Speaker 1: It was five of us in total. Me Tie matt Reyese,
Speaker 1: and the pilot. His name was Rick, old guy maybe
Speaker 1: late fifties, went out, hoodie work boots laced to the ankle.
Speaker 1: Didn't say much beyond basic safety instructions. He met us
Speaker 1: in a clearing past the last subdivision, Just this empty
Speaker 1: stretch of field that smelled like burned grass. No fences,
Speaker 1: no signs. The basket was already upright, balloon half filled
Speaker 1: and swaying and tie book the ride on a whim
Speaker 1: found it on some forum, said that it'd be about
Speaker 1: forty five minutes in the air, sunset flight, smooth, scenic.
Speaker 1: The post said bring a jacket. That was all. We
Speaker 1: took off at seven point fifteen, still light out barely.
Speaker 1: The burner roared overhead, loud but somehow comforting, and the
Speaker 1: balloon rose clean. No lurch, no pull, just this silent
Speaker 1: lift that made the whole thing feel like a trick.
Speaker 1: Rick barely looked at us once we were up, just
Speaker 1: worked the burner, adjusted the cords while we passed our
Speaker 1: houses that looked like monopoly pieces. The air felt thick
Speaker 1: with sun worm silence. At first, it was fun ty,
Speaker 1: cracked jokes Matt was filming on his phone. Reese leaned
Speaker 1: over the edge more than I was comfortable with, spitting once,
Speaker 1: just to see how long it took to disappear. I
Speaker 1: was quiet, watching shadows crawl across the ground as the
Speaker 1: light slipt west. It felt calm until it didn't. I
Speaker 1: can't say exactly when it changed. Maybe fifteen twenty minutes in.
Speaker 1: The trees looked darker, longer. The fields were endless, no
Speaker 1: more houses, no roads, just an ocean of green that
Speaker 1: turned black the second the sudden dropped below the hills.
Speaker 1: I looked at rereg He was still standing with one
Speaker 1: hand on the burner valve, staring ahead like he was
Speaker 1: like he was waiting for something. His expression hadn't changed
Speaker 1: since takeoff. Ty asked how long until we come back down?
Speaker 1: No response. Rick didn't move, He didn't blink. Rhese laughed nervously,
Speaker 1: Hey man, you good? Still nothing. The Matt reached out
Speaker 1: and touched his shoulder. Rick didn't react. He was breathing,
Speaker 1: but stiff, frozen, like he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open.
Speaker 1: The burner fired again, flame roared above us. We were
Speaker 1: still climbing. I could feel it in my ears, pressure building,
Speaker 1: wind had vanished. The trees were just a dark smear
Speaker 1: now no lights below, just no signs of life. I
Speaker 1: think we're too high, I said, three stepped back from
Speaker 1: the edge. I don't see anything anymore, no town, no glow.
Speaker 1: Shouldn't we be seeing like street lights or something. Ty's
Speaker 1: voice was tighter. Now what is this man? Nobody had
Speaker 1: an answer. Then Rick moved, not much, just to shift
Speaker 1: in his weight, a small turn. His eyes scanned past us,
Speaker 1: not quite making contact. He let go over the burner,
Speaker 1: walked to the edge of the basket. No build up,
Speaker 1: no words, no warning. He climbed over the edge. We
Speaker 1: old frone. Ty grabbed the side, Yo, yo, what the
Speaker 1: hell are you? But Rick was halfway over, one leg, dangling,
Speaker 1: calm as anything, and then he stepped off. Gone. No scream,
Speaker 1: no no thud, no flutter of clothes, just gone. We
Speaker 1: rushed to the edge, looked down darkness. At first I
Speaker 1: thought I saw something movement below, a shadow against shadows.
Speaker 1: Then Maurice spoke, almost a whisper. There's another one, what
Speaker 1: Matt asked? Look He pointed below us. Another balloon, identical,
Speaker 1: same striped envelope, same wicker basket, same shape, four figures inside,
Speaker 1: all standing, all looking up. I followed Reese's gaze upward
Speaker 1: above us, another balloon, same balloon, four more figures, all
Speaker 1: facing down. None of them moved. The air got colder.
Speaker 1: Matt stepped back, shaking his head. The fuck is this?
Speaker 1: What is this? Restarted, pulling the emergency cord over and over.
Speaker 1: Nothing happened. We're not descending, I said, why are we
Speaker 1: going down? Laberner hissed again, still climbing. The four of
Speaker 1: us pressed in close now, no one talking, just breathing harder,
Speaker 1: watching the balloons above and below, like mirrors in the sky.
Speaker 1: They weren't reflections, they weren't delayed, they weren't random, each
Speaker 1: one of them. It was us, same heights, same builds,
Speaker 1: same silhouettes. Matt spoke, voice tight, that's that's not possible, right,
Speaker 1: that's not shut up, Ty said, just shut up for
Speaker 1: a second. The balloon above us was drifting lower, slowly,
Speaker 1: like it was being drawn to us. I felt at
Speaker 1: first a low shift in the air pressure, like something
Speaker 1: large was coming towards us without making a sound. Then
Speaker 1: restepped towards the edge. Matt caught his arm. Don't Reefe
Speaker 1: didn't look at him, didn't say anything. He climbed up.
Speaker 1: I moved to stop him, too late. He stepped over. Gone,
Speaker 1: just gone. We rushed to the side balloon below. Three
Speaker 1: figures now, Ty started backing into the corner of the basket,
Speaker 1: staring at us, then down, then up again. His voice
Speaker 1: was cracking. Just down there, that's him, that's Reese down there.
Speaker 1: That was breathing heavy. This isn't real. This isn't this
Speaker 1: isn't real. And then back against the burner frame. My
Speaker 1: chest hurt, my fingers were numb. Above us, the balloon
Speaker 1: was closer, much much closer. I could make out details now.
Speaker 1: One of the figures was leaning towards elbow on the edge,
Speaker 1: looking straight at me. He didn't blink. I think I
Speaker 1: think he was me. It's just three of us now, Me,
Speaker 1: Tie and Matt. Reese is gone, Rick two. The balloon
Speaker 1: keeps climbing. The one above is maybe fifty feet away.
Speaker 1: Now I can see it stripes more clearly, yellow, red,
Speaker 1: dark green like ours. The envelope flickers softly, and the moonless, dark,
Speaker 1: almost glowing from the heat of its own burner. And
Speaker 1: the people inside they don't move, They just stare. I
Speaker 1: tried yelling no reaction. Ty won't stop whispering. It's like
Speaker 1: he's talking to him self, but low and fast, like
Speaker 1: he doesn't want us to hear. I saw his jacket,
Speaker 1: he says, reees he's wearing his jacket down there. Matt
Speaker 1: finally snaps, we don't know that. You didn't see anything.
Speaker 1: I did. Tie, his says louder. Now you just don't
Speaker 1: want to believe it. They start arguing. Right. I can't
Speaker 1: follow it. I'm focused on the horizon, if there even
Speaker 1: is one. It's all black now. The air's thin cold,
Speaker 1: My skin feels dry, like my body's trying to shrink itself.
Speaker 1: And then I see the lights, just three out in
Speaker 1: the dark below us, A faint glow, barely visible at first,
Speaker 1: and then clearer. A barn wide and sagging in the middle,
Speaker 1: one side caved in, a factory windowless except one tall
Speaker 1: smoke stack with a faint flickering light behind a window
Speaker 1: near the roof a church, long narrow, crooked spire pointing
Speaker 1: into the void. We pass over them. Did you see that?
Speaker 1: I ask? Matt nods yeah. Tie doesn't answer. He's pacing
Speaker 1: arms crossed tight across his chest. His lips are moving,
Speaker 1: but he isn't saying anything out loud anymore. Five minutes later,
Speaker 1: maybe ten, then the buildings come back, saying exact buildings,
Speaker 1: same broken barn, same crooked spire, same flickering factory window. Okay,
Speaker 1: Matt murmurs, that's not possible, that's not I counted the shingles.
Speaker 1: I whispered, that's the same barn, ties in the corner,
Speaker 1: and knees pulled up to his chest. Now we drift
Speaker 1: in silence. The burner fires again. And now now I
Speaker 1: realized something worse. We're not just drifting past the buildings.
Speaker 1: We're We're stuck on a loop, like a like a
Speaker 1: cheap simulation if the world below was just paper, the
Speaker 1: same strip of terrain playing again and again and again.
Speaker 1: Where the hell are we? Matt whispers, No one answers.
Speaker 1: The balloon above closer. Now I can see the face
Speaker 1: of the one leaning over. He's got my build, my shoulders.
Speaker 1: His head tilts slightly when I move, like a reflection
Speaker 1: with slacking. And then Matt goes still. His eyes are
Speaker 1: fixed on something behind me. Someone's coming down. I turn
Speaker 1: from the balloon above. One figure is climbing hand over hand,
Speaker 1: slow down the rope, netting legs, swinging slightly with a breeze, steady,
Speaker 1: no fear, and how he moves like he knows exactly
Speaker 1: where he's going. I take a step back, head thudding
Speaker 1: hard enough to hurt. Ty starts rocking now, mumbling something rhythmically,
Speaker 1: faster and faster. Matt stares at the climbing figure like
Speaker 1: he's frozen, and then Matt bolts. He doesn't say a word,
Speaker 1: just runs to the edge and jumps. He doesn't hesitate,
Speaker 1: he doesn't cry out gone. I spin, I grab the
Speaker 1: side balloon below. Two figures now me and Tie. I
Speaker 1: stagger back, my breathing too fast. I feel like my
Speaker 1: body's turning inside out. The figure from above is almost here.
Speaker 1: I could hear the soft creak of the rope ladder, now,
Speaker 1: the wooden clunk of his foot landing on the basket.
Speaker 1: I don't want to look, but I do. He stands
Speaker 1: a few feet away, same height, same jacket, same hands,
Speaker 1: face in shadow, But I know, I know it's me.
Speaker 1: He just stares, tilts his head and tilts it back
Speaker 1: the other way, not mocking, not curious, just copy. Tie
Speaker 1: finally screams it's sudden, and it's raw, and it's loud
Speaker 1: in the dead air. He jumps to his feet and points.
Speaker 1: There's more. He yells, I look the balloon below. It's
Speaker 1: no longer just one. There's two, stack slightly offset, both
Speaker 1: rising and above us. Another's appeared higher still. I don't understand.
Speaker 1: It's not just one above and one below anymore. It's layered,
Speaker 1: dozens of them, going up, going down. Some of them
Speaker 1: have baskets filled with people, some of them have none,
Speaker 1: some have me. The one in our basket hasn't moved,
Speaker 1: still staring and still watching. I don't I don't know
Speaker 1: what I'm supposed to do. Tie backs away, arms trembling.
Speaker 1: Then he grabs the burner valve and yanks it. The
Speaker 1: flame shoots up with a scream of gas. He pulls
Speaker 1: again and again. No control, just panic. We have to
Speaker 1: get out, he mutters. It's going to keep going. It
Speaker 1: doesn't end. I shout at him, but it's no use.
Speaker 1: He's lost it. He steps to the edge, one foot over,
Speaker 1: no tie. He looks at me just once, and then
Speaker 1: he falls backwards into the darkness. The balloon below just
Speaker 1: one figure, now me in the other, still staring We're
Speaker 1: both standing here in the same basket. Burner cuts off,
Speaker 1: no flame, no sound, no movement. We just float above
Speaker 1: and below copies of us. I sit down, slowly, staring
Speaker 1: into the black. Then I hear the wind shift just
Speaker 1: a little. The copy of me walks over, sits beside me,
Speaker 1: not touching, just just sitting. We stare out together at
Speaker 1: the horizon where the barn, the factory in the church.
Speaker 1: Repeat again for the fifth time. I'm not sure which
Speaker 1: one of us is the real me anymore. I've been
Speaker 1: writing this for a dozen or so cycles. Now. If
Speaker 1: you can see this, then I guess my phone has
Speaker 1: reception and you know what I've had to do either. Kids,
Speaker 1: It's me, mister Creepasta, and I just wanted to tell
Speaker 1: you thank you so much for watching tonight's video or
Speaker 1: for listening to tonight's episode of the podcast. And as always,
Speaker 1: I want to give a very big thank you to
Speaker 1: everybody who supports me over at Patreon, Patreon dot com
Speaker 1: slash mister Creepypasta. I cannot thank you guys enough. You
Speaker 1: guys have been there when I'm struggling like a half
Speaker 1: of the past year, and it sincerely helps me stay alive,
Speaker 1: So thank you guys so much for being supporters. That
Speaker 1: goes for everybody who is down in the description as
Speaker 1: well as Acid System, Ball Arms, the Rat, Blake, Rattler, Grandson, Mendoza,
Speaker 1: Renna Crow, Brimstone, Pannemonium, Calpuna, Shame, Smoke a Dealer, Chicago
Speaker 1: hit Man, Corey Kench Crownup, five Away, Crusader, Jocobo, Curs, Pocks,
Speaker 1: Primark to go to Best, thank of Poulson not taking Kaid,
Speaker 1: Dianna Krass, Ellie Hotmeyer and Chanted Buns, Estamine, Jellahalsey, Hayy,
Speaker 1: his nephew, Himo, Jerry Howur, a Minute Seconds Time, Jay Keams,
Speaker 1: Jennis pat Jordan, Humble, Kin Krab, Mister Marcus Splitz, Old Penguin, Peace, Buddhah,
Speaker 1: Cycle out Red, Shadow Cast, Remember the Son, Rinku, Star, Salty, Surprise,
Speaker 1: Samara Line Seclude, Simba's Buddy, Mojo Sky, Harper, Smiley, A
Speaker 1: Psychotic Sully Man, Tlly, Sue, The shop is Brothers. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much, and honestly thank you to everybody, even
Speaker 1: those guys that are in there for just one dollar.
Speaker 1: It really helps me out. Once again. That's Patreon dot
Speaker 1: com slash mister Creeppasta or if you guys liked, just listen. Honestly,
Speaker 1: that helps me out a lot too. Thank you guys
Speaker 1: so much for being here, thank you for listening, thank
Speaker 1: you for watching, and sweet dreams.