This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/146hegu on 2025-09-22 18:37:46+00:00.

I have never told this story to anyone but it’s been so long now, I felt the need to get it off my chest. So this happened way back in 1991. I was 24 years old and had just gotten out of the Army after a 4 year stint. I was stationed in Fort Carson and I loved Colorado Springs so much I decided to live there as a civilian.

Anyways one of the first jobs I got was a security guard at a K-Mart. Which was kind of odd but this particular K-Mart had a high theft rate so they hired out a security guard during the summer. Overall it was a pretty uneventful stint… Except for one experience which is why I’m writing this.

So it was around two o’clock in the afternoon and it was a dead day. Nothing had happened until a couple of teenage guys came into the store. They felt a little suspicious to me so I kind of followed them around the store keeping an eye on them from a distance. It wouldn’t be long though when they proved my suspicion correct and as I spyed one of them sticking several CD’s into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Quickly they started to make their way to the entrance and so I double timed it catching them right before the doors, grabbing each one by the shoulder. Then the kid in the jacket screams “RUN!!” Startling me for a second which allowed the jacket kid to bolt through the front doors but leaving his friend to retreat through the store.

Figuring it would be easier to catch the kid in the store I took pursuit of him. I was about thirty feet behind when I saw him push through the large door leading to the loading dock area. Through the door window I see him running up a metal staircase to the second floor office area.

At this point I knew I had him trapped since that staircase was the only entry/exit access to that floor. Running up the stairs I see him down the hallway and he sees me. Panicked he enters a storage room to the right. “Gotcha” I think. He’s entered a room with no exit. Running to the door I take a quick breath to gather myself in case I have to wrestle with this kid and I open the door. Bracing myself for him but instead find… Nothing?

The room was small, about six by twelve feet and was full of bankers boxes containing old paperwork. I stood there, shocked. Until I saw a slight opening at the other end of the room. I assumed he jammed himself in this tight corner, so I walked to the opening ready to grab him, except again nothing.

Now my mind was reeling. “What the hell is happening?” I thought. Spinning around 2 times I tried to find the kid, but there was nothing. He had disappeared! Except that’s impossible. Exiting the storage room back into the hallway I carefully listen for any sounds of movement but hear nothing then looking to the end of the hallway I see the other door. I know I know I know I saw him enter this storage room, but maybe my eyes played a trick on me, so I walk to the door and turn the knob. It’s locked!

My heart starts pounding. So he must have went in here and locked the door. My hands now shaking I fumble with the keys until I unlocked the door. Entering slowly I expect to see him… But I don’t. I examine every inch of the two offices but find nothing. At this point returning to the hallway my head is throbbing from the confusion I’m feeling. Suddenly looking up I see the corrugated ceiling panels and think, "That’s where he is. He climbed into the ceiling. Stacking up some bankers boxes I climb on top of them and push aside one of the panels. Clicking on my flashlight I slowly scan the entire area. There’s no way he climbed up here. He would have easily fallen through the aluminum framing and thin ceiling panels.

Sitting down on the boxes the only question running through my mind is, “What happened to him?” For the next half hour I scour every inch of the rooms again but finally return to my small office. Looking at my desk I see the CCTV Monitor and immediately rewind it about twenty minutes. First I examine the camera situated above the electronics department and sure enough I see the two teenagers enter into view and see the kid sneakily put the CDs into his jacket.

Unfortunately there is no camera on the second floor but then I notice the loading dock camera captures part of the staircase. Rewinding that one I see the kid running up the stairs and a moment later I follow behind. From that moment I watch carefully to see if he runs back down at some point. But no, nothing. The only person who comes back down is me. Using the security Polaroid camera I took a couple of photos of those screens to validate I wasn’t crazy. For the rest of the day I would examine every corner of the store hoping to find something but didn’t. I’d spend another couple months as security there and there were a couple of times when I was on the second floor and I swear I’d hear what sounded like someone rummaging through boxes coming from the storage room, yet each time I checked the room was empty.

The last strange event happened 6 days before I’d quit. I was walking around when I swear I heard a very low voice speaking over the Muzak that played around the store. I stopped and listened intently and what I heard was, “Help me. I’m stuck in here and I can’t find my way out.” A cold chill ran down my back and seeing another employee I asked them if they heard that voice? He looked at me sideways and said " If you’re hearing voices maybe it’s time to find another job."

Which I did but I’ll never forget that kid. In fact on my last day I decided to hide a Polaroid camera in the ceiling of the storage room. I know that sounds weird but I genuinely believe that kid was in there somewhere.