True Scary Stories Told to the Sound of Rain | Relax and Fall Asleep Quickly Vol. 119 l Black Screen

hello everyone I am the Storyteller and I am here to help you today I know you use this video to fall asleep so before that like the video and subscribe to the channel also where are you from and what time are you watching now get comfortable and relax the laugh hit me like a punch to the gut high-pitched sharp cutting through the Silence of the empty mall at 11:47 p.m. I froze mid-step my flashlight beam locked on the cracked tile floor that sound didn't belong here not in this dead Mall not in this abandoned Wing

that was scheduled for demolition next month I'm Jim Martinez night security at Riverside Mall for the past 8 years normally I Patrol the active section the renovated East Wing where the movie theater and chain restaurants still draw crowds but tonight management needed someone to check the abandoned West Wing construction Crews start prep work tomorrow and they wanted one final security sweep the West Wing has been closed for 3 years every store is empty metal shutters pulled down Windows covered with thick plastic sheets the air smells stale like dust and mold my footsteps Echo off bare

walls where advertising posters used to hang the only light comes from emergency exit signs casting everything in a dim red glow I heard it again a woman's laugh coming from inside Forever Young an old clothing store about 30 ft ahead my scalp tingled the hair on my arm stood up that laugh sounded wrong too sharp too real for an empty building I've dealt with trespassers before teenagers breaking in for Tik Tock videos homeless people seeking shelter but the West Wing's been sealed tight for months every entrance is Chained and padlocked I checked them myself at

the start of my shift the beam of my flashlight illuminated the store's facade the security gate was down heavy steel links forming an impenetrable barrier the display windows were covered with thick black plastic taped securely around the edges no gaps no way in another laugh closer now my throat went dry sweat formed on my forehead despite the cool air I took a step forward then another the rubber soles of my boots squeaked against the floor security I called out proud that my voice didn't shake this is a restricted area come out with your hands visible

the laughter stopped complete silence fell I could hear my own heartbeat too fast too loud I moved closer to the storefront scanning for any sign of Entry the gate was intact the plastic sheeting undisturbed but as I approached I noticed something odd about the darkness behind the windows it seemed deeper more absolute than it should be a scraping sound came from inside the store like something heavy being dragged across the floor then footsteps slow deliberate coming toward the front of the store my hand went to the radio on my belt but I hesitated what would

I say that I heard laughing in a sealed store that would earn me nothing but jokes in the breakroom tomorrow the footsteps stopped right on the other side of the gate I raised my flashlight trying to peer through the small gaps between the metal links this is your final warning I said identify yourself a soft thud against the gate made me jump back then another and another like someone tapping their fingers one by one against the metal the laughter started again not sharp this time low gurgling wrong I backed away fumbling for my radio static

crackled as I keyed the mic control this is Martinez In The West Wing I have a possible I stopped a possible what the tapping continued moving across the gate from left to right then a sound like nails dragging across metal sending chills down my spine Martinez repeat your last the radio squawked you're breaking up the plastic sheeting behind the gate bulged outward just slightly like something was pressing against it I need backup In The West Wing I said into the radio now more static than nothing the radio was dead the Bulge in the plastic grew

larger the tapping stopped in its place came a wet sliding sound my flashlight beam shook as my hand trembled GE me the voice was barely a whisper but I heard it clearly my name coming from behind that gate my legs went weak how did it know my name I wear a name tag my rational mind supplied but that thought provided no comfort as I watched the plastic sheeting stretch further outward taking on an impossible shape like a face pressing through a membrane features began to form in the distorted plastic the suggestion of eyes a nose

a mouth stretched wide in a grin the black material grew thinner as it stretched becoming almost transparent I ran my boots pounded against the tile floor as I sprinted back the way I'd come the laughter followed echoing off the walls seeming to come from everywhere at once the emergency exit signs cast bloody light across my path I rounded a corner and slammed into a bench pain shooting through my hip the flashlight flew from my hand clattering across the floor its beam spun crazily before going dark cursing I pushed myself up the laughter was closer now

and footsteps running footsteps far too fast coming up behind me the exit door stood at the end of the corridor its sign burning red in the darkness 50 ft I could make it something cold brushed against the back of my neck like fingers but wrong too long too cold I sprinted harder than I've ever run in my life the exit sign grew larger 30 ft 20 10 I hit the crash bar with both hands bursting through into the warm night air I didn't stop running until I reached the security office in the East Wing slamming

the door behind me and collapsing into my chair the overnight supervisor found me there 20 minutes later still shaking I told him I'd seen someone trying to break in that I'd chased them off he didn't question it just noted it in the log and told me to finish my shift in the office I quit the next morning found a new job within a week daytime security at a Bank better hours better pay no abandoned sections to patrol the demolition crew started work on schedule I drove past the mall a few times during the day watching

as they tore down the West Wing piece by piece but I never went back at night never wanted to find out if that laughter was still echoing through those empty Halls never wanted to know what had really been waiting behind that security gate sometimes though when I'm alone in the dark I hear it that high sharp laugh and I wonder if I'd stayed just a few seconds longer would I have seen what was stretching through that plastic would I have learned why it knew my name I don't sleep well on those nights and I never

work after Sunset anymore one thing still bothers me more than the laugh more than the shape in the plastic more than hearing my name whispered in that wet wrong voice when I went back the next morning to turn in my resignation I walked past the West Wing one last time in the daylight everything looked normal the gate was intact the plastic undisturbed but there on the metal links I saw something that made my blood run cold five distinct marks spaced like fingers where something had scraped across the surface the metal was corroded eaten away as

if by acid and next to those marks spelled out in the same corroded pattern goodbye Jimmy I walked out of that mall and never looked back but sometimes when I pass by dark storefronts at night I hurry past a little faster and I never ever stop when I hear laughter coming from behind locked doors they tore down the West Wing last year built a parking structure in its place but I won't park there won't even drive past it after dark because sometimes late at night people still hear laughter coming from that parking structure High sharp

laughter that cuts through the darkness like a knife and sometimes they say if you listen carefully you can hear it calling names names of people at remembers names of people it's waiting for I changed jobs again last month moved to a new city started freshh where nobody knows my name but I still check the locks twice before I go to bed still sleep with the lights on still wake up in a cold sweat when I hear laughter in my dreams because I know something now that I didn't know before that night something that changes the

way you see the world forever not all empty spaces are truly empty not all locked doors stay locked and sometimes the things that laugh in the dark know your name they know your name and they're patient so patient I write this now as a warning if you're working security or any job that puts you alone in empty places after dark remember this if you hear after where there shouldn't be any don't investigate don't call out don't shine your light into the darkness run run as fast as you can and don't look back because if you

do you might see what's following you and once you see it it never stops following I know this because I still feel it sometimes a cold touch on the back of my neck a whisper of my name in that wet wrong voice the sound of footsteps behind me when I walk alone at night getting closer always getting closer the doctors say I'm paranoid that I had some kind of breakdown that night that stress and isolation played tricks on my mind but they didn't see the marks on that gate didn't hear their name whispered in the

dark I'm moving again next week another city another fresh start but I know it won't matter because sometimes late at night when the house is quiet and dark I hear it that high sharp laugh coming from behind my bedroom door and it knows my name it still knows my name I don't know how much longer I can keep running how many more cities I can flee to how many more Fresh Starts I can make but I know one thing for certain somewhere out there in an empty mall or a dark store or a lonely parking

structure something is laughing and it's waiting waiting for someone else to hear it someone else to investigate someone else to shine their light into the darkness someone whose name it can learn so remember my warning remember my story and if you ever hear laughter in an empty Place do what I should have done run just run because once it knows your name you can never stop running and sooner or later we all get tired of running I can hear it now as I write these words that familiar laugh echoing up the stairs those heavy footsteps

coming coming closer it's time for me to run again but I'm so tired of running so tired the preceding account was found on a laptop in An Empty Apartment in Seattle the tenant James Martinez former security guard at Riverside mall has been missing for 3 months his current whereabouts are unknown I found the first candy wrapper on Tuesday night just a crumpled Snickers wrapper in the corner of unit 4B fifth floor of the Riverside Heights complex the building wasn't even finished yet bare concrete floors exposed wiring in the walls paint half done nobody should have

been in there but that wrapper sat there metallic surface catching the beam of my flashlight I'm not new to security work 15 years on various sites from malls to construction when Riverside Heights hired me 3 months ago to watch their luxury apartment complex during the Final Phase of construction I figured it would be an easy gig walk the floors check the doors make sure no teenagers were sneaking in to smoke or spray paint the walls simple the wrapper bothered me more than it should have construction Crews had finished that section last week the cleaning team

went through on Friday that rapper wasn't there during my Sunday night night rounds I'm sure of it I picked it up checked the expiration date printed on the back still good for another year I made a note in my log and kept walking could have been anything maybe one of the contractors sneaked up for a snack maybe the wind blew it in through an open window but something about it felt wrong Wednesday night two more wrappers in 4B plus an empty bag of chips this time they were underneath the plastic sheet covering the new kitchen

countertop someone had been there moving things around the plastic was draped different than before I called my supervisor Mark anyone authorized to be in 4B after hours negative he said place is sealed until the final inspection next month why I told him about the rappers he sighed probably just workers leaving their trash write it up and I'll talk to the site manager but workers would have used the break room two floors down they wouldn't have snuck into an unfinished unit to eat and they definitely wouldn't have hidden their trash under that plastic Thursday I changed

my rounds hitting the fifth floor first instead of last nothing in 4B at 10 p.m. nothing at midnight at 2 a.m. I found a shirt cheap polyester blue stained under the arms crumpled behind the toilet it was still damp with sweat I drew my flashlight and cleared every room checking the closets behind the plastic wrapped up appliances everywhere someone could hide the apartment was empty but someone had been there recently enough to leave behind their sweaty shirt I started spending extra time on the fifth floor the building was quiet at night just the hum of

temporary lighting and the occasional rattle of tarps in the wind I'd stand in the hallway listening for footsteps or movement nothing Friday an empty water bottle rolling across the floor of 4B when I opened the door door Saturday granola bar wrappers stuffed into a corner of the master bedroom closet Sunday a wated up paper towel with fresh blood spots the blood got Mark's attention he came by Monday morning to check it out himself could be innocent he said but I could tell he was worried worker Cuts himself uses a paper towel forgets to throw it

away for 5 days straight different trash every night always in the same unit he walked the apartment with me everything looked normal at first glance but when we really started checking we found more signs scuff marks on the floor that the cleaning crew had definitely buffed out last week finger smudges on the Windows a corner of carpet padding pulled back slightly like someone had been looking underneath all right Mark said finally I'll talk to the property manager about setting up some cameras in the meantime document everything if you find anyone up here call the the

police immediately don't try to handle it yourself I nodded but we both knew cameras would take days to approve and install whatever was happening in 4B it was happening now that night I brought an extra flashlight and a new pack of batteries at 10 p.m. 4B was clean no new trash no signs of disturbance I checked every hour nothing changed until 3:00 a.m. the door was still locked when I arrived for my hourly check but as soon as as I opened it I knew someone had been there the air felt different warmer stuffier with a

faint smell of body odor a fresh Apple Core sat on the kitchen counter Brown at the edges but not yet fully oxidized someone had been there within the last hour I did another sweep more thorough this time the closets were empty nothing under the plastic sheets no one behind the stacks of drywall in the second bedroom but in the master bathroom the mirror had a fresh handprint visible only when my flashlight hit it at the right angle I called the police they sent two officers but by the time they arrived the apple core had turned

completely Brown they took pictures wrote a report and told me to call again if I saw anyone they didn't dust for prints the next week was more of the same every night more evidence would appear between my rounds food wrappers water bottles once a used Band-Aid with fresh blood blood but never any sign of how they were getting in or out I checked the windows all locked and we were five stories up anyway the door showed no signs of tampering the only other entrance was the fire escape but I had a clear view of that

from my security station no one had used it I started varying my rounds changing the timing doubling back unexpectedly nothing I'd find fresh signs that someone had been there but never caught them in the ACT Mark and installed motion sensors on Thursday basic ones that would send an alert to my phone they went off constantly triggered by wind moving the plastic sheets or bits of debris shifting after 2 days of false alarms I turned them off that's when things escalated Saturday night I found a sleeping bag stuffed behind some boxes in the master bedroom closet

it was cheap the kind you'd get at Walmart and it smelled used next to it was a plastic shopping bag containing a toothbrush deodorant and a clean t-shirt someone wasn't just visiting unit 4B they were living there I called Mark then the police this time they took it more seriously the sleeping bag meant someone was officially squatting they brought in a K9 unit but the dog just circled the apartment whining too many chemical smells from the construction materials they said the police suggested sealing the unit Mark agreed they changed the locks put tamper evident tape

across the door frame and and installed a real motion sensor a good one connected directly to the police department 3 days passed no alerts no signs of Entry the tamper tape remained intact I started to relax then Wednesday night I opened the door for my 2 a.m. check the tamper tape was unbroken the new locks were still secure but sitting in the middle of the living room floor was a McDonald's bag receipt still attached time stamp 1:27 a.m. less than an hour ago I backed out immediately and called for backup four officers responded this time

they cleared the apartment room by room guns drawn nothing no one just that McDonald's bag with its impossible receipt the officer in charge questioned me for over an hour how secure was the building who had access to the Keys had I ever fallen asleep on duty left the floor unattended given anyone unauthorized access no no and no I showed them my log showed them the security footage from the hallway no one entering or leaving except me during my rounds showed them the intact tamper tape and unmarked locks they took the McDonald's bag as evidence promised

to dust for prints check security footage from the restaurant maybe get some answers I haven't heard back that was yesterday tonight's my first shift back after giving my statement the police added extra patrols but they can't watch the building all night that's still my job it's 1:00 a.m. now I'm standing outside unit 4B key in hand the tamper tape is intact the motion sensor is armed everything looks normal but I can hear something inside not much just the faintest scrape of movement like someone trying very very hard to be quiet I should call it in

wait for backup that's protocol instead I put my key in the lock turn it slowly push the door door open the living room is dark my flashlight beam cuts through empty air catching dust Moes swirling in its path nothing moves nothing makes a sound but there's a fresh footprint in the construction dust near the kitchen the tread looks like cheap sneakers and it's pointing straight at me I step inside letting the door swing shut behind me the footprint is there clear as day in my flashlight beam just one print like someone took a single step

and then what vanished the air feels thick warm recently Disturbed that body odor smell is back stronger now mixed with something else fear sweat maybe the kind of sour smell people give off when they're trapped my flashlight catches something else in the kitchen on the counter a piece of paper I crossed the room slowly shoes crunching on drywall dust it's a note written in shaky ballpoint pen on the back of a receipt please I can't leave the paper is still warm from someone's hands movement behind me just the slightest shift of weight on floorboards I

spin around flashlight beam cutting through the darkness for just a second I think I see something duck into the master bedroom a shadow a shape gone too fast to be sure I key my radio this is Peterson I need backup at the lights go out not just my flashlight everything the whole building goes dark in the sudden silence I hear breathing not mine somewhere in the darkness of unit 4B someone else is breathing waiting and then they start to move the first beep was so faint that I almost missed it during my midnight rounds just

a single quiet pulse that seemed to come from somewhere beyond the newly painted walls of the Pediatric Ward I checked my pager out of habit nothing the sound didn't match the steady Rhythm of the vital signs monitors in my patients rooms either it came again barely audible but distinct drawing my attention to the dark Corridor that led to the hospital's old Wing I shouldn't have been hearing anything from that direction the entire section was scheduled for demolition next week stripped bare of equipment months ago when we moved everything to the renovated Wing the hospital administration

had even posted do not enter signs at every entrance complete with yellow caution tape that maintenance had to keep replacing because curious medical students kept tearing it down the hallway stretched out before me lit only by the dim emergency lights that we couldn't shut off without killing power to essential areas my footsteps echoed against the bare walls the standard issue rubber soles of my white nursing shoes squeaking against the old lenium floor the beeping grew slightly louder as I approached still faint but regular now every 3 seconds like a cardiac monitor marking a slow steady

heartbeat the sound led me to room 427 the number plate hung crooked on the door half scraped clean of the previous patient's name card the door hinges creaked as I pushed it open the sound bouncing off the empty walls A Rush of cold air hit my face the room temperature had to be at least 10° lower than the hallway I fumbled for the light switch but nothing happened when I flicked it the backup generators weren't supposed to power this section anymore the only illumination came from the hallway emergency lights and a faint blue glow emanating

from the far corner of the room I pulled out my phone and turned on its flashlight the beam revealed bare walls stripped of their wallpaper exposed electrical outlets and marks on the floor where a hospital bed had once stood but in the corner impossibly sat a fully functional patient monitoring system the screen displayed clear Vital Signs heart rate 42 BPM blood pressure 9060 oxygen saturation 98% the leads and sensors hung loose not connected to any patient yet the numbers kept updating in real time I approached the monitor my shoes crunching on bits of Fallen plaster

the equipment looked brand new not like the older models we'd cleared out during the renovation the manufacturer's label showed a production date from 3 months ago someone had to have brought this in recently but that made no sense the wing had been sealed off for demolition prep and new equipment worth thousands of dollars wouldn't just be left in an abandoned room the steady beeping continued as I examined the machine no dust had settled on its surface unlike everything else in the room I reached out to touch the screen and a jolt of static electricity shocked

my finger the display flickered for a moment and the numbers changed heart rate 150 bpm blood pressure 180 100 oxygen saturation 75% warning alerts started flashing red I stepped back my own heart racing now the monitor's alarms grew louder the kind of urgent beeping that usually meant a patient was crashing but there was no patient just empty air where a bed should have been my phone's flashlight beam caught something moving in the corner of my eye I spun around but the room remained empty the Shadows seemed to shift and dance along the walls cast by

the flashing red warning lights from the monitor the temperature dropped even further I could see my breath forming clouds in the beam of light the door slammed shut behind me with a bang that made me jump I rushed to it and grabbed the handle but it wouldn't turn the metal felt Ice Cold against my palm I pulled harder throwing my weight backward but the door remained firmly shut the monitor's alarms reached a fever pitch now showing numbers that weren't humanly possible heart rate 250 BPM blood pressure 220 140 oxygen saturation 10% the screen began to

flicker rapidly casting strobing Shadows across the room my phone's flashlight started to dim the battery dropping from 80% to 15% in seconds I pounded on the door with my fist hey anyone out there I need help my voice sounded muffled as if the room was absorbing the sound the emergency lights in the hallway had gone dark leaving only the pulsing red glow from the monitor a scraping noise started behind me like metal being dragged across the floor I turned slowly pressing my back against the door in the strobing light I saw the monitor starting to

move on its own in inch by inch sliding across the floor toward me the leads and sensors wed like snakes reaching out into the empty air my phone died completely plunging the room into darkness broken only by the monitor's harsh red warning lights the temperature had dropped so low that ice crystals were forming on the walls I couldn't feel my fingers anymore and my breath came in short panicked gasps that froze in front of my face the scraping sound grew louder as the monitor continued its inexurable approach the vital signs on the screen changed again

now matching my own racing heart and elevated blood pressure exactly though nothing was connected to me the leads stretched out further reaching for my chest and arms I threw myself at the door again slamming my shoulder against it repeatedly the wood began to crack under the assault the monitor was less than 3 ft away now it sensors almost touching me with one final desperate Push the door frame splintered and I burst out into the hallway I ran without looking back my footsteps thundering against the floor the beeping faded behind me but I didn't slow down

until I reached the newly renovated Wing I collapsed against the nurses station gasping for air my scrub soaked with cold sweat are you okay Sarah one of the night shift nurses rushed over to help me up you look like you've seen a ghost I opened my mouth to explain but the words wouldn't come how could I describe what had just happened they'd think I was crazy I'd think I was crazy if someone told me the same story I'm fine I managed to say just thought I heard something in the old Wing probably just the demolition

prep Crew moving things around Sarah frowned the demo crew doesn't work nights nobody's supposed to be in that section at all right I said straightening my scrubs must have been my imagination then but I knew what I'd seen the rest of my shift passed in a blur of routine tasks and Vital sign checks on real patience every time I heard a monitor beep I flinched when Dawn finally arrived I practically ran to my car I called in sick the next night and the night after that on the third day I drove past the hospital and

saw that demolition had begun on the old Wing the wrecking ball had already taken down the section where room 427 had been a week later I finally worked up the courage to return to work the old Wing was completely gone reduced to a pile of rubble being cleared Away by heavy machinery nobody mentioned finding any medical equipment in the debris the new wing hummed with activity monitors beeping their normal rhythms patience coming and going I never told anyone what happened that night who would believe that a monitor came to life in an abandoned room that

it tried to connect itself to me that it knew my Vital Signs without touching me sometimes I convinced myself it was just stress and an overactive imagination but late at night when I'm alone on my rounds I still hear Phantom beeping coming from empty rooms and I never ever investigate strange sounds anymore the demolition team finished clearing the site last month they're building a new parking structure where the old Wing stood but sometimes when I park my car there for the night shift I swe I can still hear a faint beeping coming from underground and

my car's Electronics always seem to act up in that spot the radio turns to static the dashboard lights flicker the battery drains faster than it should yesterday they installed new patient monitors in the ICU topof the line equipment the same model I saw that night in room 427 I requested a transfer to the day shift immediately let someone else deal with whatever wakes up in empty rooms at midnight I've learned my lesson about curiosity in hospitals some doors should stay closed some sounds should go uninvestigated and some rooms should stay empty but sometimes when I'm

checking the vital signs of my patients I notice the numbers on their monitors matching my own heart rate exactly for a split second just a brief glitch there and gone so fast I might be imagining it probably just a coincidence at least that's what I tell myself and if the monitors seem to beep a little louder when I walk past if the leads twitch slightly when I'm changing them if the screens flicker just a bit when I touch them well that's just faulty equipment right nothing more than electrical interference and an overactive imagination but I

keep a close eye on those monitors now and I never turn my back on them especially when they're turned off because I know what can happen in empty rooms with unplugged equipment I know what lurks in abandoned wings of hospitals waiting for Curious staff members to investigate strange sounds and sometimes late at night when I'm trying to sleep I wonder about room 427 what if the monitor wasn't destroyed in the demolition what if it's still down there somewhere buried under the concrete of the new parking structure still beeping still waiting still hungry what if it's

calling out to its newer brothers and sisters up in the ICU teaching them how to wake up how to reach out how to hunt I've started looking for a new job something far away from hospitals and medical equipment something with no monitors no sensors No Electronic Vital Signs because I know what I saw that night no matter what I tell myself or others and I know that somewhere out there in some empty room in some quiet Hospital a monitor is beeping softly in the dark waiting for someone to investigate the beeping is getting louder I

got the call at 8:47 a.m. on a Tuesday Mrs Henderson in 4B complaining about water in her basement again third time this month her voice crackled through my phone higher pitched than usual talking about puddles appearing overnight and Furniture getting ruined standard stuff I thought probably just groundwater seeping in through the foundation like last time I grabbed my toolbox from the maintenance office and headed over the morning was cold my breath making clouds in the air as I walked across the parking lot the leaves had started falling creating wet patches on the sidewalk building four

was the oldest in the complex built in the 1960s with those typical basement storage units that always had moisture problems Mrs Henderson met me at her door she was still in her bathrobe hair uncombed fingers gripping her coffee mug too tight her hands shook as she led me to the basement stairs it's worse than before she said and something's not right down there the furniture I didn't move it but it's all wrong I flipped the light switch at the top of the stairs the fluorescent tubes flickered three times before staying on casting that harsh white

light that makes everything look worse than it is the air coming up from below felt colder than it should have even for a basement in October the steps creaked under my work boots as I went down first first thing I noticed was the smell not the usual musty basement odor but something sharper like pond water mixed with rust the concrete floor at the bottom of the stairs was dry but I could hear water dripping somewhere deeper in Mrs Henderson's storage unit was in the back corner as I walked toward it my footsteps echoed differently than

they should have the sound bounced wrong off the walls like the space was bigger than I knew it was I'd been down here hundreds of times but something felt off about the Dem ions I reached her storage cage and stopped the padlock was still secure but inside nothing was where it should have been the old armchair she kept covered in plastic was balanced on top of three stacked boxes leaning at an angle that defied gravity her wooden bookshelf had been turned upside down but the books were still on the shelves like someone had flipped it

while everything was glued in place see what I mean Mrs Henderson's voice made me jump I had heard her follow me down I didn't touch any of it it was normal yesterday I swear I pulled out my flashlight and shined it into the corners of the cage that's when I saw the first puddle it was perfectly round about 2 ft across sitting in the middle of the concrete floor but there were no pipes overhead no obvious source for the water and the concrete around it was completely dry I unlocked the cage and stepped inside the

water in the puddle was clear but deep deeper than it should have been I couldn't see the bottom when I shined my light into it a few feet away there was another puddle identical to the first and another beyond that forming a pattern that made my eyes hurt if I tried to follow it when did you first notice this I asked keeping my voice steady around 6:00 this morning I came down to get some winter clothes and she hugged herself the coffee mug pressed against her chest the first Furniture was like this and there was

just one puddle then but they keep appearing I've been watching every hour or so there's a new one I crouched down next to the nearest puddle and reached out with my voltage tester just to be safe No reading I touched the water with my finger it was ice cold but more than that it felt heavy somehow like Mercury instead of water when I pulled my finger back it left no wet mark on my skin the dripping sound was loud now but I still couldn't locate the source it seemed to come from all directions at once

like the walls themselves were weeping I stood up and studied the furniture again physics said that armchair should have toppled over but it stayed perfectly still balanced on its impossible perch I need to check the other storage units I said see if anyone else is having issues I tried the next cage over the lock clicked open easily too easily since I hadn't used used my keys inside the space was empty except for a single wooden chair it sat in the center of the unit facing the back wall I was certain this unit belonged to Mr

Grayson in 4A and it had been full of boxes last week when he moved in the dripping got louder a new puddle formed at my feet the water seeming to seep up through solid concrete the surface tensed and bulged upward for a moment like something was trying to push through from Below Mrs Henderson I said I want you to go back upstairs call the building manager and tell him we need a plumber actually call several plumbers I'll stay down here and I turned around she was gone the basement stairs ended in a blank wall where

the door should have been the fluorescent lights flickered in the momentary Darkness I heard something Splash in one of the puddles when the lights came back on the chair and Mr Grayson's unit had turned to face me water dripped from its wooden seat but the drops fell upward Vanishing into the ceiling I backed away moving toward where I knew the stairs had to be my flashlight beam caught movement in Mrs Henderson's storage cage the armchair had shifted slightly adjusting its balance on the boxes as I watched one of the books in the upside down bookshelf

slid out and hung suspended in the air the temperature dropped my breath came out in thick white clouds now ice crystals formed along the edges of of the puddles but the water inside stayed liquid swirling with slow deliberate patterns the dripping sound had become a rhythm like a heartbeat heard through a wall I reached the place where the stairs should have been and pressed my hands against the concrete it felt soft almost organic my fingers left indentations that slowly filled with water the wall pulsed under my touch a loud crack echoed through the basement I

spun around the storage cages had begun to fold in on themselves metal bars bending at impossible angles water poured from every joint and seam but instead of falling it flowed sideways and upward creating geometric patterns in the air the armchair and Mrs Henderson's unit finally moved it Rose from its perch on the boxes floating like a leaf in an invisible current the plastic cover rippled and fell away revealing upholstery that wried like living tissue it turned slowly until it faced me and I saw that the pattern on the fabric had changed it now showed dozens

of tiny faces all with their mouths open in silent screams my flashlight flickered and died the fluorescent lights followed plunging the basement into total darkness in that moment I heard something large moving through the water the splashing came from all directions surrounding me then a sound like wooden joints creaking and the soft scrape of furniture being being dragged across concrete I fumbled for my phone hands shaking so badly I almost dropped it the screen lit up casting a weak blue glow that reached maybe 3 ft in front of me in that small circle of light

I saw that the floor had changed the concrete had taken on the texture of skin rising and falling with slow breaths the scraping sounds got closer my phone's light caught the edge of something moving a chair leg a table corner the edge of a bookshelf the furniture was closing in forming a circle around me water flowed up the walls and across the ceiling connecting in patterns that hurt my eyes to look at I backed up until I hit the wall where the stairs should have been my phone screen started to flicker in the strobing light

I saw the armchair float closer the faces in its upholstery had begun to move turning to track my movements behind it other pieces of furniture Rose into the air chairs table shelves all twisted into wrong angles all moving with terrible purpose the phone died in the perfect Darkness I felt something cold and wet touch my shoulder it had the texture of fingers but too many of them and they moved in ways fingers shouldn't move the dripping sound had become a roar drowning out my own panicked breathing then light returned harsh and sudden I was standing

at the bottom of the basement stairs Mrs Henderson stood at the top her hand on the light switch still holding her coffee mug did you find anything she called down the water damage I looked around the storage units were normal the furniture sat properly on the floor no sign it had ever moved the concrete was dry but in Mrs Henderson's unit her armchair had been moved it now sat facing the cage door and a dark water stain spread across its seat cushion in the sh of a handprint call a plumber I said surprised by how

steady my voice sounded actually call several and don't come down here again not alone not ever I climbed the stairs quickly trying not to run at the top I turned for one last look a single puddle had formed in the center of the basement floor as I watched a ripple spread across its surface like something Far Below had shifted in its sleep I slammed the door and locked it through the wood I could hear the dripping start again forming a pattern that almost sounded like Words Mrs Henderson was saying something about insurance and water damage

but I barely heard her I was already walking away my keys jingling too loudly in my shaking hands I had 15 other maintenance calls to make that day but they would have to wait I drove straight to the building manager's office and dropped my keys on his desk I quit I said he started to protest but I was already walking out the door in my rearview mirror I could see building four getting smaller just before I turned the corner I thought I saw something dark moving behind Mrs Henderson's basement window it looked like water flowing

upward but it could have been a shadow I never went back to check 3 days later I read in the local paper that building 4 had been evacuated due to structural concerns the article mentioned unusual water damage in the basement and unexplained phenomena that Engineers couldn't account for Mrs Henderson was quoted about furniture moving on its own and strange sounds coming from below they ended up demolishing the building the crew that tore it down quit halfway through claiming their equipment kept malfunctioning and they found puddles of water in sealed rooms the basement they filled with

concrete pouring it until it overflowed using twice as much as the space should have been able to hold sometimes I drive past that lot late at night it's empty now just a flat expanse of concrete with warning signs and chain link fence around it but after it rains puddles form on the surface perfect circles of water arranged in patterns that don't match the way water should flow I don't slow down when I pass by I don't look too closely at those puddles and I definitely don't stop to listen on quiet nights when the only sound

is water dripping in places where there shouldn't be any water at all I've taken other maintenance jobs since then but I always check my contract carefully now and I never ever take calls about water in the basement the first time I saw it I told myself it was just exhaustion Playing Tricks on my mind working nights at a construction site 50 mi from nowhere does that to you but I can't explain away what happened after that not the footprints not the missing tools not any of it I've been doing night security at construction sites for

15 years usually in the city where the biggest problems are teenagers trying to steal copper wire or homeless people looking for shelter but this job was different from the start the Morgan Creek Dam project way up in the mountains no cell service just me and the emergency radio connecting me to civilization the company paid triple my usual rate which should have been my first warning sign the previous Night Guard had quit without notice after just 2 weeks the site supervisor told me the guy had personal issues I didn't ask questions money's money the first week

was normal enough I'd arrive at 600 p.m. check in with the day crew as they left then start my rounds the site was huge a half finished Dam stretching across the valley temporary offices equipment yards and material storage areas spread out over 20 acres the portable light towers created islands of harsh white light leaving Deep Shadows between them the rest was darkness and Wilderness I had my routine walked the perimeter every 2 hours check the equipment yard monitor the security cameras in the main office make sure none of the machines had been left running simple

stuff that changed on my eighth night I was doing my 2 a.m. round when I saw it a figure standing motionless at the edge of the light from Tower 3 near the Eastern equipment yard tall maybe 6 and 1/2 ft too far away to make out details just a dark shape against the darkness I reached for my flashlight hey this is private property the figure didn't move didn't react at all I started walking toward it my boots crunching on the gravel I'm armed security you need to leave now now I wasn't actually armed company policy

but they didn't need to know that 20 yard away now still no movement the hair on my neck stood up something wasn't right about the way it was standing too still like a statue last warning I'm calling the police 15 Y close enough to see it better in the light Tower's glare the figure was wearing dark clothes heavy boots a worker's hard hat 10 yards my heart was pounding now the figure's proportions were wrong somehow arms too long neck at an odd angle 5 yards I raised my flashlight beam to its face there was no

face I froze the beam of light passed through empty air where the figure had been standing a second before just empty space and the night beyond the light towers reach I spun around sweeping the flashlight in all directions nothing no sound of footsteps no movement in the shadows just the constant hum of the generators powering the lights my hands were shaking as I keyed the radio Bas this is Reynolds anyone else supposed to be on site tonight static then the dispatcher's voice negative Reynolds Just you out there everything okay I hesitated yeah just thought I

saw something probably nothing I finished my r checking every shadow twice found nothing unusual by Sunrise i' had almost convinced myself it had been a trick of light and fatigue then I went to sign out in the main office and saw the mud Footprints big ones leading from the Eastern equipment yard to the office door the mud was still wet which made no sense it hadn't rained in over a week I followed them inside they went straight to the tool storage room the door was locked just as as I'd left it during my rounds but

when I opened it I knew something was wrong the room had been organized meticulously the night before company policy now tools were missing from the pegboard walls a chainsaw two demolition hammers a concrete saw heavy equipment too heavy for one person to carry quietly I checked the security cameras all eight cameras showed nothing but empty sight all night no movement no Intruders just the Footprints and the missing tools I reported it to the site supervisor when he arrived he didn't seem surprised same thing happened last month he said not meeting my eyes and the month

before that always on the night of a new moon always the same tools taken they show up again a few days later caked in mud and something else something that smells like rot why didn't you tell me this when you hired me he Shrugged would you have taken the job I almost quit right then should have quit but the money was too good and something about it got under my skin I needed to know what I'd seen the next few nights were quiet too quiet no Wildlife sounds No crickets no owls nothing just the wind

and the generators I started noticing other things too the light towers would flicker sometimes all at once even though they were on separate circuits tools would be in different places than where I'd left them even when I was sure I'd been the only one in the storage room then came the scratching I heard it first in the main office while reviewing camera footage a slow deliberate sound coming from inside the walls like something with claws trying to get in when I put my hand on the wall I could feel the vibrations but as soon as

I pulled out my flashlight to investigate it stopped the scratching followed me every night in different parts of the site inside the portable toilets under the equipment trailers Behind the Steel storage containers always stopping just before I could pinpoint it I started taking photos of everything at the start of my shift tool positions equipment locations tire tracks in the mud comparing them to the end of my shift small changes a wrench moved 6 in to the left a hard hat turned around on its hook surveyor Stakes driven deeper into the ground the day crew noticed

nothing unusual whatever was happening it only happened at night a week after I saw the figure I found the first message scratched into the paint on the office door in crude Jagged letters get out the site supervisor painted over it before the day crew arrived didn't even ask about it just another thing they were trying to hide two nights later I found another message this time carved into the wooden handle of a shovel we were here first I started researching the site's history the dam project had been delayed for years by environmental protests and legal

challenges before that it had been pristine Wilderness but going back further I found references to an old mining operation in the 1880s the records were spotty but they mentioned an accident a cave in 27 miners trapped underground bodies never recovered the cave entrance had been dynamited shut the exact location was never recorded but looking at the old maps overlaid with the dam plans I realized something that turned my blood cold the Eastern equipment yard where I first saw the figure was built right on top of where the mine shaft would have been I brought this

to the site supervisor he refused to discuss it said if I had concerns about site history I should take it up with corporate his hands were shaking as he said it that night the temperature dropped 30° in 10 minutes the generators powering the light tower started sputtering one by one the Lights Went Out plunging sections of the sight Into Darkness I was doing my rounds when it happened the backup batteries in the towers should have kicked in but they didn't my flashlight beam seemed weaker than usual barely penetrating the darkness then I heard it Footsteps

in the gravel behind me heavy boots slow deliberate I spun around nothing there but the footsteps continued circling me getting closer the beam of my flashlight caught movement multiple figures emerging from the Shadows six seven eight of them all wearing old style mining clothes all Too Tall limbs too long all wearing hard hats that covered their faces in Shadow they formed a circle around me just at the edge of my light's reach not moving not breathing just standing there with their heads tilted at impossible angles my radio crackled to life through the static I heard

voices multiple voices speaking in unison this is our place our tools our ground the deep dark below belongs to us the static grew louder drowning out everything else my flashlight flickered and died in the darkness I heard movement the crunch of many boots on gravel getting closer I ran blind in the darkness stumbling over equipment and materials behind me the footsteps kept pace never getting closer never falling behind just steadily following I made it to the main office slammed the door locked it grabbed the backup flashlight from my desk in its beam I saw them

standing outside every window still not moving still silent their hard hats now tipped back revealing faces that were nothing but black holes with teeth the scratching started again not in the walls this time under the floor getting louder more intense the whole office began to vibrate the floorboards cracked mud began seeping up through the gaps dark thick mud that smelled of rot and old metal I kicked out a window on the faride from the figures and ran again ran until I reached my truck didn't stop until I was 10 m mil away I called the

site supervisor from a gas station pay phone told him I quit they all quit he said sounding tired we'll mail your final check that was 3 months ago the tools showed up a week later in the local police station's parking lot caked in mud and rust and things I don't want to think about the dam project is still going they hired a new Night Guard then another and another the turnover rate is high but they keep finding people desperate enough to take the job sometimes I think about going back not for the money but because

I need to know what they are what they want why they let me leave when the miners before them never got to leave but then I remember those faces those empty holes with teeth and I remember what the second message said they were there first and maybe in some way I don't understand they're still there still working their claim in the deep dark below still using their tools still walking their rounds in the night and I know that some questions are better left unanswered last week I got a letter no return address inside was a

single piece of paper with words scratched into it in familiar Jagged letters we miss you night Watchmen come back to the Deep we saved you a place I burned the letter changed my address but sometimes at night I hear scratching in my walls and when I look out my window I see bootprints in mud that wasn't there before they're waiting for me and somehow I know that sooner or later I'll go back because that's what the deep dark does to you it gets in your head under your skin and it never really lets you go

but for now I work days in the city under the sun and I try not to think about what walks the night rounds at Morgan Creek or why the damn project is taking so much longer than planned or how many more night guards will quit before they finally finish it if they ever finish it some places don't want to be built on some grounds don't want to be disturbed and some shifts aren't meant to be worked by the living that's what I tell myself anyway it helps me sleep most nights the digital clock on my

phone showed 11:47 p.m. when the elevator stopped between the 32nd and 33rd floors I pressed the emergency button but nothing happened no alarm no response just dead silence that's when the floor indicator started showing numbers that didn't exist in our 40-story building I'm James Chen it support at Meridian Financial Group I should have gone home hours ago but a server migration kept me late now I stood alone in this elevator watching impossible numbers flash across the display 54 67 83 the elevator moved again but not up or down it felt like it shifted sideways which

isn't possible the sensation made my stomach Lurch when the doors opened I wasn't on any floor I recognized I stepped out into what looked like an office from the 1980s the carpet was brown shag and bulky beige computers sat on metal desks cigarette smoke hung in the air a woman with big hair and shoulder pads typed at a keyboard but when she turned toward me her face was blurry like a photo out of focus hey I called out my voice echoed strangely the woman didn't respond she kept typing on a computer that showed green text

on a black screen the elevator dinged behind me I jumped back inside just as the door started closing my heart pounded against my ribs the floor indicator now showed 12b the elevator moved again this time with a grinding noise I'd never heard before my hands shook as I pressed the lobby button repeatedly nothing happened the display changed to 19x when the doors opened again I saw our modern office but something was wrong dead plants littered the floor dust covered everything papers were scattered everywhere and chairs l toppled through the windows I saw a red sky

and what looked like ruins where neighboring buildings should have been the air felt hot and stale a sound came from down the hall shuffling footsteps I hit the closed door button hard enough to hurt my finger the doors shut just as something rounded the corner something that walked like a person but wasn't shaped quite right my breathing came in sharp gasps sweat ran down my back the elevator moved again and the display showed symbols I didn't recognize the next floor looked like our office from last week I saw myself sitting at my desk working late

the other me didn't look up when I called out I watched myself check my phone sigh and start packing up to leave I knew exactly when this was the night before the server migration started I stepped fully into the office hey I shouted at myself the other Mii walked right past me toward the elevator my shoulder brushed against his and the world tilted a spike of pain shot through my head I stumbled back into the elevator dizzy and nauseated the other me had vanished the display now showed the next floor opened onto a vast server

room I'd never seen before rows of black cabinets stretched Into Darkness red warning lights flashed silently the air felt electric making my skin tingle as I watched the servers began to melt dripping like Wax onto the floor I slammed the close door button my phone showed 11:47 p.m. it hadn't changed since this started I tried calling security but there was no signal the screen flickered and died the elevator stopped again this time the doors opened onto our office lobby but underwater fish swam past the security desk seaweed waved where the potted plants should be water

lapped at the elevator threshold but didn't flow in I could see movement in the murky distance something large with too many fins floor after floor showed impossible scenes our office during what looked like World War II with sandbags at the windows and propaganda posters on the walls our office has a greenhouse trees growing through the ceiling Vines covering everything our office has a crime scene yellow t tape and numbered markers everywhere but no people my watch still said 11:47 p.m. my phone remained dead I'd lost count of how many floors I'd seen the next stop

showed our office as it normally looked but empty on my desk sat a cup of coffee steam Rising my jacket hung on my chair my computer screen showed an error message timeline Divergence detected attempting to reconcile I approached my desk slowly The Coffee Cup was mine I recognized the chip on the handle the coffee was still hot on the screen the error message changed multiple instances detected initiating emergency protocol the building's fire alarm suddenly blared to life Red emergency lights began flashing I ran back to the elevator but the doors had already closed the floor

indicator showed error in red text I pressed the call button nothing happened I could hear heavy footsteps approaching from the stairwell the door handle began to turn the elevator dinged the doors opened I dove inside just as something entered the office something tall and dark that moved like stop motion animation the elevator plunged downward faster than before the display flashed random numbers and symbols my stomach lurched into my throat the cables screamed when the doors opened again I saw myself stepping into the elevator at 11:47 p.m. just starting this whole nightmare the other me looked

tired ready to go home after a long day of server migration work he I hadn't yet noticed anything wrong I tried to shout a warning but no sound came out the other me pressed the lobby button our eyes met for a split second the other me's expression changed from tired to terrified the doors slammed shut the elevator shook violently I fell to my knees the display showed every number and symbol it had shown before cycling faster and faster then everything stopped the doors opened onto the lobby the real Lobby the night security guard looked up

from his desk everything okay Mr Chen thought I heard the elevator acting up I stepped out on shaking legs my watch showed 11:48 p.m. my phone came back to life buzzing with delayed notifications fine I managed to say everything's fine I walked to my car in the parking garage everything looked normal but as I drove home I checked my rearview mirror more than usual and when I got home I took the stairs to my apartment instead of the elevator the next day at work nobody else seemed to notice anything strange the server migration had gone

perfectly but sometimes when I'm working late I hear the elevator make that grinding noise again and sometimes just sometimes S I see numbers on the display that shouldn't exist I take the stairs now all 27 flights I tell people it's for the exercise but last week I saw something strange in the stairwell just for a moment through the window I saw that red sky again and now when I check my phone late at night it sometimes shows 11:47 p.m. no matter what time it really is I've started looking for a new job something on the

ground floor because I know what happens at 11:47 p.m. in tall buildings I know about the wrong floors the ones that don't exist but are there anyway the ones that show you things you shouldn't see and I know that somewhere in some version of that elevator I'm still riding up and down opening doors onto impossible floors trying to find my way back to the right timeline sometimes late at night I wonder if I ever really left the first call came 3 weeks ago I remember because it was my first night shift alone at Midwest customer

Solutions after training the caller knew my mother died when I was 12 nobody at work knew that nobody in my life knew that except my sister and she passed away last year I sit at my desk now staring at the clock on my computer screen it's 1:58 a.m. my hands are sweating the phone will ring in 2 minutes it always does I started this job because I needed the money the night shift paid better and I figured dealing with angry customers at 2 a.m. was worth the extra $3 an hour the training was basic how

to use the systems how to talk to customers how to follow the scripts everything seemed normal until that first call the cubicle walls around me are gray and plain the office is almost empty at this hour there's just me two other operators on the far side side of the room and Marcus the supervisor who spends most of his time in his office watching Netflix the fluorescent lights buzz overhead the air conditioning makes everything too cold 1:59 a.m. my heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat I've tried calling in sick on

previous nights Marcus threatened to fire me if I missed another shift I've tried to trace the number it always shows up as unknown I've tried to record the calls the recording system shows static every time the phone rings the same number unknown my hand shakes as I move the mouse to accept the call I have to answer it's my job if I don't Marcus will write me up again thank you for calling Midwest customer Solutions this is David how can I help you today the voice is always the same female older scratchy like she smokes

too much David Sullivan 1255 Oak Street Apartment 3B born September 15th 1992 at St Mary's Hospital in Chicago my throat tightens ma'am I need to know how I can assist you today your mother bled out in the bathtub on July 8th 2004 you found her you were wearing a blue Cubs T-shirt with a ketchup stain on the collar you never told anyone about the note she left you burned it in the backyard that night my hands are shaking harder now she's right about the shirt right about the note I never told anyone about burning it

not even the police who are you you have a scar on your left knee from when you fell off your bike at age seven you told everyone at school you got at fighting a dog but really you were trying to impress Jessica Martinez by riding with no hands sweat runs down my back the office feels colder what do you want you wet the bed until you were 10 your father used to hit you with his belt when it happened that's why you can't sleep without the bathroom light on even now I grip the edge of

my desk stop you steal small things from stores sometimes candy bars pens last week you took a magazine from Walgreens and didn't pay for it you like the rush it makes you feel in control my chest feels tight how does she know these things I've never told anyone about the Ste dealing it's my secret shame why are you doing this your sister Sarah didn't really die in a car accident last year she killed herself you knew she was depressed but you ignored her calls that week because you were too busy with your new girlfriend the

guilt eats at you every day tears burn in my eyes please stop you dream about her three times a week in the dreams she's trying to tell you something but you can never hear her words you wake up crying and don't go back to sleep I want to hang up but every time I've tried that before the phone just Rings again and again until I listen to everything she has to say your girlfriend Emily is cheating on you with her coworker Mike they meet at the Motel 6 on Reynolds Road every Thursday during her lunch

break you saw her car there last week but told yourself it was someone else's my stomach lurches I did see Emily's car at that Motel I've been trying to convince myself I was wrong you have $432 17 in your checking account right now your rent is due in 3 days and you're short $200 you're thinking about asking your Aunt Linda for money but you're too ashamed because you still haven't paid her back from last time the accuracy of these details makes me dizzy I checked my balance an hour ago it was exactly that amount at

age 15 you killed your neighbor's cat by AC accident when you were practicing driving in your dad's car you buried it behind the garage and let everyone think it ran away Mrs Henderson put up missing posters for months she cried every time she saw you my hands are trembling so badly I can barely hold the phone these are things I've never spoken aloud things I've tried to forget stop please I can't you have a mole on your lower back that's getting bigger you're worried it might be cancer but you can't afford to see a doctor

sometimes you stand in front of the mirror and take pictures of it with your phone comparing them to see if it's growing I touched my back instinctively I took another picture just this morning who are you how do you know these things your father isn't really in Florida he's in prison in Indiana for fraud you tell everyone he retired to Tampa because you're ashamed you haven't visited him once in 3 years each revelation feels like a punch to the gut every secret every shame every hidden thing I've tried to bury what do you want from

me you have a knife in your desk drawer you brought it to work two weeks ago because you thought you might need protection from me but you know it won't help I look at the drawer the knife is there hidden under some papers you're going to die soon David Sullivan very soon and nobody will miss you because you've pushed everyone away you'll die alone in your apartment and it will be 3 days before anyone finds you my heart is racing so fast I think it might explode that's not true you can't know that you're running

out of time David the pain in your chest isn't anxiety the headaches aren't from stress the dizziness isn't because you skip meals you should have gone to the doctor months ago but now it's too late I have been having chest pains and headaches and dizzy spells why are you telling me this because someone has to because you need to know because the truth always comes out in the end please just tell me who you are look at your computer screen David I glance at my monitor the time reads 3:33 a.m. that's impossible it was just

2: a.m. a few minutes ago how did you check your phone I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the call display no active call call no record of any call in the system my hands are shaking as I check the call logs nothing between 2 a.m. and now no unknown numbers no incoming calls at all I stand up my legs weak the office is empty Marcus's office is dark the other operators are gone their computers are turned off my chest hurts really hurts a sharp stabbing pain that radiates down my left

arm I reach for my cell phone to call 911 but my fingers are numb I can't grip it properly it falls to the floor the pain is intense now I can't breathe the room is spinning I try to call out for help but no sound comes out my knees Buckle the last thing I see is the computer screen changing the time display disappears replaced by text goodbye David Sullivan say hello to your mother for me everything goes black I wake up in a hospital bed 3 days later the doctors tell me I had a massive

heart attack they say if the cleaning lady hadn't found me when she did I would have died I try to tell them about the calls about the voice about everything she knew they give me psychiatric referrals and prescribe anti-anxiety medication I quit my job at the call center I moved to a new apartment I changed my phone number but every night at 2 a.m. my phone rings unknown caller and every night I answer because now I know something she doesn't I survived I changed the future she predicted I'm still here but she knows other things

new things things that are going to happen things I need to hear even though they terrify me last night she told me about the drunk driver who's going to run a red light tomorrow at the corner of fifth in Maine at 8:47 a.m. she told me which route to take to avoid it the night before she warned me about the carbon monoxide leak in my new apartment building I called maintenance they found the problem and fixed it before anyone got hurt I don't know if she's trying to help me or torment me maybe both but

I know I'll keep answering when she calls because sometimes the scariest things aren't the secrets from our past but the truths about our future the phone is ringing now it's 2: a.m. again I answer it hello David the voice says are you ready to hear what happens next I am God help me I am I should have known something was wrong the moment I saw that handprint on my door at 3:00 a.m. the night shift at the warehouse had been normal just moving boxes checking inventory the usual mind numbing work but that handprint it was

bigger than any human hand I'd ever seen and it looked like it had been pressed into the metal of my apartment door not just left there with paint or dirt my head hurt from lack of sleep and I just wanted to crash probably some kids messing around I told myself unlocking the door and stepping inside the apartment was dark and quiet everything exactly where I'd left it 12 hours ago I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter kicked off my steel toed boots and headed straight for the shower the hot water helped ease my tired

muscles I dried off pulled on a clean t-shirt and boxers and fell into bed sleep came fast and heavy bang my eyes snapped open the sound came from the kitchen like someone had slammed a cabinet door the digital clock on my nightstand showed 4:47 a.m. I lay perfectly still listening the apartment was dead quiet for about 30 seconds then I heard it the sound of drawers being opened and closed slowly methodically one after another my throat went dry I lived alone nobody else had keys to my place I reached for my phone on the nightstand

but my fingers found empty space then I remembered I'd left it charging in the kitchen another drawer opened the sound of metal utensils rattling my heart pounded against my ribs as I eased out of bed the floor creaked under my feet and the Sounds in the kitchen stopped immediately complete silence fell over the apartment I had a baseball bat in my closet moving as quietly as possible I retrieved it gripping the handle so hard my Knuckles turned white the bedroom door was open just a crack showing a slice of the dark hallway leading to the

kitchen more silence then footsteps heavy ones but not like shoes or boots on the floor more like bare feet wet bare feet slapping against the lenium I raised the bat and edged toward the door the the footsteps grew closer moving down the hallway toward my room but something was wrong with the Rhythm it wasn't the normal Left Right pattern of human walking it was irregular like the feet were hitting the ground at odd intervals a shadow passed through the slice of hallway visible through the door crack my chest tightened the shadow was too tall too

wide to be human and it moved wrong the footsteps stopped right outside my bedroom door I could hear breathing now wet raspy breathing that sounded like it was coming through a throat full of liquid the door began to swing open slow and steady I raised the bat higher ready to swing but when I saw what stood in the doorway my arms went limp it was tall so tall its head nearly touched the ceiling its skin was a sickly gray color stretched too tight over an emaciated frame but its proportions were all wrong the arms hung

down past its knees ending in hands bigger than dinner plates hands that matched the print on my door its legs bent backward at the knees like a bird's and its face the face had no features except for a mouth that split its head from ear to ear filled with row after row of needle sharp teeth dark liquid not water too thick to be water dripped from its chin onto my carpet I couldn't move couldn't breathe the thing's mouth opened wider than any mouth should be able to open and that wet breathing got louder the smell

hit me then like rotten meat and stagnant water it took a step into the room the backward bent legs made its movement jerky and unnatural those massive hands swung at its sides fingers twitching my survival Instinct finally kicked in I swung the bat as hard as I could it connected with the thing's ribs with a solid thunk but the bat just bounced off like I'd hit a concrete wall wall the impact sent vibrations up my arms making me drop the weapon the creature didn't even Flinch instead it reached for me with one of those huge

hands I ducked under its arm and ran my shoulder slammed into the door frame as I bolted past it but I barely felt the pain pure adrenaline drove me down the hallway toward the front door behind me I heard it moving those wet footsteps speeding up getting closer I reached the front door and grabbed the handle it didn't turn turn the door wouldn't open I looked down the dead bolt was unlocked the chain wasn't on but the door wouldn't budge like it had been welded shut the footsteps stopped hot breath hit the back of my

neck smelling like Decay slowly I turned around it filled the hallway from floor to ceiling now somehow even larger than before that grotesque mouth smiled showing rows of teeth that went all the way down its throat one one massive hand reached for me I dove to the side rolling across the living room floor my shoulder hit the coffee table sending magazines scattering the creature followed its head brushing against the ceiling leaving wet marks on the white paint I scrambled to my feet and ran for the kitchen my phone was still there on the counter charging

I grabbed it fingers trembling as I tried to dial 911 the screen was Black dead impossible it had been charging for hours a shadow fell over me I turned to see the creature filling the kitchen doorway its body contorted to fit through the opening those hands reached for me again fingers spreading wide enough to wrap around my entire torso I grabbed the first weapon I could find a knife from the dish rack the blade was still wet from washing I slashed at the nearest hand the knife cut deep into the gray flesh but instead of

blood black water poured from the wound it splashed onto the floor hissing and steaming where it touched the creature made a sound then a high-pitched Keening that made my teeth vibrate and my ears pop the wounded hand withdrew but the other one shot out faster than I could react fingers like steel cables wrapped around my chest squeezing the air from my lungs the creature lifted me off the ground effortlessly it pulled me closer to that terrible face the mouth opened wider and wider jaw unhinging like a snakes the stench of death rolled over Me In

Waves row after row of teeth gleamed in the dim light from the window in Desperate panic I stabbed the knife into its wrist more black water gushed out running down my arm where it touched my skin it burned like acid I screamed in pain the creature's grip loosened for just a second I twisted free landing hard on the kitchen floor black water was everywhere now eating holes in the lenium steam filled the air carrying that rotting smell I ran for the bathroom the only room left with a door I could close behind me the creatures

Keening grew louder making the windows rattle in their frames I slammed the bathroom door and turned the lock knowing it wouldn't hold for long the bathroom window was small but I might be able to squeeze through I climbed onto the toilet and reached for the latch the door exploded inward showering me with splinters a hand bigger than my entire head reached through the doorway I lost my balance and fell cracking my head against the sink everything went fuzzy I lay on the bathroom floor blood trickling down my face looking up at the creature as it

squeezed its massive body through the doorway its mouth opened once more but this time something else emerged from its throat a long black tongue that wried like a living thing the tongue touched my leg instant searing pain shot through my body I tried to scream but no sound came out my vision started to go dark around the edges the last thing I saw was that massive mouth descending toward my face rows of teeth stretching into Infinity then everything went black I woke up in my bed sunlight streamed through the windows for a moment I thought

it had all been a nightmare then I saw the holes was eaten into my carpet by the Black Water the splintered remains of my bathroom door the handprint pressed deep into the metal of my front door now visible from the inside too that was 3 days ago I haven't slept since then every night at exactly 4:47 a.m. I hear those wet Footsteps in my kitchen every night they get closer to my bedroom I've tried staying at hotels sleeping in my car even just driving all night but no matter where I am when that time comes

I hear those footsteps last night I found another handprint this one pressed into the hood of my car tonight will be the fourth night I don't think I'll survive to see a fifth the Sun is setting now in a few hours it'll be 4:47 a.m. again I can already hear water dripping somewhere in my apartment the sound is getting louder The Crickets stopped first then the frogs in the 3 years I'd lived here that had never happened I stood in my backyard at 11:47 p.m. holding Max's leash watching him stare at the tree line his

hackles were up every muscle in his German Shepherd body was rigid I checked my phone again 11:48 p.m. the silence pressed against my ears no wind no rustling leaves nothing come on buddy I said my voice sounded too loud in the quiet do your business so we can go inside Max wouldn't move his ears were forward his tail straight out behind him I'd seen him react to Deer coyotes and the neighbor's cat but this was different he didn't make a sound no growling no barking just staring I swept my phone's flashlight across the trees the

beam caught the white bark of The Birches the dark trunks of the Oaks nothing moved but something felt wrong the darkness between the trees seemed deeper than usual Max's leash went taut as he took three slow steps backward pressing against my legs I felt his trembling through my jeans the rational part of my brain said to go inside that it was just some animal in the woods but my hand was sweating on the leash and my heart hammered against my ribs I took another look at the tree line the flashlight beam seemed weaker now like

the darkness was eating it that's when I saw the first movement a slight shifting of Shadows between two oak trees I blinked hard trying to focus the darkness rippled again like black water Max inside now I started backing up toward the house trying to keep my eyes on the trees the motion stopped but I could feel something watching us the pressure of its attention made my skin crawl we were 15 ft from the back door when Max let out a whimper not his usual whine for attention or food this was a sound of pure fear

I looked down at him for just a second when I looked back up the darkness between the trees had changed it had shape now and depth like a hole had opened in the world my hands shook as I fumbled with the keys to the back door the metal clinked loudly in the silence too loudly the shapee in the trees shifted again it seemed closer though I hadn't seen it move I got the door open and pushed Max inside as I followed him in I heard something that made my blood run cold Footsteps in the grass

behind me not animal footsteps they were too deliberate too heavy and they were getting closer I slammed the door shut and locked it then hit every light switch I could reach the kitchen and living room blazed with light Max ran to the corner and crouched there trembling I grabbed my phone to call someone the police what would I tell them that the darkness was walking the screen showed no signal not low bars no signal at all I tried the landline Dead Silence no dial tone something scraped against the back door a long slow sound like

nails on wood I backed away keep keeping my eyes fixed on the door the scraping moved to the window then it stopped the kitchen lights flickered once twice Max whimpered again I ran to my bedroom and grabbed the baseball bat from under my bed when I came back to the kitchen all the lights were still on but they seemed dimmer the air felt thick hard to breathe the scraping sound started again this time at every window at once like whatever was out there had split into multiple things or maybe had always been multiple things and

they'd just been waiting I checked my phone again 11:52 p.m. only 5 minutes had passed since we'd been outside it felt like hours the lights flickered again longer this time in the moments of Darkness I heard something new a sound like wet cloth being torn coming from the walls when the lights came back on the windows were completely black not just dark black like they'd been painted over over Max started growling the first aggressive sound he'd made all night he was staring at the ceiling I looked up and my throat closed up the darkness was

seeping through the corners where the walls met the ceiling like black ink spreading through water I grabbed Max's collar and pulled him toward the front door we had to get out had to get to the car but when I opened the front door there was only Blackness not night Darkness this was absolute it swallowed my flashlight beam completely we retreated to the living room the darkness was coming through every crack now pooling on the floor like oil the lights were barely working creating islands of dimming yellow in the growing dark Max's growl turned into a

series of sharp barks he was facing the kitchen doorway I turned raising the bat something stood in the doorway it was roughly human-shaped but wrong Too Tall too thin its edges weren't solid they shifted and wavered like smoke but its Center was the darkest thing I'd ever seen darker than the Blackness around it it took a step forward the sound its foot made on the hardwood floor was wet heavy Max's barking stopped abruptly when I glanced at him he was frozen every muscle locked the thing in the doorway tilted what might have been its head

the movement was jerky unnatural like it was trying to mimic human motion but didn't quite understand how it worked my back hit the wall I hadn't realized I was moving backward the bat felt useless in my hands but I gripped it tighter anyway the thing took another step the lights dimmed further I could feel its attention on me like physical pressure the air grew colder it raised what might have been an arm the limb stretched longer than any human arm could reaching toward me its fingers were too long too numerous they moved like tentacles Max

suddenly unfroze and launched himself at the thing teeth bared his Jaws snapped shut on empty air as the figure dissolved into smoke for a moment I thought it was gone then the smoke rushed forward surrounding Max his angry barks turned to Yelps of pain then silence the smoke pulled back max lay on the floor not moving no I swung the bat through the smoke it passed through with no resistance the temperature dropped another 10° my breath came out in white clouds the smoke reformed into the figure closer now close enough that I could see there

was depth to its Darkness like looking into a well that went down forever the cold radiating from it burned my skin I tried to run but my legs wouldn't move the figure reached for me again its fingers brushed my cheek sending jolts of icy pain p through my skull images flashed through my mind endless Darkness shapes that couldn't exist a hunger older than time the lights went out completely I felt more fingers on my face my neck my chest each touch was like being stabbed with an icicle the thing was all around me now I

couldn't see it in the darkness but I could feel it could feel its hunger my heart was beating so fast it hurt I couldn't breathe the cold was inside me now spreading through my veins my thoughts were getting sluggish something warm pressed against my leg Max he was up pressing close whining softly the sound cut through the fog in my head I swung the bat again this time with all my strength it hit something solid the figure screeched a sound like metal tearing like mind's breaking the cold loosened its grip I ran I couldn't see

anything but I knew my house three steps to the front door I slammed into its shoulder first felt it give way Max was right behind me we burst out into the night real night with stars and a quarter moon the crickets were singing frogs croaked in the distance I ran to my car max right beside me my hands shook so badly I dropped the keys twice before getting the door open we got in I started the engine and backed out of the driveway so fast I hit the mailbox as we sped away I looked in

the rear view mirror my house was dark but it was just regular Darkness the thing was gone or at least I couldn't see it anymore I drove to a motel 50 Mi away paid cash Max wouldn't leave my side not even to eat or drink we sat on the bed both of us trembling until sunrise I called in sick to work spent the day making arrangement M ments by noon I had a real estate agent lined up to sell the house by evening I had a small apartment in the city rented month to Monon lease

I never went back to the house hired people to pack up my things told the real estate agent to sell it as is she probably thought I was crazy taking such a loss on the property let her think that it's been 6 months Max and I live in the apartment now the city noises bother him sometimes Sirens traffic people but he doesn't complain neither of us misses the quiet of the countryside sometimes when I can't sleep I think about that night about what would have happened if Max hadn't gotten up when he did about what

that thing wanted what it was but mostly I try not to think about it at all I keep the lights on at night and when I hear the Crickets through my apartment Window I'm grateful for the noise Max still sleeps pressed against my leg sometimes he whimpers in his sleep and I wonder if he dreams about it I wake him up when he does that better not to let those dreams run their course I check the local news from my old town sometimes three houses in my old neighborhood have gone up for sale in the

past 6 months all sold well below market value all the families moved out in a hurry I wonder if they saw it too if it's still there hiding in the darkness between the trees waiting but I won't go back to find out some questions are better left unanswered The Crickets are chirping outside my window right now Max is sleeping peacefully for once the city lights shine through my blinds keeping the Darkness at bay that's enough it has to be enough but sometimes when I'm almost asleep I feel Phantom fingers on my face cold as death

and I wonder if it followed us if it's just waiting for the right moment for me to let my guard down down so I keep the lights on and I listen to The Crickets and I try to convince myself that as long as I can hear them everything is okay but I know better now I know that when the Crickets stop the real darkness Begins the first time I saw someone running between the gravestones at Foster Hillside Cemetery I told myself it had to be another delivery driver taking a shortcut nobody else would be crazy

enough to cut through there at 11:30 p.m. on a Tuesday but delivery drivers don't move that fast and they definitely don't leave those kinds of footprints I've been doing late night deliveries for 3 years now the pay is decent especially with tips and the roads are empty Tuesday night started like any other shift I had a stack of orders from that new tie place down Town mostly going to the college students cramming for finals the GPS kept trying to rot me around Foster Hill Cemetery adding an extra 10 minutes to each trip after the third

delivery I decided to save some time and cut through the Cemetery grounds other drivers did it all the time the cemetery gates were always open some historical preservation rule from back when it was first built in 1843 the narrow Access Road wound between sections of tilting headstones and crumbling monuments my headlight swept across names weathered almost to nothing the shadows of iron crosses and stone Angels stretched out across Browning grass I kept my speed down to avoid bottoming out on the bumpy road the suspension in my Honda Civic wasn't great even when it was new

and that was 140,000 M ago the tie food in my passenger seat filled the car with the smell of pad tie and green curry my stomach growled maybe I'd treat myself to some leftover over tom yum soup if any orders got cancelled about halfway through the cemetery movement caught my eye at first I thought it was just Shadows from my headlights playing across the gravestones then I saw it clearly a figure sprinting between the rows of headstones moving way faster than any normal person could run they crossed about 50 ft of open ground in the

time it took me to Blink I hit the brakes my takeout ORD slid forward and thumped against the dashboard I squ ed through the windshield trying to spot the runner again nothing moved except branches swaying in the wind just tired I muttered brain playing tricks I'd been doing doubles all week to cover for another driver who was out sick lack of sleep could make you see all kinds of weird stuff I started driving again a little faster now the sooner I got through this place the better I kept my eyes locked straight ahead on the

road don't look at the graves don't look for movement in the shadows just drive something flashed past in my peripheral vision this time on the passenger side fast too fast like a video being played at Double speed I jerked the wheel and nearly clipped a marble headstone my heart hammered against my ribs I couldn't help looking this time in the red glow of my brake lights I saw a trail of footprints in the frost covered grass they LED straight toward my car stopping just a few feet F feet from the passenger door the prints were

deep like whoever made them had been running hard really hard I hit the gas the engine whed as I accelerated down the narrow Cemetery Road not caring about the suspension anymore I kept checking my mirrors but all I could see were shadows and stone monuments in the fading red glow of my tail lights the rest of my shift was a blur I delivered the Thai food on autopilot barely registering the customer or their tips by the time I finished my last order at 2: a.m. I'd almost convinced myself I'd imagined the whole thing in the

cemetery sleep deprivation could do strange things to your mind I pointed my car toward home taking the long way around Foster Hill no more shortcuts tonight the roads were empty except for the occasional semi-truck my eyelids felt heavy just 15 more minutes and I'd be home in bed a few blocks from my apartment I had to stop for gas the fluorescent lights of the gas and go made everything look harsh and artificial I was the only customer the night clerk didn't even look up from his phone when I went inside to pay back at my

car I noticed something that made my whole body go cold there were muddy footprints on the passenger side of my Honda they started a few inches from the door and continued along the side of the car as if someone had been running alongside me the mud was reddish brown the same color as the soil in Foster Hill Cemetery I walked around the car in a days following the prince they went all the way to the back bumper then they just stopped like whoever made them had vanished Into Thin Air my hands shook as I opened

the driver's door the inside of the car smelled different under the lingering scent of Thai food there was something else something musty and organic like old leaves in wet Earth I drove home doing exactly the speed limit hand hands clenched on the steering wheel every red light felt like it lasted an hour I kept checking my mirrors but the streets behind me were empty when I finally parked outside my apartment building I ran inside without looking back sleep didn't come easily that night every time I started to drift off i' jerk awake thinking I heard

footsteps running past my second floor window around 4:00 a.m. I finally fell into an uneasy sleep the next morning every everything felt distant and unreal like a bad dream the muddy Footprints were still there on my car but they looked less Sinister in the daylight I told myself there had to be a rational explanation maybe some kid had played a prank while I was delivering food maybe another driver had splashed mud on my car maybe my phone buzzed text from my supervisor driver shortage tonight need you to cover the late shift again time and a

half I st stared at the message for a long time the smart thing would be to say no take a night off get some real sleep but my rent was due next week and time and a half was time and a half okay I texted back I'll do it the sun was setting when I pulled into the Thai restaurant's parking lot to start my shift I had a new rule no cutting through Foster Hill Cemetery no matter how much time it would save I'd take the long way around stick to well-lit streets the first few

hours of my shift were normal students ordering pad tie families getting spring rolls in curry the usual Tuesday night crowd I kept to main roads even when my GPS tried to route me through the cemetery The Detour added time to each delivery but it was worth it for peace of mind around 10:30 p.m. I got an order going to an address right on the other side of foster Hill even taking the long way around would add 20 minutes to the delivery time the customer had already called twice asking where their food was I sat in

my car staring at the GPS the cemetery route would take 7 Minutes the safe route would take 27 the customer was already angry my rating would take a hit too many low ratings and I'd lose my spot in the priority queue for orders this is stupid I said out loud it's just a cemetery nothing happened last night you were tired and seeing things before I could talk myself out of it I turned onto the Road leading to Foster Hills Gates the entrance looked different tonight darker the iron gates cast Long Shadows in my headlights as

I drove through them I felt a pressure change in my ears like when you drive up a steep hill I kept my eyes straight ahead focusing on the access road don't look at the graves don't look for movement just drive get through as fast as possible halfway through the cemetery my phone lost signal the GPS screen went black great just great I knew the route well enough to finish the delivery but being cut off from communication made me nervous the access road curved around a large marble Mausoleum as I turned the corner my headlights swept

across something that made me slam on the brakes Footprints dozens of them maybe hundreds crisscrossing the road ahead of me they were pressed deep into the dirt like they'd been made by someone running at incredible speed and they were fresh I put the car in Reverse to hell with the delivery time to hell with my rating I wasn't staying here another second the engine revved but the car didn't move the wheels spun in place kicking up gravel I looked in my rearview mirror and felt my stomach drop more Footprints were appearing on the road behind

me materializing out of nowhere one after another getting closer to my car I tried to scream but no sound came out the footprints reached my back bumper then they started appearing along the driver's side of the car heading toward the front something moved in my peripheral vision I turned my head slowly fighting against every Instinct that told me not to look a face pressed against my driver's side window a human face but wrong the skin was gray and sunken the eyes were completely black the mouth was stretched into an impossibly wide grin showing too many

teeth I threw the car into drive and floored it the tires caught traction and shot forward in my side mirror I saw a figure running beside the car it was keeping Pace easily even though my speedometer showed 40 mph 50 60 the figures movements were wrong its legs pumped too fast like a video being played at triple speed its arms swung at impossible angles but it matched my car's speed exactly staying right alongside me I I reached the Cemetery Gates doing 70 as I shot through them the figure disappeared just vanished between 1 second and

the next in my rearview mirror I could see Foster Hill Cemetery receding into the darkness nothing moved between the graves my phone came back to life GPS re-rooting to account for my new position the pressure in my ears released normal Street Sounds filtered back in distant traffic a dog barking the hum of power lines I pulled into a gas station parking lot and sat there shaking for 20 minutes when I finally worked up the courage to look there were fresh Footprints all along the side of my car they started at the back bumper and went

all the way to the front wheel well the mud was still wet I called my supervisor and told him I was done for the night family emergency he wasn't happy but I didn't care I drove straight home taking main roads the whole way every every time I stopped at a red light I checked my mirrors for running figures that was 3 days ago I haven't gone back to work haven't answered my supervisor's calls the footprints are still on my car I can't bring myself to wash them off sometimes at night I hear running footsteps outside

my apartment fast footsteps too fast I found a new job today stocking shelves at a grocery store day shift only the pay isn't as good as deliveries but at least I never have to drive through through Foster Hill Cemetery again but here's the thing that really scares me I keep getting notifications from my delivery app even though I deleted it from my phone orders going to addresses on the other side of the cemetery the suggested route always cut straight through Foster Hill and sometimes late at night I see my car's headlights turn on by themselves

I think something followed me home from that Cemetery something that runs too fast and grins too wide something that wants me to go back I'm writing this all down because I need someone to know what happened maybe someone else has seen it too maybe someone knows what it is or how to make it go away all I know is that I'm not making any more deliveries through Foster Hill Cemetery and if you're a driver in this area neither should you take the long way around the extra time is worth it because whatever is running between

those Graves it isn't human and once it notices you it doesn't forget I hear footsteps outside my window now running footsteps I'm on the second floor they're getting closer I heard the footsteps again last night they were right above my head clear as day walking back and forth across the roof of the Riverside Office Building the thing is I've worked here as a janitor for 8 years and I'm the only one with access to that roof the door stays locked I check it three times every night but someone or something keeps getting up there anyway

it started 3 weeks ago I was doing my usual night rounds checking all the doors and windows before leaving at 11:00 p.m. that's when I first noticed the cigarette butts scattered near the air conditioning units on the roof they weren't there during my morning inspection Marlboro Reds I don't smoke I sweep them up dump them in my garbage bag and double check the roof access door the heavy steel door is secured with both a deadbolt and a padlock the keys hang on my belt loop Master set number four issued to me by building management when

I started this job nobody else has copies I've asked the next night more cigarette butts and footprints in the gravel size 11 or 12 work boots different from my size nine sneakers I take pictures with my phone and send them to my supervisor but he just tells me to make sure I'm locking up properly I am every single night tonight started like any other I arrived at 3:00 p.m. for my shift collected my cleaning supplies from the basement storage room and started working my way up from the ground floor 2 floors of offices all the

same empty cubicles conference rooms breake areas vacuum the carpets empty the trash clean the bathrooms wipe down surfaces the routine is Mindless but comforting the building empties out around 6:00 p.m. by 7 it's just me and the hum of the fluorescent lights I like the quiet usually at 9:47 p.m. I'm mopping the 19th floor when I hear it thud thud thud above my head the footsteps are slow and deliberate moving from the south side of the building toward the north my hands hands tighten around the mop handle the steps stop directly overhead I stand perfectly

still barely breathing one minute passes two then the footsteps start again faster this time pacing back and forth my heart pounds against my ribs sweat runs down my back soaking through my uniform shirt I should go up there that's what I keep telling myself just take the stairs to the 20th floor unlock the roof access door and confront whoever it is but my legs won't move the footsteps continue for another 5 minutes then stop silence fills the building again broken only by the drip of my mop in the bucket and my own shaky breathing I

force myself to finish mopping the floor my hands tremble as I ring out the mop head one final time it's 10:15 p.m. when I finally take the service elevator to the 20th floor the hallway is dark except for the red exit signs at each end I flip on my flashlight and walk to the roof access door the deadbolt is still engaged the padlock is secure I press my ear against the cold metal and listen nothing I unlock both locks and push the door open slowly cool night air hits my face the gravel crunches under my

feet as I step onto the roof my flashlight beam sweeps across the empty expanse air conditioning units cast Long Shadows the city light spread out below a grid of yellow and white no one is here but there next to the north Edge three fresh cigarette butts Marlboro Reds still warm I bag them as evidence even though I know my supervisor won't care as I'm straightening up something catches my eye a scuff mark on the ledge like someone sat there dangling their legs over the edge my stomach churns I back away from the ledge and hurry

to the door double check the locks triple check them I practically run through my final tasks wanting to get out of here as fast as possible but I can't stop thinking about those footsteps about the cigarettes about that scuff mark 20 stories above the street the next day I arrive early I need to check something I head straight to the basement and pull out the building blueprints they're old and yellowed but still legible I spread them across my break room table and start studying the roof access points there's the main door I always use a

second door that was permanently sealed during Renovations in 2012 and I squint at The Faded text an old maintenance hatch on the northwest corner that's not even visible anymore supposedly covered by the new HVAC system I spend my lunch break on the roof investigating the area around the largest AC unit sure enough there's a slight gap between the unit's base and the roof surface if someone was determined enough they might be able to squeeze through but that's crazy who would go to that much trouble just to smoke cigarettes on a roof I decide to set

up a trap nothing dangerous just some fishing line strung across the Gap tied to an empty can if anyone crawls through they'll knock it over I'll hear it from the floor below a week passes no footsteps no cigarettes the can stays upright I start to relax maybe they found another spot to smoke maybe I imagined the whole thing then last night happened I was cleaning the 20th floor bathrooms when the can clattered across the roof my heart nearly stopped I grabbed my flashlight and ran to the stairs taking them two at a time the roof

access door was still locked my hand shook so badly I could barely get the key in when I finally pushed it open the beam of my flashlight caught a figure crouching by the AC unit they turned just for a second and I saw their face or where their face should have been there was just darkness a void where features should be then they slipped into the Gap and disappeared I ran back inside slammed the door and called the police they arrived 20 minutes later and found nothing no cigarettes this time no Footprints just my fishing

line scattered across the gravel and the empty can rolled against the ledge they told me to call building security next time building security told me to call call my supervisor my supervisor told me to take a few days off but I can't I need this job and more than that I need to know what's happening up there so here I am sitting in my break room at 3:00 a.m. writing this all down while I wait I brought my camera tonight set up a motion sensor by the AC unit HIIT a voice recorder under some gravel

the footsteps started again 10 minutes ago they're different this time lighter almost playful like whoever whatever is up there knows I'm listening I should go check the door is only 50 ft away I have my flashlight my phone my camera evidence that's all I need proof that I'm not crazy but I can't move my legs are lead my throat is dry the footsteps are getting closer to the door now slower deliberate something scrapes against the metal once twice the handle turns I know I locked it I always lock it but the handle is turning and

there are shadows under the door they come through the walls they always came through the walls I should have checked the walls the banging on my motel room door jolted me awake at 3:17 a.m. my head pounded and the cheap digital clock's red numbers burned into my eyes three loud knocks came again hey man open up it's Dave from last night I sat up in the lumpy bed my t-shirt damp with sweat the voice wasn't familiar I hadn't talked to anyone named Dave last night I hadn't talked to anyone at all come on you said

I could crash here we had a deal my throat went dry the fluorescent light from the parking lot leaked through gaps in the thin curtains casting strips of sickly light across the stained carpet another series of knocks more insistent this way I know you're in there don't act like you don't remember I stood up my bare feet hitting the cold floor the room spun slightly my mouth tasted like stale coffee and cigarettes though I didn't smoke the last thing I remembered was driving into this roadside motel around 8:00 p.m. checking in and falling into bed

after 12 hours on the road nothing else the door rattled in its frame as the man outside hit it again I stepped closer trying to see through the peephole but it was blocked or painted over look the voice said lower now I've got the front desk security footage right here on my phone shows you letting me in at midnight we talked for over an hour you really don't remember my stomach clenched that wasn't possible I grabbed my phone from the nightstand 319 a.m. no missed calls or messages my wallet and keys sat next to it

it untouched everything looked normal but my head felt wrong clouded I'm showing the manager if you don't open up you promised me a place to sleep I pressed my ear to the door the man's breathing was Heavy ragged the hallways ice machine hummed in the background fine I said my voice cracking show me the footage first hold your phone up to the peephole a few seconds passed then can't peees busted come to the front desk with me we'll watch it there no slide your phone under the door that's a $1,000 phone man I'm not sliding

it under any doors you know exactly who I am we spent over an hour talking about my situation last night you said you understood said you'd help me out my hands shook as I double checked the door's security chain and deadbolt both were locked the man outside shifted his weight making the thin floor Creek I'm calling the police I said go ahead I've got proof you invited me in you're the one going back on your word I grabbed my phone and pulled up the camera app 12 new photos from last night appeared in my gallery

my stomach dropped I hadn't taken any pictures the first showed the motel's parking lot at night empty except for my car and a beaten up blue sedan I didn't recognize the next several were blurry shots of the room's interior the TV the bathroom door the window in the final image a man's reflection appeared in the mirror but it wasn't me he was older maybe 50 with gray stubble and a red baseball cap just check the time stamp on those pcks you took the voice said 12:47 a.m. ring any bells cold sweat ran down my back

I opened my recent calls three outgoing calls between midnight and 2 a.m. to a number I didn't know your phone's got the proof too doesn't it he laughed a dry sound you really that drunk you forgot everything I hadn't had a drink in months I scrolled through my text messages nothing new but my browser history showed searches from 1:13 a.m. cheap motels near Highway 16 Identity Theft Protection How to Disappear Completely Last Chance the man said open up or I'm getting the manager I backed away from the door trying to control my breathing the room

felt small the walls pressing in I had to think had to figure out what happened in those missing hours my laptop sat on the room's small desk I opened it the screen was already on showing a local news website the top stories headline made my blood run cold police seek person of interest in gas station robbery the grainy security camera image showed a man in a red baseball cap more knocking harder now time's up you've got 10 10 seconds I grabbed my keys and wallet shoving them in my pockets the window I could break it

run to my car but my legs felt weak unsteady 10 9 8 the desk lamp flickered I noticed something written on the notepad next to it in my handwriting let him in he knows has to end tonight 7 6 my phone buzzed a text from the unknown number remember now 5 4 the lamp went out in the darkness I heard a key card slide into the door's electronic lock the green light blinked on three the dead bolt clicked open by itself two the security chain snapped tot then Broke Free from the wall one the door

swung open the man in the red baseball cap stood in the hallway holding up his phone on the screen security footage played me 6 hours ago smiling as I held the door open for him ready to finish what we started he asked I looked at the notepad again below my message smaller words appeared writing themselves you can't run from yourself the man stepped into the room his face flickered like bad reception becoming mine for a split second before settling back into its older features he closed the door behind him let's talk about last night night

he said all of it the clock read 3:23 a.m. outside my car's alarm began to whale he sat in the room's only chair perfectly still you remember the gas station don't you what happened after you saw me there I pressed my back against the far wall I didn't stop at any gas stations I drove straight here he pulled out a receipt held it up Murphy's gas and go 11:47 p.m. my signature at the bottom you followed me me he said watch me go in saw what I did then you followed me here got the room

next door took all those pictures for evidence smart real smart my phone buzzed again another text from the unknown number check your trunk I didn't follow anyone I said I don't know what you're talking about he smiled his teeth were stained yellow no then why'd you make those calls to the police tip line why'd you write down my plate number I glanced at the notepad again more words had appeared blue sedan PCR 847 you said you wanted to help he continued said you understood about needing money about desperation said you'd keep quiet if I split

it with you that's why you let me in why we talked so long making plans the car alarm kept screaming nobody came to investigate but then you got nervous didn't you started having second thoughts that's when you you really started drinking found that bottle in your trunk my hands went to my temples the pounding in my head got worse I don't drink I said haven't touched it since since the accident he leaned forward since Sarah the name hit me like a physical blow I hadn't spoken it in 2 years how do you know about her

you told me everything last night about the crash about running about trying to start over he stood up about how you never forgave yourself the room spun I slid down the wall until I sat on the floor but you can't run forever he said can't hide from what you've done that's what you said last night right before you passed out right before you gave me your key card and told me to come back I closed my eyes tried to breathe when I opened them he was kneeling in front of me his face flickered again my

face older haunted the gas station robbery I said said how much did you take we took he corrected 4,27 your Cuts in your trunk with the empty bottle in Sarah's picture the one you always carry but pretend you don't my phone buzzed one final time the message showed a photo my trunk open revealing a paper bag full of cash a bottle of Cheap whiskey and a crumpled photograph I thought I'd burned years ago time to face it he said his voice voice was mine now aged by guilt and time time to remember everything the clock

hit 3:33 a.m. the car alarm went silent and slowly horribly I began to remember what I'd done not just last night but two years ago on a rainy Road when I'd had too much to drink and Sarah had trusted me to drive her home the man My Future Self My Punishment sat back in the chair and waited as the memories flooded back as I remembered who I really was who I'd been running from ready to talk now he asked I nodded the weight of 2 years of denial finally breaking yes I said to myself I'm

Ready the sun rose 4 hours later the motel room was empty except for me a half empty bottle and a note in my handwriting same time next year you can't hide forever in the parking lot my the car sat alone the trunk was locked but I knew what I'd find inside the same things I'd been carrying all along running from motel to motel having the same conversation with myself night after night trying to drink away the truth I checked out at 8:00 a.m. the manager said nothing about noise complaints or broken security chains the security

footage showed an empty hallway all night no one had come to my door but as I drove away I checked my rear view mirror a blue sedan followed at a distance its driver wearing a red baseball cap following me to the next Motel the next confrontation until I finally stopped running I checked my phone one last time a new message waited see you tonight I didn't need to save the number I already knew it by heart my own the first thing I noticed was the static it crackled through my car's speakers like Angry insects drowning

out the classic rock station I'd been listening to for the past 3 hours I reached for the dial trying to find a clear signal but there was nothing but white noise on every frequency that's when I heard it my name whispered through the static clear as day David my hand froze on the dial The Voice was soft almost gentle but something about it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up I glanced at the clock on my dashboard 237 a.m. the headlights cut through the darkness ahead Illuminating an empty stretch of Arizona

highway no other cars in sight just desert and cacti on both sides their Shadows Twisted in the Moonlight I hadn't seen another vehicle for at least 40 minutes the last sign of civilization had been a rundown gas station where I'd stopped to fill up and grab some coffee the old man behind the counter had given me an odd look when I'd mentioned I was heading East on Route 60 the static continued but the voice didn't return I tried adjusting the antenna but nothing changed my throat felt dry I reached for my coffee cup but it

was empty the whisper came again louder this time David listen I hit the brakes the car slowed tires crunching on the asphalt my heart was pounding against my ribs I needed to check my phone maybe call someone just hearing another human voice would help clear my head I pulled over to the shoulder put the car in park and grabbed my phone from the cup holder the screen lit up showing one bar of signal there was a notification for an unsent message my stomach dropped when I saw the sender it was my own number with trembling

fingers I opened the message don't stop the time stamp showed it was from 1 minute ago but I hadn't touched my phone in hours I stared at the screen my breath coming in short gasps the radio static suddenly grew louder and through it I heard that whisper Again David behind you every muscle in my body tensed my eyes darted to the rearview mirror at first I saw nothing but Darkness then a pair of headlights appeared in the distance approaching fast I threw the car into drive and pressed press the gas pedal the engine roared as

I pulled back onto the highway the headlights in my mirror grew larger they were getting closer my phone buzzed again another message from my number faster the speedometer crept past 80 than 90 the headlights stayed with me I couldn't make out what kind of vehicle it was the lights were too bright flooding my mirrors with white glare the static on the radio changed pitch becoming a high-pitched wine through it I heard fragments of words like pieces of a broken conversation coming can't let find you my hands were slick with sweat on the steering wheel the

road ahead stretched endlessly into the darkness no exits no turnoff no other cars just me and whatever was behind me the phone buzzed again take the next right there isn't one on the map I laughed a harsh sound that surprised even me take a right there was nothing but desert out there I'd run right off the road into the cacti and rocks the headlights behind me suddenly flared brighter so bright I had to look away from the mirrors the engine of the pursuing vehicle roared louder I could feel it in my bones up ahead I

saw something that made my blood run cold there was a break in the guard rail and Beyond it a dirt road I could swear hadn't been there a moment ago it curved away into the darkness heading North into the desert the phone buzzed now I yanked the wheel hard to the right my car skidded tires screaming on the asphalt for a moment I was sure I'd lose control but somehow I made the turn the car bounced violently as it hit the dirt road my teeth clicking together painfully in my rear view mirror I watched the

mysterious headlights shoot past the turnoff continuing down the highway they didn't slow down or try to follow I kept driving on the dirt road my heart still racing after about a mile I slowed down and stopped the engine ticked as it cooled the radio was silent now not even static came through the speakers my phone buzzed One Last Time get out walk 100 steps North bring the phone I sat there for a long moment my hands still gripping the steering wheel every instinct told me to turn around to get back to the highway and drive

until I found a town a gas station any anything but I got out of the car the desert night was cold my shoes crunched on the gravel as I started walking North counting my steps the moon cast enough light to see by creating sharp Shadows behind every Rock and Cactus at step 98 I saw it a small wooden cross stuck in the ground weathered and gray a piece of paper was nailed to it protected by a plastic sleeve my hands shook as I took it out it was a newspaper clip dated exactly one year in

the future the headline read missing man's body found on Route 60 David Marshall 34 victim of Hit and Run below the clipping was a handwritten note I tried to warn myself last time it didn't work maybe this time will be different the handwriting was mine my phone buzzed one final time this message was different it showed as a draft that had never been sent dated 1 year ago they won't stop until they find someone better the cross than the morg leave this for the next David keep driving West don't look back I stood there in

the desert Darkness the paper trembling in my hands as the sound of distant engines grew louder from the highway the headlights appeared again searching I ran back to my car gravel crunching under my feet the engine started on the first try I turned the car around and headed west on the dirt road away from the highway the radio remained silent and my phone didn't Buzz again as I drove through the night I thought about the David who had left that message the one who had tried to warn himself and failed the one who had become

a headline I drove until dawn stopping only when I reached a small town in California I checked into a motel and slept for 12 hours straight when I woke up I wrote down everything that had happened sealed it in an envelope and mailed it to myself myself with instructions to open it in 11 months that was 3 weeks ago I haven't driven at night since then I avoid empty highways and desert roads sometimes I catch myself checking my phone for messages from my own number but there haven't been any not yet anyway the envelope I

mailed to myself will arrive in 10 months I don't know if I'll need it but I keep thinking about that wooden cross in the desert about the David who put it there and the one who didn't make it I wonder if somewhere out there right now another David is driving down Route 60 in the middle of the night I wonder if he'll hear the static and his name being whispered through it I wonder if he'll stop when he shouldn't or keep driving when he should turn I wonder if he'll understand the warning in time yesterday

I bought a new car I made sure it didn't have a radio I first heard them 3 weeks ago a soft tinkling sound that woke me at 2:47 a.m. I know the exact time because I checked my phone thinking someone was at the door the sound came again distinct metal Chimes clinking together somewhere outside my bedroom window I got up to look expecting to see the neighbors wind chimes moving in a night Breeze there were no Windchimes not in my yard not in any of the neighboring yards and there was was no wind the air

was dead still warm and heavy for October in Connecticut I stood at the window for 5 minutes listening the sound had stopped I went back to bed and lay there in the dark telling myself I'd imagined it or heard something else maybe ice cubes settling in the freezer or the house creaking as it cooled but I knew what I'd heard wind chimes clear as day the next night it happened again 312 12 a.m. the same delicate metallic tinkling slightly louder this time I got up faster went straight to the window nothing moving outside no wind

no Chimes visible anywhere but the sound continued for almost 10 minutes while I stood there searching the darkness my skin got cold despite the warm night air coming through the screen during the day I checked all the yards on our street Mrs Henderson two doors down had wine Chimes on her front porch but they were heavy copper tubes that would make a much deeper sound than what I'd heard no one else had any I even walked around the block looking in backyards where I could see them nothing the third night the Chimes woke me at

1:55 a.m. louder still close enough that they had to be right outside my window I switched on my phone's flashlight and shined it out into the yard the beam caught nothing but my wife's herb garden the wooden fence the maple tree with with its branches stretching over the lawn the Chimes kept ringing a high Sharp singing of metal on metal I went downstairs and out the back door in my boxers and t-shirt the sound was clearer outside definitely coming from the direction of the maple tree I walked toward it phone lights sweeping back and forth

the Chimes grew louder with each step but when I reached the tree and shined the light up into its branches there was nothing there just leaves and empty air the sound stopped abruptly total silence fell I stood under the tree for 20 minutes waiting but it didn't start again I didn't tell my wife Karen about it she was dealing with enough stress at work and I didn't want her losing sleep too but over the next week the pattern continued each night between 1: and 3:00 a.m. the Chimes would wake me each night they sounded louder

and closer each night I searched and found nothing I started taking sleeping pills but they didn't help the Chimes cut through the chemical drowsiness like a knife through fog I installed a security camera pointed at the backyard the footage showed nothing no movement no source for the sound but you could hear it clearly on the recordings proving I wasn't imagining things after 2 weeks I stopped sleeping entirely I'd lie in bed beside Karen waiting for the Chimes to start when they did I'd get up and search again even though I knew I wouldn't find anything

during the day I was a zombie at work making mistakes zoning out in meetings my boss asked if everything was okay at home I said yes knowing I sounded unconvincing the neighbors started giving me weird looks they'd seen me wandering the yard in the middle of the night shining flashlights into trees Mrs Henderson asked Karen if I was having episodes Karen started watching me with concern suggesting I see someone about anxiety or depression last night everything changed the chime started at 2:23 a.m. loud enough to Rattle the windows I got up automatically heading for the

back door Karen stirred but didn't wake she'd gotten used to my nightly wanderings the sound hit me like a physical Force when I stepped outside much louder than before with a sharp almost angry quality to the metallic ringing I walked toward the maple tree no longer needing a light to guide me the moon was nearly full casting everything in pale silver that's when I saw them hanging from the lowest branch of the maple tree was a set of Windchimes I'd never seen before long silver tubes at least a dozen of them suspended from a wooden

disc they were swinging violently despite the complete absence of wind crashing against each other with enough Force to produce the intense ringing that had been haunting my nights I stopped about 10 ft from the tree staring the Chimes seemed to swing even harder as I watched watched as if responding to my presence the sound became deafening drowning out everything else I could feel the vibrations in my chest I took a step closer the Moonlight caught the metal tubes and I saw that they were covered in strange markings not letters or numbers but symbols I didn't

recognize they seemed to shift and change as the Chimes moved making my eyes hurt when I tried to focus on them another step the wooden disc at the top started spinning faster and faster making the tubes whirl in a blur of silver the sound changed pitch becoming higher more piercing my ears started to ring in harmony with it I reached out toward the Chimes I don't know why some compulsion I couldn't fight just before my fingers touched the nearest tube I noticed something dark dripping from the bottom of the wooden disc it fell in thick

drops hitting the grass with a hiss where it landed the grass withered and turned black I yanked my hand back and stumbled away from the tree the Chimes spun faster their ringing reaching an impossible pitch the dark liquid was flowing freely now running down the tubes and spattering the ground smoke Rose where it fell carrying a smell like burning meat I ran back to the house slammed the door and locked it through the kitchen window I could see the Chim still spinning could hear their screaming song the dark liquid had formed a perfect circle on

the ground ground beneath them and nothing grew in that Circle anymore that was 6 hours ago the Sun is up now Ken left for work giving me a worried look when I said I was taking a sick day I'm sitting at the kitchen table watching the maple tree through the window the Chimes are still there hanging Motionless In The Morning Light the grass beneath them is dead black as Ash in A Perfect Circle I don't know what to do I can't leave them there whatever that liquid is it's killing everything it touches but I'm afraid

to go near them again afraid of what might happen if I try to take them down the symbols on the tubes are clearer in daylight they remind me of something I saw once in an old book in my grandfather's study before he died he collected occult manuscripts things he'd find at estate sales and antique shops most of it was nonsense but there was one book leatherbound written in a language I didn't recognize that had similar symbols he called me looking at it and snatched it away locked it in his desk drawer the only time I

ever saw him angry after he died we couldn't find that book the desk drawer was empty I'd forgotten about it until now seeing those same symbols etched into the silver tubes hanging from my tree the wind is picking up the Chimes are starting to move even in broad daylight their sound makes my teeth hurt that dark liquid is beginning to drip again I have to do something have to get rid of them somehow but as I sit here watching them swing I'm starting to think they won't let me starting to think they chose this tree

this yard this house for a reason starting to think they chose me the circle of dead grass is spreading the Chimes Are Ringing louder and I swear in the spaces between the sounds I can hear something like voices calling my name I'm going to try to take them down I've got thick gloves a ladder and some bolt cutters from the garage if I don't update this after if something happens to me at least there'll be a record at least someone will know what happened the Chimes are singing they know what I'm planning they're waiting for

me I'm walking outside now the sun feels cold the voices in The Chimes are getting clearer they're saying my grandfather's name the passenger seat sensor light came on at 2:47 a.m. on a Tuesday I checked the rear view mirror then looked right empty seat but the dashboard kept insisting someone weighing exactly 143 lbs was sitting there I drive nights for Uber and lift in downtown Chicago after 8 years you see everything drunk college kids fighting couples people having mental breakdowns but this was different the app showed a pickup for Marlene Davies 1894 but when I

tried to tap her profile I got an error message user not found the whole thing started on Michigan Avenue right in front of the old water tower it was drizzling the kind of cold October rain that soaks into your bones I just dropped off my Last Passenger and was about to head home when the new ride request came in the Ping showed a 497 rating almost perfect the pickup spot was right where I was parked I waited 5 minutes engine idling wipers squeaking across the windshield no one came I was about to cancel when that

sensor light blinked on at first I figured it was just malfunctioning these cars take a beating things break I reached over and pushed down on the passenger seat the fabric compressed like someone was actually sitting there when I pulled my hand back the impression remained for a few seconds before slowly Rising back up hello I said feeling stupid talking to an empty seat the car's temperature dropped about 10° I could see my breath fogging in front of my face I grabbed my phone to cancel the ride but the app wouldn't let me every time I

hit cancel ride it just refreshed back to the active trip screen the navigation was already running directing me to an address in Lincoln Park this is where any sane person would have gotten out of the car and called it a night but I've got alimony payments and a kid in college I needed the fair plus I'll admit I was curious in 8 years of driving I'd never seen anything like this I put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb the seat sensor stayed on that little icon glowing on my Dash like a

miniature accusation every few blocks I'd glance over but there was nothing to see just an empty seat with an invisible 143 lb weight pressing into it the navigation took me north on Lake Shore Drive at 3:00 a.m. the road was almost empty the lake was invisible in the darkness to my right but I could hear the waves crashing against the Breakwater the rain had picked up drumming on the roof the temperature kept dropping I cranked the heat but it didn't help my hands were shaking on the steering wheel though I told myself it was just

from the cold the radio started crackling with static when I tried to change stations it just cycled through White Noise We turned off Lakeshore onto Fullerton the streets were dark here tree branches hanging low over the road old Brownstones loomed on either side the navigation directed me to stop in front of a three-story Victorian that looked like it hadn't been touched since the 1890s the house was completely dark paint peeling Windows boarded up dead Vines crawling up the walls a no trespassing sign hung crooked on the iron fence according to my phone this was the

destination and ride I asked out loud nothing happened the seat sensor stayed on I pulled up the property records later the house had been abandoned since 1894 when the original owner died in a fire her name was marleene Davies she was 27 years old the front door of the house creaked open no lights inside just absolute Darkness the seat sensor finally clicked off the temperature in the car immed mediately returned to normal I sat there for a long time engine running wipers still going finally I got up the nerve to check the back seat empty

but on the passenger seat where the weight had been I found a single Pearl button old and yellowed with age the kind they used to sew on wedding dresses in the 1890s I drove straight home after that and called in sick the next day spent hours researching the house in Marlene Davies found an old newspaper article about the fire they never found her body in the wreckage the article mentioned she was last seen getting into a carriage late at night wearing her wedding dress she was supposed to be married the next day that was 3

weeks ago I'm back to driving now but I won't go near Lincoln Park at night sometimes when it rains my passenger seat sensor still flickers on and off the Pearl button sits in my glove compartment I don't know why I kept it maybe as proof to myself that it really happened last night I got another ride request different name but same error message when I tried to view the profile the pickup location was the water tower again I canceled immediately and went offline some fairs aren't worth the money I keep thinking about that empty seat

the weight pressing into it 143 lbs of something I couldn't see I've been driving nights in Chicago for 8 years I thought I'd seen everything I was wrong the next day I went to the library and found more articles about marleene Davies turns out she wasn't just another fire victim her fiance had been investigated for her disappearance but never charged they found blood in his Carriage but no body the police at the time figured he killed her and used the fire to cover it up the house on Fullerton wasn't actually her home it belonged to

her fiance the fire started in the basement where they later found evidence someone had been held captive chains bolted to the wall scratches in the wooden pillars the fiance claimed he was out of town when it happened perfect Alibi a week after my experience I drove past the house again during daylight it was just a vacant lot according to City Records the Victorian had been demolished in 1975 but I know what I saw that night I've started noticing things since then the seat sensor activates more often now usually late at night when I'm alone the

temperature drops the radio goes to static but the weight is different each time 160 lb 118 lb 175 lb different pickup locations different destination addresses always houses that aren't there anymore last night I picked up a historian from the Chicago historical society during the ride I casually asked about disappearances in the city during the 1890s she got excited said she was actually researching that exact topic turns out there were dozens of young women who vanished during that period all last seen getting into carriages at night none of their bodies were ever found the passenger seat

sensor just came on again 136 lb this time the app shows a pickup for Catherine Miller 1891 outside it's starting to rain the temperature is dropping my phone's navigation is already running showing a route to an address in the old Stockyards District I should go off line drive home forget about all of this but I keep thinking about those women Decades of searching for answers trying to be found maybe that's what they're still doing looking for someone to help them tell their stories the seat sensor is still on the weight shifts slightly like someone adjusting

in their seat through the static on the radio I can almost make out a voice the navigation screen is waiting I put the car in Drive some fairs you have to take no matter where they lead as I pull away from the curb I glance at the passenger seat again still empty but now I noticed something I missed before tiny water droplets appearing on the leather like tears falling from invisible eyes the dashboard clock reads 2:47 a.m. behind me the city sleeps ahead the streets are dark and empty leading somewhere I'm not sure I want

to go but I keep driving because maybe just maybe these women need more than just a ride maybe they need someone to witness their stories to acknowledge what happened to them to prove they were here that they mattered that they haven't been forgotten the navigation tells me to turn left deeper into the industrial district buildings Loom on either side abandoned factories and warehouses from another Century the rain is falling harder now the radio static has resolved into some something that might be words might be crying I checked the time again 3:33 a.m. the passenger seat

sensor shows the weight has changed to 139 lb through the static I hear what sounds like a woman's voice saying please the navigation shows we're almost there ahead an old Warehouse comes into view according to the nav this is the destination but something's wrong the building looks fresh new like it did in 1891 through the rain streak windshield I can see lights inside movement in the windows the seat sensor clicks off the temperature returns to normal the radio goes quiet on the passenger seat there's another Pearl button and something else a small piece of paper

yellow with age an old newspaper clipping I've never seen before Katherine Miller 19 missing last seen entering Warehouse District late Tuesday night reward offered for information I sit there for a long time engine idling wipers pushing back the rain finally I reach over and pick up the button in the clipping add them to my growing collection in the glove compartment evidence of things that can't be explained proof that some stories refuse to end the navigation has gone dark the warehouse ahead looks abandoned again falling apart but now I know somewhere in there are answers truth

buried under deck of Silence I should drive away go home forget about all of this but I know I won't because tomorrow night or the next another name will appear on my app another weight will press into that passenger seat another story waiting to be heard for now I put the car in reverse back to the streets I know the normal world of living passengers and logical destinations but I keep the Pearl buttons keep the newspaper clippings keep checking the seat sensor every time it activates because in this city not all passengers are visible not

all rides end where they're supposed to and sometimes the most important fairs are the ones that don't show up in the system at all the rain is letting up as I head home but I know this isn't over somewhere out there more women are waiting more stories need to be told and every night at 2:47 a.m. that passenger seat sensor might light up again I'll keep driving keep watching keep collecting those Pearl buttons and newspaper clippings because maybe that's why they chose me not just as a driver but as a witness someone to prove they

existed that they mattered that they haven't been forgotten the city streets are empty now but I know better some passengers you can't see some rides never really end and sometimes the most important destinations are the ones that don't exist anymore I check my rearview mirror one last time before turning onto my street for a second I think I see something a woman in an old-fashioned dress Pearl buttons gleaming in the darkness but when I look again the back seat is empty tomorrow night I'll be back on the road waiting for that sensor to light up

waiting for another name that doesn't exist in the system waiting to learn what really happened to these women one ride at a time because in this city not all ghosts want to scare you some just want a ride home some just want their stories told and some just want someone to remember they were here the passenger seat sensor just flickered again time to go back to work I heard voices through the pipes at first I thought it was just water flowing or the building settling old structures make all kinds of noises but these were different

words muffled conversations coming from inside the walls of apartment 4B I was there to fix a leak in the bathroom pretty routine job the Riverside Apartments were built in 1922 and the plumbing showed every year of its age I'd been doing maintenance there for 8 years long enough to know every squeaky floorboard and Rusty pipe but I'd never heard anything like this before the tenant Mrs Peterson was was out for the day she'd given me the key and asked me to lock up when I finished I pressed my ear against the bathroom wall following the

sound the voices were clearer now a man and a woman talking their words were still too muffled to make out but the Rhythm was unmistakable I knocked on the wall the voices stopped immediately hello I called out nothing I pulled out my phone and checked the building plans according to the blueprint there should just be solid wall between 4B and 4 a but blueprints can be wrong especially in buildings this old I found all sorts of things that weren't in the plans blocked off doorways sealed Windows even entire rooms that had been walled over during

Renovations I got my tools from the truck and started removing the bathroom tiles the grout was crumbling anyway might as well check for water damage while I was at it four tiles in I hit something that didn't feel right instead of solid plaster and La my hammer went through into empty space I widened the hole carefully removing more tiles behind the wall was a narrow Gap maybe 2 ft wide the beam of my flashlight revealed cobwebs and Decades of dust and something else shapes in the darkness that didn't belong I made the opening bigger until

I could squeeze through the space was tight barely wide enough to turn around in the air was stale and thick with dust my flashlight beam caught something metallic on the floor an old tin box about the size of a shoe box next to it was a leather bag cracked and stiff with age the voices had stopped completely now just the sound of my own breathing and the crunch of plaster dust under my boots I picked up the tin box first it was surprisingly heavy the lid was rusted shut but I managed to pry it open

with my screwdriver inside side were stacks of paper money old bills the kind with the big portraits they were bundled with rubber bands that had gone brittle and snapped when I touched them had to be at least a few thousand do there the leather bag was full of jewelry gold necklaces Rings watches all tarnished but clearly valuable at the bottom was a small notebook its Pages Yellow and fragile I shined my light on the first page the handwriting was faded but still readable June 15th 1947 made the drop off at midnight M says we need

to lay low for a while too much heat after the Harrison job money's good though best score yet split three ways comes to $122,000 each not bad for one night's work police still haven't connected the dots papers are calling it a wave of burglaries but they don't know half of it as long as we stick to the plan and keep our mouth shut we're golden my hands were shaking as I turned the pages The Notebook was a detailed record of robberies spanning almost 2 years jewelry stores private homes even a bank names dates amounts stolen

the final entry was from April 1949 something's wrong M hasn't checked in for 3 Days W saw cops watching his place think someone talked need to move the stuff now we'll come back for it when things cool down they never came back the loot had been sitting in this this wall for 75 years I heard Footsteps in the apartment Mrs Peterson must be home early I quickly put everything back in the hiding space and replace the tiles as best I could would need to come back with proper tools to do it right Mr Jenkins are

you still here Mrs Peterson called out just finishing up I shouted back my voice cracking slightly had to open up the wall to check the pipes found some water damage I'll need to come back tomorrow to properly p match it up oh dear is it serious nothing to worry about just old pipes doing what old pipes do I gathered my tools trying to keep my hand steady I'll be back first thing tomorrow with the right materials I drove home in a days my mind racing there had to be at least $50,000 worth of cash and

jewelry in that wall maybe more by rights it belonged to the building owner or maybe the police it was stolen property after all but after 75 years would anyone really care the statute of limitations had to be long expired I barely slept that night kept thinking about those voices I'd heard was I imagining things old buildings make weird noises but those were definitely words definitely conversations maybe sound bleeding through from another apartment but the blueprint showed solid wall the next morning I was at the building by 7 a.m. Mrs Peterson let me in still in

her bathrobe my goodness you weren't kidding about coming early she said best to take care of these things right away water damage only gets worse if you let it sit I waited until she left for her morning walk then went straight to the bathroom the tiles I'd replaced were obviously newer than the others I'd need to age them somehow to match but first I had to get another look at what was in that wall the voices started again as soon as I began removing tiles clearer this time they'll find us they always find us shut

up nobody's looking anymore it's been too long I froze the voices were coming from inside the hidden space but that was impossible I'd been in there yesterday it was barely big enough for one person to stand more tiles came off the opening was big enough to shine my light in the box and bag were exactly where I'd left the them but now there was something else footprints in the dust fresh ones leading deeper into the wall that wasn't possible the space was only a couple feet wide and maybe 6 ft long I'd seen the whole

thing yesterday there was nowhere for Footprints to lead to but there they were and they definitely weren't mine I should have sealed up the wall and walked away should have called the police or the building owner should have done anything except what I did next I squeezed through the opening the footprints led to what looked like solid wall at the back of the space but when I pressed against it it moved a hidden door perfectly concealed the voices were louder now someone's here quick hide it I pushed the door it swung open with a grinding

noise Decades of rust protesting Beyond it was Darkness I swept my flashlight beam around the space opened up into a room about 12 F feet square the walls were bare brick the floor concrete and it wasn't empty two figures stood in the corner a man and woman in 1940s clothing both covered in a layer of dust their faces were gray and sunken their eyes dark holes they stared at me without blinking I stumbled backward hitting my head on the low ceiling my flashlight beam passed through them like they weren't there because they weren't there couldn't

be there you weren't supposed to find this place the woman said her voice was like Wind Through Dead Leaves nobody was supposed to find this place the man added we made sure of that I I'm just here to fix the pipes I managed to say my heart was hammering so hard I could barely hear my own voice liar the woman hissed you came back for the money they always come back for the money how many others I asked though I didn't want to know the answer how many others found this place the man smiled showing

teeth that were too white too sharp enough the greedy ones always find their way here but they don't find their way back out I ran dropped my flashlight banged my shoulders on the narrow walls scraped my hands Raw on the rough brick behind me their laughter echoed through the space not muffled anymore but clear and cold I burst out of the wall opening into Mrs Peterson's bathroom trailing dust and cobwebs didn't stop running until I was in my truck engine running hands shaking too bad to put it in gear called the building owner from the

parking lot told him I'd found some water damage that needed immediate attention structural issues the whole wall would need to be opened up get some quotes from contractors he said we'll deal with it next month when the budget frees up I quit that job the same day found work across town maintaining new were buildings with proper Blueprints and walls that stayed where they were supposed to be places where the only sounds in the pipes were water and steam but sometimes late at night I still hear those voices not through walls or pipes but in my

head wondering about the others who found that room the greedy ones the ones who didn't run I dream about that notebook sometimes wonder if there are other entries after that last one from 1949 new entries names and dates of everyone who found that hidden space and its Treasures everyone who got greedy everyone who didn't make it out the Riverside Apartments are still standing still have their original Plumbing still breaking down still needing fixes I drive past sometimes looking up at the windows of 4B sometimes I see shapes moving behind the glass sometimes they wave to

me I never wave back I've thought about telling someone the police the building owner the Historical Society but who would believe me and what would happen to the poor maintenance guy who goes in to verify my story better to let it stay hidden let the voices stay muffled let the dust keep its Secrets but if you're ever doing work in an old building and you hear voices through the walls take my advice fix what needs fixing patch what needs patching and leave everything else alone some spaces are meant to stay hidden some Treasures are meant

to stay lost and if you do find something money jewelry mysterious notebooks just put it back seal up the wall walk away the voices might talk to you might show you things might offer you riches don't listen don't look don't take because the thing about hidden spaces is this they're usually hidden for a reason and sometimes that reason is still there still watching still waiting for greedy people to stumble in I got lucky I ran but those voices those figures in the dark they're patient they've got nothing but time and sooner or later someone else

will hear them through the walls someone else will get curious someone else will get greedy and maybe that someone won't run quite fast enough I should have known something was wrong when I found those scratches around my back door lock 3 weeks ago small things had been disappearing from my house for months a watch here some cash there i' blamed it on my own forgetfulness stupid really stupid it wasn't until I came home from work on a Tuesday and found my living room ransacked that reality hit me like a punch to the gut my TV

was gone my laptop too but what got to me most was seeing my dresser drawers pulled out and dumped on the floor someone's hands had been all through my personal stuff my throat went dry and my hand started shaking as I called the cops they came took photos dusted for prints found nothing useful get some cameras the officer told me and better locks no I spent that night at a hotel couldn't stand to be in my viol ated house the next day I dropped $800 on a security system four outdoor cameras two indoor ones motion

sensors The Works the installation guy worked fast had it all set up by evening each camera uploaded straight to cloud storage I could check from my phone I felt better safer for 2 weeks nothing happened the cameras just showed raccoons knocking over my garbage cans and the neighbors cats skullking around my yard I started sleeping through the night again then it happened my phone buzzed at 3:17 a.m. with a motion alert from the backyard camera I grabbed it hands trembling slightly as I pulled up the feed a figure in a black hoodie was standing motionless

by my back fence face completely hidden in the hood Shadow just standing there staring directly at the camera my chest got tight I hit the panic button on the security app to trigger the outdoor alarm the figure didn't even Flinch at the blaring sound they just slowly raised one hand and waved at the camera then they turned and walked away disappearing into the darkness beyond my yard I called the police they came out found nothing probably just some teenager messing around they said but my gut told me different this felt personal deliberate the next night

another alert 3:17 a.m. again this time time the hooded figure was closer to the house standing beneath my bedroom window again they faced the camera directly again they waved again they vanished when I triggered the alarm this pattern repeated for five straight nights each time at exactly 3:17 a.m. each time the figure was closer to my house each time that same deliberate wave at the camera the police stopped coming out after the third night said they couldn't do anything without evidence of an actual crime I started taking sleeping pills to make it through my work

days bought a gun installed extra locks but none of it helped with the sick feeling in my stomach every time my phone buzzed at 3:17 a.m. on the 6th night I was ready I sat in my dark living room gun in my lap staring at my phone as the minutes ticked by 316 a.m. my hands were sweating the house felt too quiet like it was holding its breath 317 a.m. the alert came my fingers fumbled with the phone the hooded figure was standing on my back porch now right in front of the door they raised

their hand to wave at the camera same as always but this time they didn't leave instead they reached for the door handle I heard the soft click of the lock turning my throat closed up I'd checked that door three times before sitting down I'd installed new dead bolts there was no way the door swung open the figure stepped inside the indoor camera caught them walking straight toward it head tilted up to stare directly into the lens still the hood kept their face in perfect Shadow even with the camera's night vision my hand shook so bad

I almost dropped the gun as I stood up stop right there I tried to shout but it came out as a croak they turned toward my voice stood perfectly still then that same slow wave I fired the muzzle flash lit up the room for a split second when my vision cleared the figure was gone the back door stood wide open letting in the cool night air the police actually came out for shots fired found no blood no evidence anyone had been hit the security footage showed everything exactly as I remembered except for one detail that

made my blood run cold in in the video the back door never opened the figure had walked right through it like it wasn't there I didn't sleep at all that night or the next I sat in my living room alternating between staring at my phone and the back door jumping at every little sound the figure didn't return after 4 days without an incident exhaustion finally W out I passed out on my couch around midnight the buzz of my phone jolted me awake 3:17 a.m. heart pounding I checked the feed the hooded figure was inside my

house standing at the foot of my empty couch I scrambled up gun already raised but the living room was empty I checked every room every closet nothing but when I reviewed the security footage there they were walking through my house looking directly into each camera waving the footage showed them walking right past me multiple times as I searched the house like I was the ghost not them I fled to my parents house the next day stayed there a week every night at 3:17 a.m. my phone would Buzz the footage always showed the same thing the

hooded figure moving through my empty house waving at each camera in turn finally I couldn't take it anymore I had to know I went back to my house determined to confront whatever this was I sat in my living room waiting at 3:16 a.m. I didn't check my phone I just watched the back door 3:17 a.m. my phone buzzed the door remained closed the room remained empty fighting against every Instinct screaming at me to run I forced myself to check the security feed the hooded figure was standing right behind my chair I spun around nothing there

but on my phone screen I watched as they slowly leaned down bringing their hidden face close to the back of my head they reached around me with both hands making a strangling MO otion inches from my throat then they straightened up and waved at the camera I ran drove straight to a hotel spent hours reviewing the footage trying to understand that's when I noticed something that turned my blood to ice water the time stamp on the footage wasn't 3:17 a.m. it was 3:17 p.m. in broad daylight I checked the live feeds in every camera the

hooded figure stood waiting waving even now as I write this they're still there waiting waving always watching the police say the cameras are working fine the security company says there's no evidence of tampering nobody else can see the figure in the footage just me I haven't been back to my house in 3 days I'm in a motel room 50 Mi away but it doesn't matter every time I check my phone every security camera shows the same thing that hooded figure standing staring waving always at 3:17 my hands are shaking so bad I can barely type

I just checked the cameras again the figure isn't in my house anymore they're here standing in this motel room waving at my phone's camera I can see them on the screen right behind me but when I turn around nothing I don't know what to do I can't keep running can't keep watching but I can't look away either it's 3:16 p.m. now almost time for their daily visit my phone is face down on the bed I'm not going to check it this time not going to look at the footage maybe if I just ignore it but

we both know I'm going to look I always look and they'll be there waving just like always here comes the buzz 3:17 p.m. I have to check I have to know I'm picking up my phone now opening the app the figure is there of course waving but something's different this time they're reaching up pulling back their Hood the thing about driving 18 wheelers is that you're never really alone on the road even when you are at least that's what I used to think before that night on I80 through Nebraska now I know better now I

know there's a loan and then there's whatever happened to me out there in the dark have been driving trucks for 23 years started right after high school following in my old man's footsteps made every run you can imagine Coast to Coast border to border dealt with everything from black ice in Montana to hurricanes in Florida never had anything shake me up like this though never had anything make me question my own eyes and mind like what I saw in that mirror it was late October about 2: a.m. I was hauling a load of auto parts

from Chicago to Salt Lake City the schedule was tight had to make delivery by noon the next day the road stretched out empty ahead of me nothing but darkness in the occasional reflector post marking the shoulder my headlights cut through the pitch black showing just enough asphalt to keep moving forward the cab of my Peterbilt was warm against the Autumn chill outside I had the radio tuned to some late night talk show volume low just enough to keep me company the steady hum of the engine and the rhythmic thump of tires on concrete seams had

me in that zone Long Haul drivers know well alert but relaxed focused but comfortable I reached for my thermos of coffee taking a long drink the bitter liquid was lukewarm now but I needed the caffeine still had about 4 hours to go before I'd hit my mandatory rest period the dashboard clock's red numbers glowed 2:17 a.m. that's when I saw it just a quick glance in the rearview mirror the kind you do automatically every few minutes when you drive for a living but something wasn't right there was someone sitting in the sleeper cab behind me

my heart slammed against my ribs I jerked the wheel slightly the truck drifting toward the shoulder before I corrected in that mirror clear as day I could see a man he sat perfectly still head slightly bowed wearing what looked like a dark jacket the dim glow from my instruments provided just enough light to make out his shap shape I whipped my head around twisting in my seat to look behind me the sleeper cab was empty completely empty my sleeping bag was rolled up on the bunk a few clothes hung from hooks but no person no

man in a dark jacket my hands were shaking on the wheel now sweat broke out across my forehead despite the cool air blowing from the vents I forced myself to look back at the road to keep the truck steady count to 10 I told myself you're tired your eyes are playing trick I waited 30 seconds then slowly raised my eyes to the rearview mirror again he was still there hadn't moved an inch same position same bowed head same dark jacket I could see more details now graying hair cut short hands folded in his lap the

image was so clear so solid this isn't happening I said out loud my voice sounding strange and tight in the quiet cab this is not happening I hit the dome light yellow illumination flooded the cabin again I turned to look behind me empty the sleeper cab was completely empty but in the mirror there he sat unaffected by the Light I'd turned on my heart was hammering so hard I could barely hear anything else I pulled onto the shoulder gravel crunching under the tires as I brought the rig to a stop the engine idled roughly I

put it in Park Hands trembling so bad I could barely work the gear shift I unbuckled my seat belt and stood up moving into the sleeper cab area nothing no one I touched the bunk where the figure appeared to be sitting in the mirror the sleeping bag was cool and undisturbed I checked every corner moved everything around completely empty back in the driver's seat I stared at the mirror he was still there hadn't shifted position at all just sitting waiting who are you I asked my voice cracking no response no movement just that bowed head

and folded hands I covered the mirror with my hand counted to 20 removed my hand he remained the rational part of my brain started working overtime trying to make sense of it maybe there was something wrong with the mirror itself some trick of the light or reflection I adjusted it different ways but the figure stayed consistent maintained the same position no matter the angle my phone showed no signal out here in the middle of nowhere Nebraska who would I call anyway what would I say I'm seeing a ghost in my mirror but not in real

life I sat there for maybe 15 minutes engine idling trying to decide what to do I couldn't drive like this constantly distracted by that figure in my mirror but I couldn't just abandoned my truck and cargo either I had deadlines responsibilities finally I reached up and turned the mirror away completely angling it toward the ceiling where I couldn't see anything in it my hands were still shaking as I put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the Interstate I drove like that for the next 20 minutes using just my side mirrors the whole time

my skin crawled with the feeling of being watched every few seconds I had to fight the urge to look at that rearview mirror to check if he was still there the need to know became overwhelming at 305 am. I reached up and adjusted the mirror back to normal position my heart nearly stopped he had moved now he was looking directly at me in the mirror I could see his face clearly maybe 60 years old deeply lined pale skin dark eyes that seemed to stare right through me his expression was blank emotionless just staring I screamed

I'm not ashamed to admit it a raw terrified sound that filled the cab again I jerked the the wheel but caught myself before going off the road my chest felt tight like I couldn't get enough air the next exit was 2 mil ahead according to a sign I pushed the truck as fast as I dared hands clenched on the wheel trying not to look in that mirror again but I could feel those eyes on me could sense that unwavering stare the exit led to a small town just a gas station a diner and a few

scattered buildings the gas station was closed but its lights were on in the empty lot I pulled in brakes hissing as I parked I had to look one more time had to know the mirror showed him still staring but now his lips were moving no sound came out but I could see him forming words I strained to understand to read his lips but couldn't make it out that was enough I grabbed my phone and wallet threw open the door and practically fell out of the cab in my hurry to get away the cold air hit

me like a slap I slammed the door and backed away from the truck breathing hard my breath forming clouds in the fluorescent lights of the gas station for a long time I just stood there staring at my truck everything looked normal from the outside no sign of anything strange Through the Windows just my rig sitting there quiet and dark the diner across the street had a neon open 24hrs sign buzzing in the window I headed for it leg shaky needing to be around other people needing to be somewhere bright and normal a bell jingled as

I pushed open the door the place was empty except for a waitress behind the counter and an old man nursing a coffee in a booth they both looked up at me you okay honey the waitress asked you're white as a sheet I slid onto a stool at the counter coffee please strong as you've got it she filled a mug and set it in front of me my hands shook so bad I had to to wrap them both around the cup to drink bad night on the road she asked I laughed a strange Hollow sound you

could say that want to talk about it I looked at her probably in her 50s kind face name tag that said Betty what could I possibly say how could I explain what I'd seen just tired I guess I said Playing Tricks on my eyes she nodded sympathetically and moved away to refill the old man's car coffee I sat there for over an hour drinking cup after cup trying to convince myself I had imagined the whole thing just fatigue just my mind wandering after too many hours alone on the road but I knew better what I'd

seen had been real as real as the coffee cup in my hands as real as the vinyl countertop I was sitting at the sky was starting to lighten when I finally paid my bill and walked back to the truck Dawn was still an hour away but the black was fading to deep blue in the East everything looked different in that pre- Morning Light more solid more normal I approached the driver's side slowly through the window I could see the interior was empty no sign of anyone or anything unusual taking a deep breath I opened the

door and climbed up into the cab the mirror showed nothing now except the normal view of the sleeper cabin my sleeping bag my clothes hanging up nothing else I adjusted it several times checking all angles nothing relief flooded through me followed immediately by doubt had I imagined the whole thing was I losing my mind I started the engine and pulled back onto the Interstate as the sun began to rise the morning was clear and cold promising a bright autumn day ahead I drove West trying to make up for lost time constantly checking that mirror every

few seconds nothing appeared by noon I had made my delivery in Salt Lake City by evening I had picked up a new load heading east life went back to normal days passed weeks passed I almost managed to convince myself it had been nothing but an exhaustion induced hallucination almost but sometimes now on Long Dark Nights alone on the highway I'll catch movement in that mirror out of the corner of my eye just a shadow a suggestion of movement and I'll remember that face staring back at me those lips moving in silent words I couldn't understand

I've thought about getting rid of the truck finding different work but this is what I know this is what I do so I keep driving keep watching that mirror and keep wondering if he'll come back wondering what he was trying to tell me that night some truckers say the road gets lonely they don't know what lonely really is they don't know what it's like to have company you can see but never touch here or understand they don't know what it's like to be truly alone with something that shouldn't exist I still drive nights still haul

loads across the country but I'm more careful now about checking my mirror and sometimes when the darkness feels especially heavy and the road especially empty I'll angle that mirror up toward the ceiling turn the radio up loud and pretend I'm the only one in the cab even though deep down I'm not sure I'll ever feel completely alone in my truck again again last week I was driving through Nebraska again same stretch of I80 it was about 2: a.m. when I felt that familiar urge to check the mirror I resisted as long as I could but

eventually I had to look he was there same position as the first time head bowed hands folded but this time when he looked up when those dark eyes met mine in the mirror his lips moved again and this time I understood what he was saying your breaks I instantly hit the pedal slowing the rig not a moment too soon through my headlights I saw a deer bound across the highway directly in front of me if I hadn't slowed down I would have hit it at full speed at best it would have destroyed my truck at

worst when I looked back at the mirror he was gone haven't seen him since but now I wonder why did he appear that first time what was he trying to warn me about what else might might he have been trying to tell me I don't have answers probably never will all I know is that sometimes the things we see in mirrors aren't Reflections at all sometimes they're messages and sometimes just sometimes we should pay attention to the passengers we pick up in the night even if they're only visible in that small rectangle of glass above

the dashboard the road is different for me now every mile brings the possibility of seeing him again every glance in the mirror carries the weight of potential meaning am I afraid sure but I'm also grateful that figure in my mirror saved my life so I keep driving keep watching keep wondering because out here on the long dark Highway you're never really alone even when you are the memory card in my CA camera showed 3% battery life when I checked it at 437 a.m. I remember the exact time because those were the last normal moments before

everything changed I stood at the trail head of Miller's Grove State Forest my tripod slung over my shoulder and my backup batteries securely stowed in my jacket pocket the morning air bit at my Exposed Skin with typical January sharpness I'd done this hike dozens of times before wake up at 3:45 a.m. Drive 40 minutes to the park entrance hiked 2 miles to Eagle Point Overlook and set up my gear Before Sunrise amateur photography was my escape from selling insurance policies and Dawn shots were my specialty or at least I thought they were until that morning

the gravel crunched under my boots as I started down the trail my headlamp carved a narrow path through the darkness catching the occasional reflective Trail marker The Familiar scent of pine needles and decaying leaves filled my nostrils a light frost had formed overnight making the ground slightly crunchy underfoot the first mile passed without incident my breath came out invisible Puffs and my thighs burned from the steady incline I kept checking my watch 4:52 a.m. I was making good time sunrise wasn't until 6:43 a.m. which gave me plenty of time to reach the Overlook and find

the perfect composition the trouble started at the split in the trail where the path divided between Eagle Point in Cedar Valley I noticed an odd glow through the trees to my right off toward Cedar Valley at first I assumed it was another photographer who'd gotten there before me but the light moved in a way that didn't match any camera flash or headlamp I'd ever seen it pulsed with a bluish white intensity like heat lightning but contained within the forest canopy the light danced between the tree trunks casting strange Shadows that seemed to twist and Rye

Across The Frozen Ground my first Instinct was to grab my camera whatever this was it would make an incredible shot I switched off my headlamp to reduce any light pollution and pulled out my camera through the viewfinder I could see the lights more clearly they moved in patterns that defied normal physics splitting merging spiraling around Tree Trunks and bouncing off branches the display lit up the forest like some kind of natural disco but completely silent my hands shook as I adjusted the settings ISO 3 200 F2 8 1 160th of a second I snapped several

shots but the LCD screen showed only Darkness with faint blurs the lights were somehow evading capture like they existed outside the camera's ability to record them the rational part of my brain suggested ball lightning or some kind of atmospheric phenomenon but ball lightning doesn't dance in patterns it doesn't move with purpose these lights moved like they were alive like they were performing some kind of ritual in the pre-dawn forest I had to get closer the smart thing would have been to stay on the marked Trail to maintain a safe distance and observe but 20 years

of amateur photography had taught me that the best shots never came from playing it safe I secured my tripod to my backpack and started picking my way through the underbrush toward the lights the ground sloped steeply here and my boots struggled to find purchase on the frost slick leaves I stumbled several times catching myself on tree trunks the bark was rough and cold under my Palms the lights continued their dance about 100 yards ahead maintaining that distance no matter how quickly or slowly I moved my breathing grew heavy from the effort of the off tril

hiking sweat began to soak through my base layer despite the cold I checked my watch again 514 a.m. the Eastern Sky hadn't even begun to lighten yet the darkness between the trees felt absolute except for those mesmerizing lights after another 15 minutes of careful progress I noticed the lights had stopped moving they hovered in a small clearing ahead pulsing with that same otherworldly blue white Radiance I crouched behind a fallen log and raised my camera again the battery indicator now showed 2% but I had to try for another shot the clearing came into Focus through

my viewfinder the light hung about 6 ft off the ground clustered together like a swarm of fireflies but these weren't fireflies each light was about the size of a soft ball and they emitted no heat that I could feel despite their brightness the air temperature actually seemed to dropped the closer I got to them I pressed the shutter button the sound seemed impossibly loud in the Silent Forest the lights reacted instantly scattering in all directions like startled Birds but instead of flying away they began to spiral inward moving faster and faster until they formed a

tight brilliant column of light that stretched from forest floor to canopy the hair on my arm stood up static electricity crackled in the air my camera's LCD screen went black and I felt the battery in my pocket grow hot through my jacket I dropped both just as a high-pitched wine filled the air building in intensity until my teeth achd what happened next happened so fast that my brain struggled to process it the column of light exploded outward in all directions temporarily blinding me when my vision cleared seconds later the clearing was dark again but it

wasn't empty I could see movement in the frost covered leaves Footprints were appearing in the ground one after another as if invisible feet were walking across the clearing but the patterns made no sense they overlapped and crisscrossed some pointing one way other others the opposite direction some were deep like whatever made them was very heavy While others barely Disturbed the surface my heart pounded against my ribs as I watched these Phantom Footprints form they moved faster more chaotically like a fren dance then just as suddenly as they began they stopped the last set of prints

led to the center of the clearing and simply Ended as if whatever made them had vanished Into Thin Air I stayed Frozen behind that log for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes my hands shook so badly I could barely hold my flashlight when I finally worked up the courage to examine the clearing the beam picked out the footprints clearly they were real not a product of my imagination I forced myself to approach them methodically like I was documenting a crime scene the prints varied in size and depth some looked human roughly size

10 or 11 others were smaller like a child s and some some didn't look human at all they were elongated with strange protrusions where toes should be and a shape that suggested whatever made them walk differently than any animal I knew my flashlight beam caught something metallic near the center of the clearing my camera lay face down in the leaves its battery compartment open and empty the spare battery from my pocket was nowhere to be found the camera itself was ice cold to the touch like it had been in a freezer the Eastern sky was

beginning to show the first hints of gray when I finally gathered my courage and Equipment my watch had stopped at 5:14 a.m. its digital display Frozen despite the battery being less than a year old my phone showed 622 a.m. but the screen kept flickering and the compass app spun wildly in all directions I took one last look at the clearing before leaving the footprints remained but they were already starting to fade as the frost melt Ed in the approaching Dawn by the time the sun cleared the Horizon they would be gone completely I had no

photos no evidence nothing but my own recollection of what I'd seen the hike back to my car passed in a blur I stuck to the marked Trail moving as quickly as I dared in the growing light every rustle of leaves made me jump every shadow between the trees seemed to hold movement the forest felt different now like a familiar room where all the furniture had been shifted slightly out of place I reached the parking lot just as the sun broke over the Eastern Ridge my car was the only one there just as it had been

when I arrived but something was different in the frost coating my windshield a pattern had formed not the random crystalline structures of Natural Ice but a series of concentric circles perfectly formed with strange angular symbols between them that I'd never seen before by the time I found my ice scraper in the trunk the sun had risen High high enough to begin melting the frost the patterns disappeared before I could photograph them leaving me with nothing but mental images that seemed to fade more with each passing hour like the memory of a dream I haven't been

back to Miller's Grove since that morning my camera never worked again despite replacing the battery and memory card the photos I thought I'd taken of the lights don't exist on any backup my watch started working again after a few days but it's never kept accurate time since sometimes on cold clear mornings I look out my window toward the forest and think I see flickers of blue White Light Between the Trees but I don't investigate anymore some things in this world aren't meant to be photographed some Mysteries should remain Mysteries the insurance office where I work

overlooks the state forest on slow afternoons I find myself staring out at those trees wondering about what I saw the rational explanations ball lightning swamp gas some kind of mass hallucination they all fall apart under scrutiny the footprints were real the patterns in the frost were real last week a new client came in wanting to ensure his photography business he mentioned he'd been taking Sunrise Photos out at Miller's Grove and had seen something strange lights in the trees he said like nothing he'd ever seen before he wanted to know if our policies covered damage to

photography equipment from unexplained electrical phenomena I sold him our most comprehensive policy but I also suggested he stick to Sunset photos from now on some places are best left unexplored in those dark hours before Dawn when the world isn't quite what we think it is and strange lights dance between the trees leaving only questions and Vanishing Footprints in their wake I still have the tripod I use that morning sometimes when I take it out of the closet I notice it's ice cold to the touch even on the hottest summer days and if I look very

closely at the metal legs I can see Tiny patterns etched into the surface concentric circles with strange angular symbols between them exactly like the ones I saw in the frost on my windshield I've thought about having the patterns analyzed about taking the triod to a lab or a university but I always put it back in the closet instead some questions are better left unanswered some Mysteries should remain just that Mysteries but I keep the tripod as a reminder that what I saw was real that for a few minutes in a frost covered clearing I witnessed

something Beyond ordinary explanation and somewhere out there in the dark spaces between the trees those lights are still dancing waiting for the next photographer foolish enough to follow them into the [Music] unknown my name is David Mitchell and I need to tell someone what's been happening at my office I've typed this out three times already deleting each version because it sounded crazy this time I'm just going to write exactly what happened day by day fact by fact maybe then someone will believe me it started 6 weeks ago I work on the 14th floor of the

Riverside Corporate Center in downtown Seattle nothing special about the building just another glass and steel Tower filled with cubicles and conference rooms I'm an accountant at Parker and Ross Been There 8 years now my office is in the corner with Windows Facing East and North those windows are important they're the reason I haven't slept properly in weeks that first morning I arrived at 7:15 a.m. like always Sarah at reception gave me her usual nod as I swiped my key card the elevator ride was empty most people don't come in until 8:30 or 9 I like

the quiet of early mornings or I used to I noticed it as soon as I reached my office door the East window was open about 4 in not much but enough to let in the October chill my coffee cup almost slipped from my hand I know absolutely know that I closed and locked that window the night before I always do every single night before leaving it's automatic like checking your front door I crossed to the window studying the lock no damage no signs of tampering the mechanism worked perfectly when I tested it I closed the

window made sure it was locked and tried to focus on work by lunch I'd convinced myself I must have forgotten to close it properly the previous evening stupid but these things happen when you're tired the next morning same thing window open 4 in this time I knew I hadn't forgotten I'd specifically checked it twice the night before rattling the frame to make sure it was Secure my hands were shaking as I closed it I went straight to building maintenance the guy at the desk Ron looked at me like I was speaking Chinese when I explained

the situation that's impossible sir he said scratching his beard those windows don't open from the outside they're specifically designed that way for safety and nobody else has access to your office after hours except cleaning staff I insisted he checked the lock mechanism anyway he did thoroughly finding nothing wrong the cleaning staff supervisor confirmed her team hadn't touched the windows they're not supposed to open them at any time for the next week it happened every single morning always the same window always open the same amount I started taking photos on my phone to document it the

cleaning staff changed their schedule to vacuum my office first thing in the morning so I could verify they weren't involved the window still opened I know how this sounds trust me I know I'm an accountant I deal in concrete numbers and provable facts if a client told me this story I'd think they were confused or lying but I know what I'm seeing after 2 weeks I bought a security camera nothing fancy just a basic Wireless model that would record to my laptop I set it up facing the window hidden behind some books on my shelf

the first night I triple checked the window was locked started the recording and left at my usual time the next morning I barely made it through my office door before pulling out my laptop the the window was open of course my hands were trembling so badly I could hardly type my password the video loaded 3:00 a.m. nothing 3:30 a.m. nothing 400 a.m. the window lock clicked by itself no one touched it the mechanism simply turned and the window slowly swung open 4 in no sound except the faint hum of the heating system no visual Distortion

no mysterious shapes nothing Hollywood would put in a horror movie just a window deciding to open itself in the middle of the night I watched it 10 times 20 times looking for wires magnets anything that could explain it there was nothing I'm not ashamed to admit I threw up in my trash can that afternoon I went to my supervisor Karen she's known me for years knows I'm not the type to make up stories I showed her the video she watched it silently face getting paler by the second have you shown this to anyone else she

asked finally I shook my head don't she said not yet let me make some calls the next day two men in suits visited my office they didn't offer names just showed corporate security badges they asked detailed questions about the window the camera setup my daily routine they took copies of all my photos and videos before leaving one of them gave me his card just a phone number no name if anything else unusual happens call immediately day or night that night I stayed late I wanted to see it happen in person around 10: p.m. Karen came

by my office go home David she said quietly please just trust me on this something in her voice scared me more than the window I left the window kept opening every night I kept recording it the videos showed the same thing the lock turning it itself the window opening to exactly 4 in all in complete silence the men in suits came by every few days to collect the new footage they never told me anything after a month I started noticing other things small things my desk chair shifted slightly out of position overnight papers rearranged themselves

one morning I found my coffee mug on the wrong side of the desk I added a second camera to watch the whole office the videos showed objects moving on their own between 3:00 a.m. and 400 a.m. like someone invisible was wandering around my office I requested a transfer to a different office denied I asked to work from home denied Karen wouldn't look me in the eye anymore the men in suits stopped coming by last week I fell asleep at my desk around midnight the sound of the window lock clicking woke me I kept my eyes

closed afraid to move the temperature dropped I heard footsteps light like someone trying to be quiet they crossed behind my chair stopped a hand touched my shoulder a cold hand I ran didn't stop until I reached my car called in sick the next day and the next this morning Karen called said I needed to come back tomorrow or risk losing my job said everything was under control now wouldn't explain what that meant I'm sitting in my home office writing this my phone keeps ringing unknown numbers the window in my study is open 4 in I

know I closed it I have to go back tomorrow I don't have a choice I need this job but I'm leaving this record just in case just in case someone needs to know what happened what's still happening if you work in an office building check your windows before you leave check them twice and if you ever find one open in the morning don't set up a camera don't stay late don't fall asleep at your desk just request a transfer request it before they start denying them I have to go now someone's knocking at my front

door the men in suits are back and my study window just opened another inch the body in the ditch made me slam the brakes that was 6 months ago now I know it wasn't a body at all but I still see that figure every night standing in the same spot right arm stretched out thumb pointing down the road away from Miller's curve I drive a delivery route for Palmer medical supplies night shift 10 hours straight dropping off equipment to nursing homes and hospice facilities across Three Counties the pay is decent and I like the quiet

after Sarah left taking Tommy with her the silence in our house got too heavy at least on the road the quiet feels natural my route takes me down Miller's road every night between 2 and 3 a.m. it's a 20m stretch of asphalt cutting through corn fields and patches of woods no street lights no houses just darkness and the occasional reflector marking the sharp turns the worst is Miller's curve a tight bend around an old oak tree where the road drops 8 fet into a drainage ditch that first night my headlights caught something dark sprawled halfway

down the ditch I hit the brakes hard enough to send boxes of catheters sliding forward in the back of the van the figure looked like a man face down in the mud black coat one arm bent at a wrong angle I grabbed my flashlight and phone already rehearsing what I'd tell the 911 operator but when I walked to the ditch there was nothing there no body no footprints in the mud nothing but Dead Leaves and beer cans I stood there for 5 minutes sweeping my flashlight back and forth the beam caught something White Moving at

the corner of my eye when I turned I saw a tall figure standing at the curve maybe 50 ft away right arm out thumb down I called out no answer I took three steps forward and the figure was gone I convinced myself it was exhaustion playing tricks I'd been pulling doubles that week trying to save up for Tommy's birthday present but the next night same time same curve there it was again standing perfectly still right arm out thumb down this time I kept driving for the next week I saw that figure every night always in

the same spot always in the same pose sometimes I'd catch it in my headlights as I approached sometimes in my rearview mirror after I passed once I thought I saw it running alongside my van keeping Pace at 45 mph but when I looked again the road was empty I changed my route took the long way around adding 40 minutes to my drive but after two weeks of that my supervisor called me in customers were complaining about late deliveries I had to go back to Miller's Road the figure was still there waiting I started asking around

the guys at the truck stopped near Miller's Road knew the stories in 1987 a college student vanished somewhere along that stretch her car was found parked on the shoulder near the curb keys still in the ignition in in 1993 a local man crashed his motorcycle there they never found his body just his helmet cracked open like an egg in 2006 a minivan went off the road the mother and two kids were found 3 days later still strapped in their seats underwater in the flooded ditch the father's body was never recovered I wrote down every detail

made a spreadsheet tracked weather conditions moon phases temperature the figure appeared regardless of rain or clear skies dark moon or full hot summer nights or freezing winter mornings the only constant was the time always between 2 and 3:00 a.m. I installed a dash cam the footage showed nothing but empty road I bought an infrared camera the thermal imaging picked up cold spots where the figure stood but no definite shape I set up motion activated trail cameras along the curve they captured dozens of photos of deer raccoons and one confused looking coyote but no figure last

week I decided I'd had enough I was going to stop talk to it touch it whatever it took to prove to myself I wasn't crazy I left early for my route parked at the curve at 1:45 a.m. killed the engine but left the headlights on the beam cut through a light fog rolling in from the fields I sat there watching the digital clock on my dashboard board tick forward minute by minute 2:17 a.m. movement in my side mirror the figure was there standing closer than ever before I could see details I'd missed from the van

the black coat was actually a long dark dress muddy and torn at the Hem the right arm wasn't just out it was twisted backward at an impossible angle the thumb wasn't pointing down the road it was bent completely backward pointing at the ditch I got out slowly keeping my eyes on the figure the air temperature dropped 20° in three steps my breath came out in white clouds the figure didn't move didn't breathe just stood there face hidden in Shadow arm Twisted thumb pointing 10 ft away now close enough to see that the dress wasn't just

muddy it was soaked through dripping water that vanished before it hit the Asphalt 8 ft the fog thickened swirling around my legs like cold hands 6 feet the figure's head twitched a sharp unnatural movement like a broken puppet four feet I could smell stagnant water and rotting leaves I stopped raised my hand opened my mouth to speak the figure's head snapped up where there should have been a face there was only black water pouring from an empty Hood the Twisted arm shot forward grabbing my wrist the touch felt like plunging my arm into a frozen

lake the thumb pressed into my my palm not skin but something hard and smooth small metal I yanked my hand back and ran to the van drove 20 M over the speed limit until I hit the truck stop sat in the parking lot until my hand stopped shaking enough to open my palm there pressed deep into my flesh was a small brass key I recognized the pattern cut into the head it matched the story about the college students car the one they found abandoned the one they never found the key for I went back the

next night the figure was there same spot same pose but this time I knew what it wanted I parked and walked to the edge of the ditch the fog rolled in right on schedule the temperature dropped but I wasn't afraid anymore I took out the key and held it up the figure appeared beside me the black water face turned toward the bottom of the ditch the Twisted arm pointed down I followed the line of that broken thumb and saw something glinting in the mud something metal something that had been waiting there for 37 years I

climbed down the mud sucked at my boots but I kept going near the bottom half buried in decades of silt was a car most of it had rusted away but I could still make out the shape of a 1980s Honda Civic the key slid into the trunk lock like it had been waiting all this time inside wrapped in plastic was a stack of letters love letters dozens of them all addressed to the missing student all from her married Professor all describing how he would make it look like an accident how he would watch her car

go off the road how no one would ever know but someone did know someone had been waiting all these years for someone to stop to listen to look I called the police they found more than letters in that trunk they found evidence they found answers they found closure for a family that had been waiting 37 years to know the truth I still drive that route every night past Miller's curve past the ditch where they pulled out the car past the spot where the figure used to stand the figure is gone now the arm that pointed

the way the thumb that guided me down the face of black water that had waited so patiently for someone to see but sometimes when the fog rolls in and the temperature drops I catch something in my rearview mirror a shape by the side of the road an arm raised not in a plea for help but in farewell in thanks I don't stop anymore I don't need to the figure found what it was looking for the truth buried in the mud the key to unlock it and someone willing to stop and listen now when I drive

past Miller's curve between 2: and 3:00 a.m. I see only empty road ahead the quiet feels different here not heavy like the silence in my empty house not natural like the quiet of the night shift it feels peaceful like a long wait finally ended like a story finally told I still keep the key not because I need it anymore the police took the letters and everything else as evidence I keep it as a reminder that sometimes the things we think we're seeing aren't what they appear to be at all sometimes what looks like a body

in a ditch is really a signal what looks like a hitchhiker is really a witness what looks like a ghost story is really about Justice the professor goes to trial next month they found more evidence in his house more letters more victims more secrets he thought would stay buried in the mud and water of Miller's curve I gave my statement to the police told them everything except the part about the figure about the Blackwater f face and the Twisted Arm about the cold touch and the key pressed into my palm some things you can't explain

to people who haven't driven that road at night who haven't seen what waits in the fog between 2: and 3:00 a.m. Sarah called last week said she heard about me on the news the delivery driver who cracked a Cold Case who brought a killer to Justice who gave a family answers after 37 years she said Tommy asked about me said maybe they could come visit sometime I told her I'd like that told her I had some stories to tell them not about ghosts or figures in the fog real stories about waiting about watching about stopping

to help someone who needs you even if you don't understand why at first I still drive the night shift still make my deliveries still pass Miller's curve between 2: and 3:00 a.m. but now I watch the empty road ahead instead of the rearview mirror whatever waited there for 37 years years has moved on found peace found Justice sometimes other drivers ask me about the curve about the stories about the figure they swear they've seen standing there with its arm out I just tell them to drive careful to watch the road to remember that not everything

is what it seems at first glance and if they ever see something in their headlights or their rearview mirror something waiting in the fog with an arm outstretched maybe they'll remember my story maybe they'll remember that sometimes the scariest thing isn't what you see in the dark sometimes the scariest thing is what's been hiding in the light all along waiting for someone to stop and look closer to listen to help to bring the truth up out of the mud and water where it's been buried all these years the figure's gone from Miller's curve now but

there are other roads other curves other figures waiting in the dark with their own stories to tell their own truths to uncover all they need is someone willing to stop for for for for for e for for for for for for for for for