cleaned_stories.csv

,author,selftext,title,processed
0,GloriousWilliam666,"It was 10:30 of new years night. I was sitting on my couch, watching the news and waiting for the drop of the new year ball. I mean there wasn't much to do. I had my friends over there looked about as bored as me. I pulled up my computer to search around, to see what people are doing. It wasn't much of a surprise when I went on my Instagram and saw that everyone was getting ready to celebrate the new year. I myself like Reddit so I went on there and see what was going on.

I looked around on Reddit for a bit. Until I found something interesting. Here is what it said, "" summon the new year demon, all 5 steps."" I told my friends to come here and look what I found on Reddit. All five of them piled around me to see what can eat away there boredom. Martha was who first spoke, "" Well lets read the first step."" ""Ok,"" I responded. ""Step number 1, draw blood from all the people participating in the summoning and put it in a bowl. Jack one of my friends didn't like blood but we made him do it anyway. ""So done with that step, lets read step 2."" I put my eyes onto step number 2 and began to read it.

""Step number 2, cut a chunk of hair from each participant put it into the bowl."" We all did as what it said, the girls took a little of persuading, but they came to and cut a chunk of there hair and put it into the bowl. Martha, the smart girl said, "" this doesn't seem like a good idea to continue this."" But I told her that nothing was nothing to worry about it was a harmless game to pass the time. She then gave me a simple ""ok"" but I could tell she was feeling a little nervous. I put my arm around her, she was not my girlfriend but I did love her. She put her head against my shoulder as I began to read number 3.

"" Number 3, everyone participating tell one of your dark secrets don't lie. You can't back out now."" I asked, ""who wants to go first."" Johnathan said that he would like to tell his dark secret. Here is what Johnatan told us "" I killed a cat for no reason, but I was a kid at the time."" No one judged him we just went to the next person. ""Olivia how about your dark secret, "" She thought about it for a minute then she said, ""Well when I was little I pushed my friends down a mountain, don't get a bad idea he survived."" After her, my other friends went and what the rest of them said I don't think I would want to put on here. 

Me myself I had a dark secret but I don't want to put it on here. After we all shared that with each other we became closer friends and further apart at the same time. So all we can do is go to step number 4. ""Get something that will light the items in the bowl on fire, so that the beginning of the ritual can begin, don't go to step 5 until everything has burned,"" I told Jonathan that I had a lighter in the kitchen. As he went to get that I looked at the clock and it was 11:31. Looks like it is almost new years. Johnatan came back and I didn't even have to say anything he just lit the contents that were in the bowl.

I will say that it smelled really bad, by the expression of my friends, I can guess they felt the same way. We all watched parts of us burn in the bowl until Jack started to shake he fell to the ground shaking. I was about to call the game off until Jack came to and said that he was ok. Finally, I pulled my computer up until step number 5 "" the guiltiest person shall have there heart ripped out and eaten. I closed my computer down and said "" ok this game is done and Jack you need to get rest. 

I still can't believe what happens next and will never forget it will forever haunt me, Jack jumped onto Willy he was the quietest of our group Jack stabbed a blade into Willy's chest. I still don't know where Jack got the knife. Jack pulled out Willy's heart. We all watched in terror as Jack ate Willy's heart. Jack turned into something I still can't comprehend. It burst towards us killing Martha instantly. Slaying my friends in cold blood. It grabbed me and threw me against my wall something stabbed through me. 

I was bleeding. But I was able to reach my computer and since I was still alive the least I could do was to type this and tell everyone that there is a demon out there. I summoned it I guess I deserved what has happened to me. So whoever reads this please be safe, I'm sorry for what I have done.              

 ",New Year's Demon,"['new', 'year', 'night', 'sit', 'couch', 'watch', 'news', 'wait', 'drop', 'new', 'year', 'ball', 'mean', 'wasnt', 'much', 'friend', 'look', 'bore', 'pull', 'comput', 'search', 'around', 'see', 'peopl', 'wasnt', 'much', 'surpris', 'went', 'instagram', 'saw', 'everyon', 'get', 'readi', 'celebr', 'new', 'year', 'like', 'reddit', 'went', 'see', 'go', 'look', 'around', 'reddit', 'bit', 'found', 'someth', 'interest', 'said', 'summon', 'new', 'year', 'demon', 'step', 'told', 'friend', 'come', 'look', 'found', 'reddit', 'five', 'pile', 'around', 'see', 'eat', 'away', 'boredom', 'martha', 'first', 'spoke', 'well', 'let', 'read', 'first', 'step', 'ok', 'respond', 'step', 'number', 'draw', 'blood', 'peopl', 'particip', 'summon', 'put', 'bowl', 'jack', 'one', 'friend', 'didnt', 'like', 'blood', 'made', 'anyway', 'done', 'step', 'let', 'read', 'step', 'put', 'eye', 'onto', 'step', 'number', 'began', 'read', 'step', 'number', 'cut', 'chunk', 'hair', 'particip', 'put', 'bowl', 'said', 'girl', 'took', 'littl', 'persuad', 'came', 'cut', 'chunk', 'hair', 'put', 'bowl', 'martha', 'smart', 'girl', 'said', 'doesnt', 'seem', 'like', 'good', 'idea', 'continu', 'told', 'noth', 'noth', 'worri', 'harmless', 'game', 'pass', 'time', 'gave', 'simpl', 'ok', 'could', 'tell', 'feel', 'littl', 'nervou', 'put', 'arm', 'around', 'girlfriend', 'love', 'put', 'head', 'shoulder', 'began', 'read', 'number', 'number', 'everyon', 'particip', 'tell', 'one', 'dark', 'secret', 'dont', 'lie', 'cant', 'back', 'ask', 'want', 'go', 'first', 'johnathan', 'said', 'would', 'like', 'tell', 'dark', 'secret', 'johnatan', 'told', 'us', 'kill', 'cat', 'reason', 'kid', 'time', 'one', 'judg', 'went', 'next', 'person', 'olivia', 'dark', 'secret', 'thought', 'minut', 'said', 'well', 'littl', 'push', 'friend', 'mountain', 'dont', 'get', 'bad', 'idea', 'surviv', 'friend', 'went', 'rest', 'said', 'dont', 'think', 'would', 'want', 'put', 'dark', 'secret', 'dont', 'want', 'put', 'share', 'becam', 'closer', 'friend', 'apart', 'time', 'go', 'step', 'number', 'get', 'someth', 'light', 'item', 'bowl', 'fire', 'begin', 'ritual', 'begin', 'dont', 'go', 'step', 'everyth', 'burn', 'told', 'jonathan', 'lighter', 'kitchen', 'went', 'get', 'look', 'clock', 'look', 'like', 'almost', 'new', 'year', 'johnatan', 'came', 'back', 'didnt', 'even', 'say', 'anyth', 'lit', 'content', 'bowl', 'say', 'smell', 'realli', 'bad', 'express', 'friend', 'guess', 'felt', 'way', 'watch', 'part', 'us', 'burn', 'bowl', 'jack', 'start', 'shake', 'fell', 'ground', 'shake', 'call', 'game', 'jack', 'came', 'said', 'ok', 'final', 'pull', 'comput', 'step', 'number', 'guiltiest', 'person', 'shall', 'heart', 'rip', 'eaten', 'close', 'comput', 'said', 'ok', 'game', 'done', 'jack', 'need', 'get', 'rest', 'still', 'cant', 'believ', 'happen', 'next', 'never', 'forget', 'forev', 'haunt', 'jack', 'jump', 'onto', 'willi', 'quietest', 'group', 'jack', 'stab', 'blade', 'willi', 'chest', 'still', 'dont', 'know', 'jack', 'got', 'knife', 'jack', 'pull', 'willi', 'heart', 'watch', 'terror', 'jack', 'ate', 'willi', 'heart', 'jack', 'turn', 'someth', 'still', 'cant', 'comprehend', 'burst', 'toward', 'us', 'kill', 'martha', 'instantli', 'slay', 'friend', 'cold', 'blood', 'grab', 'threw', 'wall', 'someth', 'stab', 'bleed', 'abl', 'reach', 'comput', 'sinc', 'still', 'aliv', 'least', 'could', 'type', 'tell', 'everyon', 'demon', 'summon', 'guess', 'deserv', 'happen', 'whoever', 'read', 'pleas', 'safe', 'im', 'sorri', 'done']"
1,Offic3r_Friendly," 

I've worked in security for approximately 6 years, and have worked many places including factories, a hospital (including a morgue), and testing facilities for machinery. But one place I worked at creeps me out to this day; and I can't even understand what exactly it is that is the issue. Let me explain.

Back in 2014, while attending college, the contract security firm I worked for asked me to fill in temporarily at the college I attended, for they were short staffed of public safety officers (PSO). I accepted the position. I reported for my first day on the job on a Saturday. I was previously issued the uniform that consisted of a blue polo and black tactical pants. I met an old coworker of mine from a previous job, Brian, that day. I was excited to see him for it had been two years since I had seen Brian at all. Brian was a military veteran having served several tours overseas. Brian was also in his late thirties. Brian explained to me the job, which was fairly easy. Patrol the campus, check on certain equipment, and keep trespassers away. I was handed all the equipment I needed and was told how to clock in/out, access the computer, and how to access the camera system (which I already knew how to run from previous security jobs). Once Brian left I read the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on what to do. I should mention that this was during the summer and the college had only a handful of classes in the summer time.

Anyway the first day of patrol was easy. I kept an eye on people on the property and did my checks. Only certain buildings were open to the public and all the others were closed. To access the closed buildings one would need a key-card. The only people in the summer that have the access level on their key-card is security. Well, after a few days of working, I started to notice odd things happening in the buildings that were closed to the public.

While walking through one building, when walking past the student dentist office, strange noises could be heard coming from inside. Since these noises (which sounded like someone tapping metal against a pipe) were unusual for the building, I grabbed my flashlight and opened the door to investigate. I reached for the light switch and flipped the switch but the lights inside wouldn't turn on. I figured the electricity was on a timer and didn't turn on when the building was closed. I walked around the office, and the operation rooms but found nothing. These noises stopped when I walked inside so I decided to leave. I shrugged off the noises as probably the pipes making the noise. Once outside in the hallway, the noise continued. I thought nothing of it so I continued my patrol. Since the building was closed and the electricity was off there were emergency lights that stayed on to illuminate the hallways a little. As I walked the emergency lights started flickering. I stopped and watched them flicker. I had never seen that before and I thought it was unusual. Then it suddenly felt cold inside the building. I had this feeling that I wasn't alone. I shined my flashlight behind me but saw nothing except lockers and dark doors. I started noticing this feeling in all the buildings the rest of the day. This was only the beginning.

The next time I saw Brian, I met another PSO named Albert. He worked 3rd shift with Brian for they had 2 at night to assist with drunks and the problems that came with the apartments across the street. Albert was in his late twenties and, like me, wore glasses and wanted to be in law enforcement. I mentioned to Brian about the strange sound and lights. Albert, seeming very interested in what I had experienced, chirped in. Albert began to tell me how the campus was haunted, telling me he thought the spirit lived in the tunnels below the campus. (There was a tunnel network connecting the majority of the buildings together. This was also the tornado shelter for all of campus). Albert stated he had ghost tracking equipment and was gonna look for the spirit. Albert seemed fascinated in ghosts, as if ghost hunting is what he lived for in his downtime. But Brian told me not to worry about what Albert was saying, calling it nonsense. He said there had been some weird stuff happening around the campus but that it was nothing to worry about. He didn't even consider that there was a spirit there.

So having been told by a friend not to worry about anything I went upon my business as usual. But one day I started hearing doors closing. I still had this creepy feeling I wasn't alone, and the chills all the time, and now there were doors slamming shut in closed buildings. Anytime I heard a door slam shut I would always investigate, but only to find nothing. I figured it was my imagination for I was patrolling inside dark buildings. Since these buildings were closed it had to be just me and my imagination, right?

Then came the day I almost met 'the spirit'; I think I'll call it a spirit for now. It was on a gloomy day with clouds out in the distance. I knew storms were coming and the Director of Public Safety had called at the beginning of my shift and instructed me what to do if it turned into a Tornado Warning. Living in Tornado Alley, tornado's are a common thing during the summer and fall. I was patrolling the campus as usual when I saw the dark clouds rolling in. I would always blare the local rock station on the radio in the patrol car. At one point while on patrol, the wind suddenly picked up. I looked up to see the sky growing darker and darker every minute. I heard the emergency tone come across the radio stating, ""The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for the following counties..."" and I heard my county come across. I knew of only 1 person being on campus that day. I flipped on the emergency lights, and Whelen siren and sped across campus. I pulled up to the building and ran inside to find the volunteer (also student) named Mike, hard at work. Mike was a college student in his early twenties and lived across the street at the apartments. Mike spent his free time volunteering in the greenhouse. He was in charge of keeping the plants in the greenhouse alive. I informed Mike of the tornado warning and told him to seek shelter. I then called the alarm company and told them of the tornado warning. Outside the county emergency siren sounded warning of a tornado. I got back in the patrol car and sped to our tornado shelter...which was inside the tunnel.

I pulled up to another one of our buildings and ran down and unlocked it, knowing Mike would be right behind me. While standing inside the dark tunnel I heard an echo. It sounded like something had been thrown against the brick wall somewhere inside. I began to get this weird feeling that something was in the tunnel with me. I knew I had no where left to go and that sent chills down my back and my breathing quickened. I started to sweat as well. I reached behind me and grabbed my flashlight and held it over my right shoulder not only to produce light, but to swing it at an assailant if needed. I was determined to find out what was trying to scare me so I started slowly making my way towards the sound. I kept hearing things being moved around and doors shutting, but since the tunnel was dark and long, I couldn't see anything. My footsteps echoed in the tunnels and sounds echoed back. Then the sounds started getting closer. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. My breathing got heavy and my arm holding the light started shaking. I had the feeling something was about to meet me face to face. I took one more step when BOOM; a mouse ran between my legs! I jumped and my flashlight tumbled to the ground. The next thing I heard was the sound of Mike vaulting through the door of the tornado shelter. I leaned over and rested my hands on the brick wall while I took a deep breath. I picked up my flashlight and went back and found Mike drenched in water. The sounds in the tunnel had stopped and whatever I had heard previously was either not there anymore or had moved on to another building. We waited probably fifteen minutes before I saw the wind/rain had calmed down. Then I went back to the patrol car and checked the grounds, the whole time wondering what that mouse was running from.

The next day I told Brian and Albert about the tunnel incident. Albert was excited to hear about my experience and laughed at the fact a mouse scared the crap out of me. He seemed like a kid watching a scary movie on TV, his eyes were filled with excitement. Albert stated he was close to finding out what was down there and then stated he knew where it stayed. He didn't want to ruin the surprise of finding it so he didn't say much more about what he thought it was, other than he would tell us if he found anything. Once Albert left, Brian again told me not to worry about what I heard and saw. It almost seemed as if Brian didn't want me investigating to find out what was out there. I knew Brian was the type of man not easily scared, but it seemed he threw out the idea completely of the campus being haunted. It was about that time when we heard a door close underneath our office. Brian and I went down to the library and investigated. All the doors were secure so it was physically impossible that we heard a door slam shut, but still, we both heard it. Brian looked at me and told me he didn't like that all this weird stuff was happening. However Brian dismissed the fact that there might be something here and blamed it on a malfunction of some sort. He was not one to waste his time on the theory of ghosts. We knew we weren't being pranked for no one but security could get in from the outside and all the doors were locked tight already. I let it go, but I steered away from the tunnels and tried to not let anything else get to me.

I continued to work as I usually did taking note to all the strange noises and doors closing and it wasn't long until the second to last day at this job, came around. I went to the office as usual and greeted Brian as he left, but found Albert in the office. Albert wasn't himself at all. Albert seemed like he was on high alert; he kept looking down the halls. Albert's eyes darted from camera to camera on the monitors and his breathing was heavy. As Albert sat in the chair he was twitchy, almost like a child full of energy. Albert announced his immediate resignation and had a box containing all of his stuff in the office. When I asked why, he looked at me and said, ""I found it. You don't want to know what it is, so don't go looking for it"". I said Good Bye to Albert as he left the office and I never saw Albert again since that day. I conducted my patrols as usual but made sure to keep an eye on the strange noises. I spent my downtime sitting in the patrol car on the perimeter of the campus to prevent having to run into whatever creature or spirit that Albert found. Still to this day I do not know what it is, but it seems it lives in the tunnels underneath this particular campus.",It lives underneath the Campus,"['ive', 'work', 'secur', 'approxim', 'year', 'work', 'mani', 'place', 'includ', 'factori', 'hospit', 'includ', 'morgu', 'test', 'facil', 'machineri', 'one', 'place', 'work', 'creep', 'day', 'cant', 'even', 'understand', 'exactli', 'issu', 'let', 'explain', 'back', 'attend', 'colleg', 'contract', 'secur', 'firm', 'work', 'ask', 'fill', 'temporarili', 'colleg', 'attend', 'short', 'staf', 'public', 'safeti', 'offic', 'pso', 'accept', 'posit', 'report', 'first', 'day', 'job', 'saturday', 'previous', 'issu', 'uniform', 'consist', 'blue', 'polo', 'black', 'tactic', 'pant', 'met', 'old', 'cowork', 'mine', 'previou', 'job', 'brian', 'day', 'excit', 'see', 'two', 'year', 'sinc', 'seen', 'brian', 'brian', 'militari', 'veteran', 'serv', 'sever', 'tour', 'oversea', 'brian', 'also', 'late', 'thirti', 'brian', 'explain', 'job', 'fairli', 'easi', 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'nois', 'spent', 'downtim', 'sit', 'patrol', 'car', 'perimet', 'campu', 'prevent', 'run', 'whatev', 'creatur', 'spirit', 'albert', 'found', 'still', 'day', 'know', 'seem', 'live', 'tunnel', 'underneath', 'particular', 'campu']"
2,iamanovelty,"I decided to start pet-sitting again.

This story isn’t about Cujo. It might be weirder.

I got my first client after moving down to North Carolina, and of course with no local references, the only person who would hire me lived a half hour drive away, in the middle of nowhere.

Okay. Fine. It’s still a paycheck. It’d been almost a year since I’d gotten down here, and even with the lower cost of living and a full-time job, it was still a little difficult to make ends meet. I’ve got terrible credit. I’ve got debt that’s been in collections for so long that I doubt whether or not it’s even worth it to pay it off. I’ve still got a car payment from New Jersey, and my rent is almost as much for my nice apartment here than it was for my shitty place up north. I needed to supplement, and the only things I’m competent with are animals.

I should add that even though I live pretty much dead center North Carolina, I actually live in a pretty densely populated town. There’s a historic downtown right down the road from me, probably 5 grocery stores in a 5 mile radius of my home, a giant-ass walmart, and pretty much anything else you could think that you’d want nearby. All I cared about was that I still had decent internet, and my apartment allowed small pets. Also, for the most part, there’s street lights. This is important, because I hate driving in the dark.

I drove out the week before I was to start my twice-daily visits, so I could meet the two dogs and their mom before her husband’s deployment ended and their vacation began. The drive was actually pretty pleasant. A few miles on a road I was familiar with, and a traffic circle later, I was met with a glorious 55 mph speed limit sign and no other cars on the road. It was just a few turns and a lot of long, winding roads of nothing. A few houses, some farms, but mostly just pine trees. I arrived 5 minutes early, pet some dogs, chatted about organic farming, and I was on my way not long after with the promise of a regular gig if I did well during my week with the pups.

Despite the commute, I was happy. It was going to be a way to make some extra money with minimal human interaction. The dogs seemed to like me. The male was slightly territorial, but nothing I couldn’t deal with. My first visit there alone was uneventful; I took the dogs out right away for a bathroom break, gave them their dinner, and played with them outside for about an hour. I’m technically only paid for a half hour visit, but I couldn’t help myself. The land my clients live on is beautiful. Huge, tall trees unlike anything I’d seen before outside of a state forest lined their property and surrounded their land. Next to their house was a field that looked like it could be big enough to grow a miniature farm’s worth of veggies. They had a few buildings in addition to their house, too: some kind of little barn, something that could have been a garage at one point, and a complete mystery building with what looked like a fire pit outside the door. I couldn’t help but explore, and the dogs were thrilled to adventure with me.

By the time my curiosity had been satisfied, I realized it had gotten pretty dark. The proximity lights were on, so I made my way easily back to the house. After giving the pups their last treats of the night (I’m a pushover), I locked up and headed down the hill to my car. Driving back was much trickier than getting there. I was able to navigate without GPS to the house since it was my second time making the drive. I tried to do the same on the way back, but found myself almost missing turns out of their neighborhood, and decided to grab my phone and let myself be instructed on the path home. I got back on a long, winding road that lead me back into civilization, and let myself relax a little. Maybe I relaxed a little too much, because I didn’t see the fog until I was almost on top of it.

It covered the entire width of the road and then some, and was so dense that it looked like I could reach out and touch it, and it would feel like styrofoam. It was so thick that it was almost opaque in the light of my high beams. I was much too late to try to stop myself from going through it, but honestly, where else would I have gone? I didn’t even have enough road to safely turn around and head the opposite way, and there’s no way I was risking driving on the mushy dirt on either side of the pavement. My car is small and not meant to be driven off road.

So, being left with no reaction time, I found myself on the other side of the fog less than a second after involuntarily entering it. The road was clear from that point forward. No more fog; not even the subtle mist that had lingered in the air from the earlier day’s rain. My music was still loud, my GPS was still talking to me through my phone, and apparently I’d be turning right in 3.5 miles. I persevered.

The first time I realized something was wrong was when I reached the gas station. I knew I still had to go back to the dogs in the morning, and I was at less than a quarter tank of gas. I pulled in, popped my fuel door open, and went inside to get $20 on pump 3. Before I even got inside, the cashier was yelling my name and waving wildly. I was confused, mostly because I had never seen this woman before in my life. I am a socially awkward human. I am the epitome of fight or flight in situations like this. I could do neither in this situation, though. If I run away, I get no gas. If I yell, ‘hey, who the fuck are you and why do you know my name?’ I probably also get no gas. I wanted gas. I did not want to stop for gas in the morning. 

I acquiesced. I had a conversation getting caught up with a woman I had never met. It was not my finest hour. She seemed to know personal details of my life. She knew my fiance’s name. She knew my mom’s name. She knew my damned chinchillas names, and no one can ever remember them. She did not know my ball python’s name, but I was reminded (for the first time) that snakes freak her out. I did not know anyone in her family’s name, but I pretended to rejoice that she thought Thomas was finally going to propose at Christmas this year. From what I gathered, they’d been together for a while. From what I inferred based on her rubbing her abdomen wistfully, Thomas might not have had much of a choice in the matter. From what her father sounded like from her description, Thomas was probably willing to end up a married dad rather than a dead father to a bastard.

I’m adding unnecessary details. I’m uncomfortable. This situation makes me uncomfortable.

It was not the last time this has happened to me. It’s been a long couple of weeks. I’ve re-met about a dozen people. Some of them were regulars at my work, who were upset that I didn’t remember their dog’s names. I’ve never even seen an Irish Wolfhound before today, sir, but I’m sorry that Maggie May was upset that I didn’t give her her favorite salmon treat. That was the tallest damn dog I’ve ever seen. I had to re-learn how to use the cash register, too. My supervisor was thrilled about that one. It’s not my fault the functions on the F2 (price adjustment) and F3 (quantity adjustment) keys had decided to swap themselves overnight. I apparently also need to re-learn the dress code, because let me tell you, there’s nothing worse than your superior, who’s 3 years younger than you, taking you into the office and lecturing you about how wearing jeans to work is ‘unprofessional and unacceptable’ when just the day before, she was asking you where you got your jeggings.

That’s unnecessary details AND a run-on sentence. I’m uncomfortable. This situation makes me uncomfortable.

It only took me two days to begin to panic. You should see my google search history.

“People remember me who I don’t know”

“How do I find out if there’s a database somewhere with my name and picture and people are using it to fuck with me?”

“Can weird fog make things different in my life?”

“Why am I forgetting everything?”

“Fog wall reality swap”

“Silent Hill style fog ruined my life”

“OK GOOGLE WHY IS EVERYTHING FALLING APART AROUND ME AM I GOING CRAZY I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING CRAZY PLEASE HELP”

I decided, after this very scientific research, that what I’d encountered may very well be an alternate reality. It’s not some crazy Mandela Effect bullshit. The presidents are all the same as what I remember. The right faces are on the right bills and coins. It was always Berenstain Bears; you guys are just paranoid. I guess it’s a parallel universe? Almost everything is the same. It’s just so many little things. Too many little things. I honestly do feel like I’m going crazy.

Why are my future in-laws names different? I’d always known them as Heather and Shane, and they look the same, but they’re looking at me like I’m crazy when I call them that. I’m too afraid to even ask my fiance what their names really are.

Why are my chinchillas in the wrong cages? Nephele was always in the bedroom with us. She has a tall cage because she likes to explore. Persephone was in the spare room, in a short, long cage because she’s afraid of heights. They’re swapped now. It’s fucking stupid. Why are the chinchillas in the wrong damn cages?

I’m wearing my ring on the wrong finger, too. It started after I got… here. I took it off to shower, put it back on my middle finger instead of my ring finger, and now it feels wrong to swap it back to where it belongs. It feels so uncomfortable when I put it where it belongs.

Should I go back to where I belong?

That’s not right; this is where I belong. This is my home. I’m laying in bed next to my fiance, writing this in the apartment we share with our three beautiful furry and scaly children. But this laptop is the wrong color. It was always black, and now it’s silver. I REMEMBER that it was black, because my old laptop was black, and I liked it and I bought this black one with Ed and I was so happy to get a laptop that reminded me of my old one because I missed the old one because I had to sell it to get the money to move down here and I did so much writing on that laptop and I wanted to get back into writing once I got down here and I thought getting the same color laptop would help and then I never wrote once I got down here but I DID write I wrote dozens of stories and I posted them here but now my account login isn’t working anymore and it says my account doesn’t exist so I made this new one to post here just now but I already had this account and I had posts to a few different subreddits I’d never been to before and I’m just not sure

No, wait. I figured it out. I know what I need to do.

I’m going back home.

If I post this, it means it worked. I made it home. I’m going back through that fog. Maybe if I go back through it at the same time, or if I drive backward, or if it’s a rainy night like it was the night I

It doesn’t matter. I’ll try anything. I need to make it home.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for reading this. Don’t drive through the fog wall if you can help it.

​

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

​

I found this when I was going through my fiance’s things, looking for something to explain any of this. I saw her last two days ago, off on some dog sitting side job to bring in extra money for our fuzzy kids. I had to go to the police, get questioned by an overzealous prick cop, and then by every person who knew us both. I knew nothing. I didn’t even know where she really was, because I never went with her. All I could do was wait for someone to find her, or for my midnight searches to be fruitful. 

They found her car last night, off of a country road. The car was totaled, like she ripped off the road going sixty and wrapped herself around a pine. They say she died quick. Some small consolation. 

All of this seems like it stemmed from her mental state. Came out of nowhere, burned through her. I never got any explanation from her. I never will. She’s always been an anxious creature, always nervous about one thing or another, but it was never so bad she lost track of things until recently. It was so bad it was almost not like her at all. I might be losing it too, but I can almost believe the things she wrote. She wasn’t herself. Called my parents by the wrong name, mistook the babies homes, and she even took her ring off of the right finger. Considering how much she panicked about mine being in the wrong spot, it was just wrong. I want to chalk it all down to a mental breakdown from the stress, and I also want to lose my fucking mind and find this fog so I can find her again. 

I’ve taken to driving up and down that road every night. The tree she died on is still warped from her car, and stained from all of the things inside of it. Maybe through the fog, it won’t be. I have to find out. ",Someone Swapped My Chinchillas and I Don't Know What to Do.,"['decid', 'start', 'petsit', 'stori', 'isn’t', 'cujo', 'might', 'weirder', 'got', 'first', 'client', 'move', 'north', 'carolina', 'cours', 'local', 'refer', 'person', 'would', 'hire', 'live', 'half', 'hour', 'drive', 'away', 'middl', 'nowher', 'okay', 'fine', 'it’', 'still', 'paycheck', 'it’d', 'almost', 'year', 'sinc', 'i’d', 'gotten', 'even', 'lower', 'cost', 'live', 'fulltim', 'job', 'still', 'littl', 'difficult', 'make', 'end', 'meet', 'i’v', 'got', 'terribl', 'credit', 'i’v', 'got', 'debt', 'that’', 'collect', 'long', 'doubt', 'whether', 'it’', 'even', 'worth', 'pay', 'i’v', 'still', 'got', 'car', 'payment', 'new', 'jersey', 'rent', 'almost', 'much', 'nice', 'apart', 'shitti', 'place', 'north', 'need', 'supplement', 'thing', 'i’m', 'compet', 'anim', 'add', 'even', 'though', 'live', 'pretti', 'much', 'dead', 'center', 'north', 'carolina', 'actual', 'live', 'pretti', 'dens', 'popul', 'town', 'there’', 'histor', 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'instead', 'ring', 'finger', 'feel', 'wrong', 'swap', 'back', 'belong', 'feel', 'uncomfort', 'put', 'belong', 'go', 'back', 'belong', 'that’', 'right', 'belong', 'home', 'i’m', 'lay', 'bed', 'next', 'fianc', 'write', 'apart', 'share', 'three', 'beauti', 'furri', 'scali', 'children', 'laptop', 'wrong', 'color', 'alway', 'black', 'it’', 'silver', 'rememb', 'black', 'old', 'laptop', 'black', 'like', 'bought', 'black', 'one', 'ed', 'happi', 'get', 'laptop', 'remind', 'old', 'one', 'miss', 'old', 'one', 'sell', 'get', 'money', 'move', 'much', 'write', 'laptop', 'want', 'get', 'back', 'write', 'got', 'thought', 'get', 'color', 'laptop', 'would', 'help', 'never', 'wrote', 'got', 'write', 'wrote', 'dozen', 'stori', 'post', 'account', 'login', 'isn’t', 'work', 'anymor', 'say', 'account', 'doesn’t', 'exist', 'made', 'new', 'one', 'post', 'alreadi', 'account', 'post', 'differ', 'subreddit', 'i’d', 'never', 'i’m', 'sure', 'wait', 'figur', 'know', 'need', 'i’m', 'go', 'back', 'home', 'post', 'mean', 'work', 'made', 'home', 'i’m', 'go', 'back', 'fog', 'mayb', 'go', 'back', 'time', 'drive', 'backward', 'it’', 'raini', 'night', 'like', 'night', 'doesn’t', 'matter', 'i’ll', 'tri', 'anyth', 'need', 'make', 'home', 'thank', 'listen', 'thank', 'read', 'don’t', 'drive', 'fog', 'wall', 'help', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'found', 'go', 'fiance’', 'thing', 'look', 'someth', 'explain', 'saw', 'last', 'two', 'day', 'ago', 'dog', 'sit', 'side', 'job', 'bring', 'extra', 'money', 'fuzzi', 'kid', 'go', 'polic', 'get', 'question', 'overzeal', 'prick', 'cop', 'everi', 'person', 'knew', 'us', 'knew', 'noth', 'didn’t', 'even', 'know', 'realli', 'never', 'went', 'could', 'wait', 'someon', 'find', 'midnight', 'search', 'fruit', 'found', 'car', 'last', 'night', 'countri', 'road', 'car', 'total', 'like', 'rip', 'road', 'go', 'sixti', 'wrap', 'around', 'pine', 'say', 'die', 'quick', 'small', 'consol', 'seem', 'like', 'stem', 'mental', 'state', 'came', 'nowher', 'burn', 'never', 'got', 'explan', 'never', 'she’', 'alway', 'anxiou', 'creatur', 'alway', 'nervou', 'one', 'thing', 'anoth', 'never', 'bad', 'lost', 'track', 'thing', 'recent', 'bad', 'almost', 'like', 'might', 'lose', 'almost', 'believ', 'thing', 'wrote', 'wasn’t', 'call', 'parent', 'wrong', 'name', 'mistook', 'babi', 'home', 'even', 'took', 'ring', 'right', 'finger', 'consid', 'much', 'panick', 'mine', 'wrong', 'spot', 'wrong', 'want', 'chalk', 'mental', 'breakdown', 'stress', 'also', 'want', 'lose', 'fuck', 'mind', 'find', 'fog', 'find', 'i’v', 'taken', 'drive', 'road', 'everi', 'night', 'tree', 'die', 'still', 'warp', 'car', 'stain', 'thing', 'insid', 'mayb', 'fog', 'won’t', 'find']"
3,John_Drinks,"  

Since the passing of my wife, I have been living on my own in a quaint but sizable and secluded cabin. My home is in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, far enough from my hometown of Canton, Georgia, but close enough to visit my two children who are now grown and living their own lives in the metropolitan area of Atlanta. Despite the spirit of heaviness that I was left with after my loss, I instantly fell in love with the cabin and eagerly left the white picket fence behind.  

I fit right into my new community, due to my tendency to keep to myself, something that was not at all foreign around these parts. My nearest neighbors lived roughly 3 miles up the dirt and gravel road from me, a sweet elderly couple who had retired from Virginia and would drop off canned preservatives free of charge now and again. I came to learn their names were Eugene and Meredith. On one occasion I invited them in for supper and a few drinks, and they kindly accepted my offer. After finishing our dinner, we sat around my kitchen table having drinks and sharing stories. That night was the first time I heard about the odd happenings that have plagued the community for the past few decades. 

We have all heard stories about people going missing while hiking the Appalachian trail, and most of those disappearances seem to be easily explained away. However, the stories that they shared with me on that night truly disturbed me. I chalked it up to being drunk and in a vulnerable state of mind, but I would soon learn otherwise. They told me of a dark cloud that rested upon the community in the form of occult activity, something that had long taken place in these mountains according to them.

Both Eugene and Meredith believed that there were townsfolk who were deeply involved in witchcraft, blood sacrifice, and even cannibalism. Hell, the way they spoke about it was so convincing, that part of me wanted it to be true, God knows I needed a bit of excitement in my life, even if it came in the form of fear. Eugene began to tell me a story that took place during the winter of the previous year, about how he had housed his cattle in his barn on a particularly cold night, only to find all six of them slaughtered the following morning. A look of fear was frozen in the faces of their corpses, it looked as though they had been killed for no other reason than to torment the poor creatures and the elderly couple. 

I too had a small barn on my property that I housed my sheep in during the nights, and I was now spooked thoroughly enough to decide that I would be making nightly patrols every few hours to ensure their safety. I have never been what you would consider a skilled hunter, fishing has always been my game, but I know my way around my old Remington Mohawk -600 and I felt confident in my ability to protect my livestock. Then there’s Abram, my 175lbs Caucasian mountain dog, he’s slowed down a bit in his old age, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with. I guess that Eugene and Meredith could read my thoughts through my silence and facial expression, and they tried to lighten the mood by pouring another round, but the uneasiness had already set in too deep. 

I said to Eugene “So, earlier you mentioned that you think it’s people who are doing this, and you said something about cannibalism.” Meredith’s tawny complexion whitened a bit as she looked down and nursed her drink. Eugene however, leaned back in his seat for a moment before leaning back forward and resting his chin on his left hand. He looked me in the eye like he was both studying me and picking me apart, it was a look that I had only ever received from my own Grandfather. Eugene then asked, “Do you have children, Mr. Mitchell?” I hesitated to answer, but he knew my hesitation answered his question. He leaned in a little bit closer before telling me, “Kids have a way of disappearing in these mountains, and IF they are ever found, an open casket is out of the question.”

Eugene broke eye contact to pour himself another bourbon, that’s when I noticed Meredith had a look of woe stretched across her face. Meredith pulled the glass from Eugene’s hands causing the bourbon to momentarily spill onto the table while saying “I think we’ve all had enough for one night.” Eugene looked at me as if to apologize for the minor spill, and then he looked at his wife lovingly to acknowledge that she was correct. I awkwardly tried to divert the conversation by offering them both glasses of water and my guest bedroom for the night, as I didn’t want them driving along the forest road in the dark after a heavy night of drinking. Their politeness compelled them to decline at first, for fear that they would be imposing, but I reassured them that it would be my pleasure and they kindly took my offer. 

It was exactly 1:41 AM when the screams of Badger (my only ram) and the barking of Abram woke me from my drunken slumber. In my drunken stupor, I struggled to put my boots on, and nearly forgot to grab my rifle as Abram and I made our way to the back door. When I finally exited the cabin and entered my backyard, I was met by Eugene crouched down behind my pickup. Eugene ushered me to get down and stay low. I crouched down behind the pickup with Eugene as I held on tight to Abrams collar, and for a moment I thought he was going to leave our side (God knows I don’t have the strength to hold that dog back.) Instead, Abrams guttural growls turned into silent whimpers, and Eugene nudged me in the shoulder to direct my attention to the barn…

“What?” is all I could think to say when I saw it, or her? Walking out of my barn, was the tallest woman (if you could even call her that) I’d ever seen. Her gait was so abnormal that it was painful to watch her move. She was easily 8ft tall, naked, and covered in gore from head to toe. Abram laid down and covered his face with his paws, and just as I was about to vomit, Eugene clasped his hand around my mouth and began to pray under his breath. I was ashamed of puking into Eugene’s hand, but he was clearly much more concerned with the monstrosity that was now aimlessly roaming about my yard. 

The woman’s hair was dark and caked with blood, and she awkwardly danced around in the moonlight as if she was having a slow-motion seizure. Her limbs went from limp to rigid as she picked little pieces of gore out of her hair to eat, and she seemed to be in a moment of pure ecstasy. I had never been so terrified, at least not since the death of my beloved wife, but this kind of fear was different. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and Eugene must have been as frightened as I was because he finally released his grip over my mouth and told me to run inside. 

Before I could even reach the screen door, Meredith swung it wide open from the inside, and she made sure that myself, Eugene, and my dog Abram all made it inside safely. As soon as we made it back into the house Meredith slammed the wooden door shut and deadbolted it. I scampered into the kitchen without a word and watched from the window as this woman slowly made her way to the tree line with that same disturbing gait. ",An Appalachian Horror Story. Chapter One.,"['sinc', 'pass', 'wife', 'live', 'quaint', 'sizabl', 'seclud', 'cabin', 'home', 'appalachian', 'mountain', 'tennesse', 'far', 'enough', 'hometown', 'canton', 'georgia', 'close', 'enough', 'visit', 'two', 'children', 'grown', 'live', 'live', 'metropolitan', 'area', 'atlanta', 'despit', 'spirit', 'heavi', 'left', 'loss', 'instantli', 'fell', 'love', 'cabin', 'eagerli', 'left', 'white', 'picket', 'fenc', 'behind', 'fit', 'right', 'new', 'commun', 'due', 'tendenc', 'keep', 'someth', 'foreign', 'around', 'part', 'nearest', 'neighbor', 'live', 'roughli', 'mile', 'dirt', 'gravel', 'road', 'sweet', 'elderli', 'coupl', 'retir', 'virginia', 'would', 'drop', 'can', 'preserv', 'free', 'charg', 'came', 'learn', 'name', 'eugen', 'meredith', 'one', 'occas', 'invit', 'supper', 'drink', 'kindli', 'accept', 'offer', 'finish', 'dinner', 'sat', 'around', 'kitchen', 'tabl', 'drink', 'share', 'stori', 'night', 'first', 'time', 'heard', 'odd', 'happen', 'plagu', 'commun', 'past', 'decad', 'heard', 'stori', 'peopl', 'go', 'miss', 'hike', 'appalachian', 'trail', 'disappear', 'seem', 'easili', 'explain', 'away', 'howev', 'stori', 'share', 'night', 'truli', 'disturb', 'chalk', 'drunk', 'vulner', 'state', 'mind', 'would', 'soon', 'learn', 'otherwis', 'told', 'dark', 'cloud', 'rest', 'upon', 'commun', 'form', 'occult', 'activ', 'someth', 'long', 'taken', 'place', 'mountain', 'accord', 'eugen', 'meredith', 'believ', 'townsfolk', 'deepli', 'involv', 'witchcraft', 'blood', 'sacrific', 'even', 'cannib', 'hell', 'way', 'spoke', 'convinc', 'part', 'want', 'true', 'god', 'know', 'need', 'bit', 'excit', 'life', 'even', 'came', 'form', 'fear', 'eugen', 'began', 'tell', 'stori', 'took', 'place', 'winter', 'previou', 'year', 'hous', 'cattl', 'barn', 'particularli', 'cold', 'night', 'find', 'six', 'slaughter', 'follow', 'morn', 'look', 'fear', 'frozen', 'face', 'corps', 'look', 'though', 'kill', 'reason', 'torment', 'poor', 'creatur', 'elderli', 'coupl', 'small', 'barn', 'properti', 'hous', 'sheep', 'night', 'spook', 'thoroughli', 'enough', 'decid', 'would', 'make', 'nightli', 'patrol', 'everi', 'hour', 'ensur', 'safeti', 'never', 'would', 'consid', 'skill', 'hunter', 'fish', 'alway', 'game', 'know', 'way', 'around', 'old', 'remington', 'mohawk', 'felt', 'confid', 'abil', 'protect', 'livestock', 'there’', 'abram', '175lb', 'caucasian', 'mountain', 'dog', 'he’', 'slow', 'bit', 'old', 'age', 'he’', 'still', 'forc', 'reckon', 'guess', 'eugen', 'meredith', 'could', 'read', 'thought', 'silenc', 'facial', 'express', 'tri', 'lighten', 'mood', 'pour', 'anoth', 'round', 'uneasi', 'alreadi', 'set', 'deep', 'said', 'eugen', '“so', 'earlier', 'mention', 'think', 'it’', 'peopl', 'said', 'someth', 'cannibalism”', 'meredith’', 'tawni', 'complexion', 'whiten', 'bit', 'look', 'nurs', 'drink', 'eugen', 'howev', 'lean', 'back', 'seat', 'moment', 'lean', 'back', 'forward', 'rest', 'chin', 'left', 'hand', 'look', 'eye', 'like', 'studi', 'pick', 'apart', 'look', 'ever', 'receiv', 'grandfath', 'eugen', 'ask', '“do', 'children', 'mr', 'mitchell”', 'hesit', 'answer', 'knew', 'hesit', 'answer', 'question', 'lean', 'littl', 'bit', 'closer', 'tell', '“kid', 'way', 'disappear', 'mountain', 'ever', 'found', 'open', 'casket', 'question”', 'eugen', 'broke', 'eye', 'contact', 'pour', 'anoth', 'bourbon', 'that’', 'notic', 'meredith', 'look', 'woe', 'stretch', 'across', 'face', 'meredith', 'pull', 'glass', 'eugene’', 'hand', 'caus', 'bourbon', 'momentarili', 'spill', 'onto', 'tabl', 'say', '“i', 'think', 'we’v', 'enough', 'one', 'night”', 'eugen', 'look', 'apolog', 'minor', 'spill', 'look', 'wife', 'lovingli', 'acknowledg', 'correct', 'awkwardli', 'tri', 'divert', 'convers', 'offer', 'glass', 'water', 'guest', 'bedroom', 'night', 'didn’t', 'want', 'drive', 'along', 'forest', 'road', 'dark', 'heavi', 'night', 'drink', 'polit', 'compel', 'declin', 'first', 'fear', 'would', 'impos', 'reassur', 'would', 'pleasur', 'kindli', 'took', 'offer', 'exactli', 'scream', 'badger', 'ram', 'bark', 'abram', 'woke', 'drunken', 'slumber', 'drunken', 'stupor', 'struggl', 'put', 'boot', 'nearli', 'forgot', 'grab', 'rifl', 'abram', 'made', 'way', 'back', 'door', 'final', 'exit', 'cabin', 'enter', 'backyard', 'met', 'eugen', 'crouch', 'behind', 'pickup', 'eugen', 'usher', 'get', 'stay', 'low', 'crouch', 'behind', 'pickup', 'eugen', 'held', 'tight', 'abram', 'collar', 'moment', 'thought', 'go', 'leav', 'side', 'god', 'know', 'don’t', 'strength', 'hold', 'dog', 'back', 'instead', 'abram', 'guttur', 'growl', 'turn', 'silent', 'whimper', 'eugen', 'nudg', 'shoulder', 'direct', 'attent', 'barn…', '“what”', 'could', 'think', 'say', 'saw', 'walk', 'barn', 'tallest', 'woman', 'could', 'even', 'call', 'i’d', 'ever', 'seen', 'gait', 'abnorm', 'pain', 'watch', 'move', 'easili', '8ft', 'tall', 'nake', 'cover', 'gore', 'head', 'toe', 'abram', 'laid', 'cover', 'face', 'paw', 'vomit', 'eugen', 'clasp', 'hand', 'around', 'mouth', 'began', 'pray', 'breath', 'asham', 'puke', 'eugene’', 'hand', 'clearli', 'much', 'concern', 'monstros', 'aimlessli', 'roam', 'yard', 'woman’', 'hair', 'dark', 'cake', 'blood', 'awkwardli', 'danc', 'around', 'moonlight', 'slowmot', 'seizur', 'limb', 'went', 'limp', 'rigid', 'pick', 'littl', 'piec', 'gore', 'hair', 'eat', 'seem', 'moment', 'pure', 'ecstasi', 'never', 'terrifi', 'least', 'sinc', 'death', 'belov', 'wife', 'kind', 'fear', 'differ', 'could', 'feel', 'tear', 'well', 'eye', 'eugen', 'must', 'frighten', 'final', 'releas', 'grip', 'mouth', 'told', 'run', 'insid', 'could', 'even', 'reach', 'screen', 'door', 'meredith', 'swung', 'wide', 'open', 'insid', 'made', 'sure', 'eugen', 'dog', 'abram', 'made', 'insid', 'safe', 'soon', 'made', 'back', 'hous', 'meredith', 'slam', 'wooden', 'door', 'shut', 'deadbolt', 'scamper', 'kitchen', 'without', 'word', 'watch', 'window', 'woman', 'slowli', 'made', 'way', 'tree', 'line', 'disturb', 'gait']"
4,claire_e_albers,"The women howled with laughter as they finished their second bottle of wine. Diane reached for a third bottle that was sitting on the counter and started to top off both the glasses, but Heather stopped her. 

“As much as I would love another glass, I should be getting home. It’s pretty late, and I have a bit of a drive yet.”

“How late is it?” Diane glanced at the clock. “1:00? Already?” She asked in surprise. 

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Heather answered with a smile. 

The ladies stood (rather unsteadily) and hugged each other. Heather started gathering her things and made her way towards the door. 

“We must do this more often. I love John to death, but he just doesn’t know how to gossip!”

“I know. We’re just so busy with Timmy’s soccer schedule right now. I’ll make sure and give you a ring soon though!” Diane opened the front door for her friend and waved goodbye. 

“Please drive safe!”

“Will do!” Heather called before closing her car door. 

She knew she wasn’t in the best condition to drive, but she had to get home: John was away visiting his parents so Heather needed to go and relieve the babysitter. 

*That poor girl.* Heather thought. Her son David had just entered his terrible twos and refused to go to bed even when John and Heather were home. She didn’t even want to imagine the fit he had probably thrown earlier that night. 

Heather sighed and tried to focus on the road. The steady rumble of the engine, accompanied by the seat warmer (and the alcohol) was quickly making her eyelids droop. She shook herself awake and switched on the radio:

“*-Five bodies have turned up in the past two weeks, an unusually high number for the small town of Chadron. Due to large differences in the details of the murders, police are wary to label this as the work of a serial killer. However, as more bodies turn up, a pattern is changing this notion. Every victim so far has been missing a piece of their bod-*

Heather quickly turned off the radio, grumbling to herself about the amount of bad news these days. 

She still had quite a while to drive, considering that she lived about 20 miles outside of town. It wouldn’t be that bad, except it was a rarely-used backroad with a streetlight only every couple miles. Not to mention only one radio station came through clearly!

Heather sighed again and checked her rearview mirror. Movement in the backseat caught her eye, and she squinted, straining her eyes in the darkness. As the car sped past a streetlight, a horrible, grinning face slowly emerged from the shadows. 

Heather stared in horror, and the hideous figure let out a terrifying high-pitched giggle. His black eyes found hers, and he slowly lifted a gnarled finger to point to the front of the car. Heather turned just in time to see her car hurdling straight for a huge oak tree. 

The man (if you could call him that) giggled again as Heather choked on her own blood, staring in horror at the large branch protruding from her chest. 

**\~** **\~** **\~**

Sheriff White came to a stop, cursing as his coffee sloshed onto his pants. It was too early for this shit, and he hated starting his day off with car wrecks. 

White got out of his car and addressed the sheriff standing next to the crushed vehicle. 

“Another drunk driver I assume?” White asked.

“That’s what we thought until we took a look at the driver…”

White, confused, stepped closer to the wreck and fought the urge to vomit. The woman, 

who was impaled by a sharp branch, stared with bloody, empty eye sockets, mouth still twisted into a scream.  ",Eyes On the Road,"['women', 'howl', 'laughter', 'finish', 'second', 'bottl', 'wine', 'dian', 'reach', 'third', 'bottl', 'sit', 'counter', 'start', 'top', 'glass', 'heather', 'stop', '“a', 'much', 'would', 'love', 'anoth', 'glass', 'get', 'home', 'it’', 'pretti', 'late', 'bit', 'drive', 'yet”', '“how', 'late', 'it”', 'dian', 'glanc', 'clock', '“100', 'already”', 'ask', 'surpris', '“time', 'fli', 'you’r', 'fun”', 'heather', 'answer', 'smile', 'ladi', 'stood', 'rather', 'unsteadili', 'hug', 'heather', 'start', 'gather', 'thing', 'made', 'way', 'toward', 'door', '“we', 'must', 'often', 'love', 'john', 'death', 'doesn’t', 'know', 'gossip”', '“i', 'know', 'we’r', 'busi', 'timmy’', 'soccer', 'schedul', 'right', 'i’ll', 'make', 'sure', 'give', 'ring', 'soon', 'though”', 'dian', 'open', 'front', 'door', 'friend', 'wave', 'goodby', '“pleas', 'drive', 'safe”', '“will', 'do”', 'heather', 'call', 'close', 'car', 'door', 'knew', 'wasn’t', 'best', 'condit', 'drive', 'get', 'home', 'john', 'away', 'visit', 'parent', 'heather', 'need', 'go', 'reliev', 'babysitt', 'poor', 'girl', 'heather', 'thought', 'son', 'david', 'enter', 'terribl', 'two', 'refus', 'go', 'bed', 'even', 'john', 'heather', 'home', 'didn’t', 'even', 'want', 'imagin', 'fit', 'probabl', 'thrown', 'earlier', 'night', 'heather', 'sigh', 'tri', 'focu', 'road', 'steadi', 'rumbl', 'engin', 'accompani', 'seat', 'warmer', 'alcohol', 'quickli', 'make', 'eyelid', 'droop', 'shook', 'awak', 'switch', 'radio', '“five', 'bodi', 'turn', 'past', 'two', 'week', 'unusu', 'high', 'number', 'small', 'town', 'chadron', 'due', 'larg', 'differ', 'detail', 'murder', 'polic', 'wari', 'label', 'work', 'serial', 'killer', 'howev', 'bodi', 'turn', 'pattern', 'chang', 'notion', 'everi', 'victim', 'far', 'miss', 'piec', 'bod', 'heather', 'quickli', 'turn', 'radio', 'grumbl', 'amount', 'bad', 'news', 'day', 'still', 'quit', 'drive', 'consid', 'live', 'mile', 'outsid', 'town', 'wouldn’t', 'bad', 'except', 'rarelyus', 'backroad', 'streetlight', 'everi', 'coupl', 'mile', 'mention', 'one', 'radio', 'station', 'came', 'clearli', 'heather', 'sigh', 'check', 'rearview', 'mirror', 'movement', 'backseat', 'caught', 'eye', 'squint', 'strain', 'eye', 'dark', 'car', 'sped', 'past', 'streetlight', 'horribl', 'grin', 'face', 'slowli', 'emerg', 'shadow', 'heather', 'stare', 'horror', 'hideou', 'figur', 'let', 'terrifi', 'highpitch', 'giggl', 'black', 'eye', 'found', 'slowli', 'lift', 'gnarl', 'finger', 'point', 'front', 'car', 'heather', 'turn', 'time', 'see', 'car', 'hurdl', 'straight', 'huge', 'oak', 'tree', 'man', 'could', 'call', 'giggl', 'heather', 'choke', 'blood', 'stare', 'horror', 'larg', 'branch', 'protrud', 'chest', 'sheriff', 'white', 'came', 'stop', 'curs', 'coffe', 'slosh', 'onto', 'pant', 'earli', 'shit', 'hate', 'start', 'day', 'car', 'wreck', 'white', 'got', 'car', 'address', 'sheriff', 'stand', 'next', 'crush', 'vehicl', '“anoth', 'drunk', 'driver', 'assume”', 'white', 'ask', '“that’', 'thought', 'took', 'look', 'driver…”', 'white', 'confus', 'step', 'closer', 'wreck', 'fought', 'urg', 'vomit', 'woman', 'impal', 'sharp', 'branch', 'stare', 'bloodi', 'empti', 'eye', 'socket', 'mouth', 'still', 'twist', 'scream']"
5,claire_e_albers,"“Tiffany. *Let’s go.* We still have to pick up Brad.”

“Chill out Megan. I’m almost done.”

“We’re going to be late. I didn’t even want to go to this stupid thing in the first place.”

Tiffany swung the door open and strolled out of the bathroom and the smell of hairspray, cheap perfume, and teenage insecurity followed close behind. She stopped in front of her friend--who already had her car keys in her hand—and did a quick twirl.

“How do I look?”

Megan paused to look her friend up and down. “Like a slut.”

“What do you mean?” Tiffany asked with a huff.

“I can practically see your entire ass Tiff.”

Tiffany started walking toward her closet. “I guess I’ll just have to change then.”

Megan grabbed Tiffany’s arm. “No no no. You are *not* changing again. We’re leaving.”

The two girls hopped in Megan’s god-awful green Subaru and sped off toward a fun-filled night.

Tiffany pulled the visor down and began fixing her hair in the mirror. “I’m *so* glad Halloween is on a Friday this year. I hate when it lands in the middle of a week. Going to school with a hangover sucks.”

“Totally. Speaking of, reach under there.” Megan pointed to underneath the passenger’s seat.

Tiffany reached under the seat and felt around before pulling out a rather large bottle of vodka. “Where did you get this?” She squealed.

“I snagged it from my parent’s cabinet. They won’t miss it.” She said with a smirk.

Megan pressed the brake and maneuvered the car into a driveway. Brad slipped into the backseat and greeted the two girls.

“You look good Tiff. I like the costume.” He said, looking at her legs and chest. “I’m not usually a cat person, but I think I can make an exception for you.” After ungluing his eyes from Tiffany, Brad turned to address Megan.

“And where is your costume?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I decided, unlike some people, to wear clothing considering that it is only fifty degrees tonight.” Megan retorted.

“Fair enough,” Brad said, smiling.

The car raced through the darkness for about 20 minutes, before pulling into a small clearing in front of a forest. The forest was fairly large (about 40 square miles), and completely uninhabited other than the occasional camper. Car doors slammed as the teens got out of the car, a little tipsy due to the now half-empty vodka bottle in the backseat.

“Are you sure this is the right place Brad?” Megan asked warily.

“Yes, I’m sure. My buddy said that this is the best scare walk around.”

“I don’t know. It seems a bit sketch.” Megan nervously chewed her fingernails.

“Oh come on Meg. It’ll be fun!” Tiffany grabbed Megan’s hand and dragged her toward the dark forest.

“Wait for me!” Brad jogged to catch up with the girls.

**\~** **\~** **\~**

“Did anyone think to bring a flashlight?” Megan grumbled.

“It’s not that dark Meg,” Tiffany replied.

“I’m tripping over everything! Brad, can I use your phone for a flashlight?”

“Um, my phone is dead.”

“Tiff?” Megan asked

“I left mine in the car. Where’s yours?”

“It’s at Verizon getting fixed, remember?”

“Oh yeah. I think we’ll be ok. The moon is pretty bright tonight.”

Suddenly, Megan gasped.

“What? Are you ok?” Brad asked, worried.

Megan looked around suspiciously. “I thought I heard something.”

“Stop being so paranoid Megan,” Tiffany said absentmindedly.

Brad stopped. “No, wait. I hear it too.”

The trio stopped and listened intently. The noise started out soft, but gradually grew louder. Tiffany cocked her head to the side, listening.

“It sounds like, a chainsaw?” She turned toward the noise, and peered into the darkness. Suddenly, she screamed and pointed. A figure emerged from behind the trees holding a chainsaw, running straight for Megan, Brad, and Tiffany. Megan took off sprinting, with Brad and Tiffany not far behind. They navigated the uneven ground the best they could in the dark, but still tripped over tree roots and rocks frequently. Behind them, the roaring of the chainsaw, accompanied by raspy breathing, grew louder.

They had been running for about 5 minutes when Tiffany, who was behind Brad and Megan, started slowing down. The figure took this opportunity to grab her hair and wrench her to the ground. Tiffany screamed as the masked figure (presumably a man) put a bag over her head.

Brad looked behind him and saw the masked man standing over Tiffany’s motionless body. He stopped running, with the intentions of going to help Tiffany, and at that moment, two more dark figures appeared and quickly wrestled Brad to the ground.

Megan was completely unaware that her friends were no longer behind her; she just kept running. However, when she realized that she no longer heard footsteps, breathing, or the chainsaw behind her, she stopped.

Where were Brad and Tiff? How had one person managed to take out both of her friends? Was this all just part of the Halloween game?

Megan started to panic, looking around frantically for a sign of her friends. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned on her heel and ran back toward her friends… and right into a tree branch. Megan fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

**\~** **\~** **\~**

Megan, Brad, and Tiffany blinked in the harsh light as the bags were ripped off of their heads. The three friends took in their surrounding with wide eyes: a tiny, decrepit wooden shack, blood-stained walls, rusty metal tools hanging haphazardly, and bits of *remains* splattered on the floor. It looked like a scene out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Each teen reacted to the horrifying environment in very different ways:

“What the hell is this?” Tiffany shouted, struggling with the ropes restraining her arms and legs.

Megan started breathing quicker, and anxiously said: “I knew this was a bad idea.”

Brad, however, smiled and said “Guys, my friend was right. This is the best Halloween scare walk *ever!*”

Megan and Tiffany both turned and stared at him.

“What?” Megan squeaked.

“None of this is real guys. It’s all just part of the walk. These people are just actors- and good ones at that!”

Brad had barely finished speaking when one of the ‘actors’ standing in the corner quickly crossed the room and plunged a dull knife into Brad’s throat. A look of surprise crossed Brad’s face as dark red blood spirted in streams from the wound.

Tiffany and Megan screamed in terror. They screamed as Brad was hacked into pieces right in front of them. They screamed as each one of their fingernails were ripped off. They screamed as every one of their toes were crudely cut off with pliers. They screamed as their eyes were gouged out. They only stopped screaming when their mouths were sewn shut and their vocal cords were ripped out. Only Megan was (barely) alive when each of the teen’s faces were ripped off.

**\~** **\~** **\~**

“Hey, Linsey, wait up!”

“What’s up Brock?”

“Friday afternoon Brad told me about this really cool Halloween walk in the forest just outside of town. I think tonight is the last night for it. You wanna go?”

“Totally. That sounds super cool. And I’ll ask Marissa to go too. I know she doesn’t really like that kind of stuff, but maybe she’ll go anyway.”

“Cool. See you tonight!”",Halloween Fun,"['“tiffani', 'let’', 'go', 'still', 'pick', 'brad”', '“chill', 'megan', 'i’m', 'almost', 'done”', '“we’r', 'go', 'late', 'didn’t', 'even', 'want', 'go', 'stupid', 'thing', 'first', 'place”', 'tiffani', 'swung', 'door', 'open', 'stroll', 'bathroom', 'smell', 'hairspray', 'cheap', 'perfum', 'teenag', 'insecur', 'follow', 'close', 'behind', 'stop', 'front', 'friendwho', 'alreadi', 'car', 'key', 'hand—and', 'quick', 'twirl', '“how', 'look”', 'megan', 'paus', 'look', 'friend', '“like', 'slut”', '“what', 'mean”', 'tiffani', 'ask', 'huff', '“i', 'practic', 'see', 'entir', 'ass', 'tiff”', 'tiffani', 'start', 'walk', 'toward', 'closet', '“i', 'guess', 'i’ll', 'chang', 'then”', 'megan', 'grab', 'tiffany’', 'arm', '“no', 'chang', 'we’r', 'leaving”', 'two', 'girl', 'hop', 'megan’', 'godaw', 'green', 'subaru', 'sped', 'toward', 'funfil', 'night', 'tiffani', 'pull', 'visor', 'began', 'fix', 'hair', 'mirror', '“i’m', 'glad', 'halloween', 'friday', 'year', 'hate', 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'cut', 'plier', 'scream', 'eye', 'goug', 'stop', 'scream', 'mouth', 'sewn', 'shut', 'vocal', 'cord', 'rip', 'megan', 'bare', 'aliv', 'teen’', 'face', 'rip', '“hey', 'linsey', 'wait', 'up”', '“what’', 'brock”', '“friday', 'afternoon', 'brad', 'told', 'realli', 'cool', 'halloween', 'walk', 'forest', 'outsid', 'town', 'think', 'tonight', 'last', 'night', 'wanna', 'go”', '“total', 'sound', 'super', 'cool', 'i’ll', 'ask', 'marissa', 'go', 'know', 'doesn’t', 'realli', 'like', 'kind', 'stuff', 'mayb', 'she’ll', 'go', 'anyway”', '“cool', 'see', 'tonight”']"
6,BAKreiger,"
“Where does the despair live?”

I looked up from my computer at Ashley. Failing to come up with a witty response, I let my eyes linger on her figure instead, then raised my face to meet hers. “What?”

“Where does the despair live?” she asked again, still looking down at her keyboard. Her lips spread into an excited grin. Her pupils were wide, dilated. Something was thrilling her. 

“I’m not asking, dummy, the test is. You’re going to love this, Dan.”

Ashley assumed a lot on the part of my taste, but I was lovesick enough to forgive this. Blood-red lipstick and blue eyeliner accented her expression of titillation. One ear was riddled with three silver rings, and her red skirt clashed with black boots. I’d never seen her plain, but I knew at her plainest that she had to be a beautiful woman. I loved all of her, even if I was too craven to say so.  

What I loved the most, though, was the purple tattoo of a crescent moon on the inside of her right forearm. She could change her hair color, outfit, and makeup each day as her mood struck her. But that tattoo showed a commitment to her spontaneity that would never be discarded. Tattoos were forever. 

I wanted to run my finger up and down the edge of that moon. 

“What exactly am I going to love?” I asked, spring the trap she’d set; she wouldn’t share her find with me until I asked her. 

She got out of her side of the booth, slid into mine, and shoved my half-eaten bagel against the café’s wall. She turned her laptop around to face us, and sidled close to me. These invasions of personal space were not signals of attraction with Ashley. They were claims of territory. We were not intimate, despite my intentions, but she’d staked her claim on me. I belonged to her and she knew it. 

“This test is a trip,” she said. “Look.” She pointed at the screen.

The page was titled, *‘The Gray Trial.’* Below this was a phrase in what I could only assume was Latin: *‘Voir Dire’*. I glanced at the site’s address, saw a meaningless jumble of letters and numbers, realized she was viewing the page with her Tor browser.

“You’re on the dark web? I’m not going to see some illegal shit am I?” I fought back an involuntary gag, and could taste bile. I’d let myself spend one weekend traipsing through the anonymous horrors of the dark web. The experiment culminated in an agonizing five minutes of what I’m fairly certain was a snuff film. I’d logged out of Tor and reformatted my hard drive. I’d felt spiritually filthy for weeks.

“Nothing like you’re imagining,” Ashley said. “I like an edge but I keep it classy. Jesus, Dan, its Halloween. We’re supposed to do spooky shit. Just look.”   

The browser displayed what appeared to be a colorful geometric puzzle. A series of shapes filled a hazy field. On one side was a large circle, with the letter ‘A’ beneath it. On the distant end of the field, near the edge of the screen, was a small, five-pointed star. The letter ‘B’ was inscribed next to it.

At the bottom of the screen was the question, which was even more confusing: *Where does the despair live?* I could click one of two radio buttons, ‘A’, or ‘B’.

“What do you think?” Ashley said, her eyes still enchanted by the screen.

“I just see shapes. Colors,” I said. This kind of interactive media was beyond me. *Chutes and Ladders* is about as wild as I can get on my own power. 

Ashley, however, was in her wheelhouse.

“Ease up and give this a real chance,” she said, putting one hand on my arm.  “Just look at the picture, think on the question, and listen to your gut.” She knew how to get what she wanted out of me. I was her marionette, and she liked to pull the strings.

“Okay,” I said, looking at the screen again. I tried to let the shapes, the pulsing haze, sink into me, and to assess how I was reacting to each. Relaxed but engaged, I found myself starting to humanize the shapes, to ascribe feelings to them.

“The star,” I said. “The star is where the despair lives. It’s more alone, somehow. Click ‘B’.”

Ashley smiled, gave my arm one encouraging, exquisite squeeze, then clicked ‘B’.

Another image with a matching question popped up.

“There’s more?” I said.

Ashley shook her head. “There are *lots* more. And it gets weirder. That was your first one, you should do the whole thing with me. I already did it and got my results.”

“Results?”

“Well, the site called it a ‘summons,’ but it’s something like an analysis of your character,” Ashley said. “I think it’s a personality test. I haven’t done one of these since the Briggs Myers in psych when I was an undergrad.”

 “So this thing is going to tell me if I’m an introvert or an extrovert but do it while teaching me to have fun with shapes and colors?”

“This is better, trust me. It’s much more than a personality test. Keep going.” 

I kept going.

The next screen was a sea of colors, splashed across a digital canvas. Every few seconds, one of the bits of color would move, inching along like a worm, then stop. The question: *Where is the danger?* ‘A’ was in a morass of red curls, which I likened to blood and flame. ‘B’ marked a jagged arch of bone-white, reminding me of teeth. I chose ‘B’.

“I got that question too, but went with ‘A’,” Ashley said. “Red is dead. Don’t you know anything?” She elbowed me in the ribs, and I smiled, savoring the touch.

“I’m still not impressed. This… trial… is pretty tame for you. I don’t see what you got so excited about in the first place.”

She winked. “Just keep going.”

The next screen was a photo of a child’s bedroom. The figure of a boy, his back turned to the viewer, hid under bed covers. The question was: *Which one is plotting?* ‘A’ indicated a small, tattered clown doll, lying in one corner, its dead eyes oriented toward the bed. ‘B’ marked the closet door, slightly ajar.

“Okay,” I said. “You’re getting to me.”

As I clicked ‘B’, the photo faded from the screen, and I heard a faint snuffling, a child’s gasp, a faint whine, and then silence.

“Christ,” I said. The noises startled me, and my heart skipped a beat.

“It gets more immersive the further you get,” Ashley said. 

It did, and as the test progressed, I was gnawed at by a sense of growing anxiety and gloom. The command, *Find the treachery*, accompanied the painting of a toddler stumbling toward the edge of a cliff. A masked troll held out a morsel, tempting the child. The child’s mother, exhausted and unkempt, watched on, failing to intervene. The chimes from a child’s music box played in the background. I selected the mother. The troll, suddenly animated, grasped the child’s foot. The child turned to its negligent mother for help as the picture faded to black. 

The next screen showed a photo, which must have been staged. It portrayed a weeping, enraged man plunging a dagger into the chest of a naked woman. Both of these figures wore wedding rings. A second man, naked in the bed next to the woman, did not. I heard the slow creaking of a noose. The test asked, *Who is the victim?* My options were the adulteress or her lover. I chose the paramour, and was rewarded with the sound of a breaking bone.

The test consumed my attention. I felt like some perverse voyeur, and I absolutely had to see the next dark inquiry the test would conjure. My eyes darted from question to image, reading one, devouring the other.

*Where is the redemption?* A bleeding old hag, or a voluptuous, naked woman with a crow’s beak and webbed feet.

*Why is it crying?* The slit wrist of a man or the flames of the burning house that surrounded him.

*Find the gloom.* A crushed spider or popped balloon, strangely oozing with blood. 

*One of these is breathing.* A tree-house with a crying child trapped inside, or the statue of an angel in the graveyard below, its face chipped away to nothing.

Faster and faster I scrolled through the questions. My palms were sweating. I was, embarrassingly, becoming aroused. 

*Let me see you.* Yes or no, framed beneath a dusty, chipped mirror. I clicked ‘no’ without hesitation.

*Where will you hold my hand?* A photo of the interior of Ashley’s cluttered apartment, next to an image of a desolate field in the middle of winter.

“What the hell?” I said, sliding back in the booth like I’d been punched in the gut. A shot of panic burned down my spine. 

“Just pick one,” Ashley whispered. She pressed tightly against me. I could feel her taught body against mine. Both our hearts were hammering. Her eyes were fixed to the screen. She licked her lips.

Slowly, I dragged the cursor over to the select ‘A’, Ashley’s room. 

The screen faded to white. 

Ashley leaned back away from me, laying her head on the back of the booth, and breathed deeply. “Oh, Danny boy, what a ride you gave me.” She turned to look at me, and drew her hair, somehow tousled, away from her eyes. “You threw me for some curves on a few of your answers. Wasn’t that a rush?”

Disoriented, I shook my head. The test had taken me from nauseous to aroused and back again, and those are two feelings I don’t like to mix.

“How did it get a picture of your apartment?” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pant legs.

Her eyes brightened. “Oh, that! That’s one of my pictures, it’s saved on my laptop. The site’s code probably snagged the file and loaded it to freak out the user. It’s a pretty sweet trick.”

“Don’t you have to upload that manually? Or download something for the site to work that way?”

She shook her head. “Not if the site’s code is elegant enough. I’m sure it did something malicious to my machine if it could pull one of my photos like that, but I’m not even mad, I’m impressed. This is why I back up my files up every week, so I can play with toys like this.” She pointed at the screen. “Your reading’s up.”

The images and questions posed by the trial had so engrossed me that I’d forgotten about its end-state; to read me, analyze me. 

I faced her laptop and read. 

*The Gray Trial weighs you, and your nature is revealed.*

*You will be a victim and the pain you suffer will define your life. Only the Dark Star can adjust your fetters. Lose yourself in its light, its light, its blind-gash light and you might find a shred of Truth.*

*You may die young, and if so, by your own hand. If you survive this agony, a brief fortune will be afforded to you, but it will be hollow. You will recognize it as such but you will seize upon it anyway. The light of the old faiths may protect you for a time but you will fail the test that will save you.* 

*You submit to manipulation until you die, even though you are left empty handed. You are a coward at heart. Counter this with the consumption of raw meat in the light of Orion’s belt.*
 
“This is… insane,” I said.

My eyes were wide. I wanted to discount these maddening paragraphs as gibberish, but parts of them left me breathless. 

Ashley gripped my arm as she read. “Twisted, right? Not another hackneyed exercise in self-affirmation. This stuff… penetrates. I didn’t feel good about what it said about me, but it was damn precise. Yours too, right?”

“No,” I said, too quickly. “This is an elaborate fortune-cookie. It’s trying to tell me my future.” I didn’t want to address the parts that *were* readings, discuss my tendency to be manipulated, to look at the strings that tied me to Ashely’s hands. “And what’s the Dark Star? And this… ritual, I guess? To eat raw meat in the light of Orion’s belt?”

Ashley curled a strand of her hair on her finger as she deliberated, reading the screen again. “It’s not *all* fortune-telling,” she said. Mercifully, she didn’t point out the parts that weren’t. “There’s more, if you want,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“You can take the next step.” She put her hands on top of mine over the keyboard, moved the cursor to a button at the bottom of the page marked ‘proceed’, and clicked it.

*Weep the gray tears, Seeker,* the next page began. *You, too, might be shriven. We may be summoned, and the Doctors will tally the blood of the veil. Open the gate, and we shall enter.*
 
Below this invitation were boxes for inputting personal information: name, address, phone number. 

And beneath this was a photo of a doctor in a white lab coat, his back to me. A string was tied around the back of his head, as though he wore a surgical mask. He had one comforting hand, wearing a medical glove, on the head of a child. The boy’s back was hunched, clutching his elbows, as though warming himself.

 “Absolutely not,” I said. I shoved the laptop over to Ashley. 

“You’re not the slightest bit curious?” she said.

“Yeah, but my spider-sense is sounding all five alarms. I wouldn’t give my info to anyone via the dark web. This is how you end up as a victim on ‘*Faces of Death*’. This has bad vibes written all over it, Ash.”

Her eyes flicked to me at my use of her pet name. “Then maybe I want bad vibes.”

My eyes widened. “You filled this out? You gave them your *address?*”

She was enjoying the grinder she was putting me through. “Yeah,” she said, moving back to her booth. “Trick or treat!” 

I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it. The damage was done. She couldn’t take it back.

“I know what I’m getting into,” she said. I doubted that, but her face told me I’d never convince her otherwise. “I get it. Whoever made this is off his rocker. But I want to know what the next step is, if there’s even a next step at all. What are they going to do with my information? Try to convert me to their crackpot philosophy?” 

She was talking more to herself now than to me. I couldn’t shake her from her line of inquiry. “And who’s to say this guy, or these people, are nuts at all. Christians were cultists until Constantine blessed off on them. Maybe this guy’s selling something I want to buy.” She was all defiance then, flashing her characteristic commitment to dip into the discomfiting. But whereas I’d be content with a look, Ashley needed a taste. 

“Ease up, Dan. They won’t come and *find* me,” she said. I hadn’t even considered that, and the fact that she had, and dismissed it, made me even more concerned. “The dark web is for anonymity.” 

“It is until you tell someone your name,” I said. 

Ashley pressed on. “He doesn’t want to be found, and he doesn’t want to find me.  He just wants to give me the next test. And I want to take it.”

Earlier in my failed, clumsy courtship I might’ve continued pleading with her. I knew now that this would only make her dig her feet in deeper. 

“Yeah,” I said, giving what amounted to a blessing. “The next test.”

“Besides,” she said, collecting her laptop and standing up, “If anything goes wrong, I’ve got you around to protect me.” She looked at me, clasped her hands together and tilted slightly to one side, the perfect damsel in distress.

I sighed internally, resigned to my own weakness, and the pleasure I felt from even this most transparent appeal to my chivalry. “Yeah. You do.”

“Gotta go,” she said. “Happy Halloween!”

…

The next test arrived the following day, an overnight delivery. This frightened me.  

“Overnight’s expensive. And it shows an intense interest,” I said, all caution.

“I know!” Ashley said, all delight.

She’d shown up at my loft unannounced, in a red and blue flannel shirt over a purple skirt and fishnet stockings. A chill autumn wind and a few dried leaves followed behind her like a bridal train, or a corpse’s dress. I closed the door behind her and reached out for the package.

The manila envelope clashed against her fingernails, painted blood red. Written on the front of the packet, in ominous, bold script, was one word: REVELATIO.

No return address, just a title: ECCLESIA.

She dumped the contents, a card and a few photos, on my table, inviting me to look. Written by hand on a small card, in a twitching scrawl, was an invitation:

*Your insight has been reviewed by the Doctors. You might soon bask in the vacuum and the resplendence. The light. The light! Your fetters are aligned. All can be shriven. Grasp the chains and revel in your slavery. Answer truly and Truth in turn is revealed.*

Stamped at the bottom was a meaningless garble of letters. I pointed at it.

“The dark web address I used to submit my response,” she said.

“Response to what?”

“These,” she said, setting the card aside and laying three photos side by side.

Glancing at them, I grew ill.

The first showed a man, his face wide in a mournful wail, lifting the cold, white corpse of a woman in a bride’s dress out of pond. The man was marked ‘A’, the corpse, ‘B.’ The question: *Who is happier?*

The second displayed a paramilitary squad from some South American fascist regime, their rifles raised, eyes wide and anxious, sighting in on a group of blind-folded priests and nuns, some with mouths open in protest, pressed against a wall. The gunmen were ‘A’, the religious were ‘B’. The question: *Where does the revenant grow?*

 The third demonstrated tragic precision. A comely young woman stepped into a street, her smartphone raised just below her face, her long, smooth leg about to be clipped by the car speeding through the cross-walk. The driver was in view as well, one hand on the wheel, the other on his own smart-phone. It was inevitable that the woman would be crushed beneath the car. Neither driver nor pedestrian had registered this yet. The driver was ‘A’, the woman was ‘B’. The task: *Find the regret.*

I shoved the photos away walked over to my sink. “God. I think those are real.”

“I think everything’s been real,” Ashley said, her voice a whisper. She slid the photos together, kept her hands pressed upon them, rubbing them with a reverent touch, as though they were jewels, or prized heirlooms.

…

The next morning, Ashley received another envelope. She invited me over this time, and I gladly accepted. A garish, purple shawl hung from her shoulders, and a dark blue bowler cap rested on her head. Her apartment, as always, was a mess. Half-finished paintings were leaned against one wall, and unfolded laundry was strewn over the couch. Incense burners and mostly used candle-sticks sat on shelves. Her small black cat slept beneath a dust-covered acoustic guitar propped up in a corner. 


She tapped a wooden crate sitting on the counter she used as a dinner table. “They cranked this shit up to eleven.” She was stone-faced. I’d been expecting her to be watching me with her usual anticipation, waiting to thrive on my discomfort. Something, finally, had bothered her. 

One word was splashed across the side of the crate in that same wild scrawl, like some kind of charm, or warning: TRANSCENDENTIAM.

Inside the crate, resting on top of packing hay, was another greeting card:

*The Wardens see glimmers in your path. A supplicant was castigated and the entrails revealed the greatest pleasures. The Haruspex wants his hands on you. Yield, yield, place your neck beneath the blade and be saved. Drink the marrow in the light of the new moon. Answer truly and Truth in turn is revealed.*

At the bottom of the card, another garbled dark web address.

With dread, I set the card down.

“What’s inside?” I asked.

 She shook her head at me and gestured at the box. “Seek and ye shall find.”

I slowly moved toward the box, my arms heavy and reluctant. I picked away at the packing hay, half-convinced that some horror-movie monster would leap out and grab me. 

Instead, I found a jar of murky formaldehyde, with a crude letter ‘A’ inscribed on the lid. I set it on the table and stared. I could make out the twisting, corkscrew form of some dark shape. “What freak-show biology experiment is this? A pickled eel?”

“Try anatomy experiment,” Ashley said.

I looked closer, and recognized the organ’s curves. “Christ! Intestines?”

She said nothing, could only nod and turn away.

I threw up my hands. “I draw the line at human organs. Ashley, you’ve got to step away from this right now.”

“If that was where you draw the line, then exhibit ‘B’ is beyond the pale.”

“What is it?” I imagined lifting up another jar to see a severed head staring back at me.

“Nothing so macabre as that,” she said, nodding at the intestines.

Glaring at her, I swore again, and turned my attention back to the crate. Inside was a small, foot-long box with a jagged ‘B’ written on it. The box was heavy for its size. Whatever was inside had to be dense, perhaps something metal.

I opened it.

A small, black handgun, oiled and clean, slid into my free hand. I’d seen it in dozens of war movies and recognized it instantly. 

It was a luger. Inscribed on the pistol grip was a swastika. 

“Jesus!” I shouted. “A goddamn Nazi gun?” Images of SS Stormtroopers flashed across my mind. Alarmed, as if the luger would go off on its own, I set it on table, its barrel pointed away from us. “Is it loaded?”

Ashley swallowed and took a small black rectangle out of her pocket. “I already took the magazine out.” She handed it to me. 

It contained a single round. 

“No question?” I asked, steadying myself and clearing my throat.

“There’s always a question,” she said, and with one swipe of her hand, she tore the rest of the packing hay out of the box. Painted on the bottom in large, threatening letters, was the question: *Which offers freedom?*


…

There was a pounding at my door.

“Open the door, goddammit!” Ashley’s voice was shrill. I’d never heard her so shaken. I jumped off my couch, rushed to the door, and opened it. 

Ashley leapt inside, shut the door, and bolted it.

“Jesus Christ, Dan, don’t you answer your phone anymore?” she asked, nearly shouting. 

Even through her anger, I knew her voice shook mostly from terror. I’d only seen Ashley this livid when a drunk driver crashed into her parked car outside her apartment. 

But I was completely taken aback by Ashley’s appearance. For the first time since I’d known her, she looked plain. No wildly clashing colors, no extreme bracelets or hooked jewelry, no purple eye shadow or blue lipstick. Nothing to hint at her rotating styles of noir, goth, or avant-garde. Ashley came as she was. Blue jeans, white t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Her hair hung loose and wild, unkempt. This was Ashley as she’d look first thing in the morning, forced to throw her clothes on in a rush. Ashley in the raw. Resplendent. Wholesome. Her makeup and roguish- accoutrements, I realized, served only to hide how gorgeous she truly was. 

I’d never seen her this way before. Something was terribly wrong.

“I’ve been calling you for the last hour, what the hell?!” she said again, shoving me.

“My phone died, it’s charging now,” I said. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She pushed past me, muttering a litany of swears under her breath.  Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide. She bit on her thumb-nail, and looked around my loft, rapidly surveying it. She strode over to the windows and threw the curtains shut. She shook her head, sighed, and thrust herself onto my couch. She clutched her body with her arms and bent over, staring at the tops of her shoes.

“Daniel,” she said, not looking up at me. “I think I messed up.”

She’d never called me by my formal, given name. I sat next to her. I was hesitant to touch her, thought she might spook. She shook again. Ignoring my trepidation, I took her hand.

“Tell me,” I said.

“I wasn’t going to answer the last question,” she said. She still wasn’t looking at me, still staring at her shoes, but her hand clutched at mine. “I was going to throw that shit away. Maybe sell the gun, I don’t know. Put the card in the trash. But I was stupid. I wanted to know. I *needed* to know what would happen next.”

“What the hell, Ashley?” I said. “You said you were going to take that shit to the cops!”

She looked up at me, biting her lip. Her eyes were full of remorse. I said nothing. She continued.

“So I went to the website and answered. I picked the jar. The jar had the ‘freedom’, whatever the hell they meant by it. I don’t think it would’ve mattered *what* I picked, just that I *did* pick.”

“Oh, God, Ash,” I said. 

I would’ve picked the gun. I could guess at what kind of freedom the mad designers of this sick battery of questions meant. The gun felt clean, one trigger pull and it was off to the big sleep. The intestines had implications that made me ill.

“Get me a drink,” she said. “That’s not all.” 

I poured myself some whiskey and mixed her a gin and tonic. I brought the drinks over, handed her the cocktail, and she threw it back in one pull. Then she took my whiskey, took a sip, wiped at her mouth, and continued.

“I woke up this morning. Stepped outside to feel the weather on my skin. Gauge how to dress, what to wear. Turned around to go back inside. There was something on my door. On the walls.” She took another drink.

I could feel blood rushing into my ears as anxiety gripped me. “What was it?”

“The next question,” she whispered. “Written on the door. It looked like blood. Maybe something worse. The choices… ‘A’ was on my door, and ‘B’ was on my window. The question…”. Her voice trailed off to silence.

I felt the cold shot of fear dribble down my back like ice cold water. “*What did it say?*”

Her hands shook. The glass of whiskey fell to the ground. She looked me in the eye.

“’*Which is the right way in?*’.”

Everything Ashley assumed had been wrong. Someone was close, knew where she lived, walked right onto her porch. The only thing between her and this raving lunatic she had summoned over the dark web was the glass of her transparent window, and the thin plywood of her rickety door.

She broke down crying. I felt myself panicking, but had to keep my head in the game, get hers back in it, and figure out the next step.

“Okay. We’re calling the police. We’ll get them to sweep your house, maybe keep a patrol car around. You can’t go back there. You can stay here, you can-.”

“I looked it up,” she said, interrupting me. “I pretended to know then so you didn’t think I was stupid, but I didn’t know so I looked it up.”

I didn’t understand, just stared at her, let her talk. She clearly hadn’t been listening to me before anyway. 

“Haruspex,” she said. “From the card. ‘*The Haruspex wants his hands on you*’. Those were the priests, from ancient Rome, the ones who told fortunes by… They cut open animals. Live animals. Took out the guts and took a good, hard look at them. Learned the future.” She took both my hands in hers, gripped them until her knuckles were white. 

 “I don’t want to be shriven!” she said. “I don’t want to grasp the chains! I don’t want any of it!”

She was raving now. I seized her, hugged her tight, and made as many soothing noises as I could, like I was calming a panicked animal. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” I said, like a prayer, a mantra.

She broke away from me, wiped at her face, and looked at me. 

“No it’s not,” she whispered. “Nothing’s okay.” She grabbed me by the hair and kissed me. I kissed her back. 

Later, she fell asleep. I held her, tracing my finger along her crescent moon tattoo. I could lose myself in the curving ink. I refused to wonder if the moment had been as significant to her as it had been for me. I didn’t want to think about the probable disparity in how we valued one another. I did want to think about holding her, in my arms, like a lover. Because I loved her.

I bent my head to her arm, placed one last tender kiss on her tattoo, and slept.

…

An hour later, I awoke. Ashley still slept, clutching me. I was starving, knew she would be too when she woke up. Her appetites were haphazard through the day but she was always ravenous after sleeping. My bachelor’s rations consisted mostly of cereal and liquor. 

I decided to run to the corner market. I could pick up some bagels, orange juice, maybe some eggs and butter. Splurge on some fresh coffee. When Ashley awoke I wanted her to feel cared for. All I’d been able to offer her before was an open door and a spare place to crash at the end of one of her long nights of mysterious escapades with people far more exciting than me. Now I could feed her proper, help her feel safe. I imagined her giving up her exoticism, and living the same boring routine that I’d been carved for myself. I imagined Ashley coming home to me every day.

I eased myself out of Ashley’s grasp, and watched her breathe as I put on my shoes. She jerked slightly at some ominous dream, trembled briefly, muttered something indecipherable, and then was still. It reminded of the small, sickly rabbit I’d briefly owned as a child, whimpering in its cage the first night in my home after I’d bought it.

I slipped out my front door. Despite the chill, it was a beautiful fall morning. The wind whipped at me, the changing leaves lit the trees like a sunrise, and I could still smell Ashley on my shirt. I breathed in deeply and, for the first time in a long time, felt the warmth of real contentment.

When I got back from the store, the bed was empty. Ashley was gone. 

It shouldn’t have surprised me that she’d jet after being intimate. She wouldn’t want to deal with what had happened, or talk about any change in our relationship. If she’d stuck around, she might’ve tried to joke it off, and pretend it was a lark. 

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I wanted her. She’d wanted me. I wasn’t going to let this slip away. I picked up my phone and dialed her.

It went straight to voicemail. Perhaps she’d turned her phone off on purpose, to prevent me trying to talk it out until time had passed and things had cooled.

But the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. As scared as she’d been last night, after seeing that message on her door, why would she leave? She wouldn’t go back to her place. I tried to call again, and once more, her phone went straight to voicemail.  

There were dozens of places Ashley could’ve run off to, other haunts, other friends and flings I’d never met, or seen only in passing as Ashley dragged me along to some grim art-house cinema or used occult book store. She could’ve crashed with any of them as easily as she’d crashed with me.

But the memory of her panic and tears flashed through my mind. I remembered again the scared rabbit I used to own. Forced myself to recall how I’d lost it, and what its body looked like after a fox had gotten to it.

I drove to her apartment, ran up the steps to her porch, knocked on the door, and then stopped, taken aback: The marking, or message, that had so terrified Ashley wasn’t there. Wiped away, or never written, I wouldn’t know. I knocked again, and when there was still no response I tried the handle. It was open. I went inside.

 “Ashley?” I called out, entering cautiously. I looked around, was met with the typical mess. Her cat climbed out from the bottom of a pile of laundry, sat down in front of me, and meowed. I reached down, scratched it behind the ears, and surveyed the rest of the apartment.

Empty.

I refilled her cat’s food and water, went outside, and sat on her porch. I stared out at the gray skies, felt the bite of the wind on my face and hands. My eyes threatened to fill with tears, and I fought them back.

The police, when I called them, asked their typical boilerplate questions, filed a report, and did little else. They figured Ashley for another of a thousand free spirits who dip out of town every year to start life again somewhere else. They told me grown adults were free to disappear if they wanted, that she’d show up again when the road wore her out. 

I told them about the cards and their mad ravings, the morbid photos, the intestines and the gun, told them about the website and the Gray Trial. They asked me to produce these articles. But every card, every photo, every physical object attesting to the trial had disappeared from Ashley’s apartment. The officers asked me if I was currently receiving psychiatric treatment, on any medication, and if they could help me find my doctor. 

They left, and I realized how insane I must have sounded. I’m a logical person. I applied the cut of Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation was that Ashley had gone to ground, spooked by our unexpected intimacy. She’d turn up in a day or so.

…

After two weeks I was certain that she’d bailed on her whole life. I tracked down everyone I thought she knew, but knew where she could be. I was the last person to see her. She didn’t even come back for her cat. Instead of making the depressing pilgrimage to feed the animal each day, I adopted him, brought him to my loft to live with me.  

I skipped work and spent days online trying to get a lead on where Ashley went. I trawled through every form of social media, searching every alias I figured she might cook up, hunting for any clue. I put every picture of her I could find through reverse image searches, hoping to turn up some hint as to where she could be. All to naught. I followed up with the police, and they were as flummoxed as I was.  

She had vanished without a trace, and everything leading up to her departure went back to the unsettling events surrounding that damnable trial.  

The only lead I had was buried in the anonymity of the dark web. So I followed it.

 I went back to Ashley’s apartment, now with a bright eviction notice pasted on the front door. I stole her laptop and brought it home. 

I fired up her computer. The Tor browser was still open. It was on the home page for the Gray Trial. I could play this game again with a single click.

My fingers trembled. 

*Click.*

The first images were innocuous enough. It began like last time, with shapes, colors, and paradoxical inquiries.  I answered with instinct, and completed these questions instantly. *Click.**
Next, as before, the drawings, animations, and disturbing sounds. I felt bile rising in my throat, but moved through each horror. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest. *Click. Click. Click.*
Then came the photographs. As real in appearance and as unsettling as those that were mailed to Ashley. I was gasping, sweating, wiping at my brow. Each submitted answer was like a shot to my gut. *Click. Click.* 

*Click.*

The last photo broke me.

Tied to a chair was a woman with a plastic bag over part of her head, bound tightly just above her nose, concealing her eyes and hair. A ball was stuffed in her mouth, strapped to her head like some bondage prop. Her lips, even confined by the ball gag, were stretched back in a scream. She was dressed in a sack-cloth, like an Old Testament penitent. Her wrists were strapped to the arms of the chair.

Behind her was a masked man. The mask had the contours of a human face. Where eyes should have been, there were wild, black, cutting scribbles, as though the eyes had been spitefully gashed out from the photo.  The man wore a white doctor’s coat. Over that was a black butcher’s apron. 

One gloved hand wielded a filet knife. The edge of the blade was placed against the woman’s arm.

Just below the blade was a purple tattoo of a crescent moon.

I nearly seized. I gripped the edge of my table, tried not to get sick, found myself hyperventilating. I couldn’t take my eyes off the photo. Even through this veil of disorienting shock I was able to find the markings, read the question. The blade was marked ‘A’. The woman’s head was marked ‘B’. The question: *Where does the despair live?*

Weeping, I answered. 

And when the test ended, and the prompt rose in front of me, inviting, just as it had before, *Open the gate and we shall enter*, I could do nothing else but submit. I gave them my name. I gave them my address. I invited them in; summoned them. 

I wanted them to show me the way to Ashley. At the worst, I’d know where they took her before the end, and show some of them what it means to be shriven, if that’s what they wanted. 

 But they have yet to come. I am still waiting. I trace a crescent moon on the inside of my right forearm with one finger. The chill autumn wind blows dry leaves across the street, like a bridal train, or a corpse’s dress, and as I watch it, I realize where the despair lives.

It lives in me.

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'butcher’', 'apron', 'one', 'glove', 'hand', 'wield', 'filet', 'knife', 'edg', 'blade', 'place', 'woman’', 'arm', 'blade', 'purpl', 'tattoo', 'crescent', 'moon', 'nearli', 'seiz', 'grip', 'edg', 'tabl', 'tri', 'get', 'sick', 'found', 'hyperventil', 'couldn’t', 'take', 'eye', 'photo', 'even', 'veil', 'disori', 'shock', 'abl', 'find', 'mark', 'read', 'question', 'blade', 'mark', '‘a’', 'woman’', 'head', 'mark', '‘b’', 'question', 'despair', 'live', 'weep', 'answer', 'test', 'end', 'prompt', 'rose', 'front', 'invit', 'open', 'gate', 'shall', 'enter', 'could', 'noth', 'els', 'submit', 'gave', 'name', 'gave', 'address', 'invit', 'summon', 'want', 'show', 'way', 'ashley', 'worst', 'i’d', 'know', 'took', 'end', 'show', 'mean', 'shriven', 'that’', 'want', 'yet', 'come', 'still', 'wait', 'trace', 'crescent', 'moon', 'insid', 'right', 'forearm', 'one', 'finger', 'chill', 'autumn', 'wind', 'blow', 'dri', 'leav', 'across', 'street', 'like', 'bridal', 'train', 'corpse’', 'dress', 'watch', 'realiz', 'despair', 'live', 'live']"
7,rhemasu,"This is it. I’ve reached the end…or is it the beginning, or the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end? Whatever it is, I’m learning new things. As far as I can remember, I’ve never been good at multitasking. But right now, the lives of hundreds of people are playing in my head, and I can clearly understand what’s happening to whom. I can see the present lives of the people I cared for while I was alive. Surprisingly, I can see my first crush…in a park with his three children.
And…I can also see Ronia, my precious child. She’s only been on earth for 3 minutes, so it’s not surprising that she doesn’t realise that her mother’s not there. Well, that was what happened. I died giving birth. Suddenly, I remember all the intense bodily pain I had felt the moment before it all went blank.
For a short moment-or it could have been decades, I do not know which-I felt nothing. Then all the memories I had stored in my head until the moment of my death started playing out before me. And then the rest of the lives of everyone I’d ever cared for. I still don’t understand how, but I can keep tabs on all of them at once. I know exactly how each of them feels, and about what. I’m living all their lives along with them.
And as I muse on all that was, all that is, and all that might be, someone calls out to me. It’s a faint voice, almost a whisper, but it’s a whisper that fills my head, and as long as it speaks, I’ll hear nothing else. I don’t know the words, but they make sense to me…in an odd sort of way. 
These strange words are telling me that I need to leave them behind. That no matter how much I love them, they’re never going to know me again. That I’m a new being, and these earthlings do not recognize this being that is-for the time being-foreign to them. 
And I can do nothing other than whisper “I’ll try.” And then the whisper changes into a different sound…a sort of rumbling, grumbling sound. As if whatever/whoever it is is trying to tell me that trying isn’t good enough. That I simply must leave them behind. So I trust myself to relive the best moments one last time before I let go.



And then…whoosh! I’m off on my way. I don’t remember much about life on earth. I vaguely remember that people exist and that I have loved some, but beyond that: now is the only thing that matters. 
Now, I’ve learnt a new lesson: that what matters is the here and the now…anything beyond that is a figment of imagination; anything apart from this ride is a lost cause. Some of it has had its time, the rest will have it too, but here and now, this exhilarating sense of freedom, this refreshing gust of wind, they’re all that matters.
I don’t know where this ride will take me, but I don’t care. Because that isn’t here, that isn’t now, and that does not matter. Right now, the sharp wind, the strange voices, everything I can feel is what matters. 
The voices…I hear more voices. All of them seem to be speaking in different tongues. And then realisation strikes: I’m in a new place now. The ride is over. The dozens of voices I hear and interpret at once, the feel of the wind, they’re all real. None of this is happening in my head.
This is real. Suddenly, a scream, from far off in the distance, fills my mind and blocks out every other sound. I blindly follow the sound in the darkness. I can’t see where I’m headed, but I know I’m in the right direction. 
Whatever that sound is, it’s so persistent; it scares me. And then, abruptly, it stops. The voice that speaks in my head next is unfamiliar. It’s a new place, a new voice, a new lesson. Don’t care so much…it seems to tell me. The screams…you should be able to block them out. You’re still way too humane to be completely ripped of humanity. You’re not human anymore, you shouldn’t be humane.
I don’t care, though. Whether I’m human, or animal, or angel, or beast…kindness and care run deep in me, and I can’t let go of that. I didn’t say anything aloud, but the voice knows what I just thought.
This is a lesson I don’t want to learn. The voice repeats, calmly, coldly, that I’ll be stuck here, in this darkness forever if I don’t completely let go of my humanity. Because everyone here is neither human, nor angel, neither beast, nor animal. They’re beings on their way to get somewhere, on their way to become something. But they’re all stuck here, because they’re still a lot like humans. 
And I don’t know which is worse…becoming unfeeling to become something better known, or becoming an undefined form of existence and clinging to my emotions. I don’t know what to do anymore. So I sit down here, in the dark, lonely place, and cry.
The exhilarating sense of freedom that ride gave me is lost. I feel entrapped. There’s no voice right now. And that scares me more. I want to go back. To somewhere that makes more sense. Back to Earth…or to where I watched their lives play out before me…or even the ride. Anywhere that I can understand myself better than an unknown being, that is neither alive nor dead; and not even undead. 
I do not know where I am, or what I’ll do. I’m scared and lonely and frustrated. I can’t see, or hear anything. I smell dampness, and nothing else. I feel cold, though the wind has ceased to exist. And I’ve been here for what could be seconds or centuries. The ghost of that scream that brought me here is still alive in me. My screams escape; unheard even by myself. Maybe someone else has gotten lost because of my screams like I got lost because of someone else’s. 
But I don’t know, I have no way to know if my silent screams has filled anyone’s head, I have no way to know whether I’ll ever get out of here and now. I have a feeling that the here and now of this moment, will be the here and now for me forever.  That I’m truly lost, and can never be found again.",Here and Now,"['i’v', 'reach', 'end…or', 'begin', 'end', 'begin', 'begin', 'end', 'whatev', 'i’m', 'learn', 'new', 'thing', 'far', 'rememb', 'i’v', 'never', 'good', 'multitask', 'right', 'live', 'hundr', 'peopl', 'play', 'head', 'clearli', 'understand', 'what’', 'happen', 'see', 'present', 'live', 'peopl', 'care', 'aliv', 'surprisingli', 'see', 'first', 'crush…in', 'park', 'three', 'children', 'and…i', 'also', 'see', 'ronia', 'preciou', 'child', 'she’', 'earth', 'minut', 'it’', 'surpris', 'doesn’t', 'realis', 'mother’', 'well', 'happen', 'die', 'give', 'birth', 'suddenli', 'rememb', 'intens', 'bodili', 'pain', 'felt', 'moment', 'went', 'blank', 'short', 'momentor', 'could', 'decad', 'know', 'whichi', 'felt', 'noth', 'memori', 'store', 'head', 'moment', 'death', 'start', 'play', 'rest', 'live', 'everyon', 'i’d', 'ever', 'care', 'still', 'don’t', 'understand', 'keep', 'tab', 'know', 'exactli', 'feel', 'i’m', 'live', 'live', 'along', 'muse', 'might', 'someon', 'call', 'it’', 'faint', 'voic', 'almost', 'whisper', 'it’', 'whisper', 'fill', 'head', 'long', 'speak', 'i’ll', 'hear', 'noth', 'els', 'don’t', 'know', 'word', 'make', 'sens', 'me…in', 'odd', 'sort', 'way', 'strang', 'word', 'tell', 'need', 'leav', 'behind', 'matter', 'much', 'love', 'they’r', 'never', 'go', 'know', 'i’m', 'new', 'earthl', 'recogn', 'isfor', 'time', 'beingforeign', 'noth', 'whisper', '“i’ll', 'try”', 'whisper', 'chang', 'differ', 'sound…a', 'sort', 'rumbl', 'grumbl', 'sound', 'whateverwhoev', 'tri', 'tell', 'tri', 'isn’t', 'good', 'enough', 'simpli', 'must', 'leav', 'behind', 'trust', 'reliv', 'best', 'moment', 'one', 'last', 'time', 'let', 'go', 'then…whoosh', 'i’m', 'way', 'don’t', 'rememb', 'much', 'life', 'earth', 'vagu', 'rememb', 'peopl', 'exist', 'love', 'beyond', 'thing', 'matter', 'i’v', 'learnt', 'new', 'lesson', 'matter', 'now…anyth', 'beyond', 'figment', 'imagin', 'anyth', 'apart', 'ride', 'lost', 'caus', 'time', 'rest', 'exhilar', 'sens', 'freedom', 'refresh', 'gust', 'wind', 'they’r', 'matter', 'don’t', 'know', 'ride', 'take', 'don’t', 'care', 'isn’t', 'isn’t', 'matter', 'right', 'sharp', 'wind', 'strang', 'voic', 'everyth', 'feel', 'matter', 'voices…i', 'hear', 'voic', 'seem', 'speak', 'differ', 'tongu', 'realis', 'strike', 'i’m', 'new', 'place', 'ride', 'dozen', 'voic', 'hear', 'interpret', 'feel', 'wind', 'they’r', 'real', 'none', 'happen', 'head', 'real', 'suddenli', 'scream', 'far', 'distanc', 'fill', 'mind', 'block', 'everi', 'sound', 'blindli', 'follow', 'sound', 'dark', 'can’t', 'see', 'i’m', 'head', 'know', 'i’m', 'right', 'direct', 'whatev', 'sound', 'it’', 'persist', 'scare', 'abruptli', 'stop', 'voic', 'speak', 'head', 'next', 'unfamiliar', 'it’', 'new', 'place', 'new', 'voic', 'new', 'lesson', 'don’t', 'care', 'much…it', 'seem', 'tell', 'screams…you', 'abl', 'block', 'you’r', 'still', 'way', 'human', 'complet', 'rip', 'human', 'you’r', 'human', 'anymor', 'shouldn’t', 'human', 'don’t', 'care', 'though', 'whether', 'i’m', 'human', 'anim', 'angel', 'beast…kind', 'care', 'run', 'deep', 'can’t', 'let', 'go', 'didn’t', 'say', 'anyth', 'aloud', 'voic', 'know', 'thought', 'lesson', 'don’t', 'want', 'learn', 'voic', 'repeat', 'calmli', 'coldli', 'i’ll', 'stuck', 'dark', 'forev', 'don’t', 'complet', 'let', 'go', 'human', 'everyon', 'neither', 'human', 'angel', 'neither', 'beast', 'anim', 'they’r', 'be', 'way', 'get', 'somewher', 'way', 'becom', 'someth', 'they’r', 'stuck', 'they’r', 'still', 'lot', 'like', 'human', 'don’t', 'know', 'worse…becom', 'unfeel', 'becom', 'someth', 'better', 'known', 'becom', 'undefin', 'form', 'exist', 'cling', 'emot', 'don’t', 'know', 'anymor', 'sit', 'dark', 'lone', 'place', 'cri', 'exhilar', 'sens', 'freedom', 'ride', 'gave', 'lost', 'feel', 'entrap', 'there’', 'voic', 'right', 'scare', 'want', 'go', 'back', 'somewher', 'make', 'sens', 'back', 'earth…or', 'watch', 'live', 'play', 'me…or', 'even', 'ride', 'anywher', 'understand', 'better', 'unknown', 'neither', 'aliv', 'dead', 'even', 'undead', 'know', 'i’ll', 'i’m', 'scare', 'lone', 'frustrat', 'can’t', 'see', 'hear', 'anyth', 'smell', 'damp', 'noth', 'els', 'feel', 'cold', 'though', 'wind', 'ceas', 'exist', 'i’v', 'could', 'second', 'centuri', 'ghost', 'scream', 'brought', 'still', 'aliv', 'scream', 'escap', 'unheard', 'even', 'mayb', 'someon', 'els', 'gotten', 'lost', 'scream', 'like', 'got', 'lost', 'someon', 'else’', 'don’t', 'know', 'way', 'know', 'silent', 'scream', 'fill', 'anyone’', 'head', 'way', 'know', 'whether', 'i’ll', 'ever', 'get', 'feel', 'moment', 'forev', 'i’m', 'truli', 'lost', 'never', 'found']"
8,Raul_31,"     At my core, my battered, shaken core, I have always been a hunter. I felt the call of the forest, my one true home, earlier than I can even remember. I was always obsessed with camping as a kid, as it brought me closer to my element. But it always left me wanting something more, with that pit between my stomach and my groin begging to be filled. I had parents who, I’m sure, loved me. But I loved the wilderness far more, so I ran away from home when I was fourteen. I walked the set of train tracks that led into the woods and never followed it back.
    After a few months in those infinite woods, whose nighttime gleam’s beauty matched their humbling sunrises, I ended up in a small, backwater town in Kentucky. No one ever found me, and I’m sure they searched until they lost heart, but they never succeeded. Who would expect a boy who runs away in Ohio to end up in southern Kentucky? But I liked my new home, my loss of identity, my fresh start.
    I won’t bore you with the details of how I did it, but twenty years later, I owned property in that little old town. It was nothing extravagant, little more than a one-floor house with a main kitchen area, a bedroom, and a bathroom. But it was my little corner of the world. My sense of normalcy. That and, of course, the little Winchester shotgun I kept under my bed, obscured by the thin, flowery green rag I called a blanket, with which I had spent many chilling winter nights. Every once in a while, I’d wake up in the dead of night, silently creep onto the floor of my room, reach under the bed with one hand and, shaking, pull out the heavy firearm, and disappear into the night without telling anyone. Wouldn’t be seen again by another man until two days later, usually. People must’ve thought I was crazy.
    Normally, I’d head back into those same woods I had run away to. I’d fade into a deep nostalgia, recollecting the images of perfect nights surrounded by the peaceful sounds of running water in the distance, the noisy robins mating somewhere beyond my line of sight, and the cicadas chirping rhythmically for some inexplicable purpose. The gleaming bark of birch trees reflecting the eerie light of a full moon. The hues of red, yellow, and brown leaves rustling and falling in the soft autumn wind, like they truly didn’t care where it took them. The scent of earth untainted by man’s agriculture. Hell, I could talk about it for ages, but that isn’t what I’m here to tell you about.
    What I loved the most, actually, was the flavor of a fresh kill slowly, evenly roasted on a spit over an open fire. The taste of venison seared on a handmade grate. The aroma of bird, feathers cautiously removed as to preserve every last morsel of meat, slow cooking, filling my campsite with warmth and comfort. Fresh kills were all that could fill not only my stomach, but that pit I was telling you about. It was only when I was hunting that I was ever truly at peace. I’d lay traps, track game, set up blinds; you name it, I’ve tried it at least once. But the thrill of the hunt, and the taste of the kill was what I lived for. Until one night, twenty some years after I found my new life.
    As much as I loved the nostalgia and peace of the woods I had hunted for years, I was older and ready to move on. To map out a new forest, and I knew just where to find one. You see, my little house was at the edge of town, next to the old railroad, which had long since fallen into disrepair. It was nearly surrounded by my woods. Their tall, proud trunks still gleaming in the faint moonlight as I knew them to some twenty years before. But my house was also next to a T-section. A road leading to a nearby town ended at the main road through the one where I lived. The railroad cut through at an angle, almost parallel to the road that cut off, and it crossed the main road through town, continuing into the dark beyond the T-section. In the one direction where the roads refused to run. The woods in that direction were… foreboding, to say the least. So in the past, when I went on excursions, I always went to the woods behind my house. My woods.
I don’t know what it was about that night. Maybe it was because it was just like the night I ran away, into a forest I didn’t know. A warm summer night, the cicadas chirping, and the sound of running water in some unknown direction. But I was feeling adventurous. So I turned to the strange forest across the road. I had always known it was there, but I never cared to admire it. You see, some city folk seem to think all woods are the same. But they’re not. It was a completely separate entity from my woods. Unlike my own, they didn’t look very welcoming. Whereas the trees in my woods reflected the moonlight, those trees absorbed it. Sucked all the light away until there was nothing left except an inky, living blackness that, it seemed, would suck you away, too, if you tried to touch it. Instead of a light peppering of ancient trees, it was full of young-blooded ones that fought each other for liveable soil. There was something more alive about them than my own, and yet, far more mysterious. But what set them apart the most was the shape of the trees. They seemed malformed, contorted, jagged. Hopefully you know what I’m talking about. They were those trees that don’t grow straight up, but instead bend off in a million different directions, forming a disturbed canopy over the pitch-black forest floor.
I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and stopped sizing up those woods, out of fear of noticing any more unsettling attributes. It was where I was headed, after all. So, with my heart overriding my logic and my logic overriding my fear, I trudged into those woods like I owned them via the old railroad.
It was about eleven o’clock when I left. I walked into the wall of darkness and was overtaken by a constant sense of tension. It was faint, but there, omnipresent in the jagged woods. As I followed the train tracks, I slowly began to notice something that wasn’t the case in my woods: there were no game trials. In my woods, you could barely take a step without tripping over one, even on the railroad, as there were no trains were running to disturb them. But without any game trails to hike, I didn’t know where to start tracking or where I might set up a blind. So for some reason or another, I thought it logical to simply walk off the tracks.
I fought constantly against thorn bushes, mud, and plants I had seen mixed with ones I hadn’t, none of which I could give you a scientific or even colloquial name for. I knew the appearance and use of every plant, but I never considered their names important. As I marched, a heavy mist began to roll in, overtaking everything and further decreasing the acuity of my sight as it mixed with the blackness. Despite this, I stopped for a moment to take in the sounds of the forest, which, up to this point, I had all but forgotten. The sound of running water in the distance, the noisy robins mating somewhere beyond my line of sight, the… cicadas? I could barely hear the cicadas. Normally, cicadas hush up when they sense danger, and humans definitely qualify. But I didn’t carry a lantern or a flashlight, so they should have still been whispering, telling stories to one another despite my presence. It was as if the woods themselves subdued them, dissuaded them from speaking their ancient language.
Somewhere nearby, an owl hooted. As I turned to look towards where the sound emanated from, I heard the loud, bloodcurdling cry of an animal I had never once heard before. It chilled me to the bone. I don’t even know what to compare it to. Immediately, the owl burst forth from its hole and flew in the opposite direction of the scream. I saw two rabbits sprint in the same direction, ignoring me in the process. The cicadas were completely silent now. 
“Silent woods, silent woods. Judge distance. A mile away, maybe? Load shotgun, take ready stance. Dammit, can’t see anything. Tomorrow’s the new moon, and visibility is near zero. Stay calm. Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. What was that thing? A bear? Never heard a bear like that before. Heart’s beating out of my chest. Dear god!”
I still remember my thoughts during those few terrified seconds. The silence heightened the sense of tension. It was peace, but barely. Like those twenty strained years between World Wars I and II. I heard the noise again, this time twice as loud. Half a mile away. A deer leapt out of the thicket in front of me, nearly taking my head off. I ducked out of the way, rolling to the side to avoid it. I wasn’t going to stick around to cheat death again. I followed suit with the other animals and booked it in the opposite direction, not forgetting to grab the shotgun I had dropped on the forest floor.
I ran. Seconds felt like hours, not knowing whether I’d live or die. I thought I was headed towards the edge of the woods, but I didn’t know yet. I was comforted by one thing. I could still hear the screams, quieting as I ran. Two miles, three miles. Then I could barely hear them. Suddenly, I heard a new sound. I recognized it as the pained yelps of a dying black bear, distant, but loud. Then all was silent in the woods again.
Slowly, the animal sounds returned. In addition, a light rain began to fall, filling the woods with the familiar pitter-patter of water droplets making contact with leaves. My clothing was waterproof, so I had little concern. I was, however, beginning to tire. I sauntered a few feet to a large nearby tree. I collected a small pile of nearby leaves and laid it on the ground at its base. With a little bit of comfort, I tried to forget what I had heard. I sat down on the leaves, leaned my back against the tree trunk, and fell into a light, uneasy sleep.
I dreamt, that night, of strange places. First of my old house, and the surrounding neighborhood. Where I had lived as a child. In my dream, I found a sense of belonging there, for once. But I didn’t understand why. Then of my new house. The one I had worked my ass off for. The bedroom I had slept in for years. Then of my town. A little village where everyone was a little strange, like me. Then of the edge of the jagged woods. The way their blackness seemed to swallow you, but almost beckon you at the same time. Then of places I had never seen before. A clearing of grass surrounded by that inky, living blackness. A cave I did not want to enter, that I felt wrong even looking at. Then a tree, jagged, and almost too perfect to truly exist. Then another tree, upon which I saw a hunter getting an uneasy rest…
I awoke in a panic, my heart thumping nearly as quickly as it had the night before, and in a cold sweat. It was a misty, overcast Saturday morning. The ground was wet with the dew and rainfall of the night prior. I looked left, then right, taking in the forest from all angles to calm myself down. I hoisted myself to my feet, taking care not to trip over the roots of the tree I slept on. I picked up my shotgun, cracked my neck, and got ready for a day’s hunt.
And so I spent that day hiking, mapping, laying traps, and attempting to track game. I actually found the railroad again, adding that to my mental sketch of the woods. I also managed to kill a deer, enjoying its blackened flesh for lunch that afternoon. I found myself filled with pride over my kill as the mist began to clear. It’d be a beautiful night. For once, I was feeling welcomed by those strange jagged woods. As dusk approached, I decided I’d figure out the mystery of those mysterious woods. I was going to try to kill whatever could seemingly take down a black bear. Only in my pride-driven delusion could I ever have thought that was logical.
I hiked past the border of my mental map, towards the center of the forest. In the direction I believed I had heard the noise the night before. Finally, I decided on a spot to set up a small, temporary blind. It was a birch tree, and one of the tallest I’d seen on my excursion. Its bark reflected the dying sunlight in a way I had never seen before, though. It was almost… too smooth. Like it belonged in an animation, not real life. I gathered some large sticks and leaned them against the tree, then lined them with smaller twigs and piled leaves on top of them. I hunkered down in the blind and prepared for a kill.
Waiting never really annoyed me during a hunt. I suppose a hunter needs patience. But I waited there until I could truly call it dusk. The light fading fast, I very nearly gave up and headed back to camp when I heard it. Its call. Its voice pierced the solid atmosphere of the woods, and I swear I could see the shockwave.
“Judge distance. One and a half miles. Load shotgun, take ready stance. Stay calm. Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth.”
This time, I was ready, and it wasn’t going to make me piss myself again. I loaded six rounds into the gun. No sooner than the moment I readied it did I smell that putrid, awful smell. Like a carcass that’d been rotting for months. I gagged at the suffocating odor, nearly puking up the deer I had eaten hours before. After a few more minutes, I heard the ear-splitting call again. Half a mile. This was the closest I’d ever been to it. Then everything went silent. Not like the night before, I mean completely silent. As though everything was either gone completely or playing dead. Silence in nature is usually a grave sign, or so I’ve heard. Everything instinctively goes utterly silent when there is danger nearby.
I heard bushes being pushed aside and twigs snapping somewhere to my left. Then a raspy breath somewhere quite closeby. Then a creature came barreling into my vision on all fours. It was twilight by now, so I could barely make out its features. What I could tell, though, was terrifying. Bone-chilling. It was humanoid, but had gray, seemingly overly-stretched skin blanketed over its bony frame. It was far too tall, and its arms far too long. It was turned away from me, but I could hear it sniffing the air around it. I suddenly felt that I wasn’t the only thing that had been tracking that day.
Out of nowhere, it turned towards my blind, at the perfect angle to leave me visible and exposed. The eyes, dear god, the eyes. They were somehow blacker than even the darkness of the jagged woods. My position had been compromised. Panicking, I fired the shotgun without properly aiming it, grazing the thing’s leg and completely taking off its right hand. This angered it, and the thing screeched its distinct call, banging its remaining hand on the ground as it leaped up and down. You know how everyone reaches their “fuck this shit, I’m out” limit? Well, this was about it for me. I exploded from my blind and took off in the direction of the train tracks, which was luckily the direction opposite from the thing, placing my shotgun in its holster.
I must’ve run a five-minute mile that evening. I bolted towards the train tracks, then turned left and followed them towards town. I looked back at the thing after awhile. It was giving chase, yet we were in a stalemate. As it pursued me on all fours, it seemed to have significant trouble. Every time it’d start gaining on me, it would trip as a result of its missing hand and injured leg. This gave me hope that perhaps I could outrun it. As I sprinted and weaved cautiously over the tracks, it barreled through branches with neither a care for them nor for its own well-being. If I couldn’t outrun it, I could outsmart it. As I ran, I’d bend branches so they’d fling back and whack it.
In my panic, I didn’t feel the enveloping tentacles of exhaustion. As I approached the treeline, I was filled with an overwhelming sense that I had made it. I had seen hell and come back to tell the tale. When I hit the treeline, I saw my house and forgot everything for a second. I didn’t feel my legs give way beneath me. I gave up.
Suddenly, I felt musty breath on the back of my neck. Smelled the odor of rotting meat stronger than I ever had before. To my horror, I saw a bony gray hand, nails longer than I’ve seen any human’s, wrap around my left ankle. It yanked me back into the woods. I was in tears, having been so close, yet so impossibly far. Staring into the face of this thing for the first time, I was able to make out its terrifying features. It had slits for nostrils, was missing ears entirely, and had a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth with which it smiled at me. It had caught its prey. Its eyes, dear god, those black portals still terrify me to this day. It looked over at its severed right hand, then I swear, its smile got even larger. It stomped on my chest, knocking the wind out of me. Then it grabbed my own right hand and began to pull with inhuman strength. I began screeching in pain, perhaps as loudly as it screeched in joy and celebration, as it snapped the bone and tore my hand clean off.
I don’t remember what happened next. It could have been a few hours or a few days, but when I awoke, I was in a cave. I had blacked out. It took a second, but I remembered the events of earlier and began to stir. I used my shirt to patch the open wound gushing blood from my arm. Then I used my belt as a tourniquet, tying it on my upper arm. I know you’re only supposed to use tourniquets in emergency situations, but I think a violently severed hand qualifies.
My whole body was in a horrible pain that nothing could fix except real medical attention. I needed to get out, and I needed to figure out where I was. Tears poured from my eyes as I stood up, trying not to scream. I looked around the cave. On one end, the cave was lined with bones. There were probably about seven distinct piles in front of them. In the one furthest to the left, I saw a viciously torn-up bear’s corpse. In all of the subsequent piles, I saw a number of animal corpses in various states of decay. The further a pile was to the right, the grosser the decomposing corpses were. Again, I gagged. But why wasn’t I placed in the most recent pile? Then I looked at where I had been laying. That was one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made. 
I saw a pile of human corpses and skeletons, most of their skulls cracked open and sucked dry. Expressions of fear were etched onto the men and women whose faces were intact enough to read. I lost control, vomiting all over the pile. Something in it began to shriek and squeal, somehow at the same time. I judged, therefore, that it was multiple somethings. Then, as if all at once, moving faces appeared from out of the pile. Miniature versions of that disgusting creature. Its babies. As I began to lose myself to unconsciousness again, a noise snapped me back to reality. I heard the cry of the mother. “Judge distance. Three miles.”
I was finally able to put it together, the cave and why the mother was so far away from her demented cubs. It hunted under the cover of nearly complete darkness, on the new moon of every month. I suddenly recollected hearing those shrieks at my house, from maybe five miles away, and thinking nothing of them. It brought its catches back to the cave and put them into a pile, separate from the rotting ones of the last month. Unless they were human. Then they went in a pile specially tailored for her young. The young seemed to especially love human brains. But most importantly, I understood that I could escape. If the mother was out hunting, there would be no better chance to bolt. As I emerged from the mouth of the cave, I looked over my shoulder and was hit with a sick feeling at even the sight of it. I walked the hell away from it and never turned back.
I just kept walking in a straight line away from there, trying to find something I recognized. But I was nothing more than a fool stumbling around in the dark. I heard the thing’s scream behind me. It must’ve caught something and brought it back to the cave. Which would mean that… it probably caught my scent. At this realization, I remember that I began to run, but it was likely just hobbling a little faster. As I kept pushing, I kept hearing the sound, getting closer and closer. But I had hope again when a saw a treeline. I went even faster until at last I reached it.
I felt defeated when I burst forth from the bushes. It was nothing more than a large, circular clearing of grass with a boulder in the center. Hearing the screeches from just a mile away now, I made the fateful decision to hobble across the clearing. As I made it to the other end, I came to the terrifying conclusion that if I wanted to have any chance of survival, I would have to kill it. It was gaining on me too fast, and I would definitely die if I tried to run. If I tried to fight, I would either triumph or go down honorably.
I turned around just in time to see it enter the clearing. It stared directly at me, yet hesitated. It then retreated back into the wall of darkness. It definitely knew I had escaped, and it knew where I was as well, now. I knew the decision I made now would determine whether I lived or died.
So I had to think. “It’s probably just as intelligent as I am,” I thought. “So it has a plan. What is it, though? If I were a bear, I would run away from that thing without a care in the world. It wants me to run away. It knows I fear it. Do I have any advantages? Yes! The shotgun still holstered on my back! What are its advantages? It can probably see in the dark. It’s much faster than me. It knows the forest much better than I do. And again, it knows I fear it. The only way I can take away some of those advantages is by… going back into the clearing.”
I had a solid plan now. This time, I know I ran. Back into that clearing and atop the rock in the center. Again, I heard its shriek. The woods fell silent once more. Here we go again. “Silent woods, silent woods. Judge distance. A quarter of a mile. Load shotgun, take ready stance. Stay calm. Breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. This time, I know what I’m dealing with. One of us is going to die in this clearing, and I’ll be damned if it’s going to be me. I’m ready.” I gripped the shotgun with my left hand, steadying it with my right. Luckily for me, I was left-handed and left-eye-dominant, hehe.
Then I heard the shriek again off to my left. Then behind me. It was circling around the clearing, either confused or waging psychological warfare against me. I heard it again to my left. Then to my right. Then to my left again, then in front of me. I would have to trust my eyes, as the thing was tricking my ears. I heard the slightest of noises from behind me, the sound of bushes being trampled followed by the sound of grass parting for an animal.
I whipped around and shot it in the right shoulder. It staggered back, but then kept coming at me after a moment. I tossed the gun by the butt, my hand making contact with the pump. I pumped it and awkwardly slid the butt back onto my shoulder. I shot again, hitting it in the left leg. It continued to limp towards me, and with one more pump, I hit it in the chest. Its pursuit of me was now only a pathetic crawl. With its remaining usable hand, it reached out to touch the rock on which I was standing. I lifted the thing by its spindly neck and threw it on the face of the rock. As it laid on its back, I threw my heavy boot onto its chest and pumped my shotgun.
It didn’t seem so scary as it looked down the lengthy barrel of my shotgun. It quivered and whimpered as I prepared to unload a round into its face. Then it smiled its demonic smile again and spoke to me. The English friggin’ language! 
“I am you,” it proclaimed. It looked at its missing hand, then at my own. It continued, “Do you really think they aren’t as afraid of you as they are of me? Boom, cha-ching. Boom, cha-ching.” It tried to mimic the sound of my shotgun. Then it shrieked its horrible shriek, so loudly that I felt I needed to cover my ears. “They fear you just as they fear me.” Then it turned to my shotgun. “Winchester, huh? That’s an old one. I’ve seen newer firearms in the hands of your elderly. I remember when people used muskets. And bows. And spears. I remember when people would come into my woods armed with nothing more than their bare fists. Of course, they were simpler people. Your ancestors fought them off with their guns in the great wars and sent them away on the Trail of Tears. Are you starting to see?” it explained. “And what wouldn’t you do to protect your young? To feed your people? You come into my woods and kill, and eat, and gorge on the corpses of the same animals. You intended to kill me as I intended to kill you. You would have done all the same things if you were me. We are the same,” it screeched.
“No,” I responded, “I would not have done the same. If I were you, I at least wouldn’t have gotten myself killed.” I shot the ugly thing in the face and that was the end of its shitty monologue. “To be fair, you had me until you started talking shit about my gun.”
I was free of this thing’s grasp, of her bony fingers. After a sigh, I headed in the direction I’d been travelling prior to the encounter. The next few hours were a blur. I found my way back to the smooth birch tree where I first laid eyes on her. Then the tree I slept on the night before. Then the treeline. I could see town. My town. But at that point, I’d lost so much blood that I blacked out. When I came to, I was in the hospital. Even though I lived around two hours to the southeast, it was in Lexington, as Kentucky is not exactly renowned for its quality healthcare. Apparently, a little girl found me while playing in her backyard, unresponsive in a pile of leaves and brush. I owe her my life. 911 was called, and I was transported to Somerset, treated, then moved to Lexington.
I’d end up losing most of my right arm. I also told my story to the police. In their search of the woods, they found the cave and examined the human remains. Some of them were missing people from around the area, others unknown, forgotten to the winds of change. But the cubs were gone. I’d later drive that rusty pickup of mine to Ohio and reconnect with my parents, letting them know I was okay. It was not a perfect reunion, by any stretch of the imagination, but they were simply glad I was still alive. Finally, needless to say, I’ve given up the hobby of hunting.
While visiting Cincinnati, I met a woman. Saying she had some more money than me would be an understatement. She supported me through a college education, and eventually we moved back down to Kentucky together.
As I was putting my son to bed a few nights ago, on the evening of the new moon, I heard it. The call of the beast. But this time, it was different. Perhaps it was one of her own sons. I remembered the events of eight years ago like a horrid flashback I had tried my damnedest to repress. I paused, deciding to tell my son a new story. A cautionary tale about how his dad lost his right arm.
I offer you the same warning. Don’t enter the jagged woods. Don’t lay a finger on a tree in the jagged woods. Don’t even look at the jagged woods. Especially on a new moon. Heed my advice, and you won’t end up like me… or her.
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9,MomGetTheCatPlayzYT,[removed],I AM WATCHING/////\//,['remov']
10,murdigante,"As fireworks go off into the sky to celebrate a new year, people with family, friends, and lovers, I sat alone in my apartment in bed, awaiting to murder myself with my mom's firearm I still from her house yesterday. I didn't have money to buy one so this was the next best thing. 

Why couldn't I get my friend to love me back and she's the only person I ever loved. Why do I suck so bad at everything? College? Making friends? Life? 

Waiting for midnight, I held my glock to my head waiting for a peaceful departure misery and a loveless life on this planet. When my alarm played my favorite song from my favorite band.

Then 11:58 hit and shit got crazy.

—————

I heard a high pitched scream and a tussle in my closet. I heard something move across my hardwood floor but I couldn't track the direction. It startled me but I didn't care. I wanted out.

""Whatever is in there, be my guest to kill me. Please.""

**""WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP SO EASILY?!""**, a low, deep voice screamed.

But it wasn't coming from my closet... It was right next to me.

Then 12:00 hit. A firework went off from my neighbors and illuminated the street and my bedroom where I sat. I look out of my peripherals to my left and there he was. Eyes of crimson and visible drool coming out of its mouth.

""Why are you here?""

**""...""** 

""Please, if you are here to hit me, please ... Just kill me."" I sobbed.

**""... I'm here... to help... you...""**, he whispered, growling between pauses.

""Please, be my guest."" I handed him the gun and waited for minutes, what felt like hours. For him to end me. But he didn't. 

""What are you waiting for? FUCKING SHOOT ME!""

He did nothing. Just stood there smiling at me. 

I snatched the gun from him and pulled the trigger. Nothing. I knew I loaded three just in case I did die. The entire clip was empty. 

He began to laugh hysterically. 

""Fuck off! How fucking dare interrupt my way out of the shithole just to make fun of me!!"" I began cry hard. Snot and spit gathering quickly in my lap. 

After a few minutes of crying, I look up to where he was and he was gone. He fucking came into my house, unload my gun, and left. I tried to get out of bed but I was stuck. I couldn't move my legs.

**""You see, when I said help, I genuinely meant help you.""** 

He was now in bed with me. Snuggly tucked in, to my right, in my full size bed. I instinctively scoot over. I look at him and get my first close up view of him. He was a very tall me, crimson red face, eyes, and lips. He had a symbol on his head and in my minor of language processing, I knew that wasn't a symbol of this world. Alien, even.

**""I see you have girl troubles. Tell me about Alex.""** 

I never told him about Nicole. I never said anything about my friend to him. First I have to know who I'm dealing with.

""Who — what the fuck are you?""

He looked taken back, almost offended, but then proceeded. **""My name is Eigengrau, demon responsible for all things darkness. Where there is darkness, any thing is possible for me.""**, he smiled.

He continued: **""The reason why I know of Alex is because I was reading your mind while you were crying. I see all of your life since your brain always has darkness in it, abstract and literal.""** 

I was taken back now. ""How can I trust you?""

**""Simple.""** He touched my head and ... I saw his life. 

A lowly demon in hell as a demonic child. Being bullied, being belittled by his parents. Being tormented by his colleagues of darkness. Being... beaten senseless in front of the horses and exiled for his ability to use such a powerful ability. So powerful even Satan himself couldn't take it away.

I came back. Still in the same spot, with him still tucked in. **""So tell me about Alex.""** 

I told him everything. 

How she was the only person I ever loved in my life. How we both loved our geeky interests. How everything was great in the beginning. How confided to her about my depression like an idiot after I confessed that I kinda liked her. How she rejected me because she didn't like anyone and said it wasn't me but she didn't feel that way about me. How I tried to make the friendship better and did. How paranoia and my insecurities after I told her my issues plagued our relationship because I thought she would resent me. How after a wonderful hangout in the summer, she ghosted me for two months. How it took so long, I questioned our friendship. How now I feel like our friendship is dying. How now it seems like she doesn't even like chatting with me anymore. How now I feel like I can't even make conversations with her anymore.

How this was the only person I loved in my life, and how I knew it would stay that way.

He sat there, in silence after my lecture. For about thirty minutes. I started to feel shame because I knew I fucked with her and now our friendship — our relationship is dying. I tapped, I rubbed him, but nothing. His eyes were pure abysmal black, and it was almost like he was chanting.

After some time, he came to.

**""Fuck.""** 

""What?""

**""When you said she was the only person you'll love, you meant it.""** 

""Eigengrau, what?""

**""You see, with my darkness, I can see places where there is darkness. The universe is comprised of darkness, and there are other universes. 198, 678, 549, 238, 998, 775, 223, 265, 073 so far and rapidly increase. So I went to every universe and say each outcome.""** 

Eigengrau... 

""So, what are the results?"" 

**""All of them but 1 do end up with her. In all of the other ones, you die alone and have a loveless death. Never dated, nothing. Some universes you become a billionaire and others, you don't even like women, and it's still the same.""** 

He notices my defeated state. **""But don't worry. I got this!""** He smiled broadly. 

I thought for a moment. ""Eigengrau, what is your purpose for helping me? You're a demon. I know you must have a hidden agenda for this.""

**""You're smart. Very smart. So you see... I get lonely and I just wanted to ask you if I can stay in this house with you.""** 

""Are you fucking serious?""

Eigengrau nodded. ""Sure, why not?""

**""Thank you. So continuing on with what I was saying for your situation, it's set. Talk to her.""** 

My chest and face instantly began to warm. ""It's 3:00AM. No!""

He sighs. **""Well, the hard way it is.""**

He grabs me and throws me at the closet he entered from, and in a very hot and distorted way, I meet a very bright light. I land hard, on what felt like heels and forks, I sprawl out onto the floor of a white and pink room. I look to from where I was thrown and see that what I came out off was a closet. 

So I'm guessing Eigengrau can also teleport through darkness. Make sense. 

I get up and I'm instantly greeted by her. Alex. She's wearing a nightgown and the look in her eyes is visible shook.

_""What are you even doing here?!""_ 

Damn you, demon.

""Hey, Alex. It's good to see you, I am ... Uhm... Uhhhhh.""

_""Listen, why were you in my closet? I never even had you over my house...""_ 

There's no way I can explain this. Goddamn it.

Then I felt a burning sensation come over my head and I thought I blacked out but I still felt conscious. It was a feeling I never experienced before. 

————— 

I woke up in a cool blue room. I realized that it was the same room as Alex was in. Something is holding me. Someone is holding. 

I scoot a bit to the right and I'm my back. 

It's Alex. Snuggled up with me, cuddling me. I guess my movement woke her. 

_""Hey. How did you sleep?""_ 

""Good? You?""

_""Wonderful since you're here.""_ 

She kisses me. A deep kiss, something I dreamed of since I met her in junior year of high school. She pulled away and I guess she noticed.

_""What's wrong? Why are you crying?""_ 

It was tears of sadness, but of happiness. For seven years, I've loved this girl and I felt like everytime I got close, she would pull away. Now at, what felt like the end of our friendship, she and I are cuddled up in her room. 

_""Oh, I'm pretty sure your mom is worried about you. I'll walk with you home.""_, she smiled. 

Thank you, Eigengrau. 

We snuck out through her window and headed to my mom's house for NY. Since we did hangout at my mom's housed before, we knew where to go in terms of walking.

Before I go in and see my mom, Alex stops me: _""I had fun last night. Let's do it again ... Uh, next week! Babe.""_, kissing me again.

""Babe?""

_""Duh. You're my boyfriend after all! See you next next week!""_, she said running off. 

I have to hug Eigengrau after this. I don't care if he's a demon. 

I went in to greet the mom. She was happy to see me and surprise kg didn't question where I was. She mentioned that he got an email from my university about final grade rolling out. I sigh because I got two Ds this semester and didn't want to think about academic violations.

I clicked onto my laptop in the family room to see how bad my GPA is now but I got all As and a B+. I clicked off the email and see seven emails from professors, sending me employer guides to how to impress them. And apparently, I have two internships set for this summer and I need to accept one and decline the other.

Eigengrau. I started to tear up.

But I finish with all that, I heard music coming from my old room. I went upstairs and put my ear to the door, it was a lullaby I loved. It was an opening from one of my favorite shows. I opened the door.

I almost screamed when I halfway opened.

There was Eigengrau, gutted and hanged from a noose by my old fan. 

The room was a complete mess, dark cuts in the walls, and blood everywhere. 

His eyes were gauged out, his intestines a deep crimson, his fingernails ripped off in unnatural angles. 

His legs and arms broken beyond any repair this world best nurses could fix. 

His heart, in his distorted right hand.

He is dead. He was dead. 

I approached with tears streaming down my face. My new buddy, he's dead. He made my dreams come true and put me on a good path. He gave my girlfriend, a better start to my college life and career, and he talked me out of suicide. Why — who would do this?

In his left hand, was a book. It took awhile to pry out but it was a notebook. Inside was a letter. To me.

He told me that the visions he showed me of his life — he had left out some parts. The reason why he was being beaten was because he raped his master's wife ... And daughter. He was known for these methods and it finally caught up to him. That he wasn't exiled but he escaped his execution. That he did not learn the power of darkness, that he stole after he did what did to his master's family.

He went to say that when I blacked out, he didn't hurt Alex. He didn't change Alex with his darkness. He confirmed that he took control of my body and mind at that moment. Instead of doing what he usually does, he took a different approach: he told her what I said to him, he said what was on my mind, because in his words, 'I had no fucking game and I was going to fuck everything up.' She apparently said that she felt like she fucked up with me too because she had rejected me when she was trying to understand her sexuality. After my conversations with her, she realized that she liked me back. 

He told me that when my body and her lied down, he exists my body because he didn't want temptation. Through his powers, he changed my grades due to the color of the font being a dark color and this manipulatable. Also, my GPA. 

He told me that if I found this, he would be dead and unfortunately, I would find the body. 

—————

Eiegengrau, if you're somewhere, out there, I just want to let you that I still considered you a friend. I cleaned my room and buried your body under my neighbors oak tree last night. Me and Alex are having a great time, and I was selected by a Top 100 company for my job.

I know you were a bad person, but you were good in my story 






","Tonight, I met a demon who now means the world to me.","['firework', 'go', 'sky', 'celebr', 'new', 'year', 'peopl', 'famili', 'friend', 'lover', 'sat', 'alon', 'apart', 'bed', 'await', 'murder', 'mom', 'firearm', 'still', 'hous', 'yesterday', 'didnt', 'money', 'buy', 'one', 'next', 'best', 'thing', 'couldnt', 'get', 'friend', 'love', 'back', 'she', 'person', 'ever', 'love', 'suck', 'bad', 'everyth', 'colleg', 'make', 'friend', 'life', 'wait', 'midnight', 'held', 'glock', 'head', 'wait', 'peac', 'departur', 'miseri', 'loveless', 'life', 'planet', 'alarm', 'play', 'favorit', 'song', 'favorit', 'band', 'hit', 'shit', 'got', 'crazi', '—————', 'heard', 'high', 'pitch', 'scream', 'tussl', 'closet', 'heard', 'someth', 'move', 'across', 'hardwood', 'floor', 'couldnt', 'track', 'direct', 'startl', 'didnt', 'care', 'want', 'whatev', 'guest', 'kill', 'pleas', 'give', 'easili', 'low', 'deep', 'voic', 'scream', 'wasnt', 'come', 'closet', 'right', 'next', 'hit', 'firework', 'went', 'neighbor', 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'alex', 'she', 'wear', 'nightgown', 'look', 'eye', 'visibl', 'shook', 'even', 'damn', 'demon', 'hey', 'alex', 'good', 'see', 'uhm', 'uhhhhh', 'listen', 'closet', 'never', 'even', 'hous', 'there', 'way', 'explain', 'goddamn', 'felt', 'burn', 'sensat', 'come', 'head', 'thought', 'black', 'still', 'felt', 'consciou', 'feel', 'never', 'experienc', '—————', 'woke', 'cool', 'blue', 'room', 'realiz', 'room', 'alex', 'someth', 'hold', 'someon', 'hold', 'scoot', 'bit', 'right', 'im', 'back', 'alex', 'snuggl', 'cuddl', 'guess', 'movement', 'woke', 'hey', 'sleep', 'good', 'wonder', 'sinc', 'your', 'kiss', 'deep', 'kiss', 'someth', 'dream', 'sinc', 'met', 'junior', 'year', 'high', 'school', 'pull', 'away', 'guess', 'notic', 'what', 'wrong', 'cri', 'tear', 'sad', 'happi', 'seven', 'year', 'ive', 'love', 'girl', 'felt', 'like', 'everytim', 'got', 'close', 'would', 'pull', 'away', 'felt', 'like', 'end', 'friendship', 'cuddl', 'room', 'oh', 'im', 'pretti', 'sure', 'mom', 'worri', 'ill', 'walk', 'home', 'smile', 'thank', 'eigengrau', 'snuck', 'window', 'head', 'mom', 'hous', 'ny', 'sinc', 'hangout', 'mom', 'hous', 'knew', 'go', 'term', 'walk', 'go', 'see', 'mom', 'alex', 'stop', 'fun', 'last', 'night', 'let', 'uh', 'next', 'week', 'babe', 'kiss', 'babe', 'duh', 'your', 'boyfriend', 'see', 'next', 'next', 'week', 'said', 'run', 'hug', 'eigengrau', 'dont', 'care', 'he', 'demon', 'went', 'greet', 'mom', 'happi', 'see', 'surpris', 'kg', 'didnt', 'question', 'mention', 'got', 'email', 'univers', 'final', 'grade', 'roll', 'sigh', 'got', 'two', 'ds', 'semest', 'didnt', 'want', 'think', 'academ', 'violat', 'click', 'onto', 'laptop', 'famili', 'room', 'see', 'bad', 'gpa', 'got', 'b', 'click', 'email', 'see', 'seven', 'email', 'professor', 'send', 'employ', 'guid', 'impress', 'appar', 'two', 'internship', 'set', 'summer', 'need', 'accept', 'one', 'declin', 'eigengrau', 'start', 'tear', 'finish', 'heard', 'music', 'come', 'old', 'room', 'went', 'upstair', 'put', 'ear', 'door', 'lullabi', 'love', 'open', 'one', 'favorit', 'show', 'open', 'door', 'almost', 'scream', 'halfway', 'open', 'eigengrau', 'gut', 'hang', 'noos', 'old', 'fan', 'room', 'complet', 'mess', 'dark', 'cut', 'wall', 'blood', 'everywher', 'eye', 'gaug', 'intestin', 'deep', 'crimson', 'fingernail', 'rip', 'unnatur', 'angl', 'leg', 'arm', 'broken', 'beyond', 'repair', 'world', 'best', 'nurs', 'could', 'fix', 'heart', 'distort', 'right', 'hand', 'dead', 'dead', 'approach', 'tear', 'stream', 'face', 'new', 'buddi', 'he', 'dead', 'made', 'dream', 'come', 'true', 'put', 'good', 'path', 'gave', 'girlfriend', 'better', 'start', 'colleg', 'life', 'career', 'talk', 'suicid', '—', 'would', 'left', 'hand', 'book', 'took', 'awhil', 'pri', 'notebook', 'insid', 'letter', 'told', 'vision', 'show', 'life', '—', 'left', 'part', 'reason', 'beaten', 'rape', 'master', 'wife', 'daughter', 'known', 'method', 'final', 'caught', 'wasnt', 'exil', 'escap', 'execut', 'learn', 'power', 'dark', 'stole', 'master', 'famili', 'went', 'say', 'black', 'didnt', 'hurt', 'alex', 'didnt', 'chang', 'alex', 'dark', 'confirm', 'took', 'control', 'bodi', 'mind', 'moment', 'instead', 'usual', 'took', 'differ', 'approach', 'told', 'said', 'said', 'mind', 'word', 'fuck', 'game', 'go', 'fuck', 'everyth', 'appar', 'said', 'felt', 'like', 'fuck', 'reject', 'tri', 'understand', 'sexual', 'convers', 'realiz', 'like', 'back', 'told', 'bodi', 'lie', 'exist', 'bodi', 'didnt', 'want', 'temptat', 'power', 'chang', 'grade', 'due', 'color', 'font', 'dark', 'color', 'manipulat', 'also', 'gpa', 'told', 'found', 'would', 'dead', 'unfortun', 'would', 'find', 'bodi', '—————', 'eiegengrau', 'your', 'somewher', 'want', 'let', 'still', 'consid', 'friend', 'clean', 'room', 'buri', 'bodi', 'neighbor', 'oak', 'tree', 'last', 'night', 'alex', 'great', 'time', 'select', 'top', 'compani', 'job', 'know', 'bad', 'person', 'good', 'stori']"
11,Mirror_help,[removed],Something’s watching me,['remov']
12,security_ron,"[PART 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/a9n6jd/observe_and_reportetc/)   [PART 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/a9xymx/observe_and_reportetc_part_2/)   [PART 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/aatop2/observe_and_reportetc_part_3/)   

​

Hey everybody! Just wanted to start out by saying I hope you all had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve, may this new year bring each of you loads of joy and good fortune. It also seems like you guys really enjoyed my recounting of our little trip up to Maine to stop the lovechild of IT and Michael Moore from stealing Charlie from his parents, I’ve still had a bit of trouble sleeping the past few nights thanks to that sick fuck. Unfortunately some of these cases leave much more lingering effects than others, which brings me to my next story! Like I said, we’ll be back to our regular chronological order here, following our job in New York with good ol’ Dr. Jerker at the end of last winter. Enjoy!

​

**3-29-18 – XXXXXXX, Rhode Island. Site: XXXXXXX Harbor. Post Orders: Protect commercial night fisherman from potential dangers at sea. Officers assigned: Mike/Ron/Juarez**

​

This next job was right off the coast of Rhode Island, Ken had been called by a local fisherman because he said he needed “protection from the sea” as he put it. We chalked it up to not much more than an old salty sailor who probably got lonely fishing by himself at night, and figured it would be an easy gig (which seems to be a common trend in the jobs that are anything but), spend a few hours out at sea with the old man, probably hear some interesting stories, and head home in the morning. Simple, right?

​

We arrived at the dock to convene with the man about an hour before he was ready to set sail. He wore the classic yellow raincoat you’d picture any old sailor to wear, along with a very dirty captain’s hat and an old grey t-shirt that had more holes than swiss cheese. He also had a glass eye which was a little freaky, but it also kinda added to his whole “grizzled veteran of the sea” look. 

​

“So yeah boys I just need ya to come out on the water with me, never know what could happen out there when it’s just you and the waves.” The words covered with a growly, low tone. 

​

This threw me off a bit, the way this guy looked I woulda figured he could take down Jaws with his bare hands, what would he have to worry about out there? He gestured us towards the boat and gave us a little tour. The vessel was a greyish blue that had more of it’s fair share of rust, barnacles stuck to the side of it giving it an eerie, almost abandoned look.

​

“This here is the S.S Irene, been my girl for 24 years now, hasn’t skipped a beat.” The sailor proclaimed. At this point I broke off from the other 3 and start doing my own little walk of the ship, I strolled past and noticed inside the……..cock pit? No that’s planes, well whatever you call the area you operate the boat from, were 3 shovels. I wasn’t really sure what we would need shovels for when we’re going out on the water, but it wasn’t something I was ready to pull a gun and start asking questions over, especially considering we didn’t have them for this trip. I mean hell, why would we need them? Sigh….. 

​

I returned back to the front of the ship where Mike and Juarez were reenacting the “I’m flying!” scene from Titanic as the old sailor watched along. These guys seem to show me something I never knew I didn’t need to see, every time we work together. 

​

“I can’t believe you never seen Titanic homie, shit is tight! I got 3 copies on blu ray, I’ll send you one!” proclaimed Juarez to the sailor. 

​

“Yeah uh, sure, you do that. Anyway you boys ready to set sail? We’re only losing moonlight here.” We nodded and he walked over to the controls to start up the boat.

​

“By the way, we never got your name sir.” I said to the sailor.

​

He looked at me and grinded his teeth, “That’s because I ain’t told ya. I’m not big on personal stuff, let’s just go.” As we got out into the open water the moon reflected off the vast ocean, casting a soothing light over the boat, it was about the last moment of peace we would have on this job. We anchored down in a spot far away from the shore and the nameless sailor pulled out a pole and started to cast.

​

I quipped “Uhh, isn’t there a much easier way to do that? How do you make money fishing with one line cast and no net?” I mean I’m not fishing expert, but I knew enough to know that wasn’t practical at all.

​

“Truth be told it doesn’t matter anyway, I’m no fisherman.” My heart sank as he tossed the pole into the water, turning around and pulling a mini sawed off shotgun from his waistband and aiming it at me, “I need you boys’ help, now I don’t wanna go and shoot ya but I’m old, and weak, and I can’t dig on my own.”

​

“Dig what?”

​

“For the treasure! My great, great, great, great, great, great grandpa buried it out on a little sandbar in the ocean. I know he did! I’m gonna be filthy rich, and if you boys just keep your traps shut I’ll cut ya in on it.” 

​

“You’re insane!” Mike shouted, and for Mike to call someone insane, you know there’s gotta be something wrong there.

​

He fired a round into the air, then lifted the door to the tiny lower section of the boat, “One more comment like that and it’s your head matey! Now go, single file.” We crawled into the opening one at a time, laying flat on our backs because the deck wouldn’t allow us to sit up. It was basically more of a storage area, only we were the storage.  

​

The boat started to move again, and after about 20 minutes or so we stopped and the sailor ripped the door back open, aiming the shotgun at us. “Come on, let’s go.” We made out way out of the cubby and onto the sandbar, and it really was just that. If you weren’t standing on it, you might not even be able to see it until your boat crashed into it, it was actually kinda dangerous. He threw the shovels at us and we started to dig. 

​

Juarez started to whistle and the old man snapped, “CUT THAT OUT! You want a blood suckin mermaid on our hands boy?!” Side note, we never actually encountered this blood sucking mermaid who’s attracted by whistling, so hopefully it was just a figment of this nutcase’s imagination. 

​

We dug, and dug, and dug, until finally after about 5 feet my shovel hit something hard. “Uhhhh, I think we actually got something here.”

​

“Well keep on it now! Come on, gimme gimme gimme!” The sailor gleefully exclaimed as he started dancing around in circles. We eventually got to the item blocking out path and it was a large chest with a skull on the rusted keyhole, we lifted it up onto the surface and jumped out of the hole. The sailor ran over to it and pulled out a giant old, cast iron key then looked back at us, “I’m sorry boys, I know I said I was gonna cut you in on it, but the truth is that this is MY family’s treasure and it’s all mine! You can either deal with it, or stay here until god knows who finds ya’s, long after I’m gone.”

​

Mike started to shake, “Buzz off weirdo! Why don’t you go fu-“ a shot rang through the air and Mike dropped to the ground, this mother fucker really just shot Mike. I screamed “NO!” as the sailor had a quick chuckle and reached down to open the chest. He slid the key in, it clicked and instantly flew right open. He stood there for a moment as his look of glee and jubilation turned to that of shock and disappointment.

​

“What the? There ain’t nothin in here! 30 years I’ve been lookin for this, my whole life, all for nothi-“ before he could even finish his sentence a smoldering, burnt torso flew out of the chest and grabbed the old sailor, he started to scream from the pain of the thing’s still burning skin. It had a piercing red eye with a patch over the other, and two giant hoop earrings as flames protruded from beneath him.

​

“MY TREASURE!” the monster shrieked as it ripped the old sailor down into the chest, breaking either his legs or his back, or both in the process as the chest slammed shut behind them and rumbled for a moment before falling still.

​

Upon seeing this horrifying scene, Juarez and I didn’t even realize that Mike had gotten back up and was standing right next to us totally unscathed. “What the fuck bro, you just got shot!” Juarez shouted as he lept backwards onto his ass, lucky for him we were on beach sand.

​

“Huh? Haha, you’re crazy Juarez. Come on, let’s boogie oogie on outta here! I could drive this boat in my sleep.” Juarez and I just stared at each other for a second with our mouths open, between the smoldering demon pirate, watching a man being bent in half and ripped into a chest, and watching Mike being shot, then getting up and acting as if nothing ever happened, this was a weird case even for our standards. We made our way back to shore and into our van, and decided after a strenuous shift that nothing sounded better than some diner food, so we pulled off the first exit we could find and hit a 24 hour joint for some delicious grub, Americana style. The waitress seated us and came over to take our order as Mike looked at us with a child like, playful glance and announced, “I’ll have the fish, extra crispy!!!”

​

So yeah, that was the day we found out Mike is actually kind of impenetrable to bullets. I know, weird as fuck, but hey, a valuable asset to have to any team! Kind of a shorter job than usual, but now you all see why Ken makes clients pay full in advance. We told Ken about what happened with Mike and he replied, “I know, the second day he was here he got a hold of my gun that I keep in the spare room dresser, I heard the shot go off and when I went into the room he was lyin there on the floor with a hole in his head, thing just healed itself and he got up like nothin was out of sorts.” 

​

So that’s the tale of the sailor who’s greed became his biggest downfall, kinda fitting in a creepy, grotesque sort of way. Most of the time these cases don’t have some big hidden message behind them, but I guess this is an exception. Enjoy the things you have in this world, instead of obsessing over the things you don’t. Thanks for reading everybody, and once again this is security officer Ron from HQ reminding you all to stay safe, stay sound, and stay secure.",Observe and Report.......etc. (Part 4),"['part', '1httpswwwredditcomrnosleepcommentsa9n6jdobserveandreportetc', 'part', '2httpswwwredditcomrnosleepcommentsa9xymxobserveandreportetcpart2', 'part', '3httpswwwredditcomrnosleepcommentsaatop2observeandreportetcpart3', 'ampx200b', 'hey', 'everybodi', 'want', 'start', 'say', 'hope', 'fun', 'safe', 'new', 'year’', 'eve', 'may', 'new', 'year', 'bring', 'load', 'joy', 'good', 'fortun', 'also', 'seem', 'like', 'guy', 'realli', 'enjoy', 'recount', 'littl', 'trip', 'main', 'stop', 'lovechild', 'michael', 'moor', 'steal', 'charli', 'parent', 'i’v', 'still', 'bit', 'troubl', 'sleep', 'past', 'night', 'thank', 'sick', 'fuck', 'unfortun', 'case', 'leav', 'much', 'linger', 'effect', 'other', 'bring', 'next', 'stori', 'like', 'said', 'we’ll', 'back', 'regular', 'chronolog', 'order', 'follow', 'job', 'new', 'york', 'good', 'ol’', 'dr', 'jerker', 'end', 'last', 'winter', 'enjoy', 'ampx200b', '–', 'xxxxxxx', 'rhode', 'island', 'site', 'xxxxxxx', 'harbor', 'post', 'order', 'protect', 'commerci', 'night', 'fisherman', 'potenti', 'danger', 'sea', 'offic', 'assign', 'mikeronjuarez', 'ampx200b', 'next', 'job', 'right', 'coast', 'rhode', 'island', 'ken', 'call', 'local', 'fisherman', 'said', 'need', '“protect', 'sea”', 'put', 'chalk', 'much', 'old', 'salti', 'sailor', 'probabl', 'got', 'lone', 'fish', 'night', 'figur', 'would', 'easi', 'gig', 'seem', 'common', 'trend', 'job', 'anyth', 'spend', 'hour', 'sea', 'old', 'man', 'probabl', 'hear', 'interest', 'stori', 'head', 'home', 'morn', 'simpl', 'right', 'ampx200b', 'arriv', 'dock', 'conven', 'man', 'hour', 'readi', 'set', 'sail', 'wore', 'classic', 'yellow', 'raincoat', 'you’d', 'pictur', 'old', 'sailor', 'wear', 'along', 'dirti', 'captain’', 'hat', 'old', 'grey', 'tshirt', 'hole', 'swiss', 'chees', 'also', 'glass', 'eye', 'littl', 'freaki', 'also', 'kinda', 'ad', 'whole', '“grizzl', 'veteran', 'sea”', 'look', 'ampx200b', '“so', 'yeah', 'boy', 'need', 'ya', 'come', 'water', 'never', 'know', 'could', 'happen', 'it’', 'waves”', 'word', 'cover', 'growli', 'low', 'tone', 'ampx200b', 'threw', 'bit', 'way', 'guy', 'look', 'woulda', 'figur', 'could', 'take', 'jaw', 'bare', 'hand', 'would', 'worri', 'gestur', 'us', 'toward', 'boat', 'gave', 'us', 'littl', 'tour', 'vessel', 'greyish', 'blue', 'it’', 'fair', 'share', 'rust', 'barnacl', 'stuck', 'side', 'give', 'eeri', 'almost', 'abandon', 'look', 'ampx200b', '“thi', 'ss', 'iren', 'girl', 'year', 'hasn’t', 'skip', 'beat”', 'sailor', 'proclaim', 'point', 'broke', 'start', 'littl', 'walk', 'ship', 'stroll', 'past', 'notic', 'insid', 'the……cock', 'pit', 'that’', 'plane', 'well', 'whatev', 'call', 'area', 'oper', 'boat', 'shovel', 'wasn’t', 'realli', 'sure', 'would', 'need', 'shovel', 'we’r', 'go', 'water', 'wasn’t', 'someth', 'readi', 'pull', 'gun', 'start', 'ask', 'question', 'especi', 'consid', 'didn’t', 'trip', 'mean', 'hell', 'would', 'need', 'sigh…', 'ampx200b', 'return', 'back', 'front', 'ship', 'mike', 'juarez', 'reenact', '“i’m', 'flying”', 'scene', 'titan', 'old', 'sailor', 'watch', 'along', 'guy', 'seem', 'show', 'someth', 'never', 'knew', 'didn’t', 'need', 'see', 'everi', 'time', 'work', 'togeth', 'ampx200b', '“i', 'can’t', 'believ', 'never', 'seen', 'titan', 'homi', 'shit', 'tight', 'got', 'copi', 'blu', 'ray', 'i’ll', 'send', 'one”', 'proclaim', 'juarez', 'sailor', 'ampx200b', '“yeah', 'uh', 'sure', 'anyway', 'boy', 'readi', 'set', 'sail', 'we’r', 'lose', 'moonlight', 'here”', 'nod', 'walk', 'control', 'start', 'boat', 'ampx200b', '“bi', 'way', 'never', 'got', 'name', 'sir”', 'said', 'sailor', 'ampx200b', 'look', 'grind', 'teeth', '“that’', 'ain’t', 'told', 'ya', 'i’m', 'big', 'person', 'stuff', 'let’', 'go”', 'got', 'open', 'water', 'moon', 'reflect', 'vast', 'ocean', 'cast', 'sooth', 'light', 'boat', 'last', 'moment', 'peac', 'would', 'job', 'anchor', 'spot', 'far', 'away', 'shore', 'nameless', 'sailor', 'pull', 'pole', 'start', 'cast', 'ampx200b', 'quip', '“uhh', 'isn’t', 'much', 'easier', 'way', 'make', 'money', 'fish', 'one', 'line', 'cast', 'net”', 'mean', 'i’m', 'fish', 'expert', 'knew', 'enough', 'know', 'wasn’t', 'practic', 'ampx200b', '“truth', 'told', 'doesn’t', 'matter', 'anyway', 'i’m', 'fisherman”', 'heart', 'sank', 'toss', 'pole', 'water', 'turn', 'around', 'pull', 'mini', 'saw', 'shotgun', 'waistband', 'aim', '“i', 'need', 'boys’', 'help', 'don’t', 'wanna', 'go', 'shoot', 'ya', 'i’m', 'old', 'weak', 'can’t', 'dig', 'own”', 'ampx200b', '“dig', 'what”', 'ampx200b', '“for', 'treasur', 'great', 'great', 'great', 'great', 'great', 'great', 'grandpa', 'buri', 'littl', 'sandbar', 'ocean', 'know', 'i’m', 'gonna', 'filthi', 'rich', 'boy', 'keep', 'trap', 'shut', 'i’ll', 'cut', 'ya', 'it”', 'ampx200b', '“you’r', 'insane”', 'mike', 'shout', 'mike', 'call', 'someon', 'insan', 'know', 'there’', 'gotta', 'someth', 'wrong', 'ampx200b', 'fire', 'round', 'air', 'lift', 'door', 'tini', 'lower', 'section', 'boat', '“one', 'comment', 'like', 'it’', 'head', 'matey', 'go', 'singl', 'file”', 'crawl', 'open', 'one', 'time', 'lay', 'flat', 'back', 'deck', 'wouldn’t', 'allow', 'us', 'sit', 'basic', 'storag', 'area', 'storag', 'ampx200b', 'boat', 'start', 'move', 'minut', 'stop', 'sailor', 'rip', 'door', 'back', 'open', 'aim', 'shotgun', 'us', '“come', 'let’', 'go”', 'made', 'way', 'cubbi', 'onto', 'sandbar', 'realli', 'weren’t', 'stand', 'might', 'even', 'abl', 'see', 'boat', 'crash', 'actual', 'kinda', 'danger', 'threw', 'shovel', 'us', 'start', 'dig', 'ampx200b', 'juarez', 'start', 'whistl', 'old', 'man', 'snap', '“cut', 'want', 'blood', 'suckin', 'mermaid', 'hand', 'boy”', 'side', 'note', 'never', 'actual', 'encount', 'blood', 'suck', 'mermaid', 'who’', 'attract', 'whistl', 'hope', 'figment', 'nutcase’', 'imagin', 'ampx200b', 'dug', 'dug', 'dug', 'final', 'feet', 'shovel', 'hit', 'someth', 'hard', '“uhhhh', 'think', 'actual', 'got', 'someth', 'here”', 'ampx200b', '“well', 'keep', 'come', 'gimm', 'gimm', 'gimme”', 'sailor', 'gleefulli', 'exclaim', 'start', 'danc', 'around', 'circl', 'eventu', 'got', 'item', 'block', 'path', 'larg', 'chest', 'skull', 'rust', 'keyhol', 'lift', 'onto', 'surfac', 'jump', 'hole', 'sailor', 'ran', 'pull', 'giant', 'old', 'cast', 'iron', 'key', 'look', 'back', 'us', '“i’m', 'sorri', 'boy', 'know', 'said', 'gonna', 'cut', 'truth', 'family’', 'treasur', 'it’', 'mine', 'either', 'deal', 'stay', 'god', 'know', 'find', 'ya’', 'long', 'i’m', 'gone”', 'ampx200b', 'mike', 'start', 'shake', '“buzz', 'weirdo', 'don’t', 'go', 'fu“', 'shot', 'rang', 'air', 'mike', 'drop', 'ground', 'mother', 'fucker', 'realli', 'shot', 'mike', 'scream', '“no”', 'sailor', 'quick', 'chuckl', 'reach', 'open', 'chest', 'slid', 'key', 'click', 'instantli', 'flew', 'right', 'open', 'stood', 'moment', 'look', 'glee', 'jubil', 'turn', 'shock', 'disappoint', 'ampx200b', '“what', 'ain’t', 'nothin', 'year', 'i’v', 'lookin', 'whole', 'life', 'nothi“', 'could', 'even', 'finish', 'sentenc', 'smolder', 'burnt', 'torso', 'flew', 'chest', 'grab', 'old', 'sailor', 'start', 'scream', 'pain', 'thing’', 'still', 'burn', 'skin', 'pierc', 'red', 'eye', 'patch', 'two', 'giant', 'hoop', 'ear', 'flame', 'protrud', 'beneath', 'ampx200b', '“mi', 'treasure”', 'monster', 'shriek', 'rip', 'old', 'sailor', 'chest', 'break', 'either', 'leg', 'back', 'process', 'chest', 'slam', 'shut', 'behind', 'rumbl', 'moment', 'fall', 'still', 'ampx200b', 'upon', 'see', 'horrifi', 'scene', 'juarez', 'didn’t', 'even', 'realiz', 'mike', 'gotten', 'back', 'stand', 'right', 'next', 'us', 'total', 'unscath', '“what', 'fuck', 'bro', 'got', 'shot”', 'juarez', 'shout', 'lept', 'backward', 'onto', 'ass', 'lucki', 'beach', 'sand', 'ampx200b', '“huh', 'haha', 'you’r', 'crazi', 'juarez', 'come', 'let’', 'boogi', 'oogi', 'outta', 'could', 'drive', 'boat', 'sleep”', 'juarez', 'stare', 'second', 'mouth', 'open', 'smolder', 'demon', 'pirat', 'watch', 'man', 'bent', 'half', 'rip', 'chest', 'watch', 'mike', 'shot', 'get', 'act', 'noth', 'ever', 'happen', 'weird', 'case', 'even', 'standard', 'made', 'way', 'back', 'shore', 'van', 'decid', 'strenuou', 'shift', 'noth', 'sound', 'better', 'diner', 'food', 'pull', 'first', 'exit', 'could', 'find', 'hit', 'hour', 'joint', 'delici', 'grub', 'americana', 'style', 'waitress', 'seat', 'us', 'came', 'take', 'order', 'mike', 'look', 'us', 'child', 'like', 'play', 'glanc', 'announc', '“i’ll', 'fish', 'extra', 'crispy”', 'ampx200b', 'yeah', 'day', 'found', 'mike', 'actual', 'kind', 'impenetr', 'bullet', 'know', 'weird', 'fuck', 'hey', 'valuabl', 'asset', 'team', 'kind', 'shorter', 'job', 'usual', 'see', 'ken', 'make', 'client', 'pay', 'full', 'advanc', 'told', 'ken', 'happen', 'mike', 'repli', '“i', 'know', 'second', 'day', 'got', 'hold', 'gun', 'keep', 'spare', 'room', 'dresser', 'heard', 'shot', 'go', 'went', 'room', 'lyin', 'floor', 'hole', 'head', 'thing', 'heal', 'got', 'like', 'nothin', 'sorts”', 'ampx200b', 'that’', 'tale', 'sailor', 'who’', 'greed', 'becam', 'biggest', 'downfal', 'kinda', 'fit', 'creepi', 'grotesqu', 'sort', 'way', 'time', 'case', 'don’t', 'big', 'hidden', 'messag', 'behind', 'guess', 'except', 'enjoy', 'thing', 'world', 'instead', 'obsess', 'thing', 'don’t', 'thank', 'read', 'everybodi', 'secur', 'offic', 'ron', 'hq', 'remind', 'stay', 'safe', 'stay', 'sound', 'stay', 'secur']"
13,Scary_Performer,"  

Winter had brought a virulent strain of melancholy to Isaac. Far removed from those cyclical bouts of nihilistic despair—so common among city dwellers—he had contracted something terminal. Reaching down far into his being, it had pilfered any bit of joy or energy from whatever may be called ‘spirit’. That increasingly fully figured body now moved around a comfortably mangled assortment of usefulness and uselessness that had become his living quarters. He had become a perfect spiritual emulation of the living death.

Desiccating insides notwithstanding, Isaac did not have too much trouble hiding his malady. His workplace greeted him with familiar long hallways, swaths of corridors that protruded outward like veins. On the other side of the walls, briefly illuminated by windows were cold fog and decades-old pollution. Aroma of coffee led him to a brief respite, filled with his work-shy comrades.

The place of employment and location, he tells me, are not terribly important. But I suspect his desire to forget is flossing out details.

He’d found himself in decent company, filled with all manner of the dull and morose in conversation. It was not so obvious where he could find his nourishment, but that was where he’d found something else. She resided by a pink oil-stained box that she had been staring at wistfully; it seemed as though she had closed it in some protest against her taste. Only part of her angular visage was visible from his vantage point, showing faint tanned dots clustered under a gleaming circular disk. Warding off that urge to stare mesmerized, he weaved through the room full of lackadaisical peers and said hello.

“You must be Isaac.” Flat tone reverberates around eardrum like sheet metal hitting a rough surface. He’d probably seen her before, even introduced himself, but not in this way or in this place. Perhaps she’d recently enlarged her pupils.

That bitter sense of restlessness he’d accrued over months had emerged suddenly, transmuted into energetic criticism of outside surroundings. Conversation flowed from sardonic comments on baritone singers about Christmas cheer and stopped somewhere near admonition of the drunkenness of last year’s celebrations. Creeping doubt that his fortune might soon end gripped his more nervous anticipations; too long had he sacrificed contact on the altar of apathy. He asked if she’d like to rendezvous some other time.

I am not convinced that any mammal is entirely confident or satisfied by their performance in this field. Nonetheless, he tells me he felt only a tinge of anxiety riding along his excitement, like a beggar grasping a politician’s heel. He’d made all the proper arrangements, meticulously designing them to seem improvised and nonchalant. An unknowable and forgettable establishment for drinking. Briefly he considered cleaning that dingy piece of building that had become so emblematic of his life—but saw this as presumption. Now he had never felt such a scrupulosity, as though fortune could be jerked out of his hand at any moment. He arrived on time, not too early to inspire in that girl feelings of despondence or too late to declare his poor intentions. He had dressed the part, though felt it poor defense when compared to those brunette sigils that marked his arrival. Bathed himself in whatever cologne he could be swindled into purchasing; but still felt it lacking when he had pressed himself against her naked body and captured every detail. It had been such a cold winter…

But morning would not come. The anxiety that had lagged behind him had caught up, and he felt his being ache with terrible thoughts of his workplace tryst. What sort of man was he, and what sort of lover had he taken? He had taken to the cold streets and their fog-covered lights agonizing ideas of his own self. Why had he done something to attach himself? That brooding self that had protected him until now, sheltered from any need to interact beyond the mundane. Now he had affixed himself, temporarily or otherwise, into another being. He would find solace in that place, that warm cocoon of filth free from any bit of trouble. 

The calls had begun not long after: voices of despair turned to frustration as the days poured out of an endless vat of human patience. He had ceased coming to work for fear of reproach, or out of some misguided sense of self-inflicted justice. Messages from people he’d never paid attention to, who had more likely been willing to entertain a hushed, excited story of a deadbeat who’d gone off the deep end. No matter for that, he peered endlessly over only a single contact, that lovely being who had not ceased to see what had gone wrong.

The pain that had turned from nuisance to anguish, that little jolt emanating from just below the clavicle that reminded him day and night of his failure, of his diseased and wasteful existence now began to throb incessantly. Fumbling out of bed one tenebrous morning to reach for his clamoring device he found himself gripping his chest. Cool fabric did not greet him, but a warm and pulsating bit of flesh that sent shock after shock into his mentally frail being. Turning on the light and ridding himself of his nightwear, he revealed to himself a discolored mass of flesh that had festered quietly under his breast. He fell down, disoriented from the pain and feeling the intrusion’s every movement, coursing through him like intermittent lightning; He retched, howled at his misfortune, at that love bite that was no longer so lovely. It began to pierce the bruised skin with spasms, convulsing outward from the large body and into that mess of living, putrid, writhing maggot finding a comfortable nest among Isaac’s last refuge.

It does not bother me too much that he does not say much more to me. His preferred method of comfort seems to be to lie about the increasingly squalid conditions and ignore debt collectors as he gazes on my twitching form. I see every bit of anxiety cross his face with dozen red eyes, and the click clack of my hair appendages against typewriter seems to send him further into madness. I wouldn’t have minded his apparent vow of silence on other topics, but he seems to have lost a sense of humor on this particular subject. I suppose he didn’t care for my insinuation that my mother had been a fly that would not stop pestering him.

​

Happy New Year's ",Warble,"['winter', 'brought', 'virul', 'strain', 'melancholi', 'isaac', 'far', 'remov', 'cyclic', 'bout', 'nihilist', 'despair—so', 'common', 'among', 'citi', 'dwellers—h', 'contract', 'someth', 'termin', 'reach', 'far', 'pilfer', 'bit', 'joy', 'energi', 'whatev', 'may', 'call', '‘spirit’', 'increasingli', 'fulli', 'figur', 'bodi', 'move', 'around', 'comfort', 'mangl', 'assort', 'use', 'useless', 'becom', 'live', 'quarter', 'becom', 'perfect', 'spiritu', 'emul', 'live', 'death', 'desicc', 'insid', 'notwithstand', 'isaac', 'much', 'troubl', 'hide', 'maladi', 'workplac', 'greet', 'familiar', 'long', 'hallway', 'swath', 'corridor', 'protrud', 'outward', 'like', 'vein', 'side', 'wall', 'briefli', 'illumin', 'window', 'cold', 'fog', 'decadesold', 'pollut', 'aroma', 'coffe', 'led', 'brief', 'respit', 'fill', 'workshi', 'comrad', 'place', 'employ', 'locat', 'tell', 'terribl', 'import', 'suspect', 'desir', 'forget', 'floss', 'detail', 'he’d', 'found', 'decent', 'compani', 'fill', 'manner', 'dull', 'moros', 'convers', 'obviou', 'could', 'find', 'nourish', 'he’d', 'found', 'someth', 'els', 'resid', 'pink', 'oilstain', 'box', 'stare', 'wist', 'seem', 'though', 'close', 'protest', 'tast', 'part', 'angular', 'visag', 'visibl', 'vantag', 'point', 'show', 'faint', 'tan', 'dot', 'cluster', 'gleam', 'circular', 'disk', 'ward', 'urg', 'stare', 'mesmer', 'weav', 'room', 'full', 'lackadais', 'peer', 'said', 'hello', '“you', 'must', 'isaac”', 'flat', 'tone', 'reverber', 'around', 'eardrum', 'like', 'sheet', 'metal', 'hit', 'rough', 'surfac', 'he’d', 'probabl', 'seen', 'even', 'introduc', 'way', 'place', 'perhap', 'she’d', 'recent', 'enlarg', 'pupil', 'bitter', 'sens', 'restless', 'he’d', 'accru', 'month', 'emerg', 'suddenli', 'transmut', 'energet', 'critic', 'outsid', 'surround', 'convers', 'flow', 'sardon', 'comment', 'bariton', 'singer', 'christma', 'cheer', 'stop', 'somewher', 'near', 'admonit', 'drunken', 'last', 'year’', 'celebr', 'creep', 'doubt', 'fortun', 'might', 'soon', 'end', 'grip', 'nervou', 'anticip', 'long', 'sacrif', 'contact', 'altar', 'apathi', 'ask', 'she’d', 'like', 'rendezv', 'time', 'convinc', 'mammal', 'entir', 'confid', 'satisfi', 'perform', 'field', 'nonetheless', 'tell', 'felt', 'ting', 'anxieti', 'ride', 'along', 'excit', 'like', 'beggar', 'grasp', 'politician’', 'heel', 'he’d', 'made', 'proper', 'arrang', 'meticul', 'design', 'seem', 'improvis', 'nonchal', 'unknow', 'forgett', 'establish', 'drink', 'briefli', 'consid', 'clean', 'dingi', 'piec', 'build', 'becom', 'emblemat', 'life—but', 'saw', 'presumpt', 'never', 'felt', 'scrupulos', 'though', 'fortun', 'could', 'jerk', 'hand', 'moment', 'arriv', 'time', 'earli', 'inspir', 'girl', 'feel', 'despond', 'late', 'declar', 'poor', 'intent', 'dress', 'part', 'though', 'felt', 'poor', 'defens', 'compar', 'brunett', 'sigil', 'mark', 'arriv', 'bath', 'whatev', 'cologn', 'could', 'swindl', 'purchas', 'still', 'felt', 'lack', 'press', 'nake', 'bodi', 'captur', 'everi', 'detail', 'cold', 'winter…', 'morn', 'would', 'come', 'anxieti', 'lag', 'behind', 'caught', 'felt', 'ach', 'terribl', 'thought', 'workplac', 'tryst', 'sort', 'man', 'sort', 'lover', 'taken', 'taken', 'cold', 'street', 'fogcov', 'light', 'agon', 'idea', 'self', 'done', 'someth', 'attach', 'brood', 'self', 'protect', 'shelter', 'need', 'interact', 'beyond', 'mundan', 'affix', 'temporarili', 'otherwis', 'anoth', 'would', 'find', 'solac', 'place', 'warm', 'cocoon', 'filth', 'free', 'bit', 'troubl', 'call', 'begun', 'long', 'voic', 'despair', 'turn', 'frustrat', 'day', 'pour', 'endless', 'vat', 'human', 'patienc', 'ceas', 'come', 'work', 'fear', 'reproach', 'misguid', 'sens', 'selfinflict', 'justic', 'messag', 'peopl', 'he’d', 'never', 'paid', 'attent', 'like', 'will', 'entertain', 'hush', 'excit', 'stori', 'deadbeat', 'who’d', 'gone', 'deep', 'end', 'matter', 'peer', 'endlessli', 'singl', 'contact', 'love', 'ceas', 'see', 'gone', 'wrong', 'pain', 'turn', 'nuisanc', 'anguish', 'littl', 'jolt', 'eman', 'clavicl', 'remind', 'day', 'night', 'failur', 'diseas', 'wast', 'exist', 'began', 'throb', 'incessantli', 'fumbl', 'bed', 'one', 'tenebr', 'morn', 'reach', 'clamor', 'devic', 'found', 'grip', 'chest', 'cool', 'fabric', 'greet', 'warm', 'pulsat', 'bit', 'flesh', 'sent', 'shock', 'shock', 'mental', 'frail', 'turn', 'light', 'rid', 'nightwear', 'reveal', 'discolor', 'mass', 'flesh', 'fester', 'quietli', 'breast', 'fell', 'disori', 'pain', 'feel', 'intrusion’', 'everi', 'movement', 'cours', 'like', 'intermitt', 'lightn', 'retch', 'howl', 'misfortun', 'love', 'bite', 'longer', 'love', 'began', 'pierc', 'bruis', 'skin', 'spasm', 'convuls', 'outward', 'larg', 'bodi', 'mess', 'live', 'putrid', 'writh', 'maggot', 'find', 'comfort', 'nest', 'among', 'isaac’', 'last', 'refug', 'bother', 'much', 'say', 'much', 'prefer', 'method', 'comfort', 'seem', 'lie', 'increasingli', 'squalid', 'condit', 'ignor', 'debt', 'collector', 'gaze', 'twitch', 'form', 'see', 'everi', 'bit', 'anxieti', 'cross', 'face', 'dozen', 'red', 'eye', 'click', 'clack', 'hair', 'appendag', 'typewrit', 'seem', 'send', 'mad', 'wouldn’t', 'mind', 'appar', 'vow', 'silenc', 'topic', 'seem', 'lost', 'sens', 'humor', 'particular', 'subject', 'suppos', 'didn’t', 'care', 'insinu', 'mother', 'fli', 'would', 'stop', 'pester', 'ampx200b', 'happi', 'new', 'year']"
14,John80000,[removed],What the...,['remov']
15,Zithero,"  

[Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/a9x31o/i_am_a_priest_at_the_vatican_we_are_going_to/)

[Part 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/aa8g4b/i_am_a_priest_at_the_vatican_we_are_going_to/)

[Part 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/aakhv3/i_am_a_priest_at_the_vatican_we_are_going_to/)

[Part 4](https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/aaverm/i_am_a_priest_at_the_vatican_we_are_going_to/)

​

“... The last surviving angel in this temple.”

My ears scarcely can inform my mind what Jorge means before the next phrase escapes my lips.  “Angels are not physical beings.”  I know this as saints, angels, and so forth live in Heaven.  

Jorge shrugs, “yes and no?” Jorge heaves a sigh and moves to a small first aid box near the waters.  “As Timothy puts it, Angels are of one existence.  A man has their mind, body, and soul.  Your mental health, your physical health, and your spirit you know?” 

“The Holy Trinity.” I clarify. 

Jorge stops for a moment, eyes going wide in revelation. “Oh, yeah!”

My face falls as now I’m uncertain whom is informing whom. 

“Well, man has those as three separate things, but for angels, it’s all one.  If you damage an Angel’s body, it harms as well their soul.  If you harm their mind, it can affect their body, and if you harm their soul…”  Jorge sighs as he hands Timothy some headache medicine. 

I turn my attention to Timothy, who takes four pills and swallows them, without water.

“So someone…” I begin but am interrupted as Timothy finishes my thoughts.

“Destroyed every Angel’s physical body…  They’re now trapped in heaven…” he winces, grabbing a hold of his head.  “Chavez… we agreed… about the water… didn’t we?”

Jorge nods, “Let's get you to bed.”

Timothy walks but stumbles, Jorge moving to him.  I notice Timothy’s eyes clamp down in pain, a tear or two rolling down his cheek.  “He… is sobbing… again… I can hear him.  Father… please… stop… I’m trying.” 

Despite my hearing the term ‘Father’ often, something tells me I’m not the one whom he is talking about.  “He is sobbing?”

Timothy’s eyes are wide and now frightened, “He, who is called I Am.” 

Jorge nods, “Timothy is descended from Enoch, that mea-”

Before Jorge can finish, I’m by Timothy’s side and helping him to his feet.  “He speaks for God.” 

Jorge nods.

“I can’t… I listen to him… I listen to his old words.  They’re bouncing around in my head so… only after the waters heal me.  I hear everything, his unanswered words, unspoken, for over three hundred years…” Timothy’s eyes close as he shouts now, “Tearing my head apart!”

Body, Mind, and Soul all in one, not separate.  That is what Jorge said, so despite the physical injury, they also wound Timothy on the other fronts.  “Where is your room, Timothy?  You need rest.”

Timothy shakes his head, “The Demon… I…”

“You’re in no state to chase demons,” I interject.  “You must rest, you cannot run in half-cocked.” 

Timothy grits his teeth, “I can push through it… I… I have to.  If I fail… we are all doomed.”

His shoulders burdened by the weight he must carry, I look to Jorge who helps me carry him onward.  Proverbs 12:25 rings through my mind, ‘*An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.’* Perhaps between Jorge and I can tend to his damaged mind and soul. “Timothy, heed God’s words.  ‘do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’”

Timothy’s turns his blue eyes burning with intensity, fear, and a glimmer of hope.

For the moment I turn away, feeling a blush in my face.  I recall Sodom and now understand why so many were drawn to the Angel’s God had sent down to the ancient city.  My lust restrained, as always, I think of God’s strength.  “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” I glance back to Timothy, “That means you.”

Timothy chuckles though still in pain.  

We arrive at a room with a pair of cots.  Jorge and I lay Timothy down on one.  After Timothy seems more at peace, we leave him to rest.

“I must get to the others in the Vatican.”

Jorge sighs, “Yeah about that, Timothy closed the doors.”

“So let's open them,” I explain, making my way to the Temple’s entrance.

Jorge follows behind me, trying to explain as he goes, “We can and can’t.  Timothy has better control over where they open, but when we open they go to the place, we desire to be.  So, for you, if that’s the Vatican then it should work but…”

As Jorge and I reach the doors, I go to open them, only to find them locked shut.

Jorge sighs, “They don’t always work for us.”

Glancing to Jorge, I step away from the door, “Can you?”

Jorge shakes his head, “I’m not able to open them any more than you are.” He moves to the doors and tries, but they do not even jostle. 

I heave a heavy sigh, “how long before Timothy will be well enough to open these gates?”

Jorge looks to the doors and then back down the corridor we had exited.  “Last time was three days.”

A sense of irony washes over me.  Three days to rise?  That makes sense.  “Well, a more pressing matter than, what do we do until then?”

Jorge just beams at me despite the situation, “Hungry?”

​

Perhaps I am a spoiled man, but three solid days of Spam and rice is far too many solid days of Spam and rice.  Regardless, food is not an issue through the three days leading up to Timothy’s full recovery.  Throughout the time there, he seemed to suffer less and less and even wondered out of his room.  I followed him on one odd jaunt as he walked to an area of the temple I had not seen him go.  What I saw shocked me.

Timothy standing at the edge of a marble cliff is the only way I can describe it.  I looked behind me to see the outside of the temple.  Massive was a poor word to describe its towering spires and colossal pillars.  But outside of this temple, it all came to an edge, an end so to speak.  The marble floor continued until it did not and ended in a massive black void.  The sky full of stars and darkness, and nothing more.  

“Where are we?” I ask.

Timothy doesn’t address me but stares off into space. “The Expanse.  Everything God made, is before us.”

As I walk next to him, I can see no familiar constellation or heavenly body.  “Where is this temple?”

Timothy continues to stare, “The center of the universe.  At least the habitable part.”

I can only nod and look out in wonder.  Timothy walks back inside.

“I smell Spam.” Is all he says as I walk back inside.

As I Trail behind Timothy I ask a simple question, “What is Chavez?  A man? Angel?  Are you companions?” I pause for a moment, “Lovers?”

Timothy doesn’t stop walking, “Chavez is for all intents and purposes the new curator of the Temple.  He is a human, a good man, a God-fearing man.  He keeps me grounded.” Timothy scrutinizes me, “He’s a companion, a partner, an assistant.   Not a lover.” Timothy turns from me as we continue.  “I would have thought you, as a Priest, would be against such things.”

Silence fills the air for a few moments as I try to find the most appropriate way to explain myself.  “I have taken a vow of chastity, they expect such of any priest.  The church always views homosexual behavior of two men as a sin. But all pleasures of the flesh are a sin.” I look to him, “Marriage, however, is not a sin.  Marriage allows for pleasures of the flesh with one’s wife or husband because such is an expression of love and devotion.” I chuckle as I explain, “The church also isn’t naïve.  We understand most married couples haven’t had sex on their wedding night alone.” 

Timothy seems to be waiting for a point.

I confess, “I am… well homosexual, but again, celibate.  However, I feel that if I weren’t, if I were to find someone to love well...” 

Timothy’s stopped walking, and I do the same.

“God is love.” I finish.

Timothy smiles and continues his walking.  “I love a woman named Sofia.  She thinks I’m deployed and human.  She’s smart, hard to trick.” he looks down, face falling. “... If I do ever consummate my love with her, my gifts go to our child.  I lose everything.”

My heart skips a beat or two as I realize why there is a line of Enoch. “God allows Enoch children… but all other angels are not.”

Timothy nods.

“The Nephilim.  You are Nephilim,” I realize.

Timothy nods, “Enoch was the only angel allowed to continue to have children, but to prevent what happened before God flooded the world, there can only be one true child of Enoch at a time.”  Timothy eyes his wings, “If I do what I want, If I do the selfish thing, then the only hope we have has to wait till my child comes of age.” He shakes his head, “I can’t place that on my child.  I can’t even accept that someone has placed it on me.” He looks back into the expanse behind us.  “So I’m also kind of celibate.” Timothy didn’t speak for the rest of that day.  

I did not pry into the matter further.

​

On the third day, Timothy emerges composed, wearing another black coat and heading right for the doors before even saying a word to Chavez or myself. 

“The time for resting is over. She’s gotten enough of a head start,” Timothy announces.

I follow with Chavez, getting my vestments, “Timothy, if I may: I would suggest we go to the Vatican, I can retrieve my tools, perhaps bless them in the waters here, and then we must make haste to the Succubus's destination.” 

Timothy glances at me as he opens the doors to the prison, “Are you sure of where she’s going?”

“Where she will be headed?  Without a doubt,” I explain.

We make our way out of the prison level and I see the debris still lying around the floor, construction crews still working on repairing what the Succubus had done.  

“I thought they would have been further along in cleaning this up,” I mention as I pass by several halls.

“Only a day passed here on Terra while we were in the Temple,” Timothy informs.

Chavez nods, “Time is funny in there.” 

After collecting several tools needed, and informing the other pastors where we were off to, we headed back to the Temple. 

Timothy addresses me before he enters the doors, “In order for you to get where the Succubus is, we need to find the exact location in your mind.” 

“I’m aware of the location, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.  She will be in the city, and I know that church well enough,” I explain.

“Can you remember the basement?”  Timothy asks.

“Well enough,” I recall.

Timothy then places his hands on my shoulders once we’re inside the Temple and shuts doors. “Think of the location,” he instructs.

I close my eyes, picturing the basement of the church.  

Timothy opens the doors and before my eyes, we’re where I imagined us to be. 

We step out into the basement and make our way up to the main floor.  

I turn to Timothy and Jorge, “I must explain why I’m here again, I’m sure, but if anyone else asks just state, you’re my assistants.” 

Jorge nods, ""I'll stay down here, make sure no one closes the doors.""  Jorge stays behind as we head upstairs.

As we enter the main hall, the priest of the cathedral greets me, to my surprise.  I doubt he has had time to get any contact from the Vatican. “Ah, Father Thomas.  I’m happy they sent you!” I recall the priest as Father Connor Walsh.

A handshake ensues, and I clarify, “I was in the area, Father Walsh.  I am not sure who you’re talking about sending for me.” 

Father Walsh looks to Timothy and then me, “Well, the exorcism request.”   
Confusion crosses my face before Timothy interjects, “Possession?  Who is possessed?”

Father Walsh frowns, “It’s the young Jason Miller Jr, I’m afraid”

The blood rushes from my face, “Jason Miller… was his father David Miller?  Mother… Sara Baker?”

Father Walsh smiles “Yes.  So you received my request?” 

“What is their address, Father?” Timothy demands.

A short cab ride later leads us to a series of large row homes, all the same, red-bricked buildings and concrete stoops. I inspect the address on the paper I spot the proper house number, and with Timothy behind me, I knock on the door.

Less than a minute passes as someone opens the door.  A middle-aged man with brown hair and familiar green eyes stands before me. “Ah, yeah listen we already go to church so if-”

“They told us that there may be a possible possession here?”, I interject.

“Oh Jesus Christ, fucking Marie…” the man stops himself, “Sorry Father.  My son’s been acting up, playing hooky and shit… she called the church and I have more pressing matters in the house.  I have a few unis on the way to button it up, we didn’t mean to trouble you.” 

From his manor to his foul mouth, I am certain he is the Succubus’s child. “Jason?”

Jason laughs,  “It’s nothing the church has to worry about.  Just caught this prowler out in the backyard.  A mental health patient or homeless, she’s harmless, I have her cuffed in the dining room.  As I said, cops will be by to take care of her.”

I clear my throat, “Mr. Miller, if I may, the possessed child is one reason we’re here, but the woman is another.”

Jason shakes his head, “Father listen, now isn’t a good time.” 

“She claims to be your mother, yes?  That she has been… away for some time and has wanted to see you?” I speak hoping I can get by his defenses, I have no desire to have Timothy force his way past the man. 

Jason stops for a moment, looking the two of us over.  “How the fuck…” he steps back.  “Listen if she’s your then… ah, take her I guess?”

The two of us walk in after being shown to the dining room where we spot the Succubus handcuffed and sitting at the kitchen table.  She’s in a human form, however, her horns hiding, her clothing looking like those of a vagrant’s.  

She addresses us frowning, “Not here…. Please?  You know why I’m here. No one is getting hurt.”

Timothy has a seat across from her, “And you know why I’m here.”

The Succubus closes her eyes tight, a tear rolling down her cheek.  “Just leave me be, okay?  I have no desire to open the gate, I want to be with my family.”

Jason follows us in, “So, eh, ‘Sara’, these nice folks from the Church said they know you.  Maybe you can head back with them?”

The Succubus gives Jason a sweet look, “Jason, honey, you haven’t finished telling me about how you became a detective.” 

“See what I mean Father?  She’s claiming to be my mother.  Who died right after I was born, I might add,” Jason says addressing me.

The Succubus continues, ignoring the later part of Jason’s response, “What about your father?  I’d like to see him… I’m sure he could also prove who I am to you.”

Jason narrows his eyes, “Yeah sure, why not go visit him, he’s out in Forest Hills.” 

Her face falls, and she looks away from us.

“Where is Forest Hills?” Timothy asks me.

My throat clears as I inform Timothy, “It’s a cemetery.” 

The front door opens, and I overhear an exasperated woman, “Junior... please… for the love of God…”

We turn to see a woman in her mid-thirties, dirty blond hair, and a rather large coat opening the door as a boy rushes into the house, the spitting image of his father. He runs into the room and stops dead upon seeing all of us in the dining room.  The boy’s face is still, his eyes looking far away and yet focused with an eerie stare.  A stare I am well accustomed to.  Out of nowhere, he grins a vicious and unnerving grin. “Hello, Father.” 

Jason goes to pick his child up but seems unable to lift him off the floor.  “Junior, stop this bullshit, okay?”

“Lazy Whore.” the child spits out.

Jason now crouches in front of his son, “Watch your mouth there Junior, don’t make me pop you one in front of the Father, okay?”

With an inhuman strength the boy flings his father across the room, he lands on the table before us.  

I check Jason’s pulse to see he’s still alive.

“Jason!” the mother of the child shouts as she runs to her husband.

The Succubus stands up, “Leave them alone!”

“He’s going fuck you in so many new wholes whore.” the boy informs.

The Succubus freezes, “... just leave them alone, okay?  I wanted to be free for a short time.”

My holy water at the ready, I fling a good amount on the child.

I can hear his screams, but before I can say another word I hear a sickening crack. The boy has broken his own thumb.  “The next spritz… I break another finger…”

My eyes narrow, most demons cause little harm to their vessels, at least not like this.

“Junior, what did you do?” his mother shouts.  

Consoling the mother is all I can think to do at this point before the child speaks again.

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'inform', 'chavez', 'nod', '“time', 'funni', 'there”', 'collect', 'sever', 'tool', 'need', 'inform', 'pastor', 'head', 'back', 'templ', 'timothi', 'address', 'enter', 'door', '“in', 'order', 'get', 'succubu', 'need', 'find', 'exact', 'locat', 'mind”', '“i’m', 'awar', 'locat', 'cathedr', 'holi', 'cross', 'boston', 'citi', 'know', 'church', 'well', 'enough”', 'explain', '“can', 'rememb', 'basement”', 'timothi', 'ask', '“well', 'enough”', 'recal', 'timothi', 'place', 'hand', 'shoulder', 'we’r', 'insid', 'templ', 'shut', 'door', '“think', 'location”', 'instruct', 'close', 'eye', 'pictur', 'basement', 'church', 'timothi', 'open', 'door', 'eye', 'we’r', 'imagin', 'us', 'step', 'basement', 'make', 'way', 'main', 'floor', 'turn', 'timothi', 'jorg', '“i', 'must', 'explain', 'i’m', 'i’m', 'sure', 'anyon', 'els', 'ask', 'state', 'you’r', 'assistants”', 'jorg', 'nod', 'ill', 'stay', 'make', 'sure', 'one', 'close', 'door', 'jorg', 'stay', 'behind', 'head', 'upstair', 'enter', 'main', 'hall', 'priest', 'cathedr', 'greet', 'surpris', 'doubt', 'time', 'get', 'contact', 'vatican', '“ah', 'father', 'thoma', 'i’m', 'happi', 'sent', 'you”', 'recal', 'priest', 'father', 'connor', 'walsh', 'handshak', 'ensu', 'clarifi', '“i', 'area', 'father', 'walsh', 'sure', 'you’r', 'talk', 'send', 'me”', 'father', 'walsh', 'look', 'timothi', '“well', 'exorc', 'request”', 'confus', 'cross', 'face', 'timothi', 'interject', '“possess', 'possessed”', 'father', 'walsh', 'frown', '“it’', 'young', 'jason', 'miller', 'jr', 'i’m', 'afraid”', 'blood', 'rush', 'face', '“jason', 'miller…', 'father', 'david', 'miller', 'mother…', 'sara', 'baker”', 'father', 'walsh', 'smile', '“ye', 'receiv', 'request”', '“what', 'address', 'father”', 'timothi', 'demand', 'short', 'cab', 'ride', 'later', 'lead', 'us', 'seri', 'larg', 'row', 'home', 'redbrick', 'build', 'concret', 'stoop', 'inspect', 'address', 'paper', 'spot', 'proper', 'hous', 'number', 'timothi', 'behind', 'knock', 'door', 'less', 'minut', 'pass', 'someon', 'open', 'door', 'middleag', 'man', 'brown', 'hair', 'familiar', 'green', 'eye', 'stand', '“ah', 'yeah', 'listen', 'alreadi', 'go', 'church', 'if”', '“they', 'told', 'us', 'may', 'possibl', 'possess', 'here”', 'interject', '“oh', 'jesu', 'christ', 'fuck', 'marie…”', 'man', 'stop', '“sorri', 'father', 'son’', 'act', 'play', 'hooki', 'shit…', 'call', 'church', 'press', 'matter', 'hous', 'uni', 'way', 'button', 'didn’t', 'mean', 'troubl', 'you”', 'manor', 'foul', 'mouth', 'certain', 'succubus’', 'child', '“jason”', 'jason', 'laugh', '“it’', 'noth', 'church', 'worri', 'caught', 'prowler', 'backyard', 'mental', 'health', 'patient', 'homeless', 'she’', 'harmless', 'cuf', 'dine', 'room', 'said', 'cop', 'take', 'care', 'her”', 'clear', 'throat', '“mr', 'miller', 'may', 'possess', 'child', 'one', 'reason', 'we’r', 'woman', 'another”', 'jason', 'shake', 'head', '“father', 'listen', 'isn’t', 'good', 'time”', '“she', 'claim', 'mother', 'ye', 'been…', 'away', 'time', 'want', 'see', 'you”', 'speak', 'hope', 'get', 'defens', 'desir', 'timothi', 'forc', 'way', 'past', 'man', 'jason', 'stop', 'moment', 'look', 'two', 'us', '“how', 'fuck…”', 'step', 'back', '“listen', 'she’', 'then…', 'ah', 'take', 'guess”', 'two', 'us', 'walk', 'shown', 'dine', 'room', 'spot', 'succubu', 'handcuf', 'sit', 'kitchen', 'tabl', 'she’', 'human', 'form', 'howev', 'horn', 'hide', 'cloth', 'look', 'like', 'vagrant’', 'address', 'us', 'frown', '“not', 'here…', 'pleas', 'know', 'i’m', 'one', 'get', 'hurt”', 'timothi', 'seat', 'across', '“and', 'know', 'i’m', 'here”', 'succubu', 'close', 'eye', 'tight', 'tear', 'roll', 'cheek', '“just', 'leav', 'okay', 'desir', 'open', 'gate', 'want', 'family”', 'jason', 'follow', 'us', '“so', 'eh', '‘sara’', 'nice', 'folk', 'church', 'said', 'know', 'mayb', 'head', 'back', 'them”', 'succubu', 'give', 'jason', 'sweet', 'look', '“jason', 'honey', 'haven’t', 'finish', 'tell', 'becam', 'detective”', '“see', 'mean', 'father', 'she’', 'claim', 'mother', 'die', 'right', 'born', 'might', 'add”', 'jason', 'say', 'address', 'succubu', 'continu', 'ignor', 'later', 'part', 'jason’', 'respons', '“what', 'father', 'i’d', 'like', 'see', 'him…', 'i’m', 'sure', 'could', 'also', 'prove', 'you”', 'jason', 'narrow', 'eye', '“yeah', 'sure', 'go', 'visit', 'he’', 'forest', 'hills”', 'face', 'fall', 'look', 'away', 'us', '“where', 'forest', 'hills”', 'timothi', 'ask', 'throat', 'clear', 'inform', 'timothi', '“it’', 'cemetery”', 'front', 'door', 'open', 'overhear', 'exasper', 'woman', '“junior', 'please…', 'love', 'god…”', 'turn', 'see', 'woman', 'midthirti', 'dirti', 'blond', 'hair', 'rather', 'larg', 'coat', 'open', 'door', 'boy', 'rush', 'hous', 'spit', 'imag', 'father', 'run', 'room', 'stop', 'dead', 'upon', 'see', 'us', 'dine', 'room', 'boy’', 'face', 'still', 'eye', 'look', 'far', 'away', 'yet', 'focus', 'eeri', 'stare', 'stare', 'well', 'accustom', 'nowher', 'grin', 'viciou', 'unnerv', 'grin', '“hello', 'father”', 'jason', 'goe', 'pick', 'child', 'seem', 'unabl', 'lift', 'floor', '“junior', 'stop', 'bullshit', 'okay”', '“lazi', 'whore”', 'child', 'spit', 'jason', 'crouch', 'front', 'son', '“watch', 'mouth', 'junior', 'don’t', 'make', 'pop', 'one', 'front', 'father', 'okay”', 'inhuman', 'strength', 'boy', 'fling', 'father', 'across', 'room', 'land', 'tabl', 'us', 'check', 'jason’', 'puls', 'see', 'he’', 'still', 'aliv', '“jason”', 'mother', 'child', 'shout', 'run', 'husband', 'succubu', 'stand', '“leav', 'alone”', '“he’', 'go', 'fuck', 'mani', 'new', 'whole', 'whore”', 'boy', 'inform', 'succubu', 'freez', '“', 'leav', 'alon', 'okay', 'want', 'free', 'short', 'time”', 'holi', 'water', 'readi', 'fling', 'good', 'amount', 'child', 'hear', 'scream', 'say', 'anoth', 'word', 'hear', 'sicken', 'crack', 'boy', 'broken', 'thumb', '“the', 'next', 'spritz…', 'break', 'anoth', 'finger…”', 'eye', 'narrow', 'demon', 'caus', 'littl', 'harm', 'vessel', 'least', 'like', '“junior', 'do”', 'mother', 'shout', 'consol', 'mother', 'think', 'point', 'child', 'speak', '“jerusalem', 'templ', 'mount', 'gate', 'seal', 'need', 'broken…”', 'hand', 'move', 'anoth', 'finger', '“', 'break', 'child”']"
16,CusBro,"One day I was in my house all alone because my parents went out for a dinner date.

 My house is pretty big and sometimes I can just imagine the beautiful sound of ligma and sugma. And the sound of Phil swift blissfully cutting a boat in half.

 As I went to cuddle my pillow and go into bed I checked my phone and texted my parents ""hey when are you coming home?"" There was no response so tried texting again and again for around 30 minutes I decided they must have their on silent again. So I went to sleep and around 2 o clock in the morning I got a text from a unknown number, it said ""NOW THATS ALOT OF DAMAGE"" I was confused by it. But I went to sleep anyways.

Next day I went out of bed to get some toast as I would usually do. But then I noticed a weird silence, the sort of silence that felt like you could hear. I ate my toast and then went back into my room to get ready for work, then I realized that my phone was gone. I looked in my room for were I would of put it, but I was still half asleep so I was just useless, so I thought I should just go to work without my phone.

As I entered the car there was a note on my seat which read ""flex tape is no ordinary tape"" at this point I thought about last night and were my phone was because I did not have a way to communicate from long distance, I decided it was not the best option to go to work today because being a lazy piece of crap. Then I realized that Phil swift was cutting me in half for a new flex tape commercial. The end 
AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahelpmeAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaataaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiaminatrunkAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamyfamilyisinhereAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaIneedhelpimedietlyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 
A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a w e a r e g e t t i n g c l o s e r A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a i s a n y o n e r e a d i n g t h i s A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a i w a s w r i t t i n g a s t u p i d s t o r yA a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a t o m a k e m e f e e l b e t t e r A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a w e a r e i n t h e f o r r e s t A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a i t h i n k i a m i n m o n t a n a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a t h e r e i s n o e s c a p e n o w A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a i t i s t o o l a t e A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a b y e A a a a a a a a a a w a i t A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a w e h a v e s t o p p e d A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a w a i t A a a a a a a a a a h e i s a i m i n g a g u n a t u s A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a f o r t h e l a s t t i m e b y e A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a ",Phil swift,"['one', 'day', 'hous', 'alon', 'parent', 'went', 'dinner', 'date', 'hous', 'pretti', 'big', 'sometim', 'imagin', 'beauti', 'sound', 'ligma', 'sugma', 'sound', 'phil', 'swift', 'bliss', 'cut', 'boat', 'half', 'went', 'cuddl', 'pillow', 'go', 'bed', 'check', 'phone', 'text', 'parent', 'hey', 'come', 'home', 'respons', 'tri', 'text', 'around', 'minut', 'decid', 'must', 'silent', 'went', 'sleep', 'around', 'clock', 'morn', 'got', 'text', 'unknown', 'number', 'said', 'that', 'alot', 'damag', 'confus', 'went', 'sleep', 'anyway', 'next', 'day', 'went', 'bed', 'get', 'toast', 'would', 'usual', 'notic', 'weird', 'silenc', 'sort', 'silenc', 'felt', 'like', 'could', 'hear', 'ate', 'toast', 'went', 'back', 'room', 'get', 'readi', 'work', 'realiz', 'phone', 'gone', 'look', 'room', 'would', 'put', 'still', 'half', 'asleep', 'useless', 'thought', 'go', 'work', 'without', 'phone', 'enter', 'car', 'note', 'seat', 'read', 'flex', 'tape', 'ordinari', 'tape', 'point', 'thought', 'last', 'night', 'phone', 'way', 'commun', 'long', 'distanc', 'decid', 'best', 'option', 'go', 'work', 'today', 'lazi', 'piec', 'crap', 'realiz', 'phil', 'swift', 'cut', 'half', 'new', 'flex', 'tape', 'commerci', 'end', 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahelpmeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiaminatrunkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamyfamilyisinhereaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaineedhelpimedietlyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa', 'w', 'e', 'r', 'e', 'g', 'e', 'n', 'g', 'c', 'l', 'e', 'r', 'n', 'n', 'e', 'r', 'e', 'n', 'g', 'h', 'w', 'w', 'r', 'n', 'g', 'u', 'p', 'r', 'ya', 'k', 'e', 'e', 'f', 'e', 'e', 'l', 'b', 'e', 'e', 'r', 'w', 'e', 'r', 'e', 'n', 'h', 'e', 'f', 'r', 'r', 'e', 'h', 'n', 'k', 'n', 'n', 'n', 'h', 'e', 'r', 'e', 'n', 'e', 'c', 'p', 'e', 'n', 'w', 'l', 'e', 'b', 'e', 'w', 'w', 'e', 'h', 'v', 'e', 'p', 'p', 'e', 'w', 'h', 'e', 'n', 'g', 'g', 'u', 'n', 'u', 'f', 'r', 'h', 'e', 'l', 'e', 'b', 'e']"
17,MPZ1968,"
“...Morning, Welcome To Barnaby’s”, I been saying that for the last 35 years. 

Hi, I’m Pat. Pat Barnaby. I own this place. 

I’ve seen some really strange, and horrible things happen here. But, before I get into that, let me give you a little bit of background on this place. 

Barnaby‘s is a very old store. It’s been in my family for many generations, going all the way back to my great-great-great grandfather back in 1929. He built this place. 

I try to keep it as original as possible with a few upgrades to keep up with the times

Anyway, I’ve been told by various family members that he won this piece of land in a poker game. They say he won with Aces and Eights, the dead man’s hand. 

For those of you that don’t know why they call it the dead mans hand. That’s the poker hand that frontier lawman Wild Bill Hickok was said to be holding when he was shot from behind and killed by Jack McCall. 

Anyway, I don’t know about poker game story. But, what I do know, through research, is that this piece of land was once occupied by Native Americans, and used as a burial ground. Some say this land is even cursed.

That would explain everything. 

I didn’t really believe in such things. But, I do now. 

Anyway, i’ve asked all my employees, past and present, to write down any horrible events or strange occurrences they have witnessed, in story form and turn them into me.

I’ve got a couple so far, so I thought I’d write my own. 

This is why I started my research. 

It was about 4:30 in the morning, about two weeks ago. I was home in bed asleep. I got a call from our alarm company. They said that the motion detectors at our store were going off. 

So, I got up, got dressed and headed to the store. As soon as I pulled in, something felt off. 

I blew it off and parked the car. I got out and immediately heard the sound of Indian war cries off in the distance. 

it’s gotta be the wind or something, I thought. 

I started walking to the store, the cries got louder and closer. I started hearing the sound of galloping  horses along with the war cries. 

I started freaking out!!!

I ran the rest of the way to the store, keys in my hand. The sounds were right behind me now. 

I got to the door, put the key in the lock. As soon as I did, the sounds stopped. Dead silence. 

Just then, two police cars pulled up. The alarm company apparently called them as well. They went in the store and did a walk through to make sure no one was in there. I went in, turned off the alarm, then waited outside for them to finish. 

They came out about 20 minutes later, said everything was clear, and left. 

It was about 530 at this point, so I figured might as well stay here, since the store opens at seven. No sense going home just to turn around and come back and hour later. Right???

So, I caught up on some paperwork, straightened up some displays and opened the store at seven

Nothing really eventful happened that day. I got that uneasy feeling a couple times and I kept seeing out of the corner of my eyes, what looked like Indians standing in the aisles, in the bathroom, even at the registers. 

But that’s was it. 

I left around 1:30, got to my car, and saw something that chilled me to the bone. A rock, in the shape of an arrowhead, was sitting in my passenger seat. 

How the hell did that got there. I know my car was locked  

I was afraid to touch it, so I left it there.

I drove home trying not to look at it. But I couldn’t help myself. It was like it was calling me. 

I got home and put it on my mantle over my fireplace. The next day, it was in my upstairs bathroom. The day after, my dining room. It showed up in a different room in the house, every day since. 

I’m afraid to get rid of it, cause I don’t know what will happen

Last night, I dreamt there was an Indian standing at the foot of my bed. 

Today, I woke up with it sitting on my chest. 
",Sacred Ground,"['“morn', 'welcom', 'barnaby’s”', 'say', 'last', 'year', 'hi', 'i’m', 'pat', 'pat', 'barnabi', 'place', 'i’v', 'seen', 'realli', 'strang', 'horribl', 'thing', 'happen', 'get', 'let', 'give', 'littl', 'bit', 'background', 'place', 'barnaby‘', 'old', 'store', 'it’', 'famili', 'mani', 'gener', 'go', 'way', 'back', 'greatgreatgreat', 'grandfath', 'back', 'built', 'place', 'tri', 'keep', 'origin', 'possibl', 'upgrad', 'keep', 'time', 'anyway', 'i’v', 'told', 'variou', 'famili', 'member', 'piec', 'land', 'poker', 'game', 'say', 'ace', 'eight', 'dead', 'man’', 'hand', 'don’t', 'know', 'call', 'dead', 'man', 'hand', 'that’', 'poker', 'hand', 'frontier', 'lawman', 'wild', 'bill', 'hickok', 'said', 'hold', 'shot', 'behind', 'kill', 'jack', 'mccall', 'anyway', 'don’t', 'know', 'poker', 'game', 'stori', 'know', 'research', 'piec', 'land', 'occupi', 'nativ', 'american', 'use', 'burial', 'ground', 'say', 'land', 'even', 'curs', 'would', 'explain', 'everyth', 'didn’t', 'realli', 'believ', 'thing', 'anyway', 'i’v', 'ask', 'employe', 'past', 'present', 'write', 'horribl', 'event', 'strang', 'occurr', 'wit', 'stori', 'form', 'turn', 'i’v', 'got', 'coupl', 'far', 'thought', 'i’d', 'write', 'start', 'research', 'morn', 'two', 'week', 'ago', 'home', 'bed', 'asleep', 'got', 'call', 'alarm', 'compani', 'said', 'motion', 'detector', 'store', 'go', 'got', 'got', 'dress', 'head', 'store', 'soon', 'pull', 'someth', 'felt', 'blew', 'park', 'car', 'got', 'immedi', 'heard', 'sound', 'indian', 'war', 'cri', 'distanc', 'it’', 'gotta', 'wind', 'someth', 'thought', 'start', 'walk', 'store', 'cri', 'got', 'louder', 'closer', 'start', 'hear', 'sound', 'gallop', 'hors', 'along', 'war', 'cri', 'start', 'freak', 'ran', 'rest', 'way', 'store', 'key', 'hand', 'sound', 'right', 'behind', 'got', 'door', 'put', 'key', 'lock', 'soon', 'sound', 'stop', 'dead', 'silenc', 'two', 'polic', 'car', 'pull', 'alarm', 'compani', 'appar', 'call', 'well', 'went', 'store', 'walk', 'make', 'sure', 'one', 'went', 'turn', 'alarm', 'wait', 'outsid', 'finish', 'came', 'minut', 'later', 'said', 'everyth', 'clear', 'left', 'point', 'figur', 'might', 'well', 'stay', 'sinc', 'store', 'open', 'seven', 'sens', 'go', 'home', 'turn', 'around', 'come', 'back', 'hour', 'later', 'right', 'caught', 'paperwork', 'straighten', 'display', 'open', 'store', 'seven', 'noth', 'realli', 'event', 'happen', 'day', 'got', 'uneasi', 'feel', 'coupl', 'time', 'kept', 'see', 'corner', 'eye', 'look', 'like', 'indian', 'stand', 'aisl', 'bathroom', 'even', 'regist', 'that’', 'left', 'around', 'got', 'car', 'saw', 'someth', 'chill', 'bone', 'rock', 'shape', 'arrowhead', 'sit', 'passeng', 'seat', 'hell', 'got', 'know', 'car', 'lock', 'afraid', 'touch', 'left', 'drove', 'home', 'tri', 'look', 'couldn’t', 'help', 'like', 'call', 'got', 'home', 'put', 'mantl', 'fireplac', 'next', 'day', 'upstair', 'bathroom', 'day', 'dine', 'room', 'show', 'differ', 'room', 'hous', 'everi', 'day', 'sinc', 'i’m', 'afraid', 'get', 'rid', 'caus', 'don’t', 'know', 'happen', 'last', 'night', 'dreamt', 'indian', 'stand', 'foot', 'bed', 'today', 'woke', 'sit', 'chest']"
18,tealeafsweets,"What scares you the most? For me, it's the dark. The dark is like an ever-present creature that lurks in the corners of your room, underneath your bed and presses against your window, silently waiting to enter in when your only source of safety is switched off. It permeates the very space in which you rest and watches you while you dwell in slumber, unknowing to all that surrounds you while you dream.

But is it the dark? Or is it the fear of what lingers inside it? You stand, mind preoccupied by something else, perhaps something more material than this; but as soon as you turn and the light catches your eye the wrong way or an eyelash decides to fall daintily just as you turn, an illusion of something much more frightening takes its place. Perhaps it's a mirage, perhaps you longed for something to excite you and horrify you at the same time but as soon as it reaches you you no longer want it. Does it change your perspective? No. The hand of your own Imagination touches your back with its long bony fingers and slowly crawls up to your neck, making its hairs stand on end. As it seems, all of your instincts kick in at once as you feels Imagination's eyes rest on you and watch you with each faltered breath. You look around you; behind the closet, under the bed, up to the corners of the dimly lit room you stand in and in other such places where the reaching darkness looms. You become uncomfortable, so you sit down in the corner where you can see everything that happens in the room. But do you feel safe? No. The darkness still creeps out from all corners, reaching out to strangle you. Imagination still lingers, mixing with the darkness to create a horrific monster. 

Have you ever thought about how Imagination feels? A creation of your own mind that you invite to play when you want it, but when it comes knocking at your bedroom door late at night with all its monsters you discard it like a neglected child. It calls out to you, it wants you play. Nothing harmful, it's just a small prank, yet you still choose to ignore it. Over time, Imagination becomes upset that you haven't played with it in a while, so it becomes angry. It screams, it wails, it cries, it acts like a child. Not to worry though, just like all children Imagination slowly crawls back to you and hugs you tightly, after all, you created it; it is the child of your mind.

Do you feel it now? Look at your surroundings and observe the small or large amounts of darkness that sit waiting for you to see them. Look further into that darkness, do you notice Imagination? Maybe for once you should welcome it instead of pushing it away, and perhaps then you'll make a friend, or catch a glimpse into your own mind; for it is memory that fuels Imagination, and Imagination that fuels you.

P.S: this was originally on my Wattpad book ‘Mind Power’ but I’m moving all short stories here :)",The Child of Your Mind | Short Story,"['scare', 'dark', 'dark', 'like', 'everpres', 'creatur', 'lurk', 'corner', 'room', 'underneath', 'bed', 'press', 'window', 'silent', 'wait', 'enter', 'sourc', 'safeti', 'switch', 'permeat', 'space', 'rest', 'watch', 'dwell', 'slumber', 'unknow', 'surround', 'dream', 'dark', 'fear', 'linger', 'insid', 'stand', 'mind', 'preoccupi', 'someth', 'els', 'perhap', 'someth', 'materi', 'soon', 'turn', 'light', 'catch', 'eye', 'wrong', 'way', 'eyelash', 'decid', 'fall', 'daintili', 'turn', 'illus', 'someth', 'much', 'frighten', 'take', 'place', 'perhap', 'mirag', 'perhap', 'long', 'someth', 'excit', 'horrifi', 'time', 'soon', 'reach', 'longer', 'want', 'chang', 'perspect', 'hand', 'imagin', 'touch', 'back', 'long', 'boni', 'finger', 'slowli', 'crawl', 'neck', 'make', 'hair', 'stand', 'end', 'seem', 'instinct', 'kick', 'feel', 'imagin', 'eye', 'rest', 'watch', 'falter', 'breath', 'look', 'around', 'behind', 'closet', 'bed', 'corner', 'dimli', 'lit', 'room', 'stand', 'place', 'reach', 'dark', 'loom', 'becom', 'uncomfort', 'sit', 'corner', 'see', 'everyth', 'happen', 'room', 'feel', 'safe', 'dark', 'still', 'creep', 'corner', 'reach', 'strangl', 'imagin', 'still', 'linger', 'mix', 'dark', 'creat', 'horrif', 'monster', 'ever', 'thought', 'imagin', 'feel', 'creation', 'mind', 'invit', 'play', 'want', 'come', 'knock', 'bedroom', 'door', 'late', 'night', 'monster', 'discard', 'like', 'neglect', 'child', 'call', 'want', 'play', 'noth', 'harm', 'small', 'prank', 'yet', 'still', 'choos', 'ignor', 'time', 'imagin', 'becom', 'upset', 'havent', 'play', 'becom', 'angri', 'scream', 'wail', 'cri', 'act', 'like', 'child', 'worri', 'though', 'like', 'children', 'imagin', 'slowli', 'crawl', 'back', 'hug', 'tightli', 'creat', 'child', 'mind', 'feel', 'look', 'surround', 'observ', 'small', 'larg', 'amount', 'dark', 'sit', 'wait', 'see', 'look', 'dark', 'notic', 'imagin', 'mayb', 'welcom', 'instead', 'push', 'away', 'perhap', 'youll', 'make', 'friend', 'catch', 'glimps', 'mind', 'memori', 'fuel', 'imagin', 'imagin', 'fuel', 'ps', 'origin', 'wattpad', 'book', '‘mind', 'power’', 'i’m', 'move', 'short', 'stori']"
19,tealeafsweets,"Tick tock, tick tick, tick tock. The clocks hands move slowly around it's circular frame.
Boom boom, boom boom, boom boom. The sound of your heart pumping bloody steadily through your body echoes through your ears.
Wsshhh, wsshhh, wshhhh. The sound of hushed talking rises into the air, the normal. As you sit at your school desk you expect these normal happenings. But...
One short ring; is the lesson over already?
The second short ring; is this what I think it is?
The third short ring; shit. This can't be happening.
One of the girls in the room screams and her knees buckle; she falls under the desk and covers her ears.
Another, a boy, stands up and asks the teacher in a panic what was going on. The teachers eyes dart around the room and she slams the door shut and pushes your desk  against the door, sending your pencil case and papers flying.
She turns to the class and tells them to gather under the tables by the wall the door is on so if anyone was to enter they wouldn't see the all of you.
Footsteps sound outside and all of you hold your breath, but the teacher informs you that it's just the teacher on duty of locking down the doors to your classroom corridor. 
A scream sounds as two sets of footsteps rush back down the corridor. Your teacher turns and presses her back to the desk against the door. You hear a mans voice yell and a gunshot sound. The woman's voice ceases. The classes whispers fall silent.
It comes again; tick tock, boom boom, but this time fear enhances those sounds. 
The mans voice slowly creeps closer to the classroom door and the teachers face portrays the true meaning of fear.
""Open the door!"" The mans voice yells. A boy starts praying, an asthmatic girl start to breath heavily. Then comes the banging. The mans fist hits the door with such immense force that it starts shaking and you see the teacher in tears as she carries on, protecting all of you. You then realise that she has a child in this school, and that child is not sheltered in this classroom where she can see her. You can see her thoughts; what if there's more than one? What if the person outside has already killed other children in other classrooms? The essence of fear radiates off of each and every one of your classmates that surrounds you. You look over and see a group of them that perhaps were rude to you, you didn't like or they even bullied you once, and for a moment a though flashed in your mind; this is what you get, bitch. And then you realise that the fate that perhaps will fall on them will also fall on you. Before you can reach that dark part of your mind, red and blue flashing lights and the high pitched whistle of a police car interrupt you. A wave of salvation washed over you and cleanses your mind and you hear rapid footsteps run down the corridor and away from your classroom. The police car stops outside the school and you hear gunshots. The teacher tells you to wait for the receptionist to announce the news of relief, so the whole class sits hand in hand. How strange, the person who you just wished karma on now has their fingers intertwined with yours, and your other hand with your friends and your friends with their friends. The speaker announces then that the intruder had been shot and killed by the police, that they'd done a sweep of the school and it was completely safe. However, all students were to be sent home immediately so the police could investigate further and question the teachers involved.
However, your corridor of classes was not yet dismissed, and you all knew why. The teacher in lockdown duty had been shot and killed by the intruder, and they had to cover the body so you all wouldn't see. You all stand up, entire bodies quivering with fear that still gripped you. Everyone, even those who barely show emotion, burst into tears. Enemies and friends unite and you all share a moment of relief, hugging each other and holding each other close. You'd all survived a school shooting. Together.


",United Through Fear | Short Story,"['tick', 'tock', 'tick', 'tick', 'tick', 'tock', 'clock', 'hand', 'move', 'slowli', 'around', 'circular', 'frame', 'boom', 'boom', 'boom', 'boom', 'boom', 'boom', 'sound', 'heart', 'pump', 'bloodi', 'steadili', 'bodi', 'echo', 'ear', 'wsshhh', 'wsshhh', 'wshhhh', 'sound', 'hush', 'talk', 'rise', 'air', 'normal', 'sit', 'school', 'desk', 'expect', 'normal', 'happen', 'one', 'short', 'ring', 'lesson', 'alreadi', 'second', 'short', 'ring', 'think', 'third', 'short', 'ring', 'shit', 'cant', 'happen', 'one', 'girl', 'room', 'scream', 'knee', 'buckl', 'fall', 'desk', 'cover', 'ear', 'anoth', 'boy', 'stand', 'ask', 'teacher', 'panic', 'go', 'teacher', 'eye', 'dart', 'around', 'room', 'slam', 'door', 'shut', 'push', 'desk', 'door', 'send', 'pencil', 'case', 'paper', 'fli', 'turn', 'class', 'tell', 'gather', 'tabl', 'wall', 'door', 'anyon', 'enter', 'wouldnt', 'see', 'footstep', 'sound', 'outsid', 'hold', 'breath', 'teacher', 'inform', 'teacher', 'duti', 'lock', 'door', 'classroom', 'corridor', 'scream', 'sound', 'two', 'set', 'footstep', 'rush', 'back', 'corridor', 'teacher', 'turn', 'press', 'back', 'desk', 'door', 'hear', 'man', 'voic', 'yell', 'gunshot', 'sound', 'woman', 'voic', 'ceas', 'class', 'whisper', 'fall', 'silent', 'come', 'tick', 'tock', 'boom', 'boom', 'time', 'fear', 'enhanc', 'sound', 'man', 'voic', 'slowli', 'creep', 'closer', 'classroom', 'door', 'teacher', 'face', 'portray', 'true', 'mean', 'fear', 'open', 'door', 'man', 'voic', 'yell', 'boy', 'start', 'pray', 'asthmat', 'girl', 'start', 'breath', 'heavili', 'come', 'bang', 'man', 'fist', 'hit', 'door', 'immens', 'forc', 'start', 'shake', 'see', 'teacher', 'tear', 'carri', 'protect', 'realis', 'child', 'school', 'child', 'shelter', 'classroom', 'see', 'see', 'thought', 'there', 'one', 'person', 'outsid', 'alreadi', 'kill', 'children', 'classroom', 'essenc', 'fear', 'radiat', 'everi', 'one', 'classmat', 'surround', 'look', 'see', 'group', 'perhap', 'rude', 'didnt', 'like', 'even', 'bulli', 'moment', 'though', 'flash', 'mind', 'get', 'bitch', 'realis', 'fate', 'perhap', 'fall', 'also', 'fall', 'reach', 'dark', 'part', 'mind', 'red', 'blue', 'flash', 'light', 'high', 'pitch', 'whistl', 'polic', 'car', 'interrupt', 'wave', 'salvat', 'wash', 'cleans', 'mind', 'hear', 'rapid', 'footstep', 'run', 'corridor', 'away', 'classroom', 'polic', 'car', 'stop', 'outsid', 'school', 'hear', 'gunshot', 'teacher', 'tell', 'wait', 'receptionist', 'announc', 'news', 'relief', 'whole', 'class', 'sit', 'hand', 'hand', 'strang', 'person', 'wish', 'karma', 'finger', 'intertwin', 'hand', 'friend', 'friend', 'friend', 'speaker', 'announc', 'intrud', 'shot', 'kill', 'polic', 'theyd', 'done', 'sweep', 'school', 'complet', 'safe', 'howev', 'student', 'sent', 'home', 'immedi', 'polic', 'could', 'investig', 'question', 'teacher', 'involv', 'howev', 'corridor', 'class', 'yet', 'dismiss', 'knew', 'teacher', 'lockdown', 'duti', 'shot', 'kill', 'intrud', 'cover', 'bodi', 'wouldnt', 'see', 'stand', 'entir', 'bodi', 'quiver', 'fear', 'still', 'grip', 'everyon', 'even', 'bare', 'show', 'emot', 'burst', 'tear', 'enemi', 'friend', 'unit', 'share', 'moment', 'relief', 'hug', 'hold', 'close', 'youd', 'surviv', 'school', 'shoot', 'togeth']"
20,lamekidd14,"Okay, so let me start out like this. 
My name is Al. I’m 17, and I live in California. I have, well. I had a great family. There was nothing wrong, we where perfect. My mom was beautiful, the perfect women, my dad was a handsome man, but a little weird. My dad had always been a fidgety man, I could just never tell why.  This morning, my dad was especially fidgety, and I didn’t know why, but it was starting to worry me. Normally my mom wakes me up, but for whatever reason, she wasn’t here. 
Shit, here comes my dad. I’ll tell more later 







Hey guys, I’m sorry that this is kinda crappy, I’m now to this and this is my first post. Please be nice. ",I think my dad killed my mom,"['okay', 'let', 'start', 'like', 'name', 'al', 'i’m', 'live', 'california', 'well', 'great', 'famili', 'noth', 'wrong', 'perfect', 'mom', 'beauti', 'perfect', 'women', 'dad', 'handsom', 'man', 'littl', 'weird', 'dad', 'alway', 'fidgeti', 'man', 'could', 'never', 'tell', 'morn', 'dad', 'especi', 'fidgeti', 'didn’t', 'know', 'start', 'worri', 'normal', 'mom', 'wake', 'whatev', 'reason', 'wasn’t', 'shit', 'come', 'dad', 'i’ll', 'tell', 'later', 'hey', 'guy', 'i’m', 'sorri', 'kinda', 'crappi', 'i’m', 'first', 'post', 'pleas', 'nice']"
21,TheHuanderer," 

I am a 25 year old man. I am also a copywriter in a small firm, but i often introduce myself as a starving artist. 

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Writing is a lie. Bold claim – but I, of all people, should know. Marketing guff. Exciting copy. Statistics in journalism. Professions of undying love and affection. All sterling examples, these.

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But even if you take away the intent to deceive – with language as a willing and able instrument; how can you purport to speak the truth when the very foundation of writing is one which is profoundly unstable?

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I am of course, referring to the present tense. We are often told to write in the present, to bring the reader into the thick of the action.

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Lies.

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There is no devised narrative or first-person account which does not take place after the fact. *“I strike him in the face, hard, and I run”.* Why, are you throwing a punch with your left hand while simultaneously recording the events as they unfold with your right?

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Laughable. 

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So let’s not belabour the point – all, if not most writing, is a lie. 

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As you might have gathered, my relationship with my craft is a complex one. On one hand, it keeps my belly fed –  but barely. On the other hand – well. 

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And so my days pass in a mixture of self-loathing and fleeting smugness at one cleverly devised turn of phrase or another.

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I clock in at 9am everyday and leave by 7pm, if I’m lucky. Most times I am not and find myself on a bus home close to midnight. No, I do not get paid for overtime, but thank you for asking. 

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I am often asleep when my head hits the pillow. I am up by 7am again the following morning. Rinse and repeat. Weekends are not sacred. Is it therefore any surprise that I find it difficult to care about a lot of things? 

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I’m not oblivious to my surroundings, i merely find it hard to be curious about the world around me when I’m tired all the time. 

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I clocked in at 9.15 today and felt the minutes pass with agonizing slowness . I was busy, but not so busy as to be wholly unable to steal time away from the organisation in 10 minute blocks. 

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7pm came and left. Procrastination will be the number one chronic disease of our generation. 

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The rest of my colleagues took their leave in stages – at first an exodus and then in dribs and drabs.

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I left at 1 in the morning. Do not think that I had any sort of meaningful activity going on inside my head at this point. 

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It was then that I saw her. I mean, I assumed it was a her. Long hair and none of the thickness through the shoulders that men tend to have. She had her head pressed up in a corner; a corner where two walls met at a 90 degree angle. 

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Now, it takes a lot to shake me out of a work-induced coma and I suppose a woman kneeling in the carpark wouldn’t normally rank very high on that list. 

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If there had been cars parked in the lots behind her, she would have been completely obscured.

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My hair did not stand on end. There was no indescribable feeling of wrongness. I approached her slowly from behind. 

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Definitely a her. 

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She was completely still. Close enough to tap her on the shoulder, my proximity failed to alarm her. I regarded her silently for a few seconds while debating what to do. I thought of clearing my throat to attract my attention but I decided against it. 

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“Screw it, I’m going to assume she’s got her own very good reasons for doing this.” were the thoughts that ran through my head. 

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I turned and left. 

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When I clocked in the following morning, I made a detour to the lot where I had seen the lady the night before. I squeezed between the wall and the car there and squatted down where she had been. Nothing. I ran my fingers over the asphalt in search of any markings or clues which might hint at the reason behind her presence the night before. Nothing. 

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I shrugged and headed back to the office. 

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Lunch was spent gathering information from my colleagues, many of whom had been working in the office for longer than I. 

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“I’m surprised you even approached her in the first place,” said one of them. “No, i’ve never seen anyone kneeling in the corner – but then again, I’ve never stayed as late as you have, ” said another. “Well if it helps, there’s a place of worship just behind our building and some of their number have been known to conduct mass prayer sessions; they sometimes spill into the lots when they’ve got too many people,” said another, shrugging. 

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​

And so I had gotten to the bottom of my mystery. I was indeed aware that there was a church in our building but it didn’t seem like I was bearing witness to an oversubscribed worship session. Besides, why would you want to kneel on bitumen when you’ve got an air-conditioned compound to pray in?

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But i suppose some affairs transcend the logical. As someone who had never once stepped foot into any sort of religious establishment, the ways of the faithful were as unfathomable to me as my distance from messianic figures probably was to them. I pushed the issue out of my mind. 

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I saw her again later that night. Shaking my head slightly, I spared a moment to reflect on her avowal of creature comforts before returning to my contemplation of supper. 

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I didn’t keep a record in my head – some days I saw her, and some days I didn’t. Either way, it mattered little to me. 

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Today began just like any other. I had been going home at close to 8pm for the past week or so and I was eager to maintain my streak. All the offices were closing for a month-long break and I wanted to end my year on a high note. 

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Alas, this was not to be, for my client had very bad reasons for rejecting good copy. Come 5 o’clock , I was getting desperate. 

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Ever heard the phrase, “write drunk, edit sober”? I swore by it in my university days. Unfortunately, much had changed since I was 23. 

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It turns out that alcohol had never made me more creative. It just lowered my standards and messed with my perception of time. It was a jolly and rather inebriated copywriter who left his office just past 11. 

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As I swayed my way across the carpark, I saw the lady kneeling in the corner again. A regular fixture, she was becoming. Emboldened by liquor, I stumbled my way over to her in the dark. 

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“Hey uh, you alright?” No response. 

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“Hello?” Nothing either. 

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“Sorry m’am, are you okay?” This time, I punctuated my question with a hand on her shoulder. 

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That got a response, alright. 

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Problem is, I can’t remember what she said.   
Nor do I remember what she looked like when she turned to face me.   
Did she even turn around? 

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But surely, something must have happened. Something must have happened to leave me kneeling in the corner like this, with my head pressed into the junction where two white walls meet. 

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Surely, something must have happened to leave me here, reliving my story over and over again inside my head. I cannot move, but that’s okay. 

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Like I said, the present tense is a lie.

I’m not worried, really. 

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It’s only been a couple of weeks – at most. Someone will come over soon enough. 

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I can feel them getting curious already. 

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​

I am a starving artist. ",I am a Starving Artist,"['year', 'old', 'man', 'also', 'copywrit', 'small', 'firm', 'often', 'introduc', 'starv', 'artist', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'write', 'lie', 'bold', 'claim', '–', 'peopl', 'know', 'market', 'guff', 'excit', 'copi', 'statist', 'journal', 'profess', 'undi', 'love', 'affect', 'sterl', 'exampl', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'even', 'take', 'away', 'intent', 'deceiv', '–', 'languag', 'will', 'abl', 'instrument', 'purport', 'speak', 'truth', 'foundat', 'write', 'one', 'profoundli', 'unstabl', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'cours', 'refer', 'present', 'tens', 'often', 'told', 'write', 'present', 'bring', 'reader', 'thick', 'action', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'lie', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'devis', 'narr', 'firstperson', 'account', 'take', 'place', 'fact', '“i', 'strike', 'face', 'hard', 'run”', 'throw', 'punch', 'left', 'hand', 'simultan', 'record', 'event', 'unfold', 'right', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'laughabl', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'let’', 'belabour', 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'past', 'week', 'eager', 'maintain', 'streak', 'offic', 'close', 'monthlong', 'break', 'want', 'end', 'year', 'high', 'note', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'ala', 'client', 'bad', 'reason', 'reject', 'good', 'copi', 'come', 'o’clock', 'get', 'desper', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'ever', 'heard', 'phrase', '“write', 'drunk', 'edit', 'sober”', 'swore', 'univers', 'day', 'unfortun', 'much', 'chang', 'sinc', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'turn', 'alcohol', 'never', 'made', 'creativ', 'lower', 'standard', 'mess', 'percept', 'time', 'jolli', 'rather', 'inebri', 'copywrit', 'left', 'offic', 'past', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'sway', 'way', 'across', 'carpark', 'saw', 'ladi', 'kneel', 'corner', 'regular', 'fixtur', 'becom', 'embolden', 'liquor', 'stumbl', 'way', 'dark', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', '“hey', 'uh', 'alright”', 'respons', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', '“hello”', 'noth', 'either', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', '“sorri', 'm’am', 'okay”', 'time', 'punctuat', 'question', 'hand', 'shoulder', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'got', 'respons', 'alright', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'problem', 'can’t', 'rememb', 'said', 'rememb', 'look', 'like', 'turn', 'face', 'even', 'turn', 'around', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'sure', 'someth', 'must', 'happen', 'someth', 'must', 'happen', 'leav', 'kneel', 'corner', 'like', 'head', 'press', 'junction', 'two', 'white', 'wall', 'meet', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'sure', 'someth', 'must', 'happen', 'leav', 'reliv', 'stori', 'insid', 'head', 'cannot', 'move', 'that’', 'okay', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'like', 'said', 'present', 'tens', 'lie', 'i’m', 'worri', 'realli', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'it’', 'coupl', 'week', '–', 'someon', 'come', 'soon', 'enough', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'feel', 'get', 'curiou', 'alreadi', 'ampx200b', 'ampx200b', 'starv', 'artist']"
22,LilDodecee,"I used to work in an old fish plant on a middle of no where island in middle of no where, Canada. It was a disgusting job, with long hours, hard days and smells that would cling to your skin and your hair for months after you'd left.

​

But the smells weren't the worst part. Nor were the textures, wet and slimy. Nor the sights, reds and yellows, browns and pinks, and the pitchest, deepest blacks. No, the worst were the sounds. The low, menacing grumble of air filters and heaters shake the air constantly. Blades, sharp as scalpels, sink into flesh and rip it apart with feverish speed. Intestines and heads squelch against metal bins as they're discarded by the hundreds, and moist, fresh flesh sits atop stainless steal and... ""breathes""... for lack of a better word. Now imagine if you can, this cacophony of meat multiplied by the dozen workers, singing along in a sick chorus, in a cavernous steel room that only served to amplify and reverberate the noise.

​

The worst were definitely the sounds.

​

As I mentioned before, this plant was located on a remote island in the middle of fucking no where, Canada. And unfortunately that meant that it like so many other things fell prey to the march of progress. Over time the workers were laid off in waves until eventually a skeleton crew was keeping the damn place running.

​

As you might imagine, a fish plant requires a ton of cleaning. Tables and knives, conveyors, floors, walls, uniforms. Really anything that might be subjected to the splatter. And that meant everything. Even the refuse bins needed sterilizing and hosing down on a nightly basis. In the face of the waves of layoffs, the plant no longer employed an overnight cleaning crew. And thus the workers would take turns cleaning after the day. At first the shifts were several people, and you could shoot the shit, get it clean, hose it down and be out in an hour, but as less and less people remained the night time cleaning detail dwindled until eventually we were each cleaning alone one night a week.

​

Now I didn't mind this shift to cleaning alone at first. I never got on with most of my co-workers, I was a millennial, I liked video games, reddit, anime and weed. They were... not. Most of them were withered old men from the deep, deep bay, with thick accents and they liked sports and beer, and nothing else. So when time to clean alone came I'd throw in some headphones and get it done in peace. My nights were Saturdays.

​

For a couple of weeks, cleaning alone was going fine. Tiring, sure, but fine. Then eventually I started to notice things that didn't add up. Not every week, but often enough to be suspicious. Sometimes I'd clean the refuse bins, only to find them full of heads later on that night. Others I'd be sure I sterilized the knives, yet still find them covered in gore just before leaving. Once I was hosing down, the last task of the night usually, and came across the aprons, soiled with blood and shit in a pile beneath the conveyors.

​

This continued on for nearly 3 months and needless to say, it thoroughly fucked with me. I thought I was going crazy. I would have suspected coworkers messing with me but like I said, deep, deep bay men. Pranks were not on the list of the 2 things they liked. The thought that I might be losing grip with reality had me scared so I decided to start a very detailed and in the moment journal. If my mind was going, then surely writing it down would help me refocus. I spent the week recording my every move, and everything seemed normal. My memories and the page matched perfectly all week. So when it was my time to clean I carefully recorded everything I did, and the night went by normally. I closed on time and went home to sleep. However in the morning when I looked at the entry I had taken it was not a typical write up of daily chores and cleaning. It was completely and totally insane. It read:

​

\*Torn the heads from sheep. Check\*

​

\*Met the wheel, learned Her name. Check\*

​

\*Sang and was forgiven. Check\*

​

\*Killed the Mother, hid her body. Check\*

​

\*Ate what was provided. Check\*

​

\*Sang with the blood. Check\*

​

\*Killed myself, hid her body. Check\*

​

\*Ate the wheel. Check\*

​

The final item on the list was simply scribblings of seemingly random letters and punctuation... followed by a \*Check\*

​

I nearly fainted. I had no memory of writing any of it, but there it was, in my journal, in my own writing, undeniably written by me. I experienced the worst panic attack I've ever experienced. If I had anyone to call I would have, if I had anywhere to go I would have, but I didn't have much of anything. So I stayed.

​

I worked a normal week and kept writing the journal. Everything was fine again, so I put it out of my mind as best I could. But I could not, something was definitely \*wrong\*, and it had everything to do with cleaning that goddamned plant alone. I wanted to ask my coworkers about it but I could not. They had begun to look at me like I was ""other"", ""different"" and I refused to prove them right by asking them if they were also suddenly going completely insane. No, I resolved to face next Saturday alone, and I would stay until I had found an answer, any answer as to my sudden onset dementia.

​

The shift itself was uneventful as all day shifts were, and passed by in a haze of fear and second thoughts. Before I realized it I was left to clean on my own. However I had no intention of cleaning, that could wait until after, first I had important work to do. I scoured every inch of that gigantic building. I checked under grates, and listened deeply and carefully to their depths. I walked the catwalks and shone a flashlight into every dark corner of every hidden place in the building but still found nothing. I searched for several hours, pacing the building over and over again.  It was nearly midnight and I had not only found nothing out of the ordinary, but also done none of the work I had to get done.

​

That was when I started to hear it.

​

The sounds of a fish plant began to ever so faintly disturb the silence of that place. Softly at first, but building strength and momentum with each beat of its primal, metal striking bone rhythm. Slowly it swelled as I tried to hunt for its source. There was nobody on the work floor, and all the tools were accounted for. The sounds seemed to be coming from nowhere. From everywhere at once. As panic began to set in that something horrible was occurring, fight or flight took over. While phantom sounds of blades slicing flesh and meat hitting metal filled the air I tried to run, to escape. But no matter where I ran I ended up on the cutting floor once again.

​

The doors seemed to be out of reach, even as I sprinted till my lungs were screaming and I could taste blood on the tail end of each of my breaths. I tried to scream but only the sounds of sharpening knives emerged. I screamed until I spit blood, until the sounds of my own flesh was mixed with the frantic, meaty beat that surrounded me. The sounds grew louder steadily until I could feel my heart beating in my head, and could feel the warmth of blood wetting the surface of my ears.

​

I sliced into my eyes with knives yet my vision was undisturbed. Through bleeding slits I could see abominations in the shape of men. They worked the tables with a frenzy I had never seen. Cutting and slicing apart anything they could grab as a buffet of terror was fed down the assembly line. There were fish, and people, and animals, and creatures I had never conceived. The horror men would lift them and begin hacking randomly into it, cutting their target and themselves in the process. Ones that maimed themselves too badly simply crawled onto the conveyor and became meat for the cutting, while new forms appeared from nothing to take their place on the line.

​

I stabbed myself in the lungs yet my screaming wouldn't stop. I cut off my own legs and then ran to the exit. But there was no exit. The fish plant was wholly alien. Filled with shapes and beings of the like that could not exist. The song of the meat and blood began to form words I could not understand. The voice was soft and feminine, yet composed of the sounds of slaughter. Swiftly and purposefully the  voice raised in pitch and volume until the rest of the screaming cacophony was inaudible under its weight. Then I blacked out.

​

Sunday morning I woke up in an unfamiliar hospital bed. According to the local authorities I turned up on the coast in the early morning, frozen nearly to death but with no other injuries, in a stolen boat, ranting about mothers and singing about blood. I'm currently undergoing psychiatric assessment, and I know they're going to force medicine into me and forget I ever existed. That's probably for the best. I can't sleep anymore for fear of nightmares I can't remember. I can hardly eat. I'll probably die without their help, so I intend to take it. I just needed to post my story before I lose what little mind I have left.

​

I did still somehow record my journal that night, and I do still have it. What follows is the final entry written in it, which I have no memory of making.

​

\*The heads speak with the voices of many. I can hear the songs of my Mother and she is glory. The wheel spins and upon it I killed her. The singers name is blood. I ate the song. Time speaks with the blood of Mother. I can't hear the head of my body. The wheel is glory. She spins blood and sings. Tonight the deep. Sad is the wheel. I can hear the Mother of blood. The killed spins. I ate the song. The body is glory. Blood is the wheel. Waves of the heads. The provided answers sing. Met the name. Deal with Mothers and selves. I can bleed the heads of Glory. My name is wheel. Deep is the song and the blood. The Mother spins. The deep sing with the voices of me. The song ate time. I killed the glory. I ate the Mother. I am the deep. Soon I am born.\*",What I heard in the old Fish Plant,"['use', 'work', 'old', 'fish', 'plant', 'middl', 'island', 'middl', 'canada', 'disgust', 'job', 'long', 'hour', 'hard', 'day', 'smell', 'would', 'cling', 'skin', 'hair', 'month', 'youd', 'left', 'ampx200b', 'smell', 'werent', 'worst', 'part', 'textur', 'wet', 'slimi', 'sight', 'red', 'yellow', 'brown', 'pink', 'pitchest', 'deepest', 'black', 'worst', 'sound', 'low', 'menac', 'grumbl', 'air', 'filter', 'heater', 'shake', 'air', 'constantli', 'blade', 'sharp', 'scalpel', 'sink', 'flesh', 'rip', 'apart', 'feverish', 'speed', 'intestin', 'head', 'squelch', 'metal', 'bin', 'theyr', 'discard', 'hundr', 'moist', 'fresh', 'flesh', 'sit', 'atop', 'stainless', 'steal', 'breath', 'lack', 'better', 'word', 'imagin', 'cacophoni', 'meat', 'multipli', 'dozen', 'worker', 'sing', 'along', 'sick', 'choru', 'cavern', 'steel', 'room', 'serv', 'amplifi', 'reverber', 'nois', 'ampx200b', 'worst', 'definit', 'sound', 'ampx200b', 'mention', 'plant', 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'flashlight', 'everi', 'dark', 'corner', 'everi', 'hidden', 'place', 'build', 'still', 'found', 'noth', 'search', 'sever', 'hour', 'pace', 'build', 'nearli', 'midnight', 'found', 'noth', 'ordinari', 'also', 'done', 'none', 'work', 'get', 'done', 'ampx200b', 'start', 'hear', 'ampx200b', 'sound', 'fish', 'plant', 'began', 'ever', 'faintli', 'disturb', 'silenc', 'place', 'softli', 'first', 'build', 'strength', 'momentum', 'beat', 'primal', 'metal', 'strike', 'bone', 'rhythm', 'slowli', 'swell', 'tri', 'hunt', 'sourc', 'nobodi', 'work', 'floor', 'tool', 'account', 'sound', 'seem', 'come', 'nowher', 'everywher', 'panic', 'began', 'set', 'someth', 'horribl', 'occur', 'fight', 'flight', 'took', 'phantom', 'sound', 'blade', 'slice', 'flesh', 'meat', 'hit', 'metal', 'fill', 'air', 'tri', 'run', 'escap', 'matter', 'ran', 'end', 'cut', 'floor', 'ampx200b', 'door', 'seem', 'reach', 'even', 'sprint', 'till', 'lung', 'scream', 'could', 'tast', 'blood', 'tail', 'end', 'breath', 'tri', 'scream', 'sound', 'sharpen', 'knive', 'emerg', 'scream', 'spit', 'blood', 'sound', 'flesh', 'mix', 'frantic', 'meati', 'beat', 'surround', 'sound', 'grew', 'louder', 'steadili', 'could', 'feel', 'heart', 'beat', 'head', 'could', 'feel', 'warmth', 'blood', 'wet', 'surfac', 'ear', 'ampx200b', 'slice', 'eye', 'knive', 'yet', 'vision', 'undisturb', 'bleed', 'slit', 'could', 'see', 'abomin', 'shape', 'men', 'work', 'tabl', 'frenzi', 'never', 'seen', 'cut', 'slice', 'apart', 'anyth', 'could', 'grab', 'buffet', 'terror', 'fed', 'assembl', 'line', 'fish', 'peopl', 'anim', 'creatur', 'never', 'conceiv', 'horror', 'men', 'would', 'lift', 'begin', 'hack', 'randomli', 'cut', 'target', 'process', 'one', 'maim', 'badli', 'simpli', 'crawl', 'onto', 'conveyor', 'becam', 'meat', 'cut', 'new', 'form', 'appear', 'noth', 'take', 'place', 'line', 'ampx200b', 'stab', 'lung', 'yet', 'scream', 'wouldnt', 'stop', 'cut', 'leg', 'ran', 'exit', 'exit', 'fish', 'plant', 'wholli', 'alien', 'fill', 'shape', 'be', 'like', 'could', 'exist', 'song', 'meat', 'blood', 'began', 'form', 'word', 'could', 'understand', 'voic', 'soft', 'feminin', 'yet', 'compos', 'sound', 'slaughter', 'swiftli', 'purpos', 'voic', 'rais', 'pitch', 'volum', 'rest', 'scream', 'cacophoni', 'inaud', 'weight', 'black', 'ampx200b', 'sunday', 'morn', 'woke', 'unfamiliar', 'hospit', 'bed', 'accord', 'local', 'author', 'turn', 'coast', 'earli', 'morn', 'frozen', 'nearli', 'death', 'injuri', 'stolen', 'boat', 'rant', 'mother', 'sing', 'blood', 'im', 'current', 'undergo', 'psychiatr', 'assess', 'know', 'theyr', 'go', 'forc', 'medicin', 'forget', 'ever', 'exist', 'that', 'probabl', 'best', 'cant', 'sleep', 'anymor', 'fear', 'nightmar', 'cant', 'rememb', 'hardli', 'eat', 'ill', 'probabl', 'die', 'without', 'help', 'intend', 'take', 'need', 'post', 'stori', 'lose', 'littl', 'mind', 'left', 'ampx200b', 'still', 'somehow', 'record', 'journal', 'night', 'still', 'follow', 'final', 'entri', 'written', 'memori', 'make', 'ampx200b', 'head', 'speak', 'voic', 'mani', 'hear', 'song', 'mother', 'glori', 'wheel', 'spin', 'upon', 'kill', 'singer', 'name', 'blood', 'ate', 'song', 'time', 'speak', 'blood', 'mother', 'cant', 'hear', 'head', 'bodi', 'wheel', 'glori', 'spin', 'blood', 'sing', 'tonight', 'deep', 'sad', 'wheel', 'hear', 'mother', 'blood', 'kill', 'spin', 'ate', 'song', 'bodi', 'glori', 'blood', 'wheel', 'wave', 'head', 'provid', 'answer', 'sing', 'met', 'name', 'deal', 'mother', 'selv', 'bleed', 'head', 'glori', 'name', 'wheel', 'deep', 'song', 'blood', 'mother', 'spin', 'deep', 'sing', 'voic', 'song', 'ate', 'time', 'kill', 'glori', 'ate', 'mother', 'deep', 'soon', 'born']"
23,HarrySunderland,"I’ve always been an outdoor person. I’ve always loved the freedom you fell when a part of nature. Because of this I’ve never been a huge a fan of Christmas. We always end up being inside for days on end and I go crazy after a while. So when my parents announced that, to celebrate me being home for the holiday season, we were going to spend New Year at White Mountain National Park, I was ecstatic. We’ve been here for a few days now and I’ve absolutely loved it. But I am quite looking forward to leaving on Wednesday because, well you’ll see. Last night I was in my room, looking for my camera since my mom wanted a picture of us as a family to end 2018, when I found an old notebook shoved under my dresser. It was some sort of journal and, since I though it might be interesting, I started reading it. Most of the entries were only a couple of lines long so it didn’t take me long to catch up to their time at White Mountain and … well, I think you guys might find it interesting. The handwriting is pretty awful and goes rapidly goes downhill near the end, so I've had to make some educated guesses where the meaning isn’t clear and I’ve corrected spelling and stuff, but apart from that I’ve transcribed it pretty much word for word. 


December 1

We arrived a couple of hours ago. We should of arrived earlier but we took a wrong turn and ended up in Claremont. I really it beautiful up here, it's a shame Alex had plans but I still think it's going to be good with just James. I really just need a break and get away from everything.

December 3

It really felt good to get out today, after spending all of yesterday acquainting ourselves with the cabin. We hiked up to Five Ponds for the day and it was just incredible. I mean James is the one who loves hiking so much, but it's really starting to grow on me. This is exactly what I need after being cooped up in my dorm.

December 5

Looks like our lucky break has ended weather wise, I woke up this morning with my window covered in snow, it may last for a couple of days. Looks like we’ll be spending most of our day inside drinking and playing CAH. I think I'll be able to cope with that!
I should probably walk into town to pick up my meds before the snow gets any worse.

December 7

I think the snow is getting to James, though he's always been an energetic person so I can't say I blame him. I woke up this morning and he'd cleaned the entire cabin, not just our mess from last night but the entire cabin. I woke up because he was knocking on my door so he could do my room. I mean he's always been very organized but this is exceptional, even for him. I'm not complaining but, he must of worked through the entire night. He also asked me if he’d seen a thing of pills anywhere.

December 8

Someone tried to break into our house last night. I woke up around 4 AM to hear a loud banging downstairs. I mean like you could feel the impact reverberating through the house. When I rushed downstairs the banging stopped. Like one moment it was there and the next it wasn't. I ran outside only to find nothing. There weren't even any tracks or anything. It was only then that I realized that James had slept through everything. I mean he's a pretty heavy sleeper but even still. When I went to check on him he was fast asleep. Unlike the rest of the cabin his room was a complete mess. He'd used pieces of clothing and rubbish to make these geometric shapes all over the floor. Maybe he's working on one of his art projects or something.

December 9

I asked James about last night. He had no idea about the banging and his room is now completely clean. Maybe this is all some sort of prank or something.

Berserker (Chaotic Good)
Armor Class: 15 (Unarmored Defense)
Hit Points: 105 (Hit Dice 10d12)
Speed: 40 ft. (Fast Movement)
STR 18 (+4)
DEX 14 (+2)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 9 (-1)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 11 (+0)
Initiative: advantage (Feral Instinct)
Proficiencies (+4 bonus)
	Armor: Light, medium and shields
	Saving Throws: STR +8 CON +7
	Skills: Athletics +8, Intimidation +4, Perception +6, Survival +6
	Tools: Drum
	Weapons: Simple and Martial
Senses: passive (Perception 16)
Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Giant


December 10

James is definitely fucking with me. He keeps looking at me when he thinks I'm not looking. He leers at me because he thinks I don't know but I know I know I know motherfucker.

[INDISTINGUISHABLE]

December 11

2:59AM
He's becoming even more brazen. I keep hearing him screaming last night but when I go check he's just sleeping then when I go back he starts again screaming. He just spouts nonsense. If he thinks that he can scare me then he's dead wrong.

3:32AM
I heard him go out and to to honest I was relieved but I turned around and he was just there just standing watching watching watching.

December 12

I had the weirdest dream last night. I was walking through the forest but everything was shaped. Then melted.

December 13

I was in the bathroom when I heard the door creaking. As if someone was leaning up against. When I opened the door no one was there. James was in the living room and I asked him if he'd been listening to me. He denied it at first, but I pressed him and he eventually admitted that he'd heard a high pitched ringing coming from the bathroom and had went to investigate. He looked absolutely terrified.

December 14

12:42PM

I stumbled on the notebook James has been reading during our stay. It was just empty pages. He'd even folded down a page so he could continue where he left off.

1:16AM

There's something scratching on my door. I've barricaded the door and I can hear breathing.




THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OV

[INDISTINGUISHABLE]

2:01PM

James' hands were covered with band aids. He said he fell and tried to protect his face.

December 15

James' hands were covered with band aids. He said he fell and tried to protect his face.

December 16

I was in the kitchen when it found me. I could hear it's flesh slapping against linoleum. I turned around to see it. It's hands and feet planted on the floor, it's back arching painfully backwards. I just stood there, listening to my own heartbeat as it's face hung back, like it didn't understand what heads were for, it's dead eyes going in separate directions. I felt like my insides were missing, I could hear a faint hissing and I could see streaks of red zigzagging across my vision. I felt hot and cold. The next thing I remember is waking up face down of the floor, drenched in a cold sweat.

I knew what I had to do.

I lurched down the stairs of the basement and found what [INDISTINGUISHABLE] fuses. A ballpoint hammer.

[INDISTINGUISHABLE] felt like a dream. I stumbled into his bedroom. James again.

[INDISTINGUISHABLE] screamed like hell. I did it again and again and again and again.


After this point the journal becomes completely indecipherable. I have no idea what to make of this and I haven't told my family about it. I don't think I ever can. I don't know if this is some sort of elaborate prank or something else. I just don't know. 

","I found a journal in my family's cabin, I don't know what to make of it","['i’v', 'alway', 'outdoor', 'person', 'i’v', 'alway', 'love', 'freedom', 'fell', 'part', 'natur', 'i’v', 'never', 'huge', 'fan', 'christma', 'alway', 'end', 'insid', 'day', 'end', 'go', 'crazi', 'parent', 'announc', 'celebr', 'home', 'holiday', 'season', 'go', 'spend', 'new', 'year', 'white', 'mountain', 'nation', 'park', 'ecstat', 'we’v', 'day', 'i’v', 'absolut', 'love', 'quit', 'look', 'forward', 'leav', 'wednesday', 'well', 'you’ll', 'see', 'last', 'night', 'room', 'look', 'camera', 'sinc', 'mom', 'want', 'pictur', 'us', 'famili', 'end', 'found', 'old', 'notebook', 'shove', 'dresser', 'sort', 'journal', 'sinc', 'though', 'might', 'interest', 'start', 'read', 'entri', 'coupl', 'line', 'long', 'didn’t', 'take', 'long', 'catch', 'time', 'white', 'mountain', '…', 'well', 'think', 'guy', 'might', 'find', 'interest', 'handwrit', 'pretti', 'aw', 'goe', 'rapidli', 'goe', 'downhil', 'near', 'end', 'ive', 'make', 'educ', 'guess', 'mean', 'isn’t', 'clear', 'i’v', 'correct', 'spell', 'stuff', 'apart', 'i’v', 'transcrib', 'pretti', 'much', 'word', 'word', 'decemb', 'arriv', 'coupl', 'hour', 'ago', 'arriv', 'earlier', 'took', 'wrong', 'turn', 'end', 'claremont', 'realli', 'beauti', 'shame', 'alex', 'plan', 'still', 'think', 'go', 'good', 'jame', 'realli', 'need', 'break', 'get', 'away', 'everyth', 'decemb', 'realli', 'felt', 'good', 'get', 'today', 'spend', 'yesterday', 'acquaint', 'cabin', 'hike', 'five', 'pond', 'day', 'incred', 'mean', 'jame', 'one', 'love', 'hike', 'much', 'realli', 'start', 'grow', 'exactli', 'need', 'coop', 'dorm', 'decemb', 'look', 'like', 'lucki', 'break', 'end', 'weather', 'wise', 'woke', 'morn', 'window', 'cover', 'snow', 'may', 'last', 'coupl', 'day', 'look', 'like', 'we’ll', 'spend', 'day', 'insid', 'drink', 'play', 'cah', 'think', 'ill', 'abl', 'cope', 'probabl', 'walk', 'town', 'pick', 'med', 'snow', 'get', 'wors', 'decemb', 'think', 'snow', 'get', 'jame', 'though', 'he', 'alway', 'energet', 'person', 'cant', 'say', 'blame', 'woke', 'morn', 'hed', 'clean', 'entir', 'cabin', 'mess', 'last', 'night', 'entir', 'cabin', 'woke', 'knock', 'door', 'could', 'room', 'mean', 'he', 'alway', 'organ', 'except', 'even', 'im', 'complain', 'must', 'work', 'entir', 'night', 'also', 'ask', 'he’d', 'seen', 'thing', 'pill', 'anywher', 'decemb', 'someon', 'tri', 'break', 'hous', 'last', 'night', 'woke', 'around', 'hear', 'loud', 'bang', 'downstair', 'mean', 'like', 'could', 'feel', 'impact', 'reverber', 'hous', 'rush', 'downstair', 'bang', 'stop', 'like', 'one', 'moment', 'next', 'wasnt', 'ran', 'outsid', 'find', 'noth', 'werent', 'even', 'track', 'anyth', 'realiz', 'jame', 'slept', 'everyth', 'mean', 'he', 'pretti', 'heavi', 'sleeper', 'even', 'still', 'went', 'check', 'fast', 'asleep', 'unlik', 'rest', 'cabin', 'room', 'complet', 'mess', 'hed', 'use', 'piec', 'cloth', 'rubbish', 'make', 'geometr', 'shape', 'floor', 'mayb', 'he', 'work', 'one', 'art', 'project', 'someth', 'decemb', 'ask', 'jame', 'last', 'night', 'idea', 'bang', 'room', 'complet', 'clean', 'mayb', 'sort', 'prank', 'someth', 'berserk', 'chaotic', 'good', 'armor', 'class', 'unarmor', 'defens', 'hit', 'point', 'hit', 'dice', '10d12', 'speed', 'ft', 'fast', 'movement', 'str', 'dex', 'con', 'int', 'wi', 'cha', 'initi', 'advantag', 'feral', 'instinct', 'profici', 'bonu', 'armor', 'light', 'medium', 'shield', 'save', 'throw', 'str', 'con', 'skill', 'athlet', 'intimid', 'percept', 'surviv', 'tool', 'drum', 'weapon', 'simpl', 'martial', 'sens', 'passiv', 'percept', 'languag', 'common', 'dwarvish', 'giant', 'decemb', 'jame', 'definit', 'fuck', 'keep', 'look', 'think', 'im', 'look', 'leer', 'think', 'dont', 'know', 'know', 'know', 'know', 'motherfuck', 'indistinguish', 'decemb', '259am', 'he', 'becom', 'even', 'brazen', 'keep', 'hear', 'scream', 'last', 'night', 'go', 'check', 'he', 'sleep', 'go', 'back', 'start', 'scream', 'spout', 'nonsens', 'think', 'scare', 'he', 'dead', 'wrong', '332am', 'heard', 'go', 'honest', 'reliev', 'turn', 'around', 'stand', 'watch', 'watch', 'watch', 'decemb', 'weirdest', 'dream', 'last', 'night', 'walk', 'forest', 'everyth', 'shape', 'melt', 'decemb', 'bathroom', 'heard', 'door', 'creak', 'someon', 'lean', 'open', 'door', 'one', 'jame', 'live', 'room', 'ask', 'hed', 'listen', 'deni', 'first', 'press', 'eventu', 'admit', 'hed', 'heard', 'high', 'pitch', 'ring', 'come', 'bathroom', 'went', 'investig', 'look', 'absolut', 'terrifi', 'decemb', '1242pm', 'stumbl', 'notebook', 'jame', 'read', 'stay', 'empti', 'page', 'hed', 'even', 'fold', 'page', 'could', 'continu', 'left', '116am', 'there', 'someth', 'scratch', 'door', 'ive', 'barricad', 'door', 'hear', 'breath', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'lazi', 'dog', 'quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'jump', 'ov', 'indistinguish', '201pm', 'jame', 'hand', 'cover', 'band', 'aid', 'said', 'fell', 'tri', 'protect', 'face', 'decemb', 'jame', 'hand', 'cover', 'band', 'aid', 'said', 'fell', 'tri', 'protect', 'face', 'decemb', 'kitchen', 'found', 'could', 'hear', 'flesh', 'slap', 'linoleum', 'turn', 'around', 'see', 'hand', 'feet', 'plant', 'floor', 'back', 'arch', 'pain', 'backward', 'stood', 'listen', 'heartbeat', 'face', 'hung', 'back', 'like', 'didnt', 'understand', 'head', 'dead', 'eye', 'go', 'separ', 'direct', 'felt', 'like', 'insid', 'miss', 'could', 'hear', 'faint', 'hiss', 'could', 'see', 'streak', 'red', 'zigzag', 'across', 'vision', 'felt', 'hot', 'cold', 'next', 'thing', 'rememb', 'wake', 'face', 'floor', 'drench', 'cold', 'sweat', 'knew', 'lurch', 'stair', 'basement', 'found', 'indistinguish', 'fuse', 'ballpoint', 'hammer', 'indistinguish', 'felt', 'like', 'dream', 'stumbl', 'bedroom', 'jame', 'indistinguish', 'scream', 'like', 'hell', 'point', 'journal', 'becom', 'complet', 'indecipher', 'idea', 'make', 'havent', 'told', 'famili', 'dont', 'think', 'ever', 'dont', 'know', 'sort', 'elabor', 'prank', 'someth', 'els', 'dont', 'know']"
24,liamesoteric,[removed],Your Best Friends!,['remov']
25,psychicbabe_podcast,"I just had surgery two days ago. Don’t judge, I had my breast implants enlarged. I’m just being 100% authentic here because I need your guys help and I don’t know if my surgery might have somehow allowed these things to come through, like some sort of a portal. I should back up. Earlier this evening I was laying in bed recovering. In case this is relevant I hadn’t taken any pain medicine for about 8 hours now and I was feeling fine. The doctor said most of the pain would be the first two days anyway and I was happy to quit taking that stuff. For the record, I don’t have any mental illnesses and I study psychology at Texas Christian University. I just finished up a summer class on Parapsychology, which for those of you who don’t know is the psychology of ghosts and the paranormal. It was a creepy class but I didn’t really learn too much I didn’t already know.  I attend church sometimes but I’m not overtly religious. A lot of people who were more on the religious side seemed to have a fundamental problem with the class and some even dropped it. 

I mention the class because a lot of  the stories we heard about in class seem very similar to what happened next. So, I was watching Television and out of the corner of my eye I noticed some strange light go by me. I looked up really quick and tried to sit up in bed when something invisible to my eyes slammed me back into the bed with a force unlike anything I can put into words. 

My immediate reaction was to jump out of bed and try to comprehend what had just happened. What I saw next defies every law of physics. My Temperpedic bed had a huge dent in the memory foam as if an 800 lb. man was laying on it. When I usually get off my bed I barely leave an indentation at all and here I am staring at an indentation that should not be there but worst of all confirmed what had just happened. 

I immediately panicked, I grabbed my keys and decided I needed to get to my parents house. I needed to be around other people in case my mind was somehow playing tricks on me. I’m a very rational person so I was trying to outline any explanations for what I had just experienced. I briefly thought about the pain pills, maybe they were still in my system and I needed to get some food to counteract them. 

I was driving by a Whataburger and thought yes, I’ll get their breakfast taquitos. I pulled into the drive through and ordered my food. I had just paid for it and they had me pull up to wait for my order. I could see the line of cars behind me in my rear view mirror when my eyes fell on a cute couple. How sweet, they were kissing. I reflected back on my previous relationship that I had just ended and thought about how I missed kissing someone and right about now I wished I hadn’t broke up with Peter. My reflection on my circumstance came to a screeching halt when the very couple that was just kissing both stopped kissing each other and turned to look at me. Look wasn’t an accurate word, they glared at me. Just as my embarrassment was starting to set in for staring at them it was immediately replaced with sheer terror as their faces began to morph into these demon like shapes with sharp needles for teeth. I was frozen in fear for what seemed like a few minutes but in reality was more like seconds when my fight or flight mechanism kicked in and I immediately peeled out of there. Fuck my food. 

Whatever it was that had attacked me in my bedroom was clearly after me and I wasn’t going to stick around and see what happened. I should mention it was getting dark around this time and something was telling me not to look in my rear view mirror again until I got to my parents house. I know from my studies the mind can also play tricks on you with the shadows of the dark and I didn’t need anything else to have to try to comprehend. My parents house was only a few minutes from where I was so I sped up to hurry and get there. 

I pulled into my parents driveway and ran from the car barely grabbing my keys and without locking the door. I rang my parents doorbell in a panic and with a fervor. I must have rang it ten times before my dad answered. “Dana, what’s going on”, my dad said as he opened the door. “You look white as a ghost”. If you only knew, I thought. I didn’t want to sound insane so I carefully selected my words. “ Dad, something weird is going on”, I said. “I think there’s something evil after me” My dad looked at the panic in my eyes and said “What do you mean hun?” I calmly tried to explain what had happened without totally freaking my Dad out. 

“Dana, I think you need to get some rest, it’s been a long few days how much sleep have you gotten?”, my dad said. “All I have been doing is sleeping Dad, this isn’t some kind of delusion from a lack of sleep!” I said. “My mind isn’t playing tricks on me Dad, something is after me. I exclaimed. “Ok hun, why don’t you lay down next to me and I can make sure everything is ok”, dad said. “Ok”, I said. My mom was out of town on business so she wasn’t there. I laid down in her spot in my parents bed. My dad picked up a book and turned on a light to read. I tried to close my eyes and fall asleep. I wanted to put some distance between this horrible night and my memory so surely getting some rest would do just that. When I woke up I would be able to look back at this horrible experience as a scary memory instead of something that was currently happening to me. I was pretty anxious and uneasy and didn’t really feel safe keeping my eyes closed for too long so I briefly opened my eyes only to gasp in horror. 

There was a black mist creeping up the bed towards me...I gasped In horror and as i did this my father put his book down. As soon as he did that the black mist sank back into the floor with a quickness.
My father asked me “What’s wrong now?” But I didn’t have the heart to tell him so instead i said “Nothing Daddy”. I shut my eyes again but I couldn’t shake this overwhelming doom like feeling so I quickly opened my eyes. Thankfully I did because that black mist had come up even closer onto my bed and was now nearly at my torso before I screamed. “DADDY, it’s going to get me!!” I exclaimed. “ sweetheart there’s absolutely nothing there”, my dad said. He put his book back up to read. Fine, I’m gonna pretend to be tough as I watch the black mist come closer and closer and closer and closer until it engulfed me. The next thing I knew I awoke in a hospital bed in the hospital in Dallas and everyone was staring at me. ",Guys..DON’T let the black mist get you!!!,"['surgeri', 'two', 'day', 'ago', 'don’t', 'judg', 'breast', 'implant', 'enlarg', 'i’m', 'authent', 'need', 'guy', 'help', 'don’t', 'know', 'surgeri', 'might', 'somehow', 'allow', 'thing', 'come', 'like', 'sort', 'portal', 'back', 'earlier', 'even', 'lay', 'bed', 'recov', 'case', 'relev', 'hadn’t', 'taken', 'pain', 'medicin', 'hour', 'feel', 'fine', 'doctor', 'said', 'pain', 'would', 'first', 'two', 'day', 'anyway', 'happi', 'quit', 'take', 'stuff', 'record', 'don’t', 'mental', 'ill', 'studi', 'psycholog', 'texa', 'christian', 'univers', 'finish', 'summer', 'class', 'parapsycholog', 'don’t', 'know', 'psycholog', 'ghost', 'paranorm', 'creepi', 'class', 'didn’t', 'realli', 'learn', 'much', 'didn’t', 'alreadi', 'know', 'attend', 'church', 'sometim', 'i’m', 'overtli', 'religi', 'lot', 'peopl', 'religi', 'side', 'seem', 'fundament', 'problem', 'class', 'even', 'drop', 'mention', 'class', 'lot', 'stori', 'heard', 'class', 'seem', 'similar', 'happen', 'next', 'watch', 'televis', 'corner', 'eye', 'notic', 'strang', 'light', 'go', 'look', 'realli', 'quick', 'tri', 'sit', 'bed', 'someth', 'invis', 'eye', 'slam', 'back', 'bed', 'forc', 'unlik', 'anyth', 'put', 'word', 'immedi', 'reaction', 'jump', 'bed', 'tri', 'comprehend', 'happen', 'saw', 'next', 'defi', 'everi', 'law', 'physic', 'temperped', 'bed', 'huge', 'dent', 'memori', 'foam', 'lb', 'man', 'lay', 'usual', 'get', 'bed', 'bare', 'leav', 'indent', 'stare', 'indent', 'worst', 'confirm', 'happen', 'immedi', 'panick', 'grab', 'key', 'decid', 'need', 'get', 'parent', 'hous', 'need', 'around', 'peopl', 'case', 'mind', 'somehow', 'play', 'trick', 'i’m', 'ration', 'person', 'tri', 'outlin', 'explan', 'experienc', 'briefli', 'thought', 'pain', 'pill', 'mayb', 'still', 'system', 'need', 'get', 'food', 'counteract', 'drive', 'whataburg', 'thought', 'ye', 'i’ll', 'get', 'breakfast', 'taquito', 'pull', 'drive', 'order', 'food', 'paid', 'pull', 'wait', 'order', 'could', 'see', 'line', 'car', 'behind', 'rear', 'view', 'mirror', 'eye', 'fell', 'cute', 'coupl', 'sweet', 'kiss', 'reflect', 'back', 'previou', 'relationship', 'end', 'thought', 'miss', 'kiss', 'someon', 'right', 'wish', 'hadn’t', 'broke', 'peter', 'reflect', 'circumst', 'came', 'screech', 'halt', 'coupl', 'kiss', 'stop', 'kiss', 'turn', 'look', 'look', 'wasn’t', 'accur', 'word', 'glare', 'embarrass', 'start', 'set', 'stare', 'immedi', 'replac', 'sheer', 'terror', 'face', 'began', 'morph', 'demon', 'like', 'shape', 'sharp', 'needl', 'teeth', 'frozen', 'fear', 'seem', 'like', 'minut', 'realiti', 'like', 'second', 'fight', 'flight', 'mechan', 'kick', 'immedi', 'peel', 'fuck', 'food', 'whatev', 'attack', 'bedroom', 'clearli', 'wasn’t', 'go', 'stick', 'around', 'see', 'happen', 'mention', 'get', 'dark', 'around', 'time', 'someth', 'tell', 'look', 'rear', 'view', 'mirror', 'got', 'parent', 'hous', 'know', 'studi', 'mind', 'also', 'play', 'trick', 'shadow', 'dark', 'didn’t', 'need', 'anyth', 'els', 'tri', 'comprehend', 'parent', 'hous', 'minut', 'sped', 'hurri', 'get', 'pull', 'parent', 'driveway', 'ran', 'car', 'bare', 'grab', 'key', 'without', 'lock', 'door', 'rang', 'parent', 'doorbel', 'panic', 'fervor', 'must', 'rang', 'ten', 'time', 'dad', 'answer', '“dana', 'what’', 'go', 'on”', 'dad', 'said', 'open', 'door', '“you', 'look', 'white', 'ghost”', 'knew', 'thought', 'didn’t', 'want', 'sound', 'insan', 'care', 'select', 'word', '“', 'dad', 'someth', 'weird', 'go', 'on”', 'said', '“i', 'think', 'there’', 'someth', 'evil', 'me”', 'dad', 'look', 'panic', 'eye', 'said', '“what', 'mean', 'hun”', 'calmli', 'tri', 'explain', 'happen', 'without', 'total', 'freak', 'dad', '“dana', 'think', 'need', 'get', 'rest', 'it’', 'long', 'day', 'much', 'sleep', 'gotten”', 'dad', 'said', '“all', 'sleep', 'dad', 'isn’t', 'kind', 'delus', 'lack', 'sleep”', 'said', '“mi', 'mind', 'isn’t', 'play', 'trick', 'dad', 'someth', 'exclaim', '“ok', 'hun', 'don’t', 'lay', 'next', 'make', 'sure', 'everyth', 'ok”', 'dad', 'said', '“ok”', 'said', 'mom', 'town', 'busi', 'wasn’t', 'laid', 'spot', 'parent', 'bed', 'dad', 'pick', 'book', 'turn', 'light', 'read', 'tri', 'close', 'eye', 'fall', 'asleep', 'want', 'put', 'distanc', 'horribl', 'night', 'memori', 'sure', 'get', 'rest', 'would', 'woke', 'would', 'abl', 'look', 'back', 'horribl', 'experi', 'scari', 'memori', 'instead', 'someth', 'current', 'happen', 'pretti', 'anxiou', 'uneasi', 'didn’t', 'realli', 'feel', 'safe', 'keep', 'eye', 'close', 'long', 'briefli', 'open', 'eye', 'gasp', 'horror', 'black', 'mist', 'creep', 'bed', 'toward', 'mei', 'gasp', 'horror', 'father', 'put', 'book', 'soon', 'black', 'mist', 'sank', 'back', 'floor', 'quick', 'father', 'ask', '“what’', 'wrong', 'now”', 'didn’t', 'heart', 'tell', 'instead', 'said', '“noth', 'daddy”', 'shut', 'eye', 'couldn’t', 'shake', 'overwhelm', 'doom', 'like', 'feel', 'quickli', 'open', 'eye', 'thank', 'black', 'mist', 'come', 'even', 'closer', 'onto', 'bed', 'nearli', 'torso', 'scream', '“daddi', 'it’', 'go', 'get', 'me”', 'exclaim', '“', 'sweetheart', 'there’', 'absolut', 'noth', 'there”', 'dad', 'said', 'put', 'book', 'back', 'read', 'fine', 'i’m', 'gonna', 'pretend', 'tough', 'watch', 'black', 'mist', 'come', 'closer', 'closer', 'closer', 'closer', 'engulf', 'next', 'thing', 'knew', 'awok', 'hospit', 'bed', 'hospit', 'dalla', 'everyon', 'stare']"
26,Iskander_Khan,"

A week ago, something strange started happening in the apartment above. It’s an old, converted building, each domicile on a separate floor. It’s occupied by friendly enough people, but we hardly keep in touch, it’s where we come to rest, a sanctuary.   
 

This is why I was so irritated to hear loud noises so late. Like someone was running across the wooden floors, a manic pounding that rumbled through my apartment. I rolled over in bed, trying to sleep, but they persisted. Grabbing a broom, I thrust it into the ceiling to let the occupants know that they could be heard. A new occupant, surely, unfamiliar with how ancient and rickety the building is. The noises stopped, stillness returning once again. Crawling into bed, I promised myself I’d make a friendly introduction in the morning.   
 

But the noises resumed, wild thumps this time. I threw some clothes on and ventured up the stairs. Not wanting to be confrontational, I knocked gently on the door. There was no answer.   
 

“Hello?”, I called out gently,  “I’m from the apartment below,  you might be being a little too noisy for this time of night, could you maybe keep the noise down, please?”. 

No response. I strained my hearing, listening for some sign of activity on the other side of the door. Nothing, no voices, no movement. I swallowed hard, retreating from the door and back downstairs.

The following evening, I ventured up above to make my friendly introduction. What I heard had me frozen to the spot. A hissing sound. At first I thought it was the plumbing, hundred year old pipes straining under the water pressure, but this was different. A wheezing, rasping sound, labored breathing. I heard it move  closer to the door, the shadow of bare feet under the doorframe, someone was on the other side. When it scratched the wooden door, I bolted down the stairs, back to safety.   
 

I called the landlord, irritated that I had called so late. Demanding to know who the new occupant of the apartment above was, I related the encounters of the previous evening. He sounded confused. There was no new occupant, no one had moved in. 

It took a minute for it to sink in, time enough for me to hear something moving outside \*my\* apartment door. The wheezing, rasping breaths I’d heard, the same scratching against the wooden door frame. I was unable to respond when the thing’s fingers began to creep under the door, searching, probing for me. They were long, impossibly long, like roots, wrinkled and crooked, stretching, reaching for the door handle.

I grabbed a kitchen knife, slicing at the long, slender tendrils. Black fluid spilled from them as an ungodly howl pierced my ears. They recoiled, the howling abated. 

I called 911, told them to bring their patrol rifles with them. But I don’t think they listened, I don’t think anyone is going to believe me that something horrible is living in the apartment above me.

​",The Thing In The Apartment Above Me,"['week', 'ago', 'someth', 'strang', 'start', 'happen', 'apart', 'it’', 'old', 'convert', 'build', 'domicil', 'separ', 'floor', 'it’', 'occupi', 'friendli', 'enough', 'peopl', 'hardli', 'keep', 'touch', 'it’', 'come', 'rest', 'sanctuari', 'irrit', 'hear', 'loud', 'nois', 'late', 'like', 'someon', 'run', 'across', 'wooden', 'floor', 'manic', 'pound', 'rumbl', 'apart', 'roll', 'bed', 'tri', 'sleep', 'persist', 'grab', 'broom', 'thrust', 'ceil', 'let', 'occup', 'know', 'could', 'heard', 'new', 'occup', 'sure', 'unfamiliar', 'ancient', 'ricketi', 'build', 'nois', 'stop', 'still', 'return', 'crawl', 'bed', 'promis', 'i’d', 'make', 'friendli', 'introduct', 'morn', 'nois', 'resum', 'wild', 'thump', 'time', 'threw', 'cloth', 'ventur', 'stair', 'want', 'confront', 'knock', 'gentli', 'door', 'answer', '“hello”', 'call', 'gentli', '“i’m', 'apart', 'might', 'littl', 'noisi', 'time', 'night', 'could', 'mayb', 'keep', 'nois', 'please”', 'respons', 'strain', 'hear', 'listen', 'sign', 'activ', 'side', 'door', 'noth', 'voic', 'movement', 'swallow', 'hard', 'retreat', 'door', 'back', 'downstair', 'follow', 'even', 'ventur', 'make', 'friendli', 'introduct', 'heard', 'frozen', 'spot', 'hiss', 'sound', 'first', 'thought', 'plumb', 'hundr', 'year', 'old', 'pipe', 'strain', 'water', 'pressur', 'differ', 'wheez', 'rasp', 'sound', 'labor', 'breath', 'heard', 'move', 'closer', 'door', 'shadow', 'bare', 'feet', 'doorfram', 'someon', 'side', 'scratch', 'wooden', 'door', 'bolt', 'stair', 'back', 'safeti', 'call', 'landlord', 'irrit', 'call', 'late', 'demand', 'know', 'new', 'occup', 'apart', 'relat', 'encount', 'previou', 'even', 'sound', 'confus', 'new', 'occup', 'one', 'move', 'took', 'minut', 'sink', 'time', 'enough', 'hear', 'someth', 'move', 'outsid', 'apart', 'door', 'wheez', 'rasp', 'breath', 'i’d', 'heard', 'scratch', 'wooden', 'door', 'frame', 'unabl', 'respond', 'thing’', 'finger', 'began', 'creep', 'door', 'search', 'probe', 'long', 'imposs', 'long', 'like', 'root', 'wrinkl', 'crook', 'stretch', 'reach', 'door', 'handl', 'grab', 'kitchen', 'knife', 'slice', 'long', 'slender', 'tendril', 'black', 'fluid', 'spill', 'ungodli', 'howl', 'pierc', 'ear', 'recoil', 'howl', 'abat', 'call', 'told', 'bring', 'patrol', 'rifl', 'don’t', 'think', 'listen', 'don’t', 'think', 'anyon', 'go', 'believ', 'someth', 'horribl', 'live', 'apart', 'ampx200b']"
27,EllipsisDotAlright,[removed],SUBMISSIONS WANTED,['remov']
28,EllipsisDotAlright,[removed],HORROR SUBMISSIONS WANTED,['remov']
29,Ramy_mohamed1,"Welcome to [EditPad.org](https://EditPad.org) \- your online plain text editor. Enter or paste your text here. To Hi guys it's my first post on Reddit, I decided to share my horrific story of me and my cousin, the incident happened back in the summer of 2014 me and my family were out for a vacation we booked a hotel in a tropical area when we arrived there wue decided to go on a walk around the hotel to discover our surroundings it was at night then my family decided to stop by a public pool for some reason, I was sixteen back then so I didn't really care and I wanted to take my young sister and my little cousin for a walk, we stopped infront a huge long wide stairs, it was going up we didn't know where the ladder are leading so we went there anyway out of curiosity it looked weird it lead to another small round spiral stairs to the roof we climbed the stairs and we saw a huge landscape area full with metal construction bars it was empty and it was pitch black, the sky was full and the moon was Bright and it was a little bit windy the atmosphere of the area was different it felt unwelcomeing it felt scary and then we spotted a man shaped figure it was so far way it was so small we thought that we are hallucinating we said it was like a loose bar or something but when I actually looked and focused I saw a hand demon like hands full of vains and sharp nails and i kept looking it was wearing something like those medieval priest clothes with these robes hanging with the knots and it had a hood on like the ones in the assassin Creed game, I was saying to myself that's impossible I looked again and I realize he was moving his back back and forth like a bow and doing things with his fingers as he's doing a ritual or something it looked like a sorcerer a shadow one I was shook it looked so real there were no way that I was hallucinating I'm not religious but I was curious about reading some of gods words and as soon as I finished saying the first word he freezed I wasn't shouting or anything I whispered it he was frozen he didn't move a bit I knew it was something unholy so I decide to take my cousin and sister to bail out fast when they began to take steps back to the spiral stairs I said I'm going to look at him one last time to see if he's still there as soon as I looked back he was right beside my back looking at me like he's waiting for something his eyes were glowing white and he was a shadow like figure

It was so weird how was there was a spot light right at the spot that he was standing on and it was still black as a shadow he was so far how did he do that if I ran as fast as I could to the same distance it would take me around 4 minutes I guess he teleported right behind me and it was just looking, I didn't know how I managed my self to not freak out, I told my cousin and my sister to run back to the big stairs and run back down don't look back okay and I started my readings to bless myself even though I knew he was still behind me we ran a few steps back down and my cousin took a peak he freaked out when he saw it and ran and my sister looked at him too same reaction I yelled run don't stop and don't look while I was reading then we went down and I looked at him when we escaped he wasn't there we ran to my family and start freaking out of what we saw no one believed us till this day this a true story guys, for some odd reason my sister saw his eyes turn red when I wasn't looking while I was reading, it sent a shiver down my spine till this day.",The Shadow Man.,"['welcom', 'editpadorghttpseditpadorg', 'onlin', 'plain', 'text', 'editor', 'enter', 'past', 'text', 'hi', 'guy', 'first', 'post', 'reddit', 'decid', 'share', 'horrif', 'stori', 'cousin', 'incid', 'happen', 'back', 'summer', 'famili', 'vacat', 'book', 'hotel', 'tropic', 'area', 'arriv', 'wue', 'decid', 'go', 'walk', 'around', 'hotel', 'discov', 'surround', 'night', 'famili', 'decid', 'stop', 'public', 'pool', 'reason', 'sixteen', 'back', 'didnt', 'realli', 'care', 'want', 'take', 'young', 'sister', 'littl', 'cousin', 'walk', 'stop', 'infront', 'huge', 'long', 'wide', 'stair', 'go', 'didnt', 'know', 'ladder', 'lead', 'went', 'anyway', 'curios', 'look', 'weird', 'lead', 'anoth', 'small', 'round', 'spiral', 'stair', 'roof', 'climb', 'stair', 'saw', 'huge', 'landscap', 'area', 'full', 'metal', 'construct', 'bar', 'empti', 'pitch', 'black', 'sky', 'full', 'moon', 'bright', 'littl', 'bit', 'windi', 'atmospher', 'area', 'differ', 'felt', 'unwelcom', 'felt', 'scari', 'spot', 'man', 'shape', 'figur', 'far', 'way', 'small', 'thought', 'hallucin', 'said', 'like', 'loos', 'bar', 'someth', 'actual', 'look', 'focus', 'saw', 'hand', 'demon', 'like', 'hand', 'full', 'vain', 'sharp', 'nail', 'kept', 'look', 'wear', 'someth', 'like', 'mediev', 'priest', 'cloth', 'robe', 'hang', 'knot', 'hood', 'like', 'one', 'assassin', 'creed', 'game', 'say', 'that', 'imposs', 'look', 'realiz', 'move', 'back', 'back', 'forth', 'like', 'bow', 'thing', 'finger', 'he', 'ritual', 'someth', 'look', 'like', 'sorcer', 'shadow', 'one', 'shook', 'look', 'real', 'way', 'hallucin', 'im', 'religi', 'curiou', 'read', 'god', 'word', 'soon', 'finish', 'say', 'first', 'word', 'freez', 'wasnt', 'shout', 'anyth', 'whisper', 'frozen', 'didnt', 'move', 'bit', 'knew', 'someth', 'unholi', 'decid', 'take', 'cousin', 'sister', 'bail', 'fast', 'began', 'take', 'step', 'back', 'spiral', 'stair', 'said', 'im', 'go', 'look', 'one', 'last', 'time', 'see', 'he', 'still', 'soon', 'look', 'back', 'right', 'besid', 'back', 'look', 'like', 'he', 'wait', 'someth', 'eye', 'glow', 'white', 'shadow', 'like', 'figur', 'weird', 'spot', 'light', 'right', 'spot', 'stand', 'still', 'black', 'shadow', 'far', 'ran', 'fast', 'could', 'distanc', 'would', 'take', 'around', 'minut', 'guess', 'teleport', 'right', 'behind', 'look', 'didnt', 'know', 'manag', 'self', 'freak', 'told', 'cousin', 'sister', 'run', 'back', 'big', 'stair', 'run', 'back', 'dont', 'look', 'back', 'okay', 'start', 'read', 'bless', 'even', 'though', 'knew', 'still', 'behind', 'ran', 'step', 'back', 'cousin', 'took', 'peak', 'freak', 'saw', 'ran', 'sister', 'look', 'reaction', 'yell', 'run', 'dont', 'stop', 'dont', 'look', 'read', 'went', 'look', 'escap', 'wasnt', 'ran', 'famili', 'start', 'freak', 'saw', 'one', 'believ', 'us', 'till', 'day', 'true', 'stori', 'guy', 'odd', 'reason', 'sister', 'saw', 'eye', 'turn', 'red', 'wasnt', 'look', 'read', 'sent', 'shiver', 'spine', 'till', 'day']"
30,NOMASAN163,"21:00 
I don’t feel tired. I don’t have my phone on me since my parents took it from me to make me sleep better.

21:30 
I just can‘t fall asleep!
I must keep myself from stealing the phone from the living room because they‘re still in there, watching movies. 

22:00 
I start to feel like the shadows are watching me. They look over to me and judge my past actions. They would swallow me for anything bad that I did recently.

22:30
I just need some kind of music!!! It helped me in the past so many times!

23:00
It‘s not good... I don’t feel good, my stomach feels like it‘s eating itself because of hunger, even though I ate a lot about 5 hours ago.

23:30 
My father told me once, that thinking about nothing would help you fall asleep. It doesn‘t help. It really doesn’t... 

00:00 
I‘m sure that they’re gone from the living room. I have to check.

00:30
I got my phone, and just started to write this and still... I‘m not tired. Instead, my heart beats faster than usual.
(00:45) an update about something.
I turned my lamp back on. There is a trick that i remember. If you take a short look into your room when it‘s filled with light and quickly put your head on a pillow or a surface that won’t get light in your eyes, you might see something weird.

This was the first time I tried this. 

What I saw, was a thing of my nightmares. A figure, standing in the middle of my room.
I tried it again, and again and again to make sure that I don‘t see something that isn’t there. 

E v e r y. T i m e. i t. m o v e d. c l o s e r. t o. m y. b e d. 

I was panicking and trying to move, but I couldn’t. with all my strength, I got my head to turn and lay on the pillow after looking into the room, at the last place where it was. 

It was gone. 

01:00
I felt a pain in my chest. It felt like there were a million seperate spikes shot into an already open wound. I was scared of looking at it. When I did, I saw nothing.

01:30 
I didn’t wanna die yet!!!
It’s an incredible pain... stronger than a broken arm or your leg being impaled by a bunch of glass. Two things I‘ve been through.
I looked back at my chest. A scarr was forming in front of my eyes. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t. I was basically looking at my own body being cut and slowly fixing itself. My Mouth was completely gone. The pain got so intense, that I literally ripped my Mouth open. I screamed at the top of my Lungs. 

02:00 / 08:00
This, was the point where... well I woke up. My mother woke me up and told me that everything was fine. I certainly didn‘t have someone in my room anymore.

At least so I thought. The scarr was Very Visible and still hurt a lot. Blood was covering my Shirt, Blanket and dripping on the Floor. I was out of Breath.
My Mother said that I cried and screamed into my Pillow for no reason. „Probably just a Nightmare.“ that’s what she said.

when I asked her about the scarr on my chest, she looked confused and said: „There is nothing, Honey.“ 

She couldn’t see the scarr. I could. It was not a nightmare. I probably was unconscious because of too much stress. My mouth hurt, my chest hurt and nobody could see my wounds. 

Next Day 21:00
I felt the scarr very much again. But it stopped suddenly and I fell asleep without problems. 

Another Day later 08:00
I couldn’t open my mouth. It was closed off like in ‚that‘ night. I couldn‘t speak. I couldn’t open it. I tried it with Scissors, a Knife and other sharp things. I got it open with a kitchen Knife. But... there was one problem.

It closed itself stronger than before.

That was the first day of me: being Mute.
Nobody could see the scarr on my Chest, the Closed mouth. All they saw: was me. normal. Every time someone asked me something got an answer from me. But I didn’t say anything. The figure from ‚that‘ night took over my mouth and talked for me. 

I literally wasn’t myself anymore. there was a second voice in my head.

This is to anyone who knows about me. It‘s not me!!! DON‘T LISTEN TO THE WORDS I SAY!!! I myself can’t hear what I say or said. But they can and no matter what I say, this isn’t me! Help me!

",A rumbling storm outside and nosleep inside,"['don’t', 'feel', 'tire', 'don’t', 'phone', 'sinc', 'parent', 'took', 'make', 'sleep', 'better', 'can‘t', 'fall', 'asleep', 'must', 'keep', 'steal', 'phone', 'live', 'room', 'they‘r', 'still', 'watch', 'movi', 'start', 'feel', 'like', 'shadow', 'watch', 'look', 'judg', 'past', 'action', 'would', 'swallow', 'anyth', 'bad', 'recent', 'need', 'kind', 'music', 'help', 'past', 'mani', 'time', 'it‘', 'good', 'don’t', 'feel', 'good', 'stomach', 'feel', 'like', 'it‘', 'eat', 'hunger', 'even', 'though', 'ate', 'lot', 'hour', 'ago', 'father', 'told', 'think', 'noth', 'would', 'help', 'fall', 'asleep', 'doesn‘t', 'help', 'realli', 'doesn’t', 'i‘m', 'sure', 'they’r', 'gone', 'live', 'room', 'check', 'got', 'phone', 'start', 'write', 'still', 'i‘m', 'tire', 'instead', 'heart', 'beat', 'faster', 'usual', 'updat', 'someth', 'turn', 'lamp', 'back', 'trick', 'rememb', 'take', 'short', 'look', 'room', 'it‘', 'fill', 'light', 'quickli', 'put', 'head', 'pillow', 'surfac', 'won’t', 'get', 'light', 'eye', 'might', 'see', 'someth', 'weird', 'first', 'time', 'tri', 'saw', 'thing', 'nightmar', 'figur', 'stand', 'middl', 'room', 'tri', 'make', 'sure', 'don‘t', 'see', 'someth', 'isn’t', 'e', 'v', 'e', 'r', 'e', 'v', 'e', 'c', 'l', 'e', 'r', 'b', 'e', 'panick', 'tri', 'move', 'couldn’t', 'strength', 'got', 'head', 'turn', 'lay', 'pillow', 'look', 'room', 'last', 'place', 'gone', 'felt', 'pain', 'chest', 'felt', 'like', 'million', 'seper', 'spike', 'shot', 'alreadi', 'open', 'wound', 'scare', 'look', 'saw', 'noth', 'didn’t', 'wanna', 'die', 'yet', 'it’', 'incred', 'pain', 'stronger', 'broken', 'arm', 'leg', 'impal', 'bunch', 'glass', 'two', 'thing', 'i‘v', 'look', 'back', 'chest', 'scarr', 'form', 'front', 'eye', 'tri', 'scream', 'couldn’t', 'basic', 'look', 'bodi', 'cut', 'slowli', 'fix', 'mouth', 'complet', 'gone', 'pain', 'got', 'intens', 'liter', 'rip', 'mouth', 'open', 'scream', 'top', 'lung', 'point', 'well', 'woke', 'mother', 'woke', 'told', 'everyth', 'fine', 'certainli', 'didn‘t', 'someon', 'room', 'anymor', 'least', 'thought', 'scarr', 'visibl', 'still', 'hurt', 'lot', 'blood', 'cover', 'shirt', 'blanket', 'drip', 'floor', 'breath', 'mother', 'said', 'cri', 'scream', 'pillow', 'reason', '„probabl', 'nightmare“', 'that’', 'said', 'ask', 'scarr', 'chest', 'look', 'confus', 'said', '„there', 'noth', 'honey“', 'couldn’t', 'see', 'scarr', 'could', 'nightmar', 'probabl', 'unconsci', 'much', 'stress', 'mouth', 'hurt', 'chest', 'hurt', 'nobodi', 'could', 'see', 'wound', 'next', 'day', 'felt', 'scarr', 'much', 'stop', 'suddenli', 'fell', 'asleep', 'without', 'problem', 'anoth', 'day', 'later', 'couldn’t', 'open', 'mouth', 'close', 'like', '‚that‘', 'night', 'couldn‘t', 'speak', 'couldn’t', 'open', 'tri', 'scissor', 'knife', 'sharp', 'thing', 'got', 'open', 'kitchen', 'knife', 'one', 'problem', 'close', 'stronger', 'first', 'day', 'mute', 'nobodi', 'could', 'see', 'scarr', 'chest', 'close', 'mouth', 'saw', 'normal', 'everi', 'time', 'someon', 'ask', 'someth', 'got', 'answer', 'didn’t', 'say', 'anyth', 'figur', '‚that‘', 'night', 'took', 'mouth', 'talk', 'liter', 'wasn’t', 'anymor', 'second', 'voic', 'head', 'anyon', 'know', 'it‘', 'don‘t', 'listen', 'word', 'say', 'can’t', 'hear', 'say', 'said', 'matter', 'say', 'isn’t', 'help']"
31,aaronsegman,"I’m posting this on January 1st in the hope that you’ll see it before it gets taken down. You and I have been friends for a long time. But as fate would have it, I’m always out of town today, and so I’m not in a position to reach out to you in any other way that would protect my anonymity. You need to know that you’re being kept like an animal in a zoo. It’s illegal to tell you the truth. The only people allowed near you are ones who’ve been sworn to secrecy.

By global consensus, you cannot be told what’s happened. In a world where no written records can survive longer than 365 days, we have very, very few laws that persist between loops. But one of those few is about you. Starting today, the few people around you who have refused to go along with keeping you ignorant of the truth will be separated from you, for reasons that will seem perfectly believable. If someone is still in your life after today, it’s because they’ve agreed that the government should be able to study you without your knowledge, for as long as it takes to gain some insight into your immunity to this horrible curse.

According to the few people with a good enough memory to have kept perfect count, even during the chaos of those early years, today is January 1st, 2019bk. The first time we looped back around, people started talking in terms of 2019a and 2019b. After we’d gone through all the letters of the alphabet, people started calling the twenty-seventh 2019 2019aa, and so on. That makes 2019bk the 63rd 2019.

The first time it happened, the ones who had the worst time of it were those who were awake and drunk on New Year’s Eve. The transition is instantaneous. People who were awake and sober were confused, but usually not disoriented to the point of blind panic. No one, or at least no one credible, got any visions or weird glimpses between the stitches of December 31st, 2019a and January 1st, 2019b. There were riots that second January 1st—Jesus, there were riots—but those mostly started the next day.

One by one, individuals, societies, religions, governments, and corporations came to terms with the unreal reality of what happens to us every year. I think virtually every soul on earth has been through his or her own private hell. But people are resilient. Life goes on.

Most governments didn’t collapse, and the ones that did were re-established. People who commit crimes are sentenced and taken back into custody from wherever they are on January 1st. A growing number of people get released every January 1st, too, since the Supreme Court held in 2019d that each 2019 counts toward people’s sentences. That same year, we amended the Constitution so that we have presidential elections every four 2019s. But any changes to the law have to be simple enough that a corps of people with eidetic memory can keep it all straight, as well as acting as a check on each other. Such people have become a lot more important in 2019. It’s a weird return by humanity to reliance on a sort of oral tradition.

The reset starts at the prime meridian. Remember learning about the prime meridian in high school? The event horizon sweeps across the globe for 24 hours. There’s no way to cross over or communicate between affected and unaffected areas. They’ve tried everything. Humanity even returned to the moon in 2019j to see if the astronauts could sit out the transition, or at least make contact across the event horizon. They found themselves in their beds on earth like everyone else.

Governments are still trying the space route, even though no one expects much anymore. But every January, as soon as arrangements can be made, they send astronauts, and unmanned probes too, on different trajectories, as far out as they can go in a year, to see whether there even is an outer boundary to the loop. Signals from probes that were already out there before 2019a suggest that there’s not, but those probes weren’t sent in every possible direction. The human race has landed on Mars and seen the asteroid belt with the naked eye. People have also seen the great void that you encounter if you fly perpendicular to the flat disc our solar system roughly occupies.

The technical challenges of all this space travel are made easier by the fact that no provision is ever made for the astronauts’ return. They’ll either end up back on earth, or they’ll die free and good for them. So far, they’ve always come back. So do all the resources we used to send them.

There’s an infinite amount of everything. We’re all effectively immortal. As early as 2019b, a few crazy rich people gave away some or all of what they have. As more people have resigned themselves to the new normal, more and more of the wealthy have engaged in some truly radical generosity. It’s easy when you know you’ll get it back.

People still get married. They fashion new lives out of new circumstances. Even now, hundreds of thousands of people are queuing up for the annual January travel rush, going to pre-arranged meetings with the soulmates and other new purposes in life they know are out there waiting for them to come back. Some people even have kids, though most of them find it’s too heartbreaking, not just because the children they make go away, but also because you can’t have the same child twice. Even when people recreate the timing and circumstances of conception exactly, there’s too many sperm for the same one to fertilize the egg twice.

People who die during the year come back. They don’t report anything about an afterlife, except maybe for the first few minutes after clinical death, when some of them report the usual “tunnel of light,” which is probably a neurological phenomenon. I’ll tell you one thing, though: there’s definitely a higher power in the universe. Things like January 1st and the prime meridian...those are human constructs. They mean nothing to nature. The fact that the phenomenon centers around artificial boundaries we drew in time and space means that it’s a response to *us.* Whether it’s a punishment, or an attempt to save us from something even worse around the corner, or even a perverse attempt at a blessing from something that doesn’t really understand us...well, that part’s anybody’s guess.

Maybe there is no 2020. Maybe your immunity is not to the loop itself, but only to the knowing. Whatever the reason, you’ve been poked and prodded, spied on and subjected to psychological experiments, dissected and vivisected enough times for an eternity. Whatever obligation you may have to the rest of us, it has long since been fulfilled. You’ve done your part, and there’s a growing number of people committed to setting you free. Congress will take up the bill this year, over the objections of the Chinese, the Russians, and dozens of other governments, powerful organizations, and wealthy individuals. All these powerful forces believe that studying you is the only way to set us free, which is why you're surrounded by so much hidden security.

But they set up that invisible cordon around you right away. It's January 1st. No one’s ever where they need to be on January 1st.

That’s why I’m contacting you now. Half a century ago, people accepted legal cannabis and gay marriage once these things became a done deal and the world didn’t end. I believe that if you want to be certain of the government letting you out of your bubble, you need to speak out on your own behalf. Go to the media. Go in front of the cameras and tell them you know. Make it a done deal in people’s minds.

Do it today. Right now.

We’re behind you.
","2019 Keeps Repeating, and You’re the Only One Who Doesn’t Remember","['i’m', 'post', 'januari', '1st', 'hope', 'you’ll', 'see', 'get', 'taken', 'friend', 'long', 'time', 'fate', 'would', 'i’m', 'alway', 'town', 'today', 'i’m', 'posit', 'reach', 'way', 'would', 'protect', 'anonym', 'need', 'know', 'you’r', 'kept', 'like', 'anim', 'zoo', 'it’', 'illeg', 'tell', 'truth', 'peopl', 'allow', 'near', 'one', 'who’v', 'sworn', 'secreci', 'global', 'consensu', 'cannot', 'told', 'what’', 'happen', 'world', 'written', 'record', 'surviv', 'longer', 'day', 'law', 'persist', 'loop', 'one', 'start', 'today', 'peopl', 'around', 'refus', 'go', 'along', 'keep', 'ignor', 'truth', 'separ', 'reason', 'seem', 'perfectli', 'believ', 'someon', 'still', 'life', 'today', 'it’', 'they’v', 'agre', 'govern', 'abl', 'studi', 'without', 'knowledg', 'long', 'take', 'gain', 'insight', 'immun', 'horribl', 'curs', 'accord', 'peopl', 'good', 'enough', 'memori', 'kept', 'perfect', 'count', 'even', 'chao', 'earli', 'year', 'today', 'januari', '1st', '2019bk', 'first', 'time', 'loop', 'back', 'around', 'peopl', 'start', 'talk', 'term', '2019a', '2019b', 'we’d', 'gone', 'letter', 'alphabet', 'peopl', 'start', 'call', 'twentyseventh', '2019aa', 'make', '2019bk', '63rd', 'first', 'time', 'happen', 'one', 'worst', 'time', 'awak', 'drunk', 'new', 'year’', 'eve', 'transit', 'instantan', 'peopl', 'awak', 'sober', 'confus', 'usual', 'disori', 'point', 'blind', 'panic', 'one', 'least', 'one', 'credibl', 'got', 'vision', 'weird', 'glimps', 'stitch', 'decemb', '31st', '2019a', 'januari', '1st', '2019b', 'riot', 'second', 'januari', '1st—jesu', 'riots—but', 'mostli', 'start', 'next', 'day', 'one', 'one', 'individu', 'societi', 'religion', 'govern', 'corpor', 'came', 'term', 'unreal', 'realiti', 'happen', 'us', 'everi', 'year', 'think', 'virtual', 'everi', 'soul', 'earth', 'privat', 'hell', 'peopl', 'resili', 'life', 'goe', 'govern', 'didn’t', 'collaps', 'one', 'reestablish', 'peopl', 'commit', 'crime', 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32,Colourblindness,"Ok so this was last year, right after my family moved to an old farm house just outside of Amarillo Texas. That whole year was a roller coaster for my little brother Joey and I anyway. Besides the new place, dad got a new job cleaning floors at night and mom had opted to take him out of public school because of his sliding grades. 

But instead of getting an early summer vacation, mom had us handling a lot of the clean up for the place. I'm pretty sure the previous owners were pack rats. 

Anyways; one particularly humid day around the end of March we decided to tackle the attic. 

I don't know if you've ever been in a cramped space when it starts to get hot, but let me tell you that the experience is not one I care to relive. 

In less than nineteen minutes I had only managed to move about thirteen boxes and felt like I was going to have a heat stroke. 

""Hey, lets take a break,"" I told Joey when I saw that he was turning redder than a beet. 

He nodded and collapsed on one of the antique chairs while I went downstairs to grab a couple of Gatorades. 

When I got back, he was rummaging through one of the boxes that was filled with magazine clippings, moldy photo albums and newspapers. 

""Did you find their porn collection?"" I teased Joey as I passed his drink. He acted like he didn't hear me so I nudged him to get his attention and he jumped a little. 

""Sorry. You startled me,"" he mumbled. 

""What's caught your eye, little bro?"" I asked snatching the album out of his lap. 

On the page in front of me I saw about a dozen wallet sized headshot photos of the same girl. Each one looked like it was clipped from a larger family portrait of some kind, since in each picture I could see a man's arm resting on the young girl's right shoulder.

Curious, I loosened the plastic on the album sheet and let a couple of the pics slide out into my open palm. 

On the back of each photo was a date and a name, scrawled in black marker. 

>**09/10/84: Mina**

>**07/13/84: Mina**

>**06/23/84: Mina**

""Huh... that's weird,"" I admitted. 

""There's more,"" Joey said, pulling my attention to another cardboard box. 

There were about six other albums molding inside, each filled with more and more photos of the same girl. All the photos looked almost identical to each other. 

""What the hell? Did they take a picture of her every damn day?"" I asked. 

But Joey wasn't listening to me, now he was on a mission to rummage through the attic for anything else connected to this mystery girl. I was looking through the photos, trying to determine if it was just the same photo printed a thousand times or a different one for every day. 

""Austin... come take a look at this..."" he said after he moved aside an old lamp stand. 

I closed up the album and walked over to him, his eyes fixated on the wooden floor in front of us. 

Scratched into the floorboards was a jagged and bizarre symbol that didn't resemble anything I had ever seen before. Beyond it was a metal trunk and the way the furniture was arranged, it looked as though the portion of the attic had been set aside just for this particular item. Like it was some kind of shrine. 

""What do you think is inside?"" Joey said as he walked over to the trunk, eager to open it. 

""I don't think we're meant to do that,"" I said grabbing him by the shoulder. 

Call it a sixth sense but something told me to get the hell out of that attic immediately. 

""Aren't you the least bit curious?"" he asked. 

""Mom and dad can take care of it when they get home,"" I told him. 

Joey reluctantly agreed to that and we left the attic a few minutes later in an uncomfortable silence of moving a large wardrobe together to block up the weird space. 

I fully intended to keep to my word and let my parents handle the problem that afternoon, but around 3:30 dad called the landline and said that mom had been rushed to the hospital. 

""What? Is everything okay?"" I asked, a bit of panic in my voice. 

""It's fine Austin, take care of your brother and we'll be home in the morning,"" Dad reassured me. 

When Joey heard the news it made him physically sick to the point of wanting to throw up, so I kept him busy by playing old video games and then watching a few classic monster movies. Anything besides going back to the attic.  

I think I drifted off into sleep a quarter after one in the morning, Joey still wide awake and worried about mom. Dad hasn't called once to give us an update. 

I woke up about fifteen minutes or so after that to the sound of a noise from the attic. 
I rustled the covers to wake Joey, only to find that he wasn't sleeping on the couch at all. 

I gritted my teeth and ran up to the attic, cursing to myself about whatever stupidity he had gotten into. 

At the top of the ladder I flipped on the sim hanging light and saw that the noise had come from the wardrobe falling over. 

Joey was standing there, almost as still as a statue; seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had just showed a display of superhuman strength. 

Then he moved toward the trunk. 

""What the hell has gotten into you? I told you not to come up here!"" I said. I ran over to him and pulled him away from the trunk, freezing as I saw that his eyes had rolled into the back of his head. 

""Let her out,"" my brother said in a dead monotone. 

""Joey? You're scaring me little bro,"" I said nervously as I tried to shake him and snap him out of it. 

That only got him angry, and he shoved me back; knocking the wind out of me. 

As I clutched my chest and struggled to take a few breaths, Joey stood over me; his eyes lifeless and a mischievous smile covering his face. 

""She just wants to play,"" he whispered. Then he climbed on top me and started to strangle me. 

I kicked and struggled to get him off, surprised at the extraordinary amount of strength Joey was displaying and realizing what was happening to him. This wasn't my brother at all. The thing controlling his body wasn't going to stop until it had choked the life out of me. 

I kneed him hard in the stomach to throw him off and gasped for breath as my eyes darted about the attic searching for something to defend myself with. 

There was a baseball bat just a few feet away, tucked under a dresser. Joey stood up, this time coming at me even faster.

I lunged for the bat and grabbed ahold of the handle just as he snatched my feet. 

He was dragging me toward the weird etching on the floor.
I gripped the bat as hard as I could and said an apology to my brother before swinging and hitting the back of his legs.

After he fell to the ground I got up and hit him with the bat straight on the back of his head, enough to leave a bruise and render him unconscious. 

With my brother at my feet but still under the control of whatever was possessing him, I didn't have much time to come up with a good plan. 

I ran as hard as I could to the garage and grabbed a couple of gas canisters along with one of dad's old cigarette lighters.
When I got back I the supplies tucked under one arm and the bat firmly in the other.

The thing in the attic had pushed Joey back up to his feet, using his body like a puppet to try and open the trunk. 

I didn't even hesitate this time, and slammed the bat so hard against Joey's head that it cracked. Then I poured the gasoline overtop the symbol, the trunk and the photo albums and lit the whole damn thing. 

I swear I heard screaming as the fire consumed all of the items. Joey collapsed and shook violently as the stuff in the attic was rendered to ash. I pulled him away from the blaze and then went down to the kitchen to grab the fire extinguisher. 

It was over in about three minutes. 


The rest of the night I watched over Joey to make sure he didn't have any seizures from the blows I had been forced to inflict on him. Plus I was trying to come up with a plausible explanation to tell mom and dad when they got home the next morning. 

That never happened though, because my parents had an announcement of their own to make when they made it home. Dad walked into the house carrying a large cardboard box. 

""What's that?"" I asked, as he set it down in the living room. ""Take a look for yourself, I have to go help your mom,"" he answered. 

I quickly tore open the box, looking inside to find a set of instructions and pieces meant to assemble a bed. 

I turned to the door and saw dad push mom inside the house in a wheelchair, then saw cradled in her arms, a newborn baby. 

""*Austin, come meet your new sister*""

Her name? 

You guessed it. 

Mina.

[330](https://reddit.app.link/Hp6xBfmW7S)",Has anyone ever found weird stuff while spring cleaning?,"['ok', 'last', 'year', 'right', 'famili', 'move', 'old', 'farm', 'hous', 'outsid', 'amarillo', 'texa', 'whole', 'year', 'roller', 'coaster', 'littl', 'brother', 'joey', 'anyway', 'besid', 'new', 'place', 'dad', 'got', 'new', 'job', 'clean', 'floor', 'night', 'mom', 'opt', 'take', 'public', 'school', 'slide', 'grade', 'instead', 'get', 'earli', 'summer', 'vacat', 'mom', 'us', 'handl', 'lot', 'clean', 'place', 'im', 'pretti', 'sure', 'previou', 'owner', 'pack', 'rat', 'anyway', 'one', 'particularli', 'humid', 'day', 'around', 'end', 'march', 'decid', 'tackl', 'attic', 'dont', 'know', 'youv', 'ever', 'cramp', 'space', 'start', 'get', 'hot', 'let', 'tell', 'experi', 'one', 'care', 'reliv', 'less', 'nineteen', 'minut', 'manag', 'move', 'thirteen', 'box', 'felt', 'like', 'go', 'heat', 'stroke', 'hey', 'let', 'take', 'break', 'told', 'joey', 'saw', 'turn', 'redder', 'beet', 'nod', 'collaps', 'one', 'antiqu', 'chair', 'went', 'downstair', 'grab', 'coupl', 'gatorad', 'got', 'back', 'rummag', 'one', 'box', 'fill', 'magazin', 'clip', 'moldi', 'photo', 'album', 'newspap', 'find', 'porn', 'collect', 'teas', 'joey', 'pass', 'drink', 'act', 'like', 'didnt', 'hear', 'nudg', 'get', 'attent', 'jump', 'littl', 'sorri', 'startl', 'mumbl', 'what', 'caught', 'eye', 'littl', 'bro', 'ask', 'snatch', 'album', 'lap', 'page', 'front', 'saw', 'dozen', 'wallet', 'size', 'headshot', 'photo', 'girl', 'one', 'look', 'like', 'clip', 'larger', 'famili', 'portrait', 'kind', 'sinc', 'pictur', 'could', 'see', 'man', 'arm', 'rest', 'young', 'girl', 'right', 'shoulder', 'curiou', 'loosen', 'plastic', 'album', 'sheet', 'let', 'coupl', 'pic', 'slide', 'open', 'palm', 'back', 'photo', 'date', 'name', 'scrawl', 'black', 'marker', 'gt091084', 'mina', 'gt071384', 'mina', 'gt062384', 'mina', 'huh', 'that', 'weird', 'admit', 'there', 'joey', 'said', 'pull', 'attent', 'anoth', 'cardboard', 'box', 'six', 'album', 'mold', 'insid', 'fill', 'photo', 'girl', 'photo', 'look', 'almost', 'ident', 'hell', 'take', 'pictur', 'everi', 'damn', 'day', 'ask', 'joey', 'wasnt', 'listen', 'mission', 'rummag', 'attic', 'anyth', 'els', 'connect', 'mysteri', 'girl', 'look', 'photo', 'tri', 'determin', 'photo', 'print', 'thousand', 'time', 'differ', 'one', 'everi', 'day', 'austin', 'come', 'take', 'look', 'said', 'move', 'asid', 'old', 'lamp', 'stand', 'close', 'album', 'walk', 'eye', 'fixat', 'wooden', 'floor', 'front', 'us', 'scratch', 'floorboard', 'jag', 'bizarr', 'symbol', 'didnt', 'resembl', 'anyth', 'ever', 'seen', 'beyond', 'metal', 'trunk', 'way', 'furnitur', 'arrang', 'look', 'though', 'portion', 'attic', 'set', 'asid', 'particular', 'item', 'like', 'kind', 'shrine', 'think', 'insid', 'joey', 'said', 'walk', 'trunk', 'eager', 'open', 'dont', 'think', 'meant', 'said', 'grab', 'shoulder', 'call', 'sixth', 'sens', 'someth', 'told', 'get', 'hell', 'attic', 'immedi', 'arent', 'least', 'bit', 'curiou', 'ask', 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'attic', 'curs', 'whatev', 'stupid', 'gotten', 'top', 'ladder', 'flip', 'sim', 'hang', 'light', 'saw', 'nois', 'come', 'wardrob', 'fall', 'joey', 'stand', 'almost', 'still', 'statu', 'seemingli', 'oblivi', 'fact', 'show', 'display', 'superhuman', 'strength', 'move', 'toward', 'trunk', 'hell', 'gotten', 'told', 'come', 'said', 'ran', 'pull', 'away', 'trunk', 'freez', 'saw', 'eye', 'roll', 'back', 'head', 'let', 'brother', 'said', 'dead', 'monoton', 'joey', 'your', 'scare', 'littl', 'bro', 'said', 'nervous', 'tri', 'shake', 'snap', 'got', 'angri', 'shove', 'back', 'knock', 'wind', 'clutch', 'chest', 'struggl', 'take', 'breath', 'joey', 'stood', 'eye', 'lifeless', 'mischiev', 'smile', 'cover', 'face', 'want', 'play', 'whisper', 'climb', 'top', 'start', 'strangl', 'kick', 'struggl', 'get', 'surpris', 'extraordinari', 'amount', 'strength', 'joey', 'display', 'realiz', 'happen', 'wasnt', 'brother', 'thing', 'control', 'bodi', 'wasnt', 'go', 'stop', 'choke', 'life', 'kneed', 'hard', 'stomach', 'throw', 'gasp', 'breath', 'eye', 'dart', 'attic', 'search', 'someth', 'defend', 'basebal', 'bat', 'feet', 'away', 'tuck', 'dresser', 'joey', 'stood', 'time', 'come', 'even', 'faster', 'lung', 'bat', 'grab', 'ahold', 'handl', 'snatch', 'feet', 'drag', 'toward', 'weird', 'etch', 'floor', 'grip', 'bat', 'hard', 'could', 'said', 'apolog', 'brother', 'swing', 'hit', 'back', 'leg', 'fell', 'ground', 'got', 'hit', 'bat', 'straight', 'back', 'head', 'enough', 'leav', 'bruis', 'render', 'unconsci', 'brother', 'feet', 'still', 'control', 'whatev', 'possess', 'didnt', 'much', 'time', 'come', 'good', 'plan', 'ran', 'hard', 'could', 'garag', 'grab', 'coupl', 'ga', 'canist', 'along', 'one', 'dad', 'old', 'cigarett', 'lighter', 'got', 'back', 'suppli', 'tuck', 'one', 'arm', 'bat', 'firmli', 'thing', 'attic', 'push', 'joey', 'back', 'feet', 'use', 'bodi', 'like', 'puppet', 'tri', 'open', 'trunk', 'didnt', 'even', 'hesit', 'time', 'slam', 'bat', 'hard', 'joey', 'head', 'crack', 'pour', 'gasolin', 'overtop', 'symbol', 'trunk', 'photo', 'album', 'lit', 'whole', 'damn', 'thing', 'swear', 'heard', 'scream', 'fire', 'consum', 'item', 'joey', 'collaps', 'shook', 'violent', 'stuff', 'attic', 'render', 'ash', 'pull', 'away', 'blaze', 'went', 'kitchen', 'grab', 'fire', 'extinguish', 'three', 'minut', 'rest', 'night', 'watch', 'joey', 'make', 'sure', 'didnt', 'seizur', 'blow', 'forc', 'inflict', 'plu', 'tri', 'come', 'plausibl', 'explan', 'tell', 'mom', 'dad', 'got', 'home', 'next', 'morn', 'never', 'happen', 'though', 'parent', 'announc', 'make', 'made', 'home', 'dad', 'walk', 'hous', 'carri', 'larg', 'cardboard', 'box', 'what', 'ask', 'set', 'live', 'room', 'take', 'look', 'go', 'help', 'mom', 'answer', 'quickli', 'tore', 'open', 'box', 'look', 'insid', 'find', 'set', 'instruct', 'piec', 'meant', 'assembl', 'bed', 'turn', 'door', 'saw', 'dad', 'push', 'mom', 'insid', 'hous', 'wheelchair', 'saw', 'cradl', 'arm', 'newborn', 'babi', 'austin', 'come', 'meet', 'new', 'sister', 'name', 'guess', 'mina', '330httpsredditapplinkhp6xbfmw7']"
33,Ludedq,[removed],"The Little girl in lindbacken, sweden",['remov']
34,LuminaryCanid,"A week ago, I had an eye operation to fix some light sensitivity issues, and ever since, I think I’ve been having some weird side effects. I just keep having these creepy dreams, and I had a really strange experience last night that made me question my sanity a little bit. I’m posting this because it really scared me and I want to know if anyone else has experienced the same thing after a similar procedure. I’ve already scheduled a follow-up with my doctor, so this is just to kind of pass the time until then, seeing as how I don’t really want to go to sleep right now. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Let me start with the procedure. The operation was to install this new device just under the lenses in my eyes. The device is like a little piece of film which reduces the amount of light entering my eye without compromising my vision. I won’t say the name of the exact product in case there are any legal issues. 

I had the first of these dreams during the operation, while I was under anaesthetic. After that, I had the same dream the night after the operation. As of today, I have decided to start writing them down, but at this point, I’ve already had three of them. 

The dream while I was under anaesthetic started in the operating room, but the ones at home would always start in my bedroom. Everything else would be more or less the same:

I would be standing by the light switch. I would turn out the light and my eyes just wouldn’t adjust to the darkness. I would stand there, my eyes open, and I wouldn’t see a thing. Not the faint light of my laptop charger, not the blinking of my alarm clock, not a crack of light from the streetlamps edging through the blinds. My room would be completely black. I would wonder if my sight was getting worse, but then I would start to feel a current of cold air around me. I would realise that I couldn’t see my room because it wasn’t there anymore. I would want to take a step forward, feel my way around, but I’d always be too scared. Not just because it was dark, but because I was afraid that I would put my hand on something *unpleasant*. Though I couldn’t see, I could sense that the space in the dream wasn’t empty. I realised that whatever was around me was so close that I could feel my own breath bouncing off of it and blowing back onto me each time I exhaled. I would try to hold my breath, but that only made time in the dream stretch out even longer. 

Whatever it was, it was curved and seemed to be moving. It didn’t seem to notice me, if it was the sort of thing that *could* notice. I would reach out to touch it and what felt like smooth cloth would slide away from my hand. I would reach upwards and feel the silky substance extend far over my head. It would be flowing, or *pouring* from someplace high above.  It wouldn’t quite avoid my grasp, but it would respond to my hand the way a plume of smoke might respond to a bit of turbulence in the air. It would float around my hand in jagged shapes, then quickly re-align itself until disturbed again. When I tried to picture what this substance looked like, I could only picture narrow strips of black, slightly animate silk suspended from some high-up place. 

The first two times, the dream ended just after I touched the silk. But in the third dream, I finally closed my fingers around it and held on. As the dream began to fade, I reached backwards with my free hand and was surprised to feel my fingers brush against my bedroom light switch. I flicked it on. Then I woke up. I was shocked to find that I woke up standing by the light switch in my *actual bedroom*. The lights were on. I had apparently stood up in my sleep, wandered over to the light switch, and turned on the light. 

That wasn’t the only weird thing. I almost screamed when I looked down at my left hand and saw a clump of black fibres tangled around my fingers. My thoughts went immediately to the substance from my dream. But instead of being as smooth as silk, the tangle of fibres in my hand was as coarse as frayed rope. Instead of curving elegantly on its own, the bundle sagged in my grip as though I had just pulled it out of water. It felt slightly damp, yet also a little crumbly to the touch. It felt tough, too, like thin roots that had been pulled from sandy soil. It was almost like a mass of hair, but a bit thicker, with something scaling off of it. 

I examined it in the light, trying to figure out what it could be. It was the wrong texture and colour to be hair from my own head. It wasn’t a piece of upholstery from any of the furniture in the room. Was it something made by an insect? Was it some kind of rot being produced by my own body? I couldn’t give the stuff a name if I tried. All I could think was that it was something that should have been left where I found it. In short, it really creeped me out.

I know I probably should have kept the stuff for future “analysis” but at that moment I was so scared that I just ran and flushed it down the toilet. 

That was where things stood as of last night. 

This morning I left a message with my doctor about it, and hopefully we can discuss it during my next follow-up appointment. Right now, I’m finding it difficult to find the willpower to flick off my bedroom light and even try to go to sleep. I told my mom and my uncle about what I’ve been seeing, but they didn’t really buy that it was a side effect of the surgery – and I had nothing to show them because I flushed the evidence like an idiot. So instead of just lying there trying to fall asleep, I decided to make an account and post this here in the hopes that someone would have some advice on what is happening here.

Is this some strange after-effect of anaesthetic? I don’t remember what kind I had… Has anyone else had this after an eye operation? ",Strange Side Effects of an Eye Operation? (Part 1),"['week', 'ago', 'eye', 'oper', 'fix', 'light', 'sensit', 'issu', 'ever', 'sinc', 'think', 'i’v', 'weird', 'side', 'effect', 'keep', 'creepi', 'dream', 'realli', 'strang', 'experi', 'last', 'night', 'made', 'question', 'saniti', 'littl', 'bit', 'i’m', 'post', 'realli', 'scare', 'want', 'know', 'anyon', 'els', 'experienc', 'thing', 'similar', 'procedur', 'i’v', 'alreadi', 'schedul', 'followup', 'doctor', 'kind', 'pass', 'time', 'see', 'don’t', 'realli', 'want', 'go', 'sleep', 'right', 'i’m', 'get', 'ahead', 'let', 'start', 'procedur', 'oper', 'instal', 'new', 'devic', 'lens', 'eye', 'devic', 'like', 'littl', 'piec', 'film', 'reduc', 'amount', 'light', 'enter', 'eye', 'without', 'compromis', 'vision', 'won’t', 'say', 'name', 'exact', 'product', 'case', 'legal', 'issu', 'first', 'dream', 'oper', 'anaesthet', 'dream', 'night', 'oper', 'today', 'decid', 'start', 'write', 'point', 'i’v', 'alreadi', 'three', 'dream', 'anaesthet', 'start', 'oper', 'room', 'one', 'home', 'would', 'alway', 'start', 'bedroom', 'everyth', 'els', 'would', 'less', 'would', 'stand', 'light', 'switch', 'would', 'turn', 'light', 'eye', 'wouldn’t', 'adjust', 'dark', 'would', 'stand', 'eye', 'open', 'wouldn’t', 'see', 'thing', 'faint', 'light', 'laptop', 'charger', 'blink', 'alarm', 'clock', 'crack', 'light', 'streetlamp', 'edg', 'blind', 'room', 'would', 'complet', 'black', 'would', 'wonder', 'sight', 'get', 'wors', 'would', 'start', 'feel', 'current', 'cold', 'air', 'around', 'would', 'realis', 'couldn’t', 'see', 'room', 'wasn’t', 'anymor', 'would', 'want', 'take', 'step', 'forward', 'feel', 'way', 'around', 'i’d', 'alway', 'scare', 'dark', 'afraid', 'would', 'put', 'hand', 'someth', 'unpleas', 'though', 'couldn’t', 'see', 'could', 'sens', 'space', 'dream', 'wasn’t', 'empti', 'realis', 'whatev', 'around', 'close', 'could', 'feel', 'breath', 'bounc', 'blow', 'back', 'onto', 'time', 'exhal', 'would', 'tri', 'hold', 'breath', 'made', 'time', 'dream', 'stretch', 'even', 'longer', 'whatev', 'curv', 'seem', 'move', 'didn’t', 'seem', 'notic', 'sort', 'thing', 'could', 'notic', 'would', 'reach', 'touch', 'felt', 'like', 'smooth', 'cloth', 'would', 'slide', 'away', 'hand', 'would', 'reach', 'upward', 'feel', 'silki', 'substanc', 'extend', 'far', 'head', 'would', 'flow', 'pour', 'someplac', 'high', 'wouldn’t', 'quit', 'avoid', 'grasp', 'would', 'respond', 'hand', 'way', 'plume', 'smoke', 'might', 'respond', 'bit', 'turbul', 'air', 'would', 'float', 'around', 'hand', 'jag', 'shape', 'quickli', 'realign', 'disturb', 'tri', 'pictur', 'substanc', 'look', 'like', 'could', 'pictur', 'narrow', 'strip', 'black', 'slightli', 'anim', 'silk', 'suspend', 'highup', 'place', 'first', 'two', 'time', 'dream', 'end', 'touch', 'silk', 'third', 'dream', 'final', 'close', 'finger', 'around', 'held', 'dream', 'began', 'fade', 'reach', 'backward', 'free', 'hand', 'surpris', 'feel', 'finger', 'brush', 'bedroom', 'light', 'switch', 'flick', 'woke', 'shock', 'find', 'woke', 'stand', 'light', 'switch', 'actual', 'bedroom', 'light', 'appar', 'stood', 'sleep', 'wander', 'light', 'switch', 'turn', 'light', 'wasn’t', 'weird', 'thing', 'almost', 'scream', 'look', 'left', 'hand', 'saw', 'clump', 'black', 'fibr', 'tangl', 'around', 'finger', 'thought', 'went', 'immedi', 'substanc', 'dream', 'instead', 'smooth', 'silk', 'tangl', 'fibr', 'hand', 'coars', 'fray', 'rope', 'instead', 'curv', 'elegantli', 'bundl', 'sag', 'grip', 'though', 'pull', 'water', 'felt', 'slightli', 'damp', 'yet', 'also', 'littl', 'crumbl', 'touch', 'felt', 'tough', 'like', 'thin', 'root', 'pull', 'sandi', 'soil', 'almost', 'like', 'mass', 'hair', 'bit', 'thicker', 'someth', 'scale', 'examin', 'light', 'tri', 'figur', 'could', 'wrong', 'textur', 'colour', 'hair', 'head', 'wasn’t', 'piec', 'upholsteri', 'furnitur', 'room', 'someth', 'made', 'insect', 'kind', 'rot', 'produc', 'bodi', 'couldn’t', 'give', 'stuff', 'name', 'tri', 'could', 'think', 'someth', 'left', 'found', 'short', 'realli', 'creep', 'know', 'probabl', 'kept', 'stuff', 'futur', '“analysis”', 'moment', 'scare', 'ran', 'flush', 'toilet', 'thing', 'stood', 'last', 'night', 'morn', 'left', 'messag', 'doctor', 'hope', 'discuss', 'next', 'followup', 'appoint', 'right', 'i’m', 'find', 'difficult', 'find', 'willpow', 'flick', 'bedroom', 'light', 'even', 'tri', 'go', 'sleep', 'told', 'mom', 'uncl', 'i’v', 'see', 'didn’t', 'realli', 'buy', 'side', 'effect', 'surgeri', '–', 'noth', 'show', 'flush', 'evid', 'like', 'idiot', 'instead', 'lie', 'tri', 'fall', 'asleep', 'decid', 'make', 'account', 'post', 'hope', 'someon', 'would', 'advic', 'happen', 'strang', 'aftereffect', 'anaesthet', 'don’t', 'rememb', 'kind', 'had…', 'anyon', 'els', 'eye', 'oper']"
35,CraigUzumaki,"There once was a strange man, who had gotten obsessed with strange phenomenon. He'd excessively study every unsolved missing cases, every unsolved mystery and every sighting he'd come across. His friends had long forgotten about him, his family hadn't seen him in years. He blocked out all contact with the outside world except for the internet, so he could focus on his obsession. He wanted to connect the dots so badly he'd go days without food or sleep. He'd been like this for 4 years now. He started when he moved into isolation. He bought a house in the woods, so none could interfere with his work, his passion, his life. Surprisingly, he was a smart man who had outwitted any who dared to challenge him. He managed to connect events none would would be able to and he worked rather quickly and efficiently. He would have been a great asset to society, had it not been for this mental plague driving him further into madness, leading him like he's a meer puppet.


However, this intellect became his downfall. In the 4 years of gathering data and solving mysteries that had long been forgotten, he had stumbled upon something interesting. It was ludicrous and farfetched, but it somehow seemed plausible. He discovered a pattern of missing cases, fires and murders. This pattern lead him to an entity, a demon. He had figured out that demon existed and roamed the earth long ago, but this one seemed different. He had seen blurry pictures of nightmares that kept him from sleeping more than his work. Yet, this one seemed sophisticated, almost human. He got intrigued and spend hours looking for sightings online. He found that this creature was a bit well known. It had stories about it, videos documenting sightings all over the globe and personal accounts of the rare survivors. However most of it was fake, as you can expect from the internet. After a while he figured out how to give more credibility to some of those survivor claims. He tracked the Ip addresses of a few posts he thought were real and most of the posters disappeared. He kept looking for details on them and came across a royal treasury of information. After months of searching he finally found definitive proof. Proof even the toughest and wittiest of sceptics would not be able to refute. Then he heard a knock on his door. 


He was surprised, but immediately went to the door. Anyone knocking on his door must be in danger, it was winter after all. He opened the door to see to people, a woman and a man. He knew the man, he in the nearby village and sometimes came to check on him. He introduced the woman as his wife and explained that they recently got married. He had sent an invitation, but the hermit never showed up. Likely being too busy searching the vast ocean that is the internet for anything about the demon that has been captivating him. The pair got in and sat on the couch. They began conversing with the hermit, which he enjoyed very much. He never realized how lovely he truly was, sitting in his room all day without anyone to strike up a conversation with. After hours of chatting the man began convincing the hermit to move to the village or at the very least visit more often. He prepared a whole speech to try and get the hermit to leave his lonesome ways behind, but that wasn't needed. All the hermit needed was the company and the request. He had already had a change of heart. The hermit got up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. 


As he was gathering all the ingredients they heard a knock on the door. The man opened the door to find an officer standing there. He looked with sorrow in his eyes, something had clearly gone wrong. The man went to get the hermit, but the officer stopped him. The news had to do with him. The officer explained that the man’s wife had died, having been hung in the woods. The man didn't have a reaction the officer expected. He looked confused, not in shock. He told the officer that that can't be true, because his wife was inside with him. The officer furrowed his brow and got inside. To his surprise the man told the truth, she was inside. The hermit got out of the kitchen and asked what was wrong. The officer was too confused to even properly understand the question, so the man explained that the officer said he found his wife hanging in the woods. Both the woman and hermit were confounded. The hermit proposed to go to the woods and look at the body, surly the officer must have been imaging it. He quickly went to turn off the oven and grabbed his coat. 


They began walking towards the supposed body. The officer said it was at the side of the forest, so it was going to take a long time. They spend the time conversing further. The hermit even invited the officer for dinner once this has been cleared up. But things didn't go as expected. They arrived at a very real body. The man’s wife's body. They all looked with shock and confusion. After a minute the lads turned around to look at the woman, but she wasn't there. Panic ensued, it didn't take long for the lads to question their mental state. In a desperate attempt to prove to themselves that they haven't gone completely bonkers, they split up and started searching for her. Half an hour went by before the first incident. The man found her. She sat on a tree branch, giggling. The man stumbled back before turning around to call the others. As he called them he felt a sharp pain in his back. He fell on the ground, lifeless. The woman had killed him with a fancy knife. It had jewels on it and was expertly crafted. It was sharp enough to slit someone's throat in one fluid motion, perfect for an assassin. 


The hermit and officer eventually arrived at the corps. They were in utter shock. After a good few seconds of staring the officer pulled out his gun. They didn't know what was going on, but a murder had been committed and they needed to do everything to avenge their fallen friend, as well as survive. The officer tried to contact his department for some back up, but the signal was jammed. They were on their own. All they needed to do was getting back to the village, but the village was at least 20 minutes away. Slowly they walked towards their goal, trending carefully lest they snap a branch. They wouldn't want to give away their position after all. The hermit saw something flash by a top the trees. The officer pointed his gun at the leafs, aim at the slightest rustle. The officer fell into a trap, however, as the woman silently rushed him from the front. The officer was unable to react and got takedown to the ground. The woman had a sadistic smile on her face as she grabbed her knife. 


The hermit rushed her. The woman stabbed the officer in his arm and got up to deal with her main dish. As he tried to take her down she pushed away, hitting a tree. The officer grabbed his gun with his not-stabbed, not-dominant hand and fired a shot. He missed and the woman kick his gun out of his hand and into hers. She then fired two shots. A bullet for each of the hermit's kneecaps. He let out scream as he dropped to the floor, unable to move. The woman shot the helpless officer in the head and walked towards the hermit. She grabbed him and took him with her. The two were never seen again. 


“What happened with the hermit?”, you might ask. She took him to an old shack, far away from the village. There the woman laid the still living hermit on a table. Then she cut his chest open, ripped his heart out like an pre-Columbian Aztec and replaced it with a larger heart that previously belonged to a cow. https://www.reddit.com/user/CraigUzumaki/comments/a7gk9n/proxy/?utm_source=reddit-android

",A change of heart,"['strang', 'man', 'gotten', 'obsess', 'strang', 'phenomenon', 'hed', 'excess', 'studi', 'everi', 'unsolv', 'miss', 'case', 'everi', 'unsolv', 'mysteri', 'everi', 'sight', 'hed', 'come', 'across', 'friend', 'long', 'forgotten', 'famili', 'hadnt', 'seen', 'year', 'block', 'contact', 'outsid', 'world', 'except', 'internet', 'could', 'focu', 'obsess', 'want', 'connect', 'dot', 'badli', 'hed', 'go', 'day', 'without', 'food', 'sleep', 'hed', 'like', 'year', 'start', 'move', 'isol', 'bought', 'hous', 'wood', 'none', 'could', 'interfer', 'work', 'passion', 'life', 'surprisingli', 'smart', 'man', 'outwit', 'dare', 'challeng', 'manag', 'connect', 'event', 'none', 'would', 'would', 'abl', 'work', 'rather', 'quickli', 'effici', 'would', 'great', 'asset', 'societi', 'mental', 'plagu', 'drive', 'mad', 'lead', 'like', 'he', 'meer', 'puppet', 'howev', 'intellect', 'becam', 'downfal', 'year', 'gather', 'data', 'solv', 'mysteri', 'long', 'forgotten', 'stumbl', 'upon', 'someth', 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'knock', 'door', 'must', 'danger', 'winter', 'open', 'door', 'see', 'peopl', 'woman', 'man', 'knew', 'man', 'nearbi', 'villag', 'sometim', 'came', 'check', 'introduc', 'woman', 'wife', 'explain', 'recent', 'got', 'marri', 'sent', 'invit', 'hermit', 'never', 'show', 'like', 'busi', 'search', 'vast', 'ocean', 'internet', 'anyth', 'demon', 'captiv', 'pair', 'got', 'sat', 'couch', 'began', 'convers', 'hermit', 'enjoy', 'much', 'never', 'realiz', 'love', 'truli', 'sit', 'room', 'day', 'without', 'anyon', 'strike', 'convers', 'hour', 'chat', 'man', 'began', 'convinc', 'hermit', 'move', 'villag', 'least', 'visit', 'often', 'prepar', 'whole', 'speech', 'tri', 'get', 'hermit', 'leav', 'lonesom', 'way', 'behind', 'wasnt', 'need', 'hermit', 'need', 'compani', 'request', 'alreadi', 'chang', 'heart', 'hermit', 'got', 'went', 'kitchen', 'prepar', 'dinner', 'gather', 'ingredi', 'heard', 'knock', 'door', 'man', 'open', 'door', 'find', 'offic', 'stand', 'look', 'sorrow', 'eye', 'someth', 'clearli', 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'chest', 'open', 'rip', 'heart', 'like', 'precolumbian', 'aztec', 'replac', 'larger', 'heart', 'previous', 'belong', 'cow', 'httpswwwredditcomusercraiguzumakicommentsa7gk9nproxyutmsourceredditandroid']"
36,Takinom35,"  

Ever since I was a young boy, I had something specific I wanted to do before I die. Something I couldn’t tell anyone, if someone realized I was being serious about it, I may be taken into custody. I want to take a life, and I want it to be bloody. Every time I think about it, my blood boils and my head feels heavy, there have been times in which I got afraid I would lose it and murder someone in public. At this point, it’s only a matter of time till it happens.

I haven’t had a normal life. Nor a happy one either. My father abandoned me and my mother when I was conceived, and when I was 13, my mother got sick with Alzheimer. Because I had to take care of her all the time, I didn’t have time for friends or out of home activities, and the constant loneliness drove me into a deep state of depression. I always thought that it would get better as I grow up, but now that I’m a fully-fledged adult, I realize that It was nothing more than a lie I told myself to keep me from breaking.

It was a documentary on some informative channel about a serial killer that started it. The pictures were extremely graphic, the bodies of the victims, the blood spilled on the walls and floor, the explanation given by the experts of how it all had gone down. My mother had already taken her medicine and gone to sleep, and I was left to myself, with no one to stop me from watching whatever I felt like. And so I sat there for several hours, my eyes glued to the T.V. screen, experiencing the thrill of killing through the eyes of other people. For a good amount of weeks, it was all in my mind, and soon, I would start to seeing myself murdering someone in my dreams.

I’m not a very smart person. I can’t devise a plan to commit a “perfect murder”, nor am I rich, to cover everything with money. I also want to do it like the man in the documentary did, with nothing more than a knife. I know that this wish of mine is very selfish, and a horrible act of evil and malice, but I simply can’t stop myself. Because I am self-aware of this, I don’t wish to bother anyone else than my victim with this, so I should find someone in a similar situation to mine; someone with little, or even better, no one to care about him or her.

One person comes to mind, one of my university classmates. We’ve been in the same classes for years, and he is probably the only person I can say I deeply got to know and understand, besides my mother. He’s a very lonely person with quite an amount of family issues as far as I know. Maybe that’s why we could get along, or tolerate each other at least. I normally wouldn’t even dare think of this, but I can’t take it anymore. I’m desperate. This feeling, it makes me shake, it gives me headaches, it deafens my ears, It frustrates me so much I need to harm something, and usually that something ends up being myself. This can’t continue, I can’t take it for much longer.

I have to do it, and I have to do it right this very moment. I’ve already gone to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, the biggest I could find. It’s still a kitchen knife, but it should be enough to cut through human flesh. My hands shake like they have never before, and I can feel the anxiety in my stomach build up with every second that passes.

The dim light entering through the window gets reflected by the blade, and I know the time has come. I raise the knife in front of me.. And I stab myself deep in the stomach. Warm blood runs down the blade and into my hands. It takes a few seconds for the pain to set in, intense, piercing pain running through my entire torso. I bite my shirt to avoid screaming, but a few muffled growls escape my mouth still. As I draw the blade back, a stream of blood flows outside from the now very visible hole in my stomach and a string of pain claims the strength of my hand. This is it. I’ve been craving this moment for so long now. I can hear my heartbeat as my vision begins to blur and my head begins to fall. I choose another spot and sheathe the blade yet once more, and as I try to draw it back once more, I find myself lacking the strength to do so. I rest my head on the floor, and gently fall asleep.",Dying Wish.,"['ever', 'sinc', 'young', 'boy', 'someth', 'specif', 'want', 'die', 'someth', 'couldn’t', 'tell', 'anyon', 'someon', 'realiz', 'seriou', 'may', 'taken', 'custodi', 'want', 'take', 'life', 'want', 'bloodi', 'everi', 'time', 'think', 'blood', 'boil', 'head', 'feel', 'heavi', 'time', 'got', 'afraid', 'would', 'lose', 'murder', 'someon', 'public', 'point', 'it’', 'matter', 'time', 'till', 'happen', 'haven’t', 'normal', 'life', 'happi', 'one', 'either', 'father', 'abandon', 'mother', 'conceiv', 'mother', 'got', 'sick', 'alzheim', 'take', 'care', 'time', 'didn’t', 'time', 'friend', 'home', 'activ', 'constant', 'loneli', 'drove', 'deep', 'state', 'depress', 'alway', 'thought', 'would', 'get', 'better', 'grow', 'i’m', 'fullyfledg', 'adult', 'realiz', 'noth', 'lie', 'told', 'keep', 'break', 'documentari', 'inform', 'channel', 'serial', 'killer', 'start', 'pictur', 'extrem', 'graphic', 'bodi', 'victim', 'blood', 'spill', 'wall', 'floor', 'explan', 'given', 'expert', 'gone', 'mother', 'alreadi', 'taken', 'medicin', 'gone', 'sleep', 'left', 'one', 'stop', 'watch', 'whatev', 'felt', 'like', 'sat', 'sever', 'hour', 'eye', 'glu', 'tv', 'screen', 'experienc', 'thrill', 'kill', 'eye', 'peopl', 'good', 'amount', 'week', 'mind', 'soon', 'would', 'start', 'see', 'murder', 'someon', 'dream', 'i’m', 'smart', 'person', 'can’t', 'devis', 'plan', 'commit', '“perfect', 'murder”', 'rich', 'cover', 'everyth', 'money', 'also', 'want', 'like', 'man', 'documentari', 'noth', 'knife', 'know', 'wish', 'mine', 'selfish', 'horribl', 'act', 'evil', 'malic', 'simpli', 'can’t', 'stop', 'selfawar', 'don’t', 'wish', 'bother', 'anyon', 'els', 'victim', 'find', 'someon', 'similar', 'situat', 'mine', 'someon', 'littl', 'even', 'better', 'one', 'care', 'one', 'person', 'come', 'mind', 'one', 'univers', 'classmat', 'we’v', 'class', 'year', 'probabl', 'person', 'say', 'deepli', 'got', 'know', 'understand', 'besid', 'mother', 'he’', 'lone', 'person', 'quit', 'amount', 'famili', 'issu', 'far', 'know', 'mayb', 'that’', 'could', 'get', 'along', 'toler', 'least', 'normal', 'wouldn’t', 'even', 'dare', 'think', 'can’t', 'take', 'anymor', 'i’m', 'desper', 'feel', 'make', 'shake', 'give', 'headach', 'deafen', 'ear', 'frustrat', 'much', 'need', 'harm', 'someth', 'usual', 'someth', 'end', 'can’t', 'continu', 'can’t', 'take', 'much', 'longer', 'right', 'moment', 'i’v', 'alreadi', 'gone', 'kitchen', 'grab', 'knife', 'biggest', 'could', 'find', 'it’', 'still', 'kitchen', 'knife', 'enough', 'cut', 'human', 'flesh', 'hand', 'shake', 'like', 'never', 'feel', 'anxieti', 'stomach', 'build', 'everi', 'second', 'pass', 'dim', 'light', 'enter', 'window', 'get', 'reflect', 'blade', 'know', 'time', 'come', 'rais', 'knife', 'front', 'stab', 'deep', 'stomach', 'warm', 'blood', 'run', 'blade', 'hand', 'take', 'second', 'pain', 'set', 'intens', 'pierc', 'pain', 'run', 'entir', 'torso', 'bite', 'shirt', 'avoid', 'scream', 'muffl', 'growl', 'escap', 'mouth', 'still', 'draw', 'blade', 'back', 'stream', 'blood', 'flow', 'outsid', 'visibl', 'hole', 'stomach', 'string', 'pain', 'claim', 'strength', 'hand', 'i’v', 'crave', 'moment', 'long', 'hear', 'heartbeat', 'vision', 'begin', 'blur', 'head', 'begin', 'fall', 'choos', 'anoth', 'spot', 'sheath', 'blade', 'yet', 'tri', 'draw', 'back', 'find', 'lack', 'strength', 'rest', 'head', 'floor', 'gentli', 'fall', 'asleep']"
37,ashcandace08,"Where I live its almost always dark, seriously, like 10 months out of the year its pretty damn dark here. The other two months, its not even full on daylight, more of a mid morning kind of light. With the dark comes the cold. Hard to be warm with no sun light, I guess. Anyways, even with the dark and cold, life goes on pretty much like it would any place else. I have a few close friends and like any group of 18 year olds we find things to keep us busy, some more legal than others.

Before I dive into all the details, let me introduce a few of us involved. Obviously the names in this story have been changed and I'm not including the location due to privacy and creeps on the internet. We'll call myself Ashlynn, which is actually my real name but for everyone else we'll go with Leah, Mike, and Dan. Its usually always the four of us, our town isn't deserted but its not anywhere near a metropolis. I think its about 6,900 approximately, so it is pretty small compared to other places, but what do you expect? Who wants to live in darkness more than half the year? We're used to it by now, its not so much of an inconvience when most of the things you're doing is done better in the dark. Let me elaborate on that....my friends and I like to explore abandon places, and the fact that we have 24 hours of darkness give us an advantage. We can go whenever we want and in a town this small we pretty much have free reign, no one really cares what you're doing as long as you're not hurting anyone. I wish someone would have caught us before we explored where we went a few nights ago.

It was three days after Christmas and after spending too much time stuck in our houses with family we were itching to get out, I guess thats what made us look into exploring some place we had never gone before. About 45 miles outside of town there is an old military base or compound, not really sure what you would call it. Its been abandoned since before we were born, I think my grandpa said they stopped using it when he was around 12 years old which was about 1953. We knew this place was here, everyone knows about it and everyone pretty much stays away. For good reason, we learned that too late though.

We all decide to grab a bite and discuss our plans at a restaurant in town, we get there around 2 and by the time we eat and get all the details ironed out we end up hitting the road at around 3 pm. After a stop for gas and snacks to make it through most of the night we end up at the outskirts of the facility around 4:30 in the afternoon. We weren't really worried about getting caught but we thought we'd hide the car inside a small patch of brush off to the side of the road and then walk the rest of the way to the front gate. Dan grabbed some bolt cutters, flashlights, the snacks, and toilet paper. Mike grabbed his weed and a small hand gun, two things he rarely left the house without. Leah and I kind of just tagged along empty handed. As you can tell we didn't expect to be there long and we didn't expect much to happen. One thing I never left behind though was my camera. I loved being able to capture the insides of these places. So empty and quiet, even though it was just a picture, you could just look at it and hear the absolute nothingness of the places we would explore. Something fascinating about how in these places time just seemed to stop. I had never captured anything weird or paranormal in any of my pictures but a girl can dream, right?

We make it to the front gate and to our surprise and a little disappointment we see that the lock had already been previously cut. We were really hoping to be the first group in there so it dampened the mood for sure. We had drove almost an hour though, so we decided to push on and see what we could find anyways. We reached the front door and it was dark. I know I talked about dark before, as in its always dark but this was a different kind of dark. This dark was barely penatrable by our flash lights. We had the HID ones that shine the white light instead of the warm yellow light and we were still squinting and tripping as we went. The front doors were sealed up tight, boarded and chained, so we ventured around the side of the building until eventually we found what we assumed to be the entrance that the people before us had opened. When we stepped inside the air was moldy and wet. You could tell that this place had been taken back by the elements a long, long time ago. We were standing in what looked like a kitchen, more like a school cafeteria to be exact. We must have came in from the back entrance where they took out the trash and stored all food that they prepared on the base. The shelves were pretty bare besides a few cans here and there, nothing worth taking with us. I snapped a few pictures and with the flash we got a better look around, for a millisecond anyways. On the third picture Leah screamed as soon as I hit the shutter button. This was odd because Leah is usually the one that will stand in a dark room of an abandoned hospital alone for the sake of a dare. With all flash lights on we turned towards Leah to see her staring out over the counter into the dining hall its self, we pointed our lights that way and to our dismay seen nothing. Leah was visibly shaken and had to be talked down out of a panic, swearing that she seen a man standing out in the middle pointing towards us, of course we believed she was only trying to bring the mood up by making up a ghost or some other type of excitement. She promised us she knew what she seen and we agreed to disagree that their very well may be something out here. 

We continued to explore for the next few hours, weaving in and out of halls and corridors, rooms and offices. All these rooms thick with decay. Unlike the kitchen though these rooms were pretty furnished for the place being empty for so long. We wound that up to being due to homeless or maybe passer throughs getting into the last of the canned food supply. You could tell the furniture was from times past though, I don't think even my grandma had furniture as old in her home, more of Victorian era rather than the 50's. As we're peaking into every other room I'm snapping picture after picture, many of which I'm sure look the same, Leah asks Dan if she can have some of the toilet paper we had brought with us. We have a rule that no one goes off alone, even to the bathroom, so I turn out of the room I'm in and meet Leah in the hall so we can make our way back out of the building and find a spot to squat. Even with this place falling apart, we can't make ourselves use one of the room corners, its still gross. It takes us about 5 minutes to reach the kitchen door that we came in to, how we even found it I had no idea and at this point, I was just hoping we would be able to find Mike and Dan again. We walk about three feet out the back and Leah finds a spot in some very low bushes to do her business. I turn back towards the building and directly in front of me is a window looking into the back of the cafe. The darkness is overwhelming so I point my flash light at the window expecting whole heartedly to see my own reflection but instead I see the outline of a body and as I pan up I'm looking straight into the eyes of what I can only describe as a corpse. Nothing happens at first, I don't scream, I don't run, I'm just staring and so is this thing. It takes me about 4 seconds to realize that I have legs and I take off running straight into Leah, who by this time is pulling up her pants, we both tumble on the ground, luckily out of the area she just used for the bathroom and I'm breathing heavy and sweating like its summer time in Florida. I don't know how she managed to see my face due to the darkness out at this place but she said in a low whisper, ""you seen him, right?"" I couldn't even catch my breathe to answer but I knew I didn't want to turn around back towards that building and I definitely didn't want to walk back inside of it.

After a short time, my breathing was under control and I felt a little better than I did when I was eye to eye with that thing in the window. Leah asked if I could tell her what I had seen in the window. I told her it was definitely a man, I was sure of that or what was left of a man. His face looked like it was literally hanging off the bones, his eyes were black, maybe missing the eye balls and I could see straight into one side of his face from his jaw up around his ear. Leah couldn't tell me much about what the man looked like that she thought she saw due to distance and the very short time she seen him but I knew one thing for sure, he didn't seem like he wanted us there. The air was thicker after I seen him, and I didn't feel for one second that we should go back into that building.

I'm exhausted, its about 29 hours since I've slept and replaying all the things that happened is making me feel so uneasy. I'm going to try and get some sleep but I promise I'll be back to tell the rest of this story. Unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg.",Its dark and cold here,"['live', 'almost', 'alway', 'dark', 'serious', 'like', 'month', 'year', 'pretti', 'damn', 'dark', 'two', 'month', 'even', 'full', 'daylight', 'mid', 'morn', 'kind', 'light', 'dark', 'come', 'cold', 'hard', 'warm', 'sun', 'light', 'guess', 'anyway', 'even', 'dark', 'cold', 'life', 'goe', 'pretti', 'much', 'like', 'would', 'place', 'els', 'close', 'friend', 'like', 'group', 'year', 'old', 'find', 'thing', 'keep', 'us', 'busi', 'legal', 'other', 'dive', 'detail', 'let', 'introduc', 'us', 'involv', 'obvious', 'name', 'stori', 'chang', 'im', 'includ', 'locat', 'due', 'privaci', 'creep', 'internet', 'well', 'call', 'ashlynn', 'actual', 'real', 'name', 'everyon', 'els', 'well', 'go', 'leah', 'mike', 'dan', 'usual', 'alway', 'four', 'us', 'town', 'isnt', 'desert', 'anywher', 'near', 'metropoli', 'think', 'approxim', 'pretti', 'small', 'compar', 'place', 'expect', 'want', 'live', 'dark', 'half', 'year', 'use', 'much', 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