Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - Never Join a Dark Web Escape Room...

Episode Date: May 3, 2021

🎉 Get access to exclusive bonus episodes HERE: https://www.patreon.com/drnosleep 🔔 Dr. NoSleep YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/DrNoSleep 🎽 Dr. NoSleep Merchandise: teespring.com/stores/dr-nosleep-merch DISCLAIMER: This story is R rated for adults 18 years or older. NOT for children. #drnosleep #scarystories #horrorstories #truescarystories #horrorpodcast #horror Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk to nicely. Just do it, Robbie said. I can't, I said back. Either one of us sacrifices our arms, or we both die in here. Then a clunk could be heard, and a wall slowly started to descend over the only door in the room. If we didn't exit soon,

it would be sealed in forever. Ever since I was a kid, my favorite part of Easter was the long-anticipated hunt for candy-filled delicious eggs. My parents would always make a big deal out of it with a dozen clues scattered around, the woods behind our house, each more complex than the last. In hindsight, they were probably

ridiculously easy, but to my 10-year-old self, I felt incredibly intelligent solving them. As I grew older, I had little time for the annual Easter hunts. I either had college or work or dates. It dawned on me that an era of my life had passed, but I still felt nostalgic each year as the holidays came around, but then I found a dark web forum, specifically designed to for these kids of hunts and mysteries. Though they weren't exactly centered around Easter, they had an annual competition around that time, one usually taking place online, meaning all of us basement dwellers could partake. They were a great deal of fun and significantly more complex than the ones I dealt with as a child. I loved it, and though I wasn't the brightest of the

bunch, I did all right. Through that forum, I made a couple of great friends, both better than myself, Lewis and Robbie. We'd never met, but we'd formed our own little group, joining competitions but never winning. But it wasn't about the prize. It was about the thrill of chasing after new riddles, never knowing exactly what lay ahead. The community wasn't large, probably holding little more than 30 active players, but we were all more or less friendly with each other. Then, in the spring of last year, we were all invited to the site's first actual treasure

hunt. We'd all have to show up in person, and we'd be divided into teams between three and five people. Obviously, I stuck with my friends, and only 15 people actually agreed to the in-person challenge, but needless to say, the hype was real. We would all be picked up and brought to a non-disclosed location. It meant we had to spend a few hours in the back of an uncomfortable truck. It was all part of the game, to give us the most intense experience, but based on the site's prior reputation and quality of games, we weren't in doubt. Each time, we would be transported separately, meaning I had some time to get to know my team face-to-face.

We practically knew everything about each other already, but to see them was a whole other deal. Zach, is that really you? Lewis called out as the driver put him inside the truck alongside me. I gave him a big hug, finally able to meet one of my best friends in person. We got to talking, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Robbie. It would be the last pickup before we headed to the games. Though the three of us couldn't see where we were going, we could feel the road getting bumpier as time went on,

which meant they were taking us away from the city. I felt a bit nervous, but the anxiety was quickly extinguished by the excitement. After five hours on the road, we were finally there. As we jumped out, we were greeted by a beautiful, mountainous view with lush green forest as far as the eye could see. Behind the truck stood a massive facility, looking partially like a warehouse that had been quickly set up. It must have cost millions upon millions to bring everything out there,

which was odd, considering it had all stemmed from a dark web page. The waiting area looked like any other lobby with a desk and a receptionist. There were no other teams there, but a screen held their name on a high score list, showing they had all already attempted the game. Where are the other teams, Robbie asked. Finished already? They were disqualified after failing various rooms.

At this point, Team 5 had the best score, the receptionist said. I peaked at the screen, seeing the list of teams and how far they each made it. Team 1, Room 4. Team 2, Room 7. Team 3, Room 3. Team 4, Room 8. Team 5, Room 9. Team 6, pending. How many rooms are there? I asked. Just 10, she said with a smile. Are you ready?

We looked at each other. We knew we weren't the best of the bunch, and if each group before us had failed, we didn't exactly feel confident. We're ready, Lewis said. With that, the woman escorted us into the first room. It was a plain room covered in white panels, only interrupted by a numerical keypad,

a camera to observe us, and a timer that was counting down from five minutes. You have five minutes per room before the penalty kicks in, the woman said. What penalty? I asked. I think it's better if we let that be a surprise, she said with a smile before closing the door. We looked around the room for loose panels and a way out.

But then, the white panel started blinking in a fixed pattern, always in a different color. Hey, look at this, Robbie said, as he pulled up what looked like a piece of tinted glass. He held it up against the blinking lights. It was a filter, and by looking through it, numbers were revealed in the middle of the colorful lights. I see all the numbers, but which order do they go in?

Robbie asked. I've seen a similar puzzle before. I guess we're supposed to put them according to the electromagnetic spectrum. Try blue, green, yellow, red. In that order, the code turned out to be 7364, which stopped the lights and opened the door into the next room. That wasn't too bad, Lewis said. The next room wasn't too hard either.

It was a generator room with an empty fuse box. Our task was to put the right fuses in the right places within five minutes. Only Lewis made a mistake, giving him a firm, but seemingly harmless shot. F***, escape rooms aren't supposed to hurt, called out. He took a breath while he finished the puzzle, gaining us access to the third room. It looked like a hyperbaric chamber used to house divers working under oil rigs. As the door closed behind us, our ears popped from a sudden increase in pressure. Wow, that's a big.

bit too realistic, I said. And what's that? Robbie said as he pointed to what looked like a patch of blood. Blood? That can't be real, right? I asked. The timer had already started, and a barometer hanging on the wall was casually letting us know that the pressure was increasing. Hey, Rob, you used to go diving, right? I asked.

Yeah, why? How much pressure can a human body take? I asked. He peaked over at the increasing pressure. That's really bad. With the way the pressure is increasing, we'll be dead in five minutes, he said. My ears were hurting, and though the rooms were created, the blood and the increasing pressure was all too real. We started waving at the cameras, futilely begging to be let out as the timer ticked towards zero.

Let's just do the puzzle. The puzzle itself wasn't all that complicated. It was just a set of gears and valves that had to be put in the right locations. In two minutes, we'd solved the puzzle, by which time the pressure was already on the brink of physically incapacitating us. We stumbled into the next room, the sudden drop in pressure causing us to collapse. The game will only end when you die, or if you complete all 10 rooms. A voice said over the speaker. You are now in the break room.

You have 10 minutes to rest before entering the next chamber. No, fuck this. Let us out, Lewis called out. Enjoy the break. Don't forget to enter the next chamber afterwards. The woman said over the speakers. We got to find a way out of here, Lewis said. Still not able to stand up properly.

It took us about five minutes just to recover. cover, at which point we tried to tear the room apart, desperately looking for a way out to no avail. It's pointless. Look at all this. You don't think they secured all the exits? Robbie argued. So, we just play along? That blood in the pressure chamber wasn't fake. It belonged to one of the groups, I shot back. Do you have a better plan? Robbie asked. The timer had already ran out, at which point the walls of the room started closing in on us. We had less than a minute to escape. With great trepidation, we entered the fourth room. It looked like a carbon copy of a high school classroom,

full on with the gum-covered tiny desks, and a poorly cleaned blackboard. We looked around, trying to quickly figure out the tasks. But the only feasible way out appeared to be two buttons that looked like light switches. One was stuck, apparently requiring a key to open, and another that activated black lights. Then the timer started once again. Screw this! Lewis called out. The black lights lit up the blackboard,

showing what looked like a random arrangement of letters. Are those anagrams? Robbie asked. I don't think so, I replied. I quickly looked over them. Knowing anagrams fairly well, I could immediately tell that the words weren't mixed up. All of them were either three, four, or five letters in length.

Half a minute had already ticked away, at which point a few of the panels and the ceiling fell off. Spikes fell down from the ceiling, almost hitting Lewis on the shoulder. Oh, God! he yelled. It superficially cut his side. arm, causing a few drops of blood to fall to the ground. That's when I noticed all the outlines on the ground. Clearly, blood splatters lit up in the black lights. They'd been poorly cleaned up,

probably to let us know about the consequences of failure. In the chaos, another 30 seconds passed, and another few of the ceiling panels fell to the ground, letting spikes shoot towards the floor. Come on, Robbie yelled. We have to get out of here. I took another look at the blackboard, when I realized a pattern. If they were all three, four, or five letters, they could be number. I got it. It's a mixture between a Caesar cipher and anagram. Shiftgram? I don't know what they're called. It was easy enough once I only saw two equal words with five letters, which could either be eight or seven, but there were no repeating letters,

which meant they both had to be eight. Based on that, I was quickly able to figure out the code with a full minute to spare. 94838, I shouted. The code was correct. But even though Robbie had already input the code, the counter would keep going until we left the room. At 30 seconds, another few spikes shot from the ceiling. One shooting through Lewis's chest.

He let out a whimper before immediately dying from shock. Lewis! We both called out, but it was too late. Come on, Robbie said as he dragged me away from the oncoming spikes. We'd just about survived the fourth room, but Lewis was gone. Still, we didn't have time to rest. There were still six more rooms remaining. The two of us collapsed to the floor in a mixture of disbelief and exhaustion.

We'd barely escaped with a while. our lives. But with just two of us left, we knew the next set of rooms would be an almost impossible task. We got to go back for Lewis, I called out in shock, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. Robbie sat in silence, just observing the new room. I'd been too numb to notice where we were, but once the adrenaline started to fade, I quickly understood what the next puzzle would be. It was Lewis's bedroom, at least the little we could recognize from the background of his webcam we'd seen. The wall was filled with more than a dozen vintage posters from his favorite movies and video games. He'd always been kind of a nerd, even more so than us. How did they make this?

Robbie said in shock. I don't know. Maybe they were watching our streams, or maybe they've been inside our rooms. Do you think the other groups went through this exact room? I asked back. I think they personalized some of the rooms, he said as he just shrugged in defeat. So what do we do? I'd already seen that we needed a four-digit code to unlock the door. I figured the code would be the year of his favorite movie release. The problem was that he had several. I couldn't say for sure which poster was the correct one. I think it's alien. So, 1979?

I half asked, half stated. Robbie typed in the code, causing a beep to emit throughout the room. That ain't it. How about... Before Robbie could finish that sentence, the timer cut down a whole minute, a clear penalty for inputting the wrong code. With a total of five minutes,

we'd only have four attempts before the final wrong code would kill us. Try a new hope, I called out. Uh, 1977? It was another mistake, cutting away a second minute. F***, try the godfather, I shouted. Robbie input in 1979, which finally seemed to be the correct code. The door opened and we quickly moved on to the sixth room.

What now? Robbie said, sounding more annoyed than confused. The room was completely dark, illuminated by the dimmest of lights, a hanging light bulb that barely lit up the outline of the room. The flawless, black walls didn't help the situation. Do you know what we're supposed to do? I asked. He just walked up and down the wall. feeling for any imperfection. He let out a yelp as he tried to cross over, falling to the ground and hitting his knee. He groaned. There's a hole in the middle. Even with a light, the hole was

practically invisible. It stretched down an unseen amount into the darkness below. It was just barely enough for a grown man to crawl inside. But knowing the theme of the game, I knew what had to be done. You think one of us has to go down there? I asked. I knew Robbie suffered at least a significant case of claustrophobia. And with such a narrow, dark place, I knew. it would be an impossible task for him. He didn't even respond, and despite the darkness, I could tell his face had turned pale from the realization. I can't do it. I just can't. As he uttered those words, a strange flushing sound could be heard from beneath us. The timer had already counted a minute of time away, and one of us had to go down the hole. It was going to be me, whether I liked

it or not. It's all right, Rob. I'll do it, I said. I put my legs over the edge of the hole, trying to feel for a bottle. All the while, the noise of flushing water kept getting closer. As I stretched out my legs, the surface of ice-cold water touched my leg, and I realized that with a decreasing timer, the water was rising. You sure there's nothing else up there? I asked. I'm sure. I checked each wall. There's nothing. The water had already reached my knees. Our method of death would be drowning unless I could find the opening to the next room. So I jumped into the ice-cold water and dove down into the darkness. It was a long tube, with barely enough. place for me to turn around and not a single shimmer of light to guide my way. I could hold my breath for an

absolute maximum of two minutes, but that might not be enough. It took me almost a minute just to reach the end, where I found a lever. I pulled it, which switched on lights that illuminated the tunnel I swam through. I could feel the oxygen drain from my body, so I turned around and prayed I would make it in time. Once I reached the end of the tube, the room had been half filled with water, but a small hole in the upper part of the room had been opened. As the water reached a high enough level, we could easily swim through, allowing us to enter the seventh room. Thank you, Zach. I don't think I would have made it if I had to go down there, Robbie said. No problem. I managed to get out between labored breaths. Where are we now? Room seven, he said. Didn't one of the teams die here? I asked. He nodded. I think so.

The current room only had a single button on the wall with a handprint. Without hesitation, Robbie walked over to press the button. He put his hand on it, and a door opened up on the other side. That was easy, he said and let go of the button. The door closed again, and he put his hand back on it. The door only remained open as long as one of us kept our hand on the button, which meant that either there was another solution or one of us had to stay behind. Before we could discuss it any further, the hatch and the ceiling opened up, and a severed arm dropped down.

It had clearly been there for a while, half-rodded. It quickly dawned on us that it must have belonged to one of the previous teams. Oh, God! It was all I could get out, but Robbie wasn't as put out. He just picked the arm up and held it against the button. Nothing happened. The arm was long since cold. Then a second object fell from the hatch and the ceiling.

It was an axe. Robbie and I just looked at each other in disbelief. But time was ticking down, and it was clear what we had to do. Just do it, Robbie said. I can't, I said back. Either one of us sacrifices our arms, or we both die in here. Then a clunk could be heard, and a wall slowly. started to descend over the only door in the room. If we didn't exit soon, it would be sealed in

forever. Do it now! Robbie yelled. I picked up the axe, and Robbie laid down and put his left arm out. I wrapped a tourniquet around his upper arm to prevent as much bleeding as possible. Then I lifted the axe. A loud clunk could be heard as I struck down against the hard floor. The axe was polished enough to cut right through. Robbie led out a blood-curdling scream and agony. But we didn't have time for sympathy. I picked up his arm and put it in a stand. The door opened, remaining so as the wall kept descending. Robbie had passed out from the pain, so I dragged him through to the other side. Come on, Rob, wake up, I said. The room was identical to the former in terms of design, but rather than having a hand scan, it had a bucket with the scale measuring up to one liter. It had

blood stains on the inside, which made it painfully obvious what we had to do. I get it, Robbie said as he saw the bucket. He'd regained consciousness, but was still lying on the floor. He'd already lost a lot of blood despite the tourniquet. But we both knew there wasn't another option. I helped him up and loosened the tourniquet. He held his stump over the bucket, and I watched his face turn pale as an entire leader of blood filled the bucket. With that, the door opened, and I did my best to stop bleeding again.

I'm probably not going to make it, he said as I held him up. He was too weak to stand on his own. His breath was labored, and his speech slurred. I carried him into the ninth room, knowing not a single team had made it further. It was a comfortable room, a modern kid. cabin with nice chairs and an active fireplace. There was a man sitting in one of them, one who'd clearly been dead for some time. Like Robbie, he was missing an arm, sacrificed it in the seventh room to proceed. In his remaining hand, he held a note. I put Robbie down in the other

chair before I prided out of his dead grasp and started reading. My friends all died between the third and fifth room. I tried to save them, but I couldn't. They just weren't fast enough. I kept pushing forward alone, praying to be let out at the end, praying for it all to be little more than a sick prank. I had to cut my own arm off with a damn axe. I thought that would be enough of a sacrifice. Jokes on me. There's no way to leave this place alone. I'll save you the trouble of solving this puzzle.

To leave this room, someone has to die in one of these chairs. I'll be dead soon, but there won't be anyone left to leave once the door opens. I just hope my death keeps the door open for the next group that comes through. I hope my death won't be for nothing. Good luck, Ryan. I'd seen his name on the forums. He was probably the most experienced of us all, and he'd solved all nine rooms,

only to realize that he couldn't escape without a team. I looked over to Robbie, who'd fallen unconscious again. His pulse was rapid, but weak. He was inches away from death. I'm done for, he whispered as he temporarily regained consciousness. Just leave. He passed back out again. And though he hadn't died yet, I couldn't get him to wake back up.

He didn't know that the only way out was for one of us to die. And at that point, telling him, would seem crueler than just letting him die in peace. He'd already saved my life twice during the last two rooms. But the thought of facing the 10th and final room alone was another horrifying beast all on its own. As Robbie started fading into the afterlife, the fireplace turned around, revealing the room. If I lifted Robbie up, it would just close again. So I promised myself to send help as soon as I got out, even though I knew no one could arrive in time to save him.

Thank you for saving my life, I said as I walked away from my half-dead friend. No sooner had I taken a step into the next room, then the fireplace turned to close the wall once again. Robbie had been left behind. The 10th room looked exactly like the lobby where we'd first entered the facility, except for the missing receptionist. There were no missing parts. The entrance door was locked, but not exactly secured.

It was just a normal wooden piece separating me from the outside world. Before I could decide what to do, the monitor turned itself on. Instead of displaying the high scores as it had last time, it just showed a colorful congratulations banner. There was an envelope on the counter where the receptionist had been sitting addressed to me. I opened it up and started reading the letter inside. Dear contestant, you've made it to the final room, the one you will spend the rest of your life inside, however long that may be.

You should be proud to know that you're the only one to have made it this far, but at what cost? The tenth room is your life, and you can go on living it in whichever way you see fit. But the knowledge of the sacrifice made so that you could live will forever weigh upon your soul. Live well, contestant. The door opened, and I was let back outside to the real world. Without a car to get me home, the walk would take two days before I even reached signs of civilization. I alerted the police who were hesitant to believe me, but they still agreed to check it out. But at the time they got there, the entire facility had been emptied out.

All that remained was the barren inside of what looked like an ordinary warehouse. Lewis and Robbie had both died, and I will live the rest of my life with the knowledge that it could have been me. Thanks for listening. If you're tuning in on Apple Podcast, please take a minute to leave a review. Your review directly helps the podcast grow and allows me to continue coming out with the best horror stories on the Internet. Thank you so much.

Lasagne sur-gillet, puissance-molyne for 15 minutes. We're like it's their dojo. Pre-to-Joo! Vive the pleasure with Leo Jo! The casino in line that proposes the more recent machine-assed and games of casino in direct.

Profite of 50 tours gratu on Big Bas Bonanza, without exigions of misgisance and with payments instantane. Hey, I've got gained! Woo-hoo! Senture the pleasure Play-O-Joe

18-8 and plus 1, first, 1st, Exclued in Ontario. 50 tours gratu on the machine a sub-bac-bass Bonanza,

depot minimum of 10 dollars. Veil to play to be the same responsible. The conditions apply.