Latest / Dr. NoSleep Animations / 5 Lockdown Horror Stories Animated (Compilation of September 2022)

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5 Lockdown Horror Stories Animated (Compilation of September 2022) · Dr. NoSleep Animations

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Talk to nicely. I dreamed a red dream, then woke
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: up to a klaxon alarm screaming. Sirens were going off
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: all over the base, dragging us out of bed. I
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: had my boots on and rifle in hand within 20 seconds.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Then I was out the door into the yard. It
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: was the middle of the night, but every light was on,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: even the big spotlights at the towers. Our little slice
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: of desert all around the base was shining brighter than
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: any summer afternoon. The sirens wailed again. I spotted my
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: sergeant directing a group of soldiers towards the main gate.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I jogged over to him, boots kicking up sand from
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the yard.' Sir, what's going on?' I asked. Sergeant Evans
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: was leaning over with his radio pressed to his ear.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: It must have been hard to hear orders with that
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: damn siren screeching. While Evans looked up at me, he
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: was pale.' Something' s gotten out of the lab,' he said.'
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: We' re under lockdown.' I felt my blood drain until I
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: probably looked as pale as the Sarge. I'd never seen
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: a breach of the lab in the six years I'd
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: been at Echo Base, but the old-timers told stories. Bad stories.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Bloody stories. Tales of whole platoons that disappeared in the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: desert after something broke out of the modern catacombs below
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the base. I tapped a finger above my rifle's trigger guard.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Is it... is it the thing they brought in last night?
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: I asked. All of us surface sideguards had an unspoken agreement,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: never to talk about what went into the big elevator
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the base that led to the lab.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: But if something got out, the old rules didn't apply.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Evans shook his head. I don't know. There could have
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: been anything in that truck and... A burst of gunfire
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: rang out, audible over the sirens. Then another burst, and
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: then rapid fire. The shots were coming from the northern warehouse.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Sarge and I both shared a glance, then ran for
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: cover behind a parked Jeep. All around us, other soldiers
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: were taking aim towards the warehouse. Some of the newer
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: guards were shaking, but even the vets looked a little shaky.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: We'd all seen the truck come in the night before.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: It was a blackout vehicle, armed, armored, and much bigger
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: than our usual drop-offs. That meant that whatever was inside
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: was considered hostile and dangerous. And now it looked like
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: it was out. The gunfire stopped suddenly. I spent a
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: long minute leaning around the jeep, rifle pointed at the
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: door to the warehouse. The only sound was the siren
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and a net stopped like a screamer suffocated by a
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: plastic bag. I could hear my breathing and Evans' next
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: to me in the new silence. Lights began to flicker
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: all around us. The spotlights went out first, then the
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: perimeter lights, but the backup generator kicked in and the
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: emergencies stayed on. That gave us just enough dim, coppery
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: light to see the thing emerge from the warehouse. It
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: was human-sized and shaped but surrounded by a haze. The
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: shimmer wrapped around the figure, a heat blur that hid
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: any feature or detail. Still, I could sense that the
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: entity was aware of us. Someone fired a burst. There
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: was a trace around in the mix. I watched the
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: orange wake left behind by the bullet. It should have
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: connected with the thing in the doorway, but there was
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: no impact. No damage, other than a few ripples in
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the haze. One of the guards in the tower nearest
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: to me burst into flames, and then the entire tower
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: was on fire. More shots rang out, but nothing appeared
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: to affect the entity. More soldiers became living candles all
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: around me. Those were the lucky ones. The creature in
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the shimmer moved, crossing the base in the time it
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: took me to blink. One moment, it was in front
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: of the warehouse. The next, it was near the east gate.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: It left a trail of flickering air behind it. All
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: of the soldiers caught in that shine withered away. I
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: saw them age, every second a decade, until they were
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: bone and rags. Neither Evans or I had fired at
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the creature yet. Sarge snapped his aim to follow the
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: thing as it teleported around the base. For some reason,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: it didn't seem able to leave. It was caught like
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: a wasp in a mason jar, but we were trapped
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: with it. Evans lowered his rifle. and signaled for me
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: to do the same. Wait for a moment, he said,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: loosening a grenade on his belt. The figure in the
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: shimmer kept warming around the yard, faster and faster, like
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: it was frustrated. Then it stopped dead on in front
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: of us, maybe 20 feet away. Evans didn't hesitate. He
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: tossed the grenade, and it landed right behind the monster.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: I heard a muffled thump. Oh God, I whispered. The
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: grenade was exploding. Slowly. Slowly. I saw the metal come
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: apart in a spray of fragments, a growing fireball crawling
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: out so, so slow. The detonation was stuck in the air,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: hanging and expanding in a syrupy ripple. A moment later,
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: it was snuffed out. I felt the entity's attention, but
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: knew it wasn't on me directly. Evans stood frozen.' Hey,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: there's a box in my room,' he told me.' Please.'
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: The shimmer was all around us and Evans was aging
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: like the rest. He looked at me, but never finished
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: what he was trying to tell me before he was
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: wasted away. The haze felt like water full of pins
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: or a cold wind that went through me. Up close,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: the figure inside was clearly human, but still only a shadow.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: It looked at me and I dropped my rifle. I
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: could tell it was old and lost and it was
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: getting unbelievably angry, but it didn't hate us. It just
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: refused to stay here. I stumbled toward the east gate,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: tripping and falling in the sand as I went. There
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: was fire all around me and decay, but I kept
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: my eyes focused on the gate controls. Two switches and
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: a combination code later, the gate began to squeal open.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: The creature was close. I felt the wind again and
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the sharp atmosphere. It wasn't leaving.' Leave,' I said, not
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: looking behind me.' Please leave.' That did it. I felt
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: a vicious wind pouring out through the open gate. We
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: were like a plane being depressurized. I grabbed onto the
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: gate controls and held tight. The maelstrom only lasted for
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: a few seconds. The base was still and silent after
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: it was gone. There were no wounded. Anyone who was
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: hurt was dead. I looked out the empty gate into
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: the star-clogged night sky. The shimmer was moving away from
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: the base slowly, leaving a trail of glass in the
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: sand as it went The official report was, who would
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: have guessed, gas leak. But even the official report didn't
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: make it far out of a black site base like ours.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Maybe some senator on some security council glanced at it once,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: made a note for future budgets, and that was it.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: As far as I know, the thing that got out
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: of the lab is still walking around the Nevada desert.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: If you see a ripple in the air that seems
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: like a mirage or a heat wave, check closely for
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: any hidden figures. I almost called out of work the
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: day that Tommy Benner's mom caused a school lockdown. It
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: was a rough week already, and then Mrs. Benner decided
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: to start blasting me on social media for being the
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: worst teacher Tommy has ever had. Since Tommy was in kindergarten,
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: I figured I was both the worst and best teacher
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: he'd ever had, but it was still frustrating to have
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: a parent go off publicly. And it was all because
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Tommy was struggling with learning letters. So when I heard
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: that Mrs. Benner was waiting at the front office and
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: wanted to talk to me, the news didn't put me
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: in the best mood. I glanced at Tommy, but I
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: didn't blame him for the situation. He was a sweet kid,
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: small for his age, with dark hair and a bone-deep shyness.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: It wasn't his fault that his mom was a raging Karen.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: My walkie-talkie clicked to life again with the voice of Anna,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: the school secretary. Mr. Harris, did you hear the message?
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: There's a Mrs. Benner at the front office asking to
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: see you. I sighed, took a deep breath, and forced
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: friendliness into my voice. Hi, Anna. Yup. Confirming that I
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: heard you, but we are right in the middle of
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: a lesson right now. I looked over at the kids,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: who were actually in the middle of having a snack.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Did Mrs. Brenner say what her visit is about? Is
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: this something we could resolve with a phone call later
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: or an email? There was a long pause. The walkie
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: clicked on again, but at first, I only heard Anna
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: whispering in the background. Mean she's not here. Did you
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: see her? No, I left her right in the... Hey, Mr. Harris,
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: sorry about that. It looks like Mrs. Benner isn't in
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: the office anymore. I felt a warm hum of relief
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: hit my stomach, like honey and tea. So she left?
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: I asked. There was a moment of static on the walkie-talkie.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: No one saw her leave, Mr. Harris. We don't know
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: where she is. The relief I felt was gone and
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: replaced with a sinking feeling. I looked around the classroom.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: All of the kids were distracted with their snacks. My
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: teacher's aide, a college intern named Sam, was sitting in
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: the back of the room helping Jenny tie her shoes.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: I was getting ready to ask Sam to watch the
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: class while I went up to the office when my
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: walkie-talkie went off again. It was Anna, sounding slightly panicked. Mr. Harris,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: place your room on lockdown. I repeat, place your classroom
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: on lockdown. Sam was looking at me, biting her lip.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: behind a custodian. I repeat, place your classroom on lockdown.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: There is an unauthorized visitor in the school. Sam was
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: looking at me, biting her lip. She must have overheard
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: the message. Some of the kids were looking at me
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: as well, but I knew they didn't understand how serious
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: the situation was. Except maybe for Tommy Benner. The little
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: boy was staring at me with his sad eyes. He
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: knew his mom was doing something bad. I wondered how
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: bad What if she was actually dangerous? Normal parents don't
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: sneak past the front office to see a teacher. I
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: put on my best smile and went back to my
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: desk to boot up my laptop. Since I was one
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: of the younger kindergarten teachers, I also liked to help
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: our IT department from time to time. That came with perks,
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: including being able to log into our admin accounts. This
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: meant that I could open up the camera system and
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: see what was going on in the halls. I opened
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the camera feed and right away found Mrs. Benner. She
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: was trying to be sneaky. I could just see her
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: pressed against the lockers in the east hallway. She gave
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: off classic Karen vibes. Choppy, beach blonde haircut, clothes a
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: size too small, way too much makeup. Her face snapped
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: up towards the camera while I was watching. It was
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: almost like she could sense me. Mrs. Benner looked angry.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: I wondered if she heard my communication with the front office.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Maybe she thought I was blowing her off, or avoiding
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: a meeting. I was, but it wasn't meant as an insult.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: It was because I thought she was a psycho, and
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: here she was, proving me right. The woman bared her teeth,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: then froze. She might have heard something in the hallway
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: behind her. I hoped it was one of our two
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: school resource officers tracking her down. There was no audio
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: with the cameras, so I couldn't tell. Whatever got her
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: attention caused Mrs. Benner to move faster. She was like
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: a wild animal that got out of the zoo, and
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: she was fast for her size. I tried to track
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: her by switching cameras, but only caught glimpses of her
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: roaming the halls. It hit me all at once that
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: I hadn't followed lockdown protocols yet. I leapt up from
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: my desk, then calmed myself, and walked quickly towards the door.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: The kids were all watching me, and I didn't want
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: to alarm them. I smiled as I locked the door
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: and turned off the lights.' Friends, listen up. Please.' We're
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: all going to play a game, I said, smiling wider
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: but feeling my nerves start to rattle. Everyone scoot under
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: your desks and we're going to all be extra quiet.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Like hide and seek? Jenny asked. Sure, yes, I said.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Please hurry, okay? I went back to my desk to
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: check the cameras, ignoring the worried look Sam shot me.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: As I clicked through video screens of the hallways, I
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: sucked in a breath. Mrs. Benner was in the same
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: hall as our classroom, She was whipping her head back
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: and forth, scouring the nameplates on each door. I realized
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: that Mrs. Benner probably knew she was in the kindergarten hallway,
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: but had no idea where my room was since she'd
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: never been there. While I watched, her eyes snapped to
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: my door and she smiled, showing a lot of teeth.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: There was a moment where Mrs. Benner went into a
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: camera blind spot. Then there was a knock at my door.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: The kids were whispering and Sam had gone pale. I
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: took a deep breath. and debated whether I should say
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: anything through the door. I could tell Mrs. Benner that
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: she needed to go back to wait at the office,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: that what she was doing wasn't allowed. I mean, it
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: was possible she'd made an honest mistake. The woman began
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: pounding on the door, then hitting it hard and low.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: I realized she was kicking, scrambling to get in like
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: a rabid fox. There was a pause and then a thump,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: the hardest yet. I saw Mrs. Benner retreat into the hall,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: then run at the door, A living, battling lamb. For
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: a terrible second, I feared she might be heavy enough
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: and determined enough to break through. If she got into
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: the classroom as angry as she was, it would be chaos. Mrs.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Benner stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked back.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: A second later, both of our resource officers stepped into
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: view of the camera. There was Greg, an old deputy
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: waiting out the last year before retirement, working at the school.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: And then there was Billy, a new guy, fresh out
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: of the police academy, getting some light experience before moving
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: on with his career. I doubted either of them thought
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: they'd have to deal with a demented parent and a
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: school lockdown when they got up that morning. Greg raised
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: his hands in a soothing gesture while Billy plastered a
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: fake smile on his face and walked towards Mrs. Benner.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: She didn't hesitate to attack the closest target. bowling into
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Billy hard enough to knock both of them to the floor.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: The woman turned into a shrieking, biting monster. I saw
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: her clamp her teeth on the young officer's cheek. Billy
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: screamed and pulled away, a strip of flesh ripped from
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: his face. Mrs. Benner sprang to her feet, spitting out
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: the skin and blood. Before she could take another step,
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Greg let loose with his pepper spray. For an old
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: guy just cruising for retirement, he had fantastic aim. The
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: stream of mace connected directly with the woman's eyes. She
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: roared and moved blindly into the hard tile wall, face first.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Greg was on her in an instant, cuffing her with
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: zip ties before moving to Billy to render first aid.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: The police showed up minutes later, but we had to
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: wait nearly half an hour before the lockdown was lifted
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: and I could open the door. I found out later
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: that Mrs. Benner had a history of violence and prior arrests.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Her last outburst was was enough to get Child Protective
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Services to finally intervene and place Tommy in the care
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: of his aunt and uncle. It was a good move
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: for him. I saw his shyness evaporate over the next
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: few months like morning fog cleared away by a summer sun.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: We carry a lot of things with us throughout life.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: We carry our years and our choices, bad days and
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: better days. The time we spent in the sun and
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: always regret. Living gets heavy. In the summer I turned 80,
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: I was happy enough. I didn't have much family left,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: but at least I carried the memory of one with me.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: Not everybody in the big house could say as much.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: That's what we call the nursing home or assisted living facility.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: It wasn't so bad. Not like I expected when I
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: moved in. Heck, I thought I was about to turn
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: myself into a prisoner when I arrived at Oakheart. But
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: the building was clean and warm and let in gallons
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: and gallons of sunlight through big windows. The tile floors
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: always smelled like lemon with only a hint of bleach
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: under that. I was happy in my own fashion. And
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: then Oliver Gentles showed up. Have you ever run into
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: somebody and immediately know they're the kind of person that,
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: when they walk into a room, you want to walk out?
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Oliver wasn't a big guy or hard-looking. In fact, he
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: was a bit of a shrimp. But he had a
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: smell of violence on him, like cordite and vanilla. There
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: was blood so far under his fingernails, it must be
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: staining his elbows. I was sure of it. Funny thing was,
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: nobody else seemed to pick up on the bad air
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: around Ollie. That's what he liked to go by, Ollie.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: And he was a hit. Ollie was a charmer, a
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: champ at Canasta, and king of the television room. He
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: had stories and always, always a smile for the ladies.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: But a cloud followed Oliver. On some days, literally. The
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: rain started the morning he arrived and continued until the murders.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: The storms rolled together like puffs from a chain smoker.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: Curtains of rain lashed those big windows I loved so much,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: drowning out the sun. burying it in gray thunderheads. That
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: long month reminded me of my time in the war,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: jammed into a tube of metal with fifty other soldiers
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: six hundred feet under the surface of the ocean. That
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: wasn't good. I tried to keep memories of those days
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: locked up, like the few war souvenirs I kept in
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: a trunk in my closet. The memories... and the souvenirs
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: both seemed better left in the dark. Oakheart began changing
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: in other ways after Ollie arrived. There was a new
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: smell that permeated the halls. I couldn't put a pin
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: on what it was exactly, but it reminded me of
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: dust and rust and decay. The lights in our room
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: seemed a little dimmer, the air a little colder. Margie
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: told me I was imagining things. She was my best
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: bud at Oakheart, and she adored Oliver. Damn near everybody did. Somehow,
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: they didn't see what I saw. Nobody else noticed the
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: way that Oliver's shadow lagged above behind his movements, or
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: how his reflection was never quite identical to the man.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: I was the only one sensing that the rust smell
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: got worse whenever he was around. And Oliver's smile didn't
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: reach his eyes, stopping short like a car crashing into
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: a brick wall. I tried convincing myself it was only
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: my imagination running away from me. Margie thought I might
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: be jealous of Oliver, given how popular he was. He's
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: stealing your thunder, Hank, she told me, softening the statement
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: with a wink. You used to be the cool old
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: guy here, and now you have to share the spotlight. Old? Margie,
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: you're six years older than I am, but I look
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: 20 years younger. She smiled and patted my knee before leaving.
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: That was the last time I saw my friend alive.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: I woke up that night to the sound of the
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: fire alarm. We did drills every three months, but I
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: knew immediately this one was real. For one thing, It
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: was three in the morning. For another. One of the staff, Joey,
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: popped his panicked face into my doorframe for a moment. Hank,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: there's a lockdown! He said, glancing back down the hallway.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Please gather with everybody else in the TV room ASAP, okay? Joey, what?
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: He just shook his head and moved on to the
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: next room. I gathered my old bones up. put on
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: a suit since it seemed like an occasion, and headed
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: to the meeting point. I passed Margie's room along the way.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Her door was the only one closed in the hallway,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: and two members of Oakheart's staff stood next to it.'
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: Everything okay, guys?' I asked. Both of them looked nervous.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: The older one tried to smile. It's all fine. Just
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: please hurry to the spot. We're in lockdown. I hesitated
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: but decided not to press the issue. Margie was probably
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: already waiting with the others. I nodded and walked away,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: wincing as a gust of wind rattled the building. There
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: was a window halfway down the hall. I stopped to
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: look out into the night. It was too dark to
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: see clearly. but I could tell there was a hell
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: of a storm kicking off. Rain and thunder, licks of
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: blue-white lightning connecting sky and earth for a few bright moments,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: even some hail. The lights flickered. We'd likely be on
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: the backup generator soon enough. I let out a low
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: whistle as another roar of wind cracked a branch from
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: one of the oaks in the yard that gave the
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: nursing home its name. As soon as I got to
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: the television room, I understood something was deeply wrong. Residents
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: stood in clusters, most wearing their robes and pajamas. There
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: was no sign of Margie. A few staff, including the
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: senior supervisor and several nurses, were talking just outside of
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: the room in clipped whispers. I sauntered as close as
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: I could while still giving them space It was hard
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: to hear, but I got the gist of the conversation.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: Lots of no service, trouble with the phones, can't reach
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: the police, and dead body. The last made me catch
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: my breath. That earned me a glance from one of
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: the nurses. I tried to look harmless and confused, then
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: moved away. A dead body. Margie's closed door. I felt
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: a horrible acid gurgle in my stomach. Had Margie passed?
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: It wasn't uncommon at Oakheart, but if that was the case,
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: why the concerned looks and lockdown? Why reach out to
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: the police? I was working up the right question to
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: ask when I spotted Oliver. He was sitting in one
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: of the armchairs near the fireplace, staring at me. The
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: little man was looking at me like he could see
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: right through me. Right through skin and bone to the
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: thoughts inside of my head. When he noticed me watching,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Ollie grinned. The lights flickered again, then went out. There
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: were gasps. A couple of seconds later, the lights came
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: back on. The backup generator must have kicked in. The
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: gasps were replaced by sighs. Somebody even clapped. I never
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: took my eyes off of Oliver. I knew something bad
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: was coming. I felt it. There was more troubling Oakheart
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: than the storm. I was right. As soon as the
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: clapping faded, the backup lights also went dark. Now there
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: were screams everywhere. Flashlight beams cut across the room, joined
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: by a handful of battery-powered lanterns and candles. We had
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: light again, but barely. A faint glow left me standing
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: in a room full of shadows. I could see the
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: chair Oliver was sitting in prior to the blackout, but
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: the man himself was gone. A new scream whipped through
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: the room. A dozen flashlights followed the sound, landing on Jody,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: one of the younger residents. There was a man lying
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: prone at her feet, surrounded by a puddle of blood.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: He was one of the nurses, and the missing chunk
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: from his skull made it clear he was dead. Everyone
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: stay calm! Somebody shouted into a room full of panicking seniors.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: There was about to be some chaos, I was sure
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: of it. but I wasn't paying attention to the dead body.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Oliver was in the process of slipping out of the
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: room into a dark hallway. A stray beam of light
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: passed over Ollie, and I saw his shadow stretch out
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: on the wall behind him. The silhouette wasn't human. It
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: was twisted and horned with limbs so long they dragged
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: on the floor. Oliver turned back. and made eye contact
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: with me again. I saw there was a distortion to
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: his face, like something was moving under the skin. He
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: smiled and walked away. I followed, sneaking past the staff,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: which wasn't difficult since they were focused on the dead man.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: The hallway grew pitch black. I regretted not bringing a
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: flashlight from my room. My room. That's where we headed.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: I could tell even in the darkness. I passed Margie's
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: room again and felt my stomach lurch. Her body was inside,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: slowly cooling on the bed with her throat ripped open.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: I didn't know how I knew, but there was no
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: doubt in my mind. It was like there was some
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: signal on the rise that night. and my reception was
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: only getting clearer. Oliver was sitting on my bed when
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: I reached my room. There was a light on, though
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: I couldn't see where it was coming from. Hey, Hank,
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: close the door, will ya? He asked. I obeyed and
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: closed myself in the room with whatever was inside of Oliver.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: His face was moving, squirming, and different every time I
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: looked at him. I know what you are, I told him.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: And I did. I'd seen something like Oliver back in
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: my submarine days after getting back on dry land from
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: months in combat. One of the men came back carrying
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: a darkness with him. In him. And it almost killed
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: the rest of us. Oliver grinned. Now his teeth were
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: shattered and black I could tell you saw me, Hank.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: It said, breath like a dumpster full of dead rats.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: Margie called out for you before I bit her throat out.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: Just wanted to let you know. The man in front
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: of me was just a shell. The darkness that he
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: brought into Oakheart. The demon that was free now. Free
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: and hungry now. If I didn't stop it, the thing
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: would keep killing and eating and growing. I knew what
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: I had to do, but I wasn't eager to get started.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: I met one of you before, I said. I think, maybe,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: that's why I can see you, why I could sense
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: you from the start. I would agree. What happened last time?
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: Oliver asked, eyes flickering between different colors. I stood up
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and moved to the closet. We had a religious guy
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: on the submarine, a Catholic. He was in seminary school
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: when the war broke out and he chose to serve
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: his country rather than finish his education. But the man, James,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: he kept enough of his training to show us what
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: to do. We tied up the sailor with the demon.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: James began an exorcism right there, deep in that cold,
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: black ocean. Oliver spat. Priests! He was a good man, James.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: I continued. Opening my closet and then pulling out the small,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: green trunk that held all of my relics from my
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: time in the Navy. A wonderful man, but not that
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: strong as a priest. Must have been strong enough if
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: the exorcism worked. By the way, which of your friends
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: would you like me to kill first after you? I
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: ignored the demon and opened the trunk. Thing is... The
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: exorcism failed. No kidding. The demon was too strong. Too old. Too...
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter. If James couldn't do it, I'm certain
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: I'd fail too if I tried. But James had a
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: backup plan. I pulled out a wooden case from the trunk.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: Inside was a Colt 1911 pistol. A heavy piece that
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: fired fat. 45 caliber shells. It was loaded. I had
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: a hell of a time sneaking that in past the
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: staff when I arrived at Oak Heart. Oliver stood up,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: no longer a short man. He was at least seven
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: feet tall and growing. Your plan is to shoot me?
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: The demon asked, voice buzzing. I hate to break it
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: to you, Hank, but that won't kill me. Just wanted
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: to let you know, it will only... I know, I said,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: pulling the trigger. The moment Oliver's eyes went dead, I
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: felt the presence in my mind. Killing the possessed wasn't
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: an end to the possession, only a transfer. James managed
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: to hold the demon down until we surfaced. Then he
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: jumped into the ocean, sacrificing himself, just like that young
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: priest in the Exorcist movie decades later. I thought maybe
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: I could do the same. But when I tried to
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: put the gun to my temple, my finger refused to
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: pull the trigger. I made it out of the nursing
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: home at least, right out through a window into the storm.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: It's been weeks now. And the thing is only getting stronger. Sorry, Margie.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: I really wish I'd been able to avenge you properly. Sorry, world.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: I wish I'd been able to do this one last
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: good thing to make up for some of the bad.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: But even now, it's whispering, chewing, building, taking over very soon.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: I won't be able to keep it down any longer.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to let you know. Prison wasn't as
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: bad as I thought it was going to be when
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: I went in. I got six years for distribution and
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: a few other related charges, but once I was in,
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: the warden gave me a choice. Serve the full six
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: in a normal wing or serve one in a specialty block.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: He didn't give me a ton of details about G2 Block,
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: though I got the gist of it. I'd be a
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: guinea pig for testing pharmaceuticals and, in return, I'd get
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: a reduced sentence. I accepted the deal. My first six
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: months in G2 were fine bordering on boring. There were
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: 32 of us in the block, and we all had
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: the same daily routine. Wake up, shower, breakfast, free time,
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: yard time. experiments in either group A or B, dinner,
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: free time, lights out. There were occasional variations. Every now
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: and then, there would be morning experiments or even doubles.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: But usually, it was a three-hour block in the afternoons.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: We all had single cells. The food was edible, at least.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: And they even let me have a little TV after
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: my first month. All in all, it could have been worse.
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: The experiments that I participated in were mostly harmless. Medications, usually.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: The lab coat folks in G2 would have me pop pills,
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: or take injections, or swallow a kaleidoscope of liquids. Then
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: we'd all just wait to see what happened. The testing
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: rooms were comfortable if bland. I'd sit in a white
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: chair next to a white table, surrounded by white walls.
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: I knew the drug was supposed to be intense if
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: they strapped me in, but four out of five times,
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: they didn't bother with restraints. I experienced quite a few rashes, headaches,
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: blurry vision, blood coming out of all orifices, excessive sneezing,
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. Much worse than the pharmaceutical tests, though,
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: were the psychological experiments. Electroshock therapy was a miserable experience.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: The sensory deprivation tank was worse. They left me floating
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: in a completely silent, black, empty space for 48 hours.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: By the time the doctors pulled me out, I'd scratched
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: up the sides of the tank to the point that
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: my fingernails were popping off. But nothing was like the
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: signal and all of the death that came after. The
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: lab techs brought us all into our individual white rooms
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: like usual that day. However, there were no drugs on
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: the table only a device that reminded me of a metronome.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: The man overseeing the experiment, a gray-haired doctor I didn't recognize,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: made it clear I was not to touch the metronome
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: until all of the guards and staff were out of
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: the room. The object had a metal base, maybe stainless steel,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: and it was shaped like a pyramid. A strip of
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: darker metal ran from the base of the device to
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: the tip, protruding from that strip was a narrow rod
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: with a strange, circular gadget on top. I waited until
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: they gave me a signal from the intercom, then I
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: tapped the device. The rod with the circular cap began
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: to rock back and forth horizontally. It reminded me of
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: piano practice when I was a kid, the metronome gently
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: swaying and providing a pace. But this felt different. For
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: one thing, the device was silent. There was no telltale
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: tick tick, tick, like a true metronome. For another, the
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: rod wasn't moving evenly. It jerked and stuttered like a
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: puppet with uneven strings. Nothing else happened for nearly a minute. Then, suddenly,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: the room was filled with sound. Flooded with it? Not
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: the tick, tick, tick I expected, but a rising whine.
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: The volume of the frequency increased until I was folded
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: up in the corner of the room, hands over my ears,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: begging for them to turn it off. My eyes were
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: closed until I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: It was the gray-haired doctor. The experiment was over, he
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: told me. The room was blessedly silent. I thought they'd
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: take me back to my cell, but instead, they took
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: me into a large holding cell, already full of other prisoners.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: It was the rest of G2 block. 32 of us
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: total in one big cage. What's going on? I asked
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: one of the guards through the bars. He ignored me
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: and left the room with all of the other staff.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: I was left alone with the other inmates. I grabbed
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: a seat on one of the benches and tried to relax.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: My ears hurt. They ached and it was only getting worse.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: Compared to some of the other guys though, I was
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: in good shape I noticed several prisoners twitching, shaking, or
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: talking to themselves. One guy, Robbie, was tapping his fist
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: against his temples. He hit himself harder and harder until
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: one of the other men restrained him. I looked around
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: the room for a camera until I spotted one in
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: the corner outside of the bars. I gestured towards Robbie,
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: but there was no response.' Too loud! Too loud!' Robbie yelled,
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: pushing free.' The signal! Too loud!' Other prisoners were muttering
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: about a signal, too. Some were bashing their heads against
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: the bars or pulling out their hair. I estimated about
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: half of the guys in the room were losing it. Hey!
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: I shouted, waving at the camera in the corner. You
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: gotta help us! Get me out of here! There was
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: a ringing in my ears, but the chaos in the...
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: tearing off a chunk of skin from his cheek. Everywhere
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: there was noise, screaming, clanging, shouting. I felt an arm
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: wrap around my throat and just as quickly release as
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: my attacker was himself attacked. I backed into a corner
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: and called out for help. Not everyone in the cage
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: was going crazy, but those who were seemed nearly possessed.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: It might have been the adrenaline warping my perception, but
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: some of the prisoners were changing, growing bigger, nastier, swelling.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: One of the biggest of the bunch grabbed two bars
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: and pulled. To my absolute shock, the metal screeched and
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: gave way, creating a hole the size of a manhole cover.
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: The giant tried climbing through, but he didn't fit. He
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: whirled and turned his attention to ripping one of the
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: benches from its bolts. His loss was my gain. I
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: clambered through the opening in the bars and then took
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: off for the door. A red light began flashing and
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: an alarm squealed. They were going to lock down this
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: section of the prison. I'd be trapped. No! No, please!
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: I screamed, trying the door. It was locked. I kicked
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: and scratched and yelled at it, but that was no good. Then,
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: I heard something thudding towards me, moving fast. I barely
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: jumped out of the way before the big guy rammed
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: into the door, nothing flying from its hinges. He stood
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: panting like a bull at a discount rodeo. The man
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: had grown at least a foot taller since we first
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: got into the cell's. I risked a glance back and
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: saw that the cage was studded with twisted bars and
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: filled with dead bodies. The few that were still breathing
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: were quickly turning into monsters. Spurts of coarse, dark hair
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: grew on them or the beginnings of ram's horns or
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: thick antlers. The big man stalked off through the destroyed
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: door and I followed. For some reason, he ignored me.
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe he didn't think I was worth his attention. I
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: didn't care, and I wasn't confident the other five or
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: six creatures back in the cell would be so accommodating.
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: The red lights were still flashing in the hallway, and
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: the sirens still sounded. I figured the big guy could
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: punch us right out of the lockdown. I figured wrong.
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: We hadn't gone more than a dozen yards into the
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: hall before gas began to pump out through the vents.
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: The giant roared, his face longer and larger, more feral
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: than before. The last thing I saw before submitting to
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: the gas was him falling over. I woke up in
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: the prison infirmary. Physically, they told me I was fine.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: When I asked what happened, they said the experiment ended
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: up causing mass hallucinations. Some prisoners got hurt in the confusion,
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: but nothing serious. And hey, turns out it was my
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: lucky day. They decided I'd served my time and I
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: was eligible for immediate release. Only thing was, I had
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: to sign a bunch of papers agreeing to stay silent
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: about G2 Block. One peep out of me, and they
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: promised I'd be back for my full sentence with time
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: tacked on for good measure. I asked if I could
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: see some of the other guys from G2. They said no.
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: I signed the papers and left, but I kept an
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: eye out for what I knew was coming. Sure enough,
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: obituaries began to trickle out over the next year. obituaries
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: for the men I saw die that day in the cell.
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: Most of the posts were short, and I had to
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: find them. That's the thing about prisoners in G2 Block.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: We were specifically picked because we wouldn't be missed. There
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: wouldn't be too many questions. I knew that my parole
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: was about the world's cheapest bribe, and I knew that
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: they're still watching me. But I have to put this
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: out there. I have to leave some record of what happened,
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: Because that ringing in my ears after the test, it
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: never went away. It's only gotten worse. My theory is
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: that the signal is an infection that spreads faster in
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: some people than others. But that's how I feel. Infected
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: and angry. They wheeled the woman into the emergency room
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: at the start of my shift with no idea what
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: was wrong with her. According to her fiancé, The patient,
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: Lisa Myers, just collapsed while brushing her teeth. It was
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: a slow night in the hospital, so I spent more
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: time with Lisa than I usually would. I took her
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: vitals and did all the prep. She was stable but unresponsive.
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: I spent a decade as a nurse, most of it
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: in an ED or operating room, and I thought back
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: then that I'd seen every mad, awful thing there was
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: in this world. But the night the woman with the
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: coma came in, I got to see a little preview
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: of hell. It started when they moved Lisa to a
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: private room. I was there as we hooked her up
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: and tried to make her comfortable. She was beautiful, maybe
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: 30 or 35, with auburn hair and delicate features. There
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: were no signs of obvious illness or injury other than
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: her nose, which would not stop bleeding. Lisa's fiancé, Tom,
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: was a panicked mess. He rambled off a dozen questions
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: a minute, pacing around Lisa's bed and cleaning his glasses
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: over and over like it would help him see a
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: solution to the woman's sickness. Has anything like this ever
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: happened before? I asked. Tom started to shake his head,
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: then hesitated. She's never gone out like this in the past,
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: he said, but she's been having headaches and nosebleeds for
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: the past few weeks, ever since a work trip. Has
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: she gone to the doctor for those symptoms? Uh, no.
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: I asked her to, but she just said it was
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: a migraine. I made a note in Lisa's chart. What
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: does your wife do for work? I... I don't know.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: That made me look up sharply. Tom was struggling with something.
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: Looking between his comatose fiancé and me. Tom took a breath.
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: I know she works for the government. She's a scientist.
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: Something with minerals. It's all hush-hush, but Lisa seems to
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: like the work. What do you do for work, if
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: you don't mind me asking? Tom grinned. High school history teacher.
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: I got ready to ask more questions, but bit them
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: back when I noticed the lights in the room were
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: growing brighter. A power surge? Tom noticed something was wrong
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: as well, and reflexively put a protective hand on Lisa's shoulder.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: The lights reached a blazing point, then quickly dimmed until
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: the room was as dark as an early winter morning.
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: I watched, rooted to the floor, as the room experienced
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: the ebb and flow of brightness and dimness until the
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: lights flickered and died. They were only out for a
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: moment before the backups kicked on, but I heard shouts
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: and even a scream from the hallway. What's going on?
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: Tom asked, still holding Lisa's hand. I'm not sure, but
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: everything will be fine, I said. Just stay here, and
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: I'll be right back. A few patients were poking their
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: heads out from their rooms. A cluster of hospital staff,
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: including a maintenance guy, gathered around one of the monitor banks.
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: I began to walk over to them, then slowed, then stopped,
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: then stood dumbstruck as I watched a stray stethoscope lying
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: on a nearby table float into the air. Other small
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: objects were also beginning to rise. A tray here, a
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: chart there, even a crash cart. I felt a tug
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: and realized that my hair was drifting upwards. The anomaly
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: ended and the floating material came raining down. The entire
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: hallway of patients and staff seemed to be in a
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: state of shock. I was still trying to find the
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: words to ask what just happened when the first boom
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: shook the hospital. My first thought was, bomb. but it
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: wasn't an explosion. It was more like a battering ram
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: or a rock dropped off a cliff. The boom came again,
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: and I saw a crater form at the far end
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: of the hall. The tile cracked as if under some massive,
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: focused weight. Another hole blossomed five feet ahead of the first.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: It was like footsteps. A stunned old woman in a
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: hospital gown stood near the second crater gripping her IV tower.
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: She'd come out of her room to check on the commotions.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: There was a strange hiss, audible down the entire hallway.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: The old woman burst like a pimple, splattering the wall
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: behind her with a red wash. A doctor a few
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: steps away suddenly launched into the air, his body slamming
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: into the ceiling and then into the floor, breaking on impact. Panic,
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: screaming and more booming steps. Clouds of blood and body
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: parts and people erupted like tiny, wet volcanoes. I watched
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: another nurse running towards me, only to be yanked up
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: into the air, suspended for a moment, and then slammed
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: against the wall. Something was killing everyone around me, and
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: I couldn't see it. An invisible force that was moving
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: through us like a blender. I finally shook myself free
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: and ran as the entity crashed into the nurse's station
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: midway down the hallway. I heard an alarm going off.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: The hospital. was going into lockdown. Security must have triggered
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: it from the ground floor. They could see the carnage
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: from the CCTV, but wouldn't understand what was happening. Not
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: that I had a much better idea. What I did know, though,
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: was a lockdown would trap all of us in the
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: hospital with the thing. I spotted a fire alarm on
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: the wall and ran for it. At least, if the
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: fire department showed up, someone could help us, even if
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: they ended up needing to call the police or National
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: Guard or the damn Space Force. The sprinklers came on
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: when I pulled the alarm, and I got my first
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: look at the creature. It was only an outline in
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: the water, but it was clearly shaped like a person.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: A small woman, actually. I expected something bigger, alien, malicious.
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: But the woman didn't seem evil. In fact, as she
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: walked closer... and I once again found myself too scared
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: to run. I saw the form of her face. She
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: was screaming, silently, a look of absolute, perfect agony across
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: her features.' Lisa!' a voice said from behind me in
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: the hall. I turned and saw Tom standing, staring at
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: the thing outlined by the sprinklers. He was right, even
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: though I'd only just seen his fiancée. The entity did
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: resemble the woman in the coma down to the same delicate,
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: bleeding nose. Tom took a step towards the creature, then another.
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: He moved past me, hands raised in a calming gesture.
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: I wondered then if he lied before, if Lisa had
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: been sick in the past or showed some sign of
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: whatever was going on. Astral projection? Telekinesis? A ghost or
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: a soul on a rampage? Tom reached for the figure
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: and I heard a gentle pop. His arm floated from
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the elbow up in front of us. Lisa, he asked
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: a moment before his other arm came off, followed by
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: his head. I ran, slipping on the slick tiles, and
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: crawled away. My scrubs were dark with water, and I
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: moved without thinking, not knowing where to go, only that
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: I had to put distance between me and the projection.
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: There was an open door ahead of me. I wiggled
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: in and kicked it shut. The lights were dim again.
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: I looked around. There was a patient lying still in
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: the bed. Lisa. Lisa. I heard crashing outside and a scream.
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: A plan flowed into my mind like poison poured into
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: a cup. In all my years as a nurse, I'd
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: spent every day trying to save lives. Not once did
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: I try to take one. That's why it felt so
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: unnatural when I took the pillow from behind Lisa's head.
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: She looked peaceful, but I remembered the contorted features of
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: the thing in the hallway, the pain she must be in.
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: Maybe it was causing her to lash out. Maybe she'd
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: gone mad. It didn't matter. I decided that I wanted
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: to live, so I placed the pillow over the woman's
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: face and leaned down. After about a minute, the sounds
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: from outside the room stopped, replaced by a familiar, sharp ring.
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: A flat line from Lisa's life support. Thanks for watching.
• 52:23
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• 52:26
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• 52:28
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• 52:30
  Speaker 1: stories right here.