1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,679 Speaker 1: I live in an older apartment building in the same 2 00:00:04,719 --> 00:00:07,719 town where I grew up. The place was built somewhere 3 00:00:07,719 --> 00:00:10,679 in the nineteen sixties, back when everything was made out 4 00:00:10,679 --> 00:00:14,320 of concrete and steel. You can tell it's been patched 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:19,160 up and repainted more times than anyone can count. Like 6 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,399 many buildings from that era, it also has a shared basement. 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,519 Down there, every apartment gets a small chain link fence 8 00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:33,679 to keep whatever doesn't fit upstairs, holiday decorations, old furniture, 9 00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:37,240 and junk. You can see into every cage from the 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,920 aisle if you stand in the right place. Most tenants 11 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,280 hardly go down there. I'm one of them. The only 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,119 reason I went down that afternoon was that I needed 13 00:00:50,119 --> 00:00:52,679 to dig out a box of winter clothes i'd stored 14 00:00:52,799 --> 00:00:56,880 months earlier. The basement door is at the end of 15 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:01,159 the hallway, near the laundry room. It's all locked, but 16 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,439 every tenant has a key. When I opened it, the 17 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,439 familiar smell of dampened cardboard drifted up the stairs. I've 18 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:12,719 looked on the lights and walked between the rows of 19 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,120 storage cages until I reached mine near the back wall. 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,480 At first, nothing seemed unusual. Then I noticed one of 21 00:01:22,519 --> 00:01:26,879 the boxes was on the floor. It had been sitting 22 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,079 on the top shelf last time i'd been down here. 23 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,519 I remembered putting it up there because it was filled 24 00:01:32,519 --> 00:01:35,840 with old box and weighed too much to keep moving around. 25 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,560 Now it was lying on its side near the front 26 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:43,799 of the cage. I stood there for a moment, trying 27 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,680 to remember. Maybe I'd taken it down the last time 28 00:01:47,719 --> 00:01:50,799 I was here and forgot to put it back. That 29 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:56,760 seemed like the simplest explanation, so I stepped inside, lifted 30 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,879 the box back on to the shelf, and didn't think 31 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:05,359 much more about it. I didn't go back down to 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,560 the basement for a few weeks. I'd blown a fuse 33 00:02:08,599 --> 00:02:11,879 in my kitchen and needed a screwdriver to open the panel. 34 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,960 Instead of driving to the hardware store. I remember the 35 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,599 toolbox I kept downstairs. The basement was quiet when I 36 00:02:20,719 --> 00:02:24,680 locked the door. Just the dim fluorescent lights humming overhead 37 00:02:24,719 --> 00:02:28,960 filled the silence. Nothing looked different from the last time 38 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,479 i'd been there. I walked back to my unit and 39 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:37,159 unlocked the padlock. The first thing I saw when I 40 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,080 opened the gate was the toolbox. It was sitting on 41 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,520 the floor in the middle of the cage. I stopped. 42 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,919 That toolbox had been on the top shelf. I knew 43 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:53,759 that for a fact, because I remembered hauling it up 44 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,560 there when I moved in. It was one of those 45 00:02:56,599 --> 00:03:00,719 heavy metal toolboxes filled with old tools from my garage. 46 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,199 It probably weighed forty pounds. I stood there staring at 47 00:03:06,199 --> 00:03:08,919 it for a moment, trying to replay the last time 48 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,560 i'd been down here. But this time it was reasoned 49 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,960 enough to know I hadn't moved it. I stepped inside 50 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,919 the cage and crouched down to pick it up. That's 51 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,280 when I noticed a cluster of water pipes ran along 52 00:03:25,319 --> 00:03:29,120 the ceiling above the storage unit. In the summer, they 53 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,759 always gathered condensation from the humidity in the basement. Yet 54 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,280 there were streaks running along them, long clear paths where 55 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,800 the condensation had been wiped away. I thought maybe somebody 56 00:03:42,879 --> 00:03:47,319 had brushed against them, But the marks weren't random. They 57 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,599 were long and narrow, and there were several of them 58 00:03:51,039 --> 00:03:56,759 running along the pipes in uneven lines. I stood there 59 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,759 for a second looking up at them. It almost looked 60 00:04:00,759 --> 00:04:04,719 like someone had dragged their fingers across the metal or 61 00:04:05,879 --> 00:04:10,400 something else. The thought crossed my mind for a moment 62 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:16,839 before I laughed it off for probably another tenant. I 63 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,439 picked up the toolbox and set it back on the shelf. 64 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,399 Then I grabbed the screwdriver I came for and headed upstairs. 65 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,120 Tried not to give it much more thought. I tried 66 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,639 not to think about the basement again until a few 67 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,920 days later. But the truth is the image of those 68 00:04:34,959 --> 00:04:38,000 streaks and the pipes kept drifting back into my head 69 00:04:38,079 --> 00:04:42,720 at odd moments, not enough to worry about, just enough 70 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,519 that I found myself replaying the scene in my mind 71 00:04:45,639 --> 00:04:51,399 every now and then. Eventually I went back down, partly 72 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:53,680 because I wanted to grab a camping lantern from one 73 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:58,120 of the boxes, mostly because I wanted to reassure myself 74 00:04:58,439 --> 00:05:03,480 that nothing strange was actually going on. The basement looked 75 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:06,680 the same as always when I opened the door, nothing 76 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,720 moving and nothing out of place. I walked to my 77 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,639 locker and unlocked the padlock. The moment I opened the gate, 78 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,680 I knew something had changed again. A cardboard box near 79 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,000 the front had a chunk torn out of one corner torn. 80 00:05:26,879 --> 00:05:29,480 The edge of the cardboard was ragged and damp, looking 81 00:05:29,959 --> 00:05:34,040 like something had chewed through it. I crouched down slowly 82 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,839 the hole was about the size of a fist. Inside 83 00:05:38,879 --> 00:05:42,279 the box were all clothes I hadn't worn in years. 84 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,439 I stared at the tornage for a few seconds, trying 85 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:52,120 to make sense of it. Maybe mice basements get mice sometimes. 86 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,319 But when I looked closer, the marks didn't look like 87 00:05:56,439 --> 00:06:00,680 rodent damage. The tears were too wide, the dent in 88 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:10,639 the cardboard spaced too far apart. They looked like bite marks. 89 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,800 I felt a small ripple of unease moved through my stomach. 90 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,360 I straightened up and started looking around the rest of 91 00:06:18,399 --> 00:06:23,600 the cage. That's when I noticed the plastic bin. One 92 00:06:23,639 --> 00:06:26,319 of the clear storage bins on the lower shelf, had 93 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,759 a rough hole showed through the lid. The plastic edges 94 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,800 were bent inward and cracked, like something had worked at 95 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:38,079 it repeatedly. I lifted the lid. Inside was some old 96 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:42,079 blankets and a jacket. The moment I picked up the jacket, 97 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,399 I wrinkled my nose at the sharp stench of sweat 98 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:50,560 and something metallic underneath it. I set it back down slowly. 99 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,000 My heart had started beating faster now, a quiet rising 100 00:06:56,079 --> 00:06:59,439 tension you get when your brain hasn't figured something out yet, 101 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,120 but you instincts already have. I scanned the rest of 102 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,160 the locker. The jacket hanging in the wire wall caught 103 00:07:08,199 --> 00:07:12,560 my eye. It hadn't been there last time I came down. 104 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,800 I stepped closer. The sleeves had been twisted together into 105 00:07:17,839 --> 00:07:22,639 a tight knot around the hangar, not loosely tangled, twisted 106 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,759 over and over until the fabric had wound itself into 107 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,360 a thick rope. I grabbed the sleeves and tried to 108 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:36,000 pull them apart. They didn't move. Whoever had done it 109 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,680 had twisted the fabric so tight it took me several 110 00:07:39,759 --> 00:07:44,639 minutes to slowly work the not loose. I stood there 111 00:07:44,839 --> 00:07:51,600 holding the jacket when I heard the noise, a slow scrape, 112 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:57,720 somewhere behind the storage cages. I froze. The noise came 113 00:07:57,759 --> 00:08:02,160 again through the narrow spaces between in the units. I 114 00:08:02,199 --> 00:08:07,240 held my breath, listening. The sound continued for another second, 115 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:16,240 then it stopped. I didn't wait for it to start again. 116 00:08:16,839 --> 00:08:19,680 I dropped the jacket back onto the shelf, stepped out 117 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,120 of the cage, and locked the gate, without taking my 118 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,879 eyes off the dark rows of storage lockers around me. 119 00:08:25,759 --> 00:08:29,800 Then I walked quickly back to the stairs. By the 120 00:08:29,879 --> 00:08:33,120 time I reached the basement door, my heart was pounding 121 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:35,679 hard enough that I could feel it in my throat. 122 00:08:36,879 --> 00:08:39,720 I didn't stop moving until I was back upstairs in 123 00:08:39,759 --> 00:08:45,039 the hallway. My heart was still racing, and I felt 124 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,639 a little ridiculous standing there, breathing like had just run 125 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,480 up a flight of stairs. Old basements make noise, Pipes 126 00:08:53,519 --> 00:08:59,000 expand metal shifts. Things settle, but the bite marks and 127 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,200 the box and the hole in the plastic bin kept 128 00:09:02,279 --> 00:09:07,559 replying in my head. And that sound, the slow scraping 129 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:13,279 between the storage cages. I told myself I was being stupid, 130 00:09:13,879 --> 00:09:16,320 but I walked down the hallway to the building manager's 131 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:21,440 office anyway. Our building manager, Carl, lives in the ground 132 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,639 floor apartment near the entrance. His door was open and 133 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,080 I knocked on the frame. He looked up from a 134 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:34,759 small TV sitting on his kitchen counter. Hey, he said, 135 00:09:35,639 --> 00:09:42,720 what's up. I hesitated for a second before answering, have 136 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,879 you had anyone messing around in the basement lately? Carl 137 00:09:47,919 --> 00:09:55,440 frowned slightly. No, why. I explained what I found. The 138 00:09:55,519 --> 00:09:59,039 moved boxes, the hole in the bin, the strange marks 139 00:09:59,039 --> 00:10:02,440 on the cardboard I left out the bart about the 140 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,879 scraping noise. Saying it out loud suddenly sounded too dramatic. 141 00:10:08,399 --> 00:10:11,240 Carl listened for a minute, then pushed himself up from 142 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:16,919 the chair. Let's go take a look. We walked back 143 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:21,120 down the hallway together and unlocked the basement door. The 144 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,080 lights flickered on the same way they always did. The 145 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,679 storage cages looked exactly like they heard ten minutes earlier. 146 00:10:29,039 --> 00:10:32,600 Karl walked down the aisle between them, glancing casually into 147 00:10:32,639 --> 00:10:37,320 a few units. Doors still locked, he said, after a moment, 148 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,919 pointing back toward the stairwell. No sign anyone forced it. 149 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,879 We stopped at my locker. I showed him the chewed 150 00:10:46,919 --> 00:10:51,000 box and the damaged bin. He crouched down to look 151 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:56,679 at the cardboard for a second. Probably mice, he said 152 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:04,799 that big, I asked. Carl shrugged. Rats. Maybe he stood 153 00:11:04,919 --> 00:11:08,720 and dusted off his hands, or another tenant moving stuff 154 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,879 around happens all the time. People forget which unit is 155 00:11:12,919 --> 00:11:17,600 theirs and poke through a few before they realize. I 156 00:11:17,639 --> 00:11:21,519 looked round the basement again. It felt different standing there 157 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:25,799 with someone else beside me, less tense, less like something 158 00:11:25,919 --> 00:11:30,480 was hiding in the dark spaces between the cages. Karl 159 00:11:30,519 --> 00:11:34,519 clapped me lightly on the shoulder. Don't worry about it, 160 00:11:34,799 --> 00:11:44,879 he said, If it keeps happening, let me know. I nodded, yeah, okay. 161 00:11:45,519 --> 00:11:49,159 Walking back upstairs, I felt a little embarrassed for making 162 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:53,000 it sound like something serious. It was probably just what 163 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:57,200 Karl said, a rat or someone moving things around and 164 00:11:57,279 --> 00:12:00,960 not remembering where they put them back. By the time 165 00:12:01,039 --> 00:12:05,159 I got back to my apartment, i'd almost convinced myself 166 00:12:06,159 --> 00:12:13,080 that was all it was. I stayed away from the 167 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,120 basement for a while after that, because the whole thing 168 00:12:16,159 --> 00:12:20,159 had left me feeling a little foolish. Karl had looked around, 169 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:24,360 found nothing, and explained it away in about thirty seconds. 170 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,600 The longer I avoided thinking about it, the easier it 171 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,240 was to believe him. Weeks passed before I had any 172 00:12:33,279 --> 00:12:37,120 reason to go back down. It was a Saturday afternoon 173 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:39,799 and I was looking for a small folding table i'd 174 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,759 stored when I moved in, something I could use on 175 00:12:42,799 --> 00:12:47,080 my balcony. I locked the basement door and stepped inside. 176 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:55,360 The smell hit me first. Basements always smell a little stale, 177 00:12:55,639 --> 00:12:59,000 but this time there was something stronger mixed in with it, 178 00:13:00,399 --> 00:13:08,159 not quite rot, not quite garbage, something animal. I paused 179 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,840 at the bottom of the stairs. The lights flickered on overhead, 180 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,799 revealing the same rows of storage cages stretching down the room. 181 00:13:17,279 --> 00:13:21,480 But something was different. I walked slowly down the aisle 182 00:13:21,519 --> 00:13:26,080 toward my locker, scanning the cages on either side. A 183 00:13:26,159 --> 00:13:28,679 section of fencing near the middle of the basement had 184 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:33,559 been bent outward, not cut. The wire had been forced 185 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:37,399 apart in a wide, uneven whole, big enough for someone 186 00:13:37,399 --> 00:13:41,840 to crawl through. I stopped and crouched down to look 187 00:13:41,879 --> 00:13:45,919 at it. The metal links were walked and twisted, like 188 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,440 something had pushed through them with a lot of force. 189 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,039 I stood there for a second, my mind automatically trying 190 00:13:54,039 --> 00:13:56,759 to picture what kind of tools some one would need 191 00:13:56,759 --> 00:14:03,120 to do that. Boat cutters would leave cleanes. This wasn't clean. 192 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,559 This looked like the metal had been torn open. I 193 00:14:08,639 --> 00:14:14,360 kept walking. Two cages later, another hole appeared, same thing, 194 00:14:15,159 --> 00:14:20,120 wire mesh bent outward from the inside. The uneasy feeling 195 00:14:20,159 --> 00:14:24,519 in my chest started creeping back. When I reached my locker, 196 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,759 the gate was still locked. That should have made me 197 00:14:28,799 --> 00:14:35,440 feel better. It didn't. I unlocked it and stepped inside. 198 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:41,879 The first thing I noticed was the food box. I 199 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,759 kept a few random things down here, old camping supplies, 200 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,799 some bottled water, and a couple of canned goods that 201 00:14:48,879 --> 00:14:52,519 had ended up in storage during a move. Two of 202 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:57,480 the cans were gone. Another one sat on the shelf 203 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:02,080 with the top crussed inward, like someone had squeezed the 204 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,960 metal hard enough to split it open. I picked it 205 00:15:06,039 --> 00:15:09,720 up slowly. The lid had been forced inward in a 206 00:15:09,799 --> 00:15:14,840 jagged circle. The metal bent down into the can. My 207 00:15:14,919 --> 00:15:21,120 fingers brushed the edge and came away sticky empty. Something 208 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,799 had eaten the contents. I set it back down and 209 00:15:25,879 --> 00:15:28,919 stepped out of the locker, looking around the basement again. 210 00:15:30,159 --> 00:15:33,679 That's when I noticed the pipes. A network of thick 211 00:15:33,759 --> 00:15:36,960 heating pipes ran along the ceiling above the storage cages, 212 00:15:37,279 --> 00:15:41,240 wrapped in pale insulation that had long since yellowed with age. 213 00:15:42,159 --> 00:15:47,360 Across one stretch with long, dark streaks, something had dragged 214 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:53,159 itself along the insulation several times. The marks were irregular 215 00:15:53,639 --> 00:15:56,960 smeared in places where whatever had moved across the pipes 216 00:15:57,039 --> 00:16:00,639 had shifted its weight. They ran along the length of 217 00:16:00,679 --> 00:16:04,360 the ceiling for nearly fifteen feet before disappearing into a 218 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:08,120 dark section of the basement. I followed them with my 219 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:14,000 eyes until they ended near the far corner. That where 220 00:16:14,039 --> 00:16:18,320 I saw the bones, A small pile of pale shapes, 221 00:16:18,639 --> 00:16:24,759 tucked into the corner between two cages. Then I stepped closer. 222 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,919 There were animal bones, small ones, probably from a rat 223 00:16:31,039 --> 00:16:35,720 or a bird. But they weren't just lying there. They 224 00:16:35,759 --> 00:16:41,000 were broken, snapped open down the middle. The ends splintered 225 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,360 cleanly apart, like something had cracked them to get at 226 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:49,279 the marrow. I stood there, staring at them, the smell 227 00:16:49,279 --> 00:16:53,440 in the basement suddenly making more sense. The thought that 228 00:16:53,559 --> 00:16:57,480 fawned in my head felt ridiculous, but once it appeared, 229 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:03,759 I couldn't push it away. Something was living down here, 230 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:09,079 and whatever it was, it wasn't acting like any sane 231 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:16,960 person I could imagine. Back in my apartment, I was 232 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,720 sitting on the couch watching TV, and something below me 233 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,079 made a dull, metallic rattle, not loud enough to shake 234 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,759 the floor, but enough that it carried up through the 235 00:17:27,799 --> 00:17:33,400 pipes and vents. I muted the television. For a moment, 236 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:39,960 everything was quiet. Then it happened again, metal brushing against 237 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:47,079 metal somewhere in the basement. My stomach tightened, immediately. I 238 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:51,160 sat there listening, trying to convince myself it was just 239 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,559 the heating pipes expanding or someone moving something in their 240 00:17:54,599 --> 00:18:01,000 storage unit. With a sound came again, longer, this time dragging. 241 00:18:02,519 --> 00:18:05,400 I grabbed a flashlight and headed for the hallway. Before 242 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:10,200 I fully decided to the basement door was locked, like doorways, 243 00:18:10,839 --> 00:18:15,279 I used my key and pushed it open slowly. The 244 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:22,440 smell hit me first, again strong. Now the basement looked empty. 245 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:28,160 For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then I heard it, 246 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:33,839 a low shuffling sound somewhere deeper in the rose, something 247 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:39,599 moving between the cages, crawling. The metal fencing rattled softly 248 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:44,680 as whatever it was brushed against it. My heart started hammering. 249 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:51,400 Then I heard breathing, slow and heavy, somewhere past the 250 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:56,039 third row of lockers. I didn't wait to see it. 251 00:18:56,559 --> 00:18:59,480 I backed toward the stairs as quietly as I could. 252 00:18:59,839 --> 00:19:02,279 I turned and ran up the stairs two at a time. 253 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:07,400 Once I reached the hallway, I dialed Carl's number. It 254 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,519 rang five times before going to voicemail. I tried again, 255 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,319 same result. I stood there for a minute, staring at 256 00:19:16,319 --> 00:19:23,720 the phone. Finally I left a message, Hey Carl, it's 257 00:19:23,799 --> 00:19:27,599 me from three b something's definitely living in the basement. 258 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:30,559 I think it might be an animal or something I 259 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:34,079 got in through the foundation. You should probably call animal 260 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,119 control or someone to take a look before it gets worse. 261 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:45,119 I hung up and waited a few seconds. Nothing. Carl 262 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,759 worked at early mornings. If it was already asleep, he 263 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:53,519 probably wouldn't hear the message until the next day. Standing 264 00:19:53,559 --> 00:19:56,680 there in the hallway, I tried to calm myself down. 265 00:19:57,799 --> 00:20:00,279 Maybe it really was some large animal that had found 266 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:04,519 its way inside, a raccoon or a stray dog, something 267 00:20:04,559 --> 00:20:08,920 that had been living off the food in the storage lockers. Still, 268 00:20:09,559 --> 00:20:12,920 the sounds i'd heard downstairs didn't feel like an animal. 269 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:18,599 They felt heavier, smarter too, But saying that out loud 270 00:20:18,759 --> 00:20:23,000 would make me sound insane. Carl would check the message 271 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:26,799 in the morning. If it really was an animal, animal 272 00:20:26,839 --> 00:20:31,599 control could deal with it. I told myself that was 273 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,240 the end of it, But lying in bed that night, 274 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,680 I kept replaying the sound of something crawling between those cages. 275 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,759 The next morning, I heard back from Carl, this is 276 00:20:53,799 --> 00:20:57,000 outside my scope of duties certain some pictures, so I 277 00:20:57,039 --> 00:21:02,799 can escalate this short and official, sounding different from how 278 00:21:02,799 --> 00:21:06,119 he normally talked. I could only take it as him 279 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:12,440 being dismissive, ready to pass on the responsibilities, so I 280 00:21:12,519 --> 00:21:16,799 had to go back down to the basement. The basement 281 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,759 lights flickered on and I was greeted by the usual 282 00:21:19,839 --> 00:21:22,920 row of cages. But now that I knew what I 283 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,160 was looking for, I started noticing things I'd missed before. 284 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,920 The ben fencing made a path, so I followed the 285 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:37,400 damage more seriously into the basement. One cage led to another, 286 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,720 each one connected by a hole where the metal had 287 00:21:40,759 --> 00:21:44,119 been bent outward. The holes lined up in a rough 288 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,119 path that ran through the middle of the storage rose 289 00:21:48,279 --> 00:21:51,880 a route. I crouched down and stepped through one of 290 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:54,920 the openings, careful not to catch my jacket on the 291 00:21:54,960 --> 00:22:00,519 twisted wire. Inside the neighboring cage, more boxes had been opened. 292 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,640 A suitcase sat half and zipped on the floor. Clothes 293 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,680 spilled out across the concrete. I moved through another hole 294 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,319 in the fencing, then another. Each cage looked more disturbed 295 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:19,119 than the last, boxes torn open, food containers scattered. The 296 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,680 smell from before was stronger here, sweat and metal, something 297 00:22:23,759 --> 00:22:28,599 stale and sour hanging in the air. Eventually, the trail 298 00:22:28,759 --> 00:22:31,359 ended in a storage unit near the back corner of 299 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:36,480 the basement. I thought the cage was empty. Then I 300 00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:40,319 saw the pile. Clothes were stacked in the middle of 301 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:46,920 the floor. Shirts, jackets, towels, blankets, dozens of them, arranged 302 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:52,160 into uneven towers that rose nearly three feet high. I 303 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:57,160 stood there staring at them. The stacks were careful, each 304 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,519 piece of clothing folded and placed on top of the next, 305 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,960 like someone had spent hours arranging them. Next To the 306 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:09,519 clothes were empty food containers, plastic tubs and water bottles, 307 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,839 a few crushed cans. They had all been gathered together 308 00:23:14,039 --> 00:23:18,880 in a neat cluster against the wall. The realization crept 309 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,759 slowly into the back of my mind. This wasn't random. 310 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,519 Something had been organizing this space, living in it. It 311 00:23:28,559 --> 00:23:32,640 didn't look like they were arranging for storage. It looked 312 00:23:33,319 --> 00:23:38,440 like a nest. I took another step into the cage. 313 00:23:39,039 --> 00:23:41,960 The floor was littered with small objects pulled from other 314 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:48,359 storage units, flashlights, gloves, and various tools. Beyond the useful things, 315 00:23:49,039 --> 00:23:53,319 there were a few oddities, a child, stuffed animal, stray, 316 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:57,039 parts of sports equipment, all of them arranged in little 317 00:23:57,079 --> 00:24:04,480 stacks like the clothing ordered, almost ritualistic. My eyes drifted 318 00:24:04,559 --> 00:24:07,920 up to the wall behind the piles. That's when I 319 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:12,200 saw the handprints. At first I thought it was dirt 320 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:17,880 smeared on the concrete. Then I stepped closer. They were prints, 321 00:24:18,759 --> 00:24:23,160 dozens of them, dark smudged impressions pressed into the dust 322 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:29,160 along the wall. But they weren't all upright. Some were sideways, 323 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,400 some outside down. A few were so high in the 324 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,880 wall they were nearly touching the ceiling pipes, like someone 325 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,480 had climbed the concrete and braced themselves there. I stood 326 00:24:40,559 --> 00:24:43,759 frozen in the middle of the cage, staring at the wall, 327 00:24:44,279 --> 00:24:47,799 trying to picture what kind of animal would leave handprints 328 00:24:47,839 --> 00:24:51,880 like that, And for the first time since they started, 329 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:59,359 I wasn't thinking about animals anymore. I don't know how 330 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,960 long I stood staring at the wall, long enough that 331 00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:06,759 the basement felt quieter than it should have. I forced 332 00:25:06,759 --> 00:25:10,960 myself to look away from the handprints. The cage felt wrong, now, 333 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:16,160 too small, too enclosed. I started backing toward the opening 334 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,799 and the fencing, careful not to bomp the pile of 335 00:25:18,839 --> 00:25:22,680 clothes in the center of the floor. That's when something 336 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:27,359 on the ground caught my eye. A spoon, just the 337 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,720 normal kitchen spoon, lying on the concrete near the edge 338 00:25:30,759 --> 00:25:34,680 of the cage. For a moment, I stared at it, 339 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,640 trying to figure out why it felt out of place. 340 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,920 Then I picked it up. The handle had been bent 341 00:25:43,079 --> 00:25:47,079 almost completely in half, like someone had taken both ends 342 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:51,400 and slowly forced the metal inward. I turned it over 343 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,680 in my hand. The bowl of the spoon was scratched 344 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:58,079 and dull, like it had been scraped against metal repeatedly. 345 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:02,920 Started creeping into my mind before I could stop it. 346 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:10,640 Animals didn't use spoons. I looked back at the pile 347 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,200 of food containers. One of the cans sat slightly apart 348 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,519 from the others. I crouched down and picked it up. 349 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:22,920 The lid wasn't crossed like the others I'd seen before. Instead, 350 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,720 it had been punctured cleanly along the edge and peeled 351 00:26:26,759 --> 00:26:30,759 back in a rough circle. Something thin and sharp had 352 00:26:30,799 --> 00:26:35,519 been worked around the lid until it came loose. My 353 00:26:35,599 --> 00:26:39,640 brain started trying to connect the pieces, the handprints, the 354 00:26:39,759 --> 00:26:44,640 organized piles of clothing, the open cans. For the first 355 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,799 time since I'd come down here, a different possibility started 356 00:26:48,839 --> 00:26:52,359 forming in my head, something that made the room suddenly 357 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:58,640 feel even colder. That's when I heard the noise, a 358 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,559 sudden shift of metal somewhere behind me, the sound of 359 00:27:02,559 --> 00:27:07,039 something brushing hard against the wire cages. I spun around 360 00:27:07,079 --> 00:27:10,359 and snapped the flashlight up. The beams swept across the 361 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:15,319 rows of lockers behind me, and my worst fears met me. 362 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:24,240 For a split second, it caught something. Two pale reflections 363 00:27:24,279 --> 00:27:27,319 staring back at me from the dark between the cages, 364 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:33,799 eyes low to the ground. The shape around them moved fast. 365 00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:37,319 Something thin and gray slipped backward through the wire maze 366 00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:41,799 and vanished into the darkness between the storage units. My 367 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,440 body reacted before my brain did. I dropped the spoon. 368 00:27:45,839 --> 00:27:48,200 The clang of it hitting the floor echoed off the 369 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:55,200 concrete walls. Then I ran. I shoved through the bent fencing, 370 00:27:55,559 --> 00:27:58,319 nearly tearing my jacket on the twisted wire. As I 371 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,319 scrambled through the cages behind me, I thought I heard 372 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:08,480 movement again, fast scrambling following me. I didn't look back. 373 00:28:09,039 --> 00:28:12,200 I sprinted down the aisle between the storage rose, burst 374 00:28:12,279 --> 00:28:15,359 through the basement door, and didn't stop running until I 375 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,240 was back inside my apartment with the door locked behind me. 376 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,480 My hands were shaking so badly I had to sit down, 377 00:28:23,799 --> 00:28:27,640 and all I could picture in my mind with his 378 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,279 eyes staring at me from the dark between the cages. 379 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,319 I sat in my apartment for almost an hour to 380 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,240 keep myself sane. I tried to convince myself I was overreacting. 381 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,759 Maybe it was just a raccoon or something that had 382 00:28:45,759 --> 00:28:49,119 gotten into the basement, and a moskin look strange when 383 00:28:49,119 --> 00:28:53,079 a flashlight catches their eyes at the wrong angle. For 384 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,799 the more I replayed what I had seen, the less 385 00:28:55,839 --> 00:29:01,200 that explanation worked. It had moved too fast, too deliberately. 386 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,480 It was too big for anything known in my area, 387 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,519 and there's sand prints on the wall. Eventually I came 388 00:29:10,559 --> 00:29:14,759 to realize something else. This wasn't something I could deal 389 00:29:14,799 --> 00:29:19,200 with myself. After seeing whatever that thing was in the cages, 390 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,559 I knew I was out of my depth. So with 391 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:28,000 all I could show without looking crazy, I called the police. 392 00:29:29,519 --> 00:29:33,119 The dispatcher asked a few questions. I tried to keep 393 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,880 the story grounded while I explained it. I think someone 394 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,920 might be living in the basement of my building. I said, 395 00:29:42,519 --> 00:29:45,720 that was easier to say, then there's something moving down there. 396 00:29:46,759 --> 00:29:50,119 Animal Control is equipped to deal with small animals, maybe 397 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,079 for our dogs, but this seemed too much for them 398 00:29:53,079 --> 00:29:56,279 to handle, so the police felt like the right choice. 399 00:29:58,119 --> 00:30:02,119 Two officers arrived about twenty minutes later. I met them 400 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,799 in the hallway outside the basement door. Both of them 401 00:30:05,839 --> 00:30:09,559 looked like they've been expecting something minor, maybe a trespasser 402 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,240 or a complaint about noise, But looking at the gun 403 00:30:13,279 --> 00:30:17,119 on their hips, I hoped they would react appropriately if 404 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:22,519 things got dangerous. All right, one of them said, the 405 00:30:22,599 --> 00:30:27,119 other one who called, Yeah, you think someone's down there. 406 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:32,200 I'm pretty sure something is, I said, I've been hearing 407 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,920 movement for weeks. They asked a few more questions, then 408 00:30:37,039 --> 00:30:40,599 one of them nodded toward the door. You got the key. 409 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,559 I held it up. The truth was part of me 410 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,000 wished they'd just go down there without me, let them 411 00:30:50,039 --> 00:30:52,880 check it out while I waited upstairs. But the other 412 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,200 part of me he knew I had to show them 413 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,200 where everything was, the cages, the holes in the fencing, 414 00:31:00,079 --> 00:31:06,720 the nest. So I unlocked the door. The three of 415 00:31:06,799 --> 00:31:10,559 us stepped down the basement stairs together. The fluorescent lights 416 00:31:10,559 --> 00:31:14,519 flickered on as we reached the bottom. The basement looked 417 00:31:14,559 --> 00:31:19,000 exactly as it had earlier that day, rows of storage 418 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,839 cages stretching into the dim corners of the room, dust 419 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,799 hanging in the air, nothing moving. One of the officers 420 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:32,440 swept a flashlight slowly across the aisle between the units. 421 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:37,359 You said, you heard movement back here, Yeah, I said, quietly, 422 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:44,839 toward the back corner. We started walking. The officers moved carefully, 423 00:31:45,279 --> 00:31:48,720 the lights scanning across the wire fencing and stacked boxes 424 00:31:48,759 --> 00:31:52,759 inside the cages. One of them stopped when he saw 425 00:31:52,799 --> 00:31:57,880 the first hole in the mesh. What happened here? I 426 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,319 didn't do that, I said. Those started showing up a 427 00:32:01,359 --> 00:32:06,079 few weeks ago. He leaned closer to inspect the twisted metal. 428 00:32:07,519 --> 00:32:11,440 Looks like it was forced open. That's what I thought. 429 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:18,079 We kept moving deeper into the rose. Soon we reached 430 00:32:18,079 --> 00:32:21,319 the section where the cages connected into that strange crawl 431 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,440 route I'd followed earlier. The piles of clothes were still there, 432 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:31,200 the stacks of random objects the nest. The second officer 433 00:32:31,319 --> 00:32:35,920 let out a low whistle. Someone's definitely been staying down here. 434 00:32:37,519 --> 00:32:39,680 I opened my mouth to explain the handprints on the 435 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:47,440 wall that when something moved, A sudden metallic rattle echoed 436 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:51,480 through the cages to our right. All three flashlights snapped 437 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,640 in that direction. Something darted across the floor inside one 438 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,359 of the storage units, too fast to make out clearly. Hey, 439 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,480 one of the officers shouted. The shape scrambled through one 440 00:33:04,519 --> 00:33:06,920 of the holes in the fencing and vanished into the 441 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:12,319 neighboring cage. Boxes tipped over as it passed. Metal shelves rattled, 442 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,319 Then something heavy dropped from one storage unit into another. 443 00:33:17,519 --> 00:33:22,720 The sound echoed through the basement. I caught a glimpse 444 00:33:22,759 --> 00:33:26,640 of it when the flashlight swept across the aisles For 445 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:30,880 a split second, the beam illuminated a thin shape moving 446 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:36,039 through the cages. It was filthy, its clothes hanging off 447 00:33:36,119 --> 00:33:38,720 him in loose gray layers that looked like they being 448 00:33:38,799 --> 00:33:42,519 scavenged from half the lockers in the basement. Its body 449 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,559 was unnaturally thin, but the way it moved was what 450 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:50,640 made my brain struggle to process it. It was on 451 00:33:50,759 --> 00:33:56,799 all fours, crawling, one hand hugged around the wire mesh 452 00:33:57,119 --> 00:33:59,519 as it pulled itself through a hole in the fencing 453 00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:02,799 with shots looking speed. Then it climbed straight up the 454 00:34:02,839 --> 00:34:06,359 side of a stoward shelf, moving with a quick, practiced 455 00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:09,400 motion like it had done it hundreds of times before 456 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:15,239 the flashlight caught its face for a brief moment. Sunken eyes, 457 00:34:15,599 --> 00:34:20,679 skin stretched tight across sharp cheek bones, and the final 458 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,840 piece of the puzzle clicked into place to paint a 459 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:31,039 morbid picture. It wasn't a creature, it was a man. 460 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:35,960 He dropped down into another unit and disappeared into the 461 00:34:36,039 --> 00:34:39,920 dark rows beyond. One of the officers started after him, 462 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,519 with the maze of cages slowed him down. Immediately, Stop, 463 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,519 he shouted. With the sounds of movement were already fading, 464 00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:55,599 scraping metal, shifting boxes. Then silence again. The basement went still. 465 00:34:57,039 --> 00:35:01,599 The officer stood there for a moment, listening. Finally one 466 00:35:01,599 --> 00:35:06,679 of them turned back toward me. Well, he said, breathing 467 00:35:06,679 --> 00:35:10,239 a little harder. Now you are right. Some one had 468 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,280 been living in the basement, and judging by the pile 469 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:17,239 of food containers, the twisted wire cages, and the strange 470 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:24,719 tunnels running between the lockers, he'd been living here for months. 471 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,320 We searched the basement for almost forty minutes, checking every 472 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:32,559 storage cage and every corner behind the rows of lockers, 473 00:35:33,199 --> 00:35:35,840 But the holes and the fencing connected more units than 474 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:40,239 anyone realized, and whoever he was had clearly been moving 475 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:46,960 through them for a long time. The officers didn't find him. Eventually, 476 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,519 one of the officers told me they were calling it in. 477 00:35:50,519 --> 00:35:53,639 Within half an hour, two more patrol cars showed up 478 00:35:53,679 --> 00:35:58,039 outside the building. They cleared the basement completely and told 479 00:35:58,119 --> 00:36:00,760 every one in the building to stay inside them apartments 480 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,960 while they searched again. I sat on my couch, listening 481 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,960 to the muffled sounds of voices and boots moving through 482 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:12,519 the hallway and down the stairs. At one point there 483 00:36:12,519 --> 00:36:16,280 was a loud crash from below, then shouting, the sound 484 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:21,480 of metal rattling violently. I didn't see what happened, but 485 00:36:21,559 --> 00:36:25,039 about ten minutes later I heard someone being dragged up 486 00:36:25,079 --> 00:36:29,119 the basement stairs. I opened my apartment door just a 487 00:36:29,119 --> 00:36:34,239 few inches and looked into the hallway. Two officers were 488 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,800 pulling the man between them. It was thinner than I 489 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:41,119 realized when I saw him in the basement. His clothes 490 00:36:41,199 --> 00:36:44,480 hung off him in layers of mismatched jackets and shirts 491 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,480 that had obviously come from different storage lockers. His face 492 00:36:48,559 --> 00:36:53,400 was gaunt, eyes wide. He thrashed against the officers as 493 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:58,320 they pulled him toward the building. Entrance, just fighting wild, 494 00:36:58,639 --> 00:37:03,280 desperate movements, like an animal trying to tear itself free. 495 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,360 It took three officers to keep him under control long 496 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:10,599 enough to get him outside. The hallway went quiet after that. 497 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:15,039 A while later, one of the officers knocked on my door. 498 00:37:16,199 --> 00:37:21,920 I opened it. We got him, he said, Where was he? 499 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,599 Hidden inside one of the cages behind some boxes. He said, 500 00:37:27,159 --> 00:37:31,039 he tried to run when we cornered him. The officer 501 00:37:31,119 --> 00:37:34,599 rubbed the back of his neck. The guy fought pretty hard. 502 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,760 Took a few of us to get him out of there. 503 00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:44,480 I nodded, Still trying to process everything. So that's it, 504 00:37:45,159 --> 00:37:50,800 I asked. He gave a small shrug. Yeah, basement should 505 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:56,039 be safe now. He paused for a moment before adding, 506 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,880 we took a look around down there while we were searching. 507 00:38:01,119 --> 00:38:05,559 What do you mean there were food containers everywhere, he said, 508 00:38:06,079 --> 00:38:10,119 can goods, snacks, stuff like that. Looks like I'd been 509 00:38:10,159 --> 00:38:14,400 taking things from the lockers. I thought about the crussed 510 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,960 cans and the open boxes I'd seen over the last 511 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,679 few weeks. Thing is, the officer continued, Most of it 512 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:28,360 was gone gone. He nodded, looked like he was just 513 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:34,719 about out. The officer gave me a reassuring smile. Good 514 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:41,280 thing you called when you did. After he left, I 515 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,920 stood in the hallway for a minute before closing my 516 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:49,159 door again. Everyone kept saying the same thing, that it 517 00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:53,639 was over, that the basement was safe now, But lying 518 00:38:53,679 --> 00:38:57,679 awake later that night, all I could think about was 519 00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:00,280 the piles of empty cans I'd seen stacked in that 520 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:05,079 storage cage, and how carefully they'd been arranged. If the 521 00:39:05,119 --> 00:39:08,000 police hadn't come when they did, if the man down 522 00:39:08,039 --> 00:39:12,760 there had run out of food completely, I kept wondering 523 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,559 what he would have done next, because the basement was 524 00:39:16,679 --> 00:39:22,199 almost out of food, but the building above it was 525 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:23,039 full of people.