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Speaker 1: I'm an old man nowadays, and the events described within

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this text took place a long time ago. Still I

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haven't been able to move forward, not really. Fragmented memories

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pop up from time to time, images of that awful

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night sporadically haunting me. Seeing as I'm not long for

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this earth now, the grim reaper impatiently waiting. I figured

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putting it all into writing would make my last couple

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of months more comfortable in some way. Growing up yet

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a house like any other. It was red, the pigment

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of the paint originating from the iron mines further up north.

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The corners of the casing of the windows were white.

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A big plot of land surrounded our home, and it

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included a barn constructed in the same traditional style as

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the main residence. Miles of part bordered the property to

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the north, and fields of wheat and ride to the east.

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A small gravel path no wider than an l connected

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us to the outside world. If you haven't figured it

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out yet, we led a quaint and isolated life, but

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it was good. It was a good life. I apologize,

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I'm forgetting myself. It becomes less rare with age. I

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suppose you're wondering what I mean when I say we

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a family of four? What's change that who we were?

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My younger sister, Ingrid, was a gifted artist. She would

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start a creative journey by making dolls at a straw

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and drawing on the walls, much to the dismay of

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our parents. In many ways, the spirit was unbound by

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the realities of life, which I've always admired. My father

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was your typical farmer, seemingly always armed of the sickle.

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Most days he wore a hat made out of straw

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and gene suspenders, so much so that some folk came

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to call him Kufusa, a direct translation of cowboy with

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ironic under tones. He was strong willed and cared for

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his family, despite the complex relationship we had. I realized

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with time that he had to shoulder the burden heavier

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than any man should have to carry. Then you have

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my mother, who was a kind and gentle woman, but

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she was never afraid to bring out her fierceness when

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haggling during intense negotiations. I remember one time at the

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local market and she even managed to convince our nearest

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neighbor that the cow were selling had magical powers. Needless

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to say, we ate well that week. That may sound strange,

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but such was rural life back then. Phase elves and

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trolls weren't merely folklore. People gave gifts to these supposed

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forest dwellers and asked them to bless the crops. When

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the harvest turned out bountiful, they would think the beings

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and they didn't. They would ask what angered them? I reckon.

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Most of it boiled down to superstition, bored ways of

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explaining the unexplained. The lone exception was that of our

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last couple family members. When father spoke of them around us,

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he called them help us, because that's what they were

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most of the time. Whenever he thought we weren't around,

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when the late hour struck and darkness would creep into

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our house, he would quietly call them but tara, a

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more fitting denomination. The word itself translates to the goblin,

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but it doesn't feel right to call them that. Whites.

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They were the whites of the land. It was easy

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to understand as a child. In essence, they assisted us

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with menial tasks around the property in exchange for porridge,

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fruits and pretty trinkets, which my dear sister gladly crafted.

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Or rather, that's the story our mother told us when

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we were too young to know about the darker side

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of the arrangement. One day, Ingrid and I found ourselves

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deep in the forest. Tall trees older than our country

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rose towards the sky from mossy beginnings. Even though the

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sun shone bright, its rays couldn't pierce those ancient giants.

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We had been playing something. We came up with helpers

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and herders. It was silly, there's any game conjured in

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the mind of a child. One of us started as

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a cow and the other as a helper. The cow

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would run bock wild due to a particularly bad case

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of mad cow disease. Of course, the distraught herder would

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be left with no other option than to seek assistance

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from the famous helpers. A gift to the imaginary helpers later,

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usually a pine cone fashioned into an animal, the cow

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would be cured. My sister mood empathetically. More so, I

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thought that was incredible. Do it again, I said, I

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don't think that was me, she replied. Turns out we

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had heard a real cow, which prompted an explostion. We

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moved through thick shrubbery never minding the tiny scrapes from

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thorns unseen, the cow made another sound, for this time

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who was far closer. However, it was less of a

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humble move and more of a piercing shriek. Poor thing

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was in pain. We huddled together on the ground and

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crawled into a bush. Through it we saw the source

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of the sound. The cow lay blooded in the center

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of a circle made out of separate stones. If memory

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serves me right, it was five or six. I won't

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go into much further detail about the state of the cow,

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but it was bad. My younger sister had never seen

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such brutality and led out a gasp. The gasp turned

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to sniffling, and sniffling turned to crying. I tried to

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hush her, but some one had already heard us. What

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followed was the berating of the sentry. Father had never

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been as angry with us as he was then, Since

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I was the elder sibling. Most of it was directed

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my way. He dragged me by the arm all the

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way back home, while muttering furious nothings. My sister walked

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by his side, still in shock from the grisly sight.

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I didn't listen to a word he said more shouted.

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For that matter, all I could think about was my

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father standing over the cow, crimson draped sickle in hand,

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dancing a terrible dance. The blood and the white shimmer

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of the blade reminded me of our house. I never

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saw my father in the same way again. Later that night,

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when the initial emotion had simmered down, I tried asking

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some questions. Both and my parents are on the defensive,

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but I soon wore them down. Apparently I was finally

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old enough to know the secret of the white. Mother

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took ingrid upstairs. Father sat me down at the kitchen table,

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candlelight flickering in his face. What you saw was a sacrifice,

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Father said, a sacrifice, yes, like the porridge we put

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on the window sill, or the dolls your sister makes.

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But sometimes they demand more. Why, I do not know.

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There are many things we don't know about them. We

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know that they are intrinsically linked to this land, because

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they have lingered here longer than any man. We know

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that they tolerate us, even help us, because we bring

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them gifts. We know that they respect us as long

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as we respect them and the land we borrow. He

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went on for a while, detailing the many tenets of

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living with whites. You weren't supposed to disturb their paths,

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for example, a rule made more difficult by the fact

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that their roads were invisible and ever changing. You can

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never deny why to wish outright, But thankfully they weren't

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very demanding usually, and it always came with the reward

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of a plowed field or milked cows. As he continued explaining,

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I started connecting the dots. It was not possible for

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my aging father to run the farm all by himself.

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It was almost a miracle our family had prospered the

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way we did. Except it wasn't a miracle after all.

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He thanked me for listening and told me that I

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now was in the know, which meant more responsibility from

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now on. I was content with his answers and started

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walking up the stairs when a thought hit me, Father,

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what did they look like? He turned to face me quickly.

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His face looked almost drained of color. The flickering of

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the light highlighted his wrinkles in a way that made

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him seem much older than he was. Go to bed son. Awhile,

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after that faithful conversation, my mother fell ill tuberculosis, the

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doctor said the white death. She spent much of a

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time in the hospital. We visited her, often bringing small

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trinkets for her. My sister was inconsolable, and she entered

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into a deep sadness, spending many a day locked away

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in a room. This meant that my father and I

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had to do most of the work around the farm

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by ourselves, early mornings and late nights for months. It

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was taxing work, especially for a growing teenager and his elder.

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There were positives, though, I would say I turned into

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a man around this time, and I got closer to

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my usually distant father. Also, we weren't completely alone. The

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Whites were a godsend during this period, and much of

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my work focused on keeping them happy. Father eased me in,

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initiated me slowly. Sometimes I missed the mark, which would

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lead to tools or even cattle going missing. They could

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be mischievous, he had told me. Whenever my sins got

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too egregious, I would hear the pit, a patter of

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small feet on the roof in the dead of night,

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windows being opened, whispers in a language I didn't recognize,

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from the woods, and always just outside my field of vision.

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I would sense dark figures hiding these unspoken threats felt

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drenched in hatred and spite, far removed from the benevolent

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beings my father had described. But I suspected they were

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capable of more than harmless pranks, and by the way

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my father had reacted when I asked about their appearance,

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he did too. Eventually I got the hang of things.

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The farm ran smoothly on the shoulders of two men

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in their army of hidden benefactors. Calculations were made included

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that the annual harvest would cover almost all of her

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expenses for two years. At the same time, my mother

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finally came home from the hospital, Ingrid was overjoyed. I

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never told anyone that I often snuck out at night,

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bringing lavish gifts to the white or nate silver brooches.

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I had stolen, golden earrings and bracelets. All of it

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went to the stone circle in the forest. I did

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not ask them for riches or a pretty girl to

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fall in love with. I just wanted my mother to survive.

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During all my trips to the sacrificial altar, I never

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once did see them, but they provided Nonetheless, I always

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imagined them the way tradition had painted them for me,

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the small, quite chubby, happy fella with a little hat on.

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Then again, as sinister energy had befallen the farm. Despite

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the many good things happening, I didn't dare imagine them anymore.

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Our luck would sooner run out. The first horror to

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rear its ugly head was the disappearance of mother. It

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was an ordinary day. My father and I woke up

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at the first crow of the rooster. A fresh layer

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of snow covered the path to the barn yonder, which

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made the track difficult and miserable. I had recently gotten

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a new pair of boots, two layers of leather, and

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a thick layer of wall inside, but the cold still

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bit my feet. Father grimaced as we struggled against wind

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and snow. Today you become a man, he said, What

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do you mean, I replied, do you remember the cow?

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I shuddered hopefully not noticeably. Of course I remembered the cow.

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Turns out it was my turn to sacrifice a living

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being at first. Up until then, it was always smaller things,

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dead things. Now I would have to take a life.

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He chose an audible. He was sick and most likely

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would not last the winter. Either way, as far as

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we knew, he didn't eat them, so the disease wouldn't

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matter towards The quality of the gift made it easier,

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but not by much. I made my way through the

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forest with a leash connected in one end to my

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hand and the other to Gunner. It was a weird feeling.

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Gunner had been alive longer than I. It had seemed

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so much, from the humble beginnings of our family to

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the discovery of the white I remember wondering if he

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understood what was about to happen. When I logged into

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his eyes, I decided that he didn't. The ritual had

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to be performed in a certain way. I began by

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tying the leash to a tree near by the circle,

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and started covering the bull with ox tallow. I removed

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a small pouch from my waist and dipped my fingers

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in its contents, red ochre. I painted a kind of

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sign which my father had taught me on the forehead

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of Gunner. If it was a letter, it was from

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a language I didn't know or even had heard of,

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not Latin, which would have been my go to guess

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as far as sacrificial languages go. Not Swedish not sap

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me the mystery. The knife quickly moved across the throat

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of the ball. Before I had time to contemplate the

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morality of the situation. Gunnar, laid in front of me

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with red in the snow, was too pronounced the biocre lord.

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I had decided to perform the kill quickly, not only

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for Gunnar's sake, but also for the white. The most

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important step of sacrificing a living thing was the dance.

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We had been up late many nights practicing the moves.

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Father had stressed the importance of doing it correctly. My

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movements were jerky, just as he had shown me. It

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felt as if I relived the moment bush watching myself.

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The dance was reminiscent of the final few seconds of

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life in an animal before death came. Or sometimes it

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even looked like the rig and mortis after death. The

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dance was death in some sense, or at least closely

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connected to it. I breathed a sigh of relief. The

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deed was done. But just as I turned around to

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start walking home, I caught a glimpse of a figure

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00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:37,960
halfway hiding behind a tree. Whispers in both my ears.

239
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,599
A headache grew in my right temple. The White stepped

240
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,559
out into the moonlight and I saw them for the

241
00:18:47,599 --> 00:18:55,519
first time. Short, no taller than a meter, Its body

242
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,960
was a shimmering mess of shapes that looked to me

243
00:18:58,079 --> 00:19:03,200
morphing constantly. The shape looked roughly humanoid, but it was

244
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:08,319
clear to me I wasn't supposed to understand their form

245
00:19:08,599 --> 00:19:12,400
ferro fluid. That's what it looked like. They were made

246
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:19,119
out of opalescent, glassy, active ferro fluid. I could have

247
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,720
mistaken it for beauty if it wasn't for the mask

248
00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:26,480
it war. At the top of the shape sat a

249
00:19:26,519 --> 00:19:30,480
white mask with black rings around the holes for the eyes.

250
00:19:31,839 --> 00:19:36,000
The eyes were rather pale, glowing yellow, and they observed

251
00:19:36,039 --> 00:19:40,319
me closely. There was a hole in the mouth as well,

252
00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,759
positioned in such a manner that it looked like it

253
00:19:43,799 --> 00:19:48,119
was frowning, and in the mouth were rows and rows

254
00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:55,640
of deathly thin teeth. The white pointed at me, its

255
00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:03,079
arms starting to stretch. Sick, it simply said or screeched,

256
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:11,880
without moving its mouth. I ran home, terrified. When I

257
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:17,960
finally got home, the house was in shambles, furniture thrown around,

258
00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,400
shouts of glass, draping the wooden floor planks ripped straight

259
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:29,400
out from the wall, and my mother was missing. I

260
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,920
found Ingrid catatonic at the base of the stairs, and

261
00:20:33,039 --> 00:20:37,079
my father was comforting her. He gripped an axe tightly.

262
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,039
Apparently Ingrid had heard scratches on the door. She had

263
00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,720
run to tell my mother. He told her to hide.

264
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,519
She ran up to a room, crawled under the bed

265
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:54,640
and held her breath. She heard a loud noise and

266
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,480
the sound of twenty feet tapping, a scream, and then

267
00:20:59,559 --> 00:21:07,319
silent silence for two minutes, she estimated, then a maniacalor cackle.

268
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,640
The Whites crept around the house looking for Ingrid. They

269
00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,359
turned every stone in the house and came an inch

270
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,799
away from getting her too. They had entered the room

271
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,519
she was hiding in at least three, making a sound

272
00:21:22,759 --> 00:21:25,839
as if they were trying to smell her. A long

273
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,559
arm started feeling the underside of the bed and finally

274
00:21:29,599 --> 00:21:33,559
gripped my sister's foot. As luck would have it, my

275
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,920
father had heard the screams and into the house, swinging

276
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,400
a torch and axe, just as the creature had found Ingrid.

277
00:21:41,799 --> 00:21:45,599
They scattered, some jumping out through the open windows, some

278
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:51,079
seemingly disappearing into thin air, but no sign of our mother.

279
00:21:54,160 --> 00:22:00,000
This was new. They had never encroached on her home before,

280
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,000
or sure they would make their presence known through knocking

281
00:22:04,079 --> 00:22:06,960
on the windows and crawling around the edge of the forest,

282
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:16,000
but never like this. Maybe safety was no longer. Father

283
00:22:16,839 --> 00:22:21,839
God sloppy. After that dreadful morning, I never said anything,

284
00:22:22,599 --> 00:22:26,880
but deep down I felt like he gave up, and

285
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,480
I was angry at him for that. He still had

286
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,880
two children to take care of. Even though I know

287
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,480
he blamed me for it all, I do not know

288
00:22:37,519 --> 00:22:42,839
what I did wrong. Still, to this day, we would

289
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:47,319
last six more months on that farm. It was dark out,

290
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,599
but not in the normal sense. Some nights are darker

291
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:57,480
than others that I now know in hindsight. Maybe it

292
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,559
was a sign, had your bag now get the hell

293
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:07,759
out of these god forsaken lands. Alas I cannot change

294
00:23:07,799 --> 00:23:12,880
the past. Father and I were eating a silent supper,

295
00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:17,839
some sort of stew with the side of potatoes. Before

296
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,640
me sat a broken man, the marks of time chipping

297
00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:26,880
away at the marble Ingrid had, after a mother's presumed death,

298
00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:31,200
gotten into the habit of late night walks. Father had

299
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:37,680
protested but she was relentless. The determination reminded me of Mom.

300
00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,240
This particular July night, she burst through the door, giving

301
00:23:44,279 --> 00:23:50,400
my heart some trouble with keeping up. She looked distraught, horrified,

302
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:58,480
but worst of all, sad I disturbed the path. She

303
00:23:58,559 --> 00:24:04,400
simply stated, there were no questions. No, how did you

304
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,559
know you stepped on one of their roads? If they're invisible, No,

305
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,640
you'll just wait and see what happens. We all knew

306
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:16,039
better than to think rationally about the whites. If Ingrid

307
00:24:16,079 --> 00:24:18,960
knew she had walked over one of their roads, she

308
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:26,200
had done. So Father stood up, Getty things only essentials.

309
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,440
I need to release the animals from the barn. I

310
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,440
do not want to give them anything for free. He

311
00:24:32,519 --> 00:24:39,559
said that was a bad idea. He could just leave

312
00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:44,839
with us. Now, why did he have to be so stubborn? However,

313
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,519
there was no stopping him. Oh how I wish I

314
00:24:49,559 --> 00:24:53,960
could have stopped him. He grabbed his jacket and Sickle

315
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,319
slurped down the last of the stew in motion and

316
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,480
ran out of the door. Grid and I started packing.

317
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:06,319
I helped her with what constituted essentials only while trying

318
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:11,039
to pack mine and also my father's bag. Simultaneously, some

319
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:14,240
clothes and more knife my father had given me, and

320
00:25:14,319 --> 00:25:18,160
one of the necklaces I had stolen. That was it.

321
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:24,200
The rest would be forever left behind. There was an

322
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,680
invisible ticking clock hanging in the air. The dread in

323
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,599
the air started getting thick, you could almost touch it.

324
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:39,240
Where was he? Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty five minutes.

325
00:25:40,519 --> 00:25:45,799
Something had gone wrong and I had to go help him.

326
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,079
I asked Ingrid to start the truck. She said she

327
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:54,359
knew how. Then I was off to the races. I

328
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,200
don't think I ever had, or would ever again, run

329
00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,160
that fast. I clenched my fist round my knife and

330
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,920
started preparing myself for what I would face. Funnily enough,

331
00:26:06,519 --> 00:26:09,200
I could have spent my whole youth preparing for that sight,

332
00:26:10,519 --> 00:26:15,799
and it wouldn't be enough. I entered the barn silently,

333
00:26:16,759 --> 00:26:19,960
and the barn seemed to respond with its own silence.

334
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,839
No animals to speak of. He had managed to free them.

335
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,799
But where was he now? I crouched and made my

336
00:26:30,839 --> 00:26:35,079
way through the buildings slowly. There were scattered hay and

337
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,680
mock on the floor, but this was no time to

338
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:43,519
be fancy. A weird smell emanated from the furthest corner.

339
00:26:44,839 --> 00:26:50,079
It was subtle at first, then stronger, and finally nauseating

340
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:59,839
rot death. I turned the corner and I almost threw

341
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:05,200
off against the wall. Two meters up was my father,

342
00:27:06,279 --> 00:27:10,039
his torso separated from his head and limbs. All of

343
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:13,039
his parts were nailed towards the wood in a Jesus

344
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:18,319
esque manner. But the cross wasn't connected. When I got

345
00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,599
a little bit closer, I saw that it was in

346
00:27:21,599 --> 00:27:28,960
fact connected by thin strips of flesh, a cowboy crucified.

347
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,559
In my shock, I could only think about two things.

348
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,359
How did the rot advance so quickly? And where were they?

349
00:27:42,799 --> 00:27:48,359
The answer to my second question appeared instantly. They materialized

350
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,920
from nothing. Some were hanging and my father, digging claw

351
00:27:53,079 --> 00:27:57,880
like extremities into him, or covering him in oxtallow. Some

352
00:27:58,039 --> 00:28:02,400
were dancing beneath staring at me with empty yellow eyes.

353
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:08,519
Tens of crystaline horrors descended upon my location. In desperation.

354
00:28:09,559 --> 00:28:12,279
They stepped on each other, pushed each other to get

355
00:28:12,319 --> 00:28:16,039
to me. It was the most ancient of instincts that

356
00:28:16,279 --> 00:28:22,640
told me to run, so I did. They were always

357
00:28:23,079 --> 00:28:26,160
just a step behind. He felt like they would grab

358
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,279
me at any second doing god knows what with me.

359
00:28:30,839 --> 00:28:34,160
I imagine the sharpness of their teeth. I imagine what they

360
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,680
hid beneath that mask. In that moment, I felt certain

361
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,839
that if a man ever gazed upon their unmasked face,

362
00:28:43,279 --> 00:28:48,000
he would go mad. I barely managed to get out

363
00:28:48,039 --> 00:28:51,240
of the barn before one of them tackled me. He'd

364
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,519
pinned me to the ground, and I slashed my knife

365
00:28:53,519 --> 00:28:57,279
at its body. The material of its body rapidly changed

366
00:28:57,279 --> 00:29:01,119
from solid to liquid form in the area I hit it.

367
00:29:01,119 --> 00:29:05,160
It floated in the air, not affected by gravity. Then

368
00:29:05,319 --> 00:29:09,160
it remterialized. The solid attached to the white. Yet again

369
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,039
it had no effect, but it gave me a split

370
00:29:14,119 --> 00:29:18,000
second of slither out of its grip. I saw the

371
00:29:18,039 --> 00:29:23,440
headlights of our truck. I ran, where is he? My

372
00:29:23,559 --> 00:29:30,240
sister desperately asked, He's dead. Go in the car. I

373
00:29:30,359 --> 00:29:32,680
noticed that much of what used him in my calf

374
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,799
was missing. The whole muscle writ almost clean off. Someone

375
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,240
must have been looking out for me. I don't know

376
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,440
how I possibly ran that distance in that condition. Otherwise,

377
00:29:47,279 --> 00:29:51,160
after a couple of minutes, I passed out from the pane.

378
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:58,160
So there is that I could never quite sleep well.

379
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:02,400
After that night, I could swear I started hearing their

380
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:06,960
whispers everywhere, the sound of their feet sneaking around, barely

381
00:30:07,039 --> 00:30:13,240
out of sight. But I never saw them again. He

382
00:30:13,319 --> 00:30:16,599
must have been tied to the land. Thank everything that

383
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:21,279
is holy, both INGERD and I carved out good lives

384
00:30:21,279 --> 00:30:25,319
for ourselves, but we carry this with us wherever we go.

385
00:30:28,279 --> 00:30:30,759
I do not know who moved up there after us.

386
00:30:32,119 --> 00:30:36,240
I pray they're still alive. I pray they figured out

387
00:30:36,279 --> 00:30:44,160
the whites and what they mean. Otherwise, God rest their souls.

388
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,079
My father was not an open book. Those that knew

389
00:30:57,119 --> 00:30:59,839
him would call him a reserved man, or a man

390
00:30:59,839 --> 00:31:03,759
of few words. But to me, he was like a

391
00:31:03,799 --> 00:31:08,200
man who had retreated into his own universe, a world

392
00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:12,960
that seemed filled with shadows in every corner, awaking nightmare.

393
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,839
I would catch him sometimes at night, just staring out

394
00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:21,000
the window, gripping the arms of his chair so tight

395
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:25,880
I thought his hands would start bleeding. He would lean forward,

396
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,880
almost falling out of his chair, as if expecting something

397
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,319
terrible and incomprehensible to show up at our door at

398
00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:38,920
any moment. My father was a man clothed in dread.

399
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,079
It's only something I came to realize as I got

400
00:31:43,119 --> 00:31:50,799
older he hid it well, especially from my mother, not

401
00:31:51,079 --> 00:31:58,160
nearly well enough. Nothing terrified my father more than piano music,

402
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,960
whether it was heard in an elevator or on the TV,

403
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,839
or being played in a shopping mall by a hobby

404
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:11,240
pianist who wanted to impress onlookers, whether it was classical

405
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:15,960
or jazz, whether it was happy or sad, simple or complex.

406
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,759
When he heard the sound of a piano, his eyes

407
00:32:20,799 --> 00:32:24,160
would bulge out of their sockets, his skin would go

408
00:32:24,279 --> 00:32:28,319
pale white. He would look around wildly, whipping his head

409
00:32:28,359 --> 00:32:31,039
back and forth, like a dog wrangling with a bone.

410
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,599
I never had the courage to ask him why he

411
00:32:34,759 --> 00:32:39,599
was so afraid of it. Why didn't I just ask him?

412
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,799
But it wasn't the thing to be acknowledged in our home.

413
00:32:44,079 --> 00:32:47,960
Fear is contagious, and the easiest way to come down

414
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:52,759
with it is to talk about it. So my father's

415
00:32:52,799 --> 00:32:57,279
fear lingered throughout our lives, untouched, like a piano that

416
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:02,200
was never sold, it in the air, playing its own

417
00:33:02,279 --> 00:33:09,039
silent music for years. My father passed away a year

418
00:33:09,079 --> 00:33:14,119
ago due to heart complications. I thought his secret died

419
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,359
with him, but two weeks ago, I was visiting my

420
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,920
mom and decided to go through my father's old belongings.

421
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:28,039
I guess I was feeling nostalgic. After some time, I

422
00:33:28,079 --> 00:33:33,079
was about to head out when I saw it, at

423
00:33:33,119 --> 00:33:36,160
the bottom of a cardboard box that had been hidden

424
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:40,720
in the corner of the attic. It was an unmarked envelope.

425
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,960
Inside was a letter comprised of several sheets of paper.

426
00:33:47,279 --> 00:33:51,160
The writing and the letter was rushed and scratchy, but

427
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:55,039
it was my father's handwriting. There was no mistaking it.

428
00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,880
What I read in that letter has haunted me for

429
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:04,519
the past fourteen days. I've decided to share that letter

430
00:34:05,319 --> 00:34:08,559
right here and now because I feel that in some

431
00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:13,480
way it may help me better understand it. Or maybe

432
00:34:13,519 --> 00:34:16,480
the truth is I just want someone to share my

433
00:34:16,519 --> 00:34:20,119
father's dread with. My mother would not listen to me

434
00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:23,079
when I told her about the letter. She told me

435
00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,800
to burn it and to forget whatever it said. She

436
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:31,480
scolded me like I was still a child. What you're

437
00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,480
about to hear from this point on are my father's

438
00:34:34,519 --> 00:34:39,039
words exactly. I have not changed, not altered any of it.

439
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,760
I am transcribing it word for word. This is my

440
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:53,880
father's story. In his own words. I wonder how many

441
00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,440
times I've attempted to write this letter, how many pieces

442
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,559
of paper I've torn up throughout the years, how many

443
00:35:00,599 --> 00:35:05,880
pens have gone dry, how many pencils snapped? Too many,

444
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,360
far too many. If I do have the courage to

445
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:15,079
finish it, I wonder who will even read it. Maybe

446
00:35:15,159 --> 00:35:19,239
it'll be my dear Elizabeth. Maybe you're even reading it

447
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:24,079
right now. I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I

448
00:35:24,119 --> 00:35:27,239
haven't been a good husband. You don't know all of me,

449
00:35:28,199 --> 00:35:31,920
not nearly all of me. That's a horrible thing to

450
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,840
do to your wife. I hope you can forgive me, Liz.

451
00:35:37,559 --> 00:35:42,320
Or maybe it'll be you, Jack, my boy, you saw

452
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,719
me better than I saw myself. How many times did

453
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,079
you catch me staring? I used to tell you I

454
00:35:49,119 --> 00:35:53,920
was daydreaming. If you are reading this now, you'll know

455
00:35:54,519 --> 00:36:00,760
what I really saw those nights, what I heard. It's

456
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:06,719
neither Elizabeth or Jack. Maybe it's you, Jonathan or your mother.

457
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,480
God help me. If it is, have you finally found

458
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,239
me I've seen you out of the corner of my

459
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,880
eyes for the last forty years. Or maybe if you're

460
00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:24,440
reading this, you're a complete stranger to me. Regardless, it's

461
00:36:24,519 --> 00:36:27,920
time I told this story once and for all, even

462
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,679
if the pen and paper I'm writing with end up

463
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:35,679
being the only ones who ever know it. In December

464
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,159
of nineteen seventy six, I was on my way home

465
00:36:39,199 --> 00:36:44,199
for the holidays. I was attending the University of Wisconsin Madison.

466
00:36:45,199 --> 00:36:48,599
My parents lived in Lacrosse. It's only about a two

467
00:36:48,639 --> 00:36:51,880
and a half hour drive. But on my way I

468
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,920
got caught in a snowstorm, a storm that came out

469
00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:01,920
of nowhere. I mean really came out of nowhere. Somehow

470
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,559
I got turned around. I've never been good at driving

471
00:37:05,599 --> 00:37:09,480
in snow. If you're reading this this, you know how

472
00:37:09,519 --> 00:37:14,719
true that is. Remember the station wagon, God, I nearly

473
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:20,320
crashed it a hundred times. Those were good days. And

474
00:37:20,519 --> 00:37:24,159
days like those I barely ever heard the piano, or

475
00:37:24,159 --> 00:37:29,000
at least convince myself I couldn't hear it. But I'm

476
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:34,079
getting ahead of myself. This was not a bad storm.

477
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:38,000
It was one hell of a bad storm. I've rolled

478
00:37:38,039 --> 00:37:41,119
back the clock in my head numerous times, wondering if

479
00:37:41,159 --> 00:37:44,280
there was anything I could have done differently, what if

480
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:48,320
I'd driven slower or turned into the slide. But I

481
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:52,440
think in some ways no matter what I did, that

482
00:37:52,559 --> 00:37:57,000
car was destined to crash that day, and crash it

483
00:37:57,199 --> 00:38:01,679
I did straight into a ditch. All my attempts to

484
00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:04,719
get the car out of the ditch, a futile snow

485
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,960
was coming down hard. This was no soft powder but

486
00:38:09,079 --> 00:38:12,960
a cocoff and your flakes and harsh sleet. Through the

487
00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,920
white storm, I saw a house in the distance. It

488
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,840
was the only building nearby, and I hadn't seen any

489
00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:23,719
cars on the road in what felt like forever. I

490
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,239
got out of my car and walked towards the home.

491
00:38:27,559 --> 00:38:30,119
I was shocked by how deep the snow had become already,

492
00:38:30,679 --> 00:38:35,239
how unrecognizable the landscape seemed. I took one last look

493
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:39,159
of my car, already being devoured by the snow, turning

494
00:38:39,199 --> 00:38:42,559
it into a sad, frozen white monolith in the middle

495
00:38:42,639 --> 00:38:47,320
of nowhere. I drew closer and closer to the home.

496
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:53,280
Each step I took more tiresome than the last. Then

497
00:38:53,639 --> 00:38:57,960
I heard something that stopped me right in my tracks.

498
00:38:58,519 --> 00:39:00,960
It was the sound of music coming from the home.

499
00:39:02,199 --> 00:39:06,159
It was the delicate sound of a piano. The music

500
00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:09,000
cut right through the harsh, cold winds of the storm

501
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:13,440
and went straight to my ears. The music was coming

502
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,199
from the upper part of the house. There was a

503
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:18,840
window to a room on the upper floor, but a

504
00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:23,639
curtain obstructed the view. Still, there was no question that

505
00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:28,639
the piano music was coming from the room. My eyes

506
00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:31,079
went from the top window to a window on the

507
00:39:31,119 --> 00:39:34,920
first floor. There was a woman standing in the window.

508
00:39:36,119 --> 00:39:39,239
She was staring right at me with a amused expression

509
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:43,480
on her face. I waved to her nervously, and then

510
00:39:43,519 --> 00:39:48,280
pointed back at my car. When I looked back, the

511
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:53,079
woman was gone from the window. Moments later, the front

512
00:39:53,079 --> 00:39:55,880
door to the house opened and I made my way

513
00:39:56,079 --> 00:40:01,199
up the porch steps. Can I help you, the woman asked,

514
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:05,519
standing in the doorway. She still had that amused look

515
00:40:05,559 --> 00:40:10,760
on her face. It's a little embarrassing, I said, but

516
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,119
I crashed my car into that ditch down the road

517
00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:17,880
and I can't get out. Oh my, how awful, the

518
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:23,920
woman said, Please come in and get yourself warm. I

519
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,719
stepped inside, and the woman shut the door behind me.

520
00:40:28,079 --> 00:40:31,079
All at once, the noise from outside was cut off.

521
00:40:32,039 --> 00:40:35,880
The only noise now was the piano music coming from upstairs.

522
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:43,440
That and my chill breathing that music, I said, rubbing

523
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:48,320
my arms to get warm. It's really lovely. Oh that's

524
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:53,199
my son Jonathan. He's a wonderful pianist. Please do make

525
00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:58,519
yourself comfortable. I'll fix you some tea. Absolutely dreadful, weather,

526
00:40:59,159 --> 00:41:04,480
simply dread. I sat down in the living room. It

527
00:41:04,639 --> 00:41:07,480
was a warm and cozy house, but there was something

528
00:41:07,599 --> 00:41:12,320
underneath that made me uncomfortable. I did not understand it

529
00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:16,000
fully at the time. We're looking back on it, I

530
00:41:16,079 --> 00:41:18,880
believe some part of me noticed all the little things

531
00:41:19,119 --> 00:41:23,079
that were off about the home. For one, there was

532
00:41:23,119 --> 00:41:27,000
no family photos anywhere to be seen, and despite the

533
00:41:27,039 --> 00:41:30,760
warmth of the home, it had a bizarre sterile smell,

534
00:41:31,559 --> 00:41:35,639
like that of an appliance store. The house looked lived in,

535
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:41,280
but didn't feel lived in. Could I use your phone,

536
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:46,119
I asked. The phones are out, the woman said, bringing

537
00:41:46,199 --> 00:41:49,159
back two cups of tea. They won't be back up

538
00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:53,800
until morning, most likely as soon as they are our phone. Harvey,

539
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,760
my neighbor. He lives the closest. I'll have him bring

540
00:41:57,800 --> 00:41:59,840
his tractor and we'll get your car out of the

541
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:03,880
Is there any way to get hold of him? Now?

542
00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:06,320
I hate to be a bother, but how's on my

543
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,320
way to Lacrosse to see my folks? For the holidays.

544
00:42:09,639 --> 00:42:14,480
I was hoping to get there by tonight. Upstairs, the

545
00:42:14,519 --> 00:42:18,239
piano music stopped. The woman took a large sip of

546
00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:21,199
a tea, looking at me over the cop with her

547
00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:29,199
faded green eyes, then putting the cop down gently, she said, Lacrosse. Goodness, gracious,

548
00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:32,280
how on earth did you end up here in Dutchville County?

549
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:38,400
I got turned around Dutchville County. I've never been through

550
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:43,599
here before. Well, there's no helping it now. Harvey lives

551
00:42:43,599 --> 00:42:47,800
a spell away. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until morning. Dear,

552
00:42:48,639 --> 00:42:54,639
I'm terribly sorry. Your son Jonathan? How old is he?

553
00:42:55,960 --> 00:43:01,800
Twenty next month? She said finally, Oh, well, could he

554
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,199
then again? I hate to be a bother. Could he

555
00:43:05,199 --> 00:43:08,960
help me try to push my car out? No, she

556
00:43:09,079 --> 00:43:12,440
said flatly, and there was no kind of amusement in

557
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:17,440
a voice now, her eyes narrowed. Jonathan cannot move all

558
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,519
that well, even if he could, and even if you

559
00:43:20,559 --> 00:43:24,000
did get your car out, the roads are terrible. You'll

560
00:43:24,039 --> 00:43:27,239
just be in another ditch in no time. You're perfectly

561
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:31,320
fine to sleep on the couch tonight. Come tomorrow, Harvey

562
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:33,480
will have you out and you'll be on your way

563
00:43:33,519 --> 00:43:38,480
to see your parents. I realized, I guess it has

564
00:43:38,519 --> 00:43:43,280
to be that way. Then I realized I'd not taken

565
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,320
a drink off my tea. Were looking at the cop

566
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,639
I lost all thirst. The tea looked like gross mud

567
00:43:50,679 --> 00:43:54,800
water that had been pulled from a gutter. For some time,

568
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,840
we just sat there in the quiet living room with

569
00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:01,199
no music, a dreary sigh, and stuck over the home.

570
00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,599
Where are you coming from anyhow, the woman said, putting

571
00:44:06,679 --> 00:44:11,239
down an empty teacup. It felt as if an eternity

572
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:16,360
had just passed. I go to school in Madison. Oh,

573
00:44:16,519 --> 00:44:22,920
how lovely. What are you studying? Engineering? How wonderful? You know?

574
00:44:23,039 --> 00:44:26,400
Jonathan used to love engineering as a boy, even more

575
00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:30,360
than playing the piano. He would always build things, little

576
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:34,679
trinkets and gadgets and gizmos. But his condition made it

577
00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:38,760
impossible for him to pursue a higher education. He's been

578
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,360
a homebody for years now. All he does is play

579
00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:47,679
piano day and night. He's really great at it. Now,

580
00:44:48,039 --> 00:44:53,239
where are my manners? I should introduce you both? At that,

581
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:57,079
she led me out of the living room. We began

582
00:44:57,159 --> 00:45:02,960
to climb the stairs. Did a horrible feeling came over me,

583
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,079
the one you might have when you're walking by a

584
00:45:06,159 --> 00:45:09,840
dark alley at night, the kind of primitive instinct that

585
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:15,239
screams in the back of your head, screams, run, you idiot. Run.

586
00:45:17,719 --> 00:45:20,880
We reached the top of the stairs. The hallway was

587
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,639
dark and lit only by a small lamp. We passed

588
00:45:24,639 --> 00:45:27,519
several rooms until we reached the door at the end

589
00:45:27,559 --> 00:45:32,000
of the hallway. The woman, and I realized at this

590
00:45:32,079 --> 00:45:36,199
point I didn't even know her name, gently pushed the

591
00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:41,360
door open and said, Jonathan, there's someone here i'd like

592
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:46,400
you to meet. The first thing I noticed when stepping

593
00:45:46,519 --> 00:45:49,519
into the room was a large piano that sat in

594
00:45:49,559 --> 00:45:54,239
the corner. It was a beautiful looking piano, and it

595
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:57,840
looked out of place in the small room. A piano

596
00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:00,360
like that should have been front and center had a

597
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:05,440
concert hall. The fading light outside filtered to the bedroom curtain,

598
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:09,960
giving the room a soft, ethereal look. I felt I

599
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:14,199
was stepping into some kind of dream world. And then

600
00:46:14,679 --> 00:46:21,840
I saw Jonathan sitting on his bed. I froze. I

601
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:26,800
wouldn't call Jonathan a doll exactly. He was too big

602
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:30,239
to be a doll, but he was like a rag

603
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:35,639
doll in a way, a human sized rag doll. Jonathan

604
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,440
was not a living, breathing person. He was just an

605
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:44,320
inanimate object dressed up to look human. He wore sky

606
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:48,039
blue pajamas and had a mop of red hair. His

607
00:46:48,159 --> 00:46:50,800
cloth skin looked like it had been white once but

608
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:54,800
now had faded to a sickly beige color. He had

609
00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:59,000
two black buttons for eyes, though there were different sizes,

610
00:47:00,119 --> 00:47:03,800
the right eye being much smaller than the left. It

611
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:08,760
gave him the appearance that he was always winking. I

612
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:13,079
did what I could only do in that moment. I laughed.

613
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,800
It was a hoarse, nervous laugh. Don't you dare laugh?

614
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:23,039
The woman said sharply. She wasn't looking at me now.

615
00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:27,440
She was staring out the window, one hand rubbing Jonathan's

616
00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:32,039
inanimate leg in a soothing gesture. Oh how they loved

617
00:47:32,039 --> 00:47:36,199
to laugh. Once Jonathan was sitting on the porch, just

618
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:39,480
minding his own business, when these horrible boys from town

619
00:47:39,599 --> 00:47:43,000
came in and began to harass him. I'll never forget

620
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:44,760
the sound of their laughter as I chased them off

621
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:48,320
on their bikes. Oh but I go the last laugh

622
00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:51,920
there was. Boys loved to bike around a certain part

623
00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:54,960
of town, and one day one of them went over

624
00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,360
some nasty gravel and hit his head. He's still in

625
00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:06,480
the hospital. Oh, yes, I got the last laugh. I'm sorry,

626
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:13,360
I said in a dry, panicked voice. Apology accepted, the

627
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:17,159
woman said, turning to me, she had a shocked look

628
00:48:17,199 --> 00:48:22,320
on her face. Then she gave me a shark's grin.

629
00:48:22,599 --> 00:48:25,159
A thought then hit me like an arrow striking the

630
00:48:25,159 --> 00:48:29,280
center of a target. So chilling was the thought that

631
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:32,719
I felt I might faint at any moment. My body

632
00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:36,840
felt ten times heavier. When the woman and I had

633
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:42,239
been downstairs, some one had been playing piano music. Some

634
00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:47,320
one else had to be up here. Obviously, Jonathan playing

635
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:50,159
was out of the question, had to be out of

636
00:48:50,239 --> 00:48:54,119
the question. The thought of this grotesque rag doll being

637
00:48:54,159 --> 00:48:59,519
alive went against everything I believed in. I looked around

638
00:48:59,519 --> 00:49:03,559
the room for a radio or record player, anything that

639
00:49:03,679 --> 00:49:07,239
might have been playing the music earlier, but there was

640
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:13,280
nothing of the sort. There was only the piano. Is

641
00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:19,000
there any one else in the house? I asked. The

642
00:49:19,039 --> 00:49:23,199
woman gave me a knowing smile and said, of course not,

643
00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:29,559
It's just Jonathan and I. Jonathan continued to stare into

644
00:49:29,639 --> 00:49:34,519
the distance with his misshapen buttoned eyes for a split second,

645
00:49:35,079 --> 00:49:38,360
maybe even less than that, I thought I saw his

646
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:43,039
head move, ever slightly. I blinked and rubbed my eyes.

647
00:49:44,159 --> 00:49:48,000
When I opened Jonathan was as still as he had been,

648
00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:52,320
and the woman was walking past me. I'll go fix

649
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:56,119
your bed downstairs, she said, walking out of the room.

650
00:49:56,639 --> 00:50:02,719
You'll need your rest for to morrow. Then she was gone.

651
00:50:03,360 --> 00:50:06,119
Only Jonathan and I were left in the room that

652
00:50:06,239 --> 00:50:10,519
began to fill with an awful silence. So pervasive and

653
00:50:10,599 --> 00:50:13,840
relentless was the silence that it felt as if it

654
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:18,000
seeped into every pore in my body. None of this

655
00:50:18,119 --> 00:50:21,559
could be real, I told myself. The woman was playing

656
00:50:21,559 --> 00:50:24,440
a trick on me, had to be playing a nasty

657
00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:29,199
trick on me, and once again looked over the room, hoping,

658
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:32,679
nearly begging God to show me a radio or a

659
00:50:32,719 --> 00:50:39,079
record player, But there was nothing. I thought about approaching

660
00:50:39,159 --> 00:50:43,480
Jonathan give him a real look over. For one look

661
00:50:43,639 --> 00:50:47,760
at that horrible, winking eye was enough to convince me otherwise.

662
00:50:49,400 --> 00:50:51,960
I quickly turned and began to walk out of the room.

663
00:50:53,079 --> 00:50:55,960
Then I heard what sounded like something shifting in the

664
00:50:55,960 --> 00:51:02,639
bed behind me, and I ran. Within seconds, I was

665
00:51:02,679 --> 00:51:06,239
down the stairs and out the front door. I knew

666
00:51:06,239 --> 00:51:09,280
it was suicide running out into that storm. But I

667
00:51:09,320 --> 00:51:13,440
couldn't stay in that house a second longer. The snow

668
00:51:13,559 --> 00:51:16,480
was so deep it slowed my running, and for a

669
00:51:16,519 --> 00:51:20,880
horrible moment I imagine Jonathan chasing after me, gaining on

670
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:25,360
me with terrible inhuman speed, his ragged old limbs moving

671
00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:30,119
in strange, unnatural motions. I heard the woman yelling after me,

672
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:35,159
yelling for me to come back. Then I heard two

673
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:42,280
horrible sounds. The first was that the woman was laughing,

674
00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:48,199
even in the roar of the winds. Her laugh was unmistakable,

675
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:53,079
piercing even I turned and saw her on the front porch.

676
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:56,840
She did, in fact have a horrible grin on her face,

677
00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:00,239
which now looked so much longer and paler than it

678
00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:04,840
had before. A laugh was an awful cackle, like thin

679
00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:11,719
eyes breaking. The second horrible thing I heard was the

680
00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:15,760
sound of a piano being played. It was coming from

681
00:52:15,840 --> 00:52:21,280
Jonathan's room. My car was nowhere in sight, but it

682
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:24,559
was no use to me now anyway. I ran down

683
00:52:24,599 --> 00:52:29,360
the road, and eventually the woman's laugh faded, but not

684
00:52:29,679 --> 00:52:34,559
the piano music. No matter how far I went, I

685
00:52:34,599 --> 00:52:38,000
could still hear it. It followed me the way A

686
00:52:38,079 --> 00:52:41,519
bad memory follows you. I don't know how long I

687
00:52:41,559 --> 00:52:44,880
waded through the snow, but at some point I collapsed

688
00:52:45,239 --> 00:52:49,599
and thought for sure I was going to die. Then

689
00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:54,159
I saw a light coming towards me. That light eventually

690
00:52:54,199 --> 00:52:57,480
turned into a tractor with a plow. There was a

691
00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:02,000
man driving it and began to say something, but I

692
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:06,639
couldn't hear him. I was fading in and out of consciousness.

693
00:53:07,559 --> 00:53:10,239
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was

694
00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:13,880
the man standing over me, a horrible, concerned look on

695
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:19,559
his face. The last thing I heard was piano music.

696
00:53:24,039 --> 00:53:26,960
I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed.

697
00:53:28,199 --> 00:53:31,000
For a horrifying second, I thought I was back in

698
00:53:31,039 --> 00:53:34,639
that woman's house, maybe sleeping in the very same bed

699
00:53:34,639 --> 00:53:40,199
as Jonathan. But that wasn't the case. I was in

700
00:53:40,239 --> 00:53:45,159
an unfamiliar room alone. Sunlight was shining through the window,

701
00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:49,400
and I could see that the storm had stopped. I

702
00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:53,559
heard the floorboards creaking outside the room, and again, for

703
00:53:53,639 --> 00:53:56,840
a horrifying second, I thought the woman would appear in

704
00:53:56,880 --> 00:54:05,320
the doorway, smiling cackling. Instead, he was the man I

705
00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:11,679
had seen driving the tractor. Good you're awake, the man said, warmly,

706
00:54:12,639 --> 00:54:17,440
How are you feeling. Where am I? I asked, ignoring

707
00:54:17,519 --> 00:54:21,840
his question, You're in my house. I found you running

708
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:26,480
down the road last night. What were you thinking? My

709
00:54:26,639 --> 00:54:31,000
car broke down? Are you with that woman? What woman?

710
00:54:32,159 --> 00:54:34,199
That one that lives down the road from where you've

711
00:54:34,199 --> 00:54:40,639
found me? The man said nothing. At first, he just

712
00:54:40,679 --> 00:54:44,880
stared at me. Then he said, in a pensive voice,

713
00:54:46,039 --> 00:54:48,199
the woman that lives down the road from where I

714
00:54:48,280 --> 00:54:53,280
found you. Are you with her? I said, I gripped

715
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:57,039
the bed sheets, as if my life depended on it. No,

716
00:54:57,280 --> 00:55:00,960
I'm not with anyone, the man said, putting up his hands.

717
00:55:01,880 --> 00:55:06,559
I live here on my own. I relaxed my hands.

718
00:55:07,559 --> 00:55:09,880
I need to call my parents. I was on my

719
00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:13,239
way to visit them when my car broke down. Phones

720
00:55:13,280 --> 00:55:16,920
in the kitchen, You're welcome to use it. When you

721
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:19,559
were out and I was plowing the roads, I saw

722
00:55:19,599 --> 00:55:22,960
a car, your car, I gather. We can go there

723
00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:25,800
when you're ready and get it out. I've already got

724
00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:29,840
most of it plowed out. Truthfully, if you saw my car,

725
00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:33,000
then you must have seen the house nearby. That's the

726
00:55:33,039 --> 00:55:36,320
house where the woman lives with a son, Jonathan. He's

727
00:55:36,400 --> 00:55:41,159
not a house where the woman lives the man said again,

728
00:55:41,440 --> 00:55:45,400
in that deep, pensive voice, Yeah, you must have seen it.

729
00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:48,760
If you saw my car, Why don't you call your

730
00:55:48,800 --> 00:55:51,880
parents and if you're up for it, I'll take you

731
00:55:51,920 --> 00:55:57,079
to your car. He gave me a reassuring smile. Then

732
00:55:57,159 --> 00:56:02,559
god up to leave. It's your name, Harvey, I asked him.

733
00:56:04,159 --> 00:56:07,159
He turned around and the smile on his face dipped

734
00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:13,559
into a questioning vrow Is it it is? He said?

735
00:56:14,360 --> 00:56:18,000
How do you know that the woman she told me

736
00:56:18,039 --> 00:56:25,320
about you and your tractor? Is that right? For a moment,

737
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:32,039
Harvey said nothing, his frown deepened. Call your parents and

738
00:56:32,119 --> 00:56:36,519
then we'll get going. He left me in the room

739
00:56:37,039 --> 00:56:41,559
with the sunlight as my only company. My parents were

740
00:56:41,559 --> 00:56:45,440
relieved to hear my voice. I didn't tell them about

741
00:56:45,480 --> 00:56:48,679
what I saw in the woman's house, that already was

742
00:56:48,719 --> 00:56:52,559
starting to feel like a bad nightmare. I told them

743
00:56:52,599 --> 00:56:54,920
that my car went into a ditch, and that I

744
00:56:54,960 --> 00:56:58,079
spent that night at a kind stranger's house, and that

745
00:56:58,159 --> 00:57:02,280
I would be in Madison later that day, hopefully. I

746
00:57:02,360 --> 00:57:05,360
got into the tractor with Harvey, and as we drove

747
00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:08,199
down the road, I was shocked to see how much

748
00:57:08,239 --> 00:57:11,840
of the road had already been cleared. The storm had

749
00:57:11,880 --> 00:57:14,599
been so awful the night before, and the snow had

750
00:57:14,639 --> 00:57:18,480
been so deep. Now it barely looked as if it

751
00:57:18,519 --> 00:57:25,559
had snowed. Eventually we came upon my car. Harvey had

752
00:57:25,559 --> 00:57:28,639
told the truth. He had gotten most of it out

753
00:57:28,639 --> 00:57:32,199
of the snow already. He killed the engine to his tractor,

754
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:37,360
and both her eyes went in the same direction. We

755
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:42,760
were looking at where the house was, or where it

756
00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:47,679
should have been. There was no house there now, at

757
00:57:47,760 --> 00:57:52,480
least not what I had seen last night. Instead, there

758
00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:55,960
were the remains of a house. The roof was gone,

759
00:57:56,280 --> 00:58:00,199
and part of the floor was completely carved in. Some

760
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:03,280
pieces of the home shotted out, like the jagged teeth

761
00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:08,199
or some ancient monster. Is this the house you were

762
00:58:08,239 --> 00:58:13,599
speaking of? Harvey asked. His voice was soft and empathetic.

763
00:58:15,119 --> 00:58:19,880
I don't understand, I said. I was here last night.

764
00:58:20,360 --> 00:58:25,239
I was in there. It wasn't like this, son. That

765
00:58:25,320 --> 00:58:28,480
house has been abandoned for years now. There was a

766
00:58:28,519 --> 00:58:31,960
woman who lived there, but that was a long time ago.

767
00:58:33,199 --> 00:58:36,920
What happened to her, it was a long time ago.

768
00:58:37,519 --> 00:58:43,599
You couldn't have met what happened. She took her own life,

769
00:58:44,679 --> 00:58:49,599
Harvey said. As he spoke. We both stared at the

770
00:58:49,599 --> 00:58:53,760
wreckage of the home after her son died. It was

771
00:58:53,760 --> 00:58:57,679
a terrible accident involving some of the boys from town.

772
00:58:58,039 --> 00:59:00,920
I don't know too much about the details. I was

773
00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:04,280
young myself back then. I just know that it was

774
00:59:04,400 --> 00:59:07,159
ugly business, and that she blamed one of the boys

775
00:59:07,199 --> 00:59:10,159
for a son's death. The boy ended up in the

776
00:59:10,159 --> 00:59:15,239
hospital some time later. I don't know much else. Like

777
00:59:15,280 --> 00:59:19,000
I said, it was ugly business. But that house has

778
00:59:19,039 --> 00:59:22,920
been abandoned for years. No one lives there, no one

779
00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:25,280
could live there. Just look at the state of it.

780
00:59:26,239 --> 00:59:28,920
So you were just pulling my leg. Right, you couldn't

781
00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:31,719
have been in there last night. Tell me you were

782
00:59:31,800 --> 00:59:37,199
just pulling my leg. I stared into Harvey's eyes, which

783
00:59:37,239 --> 00:59:40,719
were now threatening to spell over with tears, and saw

784
00:59:40,800 --> 00:59:47,559
that the old man was in fact terrified. Yeah, I

785
00:59:47,800 --> 00:59:52,480
was just pulling your leg, I said, flatly. Someone from

786
00:59:52,519 --> 00:59:57,559
town told you my name, his voice thin, pleading. Someone

787
00:59:57,559 --> 01:00:01,199
from town put you up to it. Someone in town

788
01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:04,880
told me your name. Someone from town put me up

789
01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:11,920
to it. Harvey led out a sigh. Well you got me,

790
01:00:11,960 --> 01:00:17,400
good son, Oh boy, yeah you did. Now let's get

791
01:00:17,440 --> 01:00:22,159
your car out. It did not take long for Harvey

792
01:00:22,159 --> 01:00:25,199
and I to get my car out and running. We

793
01:00:25,239 --> 01:00:29,119
shook hands and I thanked him for his help. As

794
01:00:29,119 --> 01:00:31,920
I was getting in my car and Harvey was getting

795
01:00:31,920 --> 01:00:37,360
in his tractor, we both stopped at the sound of

796
01:00:37,480 --> 01:00:44,800
something horrifying. It was coming from the abandoned home. It

797
01:00:44,920 --> 01:00:52,960
was piano music, delicate, melancholic piano music. He stood there

798
01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:59,719
and just listened. Neither of us acknowledged it. Then, after

799
01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:03,199
a moment, we got in our vehicles and went our

800
01:01:03,280 --> 01:01:09,280
separate ways. I never saw or spoke with Harvey again,

801
01:01:10,519 --> 01:01:15,079
but I've heard the piano music every night since. I'm

802
01:01:15,079 --> 01:01:19,440
hearing it now as I write this letter. God help me,

803
01:01:20,800 --> 01:01:29,199
I'm hearing it now. That's the end of my father's letter.

804
01:01:30,480 --> 01:01:33,880
I still can't quite believe what I've read that my

805
01:01:33,960 --> 01:01:38,800
father really wrote these words. At least now I understand

806
01:01:38,840 --> 01:01:41,920
why my father spent his life looking over his shoulder,

807
01:01:43,199 --> 01:01:47,280
what he saw in the shadows. Since reading his letter,

808
01:01:48,320 --> 01:01:50,760
I've had this idea in my head of driving up

809
01:01:50,800 --> 01:01:53,679
to Dutchville County and tried to find the house that

810
01:01:53,800 --> 01:01:58,679
haunted my father every step of his life. But I'm

811
01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:16,159
terrified of what I'll see and what I'll hear. Whoever

812
01:02:16,159 --> 01:02:19,519
had carved The door relished in the Anatomy of Suffering.

813
01:02:20,760 --> 01:02:23,599
It was a two story tall slab of copper, set

814
01:02:23,639 --> 01:02:27,480
directly next to a cavern wall, Its surface carved with

815
01:02:27,559 --> 01:02:31,039
a vast and complex bas relief that worried the eye.

816
01:02:31,960 --> 01:02:35,920
A cloying, confusing mix of human bodies sprawling upwards in

817
01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:40,679
a mound of flesh, many glancing horrified over their shoulders

818
01:02:41,039 --> 01:02:43,920
or fleeing something out of frame and out of sight.

819
01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:50,639
Thousands of them, starved and wretched, with gaunt faces and

820
01:02:50,719 --> 01:02:58,239
sunken eyes, jutting ribs and distended bellies. There were rumors

821
01:02:58,440 --> 01:03:03,920
that they moved, but only when you weren't looking. Less

822
01:03:03,960 --> 01:03:07,000
than a week after its discovery, they brought it down

823
01:03:07,039 --> 01:03:11,199
with explosives. We didn't really know what we'd found at

824
01:03:11,239 --> 01:03:15,199
that point, although I'm sure a few of us, particularly

825
01:03:15,239 --> 01:03:22,440
the religious, their suspicions the door was wrong, all wrong.

826
01:03:23,599 --> 01:03:27,440
It just shouldn't have been there. Natural caverns don't go

827
01:03:27,519 --> 01:03:32,239
that deep in Britain, not a thousand meters. As scientists,

828
01:03:32,639 --> 01:03:35,960
we should have been excited, but we all agreed the

829
01:03:36,039 --> 01:03:40,519
door was repulsive. Staring at it too long induced a

830
01:03:40,639 --> 01:03:46,199
powerful urge to flee. An ancestral memory, maybe the same

831
01:03:46,239 --> 01:03:49,440
way our bodies know to avoid things that crawl and slither,

832
01:03:50,559 --> 01:03:56,400
things that rot and buzz and stink of death and decay.

833
01:03:57,039 --> 01:03:59,880
They never told us how or why they found it,

834
01:04:00,639 --> 01:04:04,400
nor why the project was classified, only that we had

835
01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:08,599
to figure out what was on the other side. When

836
01:04:08,639 --> 01:04:12,880
the charges finally blew, they went off like giant fire crackers,

837
01:04:13,800 --> 01:04:17,559
a string of them that ran down the gateway one

838
01:04:17,840 --> 01:04:23,360
by one, deafening booms that shook the entire cavern. I

839
01:04:23,440 --> 01:04:26,440
was left blinking dust out of my eyes as great

840
01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:30,159
machines lowered the door, now free of its couplings, to

841
01:04:30,239 --> 01:04:36,480
the ground. Looking back, some details come easier than others.

842
01:04:37,239 --> 01:04:40,800
The air that wafted out was hot and dry, and

843
01:04:40,880 --> 01:04:47,079
I was not surprised. That seemed intuitively correct, whether I'd

844
01:04:47,119 --> 01:04:50,840
admitted to myself or not. The fact was, I'd been

845
01:04:50,880 --> 01:04:53,719
thinking of the door as a gateway to Hell pretty

846
01:04:53,800 --> 01:04:56,840
much since I'd first laid eyes on it, and my

847
01:04:56,920 --> 01:05:02,760
mental image of hell was oddly medieval. I expected some great,

848
01:05:02,800 --> 01:05:08,079
big stones, something reminiscent of an ancient castle, rattling chains,

849
01:05:08,280 --> 01:05:12,519
the wailing of the damned, the stench of sulfur god,

850
01:05:13,039 --> 01:05:18,360
even little red devils with horns and pointy tails. But

851
01:05:19,679 --> 01:05:25,760
I hadn't expected shelves and books. That was the first

852
01:05:25,840 --> 01:05:30,639
real thing we saw. Shelves lining the walls that had

853
01:05:30,639 --> 01:05:33,760
been dug directly into the same rock as the cavern,

854
01:05:34,920 --> 01:05:38,320
Shelves that rose far above our lights, so that when

855
01:05:38,360 --> 01:05:42,239
we looked up there was only darkness and dust, but

856
01:05:42,440 --> 01:05:45,679
no limits to the endless row and row of shelving,

857
01:05:47,239 --> 01:05:51,880
every last inch covered in books. There were no gaps,

858
01:05:52,960 --> 01:05:58,519
just dust and tattered spines of random sizes, leather fabric, paperback,

859
01:05:59,119 --> 01:06:02,920
faded past elle, and gold leaf letters in alphabets both

860
01:06:02,960 --> 01:06:08,639
familiar and strange. And it wasn't just the walls. The

861
01:06:08,679 --> 01:06:11,920
floor was littered with random, head high piles of books,

862
01:06:12,480 --> 01:06:15,679
all stacked up like some tired librarian had gotten fed

863
01:06:15,760 --> 01:06:19,079
up of finding room for them. They made a labyrinth

864
01:06:19,079 --> 01:06:23,559
of the place, obscuring corners and doors, and the forward team,

865
01:06:24,000 --> 01:06:29,480
myself included, progressed carefully along the stone passageway, listening and

866
01:06:29,519 --> 01:06:32,599
looking carefully for some signs that would make sense of

867
01:06:32,599 --> 01:06:36,840
the place. There must have been thousands of books, and

868
01:06:36,960 --> 01:06:41,639
that was just in the first hallway we explored. Whenever

869
01:06:41,719 --> 01:06:45,199
we took one out, we found paper so thin it

870
01:06:45,320 --> 01:06:49,440
was nearly translucent, and often inked with strange shapes and

871
01:06:49,559 --> 01:06:57,599
letters I couldn't recognize otherwise it was gibberish. Not that

872
01:06:57,719 --> 01:07:01,280
we studied them too longer that first day. Whenever I

873
01:07:01,360 --> 01:07:06,559
took one, I returned it quickly, lifting them up. I

874
01:07:06,639 --> 01:07:10,639
always had the strangest sensation that I was doing something wrong,

875
01:07:11,320 --> 01:07:15,559
something inappropriate. And I didn't like the space they left

876
01:07:15,559 --> 01:07:19,440
behind on the shelves, a gap like a missing tooth,

877
01:07:20,559 --> 01:07:25,920
the darkness within swirling like deep waters. Safety in that

878
01:07:26,000 --> 01:07:29,519
place felt like an illusion, and touching the books was

879
01:07:29,559 --> 01:07:33,000
at risk of shattering it. I don't know how else

880
01:07:33,039 --> 01:07:35,679
to put it, except I didn't want to do anything

881
01:07:35,719 --> 01:07:39,280
that might draw attention to me. It was as if

882
01:07:39,320 --> 01:07:44,039
we were extremely conspicuous. There were no sounds but those

883
01:07:44,159 --> 01:07:48,960
we made, our own breath, our own footfalls, the shuffle

884
01:07:49,000 --> 01:07:52,800
and scuffle of out every movement. We could even hear

885
01:07:52,880 --> 01:07:56,920
each other's heart beats, the discordant but bump of several

886
01:07:56,960 --> 01:08:02,360
people's chests being beaten like a broken drum set, and

887
01:08:02,920 --> 01:08:08,519
every now and again a racing, a steady increase in

888
01:08:08,559 --> 01:08:12,239
the beats cadence as we turned a blind corner or

889
01:08:12,280 --> 01:08:15,719
lifted a book just to see what it contained, or

890
01:08:15,760 --> 01:08:19,640
looked up at the shadows above us. Each of us

891
01:08:19,800 --> 01:08:23,840
kept having false starts, because there was always this expectation

892
01:08:24,520 --> 01:08:29,359
that you were going to see something soon any second now.

893
01:08:30,119 --> 01:08:37,640
Squeezed between two books or dangling overhead. It took more

894
01:08:37,680 --> 01:08:41,359
than six hours before that corridor opened up, and when

895
01:08:41,359 --> 01:08:46,840
it did, we were dumbfounded. We emerged into a vast

896
01:08:47,119 --> 01:08:51,720
and terrifying mezzanine made of ancient rock, overlooking a chasm

897
01:08:51,840 --> 01:08:56,600
with no visible bottom, just floor after floor filled with

898
01:08:56,720 --> 01:09:03,720
shelves filled with books, billions, and all along those distant

899
01:09:03,760 --> 01:09:07,920
walls and stories were little openings that led to more

900
01:09:07,960 --> 01:09:12,279
corridors like the one we'd just emerged from, so many

901
01:09:12,560 --> 01:09:14,720
that it was like staring at a rough shod beehive.

902
01:09:15,840 --> 01:09:19,439
To look up, or down or anywhere was to be

903
01:09:19,479 --> 01:09:22,560
faced with more books than anyone could read in their

904
01:09:22,680 --> 01:09:28,800
entire lifetime. We took our first break on that mezzanine.

905
01:09:28,960 --> 01:09:32,279
While radios didn't go very far in that place, we'd

906
01:09:32,279 --> 01:09:34,880
had the sense to carry enough wire to allow for

907
01:09:34,920 --> 01:09:38,920
a hard connection, and while using that we contacted the

908
01:09:38,920 --> 01:09:43,800
main research site and updated them on the situation we

909
01:09:43,880 --> 01:09:46,960
were to keep going for another six hours and turn

910
01:09:47,000 --> 01:09:52,720
around a day. No more was the plan. Even that

911
01:09:52,840 --> 01:09:57,079
felt like too long. I wanted to leave. I wanted

912
01:09:57,079 --> 01:10:00,279
to confirm that somewhere was a doorway that would lead

913
01:10:00,359 --> 01:10:04,359
back to reality, because ever since I'd entered that place,

914
01:10:05,000 --> 01:10:08,520
it felt like I'd entered a nightmare, a place where

915
01:10:08,560 --> 01:10:13,199
reality was plastic. I told myself it was simply the

916
01:10:13,239 --> 01:10:18,720
scale of it, all the weirdness, But it was more

917
01:10:18,760 --> 01:10:26,399
than that. The very air down there felt thin. There

918
01:10:26,439 --> 01:10:31,399
were six of us, three scientists and three soldiers. The

919
01:10:31,439 --> 01:10:35,880
soldiers responded to the situation with silence and an alertness

920
01:10:36,079 --> 01:10:39,960
that bordered on paranoia, constantly scanning the dark with their

921
01:10:40,039 --> 01:10:43,560
rifle mounted lights, flicking the beam from one high up

922
01:10:43,600 --> 01:10:50,840
shelf to another, fidgeting, exchanging dark looks. In a way,

923
01:10:51,079 --> 01:10:53,800
I was thankful, but it put me on edge too,

924
01:10:54,920 --> 01:10:57,640
and I couldn't relax at all for the first half

925
01:10:57,680 --> 01:11:01,159
of our little break. I guess it was natural that

926
01:11:01,279 --> 01:11:06,159
the scientists got talking. This was partly to fill the quiet,

927
01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:10,319
but also partly to try and convince ourselves we were

928
01:11:10,359 --> 01:11:15,039
excited about the implications of this find, whatever those may be.

929
01:11:16,600 --> 01:11:21,760
Rewriting history, archaeology, on a new level that kind of thing.

930
01:11:23,279 --> 01:11:26,279
It didn't take long before we convinced ourselves to take

931
01:11:26,279 --> 01:11:30,920
a closer look at those books. I'll admit it didn't

932
01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:34,159
come easy, but we did a pretty good job of

933
01:11:34,279 --> 01:11:40,079
convincing ourselves that we weren't really afraid. We started slowly

934
01:11:40,720 --> 01:11:44,840
taking one book down, opening and then quickly replacing it,

935
01:11:46,119 --> 01:11:50,000
but then with false bravery, we took more and more

936
01:11:50,079 --> 01:11:53,439
came down, until each of us were sat cross legged

937
01:11:53,680 --> 01:11:57,039
with several books stacked up on either side, waiting to

938
01:11:57,079 --> 01:12:01,560
be read. I remember some point I must have grown

939
01:12:01,640 --> 01:12:05,239
tired and looked up from my own pile, because I

940
01:12:05,359 --> 01:12:09,640
noticed Doctor Ashling muttering quietly as she traced some words

941
01:12:09,640 --> 01:12:16,000
with her fingers. What if you found it's Latin alphabet,

942
01:12:16,479 --> 01:12:21,399
she said? First one, I actually recognized the letters for German.

943
01:12:21,479 --> 01:12:27,319
Maybe none of us were linguists, so we were simply

944
01:12:27,359 --> 01:12:31,840
doing our best. But upon hearing Bay mentioned German, one

945
01:12:31,840 --> 01:12:36,000
of the soldiers came over and looked at the open page.

946
01:12:36,359 --> 01:12:42,600
Germanic but not German. He said, you speak it? He nodded.

947
01:12:43,520 --> 01:12:46,319
My father is German, and I don't know what that is.

948
01:12:47,000 --> 01:12:51,920
But it isn't German. Is any of it familiar, Beer asked,

949
01:12:52,439 --> 01:12:56,159
while handing the book to him. After a brief nod

950
01:12:56,239 --> 01:13:00,000
from his CEO, Lieutenant Michael, he took it and became

951
01:13:00,039 --> 01:13:04,479
and flicking through the pages. I think this is the

952
01:13:04,520 --> 01:13:08,960
word for death, a sort of rough misspelling. Maybe this

953
01:13:09,000 --> 01:13:14,279
one is. I guess it's a bit like wanting desire.

954
01:13:15,560 --> 01:13:17,960
I don't know. Not all the words seem like they're

955
01:13:17,960 --> 01:13:22,119
in the right context either. So there are a variety

956
01:13:22,159 --> 01:13:25,920
of languages in alphabets, but as of yet, nothing we

957
01:13:25,960 --> 01:13:30,680
can make sense of. What about you any luck? Beyer

958
01:13:30,800 --> 01:13:33,960
asked me, and I looked down at the book currently

959
01:13:34,000 --> 01:13:38,920
open in my hands. Some kind of sybelic, maybe, I shrugged.

960
01:13:39,720 --> 01:13:42,960
I'm no linguist. We definitely need doctor Sellers on the

961
01:13:43,000 --> 01:13:47,720
next expedition. I'm sure he could offer some insight. What

962
01:13:47,800 --> 01:13:52,560
about you, doctor Rosenstein? The third doctor in our group,

963
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:56,319
a little bald man, had been sitting quietly the entire

964
01:13:56,399 --> 01:14:02,479
time we spoke. The third scientist in our group, a

965
01:14:02,600 --> 01:14:06,000
little bald man, had been sitting quietly the entire time

966
01:14:06,039 --> 01:14:09,680
we spoke, frowning and one of several books that lay

967
01:14:09,720 --> 01:14:14,439
open before him. I assume he was just curious like

968
01:14:14,520 --> 01:14:21,159
Bear and I grant I said, trying to get his attention. Hey, Grant,

969
01:14:21,640 --> 01:14:28,560
have you found anything? His silence unnerved me. He wasn't

970
01:14:28,640 --> 01:14:33,640
just captivated. Sweat was prickling his forehead, and veins bulged

971
01:14:33,640 --> 01:14:37,640
alongest temple. He had gone pale, and his eyes were

972
01:14:37,680 --> 01:14:42,279
wide and his lips cracked and dry. The soldiers picking

973
01:14:42,359 --> 01:14:45,199
up on the same strange signals I had stood a

974
01:14:45,199 --> 01:14:52,720
little more upright, Dr Rosenstein, one of them asked, nervously, doctor,

975
01:14:53,479 --> 01:14:58,520
can you hear us? The nearest soldier reached out and

976
01:14:58,600 --> 01:15:01,640
placed a hand on Grant's shoulder, and the little man

977
01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:04,319
looked up at us like he hadn't even realized we

978
01:15:04,439 --> 01:15:09,399
existed until that moment. At first, I thought he was relieved,

979
01:15:09,880 --> 01:15:11,920
the way he was staring at each of us with

980
01:15:12,000 --> 01:15:15,960
a dumb grin on his face. But I soon realized

981
01:15:16,399 --> 01:15:21,880
something wasn't quite right. Oh, he said, with an anxious laugh.

982
01:15:22,640 --> 01:15:28,239
Oh right, of course, his eyes darted between us. Of course, Sorry,

983
01:15:28,680 --> 01:15:34,119
I didn't mean to alarm you, right, I said, Well,

984
01:15:34,560 --> 01:15:37,680
we were just talking about the books Bathing's hers might

985
01:15:37,720 --> 01:15:41,800
be in a kind of German or Germanic language. He

986
01:15:41,880 --> 01:15:46,119
nodded like this made perfect sense. Yes, I you imagine,

987
01:15:46,119 --> 01:15:49,800
so he replied, while looking round the shelves that towered

988
01:15:49,840 --> 01:15:55,000
over us. Lots of languages, I'd say, And then, without

989
01:15:55,039 --> 01:16:02,079
really missing a beat, he added, they are sins. The

990
01:16:02,119 --> 01:16:05,520
group fell into silence as each of us tried to

991
01:16:05,560 --> 01:16:09,720
make sense of what he just said. In the meantime,

992
01:16:09,960 --> 01:16:12,640
he stood up and stretched like it was the most

993
01:16:12,720 --> 01:16:16,680
natural thing in the world. What are you want about,

994
01:16:17,399 --> 01:16:20,520
I said, once it became clear he wasn't going to elaborate.

995
01:16:21,600 --> 01:16:25,840
It's fairly obvious where we are, he said, while leaning

996
01:16:25,880 --> 01:16:30,039
forward and eyeing us darkly. And these books are a

997
01:16:30,119 --> 01:16:33,119
list of all our sins, one for each of us.

998
01:16:33,920 --> 01:16:37,359
So there will be books in German, both contemporary and

999
01:16:37,560 --> 01:16:41,880
historic German, like the one you found, doctor Ashling. But

1000
01:16:41,920 --> 01:16:44,439
there will also be books in Russian and French, and

1001
01:16:44,520 --> 01:16:53,560
Arabic and Chinese, not just contemporary tongues, either ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Babylonian, Aramaic, Latin,

1002
01:16:54,479 --> 01:16:58,560
and of course lost languages, ones that we never found

1003
01:16:58,680 --> 01:17:03,680
but existed anyway, All of them, all the transgressions of

1004
01:17:03,720 --> 01:17:10,720
the world, are right here, recorded in the sinner's original tongue.

1005
01:17:10,960 --> 01:17:14,600
By now the soldiers had stepped a little closer and

1006
01:17:14,720 --> 01:17:19,039
Bierre and I were sharing deeply worried looks. Grant seemed

1007
01:17:19,079 --> 01:17:22,359
to be in the middle of breaking down, speaking frantically

1008
01:17:22,520 --> 01:17:26,520
and anxiously, convinced of his own meaning. We're not really

1009
01:17:26,560 --> 01:17:31,640
saying anything of sense. Grant, I think we need to

1010
01:17:31,680 --> 01:17:35,159
go back. The real fun thing is that I think

1011
01:17:35,199 --> 01:17:39,399
you'll find books in languages that don't exist yet, he blurted.

1012
01:17:40,199 --> 01:17:42,399
This isn't just a record of sins in the past,

1013
01:17:43,359 --> 01:17:47,520
but all of them, every last one, even the ones

1014
01:17:47,600 --> 01:17:51,720
we haven't committed yet. Grant, I'm going to have one

1015
01:17:51,760 --> 01:17:54,439
of the men go back with you. If that's okay,

1016
01:17:55,399 --> 01:17:59,279
I think you might not. These are mine, he said,

1017
01:17:59,479 --> 01:18:03,159
or gesture to a book in his hand, All of them,

1018
01:18:03,560 --> 01:18:07,960
he laughed. Not just the things I did petty transgressions,

1019
01:18:08,319 --> 01:18:12,600
all recorded with names and places and even little diagrams.

1020
01:18:13,239 --> 01:18:16,560
But there are even sins I only ever thought things

1021
01:18:16,600 --> 01:18:22,560
I wanted to do, and he added, while giggling hysterically,

1022
01:18:23,680 --> 01:18:28,479
since I've yet to commit. He flicked through the pages

1023
01:18:28,520 --> 01:18:33,000
at random and giggled moniacally at something only he could see,

1024
01:18:33,680 --> 01:18:37,119
Although there aren't many, He cackled as he turned to

1025
01:18:37,159 --> 01:18:41,960
the final page, tears welling in his eyes. Just one, actually,

1026
01:18:42,760 --> 01:18:47,600
the last one, the last sin I'll ever commit. Grant,

1027
01:18:48,159 --> 01:18:52,760
I said, I think you. Before any of us could react,

1028
01:18:53,359 --> 01:18:57,000
he dropped the book and took a running leap over

1029
01:18:57,039 --> 01:19:00,960
the nearest edge. This is the way we came, right,

1030
01:19:02,199 --> 01:19:05,399
Beer stood at the threshold of a corridor, a light

1031
01:19:05,479 --> 01:19:09,720
tracking wire that sneaked into the darkness. That's the cable

1032
01:19:09,760 --> 01:19:12,520
we carried in here with us, one of the soldiers said.

1033
01:19:13,399 --> 01:19:17,600
But the young man looked over to his CEO, Lieutenant Michael,

1034
01:19:18,079 --> 01:19:21,279
who had a compass in hand and didn't look happy.

1035
01:19:22,560 --> 01:19:25,680
It's not the direction we came, the older man said.

1036
01:19:26,560 --> 01:19:29,880
We came south, so we need to head north. That

1037
01:19:29,960 --> 01:19:34,039
would be this doorway. He nodded at a second corridor

1038
01:19:34,479 --> 01:19:38,560
embedded in the rock wall. This has to be the way,

1039
01:19:39,119 --> 01:19:41,720
Beer said, I trust this cable a hell of a

1040
01:19:41,720 --> 01:19:44,359
lot more than I do a compass. Anything could be

1041
01:19:44,359 --> 01:19:48,800
interfering with that thing. Besides, we know the cable leads

1042
01:19:48,840 --> 01:19:51,960
the HQ because it's working. We spoke to them only

1043
01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:54,920
a few minutes ago. By this wire, it has to

1044
01:19:55,000 --> 01:19:59,119
lead out of here, and that makes sense, I added,

1045
01:19:59,640 --> 01:20:01,279
But I'm He marked the way we left with a

1046
01:20:01,319 --> 01:20:06,359
piece of chalk and that mark is over here. I

1047
01:20:06,479 --> 01:20:12,960
pointed to a third doorway. Damn, Michael muttered, regardless, I

1048
01:20:13,079 --> 01:20:17,640
vote wire, Bear said, I trust it the most. It's

1049
01:20:17,640 --> 01:20:22,439
a physical connection. I guess I vote wire too. Michael

1050
01:20:22,479 --> 01:20:27,119
added me too. But what do we do if we're wrong?

1051
01:20:27,720 --> 01:20:31,039
I asked? What does that even mean? Did something move

1052
01:20:31,119 --> 01:20:35,199
the wire or the door? We all went silent for

1053
01:20:35,239 --> 01:20:39,640
a few moments as we contemplated this. When nobody offered

1054
01:20:39,720 --> 01:20:43,199
up an answer, I eventually grabbed my backpack and hauled

1055
01:20:43,199 --> 01:20:46,239
it up. I guess we don't have much of a

1056
01:20:46,359 --> 01:20:51,399
choice either way, I said, Do you really think there's

1057
01:20:51,439 --> 01:20:54,960
a book in here for everyone? He asked, and it

1058
01:20:55,079 --> 01:20:57,359
was the first any of us had spoken in a

1059
01:20:57,399 --> 01:21:02,359
few hours. So far. We had all been walking, fixated

1060
01:21:02,399 --> 01:21:06,039
on the gloom ahead and behind us, watching carefully for

1061
01:21:06,199 --> 01:21:10,079
some sign that our fevered imaginations were right to suspect

1062
01:21:10,199 --> 01:21:14,760
something lurking in the dark. Grant seemed to think so,

1063
01:21:15,359 --> 01:21:19,000
I said, then, what are the odds he picked out

1064
01:21:19,000 --> 01:21:22,000
his own book? I mean, if he's right that there

1065
01:21:22,039 --> 01:21:27,640
are what a hundred billion bucks or so more? I replied,

1066
01:21:28,520 --> 01:21:31,720
if he's right about the library containing future sins as

1067
01:21:31,760 --> 01:21:37,199
well as past pretty slim heards. Then she added, what

1068
01:21:37,279 --> 01:21:41,800
are you thinking if he did find it here? I

1069
01:21:41,840 --> 01:21:47,439
don't think it was a coincidence, she said. But ahead,

1070
01:21:47,960 --> 01:21:51,079
one of the soldiers came to a sudden stop, fist

1071
01:21:51,159 --> 01:21:54,319
raised as he muttered something to the others, who knelt

1072
01:21:54,399 --> 01:21:59,600
and lifted their rifles aiming at the dark What is it,

1073
01:22:00,199 --> 01:22:05,760
I asked, You don't hear it, Michael called back. All

1074
01:22:05,800 --> 01:22:09,399
of us stopped and listened, carefully, straining to pick out

1075
01:22:09,439 --> 01:22:13,000
some meaningful sound from the white noise of blood rushing

1076
01:22:13,039 --> 01:22:16,800
through our ears and the thumping of our own hearts.

1077
01:22:17,319 --> 01:22:24,760
Sure enough, it was there, a gentle rustling. Without speaking,

1078
01:22:25,239 --> 01:22:27,880
all of us moved as quietly as we could along

1079
01:22:27,880 --> 01:22:31,039
the corridor until we came to the source of the

1080
01:22:31,119 --> 01:22:37,199
strange noise. A door, one that hadn't been there on

1081
01:22:37,279 --> 01:22:42,840
our way in left ever so slightly, ajar rifle raised,

1082
01:22:43,159 --> 01:22:45,399
one of the soldiers used the barrel to nudge it

1083
01:22:45,439 --> 01:22:50,840
open a little further. Oh damn, he said, his voice

1084
01:22:50,880 --> 01:22:54,680
loud enough to send echoes down the hall. The sound

1085
01:22:54,760 --> 01:22:57,840
came as a shock, and Michael pulled him back, ready

1086
01:22:57,880 --> 01:23:01,640
to admonish. When we all saw what had been waiting

1087
01:23:01,880 --> 01:23:08,119
on the other side another corridor, only this one had

1088
01:23:08,159 --> 01:23:16,439
shelves lined not with bugs, but severed heads, desiccated, pale

1089
01:23:16,479 --> 01:23:21,479
and gaunt, row after row, all sitting neatly next to

1090
01:23:21,520 --> 01:23:26,239
one another, evenly spaced, their skin paper white in the

1091
01:23:26,279 --> 01:23:29,880
harsh glare of our lights, and all of them with

1092
01:23:30,039 --> 01:23:40,520
cloudy eyes. And they were speaking soto voce, little whispers.

1093
01:23:41,560 --> 01:23:45,079
They muttered in a discord of wet lips, no breath,

1094
01:23:45,359 --> 01:23:49,520
no lungs, only the action of robbie jaws to sound

1095
01:23:49,520 --> 01:23:53,520
out syllables and consonants. They were lost in the rustling cacophony.

1096
01:23:54,680 --> 01:23:59,840
The sound was horrific, wet and dry and deeply unsettling

1097
01:24:00,399 --> 01:24:03,560
as it worked its way under my skin, until I

1098
01:24:03,640 --> 01:24:07,159
felt the strangest urge to lash out at the heads.

1099
01:24:07,720 --> 01:24:14,159
But curiosity overrode disgust, and I approached one, wincing briefly

1100
01:24:14,520 --> 01:24:18,239
when it fixed me with its cloudy eyes, but I

1101
01:24:18,319 --> 01:24:22,680
didn't stop. I got close enough to see every detail

1102
01:24:22,840 --> 01:24:26,720
of its flaking skin, its roomy eyes, glaring at me

1103
01:24:27,079 --> 01:24:32,159
with such strange emotion from my own sanity, I reached

1104
01:24:32,199 --> 01:24:36,640
out and picked it up, noting with disgust how the

1105
01:24:36,680 --> 01:24:39,119
stump of his neck left mottle brow fluid on the

1106
01:24:39,159 --> 01:24:43,319
shelf behind. I guess I just wanted to know if

1107
01:24:43,359 --> 01:24:47,319
it was fake. But its skin was cold, and its

1108
01:24:47,359 --> 01:24:51,000
brow furrowed with anger at my touch, And as soon

1109
01:24:51,039 --> 01:24:54,239
as it was in the air, every other head stopped

1110
01:24:54,239 --> 01:24:58,640
their muttering and fixed me with such foul expressions. I

1111
01:24:58,760 --> 01:25:06,000
quickly put it back down again, relieved when the murmuring resumed. Still,

1112
01:25:07,039 --> 01:25:12,720
its eyes did not leave me. What the hell be whispered?

1113
01:25:13,880 --> 01:25:16,960
What is this? Michael asked, as he scanned the upper

1114
01:25:17,000 --> 01:25:21,680
shells with his torch on and on they went as

1115
01:25:21,720 --> 01:25:28,920
far as we could see. What the actual hell is this? Slowly,

1116
01:25:29,960 --> 01:25:34,239
a strange thought began to form in my head. Blink

1117
01:25:34,520 --> 01:25:38,319
if you can understand me, I said, were kneeling down

1118
01:25:38,359 --> 01:25:42,039
to look at the head I'd picked up. Everyone else

1119
01:25:42,079 --> 01:25:44,439
in the group suddenly stopped what they were doing and

1120
01:25:44,560 --> 01:25:53,199
turned to see the result of my little experiment. Blink Okay, okay, okay,

1121
01:25:53,920 --> 01:25:58,039
I repeated, while trying to calm myself down. Right once

1122
01:25:58,079 --> 01:26:04,640
for no, twice for yes, do you understand? Blink? Blink

1123
01:26:06,159 --> 01:26:11,600
right okay ah. I looked at the others for suggestions,

1124
01:26:11,840 --> 01:26:15,479
when Bee piped up instead, Are these books a list

1125
01:26:15,520 --> 01:26:22,479
of all our sins. Blink blink, one book for one person,

1126
01:26:24,039 --> 01:26:31,359
blink blink. So what are you, she asked, and this

1127
01:26:31,479 --> 01:26:35,520
elicited a scathing look from the severed head. Yes or

1128
01:26:35,600 --> 01:26:40,520
no questions, I told her. One of the soldiers, the

1129
01:26:40,600 --> 01:26:43,880
youngest one, the one who helped translate the German, stepped

1130
01:26:43,920 --> 01:26:51,000
up and spoke, Is this hell? He asked? Blink blink?

1131
01:26:52,439 --> 01:26:59,119
Is this your punishment? He added, blink. If this isn't

1132
01:26:59,159 --> 01:27:06,119
the punishment, he said, what is? All Their heads stopped

1133
01:27:06,119 --> 01:27:10,279
them muttering and began to emit the strangest noise, their

1134
01:27:10,279 --> 01:27:14,800
faces twisting upwards and warping into grotesque parodies of joy,

1135
01:27:15,199 --> 01:27:18,000
while their mouths moved up and down in a particular

1136
01:27:18,079 --> 01:27:21,279
sort of rhythm. When I realized what they were doing,

1137
01:27:21,960 --> 01:27:25,600
I felt a terrible sensation of cold dread creeping down

1138
01:27:25,600 --> 01:27:31,640
my entire body. They were laughing at us. There was

1139
01:27:31,720 --> 01:27:34,880
no door. The wire slipped through a tiny hole at

1140
01:27:34,920 --> 01:27:37,600
the base of a wall that blocked off the corridor.

1141
01:27:38,960 --> 01:27:42,920
All of us were stunned into silence for minutes, until

1142
01:27:42,960 --> 01:27:46,640
at last Lieutenant Michael shook himself free from the shock

1143
01:27:47,159 --> 01:27:52,439
and issued an order Davis get HQ on the line.

1144
01:27:52,760 --> 01:27:55,439
One of the soldiers knelt down and began to remove

1145
01:27:55,479 --> 01:27:59,920
the communication set from his backpack. Within a few seconds,

1146
01:28:00,079 --> 01:28:04,600
it was set up and he was speaking into the headset. HQ,

1147
01:28:04,960 --> 01:28:10,279
can you read me over? Ah, I can read you well.

1148
01:28:10,479 --> 01:28:13,600
I guess the wire still leads to HQ, I said.

1149
01:28:14,760 --> 01:28:18,159
Try checking the wall for seams. Michael told me see

1150
01:28:18,159 --> 01:28:23,359
if it moves, hidden hinges us something I don't know. Then,

1151
01:28:23,479 --> 01:28:26,520
turning back to the soldier with a headset, tell them

1152
01:28:26,560 --> 01:28:29,319
we've encountered an obstacle, and we want them to send

1153
01:28:29,319 --> 01:28:32,600
another team in to get us. Oh, and tell them

1154
01:28:32,640 --> 01:28:38,239
to bring explosives if this thing opens, I said, while

1155
01:28:38,319 --> 01:28:41,560
running my hand along the edges, I can't see how.

1156
01:28:42,279 --> 01:28:47,119
It's pretty solid. Unlike every other wall we'd seen so far,

1157
01:28:48,000 --> 01:28:51,560
this one was made of red bricks, but that didn't

1158
01:28:51,600 --> 01:28:55,720
mean it was somehow mobile either. It seemed as sturdy

1159
01:28:55,760 --> 01:28:59,760
as any brick wall i'd come across. Well, it came

1160
01:28:59,760 --> 01:29:03,159
from somewhere, BE cried, while trying to peer through the

1161
01:29:03,199 --> 01:29:07,199
hole the wire disappeared through. Damn it, I can't see

1162
01:29:07,199 --> 01:29:12,279
anything HQ. The soldier said, we're going to need some assistance.

1163
01:29:12,720 --> 01:29:19,399
There's an obstacle over Roger there. What's the obstacle? H

1164
01:29:20,359 --> 01:29:23,800
A wall, he replied, Tell the next team to bring

1165
01:29:23,880 --> 01:29:31,279
explosives over a wall. Just send the team asap. The

1166
01:29:31,359 --> 01:29:35,960
soldier cried, our way out is blocked over. Well, I

1167
01:29:36,000 --> 01:29:39,560
can confirm we are unroute to your position. Just one question,

1168
01:29:40,640 --> 01:29:46,520
HQ replied, what's that over? The young man replied, why

1169
01:29:46,560 --> 01:29:52,239
do you keep saying over? Suddenly the voice changed and

1170
01:29:52,359 --> 01:29:57,399
began to titter and giggle, at first quietly, then louder

1171
01:29:57,479 --> 01:30:01,479
and louder, like a mean kid laughing at prank. The

1172
01:30:01,560 --> 01:30:04,880
cruelty and his high pitched voice made my skin crawl,

1173
01:30:05,399 --> 01:30:07,880
and I was about to snatch the handset myself and

1174
01:30:07,920 --> 01:30:12,960
begin demanding answers when there was a stranger sound, a

1175
01:30:13,079 --> 01:30:19,399
heavy grinding, like stone turning against stone. Before I could

1176
01:30:19,439 --> 01:30:22,680
even ask what it was, he fell backwards from where

1177
01:30:22,720 --> 01:30:26,000
she crouched and quickly leaped up into a standing position

1178
01:30:26,359 --> 01:30:30,319
and ran off into the dark like a maniac. The

1179
01:30:30,359 --> 01:30:34,199
effect on the group was chilling, and I stared back

1180
01:30:34,199 --> 01:30:37,840
at the wall, desperately trying to understand what I'd seen.

1181
01:30:39,439 --> 01:30:42,279
Williams go get her, he barked at one of the

1182
01:30:42,319 --> 01:30:45,800
soldiers before turning at me and crying, what the hell

1183
01:30:45,880 --> 01:30:50,840
is her problem? I I I don't know, I stammered

1184
01:30:51,840 --> 01:30:56,159
christ Michael hissed, before snatching the handset of the confused

1185
01:30:56,279 --> 01:31:00,960
young soldier. Listen, he crowled into it. I don't know

1186
01:31:01,000 --> 01:31:03,199
who you really are, but you need to get someone

1187
01:31:03,239 --> 01:31:09,760
in charge. Right and sound again, loud and heavy, the

1188
01:31:09,800 --> 01:31:13,640
grinding of heavy rocks being moved, and tiny stones came

1189
01:31:13,760 --> 01:31:17,920
raining down in a cloud of dust. Something up there

1190
01:31:18,840 --> 01:31:23,079
had disturbed them, and we all stood in silence as

1191
01:31:23,079 --> 01:31:28,880
they plinked off our helmets. Is it just me, Michael said,

1192
01:31:29,159 --> 01:31:33,560
while looking towards the wall, or is it somehow closer?

1193
01:31:35,239 --> 01:31:39,920
Hard to say, I replied, I don't. The wall moved

1194
01:31:41,039 --> 01:31:45,159
a sudden and terrifying lurch forwards, one that startled us

1195
01:31:45,159 --> 01:31:49,479
all and made me trip over my own feet. Terrified,

1196
01:31:49,800 --> 01:31:52,319
I scrambled backwards from it as fast as I could,

1197
01:31:52,640 --> 01:31:57,359
while the handset continued to radiate that malicious laughter. I

1198
01:31:57,399 --> 01:32:00,359
think we need to go, I said, in a calm

1199
01:32:00,359 --> 01:32:06,520
a voice, as I could manage. The wall moved again,

1200
01:32:07,640 --> 01:32:12,640
and this time it did not stop. The young soldier

1201
01:32:12,680 --> 01:32:16,319
with a handset did not react fast enough. It came

1202
01:32:16,359 --> 01:32:19,600
forward so quickly that it had him within seconds and

1203
01:32:19,680 --> 01:32:22,640
knocked him to the floor with a heavy thumb, and

1204
01:32:22,680 --> 01:32:26,479
then it rolled over him as it was Well, if

1205
01:32:26,560 --> 01:32:29,359
you're anything like me as a child, you might have

1206
01:32:29,439 --> 01:32:31,960
wondered what happened to someone who got caught in an

1207
01:32:32,079 --> 01:32:36,439
escalator at the very top. I'm sure you know what

1208
01:32:36,479 --> 01:32:40,920
I mean. Light was so poor, so I still don't

1209
01:32:40,920 --> 01:32:44,840
really understand what happened, only that there was a lot

1210
01:32:44,920 --> 01:32:49,199
of blood, and while it was quick, it was not

1211
01:32:49,319 --> 01:32:52,920
quick enough because when the wall was about halfway up

1212
01:32:52,960 --> 01:32:56,720
his spine, I could still see the pain registering in

1213
01:32:56,800 --> 01:33:00,439
his eyes. And that was the last impression I had

1214
01:33:00,880 --> 01:33:03,960
before Michael grabbed me by the collar and practically threw

1215
01:33:04,000 --> 01:33:18,319
me back the way we came, and we ran running,

1216
01:33:18,800 --> 01:33:23,520
plodding one foot after another. I don't know how long

1217
01:33:23,560 --> 01:33:25,960
it went on for, but it was as if time

1218
01:33:26,000 --> 01:33:28,600
seemed to stretch on in the way that only pain

1219
01:33:28,640 --> 01:33:33,800
and tedium could induce. There were moments where as I

1220
01:33:33,840 --> 01:33:36,159
struggled to force one foot in front of the other,

1221
01:33:36,920 --> 01:33:40,560
I wondered if I'd actually been running for days, not hours.

1222
01:33:41,680 --> 01:33:43,920
There was no real way to mark the passage of time.

1223
01:33:44,800 --> 01:33:49,600
Only monotony. Books went by in a blur the floor

1224
01:33:49,680 --> 01:33:53,199
was featureless stone, The rhythmic sound of my feet lost

1225
01:33:53,239 --> 01:33:59,439
all meaning, and behind me the wall ever advancing with

1226
01:33:59,520 --> 01:34:04,159
a horrible sound of grinding rocks, promising pain, and nothing else.

1227
01:34:05,720 --> 01:34:08,920
The only thing I could actually focus on was the exhaustion,

1228
01:34:09,800 --> 01:34:13,640
and that was self defeating. More than a few times

1229
01:34:14,039 --> 01:34:17,439
I wondered if I should just give up, and to

1230
01:34:17,520 --> 01:34:20,920
this day I still have nightmares where I'm being chased

1231
01:34:20,960 --> 01:34:25,439
down that corridor. It wasn't a quick pace, but it

1232
01:34:25,520 --> 01:34:28,920
was quick enough, and there were no other roots except ford,

1233
01:34:29,479 --> 01:34:33,479
and therein lay the torture of it. Behind me was

1234
01:34:33,600 --> 01:34:38,000
death moving at a brisk job, and ahead of me

1235
01:34:39,000 --> 01:34:43,960
was nothing, just darkness broken by erratic motion of a torch.

1236
01:34:44,960 --> 01:34:48,479
And the entire time, which I would later realize was

1237
01:34:48,520 --> 01:34:51,479
a good two hours, the only thing I could think

1238
01:34:52,079 --> 01:34:54,680
was when am I going to lose this fight? When

1239
01:34:54,680 --> 01:35:00,520
am I going to collapse or give up? Imagine my

1240
01:35:00,640 --> 01:35:05,079
relief when up ahead I heard a familiar voice cry out,

1241
01:35:06,479 --> 01:35:10,039
what is your problem? Lady? And when I saw them,

1242
01:35:10,640 --> 01:35:13,319
the young man held Bee by his shoulders while she

1243
01:35:13,359 --> 01:35:16,600
tried to drag him through an open door. That was

1244
01:35:16,640 --> 01:35:19,840
when I remembered the little corridor with the severed heads

1245
01:35:20,560 --> 01:35:23,119
not exactly the kind of salvation I was hoping for,

1246
01:35:23,199 --> 01:35:28,319
but it'd have to do together. Michael and I grabbed

1247
01:35:28,319 --> 01:35:30,720
both of them and threw us all through the opening.

1248
01:35:32,319 --> 01:35:36,600
Seconds later, far too close for comfort, the entire corridor

1249
01:35:36,640 --> 01:35:40,720
we'd been running through went pitch black. The war overtook

1250
01:35:40,760 --> 01:35:44,439
our positions, and we were left panting and exhausted on

1251
01:35:44,479 --> 01:35:47,800
the floor, where thousands of severed heads looked at us

1252
01:35:47,840 --> 01:35:52,199
in annoyance. When we looked back the way we came,

1253
01:35:53,000 --> 01:35:57,319
we saw that nothing but pulsating flesh, a wall of it,

1254
01:35:58,359 --> 01:36:04,199
hot and sticky and threaded with sickly blue veins. I

1255
01:36:04,239 --> 01:36:07,399
don't know what the wall was, but something about the

1256
01:36:07,479 --> 01:36:11,039
meat behind the stone made me think of hungry coral.

1257
01:36:12,520 --> 01:36:15,640
It was a trap, Michael hissed as he inspected the

1258
01:36:15,680 --> 01:36:18,960
horrible mass. I don't know how, but we were led

1259
01:36:19,000 --> 01:36:22,319
down the wrong path. It it's what the cables are,

1260
01:36:22,399 --> 01:36:25,560
something I don't know, but we were lowered down there

1261
01:36:25,600 --> 01:36:32,640
like rats. Where's Davis? The other soldier asked, he's gone?

1262
01:36:33,439 --> 01:36:38,880
Michael said what. The older man gestured to the wall

1263
01:36:38,880 --> 01:36:42,520
of meat behind us. Whatever the hell that thing is

1264
01:36:43,119 --> 01:36:46,239
it got him. It looked like a wall, but it

1265
01:36:46,239 --> 01:36:49,760
it could move, and it just steamrolled him. Thanks for

1266
01:36:49,880 --> 01:36:53,159
the warning, by the way. He growled at Bee, but

1267
01:36:53,319 --> 01:36:57,479
she showed no sign of understanding him. Instead, she was

1268
01:36:57,520 --> 01:37:01,399
sat on the floor and shaking, clearly in a state

1269
01:37:01,439 --> 01:37:06,960
of shock. Where now, sir, The remaining soldier asked, and

1270
01:37:07,079 --> 01:37:11,880
Michael grimaced, where do you think he spat? Before gesturing

1271
01:37:11,920 --> 01:37:17,000
at the root? Forward, the only direction that's available. The

1272
01:37:17,079 --> 01:37:21,039
heads made for strange companions. They followed us with their

1273
01:37:21,039 --> 01:37:25,520
eyes but did not stop them muttering. It was grating

1274
01:37:25,640 --> 01:37:28,600
to say the least, a noise you could ignore for

1275
01:37:28,920 --> 01:37:32,520
maybe an hour or so, were pretty soon the papery

1276
01:37:32,600 --> 01:37:35,319
rustle of their ancient lips was the only thing you

1277
01:37:35,319 --> 01:37:38,039
could focus on, no matter how hard you tried to

1278
01:37:38,039 --> 01:37:44,039
push it out of your head. At least, navigation was simple. Forward,

1279
01:37:44,880 --> 01:37:49,039
the only way to go. We walked for about six

1280
01:37:49,119 --> 01:37:53,199
hours before we took our first break. The corridor was wide,

1281
01:37:53,640 --> 01:37:56,199
but we stayed away from their heads and slept in

1282
01:37:56,199 --> 01:37:59,039
a row head to feet While two of us stayed

1283
01:37:59,039 --> 01:38:04,520
on watch six hours each. I decided to stay up

1284
01:38:04,520 --> 01:38:07,720
along with Michael and B, and the other soldier tried

1285
01:38:07,760 --> 01:38:11,760
to rest. B had barely come out of shock during

1286
01:38:11,760 --> 01:38:16,319
the journey. Speaking a little towards the very end, she

1287
01:38:16,479 --> 01:38:19,640
told us in a broken way what she'd seen while

1288
01:38:19,680 --> 01:38:26,159
kneeling by the wall. Teeth she said, and a face.

1289
01:38:28,479 --> 01:38:33,479
Although she wouldn't or couldn't elaborate on those two statements,

1290
01:38:34,319 --> 01:38:36,640
I was left with the sense that she had seen

1291
01:38:36,720 --> 01:38:41,439
something that had come down close to leaving her completely insane.

1292
01:38:41,720 --> 01:38:44,600
Even as it was, I doubted she had a full

1293
01:38:44,640 --> 01:38:48,000
recovery in her. She almost looked like a different woman,

1294
01:38:48,800 --> 01:38:52,920
baggy eyed, thinning hair. Or maybe he was just the

1295
01:38:53,000 --> 01:38:58,439
conditions down here. Michael didn't look too great either. I

1296
01:38:58,520 --> 01:39:03,359
had to assume I looked pretty rough too, especially after

1297
01:39:03,399 --> 01:39:10,079
that run. It had exhausted me, broken me, not just

1298
01:39:10,119 --> 01:39:14,479
the physical exertion, but the nightmare of it. The reason

1299
01:39:14,640 --> 01:39:17,560
I'd elected to stay and watch first was because I

1300
01:39:17,600 --> 01:39:20,880
didn't want to sleep. A part of me was worried.

1301
01:39:20,960 --> 01:39:24,319
I just dream about being back in that hallway, running

1302
01:39:24,359 --> 01:39:27,600
from the moving wall, and I didn't want to revisit

1303
01:39:27,640 --> 01:39:33,199
that place ever again, not even as a dream. There

1304
01:39:33,199 --> 01:39:36,479
were moments where I came so close to just giving up.

1305
01:39:37,800 --> 01:39:41,119
I don't think i'd ever really experienced despair like that before,

1306
01:39:42,039 --> 01:39:44,800
not the kind where you feel your knees buckling and

1307
01:39:44,840 --> 01:39:48,760
your neck turned a rubber as your head bows. It

1308
01:39:48,840 --> 01:39:51,880
must be what people stranded at seafeel when they lose

1309
01:39:51,920 --> 01:39:57,159
their strength to keep treading water. So instead I stayed

1310
01:39:57,239 --> 01:40:00,279
up and tried to ignore the muttering of the heads,

1311
01:40:00,800 --> 01:40:04,000
even tried talking to Michael, but he didn't have much

1312
01:40:04,039 --> 01:40:07,560
to say. I could tell losing Davy's back in the

1313
01:40:07,560 --> 01:40:11,920
corridor had bothered him. Well, it bothered me, and I

1314
01:40:11,960 --> 01:40:15,159
hadn't even known the guy, but I swear to this

1315
01:40:15,319 --> 01:40:18,560
day I can still see the look on his face

1316
01:40:18,960 --> 01:40:24,479
as rock met flesh and his legs and hips just disappeared.

1317
01:40:27,039 --> 01:40:30,079
In the end, I had only these kinds of thoughts

1318
01:40:30,600 --> 01:40:38,279
for company, and lots and lots of time, so it

1319
01:40:38,359 --> 01:40:41,560
probably shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that

1320
01:40:41,640 --> 01:40:46,560
I eventually fell asleep. It wasn't for long, ten minutes

1321
01:40:46,600 --> 01:40:49,760
at most, but it was enough time for me to

1322
01:40:49,800 --> 01:40:53,960
wake up and see something dragged the sleeping soldier's body

1323
01:40:54,119 --> 01:40:58,119
into the darkness of the nearby shelf, his head lolling

1324
01:40:58,239 --> 01:41:05,239
unnaturally to one side. The movement was gentle, quiet, but

1325
01:41:05,399 --> 01:41:09,840
clumsy too, like a child pulling a rag doll. Stealthily

1326
01:41:09,960 --> 01:41:14,079
out of a box. I looked over to Michael and

1327
01:41:14,159 --> 01:41:17,439
saw he'd fallen asleep as well, so I nudged him

1328
01:41:17,439 --> 01:41:19,840
with my foot and he woke up with a sort

1329
01:41:19,840 --> 01:41:24,199
of lazy start. Only when he looked at me, confused

1330
01:41:24,239 --> 01:41:27,800
for a few short seconds before slowly registering the look

1331
01:41:27,840 --> 01:41:30,600
of terror on my face, that he seemed to realize

1332
01:41:30,640 --> 01:41:34,479
what was happening. I'm not sure what I expected him

1333
01:41:34,479 --> 01:41:38,359
to do, really, but he was the leader and well armed,

1334
01:41:39,000 --> 01:41:40,800
and I didn't want to be the one who had

1335
01:41:40,840 --> 01:41:44,760
to figure out what to do next, possibly because there

1336
01:41:44,760 --> 01:41:47,439
was a part of me tempted to just sneak off,

1337
01:41:48,479 --> 01:41:51,680
to leave the young man to his fate, maybe even

1338
01:41:51,720 --> 01:41:55,279
be if it just meant I could survive a little

1339
01:41:55,319 --> 01:42:01,359
bit longer. In truth, I was relieved when Michael leaped

1340
01:42:01,399 --> 01:42:04,960
into action immediately. I didn't want to be a coward.

1341
01:42:05,760 --> 01:42:08,239
He jumped up and grabbed the young man's foot, and

1342
01:42:08,319 --> 01:42:10,760
I ran over and grabbed the other leg, and together

1343
01:42:10,920 --> 01:42:15,199
we tried to pull him back. I didn't mention it

1344
01:42:15,199 --> 01:42:18,039
to Michael, but the way the soldier's body felt when

1345
01:42:18,079 --> 01:42:23,920
I grabbed it, the muscles were too relaxed, too heavy.

1346
01:42:25,479 --> 01:42:28,439
I don't know how to explain it. But if he

1347
01:42:28,479 --> 01:42:31,760
ever end up in the unfortunate situation of moving a corpse,

1348
01:42:32,840 --> 01:42:36,680
you might know what I mean. A living body supports

1349
01:42:36,720 --> 01:42:42,319
itself a dead one. It's just meat and water, and

1350
01:42:42,399 --> 01:42:49,640
somehow feels so much heavier for it. He was dead, still,

1351
01:42:49,920 --> 01:42:54,000
we fought on. At some point Bee must have woken up,

1352
01:42:54,359 --> 01:42:58,640
realizing what was happening, and joined in. I remember her

1353
01:42:58,800 --> 01:43:01,079
trying to reach into the sh shelf to grab hold

1354
01:43:01,119 --> 01:43:04,079
of the dead man's arm, when she suddenly flew backwards,

1355
01:43:04,520 --> 01:43:07,439
landing with a hefty thud against the shelf behind her

1356
01:43:07,920 --> 01:43:10,039
and knocking a few of the severed heads on their

1357
01:43:10,039 --> 01:43:16,399
little stumps. Whatever was in the dark was clearly frustrated.

1358
01:43:17,600 --> 01:43:20,840
It wanted its next meal, and it wasn't going to

1359
01:43:20,920 --> 01:43:26,079
let us stop it. Slowly, a long inhuman arm reached

1360
01:43:26,079 --> 01:43:30,119
out and took a hold of the body's groin. It's

1361
01:43:30,159 --> 01:43:34,520
strange handed fingers that split at the knuckle, one, two,

1362
01:43:34,560 --> 01:43:40,039
three times, a terrifying effect, especially given how much each

1363
01:43:40,079 --> 01:43:43,680
one moved on its own. A dinner plate monster of

1364
01:43:43,720 --> 01:43:47,359
a hand attached to a lithe and muscular forearm, devoid

1365
01:43:47,399 --> 01:43:50,680
of hair. The second I saw it reach out in

1366
01:43:50,720 --> 01:43:53,319
my general direction. I let go of the leg and

1367
01:43:53,319 --> 01:43:58,520
fell backwards. Michael continued struggling for a while, even taking

1368
01:43:58,560 --> 01:44:01,279
out his pistol and firing a few shots into the dark,

1369
01:44:02,239 --> 01:44:04,600
but in doing so he left only a hand to

1370
01:44:04,640 --> 01:44:09,159
cling onto his comrade's corpse and lost his grip with

1371
01:44:09,199 --> 01:44:13,880
almost no effort. The body disappeared into the shadow, and

1372
01:44:13,960 --> 01:44:18,560
we were suddenly down to three. What the hell, What

1373
01:44:18,600 --> 01:44:23,119
the hell? What the hell? He screamed. I wanted to

1374
01:44:23,159 --> 01:44:26,920
say something, maybe even something to comfort him, or maybe

1375
01:44:26,960 --> 01:44:30,600
an apology for falling asleep, but then again, he'd fallen

1376
01:44:30,680 --> 01:44:34,359
asleep too. I didn't know what I was meant to do.

1377
01:44:35,319 --> 01:44:38,319
I was in shock, and it was settling deep into

1378
01:44:38,359 --> 01:44:41,920
me when b said something from where she remained on

1379
01:44:42,000 --> 01:44:49,319
the floor, her voice quiet but oddly insistent. It isn't over.

1380
01:44:52,399 --> 01:44:59,239
That hand re emerged carefully, deliberately. It placed itself on

1381
01:44:59,279 --> 01:45:02,600
the floor, revealing more of the pale flesh that powered it.

1382
01:45:03,439 --> 01:45:09,039
And then came another, and another, and then its head

1383
01:45:09,039 --> 01:45:12,600
emerged slowly from the dark and fixed me with eyes

1384
01:45:12,640 --> 01:45:16,760
both black, bulbous, and far too numerous for anything that

1385
01:45:16,880 --> 01:45:21,680
can be called human, and its mouth a beard made

1386
01:45:21,680 --> 01:45:27,199
of dirty fingers gray and bluish, long rancid nails, hundred

1387
01:45:27,239 --> 01:45:32,520
of them, squirming like mandibles of a hungry spider. Michael

1388
01:45:32,680 --> 01:45:35,560
opened fire, but he might as well have been shooting

1389
01:45:35,600 --> 01:45:38,479
hay for all the effect had had. The bullet struck

1390
01:45:38,520 --> 01:45:43,239
of the wet wap, but no actual damage. The creature

1391
01:45:43,319 --> 01:45:46,399
knocked him aside with pure contempt and pulled the rest

1392
01:45:46,439 --> 01:45:49,319
of itself out into the corridor, where I saw it

1393
01:45:49,399 --> 01:45:53,119
had no legs, but instead relied on several long arms

1394
01:45:53,159 --> 01:45:56,640
that suspend itself between the walls of the corridor, like

1395
01:45:56,680 --> 01:46:00,520
a kind of spider. One of these arms reached out

1396
01:46:00,560 --> 01:46:03,560
and grabbed a bee, and by the time she started screaming,

1397
01:46:04,479 --> 01:46:09,039
it was already too late. Blood trickled from her ears,

1398
01:46:09,319 --> 01:46:12,760
and there was a sound like a branch snapping. Her

1399
01:46:12,880 --> 01:46:15,920
entire body went limp, and the monster dropped her where

1400
01:46:15,960 --> 01:46:21,000
she fell to the ground, her grotesque, misshapen face glaring

1401
01:46:21,039 --> 01:46:25,960
at me with accusatory eyes. The lieutenant screamed as he

1402
01:46:26,000 --> 01:46:29,640
fired yet again, but then that thing seized him like

1403
01:46:29,680 --> 01:46:32,840
it was nothing but a doll and lifted him, squeezing

1404
01:46:32,920 --> 01:46:37,000
so tightly he dropped everything he held, his gun and torch,

1405
01:46:37,279 --> 01:46:42,319
hitting the ground with a loud rattle. Help me, he screamed,

1406
01:46:42,359 --> 01:46:45,760
while reaching out for me to grab him. Jeez, shoot

1407
01:46:45,800 --> 01:46:50,479
the thing. I ran forward, crouching down in the hope

1408
01:46:50,520 --> 01:46:55,119
of avoiding its many arms. Already Michael was being squeezed

1409
01:46:55,159 --> 01:46:58,279
so tight that blood splurted from his mouth, and I

1410
01:46:58,319 --> 01:47:01,720
could tell that the monster was having having fun reveling

1411
01:47:01,920 --> 01:47:05,720
in his torment. I reached out and picked the gun

1412
01:47:05,800 --> 01:47:08,800
up from the floor as Michael lett another desperate, wet

1413
01:47:08,840 --> 01:47:13,079
cry for help, but for some reason, my hands stopped

1414
01:47:13,159 --> 01:47:22,119
mere inches away. I hesitated. Michael's blood was dripping down

1415
01:47:22,760 --> 01:47:26,439
I could hear the crunching of his ribs. In my

1416
01:47:26,560 --> 01:47:33,159
most shameful moment, I grabbed the torch and ran, and

1417
01:47:33,239 --> 01:47:39,880
Michael's cries followed me, screaming, screeching, whimpering, sounds of breaking

1418
01:47:39,920 --> 01:47:44,680
bones and tearing paper, sounds of torture and torment that

1419
01:47:44,800 --> 01:47:52,199
somehow seemed to last forever. I emerged from the corridor alone.

1420
01:47:54,359 --> 01:47:56,600
It took me a few seconds of stumbling and my

1421
01:47:56,680 --> 01:47:59,960
failing legs to realize that the monster had given up

1422
01:48:00,039 --> 01:48:03,520
in a pursuit, and then a few seconds more for

1423
01:48:03,600 --> 01:48:09,199
me to recognize I was back on the mezzanine, terrified

1424
01:48:09,279 --> 01:48:13,319
and exhausted and contemplating if it was worth trying to escape,

1425
01:48:13,600 --> 01:48:15,920
if it meant having to spend another second alive in

1426
01:48:16,000 --> 01:48:20,720
that place. I fell to the floor and began to sob.

1427
01:48:22,760 --> 01:48:25,760
Maybe I thought it was time to take a dive

1428
01:48:25,800 --> 01:48:31,079
off that ledge, just like Grantad. What on earth are

1429
01:48:31,079 --> 01:48:35,199
you doing here? I whipped around to see an old

1430
01:48:35,239 --> 01:48:38,640
man in robes staring at me like an impolite intruder.

1431
01:48:40,520 --> 01:48:47,359
Without meaning to, I began to laugh. My sanity, it

1432
01:48:47,399 --> 01:48:51,359
was fair to say, was on its final legs. Hmm,

1433
01:48:52,199 --> 01:48:54,920
he said, while leaning aside to get a look down

1434
01:48:54,960 --> 01:48:59,479
the long corridor behind. Now, why did you go down there?

1435
01:49:02,319 --> 01:49:05,640
I wanted to answer, but couldn't quite bring myself to

1436
01:49:05,680 --> 01:49:10,479
do anything except a laugh and gasp for air. I

1437
01:49:10,680 --> 01:49:13,920
think you really ought to go home, he said, like

1438
01:49:13,960 --> 01:49:18,640
a teacher admonishing a child. This place is Hell. I

1439
01:49:18,720 --> 01:49:24,760
cried more, rocking back and forth my knees. Yes, he nodded, yes,

1440
01:49:24,800 --> 01:49:27,680
good for you. This is a small part to Hell,

1441
01:49:28,319 --> 01:49:30,880
one that has a slight overlap with Earth. If I remember,

1442
01:49:31,600 --> 01:49:34,760
I'm assuming that's how you got down here. The door.

1443
01:49:36,079 --> 01:49:40,920
What happens to your friends anyway, he added. I looked

1444
01:49:40,960 --> 01:49:45,640
back the way I came and pointed. Oh, he sighed.

1445
01:49:46,479 --> 01:49:49,520
You know I left your books out specifically so you'd

1446
01:49:49,520 --> 01:49:52,239
find them and figure it out. And I know that

1447
01:49:52,319 --> 01:49:55,199
bold fellow worked it out. So once you knew this

1448
01:49:55,239 --> 01:49:59,680
place was hell, why did you waste another second sticking around?

1449
01:50:01,640 --> 01:50:04,319
I shrugged. I'm not quite sure what I was meant

1450
01:50:04,359 --> 01:50:07,880
to say to that kind of thing. We got waylaid,

1451
01:50:08,319 --> 01:50:14,640
I gasped. Misled fair enough, he replied, probably should have

1452
01:50:14,680 --> 01:50:17,920
done more to make sure you got home safely. That's

1453
01:50:17,960 --> 01:50:22,760
partly my fault, although I won't apologize. You went to

1454
01:50:22,840 --> 01:50:26,640
this place, didn't you see the door? What part of

1455
01:50:26,640 --> 01:50:29,520
that was inviting? You have to take some of the blame.

1456
01:50:32,239 --> 01:50:36,279
I wanted to mount a defense, but I didn't really

1457
01:50:36,319 --> 01:50:39,760
have one when it became clear the only thing I

1458
01:50:39,760 --> 01:50:42,960
could do was sob and mutter. The old man's body

1459
01:50:43,039 --> 01:50:47,319
language softened and he reached a hand out. Come on,

1460
01:50:48,119 --> 01:50:52,600
I'll take you back. What about the demons, I asked.

1461
01:50:53,920 --> 01:50:59,199
The old man frowned. Those worn't demons, he snapped. This

1462
01:50:59,359 --> 01:51:03,199
place is to mortal souls, are meant to demonstrate repentance

1463
01:51:03,439 --> 01:51:06,119
by wondering the near eternal halls in search of their book.

1464
01:51:06,880 --> 01:51:08,520
Only when they found it, where they were allowed to

1465
01:51:08,560 --> 01:51:12,800
move on. The whole thing didn't quite work out. Eighty

1466
01:51:12,840 --> 01:51:16,359
six squadrillion books takes a tad too long for the

1467
01:51:16,399 --> 01:51:20,760
average person to find theirs. So this entire wing was abandoned,

1468
01:51:21,279 --> 01:51:25,720
and now there are only sinners left behind. That thing

1469
01:51:25,880 --> 01:51:29,079
was never human, I cried, while pointing at the corridor

1470
01:51:29,159 --> 01:51:34,119
I'd emerged from. Nobody's soul looks human, he said, like

1471
01:51:34,199 --> 01:51:37,359
it was the most obvious thing in the world, least

1472
01:51:37,399 --> 01:51:39,640
of all the sort of person who gets sent to hell.

1473
01:51:40,560 --> 01:51:42,520
This isn't the place for people who eat meat on

1474
01:51:42,600 --> 01:51:46,319
Friday or cover their neighbour's ox. It's for the cruel

1475
01:51:46,359 --> 01:51:50,640
and the malicious, cowards and opportunists. A lot of people

1476
01:51:50,640 --> 01:51:52,760
in this place have souls that have more in common

1477
01:51:52,760 --> 01:51:55,920
with angler fish and trap door spiders than their fellow men.

1478
01:51:57,000 --> 01:51:59,800
And it's not a condition that gets better after several

1479
01:51:59,840 --> 01:52:06,600
thousand years either. The soul changes twists, and so do

1480
01:52:06,800 --> 01:52:13,319
their physical forms. And what about you, I said, as

1481
01:52:13,319 --> 01:52:16,079
I reached up and took his hand. Why do you

1482
01:52:16,159 --> 01:52:21,000
look so normal, oh, he said, as he helped me up.

1483
01:52:21,800 --> 01:52:27,239
That's because I built this place, and the last thing

1484
01:52:27,279 --> 01:52:30,000
I can remember as he gripped me by the shoulder

1485
01:52:30,800 --> 01:52:37,600
was the sudden and painful sensation of heat. We woke

1486
01:52:37,720 --> 01:52:44,319
up in our respective quarters, we all six of us.

1487
01:52:47,640 --> 01:52:51,680
I still don't fully understand the mechanics. I tried asking

1488
01:52:51,720 --> 01:52:54,520
the others how they made it back, but they weren't

1489
01:52:54,520 --> 01:52:59,880
in a state to answer questions. B was catatonic, screaming

1490
01:53:00,079 --> 01:53:03,079
and clutching her head in the hospital like she still

1491
01:53:03,119 --> 01:53:06,199
remembered the way that thing crossed the skull like a grapefruit.

1492
01:53:07,279 --> 01:53:10,640
The soldier who fell to the wall was left paraplegic,

1493
01:53:11,199 --> 01:53:17,039
even though medical tests couldn't identify a single reason why. Psychological,

1494
01:53:17,199 --> 01:53:20,720
they said. The other soldier, the one who had been

1495
01:53:20,800 --> 01:53:25,159
dragged into the shelves, was comatose. I don't know if

1496
01:53:25,159 --> 01:53:29,880
he recovered, but he was alive. And Grant was left

1497
01:53:29,880 --> 01:53:33,439
in a permanent psychotic state, compelled to write on any

1498
01:53:33,479 --> 01:53:38,800
surface he could, over and over again, sin after sin,

1499
01:53:39,800 --> 01:53:43,159
desperately trying to rewrite the very book that had driven

1500
01:53:43,199 --> 01:53:48,920
him to madness in the first place. Michael tried very

1501
01:53:48,960 --> 01:53:54,560
hard to kill me. He had clear memories of being

1502
01:53:54,640 --> 01:53:57,680
left to die in the dark. I'm glad they caught

1503
01:53:57,760 --> 01:53:59,520
him before he managed to wring the life out of

1504
01:53:59,520 --> 01:54:03,199
me with his I never found out what happened to

1505
01:54:03,279 --> 01:54:05,760
him after several men managed to prize his hands from

1506
01:54:05,760 --> 01:54:11,319
around my throat. Despite everything, I hope he managed some

1507
01:54:11,399 --> 01:54:19,439
kind of recovery. The door disappeared, thankfully, with no one

1508
01:54:19,600 --> 01:54:24,039
on the other side. I know they were planning future expeditions.

1509
01:54:25,520 --> 01:54:27,920
It is for the best that kind of thing can't

1510
01:54:28,000 --> 01:54:35,399
happen again. They have no idea what's waiting for them.

1511
01:54:35,479 --> 01:54:39,399
In a way I probably could have convinced myself the

1512
01:54:39,479 --> 01:54:45,039
expedition never happened. Some days even now, that's what I

1513
01:54:45,079 --> 01:54:51,039
sincerely hope can happen. There was no physical evidence nothing.

1514
01:54:52,359 --> 01:54:55,399
We appeared in our beds, completely nude, save for a

1515
01:54:55,520 --> 01:54:59,840
note stuck to my chest. And it's this final little

1516
01:54:59,840 --> 01:55:02,960
to much that stood out to me, a stern confirmation

1517
01:55:03,760 --> 01:55:11,199
of everything I'd experienced. Returned to Sender six mortals. Five

1518
01:55:11,239 --> 01:55:14,439
were damaged in transit. Bodies were repaired to the best

1519
01:55:14,439 --> 01:55:17,279
of my ability, but I was never good at that

1520
01:55:17,359 --> 01:55:22,520
kind of thing minds or another matter, entirely could not

1521
01:55:22,640 --> 01:55:25,960
help myself. In one case, left fellow mortal to die

1522
01:55:25,960 --> 01:55:30,359
in the dark didn't seem very sporting. Don't let anyone

1523
01:55:30,399 --> 01:55:35,199
say lack a sense of humor otherwise, no harm, no foul,

1524
01:55:36,439 --> 01:55:43,680
best wishes me. My heart sank when I heard them

1525
01:55:43,720 --> 01:55:48,800
read it to me. It confirmed my deepest worries. No

1526
01:55:48,880 --> 01:55:51,840
one had been very honest with me since I'd arrived

1527
01:55:51,840 --> 01:55:56,359
at the hospital. They'd kept me bandaged up, so it

1528
01:55:56,479 --> 01:56:01,119
wasn't easy to tell. But after I heard that, I

1529
01:56:01,239 --> 01:56:04,520
finally found the courage to reach up and remove the

1530
01:56:04,640 --> 01:56:11,800
thick wads of fabric. Then, with shaking fingers, I finally

1531
01:56:11,960 --> 01:56:19,319
touched my eyes, or rather the empty sockets where they

1532
01:56:19,439 --> 01:56:24,520
used to be. If you've enjoyed this story and others

1533
01:56:24,520 --> 01:56:27,479
from this great author, Christian Wallace, who's produced some of

1534
01:56:27,520 --> 01:56:30,800
the best stories for this channel, please consider checking out

1535
01:56:30,800 --> 01:56:42,720
his book. In the description and pin comment below, I

1536
01:56:42,760 --> 01:56:45,439
wish I could say that my parents death had meaning,

1537
01:56:46,079 --> 01:56:50,600
that they died for a good reason, But they didn't.

1538
01:56:52,079 --> 01:56:54,920
I was only eleven years old at the time. A

1539
01:56:55,039 --> 01:56:58,880
drunk man racing home to catch his wife cheating blindsided

1540
01:56:58,920 --> 01:57:03,359
them on a turn. My parents didn't die heroes. They

1541
01:57:03,359 --> 01:57:08,199
didn't die for a grand purpose. They died because someone

1542
01:57:08,239 --> 01:57:14,760
took them from me too. Early This was the first

1543
01:57:14,800 --> 01:57:19,279
time I felt real, raw grief. The memory of when

1544
01:57:19,359 --> 01:57:22,920
I was told the moment it happened, it snap shot

1545
01:57:23,000 --> 01:57:26,520
in my mind like a burn that never heals. The

1546
01:57:26,560 --> 01:57:29,119
way my gut sank like the dip of a monstrous

1547
01:57:29,199 --> 01:57:33,239
roller coaster. The pit left as my child's self realized

1548
01:57:33,279 --> 01:57:37,000
the permanent nature of it. I can even still feel

1549
01:57:37,000 --> 01:57:39,640
the tingles in my fingers as the shock set in.

1550
01:57:40,920 --> 01:57:44,600
The words played in real time, but my body felt slowed.

1551
01:57:45,199 --> 01:57:49,760
Breathing became manual as my vision tilted over and over.

1552
01:57:52,439 --> 01:57:55,880
I was not emotionally ready for this. I was barely

1553
01:57:55,920 --> 01:58:00,880
emotionally handling school, so then being taken so callous left

1554
01:58:00,920 --> 01:58:06,600
me empty for longer than I'd like to admit. After

1555
01:58:06,600 --> 01:58:10,119
their passing, my grandparents moved into my parents home with me.

1556
01:58:11,159 --> 01:58:13,439
They packed up their lives and tried to pick up

1557
01:58:13,479 --> 01:58:17,880
where my parents left off. Four years. They tried to

1558
01:58:17,920 --> 01:58:23,000
connect with me, but I was emotionally unstable. I resented

1559
01:58:23,039 --> 01:58:26,920
them for trying to take their place. Their love hurt

1560
01:58:27,000 --> 01:58:32,000
me in ways they couldn't win. They tried to coddle

1561
01:58:32,079 --> 01:58:35,720
me during and after the funeral. For four years. They

1562
01:58:35,760 --> 01:58:38,600
tried to break down my walls, but the walls I

1563
01:58:38,680 --> 01:58:43,279
built held strong. I sank myself into the last connection

1564
01:58:43,399 --> 01:58:49,680
I felt I had with them games. My father was

1565
01:58:49,680 --> 01:58:52,720
a software engineer, so we spent a lot of time

1566
01:58:52,760 --> 01:58:57,399
on the computer, and to my mother's dismay, he dragged

1567
01:58:57,439 --> 01:59:02,039
me into the digital world. Early on. I couldn't get

1568
01:59:02,039 --> 01:59:04,880
the hang of using a mouse and keyboard. I think

1569
01:59:04,880 --> 01:59:07,479
my hands were too small at the time, so we

1570
01:59:07,560 --> 01:59:11,039
bought me a console. We would huddle around the TV

1571
01:59:11,560 --> 01:59:14,439
and play all the best cop games he could find,

1572
01:59:15,880 --> 01:59:18,760
or snooping for presents. One Christmas, I even found a

1573
01:59:18,800 --> 01:59:23,119
stack of games magazines red marker circles around games that

1574
01:59:23,239 --> 01:59:27,760
specifically mentioned local co op. This is how he always

1575
01:59:27,800 --> 01:59:30,680
managed to find a perfect game for us. Every time

1576
01:59:31,920 --> 01:59:34,720
I skimmed over this in the moment, having not found

1577
01:59:34,760 --> 01:59:38,199
the presence they hid so well. But look him back,

1578
01:59:39,000 --> 01:59:42,439
my heart breaks knowing how much care he put into

1579
01:59:42,479 --> 01:59:48,279
this harby of ours. However, there were times I'd catch

1580
01:59:48,359 --> 01:59:51,359
him playing games on his own. He was a PC

1581
01:59:51,560 --> 01:59:54,680
gamer born and bred, so that was where I'd find

1582
01:59:54,720 --> 01:59:58,039
him playing solo. But he never seemed to put the

1583
01:59:58,079 --> 02:00:02,520
same energy into finding new games to play. Rather, I'd

1584
02:00:02,520 --> 02:00:07,000
always seen playing games of pixels and numbers, simulation games

1585
02:00:07,039 --> 02:00:10,960
from his era of gaming. I'd asked to play too,

1586
02:00:11,600 --> 02:00:13,720
but he'd always tell me I was too young for

1587
02:00:13,760 --> 02:00:16,560
these kinds of games, and that when I was older,

1588
02:00:17,000 --> 02:00:20,720
he'd show me how to play them. This always welled

1589
02:00:20,760 --> 02:00:24,560
mixed feelings of annoyance in the moment and anticipation for

1590
02:00:24,640 --> 02:00:30,520
that time to come. But eventually games lost their luster

1591
02:00:31,840 --> 02:00:34,760
no matter how much I played, trying to honor them.

1592
02:00:34,840 --> 02:00:39,880
In my mind. I was now playing solo. Not seeing

1593
02:00:39,920 --> 02:00:43,399
the screen split with another player alongside me was a

1594
02:00:43,399 --> 02:00:48,319
constant reminder of the pain I was almost exclusively broad

1595
02:00:48,439 --> 02:00:51,920
up on split screen cop experiences. I was never into

1596
02:00:51,960 --> 02:00:56,000
playing without my dad. But that's when it hit me.

1597
02:00:57,479 --> 02:01:00,680
My father would play solo, but he'd play those weird

1598
02:01:00,760 --> 02:01:05,680
pixelated simulation games. So I had it in my head

1599
02:01:06,079 --> 02:01:08,880
that to enjoy those types of games would make me

1600
02:01:09,039 --> 02:01:14,079
the adult I idolized him as, but I didn't know

1601
02:01:14,119 --> 02:01:18,560
where to start. He never talked about them, saving that

1602
02:01:18,600 --> 02:01:22,319
for a time that would never come. His computer was

1603
02:01:22,359 --> 02:01:26,880
locked behind a password that was forever lost, So I

1604
02:01:26,920 --> 02:01:31,439
had to find these games myself. I took to the

1605
02:01:31,479 --> 02:01:35,079
best resource I knew of to solve the greatest mysteries

1606
02:01:35,079 --> 02:01:41,279
on Earth. Google, I put in buzzwords of what I

1607
02:01:41,319 --> 02:01:47,039
could remember simulation games in the single player old and

1608
02:01:47,119 --> 02:01:52,399
press search. These words were not very specific, so he

1609
02:01:52,479 --> 02:01:56,439
yielded a wide variety of stuff, and after hours of

1610
02:01:56,520 --> 02:01:59,840
scarring each page, I found a forum post about a

1611
02:01:59,840 --> 02:02:04,159
game someone had made, even though it was made in

1612
02:02:04,239 --> 02:02:07,960
recent times. The screenshots they used to advertise it had

1613
02:02:08,000 --> 02:02:11,760
that retro style I was looking for, But it wasn't

1614
02:02:11,840 --> 02:02:15,560
just how it looked. Something else drew me to this

1615
02:02:15,680 --> 02:02:19,039
game above all the others that had a similar vibe.

1616
02:02:21,000 --> 02:02:30,079
Its name Family Simulator. It boasted an extensive game system

1617
02:02:30,119 --> 02:02:32,880
that you had to manage to keep up an ideal family,

1618
02:02:33,920 --> 02:02:37,880
something I wouldn't have gone for, opting to lean towards shooters,

1619
02:02:38,439 --> 02:02:41,520
But it was this dichotomy that made me take the plunge.

1620
02:02:42,680 --> 02:02:45,399
The instructions were fairly simple for my first time, not

1621
02:02:45,479 --> 02:02:48,600
just popping in a disc. It ran through an ex

1622
02:02:48,880 --> 02:02:53,000
file that did all the decisions for me. As the

1623
02:02:53,039 --> 02:02:57,079
green bar filled, a Cuddain wave of emotions overcame me.

1624
02:02:58,520 --> 02:03:01,399
My father had always kept me from these kinds of games,

1625
02:03:02,119 --> 02:03:05,399
always thinking I'd prefer the modern titles he kept up with,

1626
02:03:06,359 --> 02:03:08,800
so this really felt like a chance to connect with

1627
02:03:08,920 --> 02:03:15,199
them post mortem, no matter how little it was. I

1628
02:03:15,279 --> 02:03:19,680
launched the game. Initially I was met with a black screen,

1629
02:03:20,239 --> 02:03:24,119
and then a studio logo screen. An image of a

1630
02:03:24,199 --> 02:03:29,199
heart came up alongside the words Famco, most likely the

1631
02:03:29,279 --> 02:03:33,239
game creator, trying to get their name out there. Nothing

1632
02:03:33,319 --> 02:03:37,319
flash your significant, but charming for something probably made by

1633
02:03:37,359 --> 02:03:43,079
one person. The title screen faded, followed by a basic textbox,

1634
02:03:44,079 --> 02:03:49,439
a little line flickering, beckoning me to start writing. The

1635
02:03:49,560 --> 02:03:56,439
question was simple, tell me about your life, I thought

1636
02:03:56,439 --> 02:04:00,880
for a moment. I had been asked this a lot

1637
02:04:01,760 --> 02:04:05,800
by counselors, my grandparents and kids that never cared about

1638
02:04:05,840 --> 02:04:09,680
me before they heard the news, a gesture I dismissed

1639
02:04:09,680 --> 02:04:14,119
at face value with a blunt I'm fine. They should

1640
02:04:14,119 --> 02:04:18,159
have known the answer, so I felt insulted each time

1641
02:04:18,239 --> 02:04:22,479
I was asked. After a while, my grandparents were withdrawn

1642
02:04:22,479 --> 02:04:27,039
about asking this, seemingly respecting my decision of maintaining distance,

1643
02:04:28,079 --> 02:04:33,359
and yet for some reason that frustrated me too. But

1644
02:04:33,479 --> 02:04:37,800
looking back, I'd never truly thought about the answer above.

1645
02:04:37,880 --> 02:04:43,640
A simple no, much less answered it. Honestly, I kept

1646
02:04:43,760 --> 02:04:47,079
all of this inside, and it finally bubbled up to

1647
02:04:47,119 --> 02:04:53,039
a point, the straw that broke the camel's back. I

1648
02:04:53,119 --> 02:05:00,560
started typing. All the frustration, sadness, envy, jealousy, all of

1649
02:05:00,600 --> 02:05:05,199
it was being shoved into this game. Time blurred while

1650
02:05:05,199 --> 02:05:08,399
I hashed out my rant. I was putting my soul

1651
02:05:08,479 --> 02:05:12,880
into this answer for the first time ever. It felt silly,

1652
02:05:13,279 --> 02:05:16,399
even in the moment, knowing I was going at it

1653
02:05:16,439 --> 02:05:20,239
into some indie game of pixels and text. I didn't

1654
02:05:20,279 --> 02:05:22,399
know why I was given this game so much information

1655
02:05:22,479 --> 02:05:25,960
about myself, but it felt good to get these feelings

1656
02:05:25,960 --> 02:05:29,720
out somewhere where I knew I couldn't be judged. I

1657
02:05:29,720 --> 02:05:33,079
could just say my piece and not hear hollow rhetoric

1658
02:05:33,239 --> 02:05:40,119
about hope and healing. And it felt good. The black

1659
02:05:40,159 --> 02:05:44,760
box a silent listener that I needed, something that wouldn't

1660
02:05:44,800 --> 02:05:50,720
pity me, but would just listen. I hadn't even gotten

1661
02:05:50,720 --> 02:05:54,000
into the game, and I was exhausted. I had tied

1662
02:05:54,039 --> 02:05:57,720
out everything I missed about my parents, How ideally missed

1663
02:05:57,720 --> 02:06:00,600
the meals my mother would make, my father taking me

1664
02:06:00,640 --> 02:06:02,720
out to a field just to throw a ball around,

1665
02:06:03,199 --> 02:06:05,159
How he'd show me neat tricks that would have me

1666
02:06:05,279 --> 02:06:08,359
barely laughing, The way he would get up five hours

1667
02:06:08,399 --> 02:06:10,560
before any of us to tell us that he woke

1668
02:06:10,640 --> 02:06:13,159
up early, only to go back to bed a few

1669
02:06:13,199 --> 02:06:17,039
minutes after informing us. I missed staring at the watch.

1670
02:06:17,079 --> 02:06:20,119
I gifted my mother, with my dad's help, of course,

1671
02:06:20,680 --> 02:06:23,800
that my mother adored when we went out for special occasions,

1672
02:06:24,319 --> 02:06:26,920
The way they treated me, how much I loved them,

1673
02:06:27,359 --> 02:06:31,960
how much I missed loving them. Every single minute detail

1674
02:06:32,439 --> 02:06:38,720
was handed over. The game accepted the information with a

1675
02:06:38,760 --> 02:06:42,880
satisfying ding sound, and I was sent to another menu,

1676
02:06:43,720 --> 02:06:50,079
this time character creation. Now I've never been the creative sort,

1677
02:06:50,800 --> 02:06:55,159
so I blatantly just made myself. I named myself Alex

1678
02:06:55,720 --> 02:06:58,560
set brown hair and brown eyes, a simple white T

1679
02:06:58,720 --> 02:07:03,079
shirt and jeans. I was also prompted with adding personal

1680
02:07:03,119 --> 02:07:06,800
details like my birthday, number of friends, and my likes

1681
02:07:06,800 --> 02:07:11,840
and dislikes. What I didn't expect was the choice of

1682
02:07:11,880 --> 02:07:15,760
a family. It was in as in depth as the

1683
02:07:15,840 --> 02:07:20,840
character creation itself, only a couple of presets. Preset one

1684
02:07:21,000 --> 02:07:23,680
was a woman with red hair, a simple crop top

1685
02:07:23,720 --> 02:07:26,720
and some shorts. The men not too dissimilar from my

1686
02:07:26,760 --> 02:07:33,319
own outfit. Preset two was they looked like my parents

1687
02:07:35,560 --> 02:07:39,600
It sounds crazy, but it just felt like them. The

1688
02:07:39,680 --> 02:07:42,840
models were just a mash above simple pixels, but they

1689
02:07:42,880 --> 02:07:46,199
carried so many of their characteristics. I grew to recognize

1690
02:07:46,199 --> 02:07:49,119
in them. The jovial look my mother wore on a

1691
02:07:49,199 --> 02:07:53,479
near constant basis, my father's stoic stature that exuded the

1692
02:07:53,520 --> 02:07:56,279
confidence that he was always trying to pass on to me.

1693
02:07:58,359 --> 02:08:02,560
It was uncanny. I was at a bit of a loss.

1694
02:08:03,640 --> 02:08:06,640
I know I missed them, but I didn't realize how

1695
02:08:06,720 --> 02:08:12,239
much I still missed them, even after four years. I mean,

1696
02:08:12,279 --> 02:08:15,119
for a second, I'd been convinced that these were my

1697
02:08:15,199 --> 02:08:18,840
parents in some way. The game was something I was

1698
02:08:18,880 --> 02:08:22,439
looking to sing some time into as a distraction, but

1699
02:08:22,600 --> 02:08:27,880
now it fully captured my attention. I accepted all the

1700
02:08:28,000 --> 02:08:32,800
settings and the game loaded up. It played a scenic

1701
02:08:32,840 --> 02:08:35,800
shot of the house before fading to me in a

1702
02:08:35,880 --> 02:08:39,800
room with the family. But as soon as I spawned in,

1703
02:08:41,000 --> 02:08:45,880
I was shocked with a loud bang. I jumped a

1704
02:08:45,880 --> 02:08:51,199
little in my seat and my heart raised at the fright. Alex,

1705
02:08:51,359 --> 02:08:54,720
go to bed, you have school tomorrow. Those games are

1706
02:08:54,720 --> 02:08:59,479
going to make you sick. It was my grandmother on

1707
02:08:59,600 --> 02:09:03,199
the other side of my door. I always had my

1708
02:09:03,239 --> 02:09:06,680
door locked, so this was how she would communicate with me.

1709
02:09:08,399 --> 02:09:10,840
I checked the time and it was already two am.

1710
02:09:12,399 --> 02:09:15,640
As much as I hated to admit it, she was right.

1711
02:09:17,439 --> 02:09:22,159
But sleep didn't come easy with my curiosity swelling around

1712
02:09:22,199 --> 02:09:26,439
my head about this new game. Perhaps I was mistaken,

1713
02:09:27,159 --> 02:09:29,479
but the thing I had seen as the game had

1714
02:09:29,520 --> 02:09:32,960
just loaded in was too much to be a coincidence.

1715
02:09:33,520 --> 02:09:38,520
Surely it couldn't have been a mistake. The setting was

1716
02:09:38,560 --> 02:09:42,600
a near perfect rendition of the house I grew up in,

1717
02:09:43,680 --> 02:09:47,199
the house I was in right now. The more I

1718
02:09:47,239 --> 02:09:50,880
thought about it, the more excuses I made to cope

1719
02:09:51,119 --> 02:09:55,159
how the game replicated these things so perfectly. But it

1720
02:09:55,239 --> 02:09:59,279
was the room that was what I couldn't explain. I

1721
02:09:59,319 --> 02:10:02,600
saw a dining room, but the details were too familiar.

1722
02:10:03,439 --> 02:10:06,319
The shade of wood on the square dining table, the

1723
02:10:06,399 --> 02:10:09,600
layout of the cabinets, the door that led to the kitchen.

1724
02:10:10,960 --> 02:10:15,680
It was almost entirely the same. It could have been coincidence.

1725
02:10:16,359 --> 02:10:19,960
My house was a common suburban build with similar layouts

1726
02:10:19,960 --> 02:10:22,600
in the rows of houses near me. But it was

1727
02:10:22,640 --> 02:10:26,359
the layers of coincidences that had me stumped on an explanation.

1728
02:10:28,199 --> 02:10:31,640
I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that

1729
02:10:31,760 --> 02:10:35,359
I was the one that handed details over. Perhaps I

1730
02:10:35,399 --> 02:10:40,000
really had given the game too much information. This thought

1731
02:10:40,560 --> 02:10:45,159
didn't entirely settle me, but it eased my mind enough

1732
02:10:46,159 --> 02:10:56,359
to get some sleep. I rose out of bed with

1733
02:10:56,399 --> 02:11:00,680
a heavy groan. I looked over my clock and aed awake.

1734
02:11:01,199 --> 02:11:04,760
Seeing that I missed my first alarm, I quickly got

1735
02:11:04,840 --> 02:11:09,800
up and rushed my morning routine. As I boarded the bus,

1736
02:11:10,399 --> 02:11:15,640
I prepared mentally for another crueling day of education. School

1737
02:11:15,840 --> 02:11:18,720
was meant to be an escape, at least that's what

1738
02:11:18,760 --> 02:11:21,680
I was told, and place where you kick back with

1739
02:11:21,760 --> 02:11:26,279
your friends and get into little adventures, all while building

1740
02:11:26,319 --> 02:11:31,479
your future. For me, though, that couldn't be further from

1741
02:11:31,520 --> 02:11:37,439
the truth, I was an outcast, no small fault of

1742
02:11:37,520 --> 02:11:43,840
my own, and I refused to socialize. I couldn't when

1743
02:11:43,880 --> 02:11:47,159
I started high school. It was not long after the incident.

1744
02:11:48,199 --> 02:11:51,560
My only thought was if only I could speak to

1745
02:11:51,600 --> 02:11:56,159
them one last time. This floated in my head as

1746
02:11:56,159 --> 02:11:59,760
my peers attempted to make conversation with me. By the

1747
02:11:59,800 --> 02:12:03,479
time I realized I'd made myself alone, the cliques were

1748
02:12:03,520 --> 02:12:06,600
formed and I was labeled as a quiet, weird kid,

1749
02:12:07,680 --> 02:12:14,600
a prime target from harassment. Arriving at class, I was

1750
02:12:14,640 --> 02:12:18,600
reminded of the grim reality I was facing the thing

1751
02:12:18,680 --> 02:12:25,840
I dreaded for a week, group assignments. I attempted to

1752
02:12:25,840 --> 02:12:30,000
weasel myself into a group, but of course Jonathan and

1753
02:12:30,039 --> 02:12:33,079
his bodies ensured that I would achieve no such thing.

1754
02:12:34,399 --> 02:12:37,640
The truth was that Jonathan was just as insecure as

1755
02:12:37,680 --> 02:12:41,439
I was, but the difference was that he projected his

1756
02:12:41,640 --> 02:12:45,279
much louder than anyone else, and I was the conduit

1757
02:12:45,359 --> 02:12:50,760
for his emotional baggage. The teacher saw me alone and

1758
02:12:50,880 --> 02:12:54,199
exclaimed that whoever had no group would take a test instead.

1759
02:12:55,800 --> 02:12:58,560
He spoke like he was talking to the class, but

1760
02:12:59,039 --> 02:13:03,760
he was obviously just about me. I sat in the

1761
02:13:03,840 --> 02:13:09,000
corner of the classroom, away from everyone else, but instead

1762
02:13:09,039 --> 02:13:12,720
of getting on with the test, I started to dwell

1763
02:13:12,840 --> 02:13:17,279
on the game again. I could easily chalk everything down

1764
02:13:17,319 --> 02:13:23,039
to coincidence, but what if it wasn't Could I speak

1765
02:13:23,079 --> 02:13:28,239
with them again? The notion was absurd. Thinking my parents

1766
02:13:28,079 --> 02:13:32,000
was somehow in that game was an impossibility, But with

1767
02:13:32,159 --> 02:13:35,479
so much unresolved, there was an irrational part of me

1768
02:13:35,880 --> 02:13:41,000
that wanted to believe it was true. I bombed the

1769
02:13:41,000 --> 02:13:44,520
test with how distracted I was, and school couldn't end

1770
02:13:44,600 --> 02:13:51,760
any sooner. But I knew it wasn't over yet. Jonathan

1771
02:13:51,840 --> 02:13:56,319
had a knack for finding blind spots from authority. Somehow

1772
02:13:56,359 --> 02:13:59,520
he'd always catch me alone, despite my best attempts at

1773
02:13:59,560 --> 02:14:03,760
staying with eyeshot of people. Though this sometimes didn't even

1774
02:14:03,800 --> 02:14:06,319
help when other kids would just turn a blind eye

1775
02:14:06,359 --> 02:14:11,720
to his outburst. The only constant was me. A slap here,

1776
02:14:11,920 --> 02:14:16,000
a slap there. I'd learned to ignore them, but in

1777
02:14:16,079 --> 02:14:23,640
my already emotional state, I ran crying. When I got home,

1778
02:14:24,000 --> 02:14:27,840
my eyes had already run dry. As I entered through

1779
02:14:27,840 --> 02:14:33,239
the front door, my grandmother greeted me, how a school today, Honey,

1780
02:14:34,000 --> 02:14:39,520
she soothed. Despite her soft tone, the sadness quickly turned

1781
02:14:39,560 --> 02:14:44,359
to frustration. I shrugged her off with a blunt It's fine,

1782
02:14:44,920 --> 02:14:48,720
and I ran past her. Rushing past the kitchen, A

1783
02:14:48,760 --> 02:14:53,680
glint caught my eye a watch. I didn't have time

1784
02:14:53,720 --> 02:14:56,880
to check. I needed to get back on the game.

1785
02:14:59,319 --> 02:15:02,359
I slammed my door shot and latched the bolt. I

1786
02:15:02,399 --> 02:15:06,319
booted up the game and was loaded in. It was

1787
02:15:06,439 --> 02:15:11,000
me in my own house with my parents, and it

1788
02:15:11,119 --> 02:15:18,880
was everything I had always wanted. My pixelated character walked

1789
02:15:18,920 --> 02:15:22,000
over to my mother, and as I got close to her,

1790
02:15:22,359 --> 02:15:29,760
a black square appeared. Press enter to interact how a

1791
02:15:29,840 --> 02:15:33,840
school today? Honey popped up, followed by a box I

1792
02:15:33,840 --> 02:15:39,840
could type in this question again. I'd grown to hate

1793
02:15:39,840 --> 02:15:43,119
this question. The people I had asked this never seemed

1794
02:15:43,159 --> 02:15:46,560
to actually care about my well being, more so just

1795
02:15:46,560 --> 02:15:51,239
going through the motions of conversation. But I felt safe

1796
02:15:51,359 --> 02:15:55,640
opening up in this game. The disconnect helped me disassociate

1797
02:15:55,760 --> 02:15:58,880
from judgment before, so I wanted to try it again,

1798
02:15:59,560 --> 02:16:03,520
even if to just vent privately. This is where the

1799
02:16:03,560 --> 02:16:07,760
game became my escape, another reality where everything was as

1800
02:16:07,800 --> 02:16:12,319
it was always meant to be. Jonathan keeps bulaying me,

1801
02:16:12,920 --> 02:16:15,239
the kit in class despise me, and I can't even

1802
02:16:15,359 --> 02:16:18,680
muster ub the effort to stand up for myself because

1803
02:16:18,680 --> 02:16:23,760
in all honesty, it's the path I chose. I miss you, Mom.

1804
02:16:24,520 --> 02:16:27,199
I wish you were here to guide me, to comfort me.

1805
02:16:30,159 --> 02:16:33,280
As soon as I sent the message, she instantly responded,

1806
02:16:34,600 --> 02:16:38,319
I see, sweetie, Mom is here for you. Your father

1807
02:16:38,399 --> 02:16:44,680
and I missed you so dearly. The NBC responded, I

1808
02:16:44,719 --> 02:16:48,440
felt warm. Those were the words that I had been

1809
02:16:48,479 --> 02:16:52,920
craving and craving that my grandparents, no matter their efforts,

1810
02:16:52,920 --> 02:16:58,639
could never satisfy. The dialogue option disappeared, and with it,

1811
02:16:59,000 --> 02:17:03,360
so did my bili to interact with her. The sadness

1812
02:17:03,440 --> 02:17:06,559
lingered over the fact that the interaction was so short,

1813
02:17:07,479 --> 02:17:11,799
but I wanted to see more. I decided I'd take

1814
02:17:11,840 --> 02:17:15,280
some time and explore the house and maybe see if

1815
02:17:15,319 --> 02:17:19,479
I could interact with the father too. I walked down

1816
02:17:19,520 --> 02:17:24,639
the corridor of my childhood home towards my father's office.

1817
02:17:24,959 --> 02:17:27,799
I prompt appeared, asking me if I wanted a knock

1818
02:17:27,840 --> 02:17:31,879
on the office door, and I accepted. He called to

1819
02:17:31,879 --> 02:17:35,319
come in, and the screen faded out and back in

1820
02:17:35,520 --> 02:17:40,120
to us in the office. In reality, it was now

1821
02:17:40,159 --> 02:17:43,520
a room full of boxes, still unpacked from my grandparents

1822
02:17:43,559 --> 02:17:48,879
moving in, But here the room was back to life.

1823
02:17:48,879 --> 02:17:52,239
My father sat at his desk, which spent the majority

1824
02:17:52,360 --> 02:17:57,200
of the small offices with This time, the conversation began,

1825
02:17:57,319 --> 02:18:01,319
without a need for me to initiate any prompts. The

1826
02:18:01,360 --> 02:18:06,840
words of my NBC father flashed across the screen. Hey, Champ,

1827
02:18:07,280 --> 02:18:11,719
everything all right. No textbox came up for me to

1828
02:18:11,760 --> 02:18:14,840
type in, he said. This time I was met with

1829
02:18:14,879 --> 02:18:21,559
two choices, yes and no. After the talk with the mother,

1830
02:18:22,079 --> 02:18:24,680
I was feeling a lot better, so I chose the

1831
02:18:24,719 --> 02:18:30,760
first option. That's great to hear Champ, he responded. This

1832
02:18:30,920 --> 02:18:34,840
made me smile. Though he would cycle through nicknames and

1833
02:18:34,920 --> 02:18:39,000
titles to call me, Champ was sometimes one of them.

1834
02:18:39,399 --> 02:18:42,000
It might have been added as a cliche, but even

1835
02:18:42,040 --> 02:18:47,000
as a coincidence, it still made me happy. Then the

1836
02:18:47,120 --> 02:18:49,680
NBC asked me if I wanted to play ball with him.

1837
02:18:51,280 --> 02:18:54,280
Even though I knew it was all virtual, there was

1838
02:18:54,319 --> 02:18:57,520
still a small excitement to the idea of playing ball

1839
02:18:57,600 --> 02:19:01,959
with my dad again. Screen faded to black and we

1840
02:19:01,959 --> 02:19:04,799
were in the yard. We passed the ball around for

1841
02:19:04,840 --> 02:19:07,719
a few minutes, the game looking like nothing more than

1842
02:19:07,719 --> 02:19:12,440
a PowerPoint presentation animation, but in its own way, it

1843
02:19:12,479 --> 02:19:18,399
was endearing. Sleep came easier this time, for the first

1844
02:19:18,440 --> 02:19:22,879
time in recent years. I was fulfilled, as if I

1845
02:19:22,920 --> 02:19:29,120
had felt parental connections again, even if only virtually. Still,

1846
02:19:29,520 --> 02:19:32,760
some moneyes set in as I contemplated the legitimacy of

1847
02:19:32,799 --> 02:19:36,559
the interactions I just had, if there were simply the

1848
02:19:36,639 --> 02:19:42,040
execution of basic code or something more. In the moment,

1849
02:19:42,399 --> 02:19:44,840
I was absorbed with trying to connect to my parents,

1850
02:19:45,559 --> 02:19:49,639
but lying in bed, I was debating whether feeling satisfied

1851
02:19:49,639 --> 02:19:59,000
emotionally from a bunch of pixels was healthy. The next morning,

1852
02:19:59,360 --> 02:20:02,680
as I rushed the house to catch the boss, I

1853
02:20:02,760 --> 02:20:07,479
noticed my father's office door was slightly a jar. I'm

1854
02:20:07,479 --> 02:20:10,719
not a superstitious person, but that room was not in

1855
02:20:10,840 --> 02:20:15,040
use by my grandparents or myself. It was, for all

1856
02:20:15,040 --> 02:20:20,360
intents and purposes, a storage room. I gently pushed the

1857
02:20:20,399 --> 02:20:23,719
door open, and the first thing I noticed was that

1858
02:20:23,760 --> 02:20:27,280
the boxes had been rearranged, as if whoever had moved

1859
02:20:27,280 --> 02:20:33,319
them needed space for something. Then I saw it a

1860
02:20:33,399 --> 02:20:38,000
ball laying in the middle of the room. The move

1861
02:20:38,079 --> 02:20:41,680
boxes could be explained away, but the ball being there

1862
02:20:42,000 --> 02:20:46,479
made my head spin with questions. It looked uncanny to

1863
02:20:46,520 --> 02:20:49,639
the one I'd just seen in the game, not identical,

1864
02:20:50,079 --> 02:20:54,719
but too close to be written off. The call from

1865
02:20:54,760 --> 02:20:58,239
downstairs had me pull away from the scene. I was

1866
02:20:58,280 --> 02:21:03,079
already running late. The bus wouldn't wait forever. I gave

1867
02:21:03,120 --> 02:21:07,239
the room one more look before leaving, the snapshot replaying

1868
02:21:07,239 --> 02:21:12,760
in my head. The whole day at school, Another arduous

1869
02:21:12,799 --> 02:21:18,399
day of school, more isolation, more pointless assignments, more Jonathan

1870
02:21:19,680 --> 02:21:24,280
getting home couldn't come any faster. When I got home,

1871
02:21:24,680 --> 02:21:27,959
I tried going straight to my room, but was stopped.

1872
02:21:29,360 --> 02:21:32,760
My grandmother deliberately placed herself in the way of the stairs,

1873
02:21:33,200 --> 02:21:35,799
making sure I couldn't get past without hearing what you

1874
02:21:35,879 --> 02:21:42,600
wanted to say. First, Alex, were worried about you. We

1875
02:21:42,719 --> 02:21:45,479
thought giving you space the heel would help. But every

1876
02:21:45,559 --> 02:21:48,799
day you've just shut yourself in your room. I know

1877
02:21:48,920 --> 02:21:54,639
you missed them. We missed them too. My grandfather stepped

1878
02:21:54,639 --> 02:21:57,959
around the corner and joined her side. He wasn't on

1879
02:21:58,000 --> 02:22:00,600
his feet much in his age, having waited for my

1880
02:22:00,639 --> 02:22:04,600
grandmother to start as he joined. How can you know

1881
02:22:04,680 --> 02:22:08,000
how I feel. You're not my parents, I yelled back,

1882
02:22:08,399 --> 02:22:14,559
my emotional bottle bubbling. To my surprise, this didn't elicit

1883
02:22:14,639 --> 02:22:20,680
anger from my grandparents. Rather, their faces turned soft. Look

1884
02:22:20,719 --> 02:22:24,000
at us, we're old. You don't think our parents are

1885
02:22:24,000 --> 02:22:30,159
gone too, But you're forgetting something. They were your parents, sure, However,

1886
02:22:30,520 --> 02:22:33,680
they were our kids, our daughter and son in law.

1887
02:22:34,520 --> 02:22:37,879
We loved them, and every day we hurt without them too.

1888
02:22:39,079 --> 02:22:42,920
My grandmother soothed, we raised them good, and we can

1889
02:22:43,040 --> 02:22:45,760
raise you good. You just have to let us in.

1890
02:22:46,760 --> 02:22:52,319
My grandfather added, I soaked in what they said, but

1891
02:22:52,399 --> 02:22:56,760
I closed it off. It wasn't the same, it would

1892
02:22:56,799 --> 02:23:01,200
never be the same. So with my eyes I just

1893
02:23:01,319 --> 02:23:06,399
ran to my room and locked myself in. After sulking

1894
02:23:06,440 --> 02:23:10,520
on my bed, I was left with silence. I hated

1895
02:23:10,559 --> 02:23:13,399
being with my thoughts, so I turned to the noise

1896
02:23:13,479 --> 02:23:19,760
I used to drown them out the game. He loaded

1897
02:23:19,760 --> 02:23:23,239
it in, and I was back with my family. My

1898
02:23:23,319 --> 02:23:26,639
mother greeted me, and I welcomed this much better than

1899
02:23:26,680 --> 02:23:31,719
how I felt cornered earlier. However, instead of a conversation,

1900
02:23:32,440 --> 02:23:35,600
she simply told me to wait where I was, so

1901
02:23:35,840 --> 02:23:40,040
my character sat at the table. My father came in

1902
02:23:40,319 --> 02:23:43,719
and said some comments about work, something he'd always do,

1903
02:23:44,399 --> 02:23:47,239
regardless of if I understood what he was talking about

1904
02:23:47,440 --> 02:23:51,719
or not, but I didn't mind. It was always nice

1905
02:23:51,719 --> 02:23:56,399
to hear him talk. Soon my mother came back in.

1906
02:23:57,479 --> 02:24:02,159
Her outfit had changed and more fancy a peril instead

1907
02:24:02,200 --> 02:24:05,360
of normal house clothes. She wore a red dress and

1908
02:24:05,399 --> 02:24:08,559
her hair was made up into a bun. Her arms

1909
02:24:08,559 --> 02:24:12,440
were bare, which is how I spotted something that stood

1910
02:24:12,479 --> 02:24:16,680
out in the game. It looked like a few red

1911
02:24:16,719 --> 02:24:21,920
pixels with a yellow dot in the middle. Unmistakably a watch,

1912
02:24:23,319 --> 02:24:28,920
and my heart was in my throat. It was uncanny

1913
02:24:29,000 --> 02:24:31,360
to the watch my father and I had gotten her

1914
02:24:31,440 --> 02:24:36,479
for a birthday, red band with a gold face. It

1915
02:24:36,559 --> 02:24:40,920
really was them. My eyes bald hard trying to take

1916
02:24:40,959 --> 02:24:45,959
this in. We have a surprise for you, she said,

1917
02:24:46,399 --> 02:24:49,959
and I knew what it was before I saw it,

1918
02:24:50,040 --> 02:24:54,840
because I smelled it. The smell of cake waffed it

1919
02:24:54,879 --> 02:25:00,399
in and I instantly recognized it a black forest gatto,

1920
02:25:01,639 --> 02:25:05,879
the cake she always made me for my birthday in

1921
02:25:05,959 --> 02:25:08,000
the game. She pulled it out and set it on

1922
02:25:08,040 --> 02:25:12,879
the table, candles already set on top. I checked the

1923
02:25:12,959 --> 02:25:16,200
date on the bottom right and completely forgot what day

1924
02:25:16,200 --> 02:25:21,040
it was. I hadn't celebrated my birthday since they passed.

1925
02:25:22,040 --> 02:25:26,239
My grandparents tried to, but I always dismissed it. It

1926
02:25:26,280 --> 02:25:28,520
was hard to think of my birthday as a celebration

1927
02:25:28,680 --> 02:25:32,840
without my parents. A jingle played to the tune of

1928
02:25:32,879 --> 02:25:37,360
the Birthday song, and confetti flew around the room. My

1929
02:25:37,479 --> 02:25:40,680
parents looked elated as my character blew out the candle,

1930
02:25:41,639 --> 02:25:43,959
something I wouldn't have been able to do in my

1931
02:25:44,079 --> 02:25:49,600
current heaving state. But the smell lingered longer than I thought.

1932
02:25:50,879 --> 02:25:53,120
At first, I thought it was my emotions getting the

1933
02:25:53,159 --> 02:25:58,120
better of me, but there was the unmistakable smell of

1934
02:25:58,280 --> 02:26:03,239
cake in my room. Happy birthday, son, they both exclaimed,

1935
02:26:04,120 --> 02:26:07,079
we want to take you out for your birthday, our treat.

1936
02:26:07,520 --> 02:26:10,959
My mother said, pick any place you want. Where do

1937
02:26:11,000 --> 02:26:15,520
you want to go? My dad asked. A text box appeared,

1938
02:26:15,799 --> 02:26:21,360
prompting me to type in an answer. I contemplated the answer.

1939
02:26:22,600 --> 02:26:26,559
My first thought was k f C. I know his

1940
02:26:26,719 --> 02:26:29,639
cheap junk food. But for some reason, it was a

1941
02:26:29,639 --> 02:26:32,799
bit of a family tradition, though it might have been

1942
02:26:32,799 --> 02:26:37,479
an indicator of our financial status. But I thought about

1943
02:26:37,520 --> 02:26:40,760
it more deeper than what the game was. Asking me,

1944
02:26:42,520 --> 02:26:46,719
where did I truly want to go? Well, the answer

1945
02:26:46,760 --> 02:26:49,959
would be to be with my parents, So I typed

1946
02:26:50,000 --> 02:26:52,239
in the place. Then every one had told me where

1947
02:26:52,239 --> 02:27:00,959
they went. Heaven. That's a wonderful choice, son, they exclaimed.

1948
02:27:01,399 --> 02:27:05,239
Grab your thing, son, Let's go there, my dad said.

1949
02:27:06,600 --> 02:27:13,479
Then the screen faded to black, then crashed. My heart raised.

1950
02:27:14,239 --> 02:27:17,799
No no, no, no, no, I muttered to myself, had nauseum.

1951
02:27:18,840 --> 02:27:21,399
I slapped the side of my monitor, knowing, damn well,

1952
02:27:21,399 --> 02:27:26,000
it wouldn't do a thing. I was so close my

1953
02:27:26,079 --> 02:27:29,239
heart was setting the idea that i'd somehow see them again.

1954
02:27:31,079 --> 02:27:34,399
But in the silence, I started to think about it.

1955
02:27:36,200 --> 02:27:39,200
What if this was something they were telling me, the

1956
02:27:39,319 --> 02:27:42,440
last thing they were telling me better like the game.

1957
02:27:43,040 --> 02:27:47,959
To get to where I needed to go, something had

1958
02:27:47,959 --> 02:27:54,200
to end life. Life is what needs to end to

1959
02:27:54,239 --> 02:27:57,840
get to heaven, the place I wanted to be to

1960
02:27:57,920 --> 02:28:03,280
be with them. I looked around my room, then remembered something.

1961
02:28:04,600 --> 02:28:07,479
When they passed, I snuck into my dad's office and

1962
02:28:07,559 --> 02:28:10,879
took his old letter opener, a drinkt he'd show off

1963
02:28:10,879 --> 02:28:14,079
to me to open mail. He'd sometimes let me use

1964
02:28:14,120 --> 02:28:18,440
it myself, which my mother didn't approve of. It was

1965
02:28:18,520 --> 02:28:21,719
too sharp for a child to be playing with. But

1966
02:28:22,440 --> 02:28:25,319
as I slid it out of my drawer, hidden away

1967
02:28:25,360 --> 02:28:30,040
from my grandparents, I looked at it. Would it get

1968
02:28:30,079 --> 02:28:35,520
the job done? I put it down. This was ridiculous.

1969
02:28:36,040 --> 02:28:38,639
I tried to talk myself out of it, but each

1970
02:28:38,760 --> 02:28:43,639
rationality was answered with retorts. I was unhappy, I had

1971
02:28:43,760 --> 02:28:48,920
no friends, I had no family, I was alone, so

1972
02:28:49,040 --> 02:28:53,239
why not join them? Even if it didn't work, it

1973
02:28:53,280 --> 02:28:57,200
would put me out of my misery. I stared at

1974
02:28:57,200 --> 02:29:01,920
the blade, deep in thought and was ripped out of

1975
02:29:02,000 --> 02:29:08,200
it with a loud bang, Alex, can you get out

1976
02:29:08,239 --> 02:29:13,520
here please? Here was my grandmother on the other side

1977
02:29:13,559 --> 02:29:17,360
of the locked door. The shuffling footsteps I could hear

1978
02:29:17,440 --> 02:29:21,879
catching up must have been my grandfather. They had no

1979
02:29:21,959 --> 02:29:24,639
idea what I was up to. There was no way

1980
02:29:24,680 --> 02:29:27,280
for them to know, so they must have been just

1981
02:29:27,319 --> 02:29:31,879
bothering me. My eyes returned to the knife once more,

1982
02:29:32,360 --> 02:29:35,959
the thoughts coming back, yet I was ripped from it

1983
02:29:36,079 --> 02:29:40,639
yet again with bangs, more of them this time. If

1984
02:29:40,639 --> 02:29:43,319
you don't want to come out, can you at least

1985
02:29:43,399 --> 02:29:49,159
let us in? This was new They never tried twice.

1986
02:29:49,440 --> 02:29:53,040
The door acted like a voicemail. They'd say their message,

1987
02:29:53,280 --> 02:29:57,719
then leave me to respond to it or not let

1988
02:29:57,799 --> 02:30:03,040
us in. Those were lingered in my head. I always

1989
02:30:03,079 --> 02:30:07,280
went to them, but I never let them in. This

1990
02:30:07,479 --> 02:30:10,600
was my space I'd carved out for myself, and I

1991
02:30:10,719 --> 02:30:15,680
used it to keep everyone out. This was the choice

1992
02:30:15,719 --> 02:30:19,159
I had go through with a plan to see my

1993
02:30:19,280 --> 02:30:24,479
parents or see what they wanted, and it was the

1994
02:30:24,559 --> 02:30:31,159
hardest choice of my life. The silence of the room

1995
02:30:31,239 --> 02:30:34,959
weighed down on me, and my breath shallowed. Could I

1996
02:30:35,000 --> 02:30:38,600
make it quick? How painful? Would it be, would I

1997
02:30:38,760 --> 02:30:43,239
actually see them? But the lingering thought was if I

1998
02:30:43,280 --> 02:30:45,840
could do it with my grandparents on the other side

1999
02:30:45,879 --> 02:30:49,680
of the door. So I went with the second option

2000
02:30:50,799 --> 02:30:55,360
to see what they wanted. I hid the knife and

2001
02:30:55,479 --> 02:31:00,520
slowly unlocked the door. Stood outside where my grand parents

2002
02:31:01,440 --> 02:31:08,479
big grins on their faces. Happy birthday, Alex, they said, enthused.

2003
02:31:10,319 --> 02:31:14,239
I didn't know how to respond, and they continued, I

2004
02:31:14,319 --> 02:31:17,159
know you don't like to celebrate, but we have something

2005
02:31:17,200 --> 02:31:22,760
special for you. Come with us, my grandmother said, so

2006
02:31:22,879 --> 02:31:29,520
I did, my mind too foggy to do otherwise. They

2007
02:31:29,600 --> 02:31:33,159
led me to the kitchen and in the middle sat

2008
02:31:33,200 --> 02:31:38,479
a cake, an exact replica of my mother's black Forest gatto.

2009
02:31:39,719 --> 02:31:46,879
This opened me up. What how, how did you why?

2010
02:31:48,360 --> 02:31:51,280
I was too stunned to form a question, too many

2011
02:31:51,319 --> 02:31:55,600
of them flying through my mind. Remember, Alex, she had

2012
02:31:55,639 --> 02:31:58,639
to learn it from somewhere. Making this cake for your

2013
02:31:58,639 --> 02:32:03,120
mother was a tradition that started with me, she said, proudly.

2014
02:32:04,239 --> 02:32:07,760
I got something for you, too, Alex. My grandfather wheezed

2015
02:32:08,239 --> 02:32:10,600
the walk from the stairs, taking the wind out of him.

2016
02:32:12,120 --> 02:32:15,639
He hobbled over with a box wrapped in a red ribbon.

2017
02:32:17,600 --> 02:32:20,280
I looked at it, not having any idea what they

2018
02:32:20,280 --> 02:32:24,280
could have gotten me. They didn't know me, not in

2019
02:32:24,319 --> 02:32:28,159
a personal way, to not get me something generic. But

2020
02:32:28,600 --> 02:32:31,920
I couldn't not open it with them watching me, so

2021
02:32:32,600 --> 02:32:35,399
I slipped the ribbon off and looked, and what was

2022
02:32:35,440 --> 02:32:41,840
inside it was something that made my head light from shock,

2023
02:32:42,719 --> 02:32:47,440
needing to have to sit down after seeing it. It

2024
02:32:47,600 --> 02:32:51,760
was a watch with a red strap and a gold face.

2025
02:32:53,200 --> 02:32:59,719
My mother's watch. It's this, I started, not having the

2026
02:32:59,840 --> 02:33:05,760
end to finish asking yes. After the investigation, the police

2027
02:33:05,799 --> 02:33:08,280
held on to it for evidence. It took a while

2028
02:33:08,280 --> 02:33:11,079
to get it back, but when I did, I had

2029
02:33:11,079 --> 02:33:14,559
it restored to give you on a special occasion. My

2030
02:33:14,600 --> 02:33:19,840
grandfather answered, I have something else too. My grandfather added,

2031
02:33:21,239 --> 02:33:24,000
he built his arm from behind his back and pulled

2032
02:33:24,040 --> 02:33:27,000
out the ball I'd seen in the office, like the

2033
02:33:27,040 --> 02:33:29,079
one my dad used to have when he played with me.

2034
02:33:30,680 --> 02:33:33,959
I've been practicing some tricks in the old office. Bet

2035
02:33:34,040 --> 02:33:37,120
you didn't notice. I'm not as good as your old man,

2036
02:33:37,159 --> 02:33:41,200
But he showed me some of the basics, he smugly announced.

2037
02:33:42,840 --> 02:33:45,120
He twirled it around and tried to catch it as

2038
02:33:45,120 --> 02:33:48,319
it span, but it caught his knuckle at a funny angle.

2039
02:33:48,799 --> 02:33:54,319
And bounced wildly away, almost hitting the cake. My grandmother's

2040
02:33:54,319 --> 02:33:57,760
friendly demeanor dropped as she shot him the dirtiest look

2041
02:33:57,920 --> 02:34:01,879
at almost ruining the cake, which made ME do something

2042
02:34:02,280 --> 02:34:06,959
I thought I'd lost the ability to do. I laughed.

2043
02:34:08,680 --> 02:34:12,600
It poured out of me years of pain leaking as

2044
02:34:12,680 --> 02:34:18,440
joy took its place. Here they were. They were not

2045
02:34:18,520 --> 02:34:23,200
my parents, nor could they be. However, they knew that

2046
02:34:23,920 --> 02:34:27,799
and loved me all the same. They were never trying

2047
02:34:27,799 --> 02:34:31,680
to replace them. They were just picking up where they

2048
02:34:31,760 --> 02:34:36,879
left off, and I realized that I didn't have to

2049
02:34:36,920 --> 02:34:43,479
be alone, and from then on I always let them in.

2050
02:34:53,159 --> 02:34:56,319
The snow under our boots crunched sharply as we trudged

2051
02:34:56,319 --> 02:35:01,200
towards Station Polaris, the isolated arcticgree So, our post where

2052
02:35:01,239 --> 02:35:06,319
we were sent to investigate the wind hold, relentlessly biting

2053
02:35:06,360 --> 02:35:09,239
through our thermal suits and filling the air with a low,

2054
02:35:09,559 --> 02:35:14,159
mournful wail that matched the stark emptiness of the frozen landscape.

2055
02:35:15,600 --> 02:35:19,200
This wasn't the place for mistakes, but the station's sudden

2056
02:35:19,280 --> 02:35:22,959
silence had dragged us here, hundreds of miles from anything

2057
02:35:23,120 --> 02:35:28,479
resembling civilization. The research station set up to collect data

2058
02:35:28,520 --> 02:35:32,879
in the Arctic went quiet, so we were sent to investigate.

2059
02:35:34,200 --> 02:35:36,280
It could have been the result of the power going out,

2060
02:35:36,639 --> 02:35:40,520
a problem with the communications array, or an encounter with wildlife,

2061
02:35:41,440 --> 02:35:45,760
so we had to prepare for anything. We set off

2062
02:35:45,959 --> 02:35:49,760
equipped for a long mission with supplies to last us days.

2063
02:35:51,959 --> 02:35:56,719
The station loomed ahead, its angular structure almost blending into

2064
02:35:56,760 --> 02:36:01,559
the stark white surroundings. Saw The panels glinted dully under

2065
02:36:01,559 --> 02:36:05,319
the weak Arctic sun, and the wind turbine blades creaked

2066
02:36:05,639 --> 02:36:11,520
as they turned sluggishly. The COM's array stood tall, perfectly intact.

2067
02:36:12,959 --> 02:36:17,959
From the outside, everything seemed functional, yet we all knew

2068
02:36:18,000 --> 02:36:20,440
that no one had heard a word from the researchers

2069
02:36:20,559 --> 02:36:27,479
in weeks. Inside the facility was eerily pristine. The lights

2070
02:36:27,559 --> 02:36:32,399
hummed softly, and the heaters were working perfectly. Supplies were

2071
02:36:32,440 --> 02:36:36,239
neatly stacked in the pantry, and the living quarters were immaculate.

2072
02:36:37,399 --> 02:36:40,040
It felt like the crew could walk in at any moment,

2073
02:36:40,959 --> 02:36:43,639
but the air carried a stale weight, as though the

2074
02:36:43,680 --> 02:36:53,280
building itself had been holding its breath. Then we found them.

2075
02:36:53,479 --> 02:36:56,959
Their bodies were huddled in the secure lab, the thick

2076
02:36:57,000 --> 02:37:00,799
steel door latched from the inside. It took us a

2077
02:37:00,840 --> 02:37:03,440
full hour to breach it, cutting through the locks with

2078
02:37:03,479 --> 02:37:08,440
a plasma torch. When the door finally swung open, the

2079
02:37:08,559 --> 02:37:14,120
scene was haunting. Four researchers were slumped against the walls,

2080
02:37:14,600 --> 02:37:19,559
their gaunt faces frozen in twisted expressions of fear. Their

2081
02:37:19,639 --> 02:37:23,280
lab coats were rumpled and stained, and deep scratches marred

2082
02:37:23,440 --> 02:37:27,120
the walls and door. A few words were sprawled on

2083
02:37:27,159 --> 02:37:30,120
the inside of the door in what looked like dried blood.

2084
02:37:31,600 --> 02:37:38,799
Don't open their hands raw and bloody suggested desperate attempts

2085
02:37:38,799 --> 02:37:42,879
to claw their way out, or maybe to keep something

2086
02:37:42,959 --> 02:37:47,559
from getting in. The food stores were untouched, and the

2087
02:37:47,559 --> 02:37:51,920
air recyclists were working perfectly, Yet the cause of death

2088
02:37:52,319 --> 02:38:00,440
was clear dehydration and starvation. They'd locked themselves inside and

2089
02:38:00,600 --> 02:38:07,520
never left cap'in fever. Eliza, our biologist, whispered, her voice

2090
02:38:07,559 --> 02:38:12,920
trembling slightly despite her usual calm. Maybe they thought something

2091
02:38:12,959 --> 02:38:17,399
was out there, I replied, glancing nervously toward the hallway.

2092
02:38:19,040 --> 02:38:21,920
We found out, each of us taking a section of

2093
02:38:21,959 --> 02:38:26,159
the station to begin our work. I focused on the comsarey,

2094
02:38:26,600 --> 02:38:31,360
which appeared functional but was inexplicably off line. The software

2095
02:38:31,399 --> 02:38:35,559
logs showed no errors as if someone had deliberately disabled it.

2096
02:38:37,000 --> 02:38:41,040
The station's pristine condition clashed violently with the madness of

2097
02:38:41,079 --> 02:38:45,760
the locked lab. Every door swung, the oiled hinges, every

2098
02:38:45,799 --> 02:38:49,639
panel gleaned under the fluorescent lights, and even the smallest

2099
02:38:49,680 --> 02:38:53,440
tool was in its proper place. The perfection of the

2100
02:38:53,520 --> 02:38:58,079
setting only made it feel more unsettling, the dichotomy of

2101
02:38:58,120 --> 02:39:03,040
the situation painting a grim misatt to be solved. Then

2102
02:39:04,000 --> 02:39:08,159
there was the feeling. It wasn't something we could measure

2103
02:39:08,319 --> 02:39:13,840
or explain, but we all felt it, a subtle, pervasive wrongness.

2104
02:39:15,280 --> 02:39:18,959
The air seemed heavier inside, charged with an energy that

2105
02:39:19,079 --> 02:39:21,079
made the hair on the back of my neck stand

2106
02:39:21,120 --> 02:39:25,319
on end. Even the wind outside seemed muted, as though

2107
02:39:25,360 --> 02:39:29,840
the station absorbed every sound. It didn't help that the

2108
02:39:29,920 --> 02:39:33,920
Arctic stretched endlessly beyond the walls, a blank canvas of

2109
02:39:33,959 --> 02:39:36,879
snow and ice that could swallow us whole if we

2110
02:39:37,000 --> 02:39:41,120
made the wrong step. But it wasn't the landscape that

2111
02:39:41,200 --> 02:39:46,920
had me glancing over my shoulder. It was the silence inside.

2112
02:39:47,120 --> 02:39:52,399
Something about it felt alive. I tried to focus on

2113
02:39:52,440 --> 02:39:55,440
my tasks, but my mind kept circling back to the

2114
02:39:55,479 --> 02:40:00,559
locked room, to those faces frozen in terror. What had

2115
02:40:00,559 --> 02:40:05,280
they seen that drove them to such desperation, and what

2116
02:40:05,319 --> 02:40:09,680
if it were still here? The question hung in the

2117
02:40:09,719 --> 02:40:15,000
air like frost, unanswered and growing colder with each passing moment.

2118
02:40:17,959 --> 02:40:21,680
The first few hours had stationed Polaris were chaotic, a

2119
02:40:21,760 --> 02:40:25,360
frantic attempt to make sense of the fragmented research left behind.

2120
02:40:26,479 --> 02:40:31,440
Environmental readings from the station's senses were erratic, subtle rhythmic

2121
02:40:31,520 --> 02:40:36,879
vibrations in the air, logged at precise intervals. These weren't

2122
02:40:36,920 --> 02:40:41,680
seismic in nature. The station's ground penetrating radar showed no

2123
02:40:41,799 --> 02:40:46,799
signs of tectonic activity. Instead, it was as if the

2124
02:40:46,840 --> 02:40:52,280
air itself pulsed with energy, but only fleetingly. Every time

2125
02:40:52,360 --> 02:40:55,879
we tried to pinpoint the anomaly, the readings vanished as

2126
02:40:55,959 --> 02:41:02,360
quickly as they had appeared. This doesn't makes sense, Eliza said,

2127
02:41:02,639 --> 02:41:06,680
Poring over the data console. She tapped at the screen,

2128
02:41:07,000 --> 02:41:11,799
frustration mounting. It's like the equipment's playing tricks on us.

2129
02:41:13,120 --> 02:41:17,000
Could be interference from the storm outside, Mark offered, the

2130
02:41:17,040 --> 02:41:23,239
team's communication officer, though his tone lacked conviction. He'd already

2131
02:41:23,319 --> 02:41:28,120
noticed the radios crackling with faint static. Still, he wasn't

2132
02:41:28,159 --> 02:41:32,040
ready to alarm us with the implications of it. The

2133
02:41:32,079 --> 02:41:39,799
strangeness escalated within ours. While conducting inventory in the common area,

2134
02:41:40,360 --> 02:41:47,600
Eliza froze midstep. Did you hear that? Hear what? Mark asked,

2135
02:41:47,799 --> 02:41:52,600
glancing up from the checklist. There was knocking from the

2136
02:41:52,639 --> 02:41:56,520
other side of the main door, Eliza said, her voice wavering.

2137
02:41:58,280 --> 02:42:01,440
Mark walked to the door, turning his flashlight into the

2138
02:42:01,479 --> 02:42:05,680
white expense beyond the narrow window. Nothing but the swirling

2139
02:42:05,760 --> 02:42:09,680
void of the arctic night greeted him. It's the wind,

2140
02:42:10,280 --> 02:42:15,879
he said, though he didn't sound fully convinced. While exploring.

2141
02:42:16,360 --> 02:42:19,760
I returned from inspecting the living quarters, pale as eyes.

2142
02:42:21,040 --> 02:42:25,200
I swear I heard my name, I muttered, But it

2143
02:42:25,239 --> 02:42:30,639
wasn't you two, was it? No, Eliza replied quickly, her

2144
02:42:30,680 --> 02:42:34,559
eyes darting to the shadows flickering under the fluorescent lights.

2145
02:42:35,680 --> 02:42:42,440
And I heard something else. Each of us reported hearing

2146
02:42:42,479 --> 02:42:48,920
different sounds, muffled sobbing, distant tapping voices, murmuring indistinct words.

2147
02:42:49,840 --> 02:42:53,280
None could verify what the others heard, and no auditory

2148
02:42:53,280 --> 02:42:58,600
signals appeared on their monitoring equipment. The incongruity heightened the unease,

2149
02:42:59,280 --> 02:43:02,559
as if the state itself were conspiring to disorient us.

2150
02:43:04,520 --> 02:43:08,280
While searching the primary lab, I found a compartment hidden

2151
02:43:08,319 --> 02:43:12,319
behind one of the equipment racks. Its lid was engraved

2152
02:43:12,319 --> 02:43:17,520
with strange, almost geometric patterns, unfamiliar to any of us.

2153
02:43:19,000 --> 02:43:23,159
Inside lay a crystalline object, about the size of a grapefruit.

2154
02:43:24,399 --> 02:43:29,920
I reflected light in unsettling ways, casting disoriented, shifting shadows

2155
02:43:30,040 --> 02:43:35,399
on the walls. What is this, I murmured, reaching to

2156
02:43:35,399 --> 02:43:41,520
touch it. Careful, Eliza warned, But curiosity got the better

2157
02:43:41,600 --> 02:43:47,040
of me. As my fingertips grazed the object, A sharp

2158
02:43:47,159 --> 02:43:52,799
jolt rippled through my hand. I pulled back, cursing. The

2159
02:43:52,879 --> 02:43:56,200
room seemed to hum for a moment before falling silent.

2160
02:43:57,639 --> 02:44:02,319
Did you feel that, Mark asked, rubbing his temples. He

2161
02:44:02,440 --> 02:44:06,959
described a faint whisper, barely audible, that lingered in the

2162
02:44:06,959 --> 02:44:10,200
back of his mind, like a half forgotten memory trying

2163
02:44:10,239 --> 02:44:15,120
to surface. The object's presence deepened our sense of foreboding.

2164
02:44:15,879 --> 02:44:20,959
Attempts to analyze it proved fruitless. No material analysis equipment

2165
02:44:21,040 --> 02:44:25,040
on site could identify its composition, and it emitted no

2166
02:44:25,200 --> 02:44:31,200
radiation or heat signature. It was completely in that yet

2167
02:44:31,239 --> 02:44:36,840
profoundly wrong. Eliza suggested the previous team might have unearthed

2168
02:44:36,840 --> 02:44:40,959
it nearby. Still there was no mention of the object

2169
02:44:41,040 --> 02:44:46,920
in the research logs. Whatever this is, she said, it

2170
02:44:47,000 --> 02:44:51,760
isn't supposed to be here. Later that evening, we gathered

2171
02:44:51,799 --> 02:44:53,719
in the comm's room to send an update to the

2172
02:44:53,760 --> 02:44:58,639
logistics crew. Mark activated the satellite relay, waiting for the

2173
02:44:58,719 --> 02:45:03,280
encryption sequence to pro process. The screen displayed a reassuring

2174
02:45:03,360 --> 02:45:10,040
green connection icon, which flickered and then went black. Not now,

2175
02:45:10,600 --> 02:45:15,639
he muttered, rebooting the system. Static hissed from the speakers,

2176
02:45:16,120 --> 02:45:20,200
followed by the faint hum of a transmission. For a

2177
02:45:20,239 --> 02:45:24,520
brief moment, the green icon reappeared, only to be replaced

2178
02:45:24,520 --> 02:45:29,600
by garbled static and a faint rhythmic pulse. Mark tried

2179
02:45:29,639 --> 02:45:34,719
to readjust the signal gain, but it was futile. Is

2180
02:45:34,760 --> 02:45:39,520
it the storm, Eliza asked, but Mark shook his head.

2181
02:45:40,159 --> 02:45:47,719
We've transmitted through worse weather. This feels deliberate. The equipment

2182
02:45:47,920 --> 02:45:51,920
continued to falter throughout the night. By morning, the calm

2183
02:45:52,040 --> 02:45:57,239
system had failed entirely. I worked furiously and attempted a

2184
02:45:57,280 --> 02:46:02,559
hard reset, but achieved nothing where on our own, I

2185
02:46:02,639 --> 02:46:09,120
finally admitted. As night descended, the whispers became louder and

2186
02:46:09,280 --> 02:46:14,040
more insistent. Eliza tried to sleep, but was jolted awake.

2187
02:46:15,559 --> 02:46:19,440
She said it was a voice, a clear, commanding whisper

2188
02:46:19,760 --> 02:46:24,440
that seemed to come from inside her room. Don't open

2189
02:46:24,479 --> 02:46:29,200
the door, it said, But when she bolted upright, her

2190
02:46:29,239 --> 02:46:34,120
door was shut and the room empty. In the mess

2191
02:46:34,120 --> 02:46:39,440
hall Mark sat alone, staring at his radio. He swore

2192
02:46:39,520 --> 02:46:43,840
the static was speaking to him, patterns emerging in the crackles.

2193
02:46:44,920 --> 02:46:49,600
Don't you hear it? He asked? When I entered, hear what?

2194
02:46:50,440 --> 02:46:55,440
I asked, But before Mark could respond, the main hallway

2195
02:46:55,479 --> 02:47:00,920
lights flickered, casting jagged shadows across the walls. For a

2196
02:47:01,000 --> 02:47:07,440
split second, we all felt it, a crushing presence, like

2197
02:47:07,520 --> 02:47:12,280
something immense and unseen was bearing down on us. The

2198
02:47:12,360 --> 02:47:16,760
sense of being watched grow unbearable. By now, none of

2199
02:47:16,840 --> 02:47:20,879
us doubted the previous researcher's writings on the door. The

2200
02:47:20,959 --> 02:47:25,280
whispers gnawed at the edges of our sanity. Looking at

2201
02:47:25,319 --> 02:47:28,920
the others, I was the steadiest among them, and I

2202
02:47:29,000 --> 02:47:34,520
finally addressed the elephant in the room. Whatever's happening here?

2203
02:47:35,440 --> 02:47:39,719
We can't stay. If we're not careful, we'll end up

2204
02:47:39,920 --> 02:47:45,440
just like them. The air inside the station felt heavier

2205
02:47:45,719 --> 02:47:49,200
with each passing hour. I couldn't shake the feeling that

2206
02:47:49,280 --> 02:47:53,239
the walls were watching us. Eliza paced back and forth

2207
02:47:53,280 --> 02:47:59,360
near the common area, her footsteps echoing unnaturally loud. This

2208
02:47:59,479 --> 02:48:05,760
place is all wrong, she muttered, glancing at the reinforced windows.

2209
02:48:05,799 --> 02:48:08,120
Mark stared out at the snow through one of the

2210
02:48:08,159 --> 02:48:14,200
thick panes. Nothing but white, he said, softly, almost to himself.

2211
02:48:15,319 --> 02:48:21,520
No movement, no sign of life. It's just nothing. I

2212
02:48:21,559 --> 02:48:26,040
sat at the console, scrawling through the fragmented logs. There's

2213
02:48:26,040 --> 02:48:30,239
nothing here that explains the lasting's behavior, I said. No

2214
02:48:30,360 --> 02:48:36,040
seismic anomalies, no animal sightings, no storms, just normal readings.

2215
02:48:37,879 --> 02:48:41,639
I felt the words catching my throat because nothing felt

2216
02:48:41,680 --> 02:48:47,520
normal here. Eliza stopped pacing to turn to me. Then

2217
02:48:47,760 --> 02:48:51,079
what drove them mad? They scratched the doors to pieces,

2218
02:48:51,360 --> 02:48:56,319
barricaded themselves inside, and starved to death. That doesn't just happen.

2219
02:48:59,200 --> 02:49:03,959
I had no an, sir. That night, the station woke

2220
02:49:04,040 --> 02:49:09,120
us with sounds. It started faint scratching on the far wall,

2221
02:49:09,959 --> 02:49:13,760
just loud enough to break through the silence. I sat

2222
02:49:13,840 --> 02:49:18,479
upright in my bunk, heart pounding. At first, I thought

2223
02:49:18,520 --> 02:49:23,239
it was the wind, Then came. The banging, sharp and deliberate,

2224
02:49:23,840 --> 02:49:28,479
like something heavy, striking metal. Eliza, did you hear that,

2225
02:49:29,239 --> 02:49:34,959
I whispered, grabbing my flashlight. Yeah, she said, her voice trembling.

2226
02:49:35,719 --> 02:49:42,760
It might just be I don't know, ice shifting. Mark

2227
02:49:42,799 --> 02:49:45,360
had already slid out of his bunk and was standing

2228
02:49:45,479 --> 02:49:49,000
in the doorway, staring down the hallway toward the source

2229
02:49:49,040 --> 02:49:55,520
of the sound. That's not ice, he said flatly. The

2230
02:49:55,559 --> 02:50:03,040
banging came again, this time louder, closer. I jumped my

2231
02:50:03,159 --> 02:50:07,879
flashlight beam chittering against the wall. We gathered in the

2232
02:50:07,920 --> 02:50:12,360
common area, clutching whatever we could find. Eliza grabbed a

2233
02:50:12,399 --> 02:50:16,680
fire extinguisher. I held a wrench. Mark had his flashlight

2234
02:50:16,760 --> 02:50:22,079
gripped like a weapon. The noise moved circling the station.

2235
02:50:23,479 --> 02:50:26,639
It came from the walls, then the roof, then the floor.

2236
02:50:28,000 --> 02:50:31,920
Each sound was precise and deliberate, like it was searching

2237
02:50:32,000 --> 02:50:37,799
for a weak spot. It's testing us, Eliza said, her

2238
02:50:37,879 --> 02:50:41,879
voice barely above a whisper. It's trying to find a

2239
02:50:41,879 --> 02:50:47,200
way in. When dawn came, if you could call it

2240
02:50:47,239 --> 02:50:52,440
that in the Arctic, the banging stopped. The station fell silent,

2241
02:50:52,959 --> 02:50:57,239
but the tension in the air didn't fade. Mark suggested

2242
02:50:57,280 --> 02:51:01,200
we check the perimeter and see if something left, but

2243
02:51:01,280 --> 02:51:05,879
I immediately vetoed the idea. We don't know what's out there,

2244
02:51:06,399 --> 02:51:10,920
I said. It could be anything like what a polar bear.

2245
02:51:11,440 --> 02:51:17,120
Mark snapped. Polar bears don't knock in patterns, Eliza shot back,

2246
02:51:17,920 --> 02:51:24,239
whatever it is, it's not an animal. We barricaded the

2247
02:51:24,280 --> 02:51:28,239
doors and windows. Every logical part of me knew we

2248
02:51:28,239 --> 02:51:31,840
were trapping ourselves inside, but I couldn't bring myself to

2249
02:51:31,879 --> 02:51:37,280
suggest otherwise. The noises, whenever was out there, had made

2250
02:51:37,280 --> 02:51:42,840
that choice for us. The second night was worse. The

2251
02:51:42,879 --> 02:51:47,600
scratching became relentless, scraping, like claws dragging against the walls.

2252
02:51:48,600 --> 02:51:52,799
The banging came back, harder and more chaotic, shaking the

2253
02:51:52,840 --> 02:51:57,959
station to its core. It's going to break through, Eliza whispered,

2254
02:51:58,319 --> 02:52:03,440
clutching the fire extinguisher a lifeline. Mark sat at the console,

2255
02:52:03,559 --> 02:52:09,120
staring at the monitors. There's nothing, he said, his voice shaking.

2256
02:52:10,079 --> 02:52:13,959
The camera showed nothing. It's just us out here. Then,

2257
02:52:14,000 --> 02:52:17,319
what the hell is making that noise? I demanded, trying

2258
02:52:17,319 --> 02:52:21,399
to keep my voice steady. I don't know, Mark snat,

2259
02:52:21,559 --> 02:52:26,719
slamming his fist on the console. The banging immediately responded,

2260
02:52:27,559 --> 02:52:35,920
echoing louder, sharper, almost angry. We all froze. It heard that,

2261
02:52:36,719 --> 02:52:42,399
Eliza said, softly, It heard him. By the third day,

2262
02:52:43,000 --> 02:52:47,639
we were all exhausted. Every step fell like trudging through

2263
02:52:47,680 --> 02:52:52,319
wet cement. Eliza slumped in a chair, her face pale.

2264
02:52:53,639 --> 02:52:59,639
I can't think straight, she said, her voice barely audible. Yeah,

2265
02:53:00,079 --> 02:53:03,840
Mark agreed, his head in his hands. I need more sleep.

2266
02:53:04,399 --> 02:53:10,079
It's like my energe is just gone. I rubbed my temples,

2267
02:53:10,440 --> 02:53:13,079
trying to fight off the pounding headache that had been

2268
02:53:13,079 --> 02:53:20,319
building all morning. The artifact. I didn't want to admit it,

2269
02:53:20,840 --> 02:53:25,879
but I knew it was somehow involved. It could be

2270
02:53:25,959 --> 02:53:30,159
the artifact, I said, finally putting the idea out there.

2271
02:53:31,120 --> 02:53:35,120
We should throw it outside. Mark muttered and risk leaving

2272
02:53:35,200 --> 02:53:40,040
the station. I asked, do you hear that? The banging

2273
02:53:40,159 --> 02:53:45,440
had started again, now accompanied by a low, almost mechanical groan.

2274
02:53:47,360 --> 02:53:52,360
The third night, everything reached the fever pitch. The station

2275
02:53:52,559 --> 02:53:55,639
shook with the force of the banging, and the scraping

2276
02:53:55,680 --> 02:54:00,520
became a deafening screech. Eliza dropped to her knees, covering

2277
02:54:00,520 --> 02:54:04,959
her ears. HiT's in my head, She screamed, HiT's in

2278
02:54:05,000 --> 02:54:09,840
my goddamn head. Mark grabbed his flashlight and bolted toward

2279
02:54:09,879 --> 02:54:12,959
the far hallway. We can't just sit her and wait

2280
02:54:13,000 --> 02:54:17,360
to die. I'm gonna kill it, he shouted, his flashlight

2281
02:54:17,399 --> 02:54:20,399
being cut through the darkness, landing on the door at

2282
02:54:20,399 --> 02:54:26,239
the far end of the station. The banging stopped. Mark, don't,

2283
02:54:27,239 --> 02:54:30,360
I started, but he was already at the door, his

2284
02:54:30,440 --> 02:54:35,040
hand trembling as he reached for the handle. The silence

2285
02:54:35,360 --> 02:54:42,680
was deafening. It's quiet, he whispered, his voice cracking. Eliza

2286
02:54:42,719 --> 02:54:46,440
and I rushed forward, getting ready to grab him. Don't

2287
02:54:46,479 --> 02:54:52,559
open it, I yelled, HiT's a trap. Mark hesitated, his

2288
02:54:52,680 --> 02:54:57,600
hand still inches from the handle. Then the banging resumed,

2289
02:54:58,120 --> 02:55:05,280
louder than ever, as if mocking us. We stumbled back

2290
02:55:05,319 --> 02:55:09,120
to the common area, the sounds chasing us, filling the

2291
02:55:09,200 --> 02:55:25,840
station with chaos. The station wasn't just falling apart, we were.

2292
02:55:27,559 --> 02:55:30,600
By the fourth day, the noises had escalated to a

2293
02:55:30,639 --> 02:55:37,200
maddening cacophony, banging, scratching, and now an eerie rhythmic thumping

2294
02:55:37,479 --> 02:55:41,520
that echoed deep within the walls. The air inside felt

2295
02:55:41,520 --> 02:55:44,680
like it was pressing against my skull. And every glance

2296
02:55:44,719 --> 02:55:50,399
exchanged among us seemed to carry unspoken accusations. Mark and

2297
02:55:50,440 --> 02:55:54,200
Eliza sat opposite ends of the common area, glaring at

2298
02:55:54,239 --> 02:55:58,719
each other. I stopped between them, exhausted from trying to

2299
02:55:58,840 --> 02:56:03,719
keep the peace. We can't keep doing this, I said,

2300
02:56:04,200 --> 02:56:07,479
my voice hoarse from days of shouting over the sounds.

2301
02:56:08,040 --> 02:56:10,200
We need to work together, but we're not going to

2302
02:56:10,280 --> 02:56:14,440
make it. You want to talk about working together, Eliza snapped,

2303
02:56:14,760 --> 02:56:17,399
her eyes blazing. Mark's the one who almost opened the

2304
02:56:17,440 --> 02:56:20,559
goddamn door. I was trying to figure out what we're

2305
02:56:20,559 --> 02:56:24,280
dealing with. Mark shot back, slamming his fist on the table.

2306
02:56:24,920 --> 02:56:30,559
Sitting here hiding isn't solving anything enough, I barked, slamming

2307
02:56:30,600 --> 02:56:34,440
the wrench I've been clutching onto the table. The sound

2308
02:56:34,479 --> 02:56:40,200
reverberated through the station, momentarily drowning out the noises. For

2309
02:56:40,239 --> 02:56:46,280
a brief moment, everything was silent. Then, as if in retaliation,

2310
02:56:47,079 --> 02:56:54,920
the banging resumed harder, angrier. Mark stood up. You said

2311
02:56:54,920 --> 02:56:57,639
it was the artifact. If it's causing this, why haven't

2312
02:56:57,639 --> 02:57:00,000
we gotten rid of it? Because it's the only thing

2313
02:57:00,239 --> 02:57:03,760
keeping us alive, she yelled back. You think these noises

2314
02:57:03,799 --> 02:57:06,079
are bad. Imagine what happens if we just throw it

2315
02:57:06,120 --> 02:57:09,799
out there with with whatever's out there, it must want it,

2316
02:57:10,959 --> 02:57:14,760
I turned to Eliza, raising my hands. We don't know

2317
02:57:14,840 --> 02:57:19,000
that for sure, but right now we can't risk the

2318
02:57:19,120 --> 02:57:24,319
crash of shattering glass cut me off. My heart stopped

2319
02:57:24,479 --> 02:57:28,680
as I turned and saw Mark standing over the console,

2320
02:57:29,319 --> 02:57:33,399
a chair raised in his hands. He'd smashed the screen,

2321
02:57:34,079 --> 02:57:38,239
shards of glass glittering on the floor. Smoke rose from

2322
02:57:38,239 --> 02:57:43,040
the panel as sparks danced across its surface. What the

2323
02:57:43,079 --> 02:57:47,399
hell are you doing? I shouted, Lunging for him, I

2324
02:57:47,399 --> 02:57:50,120
grabbed his arm and yanked him back as the equipment

2325
02:57:50,200 --> 02:57:54,879
groaned and fizzled. He wasn't doing anything, he screamed, his

2326
02:57:55,040 --> 02:57:59,479
voice cracking. It wasn't calling anyone, It wasn't helping. It's

2327
02:57:59,520 --> 02:58:02,079
just another useless piece of junk, like all of you.

2328
02:58:03,680 --> 02:58:06,200
Smoke poured out from the console as the last of

2329
02:58:06,239 --> 02:58:11,280
its lights flickered out. The satellite uplink was fried, and

2330
02:58:11,360 --> 02:58:16,399
the backup coms were destroyed. We were completely isolated now,

2331
02:58:16,920 --> 02:58:19,840
with no way to call for help or even confirm

2332
02:58:20,000 --> 02:58:25,719
if rescue was coming. You've doomed us, Eliza streaked, her

2333
02:58:25,799 --> 02:58:30,200
voice shaken with rage and panic. She shoved Mark, sending

2334
02:58:30,239 --> 02:58:34,760
him tumbling backward. Do you even understand what you've done?

2335
02:58:34,959 --> 02:58:38,200
I did what I had to. Mark spat, clutching the

2336
02:58:38,319 --> 02:58:41,639
chair like a shield. None of this was working. Run

2337
02:58:41,719 --> 02:58:44,079
our own, whether you like it or not. Now we

2338
02:58:44,120 --> 02:58:47,760
can finally focus on the here and now. I stood

2339
02:58:47,799 --> 02:58:52,479
between them, my body tense, my mind raising. We needed

2340
02:58:52,520 --> 02:58:57,719
that console. Now we have nothing left. Mark turned to me,

2341
02:58:58,319 --> 02:59:02,600
his face pale and eyes blood shot. Nothing. We've had

2342
02:59:02,639 --> 02:59:05,520
nothing since we've got air read. The noises aren't stopping,

2343
02:59:05,680 --> 02:59:09,159
the artifact isn't doing anything, and now we're just sitting ducks.

2344
02:59:09,639 --> 02:59:12,600
You want to die locked in here like those researchers.

2345
02:59:13,440 --> 02:59:16,399
The words hung in the air like frost, chilling us.

2346
02:59:16,440 --> 02:59:20,799
All I sair, Eliza's face crumble As the gravity of

2347
02:59:20,840 --> 02:59:26,040
our situation sank in. Mark lowered his chair, his rage

2348
02:59:26,079 --> 02:59:32,319
deflating to quiet despair. But it was too late. The

2349
02:59:32,399 --> 02:59:37,600
noises stopped for a moment, the station fell into an

2350
02:59:37,600 --> 02:59:43,040
oppressive silence, the kind that made my ears ring. Then

2351
02:59:43,239 --> 02:59:48,159
came a sound worse than any banging or scratching, a low,

2352
02:59:48,319 --> 02:59:52,959
catural moan vibrating through the walls and deep into my bones.

2353
02:59:54,440 --> 02:59:58,360
It's trying to get in, she whispered. It's going to

2354
02:59:58,399 --> 03:00:03,159
break through, oh, I said firmly, though my own fear

2355
03:00:03,319 --> 03:00:06,600
was clawing at my throat. It's not going to get in.

2356
03:00:07,079 --> 03:00:09,840
It hasn't gotten in yet, and he won't now. We

2357
03:00:10,200 --> 03:00:13,920
just have to hold out. Why do you keep saying that,

2358
03:00:14,680 --> 03:00:19,840
Mark demanded, stepping closer. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot.

2359
03:00:20,799 --> 03:00:24,159
You don't know that. For all we know, it's already inside.

2360
03:00:25,040 --> 03:00:29,520
It's not inside, I insisted, my voice rising, But it

2361
03:00:29,559 --> 03:00:31,559
will be if we start losing it like the last

2362
03:00:31,559 --> 03:00:38,000
team did. Mark froze at that, his face darkening. You

2363
03:00:38,159 --> 03:00:41,399
think we're like them, he hissed. You think we're just

2364
03:00:41,440 --> 03:00:43,600
going to sit here and starve ourselves to death like

2365
03:00:43,680 --> 03:00:49,639
they did. Mark calm down, I said, stepping back. No,

2366
03:00:50,520 --> 03:00:53,959
he shouted, you're just as bad as they were, refusing

2367
03:00:53,959 --> 03:00:56,959
to face the truth. There's something out there, and if

2368
03:00:57,000 --> 03:01:00,600
we don't deal with it, The lights flickered again, and

2369
03:01:00,680 --> 03:01:06,120
the temperature plummeted. Frost began forming on the windows, creeping inward.

2370
03:01:07,280 --> 03:01:11,440
The artifact's glow pulls the erratically, casting wild shadows on

2371
03:01:11,479 --> 03:01:15,799
the walls. The banging reached the fever, pitch, drowning out

2372
03:01:15,879 --> 03:01:21,760
Mark's words. Mark lunged for the artifact. If we're going

2373
03:01:21,840 --> 03:01:24,959
to die here, I'm not going to sit her and

2374
03:01:25,000 --> 03:01:27,920
Eliza tackled him before he could reach it, both of

2375
03:01:27,959 --> 03:01:31,319
them collapsing to the floor in a heap. The wrench

2376
03:01:31,360 --> 03:01:34,000
fell from my hand as I rushed to pull them apart.

2377
03:01:34,920 --> 03:01:39,479
For the moment my fingers touched Mark's arm, I felt

2378
03:01:39,520 --> 03:01:44,120
it the same draining sensation I'd felt near the artifact,

2379
03:01:45,079 --> 03:01:50,360
only stronger. Stop it, I yelled, yanking him back. He

2380
03:01:50,440 --> 03:01:53,840
shoved me off, breathing heavily, but didn't move toward the

2381
03:01:53,920 --> 03:01:59,760
artifact again. The groaning noise didn't stop. It pulls through

2382
03:01:59,760 --> 03:02:04,159
the station. Mark and Eliza clung to each other, as

2383
03:02:04,159 --> 03:02:08,079
if their sheer presence could hold the station together. I

2384
03:02:08,159 --> 03:02:11,760
stayed where I was ripping my wrench, my mind raising

2385
03:02:11,840 --> 03:02:17,639
to make sense of it all. But then I noticed

2386
03:02:17,680 --> 03:02:23,399
something odd. My coffee mug. It sat on the table,

2387
03:02:23,840 --> 03:02:29,959
untouched since the morning, but the liquid inside was perfectly still,

2388
03:02:31,520 --> 03:02:38,600
no ripples, no trembling surface. Eliza, I croaked, pointing to

2389
03:02:38,639 --> 03:02:45,600
the mug. Look at this. She didn't move, her hands

2390
03:02:45,639 --> 03:02:49,799
pressed to her ears. Mark shook his head, his back

2391
03:02:49,920 --> 03:02:53,440
pressed to the wall. Not now read. We need to

2392
03:02:53,440 --> 03:02:58,799
figure out how to survive whatever the hell that is, Eliza, Mark,

2393
03:02:59,559 --> 03:03:02,959
I said louder, standing up and pointing more firmly at

2394
03:03:03,000 --> 03:03:11,040
the mug. The sound it's not real. They both froze,

2395
03:03:11,440 --> 03:03:15,159
looking at me like I'd lost my mind. What are

2396
03:03:15,200 --> 03:03:19,520
you talking about, Eliza said, her voice tight. You can

2397
03:03:19,600 --> 03:03:23,200
feel it. I grabbed the mug and held it up.

2398
03:03:24,120 --> 03:03:28,440
This should be shaking, everything should be vibrating. But nothing

2399
03:03:28,440 --> 03:03:31,760
in this room is reacting to the sound except us.

2400
03:03:33,959 --> 03:03:37,479
Mark's eyes darted to the mug, and for a moment

2401
03:03:38,319 --> 03:03:42,760
doubt flickered across his face, but it was quickly replaced

2402
03:03:42,799 --> 03:03:46,959
by defiance. That doesn't mean anything. Maybe the noise is

2403
03:03:47,000 --> 03:03:51,319
coming from inside, Maybe the whole structure is shifting. Then,

2404
03:03:51,559 --> 03:03:54,719
why haven't we felt a single tremor? Why the vents

2405
03:03:54,719 --> 03:03:58,959
still circulating air without a hitch. My voice was growing

2406
03:03:59,000 --> 03:04:04,600
louder desperation. The noises are in our heads. Whatever is

2407
03:04:04,639 --> 03:04:09,319
causing this, it's keeping us trapped here, keeping us afraid.

2408
03:04:11,479 --> 03:04:15,920
Eliza shook her head violently, her fingers tightening around her temples.

2409
03:04:17,040 --> 03:04:20,120
That doesn't make sense. What about the art of fact?

2410
03:04:20,479 --> 03:04:23,319
The noise is started after we found it. How can

2411
03:04:23,360 --> 03:04:28,200
you say this isn't real? It is real, I said,

2412
03:04:29,200 --> 03:04:33,239
but only in here, I tapped the side of my head.

2413
03:04:34,319 --> 03:04:38,000
It's making us paranoid. It made the researchers paranoid enough

2414
03:04:38,000 --> 03:04:40,159
to lock themselves in that lab and starve to death,

2415
03:04:40,600 --> 03:04:44,440
and it's doing the same thing to us. Mark stared

2416
03:04:44,440 --> 03:04:49,040
at me, his face pale but resolute. So what you

2417
03:04:49,079 --> 03:04:51,440
think We should just open the door and stroll outside.

2418
03:04:51,879 --> 03:04:56,520
Let whatever's out there finish us off. Yes, I said,

2419
03:04:57,120 --> 03:05:01,719
surprising even myself with the strength of my con That's

2420
03:05:01,799 --> 03:05:04,879
exactly what we need to do. If we stay here,

2421
03:05:05,120 --> 03:05:07,959
it will wear us down until we're like them. Those

2422
03:05:08,000 --> 03:05:11,399
bodies aren't warnings, their proof of what happens if we

2423
03:05:11,520 --> 03:05:18,719
don't get out. Eliza backed away, her eyes wide. You're insane.

2424
03:05:19,399 --> 03:05:21,840
You want to open the door to whatever's been banging

2425
03:05:21,840 --> 03:05:27,079
and growling. You want to kill us all. No, I

2426
03:05:27,159 --> 03:05:31,280
want to survive, I shouted. If we stay here, we

2427
03:05:31,479 --> 03:05:36,600
end up like them. Don't you see the sounds, the artifact,

2428
03:05:37,600 --> 03:05:41,239
It's all a trap. It's making us seal ourselves inside,

2429
03:05:41,719 --> 03:05:46,000
just like they did. Mark stepped forward, his fists clenched

2430
03:05:47,319 --> 03:05:50,239
and what if you're wrong, What if we open that door,

2431
03:05:50,399 --> 03:05:53,159
and what if it's out there tears us apart? How

2432
03:05:53,159 --> 03:05:55,360
are you so sure this isn't just cabin fever or

2433
03:05:55,399 --> 03:06:00,000
some kind of environmental thing. I took a deep breath,

2434
03:06:00,600 --> 03:06:07,760
trying to steady myself because I feel it. The moment

2435
03:06:07,799 --> 03:06:11,360
I realized the sound wasn't real, it stopped for me.

2436
03:06:12,479 --> 03:06:17,559
The whispers, the banging, I don't hear them anymore, But

2437
03:06:17,639 --> 03:06:21,559
you do, don't you. It's still in your head, pushing

2438
03:06:21,600 --> 03:06:26,959
you to stay. Eliza was trembling, her back pressed against

2439
03:06:26,959 --> 03:06:31,440
the wall. Even if you're right, read, we can't take

2440
03:06:31,440 --> 03:06:36,799
that chance. We're not opening that door. Mark stepped between

2441
03:06:36,799 --> 03:06:41,120
me and the entrance. His stands rigid. You're not gonna

2442
03:06:41,200 --> 03:06:44,159
let that thing in. You want to go out there, fine,

2443
03:06:44,680 --> 03:06:48,319
but you're not dragging us with you. The tension in

2444
03:06:48,360 --> 03:06:52,520
the room was unbearable, the air thick with fear and mistrust.

2445
03:06:53,600 --> 03:06:57,040
I gritted my teeth, my gaze shifting between them and

2446
03:06:57,079 --> 03:07:02,120
the sealed door. The banging started again, or at least

2447
03:07:02,120 --> 03:07:05,479
I assume so from how they reacted as if it

2448
03:07:05,559 --> 03:07:08,879
knew what I was about to do, making them more

2449
03:07:08,920 --> 03:07:12,079
defensive and ready to hold the line at the door.

2450
03:07:13,600 --> 03:07:19,120
Get out of my way, I said quietly. Mark shook

2451
03:07:19,159 --> 03:07:24,840
his head over my dead body. Eliza's hand gripped my

2452
03:07:25,000 --> 03:07:29,200
arm like a vice. He's right, you don't know what's

2453
03:07:29,239 --> 03:07:35,000
out there. I shook her off, my mind raising. What

2454
03:07:35,079 --> 03:07:38,000
I do know is whatever's out there hasn't broken in,

2455
03:07:38,719 --> 03:07:42,920
not yet. And if I'm right, then we've been locking

2456
03:07:42,920 --> 03:07:46,360
ourselves in here for no reason, just like the last team.

2457
03:07:47,639 --> 03:07:51,600
You're gambling all our lives on some theory. What if

2458
03:07:51,600 --> 03:07:56,159
you're wrong. Mark's stepped closer, locking my path to the door.

2459
03:07:57,040 --> 03:08:02,920
His body was trembling. Might be, I admitted, my voice cracking,

2460
03:08:03,879 --> 03:08:06,639
But look at us. We're not going to survive him

2461
03:08:06,680 --> 03:08:10,879
much longer anyway. The powers unstable, we've lost colms, the

2462
03:08:10,959 --> 03:08:21,280
cords creeping in. If we stay, we die. Mark's jaw tightened.

2463
03:08:22,520 --> 03:08:25,399
Better than opening the door and letting whatever's out there

2464
03:08:25,520 --> 03:08:31,239
tear us apart. Eliza stood behind him, wide eyed, shaking

2465
03:08:31,280 --> 03:08:38,959
her head. Please read, don't do this. Their fear was palpable,

2466
03:08:39,680 --> 03:08:47,399
their desperation infectious, and yet so was mine. The scratches,

2467
03:08:47,600 --> 03:08:52,239
the banging, none of it left any evidence. Every sound

2468
03:08:52,360 --> 03:08:55,760
vanished into the void. Leaving nothing but frayed nerves in

2469
03:08:55,840 --> 03:08:59,760
its wake. I glanced at the faint bloodstains near the

2470
03:09:00,239 --> 03:09:04,000
door where the previous team had met their end. They

2471
03:09:04,120 --> 03:09:08,559
hadn't opened the door, they'd listened to the whispers, and

2472
03:09:08,680 --> 03:09:13,239
they died because of it. I stepped closer to the door,

2473
03:09:13,879 --> 03:09:18,000
heart hammering in my chest. The control panel blinked steadily,

2474
03:09:18,680 --> 03:09:21,840
a quiet rhythmic reminder that I held the power to

2475
03:09:22,079 --> 03:09:30,200
end this madness, or to doom us all. You're insane, marquissed.

2476
03:09:31,159 --> 03:09:33,799
I heard him lurch forward and felt the impact as

2477
03:09:33,799 --> 03:09:36,520
he grabbed my shoulder and yanked me away from the panel.

2478
03:09:37,520 --> 03:09:40,360
I twisted out of his grip, shoving him hard enough

2479
03:09:40,360 --> 03:09:43,879
to make him stumble. The sound of his boots scraping

2480
03:09:44,000 --> 03:09:48,079
against the floor echoed loudly in the still air. He

2481
03:09:48,159 --> 03:09:51,719
caught himself and turned back to me, rage flashing in

2482
03:09:51,760 --> 03:09:56,200
his eyes. Don't make me stop you, he said, his

2483
03:09:56,319 --> 03:10:01,159
voice trembling. I stared him down my hand, creeping back

2484
03:10:01,200 --> 03:10:07,600
toward the panel. I don't think you can. Mark launched

2485
03:10:07,600 --> 03:10:11,520
at me again, this time with more force. I managed

2486
03:10:11,520 --> 03:10:14,399
to sidestep him, slamming my back against the wall near

2487
03:10:14,440 --> 03:10:18,840
the panel. Eliza cried out behind him, her voice cracking

2488
03:10:19,040 --> 03:10:22,000
as she begged both of us to stop. But the

2489
03:10:22,079 --> 03:10:26,280
doors blinking red light held my focus. I swung my

2490
03:10:26,399 --> 03:10:29,200
arm out, swiping the control panel with the heel of

2491
03:10:29,239 --> 03:10:35,959
my hand. The red light blinked once twice and then

2492
03:10:36,639 --> 03:10:43,239
turned green. No Mark roared, diving at me, but it

2493
03:10:43,319 --> 03:10:47,600
was too late. The sound of the lock disengaging was

2494
03:10:47,680 --> 03:10:52,200
deafening in the eerie silence. The door shuddered, its heel

2495
03:10:52,280 --> 03:10:56,760
was releasing with a hiss of escaping air. Eliza screamed,

2496
03:10:57,000 --> 03:11:00,159
scrambling to grab Mark, who was clawing his way toward me,

2497
03:11:00,319 --> 03:11:03,639
as if to one do what I'd just done. I

2498
03:11:03,719 --> 03:11:09,639
braced myself, every muscle locked in anticipation. The noise inside

2499
03:11:09,639 --> 03:11:16,879
the station didn't stop. It collapsed. The incessant banging, scratching

2500
03:11:16,879 --> 03:11:21,360
in whispers vanished instantly, replaced by the howling wind and

2501
03:11:21,399 --> 03:11:26,680
the arctics suffocating stillness. The transition was so abrupt it

2502
03:11:26,760 --> 03:11:33,840
felt like stepping from a nightmare into nothingness. No shadowy figures,

2503
03:11:34,120 --> 03:11:38,959
no claw marks, no monstrous forms, just the stark, blinding

2504
03:11:39,000 --> 03:11:42,559
white of the snow and the faint howl of the wind.

2505
03:11:45,280 --> 03:11:48,879
I exhaled my breath fogging the air in front of me.

2506
03:11:51,120 --> 03:11:58,159
It's empty, I whispered. Mark froze midstep, his face a

2507
03:11:58,200 --> 03:12:02,719
mask of disbelief. Eliza slumped to her knees, her hands

2508
03:12:02,799 --> 03:12:09,559
covering her face. For a moment, we all stood there,

2509
03:12:10,239 --> 03:12:15,360
staring into the unbroken expanse of snow. The silence was crushing,

2510
03:12:16,040 --> 03:12:19,280
not a single sound echoing back from the icy void.

2511
03:12:20,719 --> 03:12:26,319
There's nothing, I whispered, my words stolen by the wind.

2512
03:12:28,920 --> 03:12:33,719
Mark looked at me, his face pale and drawn. You

2513
03:12:34,200 --> 03:12:39,920
don't know that, he muttered weakly, his voice hollow. I

2514
03:12:40,000 --> 03:12:43,719
stepped toward the open door, the cold biting into my skin.

2515
03:12:45,319 --> 03:12:51,440
Then why did it stop? He had no answer. Neither

2516
03:12:51,639 --> 03:12:57,399
did I. Eliza stepped forward, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

2517
03:12:58,239 --> 03:13:01,399
Her face was pale, eyes wide as she scanned the

2518
03:13:01,399 --> 03:13:08,959
empty expanse. So what we imagined it? All of it? No,

2519
03:13:10,000 --> 03:13:15,440
I said, my voice trembling but resolute. Not imagined. It

2520
03:13:15,600 --> 03:13:21,200
was real, just not the way we thought. Mark snapped.

2521
03:13:22,079 --> 03:13:24,879
You don't know that he could be hiding. You could

2522
03:13:24,879 --> 03:13:29,680
have killed us, His voice cracked, raw with anger and fear.

2523
03:13:30,680 --> 03:13:34,920
We don't know what's out there, we don't, he faltered,

2524
03:13:35,719 --> 03:13:41,360
his gaze drawn to the stark, unbroken snow. The reality

2525
03:13:42,120 --> 03:13:47,040
began to sink in the artifact, dull and inert in

2526
03:13:47,079 --> 03:13:51,159
the corner caught my eye. His presence felt heavier, now,

2527
03:13:51,920 --> 03:13:56,559
an ominous void, sucking in light and reason. I gestured

2528
03:13:56,559 --> 03:14:01,840
toward it. It was never out there, I said, it

2529
03:14:02,000 --> 03:14:06,799
was always here. That thing, whatever it is, wanted us

2530
03:14:06,879 --> 03:14:12,559
locked in panikin, tearing each other apart, and we almost

2531
03:14:12,639 --> 03:14:17,319
gave it what it wanted. Mark's face twisted in denial,

2532
03:14:18,000 --> 03:14:22,719
but Eliza's expression softened. She looked back at the artifact,

2533
03:14:23,120 --> 03:14:28,920
her brow furrowing. The other team, she murmured, her voice

2534
03:14:28,959 --> 03:14:33,040
almost lost in the wind. That's why we found them

2535
03:14:33,120 --> 03:14:38,680
like that, with no sign of escape. I nodded grimly.

2536
03:14:40,399 --> 03:14:44,200
I stepped fully outside, letting the arctic cold claw up

2537
03:14:44,200 --> 03:14:50,159
my face, grounding me in its unrelenting reality. Behind me,

2538
03:14:50,760 --> 03:14:54,719
Mark slumped into a chair, shaking his head in disbelief.

2539
03:14:56,159 --> 03:15:00,200
Eliza stood at the threshold, her expression a mixture of

2540
03:15:00,200 --> 03:15:05,520
relief and devastation. Mark remained inside as we began to

2541
03:15:05,600 --> 03:15:11,120
salvage what we could, avoiding our gaze. His distrust was palpable.

2542
03:15:12,159 --> 03:15:15,600
There was nothing I could say to ease it. We

2543
03:15:15,600 --> 03:15:19,760
were alive, but we'd barely escaped, with our sanity intact.

2544
03:15:21,040 --> 03:15:25,079
The whispers didn't return, but the artifact remained in the

2545
03:15:25,120 --> 03:15:28,520
corner of the lab. Every time I looked at it,

2546
03:15:29,239 --> 03:15:34,479
I felt a faint unease, like it was still watching, waiting.

2547
03:15:36,399 --> 03:15:40,479
Even though the Arctic wind roared around us, the silence

2548
03:15:40,680 --> 03:15:48,840
inside the station had never felt louder. Evacuation finally arrived

2549
03:15:48,959 --> 03:15:53,200
two days later. A helicopter's distant hum sliced through the

2550
03:15:53,399 --> 03:15:57,600
icy silence, the sound alien after the oppressive stillness we

2551
03:15:57,639 --> 03:16:01,600
had endured. By then. We'd clear the station of what

2552
03:16:01,639 --> 03:16:06,559
we could notes data, anything that didn't feel tainted by

2553
03:16:06,600 --> 03:16:12,040
the artifact. Mark stayed withdrawn, barely speaking a word since

2554
03:16:12,079 --> 03:16:15,639
the door had opened. He avoid looking at Eliza on me,

2555
03:16:16,360 --> 03:16:19,799
his eyes lingering on the artifact as though it was

2556
03:16:19,840 --> 03:16:23,840
still whispering to him. I caught him pacing in front

2557
03:16:23,879 --> 03:16:26,840
of it late at night, his face blank but his

2558
03:16:27,000 --> 03:16:32,799
movements frantic, like he was arguing with himself. As a group,

2559
03:16:33,239 --> 03:16:36,079
we decided to hide the artifact away from the facility

2560
03:16:36,399 --> 03:16:40,159
in an unmarked location so that even we couldn't find it.

2561
03:16:41,319 --> 03:16:43,479
We had witnessed what he could do in the most

2562
03:16:43,479 --> 03:16:48,000
remote location from Civilization. We didn't dare imagine what he

2563
03:16:48,040 --> 03:16:53,079
could do in a populated area. When the research team arrived,

2564
03:16:53,600 --> 03:16:57,360
they asked about the station's state. I told them we

2565
03:16:57,440 --> 03:17:00,159
had lost their equipment and that the previous crew who

2566
03:17:00,200 --> 03:17:04,719
had succumbed to madness. I didn't mention the artifact, and

2567
03:17:04,879 --> 03:17:09,399
neither did Mark or Eliza. Back at the main base,

2568
03:17:10,360 --> 03:17:16,239
I tried to write my report, facts, observations, timelines. I

2569
03:17:16,319 --> 03:17:21,040
stuck to the tangible, but the words felt hollow. How

2570
03:17:21,079 --> 03:17:26,319
could I describe something so intangible, so invasive, without sounding insane.

2571
03:17:27,879 --> 03:17:33,360
Eliza sat across from me, staring at her own blank page. Finally,

2572
03:17:33,639 --> 03:17:38,399
she sighed and leaned back, her eyes hollow. Are we

2573
03:17:38,440 --> 03:17:44,360
supposed to pretend it didn't happen? She asked. I didn't answer.

2574
03:17:45,440 --> 03:17:50,200
I didn't know how. Mark refused to leave his quarters.

2575
03:17:51,040 --> 03:17:54,840
He hadn't spoken since we boarded the helicopter. His door

2576
03:17:54,879 --> 03:17:58,840
remained lock, the faint hum of his portable radio the

2577
03:17:58,879 --> 03:18:03,520
only sign he was in. I wondered if he still

2578
03:18:03,639 --> 03:18:09,360
heard the whispers back in Civilization. I tried to move on.

2579
03:18:10,719 --> 03:18:14,200
Eliza transferred to a quieter project in a warmer climate,

2580
03:18:14,680 --> 03:18:20,719
far from the Arctic mark disappeared entirely. Rumors floated among

2581
03:18:20,760 --> 03:18:25,239
colleagues he'd left the field, joined some obscure sect, or

2582
03:18:25,280 --> 03:18:30,040
simply vanished. None of them felt right, None of them

2583
03:18:30,040 --> 03:18:37,360
felt wrong, and me I stayed. I couldn't let go

2584
03:18:37,559 --> 03:18:42,520
of what we'd found, or what had found us. I

2585
03:18:42,600 --> 03:18:47,639
researched phenomena like it, buried and obscure archives, piecing together

2586
03:18:47,719 --> 03:18:51,959
scraps of folklore and fringe science. Each time I read

2587
03:18:52,000 --> 03:18:58,639
about strange sounds, mass paranoia, or unexplainable events, my thoughts

2588
03:18:59,079 --> 03:19:04,639
returned to the art effect, to the whispers, to the

2589
03:19:04,760 --> 03:19:19,239
door m