1 Hour of Late-Night Office Horror Experiences For Sleep With Rain
Rainy Nightmare
[{'start': '0.460', 'end': '6.319', 'text': '[Laughter]'}, {'start': '3.040', 'end': '9.360', 'text': "I'll never forget that cursed chair. It"}, {'start': '6.319', 'end': '11.519', 'text': 'looked so harmless at first. An old'}, {'start': '9.360', 'end': '13.920', 'text': 'leather highback chair with brass'}, {'start': '11.519', 'end': '16.080', 'text': 'studded arms positioned near the'}, {'start': '13.920', 'end': '18.560', 'text': 'entrance of our small publishing office'}, {'start': '16.080', 'end': '20.800', 'text': 'just outside Boston.'}, {'start': '18.560', 'end': '22.640', 'text': 'The building itself was an old Victorian'}, {'start': '20.800', 'end': '25.000', 'text': 'mansion converted into a business'}, {'start': '22.640', 'end': '28.320', 'text': 'property sometime in the'}, {'start': '25.000', 'end': '30.880', 'text': '1970s, complete with creaky staircases,'}, {'start': '28.320', 'end': '32.960', 'text': 'slanted floors, and way too many rooms'}, {'start': '30.880', 'end': '36.000', 'text': 'for the dozen or so employees who'}, {'start': '32.960', 'end': '38.719', 'text': 'actually worked there. I started my job'}, {'start': '36.000', 'end': '41.680', 'text': 'as a copy editor at the agency just 3'}, {'start': '38.719', 'end': '44.160', 'text': 'months before everything happened. We'}, {'start': '41.680', 'end': '47.280', 'text': 'were a boutique outfit, mostly editing'}, {'start': '44.160', 'end': '50.239', 'text': 'indie horror and folklore books. kind of'}, {'start': '47.280', 'end': '52.640', 'text': 'ironic looking back. The chair was'}, {'start': '50.239', 'end': '54.640', 'text': 'already there when I joined, placed in'}, {'start': '52.640', 'end': '57.079', 'text': 'the small foyer beside the reception'}, {'start': '54.640', 'end': '60.559', 'text': 'desk facing the main'}, {'start': '57.079', 'end': '62.960', 'text': 'hallway. No one used it, not because we'}, {'start': '60.559', 'end': '66.000', 'text': 'were told not to, but because everyone'}, {'start': '62.960', 'end': '68.320', 'text': 'instinctively avoided it. It looked out'}, {'start': '66.000', 'end': '70.520', 'text': 'of place, like it had been stolen from'}, {'start': '68.320', 'end': '73.200', 'text': 'an old courtroom or a church'}, {'start': '70.520', 'end': '74.960', 'text': 'confessional. Highbacked, almost'}, {'start': '73.200', 'end': '77.119', 'text': 'throne-like.'}, {'start': '74.960', 'end': '80.400', 'text': 'Its leather was cracked and stained a'}, {'start': '77.119', 'end': '82.880', 'text': 'sickly brown, and it had this odd sticky'}, {'start': '80.400', 'end': '85.640', 'text': 'shine to it, like someone had tried to'}, {'start': '82.880', 'end': '89.040', 'text': 'polish over something'}, {'start': '85.640', 'end': '91.920', 'text': 'old. But the weirdest thing, it always'}, {'start': '89.040', 'end': '96.000', 'text': 'seemed to be watching. Not in a'}, {'start': '91.920', 'end': '99.600', 'text': 'metaphorical way, in a literal one. That'}, {'start': '96.000', 'end': '101.520', 'text': 'chair, it moved subtly, like how someone'}, {'start': '99.600', 'end': '103.759', 'text': 'might shift a chair slightly to get a'}, {'start': '101.520', 'end': '105.840', 'text': 'better view of the hallway.'}, {'start': '103.759', 'end': '108.720', 'text': 'At first, I thought maybe the cleaning'}, {'start': '105.840', 'end': '111.040', 'text': 'lady bumped it or someone dragged it'}, {'start': '108.720', 'end': '112.880', 'text': 'accidentally during lunch hour, but'}, {'start': '111.040', 'end': '115.520', 'text': 'every morning I came in, it was just a'}, {'start': '112.880', 'end': '117.799', 'text': 'little bit different. First, it faced'}, {'start': '115.520', 'end': '121.000', 'text': 'the hallway, then slightly toward the'}, {'start': '117.799', 'end': '124.079', 'text': 'kitchen. Then, one day, directly at my'}, {'start': '121.000', 'end': '127.439', 'text': 'desk. At first, I lapped it off with my'}, {'start': '124.079', 'end': '130.479', 'text': 'co-workers, Shelley, Tom, and Grant. We'}, {'start': '127.439', 'end': '133.280', 'text': 'joked it was haunted. The eye chair,'}, {'start': '130.479', 'end': '135.680', 'text': 'Shelley called it. Then one night I'}, {'start': '133.280', 'end': '137.200', 'text': 'stayed late. We were working on a'}, {'start': '135.680', 'end': '140.080', 'text': 'particularly disturbing horror'}, {'start': '137.200', 'end': '142.800', 'text': 'manuscript from a local author. His'}, {'start': '140.080', 'end': '145.239', 'text': "story was based on 1800's exorcism"}, {'start': '142.800', 'end': '148.000', 'text': 'records recovered from old church'}, {'start': '145.239', 'end': '151.560', 'text': 'basement. I was alone on the second'}, {'start': '148.000', 'end': '153.760', 'text': 'floor trying to clean up formatting'}, {'start': '151.560', 'end': '155.680', 'text': 'inconsistencies. The entire office was'}, {'start': '153.760', 'end': '159.760', 'text': 'dark except for my desk lamp and the'}, {'start': '155.680', 'end': '164.280', 'text': 'glow from my screen. Around 1:43 a.m. I'}, {'start': '159.760', 'end': '167.920', 'text': 'heard it. A single slow creek. From'}, {'start': '164.280', 'end': '170.560', 'text': 'downstairs, I froze. It sounded exactly'}, {'start': '167.920', 'end': '173.480', 'text': 'like the old chair shifting its weight.'}, {'start': '170.560', 'end': '176.640', 'text': 'Leather stretching, wood groaning under'}, {'start': '173.480', 'end': '180.040', 'text': 'pressure. I waited, convinced I was'}, {'start': '176.640', 'end': '183.040', 'text': 'hearing things. Then another creek'}, {'start': '180.040', 'end': '186.159', 'text': 'closer. I stood and slowly tiptoed to'}, {'start': '183.040', 'end': '187.599', 'text': 'the staircase, peered down, and stopped'}, {'start': '186.159', 'end': '189.760', 'text': 'breathing.'}, {'start': '187.599', 'end': '193.040', 'text': 'The chair was no longer by the front'}, {'start': '189.760', 'end': '193.800', 'text': 'desk. It was at the chat on bottom of'}, {'start': '193.040', 'end': '198.720', 'text': 'the'}, {'start': '193.800', 'end': '201.599', 'text': 'stairs. Turned Kai upward facing me. No'}, {'start': '198.720', 'end': '203.360', 'text': 'one else was there. I ran back to my'}, {'start': '201.599', 'end': '207.440', 'text': 'desk, locked the door to the editing'}, {'start': '203.360', 'end': '209.480', 'text': 'room, and tried to call Shel. No answer.'}, {'start': '207.440', 'end': '212.280', 'text': 'I left her a voicemail, my voice'}, {'start': '209.480', 'end': '215.040', 'text': "trembling. I didn't leave the room until"}, {'start': '212.280', 'end': '218.080', 'text': 'sunrise. By morning, the chair was back'}, {'start': '215.040', 'end': '221.120', 'text': 'in its place. When I told my co-workers,'}, {'start': '218.080', 'end': '224.400', 'text': "they didn't laugh this time. Instead,"}, {'start': '221.120', 'end': '227.360', 'text': "Grant's face turned pale. He finally"}, {'start': '224.400', 'end': '229.599', 'text': "admitted that he'd seen it, too. A week"}, {'start': '227.360', 'end': '232.159', 'text': 'ago, when he stayed back late to fix'}, {'start': '229.599', 'end': '235.920', 'text': 'layout spacing, he swore he saw the'}, {'start': '232.159', 'end': '239.280', 'text': 'chair in the hallway mirror behind him.'}, {'start': '235.920', 'end': '241.439', 'text': 'But when he turned around, it was gone.'}, {'start': '239.280', 'end': '244.239', 'text': 'That same week, weird things started'}, {'start': '241.439', 'end': '246.120', 'text': 'happening with our computers. Files we'}, {'start': '244.239', 'end': '250.200', 'text': "didn't create appeared on the shared"}, {'start': '246.120', 'end': '254.120', 'text': 'drive. Images of the chair. Hundreds of'}, {'start': '250.200', 'end': '257.680', 'text': 'them. Different angles. Close-ups of the'}, {'start': '254.120', 'end': '260.320', 'text': 'leather. One image was taken from above'}, {'start': '257.680', 'end': '263.680', 'text': 'as if from the ceiling. There were video'}, {'start': '260.320', 'end': '266.560', 'text': 'files, too. All black screens until the'}, {'start': '263.680', 'end': '268.639', 'text': 'last few seconds. Then the footage would'}, {'start': '266.560', 'end': '272.160', 'text': 'flicker into a still frame of the chair'}, {'start': '268.639', 'end': '276.360', 'text': 'in total darkness. And in one video, it'}, {'start': '272.160', 'end': '279.919', 'text': "wasn't empty. There was a man sitting in"}, {'start': '276.360', 'end': '282.800', 'text': 'it, or something that looked like a man.'}, {'start': '279.919', 'end': '285.199', 'text': 'Long limbs, slumped posture, a'}, {'start': '282.800', 'end': '288.080', 'text': 'grotesqually long neck that sloped down'}, {'start': '285.199', 'end': '291.199', 'text': 'like it was broken. We tried deleting'}, {'start': '288.080', 'end': '293.840', 'text': 'the files. They kept reappearing. I'}, {'start': '291.199', 'end': '296.080', 'text': 'brought it up to our boss, Mr. Haynes, a'}, {'start': '293.840', 'end': '298.639', 'text': "nononsense publisher who'd inherited the"}, {'start': '296.080', 'end': '300.880', 'text': 'business from his father. When I'}, {'start': '298.639', 'end': '305.199', 'text': 'mentioned the chair, he just stared at'}, {'start': '300.880', 'end': '306.840', 'text': 'me, then said, "Don\'t talk about it. It'}, {'start': '305.199', 'end': '308.880', 'text': "doesn't like"}, {'start': '306.840', 'end': '312.639', 'text': 'attention." That night, I couldn\'t'}, {'start': '308.880', 'end': '314.440', 'text': 'sleep. Around 2:30 a.m., I received an'}, {'start': '312.639', 'end': '318.080', 'text': "email from an address I didn't"}, {'start': '314.440', 'end': '321.400', 'text': 'recognize. No subject, no message, just'}, {'start': '318.080', 'end': '325.600', 'text': 'a video attachment. It showed me at my'}, {'start': '321.400', 'end': '327.639', 'text': 'desk that evening working. The video was'}, {'start': '325.600', 'end': '330.320', 'text': 'filmed from the hallway low to the'}, {'start': '327.639', 'end': '333.440', 'text': 'ground like someone was lying on their'}, {'start': '330.320', 'end': '335.840', 'text': 'stomach filming from behind the chair. I'}, {'start': '333.440', 'end': '338.680', 'text': 'checked the office security footage.'}, {'start': '335.840', 'end': '341.039', 'text': 'There was no one there. I called the'}, {'start': '338.680', 'end': '342.120', 'text': 'police. They searched the building,'}, {'start': '341.039', 'end': '344.560', 'text': 'found'}, {'start': '342.120', 'end': '347.120', 'text': 'nothing, but they did find something'}, {'start': '344.560', 'end': '350.080', 'text': 'disturbing in the server room behind a'}, {'start': '347.120', 'end': '352.720', 'text': 'panel in the wall hidden in a cavity. A'}, {'start': '350.080', 'end': '355.880', 'text': 'stack of Chenold photographs.'}, {'start': '352.720', 'end': '358.960', 'text': 'Dozens, maybe hundreds, all black and'}, {'start': '355.880', 'end': '363.600', 'text': 'white. Most were dated from the 1940s'}, {'start': '358.960', 'end': '366.080', 'text': 'and 50s. All featured the same chair in'}, {'start': '363.600', 'end': '368.880', 'text': 'different locations. A nursery, a'}, {'start': '366.080', 'end': '371.120', 'text': 'basement, a courtroom, and always'}, {'start': '368.880', 'end': '373.520', 'text': 'someone sitting in it. Sometimes a'}, {'start': '371.120', 'end': '376.400', 'text': 'child, sometimes a man, sometimes a'}, {'start': '373.520', 'end': '378.960', 'text': 'woman. All of them had the same empty'}, {'start': '376.400', 'end': '381.919', 'text': 'blank expressions and all of them had a'}, {'start': '378.960', 'end': '385.360', 'text': 'hand resting on the armrest as if frozen'}, {'start': '381.919', 'end': '387.840', 'text': 'in mid prayer or panic. The last photo'}, {'start': '385.360', 'end': '391.840', 'text': 'was the most terrifying. It was in'}, {'start': '387.840', 'end': '392.840', 'text': 'color, recent taken in our office. It'}, {'start': '391.840', 'end': '395.360', 'text': 'showed'}, {'start': '392.840', 'end': '399.199', 'text': 'me standing beside the chair with my'}, {'start': '395.360', 'end': '399.880', 'text': 'hand on its back rest. Only I had never'}, {'start': '399.199', 'end': '402.639', 'text': 'done'}, {'start': '399.880', 'end': '406.080', 'text': "that. The next day, Shelley didn't show"}, {'start': '402.639', 'end': '408.880', 'text': 'up for work. We thought she was sick,'}, {'start': '406.080', 'end': '411.520', 'text': 'but we were wrong. Her apartment was'}, {'start': '408.880', 'end': '415.039', 'text': 'found with the door wide open. No signs'}, {'start': '411.520', 'end': '418.039', 'text': 'of struggle, no sign of her, only a'}, {'start': '415.039', 'end': '422.319', 'text': 'photo printed and placed neatly on her'}, {'start': '418.039', 'end': '425.199', 'text': 'bed. It showed the chair now placed in'}, {'start': '422.319', 'end': '427.599', 'text': 'the center of an empty room and Shelley'}, {'start': '425.199', 'end': '431.360', 'text': 'sitting in it, staring directly at the'}, {'start': '427.599', 'end': '433.720', 'text': 'camera. Her eyes were solid black. After'}, {'start': '431.360', 'end': '437.360', 'text': 'that, things deteriorated'}, {'start': '433.720', 'end': '439.120', 'text': 'fast. Tom quit without a word. Grant'}, {'start': '437.360', 'end': '441.520', 'text': 'disappeared after claiming the chair'}, {'start': '439.120', 'end': '444.199', 'text': 'followed him home. He said it appeared'}, {'start': '441.520', 'end': '447.000', 'text': 'in his living room at 3:00 a.m., then'}, {'start': '444.199', 'end': '449.440', 'text': 'vanished. I stopped going to the office'}, {'start': '447.000', 'end': '452.479', 'text': "altogether. But the chair didn't care."}, {'start': '449.440', 'end': '454.960', 'text': 'It found me anyway. Last week, I moved'}, {'start': '452.479', 'end': '458.319', 'text': 'into a new apartment outside the city.'}, {'start': '454.960', 'end': '460.560', 'text': 'No one knew the address. And yet, on my'}, {'start': '458.319', 'end': '464.160', 'text': 'third night there, I woke up to a knock'}, {'start': '460.560', 'end': '466.000', 'text': 'at the door. No one was outside. But in'}, {'start': '464.160', 'end': '467.800', 'text': 'the hallway, faintly lit by the'}, {'start': '466.000', 'end': '471.800', 'text': 'emergency bulb,'}, {'start': '467.800', 'end': '475.120', 'text': 'stood the chair. Facing my apartment'}, {'start': '471.800', 'end': '477.840', 'text': 'door. I screamed, ran back inside,'}, {'start': '475.120', 'end': '480.800', 'text': 'called the cops again. By the time they'}, {'start': '477.840', 'end': '483.280', 'text': 'arrived, it was gone. I showed them the'}, {'start': '480.800', 'end': '486.479', 'text': "photos. They didn't believe me. Said"}, {'start': '483.280', 'end': '489.039', 'text': 'maybe I was stressed, sleepdeprived.'}, {'start': '486.479', 'end': '491.599', 'text': 'But when they left, one of the officers,'}, {'start': '489.039', 'end': '494.720', 'text': 'a tall woman named Officer Morales,'}, {'start': '491.599', 'end': '497.680', 'text': 'pulled me aside and whispered, "My uncle'}, {'start': '494.720', 'end': '500.080', 'text': 'used to work in that mansion back when'}, {'start': '497.680', 'end': '502.560', 'text': 'it was a private home. He told us they'}, {'start': '500.080', 'end': '505.919', 'text': 'kept eat chairs in the basement. Said'}, {'start': '502.560', 'end': '508.080', 'text': 'they used it during seances, exorcisms.'}, {'start': '505.919', 'end': '509.599', 'text': "The chair wasn't furniture, it was a"}, {'start': '508.080', 'end': '512.560', 'text': 'conduit."'}, {'start': '509.599', 'end': '515.479', 'text': 'She handed me her card and said, "If it'}, {'start': '512.560', 'end': '518.159', 'text': 'comes back, never sit in it, no matter'}, {'start': '515.479', 'end': '521.279', 'text': 'what." That night, I dreamt I was in the'}, {'start': '518.159', 'end': '523.360', 'text': 'office again alone. The lights were off,'}, {'start': '521.279', 'end': '525.080', 'text': 'the walls had turned black, and'}, {'start': '523.360', 'end': '527.440', 'text': 'everything was covered in old red'}, {'start': '525.080', 'end': '531.680', 'text': 'carpet. The chair was in the middle of'}, {'start': '527.440', 'end': '534.080', 'text': 'the room. It spoke to me, not in words,'}, {'start': '531.680', 'end': '535.640', 'text': 'but with pressure, like a thought being'}, {'start': '534.080', 'end': '538.920', 'text': 'injected into my'}, {'start': '535.640', 'end': '542.320', 'text': "skull. Sit down. Join them. You're the"}, {'start': '538.920', 'end': '545.120', 'text': 'last. When I woke up, my back achd as if'}, {'start': '542.320', 'end': '547.760', 'text': "I'd been sitting for hours. My phone was"}, {'start': '545.120', 'end': '552.000', 'text': 'on the floor. It had taken a photo while'}, {'start': '547.760', 'end': '553.959', 'text': 'I slept. Of me in the chair and in the'}, {'start': '552.000', 'end': '557.640', 'text': 'background were all the'}, {'start': '553.959', 'end': '560.320', 'text': 'others. Shelley, Tom, Grant, even Mr.'}, {'start': '557.640', 'end': '565.920', 'text': 'Haynes, all standing in a perfect circle'}, {'start': '560.320', 'end': '569.440', 'text': 'around me, smiling, but their eyes gone.'}, {'start': '565.920', 'end': '571.360', 'text': 'I swear I nearly died that night. It was'}, {'start': '569.440', 'end': '573.360', 'text': 'my second month working as a junior'}, {'start': '571.360', 'end': '575.160', 'text': 'software developer at a towering'}, {'start': '573.360', 'end': '578.040', 'text': 'corporate complex in'}, {'start': '575.160', 'end': '580.880', 'text': 'Gorgon. The job was demanding but'}, {'start': '578.040', 'end': '582.360', 'text': 'exciting. Fresh out of college, I was'}, {'start': '580.880', 'end': '585.320', 'text': 'eager to prove'}, {'start': '582.360', 'end': '588.080', 'text': "myself. Naturally, I didn't mind the"}, {'start': '585.320', 'end': '591.200', 'text': 'overtime, at least not in the beginning.'}, {'start': '588.080', 'end': '594.880', 'text': 'The building was a sleek glass fortress,'}, {'start': '591.200', 'end': '598.320', 'text': '36 floors of cold, calculated elegance.'}, {'start': '594.880', 'end': '600.000', 'text': 'My office was on the 25th floor. From'}, {'start': '598.320', 'end': '602.800', 'text': 'the windows, the city looked like a'}, {'start': '600.000', 'end': '606.000', 'text': 'living circuit board. Tiny headlights'}, {'start': '602.800', 'end': '609.279', 'text': 'moving like pixels and far away honks'}, {'start': '606.000', 'end': '612.160', 'text': 'that sounded like electronic beeps. You'}, {'start': '609.279', 'end': '614.160', 'text': 'could see forever from up there. But'}, {'start': '612.160', 'end': '617.120', 'text': 'late at night, it felt like the world'}, {'start': '614.160', 'end': '619.519', 'text': 'had vanished beneath you. That'}, {'start': '617.120', 'end': '621.200', 'text': 'particular Thursday, I stayed back to'}, {'start': '619.519', 'end': '624.560', 'text': 'work on a deployment bug that had'}, {'start': '621.200', 'end': '627.600', 'text': 'delayed our release. I was alone.'}, {'start': '624.560', 'end': '631.000', 'text': 'Everyone else had logged off by 8:30.'}, {'start': '627.600', 'end': '634.800', 'text': 'The cleaning crew was gone by 10:00. By'}, {'start': '631.000', 'end': '636.720', 'text': '11:45 p.m., it was just me, a vending'}, {'start': '634.800', 'end': '638.880', 'text': 'machine humming in the corner and the'}, {'start': '636.720', 'end': '639.640', 'text': 'dim glow of monitors painting shadows on'}, {'start': '638.880', 'end': '643.279', 'text': 'the'}, {'start': '639.640', 'end': '646.079', 'text': "floor. That's when it happened. A sudden"}, {'start': '643.279', 'end': '649.279', 'text': 'chill ran up my spine, like ice water'}, {'start': '646.079', 'end': '652.079', 'text': 'slowly pouring down my back. I looked'}, {'start': '649.279', 'end': '654.800', 'text': 'around. The air conditioning had been'}, {'start': '652.079', 'end': '658.200', 'text': 'turned off hours ago. I tried to shrug'}, {'start': '654.800', 'end': '662.000', 'text': 'it off. Overwork plus caffeine equals'}, {'start': '658.200', 'end': '664.959', 'text': 'paranoia, but then I heard it. A voice'}, {'start': '662.000', 'end': '668.920', 'text': 'barely above a whisper. Working late,'}, {'start': '664.959', 'end': '671.920', 'text': "are we? I froze. The voice didn't sound"}, {'start': '668.920', 'end': '675.760', 'text': 'mechanical. It sounded right behind me.'}, {'start': '671.920', 'end': '677.279', 'text': 'Soft, dry, feminine, and impossibly'}, {'start': '675.760', 'end': '679.680', 'text': 'close.'}, {'start': '677.279', 'end': '682.399', 'text': 'I spun around so fast that I knocked my'}, {'start': '679.680', 'end': '684.959', 'text': 'coffee mug off the table. It shattered'}, {'start': '682.399', 'end': '687.920', 'text': 'on the tiled floor, sending shards'}, {'start': '684.959', 'end': '690.560', 'text': 'skittering in all directions. My heart'}, {'start': '687.920', 'end': '693.200', 'text': 'pounded against my ribs, but there was'}, {'start': '690.560', 'end': '695.519', 'text': 'no one there. Only rows of silent'}, {'start': '693.200', 'end': '698.839', 'text': 'cubicles, computer screens gone to'}, {'start': '695.519', 'end': '701.040', 'text': 'sleep, chairs perfectly aligned, too'}, {'start': '698.839', 'end': '702.920', 'text': 'perfect. The kind of symmetry that'}, {'start': '701.040', 'end': '705.399', 'text': 'starts to feel'}, {'start': '702.920', 'end': '708.399', 'text': 'unnatural. I was standing completely'}, {'start': '705.399', 'end': '711.519', 'text': 'still, staring at the chair behind me,'}, {'start': '708.399', 'end': '714.640', 'text': 'hoping it would move. If it moved, I'}, {'start': '711.519', 'end': '716.560', 'text': 'could believe this was a prank, a joke,'}, {'start': '714.640', 'end': '719.920', 'text': 'something to explain away the chill'}, {'start': '716.560', 'end': '722.399', 'text': "clawing up my back. But it didn't, and"}, {'start': '719.920', 'end': '726.079', 'text': "that's when the lights flickered. Just"}, {'start': '722.399', 'end': '728.800', 'text': 'once, quick, like a blink. The screen in'}, {'start': '726.079', 'end': '731.440', 'text': 'front of me turned on by itself, casting'}, {'start': '728.800', 'end': '733.839', 'text': 'a white blue glow. It displayed a'}, {'start': '731.440', 'end': '737.200', 'text': "terminal window I hadn't opened. The"}, {'start': '733.839', 'end': '741.040', 'text': 'command line blinked once, then typed'}, {'start': '737.200', 'end': '743.959', 'text': 'something on its own. She never left. I'}, {'start': '741.040', 'end': '746.959', 'text': 'backed away slowly. My palms were'}, {'start': '743.959', 'end': '750.320', 'text': 'sweating. "Who\'s there?" I whispered out'}, {'start': '746.959', 'end': '752.320', 'text': 'loud, hating the way my voice shook.'}, {'start': '750.320', 'end': '755.480', 'text': 'From the corner of my eye, I saw a'}, {'start': '752.320', 'end': '758.959', 'text': 'flicker by the glass window. Something'}, {'start': '755.480', 'end': '761.120', 'text': 'moved. I turned slowly. There, standing'}, {'start': '758.959', 'end': '764.680', 'text': 'a few feet away from my cubicle was a'}, {'start': '761.120', 'end': '768.560', 'text': 'woman. Her dress was white. No,'}, {'start': '764.680', 'end': '770.240', 'text': 'off-white, aged, torn at the edges, the'}, {'start': '768.560', 'end': '772.959', 'text': 'fabric clung to her as though it had'}, {'start': '770.240', 'end': '776.000', 'text': 'been soaked in water and dried stiff.'}, {'start': '772.959', 'end': '778.880', 'text': 'Her head was tilted downward, long jet'}, {'start': '776.000', 'end': '781.959', 'text': 'black hair covering her face. She looked'}, {'start': '778.880', 'end': '786.560', 'text': 'faded, like a photo half erased by'}, {'start': '781.959', 'end': '788.480', 'text': 'fire. I stepped back. "Ma\'am," I asked,'}, {'start': '786.560', 'end': '791.680', 'text': 'unsure why I even addressed her that'}, {'start': '788.480', 'end': '793.839', 'text': "way. She didn't respond. She raised her"}, {'start': '791.680', 'end': '797.440', 'text': 'arm, slow and jerky, like a puppet on'}, {'start': '793.839', 'end': '801.200', 'text': 'wires, and pointed directly at me. I'}, {'start': '797.440', 'end': '803.760', 'text': "screamed and ran. I didn't look back. I"}, {'start': '801.200', 'end': '806.480', 'text': "didn't want to see if she was following."}, {'start': '803.760', 'end': '808.560', 'text': 'I just sprinted past the break room,'}, {'start': '806.480', 'end': '811.200', 'text': 'past the glass conference room that now'}, {'start': '808.560', 'end': '814.040', 'text': 'looked like a dark aquarium, and reached'}, {'start': '811.200', 'end': '816.880', 'text': 'the elevator. I slammed the button'}, {'start': '814.040', 'end': '819.360', 'text': 'repeatedly, breath heaving, heart ready'}, {'start': '816.880', 'end': '824.760', 'text': 'to explode. But the numbers on the'}, {'start': '819.360', 'end': '827.320', 'text': 'elevator display were counting up. 26 27'}, {'start': '824.760', 'end': '830.639', 'text': "28. It wasn't coming"}, {'start': '827.320', 'end': '834.040', 'text': 'down. Suddenly, I felt a cold breath at'}, {'start': '830.639', 'end': '837.680', 'text': 'the back of my neck. So cold it almost'}, {'start': '834.040', 'end': '839.920', 'text': "burned. I didn't think. I bolted toward"}, {'start': '837.680', 'end': '842.440', 'text': 'the fire escape stairs, flung the door'}, {'start': '839.920', 'end': '845.279', 'text': 'open, and launched myself down the'}, {'start': '842.440', 'end': '848.160', 'text': 'staircase. Every footfall echoed like'}, {'start': '845.279', 'end': '849.920', 'text': 'gunshots in the concrete tunnel. I'}, {'start': '848.160', 'end': '852.600', 'text': "didn't stop until I hit the ground"}, {'start': '849.920', 'end': '854.800', 'text': 'floor, legs shaking'}, {'start': '852.600', 'end': '856.720', 'text': 'uncontrollably. Outside, under the'}, {'start': '854.800', 'end': '860.240', 'text': 'buzzing fluorescent lights of the lobby,'}, {'start': '856.720', 'end': '864.240', 'text': 'I collapsed. The night guard, Mahesh,'}, {'start': '860.240', 'end': '868.120', 'text': 'rushed over. Veta Kia, you look like'}, {'start': '864.240', 'end': '870.720', 'text': "you've seen a ghost. I think I did, I"}, {'start': '868.120', 'end': '873.279', 'text': 'muttered. He looked at me long, his'}, {'start': '870.720', 'end': '876.160', 'text': 'expression unreadable. Then he said'}, {'start': '873.279', 'end': '879.279', 'text': 'something that froze me even more. 25th'}, {'start': '876.160', 'end': '882.000', 'text': 'floor, right? You saw the woman? I'}, {'start': '879.279', 'end': '885.360', 'text': "stared at him. She's been up there for"}, {'start': '882.000', 'end': '887.839', 'text': 'years, he said calmly. Jumped during'}, {'start': '885.360', 'end': '890.320', 'text': 'Dewali. Her body smashed right outside'}, {'start': '887.839', 'end': '893.600', 'text': 'that window next to your cubicle. They'}, {'start': '890.320', 'end': '896.959', 'text': 'cleaned it up, but sometimes she visits'}, {'start': '893.600', 'end': '899.199', 'text': 'the ones who stay too late. I left the'}, {'start': '896.959', 'end': '902.160', 'text': 'company within a week. But the story'}, {'start': '899.199', 'end': '904.160', 'text': "didn't end there. A month later, I got a"}, {'start': '902.160', 'end': '907.480', 'text': 'message on LinkedIn from a new hire at'}, {'start': '904.160', 'end': '909.760', 'text': 'the same office. She was assigned my old'}, {'start': '907.480', 'end': '911.680', 'text': 'workstation. She said her computer kept'}, {'start': '909.760', 'end': '914.959', 'text': 'restarting at midnight and running an'}, {'start': '911.680', 'end': '918.720', 'text': 'odd script. She sent me the output. It'}, {'start': '914.959', 'end': '920.720', 'text': 'said, "She sees you again soon." I'}, {'start': '918.720', 'end': '924.000', 'text': 'deleted my account that night, but'}, {'start': '920.720', 'end': '926.639', 'text': 'sometimes at exactly 11:45 p.m., my'}, {'start': '924.000', 'end': '928.320', 'text': 'phone lights up on its own. And in the'}, {'start': '926.639', 'end': '931.839', 'text': 'reflection of the black screen, I swear'}, {'start': '928.320', 'end': '931.839', 'text': 'I see her standing behind me.'}, {'start': '936.120', 'end': '943.279', 'text': 'waiting. I should have let it'}, {'start': '938.600', 'end': '945.120', 'text': 'ring. It was exactly 3:15 a.m. and I was'}, {'start': '943.279', 'end': '947.680', 'text': 'the only one on shift at our Seattle'}, {'start': '945.120', 'end': '950.320', 'text': 'Tech support center, sitting in the cold'}, {'start': '947.680', 'end': '952.560', 'text': 'glow of a half-lit floor that felt more'}, {'start': '950.320', 'end': '953.480', 'text': 'like a forgotten server room than an'}, {'start': '952.560', 'end': '956.160', 'text': 'actual'}, {'start': '953.480', 'end': '958.639', 'text': 'office. I worked night support for a'}, {'start': '956.160', 'end': '961.120', 'text': 'financial app. people locked out of'}, {'start': '958.639', 'end': '962.440', 'text': 'their accounts, failed transfers,'}, {'start': '961.120', 'end': '965.120', 'text': 'identity'}, {'start': '962.440', 'end': '966.880', 'text': 'verifications. 90% of my job was'}, {'start': '965.120', 'end': '968.120', 'text': 'answering emails, and chatting with'}, {'start': '966.880', 'end': '970.639', 'text': 'sleepy'}, {'start': '968.120', 'end': '973.040', 'text': 'customers. Calls almost never came'}, {'start': '970.639', 'end': '975.519', 'text': 'through that late. Most people were'}, {'start': '973.040', 'end': '978.320', 'text': 'either in bed or out drunk. But that'}, {'start': '975.519', 'end': '982.079', 'text': 'night, the landline rang. Not my'}, {'start': '978.320', 'end': '985.199', 'text': 'headset, not my VIP dashboard, the old'}, {'start': '982.079', 'end': '988.120', 'text': 'beige desk phone or mounted on the wall'}, {'start': '985.199', 'end': '991.720', 'text': 'behind me, the one no one ever used'}, {'start': '988.120', 'end': '995.199', 'text': 'anymore. I paused, chills crawling up my'}, {'start': '991.720', 'end': '997.360', 'text': "spine. It didn't even have caller ID,"}, {'start': '995.199', 'end': '1000.560', 'text': 'just a green backlight and the sound of'}, {'start': '997.360', 'end': '1002.759', 'text': 'a low, persistent ring. It was the first'}, {'start': '1000.560', 'end': '1006.160', 'text': "time I'd heard it in my 6 months working"}, {'start': '1002.759', 'end': '1009.839', 'text': 'there. I looked at the clock.'}, {'start': '1006.160', 'end': '1012.480', 'text': '3:15 m. I let it ring three times, my'}, {'start': '1009.839', 'end': '1015.000', 'text': 'thumb hovering over the receiver. Part'}, {'start': '1012.480', 'end': '1017.920', 'text': "of me knew I shouldn't answer, but I"}, {'start': '1015.000', 'end': '1021.720', 'text': 'did. I picked it up, static hissed'}, {'start': '1017.920', 'end': '1025.439', 'text': "through the earpiece. Then a child's"}, {'start': '1021.720', 'end': '1028.000', 'text': 'voice barely above a whisper. I found'}, {'start': '1025.439', 'end': '1031.720', 'text': 'your number in the wall. My blood ran'}, {'start': '1028.000', 'end': '1034.240', 'text': 'cold. I sat upright in my chair. Who is'}, {'start': '1031.720', 'end': '1037.520', 'text': "this? I'm in the floor now. Can you help"}, {'start': '1034.240', 'end': '1040.600', 'text': 'me out? The voice was young, maybe seven'}, {'start': '1037.520', 'end': '1043.760', 'text': 'or eight years old. Software, but'}, {'start': '1040.600', 'end': '1046.480', 'text': 'somehow wrong. There was no background'}, {'start': '1043.760', 'end': '1048.319', 'text': 'noise, no distortion, just a hollow'}, {'start': '1046.480', 'end': '1051.360', 'text': 'quality to it, like the voice was'}, {'start': '1048.319', 'end': '1054.799', 'text': 'echoing up through a vent. I think you'}, {'start': '1051.360', 'end': '1057.160', 'text': 'have the wrong number, I said quickly. A'}, {'start': '1054.799', 'end': '1059.760', 'text': 'pause, then a breathless'}, {'start': '1057.160', 'end': '1063.440', 'text': "whisper. You're the one who hears me."}, {'start': '1059.760', 'end': '1066.400', 'text': "Please don't hang up this time. I"}, {'start': '1063.440', 'end': '1068.720', 'text': 'slammed the phone back into its cradle.'}, {'start': '1066.400', 'end': '1073.039', 'text': 'The second I did, the fluorescent light'}, {'start': '1068.720', 'end': '1075.400', 'text': 'above my desk flickered and died. Now'}, {'start': '1073.039', 'end': '1077.840', 'text': 'only the soft blue glow of the monitors'}, {'start': '1075.400', 'end': '1080.240', 'text': 'remained. The open office space behind'}, {'start': '1077.840', 'end': '1082.360', 'text': 'me was shrouded in shadow, and the rows'}, {'start': '1080.240', 'end': '1086.320', 'text': 'of empty cubicles suddenly felt too'}, {'start': '1082.360', 'end': '1090.000', 'text': 'still, too quiet. My phone buzzed in my'}, {'start': '1086.320', 'end': '1093.679', 'text': 'pocket. An unknown number, no caller'}, {'start': '1090.000', 'end': '1097.360', 'text': 'eyed. I stared at it until it stopped.'}, {'start': '1093.679', 'end': '1099.919', 'text': "Then it rang again. I didn't answer."}, {'start': '1097.360', 'end': '1101.919', 'text': 'This time it went to voicemail. My hands'}, {'start': '1099.919', 'end': '1106.880', 'text': 'shook as I opened the message. The'}, {'start': '1101.919', 'end': '1108.360', 'text': 'recording was of me breathing, typing,'}, {'start': '1106.880', 'end': '1110.960', 'text': 'clicking my'}, {'start': '1108.360', 'end': '1113.679', 'text': 'mouse. It sounded exactly like what I'}, {'start': '1110.960', 'end': '1115.440', 'text': 'had been doing seconds ago, except there'}, {'start': '1113.679', 'end': '1119.039', 'text': "was one more sound I hadn't noticed"}, {'start': '1115.440', 'end': '1120.760', 'text': 'before. a low scratching like something'}, {'start': '1119.039', 'end': '1123.840', 'text': 'was being dragged across'}, {'start': '1120.760', 'end': '1126.880', 'text': 'lenolum. I unplugged my headset, grabbed'}, {'start': '1123.840', 'end': '1130.000', 'text': "my jacket, and stood. That's when the"}, {'start': '1126.880', 'end': '1132.400', 'text': 'scratching started in real life from'}, {'start': '1130.000', 'end': '1136.080', 'text': 'under the floorboards directly beneath'}, {'start': '1132.400', 'end': '1138.960', 'text': 'me. At first, it was faint, like nails'}, {'start': '1136.080', 'end': '1141.799', 'text': 'on wood. Then louder, then harder, like'}, {'start': '1138.960', 'end': '1145.440', 'text': 'something was trying to claw its way'}, {'start': '1141.799', 'end': '1148.320', 'text': 'up. I staggered backward. My chair'}, {'start': '1145.440', 'end': '1151.200', 'text': 'rolled into a nearby desk and toppled.'}, {'start': '1148.320', 'end': '1154.200', 'text': 'Then came the voice again. This time'}, {'start': '1151.200', 'end': '1157.679', 'text': 'through my headset, which I had just'}, {'start': '1154.200', 'end': '1160.559', 'text': "unplugged. I'm right here now. The floor"}, {'start': '1157.679', 'end': '1164.000', 'text': 'beneath my desk creaked, then buckled'}, {'start': '1160.559', 'end': '1166.400', 'text': 'slightly. I ran. I sprinted down the'}, {'start': '1164.000', 'end': '1168.799', 'text': 'hallway past the empty breakroom toward'}, {'start': '1166.400', 'end': '1170.640', 'text': 'the exit. But the keypad by the door'}, {'start': '1168.799', 'end': '1175.559', 'text': "wouldn't accept my card. It kept"}, {'start': '1170.640', 'end': '1179.039', 'text': 'flashing red. Access denied.'}, {'start': '1175.559', 'end': '1182.640', 'text': 'Impossible. My card worked every day. I'}, {'start': '1179.039', 'end': '1184.480', 'text': 'tried it again and again. Then I saw it'}, {'start': '1182.640', 'end': '1186.120', 'text': 'from the corner of my eye through the'}, {'start': '1184.480', 'end': '1190.039', 'text': 'reflection in the breakroom'}, {'start': '1186.120', 'end': '1193.440', 'text': 'microwave. A figure small,'}, {'start': '1190.039', 'end': '1195.760', 'text': 'child-sized on all fours. Its limbs'}, {'start': '1193.440', 'end': '1198.320', 'text': 'moved like broken sticks, elbows and'}, {'start': '1195.760', 'end': '1202.480', 'text': 'knees bending the wrong way. Its head'}, {'start': '1198.320', 'end': '1204.880', 'text': 'was too round and tilted too far back. I'}, {'start': '1202.480', 'end': '1208.000', 'text': "didn't look directly at it. I just ran"}, {'start': '1204.880', 'end': '1211.120', 'text': 'for the fire escape, tore open the door,'}, {'start': '1208.000', 'end': '1212.799', 'text': 'and ran down five flights of stairs.'}, {'start': '1211.120', 'end': '1216.000', 'text': 'When I reached the street, I stood in'}, {'start': '1212.799', 'end': '1219.320', 'text': 'the cold drizzle, panting, eyes wide,'}, {'start': '1216.000', 'end': '1223.039', 'text': 'soaked in sweat and confusion. It was'}, {'start': '1219.320', 'end': '1224.480', 'text': '3:21 a.m. I called my supervisor and'}, {'start': '1223.039', 'end': '1227.440', 'text': 'made up some lie about a health'}, {'start': '1224.480', 'end': '1230.320', 'text': "emergency. I didn't care. I just knew I"}, {'start': '1227.440', 'end': '1233.120', 'text': "wasn't going back inside ever. But that"}, {'start': '1230.320', 'end': '1237.200', 'text': "wasn't the end. The next evening, my"}, {'start': '1233.120', 'end': '1240.640', 'text': 'phone rang again at exactly 3:15 a.m.'}, {'start': '1237.200', 'end': '1243.200', 'text': 'This time, I was at home. No caller ID.'}, {'start': '1240.640', 'end': '1245.520', 'text': "I didn't answer. But the voicemail that"}, {'start': '1243.200', 'end': '1247.919', 'text': 'followed broke me. The message started'}, {'start': '1245.520', 'end': '1251.520', 'text': "with a child's voice again. You closed"}, {'start': '1247.919', 'end': '1254.240', 'text': "the door, but you didn't bury me. Then"}, {'start': '1251.520', 'end': '1256.200', 'text': 'came a sound so real I dropped the'}, {'start': '1254.240', 'end': '1260.600', 'text': 'phone.'}, {'start': '1256.200', 'end': '1263.280', 'text': 'nails scraping wood like from inside my'}, {'start': '1260.600', 'end': '1265.120', 'text': 'walls. I called the building manager,'}, {'start': '1263.280', 'end': '1267.679', 'text': 'demanded to know what was beneath the'}, {'start': '1265.120', 'end': '1271.000', 'text': 'office floor. I expected a maintenance'}, {'start': '1267.679', 'end': '1273.200', 'text': 'closet, old pipes, something, but he got'}, {'start': '1271.000', 'end': '1276.720', 'text': "quiet, then muttered something I'll"}, {'start': '1273.200', 'end': '1279.000', 'text': 'never forget. Back in the 1980s, that'}, {'start': '1276.720', 'end': '1281.520', 'text': 'building used to be an orphanage, burned'}, {'start': '1279.000', 'end': '1284.880', 'text': 'down. Only part of the foundation'}, {'start': '1281.520', 'end': '1289.280', 'text': 'survived. They built over it.'}, {'start': '1284.880', 'end': '1292.159', 'text': 'I froze. "How many kids?" "Six," he'}, {'start': '1289.280', 'end': '1294.799', 'text': 'said. But they never found the seventh.'}, {'start': '1292.159', 'end': '1297.039', 'text': 'I changed jobs, moved to a new city, new'}, {'start': '1294.799', 'end': '1299.600', 'text': 'phone, new number, everything. But'}, {'start': '1297.039', 'end': '1301.559', 'text': 'sometimes at 3:15 a.m., my new phone'}, {'start': '1299.600', 'end': '1305.200', 'text': 'rings from Oh, no'}, {'start': '1301.559', 'end': '1308.159', 'text': 'number. No sound when I answer until the'}, {'start': '1305.200', 'end': '1310.799', 'text': 'static clears and I hear the whisper, "I'}, {'start': '1308.159', 'end': '1314.200', 'text': 'found your number again." I\'m under this'}, {'start': '1310.799', 'end': '1314.200', 'text': 'floor now.'}, {'start': '1314.720', 'end': '1319.720', 'text': 'It started with a whisper in the'}, {'start': '1316.400', 'end': '1322.480', 'text': "bathroom stall. My name's"}, {'start': '1319.720', 'end': '1325.000', 'text': 'Alina. I worked as a parallegal for a'}, {'start': '1322.480', 'end': '1328.240', 'text': 'high-powered litigation firm in downtown'}, {'start': '1325.000', 'end': '1331.440', 'text': 'Dallas, the 28th floor of a sterile gray'}, {'start': '1328.240', 'end': '1334.400', 'text': 'high-rise overlooking Main Street. Our'}, {'start': '1331.440', 'end': '1337.120', 'text': 'office had floor to-seeiling windows,'}, {'start': '1334.400', 'end': '1339.159', 'text': 'abstract art no one understood, and'}, {'start': '1337.120', 'end': '1341.520', 'text': 'bathrooms that felt more like art'}, {'start': '1339.159', 'end': '1344.799', 'text': 'galleries, white marble counters,'}, {'start': '1341.520', 'end': '1347.919', 'text': 'automatic faucets, recessed lights. I'}, {'start': '1344.799', 'end': '1350.000', 'text': 'was used to long hours. That week, our'}, {'start': '1347.919', 'end': '1352.960', 'text': 'firm was neck deep in a multi-million'}, {'start': '1350.000', 'end': '1355.600', 'text': "dollar corporate embezzlement case. I'd"}, {'start': '1352.960', 'end': '1358.559', 'text': 'been pulling 14-hour shifts for 5 days'}, {'start': '1355.600', 'end': '1361.840', 'text': 'straight. On Thursday night, the office'}, {'start': '1358.559', 'end': '1363.960', 'text': 'slowly emptied by 10:30 p.m., but I'}, {'start': '1361.840', 'end': '1366.960', 'text': 'stayed back to finish document'}, {'start': '1363.960', 'end': '1369.919', 'text': 'redactions. By 12:45 a.m., I could'}, {'start': '1366.960', 'end': '1372.360', 'text': 'barely keep my eyes open. I decided to'}, {'start': '1369.919', 'end': '1374.880', 'text': 'wash my face and splash off the'}, {'start': '1372.360', 'end': '1377.840', 'text': "exhaustion. The women's restroom on our"}, {'start': '1374.880', 'end': '1380.240', 'text': 'floor was massive. Four stalls, two'}, {'start': '1377.840', 'end': '1383.120', 'text': 'sinks, and one enormous mirror that'}, {'start': '1380.240', 'end': '1385.600', 'text': 'stretched wallto- wall. The lights were'}, {'start': '1383.120', 'end': '1389.520', 'text': 'motion sensor activated, so they blinked'}, {'start': '1385.600', 'end': '1392.400', 'text': 'on when I walked in. The air was silent,'}, {'start': '1389.520', 'end': '1393.400', 'text': "the type of quiet that's not peaceful,"}, {'start': '1392.400', 'end': '1396.440', 'text': 'but'}, {'start': '1393.400', 'end': '1399.919', 'text': 'alert, like the room was waiting for'}, {'start': '1396.440', 'end': '1402.080', 'text': 'something. I chose the second stall. As'}, {'start': '1399.919', 'end': '1406.919', 'text': 'I closed the door and turned the lock, I'}, {'start': '1402.080', 'end': '1411.039', 'text': 'heard it. A whisper. She knows. Soft'}, {'start': '1406.919', 'end': '1412.960', 'text': 'female right next to me. I froze. My'}, {'start': '1411.039', 'end': '1416.400', 'text': "heart dropped into my stomach. I wasn't"}, {'start': '1412.960', 'end': '1419.600', 'text': 'imagining it. I felt breath through the'}, {'start': '1416.400', 'end': '1422.120', 'text': 'stall divider. I stood there silent,'}, {'start': '1419.600', 'end': '1425.520', 'text': 'barely breathing, trying to listen for'}, {'start': '1422.120', 'end': '1429.880', 'text': 'footsteps, a door, anything, but there'}, {'start': '1425.520', 'end': '1432.400', 'text': 'was nothing. "Hello," I called out. No'}, {'start': '1429.880', 'end': '1435.039', 'text': 'reply. I mustered the courage to push'}, {'start': '1432.400', 'end': '1437.280', 'text': 'open the stall door and step out. The'}, {'start': '1435.039', 'end': '1439.919', 'text': 'room was empty. The mirror reflected'}, {'start': '1437.280', 'end': '1443.760', 'text': 'only me, but the faucet closest to the'}, {'start': '1439.919', 'end': '1445.360', 'text': 'stall was on. Water gently pouring into'}, {'start': '1443.760', 'end': '1448.799', 'text': 'the sink, even though no one had'}, {'start': '1445.360', 'end': '1451.520', 'text': 'activated it. I walked to the counter,'}, {'start': '1448.799', 'end': '1454.039', 'text': 'slowly turned the faucet off, and looked'}, {'start': '1451.520', 'end': '1456.840', 'text': 'at myself in the mirror, just my'}, {'start': '1454.039', 'end': '1459.039', 'text': 'reflection. But then I noticed'}, {'start': '1456.840', 'end': '1461.840', 'text': "something. The mirror wasn't clean"}, {'start': '1459.039', 'end': '1464.080', 'text': 'anymore. It was fogging up as though'}, {'start': '1461.840', 'end': '1466.960', 'text': 'someone had just taken a hot shower,'}, {'start': '1464.080', 'end': '1468.760', 'text': 'even though the air was ice cold. And'}, {'start': '1466.960', 'end': '1470.919', 'text': 'then letters'}, {'start': '1468.760', 'end': '1473.600', 'text': 'appeared. Tell no'}, {'start': '1470.919', 'end': '1476.320', 'text': 'one. Drawn by an invisible finger'}, {'start': '1473.600', 'end': '1478.960', 'text': 'through the mist. I stumbled backward,'}, {'start': '1476.320', 'end': '1481.760', 'text': 'nearly falling. My breathing grew'}, {'start': '1478.960', 'end': '1485.120', 'text': 'erratic and my head spun. My instincts'}, {'start': '1481.760', 'end': '1488.159', 'text': 'screamed, "Run!" But my curiosity pulled'}, {'start': '1485.120', 'end': '1490.440', 'text': 'harder. I stepped forward again, wiping'}, {'start': '1488.159', 'end': '1494.400', 'text': 'the mirror with my palm. The words were'}, {'start': '1490.440', 'end': '1497.919', 'text': "gone. But now my reflection didn't match"}, {'start': '1494.400', 'end': '1501.120', 'text': 'my movements. I raised my left hand. She'}, {'start': '1497.919', 'end': '1504.080', 'text': 'raised her right. I smiled nervously.'}, {'start': '1501.120', 'end': '1509.039', 'text': "She didn't smile back. Her face slowly"}, {'start': '1504.080', 'end': '1512.400', 'text': 'grew stern, cold, and then distorted.'}, {'start': '1509.039', 'end': '1515.360', 'text': 'Her eyes turned black. Her lips twisted'}, {'start': '1512.400', 'end': '1518.720', 'text': 'down. She lifted her hand and mimicked'}, {'start': '1515.360', 'end': '1521.440', 'text': 'the act of slitting her throat. That'}, {'start': '1518.720', 'end': '1524.559', 'text': 'broke me. I turned and ran from the'}, {'start': '1521.440', 'end': '1526.480', 'text': 'bathroom, heart slamming in my chest.'}, {'start': '1524.559', 'end': '1528.720', 'text': 'When I reached my desk, the lights in'}, {'start': '1526.480', 'end': '1531.360', 'text': 'the hallway flickered. And then the'}, {'start': '1528.720', 'end': '1534.320', 'text': 'printer on the far end of the office'}, {'start': '1531.360', 'end': '1538.320', 'text': 'started printing something. One page,'}, {'start': '1534.320', 'end': '1540.720', 'text': 'then two, then five, then 20. I walked'}, {'start': '1538.320', 'end': '1543.880', 'text': "over hesitantly, afraid of what I'd"}, {'start': '1540.720', 'end': '1547.760', 'text': 'find. Each page had the same'}, {'start': '1543.880', 'end': '1550.480', 'text': 'sentence. We warned her. Everyone typed'}, {'start': '1547.760', 'end': '1553.440', 'text': 'in a shaky, uneven font like someone was'}, {'start': '1550.480', 'end': '1555.600', 'text': 'hammering keys with broken fingers. My'}, {'start': '1553.440', 'end': '1558.559', 'text': 'phone buzzed. It was an anonymous'}, {'start': '1555.600', 'end': '1561.279', 'text': 'number. The text read, "Don\'t open the'}, {'start': '1558.559', 'end': '1564.320', 'text': 'file. Don\'t be like her." A second'}, {'start': '1561.279', 'end': '1567.320', 'text': 'later, my email chimed. A new message.'}, {'start': '1564.320', 'end': '1571.600', 'text': 'No sender, no subject. One'}, {'start': '1567.320', 'end': '1571.600', 'text': 'attachment. Case redacted.'}, {'start': '1572.120', 'end': '1577.279', 'text': "001.pdf. I didn't click it. I shut my"}, {'start': '1575.039', 'end': '1580.480', 'text': 'laptop, grabbed my bag, and sprinted to'}, {'start': '1577.279', 'end': '1582.960', 'text': 'the elevator. As the door slid shut, I'}, {'start': '1580.480', 'end': '1585.039', 'text': 'saw the office lights flicker again. And'}, {'start': '1582.960', 'end': '1589.200', 'text': 'in the glass reflection just behind me,'}, {'start': '1585.039', 'end': '1593.679', 'text': 'I saw her standing by my desk, looking'}, {'start': '1589.200', 'end': '1595.840', 'text': 'at me, mouth moving, repeating one word,'}, {'start': '1593.679', 'end': '1598.360', 'text': 'liar.'}, {'start': '1595.840', 'end': '1601.039', 'text': "I didn't go to work the next day or the"}, {'start': '1598.360', 'end': '1602.320', 'text': 'next. When I finally called in sick, I'}, {'start': '1601.039', 'end': '1605.000', 'text': 'found out something that made me'}, {'start': '1602.320', 'end': '1608.400', 'text': 'collapse onto my bathroom floor in'}, {'start': '1605.000', 'end': '1610.000', 'text': 'shock. 3 years ago, another parallegal'}, {'start': '1608.400', 'end': '1611.919', 'text': 'named Rachel had been working on a'}, {'start': '1610.000', 'end': '1615.720', 'text': 'whistleblower case against a corrupt'}, {'start': '1611.919', 'end': '1618.559', 'text': 'pharmaceutical company. A case the firm'}, {'start': '1615.720', 'end': '1622.000', 'text': 'buried. Rachel died before it went to'}, {'start': '1618.559', 'end': '1625.360', 'text': 'trial. They said it was a suicide in'}, {'start': '1622.000', 'end': '1628.559', 'text': 'that same 28th floor bathroom.'}, {'start': '1625.360', 'end': '1632.320', 'text': "stall number two. But it wasn't in the"}, {'start': '1628.559', 'end': '1634.159', 'text': 'news. The firm paid to keep it quiet. I'}, {'start': '1632.320', 'end': '1636.000', 'text': 'only found out because an intern'}, {'start': '1634.159', 'end': '1638.799', 'text': 'forwarded me a screenshot of an old'}, {'start': '1636.000', 'end': '1641.760', 'text': "incident report, one she wasn't supposed"}, {'start': '1638.799', 'end': '1644.679', 'text': 'to have. And in the comments section was'}, {'start': '1641.760', 'end': '1647.120', 'text': "a note from Rachel's last"}, {'start': '1644.679', 'end': '1649.679', 'text': 'supervisor. She said someone was'}, {'start': '1647.120', 'end': '1652.640', 'text': 'watching her through the mirror.'}, {'start': '1649.679', 'end': '1654.840', 'text': 'I quit that week, but every so often I'}, {'start': '1652.640', 'end': '1658.159', 'text': 'get messages on my phone from block'}, {'start': '1654.840', 'end': '1661.520', 'text': 'numbers, photos of bathroom mirrors,'}, {'start': '1658.159', 'end': '1664.559', 'text': 'screenshots of old case files, emails I'}, {'start': '1661.520', 'end': '1666.799', 'text': 'never opened. And last night at 1:16'}, {'start': '1664.559', 'end': '1670.080', 'text': 'a.m., I woke up to find my bathroom'}, {'start': '1666.799', 'end': '1673.159', 'text': 'light already on. The mirror was fogged'}, {'start': '1670.080', 'end': '1675.960', 'text': 'and on it written in dripping'}, {'start': '1673.159', 'end': '1681.840', 'text': 'condensation. You'}, {'start': '1675.960', 'end': '1681.840', 'text': 'told. and beneath it was ha, my own'}, {'start': '1682.679', 'end': '1688.080', 'text': "name. I still can't explain what"}, {'start': '1685.120', 'end': '1689.159', 'text': 'happened that night, but I know I almost'}, {'start': '1688.080', 'end': '1691.919', 'text': "didn't"}, {'start': '1689.159', 'end': '1694.320', 'text': 'survive. I work in cyber security at a'}, {'start': '1691.919', 'end': '1697.120', 'text': 'midsized tech company headquartered in'}, {'start': '1694.320', 'end': '1699.760', 'text': "Pune. It's the kind of place where the"}, {'start': '1697.120', 'end': '1702.480', 'text': 'upper floors, house developers, and HR'}, {'start': '1699.760', 'end': '1705.520', 'text': 'teams, all cheerful and glasswalled with'}, {'start': '1702.480', 'end': '1708.399', 'text': 'posters that say things like, "Dream big'}, {'start': '1705.520', 'end': '1710.240', 'text': 'or code harder." But two floors below'}, {'start': '1708.399', 'end': '1714.320', 'text': 'the ground, beneath even the parking'}, {'start': '1710.240', 'end': '1715.960', 'text': 'lot, sat the server room. No posters, no'}, {'start': '1714.320', 'end': '1718.360', 'text': 'windows, no'}, {'start': '1715.960', 'end': '1720.720', 'text': 'laughter. That room was my'}, {'start': '1718.360', 'end': '1723.600', 'text': 'responsibility. It was a steel belly of'}, {'start': '1720.720', 'end': '1726.640', 'text': 'blinking lights and low humming fans.'}, {'start': '1723.600', 'end': '1730.320', 'text': 'Row after row of server towers blinking'}, {'start': '1726.640', 'end': '1733.679', 'text': 'green and amber. I actually liked it. It'}, {'start': '1730.320', 'end': '1737.600', 'text': 'was peaceful, cold, predictable until'}, {'start': '1733.679', 'end': '1739.360', 'text': 'that night. It was a Tuesday. Monsoon'}, {'start': '1737.600', 'end': '1741.520', 'text': 'rain had been hammering the city all'}, {'start': '1739.360', 'end': '1744.720', 'text': 'evening, and our system had started'}, {'start': '1741.520', 'end': '1748.480', 'text': 'flagging unusual inbound traffic spikes,'}, {'start': '1744.720', 'end': '1750.799', 'text': 'possible DOS activity. My lead told me'}, {'start': '1748.480', 'end': '1754.399', 'text': 'to stay back and monitor logs in real'}, {'start': '1750.799', 'end': '1757.120', 'text': 'time. He left around 900 p.m. wishing me'}, {'start': '1754.399', 'end': '1758.840', 'text': 'good luck. I stayed behind in the'}, {'start': '1757.120', 'end': '1761.840', 'text': 'surveillance center above the server'}, {'start': '1758.840', 'end': '1765.200', 'text': 'room. By midnight, the rain was pounding'}, {'start': '1761.840', 'end': '1767.559', 'text': 'like a war drum on the concrete roof. I'}, {'start': '1765.200', 'end': '1769.679', 'text': 'decided to go downstairs to do a manual'}, {'start': '1767.559', 'end': '1773.039', 'text': 'inspection just in case something'}, {'start': '1769.679', 'end': '1774.960', 'text': 'physical had failed or tripped a sensor.'}, {'start': '1773.039', 'end': '1776.799', 'text': 'I took the service elevator, the one'}, {'start': '1774.960', 'end': '1780.000', 'text': 'that opened directly to the underground'}, {'start': '1776.799', 'end': '1783.279', 'text': 'server room. The door slid open with a'}, {'start': '1780.000', 'end': '1786.159', 'text': 'tired weeze. I stepped out into cold'}, {'start': '1783.279', 'end': '1788.120', 'text': 'fluorescent light. The server room'}, {'start': '1786.159', 'end': '1791.039', 'text': 'stretched before me like a metallic'}, {'start': '1788.120', 'end': '1794.159', 'text': 'graveyard. Rows and rows of silent'}, {'start': '1791.039', 'end': '1796.559', 'text': 'machines blinking softly in the dark.'}, {'start': '1794.159', 'end': '1800.559', 'text': 'The only sound was the faint rhythmic'}, {'start': '1796.559', 'end': '1803.039', 'text': 'hum of cooling fans. I swiped my card,'}, {'start': '1800.559', 'end': '1804.880', 'text': 'unlocked the main gate, and walked in.'}, {'start': '1803.039', 'end': '1807.440', 'text': 'Almost immediately, I felt something'}, {'start': '1804.880', 'end': '1809.919', 'text': 'wrong. The temperature. It was colder'}, {'start': '1807.440', 'end': '1814.080', 'text': 'than usual, not airond conditioned cold.'}, {'start': '1809.919', 'end': '1817.279', 'text': 'A gotten unnatural cold. It bit into my'}, {'start': '1814.080', 'end': '1820.240', 'text': 'skin like ice. I moved deeper, scanning'}, {'start': '1817.279', 'end': '1823.720', 'text': 'each rack for errors. Nothing flagged.'}, {'start': '1820.240', 'end': '1826.640', 'text': 'Nothing failed. But then I heard it. A'}, {'start': '1823.720', 'end': '1829.840', 'text': 'humiff different from the machines. It'}, {'start': '1826.640', 'end': '1831.720', 'text': 'was human. Faint humming like a tune'}, {'start': '1829.840', 'end': '1835.760', 'text': 'from a lullaby echoed between the'}, {'start': '1831.720', 'end': '1838.799', 'text': 'servers. I froze. Hello," I called out,'}, {'start': '1835.760', 'end': '1841.520', 'text': 'my voice bouncing off steel and wires.'}, {'start': '1838.799', 'end': '1844.559', 'text': 'No answer, but the humming continued,'}, {'start': '1841.520', 'end': '1846.960', 'text': 'then stopped. I shined my flashlight'}, {'start': '1844.559', 'end': '1852.080', 'text': 'toward the far end of the aisle, and I'}, {'start': '1846.960', 'end': '1854.880', 'text': 'saw her, a woman, pale, thin, draped in'}, {'start': '1852.080', 'end': '1857.200', 'text': 'a tattered sire, just standing in the'}, {'start': '1854.880', 'end': '1859.440', 'text': 'middle of the floor with her back to me.'}, {'start': '1857.200', 'end': '1861.600', 'text': 'Her head was tilted to one side like her'}, {'start': '1859.440', 'end': '1863.679', 'text': 'neck had been broken long ago and just'}, {'start': '1861.600', 'end': '1867.120', 'text': 'never healed right.'}, {'start': '1863.679', 'end': '1869.919', 'text': 'I couldn\'t breathe. "Excuse me, this'}, {'start': '1867.120', 'end': '1872.480', 'text': 'area is restricted," I said,'}, {'start': '1869.919', 'end': '1875.760', 'text': 'instinctively, reaching for my radio. It'}, {'start': '1872.480', 'end': '1878.760', 'text': "didn't work. Dead static. I took a step"}, {'start': '1875.760', 'end': '1882.559', 'text': 'forward. She vanished, not walked'}, {'start': '1878.760', 'end': '1885.440', 'text': 'away. Vanished like smoke. I should have'}, {'start': '1882.559', 'end': '1888.399', 'text': 'run then, but instead, I walked toward'}, {'start': '1885.440', 'end': '1891.760', 'text': "where she'd been. A part of me needed to"}, {'start': '1888.399', 'end': '1893.640', 'text': 'know. Maybe my mind was playing tricks.'}, {'start': '1891.760', 'end': '1896.320', 'text': 'Maybe it was a weird'}, {'start': '1893.640', 'end': '1899.039', 'text': 'reflection. When I reached that spot, I'}, {'start': '1896.320', 'end': '1902.320', 'text': "found something that didn't belong. A"}, {'start': '1899.039', 'end': '1905.120', 'text': 'tow tag, the kind they use in morgs.'}, {'start': '1902.320', 'end': '1908.159', 'text': 'Yellowed, stained, and scribbled across'}, {'start': '1905.120', 'end': '1911.120', 'text': 'it in blood red ink were the words.'}, {'start': '1908.159', 'end': '1913.840', 'text': 'Still processing. I dropped it and ran'}, {'start': '1911.120', 'end': '1916.679', 'text': 'for the exit. But the lights cut out'}, {'start': '1913.840', 'end': '1919.440', 'text': 'total darkness. The soft machine hum'}, {'start': '1916.679', 'end': '1922.039', 'text': 'disappeared. In that silence, something'}, {'start': '1919.440', 'end': '1925.519', 'text': 'else rose.'}, {'start': '1922.039', 'end': '1927.480', 'text': 'Whispers, multiple, all around me,'}, {'start': '1925.519', 'end': '1930.000', 'text': "chanting in a language I didn't"}, {'start': '1927.480', 'end': '1933.200', 'text': 'understand. Words bouncing between the'}, {'start': '1930.000', 'end': '1936.159', 'text': 'walls like mocking spirits. I turned on'}, {'start': '1933.200', 'end': '1938.360', 'text': "my flashlight. That's when I saw them."}, {'start': '1936.159', 'end': '1941.000', 'text': 'Dozens of eyes staring at me from the'}, {'start': '1938.360', 'end': '1943.919', 'text': "racks. Eyes where there shouldn't be"}, {'start': '1941.000', 'end': '1946.360', 'text': 'any. Inside the mesh grills behind the'}, {'start': '1943.919', 'end': '1949.279', 'text': 'blinking lights in the spaces between'}, {'start': '1946.360', 'end': '1952.799', 'text': 'servers. Faces watching me. Melted'}, {'start': '1949.279', 'end': '1956.360', 'text': 'faces. burned faces, their mouths wide'}, {'start': '1952.799', 'end': '1959.600', 'text': 'open, screaming silently, jaws locked in'}, {'start': '1956.360', 'end': '1963.279', 'text': 'agony. And then the humming came again,'}, {'start': '1959.600', 'end': '1967.039', 'text': 'closer, louder, suffocating like it was'}, {'start': '1963.279', 'end': '1971.440', 'text': 'inside my ears. Suddenly, the servers'}, {'start': '1967.039', 'end': '1973.840', 'text': 'shut off. All of them. A dead electronic'}, {'start': '1971.440', 'end': '1976.159', 'text': 'heart attack. The emergency lights'}, {'start': '1973.840', 'end': '1978.080', 'text': "didn't come on. I stumbled backward in"}, {'start': '1976.159', 'end': '1979.519', 'text': 'blind panic and crashed into a metal'}, {'start': '1978.080', 'end': '1982.399', 'text': 'cabinet.'}, {'start': '1979.519', 'end': '1985.159', 'text': 'The impact knocked something loose. From'}, {'start': '1982.399', 'end': '1987.919', 'text': 'behind the cabinet, a door revealed'}, {'start': '1985.159', 'end': '1989.159', 'text': 'itself. A hidden metal hatch with the'}, {'start': '1987.919', 'end': '1991.919', 'text': 'word'}, {'start': '1989.159', 'end': '1995.559', 'text': 'archive, barely visible beneath a layer'}, {'start': '1991.919', 'end': '1999.279', 'text': "of dust. I don't know why I opened it."}, {'start': '1995.559', 'end': '2002.240', 'text': 'Curiosity, madness, a death wish. It led'}, {'start': '1999.279', 'end': '2005.760', 'text': 'to a narrow stairwell, pitch black and'}, {'start': '2002.240', 'end': '2008.720', 'text': 'cold. So cold my skin started to sting.'}, {'start': '2005.760', 'end': '2010.880', 'text': 'But something it compelled me downward.'}, {'start': '2008.720', 'end': '2014.159', 'text': 'As I descended, the temperature dropped'}, {'start': '2010.880', 'end': '2016.720', 'text': 'to what felt like freezing. Each step'}, {'start': '2014.159', 'end': '2019.919', 'text': 'echoed like I was walking into a well.'}, {'start': '2016.720', 'end': '2022.399', 'text': 'And then I reached it. A small chamber'}, {'start': '2019.919', 'end': '2026.159', 'text': "lined with servers that didn't exist on"}, {'start': '2022.399', 'end': '2028.399', 'text': 'our network. Old ones, dead models,'}, {'start': '2026.159', 'end': '2031.200', 'text': 'burnt wires. But their lights were'}, {'start': '2028.399', 'end': '2034.799', 'text': 'blinking, every one of them. And in the'}, {'start': '2031.200', 'end': '2038.880', 'text': 'center stood her again, but this time'}, {'start': '2034.799', 'end': '2041.039', 'text': 'she was facing me. Her eyes were gone,'}, {'start': '2038.880', 'end': '2044.080', 'text': 'just hollow sockets that seemed to pull'}, {'start': '2041.039', 'end': '2046.799', 'text': 'the light out of the room. Her smile was'}, {'start': '2044.080', 'end': '2051.040', 'text': 'too wide, too forced, like it had been'}, {'start': '2046.799', 'end': '2053.440', 'text': 'carved in, her mouth opened, and I swear'}, {'start': '2051.040', 'end': '2057.760', 'text': 'I heard every dead device in that room'}, {'start': '2053.440', 'end': '2059.280', 'text': 'whisper at once, "Stay! You belong here'}, {'start': '2057.760', 'end': '2062.000', 'text': 'now."'}, {'start': '2059.280', 'end': '2064.639', 'text': 'Suddenly, the servers screamed. A'}, {'start': '2062.000', 'end': '2066.800', 'text': 'deafening electronic whale, like'}, {'start': '2064.639', 'end': '2070.399', 'text': 'corrupted data being forced through'}, {'start': '2066.800', 'end': '2071.480', 'text': 'broken speakers. I covered my ears and'}, {'start': '2070.399', 'end': '2075.359', 'text': 'screamed'}, {'start': '2071.480', 'end': '2077.520', 'text': 'back. Then everything went black. When I'}, {'start': '2075.359', 'end': '2078.919', 'text': 'woke up, I was lying on the floor of the'}, {'start': '2077.520', 'end': '2081.679', 'text': 'surveillance room'}, {'start': '2078.919', 'end': '2084.599', 'text': 'upstairs. It was morning. The rain had'}, {'start': '2081.679', 'end': '2087.119', 'text': 'stopped. My coworker was shaking me,'}, {'start': '2084.599', 'end': '2089.520', 'text': 'confused. You passed out at your desk,'}, {'start': '2087.119', 'end': '2093.200', 'text': 'man. You okay? you were muttering some'}, {'start': '2089.520', 'end': '2095.599', 'text': "weird stuff. I didn't answer. I didn't"}, {'start': '2093.200', 'end': '2098.240', 'text': 'have answers. But when I looked at the'}, {'start': '2095.599', 'end': '2101.680', 'text': 'CCTV footage for the server room during'}, {'start': '2098.240', 'end': '2103.160', 'text': 'the time I was supposedly asleep, I saw'}, {'start': '2101.680', 'end': '2105.599', 'text': "something I'll never"}, {'start': '2103.160', 'end': '2108.280', 'text': 'forget. The footage showed me walking'}, {'start': '2105.599', 'end': '2112.079', 'text': 'into the server room. Then the footage'}, {'start': '2108.280', 'end': '2115.760', 'text': 'glitched. When it returned, I was gone.'}, {'start': '2112.079', 'end': '2119.920', 'text': 'For nearly 45 minutes, the room was'}, {'start': '2115.760', 'end': '2122.440', 'text': 'empty until the last frame. It showed me'}, {'start': '2119.920', 'end': '2124.200', 'text': 'standing at the far corner, facing the'}, {'start': '2122.440', 'end': '2125.720', 'text': 'wall,'}, {'start': '2124.200', 'end': '2130.320', 'text': 'smiling,'}, {'start': '2125.720', 'end': '2132.240', 'text': 'unblinking. The timestamp said 3:03 a.m.'}, {'start': '2130.320', 'end': '2134.560', 'text': 'The cameras stopped recording after'}, {'start': '2132.240', 'end': '2137.119', 'text': 'that, and none of the logs could explain'}, {'start': '2134.560', 'end': '2139.920', 'text': 'the power shutdown. The server room'}, {'start': '2137.119', 'end': '2142.560', 'text': 'works fine now, but I never enter it'}, {'start': '2139.920', 'end': '2144.720', 'text': 'again because sometimes in the middle of'}, {'start': '2142.560', 'end': '2148.800', 'text': 'a normal day, the temperature suddenly'}, {'start': '2144.720', 'end': '2151.680', 'text': 'drops for a second. And I swear I hear'}, {'start': '2148.800', 'end': '2151.680', 'text': 'that'}, {'start': '2152.680', 'end': '2157.599', 'text': "lullabi. If you've ever heard a printer"}, {'start': '2155.119', 'end': '2161.119', 'text': 'make sounds on its own at night, trust'}, {'start': '2157.599', 'end': '2163.200', 'text': 'me, leave. I was working the night shift'}, {'start': '2161.119', 'end': '2165.880', 'text': 'in the regional office of a supply chain'}, {'start': '2163.200', 'end': '2169.040', 'text': 'company based just outside Portland,'}, {'start': '2165.880', 'end': '2172.440', 'text': 'Oregon. Nothing fancy, no fancy glass'}, {'start': '2169.040', 'end': '2175.359', 'text': 'walls or espresso machines, just rows of'}, {'start': '2172.440', 'end': '2178.000', 'text': 'cubicles, flickering fluorescent lights,'}, {'start': '2175.359', 'end': '2182.480', 'text': 'and that god-awful smell of toner and'}, {'start': '2178.000', 'end': '2184.960', 'text': 'damp carpet. My job was pretty mindless.'}, {'start': '2182.480', 'end': '2187.520', 'text': 'finalize packing lists, check inventory'}, {'start': '2184.960', 'end': '2189.800', 'text': 'logs, and print bulk shipping reports'}, {'start': '2187.520', 'end': '2194.079', 'text': 'for the warehouse team to use the next'}, {'start': '2189.800', 'end': '2196.800', 'text': 'morning. Everyone else left by 700 p.m.'}, {'start': '2194.079', 'end': '2199.599', 'text': 'I stayed until well past midnight, five'}, {'start': '2196.800', 'end': '2202.320', 'text': 'nights a week. The only other person'}, {'start': '2199.599', 'end': '2204.160', 'text': 'around was Dave, the janitor, who'}, {'start': '2202.320', 'end': '2207.520', 'text': 'usually cleaned the floor above mine and'}, {'start': '2204.160', 'end': '2210.400', 'text': 'left by 11. That Friday night, the storm'}, {'start': '2207.520', 'end': '2212.400', 'text': 'was vicious. Rain lashed against the'}, {'start': '2210.400', 'end': '2215.280', 'text': 'windows like nails.'}, {'start': '2212.400', 'end': '2217.839', 'text': 'Thunder shook the thin walls, and the'}, {'start': '2215.280', 'end': '2220.400', 'text': 'power flickered more than once, making'}, {'start': '2217.839', 'end': '2224.880', 'text': 'my monitor restart twice while I was'}, {'start': '2220.400', 'end': '2228.240', 'text': 'finalizing the manifest. By 12:38 a.m.,'}, {'start': '2224.880', 'end': '2231.119', 'text': 'I was finally done. I clicked asterisk'}, {'start': '2228.240', 'end': '2235.119', 'text': 'print all asterisk. The document was'}, {'start': '2231.119', 'end': '2237.680', 'text': 'long, over 180 pages. The printer, a'}, {'start': '2235.119', 'end': '2239.760', 'text': 'clunky industrial-grade HP in the back'}, {'start': '2237.680', 'end': '2242.880', 'text': 'room, usually hummed into life'}, {'start': '2239.760', 'end': '2246.160', 'text': "instantly. But this time it didn't."}, {'start': '2242.880', 'end': '2249.520', 'text': 'Instead, I heard a soft click. Not the'}, {'start': '2246.160', 'end': '2251.520', 'text': 'printer, something else. I stood up,'}, {'start': '2249.520', 'end': '2254.240', 'text': 'stretched, and headed toward the printer'}, {'start': '2251.520', 'end': '2256.560', 'text': 'room. The hallway lights had dimmed from'}, {'start': '2254.240', 'end': '2259.119', 'text': 'the storm, and one of them was blinking'}, {'start': '2256.560', 'end': '2261.760', 'text': 'erratically above the break area. The'}, {'start': '2259.119', 'end': '2265.440', 'text': 'door to the print room was half open,'}, {'start': '2261.760', 'end': '2268.160', 'text': "but something was off. The papers hadn't"}, {'start': '2265.440', 'end': '2270.000', 'text': 'stacked in the output tray like usual.'}, {'start': '2268.160', 'end': '2273.160', 'text': 'They were scattered across the tiled'}, {'start': '2270.000', 'end': '2275.520', 'text': 'floor, spiraling outward in a perfect'}, {'start': '2273.160', 'end': '2278.440', 'text': 'circle, as though someone had placed'}, {'start': '2275.520', 'end': '2281.680', 'text': 'them one by one like petals around the'}, {'start': '2278.440', 'end': '2285.520', 'text': 'machine. "What the hell?" I whispered,'}, {'start': '2281.680', 'end': '2288.880', 'text': 'crouching to pick one up. It was blank.'}, {'start': '2285.520', 'end': '2291.200', 'text': 'I picked up another, also blank, except'}, {'start': '2288.880', 'end': '2294.960', 'text': 'at the very bottom, barely visible in'}, {'start': '2291.200', 'end': '2299.040', 'text': 'faint gray ink, were three words. "Don\'t'}, {'start': '2294.960', 'end': '2302.839', 'text': 'look back." I laughed nervously. Is this'}, {'start': '2299.040', 'end': '2305.640', 'text': 'a prank? But deep inside, my gut was'}, {'start': '2302.839', 'end': '2308.320', 'text': 'clenching. I turned slowly, expecting'}, {'start': '2305.640', 'end': '2311.359', 'text': 'Dave. Maybe he was messing around. But'}, {'start': '2308.320', 'end': '2314.320', 'text': 'the hallway was empty, silent. No'}, {'start': '2311.359', 'end': '2317.040', 'text': 'creaking, no janitor cart, no distant'}, {'start': '2314.320', 'end': '2318.720', 'text': 'vacuum cleaner, just the soft buzzing of'}, {'start': '2317.040', 'end': '2321.839', 'text': 'old lights, and the steady ticking of'}, {'start': '2318.720', 'end': '2324.640', 'text': 'the wall clock. I stepped fully into the'}, {'start': '2321.839', 'end': '2326.880', 'text': 'printer room. The air was colder here,'}, {'start': '2324.640', 'end': '2329.280', 'text': 'heavier. The temperature drop was'}, {'start': '2326.880', 'end': '2332.000', 'text': 'unnatural, like the inside of a freezer'}, {'start': '2329.280', 'end': '2333.839', 'text': 'with the Dora jar. The printer was still'}, {'start': '2332.000', 'end': '2338.480', 'text': 'running, but something was wrong with'}, {'start': '2333.839', 'end': '2342.160', 'text': "the sound. It didn't hum. It croked."}, {'start': '2338.480', 'end': '2346.160', 'text': 'Then it stopped. I leaned forward. The'}, {'start': '2342.160', 'end': '2347.760', 'text': 'machine exhaled. No joke. I heard it'}, {'start': '2346.160', 'end': '2351.680', 'text': 'like a shallow, wet breath being'}, {'start': '2347.760', 'end': '2353.599', 'text': 'released from its vents. I stepped back.'}, {'start': '2351.680', 'end': '2355.520', 'text': 'Suddenly, every light in the room'}, {'start': '2353.599', 'end': '2358.160', 'text': 'blinked off at once.'}, {'start': '2355.520', 'end': '2360.320', 'text': 'complete darkness, except for the faint'}, {'start': '2358.160', 'end': '2362.520', 'text': 'green glow from the small LED on the'}, {'start': '2360.320', 'end': '2365.240', 'text': 'printer, pulsing like a'}, {'start': '2362.520', 'end': '2368.320', 'text': 'heartbeat. I tried to turn on my phone'}, {'start': '2365.240', 'end': '2370.240', 'text': "flashlight. The screen wouldn't respond."}, {'start': '2368.320', 'end': '2373.599', 'text': 'The printer powered back on with a'}, {'start': '2370.240', 'end': '2376.480', 'text': 'shriek like metal tearing. It began'}, {'start': '2373.599', 'end': '2379.040', 'text': 'printing furiously, page after page,'}, {'start': '2376.480', 'end': '2381.920', 'text': 'flying out of the tray, onto the floor,'}, {'start': '2379.040', 'end': '2385.040', 'text': 'into the dark. I knelt and grabbed one'}, {'start': '2381.920', 'end': '2386.960', 'text': 'blindly, holding it to the LED glow.'}, {'start': '2385.040', 'end': '2392.240', 'text': "It wasn't the shipping manifest anymore."}, {'start': '2386.960', 'end': '2394.640', 'text': 'It was a photo, black and white, of me'}, {'start': '2392.240', 'end': '2397.440', 'text': "asleep in my office chair, but I hadn't"}, {'start': '2394.640', 'end': '2399.599', 'text': 'fallen asleep. I stared at it, trying to'}, {'start': '2397.440', 'end': '2404.640', 'text': 'understand when another page fell beside'}, {'start': '2399.599', 'end': '2406.640', 'text': 'it. Another photo. Me again standing in'}, {'start': '2404.640', 'end': '2409.119', 'text': 'the hallway, looking at the camera,'}, {'start': '2406.640', 'end': '2412.480', 'text': 'holding a bloody box cutter. I staggered'}, {'start': '2409.119', 'end': '2414.960', 'text': 'to my feet. More pages spilled out. a'}, {'start': '2412.480', 'end': '2417.200', 'text': 'photo of me in the breakroom, one of me'}, {'start': '2414.960', 'end': '2419.359', 'text': 'standing behind Dave, one of me outside'}, {'start': '2417.200', 'end': '2422.000', 'text': 'the building, staring into the lobby'}, {'start': '2419.359', 'end': '2425.200', 'text': "from the rain. But I hadn't done any of"}, {'start': '2422.000', 'end': '2428.640', 'text': "that. I never left the desk. I didn't"}, {'start': '2425.200', 'end': '2431.119', 'text': 'even have a box cutter. I ran. The'}, {'start': '2428.640', 'end': '2432.800', 'text': 'hallway was longer than I remembered. I'}, {'start': '2431.119', 'end': '2435.359', 'text': 'felt like I was running down a tunnel'}, {'start': '2432.800', 'end': '2437.680', 'text': 'that kept stretching. My own breath'}, {'start': '2435.359', 'end': '2439.440', 'text': 'sounded like static.'}, {'start': '2437.680', 'end': '2442.000', 'text': 'As I reached the lobby, I caught my'}, {'start': '2439.440', 'end': '2445.839', 'text': 'reflection in the glass doors and'}, {'start': '2442.000', 'end': '2448.440', 'text': "stopped cold. It wasn't right. My"}, {'start': '2445.839', 'end': '2451.040', 'text': "reflection wasn't following my"}, {'start': '2448.440', 'end': '2453.520', 'text': 'movements. When I leaned to the left, it'}, {'start': '2451.040', 'end': '2457.280', 'text': 'leaned to the right. When I stepped'}, {'start': '2453.520', 'end': '2460.079', 'text': 'back, it stepped forward and it smiled.'}, {'start': '2457.280', 'end': '2463.119', 'text': 'I bolted back to my desk, grabbed my car'}, {'start': '2460.079', 'end': '2465.440', 'text': 'keys, and made for the parking lot. The'}, {'start': '2463.119', 'end': '2468.079', 'text': 'rain had lightened, but everything felt'}, {'start': '2465.440', 'end': '2470.800', 'text': 'surreal, muted, like a dream where'}, {'start': '2468.079', 'end': '2475.319', 'text': 'nothing made sense. When I got in my'}, {'start': '2470.800', 'end': '2479.280', 'text': 'car, my phone finally powered up.'}, {'start': '2475.319', 'end': '2481.920', 'text': '12:53 a.m. I had a missed call from my'}, {'start': '2479.280', 'end': '2484.480', 'text': "desk phone. I don't even remember the"}, {'start': '2481.920', 'end': '2487.880', 'text': 'last time I used that line. I hit play'}, {'start': '2484.480', 'end': '2490.480', 'text': 'on the voicemail. It was static. Then a'}, {'start': '2487.880', 'end': '2492.720', 'text': "voice. You printed yourself. We're"}, {'start': '2490.480', 'end': '2494.560', 'text': 'keeping the real one.'}, {'start': '2492.720', 'end': '2497.440', 'text': 'I threw the phone into the passenger'}, {'start': '2494.560', 'end': '2500.079', 'text': "seat and drove like hell. I didn't"}, {'start': '2497.440', 'end': '2502.040', 'text': 'return Monday. I sent in my resignation'}, {'start': '2500.079', 'end': '2504.640', 'text': 'through email. No'}, {'start': '2502.040', 'end': '2507.040', 'text': 'explanation. HR said they never received'}, {'start': '2504.640', 'end': '2509.280', 'text': 'the printer logs that night and the'}, {'start': '2507.040', 'end': '2513.200', 'text': 'print room had no record of being used'}, {'start': '2509.280', 'end': '2516.160', 'text': "after 11 p.m. I didn't care. But the"}, {'start': '2513.200', 'end': '2520.800', 'text': "story didn't end there. Last week, I got"}, {'start': '2516.160', 'end': '2524.319', 'text': 'a FedEx delivery. No sender. Inside a'}, {'start': '2520.800', 'end': '2526.520', 'text': 'stack of paper, blank except for the'}, {'start': '2524.319', 'end': '2528.839', 'text': 'bottom corner of the first'}, {'start': '2526.520', 'end': '2533.079', 'text': 'page, still printing'}, {'start': '2528.839', 'end': '2536.800', 'text': 'you. And under it, a photo of me'}, {'start': '2533.079', 'end': '2536.800', 'text': 'sleeping from last'}, {'start': '2537.480', 'end': '2543.319', 'text': 'night. I almost died that night, trapped'}, {'start': '2541.040', 'end': '2545.920', 'text': 'in a place forgotten by'}, {'start': '2543.319', 'end': '2548.079', 'text': 'everyone. I worked as a junior project'}, {'start': '2545.920', 'end': '2551.599', 'text': 'manager at a heritage publishing firm in'}, {'start': '2548.079', 'end': '2555.040', 'text': 'Chennai. The company was old, like'}, {'start': '2551.599', 'end': '2557.599', 'text': 'pre-independence era old. Our office'}, {'start': '2555.040', 'end': '2560.280', 'text': 'building, a faded seven-story sandstone'}, {'start': '2557.599', 'end': '2563.520', 'text': 'structure, once served as a colonial tax'}, {'start': '2560.280', 'end': '2566.200', 'text': "office. They'd renovated it somewhat,"}, {'start': '2563.520', 'end': '2569.119', 'text': 'installed elevators, set up glass'}, {'start': '2566.200', 'end': '2572.000', 'text': 'partitions, air conditioning, but you'}, {'start': '2569.119', 'end': '2574.359', 'text': 'could still feel the age in its bones.'}, {'start': '2572.000', 'end': '2576.720', 'text': 'The stairs creaked like they had'}, {'start': '2574.359', 'end': '2578.560', 'text': 'memories. The walls seemed to sweat'}, {'start': '2576.720', 'end': '2579.720', 'text': 'during monsoons.'}, {'start': '2578.560', 'end': '2582.560', 'text': 'and the'}, {'start': '2579.720', 'end': '2586.079', 'text': 'elevator. Well, there were two, one'}, {'start': '2582.560', 'end': '2589.599', 'text': 'modern and one not. They called the'}, {'start': '2586.079', 'end': '2592.000', 'text': 'second one lift B, a rickety iron gate'}, {'start': '2589.599', 'end': '2594.720', 'text': 'relic tucked at the end of a rarely used'}, {'start': '2592.000', 'end': '2597.760', 'text': 'hallway near the storage room. It was'}, {'start': '2594.720', 'end': '2601.119', 'text': 'supposedly out of order, but no one ever'}, {'start': '2597.760', 'end': '2605.359', 'text': 'blocked it off. It just sat there, its'}, {'start': '2601.119', 'end': '2607.200', 'text': 'graded door rusting as if waiting. That'}, {'start': '2605.359', 'end': '2610.319', 'text': 'Friday night, we were behind on a'}, {'start': '2607.200', 'end': '2613.319', 'text': 'quarterly launch. I was the only one who'}, {'start': '2610.319', 'end': '2615.839', 'text': 'volunteered to stay back and finalize'}, {'start': '2613.319', 'end': '2619.119', 'text': 'logistics. The others promised to join'}, {'start': '2615.839', 'end': '2621.880', 'text': 'by 1000 p.m. after dinner. It was'}, {'start': '2619.119', 'end': '2624.880', 'text': "already 11:40 p.m. and they hadn't"}, {'start': '2621.880', 'end': '2627.839', 'text': "shown. I wasn't surprised. They often"}, {'start': '2624.880', 'end': '2630.480', 'text': 'bailed on late shifts. I packed up and'}, {'start': '2627.839', 'end': '2632.400', 'text': 'decided to call it a night. I walked'}, {'start': '2630.480', 'end': '2635.359', 'text': 'toward the usual elevator, but the'}, {'start': '2632.400', 'end': '2638.880', 'text': 'button panel was cracked. When I pressed'}, {'start': '2635.359', 'end': '2642.480', 'text': 'it, nothing lit up. I tried again. No'}, {'start': '2638.880', 'end': '2644.640', 'text': "sound, not even the motor's distant hum."}, {'start': '2642.480', 'end': '2648.599', 'text': 'Frustrated, I remembered the old freight'}, {'start': '2644.640', 'end': '2650.920', 'text': 'elevator, lift B. Something in me'}, {'start': '2648.599', 'end': '2654.480', 'text': "hesitated. I'd always found it"}, {'start': '2650.920', 'end': '2656.240', 'text': 'unsettling, even during the day. Oh, but'}, {'start': '2654.480', 'end': '2658.079', 'text': 'I was tired.'}, {'start': '2656.240', 'end': '2660.680', 'text': "I didn't feel like climbing seven floors"}, {'start': '2658.079', 'end': '2663.680', 'text': 'of narrow stairs with my laptop and'}, {'start': '2660.680', 'end': '2666.880', 'text': 'files. So, I made the worst decision of'}, {'start': '2663.680', 'end': '2669.760', 'text': 'my life. I walked through the hallway,'}, {'start': '2666.880', 'end': '2671.760', 'text': 'dim and dusty, past rows of locked'}, {'start': '2669.760', 'end': '2674.800', 'text': 'cabinets and old newspapers littered'}, {'start': '2671.760', 'end': '2678.560', 'text': 'across the floor. The elevator stood at'}, {'start': '2674.800', 'end': '2681.119', 'text': 'the end, almost camouflaged by shadows.'}, {'start': '2678.560', 'end': '2684.560', 'text': 'It looked like a scene from a 1970s'}, {'start': '2681.119', 'end': '2687.040', 'text': 'horror film. An old iron accordion gate.'}, {'start': '2684.560', 'end': '2689.960', 'text': 'Scratched buttons, a yellowed bulb'}, {'start': '2687.040', 'end': '2693.680', 'text': 'flickering above. I pressed the call'}, {'start': '2689.960', 'end': '2695.760', 'text': 'button. To my surprise, it responded.'}, {'start': '2693.680', 'end': '2696.839', 'text': 'The gate creaked open with a long'}, {'start': '2695.760', 'end': '2700.720', 'text': 'metallic'}, {'start': '2696.839', 'end': '2703.839', 'text': 'groan. I hesitated before stepping in.'}, {'start': '2700.720', 'end': '2705.359', 'text': 'Inside, the air was thick and musty. The'}, {'start': '2703.839', 'end': '2708.160', 'text': 'buttons were arranged in a crooked'}, {'start': '2705.359', 'end': '2711.680', 'text': 'column and only two glowed faintly. B'}, {'start': '2708.160', 'end': '2714.800', 'text': 'for basement and G for ground. I hit'}, {'start': '2711.680', 'end': '2717.599', 'text': 'ground. The gate shut with a loud clack.'}, {'start': '2714.800', 'end': '2720.560', 'text': 'Then everything went black. No hum, no'}, {'start': '2717.599', 'end': '2723.960', 'text': 'descent, just stillness. And then'}, {'start': '2720.560', 'end': '2726.880', 'text': 'movement, but not down, not up.'}, {'start': '2723.960', 'end': '2730.560', 'text': 'Sideways. I stumbled, caught off guard.'}, {'start': '2726.880', 'end': '2734.160', 'text': 'The elevator was moving sideways. A slow'}, {'start': '2730.560', 'end': '2736.160', 'text': 'grinding motion. My heart thutdded. Was'}, {'start': '2734.160', 'end': '2739.040', 'text': 'it being dragged through a shaft? That'}, {'start': '2736.160', 'end': '2741.839', 'text': 'made no sense. Suddenly, the light'}, {'start': '2739.040', 'end': '2744.880', 'text': 'overhead blinked on. Only the light'}, {'start': '2741.839', 'end': '2748.760', 'text': "wasn't white anymore. It was red."}, {'start': '2744.880', 'end': '2750.440', 'text': 'Diamonds murky, pulsing. Then I heard'}, {'start': '2748.760', 'end': '2753.040', 'text': 'it,'}, {'start': '2750.440', 'end': '2755.599', 'text': 'scratching from the ceiling panel. Slow'}, {'start': '2753.040', 'end': '2758.520', 'text': 'at first, like nails gently dragging,'}, {'start': '2755.599', 'end': '2762.400', 'text': 'then louder, aggressive.'}, {'start': '2758.520', 'end': '2764.560', 'text': 'Something someone was crawling above me.'}, {'start': '2762.400', 'end': '2767.520', 'text': 'I backed into a corner, pressing myself'}, {'start': '2764.560', 'end': '2770.240', 'text': 'against the wall, and then it spoke. A'}, {'start': '2767.520', 'end': '2774.400', 'text': 'voice, wet and slow, like gurgling'}, {'start': '2770.240', 'end': '2777.520', 'text': "through water. You shouldn't be here."}, {'start': '2774.400', 'end': '2780.240', 'text': 'The elevator jolted violently. The walls'}, {'start': '2777.520', 'end': '2783.119', 'text': 'groaned like metal under pressure. The'}, {'start': '2780.240', 'end': '2785.200', 'text': 'red light flickered faster. My ears'}, {'start': '2783.119', 'end': '2789.040', 'text': 'filled with static and whispering all at'}, {'start': '2785.200', 'end': '2792.079', 'text': 'once. I screamed, banging on the gate,'}, {'start': '2789.040', 'end': '2796.160', 'text': 'hitting every button. The elevator came'}, {'start': '2792.079', 'end': '2800.000', 'text': 'to a sudden stop. Total silence. The'}, {'start': '2796.160', 'end': '2802.040', 'text': 'light turned off. I waited, frozen. I'}, {'start': '2800.000', 'end': '2804.880', 'text': "couldn't see. Couldn't hear anything"}, {'start': '2802.040', 'end': '2806.880', 'text': 'now. I turned on my phone flashlight,'}, {'start': '2804.880', 'end': '2809.800', 'text': 'but the screen just glitched,'}, {'start': '2806.880', 'end': '2812.800', 'text': 'flickering, distorting like it was water'}, {'start': '2809.800', 'end': '2816.560', 'text': 'damaged. Then came a sudden loud bawing'}, {'start': '2812.800', 'end': '2819.040', 'text': 'eyes on the gate. a fist. Something was'}, {'start': '2816.560', 'end': '2821.880', 'text': 'trying to get in. I backed into the'}, {'start': '2819.040', 'end': '2825.920', 'text': 'farthest corner, tears streaking down my'}, {'start': '2821.880', 'end': '2828.160', 'text': 'cheeks. Another bang, stronger. The gate'}, {'start': '2825.920', 'end': '2831.040', 'text': 'began to bend inward like something'}, {'start': '2828.160', 'end': '2836.000', 'text': 'massive was pushing through. Then a'}, {'start': '2831.040', 'end': '2838.640', 'text': 'voice again, closer. We have one now.'}, {'start': '2836.000', 'end': '2842.079', 'text': 'Just as the gate began to peel open, the'}, {'start': '2838.640', 'end': '2845.119', 'text': 'light returned, bright, white, normal,'}, {'start': '2842.079', 'end': '2847.200', 'text': 'and the elevator door slowly slid open.'}, {'start': '2845.119', 'end': '2849.680', 'text': "But I wasn't on the ground floor. I"}, {'start': '2847.200', 'end': '2851.760', 'text': "wasn't even in the same building. I"}, {'start': '2849.680', 'end': '2855.119', 'text': 'stepped out into a massive underground'}, {'start': '2851.760', 'end': '2858.359', 'text': 'room. Rows of rusted desks, old'}, {'start': '2855.119', 'end': '2861.119', 'text': 'typewriters covered in cobwebs, rotting'}, {'start': '2858.359', 'end': '2862.640', 'text': 'bookshelves. The air smelled of mold and'}, {'start': '2861.119', 'end': '2864.720', 'text': 'formaldahhide.'}, {'start': '2862.640', 'end': '2867.160', 'text': 'The walls were lined with cracked black'}, {'start': '2864.720', 'end': '2870.599', 'text': 'and white photos of men in British'}, {'start': '2867.160', 'end': '2873.920', 'text': "uniforms. I realized this wasn't just"}, {'start': '2870.599', 'end': '2875.960', 'text': 'underground. It was a forgotten floor,'}, {'start': '2873.920', 'end': '2878.800', 'text': "one that wasn't supposed to exist"}, {'start': '2875.960', 'end': '2881.720', 'text': 'anymore. And at the far end of the room,'}, {'start': '2878.800', 'end': '2884.520', 'text': 'sitting behind a dusty oak desk, was a'}, {'start': '2881.720', 'end': '2888.079', 'text': 'man. He looked up at me, face'}, {'start': '2884.520', 'end': '2891.440', 'text': 'expressionless, pale as chalk. Then he'}, {'start': '2888.079', 'end': '2894.359', 'text': 'smiled, a slow, decayed smile, and'}, {'start': '2891.440', 'end': '2896.960', 'text': 'pointed to the wall behind me. It was a'}, {'start': '2894.359', 'end': '2900.240', 'text': "mirror. And in the reflection, I wasn't"}, {'start': '2896.960', 'end': '2903.319', 'text': 'standing alone. Behind me stood three'}, {'start': '2900.240', 'end': '2906.240', 'text': 'men in 1940s uniforms, missing their'}, {'start': '2903.319', 'end': '2909.200', 'text': "eyes. I ran. I didn't care where the"}, {'start': '2906.240', 'end': '2910.880', 'text': 'exit was. I ran down a corridor that'}, {'start': '2909.200', 'end': '2912.640', 'text': "looked like it hadn't seen light in"}, {'start': '2910.880', 'end': '2915.680', 'text': 'decades.'}, {'start': '2912.640', 'end': '2918.960', 'text': 'Doors were boarded up, but one, just'}, {'start': '2915.680', 'end': '2922.680', 'text': 'one, was slightly a jar. I pushed'}, {'start': '2918.960', 'end': '2926.119', 'text': 'through and found stairs, rusted,'}, {'start': '2922.680', 'end': '2929.760', 'text': "crumbling. I climbed. I don't know how"}, {'start': '2926.119', 'end': '2932.000', 'text': 'long. I just climbed until I emerged'}, {'start': '2929.760', 'end': '2935.200', 'text': 'into the main lobby. Everything was back'}, {'start': '2932.000', 'end': '2938.359', 'text': 'to normal. A janitor looked at me like I'}, {'start': '2935.200', 'end': '2941.520', 'text': "was insane. You okay, sir? You're"}, {'start': '2938.359', 'end': '2944.319', 'text': 'bleeding. I looked down. My palm had'}, {'start': '2941.520', 'end': '2947.760', 'text': 'deep scratches. My knees were bruised'}, {'start': '2944.319', 'end': '2950.480', 'text': 'and torn. My shirt was soaked in sweat.'}, {'start': '2947.760', 'end': '2952.319', 'text': 'My phone was missing. And when I turned'}, {'start': '2950.480', 'end': '2956.599', 'text': 'to point at the hallway leading to lift'}, {'start': '2952.319', 'end': '2959.119', 'text': 'B, it was gone, walled off with'}, {'start': '2956.599', 'end': '2961.599', 'text': 'cement. Later, I checked the building'}, {'start': '2959.119', 'end': '2964.000', 'text': 'layout with facilities management. There'}, {'start': '2961.599', 'end': '2967.520', 'text': 'had never been a second elevator. But'}, {'start': '2964.000', 'end': '2969.280', 'text': 'that night, at exactly 2:13 a.m., the'}, {'start': '2967.520', 'end': '2970.599', 'text': 'security camera on the seventh floor'}, {'start': '2969.280', 'end': '2973.520', 'text': 'caught something'}, {'start': '2970.599', 'end': '2976.559', 'text': 'strange. A man in a British military'}, {'start': '2973.520', 'end': '2979.760', 'text': 'uniform walked out of the stairwell and'}, {'start': '2976.559', 'end': '2979.760', 'text': 'vanished into the'}, {'start': '2980.359', 'end': '2985.920', 'text': 'wall. I never believed in ghosts, at'}, {'start': '2983.599', 'end': '2989.839', 'text': 'least not until the night I almost died'}, {'start': '2985.920', 'end': '2991.440', 'text': 'from pure terror. My name is Ver and I'}, {'start': '2989.839', 'end': '2993.680', 'text': 'worked as a graphic designer at a'}, {'start': '2991.440', 'end': '2996.520', 'text': 'branding agency located on the 15th'}, {'start': '2993.680', 'end': '2999.760', 'text': 'floor of an aging commercial tower in'}, {'start': '2996.520', 'end': '3002.800', 'text': 'Bangalore. We called it the hive because'}, {'start': '2999.760', 'end': '3005.520', 'text': 'all the floors looked identical. Endless'}, {'start': '3002.800', 'end': '3007.920', 'text': 'rows of white lights, glass walls, and'}, {'start': '3005.520', 'end': '3009.640', 'text': 'cubicles that felt more like cages when'}, {'start': '3007.920', 'end': '3012.559', 'text': 'you were stuck there after'}, {'start': '3009.640', 'end': '3014.720', 'text': 'hours. Deadlines were brutal, especially'}, {'start': '3012.559', 'end': '3016.640', 'text': 'for big clients.'}, {'start': '3014.720', 'end': '3018.760', 'text': 'That Thursday night, I was working late'}, {'start': '3016.640', 'end': '3020.960', 'text': 'to finalize a campaign'}, {'start': '3018.760', 'end': '3024.480', 'text': 'presentation. Everyone else had gone'}, {'start': '3020.960', 'end': '3028.160', 'text': 'home by 900 p.m. I stayed until nearly'}, {'start': '3024.480', 'end': '3030.880', 'text': '100 a.m. I remember because my playlist'}, {'start': '3028.160', 'end': '3032.720', 'text': 'had just looped back to track one and'}, {'start': '3030.880', 'end': '3036.319', 'text': "I'd finished my fourth cup of machine"}, {'start': '3032.720', 'end': '3038.800', 'text': 'coffee. And then it happened all at'}, {'start': '3036.319', 'end': '3041.599', 'text': 'once. Every single light in the office'}, {'start': '3038.800', 'end': '3044.520', 'text': 'blinked once, then shut off. Not'}, {'start': '3041.599', 'end': '3048.520', 'text': 'flickered, not dimmed.'}, {'start': '3044.520', 'end': '3051.920', 'text': 'snapped off. Everything plunged into an'}, {'start': '3048.520', 'end': '3053.520', 'text': 'impenetrable, suffocating black. Not'}, {'start': '3051.920', 'end': '3056.839', 'text': 'even the blinking red lights of the'}, {'start': '3053.520', 'end': '3059.880', 'text': 'Wi-Fi router remained. No glow from the'}, {'start': '3056.839', 'end': '3063.520', 'text': 'monitor. Not even the emergency hallway'}, {'start': '3059.880', 'end': '3066.240', 'text': 'light. I froze. My screen had been the'}, {'start': '3063.520', 'end': '3069.440', 'text': 'only light source. Without it, the'}, {'start': '3066.240', 'end': '3073.200', 'text': 'darkness felt thick, almost alive, like'}, {'start': '3069.440', 'end': '3075.040', 'text': 'it had teeth. My breathing grew shallow.'}, {'start': '3073.200', 'end': '3078.079', 'text': 'the sudden silence pressing into my'}, {'start': '3075.040', 'end': '3080.319', 'text': 'eardrums like deep sea pressure. I'}, {'start': '3078.079', 'end': '3083.359', 'text': 'fumbled for my phone, praying the'}, {'start': '3080.319', 'end': '3086.319', 'text': "battery hadn't died. I managed to turn"}, {'start': '3083.359', 'end': '3088.640', 'text': 'on the flashlight. A pale cone of light'}, {'start': '3086.319', 'end': '3091.920', 'text': 'cut through the dark, but it barely made'}, {'start': '3088.640', 'end': '3095.520', 'text': 'me feel safer. The beam shook with my'}, {'start': '3091.920', 'end': '3098.400', 'text': 'trembling hands. "Hello," I called,'}, {'start': '3095.520', 'end': '3099.319', 'text': 'hating the way my voice cracked. "Is'}, {'start': '3098.400', 'end': '3102.880', 'text': 'anyone'}, {'start': '3099.319', 'end': '3105.520', 'text': 'here?" No answer. The phone\'s glow'}, {'start': '3102.880', 'end': '3108.559', 'text': 'revealed what should have been familiar.'}, {'start': '3105.520', 'end': '3111.599', 'text': 'My messy desk, my ergonomic chair, the'}, {'start': '3108.559', 'end': '3112.920', 'text': 'corner cabinet. But in the dark,'}, {'start': '3111.599', 'end': '3116.480', 'text': 'everything looked'}, {'start': '3112.920', 'end': '3119.440', 'text': 'twisted. Shadows seemed too thick.'}, {'start': '3116.480', 'end': '3121.680', 'text': 'Shapes looked wrong. My own chair'}, {'start': '3119.440', 'end': '3124.400', 'text': 'appeared slightly pulled out, even'}, {'start': '3121.680', 'end': '3128.160', 'text': "though I hadn't moved it. I chocked it"}, {'start': '3124.400', 'end': '3130.880', 'text': 'up to nerves. Power outage. Maybe the'}, {'start': '3128.160', 'end': '3132.559', 'text': 'breaker tripped. I decided to head'}, {'start': '3130.880', 'end': '3135.920', 'text': 'toward the main breaker room near the'}, {'start': '3132.559', 'end': '3138.240', 'text': 'back hallway. The building was old, and'}, {'start': '3135.920', 'end': '3141.040', 'text': 'that room always gave me the creeps,'}, {'start': '3138.240', 'end': '3143.680', 'text': 'even during the day. It had one of those'}, {'start': '3141.040', 'end': '3146.400', 'text': 'metal push doors that slammed loudly,'}, {'start': '3143.680', 'end': '3148.960', 'text': 'even if you nudged it. The hallway'}, {'start': '3146.400', 'end': '3151.040', 'text': 'leading there was long and narrow, lined'}, {'start': '3148.960', 'end': '3153.760', 'text': 'with motion sensors that usually lit up'}, {'start': '3151.040', 'end': '3157.520', 'text': 'panels overhead as you walked. But'}, {'start': '3153.760', 'end': '3160.400', 'text': 'tonight, nothing lit up. As I took'}, {'start': '3157.520', 'end': '3164.000', 'text': 'cautious steps forward, my foot bumped'}, {'start': '3160.400', 'end': '3167.000', 'text': 'into something. Paper. Dozens of sheets'}, {'start': '3164.000', 'end': '3169.880', 'text': 'of paper scattered along the floor like'}, {'start': '3167.000', 'end': '3173.040', 'text': 'breadcrumbs. I picked one up. It was'}, {'start': '3169.880', 'end': '3175.280', 'text': 'blank. Then I noticed paint marks etched'}, {'start': '3173.040', 'end': '3178.000', 'text': 'on the carpet like someone had dragged'}, {'start': '3175.280', 'end': '3181.599', 'text': 'something heavy. The trail disappeared'}, {'start': '3178.000', 'end': '3184.559', 'text': 'into the darkness ahead. I hesitated. My'}, {'start': '3181.599', 'end': '3187.760', 'text': 'instincts screamed at me to leave, but I'}, {'start': '3184.559', 'end': '3190.800', 'text': 'was trapped 15 floors above ground. No'}, {'start': '3187.760', 'end': '3193.839', 'text': 'elevator, no emergency lights. I had to'}, {'start': '3190.800', 'end': '3196.720', 'text': 'at least reach the fire escape. Then the'}, {'start': '3193.839', 'end': '3199.440', 'text': "whispers started. They didn't come from"}, {'start': '3196.720', 'end': '3202.079', 'text': 'any one direction. They circled me.'}, {'start': '3199.440', 'end': '3204.359', 'text': 'Soft, raspy whispers, like a'}, {'start': '3202.079', 'end': '3208.160', 'text': 'conversation between two people behind a'}, {'start': '3204.359', 'end': '3211.200', 'text': 'wall. Except I was alone. I swung my'}, {'start': '3208.160', 'end': '3215.760', 'text': "flashlight wildly. Who's there?"}, {'start': '3211.200', 'end': '3217.480', 'text': 'Silence, but then footsteps, slow, wet,'}, {'start': '3215.760', 'end': '3220.480', 'text': 'slapping footsteps approaching from'}, {'start': '3217.480', 'end': '3223.520', 'text': 'behind. I spun around and saw a figure,'}, {'start': '3220.480', 'end': '3226.400', 'text': 'tall, pale, barefoot, emerging from the'}, {'start': '3223.520', 'end': '3229.359', 'text': 'far end of the corridor. The light from'}, {'start': '3226.400', 'end': '3232.240', 'text': 'my phone barely reached it. It stood'}, {'start': '3229.359', 'end': '3235.599', 'text': 'still, had tilted, arms hanging'}, {'start': '3232.240', 'end': '3238.079', 'text': 'unnaturally low. Its mouth was stretched'}, {'start': '3235.599', 'end': '3242.079', 'text': 'too wide, as if something had torn the'}, {'start': '3238.079', 'end': '3246.240', 'text': 'sides. Its white eyes were locked on me.'}, {'start': '3242.079', 'end': '3248.480', 'text': "I ran. I didn't even try to be quiet. I"}, {'start': '3246.240', 'end': '3251.359', 'text': 'sprinted down the hallway, pushing past'}, {'start': '3248.480', 'end': '3254.480', 'text': 'a wall of chairs. Someone or something'}, {'start': '3251.359', 'end': '3255.920', 'text': 'had piled up in the dark. My shoulder'}, {'start': '3254.480', 'end': '3259.200', 'text': 'clipped the glass meeting room,'}, {'start': '3255.920', 'end': '3261.680', 'text': 'shattering it. I kept running, heart'}, {'start': '3259.200', 'end': '3263.680', 'text': 'about to explode. I reached the'}, {'start': '3261.680', 'end': '3266.400', 'text': 'emergency stairs and shoved the heavy'}, {'start': '3263.680', 'end': '3269.119', 'text': 'door open. But instead of the usual'}, {'start': '3266.400', 'end': '3272.720', 'text': 'concrete stairwell, I froze.'}, {'start': '3269.119', 'end': '3276.160', 'text': 'The staircase was different. It was'}, {'start': '3272.720', 'end': '3278.400', 'text': 'narrow, wooden, lit by candles, and'}, {'start': '3276.160', 'end': '3281.040', 'text': 'covered in photos. Hundreds of old black'}, {'start': '3278.400', 'end': '3283.760', 'text': 'and white pictures nailed to the walls.'}, {'start': '3281.040', 'end': '3284.520', 'text': 'Each photo had a red X slashed through'}, {'start': '3283.760', 'end': '3288.240', 'text': 'the'}, {'start': '3284.520', 'end': '3292.640', 'text': 'faces. Then I heard the footsteps again'}, {'start': '3288.240', 'end': '3295.520', 'text': 'behind me, closer. I turned and saw the'}, {'start': '3292.640', 'end': '3298.160', 'text': 'thing now crawling toward me. Its limbs'}, {'start': '3295.520', 'end': '3300.880', 'text': 'bent the wrong way. It moved like a'}, {'start': '3298.160', 'end': '3303.359', 'text': 'puppet yanked by strings, its fingers'}, {'start': '3300.880', 'end': '3306.800', 'text': 'scraping the floor, leaving a trail of'}, {'start': '3303.359', 'end': '3309.760', 'text': 'black sludge. I backed up blindly into'}, {'start': '3306.800', 'end': '3312.240', 'text': 'the staircase. My foot hit the first'}, {'start': '3309.760', 'end': '3317.079', 'text': 'step, and the moment I touched it, the'}, {'start': '3312.240', 'end': '3319.359', 'text': 'lights flicked back on. Snap. Just like'}, {'start': '3317.079', 'end': '3322.920', 'text': 'that, I was standing in the real'}, {'start': '3319.359', 'end': '3325.359', 'text': 'stairwell again. Concrete, dusty,'}, {'start': '3322.920', 'end': '3327.760', 'text': 'harmless. I looked behind me. No'}, {'start': '3325.359', 'end': '3330.040', 'text': 'hallway, no thing, only the open'}, {'start': '3327.760', 'end': '3333.839', 'text': 'emergency exit door, gently swinging'}, {'start': '3330.040', 'end': '3337.119', 'text': 'shut, I ran all the way down 15 flights,'}, {'start': '3333.839', 'end': '3338.800', 'text': 'almost slipping multiple times. When I'}, {'start': '3337.119', 'end': '3340.040', 'text': 'reached the lobby, the security guard'}, {'start': '3338.800', 'end': '3342.960', 'text': 'looked up,'}, {'start': '3340.040', 'end': '3344.599', 'text': 'startled. You all right, VA? You looked'}, {'start': '3342.960', 'end': '3348.240', 'text': 'like you saw death'}, {'start': '3344.599', 'end': '3350.480', 'text': "itself. I didn't answer. I just walked"}, {'start': '3348.240', 'end': '3352.640', 'text': 'outside into the night air and collapsed'}, {'start': '3350.480', 'end': '3354.240', 'text': 'onto the sidewalk, unable to stop'}, {'start': '3352.640', 'end': '3357.520', 'text': 'shaking.'}, {'start': '3354.240', 'end': '3359.920', 'text': 'Next morning, I returned for my stuff.'}, {'start': '3357.520', 'end': '3361.520', 'text': 'Everything was normal except when I'}, {'start': '3359.920', 'end': '3364.240', 'text': 'passed the main corridor toward the'}, {'start': '3361.520', 'end': '3367.440', 'text': 'breaker room. I saw something scribbled'}, {'start': '3364.240', 'end': '3370.359', 'text': 'faintly on the wall in the black marker.'}, {'start': '3367.440', 'end': '3373.680', 'text': "Don't turn off the light again. It"}, {'start': '3370.359', 'end': '3376.640', 'text': 'remembers. I never worked late again,'}, {'start': '3373.680', 'end': '3378.960', 'text': 'and I never entered that corridor again.'}, {'start': '3376.640', 'end': '3382.040', 'text': "But some nights when I'm at home and the"}, {'start': '3378.960', 'end': '3386.599', 'text': 'lights flicker, my phone lights up by'}, {'start': '3382.040', 'end': '3390.799', 'text': 'itself and I swear I hear footsteps,'}, {'start': '3386.599', 'end': '3390.799', 'text': 'wet, slapping, getting'}, {'start': '3391.559', 'end': '3397.559', 'text': 'closer. I swear to God, I saw myself'}, {'start': '3394.720', 'end': '3401.040', 'text': 'sitting at my desk and I was'}, {'start': '3397.559', 'end': '3404.000', 'text': 'typing. It was sometime past 2 a.m. on a'}, {'start': '3401.040', 'end': '3405.920', 'text': 'freezing January morning. I was working'}, {'start': '3404.000', 'end': '3409.119', 'text': 'at a digital marketing agency in'}, {'start': '3405.920', 'end': '3411.280', 'text': 'downtown Denver. One of those hip openf'}, {'start': '3409.119', 'end': '3414.280', 'text': 'flooror offices with neon signs that'}, {'start': '3411.280', 'end': '3417.280', 'text': 'said stuff like creativity never'}, {'start': '3414.280', 'end': '3420.400', 'text': "sleeps. Ironically, I hadn't slept in"}, {'start': '3417.280', 'end': '3422.240', 'text': 'nearly 40 hours. We were preparing for a'}, {'start': '3420.400', 'end': '3424.960', 'text': 'major product launch for a fashion'}, {'start': '3422.240', 'end': '3425.720', 'text': 'brand, and I was the last one left in'}, {'start': '3424.960', 'end': '3429.480', 'text': 'the'}, {'start': '3425.720', 'end': '3432.160', 'text': "office. It wasn't uncommon. I liked the"}, {'start': '3429.480', 'end': '3435.040', 'text': 'quiet. The way the city looked dead'}, {'start': '3432.160', 'end': '3437.040', 'text': 'through the massive glass windows. The'}, {'start': '3435.040', 'end': '3439.280', 'text': 'glowing blue from my monitor was the'}, {'start': '3437.040', 'end': '3442.079', 'text': 'only light in the room besides the'}, {'start': '3439.280', 'end': '3443.160', 'text': 'emergency exit signs humming in red near'}, {'start': '3442.079', 'end': '3445.839', 'text': 'the'}, {'start': '3443.160', 'end': '3448.520', 'text': 'stairwells. My workstation sat near the'}, {'start': '3445.839', 'end': '3451.839', 'text': 'far end close to the glasswalled meeting'}, {'start': '3448.520', 'end': '3455.319', 'text': 'rooms. As I hunched over, finalizing a'}, {'start': '3451.839', 'end': '3458.079', 'text': "client's product catalog, I heard soft"}, {'start': '3455.319', 'end': '3461.200', 'text': "clicking. Typing. But I wasn't typing"}, {'start': '3458.079', 'end': '3464.480', 'text': 'anymore. It was coming from behind me. I'}, {'start': '3461.200', 'end': '3467.040', 'text': 'paused, back stiff, ears pricricked,'}, {'start': '3464.480', 'end': '3470.559', 'text': 'then slowly turned in my chair. And'}, {'start': '3467.040', 'end': '3473.880', 'text': "that's when I saw him. Me. I was sitting"}, {'start': '3470.559', 'end': '3477.839', 'text': 'at my desk just 15 ft away facing the'}, {'start': '3473.880', 'end': '3480.559', 'text': 'screen typing. Same flannel jacket, same'}, {'start': '3477.839', 'end': '3483.760', 'text': 'brown beanie, same messy pile of USBs'}, {'start': '3480.559', 'end': '3486.680', 'text': 'and wires on the table. It was me, but'}, {'start': '3483.760', 'end': '3490.559', 'text': "not me. My brain couldn't process it at"}, {'start': '3486.680', 'end': '3494.720', 'text': 'first. I stood slowly, hands trembling,'}, {'start': '3490.559', 'end': '3498.000', 'text': 'my mouth dry as ash. Hey. I managed to'}, {'start': '3494.720', 'end': '3502.400', 'text': 'croak, unsure who I was addressing. The'}, {'start': '3498.000', 'end': '3504.880', 'text': "figure didn't react. He He kept typing."}, {'start': '3502.400', 'end': '3507.040', 'text': 'I stepped closer, feet moving on their'}, {'start': '3504.880', 'end': '3509.680', 'text': 'own. And then he paused, his head'}, {'start': '3507.040', 'end': '3513.040', 'text': "lifted, but he didn't turn. He just"}, {'start': '3509.680', 'end': '3516.640', 'text': 'stopped. I took another step forward and'}, {'start': '3513.040', 'end': '3520.240', 'text': 'suddenly the entire office went dark,'}, {'start': '3516.640', 'end': '3523.839', 'text': 'pitch black. No city lights, no monitor'}, {'start': '3520.240', 'end': '3526.720', 'text': 'glow, no exit signs, as if someone had'}, {'start': '3523.839', 'end': '3528.799', 'text': "unplugged reality. I couldn't see my"}, {'start': '3526.720', 'end': '3531.640', 'text': "hands, couldn't hear anything except my"}, {'start': '3528.799', 'end': '3535.520', 'text': 'own staggered breath. Then came the'}, {'start': '3531.640', 'end': '3538.079', 'text': 'sound, my own voice, but not from my'}, {'start': '3535.520', 'end': '3541.440', 'text': 'mouth, from the figure ahead of me. He'}, {'start': '3538.079', 'end': '3543.480', 'text': 'whispered, "Why are you back?" My heart'}, {'start': '3541.440', 'end': '3545.319', 'text': 'felt like it was being crushed in a'}, {'start': '3543.480', 'end': '3547.240', 'text': 'fist. And'}, {'start': '3545.319', 'end': '3550.079', 'text': 'then'}, {'start': '3547.240', 'end': '3553.040', 'text': 'laughter, quiet at first, then louder,'}, {'start': '3550.079', 'end': '3554.640', 'text': 'fragmented, layered. It echoed across'}, {'start': '3553.040', 'end': '3557.359', 'text': 'the office like there were dozens of'}, {'start': '3554.640', 'end': '3561.680', 'text': 'people laughing from different corners.'}, {'start': '3557.359', 'end': '3564.079', 'text': 'But I was alone, or I thought I was. I'}, {'start': '3561.680', 'end': '3567.520', 'text': 'stumbled backward in the dark, my hands'}, {'start': '3564.079', 'end': '3570.000', 'text': 'waving wildly to find something solid.'}, {'start': '3567.520', 'end': '3573.920', 'text': 'Suddenly, a harsh white spotlight'}, {'start': '3570.000', 'end': '3576.160', 'text': 'blinked on overhead, blinding me. When'}, {'start': '3573.920', 'end': '3579.040', 'text': 'my eyes adjusted, I was staring at'}, {'start': '3576.160', 'end': '3582.880', 'text': 'myself again. This time, he was'}, {'start': '3579.040', 'end': '3586.440', 'text': 'standing, smiling. Only his face was'}, {'start': '3582.880', 'end': '3589.839', 'text': 'wrong. His mouth was too wide. His'}, {'start': '3586.440', 'end': '3591.599', 'text': 'teeth, all of them, had no gums, like'}, {'start': '3589.839', 'end': '3594.799', 'text': "they'd been yanked out and shoved back"}, {'start': '3591.599', 'end': '3597.599', 'text': 'in. His eyes were completely black, no'}, {'start': '3594.799', 'end': '3599.799', 'text': 'whites at all. And on his neck, etched'}, {'start': '3597.599', 'end': '3602.119', 'text': 'like scars, were'}, {'start': '3599.799', 'end': '3606.319', 'text': 'words. I never'}, {'start': '3602.119', 'end': '3609.119', 'text': 'left. I ran. I turned and ran straight'}, {'start': '3606.319', 'end': '3611.000', 'text': 'into the glass meeting room wall. Blood'}, {'start': '3609.119', 'end': '3613.920', 'text': "spattered from my nose, but I didn't"}, {'start': '3611.000', 'end': '3616.520', 'text': 'stop. I turned, kicked open the door to'}, {'start': '3613.920', 'end': '3619.839', 'text': 'the emergency stairs, and started flying'}, {'start': '3616.520', 'end': '3622.079', 'text': 'down. My feet barely touched the steps,'}, {'start': '3619.839', 'end': '3626.839', 'text': 'but something was following me. I could'}, {'start': '3622.079', 'end': '3631.520', 'text': 'feel it. Not footsteps, but keyboard'}, {'start': '3626.839', 'end': '3633.680', 'text': 'clacks. Getting faster, closer. I burst'}, {'start': '3631.520', 'end': '3635.839', 'text': 'into the lobby where the night guard,'}, {'start': '3633.680', 'end': '3638.400', 'text': 'Thomas, was watching sports highlights'}, {'start': '3635.839', 'end': '3641.760', 'text': 'on his little tablet. He jumped up when'}, {'start': '3638.400', 'end': '3643.880', 'text': 'he saw me panting, bloody and pale.'}, {'start': '3641.760', 'end': '3647.119', 'text': 'Jesus Christ, Mike, what the hell'}, {'start': '3643.880', 'end': '3649.359', 'text': 'happened? I pointed at the elevator.'}, {'start': '3647.119', 'end': '3652.880', 'text': "Someone's in our office. Someone that"}, {'start': '3649.359', 'end': '3655.280', 'text': 'looks like me. He blinked.'}, {'start': '3652.880', 'end': '3658.559', 'text': "You're the only one up there. I'd know."}, {'start': '3655.280', 'end': '3661.040', 'text': 'I monitor the cameras. He pulled up the'}, {'start': '3658.559', 'end': '3663.839', 'text': 'footage on the security panel. It showed'}, {'start': '3661.040', 'end': '3666.480', 'text': 'me seated working normally. Then I'}, {'start': '3663.839', 'end': '3668.559', 'text': 'stood, walked away from the desk, but'}, {'start': '3666.480', 'end': '3673.119', 'text': 'the camera never hos showed another'}, {'start': '3668.559', 'end': '3676.200', 'text': 'person. Only me alone. I demanded he'}, {'start': '3673.119', 'end': '3680.160', 'text': 'rewind right to when I saw the second me'}, {'start': '3676.200', 'end': '3683.359', 'text': 'typing. Nothing. Just one person. me'}, {'start': '3680.160', 'end': '3685.640', 'text': 'sitting staring blankly and never moving'}, {'start': '3683.359', 'end': '3689.119', 'text': 'until I bolted into the stairwell like a'}, {'start': '3685.640', 'end': '3691.280', 'text': "lunatic. I didn't go back that night."}, {'start': '3689.119', 'end': '3694.200', 'text': 'The next day, I returned during daylight'}, {'start': '3691.280', 'end': '3697.839', 'text': "with two co-workers. I didn't want to be"}, {'start': '3694.200', 'end': '3700.960', 'text': 'alone. My desk was just as I left it.'}, {'start': '3697.839', 'end': '3703.359', 'text': 'Nothing out of place except my computer'}, {'start': '3700.960', 'end': '3706.720', 'text': 'was on and on the screen was a word'}, {'start': '3703.359', 'end': '3709.760', 'text': 'document untitled open one sentence'}, {'start': '3706.720', 'end': '3712.359', 'text': 'repeated over 400 times.'}, {'start': '3709.760', 'end': '3715.760', 'text': "You're still here even when you're"}, {'start': '3712.359', 'end': '3717.599', 'text': 'not. I never wrote it. My boss said'}, {'start': '3715.760', 'end': '3720.240', 'text': 'there was no activity from my system'}, {'start': '3717.599', 'end': '3725.119', 'text': 'after midnight. I checked the metadata.'}, {'start': '3720.240', 'end': '3727.760', 'text': 'Created 3:23 a.m. User unknown. The IT'}, {'start': '3725.119', 'end': '3731.200', 'text': 'team did a deep scan. No signs of'}, {'start': '3727.760', 'end': '3732.960', 'text': 'malware, no remote access, no tampering.'}, {'start': '3731.200', 'end': '3736.000', 'text': 'I tried to tell myself I was'}, {'start': '3732.960', 'end': '3739.040', 'text': 'hallucinating from stress, lack of'}, {'start': '3736.000', 'end': '3741.760', 'text': "sleep. But here's what really broke me."}, {'start': '3739.040', 'end': '3744.280', 'text': 'A week later, one of the junior editors,'}, {'start': '3741.760', 'end': '3748.200', 'text': 'Carla, stayed late to work on some'}, {'start': '3744.280', 'end': '3750.799', 'text': 'thumbnails. Around 2:30 a.m., she texted'}, {'start': '3748.200', 'end': '3753.559', 'text': 'me. Hey, why are you sitting at your'}, {'start': '3750.799', 'end': '3756.240', 'text': 'desk just staring at me? You'}, {'start': '3753.559', 'end': '3758.799', 'text': "good? I hadn't been in the building all"}, {'start': '3756.240', 'end': '3761.920', 'text': 'night. She left 5 minutes later and'}, {'start': '3758.799', 'end': '3765.280', 'text': 'never came back. We lost touch. She'}, {'start': '3761.920', 'end': '3767.920', 'text': 'changed her number, quit the industry.'}, {'start': '3765.280', 'end': '3770.000', 'text': 'But two nights ago, long after I moved'}, {'start': '3767.920', 'end': '3772.559', 'text': 'to a new job in a new apartment across'}, {'start': '3770.000', 'end': '3775.599', 'text': 'the city, I found something on my desk'}, {'start': '3772.559', 'end': '3778.640', 'text': 'when I came home from a late shift. It'}, {'start': '3775.599', 'end': '3781.839', 'text': 'was a sticky note in my own handwriting,'}, {'start': '3778.640', 'end': '3783.960', 'text': 'but I didn\'t write it. It said, "Let me'}, {'start': '3781.839', 'end': '3788.960', 'text': 'finish. You already'}, {'start': '3783.960', 'end': '3788.960', 'text': 'started." And my computer was on'}, {'start': '3789.160', 'end': '3793.599', 'text': "typing. I shouldn't have stayed that"}, {'start': '3791.359', 'end': '3795.960', 'text': 'late, especially not on the eighth'}, {'start': '3793.599', 'end': '3798.559', 'text': "floor. My name's"}, {'start': '3795.960', 'end': '3800.799', 'text': 'Terren. I work as a night security'}, {'start': '3798.559', 'end': '3804.799', 'text': 'officer at a financial consulting firm'}, {'start': '3800.799', 'end': '3806.960', 'text': 'in Atlanta. 12 floors of bland carpet,'}, {'start': '3804.799', 'end': '3809.039', 'text': 'cold glass, and fluorescent lighting'}, {'start': '3806.960', 'end': '3812.000', 'text': 'that makes your skin look dead, even in'}, {'start': '3809.039', 'end': '3815.200', 'text': 'the middle of the day. Each floor had'}, {'start': '3812.000', 'end': '3818.640', 'text': 'its own personality. Floor two had the'}, {'start': '3815.200', 'end': '3822.640', 'text': 'HR gossipers. Floor 5 had the loud'}, {'start': '3818.640', 'end': '3825.799', 'text': 'finance bros. And floor 8. No one liked'}, {'start': '3822.640', 'end': '3828.760', 'text': 'floor 8. It was rarely occupied after'}, {'start': '3825.799', 'end': '3832.079', 'text': 'hours. That whole floor gave people the'}, {'start': '3828.760', 'end': '3834.200', 'text': 'creeps even during the day. Something'}, {'start': '3832.079', 'end': '3835.720', 'text': 'about it felt'}, {'start': '3834.200', 'end': '3838.160', 'text': 'wrong.'}, {'start': '3835.720', 'end': '3841.520', 'text': 'Office. We had no reason to keep the'}, {'start': '3838.160', 'end': '3845.039', 'text': 'lights on past 900 p.m. there. But that'}, {'start': '3841.520', 'end': '3846.640', 'text': 'night, 2:30 a.m., I was doing my usual'}, {'start': '3845.039', 'end': '3849.200', 'text': 'building patrol when I noticed something'}, {'start': '3846.640', 'end': '3851.920', 'text': 'on the monitor wall. A motion triggered'}, {'start': '3849.200', 'end': '3855.200', 'text': 'alert on the eighth floor. The camera'}, {'start': '3851.920', 'end': '3858.319', 'text': 'facing meeting room C blinked red.'}, {'start': '3855.200', 'end': '3860.599', 'text': 'Someone had triggered it. At first, I'}, {'start': '3858.319', 'end': '3864.319', 'text': 'thought maybe a moth or faulty'}, {'start': '3860.599', 'end': '3867.599', 'text': "wiring. I zoomed in. The room's overhead"}, {'start': '3864.319', 'end': '3872.079', 'text': 'light was on. Now, I turned that off'}, {'start': '3867.599', 'end': '3874.240', 'text': 'myself at 9:15 p.m. I always did. No one'}, {'start': '3872.079', 'end': '3876.799', 'text': 'booked that room. No meetings, no'}, {'start': '3874.240', 'end': '3879.520', 'text': 'overnight guests, and the sensors only'}, {'start': '3876.799', 'end': '3882.400', 'text': 'activated when something moved. I'}, {'start': '3879.520', 'end': '3884.160', 'text': 'hesitated. My gut clenched the way it'}, {'start': '3882.400', 'end': '3886.480', 'text': "does when you're walking into a room"}, {'start': '3884.160', 'end': '3889.920', 'text': "where someone's just been arguing."}, {'start': '3886.480', 'end': '3892.000', 'text': 'Thick, invisible tension. I grabbed my'}, {'start': '3889.920', 'end': '3895.599', 'text': 'flashlight, swiped the security key'}, {'start': '3892.000', 'end': '3897.839', 'text': 'card, and rode the elevator up. As I'}, {'start': '3895.599', 'end': '3899.799', 'text': 'stepped onto the eighth floor, the air'}, {'start': '3897.839', 'end': '3903.119', 'text': 'hit me like a fridge door'}, {'start': '3899.799', 'end': '3906.079', 'text': "opening. It wasn't just cold. It"}, {'start': '3903.119', 'end': '3907.839', 'text': 'lingered on my skin like breath. The'}, {'start': '3906.079', 'end': '3910.400', 'text': 'hallway lights flickered to life with'}, {'start': '3907.839', 'end': '3914.640', 'text': 'their usual delayed buzz.'}, {'start': '3910.400', 'end': '3917.359', 'text': 'Everything looked normal. Desks, chairs,'}, {'start': '3914.640', 'end': '3919.760', 'text': 'vending machine humming softly. But the'}, {'start': '3917.359', 'end': '3923.039', 'text': 'light at the far end inside meeting room'}, {'start': '3919.760', 'end': '3925.440', 'text': 'C glared harsh and yellow. As I'}, {'start': '3923.039', 'end': '3926.880', 'text': 'approached, I slowed. Through the'}, {'start': '3925.440', 'end': '3929.079', 'text': 'frosted glass, I could see the'}, {'start': '3926.880', 'end': '3931.520', 'text': 'silhouettes.'}, {'start': '3929.079', 'end': '3934.119', 'text': 'people sitting at the meeting table.'}, {'start': '3931.520', 'end': '3937.200', 'text': 'Five of them, maybe six,'}, {'start': '3934.119', 'end': '3941.440', 'text': 'unmoving, still not shifting, not'}, {'start': '3937.200', 'end': '3944.079', 'text': 'adjusting, not talking, just sitting. I'}, {'start': '3941.440', 'end': '3945.680', 'text': 'pressed my face closer to the glass.'}, {'start': '3944.079', 'end': '3948.240', 'text': "That's when I noticed their heads were"}, {'start': '3945.680', 'end': '3951.599', 'text': 'tilted. Every one of them had the exact'}, {'start': '3948.240', 'end': '3954.880', 'text': 'same unnatural angle, not slouched, just'}, {'start': '3951.599', 'end': '3958.240', 'text': 'bent sideways like broken dolls. I took'}, {'start': '3954.880', 'end': '3963.280', 'text': 'a step back. Suddenly, all five heads'}, {'start': '3958.240', 'end': '3966.000', 'text': 'snapped upright in unison. I froze. The'}, {'start': '3963.280', 'end': '3970.400', 'text': 'hallway behind me seemed to shrink. Then'}, {'start': '3966.000', 'end': '3975.119', 'text': 'the lights in the room shut off. A few'}, {'start': '3970.400', 'end': '3978.079', 'text': 'seconds of pitch black. Then bang. The'}, {'start': '3975.119', 'end': '3981.520', 'text': 'meeting room door flung open. No one was'}, {'start': '3978.079', 'end': '3983.200', 'text': 'there. The chairs inside were empty.'}, {'start': '3981.520', 'end': '3986.000', 'text': 'Still arranged like someone had just'}, {'start': '3983.200', 'end': '3987.920', 'text': 'held a presentation. One chair even'}, {'start': '3986.000', 'end': '3989.240', 'text': 'slightly pulled back like someone had'}, {'start': '3987.920', 'end': '3991.960', 'text': 'stood up mid'}, {'start': '3989.240', 'end': '3995.559', 'text': 'speech. I scanned the room with my'}, {'start': '3991.960', 'end': '3999.520', 'text': 'flashlight. No people, but something had'}, {'start': '3995.559', 'end': '4003.359', 'text': 'changed. The walls, all four walls had'}, {'start': '3999.520', 'end': '4006.319', 'text': 'writing on them now. Faint, as though'}, {'start': '4003.359', 'end': '4007.960', 'text': 'etched with fingernails over and over,'}, {'start': '4006.319', 'end': '4011.599', 'text': 'repeating the same'}, {'start': '4007.960', 'end': '4014.359', 'text': 'phrase. We were never dismissed. I'}, {'start': '4011.599', 'end': '4016.720', 'text': 'backed out slowly. The silence was'}, {'start': '4014.359', 'end': '4019.760', 'text': 'suffocating. I walked backward into the'}, {'start': '4016.720', 'end': '4023.359', 'text': 'hallway and heard a chair slide and Troy'}, {'start': '4019.760', 'end': '4026.000', 'text': 'behind me. I turned. One chair at the'}, {'start': '4023.359', 'end': '4028.960', 'text': 'table was pulled even further back,'}, {'start': '4026.000', 'end': '4031.760', 'text': 'facing the glass now, as if someone was'}, {'start': '4028.960', 'end': '4033.520', 'text': 'watching me leave. I slammed the door'}, {'start': '4031.760', 'end': '4036.319', 'text': 'shut and practically sprinted down the'}, {'start': '4033.520', 'end': '4039.599', 'text': 'corridor toward the elevator. But the'}, {'start': '4036.319', 'end': '4042.640', 'text': 'elevator screen just blinked. Error.'}, {'start': '4039.599', 'end': '4044.880', 'text': 'Call maintenance. So I bolted to the'}, {'start': '4042.640', 'end': '4046.680', 'text': 'stairwell. I ran down flight after'}, {'start': '4044.880', 'end': '4049.280', 'text': 'flight, the old bulbs flickering'}, {'start': '4046.680', 'end': '4052.480', 'text': 'overhead. But around the sixth floor, I'}, {'start': '4049.280', 'end': '4056.160', 'text': 'heard something behind me. Footsteps,'}, {'start': '4052.480', 'end': '4059.559', 'text': 'but not one set. Multiple software'}, {'start': '4056.160', 'end': '4062.160', 'text': "barefoot coming faster. I didn't look"}, {'start': '4059.559', 'end': '4063.760', 'text': 'back. I launched through the door on the'}, {'start': '4062.160', 'end': '4066.720', 'text': 'ground floor and collapsed into the'}, {'start': '4063.760', 'end': '4069.920', 'text': 'security room. My partner on duty,'}, {'start': '4066.720', 'end': '4072.799', 'text': 'Randy, looked up from his coffee.'}, {'start': '4069.920', 'end': '4074.400', 'text': 'Jesus, what happened to you? I tried to'}, {'start': '4072.799', 'end': '4076.640', 'text': "explain, but I couldn't breathe,"}, {'start': '4074.400', 'end': '4080.400', 'text': "couldn't think. He pulled up the feed"}, {'start': '4076.640', 'end': '4083.880', 'text': 'for meeting room C. Nothing. The lights'}, {'start': '4080.400', 'end': '4086.359', 'text': 'were off. No movement, no occupants. I'}, {'start': '4083.880', 'end': '4090.280', 'text': 'insisted. I told him to rewind the'}, {'start': '4086.359', 'end': '4093.760', 'text': 'footage. And when he did, our faces went'}, {'start': '4090.280', 'end': '4097.040', 'text': 'pale. At 2:29 a.m., the lights in'}, {'start': '4093.760', 'end': '4100.960', 'text': 'meeting room C blinked on. Seven chairs'}, {'start': '4097.040', 'end': '4104.159', 'text': 'sat empty. Then one by one, shadows'}, {'start': '4100.960', 'end': '4107.040', 'text': 'began to appear in each seat. No bodies,'}, {'start': '4104.159', 'end': '4109.759', 'text': 'just shadows forming as though light was'}, {'start': '4107.040', 'end': '4110.759', 'text': 'being swallowed. The time stamp glitched'}, {'start': '4109.759', 'end': '4114.080', 'text': 'at'}, {'start': '4110.759', 'end': '4117.159', 'text': '2:31. Then all seven chairs turned'}, {'start': '4114.080', 'end': '4121.239', 'text': 'toward the door by'}, {'start': '4117.159', 'end': '4124.319', 'text': 'themselves. At 2:33 a.m., the shadows'}, {'start': '4121.239', 'end': '4126.880', 'text': 'vanished instantly like they were never'}, {'start': '4124.319', 'end': '4130.400', 'text': 'there. But in the final frame before the'}, {'start': '4126.880', 'end': '4133.120', 'text': 'feed cut, there was a new chair pulled'}, {'start': '4130.400', 'end': '4135.839', 'text': 'away from the table facing the camera.'}, {'start': '4133.120', 'end': '4139.440', 'text': 'And in it sat someone who looked a lot'}, {'start': '4135.839', 'end': '4141.759', 'text': 'like me, wearing my same black uniform,'}, {'start': '4139.440', 'end': '4144.040', 'text': 'staring straight at the lens, eyes'}, {'start': '4141.759', 'end': '4147.359', 'text': 'completely black,'}, {'start': '4144.040', 'end': '4149.640', 'text': 'expressionless. I took a twoe leave, but'}, {'start': '4147.359', 'end': '4152.400', 'text': 'when I returned, something was'}, {'start': '4149.640', 'end': '4156.000', 'text': 'different. Meeting room C was boarded'}, {'start': '4152.400', 'end': '4158.480', 'text': 'up. No one said why. The cleaning staff'}, {'start': '4156.000', 'end': '4160.239', 'text': 'started quitting. One of them said the'}, {'start': '4158.480', 'end': '4163.279', 'text': 'floor whispered when she mopped near'}, {'start': '4160.239', 'end': '4165.120', 'text': 'that room. Another said he found papers'}, {'start': '4163.279', 'end': '4168.319', 'text': "on the table that hadn't been printed in"}, {'start': '4165.120', 'end': '4171.679', 'text': 'over a decade. Client names the firm had'}, {'start': '4168.319', 'end': '4174.799', 'text': 'never worked with. They moved my shift'}, {'start': '4171.679', 'end': '4176.600', 'text': 'to daytime shortly after. But sometimes'}, {'start': '4174.799', 'end': '4179.719', 'text': 'when I walk by the eighth floor on'}, {'start': '4176.600', 'end': '4181.839', 'text': 'patrol, the elevator doors open by'}, {'start': '4179.719', 'end': '4185.440', 'text': 'themselves and the lights in meeting'}, {'start': '4181.839', 'end': '4187.000', 'text': 'room C blink on even though the room'}, {'start': '4185.440', 'end': '4191.040', 'text': "doesn't exist"}, {'start': '4187.000', 'end': '4193.800', 'text': 'anymore. And sometimes I see myself'}, {'start': '4191.040', 'end': '4197.280', 'text': 'already inside. The rain is still'}, {'start': '4193.800', 'end': '4199.760', 'text': "falling. But now, doesn't it sound"}, {'start': '4197.280', 'end': '4202.400', 'text': 'different? Like something is moving just'}, {'start': '4199.760', 'end': '4204.800', 'text': 'beyond your window. like someone is'}, {'start': '4202.400', 'end': '4207.520', 'text': 'breathing just beneath your bed. Maybe'}, {'start': '4204.800', 'end': '4209.239', 'text': "it's nothing. Maybe it's just your mind"}, {'start': '4207.520', 'end': '4212.440', 'text': 'playing tricks after hearing these'}, {'start': '4209.239', 'end': '4214.640', 'text': "stories. Or maybe you've awakened"}, {'start': '4212.440', 'end': '4218.400', 'text': "something. Something that's been waiting"}, {'start': '4214.640', 'end': '4221.280', 'text': 'for you, listening, watching. And the'}, {'start': '4218.400', 'end': '4224.239', 'text': 'next time you close your eyes, it will'}, {'start': '4221.280', 'end': '4224.239', 'text': 'be closer.'}]