- 2 days ago
Voice Credit: https://www.youtube.com/@HollowTransmission (voice of father in 1st story)
Story credits:
1-https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCrypticCompendium/comments/1p1vffo/a_blood_curse/?share_id=0qEMlBhwa6YJiCkBi4ska&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
2-https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1pdp72h/i_crossreferenced_the_missing_persons_map_with_my/
3-https://www.reddit.com/r/stayawake/comments/1pcc3tv/i_dont_know_what_the_hell_happened_to_me/
Thumbnail-from the artists at nvrcaredstudio.com
Images and sound: pexels.com
Thank you for supporting real human art.
@TheKeeperNarrates
For story submissions or inquiries contact us at thekeeperofficial@proton.me (our story submission email)
Story credits:
1-https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCrypticCompendium/comments/1p1vffo/a_blood_curse/?share_id=0qEMlBhwa6YJiCkBi4ska&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
2-https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1pdp72h/i_crossreferenced_the_missing_persons_map_with_my/
3-https://www.reddit.com/r/stayawake/comments/1pcc3tv/i_dont_know_what_the_hell_happened_to_me/
Thumbnail-from the artists at nvrcaredstudio.com
Images and sound: pexels.com
Thank you for supporting real human art.
@TheKeeperNarrates
For story submissions or inquiries contact us at thekeeperofficial@proton.me (our story submission email)
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00If you discovered why the boy went missing, would you keep the family secret or run to the police?
00:06I am the keeper, he who reads the tales that seep through the veil.
00:11Tonight, we will delve together into the horrors of family curses, mountain monsters, and when our memories betray us.
00:23Growing up, my family was never like other families I had known.
00:28I remember being six, no seven, maybe six and a half, and noticing little things that made my father unlike
00:38other dads in our small cul-de-sac.
00:41My father's skin was sallow and white to the bone, regardless of any sun put onto his skin, a trait
00:50that had passed on to me.
00:52Not that we lived anywhere particularly hot to begin with, being from a small town in upstate New York, but
01:01my dad and I managed to stick out like a sore thumb.
01:06Perhaps it has something to do with my father spending most of his time working at the local butcher shop,
01:13which was a few short miles down the street from our house.
01:17Many nights he would spend in the shop, rarely leaving at all from seven to nine, preparing the pork, sausage,
01:27and beef in-house, cutting them down to shape to prepare for the next day of work.
01:33Oftentimes, his work kept him long enough in the day where I would hear the door unlock around midnight, head
01:41downstairs, and see a figure covered in bloody overalls, carrying a black bloodied bag of meat, walking through the dark
01:49hallways, breathing slowly, and putting the black bag on the table, and taking out whatever bloody remains had been left
01:58from that day for his dinner.
02:00Something about the smell of the dried meat always bothered me as a kid, but I got used to it
02:07as the years went on, like how a farmer's son gets used to the smell of cow shit on a
02:13farm.
02:14You live with it for a while, and it becomes almost normal.
02:19Every year on my birthday, I'd ask the same question.
02:22Can we visit our home country?
02:25I'd like to see it for the first time.
02:27My father would kneel beside me and tell me, speaking in his typical low voice, with his breath cold as
02:34ice.
02:35Son, there are things that are hard to explain.
02:39We are not welcome back home, but perhaps someday it can be safe to go again.
02:46I had hoped every year that one day it would change, that my father would come to me with the
02:52biggest smile I had ever seen and tell me,
02:55Son, it is time to go home.
02:58But that day never came.
03:01It stayed the same, hopeless dream of a young boy who wanted more.
03:06As I got into my late pre-teens, the kids in the neighborhood mocked me relentlessly for my parents from
03:14a young age,
03:15referring to me as the son of the slaughterer, as if he were a killer in a shitty B-horror
03:23movie.
03:24Richie White, who lived across the street from my father's work, even spoke of hearing sounds from my father's shop.
03:32Inhumane sounds of screaming and weird sounds that ran through the night.
03:39How he saw people who entered my father's shop with him and who never came out.
03:45The rumors themselves brought back memories of the bloodied black bag and that awful meat stench that made me want
03:53to throw up everything I had inside of me.
03:56It was all just rumors, right?
03:59My father wasn't a killer, no, I knew him.
04:04He was a quiet man, a cold man, but he was never a killer.
04:09One night, I gathered up the courage to ask my father as he came in the kitchen, with a black,
04:15bloody bag in hand.
04:16Dad, you aren't bad, right, for killing animals?
04:21My father, cold and icy as ever, measured me with his deep blue eyes.
04:28All men have their demons, son.
04:31A willingness inside to act in ways they perhaps should not.
04:35I do what I do to survive, to provide for us, to keep our family going.
04:41Do you understand?
04:43I nodded firmly.
04:45Good boy, now, tell me, why do you ask me such things?
04:51Did someone say something?
04:53I looked from left to right.
04:55I didn't want to get Richie in trouble.
04:58My father must have known something was up as he grabbed my face,
05:02measuring me, as he usually did with a firm gaze at his cold voice.
05:09Tell me the truth, Dennis.
05:10I need to know.
05:12Who was it?
05:13I sighed.
05:15This was a fight I was never going to win.
05:18I bit my lip as the words tumbled out.
05:21Richie White.
05:23He said he heard noises from inside your shop.
05:27Noises that sounded like screaming and crying.
05:31Slowly, my father spoke one final time with a hint of...
05:36perhaps sorrow mixed with pride.
05:40Ignore the man, son.
05:41He speaks lies.
05:43I run a proud business, as did your grandfather and his father before him.
05:48Do not let what others say affect you.
05:52You...
05:53You have a history to be proud of.
05:55Don't ever forget that.
05:56He said before quickly walking up to bed, before I had a chance to ask if I would inherit the
06:04shop one day.
06:05After the next nightfall, Richie went missing from school.
06:09The police searched for him all over town, but found nothing.
06:14With a lack of evidence, the case got dropped.
06:18To the sadness of Richie's parents, who fought tooth and nail to have their son found.
06:23As the investigation concluded, my mind went back to Richie, and my heart sank.
06:30Had I killed him?
06:31But I shook my head.
06:33No, no.
06:34My father was no killer.
06:36He could never be.
06:37Would never be.
06:39Not him.
06:40Not the man who raised me.
06:42The idea made me sick to my stomach.
06:45My father wasn't a killer.
06:47How could I even think that?
06:49But somehow...
06:51It all made sense.
06:53I thought of the bloodied black bag.
06:55The rumors of screams.
06:57Of people disappearing.
06:59I had to know the truth.
07:01The cold, disgusting truth I would regret knowing for years to come.
07:05So I decided to see for myself.
07:08I took my bike, and I sped over to the shop.
07:12My heart leaped out of my chest as I rode, and I wondered.
07:16What would I see?
07:18Perhaps I would arrive, open the door to the meat locker,
07:21and see nothing but regular hanging meat.
07:25That's all it would be, right?
07:27Just meat.
07:29Regular meat.
07:30Nothing more.
07:32I had only come to prove to myself that nothing was going on.
07:35When I did make it to the store,
07:38I slowly walked through the front all the way to the back.
07:42The meat somehow smelled worse here than it did at home.
07:46Almost smoky and slightly pungent.
07:49Like someone had created possibly the worst smelling stew in history,
07:54and dipped it in shit for good measure.
07:56As I walked further, I heard something in the back.
08:00It was a faint click.
08:02A clink, clonk sound.
08:05Shit, I thought.
08:07Of course Dad is here.
08:08He is going to kill me.
08:10I almost turned around when I realized what the sound was.
08:14It was the sound of slicing meat.
08:17I knew it well from all the nights Dad sliced the meat at home,
08:21when he was too busy to work.
08:24This is my moment.
08:25I thought.
08:27One quick look he will never notice,
08:29and I'll never have to think about it again.
08:32Slowly, I crept open the door,
08:35and inside I saw Richie lying on the table.
08:38His stomach had been cut open neatly from one end to the other in a straight line.
08:44All of his organs removed precisely from each and every section of his body.
08:49His eyes lay completely closed.
08:52His body still and white.
08:56And on the other side of the room,
08:58my father cut into a piece of organ.
09:01I was feeling much too ill by this point to even notice what part.
09:05Quickly, I ran,
09:07my heart beating out of my chest as I tried to hold back pure vomit in my throat.
09:12My mind raced.
09:14My dad.
09:15Was he?
09:16No.
09:17He couldn't.
09:19Was he a cannibal?
09:20And Mom?
09:21Oh, Mom, did she know?
09:23What if I had to tell her?
09:25I almost threw up then and there at the thought,
09:28when my father grabbed me by the shoulder roughly,
09:32eyeing me with a gaze I had never seen before.
09:34For once, he looked sad,
09:37but also happy.
09:40No, I was sure of it.
09:42It was the look of pleasure,
09:45a look of pure joy and pride hidden beneath sadness.
09:50As if he had heard some fantastic news
09:52that would turn his life around,
09:55yet couldn't tell anyone.
09:57I couldn't help but notice a stain of blood on his lips as he spoke.
10:02My boy,
10:03I think it is time you learn who you really are.
10:07Slowly,
10:07my father took a step closer.
10:10We aren't like most families.
10:12I'm sure you must have been aware of that by now.
10:16I should have had this conversation with you much sooner,
10:19but I was unsure if you were ready.
10:21But it is time,
10:23I know that now.
10:25He took a deep breath in.
10:28A long time ago,
10:29my father was a butcher,
10:31just like I am.
10:32Same shop I own now,
10:34and I live there too.
10:36We never had much money,
10:38but it was a simple life,
10:40the kind of life you accept
10:42because you have nothing else.
10:44In time,
10:45I became an assistant to my father,
10:48helping him in the butcher shop.
10:50About your age,
10:51running the front to keep the line busy
10:54while my father worked on the meat.
10:56He hoped I would take over his shop one day,
10:59and perhaps I would have,
11:01had I not met your mother
11:03when she came to pick up an order her father had placed.
11:07She was beautiful,
11:09blonde hair,
11:11dark blue eyes like the sea,
11:13and a wonderful smile that you couldn't forget.
11:17We fell for each other head over heels that day
11:19and never looked back since.
11:22It was around that time one day,
11:24your grandfather asked me on a particularly slow day
11:28to come down and help him in the back of the butcher shop,
11:31and I saw what he had been hiding from me.
11:35Inside,
11:36he was keeping bodies,
11:38feasting on them.
11:40I walked in just as he drained one from the neck,
11:43taking in his blood.
11:45I almost ran away,
11:47but he saw me just out of the corner of his eye.
11:50Don't look away,
11:52he told me.
11:53You will have to do the same someday.
11:56He finished his meal
11:57and explained to me that many years ago,
12:00our family had come from a long line of vampires,
12:03that the meat shop was a front to keep,
12:06bodies inside,
12:08to use for meat,
12:09and stave off the hunger,
12:11to prevent our secret from coming out.
12:14He explained to me that inside of us,
12:16our family,
12:18we had a hunger,
12:19deep,
12:20uncontrollable hunger,
12:22for blood,
12:24and that someday,
12:25I would feel it too.
12:27Our curse,
12:28he called it,
12:29as if it was a disease.
12:31I think part of me knew,
12:33always knew,
12:34that he had a secret.
12:36I just wasn't sure,
12:38nor did I ever want to find out.
12:40I almost fled there and then,
12:43had I not realized,
12:44that I had nowhere to run to.
12:46If I went to the police,
12:48they'd never believe me.
12:50I mean,
12:51vampires?
12:52I would have sounded like a loon.
12:55Nor did I have any family outside of town I knew about.
12:59I bit my lip,
13:00and I accepted.
13:02I never told your mother.
13:05She would never understand.
13:07I loved that woman with all my heart,
13:10and I couldn't bear for her to find out what I was capable of,
13:14who she really married.
13:17Someday,
13:18you'll feel it too.
13:19Deep inside,
13:21you may already.
13:23I want you to help me,
13:24as my father did,
13:26to keep our hunger at bay,
13:28so we can have a normal life.
13:30In disgust,
13:31I stepped back from my father.
13:33I held my throat,
13:35trying not to throw up.
13:37My father was a good man,
13:39a man who raised me,
13:40and would never hurt a fly.
13:42This was a good,
13:44honest,
13:45hardworking man.
13:46What the hell is this?
13:48You want me to help you do this?
13:49Kill people,
13:50and drink,
13:51and butcher them,
13:52like animals?
13:53You are out of your damn mind.
13:55This is disgusting.
13:56How could you ever do this?
13:58The words fell out of my mouth,
14:00before I could even think about it.
14:02Somehow,
14:02they just appeared as I spoke to the man I thought I knew.
14:06At that moment,
14:08all the respect I had,
14:09I lost for my father,
14:11and I don't think I knew it.
14:13I know you are upset,
14:16and I understand,
14:18but I have no other choice.
14:21We have a hunger,
14:22an unending hunger,
14:24that we need to survive.
14:26It is this,
14:27or die.
14:29Someday you will know it too,
14:31and you will be unable to control it.
14:34You can deny who you are,
14:36but it will catch up with you.
14:39In that moment,
14:41I just ran,
14:42ran as fast as I could,
14:44until I could run no more.
14:46Soon,
14:47I had lost my dad,
14:48and I was free from the horrors I had known.
14:51All I could think to do was cry,
14:54and mourn the life I had once known.
14:56It has been 15 years since.
14:59I live on my own now,
15:01far away from my hometown.
15:04I've tried to forget the whole thing.
15:06I live a normal life now.
15:08I'm engaged to my girlfriend.
15:10I have a nice job in finance.
15:13Nobody would know anything was wrong with me.
15:16But my father was right.
15:18I feel the hunger.
15:21A few years after,
15:22I started to feel it.
15:24The intense hunger pains.
15:26The drive for blood and meat.
15:30Food started tasting less nourishing,
15:32more like nothingness.
15:34And more and more.
15:36I craved blood.
15:38I don't remember when it started.
15:40It just did.
15:42Like something inside me awoke,
15:44and is never going back to sleep.
15:47So far,
15:48I have survived off of draining animal blood from nearby farms.
15:53Things most people chalk up to wild animals.
15:56But it is not enough.
15:59Something inside me always tells me,
16:01I want more.
16:03Fresh,
16:04human blood.
16:05I can only hope,
16:07it won't come to that.
16:09Dad said I would understand one day,
16:11that we are cursed with this.
16:13Born into it.
16:14And die with it.
16:16I think I get it.
16:18I finally get it.
16:24You've probably seen this map too.
16:26It pops up on reddit every few months.
16:29Usually on r slash creepy,
16:31or r slash map porn.
16:34It shows two images.
16:36One is a map of the missing persons,
16:39and the other is a map of America's subterranean cave systems.
16:43The overlap is practically identical.
16:47The caverns match the disappearances almost one to one.
16:51Most people look at it and go,
16:54huh,
16:54creepy,
16:55and scroll past.
16:57I used to too.
16:59But this time,
17:00I zoomed in.
17:01I live in a rural stretch of Kentucky,
17:04deep in the foothills.
17:05I noticed a dense cluster of red dots,
17:08right in my county,
17:10sitting directly on top of a minor cavern system
17:14called the Blackwood Sink Holes.
17:17It wasn't a tourist trap like Mammoth Cave.
17:21It was a jagged scar in the woods
17:23that even the locals didn't bother with.
17:25I showed it to my girlfriend Jess.
17:28Calling Jess outdoorsy would be putting it lightly.
17:32She's the kind of girl who owns three different types of hiking boots
17:36and thinks a weekend without dirt under her fingernails is a wasted one.
17:40I am the opposite.
17:42I stay up until 3am reading about unsolved murders
17:46and just generally being a vampire.
17:49It's a match, see?
17:51I pointed at the screen.
17:53Nobody goes missing here because they get lost.
17:56They fall in.
17:57Or
17:58I waggle my eyebrows.
18:00Something pulls them in.
18:02Jess rolled her eyes but grinned.
18:05You just want to go ghost hunting.
18:07I want to go debunking.
18:09I corrected.
18:10We hike out,
18:12set up camp near the sinkholes,
18:14cook some actual food
18:15and drink some bourbon
18:16and see if the Mothman shows up.
18:19It was supposed to be fun.
18:21A mix of her love for nature
18:23and my morbid curiosity.
18:24We packed the jeep on Friday,
18:28tents,
18:28sleeping bags
18:29and a heavy cooler
18:31filled with marinated short ribs
18:32and ice for the whiskey.
18:35The hike to the Blackwood Sinks
18:37was only about three miles
18:38from the nearest logging road
18:40but the terrain was brutal.
18:42The trees grew thick and wrong here,
18:46their roots twisting over the limestone ground
18:49like arthritic fingers.
18:50By the time we found the main entrance,
18:53I was ready to drop dead.
18:55The cave mouth was a horizontal slash
18:58in a limestone cliff face,
19:00about ten feet high
19:02and thirty feet wide.
19:04It looked like a mouth held open
19:06in a silent scream.
19:08A steady,
19:09cold breeze flowed out of it,
19:11smelling of wet rock
19:13and old copper.
19:15Creepy,
19:16Jess noted,
19:17dropping her pack.
19:18I can dig it.
19:20I loved this girl.
19:22We set up camp
19:23about fifty yards
19:24from the entrance,
19:25just far enough
19:26to avoid the draft
19:27but close enough
19:28to stare into the darkness.
19:31I got the fire going
19:32while Jess prepared
19:33the grill grate
19:34over the coals.
19:36We were doing this right,
19:38slow cooked,
19:39sticky ribs
19:40slathered
19:41in a spicy bourbon sauce.
19:43Heat from gentle coals
19:44licked at the meat
19:45and the smell
19:46was intoxicating.
19:48Anyone who loves barbecue
19:50knows what I'm talking about.
19:52Smoke,
19:53fat,
19:54sugar,
19:55and char.
19:56Jess was walking back
19:57from the tent
19:58with the drinks
19:59when a downdraft
20:00caught the smoke,
20:01pulling the plume
20:03low across the ground
20:04and sucking it
20:05into the mouth
20:06of the cave.
20:07Feeding the beast?
20:08Jess joked
20:09while handing me
20:10a solo cup
20:11half filled
20:12with knob creek.
20:14Hope they like ribs!
20:15I laughed.
20:17We ate
20:17as the sunset
20:18turned to twilight
20:19and then drank
20:20as the twilight
20:21gave way
20:22to pitch black.
20:23Jess put her hand
20:24on my shoulder.
20:25I thought I was going
20:27to get lucky
20:28but then she told me
20:29to shush.
20:30That's when I heard
20:31the silence.
20:32All day
20:33there was a symphony
20:34of crickets,
20:35cicadas,
20:36and rustling leaves
20:37but now
20:38the silence
20:39was thick,
20:40heavy,
20:41and oppressive.
20:43It felt like
20:44the forest
20:44was holding its breath
20:46and then
20:47the cave moaned.
20:49At first
20:50you could probably
20:51mistake it
20:51for the wind.
20:52It was too low
20:53and too long
20:54of a groan
20:55to come
20:55from any human lungs.
20:57Then it got louder
20:59and closer.
21:00Jess whispered low,
21:02Did you hear that?
21:04And it took me
21:05everything I had
21:06not to tremble.
21:07She shone her
21:09flashlight toward
21:09the cliff.
21:10The beam cut
21:12through the darkness
21:12but the cave mouth
21:14swallowed the light.
21:16Probably a coyote
21:17or a bear.
21:18We should pack up
21:19the food tight.
21:20I murmured back
21:21more to myself
21:22than her.
21:24That didn't sound
21:24like a bear.
21:25That sounded
21:26congested.
21:28We started
21:28scrambling to
21:29clean up.
21:30I was tossing
21:31the bones
21:31into a trash bag
21:32when the sound
21:33changed.
21:34It wasn't moaning
21:36now.
21:36It was a retching
21:38noise.
21:38A wet,
21:40hacking cough
21:41that echoed
21:42from the deep
21:42within the rock.
21:44Then a voice.
21:45Or something
21:46trying to be a voice.
21:49Calm.
21:50Maybe my mind
21:52was trying to find
21:53meaning
21:53where there wasn't
21:54any.
21:55Jess dropped
21:56the cooler lid.
21:57What the hell
21:58was that?
21:59I grabbed
22:00the hatchet
22:00I used
22:00for firewood.
22:01We're leaving.
22:02Now.
22:03The tent.
22:04Leave it.
22:05The smell
22:06hit us
22:07before we saw
22:08them.
22:08It wasn't
22:09the lingering
22:10sweet smoke
22:10of our barbecue
22:11anymore.
22:12It was a wave
22:13of rot,
22:14rancid meat,
22:16ammonia,
22:16and something
22:17muskier
22:18like a wet dog
22:19that had been
22:20dead for days.
22:21From the darkness
22:22of the cave,
22:23they came.
22:25They weren't
22:26human.
22:26They were long,
22:28elongated.
22:29That's the only
22:31word for it.
22:32They looked like
22:33humans who had
22:33been stretched
22:34on a rack.
22:35Pale skin
22:36pulled tight
22:37over bones
22:38that had too
22:38many joints.
22:40Their eyes
22:41were milky white,
22:42useless,
22:43and blind.
22:44Long,
22:45rot-stained teeth,
22:47chipped and broken
22:48and jagged,
22:49stuck out
22:50from the low-hanging
22:51jaws
22:51that were too
22:52wide
22:53and too loose.
22:55There was
22:55three of them.
22:57Two crawled
22:58on the ground
22:59and the third
22:59one limped
23:00in a jerky motion.
23:02All
23:02were insect-like.
23:04They went
23:05straight for the
23:06grill.
23:07One of them
23:08grabbed the
23:08scorching hot
23:09grate with the
23:10bare,
23:10clawed hand.
23:12It didn't even
23:13flinch as its
23:13skin sizzled.
23:15It brought the
23:16metal to its
23:17face and groaned,
23:18licking the
23:19grease with the
23:19tongue that was
23:20too long
23:21and too black.
23:22Don't move,
23:23I whispered,
23:25terrified that
23:26the sound of my
23:27heartbeat would
23:27give us away.
23:29The creature
23:30let out a
23:30chittering sound,
23:32dropping the
23:32grate.
23:33It turned its
23:34head.
23:35It wasn't
23:36looking at us.
23:37It was blind,
23:39I could tell,
23:40but it was
23:41looking for us.
23:42It tilted its
23:44head,
23:44sniffing the air
23:46like a hungry
23:46dog.
23:47It was smelling
23:48for us.
23:49And then it
23:50arched its
23:51back and
23:51wailed.
23:52It was the
23:53nails on
23:54chalkboard,
23:55teeth grinding,
23:56bone chilling
23:56screech that
23:57shot down my
23:58ears and
23:59prickled at
23:59something in
24:00my gut.
24:01It opened
24:02its too wide
24:03of a mouth
24:03and I saw
24:04my death.
24:06Meat.
24:07It rasped.
24:08I threw the
24:09bag of trash
24:10at them.
24:10It was
24:11instinct.
24:12The bag
24:12hit the
24:13screecher in
24:13the chest,
24:14spilling rib
24:15bones and
24:16paper towels.
24:17The distraction
24:18worked for a
24:19second.
24:19The three of
24:20them fell
24:20upon their
24:21ribs and
24:21garbage in
24:22a frenzy.
24:23I could hear
24:23them snapping
24:24the bones
24:25with audible
24:26crunches.
24:27Run!
24:28I screamed.
24:29We sprinted
24:30through the
24:31dark woods.
24:32We tripped
24:33over roots,
24:34slammed into
24:35saplings,
24:35and tore our
24:36clothes on
24:37briars.
24:38Behind us,
24:39the snapping
24:40of bones
24:40stopped,
24:41replaced by
24:43a high-pitched,
24:44ululating shriek
24:45that sounded like
24:46something between
24:47a coyote and
24:48a sobbing child.
24:49I could hear
24:50them crashing
24:51through the
24:51brush behind
24:52us.
24:53They were fast,
24:54so incredibly
24:55fast.
24:56We burst onto
24:58the logging road
24:59just as I threw
25:00the keys to
25:00Jess.
25:01We dove into
25:02the jeep.
25:03She slammed the
25:04locks just as
25:05something heavy
25:05slammed into the
25:06rear window.
25:07The glass,
25:08spiderwebbed,
25:10but held.
25:11I looked back
25:12as Jess peeled
25:13out.
25:13Dirt and
25:14gravel sprang
25:15everywhere.
25:16In the red
25:17glow of the
25:18taillights,
25:18I saw them.
25:19The tree line
25:20was filled with
25:21them.
25:22Some were
25:22standing in
25:23the middle of
25:23the road,
25:24dead still,
25:26just watching.
25:27There were
25:28so many.
25:29We drove in
25:30silence until
25:31we hit the
25:32highway.
25:33We didn't
25:33report it.
25:34Who would
25:35believe us?
25:36We told our
25:37friends we got
25:38spooked by a
25:38cougar.
25:39But I went
25:40back to the
25:41map today.
25:41I looked at
25:43the cluster of
25:44red dots in
25:44my county and
25:45I looked at
25:46the timeline.
25:48Most of the
25:48disappearances
25:49happen in the
25:49summer.
25:50Memorial Day,
25:52Fourth of
25:52July, Labor
25:53Day, holidays.
25:56Holidays where
25:57people go
25:57outside, where
25:59people light
26:00fires, where
26:01people cook
26:02meat.
26:03I thought the
26:04maps overlap
26:05because people
26:06fall into
26:07holes.
26:08That's not
26:08the case.
26:09I thought the
26:10sinks were
26:11just holes in
26:12the ground.
26:13They aren't.
26:14They're
26:15ventilation
26:15shafts.
26:16And when we
26:17play and
26:18laugh and
26:19cook barbecue,
26:20we are
26:21ringing the
26:22dinner bell.
26:27I haven't
26:28been able to
26:29sleep much for
26:30the past week.
26:31Haven't told
26:32anyone in my
26:33life about
26:34this.
26:35I've only
26:36googled about
26:36it a lot,
26:37but didn't
26:38find anyone who
26:39has been through
26:40this.
26:41Any advice
26:42would be
26:42appreciated.
26:44Last week,
26:45as I went
26:46down the
26:46stairs to
26:47catch my
26:47usual subway
26:48home from
26:49work, I
26:50took the
26:51wrong one.
26:52Well, I
26:53thought I was
26:54just distracted,
26:55but now I
26:56know it
26:57was, in a
26:58way, on
26:59purpose.
27:00In the first
27:01couple of
27:02minutes, I
27:02felt stupid.
27:04Some 20-minute
27:05delay to rest
27:06after a long
27:07day at work.
27:09But it
27:09didn't take
27:10long for me
27:11to feel like
27:12I was going
27:12somewhere familiar.
27:14I started to
27:15remember the
27:16view out of
27:17the window,
27:18like an old
27:18picture that
27:19you don't
27:19remember taking.
27:21And when I
27:22arrived at a
27:23certain station,
27:24I knew to
27:25get out, and
27:26which set of
27:26stairs to
27:27take.
27:28Outside was
27:29the usual
27:30street,
27:31indistinguishable
27:32from any of
27:33the thousands
27:33of others
27:34downtown,
27:35but I
27:36recognized some
27:37of the stores.
27:38I started on
27:39a path I
27:40didn't know
27:40where it was
27:41going to
27:41take me.
27:42Street signs,
27:44trash cans,
27:45I remember
27:46that place.
27:47Even though I
27:48didn't remember
27:49how, I knew
27:51where to go.
27:52Approaching a
27:53small square, I
27:55saw a beautiful
27:55oak tree swaying
27:57in the light
27:57breeze.
27:58A white,
28:00wooden bench
28:00under its shadow
28:02painted a
28:02bucolic frame,
28:04defiant of
28:06the surrounding
28:06concrete.
28:07But something
28:09else caught
28:10my attention.
28:11An ice cream
28:12parlor.
28:12I remember
28:13that, clearly,
28:15if not
28:16disconnected in
28:17time.
28:18Bells clanged
28:19as I opened
28:20the door,
28:21drowning me
28:22in a lost
28:23memory.
28:24I remember
28:25the checkerboard
28:25tiled room,
28:27the colors of
28:28the yellowed
28:28sign behind
28:29the counter,
28:30the rusty
28:31fan squeaking
28:32every other
28:33turn.
28:34I must have
28:35stood there
28:35for a while,
28:36because I came
28:37to my senses
28:38when the
28:39attendant yelled,
28:40Can I help
28:41you?
28:41I was too
28:42dazed to
28:43respond as I
28:44normally would,
28:45but I managed
28:46to autopilot
28:47myself closer
28:48to him.
28:49My eyes went
28:50straight to a
28:51certain flavor
28:52on the faded
28:52sign.
28:53He was going
28:54through his
28:55usual presentation
28:56of sizes and
28:57prices when I
28:58interrupted.
28:59Chocolate chip,
29:00large.
29:01He was
29:02taken aback a
29:03bit, but
29:04nodded and
29:04continued the
29:05process.
29:06There was a
29:07large sink
29:08behind him,
29:09with a faucet
29:10that was
29:10dripping.
29:11I didn't know
29:12then why it
29:13bothered me so
29:14much, but
29:15every drop
29:16seemed to
29:17sound so
29:18loud, falling
29:19onto the
29:19metal.
29:20It brought
29:21me out of
29:22that dream
29:22state.
29:23I felt like
29:24I should jump
29:25over the
29:25counter and
29:26turn it
29:26tight.
29:27This was
29:28never a
29:29pet peeve
29:29of mine,
29:30which bothered
29:31me more
29:32than the
29:32sink itself.
29:33Thankfully,
29:34he handed
29:35me my
29:35order and
29:36I went to
29:37sit far
29:37away from
29:38the sink.
29:39I looked
29:39at the
29:40bowl,
29:40thinking about
29:41how long
29:42it had been
29:42since I had
29:43a treat
29:43like that.
29:44A little
29:45bite of
29:45that creamy
29:46texture,
29:47the crunchy
29:47chocolate chip
29:48bursting with
29:49flavor,
29:49and I
29:50remembered,
29:51going there
29:52with my
29:52dad,
29:53ordering the
29:54same flavor
29:55every time.
29:56I remember
29:57him joking
29:58about that,
29:58saying I
29:59should try
29:59something else.
30:01I remember
30:01sitting there,
30:02staring at
30:03my hero,
30:04never thinking
30:04about the
30:05time of day,
30:06never minding
30:07the price
30:08of the
30:08ice cream.
30:09Man,
30:10I enjoyed
30:11eating that.
30:12I was
30:13almost licking
30:13the bowl,
30:14I didn't
30:15want to
30:15leave,
30:16but I could
30:17always go
30:17back home
30:18another day.
30:19I could
30:20bring my
30:20own kid
30:21here.
30:21I wanted
30:22to squeeze
30:23more out
30:23of this
30:24little
30:24vacation.
30:25My face
30:26hurt from
30:27smiling.
30:27I sat
30:28under the
30:29oak,
30:30watched the
30:31day hurry
30:31away for a
30:32bit.
30:33Another rare,
30:34pleasant breeze,
30:35and I was
30:36in heaven.
30:37I closed my
30:38eyes and heard
30:39the leaves
30:39clapping gently
30:40above me.
30:41Then I
30:42looked up
30:43at them.
30:44That hit
30:45me like a
30:46sucker punch
30:46into the
30:47gut.
30:48I felt
30:48nauseous,
30:49weak.
30:50The image
30:51made me
30:52sink into
30:52the bench.
30:53The whole
30:54city began
30:55spinning around
30:56me.
30:56The tree
30:57itself was
30:58spinning.
30:59I got up
31:00straight and
31:00went home.
31:01I had to
31:02lie about
31:02being late.
31:04I wasn't
31:05excited about
31:05my memories
31:06anymore.
31:07I told the
31:08wife that I
31:09had to finish
31:09some things
31:10at work.
31:11She didn't
31:11question it.
31:12They had
31:13had dinner
31:13already,
31:14but I wasn't
31:15hungry.
31:16After a
31:17long shower,
31:18I was in
31:18bed, not
31:19sleeping, of
31:20course.
31:21The whole
31:21night I kept
31:22thinking about
31:23that damn
31:23tree, the
31:25leaves falling,
31:26spiraling toward
31:27the ground.
31:28Why did it
31:29hurt me?
31:30I couldn't
31:31place it.
31:32Like a, like
31:33an invisible
31:34itch, a rock I
31:36could not get
31:36out of my
31:37shoe.
31:38The next day
31:39was spent
31:39watching the
31:40hands on the
31:40office clock run
31:42extra slow, as
31:43if mocking me.
31:45Work seemed
31:46meaningless and
31:47coffee didn't
31:48help, but I
31:48suffered through
31:49it and could
31:50run back to
31:51that cursed
31:51wooden bench.
31:53I ran down
31:54the subway
31:55stairs into
31:56the fateful
31:56train.
31:57The details
31:58that had
31:59alerted me
31:59before were
32:00a blur now.
32:01The stores,
32:02street signs,
32:03trash cans.
32:05Screw the
32:06chocolate chip
32:06ice cream.
32:07I went
32:08straight to
32:08that bench
32:09under the
32:09oak, sat
32:11and looked
32:12up.
32:12Looking at
32:13it was
32:14unbearable.
32:15I looked
32:15around and
32:16considered
32:17leaving, but
32:19I had to
32:19figure it
32:20out.
32:20it was
32:21killing me.
32:22So I
32:23studied it.
32:24Every
32:24scrap and
32:25speck.
32:26Every branch
32:27that led
32:28into smaller
32:28branches, and
32:29then a smaller
32:30one after
32:31that.
32:32Even now, if
32:33I could draw, I
32:34could show you
32:35the smallest
32:36details.
32:37Every scratch
32:38classified by
32:39how deep it
32:39was, and
32:40how old it
32:41looked.
32:42The faintest
32:43change in
32:44color, the
32:44position of the
32:45moss in
32:46relation to
32:46the sun that
32:47sat in the
32:48background.
32:49down, as I
32:50watched the
32:50leaves falling
32:51onto me.
32:52The city
32:53sounds were
32:54muffled.
32:54I must have
32:55looked insane
32:56to anyone
32:57passing by, but
32:58I figured it
32:59out.
33:00Only, I
33:01still can't
33:02sleep.
33:03I went home
33:03defeated with a
33:04stiff neck.
33:05I had to
33:06come up with a
33:07much better lie
33:08to explain being
33:09late, almost
33:10four hours this
33:11time.
33:12She again
33:13didn't care.
33:14A longer
33:15shower, then
33:16I was in bed.
33:17Branches
33:18projected into
33:18the ceiling.
33:19I could hear
33:20the sway of the
33:21oak in the
33:22breeze, could
33:23feel the leaves
33:24touching my
33:24face as they
33:25fell, spinning
33:27like my thoughts
33:28never ending.
33:29All because,
33:31maybe, they
33:32haven't fixed that
33:33squeaking fan in
33:3420 years.
33:36I found it
33:37pretty hard to
33:37believe that
33:38they never
33:39changed the
33:39flavors, never
33:41updated the
33:41prices, never
33:43fixed that damn
33:44dripping faucet.
33:45But there is no
33:46way that the
33:47tree has remained
33:48the same all
33:49these years.
33:50The same
33:51branches, the
33:52same holes, and
33:53scratches.
33:54Same as when
33:55I was a kid?
33:56I don't know
33:57if this is a
33:58type of psychosis,
34:00some mental
34:00health illness
34:01manifested late
34:02in life.
34:03Google, Reddit,
34:04Quora, nobody
34:06has ever talked
34:07about it.
34:08If there is a
34:08term that I can
34:09read about, look
34:10for an answer,
34:12please tell me.
34:13If you repost
34:14this anywhere, send
34:15me a DM, so I
34:17can read the
34:17comments.
34:19My deadbeat
34:20dad never bought
34:21me ice cream.
34:29I hope you
34:30enjoyed tonight's
34:31stories, and I
34:32want to thank
34:33Holotransmission for
34:34voicing the
34:35father in the
34:36first one.
34:37Check the
34:37pinned comment
34:38for a link to
34:39his channel.
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