May 9, 2026

Backwoods Horror and Road Trip Nightmares: 4 Scary Stories of Gas Stations, Ozark Terror, and Dead-End Towns

Backwoods Horror and Road Trip Nightmares: 4 Scary Stories of Gas Stations, Ozark Terror, and Dead-End Towns
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Backwoods horror, road trip terror, gas station nightmares, isolated towns, Ozark creatures, and middle-of-nowhere survival collide in this brutal collection of four creepy horror stories. If you love roadside dread, rural secrets, desperate escapes, strange towns, and stories where one wrong turn changes everything, this episode is built to leave dirt under your nails and headlights in your nightmares.

Tonight’s lineup takes you from a father-daughter road trip that veers into pure nightmare, to a security job in a town where something ancient is waiting beneath a church, to a vicious Ozark creature feature soaked in blood and panic, and finally to a gas station shift where the fluorescent lights hide something far darker than bad coffee and impatient customers. This is horror at the edge of the map—where the woods close in, the locals know more than they say, and the next stop might be the worst mistake of your life.

• Strike-Out! — by Morgan Moore
A spring road trip to see family turns catastrophic when a father and daughter break down at the worst possible place imaginable. Tense, nasty, and full of survival-horror momentum, this one feels like a childhood nightmare told with the pedal pinned down.

• I Was Sent to a Small Town Where Strange Things Were Happening — by Michael Kelso
A security specialist arrives in a remote New England town to investigate frightened workers and finds vanished people, forbidden tunnels, and something inhuman wearing a human face. This one leans hard into eerie isolation, old evil, and creeping dread.

• Bite Me — by David O’Hanlon
A reunion weekend in the Ozarks becomes a blood-soaked creature nightmare when something impossible starts feeding in the woods. Wild, fast, and vicious, it mixes backwoods horror with monster-movie chaos in the best way.

• I Hate Working at the Gas Station After Discovering Its Dark Secret — by Michael Kelso
A bitter overnight clerk, a missing coworker, corporate surveillance, and a horrifying secret tied to a distribution center turn a routine gas station job into full paranoid nightmare fuel. Funny, grim, and deeply unsettling.

From lonely mountain roads to church basements, flea-ridden woods, and convenience stores where the cameras always seem to be watching, this collection is all about the moment a familiar place turns wrong and keeps getting worse.

🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!

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📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!


🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

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Good evening, my Spookys. Tonight, we're throwing the map in

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the glove box and heading for the places nobody wants

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to stop after dark. You know, the kind a stretch

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of road where the gas gauge drops a little early,

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a town that looks abandoned until you notice something watching

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from a window, a cabin trail in the ozarks where

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the woods seem hungry, A gas station glowing in the

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middle of nowhere, like the last safe place on Earth,

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right up until you realize it absolutely is not. These

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are the stories that live between highway lines and tree roots,

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where one detour, one breakdown, one wrong job, or one

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bad shift can send your whole life skidding sideways into

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a ditch. So settle in, lock the doors, and maybe

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don't trust any place with a hand painted warning sign

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out front. And while we're riding into the dark together,

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make sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcast app, because

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every single Wednesday there's a brand new scary story right

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here at Weekly Spooky. But now I guess it's time

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to start the engine, roll up the windows and hit

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the open road. Strikeout by Morgan Moore. How much longer?

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Dad Calie Jensen asked for today or in general, He replied,

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I guess both. The eleven year old answered, well, we'll

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probably stop in an hour or so for the night

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at a hotel. Then tomorrow it shouldn't be much longer

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to Grammys. He told her. Awesome, Callie responded. Her father

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smiled at her eagerness. Calli and her father were on

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their way to her grandmother, or as she had always

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called her grammys house in Maryland. It was a tradition

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they had kept every spring since Callie could remember. She

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and her father loved baseball, and the Baltimore Orioles were

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their shared favorite team. Her name, in fact, came from

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one of their more storied players, in cal Ripken Junior.

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Callie's dad insisted on using the name in any way,

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shape or form for his first born, so when he

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and her mom learned they were having a little girl,

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they decided on Calli. Currently, they were nearing half way

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point of their trip. Calli and her family lived in Ohio,

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which meant she and her father would trek through the

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Buckeye State, down through West Virginia, Virginia, and finally Maryland.

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Calli's dad usually considered West Virginia the halfway point unless

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they got up super early, where they would do the

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trip in one go. Knowing they would be stopping soon

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brought joy to Calli, as they usually stopped in the

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same town known as Morgantown and almost always either went

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to a diner near the hotel or ordered pizza. Then

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it would be breakfast at the hotel in the morning,

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and then onward to Grammys, where, save for some eating out,

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they dined on her grandmother's homemade cooking, with her chocolate

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chip pancakes being Calli's favorite. She could almost taste them.

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Not to mention opening day for the Orioles, Callie returned

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her attention to the book she was reading, her normal

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way of passing the time on the drives, unless she

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wanted to break out her Game Boy Advance and replay

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one of the Pokemon games for the umpteenth time. If

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she had her way, Calli would have her mitt and

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ball with her and pass the time by lightly tossing

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it and catching it. But her dad had vetoed that

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since last year when she nearly caused him to have

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an accident. The mitten ball, along with her bat would

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have to wait. Calli felt her eyes start to grow heavy,

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As she continued to read, the heaviness soon overcame her

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and they began to close. Once fully closed, she was

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out like a light. Her eyes shot open as her

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body was jolted away. Her eyes danced around before catching

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a glance at the time on the radio deck, six

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thirty pm. She turned her attention to her dad, who

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was cursing under his breath. Daddy, she asked, in shocked fright.

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I don't know what I hit, but two of our

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tires just blew out, he told her. What do we do?

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CALLI questioned, Well, normally, when you have a flat tire,

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you just change it, but I don't have two spares,

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so he trailed off. So then what do we do?

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She asked, with fear creeping into her tone more and more. Well,

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we're not close to a town yet, he responded, as

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his eyes looked at their surroundings. We're in trouble, Callie asked.

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Her father does not answer. Instead, he keeps his eyes

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scanning the area. Finally, a small smile appears on his

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mouth and he snaps his fingers. There we go, he exclaims,

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in hopeful joy. Callie turns her attention to where her

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father was looking. Shortly up ahead was what looked like

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the start of a driveway. Does that lead to somebody's house?

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She asked. We'll find out soon enough, honey. Either way,

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it'll lead somewhere that will hopefully find people and can

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plan our next steps from there, he answered. Will we

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make it with the tires? Callie questioned, as her nostrils

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became filled with the smell of burning rubber. I hope so, sweetie,

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he said. Callie's father carefully turned the car leftwards into

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the opening and began driving up the path slowly. While

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night was not far behind, the sun was starting to lower.

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As dusk took over, The path winded up part of

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a mountain whose trees, along with the slowly setting sun,

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left little light for them to use. Finally, they arrived

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at an open gate. The father and daughter rolled down

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their windows and poked their heads out. CALLI spotted an

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old metal sign dangling from one of the gate doors.

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She squinted her eyes to read it. Keep out, she said,

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What was that, sweetie? Her father asked, there's a sign

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that said keep out. I think that means we shouldn't

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go in anymore, daddy, Callie told her father the gate

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is open though. Besides, even if they don't necessarily want

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strangers around, we do have a valid reason on our side.

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We need help, he explained. Are you sure about this, Dad,

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Calli questioned, It's either this or pulling over on the road.

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He answered with that, Her father drove through the gates

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as he switched on the headlights. The pair continued forward.

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As the large house came into view via the headlights,

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Calli's father slapped the steering wheel in excitement. Once close enough,

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Callie's dad pulled to a stop and turned off the truck.

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Dad Calli said, what is it, honey, he returned, I

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don't have a good feeling about this, She told him.

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How come, he asked, It just doesn't feel right going

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somewhere we shouldn't. Besides, she started, as she looked at

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the surroundings, this place gives me the creeps, she finished.

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Her father smiled at her. I know, hon, it's a

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new place and we're in a bad spot. But at

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the end of the day, I like to believe that

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people are good and will help their fellow man. Even

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if the people who live here are angry that we

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pulled in, surely they'll understand why come on, Let's find

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out what fate has in store for us, he said.

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On that note, her father swung his door open and

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exited the car. Hesitating for a moment, Calli took some

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deep breaths before getting out of the car and joining

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her father. She grasped and curled her hand around his,

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prompting a smile from him and a ruffle of her

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hair in response. The father and daughter made their way

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across the grounds. The duo ascended up a small set

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of steps onto the wooden patio of the house. At

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the door, Calli's father took a deep breath, put on

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his best friendly smile, and knocked on the door. Nothing.

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He waited for a moment before knocking again a bit harder,

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still nothing. Frowning a bit, Calli's father banged on the

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door with his whole fist. Not two seconds later, the

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door swung open violently. Go away, A grisly voice commanded.

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Calli and her dad looked at the man in front

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of them. He was tall and burly, with a full

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and bushy black beard and head of dark hair that

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looked messy and greasy. He was dressed in jeans a

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plain colored T shirt and opened up workshirt and large boots.

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Most importantly and jarringly to the father and daw was

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the shotgun he held in his hands. Hello, Callie's dad started.

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MY name is Nathan Jannam. This is my daughter Calli.

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We were on our way to visit some family when

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two of our tires blew. He points to their car.

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I know it's late and probably not what you wanted

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to have at your doorstep this time of night, but

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we really need help. My cell phone is close to dead.

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I do have some cash, though, if you'd be willing

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to help us, he finished, as his hand slides into

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his pocket and withdraws his wallet. I don't care get

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the man told them with growing menace. Callie shuddered at

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the look in his eyes. I'm sorry, sir, but a

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father in a bad predicament with his daughter. I promise

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if you let me use your phone, me and her

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will get out of your hair as fast as possible,

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Callie's dad said. The man held up and aimed the

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shotgun right at Calli's father. I don't give a shit

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who you are and what you want. Get off my

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property now, last warning, he told her father directly, before

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giving a look at Calli. That made her skin crawl.

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Her father gulped and then sighed and took another breath. Listen, buddy,

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I'm not falling for this tough guy who lives out

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in seclusion in the wilderness. Crap, we need help. The

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least you can do if you won't help us is

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tell us who will? Her father all but ranted. The

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man's response, aunts was a simple one. He raised his aim,

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pulled on the trigger of the shotgun, and blew the

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head of Calli's father right off. Blood and brain matter

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splattered all over the porch, as well as the man

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and Calli. She turned and looked to where her father

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had stood a moment prior, only to find him splayed

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out on the ground with his head blown open and

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a messy pile of flesh and blood and brain. Callie

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wanted to scream, but couldn't find the ability to do

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so due to the shock. Her eyes returned to the man,

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who was loading two fresh slugs into the shotgun and

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locking it into place. He pointed it at her torso

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before she knew what was happening, she jumped off the

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porch and started running across the grounds. A shot thundered

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out from the gun, and she saw the ground off

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to her side erupt he missed. She kept her pace up,

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unsure of where to go or how far the man

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would give chase. Another blast from the gun echoed through

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the air, and Calli felt the ground right behind her

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at her feet blown apart. The impact on the ground

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near her caused her to stumble and then fall forward,

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slamming face down into the dirt. She felt like she

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had been punched square in the face and was dizzy.

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Her eyes fluttered open and stared ahead. Callie became grateful

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that she landed where she did, only a few inches

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away from where she fell was a snap trap. If

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she had kept running or fell a bit farther, either

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her foot or her face would have been crushed. She

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got to her feet slowly and risked a look behind her.

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The man was off of the porch and started to

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run toward her. Unsure of what was the best option,

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Calli looked down and around the ground. In her search,

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she found an old beer bottle and picked it up.

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Better than nothing, she told herself. Callie turned to face

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the oncoming threat, and when he was just close enough

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as he started to raise the gun, she reared back

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her arm and threw the bottle like she was trying

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to strike out a player to win a game. The

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bottle collided with the man's face and shattered. He rubbed

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and picked at his visage to remove any glass that

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might have embedded itself in his flesh. Using the opportunity

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to her advantage, Callie sprinted past the man and kept

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running past the house towards its backyard. Behind her, all

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she heard was the man, I'm gonna kill you, you little bitch.

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Callie's eyes darted around the backyard. Her options for a

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hiding spot were not the best. There was a shed,

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but surely the man would look there first, and it

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was possible that it was locked. She considered trying the

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back door, but who knew what horrors were inside. Callie

215
00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.960
considered hiding under the raised back porch, climbing a tree,

216
00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:07.039
or to simply keep running. Then her eyes landed on

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a doghouse which looked to be big and dug into

218
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a decently deep level. Callie sprinted towards it and slid

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into the opening. The space inside was tight, but was

220
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indeed deep enough to allow her to partially crawl out

221
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of view, Lying in the dirt. The tears finally came

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as Callie processed the last few minutes. Her father had died,

223
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No was slaughtered before her eyes. Her white and black

224
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baseball shirt was covered in his blood, and she could

225
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feel the wetness of brain matter on her face and

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in her hair. Daddy, she cried in her head. She

227
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dared not to speak and give away her hiding spot.

228
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Calli shook her head. Get it together. You need to

229
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keep it together if you want to survive, she told herself.

230
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How though, was the question. She didn't know fully why

231
00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:23.680
she had even chosen to run to the back yard.

232
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Her best guess was fear that if she left the

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property that the man would pursue her and most likely

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get her. After all, he lived out here and most

235
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likely knew the land better than anybody. Not to mention

236
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it was possible he did leave the property, Thinking she

237
00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.039
may have gone back down the mountain and could have

238
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closed and locked the gate, she thought about running past

239
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the back yard, but was unsure if and when it

240
00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:01.720
would stop. It seemed plaw the man might have another

241
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gait or fence somewhere behind his house. In her mind,

242
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that left one option, the car. Calli knew her father

243
00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.240
had the keys with him when they went to the door,

244
00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.799
most likely in one of his pockets. The issue, though,

245
00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:25.319
was both being able to get to them before being

246
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caught and the fact that two tires were unusable. Callie

247
00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:33.880
didn't know much about cars, but she knew driving on

248
00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:37.839
blown out tires leads to driving on rims, which is

249
00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:41.920
an even worse problem. Add to that the growing darkness

250
00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:46.000
and her inability to drive, which meant it was most

251
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likely not a good idea. A few seconds later, though,

252
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a fresh idea entered Calli's head and brought a smile

253
00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:01.599
to her face. Her the baseball stuff was in the

254
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:05.799
trunk of the car, which meant her baseball bat was

255
00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.240
in there as well. If she could get the keys

256
00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:13.599
to the car, Callie could unlock the trunk, get her bat,

257
00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:18.079
and have a weapon. True, she knew a baseball bat,

258
00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:22.799
especially a wooden one, wasn't the best choice against a shotgun,

259
00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:28.880
but it was something Besides, She told herself, if you

260
00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:34.279
could outrun and dodge two shots, maybe you can do

261
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.519
it again. When he would go to reload, you can

262
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.440
go up to him and start beating him with the bat.

263
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Her smile turned to a grin as she envisioned getting

264
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revenge against the man. It was a risky plan, but

265
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the only feasible one CALLI could think of. She started

266
00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:59.880
to crawl out of the doghouse. She figured it might

267
00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:02.599
be best to run around the house the opposite way

268
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.759
she came into the backyard in case the man was

269
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:09.799
waiting for her. Callie considered crawling on the ground to

270
00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:12.920
do so, but if there was one spring trap on

271
00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:18.039
the premises, there would likely be more. This man clearly

272
00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:24.160
took any and all precautions to keep people away. Exiting

273
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the doghouse, Callie slowly rose to her feet when a

274
00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:33.799
thought occurred to her. There was a doghouse, but there

275
00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:40.039
didn't seem to be a dog. Unless foss the man's

276
00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:44.119
voice roared. Callie turned her attention to the back porch

277
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and saw the man standing there. Next to him was

278
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a dog, a cane corso. The moment it heard its

279
00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:58.079
master speak, it shot forward like a speeding train towards Calli.

280
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The plan to go around the house vanished as Callie

281
00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.079
began sprinting for her life back the way she came,

282
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with the dog in pursuit behind her. How am I

283
00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:13.680
going to get the keys and get away before the

284
00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:19.160
dog even catches me. The answer was simple, I'm just

285
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going to have to. Callie rounded a corner into the

286
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front of the grounds and turned to the porch. She

287
00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:30.720
ran towards it, with the dog barking right behind her.

288
00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:35.160
Callie jumped up the small steps and slid to a

289
00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:39.839
crash against the wall. She shook it off and hustled

290
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to her father and checked his pockets. The keys were gone.

291
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.319
The man must have taken them, she said to herself.

292
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Before she could think any further, the dog jumped onto her, snarling.

293
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Callie remembered when a police officer visited her class and

294
00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:06.599
explained to them what to do if a dog ever

295
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:11.960
attacked you. Normally, it would be to stay still, but

296
00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:16.799
this was no ordinary dog. Callie shook her body around

297
00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:21.759
back and forth to gather any momentum she could. Feeling

298
00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:25.880
confident enough, Callie rolled her body to the side and

299
00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:29.319
brought the dog onto its side. She then gave it

300
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.279
a hard punch to its chest, which elicited a yelp

301
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and a momentary retreat from the dog. Callie jumped to

302
00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:41.559
her feet. If I want in the trunk, I'll have

303
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:45.039
to use the hatch in the car. She hoped and

304
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.599
prayed the man hadn't locked it as she left off

305
00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:53.759
the porch and ran towards the car. She pulled hastily

306
00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:57.319
on the driver's side door and was relieved to find

307
00:23:57.400 --> 00:24:02.519
it unlocked. Callie quickly got inside and shut the door.

308
00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:07.680
A moment later, the dog jumped against the window, barking fiercely.

309
00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:12.960
Callie screamed as she searched for the right lever to pull,

310
00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:17.839
pulling on all of them just to be sure. Hearing

311
00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:21.559
the trunk click and pop open, Callie breathed a sigh

312
00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.000
of relief. Then she stared out the front of the

313
00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:29.720
car and found the dog standing by the man, his

314
00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:34.640
shotgun aimed right at the vehicle. The next thing she knew,

315
00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:40.240
there was a bang and the windshield shattered. Screaming in terror,

316
00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:45.079
Callie crawled from the driver's seat into the back. There

317
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:49.000
she opened a door and crawled out. Staying on the ground,

318
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she made her way to the back of the car,

319
00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:55.680
then moved onto her knees. Gripping the latch of the trunk,

320
00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:59.240
she pushed it open the rest of the way and

321
00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:04.680
there it was her baseball bat. She grinned as she

322
00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.519
pulled it out of the trunk and wielded it like

323
00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:13.440
a sword. Okay, Callie, time to do either the bravest

324
00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:18.680
or dumbest thing in your whole life, she said, to

325
00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:23.400
hype herself up. Calli stood up and walked around the

326
00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:27.000
car to find the man and the dog. The man

327
00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.880
had the shotgun aimed at her. He eyed the baseball

328
00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:36.599
bat in her hands, adjusted his aim, and fired the

329
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:40.640
bat blew apart in Calli's hand, sending wood all over

330
00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:45.480
the ground as well as into the flesh of her hands, arms,

331
00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:51.119
and face. She fell to the ground, ears ringing from

332
00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:55.640
the force of the blast, and screamed in agony. She

333
00:25:55.720 --> 00:26:01.480
felt more pain than she could have ever imagined. Boss

334
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:06.559
the man commanded again. She heard the snarl, but couldn't

335
00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:10.480
find the strength to move. A moment later, the dog

336
00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:14.400
was on her and elicited fresh screams from her throat

337
00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:18.400
as it ripped and teared into her thigh. With what

338
00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.519
strength she had, Callie beat on its head to no avail.

339
00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:27.039
Her defense only caused the dog to tighten its hold.

340
00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:33.640
It shook its head, causing more damage through growingly hazier eyes.

341
00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.200
Callie turned her head and saw that in her right hand.

342
00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:43.160
She was still gripping the shattered and splintered remains of

343
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:49.680
the bat. She looked at the dog, Dear God, I'm sorry.

344
00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:55.119
In one furious movement, she plunged the remains of the

345
00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:59.759
bat into the neck of the beast. She twisted it

346
00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:04.039
as she pulled it out and watched blood flow out

347
00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:10.400
of the wound barbous. The man screamed, almost as if

348
00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:14.200
the first stab filled her with more energy. Calli screamed

349
00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.839
as she repeatedly thrust the broken bat into the dog's

350
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:22.640
throat and its torso her body became covered in its

351
00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:27.440
blood as life quickly drained from it. Callie shoved the

352
00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:32.279
dog off of her and slowly stood up, her body

353
00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:37.720
shaking from shock. She looked to where the man was

354
00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:42.680
and saw him running at full speed toward her. You

355
00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:47.759
have one chance, Callie, she told herself. The moment the

356
00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:51.759
man was in rage, Callie shrieked and pushed her body

357
00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:56.359
forward and plunged the remains of the bat into the

358
00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:01.960
man's hip. He howled in pain and in response, dropped

359
00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.960
the shotgun as he staggered back a few inches. Not

360
00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:10.759
wasting a moment, Calli picked up the shotgun and aimed

361
00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:14.519
it at the man. She watched as he pulled out

362
00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:19.000
the bat and threw it to the ground. His eyes

363
00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:23.880
moved to her, and a grin formed across his bearded mouth.

364
00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:31.079
What's you gonna do with that, bitch, he asked, tauntingly,

365
00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:36.359
I'm going to shoot you, just like you did my dad,

366
00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:45.319
Calli retorted. The man's grin widened. Really, now, sure you

367
00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:50.799
have enough strength to do it? Uh huh, she answered,

368
00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:57.519
knowing her strength was indeed fading fast. Are you sure

369
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:05.920
it's loaded? The man? Wha? Callie responded. The man chuckled,

370
00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:11.279
What makes you so sure it's loaded? After all, you

371
00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:14.359
were in La La Land getting mauled by my dog,

372
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.400
So how do you know if I ever loaded it again?

373
00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:23.359
Of course you did, Callie says back to him, but

374
00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:26.519
it admits in her head that the man raises a

375
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:32.279
viable point. Really, now you bet on it being loaded,

376
00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:42.799
he taunts, Yeah, she squeaks out. Well, what about this one,

377
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:47.200
the man said, as he reached behind him and brandishes

378
00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:53.119
a pistol, aiming it at Calli. You have another gun,

379
00:29:54.079 --> 00:30:00.720
Callie questioned, in genuine surprise. Course I do, prepared to

380
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:07.119
protect yourself and whatnot? The man answered with a menacing glee.

381
00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:12.839
Silence fell between the two, with only the sound of

382
00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:18.839
nature filling the space between them. They stare each other down,

383
00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:23.720
each one waiting for the other to make the first move.

384
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:29.759
So you really want to bet your life on that

385
00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:36.400
shotgun being loaded, the man asked, Finding she had little

386
00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:41.400
strength left to speak, Callie nodded her head to say

387
00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:46.759
that she does. Well. I guess we'll find out, then,

388
00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:52.880
the man said. They let silence fall over them once

389
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:58.480
more as they listened to crickets and other nocturnal sounds.

390
00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:03.720
Their fingers each squeeze and then pull back on their

391
00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:09.839
respective triggers. There was a bang and the odor of

392
00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:22.279
gun smoke as it filled the night. I was sent

393
00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:26.480
to a small town where strange things were happening by

394
00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:33.079
Michael Kelso. Even thinking about retelling this story has made

395
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:37.240
me the most afraid I've ever been in my life.

396
00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:42.119
I suppose if I keep it bottled up, I'll go insane.

397
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:45.920
God knows, the security company isn't talking. I feel like

398
00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:51.000
if I don't warn people and they go there, all right,

399
00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:53.960
if I'm telling the story, then I'd better back up

400
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.240
a bit. It started a little over a month ago.

401
00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:02.079
I work for a security firm that guards projects all

402
00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:06.759
over the country. I'm sort of a specialist. It seems

403
00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:09.839
like if there's some weird stuff happening at a site,

404
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:15.079
I get called in. I'm not sure why, maybe my

405
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:20.640
ex military background, or maybe the fact that, well, we'll

406
00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:23.880
get to that. This place up in New England was

407
00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:27.400
having some trouble. A local firm was remodeling an old

408
00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.720
church when workers suddenly started quitting. No one seemed to

409
00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:34.160
have a good reason why they didn't want to work

410
00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:37.680
there anymore, so guess who got the call to come

411
00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:42.079
in and straighten things out. Driving up there gave me

412
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:46.119
the most profound feeling of being alone I've ever had.

413
00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:51.519
And mind you, I've sat watch in caves, foxholes, ditches,

414
00:32:52.119 --> 00:32:55.160
some of the most god forsaken places on the planet,

415
00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:59.680
all by my lonesome, and never did I ever feel

416
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:03.559
as old, crushingly alone as driving up that little two

417
00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:07.519
lane road that was the only sign of humanity, as

418
00:33:07.559 --> 00:33:11.319
the trees seemed to close in on me from every side.

419
00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:16.079
As unnerving as that was, it was nothing compared to

420
00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:19.200
pulling into the little town where the church was. It

421
00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:22.960
was like the nightmare scene from a B horror movie.

422
00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:25.079
I guess arriving at night in the middle of a

423
00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:30.079
rainstorm didn't help much. I pulled in beside the only

424
00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:33.759
vehicle I saw and ran inside the hotel that looked

425
00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:37.039
like a saloon out of an old Western. I barely

426
00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:39.559
got the door closed when there was a light and

427
00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:43.559
a gun shoved in my face. Who the hell are you,

428
00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:48.960
said a man from somewhere behind the glare of a flashlight. Jones,

429
00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:53.559
I said, slowly, raising my hands. I was called in

430
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:58.119
to help out with your worker problem. The light lowered,

431
00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:01.960
but the gun stayed. What company do you work for?

432
00:34:03.160 --> 00:34:07.319
Sentinel Security? I saw the man relax a little, but

433
00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:10.559
mostly I was happy that he lowered the gun. In

434
00:34:10.599 --> 00:34:13.079
the best of times, a gun in a situation is

435
00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:17.880
less than ideal. All kinds of accidents can happen. I've

436
00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:21.840
seen many innocent bystanders fall victim to contagious gun fire.

437
00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:26.440
The man stepped over to a table and sat. As

438
00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:28.639
I looked around the room, I was surprised at how

439
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:31.280
much it looked like a movie set from an old Western,

440
00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:35.079
right down to the lit lanterns on the tables and

441
00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:38.840
hanging from the rafters. He beckoned me over and I

442
00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:43.039
sat across from him. Judging by the welcome, I'm guessing

443
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:46.159
the workers aren't the only ones who are spooked, I said.

444
00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:49.800
He looked at the gun, then laid it on the table.

445
00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:53.360
He seemed to be in his forties or fifties, but

446
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:56.719
there was a tiredness in his eyes. He looked weary

447
00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:00.920
and haggard. Truth be told, I'm not even sure a

448
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:04.639
gun would do any good. Maybe you should tell me

449
00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:08.320
when the trouble started. He looked at me. I could

450
00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:12.840
see worry tugging at his eyes. Your contract's open, right,

451
00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:16.719
I nodded, which means you have to finish the job

452
00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:21.960
or you don't get paid. Right. I nodded again. He

453
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:25.440
looked me over for a long moment, then sat back,

454
00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:31.440
drained his glass of amber colored liquid, and sighed. I

455
00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:35.639
bought this town a while back. He started. Recently, with

456
00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:37.960
the passing of my wife, I decided I needed to

457
00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:41.559
throw myself into a project to keep me busy. I

458
00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:44.119
wanted to revitalize this town and turn it into a

459
00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:50.000
tourist attraction. I'm sorry for your loss. He nodded in recognition,

460
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:54.039
but never said another word about her. Things were going

461
00:35:54.079 --> 00:35:57.719
along smoothly, he said, the buildings you see have all

462
00:35:57.760 --> 00:36:01.440
been restored. They look good. You should have seen them

463
00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:05.480
when we started, he scoffed, they were falling apart. No

464
00:36:05.559 --> 00:36:08.000
one had lived here for years. That's why I was

465
00:36:08.039 --> 00:36:10.000
able to buy the whole place for next to nothing.

466
00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:15.920
I'm thinking that's not the only reason. Yes, he said,

467
00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:20.079
as a haunted look passed through his eyes. We saved

468
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:22.760
the church for last because it needed the most work.

469
00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:31.320
But once they started remodeling is when things began to happen. Things.

470
00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:35.440
It wasn't much at first. Shovels and saws would go missing,

471
00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:38.320
tools would be left in fine order at night, only

472
00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:41.679
to be in complete disarray in the morning. For a while,

473
00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:44.360
the workers blamed each other, saying there was a prankster

474
00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:50.559
among them. But that wasn't the case. Oh how I

475
00:36:50.599 --> 00:36:53.840
wish it was. I waited for a long moment for

476
00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:58.760
him to continue. We found the first body shortly after that,

477
00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:03.639
he said, so quietly, I barely heard him. Of a worker.

478
00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:10.639
He nodded dead. He nodded again. Why didn't you stop

479
00:37:10.679 --> 00:37:15.480
everything and leave? Because it was already too late, he said.

480
00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:21.599
We had disturbed it disturbed what. He opened his mouth

481
00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:25.280
as if to speak, but no words came out. He

482
00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:28.599
shook his head and looked away for a moment. I

483
00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:31.199
could swear I saw a tear run down his cheek.

484
00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:35.960
I'm sorry, he said, rubbing his palms on his face.

485
00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:38.760
Let me take you to your room and we'll discuss

486
00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:42.639
this further in the morning. My curiosity wanted him to

487
00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:45.840
finish the story, but it seemed like his weariness had

488
00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:49.440
been amplified by alcohol. I followed him as he carried

489
00:37:49.480 --> 00:37:52.159
the lantern up the stairs to the first floor and

490
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.039
opened it for me. He handed me the light and

491
00:37:55.079 --> 00:37:57.760
told me the bathroom was across the hall if I

492
00:37:57.880 --> 00:38:01.039
needed it. I'll be here bright and early in the

493
00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:04.360
morning to give you the dollar tour, he said, sounding

494
00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:08.599
more like a host. Aren't you staying here tonight? His

495
00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:14.159
eyes flashed genuine fear. Not here, he said, I'll be

496
00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:18.519
back in the morning. I looked around the comfortable looking room,

497
00:38:18.639 --> 00:38:21.519
trying to decide what was so wrong with it. As

498
00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:25.440
he stepped to the door. Oh, by the way, he said,

499
00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:28.679
stopping at the doorway. Don't bother with your cell phone.

500
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:33.400
There's no signal up here. I glanced down at my phone,

501
00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:37.559
and when I looked up, he was gone. I picked

502
00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:39.760
up the lantern and stepped to the doorway, but I

503
00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:43.199
didn't hear him leaving. He would have thought someone walking

504
00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:46.199
out on the hardwood floor would make some noise, but

505
00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:51.039
it was silent. The only noise I heard was the

506
00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:55.039
rain pelting against the windows. Since I was already in

507
00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:58.400
the hallway, I decided to check out the bathroom. I

508
00:38:58.440 --> 00:39:01.320
walked a short distance down the hall and found it

509
00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:05.880
to be functional and clean, but nothing extraordinary. While I

510
00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:08.800
was there, I used the toilet and washed my hands,

511
00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:12.079
then went to my room and got my toiletry's kit

512
00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:15.840
to brush my teeth. Carrying a lantern around was a

513
00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:20.760
little disconcerting. I've had to deal without electricity many times before,

514
00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:25.119
but that wasn't what was bothering me. The shadows from

515
00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:28.199
the lamp danced all over, giving the impression of others

516
00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:31.920
in the room with me. It's strange because I've never

517
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:37.000
had that feeling before. Shadows were always just shadows. I

518
00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:39.440
was trained to be cautious of who could be hiding

519
00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:44.039
in the shadows, but not the shadows themselves. I finished

520
00:39:44.119 --> 00:39:48.599
up my bedtime routine and settled in to sleep. There

521
00:39:48.679 --> 00:39:51.679
wasn't much of anything else to do, so might as

522
00:39:51.679 --> 00:39:54.840
well get some rest. One of the things I was

523
00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:58.159
taught early on in my career was that any time

524
00:39:58.199 --> 00:40:01.679
you'd get a chance rest, you never know when the

525
00:40:01.719 --> 00:40:05.519
next chance will come. I laid down on the comfortable

526
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:10.360
bed and did some relaxation exercises. Before I knew it,

527
00:40:11.119 --> 00:40:23.039
I was asleep. I woke with a start, not knowing

528
00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:27.480
why it was pitch black in the room. Instead of panicking,

529
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:30.760
I touched my watch to illuminate it and found my phone.

530
00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:34.320
Turning on the flashlight and lighting the lamp helped me

531
00:40:34.440 --> 00:40:38.079
get my bearings, but still didn't tell me why I

532
00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:42.360
was awake. I sat there for a long moment. Then

533
00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:45.840
I heard it. There was a loud clanking sound coming

534
00:40:45.880 --> 00:40:49.880
from somewhere outside. Sleeping in my clothes when on a

535
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:52.760
job was a habit I'd gotten into when I first

536
00:40:52.760 --> 00:40:58.079
started doing private security, another carryover from the military. I

537
00:40:58.119 --> 00:41:01.480
slipped out of bed and into my boots, then strapped

538
00:41:01.480 --> 00:41:04.519
on my utility belt, then checked to make sure my

539
00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:08.199
side arm was loaded. I turned off the phone's flashlight

540
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:10.920
and grabbed a small utility flashlight from one of the

541
00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:14.440
pouches on the belt. For the moment, I holstered the

542
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:19.360
gun and explored with just the flashlight. This could be nothing.

543
00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:22.519
I didn't want to go in gangbusters just to find

544
00:41:22.559 --> 00:41:25.400
some kids playing around or a worker who came in early.

545
00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:29.760
I double checked my watch. It was five o'clock in

546
00:41:29.800 --> 00:41:33.239
the morning. Seemed like an odd time for a worker

547
00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:37.199
to come in, but stranger things have happened. Working my

548
00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:40.920
way down the stairs quietly, I double checked the bar room.

549
00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:45.119
It was empty. Opening the door, I had the strangest

550
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:49.480
feeling that something was wrong. Nothing seemed to be out

551
00:41:49.480 --> 00:41:52.440
of place. It had stopped raining, and I stepped out

552
00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:54.920
into the street to find a light layer of fog.

553
00:41:55.800 --> 00:41:59.320
Looking up and down the street, I heard the noise again.

554
00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:03.679
It sounded like it was coming from the direction of

555
00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:08.840
the church. Leading with the flashlight, I started in that direction.

556
00:42:09.880 --> 00:42:12.679
There seemed to be a slight orange glow coming from

557
00:42:12.760 --> 00:42:17.000
the inside of the building. The closer I got, the

558
00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:19.920
beam of my flashlight made the air around me glow.

559
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:23.239
It made me feel like I was giving my position away.

560
00:42:24.119 --> 00:42:27.559
I fought back the feeling. This was a little town

561
00:42:27.639 --> 00:42:31.360
in Vermont, not an active war zone. I had to

562
00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:36.559
be cautious but also temperate with non lethal actions. The

563
00:42:36.679 --> 00:42:39.960
church loomed in front of me. It seemed much larger

564
00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:43.159
up close. I climbed the steps and reached for the

565
00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:47.559
doorknob when a loud crack sounded behind me. I whipped around,

566
00:42:47.599 --> 00:42:51.480
shining my flashlight at everything, but there was nothing there.

567
00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:54.440
As I was looking back, I noticed a light in

568
00:42:54.480 --> 00:42:57.440
the window of my room. I must have left the

569
00:42:57.519 --> 00:43:01.960
lantern lit. As I I saw the light dim for

570
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:06.480
an instant and then get brighter, almost as if someone

571
00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:09.519
had walked in front of it. The temperature felt like

572
00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:12.440
it was in the lower seventies, but that didn't keep

573
00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:16.480
a chill from running down my spine. Someone was curious

574
00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:20.800
to know who I was. From years of experience, I've

575
00:43:20.840 --> 00:43:23.360
found that it's never good if someone wants to find

576
00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:26.320
out who you are but doesn't want to do it

577
00:43:26.360 --> 00:43:30.000
face to face. That would be something to deal with.

578
00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:32.960
When I got back to my room, for now, there

579
00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:36.280
was a church to explore, I got the feeling that

580
00:43:36.360 --> 00:43:39.880
someone was trying to distract me from entering. I reached

581
00:43:39.920 --> 00:43:42.880
the top of the stairs and turned the knob, but

582
00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:46.920
nothing happened. It didn't feel like it was locked. It

583
00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:49.159
was almost as if someone was on the other side

584
00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:52.559
holding the knob. I turned as hard as I could,

585
00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:56.360
and finally it gave and the door opened, dragging me

586
00:43:56.480 --> 00:44:00.920
inside and nearly knocking me to the floor. Gaining my balance,

587
00:44:01.239 --> 00:44:05.000
my hand hovered over my gun, expecting to see someone

588
00:44:05.079 --> 00:44:09.320
doing something they weren't supposed to. As I slowly panned

589
00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:15.920
around the room, I found something much worse, absolutely nothing.

590
00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:19.800
There was a lit lantern set up on a table

591
00:44:19.880 --> 00:44:22.920
near the altar that was in the middle of being restored.

592
00:44:23.599 --> 00:44:26.360
Other than that, there were a lot of pews that

593
00:44:26.400 --> 00:44:30.039
were halfway constructed. The ones that were finished looked like

594
00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:32.199
they had been sanded and were waiting for a layer

595
00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:36.199
of stain. I walked down the center aisle as if

596
00:44:36.239 --> 00:44:40.400
looking for a seat at a wedding or a funeral.

597
00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:52.400
As I approached the partially reconstructed pulpit, I looked up

598
00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:55.480
and saw a life sized wooden carving of Jesus on

599
00:44:55.519 --> 00:45:00.639
the cross. It looked old, not like wine that ate well,

600
00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:05.360
but like decrepit. It had been painted flesh colors at

601
00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:08.760
one time, but now it was cracked and peeling away

602
00:45:08.800 --> 00:45:12.639
from the carving. It looked grotesque to see layers of

603
00:45:12.719 --> 00:45:16.079
skin peeling away, like it was rotting off his body.

604
00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:20.960
I'm not the most religious man, but I believe in Jesus.

605
00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:26.280
I've prayed enough prayers, sitting in foxholes and caves, asking

606
00:45:26.360 --> 00:45:29.920
to be rescued from bad situations, and I'm still here.

607
00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:33.800
I wouldn't call him and I best buds. I know

608
00:45:33.880 --> 00:45:37.760
our relationship could be closer, but seeing him that way,

609
00:45:38.360 --> 00:45:44.000
rotting to pieces was just disturbing. As I looked into

610
00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:47.440
his face, I swore I saw his eyes open. For

611
00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:50.159
an instant, I blinked my own eyes to be sure

612
00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:54.000
I was seeing right, But when I looked again, they

613
00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:58.159
were closed. It was my imagination playing tricks on me.

614
00:45:58.960 --> 00:46:00.840
At least that was what I told hold myself. As

615
00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:04.880
I stepped onto the platform and looked around. Off to

616
00:46:04.920 --> 00:46:08.039
each side were doors. I went to the one to

617
00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:11.400
the right and found a small broom closet. The one

618
00:46:11.440 --> 00:46:13.559
on the left held a set of stairs that went

619
00:46:13.639 --> 00:46:18.320
down and disappeared into darkness. Just inside the door, there

620
00:46:18.360 --> 00:46:21.519
was yellow and black caution tape blocking the way down.

621
00:46:22.440 --> 00:46:25.360
I shone the light on the stairs and they looked

622
00:46:25.760 --> 00:46:29.239
sturdy enough. I reached for the tape, but before I

623
00:46:29.280 --> 00:46:32.719
got hold of it, a strong hand grabbed my shoulder

624
00:46:32.760 --> 00:46:36.000
and turned me around. What do you think you're doing here,

625
00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:39.199
said a man who was a full foot shorter than me,

626
00:46:39.760 --> 00:46:42.559
but his grip felt like iron. I was about to

627
00:46:42.599 --> 00:46:45.800
go down those stairs, I said. He looked at me

628
00:46:45.880 --> 00:46:49.079
with the incredulous look a parent gave a toddler who

629
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:52.719
was reaching for a hot stove. And you didn't see

630
00:46:52.760 --> 00:46:57.159
the caution tape, he said, I saw it. Who are

631
00:46:57.199 --> 00:47:02.039
you anyway? I've never seen you before, jones, I said,

632
00:47:02.119 --> 00:47:06.079
offering my hand. I'm with Sentinel Security. I was called

633
00:47:06.079 --> 00:47:09.679
in to investigate why workers keep quitting. He looked at

634
00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:15.440
my hand, then at me. So this investigation includes ignoring

635
00:47:15.480 --> 00:47:19.480
obvious warnings. My hand was still extended but had yet

636
00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:23.119
to be shaken. I let it fall to my side.

637
00:47:23.280 --> 00:47:27.280
Are you a worker or a foreman? He scoffed, Nothing

638
00:47:27.400 --> 00:47:30.280
so formal. I make sure people do what needs to

639
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:35.320
be done, so foreman. His eyes bled with suspicion as

640
00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:38.639
he stared at me. Where did you say you were from? Again?

641
00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:42.960
As I was about to answer, more workers entered, followed

642
00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:46.039
by the owner i'd met last night. Let's ask the

643
00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:49.960
boss if he knows you, the foreman said smugly. The

644
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:52.760
owner locked eyes with me and gave me the strangest

645
00:47:52.840 --> 00:47:56.960
look as he walked up to us. Good morning, he said,

646
00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:00.599
addressing both of us, Good morning, sir. The ormond said,

647
00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:04.719
I caught this man snooping around in here, did you now?

648
00:48:05.199 --> 00:48:10.559
He said? Is that true? I wasn't snooping. I was investigating,

649
00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:14.199
I said, don't you remember our conversation from last night?

650
00:48:14.960 --> 00:48:18.119
His eyes opened a hair wider for an instant, then

651
00:48:18.199 --> 00:48:22.000
went back to normal. Of course I do, he said,

652
00:48:22.039 --> 00:48:26.079
with a smile that seemed forced. Remind me again. My

653
00:48:26.199 --> 00:48:30.360
memory isn't the best. We met in the saloon, talked

654
00:48:30.400 --> 00:48:31.960
for a little bit, and then you showed me to

655
00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:37.239
my room. Indeed, he said, with a raised eyebrow. Did

656
00:48:37.239 --> 00:48:40.639
I say anything else? You told me you bought this

657
00:48:40.719 --> 00:48:43.880
place after your wife passed away, and problems started after

658
00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:47.880
you found the first dead worker dead. The foreman said,

659
00:48:47.880 --> 00:48:52.800
with alarm. When did this happen? The owner burst into laughter.

660
00:48:53.840 --> 00:48:58.440
It appears mister Jones, mister Jones here has pulled a

661
00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:01.719
fast one on you, he said to the foreman. Perhaps

662
00:49:01.719 --> 00:49:04.000
he and I should go and discuss the matter in private,

663
00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:07.440
and you can continue with your work. The owner grabbed

664
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:10.159
my arm and guided me away from the foreman, whose

665
00:49:10.199 --> 00:49:13.320
eyes burned as they followed us out the door. We

666
00:49:13.400 --> 00:49:16.039
walked out of the church in silence as he nodded

667
00:49:16.039 --> 00:49:18.400
to workers who were straggling in to start work for

668
00:49:18.440 --> 00:49:21.599
the day. He led me back to the saloon, where

669
00:49:21.599 --> 00:49:25.280
we sat at the same table as before. So you

670
00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:28.639
and I met in this saloon last night, he said,

671
00:49:29.480 --> 00:49:32.800
at this very table. I said, I came to the

672
00:49:32.800 --> 00:49:36.360
door and you pulled a gun on me. His eyebrows raised.

673
00:49:37.239 --> 00:49:41.760
Did I now, and what time was this? I'd say

674
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:44.880
around nine? We sat here and talked about what was

675
00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:48.320
going on with the workers. And what else did I

676
00:49:48.400 --> 00:49:53.000
say other than about the worker? I asked you why

677
00:49:53.039 --> 00:49:56.199
you hadn't left, and you said it was too late.

678
00:49:57.360 --> 00:50:00.000
This time, he didn't try to hide it. His eye

679
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:02.920
eyes grew wide. He stared at me for a long moment,

680
00:50:03.639 --> 00:50:08.280
then seemed to gather himself. I apologize, mister Jones, if

681
00:50:08.559 --> 00:50:12.599
this all seems a little strange, he said. You and

682
00:50:12.679 --> 00:50:16.760
I did not have a conversation last night. It was

683
00:50:16.840 --> 00:50:20.760
my turn to raise my eyebrows. At nine o'clock last night,

684
00:50:21.159 --> 00:50:25.159
I was in bed with my very much alive wife.

685
00:50:25.320 --> 00:50:30.400
But you said, and we have not had any workers die.

686
00:50:30.559 --> 00:50:34.480
I don't understand. Neither do I. I thought about it

687
00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:37.960
for a long moment. You were drinking when you talk

688
00:50:38.000 --> 00:50:41.400
to me. Is it possible you were too drunk to remember?

689
00:50:42.280 --> 00:50:45.840
He leaned a little closer. I haven't had a drink

690
00:50:46.159 --> 00:50:50.199
in nineteen years. He reached into his pocket and set

691
00:50:50.199 --> 00:50:52.639
a coin on the table. I picked it up and

692
00:50:52.679 --> 00:50:57.400
looked at it. It was an alcohol anonymous coin. Then

693
00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.280
who did I talk to last night? He put the

694
00:51:01.360 --> 00:51:04.800
coin back in his pocket. Are you sure it was

695
00:51:04.920 --> 00:51:08.000
me who was drinking? I looked at him and read

696
00:51:08.039 --> 00:51:12.360
the suspicion in his eyes. I don't drink. He leaned

697
00:51:12.400 --> 00:51:16.360
back in his chair. It seems we've reached an impasse,

698
00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:19.880
he said. Perhaps I should call your company and have

699
00:51:19.960 --> 00:51:23.679
a different person come and investigate the matter. I wanted

700
00:51:23.719 --> 00:51:27.639
to find out what was going on. Perhaps you should

701
00:51:27.679 --> 00:51:30.559
give me at least a day to investigate, I said,

702
00:51:31.239 --> 00:51:33.639
unless there's some other reason, you don't want me to

703
00:51:33.679 --> 00:51:37.679
get to the bottom of this, he smiled, but it

704
00:51:37.760 --> 00:51:45.039
wasn't friendly. Please continue your investigation, mister Jones, he said, unimpeded.

705
00:51:46.039 --> 00:51:48.599
I will inform the foreman to allow you free reign.

706
00:51:49.599 --> 00:51:54.440
Thank you, I said, standing to leave. Just one more thing.

707
00:51:54.840 --> 00:51:58.079
He said, what was the last part of what my

708
00:51:58.199 --> 00:52:02.079
doppelganger told you? You said it was too late to

709
00:52:02.199 --> 00:52:06.079
leave because you had disturbed something. His eyes fell to

710
00:52:06.119 --> 00:52:09.920
the table, as if deep in thought. I went back

711
00:52:09.960 --> 00:52:12.280
to the church and began talking to the workers one

712
00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:15.519
by one. Each of them was hesitant to talk around

713
00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:18.320
the foreman, but once they were out of earshot, told

714
00:52:18.440 --> 00:52:22.480
very similar stories. There had been strange things going on,

715
00:52:22.880 --> 00:52:26.239
especially at night. It was more than just tools being

716
00:52:26.280 --> 00:52:30.199
moved around. Strange symbols would appear carved into the wood

717
00:52:30.239 --> 00:52:32.960
they were using. The owner would tell them to cut

718
00:52:32.960 --> 00:52:35.760
the symbols out and use whatever they could of the wood.

719
00:52:36.599 --> 00:52:39.480
One of the workers had gone missing, but after a

720
00:52:39.559 --> 00:52:42.480
day or so, the owner said he had quit. The

721
00:52:42.599 --> 00:52:45.840
strange thing was no one was able to contact him

722
00:52:45.880 --> 00:52:49.760
after that. The more I dug, the more I found.

723
00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:53.119
Some of the workers had become curious as to why

724
00:52:53.159 --> 00:52:56.400
they were restoring this town out in the middle of nowhere.

725
00:52:57.000 --> 00:53:00.119
It turned out it had been long suspected that Satan

726
00:53:00.320 --> 00:53:04.320
rituals were carried out in this very church. It was

727
00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:08.079
also suspected to be the site of the earliest witch burnings.

728
00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:11.199
But the two facts that stuck out in my mind.

729
00:53:11.239 --> 00:53:14.880
Were no one hung around after dark, That was when

730
00:53:14.920 --> 00:53:18.880
things were alleged to get strange, and no one was

731
00:53:18.920 --> 00:53:21.480
allowed down the steps I had found before the foreman

732
00:53:21.559 --> 00:53:24.960
stopped me. The workers had been told the steps were

733
00:53:25.039 --> 00:53:27.920
unsafe and could collapse under the weight of a person.

734
00:53:28.840 --> 00:53:31.400
It didn't take much convincing to keep them away from

735
00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:35.400
the creepy stairs. By afternoon, I knew exactly what my

736
00:53:35.480 --> 00:53:38.239
next move was. I went back to my room and

737
00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:42.119
checked around to see if anything was missing. Nothing seemed

738
00:53:42.119 --> 00:53:45.119
to be, so I set my watch and took a nap.

739
00:53:46.360 --> 00:53:49.199
The alarm went off at nine o'clock. I went to

740
00:53:49.280 --> 00:53:52.119
the bathroom to splash some water on my face, then

741
00:53:52.239 --> 00:53:56.559
geared up for my expedition. When I got to the church,

742
00:53:56.800 --> 00:53:59.280
it was empty. I made a bee line for the

743
00:53:59.360 --> 00:54:03.400
left door and the creepy staircase with flashlights attached to

744
00:54:03.480 --> 00:54:06.440
a headband and my waistband, I was good to go.

745
00:54:06.519 --> 00:54:08.880
To keep my hands free for whatever I might need

746
00:54:08.920 --> 00:54:12.719
them for, I attached a safety rope like mountain climbers

747
00:54:12.760 --> 00:54:15.519
do and found a sturdy spot to anchor it into

748
00:54:15.599 --> 00:54:18.480
the wall. If the stairs gave out on me, at

749
00:54:18.559 --> 00:54:23.239
least I wouldn't fall as advertised. Every stair creaked like

750
00:54:23.280 --> 00:54:26.320
it was about to give out, but thankfully none of

751
00:54:26.320 --> 00:54:30.440
them did. The trip down was an assault on the senses.

752
00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:34.239
The damp, musty smell of rotting wood in general decay

753
00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:38.199
was nearly overwhelming. I was surprised at the general lack

754
00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:41.880
of cobwebs. It told me this area wasn't quite as

755
00:54:41.920 --> 00:54:46.400
off limits as some had let on. Surprisingly, the bottom

756
00:54:46.440 --> 00:54:49.400
didn't open up into a full basement. There were a

757
00:54:49.440 --> 00:54:52.000
few wooden shelves at the base of the stairs, but

758
00:54:52.599 --> 00:54:58.400
they were empty. Instead, it became a narrow passageway. The

759
00:54:58.440 --> 00:55:00.920
floor was made of dirt, and the walls were the

760
00:55:00.960 --> 00:55:03.679
same stone the foundation of the church was made from.

761
00:55:04.599 --> 00:55:07.639
It seemed whoever had built this tunnel built it at

762
00:55:07.679 --> 00:55:11.480
the same time as the church. The ceiling barely made

763
00:55:11.480 --> 00:55:14.039
it to six feet. I had to duck to keep

764
00:55:14.039 --> 00:55:17.360
from brushing my head against it. I wasn't sure what

765
00:55:17.400 --> 00:55:20.559
I expected to find, but this was the key to

766
00:55:20.639 --> 00:55:24.800
discovering what was happening here. I had been walking for

767
00:55:24.880 --> 00:55:29.320
ten minutes since his alert hand on my holstered side arm.

768
00:55:30.519 --> 00:55:35.360
Suddenly the air changed, The smell became more pungent and

769
00:55:35.400 --> 00:55:39.400
the air warmer. There was a feeling of closing in

770
00:55:39.480 --> 00:55:42.719
that made the hairs on my arms stand up. I

771
00:55:42.800 --> 00:55:45.280
turned a corner and the tunnel opened into a large

772
00:55:45.360 --> 00:55:49.000
room with a high ceiling. I panned around, trying to

773
00:55:49.039 --> 00:55:51.639
get the scope of the room, when my light fell

774
00:55:51.679 --> 00:55:55.480
on something big in the corner. It looked like a

775
00:55:55.519 --> 00:56:01.719
massive black boulder that was made of leather. Watching transfixed,

776
00:56:02.039 --> 00:56:06.440
I noticed it was moving, not much, but just a bit,

777
00:56:06.639 --> 00:56:14.199
rising and falling. I realized it was breathing. Fear gripped me.

778
00:56:14.920 --> 00:56:17.480
I no longer had any interest in finding out what

779
00:56:17.639 --> 00:56:20.360
was going on here. I just wanted to turn and

780
00:56:20.440 --> 00:56:26.559
slowly back away. The thing made a noise. It was

781
00:56:26.599 --> 00:56:29.719
either a snort or a cough, but in either case

782
00:56:29.760 --> 00:56:33.480
it seemed to be waking up. I doused my lights

783
00:56:33.519 --> 00:56:36.639
and stayed as still as possible while listening in the

784
00:56:36.679 --> 00:56:42.400
total darkness. Its breathing became louder and less steady. I

785
00:56:42.440 --> 00:56:45.880
heard a creaking that sounded like bones when someone stretched.

786
00:56:47.000 --> 00:56:49.719
It was getting up, and I was standing in the

787
00:56:49.719 --> 00:56:53.559
middle of the tunnel. If by some miracle, it didn't

788
00:56:53.599 --> 00:56:56.440
already know I was here, as soon as it walked

789
00:56:56.440 --> 00:56:59.679
over here, it would run right into me. My mind

790
00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:02.480
raised to come up with options. As I heard footsteps

791
00:57:02.800 --> 00:57:07.199
coming closer. I backed up against the wall and started

792
00:57:07.320 --> 00:57:09.840
edging to the left, hoping I was in the main

793
00:57:09.960 --> 00:57:13.760
room and not still in the tunnel. The footsteps were

794
00:57:13.800 --> 00:57:17.440
so close when they suddenly stopped, the absence of sound

795
00:57:17.559 --> 00:57:20.440
was deafening. I tried to hold my breath as I

796
00:57:20.519 --> 00:57:24.440
listened for the beast's breathing. It was slow and sporadic,

797
00:57:25.159 --> 00:57:29.880
as if it was listening for me. Neither of us moved.

798
00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:34.360
We barely breathed, each waiting for the other to reveal

799
00:57:34.400 --> 00:57:38.239
their location. My hand drifted to the gun as I

800
00:57:38.280 --> 00:57:40.920
tried to pull it out of the holster as quietly

801
00:57:40.920 --> 00:57:45.159
as possible. The air shifted. The beast had moved, but

802
00:57:45.239 --> 00:57:49.400
I didn't know where. I heard a strange squelching sound,

803
00:57:49.840 --> 00:57:54.760
and then, what are you doing, mister Jones. I tried

804
00:57:54.800 --> 00:57:58.719
to hold off as long as possible, but curiosity got

805
00:57:58.719 --> 00:58:01.599
the best of me. I turned on my headlamp to

806
00:58:01.599 --> 00:58:05.000
find the owner standing right in front of me, staring

807
00:58:05.039 --> 00:58:10.199
at me with a maddening smile. My eyes darted around

808
00:58:10.320 --> 00:58:14.199
looking for the beast, but I knew I wouldn't find it.

809
00:58:14.199 --> 00:58:18.199
It was standing in front of me. So are you

810
00:58:18.360 --> 00:58:21.519
the real thing, I said, hoping to keep the panic

811
00:58:21.519 --> 00:58:24.840
out of my voice, or are you some shape shifter

812
00:58:24.920 --> 00:58:27.719
who pretends to be someone else because he has no

813
00:58:27.840 --> 00:58:31.800
identity of his own. I am whoever I want to be,

814
00:58:32.480 --> 00:58:36.199
he said. I heard the squelching again, only this time

815
00:58:36.239 --> 00:58:39.760
I had the displeasure of watching it happen. His entire

816
00:58:39.840 --> 00:58:43.719
body rippled and tore itself apart, only to reform into

817
00:58:43.719 --> 00:58:47.239
the beast for a moment, then tear apart again and

818
00:58:47.360 --> 00:58:53.599
reform into something much more terrifying. I gasped, looking into

819
00:58:53.599 --> 00:58:58.639
my very own eyes. You see, he said in my voice,

820
00:58:59.320 --> 00:59:02.440
I can take your place and travel around pretending to

821
00:59:02.480 --> 00:59:06.679
solve problems. While he was changing, I glanced around to

822
00:59:06.760 --> 00:59:08.639
see if there was anything else in the room I

823
00:59:08.639 --> 00:59:11.639
could use. In the far corner, I saw what looked

824
00:59:11.679 --> 00:59:15.320
like a nest and an inverted cross hanging on the wall.

825
00:59:16.719 --> 00:59:21.039
If you could, why haven't you, I said, playing a hunch.

826
00:59:22.199 --> 00:59:25.559
What if you were free to go anywhere, then why

827
00:59:25.599 --> 00:59:27.760
haven't you? Why sit here in the middle of the

828
00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:32.000
woods with nothing to do. I choose to stay here,

829
00:59:32.559 --> 00:59:36.480
he said, in my voice. You choose because this is

830
00:59:36.480 --> 00:59:41.320
where your power is? You know so little. I'm rebuilding

831
00:59:41.320 --> 00:59:44.119
this place so my worshippers can live here and pray

832
00:59:44.199 --> 00:59:48.320
to me, giving me all the power I need, just

833
00:59:48.400 --> 00:59:51.719
like when this place was first built, and until my

834
00:59:51.880 --> 00:59:57.440
followers thrive, I survive off of human sacrifices. So you

835
00:59:57.519 --> 01:00:00.599
did kill the worker, and no one rem members him,

836
01:00:01.360 --> 01:00:05.440
just like they won't remember you. He grinned and took

837
01:00:05.480 --> 01:00:08.000
a step toward me, but I drew my pistol and

838
01:00:08.039 --> 01:00:11.440
shot him in the forehead. He fell to the ground, bleeding.

839
01:00:12.400 --> 01:00:15.679
It was a strange sight to watch myself die. But

840
01:00:15.840 --> 01:00:19.639
then the squelching began again and he reshaped into his

841
01:00:19.679 --> 01:00:23.840
demonic form. He stood ten feet tall and covered in

842
01:00:23.960 --> 01:00:27.559
leathery skin that looked like tiny teeth. His face was

843
01:00:27.639 --> 01:00:31.079
a nightmare of glowing red eyes and massive sharp fangs.

844
01:00:31.599 --> 01:00:34.679
He roared at me in what sounded like a thousand voices.

845
01:00:35.320 --> 01:00:37.880
I turned and ran down the tunnel, ducking so I

846
01:00:37.920 --> 01:00:40.920
didn't hit my head and knock myself out. That would

847
01:00:40.960 --> 01:00:44.840
have ended my escape and my life. I heard the

848
01:00:44.880 --> 01:00:49.159
squelching again and heard my voice call after me. He

849
01:00:49.280 --> 01:00:52.480
can't escape, and besides, I know how to find you.

850
01:00:53.199 --> 01:00:56.960
I turned and fired, hitting him or me in the chest.

851
01:00:57.559 --> 01:01:01.280
He dropped and squelched again. I wanted to watch him

852
01:01:01.320 --> 01:01:04.679
turn into his demon form, to see him squashed into

853
01:01:04.719 --> 01:01:07.480
the tunnel that was too small for him. But I

854
01:01:07.519 --> 01:01:11.320
didn't dare squander this time for anything but escape. It

855
01:01:11.400 --> 01:01:14.519
seemed like forever until I came to the stairs. I

856
01:01:14.599 --> 01:01:17.559
took them two at a time. Once I reached the top,

857
01:01:17.639 --> 01:01:20.360
I turned to see him at the bottom. I shot

858
01:01:20.440 --> 01:01:24.239
him again, then found a lantern inside the church, lit

859
01:01:24.280 --> 01:01:28.559
it and tossed it down the stairs. The glass shattered,

860
01:01:28.559 --> 01:01:31.960
spreading fire all over the bottom stairs. They began to

861
01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:36.519
burn almost immediately. I could hear his desperate cries as

862
01:01:36.559 --> 01:01:41.079
the flames crawled up the stairs, destroying them one by one.

863
01:01:41.400 --> 01:01:44.239
Turning and running out the doors, I didn't bother with

864
01:01:44.320 --> 01:01:47.159
my things in my room. I hopped in my car

865
01:01:47.559 --> 01:01:50.440
and drove like a bat out of well, you know.

866
01:01:51.519 --> 01:01:53.920
My hands shook on the steering wheel as I glanced

867
01:01:53.920 --> 01:01:56.760
in my rear view mirror, hoping I wouldn't see that

868
01:01:56.920 --> 01:02:02.400
thing chasing me. Instead, I saw a glow growing in

869
01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:06.519
the forest behind me. I prayed the whole church was

870
01:02:06.519 --> 01:02:10.119
on fire and it would spread to all the houses.

871
01:02:11.119 --> 01:02:13.800
I only wished his followers were in the houses when

872
01:02:13.840 --> 01:02:17.400
they burned. I wondered how many more places there were

873
01:02:17.559 --> 01:02:28.880
like this in the world. Bite me by David O'Hanlon.

874
01:02:31.960 --> 01:02:35.079
The rabbit exited the log he'd taken shelter in and

875
01:02:35.199 --> 01:02:37.639
kicked at the fleas that had done much the same

876
01:02:38.079 --> 01:02:42.599
inside his ear. The bunny stretched then hopped onto the log.

877
01:02:43.360 --> 01:02:46.920
His nose twitched in the adorable way that rabbit noses do.

878
01:02:48.039 --> 01:02:51.400
The air was cool and smelled of the previous night's storm.

879
01:02:52.159 --> 01:02:55.800
The morning sun caught in the dewdrops bedazzling the high

880
01:02:55.840 --> 01:02:59.760
grass of the meadow. His beady eyes surveyed the land.

881
01:03:00.400 --> 01:03:04.440
Parasites be dammed. It was a beautiful morning in the Ozarks.

882
01:03:05.400 --> 01:03:08.400
Just across the field there was a downward slope that

883
01:03:08.519 --> 01:03:12.480
led to a narrow holler rife with tight caves. Berry

884
01:03:12.480 --> 01:03:16.280
bushes grew plentifully, and rain water pooled in the various

885
01:03:16.320 --> 01:03:20.480
porous stones. For the small fur bearers of the forest,

886
01:03:21.000 --> 01:03:23.840
it was like hanging out at the mall. The rabbit

887
01:03:23.920 --> 01:03:27.119
was only half way across the field and could already

888
01:03:27.199 --> 01:03:30.559
smell the females. He was late to the party, but

889
01:03:31.119 --> 01:03:34.760
it was better to be late than belated. A persistent

890
01:03:34.880 --> 01:03:38.000
eagle had chased him for over an hour the day before,

891
01:03:38.679 --> 01:03:42.679
forcing him out of his normal foraging range. He finally

892
01:03:42.760 --> 01:03:46.280
managed to escape at the expense of a squirrel that

893
01:03:46.360 --> 01:03:50.199
had been distracted by an acorn. Even in the woods,

894
01:03:50.800 --> 01:03:54.920
shit happens. The storm rolled in before the rabbit could

895
01:03:54.960 --> 01:03:58.440
get back to the warren, necessitating a night in the

896
01:03:58.480 --> 01:04:02.760
log motel. The rabbit knew arriving late wasn't going to

897
01:04:02.840 --> 01:04:06.639
hurt his chances any Aside from the fleas, he was

898
01:04:06.679 --> 01:04:11.000
the perfect specimen of rabbit masculinity. He was almost to

899
01:04:11.039 --> 01:04:14.519
the safety of the trees when a shadow cast over

900
01:04:14.639 --> 01:04:20.159
him from above. Before he could react, the flaming mass

901
01:04:20.199 --> 01:04:24.000
struck in front of him. The earth erupted, and the

902
01:04:24.079 --> 01:04:30.880
rabbit disappeared, his body becoming indistinguishable from the explosion. His

903
01:04:31.000 --> 01:04:34.400
head bounced when it finally came back down and rolled

904
01:04:34.400 --> 01:04:38.280
to a stop next to the smoldering crater left by

905
01:04:38.320 --> 01:04:42.360
the falling object. His dead eyes stared at the scorched

906
01:04:42.400 --> 01:04:45.719
metal and the strange glow of the other worldly power

907
01:04:45.800 --> 01:04:50.840
source that had taken it across the galaxy and inside

908
01:04:50.880 --> 01:04:54.880
the rabbit's ears, the fleas enjoyed their meal next to

909
01:04:54.920 --> 01:05:04.760
a romantic radioactive fire. Several months later, Lilah's nails tore

910
01:05:04.960 --> 01:05:08.920
through the tense nylon bottom as she climaxed yet again.

911
01:05:09.960 --> 01:05:13.440
Rocco was a terrible boyfriend and a miserable human being,

912
01:05:14.320 --> 01:05:17.840
but he was a great lay. With that in mind,

913
01:05:17.920 --> 01:05:20.519
she'd suggested they camp in the woods the night before

914
01:05:20.639 --> 01:05:23.960
the big reunion in hopes they could fuck away any

915
01:05:24.000 --> 01:05:27.840
relationship tensions that might boil over during the weekend with

916
01:05:27.880 --> 01:05:32.320
their former high school click. Rocco groaned and collapsed on

917
01:05:32.400 --> 01:05:36.880
top of her, signaling the end of round three without

918
01:05:36.920 --> 01:05:39.519
taking any of his weight off. He reached from the

919
01:05:39.559 --> 01:05:43.039
nearby pack of camels and pulled one out with his teeth.

920
01:05:43.840 --> 01:05:48.519
Got a spare. She asked about ten of them, he replied,

921
01:05:48.920 --> 01:05:52.239
tossing the pack into the corner of the tent. Rocco

922
01:05:52.400 --> 01:05:56.679
crawled over Lilah and unzipped the entrance, freeing the accumulated

923
01:05:56.679 --> 01:06:00.599
body heat and pheromones of the last hour his smoke,

924
01:06:00.679 --> 01:06:04.280
and discarded the lighter before shuffling out into the humid

925
01:06:04.440 --> 01:06:10.000
Arkansas evening. Twenty yards away, Antenna twitched to life and

926
01:06:10.159 --> 01:06:13.000
rose out of the protection of the fossie to take

927
01:06:13.039 --> 01:06:17.039
in the chemical stench of sex and co two. The

928
01:06:17.079 --> 01:06:21.000
combination hit the creature's sensory organs, bringing it out of

929
01:06:21.000 --> 01:06:25.159
its torpor like a fresh cup of folgers. Rocco, the

930
01:06:25.239 --> 01:06:29.119
last true gentleman, wiped his cock on the tent flap

931
01:06:29.400 --> 01:06:31.960
and then walked to the tree line to relieve himself.

932
01:06:32.880 --> 01:06:35.840
He took a long pull from the cigarette and thought

933
01:06:35.840 --> 01:06:39.719
about the others as his bladder let loose. Every year

934
01:06:39.800 --> 01:06:43.400
since high school, they'd gotten together at Hawk's family cabin

935
01:06:43.519 --> 01:06:48.519
to brag about their accomplishments, and every year Rocco had

936
01:06:48.599 --> 01:06:52.679
nothing to add to the conversation. He hated those assholes.

937
01:06:53.199 --> 01:06:58.119
They wasted their lives being overachievers, and every reunion they

938
01:06:58.159 --> 01:07:01.320
tried to make him feel bad, like he was wasting

939
01:07:01.440 --> 01:07:06.239
so much potential, as if he did everything he wanted

940
01:07:06.280 --> 01:07:11.280
to without the burden of success. Successful people set expectations

941
01:07:11.320 --> 01:07:14.360
that they have to live up to, whereas Roco just

942
01:07:14.440 --> 01:07:19.079
had to live to exceed expectations. Piss spattered his feet,

943
01:07:19.519 --> 01:07:23.480
breaking him out of his self congratulations. He looked down

944
01:07:23.519 --> 01:07:27.280
at his bare toes and something shuffling through the fallen

945
01:07:27.360 --> 01:07:31.679
leaves toward him. Roco redirected the stream in its direction.

946
01:07:32.760 --> 01:07:38.320
Whatever it was stopped but didn't retreat. Kinky, little son

947
01:07:38.360 --> 01:07:42.280
of a bitch, aren't you, he chuckled. The warm fluid

948
01:07:42.400 --> 01:07:45.920
rolled down the armored plates to the still stiff limbs

949
01:07:45.960 --> 01:07:49.920
of the creature. Its simple eyes zeroed in on the

950
01:07:49.960 --> 01:07:53.719
source of the heat. The glowing end of the cigarette

951
01:07:54.119 --> 01:07:57.039
could have been an ice cube compared to the bright

952
01:07:57.199 --> 01:08:02.559
glow of Rocko's shrinking erection. The creature sprang for cover.

953
01:08:03.960 --> 01:08:07.280
Lilah scuttled out of the tent in a panic. Roco's

954
01:08:07.320 --> 01:08:10.559
shrill screams drew nearer, and she spun on her hands

955
01:08:10.559 --> 01:08:13.679
and knees, trying to find out where they were coming from.

956
01:08:14.639 --> 01:08:18.920
She finally spotted him. He stumbled wildly with a large

957
01:08:19.000 --> 01:08:22.960
dark object obscuring his crotch Like an over zealous censor.

958
01:08:23.960 --> 01:08:27.560
The thing fell between his legs, bloated with its first meal.

959
01:08:28.640 --> 01:08:33.159
Blood rerupted from the swollen, torn flesh volcano that had

960
01:08:33.199 --> 01:08:37.600
once been Roco's penis and showered the foot long insect.

961
01:08:38.239 --> 01:08:41.199
It rolled on to all six feet and turned its

962
01:08:41.239 --> 01:08:47.119
gaze to the hot, terrified exhalations of Lilah. She started

963
01:08:47.159 --> 01:08:50.800
to scream, but the creature was too fast. In a

964
01:08:50.840 --> 01:08:54.600
single bound, it covered the distance between them and impacted

965
01:08:54.640 --> 01:08:58.159
her face with the force of a baseball bat. Teeth

966
01:08:58.239 --> 01:09:01.760
flew into the darkness, and the giant flea turned its

967
01:09:01.800 --> 01:09:05.920
attention to the blood pooling in the young woman's mouth.

968
01:09:07.039 --> 01:09:11.039
The serrated stylets of its mouth plunged into the puddle

969
01:09:11.640 --> 01:09:17.600
and threw the back of her skull. The next afternoon,

970
01:09:19.479 --> 01:09:23.800
that fucking losers probably in jail again, Hawk said, as

971
01:09:23.840 --> 01:09:28.039
he navigated down the steep slope of the holler. Roco

972
01:09:28.159 --> 01:09:32.039
keeps getting older, but he's never gonna grow up. Kara

973
01:09:32.079 --> 01:09:35.600
and I are about to open our second dealership. Rocco's

974
01:09:35.680 --> 01:09:41.199
still passing around his first demo. The world needs musicians

975
01:09:41.239 --> 01:09:45.439
as much as it needs car salesman Danny replied. His

976
01:09:45.640 --> 01:09:51.479
bands called Thundercock. Hawk snorted, let's not pretend he's Beethoven.

977
01:09:52.600 --> 01:09:56.119
I meant we shouldn't downplay the value of art, not

978
01:09:56.279 --> 01:10:02.079
that he was making any Thundercock is dune. Brian chimed in,

979
01:10:02.720 --> 01:10:05.439
but I gotta admit they're just as good as a

980
01:10:05.439 --> 01:10:11.720
lot of mainstream bands White Snake, Danny said, curiously, Yeah,

981
01:10:11.840 --> 01:10:16.119
they're on that list, Brian replied, before noticing his wife

982
01:10:16.439 --> 01:10:21.560
had stopped to inspect something in the foliage. Wait, you

983
01:10:21.640 --> 01:10:25.600
mean you saw a snake, Brian shivered. The woods are

984
01:10:25.680 --> 01:10:28.039
just a part of life when you grow up in Arkansas,

985
01:10:28.439 --> 01:10:31.279
but that doesn't mean you have to like everything about them.

986
01:10:31.880 --> 01:10:34.439
Ever since an incident in the Scouts, when he first

987
01:10:34.479 --> 01:10:37.640
came face to face with a copper head nesting on

988
01:10:37.680 --> 01:10:40.560
the side of a tree trunk, Brian had a lurking

989
01:10:40.680 --> 01:10:46.239
fear that the scheming serpents constantly surrounded him. Next to

990
01:10:46.279 --> 01:10:51.439
that log, Danny told him, a solid white snake, that's

991
01:10:51.560 --> 01:10:55.319
no log, Hawk said, pushing past her for a better look.

992
01:10:56.279 --> 01:10:59.920
Would it kill y'all to slow down? Kara's thick toe

993
01:11:00.359 --> 01:11:04.159
called from the top of the embankment. Take your time, honey,

994
01:11:04.520 --> 01:11:09.720
Frank said, dismissively. The opaque things slithered under the log.

995
01:11:10.239 --> 01:11:14.199
When the humans got too close. Danny circled the object

996
01:11:14.199 --> 01:11:17.960
and put a hand on her stomach. Revulsion churned her,

997
01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:22.800
still digesting breakfast like a queason art. The desiccated skin

998
01:11:23.000 --> 01:11:27.880
had shrunk back, making the terrifying teeth look even more menacing.

999
01:11:29.039 --> 01:11:34.439
There was no blood anywhere. Stranger still, no bugs chewed

1000
01:11:34.520 --> 01:11:40.640
on the dehydrated flesh. It's a bear, Hawk nearly whispered,

1001
01:11:42.000 --> 01:11:47.920
why does it look like that? Danny asked, dehydration, Brian

1002
01:11:48.039 --> 01:11:55.279
said as he approached. It's been shit. It's mummified. Revenge

1003
01:11:55.319 --> 01:12:01.760
of the mummy bear. Wah, Hawk teased, Come on, man, mummified,

1004
01:12:03.079 --> 01:12:08.840
that's why nothing's eating it. Brian informed him. He's bear jerky.

1005
01:12:10.039 --> 01:12:14.319
Sucks to be him. Hawk shrugged. The lake is calling

1006
01:12:14.600 --> 01:12:20.319
the fuck Something just touched my ankle. The leaves shuffled

1007
01:12:20.359 --> 01:12:24.520
around them, and something long and white inched along beneath

1008
01:12:24.600 --> 01:12:30.000
their cover. Then more, something's moved. Brian kicked at the

1009
01:12:30.039 --> 01:12:35.520
detritus and saw the six inch larvae crawling hurriedly toward

1010
01:12:35.600 --> 01:12:40.600
the shelter of the bear's corpse. Well that's enough outside

1011
01:12:40.640 --> 01:12:46.039
for me, he grumbled. Ditto. Danny whispered, What are y'all

1012
01:12:46.039 --> 01:12:49.079
looking at? Down there? Kara called as she tried to

1013
01:12:49.119 --> 01:12:52.960
ease down the decline, but only managed a semi controlled

1014
01:12:53.039 --> 01:12:57.039
slide instead. Gosh, did y'all see that? I almost fell

1015
01:12:57.119 --> 01:13:00.000
right on my keyster. Ain't this where we saw them

1016
01:13:00.079 --> 01:13:03.680
squirrels last year? The other three looked around at the

1017
01:13:03.680 --> 01:13:08.199
still trees. The dingbat was right. It had been like

1018
01:13:08.279 --> 01:13:12.079
a Disney scene when they last visited, with every variety

1019
01:13:12.119 --> 01:13:16.039
of woodland critter having a block party despite the encroachment

1020
01:13:16.079 --> 01:13:20.159
of the nuisance of humans. Even Roco's boombox and his

1021
01:13:20.279 --> 01:13:24.960
metallica tape hadn't been enough to disturb them. But this time,

1022
01:13:26.039 --> 01:13:30.840
where are all the fucking animals? Brian asked. Danny knelt

1023
01:13:30.840 --> 01:13:34.800
beside a strangely shaped stone and flipped it over, revealing

1024
01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:39.239
the bucked teeth. Just like the bear, the jack rabbit

1025
01:13:39.279 --> 01:13:44.159
had been completely dried out by something. Snap it to

1026
01:13:44.239 --> 01:13:48.800
a slim gym Hawk said, holding up the dehydrated remains

1027
01:13:48.800 --> 01:13:52.319
of a raccoon by its tail. What the hell could

1028
01:13:52.319 --> 01:13:58.119
have done this? That? Though those Danny finally managed to

1029
01:13:58.159 --> 01:14:02.640
get out, she pointed on steadily toward Kara. The dark

1030
01:14:02.680 --> 01:14:06.119
sclerites that armored their bodies blended in with the rocks

1031
01:14:06.239 --> 01:14:10.239
jutting from the hillside almost perfectly. One of the insects

1032
01:14:10.279 --> 01:14:13.239
launched itself at Kara, so quickly that it appeared to

1033
01:14:13.319 --> 01:14:16.880
teleport from its moss covered perch to the pale skin

1034
01:14:17.000 --> 01:14:21.800
beneath the ragged hem of Kara's cutoffs. The impact sent

1035
01:14:21.840 --> 01:14:25.039
her to the ground with a muted squeal. Two more

1036
01:14:25.079 --> 01:14:28.720
fleas pounced on her. The cracking of her rib cage

1037
01:14:29.000 --> 01:14:34.560
sent the others running. Like a starter pistol, a flea jumped,

1038
01:14:34.680 --> 01:14:37.720
covering twenty feet in the blink of an eye. It

1039
01:14:37.880 --> 01:14:42.279
landed between Hawk's broad shoulders and pierced his back, scraping

1040
01:14:42.359 --> 01:14:46.319
against the scapula with its mouth parts. The former football

1041
01:14:46.359 --> 01:14:50.319
star tumbled forward and rolled back to his feet. The

1042
01:14:50.359 --> 01:14:53.520
fall shook the bug loose, but the armored body had

1043
01:14:53.560 --> 01:14:56.319
protected it from the weight of the human crashing down

1044
01:14:56.399 --> 01:14:59.640
on top of it. Another flea landed on his chest.

1045
01:15:00.359 --> 01:15:03.520
Hawk pulled it away before it could bite. He tried

1046
01:15:03.520 --> 01:15:06.119
to squash it in between his hands, and when that

1047
01:15:06.159 --> 01:15:11.000
didn't work, opted for headbutting it. The exoskeleton ruptured with

1048
01:15:11.079 --> 01:15:14.760
a spray of hemolymph a cross Hawk's face. The flea's

1049
01:15:14.800 --> 01:15:19.000
forelimbs grappled with the human's wrists. Its hooked feet latched

1050
01:15:19.000 --> 01:15:21.520
into the muscles and ripped them free from the bone.

1051
01:15:22.239 --> 01:15:26.560
Hawk dropped the bug and stumbled away. He stared helplessly

1052
01:15:26.680 --> 01:15:31.039
at the mauled tissue and exposed arteries within. The two

1053
01:15:31.119 --> 01:15:35.239
fleas leaped at the wounds. Their voracious appetites overpowered the

1054
01:15:35.319 --> 01:15:41.079
giant human. In seconds, Hawk's whirled spun, his knees wobbled,

1055
01:15:41.079 --> 01:15:45.479
and his vision blurred. He hit the ground hard, but

1056
01:15:45.600 --> 01:15:51.239
it did not disturb the buffet. Long after everything went dark,

1057
01:15:51.760 --> 01:15:56.279
he could still hear them slurping noisily at the last

1058
01:15:56.399 --> 01:16:04.079
drops of his life. Danny didn't know where the hell

1059
01:16:04.239 --> 01:16:07.560
she was running to, but knew that wherever it was

1060
01:16:07.640 --> 01:16:11.279
would be better than where they'd been. They'd stumbled into

1061
01:16:11.319 --> 01:16:15.199
the monster bug's nest. Once they were far enough away,

1062
01:16:15.560 --> 01:16:18.920
they'd be safe. At least, she hoped that was how

1063
01:16:18.960 --> 01:16:22.920
it worked. She didn't know much about regular insects, let

1064
01:16:22.960 --> 01:16:29.000
alone twelve inch demon fleas. Left. Brian gasped, he slowed

1065
01:16:29.039 --> 01:16:32.880
to a jog Go left. Danny was breathing too hard

1066
01:16:32.920 --> 01:16:36.319
to speak. Her legs were on fire. She wanted to

1067
01:16:36.359 --> 01:16:39.680
stop running to gather her thoughts to formulate a plan,

1068
01:16:40.279 --> 01:16:43.520
but she was convinced every stone and massive leaves she

1069
01:16:43.640 --> 01:16:48.439
saw was another one of those damned things. She banked left,

1070
01:16:48.560 --> 01:16:52.520
jumping over a fallen log, and veered towards something resembling

1071
01:16:52.640 --> 01:16:57.479
a trail. It is a trail, she realized. Two years

1072
01:16:57.520 --> 01:17:01.039
before they'd ridden hawks three wheelers along the path. To

1073
01:17:01.079 --> 01:17:04.039
an abandoned summer camp on the north end of the lake.

1074
01:17:04.680 --> 01:17:08.920
They weren't far from the cabin. More importantly, they weren't

1075
01:17:08.960 --> 01:17:12.760
far from their jeep. Danny's energy levels surged with her

1076
01:17:12.800 --> 01:17:16.920
new hopefulness. She ignored the pain and pushed onward, faster

1077
01:17:17.079 --> 01:17:21.560
than before. After several minutes, the path grew steeper. Her

1078
01:17:21.640 --> 01:17:25.199
legs couldn't hold up any longer, and she fell forward,

1079
01:17:25.880 --> 01:17:28.880
but didn't allow it to stop her. She dug her

1080
01:17:28.880 --> 01:17:32.319
fingers into the earth, crawling along until she could run again,

1081
01:17:33.119 --> 01:17:37.800
then falling and repeating the process all the way to safety.

1082
01:17:38.239 --> 01:17:41.319
She didn't stop until she'd clambered up the steps and

1083
01:17:41.399 --> 01:17:45.199
onto the front porch. Spots filled Danny's vision as she

1084
01:17:45.279 --> 01:17:49.199
lay there, choking on the breaths she tried desperately to inhale.

1085
01:17:50.119 --> 01:17:53.560
It took several minutes until she gained some control over

1086
01:17:53.600 --> 01:17:59.920
herself and finally sat up. She was alone. Fear fled

1087
01:18:00.279 --> 01:18:05.119
her with another burst of adrenaline. Brian Brian. Danny looked

1088
01:18:05.119 --> 01:18:10.520
around frantically. Brian answer me, he didn't. The woods were

1089
01:18:10.560 --> 01:18:13.760
as still and dead as that bear had been, as

1090
01:18:13.800 --> 01:18:19.680
her friends were, as Brian probably was two. Danny climbed

1091
01:18:19.720 --> 01:18:22.640
to her feet, taking only a few seconds to scan

1092
01:18:22.720 --> 01:18:26.520
the path for him. Once more, no one was coming.

1093
01:18:27.479 --> 01:18:29.800
She threw open the cabin door and ran to their

1094
01:18:29.880 --> 01:18:32.760
room for the car keys. He'll be there when you

1095
01:18:32.800 --> 01:18:37.039
get outside, she told herself. He's never been a strong runner.

1096
01:18:37.079 --> 01:18:39.000
He'll catch up by the time you find the keys.

1097
01:18:39.079 --> 01:18:43.319
He's probably waiting at the jeep already. She grabbed the

1098
01:18:43.399 --> 01:18:47.399
rabbit's foot keychain from the nightstand and rolled the soft

1099
01:18:47.520 --> 01:18:51.119
ornament in her palm. Her dad gave it to her

1100
01:18:51.159 --> 01:18:56.079
the first day of college for good luck. Good luck,

1101
01:18:56.520 --> 01:19:00.319
she laughed softly. Hugh had four of them, and look

1102
01:19:00.359 --> 01:19:05.039
what happened to you? Glass broke in the kitchen. Danny

1103
01:19:05.079 --> 01:19:07.880
stuffed the keys into her shorts and crept stealthily into

1104
01:19:07.880 --> 01:19:12.159
the hallway. A pan clattered to the floor. She looked

1105
01:19:12.199 --> 01:19:15.720
around for a weapon, though she wasn't sure exactly what

1106
01:19:15.880 --> 01:19:20.359
she could use to fight a giant flea. She eased

1107
01:19:20.399 --> 01:19:24.319
along the wall to the kitchen door. A cabinet banged open.

1108
01:19:25.000 --> 01:19:29.680
More things crashed. Another cabinet slammed. She took a deep

1109
01:19:29.720 --> 01:19:34.880
breath and momentarily forgot how to exhale. The bugs didn't

1110
01:19:34.880 --> 01:19:38.000
have a reason to trash the place, which meant someone

1111
01:19:38.199 --> 01:19:43.880
or something else was inside. She finally managed to let

1112
01:19:43.960 --> 01:19:48.279
go of the captive breath and rounded the jam. The

1113
01:19:48.359 --> 01:19:54.279
scream was unintentional. Kara leaned on the counter, wheezing. Sweat

1114
01:19:54.319 --> 01:19:58.000
plastered her hair to her face. Bug bites the size

1115
01:19:58.039 --> 01:20:03.159
of hubcaps oozed from their gate centers. Kara scratched violently

1116
01:20:03.199 --> 01:20:06.199
at them, chris crossing the deep furrows she'd left with

1117
01:20:06.279 --> 01:20:12.399
earlier attempts. Vomits stained her gory shirt. Her eyes were

1118
01:20:12.479 --> 01:20:17.560
milky puff filled orbs tinged with pink swirls from the

1119
01:20:17.640 --> 01:20:23.119
internal Hemorrhaging convulsions racked her body, bringing her to her knees.

1120
01:20:24.039 --> 01:20:28.399
Danny started toward her, kicking something across the floor. She

1121
01:20:28.520 --> 01:20:32.239
followed the noise as it rolled it bumped against the

1122
01:20:32.319 --> 01:20:36.039
leg of the dining room table. Danny smiled at the

1123
01:20:36.119 --> 01:20:39.680
yellow can of six twelve, the insect repellent that had

1124
01:20:39.680 --> 01:20:43.039
been banned the year before, but Kara insisted it was

1125
01:20:43.079 --> 01:20:46.520
the only thing that worked against the beefy mosquitoes of

1126
01:20:46.600 --> 01:20:50.800
bull shoals. Apparently it worked on mutant fleas as well.

1127
01:20:51.520 --> 01:20:53.800
That must have been what Kara was searching for in

1128
01:20:53.880 --> 01:20:57.560
the ah. Kara moaned and clawed at the bite on

1129
01:20:57.600 --> 01:21:02.840
her chest. She coughed, hacking up crimson phlegm. Stop, make

1130
01:21:02.880 --> 01:21:07.199
it stop. Kara banged the inside of her head against

1131
01:21:07.279 --> 01:21:13.520
the counter. Stop it, she hissed. The banging grew harder faster.

1132
01:21:14.199 --> 01:21:19.680
The trim cracked. Spatter decorated the cabinet doors. Kara continued

1133
01:21:19.720 --> 01:21:23.840
shrieking and moaning like one of the undead. Danny dived

1134
01:21:23.840 --> 01:21:28.159
for the can of repellent. Kara's screams were punctuated by

1135
01:21:28.199 --> 01:21:31.800
the frantic strikes of her head against the counter. Then

1136
01:21:32.760 --> 01:21:37.159
she collapsed. Gray matter pushed through the shards of broken

1137
01:21:37.279 --> 01:21:41.319
skull to mingle with the other fluids in Kara's matted hair.

1138
01:21:42.920 --> 01:21:45.960
Danny stretched her sweat drenched T shirt over her nose.

1139
01:21:46.840 --> 01:21:50.520
Fleas carried plagus. She didn't want to believe that's what

1140
01:21:50.560 --> 01:21:54.239
the bugs were, but there was no denying it. The

1141
01:21:54.279 --> 01:21:58.640
way they jumped, the way they ate. Giant fleas had

1142
01:21:58.680 --> 01:22:02.840
attacked them, and if the insects had mutated, then maybe

1143
01:22:02.880 --> 01:22:06.720
the viruses they carried had as well. She backed out

1144
01:22:06.760 --> 01:22:10.399
of the kitchen, rubbing the repellent across her exposed areas.

1145
01:22:11.000 --> 01:22:13.680
She blasted through the front door, then slid to a

1146
01:22:13.680 --> 01:22:18.760
sudden halt. Everything was quiet, save for the ticking of

1147
01:22:18.800 --> 01:22:23.880
the tin roof expanding in the afternoon sun. A childhood

1148
01:22:23.920 --> 01:22:27.520
memory scratched at the back of her mind, as persistent

1149
01:22:27.600 --> 01:22:30.880
as any flea bite. She thought about the stray that

1150
01:22:30.960 --> 01:22:35.159
had wandered into their yard when she was five. The

1151
01:22:35.199 --> 01:22:38.479
pup rolled over onto his back for belly rubs, and

1152
01:22:38.600 --> 01:22:42.479
little Danny had been scarred for life. The fleas were

1153
01:22:42.560 --> 01:22:47.399
clustered together, turning the dog into their own personal bonanza buffet.

1154
01:22:48.319 --> 01:22:51.319
She hadn't understood what the little dark specks all over

1155
01:22:51.399 --> 01:22:56.760
the animal were. Some crawled freely between his stiff, tawny hairs.

1156
01:22:57.800 --> 01:23:00.600
She probed at a suckling swarm of the pair paraites.

1157
01:23:01.079 --> 01:23:05.800
Detecting new prey, they leapt onto Danny's hands. They'd bitten

1158
01:23:05.880 --> 01:23:08.640
her dozens of times before she managed to get them

1159
01:23:08.640 --> 01:23:13.359
all off. She had nightmares for months, which had only

1160
01:23:13.399 --> 01:23:17.159
been quelled once her father explained to her that fleas

1161
01:23:17.359 --> 01:23:22.359
couldn't survive without an animal to live on. That's why

1162
01:23:22.439 --> 01:23:27.520
everything was silent. She realized the sparse populations of black

1163
01:23:27.560 --> 01:23:30.960
bears and elk were the largest animals in the ozarks.

1164
01:23:31.560 --> 01:23:35.039
It wouldn't have taken the monsters long to exhaust those options.

1165
01:23:36.039 --> 01:23:40.000
There were no viable hosts, so they'd turned to attacking

1166
01:23:40.079 --> 01:23:43.680
everything they could for even a few drops of warm blood.

1167
01:23:44.880 --> 01:23:49.199
Danny started off the porch and the first step squeaked

1168
01:23:49.239 --> 01:23:52.760
under her weight. It reminded her of a dying animal.

1169
01:23:52.800 --> 01:23:57.439
In the silence surrounding the cabin, she paused. One of

1170
01:23:57.479 --> 01:24:01.760
the rocks in the yard seemed to move. She blinked

1171
01:24:01.760 --> 01:24:04.199
the sweat away from her eyes as best she could

1172
01:24:04.840 --> 01:24:08.399
and watched it for a moment. It was just a rock.

1173
01:24:09.960 --> 01:24:13.159
She took another step, and the stairs gave a relieved groan.

1174
01:24:14.600 --> 01:24:18.680
She wondered if fleas even had ears. The popping of

1175
01:24:18.720 --> 01:24:22.760
the roof grew more rapid. She glanced over her shoulder

1176
01:24:24.000 --> 01:24:28.840
and started running. The encroaching humans had been enough to

1177
01:24:28.920 --> 01:24:34.199
awaken the entire scratch of super Fleas after months of dormancy.

1178
01:24:34.760 --> 01:24:39.039
They were desperate for a meal, any meal. The hot

1179
01:24:39.119 --> 01:24:41.880
roof made the cabin look like a giant animal to

1180
01:24:41.920 --> 01:24:47.840
their simplified heat sensing eyes. They'd forgotten entirely about the

1181
01:24:47.920 --> 01:24:51.199
humans that had led them there, and attached themselves to

1182
01:24:51.239 --> 01:24:55.600
the first hope they'd had for a suitable host. Their

1183
01:24:55.640 --> 01:24:59.960
piercing stylets punched fruitlessly into the unnatural skin of the house.

1184
01:25:00.880 --> 01:25:04.319
Starvation was taking its toll on them. One of the

1185
01:25:04.319 --> 01:25:07.520
weakest slid off the roof and into the yard. Its

1186
01:25:07.600 --> 01:25:11.399
legs curled up to its abdomen as it died without

1187
01:25:11.399 --> 01:25:15.720
a sound. The others continued working away at the cabin's

1188
01:25:15.760 --> 01:25:19.359
metal flesh. Danny was almost to the jeep when the

1189
01:25:19.359 --> 01:25:24.079
windshield of Hawk's Toyota shattered. The malnourished flea had misjudged

1190
01:25:24.119 --> 01:25:27.800
its jump and smashed face first into the safety glass.

1191
01:25:28.319 --> 01:25:32.680
Its lanky hind legs kicked for another go. The sickle

1192
01:25:32.880 --> 01:25:37.399
like claws scraped divots into the truck's hood. Another famished

1193
01:25:37.439 --> 01:25:41.239
flea launched itself from the roof, landing a foot from Danny.

1194
01:25:42.159 --> 01:25:45.760
She squeezed the bottle of six twelve, blasting the bugs

1195
01:25:45.760 --> 01:25:49.520
in the face. It hopped in a circle, toppling wildly

1196
01:25:49.600 --> 01:25:54.319
over itself, and then bounded into the woods. The incessant

1197
01:25:54.399 --> 01:25:58.119
pecking of the parasites on the roof stopped in near unison.

1198
01:25:59.199 --> 01:26:04.239
One after another, they sprang from their perch. Danny stumbled

1199
01:26:04.279 --> 01:26:07.800
backwards and fell to the ground. She scrambled on all fours,

1200
01:26:08.000 --> 01:26:11.399
finally getting to her feet just in time to grab

1201
01:26:11.439 --> 01:26:14.800
the jeep's door handle. She threw open the red door,

1202
01:26:14.880 --> 01:26:19.680
inadvertently batting down an attacking creature. Another landed on her arm.

1203
01:26:20.199 --> 01:26:23.439
She grabbed its head, mashed her thumb into the thing's eye,

1204
01:26:23.960 --> 01:26:26.760
and slung it away so quickly that its clawed feet

1205
01:26:26.840 --> 01:26:31.000
tore through her skin. Danny screamed and fell backwards into

1206
01:26:31.039 --> 01:26:35.239
the vehicle. The insects swarmed around her. She pulled the

1207
01:26:35.279 --> 01:26:40.359
door shut, catching one in the jam. Its armored exoskeleton cracked,

1208
01:26:40.880 --> 01:26:44.520
but it didn't break. The monster tried to bite. It

1209
01:26:44.600 --> 01:26:48.359
squirmed and swung its head around. The lancing mouth parts

1210
01:26:48.439 --> 01:26:53.039
stabbed into the seat repeatedly. Danny leaned back, pulling the

1211
01:26:53.119 --> 01:26:56.640
door with all her weight. It never made a sound,

1212
01:26:57.319 --> 01:27:02.279
and somehow that terrified her more than anything else. It

1213
01:27:02.319 --> 01:27:06.000
should have roared or hissed or made some other horrifying

1214
01:27:06.079 --> 01:27:10.239
noise like the monster it was, but the thing was

1215
01:27:10.319 --> 01:27:14.199
completely silent. As the two combatants tried to murder one another,

1216
01:27:15.840 --> 01:27:18.800
Danny reached for the keys and found the pocket empty,

1217
01:27:19.720 --> 01:27:23.279
the flea inched inside. She quickly pulled the door with

1218
01:27:23.359 --> 01:27:28.640
both hands again. The windshield cracked in tiny snowflakes. The

1219
01:27:28.720 --> 01:27:32.359
fleas were striking at her heat signature, fracturing the barrier

1220
01:27:32.439 --> 01:27:38.119
between themselves and their feast. She was dead, and she

1221
01:27:38.199 --> 01:27:41.560
knew it. Either her arms were going to tie her

1222
01:27:41.560 --> 01:27:45.560
out or the windshield was going to shatter, but sooner

1223
01:27:46.119 --> 01:27:49.600
rather than later, the fleas would be inside the jeep

1224
01:27:49.640 --> 01:27:54.119
with her. Her muscles burned. Danny wondered which would be

1225
01:27:54.199 --> 01:27:58.960
more painful, a single flea or the entire scratch latching

1226
01:27:59.000 --> 01:28:03.199
on at once. She'd probably lose enough blood to pass

1227
01:28:03.239 --> 01:28:05.399
out in a second or two if all of them

1228
01:28:05.479 --> 01:28:10.399
got to her. The canvas roof sagged suddenly, hooks tore

1229
01:28:10.560 --> 01:28:12.880
through the top as others searched for another way in.

1230
01:28:13.600 --> 01:28:16.279
She tried to weigh her options, only to find herself

1231
01:28:16.279 --> 01:28:20.039
without any The lacerations on her arms leaked down the

1232
01:28:20.079 --> 01:28:24.600
door panel. The handle started slipping through her grasp. Danny

1233
01:28:24.720 --> 01:28:27.960
swung the appendage over the entrapped flea and flexed the

1234
01:28:28.039 --> 01:28:31.920
muscles to speed up the flow. Droplets pelted the monster

1235
01:28:32.079 --> 01:28:36.039
like crimson rain. It twitched and twisted, trying to find

1236
01:28:36.079 --> 01:28:40.199
the source of the smell. Driven mad by hunger, it

1237
01:28:40.399 --> 01:28:44.159
stabbed into its own thorax, Chasing a drop of the

1238
01:28:44.199 --> 01:28:48.720
precious fluid, Danny released enough pressure to kick it to

1239
01:28:48.760 --> 01:28:52.560
the ground while it was distracted. Before she could slam

1240
01:28:52.600 --> 01:28:56.319
the door, she saw other fleas descend on it. They

1241
01:28:56.439 --> 01:28:59.840
ferociously bit into their brethren, trying to get their share

1242
01:29:00.000 --> 01:29:03.760
of the blood. Danny hit the door locks out of instinct.

1243
01:29:04.359 --> 01:29:06.600
She crawled into the back of the vehicle to find

1244
01:29:06.600 --> 01:29:10.119
a weapon. A nylon bag caught her eye. While she

1245
01:29:10.199 --> 01:29:14.039
wrestled the tire iron free. She looked out the plastic

1246
01:29:14.079 --> 01:29:18.560
back window behind the extra gas can. The driveway was

1247
01:29:18.600 --> 01:29:22.279
a steep hill that banked hard to the right. The

1248
01:29:22.319 --> 01:29:26.520
fabric tore overhead as more fleas congregated. She could see

1249
01:29:26.520 --> 01:29:29.720
them through the widening gashes and knew she was almost

1250
01:29:29.800 --> 01:29:32.479
out of time. They were going to get in through

1251
01:29:32.560 --> 01:29:36.159
sheer dumb luck. When the weight brought the canvas top down,

1252
01:29:37.159 --> 01:29:40.479
a plan was starting to formulate, but she needed just

1253
01:29:40.520 --> 01:29:43.920
a little longer to put it into motion. She clamored

1254
01:29:43.960 --> 01:29:46.640
back to the front and rolled the passenger window down

1255
01:29:46.720 --> 01:29:51.279
an inch. Pressing her wounded arm against the opening, she

1256
01:29:51.479 --> 01:29:54.920
mashed at the cuts. Blood trickled down the glass in

1257
01:29:55.000 --> 01:29:58.039
tiny rivlets, but it was more than enough to draw

1258
01:29:58.079 --> 01:30:02.560
the attention of the ravenous fleas She cranked the window

1259
01:30:02.680 --> 01:30:06.560
almost closed, but left enough gap to give them false hope.

1260
01:30:07.039 --> 01:30:11.079
As she smeared the fluid over the upholstery, the parasites

1261
01:30:11.119 --> 01:30:14.880
fought for space, knocking each other aside and clawing away

1262
01:30:14.920 --> 01:30:17.680
the more persistent ones for their chance to get into

1263
01:30:17.720 --> 01:30:22.159
the jeep. Danny toppled into the back once more. She

1264
01:30:22.239 --> 01:30:26.119
grabbed the bag and rustled out an emergency flare. A

1265
01:30:26.119 --> 01:30:29.439
flea dropped through the roof and scurried onto the back seat.

1266
01:30:30.279 --> 01:30:34.359
Danny brought the tire iron up, running it through. She

1267
01:30:34.520 --> 01:30:37.520
swung the spiked nd bug and all toward the back

1268
01:30:37.560 --> 01:30:42.399
window and slashed the plastic. She discarded the weapon, watching

1269
01:30:42.439 --> 01:30:46.199
the flea suckling desperately at its own bodily fluids oozing

1270
01:30:46.279 --> 01:30:50.239
down the metal, Danny struck the flare and wedged it

1271
01:30:50.239 --> 01:30:53.560
into the gas can's handle. She flipped over the back

1272
01:30:53.600 --> 01:30:55.920
seat and released the parking brake. As she moved to

1273
01:30:55.960 --> 01:30:59.560
the driver's seat, she rubbed her arm across the dashboard.

1274
01:31:00.359 --> 01:31:04.439
The roof collapsed and Danny opened the door, letting herself

1275
01:31:04.479 --> 01:31:08.600
drop backwards out of the rolling vehicle. Fleas sprang onto

1276
01:31:08.600 --> 01:31:11.640
the fresh blood trail she'd left for them. The jeep

1277
01:31:11.680 --> 01:31:15.680
gained speed as it descended the driveway. The starving fleas

1278
01:31:15.760 --> 01:31:18.880
were too busy stabbing at the instruments and radio in

1279
01:31:18.960 --> 01:31:22.720
hopes of finding more blood within to notice their predicament.

1280
01:31:23.840 --> 01:31:27.279
The jeep missed the turn and jumped a stump, careening

1281
01:31:27.319 --> 01:31:31.199
into the woods before slamming into a tree. The impact

1282
01:31:31.279 --> 01:31:34.800
ruptured the gas can. The flare ignited the wave of

1283
01:31:34.840 --> 01:31:39.439
fuel as it washed over the vehicle. The fleas became fireballs,

1284
01:31:39.680 --> 01:31:43.199
shooting out of the wreckage. Others were trapped inside the

1285
01:31:43.239 --> 01:31:48.039
mangled jeep, their internal fluids boiled until they exploded from

1286
01:31:48.079 --> 01:31:52.119
the pressure inside their armored bodies. Danny laughed at the

1287
01:31:52.159 --> 01:31:58.640
sound of the parasitic popcorn bursting. She'd survived. She'd won.

1288
01:31:59.720 --> 01:32:03.800
The sheep's gas tank exploded, rumbling the ground beneath her.

1289
01:32:04.359 --> 01:32:07.359
She watched the pillar of fire and smoke rise above

1290
01:32:07.399 --> 01:32:11.920
the tree tops. Danny laid back. She'd find the keys

1291
01:32:11.960 --> 01:32:15.760
to Hawk's truck later. Maybe Roco and Lila would finally

1292
01:32:15.800 --> 01:32:19.319
show up and she wouldn't have to, or maybe the

1293
01:32:19.399 --> 01:32:23.439
fire would attract a game warden that part could wait

1294
01:32:24.600 --> 01:32:28.439
five minutes before she was sure she was going to die.

1295
01:32:28.479 --> 01:32:31.560
She was safe, and she just wanted to spend some

1296
01:32:31.720 --> 01:32:36.640
time relishing in that. She closed her eyes. Her heart

1297
01:32:36.720 --> 01:32:40.520
rate was starting to slow down when she heard branches

1298
01:32:40.520 --> 01:32:45.560
in the trees above. She opened her eyes slowly, looking

1299
01:32:45.640 --> 01:32:51.159
for the source. A fat squirrel eased out onto a branch,

1300
01:32:51.880 --> 01:32:56.479
looking down curiously at the human. Danny smiled at the

1301
01:32:56.479 --> 01:33:01.479
critter and brought her wounded arm up and waved at it.

1302
01:33:01.479 --> 01:33:07.800
It chittered in response. Hey there, she said, fighting back

1303
01:33:07.840 --> 01:33:12.880
the urge to cry. We made it, little fella. It

1304
01:33:13.000 --> 01:33:18.920
chittered again. A shadow fell across its furry form. Danny

1305
01:33:18.920 --> 01:33:22.600
barely processed it before the flea dropped onto the rodent.

1306
01:33:23.199 --> 01:33:28.239
The stilets punctured the squirrel's neck, effectively decapitating it. The

1307
01:33:28.279 --> 01:33:31.840
flea drank greedily from the stump, and Danny watched in

1308
01:33:31.880 --> 01:33:35.640
horror as the plump body shriveled. The slurping let her

1309
01:33:35.640 --> 01:33:40.439
know the parasite had finished the appetizer. The flea jumped

1310
01:33:40.439 --> 01:33:45.039
from the branch straight for Danny's prone body. Something boomed

1311
01:33:45.319 --> 01:33:50.119
and bits of exoskeleton pelted Danny's body. She rolled over

1312
01:33:50.199 --> 01:33:53.600
and saw Brian limping toward her with one of Hawk's

1313
01:33:53.640 --> 01:33:59.479
skeet guns over his shoulder, kills on contact, he said,

1314
01:34:00.680 --> 01:34:05.319
Oh my god, tears welled up in her eyes. You're alive.

1315
01:34:06.319 --> 01:34:09.439
Danny ran to him, throwing her arms around his plump

1316
01:34:09.439 --> 01:34:14.159
waist and burying her face into his chest. He kissed

1317
01:34:14.199 --> 01:34:16.880
the top of her head and forced himself to let

1318
01:34:16.880 --> 01:34:20.000
out a manly chuckle that was harder to believe than

1319
01:34:20.119 --> 01:34:25.680
giant mutated flies. Danny squeezed him harder, and they both

1320
01:34:25.760 --> 01:34:30.840
sank to the ground. I thought they got you, Danny sniffled,

1321
01:34:32.000 --> 01:34:37.039
almost he whispered. They wouldn't follow Kara because of all

1322
01:34:37.079 --> 01:34:40.359
the bugspray she had on, so I followed her back.

1323
01:34:41.640 --> 01:34:43.720
It was like they couldn't find me in her trail.

1324
01:34:44.640 --> 01:34:47.960
Then I saw them gathering on the roof, so I hid.

1325
01:34:49.000 --> 01:34:54.399
I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I don't care. I'm just

1326
01:34:54.520 --> 01:34:58.760
glad you made it. Danny squeezed his chubby face between

1327
01:34:58.800 --> 01:35:04.600
her hands that we made it. Yeah, me too. Brian

1328
01:35:04.680 --> 01:35:09.439
stood and helped her up. I appreciate the romantic fire, honey,

1329
01:35:09.479 --> 01:35:12.359
but I wish you'd blown up some one else's car.

1330
01:35:13.399 --> 01:35:17.720
The ground trembled beneath them again, but there hadn't been

1331
01:35:17.800 --> 01:35:22.640
another explosion. Danny looked around at the rocks dotting the yard,

1332
01:35:23.680 --> 01:35:28.399
wondering which of them might be hidden bugs. Her eyes

1333
01:35:28.520 --> 01:35:34.119
flicked to the trees, nothing was moving. Her hand moved

1334
01:35:34.119 --> 01:35:39.319
from Brian's side to the double barreled shotgun. She snatched

1335
01:35:39.359 --> 01:35:42.399
it from his hand, passing it behind her back to

1336
01:35:42.479 --> 01:35:46.680
her dominant hand like a majorrette. The ground began to

1337
01:35:46.760 --> 01:35:54.479
pulse and crack. Hey, babe, she said quietly, I think

1338
01:35:54.560 --> 01:36:06.920
it's time we flee. I hate working at the gas

1339
01:36:06.960 --> 01:36:13.880
station after discovering its dark secret by Michael Kelso. Every

1340
01:36:13.960 --> 01:36:16.840
morning it's the same thing, people lining up at the

1341
01:36:16.880 --> 01:36:20.000
pumps that seem to always be full. I have seen

1342
01:36:20.079 --> 01:36:22.960
fights erupt when someone cuts line at the pump, and

1343
01:36:23.079 --> 01:36:25.239
dear God, don't get in the way of them ordering

1344
01:36:25.239 --> 01:36:27.920
their gallon sized bucket of coffee to go with their

1345
01:36:27.960 --> 01:36:31.560
pseudo egg wrapped in dough and deep fried part of

1346
01:36:31.600 --> 01:36:35.720
this nutritious breakfast. Every morning it looks like an army

1347
01:36:35.720 --> 01:36:39.399
of ants on crack running around grabbing whatever food type,

1348
01:36:39.439 --> 01:36:43.600
substance and drinks they can, then taking their usual position

1349
01:36:43.760 --> 01:36:48.119
of impatiently waiting in line. I love the different poses.

1350
01:36:48.720 --> 01:36:52.760
The watch watcher. They must glance at their watch every

1351
01:36:52.880 --> 01:36:57.800
two seconds to show how much they're being inconvenienced. These

1352
01:36:57.840 --> 01:37:01.439
are usually the ones getting into a Mercedes BMW when

1353
01:37:01.439 --> 01:37:04.079
they leave. I don't know why they don't get their

1354
01:37:04.119 --> 01:37:08.439
breakfast catered. I'm sure they can afford it. The foot tapper,

1355
01:37:09.039 --> 01:37:11.640
usually they have something stuck in their ear and can't

1356
01:37:11.680 --> 01:37:16.680
hear their order being called. The heavy sire exhales loudly

1357
01:37:16.840 --> 01:37:20.159
every third time the watch watcher checks the time, and

1358
01:37:20.239 --> 01:37:22.439
when the foot tapper has to be told to move

1359
01:37:22.520 --> 01:37:26.039
up in line, as if anyone could hear him over

1360
01:37:26.079 --> 01:37:30.000
the music that's blaring so loud over the speakers, making

1361
01:37:30.039 --> 01:37:35.800
it so easy for everyone? Did I mention I work here?

1362
01:37:36.640 --> 01:37:40.079
Sometimes I wonder why, after the things I've seen, not

1363
01:37:40.199 --> 01:37:45.479
just the idiots, but other things, much darker things. But

1364
01:37:46.159 --> 01:37:49.199
we'll get to that. Every morning I have to deal

1365
01:37:49.199 --> 01:37:52.800
with these idiots. Is it still called road rage if

1366
01:37:52.800 --> 01:37:55.920
you feel it in a gas station? As much as

1367
01:37:55.920 --> 01:37:59.479
I hate them, customers are actually the easiest part of

1368
01:37:59.520 --> 01:38:02.239
my job. I mean, who wouldn't want to get out

1369
01:38:02.279 --> 01:38:04.039
in the middle of the night when the temperature is

1370
01:38:04.079 --> 01:38:06.800
below zero? And the wind is howling to change the

1371
01:38:06.840 --> 01:38:10.760
bags in the trash cans because it's the appointed time.

1372
01:38:11.399 --> 01:38:15.720
And who appointed the time? You ask? Why the manual?

1373
01:38:15.760 --> 01:38:19.359
Of course, the corporate bean counters have done studies and

1374
01:38:19.439 --> 01:38:23.399
run focus groups or some nonsense to decide the perfect

1375
01:38:23.399 --> 01:38:27.680
time of day or in this case, night to empty

1376
01:38:27.960 --> 01:38:31.800
the trash. It's all in the manual. The manual is

1377
01:38:31.840 --> 01:38:35.479
your friend. The manual is your god. The manual must

1378
01:38:35.560 --> 01:38:40.119
be obeyed at all costs. That's what the manual says.

1379
01:38:41.039 --> 01:38:45.000
So if it's cleaning the toilets, emptying the trash, washing

1380
01:38:45.079 --> 01:38:48.680
out the coffee makers, the manual tells us exactly when

1381
01:38:49.239 --> 01:38:52.840
and how to do it. That's a load off my mind.

1382
01:38:52.880 --> 01:38:54.840
I don't even have to worry about not knowing how

1383
01:38:54.840 --> 01:38:59.079
to clean a toilet. The manual tells me. What it

1384
01:38:59.159 --> 01:39:02.239
doesn't tell me is what happens when the power goes

1385
01:39:02.239 --> 01:39:08.399
out only at our station every night at exactly two

1386
01:39:08.560 --> 01:39:14.079
fifty nine am and comes back on at three oh one.

1387
01:39:14.279 --> 01:39:17.199
I've seen this so many times. I watched the McDonald's

1388
01:39:17.199 --> 01:39:21.239
beside us, and their lights never go out. What's even

1389
01:39:21.319 --> 01:39:24.479
stranger is the security cameras never seem to pick it up.

1390
01:39:25.319 --> 01:39:29.560
I've reviewed the recordings. No loss of power ever shows.

1391
01:39:29.960 --> 01:39:32.840
What does happen is somehow the timestamp on the video

1392
01:39:32.960 --> 01:39:36.079
suddenly shoots from two fifty nine to three oh one,

1393
01:39:36.399 --> 01:39:41.119
like those two minutes never existed. The corporate techies call

1394
01:39:41.159 --> 01:39:44.560
it a glitch and tell me to ignore it. The

1395
01:39:44.600 --> 01:39:47.159
rest of us don't mention it, not if we know

1396
01:39:47.199 --> 01:39:50.680
what's good for us. But I know why it happens.

1397
01:39:51.760 --> 01:39:56.000
I don't tell anyone for fear of being sent to

1398
01:39:57.520 --> 01:39:59.720
Is it corporate who keeps us shaking in terror at

1399
01:39:59.720 --> 01:40:02.760
that p tension of letting outsiders know what happens during

1400
01:40:02.760 --> 01:40:07.640
those two missing minutes every night? Yes, and no. It's

1401
01:40:07.680 --> 01:40:14.840
something much closer, much darker, something that could I guess.

1402
01:40:15.000 --> 01:40:17.359
The best way to describe it would be to tell

1403
01:40:17.399 --> 01:40:20.640
the story of Kenny. I know when I first heard

1404
01:40:20.640 --> 01:40:23.199
his name, I did the famous line from South Park,

1405
01:40:24.199 --> 01:40:27.239
Oh my god, they killed Kenny. It used to make

1406
01:40:27.279 --> 01:40:32.359
me chuckle. I don't do that anymore. He started working

1407
01:40:32.359 --> 01:40:35.760
here around five months ago. Wow has it really been

1408
01:40:35.800 --> 01:40:40.920
that long? Anyway? He was just another goofy teenager starting

1409
01:40:40.960 --> 01:40:43.880
his first job after high school. Not that I was

1410
01:40:43.920 --> 01:40:46.720
an elder scholar or anything. I only started here a

1411
01:40:46.840 --> 01:40:49.800
year before Kenny did. He was fun to work with

1412
01:40:49.880 --> 01:40:53.479
and we instantly became buddies. We loved to goof off

1413
01:40:53.560 --> 01:40:56.399
during the night shift. Most nights it was just us

1414
01:40:56.439 --> 01:41:00.840
working together. The place was usually dead from midnight until five.

1415
01:41:01.359 --> 01:41:03.520
We would rush around to get all our chores done

1416
01:41:03.600 --> 01:41:06.840
so we had some free time. More than once we

1417
01:41:06.920 --> 01:41:11.039
got into chicken nugget battles, which would have us cleaning

1418
01:41:11.079 --> 01:41:14.199
up right before the morning rush help came on. We

1419
01:41:14.279 --> 01:41:17.279
found out exactly where the cameras could and couldn't see,

1420
01:41:17.680 --> 01:41:20.920
and hid from them while we held our battles. We

1421
01:41:21.039 --> 01:41:23.640
became so good at it that the night security guys

1422
01:41:23.680 --> 01:41:27.359
would call to ask where we were. Yes, the corporate

1423
01:41:27.399 --> 01:41:32.520
being counters monitored us day and night. Big Brother was

1424
01:41:32.560 --> 01:41:35.880
always watching. More than once we discussed the option of

1425
01:41:35.960 --> 01:41:39.319
tearing down the cameras and visiting corporate headquarters to shove

1426
01:41:39.359 --> 01:41:45.239
them well in some very interesting and anatomically uncomfortable areas

1427
01:41:45.279 --> 01:41:50.560
of management's collective persons. But as for what happened to Kenny,

1428
01:41:51.800 --> 01:41:54.279
we were having one of our nugget battles when Kenny

1429
01:41:54.319 --> 01:41:56.640
gave a shout. I went over to see what was

1430
01:41:56.680 --> 01:42:00.880
wrong and found him holding his cheek. He said something

1431
01:42:01.000 --> 01:42:04.640
sharp hit him. I told him I was just throwing nuggets.

1432
01:42:04.720 --> 01:42:08.880
When he looked down and found the offending object. He

1433
01:42:08.960 --> 01:42:12.439
picked up a nugget that was broken in half, but

1434
01:42:12.479 --> 01:42:15.640
there was something sticking out of it. There was what

1435
01:42:15.760 --> 01:42:20.640
looked like a woman's diamond engagement ring. We debated back

1436
01:42:20.680 --> 01:42:22.840
and forth how it could have gotten lodged in there

1437
01:42:22.880 --> 01:42:25.760
when Kenny pulled it out and found the meat perfectly

1438
01:42:25.840 --> 01:42:28.920
formed around it. I don't think it got stuck in there,

1439
01:42:29.239 --> 01:42:33.720
Kenny said, I think it was processed this way. That

1440
01:42:33.760 --> 01:42:38.520
would mean I said that someone was accidentally processed in

1441
01:42:38.560 --> 01:42:42.399
the meat machine. Are we sure it was an accident?

1442
01:42:43.199 --> 01:42:45.159
Even as the words came out of my mouth, I

1443
01:42:45.239 --> 01:42:48.680
knew how ludicrous they sounded. That kind of thing only

1444
01:42:48.760 --> 01:42:53.960
happened in the movies, didn't it. Kenny's eyes locked on mine,

1445
01:42:54.199 --> 01:42:56.520
and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

1446
01:42:57.399 --> 01:42:59.880
I looked up and saw we were in the camera's view.

1447
01:43:01.199 --> 01:43:05.039
Stick that thing in your pocket, quick, I said. Kenny obeyed,

1448
01:43:05.359 --> 01:43:08.159
and we went about cleaning up as usual, but I

1449
01:43:08.199 --> 01:43:12.239
could tell it was bothering him. Forget about that thing, man.

1450
01:43:12.680 --> 01:43:16.960
I told him, it was just some weird coincidence. How

1451
01:43:16.960 --> 01:43:20.359
many chicken nuggets have you eaten from this place? He said,

1452
01:43:20.359 --> 01:43:23.239
with a haunted look in his eye. I thought for

1453
01:43:23.319 --> 01:43:25.800
a moment, knowing the answer was much higher than I

1454
01:43:25.840 --> 01:43:29.520
wanted it to be. In fact, thinking about the ring

1455
01:43:29.560 --> 01:43:32.279
and the potential source for the meat and the nuggets

1456
01:43:32.319 --> 01:43:35.720
made me feel ill. Doesn't matter. I won't be eating

1457
01:43:35.760 --> 01:43:39.520
any more. What about that poor woman and her family?

1458
01:43:40.880 --> 01:43:44.520
What about her, I said, my eyes nervously, darting towards

1459
01:43:44.600 --> 01:43:49.479
the nearest camera. Doesn't she deserve more than that? What

1460
01:43:49.520 --> 01:43:51.520
do you want me to do? Hunt down her family

1461
01:43:51.560 --> 01:43:54.800
and tell them where we found the ring? Kenny's eyes

1462
01:43:54.840 --> 01:43:58.800
lit up. That's exactly what I'm going to do. Count

1463
01:43:58.800 --> 01:44:01.159
me out of that, man, I said, hoping it would

1464
01:44:01.159 --> 01:44:04.039
be enough to give him second thoughts about it. He

1465
01:44:04.079 --> 01:44:07.199
shrugged and went about his cleaning duties. But from that

1466
01:44:07.359 --> 01:44:11.199
moment on he changed. Every time he was on break,

1467
01:44:11.279 --> 01:44:14.159
he would be looking things up on his phone. More

1468
01:44:14.199 --> 01:44:16.199
than once I glanced over and he was looking at

1469
01:44:16.239 --> 01:44:19.640
missing person sites and making notes on ones that were

1470
01:44:19.640 --> 01:44:24.520
in the area. The longer he investigated this, the less

1471
01:44:24.560 --> 01:44:27.640
he was interested in anything else. I swear it was

1472
01:44:27.680 --> 01:44:30.880
like he was slowly turning into a zombie. All he

1473
01:44:30.920 --> 01:44:35.079
did was stare at his phone and make notes. One day,

1474
01:44:35.119 --> 01:44:36.800
I came in the break room and he was just

1475
01:44:36.840 --> 01:44:41.239
sitting there, motionless. His eyes were open, but focused on

1476
01:44:41.279 --> 01:44:45.000
some point off in the distance. It was the creepiest

1477
01:44:45.000 --> 01:44:50.119
thing I'd ever seen. You Okay, Kenny, I said. He

1478
01:44:50.279 --> 01:44:57.680
slowly turned toward me, like some possessed doll. I'm fine, okay,

1479
01:44:58.359 --> 01:45:02.560
I said. You know who she is? Who? Who is

1480
01:45:03.800 --> 01:45:09.439
the woman whose ring we found? Okay? Who is she?

1481
01:45:09.439 --> 01:45:13.560
She worked at the distribution center. You mean the company's

1482
01:45:13.600 --> 01:45:17.600
distribution center where we get all our products. He nodded slowly.

1483
01:45:18.520 --> 01:45:21.359
How did you find that out? I asked a lot

1484
01:45:21.359 --> 01:45:25.600
of questions, asked who? He stared at me with an

1485
01:45:25.600 --> 01:45:31.560
intensity in his eyes. I'd never seen before. People. What people?

1486
01:45:32.359 --> 01:45:35.279
He turned slowly and looked up at one of the cameras.

1487
01:45:35.760 --> 01:45:38.760
It's not important, he said, looking away from the camera

1488
01:45:38.800 --> 01:45:44.720
and resuming his unfocused stare you okay, man, Yeah, I'm fine,

1489
01:45:44.960 --> 01:45:49.560
he said in a monotone voice. It's just I waited

1490
01:45:49.600 --> 01:45:51.960
for a long moment for him to finish his sentence,

1491
01:45:52.800 --> 01:45:56.479
but he just sat there like someone at his pause button,

1492
01:45:57.640 --> 01:46:01.520
just what I said. He jumped like I had startled

1493
01:46:01.600 --> 01:46:05.880
him awake? What what do you mean what I said?

1494
01:46:06.399 --> 01:46:12.479
You were talking and just stopped? I did, Yeah, what

1495
01:46:12.520 --> 01:46:20.520
was I saying? That's what I was trying to find out? What? Yep, yep? No? What? What?

1496
01:46:21.399 --> 01:46:25.159
I shook my head in frustration. Never mind, I said,

1497
01:46:25.199 --> 01:46:29.439
walking away, leaving him sitting there staring into space. I

1498
01:46:29.439 --> 01:46:31.520
couldn't figure out if he was messing with me or

1499
01:46:31.520 --> 01:46:35.079
if something had happened. Had he really been tracking down

1500
01:46:35.119 --> 01:46:38.039
where the ring came from? Had he really run across

1501
01:46:38.079 --> 01:46:41.439
some people who had scared him so bad they turned

1502
01:46:41.520 --> 01:46:45.920
him into this zombie? I decided it was time for

1503
01:46:46.000 --> 01:46:49.319
some answers. After our shift was over, I followed him home,

1504
01:46:49.960 --> 01:46:53.800
only he didn't go home. He drove to the distribution

1505
01:46:53.960 --> 01:46:56.680
center and parked on a secluded spot outside the fence

1506
01:46:57.039 --> 01:47:00.000
where his car wouldn't be seen. I waited for him

1507
01:47:00.159 --> 01:47:02.039
to get out of sight before I parked my car

1508
01:47:02.199 --> 01:47:05.560
and followed him. He stalked through the woods outside the

1509
01:47:05.600 --> 01:47:07.680
fence for a while until he came to a section

1510
01:47:07.760 --> 01:47:11.199
that came apart when he pulled it. He slipped inside,

1511
01:47:11.239 --> 01:47:13.439
and I followed suit. After he was out of sight,

1512
01:47:14.079 --> 01:47:16.840
I came around the corner of the massive building and

1513
01:47:16.960 --> 01:47:20.239
found him sitting at a picnic bench smoking a cigarette.

1514
01:47:21.199 --> 01:47:24.439
I stayed back and watched, shocked that I'd never seen

1515
01:47:24.520 --> 01:47:27.640
him smoke before. I wondered why he would break in

1516
01:47:27.720 --> 01:47:31.520
here just to smoke a cigarette. The answer came quickly.

1517
01:47:32.359 --> 01:47:35.399
The door of the warehouse opened and three people stepped out.

1518
01:47:36.279 --> 01:47:39.720
I held my breath, thinking he'd been caught, but he

1519
01:47:39.840 --> 01:47:44.239
was calm and continued to sit at the bench. In fact,

1520
01:47:44.840 --> 01:47:48.159
the people who had come out began talking to him.

1521
01:47:48.880 --> 01:47:51.960
He even offered one of them a cigarette. It was

1522
01:47:52.039 --> 01:47:55.119
then I realized they were in the same outfit he

1523
01:47:55.239 --> 01:47:59.640
was wearing. The company didn't have different uniforms for those

1524
01:47:59.680 --> 01:48:02.319
who were worked at the stations and those who worked

1525
01:48:02.319 --> 01:48:06.359
in the distribution center. They chatted for a few minutes,

1526
01:48:06.840 --> 01:48:10.680
then they all got up and went back inside. Kenny

1527
01:48:10.760 --> 01:48:15.800
included it was brilliant. He slipped right inside, no fuss,

1528
01:48:15.840 --> 01:48:19.680
no muss. I figured what the hell it worked for

1529
01:48:19.800 --> 01:48:22.119
Kenny as I walked up and sat at the same

1530
01:48:22.199 --> 01:48:25.079
picnic table. I didn't know how long it would be

1531
01:48:25.199 --> 01:48:27.760
until the next break, so I tried a different approach.

1532
01:48:28.840 --> 01:48:32.159
I knocked on the door for a few minutes, no

1533
01:48:32.199 --> 01:48:35.640
one answered. Each time I knocked, I became more anxious

1534
01:48:35.680 --> 01:48:38.079
that a security guard would show up and arrest me

1535
01:48:38.359 --> 01:48:43.800
for trespassing. Finally, after knocking, the door opened. I stepped

1536
01:48:43.800 --> 01:48:49.279
back when I saw a security guard standing there. I hesitated, Well,

1537
01:48:50.119 --> 01:48:53.640
the large man said, in a deep voice. Well, what

1538
01:48:54.319 --> 01:48:57.279
was all I could think to answer back, Well, are

1539
01:48:57.279 --> 01:49:00.159
you going to come in or not? It took my

1540
01:49:00.159 --> 01:49:03.720
brain a moment to comprehend what he'd said. Sorry, yeah,

1541
01:49:04.159 --> 01:49:07.319
I said, Diving through the door. He shut it behind

1542
01:49:07.359 --> 01:49:10.760
me with a loud bang. It sounded like my doom.

1543
01:49:11.520 --> 01:49:13.479
I knew he was on to me. He was just

1544
01:49:13.520 --> 01:49:16.039
getting me inside so he could contain me, and I

1545
01:49:16.079 --> 01:49:20.840
couldn't get away. I stood there, vapor locked, unable to

1546
01:49:20.880 --> 01:49:23.960
move for fear of what the guard would do. He

1547
01:49:24.079 --> 01:49:27.560
stared at me, his eyes boring into mine, as though

1548
01:49:27.640 --> 01:49:31.560
sucking every secret out of me. What do you think

1549
01:49:31.560 --> 01:49:36.920
you're doing, he said, I don't know what you mean. Yes,

1550
01:49:36.960 --> 01:49:39.760
you do, he said, folding his arms in front of

1551
01:49:39.760 --> 01:49:44.560
his massive chest. No, I promise I don't know anything,

1552
01:49:44.920 --> 01:49:49.000
I said, hoping my knees wouldn't start knocking. All right,

1553
01:49:49.119 --> 01:49:52.760
enough of this, he said, I started to shake. I'd

1554
01:49:52.800 --> 01:49:55.479
never been to prison. In fact, I'd never gotten in

1555
01:49:55.560 --> 01:49:58.960
serious trouble in my life, and now here I was

1556
01:49:59.079 --> 01:50:03.680
breaking and entering. Even though I didn't really break, I

1557
01:50:03.840 --> 01:50:07.000
just knocked and entered. I wondered if the judge would

1558
01:50:07.000 --> 01:50:10.920
take that into account. You've had your break. Now get

1559
01:50:10.960 --> 01:50:14.560
back to work, he said. I stared at him, dumbfounded.

1560
01:50:15.399 --> 01:50:18.840
Excuse me, you heard me. The company doesn't pay you

1561
01:50:18.880 --> 01:50:23.960
to stand around. Get back to work, yes, sir, I said,

1562
01:50:24.039 --> 01:50:27.319
feeling the weight of a prison sentence lift from my shoulders.

1563
01:50:28.000 --> 01:50:31.720
I took a step, then stopped. Which way is it

1564
01:50:31.760 --> 01:50:35.199
to where they processed the chicken nuggets? The guard rolled

1565
01:50:35.199 --> 01:50:40.479
his eyes. Freakin' newbies, he muttered, Follow the red line.

1566
01:50:41.279 --> 01:50:44.119
He pointed at the floor, where several different colored lines

1567
01:50:44.239 --> 01:50:47.159
ran down the middle of the hallway and disappeared into

1568
01:50:47.159 --> 01:50:51.159
the distance. Thanks, I said, quickly following the red line

1569
01:50:51.199 --> 01:50:54.159
away from him. It led down a long hallway and

1570
01:50:54.239 --> 01:50:56.359
right up to a large set of double doors that

1571
01:50:56.439 --> 01:51:01.560
read processing. I looked left and right, but there was

1572
01:51:01.640 --> 01:51:04.600
no sign of Kenny. I stepped in through the double

1573
01:51:04.640 --> 01:51:08.920
doors to a huge room full of conveyor belts. I

1574
01:51:08.960 --> 01:51:11.960
looked around but it was impossible to tell anyone apart

1575
01:51:12.319 --> 01:51:16.079
when they were wearing hairnets and face masks. I hadn't

1576
01:51:16.079 --> 01:51:19.159
made it two steps until I heard what do you

1577
01:51:19.199 --> 01:51:29.520
think you're doing? A woman dressed in a white lab

1578
01:51:29.560 --> 01:51:32.520
coat accosted me. You know you're not supposed to be

1579
01:51:32.560 --> 01:51:35.319
on the floor without your hairnet and mask on. She

1580
01:51:35.479 --> 01:51:37.800
shoved a hairnet on my head, then hooked a mask

1581
01:51:37.840 --> 01:51:43.520
around my ears. Now, where's your station, I said, my

1582
01:51:43.600 --> 01:51:47.720
eyes darting around as she watched me impatiently. How long

1583
01:51:47.720 --> 01:51:51.880
have you worked here, she said, seeing my indecision first day,

1584
01:51:52.319 --> 01:51:56.760
I lied, She sighed heavily. You're not even supposed to

1585
01:51:56.760 --> 01:51:59.439
be on the floor, yet you have videos to watch?

1586
01:52:00.159 --> 01:52:04.239
I shrugged. Wait here, she said, I'll go find someone

1587
01:52:04.239 --> 01:52:07.600
to take you upstairs and start your videos. I waited

1588
01:52:07.640 --> 01:52:09.960
long enough for her to leave the room. Then I

1589
01:52:10.079 --> 01:52:14.159
roamed around trying to find Kenny. I walked past line

1590
01:52:14.199 --> 01:52:17.079
after line of people sorting through the chunks of meat,

1591
01:52:17.520 --> 01:52:21.000
tossing aside parts that weren't usable, or at least weren't

1592
01:52:21.079 --> 01:52:24.760
usable for the main product. The bad parts were tossed

1593
01:52:24.760 --> 01:52:28.000
into plastic bins. As I walked by, I saw some

1594
01:52:28.359 --> 01:52:32.600
interesting things in those bins. There were little pieces of

1595
01:52:32.680 --> 01:52:39.079
shiny objects, dark blobs I couldn't identify, rocks, loose change,

1596
01:52:39.239 --> 01:52:42.800
and I swear I saw a finger As I passed.

1597
01:52:42.840 --> 01:52:45.039
The people on the line took a second away from

1598
01:52:45.039 --> 01:52:48.600
their work to shoot me nasty glances. I guess. Having

1599
01:52:48.640 --> 01:52:52.760
someone stare over their shoulder who wasn't a supervisor was taboo.

1600
01:52:53.800 --> 01:52:56.399
As I walked by, someone grabbed me and pulled me

1601
01:52:56.479 --> 01:52:59.520
over to the line beside them. What the hell are

1602
01:52:59.600 --> 01:53:05.359
you doing here, Kenny hissed, Looking for you, I said, okay,

1603
01:53:05.439 --> 01:53:07.920
you found me. Now get out of here, he said,

1604
01:53:08.000 --> 01:53:11.039
going back to sorting. Not until you tell me what's

1605
01:53:11.119 --> 01:53:15.119
going on, I said, standing beside him and sorting pieces

1606
01:53:15.119 --> 01:53:18.479
of meat. If I promise to tell you everything later,

1607
01:53:18.800 --> 01:53:23.439
will you leave? I hesitated. My curiosity had been piqued.

1608
01:53:24.560 --> 01:53:27.359
What the hell is going on here? I said, tossing

1609
01:53:27.439 --> 01:53:32.079
a piece of rotten looking meat into a bin. He sighed, later,

1610
01:53:32.439 --> 01:53:35.960
we can't talk about it now. I grimaced, knowing that

1611
01:53:36.079 --> 01:53:38.960
he wouldn't let me in on the secret. I glared

1612
01:53:38.960 --> 01:53:41.720
at him, when suddenly I saw the supervisor come back

1613
01:53:41.760 --> 01:53:45.079
and look for me. Promise me we'll talk about this

1614
01:53:45.119 --> 01:53:50.000
tonight at work, he said, I promise. I turned around

1615
01:53:50.000 --> 01:53:53.079
and walked away from him. She saw me and made

1616
01:53:53.119 --> 01:53:56.039
a bee line right for me. What were you doing

1617
01:53:56.039 --> 01:53:58.079
on the line when you have n't been properly trained?

1618
01:53:59.119 --> 01:54:06.000
Deciding deciding what that this job isn't for me, I said,

1619
01:54:06.079 --> 01:54:10.039
handing her my hairnet and mask, I quit. She stared

1620
01:54:10.079 --> 01:54:13.159
at me, jaw hanging open. As I stormed off. I

1621
01:54:13.199 --> 01:54:16.560
glanced back to see her narrowing her eyes in Kenny's direction.

1622
01:54:17.399 --> 01:54:20.079
I made my way back out of the hallway and

1623
01:54:20.199 --> 01:54:22.279
followed the red line back to where I had come

1624
01:54:22.319 --> 01:54:25.439
into the building. I reached the exit door when I

1625
01:54:25.479 --> 01:54:29.600
heard a familiar deep voice. Decided, it's not for you, eh.

1626
01:54:29.960 --> 01:54:32.199
I turned to see the security guard who had met

1627
01:54:32.199 --> 01:54:35.399
me on the way in. That job's not for anyone,

1628
01:54:35.479 --> 01:54:39.720
I said, Yeah, it's no tiptoe through the tulips. What

1629
01:54:40.800 --> 01:54:43.479
it's an old saying? Never mind? Why are you going

1630
01:54:43.479 --> 01:54:46.199
out this way? I suddenly remembered I was on the

1631
01:54:46.239 --> 01:54:49.720
wrong side of the building. I figured i'd walk around

1632
01:54:49.760 --> 01:54:53.039
to get some fresh air. He narrowed his eyes at me.

1633
01:54:54.000 --> 01:54:56.119
I went for broke and bolted for the door. I

1634
01:54:56.159 --> 01:54:59.520
could hear him running behind me stop. He yelled, much

1635
01:54:59.560 --> 01:55:02.800
closer than I liked. I didn't obey. Instead, I hit

1636
01:55:02.800 --> 01:55:05.640
the crash bar so hard I nearly knocked myself backward.

1637
01:55:06.039 --> 01:55:08.880
The door flung open and smashed against the outside wall.

1638
01:55:09.119 --> 01:55:11.439
I hit the open air and was around the corner

1639
01:55:11.479 --> 01:55:14.159
before I knew it. I flew through the brush up

1640
01:55:14.159 --> 01:55:16.039
to the fence and panicked when I couldn't find the

1641
01:55:16.039 --> 01:55:19.359
open section right away. He was still in pursuit, but

1642
01:55:19.560 --> 01:55:22.279
further behind. He must have lost sight of me for

1643
01:55:22.319 --> 01:55:25.119
a minute. I ran along the fence, pushing on it

1644
01:55:25.159 --> 01:55:27.720
as I went, and growing more desperate with every moment.

1645
01:55:28.600 --> 01:55:31.039
If I was stuck inside the fence, it would lead

1646
01:55:31.079 --> 01:55:33.159
me right to the main entrance and I'd be caught.

1647
01:55:33.960 --> 01:55:36.359
I was sweating from running, but also from the thought

1648
01:55:36.399 --> 01:55:38.880
of going to jail. When a section of the fence

1649
01:55:38.920 --> 01:55:41.800
gave way when I pushed it, I breathed a quick

1650
01:55:41.840 --> 01:55:44.399
sigh of relief as I dove through the open fence

1651
01:55:44.520 --> 01:55:47.680
to freedom. I ran to my car, not even thinking

1652
01:55:47.680 --> 01:55:50.560
about the brush that had torn at my uniform and skin.

1653
01:55:51.279 --> 01:55:54.560
I dove into the car and took off home. Only

1654
01:55:54.560 --> 01:55:56.920
once I was moving did I look back and see

1655
01:55:57.039 --> 01:56:01.680
Kenny's car sitting there, partially hidden. I wondered why he

1656
01:56:01.800 --> 01:56:05.399
was being so secretive. I wondered if I had compromised

1657
01:56:05.479 --> 01:56:08.640
him by leading them so close to his car. As

1658
01:56:08.680 --> 01:56:12.199
I drove, my breathing returned to normal, followed by an

1659
01:56:12.239 --> 01:56:16.800
adrenaline crash. I barely made it home and fell into bed.

1660
01:56:24.119 --> 01:56:26.520
When I woke, it was dark. I jumped up in

1661
01:56:26.560 --> 01:56:29.279
a panic, not sure where I was until I banged

1662
01:56:29.319 --> 01:56:33.159
my foot off my nightstand and screamed in pain. Once

1663
01:56:33.159 --> 01:56:35.640
I could breathe again, I leaned over and turned on

1664
01:56:35.720 --> 01:56:38.640
the light. It bathed the room in an eerie glow

1665
01:56:38.680 --> 01:56:41.960
that made me think someone was here. I looked at

1666
01:56:41.960 --> 01:56:45.199
the clock and realized I was late for work. I

1667
01:56:45.239 --> 01:56:48.159
didn't have time to change shower or anything. I just

1668
01:56:48.319 --> 01:56:51.000
ran out the door and hopped in my car. The

1669
01:56:51.079 --> 01:56:53.800
drive to work was a blur. I hoped I wouldn't

1670
01:56:53.800 --> 01:56:57.199
get pulled over. When I got there half an hour late,

1671
01:56:57.680 --> 01:57:00.359
I got an earful from my supervisor about knock, calling

1672
01:57:00.399 --> 01:57:03.399
in to tell him. I apologized and went about my

1673
01:57:03.520 --> 01:57:07.800
nightly routine. This isn't the military, he said, as he

1674
01:57:07.800 --> 01:57:10.479
headed out. But if you show up looking like that again,

1675
01:57:10.520 --> 01:57:13.239
I'll have to write you up. I wasn't sure what

1676
01:57:13.319 --> 01:57:16.319
he meant until I went to the bathroom and saw myself.

1677
01:57:17.039 --> 01:57:19.640
My uniform looked like it had been run through a shredder.

1678
01:57:20.680 --> 01:57:23.720
There were tears all over the shirt and pants. My

1679
01:57:23.880 --> 01:57:27.399
narrow escape through the brush had not been kind. I

1680
01:57:27.520 --> 01:57:30.239
cringed at the thought of dealing with customers looking like

1681
01:57:30.279 --> 01:57:33.920
I had spent the night fighting off wild badgers. In

1682
01:57:34.000 --> 01:57:36.399
the end, there was nothing I could do. I'd have

1683
01:57:36.439 --> 01:57:38.479
to get a new uniform to replace this one and

1684
01:57:38.600 --> 01:57:41.439
use one of my backups. I came out of the

1685
01:57:41.439 --> 01:57:45.039
bathroom and nearly ran over Kenny. You ready to spill

1686
01:57:45.039 --> 01:57:48.840
your guts yet? What are you talking about? He said,

1687
01:57:48.840 --> 01:57:52.319
with a blank stare. That's not funny, I said, you

1688
01:57:52.439 --> 01:57:56.920
promised you'd talk to me tonight. I am talking to you.

1689
01:57:56.920 --> 01:58:00.079
You're a real comedian. Now spill it. Spill one, but

1690
01:58:00.800 --> 01:58:03.920
I'm not laughing. Kenny, talk to me. He looked at

1691
01:58:03.920 --> 01:58:08.479
me and his eyes glazed over. It scared me. Are

1692
01:58:08.520 --> 01:58:13.720
you okay, man? I said, I'm fine, Okay. What do

1693
01:58:13.760 --> 01:58:17.000
you remember about this morning? His eyes went a deeper

1694
01:58:17.039 --> 01:58:20.479
glaze as he fell into a thousand yard stare. He

1695
01:58:20.560 --> 01:58:23.680
didn't say anything for a long moment, and then it

1696
01:58:23.720 --> 01:58:25.560
was like he woke up from a nap and looked

1697
01:58:25.560 --> 01:58:29.439
at me. I went home and went to bed. I

1698
01:58:29.520 --> 01:58:32.840
took a step back from him. No, man, no, you didn't.

1699
01:58:33.560 --> 01:58:37.359
I didn't. You went to the distribution center. Why would

1700
01:58:37.359 --> 01:58:40.119
I do that? I tried my best to find any

1701
01:58:40.199 --> 01:58:43.199
sign he was joking, but I couldn't. And I knew

1702
01:58:43.239 --> 01:58:45.920
him well enough to tell when he was serious. He

1703
01:58:46.079 --> 01:58:48.840
was dead serious and believed every word he was saying.

1704
01:58:49.600 --> 01:58:53.079
You told me you had found something out. I said, what,

1705
01:58:53.840 --> 01:58:56.119
I don't know. You said you would tell me tonight.

1706
01:58:56.880 --> 01:59:01.239
His eyes lit up with curiosity. Did I I'll tell you, No,

1707
01:59:02.039 --> 01:59:05.640
I said slowly. I was waiting for you to tell me.

1708
01:59:07.399 --> 01:59:12.560
I wonder what it was, he said, his eyes becoming unfocused. Okay, man,

1709
01:59:12.960 --> 01:59:16.800
you're scaring me. Just then there came a beep telling

1710
01:59:16.840 --> 01:59:20.560
me someone had ordered food. I gotta get that, I said,

1711
01:59:21.000 --> 01:59:23.159
staring at him as he stood there like a robot

1712
01:59:23.199 --> 01:59:26.439
trying to figure out an equation. I ran to the

1713
01:59:26.520 --> 01:59:29.920
kitchen and started preparing the order. When it was nearly done,

1714
01:59:29.920 --> 01:59:31.920
I saw Kenny come to the register and ring up

1715
01:59:31.920 --> 01:59:35.760
the customer number thirty eight. I called out setting the

1716
01:59:35.760 --> 01:59:39.359
bag of food on the counter. I glanced up and

1717
01:59:39.560 --> 01:59:42.720
froze when I saw who came for the bag. It

1718
01:59:42.840 --> 01:59:47.560
was the security guard from the distribution center. So this

1719
01:59:47.720 --> 01:59:51.000
is where you really work, he said, grabbing the bag.

1720
01:59:51.640 --> 01:59:54.239
He shot me a sinister smile as he walked out.

1721
01:59:55.199 --> 01:59:58.640
My fear melted, replaced with anger. I ran out the

1722
01:59:58.680 --> 02:00:02.199
door after him. Hey, I yelled, as he reached for

1723
02:00:02.239 --> 02:00:07.399
his car door. Yeah, I approached slowly. What did you

1724
02:00:07.439 --> 02:00:13.199
do to my friend? Who the cashier? I said, pointing

1725
02:00:13.239 --> 02:00:16.439
inside to Kenny standing there behind the counter looking like

1726
02:00:16.479 --> 02:00:20.560
a statue. Then got a scared look in his eye.

1727
02:00:21.560 --> 02:00:24.079
I have to go, he said, ripping his door open

1728
02:00:24.119 --> 02:00:28.079
and diving inside. What did you do to him? I said,

1729
02:00:28.119 --> 02:00:31.159
grabbing his car door and holding it open. Get away

1730
02:00:31.159 --> 02:00:36.000
from me, he said, tell me first. His eyes darted around.

1731
02:00:36.840 --> 02:00:39.720
I can't talk to you, he said, barely opening his

1732
02:00:39.760 --> 02:00:44.119
lips and staring straight ahead. Why not? His eyes darted

1733
02:00:44.199 --> 02:00:47.079
up to one of the many security cameras, then back

1734
02:00:47.119 --> 02:00:50.079
to staring straight ahead. He ripped the door out of

1735
02:00:50.079 --> 02:00:53.039
my hand, closed it, and roared out of the parking lot.

1736
02:00:53.560 --> 02:00:56.960
I watched him go, more confused now than ever, I

1737
02:00:57.079 --> 02:01:00.800
slowly looked around, and for the first time realized just

1738
02:01:00.880 --> 02:01:04.079
how many cameras were aimed at the parking lot. I

1739
02:01:04.119 --> 02:01:06.439
went back inside and did my job for the rest

1740
02:01:06.479 --> 02:01:09.199
of the night, trying not to let my eyes drift

1741
02:01:09.279 --> 02:01:11.840
up to any of the cameras. I kept my eye

1742
02:01:11.920 --> 02:01:15.680
on Kenny, too, watching for any stray glances out of character,

1743
02:01:16.279 --> 02:01:19.520
anything that would tell me he was joking. I didn't

1744
02:01:19.560 --> 02:01:24.000
see one all night. The longer he went, the more

1745
02:01:24.039 --> 02:01:27.920
scared I became. When our shift was over, I offered

1746
02:01:27.960 --> 02:01:30.359
him a ride home, but he said he would be

1747
02:01:30.399 --> 02:01:34.159
fine and drove off looking like a robot zombie. I

1748
02:01:34.239 --> 02:01:37.399
wondered if you would make it. I tried to sleep

1749
02:01:37.399 --> 02:01:40.279
that day, but I couldn't get my mind to shut down.

1750
02:01:40.680 --> 02:01:42.880
It hadn't been two weeks since Kenny had found that

1751
02:01:43.000 --> 02:01:45.960
ring and started his quest for the truth. I got

1752
02:01:45.960 --> 02:01:48.439
out of bed, having slept maybe an hour, and dragged

1753
02:01:48.439 --> 02:01:50.840
myself to the bathroom. When there was a knock at

1754
02:01:50.840 --> 02:01:55.359
my door. I answered it and there stood the security guard.

1755
02:01:56.640 --> 02:01:59.079
What are you doing here, I said, through bleary eyes.

1756
02:01:59.880 --> 02:02:03.119
I come in. I don't know. Are you gonna arrest

1757
02:02:03.119 --> 02:02:08.079
me for trespassing? Should I? I started to close the door. No,

1758
02:02:08.279 --> 02:02:10.960
I'm going to tell you what happened to your friend.

1759
02:02:11.840 --> 02:02:15.119
I stopped and reopened the door. He stepped inside, giving

1760
02:02:15.159 --> 02:02:18.920
the place a quick once over. Okay, so what happened?

1761
02:02:20.159 --> 02:02:24.319
He asked? Too many questions? What do you mean? He sighed.

1762
02:02:25.239 --> 02:02:27.239
I've worked at that place for a while now, and

1763
02:02:27.279 --> 02:02:31.359
one of the things I've learned is you don't ask questions.

1764
02:02:31.800 --> 02:02:35.039
I don't get it. He showed up about a week

1765
02:02:35.159 --> 02:02:38.119
or so ago. He just blended in and started working

1766
02:02:38.119 --> 02:02:41.119
the line. Next thing I know, I'm hearing workers talk

1767
02:02:41.159 --> 02:02:44.760
about someone causing trouble. I narrowed it down to your

1768
02:02:44.800 --> 02:02:47.079
friend and tried to talk some sense into him. But

1769
02:02:47.720 --> 02:02:50.439
he wasn't having it. That day that you pulled your

1770
02:02:50.560 --> 02:02:54.680
escape act, they pulled him in and they had a

1771
02:02:54.720 --> 02:02:58.159
discussion with him, and that's what made him go all

1772
02:02:58.720 --> 02:03:02.319
zombie on me. You don't get it, the guard said.

1773
02:03:03.000 --> 02:03:07.840
They drugged him. What they have this drug they use

1774
02:03:07.920 --> 02:03:13.359
that slowly eats away your brain until there's nothing left. Wait,

1775
02:03:13.399 --> 02:03:17.520
they're killing him, that's the way it works. But why?

1776
02:03:18.279 --> 02:03:21.640
He looked around the room as if searching for something specific.

1777
02:03:22.720 --> 02:03:26.119
Do you have an alexa or any other stuff like that? No,

1778
02:03:26.960 --> 02:03:30.800
just my phone, give it to me. I hesitantly handed

1779
02:03:30.880 --> 02:03:33.159
him my phone, and he proceeded to remove the battery.

1780
02:03:33.960 --> 02:03:36.600
If they find out I'm telling you this, I'll be

1781
02:03:36.720 --> 02:03:43.760
next telling me what the chickens? What about them? They

1782
02:03:43.760 --> 02:03:47.079
aren't chickens? What the hell are you talking about? They

1783
02:03:47.119 --> 02:03:50.560
have a system. They drive unmarked white vans out into

1784
02:03:50.560 --> 02:03:54.239
the streets, round up homeless people, and take them to

1785
02:03:54.279 --> 02:03:57.520
the distribution center. Once they have them there, they give

1786
02:03:57.560 --> 02:03:59.960
them a much more powerful dose of the drug you're

1787
02:04:00.079 --> 02:04:04.119
friend is on. It kills their brain within hours, Then

1788
02:04:04.239 --> 02:04:07.720
they process what's left. I stared at him for a

1789
02:04:07.720 --> 02:04:12.960
long time. So you're saying the chicken nuggets aren't chicken.

1790
02:04:13.319 --> 02:04:15.840
I ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet.

1791
02:04:16.439 --> 02:04:19.600
When I came back out, he hadn't moved. That can't

1792
02:04:19.600 --> 02:04:24.680
be real, I said, that's horror movie stuff. You might

1793
02:04:24.720 --> 02:04:27.119
be surprised how much stuff you see in movies is

1794
02:04:27.159 --> 02:04:32.039
secretly real. So you're saying my friend was poisoned. He nodded.

1795
02:04:33.079 --> 02:04:37.920
Because he asked too many questions, He nodded again. Then

1796
02:04:37.960 --> 02:04:41.640
why is he still alive? I don't know. Maybe as

1797
02:04:41.680 --> 02:04:45.720
a warning to you me, you were there too. That's

1798
02:04:45.720 --> 02:04:48.960
how they work. They can get to you anywhere. They

1799
02:04:49.000 --> 02:04:51.399
can slip it into your food or drink. They can

1800
02:04:51.439 --> 02:04:53.800
mail you a letter with the drug on it. They

1801
02:04:53.800 --> 02:04:56.800
can slip it on your car door's handle. It isn't

1802
02:04:56.840 --> 02:05:01.640
just street people. They grab protesters, whistle anyone who threatens

1803
02:05:01.680 --> 02:05:04.600
their business. Do you know how many people disappear in

1804
02:05:04.640 --> 02:05:09.840
this city every day? No, let's just say they process

1805
02:05:09.880 --> 02:05:14.000
a lot of chicken. What about all those workers. Wouldn't

1806
02:05:14.039 --> 02:05:17.479
they know it wasn't chicken. They give them a lower dose,

1807
02:05:17.680 --> 02:05:21.000
just enough to keep them from asking questions. I looked

1808
02:05:21.000 --> 02:05:25.560
around the room. Okay, where's the hidden camera? His eyes

1809
02:05:25.640 --> 02:05:29.880
darted around. What camera? The one for the reality show

1810
02:05:29.960 --> 02:05:31.960
or whatever. You and Kenny are in to prank me.

1811
02:05:32.760 --> 02:05:36.520
You don't believe me. I don't believe you. He hung

1812
02:05:36.560 --> 02:05:41.600
his head. I stuck my neck out to come warn you. Well,

1813
02:05:41.640 --> 02:05:46.560
I appreciate the warning, I said, sarcastically. He turned and

1814
02:05:46.640 --> 02:05:50.079
walked to the door. Just keep an eye on your friend,

1815
02:05:50.680 --> 02:05:54.760
he said, opening it, and watch out for white vans.

1816
02:05:55.239 --> 02:05:58.920
He closed the door behind him. It was nearly time

1817
02:05:59.000 --> 02:06:01.439
to go to work. I shook off the thought that

1818
02:06:01.560 --> 02:06:04.640
was clinging to the back of my brain. What if

1819
02:06:04.640 --> 02:06:08.159
he was right? I showered and dressed and made it

1820
02:06:08.199 --> 02:06:11.680
to work on time. The shift was uneventful, except for

1821
02:06:11.760 --> 02:06:15.520
my continual attempts to snap Kenny out of it. He

1822
02:06:15.560 --> 02:06:18.960
didn't respond. It was just before three am when I

1823
02:06:19.039 --> 02:06:22.319
saw a white van pull up. No one got out

1824
02:06:22.319 --> 02:06:24.760
of it, and I couldn't see inside because it had

1825
02:06:24.800 --> 02:06:28.000
tinted glass. I shrugged it off and went back to

1826
02:06:28.079 --> 02:06:32.600
my job mopping the kitchen floor. The guard's words came

1827
02:06:32.640 --> 02:06:35.439
to me as I was doing my chores. I looked

1828
02:06:35.439 --> 02:06:38.399
back out at the white van, but it was gone.

1829
02:06:39.359 --> 02:06:42.520
I shrugged and went back to cleaning. A few minutes later,

1830
02:06:42.560 --> 02:06:45.359
I came out of the back room because someone was yelling,

1831
02:06:46.159 --> 02:06:49.840
isn't anyone working around here? An angry man raged at

1832
02:06:49.840 --> 02:06:53.239
the counter. I'm sorry, I said. The cashier must be

1833
02:06:53.239 --> 02:06:55.520
in the bathroom. I took care of him, then went

1834
02:06:55.640 --> 02:06:58.880
on a mission to find Kenny. In his condition, he

1835
02:06:58.920 --> 02:07:01.199
could have wandered off some where or gotten stuck in

1836
02:07:01.239 --> 02:07:04.920
a closet. Twenty minutes later, I was frantic I hadn't

1837
02:07:04.960 --> 02:07:08.279
seen hide nor hair of Kenny. I was even tempted

1838
02:07:08.279 --> 02:07:11.279
to check on the roof, but the access ladder was

1839
02:07:11.319 --> 02:07:14.079
still locked. It was starting to get busy, and I

1840
02:07:14.079 --> 02:07:17.279
didn't have time to search for him anymore. Between cooking

1841
02:07:17.319 --> 02:07:20.359
and running register, I was falling behind by the second

1842
02:07:20.920 --> 02:07:23.079
I had a lot of irate customers. By the time

1843
02:07:23.159 --> 02:07:26.319
day shift came in and bailed me out, I was

1844
02:07:26.359 --> 02:07:28.880
so far behind I stayed for an extra hour just

1845
02:07:28.920 --> 02:07:31.720
to help them catch up. After my shift, I went

1846
02:07:31.720 --> 02:07:36.000
to the supervisor. I'm worried about Kenny, I said, It's

1847
02:07:36.119 --> 02:07:39.680
not like him to just disappear like that. Maybe he

1848
02:07:39.720 --> 02:07:43.159
got sick and went home without telling you. Maybe, but

1849
02:07:43.239 --> 02:07:46.119
then why is his car still here? He looked at

1850
02:07:46.159 --> 02:07:49.560
the security monitors, and sure enough, Kenny's car was still

1851
02:07:49.600 --> 02:07:53.720
sitting in the employee's parking lot. That is weird. Tell

1852
02:07:53.760 --> 02:07:56.279
you what if he calls in, I'll give you a call,

1853
02:07:57.039 --> 02:08:00.359
fair enough, I said, yawning. I drove home home and

1854
02:08:00.399 --> 02:08:04.079
fell into a deep sleep. When I woke, I felt

1855
02:08:04.079 --> 02:08:06.960
more refreshed than I had in days. I went into

1856
02:08:06.960 --> 02:08:09.680
work that night, expecting to find Kenny there, laughing at

1857
02:08:09.680 --> 02:08:15.239
me for falling for such an awesome prank. He wasn't there. Instead,

1858
02:08:15.520 --> 02:08:18.199
I had someone from dayshift who had volunteered to work

1859
02:08:18.239 --> 02:08:23.359
overtime for three days. Kenny didn't show up. On the

1860
02:08:23.439 --> 02:08:27.720
fourth day, I got a surprise in the morning. I

1861
02:08:27.800 --> 02:08:30.439
was making food orders when I called an order number

1862
02:08:30.920 --> 02:08:34.840
and the guard walked up to take his food. Hey,

1863
02:08:35.640 --> 02:08:38.960
have you seen Kenny at all? I said, I'm sorry,

1864
02:08:39.000 --> 02:08:43.800
Do I know you? He said, ha ha, very funny. Seriously,

1865
02:08:44.680 --> 02:08:48.239
I leaned closer. Do you think they did something to him?

1866
02:08:49.359 --> 02:08:52.760
Who did what to who? I looked into his eyes

1867
02:08:53.479 --> 02:08:56.760
and let go of his bag of food. He had

1868
02:08:56.800 --> 02:09:01.439
the same vacant stare Kenny did just before he disappeared.

1869
02:09:03.079 --> 02:09:05.840
You have a good day now, he said with a smile,

1870
02:09:05.960 --> 02:09:10.640
before walking out. I suddenly felt surrounded and alone at

1871
02:09:10.680 --> 02:09:13.359
the same time. I glanced up at one of the

1872
02:09:13.399 --> 02:09:18.520
cameras as it's mechanical eye stared back at me. I

1873
02:09:18.600 --> 02:09:23.640
stopped questioning what happened to Kenny. Deep down, though I

1874
02:09:23.720 --> 02:09:31.039
knew they towed his car out of the lot, I

1875
02:09:31.079 --> 02:09:33.920
don't know where it went to. Maybe there's a corporate

1876
02:09:33.960 --> 02:09:38.439
car crusher for the vehicles of their victims. The worst

1877
02:09:38.439 --> 02:09:40.960
part is they continue to get away with it. I

1878
02:09:41.000 --> 02:09:43.199
wish there was some way I could prove what I know,

1879
02:09:44.439 --> 02:09:48.159
but I can't without going into the distribution center and

1880
02:09:48.199 --> 02:09:52.319
getting evidence. I've got nothing. I keep coming to work

1881
02:09:52.359 --> 02:09:56.399
for some reason. I've started looking for another job. I've

1882
02:09:56.399 --> 02:09:59.960
written this all down in hopes that someday someone might

1883
02:10:00.199 --> 02:10:03.319
be able to use it, that they would read this

1884
02:10:03.800 --> 02:10:07.600
and look in the right place to discover this horrible truth.

1885
02:10:08.920 --> 02:10:12.560
I've been feeling more and more tired lately. Maybe it's

1886
02:10:12.640 --> 02:10:16.239
just knowing about this horrible thing that's happened and having

1887
02:10:16.239 --> 02:10:20.119
no way to stop it. I wanted to write more

1888
02:10:20.119 --> 02:10:23.840
of what I remembered in my journal, but my thoughts

1889
02:10:23.840 --> 02:10:29.239
seemed to slip away so easily. It's been a few

1890
02:10:29.319 --> 02:10:34.319
days since I've written anything, I think, or has it

1891
02:10:34.399 --> 02:10:39.800
been a few weeks. I keep getting thirstier for soda.

1892
02:10:40.880 --> 02:10:43.279
I'm glad the company lets us have free soda when

1893
02:10:43.319 --> 02:10:49.479
we work. I keep looking up at the cameras for

1894
02:10:49.520 --> 02:10:57.520
some reason, but I can't remember why. I read the

1895
02:10:57.560 --> 02:11:02.479
words on these pages, but uh, I don't remember writing them.

1896
02:11:06.520 --> 02:11:10.159
I see a white van pull up. It must be

1897
02:11:10.199 --> 02:11:16.079
a customer. It's nearly three in the morning. I hope

1898
02:11:16.079 --> 02:11:26.560
they come in before the power serve. Well, my spookies,

1899
02:11:27.239 --> 02:11:32.039
I'd say that was enough roadside misery to make anybody

1900
02:11:32.159 --> 02:11:37.239
think twice about topping off the tank and taking the

1901
02:11:37.279 --> 02:11:42.159
scenic route. That's what I love about this kind of horror.

1902
02:11:42.680 --> 02:11:46.359
It doesn't need a castle or a graveyard to get

1903
02:11:46.520 --> 02:11:51.880
under your skin. Sometimes all it takes is a busted tire,

1904
02:11:52.520 --> 02:11:58.279
a lonely church, a patch of ozark woods, or a

1905
02:11:58.359 --> 02:12:02.720
miserable little gasty where the night shift lasts just a

1906
02:12:02.920 --> 02:12:09.640
bit too long. The ordinary stuff is what makes it meaner,

1907
02:12:10.439 --> 02:12:14.479
because deep down we all know places just like these.

1908
02:12:15.279 --> 02:12:19.000
We've passed them, we've even stopped at them. We've told

1909
02:12:19.039 --> 02:12:25.239
ourselves they're harmless. Thank you for spending the evening out

1910
02:12:25.279 --> 02:12:29.119
in the weeds with me, and make sure you're subscribed

1911
02:12:29.199 --> 02:12:34.039
on your favorite podcast app, because every single Wednesday for

1912
02:12:34.199 --> 02:12:39.239
seven years, there's been a brand new scary story waiting

1913
02:12:39.520 --> 02:12:44.359
just for you on the weekly Spooky Feed. Until next time,

1914
02:12:45.000 --> 02:12:49.279
keep your headlights on, your tank above half, and your

1915
02:12:49.319 --> 02:12:54.640
eyes off any road that seems to appear only when

1916
02:12:54.680 --> 02:13:10.760
you're desperate enough to take it.