These are The Darkest Paranormal Experiences I've ever had | A Compilation of Scary Stories

[Music] hello everybody I hope you're doing well I'm sorry that I haven't really been able to post an update in the last two weeks about how I've been doing but I wanted to give you an update now so I'm feeling much better also my ferat topaz the ey drop regiment that we had her on uh for her melting ulcer in her eye it seems to have helped a lot and it looks like she's going to be able to keep her Eye uh so that's awesome I'm really happy about that uh this last week and a

half I've been dealing with with some issues with my computer and with my mixer so it's it's just been like a a bunch of things in this last month that have been all happening at the same time and making it really hard to work on stuff but I've got all that fixed I'm feeling better I'm not going to be needing to do the eye drops for my Farah anymore every few hours like I've been Doing as of today actually after I post this video I'm going down for her final vet appointment uh but yeah I'm

going to be getting back on normal uploads this week the next video I'm going to be posting will probably be on Thursday and it's going to be a story by CK Walker who wrote barasa and it's called um Mayhem mountain and I still have some work I need to do on barasa it's kind of been put off with all this other stuff I've been doing but I'm going to get Back on working on that since it's such a long project there are a few other shorter stories I want to get out in the meantime just

to kind of get back into the swing of things but I do still plan to have that up soon and I just want to say again thank you all so much for being patient with me while I've been going through this stuff lately I'm excited to get back into normal uploads and but for this video today this is a paranormal compilation once I Get back into regular uploads this week you probably won't see nearly as many compilations I want to get back into just posting singular stories again and I might do compilations every now and

again but for the most part going forward you'll probably mainly only see singular stories like I normally do and one of the stories in this one is actually in like my top five favorite stories of all time I've mentioned it a few times so I'm excited to see if any Of you can guess what it is in the comments but with that said I'll be replying on the comments like a normally am and I hope you have a great [Music] day I've never really considered myself to be much of an Explorer or a particularly Brave

man however that hasn't seemed to stop me from getting into the predicament I'm in now it was around 3 months ago that my girlfriend of 4 years left me for another man and She really was the last tether keeping me grounded to any semblance of a social life don't get me wrong I have friends that I love to see but most live across the Metroplex about an hour's drive so it's a rare day when I make the effort to drive out there and even more rare to have them drive out to see me over the

past 3 months I've gone through most of the stages of a breakup sorrow self-pity hopelessness and anger but after taking a look at myself I decided there were a few things I could improve and although I'm not in a particularly bad shape I wanted to sculpt my physique to something more attractive to women this is a problem as I'm a fairly lazy man not everything in my life has been handed to me but I've learned to put the least amount of effort into any and all activities as possible so rather than buying a gym membership

and taking the 5minute drive down the road I decided I'd simply build Myself a home workout center and do some AB blasting in my apartment I only recently moved into this place about a month before my ex left me sharing a two-bedroom with absolutely no one it lies in the far corner of the complex on the Second Story and the balcony gives me an excellent view of the enormous soccer fields and the woods beyond that the only problem is that the land lady lives underneath me and I learned fairly quickly that the whole home gym

setup Was a bust as almost immediately when doing reps with the weights I bought I heard the crotchety woman banging on the floor with a broom handle commanding me to keep it down as irritating as it was walking on eggshells all the time I suppose it was understandable so I opted to cut Corners some other way and rather than doing the smart thing and hitting the gym my eyes turned to the vast fields at my very doorstep the fields were simply massive stretching back Several hundred yards surrounded by dense wood on all sides other than

the front which faced my apartment and the equally large parking lot which was sunken in such a way as to be unseen from the main road that led to it it was October when I first checked out the fields I live in Texas so it doesn't get cold here until December if at all so I had plenty of time to get familiar with the area before winter hit I only went at night preferably past midnight or Even 1:00 a.m. when the large flood lights were shut down and all the late night teenagers were done with

their Shenanigans I would slip through the decrepit fence that shoddily guarded my apartment and disappear into the night and during this time I felt amazing completely uninhibited and alone just the way I liked it I would bring out my weights do laps around the field and heck I even brought a few buddies out there once or twice to have some drinks And Play Soccer once it had cleared out and although I will admit going out there in the pitch black lone with nothing but the Moonlight and could be slightly unnerving at times it was far

better than the alternative at least at first as my isolation grew my sleep schedule strayed from the norm and it wasn't long before I found myself awake at odd hours of the night even now I'm recording this at 2: a.m. and about a week ago was a particularly rough one After fruitlessly lying in bed for almost an hour and not even feeling my eyelids flutter once I realized my efforts to fall asleep were futile and I found myself crawling out of bed at 1:00 in the morning it's strange many of the times I find myself

drawn to the field it's almost as if I'm not in control of my body or even my own thoughts and as I threw on a jacket in preparation for the chilly Embrace outside I glanced outside my bedroom window finding to my Amusement that the flood lights in the field were still on because it was so late I I figured one of the workers must have forgot to turn off the lights for the night and initially thought little of it I grabbed my phone and headed outside I was feeling strangely courageous that night confidently strutting out

onto the baren field dropping off my shirt and jackets near the edge feeling like the biggest man in the world and after putting on some Music on my phone I headed to the center of the Wasteland halfway expecting to see someone out there waiting for me the overpowering luminesence of the flood lights combined with the sharp contrast of the utter and complete darkness of the forest encompassing it made for an odd sensation indeed but I still found myself walking to the center of the field and simply observing my surroundings in the darkness in the early

hours of the morning it is easy For one's mind to play tricks on them and it was not uncommon for me in the past to do a double take over my shoulder whenever I thought I saw a shadow sprinting through the night only to see a harmless flag or feel a wave of fear crawl up my spine when I heard the rustling behind me only to discover a plastic bag in the breeze but this night felt different the glaring light cast Long Dark Shadows across the field and as I marched around cold and alone with

Only David Bowie blaring from my phone to keep me company I felt remarkably uncomfortable after kicking a soccer ball around the field for less than 5 minutes a strong gust of wind hit my shortless body leaving me shuddering involuntarily but this was met by a loud clanging sound of metal on metal from the woods at the edge of the field which halted my shuttering almost immediately as I Stood Still as a statue with goosebumps quickly forming up my arms as I mentioned it was not uncommon for there to be noises around the field even at

night and I quickly rationalized that the wind had knocked something against a large metal garbage can at the edge of the field and I can continued with my workout still in the zone but alert David Bowie abruptly shut off jarring me into glancing at my phone damn it I thought out loud the battery had died that's when I heard the clanging noise again and my head snapped back towards Where I perceived the noise to have originated from I waited several seconds no wi this time for those who don't know in a large field like this

it's nearly impossible to pinpoint just where a noise is coming from because of the effect Echoes can have in such a wide unobstructed space but I had the distinct feeling it was not coming from the garbage can at the other end of the field I had enough fun for the night without glancing back I put my phone in My pocket and started jogging away from the center of the field and back towards the hole in the fence that led directly to my apartment and that's when it happened the flood lights went out I kid you

not every single one of the lights turned off instantly here I was damn near Naked Eyes watering from the cold and goosebumps covering every inch of my body when darkness took the field that's when my jog turned into a Sprint I felt exposed alone and oh so Vulnerable I'm not a feeble or cowardly man but I knew anyone or anything out there messing with me so late at night had to have been crazier than I was I still had about 100 yards to run when I glanced behind me I don't don't know whether to be

grateful or terrified that I saw nothing in the shadows of the night but either way I ran harder and faster than I had in a long time my Terror was so severe I completely forgot to grab my shirt or jacket both of which Were Christmas presents but immediate relief overtook me once I entered the premise of the complex squeezing through the broken fence racing up the stairs and slamming and locking the door behind me Breathing heavily I stumbled over to the kitchen table my legs and lungs both burned burning with a white hot pain I

was shaken but I was all right I threw on a shirt almost completely forgetting about the one I left behind and started to boil some water for tea when I knew I Could finally relax and that's when I heard it three knocks on my door my front door at 2: in the morning law enforcement that was the first thought I had they had finally busted me for trespassing all those times but I figured if I just calmly explained myself maybe they'd let me off with a warning I walked over to my door and grabbed my

door knob but something stopped me from turning and pulling it open instead I lowered my eye To the circular peephole in the door figuring I might as well see who it was before I opened I shakily backed away from the door with goosebumps immediately reemerging on my arms and neck as the familiar sensation of dread radiated throughout my body I glanced at the door to make sure it was locked and and for good measure I ran up and threw on the deadbolt when a second series of thumps reverberated throughout my small apartment my view of

the people had been Completely black meaning someone had covered it for a reason that God only knew but it couldn't have been good I went out to get my jacket and shirt the next day when the sun was high in the sky bringing some semblance of warmth and order to the world the field was full of parents and kids happily playing soccer but my articles were gone along with any sign that that anyone or anything was even out there the night before that was 5 days ago and every Night since the lights in the field

have remained on until 2: a.m. without fail and every single night at the same time I hear that metallic clanging in the field whether there be wind or not followed soon after by that familiar thuing at my door I suppose going directly to my apartment immediately after was a poor choice as now whatever is out there in that field knows who I am and where I live I don't know what to do I I think maybe I should move back in With my parents I don't know I need to get away and and I I'm

terrified it was this morning that really sent me over the edge I opened my door at 8:00 a.m. in order to head to work when I nearly stepped on something I picked up the Ragged piece of cloth apprehensively thinking it might be the Garment of some homeless vagrant when it dawned on me although horribly mutilated and torn to shreds it was still recognizable I dropped the cloth in Horror it was my jacket even now as I record this I regret to inform you I hear [Music] it the house sat empty at the top of the

hill its security lights were a beacon in the in the night like a lighthouse alone in the Mist warning ships away from the kiss of sharp Shores the closest neighbor was further away than a man could throw a rock a fact that didn't appear to be a Coincidence inside its smooth walls gray hardwood spread out across an expansive single floor the leather furniture decorating the space and looked like someone's idea of a futuristic catcher mitt and felt half as cozy chosen as was the case for much of the house for color more than Comfort doubly

so for the tank of tropical fish that shimmered against the far accent wall its 40 odd gallons of water sparkled in the dark cared for by a professional who came out to the House on alternating Tuesdays overhead spotlights clicked to life they were triggered by the abrupt opening of the heavy front door a burst of cold air was followed into the house by Douglas the owner he shut the door just as quickly as it had swung open his gray unblinking eyes flecked with bits of blue three hard Clacks in the door was locked four beeps

and the alarm system was activated in the kitchen Douglas stood at the refrigerator and poured himself a glass Of water drinking it down in one gulp then did the same with a scotch he was thirsty and had been for some time his nerves were on fire and needed extinguishing after another Scotch this one over ice he drew the blinds and ran the shower until until the mirror couldn't be seen then he undressed and stepped in under the hot water Douglas kneaded his sore neck like a baker working a tough batch of dough 3 days now

it had been stiff 3 days of limited Movement of waking in the mornings with a cry the rub helped but he knew within 20 minutes of getting out of the shower his neck would be back to the way it had been before a masseuse was in order he thought to himself one of those cute girls he always passed by at the gym the thought alone was enough to relax him the little hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up he felt the unmistakable presence of a man standing just behind him he rubbed the

water from His eyes to catch the Intruder in the ACT ready to pounce on him in a commotion of fists but he was alone in the steamy shower and though the feeling faded the longer he kept his eyes open Douglas swore he could feel subtle changes in the direction of the air shifts so slight they didn't even move the shower curtain almost like breathing yet soundless and cold ready for bed dougas turned off all of the lights in the house as he went from room to room He checked the windows to make sure they were

locked properly noting with some comfort the wires of The house's alarm system he had settled into a decent state after two large scotches in a hot shower and he looked forward to a good night's sleep for a change he crept into the bedroom slipped between the cool covers and let his eyes close of their own accord the house was quiet secure a few odd moments in the shower not withstanding Douglas felt the closest to Content he could expect already the silken kiss of sleep was swallowing him down like sinking into the warm sap of a

thousand billowing trees taste like s a whisper in his ear he jolted awake at the man's voice with it the sensation of breath on his face a moment later came the loud bang of something hitting his bedroom window from the outside first the impact then the shimmy of glass dancing in its frame it sounded like a fist had pounded at the window he threw The covers off and jumped out of bed looked around the room for whoever had whispered to him once he was sure he was alone he yanked the curtains open no one just

his front yard a hill which sloped down to the empty Street all of it blanketed in yellow white Moonlight Douglas leaned in close to look under the window possibly the trespasser had ducked down and was hiding against the house tucked in behind the aelas a blackbird twitched in the grass its Wings flapped in erratic Rhythm and its legs were two hardened sticks Douglas looked for and found a sign that the bird had hit his window an impression of the animal's shape had been left behind a fine silhouette rendered in dust the body at the center

and two feathery Wings spread outward the bird continued to Twitch in the grass until the movement slowed its solid black eyes finally drained of sight left to stare unfocused into the Sky Douglas watched the bird die then he returned to bed the Autumn Sun slept behind a coat of clouds meanwhile some people had to work Douglas stood at the water cooler down the hall from his office repeatedly refilling and draining a cone-shaped paper cup he was still thirsty despite a good night's sleep each time he drank he watched the bubbles Rise Up from somewhere unseen

and wobble to the top of the water jug the sight was hypnotic At some point he lost the need to Blink hey what happened to you Friday Douglas looked up from the dancing bubbles Peter from marketing had walked into the break room unnoticed and was eyeing Douglas with light contempt what you were supposed to meet us at M Peter explained for drinks on Friday oh sorry about that Douglas managed as much as he tried to think of an excuse for not going he couldn't come up with anything sufficient bit said you should Worry about you

know he likes the whole team socializing kiss the boss's ass thing if you keep no showing he'll rethink the promotion Douglas nodded distantly he raised his paper cup does this water taste funny to you I don't drink water I drink coffee like God intended with that Peter left the break room and resumed his blonde life Douglas filled his cup and finished it one more time doing his best to pin down The Familiar Taste back in his office he Tried to lose himself in work he became absorbed by emails and faxes and reports but he found

himself unable to commit fully to the moment fighting the feeling that someone was looking over his shoulder checking his progress before he made any more than once he typed out a word only to delete it then retype it exactly as it originally appeared the second guessing put him on edge eventually he gave up the idea of completing the task alt together he sat Back in his chair rubbed his ears smoothed his tie and surveyed the battlefield suits glided past his doorway somewhere down the hall a fluorescent bulb sounded out its electric death rattle on his

desk facing the empty chair opposite him was a name plate some grateful client had bought him a few years back he rarely looked at it anymore as was the case for any nonfunctional object that sat on his desk for more than a month he leaned Forward and spun the name plate to read the inscription the thin strip of horizontal metal was engraved with his name Douglas first name only and underneath it in smaller font it gave the origin of the name from the Scottish surname Douglas it read meaning dark river Douglas grimaced he put the

name plate back where he'd found it this time Face Down 2 hours later after further failed attempts to accomplish something he left for the day As he crossed the parking lot one of his co-workers had her back against her red import with a cigarette burning between her lips hey Doug you got a new car um it's Doug and it's a loner he replied not bothering to explain himself any further she watched him pull out of the parking lot and toward the Setting Sun she took another long drag of peppermint smoke and wondered what Ed ever

saw in him Douglas drove occasionally he chewed his thumbnail or checked the radio for a Good song but every sound that came out of the speakers graded on him until he decided he no longer liked music meanwhile the dealership mechanic's voice echoed in his crowded head that must have been some dear the man had said rubbing his gray Palms together as he inspected the damage a flash of scared eyes crossed Douglas's mind deep points of tear old black he had said nothing to the Man simply left him to his work as the night kicked in

like a Bad pill he drove past the river which intertwined through the large stretch of land outside the city it had always served as a checkpoint in his commute one of the telltale signs of leaving the throngs behind those streets packed with the rude and the uncaring now now it signaled something else entirely the light of a thousand stars above was snuffed out in its cold water he put his foot down on the accelerator And tried to pass the river without making eye contact a few minutes later he entered the tunnel which cut beneath the

river it was a hole in the earth 1300 ft long and 80 ft below the water's surface the passage was made of steel arches sprayed with concrete and covered by Brick and though it did much for the city and its people it was a generally unappreciated addition to its history the tunnel's public perception had been marred early on when a portion of it Flooded during construction killing three men and injuring another the accident caused a political outcry when it came to light that the company building it had cut Corners in order to win the cheapest

bid although that incident had occurred many years earlier long before Douglas was born he shared a distaste for that part of his commute he had never in his life enjoyed being underground believed it to be unnatural and he defended The Stance to anyone who Would hear it there were signs up today warning of construction a common sight and sure enough as he rounded the bend at the halfway point he spied flashing lights reflected against the wall followed by beastly yellow and white vehicles and finally men in reflective coats one of the larger men held up

a sign to the drivers which read slow letting the car slip past one at a time as he glanced mechanically over his shoulder at one of the construction Vehicles backing into place just as Douglas was about to make his own pass the man flipped a sign around to say stop come on Douglas sighed the heavy man made his way to the side of the car and signaled for Douglas to lower the window only take a minute the man declared you can't let me pass he bunched up his thick face and blew out air that's what

the last guy said the guy before that and the guy before that what if I give you 20 bucks sorry bud The tunnel's got to be fixed eventually someone suffers he turned and reclaimed his spot watching the vehicle back up as he half-heartedly held up his sign in the rear view Douglas noticed there wasn't a single car behind him he and he alone would have to wait for life to resume he settled into his seat and watched his tax dollars work against him though he refused to put the car into park somehow it meant giving

up a minute later he Gave up he put the car into park and checked his phone no service 30 seconds after that the lights went out a loud buzz echoed through the tunnel a buildup of static turned inside out and Amplified then the two strips of white lights on either wall near the ceiling snuffed out the construction Crews generators followed suit plunging the tunnel and everyone in it into a black as thick as paint men shouted in the shadows and Douglas felt his stomach Drop into his pelvis his fear of the living grave come true

the complete darkness only lasted a few seconds yellow emergency lights small and round were mounted on the tunnel's ceiling every 50 feet lending the tunnel their solow glow workers toiled in the faint light trying to restore power to the tunnel he felt it again a presence just behind him Douglas shut his eyes he squeezed them so tightly he saw fireworks behind his eyelids and felt a Low deep Rumble in his eard drums he knew there was nothing there just just as there had been nothing in the shower or in the bedroom or even standing over

him at work nothing was invisible in this world everything was real and explainable this was real life there were no monsters only idiots in their fears cold fingers traced a line up his neck he shivered and moved forward in his seat pretending to be chilly from a draft that wasn't there he cursed Himself for entertaining dark thoughts for even a second but then a whisper rifted from the back seat taste like salt he ignored it blocked it out no one had power over him unless he gave it to them so thirsty his leg began to

shake and he squeezed it hard until he knew it would bruise with sudden intensity the tunnel lights came back on the power returning with a solid joined by the happy shouts of the construction crew relieved Douglas opened his eyes and let Them adjust to the light he couldn't wait to get out of this damn tunnel and resume his tired ride home he glanced in the rear view to see if anyone else had shared this bad luck any other commuters in the temporary grave there was a face in the mirror a pair of hollow eyes looking

back at him dark dripping wet hair over water slick skin the man opened his colorless lips and dirty water poured out panicked Douglas spun in his seat his heart exploding against His chest but there was nothing behind him just an empty back seat and an ice scraper on on the floor nothing in his rear view either No Death Stare no colorless flesh even the air felt empty he tried to breathe slow and steady to calm his heart he became aware of someone outside the car waving their arms at him it was the large construction guy

holding the sign and from his face he'd been trying to get Douglas's attention for some time in a Days Douglas rolled down his window once more you can go now the man called out power's back Douglas nodded and took the car out of park rolling slowly past the men in their trucks he drove the rest of the way home in silence trying and failing to forget the face in the mirror his mouth was as dry as burnt paper and he planned to drink until either his throat or his legs gave [Music] out Douglas knew he

was dreaming he Walked through a dark field at night the grass was ankle high ey black as oil and it stretched to the Horizon in windless sway the dirt beneath his bare feet was black too like potting soil but not as damp there was no moon in the sky nor Direction in his heart he simply walked lifeless dirt between his toes as Birds C unseen in the grass if he strained to see them he would catch moments of black feathers twitching between the blades their eyes like voids Filled up only with hurt Douglas stopped a

man lay on the ground ahead his face buried in the dirt his clothes were soaked and a puddle of what he hoped was water had formed around him are you okay Douglas asked without moving his lips but the man didn't answer Douglas moved closer and repeated the question the man still didn't move but this time he answered his voice was the dry crunch of gravel underfoot so thirsty a loud knock woke Douglas he Spasmed in his chair and gave out a shout whoa Peter stood in the doorway Douglas looked around his office and situated himself

he had dozed off behind his desk again he shook his head and apologize noises have been setting me off lately Peter gave him a condescending look you need to relax just a friendly tip no one likes a guy who gets stressed easily especially Ed he peaked down the hallway to see if anyone one else had witnessed the Incident especially Ed Douglas rubbed his heavy eyes I think I think I need to get away for a bit you hit the reset button Peter stepped into the office and lowered his voice are you crazy you can't go

on vacation right now not with everything going on I I know Peter paused to scratch his nose then he smiled what what is it Peter nodded I know just the thing as Douglas took a seat in the small waiting room the pretty girl came out From behind the welcome desk and handed him a clipboard it held a release form printed on two sides of one page and a pen clipped to the top with the place's name on it deep Escape standard stuff the girl said not liable for anything blah blah blah she smiled and returned

to her desk where she kept her phone hidden behind the computer monitor Douglas filled out the form on autopilot if you've read one you've read them all meanwhile Peter's words rang in his head Did I ever tell you about my brother the poor guy came back from Iraq with shell shock I'm not sure what they do exactly but it's some kind of isolation it's no sound no sight he said he tripped out a bit at first but by the end he felt like he'd slept for a year Douglas didn't really care what they did so

long as it worked he was tired of being anxious anxious about being tired his mind just needed a little break before it broke there was no such thing as unseen Presences or disembodied voices just the very real effects of stress on the brain and he knew that he had to treat it in very real ways he skipped over all the disclaimers and got to the part where he signed on the line before long he was standing in a private room the size of a bedroom while an attendant explained the White Beast in front of him

when you enter isolation the young man explained you're in the darkest place in the world the thing was The width of a large bed and twice as high it was enclosed on all sides with a slanted front wall where the door was located the door had a handle on its left side to open it as well had two larger ones on the body to hold while climbing in the attendant explained everything about the treatment how to get the most from the experience which specific parts of the brain it stimulated but Douglas was only marginally aware

of him until he asked If Douglas was ready Douglas nodded and with that the attendant showed him where to hang his clothes and left him alone in the tiled room naked his clothes folded on the small bench he opened the White Beast and stepped inside the water was set to skin temperature making the transition an easy one it was like slipping into a second skin a friendly hand that welcomed him and took him in safely a deep voice inside told him not to get in not to do this but already the Smooth smooth water had

won him over completely inside he crouched down low and pulled the small door shut behind him dark true dark was as unfamiliar to him as it was for most accustomed to ambient light as his eyes were from Sun to Moon Starlight to street light they struggled to make sense of the complete absence of stimulation Douglas found the first minute of this new Darkness to be dizzying and he only lay down in the sh shallow water when he felt comfortable Enough to move he was surprised to find he floated easier than normal and he seemed to

remember the attendant saying something special about the water which gave it that characteristic as the shadow settled in around him the water no longer sloshing against the side of the tank his ears too fought to understand a loss of constant input followed by his skin he lost all sense of time passing soon his eyes were creating a show for themselves Flashes of light formed and swirled above him and he watched them like a child does a fireworks display a beautiful burst of color exploded before his eyes at its Center set like a jewel a tiny

dot of black grew until its true shape became clear an eye open wide the black pupil at the center expanded until it overtook the outer colors completely surrounded by pure black once again he was Jarred by the deafening sound of impact that filled up his Eardrums like a bird smashing into a bedroom window like the world come crashing down and he was pulled into the black all-encompassing pupil and out the other side where his hand struggled to regain control of a steering wheel there was a long crack in the windshield like lightning eating up glass

at one Jagged Junction a bit of something black broke up from the broken pane Douglas watched with detached horror his body burned with adrenaline and his eyes stung of Tears in a moment everything had changed sticking out from the glass waving in the wind it was hair he checked the rear view after swerving noisily a few times the car had ended up on the side of the road where the river snaked close to the shoulder there were no other cars on the road normal for this time of night he put the car into park turned

the key and slowly got out his legs felt uneven his body unfit for walking and he came around the front of the car expecting The worst a man lay on the ground ahead his face buried in the dirt are you okay Douglas called out no answer he asked again this time the man moved his lips Douglas rushed to him and turned him on his side so he could breathe he propped the man's head up in his lap the man breathed relax it's okay Help holding the man's head he asked how call his voice cut out

painfully Each word took tremendous effort please Douglas closed his eyes after taking a quick shower at home he poured himself a drink to relax before he went back to mweene if he called the police now call I I I already called them Douglas said we have to sit and wait for them they told me to wait the man in his arms began to cough Douglas asked what he needed I I'm thirsty Douglas looked over his shoulder and saw how close they were To the edge of the river the water churned past small smooth rocks he

tried to lay the man's head down on the grass but he couldn't find a way to do it that didn't cause the man to scream out in agony instead he carefully dragged him backward grunting and sweating to the river until his legs were submerged in it with one hand he cradled the man's bleeding head from dipping into the river and with the other he scooped up cold water and fed it to him it tastes Like salt the man complained it didn't make sense at all Douglas tried it himself but tasted only water it's it's a

river he said it's fresh water it tastes like salt the man repeated he took another sip looked up at Douglas as he struggled to take a breath when when when what when are they coming Douglas paused soon just relax the man's gut Rose and fell like waves you didn't Do it Douglas scooped up more of the water in his palm do what call his hand stopped the man's wide eyes stared up at him accusingly Douglas didn't appreciate the look of of course I called call again there's no point they're already coming Douglas was starting to

get annoyed the two men locked eyes they understood each other too well together in that moment their lifelines Tangled like bad wires the river gurgling and splashing into them Pushing past their bodies eternally a moment stretched into lifetimes time was nothing life had stopped the man took a great deep breath and with the night air loaded in his lungs he opened his mouth to scream for helpus pushed the man's head under the surface the scream became Bubbles and ungiving torrent of frigid River waterer he wouldn't let this man ruin his life this stranger who had

no business walking along the side of the road at Night the unwelcome weight that hit his bumper and bounced off his windshield the man who thrashed and swallowed the river with his eyes wide open his eyes Douglas opened his eyes he was in the dark again back in the tank deep Escape floating in space but he wasn't alone something was in there with with him crouched over him a presence a sound a body without a body which had been following him around cold fingers shot out and wrapped around his neck pushed Him down underwater Douglas

looked up from Dark Water to dark sky even in Perfect Pitch he could make out the face of the man above him it was no surprise his lungs and eyes burned he took in great big mouthfuls of water and noticed as his vision faded and shook that it had a strange taste like the water cooler at work and he thought back to the attendant who had introduced him to the device he was now drowning in in order for you to stay afloat the water Is treated with Epsom he had said Epsom salt it tastes like

salt tight fingers squeezed his throat shut they turned his vision black blacker than the water the dark river that swallowed him down you're in the darkest place in the world not yet but soon all that was left was to give up [Music] [Music] [Music] in March 1946 Robert Odell walked into Creek Haven Elementary with a shotgun and a pistol 12 children and a math teacher never made at home Odell was arrested immediately following the massacre after he'd fallen down a flight of stairs when asked why he had done it he didn't answer he just smiled

he was executed within the year Creek Haven has changed a lot since then it had been a mining town up until the 70s when the ore depleted and the residents were forced to move away to find new work now It's deserted left for the woods and the wild to overrun the buildings still stand including the school and ghostly rumors have surrounded the place since it was abandoned supposedly the spirit of the children can be seen in and around the school where they died I'd heard bits and pieces about it since I was a kid my

dad had been born there but the family left even before the minds dried up he had no memory of it Grandma did though she'd spent her whole life There and she'd been in the school when Odell opened fire that was one piece of her childhood she never talked about I was taking a film class and we'd received an assignment to shoot a mini documentary I knew right away what I wanted to cover I decided to interview Grandma first to see what she could tell me about Creek Haven and the supposed hauntings that followed in Odell's

wake we don't say that name I recorded her telling me even over the tape I can hear The Thin disapproving Line she'd pressed her lips into and you don't want to go there terrible memories left it ruined my voice comes up after a moment of silence do you remember that day there's a squeak of a chair as grandma shifted uncomfortably of course I do I knew all of the victims some had been my friends you don't forget something like that never never after so long her voice was still raw with pain I shut the tape

off after even as a high school kid I knew There was some things you shouldn't push after it was done grandma got up and walked into the kitchen she asked me what kind of cookies she should bake for me to take home I didn't bring up creek Haven with her again that didn't push me off the project though I recruited my friend Nicole to act as camera woman and we picked a date to drive out to Creek Haven despite its bloody past neither of us believed that it was truly haunted my documentary was meant to

cover its History and the birth of an urban legend I called it the making of a ghost town it was overcast and humid when we left Nicole's Jeep's AC was broken and she spent spent the 30-minute ride complaining about it I was too busy focusing on my notes to really notice I didn't think to look up until she stopped short and my seat belt caught me as I jerked forward a barrier had been erected in front of the road leading into Creek Haven I got out and filmed it and the long strip of poth hold

pavement behind it I had Nicole put her four-wheel drive to good use and directed her Offroad to go around the flimsy barricade I held the camera out the window catching shots of the trees lining the way in and the first glimpses of houses sagging and in disrepair in the distance we slowed to a stop when we reached what had once been Main Street I had dug up old photos of the town over The years and Nicole and I went through the pile to find the ones that match the spot we were in I wanted a

montage of then and now comparisons to open the documentary with so when do we get to the school Nicole asked she was eager to get to the haunted part already as soon oh come on you know that's the only thing anyone's going to care about the video is only going to be half an hour don't waste your time being artsy fartsy the tight Grim set of Grandma's Expression crossed my mind as I relented what was still an open wound for her was schoolwork fod for us it was a reminder to treat the subject matter with

as much respect as I could manage we followed a map IID brought down the bumpy streets toward the school school it was Eerie to drive past the sun bleached buildings still sporting their signs and business names as if they were just waiting to open their doors again I kept the camcorder rolling As we turned down Dogwood toward the low stone wall that surrounded the school it was a two-story building red brick and blackened Windows the small parking lot was an empty mess of weeds growing through concrete Nicole just parked outside the front doors the glass

on one had been shattered allow o ing us a view of the corridor Beyond as I started to climb out Nicole grabbed my arm someone's in there she hissed where there she said jabbing her finger Forward in the first doorway inside someone's looking out I squinted into the darkened hallway and gasped the outline of a person was peeking out around the door frame Nicole's fingers dug into my arm we sat Frozen and waited the person didn't move what should we do you Nicole asked in an uneasy whisper the person still hadn't budged from their spot

it could be a homeless person she suggested I leaned forward in my seat I don't think so wait no despite Her protest I pushed the Jeep's door open and lifted the camcorder to my eye in hesitant small steps I climbed the short Stone stairway leading into the school until my suspicions were confirmed I laughed and waved for her to get out of the car and join me it's it's a mannequin what she sounded doubtful a mannequin is that supposed to make it less creepy come on you big baby we got a lot to film after

some convincing Nicole finally joined me and we stepped Through the broken glass opening the inside was dimly lit in Shades of Gray that filtered through the grimy Windows the dirty child-sized mannequin we'd seen from outside was standing just inside the first doorway which had a sign labeling it the front office over it older another mannequin this one modeled after an adult who was standing behind the desk another pair were seated in some chairs outside another door marked principal what the heck Nicole Said from over my shoulder I laughed nervously and filmed she stayed close on

my heels as we walked further into the school a few child mannequins were scattered throughout the Halls one at an old-fashioned water fountain a few were standing in a line outside a classroom door within the class room an adult mannequin had been placed in front of the chalkboard and some of the seats had more of the smaller ones in them they were all browned with dust and age this Is way too weird Nicole said I'm going to wait outside oh come on someone was just messing around a long time ago whatever I don't care I'm

out Nicole scurried back toward the front door leaving me to call after her she didn't even turn around I grumbled and kept going each room I passed had its own set of mannequins they they were positioned in ways that mimicked what a typical school day might have looked like teachers leading classes of students an Empty Library where a lone mannequin was left behind the checkout desk a cafeteria with a handful of child-sized mannequins scattered around the tables there was even one class where a couple of kid mannequins had been made to look like they were

passing a note between them it was weird like Nicole had said and I couldn't deny that Goosebumps had been creeping up my arm since that first child mannequin but I told myself it was harmless I Wasn't a little kid who was going to be scared by some overgrown dolls not when 30% of my grade depended on it I walked by faded torn posters and glanced into every doorway filming as I went I'd have to add a voiceover later the stairwell leading to the second floor was halfway down the hall they still seemed sturdy enough and

I walked up them one at a time slow and cautious the whole way at the top of the stair a single adult mannequin was standing With its back to me someone had taped a stick that sort of resembled a handgun to its waist a larger stick had been taped between its hands I wrinkled my nose in distaste at the obvious symbolism and shoved the thing off to the side it fell over with a crash that echoed down the length of the hall I shuddered and stepped over its legs to continue on unlike the first floor

there was only one classroom that had any mannequins in it on this one An adult-sized mannequin was at the front of the room half turned with its arm raised and pointing toward the Blackboard every seat in the class was filled by a child-sized counterpart they were facing forward as if paying attention to their lesson I panned the camcorder across the class a loud bang came suddenly from the stairwell and I jumped instinctively turning towards it the silence that followed rang heavily in my ears Nicole I called I'm up here But my friend didn't answer icy

sweat broke out across the back of my neck I chewed my lip trying to convince myself it had just been something I Disturbed on my way up finally toppling over my thoughts were cut short by the soft murmur of childish Whispers coming from within the classroom slowly even as I screamed at myself not to I looked back into the class all of the mannequin's heads had turned toward the door their blank pale faces were fixed on me I Stumbled back a step with a short cry my camcorder fumbling in my hands something creaked low and

long from inside the classroom suddenly I couldn't remember how to move my legs there was a heavy thud another and then a third like footsteps and they were getting closer a deep guttural growl rumbled out into the Hall the footsteps were becoming quicker I tore myself from the spot and ran screaming down the hall at the top of the steps my feet feet Tangled in the Legs of the mannequin i' pushed over and I barely managed to catch myself on the railing before pitching headlong down the stairs frantically I looked back toward the classroom dirtied

elongated fingers had closed around the door frame the mannequin dragged itself stiffly into the hallway its head turned jerkily towards me and it growled again I didn't look back a second time as I leapt down the stairs two at a time and bolted back down the hall to the front door shouting For Nicole to start the car I was convinced I could hear the uneven angry footsteps of the mannequin pursuing me out of the school we screeched out of the parking lot and out of Creek [Music] Haven I couldn't bring myself to review the footage

until a few days later when the fear had dwindled a bit and it seemed less real Nicole didn't want to see it at all going have nightmares enough as it is she'd said after I told Her what had happened I sat at my desk every light in my room on and I plugged the camcorder into my computer I skipped over the initial shots of the town until I got to the elementary school seeing the mannequins again made my heartbeat Quicken and I fast forwarded until I got to the classroom on the second floor there was

a bang which sent the camcorder jumping and off focus it had come to rest briefly on a plaque outside the door and I caught the word Parker Before the camera was moving again and everything became a blur the only thing I managed to capture in my desperation to escape was a glimpse of the adult-sized mannequin standing in the hallway as I headed down the stairs I ended up turning in a documentary on a different much duller topic but I kept my footage from the school saved in a hidden folder aside from Nicole I was only

brave enough to bring it up with one other person Grandma I said I know You don't like talking about Creek Haven but did the name Parker mean anything Grandma nodded once a subtle movement Mr Parker he was my math teacher his classroom had been on the second floor when Robert Odell began his Rampage Cyrus Parker had been in the middle of a lesson students Grandma included would later say they didn't know at first what the loud noises that they heard downstairs were Mr Parker must have known but he calmly told them to stay in Their

seats while he checked it out the last words he spoke to the children were the same he said said every day at the end of class study hard do your homework make me proud he had closed the door behind him Grandma distinctly remembered the sound of the lock turning into place the teacher in the next class over had poked her head out when the screaming began from downstairs she watched Mr Parker run past her toward a strange man who had just stepped onto the second Floor Landing it wasn't until the shotgun blast that she realized

what was happening Mr Parker took it in the stomach and he growled he had jumped onto the shooter and both fell down the stairs he died lying at top that monster grandma looked away and dabbed her eyes held him down until there was no life left in him if he hadn't she trailed off and I didn't ask anymore I don't know who put the mannequins in the school or why maybe it was an art project maybe it Was a planned Memorial that never panned out I've never found an answer but 13 innocent lives were lost

in March of 1946 since then it's been said that the ghosts of the children haunt the school grounds I believe it and I know they're not alone I know that Mr Parker never got to leave either he remains watching over those children now the same way he did then God help anyone who ever tries to harm them again [Music] Call me maob but I've always been fascinated with hangings it's not that I want to watch someone die it's that I enjoy the history surrounding public executions every hanging site has its own tale to tell and

there are hundreds to explore across North America America many of which are open to the public there's this Indescribable feel that comes with standing in an old building knowing that not so long ago people were climbing over one another to watch Criminals die and cheering as it happened so really if anyone's maab it's them not me the experience I'm sharing today is my favorite I don't want to be cheesy and say it chills me to this day but it is the hanging site I've visited that's left the biggest impr on me you know that high

you get from reading a good horror story that usually Fades with time but what I experience there is as potent now as it was then let me tell you about the Noose of the hanged men And yes that's men plural about a year ago I was in Nova Scotia on business when I learned of a little known hanging site down in a small Port Town about an hour and a half away from Halifax given my aention interest in the subject I decided to use my day off to visit I had to go through a few

Hoops but after speaking with the tourism office I was put in touch with someone from the town's Historical Society who agreed to give me a tour That's how I wound up late one cloudy afternoon standing at the edge of a seemingly abandoned property with anley Murray as my own personal tour guide a couple dozen keys jangled on ansley's keychain as she searched for the one to unlock the front gate the gate was tall and wide with ornate curlicues ending in pointed Spades reminding me of a cemetery Beyond it was an unkempt lawn with yellowed grass

reaching up about knee height an overgrown Stone path and The main attraction a partially collapsed brick building with a central Watchtower I was excited anley tried another key but it wouldn't even go all the way in tell me we're not going to need all those keys Ansley laughed deep the creases of her crow's feet oh heavens no dear she tried her 10th or was it her 11th key these are all for different buildings I just like to keep everything on the same chain otherwise I always forget one oh don't worry I've Only ever gotten locked

in twice and my assistant Muriel got us out within a day or so both times there was hardly a need to resort to cannibalism she grinned sheepishly I snorted and replied hinley I like you already thanks love but keep your lustful thoughts to yourself I've been happily married for 39 years she winked and then tried the next key ah I think this is the one the lock clicked and the Gat screeched open flakes of paint peeled off at the slightest touch And exposed a rusted underbelly for a property supposedly maintained by a historical society it

sure didn't look like anyone had given it any kind of attention in ages watch your step dear there the ground's a little uneven anley warned I was starting to feel it that dread and excitement you get when you're watching a movie and you know a jump scare is about to happen there was something in the air in the way the wind blew through the brush and the crows Cod Like a storm of adrenaline was brewing anley motioned to the other end of the property let's start in the courtyard around back while the weather's still good

then I'll take you inside and show you the cells it sounds good I replied anley led the way through the grass not seeming to mind the fact that we couldn't see our feet I guess it's easy to be brave in tall grass when you know there are no venomous snakes in the Canadian maritimes something I wish she Told me then so I wouldn't have been quite as wary so what do you know about this place I asked she glanced back at me and smiled this prison was built in the late 1860s and was originally charged

with holding prisoners in transit for public execution in Halifax in 1875 Warden Murray uh no no dear no relation to me there are a lot of murres around these parts claimed he'd been given permission to perform Executions what do you mean claimed she tapped a finger to her bottom lip he alleged he'd received the go-ahead after a fire in Halifax but there's no historical evidence to corroborate that but there's no historic IAL evidence to cooperate that now it could be that these records were destroyed over the years perhaps during the Halifax Explosion but as far

as we can surmise there were no reports of a fire that year nor of such a permission being Granted we circled around the collapsed part of the building the interior walls were still standing but the facade had crumbled like a sand castle erosion due to flooding anley revealed later they'd reinforced the the rest of the structure but had never bothered rebuilding as the destruction had occurred during that pocket of time after the prison had been decommissioned but before it had been deemed a local historical site so Warden Mary began performing executions here at The prison

anley nodded that's right just around here we turned the corner to the Courtyard The Tall Grass was interlaced with large patches of dry Earth which surrounded The Gallows years of Salt Air and rainwater had eaten away at the lum like an old plywood shed but it still stood there was the base of the stairs leading up to it two large poles on either side and a splintered beam stretching across the Rope was missing but it had left a Groove in the wood From the weight of multiple executions something was off the door was missing I

asked you said he started in 1875 right she nodded I inspected the structure closer maybe the door was blend ing into the rest of the wood the more I looked the more convinced I became that it was missing there were no seams just straight planks going all the way across but there's no door I said my eyes scanned the overhead beam and landed on the spot where the Rope would Have hung the groove and discoloration could only be seen along the top quarter were they hoisting in 1875 anley smirked according to reports it was Murray's

favorite technique I felt chills of excitement intertwined with hints of dread here's the thing there are a handful of techniques to hang people by 1870 most of Canada started adopting the long drop technique that's the one you're probably most familiar with the prisoner standing on The Gallows with a noose around his neck a door opens under him he falls his neck breaks and he passes out he suffocates while unconscious which is considered more Humane hoisting on the other hand is a lot more barbaric the criminal starts on the ground a rope gets tossed over a

high beam tied to his neck and then they pull the other end to you guessed it Hoist the person up by their neck the process can be excruciatingly painful according to reports from Survivors yes you can survive this and it can last upwards of 10 sometimes even 15 minutes if the person struggles in the right way that's sick I said and yet your smile in she answered sorry can't help it she waved a dismissive hand don't worry I'm not judging she mhed into the courtyard hangings are a morbid business but somehow they always draw people

in they were especially popular here feeding a need from the local folk who couldn't Make it to Halifax and according to reports the warden liked to hold surprise executions he'd climbed to the top of the watch Tower early in the morning and ring a bell to Signal a hanging once the courtyard filled up he'd order the kill he'd watch from above waving at the crowd like an emperor at the Coliseum I looked at the Watchtower and felt a knot in my stomach as I saw three shapes looking back at me I blinked and they Were

gone just the clouds I told myself just dark clouds peeking from the other side of the tower right anley had as though reading my mind leaned in close and whispered you know dear there's a rumor the tower's haunted by a ghost of many faces I shuddered you're making that up to mess with me she shook her head you can ask around yourself it's been spotted a few times in recent years last I hear it was seen by a group of teenagers who jumped the fence a few Raindrops fell I asked what does it look like

she replied some say say a fisherman others say a man in prison guards everyone agrees its face changes every time you look away one second he has a beard the next he's bald with a scar across his eye and so on see this kind of stuff this is why I visit these sites does he attack I asked she Shrugged some say those who see it are doomed to hang themselves others say it's all a myth she raised her hands Palms up toward the Sky starting to rain let's head inside shall we I nodded gas lights

were still mounted to the walls but they'd run dry ages ago thankfully Ansley and I had the foresight to bring flashlights with us we visited the cells with their low ceilings tight walls old chamber pots and beds made out of dry straw then the chapel just a room with the cross and finally the offices she shared more history about the region and the prison But I won't bore you with the details as they're not relevant to this story I think you'll find this room quite interesting anley said as she stopped at the door to the

Watchtower so far the rooms had all been interesting so I was eager to see why she felt that one was special she fumbled with her keychain and began another round of guessing which key fit the lock it didn't take too long this time the lock clicked she opened the Door and I immediately felt this odd suffocating feeling like I just inhaled a cloud of volcanic ash welcome to the Watchtower anley said there's nothing Brave about stepping into a dark room in the middle of a century old prison logically there's no real danger it's only scary

if you trick yourself into believing it is but really an old building is just an old building even though I knew this and even though I'd walked into many old buildings before Without issue I found myself hesitating my feet were cement blocks and the threshold was a force field pushing me back I had no idea where the apprehension was coming from only that it was overwhelming and palpable oh dear worn out already angle teased playfully we can go back if you'd like I shook the nervousness from my body like a dog ing himself no sorry

so lost in thought I lied I stepped inside and felt a wave of vertigo as I looked up the Watchtower Was only about three stories high but the spiral staircase leading up and the way the room narrowed closer to the top made it feel like it stretched as high as a lighthouse it took me a moment for the light-headedness to clear and for me to notice the object dangling halfway up a noose a very large noose squinting I circled around trying to figure out if it was a trick of angles or if it really was

that large the more I looked the less it seemed like an Optical illusion why the words caught in my throat why is that so big anley inhaled deeply as though to scream but what came out wasn't a scream it was a story that love is the Noose of the hanged men you see the key for this Tower was actually lost for the longest time it was only once the Historical Society began looking into the prison that it was discovered in the ruined West Wing in the warden's office it's since been moved but there was a

chest Here she pointed to a spa at the foot of the wall the bricks were brighter than the ones surrounding it in it we found the warden's journals he was she narrowed her eyes a very sadistic man I circled around the room again trying to look at the Noose from every angle there was something captivating about it like a tire swing of death hinley continued he was obsessed with figuring out how many people he could hang with a single Noose I blinked you mean before having To replace the Rope she shook her head no not

the amount of hangings he could perform the amount of people that he could hang at the same time the statement took my breath away hanging ining more than one person from a single noose at once could it even be done she motioned to her neck he started Big 10 people he wrapped The Noose around their throats and hoisted it took five guards to lift the weight but the cord snapped before they could see what would happen He tried again with nine people and this time the cord held unfortunately with nine shoulders pushing the heads apart

there were gaps it was impossible to make the news tight enough to hold all the heads in people SLI through the cracks making room for more people to slip through until they all did I tried to imagine what it felt like to stand in a semicircle with nine other people and I swear I could feel the Rope around my neck I wondered how It felt to be lifted certain you and everyone else was about to die only just slip to Freedom would it be a relief or would it be horrific so he started at 10

then 9 and went down from there she nodded he tried 8 same problem then seven and then six his experiments caused some damage the fewer people being hang the longer it took for someone to slip free it all got worse when his subjects dwindled to five why is that well by five he was able to pull All prisoners High into the air before any of them were able to slip out if you didn't die hanged you died from the fall so five was the lucky number it was weird I felt like we were being watched

I kept looking up at the top of the Watchtower expecting to see someone staring back down at me no dear he wanted people to die from the news not the fall he got stuck on five for a while he was sure it was a question of tying The Noose the right way he was Determined to make it work but he only had a limited amount of prisoners to play with Warden Murray began collecting people he didn't think would be missed I winced what did he do when he ran out she took a seat on the

staircase and glanced up at The Noose the room despite being exposed to the fresh air from above felt stale and suffocating anley said Warden Murray began collecting people he didn't think would be missed homeless people Transients any one who didn't have a family or wandered too close to the prison I rubbed the back of my neck damn now this may be unrelated but I've uncovered reports of whole families going missing around that time their belongings untouched as though they'd been taken in the middle of the night I can't confirm good old Warden Murray was involved

but it is interesting how the timelines match up purely conjecture on my part of course but how many Transat Can you kill before you run out and still with all that death none of his five person experiments worked it felt like a boa constrictor was trying to hug my esophagus why was the air here so thick muray sounds like a sick bastard my voice was horse I was dehydrated Ansley nodded he was it took him months to give up on testing the Noose on five people he nearly lost it when he went down to four

and they still got out to make matters worse no one survived the Fall at 4 at least five the first person was sometimes able to make it out with broken legs at four it was hopeless they could hoist them faster higher and the fall was too high as we talked the Noose above began swinging left to right in the breeze anley explained he tried everything tightening the Rope speeding up the process turning heads in every which direction he could try facing in facing out facing the side side out side out everything The Swinging changed Direction

it went forward and back forward and back but it never worked the prisoners would struggle they twist free and splat on the ground it was alternating now left to right forward and back swinging incessantly he was a stubborn man he started binding people by the waist but it just took one person to slip out of the Noose and then Splat all four together fear spread through my body in a sudden Splash as though I'd been Dropped into a tub of ice water The Noose The godamn Noose the rhythm of its swings stopped being so regular

it went right forward right back left forward right as though being pulled in every direction I rubbed my neck I tried to inhale but there was a weight on my chest are you starting to have trouble breathing anley asked I gasped yeah how did you know she pointed up at the Rope as she walked to the door they say men can't stay in this room more than a Couple minutes because there's nowhere in this Watchtower the news can't reach I can't explain it I really can't but I was struck with the fear that she'd leave

and lock the door behind her her key were jangling she had her hand on the door in my mind's eye I could see her closing it but as much as I wanted to run for the exit I felt this invisible Bond wrapped around my throat holding me in place come on let's get you out of here she said gently her soft Voice and kind smile loosened the Unseen Noose I was able to jog out of the room panting for air she escorted me out hand on my shoulder I said nothing until we were outside in

the cold rain the number I stuttered what was the number she held her Palms to the sky and closed her eyes inhaling deeply as though the rain were her lover H the number of people you can hang on a single noose she looked back at me her smile never losing its warmth three she Said with three heads there's not enough wiggle room to escape we left the property and said our goodbyes back in town I couldn't get it out of my mind this swinging noose the Vivid mental images of people hanging together the sensation of

something wrapped around my throat once I was alone I undid my scarf and checked my neck I expected to find a rope burn or a bruise or something on my skin but no on my way back to Halifax I glanced back at the Watchtower I swear Even through the Sheets of Rain and dimming daylight I could see three Silhouettes staring down at me I still VIs at Hanging sites that's probably never going to change the only thing that changed is every time I see a noose that's even slightly looser than the norm I remember that

little prison in Nova Scotia and I feel a shot of adrenaline and just the slightest tightening in my [Music] Throat before I tell you about my part in all of this I need to go back to where it all began my ancestor AO Nakamura was by all accounts an [ __ ] but an opportunistic one sees the day the night and all the bodies the bask under it with their jewelry unprotected he declared in his journal that fateful night one late summer evening in 1866 bragging about how he'd scored another heist with his brother manada

Nakamura that they'd survive the famine And buy all the hookers they could ever want with the leftover sums most folks aren't buried in Japan in fact 99.8% of them are cremated so AO wasn't robbing graay he was robbing corpses before they were cremated AO was resourceful careful and precise he would pick the bodies of those he knew had very few relatives Manata would pay off the mortician and they'd ransack the corpse before anyone came to pay their respects he'd make the excuse that it Was to stay of off starvation during the tempo Famine of 1833

starting when he was just a boy in honu and Lasting until he was in his teens but he continued to steal long after that which brings us to why we're here today his greed would ultimately bring ruin upon every male member of the Nakamura bloodline on the last winter solstice he spent in Japan now in his late 30s and with a young family Azo and minata resolved to Rob the home of a Shinto priest in the region knowing his young son was riddled with consumption and would soon pass with distraction plaguing the father's mind AO

knew it would be a simple task to Rob him blind the job is easy we wait in the trees on the night they come to give the young Master his rights and upon their departure sneak in and claim what we knew he won't miss he was kiddy with excitement Lord knows his arrogance given he documented these raids Enough as documented the pair lay in wait and watched as the priest's contemporaries filled in one by one and read the poor boy his last rights the grief stricken father seeing them out with despair written across his face

clearly too distraught to do themselves as he thanked them outside AO and madus Knuck around the back and entered the home when they found this sickly boy laying in his bed and barely breathing it seemed that minata felt a Pang of Guilt and wanted to hold off these are the hours of the ox it's unwise to do this now besides he cast his eyes to the boy Azo noting the regret in his eyes he's still alive we can make a scene before casting his gaze forward to the priest's safe room the door slightly ajar and

Promises of Priceless artifacts donations and food laying just Out Of Reach I wasn't about to let some child not long for this world get in the way of our job besides the sick should give Way for the strong and where this boy is dying mine was most certainly living so I did what I had to do what that turned out to be it seemed was suffocating the life out of the child AO reported he thrashed ever so slightly before falling limp an errand hand the only thing still clasped tightly to ao's forearm in the moments

following as if clutching to the last vestage of Life he'd ever come to know to his credit Manata punched his brother in disgust questioning if he was Even sane to do such a horrific thing let alone in the hollowed hours between 1 and 3 when the worst could befall them but the commotion had roused the priest and within moments he was stood in the doorway eyes a gast and Trembling Hands reached out towards the brothers it was in that moment that AO manada and the rest of our lives would be inexorably changed forever I couldn't

tell you exactly what the priest said to them how his grief Rattled voice shook the very Foundation of his home as if a typhoon Were Striking the bows with Unshackled prejudice or if AO and Manata ever saw Justice for their crime but I can tell you that whatever specifics were discussed drove AO to gather his family and leave for the mountains in 1870 cutting off contact with the outside world and becoming fiercely protective of his boy at night he would Sit by his front door with sword in hand wait with Trembling Lips and shaking hands

he wrote in his journal they always come in the hours of the ox they crawl up the foundations of the home and whisper in my ear sometimes asking me to do terrible things other times promising me it'll all end if I open the door I saw one of them once a horned and pale skinned ogre with fangs the size of my forarm yellow eyes with the blackest pupils that wide into an ungodly pit When they fixated on me the voice constantly stuck between hysterical laughters and the most pained sobs no different to an animal trying

to produce a human mimicry it CED for me to step outside and face what I'd done but I am a coward and I will not abandon my family Azo wasn't the only one suffering from these night visits manat began thrashing in his sleep every night as his wife struggled to console him he would flail Madly as if fighting off unseen hands deep lacerations forming on his skin and thick large bite marks puncturing his soft flesh whenever he awoke sweating and as if he'd aged some years each night he would refuse to comment on what happened

save for one phrase we should never have gone during the hours of the ox we deserve what we get it was on his deathbed a mere 4 years later only 42 but stricken with white frail hair and atrophied muscles that he looked at a Spot in the corner and his eyes grew wide biting his lip to the point of drawing blood she's ready for her last meal it seems I'm sorry I couldn't stop it with that he exhaled deeply his back arching to the point of snapping before he froze dead AO lasted a decent while

longer refusing to come to monat's funeral and effectively shutting out the world save for his family and their small rice farm he watched his three children grow older And on his eldest son's 29th birthday told him the truth behind his episodes the reason I am here with you all today that night in that home during the hours of the ox the Shinto priest performed what is known as usin nimari a curse placed upon my brothers for their heinous crimes destined to suffer in both this and the next life AO wept and the guilt of his

actions overcame him as he apologized profusely to his son tenzen the young man not understanding Why in those later hours when the knocking on the door grew frantic and the scratching accompanied a deafening wailing that tenzen whipped around to hear here his father gasping from his bed so he was right you hear it too tenzan look under the tatami plates near our porch and please forgive me he died soon after leaving tenzen with the uncomfortable knowledge that every man in my family now carries on our shoulders we are all cursed every single One of us

every man in my family begins to see these creatures on their 29th birthday and Misfortune befalls them through the rest of of their days sometimes they go weeks without an incident sometimes hours it seems to vary from member to member but as the generations grew all the men reported seeing them around the time they reached 29 when trying to find the priest who originally placed the curse in order to apologize they were unable to locate him Or anyone who knew him the search was ultimately fruitless and each member of the Nakamura Clan dealt with the

curse in their own way tenzen tried to maintain the property in his father's absence his younger brother committing suicide the night of his 30th birthday Manic and wild they won use me blade through his belly right in front of his children he gurgled blood seeping through his teeth and staining them a dark Coffey red as he fell forward his Son would later report hearing an incessant buzzing in his ear itchiness on his skin and bumps appearing over his body that he couldn't get rid of he'd eventually throw himself into a river at the age of

34 as a cleansing ritual that he unsurprisingly didn't survive my grandfather Hiroshi took his wife and my dad across the ocean and here to the US during the second world war declaring a desire to escape the atrocities of the Empire ply has trade Out west and helped the British government as a translator though my grandmother would recount that he secretly hoped the sightings would stop if they were blessed by another priest and started over in a new land where these Yokai could not follow he was wrong within a decade Hiroshi would be driven to the

point of insomnia refusing to sleep for fear the spindly thing in the gutters would rise out of the drain and claim him he began scarcely washing Only opting to do so when he could take the bucket into the living room so as to not see into the drain his son my dad juian was obviously concerned seeing his father slowly devolving into nothing more than a husk that babbled on about the rattling of the pipes the incessant singing that only he could hear emanating from the neighbors above despite living on the top floor and other Melodies

that ultimately drove haroshi to a heart attack when I was Just a boy I remember the drive home from the funeral as Shinto burial where we lived is a rare sight and though my dad and I were more American than we were Japanese we still upheld tradition my frail Nana looking at me from her wheelchair and shaking her head as she pointed to me and spoke to my mother I remember my father's White Knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel for dear life and screamed in broken Japanese for something to get out of the way

despite The roads being clear I remember the car toppling over the embankment and feeling the inertia washing over me as my small body was thrown around like a ragd doll and my dad's promises to fix the passenger seat belt now coming back to haunt me I remember the quiet aftermath soft pained breaths in the husk of that car as I looked ahead and saw my father's mangled body Crawling Back to the the dashboard only half of him making the return trip Theodore ignore Though The Whispers he repeated inters splicing a small chant until his breathing

grew shallow and the blue lights blinded him from my vision he was 31 to the best of my knowledge he never once displayed the kind of anxiety or distress previous members had shown I'd even seen my uncle and grandfather in a more weathered State around that time but my dad to me at least seemed immune to it all proud of his work and a digilant parent he always strived to be The best he could but maybe it was that desire to ignore the Fate bestowed upon him that caused his end so here we are some

two decades later and now my turn my brother Harry went missing a few years back though my mother is convinced that it was his wander lust and he's probably somewhere in South America stoned out of his mind but he never took narcotics for fun always to quell his paranoia of something following him Harry routinely Believed that the Stars followed him wherever he went particularly one that's situated in the East a sickly magenta and humming always humming as he described it following him wherever he went rising and growing as he tried to outrun it I asked

him why it terrified him so much when it was so far away but when his eyes met mine I understood that there was something something else in the sky something he wouldn't dare to describe that was after him if you saw The glow heard the hum felt the presence you'd know Theo he'd take a drag of his cigarette and wave me off not wanting to discuss it anymore he B us farewell and set off backpacking telling Mom he needed to find himself while telling me he hoped the Stars wouldn't follow him there Odd as that

statement sounded in my case I guess I'd prepared for it my whole life indulging in horror has been my forte to such a degree that hell I made it a full-time job weaving Experiences from my life or the lives of those I knew and making them into something to terrify others knowing full well that nothing would ever match what was waiting for me it started last year on my 28th I woke up the following morning with a start the whispering in my ear faint but unmistakably alien you shouldn't take your medication today I looked around

puzzled and trying to figure out if it was my sleep addled State a leftover portion of the dream I Was having spying nobody and not hearing any follow-up responses I roused myself out of bed and got on with my day cursing myself for forgetting my medication and the feeling of something watching me permeating throughout the day so from there it grew like a cancer over the weeks I would feel something placing icy hands around my neck or in my stomach jolting me and causing me to drop something valuable stumble over in the street and once

even creen my car Into the back of my moms with every momentary fright and creeping sense of dread I could feel this thing grow in confidence and power I spent the remaining part of 2019 researching our family lineage as best I could trying desperately to find a way to alleviate the curse atone for my ancestors sins or Stave it off but after numerous oversee calls to our native relatives in Japan and lengthy chats with my nana it was to no avail you can run from it plead with It bargain with it but the curse shall

not relent myana rasped and sadness gripping her old but kind face I lost my husband and my son to that wretched curse I couldn't bear to lose you too I remember taking her hand and smiling looking up at her to thank her for her kindness but not seeing the face of my nana where her head rested instead the most grotesque shape stretched itself over my Nana's skull hollowed out eye sockets with amorphous shapes undulating In the black pits layers of Rotting Flesh stretching over gangrenous muscle tissue and blackened bone melting with the mold and fungal

raw amassing around her head it cocked its head to me as it grinned you will never face her again this is the crushing nature of the curry I backed to away softly apologizing to my Nana in a cold sweat my chest tightening and my vision growing blurry I was having a panic attack managing to get to my car I tried desperately to Calm myself down punching the steering wheel in frustration as my mind shot back to those final moments my dad suffered through did he see then what I see now so it went the curry

kept its promise first just with my nana until she died in the spring then moving on to my cousins Aunts Uncles and in July my mother I've tried as many excuses as I can muster in order to put off seeing her but I think with my age rapidly approaching 30 she senses something is Off I finally told my partner about it in the week leading up to my birthday she tried her best to understand but when she put her hand on mine and suggested I speak to a therapist I knew it would always be a

barrier she's unable to cross I couldn't blame her to the outside world it must seem as if our family simply has a history of severe mental illness on the male side maybe we do maybe it's just latent in our minds until we finish maturity in our mid 20s And the 29th birthday is simply self-fulfilling prophecy we expect it to happen so it does last week a few days shy of my birthday the curry came to me in a dream draped in a cloak of muscle and guts it peered from the tip of the cloak to

laugh at me you want to be free yes ited my desperation practically palpable at this point a solid year without proper sleep communication with my family or a reason to live I nodded tears forming in my Eyes at the prospect of Freedom then go to where your father lost his life I will return once I came and find a new victim I will leave you there I didn't tell my partner I didn't tell anyone I left her simp note and an excuse why I had to go deactivated my social media and set off for where

he had his accident Roosevelt to those of you not local it's a Countryside situated 100 Mil from the closest city sprawling Hills and surrounded by Nature it also Has many quiet Countryside roads with vast Open Fields the kind my father lost his life in as I drove down the dimly lit roads my sole companion was the curry whispering in my ear just a little bit further you'll be there soon you'll find someone new and I swear I'll let you go you never even bore a son it's no fun when you don't react anymore exhaustion misery

and hunger grip my soul as I sped up desperate to get this thing gone my mind racked with thoughts Of how my predecessors had succumbed to other members of this creature's family how many more would fall I had cousins there was still a chance it continue I saw the long Winding Road known as hatch's Lane the lights barely flickering as my car pulled up near the embankment was it here maybe a bit further my eyes were feeling heavy and I struggled to focus get out I'll take you there I want to be rid of you

it whispered The Voice almost sorrowful now As I willed my aching frame to move and trudge through the darkness how long had it been since I'd eaten drank in my mouth felt so dry that swallowing brought the sensation of razors slinking down my throat eyes felt itchy and my head was pounding I could barely see the cold whipping through my bones a little further keep going we're almost there my knees gave out and I felt the darkness take me the only thing left was the sight of that [ __ ] creature as it Grinned images

of my father grandfather and other countless men in my family stood silently behind behind it heads bowed and Shackled with their own Abominations by their side tormenting them I cannot wait to drag you down to hell with me to join the rest of the Nakamura Clan it bared its teeth a yellow tongue oozing puss and Laing around its face in a snake-like manner as a cackled before I could respond a blinding light Shone through the Darkness and I was brought to my senses with worried faces looming over me my girlfriend and a pair of paramedics

I should be thankful that I had the find my iPhone function on my phone and that the note was ominous enough for my girlfriend to look further into any later and I doubt they'd have found me both she and the doctor chocked it up to a psychotic break pertaining to the family Superstition of the men turning 29 I didn't argue nor did I protest Going to therapy and spending time focusing on getting better to their credit I didn't see or hear the curry after some time I began to think that perhaps things could return to

normal that I'd be able to find some sense of normality amid a sea of Misfortune and tragedy but last Monday the day after I turned 29 right as the clock turned to 1:00 a.m. and entered the hours of the ox I saw two things standing at the foot of my bed my Girlfriend sleeping soundly through them all the first was my father propping himself up on his elbows the bottom half of him stood at the side patiently a look of Sorrow across his still youthful face as he turned to glance at the other figures the

curry teeth bared pale skin and cloaked in flesh and eyes that sickly tinted yellow AO had seen so long ago you can run from it plead with it bargain with it but the curse shall not relent he breathed as the curry cackled Making me feel aware of what the rest of my life would look like my new horrible reality happy birthday son [Music] they were alive and yes so was he the day we spoke for the first time was cloudy and gray I was carrying the compost Bucket from lunch through the schoolyard to where the

garden was way in the back the gravel path and Shrubbery leading up to it was largely ignored by my classmates a place meant To look pretty but less entertaining to middle schoolers than the mini soccer field and the swing set when I slowly lugged the bucket down the path the squealing and laughing of lunch recess would diminish into background noise behind me it was on this path in the little corner by the chicken C that I ran into Zach I knew little about him other than that he was a quiet kid who sat in the

back of the classroom and that Rex the seventh grade bully called Him a freak in the hallways maybe Rex had gotten to him again because he was sitting on the side of the path in the shadows of the chicken coop and cradling a bruise on the side of his face I wouldn't have noticed the maggots if I hadn't given his face a second glance at first I thought he was crying but his tears were moving up and down his cheeks when he noticed me he hugged his knees tightly and stared up at me Frozen like

a statue like he had never expected Anyone to come down here what I now realized were little white larvae wormed their way around his pale cheeks for five of them as I stared back at him another one crawled out of the edge of his left eye from between the eyeball and the soft part of the eyelid I saw his throat Bob the toes of his sneakers fidgeted what's wrong Zach blinked the maggots crawled down his cheeks he raised his hand to flick them away like he perhaps thought I was blind or Somehow hadn't noticed he

was lucky I had been the one to find him that day as I discovered later in life most boys grew out of their absolute fascination with bugs by Middle School fortunately for Zach I wasn't like most boys I crouched down quickly and caught his hand before he could swat at the maggots don't do that you're going to crush them he inhaled sharply I did too without knowing his hand was strangely soft and cold to the Touch I quickly Let It Go bugs bugs are living things too I stammered then cleared my throat and straightened up

all life is precious it's what my dad told me Zach stared at me then Against All Odds he broke into a small smile you he the pastor's son right his voice rustled like a breeze through Dry leaves I had never heard him speak before or maybe I just never bothered to listen yeah you know me I think I've seen you with him a long time ago the maggots Slowly wormed their way down his cheek and neck Zach didn't seem bothered by them if their little winding Trails tickled he didn't show it I watched strangely fixated

until the tiny white insects disappeared down his collar then I stood up and hefted the compost bucket where are you going to feed the worms I said jabbing my thumb at the Garden want to come see he smiled a little wider this time as he pulled himself to his feet I thought I saw several small and Black shapes scurrying and the gravel at his feet we walked into the garden opened up the wooden trough of the worm farm and dumped the bucket into it the worms poked their slimy heads out of their spongy earthy smelling

holes and crawled into the leftover salad and apple cores I put down the empty bucket and watched them with the small sense of Pride you like bugs too Zach said quietly yeah I replied closing up the trough again bugs are cool I have a Giant ant farm home and some beetles I keep secret from my dad without another word Zach turned to me and held out his hands the sleeve of his button down shirt shifted and a black and red beetle the size of my thumb crawled onto the open palm of his hand I stared

down in awe at the shine of its elyra and the fine fuzz of hair on its legs the way it moved the delicate plates of its carapus sliding in perfect sync with each other it's beautiful I muttered where did you Find it bugs are my friends Zach said simply he tilted his hand and the beetle climbed up onto his index finger where it spread its translucent yellow wings and flew away I waited for him to tell me more but he turned on his heels in the garden dirt and that was that Zach revealed his secrets

to me quietly one by one we now sat in the dirt behind the chicken coup during lunch recess tucked away from wandering Eyes so that I could watch Zach work his magic he had been telling the truth everything creeping and crawling in the yellow grass and coarse dirt was his friend scarab beetles crawled out of the loose soil and onto his sleeves long-legged spiders repelled down from his collar one time a giant centipede emerged from in between the buttons of his shirt I cried out in alarm and Zach laughed his laughter rustled like his voice

and a pair of white and brown Moths fluttered out of his mouth once I was aware of back I couldn't become unaware there was a mysterious way he kept people from looking his way he sat quietly at the back of the classroom and the teacher would sort of see through him like he wasn't there the crowds in the hallways after class parted naturally for him but no one ever talked to him here I realized that Zach didn't have any friends Rex the seventh grade Bully picked on him regularly sometimes people watched Zach took it all

without a word the pushes and shoves and the occasional blow to his chest or the side of his face as Rex grew enraged by his silence as he stood there he held parts of his clothes gently and I knew it was so that the tiny creatures in his pockets wouldn't be crushed Zach walked home with me every day though my house was closer and I never learned where he lived one time when my father wasn't Home I invited him to my room and showed him my beetles they look happy he said said peering into the

plastic bottles you think so Zach nodded bugs are simple if you give them food and a cozy place to stay they're happy if you care about them they'll be your friend a millipede crawled Along The Snug cranny between his hair and the curved back of his ear I wondered how he could tell my Beatles looked so happy even as the millipede slowly slithered into his ear like it Was burrowing into the ground that was the only thing I really wondered about Zach one day after school he quietly took me to the Oldtown Cemetery I followed

him through the yellowed grass until we stopped at the foot of a small Granite gravestone I stepped up beside Zach and read the thin white inscriptions Zack Wilson 053 1999 087 2010 a heart of gold and the voice of an angel I looked back at Zach his smile trembled and he looked nervous I waited for him to say something but he held on to his silence is that you I carefully asked unable to come up with anything better he nodded ctly I reached out and touched his shoulder just to make sure that I could the

folds of his shirt the cool skin underneath once I was absolutely sure he was there I let out a small Laugh why do you look so nervous Zach's eyes fluttered with relief and he smiled again his real smile I don't know for the rest of the afternoon we sat in the graveyard dirt and played with the rly poly bugs that crawled on Zach's grave as the sun dipped and our shadows grew Zach took in a small breath and began to sing a gentle chill went through me as I recognized the song Amazing Grace if someone

told me that was the Voice of an angel I would have believed them when I went home that day I wayed my father on his way to his basement study and asked him where little boys went when they died Bittersweet smile lines crinkled around his eyes and he told me that good little boys went to heaven to meet God I asked him if God ever let the little boys come back home my father said heaven was their home that next Monday Rex the bully wrestled me down to the floor of the hallway for Looking at

Kate Michaels the wrong way as the grimy bottom of his a shoe ground painfully into my chest I spotted Zach standing amongst the crowd he stared down at me and then took a step back as if he anticipated something the next moment the hundreds of round black cockr just swarmed out from underneath the lockers and scurried up Rex's leg his face blanched and he screamed and all the kids in the hallway watching us scream too Rex kicked his legs and Shuddered in his gym shorts and bolted down the hallway sobbing the swarm of cockroaches streamed

after him Zach pecked his head out from around the lockers and smiled his eyes glittered with Mischief that evening as we made dinner my father asked me where I'd gotten the bottom of a shoe-shaped smudge on my shirt I told him Rex had pushed me down in the hallway then I asked if Rex would go to hell for that my father said he had better seek Forgiveness I should forgive him it would be very brave of you you would be giving Rex an opportunity to become a better person we ate dinner and my father brought

me orange juice and as I drank it he looked at the old photo of my mother in the way that he does sometimes I was particularly tired that day and my father tucked me into bed early Tuesday morning Rex didn't show up to school Zach and I joked that he was still Running from the Cockroaches Zach laughed and quickly covered his mouth before Kate Michaels in her passing could see the moth fluttering on his tongue Rex still didn't show up on Wednesday nor Thursday and then on Friday morning his face was in the newspaper under

the missing children section I thought maybe Zach had something to do with it but he told me he hadn't seen Rex since the Cockroach incident he looked troubled when I told Him Rex was missing I hope someone finds him I muttered Zach smiled softly even after what he did to you my dad said forgiveness gives him the opportunity to become a better person it's a brave thing to forgive Zach nodded last winter a few kids had gone missing and there had been rumors about everything from kidnappers to mountain lions the same had happened a couple

of years back by now parents were easily scared so on Saturday the sidewalks Outside felt a little emptier I'm sure the police are looking for Rex my father said let's pray that they can find him soon we spent the afternoon playing checkers at the kitchen table we were on our third or fourth game when the doorbell rang I went to open the door and was surprised to find Zach standing there Zach what are you doing here is Pastor Nick home he quietly asked my dad why I need to see him I turned to look at

my father and Zach squeezed past him Through the doorway Pastor Nick my father looked up from the checker board and then in an instant his eyes widened and his face turned white as a sheet his lips trembled but no words came out it's good to see you again Zach said softly my father bolted to his feet sending his stool clattering across the hardwood floor you you he stammered how Zach tilted his head wasn't it you who always told us there was life after death in all my life I had never seen my father Afraid not

even when he had forgotten the turkey in the oven last Thanksgiving and the whole kitchen got engulfed in flames but now he was afraid as Zach walked closer to him step by step why didn't I make it to Heaven Pastor my father pressed his back against the kitchen table and whimpered something that died at the back of his throat Zach gazed up at him steadily as he slowly undid the buttons on his cuffs maybe God couldn't recognize me anymore he said Quietly not after what you did to me he pulled up his sleeves and I

gasped deep gashes circled his wrists and his forearms white Cuts oozing old purple blood like something had carved his arms into little pieces and then messily stuck them back together his skin was gray around the wounds and Pock marked with red craters as I watched in horror maggots and beetles crawled out of the holes and crept along the open seams of his flesh they were all his friends I Knew as I stood there Frozen and my father gasped for breath Zach reached his hand up into his mouth and made a small sound somewhere between a

cough and a choking noise I saw the soft skin of his throat tremble and then a giant brown scorpion crawled out from between his open lips and onto the palm of his hand tell me Zack muttered as the Scorpion raised its tail tipped with a wicked black Stinger the size of my thumbnail Rex is in there right now Isn't he my father cried and pleaded for Mercy I watched numbly he deserves forgiveness just like like you told your son but you Pastor Nick are a pitiful hypocrite he lifted his hand and the Scorpion left on

to my father my father screamed and clawed at his shirt but all that was needed was a single swipe a flash of the Stinger the Scorpion rolled onto the floor at the same time that my father's knees buckled Zach quickly knelt down and scooped up the Scorpion In his hands and my father slammed onto the floor twisting spastically my friend gazed down sadly at the Scorpion crushed carapus and flailing legs I'm sorry you were so brave he gently cradled the dying creature and looked up at me Rex is in the basement he said a sad

smile in his eyes when you find him will you let him know that I forgive him too I stared down at my father shivering on the floor with his eyes rolled back in his head Choking and fighting for his breath as Zach who slowly slumped back against the kitchen table closed his eyes Zach it's been nice he whispered it was nice having friends again the Scorpion wriggled weakly in his hands Zach smiled the rise and fall of his chest grew shallow and his face began to turn pale the purple blood on his arms turned black

the Earthly scent of Decay filled the room like the smell that came up from the worm farm when the Scorpion Stopped moving I slowly turned around walked into the living room picked up the phone and dialed 911 once I finished talking to the dispatcher and turned around Zach was gone a small swarm of white and brown moths fluttered against the light of the kitchen window I opened the window and they flew into the sky the police found Rex tied up and drugged in the basement where there used to be a storage space adjacent to the

Study before it was stripped bare and the door concealed using a bookshelf the emergency medical technicians monitored my father until he woke up and then promptly put him under arrest six counts of murder they said I told the officers what happened but of course no one believed me I moved to my aunt and uncle's house in the city and was enrolled into a new school I would never get to learn if Rex ever went back to school one day I took A bus to the downtown library and sifted through the newspaper archives until I found

Zach's photo from all the way back in 2010 under the missing children section he was smiling in the photo and wearing the white and brown robe of the boy choir at my father's Church it crossed my mind that someone must have found his body for him to be declared dead and given a burial but I decided not to look for those papers my aunt and uncle hate Bugs more than most things and things like blowflies and moths usually don't last a minute but sometimes I spot the bugs before they do and if I'm lucky I

can scoop them into a jar unnoticed and let them go outside sometimes I hope that Zach finally made it to Heaven I pray for him on lonely nights and sometimes I look out my window and listen for soft voices in the wind secretly wishing Zach is still out there laughing and singing to The small creeping creatures hidden underneath the Earth [Music] hey everyone so I recently put out a new project over on Audible and it's called child Roland by Jam Nelson who also wrote this story so if you listen to the video and you like

the story and you want to hear more of the author's stuff I'll leave a link to where you can check out the audio book as well as the book itself on Amazon and if you want to help Out the channel be sure to like the video and subscribe and with that said enjoy the video [Music] we chased the gray ghost for leagues across open ocean we pursued her once a simple frigate she'd been captured by a number of Cutthroats only three nights prior we should have turned back long ago but our captain pal insisted we

pursue her his brother commanded that ship and he refused to leave him to the Mercy of the sea the crew members of the harpy knew better for during the night before we'd seen the dead floating amongst wreckage and low glowing Embers of another ship that we knew many claimed to see the boyish face of Captain Pal's brother floating at top the dark Waters of the night illuminated only by the dancing flames and low hanging smoke at top the waves hi too saw what the crew members believed to be the pal brother but his face sat

in the Dark that I could not be certain and the captain refused to stop to collect the dead his heart was filled with hate and pride so we continued our Pursuit at the cost of certainty I was next to Pal one late morning the ghost Mighty sail stood along the horizon glowing with the quickly fading sunlight a storm loomed overhead darkening the waters and dampening our Spirits the men upon seeing such a mighty work of the creator making its way towards us and the great Ghost recklessness of sailing right into the heart of it beg

Captain pal to turn back we were not an armed ship we had nothing but muskets and a few cutlasses to possibly take the ship back or take the lives of those who Pal's taste for blood lusted after it was a job for the Marines and Navy not for a simple Merchant vessel nay said pal we press on and so we did pressing the harpy to her limits as the wicked wind carried us into the abyss of the ever haunting Storm I stayed below deck during that time we tossed and turned lifting from The Waters at

times for hell itself opened up around us and I felt the Wrath of the banished and Damned pulling at us to join them benath the waves I was not alone in my thoughts for between the wretching and cries of fear and curses flowed from the lips of my crew members against Powell against the gray ghost and against the harpy herself that is what hurt me the most for I Loved the harpy she looked after me many times but I too felt the cold knife of betrayal she placed into the backs of her crew laced with

a poison as bitter as the eyeses of March I fell asleep sometime in the night during all the chaos I found it a miracle but I awoke refreshed yet dizzy from the bouncing and buckling of the harpy when I stood on Deck the beaming rays of sun warmed my cold sea salted flesh the crew murmured to one another from their posts Their faces were long pale tired they worked through the night keeping us alive and for that I applauded them Captain pal stood near the bow his left hand behind his back and his right holding

his thin eyeglass he stared out onto the Horizon watching intently I studied him but my gaze broke to see if the ghost sat with in our grasp the waters Drew my attention first they were still flat as if the harpy skated across some form of ice I could see beneath the Calm Waters though and knew that we floated at top an ocean never before in all my years as a quartermaster had I seen anything like that I could feel the wind at our back I could see the flat blue split beneath the weight of the

hole yet the wakes died out quickly Fading Into nothing but calm water suddenly an eyeglass was held out before me resting in the hand of the captain he smiled at me beneath his patchy Red Beard his eyes darkened by the tiredness That came with the storm take a look she is still I looked through his glass studying the ghost on the horizon her two large mass stood looming tall but her sail sat tight she was as the captain put it still the lack of waves did not move her and she rejected the wind to carry

her it was as if she gave up the fight and welcomed us to take her back with open arms hope said the captain we have found our hope again the sight of the gray ghost up close twisted My heart and stomach into knots for I knew the ship and knew her well but did not recognize her when my eyes laid upon her the wood that made her whole sat tarnished and grim the storm peeled away what gray paint lined the edges the Mast were battered and I could see that the sails were not wrapped instead

they were torn from the large wooden post taken by Poseidon and lost to the abyss nothing stirred on her decks they were as calm and Silent as The ocean a trap the captain sensed be on the lookout I boarded with the party handpicked by pal himself we searched the ship and found no sign of life or even that of death the food stores were emptied the gunpowder and muskets were taken all that remained were a few pieces of meat on the former Captain's Table rotten as the hope that festered within our hearts an eerie sight

it was for the gray ghost became exactly what it was called Captain po did not believe My party he told us that the Pirates were tucked away somewhere that they had nowhere to go I mentioned that I noticed the dingies were missing missing and they could have made a break for it across the open ocean with the ghost sails gone it would be their only option pal denied it only a fool would chance something like that he sent another party to search but they returned with the same results yet they warned of claw marks within

the empty closets and Storage space as if there were prisoners trying to claw their way out haunting it was for pal for his dark eyes glowed with a rage I only saw once before for and the stakes were not as high then he told us to wait for he feared the Pirates May return once we moved on and so we waited I ate dinner with the captain that night we mostly sat in silence under the candle light of his large cabin on occasion he would ask me to pass the salt or make sure that my

Fish was cooked well it was it didn't feel awkward though sitting in silence I found it calming most most of the meals that I had with the captain were in a similar fashion yet that night that night the waves were still as they were in the morning the ship did not rock the splashing and crashing of the white capped peaks of water did not create an Ambience instead I listened to the sounds of not just my own munching but that of the captain's pal finally spoke Of the situation once we finished eating strange isn't it

I believe that to be an understatement of the situ situation sir he leaned back in his chair resting his hands in his velvet Pockets he shook his head I believe John to be out there I wanted to tell him that his brother perished and the men knew it I could see the sadness in his long face and I did not possess the heart to present the truth I nodded I as well then I have your word he asked cocking his head I'm Sorry sir your word that we did not stop until we find John I

sir I murmured taking a bite of my stale bread you have my word just as I finished chewing my food a holler came out from on Deck the captain stood quickly throwing on his long flowing Overcoat the pale green fabric appeared dark and corrupted next to the dim light of the candles he gave me a nod and I too stood following him out on Deck the night was darker than usual the Night sky hung overhead as I peered up not a single star glowed within the night a wall of black sat at top us and

Its Reflection In The Sea looked as if the darkness itself were swallowing the harpy at top the Crow's Nest a voice came down to the captain and I L sir I see land I followed pal to the bow where he peered out into the darkness there was no mistaking it land did sit not far off the Horizon it was a strange aisle one that had not been been there during The day a haze the captain told me with a chuckle the sun created a haze that is where these Cutthroats went the aisle taller than a

ship's mast loomed over the calm Waters dark stone Cliffs lined each side of it and a thick pale fog rolled from the edges of the top a split there was right down the middle small enough for a dinghy to row through if need be I could not see into it though for it was dark yet for a single moment I could see the glowing radiant light of A lantern the same thing must have caught the eye of the Watchman it disappeared quickly and had I not spotted the aisle beforehand it could have faded into Oblivion

staring at the aisle my heart sank with each passing second dread twisted my throat I felt something strange in the air a static coldness that radiated across the ocean I had not seen such a strange sight before the demanding presence of the aisle possessed me and as I looked upon It I told the captain Sean cannot be here he has to be you gave me your word did you not I that is a strange sight sir that is most unnatural is the ocean Quarter Master everything is most unnatural on the ocean pal stepped away from

me ordering the men to get the rowers ready ready to head toward the aisle I dared not go for within the fog that rolled a top the small tall aisle I felt that death itself beckoned us I felt that the harpy and the ghost wanted Us to vacate for we were men and the Destroyers of all things they too felt our wrath and they needed us gone for their own Survival I had no choice in the matter the captain ordered myself and four others to accompany him to the aisle most of the men armed themselves

with muskets and pistols I took a hatchet with a flint lock in my jacket but I feared we'd not be able to use them the crew of the harpies stared at me with dead cold eyes as we slowly rode Away on our dinghy I felt their stairs their pity for us to head towards that aisle they knew that it was foolish and that our captain chased a dream yet pal sat behind me proud and mighty he rubbed the hilt of his Old Saber whis bring something to himself as we slowly moved towards the aisle the

closer we got the darker the night grew soon enough the low lights of the lanterns on both the harpy and the gray ghost were all I could make out in our previous Direction The Stillness of the waters was Haunting and for the first time did I ever really fear what lurked beneath the cold blue the looming aisle grew in size no longer hidden by the Shadows of the night it was taller than than we imagined more than the length of the gray ghost the larger of our two ships the fog rolled from the edges of

the black stone Cliffs flowing down and settling at top the water the pale floated across the still black reflective surface moving towards Us as if it were the Hand of Death itself soon we were shrouded in the Mist it Rose above our dinghy thickening and darkening that the only thing we could see was The Ether above and the sea below the lights of our ships faded away and with it all hope that remained receded into the back of my mind if only I told the captain that it was fool hearty if only I spoke the

truth I knew better though for pal was a dedicated man and he loved nothing more than his Brother John he'd see it through until the end The Bitter End the wakes created by the ores of our little wooden vessel did not Stir the Water as much as I hoped I needed a sense of Rhythm to drown out the haunting sound of my ever growing Beating Heart yet it was as if the fog itself was muffling all noise I could not bear the silence for silence is the sound of the dead and Damned soon enough though

the fog peeled back and before us loomed The Towering might of The a The Cliffs radiated that cold electricity that I felt before my hair ha stood up on end as if I were an animal threatened by the mere existence of such a place our dingy glided across the still surface of the water faster than we had predicted and the Cliffs of the aisle were waiting as if they were the large M of some forgotten Beast one of our rowers shouted but it was too late our small vessel collided with the side of the aisle

sending a haunting Snapping sound of splintered wood and shattered carpentry out into the still night we began to take on water for one of the boards that our feet bent and shattered we leapt from the sinking dinghy throwing our muskets and weapons into the black abyss in order to stay afloat I watched as the small wooden boat scraped against the side of the aisle lowering beneath the surface of the water I could hear its wooden side scraping against the Rocks echoing Beneath us for quite some time haunting the sound was I feared the noise alone

for it carried with it the real it of our situation we began to swim trying to use the cliffs to hold our heads above the water a great current pulled us down and our thick wool coats and lavish dressings were added weight in such a place a sailor his name I cannot remember swam just ahead of me he spotted a small strand ahead of us or so he shouted I cannot see it but I did Take his word for it he disappeared before me sucked down by the great great black abyss where we swam I

pressed on trying not to think of the man how foolish pal was I wondered if Jon's life meant more than that man's meant more than my own it was then that I felt a surface beneath me and quickly raced out of the water Powell emerged from the water behind me along with two other men we'd lost another somehow I assumed he too was taken by the water I fell to my Knees I'm tired and exhausted I stared into the Black Sands of the small strand of the aisle running my hands through the small ancient pieces

of Ash I wept for I knew we were stuck I wept for I knew it to be hopeless and pal caught my attention as he walked by he did not seem phased by what occurred he said not a word as we marched up the Strand I watched as the fog rolled in around us the split in the cliffs stood before us p all stared up in awe of such a strange Natural structure I felt that we looked through the straight of MSA but it was not the water that split it but black ancient Ash the

dense fog lightened once more revealing large window shaped carvings on the faces of the cliffs inside the small Isle Valley I stood looking up in such wonderment of a place for I became curious if we stumbled upon an ancient culture unknown to man I moved toward pal throwing my wool coat off tired of its weight the electric Chill tightened my muscles upon side of such a wonder the cliffs were taller than I originally thought and the number of carvings inside them were breathtaking they scaled all the way up the side of the cliff and all

across their length which too was longer than thought on the other side of the valley I could see where the two Cliffs split and should have been able to see the ocean and night sky on the other side but nay I could not only Blackness and Shadow loomed on the horizon and I felt another storm coming one not of this world we moved into the valley as a group Powell led the way his hand on his saber Hilt he once a military man radiated an essence of leadership had I not known that he went to

the aisle out of bloodlust and a Fool's hope I'd have followed him until the end of the Earth yet as he pressed onward my heart grew with frustration I could not stand the sight Of him the fog not only rolled into the valley from the edges of the cliff walls the gray Mist filled the carved windows in the sides of the cliffs encasing them as if they were no longer there the pale rolled over the dark Cliffs climbing downward and blanketing the ground at our feet it parted with each step but yet I could not

see the surface of which we walked for the Black Sands were as as if they were a part of the pale itself blending between two different matters The further we went into the valley it was as if we became part of the looming Darkness itself the Shadows that danced in the darkness grew and swelled around us as if they were an ocean of their own one of an empty void an abyss that we could no longer escape with that our vision grew and in the center of the valley I could see a structure tall it

was powerful in presence it stood just shy of the height of the cliffs so mighty it was that I feared that no man Could build such a relic a five-sided Obelisk about the width of a man beckoned us to come closer with its faceless curiosity the Shadows swayed around it wrapping up its tall sides as a serpent to a forbidden fruit what is it I heard one of our party asked pal stepped closer to the structure as the three of us others stayed stationary nervous for what we stumbled upon the captain reached his hand out

touching The smooth gray stone of the Obelisk I knew in that very moment that we should have turned back long ago for something so simple as the color of the stone stones that did not match that of the cliffs or any other natural formation seen on the island did not sit right with me the gry obelis did not belong in such a place and neither did we the captain ran his hands over small Engravings words I did not see before he muttered to himself as he did so and Curious and thinking aloud I could not

understand what he said but I knew just by the way his body language shifted to that of a nervous child that he realized that something was aloof I've seen something like this before in far off Sands the captain said I I've heard of such structures one of our party hiin asked but could we swim to the harpy if we strip we'd have no weight it is possible pal glared to him is suicide that current will pull you down as it Did the others we're stuck here until the harpie sends another party and what if they

get caught Pan's pressed what if they get stuck here with this strange devilry devilry pal informed the nervous sailor is is nothing but a strange Stone strange indeed sir said Newman the other member of our party pal looked back to the Obelisk his gaze looked upward and so did mine the carvings extended all five sides of the structure they scaled all the way to the Top a great feat for whom ever created such a thing the dark ominous clouds overhead those of pure darkness and a wild Tempest swirled in a counterclockwise fashion just above the

cliffs I could not look into those clouds I couldn't for I felt them staring back at me I eyed the valley instead seeing other stone structures none were the size or of the Grandeur of the Obelisk none were made of the same Stone yet they resembled those of old Druid sites that I had seen before they were slabs of stone stacked top one another they were spread throughout the valley I walked through the pale and the Shadows heading towards the ruins two vertical St held up one horizontal as if a doorway or a gate to

a larger structure that did not exist five of them were hidden among the pale of the valley at the base of the one I approached four skulls sat in a line through the opening of the stones Resting at top the black sand and the fog rolling through their open sockets I backed away not saying anything to the party for I panicked and I did not want the same of them we should signal the harpy hiin suggested yes I nodded not able to tear my eyes from the smaller ruins of the valley yes I agree with

Higgins sir signal with what we have nothing to light a fire nothing to grab their attention I'll start hunting sir we need To leave this place look out there commanded pal pointing out of the valley the way we came tell me boy what do you see Newman looked staring off into the dark Horizon a wall of black and ether stood I see nothing sir I for the harpy and the gry ghost are on the horizon they have lights yet we do not see them what good would a fire do now how far would that signal

go the three of us listened to him he did make sense we'd only have one chance to leave this Place and it felt good that the captain understood that it should not be wasted we wait till morning wait for these clouds to clear then I promise you but we will call for more and we leave I pressed Powell turned back to the Obelisk he shook with a fear I'd not seen in the man he reached out and touched the structure one last time he turned his head slightly and said we will rest Quarter Master you

have First Watch The captain and the others fell into a deep Slumber quickly I don't know how if I did not have First Watch there'd be no doubt in my mind that I could not Trail off into such a sleep the aisle radiated a dark Aura one that I could feel in the depths of my very bones sleep nay sleep would be for the foolish I feared what walked unseen in such a place I sat leaning my back against the obelisk I faced the way that we came staring out into the dark ocean hoping for

any sign Of the harpy or the gray ghost I imagined three dingies coming to the aisle waving at me as they approached the sailors called out to me saying they were coming to take me away that faded quickly though for it was nothing more than a trick of the fog and what little hope remained within my soul the aisle devoured that thought with its electric Darkness I I watched as the fog that sat in a large pool around me began to rise my sleeping companions were devoured by It almost instantaneously it thickened darkened no longer

that pale gray color but almost as if it became a black shroud over my eyes something moved amongst it that much I could tell it was not just a trick of my eyes like my visions of a rescue no something stirred within the Shadows of the aisle moving as my fear grew a flicker of flame radiated from the pale I stood excited that maybe just maybe it was a lantern on a dinghy that I imagined I could no longer see the Horizon I could no longer see the ruins I could no longer see the Obelisk

that I only seconds before leaned against I could only see the Dark Mist and the Shadows that came with it that light though it grew closer I called out to it asking who went no response came I could not hear the pacing of steps or the rowing of ores not a sound of stirring echoed through the valley I felt alone but I knew better nothing was alone on Such an aisle just as that thought passed across my mind the light grew brighter radiant as the fog peeled away around it the flame I could see it

clear as day sat within a small metal Lantern I could not see who held it but I did see the silhouette of a man among the fog I called out who goes there the flame danced within its metal housing for a moment before being extinguished the figure stepped closer only once as if to present itself to me its eyes Glowed with the same AA as the flame the hollow Hellfire that pierced my very Soul the figure was shrouded in Shadow and Mist the fog wrapped around its body coiling as if it were part of it

it lightened around the figure's face for a moment revealing it to be that of a man a man that I once knew a man that I believed to be long dead I did not recognize him though and even though I knew that we had met some time before I could not recall his name for his face While recognizable to some degree had changed his eyes that of Hellfire sat within deep gaunt sockets his cheeks were thin pressed to his teeth his head shaved and uniformed his body malnourished and withered swayed as the Mist rolled through

him you must leave this place Quarter Master we are trying I said stepping forward the fog grew denser again and I only spoke to the silhouette of the man that and his piercing eyes that were the only source Of color amongst the pale the captain must leave for this place is not of his Earth what where do you come from the figure raised its arms pointing beyond the Obelisk pointing to the shadow side of the valley this place the figure began lifting its arms out to present the walls of the valley the ruins and the

Obelisk that I did not see he continued it is that of the Dead caring this place is I listened intently as the figure spoke but my Heartbeat grew wild making my chest feel as if it would burst the figure said to me the heart of the sea is not of life but that of death do not stay do not search for the dead ones for if you find them you they will take something drew the attention of the figure it was a deep sound almost that of Thunder but carried with it the sound of distant

humpbacks and other creatures of the sea for me they will take it watches us the Dead are powerful but the others they will not let you leave do not pass the obelisk do not follow the steps for you have gone far now too far perhaps it will not take kindly dare not climb the steps no return will there be steps take thine brother take him away from this place the heart of the sea is not to be seen by any living man it came to me I recognized in that Moment who stood just beyond the

pale the fog wrapped around his cold dead body his Hellfire eyes lit my innards of flame it was not the man I once knew and death itself had changed him I feared what pal would say I feared what would happen I called out John and with that the figure's eyes shut and it became one with the the Shadows I awoke to a swift kick in my ribs I stood quickly using the Obelisk as a support my ribs burned under the Crushing weight of a boot I heaved almost wretching my guts out I hunched over gasping

for air Captain pal stood next to me the culprit of the kick to my side he leaned over me as I tried to catch my breath you slept on your watch Quarter Master between my breaths I said I did not sir I swear it do not lie to me I saw you in a slumber deeper than Higgins he presented the sleeping sailor the fog was no longer as dense I could see the black sand of the valley floor However the Dark Cloud still rolled overhead on the horizon sat nothing but shadows I'm I'm sorry sir

it's just I thought of telling him of the visitor but feared it would only fuel him yet we needed to leave we needed to vacate this place as soon as we could what is it Powell asked your brother sir I thought on it if I had expressed the truth to the man earlier we'd not be in such a place I let it out your brother he's dead sir Pal's brow arched in Anger his Hand resting on his saber clenched tightly do not try to justify this by speaking lies I do not lie to you sir

I reasoned as I did so Higgins and Newman sat up from their sleep Higgins spoke what is it what's going on the captain turned to him nothing prepare to move it is something sir I pleaded your brother he came and visited me in the night he he dead he said so himself he said to warn you we need to leave this place for it is damned and belongs to the dead Shut up help with that nonsense pal shouted slamming his fist into the side of the Obelisk a rage radiated from him almost as powerful as

that of the aisle I glanced to Higgins and Newman Their Eyes Were wide terrified of what I spoke of they had every reason to be scared for I was scared the dead do not warn the living of nothing we needed to leave even if it meant by swimming the captain shouted gather your things Quarter Master we're moving on pal moved away From me grabbing his coat from the Sandy Valley floor he threw it on and began to March forward he was about to pass beyond the Obelisk his foot stretched out in front of him but

he hung it in the air as I shouted don't he turned his head to me but then lowered his foot into the black sand the fog did not part as he placed his foot just beyond the strange structure I reasoned JN warned me not to pass the obelisk pal scoffed shaking his head in a sign of mockery he Began to dance among the fog dance beyond the point I was warned about he moved swiftly whistling a soft mocking tune as he clicked his heels he tripped though stumbling backwards into the fog it devoured him making

him disappear from our vision Higgins and Newman stood quickly racing to his position calling after him I watched as they too passed the oblisk they were worried as was I all of that faded when Captain pal began to laugh hysterically through the fog Higgins and Newman sat him up dusting off his coat for him he looked to me wiping tears from his cackling face I should have listened to you Quarter Master I smirked a quick sigh of relief though I did not take the message from the Beyond lightly Higgins began to run his hands over

the blanketed Valley floor there was a strange metallic creaking sound one that sent a chill up my spine he quickly removed whatever the captain tripped over holding it up for All of us to see in his rough sailor hands he possessed a lantern look sir we have found our signal pal looked to me and gave a wink the captain took the Lantern and stood he shook it to his ear and said there is oil in it sir I warned we must leave this place face the lantern was presented to me as the captain stepped forward

but not Crossing back across the Obelisk this is our take it out but must I remind you you gave me your word I sir I said but I cannot in good conscience neglect the words of the Dead John warned me he warned you we've disobeyed Sailors the captain lowered his head shaking it Sailors and their super itions is true I shouted John warned us to leave and we are disobeying the captain handed the lantern to Higgins approaching me swiftly we will leave this place when I say we do I do not take your mystical dreams

as reality Quarter Master we will not vacate this Aisle until we find the ghost's crew but what if they're dead then they're dead but I will not leave my brother and my friends to suffer out here I will not leave those responsible to wander freely do you understand me sir please we must turn back I begged the captain turned his back moving off deeper into the valley Higgins and Newman stared at me confused as to what to do they had their orders but if it was not for me then they would Have followed the man

blindly I called after the captain but he disappeared among the shadows in the pale I stepped away from the Obelisk once Higgins and Newman also turned their backs to me they followed him but I could sense their distrust growing not a soul wanted to be on such an aisle that much I knew yet I also knew that if I did not follow after them and I waited in such a dark place alone I may not make it out I knew that without my seeds of doubt they two Would be lost to the aisle they to

would join Jon and the crew of the ghosts I called after them do not Ascend the steps Higgins and Newman looked back to me quickly curious as to what I shouted I did not know what it meant but the long dead felt the need to tell me and I found it important they stared for a moment but quickly Shrugged off what I warned and they two vanished among the wall of pale Shadow I halted at the Obelisk weighing my options yet that Cold electric air of the aisle continued to lay on my body it was

then in that moment of doubt that I honestly saw myself ignoring the warning of the dead and keeping my oath to the captain I felt myself damned in such a vision but yet I feared the idea of being alone much worse I raised my foot ready to cross the threshold into the shadow end of the valley into the unknown of the coming storm though I could not do it I stayed my foot turning my back to the Captain and in the party and set back the way I came I left that Valley the fog grew

around me and I could hear the chattering of my companions deep within the valley their voices echoed my direction carried by that static wind I canot make out what they were saying but I could sense fear and panic I made my way to the shore standing at top the Black Sands where the water stayed stagnant as it met the edge of the aisle bits of our crash dinghy had made it to The shore laying at top the darken Sands were thick broken boards ores and other pieces of the vessel I looked out to the Horizon

hoping to see the two ships but I could not only a veil of Shadow laid before me and I then began to wonder if I should try to swim it I did not know what lurked Beyond but I did fear the worst if I stayed on such an aisle behind me I could hear the quick steps of panic the air around me broke in Waves the static shift over my body I could feel it the very air that I breathed it was then that I truly feared the worst I grabbed one of the ores out

of the volcanic sand holding it out before me it should float I told myself it must float it was too late though for the steps stopped as they made it out of the valley I turned fearing what I would see my heart beat wildly in my chest almost as if it would burst yet as I turned I saw saw the young winded Newman Clutching his chest resting his head on his arms and his arms on his knees as he squatted down Newman what is it they found the steps he muttered Standing Tall and trying to

catch his breath they're in the sides of the cliffs they go to the top I told him not to but Higgins and the captain began their climb why did you not go did you not warn us did you not call after us from the pale and say that it was an ill Omen I yet you still crossed the Obelisk he looked panicked and fearful what does that mean I did not know and I told him that the young Newman grabbed a piece of wood from the bank do you dare swim to the harpy I do

it is all we have as an option then I swim it too with a nod of agreement the two of us stepped into the still sea our arms were laid out before us with our flotation devices at our chest the water was bitter cold it shed my bones to the tomorrow as we began to Float away from the aisle we did not kick our feet often for the movement to do so was painful the cool water grew colder chilling the blood in our very veins to ice we continued to float and I praised our creator

for having such Still Water for I knew that we would not be pulled back to the aisle I could feel a pull beneath me though as did Newman he shouted it as loud as he could he shouted that something was trying to take him back I told him to keep Swimming and so he did but I too felt such a weight beneath me as if the ocean itself were alive and trying to bring us down to beyond the locker Beyond whatever Superstition we believed in I looked back to the young Newman seeing his face pale

as death the fog followed after us rolling across the water above the aisle a monster ous Anvil of clouds stood tall and mighty with the power of a thousand storms in it a green Hue radiated from its edges and the lighting That danced within the black clouds were the only light that I could see at the top of the cliffs that is until I saw a small glow near the edge I squinted trying to see what it was but I already knew Two Silhouettes stood on the edge of the left Cliff above the head of

one a small glowing orbs stood out amongst the Shadow the fog Rose around them engulfing the flame of what I believed to be the lantern in the captain's hand more Silhouettes appeared as the fog Thickened and had I not seen strange Visions the night before I'd have thought it a trick of the storm but nay the captain and Higgins were not at top the aisle of Karen the glowing ore of the lantern radiated a proud light for a moment as the captain waved it above his head I heard heard Newman call out to me look

Quarter Master look who is that with him keep swimming sailor I told him do not look upon such frightful things I wish that I could heed my own advice for I could not break my gaze from the captain and Higgins the light of the lantern flickered struggling to find air in such a dead place then the radiant Aura vanished smothered by the hands of the Dead the captain and Higgin stood in the pale for a moment I assume unaware of the ghostly visitors that were with them small dots began to Glow across the edge of

the cliff and deep within the Valley of the aisle images of Jon's Hellfire gaze flashed through my mind Just as the vision appeared the storm clouds above opened and a great cacophony of noise roared down onto the aisle and across the still ocean causing it to stir greatly and the waves to come alive in a way I'd never imagined Newman and I were strung about trying to stay afloat but the pull from beneath and the hands of the now rapid sea tried to bring us down a great beam of light shot from the center of

the valley among the Shadows I could see a radiant green glow In the shape of a mighty Obelisk deep within the dark the storm clouds burst sending a massive wave of rain and dust floating across the sky it did not pour down onto Newman and I though it stayed within the sky streaking across like meteors from Beyond the waves crashed into US knocking us about my head dipped into the salty water blinding me for a moment I tried to close my eyes but it became difficult my pupils began to burn and a haze filled my

vision yet I could See clearly enough thousands upon thousands of glowing Hellfire beneath me all individual dots staring up at me they belonged to Long Dead faces pale as the crests of waves their hands reached out to me trying to grab my body and limbs to force me down to join them I lifted my head from the water screaming in fear I could finally see just on the horizon the harpy and the gray ghost they had not moved and their tall Mass set empty of sails the waves of the Storm crashed into their holes knocking

them about it was then that I saw it a great monstrosity lifted from the sea I could not see its head only a portion of its body a hollow empty call radiated across the ocean a sound of whales and other marine animals but corrupted shallow and otherworldly the gray ghost became crushed under the long serpent likee creatures weight as the Beast lifted from the sea the harpy split in two Under the might of its coiled body its face emerged covered by the darkness of the storm it roared into the night sending the waves higher and

higher I could not keep my grip to the ore and it slipped away from me in doing so I lost all buoyancy sinking beneath the rocky waves the ocean no longer that thick black shadow that belonged to the aisle radiated the same green Haze and felt as electric as the air of the aisle I could feel the hands of the Dead clawing at me I could feel them calling to me thou Hast seen it thou Hast seen the heart I tried to scream but all I did was fill my body with acidic water I could

see the surface of the ocean growing distant with each passing second I reached my hands upward trying to swim I could not I looked downward seeing those Hellfire eyes and the blank faces of the uniform dead thousands there were if not millions they all extended out towards me as if they had been waiting For centuries to grab hold of the living I tried to plead but that was no good I could not speak I could not think I could only stare into the abyss that beckoned me from Beyond the dead parted as if forced by

a massive shock wave Beneath the Sea they were hurled away disappearing among the vast darkness that surrounded me I could feel my last bit of oxygen being used I could feel the light in my eyes begin to fade yet even with a blurred vision I could see It the Great Beast beneath the waves the Serpent's body laid hidden by The shadowy Depths its face enormous took up the scale of at least four great warships scaled was its skin flat was its nose perched up as if some sort of sail on a mast several eyes it

had seven I could count all of which glowed with a haunting purple laa its mouth opened vertically revealing the depths of the ocean itself I felt the pull of an abyss I felt it begin to bring me down yet I Still fought I still tried to survive albeit I knew that if there were any slight error that too would be taken by such a beast just as I felt all light fade from my body I emerged from the depths at top calm waves and a warm Sky I began to vomit saltwater and whatever I had

to eat the previous day my nerves were rattled and my mind raced with all sorts of thought even though I sat at top the surface of the water I knew that something lurked Beneath me I knew that if the Beast did not take me that the dead would I searched for my ore or any piece to keep me afloat yet I just wanted out I wanted to leave the water and never return for I felt the Gaze of the beast from the depths pieces of Driftwood barrels and crates Flo fled amongst the low waves the

sun bore down on me causing me to Shield my eyes its heat radiated and it must have been sometime midday I quickly threw myself at top of barrel trying to Get as much of my body out of the water as I could I looked around no longer seeing the aisle and only a field of debris The Waters were normal The Horizon appeared the same I caught sight of a storm in the distance moving off into the nothingness of the other side as I stayed afloat I called out for the only person I thought alive Newman

Newman not a response for I stayed a float among the debris alone I floated at top that barrel for 2 days it was Then that another Merchant vessel found me they pulled me aboard and asked what ship I came from asked what happened to my captain and crew I told them that I did not know for I had seen the aisle of Karen and the great Beast Beneath the Sea they asked what all IE witness but I did not have the heart to tell them I broke my oath to my captain but I'd always heed

the words of the Dead for the heart that I saw could not be unseen [Music] [Music] I hadn't meant to kill my sister it had been a joke in life she never used to listen to me anyway though as her older brother I felt I had the authority but after she died and in my childish misery and guilt i' had invited her to come back home well she did there were only two of us our parents thought we were everything they'd wanted in a family a boy and a girl she came out a bit Shyer

than they Wanted quiet and a bit odd at least to me at that age but we were perfect side by side in family portraits now there is only one of us we don't take family portraits anymore it started when I found the key to a room our bedrooms were across the hall from each other on the second floor of the house the doors had oldfashioned door knobs that locked with a key which we didn't have and which I'd never seen before then one day I found a ring of Unmarked keys in a drunk drawer in

the foer of the house I went around trying them and everything until I'd matched every key to a door in the house including our bedrooms nearly every key on the ring had a spare but not all the key to my sister's room was one of them that only had one master key that was when I'd gotten the idea I pocketed the key to a room and left the rest in the drawer where I'd found them I waited for the perfect opportunity that evening When she was in the living room with my parents staring at the

TV as she always did after dinner I went upstairs on pretense to use the bathroom and quietly locked her bedroom door from the outside back downstairs I acted innocent as we watched TV together I loitered until my sister yawned and kissed our parents good night and went upstairs I waited on the couch grinning with suspense it was a good long moment before we heard her shriek then the sound of wood banging She Streed downstairs in tears asking for help with her door father went up with her to see what was the matter they both came

downstairs again her still in tears and he in confusion it's locked he said mother got up and retrieved the keys from the side table in the hall all three of them went upstairs I waited until they were gone to fall over myself laughing pretending to find something funny on TV by the time I got sleepy and went upstairs they were still in a Huddle trying and retrying everything key of course none of them fit mother suggested she sleep in my room until they can call a locksmith in the morning I was annoyed at this and

produced the key from my pocket too tired to care about the trouble I'd get into it was a joke I said in my defense after we'd gotten her door unlocked mother made me return the key to the drawer saying the first chance she got she'd get a duplicate to avoid this situation Again Naturally she'd forgotten that weekend when our parents were out on an airand and leaving us alone at home I'd gotten bored and done it again my sister knew immediately who had done it it was a Saturday morning and it was the last time

I would see her alive she flew into the kitchen chasing me demanding I open the door I pretended to have Swallowed the Key but this time she was in hysterics and fled the house in tears as if she could run all the way to Mommy And Daddy in town this wasn't the first time she'd done that she always came right back home before she got to the End of the Street I waited for her to give up and return but as 1 hour turned to 2 and then 3 I began to worry I waited by

the chair closest to the front door and then the window at some point I'd gone out and walked around our yard and then the neighborhood but saw no sign of her I came home with my heart in my throat I Decided to keep waiting instead of call my parents from the kitchen phone 10 minutes later I told myself then I would my sister had run out into the road and got hit by a car our parents had just turned the corner on their way home when they saw The Ring of people and flashing lights she'd

been found on the road two blocks away from home when the ambulance took her away the sirens were silent there was no rush she was dead my parents had come home to find whether I Was dead too and I think at that point they wished I was the first chance I got I left them crying and hugging each other in the living room I went upstairs to her room and unlocked the door and then just stood there staring at her empty bedroom her ballerina music box threw a weird shadow on the pillowcase from the Moonlight

outside her window I carried the key in my pocket during her funeral my parents barely looked at me and I wouldn't blame them they had Hardly spoken to me in the days since her death except in harsh little commands to hurry up get dressed fix your tie get in the car I behaved like the perfect son they'd always wanted but that did nothing to warm them up to me because of their voidance of me I managed to find myself alone at some point in the cemetery looking into the open casket of my dead sister cold

and pale dressed up in her ballerina costume I felt the key burning in my pocket Where I kept my hands pocketed and clenched I brought out the key and went to Pat her cold marble hands as if to say goodbye I'm sorry as I did I tucked the key under her fingers folded together over her chest please come home I whispered I didn't cry then or after Mother kept making her promises she was too grieved to go through my sister's room and put things in order after the funeral she promised to do it someday just

not now not now she only went as Far as to stand in the open doorway and glance in the way I'd done the night my sister had died but invariably mother would break down into tears and leave closing the door behind her sometimes she stood there until father took her away way I didn't dare go near her she repeated this pitiful ritual almost every day and then every week she stopped after a couple months of this things edged into a semblance of normality my parents softened up towards Me just enough to allow me to have

friends over I needed someone to talk to my friend Kei came over after school one day and I told him about how the previous night I'd woken in bed hearing the faint sound of my sister's ballerina music box playing in her room room across the hall it stopped as soon as I'd fully opened my eyes and sat up I decided it was a dream but the melody would not leave my mind all day at school I hummed the tune for Keith who Had the insane idea that he knew the composer of the song we fell

into debate about it and to refresh his memory of the song and prove my point we went up to a room to retrieve the music box the door was locked we peered into the keyhole and found that it was too dark for that time of day then I realized why there was a key blocking the hole it had been locked from the inside Keef saw no significance to this since I'd been too dumbstruck to say anything else to him I'd been in no mood to entertain him after that so he went home I stayed downstairs

in the living room staring wideeyevideo [Music] I found I could hardly mention anything to them I stayed quiet all throughout dinner until it was time for me to go upstairs to bed I didn't want to go but I didn't want to upset my parents further I stopped outside my door and glanced at hers across the hall silent I Didn't dare try the knob it was a Saturday the next day and I was off school but I was woken early by my mother battering the door to my room I'd gotten my own key from the drawer

and locked my door the previous night something I rarely did before then when she'd gotten in she demanded that I unlock my sister's door that instant that I had no right I interrupted and told her I had nothing to do with the door this time lies she shrieked you and Your friend were fooling around in the house yesterday when I was not here I told her that that was true but we never did a thing to my sister's door and that was the truth she wouldn't believe me when I said I didn't have the key

I was forced to tell her that I left it my sister's coffin she'd gone silent after that not because of the implications of what this meant but because she was transported back to the funeral in her mind her eyes filled up but the tears Would not fall I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I thought the key was in the house now on the other side of the door all she was thinking about now that she shook herself into reality was that we couldn't duplicate a key we didn't have what's more she decided that

the door wasn't locked but merely jammed by humidity or something else apt punishment for her not having opened the door for a while she decided we would have to call a locksmith that very day Once she flew this idea by my father however he would have none of it he left his breakfast half eaten at the kitchen table and roared out of the garage to retrieve his toolkit and roared back in and straight up the stairs followed by my mother rolling her eyes behind his back as he spewed forth his wounded Pride gingerly I hung

back in the hall as my parents began to play locksmith at my sister's door with me and mother watching over his shoulder he tried the Door this way and that and pulled and pushed banged it with Precision here and there and finally knelt at the door knob and probed a pen light into the hole I saw his eyebrow shoot up there's something blocking the keyhole he said confirming what I'd seen the other day it was midm morning by then my sister's room had a window Facing East the light should have Shone through the door knob

at as it did from The Gap under the door but it was dark as night through the Gap My father slid a sheet of old newspaper along the floor a good deal of centerfold to cover as much ground as possible then with a thin metal instrument from the screwdriver kit he prodded into the hole until we all heard a thin distinct thud of metal on the paper on the other side a DOT of light was cleared in the door knob my father pulled at the paper carefully from under the door and we could see the

slight weight of the key keeping the paper from Flapping but then before it was halfway out the weight was gone and the paper came clean away from our side of the door very suddenly unburdened from its weight the key was gone father had that puzzled look on his face and he turned to glance through the door knob then he got on all fours to peer under the door to see if the key had gotten caught on something or had fallen off the paper but of course he saw nothing no movement of Shadow across the light

no Telltale Form of a key on the floor for any distance I knew what had happened of course it had been plucked out from under our very noses mother asked father if he was quite finished playing locksmith so that we could call a professional he wasn't quite ready to give in as they continued to bicker I left them and went downstairs out the back door I circled around the yard to look at my sister's window from the outside they had picked her room very Carefully not only had she gotten the best view but the window

was mostly secure from any break-ins from the outside you couldn't get to its ledge from the roof or any outdoor piping there were no tree branches close enough for a foothold this side of the house was smooth and unscalable as I stared up at her open shutters and drawn curtains the way they had been the last day of her life I saw that the window panes were intact nobody Had gotten in from there looking carefully and for as long as I could stand I detected no movement or light from the dimness behind the curtains when

I went back in my parents were in the kitchen now taking a break it seemed from trying to break open the door but not a break from their bickering they shot up at once almost as soon as I entered and when I heard it I shut up too a great silence descended on us three as from the top of the stairs we Could hear my sister's ballerina music box playing the way it did when the lid was open I was frozen but barely a second later my father dashed up the stairs eyes wide my mother

called after him in a fright But Then followed him after barely a moment of hesitation I was drawn upward as well as though by magnetism though I wanted to be nowhere near that room I found my father at the door one hand on the still tightly locked door knob and the other wrapping Sharply on the wood calling who's there no response my mother had her mouth covered with both hands suspended between shock and grief no matter how much they demanded an answer from an assumed stranger as my father did or Chang tact and called my

dead sister's name as my mother did nothing stirred from the other side of the door the music had stopped by the time I had gotten to the top of the stairs it seemed we stood there holding our Breaths for a good half minute or so before my father stepped back from the door and took my mother's elbow leading her downstairs he gestured with his head at me to do the same downstairs they spoked in hushed funeral voices wondering what was going on I couldn't bring my myself to say much and for once my mother showed

real concern towards me she had me sit down at the kitchen table while she had gotten a glass of apple juice to revive my energy afraid I'd Faint I noticed my reflection in the Chrome body of the toaster oven pale as a I didn't say the word even in my mind we stayed downstairs for the most part at some point my father went out to look at the window the same way I'd done and had come back to report my mother the same thing I had observed my mother asked whether we should call a locksmith

but I could see her resolve had dissolved and so had my father's he didn't seem all that Keen to be a Locksmith either at dinner my mother asked me as if she had just remembered whether I had really left the only key to my sister's room in her coffin I nodded my head just once I was sure I had but I didn't want to be sure anymore mother asked nothing else father wondered if calling a priest would be more appropriate and my mother gave him a dirty look everyone knew that priests always failed in the

movies and besides neither of my parents were Believers not In God not in ghosts not in anything I wasn't even sure if they believed in me when I said the key was buried with my sister but the lack of belief kept us all suspended in a swirling and torturous meaninglessness where the only meaning that now presented itself was a dangerous one they let me sleep in their room that night this helped my nerves somewhat though their bedroom was technically right next to my sister's with the wall in between While mine was directly across the hall

from hers I didn't mind as long as I wasn't alone I don't know how they managed to get to sleep or if they were pretending as I was but at some point during the night I was lured out of my Drifting by the sound of the music box playing softly as if to itself down the hall and just on the other side of the wall the next day we all gave the room a wide birth and tried not to speak of it we tried to get on as normal as possible But there was something very

odd about the house now like we had an evil secret we had to keep even from each other every now and then the music box would start playing from the top of the stairs usually when we were downstairs and never a few bars at a time before it stopped again whenever it did that we would all go quiet instantaneously mother would go white and rigid her eyes filling up and father would reach for her hand and hold it Tight I would go over and sip beside them and mother would put an arm around my shoulder

I almost thought this was a good thing to have that room occupied once more but I couldn't bring myself to be grateful it was I who had asked her to come back after all but I dared not confess that part as soon as silence returned we would take a few seconds and then carry on as if nothing had happened but we could not fool each other we were shaken My parents refused to talk outright about what they felt but I thought I understood since I felt the same way instead of feeling any warmth from my

sister's memory there was only a cold dread and around her door there was a sense of bitterness that chilled anyone who wandered Too Close even in the humid warmth of the day we kept this up for the next few days and no matter how late I tried to dally after school instead of coming straight home I would always be The first one in my parents were trying to stay away as long as they could too but by the second week of this my mother decided what it was they had to call a real estate agent

we were going to sell the house and move out but things had to get worse first I'd found myself in my pent up distress mentioning something about the door to my friends of school and Keef invited himself home with me to check it out I knew my parents would be away from home and I didn't want to go Back alone so I agreed I hung back a few steps when ke climbed the stairs to the bedroom he walked right up to my sister's door as if he hadn't felt the myasthma that at least to my

parents and I had grown stronger every day Kei tried the door as I knew he would and found it locked as I knew he would then he bent at the waist and peered Through the Keyhole his other eyes squeezed shut for Focus his whole body shuffling him side to side a few inches at a time to get a Better look I stood across the hall shifting uneasily from foot to foot then I heard the reassuring sound of the front door opening and my mother coming in calling my name before I could answer her though Kei

jolted back from the door gagging and clutching at his throat his face was pale and strangled his eyes wide and unseeing he couldn't scream but I screamed for him and my mother was upstairs in an instant just in time to see Keith collapse on the floor rising And twitching as my mother rushed to tend to him I threw a glance at the door knob nothing but a point of light and utter silence we had taken Kei to the ER left him there with his family and gotten back in time to tell my father what had

happened Keith had swallowed his tongue and would have choked himself to death if my mother hadn't acted so quickly the overseeing physici had assumed it had been some sort of accident caused by surprise or an Unpleasant posture something I hadn't really been listening my mind was torturing itself trying to imagine what he must have seen that made his body Reco toil so violently as to strangle itself I wanted to ask Keith myself desperately but his parents wouldn't let me near him anymore Meanwhile my parents were throwing themselves into the search for a new place to

live we knew now that we were in a dangerous situation over the next few weeks we had terrible luck Selling the house the agents we got kept asking about the room and why we wouldn't unlock it and the few people who showed up to the open house had a bad feeling about that room they assumed we had something something to hide and they were right no matter how beautifully we had presented the rest of the house that room poisoned the atmosphere even though from a photograph of the second floor you couldn't tell there was anything

off about it at all The house was listed as a three-bedroom space and people expected three bedrooms my father thought we should just promise to get the door fixed before they moved in and then just let them do what they would with whatever they found behind it but my mother argued with him over the ethics of it all by this point my parents were willing to just abandon the house and leave it to some in-laws they were not fond of they had planned to move into what was supposedly a summer Home but with the idea

that we would settle there it was smaller less comfortable and farther from my school and Father's workplace but it didn't matter by then we only had one goal between us get out the music box had started to drive us half mad at night sometime during the last week the music box had broken and the tiny mechanism began to play just one note over and over again one key one key over and over and then it went quiet again so suddenly That the silence was just as loud as anything before or after to call it music

was to call whatever was on the other side of that door my sister it might have been music at some point but now it was a mere sliver of what it had been in life now it was a hideously shrunken fragment of the whole distorted and sharpened so it was no longer recognizable as part of the original it was getting louder and louder and it appeared to be moving Along the walls my parents' bed which I still slept in with them was positioned so that our feet were pointing at the wall that divided the master

bedroom for my sisters that used to comfort me somewhat knowing that this was the farthest we could get from it from well her but it had gotten so that it seemed the music was seeping into the walls like a pipe had burst and bled into the paper the paint on the wall seemed to shift in my mind's eye in the Half Light We were all unable to fall asleep until dawn and our daylight lives were thrown out of rhythm we stumbled home exhausted and stayed on guard all day hearing that one key play on and

off throughout the afternoon and evening and then we stayed up all night to repeat again the next day we were fairly at the end of our rope my mother insisted we move within the next week and drove us like slaves to finish packing while she saw to the logistics of getting boxes and Furniture Shipped off we were even more strung out and exhausted by then and thanks to that I must have drifted off last night before we were to move right there on the bare mattress in the master bedroom with nearly all of its contents

in cardboard boxes I woke up to hear the music over my head and right beside my ear I snatched Myself Away immediately and saw that my parents had done the same the music that one demonic key was throbbing louder than usual throughout The walls opposite my sister's bedroom where our headboard was the broken note played again and again traveling and swelling and surrounding us even today that one key played in isolation on a piano can trigger a horrible case of nerves in me an FP I think it was my parents were up in an instant

scrambling to get dressed and yelling at me to get moving as I sat there Frozen they had to yell because the music was so loud now that it was impossible the neighbors Would remain undisturbed by it the moving company we hired was scheduled to come by and help us the next morning but we had to get out right now AT3 in the morning my father said we would return later to help the movers if they showed up but for now we were going to a nearby motel with nothing but an overnight bag hastily thrown together

we rushed out and piled into the car noting as we left that the music had been thrumming throughout the house even downstairs but It could not follow us out the front door as soon as I cleared the doorway the air came easier to my lungs I hadn't known that we had literally been suffocating in that house all along from the yard and then the Garage pulling out from our doorway our house was silent as anything should be at 3: in the morning while my father backed the car down the driveway my mother nervously scolded him

all the way to watch the mailbox and I twisted around in my seat to look back At the house one more time we were pulling down east and I had a clear view of my my sister's window from the back of the car the shutters were still open and there was no light from the depths of the room which I could clearly see now that the curtains were thrown open and standing there in the gap of the curtains I saw a pale ballerina at the window watching us go dearest Margaret I hope that this letter

finds you well I've missed you Greatly during the entire time away from you but these past few weeks have been especially difficult while we were busy pushing from Normandy it was easier to keep my mind occupied on other things now that the Germans have left France however I've had a lot more time to myself and as always my thoughts have turned to you I have good news or bad news depending on how you look at things as you're an optimist by Nature a very glass half full kind of woman I'll give You the positive spin

first first you and I are going to be reunited sooner than we thought I'll be shipping off to the good old us OFA within the next few weeks no matter how optimistic you are however you are also a realist so here's the bad news the reason that I'll be coming home to you so early is because I've been injured now there's no need to worry as I'm going to be fine once the bullets stopped flying in France my unit had been assigned to deliver cargo to a VBA you've always been more of a scholar than

I am so you may be familiar with the town I'd never heard of it before there were only three large crates so Mark Johnston and I volunteered to make the delivery I've written to you about him before he's the soldier in my platoon that has a wife and young son in Kansas all of my fellow soldiers are brothers but he's one of the few that I can honestly say is a friend the round Trip between Paris and aiba would take a few days and we'd figured that the fresh Mountain Air would do us some good

we never spoke about it but I think we were both feeling that we needed to get out of Paris even if only for a little while when you see pictures of Paris and books it looks like a grand place you can practically feel the Magic in the air right through the page it conjures up images of long walks along the San River or maybe ascending to the top of the Eiffel Tower to look out on the Lights of the city you and I even talked about visiting it someday after we're married I think that's how

the city once was and maybe it will be like that again in the here and now though the magic is gone the Nazis did all they could to stomp out the spirits of the people that lived there they never fully could but you can tell that the occupation left its Mark in more ways than just those damn red and black banners hanging from buildings The enchantment and wonder of the city is gone for now replaced with an iron resolve olve and a righteous Fury the longer I stayed there the more that I could feel the

violation Paris had suffered through if that makes any sense is it any Wonder Johnston and I jumped at the opportunity to run a shipment through the countryside it was supposed to be a simple delivery as everyone in the world knows though there's nothing simple about this War I don't remember The moment that the trucks rear tire struck the mine it must have been left over from the Germans Retreat or maybe had been PL planted by the French Resistance when the Nazis were using that particular Road whatever the case the explosion flipped the truck completely over

and sent us off the road I only know this because it was told to me later I remember sitting in the passenger seat while Johnston drove idly flipping through a Captain Marvel comic Book that I had traded a small bottle of half drunk whiskey to a private for I'm not much for comic books but there was something about it that made me feel like I don't know made me feel like I was holding a piece of home in my hands I suppose after that my next memory is slowly waking up I was lying on something

soft and my body felt oddly cold instinctively I tried to sit up but the worst pain I've ever felt went through my body like electricity it Felt like someone was forcefully pushing down on me while trying to set me a blaze I shook my head in an effort to clear it I hadn't even opened my eyes yet and I was already already feeling dizzy I felt a hand on my shoulder and a woman's voice politely but firmly told me to calm down as I managed to get my eyes open and squinted against the bright light

she went on to explain that I had been in a mine Explosion and to assure me that I was going to be okay my Vision returned to normal after a few minutes and I was able to look up at the speaker she was dressed in the white uniform of a nurse with red curls peeking out from under her hat and freckles dotting her nose she smiled down at me kindly and told me that her name was Ruth I tried sitting up but it had the same result as before Ruth informed me that I had suffered

a fractured sternum when my chest had impacted the front portion of the Transport truck it sounded serious but she told me that I just needed to rest and it would heal naturally normally ice would have been put on my chest to help with the swelling and lessen the pain there wasn't any access to ice however so she was using Rags soaked in Cool Water instead along with the fractured sternum I had suffered a painful bump on the head and a sprained ankle I had managed to escape in surprisingly good condition All Things Considered Johnston Hadn't

been so lucky he was lying in the bed next to me unconscious and his body wrapped in bandages every so often I could hear a gasp as he sucked in air the gasps sounded wet like they were filled with water the nurse told me that they hoped he would recover soon but I could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't hopeful over the next few hours Ruth sat and talked with me well she did most of the talking even getting a few words out made my chest hurt so I Mostly just sat

there and listened she told me that we were in an old Chateau known to the locals as Chateau de SRI it had been the home of a wealthy but eccentric land owner who had died at the beginning of the war he hadn't had any children or family so the Mansion was converted into a temporary Hospital most of the doctors and nurses were French but Ruth was a volunteer with the Red Cross that had been sent to assist due to the place being woefully Understaffed she eventually left my side to tend to other patients as I

stared up at the ceiling a stray thought entered my head and despite my condition I found myself smiling it was a crooked sort of smile can you imagine margarette here I was relaxing in a fancy chatau in the French Alps and I couldn't even get out of bed to enjoy a moment of it I had to admit that I tried not to look at Johnston every time I glanced in his Direction I felt an awful stab of guilt I had survived the explosion and would be back on my feet soon meanwhile he was fighting for

his life it wasn't fair even though I kept my eyes off of him I could still hear him wheezing and drawing in those wet breaths evening came and Ruth returned to help me eat my dinner it wasn't much of a meal just broth and small bits of potato but I was so hungry that it felt like a banquet when I had finished she changed out the rags with freshly soaked ones and put The used ones in a small bucket have you ever experienced the kind of moment where it feels like the very air in the

room has changed Margaret that was what I experienced once Ruth finished her tasks her entire meor went from warm and friendly to something much more serious the smile was gone from her face and her eyes were uncertain what wasn't uncertain was her firm instructions that even if I found myself able to get up I must not leave The room during the night I pressed her as to why of course but she simply shook her head and turned to leave ignoring the pain I grabbed her wrist and asked once more she hesitated before gently removing her

hand from my weak grip she said quietly in French before leaving the room and firmly closing the two large doors behind her Mr gangle walks the halls I stared after her for quite a while to say that I was confused would Be an understatement I was fairly sure that I understood her correctly but as you're well aware I've never had much of a head for languages it wasn't hard to convince myself that my poor French simply wasn't up to the task of properly translating her statement with that settled in my mind I quickly drifted off

to sleep you and I have known each other since we were small children we started school together you know me better than anyone Else and I'm still afraid of what you're going to think of me when I tell you what came next you're going to think that I've lost my mind I don't see how anyone could think otherwise I swear to you Margaret I'm not mad and what I'm about to tell you you is the honest to God truth I need you to believe me no one else ever will but but you're the one person

that has to please I don't know what time it was when I woke up the room was dark and still I knew Immediately that something was wrong I had the same feeling in my stomach that I had gotten during lulls and battles throughout the war sometimes the guns would go silent and an eerie silence would fall over everything instead of being happy for the reprieve you start to feel sick to your stomach because you know that something even worse than what you just went through was about to happen that was the same feeling I was

having as I laid in the darkness Something was about to happen I was so sure of it that I ignored the pain and forced myself up onto my elbows in an attempt to look around I couldn't stay in the position for more than a few seconds before I collapsed back down onto the bed less than a heartbeat after I had done so I heard a soft click as the room's doors began to swing open I craned my neck as best as I could and turned my eyes toward the sound there was just enough light coming

in through The windows for me to see the figure enter the room but not enough that I was able to make out any details it was over 8 ft tall and it had to duck under the top of the doorway to enter the room it was wearing a black flowing robe that covered most of its features as it came forward it stayed hunched over it moved moved with an odd gate swaying slightly back and forth as it walked even though it was the largest creature I had ever seen it made barely any noise as it

Moved across the wood floor towards the beds like it had very little weight to it I knew immediately that this giant wasn't human I know how that sounds Margaret and this is why I'm afraid that you're going to think I've been driven mad by the war if you do indeed love me as you say that you do though I need you to take what I'm saying say at face value and put aside your skepticism until you finish my story because of the creature's size it only took a few steps For it to reach the foot

of Johnston's bed it was starting to lean over him when I closed my eyes as tightly as I could as I write this I can feel the shame rising in me this thing was going to do God knows what to a man that was closer to me than my own family and there I was keeping my eyes clenched shut like a frightened child trying to hide from from a shadow on his bedroom wall what kind of a friend what kind of a man does that make Me I laid as still as I could for what

seemed like hours but all that I heard was silence curiosity started to win out over the fear I slowly opened my eyes the creature was still looming over Johnston but it was completely motionless its arms were extended towards his face the robe sleeves were pulled back enough that I could see the limbs and in the dim Moonlight they looked Almost White so white that it was like a single drop of blood had never Run through their veins they were also extremely thin no that's not the right word for it they looked emaciated its hands were

attached to the arms at a slightly odd angle I had seen something similar before when a private had dislocated his hand from his wrist in a bad fall its fingers were long and bony and they reached out towards Johnson's face the hood of the robe was up over its head and at the angle I was seeing the Creature from its face was completely blocked off from view it was hard to tell in the dark but I got the impression that the head was too large for the body the width wasn't proportionate with the arms and

legs everything about the creature was wrong and I felt a sense of revulsion as I watched it Johnston coughed once the creature pulled back slightly but when he didn't make another sound it drew closer once again it reached out with One finger and touched him slightly on the forehead he made a soft choking noise but remained unconscious the finger moved down his face tracing down the nose across the lips and over the chin it stopped when its tip was touching Johnston's neck the man's entire body had stiffened as if the creature was sending a live

current through him I wanted to yell out to him to warn him about what was happening my mouth remained closed I was already trying to justify my lack of action to myself there was no point in letting the creature know that I was watching when Johnston was too injured to hear me anyway that was what I told myself over and over again the truth is that I was paralyzed by fear in the moment that my friend needed me most I proved myself to be a coward the creature's hand opened and it wrapped its fingers around

Johnston's neck he whimpered quietly the whimpering soon Turned into gagging as the fingers closed tightly I tried to will myself to somehow intervene fear and a fractured Stern and be damned instead I just laid there watching the figure held up one finger on its other hand and placed its point between Johnston's clavicles it lingered there for a moment before pushing down harder the finger sank into and through the skin he started to thrash but the creature simply held him by the throat as if it Was no effort at all the finger slowly started to make

its way down to his chest skin and muscle and bone all parted as if it was being cut with the sharpest of surgeon instruments when it reached the top of his stomach area it withdrew blood covered it and droplets dripped down onto the man's body what came next has played over and over in my head ever since the creature reached into the hole in Johnston's chest and pulled the opening wider the snapping of Bone filled the air as his ribs were easily separated the arm jerked slightly to one side and a moment later the hand

rose out of the open chest cavity holding a misshapen lump Johnston stopped thrashing I must have made a sound because the creature turned its head toward me the hood still covered its face but I knew it was watching me closely instead of closing my eyes however I looked right back at it it wasn't some Act of Bravery or Defiance I was just too scared to think of anything else to do it moved to the side of of my bed the go Mass it had taken from Johnston's chest was still clutched in its right hand I

couldn't see exactly what the object was I was and still am thankful for that the creature regarded me for a long moment before reaching up with its free hand and slowly pulling back the hood I opened my mouth to scream but no sounds came out I was stricken voiceless by Fear it was all that I could do to Simply keep breathing instead of being rounded its head was elongated with malformed protrusion sticking out of the back it was hairless and like its arms the flesh was pale to the point of being nearly translucent it looked

at me with lidless eyes the pupils locked on me so intently that they appeared to be vibrating the creature's face was vaguely human the best way that I can describe it is that It looked like a person whose skin had been pulled back so tightly that it began to tear off the skull but large teeth and gums were exposed in a hideous grin one so large that it ran past the mouth towards the back of the elongated head to show the bone Beyond it tilted its head slightly I wasn't looking at just some hideous monster

its eyes stared at me with intelligence it opened its mouth slightly as it regarded me just beyond The first row of humanlike but oversized teeth was a second row of them these were smaller and spaced wider apart its thick black tongue sosed around back and forth in its thick saliva G KN leis the creature said in a raspy voice the words coming out as if it was exhaling them rather than speaking them with that the creature turned and left the room the same way it had come in closing the door behind it I must have

passed out the next thing I knew I was regaining Consciousness in a room filled with sunlight I quickly looked over to my right at Johnston's bed the spot that the bed had once occupied was empty Ruth came in a few minutes later I demanded to know what it happened to Johnston and she told me that he died from his wounds a few hours earlier I knew she was lying of course I had seen the creature tear him open and end his life I continued to press her and as I did so she grew more and

more uncomfortable she repeatedly Tried to tell me that I must have dreamed the entire thing I became more and more agitated and finally she relented she leaned in as if she was telling me something that needed to stay between the two of us even though we were the only ones in the otherwise empty room every so often she would glance over her shoulder at the doors as she spoke she told me that Johnston's body had been taken down to the makeshift morg to be disposed of when I Started to object she shook her head firmly

and told me to remain quiet the official record would say that the body was incinerated due to the concerns of a possible disease that way no one would know about the damage the creature had caused to his body no one but me she warned me not to let anyone else know that I had seen the creature which she again referred to as Mr gangle the few outside of the hospital staff that had tried to tell The others what they had seen had all died under mysterious circumstances I needed to remain silent for my own safety

at first I refused but something in the way she was looking at me made me stop I got the feeling that she wasn't just looking out for my safety but also her own I began to understand that her current position at the Chateau wasn't entirely voluntary still trying to wrap my mind Around everything that I had seen and that she was telling me I questioned her about Mr gangle what was it how long had it been at the Chateau why had it killed Johnston the questions Spilled Out of me as if they would never end

Ruth didn't have any solid answers to give me all the doctors and nurses at the hospital seemed to have a different story some said that Mr gangle was an experiment that had been conducted by German scientists during the occupation others Said it was actually a German scientist itself one that had done things to himself for some unknown reason and was still conducting experiments on the patients in his new grotesque form she had been told by one doctor that he believed it was a demon that had been summoned by Nazi occultists I mold it over Mr

gangle had spoken to me in German hesitantly not sure that I really wanted to know the answer I asked how it had known my name Ruth looked surprised And regarded me curiously as she opened her mouth to speak the doors opened and a pair of soldiers entered the room they told me that I was being transferred to a hospital in Paris immediately and that's where I'm writing you from now Margaret I'm still sitting at a small table in a private room of one of the dozens of medical facilities in in Paris it's been dark for

some time but I can still hear the sounds of talking and laughing coming up from the streets Through my open window medically I'm doing much better my fractured sternum is almost fully healed and I only have slight discomfort from it when I move around mentally I'm not really sure how I'm doing I have trouble sleeping at night and during the day I feel like I'm walking through a dream sometimes I think about how I failed Johnston and feel a mixture of remorse and anger and other times I realize that I haven't thought of him in

A while and for some reason that makes me even more Angry there are times that I debate with myself whether I should write Johnston's wife and tell her what really happened to her husband each time I decide not to even if I could figure out how to begin to describe Mr gangle and what it had done to him how could her knowing the truth be any comfort to her I'm scheduled to ship out for the United States to weeks from Tuesday as I come To the end of this letter however I realized that I can't

come back home to you yet even if you somehow found a way to forgive my cowardice I would never be able to God help me I have to go back to Chateau de where Mr gangle walks the halls I love you Margaret and I'm sorry always yours Corporal Peter Lewis United States Army October 14th [Music] 1944 just over 2 weeks ago on Monday the 30th of August I turned 30 and someone had to pay the price for that our family the Le has always been seen as eccentric by the locals some of us have become

investors Artisans Masters of Niche crafts and the like we've lived full happy and creatively stimulating lives seing to the outside world as to not have a care in the world or need for anything but we have this life at a great cost a ritual that must be undertaken every August 30th known Collectively as the waiting game my family has had this tradition for over 250 years every member of the family above the age of 18 congregates at my family's estate and spends the 48 hours prior to the event catching up partying and generally enjoying themselves

they are after all all living on borrowed time when the final hours tick down to the event they detox ensure they've slept well done their business and had plenty to hydrate because once the clock Strikes midnight they must all stay in one room until the clock again strikes midnight the entire time they must keep at least one other family member in ey shot no single member of the family must be unaccounted for the Parlor Room is structured in such a way that we can see each other no matter where we are situated in the room

each area is well lit comfortable and accommodating which when you deal with roughly 30 people is A necessity you have to understand growing up in this environment had me thinking this was simply a normal tradition every free family undertook I saw no strangeness in spending my birthday away from my family members that it was just bad luck my birthday fell on the tradition day that of course would change after I turned 11 I remember the first time I learned of the waiting game my mother was supposed to host my Birthday party but apologized and said

she wouldn't be home in time for work to that point in my life mom had always worked long hours to provide for us and it was routine I was crestfallen but understood she was an art curator and loved her job with an unbridled passion she was my hero the fact we shared a birthday only made our bond more special in my eyes she was a best friend as well as my mom and I don't know a lot of kids who can say that I still remember the Smell of lavender in her hair and the way

her eyes flickered and the way she hugged me tight before saying goodbye never forget how special you are Theo the fact you here is nothing short of a miracle and that is worth celebrating I love you she kissed me on the forehead and promised us pizza when she got home to make up for it I remember the babysitter waving her off as I got the house ready for my friends So we could play Nintendo and stay up late but something in the pit of my stomach was uneasy like I'd missed the step up on the

stairs when Mom didn't come home the following day that feeling blossomed sprouted wings and flew into my heart where it started breaking away at the fragile casing until it would shatter spectacularly there was no funeral the police seemed disinterested in finding her and my family said very little about It to me just that she'd gone away and that I'd understand when I was older I was a day away from turning 18 when my great uncle Thaddius told me I had to come to the Family Estate for my birthday that it was time I remember being

pissed because I had a date with my high school Crush but that was of little interest to him and saying no wasn't a wise idea so I gave in we drove in relative silence for the majority of the journey he kept his Steely eyed Gaze On the road and furrowed his brow the man was in his 70s but still commanded a ruin room with his gate I tried to block out the feelings of teenage frustration and focus on the country road we miss Christina too you know he grumbled from behind a thick white mustache your

mother was a wonderful woman beautiful soul and a vision of the world like nothing I'd seen before but with her and her aunt Cecilia now gone well it's a good thing you're turning 18 he drummed His fingers again against the wheel I said nothing and instead chose to let my feelings swirl around inside of me as we pulled up to the Lee estate a secluded Manor House in the countryside it sat here for nearly three Centuries with upkeep repairs in various areas but largely remained the same grandio spectacle of architecture it had been when first

constructed all members of the Lee family were born here myself included it Was a ride of passage in a way as we headed inside the remnants of the party from Friday night still scattered around a very somber atmosphere greeted me in the Parlor Room spread out amongst bean bag chairs leather couches armchairs and Ottomans were the entire adult Lee clan members among them were my great aunt Agnes Uncle George Aunt Lisa cousins Mick and Ralph and sat in a large chair at the back was my grandpa Sir Walter Quincy Carter Lee a Distinguished man with

a usually jovial Spirit but now sat morose and deflated as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders his eyes never left mine as I awkwardly shuffled into the room in fact none of theirs did 30 pairs of eyes fixated on me as I sat opposite Walter and gave him a half-hearted smile Theodore I'm sure you're wondering why you're here and since you're a man now I will not sugarcoat it Walter's voice Broke the silence and much like his facial expressions it was Dripping and weariness the Lee family has been blessed with Fortune

Fame and success in all things we have had this for a very very long time but it comes at a cost we have a contract of sorts that must be fulfilled on August 30th every year without fail he slid across an old dried up piece of parchment with a slew of signatures and requirements I scanned it And felt all the moisture leave my mouth on this day in 1756 I Theodore James wellon Lee patriarch of the leaf family do hereby commit to our Earthly bodies and eternal souls to undertake this practice until we are either

no more or our obligations deemed fulfilled starting in the waning days of August we shall congregate on these grounds and be merry Cort and enjoy our lives as one is want on to do but as the clock strikes midnight and Hailes on the 30th day of the month we shall undertake The Waiting ritual and Obey these basic tenaments as set out and agreed upon by both parties number one all members of the Lee family over the age of 18 must be present number two all members of the Lea Family must keep at least one other

member in sight at all times number three if there is a designated focus of the Le family they are to be stared at Constantly number four should any members of the Lee family Hear Voices That distract them they are to ignore them number five lights must be available at all times including backup matches should there be an issue and number six line of sight must not be broken until the clock once again Chimes 12 times to usher in August 31st I do sign my name in blood to signify the commitment to this pact and The

promise that the current future generations of the Lee family shall continue this practice lest we invoke the consequences of non-completion signed Theodore James Wellington Lee witness Elora M Lee spouse in place of the alternate signature was a bizarre series of characters that I had never seen before I'd half expected the Devil Himself to have put his name down but this just made me feel uncomfortable what the hell Is this an elaborate birthday prank I tried to force a laugh but my body wouldn't cooperate Grandpa Walters shook his head no lad it's a commitment to the

agreement your mother was our original Focus person and now that you're of age it's you all you must do is sit in the chair and wait it out for 24 hours we will all be here with you when the time is up you can go your successes will come to you naturally and life will be plentiful he gestured to the room around Him all of us have had great lives and our children your cousins will continue this trend provided we do our part Here and Now what choice did I have I agreed and Grandpa presented

me with a different document that every member of the family had signed in blood on their 18th birthday I did the same and was free to talk to everyone before the clock chimed midnight once it had we all took our seats and the ritual began I won't lie it was initially still Feeling like a prank that I was waiting on for the rug to be pulled out from under me but as the first hour passed and the conversation grew sparse I realized how seriously everyone was taking this imagine being sat in a chair at the

the back of a grand parlor books strewn across you from side to side the well-lit room full of your family members some you get on well with others you avoid like the plague and every single one of them is staring at you Incessantly for 24 hours about halfway through still during the day things would become less tense something about the daylight brought with it a comfort of visibility that could not be taken away and conversations grew Lively Again by the time we reached 10:30 p.m. however tensions were high Darkness had enveloped the room and one

of my aunts explained that this is when things can go wrong but stopped herself from continuing any further hand Shaking I would hear faint Whispers from outside in the hall that I had brushed off as the maid or a younger family member conversing but could never totally remove from my mind the lights would Flicker and everyone seemed to be on edge but we made it to midnight and on that final chime the group erupted into cheers and congratulations to one another myself included it felt like we'd just come up for air for the first time

in decades life tasted fresh and All we wanted to do was experience it a small but short party was had as thanks but we were all admittedly so tired that it didn't get too far I would bow out before 3:00 a.m. a.m. and sleep through the rest of the 31st going about my life as normal as possible from that day on Grandpa was right my life found great success with each passing year I would be accepted to the art school I had as my top pick I became a recognized artist and people all over the

world knew of my Work a family of my own had eluded me but I was a happy 29-year-old for all things considered even if my partner resented my birthday ritual I hadn't explained it to her yet and didn't have plans to do so for as long as possible Outsiders never fully understood and it wasn't permitted to have anyone not married involved I liked Harriet a lot but I was not ready to go down that route anytime soon she gave me a defeated goodbye as I left this was The second birthday of mine she'd gotten to

be a part of and it was clearly bothering her that she couldn't indulge me in the way she wanted I told her we'd have all the time afterwards but this did little to assuage her frustrations you always keep secrets Theo I don't like it she huffed understandably frustrated at not being let in how can we progress with our relationship if you keep me at arms length you've not even told me about your mother and it's been Nearly 2 years I wish I knew myself but that's just how it is I Shrugged this was something that

hurt but I'd had many years to process and if we ever get married you'll learn all about what goes on okay the simple Prospect of even mentioning marriage put a smile on her face and she seemed to forget all about her frustrations she kissed me and sent me off without a second thought the Lee estate by this point was largely a mix Of old and new members cousins Mitchell Eric Sadie Pippa and kefir had all long since turned 18 and were now successful 20s somethings my aunts and uncles from years prior still able to come

along surprisingly my grandpa was still the active patriarch even at 87 he had plenty of vigor and was relieved to see me pull up ready to undertake the festivities and party now that I'd been doing this for 12 years it had become a maab routine that we loved and hated in Equal measure we ate drank and talked about life and love we existed and made sure to cherish those moments then as the Clock Struck midnight we took our places and that familiar chill washed over all of us I don't know what was different thinking about

it now something had to have been off but when you're in a routine for so long even an odd one like ours can begin to feel mundane we locked all the doors entered the Parlor and took our seats and so it Began the first 30 minutes was of no real issue some idle chatter here and there but largely everyone was stealing themselves for the long day ahead cousin Mick was using a stress ball whilst cousin Ralph had a single earphone in with an audio book on his phone a smart decision at 12:35 a.m. there was

a smash against the window it sounded as if a bird had flown head first into the glass intent on crushing itself we jumped but years of experience didn't have us all Staring at the window instead Pippa went over within our line of sight and opened the curtains a cracked window but no bird in the distance we could see something moving but it wasn't possible to figure out without closer inspection and that wasn't possible the Family Estate is a private land that borders on a large wooded area we don't govern that part of the land and

instead have large fences around the property that shows where our ownership begins so why would Anyone be willingly out there shit's weird right I chuckled looking at my grandpa and expecting a nervous laugh back instead he shook in his chair and kept his Gaze on me sweat pouring down his nose and his skin growing sow it's just like last time with Christina he breathed we tried to cheat the system and we're still paying for it cheat the system what the hell was he talking about I scanned the room and the older members of the family

looked Increasingly agitated and anxious my aunt gertrud bordering on hysterical as she whimpered something to my Uncle Bill pointing a shaking finger at me he would calm her down and we'd spend the next 2 hours in almost total silence but when the lights began to Flicker and the anxiety rose again I felt myself needing to ask what's going on Grandpa I breathed the tension SP spring through the group like a disease he shifted uncomfortably and my concern only grew If you don't tell me right now I'll walk out of this building and that'll be the

end of the tradition he immediately leapt out of his seat eyes wide and wild no absolutely not we do not need any more suffering and death in this family the room grew cold and my blood along with it death mom died the sheer pain of those words leaving my body like the very air was being pulled from my lungs by force he sat back into his chair defeated this deal we made it granted us Everything we could want but there is no deal in this world without a price that price was for one of us

to fail the contract's requirements each year there was a tension in the air permeating through every member of the family as he spoke the contract never originally stipulated that we must all gather together in fact it actively persuaded us to elect someone to miss the proceedings to perhaps never inform them Of the deal the trick set out was to do it on a day that would keep at least one of us apart from the rest we would have obstacles from life or employment that would ensure at least one of us would be unable to make

it each year thus fulfilling their end of the bargain I don't remember who came up with the idea but your grandmother my wife was in heavy labor when your mother was due and the family wanted to be there it just seemed like we'd been Thrown a line No More Death so we decided to make it a mandatory R of passage for the family by some Stroke of Luck your mother was born just after the stroke of midnight on the 30th and you in the early evening on the 30th some 25 years later for over half

a century we were able to maintain peace and Tranquility his lip quivered and the lights flickered again but all debts must be repaid especially with them in a brief Moment for a fraction of a second I saw something stand in the middle of our parlor it towered over all of us hunched over with its bulbous head against the ceiling red eyes fixated on me if there was a mouth I couldn't see it it held up a twisted digit to its face as if to shush me before before the lights flickered back on if grandpa or

anyone else saw it they didn't acknowledge it I tried my best to hold my nerve and ask a question to keep my focus what are they I managed to muster hoping there'd be some kind of explanation for what I saw maybe an old Legend I could connect to them to make sense of all of this but grandpa just looked at me a single tear running down his face as the proud patriarch of our family showed true fear for the first time in my life I don't know nobody does they appeared to our ancestor your names

sake so long ago he said at the time they were a spectre from beneath the Earth his wife Insisted they came from the Stars his son was adamant they were an old Celtic Legend forgotten to time but nobody has ever truly known but we do know one thing Theo when we break eye contact when we don't fulfill our part of the bargain bad things happen I heard more Whispering outside the sound of walls being knocked upon and something unseen and gargantuan thundering around the home it was trying to get our attention is that what happened

to Mom did someone In this room fail to fulfill their part of the bargain I felt hot rage and grief pushed their way up compounded by that feeling of being upset on my birthday of all days I looked around and my eyes settled on Aunt Gertrude the most nervous of the bunch she was my last aunt and Christina's eldest sister what did you do Auntie she pursed her lips and I could see the veins in her Temple throbbing trying desperately to hold her Composure but the noises were unrelenting and nobody in the room was attempting

to calm her as if they knew this needed to happen I always resented your mother Theodore she was pretty confident young and full of energy always got the recognition from father the love she wanted and the life she sought I was never satisfied with what I had and I thought if she was gone maybe that good fortune would shine on me so I took some sleeping pills and Passed out the staring felt malicious angry full of Spite and a hint of regret I don't have any ill will towards you Theodore but if it meant I

could live the life I have now I'd do it again [ __ ] Pippa and Sadie piped up from the sides both of them loved their aunt Christina all you knew huh never told him were you even planning to kefir spat on the floor and disgust his family should [ __ ] burn I felt my head swell A cocktail of emotions coupled with the Unseen attempts to distract us Grandpa took my shoulders in both hands and looked at me the saddest smile I'd ever seen on a person's face I let the smartest and most talented

of my girls go because of tradition rest assured I won't do it to you we've seen enough death and enough loss in this family before your mother's birth we would see two dozen of our family taken in this many years She stabilized us you continued that but keeping this from you was the wrong decision especially at your age he let go backing up to the Parlor door so if you want to leave to confront whatever takes us to get your revenge on us well we won't stop you the family murmured but didn't protest Gertrude sobbed

silently how do I know it won't take me my leg shook as I stood up it was barely 3:00 a.m. by this point we had so long To go you don't but that is part of you making the choice instead of us perhaps if you were the one to leave it'll punish us instead I stood there for a few minutes deciding over my choices how to respond to a family steeped in secrecy that would willingly send my mother and I to slaughter in order to keep proliferating it turned out I wouldn't need to wait very

long for a decision the front door hadn't been properly locked and Harriet came inside Blasting music and armed with a mobile strobe lighting machine I told her that while we had a ritual I'd focused instead on the partying aspect she'd followed me here the second she entered the house pumping music and the lights shining through the room they hit several of my family members in the face breaking eye contact and just like that the Packa was broken I don't know if I can fully articulate what happened but I felt a deep Rumble Beneath my feet

the air grew thick and it felt as if time had slowed down something was stirring and as I looked around at the family I could see on their faces they knew it was coming for them I looked at Grandpa still smiling and nodding as the lights went out I made a direct beine out of the room with Harriet in hand slamming the Parlor door behind me and pushing my body weight against it what the [ __ ] is going on Theo she screamed confused and Distressed you just killed us all because you couldn't wait you

you I tried to find the words to find the rage but I was beyond that I held her close and we kept our heads down hoping to make it through whatever hell was behind just a few inches of wood I saw nothing but I heard everything a cacophony of shrill voices screaming laughing singing and groaning in one torrent of suffering things were thrown around the Room possibly Furniture possibly a body I sat against that door until Daybreak this morning when cousin Peppa gently knocked against the door and told us to come in that it didn't

matter this year anymore opening the door I saw Carnage the room was singed black from wall to wall most of the family were laying face down or cowering in the corner completely unresponsive as I scanned the room wordless full of anxiety and trepidation I already knew who would be missing Grandpa no trace of him existed as if he'd been wiped from existence but to my surprise Gertrude had been taken too a smear of blood next to her husband that ran across the length of the wall and ended in the corner her husband simply rocked back

and forth holding her green Shaw my attention was then drawn into the center of the room to something I took with me to the car something I have In front of me now that the full 24 hours have passed and I have 364 days to decide on what to do next the family went home all of us fully understanding what had transpired Harriet tried in vain to apologize to them but each one treated her as if she was a ghost after all she wasn't part of the family she wasn't part of the ritual a part

of the game for all that i' had learned I still didn't know what they were or where Mom and grandpa had gone I dropped Harriet off at home and made her swear to never talk about it she was devastated but understood when she asked me what I intended to do I simply shook my head the contract had been amended you see not that there's anything anyone here can do about it aside from listening to know these things happen the waiting ritual had been extended to 48 hours all must attend Graver consequences for those who don't

a simple note written in obsidian ink had Been pinned to the top gertrud's signature crossed out and Harriet's name written in her place a trade a new debt two more next year [Music] [Music]