but it didn't need to. Its presence was enough. Its

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wings shimmered under the lights, the patterns and them twisting

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ever so slightly, like they were alive, And those eyes,

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black bottomless, seemed to pull you in if you looked

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too long. One night, during a patrol, I heard them, voices,

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low and urgent, coming from the storage room near containment

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wing Sea. I paused outside the door, my heart hammering,

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and listened Henderson and Ramirez, their words muffled but clear

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enough to make out pieces of their conversation. You felt it,

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haven't you, Henderson was saying, his tone sharper than usual.

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It's like like it knows you're there. Ramiro replied, her

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voice tight, almost breathless. And when you're close enough, she

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cut herself off, her words, breaking into a low laugh.

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It wasn't the kind of laugh I'd heard from her before.

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It was soft and warm, like she just told a joke.

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Only she understood. Don't fight it. Henderson said, you've seen Wilson.

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He's better, stronger. You will be too. I stepped back,

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careful not to let my boots scrape the floor. Even

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a tiny squeak threatened to reveal my location. My chest

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felt tight, my pulse thudding in my ears. I didn't

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know what they were talking about, not exactly, but it

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was enough to make me realize I wasn't imagining things.

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Something was happening that night. I kept seeing them, Henderson

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and Ramirez, walking down that corridor in perfect step, their

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faces calm but unreadable. It wasn't just strange. It was

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wrong in a way I couldn't put into words. My

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mind kept circling back to Henderson's words, you've seen Wilson.

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He's better, stronger. You will be too stronger. I've been

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trying to ignore it, but it was true. Wilson had changed,

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They all had. I kept replaying the moment he lifted

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that crate like it weighed nothing, The way his movements

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were so smooth, almost efficient. It wasn't normal. None of

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it was. By the time my next shift rolled around,

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I'd convinced myself to stay out of it. Whatever was

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going on, it wasn't my business. I'd seen what happened

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to people who dug two deep at Facility one twelve.

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You didn't get answers you just disappeared. I told myself

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to focus on the routine patrol the hales, check the monitors,

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and keep my head down, nothing more. This is how

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it's always been. But it wasn't that easy, not when

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the signs were everywhere. My next shift started at midnight,

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and by then I was exhausted, the kind of tiredness

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00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,519
that makes you jump at shadows and second guess every sound.

240
00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,839
My patrol route was the same as always, down the

241
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,160
main corridor, past the labs, and then a sweep of

242
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Containment Wing Sea. I started dreading that part of the route,

243
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:14,440
but skipping it wasn't an option. The moth was always there,

244
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,960
motionless behind the thick glass, its wings folded neatly against

245
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,359
its massive body. It never moved, but the air in

246
00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:29,400
that corridor always felt heavier, like walking through water. A

247
00:19:29,519 --> 00:19:33,200
metallic tang was stronger there, too, clinging to your skin

248
00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:40,640
long after you walked away. But to night something was different.

249
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,960
I caught Wilson again in front of the observation window

250
00:19:46,039 --> 00:19:49,920
to Containment Wing Sea. He wasn't supposed to be there,

251
00:19:50,519 --> 00:19:54,759
his shift had ended hours ago, but there he was,

252
00:19:55,559 --> 00:19:59,039
staring into the chamber like he was waiting for something.

253
00:20:00,519 --> 00:20:05,920
His hands were by his sides, fingers twitching slightly. I hesitated,

254
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,240
watching him from the end of the hall for a moment.

255
00:20:10,559 --> 00:20:14,079
I thought about calling out to him, but before I could,

256
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:20,599
he turned and walked into the chamber, his steps quick

257
00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,519
and purposeful, as though he'd known I was there the

258
00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:30,200
whole time I followed him. I shouldn't have, but something

259
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:35,160
about the way he moved, so deliberate, so precise, drew

260
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,079
me in. He didn't stop until he reached one of

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00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,359
the storage rooms. The door clicked shut behind him, and

262
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I crept closer, staying in the shadows. The observation window

263
00:20:48,519 --> 00:20:56,720
for the moths chamber came into view, and I froze inside.

264
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:04,160
The lights were dim, casting long green shadows across the walls. Henderson, Ramirors,

265
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,759
and Wilson were there, standing in a loose circle around

266
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the moth. His wings shimmered faintly under the low light,

267
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,920
the patterns on them seeming to ripple, as if they

268
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,680
were alive. I should have turned back, I should have

269
00:21:19,759 --> 00:21:24,759
called it in, but I couldn't move. I stayed there,

270
00:21:25,319 --> 00:21:29,359
my breath caught in my chest, watching as Wilson stepped

271
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:36,000
closer to the moth. His movements were slow, deliberate, almost graceful.

272
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,119
He reached out his hand, brushing against the moth's thorax.

273
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For a moment, nothing happened. Then I saw it, a thick,

274
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,720
golden drop of liquid welling up from the point where

275
00:21:54,759 --> 00:21:59,000
his hand made contact. He clung to his fingers like honey,

276
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:04,480
glistening in the dim light. Wilson raised his hand to

277
00:22:04,519 --> 00:22:13,000
his mouth and drank. I bit down hard on my

278
00:22:13,079 --> 00:22:16,119
lip to keep from making a sound. My heart was

279
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,839
pounding so loud I was sure they could hear it.

280
00:22:20,039 --> 00:22:23,960
Ramirez was next. She knelt before the moth, Her head

281
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,640
tilted back as she reached for another bead of that

282
00:22:26,759 --> 00:22:30,680
golden liquid. Her face was lit with something I could

283
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,400
only describe as bliss. It made my stomach churn and

284
00:22:35,519 --> 00:22:41,079
Vomit threatened to crawl up into my mouth. Henderson went last.

285
00:22:42,519 --> 00:22:47,519
He didn't hesitate, didn't pause the thing. He stepped forward,

286
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,920
his movement smooth and practiced as though he'd done this

287
00:22:51,079 --> 00:22:56,880
dozens of times before. When he drank, his body shuddered briefly,

288
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:02,000
like a ripple passing through him, and he straightened his face,

289
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:08,079
eerily calm. They stayed there for a moment, silent, their

290
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:14,000
head slightly bowed. It was like watching a ritual, something sacred.

291
00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:21,640
The moth didn't move, didn't react, It just was its stillness,

292
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:27,079
more commanding than any motion could have been. I stepped

293
00:23:27,079 --> 00:23:31,240
back slowly, my head spinning, my pulse raising. But I

294
00:23:31,279 --> 00:23:34,759
couldn't let them see me if they knew I was there.

295
00:23:35,519 --> 00:23:39,279
I didn't want to think about what they'd do. Once

296
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,759
I was far enough away, I turned and hurried back

297
00:23:42,799 --> 00:23:48,759
to the break room, my hand shaking. I kept seeing it,

298
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,200
Wilson drinking from his fingers, we Mirror's kneeling like she

299
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,920
was in a prayer, Henderson's face as calm as stone,

300
00:23:58,519 --> 00:24:03,039
and the liquid, that golden, syrupy drop that seemed to

301
00:24:03,079 --> 00:24:07,960
glow in the light. I sat down, my mind raising

302
00:24:09,559 --> 00:24:13,119
whatever was happening in that room. It wasn't just them.

303
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,240
The moth wasn't just sitting there. It was feeding them,

304
00:24:19,279 --> 00:24:23,319
and whatever it was giving them, it was changing them.

305
00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:29,599
I didn't know what to do. Reporting it felt useless.

306
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,319
If the higher ups didn't already know, they wouldn't believe me,

307
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,440
and if they did, well, they'd probably just raised me

308
00:24:39,039 --> 00:24:44,680
like they raised everything else that didn't fit. I glanced

309
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,119
at the clock. It was just past three a m.

310
00:24:49,039 --> 00:24:51,839
The rest of my shift dragged on, but I couldn't

311
00:24:51,839 --> 00:24:54,640
shake the feeling that I crossed the line, that there

312
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:59,000
was no going back now. Whatever was happening in Containment

313
00:24:59,039 --> 00:25:04,599
Wing Sea, it wasn't going to stop, and part of

314
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:15,640
me wasn't sure if I wanted it to. The next

315
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,319
few days were unbearable. I couldn't look at Henderson, Ramirez

316
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,440
or Wilson without seeing them in that chamber, kneeling before

317
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,920
the moth, their hands slick with that golden liquid. They

318
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,799
weren't trying to hide it anymore, not really. Wilson, who

319
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,400
was hauling equipment meant for forkliffs, his movements smooth and effortless.

320
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,559
Ramirez had an intensity about an hour. Her eyes were

321
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:47,319
sharper and her reactions were faster. Henderson had taken on

322
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:52,160
a strange authority, his voice steady and commanding, like he

323
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,960
knew something the rest of us didn't. And the changes

324
00:25:56,039 --> 00:26:01,519
weren't just physical. They moved together now, in unspoken coordination,

325
00:26:02,759 --> 00:26:07,319
no words, no signals, just a silent understanding that made

326
00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:11,440
my skin crawl. If one of them started walking, the

327
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,519
other followed without hesitation. If one turned their head. The

328
00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:17,720
others seemed to already know what they were looking at.

329
00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:25,000
It was unnatural. The moth's chamber became the center of

330
00:26:25,079 --> 00:26:29,480
their world. They spent more time there, sometimes even during

331
00:26:29,599 --> 00:26:34,440
shifts they weren't scheduled for. No one questioned it. Maybe

332
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,359
they didn't notice, or maybe they were too afraid to

333
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,680
say anything. I couldn't blame them, and I didn't want

334
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,480
to talk about it either. But the thing that scared

335
00:26:45,519 --> 00:26:49,400
me the most was the way they started looking at me.

336
00:26:51,799 --> 00:26:55,440
It was subtle at first, a glance that lingered too long,

337
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,720
a faint tilted their head like they were studying me.

338
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:04,240
Then it became more obvious. Henderson would brush past me

339
00:27:04,279 --> 00:27:07,680
in the corridor, his eyes locking onto mine just long

340
00:27:07,839 --> 00:27:10,720
enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.

341
00:27:11,559 --> 00:27:15,119
Ramirez started showing up during my shifts, leaning against the

342
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,680
wall near the observation window, watching me instead of the

343
00:27:18,759 --> 00:27:26,519
monitors and Wilson. Wilson smiled, not the warm, easy smile

344
00:27:26,559 --> 00:27:34,079
he used to have, but something else, something empty. By

345
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,559
the time I realized what was happening, it was too

346
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:44,119
late to stop it. It was a little after midnight

347
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,200
when the alarm went off. A low, droning sound that

348
00:27:48,319 --> 00:27:51,680
meant a breach in one of the containment chambers. I

349
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,720
was halfway through my patrol when it started. The red

350
00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,680
emergency lights casting along flickering shadows across the walls, crackled,

351
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:07,680
voices overlapping in the chaotic mess. Wing Sea compromised, containment faded.

352
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,799
I didn't need to hear the rest. I knew exactly

353
00:28:11,799 --> 00:28:17,720
where the breech was, the moth's chamber. I ran, my

354
00:28:17,799 --> 00:28:21,680
boots pounding against the floor, my chest tightening with every step.

355
00:28:22,839 --> 00:28:26,799
The corridor leading to wing Sea was empty, no guards,

356
00:28:26,839 --> 00:28:31,039
no text, no one responding to the alarm. The door

357
00:28:31,079 --> 00:28:34,400
to the moth's chamber was wide open, and the reinforced

358
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:42,480
glass observation windows shattered. And inside, Henderson, Ramirez, and Wilson

359
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:49,799
were no longer themselves. Their bodies had changed, their limbs thicker,

360
00:28:50,119 --> 00:28:53,839
covered in a soft, dark fuzz that shimmered faintly under

361
00:28:53,839 --> 00:28:58,759
the emergency lights. Their eyes were black, now endless pools

362
00:28:58,759 --> 00:29:04,319
that reflected everything and nothing, and the movements they weren't

363
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:10,000
just coordinated, they were precise, mechanical, like parts of the

364
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:14,880
same machine. The moths stood in the center of the chamber,

365
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:21,440
its wings fully opened for the first time. They were massive,

366
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,880
filling the space with patterns that seemed to shift and

367
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,200
ripple in a way that made my head ache just

368
00:29:27,359 --> 00:29:32,359
looking at them. Its long tongue extended, dripping that golden liquid,

369
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:39,960
feeding into something at its feet, the cocoons. There were

370
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,559
three of them, each the size of a person, wriggling

371
00:29:43,599 --> 00:29:47,279
faintly as the moth's tongue dipped more sap into the surfaces.

372
00:29:48,359 --> 00:29:50,880
The air in the room was thick, buzzing with an

373
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:56,240
electricum that made my skin crawl. I stepped back, my

374
00:29:56,359 --> 00:30:01,359
hands shaking. I didn't know what to do, run, hide,

375
00:30:01,519 --> 00:30:06,839
report it. But before I could decide, Henderson's head snapped

376
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,200
toward me, his black eyes locking onto mine. Romiries and

377
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:20,000
Wilson followed the movements perfectly synchronized. For a moment, none

378
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,880
of us moved. The only sound was the low hum

379
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,839
of the moth's wings, a sound that seemed to vibrate

380
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:35,200
in my bones. Then Henderson smiled, the same empty, knowing

381
00:30:35,279 --> 00:30:41,039
smile Wilson had given me days before. You shouldn't be here,

382
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:46,799
he said, his voice low and steady. It's not your time.

383
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,559
I didn't wait to find out what he meant. I

384
00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,920
turned and ran my legs burning as I sprinted down

385
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:01,960
the corridor, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Behind me,

386
00:31:02,559 --> 00:31:06,440
I could hear their footsteps, perfectly in sync, echoing in

387
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,000
the empty halls. I didn't stop until I reached the

388
00:31:10,039 --> 00:31:13,839
security room. I slammed the door shut, my hands fumbling

389
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,920
with a lock, and turned to the monitor feeds when

390
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:24,759
I saw my stomach drop. The cocoons were splitting open,

391
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,279
thick strands of golden sap dripping onto the floor as

392
00:31:29,359 --> 00:31:34,000
something inside began to emerge. The mouth loomed over them,

393
00:31:34,519 --> 00:31:38,119
its wings fluttering faintly, stirring the air in the chamber.

394
00:31:39,839 --> 00:31:44,480
One by one, the cocoons tore open, revealing creatures that

395
00:31:44,599 --> 00:31:51,240
were almost human. They had the same dark fuzz covering

396
00:31:51,279 --> 00:31:55,799
their bodies, their limbs elongated and strong, the black eyes

397
00:31:55,880 --> 00:32:00,960
shining like mirrors. They moved with a terrifying grace, stepping

398
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,240
forward in unison, the heads tilting as they took in

399
00:32:04,319 --> 00:32:11,480
their surroundings. The moth moved for the first time, its

400
00:32:11,519 --> 00:32:14,720
wings spreading wide as it led out a low resonant

401
00:32:14,759 --> 00:32:19,400
hum that shook the walls. The hybrids turned toward the sound,

402
00:32:20,039 --> 00:32:25,119
the heads bowing in perfect synchrony. The radio crackled to life,

403
00:32:25,599 --> 00:32:29,279
a panicked voice shouting orders. I couldn't make out. The

404
00:32:29,319 --> 00:32:32,039
big wigs must have seen what was happening, because the

405
00:32:32,119 --> 00:32:36,799
chamber was flooded with gas. A moment later. The hybrids

406
00:32:36,839 --> 00:32:40,759
didn't flinch. They turned toward the door, moving as one,

407
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:44,960
and I realized with a singing feeling, that they still

408
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:50,640
remembered the access codes. They stayed frozen in the security

409
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,640
room for what felt like hours, staring at the monitors

410
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:58,480
as everything spiraled out of control. The hybrids were everywhere now,

411
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:03,640
moving through the facilit like they builded themselves. They weren't rushing,

412
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:08,960
weren't scrambling. No, they moved with purpose, room to room,

413
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:15,039
hallway to hallway, methodically and terrifyingly precise. It was like

414
00:33:15,079 --> 00:33:18,559
they didn't even need a check. They already knew where

415
00:33:18,599 --> 00:33:23,440
everyone was. I could feel the air tightening around me.

416
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,640
It wasn't just the hybrids or the alarms. It was

417
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,799
the moth. Even from here, I could feel its presence

418
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,680
pressing down, like it was watching through the cameras, through

419
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:42,119
the walls, through me. My hands were shaking so badly

420
00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:44,839
that I could barely keep them steady on the console.

421
00:33:46,359 --> 00:33:50,119
I couldn't stay. The ICD would be sweeping through soon,

422
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:54,200
probably trying to gas the whole damn place, hybrids or not,

423
00:33:55,319 --> 00:33:58,200
and if I stuck around, I'd either end up dead

424
00:33:58,759 --> 00:34:03,000
or with my memory scrambl just another loose end tied off.

425
00:34:05,599 --> 00:34:09,440
I scanned the monitors, searching for anything anywhere that wasn't

426
00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:14,079
crawling with hybrids or swarming with clean up teams. That's

427
00:34:14,119 --> 00:34:19,039
when I noticed it, the maintenance tunnels. They were old,

428
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:22,440
barely used, and not part of the standard patrol roots

429
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,440
yet untouched by the hybrids. I slipped out of the

430
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,719
security room, my heart pounding in my chest. The corridors

431
00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,760
were bathed in that eerie red glow from the emergency lights,

432
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,119
shadows flickering along the walls. My boots barely made a

433
00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:42,039
sound as I moved, but every little creek, every faint

434
00:34:42,119 --> 00:34:46,039
arm of the facility systems made me flinch. I could

435
00:34:46,079 --> 00:34:50,039
feel my pulse in my throat, thick and heavy, drowning

436
00:34:50,039 --> 00:34:55,440
out everything else. The air was different down here. The

437
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,719
facility's usual sterile tank was still there, with that metallic

438
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:05,239
edge was stronger and sharper. It clung to everything, the walls,

439
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:10,960
the floor, my skin My head was spinning, my stomach chining,

440
00:35:11,599 --> 00:35:16,199
but I kept moving. The axis ladder to maintenance level

441
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:22,800
three was just ahead. When I reached it, I hesitated,

442
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:28,039
my hand hovering over the cold metal rungs. Climbing down

443
00:35:28,119 --> 00:35:31,480
felt like stepping into a grave. But what choice did

444
00:35:31,519 --> 00:35:35,199
I have. I gripped the ladder tightly as I began

445
00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,960
my descent, the faint squeak in my boots and the

446
00:35:38,039 --> 00:35:42,480
rungs echoing in the shaft. Every sound felt too loud,

447
00:35:43,039 --> 00:35:47,119
like it was bouncing back to me tenfold. The maintenance

448
00:35:47,159 --> 00:35:51,199
tunnels were worse than I remembered, tight, damp and dark.

449
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,960
My flashlight barely cut through the blackness, the beam wobbling

450
00:35:56,079 --> 00:35:59,880
as my hand shook. The air was thicker down here,

451
00:36:00,679 --> 00:36:04,199
heavy with the smell of rust and stagnant water, and

452
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:08,079
the faint hum of the pipes sounded like whispers. The

453
00:36:08,159 --> 00:36:11,719
service hatch wasn't far, just at the end of the corridor,

454
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:17,320
a faint sliver of moonlight visible through the cracks. I

455
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,280
quickened my pace, my boots splashing through shallow puddles, The

456
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:25,239
sound too loud in the oppressive silence. My breath was

457
00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:29,800
ragged now, every inhale sharp against my chest, but I

458
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,960
kept my eyes locked on the hatch. I could see

459
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,840
it my way out, so close I could almost taste

460
00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:44,639
the fresh air waiting on the other side. Then I

461
00:36:44,679 --> 00:36:50,199
heard it, a soft clicking sound, faint at first, like

462
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:55,239
nails tapping on metal. My flashlight swung wildly toward the noise,

463
00:36:55,719 --> 00:36:58,440
my beam catching on a shadow that shouldn't have been there.

464
00:36:59,599 --> 00:37:02,519
My stump dropped as one of the hybrids stepped into

465
00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:06,400
the light. Its black, mirror like eyes caught the beam,

466
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:09,800
reflecting it back in a way that made my chest tighten.

467
00:37:11,159 --> 00:37:15,559
Its head tilted slow and deliberate, like it was studying me,

468
00:37:16,159 --> 00:37:21,840
deciding what to do next. I didn't want to find out.

469
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:28,039
I ran. The hatch was only a few feet away,

470
00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:32,920
but it fell like miles. The clicking behind me grew louder, faster,

471
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:36,320
almost rhythmic, like it was matching the beat of my

472
00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:42,119
panicked footsteps. My lungs burned, my legs screamed, but I

473
00:37:42,159 --> 00:37:46,599
didn't stop. I hit the hatch with full force, my

474
00:37:46,639 --> 00:37:50,320
hands fumbling for the release lever, my fingers slicked with sweat.

475
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,760
The hybrid was right behind me. I could feel it,

476
00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:00,480
his presence crawling up my spine like static electors tricity.

477
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,559
With a desperate heave, I yanked the lever. The hatch

478
00:38:05,559 --> 00:38:09,440
swung open, the cold night air hitting me like a slap.

479
00:38:10,159 --> 00:38:13,840
I scrambled through, hitting the ground hard, my palms scraping

480
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:17,880
against the rough dirt. My breath came in short, ragged

481
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,079
gasps as I twisted around and slammed the hatch shut,

482
00:38:21,559 --> 00:38:25,159
twisting the emergency lock into place, just as something heavy

483
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:30,199
slammed against the other side. The metal groaned, the hatch

484
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:35,079
vibrating under the force of the hybrid's blows. I stumbled back,

485
00:38:35,519 --> 00:38:39,320
my legs barely holding me up, and turned toward the forest.

486
00:38:40,119 --> 00:38:44,000
The trees loomed like shadows, the branches clawing at the sky,

487
00:38:44,599 --> 00:38:50,159
the moonlight barely breaking through the dense canopy. I didn't wait,

488
00:38:50,800 --> 00:39:06,280
I didn't think. I just ran. It was at a

489
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:10,000
flea market, of all places, the kind you go to

490
00:39:10,039 --> 00:39:14,840
wonder aimlessly, pretending you're looking for something very specific, knowing

491
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:19,519
that chances are you will probably leave with nothing. Rows

492
00:39:19,519 --> 00:39:23,159
of mismatched tables stretched over the cracked pavement under the

493
00:39:23,199 --> 00:39:28,320
afternoon sun, piled high with old tools, scratched up, yellowing furniture,

494
00:39:28,679 --> 00:39:32,400
and junk people had dug out of their garages. The

495
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,639
air smelled like kettle corn and cheap sunscreen, with a

496
00:39:35,679 --> 00:39:39,400
faint tang of rust from some vendor's collection of scrap metal.

497
00:39:41,559 --> 00:39:45,480
My apartment was still mostly empty. I just moved in,

498
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,639
and the empty walls and bare corners were starting to

499
00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:52,800
really bother me. I wasn't on the search for anything specific,

500
00:39:53,639 --> 00:39:55,800
just something to make the place feel less like an

501
00:39:55,800 --> 00:40:00,719
abandoned storage unit and more like a home. A lamb maybe,

502
00:40:01,119 --> 00:40:08,039
or an interesting piece of furniture, cheap preferably. It didn't

503
00:40:08,079 --> 00:40:11,800
take long to find something. At one of the stalls,

504
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,239
tugged behind a pile of well worn tools and broken frames,

505
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:19,840
I saw a bunch of mismatched furniture, a side table

506
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,679
painted with white with chipped corners, a small stool, and

507
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,119
an old couch that needed a wash or two. It

508
00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:31,119
was a random assortment, tied together with fraying twine, but

509
00:40:31,559 --> 00:40:35,800
it was solid enough for what I needed. Hundred bucks

510
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:40,320
for the lot, the vendor said, catching me looking. He

511
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,599
was older and looked like he'd been sitting in a

512
00:40:42,639 --> 00:40:46,679
folding chair for his entire life. Before I got a

513
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:50,440
chance to respond, he added, take it and I'll even

514
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,920
throw in that painting over there. I followed his nod

515
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,800
and saw it propped against the back of the chair leg.

516
00:40:59,039 --> 00:41:03,559
The painting it was half hidden behind a stack of

517
00:41:03,639 --> 00:41:08,039
dented cans. Its edges were frayed, and its frame was stretched.

518
00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,199
A woman stood alone in a vast field of wheat,

519
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:17,639
her figure poised in a strange way, almost reverent. The

520
00:41:17,679 --> 00:41:21,679
wheat behind her stretched endlessly, But it wasn't as golden

521
00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:26,599
and vibrant as you might expect. It was gray, lifeless

522
00:41:26,599 --> 00:41:31,599
and brittle, burnt to a crisp Each stalk bowed under

523
00:41:31,639 --> 00:41:34,559
a phantom wind. The texture of the wheat was so

524
00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:37,519
vivid that I almost felt the dry rustle of it

525
00:41:37,639 --> 00:41:43,119
brushing against my fingertips. The sky roiled with movement as

526
00:41:43,159 --> 00:41:47,159
still as it was a violent storm of colors crashed

527
00:41:47,159 --> 00:41:51,960
into each other, waves of pigment and brushstrokes. Deep purples

528
00:41:52,119 --> 00:41:55,719
melted into streaks of orange and crimson, shot through with

529
00:41:55,840 --> 00:42:00,000
veins of sickly yellow. The horizon was blotted with heavy

530
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:06,400
bruise like clouds, threatening to open and bleed. Yet despite

531
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,639
the chaos of it all, there was a balance to it.

532
00:42:11,039 --> 00:42:14,920
Each hue blended seamlessly into the next, like the canvas

533
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:18,239
had been alive once and was now frozen mid motion,

534
00:42:19,079 --> 00:42:23,519
like pausing a video. And then there was the woman.

535
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,079
Her pale dress rippled faintly, as though caught in the

536
00:42:28,159 --> 00:42:30,719
dying breath of the wind that had long since left

537
00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:34,400
the wheat around her motionless. The fabric clung to her

538
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,360
frame in a way that should have made her seem fragile,

539
00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:42,800
Yet she didn't look it. She was still a statue

540
00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:46,880
carved from soft light. She stood with her back facing me.

541
00:42:47,679 --> 00:42:50,159
Her face was turned just enough to reveal some of

542
00:42:50,199 --> 00:42:53,840
her profile, the curve of her cheekbone, and the point

543
00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:58,800
of her chin. But her eyes held me. It wasn't

544
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:03,960
fearful or defying, and it wasn't pleading either. Her gaze

545
00:43:04,079 --> 00:43:10,079
was resigned, mellow and accepting. It's part of the bundle,

546
00:43:10,519 --> 00:43:15,039
I asked, sure is, the vendor said, dipping back a

547
00:43:15,119 --> 00:43:20,239
can of soda. Take it off for a hundred. The

548
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,679
painting stayed tied up in the bundle until I got home.

549
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:28,079
I carried it all into my living room and untied

550
00:43:28,079 --> 00:43:32,480
the twine, letting it all tumble onto the floor. The

551
00:43:32,519 --> 00:43:36,239
painting was the last thing I pulled free. It was

552
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:40,239
lighter than I expected. I set it against the wall

553
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,840
and stepped back, letting myself take it in fully. Again,

554
00:43:45,679 --> 00:43:50,159
the details came into sharper focus. I hadn't really wanted

555
00:43:50,199 --> 00:43:53,679
the painting to begin with, so I placed it against

556
00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:57,400
the corner of the wall and left it there. Truth

557
00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:02,039
be told, I didn't like it too much. It was

558
00:44:02,159 --> 00:44:05,280
eerie to look at, but couldn't bring myself to throw

559
00:44:05,519 --> 00:44:09,880
art made with such care away. It wasn't to my taste,

560
00:44:10,519 --> 00:44:12,400
but maybe I could find a home for it to

561
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:18,320
someone who could appreciate it. For three days, the painting

562
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:24,119
sat in the corner. I couldn't bring myself to hang it,

563
00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:28,920
but I didn't want to hide it either. Every time

564
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:33,840
I passed by, I caught myself glancing at it. Then

565
00:44:34,239 --> 00:44:37,360
on the fourth day, I finally decided to hang it

566
00:44:37,519 --> 00:44:43,239
above the couch. The news came a couple of days later.

567
00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:48,199
I was scrolling through my phone over breakfast my TV

568
00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:52,239
murmuring something in the background when I saw the headline

569
00:44:53,079 --> 00:45:00,119
wildfire ravages Kansas farmland, one fatality. I tapped the art

570
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,880
and the image of the blaze filled my screen. The

571
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:09,119
fire had consumed acres upon acres of farmland, leaving nothing

572
00:45:09,159 --> 00:45:11,960
but ash and blackened stalks of wheat in its path.

573
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,519
The sky above was hazy, streaked with deep purples and

574
00:45:16,599 --> 00:45:21,559
reds as smoke billowed and faded, leaving behind traces of yellow.

575
00:45:23,559 --> 00:45:28,480
I stared at the photo. It looked eerily familiar, but

576
00:45:28,559 --> 00:45:33,440
it wasn't exact. There was no woman, no dress, just

577
00:45:33,519 --> 00:45:38,679
an empty field and the fire ravaging it. I shook

578
00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:42,119
my head and put the phone down. It had to

579
00:45:42,159 --> 00:45:46,760
be a coincidence. Fields burned all the time. The painting

580
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:50,719
wasn't unique. It was probably just an artistic take on

581
00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:54,440
a generic disaster. All the stress that had been building

582
00:45:54,559 --> 00:45:57,320
up over my move and my all new long commute

583
00:45:57,320 --> 00:46:00,679
to work was just making me overthink things and making

584
00:46:00,679 --> 00:46:03,679
the painting more special in my head than it actually was.

585
00:46:05,719 --> 00:46:11,159
Still I didn't like it. I put the painting back

586
00:46:11,199 --> 00:46:14,480
in the corner, thinking of disposing of it as soon

587
00:46:14,519 --> 00:46:19,559
as possible. The second painting arrived about a week after

588
00:46:19,599 --> 00:46:24,239
the wild fire. This time I didn't find it at

589
00:46:24,239 --> 00:46:27,559
a flea market. I didn't look for it at all.

590
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:33,800
It was delivered straight to my mail box. The container

591
00:46:34,159 --> 00:46:39,039
a tube was unmarked. There was no return address, posted, stamp,

592
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:42,960
or anything to suggest where it had come from. But

593
00:46:43,039 --> 00:46:46,599
there it was in my mail box, sitting among the

594
00:46:46,639 --> 00:46:51,119
pile of junk mail, like it belonged there. I almost

595
00:46:51,159 --> 00:46:55,920
didn't even open it. I considered throwing it away. I

596
00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:59,599
got the first painting by pure coincidence, but now I

597
00:46:59,679 --> 00:47:02,960
was scared it in the mail I thought about going

598
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,119
back to the vendor I had initially gotten the first

599
00:47:05,119 --> 00:47:08,840
one from, but the flea market was seasonal, so I

600
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:11,559
had no way to find him even if I wanted to.

601
00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:22,559
So I unrolled it. It showed a train. The perspective

602
00:47:22,679 --> 00:47:25,920
was striking painted from the inside of some sort of

603
00:47:26,039 --> 00:47:30,719
vehicle looking toward a train, but the location was not discernible,

604
00:47:31,599 --> 00:47:34,960
and train tracks were laid out in the distance, where

605
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:39,039
the silhouette of a train sat derailed, his frame twisted

606
00:47:39,039 --> 00:47:43,679
and broken like a crushed can. Cars careened off the rails,

607
00:47:44,239 --> 00:47:47,440
some split, others piled on top of each other in

608
00:47:47,559 --> 00:47:52,599
jagged heaps of metal. Flames spat from the wreckage, consuming

609
00:47:52,639 --> 00:47:56,599
wood and broken glass. Thick and black smoke curled into

610
00:47:56,599 --> 00:48:01,840
the sky, walking out the pale blue above. Yet the

611
00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:08,599
focal point wasn't the wreckage, but the figures. A woman

612
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:10,840
in a red scarf was on her knees at the

613
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:13,920
edge of the tracks. She was close to one of

614
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,239
the train cars, her arms stretched out toward a child

615
00:48:17,599 --> 00:48:22,320
dangling from a broken window above. The child's miniature body

616
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:26,719
teetered on the edge, tiny fingers reaching desperately towards her,

617
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:33,159
but she was stuck. The fire illuminated their faces with

618
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:38,639
painful clarity. The woman's face was painted with desperation, her

619
00:48:38,679 --> 00:48:41,239
mouth half open in a cry I could almost hear

620
00:48:41,519 --> 00:48:45,800
if I strained hard enough. Her scarf fluttered in the heat.

621
00:48:46,559 --> 00:48:51,000
The child's expression was frozen in wide eyed terror. She

622
00:48:51,119 --> 00:48:55,519
was so close to the woman, yet so far, And

623
00:48:55,599 --> 00:48:59,119
the scariest of all, the train car seemed as if

624
00:48:59,119 --> 00:49:03,719
it would tip over at any moment. The details were

625
00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:06,760
so vivid and precise that it did not feel like

626
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:12,480
a painting, but a picture of a moment it happened.

627
00:49:13,039 --> 00:49:17,239
The next day, I was driving home from work, dragging

628
00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:21,599
myself through traffic on a suburban road when I heard it.

629
00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:27,199
At first, it was just a distant sound, a strange

630
00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:30,079
screech that didn't belong in the hum of rush hour

631
00:49:30,119 --> 00:49:34,880
at all. Then it became the screech of metal against metal,

632
00:49:35,639 --> 00:49:38,880
a sound that would make your teeth ache. The sound

633
00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:43,119
was distant still, but it grew louder with every passing second,

634
00:49:43,880 --> 00:49:49,039
raw and visceral cutting through the air. The railroad ahead

635
00:49:49,119 --> 00:49:52,559
was already crowded with cars, and brake lights glowed in

636
00:49:52,599 --> 00:49:57,360
the evening haze. Beyond the train barrel toward the intersection.

637
00:49:58,960 --> 00:50:02,719
I watched as the te trains swerved violently, sparks flying

638
00:50:02,760 --> 00:50:07,280
as the wheels left the tracks. The first car tip sideways,

639
00:50:07,599 --> 00:50:09,880
dragging the rest of the train with it in a

640
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:15,360
cascade of catastrophe. I stopped the car, instinctively, gripping the

641
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:18,199
steering wheel as the chaos unfolded in front of me.

642
00:50:19,320 --> 00:50:25,639
The derailment was horrific. Passenger cars crumpled and people flew

643
00:50:25,679 --> 00:50:28,679
out of the train cars as they collided with one another.

644
00:50:29,639 --> 00:50:32,280
The force of the crash sent debris flying into the

645
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:36,199
air with a loud bang. The engine smashed into the

646
00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:39,800
support beam near the crossing, igniting an explosion that lit

647
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:46,119
up the sky with orange and red flames. It was chaos,

648
00:50:48,519 --> 00:50:53,719
And then there they were, the woman in the red

649
00:50:53,719 --> 00:50:59,960
scarf and the child. She was kneeling by the air

650
00:51:00,119 --> 00:51:03,119
to the wreckage, her arms stretched out in a feeble

651
00:51:03,159 --> 00:51:07,719
attempt to rescue the dangling child. It was exactly what

652
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:11,519
I had seen from the painting. The firelight danced across

653
00:51:11,559 --> 00:51:15,880
their faces, their expressions frozen in the same raw clarity.

654
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:21,239
I sat frozen in my car, my hands gripping the

655
00:51:21,239 --> 00:51:25,400
steering wheels so tightly I could hear it groan in protest.

656
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:30,719
I wanted to move, get out, and help somehow, but

657
00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:37,519
I couldn't. And then it happened. The train car, which

658
00:51:37,559 --> 00:51:41,280
was balancing on its side, tipped over in slow motion,

659
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,039
and I watched as the child was eaten up by

660
00:51:45,039 --> 00:51:49,239
the flames, and the woman's legs crushed, now trapped as

661
00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:55,840
the fire ate or away. I couldn't look away. I

662
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:59,320
felt tears running down my cheeks as I finally regained

663
00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:02,920
my senses, the screaming around me breaking me out of

664
00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:07,440
my trance. The painter hadn't just known this would happen.

665
00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:14,519
They'd known where I'd be and what I'd see. I

666
00:52:14,559 --> 00:52:18,440
don't remember driving home. The crash broke something in me.

667
00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:23,679
I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I

668
00:52:23,719 --> 00:52:27,719
saw the woman and the child, frozen in that terrible moment,

669
00:52:28,559 --> 00:52:31,960
just as the painting had depicted it. The fire's light,

670
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:36,760
the scarf, the desperation, and the reaching out. It was

671
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:41,920
all burned into my mind, replaying over and over, like

672
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:46,800
a punishment I could do nothing to escape from. I

673
00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:50,920
was in purgatory. I didn't go to work the next

674
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:55,239
day either, or the day after. At first I called

675
00:52:55,280 --> 00:52:59,079
in sick, telling my boss I had the flu, until

676
00:52:59,239 --> 00:53:03,559
I stopped answering my phone all together. I threw the

677
00:53:03,599 --> 00:53:07,400
painting away, but it did little to numb my thoughts.

678
00:53:08,239 --> 00:53:11,480
I let the dishes pile up and clothes scatter across

679
00:53:11,480 --> 00:53:15,239
the floor. Everything in my fridge went bad, and the

680
00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:19,760
stench of rotten food filled the apartment, aiding in my misery.

681
00:53:22,079 --> 00:53:25,760
I didn't care about it. All I could think about

682
00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:29,880
was how, even though I knew I was powerless, I

683
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:33,280
blamed myself for not at least trying to save them.

684
00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:37,719
But then I realized I owed it to them. At

685
00:53:37,840 --> 00:53:45,440
least I needed answers, and the fog of guilt finally

686
00:53:45,480 --> 00:53:48,639
eased a little. I was consumed by they need to

687
00:53:48,760 --> 00:53:53,719
know why this was happening. I scoured the internet, searching

688
00:53:53,760 --> 00:53:57,760
for everything and anything that could explain the paintings. I

689
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:01,199
posted and obscure forums, and I searched for artists and

690
00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:06,960
local galleries, but I found nothing. Even the paintings themselves

691
00:54:07,039 --> 00:54:10,840
offered no hints. I still had the original painting of

692
00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:14,039
the field, so I picked the first one up from

693
00:54:14,079 --> 00:54:18,280
the corner and inspected the entirety of it. I looked

694
00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:22,159
for a signature, a date, or a stamp, but still

695
00:54:23,079 --> 00:54:27,960
there was nothing. The more I searched, the more questions

696
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:31,639
consumed me. I kept asking myself why I was the

697
00:54:31,639 --> 00:54:34,559
one who had to find these and how they accurately

698
00:54:34,599 --> 00:54:38,360
depicted things unseen. I tried putting a stop to the

699
00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:44,920
next painting I received, to no avail When it arrived,

700
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:50,079
a flood swallowing a small street. I tried memorizing every detail,

701
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:54,159
the crack sidewalk, the cars in the middle being submerged

702
00:54:54,199 --> 00:54:57,360
by muddy water. A then stop signed in the corner.

703
00:54:58,480 --> 00:55:02,079
I sifted through maps and my memories searching for streets

704
00:55:02,079 --> 00:55:05,559
that matched the one in the painting. I spent hours

705
00:55:05,639 --> 00:55:10,400
driving around, hoping to stumble across it, but I never

706
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:14,199
found it. I hadn't even stopped to consider how I

707
00:55:14,239 --> 00:55:17,840
would prevent a flood of that scale, because if I did,

708
00:55:18,159 --> 00:55:23,119
it made me feel all the more powerless. Days passed,

709
00:55:23,239 --> 00:55:26,320
and the dread gnawed at me, growing heavier with each

710
00:55:26,440 --> 00:55:30,639
day that passed. In wait. When the flood finally happened,

711
00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:38,079
it was nowhere near me. I dreaded the rare times

712
00:55:38,119 --> 00:55:43,079
I would receive a painting, But soon they started appearing everywhere,

713
00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:47,920
in my mailbox, propped against the front door, even in

714
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:52,239
the passenger seat of my car. They all came without warning.

715
00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:57,280
A bridge collapsing into a river, Cables snapping like aged

716
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:01,559
threads as cars plunged into the waters, the faces of

717
00:56:01,599 --> 00:56:06,239
passengers visible in their final moments. A tornado ripping through

718
00:56:06,280 --> 00:56:09,480
a tiny farmhouse, the roof torn away to reveal a

719
00:56:09,519 --> 00:56:14,880
petrified family huddled inside. The aftermath of a sinkhole appearing

720
00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:19,920
below an apartment building. The details were always painfully vivid.

721
00:56:21,079 --> 00:56:23,840
I could almost feel the heat of the fire, smell

722
00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:27,599
the smoke, and hear the screams. Each one stayed on

723
00:56:27,679 --> 00:56:34,360
my mind like a deep scar. I woke up to

724
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:38,840
find one leaning against the foot of my bed. I

725
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:42,480
felt the tube before I saw it. As I got

726
00:56:42,519 --> 00:56:45,440
out of bed, my feet brushed against something and tipped

727
00:56:45,440 --> 00:56:51,400
it over. Another painting, except this one was not a disaster.

728
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:56,239
It showed a small and dilapidated house with a sagging

729
00:56:56,360 --> 00:57:00,719
roof and boarded at windows. The yard was overgrown and

730
00:57:00,800 --> 00:57:06,239
the porch steps were broken. In the foreground stood a figure.

731
00:57:08,039 --> 00:57:11,400
The man wore a jacket identical to mine. His hands

732
00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:14,440
were shoved in his pockets. Then his posture was stiff,

733
00:57:15,519 --> 00:57:18,920
his face was obscured, but there was no mistaking who

734
00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:26,039
it was meant to be me. In the corner of

735
00:57:26,079 --> 00:57:30,719
the painting was a street sign, Ashwood Lane, And in

736
00:57:30,760 --> 00:57:34,320
the bottom right corner, scrawled in the dark paint, it

737
00:57:34,440 --> 00:57:40,480
was a signature e V. The signature seemed to be

738
00:57:40,599 --> 00:57:44,000
there purely to mock me, a final taunt from the

739
00:57:44,079 --> 00:57:48,440
person who had been controlling my life without permission. This

740
00:57:48,639 --> 00:57:54,519
wasn't a prediction, It was an invitation or a trap.

741
00:57:57,159 --> 00:58:00,000
I was furious at finding a painting in the sancte

742
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:03,280
of my room. The guild and fear had built up

743
00:58:03,519 --> 00:58:07,159
and exploded into a rage that stripped me of rational thinking.

744
00:58:08,280 --> 00:58:11,800
Ashwood Lane wasn't hard to find. It was on the

745
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:15,679
outskirts of the city, a forgotten road, choked with weeds

746
00:58:15,880 --> 00:58:18,400
and lined with houses that looked like they'd been used

747
00:58:18,400 --> 00:58:22,440
in the set of a bad zombie movie. Regardless, it

748
00:58:22,559 --> 00:58:27,559
was still on my car's GPS. So I took this

749
00:58:27,639 --> 00:58:32,079
invitation as a challenge, and I wanted this all to end.

750
00:58:35,079 --> 00:58:38,039
The house was exactly as it had been on the canvas.

751
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:42,239
The roof sagged in the middle and the windows boarded up.

752
00:58:43,239 --> 00:58:45,440
The air was thick with the smell of damp earth

753
00:58:45,440 --> 00:58:48,920
and petroka. I pulled the car to the curb and

754
00:58:48,960 --> 00:58:54,000
stepped out, my legs unsteady beneath me. In my dash

755
00:58:54,079 --> 00:58:57,000
to come here, all the emotions that were running through

756
00:58:57,039 --> 00:59:00,440
me were now fading, replaced with a sense of ease.

757
00:59:02,079 --> 00:59:04,719
I was about to face with whoever had been doing this.

758
00:59:06,320 --> 00:59:10,639
I knocked thrice, and with each knock the door opened wider.

759
00:59:12,280 --> 00:59:18,440
The inside of the house was horrific. The walls were

760
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:23,199
lined with canvases, some stacked too deep, some stacks six deep,

761
00:59:23,960 --> 00:59:27,440
some leaned against the furniture, and others piled on the floor.

762
00:59:28,639 --> 00:59:34,480
They were all disasters, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. Each was

763
00:59:34,519 --> 00:59:37,679
as vivid as the ones I'd seen. The colors roar,

764
00:59:38,199 --> 00:59:43,360
violent and impossibly sharp. At the center of the room

765
00:59:43,760 --> 00:59:51,679
was a person ev He sat hunched over his back

766
00:59:51,719 --> 00:59:56,480
to me, a brush moving steadily across a canvas, who

767
00:59:56,559 --> 01:00:00,239
was still taking shape swells of black and crimson, and

768
01:00:00,360 --> 01:00:04,159
dancing in an abstract chaos that I could not decipher

769
01:00:04,519 --> 01:00:09,679
nor care to. His frame was thin, almost non existent,

770
01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:14,960
his hair wiry with spots of gray. He didn't turn

771
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:18,440
when I stepped inside, didn't seem to notice me at all,

772
01:00:19,239 --> 01:00:25,880
or simply didn't care. You found me, he said, without turning.

773
01:00:26,519 --> 01:00:31,559
His voice was dry and ashy. I stepped closer, anger

774
01:00:31,719 --> 01:00:36,920
taking hold of me. You knew I would, of course.

775
01:00:38,159 --> 01:00:41,119
He dipped his brush into a smear of gray, dragging

776
01:00:41,159 --> 01:00:46,880
it across the canvas. Everything follows a pattern. You are

777
01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:52,199
always going to end up here. Why me, I demanded,

778
01:00:52,599 --> 01:00:56,000
my voice starting to crack. Why send the paintings to me?

779
01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:04,440
He finally turned, his dark eyes, locking unto mine. Yet

780
01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:08,840
there was no malice in his gaze, no insanity, just

781
01:01:08,880 --> 01:01:18,000
the cold, detached clarity. Because you were paying attention, he said,

782
01:01:18,199 --> 01:01:23,239
matter of factly, Most people don't, you see. They go

783
01:01:23,320 --> 01:01:25,840
through their days blind to the cracks in the world,

784
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:31,239
ignoring the inevitable until it happens to them. But you

785
01:01:31,519 --> 01:01:36,039
couldn't look away. You saw the patterns, even though you

786
01:01:36,119 --> 01:01:42,400
could not understand them. I refused to flinch. You're saying

787
01:01:42,400 --> 01:01:44,920
all this was inevitable, that nothing I did could have

788
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:51,079
stopped it. Exactly. He finally set his brush down, folding

789
01:01:51,119 --> 01:01:55,440
his hands in his lap. The world is unraveling, one

790
01:01:55,519 --> 01:02:00,480
piece at a time. I just record it. There's no

791
01:02:00,639 --> 01:02:05,119
magic here, no divine inspiration. You people are just so

792
01:02:05,320 --> 01:02:11,400
stupid that it makes me seem prescient. He continued, record it,

793
01:02:12,119 --> 01:02:15,840
I repeated, my voice starting to rise and my anger building.

794
01:02:17,079 --> 01:02:21,559
You paint people dying, children falling into fires, buildings collapsing,

795
01:02:21,880 --> 01:02:27,079
and families getting wiped out. You call that recording. What

796
01:02:27,159 --> 01:02:32,199
would you have me do? His tone remained steady, his

797
01:02:32,320 --> 01:02:38,280
calmness maddening. Stop painting? Would that save anyone? Would it

798
01:02:38,400 --> 01:02:43,519
change something? My work makes it all visible, finds the

799
01:02:43,599 --> 01:02:47,760
beauty in it all. I clenched my fists and fumbled

800
01:02:47,800 --> 01:02:51,480
with a zippo in my pocket. You could warn people,

801
01:02:51,960 --> 01:02:59,840
do something, Ivee chuckled softly while shaking his head. Warn them.

802
01:03:00,079 --> 01:03:03,400
You can't fix what's broken, and even if you could

803
01:03:04,440 --> 01:03:08,039
do you think they'd listen. People don't want to see

804
01:03:08,039 --> 01:03:12,599
the end. They'd rather stumble into it blind, believing they

805
01:03:12,719 --> 01:03:16,880
have the control. I thought of the woman and the child,

806
01:03:17,280 --> 01:03:21,119
the fire and the crash. There has to be a

807
01:03:21,199 --> 01:03:27,719
reason for all this. There really isn't, Evie leaned back,

808
01:03:28,159 --> 01:03:31,320
his bony frame, casting long shadows in the dim light.

809
01:03:32,840 --> 01:03:36,000
You want there to be meaning, a purpose behind it all,

810
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:40,880
because the alternative has too much to bear. But the

811
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:47,960
truth is simple and you already know it. The room

812
01:03:48,000 --> 01:03:52,159
felt smaller and the air heavier. My gaze flicked to

813
01:03:52,199 --> 01:03:57,760
the paintings surrounding us, each one laced with despair. I

814
01:03:57,800 --> 01:04:00,360
thought back to the things I'd seen again and my

815
01:04:00,440 --> 01:04:05,320
inability to take action. His voice cut through my thoughts.

816
01:04:06,880 --> 01:04:10,519
You just can't accept it. You've spent your life believing

817
01:04:10,639 --> 01:04:15,760
you're in control and that your choices matter, But they don't.

818
01:04:17,079 --> 01:04:21,679
You're just the witness, just like everybody else. You think

819
01:04:21,679 --> 01:04:25,360
you're angry at me, but you're just angry at the truth.

820
01:04:26,559 --> 01:04:31,440
Stop it, I muttered. The only question is how long

821
01:04:31,519 --> 01:04:37,880
you'll keep fighting before you accept it. Stop, I repeated, louder.

822
01:04:38,920 --> 01:04:43,360
You think you could change anything, he mused. You're wrong,

823
01:04:44,079 --> 01:04:47,679
I growled. You're just a coward that sits here painting

824
01:04:47,760 --> 01:04:54,239
misery while the world falls apart. Evee smiled faintly. The

825
01:04:54,280 --> 01:05:00,800
corners of his mouth barely twitching. And yet here you are, watching,

826
01:05:01,960 --> 01:05:06,960
just like I knew you would. That was it. My

827
01:05:07,079 --> 01:05:10,719
hand shot into my pocket, pulling out the zippo. My

828
01:05:10,800 --> 01:05:14,599
fingers trembled as adrenaline rushed through me while I thought

829
01:05:14,639 --> 01:05:18,119
about what I was about to do. You think I'll

830
01:05:18,159 --> 01:05:20,199
just let you do this? You think I'll let you

831
01:05:20,320 --> 01:05:25,719
keep making these monuments the suffering. At this point, he

832
01:05:25,880 --> 01:05:29,159
wasn't even looking at me. He turned back to his

833
01:05:29,280 --> 01:05:35,320
work and kept painting. I grabbed the nearest painting off

834
01:05:35,400 --> 01:05:39,559
the wall, the tsunami ravaging homes and families, and held

835
01:05:39,599 --> 01:05:44,000
it over the flame. The canvas caught quickly, The edges

836
01:05:44,159 --> 01:05:47,800
curled as the fire spread, licking at the vivid colors.

837
01:05:48,760 --> 01:05:51,920
The smell of burning paint filled the air around us,

838
01:05:51,960 --> 01:05:55,440
sharp and acred. But I was not going to stop.

839
01:05:56,880 --> 01:05:59,639
I tossed the painting on to the floor. The fire

840
01:05:59,679 --> 01:06:04,079
spread as I tore more canvasses from the walls. One

841
01:06:04,119 --> 01:06:08,039
by one. I fed them to the flames. Floods, fires,

842
01:06:08,039 --> 01:06:13,280
and earthquakes, all of them consumed as EV kept painting.

843
01:06:14,960 --> 01:06:18,960
You really think the Stranger is anything? He asked quietly,

844
01:06:19,760 --> 01:06:23,440
his voice now barely audible over the crackle of the fire.

845
01:06:24,760 --> 01:06:28,760
I don't care. I spat, tearing another painting from the wall.

846
01:06:29,920 --> 01:06:33,440
I'm done watching undone, letting you use me as an audience.

847
01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:38,480
EV tilted his head but still didn't look at me.

848
01:06:40,039 --> 01:06:44,360
You can burn the paintings, but it's all still there.

849
01:06:46,800 --> 01:06:49,679
I ignored him. The heat of the fire scorched my

850
01:06:49,760 --> 01:06:54,559
skin as I grabbed another canvas. It wasn't until I

851
01:06:54,599 --> 01:06:58,880
turned back toward EV that I saw he had completed it.

852
01:07:00,280 --> 01:07:05,360
The painting on the easel he was working on it

853
01:07:05,440 --> 01:07:09,800
showed what I thought, No, what I knew, was the

854
01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:14,559
end of the world. Not a single disaster, not one

855
01:07:14,599 --> 01:07:22,360
moment of tragedy frozen in time, but everything. The sky

856
01:07:22,599 --> 01:07:27,280
was fractured, great jagged tears ripping through the heavens, the

857
01:07:27,360 --> 01:07:31,280
endless skies folding into each other, exposing a blackness so

858
01:07:31,440 --> 01:07:35,880
deep it felt like staring into an open grave. The

859
01:07:35,920 --> 01:07:40,559
earth was in chaos, split into monstrous, gaping chasms that

860
01:07:40,639 --> 01:07:45,360
bled molten fire and bellowed smoke. Entire cities tipped and

861
01:07:45,480 --> 01:07:49,639
crumbled into the abyss, the skeletons of steel and iron

862
01:07:49,800 --> 01:07:54,960
twisting as they fell. The oceans boiled, great clouds of

863
01:07:55,000 --> 01:07:59,039
steam rising into the air as colossal waves slammed against

864
01:07:59,079 --> 01:08:03,599
crumbling coastline lines. Ships torn in half or capsized in

865
01:08:03,639 --> 01:08:09,519
their entirety, dotted the horizon like discarded toys. In the foreground,

866
01:08:10,280 --> 01:08:13,320
or was supposed to represent a vast forests was reduced

867
01:08:13,320 --> 01:08:19,119
to an expanse of blackened stumps, each one smoldering between them.

868
01:08:19,600 --> 01:08:25,520
The skeletal remains of animals lay scattered among the wreckage,

869
01:08:25,960 --> 01:08:30,000
pressed against the shattered windows of the crumbling cities, floating

870
01:08:30,039 --> 01:08:35,560
lifelessly in the boiling oceans, with thousands of faces frozen

871
01:08:35,600 --> 01:08:42,000
in terror, their mouths open in silent screams. And in

872
01:08:42,079 --> 01:08:50,640
the center of it, the audience was me. I stood

873
01:08:50,800 --> 01:08:54,720
on a jagged outcrop of rock, my silhouette illuminated by

874
01:08:54,720 --> 01:08:59,000
the fiery abyss below. My pasture was slack, and my

875
01:08:59,079 --> 01:09:02,720
hands lay limply at my sides. But it wasn't just me.

876
01:09:03,960 --> 01:09:07,359
Around my feet were smaller figures clutching at my legs.

877
01:09:08,039 --> 01:09:11,880
A child reached upward, had tiny fingers brushing against my hand,

878
01:09:13,520 --> 01:09:18,600
and I knew who that was meant to represent. You

879
01:09:18,720 --> 01:09:25,720
See now, if he said you are the audience, everyone is,

880
01:09:28,800 --> 01:09:32,319
I turned away from him. The fire was everywhere now

881
01:09:32,680 --> 01:09:39,079
climbing the walls, defiring everything. The heat was unbearable, despite

882
01:09:39,159 --> 01:09:41,680
how fast the old wood of the house carried the flames.

883
01:09:42,520 --> 01:09:46,560
There was always time to get out. Nothing physically locked

884
01:09:46,640 --> 01:09:51,640
him too his chair, Yet he remained there, carrying on

885
01:09:51,760 --> 01:10:01,840
with his magnum opus without a care. You're still a witness, eve,

886
01:10:01,880 --> 01:10:09,439
he said with finality. He was wrong. As the flames roared,

887
01:10:09,800 --> 01:10:14,199
he would fail to predict anything ever again. So I

888
01:10:14,319 --> 01:10:17,520
turned and ran, the heat chasing me out of the

889
01:10:17,600 --> 01:10:21,840
house into the cool night air. I didn't look back

890
01:10:22,000 --> 01:10:26,239
as the flames consumed the building, the firelight flickering against

891
01:10:26,279 --> 01:10:31,199
the darkened sky. I reached my car, slumping into the

892
01:10:31,279 --> 01:10:34,399
driver's seat and gripping the steering wheel like it was

893
01:10:34,479 --> 01:10:39,760
tethering me to reality. I stared through the windshield, the

894
01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:46,920
house on Ashwood Lane burning behind me. It didn't feel

895
01:10:46,960 --> 01:10:52,399
like a victory. I drove home in silence, the weight

896
01:10:52,439 --> 01:10:57,279
of exhaustion pressing down on me. My apartment was still

897
01:10:57,319 --> 01:11:02,319
how I left it empty and silent, and I entered

898
01:11:02,319 --> 01:11:05,239
my bedroom and picked up the house painting once more.

899
01:11:06,319 --> 01:11:09,479
I inspected it one last time, the way to my

900
01:11:09,520 --> 01:11:14,199
actions sinking in. But before I had time to think

901
01:11:14,199 --> 01:11:19,680
about anything. When I flipped the painting over, I saw

902
01:11:19,920 --> 01:11:29,039
another one, a silhouette running from a burning house. The

903
01:11:29,159 --> 01:11:35,239
perspective was distant, but unmistakable. My figure was small, silhouetted

904
01:11:35,399 --> 01:11:40,039
against the inferno. The flames roared behind me, consuming the

905
01:11:40,119 --> 01:11:46,720
house and everything inside. It was proof that once again

906
01:11:47,960 --> 01:11:53,000
I had failed to change anything. The house was burned

907
01:11:53,720 --> 01:11:57,720
because it was always meant to burn. I ran because

908
01:11:57,760 --> 01:12:02,680
I was always meant to run. Everything played out exactly

909
01:12:03,319 --> 01:12:09,640
how it was supposed to play out, and I was

910
01:12:09,680 --> 01:12:21,439
the witness. I travel a lot. Without getting too in

911
01:12:21,479 --> 01:12:24,720
depth about the particulars of my life and career, I

912
01:12:24,760 --> 01:12:27,239
will say that my job ends up taking me all

913
01:12:27,319 --> 01:12:31,159
over the world. I've been to just about every continent

914
01:12:31,199 --> 01:12:34,680
on the planet, with the exception of somewhere like Antarctica,

915
01:12:35,359 --> 01:12:37,880
and the number of countries I haven't stepped foot in

916
01:12:38,079 --> 01:12:43,439
rapidly shrinks every year. It's absolutely amazing as I've been

917
01:12:43,479 --> 01:12:46,880
able to see and partake in so many different customs,

918
01:12:47,039 --> 01:12:51,159
cultures and lifestyles. And one thing I always love to

919
01:12:51,239 --> 01:12:54,239
do is purchase a souvenir to take home with me,

920
01:12:55,119 --> 01:12:57,720
a sort of keepsake to mark my first time in

921
01:12:57,760 --> 01:13:00,199
a new country that I can take down for the

922
01:13:00,239 --> 01:13:04,239
shelf and look at when the nostalgia hits me. It

923
01:13:04,279 --> 01:13:08,640
can be anything, whether an ornamental figure, a glass, or

924
01:13:08,680 --> 01:13:13,239
a book. That's where the reason I'm posting here comes in,

925
01:13:14,560 --> 01:13:17,359
you see. A few months ago I was sent to

926
01:13:17,399 --> 01:13:20,720
Algeria to help oversee a business deal that a client

927
01:13:20,840 --> 01:13:24,680
was involved in, the main dealings had wrapped up, and

928
01:13:24,800 --> 01:13:28,319
after a few days of exploring the capital city of Algiers,

929
01:13:28,399 --> 01:13:30,720
I decided to take a final stroll through one of

930
01:13:30,760 --> 01:13:33,600
the many bazaars I had come to a door perusing

931
01:13:33,920 --> 01:13:36,520
in my off time the day before my flight left

932
01:13:36,560 --> 01:13:39,880
back to the States. I'd already had it in mind

933
01:13:39,920 --> 01:13:43,640
to find something to buys some memento, and so I

934
01:13:43,680 --> 01:13:47,840
strolled past the vendors selling fruit and various foods looking

935
01:13:47,880 --> 01:13:52,039
for something interesting. And as I passed the table which

936
01:13:52,119 --> 01:13:55,800
was selling various bits and bobs, it caught my eye.

937
01:13:57,960 --> 01:14:01,479
It was an old leather bound journal, clasped tightly shut

938
01:14:01,840 --> 01:14:04,359
with what appeared to be a belt closure of some kind.

939
01:14:05,439 --> 01:14:09,319
The leather looked extremely weather beaten and worn, as if

940
01:14:09,319 --> 01:14:12,000
it had sat in the burning desert sun for decades,

941
01:14:12,680 --> 01:14:14,880
and the edges of the pages I could see were

942
01:14:14,960 --> 01:14:20,800
yellowed with age. My curiosity piqued, I pointed to it

943
01:14:21,039 --> 01:14:24,239
and asked the cellar about where it had come from.

944
01:14:24,680 --> 01:14:28,760
Rather strangely, he seemed weary of saying exactly where and

945
01:14:28,800 --> 01:14:32,960
when it had come into his possession, instead only saying

946
01:14:33,239 --> 01:14:37,920
that he stumbled across it during his travels. My curiosity

947
01:14:38,199 --> 01:14:41,239
now firmly in the red zone due to its mysterious nature,

948
01:14:42,039 --> 01:14:46,439
I inquired to its price. He had no sooner quoted

949
01:14:46,479 --> 01:14:48,960
me a price than I was pushing the money into

950
01:14:49,000 --> 01:14:55,159
his hand. It was practically as steel. However, I admit

951
01:14:55,279 --> 01:15:00,800
one thing which unnerved me, to say the least. As

952
01:15:00,800 --> 01:15:04,079
I hurried back in the direction of my hotel, I

953
01:15:04,159 --> 01:15:07,159
chanced a look over my shoulder and found that the

954
01:15:07,159 --> 01:15:11,760
man was watching me leave, a strange, almost intense look

955
01:15:11,880 --> 01:15:16,880
on his face. That night, my bags packed and lying

956
01:15:16,920 --> 01:15:22,079
in bed, I found myself unable to sleep. After trying

957
01:15:22,119 --> 01:15:25,119
to tempt the Sandman for a few hours, I finally

958
01:15:25,159 --> 01:15:29,319
gave up, and, wanting something to pass the time, I

959
01:15:29,399 --> 01:15:33,560
picked the journal up, unbuckled it and opened it to

960
01:15:33,640 --> 01:15:39,359
the first page. To my surprise, I found the entries

961
01:15:39,720 --> 01:15:43,800
were in English. The journal had belonged to a British

962
01:15:43,800 --> 01:15:48,039
explorer and adventurer whose name, according to the inscription on

963
01:15:48,159 --> 01:15:53,119
the back cover, was Liam Wentworth. The date and side

964
01:15:53,239 --> 01:15:56,439
ranged from the late nineteen forties through the early fifties,

965
01:15:57,119 --> 01:16:01,359
and I read each page with rapt attention, extraordinary images

966
01:16:01,439 --> 01:16:05,279
swirling in my mind. As Liam narrated to me expeditions

967
01:16:05,560 --> 01:16:10,279
which range from continental Europe to Africa. I couldn't help

968
01:16:10,279 --> 01:16:13,600
but smile as the infectious excitement in his writing pulled

969
01:16:13,600 --> 01:16:17,680
me further and further into the past, and I must

970
01:16:17,720 --> 01:16:21,880
wished I could be transported back in time to join him.

971
01:16:22,359 --> 01:16:26,000
That was until I began to read the last expedition

972
01:16:26,079 --> 01:16:31,039
log in the journal. From the very first entry, I

973
01:16:31,079 --> 01:16:34,119
could tell there was something different about this particular journey.

974
01:16:35,039 --> 01:16:38,960
Something about the man's words filled me with an unexplainable

975
01:16:39,079 --> 01:16:43,600
sense of unease, and as the entries went on, I

976
01:16:43,720 --> 01:16:47,119
felt any sense of excitement and wonder wash away like

977
01:16:47,159 --> 01:16:51,640
a flood victim. The initial uneasiness first replaced with tension,

978
01:16:52,319 --> 01:16:56,920
then a strange sense of paranoia, and finally, as much

979
01:16:56,960 --> 01:17:02,640
as I hate admitting it, fear, a palpable sense of

980
01:17:02,720 --> 01:17:07,239
fear and existential dread I've never felt before, one which

981
01:17:07,319 --> 01:17:10,119
raised all the hair of my arms, and even in

982
01:17:10,119 --> 01:17:12,880
the safety of my hotel room, made me turn on

983
01:17:13,039 --> 01:17:16,880
every single light, vanishing away any shadows in the corner,

984
01:17:17,840 --> 01:17:21,800
especially because the final written pages are stained with long

985
01:17:21,880 --> 01:17:26,960
dried liquid that God, I still hope isn't what I

986
01:17:27,000 --> 01:17:31,479
think it is. And when my plane took off from

987
01:17:31,520 --> 01:17:35,319
HAIRI Bermardine the next morning, my window giving me a

988
01:17:35,359 --> 01:17:39,319
clear view of the sprawling Algerian desert stretching out away

989
01:17:39,439 --> 01:17:48,319
into the distance, I involuntarily shuddered. For months, I was

990
01:17:48,439 --> 01:17:52,000
unsure what to do. I considered taking the journal to

991
01:17:52,079 --> 01:17:56,520
a historian or museum to verify its authenticity, but I'm

992
01:17:56,520 --> 01:17:58,520
worried that it will be simply written off as a

993
01:17:58,600 --> 01:18:02,479
hoax or a forgery. A few friends and acquaintances of

994
01:18:02,520 --> 01:18:04,680
mine I have shared a little of the contents with

995
01:18:05,119 --> 01:18:08,680
I've met it with the same response, it has to

996
01:18:08,680 --> 01:18:11,640
be a stunt, just something to scare whoever bought it.

997
01:18:13,279 --> 01:18:16,239
Worse still, I've had some of the worst nightmares of

998
01:18:16,279 --> 01:18:20,079
my life, horrible dreams that wake me up covered in

999
01:18:20,119 --> 01:18:25,800
a sheen of sweat even months later. Finally, though, I've

1000
01:18:25,880 --> 01:18:30,520
decided to just share it. This is transcribed exactly as

1001
01:18:30,560 --> 01:18:35,239
originally written, and are all relevant entries from William's last expedition.

1002
01:18:37,359 --> 01:18:39,600
Let me know what you think of it, and if

1003
01:18:39,640 --> 01:18:42,560
there is any shred of truth to what is written here.

1004
01:18:43,640 --> 01:18:45,920
As much as it might cost me work in the future,

1005
01:18:47,000 --> 01:18:49,359
I may never step foot in that part of the

1006
01:18:49,399 --> 01:18:59,479
world again. Monday, twenty third of June nineteen fifty two,

1007
01:19:01,119 --> 01:19:04,199
after a four month rest, another adventure is at hand.

1008
01:19:05,039 --> 01:19:07,800
A fortnight ago, I received a call at home from

1009
01:19:07,840 --> 01:19:13,359
a wealthy American, a business magnate by the name of Tally. Apparently,

1010
01:19:13,560 --> 01:19:17,479
mister Danvers had boasted of my qualifications and invaluable help

1011
01:19:17,560 --> 01:19:22,000
during his expedition to Mauritania at luncheon with him, and

1012
01:19:22,119 --> 01:19:24,600
when told of a similar endeavor that the man wished

1013
01:19:24,600 --> 01:19:28,079
to embark on in the nearby country of Algeria, he

1014
01:19:28,239 --> 01:19:32,520
instantly recommended me to him. I was already interested when

1015
01:19:32,560 --> 01:19:35,640
he told me of his intentions, and after he quoted

1016
01:19:35,680 --> 01:19:40,479
me the fee he would pay, I hastily accepted. The

1017
01:19:40,520 --> 01:19:43,119
amount of money offered is the kind that not even

1018
01:19:43,159 --> 01:19:47,319
many film stars in the country receive. Indeed, it is

1019
01:19:47,359 --> 01:19:50,640
triple what Diana Dawes was reportedly paid recently for a

1020
01:19:50,680 --> 01:19:53,800
part in the last page, and with my dear sister's

1021
01:19:53,840 --> 01:19:57,079
health always in flux, it is an amount I would

1022
01:19:57,119 --> 01:20:02,199
be a fool to refuse. So after much planning and

1023
01:20:02,279 --> 01:20:06,000
subsequent connecting flights from London, I am now in the

1024
01:20:06,000 --> 01:20:09,880
city of Algiers, where the rest of our party have assembled.

1025
01:20:11,159 --> 01:20:13,800
I first met Tally as he met me just outside

1026
01:20:13,840 --> 01:20:18,199
the airport, A tall, lanky chap with thin and black hair.

1027
01:20:19,159 --> 01:20:23,880
He instantly struck me as inexperienced with such expeditions. It

1028
01:20:24,000 --> 01:20:25,760
set me a little on an edge, if I may

1029
01:20:25,760 --> 01:20:29,720
be frank, too, many parties have tragically failed due to

1030
01:20:29,760 --> 01:20:33,720
such sponsors. Yet, as I was taken to a nearby

1031
01:20:33,760 --> 01:20:37,159
cafe and introduced to the rest of the team, I

1032
01:20:37,279 --> 01:20:41,600
felt somewhat relieved at the faces that greeted us. Three

1033
01:20:41,640 --> 01:20:46,960
of the expeditions nine members are ones I've worked with before, Soign,

1034
01:20:47,319 --> 01:20:51,560
a hulking giant of a Dane, Richter, a quiet yet

1035
01:20:51,600 --> 01:20:56,960
intimidating German, and Mouretti, whose boastful demeanor sometimes hides how

1036
01:20:57,000 --> 01:21:01,399
brilliant of a leader the Italian can be. Three of

1037
01:21:01,479 --> 01:21:05,199
the four, excluding myself and Tally, are people who have

1038
01:21:05,319 --> 01:21:10,359
heard spoken of in similar circles. Blake is the group's archaeologist,

1039
01:21:11,079 --> 01:21:14,439
a fellow britt and alluring brunette who seems as if

1040
01:21:14,479 --> 01:21:16,560
she should be on a movie screen instead of here.

1041
01:21:17,800 --> 01:21:21,479
Krin the group's meddic, a bloke who earned the scars

1042
01:21:21,479 --> 01:21:24,039
on his face from his time in the war. And

1043
01:21:24,159 --> 01:21:27,279
Tamir is one of our two guides, a man whose

1044
01:21:27,319 --> 01:21:30,800
wild hair and beard doesn't seem to match the intelligence

1045
01:21:30,840 --> 01:21:35,119
that I see behind his eyes. The final member of

1046
01:21:35,159 --> 01:21:39,560
the group is our second guide, an almost gaunt young

1047
01:21:39,600 --> 01:21:43,079
man no older than twenty, whose name I was told

1048
01:21:43,680 --> 01:21:49,279
is Tarik. He did not speak when introductions were given. Instead,

1049
01:21:49,680 --> 01:21:53,000
he merely nodded at us. I find he gives me

1050
01:21:53,039 --> 01:21:56,760
an uncomfortable sort of aura. But according to both Tally

1051
01:21:56,800 --> 01:22:00,640
and Moretti, he is indispensable to our all to mcgaul,

1052
01:22:01,479 --> 01:22:06,560
which is when discussions shifted over to our ultimate aim.

1053
01:22:06,920 --> 01:22:10,079
In a hush tone, Tally leaned in and told us

1054
01:22:10,079 --> 01:22:13,199
of a tale he had stumbled across during his dealings

1055
01:22:13,199 --> 01:22:16,880
in the area. It had hinted about a great treasure

1056
01:22:17,000 --> 01:22:21,039
lost in the desert decades ago over the phone, But

1057
01:22:21,119 --> 01:22:24,520
as I listened to him extrapolate, I felt my jaw

1058
01:22:24,640 --> 01:22:29,920
drop open. According to accounts, a decade and a half

1059
01:22:30,039 --> 01:22:33,039
or so ago, a group of soldiers belonging to the

1060
01:22:33,079 --> 01:22:36,840
French Foreign Legion, searching for a safe haven, had stumbled

1061
01:22:36,920 --> 01:22:41,960
upon a fortress built into a vast mountain range centuries old.

1062
01:22:42,279 --> 01:22:45,760
The structure had been abandoned, and after discovering that a

1063
01:22:45,800 --> 01:22:48,680
pump connected to an underground water source of some kind,

1064
01:22:49,319 --> 01:22:52,439
the soldiers had set up a base camp, complete with

1065
01:22:52,600 --> 01:22:56,840
radio and arsenal. They stayed in contact with their superiors

1066
01:22:56,880 --> 01:23:03,640
for approximately five months, reporting back here periodically and requesting supplies. Then,

1067
01:23:04,000 --> 01:23:08,920
on the sixth month, the forts went silent. No matter

1068
01:23:08,960 --> 01:23:12,079
how long it was hailed, no one ever answered the

1069
01:23:12,199 --> 01:23:16,439
radio calls. A reinforcement group had been sent to try

1070
01:23:16,520 --> 01:23:19,359
and ascertain what had happened to them, but they seemed

1071
01:23:19,359 --> 01:23:24,560
to disappear into the desert as well. Eventually all of

1072
01:23:24,640 --> 01:23:28,319
the men were declared lost in action. It wouldn't have

1073
01:23:28,319 --> 01:23:30,399
been the first time that soldiers had met their end

1074
01:23:30,439 --> 01:23:33,239
on the receiving end of the local swords and guns.

1075
01:23:33,279 --> 01:23:38,199
After all, fearing further casualties, the fort was declared a

1076
01:23:38,239 --> 01:23:42,279
hostile's own, and any further attempt to reach it was forbidden.

1077
01:23:44,800 --> 01:23:47,319
As the years went by and with the outbreak of

1078
01:23:47,359 --> 01:23:50,560
the war. The fort's location and the reports on it

1079
01:23:50,640 --> 01:23:54,159
were lost in the shuffle, further hampered by the fact

1080
01:23:54,479 --> 01:23:56,960
that it seemed some one in a high position had

1081
01:23:57,000 --> 01:24:01,520
stricken it from all maps and public record. But somehow,

1082
01:24:01,920 --> 01:24:05,760
after hearing the stories, Tally had used his connections to

1083
01:24:05,840 --> 01:24:09,479
obtain one of the only remaining maps which marked its location.

1084
01:24:11,039 --> 01:24:14,159
As he finished, I cocked an eyebrow and asked him

1085
01:24:14,239 --> 01:24:16,680
how this all connected to what he had lured me

1086
01:24:16,760 --> 01:24:22,319
with here the reports of a vast lost treasure. An

1087
01:24:22,359 --> 01:24:27,399
almost childish smile spread across Taly's face. You han't heard

1088
01:24:27,439 --> 01:24:31,960
the best part yet, my dear boy. That was when

1089
01:24:31,960 --> 01:24:36,640
the penny dropped. According to a radio report that the

1090
01:24:36,680 --> 01:24:40,479
fort's commanding officer had made, they had found in the

1091
01:24:40,520 --> 01:24:44,439
bowels of the fort a room which, when breached, had

1092
01:24:44,479 --> 01:24:49,479
revealed a staggering amount of jewels, coins, and other treasures.

1093
01:24:50,119 --> 01:24:54,279
The exact monetary value it had had never been calculated,

1094
01:24:54,760 --> 01:24:57,079
but seeing how most of the horde was dated back

1095
01:24:57,119 --> 01:25:00,279
to the Ottoman Empire, it had to be a tremendu

1096
01:25:00,159 --> 01:25:05,319
this amount. By this point, our sponsor had our undivided

1097
01:25:05,439 --> 01:25:09,439
attention and dreams of being forever logged in the history books,

1098
01:25:09,640 --> 01:25:14,680
danced in our heads. That's when Tally let us in

1099
01:25:15,000 --> 01:25:19,600
on the most important fact of this expedition. If we

1100
01:25:19,680 --> 01:25:22,399
locate the fort and find the treasure was only a tale,

1101
01:25:22,840 --> 01:25:25,640
or failed to find it at all, you will all

1102
01:25:25,640 --> 01:25:29,079
be paid the exact amount I quoted you, he began,

1103
01:25:29,600 --> 01:25:34,159
his eyes twinkling. But if we do find it, each

1104
01:25:34,199 --> 01:25:36,920
of you will receive an equal share of the treasure,

1105
01:25:37,640 --> 01:25:40,720
in addition to your name's for ever written as the finders.

1106
01:25:42,159 --> 01:25:44,199
To say that you could have heard a pin drop

1107
01:25:44,239 --> 01:25:49,119
amongst us would be a grievous understatement. For a moment,

1108
01:25:49,319 --> 01:25:54,600
nobody spoke. I was the first to open my mouth. Yes,

1109
01:25:55,039 --> 01:25:58,399
bloody hell, yes. As if my words had been a

1110
01:25:58,439 --> 01:26:02,159
sort of catalyst, everyone else piped up with their own agreement.

1111
01:26:03,359 --> 01:26:07,560
Tally beamed. He knew he had ensnared us, and he

1112
01:26:07,680 --> 01:26:11,000
reveled in it. He told us that we would board

1113
01:26:11,000 --> 01:26:14,399
a plane bound for Cellah in the next day. From

1114
01:26:14,439 --> 01:26:18,319
there we would continue on land rovers into the desert itself,

1115
01:26:19,600 --> 01:26:23,439
and with that he bid us good night, retiring with

1116
01:26:23,560 --> 01:26:28,079
Moretti to their hotel after a few drinks. The rest

1117
01:26:28,119 --> 01:26:31,840
of us disbanded as well, and now here I sit

1118
01:26:32,560 --> 01:26:35,479
staring out the window at the rising moon with my

1119
01:26:35,640 --> 01:26:40,720
pen in hand. I am beyond thrilled. The prospect of

1120
01:26:40,800 --> 01:26:44,279
becoming wealthy, beyond my wildest dreams, of being able to

1121
01:26:44,319 --> 01:26:48,000
afford all of my sister's medicine and procedures, to say

1122
01:26:48,039 --> 01:26:53,960
nothing of my own frivolities and fantasies, is intoxicating. And

1123
01:26:54,039 --> 01:26:57,880
yet I can't help but feel a strong sense of

1124
01:26:57,920 --> 01:27:02,279
trepidation over what I was as well. The fact that

1125
01:27:02,359 --> 01:27:06,000
two different groups of soldiers seem to simply disappear without

1126
01:27:06,000 --> 01:27:11,159
a trace. It gives me pause. Even though I attempt

1127
01:27:11,159 --> 01:27:14,479
to push it away, A small whisper of dread climbs

1128
01:27:14,479 --> 01:27:19,079
over me. I picture the men carrying at night guns

1129
01:27:19,119 --> 01:27:24,199
frantically aimed into the dark as something moves towards them.

1130
01:27:25,399 --> 01:27:28,680
But surely anything that happens to them so long ago,

1131
01:27:29,319 --> 01:27:32,119
any people who did them harm surely have moved on,

1132
01:27:33,560 --> 01:27:46,000
which means we should be perfectly safe. I worried too much. Tuesday,

1133
01:27:46,479 --> 01:27:51,439
twenty fourth of June nineteen fifty two. I write this

1134
01:27:51,600 --> 01:27:54,600
entry by the firelight next to my tent, and the

1135
01:27:54,640 --> 01:27:57,920
only thing that banishes away the almost impenetrable darkness that

1136
01:27:58,039 --> 01:28:02,319
stalks the edges of the flickering am. Early in the morning,

1137
01:28:02,840 --> 01:28:06,079
just before the sun rose, our team bordered a charted

1138
01:28:06,079 --> 01:28:10,399
plain and flew south to Insulah. There we found two

1139
01:28:10,479 --> 01:28:14,239
land rovers, paint shimmering and fresh off the production line

1140
01:28:14,279 --> 01:28:17,840
in Soliul. They had been specially ordered by Tally for

1141
01:28:17,880 --> 01:28:21,600
the journey. Supplies and enough fuel to last us a

1142
01:28:21,640 --> 01:28:26,039
fortnight were loaded on board, and after wedging ourselves inside

1143
01:28:26,039 --> 01:28:29,720
the space that remained, we set off in a westerly direction,

1144
01:28:30,439 --> 01:28:33,680
following the road past towns with names such as Ghar

1145
01:28:33,920 --> 01:28:39,159
and Olaf. Finally we passed through Regane, and after a

1146
01:28:39,279 --> 01:28:43,000
last look back at civilization, we left the road and

1147
01:28:43,119 --> 01:28:48,159
headed out into the desert itself. Saying that the intense

1148
01:28:48,159 --> 01:28:51,239
heat would rival the flames of Hell itself would not

1149
01:28:51,319 --> 01:28:55,680
be much of an understatement. The sun beat mercilessly down

1150
01:28:55,840 --> 01:29:00,279
upon our vehicles, turning them into saunas, and as we

1151
01:29:00,279 --> 01:29:04,039
were attempting to conserve our water supply, soon we all

1152
01:29:04,079 --> 01:29:08,600
felt the first inklings of heat exhaustion. After stopping to

1153
01:29:08,680 --> 01:29:12,920
quench our thirst quickly and following the blessed liquid with lunch,

1154
01:29:13,640 --> 01:29:16,520
we continued on. As the sun did lower into the

1155
01:29:16,520 --> 01:29:20,600
sky as I was riding with Tally, I had the

1156
01:29:20,640 --> 01:29:24,960
opportunity to ask him about Tarak. The man still gave

1157
01:29:25,000 --> 01:29:28,079
me a bad feeling, and I inquired as to why

1158
01:29:28,159 --> 01:29:33,239
he was so important to our expedition. After all, I asked,

1159
01:29:33,640 --> 01:29:38,680
would simply somemear not make a decent enough guide. It

1160
01:29:38,800 --> 01:29:41,640
was then that he revealed to me the secret surrounding

1161
01:29:41,680 --> 01:29:45,319
the man. Tarrek was one of the few men left

1162
01:29:45,359 --> 01:29:48,199
alive who had seen the fort with his own eyes,

1163
01:29:49,239 --> 01:29:52,880
or so he claimed. He had told Tally of a

1164
01:29:52,960 --> 01:29:55,920
time as a small boy, traveling through the desert with

1165
01:29:56,000 --> 01:30:00,359
his father and grandfather and spying on the horizon the

1166
01:30:00,479 --> 01:30:05,960
upper Mountain range like a sentry, the imposing structure. Both

1167
01:30:05,960 --> 01:30:08,760
of his elders had warned him away from it, telling

1168
01:30:08,840 --> 01:30:12,520
him that it was a cursed place, load of local

1169
01:30:12,560 --> 01:30:16,720
superstitious bull. Tally said to me, waving a hand as

1170
01:30:16,720 --> 01:30:21,199
if to physically repel the words. For my part, I

1171
01:30:21,359 --> 01:30:25,279
too did not believe in such things, and yet that

1172
01:30:25,439 --> 01:30:28,680
his words, I was unable to suppress the shiver that

1173
01:30:28,840 --> 01:30:34,279
flew up my spine slightly. It felt too coincidental, too

1174
01:30:34,319 --> 01:30:36,960
close to the feeling of dread that fell over me

1175
01:30:37,039 --> 01:30:41,479
last night, A second thought came to mind, as if

1176
01:30:41,520 --> 01:30:45,960
pushing away the emotions, I asked, with not knowing if

1177
01:30:45,960 --> 01:30:48,760
the young man was telling the truth, how he could

1178
01:30:48,800 --> 01:30:51,399
be sure he was not simply luring us into the

1179
01:30:51,439 --> 01:30:56,560
desert for a sinister purpose. With a small, almost concealed wink,

1180
01:30:57,199 --> 01:31:01,399
he raised his shirt, revealing a hid pistol underneath in

1181
01:31:01,479 --> 01:31:05,960
a holster informed me that several others were armed as well,

1182
01:31:06,399 --> 01:31:10,760
and a shotgun and ammunition were among our supplies. Liam,

1183
01:31:10,800 --> 01:31:15,560
my boy, relax, I have thought of everything. We'll be ready,

1184
01:31:15,720 --> 01:31:18,439
whether the locals of any surprises in store for us,

1185
01:31:19,159 --> 01:31:22,960
or either of our guides. Do just enjoy the trip.

1186
01:31:23,119 --> 01:31:29,319
In the meantime, I pray that his confidence is not misplaced.

1187
01:31:29,880 --> 01:31:32,439
We are a long way from where anyone could help

1188
01:31:32,520 --> 01:31:35,680
us if things were to go barely up, And that

1189
01:31:35,840 --> 01:31:38,520
is in all I am the only member of our

1190
01:31:38,560 --> 01:31:43,079
groups still awake. All the others have retired to their tents, or,

1191
01:31:43,119 --> 01:31:45,880
in the case of Tarrak and Samir, into the land

1192
01:31:45,920 --> 01:31:49,479
rovers to sleep. The only sounds I hear are the

1193
01:31:49,560 --> 01:31:53,520
crackling of fire and the soft, almost lonely sound of

1194
01:31:53,560 --> 01:32:00,199
the wind whistling in the darkness. And yet I can't

1195
01:32:00,239 --> 01:32:04,439
help but feel watched, even though we are certainly the

1196
01:32:04,520 --> 01:32:07,960
only people for miles. I feel as though eyes are

1197
01:32:08,039 --> 01:32:12,239
upon me, upon all of us. It is a feeling

1198
01:32:12,279 --> 01:32:15,680
that is most unwelcome, and it makes me again wonder

1199
01:32:15,960 --> 01:32:20,239
about the fate that befell the French soldiers. I find

1200
01:32:20,239 --> 01:32:23,479
myself shooting the looks out into the dark. Every few

1201
01:32:23,560 --> 01:32:27,319
lines I write, almost convinced I will see eyes staring

1202
01:32:27,399 --> 01:32:31,560
back at me from the blackness. As much as I

1203
01:32:31,600 --> 01:32:35,000
don't want to, I must retire to my own tent.

1204
01:32:36,199 --> 01:32:39,680
Dawn will be here soon enough, and we will need

1205
01:32:39,800 --> 01:32:46,640
all of our strength for the next few days. Thursday,

1206
01:32:46,840 --> 01:32:52,680
twenty sixth of June nineteen fifty two, after a second

1207
01:32:52,760 --> 01:32:55,960
day of driving straight and following both the map and

1208
01:32:56,119 --> 01:32:59,640
directions that Smir tells us Tarik had given us, as

1209
01:32:59,680 --> 01:33:02,880
the man speaks no English, we seem to have finally

1210
01:33:02,960 --> 01:33:07,159
arrived at the base of a mountain range. According to Tarik,

1211
01:33:07,680 --> 01:33:10,640
these are the mountains in question, and we are not

1212
01:33:10,760 --> 01:33:14,920
far now, less than a day away. I crane my

1213
01:33:15,039 --> 01:33:18,399
neck to look at the imposing walls which rise higher

1214
01:33:18,479 --> 01:33:22,720
over our heads. I'm not a good estimator of such things,

1215
01:33:23,239 --> 01:33:25,800
but I would not be surprised if the top lies

1216
01:33:25,920 --> 01:33:30,239
hundreds of feet above us or more. If the fort

1217
01:33:30,359 --> 01:33:32,640
is real, then how are we to get to it

1218
01:33:32,680 --> 01:33:36,479
from down here? All questions that will have to be

1219
01:33:36,560 --> 01:33:40,880
answered soon. For now, though, I will go and sit

1220
01:33:40,960 --> 01:33:45,319
with the others, eat supper, and go to sleep. If

1221
01:33:45,359 --> 01:33:50,479
we are being told the truth, tomorrow will be the

1222
01:33:50,600 --> 01:33:59,960
day Friday, twenty seventh of June nineteen fifty two. It's real.

1223
01:34:00,880 --> 01:34:03,199
I find that even as I write these words, I

1224
01:34:03,239 --> 01:34:07,199
feel I'll suddenly wake up from a dream. And yet

1225
01:34:08,159 --> 01:34:10,520
right there in front of my eyes is the bloody

1226
01:34:10,520 --> 01:34:15,479
thing Terracles, indeed telling the truth. And it looks exactly

1227
01:34:15,520 --> 01:34:19,960
as tally heard. The structure is perfectly nestled atop and

1228
01:34:20,079 --> 01:34:24,159
similarly among the mountains, surely built there by some Ottoman

1229
01:34:24,239 --> 01:34:27,960
architect or soldier with a perfect idea of strategic planning.

1230
01:34:28,920 --> 01:34:31,520
The fort has a clear view down the desert where

1231
01:34:31,520 --> 01:34:34,439
we stand below, and is set far enough back that

1232
01:34:34,520 --> 01:34:37,840
the surrounding land acts as a sort of natural shield.

1233
01:34:38,439 --> 01:34:40,920
It is the perfect choke point, to say the least,

1234
01:34:41,760 --> 01:34:46,760
Churchill himself would be impressed. According to Blake, the style

1235
01:34:46,800 --> 01:34:51,199
and architecture is indeed indicative of the Ottoman Empire, either

1236
01:34:51,239 --> 01:34:55,800
Arabic or North African. The three front turrets rise imposingly

1237
01:34:55,920 --> 01:34:59,159
above the rest of the complex, their windows dark and

1238
01:34:59,239 --> 01:35:05,079
unrevealing their secrets. Surprisingly, and thankfully as well, there will

1239
01:35:05,079 --> 01:35:09,079
be no need to worry about climbing. Tarrek pointed us

1240
01:35:09,119 --> 01:35:12,159
to a set of steps carved into the mountains themselves.

1241
01:35:13,199 --> 01:35:16,479
They are fairly steep, but they surely beat the alternative.

1242
01:35:17,960 --> 01:35:20,520
As it is late, we will make camp here at

1243
01:35:20,520 --> 01:35:23,520
the base tonight, and in the morning we will pack

1244
01:35:23,600 --> 01:35:26,439
all our supplies and make the climb to the fort

1245
01:35:26,520 --> 01:35:31,520
itself Omittedly, I must admit that the feeling I had

1246
01:35:31,520 --> 01:35:35,439
in the desert two nights ago remains. In fact, it

1247
01:35:35,520 --> 01:35:38,760
almost feels stronger in a way. But with the excitement

1248
01:35:38,840 --> 01:35:42,319
palpable amongst all of us, are refuse to let it

1249
01:35:42,399 --> 01:35:45,520
sour the mood. It will be stored away in the

1250
01:35:45,560 --> 01:35:50,239
recesses of my mind. Tomorrow we begin to take a

1251
01:35:50,319 --> 01:36:00,479
step towards both history and possibly fortune. Saturday, eighth of

1252
01:36:00,560 --> 01:36:06,640
June nineteen fifty two, I write from inside the central

1253
01:36:06,640 --> 01:36:10,239
courtyard of the fort itself. I was correct in my

1254
01:36:10,279 --> 01:36:13,439
assessment that it would be a steep climb, but aside

1255
01:36:13,479 --> 01:36:16,520
from a few scrapes among all the bloody knuckles suffered

1256
01:36:16,520 --> 01:36:21,560
by soreiron, we reached the top uneventfully. From there we

1257
01:36:21,600 --> 01:36:25,239
found a path already made, albeit almost hidden by the

1258
01:36:25,279 --> 01:36:29,439
ever sweeping sands, but the cracked wooden rail that marked

1259
01:36:29,439 --> 01:36:32,760
the edge of the cliffs showed the way. After a

1260
01:36:32,840 --> 01:36:35,560
trek of about a quarter of an hour, we found

1261
01:36:35,560 --> 01:36:38,279
ourselves at a gate which marked the outer rim of

1262
01:36:38,319 --> 01:36:42,439
the complex. The top was wrapped in barbed wire, and

1263
01:36:42,520 --> 01:36:46,760
an unlocked gate sat half open in front of us. Richter,

1264
01:36:47,239 --> 01:36:49,840
feeling that we would be better off closing it behind us,

1265
01:36:50,199 --> 01:36:53,079
walked into a neighboring guard post and lowered a barrier

1266
01:36:53,159 --> 01:36:57,199
to prevent anyone from entering. When our backs were turned together,

1267
01:36:57,680 --> 01:36:59,640
we made our way up a steep path to the

1268
01:36:59,680 --> 01:37:03,880
front to the fort itself. At the front gates, we

1269
01:37:03,960 --> 01:37:07,640
discovered a relic from the First World War, a French

1270
01:37:07,760 --> 01:37:12,359
ft tank sitting empty and half buried in sand. The

1271
01:37:12,399 --> 01:37:15,399
turret faced away from us, back the way we'd come,

1272
01:37:16,279 --> 01:37:18,800
and I wondered both how it had gotten up here

1273
01:37:19,319 --> 01:37:22,920
and what it had been put in place for. With

1274
01:37:23,000 --> 01:37:26,000
a last look at the armament, we pushed open one

1275
01:37:26,000 --> 01:37:30,239
of the two colossal wooden doors and entered the fort.

1276
01:37:33,039 --> 01:37:36,920
We found ourselves inside an expansive courtyard that stretched out

1277
01:37:36,960 --> 01:37:40,239
before us to both sides. To the right was what

1278
01:37:40,319 --> 01:37:43,880
appeared to be a smaller courtyard of some sort, embellished

1279
01:37:43,960 --> 01:37:48,359
with a few small bushes and date palms. Wandering over

1280
01:37:48,399 --> 01:37:50,720
to it, I found that the far end of the

1281
01:37:50,760 --> 01:37:54,920
smaller space was a fountain, a rusted pump set into

1282
01:37:54,920 --> 01:37:59,439
the back corner. Tentively, I put my hand out, gathered

1283
01:37:59,439 --> 01:38:03,119
some water from the fountain, and raised it to my lips.

1284
01:38:03,920 --> 01:38:09,319
The water tasted somewhat stagnant, but otherwise was fine. Reaching

1285
01:38:09,359 --> 01:38:12,800
out and operating the pomp, I found it readily supplied

1286
01:38:12,880 --> 01:38:18,840
fresh water. Turning, I found Maretti beside me. He smiled,

1287
01:38:20,439 --> 01:38:23,880
hit a water garden. Well, then this solves any concerns

1288
01:38:23,920 --> 01:38:26,720
of running out of water. There must be an underground

1289
01:38:26,800 --> 01:38:30,760
lake or river somewhere beneath us. I agreed with him,

1290
01:38:31,199 --> 01:38:34,119
and after a last look around at the peaceful scene,

1291
01:38:34,520 --> 01:38:39,039
we returned to the others. After telling them of our discovery.

1292
01:38:39,600 --> 01:38:42,199
We set our supplies down and began as a group

1293
01:38:42,279 --> 01:38:47,199
to explore. Aside from the water garden, there were two

1294
01:38:47,279 --> 01:38:52,000
main buildings inside the fort, The largest building, according to

1295
01:38:52,039 --> 01:38:55,479
the rickety wooden sign hung by the front door, declared

1296
01:38:55,520 --> 01:38:58,920
it to be the living quarters, while the second sunken

1297
01:38:58,960 --> 01:39:04,960
building was dead the arsenal. After a small deliberation, we

1298
01:39:05,079 --> 01:39:09,439
chose to enter the main building first. The interior showed

1299
01:39:09,439 --> 01:39:12,960
that nature had taken its toll on the fort. Beams

1300
01:39:13,000 --> 01:39:16,039
had collapsed from their upper levels, and sand rose up

1301
01:39:16,079 --> 01:39:20,319
in small mounds, making us have to navigate around the debris.

1302
01:39:21,199 --> 01:39:23,960
The rest of the quarters were in much the same condition,

1303
01:39:24,840 --> 01:39:29,319
though with much more signs of life. Pillows, rugs, and

1304
01:39:29,399 --> 01:39:33,920
other furniture were around. There were also plenty of candles

1305
01:39:33,920 --> 01:39:37,359
and lamps hanging from beams above, all of which we

1306
01:39:37,439 --> 01:39:41,760
lit as we passed. We located the radio room, which

1307
01:39:41,760 --> 01:39:44,640
I noted with a pang of her knees had been vandalized.

1308
01:39:45,399 --> 01:39:50,079
Both the radio and telegraph machines had been destroyed. Clearly

1309
01:39:50,199 --> 01:39:53,359
someone had not wanted anyone to send any messages or

1310
01:39:53,399 --> 01:39:57,720
calls for help. What made the scene worse was the

1311
01:39:57,760 --> 01:40:01,039
obvious signs of struggle, which are ever present throughout the

1312
01:40:01,079 --> 01:40:05,199
whole building. Some of the group didn't notice, but I

1313
01:40:05,199 --> 01:40:09,239
saw that Soren and Richter, along with myself the three

1314
01:40:09,319 --> 01:40:12,840
who saw the most combat in our lives did. The

1315
01:40:12,880 --> 01:40:16,960
spilled chairs, crumbled blankets, and broken glass and wood all

1316
01:40:17,039 --> 01:40:19,840
told a tale, and it was one that made the

1317
01:40:19,880 --> 01:40:24,840
feeling of dread rear its head in my mind, and worse,

1318
01:40:25,359 --> 01:40:28,319
the feeling of eyes on me was at a feverish pitch.

1319
01:40:29,640 --> 01:40:32,600
As we made our way through, My head swung about

1320
01:40:32,680 --> 01:40:36,319
like an owl's, looking not only to the shadows, but

1321
01:40:36,520 --> 01:40:40,560
up into the rafters as well. At one point, as

1322
01:40:40,560 --> 01:40:43,279
I brought up the rear of the group, I felt

1323
01:40:43,319 --> 01:40:46,079
as though fingers as slipped along the nape of my neck,

1324
01:40:46,560 --> 01:40:49,880
and my pulse quickened, my breathing going shallow as I

1325
01:40:49,960 --> 01:40:54,920
froze on the spot, terror filling every fiber of my being,

1326
01:40:55,840 --> 01:41:01,479
I whirled around and found no one. All I could

1327
01:41:01,520 --> 01:41:04,760
hear was the soft creaking of the building and the

1328
01:41:04,800 --> 01:41:09,439
whistling of the wind outside. Not wanting to remain alone,

1329
01:41:10,079 --> 01:41:15,079
I hurried after the others. After leaving the main quarters,

1330
01:41:15,359 --> 01:41:18,680
and with daylight fading fast, we made a quick pass

1331
01:41:18,760 --> 01:41:23,800
through the arsenal, where we discovered a grisly scene. In

1332
01:41:23,840 --> 01:41:27,039
the Ford's jail, we discovered the remains of a man

1333
01:41:27,479 --> 01:41:30,920
dressed in one of the old uniforms, which designated him

1334
01:41:31,119 --> 01:41:34,880
as part of the French Foreign Legion. His body seemed

1335
01:41:34,880 --> 01:41:37,880
to cower in the far corner of the cell, away

1336
01:41:37,920 --> 01:41:42,720
from any of the bars. Stranger still, Samir pointed out

1337
01:41:43,159 --> 01:41:46,680
that he had locked himself inside a set of keys

1338
01:41:46,720 --> 01:41:50,800
could be seen by the desiccated corpse's hand. From what

1339
01:41:50,840 --> 01:41:54,079
we could tell, the man hadn't died of any injuries either,

1340
01:41:55,479 --> 01:42:02,319
Mouretti summarized, he must have either perished from hunger or third.

1341
01:42:03,520 --> 01:42:06,960
We retreated back to the courtyard afterward, where we set

1342
01:42:07,039 --> 01:42:11,760
up camp in the water garden. For this, I'm eternally grateful.

1343
01:42:12,920 --> 01:42:15,520
While the living quarters may offer more shelter from the

1344
01:42:15,560 --> 01:42:18,840
elements than the tents, I would not be able to

1345
01:42:18,880 --> 01:42:23,600
sleep a wink inside. I feel constantly on edge after

1346
01:42:23,640 --> 01:42:26,520
what has been seen today, and I pray to the

1347
01:42:26,560 --> 01:42:31,920
Lord that in time they will fade from memory. And

1348
01:42:32,000 --> 01:42:36,840
I still feel we are watched. In fact, the feeling

1349
01:42:36,920 --> 01:42:40,560
is stronger than it ever was, as if whatever is

1350
01:42:40,600 --> 01:42:45,319
doing the watching is almost directly over us, staring down.

1351
01:42:46,880 --> 01:42:49,319
I wonder if the feeling has anything to do with

1352
01:42:49,359 --> 01:42:53,800
the corpse in the arsenal jail. After all, what good

1353
01:42:53,920 --> 01:42:56,560
driver a man to such terror that he would rather

1354
01:42:56,640 --> 01:42:59,359
face a slow death from lack of food and water

1355
01:42:59,439 --> 01:43:05,199
than it. Perhaps I hope to never find out nor

1356
01:43:05,399 --> 01:43:09,720
where the rest of the soldiers disappeared to. I hope

1357
01:43:09,720 --> 01:43:12,359
we can find the fable treasure quickly and be gone

1358
01:43:12,399 --> 01:43:17,560
from this place. As much as I love adventure, I

1359
01:43:17,640 --> 01:43:20,600
long for being back in the bedroom of my home

1360
01:43:20,840 --> 01:43:29,239
in Maidenhead. Monday, thirtieth of June nineteen fifty two. Two

1361
01:43:29,359 --> 01:43:32,800
days have passed since my last entry. We've continued to

1362
01:43:32,880 --> 01:43:35,920
work to locate any hint of the treasure, but have

1363
01:43:35,960 --> 01:43:38,720
failed to find any trace of it anywhere in the fort.

1364
01:43:40,079 --> 01:43:44,079
I'm beginning to think it may never have existed. Tally

1365
01:43:44,239 --> 01:43:47,119
is trying to bolster all our spirits, but I can

1366
01:43:47,199 --> 01:43:51,159
sence him begin to grow weary like the rest of us.

1367
01:43:51,600 --> 01:43:54,640
The foreboding feeling that has hung over my head like

1368
01:43:54,720 --> 01:43:59,199
a noose seems to have spread among the expedition. I

1369
01:43:59,239 --> 01:44:02,840
see it in all their faces. It increased when we

1370
01:44:02,920 --> 01:44:06,600
found more signs of a struggle around the fort. Fingernail

1371
01:44:06,680 --> 01:44:10,239
marks edged into the walls as if someone were dragged away,

1372
01:44:11,000 --> 01:44:15,960
spent ammo casings, and more. I catch others swinging around erratically,

1373
01:44:16,479 --> 01:44:19,840
as though they had sent somebody near them. I caught

1374
01:44:19,880 --> 01:44:24,000
some mere Tarrek and corn huddled together, whispering softly to

1375
01:44:24,079 --> 01:44:29,039
one another. When I approached, hearing words about leaving spoken,

1376
01:44:29,800 --> 01:44:32,439
they stood up straight and gave me a strange look

1377
01:44:32,560 --> 01:44:36,920
before moving quickly away. I also find that Blake tends

1378
01:44:36,920 --> 01:44:40,239
to stick close to me now. She says it's because

1379
01:44:40,239 --> 01:44:43,680
she feels safest with another from Britain, but I know

1380
01:44:43,920 --> 01:44:47,760
there's a deeper reason. She would not admit. Back in

1381
01:44:47,800 --> 01:44:51,359
the war, my sergeant had told me that paranoia is

1382
01:44:51,399 --> 01:44:54,760
one of the forces that whittle men down the quickest.

1383
01:44:56,880 --> 01:45:04,800
I do believe he is right. Tuesday, first of July

1384
01:45:05,279 --> 01:45:11,279
nineteen fifty two, we are trapped. During the night, I

1385
01:45:11,319 --> 01:45:14,600
awoke to hear a thunderous crashing sound, but in the

1386
01:45:14,720 --> 01:45:20,079
darkness I didn't know what it was. When daylight broke,

1387
01:45:20,560 --> 01:45:24,119
we set out for the steps down to the land rovers.

1388
01:45:24,760 --> 01:45:28,199
We found that during the night something had caused a

1389
01:45:28,319 --> 01:45:31,520
large section of them to give way. Whether it be

1390
01:45:31,560 --> 01:45:33,840
a crack in the rock which caused the landslide of

1391
01:45:33,840 --> 01:45:38,319
some sort, it doesn't matter. The section is too vast

1392
01:45:38,399 --> 01:45:41,319
to be able to safely jump down from a gap

1393
01:45:41,359 --> 01:45:46,159
of over two hundred feet, and without rope we couldn't

1394
01:45:46,199 --> 01:45:51,560
climb down. We are stuck hundreds of feet above the

1395
01:45:51,600 --> 01:45:57,600
desert floor with no signs of people anywhere. Fortunately, Tarag

1396
01:45:57,640 --> 01:46:00,760
informed us through some ear that he believed, as a boy,

1397
01:46:01,199 --> 01:46:03,720
he had seen a way down further down the ridge.

1398
01:46:05,119 --> 01:46:09,359
After her quick deliberation, it was decided that Samir, along

1399
01:46:09,359 --> 01:46:12,079
with Richtor, would set out and try and find it.

1400
01:46:13,319 --> 01:46:15,800
The weapons we had brought were finally broken out from

1401
01:46:15,800 --> 01:46:19,119
our supplies, and the two men were given a pistol each,

1402
01:46:19,560 --> 01:46:23,119
along with a small supply of extra ammunition and two torches.

1403
01:46:24,159 --> 01:46:26,880
They said they would attempt to return at nightfall if

1404
01:46:26,880 --> 01:46:31,000
they could not find a way down. It is dusk

1405
01:46:31,039 --> 01:46:34,720
now and they have not returned. I worry that they

1406
01:46:34,800 --> 01:46:38,319
might have slipped and fallen to their deaths, or worse,

1407
01:46:39,119 --> 01:46:43,520
may have successfully made it down and bolted well. I

1408
01:46:43,560 --> 01:46:46,319
may have worked with Richta before and heard good things

1409
01:46:46,359 --> 01:46:50,600
about Samir. In a situation like this, even the most

1410
01:46:50,720 --> 01:46:57,199
rational men can do the wrong things. I wait, I

1411
01:46:57,239 --> 01:47:01,960
thought I heard something has fallen again over the fort.

1412
01:47:02,960 --> 01:47:06,399
But for a second, as the wind had died, I

1413
01:47:06,479 --> 01:47:09,600
almost swore I heard a cracking sound in the distance

1414
01:47:10,399 --> 01:47:16,520
two three times, then nothing, but it sounded too small

1415
01:47:16,560 --> 01:47:22,359
to be gun shot. It can't have been. I hope

1416
01:47:22,399 --> 01:47:32,359
they come back soon. Wednesday, second of July nineteen fifty two,

1417
01:47:33,279 --> 01:47:38,119
Samir and Richter never returned. At dawn, I volunteered to

1418
01:47:38,199 --> 01:47:40,399
try and set out to find any trace of them.

1419
01:47:41,279 --> 01:47:45,319
Blake asked to accompany me, as did Coorin, who said

1420
01:47:45,399 --> 01:47:49,199
if they were injured, they would need his training. So,

1421
01:47:49,560 --> 01:47:53,479
gathering the medical kit, we prepared to leave when Murti

1422
01:47:53,600 --> 01:47:58,319
stopped us. I want you to take this, he said,

1423
01:47:58,760 --> 01:48:05,039
Reaching into a supply, he withdrew the shotgun, when I

1424
01:48:05,079 --> 01:48:10,199
instantly recognized as a Winchester Model eighteen ninety seven, handing

1425
01:48:10,239 --> 01:48:12,479
it to me. He also pulled out a box of

1426
01:48:12,520 --> 01:48:15,520
shells and passed them to Blake, who placed them in

1427
01:48:15,600 --> 01:48:20,840
a pack. Be safe and God be with you, he said.

1428
01:48:22,399 --> 01:48:25,680
I nodded, and holding the gun tightly in both hands.

1429
01:48:26,119 --> 01:48:28,800
The three of us stepped out of the fort, and,

1430
01:48:28,880 --> 01:48:34,520
after locating two sets of footprints, set out following them.

1431
01:48:34,960 --> 01:48:37,359
None of us spoke a word as we followed the

1432
01:48:37,399 --> 01:48:41,920
trail along, occasionally having to navigate around boulders and passed

1433
01:48:41,960 --> 01:48:45,239
treacherous narrow paths in what I hoped would lead to

1434
01:48:45,279 --> 01:48:51,560
our compatriots, our friends. But as we continued on, the

1435
01:48:51,600 --> 01:48:56,399
footprints seemed to endlessly continue. I began to feel as

1436
01:48:56,399 --> 01:49:00,319
though we three had, like them, seemingly slipped into an

1437
01:49:00,359 --> 01:49:06,479
alternate reality where we would be trapped forever alone. That

1438
01:49:06,800 --> 01:49:10,319
was when we discovered the end of the tracks. I

1439
01:49:10,359 --> 01:49:12,319
don't mean to say that they led to a way down,

1440
01:49:12,960 --> 01:49:17,119
or even to the edge of the cliff. Rather, both

1441
01:49:17,159 --> 01:49:19,800
sets came to a halt in the middle of an

1442
01:49:19,840 --> 01:49:26,760
open space dominated by low hanging cliff faces behind us.

1443
01:49:26,399 --> 01:49:31,119
This doesn't make any sense, Korin said, as he looked around.

1444
01:49:31,920 --> 01:49:36,000
Where the hell did they go? Neither of us could

1445
01:49:36,039 --> 01:49:39,119
answer him. But as I focused again on the tracks,

1446
01:49:39,760 --> 01:49:44,680
I noticed two small details I hadn't before, ones which

1447
01:49:44,720 --> 01:49:47,439
made my heart begin to beat quicker in my chest.

1448
01:49:49,079 --> 01:49:52,359
The first was that the footsteps, one so oddly and

1449
01:49:52,439 --> 01:49:56,079
in rhythm with one another, suddenly began to erratically dance

1450
01:49:56,119 --> 01:49:59,039
around each other, almost as if the men had begun

1451
01:49:59,199 --> 01:50:04,640
wildly spinning around, looking in all directions. The second was

1452
01:50:04,680 --> 01:50:07,479
the glint of brass I saw hidden among the sand.

1453
01:50:08,960 --> 01:50:12,279
I reached out with one hand and brushing away the

1454
01:50:12,319 --> 01:50:14,880
top layer that had settled over it the night before.

1455
01:50:15,520 --> 01:50:20,199
Found myself looking at several spent bullet casings. There were

1456
01:50:20,239 --> 01:50:24,000
approximately three or four of them, all clumped together as

1457
01:50:24,079 --> 01:50:28,319
if someone had emptied a revolver on the spot. I

1458
01:50:28,359 --> 01:50:32,359
picked one up, rolling it over in my fingers. The

1459
01:50:32,359 --> 01:50:35,840
beating sun made it almost too hot to handle, but

1460
01:50:35,960 --> 01:50:41,159
I could instantly tell they were fresh. Wariness and dread

1461
01:50:41,199 --> 01:50:46,359
began to gnaw at my insides. Something had happened here.

1462
01:50:49,039 --> 01:50:53,600
That was when I heard Blake gasp. Turning, I found

1463
01:50:53,600 --> 01:50:56,279
a staring at a section of wall behind and to

1464
01:50:56,359 --> 01:50:59,319
the left of us, a section which had been obscured

1465
01:50:59,359 --> 01:51:02,920
by an overhand before. Her face had gone as white

1466
01:51:02,960 --> 01:51:07,399
as a sheet and her eyes wide as saucers. With

1467
01:51:07,479 --> 01:51:11,119
a trembling hand, she pointed at something and moaned out

1468
01:51:11,239 --> 01:51:19,560
three words, Mother of God. A single smear of blood

1469
01:51:19,720 --> 01:51:23,960
ascended the rock face. It wasn't a lot, but it

1470
01:51:24,000 --> 01:51:27,239
was enough to spite my dread into full blown terror.

1471
01:51:28,479 --> 01:51:31,560
Quickly arching my neck, I could see where it led to,

1472
01:51:32,520 --> 01:51:34,960
but it was obvious that its owner had been dragged

1473
01:51:35,039 --> 01:51:40,720
upwards and in a violent manner. Instantly I raised the shotgun,

1474
01:51:40,920 --> 01:51:44,600
feeling my hands go cold and Clammy Blake and Corn

1475
01:51:44,680 --> 01:51:48,800
huddle behind me. As we looked around rapidly, both at

1476
01:51:48,840 --> 01:51:53,359
the overhang above us and farther down the path, all

1477
01:51:53,439 --> 01:51:57,279
I could hear was the whistle of the wind, nothing more,

1478
01:51:58,640 --> 01:52:03,640
and that fact alone horrified me to no end. That whistle,

1479
01:52:04,279 --> 01:52:08,239
that silence, it all seemed to hold her threatening edge

1480
01:52:08,279 --> 01:52:11,760
to it, now a prelude to something horrific to come.

1481
01:52:13,479 --> 01:52:16,039
I motioned silently for the others to begin to back

1482
01:52:16,159 --> 01:52:19,600
up behind me, alternating the shotgun's same between the area

1483
01:52:19,640 --> 01:52:22,640
above us and in front of us. Trying not to

1484
01:52:22,680 --> 01:52:26,600
make any noise, we slowly began to move back to

1485
01:52:26,640 --> 01:52:32,239
the fort. As we retreated, I swear I thought I

1486
01:52:32,319 --> 01:52:36,760
heard a small pitapat sound of pebbles moving. I thought

1487
01:52:36,800 --> 01:52:39,000
I saw a slight blur of motion just beyond my

1488
01:52:39,039 --> 01:52:42,880
line of sight. My heart was raising in my chest,

1489
01:52:43,279 --> 01:52:47,159
and my mouth turned as dry as cotton. In my

1490
01:52:47,279 --> 01:52:51,199
time during the war, I'd bore witness to many horrific sights,

1491
01:52:51,560 --> 01:52:55,239
many atrocities. More than once I was sure I was

1492
01:52:55,279 --> 01:52:58,960
about to die, And I swear on my sister's soul

1493
01:52:59,279 --> 01:53:02,000
that I never felt as terrified as I did in

1494
01:53:02,119 --> 01:53:05,960
those moments. My hands holding the gun beginning to shake.

1495
01:53:07,880 --> 01:53:10,720
Despite feeling as though whatever had taken Samir and Richter

1496
01:53:10,920 --> 01:53:14,520
were lurking just beyond our field of view, we made

1497
01:53:14,520 --> 01:53:18,279
it back to the fort unharmed. As soon as we

1498
01:53:18,279 --> 01:53:21,680
were inside, I dropped the shotgun too the ground, and

1499
01:53:21,760 --> 01:53:24,000
I found what must have been the board to barricade

1500
01:53:24,000 --> 01:53:27,239
the doors. I picked it up and slammed it into

1501
01:53:27,279 --> 01:53:31,680
place in the large metal hooks. As I did so,

1502
01:53:32,439 --> 01:53:35,399
the others raced out from the water garden, demanding to

1503
01:53:35,479 --> 01:53:39,359
know why we were sealing them inside. Korin turned to

1504
01:53:39,399 --> 01:53:42,920
them as we finished, his eyes wild and face ashen

1505
01:53:43,039 --> 01:53:47,039
in the fading light. Because Samir and Richter are dead.

1506
01:53:47,399 --> 01:53:52,840
That's why his tone slammed the words home, and I

1507
01:53:52,880 --> 01:53:58,239
saw horrified looks cross everyone's faces, even Tarrex, even if

1508
01:53:58,279 --> 01:54:02,239
he couldn't understand us that well. Trying to remain calm,

1509
01:54:02,640 --> 01:54:06,039
I stepped forward and, with as much rational clarity as

1510
01:54:06,079 --> 01:54:10,479
I could, muster explained in crystal clarity everything we had seen,

1511
01:54:11,319 --> 01:54:17,640
everything we had come across. As I finished, a deathly

1512
01:54:17,680 --> 01:54:22,800
silence settled over us. All. In those moments, all we

1513
01:54:22,880 --> 01:54:25,880
could hear was the wind, which had now risen from

1514
01:54:25,920 --> 01:54:29,840
a whistle into a howl. The sun was beginning to

1515
01:54:29,920 --> 01:54:33,520
set on the horizon, and it cast eerie shadows over

1516
01:54:33,560 --> 01:54:38,840
the fort's courtyard. Nobody dared speak, as the implications of

1517
01:54:38,880 --> 01:54:45,520
our predicaments sunk in, until I began to hear a

1518
01:54:45,680 --> 01:54:51,600
low whine. For a moment, I was unable to discern

1519
01:54:51,760 --> 01:54:56,079
where it came from, but as I looked around, I

1520
01:54:56,159 --> 01:55:03,039
realized it was coming from Tarak. The Algerian looked, if possible,

1521
01:55:03,600 --> 01:55:08,199
petrified to death, and beyond his face held the expression

1522
01:55:08,239 --> 01:55:11,119
of one which had just had a death sentence passed on.

1523
01:55:12,319 --> 01:55:16,600
The wine intensified, and he suddenly began to babble, speaking

1524
01:55:16,720 --> 01:55:22,840
rapidly strings of sentences. I didn't understand. What is he saying?

1525
01:55:23,319 --> 01:55:28,560
Tali demanded. Moretti, knowing a little Arabic, raised a hand

1526
01:55:28,560 --> 01:55:31,920
to silence him and stepped forward, asking a question to

1527
01:55:32,000 --> 01:55:38,159
the panicking man. In response, Tarak babbled to more at him,

1528
01:55:38,399 --> 01:55:42,760
and after a moment, I saw Maretti's brow furrow in confusion.

1529
01:55:44,560 --> 01:55:50,079
He asked another question and received another panicked response. Tally

1530
01:55:50,119 --> 01:55:57,199
stepped forward. What did he say? Please tell me? Moretti

1531
01:55:57,279 --> 01:56:00,600
continued to look at Tarak for a moment, then turned

1532
01:56:00,600 --> 01:56:05,279
towards us. I'm not sure, but I think he says

1533
01:56:05,319 --> 01:56:09,800
that they are in the mountains. They hunt in the mountains,

1534
01:56:10,640 --> 01:56:13,199
and they are wise. Father and grandfather warned him to

1535
01:56:13,239 --> 01:56:19,680
stay away from here. Suddenly, and without warning, Tarek turned

1536
01:56:19,680 --> 01:56:23,600
and bolted for the fort's living quarters. I saw Maretti

1537
01:56:23,680 --> 01:56:26,680
begin to take a step after him, but then stopped.

1538
01:56:28,239 --> 01:56:31,039
We watched as the man slammed his shoulder into the door,

1539
01:56:31,520 --> 01:56:36,600
rushing inside and slamming it shot behind him. Fortunately we

1540
01:56:36,680 --> 01:56:41,479
did not hear it lock. After a moment, Tali turned

1541
01:56:41,520 --> 01:56:46,479
back to us. He took a deep breath. Right, everyone,

1542
01:56:47,600 --> 01:56:52,880
we need a plan. The man's words seemed to bolster us,

1543
01:56:53,279 --> 01:56:57,560
and we quickly and quietly began talking among ourselves. We

1544
01:56:57,680 --> 01:57:00,439
decided he was no longer safe to stay out side,

1545
01:57:01,159 --> 01:57:04,640
and following Tarak's footsteps, we would shelter at night in

1546
01:57:04,680 --> 01:57:10,600
the living quarters, barricading ourselves inside. We would also try

1547
01:57:10,600 --> 01:57:13,640
to repair the broken radio to try and send a

1548
01:57:13,640 --> 01:57:18,199
call for help. Blake, in addition to being an archaeologist,

1549
01:57:18,760 --> 01:57:23,520
was also proficient in repairing equipment. Our plans set in motion.

1550
01:57:24,119 --> 01:57:28,439
We grabbed our supplies from the tents and moved inside.

1551
01:57:28,720 --> 01:57:32,560
And now we all huddle trying to sleep in shifts.

1552
01:57:32,680 --> 01:57:36,600
In one of the main bunk rooms. Blake sleeps beside me.

1553
01:57:37,600 --> 01:57:40,439
I can hear her uneasily rolling over. As I write,

1554
01:57:41,640 --> 01:57:45,399
Corn is doing the same a few cuts away. Sorry

1555
01:57:45,399 --> 01:57:48,399
and Moretti patrol the holes of the building with two

1556
01:57:48,479 --> 01:57:52,399
of our four remaining guns. Tally holds onto the third,

1557
01:57:53,239 --> 01:57:56,680
and in the meantime, I've traded Moretti the shotgun for

1558
01:57:56,720 --> 01:58:00,960
a pistol of my own. I should try to rest

1559
01:58:01,640 --> 01:58:04,000
my own patrol shift will be in a few hours,

1560
01:58:05,640 --> 01:58:11,439
and yet I cannot. I feel as though my dreams

1561
01:58:11,479 --> 01:58:15,560
will be worse dreams seeing what happened to Samir and Richter,

1562
01:58:16,239 --> 01:58:19,800
seeing them dragged upwards to a fate. I feel it

1563
01:58:19,880 --> 01:58:23,800
is a blessing not to know. And I'm terrified that

1564
01:58:23,880 --> 01:58:27,520
if I close my eyes I'll open them to find

1565
01:58:27,760 --> 01:58:31,920
something looking at me, half hidden in the shadows from

1566
01:58:32,000 --> 01:58:35,319
the dull light of the lamp over our heads, ready

1567
01:58:35,439 --> 01:58:38,399
to leap, and in my existence in a blister of

1568
01:58:38,439 --> 01:58:56,600
pain and horror, God, please save us. Thursday, third of

1569
01:58:56,720 --> 01:59:01,359
July nineteen fifty two, I write to day with what

1570
01:59:01,560 --> 01:59:04,560
feels like for the first time in an eternity, a

1571
01:59:04,680 --> 01:59:09,319
shred of good news. Blake has given an initial inspection

1572
01:59:09,600 --> 01:59:12,479
of both the radio and telegraphs and has come to

1573
01:59:12,520 --> 01:59:15,640
the conclusion that while he will take a small amount

1574
01:59:15,640 --> 01:59:18,960
of time, the damage dealt to both is within her

1575
01:59:19,079 --> 01:59:22,600
means to repair. She told us that he will take

1576
01:59:23,119 --> 01:59:26,399
with her combination of supplies found within the living quarters

1577
01:59:26,640 --> 01:59:29,560
and from our own bags, a maximum of two to

1578
01:59:29,640 --> 01:59:33,159
three days to get them back up to snuff. I

1579
01:59:33,159 --> 01:59:36,560
can also report that during Soeign and Moretti's watch, as

1580
01:59:36,560 --> 01:59:40,840
well as accompanied by Corn my own, we saw and

1581
01:59:40,920 --> 01:59:46,279
heard no trace of whatever lies out there. I hold

1582
01:59:46,319 --> 01:59:49,840
no delusions that they may have left, though all throughout

1583
01:59:49,840 --> 01:59:52,560
the night I could feel their eyes upon the fort,

1584
01:59:53,600 --> 01:59:58,199
especially when I passed the window. Several times I would

1585
01:59:58,279 --> 02:00:01,560
stop in front of them, my head around and squint

1586
02:00:01,640 --> 02:00:06,319
into the blackness. Of course, I saw nothing but the

1587
02:00:06,399 --> 02:00:09,239
hair that rose in my arms every single time. Assured

1588
02:00:09,279 --> 02:00:12,239
me that if the night were able to withdraw and

1589
02:00:12,319 --> 02:00:15,880
allow the secrets it covers to be visible, I would

1590
02:00:15,880 --> 02:00:18,800
have borne witnessed to a sight both blood chilling and

1591
02:00:18,880 --> 02:00:23,479
macarb in its appearance in the past. I often wish

1592
02:00:23,560 --> 02:00:25,800
that God had given us the night vision that large

1593
02:00:25,840 --> 02:00:31,279
predators were bestowed with, but now I'm beyond thankful he

1594
02:00:31,399 --> 02:00:36,920
did not. For the most part, we have remained inside

1595
02:00:36,920 --> 02:00:40,640
the living quarters, only venturing outside for brief periods of

1596
02:00:40,680 --> 02:00:44,359
time to fetch water from the water garden. The fear

1597
02:00:44,399 --> 02:00:47,800
and tension felt when doing so, though, is palpable enough

1598
02:00:47,840 --> 02:00:51,520
to slice with the bloody razor, especially as it sits

1599
02:00:51,600 --> 02:00:55,640
directly next to the main wall of the fort. When

1600
02:00:55,680 --> 02:00:58,680
it was my turn to refill our canteens, my head

1601
02:00:58,720 --> 02:01:02,880
swiveled around my neck, not unlike an owl's, turning this

1602
02:01:02,960 --> 02:01:06,319
way and that, and feeling that if I allowed even

1603
02:01:06,359 --> 02:01:09,640
a second to glance away from a particular spot, I

1604
02:01:09,640 --> 02:01:12,000
would turn to find the last thing I would ever

1605
02:01:12,079 --> 02:01:18,000
see gazing into my eyes. Fortunately, due to the material

1606
02:01:18,119 --> 02:01:21,720
the fort was built with or its position against the mountains,

1607
02:01:22,359 --> 02:01:26,720
the interior remained relatively cool, even as the noonday sun

1608
02:01:26,840 --> 02:01:29,560
beat down to the point I could see, both up

1609
02:01:29,640 --> 02:01:33,159
close and in the distance, the air itself shimmering from

1610
02:01:33,159 --> 02:01:38,359
the temperature. I do have to mention one thing, ever,

1611
02:01:38,439 --> 02:01:41,800
since Tark fled inside the building the other day, he

1612
02:01:41,920 --> 02:01:45,920
refuses to try and help us in any way. When

1613
02:01:45,960 --> 02:01:49,159
asked by Moretti, all he would do is shake his

1614
02:01:49,239 --> 02:01:51,760
head and repeat the words he spoke to us the

1615
02:01:51,840 --> 02:01:54,880
other day, the words about the ones who live in

1616
02:01:54,920 --> 02:02:01,079
the mountains. Before retreating into a supply closet, he remains there,

1617
02:02:01,560 --> 02:02:05,239
only coming out briefly for food or water before returning

1618
02:02:05,279 --> 02:02:10,840
to it. One other important thing to note. As we

1619
02:02:10,920 --> 02:02:13,680
had some free time on our hands, I used it

1620
02:02:13,840 --> 02:02:17,840
to further explore the living quarters, thoroughly checking every lock

1621
02:02:17,880 --> 02:02:21,199
box in supply case for anything we could possibly use.

1622
02:02:22,560 --> 02:02:26,239
In most I found only medical supplies, and in the

1623
02:02:26,319 --> 02:02:31,079
upper levels of the building two cannons, along with fuses, gunpowder,

1624
02:02:31,439 --> 02:02:35,960
and half a dozen cannon balls. However, as I further

1625
02:02:36,079 --> 02:02:39,640
explored the upper areas, I found a metal lock box that,

1626
02:02:40,359 --> 02:02:42,960
after breaking the h lock with the bottom my revolver,

1627
02:02:43,880 --> 02:02:48,359
held two flare pistols within, each one as a single

1628
02:02:48,399 --> 02:02:52,840
flare already loaded inside, with no sign of additional flares nearby.

1629
02:02:54,039 --> 02:02:56,920
I showed them to Moretti and the others, who agreed

1630
02:02:56,960 --> 02:02:59,319
that they should be stowed away to be used if

1631
02:02:59,319 --> 02:03:01,960
any sign of lack life was spotted in the desert below.

1632
02:03:03,199 --> 02:03:08,239
These may be what end up saving our hides. Tally said.

1633
02:03:08,640 --> 02:03:11,520
The sun is setting now and with the descent of

1634
02:03:11,520 --> 02:03:15,439
the orange almost blood red sun over the horizon. It

1635
02:03:15,479 --> 02:03:18,640
feels like whatever safety we felt in the daylight is

1636
02:03:18,720 --> 02:03:24,880
disappearing before my very eyes. I pray you make it

1637
02:03:24,920 --> 02:03:33,840
through the night Friday, fourth of July nineteen fifty two

1638
02:03:34,439 --> 02:03:38,159
the screams. I find it a struggle to put ink

1639
02:03:38,199 --> 02:03:41,479
to paper the abject horror and shock that I feel

1640
02:03:41,520 --> 02:03:45,479
this morning. But I must, if only to try and

1641
02:03:45,520 --> 02:03:49,279
help reserve the fleeting sanity that almost seems to precariously

1642
02:03:49,319 --> 02:03:54,000
cling to me. Last night, Sorron and I were tasked

1643
02:03:54,079 --> 02:03:57,560
with taking the first watch, patrolling the halls and rooms

1644
02:03:57,840 --> 02:04:00,960
until half past one in the morning, when we would

1645
02:04:01,079 --> 02:04:05,399
rouse and be relieved by Moretti and Coron. Sarren carried

1646
02:04:05,439 --> 02:04:11,159
the shotgun while I remained with my pistol. Slowly, silently,

1647
02:04:11,720 --> 02:04:15,760
we moved through the building, occasionally convening to confirm no

1648
02:04:15,920 --> 02:04:18,800
sign of trouble, and poking our heads into the bunk

1649
02:04:18,880 --> 02:04:22,399
room to check on the others. The only sound I

1650
02:04:22,439 --> 02:04:25,960
could be heard, aside from the whistling wind and creaking

1651
02:04:26,039 --> 02:04:29,119
of the ancient building, was the soft ticking of the

1652
02:04:29,159 --> 02:04:33,319
watch on my wrist, its unstoppable march seeming to bring

1653
02:04:33,439 --> 02:04:39,000
a little comfort to me. That was when I heard it.

1654
02:04:41,880 --> 02:04:45,880
At first, I couldn't identify the sound. It was too

1655
02:04:45,960 --> 02:04:48,960
far off in the distance and too muffled to properly

1656
02:04:49,000 --> 02:04:53,119
make out. It barely carried on the wind, almost being

1657
02:04:53,159 --> 02:04:57,720
whisked away completely. But as the moments spilled over into minutes,

1658
02:04:58,319 --> 02:05:02,800
I realized that it was slowly growing louder, which meant

1659
02:05:03,079 --> 02:05:09,560
whenever it was who was getting closer. Feeling my heart

1660
02:05:09,600 --> 02:05:12,560
begin to raise in my chest, I raised my revolver

1661
02:05:12,880 --> 02:05:16,520
and pulled back the hammer, my eyes straining to sea

1662
02:05:16,720 --> 02:05:21,119
in the darkness. The sound continued to increase in volume,

1663
02:05:21,640 --> 02:05:25,840
and for a moment I froze. For a moment I'd

1664
02:05:25,880 --> 02:05:30,479
almost recognized it. A shiver passed through me as I

1665
02:05:30,520 --> 02:05:33,359
gripped the window sill tightly in one hand, the other

1666
02:05:33,439 --> 02:05:36,479
shaking slightly as I aimed the gun into the black.

1667
02:05:38,399 --> 02:05:43,359
That was when a hand fell on my shoulder. I

1668
02:05:43,439 --> 02:05:46,640
nearly jumped out of my skin, whirling around a vine

1669
02:05:46,720 --> 02:05:50,359
Sorens standing beside me, the shotgun raised toward the ceiling

1670
02:05:50,399 --> 02:05:53,399
in his free hand and an intense look upon his face.

1671
02:05:54,960 --> 02:05:59,720
He looked at me. I hear it too, he said, simply,

1672
02:06:00,279 --> 02:06:05,520
in response to my unspoken question. For another moment, the

1673
02:06:05,560 --> 02:06:08,600
two of us stood there, straining our ears as we

1674
02:06:08,680 --> 02:06:12,159
held by the window. The sound continued to grow nearer,

1675
02:06:12,600 --> 02:06:17,239
and I felt another shiver pass through me. I couldn't

1676
02:06:17,319 --> 02:06:21,039
understand why, but I almost swore I recognized the sound.

1677
02:06:22,600 --> 02:06:28,920
Finally I whispered back to Saron, what is there? He

1678
02:06:29,039 --> 02:06:32,279
remained silent for another moment or so. Then I saw

1679
02:06:32,319 --> 02:06:37,039
his face go slightly pale in recognition, his expression changing

1680
02:06:37,079 --> 02:06:46,199
from stone to clearly unnerved screaming. There was another stretch

1681
02:06:46,239 --> 02:06:49,560
of silence between us as we both strained our ears.

1682
02:06:50,600 --> 02:06:53,479
I prayed for a moment that he was wrong, but

1683
02:06:54,000 --> 02:06:56,760
as the wind fell for a moment, I felt the

1684
02:06:56,760 --> 02:06:59,239
blood in my veins turned to ice as it came

1685
02:06:59,279 --> 02:07:06,199
again clear. This time it was indeed screaming. What's more,

1686
02:07:06,880 --> 02:07:12,880
the sauce was unmistakably human. I had heard far too

1687
02:07:12,960 --> 02:07:15,960
many men to count scream on the battlefield during the war.

1688
02:07:16,920 --> 02:07:19,840
Heard men shriek their last after they had stepped on

1689
02:07:19,880 --> 02:07:23,600
a land mine and lay blown apart and rapidly bleeding

1690
02:07:23,640 --> 02:07:26,239
out on the ground with it too dangerous to try

1691
02:07:26,279 --> 02:07:29,880
and retrieve them. I heard the screams of captured Germans

1692
02:07:29,960 --> 02:07:33,680
and the bunkers as operatives went to work extracting information

1693
02:07:33,800 --> 02:07:40,600
on them. These screams not only rivaled them, but surpassed them.

1694
02:07:41,640 --> 02:07:44,960
They were the most horrible, panicked, and pained sounds I

1695
02:07:45,000 --> 02:07:49,640
had ever heard a human being utter. It sounded nothing

1696
02:07:49,720 --> 02:07:53,399
less than if the screamer were being flayed alive, feeling

1697
02:07:53,520 --> 02:07:57,520
every single cut and peel of their skin. And then

1698
02:07:57,680 --> 02:08:01,880
the terror I felt compounded as the rose up a

1699
02:08:02,000 --> 02:08:06,079
second scream, one which rose and fell beside the first,

1700
02:08:06,600 --> 02:08:10,239
occasionally overlapping it, until it sounded as though we were

1701
02:08:10,279 --> 02:08:14,000
hearing the damned souls of Hell itself crying out for release.

1702
02:08:15,640 --> 02:08:19,000
His eyes wide saw and turned to me and said

1703
02:08:19,159 --> 02:08:26,800
only three words, roused the others. Soon we were all

1704
02:08:26,840 --> 02:08:30,760
standing by the window, every expression a mirror of fear

1705
02:08:30,840 --> 02:08:33,760
on the other as we listened to the infernal sound

1706
02:08:33,800 --> 02:08:37,000
that now almost sounded as if it were coming from

1707
02:08:37,199 --> 02:08:41,159
just beyond the sealed front doors of the fort. Blake

1708
02:08:41,319 --> 02:08:44,159
clasped the hand over her mouth, closing her eyes, and

1709
02:08:44,239 --> 02:08:48,600
leaning against me, wrapped an arm protectively around her, pulling

1710
02:08:48,640 --> 02:08:50,680
her close to me. As I looked at the others.

1711
02:08:52,119 --> 02:08:54,720
Karin looked as though he were about to faint from terror.

1712
02:08:56,319 --> 02:09:01,960
Jesus Mary and Joseph. He breathed. I saw Talie swallow hard.

1713
02:09:02,720 --> 02:09:05,399
But it was a look that swept across Marette's face

1714
02:09:05,680 --> 02:09:11,479
that drew my attention. It was one of recognition. He

1715
02:09:11,600 --> 02:09:15,199
fought to find his voice for a moment, then softly spoke,

1716
02:09:15,880 --> 02:09:24,479
his voice almost lost to the shrieks outside Sameir. Everyone

1717
02:09:24,560 --> 02:09:27,159
turned to look at him. At the single word he uttered,

1718
02:09:28,079 --> 02:09:32,159
I felt a small wave of confusion wash over me. Then,

1719
02:09:32,640 --> 02:09:36,520
if possible, I saw Soren's face grow even paler than

1720
02:09:36,560 --> 02:09:42,319
it already was. God Almighty, that is Samir, and that

1721
02:09:42,439 --> 02:09:45,880
oother scream. I remember how Ricky yewled as he broke

1722
02:09:45,920 --> 02:09:50,840
his angle a few years ago. That's him. Fresh ways

1723
02:09:50,840 --> 02:09:53,760
of horror rolled over us like the sea as the

1724
02:09:53,800 --> 02:09:58,399
information sunk in. I had been on the same expedition

1725
02:09:58,520 --> 02:10:01,319
with the two men when Rich had broken his ankle

1726
02:10:01,399 --> 02:10:04,720
climbing a rock. I prayed to the God I hoped

1727
02:10:04,800 --> 02:10:08,680
was listening that they were wrong, But in my bones,

1728
02:10:09,560 --> 02:10:13,039
I knew they weren't. I knew we were hearing the

1729
02:10:13,079 --> 02:10:18,000
screams of our two lost compatriots. Tally suddenly began to

1730
02:10:18,039 --> 02:10:21,239
turn towards the stairs to the lower floor, yanking his

1731
02:10:21,279 --> 02:10:25,199
own pistol from his holster. We have to help them,

1732
02:10:25,439 --> 02:10:30,279
he yelled, beginning to sprint away. Just as quickly, Sorron

1733
02:10:30,279 --> 02:10:33,039
and Moretti began to chase after him, telling him to wait.

1734
02:10:34,239 --> 02:10:36,760
Still holding on to Blake, I jerked my head for

1735
02:10:36,840 --> 02:10:40,920
carr And to follow, and hurried after them. When we

1736
02:10:41,039 --> 02:10:45,680
descended the stairs, we found Soren restraining Tally, his face

1737
02:10:45,800 --> 02:10:49,239
enraged in the flickering light of the lamp above. Like

1738
02:10:49,399 --> 02:10:52,520
go of me, damn you, he yelled, attempting to kick

1739
02:10:52,560 --> 02:10:57,319
the larger man to free himself. Moretti leaned forward towards him.

1740
02:10:57,800 --> 02:11:00,720
Lucy brain, your stupid fool. There is a reason why

1741
02:11:00,720 --> 02:11:04,960
it's coming from just outside the fort. It They whoever

1742
02:11:05,119 --> 02:11:07,600
or whatever he's out there, wants us to go out there.

1743
02:11:08,359 --> 02:11:13,279
It's a trap. Tally kicked at Sarn again, but this

1744
02:11:13,439 --> 02:11:18,560
time he was weaker. You don't know that, he protested.

1745
02:11:19,319 --> 02:11:22,039
They could have fought their way back. Soren shook his

1746
02:11:22,119 --> 02:11:26,760
head after what Liam and the others found. No, they couldn't,

1747
02:11:27,560 --> 02:11:31,880
especially not after two days. I'm sorry, mister Tally, but

1748
02:11:31,960 --> 02:11:35,800
Alessandro's right. They are counting on our emotions to get

1749
02:11:35,800 --> 02:11:38,880
the better of us. It's designed to lure us out

1750
02:11:38,920 --> 02:11:43,319
into the open. Tally closed his eyes and turned his

1751
02:11:43,319 --> 02:11:46,520
head away, almost in denial of what I had realized

1752
02:11:46,720 --> 02:11:50,319
was true myself, but I could see the words sinking in.

1753
02:11:52,640 --> 02:11:56,960
He slowly slumped Sarren, releasing the man and allowing him

1754
02:11:56,960 --> 02:12:00,159
to crumple to the ground, pulling his knees towards him

1755
02:12:00,399 --> 02:12:04,720
and wrapping his arms around them. Standing in the narrow hall,

1756
02:12:05,479 --> 02:12:08,359
we all listened to the screaming of our two friends

1757
02:12:08,479 --> 02:12:12,680
continue outside for a few minutes. Then, as he began

1758
02:12:12,720 --> 02:12:15,079
to feel as though the sounds would drive us all mad,

1759
02:12:16,079 --> 02:12:20,239
they slowly began to move away. The screaming grew fainter,

1760
02:12:20,960 --> 02:12:23,279
the sound of the wind beginning to mask it again,

1761
02:12:24,239 --> 02:12:30,720
until finally he couldn't hear it at all. For a moment,

1762
02:12:31,640 --> 02:12:35,920
nobody moved. I glanced at my watch, seeing that it

1763
02:12:36,000 --> 02:12:39,199
was a quarter to three in the morning. I hadn't

1764
02:12:39,239 --> 02:12:44,600
realized how long the terrifying ordeal had really lasted. Finally,

1765
02:12:44,840 --> 02:12:48,439
Tally stood up. He refused to meet any other eyes

1766
02:12:48,800 --> 02:12:53,880
and slunk back upstairs. Karen followed closely behind him. I

1767
02:12:53,920 --> 02:12:56,039
felt a sense of worry at what I saw in

1768
02:12:56,079 --> 02:12:59,479
the second man's eyes. The look was akin to one

1769
02:12:59,640 --> 02:13:03,399
a corn animal. Weares and revealed that he was close

1770
02:13:03,479 --> 02:13:07,439
to the edge. Soon all of us had returned to

1771
02:13:07,479 --> 02:13:11,359
the upper levels, Moretti relieving me of my watch and

1772
02:13:11,640 --> 02:13:15,520
ordering me to try and rest. But sleep is the

1773
02:13:15,560 --> 02:13:18,680
last thing I feel I could obtain right now, not

1774
02:13:18,760 --> 02:13:21,640
when the horror of what we'd experienced is still so

1775
02:13:21,840 --> 02:13:25,680
fresh in my mind. Blake has somehow managed to drift

1776
02:13:25,760 --> 02:13:29,079
back off, though I can tell her dreams at nightmares

1777
02:13:29,359 --> 02:13:33,000
by how she moans and wriggles and are caught. So

1778
02:13:33,119 --> 02:13:37,359
I write, not knowing what else to do, I pray

1779
02:13:37,439 --> 02:13:40,399
for the rising sun to come soon and banish away

1780
02:13:40,600 --> 02:13:45,680
the small taste of hell that I witnessed tonight. One

1781
02:13:45,760 --> 02:13:50,359
last thing I only noticed once we returned from upstairs.

1782
02:13:51,199 --> 02:13:54,960
But not once during the entire ordeal did Tarrek join us.

1783
02:13:56,119 --> 02:13:59,359
I only saw him when we returned upstairs, peeking out

1784
02:13:59,359 --> 02:14:02,039
from the clauset to stare at us with wide eyes.

1785
02:14:03,359 --> 02:14:05,960
The look on his face is what I remember well

1786
02:14:05,960 --> 02:14:09,520
from the medical tents, on the faces of wounded soldiers

1787
02:14:09,960 --> 02:14:13,880
who knew they were about to die. It was the

1788
02:14:13,960 --> 02:14:25,880
look of a man who has resigned himself to his fate. Saturday,

1789
02:14:26,239 --> 02:14:31,479
fifth of July nineteen fifty two. Whatever lives in these

1790
02:14:31,520 --> 02:14:34,840
god forsaken mountains, it will not allow us to make

1791
02:14:34,880 --> 02:14:38,680
a call for help. Blake finished repairing both the radio

1792
02:14:38,800 --> 02:14:42,920
and telegraphed today. For a few moments, we clung to

1793
02:14:42,960 --> 02:14:46,119
a tiny scrap of relief, like a shipwrecked victim to

1794
02:14:46,159 --> 02:14:49,560
a life ring. We crowded around her as she began

1795
02:14:49,640 --> 02:14:52,960
to send a distress call, tuning to the proper frequency.

1796
02:14:54,880 --> 02:15:01,079
Something answered us, but not what we had hoped. Almost

1797
02:15:01,119 --> 02:15:04,159
as soon as she hit the transmit button, a sound

1798
02:15:04,199 --> 02:15:08,560
spilled from the speakers. At first, it was too soft

1799
02:15:08,560 --> 02:15:12,520
to make out, but soon grew in intensity until we

1800
02:15:12,560 --> 02:15:20,479
could clearly recognize it. Whispering voices, dozens of them or more,

1801
02:15:21,079 --> 02:15:24,319
all whispering in a language none of us could ascertain

1802
02:15:24,520 --> 02:15:29,600
or understand. It was not Arabic. I doubt it's a

1803
02:15:29,680 --> 02:15:33,399
language any human has spoken in a millennia, if ever

1804
02:15:33,479 --> 02:15:37,800
at all. The sound made chill after chill shoot up

1805
02:15:37,800 --> 02:15:41,640
my spine. I could see horrified looks in the other's faces.

1806
02:15:42,800 --> 02:15:47,880
The whispering continued, soon joined by screaming, and I swear

1807
02:15:48,960 --> 02:15:51,680
I heard some mirror and Richter's screams among the others

1808
02:15:52,479 --> 02:15:56,880
the same screams we heard the other night. Finally, the

1809
02:15:57,000 --> 02:16:00,880
radio just seemed to die completely, the glow dial dimming

1810
02:16:00,920 --> 02:16:04,720
to black. No matter how much Blake fiddled with it,

1811
02:16:05,399 --> 02:16:09,159
she couldn't get it to turn on again, and no

1812
02:16:09,279 --> 02:16:12,479
sooner had she turned to the telegraph, using Morse code

1813
02:16:12,520 --> 02:16:15,039
to type out an S O S than we received

1814
02:16:15,039 --> 02:16:20,319
an answer far quicker than anyone could possibly respond. I

1815
02:16:20,399 --> 02:16:23,520
remember the look of confusion on her face as she

1816
02:16:23,560 --> 02:16:26,279
reached out and pulled the small piece of paper from

1817
02:16:26,319 --> 02:16:29,239
the machine, raising it to her eyes and reading it.

1818
02:16:30,680 --> 02:16:33,319
When she lowered it, she looked to be on the

1819
02:16:33,399 --> 02:16:39,319
verge of tears. What does it say? Moretti asked her gently.

1820
02:16:41,200 --> 02:16:47,760
She took a moment before answering, swallowing hard, no saving.

1821
02:16:51,680 --> 02:16:55,520
I find myself terrified now, not just for my life,

1822
02:16:57,000 --> 02:17:04,959
but my very soul. Sunday, sixth of July nineteen fifty two,

1823
02:17:06,959 --> 02:17:11,559
Soren is gone. I was roused shortly before dawn by Moretti,

1824
02:17:12,120 --> 02:17:14,680
who gazed down at me with an expression which shocked me.

1825
02:17:15,920 --> 02:17:19,799
Throughout the entire ordeal, the man had attempted to remain calm.

1826
02:17:20,920 --> 02:17:23,760
Now as he pulled me to my feet, I found

1827
02:17:23,760 --> 02:17:28,239
myself staring at an almost panicked face, trying to keep

1828
02:17:28,280 --> 02:17:31,239
his voice level, he explained that when he had not

1829
02:17:31,280 --> 02:17:34,600
seen Soren crossing his path after doing so thrice before,

1830
02:17:35,120 --> 02:17:38,360
he had gone looking for the man. He discovered the

1831
02:17:38,360 --> 02:17:41,319
shotgun leaning against the wall near one of the cannons,

1832
02:17:41,719 --> 02:17:46,120
with no sign of him at all. What's worse, as

1833
02:17:46,200 --> 02:17:49,680
there was not a single sign of a struggle. It

1834
02:17:49,760 --> 02:17:52,319
was as if he had been ambushed and simply lifted

1835
02:17:52,399 --> 02:17:55,000
up and out of the world with nearry a splash

1836
02:17:55,040 --> 02:17:59,280
of blood or scream. He handed me the shotgun, asking

1837
02:17:59,360 --> 02:18:03,200
me to help cure the building with them. Quickly, and

1838
02:18:03,280 --> 02:18:05,559
with the worried eyes of the others turning on us

1839
02:18:05,600 --> 02:18:09,120
as they awoke, we swept through the living quarters, our

1840
02:18:09,120 --> 02:18:14,040
guns at the ready and eyes darting around. To my dismay,

1841
02:18:14,719 --> 02:18:17,799
we discovered that the door to the courtyard was still

1842
02:18:17,840 --> 02:18:22,079
bolted from the inside, indicating that Sirren hadn't walked out,

1843
02:18:23,079 --> 02:18:27,280
which meant whatever had happened to him had happened in here.

1844
02:18:29,559 --> 02:18:33,040
Every shadow cast by the flickering candles and lamps now

1845
02:18:33,079 --> 02:18:37,680
seemed threatening whatever safety we felt inside, torn away like

1846
02:18:37,719 --> 02:18:41,479
a favorite blanket from a child, I wanted to say,

1847
02:18:41,520 --> 02:18:44,280
my eyes were playing tricks on me, But I fear

1848
02:18:44,360 --> 02:18:47,520
that as I moved through the living quarters, my eyes

1849
02:18:47,559 --> 02:18:51,799
occasionally would spy something moving swiftly and silently among the

1850
02:18:51,879 --> 02:18:55,680
rafters over our heads, only stopping for a moment to

1851
02:18:55,799 --> 02:19:00,959
watch us, before darting out of sight. When storm broke,

1852
02:19:01,440 --> 02:19:04,479
and despite the door being locked, we left the living

1853
02:19:04,559 --> 02:19:09,559
quarters and moved out into the courtyard. We still found

1854
02:19:09,559 --> 02:19:12,239
no trace of the man, and the front doors were

1855
02:19:12,280 --> 02:19:16,479
still barricaded. We made a quick pass through the armory,

1856
02:19:17,000 --> 02:19:21,479
still finding nothing, before quickly stopping to refill our canteens.

1857
02:19:22,760 --> 02:19:26,200
While water is obviously not an issue, we will soon

1858
02:19:26,319 --> 02:19:31,879
begin running low on food, but I fear it is

1859
02:19:31,920 --> 02:19:41,399
not starvation that will be the end of us. Sunday,

1860
02:19:41,879 --> 02:19:46,799
sixth of July nineteen fifty two, at Dendem, the scream

1861
02:19:46,959 --> 02:19:51,239
is back. It came just after nightfall. It is still

1862
02:19:51,239 --> 02:19:55,200
some here and read to screams sounding almost exactly as before,

1863
02:19:56,840 --> 02:20:03,840
only now I hear sorens, deep or cries among them. God,

1864
02:20:04,399 --> 02:20:07,040
I don't want to die here. I don't want my

1865
02:20:07,120 --> 02:20:15,840
fate to be whatever theirs are now. Monday, seventh of

1866
02:20:15,920 --> 02:20:23,360
July nineteen fifty two, Derek is dead. At first when

1867
02:20:23,399 --> 02:20:27,559
we awoke, nothing new seemed out of place. The same

1868
02:20:27,639 --> 02:20:30,920
creaking of the building could be heard, but nothing more

1869
02:20:31,000 --> 02:20:34,040
screamed of the change until I went to try and

1870
02:20:34,079 --> 02:20:37,799
bring the Algerians some water and food. I found the

1871
02:20:37,840 --> 02:20:41,719
door to the supply closets standing wide open, and when

1872
02:20:41,760 --> 02:20:48,639
I peered inside, it was empty. Feeling tensions suddenly erupt

1873
02:20:48,680 --> 02:20:51,879
from my body, I turned and began calling for the man,

1874
02:20:52,239 --> 02:20:55,200
attracting the attention of Moretti and Tally, who were on

1875
02:20:55,280 --> 02:20:59,440
their patrols. Once I showed them the empty closet, the

1876
02:20:59,520 --> 02:21:02,520
three of us fanned out, all calling the man's name,

1877
02:21:03,319 --> 02:21:06,399
and Moretti calling out what had to be soothing words

1878
02:21:06,399 --> 02:21:11,079
in Arabic, but there was no response at all, aside

1879
02:21:11,079 --> 02:21:13,920
from the confused calls of Korin and Blake as they

1880
02:21:13,920 --> 02:21:18,639
awoke and joined us. That was when I saw the

1881
02:21:18,680 --> 02:21:22,799
open front door. The sight of the living room stoor

1882
02:21:22,920 --> 02:21:26,600
hanging wide open, gently waving in the breeze, and showing

1883
02:21:26,639 --> 02:21:30,280
the sand outside the sun just beginning to spread across

1884
02:21:30,319 --> 02:21:34,399
it filled me with a sense of dread. Quickly I

1885
02:21:34,479 --> 02:21:37,920
called the others, and after a quick discussion, Moretti and

1886
02:21:37,959 --> 02:21:41,239
I moved outside. More Tally closed and bolted the door

1887
02:21:41,280 --> 02:21:45,280
behind us. ME instantly spotted a set of footprints in

1888
02:21:45,319 --> 02:21:48,520
the sand, moving away from the building out into the

1889
02:21:48,559 --> 02:21:53,000
center of the courtyard. We followed them, seeing that they'd

1890
02:21:53,040 --> 02:21:55,879
stopped near the steps of the armory, as if the

1891
02:21:55,920 --> 02:21:59,639
man had contemplated running to it, before turning and headed

1892
02:21:59,680 --> 02:22:03,600
towards the front doors of the fort itself. Even from

1893
02:22:03,639 --> 02:22:06,360
here I could see the board had been pulled down.

1894
02:22:07,440 --> 02:22:10,440
It now lay haphazardly on the ground, and one of

1895
02:22:10,440 --> 02:22:14,680
the great wooden doors had been pulled slightly open. Gripping

1896
02:22:14,680 --> 02:22:18,040
the shotgun tightly, the two of us moved and looked outside.

1897
02:22:19,559 --> 02:22:23,200
Nothing moved in the stillness, and beside the wind, no

1898
02:22:23,399 --> 02:22:27,360
sound could be heard. I looked to him, and he

1899
02:22:27,399 --> 02:22:32,239
gave a short nod before stepping outside. Instantly I felt

1900
02:22:32,239 --> 02:22:36,360
far more vulnerable with other buildings around me, just as

1901
02:22:36,440 --> 02:22:39,280
when I had gone looking for Samir and Richter. My

1902
02:22:39,399 --> 02:22:43,159
hands turned cold and clammy, and I nervously eyed the still,

1903
02:22:43,280 --> 02:22:49,280
shadowy areas around us. Every sense was unalert. We followed

1904
02:22:49,280 --> 02:22:52,840
the man's footprints as they continued forward, and with a

1905
02:22:52,840 --> 02:22:56,040
sinking feeling, I realized that they were heading for the

1906
02:22:56,159 --> 02:22:59,639
edge of the cliff. Moretti seemed to have realized it

1907
02:22:59,680 --> 02:23:02,360
as well, and I saw him intentively take a few

1908
02:23:02,399 --> 02:23:05,680
steps forward, putting one hand on the rickety wooden rail

1909
02:23:06,040 --> 02:23:10,559
and peering over the side. For a moment. He said nothing,

1910
02:23:12,079 --> 02:23:19,479
then he closed his eyes lay hell. Quickly. I hurried

1911
02:23:19,479 --> 02:23:22,639
to his side and looked over. A small sense of

1912
02:23:22,760 --> 02:23:26,319
vertigo overwhelmed me, and I felt dizzy looking down at

1913
02:23:26,360 --> 02:23:29,639
the straight drop, But I instantly spied what the other

1914
02:23:29,719 --> 02:23:34,360
man had seen. Tarrek's body lay far below us, His

1915
02:23:34,479 --> 02:23:38,760
arms and I explayed out in various directions right crimson

1916
02:23:38,760 --> 02:23:43,120
blood splashed out around his body. Even from here I

1917
02:23:43,159 --> 02:23:45,760
could tell he had not landed on the sand, but

1918
02:23:45,879 --> 02:23:48,479
had instead slammed into one of the boulders at the

1919
02:23:48,520 --> 02:23:54,440
base of the cliff. The man had jumped, only taken

1920
02:23:54,520 --> 02:23:58,479
his own life. I whispered a silent prayer for the man,

1921
02:23:59,040 --> 02:24:01,200
hoping that God would of mercy on him for such

1922
02:24:01,239 --> 02:24:06,639
a terrible sin. Then I looked at Moretti. All he

1923
02:24:06,680 --> 02:24:10,520
could do was shake his head. As we stood there

1924
02:24:10,799 --> 02:24:14,639
attempting to process it all. The noise behind us caused

1925
02:24:14,680 --> 02:24:19,280
us to turn around. The pit, batter of sand and

1926
02:24:19,440 --> 02:24:25,520
small loose rocks being shifted aside. Instantly, all thoughts of

1927
02:24:25,600 --> 02:24:28,959
Tarak vanished as the sensation of eyes on us returned

1928
02:24:29,000 --> 02:24:33,360
with a vengeance. Terror began coursing through my system, and

1929
02:24:33,399 --> 02:24:38,079
we aimed at just about everywhere possible. Nothing moved now,

1930
02:24:38,879 --> 02:24:42,680
but I knew he could feel us being observed being stalked.

1931
02:24:43,959 --> 02:24:46,520
Without delay, the two of us ran for the fort,

1932
02:24:46,959 --> 02:24:50,520
rushing inside and pushing the door closed, before again setting

1933
02:24:50,559 --> 02:24:54,239
the barricade just as quickly as we moved to the

1934
02:24:54,280 --> 02:24:57,200
door to the living quarters, banging on it and yelling

1935
02:24:57,239 --> 02:25:01,680
to be let inside. To our relief, the door unbolted,

1936
02:25:02,159 --> 02:25:04,920
revealing the ashen face of Blake as she yanked the

1937
02:25:04,959 --> 02:25:09,239
door open. We hurried inside as she closed and redid

1938
02:25:09,239 --> 02:25:13,399
the lock. Before we could tell her what we had found,

1939
02:25:13,840 --> 02:25:17,959
she pointed back towards the hallway to the stairs. You

1940
02:25:18,040 --> 02:25:21,319
need to see this, she said, before leading the way

1941
02:25:21,440 --> 02:25:25,920
back towards the main bunk room. Moments later, we found

1942
02:25:25,920 --> 02:25:28,559
ourselves at the supply closet that Tarak had hidden in.

1943
02:25:29,479 --> 02:25:32,799
The others crowded around it, and I noticed something I

1944
02:25:32,840 --> 02:25:37,319
hadn't before. In my haste to locate the man, I

1945
02:25:37,360 --> 02:25:41,120
hadn't noticed that using a small, sealed kind of black

1946
02:25:41,159 --> 02:25:44,840
paint and a brush which had been left inside. He

1947
02:25:44,879 --> 02:25:49,479
had written something hastily on the wall in Arabic. Dally

1948
02:25:49,559 --> 02:25:52,360
turned to Moretti, asking him if he could read it.

1949
02:25:54,600 --> 02:25:58,040
He stood in silence for a time, either unable or

1950
02:25:58,159 --> 02:26:05,520
unwilling to answer. Then he turned towards us, his face grim.

1951
02:26:05,959 --> 02:26:10,360
Roughly translated, it says that death is better than what

1952
02:26:10,559 --> 02:26:15,760
fate awaits those who are taken. It is dark now,

1953
02:26:16,680 --> 02:26:21,360
night has fallen again, though mercifully the screaming is not returned.

1954
02:26:22,840 --> 02:26:25,879
All I can think, as I sit here writing is

1955
02:26:25,879 --> 02:26:28,920
that whatever lies out there, whatever watches us from the

1956
02:26:28,959 --> 02:26:32,280
shadows in here up in the rafters, that I now know,

1957
02:26:32,600 --> 02:26:36,600
isn't a trick of my eyes. It is slowly toying

1958
02:26:36,639 --> 02:26:40,440
with us and picking us off one by one. They

1959
02:26:40,440 --> 02:26:44,159
have taken our strongest members first, a strategic move that

1960
02:26:44,239 --> 02:26:48,479
reveals their intelligence, and drove possibly the only person in

1961
02:26:48,559 --> 02:26:51,719
our party with any knowledge about them, to the point

1962
02:26:51,799 --> 02:26:56,840
he chose to take his own life rather than face them.

1963
02:26:56,879 --> 02:27:07,159
Whenever they are They will not until we are all dead. Tuesday,

1964
02:27:07,680 --> 02:27:14,799
eighth of July nineteen fifty two, I saw them, Dear

1965
02:27:15,000 --> 02:27:19,000
sweet merciful God, I wish I hadn't. I wish I

1966
02:27:19,040 --> 02:27:21,479
hadn't decided to take a torch with me. When I

1967
02:27:21,520 --> 02:27:24,079
was roused by Tally to take a second watch with Coran,

1968
02:27:25,000 --> 02:27:27,319
I wish i'd ignored the urge I'd had to turn

1969
02:27:27,360 --> 02:27:32,280
and look out the window. I wish so much, But

1970
02:27:32,360 --> 02:27:36,600
if wishes were horses, it happened just a little before

1971
02:27:36,680 --> 02:27:40,440
four in the morning. I'd just finished speaking briefly with Corain.

1972
02:27:41,360 --> 02:27:44,600
Ever since yesterday I grow more concerned for the medic.

1973
02:27:45,520 --> 02:27:48,840
The man looked nearer and nearer to insanity, and I

1974
02:27:48,920 --> 02:27:52,000
fear with a loaded pistol he may do something brash

1975
02:27:52,079 --> 02:27:55,559
or violent if he snaps. But he assured me that

1976
02:27:55,639 --> 02:27:58,000
he was still as sane as he could possibly be

1977
02:27:58,200 --> 02:28:02,600
in such a situation. And feeling somewhat relieved, I moved

1978
02:28:02,600 --> 02:28:06,760
off to patrol the outer hallways again. As I passed

1979
02:28:06,760 --> 02:28:10,840
the window which looked out over the courtyard, the ceaseless

1980
02:28:10,879 --> 02:28:15,200
sensation of being watched suddenly spiked. I felt the biggest

1981
02:28:15,200 --> 02:28:18,360
shiver yet shoot up my spine, and I reached down

1982
02:28:18,399 --> 02:28:21,399
for my belt. I chosen to take a torch with

1983
02:28:21,520 --> 02:28:25,200
me to light up any dark corners. I flicked it on,

1984
02:28:25,760 --> 02:28:28,840
turning and aiming it out toward the window into the dark,

1985
02:28:28,959 --> 02:28:36,680
towards the armory, and I saw it. It crouched almost

1986
02:28:36,680 --> 02:28:40,559
felinelike on the roof of the armory, arms and legs

1987
02:28:40,600 --> 02:28:44,280
wrapped around a section of stone for support. As my

1988
02:28:44,360 --> 02:28:47,719
light fell upon it, it looked towards me before quickly

1989
02:28:47,799 --> 02:28:50,920
leaping out of sight, but not before I had time

1990
02:28:51,000 --> 02:28:55,120
to see the details. The sunken eyes, sunken so far

1991
02:28:55,280 --> 02:28:57,879
back that it almost looked as if it had none,

1992
02:28:58,559 --> 02:29:02,879
the recessed nose almost entirely erased from its face, the

1993
02:29:02,959 --> 02:29:06,760
mouth filled with jagged, razor sharp teeth that could easily

1994
02:29:06,799 --> 02:29:10,319
tear a man apart. All of this filled me with

1995
02:29:10,360 --> 02:29:13,760
in existential horror I only ever felt when hearing about

1996
02:29:13,799 --> 02:29:17,920
hell during church sermons. But it was the one additional

1997
02:29:17,959 --> 02:29:23,479
detail that slammed me like a freight train, the torn,

1998
02:29:23,879 --> 02:29:28,000
tattered and decaying uniform that hung of its emaciated body.

1999
02:29:29,239 --> 02:29:33,319
It was a uniform I instantly recognized I had seen

2000
02:29:33,360 --> 02:29:37,319
an identical, albeit much more intact one on the corpse

2001
02:29:37,360 --> 02:29:40,760
of the man in the armory jail. The uniform won

2002
02:29:40,760 --> 02:29:43,520
by the soldiers in the French Foreign Legion during the

2003
02:29:43,600 --> 02:29:48,879
First World War, and into the nineteen thirties. As my

2004
02:29:48,920 --> 02:29:52,959
mind scrambled to process the information, another shape darted in

2005
02:29:53,079 --> 02:29:56,600
view of my torch beam, and this one nearly caused

2006
02:29:56,639 --> 02:30:03,399
me to scream, because it wore a different, much fresher uniform,

2007
02:30:03,440 --> 02:30:05,959
the same one that Richter had won when he set

2008
02:30:06,000 --> 02:30:10,520
off with Samir that day. It is midday now as

2009
02:30:10,559 --> 02:30:13,639
I write this, I have not told anybody what I

2010
02:30:13,680 --> 02:30:20,360
have seen. I know I must, and yet I cannot.

2011
02:30:21,719 --> 02:30:24,239
I cannot bear to share the horrible truth that I

2012
02:30:24,319 --> 02:30:28,079
now know what Tarek almost certainly knew, and what made

2013
02:30:28,120 --> 02:30:31,639
him choose death by his own hand over it. Even

2014
02:30:31,680 --> 02:30:33,840
though I now know that none of us will leave

2015
02:30:33,879 --> 02:30:36,680
this mountain alive, I feel that it would be too

2016
02:30:36,719 --> 02:30:41,479
cruel for them to know those things out there. They

2017
02:30:41,520 --> 02:30:43,799
may have been hidden in this mountain for lord knows

2018
02:30:43,840 --> 02:30:47,879
how long, when the fort was first built centuries ago.

2019
02:30:48,360 --> 02:30:51,360
They may have watched as it was constructed. But the

2020
02:30:51,399 --> 02:30:54,799
horrible part about them was that when they came for them,

2021
02:30:55,120 --> 02:30:57,799
the same as they came for the French soldiers stationed

2022
02:30:57,840 --> 02:31:00,680
here decades ago, as well as the rest Scow party,

2023
02:31:01,959 --> 02:31:04,479
is that they did not kill them. They did not

2024
02:31:04,600 --> 02:31:08,040
devour them as horrific a fate as that might have been,

2025
02:31:09,120 --> 02:31:13,239
it would have been a mercy in comparison. They dragged

2026
02:31:13,280 --> 02:31:19,040
them off and they changed them. They somehow turned them

2027
02:31:19,120 --> 02:31:22,360
into more of their own. And they have done the

2028
02:31:22,399 --> 02:31:26,520
same thing to those of our team who they took Samir,

2029
02:31:26,920 --> 02:31:31,000
Richter and Soeign. That's why the screams we heard always

2030
02:31:31,079 --> 02:31:34,520
came back, because even though they're not the same men anymore,

2031
02:31:35,079 --> 02:31:39,079
they're not even human anymore. Their souls have been stripped away,

2032
02:31:39,680 --> 02:31:42,840
leaving what I can only describe as demons spewing from

2033
02:31:42,879 --> 02:31:46,319
the mouth of Hell itself to wear their bodies. They

2034
02:31:46,360 --> 02:31:49,319
still retain enough for their intelligence to know how to

2035
02:31:49,399 --> 02:31:52,600
lure others to them, like a dock hunter with a

2036
02:31:52,680 --> 02:31:57,319
call to draw their prey out into the open. Tally

2037
02:31:57,399 --> 02:31:59,120
says he wants to try and use one of the

2038
02:31:59,159 --> 02:32:03,520
flair pistols to signal anyone who might be nearby. I

2039
02:32:03,559 --> 02:32:05,879
haven't had the heart to tell him that even if

2040
02:32:05,959 --> 02:32:10,159
anyone human is nearby, they know better than to approach

2041
02:32:10,200 --> 02:32:15,159
this place. They know it is cursed. It is only

2042
02:32:15,239 --> 02:32:17,360
a matter of time before they come for the rest

2043
02:32:17,399 --> 02:32:27,399
of us, God of Mercy, and all of our souls. Wednesday,

2044
02:32:27,840 --> 02:32:32,559
ninth of July nineteen fifty two. These will be the

2045
02:32:32,600 --> 02:32:36,639
final words I'll ever write. The others are all gone,

2046
02:32:37,040 --> 02:32:40,840
and I the only one who remains. Night is coming fast,

2047
02:32:41,399 --> 02:32:44,600
and if I do not act quickly, I know they

2048
02:32:44,600 --> 02:32:48,120
will return for me as well. So even if nobody

2049
02:32:48,159 --> 02:32:51,159
finds this journal of mine, I feel I must put

2050
02:32:51,200 --> 02:32:54,520
to paper how it ended, if nothing more than to

2051
02:32:54,559 --> 02:32:57,040
serve as a warning for anyone who hears the tale

2052
02:32:57,079 --> 02:33:00,959
of this accursed place and finds themselves one part brave,

2053
02:33:01,360 --> 02:33:05,399
two parts full to try and reach it. What awoke

2054
02:33:05,520 --> 02:33:07,760
us was not the hell spawn that lay in wait

2055
02:33:07,840 --> 02:33:12,479
for us. It was the sound of arguing, of babbling, screams,

2056
02:33:13,440 --> 02:33:16,079
and finally the sound of a weapon of some sort

2057
02:33:16,159 --> 02:33:20,360
being discharged. I remember the look on Blake's face as

2058
02:33:20,360 --> 02:33:23,479
she awoke, looking at me with wide doll like eyes.

2059
02:33:24,639 --> 02:33:27,520
I snatched at the shotgun from beside me, seeing Maretti

2060
02:33:27,600 --> 02:33:30,239
pulling his pistol from his waistbend as he shot to

2061
02:33:30,280 --> 02:33:34,840
his feet in unison. We sprinted for the hallway outside

2062
02:33:34,879 --> 02:33:39,440
the bunk room, and we opened it. It was to

2063
02:33:39,559 --> 02:33:44,319
a truly grisly sight. Tally lay on his back on

2064
02:33:44,360 --> 02:33:48,360
the floor, a shocked look was permanently affixed to his face,

2065
02:33:49,120 --> 02:33:52,440
his wide eyes glassy and forever staring at the ceiling.

2066
02:33:53,559 --> 02:33:55,600
The sparks from the flare that had been shot into

2067
02:33:55,600 --> 02:33:59,239
his mouth still skewed from inside, the horrific smell of

2068
02:33:59,280 --> 02:34:03,520
buying flare filling the hallway. Standing in front of him,

2069
02:34:03,840 --> 02:34:09,399
still pointing the flare gun was korn. When he turned

2070
02:34:09,399 --> 02:34:13,840
towards us, I instantly knew the man had snapped. An

2071
02:34:13,879 --> 02:34:17,239
insane grin was plastered on his face and his eyes

2072
02:34:17,280 --> 02:34:21,639
flew about in their sockets. Instantly, Mauretti and I raised

2073
02:34:21,680 --> 02:34:25,600
our weapons, but before anything could be done, Coorin had

2074
02:34:25,600 --> 02:34:29,120
shoved past us and raced down the stairs. We heard

2075
02:34:29,159 --> 02:34:32,479
him unbolt the front door, and running to the windows,

2076
02:34:32,719 --> 02:34:36,440
saw him sprint across the courtyard to the armory, disappearing

2077
02:34:36,479 --> 02:34:40,559
down the stairs. A moment later we heard the faint

2078
02:34:40,639 --> 02:34:47,440
sound of the door slamming shut. Nobody could speak. When

2079
02:34:47,479 --> 02:34:50,559
I turned back, he was to find Blake standing over

2080
02:34:50,600 --> 02:34:55,319
the body of our sponsor, unable to stop crying. Quickly,

2081
02:34:55,479 --> 02:34:58,319
I raced to her and embraced her, allowing her tears

2082
02:34:58,319 --> 02:35:02,719
to soak my shirt. After a few minutes, her crying

2083
02:35:02,760 --> 02:35:06,200
had reduced the sniffles, and she pulled back, wiping a

2084
02:35:06,319 --> 02:35:10,799
nose with her shirt sleeve. My Looctor Moretti. The man

2085
02:35:11,040 --> 02:35:15,639
looked beside himself with shock and confusion. He hadn't realized

2086
02:35:15,799 --> 02:35:19,360
how close to the edge his medic had been. Then

2087
02:35:19,680 --> 02:35:23,040
he regained his composure, looking towards me with a steely

2088
02:35:23,159 --> 02:35:27,479
edge in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was

2089
02:35:27,559 --> 02:35:33,799
deadly calm. We have to go after him. I was

2090
02:35:33,879 --> 02:35:37,920
unsure as to why after murdering our sponsor, the man

2091
02:35:38,000 --> 02:35:41,239
wanted to pursue him, Whether for a twisted sort of

2092
02:35:41,319 --> 02:35:44,120
retribution or a sense of duty to those under his

2093
02:35:44,239 --> 02:35:48,559
leadership even in such extreme cases, I'll never know, but

2094
02:35:48,639 --> 02:35:52,600
I didn't dare argue with him. I knelt down, gently,

2095
02:35:52,639 --> 02:35:55,520
prying the pistol from Taly's hand and trying not to

2096
02:35:55,600 --> 02:35:59,920
look at his face. Standing up, I handed it to her.

2097
02:36:01,399 --> 02:36:05,239
Can you fire a gun? She looked at me and nodded.

2098
02:36:05,319 --> 02:36:10,200
After a moment, nodding in return. I quickly retreated back

2099
02:36:10,239 --> 02:36:12,479
to the bunk room, picking up the pack with the

2100
02:36:12,559 --> 02:36:15,959
still held shotgun shells and slinging it over my shoulder,

2101
02:36:17,319 --> 02:36:21,520
Returning at the others and together we headed downstairs and

2102
02:36:21,600 --> 02:36:26,719
out the front door. The wind howled as fiercely as

2103
02:36:26,760 --> 02:36:29,600
a banshee as we made our way across the courtyard,

2104
02:36:30,479 --> 02:36:34,440
all three of our guns shifting around aim I remembered

2105
02:36:34,520 --> 02:36:36,920
what I had seen the night before and felt my

2106
02:36:37,000 --> 02:36:40,479
muscles tents gaze shifting to the tops of the ridges

2107
02:36:40,680 --> 02:36:44,319
high above the fort, I felt I would see the

2108
02:36:44,319 --> 02:36:50,239
demons climbing quickly down towards us. Thankfully, I saw nothing

2109
02:36:52,319 --> 02:36:55,159
reaching the steps. We descended to the front door of

2110
02:36:55,200 --> 02:36:59,959
the armory and found it unlocked. Stepping inside the gloomy interior,

2111
02:37:00,600 --> 02:37:05,760
we moved slowly, occasionally calling out Korn's name. Not a

2112
02:37:05,840 --> 02:37:10,600
soul answered, and for a moment I wondered if the

2113
02:37:10,680 --> 02:37:13,559
man had been taken as well when his back was turned.

2114
02:37:14,680 --> 02:37:18,079
After all, we had barely explored the building, choosing to

2115
02:37:18,159 --> 02:37:22,879
huddle inside the living quarters. As we rounded a corner,

2116
02:37:22,879 --> 02:37:26,920
though I saw signs that he was still here. Barrels

2117
02:37:26,959 --> 02:37:30,239
of gunpowder lay on their sides, the black grains spilling

2118
02:37:30,280 --> 02:37:34,319
out onto the floor. A workbench had its tools scattered about.

2119
02:37:35,639 --> 02:37:37,799
That was when I noticed the hole in the floor,

2120
02:37:38,479 --> 02:37:42,719
one I hadn't seen previously. I would have ignored it

2121
02:37:42,760 --> 02:37:45,920
completely if it hadn't been for the sparkle that came

2122
02:37:45,959 --> 02:37:51,079
from something lying next to it. As we approached, I

2123
02:37:51,159 --> 02:37:55,719
realized it was a diamond, one of the largest I'd

2124
02:37:55,760 --> 02:37:58,719
ever seen in my life, And when I peered into

2125
02:37:58,760 --> 02:38:01,680
the hole, I couldn't help but feel my mouth drop

2126
02:38:01,760 --> 02:38:05,360
open as I saw precious gems and gold coins that

2127
02:38:05,479 --> 02:38:09,040
filled the entire hole, piled into what I could tell

2128
02:38:09,120 --> 02:38:14,879
was a hidden room below. The treasure had been real,

2129
02:38:17,120 --> 02:38:20,280
even in our predicament. The three of us couldn't help

2130
02:38:20,319 --> 02:38:25,120
but look at each other and laughed softly. Well, at

2131
02:38:25,159 --> 02:38:27,879
least we know that the stories of the treasure was true.

2132
02:38:28,120 --> 02:38:34,559
Tally was right, Blake said softly. For another moment, we stared,

2133
02:38:35,479 --> 02:38:38,840
and we slowly tore ourselves away from the treasure, moving

2134
02:38:38,920 --> 02:38:45,600
on and calling out Korran's name. Still nobody answered, and

2135
02:38:45,680 --> 02:38:48,239
I began to feel that we should simply leave the building.

2136
02:38:49,840 --> 02:38:52,639
As much as I understood to a degree Mouretti's reasoning

2137
02:38:53,680 --> 02:38:58,319
this was being dangerously foolhardy, But I never had a

2138
02:38:58,399 --> 02:39:02,719
chance to voice my thoughts. As we rounded the final

2139
02:39:02,799 --> 02:39:07,040
corner to the jail, a shot rang out, the bullet

2140
02:39:07,079 --> 02:39:10,959
striking the wall not a foot from Marette's face. The

2141
02:39:10,959 --> 02:39:13,520
three of us leapt back, pressing up against the wall

2142
02:39:13,600 --> 02:39:19,239
for cover. Another shot rang out, then another. For a moment,

2143
02:39:19,399 --> 02:39:23,159
an eerie silence fell over the hall. Then I heard

2144
02:39:23,239 --> 02:39:28,680
Corns scream, the insanity audible in his voice, stay away,

2145
02:39:29,120 --> 02:39:34,520
I found the treasure. It's mine, mine, not yours. Maretty

2146
02:39:34,600 --> 02:39:37,239
chanced to look around the corner, snapping his head back

2147
02:39:37,239 --> 02:39:40,799
as the third shot rang out. His managed to get

2148
02:39:40,799 --> 02:39:42,399
the keys from the dead man in the cell and

2149
02:39:42,479 --> 02:39:46,079
locked himself inside, he told us, and he's got some

2150
02:39:46,120 --> 02:39:50,159
of the treasure scattered around him. He looked at us,

2151
02:39:51,120 --> 02:39:53,760
and I already knew what he would say before he

2152
02:39:53,840 --> 02:40:01,680
opened his mouth, scrim We have to go quickly. The

2153
02:40:01,719 --> 02:40:04,440
three of us backtracked through the armory to the front door.

2154
02:40:05,200 --> 02:40:08,079
We slipped outside and began to run across toward the

2155
02:40:08,120 --> 02:40:16,079
living quarters. They were waiting for us. We had barely

2156
02:40:16,120 --> 02:40:18,799
made it half way across the courtyard and what I

2157
02:40:18,840 --> 02:40:21,520
can only describe as a blur of motion flew down

2158
02:40:21,559 --> 02:40:25,280
from the window of the Living quarters. I saw Moretti

2159
02:40:25,360 --> 02:40:29,280
look up at the shape rocketing towards him, screaming, saw

2160
02:40:29,399 --> 02:40:33,000
him raise his pistol to fire. He never even had

2161
02:40:33,040 --> 02:40:36,280
a chance to let off a single shot, the creature

2162
02:40:36,399 --> 02:40:39,479
slammed into him, knocking him to the ground and sending

2163
02:40:39,520 --> 02:40:44,040
the revolver tumbling from his fingers. The beast looked at me,

2164
02:40:44,719 --> 02:40:49,120
and with a horrified realization, I recognized the blue eyes

2165
02:40:49,440 --> 02:40:55,040
set deep in the already recessed sockets. Then gripping Marette's

2166
02:40:55,040 --> 02:40:57,879
shoulder with one of its clawed hands, it leapt off

2167
02:40:57,920 --> 02:41:00,719
the ground, pulling the screaming man with him as it

2168
02:41:00,840 --> 02:41:05,600
rapidly climbed the rock and out of sight. We had

2169
02:41:05,600 --> 02:41:08,719
no time to grieve or process any of it, because

2170
02:41:08,760 --> 02:41:14,600
the rest came for us. Everything blurred together in those moments,

2171
02:41:14,680 --> 02:41:17,520
much as it does in war when adrenaline and reflex

2172
02:41:17,559 --> 02:41:22,799
takes over. I cannot remember anything clearly, only faintly recall

2173
02:41:22,879 --> 02:41:26,079
the sounds of deafening gunshots as we fired at all

2174
02:41:26,120 --> 02:41:29,520
We could see the motion of reaching into the pack

2175
02:41:29,600 --> 02:41:32,680
for extra ammunition for Blake and myself, the sound of

2176
02:41:32,719 --> 02:41:35,479
the two of us shouting and screaming, and the pain

2177
02:41:35,879 --> 02:41:39,040
enraged cries of the creatures as our shelves and rounds

2178
02:41:39,040 --> 02:41:43,159
slammed home. I was dimly aware that we were moving

2179
02:41:43,200 --> 02:41:49,200
towards the water garden. Next thing I can recall is

2180
02:41:49,239 --> 02:41:55,799
the silence, I found Blake and I slumped against the

2181
02:41:55,840 --> 02:41:59,440
wall near the fountain. She pulled me closer to her.

2182
02:42:00,040 --> 02:42:02,680
She cup some water in her hands, using it to

2183
02:42:02,719 --> 02:42:07,120
sprinkle over my brow and drip into my mouth. The refreshing,

2184
02:42:07,159 --> 02:42:10,760
blessed liquid brought me back fully, and when I asked

2185
02:42:10,799 --> 02:42:14,799
what had happened, she told me after a time, they

2186
02:42:14,840 --> 02:42:19,600
had all retreated. None had died even after we fired

2187
02:42:19,600 --> 02:42:24,719
at them, but they still retreated. As I looked around,

2188
02:42:25,120 --> 02:42:28,239
wondering for a moment if we succeeded in frightening them off,

2189
02:42:29,440 --> 02:42:32,760
my eyes fell on a sight which wrenched whatever hope

2190
02:42:32,760 --> 02:42:37,120
I had left from my soul. The sun was beginning

2191
02:42:37,159 --> 02:42:42,120
to set in the sky. I instantly knew that the

2192
02:42:42,159 --> 02:42:45,479
only reason they had retreated was to wait until darkness

2193
02:42:45,479 --> 02:42:50,079
fell again. It had been a strategic move. They would

2194
02:42:50,079 --> 02:42:53,600
wait until night blinded us and they could still see perfectly,

2195
02:42:54,399 --> 02:42:58,559
and then they would come again, either to kill us

2196
02:42:59,120 --> 02:43:02,360
or drag us off like the others, like I'd seen

2197
02:43:02,399 --> 02:43:05,719
the beasts sor and had done to Moretti to make

2198
02:43:05,840 --> 02:43:11,200
us like them. In those moments, any remaining thoughts were

2199
02:43:11,239 --> 02:43:17,120
surviving fled from me. I said nothing, However, I climbed

2200
02:43:17,159 --> 02:43:20,399
to my feet, looking around. Then I looked down at Blake.

2201
02:43:21,600 --> 02:43:25,520
She gave me a strange smile. Even still, it made

2202
02:43:25,559 --> 02:43:31,079
her look beautiful. I smiled back. Finally, she sighed and

2203
02:43:31,120 --> 02:43:34,319
pushed the mousy hair behind her ear before looking up

2204
02:43:34,319 --> 02:43:42,680
at me. What do we do now? I didn't answer her. Instead,

2205
02:43:43,000 --> 02:43:45,680
I simply shook my head to indicate I didn't know.

2206
02:43:47,200 --> 02:43:50,040
I waited until she had lowered her head and closed

2207
02:43:50,040 --> 02:43:54,639
her eyes. Then, before she could open them again, I

2208
02:43:54,760 --> 02:44:04,360
swung the bowl of my shotgun and aimed. I find

2209
02:44:04,399 --> 02:44:06,840
a sort of peace in that she never knew what

2210
02:44:06,920 --> 02:44:10,319
was about to happen. And now that I am done

2211
02:44:10,360 --> 02:44:13,719
writing my account of all this, I have but one

2212
02:44:13,719 --> 02:44:17,799
thing left to do. I refused to let the demons

2213
02:44:17,879 --> 02:44:20,879
change Blake into one of their own. As much as

2214
02:44:20,920 --> 02:44:23,159
I know, my soul is damned to hell for the

2215
02:44:23,280 --> 02:44:27,399
unforgivable sin I have committed against her, and it is

2216
02:44:27,440 --> 02:44:32,520
the same mercy I will give myself. I am going

2217
02:44:32,559 --> 02:44:36,000
to follow the same path that Tarak Tuk i wild

2218
02:44:36,040 --> 02:44:39,280
jump from the cliff. I will face my own death

2219
02:44:39,319 --> 02:44:42,040
at the hands of the rocks below, rather than the

2220
02:44:42,040 --> 02:44:46,479
fate that is befallen the others, that is beyond all

2221
02:44:46,600 --> 02:44:50,440
shadow of a doubt, her worse fate than any death imaginable.

2222
02:44:52,079 --> 02:44:54,959
I pray from my own soul, I pray for Blake's,

2223
02:44:55,159 --> 02:44:58,840
I pray for talies, I even pray for corns. I

2224
02:44:58,879 --> 02:45:01,399
hope that, like the soul told you before him, it

2225
02:45:01,520 --> 02:45:06,200
is thirst or hunger that takes him. Please heed the

2226
02:45:06,239 --> 02:45:10,559
dire warning this journal contains. While there is treasure above,

2227
02:45:10,600 --> 02:45:14,280
you do not attempt to climb and retrieve it. You

2228
02:45:14,319 --> 02:45:17,079
will not live to spend a single bloody shilling of it.

2229
02:45:18,319 --> 02:45:21,159
The beasts above have claimed it, and the fort is

2230
02:45:21,159 --> 02:45:25,079
their own. Let it be if you value not only

2231
02:45:25,079 --> 02:45:29,799
your life, but your humanity and very soul. For if

2232
02:45:29,840 --> 02:45:33,959
you don't, you will find yourself facing a fate that

2233
02:45:34,079 --> 02:45:39,360
is more horrific than written about in any tone. And please,

2234
02:45:40,159 --> 02:45:43,520
if you find this, get word back to my sister

2235
02:45:43,680 --> 02:45:51,639
in maiden Head. Tell her I'm sorry. God forgive me.

2236
02:46:00,760 --> 02:46:04,000
My great grandfather was the kind of man who always

2237
02:46:04,000 --> 02:46:08,280
seemed unshakable. He had lived through a World war, raised

2238
02:46:08,280 --> 02:46:10,879
four kids of his own after his wife passed, and

2239
02:46:10,959 --> 02:46:14,440
ran a small town diner until arthritis stole his grip.

2240
02:46:15,680 --> 02:46:18,760
He was a figure of quiet strength, with the eyes

2241
02:46:18,799 --> 02:46:24,079
of someone who'd seen the world and survived. Growing up,

2242
02:46:24,440 --> 02:46:26,559
I knew he'd served as a nurse during the war,

2243
02:46:27,479 --> 02:46:30,799
but that was about all I knew. Most of his

2244
02:46:30,879 --> 02:46:34,280
stories gathered dust in his memories, just like the medals

2245
02:46:34,280 --> 02:46:38,399
that stood on the living room shelf. He'd sometimes joke

2246
02:46:38,440 --> 02:46:42,239
about trading cigarettes for coffee or patching up cowdly soldiers

2247
02:46:42,280 --> 02:46:45,639
who shot themselves in the foot, but there was a

2248
02:46:45,719 --> 02:46:49,920
line he would never cross. He always kept their heavy

2249
02:46:49,959 --> 02:46:55,879
memories locked out of sight. It was late past midnight

2250
02:46:56,399 --> 02:46:58,879
and the house was quiet except for the hum of

2251
02:46:58,879 --> 02:47:02,920
the old refrigerator in the kitchen. Accompanied by grandfather, clock,

2252
02:47:04,159 --> 02:47:07,120
Great Grandpa, and eyes sat at the table, the dim

2253
02:47:07,200 --> 02:47:10,879
yellow light above us casting long shadows across his worn,

2254
02:47:11,079 --> 02:47:16,239
withered face. He poured himself a whiskey, the one indulgence

2255
02:47:16,280 --> 02:47:20,440
that remained, and handed me a coke, a gesture that

2256
02:47:20,559 --> 02:47:25,120
made me feel much older than I was. He was

2257
02:47:25,200 --> 02:47:28,559
quiet at first, staring into his glass like it held

2258
02:47:28,600 --> 02:47:33,079
something he'd been trying to figure out. Then, without looking

2259
02:47:33,159 --> 02:47:39,319
up at me, he spoke, you have a wonder why

2260
02:47:39,399 --> 02:47:42,639
something stick with you? Boy? He asked with a low

2261
02:47:42,719 --> 02:47:48,440
and steady voice. I blinked and adjusted my posture. Caught

2262
02:47:48,479 --> 02:47:53,079
off guard. What do you mean? He took a sip

2263
02:47:53,120 --> 02:47:56,120
from his glass and set it back down, carefully, his

2264
02:47:56,239 --> 02:48:01,319
hand lingering on it. The war. I've seen a lot

2265
02:48:01,319 --> 02:48:04,760
of things fixed, a lot of people up better rid

2266
02:48:04,799 --> 02:48:09,159
more than my share, too, He paused and glanced at me,

2267
02:48:09,600 --> 02:48:13,799
before setting his gaze back down to his glass. But

2268
02:48:13,879 --> 02:48:20,200
there's one man I've never been able to forget. He

2269
02:48:20,319 --> 02:48:25,120
leaned forward, careful not to break the moment. Great Grandpa

2270
02:48:25,360 --> 02:48:28,399
rarely talked like this, and I respected him too much

2271
02:48:28,440 --> 02:48:34,879
to even think about interrupting. Private Andrew Mallory, he said,

2272
02:48:35,360 --> 02:48:38,879
his gray eyes sharp but distant, as if reliving the

2273
02:48:38,920 --> 02:48:43,799
memory in front of me. I waited, letting him find

2274
02:48:43,840 --> 02:48:48,000
his words. He came to us in the winter of

2275
02:48:48,040 --> 02:48:53,159
forty four, Grandpa began. We were stationed at the hospital,

2276
02:48:53,520 --> 02:48:57,639
just behind the front lines. It was freezing, the kind

2277
02:48:57,639 --> 02:48:59,799
of cold that would kill you if you stopped moving

2278
02:48:59,799 --> 02:49:04,399
for too long. The air stank of smoke, blood, mud,

2279
02:49:04,600 --> 02:49:12,280
and gunpowder. He paused, his jaw visibly tightening. The hospital

2280
02:49:12,360 --> 02:49:15,520
wasn't even much of a hospital, he said, with a

2281
02:49:15,600 --> 02:49:19,479
dry chuckle. A few canvas tents and a whole lot

2282
02:49:19,520 --> 02:49:23,719
of desperation. We worked with no brakes, patching up the

2283
02:49:23,719 --> 02:49:27,079
ones we could, and making the others comfortable until they

2284
02:49:27,120 --> 02:49:31,559
no longer needed the comfort. He picked up his glass

2285
02:49:31,600 --> 02:49:35,719
again and took a slow sip. That's where I first

2286
02:49:35,760 --> 02:49:39,840
met Mallory. They brought him in late one night, carried

2287
02:49:39,879 --> 02:49:42,440
on a stretcher by two boys who didn't look much

2288
02:49:42,440 --> 02:49:45,920
older than he was. Shrapped, no wound to the gut.

2289
02:49:46,680 --> 02:49:51,280
It was bad, son, real bad. We tried to save him,

2290
02:49:51,280 --> 02:49:56,799
but his voice trailed off and his hand tightened around

2291
02:49:56,799 --> 02:50:01,840
the glass. He died on the table. I was holding

2292
02:50:01,840 --> 02:50:05,760
his hand when it happened. I remember clear as day,

2293
02:50:06,000 --> 02:50:08,840
the way his grip loosened, the look in his eyes

2294
02:50:08,879 --> 02:50:12,959
when he realized he wasn't gonna make it. He was

2295
02:50:13,079 --> 02:50:17,559
just a kid, scared alone, dying in the middle of

2296
02:50:17,559 --> 02:50:22,639
a frozen hell. He fell silent for a moment, his

2297
02:50:22,760 --> 02:50:28,159
gaze fixed on the table between us. What happened after that?

2298
02:50:29,120 --> 02:50:35,959
I asked quietly. Great Grandpa exhaled slowly, his shoulders slumping

2299
02:50:36,040 --> 02:50:39,360
as he leaned back in his chair, the same thing

2300
02:50:39,399 --> 02:50:42,600
as always. We cleaned him up as well as we could,

2301
02:50:42,959 --> 02:50:47,559
tagged him and sent him to the Morgue tent. Then

2302
02:50:48,000 --> 02:50:51,719
we moved on. There wasn't time to dwell on anything

2303
02:50:51,760 --> 02:50:55,280
back then. Too many men coming in and not enough

2304
02:50:55,280 --> 02:50:58,319
hands to save them all. We had no time to mourn.

2305
02:50:59,040 --> 02:51:02,280
We just did what we could and hoped it was enough.

2306
02:51:04,360 --> 02:51:07,799
I nodded, even though I couldn't imagine what sort of

2307
02:51:07,879 --> 02:51:13,440
pressure he must have felt. The next morning, he continued,

2308
02:51:13,840 --> 02:51:18,559
his voice softer, now almost ghostly. I walked into the

2309
02:51:18,600 --> 02:51:26,440
Triarch tent, same as always, and there he was. I frowned.

2310
02:51:27,479 --> 02:51:34,319
Who Mallory, my great grandfather said, his eyes meeting mine,

2311
02:51:34,600 --> 02:51:39,280
standing there like nothing had ever happened. He was fine,

2312
02:51:39,520 --> 02:51:43,959
better than fine even, no wounds, no blood, not a

2313
02:51:44,040 --> 02:51:48,879
scratch on him, just standing there, confused as hell, but

2314
02:51:49,000 --> 02:51:53,399
in better condition than anyone in that hospital. A sly

2315
02:51:53,559 --> 02:51:56,959
chill ran down my spine. I never heard my great

2316
02:51:56,959 --> 02:52:00,479
grandfather tell a story like this. I didn't even think

2317
02:52:00,520 --> 02:52:05,959
he believed in anything supernatural. And what did you do?

2318
02:52:07,159 --> 02:52:11,040
What could I? He said? I thought I was losing

2319
02:52:11,040 --> 02:52:14,399
my mind. I went over to him, my eyes wide

2320
02:52:14,440 --> 02:52:17,840
as dinner plate. I clearly scared the kid with the

2321
02:52:17,840 --> 02:52:20,559
way I walked up to him, but I half expected

2322
02:52:20,600 --> 02:52:23,440
him to collapse or disappear into thin air the second

2323
02:52:23,440 --> 02:52:29,639
I touched him, but he didn't. He was solid, as

2324
02:52:29,680 --> 02:52:32,479
real as the kid i'd watched die the night before.

2325
02:52:34,879 --> 02:52:38,559
He rubbed his hand over his face. The other nurses

2326
02:52:38,600 --> 02:52:41,600
thought it had to be a mistake, that we'd misidentified

2327
02:52:41,639 --> 02:52:45,360
the body or mixed up the tags. It wasn't too uncommon,

2328
02:52:46,760 --> 02:52:50,719
but I knew I held his hand when he died.

2329
02:52:52,959 --> 02:52:57,360
What did Malory say? I asked, curiosity, gripping me tightly.

2330
02:52:59,040 --> 02:53:04,719
Not much, He admitted he was confused, disoriented, said he

2331
02:53:04,760 --> 02:53:08,799
didn't remember anything after the explosion. The doctors checked him

2332
02:53:08,799 --> 02:53:12,159
over and he was fine, with no wounds or signs

2333
02:53:12,159 --> 02:53:16,559
of trauma. They got him ready and sent him back

2334
02:53:16,600 --> 02:53:22,200
to the front. Just like that, I asked, my voice rising,

2335
02:53:23,600 --> 02:53:27,520
Just like that, boy, great Grandpa said with a bitter tone.

2336
02:53:28,799 --> 02:53:32,959
Orders were orders, and he was a soldier. If he

2337
02:53:33,000 --> 02:53:37,399
could stand, he could also fight, and that's all that mattered.

2338
02:53:39,000 --> 02:53:42,920
He fell silent again, his gaze drifting toward the darkened

2339
02:53:42,920 --> 02:53:46,639
window to our left. The kitchen felt colder than it

2340
02:53:46,719 --> 02:53:50,399
had a moment ago, and I realized I was holding

2341
02:53:50,440 --> 02:53:55,719
my breath. I couldn't let it go, he said with

2342
02:53:55,799 --> 02:54:00,239
a subdued tone. After I saw Mallory there, alive and well,

2343
02:54:01,040 --> 02:54:05,479
I couldn't just move on. I tried to talk about it. Hell,

2344
02:54:05,959 --> 02:54:10,840
I had to. Who did you talk to, I asked,

2345
02:54:11,840 --> 02:54:15,559
Mary Ellen, He said, a faint smiled, tugging at the

2346
02:54:15,600 --> 02:54:19,680
corners of his mouth. She was one of the senior nurses.

2347
02:54:20,479 --> 02:54:23,040
She was hard as nails, but she had a good

2348
02:54:23,040 --> 02:54:26,120
head on her shoulders. A damn fine woman she was.

2349
02:54:27,159 --> 02:54:30,440
I figured if anyone would listen, she'd be the one.

2350
02:54:32,000 --> 02:54:36,639
He let out a long sigh. I caught her between shifts.

2351
02:54:37,040 --> 02:54:39,959
She was smoking behind the supply tent, trying to get

2352
02:54:39,959 --> 02:54:42,760
some minutes to herself before the next truck pulled up.

2353
02:54:44,079 --> 02:54:47,719
Great Grandpa's voice softened once more, and I could also

2354
02:54:47,760 --> 02:54:50,159
see the scene in my head as he described it.

2355
02:54:51,799 --> 02:54:55,479
She stood there, leaning against the tent pole, staring at

2356
02:54:55,479 --> 02:54:57,680
me like I told her the world was ending in

2357
02:54:57,879 --> 02:55:00,920
just a few minutes. What do you mean he walked

2358
02:55:00,959 --> 02:55:05,360
back in, She asked, I told her everything, just as

2359
02:55:05,399 --> 02:55:09,559
I had told you. And what did she say? I asked,

2360
02:55:09,799 --> 02:55:15,920
louder than I'd meant to. She laughed, He said, flatly,

2361
02:55:17,000 --> 02:55:19,319
the kind you give someone when you're too tired to

2362
02:55:19,360 --> 02:55:24,280
deal with nonsense. I told her I wasn't crazy, and

2363
02:55:24,360 --> 02:55:28,440
I knew what I saw. I said Mary, that kid

2364
02:55:28,479 --> 02:55:32,079
was dead. He died in front of me. But she

2365
02:55:32,159 --> 02:55:35,840
just shook her head and said, dead men don't walk, Harold,

2366
02:55:36,559 --> 02:55:41,079
maybe you tag the wrong boy. We've all made mistakes.

2367
02:55:42,559 --> 02:55:45,319
His hand trembled slightly as he reached for his glass,

2368
02:55:45,879 --> 02:55:50,360
the liquid inside never seeming to end. I asked her

2369
02:55:50,520 --> 02:55:52,639
if she'd at least take a look at him see

2370
02:55:52,719 --> 02:55:56,719
for herself. She took one last drag of a cigarette,

2371
02:55:57,079 --> 02:56:00,479
blew the smoke out, and said, we don't have time

2372
02:56:00,520 --> 02:56:03,600
for this. There's a truck coming in with twenty more boys,

2373
02:56:04,000 --> 02:56:06,000
and a doubt half of them will make it longer

2374
02:56:06,040 --> 02:56:11,000
than a night. I frowned, trying to picture the situation

2375
02:56:11,239 --> 02:56:15,520
in my head. That's it. She just shrugged it off

2376
02:56:15,600 --> 02:56:20,959
like that. War doesn't leave room for questions, kid, he said,

2377
02:56:21,040 --> 02:56:26,159
with a heavy voice. Not questions like that, anyway. I

2378
02:56:26,239 --> 02:56:29,520
knew that myself. We were barely keeping up as it was.

2379
02:56:30,399 --> 02:56:33,600
Solers pouring in faster than we could treat them. Supply

2380
02:56:33,760 --> 02:56:37,680
is running out. When you're drowning, you don't stop to

2381
02:56:37,760 --> 02:56:42,760
wonder why the water is rising. He set his glass

2382
02:56:42,799 --> 02:56:47,280
down hard, the sounds sharp in the quiet kitchen. She

2383
02:56:47,440 --> 02:56:50,239
told me to get back to work, and that was that.

2384
02:56:51,479 --> 02:56:56,319
Mallory was just another name, another body. Nobody cared where

2385
02:56:56,360 --> 02:56:59,680
he'd been or how he came back. They just cared

2386
02:56:59,719 --> 02:57:04,520
that he can hold a rifle. The bitterness in his

2387
02:57:04,600 --> 02:57:07,600
voice cut deep, and I didn't know what to say

2388
02:57:07,639 --> 02:57:13,600
for a moment. Did he come back? I asked finally,

2389
02:57:14,440 --> 02:57:22,600
already knowing the answer. He nodded slowly. Yeah, he came back.

2390
02:57:24,360 --> 02:57:27,200
He stared at the ceiling for a moment before looking

2391
02:57:27,239 --> 02:57:31,520
at me with kind eyes. But that's enough for tonight.

2392
02:57:32,360 --> 02:57:37,120
I'm tired. I opened my mouth to protest, to ask

2393
02:57:37,360 --> 02:57:42,200
just one more question, but I realized Great Grandpa wasn't asking.

2394
02:57:43,239 --> 02:57:46,200
He was telling me the conversation was over for now.

2395
02:57:47,879 --> 02:57:51,440
I'll tell you the rest tomorrow, kid, he said, rising

2396
02:57:51,479 --> 02:57:54,840
from his chair, followed by the faint creak of the

2397
02:57:54,879 --> 02:58:01,959
old wood. That night, sleep didn't come. I lay in

2398
02:58:02,000 --> 02:58:06,280
bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying great Grandpa's words

2399
02:58:06,319 --> 02:58:10,559
over and over, the gravity in his voice and shivers

2400
02:58:10,600 --> 02:58:16,120
down my spine. I wanted to know more. Images of

2401
02:58:16,200 --> 02:58:19,440
a war torn hospital filled my mind. The smell of

2402
02:58:19,479 --> 02:58:22,840
antiseptic and blood, the groans of the dead and dying,

2403
02:58:23,399 --> 02:58:27,760
the frantic shuffle of nurses trying to save lives, and

2404
02:58:27,799 --> 02:58:33,440
then malory. The thought continued to gnaw at me the

2405
02:58:33,479 --> 02:58:36,959
next day at work, I tried my best to focus,

2406
02:58:37,399 --> 02:58:41,319
but my mind kept drifting. I ran through everything great

2407
02:58:41,360 --> 02:58:47,639
Grandpa had said, wondering how it could be possible. I

2408
02:58:47,760 --> 02:58:51,639
was still lost in thought when my phone rang. The

2409
02:58:51,719 --> 02:58:55,639
vibration in my pocket snapped me back to reality. The

2410
02:58:55,760 --> 02:58:59,559
voice on the other end was rushed and panicked. You're

2411
02:58:59,680 --> 02:59:03,399
great grandfather has been hospitalized. The woman and the other

2412
02:59:03,520 --> 02:59:10,239
end said heart attack. My stomach dropped. I barely remembered

2413
02:59:10,280 --> 02:59:13,280
grabbing my keys, talking to my boss, and driving to

2414
02:59:13,360 --> 02:59:19,280
the hospital. When I got there, he was lying in bed, pale,

2415
02:59:19,559 --> 02:59:21,879
and hooked up to more machines than I could count.

2416
02:59:23,120 --> 02:59:25,879
His eyes opened when he heard me enter, and he

2417
02:59:25,920 --> 02:59:31,239
gave me a weak smile. Great Grandpa's hand trembled as

2418
02:59:31,239 --> 02:59:36,639
he reached out, beckoning me closer. The hospital room was quiet,

2419
02:59:37,120 --> 02:59:40,239
save for the rhythmic beeping of the monitors and the

2420
02:59:40,280 --> 02:59:44,440
faint hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. His voice was

2421
02:59:44,520 --> 02:59:48,959
hoarse and strained, but its urgency left no room for argument.

2422
02:59:51,120 --> 02:59:53,200
Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily,

2423
02:59:53,479 --> 02:59:59,040
did you, he rasped. I laughed softly. He scared the

2424
02:59:59,040 --> 03:00:04,000
hell out of me. Grandpa, Ah, sit, he said, his

2425
03:00:04,079 --> 03:00:10,520
eyes locking unto mine. I need to finish the story, Grandpa,

2426
03:00:10,760 --> 03:00:14,920
it's fine. You need to rest. No, he interrupted, his

2427
03:00:15,079 --> 03:00:19,600
tone firm unexpectedly. So I don't know how much time

2428
03:00:19,639 --> 03:00:25,520
I have. Just listen, I nodded, pulling the chair closer

2429
03:00:25,559 --> 03:00:30,600
to his bedside. His hand gripped mine, the warmth contrasting

2430
03:00:30,799 --> 03:00:35,959
with the cold sterility of the hospital. I listened without

2431
03:00:36,000 --> 03:00:40,840
saying a word, leaning forward to catch every syllable. Something

2432
03:00:40,920 --> 03:00:46,440
in his tone demanded my full attention. After Mallory came

2433
03:00:46,520 --> 03:00:50,559
back the first time, Grandpa began once more, his eyes

2434
03:00:50,600 --> 03:00:55,719
fixed on the ceiling. I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

2435
03:00:55,719 --> 03:00:59,799
It made no sense. I tried to keep going, hoping

2436
03:00:59,799 --> 03:01:05,440
the world would explain itself later. His fingers tightened around

2437
03:01:05,440 --> 03:01:08,920
the edge of the blanket. I tried, thinking back on

2438
03:01:08,959 --> 03:01:11,799
what Mary had said, that he was just a mix up,

2439
03:01:12,040 --> 03:01:18,879
a mistake, but deep down I knew better. He paused,

2440
03:01:19,360 --> 03:01:24,399
his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. Time went by,

2441
03:01:25,120 --> 03:01:29,520
weeks past and I didn't see him again. I figured

2442
03:01:29,799 --> 03:01:34,079
that was the end of it, But then they brought

2443
03:01:34,159 --> 03:01:39,879
him back. He shifted slightly, wincing as he adjusted his position.

2444
03:01:41,600 --> 03:01:43,680
I remember the look on the Meddick's face when they

2445
03:01:43,680 --> 03:01:46,799
carried him in. They said he stepped on a mine.

2446
03:01:47,959 --> 03:01:52,399
His leg was gone, blown clean off, shrapnel had ripped

2447
03:01:52,399 --> 03:01:55,360
through his chest, and his skin was burnt so badly

2448
03:01:55,920 --> 03:02:01,319
he didn't even look human. What happened? Then? I asked,

2449
03:02:01,559 --> 03:02:07,040
my voice barely above a whisper. Great Grandpa shook his head.

2450
03:02:07,840 --> 03:02:11,079
We tried to stop the bleeding, pulled the shrapnel, did

2451
03:02:11,120 --> 03:02:14,600
everything we could to keep him alive. But it was

2452
03:02:14,639 --> 03:02:17,959
a losing battle from the start. We all knew it.

2453
03:02:19,319 --> 03:02:23,639
His heart gave out half way through, and he died again.

2454
03:02:25,239 --> 03:02:27,840
His voice trembled, and he turned his head to look

2455
03:02:27,840 --> 03:02:30,760
at me. Do you know what it feels like to

2456
03:02:30,799 --> 03:02:33,680
fail someone twice? Boy, to watch a kid die in

2457
03:02:33,719 --> 03:02:38,920
your hands, knowing there's nothing you can do. I was

2458
03:02:39,040 --> 03:02:43,719
unable to find the words. We cleaned him up, tagged

2459
03:02:43,799 --> 03:02:47,479
him again, and sent him to the morgue tent. It

2460
03:02:47,600 --> 03:02:51,040
had to be over, and I hoped it was for

2461
03:02:51,079 --> 03:02:57,799
his sake. The next morning, Grandpa said, his voice growing quieter.

2462
03:02:58,760 --> 03:03:01,360
I walked into the tree tend to start my shift,

2463
03:03:02,680 --> 03:03:10,719
and there he was again, his expression darkened. The first

2464
03:03:10,719 --> 03:03:13,040
time I saw him come back, I thought I was

2465
03:03:13,079 --> 03:03:17,760
losing my mind. This time, I didn't quite know what

2466
03:03:17,920 --> 03:03:21,280
to think. He was sitting on one of the carts,

2467
03:03:21,600 --> 03:03:24,479
staring at the floor like he didn't know where he was,

2468
03:03:25,719 --> 03:03:31,360
and he looked fine, just like before. Did you talk

2469
03:03:31,399 --> 03:03:37,600
to him, I asked. Grandpa exailed, his hands, clenching the

2470
03:03:37,639 --> 03:03:44,079
blanket tighter. I froze for a moment. I just stared

2471
03:03:44,079 --> 03:03:47,079
at him. Part of me wanted to run up to

2472
03:03:47,159 --> 03:03:49,360
him and ask what the hell was going on, but

2473
03:03:51,280 --> 03:03:57,719
I didn't. Why not because the tent was a madhouse,

2474
03:03:58,399 --> 03:04:01,959
he said bitterly. More men had been brought in overnight,

2475
03:04:02,440 --> 03:04:05,079
and there were too many fires to put out. I

2476
03:04:05,159 --> 03:04:08,200
didn't have time to sit and ask questions, as much

2477
03:04:08,239 --> 03:04:14,000
as I wanted to. His eyes clauded over, his voice

2478
03:04:14,000 --> 03:04:18,319
turning softer. I did manage to catch's eye, though, for

2479
03:04:18,559 --> 03:04:24,399
just a second, and you know what I saw fear.

2480
03:04:25,879 --> 03:04:31,399
He was scared out of his mind, but confused. They

2481
03:04:31,520 --> 03:04:33,760
sent him back to the front line. Later that day,

2482
03:04:34,840 --> 03:04:39,280
Grandpa said, I could feel the frustration radiating off him

2483
03:04:39,319 --> 03:04:43,840
as he spoke. I wanted to stop him, he admitted,

2484
03:04:44,319 --> 03:04:46,799
to pull him aside and make him tell me everything.

2485
03:04:48,159 --> 03:04:51,319
But I didn't get the chance. I didn't even see

2486
03:04:51,399 --> 03:04:56,040
him for a long time after that. The war moved on, unrelenting.

2487
03:04:57,760 --> 03:05:01,680
He looked at me then, his eyes heavy. But I

2488
03:05:01,680 --> 03:05:06,200
couldn't stop thinking about him. Every time I closed my eyes,

2489
03:05:07,239 --> 03:05:13,120
i'd see his face, a fear, a confusion. And I

2490
03:05:13,200 --> 03:05:21,799
kept wondering, wondering what Grandpa hesitated, his lips pressed into

2491
03:05:21,879 --> 03:05:27,239
a thin line. I kept wondering where he went when

2492
03:05:27,280 --> 03:05:31,360
he died, what he saw, what it was that scared

2493
03:05:31,399 --> 03:05:38,840
him so much. The door opened suddenly, and a nurse

2494
03:05:38,879 --> 03:05:45,760
stepped in, her voice soft, I'm sorry, visiting hours are over. Wait,

2495
03:05:46,360 --> 03:05:49,719
I said, turning back to Grandpa. You said there was more.

2496
03:05:50,120 --> 03:05:55,360
What happened next? Did he come back? Grandpa lifted her hand,

2497
03:05:55,920 --> 03:06:01,760
his fingers weakly, waving me off. Later, he murmured, his

2498
03:06:01,920 --> 03:06:08,520
voice barely audible. I'll tell you the rest later, Grandpa,

2499
03:06:09,360 --> 03:06:15,120
go home, he said, his eyes fluttering shut. We'll finish tomorrow.

2500
03:06:17,840 --> 03:06:20,760
The nurse gave me a sympathetic smile as she ushered

2501
03:06:20,799 --> 03:06:25,639
me out, But something about Grandpa's final words left a

2502
03:06:25,719 --> 03:06:31,520
pit in my stomach. As I walked out of the hospital.

2503
03:06:32,200 --> 03:06:35,680
I couldn't shake great Grandpa's words, and a small part

2504
03:06:35,719 --> 03:06:39,600
of me began to question it all. His story about

2505
03:06:39,639 --> 03:06:44,280
Private Mallory was by all means impossible. People do not

2506
03:06:44,520 --> 03:06:49,520
just die and come back, let alone multiple times. Maybe

2507
03:06:49,639 --> 03:06:52,280
I thought it was his way of coping with his

2508
03:06:52,319 --> 03:06:56,680
own mortality, a metaphor for something he couldn't quite explain

2509
03:06:56,719 --> 03:06:59,719
to me. Or maybe he was trying to teach me

2510
03:06:59,760 --> 03:07:05,959
something about resilience and sacrifice. Still, the way he spoke

2511
03:07:06,159 --> 03:07:10,399
and the emotions in his voice all felt real. There

2512
03:07:10,440 --> 03:07:14,799
was a sincerity to it. The morning after, I thought

2513
03:07:14,799 --> 03:07:18,159
about calling the hospital to check on him. He was

2514
03:07:18,200 --> 03:07:21,479
old and tired and needed rest, but I planned on

2515
03:07:21,520 --> 03:07:25,760
seeing him after work. Given the seriousness of the story,

2516
03:07:26,520 --> 03:07:30,559
he would prefer to tell it in person. I had

2517
03:07:30,639 --> 03:07:35,159
just gotten home from work when my phone rang. The

2518
03:07:35,280 --> 03:07:41,040
number was from the hospital. Your great grandfather has just

2519
03:07:41,159 --> 03:07:45,559
passed away. It was sudden, but peaceful. The voice on

2520
03:07:45,600 --> 03:07:49,000
the other end said, I'm so sorry for your loss.

2521
03:07:50,719 --> 03:07:56,239
She sounded comforting, but with so much unanswered. I was distraught.

2522
03:07:57,840 --> 03:08:02,280
I asked them to repeat it, hoping I'm misunderstood, but

2523
03:08:02,399 --> 03:08:12,840
I hadn't. My great Grandpa was gone. I went to

2524
03:08:12,879 --> 03:08:15,559
the hospital to sign off documents and pick up his

2525
03:08:15,639 --> 03:08:19,760
remaining things. Deep down, I hoped to find some clues

2526
03:08:19,840 --> 03:08:22,559
to the ending of his story, or maybe even a

2527
03:08:22,600 --> 03:08:26,719
manifesto explaining the rest. But all he had with him

2528
03:08:27,280 --> 03:08:31,159
was the clothes on his back. I left the hospital

2529
03:08:31,319 --> 03:08:38,000
feeling lost, both emotionally and physically. One way or another,

2530
03:08:39,239 --> 03:08:41,920
I hinted up at the diner where great Grandpa and

2531
03:08:41,959 --> 03:08:44,280
I used to go when I was a kid, the

2532
03:08:44,319 --> 03:08:47,280
one I used to own back in the day. It

2533
03:08:47,399 --> 03:08:50,719
was a place that felt safe and familiar as setting

2534
03:08:50,760 --> 03:08:54,879
to remember him by. I slid into the booth where

2535
03:08:54,920 --> 03:08:58,399
Grandpa and I always sat. Then I stared at the

2536
03:08:58,440 --> 03:09:01,600
familiar chipped lamon at tape as the hum of the

2537
03:09:01,680 --> 03:09:06,639
diner's lights buzzed faintly in the background. I did not

2538
03:09:06,760 --> 03:09:10,559
even notice the waitress asking if I wanted coffee, and

2539
03:09:10,600 --> 03:09:15,079
I just nodded along. When two mugs hit the table,

2540
03:09:16,399 --> 03:09:23,559
I looked up and froze. Sitting across from me in

2541
03:09:23,600 --> 03:09:27,680
front of the other mug of steaming coffee. It was

2542
03:09:27,719 --> 03:09:34,040
my great grandfather. He looked tired, his face exhausted and withdrawn.

2543
03:09:34,879 --> 03:09:38,479
For there was no mistaking it. He raised the mug

2544
03:09:38,520 --> 03:09:44,000
slightly like a toast. Don't panic, son, he said, in

2545
03:09:44,040 --> 03:09:49,239
a calming tone. I internalized my reaction to scream and

2546
03:09:49,319 --> 03:09:52,120
got up, slowly, keeping my eyes on him as I

2547
03:09:52,200 --> 03:09:56,239
slid into the sea to cross from him. You're a light,

2548
03:09:57,120 --> 03:10:02,040
I know, he interrupted, as he sipped his coffee. You

2549
03:10:02,120 --> 03:10:05,079
wanted to know what happened the third time Malory came back,

2550
03:10:05,840 --> 03:10:10,719
he added, I kept staring at him, my mind the

2551
03:10:10,760 --> 03:10:16,159
swirling pit of confusion and disbelief. How I got the

2552
03:10:16,239 --> 03:10:22,399
call you? They they said you died, Grandpa said, finishing

2553
03:10:22,440 --> 03:10:27,799
the sentence for me. I did, son. That's the problem.

2554
03:10:28,120 --> 03:10:33,399
It's my second time now, so this is when things change.

2555
03:10:34,079 --> 03:10:38,639
Before I could press further, he leaned in. The last

2556
03:10:38,719 --> 03:10:43,680
time Malory came back, he was different. They carried him

2557
03:10:43,719 --> 03:10:48,079
into the tent, half dead, with burns, shattered bones, and

2558
03:10:48,159 --> 03:10:53,120
parts of him barely held together. But he didn't die.

2559
03:10:53,319 --> 03:10:57,840
He should have, God knows he should have, but something

2560
03:10:57,920 --> 03:11:03,319
did not let him. Grandpa slumped back in his chair,

2561
03:11:03,799 --> 03:11:10,040
his expression turning dark. But he hung on barely. The

2562
03:11:10,120 --> 03:11:15,639
damage to his body was Grandpa traveled off, shaking his head.

2563
03:11:16,440 --> 03:11:19,799
Everyone said it and knew it. The other medics looked

2564
03:11:19,799 --> 03:11:22,079
at him like they were waiting for his heart to stop,

2565
03:11:22,840 --> 03:11:27,479
but he just never did. He lay there, breathing shallow,

2566
03:11:28,000 --> 03:11:35,479
his eyes wide open. I stayed quiet. They got him stable.

2567
03:11:35,639 --> 03:11:40,079
Eventually he continued, stable enough to move him to a

2568
03:11:40,120 --> 03:11:45,200
recovery tent. I had to know more, son. I couldn't

2569
03:11:45,239 --> 03:11:47,959
get it out of my head, the look on his

2570
03:11:48,040 --> 03:11:51,639
face when we were working on him. It wasn't just pain.

2571
03:11:53,840 --> 03:11:58,719
He scratched at his forearm, wincing slightly. I couldn't sleep

2572
03:11:58,760 --> 03:12:02,799
that night. I kept thinking about him, wondering if he

2573
03:12:02,879 --> 03:12:08,840
was still alive, still hanging on. So I broke protocol,

2574
03:12:09,840 --> 03:12:12,719
slipped out of my bunk, and went to see him.

2575
03:12:14,479 --> 03:12:18,399
Grandpa's voice dropped lower and his hands tightened around the mug.

2576
03:12:19,600 --> 03:12:26,040
When I got there, I saw it. His wounds. They

2577
03:12:26,040 --> 03:12:30,440
weren't healing, they were getting worse. But it wasn't just

2578
03:12:30,520 --> 03:12:36,319
blood and burns anymore. There was something else, this black

2579
03:12:36,479 --> 03:12:40,479
goo seeping out of his injuries, spreading over his skin

2580
03:12:40,639 --> 03:12:44,079
like it was alive. I felt a chill creep up

2581
03:12:44,120 --> 03:12:50,840
my spine. He saw me standing there, Grandpa continued, and

2582
03:12:50,959 --> 03:12:54,719
his eyes locked onto mine. He looked at me like

2583
03:12:54,840 --> 03:12:59,360
I was his last chance. He reached out, barely able

2584
03:12:59,399 --> 03:13:03,879
to lift his and and said, you have to end it. Please.

2585
03:13:04,520 --> 03:13:07,799
I can't go back again. I can't let it take me.

2586
03:13:09,559 --> 03:13:15,360
Grandpa swallowed hard, his voice trembling. Now. I told him

2587
03:13:15,399 --> 03:13:19,600
I couldn't, that I wouldn't. I was there to save people,

2588
03:13:19,879 --> 03:13:24,760
not kill him. But he kept begging, tears streaming down

2589
03:13:24,760 --> 03:13:29,879
his face, his voice breaking. It's in me, he said,

2590
03:13:30,440 --> 03:13:33,959
it's going to take everything. Please don't let me turn

2591
03:13:34,000 --> 03:13:40,760
into it. My chest tightened. What did you do, Grandpa?

2592
03:13:42,120 --> 03:13:46,120
I didn't want to do it, Grandpa admitted, But I

2593
03:13:46,200 --> 03:13:50,440
knew he was right. Whatever was happening to him, it

2594
03:13:50,600 --> 03:13:55,319
wasn't natural. He wasn't going to stop. It was spreading.

2595
03:13:56,799 --> 03:13:59,760
I didn't have a choice. I had failed to save

2596
03:13:59,799 --> 03:14:06,319
the twice. I wouldn't fail again. Grandpa looked up at

2597
03:14:06,319 --> 03:14:11,920
me then, his eyes filled with quiet, terrible guilt. I

2598
03:14:11,959 --> 03:14:15,079
pressed my hand over his nose and mouth and held

2599
03:14:15,120 --> 03:14:21,239
it there until he stopped breathing. Grandpa leaned back in

2600
03:14:21,280 --> 03:14:24,959
the booth, his hands trembling slightly as he rested them

2601
03:14:25,040 --> 03:14:28,879
on the table. I thought it was over. After that,

2602
03:14:29,799 --> 03:14:33,920
I thought I'd done what needed to be done. Whatever

2603
03:14:34,079 --> 03:14:38,280
was in him was tenacious, It didn't want to go

2604
03:14:38,399 --> 03:14:41,719
with him. What seeped out of him like a noose

2605
03:14:41,920 --> 03:14:46,399
fizzled as Malory's heart stopped, and before I could get away,

2606
03:14:48,000 --> 03:14:51,959
it burst into a mist. I managed to back away

2607
03:14:52,000 --> 03:14:54,600
from it, but I breathed a bit of it in

2608
03:14:55,920 --> 03:15:03,040
only a bit, but it was enough. A look of

2609
03:15:03,079 --> 03:15:06,920
defeat crossed my grandpa's face, a rare look to see.

2610
03:15:09,000 --> 03:15:13,920
I was found still, declared dead on the spot when

2611
03:15:13,959 --> 03:15:16,959
I walked in the next day. There was too much

2612
03:15:17,040 --> 03:15:21,399
chaos to investigate, so it was just reported as a

2613
03:15:21,399 --> 03:15:25,840
clerical error. No marks were found on me, so my

2614
03:15:25,920 --> 03:15:32,479
medical records just show an undetected heart murmur. That was

2615
03:15:32,520 --> 03:15:42,520
my first Grandpa's side. Since then, I've lived carefully. I

2616
03:15:42,520 --> 03:15:45,680
don't know how many chances I have, but this heart

2617
03:15:45,719 --> 03:15:50,399
attack was the second. I can't risk you or anyone

2618
03:15:50,440 --> 03:15:55,559
around me. Before I was desperate to know what Mallory knew,

2619
03:15:57,079 --> 03:16:02,280
but seeing it myself, I know why he craved death.

2620
03:16:03,440 --> 03:16:06,799
He lifted his arms slightly, pulling back the sleeve of

2621
03:16:06,840 --> 03:16:11,959
his shirt. Just above his wrist, A small patch of

2622
03:16:12,079 --> 03:16:17,639
black oily substance clung to his skin. It got to me,

2623
03:16:18,520 --> 03:16:23,200
he said, simply. Whatever was inside Mallory passed to me,

2624
03:16:25,040 --> 03:16:31,680
and now it's waiting. I can feel it spreading little

2625
03:16:31,719 --> 03:16:35,680
by little. But I don't know what I'll turn into,

2626
03:16:36,200 --> 03:16:42,600
but I know it won't be me. I was stunned

2627
03:16:43,680 --> 03:16:47,479
hearing this story was just words, but seeing the strange

2628
03:16:47,479 --> 03:16:53,600
substance in person made it all too real. I'm sorry, kid,

2629
03:16:54,079 --> 03:16:58,639
Grandpa said, his voice breaking. I didn't want you to know,

2630
03:16:59,520 --> 03:17:03,440
but I could leave without telling you the truth. You

2631
03:17:03,600 --> 03:17:08,479
deserve that much. I stared at him, my pulse pounding

2632
03:17:08,559 --> 03:17:11,760
in my ears. That there has to be a way

2633
03:17:11,799 --> 03:17:17,120
to stop it, Grandpa, I pleaded. Grandpa gave me a sad,

2634
03:17:17,520 --> 03:17:22,440
tired smile. Maybe, son, but it's not a risk I'm

2635
03:17:22,440 --> 03:17:28,079
willing to take around you or anyone else. He pushed

2636
03:17:28,120 --> 03:17:32,680
back from the table, his movement slow. Take care of

2637
03:17:32,719 --> 03:17:36,760
your siblings and your mother for me was the last

2638
03:17:36,760 --> 03:17:42,319
thing he said. I wanted to stop him, to say something,

2639
03:17:43,239 --> 03:17:47,000
but the words caught in my throat. I could only

2640
03:17:47,040 --> 03:17:51,200
watch as he walked out of the diner and the

2641
03:17:51,200 --> 03:17:56,040
weight of everything that had transpired came crashing down on me.

2642
03:18:05,559 --> 03:18:08,200
Working as a park ranger was a big deal for me.

2643
03:18:09,239 --> 03:18:12,399
I've always loved the outdoors, and getting paid to patrol

2644
03:18:12,479 --> 03:18:15,639
hiking trails and check on campsites felt like a dream.

2645
03:18:17,000 --> 03:18:19,600
It was only a seasonal job, but I was still

2646
03:18:19,639 --> 03:18:24,000
content with the allocated time I was given. I'd been

2647
03:18:24,000 --> 03:18:28,760
assigned to a remote national park, miles from anything resembling civilization.

2648
03:18:29,920 --> 03:18:33,040
My station was a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere,

2649
03:18:33,399 --> 03:18:37,200
surrounded by dense forest. There was an even sell service

2650
03:18:37,280 --> 03:18:41,280
most of the time. First day in the job was

2651
03:18:41,360 --> 03:18:47,399
pretty standard. I met ed my supervisor. He's this older guy,

2652
03:18:47,799 --> 03:18:50,799
maybe in his fifties, with a kind of weathered face

2653
03:18:51,079 --> 03:18:55,200
that says he's been out here way too long. Nice enough,

2654
03:18:55,239 --> 03:18:59,399
but kind of distant. He handed me a basic book

2655
03:18:59,440 --> 03:19:02,760
full of PROTI calls how to check the trail damage,

2656
03:19:02,920 --> 03:19:05,280
what to do if you encounter a bear, how to

2657
03:19:05,360 --> 03:19:11,040
handle lost hikers. So off you'd expect, but then tucked

2658
03:19:11,079 --> 03:19:15,079
in between the normal sections there was this page titled

2659
03:19:15,559 --> 03:19:20,760
special Procedures. The front looked older, like it hadn't been

2660
03:19:20,840 --> 03:19:26,120
updated in years, and it stood out immediately. The rules

2661
03:19:26,159 --> 03:19:34,040
on the page. Well they were different. Ignore the screaming

2662
03:19:34,079 --> 03:19:37,920
after midnight. Never acknowledge the lake when it reflects the moon.

2663
03:19:38,719 --> 03:19:42,079
If you hear footsteps behind you, do not turn around.

2664
03:19:44,760 --> 03:19:48,079
I actually laughed when I first read them. I thought

2665
03:19:48,159 --> 03:19:50,440
it was some kind of joke the older rangers played

2666
03:19:50,479 --> 03:19:53,760
on the newbies. But when I asked ed about it,

2667
03:19:54,719 --> 03:20:00,440
he didn't laugh, he didn't even smirk. He just said,

2668
03:20:01,000 --> 03:20:07,360
follow them and you'll be fine. That's it. No explanation,

2669
03:20:07,719 --> 03:20:12,000
no elaboration. I even tried pushing him a little, asking

2670
03:20:12,079 --> 03:20:14,280
why these rules are in there and if this was

2671
03:20:14,319 --> 03:20:17,680
some kind of hazing thing, but he just shrugged and said,

2672
03:20:18,520 --> 03:20:23,000
you'll see. So I put the book down and figured

2673
03:20:23,239 --> 03:20:25,959
maybe it was just some weird tradition or superstition the

2674
03:20:26,000 --> 03:20:29,399
Parksteff kept alive for fun, maybe a way to freak

2675
03:20:29,479 --> 03:20:36,280
out new hires. Whatever, right, But my first few nights

2676
03:20:36,280 --> 03:20:41,200
of the cabin started to change my mind. You ever

2677
03:20:41,239 --> 03:20:45,840
stay somewhere so quiet that it almost feels loud, That's

2678
03:20:45,840 --> 03:20:49,479
how it was out there at night. It was like

2679
03:20:49,520 --> 03:20:54,200
the forest itself was holding its breath. Sometimes the only

2680
03:20:54,280 --> 03:20:57,879
sound was the wind pushing through the trees. Other times

2681
03:20:58,200 --> 03:21:02,159
there wasn't even that. The stillness made me jump at

2682
03:21:02,159 --> 03:21:05,840
every creak of the cabin, every rustle in the bushes outside.

2683
03:21:07,239 --> 03:21:12,760
And then there was this feeling like I wasn't really alone,

2684
03:21:12,799 --> 03:21:18,479
even when I knew I was. It was my third

2685
03:21:18,559 --> 03:21:23,319
day in when I first heard the scream. I was

2686
03:21:23,360 --> 03:21:26,639
sitting at the tiny table in the cabin, half way

2687
03:21:26,639 --> 03:21:30,520
through a lukewarm cup of instant coffee. My eyes were

2688
03:21:30,559 --> 03:21:33,200
glued to the book of Rules again, trying to make

2689
03:21:33,239 --> 03:21:38,040
sense of it all. It was late past midnight, but

2690
03:21:38,159 --> 03:21:42,360
I wasn't tired. Something about the cabin made it hard

2691
03:21:42,399 --> 03:21:46,200
to relax. Maybe it was how the floor creaked randomly,

2692
03:21:46,719 --> 03:21:49,559
even when I wasn't moving all the way. The wind

2693
03:21:49,559 --> 03:21:55,040
outside never quite sounded like just wind. I was flipping

2694
03:21:55,079 --> 03:22:02,479
through the rules when it started. At first it was faint,

2695
03:22:03,639 --> 03:22:06,719
I thought it was the wind again, but then it

2696
03:22:06,760 --> 03:22:11,040
got louder, a sharp, piercing scream that cut through the

2697
03:22:11,079 --> 03:22:17,000
stillness like a knife. It sounded human, a woman maybe,

2698
03:22:17,239 --> 03:22:23,639
or a kid. My stomach dropped, my froze, my hand

2699
03:22:23,680 --> 03:22:26,760
gripping the edge of the table so hard my knuckles

2700
03:22:26,799 --> 03:22:31,000
turned white. My eyes darted back to the rules, to

2701
03:22:31,120 --> 03:22:39,120
that stupid yellowed page. Ignore the screaming after midnight. Ignore

2702
03:22:39,159 --> 03:22:43,319
it easy to write, harder to do when it sounds

2703
03:22:43,319 --> 03:22:47,920
like someone's out there begging for help. I sat there

2704
03:22:48,120 --> 03:22:53,040
for what felt like forever, just listening. The scream would rise,

2705
03:22:53,479 --> 03:22:57,680
hold for a few seconds, and then fade. Then it

2706
03:22:57,719 --> 03:23:02,360
would start again. My heart was raising, and before I

2707
03:23:02,440 --> 03:23:05,440
knew it, I was standing by the cabin door, my

2708
03:23:05,520 --> 03:23:09,559
hand on the knob. I told myself it had to

2709
03:23:09,559 --> 03:23:13,559
be something explainable, a hiker in trouble maybe, or an

2710
03:23:13,559 --> 03:23:17,600
animal that just sounded like a person. I mean, I'm

2711
03:23:17,600 --> 03:23:20,959
a park ranger. It's literally my job to check these

2712
03:23:21,000 --> 03:23:28,280
things out right. I stepped outside. The cold hit me first.

2713
03:23:29,399 --> 03:23:34,159
It wasn't a normal cold. It was biting, the kind

2714
03:23:34,200 --> 03:23:38,520
that sinks into your bones. The forest was pitch black

2715
03:23:38,840 --> 03:23:41,319
except for the faint cone of light from my flashlight.

2716
03:23:42,440 --> 03:23:46,040
The scream came again, louder now, and I swung the

2717
03:23:46,079 --> 03:23:49,159
beam in its direction, trying to see through the trees.

2718
03:23:50,639 --> 03:23:53,760
My throat was dry, and every step I took felt

2719
03:23:53,840 --> 03:24:05,319
heavier than the last. Then it stopped, not just the scream, everything,

2720
03:24:06,799 --> 03:24:10,200
the wind, the rustling of leaves, the distant sound of

2721
03:24:10,239 --> 03:24:15,200
nocturnal animals, it all just cut out, like someone hit

2722
03:24:15,239 --> 03:24:18,879
the mute button in the world. The silence was so

2723
03:24:19,120 --> 03:24:22,879
thick I could hear my own breathing, quick and shallow.

2724
03:24:25,440 --> 03:24:28,440
I don't know how long I stood there, frozen in place,

2725
03:24:29,920 --> 03:24:35,120
but eventually I turned back toward the cabin. Whatever I

2726
03:24:35,200 --> 03:24:38,399
thought I was going to find out there, it wasn't

2727
03:24:38,440 --> 03:24:42,799
worth it. My skin crawled the entire way back, like

2728
03:24:42,879 --> 03:24:45,799
something was watching me, just beyond the edge of the

2729
03:24:45,840 --> 03:24:51,639
flashlight's reach. When I got inside, I locked the door twice.

2730
03:24:54,120 --> 03:24:58,799
The next morning, I asked Lisa about it. She's another ranger,

2731
03:24:59,200 --> 03:25:03,600
works the mainstay closer to the visitor center. Lisa's the

2732
03:25:03,680 --> 03:25:07,440
kind of person who always seems upbeat, like nothing rattles her.

2733
03:25:08,600 --> 03:25:12,879
But when I brought up the scream, her face changed immediately.

2734
03:25:14,520 --> 03:25:17,239
She went pale, and her eyes darted around the room,

2735
03:25:17,600 --> 03:25:20,319
like she was checking to see if anyone else was listening.

2736
03:25:21,959 --> 03:25:25,959
You didn't follow it, did you, she asked, her voice low.

2737
03:25:27,719 --> 03:25:33,760
I hesitated, not sure how much to admit. I stepped outside,

2738
03:25:34,479 --> 03:25:42,600
I said, finally, didn't go far. Lisa's expression darkened. She

2739
03:25:42,639 --> 03:25:45,399
looked at me like I'd just signed my own death warrant.

2740
03:25:47,079 --> 03:25:51,399
That's how it starts. She muttered. Then she stood up

2741
03:25:51,479 --> 03:25:54,120
and walked out of the room like I wasn't even there.

2742
03:25:56,079 --> 03:25:58,559
Later that day, I went out to patrol one of

2743
03:25:58,559 --> 03:26:02,680
the popular trails near the It was my first time

2744
03:26:02,719 --> 03:26:06,280
on that route, and for the most part it seemed normal,

2745
03:26:07,479 --> 03:26:13,760
just trees, dirt, and the occasional squirrel. But about halfway

2746
03:26:13,799 --> 03:26:19,840
through I noticed something hard. The ground had these scuff marks,

2747
03:26:20,200 --> 03:26:23,799
like someone had been running off the trail. The branches

2748
03:26:23,799 --> 03:26:26,799
and the bushes nearby were broken, and the dirt was

2749
03:26:26,879 --> 03:26:30,959
churned up. I gave me in a struggle. I followed

2750
03:26:30,959 --> 03:26:35,360
the marks for maybe twenty feet before I found it.

2751
03:26:35,479 --> 03:26:41,360
A single boot, muddy torn, just sitting there in the

2752
03:26:41,399 --> 03:26:45,639
middle of the forest. There was no sign of its owner.

2753
03:26:47,719 --> 03:26:51,840
My stomach twisted as I stared at it. It wasn't

2754
03:26:51,879 --> 03:26:55,000
just the boot itself, it was the way it was

2755
03:26:55,079 --> 03:26:59,440
sitting there, like it had been dropped deliberately. It didn't

2756
03:26:59,440 --> 03:27:03,440
feel like something someone had just forgotten. It felt wrong.

2757
03:27:05,799 --> 03:27:08,319
When I got back to the station, I told ed

2758
03:27:08,360 --> 03:27:14,120
about it. He barely looked up from his paperwork. The

2759
03:27:14,200 --> 03:27:20,239
forest takes what it wants, he said, shrugging. Then he

2760
03:27:20,319 --> 03:27:23,920
went back to his coffee like that was the end

2761
03:27:23,959 --> 03:27:30,000
of it. The first time I broke a rule, I

2762
03:27:30,120 --> 03:27:35,000
told myself it didn't really count. It was maybe a

2763
03:27:35,000 --> 03:27:37,639
week in and i'd almost started to feel like I

2764
03:27:37,680 --> 03:27:42,280
heard a routine down. Sure, the rules are weird, and yeah,

2765
03:27:42,399 --> 03:27:46,479
the nights were unnervingly quiet, but I'd convinced myself that

2766
03:27:46,559 --> 03:27:48,799
things weren't as bad as I'd made them out to be.

2767
03:27:50,840 --> 03:27:58,799
Then the footsteps started. It was late, probably around one am,

2768
03:27:59,360 --> 03:28:01,959
and I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep.

2769
03:28:03,399 --> 03:28:05,440
At first I thought it was just the sound of

2770
03:28:05,479 --> 03:28:10,040
branches tapping against the cabin, but then I realized it

2771
03:28:10,079 --> 03:28:16,760
was rhythmic, slow, deliberate. Someone was walking around the cabin.

2772
03:28:18,520 --> 03:28:22,319
My froze, my heart was pounding, but I kept telling

2773
03:28:22,360 --> 03:28:27,360
myself to stay calm. I remembered the rule if you

2774
03:28:27,440 --> 03:28:32,959
hear footsteps behind you, do not turn around. Okay, fine,

2775
03:28:33,440 --> 03:28:37,120
The footsteps weren't exactly behind me, but the logic seemed

2776
03:28:37,120 --> 03:28:44,239
the same. Just don't engage. Right. The pacing continued. It'd

2777
03:28:44,239 --> 03:28:49,200
circle the cabin, slow and steady, and I swear whoever

2778
03:28:49,600 --> 03:28:53,000
or whatever it was would stop right by my window.

2779
03:28:54,559 --> 03:28:57,760
I could feel it lingering there, just out of sight.

2780
03:28:59,600 --> 03:29:02,959
The sound and went on for hours. I tried covering

2781
03:29:02,959 --> 03:29:06,680
my ears, but it didn't help. I couldn't shake the

2782
03:29:06,719 --> 03:29:11,040
feeling that something was waiting for me to look. I

2783
03:29:11,120 --> 03:29:13,879
held out as long as I could, but by three

2784
03:29:13,879 --> 03:29:18,120
a m My nerves were shot. I figured if someone

2785
03:29:18,239 --> 03:29:22,040
was actually outside, I needed to know. What if it

2786
03:29:22,079 --> 03:29:24,559
was a hiker I got lost? What if I was

2787
03:29:24,600 --> 03:29:30,600
in danger? I pulled back the curtain, just a crack. Nothing.

2788
03:29:32,200 --> 03:29:36,319
There was nothing out there, just the trees, the dirt path,

2789
03:29:36,760 --> 03:29:40,520
and the faint glow of the moon. But the second

2790
03:29:40,559 --> 03:29:44,920
I looked, the footsteps stopped, like they'd been waiting for

2791
03:29:44,959 --> 03:29:49,360
me to break. The silence that followed was even worse.

2792
03:29:50,479 --> 03:29:53,520
It was thick, pressing down on me, like gravity was

2793
03:29:53,559 --> 03:29:57,680
being turned up on a dial. I didn't sleep that night.

2794
03:30:00,120 --> 03:30:05,040
The next morning I noticed something was off. My boots

2795
03:30:05,079 --> 03:30:08,120
weren't by the door where I'd left them. They were

2796
03:30:08,120 --> 03:30:11,399
in the middle of the room. My radio, which I

2797
03:30:11,479 --> 03:30:15,360
left off, was on, hissing with faint static, and when

2798
03:30:15,360 --> 03:30:19,040
I glanced at the window, I swear my reflection didn't

2799
03:30:19,079 --> 03:30:23,920
move in time with me. It lagged just a split second,

2800
03:30:24,200 --> 03:30:29,520
but enough to make my stomach drop. I told myself

2801
03:30:29,559 --> 03:30:36,239
it was nothing, just my mind plain tricks. But then

2802
03:30:37,319 --> 03:30:42,520
I patrolled the lake. A few days later, I was

2803
03:30:42,559 --> 03:30:46,159
out patrolling the trails near the lake at dusk. The

2804
03:30:46,200 --> 03:30:49,319
sky was this brilliant orange and the moon was just

2805
03:30:49,399 --> 03:30:53,680
starting to rise. When I got to the water's edge,

2806
03:30:53,879 --> 03:31:01,360
I noticed the moon's reflection. It was too much, too bright,

2807
03:31:01,639 --> 03:31:05,200
too vivid, almost like it wasn't just reflecting the moon

2808
03:31:05,559 --> 03:31:10,920
but amplifying it. I stood there for a second, hypnotized,

2809
03:31:11,920 --> 03:31:16,479
before the rule clicked in my head. Never acknowledge the

2810
03:31:16,559 --> 03:31:21,520
lake when it reflects the moon. I snapped out of

2811
03:31:21,559 --> 03:31:24,559
it and took a step back. But as I turned

2812
03:31:24,559 --> 03:31:29,159
to leave, I saw a ripple in the water. There

2813
03:31:29,239 --> 03:31:34,520
wasn't any wind, no fish jumping, just that ripple spreading

2814
03:31:34,559 --> 03:31:40,280
out from the center, and for a split second, I

2815
03:31:40,360 --> 03:31:44,639
swear I saw a hand, pale and thin, reach up

2816
03:31:44,719 --> 03:31:48,879
toward the surface. I didn't stick around to see what

2817
03:31:49,000 --> 03:31:52,840
came next. I stumbled back to the trail and didn't

2818
03:31:52,840 --> 03:31:57,840
stop until I was half way to the cabin. That night,

2819
03:31:58,440 --> 03:32:01,600
I had a dream. I was back at the lake,

2820
03:32:01,959 --> 03:32:07,000
standing at the edge, but the Moon's reflection was shattered

2821
03:32:07,600 --> 03:32:11,959
like broken glass. I could hear something crawling out of

2822
03:32:12,000 --> 03:32:18,159
the water, slow and deliberate, dragging itself towards me. I

2823
03:32:18,159 --> 03:32:23,600
couldn't move, couldn't even scream. I woke up drenched in sweat,

2824
03:32:24,079 --> 03:32:30,200
my heart raising. But it wasn't just the dream. When

2825
03:32:30,200 --> 03:32:33,559
I swung my legs out of the bed, I felt cold,

2826
03:32:33,959 --> 03:32:39,680
wet fabric. My boots were soaked, caaked with mud, and

2827
03:32:39,760 --> 03:32:46,920
there were footprints, muddy, unmistakable, leading from the door to

2828
03:32:47,040 --> 03:32:55,280
my bed. Looking back, I think the first real warning

2829
03:32:55,360 --> 03:33:02,280
sign wasn't the footsteps or the lake. It was She'd

2830
03:33:02,319 --> 03:33:04,399
been one of the first people I'd met on the job,

2831
03:33:04,959 --> 03:33:10,479
and while she wasn't exactly friendly, she was present. She

2832
03:33:10,600 --> 03:33:13,200
cracked a joke now and then talk about the hikes

2833
03:33:13,239 --> 03:33:16,559
she liked to take. But after the footsteps and the lake,

2834
03:33:17,920 --> 03:33:23,840
she changed. She was still around technically, but she wasn't

2835
03:33:23,920 --> 03:33:28,840
Lisa anymore. Her skin looked pale, like she'd been sick

2836
03:33:28,879 --> 03:33:33,559
for weeks, and her eyes I don't even know how

2837
03:33:33,600 --> 03:33:37,920
to describe it. They just didn't seem to focus, like

2838
03:33:38,040 --> 03:33:42,159
she was looking through me, not at me. She barely

2839
03:33:42,200 --> 03:33:46,280
spoke unless it was necessary, and even then her voice

2840
03:33:46,319 --> 03:33:51,959
was flat, almost mechanical. One morning, I asked her if

2841
03:33:51,959 --> 03:33:57,040
she was okay. She just shrugged and said I'm fine,

2842
03:33:57,639 --> 03:34:04,040
just tired. But she wasn't fine, And the worst part

2843
03:34:05,520 --> 03:34:13,440
Ed didn't seem surprised, if anything, he avoided her. When

2844
03:34:13,479 --> 03:34:16,159
I brought it up to Ed later, he snapped at me,

2845
03:34:17,520 --> 03:34:19,799
Ed the guy who'd spent most of my first week

2846
03:34:19,840 --> 03:34:24,159
cracking dad jokes and calling me nuby. The rules are

2847
03:34:24,159 --> 03:34:27,520
there for a reason, Nick, he said, glaring at me,

2848
03:34:27,719 --> 03:34:32,040
like I just insulted his entire family. You don't follow them,

2849
03:34:32,200 --> 03:34:37,440
and you deal with the fallout. That's it, no exceptions.

2850
03:34:38,040 --> 03:34:41,239
What kind of fallout are we talking about? I pressed,

2851
03:34:41,639 --> 03:34:47,200
what's actually happening here? You don't want to know, he muttered,

2852
03:34:47,680 --> 03:34:50,239
turning back to his coffee, like we hadn't just had

2853
03:34:50,280 --> 03:34:56,719
the most unsettling conversation of my life. Later that day,

2854
03:34:57,239 --> 03:35:00,040
I went out to patrol, trying to shake the we

2855
03:35:00,120 --> 03:35:03,520
had tension between us. It was supposed to be a

2856
03:35:03,559 --> 03:35:09,479
normal route when I'd done twice before, but something was different.

2857
03:35:11,079 --> 03:35:14,280
The trail I was on didn't feel right. The trees

2858
03:35:14,360 --> 03:35:17,760
seemed taller, like they were leaning in towards me, and

2859
03:35:17,840 --> 03:35:22,239
the air was colder than it should have been for midday. Still,

2860
03:35:22,520 --> 03:35:26,959
I pushed forward I don't know why. Maybe I was

2861
03:35:27,000 --> 03:35:32,799
hoping to find something proof that I was still in control.

2862
03:35:34,760 --> 03:35:41,120
Then I saw them, carvings in the trees. Faces they

2863
03:35:41,120 --> 03:35:44,920
were walked and stretched, their mouths open in silent screams,

2864
03:35:45,440 --> 03:35:49,680
their eyes too big, too round. They weren't there the

2865
03:35:49,760 --> 03:35:53,200
last time I'd walked this trail. I swear my life,

2866
03:35:53,280 --> 03:36:00,399
they weren't. As I stood there staring, I heard something.

2867
03:36:01,840 --> 03:36:05,360
It started as a faint whisper, like wind through the branches,

2868
03:36:06,280 --> 03:36:11,600
but it grew louder words. I couldn't make out voices,

2869
03:36:12,200 --> 03:36:17,920
dozens of them, maybe more, all overlapping. My chest tightened

2870
03:36:18,120 --> 03:36:21,079
and I turned back the way. I came, practically running

2871
03:36:21,159 --> 03:36:25,319
until I was back of the cabin. That night, the

2872
03:36:25,360 --> 03:36:31,840
scream came back, louder, closer. It didn't just echo through

2873
03:36:31,840 --> 03:36:35,120
the forest this time. It felt like it was inside

2874
03:36:35,159 --> 03:36:40,120
my head, rattling around my skull, clawing at my thoughts.

2875
03:36:40,840 --> 03:36:45,479
And then I swear to you, I heard my name.

2876
03:36:47,319 --> 03:36:51,520
It was woven into the scream, whispered at first, then louder,

2877
03:36:52,280 --> 03:36:56,159
my name, over and over, like it was begging me,

2878
03:36:56,879 --> 03:37:01,639
calling me. I grabbed my flashlight and stood by the door,

2879
03:37:01,920 --> 03:37:07,680
my hand on the handle. I almost opened it. I

2880
03:37:07,719 --> 03:37:11,760
don't know what stopped me. Maybe it was instinct, maybe

2881
03:37:11,799 --> 03:37:15,479
it was the rule. Either way, I let go of

2882
03:37:15,520 --> 03:37:22,000
the handle and stepped back, my whole body shaking. I

2883
03:37:22,200 --> 03:37:28,559
didn't sleep that night. I wish I could tell you

2884
03:37:29,079 --> 03:37:32,440
this is where it stopped. That after ignoring the scream

2885
03:37:32,520 --> 03:37:35,559
and the whispers and whatever the hell happened with the lake,

2886
03:37:36,200 --> 03:37:38,479
I just rode up my time and left the park

2887
03:37:38,600 --> 03:37:43,399
like a normal person. But that's not how it works here.

2888
03:37:45,360 --> 03:37:49,239
It was the manual that tipped me off. One morning,

2889
03:37:49,520 --> 03:37:52,280
I woke up to find it sitting on my kitchen table.

2890
03:37:53,559 --> 03:37:55,840
I swear I had left it in the drawer, but

2891
03:37:55,959 --> 03:38:00,520
there it was, right next to my untouched breakfast. I

2892
03:38:00,559 --> 03:38:03,959
thought some one had just left it out, But then

2893
03:38:04,000 --> 03:38:10,479
I saw the writing. The rules had changed. The old

2894
03:38:10,479 --> 03:38:13,920
ones were still there, ignore the screaming, don't look at

2895
03:38:13,920 --> 03:38:18,559
the lake, but new ones had appeared, scribbled in handwriting.

2896
03:38:18,719 --> 03:38:24,120
I didn't recognize. One read the cabin lights must stay

2897
03:38:24,120 --> 03:38:29,079
on after dark. Another if you hear knocking from inside

2898
03:38:29,079 --> 03:38:33,840
the walls, don't investigate. But the one that made my

2899
03:38:33,920 --> 03:38:38,760
stomach drop was at the bottom of the page. You

2900
03:38:39,120 --> 03:38:46,920
are part of the cycle. You must stay. I stared

2901
03:38:46,959 --> 03:38:50,079
at it for a long time, hoping I misread it

2902
03:38:50,280 --> 03:38:53,719
or losing my mind. Part of me wanted to crumple

2903
03:38:53,760 --> 03:38:56,760
the page, toss it in the trash, and pretend I

2904
03:38:56,799 --> 03:39:04,639
hadn't seen it. But I couldn't. Something about it felt final.

2905
03:39:06,159 --> 03:39:12,040
It wasn't instructions. I could just ignore that. Afternoon I

2906
03:39:12,120 --> 03:39:15,319
went to find Ed. He was sitting on the porch

2907
03:39:15,360 --> 03:39:19,159
of his cabin, sipping coffee like everything was fine, like

2908
03:39:19,280 --> 03:39:24,479
none of this was happening. Ed, I said, holding up

2909
03:39:24,479 --> 03:39:30,040
the manual, What the hell is this? He barely glanced

2910
03:39:30,040 --> 03:39:34,600
at it. It's the rules. Don't give me that the

2911
03:39:34,680 --> 03:39:39,399
rules are changing. Look. I flipped to the new entry,

2912
03:39:39,600 --> 03:39:43,159
shoving it toward him. What does this mean? What the

2913
03:39:43,200 --> 03:39:45,639
hell is the cycle? Why does it say I have

2914
03:39:45,719 --> 03:39:52,319
to stay? Ed didn't say anything at first, He just

2915
03:39:52,360 --> 03:39:58,280
stared at the horizon, his face unreadable. Finally he sighed

2916
03:39:58,399 --> 03:40:03,719
and put down his mug. I told you follow the rules, Nick,

2917
03:40:04,440 --> 03:40:08,479
that's all you had to do. What does that mean?

2918
03:40:09,440 --> 03:40:12,639
My voice cracked, but I didn't care. You knew this

2919
03:40:12,799 --> 03:40:15,600
was going to happen, didn't you. You knew, and you

2920
03:40:15,639 --> 03:40:21,079
didn't say anything. His eyes met mine and for the

2921
03:40:21,120 --> 03:40:26,280
first time, I saw cracks in his calm demeanor. He

2922
03:40:26,319 --> 03:40:33,319
looked tired, defeated. The rules aren't just there to keep

2923
03:40:33,360 --> 03:40:37,879
you safe, he said quietly. They're part of the agreement.

2924
03:40:39,280 --> 03:40:45,079
What agreement with the forest, he said, his voice barely

2925
03:40:45,120 --> 03:40:49,520
above a whisper. It takes what it wants. The rules

2926
03:40:49,600 --> 03:40:52,239
are how we keep it at bay. But once you

2927
03:40:52,280 --> 03:40:57,639
start breaking them, he trowled off, shaking his head. You

2928
03:40:57,719 --> 03:41:03,719
can't undo it, Nick, It's already claimed you. That night,

2929
03:41:04,360 --> 03:41:08,079
I didn't bother trying to sleep. I sat at the table,

2930
03:41:08,520 --> 03:41:12,120
the manual open in front of me. The words you

2931
03:41:12,239 --> 03:41:19,360
must stay burned into my brain. The footsteps started around midnight.

2932
03:41:20,479 --> 03:41:24,159
At first they were faint, just a soft shuffle outside

2933
03:41:24,159 --> 03:41:29,000
the cabin. Then they grew louder, circling the walls, passing

2934
03:41:29,000 --> 03:41:32,520
by the windows. I kept my eyes on the manual,

2935
03:41:32,920 --> 03:41:38,479
my foot shaking nervously, trying to focus. Then came the knocking.

2936
03:41:40,079 --> 03:41:43,680
It was slow at first, deliberate, like someone tapping their

2937
03:41:43,760 --> 03:41:47,879
knuckles against the wood. But it didn't come from the door.

2938
03:41:49,360 --> 03:41:54,479
It was inside the walls. I tried to block it out,

2939
03:41:54,840 --> 03:41:58,479
repeating the rules in my head like a prayer. But

2940
03:41:58,520 --> 03:42:03,399
then I made the mistake of looking up. My reflection

2941
03:42:03,600 --> 03:42:08,360
was in the window staring back at me. Except it

2942
03:42:08,440 --> 03:42:13,520
wasn't me. It looked like me, same face, same clothes,

2943
03:42:14,600 --> 03:42:19,440
but his expression was wrong. Its mouth curved into a grin.

2944
03:42:19,600 --> 03:42:23,159
I wasn't making its eyes darker than they should have been.

2945
03:42:24,600 --> 03:42:30,239
He raised a hand, pointing behind me. I turned around.

2946
03:42:30,799 --> 03:42:36,280
Nothing was there, but the footsteps inside the cabin didn't stop.

2947
03:42:39,280 --> 03:42:42,760
Ed came to my cabin the next morning. He didn't

2948
03:42:42,799 --> 03:42:46,000
knock or asked permission to come in, just opened the door,

2949
03:42:46,319 --> 03:42:51,399
stepped inside, and stood there like he belonged. You're taking

2950
03:42:51,440 --> 03:42:55,840
the North patrol today, he said. His voice was flat,

2951
03:42:56,239 --> 03:42:59,159
like he hadn't had that whole conversation about the cycle

2952
03:42:59,719 --> 03:43:02,600
like I had, and spent the entire night hearing footsteps

2953
03:43:02,680 --> 03:43:08,079
inside my cabin. I didn't argue. What would have been

2954
03:43:08,079 --> 03:43:11,600
the point if I refused. He'd just give me some

2955
03:43:11,680 --> 03:43:16,319
cryptic warning, maybe shoved the manual at me. I nodded

2956
03:43:16,399 --> 03:43:19,799
and grobbed my gear. The manual stayed on the table.

2957
03:43:20,840 --> 03:43:25,079
I didn't want it near me. The patrol route was

2958
03:43:25,120 --> 03:43:28,200
one of the longer ones, winding past the lake and

2959
03:43:28,239 --> 03:43:31,040
cutting through a part of the forest I'd avoided since

2960
03:43:31,079 --> 03:43:35,120
I started the job. It was in a hard trail,

2961
03:43:35,479 --> 03:43:40,280
but something about it felt heavy, like the air itself

2962
03:43:40,360 --> 03:43:45,120
was thicker, harder to breathe. I passed the lake first.

2963
03:43:45,879 --> 03:43:50,120
The surface was glassy, perfectly still, reflecting the sky like

2964
03:43:50,159 --> 03:43:54,680
a giant mirror. I kept my head down, refusing to

2965
03:43:54,719 --> 03:43:59,159
look too closely, but out of the corner of my eye,

2966
03:43:59,360 --> 03:44:06,159
I swear or something someone just beneath the surface Lisa

2967
03:44:07,319 --> 03:44:10,879
her pale face, her eyes wide, staring up at me.

2968
03:44:12,559 --> 03:44:14,479
I don't know if it was real or if my

2969
03:44:14,520 --> 03:44:18,520
mind was playing tricks, but I hurried past, not daring

2970
03:44:18,600 --> 03:44:23,399
to stop. Further down the trail, I found a flashlight

2971
03:44:23,440 --> 03:44:26,719
that belonged to Harris, another ranger, lying in the dirt.

2972
03:44:27,959 --> 03:44:32,120
It was caked with mud. The lens cracked. I picked

2973
03:44:32,120 --> 03:44:37,000
it up without thinking, then immediately dropped it. The metal

2974
03:44:37,319 --> 03:44:40,319
was ice cold, like it had been sitting in a freezer,

2975
03:44:40,799 --> 03:44:45,000
not out in the open sun. That's when I started

2976
03:44:45,040 --> 03:44:49,360
to notice the forest wasn't quiet anymore. There were faint

2977
03:44:49,399 --> 03:44:53,799
whispers coming from the trees, layered and overlapping, like a

2978
03:44:53,879 --> 03:44:58,559
hundred voices murmuring just out of earshot. I couldn't make

2979
03:44:58,600 --> 03:45:03,440
out the words, but I didn't need to. I knew

2980
03:45:04,079 --> 03:45:08,239
they were for me. By the time I reached the

2981
03:45:08,280 --> 03:45:12,760
park boundary, my legs felt like lead. The air had

2982
03:45:12,760 --> 03:45:15,799
a strange pull to it, like the forest itself was

2983
03:45:15,840 --> 03:45:19,559
holding me back. I stopped at the edge of the

2984
03:45:19,600 --> 03:45:25,680
tree line, staring out at the empty road beyond, and

2985
03:45:25,719 --> 03:45:32,120
an intrusive thought hit me. I could leave right then,

2986
03:45:32,680 --> 03:45:36,239
right there. I could drop my gear, walk out of

2987
03:45:36,280 --> 03:45:40,959
the forest and never look back. I'd lose the job, sure,

2988
03:45:41,920 --> 03:45:45,600
but I'd keep my life, my real life, the one

2989
03:45:45,639 --> 03:45:50,840
I'd had before all of this. But then I thought

2990
03:45:50,840 --> 03:45:56,440
about the manual, the rules, its warnings. The forest takes

2991
03:45:56,479 --> 03:46:00,760
what it wants, He'd said. What if leaving wasn't to escape.

2992
03:46:01,559 --> 03:46:04,520
What if I took something with me, whatever this was,

2993
03:46:04,959 --> 03:46:08,879
and it followed me home? Or worse, what if leaving

2994
03:46:08,920 --> 03:46:12,959
through everything off balance, broke the agreement and dragged someone

2995
03:46:13,000 --> 03:46:16,959
else into this nightmare. They stood there for what felt

2996
03:46:16,959 --> 03:46:21,879
like ours, staring at the road. My mind was screaming

2997
03:46:21,920 --> 03:46:27,280
at me to run, but my legs wouldn't move. The

2998
03:46:27,319 --> 03:46:31,319
whispers grew louder, circling around me, wrapping me in their

2999
03:46:31,360 --> 03:46:40,399
invisible grip, and then just like that, they stopped. The

3000
03:46:40,479 --> 03:46:48,079
forest went silent, completely, utterly silent. I turned back, my

3001
03:46:48,159 --> 03:46:53,559
heart pounding. The trees seemed taller, darker, and the trail

3002
03:46:53,639 --> 03:46:55,639
I come down looked like it had never been there

3003
03:46:55,719 --> 03:47:00,639
at all. I don't remember much about walking back to

3004
03:47:00,719 --> 03:47:04,319
the cabin. It felt like the forest that swallowed me whole,

3005
03:47:05,120 --> 03:47:07,840
and when I stepped through the door, I couldn't tell

3006
03:47:07,879 --> 03:47:11,840
if I'd escaped or walked deeper into something far worse.

3007
03:47:13,319 --> 03:47:16,879
The air inside was stale and cold. My body ate

3008
03:47:17,200 --> 03:47:21,559
like I'd run a marathon. But the exhaustion wasn't just physical.

3009
03:47:22,600 --> 03:47:26,879
It was in my bones, my mind. I locked the door,

3010
03:47:27,239 --> 03:47:31,600
bolted it twice, and sat down at the table. The

3011
03:47:31,639 --> 03:47:37,520
manual was still there waiting. I opened it, slowly, flipping

3012
03:47:37,559 --> 03:47:42,920
through the pages. The rules were the same, or at

3013
03:47:43,000 --> 03:47:47,399
least I thought they were. I read each one carefully,

3014
03:47:47,760 --> 03:47:54,200
over and over, like I was memorizing scripture. I understood

3015
03:47:54,239 --> 03:48:02,280
now the rules weren't suggestions, they weren't folklore survival. As

3016
03:48:02,319 --> 03:48:07,680
long as I followed them, I could stay. I wouldn't

3017
03:48:07,680 --> 03:48:12,799
disappear like Lisa, wouldn't dissolve into whispers like Harris. The

3018
03:48:12,879 --> 03:48:16,000
forest might have claimed me but it wouldn't take me

3019
03:48:16,239 --> 03:48:21,200
all at once. I fell into a routine after that,

3020
03:48:22,120 --> 03:48:26,239
patrol during the day, locked the door at night. I

3021
03:48:26,280 --> 03:48:29,959
didn't ask questions anymore. I didn't peek through the curtains

3022
03:48:30,000 --> 03:48:34,000
when the footsteps started. I didn't let myself think about leaving,

3023
03:48:35,079 --> 03:48:40,920
because I knew there wasn't anywhere to go. Sometimes I

3024
03:48:41,000 --> 03:48:46,360
still heard the scream. It's always distant, now muffled, like

3025
03:48:46,479 --> 03:48:51,479
it's coming from miles away. Maybe that's what happens. You

3026
03:48:51,600 --> 03:48:55,799
fade into the forest, slowly, until you're just another sound

3027
03:48:56,000 --> 03:49:00,600
in the dark. I don't know how long it's been.

3028
03:49:01,959 --> 03:49:06,520
Time gets slippery out here. The days blurred together, and

3029
03:49:06,600 --> 03:49:11,479
the nights feel endless. I've stopped counting the seasons, stop

3030
03:49:11,559 --> 03:49:15,840
looking at the calendar. The forest doesn't care about dates,

3031
03:49:17,040 --> 03:49:23,840
so why should I. But something new has changed things.

3032
03:49:24,600 --> 03:49:28,440
Last week I saw headlights through the trees, a new

3033
03:49:28,520 --> 03:49:33,000
ranger pulling into the station. I watched from a distance,

3034
03:49:33,120 --> 03:49:37,840
as ed handed in the manual. The kid looks so young,

3035
03:49:38,280 --> 03:49:43,239
so confident. I wanted to warn him, wanted to scream

3036
03:49:43,280 --> 03:49:47,920
at him to leave now while he still could. But

3037
03:49:48,040 --> 03:49:55,440
I didn't, because the forest was watching, and the rules

3038
03:49:55,600 --> 03:50:00,959
are clear he has unknowingly became I'm a player in

3039
03:50:01,040 --> 03:50:07,520
this game, and I just pray he doesn't lose