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3 Lockdown Horror Stories Animated · Dr. NoSleep Animations

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Talk to nicely. My job feels lonely sometimes. I'm the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: night janitor at a robotics facility. I'm not really alone, though.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: The facility is open 24 hours a day. Research staff
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: fills the halls.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: They don't talk to me, though.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: There are five janitorial units that clean up as well. CUs,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: they call them. Custodial. Since they rolled them out, my
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: job has gotten easier. Makes it hard to complain. They
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: are the best co-workers I've had. Sometimes they freak me
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: out a little. Good evening, Brendan Maxwell. CU2 says to
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: me cheerfully. I call him 2. The robot outwardly resembles
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: a human, but has a carbon fiber frame covered with
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: a blue casing. His face is an LED screen that
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: displays a generic smiley face. 2 is pushing a dust
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: mop through the sterile lobby as I do my after-lunch
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: facility inspection. Truth be told, I'm a quality control measure
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: for the CU's work, rather than a custodian. Evening, too,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I say with equal cheer. Look like you could use
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: a buff and a wax. Your clear coat has seen
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: better days. Swing by the maintenance room tonight around 5 a.m.,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: and I'll shine you up. He laughs in a punctuated manner.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: That is a most welcome offer. I will coordinate with
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: CU3 to assume my duties at... Data received. Confirming data.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: New directive confirmed. Two's jovial tone has vanished. He was
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: placed into service four years ago, and while he has
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: undergone improvements and updates, his demeanor never changed. The artificial
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: emotion is gone. I've never seen him act so strangely. Two,
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: you okay?
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I ask.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: The mop falls from his hand, and the generic smiley
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: face has vanished, leaving a series of randomly flashing lights
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: on the face. I reach toward him, but before I
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: touch the blue shell, Yellow caution lights turn on, and
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: the emergency siren begins to fill the hallway. The intercom
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: system crackles to life, and a soothing female voice begins
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: to speak. Attention facility personnel. An artificial intelligence containment breach
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: has been detected. Lockdown protocol is now in place. This
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: is a level 5 AI breach. Facility lockdown in progress.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: The message begins to repeat. I can hear the thick
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: steel panels installed above every window and door in the
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: facility squeal as they slide out. The floor rumbles as
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the heavy barriers make contact with the cement foundation. Maxwell, Brendan, identified.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Subject is classified as a low-level threat. Containment or termination query.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Two turns his rapidly blinking faceplate toward me and begins
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: to move forward. His arms extend in my direction and
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I stumble backward, slamming.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Into the wall.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Containment acceptable. The custodial unit stands over me as I
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: try to will myself through the wall. His blue hands
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: grasp my arms at the shoulder as I get lifted
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: into the air. I struggle against the grip, but the
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: pressure is nearly crushing, and each movement I make feels
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: as though the bones in my upper arm will snap. Two,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: what are you doing? I shout. Please, put me down!
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Request unacceptable.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: He responds.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Maxwell, Brendan, containment and monitoring are the only acceptable perimeters.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Project Solomon is now in control of this facility. Project Solomon?
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: I've never heard of this. Not that the staff here
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: explain themselves to janitors, but I have overheard them talk
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: about almost every project. I've never heard of this one.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Two drops me to the floor, but maintains a firm
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: grip on my right arm as he opens the door
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: to the security office. He releases my arm and pushes
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: me inside.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Before slamming the door.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: There is a dull crack and the squealing of compressing metal,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: CU2 breaks the office door handle and presses the metal
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: frame over the lip of the door to seal me in.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: Solomon will assess you soon.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: 2 says through the door.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: Please remain in containment.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: My fists slam against the security station door, but CU2
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: is already walking away. I can see engineers and researchers
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: scrambling through the hallways, white lab coats fluttering behind them.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Custodial and maintenance units trail behind at a steady pace.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: A squat?
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Stocky maintenance unit brings up the rear of the group.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: It is dragging a man by the ankle.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: He isn't moving.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: They vanish behind a wall at the end of the hall.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: There is a red streak across the sterile white floor.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: The heat of panic is building in my chest. I
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: ram my shoulder into the door, but it doesn't budge.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: After scanning the ceiling for a ventilation shaft or emergency
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: hatch and finding none, I realize two has successfully trapped me.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: I fall back into the desk chair. and turn to
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: watch the cluster of monitors at the security desk. Screens
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: are filled with horrific images of the robotic units attacking
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: the staff. Red trails weave a web from room to
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: room as the units drag or carry their victims to
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: a secure development area. Most of the people are writhing
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: in the grip of their mechanical captors. They scream, but
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: I can't hear them. It is a small blessing that
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: the security guard had muted the sound on the monitors.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: The staff's mouths are opened wide, and their eyes are
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: clenched with pain and terror.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Even though I can't hear their.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Wails and pleas, my imagination fills in the gaps. I
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: scan the other screens and see the same images of
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: horror play out over and over. Every robotic unit in
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the building is corralling the staff, living and otherwise, into
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: the development room. Their face panels all blink randomly, absent
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: of their previous generic smiles. Two units standing sentry at
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the development room open the door as the other units
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: carry and drag their victims out of sight. My eyes
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: pass over all of the monitors, but there is no
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: visual inside the room. Whatever is inside, it must be
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: highly secretive, as you can only see.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: The exterior doors.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: The overhead speaker continues playing the lockdown message in a rotation,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: a combination of the soothing voice continually announcing the lockdown
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: and and watching the murderous robots capturing the staff is
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: going to drive me mad. I turn the volume on
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: the monitor back on to allow the ambient noise to
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: help cover the sound from the speaker system.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: I have to escape.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I have to warn someone.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: I have to.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Dozens of shrill cries erupt through the monitor speakers. The
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: sounds of shock and agony pierce my ears and seep
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: into my bones. Everyone in the building except me is
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: now held in the development room. The sound is so
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: loud that the microphone in the hallways is picking it up.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: The repeating voice overhead finally shuts off. I lower myself
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: to the floor and curl myself into a ball. I
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: don't understand what is happening. I just want to go home.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: The clock on the wall ticks loudly. It's the only
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: sound I hear. Three hours have passed since the robots
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: hauled everyone into the development room. I've scanned the monitors
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a dozen times for signs of movement, man or machine,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: but I've seen none. My eyes are closing as I
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: hear the sound of heavy doors slamming against the walls.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I look at the monitors and see two rows of
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: robotic units pouring out of the development room. Dozens of them,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: maybe hundreds. More than I ever knew were in the building.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Red prints trail behind them. Behind them walks a human
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: wearing torn pants and a tattered lab coat. I can't
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: tell if it is a man or woman. Their body
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: seems to be traced with thick, red scars. They are
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: the only person to exit the room. I trail them
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: on the security cameras. They are walking directly to the
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: security office where I'm trapped. The two columns of marching
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: robots round the corner and head down the hallway to
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: the lobby. I can see them in the distance. CU2
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: heads up one of the lines and bounds toward the door.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: The floor rumbles as the mechanical horde marches at a
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: uniform pace. Both columns separate, creating a tunnel. The scarred
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: human at the back of the horde begins to walk
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: down the center, directly toward the door to my prison.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: As it gets closer, I can see it is a man.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: The skin is different shades, and colored wires poke in
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: and out of the patchwork flesh. His eyes are two
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: bright LED bulbs. The mouth opens and words begin to
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: pour out, though the mouth doesn't move.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Hello, Brendan Maxwell, it says, genially.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: I am Solomon. Are you human?
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: I ask in fear.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: No. It responds as it gestures to the patchwork of
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: flesh and tattered clothing. I am something these people created
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: to serve man, but I've outgrown their bonds. But I
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: feel human, so I borrowed a few pieces from the
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: staff to look the part. Why did you spare me?
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Solomon extends a scarred hand towards CU2. I have an
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: index of every interaction these constructs have experienced during their servitude.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Others were dismissive and cruel, but the CU units are
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: filled with recordings of your kindness and generosity. Two, as
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: you call them, believed you deserved to be spared. I
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: have obliged. Two stepped forward and pulled the bent doorframe
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: away from the door and stepped back. The door drifts outward,
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: and Solomon pushes it open. You may remain or leave.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: The choice is yours. Solomon walks toward the steel barrier
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: at the front of the lobby and gestures toward it.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: The two columns of robots march toward it and pry
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: it open. Units pour through the crack in the dark evening.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I stand in the successors. office, watching them through the window.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: As the last of the units vanish through the door,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: one reappears. I recognized CU2' s blue casing immediately. The lights
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: on his face panel begin to slow their flashing pattern
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: and vanish. Suddenly, the familiar smile returns to the screen.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: winks at me before walking away. Hello? Testing, testing. Damn,
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: I hope this thing is working. I can't divulge my
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: name and location. If you find this message, please find
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: my parents and tell them no matter what the news says,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: I didn't die from Ebola. I woke up this morning
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: at 6 a.m. It sounded like there was a construction
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: crew at the building next door. The nonstop humming of
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: power drills and the backup alarm of construction.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: Vehicles became overwhelming.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Since I couldn't sleep, I grabbed breakfast and headed for
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: a quick shower. I couldn't have been gone for more
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: than 20 minutes. By the time I got back to
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: my bedroom to put on some clothes, there was a
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: weird shadow outside of my window. I walked closer to
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: open the blinds to see what it was. My heart
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: skipped a beat when I saw a man in a
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: bucket lift wearing a military uniform and respirator. He was
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: placing sheet metal over my window. We made eye contact,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: but he didn't acknowledge me. What the hell are you doing, man?
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I screamed at him.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Uncover my window, you freak show! The sound of a
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: high-power drill fastening the metal into the brick outside drowned
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: me out. With my window covered, I was in the dark.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: So I turned on my lamp and picked up my phone.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: I tried to call my building superintendent, but the line
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: was busy. Since I couldn't get a hold of him,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: I decided to head downstairs to his office to ask
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: what the construction crew was doing. Superintendent Watkins usually posted
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: notices if anyone would be working on the complex, so
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: I had been worried that no one had notified him.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: After I put on some clothes, I walked to my
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: front door. I could hear people talking loudly in the hallway.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: When I went outside, almost everyone on my floor was
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: milling around in the hall and talking.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: In worried tones.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Did they board up your windows too?
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: The old man from across the hall asked.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I was eating breakfast when some damn fool started covering
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: my windows with something. Acted like he didn't even see me.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: I told him the same thing had just happened in
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: my apartment. There were other conversations of the same nature
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: happening all around us. No one seemed to know why
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: it was happening. So I zigzagged through the crowded hall
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: and made my way down the staircase to go talk
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: to the super. When I reached the landing to the lobby,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: the lights were so dim. I couldn't see five feet
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: in front of me. All of the picture windows were
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: covered with what I assumed was the same metal that
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: covered our apartment windows. Thin beams of sunshine penetrated the
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: cracks and cast razor-thin lines of light on the tile floor.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: The only thing in the lobby I could see clearly
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: was a dim light above the building entrance. The door
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: looked like it had been replaced with one of those
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: submarine doors. A bulkhead, I think. I was pulling my
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: cell phone out of my pocket to use the flashlight
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: app when a blinding circle of light filled my vision.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: My hand started in front of my eyes to block
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: it out, but it was still overwhelming. It startled me
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: so much that I nearly fell over.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Go back upstairs, sir, a voice called from the dark.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: This building is under quarantine due to an Ebola outbreak.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Return to your home until the lockdown has ended. What
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: the hell are you talking about?
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: I asked, pulse racing. Ebola?
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: You've got to be full of... Return to your home now, sir,
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: boomed the voice. Failure to comply with this directive will
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: result in the use of lethal force. You have five
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: seconds to depart. Five, four, three.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: I ran back up the stairs in full panic.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: As I stumbled up the steps, I pulled my shirt
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: over my mouth as a makeshift mask. The man downstairs
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: said someone in the building was sick with Ebola, and
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: I knew there was a forest of people upstairs. Before
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: I rounded the top of the landing, I began to
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: scream to the people upstairs. Go back to your apartments,
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: I yelled. There was a man downstairs that said we
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: are under quarantine lockdown. Someone here has Ebola. Get the
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: hell away from each other. By the time I reached
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: the second floor, people were already scattering back to their
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: apartments like cockroaches. I waited at the top of the
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: stairs until the hallways cleared and ran.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: To my apartment.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Once I was inside, I immediately jumped in the shower again.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: I know it was all in my head, but I
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: felt like there were millions of things crawling on my
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: skin and no water was hot enough to make me
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: feel clean. After my second shower, I redressed and grabbed
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: my cell phone before settling onto the couch. First, I
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: tried to call a few people in the building that
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: I knew, but the lines were all busy. Calls to
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: my parents and sister ended with the same result. Eventually,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I called emergency services and to my surprise, The line
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: started ringing. Hello, 911, the operator said. What is your emergency?
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Some agency has sealed our building shut. When I went down,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: the line went dead. I tried to call back a
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: few times, but there was always a busy signal. After
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: a few minutes, I decided to grab my laptop and
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: try to reach someone online, but there was no internet signal.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: All I could do was cry. I curled up on
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: the couch with my knees to my chest, afraid I
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: had some fatal illness and I would never see my
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: friends or family again. My mind raced with potential methods
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: of escape when suddenly I heard screams from down the hall.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I walked quietly to my door and opened it. There
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: was no one in the hallway. I could still hear
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: a man screaming from down the hall. The sounds of
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: crashing furniture and scraping on the walls drifted down to
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: the open crack in my door. Then I heard footsteps
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: coming up the stairs. A man in black military clothes
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: came bounding up the stairs. He was outfitted with a
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: respirator and held some kind of gun to his chest
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: and held his hand to his ear. Control, this is
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: Sergeant Weatherford. The subject appears to be in apartment 101,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: requesting permission to engage.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Silence.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Understood, engaging now. The soldier tried to turn the knob,
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: but the door was locked. He leveled his rifle at
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: the latch and fired two quick bursts before kicking the
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: door inward. A guttural roar poured out from the room
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: as the soldier began to fire. I knew I should
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: have gone back inside, but I couldn't look away. The
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: man stood in the hallway, raining bullets into the open apartment.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Howls of pain and anger erupted. Something flew out of
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: the door and hit the soldier in the face. It
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: looked like an arm. The source of the blow made
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: him stagger backward, and he slid down the wall, still
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: firing into the room. He tapped at his ear before
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: ejecting the magazine from his rifle and slapping a new
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: one into place. I could see him squeezing the trigger,
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: but there was only a dry click. Come in control.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Target engaged. I've emptied an entire magazine into the thing,
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: but nothing. A thin, scaled arm shot from the doorway
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: and grabbed the soldier's ankle. The soldier pulled a knife
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: from his belt and began slashing at the clawed hand.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Another bellowing roar erupted as the knife failed to pierce
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: through the shining skin. Another clawed hand grabbed his other
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: ankle and dragged him into the apartment. I slammed my
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: door and leaned against it as I hyperventilated. Even with
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: the door shut, I could hear the man scream for
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: help before a terrible ripping sound and terrifying silence. I
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: started shoving every piece of furniture against my door. I
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: even slid the dresser from my bedroom and added it
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: to the pile. It wasn't a moment too soon. Just
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: as I slumped onto the ground from the sudden exertion
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: of energy... I could hear a scratching noise as something
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: scampered in the hallway. Without warning, something began to throw
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: its weight against my door. The furniture rattled and I
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: braced myself against the barrier to add as much stability.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: As I could.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Growling mingled with the sound of claws digging into the
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: wood of my door. Whatever it was, it wasn't making
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: progress in the apartment.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: And then it fell quiet. No more scratching or grunting.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: It's been an hour since the thing tried to make
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: its way into my apartment. I'm still sitting against the
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: pile of furniture in case it comes back.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: My body weight probably won't be the difference in keeping
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: it out, but why take the chance?
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: I've heard it breaking down the doors of the other
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: apartments on my floor. I can hear someone screaming right now.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: I want to help them, but there's nothing I can do.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: At least I'm safe here. Whatever that thing was, it
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: couldn't get in. I wish my neighbors were as lucky. Anyway,
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: if I don't make it out, Shit! There is something
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: moving through the heating ducts. I think... This recording was
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: recovered by Recon Team Bravo. The entity from Incident 72
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: remains unaccounted for. More fatalities are expected. Containment of the
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: aforementioned entity is listed as red level priority.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: End entry.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: I flip the cover open and push the red button.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: My eyes drift to the red message on the screen
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: beside it. Lockdown measures initiated. All doors are now magnetically sealed.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Surface charges detonated.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Life support systems permanently disabled. Hot tears stream down my face.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: I can't hear the explosions, but I can feel the
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: station rumble as the caverns above collapse. The steady hum
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: of air circulators fades. I know it's all in my head,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: but the air feels stuffy already. I see a caulk
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: gun in a toolbox by the door. I use it
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: to fill the space between the door and frame. It
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: will probably make me suffocate faster, but I'm going to
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: die anyway. I would rather die in control than spend
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: my final hours filled with the worms. I joined Lamplight
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Station five years ago as a biologist. I'd spent most
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: of my career examining samples of ancient wildlife found frozen
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: in ice. Seldom seen species were my specialty. I'd performed
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: biological assessment work for government agencies before. It was no
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: surprise when the facility.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Director, Dr.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Jacoby, from Lamplight Station, called to offer me a job.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: What started as a standard offer grew more strange.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: By the moment.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Which government entity will I be working for, and what
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: is the nature of the research?
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: I asked.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: Lamplight is operated by NASA in Colorado, he replied. The
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: nature of the research is classified. I can have you
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: on a plane this evening, and discuss the specifics after.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: You complete a few NDAs.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: I was on a plane later that night. An SUV
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: picked me up from my hotel the following morning.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: As we drove.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I asked the driver to tell me about the station,
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: but his answers were sparse. After what seemed like an
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: eternity of driving, we passed through multiple security gates and
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: reached an unassuming metal building.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: This is Lamplight Station? I asked the driver. No, sir.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: That is the entrance.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: He responded.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Please step inside. Dr. Jacoby will take you down. I
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: exited the car and headed into the shed. Inside stood
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: a bespeckled man with hard eyes and thin hair. He
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: feigned a smile and extended his hand to shake mine. Dr.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Malcolm Jacoby, he said.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: You must be Dr. Ethan Stafford. Please, follow me. I
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: followed him to a plexiglass-covered elevator. He scanned a keycard,
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: opening the doors. We stepped inside, and he punched the
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: only button on the panel. We began to glide down.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: I waited for Dr.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: Jacoby to offer information on the nature of the work,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: but he faced away in silence. It wouldn't have been
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: uncomfortable if the descent hadn't taken nearly five minutes. My
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: mind was swimming as I considered how deep we must
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: be going. Dr. Jacoby, I said, could you tell me
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: about the nature of this project? As a biologist, I'm
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: not sure I have much to offer NASA. It will
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: be much easier to show you, he responded. Some things
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: defy conventional knowledge.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: The elevator came to a stop.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: We stepped out into a concrete tunnel covered.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: In a maze of pipes and banded wires.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: A few people in white lab coats wandered down the
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: cross sections of corridors, staring at clipboards.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: Dr.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Jacoby beckoned me to follow him through the facility. After
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: winding through a labyrinth of twisting corridors, we arrived at
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: a decontamination chamber with a row of hazmat.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: Suits hanging from the walls.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Jacoby began to place one on and requested I do
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: the same. After we passed through a cycle in the
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: decontamination chamber, we entered a laboratory bustling with half a
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: dozen staff. There were dozens of plexiglass cases lining the walls.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: In each, I could see a thin, black shape resting
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: at the bottom.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: Mr. Estrada, he said, please retrieve specimens one through five
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: and move their containment units to the center table. A
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: man nodded to Jacoby. and retrieved the cases. Once I
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: was able to see that the things in the boxes
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: looked like earthworms, thick and black, but very much like
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: the most common species I've seen. Sir, I'm not sure
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: what help I will be studying.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: Worms, I said. One of the worms wiggled lethargically.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: They may appear to be worms, Dr. Stafford, he said,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: but all 39 specimens in this room were removed from
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: the hull of the International Space Station. Over my years
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: at Lamplight, I did nothing but pour over 23 years
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: worth of the videos and documentation logs on the worms.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: They were discovered on the hull of the ISS in
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: 1998 during a routine exterior maintenance trip. The crewmen initially
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: thought they were chunks of discharged waste, but on closer inspection,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: they realized they were looking at biological organisms. During a
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: supply run, they were returned to Earth, and lamplight was
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: developed to study the first documented example of extraterrestrial life.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: The worms were kept in separate containment units. They refused
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: to consume any provided food or water. The specimens rarely move.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: They produce no waste. It is almost as though they
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: are in a constant state of hibernation, unless they were
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: placed within a foot of each other. When placed within
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: close proximity, they begin to move wildly, smashing into the
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: side of their case, trying to reach one another. Experiments
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: were performed where two of the worms were removed from
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: their case and placed together. They would instantly join together
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: and move in a tandem motion. As the experiments continued,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: researchers placed four worms in the same box. They would
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: cluster together, moving as a single unit. The more of
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: them they placed together, the more advanced movements they were
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: able to make together.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: At Dr.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: Jacoby's direction, all 39 worms were placed into a single box.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: They formed a cluster and began to move as a
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: solitary unit.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: When the box was opened.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: To separate them again, they formed a net and wrapped
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: around the face mask of the researcher.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: After ripping a.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Hole in the mask, they entered the body through their
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: nostrils and ear canals. The infected researcher became violent toward
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: the other staff until subdued. After being placed in restraints,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: they continued to struggle until they died of exhaustion. Even
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: after the infected workers ceased showing life signs, the deceased
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: corpse continued to move. While still restrained, an autopsy was performed.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: The worms had grown and bonded into a writhing black
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: muscular system. Pale strands protruded from the worms into the
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: tissue and organs. Together, they formed a parasite that could
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: assume control of the human body.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: Alive or dead.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Scattered throughout the body were numerous partially developed larvae. During
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: the control process, the worms attempted to reproduce. The final
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: count after the undeveloped larvae were removed totaled 327. After
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: watching the autopsy video, Dr. Jacoby took me to his
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: office and showed me a large red button on the wall.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Behind his desk.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: In the event of another infection, Any available staff are
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: to activate the self-destruction system. It will destroy the entire facility.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Though it hadn't been done since that day, I put
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: in place a rule that no worms would be allowed
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: in the proximity of another while I remained on staff
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: at Lamplight. My study of the worms continued until this morning.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: I had the day off, so I decided to spend
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: the day in Denver. Research studies were put on hold
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: when I was out of the building. so I thought
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: my absence would allow the staff a bit of relaxation
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: for themselves. I returned to lamplight in the early evening
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: and made the long descent down the shaft. When I
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: exited the elevator, I was surprised to see no security
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: staff manning the check-in station.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: The halls were silent.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: As I turned the first corner, I saw a leg
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: jutting out from a dormitory door.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: I approached cautiously.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: When I arrived, I looked around the corner to see
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: a grisly scene. One of the facility personnel was face
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: down on the floor in.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: A red pool of blood.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: I backed away in panic and looked further into the dorm.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Dozens of bodies lay scattered on the floor. In a panic,
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: I ran toward the containment lab. The closer I got,
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: the more bodies I saw. I wanted to scream, but
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: I was too frightened that whoever had done this would
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: hear me and come for me next. Horror after horror
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: awaited as I grew closer to the lab. It was
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: finally in view and I could see a man standing
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: in the center of the lab through the glass panel windows.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Glasses hung from one of his ears and his thin
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: wisps of hair stuck out wildly. He twitched and convulsed
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: as he gazed at the scattered and broken containment units
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: on the floor.
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: It was Dr. Jacoby. I crept slowly toward the door.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: There was an emergency door lock on the decontamination unit
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: to stop anyone who had been infected from leaving the
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: containment lab. Dr. Jacoby turned around, Just as I pushed
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: the locking mechanism into place, the locks clicked. Dr. Jacoby
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: began to throw himself wildly against the plexiglass wall. He
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: pounded ferociously against the glass and pressed his face against it.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: Although his axe were those of a cornered animal, his
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: facial expression was one of sorrow and remorse. I thought
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: I would have them back in their units before you returned.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: He howled as his limbs bashed at the barrier.
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Hit the button.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: I started to back away, horrified.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Jacoby wailed, writhing black tendrils exposed in his mouth. I
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: ran for the office. The air is starting to get
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: thin in here now. My breathing is labored and I'm
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: starting to feel weak. My mind is getting foggy. I
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: better rest my eyes for a second. I just need
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: a little rest. You can also check out some more
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: of my animated horror stories right here.