7 Unsettling Creepypastas To Chip Away At Your Remaining Sanity

okay so a little bit of necessary backstory I recently moved to the city from a small town I know it's pretty much the most cliche thing I could have done I suppose I just thought the change in scenery would somehow help me grow as a person but getting away from everyone who knows who I am would somehow help me find who I really am it seemed like the right choice at the time I mean it's got to be a cliché for a reason right now I realize that it's just left me up the creek without a paddle or even a leg to stand on but I suppose there's not much I can do about it at this point I'm not gonna tell you which city I'm talking about just a heads up I don't believe it's particularly important for the story plus I'm not particularly keen on the idea of sharing my location with strangers on the Internet I've made enough mistakes lately and I don't plan on adding anymore enough about that though so as you might expect with moving somewhere new there are plenty of problems that cropped up throughout the entire process I was more or less able to plan for most of them I had visited the city a few times throughout the move in order to meet with my landlord and take care of other busy work while I was too busy to do much exploring or socializing made more or less familiarized myself with the area of the city I would be living in at least with that and the assistance of the Internet of course I found myself well equipped to handle the move smoothly enough there was one issue that I managed to overlook though and that was the noise you see while I had visited the city a few times I had never actually stayed overnight into my first evening in the new apartment as such I had no sense for how loud a city could be in the middle of the night on top of that the area that I moved into in particular had a rather active nightlife I was home to several very popular nightclubs it was often the case that the streets were still bustling past midnight and even into the early morning this would have been an issue for anyone of course but it was even more so for me since I was an incredibly light sleeper I maybe could have just moved to a different area looking back on it now I somewhat regret the fact that I didn't however when he was tight enough already following the initial move and I wasn't eager to add on to that burden I could have made do but I was too stubborn to give in that easily as such I said about finding a way to deal with the noise I tried a few different things but eventually settled on a pair of decent noise cancelling headphones and some background noise / music to help drown out the din from outside it worked relatively well though I didn't need a bit of time to get used to it I had trouble sleeping occasionally in the dead silence of my hometown so trying to sleep in a literal sea of sound was a bit difficult to adjust to at first I cycled through a couple different options of what to play in the headphones searching whatever audio would work the best for me regular music didn't work too well for me the song changes every few minutes ribbit jarring the vocals were too distracting I tried out some background noise like rain or wind but it didn't quite do a good enough job of drowning out the outside noise white noise did a pretty good job of drowning out the outside noise but something about it made me incredibly tense and I couldn't relax while listening to it eventually I ended up settling on those lo-fi hiphop live streams / playlists you can find on YouTube I found the music incredibly relaxing and since the streams run 24/7 I never had to worry about it turning off and me it wasn't perfect and I still had the occasional difficulties falling asleep but it was manageable everything changed though when I found this one peculiar stream I switched the round the streams I listened to occasionally trying to keep things fresh I found that a lot of them end up looping the same music after a while so I'd eventually get tired of them if I use the same stream for too long it's become a bit of a trend lately so I didn't exactly have a shortage of streams and playlists to choose from the quality wasn't exactly consistent through the board so it was a rather hidden Mis process but I'd come across a few diamonds in the rough every now and then some of which would often have surprisingly low view counts this particular stream seemed to be one of those at any point in time there were only three to five people watching and none of them never seemed to talk in chat the channel only had about ten subscribers or so and only a couple hundred views barely anyone seemed to have seen the stream before and it was only after an hour or so of idle digging that I happen to stumble across it the quality of the music itself though was absolutely remarkable the songs were all interesting unique and by artists I've never heard of before once I found it I knew I had to give trying to fall asleep to it a try and that very night I did just that and I fell asleep immediately that barely ever happens for me I woke up that morning feeling the most rested I've ever been in my entire life I was astonished was it just a fluke or was the stream the cause needless to say I tried it again the next night and once again I slept great I started listening to nothing but that stream a night of the night I kept having some of the best sleeps of my life work was going great I was finally beginning to settle in and feel comfortable in my new home in the city everything seemed to finally be going just how I wanted it to if it wasn't my stupid cat I may have just gone on like that forever never realizing what was it going on I woke up that night to the sound of breaking glass and the pitter-patter of little feet on my hardwood floor it took me a moment to realize what had happened disoriented as I emerged from a very deep sleep slowly my tired mind began to process what had happened I remember the glass I'd foolishly forgotten on my counter and realized that my cat had lightly knocked it over sighing i sat up in my bed surprised that the sound had even woken me up it was then that I noticed that the headphones had slipped from over my ears before I found the live stream this was an issue I regularly had to deal with they would slip off as I slept and it wouldn't be long afterwards that I would wake up even if just enough to groan and slide them back into place I hadn't had that happen in the week since I started listening to the live stream at least not that I'd noticed I'm not sure why this night was different I suppose I just got lucky if he can call it that I was moving to take the headphones the rest of the way off of my head when I noticed something odd there was no music coming out of them I brought them back over my ears the check nope no music I thought at first I might have pulled the cord loose from my laptop in my sleep or something like that but then I did hear something not music but a strange female voice whispering in a language I didn't understand I had no idea what she was saying but something about a tone made me feel uncomfortable it was the sort of tone one might have if they were describing the anatomy of an insect cold mechanical and maybe even a bit of disgust uneasy I turned to face my laptop which lay open on my bedside table the screen facing me it was still open to the live stream where the stream itself was different it had the same title and the same number of viewers five including me however the calming looped video of waves crashing soundlessly against the cliff was gone instead the video was now completely black it wasn't a still image though or at least it didn't feel like one it was a shifting sort of darkness that almost seemed to quiver if that makes any sense looking at it was like looking into the inky depths of the ocean at night certain something is lurking beneath the waves but not being able to see it I couldn't stand to look at it too long quickly averting my eyes it was then that I saw the chat where it had once sat completely empty and unused now it was moving quickly multiple messages being sent every second it seemed that each of the four other people watching were rapidly chatting with each other at a breakneck pace the messages were in a language I couldn't read but if I had to guess I'd say there were maybe in Russian when I leaned in closer to see if I could decipher anything the message has changed they started all repeating the same message to each other over and over again as this started the viewer accounts began to drop one by one until there are only two people watching me in someone else it was when I realized that my webcam was on however that the stream when completely offline now I'm not sure what to make of any of this but I'm scared if I had to guess I'd say that this has been happening every night since I started watching I don't know if it was meant for me I'm pretty sure either way that I've stumbled upon something I was never meant to see I may not know what it is that I've found but I can't shake the feeling that this isn't the end of it the stream hasn't come back online since in the account that was running the stream has been deleted try as I might I can't seem to find any sort of information on what the stream might have been or on anyone else experiencing anything familiar I've taped over my webcam now I feel a bit silly for not having done it sooner honestly it's not like I ever used the thing however in spite of that I can't seem to shake the feeling of being watched I'm sure this paranoia of mine would have worn off eventually and the whole experience of mine would just fade into memory that's like other weird things I've seen on the Internet however there is one simple fact that keeps me from simply letting go I can't stop myself from sleeping anymore no matter what I try no matter where I am or who I'm with once night falls I'll soon be waking up in my bed the next morning with no memory of how I'd done there it's not just a simple matter of wandering home and passing out though I think I've been sleepwalking too I've woken up to stuff in my apartment having been moved into strange places like having all the furniture pushed into a corner for example I'm certain that I've left the apartment in this state as well though I have no idea where I've been going I've got no idea what to do about any of this honestly and I have nowhere to turn everyone who knows and cares about me is hundreds of miles away I'm alone here so I've turned once more to the Internet for help please has anyone ever experienced anything like this does anyone know anything about what's happening to me does anyone know what's going to happen to me you I've heard a lot of conspiracies about the Everglades City earthquake Florida is tectonically stable that's true the government was testing a super weapon that's not true still I admit that most of the theories play off legitimately peculiar facts and murky circumstances the government was doing something there before the quake there was an oddly quick response and developed evacuation plan from the National Guard and there was very little mainstream coverage of the disaster conspiracy theorists descended upon these facts like wolves fighting over scraps but you know what I don't seem mentioned in the internet forums you know what never gets brought up in those late-night 4chan threats the injury count I see the list of fatalities all the same 53 men women and children all wiped from the earth 53 deaths zero injuries ask yourself how that happens how could dozens of people be killed by falling debris in car accidents and not a single one be treated for serious medical issue they either got out unscathed or they died I know how I was in Everglades City two days before the incident I'm going to sound insane crazier than the conspiracy theorists but this is true I was 18 years old my parents wanted a romantic cruise to kick off that post child-rearing years and even though I wasn't quite out of their hands they figured it wasn't worth waiting until I went to college so I got done to my grandma's cabin in the middle of nowhere Florida for all of June and most of July I wasn't too bond because the swamps around the house were perfect for catching fish and observing alligators and I had my own little raft it got a bit lonely sometimes because Everglades City was 25 minutes away with a population of about 300 people all quiet church-going busy bodies too and no woman under the age of 30 shame but I had my notebook tacklebox an adventurous spirit a combination that kept me going it was June 15th when the trees first shifted my grandma actually noticed it first Lloyd does something about the backyard Seaton off to you I didn't even glance up from a cereal no grandma but when I walked out the back door fishing rod in hand something was definitely wrong it took me a second but then I registered what had happened the thin twisted pines that grew in the woods behind my grandma's place were about five feet closer to the house all of them from what I could see the tree line had shifted for all of our neighbors to the house ins of feet down the road the dirt in between the house and the trees was raised like the entire ground near the trees were pushed towards the house it was hardly noticeable without inspection just enough to really unnerved me like the forest was advancing upon us I continued on my way noting that the shift in the trees seemed to be about fifty feet wide and there was a small ditch where the earth had moved apart after I'd left the dry ground behind and began happily fishing I forgot about the trees but when I grounded my raft and walked back to my grandma's house for the night I felt the ground shake briefly barely but it shocked the days pass like that for about two weeks I'd wake up look at the stretch of land as I walked into the woods and ignore the occasional tremors that wide stretch of ground continued to move closer to the house and the gap between a shifting land and the rest of the woods continued to grow with azzam became so wide that I had to put several planks across it as a bridge one day July 2nd if I remember correctly I was out on my raft fishing a large open area of the swamp the water in this area was surprisingly clear and I tried tenting several large bass to grab my law and any drop tie rod and I heard it a resonating groan so deep I felt it vibrating the water around me it boiled up from the land and hung in the air a low Rumble that made my hair stand on end it stopped after a minute and after five the Burton insects started to sing again I sat standing my raft before leaning over the edge to Clare down the smooth flat bottom of the pond what the hell is going on down there I whispered to myself that question wasn't truly answered for a while but I got a few hints oddly enough they came from a local drunk I was walking out of church on Sunday July 7th when I heard a few grumbles by devout ladies about that man over there I turned a look at a hunched figure against the church wall he was mumbling about the apocalypse saying stereotypical catchphrases like the end is near I felt a little bad for him but prepared to continue with my day that's when I heard him say the ground won't stop moving curious I walked over to him what did you just say ah nothing man he stammered I was gonna leave I ain't do nothing relax what did you say about the ground moving he slurred his words listen boy there's things out in the swamps all sorts of things they talk about alligator men there ain't no alligator men but there's gar people men with the faces of gar and scales and their bodies I remember thinking that the man was clearly insane I turned and walked back to my concerned grandma from behind me I heard him say it there's Giants buried there the rumbling continued throughout the next week after which the forest always became silent for several minutes I lost sleep staring at my ceiling wondering what was out there my memory around one incident is hazy it might have been a dream but I recall going into the kitchen around 2:00 a.m. one night and seeing the ground in the backyard swell as in the entire portion that had been inching towards the house it slowly expanded upwards and then fell back after several nights of being unable to sleep I decided to go out and fish at midnight it wasn't my brightest idea but I had to get out of that creaking house the forest crept up on me and the ground shook my bed even if that meant going into the swamp it always felt more comfortable on the water so I grabbed a flashlight and my gear and headed out into the woods I felt a definite slant when I walked over the planks the shifting ground had moved upwards over time that was for sure it took me more than the usual ten minutes to reach my raft moored at the edge of the clear still expanse of water as I paddled into the middle of the lake I noticed two things first that the moon was very bright a large luminous orb that made the bottom of the lake as visible as my hands and second that the swamp was absolutely silent no frogs creaked no cicadas buzzed nothing I felt uneasy it was never this quiet the water was never this still the pond was never this clear I began to turn back and in doing so looked at the bottom of the pond in the smooth silt to my left there was a crease a deep wrinkle that stretched under my raft the realization hit me the grayish bottom of the pond was not silt or mud or stone it was mottled and - and broken by natural features like rocks it was skin and then the crease opened into an enormous eye it was easily 25 feet across gold except for the monstrous horizontal pupils that black pit seized me with terror and I couldn't move as it slid back and forth it must have seen my raft floating above it and for a second I thought I was about to die but then the mottled skin gradually pulled back together the moon illuminated golden bands of the iris and sunk into the black hole of the terrifying pupil until that vast eyelid drifted shut I didn't move for an hour it was only when my raft bumped against the shore that I found the courage that leap out of it and run home I waited until 6 a.m. to beg my grandmother to drive far away and we drove up to my parents house in Kentucky for the rest of the summer mere days after our departure the Everglades City earthquake occurred killing 53 and injuring 0 I don't know about the people in the government but I'm the only regular civilian who ever saw that thing and lived I don't know what his body looked like maybe it had tentacles maybe it was a monstrous worm damn he might even have been a humanoid I don't know but it was miles long there's a lot I don't know but there's one thing I never want to know even though the question rings in my head every night how many more of these things exist to be honest Paul not his name is more of a friend of a friend I met him at a birthday party we were introduced by our mutual friend Jacob and I don't remember how the topic came up but Jacob who had been drinking a little told me that Paul had the quote craziest story ever and insisted that Paul had to share it with me so Paul did I later asked Paul if I could share his story and he agreed so long as I didn't use his name or tell what city and state he lived in at the time Paul was working as an insurance claims guy and occasionally had to work late one night Paul comes home to his apartment opens the door and there it is a tooth laying right in the middle of the floor no blood just a molar sitting on the tile it's got a crack down the side he isn't sure of it's humans because it could be a pig's tooth since they can look similar and there are pig farms in the state Paul knows his neighbor has a cat so he asks her if the cat could have gotten into his apartment and left a present the neighbor says maybe though she doesn't think the cat's has done anything like that before Paul can't figure out a better explanation so he throws the tooth away and shrugs it off as a weird story to tell his friends a week later Paul comes home from work he walks in and there on the counter is another tooth but this one is an incisor and it's bloody freshly bloody there is no way this tooth isn't human so Paul calls the cops they show up look at the tooth and ask questions they start suspecting Paul but after they confirm his alibi they quit bugging him take the tooth and leave evidently the cat had an alibi this time - it looks like someone has broken into his apartment so Paul goes and stays with his parents for a few nights the cops eventually call they've tested the DNA from the tooth but it doesn't match anything on file so they can't ID who the tooth is from it's been a few days so they tell Paul it should be safe to go back to his apartment they'll even drive by a few times during the night Paul agrees but before returning he goes out and buys an alarm system a bunch of security cameras and a gun Paul spends the entire day getting the alarm system and cameras up and running and researching how to use a gun before passing out the next morning he wakes up and realizes he is pretty stinky so he goes through the bathroom and starts the shower he gets in grabs the bar of soap to wash his body and there it is a tooth sticking out of the soap a thin trail of blood dripping onto the shower floor Paul is understandably freaked out he calls the cops over the alarm hasn't been tripped and they all watched the footage from the security cameras but there's nothing they asked if Paul set everything up correctly and he shows him that he has the cops don't know what to tell him one of them even jokes that he looks like the tooth fairy has a new hobby the cops agreed to stake out his apartment that night in the meantime Paul takes the cameras to a shop see if they've been messed with they've got to be right but the lady of the shop can't find any evidence of tampering she tells him the cameras are working perfectly Paul doesn't sleep a wink that night he told me he never left the gun out of his sight it's an anxious night with the cops her outside nothing happens next morning an exhausted Paul finally gives up and trying to sleep and gets out of bed he puts on a robe heads to the kitchen and starts pouring himself a bowl of Cheerios plink he looks down sure enough staring back at him in the middle of a pile of cereal is an unmistakable human tooth with a copper filling and is much bloodier than the first two even some of the Cheerios have stained flecks of dark red Paul is about to have a nervous breakdown right there he's just holding this bowl in his shaking hands and his mind is racing he's installed the cameras he's got an alarm system the cops are outside how the hell is someone getting these teeth into his apartment and as he looks down at this tooth in his cereal bowl that's when it hits Paul no one has been sneaking in during the last few days the blood on the tooth and cereal is too dry the teeth have been in his apartment since before he installed the cameras all has been living with human teeth hidden around him for days he immediately calls the cops over and tells them his theory adding that the blood from the soap was probably tried to the shower had regretted it so he and the cops all started combing through the apartment looking for human teeth like some sort of sick Easter egg hunt they found 23 in total they were hidden in some pretty obscure places Paul says the ones he remembers most were hidden in a pair of socks one in a jar of salsa one taped to the top side of the blade of the fan in his room and one jammed into the opening of a tube with toothpaste he hadn't opened yet the most disconcerting part was when they found five particularly bloody teeth stuck into the wall behind his dresser like tax with a lopsided pin drawn pentagram connecting them all they even found the first tooth the cracked one that Paul had thrown away hidden in a chess set whoever had broken in and gone through Paul's garbage and retrieved it so since Paul's apartments is now a crime scene he has to go back to staying with his folks for what will probably be the foreseeable future he's with them a week and nothing happens one night while still staying with his folks Paul goes that take out the garbage he's just closed the lid when out of the corner of his eye all things he sees movement towards the end of the yard so he turns his head to look there's a figure standing right next to the shed it's too dark to tell who it is but Paul can see the silhouette who's there Paul calls out and the figure starts bucking it straight towards Paul unfortunately for this figure Paul is a bit more than cautious after finding a total of 26 teeth planted in his apartment for the last week in every spare moment even when taking out the garbage Paul has been carrying the gun he bought and Paul has been practicing so Paul shoots the figure the figure cries out and drops to the ground Paul's folks hear the gunshot and turn on the outside lights before rushing out there's a guy in the ground moaning and clutching his arm where Paul had nailed him Paul gets closer gun drawn and Nixa the guy on the ground Paul sees that the guy has dropped something he had been holding a pair of pliers Paul doesn't have a lot of time to think about that though because after a moment Paul realizes that he knows the guy it's a guy that Paul's company insures remember how I mentioned Paul works in insurance evidently the guy had gotten into a wreck and then went to the office Paul worked at demanding a check there was a dash cam showing that this guy had been completely a fault Paul described it as reckless driving but the guy kept insisting denying any responsibility he was lying through his teeth Paul said so Paul who had been the case manager denied the claim Paul says that the guy hadn't been very happy about that so the cops come and arrest the guy as Paul later finds out he'd been arrested in 2011 for the disappearance of a woman but he denied it and was released when there wasn't enough evidence he was arrested again in 2013 for the disappearance of his girlfriend but again denied it and was again released due to a lack of evidence neither woman had been seen since the guy was charged and went to trial for assault only assault nobody could prove that he had been the one to break in and hide all the teeth in Paul's apartment the guy denied it when asked about the pyres he said he was going to use them to break into Paul's parents his house now I don't know much about breaking into places but I'm not sure how much pliers would help the guy even tried to press charges against Paul for unlawful force he said Paul belonged in jail for shooting him thankfully the judge threw that out pretty quickly all the courts he'd get him for was assault and attempted burglary he served his time and after a year and a half he was released on parole a month later he failed to report to his parole officer the authorities are still looking for him Paul moved to another state and changed his name when they later tested the 26 teeth found in Paul's apartment they discovered that they were not from one person evidently they had come from at least nine different individuals dad mom won't get out of the bath my eight-year-old son Lucas informed me with relative colonist as he came downstairs for breakfast oh I raised an eyebrow and curiosity not statements I thought but he didn't seem distressed it was more like he was making an offhanded comment yeah she's just in there I think she's asleep again he explained as he sat down at the table with an exasperated huff I could tell the poor kid was fed up and I couldn't blame him his mother my heavenly wife who's known to pull stunts like this she suffers from bipolar disorder and when she doesn't take her medication and comes down from a high she comes down hard which takes its toll on all of us it gets difficult to explain why mommy doesn't want to come downstairs or why she's always the one to make an embarrassing scene at school events without upsetting the kids but I do the best I can now while I do love her endlessly I also have to admit that it's tiring to deal with and since it's not uncommon for her to pick a part of the house and refuse to move from it for days on end I wasn't really concerned either the only unusual thing is that she would usually choose the bed or the couch as a spot you know somewhere comfortable though I guess I wouldn't put it past that they decide on the bathtub either all right thanks for letting me know champ I'll go get her you just eat your breakfast and keep an eye on Lucy for me okay I instructed and gestured to where his little sister sat on a high chair mashing food around a bowl okay he answered simply he was pretty used to looking after her when my wife wouldn't and when I wasn't home if I'm honest I always felt a twinge of guilt over it but that was little I could do I made my way upstairs to our bathroom so where I could hear my wife singing well more humming really from the bathroom it wasn't a tune I knew though it was melodic and had a hauntingly beautiful quality to it I smiled softly to myself hearing her of course she was singing maybe she was having a good day after all upon reaching the bathroom I knocked lightly on the door before opening it and she answered cheerfully come in hey pumpkin what a what are you doing I asked cautiously unsure that I really wanted to know the answer as I examine the scene before me there were bottles of various soaps thrown all around their contents strewn about the walls and ceiling creating a mosaic splat of goo and the bath mat seemed to be missing from the room entirely the towel rack unbroken beside the bathtub where it had smashed the tiles as it fell which in turn meant that there were tile shards and sprinkles of plaster coating the floor all this chaos while my wife sat in the tub quite happily she smiled up at me as she rested against the back of the tub with it torso and head out of the water she was naturally also completely naked except for a drenched towel that covered her lower half I'm a mermaid now she announced proudly and flopped her legs around under the towel as if they were joined ah I can see that I agreed as I caught on that she'd probably placed the towel there to represent her mermaid tail do you want to join me you can be a merman it'll be so much fun she tried to coach me I mean it sounds good but don't you want to come down and see Lucas and Lucy I bet they'd love to see you I suggested generally trying to convince her no she said firmly and then continued in a sweet voice I don't want to I can see them later just come play the water is really nice my wife insisted I gave a small sigh rubbing my hand over my face and yeah sweetheart have you been taking a medicine I asked as neutrally as I could with my question a smile quickly turned to a scowl and she sneered you don't believe me you never know how to have any fun anymore you're so closed off you're always trying to put me down go away I don't want you in here go away she shouted thrashing and splashing water at me and she screamed she was making quite a ruckus and I was worried the neighbors might hear so I backed out of the room respectfully I could tell that she obviously hadn't been taking her medications and that nothing I could say was going to get through to her while she was in this state so I made the decision that I would get Lucas after school and call my parents to see if they could watch over the kids for a couple of days while I dealt with her mood thankfully my parents are more than happy to look after their grandchildren and judging by the looks in their faces when they came to pick up Lucas and Lucy they probably understood that the reason they were needed was related to Enya with the kids gone I spent the entire rest of the day trying to convince my wife to come out of the bath for the most part she ignored my pleading and instead just continued to sing to herself even going as far as to get louder when I would try to speak in a way her humming was useful since I could hear it from anywhere in the house it meant that I could move about fairly freely and still know that she was okay in the tub when I thought she calmed down a bit I attempted to talk to her again Anja I made you some food do you want to give it a go I asked softly as I carefully re-entered the room she ignored my question and my presence at first folding her arms and continuing to hum so I prompted again it's your favorite salmon with garlic and ginger this at least got a response she turned to me slightly and then growled I'm a mermaid I can't eat fish are you crazy she yelled again and I realized my mistake oh yeah right sorry I apologized quickly and removed the dinner from her sight after that I resolved to try another tactic honey don't you want to get out in a moment so we can change the water it's getting cold by now isn't it I don't care I like it cold she answered bluntly leaving me dumbfounded I never considered that she'd actually want to stay in cold water out of other ideas I settled on turning up the heating in the home in hopes of keeping a warm and left her to splash about and sing to herself the following day I came to check on her early I knew she was still ok because she was still singing but I wasn't prepared for the older that would hit me when I came into the room I realized fairly quickly that she had relieved herself in a bathtub rather than leave the water and the stench was enough to make me gag at this point I resorted to begging her to get out of the bath at least that allow me to change the water but she out rightly refused when I tried to remove her forcefully she kicked scratched and even bit me making it impossible for me to get her out so in the filth she remained she called it the essence of a mermaid I can say without any guilt that I was ready to give up then and there now I know this part will sound stupid of me but I just want you to know that everything ended up fine and that the smell was too much for anyone to enjoy so I left her alone for 10 minutes while I raced down to the store to buy some air fresheners if she wasn't going to let me get rid of the putrid water I at least hoped that she would allow me to hang air fresheners around the place when I returned as I said she was fine still happily humming to herself as she marinated in squalor and I was quick to hang up the air purifiers her smell was by now perforating the house is a wonder the neighbors didn't get a whiff I fell asleep that night inadvertently from exhaustion while listening to a melody and breathing in the sweet charming scent of vanilla when I woke the next morning I rushed to check on her but forgotten about her when I fell asleep and panic gripped me a race to the bathroom and found to my relief that she was still generally alright her skin was getting a little blotchy from the cold despite having the room heated and when I touched her I was horrified with some of the skin that had slapped off yelping in surprise I recalled but she didn't seem to mind it's okay I have to lose my human skin to become a full mermaid she assured me with an unsettling smile oh of course Yeah right quickly agreed not wanting to send her into another rage honestly I thought if she moved about too much like she might if she got mad and started thrashing that all her skin would fall off her limbs like sheep costume it was in those moments that I decided enough was enough I couldn't continue the gentle wait for her to come out of it approach anymore I decided to call in her psychiatrist Samantha it was my hope that she'd be able to convince my wife to get out of the tub and once I'd explained the urgency of the situation she agreed to come over as soon as she could I paced back and forth as I waited I met her anxiously at the door when I opened it wafting aromas of feces and vanilla hits a square in the face and she scrunched the nose I know I'm sorry in Sonya I tried to mask it I apologized quickly where is she she asked with a nod of understanding upstairs first on your left can't miss it just follow the singing I instructed Samantha gave me a strange look when I said this her expression was somewhere between confusion and uncertainty though she didn't say anything else as she headed upstairs to find my wife she probably didn't believe me it did sound a little outlandish if I'm honest with myself and I trailed her anxiously it's fair to say the days past had really taken their toll on me and I was by now little more than a nervous wreck but I wanted to be there when Samantha confronted my wife about her delusions when we reached the bathroom Samantha pushed the door open slowly and softly called my wife's name the seconds after passed tensely as she received no response and I saw her eyes grew wide as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand I could tell she was entering shock I know maybe I shouldn't have left it this long to call you but she was insisting on staying in the tub can you help her I confessed and asked uncertainly her help her she stammered turning to me her expression relying both disbelief and horror I could see that behind her eyes her thoughts were traveling at a million miles an hour as she tried to catch up to what she was seeing and something in a mannerisms got to me and I began to panic my heart began to thump heavily inside my chest it seemed like the world was suddenly spinning more slowly and his gravity crushed down on me I realized that Anja was silent for the first time in days frantic I pushed past mentor to gain and dream to the room where I saw for the first time the truth the room was destroyed signs of a struggle were evidently everywhere I looked and my wife was there motionless and it came in the tub she was half submerged in the water leaning back against the tubs edge her eyes were glazed over and she stared at me lifelessly the water around her her putrified and she had dark marks and a throat and his skin was swollen with liquid slowly the realization dawned on me that she had been dead for days now and I swallowed hard as I looked over my own body the scratches on my arms the bruises the bite marks she had tried to fight the circus just appeared one day perched in the parking lot behind the mall and painted signs cropped up overnight like gaudy weeds displaying sneering clowns and roaring Tigers the largest circus on earth one night only the Flyers cover the walls at school was stuffed into every mailbox I'll have tire streaks with a pile of them as guys and I raced the beach wherever I looked brightly colored papers merged with a dead leaves swirling through the air printed with a portrait of a cheerful looking man wearing a goofy top hat well Shawn this might be your best shot gasps cackles as a bikes hits end and we began to slow down how are you cartwheels I kick some sand up at him which only made him laugh harder gas was always giggling about something it was part of the reason we clicked so well no one else could stand him come on imagine covering up that disaster in your head with the rainbow wig the girls would just die he shrieked keep laughing I told him am i just considerate to be honest I already was considering it I had been planning half seriously I'm running away from home and joining a circus didn't sound half bad I was 16 at the time bored to death by small-town living and aching to leave my parents in the dust did I have a plan no but I was fueled by home alone styled stories of kids making it in the city with a credit card and common sense plus I could do a pretty good cartwheel Wow half the school must be out here Gaz observed shaking me from my musings I followed his gaze to the party happening near the water he was right even in the fading lights there are a lot of faces I recognized a few upperclassmen approached us when we got closer hunched over like cartoon bodybuilders you two supposed to be here the bigger one asked we glanced at each other you don't know us that's Regan i gestured towards gas club president and this is jazz wipe Vice club president Gaz wheezed Lisa invited us that's the other reason we clicked so well ever since we'd met we'd been playing this game coming up with the dumbest fake names we could think of whenever we met new people whoever's cover got blown first had to buy the other one a soda stupid I know but it had gotten me a lot of sodas to the guys letters pass without comments and we merged with the crowd of kids on the beach I was surprised that how many of them were talking about a circus even the bro circle had supplemented their usual discussion about boobs that felt with talk of what kind of boobs the tightrope walker would have you know for balance purposes it was very scientific gasps and I threw around a few more pseudonyms for fun but most people were too drunk or preoccupied to call either of us out either time we saw the guys from earlier we pretended to be looking for Lisa until they passed I guess there were designated guards or something at some point Silas gasps to the Horde of swaying teens in between songs I could hear his stupid shrieking laughter which made me feel sorry for whoever had made his next victim abandoned I build up a little and sat on a piece of driftwood looking over the water it was really getting dark now so much so that I didn't even notice the two girls that sat beside me until they spoke what's your name they said in unison scaring me half to death nickel for word I mumbled looking helplessly between them I noticed immediately that they were twins long strands of black hair framed identical pale faces too pale like they were wearing face paint my eyes fixated on the frilly to toot around their waist and the strobe stockings had clung to their legs you guys go to Garfield High I asked actually my sister and I belonged to the circus said the one on the right we open tomorrow night said the one on the left oh yeah everyone's talking about it we didn't get a lot of excitement around there must suck getting stuck with promotion right they looked at me strangely left he spoke first no we wanted to come out here we thought a party looked like fun it's been so long since we've hung out with kids our age her sister shot her a look and she shut up right she finished she means that we've been so busy it's hard to get out much you know but you really should come what did you say your name was um I forgot my alias classic but just before I gave myself away I felt a hand touched down on my shoulder this right here is the Great forest woods no relation to tiger gasps giggles sorry you ladies had to deal with him he's real broody isn't he he popped down between lefty and me nearly knocking her off the seat right he frowned silent accusations hardening her features no I thought it was something else a gays burned into me her eyes seemed bigger than before her own shame entered my bloodstream like when your mom catches you doing something wrong for a second that's exactly how I felt like a little kid caught in a lie I almost told her my real name but her sister beat me to the punch anyway it was really nice meeting you too hopefully we'll see you at the circus tomorrow I watched them walk back up the beach towards the main road gas whistled a bit then broke out in a fit of laughter usually the sound was mildly annoying but the party was starting the thin and the bonfire was being put out and my friends wild high-pitched wails were more unnerving than anything else if you told me that next Olympics were going to feature competitive shark wrestling that would have been more believable and what my parents said at breakfast the next morning have you seen the circus up by the mall Darrell my mom chirped yeah I mean the boys are talking about it at work yesterday I was thinking we go see what it was about as a family you know admission is free that's how they were even though I was sitting right there slurping up cereal they talked like I wasn't even in the room I cleared my throat loudly twice you're right Sean I hope you're not getting sick I'm fine mom and since when are you and dad into circuses my real question was since when are you and dad into anything they shrugged looks like fun plus a couple of lovely girls stopped by the other night to give us flyers they said it'll be very educational my mom said I tried not to choke on cereal I tried to tell myself that they'd probably just gone door-to-door yeah it wasn't like that sought out my house specifically it wasn't even possible still I couldn't shake the dread that crept into my fingertips and made this spoon too heavy to lift did you tell them anything my dad scoffed they're not cops Sean we just said we'd love to come see the show your mother even gave him one of her famous cupcakes but no buts we're going to have a nice family evening and you're not getting out of it but like in the kitchen seemed to die out as if on cue a strange flyer fluttered past the window I watched it with a frown at that point I made up my mind that I was going to run away for real and if I had to go to this thing maybe I really could take advantage of it even if they were just looking for someone to clean out the elephant pen I turned back to my parents can I bring gas they groaned loudly which I took to mean yes three hours of hostage crisis level negotiation it was agreed that gas and I would ride our bikes to the circus and meet my parents in the stands actually his parents are going to but they were more than happy to dump their son with us sometimes I felt kind of bad for him to be honest but he didn't seem to mind on our way there I told him about the two girls and got a similar story back from him I was relieved they'd gone door-to-door after all my horse had told him I plan to skip town which admittedly wasn't much of a plan really I was just going to ask the ringmaster for a job after the show and hope for the best like I said I was running on movie magic guys told me my plan was stupid and then immediately offered to help his job was to distract my parents he was a good friend when we arrived the parking lot was swarming with people the entire town must have been there dead leaves and fires chalked the air the smell of cotton candy and popcorn replaced any oxygen making me dizzy above us the big top loomed red and white stripes tapering into a sharp point at the top with dozens of cheap carnival games scattered about it a few dirty looking clowns patrol the games handing fluffy toys with big gloved hands I tried to picture myself as one of them and felt sick but still I was determined gasps and I parked our bikes and walked up to the Ticket Master names he said Midsomer shyamalan gasps giggled and this is my buddy but before he could invent a name for me I interrupted him Josh grant I blurted out I still don't know why I said it I don't know why I played it safe I just know that something deep inside me told me that I needed to be convincing the Ticket Master nodded at me wrote my name on a shiny ticket and passed it through the window then he narrowed his eyes at my friend your real name gasps glared at me then said very slowly garrison Fields we had this rule see that if your cover got blown you had to give up your real name it was supposed to be a punishment like giving away a piece of yourself I think about this rule a lot I think about this moment a lot you're an asshole you know that right gas punch me in the arm as we walked into the tent that doesn't count you have to earn your soda I just nodded trying to shake away the fog of Carnival convections I met up with my parents and the show quickly began ladies and gentlemen welcome to the largest circus on earth our members are very pleased to see your faces but be advised there will be audience participation a troupe of clowns danced into the ring breaking out into cruel laughter and honking they're tiny horns I guess the gag was that they were prisoners or slaves or something because of the comically large shackles attached to the legs whenever the ringmaster approached them they all made a big show of screaming and carrying behind each other at one point the ringmaster pulled out a whip and pretended to hit them with it I flinched at the sound of its snapping in the air but the audience was eating it up even my parents were howling with laughter slapping their thighs as they watched I forced the Chuckle from my lips suddenly very self-conscious finally the clown's retreated and were replaced by ballet dancers I recognized the twins among them leading the rest of the performers only not everyone was in costume in fact most of the dancers were dressed like suburban arts or wearing business clothes pages ranged from ancient to elementary schools all moving together one older woman tripped and landed face first on the floor where she was trampled by her teammates gasps was doubled over in hysterics beside me I felt sick I get waiting for her to get up she looked so frail white and withered one of the twins looked back at her and she finally picked herself up she rejoined the dancing and I tried to laugh at the way her legs bent orchid Lee backwards by the halfway point I was rethinking my plans short skirted vendors prowl the stands offering sugary snacks and what's your name cutie uh Josh grant a tub of cotton candy was shoved into my lap I placed a comp event into my mouth and almost gagged it was stale sour but when I turned to complain the vendor had already moved on I looked around my parents were sharing a large tub of popcorn except they weren't really eating it no one was really eating and stuck into containers and brought the contents - laughing lips only to have them fall right out of the mouth and onto the floor I watched the gasps crying cotton candy into his teeth unable to stop giggling long enough to chew my head was light I looked back in my own container and gasped the pink Treat was gone replaced by a thin layer of black mud and a pile of dead leaves I touched my fingers to my lips and they came away black now I really did gag dude something's wrong I shall gasp by his shoulders I think we should ditch but he just kept laughing not even looking at me it has come on I'm being serious Louis it doesn't assert men we're eating fire or trying to anyway Daz I shoved him hard his skull made a sharp thud on the wooden bench but he just kept cackling like an idiot tears rolled down his face his cheeks were red white fingers clutched at his side but he kept going glued to the action my parents were the same everyone was I wanted to stand up and scream what's so funny but a cold fist formed my stomach and kept me still kept to quiet the show continued I have to be honest it really was the largest circus on earth thousands of people dragged themselves through various stunts and tricks but it was as if they hadn't been trained on any of it there were no costumes no one was smiling the magician wept as he could a woman in half no box or anything I'm sorry he kept mouthing and a smell of blood joined the tango of sugar and butter I couldn't breathe I couldn't watch but a pair of clowns was guarding every exit for some reason I felt like I was being monitored trying to stop the wetness in my eyes I don't a fist into my tub of dead leaves and flung them at my mouth allowing them to stick to my chin I laughed at the horror in front of me until my cheeks hurt rocked back and forth in my seat tried to stop looking around the smell of urine wafted up and I noticed that the man in a seat below mine had peed himself not that he seemed to mind finally after hours the ringmaster made an announcement ladies and gentlemen it's time for audience participation he held a box of shiny tickets when I call your ticket come on down the room went silent how do I mean people stop laughing because they didn't it was like their voices simply went quiet hold on dear Felicity chambers Gabi days I watched people suddenly jerk onto their feet staggering towards the center stage with shaky lurching steps a parade of puppets David Browne Darrell Conners Linda Connors my parents stood up I couldn't help myself I threw my body at them holding on to their legs like a little kid begging them not to go a few clowns looked in our direction but I ignored them mom dad please please don't you get it something's wrong with these people we have to go home now but they kicked me off with full strength I flew back into gasps whose face was still contorted into silent laughter garrison fields no no please you can't I screamed in his ear for the smallest fraction of a second I swear he looked at me I'll never forget the pain in his eyes the fear and then he stumbled down towards the ring everyone did Josh grant I stood up for a moment the world worked in slow motion I watched my family march through the ring a girl one of the twins and then my dad a clown nose another one was showing my mother how to dance lazily very stupidly I noticed several pairs of twins doing the same to the rest of the crowd several pairs of the same twins one Andy gasps a flaming baton the ringmaster smiled up at me and found as I stood motionless his eyes seemed too big his features too sharp that's not my name a screeched at the top of my lungs then I ducked my head and ran ran through the stands through the red and white curtains a felt coarse and dry against my skin out into the parking lot right pounced on my bike and hurtled down the main road screaming and crying and trying to remember how to breathe I waited for my parents the rest of the night uselessly of course I waited to hear the sounds of cars starting up I waited to hear familiar voices all uselessly stacks of fliers were blown against my windows faced up one night only I read I screamed to break the silence largest circus on earth I read the next morning I pedaled back to the mall not knowing what I was expecting the place was deserted no tent no games no ticket booth just rows upon rows of parked cars and overturned bicycles a thin layer of dead leaves blanketed the ground where the big top had been I stood there for a long time unable to comprehend the bitter irony of it all I had planned to join the circus but everyone else had instead the realization slack in my knees a wild hysterical giggle burst from my lips no I mumbled between peals of laughter no no no I sank to the ground shaking this isn't happening I don't know how long I stayed there staring at the spot where everyone in my town had been taken I don't know how long I waited for some sign of life and I don't know when the laughter turned to sobs what do you think's down there Julian asked as he leaned over the open hatch from where we were stood and the high sand berm we could see down to the floor but nowhere else the interior walls were concrete and covered in graffiti all the way down the 15-foot shaft probably like a dead homeless guy or something Dylan said he left when he said it to prove that that kind of thing didn't scare him there were thick metal posts sticking out from one side of the concrete where the ladder used to be but the wrongs were no longer attached Luis crawled over to the edge and started lowering his legs down onto the first set dude what are you doing I asked hoping he wasn't planning to climb down there if he did it we'd all have to follow and I really did not want to he looked up at me as if my question was stupid I'm gonna go check it out might be something cool down there it's obviously safe if other people climbed down here to spray graffiti right he replied with a perfect confidence of my best friend it was only the second step down when he lost his footing and slipped we three above watched through the hatch as he tumbled the rest of the ten or so feet down hitting the bottom with a thud Luis I shouted which was followed by several other calls down the tube to him his body looked so big crumpled in that narrow shaft he didn't move what felt like an hour in my heart I knew he was dead and his mother would never forgive me but he wasn't dead I heard a groan and Lois rolled over there was blood the bright Sun streamed down almost directly into the hatch and his face looked pale when he looked up at us are you okay Julian yelled down to him there was fair in his question because we all knew he wasn't okay um yeah I think so Louis responded he pushed himself into a near sitting position I prepared to climb down to help him my fear of the place disappeared now that my friend is in trouble I scan the ladder remnant and noticed that they only went down a few steps before totally disappearing this fact had somehow escaped Louis when he decided to climb down I could see all my friends coming to the same realization I just had he wasn't going to climb out the way he'd gone down maybe there's another way out Julian suggested but we'd been climbing all over the old missile site all morning and this was the only hatch we found maybe it hadn't been covered over with tons of dirt like everything else had when it was abandoned or maybe the wind had freed it over time either way it was the sole access point I don't think though we should be wandering around out there without knowing how to get out he could get lost who knows how many tunnels there might be I said we've got to go back to town and get a ladder or rope or something Dylan said leaning back from the hatch and speaking a little quieter than before maybe we should just call the fire department or something they can get him out I suggested but that was immediately and roundly rejected screw that just get something that lifts me out with even Louis wasn't down for the fire rescue he sounded fine so we decided to drive back to town well one of you guys tossed me down the phone before you go so I at least have a light my phone got smashed and I fell he asked none of us wanted to park their phones so we made a silent agreement rock-paper-scissors Julian lost and he reluctantly dropped his down the hole hang tight bro we'll be back he said and we all piled into Dylan's janky Toyota and hauled ass back to town we spent a Leeson hour trying to figure out a way to load Dylan's parentage ladder into his car without looking too suspicious before we decided to just get a rope it was mid-afternoon by the time we got back to the old missile silo Lewis Julian shouted as we neared the hatch his lack of response was the first indication that something was wrong but we didn't start to panic until we saw that he wasn't sitting down there at the bottom of the hole where we'd left him maybe he just moved into the tunnel to get out of the Sun and like past that was something someone will have to go down there to help him back up Dylan suggested Julian and I got ready for rock-paper-scissors but Dylan didn't throw in it's my car we always drive around and it's my dad's rope so I think he's fair if one of you guys do it he said when I protested he had a response don't be a pussy Ron just throw he said angrily there wasn't any point arguing so we went without him I lost they helped tie the rope to my waist and soon I was walking down the concrete wall with the help of my friends on the other end it was noticeably cooler down there even in the shaft of Sun it had been so bright above that it took a few long seconds for my eyes to adjust there was a single short and narrow hallway at the base of the hole the light bounced off the pale concrete and I could see about 15 feet down the hall my friend wasn't within those 15 feet Luis I called he didn't answer he's not down here at all my friends back up at the surface I heard them talking but couldn't really make up the words he's got to be down there dude just look for him he might be hurt Julian shouted down to me he was right maybe Luis was looking for another way out since it took us so long to get back I flipped the light on my phone and started slowly walking the tunnel turned a few times but never otherwise changed it was just a featureless concrete walled path Luis I called frame as I slowly walked deeper and deeper into the underground compound I came to a crossroads I started marking notes into my phone so I would remember the way back when it occurred to me that Louis had Julian's phone it takes of the number and sure enough I heard the faint jingle of Julian's alert it wasn't far I made a left turn and walked maybe 20 feet then texted again I followed the path through several more curves around one last turn I came upon a figure slumped against the concrete Luis I asked but he didn't move I rushed to him fearing he was dead but to my surprise he turned his head were none yet he was pale and shaking hewan he asked scanning my face for recognition I helped him to his feet which he took unsteadily yellowest it's me we could have hoped to get you out are you okay can you walk I asked him checking his legs he nodded and took a couple shaky steps I led him slowly back the way I had come what happened why did you go in so far I asked as we walked I don't know I just got lost he said quietly but why did you go anywhere we told you we were coming back for you I scolded his eyes shut to mine for a brief second before quickly dropping away before I could read them I don't know I got confused I was just looking for a way out he stammered I started to wonder if he had hit his head and the thought urged me to move faster my battery was at 15% when I spotted the faint glow of sunlight ahead Julian Dillon I shouted as we neared suddenly Luis screamed and wheeled several steps back I reached for his arm to steady him but he yanked it away he tumbled to the concrete and crawled backwards where he had just been Luis I shouted quickly overtaking him I grabbed him tightly and gave him a quick shake Louis what are you doing I asked we were back in the darker part of the tunnel and my phone was pressed against my hand and his shoulder but in the dim light his face was a mask of utter terror his eyes were wide and his lips were curled so far away from his teeth but they disappeared luis i shouted and shook him again his eyes found mine and he seemed to calm slightly i can't go up there he whispered the intensity of his voice frightened me to the point that i actually thought i shouldn't go up there either that was stupid what are you talking about Dylan and Julian are waiting to pull us out let's go if we don't they're probably gonna call the fire department or the cops to come out here to rescue us dude I insisted Luis just shook his head staring towards the light you want to have the cops that have to rescue us I asked him sternly his I started from the light back towards the way we had come as if he might run back down there no he whispered come on we're almost there I pulled him gently to the hanging rope my friends are leaning over the hatch and they yelled down at us when they saw us hurry up you assholes tie off and we'll pull you up Dylan said and what the hell took so long Julian added soon I was watching Luis rope around his waist walkin steadily up the wall and disappear a minute later we were all reunited on the surface the Sun was moving toward the west and it felt pleasantly warm up there let's get the hell out of here my parents are gonna take my keys away if I don't get back for dinner Dylan said so we loaded into his car and he dropped us off in turn to our homes Lois insisted he didn't need to go to the hospital and that he wasn't hurt in the fall but that didn't seem possible we didn't want a cause in grief so we just let it go I was hesitant thinking about how he had acted when I tried to get him up the hatch but I decided to chalk all the weirdness up to him having a bad scare when Lois didn't show up for class the next day though I got worried I went straight to his house after school but his mother told me he was fine just feeling a bit sick it was a full two weeks before she finally let me see him she led me up to his room but hesitated before opening the door it seemed like she wanted to tell me something but she never did when she swung the door open I was hit by a horrible smell a mix of unwashed teenager and rancid food it was dark inside the windows were taped up with posters and random pieces of paper and even the sheets from his bed Lewis was sitting on his stroked bed staring off at nothing he wasn't wearing his shirt he looked like he had lost nearly 30 pounds and he wasn't that big of a guy to start with Louis I asked hesitantly the whole scene was sort of freaking me out close the door he whispered I looked back to where his mother was still standing she shook her head she wasn't about to leave us alone and that struck me as odd I'd been to that house a thousand times before and hung out with Lewis in his room alone but this was different something had happened Lewis I have your homework when do you think you're coming back to school I asked approaching the bed he didn't look at me his face was terribly thin but his skin was pulled tightly across his cheeks like he had just enough of it left to cover his bones there was something very wrong with my friend dude are you okay I took a step closer his mother was still standing by the door as if she was guarding him I had the ring of a phone and watched as he tried to decide whether to keep supervising us what to answer it shewill entered and took the call but she didn't go far doctor you have to get him in he can't stay here he's getting worse he needs help she started getting heated and took a step further into the hall when she saw me watching her I touched Louis's arm gently and he looked up at me finally his eyes were dark and sunken and painted it took MA he whispered to me Maryana what are you talking about I asked and it occurred to me that I hadn't seen his sister at school in a couple of days she's down there now in the tunnel he said mom won't listen to me but I know it Tucker it followed me out and now it's got my little sister he said his voice cracked with emotion Luis grabbed my hand suddenly startling me there was an intensity in his eyes that scared me Juan you have to help me we have to get her out of there but you got me out he said drawing very close to me the police we have to call the police I said he shook his head they don't believe me mom called them and they said ma probably just got mad and took off and she'll be back but I know as she is he said they all think I'm crazy that I hit my head but I'm not you believe me don't you Luis script me even tighter as if he could force that belief into me with his hands Luis had sits tried to talk some sense into him but tears began streaming down his cheeks he was desperate please Juan he was the only other one who has been down there you have to find her he insisted I thought about Luis his younger sister ma was not the kind of girl who would just take off she's a star running the track team and a straight-a student she's never been in any kind of trouble and gets along with everyone I knew she wouldn't just take off okay okay I'll go take a look I'll get route if she's down there I said though I wasn't really planning to Luis shook his head I have to go with you I know where it took her he said grown more and more frantic where what took her I asked and he finally let go of my arm he looked away I don't know what it is but it's down there and it'll hurt her I have to go we have to go he said more quietly now this time he shook my head Luis you're not going to be able to climb down there you're barely skin and bones you look kind of wrecked sick you have to get some rest and regain your strength I'm worried about you I said I have to go he raised his voice again and I was taking on a pitch that was high and desperate I was scared for my friend but before I could respond his mother steps back in you're not going anywhere young man dr. Han has agreed to see you in an hour you need to take a shower and get ready to leave she ordered I'm sorry to kick you out like this one but we have an appointment you can come by again tomorrow if you want she said before assuring me out I made eye contact with Luis one last time before she shot his bedroom door he was scared I walked the few blocks to my house considering what my friend had told me he had said something Tucker but wouldn't tell me what the more I thought about it the more I thought there might be something to his story Marv was gone of that I was certain she is a cute teenage girl who runs alone often perhaps it wasn't an it that Tucker but a who someone could have just grabbed her off the street maybe that's what he saw down there in that tunnel some kind of kidnappers hideout I grabbed a long rope from the garage a flashlight and a few bottles of water as I was stepping out the door another thought occurred to me I went back to my parents his bedroom and bought the handgun from the nightstand I know it was stupid but I did it it took some convincing but I got Dylan to drive me back out to the missile site just wait if you don't want to come down with me I told him as we leaned over the hatch I knew he was afraid to go down and I didn't blame him you really think Mara's down there he asked me did you even know she was missing I answered his question with a question he shook his head this whole situation was getting weirder all the time there's something wrong with Lois Dylan said with perfect certainty and I agreed I'm just gonna check because he asked me to then I can tell them she's not there she's probably just that of friends or something I explained but I didn't really believe that fine I'll wait for you just call me if you get into trouble or whatever don't take too long either my parents don't want me out late he said I climbed down the rope into the cool tunnel and flipped on my light the place just how it had before concrete walls blank but for the graffiti that ends in the shaft as if no one ever walked further into the place to paint I started walking taking the same turns I'd taken that day with Lois this time I brought a thick sharpie and drew an arrow at each turn pointing the way home I know what you're thinking I'm an idiot that's definitely true I should have just left this whole thing alone but Lois was so upset I figured I could just take a quick look then at least tell him she wasn't down there I'd be giving him some amount of comfort for his missing sister that's what I thought at least unfortunately she was down there as I neared the last turn from where I had found Lois I heard a noise something was moving around the corner dragging itself along the rough concrete floor maja I whispered the noise continued unchanged by my calling out to it I rounded the turn and my light fell on a thin figure dragging when I recognized immediately as a body I guess reflexively as he let go of the legs they fell flopping to the concrete's you got here faster than I thought you would Louis said as he lunged at me knocking me down and spinning the flashlight across the floor even before he had lost all the weight I had easily 30 pounds of my friend still he was able to maintain control as we struggled drawing on some kind of mad strength he rolled around on the dirty concrete for a few seconds before I managed to get my legs up between us I pressed my feet into his chest and launched him away he was strong but his body was still so light my hand found my father's pistol and I pulled it out and copped it as Lewis took his feet his attack froze the sound and moved a couple steps back keeping the gun aimed at him I grabbed the flashlight and quickly put together what was happening he had been dragging mass somewhere deeper down the tunnel and she was dead my eyes jumped from lowest to his sister's body she wasn't just dead she looked horribly injured it was like something had torn her open and some parts were missing what the hell I said as much as I tried to keep it steady my pistol and shock there was blood on Lewis you weren't supposed to see her I'm sorry I was going to make it quick for you he said quietly make it quick you were going to kill me I shouted I have to warn I'm sorry and Mary Hannah I'm sorry you were held suddenly Lewis struck to his knees and pressed his hands into his face I heard his breath gasping out as he wept I don't know why I did that to my sister I just did he cried it tricked me Lois added between hitching breaths what the hell are you talking about I demanded I was just so scared it gave me something some kind of food down here in the dark Lewis whispered what are you talking about what add food I wasn't following him but I don't think it was food it tricked me into eating it I was so scared and lost now I'm cursed and I'm always hungry just like it is he continued disregarding my confusion I was supposed to bring Marv down here for it but I couldn't was so hungry Lewis said it was starting to become clear why her body was missing parts Louis Jesus do what do you do and then you I thought I was strong enough to bring it down here to feed it then it would release the curse he said shakily Lewis let's get you back up we can figure this out I said trying to control the situation but I could hear the fear in my own voice my friend just shook his head and looked over what remained of his sister no I can't I'm starving I can't make it any further without eating he whispered he gave me a sideways look but I should have been able to read but I wasn't ready for his move my friend spun around and left at me almost faster than I could compute I pulled the trigger reflexively and kept pulling her until it stopped Lewis screamed once more then slumped to the floor I dropped the gun and ran to him his breath was gurgling at the side of his chest I rolled him over and he grunted as I did thanks bro he said and smiled Oh put me you have to kill him he got me when I was vulnerable you're stronger than me you can do it what are you talking about I asked him but he didn't say anything else his last breath bubbled out of the hole I'd shot into him and that was it I looked around the hallway where I sat with two dead friends and decided quickly that there was nothing else I could do and the police would have to deal with everything I stood and as I turned to walk back to the hatch I heard a sound the tiniest whisper of breath ran across my neck I swiped at it spinning around and around there was nothing there with me but it felt like there was one I have something special for you aren't you hungry a voice so gentle and faint it almost wasn't a voice at all found me down there in the dark it was inviting and I wanted to follow it to see what treated a hug for me my light fell on Lewis denim MA and I pressed my hand against my ears and ran the Rope was still hanging when I got to the hatch Dillon had tied it to the top and I climbed as quickly as I could the air was dry and cool when I got out night had come while I was down there Dillon I shouted then spotted his car he popped out from the driver seat and rushed to me dude what happened down there he asked I spotted blood on his arm Lewis he bit me he said still in shock sure enough there was a human bite-sized chunk taken out of his arm let's get the hell out of here I said and we did they found Louis's mother and a car not far from the missile site she was dead torn open and covered in bite marks they haven't found Luis yet but they've confirmed his teeth marks on her body the police are assuming he killed his sister as well even though they haven't recovered her body Luis is on the run could have even crossed the border already so they say I told Dillon and Julian the whole thing they didn't believe me at first but didn't came around pretty quickly but bite on his arm helped him to understand we drove out to the site for two days straight and filled the shaft with dirt and buried the hatch it was hard work but we had to do it I was sorry to leave Luis down there more sorry to leave Mariana but it was better than letting anyone else go down there I don't know what it is the thing that cursed Louis as he said maybe it was just some kind of head injury or other madness the sound of that inviting voice still comes to me though and I don't think I'm crazy I think it's real maybe it's some kind of opportunist creature we don't know about I found a nice cool dark spot to take up residence there in the tunnels or maybe it's something that has been there all along and like the Balrog we dug into its deep place and let it out either way we sealed it back down there at least until the next idiots find an open hatch somewhere in the desert and dare each other to go exploring

Channel: CreepsMcPasta

Views: 148,973

Rating: 4.8114753 out of 5

Keywords: creepypasta, creepy pasta, creepypastas, reddit, creepypasta reading, horror stories, creepsmcpasta, horror, scary story, Scary Stories, creepypasta stories, paranormal, asmr, podcast, nosleep, audiobook

Id: oa8K3bR-VAQ

Length: 104min 14sec (6254 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 10 2019