1 00:00:06,639 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: I used to work as a night clerk in a 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,759 downtown condominium. The association had a lot of security concerns 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,279 due to the way the building was constructed back in 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,440 the late sixties. Both levels of the parking garage were 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,079 accessible from street level, so there were a lot of 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,519 possible entry points, many of which were located in blind 7 00:00:25,519 --> 00:00:29,160 spots of the security camera system. For that reason, I 8 00:00:29,199 --> 00:00:31,679 was required to make two rounds around the entire building 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,159 during my shift to make sure no non residents had 10 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,439 found their way in. The most serious issue that we 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,520 had was the occasional car jacking, but what I encountered 12 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,799 most often was homeless people who had found their way 13 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,280 into the garage and were huddling in some corner for 14 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,399 a bit of shelter. Kicking them back out into the 15 00:00:48,399 --> 00:00:50,600 street was by far my least favorite part of the job, 16 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,600 but I had to do it. After working there for 17 00:00:53,719 --> 00:00:56,000 several months, I knew all the spots that people liked 18 00:00:56,039 --> 00:00:58,880 to hide in. The building was very old and had 19 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:02,439 undergone many renovations in its lifetime, which created a lot 20 00:01:02,439 --> 00:01:07,400 of nooks and crannies, unnecessary concrete protusions sealed off rooms 21 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,159 and hallways and stairs that led to nowhere. The creepiest 22 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,359 spot in the whole building was so weird and potentially 23 00:01:13,439 --> 00:01:15,480 dangerous that I took a picture of it and I 24 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,400 brought it up to management. On the first floor of 25 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,319 the garage, there was a door that opened up to 26 00:01:20,359 --> 00:01:23,480 a corridor directly underneath the ramp up to the second 27 00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:26,799 level of the garage. It was about three feet wide 28 00:01:26,799 --> 00:01:29,200 and ran about twenty to thirty feet, but it led 29 00:01:29,239 --> 00:01:31,920 to literally nowhere. At the end of it was a 30 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,560 large water pipe with a valve, which was the only 31 00:01:34,599 --> 00:01:37,840 reason the space existed. But in the dark, with just 32 00:01:37,879 --> 00:01:41,200 a weak flashlight, that pipe seemed to take many other forms. 33 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,879 What made it dangerous, however, was the lock on the door. 34 00:01:45,599 --> 00:01:48,560 There was no padlock or keyhole on either side, but 35 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,519 on the outside was a large sliding boat latch. There 36 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,560 was only one way in or out, and it locked 37 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:55,359 from the outside with no way to unlock it from 38 00:01:55,359 --> 00:01:58,920 the inside. Ever since I discovered the spot, I couldn't 39 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:00,799 help but imagine how easy it would be for someone 40 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,000 to get trapped in there. However, nothing I said to 41 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,000 management made any difference. They were already aware of it 42 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:12,639 and had no intention of doing anything about it. Unfortunately, 43 00:02:12,719 --> 00:02:14,240 that meant I would have to open the door and 44 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,719 check on it every night, but I never stepped foot 45 00:02:16,719 --> 00:02:18,879 inside of it. I was way too scared of it. 46 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,639 Things went on like that for months, and then one 47 00:02:22,719 --> 00:02:25,840 day my worst fear was realized. It was about three 48 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,680 in the morning, halfway through my shift. I was doing 49 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:30,919 my rounds in the parking garage and everything was normal. 50 00:02:31,879 --> 00:02:34,120 It was a slow Wednesday night. There hadn't been any 51 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,319 problems or suspicious activity on the cameras, so I was 52 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,719 far from on edge at the time. But then, in 53 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,639 one moment, I was forced to go on alert. I 54 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:44,919 heard the sound of a door slamming across the garage. 55 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,879 I wasn't exactly sure where it was, so I walked 56 00:02:47,879 --> 00:02:51,319 over to investigate. My heart sank a bit when I 57 00:02:51,319 --> 00:02:53,159 saw that the door to the dead end hallway was 58 00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:56,039 wide open. I looked around to see if anyone was 59 00:02:56,039 --> 00:02:58,840 in the garage, but I appeared to be alone. I 60 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,360 shout out to intimidate any if they were hiding somewhere 61 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,400 I couldn't see, but I got no response and nobody appeared. 62 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,599 I was just worried that there was somebody hiding in 63 00:03:07,599 --> 00:03:11,000 the dead end hallway, so I walked the rest of 64 00:03:11,039 --> 00:03:14,080 the way. I shined my flashlight down the hallway, and 65 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,479 for a moment, I was relieved to see that nobody 66 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,080 was in there. There was, however, an empty glass bottle 67 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,199 about ten feet inside. I sighed and rolled my eyes, 68 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,400 thinking that somebody had been drinking in there, and they 69 00:03:26,479 --> 00:03:28,680 ran out in a hurry once they saw me snooping around, 70 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,840 accidentally making noise as they rushed. It wouldn't have been 71 00:03:32,879 --> 00:03:34,800 that hard for somebody to climb up on the car's 72 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,919 park there, to get above the wall and hop the 73 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,479 fence into the neighboring parking lot by the time I 74 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,879 got there, since the garage was partially underground in that spot. 75 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:45,599 In fact, that's how a lot of people get in, 76 00:03:45,759 --> 00:03:47,840 because the dead end hallway happened to be in a 77 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,879 prominent blind spot of the cameras. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed 78 00:03:51,919 --> 00:03:53,800 to leave trash anywhere if I saw it, so I 79 00:03:53,879 --> 00:03:56,599 knew I had to pick up that bottle. Of course, 80 00:03:56,639 --> 00:03:59,039 I felt the anxiety bubbling up inside my gut just 81 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,080 for knowing I had to walk a few steps inside 82 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,759 that hallway. I almost didn't do it, but I rationalized 83 00:04:04,759 --> 00:04:07,159 myself into thinking there was no way somebody would pop 84 00:04:07,199 --> 00:04:10,039 out and lock me in. I took a deep breath 85 00:04:10,039 --> 00:04:12,479 and stepped inside, but right as I reached the bottle, 86 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,800 the door slam shut. I immediately ran back to the door, 87 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,920 but by the time I got there, it was already locked. 88 00:04:18,879 --> 00:04:21,160 I started banging on the door and screaming for help, 89 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:24,600 but there was nobody there. I felt like I was 90 00:04:24,639 --> 00:04:28,360 being buried alive, like I could barely breathe. If it 91 00:04:28,399 --> 00:04:30,240 weren't for my flashlight, I would have been in some 92 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,839 deep trouble. I wouldn't have been able to see a thing. 93 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,319 Once I realized I wasn't getting out anytime soon, I 94 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,639 reached for my phone so my utter heartbreak. However, there 95 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,079 was no service at all. The walls were made of 96 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,920 cinder blocks and the door was made of metal. Plus 97 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,120 the entire six story building was on top of me. 98 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,040 No matter what I tried, I couldn't call nine one one. 99 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,759 There was absolutely nothing I could do. I was completely stuck. 100 00:04:55,639 --> 00:04:57,519 The only way I was getting out was if somebody 101 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,199 opened the door from the outside. But it was three 102 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,439 in the morning, and it would be hours before anybody 103 00:05:02,519 --> 00:05:05,000 left for work in the morning, and during that time, 104 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:07,639 whoever trapped me was doing whatever they pleased in the 105 00:05:07,639 --> 00:05:11,959 parking garage. Heard several car alarms go off, and I 106 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,920 knew what was happening. Somehow, they all turned off after 107 00:05:15,959 --> 00:05:19,040 a few minutes. I kept banging on the door and shouting, 108 00:05:19,079 --> 00:05:23,360 but nobody came. After a while. If I'm being completely honest, 109 00:05:23,399 --> 00:05:25,519 I gave up that I would be free anytime soon, 110 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,759 and I just focused on staying calm. I sat down 111 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:31,680 against the wall and I turned off my flashlight to 112 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,519 save the battery, but only after making sure I was 113 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,000 completely alone. Every few minutes, I banged on the door 114 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,839 a bunch of times. It took me like two hours, 115 00:05:40,879 --> 00:05:43,079 but finally I managed to get the attention of somebody 116 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,279 going to work early in the morning. I thank them 117 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:48,319 as they let me out, but unfortunately, the next thing 118 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,279 I had to do was call the cops because I 119 00:05:50,319 --> 00:05:52,480 quickly noticed that a dozen cars had been broken into. 120 00:05:53,519 --> 00:05:55,680 There was broken glass all over the parking lot from 121 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,480 all the windows that had been shattered. Whoever it was 122 00:05:58,519 --> 00:06:01,279 knew exactly what they were doing. They knew how to 123 00:06:01,319 --> 00:06:03,040 trap me in there, and they knew how to silence 124 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,240 the alarms of the cars they were breaking into. We 125 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,639 only have security guards on the weekends, and it left 126 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,560 us vulnerable on a seemingly benin Wednesday. All in all, 127 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:14,959 there were tens of thousands of dollars done in damages 128 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,199 and theft, and I was fired from my job. Not 129 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,040 like I would want to go back anyway. Culprit was 130 00:06:21,079 --> 00:06:23,199 never identified on the cameras and it was never caught. 131 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,720 During the summer last year, I chose to not take 132 00:06:32,759 --> 00:06:34,839 any classes and I got a job at a gas 133 00:06:34,879 --> 00:06:38,639 station right next to my college campus. I was sort 134 00:06:38,639 --> 00:06:40,759 of delusioned with school and wanted to make some money 135 00:06:40,759 --> 00:06:43,759 while I had time off. The gas station was one 136 00:06:43,759 --> 00:06:45,519 of the first places I'd tried applying to, and it 137 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:47,519 turned out to be the last. When they hired me 138 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,920 on the spot, I thought it was a little weird, 139 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,879 but I didn't question it. Unfortunately, they said they only 140 00:06:53,879 --> 00:06:55,879 wanted me for the night shift, which was from eleven 141 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,360 PM to seven AM. I knew it would wreck I 142 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:02,959 already messed up sleep schedule, but I decided to go 143 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,439 for and just see how it went. To my surprise, 144 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,040 most of the time it wasn't that bad. The first 145 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,199 few hours of the shift were pretty busy and it 146 00:07:11,199 --> 00:07:13,759 would get crazy, but then it would always get really 147 00:07:13,759 --> 00:07:16,279 slow until about five in the morning, which gave me 148 00:07:16,319 --> 00:07:19,240 plenty of time to clean, stock the shelves and chill 149 00:07:19,279 --> 00:07:23,879 out until the morning rush. Occasionally somebody suspicious or problematic 150 00:07:23,879 --> 00:07:26,199 would wander in, but I never had anything get too 151 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,879 out of hand with hours of course, until something did happen. 152 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,839 It was a Thursday, which wasn't usually a busy night. 153 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,160 I had a coworker until about midnight, then they went 154 00:07:38,199 --> 00:07:41,879 home and I was left alone. Time went by pretty fast, 155 00:07:41,959 --> 00:07:45,000 and before I knew it, it was almost two am. That's 156 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,399 around the time a man walked in and I immediately 157 00:07:47,439 --> 00:07:50,439 had a bad feeling about him. He had a shaved 158 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:52,639 head and a bunch of tattoos of weird symbols, so 159 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,000 I was pretty sure he was a skinhead. I noticed 160 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,439 he had parked his dirty, old lifted pickup truck in 161 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,319 the handicap spot, too, but I didn't want to get 162 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,360 on his case about it, and I ended up getting 163 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,879 called slurs because I looked Jewish to him. It was 164 00:08:06,879 --> 00:08:09,000 one p fifty eight when he walked in, and he 165 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,519 spent a few minutes wandering around the store. In the end, 166 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:14,279 though all he brought up to buy was a case 167 00:08:14,319 --> 00:08:18,720 of beer. However, by then it was two oh one, 168 00:08:19,639 --> 00:08:21,279 and my county has a law that says all call 169 00:08:21,319 --> 00:08:25,519 can't be purchased between two am and six am. I 170 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,480 told the man that and politely and apologetically as I could, 171 00:08:28,519 --> 00:08:32,159 that he couldn't buy the beer. He immediately became agitated 172 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:33,679 and went off on a rant about how it was 173 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,600 a free country and that was a stupid law. I 174 00:08:37,639 --> 00:08:39,600 tried my best to reason with him, and I said 175 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,679 that I was just trying to do my job, but 176 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,799 this only made him start to criticize me, like I 177 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,799 was some kind of spineless pond for my boss. That's 178 00:08:47,799 --> 00:08:49,200 when I asked him to leave if he was going 179 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,440 to be that way. Then he suddenly changed his tone again, 180 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,399 acting all chummy and saying it wasn't a big deal 181 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:57,320 and that I should bend the rules for just a 182 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,960 few minutes since it was before two when he walked in. 183 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:02,799 I mean, he kind of did make a good point, 184 00:09:02,879 --> 00:09:05,279 so I eventually a cave just so he would get out. 185 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,679 I sold him in the case of beer, and then 186 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:09,879 of course he asked for a pack of cigarettes to 187 00:09:09,919 --> 00:09:12,879 go with it. I let him have it, as there 188 00:09:12,919 --> 00:09:16,720 was no rule against tobacco sales. He smiled at me 189 00:09:16,759 --> 00:09:18,759 and then left the store, and I breathed a sigh 190 00:09:18,759 --> 00:09:23,559 of relief. But that relief was short lived. However, thought 191 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,039 he would get in his truck and leave, but instead 192 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,440 he opened the tailgate and sat down in the truck bed, 193 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,360 cracked open a can of beer and started drinking it. Now, 194 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,200 I had a feeling that this was far from over, 195 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,159 and that was exactly the case, because a few minutes later, 196 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,360 another truck pulled up right next to his, and a 197 00:09:40,399 --> 00:09:42,919 couple of guys got out, both of them with shaved 198 00:09:42,919 --> 00:09:45,840 heads and tattoos. They stood around the back of the 199 00:09:45,879 --> 00:09:49,159 first guy's truck, just smoking and drinking. I knew I 200 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:50,600 had to go out there and tell them that they 201 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:52,840 couldn't loiter in front of the store, and that it 202 00:09:52,879 --> 00:09:55,080 was illegal to drink out in the open like that anyway, 203 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,519 especially that close to a car. But I was a 204 00:09:58,519 --> 00:10:02,120 little scared already. They kept looking in the window at me. 205 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,919 It's just smirking as if they knew what I was thinking, 206 00:10:05,039 --> 00:10:06,759 and they were challenging me to try to try it 207 00:10:07,639 --> 00:10:10,320 before I could find the courage. Though, another car, this 208 00:10:10,399 --> 00:10:13,080 time an SUV, pulled in next to the two of them, 209 00:10:13,159 --> 00:10:15,120 and two more guys got out and joined the others. 210 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,879 They were all a part of the same skinhead group 211 00:10:17,919 --> 00:10:21,200 without a doubt. My guess is they were coming from 212 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,080 a bar that had just closed and didn't want to 213 00:10:23,159 --> 00:10:26,440 end the night yet. That was the most reasonable and 214 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,799 most likely explanation, but my paranoid thoughts made me think 215 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,120 they were about to get together and burn down the store. 216 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,879 His owner's wife was Mexican. And then the first guy 217 00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:38,879 came back into the store. He was drunker than before 218 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,080 and all smiles, but then he came back to the 219 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,879 register with another case of beer. I was about to 220 00:10:44,879 --> 00:10:46,720 tell him he definitely couldn't buy at that time, but 221 00:10:46,759 --> 00:10:49,200 before I could even open my mouth, he looked at 222 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,639 me all smug and said I really wouldn't want to 223 00:10:51,639 --> 00:10:54,919 disappoint him and all of his friends. I took that 224 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,840 as a pretty solid threat, and I let him do 225 00:10:56,879 --> 00:10:59,799 what he wanted again. My hands were shaking and I 226 00:10:59,879 --> 00:11:02,120 was dreading having to count change in front of him, 227 00:11:02,399 --> 00:11:03,919 But then he told me to keep the change, like 228 00:11:03,919 --> 00:11:07,720 he was giving me some kind of big tip. He 229 00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:10,240 walked back outside and all the skinheads cheered at the 230 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,120 fresh case of beer. Apparently they had worked together and 231 00:11:14,159 --> 00:11:16,919 finished all twenty four cans of the previous one, and 232 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,840 then I realized that they had been tossing the empty 233 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:21,919 cans all over the ground and kicking them around. It 234 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,240 felt like I was completely stuck with these pricks, and 235 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,240 I knew I would get in trouble over it at 236 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,879 the best, or get literally ganged up on and have 237 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,320 any manner of horrible things done to me just for 238 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,799 saying no to them. What normal person would see the 239 00:11:34,879 --> 00:11:37,799 meeting of a bunch of drunk skinheads smoking cheap cigarettes 240 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,320 on top of their pickup trucks in front of a 241 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,080 store in the middle of the night and still want 242 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,399 to walk past them to get in. Pretty much nobody, 243 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,360 not a single person except more of the skinheads. Finally, 244 00:11:51,399 --> 00:11:54,000 I couldn't take it anymore. I walked up and I 245 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,600 locked the door so they couldn't get back in. Then 246 00:11:56,639 --> 00:11:58,559 I walked back in the office and called the police. 247 00:12:00,039 --> 00:12:02,200 Several minutes later, a cruiser showed up and told him 248 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,159 to screw off. There was some shouting outside that I 249 00:12:05,159 --> 00:12:07,120 couldn't quite make out, but I was worried for a 250 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,720 few minutes that things would escalate. Thankfully, they left without 251 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:12,679 causing too much of a scene. But I have no 252 00:12:12,759 --> 00:12:15,759 idea how close it got. The cop waited for them 253 00:12:15,759 --> 00:12:19,080 to leave before doing so himself. Right before he got 254 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:20,519 in his way, I came out and asked him to 255 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,600 stay awhile while I cleaned up their mess case. I 256 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:25,399 decided to show up and kick my ass for ruing 257 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:29,320 their little party. The next day, I unfortunately had to 258 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,519 quit that job. There was nothing more terrifying to me 259 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,879 than the thought of being stuck behind that register. Those guys, ever, 260 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:39,679 decided to come back. Still, I kind of get worried 261 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:41,200 that one of them will see me around town and 262 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,600 recognize me. Don't know what those people are all capable of. 263 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:47,399 All I know is my town is full of dudes 264 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:55,879 like that, and they're always causing problems. Years ago, I 265 00:12:55,919 --> 00:12:58,279 worked as a barista at a locally owned coffee shop 266 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,320 that doubles as a popular venue for local artists and 267 00:13:01,399 --> 00:13:05,799 musicians to host all sorts of small time gigs. Even today, 268 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,080 it gets most of its business in the evenings during 269 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,440 the open mics, and it stays open until two in 270 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,879 the morning. However, when I worked there pre twenty twenty, 271 00:13:13,919 --> 00:13:16,519 they were open twenty four to seven from Thursday to Sunday. 272 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,039 For the most part, everyone that worked there hated the 273 00:13:20,039 --> 00:13:23,399 graveyard shift. It was easy hours, but the tips were abysmal, 274 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:28,320 as barely anyone came in. As far as myself was considered, however, 275 00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:31,399 I didn't mind the lower pay. What I hated was 276 00:13:31,399 --> 00:13:33,639 being alone and running the only place that was still 277 00:13:33,639 --> 00:13:36,879 open for miles. The shop was in a good part 278 00:13:36,879 --> 00:13:39,600 of town, if not a little close to a bad part, 279 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:41,919 But the fact of the matter is that there's really 280 00:13:41,919 --> 00:13:43,679 no such thing as a good side of town during 281 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,759 these overnight hours. That is, if we're being completely honest. 282 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,159 I was advised to never keep more than fifty dollars 283 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,399 in the drawer during the graveyard shift. For a reason, 284 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:55,559 I was always afraid that somebody would drag me into 285 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:57,840 the back of the store. So every time I was 286 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,159 scheduled for the overnight shift, I asked one of my 287 00:14:00,159 --> 00:14:02,840 male friends to come hang out with me. The one 288 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,600 guy that would help me more than anyone else was 289 00:14:04,639 --> 00:14:07,600 named Nick. It usually turned out to be a good time. 290 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,159 I made some money and I slipped him some beers 291 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:12,759 under the table, and of course I felt much more 292 00:14:12,799 --> 00:14:16,279 comfortable not being a woman on her own Nick would 293 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,279 work on his laptop while I was busy, and we 294 00:14:18,279 --> 00:14:21,320 would talk when things were slow. We had been friends 295 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,519 for a while, but we became close after spending a 296 00:14:23,519 --> 00:14:29,279 lot of time together. It was always platonic, though Nick 297 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,000 was also friends with many of my co workers, and 298 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,080 lots of us joked that Nick knew so much about 299 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,440 the coffee shop that he might as well work there himself, 300 00:14:37,159 --> 00:14:39,080 but he always laughed it off and said his career 301 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,080 in photography was more important, which we always gave him 302 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,759 a hard time for. I didn't really think there would 303 00:14:44,759 --> 00:14:47,480 ever be any bad blood between us, and if there was, 304 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:49,600 I was sure it would be because we slipped up 305 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,559 and had an awkward one night stand. But then came 306 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,240 a slow Saturday night in the summer of twenty nineteen, 307 00:14:56,279 --> 00:14:58,879 I was working the last overnight shift of the weekend. 308 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,120 I had worked the last two nights in a row 309 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,519 without Nick because he had bailed on me to go 310 00:15:03,559 --> 00:15:07,159 to a wedding for one of his family members. I 311 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:08,960 managed to get another friend of mine to fill in 312 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,879 for him for Thursday and Friday, but on Saturday night 313 00:15:12,919 --> 00:15:16,159 they were too tired and never showed up. I was 314 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,279 anxious about being alone in the shop, but I knew 315 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,519 I could manage. Thankfully, it was surprisingly so that night 316 00:15:22,519 --> 00:15:24,759 for some reason, and by three I had only made 317 00:15:24,799 --> 00:15:27,200 ten dollars in tips, but I was glad I didn't 318 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,639 have to deal with any crazy people. Unfortunately, that's when 319 00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:34,159 things took a dark turn. Shop was completely empty except 320 00:15:34,159 --> 00:15:36,600 for me. I was putting a batch of coffee into 321 00:15:36,639 --> 00:15:38,519 the roaster when out of the corner of my eye, 322 00:15:38,559 --> 00:15:41,799 I saw a figure walk past the front window. I 323 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,440 glanced over, but there was nobody there. I waited for 324 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:47,799 someone to come around to the back door, which customers 325 00:15:47,799 --> 00:15:50,559 could also use, but a full minute had passed now 326 00:15:50,639 --> 00:15:54,080 and nobody came. Stuck around by the register for a 327 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,840 few more minutes, but after nobody showed up for a while, 328 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,080 I decided it was time to mount the floors. I 329 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:01,960 went into the back to fill up the mop bucket, 330 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,480 and of course, as soon as I turned the faucet on, 331 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,519 I heard somebody come in through the front door. I 332 00:16:08,559 --> 00:16:10,559 shadowed that I would be with him in just a minute. 333 00:16:10,879 --> 00:16:12,919 Then I finished filling up the bucket and rolled it 334 00:16:12,919 --> 00:16:16,759 out behind the counter. When I got there, whoever came 335 00:16:16,799 --> 00:16:20,480 in had disappeared. I shrugged it off just figuring they 336 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,960 had gone straight to the bathroom, and then I started 337 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,360 mopping behind the counter. The strangers feeling hovered over me, 338 00:16:27,399 --> 00:16:30,080 though I couldn't place what it was, but I knew 339 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,960 something was wrong. The first thing I looked at was 340 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,879 the drawer, but it hadn't been broken into. Even then 341 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:38,639 that would have been loud enough for me to hear 342 00:16:38,679 --> 00:16:41,360 over the running water. I leaned over the bar and 343 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,600 checked to the bathroom doors. The men's room door was 344 00:16:44,639 --> 00:16:46,840 closed and the light was on, so I knew somebody 345 00:16:46,879 --> 00:16:50,759 was in there. My stomach churned slightly as I knew 346 00:16:50,759 --> 00:16:53,000 it was a man in there, but so far I 347 00:16:53,039 --> 00:16:55,320 had no real reason to think anything was wrong, so 348 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,840 I just kept on mopping. When I finally got finished 349 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,360 beare behind the counter, the bathroom door opened in To 350 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,839 my surprise, Nick walked out. I immediately felt a sense 351 00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:08,640 of relief, but I had to ask him what he 352 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,759 was doing there. He explained that he just got home 353 00:17:11,799 --> 00:17:14,200 from the wedding and thought he'd stop buy and say hi. 354 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,720 I was grateful that he decided to show up, so 355 00:17:17,759 --> 00:17:19,319 I told him he could have whatever he wanted on 356 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,880 the house. So I got behind the espresso machine and 357 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,799 got to work pulling a shot. I packed the grounds 358 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:29,240 into the portafilter and locked it into the machine, then 359 00:17:29,319 --> 00:17:32,279 looked over to say something to Nick. But whatever I 360 00:17:32,319 --> 00:17:36,119 was thinking of saying was immediately forgotten, and his facial 361 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,039 expression had gone from friendly to devilish in just a 362 00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:42,400 moment of time. And suddenly a wave of chills went 363 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,440 through my body. What are you doing? I asked, fighting 364 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,640 back trembling. Nick grinned like a psychopath and pulled a 365 00:17:49,759 --> 00:17:52,799 knife out from behind his back. I'm finally going to 366 00:17:52,799 --> 00:17:55,240 bang the barista, he said, as he started to laugh. 367 00:17:56,319 --> 00:17:59,680 Don't be crazy, I shouted, We're friends. What about the cameras? 368 00:18:01,279 --> 00:18:05,400 Nick began walking forward, forcing me to backpedal. We are friends, 369 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,079 he said, and nobody will believe you because the cameras 370 00:18:08,079 --> 00:18:11,000 aren't even on. They never are. How do you not 371 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,640 know that? I knew. At this point, I was being 372 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:15,559 pushed into the back of the shop, and my throat 373 00:18:15,559 --> 00:18:18,640 started to close up. It was also in that moment, 374 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,079 when I looked for an exit that I realized he 375 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,759 had locked both the doors and turned the open sign off, 376 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,640 keeping anybody from coming in. Your boss already thinks we 377 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,039 do this every night. Nick pressed on, inching closer and closer. 378 00:18:32,279 --> 00:18:35,079 Stop it, I shouted in desperation, looking for something to 379 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:37,680 defend myself, trying to not slip on the wet floor. 380 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,079 Shut up, he screamed. You should have been giving this 381 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:44,559 to me for months already, not know how much time 382 00:18:44,599 --> 00:18:47,559 I wasted on you. I was pleading and about to 383 00:18:47,599 --> 00:18:50,160 be cornered. The last hope I had was something on 384 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,839 the sandwich counter. The last moment before he pushed me 385 00:18:53,839 --> 00:18:56,240 out of sight into the back of a shop, I 386 00:18:56,279 --> 00:18:58,599 grabbed for the panini press and ripped it off the table, 387 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,079 slamming the corner of the metal against the side of 388 00:19:01,079 --> 00:19:04,160 his head. He tried to block me and sliced open 389 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,039 my arm, but I connected the hit and combined with 390 00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:09,240 the water on the floor, the blow knocked him off 391 00:19:09,279 --> 00:19:13,000 of his feet. I wasted zero seconds and climbing over 392 00:19:13,039 --> 00:19:15,240 the counter and rushing out of the back door and 393 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:17,799 into my car while I locked myself in and called 394 00:19:17,839 --> 00:19:21,079 to the police. It wasn't until I thought about driving 395 00:19:21,079 --> 00:19:22,920 off that I realized Nick had parked his car in 396 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,559 front of mine to deliberately keep me from getting away. 397 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,319 Moments later, while I was on the phone with the operator, 398 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:31,359 he came outside and attempted to break his way into 399 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,160 my car. After he failed to do so for several minutes, 400 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,319 he gave up and drove off not long before the 401 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:41,400 police arrived. I was treated for my wound, and I 402 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,480 gave my statement about what happened. I didn't leave out 403 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,039 a single detail. I was too much in a state 404 00:19:47,079 --> 00:19:50,240 of shock to be even in disbelief. As it turns out, 405 00:19:50,279 --> 00:19:52,319 he was right about the cameras inside the shop just 406 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:55,720 being for show. However, nobody thought I was lying about 407 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,799 what he did. Unfortunately, though, due to civil liabilities on 408 00:19:59,799 --> 00:20:02,720 the part of my employer, and more importantly the fact 409 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,000 that Nick completely up and disappeared after posting bell, I 410 00:20:06,039 --> 00:20:09,839 decided to drop the charges. Came to the conclusion not 411 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,920 long after that he'd already ruined his life sufficiently and 412 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,200 I simply didn't care enough to do anything else about it. 413 00:20:16,519 --> 00:20:18,519 Nobody has seen or heard from Nick and years, and 414 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,480 the coffee shop has since stopped staying open overnight. People 415 00:20:22,559 --> 00:20:24,519 might think I quit because of what happened, but I 416 00:20:24,559 --> 00:20:31,160 actually continued to work there until just a few months ago. 417 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,440 Before I moved out of my hometown, I was working 418 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,680 as a waiter at waffle house. Chose to work the 419 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:40,759 third shift because I had the best hourly pay and 420 00:20:40,799 --> 00:20:43,319 brought in pretty good tips due to us being the 421 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:45,720 only twenty four to seven diner in the entire town. 422 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,720 It took me about a year to save up enough money, 423 00:20:49,759 --> 00:20:51,599 though to rent a place in the city and get 424 00:20:51,599 --> 00:20:53,960 out of the middle of nowhere. But in that time 425 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:56,039 I saw quite a few things that still stick with 426 00:20:56,079 --> 00:20:59,240 me to this day. By and large, most of the 427 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,720 customers I had were truckers and other random people traveling 428 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,039 on the Interstate through the middle of the night. The 429 00:21:06,079 --> 00:21:09,119 town was just a stopover point, not a destination as much. 430 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,880 The quote unquote locals consisted of farmers and ranchers from 431 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,880 the surrounding area and anyone else like me worked in 432 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,240 the fast food and hotel chains clustered around the interstate exit, 433 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,720 the final one yet the most characteristic residents of that 434 00:21:23,759 --> 00:21:28,400 depressing cesspit of a town where the vagrants, hitchhikers, tweakers, 435 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:32,440 and destitute opportunists that had been strand with us. They 436 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,519 could be stuck there from anywhere to a few days 437 00:21:34,519 --> 00:21:37,480 to several years, clinging to the parking lots and awnings 438 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:40,079 that were the only meager shelter for dozens of miles 439 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,880 in any direction, panhandling for whatever they could until they 440 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,519 got lucky enough to get a ride to somewhere else. Really, 441 00:21:47,599 --> 00:21:49,960 the only stressful part of my job was dealing with 442 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,960 these people. In the beginning, I tried to be empathetic, 443 00:21:53,759 --> 00:21:57,160 after all, they are human. However, it didn't take long 444 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,759 to end up like my usual coworker, the cook that 445 00:21:59,799 --> 00:22:02,119 had been there for fifteen years and had seen just 446 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,000 about everything. His name was Carl, and the only thing 447 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,119 separating him from them was a steady position at the grill. 448 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,400 Nobody ever got a chair thrown at them, as far 449 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,799 as I know, but Karl was prone to throwing turners 450 00:22:14,799 --> 00:22:17,240 and other utensils at anyone who got in his bad side. 451 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,960 I usually followed his lead based on his body language. 452 00:22:21,599 --> 00:22:25,079 He knew who was trouble and who wasn't. However, even 453 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,640 with Carl as reliable backup, things sometimes got out of hand. 454 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,359 There there was this one night that I'll never forget. 455 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,759 I don't remember what day of the week it was, 456 00:22:33,799 --> 00:22:35,920 but all I know was that I had been unusually 457 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,279 slow that night. It was around four o'clock in the 458 00:22:39,279 --> 00:22:41,720 morning when this guy walked in, and even I knew 459 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,559 something was not right about him. He was wearing soiled 460 00:22:44,599 --> 00:22:47,839 clothes and a completely torn up jacket, covered head to 461 00:22:47,839 --> 00:22:50,480 toe and dust, and he was in a completely panicked 462 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,079 state of mind. The weird thing was that he said 463 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,079 nothing as he ran past us, clutching his right arm 464 00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:01,359 to his chest and immediately locking himself in the bathroom. 465 00:23:01,599 --> 00:23:03,599 Carl and I rolled our eyes at the same time. 466 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,559 Here we go again, we thought, although I think we 467 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,160 both had a feeling this wasn't a regular hobo bathroom 468 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,119 emergency or a tweaker looking for a private place to 469 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:17,119 do their thing. That's when I asked Carl, doesn't he 470 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,839 kind of look familiar. He brushed it off at first, 471 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,599 but then after a short conversation, we realized that he 472 00:23:24,599 --> 00:23:27,720 had been inside about two hours ago, desperately asking all 473 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,680 the customers for rides, until eventually we had to kick 474 00:23:30,759 --> 00:23:34,319 him out for being a disturbance. It seemed he obviously 475 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:36,839 hadn't have any luck on getting a ride, but something 476 00:23:36,839 --> 00:23:40,920 else had happened to him too. I became worried if 477 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,720 that guy needed help, it would be a while before 478 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,119 an ambulance could get to him, and even longer for 479 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,119 them to take him to a hospital. Carl told me 480 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,079 to take care of it, so I ran the check 481 00:23:51,079 --> 00:23:52,759 for the only customer we had in the store at 482 00:23:52,759 --> 00:23:55,400 the time and got them on their way. When I 483 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:57,200 took to bathroom keys and went to check on our 484 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,319 stranger in distress, I knocked on the door prey loud 485 00:24:00,319 --> 00:24:03,960 and asked if everything was okay. There was a pause, 486 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,200 then finally a distraught voice answered me. I think I'm 487 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,200 really hurt. I just need a ride. Suddenly I knew 488 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,000 something was seriously wrong. The sound of his voice made 489 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,880 the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 490 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,359 I fumbled with the key ring as I told him 491 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,960 I was about to open the door. Sir, if you 492 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,039 need help, I have to come in there. I shouted, no, 493 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,440 The stranger screamed, you have to come get me. I 494 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,480 stopped for a second, confused, but then I snapped out 495 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:34,880 of it and shoved the key in the lock and 496 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,480 turned it. Then opened the door to a terrifying sight. 497 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:44,200 The bathroom was empty, completely empty, no injured man, no blood, 498 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,559 no dust, just nothing. It was as clean as it 499 00:24:48,599 --> 00:24:51,000 had been since I last cleaned it, as if nobody 500 00:24:51,039 --> 00:24:54,279 had been in there at all. In fact, it even 501 00:24:54,279 --> 00:24:58,359 looked cleaner than that. What's going on in there, Karl 502 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,519 shouted from the kitchen. I was just at a loss. 503 00:25:02,799 --> 00:25:05,039 I let the bathroom door close and I stepped back. 504 00:25:05,839 --> 00:25:09,240 I looked at Carl and told him the truth. There's 505 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:13,680 nobody in there, I said, don't give me that. Carl shouted, 506 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,599 see for yourself, I told him, and he did. He 507 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,960 stormed over and barge to the bathroom door. I saw 508 00:25:21,039 --> 00:25:23,039 him go blank, just like I did when he saw it, 509 00:25:23,559 --> 00:25:27,759 the impossible absence of a person. He turned around and 510 00:25:27,799 --> 00:25:32,519 looked inside the woman's room too, but again nothing nobody. 511 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,720 In raw disbelief, we gathered ourselves behind the counter. We 512 00:25:37,799 --> 00:25:40,880 interrogated each other uselessly, thinking one of us must have 513 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,720 let him slip by unnoticed. However, we both knew we 514 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:46,880 had been on high alert since the second he came in. 515 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,680 There was no way neither of us would have not 516 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,000 noticed him leaving. With then a fraction of a second, 517 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,559 our conversation ended as we both saw the same thing 518 00:25:55,559 --> 00:25:59,039 out of the corner of our eyes. Stranger was somehow 519 00:25:59,039 --> 00:26:02,759 outside looking at us through the window. He still had 520 00:26:02,799 --> 00:26:06,160 his right arm stuffed out of sight, but Now as 521 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,039 we got more of an eye full of his face 522 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,720 than we ever wanted to, he saw that wasn't his 523 00:26:10,799 --> 00:26:14,119 only problem. His face was bloody, like he had been 524 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,240 hit with a brick. His nose was broken into and 525 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,680 lip was split and missing a piece, showing us his 526 00:26:20,799 --> 00:26:24,440 cracked and missing teeth. One of his eyes seemed completely 527 00:26:24,519 --> 00:26:28,160 swollen over, but the one that was open was gushing blood. 528 00:26:29,079 --> 00:26:31,680 Karl and I didn't move a muscle. He didn't even 529 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:35,839 breathe for a second. After a few horrible seconds of 530 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,519 realizing what was happening, I finally thought to call nine 531 00:26:38,559 --> 00:26:41,279 one one, But as soon as the idea occurred to me, 532 00:26:41,519 --> 00:26:44,880 the man started to move. He turned to the side 533 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,559 and started to limp across the big front window. We 534 00:26:48,599 --> 00:26:51,680 watched him in silence. He made it all the way 535 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:53,920 to the corner of the window, where it wrapped around 536 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,640 to the other side. On the hell, I whispered, only 537 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,839 for Karl to quickly shush me. Was at that moment 538 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,240 I saw he had gone pale and wide eyed, which 539 00:27:03,279 --> 00:27:07,240 only terrified me even more. Something about this man had 540 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,200 gotten through Karl's defenses, and that meant we were not prepared. 541 00:27:11,799 --> 00:27:13,960 Before we could say anything, else, we heard a crash 542 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,000 from the back room. We both ran inside and searched 543 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,720 for the source of the noise. It was coming from 544 00:27:19,759 --> 00:27:22,920 the walk in freezer. Somebody was tearing things up and 545 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,240 freaking out. Karl ran up there and threw open the door, 546 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,640 and there he was that guy. He had ripped open 547 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,519 a box of burger patties and was clutching a handful 548 00:27:33,559 --> 00:27:36,880 of meat, pressing it to his right arm like an iceback. 549 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:41,680 When he saw us, he froze, the patties, dropped from 550 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,960 his hand and revealed the condition of his arm. His 551 00:27:45,079 --> 00:27:47,440 hand was stuck in a thumbs up position, but his 552 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,599 wrist had been snapped clean off, and his hand was 553 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:52,559 dangling from the rest of his arm by a thread 554 00:27:52,559 --> 00:27:57,279 of skin. After a terrifying moment of deer and headlights stairs, 555 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,759 the stranger bolted from the freezer, crashed through both me 556 00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:04,200 and Carl. He sprinted outside, screaming before we had a 557 00:28:04,279 --> 00:28:07,359 chance to react. I stumbled to my feet as Karl 558 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:09,359 ran out to the dining area and locked the front 559 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,559 doors and switched off all the lights. Then he pushed 560 00:28:12,559 --> 00:28:14,720 me back into the back room and started yelling at me, 561 00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:19,839 how could you leave the back door unlocked. He yelled, no, look, 562 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,839 it's still locked. I pointed to the back door, and 563 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:28,400 sure enough it was locked. Now absolutely nothing was making sense, 564 00:28:28,559 --> 00:28:31,599 but we gave up on trying to decipher it. For 565 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:33,519 the rest of the night, until the sun came up 566 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,039 and the morning crew came in, we kept the doors 567 00:28:36,079 --> 00:28:38,839 locked and stayed out of sight. When we were finally 568 00:28:38,839 --> 00:28:40,920 freed from our nightmare of a shift and set out 569 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,519 into the world, we noticed the train of police and 570 00:28:43,559 --> 00:28:48,119 paramedics on the freeway right outside of town. We asked around, 571 00:28:48,119 --> 00:28:50,000 only to find out that a man had been killed 572 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,319 in a hit and run right there at the off ramp, 573 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,319 not even a thousand feet from the waffle house. He 574 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,880 died some time after midnight, but his body laid on 575 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:03,319 the shoulder on Discover until daylight. This corpse was mangled, 576 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,720 but his thumb was still sticking straight up from trying 577 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,240 to hitch a ride. Of course, by the afternoon they 578 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,599 had scraped him off the pavement and washed away his blood, 579 00:29:12,039 --> 00:29:14,160 until the spot in which he died was cleaner than 580 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:21,720 night I ever seen it. I've been a night out 581 00:29:21,759 --> 00:29:24,519 of my whole life, so I work night shifts exclusively. 582 00:29:25,759 --> 00:29:28,160 I really don't work well with other people, whether than 583 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,519 my coworkers or not, so I picked a job I 584 00:29:30,519 --> 00:29:32,839 could do completely on my own and became a nighttime 585 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,559 janitor my local school district after I graduated from high 586 00:29:36,559 --> 00:29:40,480 school myself. Schools have always had nightly cleaning as a 587 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,400 part of health codes in most areas, but obviously in 588 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:47,519 recent years it's become much more important. My first job 589 00:29:47,599 --> 00:29:51,599 was in a fairly large k through twelve. There were 590 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,920 a couple of daytime custodians as well, but at the 591 00:29:54,039 --> 00:29:56,680 night it was just me and one other person, splitting 592 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,000 the school down the middle. My coworkers and I barely 593 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,440 ever interacted, which I appreciated a lot. Every single night, 594 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,680 all the floors get mopped or vacuumed, every desk table, 595 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,960 indoor handle is disinfected, and every toilet, urnal and sink 596 00:30:12,039 --> 00:30:15,559 also gets cleaned. It takes a full eight hour shift 597 00:30:15,599 --> 00:30:17,920 to accomplish, and for that entire time I don't talk 598 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,759 to a single person. It's great. Honestly, most of my 599 00:30:21,799 --> 00:30:24,000 coworkers are women and they don't want me talking to 600 00:30:24,039 --> 00:30:27,759 them either. When I tell people about my job, a 601 00:30:27,799 --> 00:30:29,599 lot of them think the hardest part is having to 602 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,880 clean up after the messes left by the students, and 603 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,640 for the most part, I guess they are right, but 604 00:30:34,759 --> 00:30:36,839 I always tell them I would rather plunge and clean 605 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,319 ten clogged and traumatized toilets every single night that ever 606 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,839 have to do work directly with another human being all 607 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:47,480 day long, especially a horde of miners these days. There's 608 00:30:47,519 --> 00:30:50,559 one example I give of why say that. It was 609 00:30:50,559 --> 00:30:54,519 the night after Halloween. I came in from my usual 610 00:30:54,559 --> 00:30:57,440 eight to five shift and got started without even saying 611 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,240 hello to my coworker. We start on opposite ends and 612 00:31:01,279 --> 00:31:03,279 met in the middle, so we would only see each 613 00:31:03,279 --> 00:31:06,559 other when we were finishing up. The first hour was 614 00:31:06,599 --> 00:31:09,759 mostly normal, except for one obvious thing out of ordinary. 615 00:31:10,599 --> 00:31:12,519 I always keep my music at a low volume on 616 00:31:12,559 --> 00:31:15,519 my headphones, but from outside them, I kept hearing things. 617 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,200 Usually all the other faculty are gone by eight o'clock, 618 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,960 but sometimes there's somebody who stays late. I couldn't decide 619 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,880 what I was hearing through my music, but I wasn't 620 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:27,200 in the mood to turn it off, so I just 621 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,480 ignored it. A little while later, I took a break 622 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,480 from mopping to change the water in the bucket. I 623 00:31:33,559 --> 00:31:36,039 was gone for about five minutes. But on my way 624 00:31:36,079 --> 00:31:38,240 back to where I stopped, I walked past one of 625 00:31:38,279 --> 00:31:41,240 the hallways I had just mopped and noticed the wet 626 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,880 floor side had fallen over. For legal reasons, I had 627 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,240 to step over the wet floor and stand it back up, 628 00:31:47,839 --> 00:31:51,880 then mop back over my tracks on the way out. Annoyed, 629 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:53,759 I walked over to it, but I froze for a 630 00:31:53,799 --> 00:31:56,799 moment when something else caught my eye. There was another 631 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,680 set of tracks in the water, leading to and from 632 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:04,440 the sun. They were little footprints, something a kid would make. 633 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,359 After I stood the sign back up, I followed the tracks, 634 00:32:08,839 --> 00:32:12,079 knowing I would have to mop over those two, basically 635 00:32:12,119 --> 00:32:15,720 redoing the whole hallway. The tracks ran all the way 636 00:32:15,759 --> 00:32:17,680 to the end, where there was a flight of stairs 637 00:32:17,799 --> 00:32:22,000 up the second floor. From there, they dried up pretty quickly. 638 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,559 I stormed up the stairs and got to the second floor, 639 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,559 but nobody was there. I took my phone out of 640 00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:30,519 my pocket and paused my music so if anyone was 641 00:32:30,599 --> 00:32:33,839 running around I would be able to hear them. Right 642 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,960 as I looked down, I saw a flash of movement 643 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,519 at the end of the hallway. I also heard a 644 00:32:38,519 --> 00:32:41,799 bunch of footsteps echoing across the empty school, so I 645 00:32:41,839 --> 00:32:43,519 started making my way to the end of the hall, 646 00:32:44,599 --> 00:32:47,440 but it's how I got there. I still couldn't see anyone, 647 00:32:47,559 --> 00:32:50,480 but then I heard a little kid laughing. It felt 648 00:32:50,519 --> 00:32:52,240 like I was in a horror movie, but at that 649 00:32:52,319 --> 00:32:56,039 point I was more annoyed than scared. I stood there 650 00:32:56,079 --> 00:32:58,079 looking around for a few seconds until I heard a 651 00:32:58,079 --> 00:33:02,119 crash from the first floor. I rushed downstairs and nearly 652 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,240 flipped my lid when I saw the mop bucket I 653 00:33:04,279 --> 00:33:08,359 had just refilled was knocked over. The water was spilling 654 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,799 everywhere in a huge pool. I absolutely swarm my head 655 00:33:12,799 --> 00:33:15,119 off as I went back to the nearest janitor's closet 656 00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:18,680 for a dry mop and bunch of towels. It took 657 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,519 me half an hour to clean up that mess, and 658 00:33:20,559 --> 00:33:23,279 then another fifteen minutes to redo the hallway that got 659 00:33:23,319 --> 00:33:25,880 messed up, which meant my lunch break was down to 660 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,880 fifteen minutes. However, I was so pissed off that I 661 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,759 walked to the other side of the school and interrupted 662 00:33:32,759 --> 00:33:34,799 my coworker to ask if she had been messing with me. 663 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,839 She looked completely dumbfounded and innocent. She asked if I 664 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,400 was all right or needed any help. But to that 665 00:33:42,519 --> 00:33:46,039 I just walked away. I set up again and got 666 00:33:46,079 --> 00:33:49,240 back to work. Another hour passed and I managed to 667 00:33:49,279 --> 00:33:53,200 make up some lost progress. I was angrily powering through it, 668 00:33:53,279 --> 00:33:55,200 debating in my head the whole time about what I 669 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:59,160 should do. I thought about reporting into the school, or 670 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,200 maybe just calling the police myself, but in the end 671 00:34:02,359 --> 00:34:04,599 I figured I would seem crazy to everyone, just like 672 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,559 I did to my coworker. So nothing happened again until 673 00:34:08,599 --> 00:34:11,719 eleven o'clock. Out of nowhere, the lights shut off and 674 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:15,360 the whole school it was pitch black for about three 675 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,679 seconds until the dim emergency lights turned on, and then 676 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:22,920 everything had a reddish hue to it. It came as 677 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:24,960 a shock to me, and to be honest, I was worried. 678 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,320 I tried to tell myself it was a malfunction or 679 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,000 maybe some kids messing around, but my mind was going 680 00:34:31,079 --> 00:34:34,519 to all sorts of possibilities. I had keys to the 681 00:34:34,559 --> 00:34:37,239 electrical room where the light switches were, and I was 682 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,599 the closest to it, so I stopped what I was 683 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:44,000 doing and marched over. I was pissed off about losing 684 00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:46,400 more time and missing out on my entire lunch break, 685 00:34:47,039 --> 00:34:51,079 but halfway there, something pushed those concerns out of my head. 686 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:53,920 I heard the most blood curdling scream of my life, 687 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,119 the panic shriek of my coworker, echoing endlessly. I stopped 688 00:34:59,159 --> 00:35:01,079 in my tracks, feeling like I had just been hit 689 00:35:01,119 --> 00:35:04,400 by an electric shock. Seconds later, I heard the sound 690 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,519 of a door opening really loudly, like someone was ramming 691 00:35:07,599 --> 00:35:11,119 through it from the inside. I hoped it was my 692 00:35:11,199 --> 00:35:14,039 coworker escaping and not somebody else making their way into 693 00:35:14,079 --> 00:35:17,920 the school. I forced myself to keep going and finally 694 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,800 made it to the electrical room. I was right outside 695 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,320 the door, trying to find the right key when I 696 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,599 noticed that it was already cracked open. I pushed it 697 00:35:26,639 --> 00:35:30,159 open slowly, afraid of what I might see, and the 698 00:35:30,199 --> 00:35:34,320 shape appeared in front of me, standing unnaturally in the darkness. 699 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:38,199 My blood ran cold. It could have been anyone. It 700 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:40,119 gave up on trying to turn on the lights and 701 00:35:40,199 --> 00:35:43,639 instead reached over from my phone in my pocket. However, 702 00:35:43,679 --> 00:35:46,079 as soon as I moved, the figure bolted forward and 703 00:35:46,119 --> 00:35:49,159 slammed the door in my face. I cursed and then 704 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:52,559 jumped back, stumbling until my back hit the wall behind me. 705 00:35:53,519 --> 00:35:57,199 Once I regained my balance, I started running I wanted 706 00:35:57,239 --> 00:35:59,480 to leave, but for once in my life, I thought 707 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:01,800 about the well being of somebody else and ran to 708 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:03,880 the other side of the school to find my coworker. 709 00:36:05,119 --> 00:36:08,159 After checking a few over hallways, I finally found her 710 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:10,360 mop boocket sitting alone in the middle of the floor 711 00:36:11,039 --> 00:36:15,719 next to a bathroom. Without hesitation, I rushed over to it, 712 00:36:16,039 --> 00:36:18,440 hoping to not see any evidence that she had been hurt. 713 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,079 Nothing seemed unusual, except for the fact that she was 714 00:36:22,119 --> 00:36:25,199 nowhere to be found. I looked all around in the 715 00:36:25,199 --> 00:36:27,079 dim lighting, but as far as I could tell, I 716 00:36:27,199 --> 00:36:31,239 was alone, but not completely alone. The sound of a 717 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,880 laughing child echoed in the distance, again, striking fear into 718 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,519 my chest. I clutched the handle of the mop for 719 00:36:38,559 --> 00:36:42,719 the lack of anything else to defend myself with, and 720 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,000 I lifted it out of the bucket, holding the end 721 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:48,159 of the handle out like a spear. I faced the 722 00:36:48,159 --> 00:36:51,280 direction of the laughter, looking down the hallway so intently 723 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:54,880 I got tunnel vision. In a moment of sheer terror, 724 00:36:55,239 --> 00:37:01,159 someone whispered hello into my ear. I turned around, and 725 00:37:01,199 --> 00:37:03,280 without thinking, I jabbed the handle of the mop into 726 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,639 their chest with all my might. I heard a grunt 727 00:37:06,639 --> 00:37:08,599 as the person that snuck up on me hit the 728 00:37:08,599 --> 00:37:12,719 ground and they vomited. Only a second later, I showered 729 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,079 at them to tell me who they were, but then 730 00:37:15,079 --> 00:37:17,840 they started to cry. I could tell they were trying 731 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,440 to hold it back, but they couldn't. Gradually, my eyes 732 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,360 made out what I was looking at, and it was 733 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,760 a student kneeled over on the floor. Suddenly, all my 734 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,079 fear of danger was replaced with the fear of losing 735 00:37:30,079 --> 00:37:34,599 my job for hitting a student. However, as things shook 736 00:37:34,639 --> 00:37:36,599 out over the next few days, it turned out all right. 737 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:39,760 Two twins in the ninth grade and their little brother 738 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,239 got the idea to keep the spirit of Halloween going 739 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,000 and prank the overnighters in the school by hiding in 740 00:37:45,039 --> 00:37:48,960 the lockers. There was one set of lockers in the 741 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,559 whole building that wasn't in use and had no locks 742 00:37:51,599 --> 00:37:54,480 or ties on them, and those kids were skinny enough 743 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,679 to fit in there and hide after doing their after 744 00:37:56,679 --> 00:38:00,880 school activities. They managed to get out of being expelled, 745 00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:05,119 probably from crying a lot. The school district understood my 746 00:38:05,159 --> 00:38:07,480 actions and let me keep my job, but I was 747 00:38:07,519 --> 00:38:10,920 transferred to a different school. All in all, this is 748 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:22,960 why I don't like people, especially kids.