CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio - The BEST Creepypastas of 2021

Episode Date: January 1, 2022

CREEPYPASTA STORIES-►0:00 "I Worked in a Fire Lookout for 10 Years. We look out for more than just fires" Creepypasta►37:30 "How to play 'The box game'" Creepypasta►1:27:09 "Give him what he wants" Creepypasta►2:11:36 "I was part of an expedition to the South Pole. I was the only one to make it back" Creepypasta►2:52:51 "I'm a Oceanographer Working in an Underwater Facility. Stay Away from the Depths" CreepypastaCreepypastas are the campfire tales of the internet. Horror stories spread through Reddit r/nosleep, forums and blogs, rather than word of mouth. Whether you believe these scary stories to be true or not is left to your own discretion and imagination. LISTEN TO CREEPYPASTAS ON THE GO-SPOTIFY► https://open.spotify.com/show/7l0iRPd...iTUNES► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...CREEPY THUMBNAIL ART BY►Tomasz Ryger: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/yk...SUGGESTED CREEPYPASTA PLAYLISTS-►"Good Places to Start"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YCb...►"Personal Favourites"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEa2R...►"Written by me"- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX6RA...►"Long Stories"- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...FOLLOW ME ON-►Twitter: https://twitter.com/Creeps_McPasta►Instagram: https://instagram.com/creepsmcpasta/►Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/creepsmcpasta►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreepsMcPastaCREEPYPASTA MUSIC/ SFX- ►http://bit.ly/Audionic ♪►http://bit.ly/Myuusic ♪►http://bit.ly/incompt ♪►http://bit.ly/EpidemicM ♪-This creepypasta is for entertainment purposes only-

I found the opening after a long stint of working office jobs. I wanted something more in touch with nature and my search went further and further until I hit an ad for a job as a fire lookout. The bay was low, the hours looked horrendous and the benefits were minimal. However, the lifestyle it granted was something I wanted, even if just for a temporary reprieve from my draught city life.

I never expected to have worked this job for the better part of a decade. However, over my time, I recruit more than enough stories to hold any party's attention for a week. That's because my job wasn't that of an ordinary fire watcher. I don't know if this is the same for others in the same job line as me, or if it's just my specific one. But let's just say we had more duties to attend to than just watching for smoke. My first day in the job there was a lot to take in. I was actually shown around by the area's ranger, rather than another lookout. Apparently the previous two quit on short notice for them to train their replacements,

so the duty fell on his shoulders. The walk to the fire watch tower was Arjavus at first. If it weren't for my partner leading the way, I'd have gotten lost many times over. Just when you think you're at a clearing that should lead straight to the place, we'd take a sharp turn. We'd take a sharp turn, seemingly away from the destination, and yet it won't. not to be correct. We made it to the tower at around 8.20pm. The first thing I was told was that the door should be closed before 8.30 p.m.

and never opened until the shift was over at 6 a.m. not accounting for daylight savings. We safely made it in. I was briefly left inside while he went out with a brush and paint can and came back covered in a few specks of red on him. The door was closed and my first shift officially started. At first, things were uneventful. I expected to be lectured on all I needed to do,

but as soon as the door closed, my partner simply went to lounging around. Left to my own devices, I talked to familiarising myself with a place I'd be held up in for the next ten hours or so. There were four rooms in total, a kitchen with some minimal rustic appliances, a bathroom with bare essentials,

a lounging area with some basic wooden furnitures, and a small storage area filled with many things I didn't know how to use. All rooms are layered with clear glass and all had a door to the balcony for ease of access to have an overlooking view. I tried starting any form of conversation, but my partner was not having it. Any questions about the job was shut down. A few hours in and the thick of night was fully set in.

My partner checked his watch, took something out of storage, handed me a pair of binoculars that looked too high-tech for, what I thought I'd be doing. When I flicked them on, the view it gave me was astounding. Despite the overbearing darkness outside, I could clearly see for miles through those things. Whether there was some form of night vision or infrared,

I didn't know. But I was able to observe a vast area through those things. I took to scanning the horizon for movement, signs of smoke or light. After a while of no activity, I dialed in the distance and started skimming the surrounding tree line closer to the tower.

I froze at the most peculiar sight. It was a figure, barely distinguishable from the surrounding trees. The only way I even spotted it was because of the consistent arching movement. I focused the binoculars

a bit more and saw that it looked like a person over-enthusiastically waving. I waited to see if there were more. However, it didn't stop. It didn't stop after a few uncomfortable seconds. It didn't stop after a few awkward minutes. I kept checking through the night

and sure enough, there they were, waving in my direction. When I asked my partner about it, he just grunted and told me to ignore it. Seeing that he'd be no help, I resided just checking on them every so often. That was my first shift,

and it said the tone for the rest of my career as a fire lookout. I mentioned the dingy kitchen. Let me go into more detail. It was a simple room which matched the wooden facade of the other areas of the tower. There was a small fridge with limited selection. The food options were either a lettuce sandwich or salad, which was just lettuce, some cherry tomatoes, or bread,

if you threw the planned lettuce away from the aforementioned sandwich. On the plus side, you had condiments to make the food more tolerable if you consider brandless packets of ketchup in the door compartment flavour enhancers. For drinks, you had bottled water. Nothing else, and for snacks we had lightly salted crackers. This is the say, their hospitality was lacking. At first, I politely used what was provided and masked my dismay to be as polite as possible. However, after a few weeks, I decided my friendly facade was less necessary, and decided to bring my own packed meal.

The shift started as usual. The ranger left with this can of paint and came back slightly stained. I was left to my own devices and took to just spotting peculiarities. However, during this shift, things were slightly more rampant. There were more waving figures spotted out at various distances, or enthusiastically waving in my direction. If their sole purpose in life was to just get my attention, I hope that life's purpose was accomplished.

With the increased frequency, some were closer than they usually were. The glint of white on their faces showed, they were smiling wide, and a moving grin plastered across their face. After having enough of them, I just sat down and pulled out my packed meal. Immediately, the Ranger dropped what he was doing and snatched it. Figuring he was ravenous for something that wasn't essentially water leaves on bread, I yelled at him, about to grab it back. However, he just ran out the balcony door, opened the box, and threw it all off the edge.

He came back, livid, yelling at me, that he wore me not to bring in any outside food. The smell of my roast beef sandwich started to waft from the now-empty lunchbox in his hands. I hesitantly told him that I wasn't told that, to which he went through some range of emotions, starting from studying me to see if I were bluffing, mulling over his own memory,

and then defeat when he told me not to do it again. On top of that, he told me I was no longer allowed outside for the rest of the night and locked all the balcony doors. I figured he'd sussed that that was my favourite part of the job, soaking in the night air and observing nature at night, a cathartic pastime that I was getting paid for. However, as the night went on, I learned.

It was for a different reason. It started as small thuds, heavy, soft bumps that thudded around outside. It mostly sounded like it was hitting dirt, but occasionally I'd hear a dink of the wooden beams that held up the tower. It was hard to see much outside from the angle of the windows, but with the use of the binoculars, I could see movement just below the tower.

I didn't manage to see what was hamming around outside that night, but the fact I could hear it was quite concerning, as we were so high up that you'd barely be able to hear an elephant thundering outside. Whatever was outside was hitting the ground with ferocity. When the shift ended, and we eventually peaked outside, I saw what remained in my food that hit the ground. Crumbs and wrappers were scattered. Some had fallen in the many large divvets

that were now punched on the ground. I had the extra job of loosing the dirt and filling in the small craters. Without giving too much info on location specifics, I can say that the area we're in barely gets any visitors. This is fortunate to the safety of the public. However, because of this,

when someone is spotted here, it's always hard to know what to do. Whilst making my way towards the tower, I saw a group of young people. There were four of them, and they looked like they were ready to spend the night in the sticks. At this point,

I wasn't trained in dealing with others, but I also felt a moral responsibility to try to talk them out of it. I called over to them and tried my best to warn them, without divulging any specifics. They seemed to heed me at first. However, a brazen one asked me if I was a ranger.

As soon as I admitted I wasn't, I could see all my credibility was gone, and they left with a hollow agreement that they'd stay safe. I made it to my shift in time and saw the range of returning with his tin of paint, red specks dotting his right arm. We launched around, doing our usual affairs, but I couldn't get the hikers out of my mind. I toiled with the idea of bringing it up, but knew that most things I asked were often shut down. Eventually, I took a deep breath and asked what we should do if we saw hikers going in at night. With this, he took pause from the book he was reading. Though he didn't move, I could tell his eyes were no longer focused on the words, but rather fogged over as he went deep into thought.

After a few moments, he returned with an exasperated sigh and just asked, how many? Huh? I thought. and pushed again, I just said four. With that, he went back to reading his book, and all conversation ended. That shift was particularly uneventful. I simply took to watching the trees, seeing if I could spot any nocturnal animals, until the light started peaking itself from the horizon. Rather than parting ways, the ranger told me to follow him.

We walked around the common entrance of the tree line, near where most people parked before walking in. Once there, I felt a tight grip in my shoulder and realized the ranger was grabbing me tightly, his other hand doing the same over his eyes. I hesitantly asked him what he was doing, and he just suddenly told me to do as he said. My orders were to tell in the moment I saw those same hikers.

So, there we waited, from six in the morning to around nine, waiting for any signs of movement. I was sat, uncomfortably, while the Ranger never relieved my shoulder, nor his eyes. Whatever he was doing, he was heavily committed to it. Eventually, movement emerged from the tree line. The group had returned to their car.

They had smirks plastered across their faces. Whatever they got up to the night before, they must have had a lot of fun. I muttered to the Ranger that they were here, and his grip tightened as he readied himself for whatever he was going to do. I watched as they packed the gear back into the truck, moving very jovially, almost dance like movements. I wondered if they were high. How many are there? The Ranger asked.

Five, same as I said last night, I replied. Five, not four, he probed. Yeah, they don't seem shaken up from anything. In fact, it looks like they had a lot of fun. They seem very happy, I shot back. He sighed and asked me to read out the license plate, to which he called into his radio, adding it was another code 147. I didn't realize what happened until the Ranger recalled me back the events of that night, in which he adamantly told me. I originally told him there were four.

I tell the story how he told it back, though when I searched my mind back to that night, I always remember telling him five. Let me tell you about Dave. No, that isn't the name. of the Ranger. I never did get his name, something which bothered me at the time, but later learned was a wise choice. It didn't take long for me to become a savant at the job, though there wasn't saying much knowing how few responsibilities I had earlier on. We met at our usual time. The Ranger went about his business with the red paint, and I set up my itinerie for that shift. I spaced out my watch time with frequent small breaks to do side projects, read, browse my phone,

dabble in dating apps. Shifts were more bearable when I knew something was waiting for me after the session of vigilantly staring out of the tree line. I was so fixated on some movement in the far brushes, possibly my first sighting of a deer that I was startled when I heard something eerily close. It wasn't the crumbull of twigs or dirt being moved,

but a simple, polite. Hello? After quickly settling down, I looked to the ground. where a person stood, barely illuminated from the tower's light. I was so dumbfounded I didn't respond, which prompted a second, elongated. Hello? Snapping back to reality, I replied with an equal pleasantry.

I am terribly sorry, I seem to have lost my bearings. I was trying to head back to my car, but I keep looping around. Could you come down here and help me? He said this in the most polite, tone I've ever heard. He had a light note to his voice, spoken through a constant brimming smile. I smiled back and engaged in conversation. After a few back and forths, I learned that he often walked the lovely trails in this area, and even offered to show me around to some nice scenic spots. This warned me, since that's exactly what I wanted. To learn more of the area, to really get in touch

with the beauty of the land. All I had to do was come out and help him. find his way. I told him I'd be right down and went back inside. However, the more I walked, the slower I went. All I could think about was how I was told never to open the door. Was that to make sure I didn't leave shift, or was there another reason? Under any other circumstance, I would have taken my own initiative, something I prided myself on when I applied for the job.

But, with all that I'd seen so far, I found myself second. guessing myself. My body was mimicking my thoughts by leaning towards the stairwell and then pulling back towards the Ranger. After a few back and forths, eventually the Ranger took notice and with a confused look, he asked what I was doing. I stared at him as he gave me a curious look, like a father looking down on their inept child.

I mulled things over, but eventually cracked and told him all I'd seen. He just stared at him. me, not saying a word. Eventually, he sighed, got up, grab some ornaments off the table, and went to the balcony, and started hurling them off the edge, all while screaming expletives mixed in with

demands for him to go away. I didn't move, just stunned by the whole act. Eventually, the Ranger returned, sat back down, and carried on reading his magazine like nothing had happened. I knew I wouldn't get a word out of him, so

I just went back to my watch. I don't think I've mentioned the dancers yet. A lesson I learned quickly was they never play music above a certain volume. Around a time when I was starting to be left alone more often, I sought out ways to pass the time. Reading was never my thing, so I tried getting creative with what little I could carry to my shift. Because connection around the area was spotty at best,

I had to get a bit more analog with my approach. In a dusty second-hand store, I spotted a vintage-looking CD player for almost, free. The guy wore a great look of shock that someone got so excited over the thing. I could tell who was worried I'd somehow found a forgotten gem, ready to scalp a price he'd missed, but I was just glad I found something I could use. You'll be surprised how cheap you can get CDs in a charity shop, and you'll be amazed at some of the gems you can find. Old Backstreet Boys album's original Green Day, before long, I was jamming out to my childhood, powered by three D-sized batteries.

It wasn't long before I was jamming out to Avril Levine, screaming the words I'd heard a thousand times before, that flickers of movement caught my eye. A naive thought came to mind that some lost travellers who were looking for help, that that didn't seem to be in the job description. I turned down the music and peered around, cautiously looking for any more signs,

but it was quickly quiet again. I went back to my activities, just trying to make the night pass uneventfully. sadly my wish would never be realised it quickly became a game of cat and mouse I'd catch sight of something inspect and nothing would be there

it was jarring too because each time I'd fiddle with a CD player which wasn't in the most stable conditions causing the CDs to skip whenever I knocked it to turn it down patience wearing thin it only took one time to storm out to the balcony without turning down the music to see what was happening

across the edges of the tree line were scores of figures, a legion of strange emaciated creatures. It was hard to make up the details because they moved so damn much. They swayed and jerked in a rhythmic pace, though their approaches slow, their movements were swift, showing that they held some power behind their swings. No movement was synchronised, each moved in their own accord. The only things that matched was the beat in which they acted,

and very quickly I noticed it was the same BPM of the song that was playing. I quickly slapped the player off and ran back over to the edge. I saw as they slowly stopped and started shuffling back to the tree line. After that, I left the player off for the rest of the night.

A few days later, there was a shift I couldn't cover. When I came in after, I saw my CD player had been smashed. The fact that it wasn't disposed showed that it was a message to not playing music anymore. I learned a valuable lesson when the lights went out. It was a quiet evening. I ate the ranger to manage me for the night.

I'd learned to enjoy reading, despite it not being my favourite pastime. And it was turning out to be another uneventful night. In the station we have minimal lighting, a few small lamps and a pendulum bulb. This obviously makes reading more of an ordeal. it should be, and it's a mystery how the Ranger keeps it up. Because of the dim light, it was noticeable when the darkness

suddenly fell to pressing. The room felt dark. I looked at the lamps and they were all still on. I checked the pendulum and it too was brightly lit. I looked at my manager to see if he noticed it and indeed had.

He was looking out towards the balcony and his eyes were bulging. That was the most emotion I'd seen him display, and I'd watched him watch a person get dismantled in seconds. I looked out the balcony too, and at first I couldn't piece together what was wrong. It was dark out, and I couldn't see anything stalking out the woods, something I usually looked out for. I couldn't even see to the tree line. In fact, the more I looked, I realized I couldn't see anything at all. I looked up and realized everything was black.

There was no moon, there were no stars. Immediately my manager went around the rooms turning off each light. I barely produced a whisper about to ask what was happening, but he quickly shushed me. There we sat, in total silence, in total darkness. This lasted about an hour, though, as you can imagine, with a lack of any stimulation, it felt a lot longer. Even though it was dim, it was almost blind. when the light started to return from outside. The air of oppression was lifted.

We turned the lights back on and went on like nothing happened. It wasn't until another time that I found out the consequences of doing things wrong. Dave? Found a wife. Every so often I saw some hikers

grazed the outskirts of the zone I patrolled. A woman and a child. The brief times we spoke, she'd talk about how this was how she bonded with us. son now that she was a single mother. Sadly, her husband passed away a while back, and for some time she lost the deep connection with

her son that she felt mothers should have. It was rare, but when we'd bump into each other, we'd always swap pleasantries and tips on navigating the woods, though most of mine turned into warnings of the many areas in my zone. I learned that her name

was Lisa, and her son was Joe. Sadly, I made the mistake, of telling her my name. Now I know why the ranger never told me his. For the sake of brevity, not repeating the same mistake, I'll supplement it with the name, Jerry. It was night, another shift on my own,

when I heard a voice calling out to me, a familiar voice. It was Dave. In his meek demeanour, he told me he had something important to show me. I sighed, knowing. I shouldn't engage. Go away, Dave, I'm not interested. I yelled at him, learning

from my many other encounters with him. You don't understand. The most amazing thing has happened. I'm in love. He shot back, a vibrancy to his tone now. This piqued my interest. Usually, his endeavours involved trying to get me to come out.

Ooh, I hurt my leg. Help me, there's a bear. I've lost my glasses and I can't see. But this was different. He wasn't enticing me outside. This was something I could do from the balcony. This was new. I made my way over, mostly confident that I'd be safe.

It turns out I would. But what I saw made my heart sink. Dave was now standing there with Lisa and Joe. Both had enlarged smiles, jovially stretched, though their eyes didn't seem to look happy. Dave, however, had a genuine smile on his face. He got what he wanted. Come down, I want you to meet my new family.

They're excited to meet you. Dave shot out, loving his voice. I'm not interested, I replied bluntly, though I was hiding pain. Just when I thought I'd have my usual back and forth with Dave, Lisa spoke up. Come down, Jerry. We want you to come to our ceremony. Ceremony, she weeped. My heart broke.

I can't. I'm sorry, I weakly said back, though the apology held multiple layers. I was sorry they got caught up in this. I was sorry I hadn't done more to prevent this from happening. I was sorry that I couldn't do anything. All I could do was surmise that they must have stayed here past daytime, and of the many things in this zone,

they were found by day first. Now, every so often, when I'm on shifts on my own, I hear them calling to me. There's a certain power they have now, the power of my name. Even though I know I shouldn't go out, the allure is so much stronger when they address me on such a personal level.

I just hope they don't catch me in a moment of weakness. Otherwise, I might become a new member of his growing family. A lesson I was never told, but learnt through watching, was to memorize the entire layout of the watchtower at the start of each shift. I was with a ranger and another one of our many quiet shifts together. I had gotten into the habit of drinking tea throughout the night.

It was a gentle amount of caffeine, and had many health benefits if all the homeopathic articles were to be believed. I was about to grab a fresh bag out the cupboard when I spotted something next of the kettle. Is this yours? I asked, reaching out to it. My eyes studied it while I was reaching over. It was an old doll. It looked Victorian in design.

Its face was ivory porcelain, slight cracks marred in its glaze. Rosie cheeks were dabbed on with the utmost care, and its eyes were a glassy blue. I've never had that irrational fear of dolls, and in a way, I thought it was cute. My thoughts were ripped from me. with a tearing of muscle from my leg. I fell, turning to look at the ranger, staring at me,

wide-eyed, derringer pistol in his hands. Throughout my time with him, I'd seen him witness many disturbing things. We'd watched the pommas squashed the carcass of a deer to the point that it looked more 2D than 3D. I'd seen him have to choose between two identical hikers, one to kill, one to let go, never knowing what the right choice was.

I'd seen him read books of many chariotees. He'd clean a comedy without so much as a smirk, a detective mystery without so much as raising an eyebrow. But the man standing there wore the most grim of expression. When I snapped out of my shock, I screamed in agony. He quickly came over and helped send the bleeding, and had me seated on the couch. Upon an inspection, he only grazed me, though I'll never know if that was intentional or luck. I had to use an ancient-looking crutch to move about for the rest of the night and the night dragged on to be one of the most stressful shifts of my life.

You see, when I went back to the kitchen area, the doll was nowhere to be found. The only explanation I got from the Ranger was that one touch was all it takes. He didn't elaborate further on that, but the urgency in his voice sent chills down my spine. Through the night, it became a game of cat and mouse. We were sat together in tense silence. The ranger went back to reading, but after every finished page, he glanced up and look around.

He was being much more cautious. I sat there trying to keep my wits together, gently sipping the tea I eventually finished making. I was reaching down for another sip as the ranger finished the page, and as quickly as he glanced up, he threw the bug down and drew his pistol at me. I froze.

Not wanting to get shot again. Eyes wide, we stared at each other, until I realized that though I was looking at him, he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at where I was reaching. Without any sudden movements, I craned my neck to where my tea should have been. And there it was.

The doll. My fingers are breath away from glancing its mousy red hair. This didn't stop for the rest of the night. My co-worker put down his book to go to the bathroom. While in there, I heard him yell. I couldn't rush over to help due to my leg. All I could do was surmise that the doll must have been waiting in a precarious position and it almost got him.

When the sun peaked up from the horizon, I saw the ranger sigh with relief. This must have meant it was over. He empathetically helped me all the way to the hospital to get my leg properly treated. This was the closest we'd been since starting together. I think this was the point in which he knew I'd last longer than the previous applicants. You'd think our job on a fire watch lookout was to, well, look out for fires.

And there was one time I saw one. The Ranger was sat with me. By this point, we were reading the same book together. We would get a copy each, read it, then move on. When he first suggested this, this, I thought we would discuss it afterwards, but he didn't seem to understand that. Even though this was bizarre to me, I kept it up, figuring this was how he bonded with people. Something that's easy to pick up on when reading is any change in light.

It's how my co-worker picked up in the darkness when the stars went out, but this time it was the opposite. At first, it was a faint orange clove from far in the tree line. I tried pointing it out to the ranger, but, he just clansed it, honed, and went back to reading. I tried doing the same, trusting his judgment, and trying to keep up with his incredible reading pace. However, the longer I read, the bigger the glow became. Eventually, I recognised it for what it was.

Fire. It was bright enough that the billows of smoke were visible. It was a torrent of flames, and it was growing rapidly. I tried pointing this out to the ranger, but he was a bit of the ranger. He just went about reading his book. I was sat there, unable to read, or worrying about this growing inferno. Then, I heard a voice.

Help, fire, please help, my family are in there. I ran over to the edge. It was Dave. He no longer had that knowing smirk on his face. It was a genuine look of panic. How do I know you're not lying? I hesitantly shot back. lying? You can see it, and look.

He pointed to the edges of the tree line. I could see all the hauntings of the woods. The dancers, the pommas, the many-finger man, hell, even the doll was escaping to the distance. Whatever was going on, it had the whole supernatural ecosystem going awry. This made me panic. I shook the ranger, trying to get him to react.

But he just furrowed his brow and tried focusing on the words in his hands. It's too late for help, just get out of there, I heard from down below. He was right. The flames were licking the edges of the tree line. It wouldn't be long before it caught up to us, or we were smoked out. I ran to the door, but as I reached for it, I heard a familiar click. The ranger was still sat there, book in one hand, Derringer and the other.

I just put my hands up, knowing he was serious. and sat back down. I waited anxiously as I could do nothing but stare at the raging inferno that crept ever closer. The smell of smoke permeating the room. Every so often, the ranger would glance up from his book

and check that I wasn't going to do something stupid. The night crawled on, anxiety churning up something fierce inside me. Eventually, a new light started to grow, a brighter hue than the blood orange of the flames. It was the yellow iridescence of the sun. Eventually, the new light overtook the old light, and everything went calm. When the shift ended, on the dot, my co-worker got up and left.

I followed suit, anxious to see the results of the damage. There wasn't even as much as a speck of ash, no lingering smell of smoke, not even the residue left after flames lick wood. It seemed it was yet another trick of the woods to get us to come out. And this one. Almost worked. These events are never just one-offs. Often they can happen many times, but always at random.

There's no way you'll predict what you'll run into in each given night. However, sometimes things fall out of your control. You can do everything perfectly, but another factor will change the expected outcome. I was on my own one shift. I prepared things that due to the best of my knowledge, and I picked up my fresh book. By this point, I'd taken a liking to reading. I understood why it was my partner's preferred pastime.

It pulls you away from the drab boredom of the night, but keeps you aware enough to react to things happening. It also has zero technology for any external interference. Don't even get me started and when I tried to bring in an old TV. I was a few pages in when I had to squint harder to read the fine print of my book. It was dark again. That same oppressive darkness that enveloped us a few months back. Knowing what to do, I went around snuffing out all the light sources.

For extra measure, I even turned off my phone. I sat back down, defeated, knowing my only pastime was gone. I resign myself to sitting there in the oppressive darkness. It's strange, seeing the sky so empty, a thick blanket of black covering everything around you. There wasn't even a drop of light blue. from the nearest spot of civilization. Everything was completely blank.

This is why it was easy to spot when something popped up. A tiny fleck of light in the tree line. From the looks of it, a camper had wandered into my zone, and they seemed to be trying to create a source of light, understandably so.

I could see the swing of their flashlight as they rated wood for a fire. However, they didn't get that far. A glow rain from above and overparing pressure beamed from the sky.

It was almost like a spotlight was lit on the camper's exact spot focused onto him like the most brightest of floodlights. I ducked away, knowing this could only mean trouble. But I kept a vantage point to observe what was going on,

albeit through a sliver. I glanced up and saw that the light wasn't just an illumination source. It was an eye. It was glistening in a gargantuan size. Staring at the camper, they must have been frozen still from shock, judging by the lack of movement from their flashlight.

I saw the most curious thing. The stars started dotting in and out to the edges of my vision. At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Before I knew it, the light sucked up the camper faster than I could blink. One moment he was there. Another, he was a dot, zipping through the sun. sky into the eye that also seemed to be a mouth in the center. Suddenly, more stars flickered into view as the edges rippled away, and as the eye closed and left,

I realized the stars didn't disappear. They were covered. They were covered by this strange titanic umbrella of a creature. It flooded away like a jellyfish, content with this catch. After a safe period of time, I turned the lights back on. After a safe period of time, I turned the lights back on and went back to reading. These are only some highlights of the bizarre things I've seen on this job. I haven't even told you about the mouthless deer, the kidney repairman and many others. And as time passes, I only discover more strange phenomenon. Some, even my partner, hasn't seen.

It's trial and error trying to figure out how to survive each new thing. And it's starting to make sense why so many people come and come and come and in this job. Now I know they don't quit, like I had originally thought. Still though, the job's a job, and I'm pretty good at this, so I'll keep doing it as long as I can. For now though, I hope you enjoyed some of my strange work experiences. I hope your job is more mundane than mine. I know a game. It's a fun game, yes it is, but I need a playing buddy for it. Will you be my buddy? friend. That sounds nice. A friend. My game is awesome and every way imaginable. And if we win,

we can get fortunes you can't even imagine in your wildest dreams. Are you in? Yes, of course you are. Everyone who's heard about it is in. The game, even has a fun name. The box game. Lovely, right? And it's in your own house, so you won't even have to travel. It's kind of a mix-up of mostly hide and seek and tag. I already found a seeker, so don't worry, my friend. You will be on my team. Great, right?

You need a few things before you start the game. You will need a cardboard box for every room in your house. As eyes doesn't matter, but some will need different colours. So, I brought you some paint. It's in the attic with some boxes. I saw you already have enough,

so don't worry about that. You need to paint one blue, one red, one green and one white. You don't need to paint the other boxes. You also need a candle. Preferably red, but black is also good enough. Never a white candle, because then I won't be able to play with you. And the Seeker wins.

You don't want him to win. Trust me. You also need to do some things before the game. This is nothing major. Just a few things you'll have to prepare so we can start smoothly. I even made a list of them for you. Number one. This is the most important thing.

Consider it a rule even. So please listen to me. You cannot eat anything with salt in it from the moment you have read this letter. If you do, he wins, even if the game hasn't started yet, and he will come collect his price. Number two. Now, on to the fun stuff. I always love this part.

You first have to paint the boxes Like I said One needs to be blue One red one green and one white I also brought you some black paint You can doodle on them with that But not too much They need to mostly remain the colour you painted them

You can't doodle on the boxes that you haven't painted Those are mine And I would like to also decorate mine myself Number three Every room needs a box in it But you can't place them random The blue box needs to be in your bedroom, the red box in your kitchen, the green box in your living room and the white box in your bathroom. You can place the other boxes randomly in the other rooms, but be sure to place one in each room, even your storage room, attic, basement, and even your garden.

Otherwise, it counts as cheating. Number four, last but not least, you have to sign this paper with a drop of your blood. I'll help remind you of this if you haven't done it before 11 a.m. Well, now you're all set to start the game. It's going to be really exciting, but don't worry. As long as you don't forget to take a box of matches with you and light your candle before the game begins, we'll be fine. There are a few rules for during the game too.

So make sure you remember them tonight, because that's when the game starts. They are really important. You surely don't want to break any. You do not want to be a cheater. Number one. Be ready at 11.30pm. All of the lights have to be turned off, and the boxes have to be in the rooms.

I know the game starts at midnight and ends at 6am, but the seeker likes to arrive early, so I'm warning you in advance. Otherwise, he follows the rules to the letter, so you have nothing to worry about. number two keep a box of matches on you and light the candle at exactly 11.30pm the candle has to be on for the whole game

number three the candle will glow really bright for a moment when he arrives and you will hear the sound of bells that is when the game has started number four at this same moment the boxes will have moved

don't worry this is normal but they do have their own rules. I'll come back to that in a moment. Number five. Now, rule 5, 6 and 13 will be the most important rules for the night. First of all, when the boxes have rearranged themselves, you will have to start moving from room to room. I will follow you and help, but you are ultimately the one who chooses which room we will go. The order is completely up to you, and you may even choose a room twice if you want, but you will. will have to have been in all rooms and your garden before 6 a.m.

Number 6. Once you're in a room, you have to stay in there for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the box. Cardboard boxes have assignments in them, which you'll have to complete in the given time. Those, however, are the easy ones. I'll come back to what you have to do with the coloured boxes later. Number 7. The seeker can't get you while you're in a room within the given time limit, but when your time is up, he can come get us. He can also come get us while we're in the hallways. Number 8. This is not so much a rule as it is a helpful note.

The boxes change rooms every time you leave a room. You could get only cardboard boxes the whole game. You cannot, however, get the same coloured box more than twice. You will also at least encounter coloured boxes two times, and at max encounter them six times. Number nine. You cannot go out to your house or garden. You cannot leave the game until it is over.

Number ten. Now you will surely have questions about the coloured boxes. I'll start with a green one, because that's the easiest box. This one is about your family, friends and colleagues. Nothing too close or personal. It'll ask you a, would you rather question? and you will have to choose. Whichever you choose will happen, so don't make hasty decisions.

Number 11. The red one is slightly trickier. It'll ask you a dare, which is different for every room. It will go against your heart's choice, but if you don't follow it, you'll be stuck in the room until he gets you. Number 12. The blue box is really vague. You'll get a question.

get a question about dreams, work, love. You will have to answer truthfully, and whatever you answer will forever be lost to you. I know it is harsh, but you'll have to get through this. I know you're able to. Yes, the blue box sounds difficult, but the white box is by far the worst, even if it does not sound like it. The rule of the white box is simple. You must never open it. under any circumstance. It is, however, far from easy. You will be tempted and lured by the seeker. The white box is the only box he has any influence over.

And those are the rules. Phew, that was a lot to write down. But at least you were prepared for tonight. White your candle, paint your boxes, and get ready. Because tonight is going to be awesome. Yeah, I had a good laugh before throwing the red letter into the paper trash bin as any same person would. I would regret it later. I checked my security camera for the front porch, set myself a cup of coffee, sat down and began reading my newspaper.

The kids in my neighbourhood sure are pranksters. Some bits of the letter played in my mind, and I decided to check the time. 10.58 a.m. I rolled my eyes. Sure, I'll humour myself and wait for the clock to strike 11 a.m. 10.59. As if anything would happen. What the? Don't forget.

The words were written in shadows on my table, and I looked around to find what could have caused them. When I looked back, they were gone. I was way too into that story now, and my mind was playing tricks on me. I think I'll stop reading so many horror stories. I ate my toast and made myself another cup of coffee. It's Sunday so I won't have to hurry with anything.

I read the news my phone and when I finished my second coffee I started to do the dishes. My dishwasher won't be arriving until at least tomorrow so I'll just have to do it myself. While I was doing the dishes I saw some weird cracks in the tiles above the kitchen counter. I looked closer and started noticing a pattern. Come play, friend.

Okay, now I was definitely creeped out. I did not have any logical explanation. I took the thin paper from the bin, but I still believe that it couldn't be true what the paper said. My friend apparently noticed my hesitation. I felt a stabbing pain in my arm, which lasted for almost a minute. I held my arm in pain,

forgetting to even look what was causing it. I finally felt the pain died down to a dull burning. Then I felt something trickled down my arm and then drop under the paper I was holding. I finally looked. My arm was bleeding. At least that was the first thing I noticed. I then saw the markings. They looked like words.

Wait, they were words. The rest were incoherent scribbles, like someone had been trying to write something but suddenly lost the ability to do so. It almost looked like a struggle, which fascinated me more than that there was something carved in my arm. Oh well, could have been a shock, I guess. Hey, friend, have you decided to stop stalling and start playing? A jove your voice broke me out of my stupor.

I looked around, but there was nobody there. What? I asked if you were done stalling. The voice sounded like it was wrong, right next to me, but I didn't see anyone. This was the final drop for me. Who the hell are you? Wait, better question. What the hell do you want?

I like your words, my man. The voice quipped, but this is rather urgent. You have to sign the letter first. Just place a drop of a blood on it, and we can talk. And why should I trust a random voice in the sky? Well, if you want the seeker to come get you, then I would gladly let him. The prospect of another voice to come join,

one that could most likely cause me the same destruction this voice has done, did not sit well with me. So I got my arm and pressed it against the paper. The distorted words appeared in my blood at the bottom of the letter. Great, now that that's out of the way. I suddenly felt a rough hand on my shoulder, but the voice was still invisible.

Much better, I heard him murmur. Now, like I said in my letter, he spoke in a louder voice. You must first go get a candle. I will start painting in the meantime. Wait, I called out as I heard the voice walk away. Wait, what exactly are you? You aren't human, that much is obvious. The invisible thing, whatever it was, had stopped walking and I could feel its eyes on me.

That boy is something I neither can nor want to answer. I can, however, tell you this. I felt to lean over to me. His breath was right in my face. You just entered again with beings. Your eyes won't ever be able to comprehend. The trip to the store was short, and the only thing I got was the candle.

I was tempted for a moment to get a white one, just to mess with a being, but I quickly threw away that thought. I already experienced what would happen if I didn't follow the rules, so I just did what I did what I. was told. What I saw when I got home, however, was not something I suspected. A floating paintbrush. It was doodling on some of the cardboard boxes, creating all sorts of weird

symbols and scribbles. They almost look like some sort of language. I placed my red candle on the kitchen table and sat down in a chair. What are you drawing? I decided to stray to bask. Glad you asked. See, these things here are mine. My pet, my house. And this here is. No, what is all the writing about? Oh, that? Just some phrases in my own language. Nothing to worry about. I could almost see its grin. He was obviously withholding some information from me, but I decided not to press. I just sat down in one of the chairs opposite the floating brush and started painting one of the boxes blue. At least it had been nice enough to set the different paints, brushes and boxes of my table, so I could start immediately. It was eerily silent while we painted, so I decided to try and make

some conversation. So, um, do you play this game often? I straight up asked it. The doodling stopped for a moment, then continued onward. No, I normally don't get to play, it answered a bit sullen. But this time is different. Now I have a buddy, and we will win for sure. I could feel its grin directed at me. A shiver went down my spine. Oh, well, that's great, I guess.

I decided to try to get some more answers from him. That seeker guy, what is he like? Are there some ways to trick him or stall him or deceive him? The being burst out laughing. I thought you were never going to ask. it hiccpped. Then it turns serious once again. There are some ways to trick him.

He can't stand the candle, for example. Keep it in between his position and yours, if you know the general area of where he is, and he will not be able to find you. On the other hand, he can track you if you have any salt on you or have eaten it, so that's what the rule is for. He will also try to get you to break the rules.

He will try to trick you in every way possible, so be prepared. If you break even one of the rules, you will be in grave danger. If you break Rule 13, he will win immediately, and your soul will be his. I continued painting while listening to him.

Those rules are really important. One last question. I remembered the peculiar Rule 13. Why must I never open the white box once the game has started? What will be inside of it? I can't say what is inside of it, or we have already lost, but I can tell you that it is not worth opening it, and unleashing him upon us. Just try to forget it, and you will be safe for the night.

Great, again, no straight answer. I knew better than to try peeking in it tonight. But damn, the temptation was so big. While I continued painting, I thought about what it had said. so the candle was like a barrier for the seeker that's good to know that way I'll be up to keep him from getting to me but the invisible thing here at my table

was withholding something from me the salt there's something not quite right about what he said he seemed kind of nervous about it maybe the salt can be used against himself it was evening before I even knew it I ate a quick dinner which didn't taste too good because of the lack of salt in it

After that, I placed the boxes in the rooms. He placed the uncoloured ones in the attic, basement, garden and storage room, and I place the colour ones in the bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom. While I placed my boxes in the assigned rooms, I also looked up what kind of being my playing buddy could be. But, from what I could find, I think it's some kind of ghost, or at least something close to that. It doesn't fit the exact description, but in the limited time I had, I couldn't find anything else that fit its characteristics. I suddenly heard a hiss come from the hallway. I walked out the kitchen I was in

and saw a couple of boxes floating in front of the living room. What's wrong? I asked. That stupid flower over there. I hate brim roses, so get that out of the house. No, it was a present from my mother. I got it yesterday from her. Do you want me to help you, or do you want to play alone? It asked, mockingly.

fine I sighed I'll set it on the front porch better I picked the vase up and walked to my front door which I opened I set the vase down in front of it and closed the door again much better it answered

and walked into the room we prepared the rooms and garden and then went to the living room I sat down on the couch and watched some TV while the being was doodling on some piece of paper at 11.30 p.m. the being stopped doodling.

It's time, was all it said. I nodded, turned off the TV, and stood up. Let's get this show on the road, I responded. I got my red candle and placed the box of matches in one of my pockets of my jeans after I lit the candle. I felt the being walk over to me and then stand next to me. It was at that moment that I realised I didn't even know its name, if you'd even add one.

Do you have a name? I decided to ask, bluntly. Well, of course. It's a bit long, so I'll just give you the name my friends normally call me. Dolor. Well, nice to meet you, Dolor.

I said, a bit mockingly. Dolor snorted, but didn't say anything else. We sat in silence for about 15 minutes, before the candle suddenly lit up really bright, so bright I had to shield my arm. eyes with my hands. I had been anxious of what was coming all day, but a sudden calm swept over me for a second, before the anxiety returned tenfold. My last spark of hope for all of this to be some kind of sick joke was extinguished. The room was dark again, and my eyes needed to adjust for a moment.

Dolor spoke up. He starts as far away from us as possible, so he will be somewhere in the garden, but first I see what box has appeared here. Indeed, I almost forgot. We were in a room, so the box here was also switched. I walked to the table in front of the TV on which I'd placed the green box. A cardboard one had taken its place. Come on, open it, Dolor encouraged me. If you keep waiting, he'll find us for sure.

I looked at the weird symbols on it and shivered. something about the box was off and I could feel it radiating from it still knowing every second whatever being was in my garden was getting closer I opened the box inside were a dye and a piece of paper

I held the paper close to my candle but not too close and started reading roll the dice and get your prize if you roll a one you lose dollar will decide what you you'll have to do. Two. Still not good, but hey, no one is perfect. You will have to wait here for five

minutes. Three, at least he's getting somewhere. You will have to wait eight minutes. Four. Wow, that's pretty good. You'll have to wait ten minutes now. Five. Great, that's a really high number. You will get to pick what kind of box will be the next room you want to visit. 6. You win. Congrats. You can ask Dolor one question and he will have to answer honestly. It can't be about the white box though. Good luck to you and Dolor. May the best player win. Oh, a game where you play against me. How exciting, Dolor crowed. I was a bit confused. Why did I have to wait longer if I got a higher number? other than that, the prizes got better every time I went up a number. There was something wrong here, however. I did not want to ask Dolor.

He's been pretty suspicious from the beginning, so I don't think you'll give me a completely honest answer. I picked up the die and looked at it closely, but I couldn't see anything unusual about it. Still, I wanted to be sure the game wasn't rigged. Do you mind if I throw it a few times before we start? I would like to know if this thing isn't rigged. Sure, go ahead, he giggled.

But remember, the more time you waste, the closer he can get. I'd give that candle between you and the door if I were you. He giggled again and got seated on the couch. At least, there was an imprint on the couch, so I think he sat down there. I threw the die a few times, and it seemed to act normal. Okay, I'm ready to start the game. I called out to Dolor. Great, was all the indication I got.

From what I heard, he didn't sit up any straighter, or stood up and got over to the table. It almost seemed like he didn't care, or maybe even knew what was going to happen. I rolled the die a few times in my cupped hands, then through it. It bounced on the table, rolled, and ended up with five dots at the top. A surprise sound came from Dolor, and I grinned. I had given the die a bit more of a spin than I did my previous throws So most likely he'd been trying to influence the outcome Well then I guess I can pick the next box

I said casually Dolor didn't make a sound Let me see You said the green box is the easiest I think I'll pick that one I heard him sigh quietly before saying in a cheerful voice Good job friend Where do you want the box to be

Well, the kitchen is the closest room, so place it there. I heard a snap, and then... Done. I could have chosen the cardboard box, but I knew I would also encounter at least two coloured ones. I definitely would not want to come across the blue one, and I don't have enough information about the white one to really want to encounter it. It sounds like something is really wrong with it, and I do not want to know what that is.

Come on, hurry, let's go to the kitchen. Dolo was suddenly behind me and shoved me to the door in a horrid manner. What? Why are you suddenly in such a hurry? I asked. His hands burned against the exposed skin of my left arm where he grabbed my wrist. The seeker and I are kind of sort of linked. We can feel where each other is, at least the rough area. We can pinpoint the other's location to a five metre radius. Great, and you didn't tell me that earlier? Why exactly?

It wasn't important. It sounded more like a question than an answer. But come on, we have to hurry. He's pretty close, most likely in the storage room. That was right at the end of the hallway, near the stairs. Damn. Is there no way to stop the link? I asked. There is one way to make it very difficult for him to find me.

The candle has to be between him and me. But wait, I won't be able to sense him either if you do that. "'Too bad for you,' I said, "'and walked towards the door with Dolor behind me. "'To the kitchen, quick. "'I'll follow close behind you.' "'I kept the candle between me and the hallway. "'I heard him run in front of me

"'while I kept the candle between our location and the seekers. "'I saw a dim light glow from the end of the hall, "'but then I was in the kitchen, "'and the door slammed close. "'Place the candle in front of the door, "'that way he'll think we aren't here "'and we'll go away in a few minutes. I did as I was told and placed a candle in front of the door.

The light shone on my arms and I saw the angry red mark on my left wrist. I decided not to say anything about it, but more and more about Dolor seemed to be very wrong. Then I turned around and saw the green box placed on the kitchen table. I swallowed and hoped that the question would be as harmless as the game of the previous box. I grabbed the piece of paper from the box and sat down next to my can door. Would you rather, A, have your colleague Sam get an incurable illness, which will make him die a horrible, long and painful death? Or B, have your Aunt Lily lose her unborn child? It is your choice.

Yeah, not so harmless after all. Aunt Lily is one of my favourite aunts and really sweet. I know she and my Uncle Philip have wanted a child for years. They were never able to have one before, but, A few months ago she became pregnant. By some miracle, and they were overjoyed. It would crush her to lose the baby. Even though her and my angus relationship were sometimes a bit rocky,

with her screaming in his face and the yelling back at her, they deserve the baby and seemed to have left the fighting behind now. On the other hand, Sam is one of the people I dislike the most, maybe even hate a bit. He's insufferable and will do and say anything to make himself look good and make others lose face. His behaviour is, however, by far not enough to make me want to have him die such a horrible death. He did some good things, like raising funds for charity and helping local small businesses.

Take your time. I don't need an answer immediately. But remember, you have ten minutes. I looked in Dollar's direction. And what if I don't choose? Then they will both happen. I don't have a shred of doubt. that that would happen.

He would definitely be able to do that. What should I do? In the end, my personal feelings won. I choose Sam to die. Snap. There, was that really all that difficult? Dola asked mockingly. He was the bane of your existence.

It's only natural you choose him. Still, such a choice is not up to me. So, where do we go next? You'll see, it was all I said. I did not want him to know and possibly influence the game. I was starting to trust Dolor less and less. We were walking down the hallway. I was planning to go to the bedroom, but then we ran in the corner.

A bright light shone down. I shielded my eyes and looked away, but then I heard Dolos scream in agony. I looked towards the direction his voice came from. And then I saw it. He was visible now. I saw the horns, I saw the tail, I saw the red skin. Then he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the basement and slammed the door behind us. We both sat there, breathing heavily, while my mind tried to process what to do.

Dolor was invisible again and was clearly not focusing on me at the moment, so I school my expression into a confused one. Dolor did not need to know than I knew. What was that? I almost shouted. That, Dolor panted, was the seeker. Man, that was way too close. Yeah, was all I said. I was shivering a bit, not because of our encounter with the seeker,

but because of Dolor's true form. Dolor thankfully thought it was because of the seeker. Hey, we're safe here, so no worries. There's no need to be afraid of the big old seeker here. Yeah, sure. Man, he was scary. I played along. That, he sure is, my friend.

It's a good thing we could get to the basement in time. Here, place the candle on the door, and we will look at the box. I did, as I was told, then looked back at the box. It was the red one. Ooh, the red one! How exciting, Dola crowed. He seemed to be enjoying himself way too much. And I was immediately on edge.

And in the basement, too. that's always a fun one. I could practically see Dahlop bouncing in his place. Go on, open it. The dare of the basement, it read. The basement is the closest you'll get to my home. It also has the deepest connection. You'll have to make that connection even better.

There's a bucket of red paint in this box, as well as a brush. The words you will need to write are, Dead or Me Inferno. Good luck. What does that sense? sentence mean, I asked, knowing that it couldn't be anything good. Nothing important, was all Dolor said. I knew I couldn't escape the task, so I began to write.

The paint was a deep crimson colour and sparkled just a bit too bright to be paint. I wrote down the words, but made sure to leave one spelling mistake. Instead of Deido, I wrote De Da. It looked almost the same, but Dolor still walked closer to me, and I felt to lean over my shoulder to look at the words more carefully. Then he walked away again, clearly a bit confused about something. Well, with that, out of the way, let's go. He seemed a bit unsure, but he had made up his mind and decided we needed to get going.

I let him step in front of me and the candle. He's somewhere outside. We can go to the storage room, and after that, upstairs. I stepped in front of him again and we walked to the storage room I saw something strange in the closet in the hallway Dolor didn't seem to notice

so I swiftly took it from the closet and held it close to my candle making it seem like I was staring at my candle it was a wispy glowing piece of paper the title read Rules to escape the box game

as you've likely noticed by now your friend, or Dola, as he likes to call himself, is not exactly human. I, the seeker, am also not human. What you are participating in is a battle between heaven and hell, a battle for your very own soul. As you also have guessed by now, you are at the moment on hell's side. The demon is tricking you. If you try to escape with him now, you will die and you will take your soul.

I have made you this set of rules so you can escape, but it's going to be difficult to get you out. Do as the rules say, and you should be able to come to me before your soul will be lost. Number one, Dolor must never find out that you know the truth. He will try to take your soul, and I will most likely not make it in time to save you from that horrible fate. Number two, the red candle will keep me away,

while also making Dolor stronger. Do not set it near the door of the room you're in. Try to act as natural as possible and keep it away from the door. If you do not do this, then I won't be able to find you. Number three, I will get you immediately once you open the door, but only if you could keep the candle away from the door the entire time you're in that room. The following rules will apply for you if you are not able to keep the candle away from the door. Number one, there is one other way to escape.

This, however, is much more difficult and dangerous. The most important thing is that Dolo does not find out that you know about the battle. He controls which boxes will appear and he will do everything in his power to make the white box not appear. This is extremely difficult for him. So he will not do this if he can avoid it. But if he knows that you know, you will leave him no other choice. You will be stuck until you hand over your soul to him. Number two, the white box can only appear in certain rooms and will appear at least once during the game.

The rooms in which you can appear are the bedroom, bathroom and the attic. Nowhere else. So, try to get to these rooms as fast as possible. Every box you have to complete which is in the white box is one too many. If you already completed all the coloured boxes, including the white one, then I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do for you anymore. Number three This step is the most difficult When you are in a room with a white box

You will have to open it This may seem simple But it is the hardest rule Dola will try to stop you as soon as he knows What you are trying to do He cannot kill you Nor will he be able to possess you But only if you haven't completed the red box is tasked successfully

If you have Just pray It'll be a swift death Number four If you have not completed the red box Dolor will not be able to kill you But he'll still be able to harm you You've most likely seen him do something to your house

Or even yourself Before you agreed to start the game He will harm you again And use many illusions to trick you But he cannot make you blind to the box Just remember Whatever you have to go through to open the box Is better than not opening it

If you go against Dolos rules, he will try to kill you, or make you surrender your soul. If you go against any other rule, then the white box rule, he can kill you. Good luck. Great. I only have to choose between going to heaven or going to hell. Easy choice, right? Except, I don't want to die. I have a life here, with amazing friends, a fine job and a beautiful girlfriend.

So why would I give all of this up? there has to be away for me to survive, right? As I thought about the very few possibilities I had, I walked into the storage room with Dolor. He shut the door behind me before I could come up with a plan to go to the upper floor rooms first. Thankfully, there was a cardboard box in this room.

I think Dolor thought it to be suspicious to have three colour boxes one after the other in the rooms. Ah, a cardboard box, he exclaimed. Now that I knew about his secret, I could finally hear the tiny hint of a mocking tone in his voice. Well then, let's see what's inside, I replied, keeping my voice neutral. I don't want to be stuck in here any longer with that seeker guy following us.

I had to keep up the facade. He fell for it completely. Yeah, he's creepy man. Go on, open the box. I walked up to it, keeping the candle in my hand, and looked at it. I saw some drawings of food, gravestones on it. Great, I knew where this was going. Don't forget, place the candle in the front door, otherwise the seeker will find us. Damn, I placed a candle at the door and took the box

there too. I opened the box and saw a piece of paper at the top. I grabbed that first, and started reading. Welcome to Russian roulette with Dolor style. Here are six different foods, some perfectly safe and some poison with a deadly poison, which you can't smell, taste or see. Now, I know Russian roulette only has one bullet in it, but something like that would make this game way too easy. Don't worry, I didn't make it that hard. I ain't that cool, but I did make it a bit more difficult. Half the foods are poisoned.

You get to choose one food and have to eat it whole. Have fun. There are indeed six foods in the box. an apple, a pear, a peach, an orange, a banana, and last a couple of strawberries, all in the same plastic box. Strawberries are my favourite food, but a new d'aulah would most likely know that and poison them. The banana also stood out since the other foods are round, so I didn't choose that one either. If I was corrected, then there would only be one last poison food.

Then I remembered. The forbidden fruit in the Bible was an apple. So, most likely that one was also poisoned. I hesitated a bit, but decided to go for the orange. I'll pick the orange, I said. Suit yourself, Dola answered indifferently. I picked up the orange and started to eat it. After I ate it whole, Dola clapped.

Well done. At least he didn't pick any of the poison foods, so we can continue playing, he said cheerfully. But I could hear the disappointment. I don't think killing me was the only thing the poison was supposed to do. I let Dolor scout for the seeker again, who he found to be in the garden, and we went upstairs. My heart started to beat faster as we reached the top of the stairs. Let's go to the bathroom first, I decided. Okay, great, but hurry up.

The seeker is coming. We hurried inside and shut the door. I placed the candle in front of it, knowing that if I didn't, Dolor will start to suspect me. Then I turned around. There was the blue box. The box stood on the sink, which made it all the more creepy. My reflection looked at me in the mirror above the sink. The candle in the background made me appear as more of a shadow, a blank space.

I didn't see one shadow, however. I saw two. The other shadow, saw. suddenly looked to humanoid, but there were some big differences with mine. I immediately knew it. To be Dolors. Yes, I always love that blue box, the shadow spoke. It's so...

Interesting. I'd hoped to wouldn't encounter it, I mumbled. I'd hope that Dolor would have chosen the white box and I could have finished the game, then and there. But no, he had to do the blue box first. He really thought I had no clue about the seat. of the white box and no way of getting to know it. Come on, open it, I want to see what's inside.

Dollar whined. Okay, stop whining. I looked at the box and gulped. I remember the rule. I will lose something. I opened the box. A little piece of paper sat neatly folded on the bottom with a red ribbon tied around it.

I untied the ribbon and unfolded the paper. You know the rules, so here is your question. question. What is the one thing you would never want to lose? I stared at the paper, dumbfounded. Wait, what does it mean by that? It could be anything, Dolosang. An object you can't live without. Maybe the ring your wife gave you on a dying bed, or something not material, a quality you were proud of that you couldn't bear to lose, kindness, supportiveness, whatever you want. I knew the answer to that question. I also knew that, if I didn't answer it correctly. I didn't answer it correctly, then I would lose the game.

I had to think of a way out of it. The one thing I would not want to lose. Tick-tock, your time is starting to run out. Dolor grinned. If you don't answer in time, you will... Lose. The air started to grow colder with those words. I frantically racked my brain for a solution, but couldn't find any.

I started panicking further, which, of course, didn't help me get my answer. 10, 9, 8, Dolor droned. My humanity, I finally sobbed. I couldn't bear to live without my humanity. There, that wasn't so difficult, right? I started to feel a strange sensation all over me. Then, the panic started to ever weigh. The hate started to fade.

The sadness disappeared. In its place was a strange nothingness. A void. It didn't feel wrong or uncomfortable. It didn't feel comfortable either. Humanity, Dolor said. As you thought of it, is the ability to feel and decide what's right and wrong. Morals, feelings.

Those define humans from animals. That's what you, like many people, thought. Right? Wrong? Why can't I remember the definition of those words? But there is so much more potential, Dola went on. Humans are smart and wicked. Take away the morals, and they are finally complete. I saw Dola's shadow in the mirror, approaching me from behind.

He laid his clawed hands on my shoulders. Rationality, making decisions without being biased by emotions. No human can truly reach this, because they do not have emotions. They are biased. They make decisions to ensure the survival of their group of their loved ones, love and emotion. I nodded. What he's saying sounds true, I thought.

You will not have this problem. You will be free. I felt nothing. I simply nodded. I have a question for you. Do you know of the seeker's rules? I just nodded again. It was no use lying.

He would know and would kill me. Dolos' form became darker and returned to how it looked before. "'Do you agree with them?' he then asked, his voice sounding intrigued. "'No, I do not,' was my honest answer. "'I elaborated. "'It does not seem fit for me to die. "'Therefore, I do not agree with the seeker's rules. "'Do you think he's in his right, though?'

"'No, I do not. "'But he is an angel, as you most certainly know now. "'I do, however, think he does not possesses. the right to take my life. Dolor fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke up again. You know, he's the reason you're in this game.

When a person is supposed to die, there are a few ways to judge them. The angels get to choose, and he chose this as your trial. I simply nodded again. That would make sense. Would you want revenge? Make him pay for his choice.

Revenge? sounded nice I felt something well up a need a need for blood blood of the destroyer of my life revenge I said with a wicked grin

revenge does sound great I knew I was biased now but this kind of bias was good that's what Dolor said that's how it feels the nothingness is good but this is great we made up

plan. The seeker has a weakness. He can't stand demon blood. As you know, there won't be difficult to get, but the hard part is getting close to the seeker without raising suspicion. He knows I wouldn't let you go without intentions bad for him, and he knows I would know if you tricked me, I would also not let you go then. So there is no way to get him to come to us without me getting taken by him, I asked. There is a way you can get close to him. You remember the white box? I nodded. You'll have to open it.

I... What? I asked. The nothingness returned. Is Dolor really this stupid? You do know I'll still be taken then, right? I asked him sarcastically. Not if everything goes according to plan,

Dolor answered. Seeing that I didn't understand, he started explaining. The only safe way for him to come is if you open the box. He will think that you followed his instructions, thus believing you to be on his side. If you throw some of the demon blood on him at the exact moment he arrives, then he will have no way of defending. You'd win. Needless to say, we set that plan into action.

We went to my bedroom and I even kept the candle from the door. Then I waited a few minutes before I opened the box. The effect was immediate. The candle flickered, while the box started to glow as starry white. Then the seeker started to slowly rise from the box. He was big, way too big to fit through the box, but he did. I stared for a moment, dumbfounded to finally see him. But then Dolos screamed and my thoughts went back to reality.

I grabbed the little bottle of Dolos' blood I had extracted and threw it all over the sea. With a loud screech, he started to sink back into the box. I just stood next to the box, watching him scream in agony. That's for getting me into this mess. So, I guess that means I'm going to hell, right? I turned towards Dolor, directing my questioning gaze towards him. I was a bit surprised when he started laughing. No, man, I told you, I had a way to get you out of this.

The blue box was part of that, having you lose your morals, was the only way to make sure you would be able to do the next part. The next part? Someone can be introduced to the game in two ways. As I said in my letter, anyone who knows of the game becomes part of the box game. I had to introduce you via my letter. That's how you got to know about it. But humans can spread the news too.

If you tell someone about it and its rules, that person becomes part of the game. If someone learns about it, they become part of the game. I want to make a deal with you. What is it? As you know, the losers of the game belong to hell, to me. The more souls I have, the stronger I become. I need souls, and to get them, they have to lose the game. That's why I kept you around.

Why you're not in hell right now. I need someone to collect souls to play. For every soul you tell about the game Doesn't matter how By our conversation, an article Or a post You get to live another year Do we have a deal?

As you can see I've made my choice I will live Will you though Let's find out tonight In your box game Growing up I was always drawn to adrenaline

Extremity and testing my limit I started out doing relatively common stuff, bungee jumping, parachuting, mountain climbing, but like a junkie needing a greater high, I always wanted something more. I gathered a group of like-minded friends through my adventuring. There were five of us, two girls named Kate and Lennar,

two guys named David and Jake, and me, Adam. Together we moved onto more dangerous activities. Base jumping, caved up. things like that. Three years ago, we had what we thought was a great idea. We would ski to the South Pole. It didn't take long for us to agree on this trip. Only Lennar was against it, not liking the remoteness of the continent. But it didn't take much for us to persuade her. Soon we're all planning, saving up money and researching. On November 6th, we stepped off a hired plane at Hercules Inlet,

a bay in the southwest of Antarctica and the beginning point of our 50-day ski trek. Waiting for us was our guide, Leif Steenson. Jake had picked Leif personally. He'd been recommended by one of Jake's traveller friends who had also hired the Norwegian as a guide on an Antarctica trip. He struck me as a gruff, silent man. Hey there, Jake called out as we approached him,

hauling our packs and skis behind us. you must be Leaf, right? Yes, he answered curtly. His voice was heavily accented. And you are Jake? The very same, my friend smiled. He was a likable and friendly guy, in stark contrast to Leaf's disconnected manner.

We made our introductions, and our guide immediately got down to business. There are a few basic rules you need to follow in order to stay safe. Obey my commands at all times. Do not wonder, off from the party. Do not walk away from camp. Will we

get a henbuck? Katie laughed. She was the choker of our group. Leif looked at her, icily. No, no handbook. You remember or you don't go at all. Kate stopped laughing quick.

After Leif had finished this briefing, we set out at last. I can't even begin to describe the scenery. Nothing I've ever seen quite compares to it. flat, endless ice sheets spreading out as far as the eye could see like a sea of snow.

It was undeniably beautiful. It also pressed home the reality that we were alone out here. No humans for possibly hundreds of miles. If anything were to go wrong on this trip, it could be deadly. I loved every second of it. As we skied northeast,

I strayed out a line and fell beside David. He was the most like thief among our group, quiet and reserved, at least until he got to know people. So, when are you going to ask leaf out? I grinned at him. Shut the hell up, Adam, he laughed back at me. I will say, though, that the way he shut up Katie was glorious. Wish more people could do that. Katie shot us a withering glare from in front of us. We both giggled.

Not like there's many coffee shops out here anyway, I sighed. Your date will have to wait some time, it seems. After some hours of travelling north-east, Leif's voice carried over to us from the front of the column. We stop here for now, unpack your tents. As we took off our skis and began setting up camp, I wondered over to Lena. So, how do you like it so far? I said. It's beautiful here, I'll give you that, Lena answered. But, like I said before, it's so barren, so massive.

I can't help but feel small and meaningless, like a fly in the wall. I'm sure you'll be fine, I said, putting a hand on a shoulder. In a month we'll reach a few mountains. That should break the monotony a bit. Lina was about to answer, but then stopped, squinting over my shoulder at something in the distance. What's that, Adam? I turned, looking out over the expense of snow. What? I can't see any...

I finally noticed what she was pointing out. Far away on the wrong. horizon, something was sticking out of the ice, grey and unmoving. It was too far away to tell what it could possibly be. I called over to our guide. Hey, leaf, you got a second. He came over to us, his bearded face down, as always. Yes, what is it, Adam?

Any idea what that is? I said, pointing to the faraway object. He stroked his beard in thought. I do not know, he finally said. Rocks, perhaps. It's roughly in the way we're going, Jake said, walking over from his pack. He smiled, winningly. Maybe we could check it out tomorrow.

What do you think, Leif, up for an adventure? Leif seemed uncomfortable with a suggestion. I don't know if that's a good idea. We need to keep up a good pace. Jake's right. It's roughly in the way we're going anyway, said Lennar. Come on, it may be something interesting. Leif sighed.

Fine, tomorrow. Probably just rocks, I would say. My first night in Antarctica was sobering. Even in my tent, dressed up warmly and in a special sleeping bag, I could feel the cold. Thankfully, after some time, my breath warmed up the tent, and I fell into a deep sleep. Eight hours later, Leap woke us to break camp and set out again.

As I was eating a small breakfast, of freeze-ried cheese and chocolate. I saw Katie looking at the grey objects on the horizon. She looks strangely confused. What's up, Katie? I asked, walking over. Slipped well. Those things.

Weren't they to the north when we set up camp? She answered. I froze, trying to remember. I think so, yeah. Why? They're to the east now, Katie said. I paused, confused Are you sure you didn't get turned around?

No, no, I checked my compass. It's definitely to the east. I frowned again. I guess we misremembered then. We were all tired after all. Yeah, it must have been that, Katie said, absently, her mind elsewhere. I wonder what those things are anyway.

Guess we'll find out soon enough. After eating and packing up, we put on our skis and set out, heading towards us strange things on the horizon. Leif seemed slightly troubled, and I wondered if he too had misremembered the direction they were in. As we got closer,

we can make out what the things were, a circle of massive, rectangular stones standing on their side. They reminded me instantly of Stonehenge. Approaching them, David fell beside Leif. I thought Antarctica never had

an indigenous population. he said, Who could have made something like this? Our guide appeared perplexed. I'll be honest with you. I do not know. I've never seen anything quite like this before. I thought you'd been to these parts of the continent before, said Lena.

I have, but I did not encounter this. It is irregular. We should take a closer look. Katie, grin back at a guide. Good to see you've warmed up to our little adventure leaf. We approached the circle cautiously. Up close, we could see that the stones had wanted carvings of some sort on them, although they had long been destroyed by time and wind.

In the centre of the circle was a low, square slab of stone. Four grooves frowned from its centre to each corner. What the hell? whispered Lennar. How did this even get here? Aliens, smiled Katie. Isn't that always the answer? I walked over to the central stone.

It was dark. about knee height and featureless. For some reason, it made me feel uneasy, although I couldn't pinpoint why. I touched it, hesitantly. It was completely smooth, unlike the rest of the circle. We should continue, we've called out. We have a timetable to fulfill.

We can write down the coordinates, and once we return, tell someone who will know what to do with this discovery. Slowly, my group pooled back together, and we set out again. The expanse stretched out around us, completely featureless, and I was glad we had an experienced guide like leaf. Every so often he would take out a compass and check our heading, making slight adjustments every time. I slept better on a second stop,

knowing that the cold would get better eventually. I talked with Lennar before I went to bed, and she confessed that the stone circle had made her feel uneasy as well. It shouldn't be here, she said firmly. this place hasn't had any native people ever it's only scientists and tourists and why would they possibly make something like this maybe katie's right i smiled aliens lena groaned theatrically you're all underestimating how important this discovery could be maybe we've accidentally stumbled upon proof that the history of this continent was completely different i hope not i don't want my name in a history bug being my legacy we both last the unease of the situation relenting somewhat. When I woke, I could tell something was wrong.

I could hear hushed voices talking outside my tent. I climbed outside, rubbing my gritty eyes. Leaf, Lena, David, Katie and Jake stood in a huddle in the middle of our campsite. They were talking quietly and casting furtive glances to the west. I looked over to where they were looking. On the horizon, far away, I could see a familiar circle of grey stones. A chill ran down my spine. I walked over to my friends.

How is this possible? I asked incredulously. Those things should be to the south of us. They shouldn't even be close enough for us to see them. We've silenced me with a gesture. We have been talking about it, Adam. The only logical explanation is that this is a second circle. It is strange, to say the least. I've never heard of a stone circle in Antarctica, let alone two.

Do we go investigate it? asked Lennar. No, replied Leif resolutely. Yesterday's detour already put us off our timetable. We must press on. I will write down these coordinates and we will pass them on to the experts later. We packed up and set off. A strange hush had fallen on our group. The second circle had affected us strangely.

I could tell the others were disconcerted by them now, not just me and Lennar. During the day's hike, I only talked once with Katie. I was hoping her joking attitude would help me relax. So, uh, aliens, huh? I said, skiing next to her. That a professional opinion? She grinned at me, but I could tell she was troubled. It's obvious, isn't it?

She answered jokingly, what else could it be? Maybe leave put him there to scare us, I suggested. Did you see him looking at them? He was confused too, Katie said, suddenly serious. And he's been through here before. How come he didn't see it? Maybe it was snowed under, I suggested. I'd rather the landscape can change a lot here.

Our conversation trailed off, and we remained silent till we broke camp again. Before I went to bed, I noticed David scanning the horizon. It was a clear day, and we could. could seem miles away. What are you looking at? I asked, walking over to him. Snow and ice. I'm making sure there's no bloody stone circles around here.

David replied. I laughed, but he didn't join in. I went to bed, once again feeling uneasy. A commotion in the camp awoke me suddenly. I tore out of my tent, not even getting out of my sleeping gear. David was shouting. cursing. What's happening?

What's going on? I yelled. David stood at the edge of our camp, gesticulating wildly at the western horizon. My heart missed a beat as I saw what he was cursing at. A circle of grey rocks.

My friends came out of their tents, confused and sleepy. Their confusion quickly turned to an uncertain fear. How is this possible? Lennar asked. I don't know, answered Leif. Even he seemed troubled, and he kept checking his compass,

as if confirming over and over that the rocks were indeed in that direction. I was about to suggest we go investigate, but David cut me off. Where's Katie? We stood in silence for a second, turning, looking around. Leave ran over to Katie's tent and unsipped it.

He was empty. Not even a sleeping bag remained. Our group fell silent for a second. No one knew what to say, what to do. We've broke the silence. There are footprints here. Looking closer, I saw he was right. Booted footprints were impressed in the snow,

going from the tent entrance, around it, and away from the camp. We followed after them. Soon, Lennar threw her hands up in frustration. What the hell? she exclaimed. What the hell is going on? appearing past her, I could see what had angered her. The footprints stopped. Suddenly and without warning.

It was as if Katie had suddenly flown straight up into the air. We gathered around the place they ended. Drake cleared his throat. Leaf, he began. What's the plan, man? What's our next move? Leif was silent for a second, staring at the abruptly ending footprints. Then he looked at Jake. We have to search for her.

She has to be here somewhere. We will spread out into a line and... He trailed off as something on the ground caught his eye. I looked down. Our movement had upset the snow, showing ice beneath. It was oddly clear, almost like frozen glass. Through it, we could see something red, a piece of fabric, frozen deep beneath the surface. Leaf cleared his throat audibly.

Clear the snow below us. We set to work, moving the snow with our gloved hands. Soon we could see what lay below. Jake cursed savagely and Leaf crossed himself. My breath stopped short as I realized what I was seeing. Frozen solid in the ice below, lying in a bag as if she was still asleep. Was Katie?

A sat down in the snow. her breath coming up in panic gasps. David and Jake stood paralysed, staring at Katie's frozen form. I grabbed our guide by the shoulders, turning him to face me. What the hell, Leif, I shouted. How did this happen? What the hell is going on? Leif looked at me, his face like carving a rock, but I could see a gleam of fear in his eyes.

I don't know, he replied, one was whispering. But we must return. We have to get out of here. "'What, and leave Katie behind?' said David, incredulously. "'You can't be serious. "'There is nothing we can do for her. "'She is dead. "'We have no big axes to dig her out.

"'And even if we did, what would we do then?' "'Leaf was somehow remaining calm. "'We need to return. "'Whatever is happening out here, we must escape it. "'We must go back to Hercules's inlet.' "'What is happening here?' "' yelled Jake, his anger flaring up. "'Who, what did that to Katie?'

We've looked at him. I do not know, he said finally. I am as scared as you, Jake, but if we wish to survive, you have to listen to me. We have to turn back. Now. The shocked silence fell on our group. Slowly we picked ourselves off and headed back to camp. David stayed the longest, looking down at Katie's frozen form through the ice.

I put my arm around him and led him away. As we packed up and prepared to leave, my eyes kept returning to that damstone circle. It seemed even closer than before, mocking us, threatening us. We set out in mournful silence. The weather, fair for the last three days, was taking a turn for the worse. Snow and wind began gaining its strength. Finally, we stopped the group. We must set up camp before the conditions worsen, he announced.

We set about the task. As we worked, Leif kept talking. We have to maintain watch in the night. I'll begin, and after an hour and a half, I will wake up Jake and so on. This way, we will not be vulnerable while the others sleep. What are we guarding against? said David, his voice low. I thought this place was abandoned. Antarctica has never been truly settled.

No, Leif replied. Only scientists and tourists came here, I believe. During World War II, the Germans briefly established a base on the coast, but that is all. I couldn't help but notice he cleverly evaded David's question. We erected our tents in dejected silence. Everyone occupied with their own morbid imaginations and fears. As I settled into rest, I could hear Leaf's footsteps outside the tent as he paced back and forth, keeping watch. My guard duty was not up for another three hours.

I lay, thinking about Katie, forever where we had found her, frozen in the ground. I couldn't get a face out of my mind. At least she had died in her sleep. Eventually, I fell into a slumber from pure exhaustion. I woke some time later. I could tell it had been far longer than three hours. I was feeling far too rested for it to have been such a short time. Climbing out of the tent, I saw Leif.

He was sitting in the centre of the camp with his back to me and his hood up. Leif, everything all right? I said. No answer. My heart began beating harder. Leave, I called out again, praying for an answer. He remained silent. Slowly, I walked over to his sitting form.

He didn't move an inch. I put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. The others ran out of the tents as my scream tore them from their slumber. They found me, standing above what I had thought was our guide. Except, it wasn't. It was Leaf's clothes, filled with snow and shaped into the outline of a man. From the hood, a smooth globe of packed snow and ice stared outwards. Damn it, damn it, oh damn it!

shouted Lennar, turning away from the figure. David was staring at it, completely motionless. It was Jake who woke us from a horrified trance. Guys, look. We stared at where he was pointing. Of course, a stone circle, this time to the east. David ran to the edge of the camp and screamed towards it. What do you want?

He yelled, what do you want from us? I rushed over to him, Lerna behind me. We put our hands around him and gently led him back to the camp. We have to keep moving, Jake said firmly, assuming command through force of will. Hercules' inlet is only two days away. we can't stay here. What difference does it make? Mumbled David.

We have to keep moving, repeated Jake, his voice firm. We won't achieve anything by staying here. We broke camp and set out. David was visibly lagging behind us. His eyes blank. He was in shock. I took turns with Lennar,

the two of us making sure that he kept moving and trying to take his mind off the situation with conversation. While Lennar was in the back of our group with him, I went next to Jake. David's falling apart, man, I whispered to him. I don't know how long he'll hold it together or what we'll do if he collapses. Jake looked at me. I could see the resolve in his eyes, so barely holding him together.

In that brief moment, I truly admired his willpower. It's two days to Hercules Inlet, he said, if we just keep moving, we'll make it there. David will keep it together. He'll have to. And, if he doesn't, we'll think of something no one gets left behind.

Jake turned and pressed onwards. Our conversation clearly at an end. We pushed on. The loathsome stone circle had now abandoned all rules of logic and space. It moved seemingly randomly, always on the horizon, but never shifting in a way consistent with our movement.

I grew to hate the sight of it. Somehow, I had no doubt it was connected to everything that had happened to our group. By the time we stopped to make camp, David had recovered somewhat. He was still distant and brooding, but I hoped he would be all right for the time being. We quickly agreed there was no point in standing guard over the camp. Whatever happened to Leif, it had happened while he was on watch, and he hadn't even managed to raise the alarm. We had a strange, naive sense of security while staying in our tents, like children hiding under

their blankets at night. Even so, falling asleep was hard. The ever-present terror and foreboding, the fear have been taken next. It was hours until exhaustion finally put me to sleep. Dreamed that night. A horrible nightmare. Someone was opening my tent. I lay in terror holding my breath.

The zipper went down A grasping hand grabbed my legs and pulled me kicking and screaming into the snow outside A dark hooded figure stood over me He reached down with gloved hands Going for my neck I flailed wildly about Searching for a weapon

My hand tightened around my skein stick lying in the snow I lashed forward Driving it like a spear into the figure's throat Blood spouted out It gurgled horribly I woke I could immediately tell

something had happened in the night Lennar was crying outside low heaving sobs Jake was comforting her silently dejectedly I climbed out David

Jake nodded grimly Gone from his tent Footprints Yes Where do they lead Instead of answering Jake pointed, gesturing behind me. I knew what I would see, but cursed loudly anyway when I saw the damned stone circle in the distance behind me.

He was a lot closer than before, about a mile away. We should go check it, Jake said, although I could tell he didn't expect to find anything good. He may still be alive. We didn't break camp before setting out. I think there was a slight hope shared among us that if we hurried, we would find David that he would somehow be alive. As we approached the circle, we could see something was lying on the central slab.

I gestured to Jake and Leonard to wait. Stay here, I'll check it out. They didn't argue. I walked into the circle cautiously and approached the central slab. I almost vomited when I saw what was on it. David, covered in blood. It was running away through the four grooves on it, a frozen trickle leading to the four corners of the stone on which he lay.

His throat was speared through by a ski stick. My ski stick. I wretched, gasping for air. I couldn't have done this. I'd been sleeping. Had I? Was it a dream? Was I sleeping?

I stumbled back to the others. Lennar saw my expression and her face. fell. David, is he dead, I said, hoarsely. I wish we had mourned our dead friend like people should,

but no tears would come, no deep sorrow, only an emptiness inside our souls. I think that we were all too numb, too shocked to process the situation enough for an actual reaction. Some leftover survival instincts

or self-preservation force kept us moving, We packed up our tents and left. It was some four hours into the journey when Jake stopped us. Guys, look, what is that? We turned, half expecting to see another stone circle. Instead, we saw a small, square building rising from the snow. It seemed uncannily out of place in the frozen expanse, like it had been dropped here by accident.

Do you... do you think we should go check it out? whispered Lennar. It's not a stone circle. That's got to mean something, said Jake. You should have a look at least. What do you think it could be? I asked. Jake shrugged.

Science base maybe? There might be people there. Maybe they can help us. Maybe they know what's happening out here. We set out towards the building. The closer we got, the clearer it became that it hadn't been used in a long time. The cement walls were smooth and half snowed under. Its iron door hung on the hinges, rusted in a jar.

I guess Leif was right when he told us about the Germans, said Lennar, pointing at the door. Impressed on it in fading paint was a large black swastika above the words and a nerebra. I whistled under my breath. So what is this secret Nazi base? I thought they only had a small one on the coast, said Jake. Doesn't seem like it, I answered. Do you think we should go inside? We were quiet for a few seconds, weighing eruptions.

Lennar finally answered. Yes, maybe you can find some answers down there, or a weapon or something helpful. The door swung open with a resounding creek, and we crept slowly inside into the dark and the cold. The passage led downwards, seemingly cut into the ice itself. We found the first body in minutes. It had been preserved by the cold. A young man dressed in a dark military uniform. He gripped a pistol in his hand and a bullet wound marked on the side of his head.

Next to it laid a battery powered light, which Jake picked up and tested. Somehow, it still worked, casting a slim, flickering ray of sickly yellow light through the tunnel. More bodies lying everywhere, all of them gripping guns with bullet wounds through their heads. I shivered. What the hell happened here? Jake swallowed audibly. I don't know. Looks like some sort of mass suicide.

We continued down the passage, doors leading off to the sides from it, opening up into rooms filled with antiquated machinery and workstations. There were also several libraries, much to our surprise. At the end of the corridor was a large iron door, much heavier than the others. We stopped in front of it for a second. apprehensive and fearful.

Lena broke our reverie. Oh, to hell with it, she said, leaning forward and pulling on the door. It budged open with a loud screech. Jake shined the light into the room beyond. We squinted into the dark, looking upon a massive chamber, tens of meters wide and deep. My heart dropped when I saw what it contained. Is...

Is that what I think it is? asked Jake hoarsely. I nodded grimly. Before us, dominating the centre of the room, lay a massive circle of grey stones. We stared in mute terror and disbelief at the massive construction. Well, damn, what's it, Jake? This thing's painted on the ground, Lennie said.

Looking down, I could see she was right. The circumference of the stone circle was drawn on the floor with dark paint. Within it was filled with stars, suns and strange geometric shapes that made my head spin just from looking at them. Peering into the center of the circle, I could see that there was a body on the central slab. The dead man was sitting cross-legged, frozen in his final, fatal position. Looking closer, I noticed he didn't have a gunshot wound like the rest of the others. A piece of paper.

folded and yellowed with age, lay before him. Guys, come have a look. This one left a note. My friends joined me. Lena took the paper tentatively and opened it, careful not to damage the ancient page. I can translate this. You know German?

Asked Jake, surprised. Lennar looked at him, slightly amused, even in such a place as this. How long have you known me, Jake? Seven, eight years? She looked back down onto the paper It's very confused The poor man was probably already half mad when he wrote it

Does it say anything about what happened here I asked my breath making clouds of steam in the cold air Yes it It seems they were sent from Germany to carry out some sort of Experiment ritual It's unclear The end and the other is a weird pseudo-scientific group sometimes dabbling in the occult.

This sounds like something they would do. What kind of ritual? I asked, a shiver running down my spine. He doesn't say. All he knows is they needed these stones and a place where no man has ever lived. The stones were ancient, found in some old warlord's grave in Europe.

The Germans didn't even know exactly how old they were or who made them. And the deaths? Does he say anything about them? Yes. After the ritual was complete, strange death started to plague the base. They couldn't escape. Germany was being beaten and no one answered their calls for help.

Rather than be taken by, whatever they had called into being. They decided to end things themselves. And this guy? What happened to him? He didn't kill himself. He says he was the one who carried out a sacrifice on the central slab and he wants to know what he has brought into this world. he says he wouldn't end himself until it comes for him. We stood in silence, digesting this cryptic information.

I couldn't help but think about the man's fate. He hadn't ended himself, and he hadn't been killed, despite being the one actually carrying out the ritual. It was the cold or the hunger that did him in. We shouldn't stay here, we have to keep moving, but we'll never reach Hercules' inlet, said Jake finally. We nodded in agreement. Quickly, we returned through the passage.

First Jake, then I pass through the door. Lennar was following. She never made it out. The door swung close behind me with a sudden, brutal force. I jumped and Jake cursed. Lennar? Get me out of here! Lennar screamed from the other side,

terror twisting in her voice. Get me out! I grabbed the door, pulling at it with all. my might, but I struggled in vain. It wouldn't move. Jake joined in, groaning and panting. Lennar was beating on the door in panic, screaming and crying in fear.

We pulled and pulled at the door, but it wouldn't move an inch. Get me out, get me out, get me! Suddenly, her voice cut off. The hammering on the door abruptly stopped. There was silence. No, Jake screamed. He tore at the door desperately,

but still it wouldn't open. Lennar? I said, my voice quivering. There was no reply. She's... She's gone, whispered Jake. It's taken her too. Help me get this damn door open, man, I swore desperately. Together we pulled again and again,

but the door simply wouldn't budge. After half an hour, we collapsed into the snow, exhausted and defeated. I don't know how long we lay there. Our minds stretched to the limits had finally had enough. This time, though, the tears came freely. After some time, I picked myself up. The hollow, empty feeling of shock, had returned.

We keep moving. We can't stop now, I said. Jake nodded, but I could see the desperation in his eyes. We will make it, Jake. We will. My own voice sounded hollow. and mockery. Jake didn't notice. We slung our packs and continued north. The following day is a blur in my memory.

Grief, shock and exhaustion had taken its toll on us. We were moving from muscle memory alone. When we stopped and set up camp, we remained silent. What was there left to say? Even if we got out of there alive, could we really live unlike before? through some mute communication we decided to sleep in one tent it gave us more of that naive sense of security

even though it did not protect David or anyone else for that matter when we awoke we breathed a silent sigh of relief we were both alive both present both lucid or at least as much as we could be given the circumstances once again we shouldered up packs and set out in silence. The circle was on our left now, unmoving and sinister. I kept glancing

over at it, almost expecting it to move closer to us. Jake seemed to be pointedly ignoring it, refusing to even look in its direction. After several miles, he spoke up. The first time I'd heard his voice in hours. Do you know what's the first thing I'll do once I get out of here? What? I said, confused as to where might be leading with this. I have no idea. Go to Stonehenge. I stared at him, incredulously.

Why? Why the hell of all places? Would you go to goddamn Stonehenge? Jake grinned. To take a massive dump on the stones there. Was silent for a second. Then I started to laugh. A hysterical, insane laugh. The type of laugh,

only someone on the brink of death pushed beyond his limits can have. Jake joined in as we skied forward. You can count me in on that one man. Yeah, revenge is but... Suddenly, there was a sickening, tectonic crack from beneath us. The earth shook and we swayed to keep our balance. The ground fell away.

We had been travelling over a hollow on the ice, and without warning, it gave way. We fell downwards, only a few metres, but the skis affixed to our legs made our landing clumsy. As Jake hid the ground, he led out a scream of pain. The air was knocked out of me as I hit the ground. I gasped, my lungs burning. I called over to where Jake lay.

Are you all right? No, he said through clenched teeth. His face twisted in pain. I think I broke my goddamn ankle at him. My heart dropped, but I forced myself to my legs. Come up, I'll help you. Jake leaned heavily on me, and I slowly. raised him to his feet.

The second he put weight on his ankle, he almost collapsed again. It's definitely broken. Damn it, Adam, it's broken. Let's get out of this hole first, I said, forcing myself to remain calm. We had to take this one step at a time. Thankfully, the sides of the hole

we had fallen into were sloped, making a crude causeway for us. Slowly, painstakingly, I helped Jake get out of the hollow. Every step, he would wince and gasping pain. Once we're on the surface again, Jake sat down onto the snow. What do we do now? He said, I can't walk, I can't ski. I didn't know. Let's, let's just stay here for now. Resty leg. Maybe he's just sprained, and we can continue later. Sounds good, answered Jake,

but I could hear it in his voice. We both knew his ankle was broken. No amount of rest would help him. While Jake rested, I took a ski pole. It had been lenders and broke it in half. I got a length of rope from our supplies and approached Jake. What's that? he asked. Splint, I answered. He smiled thinly. I didn't know you're a certified field medic.

I'm not, but if it helps you walk, it's worth it. I tied the makeshift splint to his leg. Jake hissed in pain when I tightened the rope. All right, doctor. see how well this works. Swaying and grimacing, he raised himself upright. He took several steps. I could tell he was still in pain. We pushed on. Once again, I came to admire Jake's willpower. Even in horrible agony and at the end of his sanity, he didn't give up, but it quickly became clear we wouldn't make it anywhere like this. He took us two hours to go a mile. At the end of

Jake collapsed into the snow. I returned, kneeling beside him. You need to rest, I said. We'll move on later. I'm no use to you, Jake whispered. I'm just slowing you down. We'll never make it with my pace. Don't talk like that, I said, anxious for my friend to not lose hope.

It's true, Adam, he answered, looking up at me. I'm just dead weight now, and whatever's hunting for us, that damn circle, He won't let us leave, will it? It's been playing with us all this time. He laughed, but it was an empty, morbid sound. For all we know, it's been leading us in circles anyway. Oh, the irony. Circles.

Just rest, Jake, I said. You'll feel better afterwards, I swear. He was silent for a second. I... I think I know what it wants. What? I asked, dreading the... the answer. What are you talking about?

The circle Adam, the man we found on the altar, he made a sacrifice to it, and it didn't kill him. If you make an offering to it, it may not take you. What offering? What do you... I drilled off, realizing what he meant.

My heart stopped in terror. No, you can't be serious. Just think about it. I'm useless to you. I'm just slowing you down. And if this thing feels like it's not going to get what it wants, it'll just kill both of us. My blood ran cold at my friend's words. I can't do this.

You know I can't do this. We don't even know if it works like that. Jake looked over my shoulder and laughed grimly. I think we do. I think it just sent us a message. I looked up and stared in shock. Somehow, even though we hadn't moved, we were now sitting inside a circus.

of grey stones. Looking back down, I realised that Jake was actually sitting with his back against the horrible altar itself. Jake, I...

Please, let this be my last sacrifice and last act of friendship. Let my death have some meaning at least. Remissing, he pushed himself upright, using the altar as support. Stretching his arm out,

he placed his ski stick into my cold hands. I... I won't do it. I said, my voice quaking. Jake looked me in the eyes, silently, and my heart broke. You have to. Slowly, he lay down on the altar, holding his arms on his chest.

Tell everyone what happened here, Adam. Tell them not to follow in our footsteps. This thing, he won't stop. He will always want more. We can't allow that. You have to get out of here to stop that from happening. He closed his eyes. I approached him from the side, tears welling up unbidden.

In nerblous hands, I raised the stick above my head, as the cold Greystones watched on. In silence. I still don't know why I did what I did to Michael. I've thought it over every way I can, turning the memory upside down and inside out until it felt like I was going insane. At the time, a part of me thought,

It was just a bit of fun. I meant him no harm. I was 19 and hanging around outside a school waiting for my girlfriend to get out when I spotted the guy in the parking lot. He must have been there to pick up his younger sister. Like a lot of us, he wasn't able to make it to university

or even just get a job in the city, so he was stuck at home like the rest of us. But, growing up, he'd been a real pain in the ass, a special kind of dweeb born out of insecurity and petty jealousy. He hates. hated everyone. He hated the smart kids most of all, but that didn't stop him from saving

some choice words for the rest of us. All of us kids were just trying to have a good time, smoke a little dope, get a little drunk, feel each other up. Michael would rock up to our usual haunts with the police in tow and then act high and mighty about it the next day. He had thrived in a controlled schoolyard environment, but on that day, looking at him, sat in his car, It dawned on me. We weren't in a school yard anymore. It was the real world. And in the real world, there are consequences for your actions.

Acting like an asshole, taking people off. Well, it's liable to get you a slap around the head. I could see him eyeing me when he thought I wasn't looking. I knew what he was thinking as I sat there smoking. Had I turned out to be everything he hoped, some loser with no future, no ambition? It may be angry to think of him just. me when he turned out no better. His sly little glances only got worse

when Dave and Andy wandered past and I called them over for a chat. He must have known we were laughing at him. He must have heard us chant his old nickname and clutch our stomachs in foe laughter. We were doing it for his pleasure. I could seem squirm. It wasn't meant to go further than that.

I just wanted to give him something to think about. I knew he'd spend that night tossing and turning as furious at us as we were at him. but then Andy started throwing beer bottles and I should have stopped him it was a silly thing to do too loud, too angry, too stupid but before I'd even thought of what to say to Andy

Michael was up and out of his car and filming us with his phone please leave the premises he cried his voice a little shaky this is a place for learning not drunken yops to pick up underage girls we shouted our own replies about his sister his mother

Michael called us losers we called him pathetic. If we'd left it at that, maybe it would have been fine. But it went on until Michael cried something a little too close at home. I hope your dads are proud. Those words hit a sensitive spot for Dave. Before I had time to think of what any of it might mean to him, the young mechanic was already charging forward.

I figured he just hit Michael, but he slapped the boy hard around the back of his head, hard enough to daze him, and then hoisted the little Michael up into the young. air with ease. Andy ran over and grabbed the boy's ankles to stop him kicking, and we're all howling with laughter and excitement, just waiting to see where this was going. Timeout corner, David cried. Michael, you're going in the timeout corner, just like a Mrs. Ketchum's class. Michael was calling us every name under the sun, but when he heard Dave

tell me to pop the trunk, his tone changed. In the few steps it took for Andy to cover the distance, Michael went from screaming to shouting to pleading to begging and then right back to raging. I later found out he was claustrophobic something to do with his own dad being a real piece of work but we didn't know that at the time we just wanted to scare him a little. We shoved Michael into that trunk

like he was a cardboard box that wouldn't fit. It took three attempts to slam the hat shut first time his ankle got in the way and that must have hurt but Michael was still determined to make his way out. Second time he was his wrist and Michael's voice started a falter. Third time we caught

his fingers and Michael started screaming like an injured dog. I often think about him pulling his hand back into the dark. I think about it because it was the moment he gave in and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. At times I blame myself

for letting us do it. Mostly I just hate myself for putting him in that place. After his hands slithered into the shadows we finally managed to close the trunk for good and shut out Michael's hysterical crying. And then we sat, drinking beer, while Michael screamed and howled. It was a rage, desperate kind of shriek that went on rising forever like a violin crescendo, finding new and dangerous notes of despair. You ever heard a dog scream?

It had that kind of animalistic quality to it. Andy would later say it was like an opera singer with his hand caught in a wood chipper. I can't say for certain if it was a animalistic quality to it. bothered the others as much as me, but after only a few minutes, it felt like I was carrying a lead weight in my stomach. We talked and laughed and joked, but I don't remember what about. Even as I nodded and replied, I found all my thoughts returning to the muffled cries of the young man trapped in the trunk beneath my legs. By the time he stopped, my girlfriend was coming out of the doors, and Dave and Andy said the goodbyes. Two more beers were sent arcing through

the air to shatter into a thousand pieces, and they were gone like we'd done nothing more interesting than just chat about the weather. I waited for them to turn the corner. My girlfriend had stopped to chat to some of her own friends, and I knew I had a few minutes, and I finally opened the damn trunk. By now, my stomach was in my ass. That's how damn bad I felt. I maybe even started mumbling some kind of response. God, maybe even an apology. But no one was there to hear it. Michael was gone. He torn the crap out of the fabric in my car, gouges long claw marks into it like a ticked off cat. I touched every inch of that trunk like I was trying to find a magician's secret hatch. By the time my girlfriend made it to my side, I'd pulled what was left of the fabric away,

and was getting ready to crawl under just to take a look. What are you looking for? she asked, a head cocked to one side. Uh, nothing, I stammered. He must have. He must have walked. I never finished the sentence. I rationalised it, you see, told myself he'd gotten out. That was all.

Even as I rolled past the lot and I saw Michael's sister staring at his car, looking around for older brother, I just kept telling myself he'd gotten out and was probably running to the police ready to file assault charges. Of course, that wasn't true at all. From what I understand, Michael's sister had to go back in and call her parents, who in turn called the police. I woke up the next morning to Michael's smiling, spotty face on the Gazette the picture cribbed from one of our school photos.

It must have been taken at school play with me standing just a few places over. I was nearly sick with guilt and I tried to pretend that my mind was playing tricks of me, not that it stopped me going over my car with a fine-tooth comb. I'm hardly CSI, but there are a few blonde hairs in the back that I'm sure he must have shed. And the scuff marks. They were never imaginary. They were real.

100% authentic. I called Dave and Andy, and they confirmed what we'd done. Not that they saw it with the same significance. Oh, he must have got out his all, Andy said. For all we know, he wandered out and straightened into some creeper's car. I don't know what you're so worried about. Is he in your basement chained up?

No, I answered. Is he dead and buried in your garden? No? Did you chop him up and feed him to his family at a town barbecue? No. Well, good. Well, then chill the hell out, Andy said. We played a mean prank as all. I'm a proudest moment, sure, but hardly worth going to the police over. I convinced myself of this, because it made a kind of sense. We really had just played a mean prank. We hadn't killed anyone or stuck knives into them like they were a pincushion. But, in the background of my mind, I learned a new mantra. It was when I pictured myself saying to the police, to the press, to Michael.

's weeping family. It was like a prayer that I started muttering in quiet moments between chores and work, a prayer that's still with me, a nervous tick that I repeat incessantly in hushed breaths, even though I don't always know what it means. I didn't mean no harm. I didn't mean no harm. I didn't mean no harm. They should have carved those words into my skin the day I was born. It had saved people who met me a lot of time. Lied to my old man and got my little brother in trouble. I didn't mean no harm. Hit my speeding tickets from my parents until the deck collectors came and took the car. I didn't mean no harm. Got caught driving home after too many drinks. I didn't mean no harm. Lost my first girlfriend after I got drunk one night and sent some messages to a sister on

Facebook. I didn't mean no harm. Hell, I got a daughter I don't see anymore after I overslept one night and didn't manage to change her. Her mother turned up one Sunday morning to pick her up and found her watching cartoons in a feces-soaked diaper while I slept off an apocalypse. Lhyptic hangover. The last thing I remembered, I'd put it down to sleep and had a couple of beers. I didn't mean no harm. They... never found Michael. They looked and looked, and yes, they even looked at us. A few people had seen us messing around with them, some from passing cars, some from tall windows, and the police found out. Our faces are in the local papers and some wider reaching ones too, but it never amounted to anything because the police didn't have a body.

His parents made a few public pleas. My car was taken and searched top to bottom. They have it at the police impound where I ought to have picked it up, but never did. A psychiatrist would probably tell you that's guilt. But damn, there's a good chance I left the car to rot, because I just couldn't be bothered. I'm not sure I even know myself anymore. First time I saw Michael after the incident, I was wandering out of a bar, and feeling a little mean, which happens a lot when I drink alone.

I had a half bottle of beer in my hand when I passed this homeless guy sitting outside He was new Probably a drifter And just looking at him Put all these cruel thoughts into my head I often think cruel things And I was getting ready to ignore these ones like normal

Except this homeless man He calls out and asks for a swick of the beer I look at this guy And all these pictures come rushing into my head Pictures like soda soaking up vomit and pee Pictures like my boss talking down to me after I used the wrong mop in the canteen. Pictures like the way the admin ladies look at me

when I smile at them in the smoking area. And then there was this guy, sitting there with a blanket on his knees, absolutely tilting his head side to side or waiting for an answer. Sure, I said. And I threw the beer at him so hard it conned him right on the skull.

There was a little peep there for a second, a split-second cry of pain that was cut short. It made me laugh. It really did. I hadn't meant to hit him, just scare him. But the outcome made me giggle anyway. I was already walking away, feeling a little better, when someone else called out to me.

And the sound of their voice made my blood freeze solid in my veins. Alex! It said, Pst, hey, Alex. It was Michael. And I turned, feeling as if the whole world was about to snap shut in me like a Venus fly trap. I nearly passed out, just crumpled to the floor then and there. I'd spent too many years telling myself that boy had disappeared on his life,

just on a runner after the horizon to go live in Mexico or Sweden, or who cares. Over here! He was coming from the homeless man. I got closer and tried looking for the voice, but all I saw was a smelly old guy, blood trickling down from his temple. Down here, under the blanket. I pulled it aside and saw a can of lager, open but empty, resting between the man's legs.

That's it, right here. A finger rose out of the empty can and wiggled at me, like he was saying hello. Michael giggled. You found me. What the hell? I said. Michael? Michael, is that you? You bet, he cried.

Look, I need a favour, and I think you owe me given... How the hell? What is this? A magic trick? I reached down and took the can and held it up, turning it over and over, and even shrews. shaking it, thinking something would rattle, but nothing did. It's not a trick, Alex. A vainie I bulged against the ringpole and glared at me.

It's been a long time, Michael said, chirpy in a way. He'd never been in real life. You're going to do me this favour or not. I mean, I don't want to point a finger or nothing, but whose fault is it that I'm here, eh? Uh, oh, you aren't so witty now, are you? He laughed. I didn't mean no harm, he added,

marking me with a faux dumb tone. You say that in your sleep, you know. Uh-huh. Jesus hell, I know I called you dumb, but we both know you're better than all this. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, crap. Come on, use your big-boy words. I held the can up to my ear and rattled it once more.

Stop it! He screamed with the authority of a drill sergeant, and I dropped the can without thinking. Damn, oh, crap, sorry, I mumbled. Sorry, Mike. I picked the can up. and focused on the ringpole. A single brown eye was looking at me,

and I felt myself shrinking before the withering gaze. You're going to help, or you're just going to keep trying to make me seasick? He asked. Of course I will, I added, nodding. Anything, anything, anything at all. You know people are looking for you, right? Did I ask for your bloody advice, Alex?

He snapped. If I ever need to know how to get rid of public lies, I'll speak to you ASAP, okay? For now, I just need help. A tiny bit of help, that's all. Sorry. Look, I think even you can manage this. Just pull the can down and...

You see that homeless guy? The one you knocked out like a real good Samaritan. Yeah? Put his finger in the hole. What? The hole in the can, he said. Any finger, it doesn't matter. Just do it.

I nodded and carefully put the can back where I'd found it. I held the old man's wrist with one hand and gingerly pinched the single finger with the other, sliding it into the can like I was slipping a wedding band on. That's it, Michael said. Up to the knuckle if you can. I pushed the finger in as far as it could go

without the metal cutting the old man's skin. I was so close to the poor guy I could smell the coppery trail of blood that ran down his scalp. The realization made me feel like a real piece of crap. I hadn't meant to hit him, just scare him. Chance and bad luck meant the bottle had hit him. That was all.

I didn't mean no harm. Oh, goody! Michael giggled after I waged the finger in there, good and proper. Oh, and Alex, I have one more favour to ask you. Don't look away. When it was over, the can look like a spent bullet, all frayed around the edges like a blooming flower. And the man was.

Well, he woke up when the first finger bent backwards at the knuckle, and he looked at me like I was a doctor about to explain some strange amputation. He wasn't angry at me. He just wanted to know, and somehow that made me feel even worse. I'll never know exactly what happened to him, anatomically speaking. To put it simply, that old homeless guy, he got sucked into the can, and not fast like explosive decompression either. It was real slow-going, painful too, given the noises he made.

And the way he ran around, screaming and hollering while his arm was just torn to shred. That's something I'll never forget. As a kid, I watched this old horror film, and a guy got sucked out into space through this tiny little hole over the span of minutes, and he was just like that, only it weren't cheap rubber and late its skin getting pulled into goo. By the time it reached his elbow, I was trying to help pull it off. Somehow, he was awake the whole time, joints cracking and snapping, bones and muscle slowing off like melted wax. How no one came to help us, I'll never know. I screamed for help so long my throat turned raw. and I was spitting up blood for days.

Just before the end, the man went quiet, and he looked at me like he was a cancer patient that just knew what was coming. The can was up to his shoulder, and, without warning, he just slipped on in there. Pop, and the mess flew up into the air,

and only the can was left behind. You could see the inside plain as day, and there was blood and goo, and even a tooth, but there wasn't a whole human stewing around in there, more like a half-glass is worth, but not a whole man. Michael? I whispered, but no one answered. They were gone.

Give him what he wants, Dave said, drowning into the phone like a brain-dead drunk. Give who? I asked. You know. We put him in there, and he never left. Dave, I said, where are you? Do you need help? Just give him what he wants, Al.

He replied. he'll ask for a lot but we owe it to him. Click. The line went dead and I was already putting my coat on before another minute it had passed. Dave and I hadn't spoken in years. Hell, it had been a good four years since I heard any voices in cans, whatever that was. A dream, I figured, even if I did drive past some very scary looking cops outside the bar the next day. It was just a dream, I told myself.

Yet I knew what Dave was talking about. And that scared the hell out of me. me. I didn't know it at the time, but the garage Dave owned hadn't opened all day. A string of angry voicemails were left waiting on his phone and the flashing red buzzer lit up the small reception desk with godly patience. On off. On off. I saw it through the window with my hands cupped around my face. Dave and his family lived above that place in a small flat and I had to break a small window around the back to get inside. Dave was sat against. the wall on the cold shop floor.

His chin slumped down over his chest and his legs spayed out in a V. I tried the lights, but they didn't work. The glass crunched underfoot along the way. Someone had done a real number on this place. Rubber and metal who strain about the floor in twisted bits and pieces. Whoever owned the car Dave had been working on

would be mad. It was smashed all to hell with panels wrenched off and embedded in the shop walls and floors. The drive shaft was sticking through the back when chilled And the roof had been curled back like a sardine can It looked like it had gone through a Viv's section Especially given how ligified flesh dripped off the twisted frames

Like vines in an old wreck When I moved around to check under the hood I saw a dense labyrinth of finely machined parts I guessed to be the engine block Fingers jutted out of every shadowy crevice And delicate mechanisms were chocked with hair and skin I thought of the old man and the can and felt my gorge rise. Something about the scene looked familiar, and I was wondering what that was when a flash of color caught my eye.

I backed away to get a better look and, angling my light, I saw a small red shoe dangling from a bumper by a lace. It was the kind of thing a girl of eight or nine would wear, and it was dripping with blood. I thought of Dave's wife, of his family, of what he said on the same. the phone. Dave, what did you do? What I had to. I looked and Dave was staring right at me, blood filling his mouth. He looked so pale in my light, I didn't know if he was just close to death or an actual talking corpse. What happened here? I asked. It's like a bomb went off. He stared for a while longer and then lifted his arm, pointing to the car. I think his back is broken. My voice was like acid in my veins.

It definitely wasn't Dave who'd spoken. He was still staring at me, like a drunk on the side of the road. His classy eyes vacant of all thought. Over here, Alex, Michael said, and I followed the voice to the engine block. Woo-hoo! A small finger wiggled at me out the black cylinder. Yes, that's right. Look, I need your help.

I know it's a lot to ask of someone like you, but you got to admit, you kind of own. me. Sure, I mumbled. I was dumbstruck by the strangeness, sure. But looking back, I can also remember a kind of haze, a crippling guilt so powerful, it was like standing on the surface of the sun, like there was enough power in Michael to snap me into like a bundle of raw spaghetti. Anything you want. Good, Michael said. That's what I like to hear. What I need is for you to grab Dave, pull him over and popping down against the engine. Anything, I repeated.

You're a good guy, you know that, Alex. Michael said, just try and not to screw it up. I half expected Dave to put up a fight, but as I stepped over, he just looked at me like we had a job to do. Not really thinking, I gave his shoulder a tug, and he fell over. His head hit the floor with a loud crack. Poor guy.

His eyes rolled up. around like I'd turn his brains to omelette. Don't worry, Michael cooed. There was nothing important in there anyway. I deserve it, Dave slurred. Shouldn't have hesitated when it came to my little girl. That was selfish. It was, wasn't it?

Michael agreed. So selfish. Dave groaned as his eyelids fluttered and his breathing slowed. He was hard work dragging him. but I got him there. I had to prop him up, awkwardly, against a slab of metal, like it was some kind of upright pillow. It was a clumsy job, but good enough. A single thumb emerged from the darkness and gently rubbed a trickle of drool from Dave's lip.

Alex, Michael said, I think you know what I'm going to ask, don't you? Yeah, I nodded. I won't look away. And I didn't. I didn't have a bad childhood. but it sure had its moments. Despite a father with anger issues and a mother with gin in her veins,

it wasn't too bad. The only time where I truly felt singled out for a cruel and unusual punishment was the time my cousin locked me in an airing cupboard. I'd had a wicked time with night terrace grown up and it was no secret among the family. I think he thought it'd be funny, or that maybe he'd find something out about me.

I don't know. Looking back, it was the first time I ever understood what real cruelty was. It was a small space he crammed me into. God, no bigger than the inside of your standard washing machine. And dark, obviously. Pitch black all around me. And you got to understand that to a kid, the universe ain't ordered and sensible.

Things just happen all the time. Old dude you liked who gave you candy every weekend. He's dead, sorry. Come home to a crying mother. No one will tell you why. Wake up one day and your old man won't go to work no more. You won't say what happened. but everyone's crying and it soon turns to fighting.

Do you know what a promo shun is? Well, your best friend's dad just got one, so now you'll never see him again, ever. The universe is chaos. You will suffer without warning. Enjoy. To me and you, being locked in a room or a cupboard, probably ain't a big deal.

Kick down the door, scream, cry, holler, shout, bide your time, do what you got to do. but I didn't know that I was six and strange things happened to me all the time how was I to know my aunt would hear and come open the door in just ten minutes I didn't know someone would come for me I didn't even know whether this was part of the damn plan for all I knew I was right where my parents wanted me

and my suffering was the desired outcome you'd think I'll be scared of dying in there but as I screamed so loud that my lungs turned ragged well it wasn't dying I was thinking about It was living. It was spending my whole life trapped in the dark, in the cold and lonely outskirts of existence when no one would come to get me.

How long does a person live? 80, 90, 100 years? To a kid, it doesn't matter. It's all the time you got, and when you're six, you have a lot of time. And there I was in a space so small, I couldn't stand or lie down or lift my elbows more than a few inches from my side.

By the time my aunt arrived, I'd broken two fingers and dislocated a shoulder. Panic can do that to you. I remember her looking so sad and worried and confused. She asked me why I'd done it, let myself get so crazy, but I wouldn't say. If she didn't know already, she'd never understand.

I only did what I did because of something that, deep down, all kids know, but then they grow up and forget, or at least you're supposed to. You're never alone in the dark, There's always something waiting for you in there. You're not meant to remember that fact as an adult. It's meant to burn away until it's just ash.

But something about Michael had set the thought of blazing me again. Maybe it was when I locked him in the trunk. Maybe it was when he first came back. But as time ticked on, I was starting to feel like I could just about glimpse something in the corner of my eye. Like I had a taste of the truth and it was hurting me. Physically hurting me like a knife was in my skull being twisted it around by a great big, greasy fist.

Sometimes I'd find myself staring at shadows and trying to look beyond the dark into the place beyond, the place I'd seen first-hand as a kid, the place that Michael had slipped into, or, more likely, dragged. I didn't expect her to grow up like that. Andy was sat next to me, his feet up on the dashboard with a cigarette between his lips.

Trying not to make him look, I pulled to my sleeve and wiped away the blood collecting around the corner of my eyes. I'd been staring at the footwell for the last hour or so, refusing to blink. If Andy had thought me crazy, he didn't say. Truth is, he didn't look so hot either. He'd had a wife once upon a time, a real battle axe. Dave and I used to joke that if it weren't for the fact that we saw the two of them in the same room,

we would think Mrs. Andy were just a husband in a wig. But Andy liked her. He did. He liked her a lot. And by the time we finally saw fit to contact each other, I was pretty sure and he had already given his blow of it over to Michael.

She's looking good, he smiled, biting the tip of his lip like a cherry pip. I looked at the young woman walking down the street and I shrugged. I hadn't had thoughts like that for a long time. Looks like him. You can see the family resemblance,

I said. Do you think you can see us? Do you think he sees everything we do? I don't know, I replied. I'm not sure. is even human anymore. Well, you better hope he is. Andy scald. Otherwise, this plan is shot.

She's a pretty thing, though. A couple of ways we can show him we're serious. I wouldn't do that if I were you, I replied. We need to show him what he can lose if he doesn't leave us alone. What do you mean? I mean, let's try and scare him, yeah? Not make him mad more than he already is. Whatever, now come on and get ready.

Andy said, sitting upright and slapping his thighs with excitement. Here she comes. something about this experience was wearing on me. The last few weeks had started the smudge together. I wasn't even sure how it had gotten out of Dave's place. It was like my brain had purged all those events from my memory. And yet, if I closed my eyes, I'd see skin-colored wax melting through a sieve. It made me ill every time.

But it wasn't just that rolling inside my head, making me nervous. It was Andy. He had a nasty little look in his eye. The girl was on her way home from college. She was all grown up since I'd last seen her, standing outside her school, looking around for a missing brother. She looked like she'd grown up on the straight and narrow, and I could see a satchel bouncing around her hip

that was full of thick-looking textbooks. It was bizarre, but right before we snatched her, right before Andy lunged out of the car to hug her waist and throw her against the door, I remember thinking, good for her, getting an education. And then Andy punched her so hard, her head snapped back against the car window, and she went out cold, sliding to the floor.

I got her, Andy growled as he bundled into the car. Come on, move it, move it! We can't just sit here forever. I turned the keys and pulled out of the alley we've been hidden in. When I looked in the rearview mirror, I could see Andy staring down at Michael's sister. He looked insane. Don't, I said, and I gently pulled Andy's hand away from the girl's hair.

He'd spent the last few minutes caressing her head like a bowling ball. Isn't the whole point to scare him? He asked, flashing me a toothy grin. It's me you're scaring right now, I said. Just wait. For what? She wakes up and starts crying. Michael, Michael, come save me?

I don't know, I answered, wiping another trickle of blood away from the corner of my eye. We were sat in our old locker room. The school had been shut down years ago, an old student sent to another place a few towns over. There was no electricity, so we were to bring our own lights. They cast harsh shadows that plucked away at my consciousness, like the aura of a migraine. Please, just sit down, I said, and stop pacing. How the hell is this my fault?

And he screamed, and he probably didn't mean the words entirely for my benefit. For a brief moment he unraveled and punched the locker door so hard and so often, they'd left an impression of his knuckles as bloody indents. Only when the locker collapsed backwards, did he seem to finally register where he was and who he was with, and he took a long breath between his teeth while trying to soothe his sore fist. muttering furiously, he walked over to a nearby sink and washed the blood away. I gave him what he asked for, he said when he finally came back.

Did everything he wanted, not just Bethel either, the dogs, the cats, the chickens out back, even the damn feats had to go. If it lived, it went. I just nodded. It wasn't enough, he growled. It never will be. The girl was awake and she was looking right at me. Her voice had made me think of how funeral homes smell,

like it was the kind of thing that had talked to you as you turned to mush in a crypt somewhere. Oh boy, Andy cried, stepping towards her like a boxer in the ring. Here we go, sweetheart. He grabbed his chin with one hand and he looked ready to crush her head in a single move. Big guy, our Andy. But for some reason, I wasn't too worried about that. It was the girl.

How long had she been listening? to us and the way she looked, she didn't seem right. Even as Andy lifted an arm and sent an open-handed slap barreling towards her, she never looked away from me. She barely even flinched. Michael, he roared, turning to every corner of the room. We have your damn sister. We have her and we're not afraid to hurt her, because we ain't got nothing left to lose. Anything we do now, pal, it's on you. His voice was hoarse like a soldier, screaming bloody murder,

like this was a battlefield and he was getting ready to face off against the final foe, like he had it all figured out. But I was the funny feeling we hadn't found a winning strategy at all. That's not true, she said. Where's your brother? Andy roared, hitting her again. Tell him to come out. Tell him to come out and face me like a damn man. What's not true? I asked, my words, frightened whispers. You have plenty left to lose, she answered.

Alex. She smiled. her mouth all crooked from where Andy's gorilla fist was crushing her cheeks in his palm. Could you do me a favour, please? Andy looked at me for a moment like he thought I'd planned some kind of ambush, and her and I were in league. Don't answer her, he said. What the hell's going on?

Don't look away, she said. It's important to him that you watch. I want, I whispered. And I think it was right about then that Andy's bluster failed. I'm sure I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes before the hand reached out of the girl's mouth and grabbed his wrist And he cried for me, he cried a lot Towards the end he cried for his mother, for Bethel too

But the girl, she never cried What happened to her was probably just as bad as what happened to him Even worse Bodies weren't meant to do that But whatever hold Michael had over her It was strong I guess it must be so dark inside a person By the end, she looked like a clay statue of a girl that had been squished by a toddler's fist,

those chubby fingers gripping so hard that some parts squeezed out in funny trickles, while a other bit split apart and crumbled. I remember looking into a chest cavity when it was over, looking at the way the shadows made it look so big and vacant. I'm pretty sure her head had been split open in places, but it was hard to know what was her and what were just the dripping remains of Andy. I was captivated by the raw destruction of the scene. I must have stayed there for an hour, just looking down at her.

Sometimes I'd catch a sound a little bit like a crying man. It sounded like Andy, but it didn't always come from the gaping hole made out of the girl's collarbones. Sometimes it came from the lockers behind me. If I listen carefully, I could hear him screaming in the dark. Don't do it again. said. I won't. Don't try to threaten or intimidate or outwit me. I won't. I've seen what's on the other side. I nodded. It's not good, he added. You're not meant to have a body here. Makes you indigestible. It's been a real struggle, Al. You owe me for what you did. More than just a

single lifetime, because thanks to you, I'm not going anywhere, am I? No. It was a rhetorical question, Al. Sorry. You should be. He said, "'Are you worried?' The words pulled me away. I'd been staring at my feet the whole time. My eyes drawn to the patch of shadow beneath my seat. The train shut it gently as it traced the railway's curve,

the lights flickering weakly. I could feel the air growing heavy. "'What's your name?' The woman sat beside me and smiled. She was old and spoke with a sympathetic authority. "'Alex,' I said. "'How are you feeling, Alex?' "'Not good,' I answered.

"'And to my surprise, I burst out crying. "'Not good at all. "'I'm Beatrice,' the old woman said. "'But you can call me B.' "'Thank you, B. "'Do you have anywhere safe to stay, Alex?' "'I nodded, wiping the snot from my nose. "'Are you going there now?'

"'A few other passages abroad were looking at B "'like to just approach the hungry lion. "'They'd spent the journey, doing everything to avoid me, treating me like your typical lunatic. I never tried to hide anything, never tried to hide who I was or what was going to happen. But they always thought I was talking to the voices in my head. They didn't know I was speaking to the shadows. They didn't know how real it was.

Do you need any help getting home? Be asked, is there anyone I could call for you? I have no one, I said, feeling my heartbreak a little at the admission. When I looked up at B, I saw the tunnel fast approaching. I reached out and grabbed B's hands so tight and must have hurt. She looked worried, so concerned. Her eyes darted around looking for what had scared me. When she realized what had scared me, she looked relieved.

Oh, it's okay, she said. Are you claustrophobic? I'll be here the whole time, but don't you worry? The darkness always passes. The train into the tunnel. There were a few gasps, one even from B, who must have wondered, just like all the others, why the shadow that enveloped us was so devastatingly black. That was the last noise any of them made.

There were no screams, only a whoosh of displaced air, like I'd stood next to a speeding truck on the highway. Something enormous had just passed me by, and it took all my strength not to scream. There were other things too, smaller predators floating behind in the shoal, scavenging what little remained. They would ignore me if I stayed perfectly still. So said Michael. When the light returned, there was hardly a sign that there'd ever been anyone else aboard. The sole exception being the severed hand of bee that remained clutched in my fist.

Even in plain daylight, I couldn't bring myself to let go. I just kept holding on, hoping and willing the past few minutes could somehow reverse and undo themselves. I didn't want to be this person. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone's suffering. But you are, Michael said. And when I looked back down, there he was. You are very responsible. Not if it could happen without you.

You think that things would be like this if it had just been Dave or Andy on top of that car? No, Alex. It was you. You remembered what lives in the dark, and they remembered you. I let go of Bees' hand, and it fell to the floor. I'm sorry, I said.

It's too late for that now, Alex. You carry this darkness around like a luggage, and the holes you make are getting bigger every day. A lot of those people are still in one piece. Do you know what that means? They're alive, and there's no time here, no death, no entropy. They will always be alive, and the things that live here just love flesh.

Can't eat it, but they sure do love playing with it. Something alive. Something whole. That's like Christmas. They spent a long time playing with me. But I'm not so sure I would be will be able to strike up a deal like I did. No escape for her.

I should kill myself, I whispered. You can, Michael said. But where do you think you'll go? Hell, I asked. Oh, Alex, he laughed. Hell implies another option. But this is all there is. just an abyss, the abyss and the things that live in it.

You don't have a lot of time in the light. Nobody does. But that's why it's so important you put it to the best use. And, as we've already discussed, everything you have really belongs to me, doesn't it? It does. So, what are we going to do? I'll give you whatever you want. Good.

And I could hear the smile in Michael's voice. There's another stop. soon. Just a few more people. Then we'll move on. Gotta change it up well. We don't want to draw too much attention. After all, there's so much more you can give me. I'm an oceanographer. Ever since my family started bringing me to the beach when I was young, I was fascinated by the sea. But fascination turned to something else when I was hired to work in an underwater sea lab in the Baltic. My name is Will. I had recently graduated with a degree in Marine biology and was looking to start my career.

I'd always thought that the only underwater research lab had been off the coast of Florida, the Aquarius Reef Base, but here I was, staring at an application to work on another sea lab across the world. I chalked my lack of knowledge up to my own incompetence and applied for the job. It wasn't long before I got a reply. A sophisticated man with a German accent spoke with me about my education and all the other regular things that you would hear in a job interview. But, at the end of the conversation,

things start to get a little weird. Are you in any way afraid of any sea life, like sharks, for example? Ask Bertram, the German interviewer. I have a healthy fear of ocean predators, I said, but I don't mind swimming with them. They mostly aren't interested in humans. Good to hear, he said.

I completely agree. The job will involve some diving into deeper waters, and this can make some people uneasy. To my surprise, I was hired. I boarded a plane and ended up in Rostock, a medium-sized German port city. I made my way over to the port itself, where I was to meet with a team and start travelling to my new home under the sea. I had read the documents they had sent over to familiarise myself with the underwater environment. I had noticed, however, that there were no bathrooms, and this seemed a little strange.

I assumed that I probably would just go in the ocean. I'd been pinging the ocean since I was a kid, but I'd never gone number two. I laughed to myself, as I thought how silly it was, I was dwelling as such a triviality. When I arrived on the dock, there was Bertram. I recognised him from the video conference we'd had before. He was taller than I figured. Next to him stood another tall, skinny man. Ah, speak of the devil, Bertram said as I approached.

His accent made me chuckled to myself, but his grandma had to were very good nonetheless. Will, I would like you to meet Derek, our colleague. Derek also seemed very polite. His English was excellent. We have a team of French, German and English speakers. We mostly speak English, but you'll have to forgive us if occasionally we start ranting on our native tongues together.

At that, Derek mumbled something in German, and they both laughed. We hitched the ride on another vessel out towards the sea. After about an hour I saw a little ship That is Hoffnung Said Bertram Our humble ship The ship was small and rusty

It looked like it had seen better days Something seemed off The facility underwater was much to advance To be paired with such a beat-up looking ship We geared up for the dive As far as depth is concerned The Baltic is pretty shallow Yet I was surprised to hear

that we would be diving down to a depth of 65 metres. The deepest I had ever gone was 30. And going 65 didn't help my growing anxiety. Don't worry, it's a one-way trip, so it isn't very dangerous. You don't have to worry about the bends. I remembered how cool it was that the underwater facility used ambient pressure and a moon pool. The entire facility was pressurized. It was still too deep for humans to live at the pressure between 7 and 8 atmospheres.

Though humans can three-dive quite deep, they cannot live in such crushing pressures for extended periods of time. Three atmospheres was what the facility was pressurized to. Still, the time saved not having to go back and forth between sea level, and seven atmospheres, may this facility useful for studying the seabed. We have all heard how we know less about our oceans than outer space. This was what fascinated me so much about the sea. The beginning of the descent was uneventful. Things started to become darker and less light was able to penetrate the depths.

When we reached 40 metres, it felt like I was entering another world. It was surreal. I'd never been this deep before. And I remembered my diving instructor mentioning how dangerous it was. People were said to fall into a trance. As we continued to descend into the misty depths, a building appeared. It was taller than I had expected, spanning at least three stories upward. certainly this was not the facility that I had read about.

Soon enough, however, I saw the moonpool. It was a peculiar thing to emerge from the ocean into an indoor swimming pool and to be all traded water for a minute. Bertram and Derek turned and smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back. It was just so badass. I felt like as in some kind of sci-fi movie. The room we were in was pressurized higher than the rest of the facility

and we made our way into a deep pressurization chamber after removing our gear. Watch your arm, said Derek, as I clumsily walked into a loose panel. It graced my skin a little. Sorry, said Bertram. I should have mentioned the loose panel. The facility is much larger than I read, I said, inquiring about the large structure I'd seen. Yes, said Bertram. That document is out of date.

The facility has expanded in several areas, though we love. Slowly scientists had to remain in our humble quarters. He and Derek laughed. I thought that this facility was entirely run by scientists, I said. The job application had been from the website of GMR, a prestigious research institution in Germany. It started that way, but after funding was cut back, it looked like we were going to have to abandon the facility, said Bertram. But then they discovered the ore deposits down the hole. The hole? I asked.

We entered the habitat I'd familiarised myself with from the manual. There was a bunkhouse, a mess hall, and a couple other rooms for signs and storage. Is this the new bloke? asked the voice from around the corner. In walked a short man with a smile on his face. He had instant charisma. Don't let the crowd scare you, mate. Things are pretty peachy down here. He shook my hand with vigor that left my arm noodling. He was a middle-aged man, a little older than the rest of them.

Name's Doug. I'm from Newcastle. I nodded. This whole crowd thing, said Badrum. I just don't understand why you all think it is offensive. It just means cabbage. Your people's world-war two put-downs weren't very good. I couldn't help but chuckle at their relationship, when, suddenly, a loud explosion rang out.

They all grabbed for something to brace themselves with. Is everything all right? Kempishrew a worried voice from deeper into the facility, amidst the flickering buttons and endless. this readouts. A French woman cautiously came into the room hugging the wall. Despite the fear, the crash moments ago had instilled.

She smiled politely to me. Welcome, Will. It's good to see you. She said, somewhat nervously. Hi, I said, smiling back. She was wearing a cap and a bulky crewman coveralls, yet I could tell that she was really beautiful. The buggers are really pushing

her look with those explosions, said Doug. They're going to get us killed. why are there explosions? I asked. We didn't have the funding to keep this place running. We were forced to entice some other parties. I said it then, and I say it now. It was a short-sighted decision, said Doug. Yes, but what choice did we have? asked Bertram.

The rest of the day was spent familiarising myself with a facility. Everything was just like it said in the manual, except for an ominous looking door just after the pressurization chamber. That was new. Though the whole place looked like a futuristic spaceship, this door seemed to be even more so. It looks strong. At first, there was constant traffic in and out, but after they completed their submarine docking station, a soul hasn't passed through that door in months.

We occasionally speak with one of them on the radio, but we have less and less contact as they need us less. It is a little strange, but it is better than being shut down, said Bertram, as he noticed me looking at the door. Who exactly are they? I asked. At first it was underwater welders and construction workers who worked for a German mining company, all the usual stuff. But after several months, the miners left and apparently ownership of the facility changed hands again, though I have heard nothing about who. Juma has been vague about it all. No doubt they were up to some exploitative act, probably attempting to weaponize something beautiful.

That is why I get the feeling that we are no longer. longer welcome in her own facility. They wouldn't want their secrets exposed by us pesky good-intended scientists, said Bertram, laughingly. Eventually, I had to go to the little boy's room, and I finally inquired as to how this was done. They all laughed.

It is a pleasure going number two during the day. The fish can get quite frisky, said Doug. Mannon rolled her eyes, smiling. The fish sometimes eat your waist, she said. Don't let Douglas scare you. They had just fish. There is a dome several metres out from the moonpool where you can hang out and do your business, but you won't catch me going out there in the dark, said Doug.

Huh, yeah, I can imagine the fish are much more frightening in the dark, I said. Actually, that's the weird part, said Bertram. There are no fish at night. Manon laughed the shirt she was holding up Bertram's arm pushingly, yet in a soft, motherly way. I'm just saying, I don't go number two at night either, said Bertram. If it's an emergency, I'll just trap the log right in the moon pool. And you should too, said Doug.

Floaters be damned. That's disgusting, said Manon. Why do the fish not come at night? I asked. We aren't quite sure. Derek thinks it has to do with their body chemistry. The neurodrenal levels start to spike as the light stops shining through. They scatter in all directions, said Manon. Except towards the hole, said Derek. What is this hole?

I asked. It is the 20-meter wide hole in the bottom of the ocean at the moonpool to the east. It is hard to miss. We stay away from there, said Derek. I made a point to do my business during the daylight, and was alarmed and amused by the amount of fish had attracted. I swam out to the dome, and soon several fish began to investigate me. I looked around the area and saw the massive hole to the east.

I could see that the facility must have been built to study the hole. It was starting to get a little darker and I was ready to swim back to the moonhole. When I noticed a small submersible ascending out of the hole, the submersible propelled itself towards the large three-story complex attached to our habitat. A hatch opened and the submersible ascended up into the hatch. My imagination ran wild as to what this mysterious other faction was up to behind that hatch. As weird as it all was, after several days I had fallen into a wrenshaw. rhythm and everything became normal. I would gather samples and document the wildlife by day and study

my findings as well as thought to my colleagues at night. Occasionally there would be an explosion and like clockwork a submersible or two would descend from the hole at sunset. Sunset became a time of caution I noticed. The fish would remain until it was dark but almost in a flash they all knew to disappear as the last sunrise left. It was part of a fascinating cycle. It was part of a fascinating cycle. I had seen things like this in nature before, like when bats all fly out of a cave at the same time, or birds migrating for winter. But this was different. There was a desperation about it. For the fish, it was more of a desperate scramble.

I quickly understood white dog wouldn't go number two at the dome after dark. I found out that none of them did. Every day I would walk by the mysterious door leading to the other facility, but the hallway beyond was always always. dark and I could never see that far. It was unnerving. On top of that, there were no port holes or windows of any kind to look into from the outside, only the submersibles at sunrise and sunset. One day, I joked. Maybe one of us should try swim at the hatch one time, I said. The mood in the room became very tense. It wasn't long before Manon burst into tears. I didn't understand why. I'm sorry, I said.

"'It's okay, mate. It isn't your fault,' said Doug, as he went to console Manon. I tried to look at Bertram. You usually explained things to me when I was baffled, but his eyes remained fixed on his breakfast. I looked at Derek. "'It is time well knows about Javier,' said Derek. Nobody said a word. All that could be heard was Manon sobbing. "'Who is Javier?' I asked. "'Haffy air was the marine biologist you replaced,' said Derek, "'and he also had the idea to swim up the hatch.

"'We were informed that he was dead over a week later, the assholes,' said Doug. "'We began searching desperately, but after a couple hours, "'we knew that the air would have run out. "'We started searching for his body. "'Apparently the whole time he was in the other facility.' "'What?' I asked, mortified. "'Aye, they said there had been an accident and they weren't able to save him, said Doug.

And they waited to tell you, I asked. He nodded. I never looked at the hatch the same way. Had Javier been trapped in there and run out of air? Surely there must have been some way he could have entered the facility, as it is how the submersibles went in and out. Over the coming days, things went back to normal, or at least as normal as living 60 metres underwater could be.

I didn't dare broach the subject of Javier. I just kept my head down and did my work. There was plenty of plant life to catalogue, not to mention all of the different species of fish and jellyfish. Occasionally, a pot of sea animals were passed through. As I was performing my nightly bathroom ritual before the dark set in, one night I noticed the submersible ascending from the hole as always. Only this time, he seemed to be having trouble moving through the water.

It almost seemed to be stuttering. As I looked closer, I saw what looked like markings on the outside of the vessel, as if it had been in some kind of accident down there. I shuddered to think of what could have happened if the craft had been damaged more. There I tread in the outhouse dome, pondering what I just saw. It made me feel uneasy, but nothing like what I felt after what I saw next. My gaze fell back on the giant sinkhole.

There, at the very edge, I saw something that'll horrify me for the rest of my life. I saw a head, looking back. The rest of the body was hidden down the hole. Just ahead as if it was peering at me. Even with the water clouding the distance between us, I felt his stare burn into my soul. Here, 60 meters below the middle of the ocean, was a face, completely unencumbered by gear, no air tank. What was he breathing? I must have been hallucinating, but the most of the most of the moment lasted for what seemed like a lifetime. Up until then, it was the longest moment of my life. His eyes locked to mine, just his head. As it got darker, I came out of my confused trance. I made a dash for the moonpool. I didn't dare look back. I leapt out of the moonpool and into

the decompression chamber. I was terrified. I stared at the moonpool through the window, half expecting the head to emerge from the water. How could a man have been in the hole? He would have had to have held his breath for at least five minutes, as I haven't seen anyone else as I swam to the dome. Although with training, a human can hold their breath that long, something was just off. I had goosebumps all over my body. I had heard of pressurized air, playing tricks on people's minds.

Perhaps I had nitrogen narcosis. I quickly went in and told the others. Elevated levels of nitrogen affects us in different ways, said Manon as she examined me. It is possible that you hallucinated. I must have, I said. If anything like this happens again, come tell us right away, she said. I noticed Derek looking at me from across the habitat.

He quickly looked away when I made eye contact. There was something about it that made me feel like he knew more. I decided to sleep it off, but had wild dreams about what I saw. I woke up in a cold sweat. I felt more exhausted than before. The crew, for the most part, hadn't noticed that I was a little off, all except Derek. He approached me that night. You must be feeling a little rattled, he said.

I was good friends with Javier. When he died, I sort of lost it a little bit. I couldn't sleep or eat. I even saw things too. He became very serious. This place is dangerous, more so than the others understand, said Derek. He brought me over to a laptop and opened up a folder with images. He then brought up a picture of the crew all happily posing.

There they all were, Doug, Manum, Derek and Bertram. Then my eyes came to rest on the fifth person. And when they did, electricity ran through my body all at once as horror welled up from the depths of my soul into my throat. There stood the very same face that it stared at me from the hall, and all at once I knew who that was, what Derek had seen and what it meant. I could barely speak, I just muttered.

That was the man I saw, I said. We have to tell the others and they are not going to believe it or like it, he said. We headed up to the common room where the others were gathered. Derek led bluntly in a dire tone. We both saw heavy air alive in the water. He said. Doug almost dropped to what he was doing and turned around to look at us, then looked at Bertram, who was as bewildered as him.

Then they both broke into laughter. Manon looked very upset. That is not funny Derek and Will. I didn't think you were like this, she said. Derek showed me a picture of Avivier, and he was without a doubt the same face that looked at me, I said. I didn't care about impressing Manon anymore.

Something was horribly wrong. I thought it was my mind playing trick. of me because Javier had just died. I heard you can see people sometimes who have just died, said Derek. So, I didn't think much of it. But one thing is very clear. We need to leave, he said.

It was empowering to be next to him. I would have never had the courage to say these things. There was a moment of silence. Okay, I'll put a call in for the ship to come pick up whoever wants to leave, I guess. But this is my life's work. I can't just leave

because you think you saw a ghost, you understand? said Doug respectfully. I strongly urge you to reconsider, said Derek, and we can't wait for the ship to get us. We need to take the Hofnung now. Suddenly, this wasn't sounding like such a good idea. The Hoffnung had seen better days. Bertram started to argue with Derek in German.

Manning and Doug started jumping in and I had no idea what was going on. At last, however, Derek went out with an exclamation that silenced the rest. He then turned to me. I know it seems like the Hoffnung isn't seaworthy, but she is. She passed her a quiet inspection. There was five years ago, Derek. Really? said Doug.

There is a reason we don't use her anymore. She's a floating platform, just in case something happens down here. Really, what is another day to wait for the ship? He said. If you had seen what we had seen, you would understand, said Derek. I wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand, waiting another day for a proper ship to do. take us back seemed reasonable. Yet, what if that thing in the water came into the moonpool

tonight? What if it came into the decompression chamber? Very well, I'm going to make the call to be picked up, said Derek. He left and came back moments later. There is a storm coming. They can't make it here for two days, he said. My stomach started to turn. That rusty old boat was starting to look more and more enticing. I was starting to feel. better about everything. There were tests to be run and flora to be cataloged. Manon even helped me, which put me at ease. During the day, she started asking me questions. So, are you sure that it was heavy air that you saw? She asked. Yes, I said, he must still be alive, but we watched each other for minutes. I don't know anyone who can hold their breath at long. Manon looked at me,

horrified. He was a good swimmer, she said. But five minutes? I know, I said. After I finally started to feel normal again, I started to feel tired, even though it was just the afternoon. Something about the pressure or being cooped up. That was why I went to sleep early that night. Going to sleep early turned out to be a giant mistake. I woke up in the late evening around 10. I had to poop something fierce.

I instinctively went over to the decompression chamber. When I entered the moon pool for the first time, I saw pitch black water. I stood there watching it ripple. Beyond was just the murky black depths. I remember Doug admitting he wouldn't go to the bathroom at night. And now, I understood. I walked up to the edge and looked down. There was absolutely no way I was going to swim to the outhouse dome.

With little options left, I pulled down my trousers and attempted to squat right over the moon pool. still squatting there I couldn't help but look back every couple seconds to make sure something wasn't coming up to grab me it felt silly but it was a very vulnerable position to be in after trying for a couple minutes

I stood back up it is amazing what kind of things the body will do when it knows it is not safe I suddenly felt no urge to go to the bathroom at all I slowly backed away from the edge of the moonpool keeping my eyes on its dark rippling depths

I thought I saw something move. I felt a deep fear. I had to get out of there. I went for the decompression chamber, and to my horror, I saw out of my peripheral a mask resting out of the water. I threw myself into the chamber, and, as fast as I could, try to throw the door closed. A monstrous, dark grey-screen tentacle moved with startling speed,

and just as I was shutting the door, wrapped around my leg, sinking several spines into me. I cried at the pain as the creature began to drag me out of the chamber. I slammed the door on the tentacle, but it was thick and strong and continued to drag me. The second tentacle, just like the first, was starting to crest out of the moonpool. Just then, I looked up, and it was the same metal sheet panel that grazed me when I first walked in. I ripped it off the wall with surprising ease. With all my might for my life, I cleaved the tentacle.

It didn't sever, but I cut it deeply and it released me. Before the second tentacle could reach the chamber, I slammed the door with all my might. I looked at the tentacles prodding and probing the sealed door. It was absolutely horrifying. I knew they had every intent on dragging me down into the depths. They were terrifying, like a giant octopus with spiny thorns attached to hook its prey. After what seemed like hours, the decompression finished. I had already been screaming and the others gathered at the door.

I exited the chamber and turned to the others. We have to get the hell out of here, now, I screamed. Calm down, said Manon. What happened? There is some kind of... I stopped. I didn't know what to say. I know this sounds crazy, but a massive predatory invertebrate grabbed me in the moonpool.

Like... Like a Pacific octopus? Doug asked curiously. They were not understanding the gravity of the situation. The tentacles weren't visible from this angle. and I dare not open the door to show them. Instead, I showed them my leg. It was bleeding, though not profusely.

A bunch of wounds were still clearly visible. The others began to inspect my leg. Derek went into another room and came back with a couple of knives. They were the only weapons we had available. At first light, all of us should make a break for the Hoffnung, said Derek. But what about the storm? said Bertram. I'd rather take my chances with the storm than be down here. At least I would die in natural death, said Derek.

I don't think the others understood, but I knew exactly what he meant. The idea of drowning in the open waters somehow seemed like a tolerable alternative. It suddenly made sense. The explosions, the beat-up submersibles. This animal was being studded by the other facility. One thing is certain, said Derek. The creature only seems to be around at night, and we seem to be safe in here. I'm swimming for the hoffinung in the morning

I strongly urged the rest of you to come I nodded The others looked amongst themselves Not knowing what to think We all went to our banks and tried to sleep After hours of tossing and turning And staring at the entrance Half expecting a dark grey tentacle to slither

Around the corner My wound felt better Manon had bandaged it And applied disinfectant I slowly started to nod off When I awoke I started my death daily routine. I even got ready to go out and swim to the bathroom when I stopped dead in my tracks.

I felt a deep sense of horror, as if I was just remembering what had happened to me in the moon pool just hours before. I suddenly felt no urge to go to the bathroom at all. I just stood there, gazing at the pressure chamber. All of the others had risen and were mulling about. Have any of you seen Doug? said Manon. I'm waiting for his data, but I haven't seen him. Maybe he hasn't woken up, I said. He isn't in his bunk, said Manon. I'm starting to get worried. He probably just went for some samples, said Bertram.

You're probably right, said Manon, and she started busying herself with the work. I finally worked up the courage to go out to the bathroom dome. The water was moving faster than usual, but nothing I couldn't swim against. I could see how being a poor swimmer could be very hazardous and understood now why they insisted on strong swimmers in the job application. Out at the dome, I looked around and realized there wasn't a fish in sight. Usually during this time of day, the ocean was full of them, but now it was barren, and it was unnerving. I looked around the eerie depths, trying to make out what I could through the misty seawater.

I noticed something strange. The hatch up to the other part of the facility was open. that same hatch that Javier had swam up. Upon thinking about Javier, my eyes darted back to the place where I had seen his eyes, staring at me from the hole. I shuddered and suddenly started to feel very vulnerable.

I got done with my business and started back towards the moon pool. When I entered the habitat, I saw that Mannon was coming my way with Bertram and Derek. There you are, she said. We are going to look for Doug. He should have been back by now.

The hatch is open. I said. They all looked at one another. We will have to think about that later, she said. Everyone suit up and make sure you are full of oxygen. The water was still moving fast due to the stormy conditions. It was difficult to fight against the current, but Doug should have come back by now,

and there was a chance he was stuck and running low on air. We had to look for him. We checked down the slope in the opposite direction of the hole, but there was no sign of Doug. We finally came to the hole. we shine our lights down into the depths, nothing but darkness. After a while, our oxygen levels were getting low

and we returned to the habitat. On our way back, we all saw the open hatch. No doubt, we're all thinking the same thing. Doug might have gone up the hatch for some reason. When we had shed our gear in the moonpool, Derek was the first to mention this. We need to get in touch with the other part of the habitat,

he said, I will try to radio them again. As I walked past the door that connected the two habitats, I peered down its corridor. Surely we could override the locks and walk in there. It seemed like the right thing to do given the circumstances. I shot my light down the corridor through the glass. It was strange. Something at the very end of the corridor seemed to be floating.

I squinted and tried to discern what I was looking at. Hey guys, I said. I think something is moving in there. We all gathered at the glass of the door and peered into the darkness. There was something that seemed to be hovering. It was drifting closer. I knew what it was before my mind could register what I was seeing. It was a strange feeling.

On one hand there was a pen, but on the other it was drifting right in the middle of the air. The pen was floating because the chamber had filled with water. It won't break through, said Derek. This door is designed to withstand pressures far beyond this. It was always a possibility that one of the habitats would be compromised. His words did little to reassure me. I kept staring at that pen, as it seemed to drift aimlessly. A ricocheted off one of the walls gently.

What happened to all the people? asked Bertram. There was nothing but silence for a moment. Then, Manon spoke. We have to go in there, said Manon. That must be where dog is. maybe he is trapped. Derek and Bertram exchanged glances and started speaking in German. Manon interrupted them and they all started yelling at each other.

I stood there, puzzled, until they finally switched back to English. I can't believe you too, said Manon. Doug would have done it to save you. Doug is dead, said Derek. Or worse. What do you mean, or worse? said Manon. He has to have been out of air for a while now and we all know it. said Derek. Bertram and I are going for the Hoffnung. We aren't waiting for the ship.

Bertram stood there, looking as guilty as he was terrified. Finally, they were starting to understand. We had to get the hell out of here. I opened my mouth to agree adamantly, but Manon spoke first. I'm going over there, she said defiantly. She looked at me and waited for me to speak. Okay, I said. I will go with you to look for dinner. dog. This is crazy, said Derek. I don't want to be on that sinking boat in a storm any minute longer than I have to. We can't wait for you.

One hour, said Manon, that is all we need. Derek and Bertram started arguing in German again. We will wait one hour, said Bertram. Then we will head to the surface together. Suiting up went fast. We did our final checks and dove back into the moon pool. The hatch seemed to beckon me. I thought of Javier

Of how I had seen his head staring at me Even now he gave me chills But I put it in in the back of my mind Soon we could almost see up the shaft I thought about how much had happened in my life Since I had taken this job How much I had learned and seen It was hard to remember what my life used to be like

It seemed like so long ago That I had been sleeping in a nice bed And eating all the food I wanted Mostly I thought about how much I had taken for granted you don't realize how important it is to feel safe until you don't. We reached the entrance to the shaft. It became dark fast. Manon turned on the light and my heart sank.

At the end of the shaft was a metal door, but it looked as though it had been warped. What could have done this? Luckily, our divers masks had radio communication built in. What could have done this? said Manon. She looked over at me. She knew what I was thinking already. There was no creature ever discovered like the one you hallucinated Will.

I went to retort, but stopped. There was no point in arguing. I wanted to live, not to be right. Let's hope not, I said. It took everything I had, but I managed to start kicking and swam up into the shaft. Mannon soon followed after me. We traced the dark room with our lights. It seemed to have been some kind of submersible docking room.

What once was a moonpool had been overtaken by water. All manner of clutter floated about. It was unnerving to be there in the darkness, 60 metres beneath the surface of the water, in a breached habitat that had gone silent. I swatted a tablet away from my head as we continued onward. The decompression chamber was wide open. Both of the large doors stood and sealed.

I knew what had happened. That creature had tried to grab me. A giant octopus creature had gotten through the decompression chamber. I couldn't stop thinking about those tentacles that had grabbed me. They looked like they were as thick as tree trunks as they disappeared into that black water. I will never forget it. As we swam into the next room, it was large and quite long. It was full of all types of computers and lab equipment.

But in the center of the room and to my horror, there it was. that same dark grey tentacle. It must have been 50 feet long. I instinctively swam away. This was horror movie 101. I had done everything I could to convince Manor that my story was true. If she didn't believe me now, it was on her. To my relief, I saw her swimming fast behind me.

She now understood that our lives were in imminent danger. As we ran at the corner of the room with a hatch, we saw Dog. It seemed like a miracle. There he was, floating there in his diving gear. We made it up towards the moon pool and started to get out of our gear. That is when I caught out of the corner of my eye, Doug's oxygen meter had been empty.

Still, I didn't think much about it as we made away to the decompression chamber. I wish I had. Doug, I have to say, it is good to see your stupid face, said Manon. why didn't you respond to my radio? Doug gave a slight smile. We looked everywhere for you, I said.

He looked at me. He looked like he had some kind of debris in his eye. Still, he said nothing. He just stared at me. That is when I realised that Bertram and Derek were nowhere to be found. Derek? Bertram, I cried out. You don't think they would have left without us, do you?

said Manon. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash a distance. from the habitat. It was as loud as the explosions, but it was different. I could tell Manon thought the same thing as we looked at each other in horror. Putting it out of our mind, Manon and I desperately scrambled around the habitat. When we returned, we noticed Doug standing by the decompression chamber. He seemed to be examining it. You're okay there, Doug? I asked. He turned to me and gave me that same hollow stare. I had seen that stare before somewhere.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it. He soon returned to the decompression interface. He just stared at it. Any ideas on where Derek and Bertram are dug? I asked more to make conversation than anything. We stood there in silence for a moment. I dared not walk away. Manon had made a way over to us after searching for Derek.

By the look of my face, she could tell that there was something wrong. Doug? she asked. After a moment of silence, Doug's hand rose and pressed one of the buttons. He pressed another button. He was starting to figure it out. I tried to block the panel, but he swatted me away with a speed that was uncharacteristic of Doug. He was trying to open the decompression chamber. I tried to push him away from the panel, but he headbutted me hard.

I fell to the ground. I felt woozy. I tried to stand up but fell over again. Manon, I cried out, Don't let him open the chamber. Manon stood there, horrified, as I finally got to my feet. But, it was too late. Doug managed to open the decompression chamber.

Still, there was a fail-safe mechanism. Both doors couldn't be opened at once, unless overridden in an emergency. I had read about it in the manual before I came aboard. There was a way, but if it was done underwater that depth, the moon pool's integrity would fail and the water would rush into the habitat. Doug stood there once more, thinking with

that horrifying, hollow stare. My head was still spinning, but I managed to grab a hold of his arm and we both went tummling over. I managed to dodge some swings at my head and scrambled backwards. Doug refocused his attention on the panel. Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded. It was over. The moonpool integrity had been compromised. Water immediately began rushing in. Manon and I looked at each other in horror. She rushed over to a cabinet. The water was already up to our knees and rising fast. Doug simply stared at us, void of emotion.

Water poured forth, and in seconds I had taken a deep breath from the air at the top. I tried to think of something, anything. But before I could, Manon grabbed my hand. She had found a life raft. We swam for it. We both started towards the moonpool, when all of a sudden I felt a strong hand grip my leg. It was Doug.

I thrashed and kicked, but to no avail. I tried to fight Doug with all I had left, but he was too strong, and I was running out of oxygen. The edges of my vision was starting to turn black, and my lungs were crying out. This was it. Suddenly, Manon drove a fixed blade into Doug's stomach. He momentarily let go, and we scrambled out of the moon pool with Doug right behind us. To my horror, I saw Doug swimming down after us, blood pouring out. Manon screamed and pointed towards the hole.

There was Javier, Bertram and Derek, swimming for us. All were that hollow, lifeless look in their eyes. All we had to do was clear the building above us, and we could pull the rip cord. It was so close. That is when I saw Hoffman. It was the ship that was supposed to be above us, but there it was.

I could barely make it out through the murky water, but it was hard to miss something so big. The storm, or maybe the others, had sunk it. That was what the crashing sound had been. We cleared the structure, and just as the creatures were closing in on us, Manon ripped the cord. Holding on, we started to ascend fast. I watched as we left that horrible place behind. It disappeared into the misty ocean underneath my feet.

We hung there, blind and helpless, all the while thinking to ourselves. What if the others swam up after us, how long would it take for them to reach us? My joints were hurting, and I knew why. The decompression sickness was setting in. Still, we were alive. The more I strained to look, the more I started to make out several shadows. They were getting closer. I could start to make out the human bodies now.

There were more than several meters away swimming for us. My joints were in agony, and I felt so tired. I needed to sleep. Still, the sight of the surface so close, its glimmering majesty, just a little farther. We broke the surface gasping for air. The life wrap was so close. We scrambled into it as I felt that fear

of having my last leg gripped. But it wasn't. We had made it. We quickly looked over the side. A chill ran down my spine as I saw them. Right beneath the surface, the faces of Javier, Derek, Doug and Bertram. All of the eyes fixed on us.

There they remained as if unable to break the surface. Doug was still bleeding profusely from his stomach and the cloud of red was gathering. We collapsed in the bed of the life raft, exhausted. We had made it. We could feel their hands scratching out us through the raft. It was unnerving, but the raft seemed to be holding. The sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful pink colour. That brings us to now.

The last light has gone away now. The others are still scratching at the bottom of the raft. The sun is no longer. holding it at bay, the creature will surely come for us tonight.