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Speaker 1: The summer of twenty twenty three marked a season of

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drastic change in the lives of three and men. Keith

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Warner and Jamer Sudden both graduated from different universities with

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different degrees. In May, Adrian Darwin lost his father in

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a tragic case of medical negligence, and he and his

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mother were awarded a grandsum in the malpractice suit. All

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three of these men moved to a small apartment building in

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de Mooy to pursue various goals. None of them knew

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each other or had any idea what they were going

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to experience together. Keith moved in first after graduating from

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Iowa State with a degree in graphic design. He was

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hired by small insurance company. The building had three units turtle.

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It was a split level, with two units upstairs and

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one dwnstairs next to the shared laundry room. When Keith

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moved in, an elderly woman named Mazel lived in the

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other upstairs apartment and the basement was vacant. Mazel still

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lived in the building when Adrian moved into the basement

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a month later. Being slightly smaller than the other two,

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the basement unit costs less and that's all Avian cared about.

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His goal was to stretch out his dad's malpractice suit

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money as long as he could so he wouldn't have

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to work. He had dropped out of college with no

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plans on returning, and instead put his time into streaming

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video games. He hoped the money would last long enough

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to get him rolling in all nine entertainments so he

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would never have to work a job again. Jamir moved

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into the second of stairs apartment, and the same day

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Masl moved out to live in a retirement community. Jamir

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hailed all the way from Ohio. Keith learned through a

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brief conversation in the hallway that day he had moved

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to the mind to be a paralegal at a small

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law firm. Besides occasionally nodding to one another on the stairs, Keith, Jamier,

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and Avian barely interacted with one another. Keith and Jemmier

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were usually exhausted by the end of the work day,

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and Adrian tended to be a night owl. He normally

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slept while the others were gone and stayed up all

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night playing video games live streaming to an invisible audience.

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He hoped would somedaymity realize Jamier barely at a free

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moment during the week, so he always did laundry on Sunday.

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Most of what he needed to wash, would you, just

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the underclothes he wore beneath his suit and dress shirts,

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so he just tossed everything into a single oad. Each week,

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he would let the machine run its forty five minutes

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like a while he tidied his apartment, then throw his

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clothes in the dryer while he made dinner. The other

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guys did laundry whenever the idea occurred to them, but

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their respect to Jemua's schedule. The ma'am was as regular

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as a clock, which made it easy to stay out

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of his way. One Sunday evening in early November, Jamiir

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had started the washing machine and gone back up stairs

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to deep clean his bathroom. He blasted music through his

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headphones while he scrubbed the cocker round the shower. He

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paused between songs because he thought he heard some one

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knocking on his door. Judging by the attitude of each

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meaty blow, it wasn't the first time whoever was out

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there had knocked. No one ever knocked on the door

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except to deliver a package or a foo but Jamier

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had not ordered anything. Curius Jemier left the bathroom, smelling

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like bleach to peer through the peep hole his basement neighbor,

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Jamier had yet to learn Adrian's name, was standing outside

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his door, looking impatient and flustered. The guy looked like

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he had just rolled out of bed, with his hair

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sticking up and smashed on one side. His eyes said

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that puffy waxy looked that tense to linger after a

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night or day of poor sleep. Jamir hurriedly and locked

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and opened the door before his neighbor pounded again. Ay,

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what's up, he asked, Ah, your laundry is flooding. Adrian said,

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with shy contempt. What. Jamyr shook his head ever so

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slightly and asked what, but he had already pivoted to

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step around Adrian. The machine is like overflowing or something.

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I think he broke it, Adrian's aid. Jamir did not

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appreciate the lazy accusation. As Jamiir descended, Keith walked into

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the building with a bag of groceries. He paused when

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he saw Jamir coming down toward him. His eyebrows almost

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touched when he noticed Adrian at the top of the stairs.

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Is something wrong, he asked. Jamier, flustered answered, apparently I

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broke the washer. O man, Keith said, let me drop

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these upstairs and I'll come help. When Keith went to

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the laundry room, he found Adrian standing outside it while

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Jimmie slotht sopping wet clothes into a basket on top

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of the machine. His feet were covered in bresh water.

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The whole room smelt fowl, like a landfall on fire. Thankfully,

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the uneven fore kept most of the water toward the

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back of the room, near the drain. Drane goggled and

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bubbled in the corner. As Jamiyr removed the last of

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his sooking clothes, he gave the back of the machine

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a brief inspection, then turned to his neighbors. He said, guys,

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I don't think this is from the washer. He pointed

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to the knob on the front. It was an elder machine,

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the type where you turn a knob to whichever cycle

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you want to run and it slowly turns back like

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an egg timer. Shamir said it was almost finished and

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there was still a bunch of water inside it. He said,

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it's all right, man, either way, will just Jimmy Or

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cut in as if he hadn't even heard him ar

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this sex. I needed this stuff for a confident I'm

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supposed to fly to tomorrow. When do you leave? Maybe

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Chuck can still fix it to night, Keith aked. Chuck

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was their landlord and seemed like a reasonable helpful guy.

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I've got to be up at four in the morning,

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and that if I can get everything ready to go tonight.

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Jamr replied, I can't wait. I've got to go to

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a laundromat. Go ahead, Keith said, I'll call Chuck. Jamer

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pushed down on his wet laundry and streams of water

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poured out of the basket. He dried his hands on

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his pants, then held the basket away from himself as

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he carried it to the door. He said, thanks man,

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I appreciate it, and went upstairs. Adrian said he definitely

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broke it right. No he didn't, Keith said, look. He

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pointed to the girdling dream while he pulled out his phone.

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Adrian squinted at the drain as Keith dialed the landlord

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and stood stupidly with his hands in his pockets. While

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Keith explained the situation over the phone. A minute later,

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he hung up. O kay, he says, don't flush any

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toilets or run any water down the drains. He's going

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to be here in fifteen to take a look. What

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about the washer, Adrian asked, that's not the problem. See

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how it's bubbling over there by the drain. I think

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the water's actually coming up. There must be some sort

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of blockage down in the pipes. Adrian wrinkled his nose.

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He said, that explains why it stinks. I thought that

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other guy used some kind of weird soap. Keith laughed.

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He said, I'll hang out here in case Chuck needs

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a hand, but there's probably not much to do here.

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If you want to go, I'll make sure the water

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stays in here. Adrian grunted a sound which was probably

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meant to say thanks, then said I'm going to go

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pick up some food. Chuck arrived promptly and shut off

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the water. Keith stood by as the landlord snaked the drain,

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handing him tools whenever he needed. Chuck confirmed keith suspicion

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that the washing machine was fine, and said the water

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had come up from the drain, although he never found

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a blockage. The water just started draining out. Eventually, when

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the water was gone, Keith helped Chuck set up a

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couple of fans to help dry a room. I've got

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a squeegee in my truck, Chuck said, I'll grab that

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and try to get most of the water down the drain.

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Help that helps with the smell. Gaw, that's fual. Keith

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nodded in agreement. The smell had actually gotten worse since

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the water went away. Sounds good, he said. If you've

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got this under control, I think i'll head upstairs. I

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was about to make dinner before. Yeah, yeah, sure, go eat,

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said Chuck. Thanks for the help. If you're ever a

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couple of days late on rent, I'll wave the late

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sun good. Keith laughed and went upstairs. Chuck returned with

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a squeege and started pushing the remaining puddles toward the drain.

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The edge of the foam blade swept under the dryer

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and knocked a small object across the floor. It skid

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her to a stop next to the drain. Chuck paused

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to grub it. The object appeared to be a pendant,

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though it did not have any holes. The object was

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a small face carved out of dark wood, It had

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two small dots for eyes, which was surrounded by ripping circles.

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The CoV lines gave the face the appearance of a

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withered corpse. It had no nose and an oval shaped

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mouth that looked like it was gasping in shock. The mouth,

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like the eyes, was surrounded by more wrinkle lines. Chuck

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set it down on top of the dryer while he

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finished up. Adrian came home before Chuck left. All good

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to go, Chuck shouted over his shoulder when he heard

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Adrian on the stairs cale. Adrian said, o' chap picked

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up the pendant and tossed it to his tenant. That

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your was catching the wooden face. Adrian said, no, I've

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never seen it. While it was stuck under the dryer,

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thought it probably belongs to one of you. Maybe show

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it to the others and see if it's theirs. Sure,

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Adrian said, sounding disinterested. All right, well, have a good

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night and let me know if this train gives you

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any more trouble. Chuck said, Adrian repeated sure, and went

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into his apartment. Keith thought he heard Jammick come home.

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Later that evening. He heard his neighbor's door and lock open,

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then shut again. Pete was heading to bed, feeling oddly

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drained and craving rest. For Adriane, it was just about

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my day. He usually woke up around one in the

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afternoon and stayed up until four or five in the morning.

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He spent most of that time gaming online or occasionally

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live streaming. The midnight streams probably were not the best

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way to generate an audience, but Adrian told himself he

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was doing his best. Sometimes he blamed the loss of

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his father for the way he behaved now, sometimes he

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blamed himself. The night of the flood, Adrian felt more

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tired than usual, but not enough to sleep. Rather than game,

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he decided to settle in for a movie. He grabbed

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a protein bar and a bottle of Seltzer water and

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selected a movie from his Blu Ray collection. He turned

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on his TV, up in the Blueway tray and slid

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the disk in. When he turned his back, he heard

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his Blu ray player proyer them were as at a

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jay did the disc. Adrian rolled his eyes and pushed

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the tray back in. He stared at the player until

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it accepted the disc. Then his TV went dark. The

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Blu Ray player stayed on, but the TV shut off completely.

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Adrian inspected the power chords and verified that each was

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plugged in. He turned the TV back on and the

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screen lit up, but the blu ray player turned off.

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Angry and ready to give up, Adrian turned off the TV.

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Standing behind him. In the reflection on the now dark screen,

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Adrian saw the clear outline of a man. He did

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not jump or scream. He did what anyone would do

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and try to make out what was really there. He

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squinted and leaning close, but the harder he looked, the

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clearer the man became, and the more he looked like

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Adrian's late father. Adrian spun around to convince himself no

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one was there. He needed a reflection, must be a

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trick of the light, and sure enough, when he looked,

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he didn't see anyone else. He turned back around where

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his own reflection should have been. He again saw his

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father's face gaping at him. Adrian caught his breath and

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stumbled back. Before he could scream, the face vanished. His

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oppressive tiredness put pressure behind him Adrian's eyes. It almost

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felt like he was having an allergic reaction to something.

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He decided the appearance of his father's face in the

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reflection must have been an exhaustion induced hallucination. Although he

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still had no idea why he felt so tired. He

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considered going to bed and actually sleeping during the night,

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but when he tried to close his eyes, he kept

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seeing his father silently screaming more beneath his eyelids. If

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he couldn't sleep, he had other ways of managing energy.

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He took three steps into his small kitchen and went

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a fridge frickin of died cook. Just as he gret

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the handle, he thought he heard a subtle knocking from

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somewhere in the apartment. He paused to listen. The soft

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sound repeated precise in its rhythm. The laundry room was

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on the other side of the wall behind the fridge,

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so Adrian wondered if perhaps Jamier had some more last

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minute laundry to take care of. Ignoring the knocking sound,

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Adrian opened the refrigerator and reached inside Blindly, he knew

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where his neat rows of cook were. While his head

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was right next to the freezer door, something knocked three

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times from inside. Adrian jumped back, watching the fridge door

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close slowly on its own, its yellow wedge of light shrinking.

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When the door closed, he felt behind himself for the

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nearby light switch and turned in the kitchen light. He

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watched the freezer with growing an dissipation. The knocking head

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sort sounded like an eyes maker, but Adrian's freezer did

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not have one. Adrian punched himself in his shoulder and

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stepped forward, telling himself brave lies. Before he could back out,

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he aanked open the freezer door, and at that very

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00:11:18,799 --> 00:11:20,840
moment both bulbs in the light fixture hanging from the

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00:11:20,879 --> 00:11:24,159
ceiling pot and went dark. Upstairs, Keith had fallen into

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00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,440
a restless sleep. Somehow, he was still consciously aware of

242
00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,120
how hut he felt. He had kicked off his covers,

243
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,360
so he was just laying on the mattress in his underwear.

244
00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,600
Yet still he felt sticky and uncomfortable. It wasn't just

245
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,200
hot in the room, it was strangely humid, and since

246
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,799
it was late fallen Central Iowa, the humidity felt entirely

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00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,440
out of place. Keith wanted so badly to sleep, was

248
00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,720
sleeping in fact, yet he felt like real rests was

249
00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,200
far far out of reach. He decided, and a sword

250
00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:53,840
of dream stake, to get out of bed and bring

251
00:11:53,879 --> 00:11:55,799
in a small fan he usually kept under his desk

252
00:11:55,879 --> 00:11:58,039
for the rest of the year when it actually was humid.

253
00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:00,960
When he opened his bedroom door, a wretched smell brought

254
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,039
into full awareness. It was smoky, but not like a

255
00:12:04,039 --> 00:12:07,960
camphire or even cigarette smoke. It had pungent talks under tones,

256
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,679
melted plastic, burning hair, and rotten eggs. He had never

257
00:12:11,759 --> 00:12:13,919
experienced a ghastly before and wondered, if this is what

258
00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,759
one smelled like, is that why he felt so tired.

259
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,679
Keith had long been terrified of dying quietly because of

260
00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,000
carbon monoxide or something similar. It scared him so much

261
00:12:23,039 --> 00:12:25,039
that he had installed his own sea awful monitors in

262
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,759
each room of his apartment. His eyes still had not

263
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,200
djusted to the darkness, but in his panic, he did

264
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,039
not think to turn on the lights. After redressing, he

265
00:12:33,039 --> 00:12:36,080
stumbled through the apartment blindly, with his hands outstretched, holding

266
00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,480
his breath as long as he could. He found his

267
00:12:38,519 --> 00:12:41,000
way through the kitchen and into the living room. Just

268
00:12:41,039 --> 00:12:43,039
a few feet from his door, he tripped on something

269
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,759
and fell to his hands and knees. On instinct, he

270
00:12:45,799 --> 00:12:49,159
looked back. Despite the thick darkness, he could clearly see

271
00:12:49,159 --> 00:12:50,799
the anguished face of a woman lying still on the

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00:12:50,799 --> 00:12:53,759
floor behind him. Keith tried to stand, but his knees

273
00:12:53,799 --> 00:12:56,600
were too weak. He rolled and shuffled his way toward

274
00:12:56,639 --> 00:12:58,799
the wall, away from the prone figure on his living

275
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,639
room floor. Her open jaw was slightly crooked, her eyes

276
00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,639
had rolled up into her head. How long red hair

277
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,320
lay tangled in a chaotic pull round her head. A

278
00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,679
small green light glowed at him from a cross the room.

279
00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:12,840
It was one of the sea Awful monitors, and the

280
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,679
green light mentyeat was clean. He's reach up for the

281
00:13:15,759 --> 00:13:18,720
light switch. It was somewhere above then. He could have

282
00:13:18,759 --> 00:13:20,720
easily found it with his eyes, but he dared not

283
00:13:20,759 --> 00:13:22,960
look away from the dead woman on the floor. His

284
00:13:23,039 --> 00:13:26,039
fingers finally found the little switch. He had to stretch

285
00:13:26,039 --> 00:13:27,440
them as far as they would go to push it.

286
00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,320
He noticed, just before the lights came on, the second

287
00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,039
body laying face down on the woman's other side. It

288
00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,639
appeared to be a man. Then the switch clicked, the

289
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,639
lights came on, and both boardies vanished. It was at

290
00:13:38,639 --> 00:13:42,320
this sudden disappearance, not the bodies themselves, that Keith finally screamed.

291
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,080
Averan slammed the freezer door shut and ran to his

292
00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,159
front door. He truly hoped Jimmire was in the laundry room.

293
00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,320
He wanted to be around another person, a living person.

294
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,279
He did not care who. The light in the laundry

295
00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,919
room was off. If someone had been in there, they

296
00:13:56,919 --> 00:14:00,840
had already left. But Adrian realized he hadn't heard anyone

297
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,919
go upstairs, and he had been listening quite intently. He

298
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:05,679
turned on the light and saw the washer and dry

299
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,080
gaping at him with their open hatches, but otherwise the

300
00:14:08,159 --> 00:14:12,200
room was empty. Something thunded upstairs, and this time Adrian

301
00:14:12,279 --> 00:14:14,159
was absolutely certain it had come from one of his

302
00:14:14,159 --> 00:14:17,240
neighbor's apartments. He went to the stairs to listen, and

303
00:14:17,279 --> 00:14:20,480
that's when he heard Keith's terrified boy shout no. Keith

304
00:14:20,519 --> 00:14:22,639
and Adrian met in the stairwell, where they stared at

305
00:14:22,639 --> 00:14:25,559
each other for a few extended seconds. Keith knew Adrian

306
00:14:25,559 --> 00:14:27,879
had hurt him yell, but Adrian's face showed not concern

307
00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,159
but a grim acceptance. Keith hurried down the stairs and

308
00:14:31,159 --> 00:14:34,120
stood by the front door. Are you on your way

309
00:14:34,159 --> 00:14:36,799
out or in? He asked Adrian, trying to act cool.

310
00:14:37,399 --> 00:14:39,799
Adrian followed him with his gaze, but did not respond.

311
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,960
First traded and nervous. Keith asked, why are you looking

312
00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,159
at me like that? What outside, Adrian said, and gestured

313
00:14:47,159 --> 00:14:50,799
toward the door. He followed Keith into the cold. Neither

314
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,360
of them had coats on. They shoved their hands into

315
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:58,200
their pocket and locked into perpetual shrugs. So what is it, Keith, act,

316
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,480
it's something we're going on in your apartment, Adrian asked,

317
00:15:02,799 --> 00:15:05,799
sort of. I guess I was asleep then I woke up,

318
00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,759
because well, maybe I was still just Rosie and it

319
00:15:08,799 --> 00:15:12,639
was dark. I heard knocking earlier, Adrian said, interrupting Keith

320
00:15:12,679 --> 00:15:16,399
before he wasted more time. Adrian was cold, he wanted

321
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,879
to cut to the chase, and I saw my dad.

322
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,159
He's been dead for a year. Keith bit his lip,

323
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,200
then quietly said I saw dead people too. After he

324
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,320
spoke more confidently. There must be some kind of gas leak.

325
00:15:29,039 --> 00:15:31,039
My alarms didn't go off, but there's got to be

326
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:32,919
something in the air to make both of us hallucinate.

327
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,120
Adrian said, yeah, maybe is the other guy back yet?

328
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,519
I heard him come home before I went to bed.

329
00:15:39,679 --> 00:15:43,039
Keith groaned, we need to check on him. He grabbed

330
00:15:43,039 --> 00:15:45,919
the door handle. Don't go back in there. Adrian warned,

331
00:15:45,919 --> 00:15:48,480
but Keith didn't listen. If he moved quickly, he could

332
00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:50,559
check on Jamier and get back out before the gas

333
00:15:50,559 --> 00:15:53,360
had any effect. He went straight to Jamire's door and

334
00:15:53,399 --> 00:15:58,159
not hard then listened. Something bumped inside jemyrk Keith shouted

335
00:15:58,159 --> 00:16:00,559
through the door, you need to get out of the building.

336
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,519
There's something in. Another bump and a much louder that'd cut

337
00:16:03,559 --> 00:16:07,840
him off. Keith knocked again. Try that. Adrian said he

338
00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:10,159
had come up behind Keith without him noticing, and now

339
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,240
he was pointing at Jamier's smart doorbell. Keith pressed it

340
00:16:13,279 --> 00:16:15,960
and heard a ring inside. No one came to the

341
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,879
door or made a sound. Adrian pushed his way past

342
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,759
Keith and pressed the doorbell again. This time he held

343
00:16:21,759 --> 00:16:24,840
the button down. He leaning close to the camera and said,

344
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,440
is there anybody in there? Then he stepped back to

345
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,440
wait next to Keith. Should we call nine hundred eleven?

346
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,360
Keith acd A rustling noise came through the doorbell speaker.

347
00:16:34,879 --> 00:16:38,600
Then Jammus drousy voice asked, what's going on, Jammier. You

348
00:16:38,639 --> 00:16:40,720
need to get out of the building. We think there

349
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,399
was a gas leak of something. Keith explained, you gotta

350
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,279
be kidding me, Jammuir groaned, Guys, I'm not home my

351
00:16:47,399 --> 00:16:49,639
friend who manages a hotel by the airport. Let me

352
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:51,639
do my laundry here and set me up with a room.

353
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,799
Keith and Adrian looked at each other. Do you have

354
00:16:54,840 --> 00:17:00,559
a cat or something? Adrian asked, No, Jammiir sighed. Listen,

355
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,600
I'm going back to sleep. Please leave my apartment alone.

356
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,200
Call the fire department if you think there's a problem.

357
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,960
We've been in here too long, Keith said to Adrian.

358
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,599
Adrian nodded, and they went outside together shivering. Adrian said,

359
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,519
you know, a hotel doesn't sound so bad. You're just

360
00:17:16,559 --> 00:17:21,079
going to leave, ask Keith. Adrian shrugged. What am I

361
00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,599
going to do about a gas leak? I just called

362
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,799
Chuck in the morning. If I were you, let him

363
00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:28,880
deal with it. Adrian left Keith standing and staring at

364
00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,920
their empty apartment building. He kept envisioning that little green

365
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,680
light on the sea autall monitor with no one inside

366
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,119
to worry about. Keith couldn't bring himself to dial nine

367
00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,400
hundred eleven. He couldn't afford spontaneously go to a hotel,

368
00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,480
so instead he texted a few friends until he found

369
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,720
some one who was awake a couple of text on

370
00:17:45,759 --> 00:17:48,160
a short deeper ride. Later, Keith was sleeping safely for

371
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,319
the night. The following morning, Chuck inspected the building before

372
00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,160
Keith left for work. He was obviously out by the

373
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,680
false alarm, but he believed Keith had truly believed there

374
00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,519
was a problem. Keith did not know Chuck well enough

375
00:17:59,519 --> 00:18:02,039
to divulge the visions he had experienced the previous night,

376
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,279
but he did says had felt funny and that Adrian

377
00:18:04,319 --> 00:18:07,839
had heard weird noises. Chuck laughed after instructing Keith to

378
00:18:07,839 --> 00:18:10,759
call him if he noticed something wrong again. Keith wasn't

379
00:18:10,839 --> 00:18:13,039
quite sure how he felt about spending the night they yet,

380
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,000
so he checked with his friend and confirmed he could

381
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,440
spend another night on his couch just in gaze. Then

382
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,880
he went to work that evening. When Keith came home,

383
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,799
he stayed alert for anything out of the ordinary. Every

384
00:18:24,799 --> 00:18:26,599
shadow that moved in the corner of his eye made

385
00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,599
him turn violently. Any creak or pup made him pause

386
00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,319
to listen. He had never realized how much noise the

387
00:18:32,319 --> 00:18:35,480
building made. Around seven, Adrian came back and knocked on

388
00:18:35,559 --> 00:18:40,160
Keith's store. I assume it all clear, Adrian said flatly, yeah, sorry,

389
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,319
I would have texted you, but I don't have your number,

390
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,119
Keith replied. Here, Adrian passed his front to Keith. They

391
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,400
exchanged numbers. Then Adrian said, I'm staying at the hotel again.

392
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,480
I know he's at this place. Is okay, but well,

393
00:18:52,599 --> 00:18:54,039
I just came back to see how it is and

394
00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,920
grab a few things. I'll probably be back to morrow.

395
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,519
Sure I'm not staying either, said Keith. They held each

396
00:19:00,519 --> 00:19:02,960
other's eyes for a moment, understanding what they refused to

397
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,799
say aloud. They were scared the things they had seen

398
00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:09,559
the previous night were haunting their memories. They had both

399
00:19:09,599 --> 00:19:13,000
been hoping for a tangible explanation for their visions. Hearing

400
00:19:13,039 --> 00:19:15,160
that the building was safe and sound actually bothered them

401
00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,559
more than if there had been a leak. They separated

402
00:19:17,599 --> 00:19:20,880
to collect their necessities. Adrian turned on every light in

403
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:22,920
his apartment as he changed his clothes and back to

404
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,960
Cephor tomorrow. He felt hungry, but dared not go near

405
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,960
the fridge. He also refused to look at the dark TV,

406
00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,160
no matter how hot he felt the gaze of something

407
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,079
staring at him from the direction. Keith also changed and

408
00:19:34,079 --> 00:19:38,000
packed a new set of clothes. After packing his toothbrush, toothpaste,

409
00:19:38,079 --> 00:19:40,440
and skin cream, he was ready to go. He had

410
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,519
also turned on most of his lights, so before he

411
00:19:42,519 --> 00:19:44,240
could leave, he had to walk through and shut them

412
00:19:44,279 --> 00:19:47,240
all off in his bedroom. Right after he turned off

413
00:19:47,279 --> 00:19:50,240
the light, he suddenly felt extremely uneasy. He took a

414
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,960
deep breath, silently, told himself the uneasy feeling was all

415
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,559
in his head, and exhaled softly. Behind him, his breath echoed.

416
00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,319
Keith looked around, convinced someone was standing directly behind him.

417
00:20:00,839 --> 00:20:03,200
When he saw no one, he ran. Each of his

418
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,440
footsteps was repeated as if some one were chasing him

419
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,200
through the apartment, mimicking his gait. The pursuing footsteps sounded

420
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,000
like they were gaining on him. When he reached the

421
00:20:11,039 --> 00:20:14,279
living room at the front door, they caught up. Leave

422
00:20:14,319 --> 00:20:16,880
me alone, Keith shouted backward as he fumbled with his keys.

423
00:20:17,559 --> 00:20:20,319
His voice echoed faintly throughout the sparsely furnished living room,

424
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,359
then faded to silence. Keith was breathing hard. The sound

425
00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:26,279
of his breath rumbled in his ears, and the two

426
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,839
was echoed behind him. It felt like all the blood

427
00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,920
in his veins had congealed. His hands went cold and shook,

428
00:20:32,599 --> 00:20:35,640
His head felt faint, His legs threatened to buckle and

429
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,400
cape beneath him. With the very last of his will power,

430
00:20:38,559 --> 00:20:41,000
Keith unlocked the door and practically fell into the hallway.

431
00:20:41,559 --> 00:20:43,720
He hurriedly shoved his key into the lock and twisted it,

432
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:45,559
not to keep anyone out of his apartment, but to

433
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:49,160
keep whatever had followed him in behind him. Jamerror's door rattled,

434
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:50,799
but in the split second it took him to turn

435
00:20:50,839 --> 00:20:53,839
toward it, the door had settled. Adrian was already down

436
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,519
on the landing, watching all of this with visible concern.

437
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,400
He god Keith asked, projecting his own fear on to

438
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:05,640
his neighbor. Are you agent, rightfully retorted, Keith tried to shrug,

439
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:10,039
but just shivered. Instead, he said, let's go. Earlier that day,

440
00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:12,119
while Jamir was waiting to board his flight, he was

441
00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:14,799
attacked by a sudden migraine. He didn't have anything with

442
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:16,839
him to battle the pain, because he didn't normally get

443
00:21:16,839 --> 00:21:19,599
headaches of any sort. In time, the pain in his

444
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,400
head escalated until it incapacitated him. With nausea, head spinning

445
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,640
and splitting. Jamiir ran into the airport bathroom. He was

446
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,880
still stuck there when they announced his flight for boarding,

447
00:21:29,519 --> 00:21:33,240
and there he remained until after his plane departed without him. Strangely,

448
00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:35,519
the migraine lifted almost as soon as the flight took off.

449
00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:38,559
He explained the situation at the customer service desk, and

450
00:21:38,599 --> 00:21:40,319
they told him they could waitlist him for a flight

451
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,240
the next morning. Jamir asked them to do that, even

452
00:21:43,279 --> 00:21:45,160
though he would miss at least half of the conference.

453
00:21:45,839 --> 00:21:47,480
He called his friend to see if he could stay

454
00:21:47,519 --> 00:21:49,799
another night at the hotel, but his friend wasn't going

455
00:21:49,799 --> 00:21:52,720
to be working the night. While on the phone, Jamir's

456
00:21:52,759 --> 00:21:55,880
migraine returned. It wasn't as powerful as before, but still

457
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,319
distractingly painful. He decided, since he now had an open

458
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,279
day to kill, to go to urgent care and get

459
00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,480
checked out. The doctor and nurses could find nothing wrong

460
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,960
but send him home with some mild pinkillers and told

461
00:22:07,039 --> 00:22:09,039
him to go to the emergency room if things worsened.

462
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,799
Chemio's next stop was at his firm to explain the

463
00:22:11,839 --> 00:22:15,079
situation to his bosses. They were understanding. After seeing his

464
00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,079
doctor's note, they told him he should still try to

465
00:22:18,079 --> 00:22:20,240
make the flight the next day if he could. The

466
00:22:20,279 --> 00:22:24,079
conversation alleviated some of Jamir's anxiety about the situation, which

467
00:22:24,079 --> 00:22:26,440
helped him feel better. He stayed late to work on

468
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,400
a few things before heading home to the apartment. He

469
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,079
felt no desire to reten to There was just nowhere

470
00:22:31,079 --> 00:22:33,519
alls for him to go. When he arrived home, the

471
00:22:33,519 --> 00:22:37,000
small parking lot was empty. Heath and Adrian were both gone.

472
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,160
He wondered if they had ever come home After the

473
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,880
previous night when they had visited his door, they had

474
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,559
both looked so scared down camera he what ever was

475
00:22:44,599 --> 00:22:47,799
going on. The landlord, Chuck, had texted him earlier that

476
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,359
day to say the building was safe and there were

477
00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,519
no leaks to worry about, so he went inside. Opening

478
00:22:52,519 --> 00:22:54,640
the building door, he heard the familiar rattle of the

479
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,440
washing machine when it hit the peak of its cycle.

480
00:22:57,039 --> 00:22:59,119
One of the machines feed was slightly uneven and made

481
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,920
the whole thing shake when when it really got going.

482
00:23:01,559 --> 00:23:03,799
The rattle normally had a distinctive rhythm and always was

483
00:23:03,799 --> 00:23:07,279
accompanied by the sound of sloshing water and sobs. Tonight,

484
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,519
it rung hollily, with each tilt, sounding not unlike a

485
00:23:09,599 --> 00:23:12,960
rumbling predator down in the dark, Shamir hurried to his door.

486
00:23:13,559 --> 00:23:15,920
His roller coaster of a day left him exhausted but

487
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,160
also wired. He hadn't had any caffine, but his brin

488
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,640
felt like he had just fed at twenty ounce mercano.

489
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,240
He crafted a small snack out of the pantry, then

490
00:23:24,279 --> 00:23:26,319
sat down at his desk to play video games until

491
00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:29,400
he felt tired enough to try. Sleeping. Hissing, and screeching

492
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,119
creatures pan to whichever side they were virtually attacking from

493
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,839
filled Jimmy's head urns. But after an hour or so

494
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:36,640
he started to know the sends to his left, which

495
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,680
did not fit. They were soft, muted noises, but loud

496
00:23:39,759 --> 00:23:42,240
enough to cut through the cacophony of an interdimensional bloodbath.

497
00:23:42,799 --> 00:23:44,920
As the game loaded a new scene, Jamier lifted the

498
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,720
left headphone off his ear. He held it away to listen.

499
00:23:48,279 --> 00:23:50,599
As the loading barn neared eighty percent, he heard it

500
00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:54,240
a muffle scratch coming from around the corner. This particular

501
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,160
corner led to his bedroom. It was also directly above

502
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:01,519
the washing machine downstairs. He glanced down eighty nine percent.

503
00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,720
He removed his headphones and ordered to stand and glance

504
00:24:04,759 --> 00:24:08,000
around the corner. When he looked, he felt silly. The

505
00:24:08,039 --> 00:24:11,000
hallway was empty, but he felt vindicated When the tiny

506
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,440
clawing sound eventually repeated, He wondered if a mousewort SHIPMNK

507
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,200
had gotten stuck in the wall. He slipped his headphones

508
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,880
back on just as the progress bar reached ninety nine percent.

509
00:24:20,599 --> 00:24:23,799
Jemier played lossy. During his next round, the sounds from

510
00:24:23,799 --> 00:24:27,200
the wall were growing unnaturally loud inside his headphones. When

511
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,720
he listened with his naked ear, they sounded soft and normal,

512
00:24:29,799 --> 00:24:31,440
but it was like the headphones piped the sound in

513
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,839
whatever he put them on, and they were getting stronger,

514
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,480
not louder, but deeper and denser. No longer did they

515
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,720
sound like a small rodents calls. They started sounding like

516
00:24:40,759 --> 00:24:44,160
porn hoofs, then just once of a heavy boot in print.

517
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,200
Jemier quit the game, removed his headphones and closed his laptop.

518
00:24:48,759 --> 00:24:50,720
He tried to close his eyes to listen better, but

519
00:24:50,759 --> 00:24:52,680
the first long slide of the wall made them spring

520
00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:55,200
back open. The half inch of dryol between him and

521
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,240
whatever was moving in the wall off with little comfort.

522
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,839
The noises started moving. They had already risen to the

523
00:25:00,839 --> 00:25:04,480
ceiling and now was skittering across it. Sometimes they sounded

524
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,240
like rat claws, but dispersed with booming thuds of something

525
00:25:07,319 --> 00:25:11,279
much much larger. The sounds passed over Jamier's apartment door,

526
00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:14,240
and he heard them continue outside. For the first time.

527
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,000
He wondered if the sounds were being made by a

528
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,279
neighbor and were reflecting somehow. He opened his door to listen.

529
00:25:19,839 --> 00:25:23,200
He's store, directly across from him was open. The skittering

530
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,359
noises were now inside Key's dark living room. Hey are

531
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:31,200
you home, Jimier hesitantly asked, the door slam shut. O, K,

532
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,799
you don't have to be a jerk about it. Jemier

533
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,640
returned to his own apartment. He made himself a hot

534
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,680
cup of camell tea and prepared for bad As he

535
00:25:38,759 --> 00:25:41,599
drank it. He set his alarm to give himself time

536
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,559
to get back to the airport, but he was already

537
00:25:43,559 --> 00:25:45,359
pretty sure he was not going to make the flight.

538
00:25:46,079 --> 00:25:48,039
But tea had been enough to upset his stomach again,

539
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:51,359
inducing him with more nausea, but fortunately no headache this time.

540
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,440
He said a quick prayer, then fell into a RESTful sleep.

541
00:25:55,079 --> 00:25:57,039
Of all the things that might have woken Jamir in

542
00:25:57,079 --> 00:26:00,000
the shody apartment building, neighbor noises, the outdate of friends

543
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,319
the draft which continuously bled into his bedroom. Jamir never

544
00:26:03,319 --> 00:26:05,680
would have expected the smell to be what disturbed his sleep.

545
00:26:06,319 --> 00:26:08,519
He woke because the noxious order of melting plastic made

546
00:26:08,559 --> 00:26:11,319
him knat to puke. He barely had time to stumble

547
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,359
across his room to the small trash can in the floor.

548
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,200
There he dry heaved over and over with no result.

549
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,599
The smell only seemed to get worse each time Jamir gagged.

550
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,000
He realized, after a minute on the floor that he

551
00:26:22,039 --> 00:26:25,079
probably needed to leave. He remembered the weird texts from

552
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,839
Chuck about their not being a gas leak. Maybe the

553
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,039
old guy had been wrong. Jamir wiped his mouth, even

554
00:26:31,079 --> 00:26:33,119
though nothing had come out of it, and stood slowly

555
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,279
to avoid passing out on his feet. He noticed the

556
00:26:36,319 --> 00:26:38,440
edge of a dark figure standing in his open doorway.

557
00:26:39,039 --> 00:26:41,720
Jamir cried out and fell on to his bed. He

558
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,240
always slept with the door shut. He hadn't opened it

559
00:26:44,279 --> 00:26:46,640
since going to bed, yet it was yawning wide open now,

560
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,759
and yes, he could clearly see one side of a person,

561
00:26:50,279 --> 00:26:53,079
a woman, standing there as if patiently waiting for him

562
00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:57,799
to come out. Who is that, Jamid demanded. He tried

563
00:26:57,799 --> 00:27:00,160
to make his voice sound deep and powerful, which may

564
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,839
have been easy if he hadn't just been heaving over

565
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,359
a trash can. He hurriedly picked up and turned in

566
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,559
the flashlight he kept on his Gniston in case of

567
00:27:06,599 --> 00:27:09,640
power adages. The figure vanished as soon as the white

568
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,279
circle of light cut through the doorway. Jamier took a

569
00:27:12,319 --> 00:27:14,240
few steps at an angle, trying to find the figure

570
00:27:14,279 --> 00:27:16,680
he knew he had seen. He started to wonder if

571
00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,160
something else in the dark apartment had caused an illusion.

572
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,640
He turned to the bed and shut the flashlight off.

573
00:27:22,279 --> 00:27:24,519
This time, he actually hoped he would see the figure

574
00:27:24,559 --> 00:27:27,039
so he could decide what was creating the distinctive shadow.

575
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,559
But the figure did not return with the darkness. Almost

576
00:27:30,599 --> 00:27:34,039
as a reflex, Jamier switched the flashlight back on instead

577
00:27:34,039 --> 00:27:35,920
of lighting up. The glass circle at the end of

578
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,400
the flashlight shattered into a hundred shards and shot across

579
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,799
the room. Chamir shouted and dropped the broken light. It

580
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,839
rolled until it stopped against the trash can. Then what

581
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:46,599
appeared to be a giant spider crawled out of the

582
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,000
shattered end. Jamir climbed up onto his bed, gaging how

583
00:27:50,039 --> 00:27:51,759
far he needed to jump to get past the black

584
00:27:51,759 --> 00:27:54,279
creature and the fore in order to escape. But the

585
00:27:54,319 --> 00:27:56,559
thing which crawled out of the flasklight was not a spider.

586
00:27:56,599 --> 00:27:59,400
He realized what he had perceived as spindly legs were

587
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,680
really claw light uttered fingers, and the rest of a

588
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,559
hand trail behind them where's shoulder should have appeared. The

589
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,319
arm just kept extending. It was covered and sagging, pale skin,

590
00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,319
and dotted with moles of various size. The fal smell

591
00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,160
in the room grew more prison than ever Chammyir had

592
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,160
to get out. His mind raised for a solution. The

593
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,880
reaching arm blocked him from the door. He could try

594
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:21,680
to jump over it, but he had no idea how

595
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,240
fast it could move. When its finger tips reached his

596
00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:26,400
bed sheets, they started to drag them off the bed,

597
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,240
wadding them up on the floor. This finally gave Jimmy

598
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,200
a revival idea. He took hold of his comforter, which

599
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,640
the disembodied hand had yet to reach, and toss it

600
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,279
on top of the stretched arm. A deep growl rumbled

601
00:28:37,319 --> 00:28:40,519
the whole room. Chamier leaped over the writhing comforter and

602
00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:43,880
sprinted through the doorway behind him. The comforter rose into

603
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,400
the air. Whatever was beneath the nearly filled it. It

604
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,640
was much larger than a single arm. There, Jamio snatched

605
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,240
his keys off his desk and left his apartment. He

606
00:28:53,279 --> 00:28:55,960
didn't stop running until he reached his car, got inside

607
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,359
and locked it. He started the cough of the heat,

608
00:28:58,519 --> 00:29:00,359
then sat in the driver's seat, staring up at the

609
00:29:00,359 --> 00:29:03,599
shadowy building. The parking lot was empty besides him and

610
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,640
his car. Keith and Adrian had both stayed somewhere else.

611
00:29:07,319 --> 00:29:10,240
Jamir supposed he now knew why. Keith pulled into the

612
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,240
parking lot just before six sou he could shower and

613
00:29:12,319 --> 00:29:15,079
change before heading right back out for work. He was

614
00:29:15,079 --> 00:29:17,480
shocked to see Jamire's car park there, even before he

615
00:29:17,519 --> 00:29:21,519
had noticed the man asleep inside. Understandably concerned, Keith rapped

616
00:29:21,559 --> 00:29:25,559
lightly on Jamuir's window. Also understandably, Jamier jumped out of

617
00:29:25,599 --> 00:29:29,079
his sleep like a startled rabbit. Whoa hey, it's just me, Keith,

618
00:29:29,319 --> 00:29:32,519
your neighbor. Jamia held a hand over his pounding hat.

619
00:29:33,119 --> 00:29:38,079
Oh man, what time is it? He asked? What? Keith

620
00:29:38,119 --> 00:29:42,359
replied loudly, sorry, Jamia rolled his window half way down.

621
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,359
I was just wondering. He looked at the clock on

622
00:29:45,519 --> 00:29:49,279
his dash well never mind. I thought you were flying

623
00:29:49,319 --> 00:29:51,519
out of town. I was supposed to you, but I

624
00:29:51,559 --> 00:29:54,000
got sick at the airport. So did you lose your

625
00:29:54,079 --> 00:29:58,079
key or something? Ah? No, I just something weirds going

626
00:29:58,119 --> 00:30:01,640
on inside, right, I'm sure you noticed. Adrian and I

627
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,640
bounced out too. Yeah, where'd you guys go? Last night?

628
00:30:05,279 --> 00:30:07,359
I crashed on a friend's couch and Adrian slept in

629
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,839
some hotel. Listen, we both had strange experiences a couple

630
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,119
nights ago. You know when we ran your bell. Yeah,

631
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,839
you guys seem pretty freaked out. We were we eat

632
00:30:17,839 --> 00:30:20,839
all well, we both saw dead people. Did it happen

633
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,599
to you too? Maybe? Jamuir looked like he didn't believe

634
00:30:24,599 --> 00:30:27,359
he was actually having this conversation. I think I saw

635
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,680
it like a person and then a hand. I saw

636
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,680
a hand. They were silent until jam ere ast. Hey

637
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,680
did the building smell we were to you, like burning

638
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,240
plastic in rotten eggs? Yeah? Then chucked tested for a

639
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:42,799
gas leak that came by yesterday morning. All clear that

640
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:47,319
something's definitely going on. Oh he is Adrian. Adrian rolled

641
00:30:47,319 --> 00:30:49,839
in looking like he hadn't slept it all. Keith guessed

642
00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,319
that he probably hadn't considering the guy usually didn't wake

643
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,240
up before noon. Keith told Jammuir to follow him and

644
00:30:55,319 --> 00:30:57,480
jobbed over to Adrian's car before he shut it off.

645
00:30:58,079 --> 00:31:00,279
Adrian seemed perfectly content to sit in the world warmth

646
00:31:00,279 --> 00:31:02,720
of his vehicle while Keith reelid what Jamiir had said.

647
00:31:03,319 --> 00:31:05,519
Jermiir added the details when he finally got out of

648
00:31:05,519 --> 00:31:07,960
his car to stand against the cold here do we

649
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,680
call for something like this a priest? Well before we

650
00:31:11,759 --> 00:31:13,960
jumped to that, Have either of you noticed anything else

651
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,680
different in the past few days, Jermier asked, I mean,

652
00:31:17,759 --> 00:31:20,079
obviously this place wasn't haunted a few days ago, If

653
00:31:20,079 --> 00:31:22,559
that's what you want to call it, I don't believe

654
00:31:22,559 --> 00:31:25,480
in gos. Adrian stated, I thought Keith said he saw

655
00:31:25,559 --> 00:31:27,960
dead people. Didn't you tell me you saw your dad?

656
00:31:28,599 --> 00:31:32,039
Keith act, I saw something that looked like my dad, sure,

657
00:31:32,119 --> 00:31:34,640
but that could have been anything, a trick of the light,

658
00:31:34,799 --> 00:31:37,519
a hallucination. I've got a picture of him in my head.

659
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,119
It just got projected outwards. So you spent two nights

660
00:31:41,119 --> 00:31:42,720
in a hotel because of a trick of the light,

661
00:31:43,319 --> 00:31:47,599
Shamir asked. Adrian refused to answer. O K you know what.

662
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:50,880
Jamyer opened Adrian's card door and stood so he couldn't

663
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,480
close it. We're going in there, all of us together.

664
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,160
We'll go into each of our apartments as a group

665
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,559
see if anything's wrong, then we can all go back

666
00:31:58,559 --> 00:32:01,400
to our days like normal. If something still seems wrong

667
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,119
to night will make check Guey's second opinion. Goat Keith

668
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,880
and Adrian still looked apprehensive and neither responded, O kay

669
00:32:09,119 --> 00:32:14,400
any batter ideas? Jeramir asked no. Keith finally answered, I

670
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,240
have to go inside to change anyway, Let's do it.

671
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,880
Jerimir's confidence served the neighbors as they separated into their

672
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,599
respective apartments, but their searches uncovered nothing. Adrian was left

673
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,680
alone for the day when the others left for work.

674
00:32:27,319 --> 00:32:29,359
Normally he would sleep, but he didn't think he could.

675
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,000
He decided if he was staying up, he should at

676
00:32:32,079 --> 00:32:34,599
least try to be productive. He could use his time

677
00:32:34,599 --> 00:32:36,480
with the building to himself to get ahead on laundry

678
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,160
while he vacum chores he couldn't well his neighbors were sleeping.

679
00:32:39,759 --> 00:32:42,279
Adrian gathered his loose coals into a basket and carried

680
00:32:42,279 --> 00:32:45,160
it into the laundry room. A sinus burning smell kept

681
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,200
hitting him as he loaded his clothes into the washer.

682
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,559
He vaguely recognized it from the first night of the

683
00:32:49,559 --> 00:32:52,680
so called haunting. At first, he assumed smell had been

684
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,519
trapped in his dirty clothes. He held his breath for

685
00:32:55,559 --> 00:32:58,400
each armful of laundry he shoved into the washer. But

686
00:32:58,519 --> 00:33:01,160
between shoving one armful and grab another, his eyes found

687
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,000
the floor drain. It made Adrian remember the flood and

688
00:33:04,039 --> 00:33:06,880
how the foul water'd smell. He wondered if Keith or

689
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,000
Jamia had realized the spell was the same one that

690
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,359
had accompanied this so cold hauntings. Could whatever's messing with

691
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,400
our heads have come up from the drain? It is

692
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,119
fortuitous that Adrian pondered this particular question at the very

693
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:18,920
moment he picked up the pants he had been wearing

694
00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,359
the morning of the flood. With a dry plink, the

695
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:23,480
little object Chuck had given him fell to the floor.

696
00:33:24,039 --> 00:33:25,880
He hadn't given it a very close look at day,

697
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,400
just enough to tell if he recognized it then It

698
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,359
had entirely slipt his mind. Looking at it now, it

699
00:33:31,359 --> 00:33:33,480
did look familiar, but not because he had ever seen

700
00:33:33,519 --> 00:33:36,279
it before. The expression on the wooden carving's face was

701
00:33:36,319 --> 00:33:38,359
the exact expression he had seen on the reflection of

702
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,880
his father in the TV. Was it crazy to think

703
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,279
this tiny wooden object was the source of their problems.

704
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:45,960
Adrian was a fan of horror movies and had seen

705
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,039
numerous films in which an object had some sort of

706
00:33:48,079 --> 00:33:50,599
curse or attachment, but those concepts had always been nothing

707
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,559
but fiction to him. He didn't believe in ghost or

708
00:33:53,599 --> 00:33:56,920
demons so that people could case nanim objects. He wasn't

709
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:00,559
even religious, but the resemblance between the two faces, one

710
00:34:00,599 --> 00:34:03,720
carved in wood and the other reflected in pilite, was undeniable.

711
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,359
Then it struck him the expression must have been subconsciously

712
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,840
buried in his mind, so that when he started hallucinating,

713
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,000
it conjured their particular expression. And the terrible smell must

714
00:34:13,079 --> 00:34:14,800
have been some chemical that came up in the flood.

715
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,079
Maybe some of it did get on his clothes and

716
00:34:17,119 --> 00:34:19,719
thats why he smelled it later in his apartment. And

717
00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,960
it would make perfect sense that some sera chemical was

718
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,480
causing him to see things. And if all of this

719
00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:26,519
was true, the load of laundry he was about to do,

720
00:34:26,519 --> 00:34:29,199
sho it solve all the problems? He would recommend the

721
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,199
others washed the clothes too. Adrian spent the rest of

722
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:34,519
the day cleaning his apartment, washing or getting rid of

723
00:34:34,559 --> 00:34:36,960
anything that he might have touched when wearing the tainted clothes.

724
00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:39,880
He set the carving by his computer to research it later,

725
00:34:40,039 --> 00:34:43,039
just out of curiosity. Keith and Chamier came home at

726
00:34:43,079 --> 00:34:46,440
similar times. Adrian had texted both of them about his theory,

727
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,440
so they took turns doing laundry at evening. Taking some

728
00:34:49,559 --> 00:34:52,199
action made them feel better, and since nothing happened throughout

729
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,559
the evening, they both managed to go to sleep before ten.

730
00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:57,840
Adrian stayed up as usual, although he did not expect

731
00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:59,960
to stay awake the whole night. He knew his brain

732
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,719
and only had a couple more I was left before

733
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,480
it shut off. He sat down at his computer, not

734
00:35:04,599 --> 00:35:06,079
sure where he was going to let it take him.

735
00:35:06,599 --> 00:35:08,760
Then he noticed the carving next to his hand and

736
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,480
remembered he was going to search for it online. He

737
00:35:11,519 --> 00:35:13,440
wanted to find out if it was some random gift

738
00:35:13,519 --> 00:35:15,920
stoor trinket, or something with any real meaning behind it.

739
00:35:16,519 --> 00:35:19,079
He woke up his computer and logged in. Instead of

740
00:35:19,119 --> 00:35:21,239
his desktop background, he was met with a picture of

741
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,239
his father taken shortly before his death. He looked on

742
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,199
and pale, laying in a hospital bed. The Roman forgerp

743
00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:28,559
at the edge of the photo was supposed to be

744
00:35:28,639 --> 00:35:31,440
injecting life saving medicine, but beknownst to anyone, it was

745
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,159
actually killing him. Adrian didn't have any particularly strong affinity

746
00:35:35,199 --> 00:35:37,760
for his father, he had never truly loved the man,

747
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,400
but even he recoiled that the injustice captured in this photo.

748
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,880
He tried clicking off of it, confused how it had

749
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,480
even showed up in the first place, but the photo

750
00:35:45,519 --> 00:35:48,199
would not go away. Adrian could not even tell what

751
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,760
program had been used to open it. It looked like

752
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,079
the photo was just hovering on screen all on its own.

753
00:35:53,679 --> 00:35:56,239
Then his father's half closed digital eyes opened and flicked

754
00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:59,880
toward him. Adrian gasped and rolled his chair backwards. He

755
00:36:00,079 --> 00:36:03,440
knew his image well, it was not a video. After

756
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,159
he stopped, his chair lurched forward again and rolled until

757
00:36:06,159 --> 00:36:08,000
the arms ran against the edge of the desk with

758
00:36:08,119 --> 00:36:10,920
enough force to slam Adrian into the desk to from

759
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,639
the computer. Adrian's father's voice said, believed, son, what what's happening?

760
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:19,519
Adrian shivered. His father reached out a trembling hand, the

761
00:36:19,519 --> 00:36:21,320
one with the room and four inserted at the elbow.

762
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,039
When he found he could not reach far enough, he

763
00:36:24,119 --> 00:36:25,519
ripped the room and four out of his arm and

764
00:36:25,559 --> 00:36:27,639
stretch so close to the screen that Adrian feared his

765
00:36:27,639 --> 00:36:30,320
father's hand might actually come out of the computer, But

766
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,480
the dead man's fingers had stopped just on the other

767
00:36:32,519 --> 00:36:36,239
side of the glass. Believe Son, he repeated, But this

768
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,599
time he had it. Believe in the devil. All of

769
00:36:38,639 --> 00:36:41,880
the keys on Adrian's keyboard exploded into his face. They

770
00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,920
tore tiny cuts all over his cheeks, forehead, and forearms.

771
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,519
When he tried to shield himself, his mouth struck him

772
00:36:47,519 --> 00:36:49,679
in the temple, and he spun sideways in his chair.

773
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,599
He felt the mechanism below his seat and lock, allowing

774
00:36:52,639 --> 00:36:55,239
the chair to tilt backwards. It leaned all the way

775
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,280
back under his weight, then shot straight up again on

776
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,280
its own, nearly spilling Adrian under the floor. He yelled

777
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,440
as it tilted back a second time with violent speed,

778
00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:05,719
then shot him forward once more. This time he did fall,

779
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,320
slamming against the remains of his keyboard and landing hard

780
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:10,840
on his hands and knees. He crawled away as a

781
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,880
chair continued to rock up and down. The noises below

782
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:15,719
were Keith, who shot out of bed in a panic.

783
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,519
The smell was back, even more powerful than before. Its

784
00:37:19,559 --> 00:37:23,119
rank toxicity made Keith norsus. He ran into his bathroom,

785
00:37:23,159 --> 00:37:25,400
lifted the toilet lid, and was blasted with water as

786
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,440
brackish as what had come up the laundry room drain.

787
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,440
It also bore the foul stench. The taste of it

788
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,320
dripped off the back of his tongue and ran down

789
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,599
his throat. Keith landed hard against the wall and turned

790
00:37:35,639 --> 00:37:38,400
only just in time to avoid vomiting all over himself.

791
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,599
His expulsion mixed with the murky water on his bathroom floor.

792
00:37:42,119 --> 00:37:44,679
He ran to his front door. Some on or something

793
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:47,440
was hammering it frantically, but the two bodies he had

794
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,480
seen on that first night was standing in his way.

795
00:37:50,039 --> 00:37:52,920
They were manifestations of his biggest fear. He had been

796
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,159
terrified of dying in a ghastlyek ever since he was

797
00:37:55,199 --> 00:37:59,320
a child, and some neighbors down the road ah. Keith screamed.

798
00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,039
He now recognized the two faces in the ghosts. He

799
00:38:03,079 --> 00:38:05,800
had known them decades ago was a little boy. He

800
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,360
ran back into his room and shut the door. It

801
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:10,440
boomed as what sounded like a full human body was

802
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,440
thrown against it. Then the grating sound of finger nails

803
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:15,119
biting into the wood scratched from the top of the

804
00:38:15,159 --> 00:38:17,480
door all the way down to the bottom. When the

805
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,920
sound stopped, the tips of five fingers slid under the door.

806
00:38:20,639 --> 00:38:23,719
Heath cowed behind his bed, searching for anything he could

807
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,000
use as a weapon. All he could think of in

808
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,679
the moment was a hard g ofver babble his parents

809
00:38:27,679 --> 00:38:30,360
had given him when he moved out. He hadn't so

810
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:32,559
much as cracked the cover, But now as the heaviest

811
00:38:32,599 --> 00:38:35,280
object near him, the Bible came to mind. It was

812
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,559
laying under a layer of dust beneath his bed. Keith stood,

813
00:38:38,639 --> 00:38:41,000
picked it up and dovet the hideous fingers creeping under

814
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,400
his door. He brought the bibles thick spine down in

815
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,440
the nalled knuckles and felt a brief snap for the

816
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:49,920
fingers vanished with a hiss, Heath, Keith, you'n there. Chaimer's

817
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,320
voice barely resonated through all the walls and doors. Clutching

818
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:55,519
the Bible out in front of himself, Keith flipped on

819
00:38:55,559 --> 00:38:58,440
the light and carefully opened his bedroom door. No one

820
00:38:58,519 --> 00:39:01,440
was waiting on the other side. Hang on, he shouted

821
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,599
back to Jamir. He hurried across his now empty apartment

822
00:39:04,639 --> 00:39:06,960
and peered through the people. When he was sure his

823
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,000
neighbor was actually on the other side, he opened the

824
00:39:09,039 --> 00:39:12,039
door to He expected Jamiir to ask what was going on,

825
00:39:12,199 --> 00:39:14,480
to say he had heard sounds coming from Keith's apartment,

826
00:39:15,159 --> 00:39:17,639
but instead jam Ere turned, pointed back at his own

827
00:39:17,679 --> 00:39:20,599
apartment and asked, who the hell is that. Keith could

828
00:39:20,599 --> 00:39:22,480
see the outline of a hunched woman faintly traced by

829
00:39:22,519 --> 00:39:25,119
a bleeding light from the hallway. Only her eyes were

830
00:39:25,119 --> 00:39:28,719
truly illuminated, appearing to glow white in the darkness. Please

831
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,440
tell me you see or two, tell me I'm not crazy,

832
00:39:31,559 --> 00:39:35,280
begged Demir. I see her, Keith said, and then he

833
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,760
began to realize the woman seemed familiar. Mazel, is that

834
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:42,440
you the woman? Halt? This is my home and Jamiere's

835
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:47,079
door slam chat, hey hey. Jamir ran forward, pounding at

836
00:39:47,079 --> 00:39:50,800
his door. After he found it locked, he spun toward Keith, demanding,

837
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:55,280
who's mazel dear. Keith's eyes were wide and aimless. He

838
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,679
looked totally lost. She's the lady who lived there before you.

839
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,960
Jamier banged on the door again while asking was she

840
00:40:02,039 --> 00:40:05,480
see nell or something? Adrian's door slantchat and his pounding

841
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:09,000
footsteps rose toward them. Jamir didn't seem to notice as

842
00:40:09,039 --> 00:40:12,280
he tried fruitlessly to re enter his apartment. It's thus,

843
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:15,320
Adrin yelled. In his open hand, he held up something

844
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,480
for the other two to see. I think it's all

845
00:40:17,519 --> 00:40:20,280
coming from this thing. Keith reached for the item, then

846
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,920
held his hand back. He didn't know what might happen

847
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:25,840
if he touched it. Instead, he leaned in to observe

848
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:28,639
the object in Adrian's palm. It had the same loves

849
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,800
open mouthed as the dead people in his living room.

850
00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:35,599
Chamir Keith said, forcing urgency into his voice. We need

851
00:40:35,639 --> 00:40:39,079
to leave right now. We gotta go. I'm not leaving

852
00:40:39,119 --> 00:40:42,760
this crazy woman alone in my apartment. Jamr retorted, dude,

853
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:46,320
she's not real. Adrian explained, none of it is. I mean,

854
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,199
it's real, but it's not really what it just come on.

855
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:52,639
He led the charge down to the door, followed by

856
00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:55,559
Keith and a resentful Jamir. In a parking lot, he

857
00:40:55,599 --> 00:40:57,800
explained how Chuck had given him the little item which

858
00:40:57,800 --> 00:40:59,880
he continually referred to as the tutum after the law

859
00:41:00,079 --> 00:41:02,639
drew room flat. I don't think there was anything wrong

860
00:41:02,639 --> 00:41:05,440
with the pipes, he said. I think some would. He

861
00:41:05,519 --> 00:41:07,480
tossed his totem down a drain or something and it

862
00:41:07,559 --> 00:41:10,079
ended up under our building. I think he brought itself

863
00:41:10,159 --> 00:41:11,840
up here, and now we have to get rid of it.

864
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,920
Jamiir had his phone out and was dialing nine hundred

865
00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:18,320
eleven absently. He said, O KA, cool, so throw it out.

866
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:21,280
I got to get rid of this crazy lady. The

867
00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,119
police won't do anything, Keith said, pointing to the numbers

868
00:41:24,199 --> 00:41:26,960
entered on Jamier's phone. Shamir looked at him like he

869
00:41:27,079 --> 00:41:28,920
was crazy, but he did not press the call button.

870
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:32,800
Not even he could explain why. He hesitated. Keith continued,

871
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,679
No one that we've seen is really there. Adrian saw

872
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:37,639
his dad. I saw people I haven't even thought about

873
00:41:37,639 --> 00:41:40,480
in year's and you saw. But that's not right. Mazel

874
00:41:40,599 --> 00:41:44,480
isn't dead. I don't think that matters, Adrian said. Look

875
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,840
how he's reacting. It looked like her to do this

876
00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,159
to him. It figured out the best way to mess

877
00:41:49,159 --> 00:41:52,039
with each one of us. For some reason, it really

878
00:41:52,079 --> 00:41:54,800
wants us to stay out of our building. Okay, fine,

879
00:41:55,559 --> 00:41:58,519
so again, just throw the thing out already, Jamir said,

880
00:41:58,559 --> 00:42:01,199
referring to the totem. We can't just row it out.

881
00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:04,159
Adrian said, that's probably how we ended up with it

882
00:42:04,159 --> 00:42:07,199
in the first place. Somebody else just tossed it away.

883
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:09,599
We need to put it somewhere a won'ever get out.

884
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,840
Jamir recommended to burn it, and Adrian showed them his

885
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:16,119
other palm. It bore a bliss of red spiral. He

886
00:42:16,199 --> 00:42:17,920
told them he had pit the totem on his stove

887
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,920
to try and in the curse, and as soon as

888
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,800
he turned in the heat, he was burned. The totem

889
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:25,280
was unmocked. That was when he had run out of

890
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:29,239
his apartment to find them. You know what, fine, we'll

891
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:31,239
do your thing, and if that lady's still up there

892
00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:34,320
when we get back and culling the cops get back.

893
00:42:35,039 --> 00:42:39,519
Keith acht, Wait, where are we going? Who's got keys?

894
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,360
Jamiir asked. Adrian reached and threw his pocket and shuffled

895
00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:46,960
round his cow's amber. Lights blinked, indicating it was now unlocked.

896
00:42:47,599 --> 00:42:51,519
Chamier said, great, take us up the road aways. They

897
00:42:51,519 --> 00:42:54,400
were fixing a sidewalk when I drove past earlier, there

898
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:57,639
might be new cement. Keith said, that's perfect, as he

899
00:42:57,719 --> 00:43:00,960
let himself into Adrian's car. They move together about quarter

900
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,639
mile up the road. Jamiir held the totem through his

901
00:43:03,679 --> 00:43:05,760
hoodie so Adrian could drive with his one good hand.

902
00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:08,760
They found orange cones indicating where the new concrete had

903
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:11,920
been poured. Man, they got that and just under the limit.

904
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,760
Jemmy remarked, it's going to be too cold in like

905
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:18,199
a week. Lucky ass, Adrian said. They all got out

906
00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:21,239
and walked over to the new sidewalk. Just press it in.

907
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:24,960
Jermir asked, I don't know this was your idea, said Adrian.

908
00:43:25,519 --> 00:43:28,159
Jamier shrugged and gently nudged the totem into the fresh cement.

909
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:31,320
It had already begun to harden, but probably thanks to

910
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:34,400
the low temperature, it had not fully set. The totem

911
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,199
sunk in, first just creating a dent, then finally filling

912
00:43:37,199 --> 00:43:40,159
in over the top. Jami barely pulled his hoodi away

913
00:43:40,199 --> 00:43:43,119
in time to avoid getting any cement on himself. His

914
00:43:43,199 --> 00:43:45,639
action left a blemish in the otherwise smooth surface, but

915
00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:47,800
he didn't think the damage would be bad enough to warrant,

916
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,320
the crew ripping out the panel and starting over. They

917
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,519
waited for a few minutes to see if anything would happen,

918
00:43:52,559 --> 00:43:55,679
then left the cursed totem behind. Everything had returned to

919
00:43:55,719 --> 00:43:58,480
normal back at the apartment building. The only thing that

920
00:43:58,599 --> 00:44:00,360
was not exactly how they had left it was actually

921
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:04,199
a blessing. Jamir's door was unlocked, as if nothing had

922
00:44:04,199 --> 00:44:06,599
transpired between them. They membered each other good night and

923
00:44:06,639 --> 00:44:09,920
went to their respective apartments. Then each of them slupt

924
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:13,000
soundly for the first time in three days. The next morning,

925
00:44:13,039 --> 00:44:16,559
things were still wonderfully ordinary. Shaermer left for work before

926
00:44:16,599 --> 00:44:19,199
either of the others woke up. He felt he needed

927
00:44:19,199 --> 00:44:20,880
to make up for missing his conference to show his

928
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,360
bosses he was still committed to the firm. On the

929
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,880
way there, he intentionally drove past the sidewalk where they

930
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,920
had buried the totem. There were the orange combs scattered

931
00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:31,960
all across the road. A city truck had already arrived,

932
00:44:32,039 --> 00:44:33,800
and a man in a bright orange vest was scratching

933
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,119
at his peenie while talking loudly on his cell phone.

934
00:44:36,599 --> 00:44:38,519
In front of him, a single square of concrete had

935
00:44:38,519 --> 00:44:41,920
been obliterated. It looked like it had exploded, sending rocky

936
00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:44,280
chunks of concrete all over the area, even ruining some

937
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:47,800
of the rest of the brand new sidewalk. Jaimyr considered stopping,

938
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,039
but decided not to incriminate himself. What could he do

939
00:44:51,079 --> 00:44:54,039
to help anyway, If the totem was laying somewhere over there,

940
00:44:54,079 --> 00:44:55,880
it's not like he would be willing to take it back.

941
00:44:56,559 --> 00:44:58,960
Hopefully it landed somewhere it would never be noticed by

942
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:01,800
a passer by. Hopefully the winter's snow would come soon

943
00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,119
and bury it, and when the snow melted, it would

944
00:45:04,119 --> 00:45:08,159
carry the totem down the drain. Chamyer shivered. He reminded

945
00:45:08,199 --> 00:45:10,760
himself that he was free of the curse and that

946
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:12,840
it wasn't even his fault. It had become their problem

947
00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,760
in the first place. He prayed that whoever found it next,

948
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:17,920
or whoever it found next, would know how to get

949
00:45:18,039 --> 00:45:27,159
rid of it, really destroy it for good.