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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/googlyeyes93 on 2024-09-25 23:11:09+00:00.

Previous

DAY UNKNOWN

Three is beginning to flood the subject room. I don’t know how we’ve gotten to this point, but the only thing holding the water in there is the closed door. One has been in and out, but he always climbs through the window for some reason, leaving chunks of skin and scraping bone across the broken glass every time. The water is nearly ankle deep at this point, even filling the side rooms. I don’t know where it keeps coming from, with an endless ocean being coughed from his lungs from seemingly nowhere.

Eventually it’s going to come up and cover Two, probably drowning him where he lay on the floor. I don’t plan on being here for that, and it’s not like he deserves to be saved anyway. The little girls dancing around him have become more vivid, with obvious signs of other terrible acts committed on them besides the dismemberment. Four was still locked in his room, meanwhile, the symptoms of rabies now in their final stages, catatonic and shaking, scared of everything as the water seeped in under his door. He was desperate for a drink, I could tell, but even just looking at the water was making his throat spasm violently as his mind told him it was poison.

We’ve begun our escape attempt, though it took take a while as the surgical saw we have isn’t the most powerful. It’s really only meant for bone at the most, so going up against the steel used on the vents is one hell of a task for it. Eventually though, after some time, it began to get through, and from there we were able to use a cane to pry the rest open.

Murray went in first, clutching a flashlight and trying to find the right path out. Taryn and I stood anxiously as he explored, hoping against all hope that he would have some success.

That was about the point where I went into a dreamstate, against all my best efforts to stave it off. Deprivation took hold yet again, leaving me on the precipice of sleep and waking but unable to actually get to the destination I wanted. That was when she started talking.

“Mikey?” It was the first time she had actually acknowledged me, instead of just staring blankly into space as she did for so many nights, dissociating from life just like I was doing now. I shut my eyes, preparing to go through some sort of torture for my sins. After all, I was no different from the people we did this to. I was willing to put humans through hell just to save myself from it, no matter how much I tried to say it was some “greater good” bullshit I was doing. I was a part of the problem. This hell was of my own making.

I strained, keeping my eyes closed against all odds, trying not to face what had happened. Any moment I expected to feel something smothering me, waiting for my slow, agonizing death that would never end. I deserved this. It was all my fault, I killed her. It wasn’t out of mercy, was it? It was a way out of taking care of her. A way out of seeing the rapid decline that I would have to face, counting my days until it took hold. It was to save me.

”I’ve got you, Mikey.” I heard her say, right from in front of me as a hand touched my face. Slowly, ever so slowly, knowing that the feeling of peace imparted through those words could be snatched away in moments, I opened my eyes. “Even when you don’t. I’ve got you.”

She was smiling at me, warm and kind, the strong lines on her face forged through the years of abuse yet still they remained kind.

We embraced, tears flowing freely down my face while I sobbed for forgiveness, telling her how sorry I was, how I never wanted to hurt her, billions of confessions and please for my mother’s mercy.

“I’ve got you.” She said again, giving me a little push now, “Go.”

I felt Taryn grab me by the arm, pulling me close back to the vent. Murray was shouting through, yelling at us to come through. The noise must have caught One’s attention, as he came marching in from around the corner, water sloshing around his feet. He had finally opened the sealed door, letting Three’s flood waters loose through the facility. It was rushing faster, like his brief sputters had now become a waterhose. Those I couldn’t see him, I could hear the drowning screams as he kept gushing water from his windpipe. as the specters around began crowding in, One was marching into view, leading them like some parade from the ninth circle of hell. He kept moving, smiling at us as he went, torso wobbling as his eviscerated body couldn’t hold his spine steady. It was eerie, like a jack in a box marching on skinny, fragile legs that could snap at any moment under the weight. Looking closer, I could see one leg was already broken, foot missing and bloody stump dragging closer, leaving red water in his flooding wake.

“The doors are open! You’ve been away too long!” He was giggling, pointing at me as he laughed. I was still pulling myself toward the vents, desperately clambering inside… “The Jailer’s given up! You’re officially free! Free to be you, free to be me, free to have fun with all your new friends! They’ve been so excited to meet you! Their playthings are getting a little boring, though they’ve had plenty of fun reacquainting themselves.”

Taryn was still pulling on me, Murray’s voice breaking through the cacophony of abominations heading toward us. I finally got all the way into the vent, crawling as mom smiled behind me, watching me leave as she was lost to the crowd of undead.

They began coming after us, even in the vents. I made the mistake of looking back, seeing the dismembered, charred arms of Five’s victims crawling after us. I sped up, desperately trying to outrun the death that was following after me. I knew they couldn’t kill me. Knew I would only face a millennia of terror if they took hold of me. I had gone too long past the point of no return. Once they got hands on me, I was theirs. Forever.

We got to the end, finally seeing a bit of light peeking through ahead of us. Murray was already standing there, having broken off the outer vent to get out. The sun was up, daylight pouring in from our destination, golden rays that promised at least some sort of freedom. Electricity ran through my spine, though whether it was the gas or my own adrenaline I don’t know.

Practically falling out of the vent, Taryn and I hit solid ground and felt grass in our hands. It was beautiful, one of the best things I’ve ever felt. Even with bright sunlight streaming over me, causing my head to pulse with tremendous pain. The phantoms were still thumping behind us though, threatening to drag us back into hell.

There wasn’t much other choice than to run, all of us staggering as we desperately crashed through trees and brush to try and find some safety. Eventually we came out to a roadside, before we were swarmed. This time not by phantoms, but by black vans, men jumping out and pulling guns on us as they threw thick cloth bags over our heads, then tossing us into the cars.

I don’t know how long we drove for. Not like my sense of time is anything to judge by anyway. When they eventually took us out, they still didn’t take the bags off. The only way I could tell we entered a building was the change in sound and a blast of cold air conditioning hitting me, chilling my bones. Eventually I was thrown into a room, Taryn alongside me. Murray was missing, nowhere to be found.

As for the room, it was like having the script flipped on us. There was a one way observation mirror on the side, with no way for us to see what was going on. A small bathroom with shower and toilet in the corner, two cots on the opposite wall, a desk sat in the middle of the room with three chairs, and that was it. The two of us had no idea what the hell we were supposed to do now.

The door opened. Needless to say we were… not happy about who entered.

Murray walked in the room, smiling at the two of us.

“Sorry for the rough welcome, but there’s still the possibility you could leak where we are if you recognized anything. I don’t mind you talking about this, but I can’t have you spilling the location.” He said, taking a seat on one side of the table and gesturing us to the other side. Both Taryn and I sat down hesitantly, glaring at our friend as we began to put information together in our disoriented minds. “See, nobody is going to believe what you have to say anyway. Who would, after all? Sounds like one of those bullshit internet stories the kids are obsessed with these days.”

’Why are we here, Murray?” I asked, looking around furtively to see if there were any phantoms following us. “What’s going on?”

”Oh don’t worry, you two are safe…” He said, smiling. “See, I took a liking to the two of you while we were all in that house. I told them we could use you still. So they let me get you out.”

”You’ve been going through the same thing we have, man. What the fuck?” Taryn was asking him now, beginning to bang on the table in frustration. her eyes were red, bloodshot from tears and lack of sleep for… god, how long has it been? Taryn broke down now, “Why?

“Oh I’ve been getting a solid eight hours most nights. You two would never find me, but I was just fine.” He said.

My head hurt as dots connected, Murray’s lack of specters, his long disappearances… Jesus. He was the one who left a fire extinguisher in the subject room. He knew.

“You have an antidote, don’t you?” I asked him, leveling a look right in his eyes that said to tell me the truth, or else.

”Of course. I w…

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