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Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcomed stories all the time. Glad you are here.

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Let's get into it. I was nineteen when I took

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that delivery. I hadn't been at Harold's Pizza for very long,

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maybe three weeks, maybe four, but already ID logged more

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backer of miles than I care to count. Most of

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our deliveries went out to the quieter parts of mcnell County.

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That's where the roads got narrower and the addresses got stranger.

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You think pizza would be a downtown craving, but no,

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up there. People still wanted pepperoni and sausage like they

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were calling for a rescue helicopter. The money wasn't bad,

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especially with tips, but the routes, let's just say, if

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you drove too far, your GPS started second guessing itself,

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and even the cows looked like they had questions. You

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get good at memorizing landmarks, the shape of roads, the

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weird mail books, art, the one guy with a yard

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full of toilets. That kind of stuff becomes your map.

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That Friday night started slur. One of those nights were

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tinned sticks, and the ovens umlauded than the foam rings

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by ten thirty. The other two drivers had clocked out.

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I was folding up the prep counter half way through

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scruby my name off the delivery log when the bell rang.

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One last order had slipped in. Sausage, pizza, single topping,

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No drinks, no wings, just plain and simple. The ticket

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said East Finch Road. Didn't raise alarms at first. The

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guide re called, didn't sound drunk or strange, but he

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hung up halfway through the confirmation, not ideal, stilled if

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it was late. I was bored and I didn't feel

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like staying to mop the soda machine. I grabbed the box,

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sipped it into the insulated bag, and loaded up my car.

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That Civic was on its last leg, always one pothole

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away from becoming a lawn ornament. The handbrake hadn't worked

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for months. I'd gotten used to it. Parking gear wheels

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turned into the kurbyf There was one. No hills, no

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trust in gravity. I punched the address into my phone.

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The little blue dot hesitated before committing. Thirty minutes mostly highway,

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then county roads than would have a lay beyond that.

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I pulled out music low had let tie, and I

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drove the farther I got the darker it got, street

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lights faded, and the road started to feel like it

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belonged to some one else. No cars, no signs of life,

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just farmer melting into dense woods. By the time I

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passed a rustained, water towered callowie barely visible, my phone

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buzzed no service. I wasn't surprised that happened out here,

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but it always had a pressure, like flying without a parachute.

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YE start wondering what you'd do if the car broke down,

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or if someone flied you down in the dark. After

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a few more turns and a gravel deed that I

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felt like driving over broken pottery, I found dear hollow road.

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It wasn't a road, not really two rut barely wide

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enough for a car, Trees clwing at the edges, branches

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low enough to scrape the roof, the kind of place

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you hoped you'd never have to reverse out of. I

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slowed to a crawl, headlights bounced across twisted trees and

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low hanging vines. It felt like driving into a tunnel

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made of brush. And then, after nine miles of this

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wilderness maze, I saw it the house. It sat low

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in a gully at the bottom of a slope, half

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swallowed by tree, a squat sagging shape with a roof

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that looked defeated, windows blacked out or broken, and what

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might have been a chicken cook collapsed beside it. The

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driver was cracked and overgrown, but still passable. I eased down,

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tires crunching on gravel, engine humming nervously. I left the

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head lights on and the engine running, partly because of

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the handbrake, but mostly because something about the place just

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fell wrong, like it had been waiting. No porch light,

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no movement inside, just a door slightly open, like it

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hadn't made up its mind to close or invite me.

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In I pickup sat at the top of the drive,

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an old fort caked in mud, missing plates, one merry

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dangling by a wire. It looked abandoned, or worse, not

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abandoned at all. I sat there, one hand on the

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gear shift, staring, and something was spurred. Don't not loud,

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not burgeoned, just a quiet warning you feel more than here.

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But it was just a peter right. I grabbed the back,

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slipped the car into neutral with the wheelcock left so

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it wouldn't roll, and got out the second I closed

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the door of the night hit me damp still, the

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of still, where every footstep feels personal. I walked the

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gravel path sneakers crunching, breath showing in short bursts. The

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peter bag felt too warm against my side. One window

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caught my eye, half cracked frames, splintered, glass, mudged, as

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if some one had rested their head there that detail stuck.

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I stopped at the door, raised my hand, knocked. The

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sound came back, muffled, thick like wood soaked water. No response.

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I waited, still nothing. Then somewhere inside a light flickered,

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dim stuttering, like an old bulbonnets last legs or candlelight

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caught in motion, and then he appeared, tall, broad shoulders,

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bald hair, tassues, crawling from beneath a yellow tank top.

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His skin looked thin, stretched. He didn't move like someone surprised.

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He moved like he been there the whole time, waiting.

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He stared, no blink note, which just that flat, dry

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stare in the faint color of a smile. I lifted

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the box peter. My voice cracked. I cleared my foot

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and pretended it hadn't. He didn't answer, did not, just

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stood there waiting I leaned slightly, trying to glance past him,

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and what I saw made my stomach twist. The house

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was empty, not messy, not abandoned in the usual way,

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just hollow, bare wooden floors, no furniture, no lamps, no curtains,

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no smell of food, smoke, or even dust, just ere

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that didn't feel lived in. Dark and even march streaked

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the floor like something heavy had been dragged across it.

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Then he moved his hand, slow, deliberate, behind his back,

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and every cell in my body screamed to run, but

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I didn't, couldn't. I just stood there, frozen, brain shouting

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while my legs refused to listen. I thought of my

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mom telling me this job wasn't worth it. I thought

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of my girlfriend joking good luck in horror movie land.

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When I texted, he read address, and I thought how

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ridiculous it would be if this was how it ended

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over a ten dollar sausage pizza. Then gravel shifted behind me.

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I turned my head. My car was moving, not fast,

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just slow, steady, rolling backward down the slope, wheels turning headlights,

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weeping toward the road. The incline invisible in the way

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in had become just steep enough to unjum me. I

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watched my civic drift past the clapped chicken coop ties,

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crunching softly. That's when the man smile changed, dell like

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something had been taken from him. He looked at the card,

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then back at me. Then, without a word, he pulled

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a crumpled twenty from his pocket, held it out like

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we were to drive through. I handed him the pizza.

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He took it. The door shut with a heavy thud.

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I ran down the path to the drifting car. I

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yanked the door open, threw myself inside, slammed it into

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first and hit the gas. The tire spun, caught, and

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then I was gone, flying down dear hollow hans locked

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in the wheel hart hammering against my ribs. I didn't

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look back, not until I hit an intersection with a

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street light and bars on my phone again. I pulled over,

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killed the engine and sat there shaking. Back at the shop,

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I told Monica, my manager, everything. I expected her to laugh,

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but she went quiet, picked up the phone and called

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the sheriff. Later I called her back, said the property

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had been condemned for over a year. Fire damage row

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from the sable owned by the bank. No one had

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been near the months. Nothing else ever came of it.

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I started carrying a pocket knife, Monica started sticking GPS

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trackerstickers on all the bags, and I never took a

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delivery that far again. My cousin calib had asked me

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to look after his hunting cabin for a couple of

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weeks while he was out of state for work. I

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didn't think twice about saying, yes, we've grown up close

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like brothers, really, and I figured it would be an

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easy way to get out of town. Made it clear

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my head a little. He didn't ask for much, just

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said he needed someone to keep an eye on the place.

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No use how it eas to worry about. No real chors,

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just check in, keep it locked up, and make sure

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no one tried to mess with it while he was gone.

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The cabin was in a pretty remote spot in rural Kentucky,

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about an eyro outside a little place called Weston, one

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of those towns that's barely more than a post office

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and a diner. From there, it was another fifteen miles

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down winding gravel ROAs through old farmland that had mostly

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turned back into woods, the kind of place where GPS

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gives up halfway and you're relying on memory or printed directions.

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The cabin itself wasn't anything fancy. It was quat, made

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from old crying timber, sitting low to the ground on

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short stilts, with a small front porch and a sagging

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roof that always looked like it needed one more nail.

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Caleb had fixed it up over the years. He added

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a working wood stove, replace some of the windows, but

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it still had that patchy and finished feel. You could

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tell it had been built more for function and comfort.

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One bedroom up in the loft, a main room with

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a kitchen nook, a tiny bathroom tapped on to the side.

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No internet, no cable, barely any sell signal unless he

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walked about thirty feet a pill toward a crooked pine tree,

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and even then it was hit or miss. When I

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was unloading my back from the truck, Caleb tossed me

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the keys and gave me a quick rundown where the

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extra firewood was have a reset the well pump of

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its butter, that sort of thing. Then he paused for

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a second, like he was deciding whether to say something else.

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Finally he did, oh, and just don't go wandering at night.

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I chuckled, couldn't help it. It sounded like something out

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of an old Camphire story, what like coyotes or something.

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He just looked at me, not angry, not trying to

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scare me, just serious. Just don't Then he got in

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his truck and drove off. The first day was quiet, peaceful,

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even I brought in some groceries, sat the fire by

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the stove, and took a walk around the edge of

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the tree aligned to get a feel for the place.

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The forest stretched up in every direction, dense, dark, and

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mostly undisturbed. You could stand in the porch and spin

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in a full circle without seeing another house, row or

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even a power line. I'd ask. I was sitting out

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there with a beer, legs up on the railing, just

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listening to the breeze rustling through the trees. No traffic noise,

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no distance sirens, just silence, the kind that makes your

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ears ring a little, because there's nothing to fill the space.

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When I finally went inside and locked up, I remember

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thinking the quiet almost felt too complete, like even the

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forest was holding its breath. The second night, things started

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to shift a little. I've fallen into a bit of

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a rhythm. By then cooked a simple dinner, read for

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a while, then checked all the doors and windows before

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heading upstairs to the loft. I locked the front and

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back doors twice, tugged in the shutters to make sure

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they were latched, crawled into bed under the old cork

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callot kept folded at the foot. I must have been

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asleep for a couple of hours when I thought I

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heard something on the porch, just a soft creek, like

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someone had stepped in the loose board near the stairs.

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I laid her for a long time, listening nothing else,

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no footsteps, no knocks, no voices, just that one sound,

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and then nothing. I told myself it was probably an animal,

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maybe a raccoon, maybe a deer wandered too close. I

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didn't look. I didn't want to. The next morning, everything

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seemed normal, nothing disturbed, The firewood pile was still neat,

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the door still locked. I convinced myself I had imagined

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it that it was just the quiet playing tricks on

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my ears. That night, I poured myself a drink before bed,

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just something to take the edge off. Maybe it was

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in my head, maybe not, But I had started feeling

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a little watch, like the trees were paying attention, like

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there was something just outside of you waiting for me

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to notice it. Then around the leven or so, I

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went into the kitchen for a fell and saw the

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back door standing half an inch open. The dead boat

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was still extended, not even touching the latch. I just

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stood there staring at it, gripping the counter with one

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hand and the glass with the other. I knew I

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had locked it. I remembered hearing the solid think of

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it sliding into place. I even tested it twice, but

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now it was hanging open like it hadn't been touched.

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I locked it again, harder this time, and dragged the

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little end table over to sit in front of it,

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just for peace of mind. The next morning I noticed

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something new, mad thin streaks of it across the floor,

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starting at the back door and trailing part way into

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the living room. Not four footprints, not really, just marched lines,

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like someone had walked through half dried mock and then

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scraped their boots lightly on the floor. The streak stopped

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at ten feet in, no turn around, no continuation, just stopped.

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I crouched down to look closer. The marks were definitely

236
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from boots wide uneven souls maybe size e leven or twelve.

237
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I checked every room in the cabin, the loft, the

238
00:11:58,039 --> 00:12:02,360
tiny bathroom, even the cabinet under the sink. Nothing, no one,

239
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:07,159
no sign of forced entry, no open windows, just a mud.

240
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I even crawled under the porch, flashlight clenched between my teeth,

241
00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,879
hot pounding so hard I could feel it in my jaw. Nothing.

242
00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,120
That night, I didn't bother trying to sleep. I sat

243
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in the main room with the lamp on, reading a

244
00:12:18,919 --> 00:12:22,399
paperback I found on the shelf, something about hiking disastos

245
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,559
every now and then. I glanced at the back door,

246
00:12:24,759 --> 00:12:27,840
checking the bowl, checking the floor. Around midnight, I heard

247
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the front's green door creak. It was the same sound

248
00:12:30,399 --> 00:12:34,279
as before, soft drawn out like so pressure. I'm an

249
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old hinge. I froze, held my breath, waited for the

250
00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:41,240
next sound. Nothing. After a while, I glanced at the

251
00:12:41,279 --> 00:12:45,879
mental clock. It had stopped, hands frozen at nine forty two.

252
00:12:46,159 --> 00:12:49,480
I leaned closer, trying to listen. The second hand twitched

253
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,399
once backward, twice forward, then nothing, like it had forgotten

254
00:12:53,399 --> 00:12:56,639
how time is supposed to work. I didn't sleep. I

255
00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,399
just sat there waiting for the sun. Somewhere around three

256
00:12:59,519 --> 00:13:01,840
zero in the morning, I think I saw light moving

257
00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,279
through the trees. At first I thought it was the

258
00:13:04,279 --> 00:13:07,799
moon catching on something, but then it moved a flickering blow,

259
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,960
like an old lantern, swinging back and forth to the

260
00:13:10,039 --> 00:13:12,240
kind with a glass cover and a little flame inside.

261
00:13:12,799 --> 00:13:16,480
It moved slowly, deliberately, weaving between the trees. I stepped

262
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,639
out on to the porch, calling out without really thinking ullo.

263
00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,639
The light didn't react, just kept moving in a lazy arc,

264
00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,600
same pace, same distance. I walked a few steps toward it,

265
00:13:27,639 --> 00:13:31,480
boot crunching on the gravel. It moved true, not away,

266
00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,039
not toward me, just deeper into the woods, keeping the

267
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,919
same gap between us, just far enough that I couldn't

268
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,559
quite make out who was holding it. I followed it

269
00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,519
from maybe twenty or thirty feet before stopping. My skin

270
00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:45,519
felt tight, like the air was pressing on me. I

271
00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:47,559
turned back toward the cabin and saw the back door

272
00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,879
wide open again. That was it. I ran. I sprended

273
00:13:51,919 --> 00:13:54,200
back hard in my throat, slammed the door shut, and

274
00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,600
shoved the heavy table in front of it. I was panting, soating,

275
00:13:57,679 --> 00:13:59,600
hands shaking as I leaned against the table, trying to

276
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,039
slow my breathing. Then came the sound bootsteps from upstairs,

277
00:14:03,279 --> 00:14:06,440
one at a time, slow, steady, pacing back and forth

278
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,879
across the loft. There was no way. No one could

279
00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:12,000
have gone past me. I had been watching every door,

280
00:14:12,039 --> 00:14:15,399
but the steps kept going, deliberate and heavy right above me.

281
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,120
I stood at the base of the stairs for what

282
00:14:17,159 --> 00:14:20,960
felt like an iro. Eventually I climbed them. Every step

283
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,600
felt like it took a year. My legs were trembling

284
00:14:23,639 --> 00:14:27,120
through it dry. When I reached the top, nothing bad

285
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,240
was un touch My bag was still sitting on top,

286
00:14:29,279 --> 00:14:32,440
sipped and undisturbed, but I had heard those footsteps. I

287
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,320
stayed in that chair until daylight bots on bag, packed

288
00:14:35,399 --> 00:14:37,720
keys in my pocket. As soon as I saw the

289
00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,919
first crack of light through the shutters, I got up,

290
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:41,759
grabbed my stuff, and walked out the door without a

291
00:14:41,799 --> 00:14:44,639
glance back. We had just moved into a rental house

292
00:14:44,639 --> 00:14:47,720
in a little town called Marlow, Kentucky. My girl friend

293
00:14:47,759 --> 00:14:50,159
and I wanted something quiet, affordable, with a yard where

294
00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,759
the kids could play, a place where we wouldn't hear

295
00:14:52,759 --> 00:14:55,799
are upstairs neighbors late night tap dancing any more. This

296
00:14:55,879 --> 00:14:58,840
house checked most of the boxes. Not perfect, but it

297
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,840
had potential two small bedrooms, one tiny spare room we

298
00:15:02,919 --> 00:15:04,879
converted into a cozy mix of music n nook and

299
00:15:04,919 --> 00:15:08,000
nerd sanctuary, have al lin and guitars on one side,

300
00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,159
my old desktop and stack of our pig books on

301
00:15:10,159 --> 00:15:13,279
the other. It felt like a fresh start. The front

302
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,519
window the road sloped down toward the elementary school bus route.

303
00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,480
Every afternoon, right around three, the yellow busses rolled by

304
00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,919
in a slow parade. Kids tumbled out, yelling and laughing,

305
00:15:24,039 --> 00:15:27,519
back back, swinging. Sometimes I sipedlucorm coffee and watched from

306
00:15:27,559 --> 00:15:30,799
the couch, and for a brief second, everything felt right.

307
00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:33,879
I don't know why that pot stuck with me, maybe

308
00:15:33,919 --> 00:15:36,919
because it felt normal, familiar even, But there was one

309
00:15:36,919 --> 00:15:39,679
thing I never quite got used to. Right across the street,

310
00:15:39,879 --> 00:15:41,759
just fifty feet from our front door, stood an old

311
00:15:41,799 --> 00:15:45,440
wooden church, not a grand cathedral, just a tired, whitewashed

312
00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,000
building with chips siding, a slanted roof, and a steep

313
00:15:48,039 --> 00:15:49,759
le leaning slightly to the right, as if it had

314
00:15:49,759 --> 00:15:52,039
survived two many storms and decided to rest. The way

315
00:15:52,639 --> 00:15:55,799
beside it a gravel lot, usually empty except on Sundays

316
00:15:55,799 --> 00:15:58,519
of the occasional Wednesday night, it looked like the kind

317
00:15:58,519 --> 00:16:00,960
of place where hints echudoff raft and peas creaked when

318
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,879
you shifted your weight. Most people probably thought it gave

319
00:16:03,919 --> 00:16:07,840
the area a wholesome vibe, clean, safe, decent. For us,

320
00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:10,799
it felt like standing in a glass box a display

321
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,519
case labeled look at the weird. Ones were pagan, not

322
00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,200
loud about it, but not hiding at eaither A small

323
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,360
sticker on our front door, nothing harsh, just a pentacle

324
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,759
with a funny caption. A wind chime made of dear

325
00:16:21,799 --> 00:16:24,679
auntlaws near the porch. That alone was enough to draw

326
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,480
attention in a place like Marla. A few days after

327
00:16:27,519 --> 00:16:29,600
moving in, I noticed muddy streaks up the side of

328
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,519
the house, not splashed from attire, smeared high up, like

329
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,679
someone had thrown a fistful of wet dirt at the wall.

330
00:16:35,279 --> 00:16:38,000
I stared at it, trying to explain it away. Maybe

331
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,799
kids running through the yard, maybe a dark mirror. My

332
00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:46,240
girlfriend was less forgiving. Someone saw the sticker, she said, flatly,

333
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,960
arms crossed, jaw tight. They don't like us being here.

334
00:16:49,639 --> 00:16:52,399
I couldn't argue. She grew up in towns like this,

335
00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:56,080
so did I. It wouldn't be the first time someone

336
00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:59,480
loomed us with passive aggressive nonsense. She woorked lawn shifts

337
00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:01,879
at the clinic. I stayed home with the boys j

338
00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:05,920
J O'Neil. It made more financial sense, and I liked

339
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:07,880
the rhythm, even if it sometimes felt like a one

340
00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:13,559
woman's circus. Breakfast was chaos. Scorework needed, bribes and breaking

341
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,640
up fights between a six year old and a four

342
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,759
year all to negotiation skills worthy of the un The

343
00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,559
only real quite came in the afternoons, when the kids

344
00:17:21,559 --> 00:17:23,960
played in the yacht and I could bree That day,

345
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:25,880
I crouched in the grass near the porch with Neil.

346
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,880
We watched a spider spinning a web between two railings.

347
00:17:29,519 --> 00:17:32,119
He was absorbed, pointing every few seconds and narrating like

348
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,400
a tiny niche host. I wasn't thinking about the church.

349
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,000
I wasn't thinking about anything, just enjoying the stillness until

350
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,440
the car showed up, first a black suv, then a

351
00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,759
maroon sedan, then another. Within ten minutes, the church lot

352
00:17:47,799 --> 00:17:51,279
was full, ten maybe twelve cars, lined in neat rows,

353
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,359
not normal from Monday afternoon. My first thought was funeral,

354
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,319
but I saw no suits, no flowers. They weren't dressed fancy,

355
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,960
not even a like It didn't feel like an event,

356
00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,759
more like a gathering, a coordinated one. I told myself

357
00:18:06,759 --> 00:18:09,599
it was probably a council meeting or Bible study with snacks.

358
00:18:10,279 --> 00:18:13,880
But I kept watching. Then the door opened. People felt

359
00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,599
out in clusters. The first group drew my eye, a man,

360
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,000
a woman, and two little girls. The girls looked identical,

361
00:18:21,039 --> 00:18:24,240
same braids, same dresses, moving in perfect sink, not in

362
00:18:24,279 --> 00:18:27,160
the cute twin way, in a practiced way. Behind them

363
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,359
came two men who made my stomach to a tall rail.

364
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,119
Thin gaunt faces, sunken cheeks, collars too wide for their necks.

365
00:18:33,759 --> 00:18:37,000
They looked stretched, worn down. But the slow, deliberate steps

366
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:38,759
made me want to run inside and lock the door.

367
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:44,480
Neil noticed too. He waved with toddler enthusiasm. HULLO. I

368
00:18:44,519 --> 00:18:47,799
gave a polite smile, raise a hand. The adults ignored us,

369
00:18:47,799 --> 00:18:51,359
but the girls turned both of them. They stared blank,

370
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,920
frozen like dolls. Like dolls, one even started to raise

371
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,160
her hand in a dilate wave. Then snap, one of

372
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,559
the tall men grabbed her wrist enforced her arm down,

373
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:06,279
not gentle, quick chop, like scolding a child reaching into fire.

374
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,440
My stomach dropped, I told neil the head inside. He

375
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,519
went without fuss, assuming it was snack time. She Ja

376
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,559
met him at the door, already peeking out the window

377
00:19:15,599 --> 00:19:19,279
like he'd been watching. I stayed put. Curiosity got the

378
00:19:19,279 --> 00:19:22,279
better of me, the dangerous kind, the kind act whispers

379
00:19:22,319 --> 00:19:25,519
say something where you'll always wonder. So I crossed the road.

380
00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,079
The father figure was in the driver's seat. I called out, hey,

381
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,920
I'm Danny. Just moved in across the street. He turned

382
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,680
and looked at me. That's all. But the weight of

383
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,519
it made the skin on my neck tighten. Not anger,

384
00:19:39,599 --> 00:19:44,279
not fear, just heavy, certain Still, I smiled, You've got

385
00:19:44,279 --> 00:19:47,640
two beautiful girls. One of the twins tilted her head.

386
00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,400
Her words were so flat, so strange. I thought I

387
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:55,200
mishard were not for sale. I blinked, sorry. She didn't

388
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,319
repeat it. The gaunt man in back echoed, slow and deliberate,

389
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,440
they are not for sale. I laughed nervously, No, of

390
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,000
course not. I just thought maybe you'd like to come

391
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,200
over some time, coffee or something. Let the kids hang up.

392
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,079
That's when the mother appeared. She stepped down, pulled off

393
00:20:12,079 --> 00:20:14,039
her some glasses, and cut me with a look sharp

394
00:20:14,079 --> 00:20:16,400
as a blade. My girls won't be caught dead with

395
00:20:16,519 --> 00:20:20,279
you boys. She hissed, Then she stepped closer. I've seen

396
00:20:20,319 --> 00:20:25,119
what you are. Lesbians, heathens, devil worshippers. Each word landed

397
00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,119
like a slap. God sees you, little girl, and he

398
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,880
does not like what he sees. He will strike you down.

399
00:20:31,599 --> 00:20:34,640
Her hand shot skyward. He will not buy my children

400
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,200
the souls belonged to him. Her voice cracked, shull, echoing

401
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,799
across the empty street like a sermon rehearsed for years.

402
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,759
I stood frozen, not for lack of words, but because

403
00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,519
what do you even do with that? My legs shook.

404
00:20:47,279 --> 00:20:50,480
I nodded, muttered something like OK, then and turned back

405
00:20:50,519 --> 00:20:54,599
across the street, not running, not quite. Her voice chased

406
00:20:54,640 --> 00:21:00,279
me all the way home, scripture but curses. Inside. G

407
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,720
J and Neil were wide eyed at the window. I

408
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,839
shut the door, leaned against it, tried to shake it off.

409
00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,720
Then Neil, still clutching a juice box, looked up at me, Mommy,

410
00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:10,599
if you buy those kids, can I keep one in

411
00:21:10,599 --> 00:21:13,400
my closet? And that was the end of it. This

412
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,839
happened during a solo camping trip in Kentucky a couple

413
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,160
of years ago. I was deep in one of those

414
00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,599
burnout spirals where even the sound of a microwave beeping

415
00:21:20,599 --> 00:21:25,480
felt like too much. Everything at work had been NonStop meetings, deadlines,

416
00:21:25,519 --> 00:21:28,960
slack messages pinning every ten seconds. I live alone, but

417
00:21:29,039 --> 00:21:31,839
even my own apartments started to feel cramped, so I

418
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,880
blocked off a weekend, told every one I was going

419
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,960
somewhere without service, which was true, and I started packing

420
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,319
for a two night trip into the woods, just me

421
00:21:39,519 --> 00:21:41,440
a tent and hopeful in no one else for miles.

422
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:44,640
A guy I used to work with, Marcus, once told

423
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,920
me about this hidden spot past the usual campgrounds of

424
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,240
Red River Gorge. It wasn't listed on any camping map,

425
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,759
just a place you had to know about. He said.

426
00:21:52,799 --> 00:21:54,680
If you followed a dirt trail past a washed out

427
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:56,599
sign in a bed fence post and kept going until

428
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,039
you reached little fort that looked like nothing, you'd find

429
00:21:59,079 --> 00:22:02,200
an open clearing surround trees. He had only been there

430
00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,799
once years ago, but said it felt like the quietest

431
00:22:04,839 --> 00:22:08,079
place he'd ever been. That sounded like exactly what I wanted.

432
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,599
I left on a Friday morning. The drive from Lewisville

433
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,880
took a few ears, and the last stretch was rough

434
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,559
gravel roads, hotholes, places where I was sure I was

435
00:22:16,599 --> 00:22:19,279
even on the right track. But eventually I found what

436
00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:21,680
looked like the trail had Marcus had described, a barely

437
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,640
the path, half swallowed by weeds. I parked off to

438
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,480
the side and hoisted my pack. The hike was longer

439
00:22:27,519 --> 00:22:30,000
than I expected, almost two ears, with all the gear

440
00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,960
climbing more than I had guessed. My legs were screaming

441
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:34,480
by the time I reached the clear ring, and I

442
00:22:34,519 --> 00:22:37,000
was soaked in sweat that the second I stepped into

443
00:22:37,039 --> 00:22:39,640
that open patch of land it felt worth it. It

444
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,759
was a perfect little spot, flat, wide enough for a

445
00:22:42,799 --> 00:22:45,079
tent and a fire, surrounded by tall trees that made

446
00:22:45,079 --> 00:22:47,960
the whole place feel like a room without walls. Someone

447
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,680
had left a fire ring made of blacken stones. The

448
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,559
ground was soft, but not muddy. No sounds of cars,

449
00:22:54,319 --> 00:22:59,160
no distant voices, no power lines humming, just stillness. I

450
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,880
set up my tent in the center and unpacked. I

451
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,759
had a tiny cooloa with food, a couple of mini

452
00:23:04,799 --> 00:23:08,599
liquor bottles. My camping knife flashed light all the usual stuff, caught,

453
00:23:08,599 --> 00:23:11,720
a small fire going, roasted some hot dogs, cracked open

454
00:23:11,759 --> 00:23:14,440
one of the bottles. I remember sitting there for a

455
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,920
long time, just staring into the fire and feeling more

456
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,599
relaxed than I had in weeks. I even laughed out

457
00:23:19,599 --> 00:23:22,279
loud at how quite it was, not in the spooky way,

458
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,559
just in a my brain finally shut up kind of way.

459
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,119
Then the sun started going down. Right around dusk, I

460
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,640
heard something in the trees behind me, not the kind

461
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:34,680
of rustling you chwne out, but something with weight, slow steps,

462
00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,759
shift in leaves, branch is brushing. I turned my head,

463
00:23:38,799 --> 00:23:41,240
dumped water without even thinking, and for the briefest second

464
00:23:41,279 --> 00:23:44,599
I saw someone. They were between two trees, already half turned,

465
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,839
moving away, but I caught the outline, broad shoulders, a jacket,

466
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,839
the brim of a hat, no face, just a shape

467
00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:56,119
slipping deeper into the woods. I blinked and it was gone.

468
00:23:56,519 --> 00:23:58,559
I stood up and called out, hey, he camping out

469
00:23:58,559 --> 00:24:02,240
here too. My voice sounded weird, not echoing, just swallowed

470
00:24:02,279 --> 00:24:04,920
up like the clearing, took the sound and sat on it.

471
00:24:05,759 --> 00:24:09,039
No one answered. I waited, then said all good, just

472
00:24:09,039 --> 00:24:12,799
didn't expect to see anyone out here. Still nothing, I

473
00:24:12,839 --> 00:24:15,480
told myself it could have been a hiker, maybe someone

474
00:24:15,519 --> 00:24:19,519
passing through, or maybe someone who didn't want company. That's fair,

475
00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,000
I didn't either, really, But after that I couldn't stop

476
00:24:23,039 --> 00:24:26,200
glancing at the trees. I kept catching shadows where there

477
00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,400
shouldn't be any. The fire crackle, the bugs buzzed, but

478
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,200
I didn't feel alone any more. Maybe an hour or

479
00:24:32,279 --> 00:24:35,359
later I heard another sound, leaves again, this time from

480
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,279
the opposite side of the clearing, like someone circling. I

481
00:24:38,319 --> 00:24:40,519
grabbed my knife, turned on the light, and swept it

482
00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:45,359
toward the noise. Nothing just trees and underbrush. This time

483
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,039
I didn't call out, just stood the waiting. After a

484
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:50,480
few minutes, I sat back down, but the fire burned lower.

485
00:24:51,039 --> 00:24:53,039
I didn't want to waste battery, so I used my

486
00:24:53,079 --> 00:24:56,559
flashlight sparingly. When everything was quiet again, I climbed into

487
00:24:56,559 --> 00:24:59,920
the tent. It was colder than I expected. I zipped

488
00:25:00,039 --> 00:25:02,039
sleeping bag up to my chin and lay there listening.

489
00:25:02,519 --> 00:25:05,640
The tent creaked with the wind. Everything else was dead quiet,

490
00:25:06,279 --> 00:25:10,119
no owls, no rustling, furious stillness. I must have fallen

491
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:12,240
asleep at some point, because the next thing I remember

492
00:25:12,319 --> 00:25:14,279
is waking up in the middle of the night. The

493
00:25:14,319 --> 00:25:16,440
tent glowed pale with midnight, and it took me a

494
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,240
second to realize why I was awake. There was a sound,

495
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,519
a soft brushing sound, right next to my head. It

496
00:25:22,559 --> 00:25:25,279
was a tent wall. Something or some one was dragging

497
00:25:25,319 --> 00:25:29,240
fingers slowly across the outside. I didn't move, my body

498
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,960
locked up instantly. It wasn't the wind, it was an animal.

499
00:25:33,599 --> 00:25:36,039
It was the slow, intentional movement of a hand back

500
00:25:36,079 --> 00:25:38,480
and forth, tracing the outline of where I was inside.

501
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,640
I whispered, sharp and hissing, who's there. The sound stopped immediately,

502
00:25:43,279 --> 00:25:49,079
Then no steps, no breathing, nothing. I waited, grewuping a

503
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,480
knife so hard it hurt. Then I an sepped the

504
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,359
tent just enough to stick my head out and flick

505
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:57,240
the head lambon. The clearing was empty, completely still. The

506
00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:00,960
fire pit was dark, The trees didn't move. I couldn't

507
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,319
even hear a wind any more. It felt like a

508
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:06,400
scene some one had frozen. I scanned everything twice, then

509
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:08,799
zip the tent back up. I didn't even try to

510
00:26:08,839 --> 00:26:11,839
sleep again, sat up, knife across my legs, head lamp

511
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,240
still on. Maybe twenty minutes later I heard another sound.

512
00:26:15,839 --> 00:26:18,559
This one made much aslock tight the soft creak of

513
00:26:18,599 --> 00:26:21,279
my cooler opening. It's not a loud sound normally, but

514
00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:23,359
in the silence it might as well have been a gunshot.

515
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,839
I waited her nothing else then, and zipped the tent,

516
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,720
jumped out and swept the beam across the side. The

517
00:26:29,759 --> 00:26:34,000
cooler was closed, same position, same latch, not even moved

518
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,960
a minch. I walked over hard, pounding in checked, totally untouched.

519
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:43,119
I shouted, then, loud, angry, what do you want? Nothing answered.

520
00:26:43,759 --> 00:26:46,079
I turned in a full circle, shining the light everywhere.

521
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,039
Still nothing. I started doing laps around the clearing, trying

522
00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:52,279
to make sense of it. I didn't want to leave

523
00:26:52,279 --> 00:26:54,640
in the middle of the night. It was too dangerous

524
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,839
in the dark, but I was wired. I couldn't tell

525
00:26:57,839 --> 00:26:59,440
if someone was screwing with me or if I was

526
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,880
losing it. I was half way through a second lap

527
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,799
when I noticed something that stopped me cold. My boots

528
00:27:04,799 --> 00:27:07,400
were gone. I had left them right by a tent flap,

529
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,119
neatly side by side. Now they weren't there. My eyes

530
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:13,359
shut toward the fire pit, and there they were, not

531
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,359
thrown or kicked, not messed with, just sitting there, perfectly alarmed,

532
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,279
like some one had picked them up, carried them twenty

533
00:27:18,319 --> 00:27:21,160
feet and placed them down with care. I stirred so

534
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:25,079
long my flashlight flickered. Nothing else had moved. I walked

535
00:27:25,079 --> 00:27:27,319
slowly to the boots and knelt beside them, scanning the

536
00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:30,640
ground for Prince. The dirt looked in touch. It was

537
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,240
the most specific kind of roun I've ever seen. I

538
00:27:33,279 --> 00:27:36,160
backed away and went straight into the tent, sat down,

539
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,160
sipter shot, angled the light at the door, and held

540
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,079
the knife like I was waiting for something to come through.

541
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,599
The rest of the night stretched forever. Every sound felt

542
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,480
like bait, every silence felt like a test. I didn't sleep,

543
00:27:48,079 --> 00:27:52,039
didn't even blink for long stretches. Eventually the light outside shifted.

544
00:27:52,559 --> 00:27:54,359
I saw graver the tent and knew the sun was

545
00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,240
coming up. I didn't waste a second through everything in

546
00:27:57,279 --> 00:27:59,680
the pack, skip breakfast, didn't even check if I left

547
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,559
anything behind. I laced the boot slowly. My hand shook

548
00:28:03,599 --> 00:28:06,279
so badly I had to start over twice. Then I

549
00:28:06,319 --> 00:28:09,240
slung the pack over my shoulder and started walking, just

550
00:28:09,319 --> 00:28:11,880
walk fast until I saw my car. I threw the

551
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:13,880
pack in the back seat, slammed the door, and drove.

552
00:28:14,519 --> 00:28:16,640
Every summer, my family would pack up our beat up

553
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,519
pond and make the long drive from Indianapolis. We spent

554
00:28:19,599 --> 00:28:21,480
a couple of weeks on my uncle Jerrol's farm, in

555
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,720
a quiet little spot outside Maple Hollow. That place felt

556
00:28:24,759 --> 00:28:26,920
like the edge of the earth. You couldn't even get

557
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,839
a reliable radio signal, let alone cell service. My parents

558
00:28:30,839 --> 00:28:33,480
loved the break from the noise. I just liked being

559
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,039
out in the open doing things that felt useful, feeding animals,

560
00:28:37,039 --> 00:28:39,119
moving tools, playing look out when my cousins tried to

561
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,599
sneak out of chores. My uncle's land seemed endless, comfields,

562
00:28:43,759 --> 00:28:47,799
opened pastures, wooded patches, thick with underbrush. It all blurred

563
00:28:47,839 --> 00:28:51,039
into a giant patchwork of green and gold. Sometimes you'd

564
00:28:51,039 --> 00:28:53,079
walk twenty minutes and end up somewhere that looks nothing

565
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,799
like wise started to a city kid like me, it

566
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,799
was another world. Most of the time we stayed near

567
00:28:58,839 --> 00:29:01,039
the barn in the garden and the gravel drively leading

568
00:29:01,079 --> 00:29:03,480
to the big metal gate. But there was one trail.

569
00:29:04,119 --> 00:29:07,039
It cut straight through the woods behind the house, narrow

570
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,319
a little over groan, but the fastest way to the

571
00:29:09,319 --> 00:29:12,240
southern fence line, where the brush grew thick. To us,

572
00:29:12,319 --> 00:29:15,119
it was a secret tunnel between shores. We knew every

573
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,240
twist every root sticking up just enough to trip you

574
00:29:17,279 --> 00:29:20,079
if you weren't careful. That summer at the heat was brutal,

575
00:29:20,599 --> 00:29:22,440
the kind that made your clothes stick to your back

576
00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,279
before breakfast and turned metal door handles into branding irons.

577
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,079
My uncle and the older guys left early to clear

578
00:29:28,119 --> 00:29:30,960
brush on the far end of the property. By mid morning,

579
00:29:31,119 --> 00:29:33,519
he waved me over and handed me a huge water jug,

580
00:29:34,119 --> 00:29:37,000
the kind you'd burn to a soccer game, heavy slushing,

581
00:29:37,039 --> 00:29:39,839
ice cold. Take this down to the boys, he said,

582
00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,599
nodding toward the woods. They'll be past the ridge. Ye

583
00:29:43,599 --> 00:29:46,640
know the trail, and I did. I'd walked it a

584
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,720
dozen times already that week. It dipped into the trees,

585
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,680
bed left around a thick stump, then opened near the

586
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:56,400
south gate. Ten minutes tops. I hoisted the jug on

587
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:58,480
to my hip, adjusted my grip, and stepped into the

588
00:29:58,559 --> 00:30:02,319
trees without the thinking twice, but maybe I should have.

589
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,839
From the start. Something about the trail felt different. The

590
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,839
trees seemed taller, closer together, like they had grown overnight.

591
00:30:09,519 --> 00:30:12,000
The usual shafts of light that filtered through the canopy

592
00:30:12,039 --> 00:30:15,720
weren't there. The path felt dimmer, tighter. I told myself

593
00:30:15,759 --> 00:30:18,400
I was imagining it, or maybe I had started off

594
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:22,039
slightly wrong. I kept walking, counting steps out of habit

595
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:27,079
thirty fifty, one hundred, No bend, no familiar stumped, no clearing,

596
00:30:27,799 --> 00:30:31,079
just more trail, more trees. I stopped, shifted the jug

597
00:30:31,119 --> 00:30:34,599
and looked back. The entry was gone, only trunks and

598
00:30:34,599 --> 00:30:37,799
brambles in every direction. I told myself, I just wandered

599
00:30:37,839 --> 00:30:40,480
a little too far and needed to backtrack. So I

600
00:30:40,519 --> 00:30:42,839
turned around, But the path behind me wasn't the same.

601
00:30:43,519 --> 00:30:46,319
Everything went mirrored. The leaning birch that had been on

602
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,920
the right was now on the left. The mussy stones

603
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,160
were gone in a place. A deadlock stretched across the

604
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,480
path like a barrier. My skin crawled, like stepping into

605
00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,559
someone else's house that looked almost but not quite like

606
00:30:57,599 --> 00:31:00,200
your own. I turned again and decided to just keep

607
00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,759
walking until something looked familiar. The juke was heavy, the

608
00:31:03,839 --> 00:31:07,400
air was thick, sticky, like soup. I counted steps again,

609
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,920
just to stay steady. At one hundred sixty, the trail open,

610
00:31:11,079 --> 00:31:14,200
but it wasn't the pasture. It was a clearing, not large,

611
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,640
but wide enough for sunlight to break through. In the

612
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,119
middle stood a shack. It looked ancient frowned together in

613
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,279
a hurry long ago, then abandoned. The boards were warped

614
00:31:23,279 --> 00:31:25,079
and gray, the roof sacked, the door bound with a

615
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,839
rusty chain and padlock. I froze at the edge of

616
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,519
the trees. That shack didn't belong. No one had ever

617
00:31:31,599 --> 00:31:34,519
mentioned it. My cousins and I had roamed these woods

618
00:31:34,519 --> 00:31:37,279
for years, and we had never seen it. It shouldn't

619
00:31:37,279 --> 00:31:40,039
have been there. I set the jug down without realizing

620
00:31:40,039 --> 00:31:43,640
it and crept forward. The grass was overgrown, but not wild,

621
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,880
down in spots, like someone had walked through recently. The

622
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,240
air smelled musty, like a flooded basement. I circled around

623
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,759
the side. That's when I saw the carvings. At first

624
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,200
they looked like scratches, but the pattern was too neat,

625
00:31:56,799 --> 00:31:59,799
sets of five hatch marks, row after row, dozens of them,

626
00:32:00,319 --> 00:32:04,839
cut carefully stacked. Some one was keeping track of something, time,

627
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,160
day's people. Whatever it was, it wasn't a small number.

628
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,519
My heart doubted. I stepped back, ready to leave. I

629
00:32:12,559 --> 00:32:15,279
turned toward the jug, but the trail was gone. The

630
00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:18,599
clearing was sealed off, trees packed tight, walling me in.

631
00:32:19,279 --> 00:32:23,119
No path, no break, only silence. I spun in a circle,

632
00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:26,640
desperate for an opening nothing. I picked a direction and

633
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:30,279
shoved through. Branches tore up me, phones ripped my shirt.

634
00:32:30,759 --> 00:32:33,079
I pushed until I was back in the clearing on

635
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,279
the opposite side. The shack was still there, and the

636
00:32:35,359 --> 00:32:37,559
jog right where I'd left it. But I hadn't picked

637
00:32:37,559 --> 00:32:41,680
it up. I hadn't circled back. It had moved. My

638
00:32:41,759 --> 00:32:45,599
throat tightened, my legs froze. I turned back to the

639
00:32:45,599 --> 00:32:49,039
wall of carvings. There were more, just a few extra rose,

640
00:32:49,799 --> 00:32:53,640
fresh pale cuts in the wood. I didn't count. I couldn't.

641
00:32:54,319 --> 00:32:56,680
I grabbed the jug and ran. I didn't know which

642
00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:01,000
direction I was going. Branches cawed at me, my lungs burned.

643
00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:04,240
I ran until my legs gave out, and then I

644
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,960
was out. I tumbled into the southern pasture. The fence

645
00:33:08,039 --> 00:33:10,799
line was there, and my uncle and two farm hands

646
00:33:10,839 --> 00:33:13,599
leaned against the fence, sipping from a canteen. He looked

647
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,920
at me, surprised what to acquise, so long he asked,

648
00:33:17,559 --> 00:33:19,799
I shoved the jug into his arms and tried to speak.

649
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:25,039
The words spilled out A shack, carvings, vanishing trails. He

650
00:33:25,119 --> 00:33:27,400
stared at me, then said flat and quiet. There ain't

651
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,079
no shack in those woods, no teasing, no raised eye brow,

652
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,039
no follow up, just nothing. And it wasn't the words

653
00:33:33,039 --> 00:33:35,440
that scared me. It was the way he said them.

654
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,240
He needed the conversation to end, so I dropped it.

655
00:33:38,839 --> 00:33:41,319
That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in my cousin

656
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,440
Khaled's rooms, stirring at the ceiling fan. My dad had

657
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,079
this idea that a few weeks of hard work in

658
00:33:46,119 --> 00:33:48,759
the middle of nowhere would build character. That's how I

659
00:33:48,839 --> 00:33:50,759
ended up spending part of my summer at my uncle

660
00:33:50,799 --> 00:33:53,400
Rick's place out in Kentucky. He left alone on this

661
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,279
beat up patch of land, faw past anything you'd call civilization,

662
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,400
the kind of place where you lose cell signal halfway

663
00:33:58,400 --> 00:33:59,960
down the road and only get it back if you

664
00:34:00,079 --> 00:34:01,759
hiked to a certain hill and stand there like a

665
00:34:01,759 --> 00:34:05,039
weather vane. Just trees fields and a crack drive whid

666
00:34:05,039 --> 00:34:07,519
I felt like it had been paved with regrets. The

667
00:34:07,599 --> 00:34:10,559
house was small and old, one of those one story

668
00:34:10,599 --> 00:34:12,679
rectangles that looked like it had sunk too far into

669
00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,280
the ground. The siding was chipped and flaking, like it

670
00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,119
wanted to leave. The porch sagged in the middle. Every

671
00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:20,760
step air and you to test it. Stairs groaned in

672
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,719
a way that wasn't exactly reassuring. Out back, there were

673
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,840
acres of woods, thick cream growth stretched like a wall.

674
00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,360
In the daylight, it was almost peaceful, a little spooky

675
00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,400
feel at your mind wander, but mostly quiet. At night,

676
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:36,519
though it was different. The trees seemed closer, like they

677
00:34:36,599 --> 00:34:39,199
leaned in when you weren't looking. You could almost believe

678
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,199
they were listening. The first week, I didn't think much

679
00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:44,679
about it. Uncle Rit put me to walk right away,

680
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,360
hauling chop wood into piles, cleaning out an old shed

681
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,000
that smelled like meldium bugs, patching up fencing that was

682
00:34:50,039 --> 00:34:53,199
one storm away from collapse. Most nights I ended up

683
00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:56,559
filthy and sore, ready to eat and crash. After dinner,

684
00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:58,840
he'd head into town, said he liked to play cards

685
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,280
with buddies or grab beer at a place called Dolly's.

686
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:03,679
I didn't know if Dolly's was a bar or a

687
00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:07,079
woman with interesting priorities. Eat away. He always left me

688
00:35:07,119 --> 00:35:11,000
the house to myself. At first, I didn't mind. I'd

689
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,760
sprawl on the couch with the book, or set by

690
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:15,599
the screen door, letting the night sounds in the staddy

691
00:35:15,599 --> 00:35:19,199
buds of crickets and frogs. Was like nature static. Sometimes

692
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,280
I'd fall asleep with the window open, cool air drifting inside.

693
00:35:23,039 --> 00:35:29,280
It was nice, simple, no distractions until nightfour. That's when

694
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,320
things started getting weird. The first thing was so small

695
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,400
I almost didn't notice. I'd left us a roumic mug

696
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,960
on the counter before bed, half full of water. In

697
00:35:38,039 --> 00:35:40,880
the morning, it was gone. When I found it. It

698
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,480
was rince turned upside down and set neatly in the sink.

699
00:35:44,159 --> 00:35:46,320
I stared at it for a while. I knew I

700
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:49,639
hadn't done that, and my uncle hadn't come home. He

701
00:35:49,679 --> 00:35:51,679
told me he was crashing at friends after a late

702
00:35:51,679 --> 00:35:55,400
poker game. I told myself maybe I'd forgotten people do

703
00:35:55,519 --> 00:35:58,320
things on out of pilot. Sometimes it bugged me, but

704
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,559
not enough to dwell on. The Next morning, though, was different.

705
00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:04,800
My boots. I'd left them by the back door, caked

706
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,519
in mud laces and done and flopped open. But when

707
00:36:07,519 --> 00:36:10,599
I woke up, they were side by side against the wall, plain,

708
00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,760
laced up boys, tied neatly like my mom used to do.

709
00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:19,800
The floor around them was swept, botless, no dirt, no leaves,

710
00:36:20,679 --> 00:36:24,000
just shining wood. I stared at them too long. My

711
00:36:24,039 --> 00:36:27,760
heart was stumping. How could I explain it? Sleep walking?

712
00:36:28,519 --> 00:36:32,000
Unlikely a prank who would sneak in just tidy boots.

713
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,800
Later that day I told Uncle Rick. He laughed, said MIDDI,

714
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,719
I was doing chores in my sleep, and offered me

715
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,800
a beer. I laughed too, but it left a cold

716
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,800
naught and my stomach that didn't go away. Two nights later,

717
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:45,440
I woke up to the sound of the back's green

718
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:48,400
door creaking open. It wasn't loud, but it was clear,

719
00:36:49,039 --> 00:36:51,440
that slow squeak of old hinges shifting just enough to

720
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:55,119
let something through. I froze under the blanket. My heart

721
00:36:55,119 --> 00:36:57,719
hammered like it wanted out of my chest. I waited

722
00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,920
for footsteps, nothing, just silence. After what felt like forever,

723
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,559
I got up. Every light switch I touched, I cooed

724
00:37:04,599 --> 00:37:07,320
in the stillness. The door was shut and latched, but

725
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,599
the sinking feeling in my chesthead otherwise. Then I saw

726
00:37:10,639 --> 00:37:13,559
it on the kitchen table, sitting dead. Santo was a

727
00:37:13,559 --> 00:37:17,400
folded napkin. I picked it up, handshaking one word Scolton,

728
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,079
an even childlike handwriting. Stay. That was when things stopped

729
00:37:21,079 --> 00:37:23,719
being weird and started being wrong. I didn't sleep the

730
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:25,559
rest of the night, just sat in the arm chair,

731
00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:27,760
watching the sky light and from black to great pink.

732
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:30,559
I kept expecting to see some one walk past the window,

733
00:37:30,679 --> 00:37:33,440
but no one did. The next day I barely spoke

734
00:37:34,159 --> 00:37:37,360
Uncle Ric didn't notice, or pretended not to. I wanted

735
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,039
to tell him, but how some one might be sneaking

736
00:37:40,039 --> 00:37:42,719
into your house to clean and leave creepy notes. I

737
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,159
didn't want to sound insane, and I still wanted to

738
00:37:45,159 --> 00:37:48,039
believe there was a normal explanation. That night, Rick went

739
00:37:48,119 --> 00:37:50,480
her neighbors to play cards, said he might be outlay.

740
00:37:51,039 --> 00:37:53,320
I locked every door and window, double checked them, shoved

741
00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,159
the chair in front of the back door for good measure.

742
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,639
I left every light in the living room and fell

743
00:37:57,639 --> 00:38:01,039
asleep after midnight. Then I woke up again, no dream,

744
00:38:01,159 --> 00:38:03,480
just wide awake, harp racing, like something had yanked me

745
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,679
out of sleep. I lay still listening. That's when I

746
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:10,079
heard it, A slow, dragging shuffle across the porch, not footsteps,

747
00:38:10,199 --> 00:38:14,599
bare feet sliding across the boards, deliberate, measured, measured. Then

748
00:38:14,639 --> 00:38:17,639
it stopped. I held my breath for what felt like iyres.

749
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,880
I didn't move, didn't make a sound. I was sure

750
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:23,079
if I did, i'd hear the door creak, or worse,

751
00:38:23,159 --> 00:38:27,039
I wouldn't. Eventually morning came. I waited until the sun

752
00:38:27,079 --> 00:38:30,000
was up before stepping outside. The porch looked normal, the

753
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,840
wood pressed close and still. Then I saw them footprints

754
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:38,119
bare feet deep in the mud space, like someone had

755
00:38:38,159 --> 00:38:40,960
walked slowly from the woods to the house. No shoes,

756
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,000
no tread, just human feet. And here's the pot that

757
00:38:44,079 --> 00:38:47,280
still makes my skin crol. There weren't any footprints going back,

758
00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,639
only a straight path to the porch, nothing away. I

759
00:38:50,679 --> 00:38:53,639
didn't wait for more. I grabbed my duffel bag, shoved

760
00:38:53,679 --> 00:38:56,840
everything inside, and left wp The long gravel rode into

761
00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,559
turn hot pounding. Here was straining for footsteps behind me.

762
00:38:59,679 --> 00:39:01,800
I saw in a diner, drinking cup after cup of

763
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,719
watery coffee until Uncle Rick came. When he did, I

764
00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:08,000
told him everything, every detail. He just shook his head,

765
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,199
said it was probably some localscrewing around, maybe a hunter,

766
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:15,639
maybe a ki harmless, he said. I didn't argue. I

767
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:18,880
just told him I wasn't going back. My uncle jasper

768
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,000
on this aging stretch of land, just outside a town

769
00:39:21,039 --> 00:39:23,800
called Lynwood. It was one of those places you'd miss

770
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,119
if you blinked in the highway, the kind of town

771
00:39:26,119 --> 00:39:28,559
with a single gas station, a diner everyone still called

772
00:39:28,559 --> 00:39:30,559
by its original owner's name, even though we're had changed

773
00:39:30,599 --> 00:39:33,119
hands four times, and a feat store that doubled as

774
00:39:33,159 --> 00:39:36,840
the post office. Jasper's property sat maybe fifteen minutes past

775
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,480
the last gas station out where the pavement started cracking

776
00:39:39,599 --> 00:39:42,400
and the GPS got confused. He was heading up to

777
00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,440
a hire for the week, some trades, soho I think,

778
00:39:44,599 --> 00:39:46,440
and asked me to how sit well he was gone.

779
00:39:47,039 --> 00:39:50,239
It wasn't a huge ask, just checking on things, feed

780
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:52,920
his two MutS, make sure nobody was poking around the sheds.

781
00:39:53,599 --> 00:39:55,480
He even offered to leave some cash on the kitchen

782
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:59,679
table for groceries. I didn't need convincing. I just finished off.

783
00:39:59,679 --> 00:40:02,039
Some mess was between jobs, and the thought of a

784
00:40:02,119 --> 00:40:04,079
quiet week in the country sounded like a decent way

785
00:40:04,079 --> 00:40:07,800
to Hiverset. The house was old, not charming old, but

786
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,880
tired old. The porch sided with mismatched boards. The siding

787
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,119
had once been white, but now wore a dully yellow tint.

788
00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:16,719
The whole place leaned just enough to make every room

789
00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:19,360
feel slightly off clter. You could tell it had been

790
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,320
added to in pieces. The living room had ugly floral

791
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,480
wallpaper that stopped out at a doorway and gave way

792
00:40:24,519 --> 00:40:27,320
to wood paneling. In the kitchen, the furniture was worn

793
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,239
but solid, heavy stuff that looked like it had been

794
00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:32,039
there since the seventies. The air smelled like dust and

795
00:40:32,119 --> 00:40:34,519
dry wood, with a faint trace of engingeres strifting and

796
00:40:34,519 --> 00:40:37,760
from the garage. The land itself was bigger than I expected,

797
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,800
flat for a while behind the house, maybe a few

798
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,880
acres of patchy grass and weeds, before dipping into dense woods.

799
00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,719
The trees grew thick and close together, too uniform to

800
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:50,039
be completely wild, but overgrown enough to feel untouched for years.

801
00:40:50,559 --> 00:40:53,519
Jasper used to hunt back there. I think beyond the

802
00:40:53,559 --> 00:40:58,000
tree line, it was just wilderness. No houses, no trills,

803
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:03,239
just trees, just trees. The first day was quiet. I

804
00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:06,519
unpacked my stuff, fed the dogs, and wandered around. One

805
00:41:06,559 --> 00:41:08,679
of the sheds looked like it hadn't been opened in years,

806
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:11,639
but the other was clearly in use, fresh tracks in

807
00:41:11,679 --> 00:41:13,840
the dirt. A padlock shiny enough to stand out against

808
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,039
the rusted hinges. Out of curiosity, I unlocked it and

809
00:41:17,119 --> 00:41:21,119
stepped inside. It smelled like soldist and all boil tools

810
00:41:21,119 --> 00:41:25,719
lined the peg boards. Shells were labeled knee handwriting, clamps, blades, rope, fuel.

811
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:29,360
The place felt worriedly meticulous, like a museum of forgotten work.

812
00:41:30,039 --> 00:41:33,000
I moved a few things around, just small stuff, picked

813
00:41:33,079 --> 00:41:35,360
up an axe, shifted a coil of rope to peek underneath,

814
00:41:35,519 --> 00:41:38,039
opened a drawer or two. I figured I might come

815
00:41:38,039 --> 00:41:41,639
back later and help Jasper reorganize. He always liked things neat,

816
00:41:41,719 --> 00:41:44,519
but he wouldn't have minded a little rearranging. That night,

817
00:41:44,639 --> 00:41:46,559
I made instant noodles and sat at the kitchen table

818
00:41:46,559 --> 00:41:49,360
with my laptop. No Internet, of course, but I had

819
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,400
a few movies downloaded. What got me was the boredom, though.

820
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:58,639
It was the silence, not peaceful silence, something heavier. No bugs,

821
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:02,320
no wind, not even the faint hum of distant traffic,

822
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,239
just this pressing stillness that made every sound inside the

823
00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:07,760
house feel sharper than it should. The creak of a

824
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,159
fridge door, the tick of the wall clock, the groan

825
00:42:11,199 --> 00:42:14,599
of the upstairs four boards. I started locking every window

826
00:42:14,599 --> 00:42:17,159
without even thinking about it, just a quietch in the

827
00:42:17,159 --> 00:42:19,840
back of my brain telling me to be sure. Before bed,

828
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,480
I double checked the back door whisted the lock, tried

829
00:42:23,519 --> 00:42:26,599
the knob. All good. I woke up around two in

830
00:42:26,599 --> 00:42:28,440
the morning to the dog's barking light. They were ready

831
00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:31,239
to tear through the walls. I didn't even grab shoes,

832
00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:33,920
just stumbled out of bed, aked on a hoodie, and

833
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,800
ran down stairs. I flipped on the porch light and

834
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:40,719
opened the back door. The barking stopped immediately. Both dogs

835
00:42:40,719 --> 00:42:43,639
stood about twenty feet from the porch, frozen, not moving,

836
00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,679
not growling, just locked in place, staring into the woods,

837
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,280
not at anything in particular, just straight ahead, like whatever

838
00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:52,239
it had seen had already passed. I called them, but

839
00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:56,400
neither moved. They didn't even flick their ears. I stepped

840
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:58,280
on to the porch, the board called under my feet

841
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:01,639
and walked half way to them. Still nothing. I stood

842
00:43:01,679 --> 00:43:03,960
there for a solid minute, hot pounding louder than I liked,

843
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,960
before retreating back inside. I locked the door and watched

844
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,559
them through the glass. Finally, after ten minutes, they turned

845
00:43:10,559 --> 00:43:12,679
and trotted back to the porch like nothing had happened.

846
00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:16,360
I didn't sleep much after that. Next morning, I found

847
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,880
the back door slightly ajar, just an inch enough to

848
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,760
notice the dead bolt was still turning, but the door

849
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:23,719
looked like it had been pushed from the inside, like

850
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,000
someone had noticed it open without pulling it shut. But

851
00:43:26,039 --> 00:43:29,599
I'd shut it. I remember testing it twice. I could

852
00:43:29,639 --> 00:43:32,119
even hear Jasper's voice in my head. Always check the latch,

853
00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:35,719
wind'll catch it. Otherwise. I didn't mention it when I

854
00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:38,679
called him that afternoon, just said the dogs were fine

855
00:43:38,679 --> 00:43:41,360
and the house was still standing. I wore the popperty

856
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:43,719
a bit to burn off the nerves. When I called

857
00:43:43,719 --> 00:43:47,000
for the dogs, only one came, Rusty. The older one

858
00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:49,559
was still sitting at the edge of the field, same

859
00:43:49,599 --> 00:43:54,239
place as the night before, same posture, same direction, just

860
00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:58,559
stirring into the trees. He didn't bark this time, didn't move.

861
00:43:59,239 --> 00:44:01,480
I walked over, careful not to spook him, and reached

862
00:44:01,519 --> 00:44:04,519
for his collar. He came along reluctantly, feet dragging, like

863
00:44:04,519 --> 00:44:07,000
a kid being pulled out of a theater. I glanced

864
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,519
back as we walked, just told Crush, shifting slightly, that

865
00:44:09,639 --> 00:44:12,800
there was no wind. I remember thinking those exact words,

866
00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:15,519
there's no wind. That night, I pushed a chair under

867
00:44:15,559 --> 00:44:18,239
the back door handle, locked every window twice, left the

868
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:21,639
hallway light on. I couldn't sleep. At some point I

869
00:44:21,679 --> 00:44:24,400
must have dozed off. I awoke to a feeling, not

870
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,559
a sound, that something had changed. The air was heavier.

871
00:44:28,159 --> 00:44:31,280
The bedroom door was open. I had shut it. I

872
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:34,079
knew I had. I got up, slowly, trying not to

873
00:44:34,079 --> 00:44:36,960
breathe too loud, and crept into the hallway. The kitchen

874
00:44:37,039 --> 00:44:38,960
was dark, but the hallway light reached just far enough

875
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:41,440
to show me the chairs. They were pulled out from

876
00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,880
the table, not just pulled out, but turned, each one

877
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:46,920
faced the back door, arranged in a meat arc, like

878
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:50,079
an audience waiting for something to appear. The door was locked,

879
00:44:50,079 --> 00:44:52,199
but the cutting over its window had been pushed aside,

880
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,840
like someone had been watching. I don't know how long

881
00:44:54,880 --> 00:44:58,320
I did there. Eventually I put the chairs back. I

882
00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:01,679
didn't sit down. I didn't turn off the light. I

883
00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:03,800
just went back to the bedroom, locked the door, and

884
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:06,599
stayed amid the covers until the sky turned gray. By

885
00:45:06,679 --> 00:45:09,360
day three, I was done pretending it was nothing. I

886
00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:12,320
tacked my bag, called Jasper and said I wasn't feeling well.

887
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:15,760
He didn't argue, just told me to leave the dogs

888
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:18,719
with his neighbors stand down the road. Before leaving, I

889
00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:21,559
checked the shed one last time. When I opened the door,

890
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,480
my stomach twisted. Every till I had touched on the

891
00:45:24,559 --> 00:45:28,320
first day was back in place exactly. The axe was

892
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,480
on its original hook, The saws were in their labeled spots.

893
00:45:32,119 --> 00:45:34,840
The rope was coiled tighter than I remembered, like I

894
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:37,800
had never touched them, like someone had watched me move them,

895
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:40,639
then quietly put them back while I slept. I didn't

896
00:45:40,639 --> 00:45:43,440
shut the shed door gently. I sound it, locked it,

897
00:45:43,559 --> 00:45:46,039
and walked straight to the car. The dogs jumped in

898
00:45:46,119 --> 00:45:49,800
without needing to be called, no barking, no hest station,

899
00:45:50,559 --> 00:45:52,800
just climbed in like they were ready to go. I

900
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:55,159
dropped them off as Stance, handed him the key and

901
00:45:55,199 --> 00:45:57,159
told him Jasper would be back in a few days.

902
00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:00,239
I didn't look at the house again. Working the night,

903
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:01,880
shifted at a gas station off for a twenty eight

904
00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,960
near a quiet little place called Marlow, Kentucky, not really

905
00:46:05,039 --> 00:46:07,559
a town, more like a scattering of buildings pretending to be.

906
00:46:07,599 --> 00:46:11,039
One blink and you'd miss it. The station sat alone,

907
00:46:11,119 --> 00:46:14,119
a few hundred yachts from the highway, surrounded by weeds, gravel,

908
00:46:14,199 --> 00:46:16,239
and a thin line of trees that always looked closer

909
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:18,480
at night than during the day. It was the kind

910
00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:20,440
of place where the neon sign buzzing above the pumps

911
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,519
was the only proof he hadn't been abandoned, always flickering,

912
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:26,239
always casting that strange pink blue glow that made everything

913
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,800
look a little off. Inside, the station had its own personality,

914
00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:33,039
a mix of stale coffee, rubber floor mats, and that faint,

915
00:46:33,079 --> 00:46:35,280
permanent hint of motoroil that clung to you close long

916
00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:38,039
after you left. I worked there four nights a week,

917
00:46:38,159 --> 00:46:41,280
six to midnight, sometimes later if on the manager was

918
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:45,400
too lazy to close up himself. It wasn't a bad gig, quiet, predictable.

919
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,800
Most of the customers were regulars, truckers passing through, locals

920
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:51,119
grabbing smokes or lake coffee, a few folks from town

921
00:46:51,159 --> 00:46:54,519
who just liked to calm. I didn't mind the solitude.

922
00:46:54,519 --> 00:46:57,320
In fact, I liked it. After a while, I knew

923
00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:59,639
what every sound meant, the low hum of the color fans,

924
00:46:59,679 --> 00:47:01,199
the way the ace he kicked on with its two

925
00:47:01,199 --> 00:47:03,360
second delay, even the subtle thunk of the storage door

926
00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:06,079
settling in its frame. It gave me a sense of control,

927
00:47:06,360 --> 00:47:08,599
like nothing unexpected could happen if I just stayed ahead

928
00:47:08,599 --> 00:47:12,159
of it. That night started like any other I clocked

929
00:47:12,159 --> 00:47:14,039
in a little early, brewed a pot of coffee. No

930
00:47:14,039 --> 00:47:16,960
one would drink and restock the energy drinks. But round

931
00:47:17,039 --> 00:47:19,800
six thirty two guys in reflective vess came in for snacks.

932
00:47:20,519 --> 00:47:25,639
Cherky giteraried prudeine bars truckers. Probably we nodded, bit didn't tuck.

933
00:47:26,320 --> 00:47:28,280
Then old mister Dalty from out near the edge of

934
00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:30,159
town wandered and for a fifty pound sack of goat

935
00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:35,239
feed exact change. Polite smile always told me he appreciated

936
00:47:35,280 --> 00:47:37,559
the service. Like her, I was doing more than standing

937
00:47:37,559 --> 00:47:40,719
behind a register. By seven, the place was dead quiet.

938
00:47:41,239 --> 00:47:44,039
I wiped down the coffee station, rotated the chip bags,

939
00:47:44,119 --> 00:47:46,960
refolded the dusty t shirts no one ever bought. That's

940
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,559
when I noticed the back door cracked open, barely an inch,

941
00:47:49,599 --> 00:47:52,519
but enough to notice. That door is steel heavy, and

942
00:47:52,559 --> 00:47:55,159
it doesn't swing open on its own. It groans when

943
00:47:55,199 --> 00:47:57,639
it moves. I always locked it at the start of

944
00:47:57,639 --> 00:48:00,960
my shift. Roan was strict about that. So seeing how

945
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:04,440
d'Or stopped me cold, I stood there running through possibilities.

946
00:48:05,119 --> 00:48:08,880
Maybe I hadn't shut it, Maybe I got distracted, Maybe

947
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:11,440
some one came in while I wasn't looking. I walked

948
00:48:11,440 --> 00:48:13,119
over a push it shut, locked it tight even to

949
00:48:13,199 --> 00:48:16,519
have done it, to be sure, didn't budge. Just a door,

950
00:48:16,519 --> 00:48:19,199
I told myself. But back at the counter, I saw

951
00:48:19,239 --> 00:48:23,199
the gum display. It had been changed. I'd straighten it earlier,

952
00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,079
like always part of my little ritual. But now every

953
00:48:26,119 --> 00:48:28,760
pack of peppermints, spearmens cinnamon was lined up perfectly. All

954
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:31,519
o goes facing forward, spacing exactly like some one measured it.

955
00:48:32,079 --> 00:48:34,800
That wasn't me. I opened the register, trying to distract myself,

956
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,679
but even that felt wrong. The bills wouldn't stackle like

957
00:48:37,679 --> 00:48:40,079
I had left them, some outside down, some folded at

958
00:48:40,119 --> 00:48:42,280
the corners, others sticking out like some one had fitted

959
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:45,559
through them carelessly. I just stood there, staring at the drawer,

960
00:48:45,639 --> 00:48:48,119
then the gum, then the door. That's when I noticed

961
00:48:48,159 --> 00:48:50,880
the wall clock. It said seven point forty eight, but

962
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:53,519
my phone still said seven point twenty nine, almost a

963
00:48:53,559 --> 00:48:56,679
twenty minute jump. I stared at both, waiting for one

964
00:48:56,679 --> 00:48:59,360
to fix itself, but they just kept taking forward and sinked,

965
00:49:00,119 --> 00:49:02,000
and I knew the clock had matched my phone earlier.

966
00:49:02,719 --> 00:49:05,000
I remembered because I texted my governor to say i'd

967
00:49:05,039 --> 00:49:07,679
call her at midnight. There's no way A lost twenty

968
00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:12,079
minute stocking soda. I called ron straight to silence, no ring,

969
00:49:12,239 --> 00:49:18,719
no voicemail, deadline. Tried again, tried again, same thing, tread

970
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:23,880
my cl nothing full bars. By then the building fell wrong.

971
00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:26,840
It was too quiet, like the walls were holding their breath.

972
00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:29,480
Every little sound, the hum of the lights, the freezer

973
00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:32,119
buzz sounded sharper, like they were covering something else. Up

974
00:49:32,599 --> 00:49:35,559
I walked toward the coolers, didn't know why. Maybe I

975
00:49:35,599 --> 00:49:38,039
thought I'd find an explanation there. But the cooler doors

976
00:49:38,039 --> 00:49:41,760
were wide open. I had shut them, I knew I had,

977
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:46,199
And the top shelf empty, every single soda i'd stock

978
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:51,800
just twenty minutes before, gone, not moved, not misplaced. Then

979
00:49:52,320 --> 00:49:54,239
I took a step back, and that's when I saw

980
00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:58,320
them footprints, muddy boot prints, fresh and damp, leading him

981
00:49:58,320 --> 00:49:59,960
from the front door. But I hadn't heard the chat,

982
00:50:00,719 --> 00:50:05,360
hadn't seen the door move, No tires, no footsteps outside.

983
00:50:05,599 --> 00:50:07,880
The Prince crossed the tiles, passed the candy aisle, and

984
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:10,440
stopped at the supply closet in the stock room. A

985
00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,639
froze because I had left the closet open earlier. I

986
00:50:13,679 --> 00:50:16,639
remembered the paper towel still on the counter. Now the

987
00:50:16,679 --> 00:50:19,519
door was shut, and then all the lights cut out,

988
00:50:20,119 --> 00:50:26,000
no warning, no flicker, just darkness. I didn't hesitate, pulled

989
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:29,800
my phone out, fluff light on the beam, hit the tiles.

990
00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:33,199
I followed the prince. They stopped right in front of

991
00:50:33,199 --> 00:50:36,880
the closet door. I said out loud, I'm not opening that,

992
00:50:37,599 --> 00:50:42,559
and I started backing away. It's low kerefel. My phone's

993
00:50:42,599 --> 00:50:44,679
light bounced off the floor at the shelves, throwing shadows.

994
00:50:44,679 --> 00:50:47,280
It felt too close. When I reached the front, I

995
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:52,559
grabbed the door handle. It spun freely. No latch, wouldn't move,

996
00:50:53,320 --> 00:50:56,559
wouldn't rattle, like it was fused to the frame, like

997
00:50:56,599 --> 00:50:58,679
it had never been a door at all. Then the

998
00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:02,000
bathroom door slammed open at the back, a violent crack

999
00:51:02,039 --> 00:51:05,679
through the dark. I almost dropped my phone. My body

1000
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:09,440
just moved. I ran behind the counter, shoved the emergency exit,

1001
00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:13,079
slammed my weight into the bar. It opened. I stumbled

1002
00:51:13,079 --> 00:51:15,719
into the gravel, gasping like I'd been under order, and

1003
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:18,480
I ran. Didn't stop until I hit the diner a

1004
00:51:18,559 --> 00:51:22,360
quarter mile down. Lights on down behind the counter, staring

1005
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:25,320
at me. I didn't explain, just asked to use the phone.

1006
00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:28,400
When I looked back toward the station, everything looked normal.

1007
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:33,239
Lights on, door open, nothing out of place, just a

1008
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:36,480
regular store on a regular night. I didn't go back.

1009
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:40,280
I was sixteen when it happened. My uncle Rick asked

1010
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:41,679
if I dried out with him to chick on an

1011
00:51:41,679 --> 00:51:43,639
old rental property he owned out in the middle of

1012
00:51:43,639 --> 00:51:46,880
Nowad just outside Newfield, Kentucky. The house had been sitting

1013
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:49,480
empty for years. Talk down the lawn uneven gravel road

1014
00:51:49,519 --> 00:51:51,760
that cut through corn fields and cap pastures like it

1015
00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:54,840
was trying to disappear. You could drive twenty minutes without

1016
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:58,119
seeing another person, just the occasional bob wire fence or

1017
00:51:58,119 --> 00:52:01,159
a collapsing barn in the distance. Rick said he wanted

1018
00:52:01,159 --> 00:52:02,960
to make sure the roof hadn't caved and other pipes

1019
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:05,159
hadn't burst, But I think he just didn't want to

1020
00:52:05,159 --> 00:52:07,360
go out there alone. It was one of the slow

1021
00:52:07,360 --> 00:52:09,519
summer days when nothing was happening, so I didn't mind

1022
00:52:09,519 --> 00:52:12,199
taking alarm. He gave me something to do. At least.

1023
00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:15,840
The house itself was much to liquor, an old white

1024
00:52:15,840 --> 00:52:18,559
farmhouse with flaking paint and warp shutters. The kind that

1025
00:52:18,639 --> 00:52:21,800
looked one good breeze away from flying off front porch,

1026
00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:23,880
shagged hard on the left side, like a edge finally

1027
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:27,000
given up holding itself up. I'd only been there once before,

1028
00:52:27,159 --> 00:52:30,159
years earlier, when the last tenant moved out. I was

1029
00:52:30,199 --> 00:52:32,320
maybe nine or ten, and all I remembered was that

1030
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:34,800
it smelled weird and the wallpaper in the hallway was peeling.

1031
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,239
This time, I expected more of the same, a quiet,

1032
00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:40,480
dusty walk through than a long drive home, But right

1033
00:52:40,519 --> 00:52:43,920
away things felt off. Before we even stepped inside, Rick

1034
00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:46,679
pointed out the little shed behind the house. It used

1035
00:52:46,719 --> 00:52:48,599
to be chain shot with this thick padlock, one of

1036
00:52:48,599 --> 00:52:50,440
those old school ones that looked like it belonged on

1037
00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:53,079
a bent vault. When we walked past, the chain was

1038
00:52:53,119 --> 00:52:55,280
still looped through the handles, but the lock was gone,

1039
00:52:55,559 --> 00:52:58,559
just gone. The ends of the chains weighed slightly, like

1040
00:52:58,639 --> 00:53:01,559
they'd been disturbed not too long. I crouched down to

1041
00:53:01,559 --> 00:53:04,480
get a better look. The metal wasn't rusted or broken.

1042
00:53:05,039 --> 00:53:08,199
It looked like it had been sliced clean through, not jagged, clean,

1043
00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:11,079
too clean to be natural. Rick muttered something about the

1044
00:53:11,119 --> 00:53:13,559
chain probably rusting out and breaking on its own, but

1045
00:53:13,679 --> 00:53:17,400
even he didn't sound convinced. I didn't argue. I just

1046
00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:20,280
stood up and followed him to the back door. Inside

1047
00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:22,239
the house, the first thing I noticed was the air.

1048
00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:24,840
It was heavy, like it didn't want to be breathed.

1049
00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:27,800
Then des floated in lazy spirals every time we moved,

1050
00:53:27,800 --> 00:53:30,159
and our footsteps sickuled more than they should have. The

1051
00:53:30,199 --> 00:53:33,280
whole place felt tense, like it was holding its breath.

1052
00:53:33,679 --> 00:53:35,639
We started in the kitchen, and that's where the weird

1053
00:53:35,639 --> 00:53:38,960
stuff really began. There was a plastic grocery bag sitting

1054
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,159
on the counter, one of those cheap ones from a

1055
00:53:41,199 --> 00:53:44,800
corner store. Inside was a water bottle, half empty. The

1056
00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:47,960
label wasn't faded, no dust on it. It looked like

1057
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:50,480
it had been dropped there earlier that day. The plastic

1058
00:53:50,519 --> 00:53:52,719
still had the crinkly fresh sound when I brushed past it.

1059
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:56,119
Rick noticed it too. He didn't say anything, but I

1060
00:53:56,119 --> 00:53:59,039
saw his eyebrows creep up slightly. He glanced around the

1061
00:53:59,119 --> 00:54:00,840
room like he was trying to figure out what else

1062
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:04,519
he missed. I followed him toward the back door. That's

1063
00:54:04,519 --> 00:54:06,920
when I spotted it right down the floor, in the

1064
00:54:06,960 --> 00:54:09,639
thick layer of dust that coated everything, A single bootprint

1065
00:54:10,519 --> 00:54:13,800
just one, no match in pair. It was clear, deep

1066
00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:16,440
and fresh. We both stared at it for a moment.

1067
00:54:17,239 --> 00:54:20,199
Rick didn't say a word. He just moved on more

1068
00:54:20,159 --> 00:54:23,079
alert now, like a switch had flipped. We walked through

1069
00:54:23,079 --> 00:54:25,679
the wrist of the downstairs, and every room had something

1070
00:54:25,679 --> 00:54:28,639
that didn't sit right. A chair wash slightly out of place,

1071
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:31,960
a window cracked open when all the others were sealed shut.

1072
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:35,159
A cabinet door swinging halfway open while the rest were closed.

1073
00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:38,519
Up Stairs was worse. The bathroom at the end of

1074
00:54:38,559 --> 00:54:40,800
the hall had a towel hanging from the rail. I

1075
00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:43,719
touched it without thinking. It was still damp, not wet

1076
00:54:43,800 --> 00:54:45,639
enough to drip, but far too wet to have been

1077
00:54:45,639 --> 00:54:48,960
there for years. Then there was the bedroom door. It

1078
00:54:49,039 --> 00:54:51,840
was shut tight. Rick said everything was left open the

1079
00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:54,280
last time he took the place, and I believed him.

1080
00:54:54,719 --> 00:54:56,840
He didn't strike me as some one who forgets details

1081
00:54:56,880 --> 00:55:00,079
like that. I reached for the knob and paused for

1082
00:55:00,119 --> 00:55:02,280
a second. I thought I heard something on the other side,

1083
00:55:02,760 --> 00:55:04,840
a faint shuffle, maybe a breath, but it was gone

1084
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:07,400
before I could be sure. Brick was already pulling out

1085
00:55:07,440 --> 00:55:10,079
his phone. He told me to walk through the upstairs

1086
00:55:10,159 --> 00:55:13,039
bedrooms while he called the sheriff. His voice was calm,

1087
00:55:13,079 --> 00:55:15,000
but there was a tightness in it that made me nervous.

1088
00:55:15,679 --> 00:55:18,599
I opened the first door on the right. It creaked loud,

1089
00:55:18,679 --> 00:55:22,239
which didn't help. The room was mostly empty, old floorboards,

1090
00:55:22,599 --> 00:55:25,000
water stained ceiling, a broken lamp in the corner. But

1091
00:55:25,039 --> 00:55:28,599
the closet door was cart just enough to notice. Something

1092
00:55:28,599 --> 00:55:30,360
about the way it sat there made my stomach twist

1093
00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:33,599
like it was waiting. I stepped closer, my handshaking just

1094
00:55:33,599 --> 00:55:37,559
a little. I don't know why I opened it curiosity maybe,

1095
00:55:38,159 --> 00:55:39,679
or maybe I was hoping it would just be full

1096
00:55:39,719 --> 00:55:42,280
of junks so I could laugh at myself. It was.

1097
00:55:43,199 --> 00:55:45,760
Inside was a crue little bed, blankets bunched up in

1098
00:55:45,800 --> 00:55:47,800
the corner, a flattened pillar that had been dragged out

1099
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:49,599
of some one's car, and next to it a bag

1100
00:55:49,639 --> 00:55:54,360
of chips, half eaten, still open, still fresh. I swear

1101
00:55:54,400 --> 00:55:57,679
I could smell the salt and grease. I backed out fast,

1102
00:55:58,360 --> 00:56:00,320
my feet tangled, and I nearly tripped into who was

1103
00:56:00,360 --> 00:56:03,159
suddenly behind me. He didn't even ask what I saw.

1104
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:05,840
He took one look into the closet, then turned and

1105
00:56:05,880 --> 00:56:08,239
said the sheriff was on his way, told me to

1106
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:10,760
stay where you could see me. We went downstairs and

1107
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,360
waited in the living room. The silence in that house

1108
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:17,079
had changed. It was empty anymore. It felt like it

1109
00:56:17,119 --> 00:56:23,000
was watching us. Then we heard it. Footsteps upstairs. Not

1110
00:56:23,159 --> 00:56:28,000
old wood shifting, not the wind. Real saw a deliberate footsteps,

1111
00:56:28,320 --> 00:56:31,159
so like some one walking tow to heel, careful not

1112
00:56:31,239 --> 00:56:33,119
to make too much noise, but heavy enough that he

1113
00:56:33,119 --> 00:56:36,440
could feel them through the floor. Rick didn't speak, He

1114
00:56:36,559 --> 00:56:39,920
just leaned and whispered, we're leaving right now. We didn't run,

1115
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:42,880
not exactly, but we didn't take our time either. We

1116
00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:44,639
stepped onto the porch and crossed the yard to the

1117
00:56:44,639 --> 00:56:48,760
truck without looking back until I did. Halfway to the truck.

1118
00:56:49,119 --> 00:56:52,159
I turned around the curtain in the other stairs bedroom

1119
00:56:52,159 --> 00:56:55,639
moved just a little, just enough for a pale hand

1120
00:56:55,679 --> 00:56:58,880
to curl around the edge and pull it back. Not fast,

1121
00:56:59,599 --> 00:57:04,320
not stop. It was slow, casual, like they wanted me

1122
00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:07,360
to see them. We got in the truck, locked the doors,

1123
00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:09,880
and waited for the sheriff. When they showed up, two

1124
00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:12,320
deputies and a third guy who didn't say much. They

1125
00:57:12,360 --> 00:57:16,920
went in quietly, no sirens, just flashlights and hand signals.

1126
00:57:17,599 --> 00:57:19,320
I stayed in the truck while Rick talked to them.

1127
00:57:19,719 --> 00:57:23,480
They searched the whole place topped to bottom. Fifteen minutes

1128
00:57:23,519 --> 00:57:25,519
later they came back out and told us the house

1129
00:57:25,599 --> 00:57:29,199
was empty. Nothing inside. But then one of the mast

1130
00:57:29,280 --> 00:57:33,119
of theatic door was supposed to be open. Rick blinked, no,

1131
00:57:33,360 --> 00:57:36,039
He said, that thing's been nail shut since I bought

1132
00:57:36,039 --> 00:57:42,239
the place. Unsafe floorboards it sealed. The deputy nodded, well,

1133
00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:46,440
it's open now. Nails all over the floor, doors hanging.

1134
00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:50,159
Looks like someone's been using it. Later that night, Rick

1135
00:57:50,199 --> 00:57:52,760
went back with the hammer and nails boarded it shut again. Himself,

1136
00:57:52,880 --> 00:57:55,559
sealed the windows, checked every lock. Didn't say a word

1137
00:57:55,639 --> 00:57:58,199
during the drive home. I was twenty four when I

1138
00:57:58,239 --> 00:58:00,480
started working the front counter at the Old Bright Tavern.

1139
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:02,519
It was a place that looked like it had been

1140
00:58:02,519 --> 00:58:05,480
built by hand and held together by stories. The tavern

1141
00:58:05,519 --> 00:58:08,079
sat at the edge of Dandridge's historic district, tucked between

1142
00:58:08,119 --> 00:58:10,119
a row of antique shops and a church that hadn't

1143
00:58:10,199 --> 00:58:14,480
chined in decades. It was older than Tennessee itself. Stonewall

1144
00:58:14,519 --> 00:58:17,320
stat back in seventeen seventy nine, still standing like they

1145
00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:20,280
doubt anyone to try and knock them down. People didn't

1146
00:58:20,320 --> 00:58:22,880
just come for the drinks. They came for the history

1147
00:58:23,480 --> 00:58:25,639
the place at this lived and field, with wooden beams

1148
00:58:25,679 --> 00:58:27,480
low enough to bump your head on and mugs that

1149
00:58:27,519 --> 00:58:30,280
looked like they belonged in a museum. Each room had

1150
00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:33,119
a name, mostly after famous folks who supposedly passed through

1151
00:58:33,119 --> 00:58:37,639
back in the day, outlaws, General's Riverbook Cappins. The most

1152
00:58:37,639 --> 00:58:40,519
popular room was the Clayton Room, named after Elijah Clayton,

1153
00:58:40,559 --> 00:58:43,880
a bank robbert owned local legend. According to the stores,

1154
00:58:44,280 --> 00:58:46,800
he'd been shot dead in a tavern and never quite left.

1155
00:58:47,400 --> 00:58:50,000
Guests loved the idea of him still pacing around upstairs,

1156
00:58:50,119 --> 00:58:52,719
and the staff leaned into it hard. We had framed

1157
00:58:52,760 --> 00:58:56,000
blobs in each room explaining their historical significant pulse laminated

1158
00:58:56,039 --> 00:58:58,320
cheek called haunted highlights that I was expected to hand

1159
00:58:58,360 --> 00:59:00,719
out with a wink and a bourbon fly. I didn't

1160
00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:03,599
believe any of it. I mean I liked the stories.

1161
00:59:04,239 --> 00:59:07,400
They were fond entertaining good conversation staughters. When guests asked

1162
00:59:07,440 --> 00:59:10,679
about the buildings passed, I tell them about the rumors

1163
00:59:10,679 --> 00:59:12,679
a girl running through the dining room shadows at the

1164
00:59:12,719 --> 00:59:15,039
edge of mirrors, Clayton himself rattling the doors to his

1165
00:59:15,119 --> 00:59:19,480
namesake wheet, but gos now. I figured it was all

1166
00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:22,039
part of the ambience, a little color to go with

1167
00:59:22,079 --> 00:59:26,480
the cobwebs that lasted exactly two weeks. It started small,

1168
00:59:26,519 --> 00:59:29,400
the way these things always do. One night, I stayed

1169
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:32,159
late to a stock after the dinner rush. Every one

1170
00:59:32,199 --> 00:59:34,280
else had cleared out, and the place was quiet, quiet

1171
00:59:34,360 --> 00:59:36,199
enough that you could hear the fridge compressor homming in

1172
00:59:36,199 --> 00:59:38,239
the kitchen, and the occasional groan from the old plumbing.

1173
00:59:38,719 --> 00:59:40,840
I was stacking glasses behind the bar when I heard

1174
00:59:40,840 --> 00:59:45,519
something upstairs, just a few steps, nothing loud, soft, careful,

1175
00:59:45,559 --> 00:59:47,320
like some one walking hill to tow across the hallway

1176
00:59:47,320 --> 00:59:50,360
above the lobby. I figured maybe Denis, the night porter,

1177
00:59:50,559 --> 00:59:53,400
was doing his rams. But when I called out, no

1178
00:59:53,480 --> 00:59:57,280
one answered. So I climbed the stairs. The second floor

1179
00:59:57,320 --> 00:59:59,360
stretched out in front of me, narrowed dim with the

1180
00:59:59,360 --> 01:00:02,360
carpet runway warnford, but down the middle. I stood there

1181
01:00:02,360 --> 01:00:06,159
for a minute, just listening nothing. I checked every room

1182
01:00:06,159 --> 01:00:11,199
that wasn't locked, empty, quiet. I went back downstairs, a

1183
01:00:11,199 --> 01:00:13,519
little unnerved, but I choked it up to the building settling.

1184
01:00:14,119 --> 01:00:18,000
That's what we always say, right, All places make weird noises.

1185
01:00:18,599 --> 01:00:21,440
I kept saying nat to myself, over and over. A

1186
01:00:21,480 --> 01:00:23,760
few nights later, I passed the Clayton room while dropping

1187
01:00:23,800 --> 01:00:26,880
off towels. It was unoccupied, locked, and the key was

1188
01:00:26,880 --> 01:00:29,280
still in the drawer behind the counter. But as I

1189
01:00:29,320 --> 01:00:33,039
walked past, I heard the latch click. Not loud, just

1190
01:00:33,079 --> 01:00:35,719
a quick metallic click, like someone had turned the knob

1191
01:00:35,719 --> 01:00:37,760
from his side and let the door settle back into place.

1192
01:00:38,480 --> 01:00:43,960
I stopped, listened nothing. I touched the handle. It was cold,

1193
01:00:43,960 --> 01:00:47,000
but the door wasn't locked any more. I pushed it open, slowly,

1194
01:00:47,159 --> 01:00:49,199
half expecting Dennis to jump out and tell me I

1195
01:00:49,280 --> 01:00:52,320
was on some hidden camousher. It was pitch black inside.

1196
01:00:52,920 --> 01:00:55,599
The windows were shut, the beds still made from the

1197
01:00:55,599 --> 01:00:59,639
morning shift. Everything exactly how it should have been, except

1198
01:00:59,719 --> 01:01:03,760
there was this sound. It wasn't music. It wasn't a voice,

1199
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:07,000
more like a low, regular hum, something between a radio

1200
01:01:07,039 --> 01:01:09,599
stuck on static in the vibration of an old florescent light.

1201
01:01:10,239 --> 01:01:13,320
I couldn't place it. Then something brushed past my elbow.

1202
01:01:13,960 --> 01:01:17,920
It wasn't fabric, it wasn't there. It was just cold, shop,

1203
01:01:18,039 --> 01:01:20,559
like a breeze with weight, if that makes sense. I

1204
01:01:20,639 --> 01:01:22,400
yanked my arm back and slammed the door, but took

1205
01:01:22,440 --> 01:01:25,039
the stairs two at a time. I didn't even finish

1206
01:01:25,039 --> 01:01:28,119
the towel drop. A few days after that, Missus Bakie

1207
01:01:28,159 --> 01:01:31,079
been stopped by. She's sort of a fixture around the place.

1208
01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,360
Her family's been in town for generations, and she used

1209
01:01:34,360 --> 01:01:36,880
to help run the tavern years ago. Now she comes

1210
01:01:36,960 --> 01:01:39,280
in every so often, usually when there's a new employee

1211
01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:41,920
to warn. She sat at the bar and waited until

1212
01:01:41,920 --> 01:01:44,800
I poured her the usual straight rye no ice. You've

1213
01:01:44,840 --> 01:01:47,760
heard him yet, she asked, not even looking at me.

1214
01:01:48,400 --> 01:01:53,280
Her too, She glanced up Clayton, Room thirteen. You'll know

1215
01:01:53,360 --> 01:01:57,159
when it's him. He walks real heavy, doesn't like being ignored.

1216
01:01:57,920 --> 01:01:59,840
I tried to laugh it off, but she just tapped

1217
01:01:59,880 --> 01:02:02,280
her glass against the counter, like knocking on a coffin lead.

1218
01:02:02,880 --> 01:02:04,800
He got shot right there in the hall, she said,

1219
01:02:05,519 --> 01:02:08,119
tried to drag himself to the door, didn't make it.

1220
01:02:09,000 --> 01:02:11,639
Some nights, I still hear his boots. You can tell

1221
01:02:11,679 --> 01:02:14,480
when it's him because it sounds like he's pacing left

1222
01:02:14,480 --> 01:02:19,280
to right, right to left, never going anywhere, I mumbled,

1223
01:02:19,320 --> 01:02:22,239
something like, well, he hasn't said hello to me yet.

1224
01:02:23,039 --> 01:02:26,679
She didn't laugh. It wasn't just miss Eskibbins either. There

1225
01:02:26,760 --> 01:02:28,840
was a writer from Columbus staying in the Maple Room,

1226
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:32,159
which shares a wall with Clayton's. He came back from dinner,

1227
01:02:32,199 --> 01:02:34,960
pail and jumpy, like he's seeing something you couldn't quite explain.

1228
01:02:35,599 --> 01:02:40,960
I heard music, he said, upstairs. Not loud, just soft piano,

1229
01:02:41,239 --> 01:02:43,559
like someone practicing a tune they hadn't played in years.

1230
01:02:44,280 --> 01:02:47,119
He paused, tried to smile, but the front desk said

1231
01:02:47,119 --> 01:02:50,440
there's no piano in the building, not any more. I

1232
01:02:50,519 --> 01:02:52,960
didn't know what to say. I just shrug and made

1233
01:02:52,960 --> 01:02:56,199
a joke about Dandridge having some talented raccoons. A few

1234
01:02:56,320 --> 01:02:59,079
nights later, I heard it too. I'd locked up, shut

1235
01:02:59,119 --> 01:03:01,199
off the lights, and was heading down the back stairs

1236
01:03:01,239 --> 01:03:03,400
when I heard a slow, clumsy melody drifting from the

1237
01:03:03,440 --> 01:03:08,880
second floor, just a few notes, hesitant and even, like

1238
01:03:08,960 --> 01:03:11,679
someone were learning an old song. There's no piano in

1239
01:03:11,760 --> 01:03:15,320
the tavern, as have been for years. I walked back

1240
01:03:15,360 --> 01:03:17,599
up stairs, followed the sound, pressed my ear to the

1241
01:03:17,639 --> 01:03:21,320
wall of the claysing room. Silence, but the wood was warm.

1242
01:03:21,960 --> 01:03:24,760
Not just rooin. Temperature warm, like someone had been standing

1243
01:03:24,840 --> 01:03:27,000
right on the other side of the wall. The night

1244
01:03:27,079 --> 01:03:30,199
that finally broke me happened just after midnight. The tavern

1245
01:03:30,360 --> 01:03:33,280
was dark, windows going with minlight. I was in the

1246
01:03:33,280 --> 01:03:35,679
back office, counting like the bottles for the weekly inventory.

1247
01:03:36,360 --> 01:03:38,559
Everything had been locked for the night. Front door off

1248
01:03:38,599 --> 01:03:42,239
a storage I know because I double checked. The office

1249
01:03:42,320 --> 01:03:45,800
door creaked open. No big slam, no burst of air,

1250
01:03:46,639 --> 01:03:49,000
just slow, smooth movement. I looked up from my clipboard

1251
01:03:49,079 --> 01:03:54,119
and froze. There were footsteps in the hallway, clack clack, heavy, deliberate,

1252
01:03:54,840 --> 01:03:58,480
coming closer. I couldn't see anyone. I couldn't move. I

1253
01:03:58,559 --> 01:04:01,639
stayed completely still, breathe shallow, like my lungs were trying

1254
01:04:01,679 --> 01:04:05,199
not to be noticed. Then the temperature drop, not metaphorically,

1255
01:04:05,840 --> 01:04:09,679
it actually dropped. I saw my breath. My flashlight slipped

1256
01:04:09,679 --> 01:04:11,960
out of my hand and hit the floor. The sound

1257
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:15,840
echoed like a gunshot. The footsteps stopped for a second.

1258
01:04:15,960 --> 01:04:19,039
There was absolute silence. Then I heard it right behind me,

1259
01:04:19,360 --> 01:04:22,320
just beside my earco It wasn't a voice, not really.

1260
01:04:22,960 --> 01:04:24,760
It was a sound of shape, a word that didn't

1261
01:04:24,760 --> 01:04:29,000
need longso lips just force. I bolted. I didn't even

1262
01:04:29,039 --> 01:04:31,599
shut the office door. I ran straight out the back,

1263
01:04:31,760 --> 01:04:34,320
keys still in my pocket, lights still on. Everything forgotten

1264
01:04:34,360 --> 01:04:36,239
except getting as far from that hallway as I could.

1265
01:04:36,880 --> 01:04:40,719
I quit the next day. Didn't explain why, just left

1266
01:04:40,760 --> 01:04:42,880
my badge and my apron on the counter and walked out.

1267
01:04:43,519 --> 01:04:46,760
I changed my number, ignored every call from the tavern.

1268
01:04:47,320 --> 01:04:51,400
Dennis texted me once you okay, but I never reply.

1269
01:04:52,159 --> 01:04:55,599
I still passed through Dandridge sometimes. The tavern still there,

1270
01:04:55,679 --> 01:04:59,800
of course, looks the same, a little more weather maybe,

1271
01:05:00,079 --> 01:05:03,039
but the same. One of the second four windows always

1272
01:05:03,079 --> 01:05:05,599
the same. One above the Clayton room is always cracked open,

1273
01:05:05,840 --> 01:05:08,440
even in the dead of winter. I've seen snow piled

1274
01:05:08,480 --> 01:05:11,000
up on the sill, and nobody closes it. I don't

1275
01:05:11,039 --> 01:05:15,079
go inside, and that is the end. Thank you for listening,

1276
01:05:15,199 --> 01:05:16,480
and I will see you in the next one.