1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: The call came on a Tuesday morning, just after I 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:09,039 poured my first coffee. It was an unknown number with 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:13,400 the rural area code. I didn't recognize. I almost let 4 00:00:13,439 --> 00:00:16,480 it ring out. Nothing good, it ever comes from a 5 00:00:16,519 --> 00:00:20,480 stranger calling before nine a m. But something in me 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:26,160 picked up. Anyway, who's this, ethan, A man asked. His 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:33,439 voice was steady and official. Yea, I said, who is this? Missus, 8 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:39,000 Sheriff Talbot, Redwood County. I'm sorry to contact you like this, Sun. 9 00:00:39,759 --> 00:00:43,679 We've recovered a woman's body in the state forest. Your sister. 10 00:00:44,679 --> 00:00:49,960 You're listed as the closest next of kin. I actually 11 00:00:50,039 --> 00:00:55,359 laughed one short, confused breath. You've got the wrong guy. 12 00:00:57,079 --> 00:01:02,479 A pause, then pages rustling. Her name was Sarah Morecraft, 13 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,359 my last name. I sat down a little too quickly. 14 00:01:08,799 --> 00:01:13,560 My coffee sloshed over the rim o. K. Well, that's 15 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,120 definitely not me, I said, I don't have a sister. 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,680 I've never had a sister. He paused for a moment. 17 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:28,719 Your mother was Angela Morecraft corrects, I said she died 18 00:01:28,719 --> 00:01:33,799 three years ago, and your father alive, but he lives 19 00:01:33,799 --> 00:01:39,159 in Nevada. Now we don't talk much. Talbot cleared his 20 00:01:39,239 --> 00:01:44,359 throat well, sir, I understand this is difficult, but our 21 00:01:44,439 --> 00:01:48,120 office already ran a preliminary DNA test. The State Lab 22 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,840 sent the results thirty minutes ago. The deceased woman is 23 00:01:51,879 --> 00:01:56,159 a full biological sibling match ninety nine point nine nine percent. 24 00:01:58,519 --> 00:02:02,400 The room tilted for a second. I thought the sheriff 25 00:02:02,519 --> 00:02:07,239 might have misread something, mixed up files, contaminated samples, or 26 00:02:07,239 --> 00:02:11,520 maybe there's a glitch in whatever software they used. Look, 27 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,680 I began trying to keep any panic from my voice. 28 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,520 I'm an only child, always have been. My dad would 29 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,159 have mentioned something like this, like a dead daughter, my mom. 30 00:02:24,479 --> 00:02:28,280 I cut myself off. She wasn't here to clarify anything. 31 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,400 I understand. Talbot said, but the state doesn't normally get 32 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,319 these things wrong. I'm afraid will need you to come 33 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,599 down and formally identify the next of kin. My brain 34 00:02:41,719 --> 00:02:45,960 snagged on the phrase like it was written in another language. 35 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,599 Formerly identify the next of kin? How was I supposed 36 00:02:50,599 --> 00:02:55,719 to identify some one I didn't even know existed? Identify 37 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:01,400 her how? I asked quietly in person. He said, when 38 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:06,919 you see her yourself, we'll know more. His words stuck 39 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:11,280 with me long after the call ended. When you see yourself, 40 00:03:11,719 --> 00:03:17,599 we'll know more. The implication wasn't subtle. Whoever she was, 41 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:22,960 whoever I apparently shared blood with, they thought I would 42 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:30,199 recognize her. I drove six hours to Redwood County. It 43 00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:32,719 was a nowhere town that didn't even bother with a 44 00:03:32,759 --> 00:03:37,879 welcome sign. It was surrounded by forests, littered with gas stations, 45 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,280 and a stretch of road that looked like they'd been 46 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,599 forgotten by time and funding. The sheriff met me outside 47 00:03:44,599 --> 00:03:48,400 the building. It was an older guy with a drooping 48 00:03:48,479 --> 00:03:51,240 mustache and a wrinkled face that looked like it had 49 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,280 been whittled out of pine bark. He nodded and led 50 00:03:55,319 --> 00:03:59,719 me through a side entrance into the coroner's suite. I'd 51 00:03:59,719 --> 00:04:01,879 expect it to be like what you see on TV, 52 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,680 with high tick equipment and bright white tiles, but instead 53 00:04:07,159 --> 00:04:11,039 I was greeted with a concrete floor, lilonium walls, and 54 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,280 the smell of preserved meat and bleach that has salted 55 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:19,680 my nose. She isn't draw six, the coroner said quietly. 56 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:25,839 A woman mid fifties. Maybe her badge read Dr Elkins. 57 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,560 I followed her to the wall of refrigerated units. She 58 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,120 glanced at me, like she was waiting for me to 59 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,600 give her a reason now to do this. I didn't. 60 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:44,360 She pulled open the drawer. The moment I saw the body, 61 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:52,839 my stomach turned cold. She was about thirty maybe thirty five, skin, pale, 62 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:57,079 lips drawn back, dark hair, brittle and sunken around a jaw. 63 00:04:58,439 --> 00:05:02,600 There was something about her face that it wasn't quite alien. 64 00:05:03,879 --> 00:05:09,240 If anything, it was worse than that. She looked like 65 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,439 my mother, close enough that I instinctively took a step back. 66 00:05:15,399 --> 00:05:19,720 Same nose, same curve of the cheekbones, same slightly offcenter 67 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,519 parting of her hair. But there was something wrong beneath 68 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:28,160 the familiarity. Her frame was frail, like she gone years 69 00:05:28,199 --> 00:05:31,920 without proper food. Her ribs rose like piano keys beneath 70 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,759 her skin, fingers bone thin and curved, like they've been 71 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:42,519 clenched for too long, and a skin grayish waxy, was 72 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,959 marred by little patches of what looked like hardened scarring 73 00:05:46,199 --> 00:05:52,759 around the nose and mouth. Elkins noticed me staring calcified 74 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,839 scar tissue in the lungs. Probably longtime exposure to mineral 75 00:05:56,879 --> 00:06:01,199 heavy dust could be a fungal build up. Honestly, we 76 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,600 haven't seen anything like it outside of old mining accidents, 77 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,120 She paused, Do you have any idea how this happened? 78 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,720 I shook my head. I hadn't even known she existed 79 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:20,519 a few days ago. Sorry, she said gently, didn't mean 80 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:25,439 to push. The sheriff stepped closer and handed me a 81 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,800 sealed evidence bag. Inside was a small, water damaged polaroid. 82 00:06:31,639 --> 00:06:34,920 It looked like it had been clutched tight for years, creased, 83 00:06:35,199 --> 00:06:40,040 torn in one corner, yellowed at the edges. I turned 84 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:46,360 it over. It was me, five years old, bowl cut, 85 00:06:46,639 --> 00:06:50,600 missing front teeth, standing in the grass somewhere with a 86 00:06:50,639 --> 00:06:54,279 toy plane in my hand. Next to me was a 87 00:06:54,319 --> 00:06:58,399 girl about my age, smiling, holding my hand like we'd 88 00:06:58,439 --> 00:07:02,160 done it a hundred times. The background was a blur 89 00:07:02,319 --> 00:07:06,040 of summer the corner of the house I barely recognized. 90 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,680 I didn't remember taking that photo. I didn't remember her, 91 00:07:13,399 --> 00:07:18,240 but there we were, like siblings, like we belonged together. 92 00:07:21,279 --> 00:07:24,639 I told myself a hundred times I was going to 93 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,360 sell the house after Mom died. I even had a 94 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,800 reel to and stand by keys and a manilla envelope 95 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,480 business card paper clip to the top, but I never 96 00:07:37,519 --> 00:07:42,399 followed through. Every time I tried. Something in me locked up. 97 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,759 My chest became heavy, and it was like I was 98 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,720 abandoning my parents, my childhood, everything that used to feel solid. 99 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,120 It wasn't logical. I knew she was gone. I knew 100 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,959 the house couldn't hold on to them, not really, but 101 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,560 some part of me I still believed that as long 102 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,160 as I had the keys, as long as the furniture 103 00:08:04,199 --> 00:08:09,240 stayed where they left it, I hadn't lost everything. So 104 00:08:09,519 --> 00:08:13,040 when I got back from Redwood County, that's where I went. 105 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,560 The house was still how I'd left it. Sheets over 106 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,120 the furniture, A faint trace of Mom's perfumed still lingered 107 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,040 on the carpet. Every room carried a memory, like wallpaper, 108 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:32,200 but now that wallpaper felt thinner, brittle, like if I 109 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,200 peeled back the right corner, something else might be underneath. 110 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,639 I started in the living room. Her storage stops were 111 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:46,320 still stacked behind the couch, labeled in neat cursive X 112 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:55,399 mess important papers, Ethan's school and photos. That was the 113 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:00,159 one I grabbed first. I sat cross legged on the floor, 114 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,120 a plastic tub between my knees, and flipped through album 115 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:10,799 after album, baby pictures, birthday parties, school photos, smiles, and 116 00:09:10,879 --> 00:09:16,559 crown drawings aneast the basket, But somewhere around age three, 117 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:23,200 the timeline blurred. Photos were missing, Whole pages had been 118 00:09:23,279 --> 00:09:28,879 ripped out, slices of times gone without explanation, No photos 119 00:09:28,919 --> 00:09:33,000 between Halloween of ninety three and the summer of ninety seven, 120 00:09:33,879 --> 00:09:38,399 just blank spots, torn stops where glue once held something real. 121 00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:44,840 I checked three more albums, same thing, age three to 122 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:52,159 seven erased gone. I had to wonder had my mom 123 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,240 done this? Was she trying to hide something? Or had 124 00:09:56,279 --> 00:10:02,559 it been Dad? I could almost hear his voice my head, annoyed, impatient. 125 00:10:03,879 --> 00:10:06,480 Why I tick up the past? Nothing good comes from there. 126 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:14,039 The thing is I wasn't digging, I was remembering, or 127 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:21,759 trying to. It was nearly midnight by the time I 128 00:10:21,799 --> 00:10:25,559 finished tearing through the boxes and albums. I didn't want 129 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,840 to stay the night. The house didn't feel like mine anymore. 130 00:10:29,639 --> 00:10:32,279 It was still the same layout. I grew up in 131 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:37,440 the same walls and corners, but without them there it 132 00:10:37,519 --> 00:10:41,919 felt hollow. But I hadn't slept much since the morgue, 133 00:10:42,279 --> 00:10:44,960 and the highway back to the city was all curves 134 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,840 and blind turns. I didn't want to risk it, not 135 00:10:48,919 --> 00:10:52,720 with the rain starting to spit and streak the windows, 136 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,240 so I stayed. The air mattress I kept rolled in 137 00:10:57,279 --> 00:10:59,960 the trunk was still there, along with the sleeping bag 138 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,799 and a half dead flashlight. I inflated it in what 139 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,200 used to be the den, hardwood floor, high ceilings, and 140 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,639 the dusty ghost of where the couch used to be. 141 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,279 The smell in the house had turned damp, like wet 142 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:18,159 cardboard and neglected drains. I had to wipe the floor 143 00:11:18,159 --> 00:11:22,120 down with a dish towel just to make room. The 144 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,559 silence pressed in. Once I lay down, I left the 145 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:31,440 hallway light on, just in case. I don't know when 146 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,840 I fell asleep. I just remember waking to a voice. 147 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:43,480 It whispered my name, faintly, softly, almost playful, coming from 148 00:11:43,519 --> 00:11:48,399 somewhere down the hall. I froze for a moment, holding 149 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,039 my breath to listen out, but there was only silence. 150 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:56,480 I sat up, reached for my phone to trick the time. 151 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,240 It was three a m. That was when I saw them. 152 00:12:03,639 --> 00:12:07,200 There were bare, muddy footprints tracking across the wood floor 153 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:11,759 from the kitchen, leading from the back door. They were small, 154 00:12:12,399 --> 00:12:15,360 too small to be mine, too wide apart to be 155 00:12:15,399 --> 00:12:19,200 a child crawling. They ended at the edge of my 156 00:12:19,279 --> 00:12:22,440 air mattress, right at the corner where my head had 157 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:26,559 been moments earlier, and there were no prints going back. 158 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,679 I stood slowly, not breathing hard, smashing my ribs, and 159 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,519 backed into the kitchen. I flicked on the overhead light. 160 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:42,200 The back door was locked, dead, bolt in place, no 161 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:47,600 windows broken, no wind, no creaking. I pulled out my 162 00:12:47,639 --> 00:12:50,279 phone and opened the app for the old security cameras. 163 00:12:51,399 --> 00:12:55,120 I had installed them right after month passed. They were cheap, 164 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:59,120 motion sensitive ones, just enough to spook off any squatters 165 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,279 or drifters. The house had sat vacant too long, and 166 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,759 I didn't trust people not to take advantage. The feed 167 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,200 from the backyard loaded first at two point fifty am. 168 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:16,200 The camera glitched for just a frame. Then the back 169 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:25,159 door opened slowly, no one in sight. Then something entered, small, 170 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,720 crouched low like an animal. Its outline shimmered like heat 171 00:13:29,799 --> 00:13:34,480 on pavement, and then the feed glitched again, static blooming 172 00:13:34,519 --> 00:13:39,639 across the screen, and the door was closed. Nothing else. 173 00:13:41,399 --> 00:13:44,639 I screwked back and forth, pausing at the exact frame 174 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,960 where the things stepped through. There was no shape to it, 175 00:13:49,799 --> 00:13:53,120 but there was a shadow and the shadow reached out 176 00:13:53,159 --> 00:13:57,120 to touch the door frame like it was routine. I 177 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,559 turned half, expecting something to be standing in the room 178 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:08,240 behind me, empty, except the footprints were try now crackling 179 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:14,440 like they'd been there for hours. I went still. The 180 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:24,159 whisper came again, closer, this time you forgot me. I 181 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,639 spent most of the morning sitting in the same chair 182 00:14:26,679 --> 00:14:29,879 I used to eat cereal in as a kid, staring 183 00:14:29,919 --> 00:14:32,480 out the window like I expected the trees to spell 184 00:14:32,559 --> 00:14:37,440 something out for me. When I finally dialed, I already 185 00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:40,919 knew what he'd say, but I needed to hear it. 186 00:14:42,559 --> 00:14:48,440 He picked up on the third ring. Yeah, Dad, I said, 187 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:56,799 it's me. I pause. So everything okay? No, I said, 188 00:14:57,679 --> 00:15:03,559 not even close. I could already hear the defensiveness loading 189 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,399 behind his silence. I need to ask you something, and 190 00:15:07,519 --> 00:15:10,320 I need you to tell me the truth. No nonsense, 191 00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:16,279 he sighed heavy through the receiver. It's about your mother's 192 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:24,279 house again, No, I said, it's about my sister. That 193 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:29,159 word landed hard. I heard it hit him. Something shifted 194 00:15:29,159 --> 00:15:32,279 in the way he breathed, but his voice didn't break 195 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:37,639 when he replied, you don't have a sister. There was 196 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:41,200 a body found in Redwood County. A woman I was 197 00:15:41,279 --> 00:15:44,159 listed as the closest next of kin. The state ran 198 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,200 a DNA test. She was a ninety nine point nine 199 00:15:47,279 --> 00:15:52,600 nine percent sibling match. That's not possible, he said, instantly, 200 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,000 too quick. It's a mistake. They mix things up all 201 00:15:57,039 --> 00:16:02,240 the time, you know they don't, and you're dodging. I'm 202 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,360 not dodging anything, he snapped. There was no sister, There 203 00:16:06,399 --> 00:16:09,039 was no other kid. If this is some scam or 204 00:16:09,039 --> 00:16:11,279 some prank, I don't want anything to do with it. 205 00:16:13,279 --> 00:16:17,440 I forced myself to stay calm. Then explain the photo, 206 00:16:18,159 --> 00:16:22,080 I said, the one she was holding, it's me five 207 00:16:22,159 --> 00:16:25,799 years old with her and all the photo albums in 208 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,639 the house of the same years. Ripped out like someone 209 00:16:28,759 --> 00:16:37,320 wanted to eraise her silence longer this time. Then, jeez, 210 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,159 you sound like your mother, he muttered, digging into things. 211 00:16:41,159 --> 00:16:45,080 I don't matter. She was always like that, making stories 212 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:51,879 out of shadows. He was unraveling. Dad. I said, just 213 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,000 tell me the truth. I am telling you, he said louder. Now, 214 00:16:57,679 --> 00:17:01,639 there was never a daughter, just you. That's it. You 215 00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:07,480 understand me. I opened my mouth, but the line went dead. 216 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:12,279 He hung up. I stared at the phone in shock, 217 00:17:13,279 --> 00:17:16,279 pardon me. Hoped he would call back, but he didn't. 218 00:17:17,759 --> 00:17:22,200 I opened my laptop and started digging. The county clerk's 219 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,640 website was a mess, but with the right filters and 220 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,599 an address I'd memorized decades ago, I found what I 221 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,839 was looking for. It was a public record, dated twenty 222 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:40,279 seven years ago, filed under Angela Morecraft report type missing 223 00:17:40,319 --> 00:17:50,039 person minor name redacted, juvenile protection relation daughter age five. 224 00:17:51,079 --> 00:17:56,440 Case status closed withdrawn by father, child's safety accounted for, 225 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:05,640 signed Richard Morecraft. Time elapsed forty eight hours. She tried 226 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:11,400 to report it. He made it disappear, just like her. 227 00:18:13,839 --> 00:18:17,200 Around sunset, I heard a small, sharp tap from the 228 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:22,920 back hallway, then another, then a third, closer, like some 229 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,839 one drumming their finger nails along the wall while they walked. 230 00:18:27,039 --> 00:18:32,480 I rose and listened, but there was nothing. Then there 231 00:18:32,519 --> 00:18:35,720 was a whisper, so faint. I wasn't sure if it 232 00:18:35,759 --> 00:18:44,759 was my imagination, hey soft, Curious as if testing the air, 233 00:18:46,279 --> 00:18:48,559 I grabbed my keys and went straight to the front door. 234 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,880 Twisted the knob, but it didn't budge. I threw my 235 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:58,839 shoulder into it. Nothing, not even a rattle. Cold crept 236 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,559 up my back. I tried the back door, then the windows. 237 00:19:03,039 --> 00:19:05,559 I even hauled a dining chair and smashed it against 238 00:19:05,559 --> 00:19:10,720 the largest pane. The chair just bounced. The glass didn't 239 00:19:10,759 --> 00:19:16,880 even tremble. On the final impact, the room exhaled a low, 240 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:23,799 vibrating groan from the walls that felt disappointed. That's when 241 00:19:23,799 --> 00:19:27,880 the house went quiet, a sealed space, quiet, like someone 242 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,519 had wrapped the place in cotton. And then came the 243 00:19:31,599 --> 00:19:40,200 second whisper, closer, don't leave yet. I backed into the 244 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,319 living room, chest tight. The lights dimmed, and that when 245 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:52,640 everything started. More taps, faster, sharper, scratching, racing along the 246 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:57,519 walls in erratic loops, then pounding, pounding hard, like fists 247 00:19:57,599 --> 00:20:00,559 beating from the inside of the walls trying to break out. 248 00:20:01,599 --> 00:20:06,160 The lights flickered with each strike. I stumbled backwards and 249 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,559 something cold wrapped around my ankle. I screamed and fell, 250 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:17,039 kicking instinctively. Nothing there but the imprint stayed, a perfect 251 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:22,160 child size handprint, pale against my skin. I scrambled under 252 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:27,480 the couch, panting, clutching my shirt. Then the ceiling above 253 00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:32,400 me began to weep, water, thick drops falling hard enough 254 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,839 to splatter against the floorboards. Metallic smell hit me instantly. 255 00:20:38,079 --> 00:20:43,160 I gagged through the dripping. I heard something else beneath 256 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:51,039 the floor, sobbing, her child sobs muffled but unmistakable, shaking 257 00:20:51,079 --> 00:20:55,400 the wooden planks beneath my feet. I didn't want to move, 258 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,440 but the house forced me to feel it. Suddenly, the 259 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,839 back door creaked open. It wasn't forced open by anything, 260 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,720 just wide open, like it had been waiting for me 261 00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:14,839 to notice. I didn't think. I ran. The yard was 262 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,359 still wet with rain, grass slick under my shoes. As 263 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:22,359 I cut toward the shed. It was pure instinct, some 264 00:21:22,519 --> 00:21:25,720 half formed belief that if I got outside, she couldn't follow, 265 00:21:26,319 --> 00:21:31,880 as if ghosts respected thresholds behind me. I swear I 266 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:38,079 heard her footsteps match mine. I ran too, She whispered. 267 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,200 The footsteps kept pace, so I changed tact and looked 268 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:47,240 for somewhere to hide. I remembered my old spot, the 269 00:21:47,279 --> 00:21:50,400 place I go to when I was overwhelmed as a kid, 270 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,480 the shed. I threw open the shed door and slammed 271 00:21:55,519 --> 00:21:58,680 it shot behind me, latched it. Even though the wood 272 00:21:58,759 --> 00:22:02,119 was soft from water, dammich like that would stop anything 273 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,039 inside the air was thick with rust and dust, everything 274 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,400 smelled old and sour. I tried to catch my breath, 275 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:19,599 but she kept speaking. I hid too, she said, I 276 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:24,920 thought it would keep me safe. Something in me recoiled. 277 00:22:25,759 --> 00:22:29,000 I was running on pure instinct, but according to her, 278 00:22:29,599 --> 00:22:33,039 I was doing everything as planned, following a route she 279 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:40,039 had as a child. Outside. The footsteps returned slow, deliberate, 280 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,799 circling the shed. If I was being predictable, then I 281 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:49,079 needed to throw things off. As a kid, the tool 282 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,000 closet was my go to spot, big enough that you 283 00:22:52,039 --> 00:22:54,599 could sit in there for hours, and out of the 284 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,160 way for anyone not looking too hard. It was the 285 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,240 first place i'd run, so I made sure to dart 286 00:23:01,279 --> 00:23:06,559 past it. He was relentless. The game would stop if 287 00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:10,480 I asked, but this time he was determined to catch me. 288 00:23:12,599 --> 00:23:16,480 The footsteps paused at the door. I scanned the shed. 289 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,640 There were crates along the wall, old reinforced toolboxes. I 290 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,599 moved toward them, desperate for something, anything that might buy 291 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,920 me seconds. If I was still a kid, i'd fit 292 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,839 in with ease, but it took me a few attempts 293 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,680 to squeeze in. I slipped the lid over and held 294 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,599 my breath. I thought I was being smart when I 295 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,279 avoided the tool closet. We always used that spot when 296 00:23:46,279 --> 00:23:53,279 we were desperate. In total black, my heart raised. I 297 00:23:53,319 --> 00:23:55,440 felt like there was nothing I could do to avoid 298 00:23:55,480 --> 00:24:01,039 this predetermined path, forced into following her steps before her demise. 299 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:09,920 He walked in, called my name. I didn't answer. The 300 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:16,559 footsteps softened. I couldn't hear where she was. Then bang, 301 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,759 a strike rang out across the wood. I felt like 302 00:24:20,839 --> 00:24:23,680 my heart would stop from the shock, thinking it was 303 00:24:23,759 --> 00:24:27,839 her way of saying I got you. But then another 304 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,000 bang sounded on the crate, then another. I didn't know 305 00:24:32,079 --> 00:24:37,359 what was happening until she carried on her tail. He said, 306 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:46,160 that's better, she murmured and started sealing me in the 307 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,720 reality of what she was doing. Kicked in. When I 308 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,599 felt the tip of a poorly placed nail dig into 309 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,400 my side. I screamed and threw my shoulder against the lid. 310 00:24:56,559 --> 00:25:01,920 It didn't move. I kicked, pushed. The crate wouldn't budge, 311 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,960 no give, like the walls were holding me down, not 312 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,039 that I could get much perch with how cramped the 313 00:25:08,079 --> 00:25:14,200 crate was. I begged, She whispered. I told him I'd 314 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:19,039 be good. I told him I'd be quiet. He didn't listen. 315 00:25:21,319 --> 00:25:28,920 The crate shifted, tilted, then lifted. I was moving, jolted 316 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:34,680 across the shed floor, the world tilting. He drove me far, 317 00:25:35,759 --> 00:25:41,839 she said, I don't know how long. I couldn't scream 318 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:47,640 any more. My voice was gone, tears blurred, everything scraping 319 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,200 from inside the crate, something that wasn't me, something with 320 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:57,119 too many fingers. I felt the little space I had 321 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,759 in the crate fill impossibly with some thing that felt 322 00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:05,640 like skin, ice cold against my face, and the voice 323 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,839 that I had only been hearing muffled from outside the 324 00:26:08,839 --> 00:26:13,279 crate spoke clearly from inside, so that I could feel 325 00:26:13,319 --> 00:26:18,680 the cold breath of my nose. When I couldn't scream, 326 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:24,960 I started dreaming, and when I dreamed, they heard me. 327 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,640 It's hard to say how long I was in the crate. 328 00:26:32,559 --> 00:26:37,680 Time didn't pass normally. In their second stretched hours collapsed. 329 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,759 I started counting breaths just to keep my mind from breaking, 330 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:46,640 but I lost track somewhere around five hundred. The air 331 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,920 went stale, my knees ached from being folded too long, 332 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:54,559 Sweat soaked through my shirt, and every few minutes, something 333 00:26:54,599 --> 00:26:58,759 inside the wood would twitch or creak, not like old wood, settling, 334 00:26:59,319 --> 00:27:05,079 but like it was breathing with me. Please stop, I begged. 335 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:11,240 The voice that came back wasn't sympathetic. That's what I 336 00:27:11,319 --> 00:27:18,400 said too. Before I was buried. Her voice croaked, speaking low, 337 00:27:18,599 --> 00:27:22,440 an inch from my ear. The weight above me got heavier. 338 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,119 I could hear the shifting of packed soil, the sound 339 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,799 of roots pushing in through cracks. I started to cry, quietly, bitterly, 340 00:27:34,279 --> 00:27:39,319 and somewhere in the grief, the truth settled in. My 341 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,480 sister was buried alive by her father, and no one 342 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:48,119 had come for her. I had lived a normal life, 343 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,920 birthday parties, road trips and a decent college. She had 344 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:58,400 died in a box, forgotten by everyone. And now I 345 00:27:58,519 --> 00:28:03,440 was in her place. And the worst part, I couldn't 346 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,079 even say. She was wrong to put me here. That's 347 00:28:07,079 --> 00:28:12,440 what gutted me the most. You didn't deserve this, I whispered, 348 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:17,599 none of it. The great creaked. You're just the kid. 349 00:28:18,039 --> 00:28:22,440 I should have known, I should have remembered. I paused, 350 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,200 tried to swallow the lump in my throat. My chest 351 00:28:26,319 --> 00:28:29,799 was shaking. But it wasn't me who did this to you. 352 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:36,640 It was him silence, but I could feel her listening. 353 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,279 It should have been him inside this box, not you, 354 00:28:40,759 --> 00:28:46,559 not me. The darkness held his breath. You want someone 355 00:28:46,599 --> 00:28:51,279 to suffer for what happened, Fine, so do I, I pleaded. 356 00:28:53,599 --> 00:29:01,759 I waited. A long silence passed his He's still alive. 357 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:10,599 The voice came from just above my head. Clear. I hesitated, Yes, 358 00:29:12,279 --> 00:29:17,319 another silence, and then the weight started to lift. The 359 00:29:17,359 --> 00:29:22,640 pressure above me eased. Her presence dissipated from the crate. 360 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,720 I could feel the top of the crate were just 361 00:29:26,759 --> 00:29:32,680 blowing inward from the pressure easing. Then I'll make you 362 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:38,079 a promise, she said, I'll let you live if you 363 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:45,640 give me him. I paused. Even with everything I'd been through, 364 00:29:46,279 --> 00:29:49,160 some small part of me still clung to the idea 365 00:29:49,279 --> 00:29:52,920 that I was betraying my father. But then I remembered 366 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,519 the missing child report, the photo albums, the sound of 367 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:02,920 nails being driven in, and the silence that followed. He's 368 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:07,880 in Nevada, I said, desert Ridge, using the name Edward Fox. 369 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:13,200 I'll even give you the address. The crate split open, 370 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:19,759 just opened. Cool night air hit my face like a slap. 371 00:30:21,079 --> 00:30:24,400 I gasped, crawling out into the damp grass under a 372 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:28,240 sky I hadn't seen in what felt like days. No 373 00:30:28,319 --> 00:30:33,680 one was around, but I knew she'd heard me. When 374 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,079 I pulled myself out, I expected to see the backyard. 375 00:30:38,519 --> 00:30:42,480 I didn't. I was in the woods, deep enough that 376 00:30:42,559 --> 00:30:46,559 the trees blocked most of the sky. Wet leaves clung 377 00:30:46,599 --> 00:30:50,400 to my shirt. My knees buckled as I stood, legs 378 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:54,759 stiff and shaking from being culled up so long. For 379 00:30:54,799 --> 00:31:02,279 a minute, I just stood there, breathing, was alive. I 380 00:31:02,359 --> 00:31:07,240 turned slowly, taking in my surroundings. That's when I saw 381 00:31:07,279 --> 00:31:11,519 the yellow police tape, fresh still tied to the trunks. 382 00:31:12,359 --> 00:31:16,759 It sagged between two trees like a cautionary whisper. There 383 00:31:16,799 --> 00:31:20,400 was a shallow pit nearby, half filled with disturbed earth. 384 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,960 This was it where they found her. She hadn't taken 385 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,519 me to some memory or symbolic grave. She'd brought me 386 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,599 to the exact place her body had been unearthed, and 387 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,200 somehow she'd made the journey feel like a memory instead 388 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:45,119 of miles. She'd retrace the path. It took me hours 389 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:47,960 the hike back to the road longer still to find 390 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,759 someone willing to give me a ride into town. Every 391 00:31:51,799 --> 00:31:58,480 step I took I thought about him, My father, part 392 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,039 of me hoped she was already there, that it was 393 00:32:01,119 --> 00:32:04,039 done that the next time I checked the news, i'd 394 00:32:04,039 --> 00:32:06,240 see a report about a man found dead in his 395 00:32:06,359 --> 00:32:12,000 trailer in Nevada, cause unknown. But part of me didn't 396 00:32:12,839 --> 00:32:16,240 because he was still my father, and even if he 397 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:23,240 deserved it, I needed to understand why her, Why bury her? 398 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:29,759 Why make me forget? I borrowed a phone from the 399 00:32:29,759 --> 00:32:33,160 gas station clerk. It took me three tries to dial 400 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:38,039 the number. He answered on the second ring. His voice 401 00:32:38,079 --> 00:32:45,519 was groggy, probably drinking, maybe sleeping. I didn't care. Hello. 402 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,440 I said nothing at first, not knowing what to say. 403 00:32:51,759 --> 00:32:59,880 Then I simply decided to be blunt. She's coming, silent, 404 00:33:01,319 --> 00:33:04,599 What the hell are you talking about? He snapped, Who 405 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,680 is this? You know who? 406 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:07,079 Speaker 2: This is? 407 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 1: Another pause and rustle of movement, like he was sitting 408 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:17,319 up straighter. Look, you never had a sister drop this nonsense. 409 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,720 Do you understand me? You're being manipulated. I could hear 410 00:33:22,759 --> 00:33:26,240 the panic under the anger. Now you can tell her 411 00:33:26,279 --> 00:33:30,519 that yourself, I said, flat, she's on a way to you. 412 00:33:33,559 --> 00:33:42,079 The silence that followed didn't stretch. It snapped, jeez, he whispered. 413 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:49,599 It didn't stop. I didn't say anything. He started breathing heavier, 414 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:55,839 not scared for himself, but scared of something bigger. Listen, 415 00:33:56,519 --> 00:34:00,960 I didn't kill her, he said, not really. I tried 416 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,079 to stop what she was becoming, what she was bringing through. 417 00:34:05,759 --> 00:34:08,519 He spoke like the dam had broken, like he'd been 418 00:34:08,559 --> 00:34:12,519 waiting to say this for years. She was born wrong, 419 00:34:13,159 --> 00:34:18,840 he said, not deformed or something genetic, just off, like 420 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,039 her eyes saw something the rest of us didn't. And 421 00:34:22,119 --> 00:34:25,039 when she talked in her sleep, the walls would sweat. 422 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:30,840 Do you understand water condensation, like something was breathing on 423 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:34,679 the other side. At first, I thought she was just disturbed, 424 00:34:35,039 --> 00:34:39,519 maybe even gifted. But the older she got, the worse 425 00:34:39,599 --> 00:34:44,079 it got. Birds stopped nesting near the house, Mirrors walked 426 00:34:44,079 --> 00:34:49,400 around her. She stopped aging. For almost a year. I 427 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:53,199 felt the blood drained from my face. She told me 428 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,840 things she had no way of knowing. She started to 429 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,159 whisper names at night, names that weren't real, not in 430 00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:04,239 this world. They weren't even pronounceable. And one night I 431 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:10,119 checked the baby monitor and his voice broke. Something else 432 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,760 was whispering back. I sat down on the curb outside 433 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,880 the gas station. The world felt suddenly too big, like 434 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,639 it was pressing in from all sides. My grandfather left. 435 00:35:24,519 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 2: Journals, old country stuff. He always believed some people could 436 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:35,800 act like like doors, not possessed, just born open, not 437 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:42,480 even on purpose. Sometimes something just slips through. She was 438 00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:49,360 one of them, a breach. I tried everything, prayers, locks, 439 00:35:49,559 --> 00:35:53,719 psych wards, but she kept getting worse. And then one 440 00:35:53,800 --> 00:36:00,000 day she just stopped. He poured. 441 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:06,360 Speaker 1: I could hear him swallow. She came to me, calm, smiling, 442 00:36:07,199 --> 00:36:13,760 She said, it's ready. I couldn't risk it, not the world, 443 00:36:14,039 --> 00:36:19,559 not you. So I dealt with it and it worked. 444 00:36:22,159 --> 00:36:27,000 I felt hollow until I told her where you were, 445 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:33,400 I whispered. He led out a sharp, shaking breath. You 446 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:39,840 don't understand, she said, that thing needed closure, a story 447 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:44,800 that ends. You gave it what it wanted. It doesn't 448 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:49,079 end with me. I'm just the final ritual, the finishing 449 00:36:49,199 --> 00:36:59,760 nail before she begins. If I die, it's loose. There 450 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,599 was a single crack of static on the line, and 451 00:37:03,639 --> 00:37:08,280 then he said something I'll never forget. It wore your 452 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:12,840 sister like a mask, but it's not her anymore, and 453 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:14,000 it's not done with you. 454 00:37:15,639 --> 00:37:16,000 Speaker 2: Click. 455 00:37:17,519 --> 00:37:25,880 Speaker 1: The line went dead. The trip home felt like a punishment. 456 00:37:26,679 --> 00:37:29,039 I walked for miles before I found a bus stop, 457 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:34,920 then another hour before anything came. Transfers, delays, cold benches, 458 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:39,840 paper coffee cups with films skimming the top, no phone, 459 00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:42,599 no way to check if it had happened yet, if 460 00:37:42,599 --> 00:37:47,400 he was still alive, if he had won. Each hour 461 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,960 that passed pulled me in two directions. Part of me 462 00:37:51,039 --> 00:37:53,920 prayed it was over. Part of me prayed it hadn't 463 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:58,480 started yet. When I finally reached the house, it was 464 00:37:58,519 --> 00:38:02,000 nearly three in the morning. The place looked the same, 465 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:08,960 unassuming quiet, like none of it had ever happened. I 466 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,840 opened the door with shaking hands, stepped inside, and quickly 467 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,400 closed it behind me, like I was afraid of what 468 00:38:15,519 --> 00:38:21,599 might follow. The silence hit me first, waited, silence, like 469 00:38:21,639 --> 00:38:25,760 the kind in old churches and deep caves. I found 470 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:30,039 my charger plugged in my phone. The screen took longer 471 00:38:30,079 --> 00:38:33,599 than usual to wake. The battery ike ipulsed red like 472 00:38:33,639 --> 00:38:39,599 a dying heart. I waited. When it powered on. I 473 00:38:39,679 --> 00:38:44,719 opened the call log. No new calls, no texts, no 474 00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:50,719 mist voice mails, just blank space and times stretching too long. 475 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:55,480 I sat down on the couch, phone balancing in my palm, 476 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,760 like I might summon an answer. I stared at the screen, 477 00:39:00,159 --> 00:39:03,079 waiting for it to light up, waiting for a message 478 00:39:03,079 --> 00:39:08,559 that said I'm okay. I stopped it, everything will be okay. 479 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:14,960 But all I got was static pings, old notifications, junk 480 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,679 from apps. I never used a weather warning from a 481 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:23,360 county I wasn't in anymore, And in the stillness I 482 00:39:23,519 --> 00:39:31,000 noticed something else. The air was damp. I touched the 483 00:39:31,039 --> 00:39:39,599 wall beside me, wet, not the usual humidity, dripping, the 484 00:39:39,639 --> 00:39:43,320 same slow weep I remembered from the nursery, from the crate, 485 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:50,920 from her, And in the awful, heartsick moment, I realized 486 00:39:52,119 --> 00:39:55,760 I wasn't watching my phone for news anymore. I was 487 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,280 watching it for the reflection, because the glass on the 488 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:01,519 screen was it's the only place I could see the 489 00:40:01,559 --> 00:40:07,239 window behind me without looking directly. And something had started 490 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:14,440 to whisper again, soft, high, sweet, almost a lullaby in reverse, 491 00:40:15,079 --> 00:40:17,920 like something humming a song that hadn't been written yet. 492 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,960 I turned the phone just slightly, angling the reflection toward 493 00:40:23,039 --> 00:40:30,719 the far wall, and there she was, just outside the window, smiling. 494 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,440 Her face didn't move like a human's, her skin looked 495 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:41,599 brittle like porcelain, stretched too thin. Her mouth was smiling, 496 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:47,840 but her eyes warmed. They were watching me, not in 497 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:54,880 a malicious way, not fully, just patient, like she'd been 498 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:59,760 waiting her whole life for this moment. My brain clung 499 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,840 to hope because I made a deal, gave her what 500 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:08,119 she wanted, thought I'd be free. But I also remembered 501 00:41:08,119 --> 00:41:14,920 what Dad said, when I die, it's loose. It's not 502 00:41:15,119 --> 00:41:21,639 her anymore, and it's not done with you, And now 503 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:24,760 it's my turn.