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Nightfall Crypt
  • 6/17/2025
Transcript
00:00There are moments in life that feel like someone else's memory.
00:04Something distant, warped, like watching a dream projected through a fogged-up lens.
00:12That's how I remember Jacksonville.
00:15At least, that part of it.
00:18When I moved there at 18 with a friend from high school, Jules, we weren't chasing anything.
00:26We were running from everything else.
00:30I think we both liked the idea of starting over in a place where no one knew our names.
00:35We didn't have much, just a rusting car, a couple of rent checks, and a trailer two blocks from the Saint.
00:44John's River, the kind of place where floorboards groaned at night, and the walls felt thin enough to breathe through.
00:53Initially, it was almost perfect.
00:55We stayed up too late, drank warm beer, and ate dry cereal straight from the box.
01:01It wasn't glamorous, but it was free, or it felt that way.
01:06However, there is a specific type of quiet that doesn't come from peace.
01:12It comes from emptiness.
01:14And that quiet makes you crave noise, people, and distractions.
01:18So we downloaded some apps.
01:21Not dating.
01:22Just one for finding friends.
01:24We were desperate for some form of human connection in this desolate place.
01:33Most of what we found was anything but.
01:36Jules would swipe and show me bios that read like warnings.
01:40Men are twice our age, claiming to be young at heart.
01:45A guy whose first message was just a photo of raw steak.
01:49Another, who asked if we wanted to come feed his snakes.
01:54It was a mess.
01:56Then came him.
01:58And yet both Jules and I matched with him.
02:02Different profiles.
02:03Different conversations.
02:04Same guy.
02:06His profile picture was harmless.
02:08Nerdy, even.
02:09Square glasses.
02:11A soft smile.
02:12Clean clothes.
02:13He looked like someone's cousin who helped fix your Wi-Fi at Thanksgiving.
02:17But there was something off about him.
02:21Something that made us both deeply uneasy.
02:24And yet, both Jules and I matched with him.
02:29Different profiles.
02:30Different conversations.
02:32Same guy.
02:34We thought it would be funny to vet him from two angles.
02:38Cross-check how he talked to each of us.
02:40But he was consistent.
02:42Awkward, but polite.
02:45Lonely, but not pushy.
02:47He said he lived 20 minutes away and didn't drive.
02:51He lived with his parents.
02:54It's not ideal, but it's not threatening.
02:57We figured, what the hell?
03:00We'd pick him up and hang for a bit.
03:03Nothing crazy.
03:05Just drinks and stories.
03:07It was dark by the time Jules was ready.
03:11She always took her time.
03:13Eyeliner-like armor.
03:14We joked about it while I drove until the city began to dissolve behind us.
03:19And the night crept in like mold under wallpaper.
03:23The roads got quieter.
03:26The lights thinned.
03:28Then they vanished entirely.
03:30The GPS led us farther than expected.
03:34I kept checking the screen.
03:36Certain we'd missed a turn.
03:37But the blue dot kept moving, deeper into nowhere.
03:42You sure this is right?
03:44Jules asked.
03:46I mean, it's what he sent.
03:48Our laughter, though forced, failed to fill the thick silence that enveloped us.
03:55The darkness outside the car seemed to have a tangible weight, and the trees, like silent
04:02sentinels, leaned in too close to the road as if eavesdropping on our conversation.
04:08The last stretch was gravel, barely more like worn tire grooves cut through overgrown weeds.
04:16On either side, the forest pressed in, quiet and unmoving.
04:22That's when we saw it.
04:25A gap in the trees revealed a crooked mailbox and a scratched fence near what looked like his driveway.
04:31I almost drove by, thinking it was either private property or abandoned.
04:38The headlights barely reached past the entrance.
04:41I slowed and turned in.
04:44Instantly, the wheels crunched over broken glass and old beer cans.
04:49The path was overgrown and uneven.
04:53Branches slapped at the windows.
04:55A chill seeped in through the air vents, despite the air conditioner being off.
04:59I hate this, Jules muttered.
05:04I hate this already.
05:07Just a little further, I said.
05:11But I didn't believe myself.
05:14We came to a bend in the drive.
05:17The road disappeared behind a curtain of vines.
05:21I stopped the car.
05:23There was no house.
05:24There is no porch light, no sign of civilization.
05:27Just silence, so thick it felt like pressure on the skin.
05:33I texted him.
05:35Hey, we're here.
05:37He read it.
05:39They didn't reply.
05:41Minutes passed.
05:43Jules drummed her fingers on the door handle.
05:46Her movements sharp and fidgety.
05:48Let's just go, she said.
05:52This is sketch.
05:54Then came the thump.
05:56Something hit the back of the car.
05:58Not hard, but intentional, like a knock.
06:02It sent a shiver down our spines.
06:05We froze.
06:07My hand hovered near the gear shift.
06:09Was that a branch?
06:12I asked, already knowing it wasn't.
06:16I didn't see anything, she whispered.
06:20I turned in my seat and noticed that the rear window was fogging up from the inside.
06:26Something had changed in the car's atmosphere.
06:30It felt like someone was watching me.
06:31And then he was there, at Jules' window, smiling, the glasses, the pastel shorts, the turtleneck.
06:43He was there, at Jules' window, a surreal figure in his glasses, pastel shorts, and turtleneck.
06:51It was as if he had materialized out of thin air, a jarring presence in the quiet night.
06:57She let out a gasp that choked into silence.
07:02I leaned forward, lowering the window just an inch.
07:06Hey, I said, trying to sound calm.
07:11Didn't see you there.
07:13He didn't respond.
07:16He twitched his head and placed a hand on the door handle.
07:19Still locked.
07:21Back seat's open, I offered.
07:24Hop in.
07:25I hit unlock.
07:27He disappeared behind the car.
07:30Then, the rear door opened beside me.
07:33And he got in.
07:35He sat down without saying a word.
07:38His breathing was erratic, like he'd sprinted a mile to reach us.
07:42Then, without warning, he laughed.
07:46It wasn't a normal laugh.
07:48It sounded nasal, strained, and artificial as if he were performing what he thought a laugh should sound like.
07:56Jules gave me a look in the rearview mirror.
07:59I caught it and gave her the subtlest nod.
08:03Yeah, this was weird.
08:03Yeah, this was weird.
08:05I pulled the car into reverse, carefully navigating the mud, my tires slipping for a second before finding a purchase.
08:14All the while, he rambled.
08:16All the while, he rambled.
08:17Not conversation, just noise.
08:20Disjointed observations, thoughts about static electricity, something about water pressure in older homes.
08:28He was saying these things like they mattered, like we should be taking notes.
08:33When we finally got back to the main road, the city lights spilled into the windshield like a sigh of relief.
08:41We stopped at a gas station a few blocks from our place.
08:45It was brightly lit and busy, comforting in its ordinariness.
08:50I needed gas, and they both said they wanted to grab something inside.
08:57He stepped out first without saying anything.
09:00Jules followed but lingered by the car, digging in her bag for her wallet.
09:07We both chuckled.
09:09Not about anything in particular.
09:12Just that nervous sort of laughter you fall into when something unspoken is pushing down on both of you.
09:19Then it happened.
09:21A group of women outside the station began laughing hysterically, loud, cackling, unfiltered amusement.
09:31One of them pointed at him as he neared the door.
09:34Y'all wrong for letting that man out the house like that, she shrieked, and the others doubled over with laughter.
09:44We were unsure about what to do.
09:48It was no longer funny, especially given how red his face had turned and how stiffly he walked
09:54into the store without acknowledging anyone.
09:58The women wandered off.
10:00Jules followed him inside, wallet now in hand.
10:05I stayed in the car.
10:07For the first time in a long while my body reacted before my brain.
10:13I reached over and locked the doors.
10:16Seconds later.
10:18Click.
10:20Someone tugged my handle.
10:22I froze.
10:23Looked up.
10:25A man.
10:26Someone I didn't recognize.
10:28Kept walking past my car without even glancing at me.
10:33He stopped at the car next to him.
10:36The vehicle was empty.
10:38The engine was running.
10:40And the gas nozzle was still lodged in the tank.
10:44Then he opened the driver's side door and climbed in.
10:48My breath caught.
10:51That wasn't his car.
10:53Before I could process it, a woman bolted out of the station.
10:58Hey!
10:59Hey!
11:00That's my car!
11:01Too late.
11:03The guy slammed the door, gunned the engine, and peeled off.
11:07Tires screamed.
11:09He swerved across the lot, nearly clipping a fire hydrant and raced onto the main road,
11:14disappearing into traffic.
11:16A second later, boom.
11:19A loud crash.
11:21And sparks.
11:23The streetlights around the intersection blinked out.
11:26He'd hit something.
11:28Hard.
11:29A transformer box, maybe.
11:31Something big.
11:32Jules came running out, wide-eyed.
11:35Behind her, our guest, calm as ever, sipping from a bottled water.
11:42We got back in the car and left.
11:44I didn't get gas.
11:46I didn't want to be there anymore.
11:49Back at the trailer, the silence was worse than the ride over.
11:53He didn't stop talking the whole way.
11:56Just kept piling on compliments, repeating how cool it was that we lived alone.
12:02How it must be so freeing, not having family around.
12:08I was starting to feel like we'd brought something home, something we shouldn't have.
12:15Inside the trailer, the air changed.
12:19He didn't just enter our space.
12:21He invaded it like a virus.
12:23Jules and I had our little routines, our dumb traditions.
12:28One of them was this stupid vampire rule game.
12:32Whenever someone new came over, we'd stop just past the doorway and wait.
12:38See if the guest would step inside without being invited.
12:42He did.
12:43He stopped at the door for a beat, like he was testing something.
12:47Then, he smiled, took a complete step forward, and closed the door behind him.
12:53Not slammed, closed, quietly.
12:58We laughed because we always did.
13:01It was a nervous reflex, more than anything.
13:05Then, he tripped over the corner of the rug and fell flat on his back, his head narrowly
13:10missing the TV stand.
13:12For a moment, he just laid there, limbs sprawled awkwardly, like a broken toy.
13:19Then he laughed, loud, sudden, wild.
13:25It startled me.
13:27He jumped up as if nothing happened and began pacing the room.
13:31His energy had changed, faster, erratic.
13:35He started speaking in fragments, half sentences, disconnected thoughts, things we couldn't put
13:42into context.
13:44I went to the fridge and grabbed a couple of beers.
13:47I offered one to him.
13:50He declined.
13:51Instead, he unzipped his backpack and pulled out a Four Loko, purple, dented, lukewarm.
13:58He cracked it open and downed it in seconds.
14:01Then another.
14:03Jules and I exchanged glances.
14:05He reached for a third, but I raised my hand.
14:08Hey, man, maybe slow down?
14:12He looked at me, eyes wild, almost surprised to be addressed.
14:18Then Jules tried to lighten the mood.
14:20Let's play something, she said.
14:25Charades?
14:26It was a game we used to play to kill time.
14:30One person holds the phone on their forehead and the others act out what's on the screen.
14:37She went first.
14:39The word was secret agent.
14:41He lit up like it was Christmas.
14:44I got this, he said.
14:47He stood in the center of the room and began scanning the ceiling.
14:52Did you lock the door when we came in?
14:55We laughed.
14:56Again, reflex.
14:59Then he stepped behind Jules and whispered, they're listening.
15:04At first we thought he was still playing.
15:07But then he pulled a pen from his backpack, unscrewed it, and whispered into the barrel
15:13like it was a microphone.
15:15Test failed, subject unaware, requesting extraction.
15:21He turned to me, eyes glassy.
15:24Did you bring the microfilm?
15:26What?
15:27I said, trying to smile.
15:30It's just charades, dude.
15:34But he didn't stop.
15:36He began crawling, crawling toward the coffee table, then ducked behind it and whispered,
15:42they don't know, they think you're still clean.
15:47Jules was frozen, still holding the phone.
15:52The timer buzzed.
15:53You're not supposed to talk in charades, she said, voice thin.
16:00He stared at her, then at me.
16:03You didn't brief her?
16:05He asked, genuinely confused.
16:09Then he stood up, walked over to the wall and placed his ear against it.
16:15He tapped twice, then nodded.
16:18I need to use your bathroom, he said.
16:21Sure, I replied, needing a break from him anyway.
16:26He left the room.
16:28Seconds later, he knocked from inside.
16:32It can't wait, he said.
16:34Wait for what?
16:36I asked.
16:38Then the door creaked open.
16:39I rushed over, pushing it shut again.
16:42What are you doing?
16:45Don't flush, he said.
16:47Please, don't flush.
16:50He backed away slowly and shut the door.
16:54I stood there, stunned.
16:57After I peed, I flushed.
16:59Of course, I did.
17:02When I came out, he was pacing again.
17:05His eyes were darting from wall to wall like they were hiding things from him.
17:11You alright?
17:12I asked.
17:14You flushed, he said flatly.
17:17I opened my mouth to respond but stopped.
17:21I had no words.
17:24Jules came back inside.
17:27I gave her a look that said, we need to wrap this up.
17:31Then he emerged from the bathroom, silent, staring.
17:38Can you take me home?
17:39He asked.
17:40No, I said, it's too late, I've been drinking.
17:46Order me a ride, he said, not asked, said.
17:50I sighed.
17:52I pulled out my phone.
17:55I ordered the Uber.
17:57He stood at the door, backpack slung over one shoulder.
18:02Before he stepped outside, he paused.
18:06I'm upset, he said, because I wanted to drink your pee.
18:13Then he walked out.
18:15We remained still for a long time.
18:18I sat there in silence, contemplating what had just happened.
18:23After he left, we didn't talk for a long time.
18:27We didn't even move.
18:30It was like something sacred had been broken.
18:33Some fragile understanding about the world that we could never get back.
18:39Jule eventually got up and double locked the door.
18:42Then, without a word, she pushed the small armchair under the knob.
18:48I didn't ask why.
18:50I knew why.
18:52That night, I lay in bed with the lights on.
18:55Every creak of the trailer made me jump.
18:59Shadows moved where they shouldn't have.
19:02I kept replaying the evening in my head, his expressions, his movements, the way he whispered
19:08into that pen like it meant something.
19:12At 2.14 a.m., I heard it.
19:16Three taps.
19:18Not on the front door.
19:20On the window behind my headboard.
19:22Soft.
19:23Deliberate.
19:24I froze.
19:25I couldn't move.
19:28My breath went shallow.
19:31My body locked up like it knew what my mind hadn't accepted yet.
19:36I waited.
19:37Nothing.
19:38When I finally forced myself to peek through the blinds, there was no one there.
19:44Just the backyard, dark and unmoving.
19:47The gate is still chained shut.
19:50The grass is unbroken.
19:51Still, I didn't sleep.
19:54The next morning, Jules looked worse than I did.
19:58Pale.
19:59Eyes sunken.
20:01She said she'd heard knocking, too, but on the back of the trailer.
20:05Neither of us left the house.
20:08That afternoon, she got a text from an unknown number.
20:11No profile, just a message.
20:15Test reset.
20:16Try again tonight.
20:18She blocked it without saying a word.
20:22That evening, I spotted someone on the sidewalk across the street, standing still, seemingly lost
20:28in thought.
20:29Curious, I glanced away for just a moment, but when I turned back, they had vanished.
20:37Stories turned into weeks.
20:39What a mystery.
20:41It feels like there's always something intriguing happening around us.
20:47We tried to return to normal, but normal had changed.
20:51The air in the trailer always felt heavy, as if the air was filled with something invisible.
20:58The corners of the rooms appeared sharper.
21:01I began having dreams that I couldn't fully remember, but I would wake up trembling.
21:06One morning, I found something in the drawer next to the couch, the pen, his pen.
21:15The one he'd whispered into.
21:18I knew we'd never let him near that side of the room, and yet, there it was.
21:23I threw it in the dumpster behind the complex.
21:28The next day, it was back on the coffee table.
21:31I didn't touch it.
21:32I just sat across from it.
21:36Watching.
21:37Sometimes, I hear it clicking.
21:41It's like it's unscrewing itself.
21:44I don't check.
21:45I don't want to know.
21:48Now and then, Jules and I talk about moving.
21:51But where would we go?
21:53This isn't just about the trailer.
21:55It followed us home and is now a part of us.
21:59I've started getting emails.
22:01Random strings of characters as senders.
22:05Subjects like reconnection attempt or sequence unlocked.
22:09No content.
22:10There are no attachments, just this note.
22:14One of them, last week, had a single line.
22:17Next time, don't flush.
22:21I didn't reply.
22:23I won't.
22:24But I still wonder what would have happened if I hadn't.