Historia de terror siniestra | Relato de horror impactante para la noche vol. 13
Más Allá del Miedo
[{'start': '0.240', 'end': '5.520', 'text': 'You are entering Beyond Fear.\nThis place is not for the faint of heart or'}, {'start': '5.520', 'end': '11.320', 'text': 'those afraid to explore the unknown.\nHere you will discover terrors that surpass the'}, {'start': '11.320', 'end': '16.960', 'text': 'limits of human understanding, horrors\nso deep and dark that they defy reason'}, {'start': '16.960', 'end': '24.000', 'text': 'itself.  Each story revealed in this space will\ntake you beyond conventional fear,'}, {'start': '24.000', 'end': '27.760', 'text': 'immersing you in an ocean of endless nightmares.'}, {'start': '27.760', 'end': '39.880', 'text': 'Prepare yourself, because after crossing this threshold,\nyour perception of fear will change forever.'}, {'start': '39.880', 'end': '46.560', 'text': 'Last night, the rhythm returned.  An\nunmistakable, heavy footstep, crossing'}, {'start': '46.560', 'end': '53.240', 'text': 'the ceiling directly above my head here on\nthe Meridian Needle.  Impossible, but undeniable.'}, {'start': '53.240', 'end': '60.120', 'text': 'For eight years, I, Elias Thorne, have been\nthe sole guardian of these night halls,'}, {'start': '60.120', 'end': '68.960', 'text': 'the custodian of silence.  Access to that\nwindswept height?  Only mine.  The portal,'}, {'start': '68.960', 'end': '74.440', 'text': 'a slab of reinforced steel, remains\nfirmly closed.  Three times a night,'}, {'start': '74.440', 'end': '84.240', 'text': 'my ritual confirms its safety.  However,\nsomeone – *something* – finds a way to get on.  It'}, {'start': '84.240', 'end': '90.800', 'text': 'all started three weeks earlier.  Just another\nexit sequence: eleven at night,'}, {'start': '90.800', 'end': '98.240', 'text': "securing the building's skin, checking every\ndoorway, every window latch.  It was then that"}, {'start': '98.240', 'end': '105.160', 'text': 'the incongruity first struck me\n: crimson-tipped cigarette filters,'}, {'start': '105.160', 'end': '111.520', 'text': 'Marlboro Reds, scattered like\ndiscarded thoughts near the giant'}, {'start': '111.520', 'end': '118.920', 'text': "HVAC systems on the roof.  Absent during\nmy morning inspection.  I don't smoke.  I swept them"}, {'start': '118.920', 'end': '125.720', 'text': 'into the oblivion of my trash bag, the act\nfeeling strangely like hiding evidence.'}, {'start': '125.720', 'end': '133.800', 'text': 'Then, access to the roof: bolt closed,\npadlock closed.  The keys, Master Set'}, {'start': '133.800', 'end': '140.880', 'text': 'Number Four, given upon hiring,\nclinked reassuringly on my hip,'}, {'start': '140.880', 'end': '149.840', 'text': 'a metallic promise of solitude.  There are no\nduplicates;  Mr. Henderson confirmed this.'}, {'start': '149.840', 'end': '156.920', 'text': 'The following night produced more trash, and something\nelse: impressions in the gravel on the roof.'}, {'start': '156.920', 'end': '164.080', 'text': 'Boot prints, size eleven, maybe twelve, standing out\nagainst the memory of my own'}, {'start': '164.080', 'end': '170.800', 'text': 'size nine footprints.  I captured its ghostly outlines\nwith my phone, transmitting the images'}, {'start': '170.800', 'end': '177.520', 'text': 'to Henderson.  His response was laconic:\nbe sure to follow'}, {'start': '177.520', 'end': '184.640', 'text': "proper closing procedures.  As if I hadn't done it.\nEvery night, the locks bite hard."}, {'start': '185.440', 'end': '191.480', 'text': 'Tonight unfolded with the usual\nsilent ceremony.  Arriving at three,'}, {'start': '191.480', 'end': '195.800', 'text': 'collecting supplies from the\nunderground storage heart,'}, {'start': '195.800', 'end': '203.000', 'text': 'then the slow ascent.  Floor by floor, the\nsame picture: deserted cubicle farms,'}, {'start': '203.000', 'end': '210.280', 'text': 'empty conference rooms, sterile break rooms\n.  The hum of the vacuum cleaner, the'}, {'start': '210.280', 'end': '216.880', 'text': 'rhythmic slosh of the mop, the ballet of\ncleaning – a mindless choreography that is'}, {'start': '216.880', 'end': '223.120', 'text': 'usually soothing.  At seven, the last\nechoes of the daytime bustle fade away,'}, {'start': '223.120', 'end': '230.280', 'text': 'leaving only the fluorescent hum and\nme.  Soledad, my usual companion.'}, {'start': '230.280', 'end': '237.080', 'text': 'Then, at precisely 9:47 P.M., as I\nwas fighting the grime on the linoleum of the'}, {'start': '237.080', 'end': '246.960', 'text': 'nineteenth floor, I heard it.  *Thump…thump…thump.*\nUp.  Slow steps, tracing a course from'}, {'start': '246.960', 'end': '253.040', 'text': 'the southern parapet of the building towards the north.\nMy grip tightened on the mop handle,'}, {'start': '253.040', 'end': '260.560', 'text': 'knuckles white.  Directly above, the\nwandering ceased.  Silence descended,'}, {'start': '260.560', 'end': '267.080', 'text': 'thick and watchful.  I held my breath,\na statue carved in apprehension.  One minute'}, {'start': '267.080', 'end': '274.760', 'text': 'stretched into eternity, then two.\nThe footsteps resumed, faster now,'}, {'start': '274.760', 'end': '282.240', 'text': 'a frantic back and forth.  My heart became\na frantic drummer against my ribs;'}, {'start': '282.240', 'end': '289.760', 'text': 'Perspiration traced cold paths down my\nspine, soaking the fabric of my uniform.'}, {'start': '289.760', 'end': '296.600', 'text': 'Ascend.  Confront.  The thought\nhammered at me.  Simply climb the'}, {'start': '296.600', 'end': '303.480', 'text': 'stairs to the twentieth, break the door in the\nroof, confront the intruder.  My limbs,'}, {'start': '303.480', 'end': '309.960', 'text': 'however, remained like lead anchors.\nThe incessant rhythm persisted for five'}, {'start': '309.960', 'end': '316.960', 'text': 'more minutes before abruptly ceasing.  The building\nreturned to its quiet hum, punctuated only'}, {'start': '316.960', 'end': '324.160', 'text': 'by the drip-drip of my mop in the bucket and\nthe uneven cadence of my own breathing.'}, {'start': '324.160', 'end': '329.080', 'text': 'With shaking hands, I forced myself\nthrough the remaining motions,'}, {'start': '329.080', 'end': '336.480', 'text': 'wringing out the mop head with\none last convulsive twist.  10:15 P.M.  The'}, {'start': '336.480', 'end': '342.680', 'text': 'service elevator groaned as it ascended to the\ntwentieth floor.  Darkness reigned in the hallway,'}, {'start': '342.680', 'end': '348.560', 'text': 'save for the ruby \u200b\u200bglow of the\nEXIT signs that flanked the space.  My flashlight'}, {'start': '348.560', 'end': '354.680', 'text': 'cast a cone of white through the gloom\nas I approached the roof access.'}, {'start': '354.680', 'end': '363.440', 'text': 'Safe lock.  Tamper-evident padlock.  I pressed an ear\nagainst the cold, metallic skin.  Complete stillness.'}, {'start': '363.440', 'end': '368.080', 'text': 'Unlocking both mechanisms, I\nopened the heavy door outwards.'}, {'start': '368.080', 'end': '373.840', 'text': 'A cold current kissed my face.  Gravel\ncrunched under my soles as I stepped onto the expanse of'}, {'start': '373.840', 'end': '379.720', 'text': 'the roof.  The flashlight beam swept across the\nvoid, illuminating the bulky silhouettes'}, {'start': '379.720', 'end': '385.600', 'text': 'of air conditioning units that\ncast long, distorted shadows.'}, {'start': '385.600', 'end': '393.320', 'text': 'Below, the city spread out, a\nshimmering matrix of gold and white.  Empty.'}, {'start': '393.320', 'end': '400.960', 'text': 'But there, nestled near the northern cliff:\nthree fresh cigarette butts.  Marlboro'}, {'start': '400.960', 'end': '408.040', 'text': 'Reds.  The embers still retained a slight\nwarmth.  I scooped them up, bagging the pathetic'}, {'start': '408.040', 'end': '414.840', 'text': 'evidence I knew Henderson would ignore.\nStraightening, my gaze caught on something else:'}, {'start': '414.840', 'end': '421.080', 'text': 'a distinct scrape mark marring\nthe stone ledge, precisely where someone'}, {'start': '421.080', 'end': '426.520', 'text': 'might sit, legs dangling\ninto the abyss twenty stories above the'}, {'start': '426.520', 'end': '432.800', 'text': 'indifferent street.  A wave of nausea\nsurged through me.  I backed away from the edge,'}, {'start': '432.800', 'end': '438.960', 'text': 'hurrying back to the door.\nDouble closed.  Triple check.'}, {'start': '438.960', 'end': '444.200', 'text': 'My final tasks blurred together in a\npanicked rush, an urgent need'}, {'start': '444.200', 'end': '450.560', 'text': 'to escape this concrete shell.\nYet the ghostly footsteps,'}, {'start': '450.560', 'end': '459.000', 'text': 'the smoldering cigarettes, that haunting mark\non the ledge – they clung to my thoughts.'}, {'start': '459.000', 'end': '465.440', 'text': 'The next day, I arrived before my shift.\nA gnawing suspicion demanded investigation.'}, {'start': '465.440', 'end': '471.680', 'text': 'Descending into the archives, I recovered the\noriginal plans of the building, fragile and yellowed'}, {'start': '471.680', 'end': '478.640', 'text': 'by time.  Spread out on my break room table\n, their faded lines revealed the'}, {'start': '478.640', 'end': '487.640', 'text': 'secrets of the structure.  The main door of the\nroof, my family passage.  A secondary access,'}, {'start': '487.640', 'end': '492.880', 'text': 'recorded as permanently sealed\nduring the 2012 renovations.'}, {'start': '493.400', 'end': '499.480', 'text': 'And then – my eyes strained to\ndecipher the faint notation – an archaic'}, {'start': '499.480', 'end': '505.200', 'text': 'maintenance hatch located\nin the northwest corner.  Obsolete.'}, {'start': '505.200', 'end': '511.480', 'text': 'Supposedly buried under the volume of\nthe modern air conditioning system.'}, {'start': '511.480', 'end': '516.360', 'text': 'My lunch break was spent hovering around the\nroof, scanning the area around'}, {'start': '516.360', 'end': '522.720', 'text': 'the largest refrigeration unit.\nAnd there it was: a subtle discontinuity,'}, {'start': '522.720', 'end': '528.080', 'text': "a fractional gap between the unit's plinth\nand the roof membrane.  Conceivable,"}, {'start': '528.080', 'end': '533.880', 'text': 'perhaps, that a determined individual\nslipped through it.  But the notion'}, {'start': '533.880', 'end': '539.560', 'text': 'felt absurd.  So much effort,\njust to smoke on the sly?'}, {'start': '540.440', 'end': '546.880', 'text': 'A plan was formed: a rudimentary alarm.\nNothing dangerous, just a piece of'}, {'start': '546.880', 'end': '553.680', 'text': 'fishing line stretched across the suspicious space,\ntied to an empty aluminum can.  Any footstep would'}, {'start': '553.680', 'end': '561.200', 'text': 'dislodge it, causing it to rattle – an\naudible alert from the floor below.'}, {'start': '561.200', 'end': '567.520', 'text': 'A week passed without incident.  No\nspectral footsteps disturbed the tranquility.'}, {'start': '567.520', 'end': '572.960', 'text': 'No traces of cigarettes were found.\nThe can remained sentinel,'}, {'start': '572.960', 'end': '578.560', 'text': 'undisturbed.  A cautious relaxation\nbegan to settle over me.  Perhaps'}, {'start': '578.560', 'end': '585.640', 'text': 'the smoker had relocated.  Perhaps\nthe tension had conjured up ghosts.'}, {'start': '585.640', 'end': '591.720', 'text': 'Then it came last night.  I was disinfecting the\nbathrooms on the twentieth floor when the high-pitched metallic *clang*'}, {'start': '591.720', 'end': '599.560', 'text': 'echoed from above.  My heart\nstopped.  Flashlight in hand, I ran toward the stairs,'}, {'start': '599.560', 'end': '605.120', 'text': 'taking them two at a time.\nThe access door to the roof remained'}, {'start': '605.120', 'end': '612.560', 'text': 'firmly closed.  My hand was shaking so\nviolently that I fumbled for the key.'}, {'start': '613.120', 'end': '618.880', 'text': 'Finally, forcing the door open,\nmy beam caught on a figure'}, {'start': '618.880', 'end': '626.160', 'text': 'crouching next to the massive air\nconditioning unit.  He turned, just a fleeting glimpse,'}, {'start': '626.160', 'end': '633.400', 'text': 'and where there should have been a face, there\nwas only an abyss, a total denial of features.'}, {'start': '633.400', 'end': '638.840', 'text': 'In the next instant, he slid\ninto the narrow gap and disappeared.  I'}, {'start': '639.680', 'end': '646.320', 'text': 'slammed the door, the heavy steel\nreverberating, and fumbled for my phone,'}, {'start': '646.320', 'end': '652.920', 'text': 'dialing emergency services.  They arrived\ntwenty minutes later, their methodical search'}, {'start': '652.920', 'end': '660.040', 'text': 'yielding nothing.  There were no cigarettes this time.  There\nwere no telltale prints.  Just my cut fishing line'}, {'start': '660.040', 'end': '666.880', 'text': 'scattered across the gravel, the empty can\nresting harmlessly against the parapet.'}, {'start': '666.880', 'end': '673.880', 'text': 'Call building security next time, they\nadvised.  Building security was referred'}, {'start': '673.880', 'end': '682.960', 'text': 'to my supervisor.  Henderson suggested I take\na few days off.  It implied that he needed rest.'}, {'start': '682.960', 'end': '690.040', 'text': 'But retreat is not an option.  This job\nis my anchor.  And deeper still, a'}, {'start': '690.040', 'end': '696.280', 'text': "gnawing compulsion demands answers.  So I'm sitting\nhere now, in the sterile quiet of the"}, {'start': '696.280', 'end': '704.520', 'text': 'break room, the clock strikes 3:00 a.m.,\nputting this story down on paper while I wait.'}, {'start': '704.520', 'end': '711.040', 'text': 'Tonight, I came prepared: a camera placed\nnear the air conditioning unit,'}, {'start': '711.040', 'end': '717.200', 'text': 'activated by motion;  a\nsecret voice recorder under a handful of gravel.'}, {'start': '718.120', 'end': '725.840', 'text': 'Ten minutes ago, the familiar sound started\nagain.  The cadence up.  But it has changed –'}, {'start': '725.840', 'end': '733.240', 'text': 'lighter, almost… whimsical.  As if the entity,\nwhatever it is, sensed my surveillance, enjoyed'}, {'start': '733.240', 'end': '741.440', 'text': 'the game.  I should investigate.  The door is\njust fifteen meters away.  Flashlight, phone,'}, {'start': '741.440', 'end': '749.440', 'text': 'camera – testing instruments.  Evidence\nto refute the invasive label of insanity.'}, {'start': '749.440', 'end': '756.600', 'text': 'However, my legs are forged from lead.\nMy throat is dry as parchment.  The steps'}, {'start': '756.600', 'end': '763.400', 'text': 'are now approaching the access door.\nSlower.  Measured.  A scraping sound vibrates'}, {'start': '763.400', 'end': '770.880', 'text': 'through the metal.  Once.  Twice.  The\nhandle starts to turn.  But I insured it.'}, {'start': '770.880', 'end': '778.960', 'text': 'The bolt, the padlock – I always\nsecure them.  Still, the handle turns.  And the'}, {'start': '778.960', 'end': '784.320', 'text': 'shadows bleed beneath the edge of the\ndoor.  They seep through the'}, {'start': '784.320', 'end': '792.880', 'text': "walls themselves.  They always came through the\nwalls.  Why didn't I check the walls?"}, {'start': '795.680', 'end': '803.720', 'text': 'Consciousness dawned subtly, carried by the\nwaning light of dusk.  From my'}, {'start': '803.720', 'end': '810.280', 'text': "fifth-floor vantage point, overlooking the city's throbbing heart\n, I often watched the street theater"}, {'start': '810.280', 'end': '817.080', 'text': 'unfold: the streams of pedestrians, the\ntides of vehicles, the small dramas'}, {'start': '817.080', 'end': '823.640', 'text': 'played out on the pavement below.\nBut that day, the family composition was'}, {'start': '823.640', 'end': '830.960', 'text': 'fractured.  A distinct silhouette dominated the\nopposite sidewalk, completely motionless, its orientation'}, {'start': '830.960', 'end': '838.320', 'text': 'fixed eerily toward my point of view.\nNo feature was resolved;  It was merely an'}, {'start': '838.320', 'end': '845.080', 'text': 'elongated void, a humanoid absence wrapped in\nimpenetrable shadow.  She remained rooted,'}, {'start': '845.080', 'end': '851.000', 'text': 'a statue sculpted in the twilight,\nher invisible gaze fixed on my balcony.  I pushed her'}, {'start': '851.880', 'end': '858.440', 'text': 'out of my thoughts, following the\nfamiliar cadence of the night.  The broth'}, {'start': '858.440', 'end': '864.880', 'text': 'simmered, the television flickered with\nborrowed lives, but the presence lingered at the edge'}, {'start': '864.880', 'end': '873.680', 'text': 'of my consciousness.  A return to the window\nconfirmed it: it was still there.  Unwavering.  Identical.'}, {'start': '873.680', 'end': '879.040', 'text': 'Through the following hours, punctuated\nby my increasingly compulsive glances,'}, {'start': '879.040', 'end': '887.080', 'text': 'streetlights flickered on, traffic pulsed,\nfigures hurried past – all oblivious.'}, {'start': '887.080', 'end': '894.640', 'text': 'Neither of them gave the sentry a second glance.\xa0  It\nmade no sound, betrayed no fatigue,'}, {'start': '894.640', 'end': '900.320', 'text': 'offered no hint of the\nminute changes that mark life.  A restlessness,'}, {'start': '900.320', 'end': '907.120', 'text': 'cold and insistent, began to coil\ninside me.  I closed the heavy curtains,'}, {'start': '907.120', 'end': '914.760', 'text': 'flooding the apartment with artificial light,\nseeking refuge in mundane tasks.  However,'}, {'start': '914.760', 'end': '922.520', 'text': 'rhythmically, irremediably, he\nmoved the cloth aside.  It was still there.'}, {'start': '922.520', 'end': '928.600', 'text': 'Sleep offered little sanctuary that night,\ndisturbed by a formless premonition.  The'}, {'start': '928.600', 'end': '936.440', 'text': 'morning light, clear and clarifying, revealed\nan empty sidewalk.  The ordinary picture resumed:'}, {'start': '936.440', 'end': '939.760', 'text': 'commuters clutching briefcases and coffee cups,'}, {'start': '939.760', 'end': '945.560', 'text': 'cyclists zigzagging through the\noncoming traffic.  A wave of trembling relief'}, {'start': '945.560', 'end': '951.560', 'text': 'washed over me.  Perhaps merely an eccentric,\ninexplicably delaying before'}, {'start': '951.560', 'end': '959.520', 'text': 'moving forward.  I dressed, descended into the flow\nof the city, and forced the image away.'}, {'start': '959.520', 'end': '966.280', 'text': 'Returning around seven that evening,\nhabit, or perhaps morbid curiosity,'}, {'start': '966.280', 'end': '973.960', 'text': 'directed my eyes to the window.  He had returned.\nSame precise location, same stance,'}, {'start': '973.960', 'end': '980.320', 'text': 'aiming directly at my abode as the day\nbled into twilight.  I watched from the'}, {'start': '980.320', 'end': '987.400', 'text': 'concealment of the window for ten minutes,\nstruggling to decipher its nature.  A'}, {'start': '987.400', 'end': '995.240', 'text': 'hooded figure?  A trick of the fading light?\nIts outline remained stubbornly indistinct,'}, {'start': '995.240', 'end': '1001.880', 'text': 'a tear in the fabric of the\nvisible world.  No face, no hand emerged'}, {'start': '1001.880', 'end': '1009.160', 'text': 'from the darkness, only that unshakeable obsidian stillness\n.  I hit the glass hard;'}, {'start': '1009.160', 'end': '1015.600', 'text': 'no reaction rippled his composure.\nMy phone felt heavy in my hand.'}, {'start': '1015.600', 'end': '1022.960', 'text': 'What report could I even make?  *Is there an\nabstraction staring into my apartment?* It was'}, {'start': '1022.960', 'end': '1030.480', 'text': "n't breaking any laws, it was merely taking up\nspace.  Waiting seemed the only recourse.  The"}, {'start': '1030.480', 'end': '1037.480', 'text': 'hours dragged on.  His stillness became\nabsolute, disconcerting.  The idea of \u200b\u200bsleeping'}, {'start': '1037.480', 'end': '1044.320', 'text': 'felt obscene with her standing guard down below.\xa0  I\nturned off the glare of the television, performed my'}, {'start': '1044.320', 'end': '1051.720', 'text': 'dental hygiene rituals, and retired to bed,\nleaving the bedroom curtain ajar,'}, {'start': '1051.720', 'end': '1059.200', 'text': 'the nightlight a small, defiant sun.\nLying there, scrolling through the digital noise, I'}, {'start': '1059.200', 'end': '1067.000', 'text': 'fought the gravity of its presence\noutside.  Finally, exhaustion claimed me.'}, {'start': '1067.800', 'end': '1074.320', 'text': 'Around midnight, a jolt\nwoke me abruptly.  The silence was pressing,'}, {'start': '1074.320', 'end': '1081.680', 'text': 'dense and expectant.  A peculiar pressure blossomed\nin my chest – the familiar signature of anxiety,'}, {'start': '1081.680', 'end': '1089.680', 'text': 'amplified.  I sat up straight, listening.\nNothing but the low hum of the city.'}, {'start': '1089.680', 'end': '1095.040', 'text': 'My gaze turned to the window.\nThrough the narrow opening, I saw her.\xa0\xa0  She'}, {'start': '1095.040', 'end': '1101.480', 'text': 'was still there, but upset.  A subtle shift,\na bend in what could have been a'}, {'start': '1101.480', 'end': '1107.920', 'text': 'limb – arm or leg, impossible\nto tell – but the angle was grotesque,'}, {'start': '1107.920', 'end': '1113.880', 'text': 'backward, defying anatomical logic.\xa0  It\nwas the movement of a'}, {'start': '1113.880', 'end': '1120.600', 'text': 'shadow puppet contorted by an invisible, wicked hand\n.  Perspiration beaded on my forehead;'}, {'start': '1120.600', 'end': '1127.480', 'text': 'my breath hitched.  I sank back\ninto the pillows, eyes squeezed shut,'}, {'start': '1127.480', 'end': '1136.200', 'text': 'fighting the image.  Sleep finally\nclaimed me, a shallow and turbulent surrender.'}, {'start': '1136.200', 'end': '1142.360', 'text': 'By the next dawn, the pavement below\nwas thankfully empty.  Descending'}, {'start': '1142.360', 'end': '1149.520', 'text': 'later, I scanned the street, looking for\nany lingering strangeness.  Nothing.'}, {'start': '1149.520', 'end': '1154.760', 'text': "I ventured to ask the building's concierge\n, a man perpetually immersed in"}, {'start': '1154.760', 'end': '1163.240', 'text': 'a paperback.  He offered a\nnoncommittal shrug, pleading ignorance.  In the hallway,'}, {'start': '1163.240', 'end': '1170.040', 'text': 'I sounded out a neighbor – have you ever seen anything\npeculiar outside at night?  He looked at me with a'}, {'start': '1170.040', 'end': '1175.800', 'text': 'strange mixture of caution and pity\nbefore denying it.  I dropped the subject,'}, {'start': '1175.800', 'end': '1183.440', 'text': 'retreating into the anonymity of my\nworkday, the question echoing: would I come back?'}, {'start': '1183.440', 'end': '1192.440', 'text': 'He did it.  Same coordinates, same\ntwilight emergency.  My stomach dropped.  This time, I'}, {'start': '1192.440', 'end': '1198.760', 'text': 'turned off my lights early, positioning myself near\nthe window, peering through a gap in'}, {'start': '1198.760', 'end': '1207.440', 'text': 'the curtains.  An hour passed in shared stillness.\nSo, movement.  He bent forward at'}, {'start': '1207.440', 'end': '1213.560', 'text': 'the waist, an impossible sharp angle\nsuggesting a shattered spine,'}, {'start': '1213.560', 'end': '1220.720', 'text': 'limbs – were they arms?  legs?  –\ntwisting in ways that screamed violation'}, {'start': '1220.720', 'end': '1227.520', 'text': 'of natural law.  No sound accompanied\nthe contortion, no visible distress,'}, {'start': '1227.520', 'end': '1234.320', 'text': 'only a silent, deliberate rearrangement\nof its impossible shape.  Then, stillness'}, {'start': '1234.320', 'end': '1242.000', 'text': 'resumed.  The fine hairs on my neck stood on end;\nmy heart was beating hard against my ribs.'}, {'start': '1242.000', 'end': '1249.440', 'text': 'I retreated to the kitchen, pouring water with\nshaking hands, trying to rationalize.  He remained'}, {'start': '1249.440', 'end': '1256.800', 'text': 'outside.  He made no overt threats.\xa0  I\njust… was.  A constant'}, {'start': '1256.800', 'end': '1264.240', 'text': 'and silent pressure.  But he refused to grant me\npeace.  Night after night, the vigil continued.'}, {'start': '1265.080', 'end': '1271.280', 'text': 'Several nights later, the dynamic changed.\xa0  I\nhad been burning lights until late,'}, {'start': '1271.280', 'end': '1277.000', 'text': 'an expensive charade of normality, but the\nfatigue was becoming unbearable.'}, {'start': '1277.000', 'end': '1283.600', 'text': 'Around midnight, I plunged the apartment\ninto near-total darkness, leaving only the bathroom'}, {'start': '1283.600', 'end': '1292.160', 'text': 'illuminated.  Locked doors, closed windows\n– an inventory of useless defenses.  Lying in'}, {'start': '1292.160', 'end': '1299.000', 'text': 'bed, the familiar chest pressure returned.\nSleep must have found me, because the next'}, {'start': '1299.000', 'end': '1306.200', 'text': 'awareness was of movement *beside me*.\nThe room was pitch black,'}, {'start': '1306.200', 'end': '1312.040', 'text': 'save for the faint ambient glow of my\nphone on the nightstand.  The mattress'}, {'start': '1312.040', 'end': '1318.800', 'text': 'sank.  A distinct, localized depression, as\nif someone had been sitting silently'}, {'start': '1318.800', 'end': '1326.960', 'text': 'near my feet.  My pulse became a\nfrantic drumbeat against my eardrums.  I froze,'}, {'start': '1326.960', 'end': '1332.480', 'text': 'every muscle locked, feeling\nthe subtle tension pull at the sheet.'}, {'start': '1333.320', 'end': '1341.760', 'text': 'Slowly, agonizingly, I reached for\nthe phone, touching the screen to turn it on.'}, {'start': '1341.760', 'end': '1347.400', 'text': 'Its dim lighting revealed nothing but\nthe familiar landscape of my duvet and pillow.'}, {'start': '1347.400', 'end': '1354.280', 'text': 'Yet the sensation persisted – a\ntangible weight, a compression of the springs'}, {'start': '1354.280', 'end': '1361.600', 'text': 'beneath.  I held my breath for what\nseemed like an eternity, my mind racing, my'}, {'start': '1361.600', 'end': '1369.320', 'text': 'throat constricted.  Finally, mustering\ndesperate courage, I extended my hand,'}, {'start': '1369.320', 'end': '1376.960', 'text': 'palm flat, toward the perceived indentation.\nMy fingers encountered nothing solid – no fabric,'}, {'start': '1376.960', 'end': '1386.040', 'text': 'no limb, no substance.  But the sinking\nremained, undeniable.  Then a subtle shift'}, {'start': '1386.040', 'end': '1392.080', 'text': 'beneath my palm sent a jolt of pure\nterror through me.  It was not the pressure of a'}, {'start': '1392.080', 'end': '1398.720', 'text': 'body;  It felt like a localized deformation\nin reality itself.  I stumbled out of bed'}, {'start': '1398.720', 'end': '1405.960', 'text': ', hitting the light switch\n.  Instantly, the pressure was gone.'}, {'start': '1406.520', 'end': '1413.480', 'text': 'A frantic search confirmed my loneliness:\nempty closet, clear under the bed,'}, {'start': '1413.480', 'end': '1421.360', 'text': 'intact curtains.  The front door remained\nlocked, the windows secure.  The'}, {'start': '1421.360', 'end': '1428.200', 'text': 'entity on the street, or some aspect of it,\nhad passed through my fortress without a trace.'}, {'start': '1429.040', 'end': '1433.400', 'text': 'The rest of the night was spent\nin the glow of each light bulb,'}, {'start': '1433.400', 'end': '1439.320', 'text': 'curled up in a living room chair,\nstaring at the bedroom door,'}, {'start': '1439.320', 'end': '1446.880', 'text': 'waiting.  Nothing else happened.  The next day was\na hollow representation of normality – shower,'}, {'start': '1446.880', 'end': '1454.440', 'text': 'coffee, commute, a desperate attempt to\nsuperimpose routine on the encroaching madness.  But'}, {'start': '1454.440', 'end': '1461.960', 'text': 'knowledge oozed out.  That night, when I returned\nhome, I immediately checked the window.  I was'}, {'start': '1461.960', 'end': '1469.440', 'text': 'there.  And it had moved.  Several steps closer\nto the building entrance, still on the sidewalk,'}, {'start': '1469.440', 'end': '1477.040', 'text': 'but undeniably closer.  Passersby\nflowed around him, completely indifferent.'}, {'start': '1477.040', 'end': '1483.720', 'text': 'Was it visible only to me?  Or did he present himself as\nnothing more than a harmless shadow to others?'}, {'start': '1484.560', 'end': '1489.600', 'text': 'Around eleven, I turned off the\nmain lights, leaving only the faint'}, {'start': '1489.600', 'end': '1497.200', 'text': 'glow of the bathroom.  Standing by\nmy bedroom window, I watched.  An arm – or whatever'}, {'start': '1497.200', 'end': '1502.800', 'text': 'served as such – twisted again,\nthis time accompanied by a slight, dry *crunch*'}, {'start': '1502.800', 'end': '1509.840', 'text': 'that seemed to penetrate the glass.  I shuddered\nviolently, a knot tightening deep'}, {'start': '1509.840', 'end': '1516.240', 'text': 'in my belly, sweat blooming under\nmy arms.  My skull felt tight,'}, {'start': '1516.240', 'end': '1524.760', 'text': 'surrounded by tension.  Calling the authorities\nfelt absurd, pointless.  What evidence did he have?'}, {'start': '1524.760', 'end': '1531.000', 'text': 'A blurry phone image, capturing only\nan indistinct blur against the night'}, {'start': '1531.000', 'end': '1539.680', 'text': 'cityscape?  I tried anyway, expanding\nto no avail.  Nothing but amorphous darkness.  I'}, {'start': '1539.680', 'end': '1545.640', 'text': 'turned off the last light and retreated to bed,\nfully clothed, phone'}, {'start': '1545.640', 'end': '1553.160', 'text': 'clutched like a talisman, its flashlight beam\npoised.  Wait.  After an eternity,'}, {'start': '1553.160', 'end': '1559.400', 'text': 'the feeling returned.  A feather-light indentation\nat the far edge of the mattress,'}, {'start': '1559.400', 'end': '1565.720', 'text': 'as if a single fingertip were pressing\ndown, but heavy enough to'}, {'start': '1565.720', 'end': '1573.400', 'text': 'strain the fabric.  I aimed the flashlight beam.\nEmpty space.  I pressed myself against the headboard, my'}, {'start': '1573.400', 'end': '1580.160', 'text': 'eyes fixed on the spot.  The indentation\ndeepened, the material pulling downward'}, {'start': '1580.160', 'end': '1586.040', 'text': 'as if weighed down by an\ninvisible knee.  I slid my hand through the air over'}, {'start': '1586.040', 'end': '1594.960', 'text': 'it – nothing.  However, the mattress gave way.  My\nbreathing became irregular, shallow.'}, {'start': '1594.960', 'end': '1602.120', 'text': 'The heart beating like a trapped bird.  I raced out\nof bed, fleeing to the living room,'}, {'start': '1602.120', 'end': '1608.680', 'text': 'flipping every light switch, bathing the apartment\nin a harsh, unforgiving light.  Door check'}, {'start': '1608.680', 'end': '1616.960', 'text': ': secure.  Window check: safe.\nBack in the bedroom minutes later,'}, {'start': '1616.960', 'end': '1624.440', 'text': 'the bed was smooth, untouched.  I sat down cautiously\non the edge, my shoulders stiff, my neck'}, {'start': '1624.440', 'end': '1633.040', 'text': 'aching.  Sleep finally came, restless\nand shallow, beneath the constant glare.'}, {'start': '1633.040', 'end': '1639.920', 'text': 'The next few days became a\ndesperate series of experiments.  I slept on the couch.'}, {'start': '1639.920', 'end': '1645.200', 'text': 'I kept the windows perpetually\nsealed.  I tried to ignore the figure,'}, {'start': '1645.200', 'end': '1651.440', 'text': 'looking away, but its presence was\na constant peripheral weight.  Some nights,'}, {'start': '1651.440', 'end': '1658.800', 'text': 'the mattress would give way.  Others brought faint,\nunexplained sounds – soft tapping on the'}, {'start': '1658.800', 'end': '1665.040', 'text': 'drywall, scurrying noises from the ceiling, a\ndry scraping from under the bed that'}, {'start': '1665.040', 'end': '1672.680', 'text': 'investigation revealed nothing to explain.\nOne night, determined, I turned off the lights early'}, {'start': '1672.680', 'end': '1680.400', 'text': 'and committed myself to observation.  For an\nhour, she remained completely still.  Then'}, {'start': '1680.400', 'end': '1687.520', 'text': 'a limb slid behind his back,\nbending impossibly, circumferentially,'}, {'start': '1687.520', 'end': '1693.800', 'text': 'outlining a nightmarish silhouette.  A soft\n*click* echoed faintly through the'}, {'start': '1693.800', 'end': '1701.320', 'text': 'glass.  My muscles tensed.  I stepped back from\nthe window.  When I dared to look again, it'}, {'start': '1701.320', 'end': '1708.480', 'text': "was closer.  Not incrementally,\nbut suddenly.  I hadn't seen her"}, {'start': '1708.480', 'end': '1715.080', 'text': 'cross the intervening space;  It simply\noccupied a new position, even closer.'}, {'start': '1715.680', 'end': '1722.600', 'text': 'The impulse to fling open the window and scream\nwarred with a primal fear of confrontation.'}, {'start': '1722.600', 'end': '1727.640', 'text': 'I tried to run away.  A cheap hotel room\nseveral blocks away'}, {'start': '1727.640', 'end': '1734.120', 'text': 'offered a brief glimpse of escape.  Pizza,\nmindless TV, the hope of a'}, {'start': '1734.120', 'end': '1740.760', 'text': 'trouble-free sleep.  Around two in\nthe morning, a faint sound caught my attention.'}, {'start': '1740.760', 'end': '1747.080', 'text': 'The cushion of the solitary armchair in the room\nshowed a slight and distinct depression.  He'}, {'start': '1747.080', 'end': '1753.600', 'text': 'had followed me.  Check-out was immediate, a\nhasty retreat back to the'}, {'start': '1753.600', 'end': '1761.120', 'text': 'compromised familiarity of my own walls.  At\nleast there, I knew the terrain of my stalking.'}, {'start': '1761.120', 'end': '1766.800', 'text': 'Traps were set: a fine dusting of\nflour across the bedroom threshold,'}, {'start': '1766.800', 'end': '1773.960', 'text': 'tripwires of thread, duct tape across\nthe door frames.  Each morning it revealed its'}, {'start': '1773.960', 'end': '1781.400', 'text': 'pristine, untouched state, mocking my\nefforts.  The presence was there – the'}, {'start': '1781.400', 'end': '1788.920', 'text': 'sagging mattress, the\nphantom pressures – but it left no physical trace.'}, {'start': '1788.920', 'end': '1795.800', 'text': 'The weeks bled into a continuous exhaustion.\nMy eyes were perpetually raw,'}, {'start': '1795.800', 'end': '1802.520', 'text': 'sleep a forgotten luxury.  The food had\nno appeal.  A tremor lived permanently'}, {'start': '1802.520', 'end': '1809.320', 'text': 'in my hands, intensifying as\ndusk approached.  His presence below was a'}, {'start': '1809.320', 'end': '1817.840', 'text': 'certainty.  His nocturnal incursions into my space,\na terrible expectation.  What did he want?  He inflicted no'}, {'start': '1817.840', 'end': '1825.760', 'text': 'physical harm, made no threats, took\nnothing.  It just watched, writhed, and'}, {'start': '1825.760', 'end': '1832.560', 'text': 'pressed its invisible weight down upon my world.\nSometimes, when I was looking for water in the middle of the night,'}, {'start': '1832.560', 'end': '1838.840', 'text': 'I imagined hearing weak,\nrhythmic breathing from the shadowy corners of the kitchen.'}, {'start': '1838.840', 'end': '1844.520', 'text': 'Turning on the lights became a\nprerequisite for entering any room.'}, {'start': '1844.520', 'end': '1850.440', 'text': 'Windows were avoided after dark.\nLooking down at the street became an'}, {'start': '1850.440', 'end': '1857.200', 'text': 'act of will, although peripheral glances\nconfirmed his tireless vigilance – sometimes'}, {'start': '1857.200', 'end': '1864.440', 'text': 'closer, sometimes further, shifting\nleft or right.  When he met'}, {'start': '1864.440', 'end': '1873.920', 'text': 'a direct gaze, he froze.  When not\nobserved, it seemed to stealthily reposition itself.'}, {'start': '1873.920', 'end': '1880.480', 'text': 'Sleeping during the day offered no respite.  Closing my\neyes for too long, even in bright'}, {'start': '1880.480', 'end': '1886.840', 'text': 'sunlight, could invite the familiar pressure\nfrom the couch next to me.  Standing at the sink,'}, {'start': '1886.840', 'end': '1891.760', 'text': 'a gnawing feeling of being watched\nfrom behind, only to turn into'}, {'start': '1891.760', 'end': '1900.200', 'text': 'emptiness.  The locks were checked obsessively.\nPermanently sealing the windows was considered.'}, {'start': '1900.200', 'end': '1906.600', 'text': 'Nothing deterred her.  I existed in this state,\nperpetually vibrating with low-level fear,'}, {'start': '1906.600', 'end': '1912.680', 'text': 'startled by every car that passed.\nShould I flee the city?  Or would it simply'}, {'start': '1912.680', 'end': '1919.880', 'text': 'manifest in a new location, tied\nto me?  Trusting anyone felt impossible,'}, {'start': '1919.880', 'end': '1925.520', 'text': 'the story too unbelievable, the\nlack of evidence too damning.'}, {'start': '1926.440', 'end': '1934.080', 'text': 'Now, late in the day, I sit bathed in the\nelectric glow of my living room.  I know,'}, {'start': '1934.080', 'end': '1940.760', 'text': 'without looking, that it takes its place on the pavement\nbelow.  Invisible from this angle, perhaps,'}, {'start': '1940.760', 'end': '1947.320', 'text': 'but undeniably present.  The darkness\ninvites her in.  Reclining invites its'}, {'start': '1947.320', 'end': '1954.840', 'text': 'phantom weight.  Closing my eyes risks a fleeting,\nimagined touch against my skin.  The game promises only'}, {'start': '1954.840', 'end': '1962.320', 'text': 'persecution.  There is no solution, there is no\nstrategy left.  There is only this coexistence,'}, {'start': '1962.320', 'end': '1968.880', 'text': 'this fragile truce maintained by\nilluminated rooms and constant vigilance.  I keep'}, {'start': '1968.880', 'end': '1983.520', 'text': "the lights on.  I keep my eyes open.\xa0  I'm\nstill breathing.  It is, for now, all that remains."}, {'start': '1983.520', 'end': '1989.280', 'text': 'This piece of land became mine just\nlast month.  I had few illusions'}, {'start': '1989.280', 'end': '1994.280', 'text': 'when the worn "For Sale" sign\nfirst caught my eye along the'}, {'start': '1994.280', 'end': '2000.440', 'text': 'bumpy road.  The farmhouse\nis modest, its pale skin peeling,'}, {'start': '2000.440', 'end': '2006.560', 'text': 'revealing older layers beneath.  Across the\nyard leans the barn,'}, {'start': '2006.560', 'end': '2012.680', 'text': 'its spine slightly bowed by time,\nbut seemingly solid enough to'}, {'start': '2012.680', 'end': '2018.480', 'text': 'shelter old tools and the dust motes\nthat dance in the furtive rays of sunlight.'}, {'start': '2019.120', 'end': '2026.240', 'text': 'Remnants of the former life lay scattered\neverywhere: rusted tools, splintered boxes,'}, {'start': '2026.240', 'end': '2033.000', 'text': 'and heavy shadows of abandonment that had not yet been\ndisturbed.  My simple vision consisted of'}, {'start': '2033.000', 'end': '2040.360', 'text': 'quiet afternoons, watching the sunsets bleed\nbehind the ochre hills.  A vast expanse of'}, {'start': '2040.360', 'end': '2047.440', 'text': 'corn stretched beyond the granary, a\ngolden sea that whispered of possibilities... that, in'}, {'start': '2047.440', 'end': '2055.120', 'text': 'truth, was the lure, the prospect\nof wresting a humble living from the earth.'}, {'start': '2055.120', 'end': '2061.600', 'text': 'Something, however, held me back during that\ninitial foray into the whispering expanse.'}, {'start': '2061.600', 'end': '2068.160', 'text': 'Deep in the labyrinthine heart of the cornfield\nstood a sentinel: a scarecrow.'}, {'start': '2068.160', 'end': '2074.760', 'text': 'His attire, though shabby, possessed a\ndisturbing neatness.  The collar of his jacket rested'}, {'start': '2074.760', 'end': '2081.280', 'text': 'with unnatural precision on his\nstraw-stuffed neck;  the pants defied the'}, {'start': '2081.280', 'end': '2088.080', 'text': 'fall of gravity.  Even the hat seemed to be\nplaced with intention, not simply thrown'}, {'start': '2088.080', 'end': '2095.560', 'text': 'on his head.  He felt cared for, adjusted\nby invisible hands.  A trivial observation, I'}, {'start': '2095.560', 'end': '2103.800', 'text': 'thought then, dismissing it as a relic,\na forgotten effigy of a bygone tenancy.  I'}, {'start': '2103.800', 'end': '2109.840', 'text': 'walked past him that first day,\ntracing the boundaries of my new domain.\xa0\xa0  He'}, {'start': '2109.840', 'end': '2115.960', 'text': 'seemed to be leaning slightly forward, his\nburlap face pointing toward the distant'}, {'start': '2115.960', 'end': '2122.960', 'text': 'farmhouse.  A peculiar coldness uncoiled\nin my gut, irrational but palpable.\xa0\xa0  It'}, {'start': '2122.960', 'end': '2130.000', 'text': "was just straw and wood tied together, was\nn't it?  His face, a faded piece of sackcloth,"}, {'start': '2130.000', 'end': '2137.240', 'text': 'showed straw sticking out like sparse whiskers.\nThe eyes, perhaps once matching black buttons,'}, {'start': '2137.240', 'end': '2143.760', 'text': 'were damaged;  One was a\njagged splinter, giving it a broken look.'}, {'start': '2144.320', 'end': '2149.840', 'text': 'A crudely stitched line formed the\ntwisted rictus of a mouth.  My gaze'}, {'start': '2149.840', 'end': '2155.920', 'text': 'paused for only a moment before moving on\n.  The figure remained static,'}, {'start': '2155.920', 'end': '2161.440', 'text': 'motionless, an inert element\namong the whispering rows.'}, {'start': '2161.440', 'end': '2166.800', 'text': 'Several nights later, I found myself\nseeking rest in the small living room.'}, {'start': '2166.800', 'end': '2172.160', 'text': 'The summer heat lingered, inviting us to\nopen the windows that welcomed the'}, {'start': '2172.160', 'end': '2179.000', 'text': 'night air and the sounds it brought with it.\xa0  I\ncould hear the cornfield breathing, a familiar whisper'}, {'start': '2179.000', 'end': '2186.920', 'text': 'that usually calmed me.  But tonight, it\nfelt unsettled, imbued with a subtle cadence,'}, {'start': '2186.920', 'end': '2193.640', 'text': 'almost a barely audible hissing murmur.  No\nwords were formed, just an insistent,'}, {'start': '2193.640', 'end': '2200.920', 'text': 'rhythmic sigh that made the skin on my arms prickle.\nDrawn by restlessness, I stepped out onto the back porch,'}, {'start': '2200.920', 'end': '2209.480', 'text': 'peering into the gloom.  The moonlight, dim\nand watery, silvered the swaying tops of the corn.'}, {'start': '2209.480', 'end': '2217.520', 'text': 'And there, silhouetted against the shifting green,\nwas the silhouette.  The shape of the scarecrow,'}, {'start': '2217.520', 'end': '2224.320', 'text': 'unmistakable.  Squinting,\nI harbored a fleeting, chilling thought: it'}, {'start': '2224.320', 'end': '2231.400', 'text': 'seemed to have pivoted toward me, completely\nturned, not merely tilted.  The darkness'}, {'start': '2231.400', 'end': '2238.360', 'text': 'and distance made certainty impossible.\nA racing pulse hammered my ribs;\xa0\xa0  my'}, {'start': '2238.360', 'end': '2244.560', 'text': 'breath caught in my throat.  Exhaustion, I\ntold myself, just fatigue playing tricks on me'}, {'start': '2244.560', 'end': '2252.840', 'text': '.  Retreating inside, I locked the door,\nmurmuring reassuring words: old cloth,'}, {'start': '2252.840', 'end': '2261.200', 'text': 'dry straw, a simple wooden cross.\nSleep finally overcame me on the couch.'}, {'start': '2261.200', 'end': '2268.080', 'text': 'The morning arrived, fresh and bright.\nBefore venturing into town for supplies,'}, {'start': '2268.080', 'end': '2274.120', 'text': 'I decided to inspect the countryside.  The earth crunched\nsoftly beneath my boots as I moved'}, {'start': '2274.120', 'end': '2280.760', 'text': 'between the rows.  Upon arriving at the center, I found\nthe scarecrow waiting, although subtly'}, {'start': '2280.760', 'end': '2287.480', 'text': 'disturbed.  His hat was now tilted at\na sharper angle, as if pointing directly down'}, {'start': '2287.480', 'end': '2294.280', 'text': 'the row at me.  His arms, previously\noutstretched, hung closer to his torso,'}, {'start': '2294.280', 'end': '2300.560', 'text': 'as if he had shifted\nposition infinitesimally.  A drop of sweat traced a path down'}, {'start': '2300.560', 'end': '2307.800', 'text': 'my temple despite the cool morning air.\nHesitantly, I reached out, my fingers brushing against the'}, {'start': '2307.800', 'end': '2315.560', 'text': 'dusty fabric of his jacket;  The\nsleeve seams felt fragile and worn.'}, {'start': '2315.560', 'end': '2322.560', 'text': 'I examined the post, checking its firmness in the\nground.  Everything seemed superficially normal.'}, {'start': '2323.520', 'end': '2328.480', 'text': 'Then I saw them: footprints disturbing\nthe packed earth around the base'}, {'start': '2328.480', 'end': '2335.920', 'text': "of the scarecrow.  They weren't the footprints of my\nboots.  These were finer, shallower,"}, {'start': '2335.920', 'end': '2341.680', 'text': 'like drag marks left by\nfaltering feet.  They traced a faint path leading away'}, {'start': '2341.680', 'end': '2347.680', 'text': 'from the post before vanishing into the\ntangled embrace of corn roots and'}, {'start': '2347.680', 'end': '2355.560', 'text': 'parched earth.  A wave of nausea washed over me.\nThe wind, I rationalized.  Or maybe'}, {'start': '2355.560', 'end': '2364.320', 'text': 'mischievous local youths.  However, I had seen no\nchildren, nor heard any intruders on my secluded land.'}, {'start': '2364.320', 'end': '2369.680', 'text': 'In the village, while shopping for necessities,\nI exchanged brief pleasantries with some'}, {'start': '2369.680', 'end': '2376.360', 'text': 'locals.  The property, they confirmed, had been\nvacant for two decades or more.'}, {'start': '2376.360', 'end': '2381.520', 'text': 'Nobody talked about a scarecrow.  No one\nmentioned any strange disturbances in the'}, {'start': '2381.520', 'end': '2388.040', 'text': 'field.  And I, wary of being labeled an\neccentric so soon after arriving,'}, {'start': '2388.040', 'end': '2393.440', 'text': 'offered nothing about my own\ndisturbing discoveries.'}, {'start': '2393.440', 'end': '2399.880', 'text': 'Sunset painted the sky with shades of fire and\npink as I sat once again on the porch.'}, {'start': '2399.880', 'end': '2405.560', 'text': 'The cicadas began their nightly buzzing;\nThe dry, sweet scent of corn leaves'}, {'start': '2405.560', 'end': '2413.040', 'text': 'floated in the breeze.  A powerful impulse arose\nwithin me: to go into the darkening field,'}, {'start': '2413.040', 'end': '2418.720', 'text': 'to confront the silent watchman.  But the\nmemory of those inexplicable footprints'}, {'start': '2418.720', 'end': '2423.840', 'text': 'kept me captive.  Unease\ncoiled tensely in my stomach;'}, {'start': '2423.840', 'end': '2431.440', 'text': 'Venturing into that whispering ocean after\ndark seemed profoundly reckless.'}, {'start': '2431.440', 'end': '2436.760', 'text': "Around ten o'clock, with the house secured, I went\nto bed, leaving a window slightly"}, {'start': '2436.760', 'end': '2444.000', 'text': 'ajar to the night.  The sleep, he hoped, would be\ndeep and peaceful.  But around midnight,'}, {'start': '2444.000', 'end': '2452.120', 'text': 'I woke up with a start.  A whisper, yes, but\nmore insistent now, more energetic than the'}, {'start': '2452.120', 'end': '2459.400', 'text': 'usual caress of the wind.  Getting up, I went\nto the window.  The moon, fuller tonight,'}, {'start': '2459.400', 'end': '2465.880', 'text': 'cast sharp shadows across the courtyard.  My\nview of the cornfield was limited, swallowed by'}, {'start': '2465.880', 'end': '2474.560', 'text': 'darkness beyond the first rows.\nThen, a distinct, dull impact —*thud*—'}, {'start': '2474.560', 'end': '2481.440', 'text': 'as if something substantial hit the ground.\nMy heart skipped a beat.  Flashlight in hand,'}, {'start': '2481.440', 'end': '2489.000', 'text': 'boots hastily shod, I cautiously stepped out\nonto the porch.  The night air felt thick,'}, {'start': '2489.000', 'end': '2496.320', 'text': 'resistant.  My limbs were tense,\nmy breathing shallow and rapid.'}, {'start': '2496.320', 'end': '2501.960', 'text': 'The flashlight beam traced a nervous stripe\nalong the edge of the field.  The nearest stems'}, {'start': '2501.960', 'end': '2507.920', 'text': 'shuddered, their movement\ntoo violent, too localized,'}, {'start': '2507.920', 'end': '2515.720', 'text': 'suggesting footsteps rather than mere wind.\n-Hello?  —I called, my voice weak, unsure.  Is there'}, {'start': '2515.720', 'end': '2522.480', 'text': 'anyone there?  Silence answered, save for\na sudden gust that swept through the cornfield,'}, {'start': '2522.480', 'end': '2530.120', 'text': 'amplifying the whisper into a\nroar.  I hesitated, caught between moving forward and backward.'}, {'start': '2530.680', 'end': '2535.760', 'text': 'Then a flash of movement\nfurther in, near the center:'}, {'start': '2535.760', 'end': '2542.120', 'text': "a quick, swirling motion.  The\nscarecrow's silhouette seemed to twist,"}, {'start': '2542.120', 'end': '2548.960', 'text': 'to change direction.  A tightness seized\nmy chest.  Straining to hear over the'}, {'start': '2548.960', 'end': '2556.920', 'text': 'wind and my own frantic pulse, I caught a\nlow, indistinct hum, impossible to decipher.'}, {'start': '2556.920', 'end': '2563.760', 'text': 'The hand holding the flashlight began to shake\nuncontrollably.  Suddenly, the wind died down,'}, {'start': '2563.760', 'end': '2571.320', 'text': 'leaving only the ragged sound of my own\nbreathing in the sudden stillness.  I stepped back,'}, {'start': '2571.320', 'end': '2576.840', 'text': 'fumbling with the lock, and retreated to\nthe kitchen, slumping into a chair, my'}, {'start': '2576.840', 'end': '2585.480', 'text': 'eyes fixed on the door.  Dawn\nfound me still there, sleepless and vigilant.'}, {'start': '2585.480', 'end': '2591.720', 'text': 'With the first pale light filtering through the\nwindows, I stood up, stiff and'}, {'start': '2591.720', 'end': '2599.320', 'text': 'bleary-eyed.  The morning air had a damp chill;\nthe dew glistened on the corn leaves.  I forced my'}, {'start': '2599.320', 'end': '2606.640', 'text': "reluctant legs toward the field, toward the center.\nThe scarecrow's pole stood imposingly.\xa0\xa0  He"}, {'start': '2606.640', 'end': '2614.160', 'text': 'looked... taller?  Or maybe it was a trick of\nthe slanted light.  The hat, undeniably,'}, {'start': '2614.160', 'end': '2621.760', 'text': 'was facing the house, towards me.  His\narms hung awkwardly, pulled down,'}, {'start': '2621.760', 'end': '2628.680', 'text': 'as if tense.  Strands of straw\nprotruded from tears in his torso,'}, {'start': '2628.680', 'end': '2635.640', 'text': 'the fabric gaping like fresh wounds.  The soil\naround the base was freshly turned,'}, {'start': '2635.640', 'end': '2643.560', 'text': 'churned with shallow pits and\ndrag marks.  Crouching down, I touched the bare earth.  She'}, {'start': '2643.560', 'end': '2651.080', 'text': 'felt violated.  I scanned the surroundings,\nfinding nothing else.  My heart hammered a'}, {'start': '2651.080', 'end': '2657.400', 'text': "heavy rhythm against my ribs.  As I\nlooked up at the scarecrow's face,"}, {'start': '2657.400', 'end': '2664.280', 'text': 'I saw that the stitches forming his mouth had\nloosened, separating slightly, creating a slack grimace'}, {'start': '2664.280', 'end': '2672.200', 'text': '.  I stepped back, shaking my head,\nand retreated to the dubious sanctuary of the house.  I'}, {'start': '2673.040', 'end': '2678.760', 'text': 'threw myself into the tasks that day, seeking\ndistraction in the mechanical work.'}, {'start': '2678.760', 'end': '2684.360', 'text': 'Cleaning out the barn, stacking ghostly\nhay bales from seasons past,'}, {'start': '2684.360', 'end': '2690.120', 'text': 'sorting through the legacy of\nrusted metal tools.  I worked for hours,'}, {'start': '2690.120', 'end': '2696.880', 'text': 'stopping only for a perfunctory meal.\nThe physical exertion blunted the edge of fear,'}, {'start': '2696.880', 'end': '2702.760', 'text': 'but as the afternoon bled into\nevening, the certainty that night would fall'}, {'start': '2702.760', 'end': '2709.320', 'text': "again settled like a stone in my stomach.\nThe memory of my flashlight's flickering beam,"}, {'start': '2709.320', 'end': '2714.920', 'text': 'the invisible presence... came back with\nvisceral force.  I decided to inspect'}, {'start': '2714.920', 'end': '2721.160', 'text': 'the field once more before sunset,\nneeding to ground myself in daytime reality.'}, {'start': '2721.960', 'end': '2727.560', 'text': 'With determined steps, I marched back toward\nthe corn, with the sun still high enough'}, {'start': '2727.560', 'end': '2734.320', 'text': 'to speckle the path between the towering\nstalks.  When I reached the center, I stopped dead in my tracks.  The'}, {'start': '2734.320', 'end': '2740.840', 'text': 'scarecrow was leaning forward\ndrastically, almost detached from its pole,'}, {'start': '2740.840', 'end': '2747.920', 'text': 'as if it had been stopped in mid-descent.\nHis arms stretched out in front of him, pleading'}, {'start': '2747.920', 'end': '2755.400', 'text': 'or grasping.  The fabric over her shoulders was\nwildly torn.  The rope securing it,'}, {'start': '2755.400', 'end': '2762.000', 'text': 'although still present, hung slack.\nFresh straw littered the ground beneath him like'}, {'start': '2762.000', 'end': '2767.800', 'text': 'spilled viscera.  My\nthroat tightened.  Cautiously circling it,'}, {'start': '2767.800', 'end': '2774.320', 'text': "keeping my distance, I saw that the\nfigure's back showed long, parallel tears:"}, {'start': '2774.320', 'end': '2781.000', 'text': 'not the random decay of time, but\ndeliberate gashes, exposing the tightly packed straw'}, {'start': '2781.000', 'end': '2787.840', 'text': 'within.  My own heartbeat pounded in\nmy ears;  sweat soaked my back.'}, {'start': '2789.120', 'end': '2796.840', 'text': 'A fierce urge to bring him down, to annihilate him,\nswept through me.  However, I hesitated.  Would dismantling it'}, {'start': '2796.840', 'end': '2803.920', 'text': 'cause something worse?  The idea of \u200b\u200ba vagrant,\na night prowler playing cruel games,'}, {'start': '2803.920', 'end': '2809.480', 'text': 'offered a shred of rational explanation.\nIt had to be a human prank.'}, {'start': '2810.040', 'end': '2814.400', 'text': 'Holding on to logic, I returned to the\nbarn, coming out with a piece of'}, {'start': '2814.400', 'end': '2821.200', 'text': 'sturdy rope.  Back at the post, I worked\nwith grim determination, tying'}, {'start': '2821.200', 'end': '2829.520', 'text': 'the scarecrow tightly to the wood, bracing his\ntorso, immobilizing his arms.  I tightened the knots'}, {'start': '2829.520', 'end': '2836.400', 'text': 'until the wood creaked, until the figure\nwas completely immobilized.  Stepping back,'}, {'start': '2836.400', 'end': '2844.600', 'text': 'a fragile sense of control took hold of\nme.  A short, hollow laugh escaped my lips.'}, {'start': '2844.600', 'end': '2851.560', 'text': 'Night descended once more.  The porch light\ncast a solitary yellow cone.  By the'}, {'start': '2851.560', 'end': '2858.000', 'text': 'back door, I placed the heavy flashlight and a\nclaw hammer: meager defenses against the'}, {'start': '2858.000', 'end': '2864.480', 'text': 'unknown.  Every window was\nbolted, every door double-checked.'}, {'start': '2865.200', 'end': '2871.680', 'text': "Around nine o'clock, the wind began its\nnight song.  I prepared myself.  Initially"}, {'start': '2871.680', 'end': '2879.280', 'text': 'a soft sigh, it then gathered strength, rising\nto a plaintive howl.  The porch light'}, {'start': '2879.280', 'end': '2886.800', 'text': "flickered ominously.  I pricked up my ears.  A new\nsound wove into the wind's lament:"}, {'start': '2886.800', 'end': '2891.680', 'text': 'an abrasive screech, as if something\nheavy were being dragged across the earth.'}, {'start': '2891.680', 'end': '2896.480', 'text': 'The pressure increased in my chest.\nForcing an appearance of calm,'}, {'start': '2896.480', 'end': '2903.080', 'text': 'I crept to the window, peering through a\ngap in the curtains.  The corn stalks'}, {'start': '2903.080', 'end': '2909.880', 'text': 'tilted and swayed violently.  The place\ndesignated for the scarecrow, deep in'}, {'start': '2909.880', 'end': '2917.560', 'text': 'that turbulent sea, was invisible from this\nposition.  I swallowed against a dry throat,'}, {'start': '2917.560', 'end': '2926.120', 'text': 'my pulse a frantic drum.  Then came\nthe sound, louder this time: *Splat!*'}, {'start': '2926.120', 'end': '2931.440', 'text': 'With the flashlight gripped tightly, I\nslipped onto the porch, leaving the door'}, {'start': '2931.440', 'end': '2938.080', 'text': 'slightly ajar behind me.  My boots\nthumped hollowly on the old boards.'}, {'start': '2938.080', 'end': '2944.200', 'text': 'The beam cut through the first rows, revealing\na frenzy of movement.  I took hesitant steps'}, {'start': '2944.200', 'end': '2950.400', 'text': 'forward, the light dancing ahead.\nThe corn husks whipped me from both'}, {'start': '2950.400', 'end': '2957.080', 'text': 'sides.  Visibility extended only a few\nmeters in the oppressive darkness.  My mouth was as'}, {'start': '2957.080', 'end': '2964.640', 'text': 'dry as a desert;  every muscle screamed\nwith tension.  A weak, strained moan reached me:'}, {'start': '2964.640', 'end': '2971.840', 'text': 'the sound of a rope under immense tension.\nI bathed the light slowly, deliberately.'}, {'start': '2971.840', 'end': '2978.840', 'text': 'Movement flickered on the periphery of the beam, to my\nleft.  I abruptly directed the light there:'}, {'start': '2978.840', 'end': '2985.120', 'text': 'only shuddering stems met my\ngaze.  Then, further into the field,'}, {'start': '2985.120', 'end': '2992.920', 'text': "I spotted the post.  Naked.  Empty.  The scarecrow\nwasn't in it.  Severed rope hung"}, {'start': '2992.920', 'end': '2999.760', 'text': 'from the crossbar, swaying gently,\nadorned with tufts of straw attached.'}, {'start': '2999.760', 'end': '3006.680', 'text': 'A cold dread flooded my veins.  About six\nmeters away, perhaps, something moved.  A shape,'}, {'start': '3006.680', 'end': '3012.040', 'text': 'crouching among the corn, hidden\nby the dense foliage.  He moved, he'}, {'start': '3012.040', 'end': '3018.200', 'text': 'dodged.  I moved forward little by little, step by\nagonizing step, with the wind roaring,'}, {'start': '3018.200', 'end': '3025.760', 'text': 'my heartbeat hammering in my temples.  My foot\nstumbled on invisible debris;  I stumbled,'}, {'start': '3025.760', 'end': '3033.040', 'text': 'almost falling.  The flashlight beam swerved\nwildly.  When I regained my balance,'}, {'start': '3033.040', 'end': '3037.960', 'text': 'steadying the light, there was nothing\nbut the swaying corn.  The'}, {'start': '3037.960', 'end': '3044.800', 'text': 'cut rope hung motionless.  The primal, overwhelming urge to flee\nscreamed inside me,'}, {'start': '3044.800', 'end': '3051.440', 'text': 'but I forced myself to stand firm,\nmethodically sweeping the bundle down the rows.  The form'}, {'start': '3051.440', 'end': '3059.360', 'text': "had disappeared.  My hands were shaking\nviolently.  —Who's there?  —I whispered,"}, {'start': '3059.360', 'end': '3068.160', 'text': 'the sound breaking, instantly swallowed\nby the wind.  Only the sighing corn responded.'}, {'start': '3068.160', 'end': '3075.480', 'text': 'Slowly, deliberately, I backed away, the\nflashlight beam fixed on the dark jaws of the'}, {'start': '3075.480', 'end': '3081.920', 'text': 'field.  Once clear of the edge of the yard, I\nturned and rushed into the house,'}, {'start': '3081.920', 'end': '3088.880', 'text': 'slamming the door shut and bolting it.\nMy breath came in ragged gasps,'}, {'start': '3088.880', 'end': '3095.760', 'text': 'sweat cooling on my skin, legs\nshaking beneath me.  I turned off the lights,'}, {'start': '3095.760', 'end': '3101.240', 'text': 'moved to a window overlooking the\ncountryside, and took up position behind the curtain,'}, {'start': '3101.240', 'end': '3107.000', 'text': 'peering into the blackness.  The cornfield\nstilled, almost motionless now,'}, {'start': '3107.000', 'end': '3113.640', 'text': 'stirred only by intermittent gusts.  The\npost stood vacant against the gloom.'}, {'start': '3113.640', 'end': '3120.840', 'text': 'I stood there, a sentinel in my own house,\nfor what seemed like an eternity.  Ghosts'}, {'start': '3120.840', 'end': '3128.200', 'text': 'danced on the periphery—a trick of shadows,\nthe sway of a stem—feeding the'}, {'start': '3128.200', 'end': '3137.120', 'text': 'corrosive anxiety.  My lungs felt constricted, my mind\na frantic whirlwind of impossible questions.'}, {'start': '3137.120', 'end': '3144.240', 'text': 'The dream never came.  I spent the night in the\nliving room, clutching the flashlight like a talisman, my'}, {'start': '3144.240', 'end': '3150.400', 'text': 'ears straining for any deviation from the\nfamiliar creaks and groans of the house.  Every'}, {'start': '3150.400', 'end': '3156.680', 'text': 'sound sent a shock through my\nexhausted body.  As dawn reluctantly painted'}, {'start': '3156.680', 'end': '3163.360', 'text': 'the eastern sky, I returned to the window.  The countryside\nlooked deceptively peaceful in the'}, {'start': '3163.360', 'end': '3171.120', 'text': 'rising light.  On legs that felt like lead, I\nventured outside.  The central post stood barren,'}, {'start': '3171.120', 'end': '3177.360', 'text': 'a stark wooden cross against the\nmorning sky.  Scraps of burlap lay scattered'}, {'start': '3177.360', 'end': '3184.120', 'text': 'across the floor like shed skin.  The\nsevered rope lay nearby, frayed and broken.'}, {'start': '3184.120', 'end': '3191.080', 'text': 'Straw clung to the corn leaves, leaving\na faint trail.  The scarecrow itself had'}, {'start': '3191.080', 'end': '3199.080', 'text': 'disappeared.  All that remained, besides the\nwreckage, was his hat, upside down in the ground.'}, {'start': '3199.080', 'end': '3206.880', 'text': 'A recent tear marred its wing.  I bent down and\npicked it up.  My stomach turned.  It smelled'}, {'start': '3206.880', 'end': '3213.840', 'text': 'of damp earth and something else, something musty and\nvaguely organic.  It felt fundamentally'}, {'start': '3213.840', 'end': '3219.760', 'text': 'wrong in my hand.  There were no footprints, but\nthe ground showed unmistakable signs of'}, {'start': '3219.760', 'end': '3226.200', 'text': 'disturbance, as if something heavy had been\ndragged into the concealing rows.  I'}, {'start': '3227.080', 'end': '3232.040', 'text': 'still live in this place.  I work\nthe fields, but my gaze'}, {'start': '3232.040', 'end': '3238.160', 'text': "perpetually scans the periphery.  The scarecrow's remains\nwere never found."}, {'start': '3238.160', 'end': '3244.600', 'text': 'Whether he was stolen by human hands or ran away of his\nown free will, I cannot say.  The noises,'}, {'start': '3244.600', 'end': '3251.320', 'text': 'the movement, the footprints... remain as\ncrude anomalies that defy explanation.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '3252.000', 'end': '3258.360', 'text': 'try to hold onto the possibility of intruders, of\nelaborate and cruel pranks, but no'}, {'start': '3258.360', 'end': '3266.840', 'text': 'further intrusions have occurred, nothing else has been disturbed.\nYet the image persists: that low,'}, {'start': '3266.840', 'end': '3274.200', 'text': 'crouching form among the corn, watching.  Nights\nfind me avoiding the edge of the field.  The certainty'}, {'start': '3274.200', 'end': '3281.880', 'text': 'that something out there has fixed its vacant gaze on me\nis a cold weight I always carry with me.  Now,'}, {'start': '3281.880', 'end': '3287.640', 'text': 'every sigh of the wind through the corn is a\nhaunting refrain that tightens my chest and'}, {'start': '3287.640', 'end': '3295.600', 'text': 'quickens my pulse.  Sometimes, standing on the porch, I\ngaze out across the whispering expanse, half expecting to'}, {'start': '3295.600', 'end': '3303.280', 'text': "see that silhouette reappear at the end of a\nrow.  He hasn't done it.  But the tension remains,"}, {'start': '3303.280', 'end': '3310.320', 'text': "a deep knot in my gut.  I don't know what lurks\nin the heart of the cornfield, but I have no intention"}, {'start': '3310.320', 'end': '3317.640', 'text': 'of seeking it out, especially under the cover of\ndarkness.  If he were to return, if he were to come out from between the'}, {'start': '3317.640', 'end': '3326.280', 'text': 'ranks, then I would face him.  To this day,\nI live with the echo: the violated rope, the tattered cloth,'}, {'start': '3326.280', 'end': '3334.160', 'text': 'and the empty space where the scarecrow\nonce stood silent and watchful.  He had'}, {'start': '3338.480', 'end': '3343.720', 'text': 'only been on the job for a few weeks\n, and the factory already looked ancient,'}, {'start': '3343.720', 'end': '3350.560', 'text': 'a skeletal monument to the industry of yesteryear.\nRust bled down its corrugated flanks, and the'}, {'start': '3350.560', 'end': '3357.240', 'text': 'tin roof moaned a discordant melody with\neach passing zephyr.  The first time I walked in,'}, {'start': '3357.240', 'end': '3362.440', 'text': 'the air was thick with the ghosts\nof oil and severed metal, a rancid'}, {'start': '3362.440', 'end': '3369.880', 'text': 'metallic aftertaste coating the tongue.  I decided\nthen: punch in, punch out,'}, {'start': '3369.880', 'end': '3377.080', 'text': 'accumulate the pay, escape.  I never anticipated its\ndominance, the way the building itself'}, {'start': '3377.080', 'end': '3384.200', 'text': 'seemed to coil around my thoughts, sowing\na nascent dread that bloomed after dark.'}, {'start': '3385.080', 'end': '3390.680', 'text': 'Tonight I find myself on the edge of the precipice,\nthe staircase that descends into the bowels of the'}, {'start': '3390.680', 'end': '3398.360', 'text': 'beast: the basement.  My job as the supervisor:\ninspect the equipment stored below,'}, {'start': '3398.360', 'end': '3404.960', 'text': 'ensuring that no latent fire hazards lurked\n.  A mundane order, but a shiver'}, {'start': '3404.960', 'end': '3412.080', 'text': 'of apprehension ran down my spine.  Upstairs, the\nhallways lay plunged into gloom, the'}, {'start': '3412.080', 'end': '3419.240', 'text': 'fluorescent lights overhead buzzing erratically,\nsometimes flickering into darkness.  A glance'}, {'start': '3419.240', 'end': '3426.280', 'text': 'back revealed rows of idle machinery,\nsilent sentinels in the dim expanse;'}, {'start': '3426.280', 'end': '3433.000', 'text': 'the silence so deep that my own breathing\nsounded amplified.  The moisture slicked my'}, {'start': '3433.000', 'end': '3441.120', 'text': 'palms over the flashlight housing.  I flicked it on\nand off with my thumb, a nervous ritual, before'}, {'start': '3441.120', 'end': '3450.800', 'text': 'deciding to go downstairs.  With each step descended,\nthe air became sharper, biting colder.'}, {'start': '3450.800', 'end': '3456.640', 'text': 'The basement portal, a thick steel plate\n, protested my entry with a groan'}, {'start': '3456.640', 'end': '3464.040', 'text': 'that echoed with decades of disuse.  Inside, the\natmosphere thickened, heavy not just with dust,'}, {'start': '3464.040', 'end': '3469.840', 'text': 'but with a peculiar miasma of damp concrete,\nrancid grease, and an elusive, unsettling undercurrent I'}, {'start': '3469.840', 'end': '3477.760', 'text': "couldn't quite place.  Swallowing against\na closing throat, I crossed the threshold.  The"}, {'start': '3477.760', 'end': '3484.200', 'text': 'flashlight beam cut through the darkness, illuminating\na hallway adorned with pipes on the ceiling,'}, {'start': '3484.200', 'end': '3490.320', 'text': 'their valves frozen monuments of rust.\xa0  Dull\ngray walls weeped stains'}, {'start': '3490.320', 'end': '3496.760', 'text': 'from old water leaks.  The\nuneven concrete floor was littered with'}, {'start': '3496.760', 'end': '3503.280', 'text': 'metal shavings and the splintered remains\nof crates in the corner.  A few steps away,'}, {'start': '3503.280', 'end': '3509.480', 'text': 'a loud slam broke the silence: the\nheavy steel door vibrated as it closed with'}, {'start': '3509.480', 'end': '3517.040', 'text': 'surprising force.  My heart leapt, a\nfrantic drumbeat against my ribs.  Turning'}, {'start': '3517.040', 'end': '3523.920', 'text': 'sharply, I found the door inert,\nseemingly still.  The knob turned easily'}, {'start': '3523.920', 'end': '3530.840', 'text': 'under my shaking hand;  had not been\nlocked.  Breathing slowly and deliberately,'}, {'start': '3530.840', 'end': '3538.120', 'text': 'I fought back the rising panic, reminding myself of\nthe simple task at hand.'}, {'start': '3538.120', 'end': '3543.960', 'text': 'I moved forward, dodging a tangle of cables\nthat snaked across the floor.  The beam of'}, {'start': '3543.960', 'end': '3551.280', 'text': 'my flashlight wavered, a brief tremor.  A\nsharp blow against my palm steadied him.'}, {'start': '3551.280', 'end': '3557.400', 'text': 'Forward.  The corridor opened into a\ncavernous space populated by enormous,'}, {'start': '3557.400', 'end': '3565.280', 'text': 'inactive machines.  Two twin behemoths, probably\nancient presses, dominated one side;  Lathes'}, {'start': '3565.280', 'end': '3572.520', 'text': 'covered with filthy tarps occupied another.\nA persistent drip materialized, an'}, {'start': '3572.520', 'end': '3579.680', 'text': 'aural phantom bouncing off invisible surfaces,\nimpossible to locate.  Reaching the nearest press'}, {'start': '3579.680', 'end': '3586.960', 'text': '—a structure easily my height,\nits massive frame scarred, its lever'}, {'start': '3586.960', 'end': '3594.000', 'text': 'covered in dust like funeral ash—I\nstopped.  The instructions required checking for'}, {'start': '3594.000', 'end': '3601.640', 'text': 'loose components and potential hazards.\nLeaving the flashlight for a moment, its beam painting'}, {'start': '3601.640', 'end': '3607.400', 'text': 'a slanting patch of light, I leaned against\nthe crank of the press.  It refused to budge,'}, {'start': '3607.920', 'end': '3615.440', 'text': 'cemented by time and neglect, though\nveins of old grease marked its hinges.'}, {'start': '3615.440', 'end': '3621.360', 'text': 'As I crouched, assessing,\na sound pierced the silence: footsteps,'}, {'start': '3621.360', 'end': '3629.040', 'text': 'shuffling, clearly behind me.  All\nmy muscles tensed.  I turned my head,'}, {'start': '3629.040', 'end': '3634.360', 'text': 'straining my eyes against the gloom\nbeyond the immediate circle of the flashlight.'}, {'start': '3634.360', 'end': '3641.680', 'text': 'Nothing but the impassive mass of the next\nmachine, capturing the faint luminescence.  Slowly,'}, {'start': '3641.680', 'end': '3649.480', 'text': 'deliberately, I straightened myself.  The air had a\nsharper chill now.  Picking up the flashlight, I'}, {'start': '3649.480', 'end': '3656.760', 'text': 'swept its beam in wide arcs, probing\nthe shadows.  The void stared back at me.'}, {'start': '3656.760', 'end': '3661.920', 'text': 'Silence was restored, broken only\nby the rhythmic drip and low,'}, {'start': '3661.920', 'end': '3668.600', 'text': "distant hum of the building's life support.\n*It's just the old structure settling*,"}, {'start': '3668.600', 'end': '3677.440', 'text': 'I reasoned, *metal contracting, pipes\ngroaning*.  I forced myself to move on.'}, {'start': '3677.440', 'end': '3682.600', 'text': 'The next section plunged\ndeeper, the passage narrowing,'}, {'start': '3682.600', 'end': '3689.040', 'text': 'demanding careful footing.\nTwisted fragments of metal lay like traps;'}, {'start': '3689.040', 'end': '3694.680', 'text': 'A careless brush against a jagged edge\nnearly made me bleed.  A muffled curse'}, {'start': '3694.680', 'end': '3701.240', 'text': 'escaped my lips as I dodged the\ndebris.  Again, the flashlight flickered,'}, {'start': '3701.240', 'end': '3707.560', 'text': 'this time with frantic urgency.  One\nmore blow, and the beam convulsed,'}, {'start': '3707.560', 'end': '3715.600', 'text': 'sputtered, and died, plunging me into\nabsolute emptiness.  A total, suffocating, impenetrable darkness descended'}, {'start': '3715.600', 'end': '3723.120', 'text': ".  I couldn't distinguish my own hand\ninches from my face.  My throat closed, my"}, {'start': '3723.120', 'end': '3730.160', 'text': 'fingertips tingling with sudden\nneedles.  Frantically, I flipped the switch,'}, {'start': '3730.160', 'end': '3739.200', 'text': 'click, click, until—blessedly—the light\nreturned, albeit with a faint, flickering glow.'}, {'start': '3739.200', 'end': '3747.120', 'text': 'Relief flooded through me, cold and fast, even though\nmy heart continued its frantic pounding.'}, {'start': '3747.120', 'end': '3753.920', 'text': 'I emerged into a wider expanse, evidently\na storage graveyard.  Shelving'}, {'start': '3753.920', 'end': '3759.000', 'text': 'sags under the weight of\nforgotten equipment, broken tools, coils of'}, {'start': '3759.000', 'end': '3765.440', 'text': 'wire like metal snakes,\nrust-eaten saw blades, and dented metal crates.'}, {'start': '3766.120', 'end': '3771.320', 'text': 'A universal shroud of dust covered\nevery surface.  The'}, {'start': '3771.320', 'end': '3777.080', 'text': 'ceiling lights remained dark, either\nbroken or never installed.  My'}, {'start': '3777.080', 'end': '3781.200', 'text': 'limping flashlight was the only star\nin this subterranean firmament,'}, {'start': '3781.200', 'end': '3788.680', 'text': 'casting long, dancing shadows that\ntwisted on the walls.  Each footstep echoed,'}, {'start': '3788.680', 'end': '3795.200', 'text': 'loud in the stillness, fueling the expectation\nthat *something* would break loose from the periphery.'}, {'start': '3795.200', 'end': '3802.480', 'text': 'However, nothing moved in my direct line of vision\n.  Then, as I passed a row of'}, {'start': '3802.480', 'end': '3811.480', 'text': 'shelves, a flash in the corner of my eye:\na shape, bent, seemingly contorted.\xa0\xa0  My'}, {'start': '3811.480', 'end': '3817.920', 'text': 'heart leaped into my throat.\xa0  I\nsharply shone the flashlight there.'}, {'start': '3817.920', 'end': '3825.160', 'text': 'Nothing.  Only a stark metal support beam\nstood where the impression had lingered.'}, {'start': '3825.160', 'end': '3833.480', 'text': 'My breath came in ragged gasps.\n*Calm down*, I told myself, *stay calm*.  But my'}, {'start': '3833.480', 'end': '3842.000', 'text': 'hands betrayed me, shaking violently.\nMy gaze jumped, scrutinizing, probing.'}, {'start': '3842.000', 'end': '3848.560', 'text': 'An undeniable anomaly permeated the air.  Every\ninstinct screamed retreat, but the specter of an'}, {'start': '3848.560', 'end': '3856.400', 'text': 'unfinished task, of facing the supervisor\nempty-handed, kept me going.'}, {'start': '3856.400', 'end': '3863.560', 'text': 'Adjacent lay a side chamber, cluttered\nwith faulty electrical panels and circuit breakers.'}, {'start': '3863.560', 'end': '3870.080', 'text': 'I entered cautiously, the floor covered with the\nglittering debris of broken ceiling bulbs.'}, {'start': '3870.080', 'end': '3876.400', 'text': 'Each step creaked, obscenely loud.  A panel\non the wall bore a label that had been bleached'}, {'start': '3876.400', 'end': '3883.520', 'text': 'illegible by time.  Opening it revealed\na hollow cavity of empty fuse sockets'}, {'start': '3883.520', 'end': '3891.280', 'text': 'and severed wires.  Again, the flashlight\nfaltered.  For a terrifying half-second,'}, {'start': '3891.280', 'end': '3898.720', 'text': 'darkness swallowed me whole.  As\nthe faint beam revived, my eyes caught—or'}, {'start': '3898.720', 'end': '3905.800', 'text': 'thought they caught—a figure near the entrance.\xa0  It\ndissolved before I could focus on it.'}, {'start': '3905.800', 'end': '3913.360', 'text': 'Simultaneously, a freezing current whispered\nover my shoulders, a cold caress on the back of my neck.'}, {'start': '3913.360', 'end': '3921.760', 'text': 'I spun around, the beam of light cutting through the\nempty air.  Nothing.  No vents,'}, {'start': '3921.760', 'end': '3927.160', 'text': 'no power source.  Sweat\nbeaded on my forehead despite the cold,'}, {'start': '3927.160', 'end': '3936.000', 'text': 'sticking my shirt to my back.  My\nneck felt hot.  I wiped my forehead with my sleeve.'}, {'start': '3936.000', 'end': '3944.720', 'text': '*Enough*.  I then decided, *towards the stairs, to\ntake a break*.  The inspection was sufficient.'}, {'start': '3944.720', 'end': '3951.320', 'text': 'That the supervisor grumbled;  This place\nfelt actively hostile.  I retraced my steps down'}, {'start': '3951.320', 'end': '3958.400', 'text': 'the hallway, tripping over loose metal debris\n.  The flashlight flickered, an'}, {'start': '3958.400', 'end': '3966.440', 'text': 'agonizing gasp, plunging me into momentary blackness.\nAt that moment, the silence seemed absolute,'}, {'start': '3966.440', 'end': '3972.720', 'text': 'absorbing even the sound of my own\nmovement.  Reaching the bottom of the stairs brought a'}, {'start': '3972.720', 'end': '3980.360', 'text': 'wave of relief.  Concrete steps ascended\ntoward the faint hum of the world above.  I started'}, {'start': '3980.360', 'end': '3986.840', 'text': 'to climb, the beam projecting forward, one\nhand gripping the icy metal railing.'}, {'start': '3987.640', 'end': '3995.240', 'text': 'Suddenly, an arctic pressure clamped around my\nshoulder: fingers of ice, impossibly cold,'}, {'start': '3995.240', 'end': '4001.840', 'text': 'shaking me with primal terror.  I twisted\nviolently, the flashlight beam stabbing'}, {'start': '4001.840', 'end': '4008.600', 'text': 'the space behind me.  Empty air.  Only\nthe persistent phantom sensation remained,'}, {'start': '4008.600', 'end': '4015.920', 'text': 'making the hairs on my arms stand up.  Without looking\nback, I climbed the remaining stairs, my'}, {'start': '4015.920', 'end': '4022.640', 'text': 'heart hammering against my ribs like a\ntrapped bird.  Reaching the steel door, I'}, {'start': '4022.640', 'end': '4028.680', 'text': 'flung it open, staggering into the\nfamiliar, dimly lit hallway of the'}, {'start': '4028.680', 'end': '4036.280', 'text': 'upper factory.  My breath came ragged\nfrom my lungs, my throat raw and dry.'}, {'start': '4037.120', 'end': '4043.240', 'text': 'I headed toward the break room, trying to\npiece together the shreds of my composure,'}, {'start': '4043.240', 'end': '4051.000', 'text': 'but my mind raced, reliving the contact,\nso distinct, so chillingly real.\xa0\xa0  Fingers.'}, {'start': '4051.000', 'end': '4058.400', 'text': 'Pressing.  In the sterile light of\nthe break room—which also flickered'}, {'start': '4058.400', 'end': '4065.400', 'text': 'erratically above my head—I slumped\ninto a cold metal chair.  The refrigerator'}, {'start': '4065.400', 'end': '4072.280', 'text': 'hummed its monotonous tune.  Arthur, my\nco-worker, was nowhere to be seen;'}, {'start': '4072.280', 'end': '4079.280', 'text': 'the space seemed completely deserted.  Maybe\nthe others had already left.  Leaning'}, {'start': '4079.280', 'end': '4086.880', 'text': 'forward, elbows on my knees, I ran a\nhand through my hair.  The urge to flee was strong,'}, {'start': '4086.880', 'end': '4091.920', 'text': "but the thought of facing the\nsupervisor's question in the morning, with the task"}, {'start': '4091.920', 'end': '4101.680', 'text': 'unfinished, gnawed at me.  I would require confirmation:\ninspected, safe.  The minutes passed.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '4101.680', 'end': '4106.920', 'text': "couldn't leave.  Emptying the\nwater bottle from my bag, I stood up and walked back out into the"}, {'start': '4106.920', 'end': '4113.440', 'text': "hallway.  The overhead lights seemed even\ndimmer, the building's old circuitry"}, {'start': '4113.440', 'end': '4121.800', 'text': "protesting the night's exertion.  Slowly,\ndeliberately, I made my way around the factory floor,"}, {'start': '4121.800', 'end': '4129.560', 'text': 'a maze of silent behemoths: lathes,\npresses, cutters, conveyor belts'}, {'start': '4129.560', 'end': '4137.800', 'text': 'frozen in mid-motion, relics of a\nlong-vanished workforce.'}, {'start': '4137.800', 'end': '4143.080', 'text': 'Then I saw it: a second staircase,\ndescending into darkness,'}, {'start': '4143.080', 'end': '4149.120', 'text': 'previously hidden by a pile of boxes.  The\nsupervisor had not mentioned this artery into'}, {'start': '4149.120', 'end': '4156.720', 'text': 'the depths of the factory.  Hesitation\nstruggled with morbid curiosity.  Ignore her?  Or'}, {'start': '4156.720', 'end': '4163.920', 'text': 'face the persistent question?  Pushing aside\nthe obstructing boxes, I directed the weak beam of my'}, {'start': '4163.920', 'end': '4170.360', 'text': 'flashlight down the stairs.  Total blackness\nyawned in response, exhaling air'}, {'start': '4170.360', 'end': '4178.040', 'text': 'colder than any I had encountered\nyet.  Steeling myself, I began the descent.'}, {'start': '4178.040', 'end': '4185.160', 'text': 'Each step groaned under my weight, stirring up dust\nthat swirled like disturbed spirits.'}, {'start': '4185.160', 'end': '4192.800', 'text': 'Clearly, this passageway had been slumbering undisturbed\nfor a long time.  Discarded machine parts'}, {'start': '4192.800', 'end': '4200.560', 'text': 'lay piled in corners,\nsome cannibalized, others simply broken.'}, {'start': '4200.560', 'end': '4207.040', 'text': 'The hallway stretched beyond the first\nbasement level, the beam of my flashlight struggling,'}, {'start': '4207.040', 'end': '4212.760', 'text': 'seeming to shrink against the\noppressive darkness.  I gripped her tighter,'}, {'start': '4212.760', 'end': '4219.240', 'text': 'fearing her imminent failure.  Footsteps echoed\nbeside mine, accompanied again by that'}, {'start': '4219.240', 'end': '4226.360', 'text': 'weak, steady drip, a slow hemorrhage\nsomewhere in the walls.  I tried to track'}, {'start': '4226.360', 'end': '4232.560', 'text': 'the sound, passing skeletal metal cabinets\nwith their doors hanging open,'}, {'start': '4232.560', 'end': '4239.000', 'text': 'cables coiled like sleeping vipers,\nscattered toolboxes.  Collapsed wooden crates'}, {'start': '4239.000', 'end': '4246.240', 'text': 'littered the corners, their\nbroken boards bristling with rusty nails.  Abandonment'}, {'start': '4246.240', 'end': '4253.720', 'text': 'hung heavy in the air, as if this section\nhad been deliberately sealed off, forgotten.'}, {'start': '4254.600', 'end': '4259.800', 'text': 'Then the footsteps returned.\nHeavier this time, deliberate,'}, {'start': '4259.800', 'end': '4268.560', 'text': 'falling to the rhythm of my own stride.  Behind me.\nI froze.  They stopped.  My pulse was pounding,'}, {'start': '4268.560', 'end': '4276.320', 'text': 'a frantic thump in my ears.  Spinning around\n, I swept the light down the hall.  Empty.'}, {'start': '4276.320', 'end': '4282.960', 'text': 'Only the faint glimmer of scrap metal.\nMy breathing became shallow, rapid.'}, {'start': '4282.960', 'end': '4289.800', 'text': 'The feeling of being watched intensified,\na palpable pressure.  *Keep moving*,'}, {'start': '4289.800', 'end': '4298.080', 'text': 'my mind screamed, *finish this, get out of here*.  I went\nfurther in, the hallway finally opening into another vast'}, {'start': '4298.080', 'end': '4304.400', 'text': 'storage chamber.  Huge machines\nhugged the walls, spectral shapes'}, {'start': '4304.400', 'end': '4311.040', 'text': 'missing vital organs.  Gears\nlay stacked on a shelf;'}, {'start': '4311.040', 'end': '4319.240', 'text': 'metal rods littered the floor.  And again, the flashlight\nflickered, convulsed.  I braced myself for the fall.'}, {'start': '4319.240', 'end': '4325.920', 'text': 'Darkness fell, absolute.  Motionless,\nheart beating like a war drum,'}, {'start': '4325.920', 'end': '4334.200', 'text': 'I felt it: a distinct brush against my arm.  Not a\ndraft, but something solid, deliberate,'}, {'start': '4334.200', 'end': '4340.560', 'text': 'gliding past me in the blackness.  The light\ncame back to life with a flash.  I turned the beam'}, {'start': '4340.560', 'end': '4348.720', 'text': 'sharply, scanning frantically.  Over there.\nNear a massive machine on the opposite side,'}, {'start': '4348.720', 'end': '4355.000', 'text': 'a dark silhouette emerged from the\ndeepest shadows, its limbs articulated at'}, {'start': '4355.000', 'end': '4363.040', 'text': 'impossible angles.  A fleeting glimpse, then it slipped\nbehind the machine, disappearing.  A'}, {'start': '4363.040', 'end': '4369.800', 'text': 'stifled scream died in my throat.  I felt my\nbody encased in ice, paralyzed.'}, {'start': '4369.800', 'end': '4375.320', 'text': 'Willpower surged forward, forcing\nmovement.  My hands were shaking so'}, {'start': '4375.320', 'end': '4381.480', 'text': 'violently that the flashlight beam danced\nlike a frantic ghost.  Stumbling around'}, {'start': '4381.480', 'end': '4388.720', 'text': 'a piece of heavy equipment, I shone the light\nwhere the shape had been.  Nothing.  A heavy'}, {'start': '4388.720', 'end': '4395.600', 'text': 'wrench lay on the dusty concrete.\nA shred of torn fabric, caught on a'}, {'start': '4395.600', 'end': '4402.640', 'text': 'sharp metal edge, fluttered weakly in a\nnonexistent breeze.  Whatever was lurking in this place, it'}, {'start': '4402.640', 'end': '4410.600', 'text': 'was undeniably real.  Escape was the only\nimperative now.  Backing slowly, his'}, {'start': '4410.600', 'end': '4417.080', 'text': 'flashlight beam fixed on the area of \u200b\u200bthe sighting, he\nconstantly looked over his shoulder,'}, {'start': '4417.080', 'end': '4423.440', 'text': 'unsure of which direction offered the least threat.\nMy breath came in short,'}, {'start': '4423.440', 'end': '4431.360', 'text': 'painful gasps.  My legs felt like water;  my\nhead was throbbing.  I headed down the hall,'}, {'start': '4431.360', 'end': '4437.120', 'text': 'toward the stairs, trying not to\nrun away in a panic.  The passageway'}, {'start': '4437.120', 'end': '4443.480', 'text': 'stretched ahead, my own footsteps the\nonly sound until I reached the stairs.'}, {'start': '4443.480', 'end': '4450.720', 'text': 'Then... a harsh squeak behind.\nMetal dragging on concrete.  I spun,'}, {'start': '4450.720', 'end': '4458.920', 'text': 'the beam stabbing into the darkness.  Only boxes and\na rusty cylinder received light.  Stillness.'}, {'start': '4458.920', 'end': '4465.760', 'text': 'Panic propelled me upstairs, breathing\nraggedly through my mouth.  Each step was'}, {'start': '4465.760', 'end': '4473.240', 'text': 'an eternity.  At the top, I slammed the door open\n.  The upper corridor lay silent,'}, {'start': '4473.240', 'end': '4480.280', 'text': 'the factory floor inert.  Straight to the\nmain staircase, the one that led to freedom.'}, {'start': '4480.280', 'end': '4488.400', 'text': 'My footsteps echoed, too loud, forcing\nconstant glances back.  Sweat was running down'}, {'start': '4488.400', 'end': '4494.840', 'text': 'my hands, slippery on the flashlight.\nUpwards, towards the main entrance.'}, {'start': '4494.840', 'end': '4501.000', 'text': 'The huge steel doors were locked\nat night, but my key...'}, {'start': '4501.000', 'end': '4509.160', 'text': 'groping for it, dropping it once, my\nfingers clumsy and unfeeling.  Picking it up,'}, {'start': '4509.160', 'end': '4515.320', 'text': 'fitting it into the lock, pushing the\nheavy door open.  The fresh'}, {'start': '4515.320', 'end': '4522.440', 'text': 'night air rushed in, a physical balm.\nI stood on the threshold, gulping it down, my'}, {'start': '4522.440', 'end': '4528.560', 'text': 'heart still a frantic hammer,\nfeeling dizzy.  Turning, I looked into'}, {'start': '4528.560', 'end': '4535.560', 'text': 'the jaws of the factory.  The interior lights\nflickered violently.  For a'}, {'start': '4535.560', 'end': '4543.640', 'text': 'heart-stopping moment, I swore I saw movement\ndeep in the hallway.  Then, he disappeared.'}, {'start': '4543.640', 'end': '4549.240', 'text': 'Outside, but the feeling lingered:\nthat icy grip on my shoulder,'}, {'start': '4549.240', 'end': '4555.000', 'text': 'a chilling, unspoken invitation\nto stay.  I locked the door,'}, {'start': '4555.000', 'end': '4561.320', 'text': 'the click echoing in the deserted parking lot.\nArriving at my car, I slid inside and'}, {'start': '4561.320', 'end': '4568.880', 'text': 'turned the key.  The engine coughed to life.\nHands clenched on the wheel, breathing'}, {'start': '4568.880', 'end': '4576.360', 'text': 'still unsteady, shirt sticking damply.  My\ngaze rose towards the factory windows.'}, {'start': '4576.360', 'end': '4585.160', 'text': 'Dark, except for a few faint lights near\nthe roof.  Harmless from out here.  Deceptive.'}, {'start': '4585.160', 'end': '4593.120', 'text': "Something stirred in his depths, he knew it.\xa0  I\ndidn't call the supervisor.  Not yet.  I just"}, {'start': '4593.120', 'end': '4600.400', 'text': 'drove, my eyes fixed on the ribbon of asphalt\nunrolling before me, forcing calm.'}, {'start': '4600.400', 'end': '4607.680', 'text': 'Thoughts spun relentlessly:\nfootsteps in empty spaces, the twisted silhouette,'}, {'start': '4607.680', 'end': '4613.840', 'text': 'the undeniable pressure of that icy hand.\xa0  I\ncould still feel its imprint, a'}, {'start': '4613.840', 'end': '4621.960', 'text': 'phantom weight.  Even with the car heater\non full blast, a shiver ran through me.  My eyes kept'}, {'start': '4621.960', 'end': '4628.240', 'text': 'jumping to the rearview mirror, half expecting\na passenger in the dark behind me.'}, {'start': '4629.080', 'end': '4637.760', 'text': 'Home.  Parked.  I sat for a moment, aware\nof the fine tremor that vibrated through my body.'}, {'start': '4637.760', 'end': '4643.720', 'text': 'My shoulders hurt, my legs felt\nempty.  Stepping out onto the quiet street,'}, {'start': '4643.720', 'end': '4650.960', 'text': 'I hurried inside, firmly closing the\ndoor behind me, turning on lights as I went.'}, {'start': '4650.960', 'end': '4657.640', 'text': 'My jacket landed on a chair.  In the\nhallway mirror, my reflection stared back at me:'}, {'start': '4657.640', 'end': '4665.440', 'text': 'pale, wide-eyed, tormented.  How to\nexplain this?  No ranked list of'}, {'start': '4665.440', 'end': '4674.320', 'text': 'fire hazards found.  Only decay, abandonment,\nscrap.  The real report lay in the fear'}, {'start': '4674.320', 'end': '4681.960', 'text': 'to the marrow, the constant surveillance, the\nfleeting appearances, the footsteps that were not mine,'}, {'start': '4681.960', 'end': '4688.360', 'text': 'the contact that sought to keep me there.  I\nhad no name for what resided in that basement,'}, {'start': '4688.360', 'end': '4697.440', 'text': 'only the certainty of its presence, its malevolence.\nReturning only after dark?  Unthinkable.'}, {'start': '4697.440', 'end': '4704.400', 'text': 'If they asked me, I would demand accompaniment or\nflatly refuse.  No salary justified'}, {'start': '4704.400', 'end': '4712.520', 'text': 'this descent into palpable terror.  That was the truth,\nraw and unvarnished.  The factory was not only old;\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '4712.520', 'end': '4718.560', 'text': 'was busy.  And every time I remember\nthose stairs, that climb toward the escape route, I'}, {'start': '4718.560', 'end': '4731.880', 'text': 'feel it again: phantom fingers pressing\ndown, a cold insistence: *stay*.'}, {'start': '4731.880', 'end': '4737.200', 'text': 'For years, the abandoned remnants of\nhuman endeavor have been my sanctuary.  I have'}, {'start': '4737.200', 'end': '4742.400', 'text': 'navigated the cavernous maws of factories\nwhere roofs sag like'}, {'start': '4742.400', 'end': '4748.520', 'text': 'weary eyelids and rot-ridden floorboards\nwhispered protests beneath my'}, {'start': '4748.520', 'end': '4754.680', 'text': 'boots.  The towers with skeletal stairs\nbecame my climbing parks;'}, {'start': '4755.200', 'end': '4762.600', 'text': 'The risk of a false step, a fall into\noblivion, was a familiar, almost banal companion.'}, {'start': '4762.600', 'end': '4769.160', 'text': 'Yet none of these\ncrumbling giants, these monuments to neglect,'}, {'start': '4769.160', 'end': '4774.920', 'text': 'ever managed to infiltrate my composure the way\nthat lonely mansion on the outskirts'}, {'start': '4774.920', 'end': '4783.080', 'text': 'of town did.  Let me be unequivocal:\nshadowy passages, the sighing acoustics of the void,'}, {'start': '4783.080', 'end': '4790.840', 'text': 'motes of dust dancing in the scattered light –\nthese are the elements of my craft.  But never,'}, {'start': '4790.840', 'end': '4796.080', 'text': 'in countless captured frames, had I\nfound reflections that stared back at me'}, {'start': '4796.080', 'end': '4802.480', 'text': 'where only emptiness should reside.\nThat anomaly, unique to this place,'}, {'start': '4802.480', 'end': '4807.720', 'text': "scraped a primal fear along\nmy nerves that I didn't know I possessed."}, {'start': '4808.520', 'end': '4814.120', 'text': 'The mansion first entered my\nconsciousness peripherally, a casual mention'}, {'start': '4814.120', 'end': '4821.160', 'text': 'by an acquaintance.  A ruined farm, he had said,\nabandoned near the edge of a wild field,'}, {'start': '4821.160', 'end': '4828.440', 'text': 'perhaps thirty kilometers away.  He dismissed it,\nbut for me, a seasoned collector of'}, {'start': '4828.440', 'end': '4835.000', 'text': 'architectural decay, the name evoked an\nimmediate attraction, an uncharted spot on'}, {'start': '4835.000', 'end': '4842.400', 'text': 'my internal map.  A piece for the portfolio, I\nreasoned.  So I drove there on a Friday,'}, {'start': '4842.400', 'end': '4848.640', 'text': 'arriving as the afternoon bled into a\nbruised, cloudy twilight.  From afar,'}, {'start': '4848.640', 'end': '4855.480', 'text': 'the structure loomed, imposing, flanked\nby trees whose branches twisted like'}, {'start': '4855.480', 'end': '4862.000', 'text': 'arthritic fingers against the pewter sky.  Pushing my\nway through waist-high,'}, {'start': '4862.000', 'end': '4869.440', 'text': 'dew-soaked weeds that clung greedily\nto my jeans, I approached.  The mansion had two'}, {'start': '4869.440', 'end': '4876.520', 'text': 'floors, built with aged stone marked\nby the absence where windows once stood.  The'}, {'start': '4876.520', 'end': '4882.800', 'text': 'porch timbers were warped, paint was\npeeling from the window frames like'}, {'start': '4882.800', 'end': '4889.920', 'text': 'sunburned skin, a broken gutter hung\nprecariously from the roofline – all'}, {'start': '4889.920', 'end': '4897.280', 'text': 'textbook signatures of neglect.  The familiar\nsurge of adrenaline quickened my pulse.  My'}, {'start': '4897.280', 'end': '4903.680', 'text': 'camera bag, however, seemed to take on an\nunusual gravity, reflecting the dense,'}, {'start': '4903.680', 'end': '4910.480', 'text': "expectant quality of the air.  Fear hadn't found me yet\n, just an acute hunger to begin."}, {'start': '4911.320', 'end': '4917.520', 'text': 'My tripod found its footing in front of the grand\nand decaying facade.  Wide'}, {'start': '4917.520', 'end': '4923.800', 'text': 'angle perspectives were my first prey, capturing the\nexpanse of the structure under the gloomy sky,'}, {'start': '4923.800', 'end': '4930.920', 'text': "adjusting exposures for detail.\nMy high-resolution sensor doesn't miss a thing, a"}, {'start': '4930.920', 'end': '4937.880', 'text': 'fact I trust.  Nothing improper was recorded\nthen.  A congress of crows watched from'}, {'start': '4937.880', 'end': '4944.440', 'text': 'the ridge of the roof, their calls like\ndry pebbles rattling.  The front door was'}, {'start': '4944.440', 'end': '4952.520', 'text': 'slightly ajar, its hinges blooming\nwith rust.  I meticulously documented everything: the'}, {'start': '4952.520', 'end': '4958.840', 'text': 'details of the porch, the fractured glass that\noffered only murky glimpses of the darkness'}, {'start': '4958.840', 'end': '4966.640', 'text': 'within.  A cool breeze touched the nape\nof my neck.  Somewhere in the overgrown undergrowth,'}, {'start': '4966.640', 'end': '4974.720', 'text': 'a rustling sound – probably vermin, a\ncommon soundscape in these forgotten places.'}, {'start': '4974.720', 'end': '4981.280', 'text': 'After an hour of cataloging the exterior, the\nallure of the interior became irresistible.  The'}, {'start': '4981.280', 'end': '4988.440', 'text': 'front door gave way with a prolonged groan.\nInside, the air was heavy, thick with the smell of'}, {'start': '4988.440', 'end': '4995.440', 'text': 'damp, old wood, and phantom textiles.  A\nlayer of dust carpeted the hall, disturbed'}, {'start': '4995.440', 'end': '5004.760', 'text': 'by footprints – not fresh, not mine, but present\nnonetheless.  Such traces were not unusual;'}, {'start': '5004.760', 'end': '5011.360', 'text': 'Vagrants, explorers, others drawn\nto the abandoned often leave their mark.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '5011.360', 'end': '5017.000', 'text': 'swept my flashlight beam across the\npeeling wallpaper and'}, {'start': '5017.000', 'end': '5024.040', 'text': 'deeply pockmarked floors, capturing the establishing shots\nwith the sharp punctuation of the flash.  Further inside,'}, {'start': '5024.040', 'end': '5030.720', 'text': 'a vast hall materialized, dominated by a\ncavernous, soot-choked fireplace and a'}, {'start': '5030.720', 'end': '5038.640', 'text': 'tattered sofa shedding its upholstery like\ndead skin.  More photographs.  Intermittently,'}, {'start': '5038.640', 'end': '5044.080', 'text': 'a soft rhythmic tapping sounded from\nthe upper floor.  Loose blinds,'}, {'start': '5044.080', 'end': '5051.160', 'text': 'perhaps?  Wind worrying about some\nforgotten accessory?  Experience had taught me to'}, {'start': '5051.160', 'end': '5057.480', 'text': 'filter out the ambient groans of\ndying houses, but this sound had a'}, {'start': '5057.480', 'end': '5065.320', 'text': 'peculiar cadence.  It stopped when I stood still,\nresumed when I moved, a subtle and'}, {'start': '5065.320', 'end': '5073.560', 'text': 'unsettling synchronicity.  A tingle of unease ran down\nmy spine, but I kept going.'}, {'start': '5073.560', 'end': '5079.280', 'text': 'Ascending the main staircase required\ncaution;  The railing felt precarious'}, {'start': '5079.280', 'end': '5084.960', 'text': 'beneath my gloved hand.  The\nsecond-floor hallway stretched narrow and dim,'}, {'start': '5084.960', 'end': '5091.760', 'text': 'lined with closed doors.  One resisted\nmy attempt to open it, firmly stuck.'}, {'start': '5092.280', 'end': '5098.480', 'text': 'I photographed the hallway, the flash illuminating\nswirling dust motes.  The knocking'}, {'start': '5098.480', 'end': '5105.520', 'text': 'persisted, seemingly emanating from within\nthe walls themselves.  Deciding not to force the'}, {'start': '5105.520', 'end': '5112.520', 'text': 'doors, I captured a few more views of the\nhallway before retreating downstairs.  A'}, {'start': '5112.520', 'end': '5119.160', 'text': 'definite tension had coiled around my shoulders.  The\nurge to end the session grew stronger.'}, {'start': '5119.160', 'end': '5127.400', 'text': 'A few final shots, framing the porch\nfrom the shadowy interior, and then I walked away.'}, {'start': '5127.400', 'end': '5133.440', 'text': 'Back home, bathed in the glow\nof my monitor, I began processing the'}, {'start': '5133.440', 'end': '5140.960', 'text': "day's harvest.  The exterior shots were sharp, the\nstone rendered with pleasing clarity."}, {'start': '5141.480', 'end': '5148.600', 'text': 'Zooming in to examine the texture, I held my\nbreath.  There, suspended within the glass'}, {'start': '5148.600', 'end': '5155.640', 'text': 'of an upstairs window, dim but\nundeniable, was the reflection of a face.  Not'}, {'start': '5155.640', 'end': '5163.760', 'text': 'mine – I know the geometry of my own reflection in\nthe lenses.  This was another one.  I leaned closer,'}, {'start': '5163.760', 'end': '5170.760', 'text': 'the screen cold against my nose.  It resolved itself\ninto the features of a middle-aged woman,'}, {'start': '5170.760', 'end': '5176.560', 'text': 'her gaze seemingly fixed on the position\nof my camera.  A visceral shock'}, {'start': '5176.560', 'end': '5183.640', 'text': 'ran through me.  Moving quickly through\nadjacent frames, I revealed it again,'}, {'start': '5183.640', 'end': '5191.320', 'text': 'a partial echo on a different glass.\nFainter, but unmistakably present.'}, {'start': '5191.320', 'end': '5197.040', 'text': 'Sweat built up on my forehead.  A closer look\nthrough the ensemble revealed that it'}, {'start': '5197.040', 'end': '5202.920', 'text': "wasn't just her.  Two different faces were\nstalking the windows.  The woman,"}, {'start': '5202.920', 'end': '5211.240', 'text': 'and an older man, perhaps fifty or sixty\nyears old.  They appeared intermittently, never together,'}, {'start': '5211.240', 'end': '5217.200', 'text': "always looking at the camera's point of view.\nAn image held the man's reflection with"}, {'start': '5217.200', 'end': '5224.240', 'text': 'surprising fidelity;  the lines etched into\nhis forehead were visible.  My hands began to'}, {'start': '5224.240', 'end': '5230.720', 'text': 'tremble slightly.  Reason insisted on tricks\nof the light, on aberrations in old glass,'}, {'start': '5230.720', 'end': '5237.720', 'text': 'but my instinct, honed by years behind\nthe lens, rejected these easy dismissals.  My'}, {'start': '5237.720', 'end': '5244.840', 'text': 'camera is accurate.  Reflections adhere to\nphysics.  And he knew, with chilling certainty,'}, {'start': '5244.840', 'end': '5250.360', 'text': 'that he had been alone out there.\nHours passed as I zoomed in on'}, {'start': '5250.360', 'end': '5259.080', 'text': 'each relevant shot.  Approximately ten images\ncontained these apparitions.  The woman, the man.'}, {'start': '5259.080', 'end': '5266.480', 'text': 'Their expressions remained eerily\nstatic – blank, observant.  A dull ache'}, {'start': '5266.480', 'end': '5273.760', 'text': 'throbbed behind my eyes.  Goosebumps\nrose on my arms.  I turned off the computer,'}, {'start': '5273.760', 'end': '5281.640', 'text': 'seeking sleep, but their faces remained,\nprinted in the darkness behind my eyelids.'}, {'start': '5281.640', 'end': '5286.880', 'text': 'The next morning, driven by\nthe need for empirical proof,'}, {'start': '5286.880', 'end': '5294.400', 'text': 'I returned.  Under a bright, clear sky,\nthe field shone, the mansion waited.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '5294.400', 'end': '5300.160', 'text': 'circled the outside, scanning the\nwindows, studying the angles of the light,'}, {'start': '5300.160', 'end': '5306.720', 'text': 'looking for any natural phenomenon that\nmight explain the reflections.  Nothing.  I took'}, {'start': '5306.720', 'end': '5313.160', 'text': 'more photos, compulsively checking\nthe small screen after each shot,'}, {'start': '5313.160', 'end': '5318.720', 'text': 'finding nothing conclusive in the\nlow-resolution previews.  Hesitantly,'}, {'start': '5318.720', 'end': '5326.320', 'text': 'I ventured back inside, flashlight clutched\nin one hand, camera in the other.  The house was'}, {'start': '5326.320', 'end': '5333.120', 'text': 'completely silent.  The rhythmic tapping\nof my previous visit was absent.  I moved'}, {'start': '5333.120', 'end': '5340.800', 'text': 'through the rooms, opening\nunlocked doors, documenting everything.  My chest felt'}, {'start': '5340.800', 'end': '5347.360', 'text': 'tight, my breathing shallow.  Each\nshadow seemed about to vomit up a figure.'}, {'start': '5348.000', 'end': '5354.760', 'text': 'The living room sofa was untouched;  the fireplace\nremained cold.  The dust lay thick and'}, {'start': '5354.760', 'end': '5363.000', 'text': 'inviolable.  Above, the exploration continued.  The\nempty rooms revealed broken furniture and'}, {'start': '5363.000', 'end': '5369.840', 'text': 'stained floors.  In one chamber, a\nrusted metal bed frame stood sentinel next to a'}, {'start': '5369.840', 'end': '5376.880', 'text': 'faded mattress, torn curtains fluttering\nlanguidly in an invisible draft.'}, {'start': '5377.760', 'end': '5382.880', 'text': 'A sudden, intense coldness brushed against\nmy neck, raising the hairs on my'}, {'start': '5382.880', 'end': '5390.880', 'text': 'arms.  A faint creak, like a hinge\nprotesting movement, made me spin,'}, {'start': '5390.880', 'end': '5399.240', 'text': 'the flashlight beam stabbing into the void.  Nothing.\nMy mouth was dry as the desert.  Forcing myself'}, {'start': '5399.240', 'end': '5406.240', 'text': 'to keep going, I took a few final shots\nbefore pulling back, my heart pounding'}, {'start': '5406.240', 'end': '5413.120', 'text': 'against my ribs, a metallic taste –\nfear, adrenaline – coating my tongue.'}, {'start': '5413.920', 'end': '5420.960', 'text': 'Back in the sterile safety of my\nworkspace, I uploaded the second set of images.'}, {'start': '5420.960', 'end': '5427.320', 'text': 'A familiar dread tightened my throat as the\nfaces reappeared.  Window after window,'}, {'start': '5427.320', 'end': '5435.280', 'text': 'first floor, second floor, they demonstrated.\nThe unwavering eyes of the woman, the'}, {'start': '5435.280', 'end': '5441.720', 'text': 'impassive gaze of the man.  Identical expressions,\nas if they were mere clippings moved from one'}, {'start': '5441.720', 'end': '5449.240', 'text': 'glass to another.  My fingers trembled as I navigated\nthrough the files.  Nausea threatened,'}, {'start': '5449.240', 'end': '5456.160', 'text': 'but I kept going, desperate for a\nrational glitch, a distortion in the glass,'}, {'start': '5456.160', 'end': '5464.160', 'text': 'anything.  However, the reflections\nretained their disturbing verisimilitude.'}, {'start': '5464.160', 'end': '5468.320', 'text': 'For days, the images\nmonopolized my thoughts.'}, {'start': '5468.320', 'end': '5474.560', 'text': 'I confided in a trusted colleague, another\nphotographer.  He examined the images silently,'}, {'start': '5474.560', 'end': '5481.400', 'text': 'frowning, finally shaking his\nhead.  He confessed to bewilderment, unable to'}, {'start': '5481.400', 'end': '5486.960', 'text': 'reconcile the clear reflections with my\ninsistence that the house was empty.'}, {'start': '5486.960', 'end': '5494.560', 'text': 'Had you *seen* anyone?  No, I reiterated,\nabsolutely not.  His advice was simple,'}, {'start': '5494.560', 'end': '5500.400', 'text': 'delivered with a disturbing gravity:\nlet it be.  You might be removing'}, {'start': '5500.400', 'end': '5509.080', 'text': 'things that are better left untouched.  His words\nechoed, disturbing my firm rationalism.'}, {'start': '5509.080', 'end': '5515.200', 'text': 'One last time, I felt compelled to return,\ndriven by a stubborn need to'}, {'start': '5515.200', 'end': '5522.880', 'text': 'debunk or confirm.  It was late again,\nthe sun casting long, dramatic shadows.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '5522.880', 'end': '5528.880', 'text': 'parked farther away, sneaking up\nthrough the tall grass, keeping to'}, {'start': '5528.880', 'end': '5537.520', 'text': 'the tree line.  With binoculars\nraised, I scanned the upper windows.  Nothing.'}, {'start': '5537.520', 'end': '5544.240', 'text': 'Circling to the side, I continued my surveillance.\nStill vacant.  Sweat trickled down my'}, {'start': '5544.240', 'end': '5552.400', 'text': 'palms;  my pulse was beating erratically.  My hands\nfelt unsteady.  I took some photos from this'}, {'start': '5552.400', 'end': '5559.880', 'text': 'distance, hedging my bets.  Finally,\nplucking up my courage, I dragged myself onto the porch,'}, {'start': '5559.880', 'end': '5566.840', 'text': 'peering through a cracked window into the\ndim living room.  Darkness stared back at me.'}, {'start': '5566.840', 'end': '5576.120', 'text': 'Then, a solid *thud* resounded from above.\nHeavy.  Singular.  I froze, every muscle tense,'}, {'start': '5576.120', 'end': '5582.800', 'text': 'heart beating a frantic rhythm.  Waiting,\nwatching for any hint of movement'}, {'start': '5582.800', 'end': '5590.800', 'text': 'inside.  The shadows remained inert.  A\nknot of pure fear tightened in my stomach.  This'}, {'start': '5590.800', 'end': '5598.080', 'text': 'was enough.  The player in me knew when\nto fold.  I retreated, reviewing the photos only'}, {'start': '5598.080', 'end': '5605.520', 'text': 'once I was home.  She was there\nagain.  The woman.  In a window near the'}, {'start': '5605.520', 'end': '5612.880', 'text': 'porch I had just looked out of.  Closer this\ntime, her form pressed almost against the glass,'}, {'start': '5612.880', 'end': '5618.920', 'text': 'the silhouette of her hair stark against\nthe dim light, her eyes wide.'}, {'start': '5618.920', 'end': '5625.720', 'text': 'My lungs felt too small.\xa0  I\nclosed the files, sitting in the sudden,'}, {'start': '5625.720', 'end': '5632.800', 'text': 'profound silence, the frantic drumming\nof my own heart filling my ears.'}, {'start': '5632.800', 'end': '5638.680', 'text': 'In the weeks that followed, I tried to bury\nthe experience.  I threw myself into other projects,'}, {'start': '5638.680', 'end': '5644.960', 'text': 'photographing a cavernous old warehouse across\ntown, trying to overwrite the cold'}, {'start': '5644.960', 'end': '5652.680', 'text': 'of the mansion.  But the faces remained at the\nedge of my vision, particularly at night.'}, {'start': '5652.680', 'end': '5660.360', 'text': 'The feeling of being watched, the memory of that\ncold spot on my neck, persisted.  The dream'}, {'start': '5660.360', 'end': '5667.760', 'text': 'became restless.  The locks were checked\ntwice.  My appetite decreased.  An'}, {'start': '5667.760', 'end': '5674.280', 'text': 'unknown anxiety became my constant shadow.\nNever before had my work provoked such a'}, {'start': '5674.280', 'end': '5681.320', 'text': 'deep and persistent concern.  I filed the\nmansion photographs away on an external hard drive, removing them'}, {'start': '5681.320', 'end': '5688.480', 'text': 'from my immediate digital space, hoping\nthat distance might quell their power.'}, {'start': '5688.480', 'end': '5695.040', 'text': 'However, the thoughts remained.\nShould I delve into local history,'}, {'start': '5695.040', 'end': '5702.600', 'text': 'look for records of the house, its inhabitants,\ntheir stories?  A stronger instinct counseled'}, {'start': '5702.600', 'end': '5710.880', 'text': "moderation.  My colleague's warning resonated:\n*better to leave untouched*.  Superstition is not my"}, {'start': '5710.880', 'end': '5716.800', 'text': 'creed, but some boundaries feel\nintuitively dangerous to cross.  I have'}, {'start': '5717.920', 'end': '5724.520', 'text': "n't returned.  Curiosity has completely given way\nto visceral caution.  Now,"}, {'start': '5724.520', 'end': '5729.360', 'text': 'even driving remotely close to that\narea triggers an involuntary tingling'}, {'start': '5729.360', 'end': '5735.640', 'text': 'along my arms;  My gaze\ndeliberately avoids that horizon.  The photos'}, {'start': '5735.640', 'end': '5742.280', 'text': 'remain quarantined on your disk,\nundeleted but unvisited.  Occasionally,'}, {'start': '5742.280', 'end': '5749.120', 'text': 'the cursor hovers over the folder icon,\na flash of the old compulsion surfacing,'}, {'start': '5749.120', 'end': '5756.440', 'text': "only to be quelled by a familiar lurch\nin my stomach.  It's not worth reopening.  That"}, {'start': '5756.440', 'end': '5763.520', 'text': "'s all.  It retains the texture of unreality,\nbut the evidence resides on that record.  I know what"}, {'start': '5763.520', 'end': '5769.800', 'text': 'the lens captured.  I know that those figures were\nabsent from my eye.  I know I was alone inside'}, {'start': '5769.800', 'end': '5776.880', 'text': 'those walls, yet they watched me,\nstatic and silent, from window after'}, {'start': '5776.880', 'end': '5783.560', 'text': 'window.  His blank, unwavering stare\noffered no answers, only a growing chill'}, {'start': '5783.560', 'end': '5790.400', 'text': '.  It was a fear deeper than any\ncollapsing structure or phantom noise.'}, {'start': '5791.040', 'end': '5797.400', 'text': 'These days, my explorations favor\nruins with more predictable dangers.  Let the'}, {'start': '5797.400', 'end': '5804.120', 'text': 'mansion keep its secrets, its silent\nobservers pressed against the glass.'}, {'start': '5804.120', 'end': '5817.040', 'text': 'Let it wait for the next curious soul.  My meeting\nhas concluded.  That, for me, is enough.'}, {'start': '5817.040', 'end': '5823.880', 'text': 'The precise moment in which my conscience fixed\non her remains indelible.  It was pitch black,'}, {'start': '5823.880', 'end': '5828.960', 'text': 'the city breathed silently outside my\nwindow as I reviewed the'}, {'start': '5828.960', 'end': '5835.560', 'text': "day's shots on the bright screen.  My gaze\nreturned to her again and again, magnetically"}, {'start': '5835.560', 'end': '5841.840', 'text': 'drawn by a spectral presence lurking\non the shadowy periphery of a frame: the vague'}, {'start': '5841.840', 'end': '5849.120', 'text': 'suggestion of a woman, dressed in white,\noccupying the background.  A mere spectator, perhaps,'}, {'start': '5849.120', 'end': '5856.440', 'text': 'overlooked in the intensity of the session?\nThat was the rational explanation.  However,'}, {'start': '5856.440', 'end': '5862.200', 'text': "the figure's posture radiated a\ndisturbing stillness.  He looked at me straight on."}, {'start': '5862.200', 'end': '5869.240', 'text': 'Directly.  A strangeness settled in, a\ncold knot forming in the pit of your stomach,'}, {'start': '5869.240', 'end': '5876.360', 'text': 'that specific tension invoked by\ninvisible eyes fixed on you in a crowd.'}, {'start': '5876.360', 'end': '5883.360', 'text': 'My name is Elias Vance.  I chase ghosts of stone\nand wood, I am a freelance photographer who catalogues'}, {'start': '5883.360', 'end': '5889.520', 'text': 'the elegance of decay in\nancient architecture.  My work takes me through'}, {'start': '5889.520', 'end': '5896.960', 'text': 'forgotten corridors: towns anchored in time,\nsilent cathedrals, abandoned convents,'}, {'start': '5896.960', 'end': '5902.440', 'text': 'any space saturated by the\npersistent breath of history.  Fear is not'}, {'start': '5902.440', 'end': '5908.400', 'text': 'a regular companion;  The profession requires\na certain comfort with shadowed arches,'}, {'start': '5908.400', 'end': '5915.200', 'text': "locked gates, the solitary percussion\nof one's own footsteps in silent ruins."}, {'start': '5915.880', 'end': '5922.680', 'text': 'But that night, as I zoomed in closer, straining the\npixels to get a sharper image of'}, {'start': '5922.680', 'end': '5929.320', 'text': 'the woman, an instinct screamed that something\nwas off.  His face remained hidden,'}, {'start': '5929.320', 'end': '5934.760', 'text': 'a blur of pale light, but I felt the\nweight of his scrutiny pierce the'}, {'start': '5934.760', 'end': '5940.360', 'text': 'digital barrier.  I forced myself to move on,\nclicking on the next image,'}, {'start': '5940.360', 'end': '5947.680', 'text': 'trying to shake off the unease.  The\nminutes dissolved.  Then another shot,'}, {'start': '5947.680', 'end': '5954.080', 'text': 'of the same building from a\ndifferent perspective, caught my eye.  There it was'}, {'start': '5954.080', 'end': '5961.800', 'text': 'again.  Displaced.  She now hovered on the far\nleft of the frame, still dressed in white,'}, {'start': '5961.800', 'end': '5969.280', 'text': 'though only a curve of her shoulder and a wisp of\ndark hair betrayed her presence.  Impossible.'}, {'start': '5969.280', 'end': '5976.760', 'text': "The exposures had been almost instantaneous;\xa0  I\nhadn't seen anyone cross that space."}, {'start': '5976.760', 'end': '5982.520', 'text': 'The next day I found myself back in\nthe same place: an old convent, its'}, {'start': '5982.520', 'end': '5988.880', 'text': 'faded walls surrounding a worn courtyard.\nSeeking the clarity of midday light,'}, {'start': '5988.880', 'end': '5994.920', 'text': 'I arrived to find the place plunged into a\nprofound stillness.  With the tripod anchored,'}, {'start': '5994.920', 'end': '6000.640', 'text': 'I began to document the rhythm of the arches\nthat flanked one side.  The wind whipped up'}, {'start': '6000.640', 'end': '6006.040', 'text': 'swirling dust devils in languid spirals,\nthe only movement in the'}, {'start': '6006.040', 'end': '6014.040', 'text': 'otherwise motionless space.  A subtle pressure built in my\nchest, an unfounded warning straining my nerves.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '6014.560', 'end': '6022.160', 'text': 'suppressed it, concentrating on the goal.\nLater, back in my studio, I reviewed the new'}, {'start': '6022.160', 'end': '6030.120', 'text': 'collection.  Initially, nothing seemed out of\nplace.  Then, towards the end of the sequence,'}, {'start': '6030.120', 'end': '6037.400', 'text': 'it materialized once again.  I leaned toward\nthe monitor, holding my breath.  It was'}, {'start': '6037.400', 'end': '6043.680', 'text': 'partially hidden behind a\nstone column.  A tremor began in my hands.'}, {'start': '6043.680', 'end': '6052.240', 'text': 'My breathing became shallow.  I rubbed my\neyes, blinked, looked again.  This transcended'}, {'start': '6052.240', 'end': '6060.120', 'text': 'coincidence.  Undeniably present, the\nsame white garment.  It seemed closer now,'}, {'start': '6060.120', 'end': '6067.200', 'text': 'infinitesimally, as if it had taken a few\nsteps toward my position.  Sweat dampened my'}, {'start': '6067.200', 'end': '6074.960', 'text': 'palms;  my pulse hammered against my ribs.\nReason was desperately searching for a foothold:'}, {'start': '6074.960', 'end': '6081.600', 'text': 'a local resident, a curious tourist?  But\nmy senses, honed by years of framing'}, {'start': '6081.600', 'end': '6088.560', 'text': "scenes, insisted I hadn't seen her.\nNo living person had occupied that space."}, {'start': '6088.560', 'end': '6094.480', 'text': 'I clung to the hope of some\nmundane explanation, some trick of the light or overlooked detail'}, {'start': '6094.480', 'end': '6101.760', 'text': ', an employee or visitor moving\njust outside my conscious awareness.'}, {'start': '6101.760', 'end': '6108.640', 'text': 'Sleep offered little refuge that night.  Images\nflickered behind my closed eyelids, the woman'}, {'start': '6108.640', 'end': '6115.280', 'text': 'in white a persistent ghost.  I resolved to\nconduct a meticulous review the next day,'}, {'start': '6115.280', 'end': '6122.120', 'text': 'frame by frame, looking for a pattern, a\nglitch, anything that would rationalize'}, {'start': '6122.120', 'end': '6129.520', 'text': 'its recurring appearance.  The morning came gray\nand hesitant.  I opened my editing software,'}, {'start': '6129.520', 'end': '6136.000', 'text': 'digging into the files from\nrecent sessions.  The account grew: six photographs'}, {'start': '6136.000', 'end': '6143.040', 'text': 'now bore his spectral signature.  Each\ntime, its location changed – sometimes hidden,'}, {'start': '6143.040', 'end': '6149.960', 'text': 'sometimes positioned more boldly – \u200b\u200bbut always,\nundeniably, a fraction closer to where'}, {'start': '6149.960', 'end': '6156.280', 'text': 'my camera had been.  Details began\nto emerge from the pixels: the dress had'}, {'start': '6156.280', 'end': '6163.960', 'text': 'a vintage cut, loose sleeves, a hemline that skimmed\nthe ankles;  Her hair was a dark waterfall,'}, {'start': '6163.960', 'end': '6172.240', 'text': 'ebony or deep umber.  His face, however,\nremained infuriatingly indistinct.'}, {'start': '6172.240', 'end': '6178.560', 'text': 'The following days were filled with other\nerrands, taking me through nearby towns:'}, {'start': '6178.560', 'end': '6184.000', 'text': 'an old-fashioned library permeated with the\nsmell of rotting paper, a tiny'}, {'start': '6184.000', 'end': '6190.960', 'text': 'church adorned with jewel-toned stained-glass windows.  A\nconstant nervousness became my shadow.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '6190.960', 'end': '6196.720', 'text': 'found myself scanning the peripheries,\nlooking over my shoulder, anticipating'}, {'start': '6196.720', 'end': '6202.480', 'text': 'their manifestation.  My concentration waned\nas my attention drifted to'}, {'start': '6202.480', 'end': '6208.040', 'text': 'dark corners and empty doorways.  My mind\nfelt perpetually prepared,'}, {'start': '6208.040', 'end': '6214.160', 'text': 'a muscle tensed against an\ninvisible threat.  However, in the tangible world,'}, {'start': '6214.160', 'end': '6221.800', 'text': 'no one suspicious materialized.  Nobody came\nclose.  But every night, the ritual was repeated:'}, {'start': '6221.800', 'end': '6228.920', 'text': "upload the day's work, and there she would be\n.  Always in white.  Always embedded"}, {'start': '6228.920', 'end': '6235.680', 'text': 'somewhere within the frame.  And always,\nrelentlessly, closer.  Behind a row'}, {'start': '6235.680', 'end': '6243.360', 'text': 'of solemn benches.  Leaning with disconcerting\nnaturalness against a crumbling wall.  Once,'}, {'start': '6243.360', 'end': '6249.080', 'text': 'chillingly, it stood at the entrance\nto a narrow staircase, positioned'}, {'start': '6249.080', 'end': '6254.960', 'text': 'halfway up the steps, its invisible gaze\nseemingly directed downwards towards'}, {'start': '6254.960', 'end': '6264.120', 'text': 'me.  A visceral chill ran down my spine.\xa0  I\ncould almost imagine the ghost of his breath.'}, {'start': '6264.120', 'end': '6269.960', 'text': 'The door to my apartment took on a new\nimportance.  I started double-checking my'}, {'start': '6269.960', 'end': '6276.400', 'text': 'locks, a habit that felt as silly\nas it was necessary.  Before venturing out,'}, {'start': '6276.400', 'end': '6282.240', 'text': 'I kept an eye on the peephole, scanning the\nempty hallway.  My own mind seemed'}, {'start': '6282.240', 'end': '6288.360', 'text': 'suspicious to me, prone to conjuring up ghosts,\nso I adopted the habit of looking'}, {'start': '6288.360', 'end': '6295.480', 'text': "behind me as I walked.  I didn't confide in\nanyone.  The explanations seemed flimsy, and"}, {'start': '6295.480', 'end': '6302.440', 'text': 'would likely be met with skepticism or\ndisdain.  How could I articulate the impossible logic'}, {'start': '6302.440', 'end': '6310.200', 'text': 'of this recurring figure, appearing in\ndisparate places where it had no earthly business?'}, {'start': '6310.200', 'end': '6315.400', 'text': 'An errand took me to an ancient fortress\nthat guarded the edge of the city,'}, {'start': '6315.400', 'end': '6320.960', 'text': 'its formidable stone walls surrounded\nby a dry moat.  I arrived in the mid-afternoon,'}, {'start': '6320.960', 'end': '6328.000', 'text': 'chasing the ideal grazing light to capture the\ntextured stone.  I forced myself to focus: the'}, {'start': '6328.000', 'end': '6335.720', 'text': 'exterior walls, the imposing gate, sections\nof the inner courtyard.  The place was sparsely'}, {'start': '6335.720', 'end': '6342.920', 'text': 'populated, a handful of tourists scattered in the\ndistance, absorbed in their own snapshots.'}, {'start': '6342.920', 'end': '6349.920', 'text': 'Then, abruptly, a wave of deep\nunease swept over me.  My shoulders stiffened.'}, {'start': '6349.920', 'end': '6357.280', 'text': 'A faint noise—the scrape of a shoe on\ngravel?—pierced the silence.  I turned sharply, my'}, {'start': '6357.280', 'end': '6366.800', 'text': 'heart pounding against my ribs.  Nothing.\nEmpty.  A shaky breath escaped me.  I returned to'}, {'start': '6366.800', 'end': '6373.200', 'text': 'my work.  Hours later, as I packed up\nmy gear, my hands felt numb on the'}, {'start': '6373.200', 'end': '6379.800', 'text': "wheel, my legs twitchy as if I'd\nspent the day anticipating a crash.  Back"}, {'start': '6379.800', 'end': '6387.920', 'text': 'in my apartment, I rushed in, the deadbolt\nsliding into place with a decisive click.  The'}, {'start': '6387.920', 'end': '6394.720', 'text': 'keys clinked on the table.  The\ncamera bag fell to the floor.  I sank into my'}, {'start': '6394.720', 'end': '6403.000', 'text': 'desk chair, preparing myself.  The dread of finding her\nfought against the compulsive need to know.  I'}, {'start': '6403.000', 'end': '6407.600', 'text': 'imported the photos of the fortress.\nThe initial thirty showed'}, {'start': '6407.600', 'end': '6414.520', 'text': 'nothing unusual.  A fragile wisp of relief\nunfurled, whispering that perhaps, this time,'}, {'start': '6414.520', 'end': '6419.400', 'text': 'she was absent.  So,\nimage thirty-one.  My stomach'}, {'start': '6419.400', 'end': '6426.360', 'text': 'sank as I zoomed in.  There, near\na shadowy door carved into the thick wall,'}, {'start': '6426.360', 'end': '6433.120', 'text': 'half-hidden but starkly clear.  The\nfollowing frames tracked her to the courtyard,'}, {'start': '6433.120', 'end': '6441.000', 'text': 'positioned behind a wide arch.  The last\nphotograph froze me.  I was almost in the center,'}, {'start': '6441.000', 'end': '6448.120', 'text': 'still meters away, but closer\n– undeniably, terrifyingly closer – than'}, {'start': '6448.120', 'end': '6456.160', 'text': 'ever before.  A lathe squeezed my chest.  My breath\ncame in ragged gasps.  My fingers trembled'}, {'start': '6456.160', 'end': '6462.880', 'text': 'on the mouse.  Thoughts of abandoning\nphotography, of changing the entire trajectory'}, {'start': '6462.880', 'end': '6469.520', 'text': 'of my life, fluttered about like panicked birds\n.  But this job was my livelihood,'}, {'start': '6469.520', 'end': '6476.480', 'text': 'my identity.  I was grasping at straws\n– an elaborate and inexplicable prank? – but'}, {'start': '6476.480', 'end': '6483.880', 'text': 'the logistics defied comprehension,\nspanning multiple, disparate locations.'}, {'start': '6483.880', 'end': '6489.040', 'text': 'For several days, I remained cloistered\nwithin the walls of my apartment,'}, {'start': '6489.040', 'end': '6494.080', 'text': 'scanning the digital ether for\nany mention, any whisper,'}, {'start': '6494.080', 'end': '6501.840', 'text': 'of a woman in white haunting historic sites.\nSilence.  Local forums yielded nothing.'}, {'start': '6501.840', 'end': '6508.400', 'text': 'Vague questions – "Has anyone seen\na woman dressed in white near'}, {'start': '6508.400', 'end': '6515.280', 'text': 'old buildings lately?" – went unanswered or were\nmet with confusion.  Finally, after'}, {'start': '6515.280', 'end': '6522.360', 'text': 'days of pacing the confines of my living room\n, restlessness and need won.  A'}, {'start': '6522.360', 'end': '6528.200', 'text': 'small historical society requested photographs\nof the interior of an old bell tower in the center'}, {'start': '6528.200', 'end': '6536.280', 'text': 'of town.  I needed the money.  And perhaps,\na darker thought arose, perhaps this'}, {'start': '6536.280', 'end': '6544.760', 'text': 'time I could witness its arrival, confront it,\nunderstand the mechanism of this enchantment.'}, {'start': '6544.760', 'end': '6551.680', 'text': 'The tower rose, perhaps ninety feet of\nweathered stone, its ascent a narrow'}, {'start': '6551.680', 'end': '6558.760', 'text': 'spiral staircase.  Inside, the air hung thick with the\nsmell of damp masonry and rusting metal.'}, {'start': '6558.760', 'end': '6565.080', 'text': 'The heavy silence amplified the echo of my\nown footsteps on the worn steps.'}, {'start': '6565.080', 'end': '6571.800', 'text': 'Pigeons were fluttering somewhere in the\nupper reaches.  I placed my camera near the base,'}, {'start': '6571.800', 'end': '6577.440', 'text': 'pointing up the\ntwisting stairs toward the bell housing.'}, {'start': '6577.440', 'end': '6583.280', 'text': 'I fired off a few test shots, the flash\nmomentarily banishing the gloom,'}, {'start': '6583.280', 'end': '6590.840', 'text': 'its burst bouncing off the surrounding walls.\nMy own breathing sounded abnormally loud.'}, {'start': '6590.840', 'end': '6597.400', 'text': 'A few minutes passed, then I ascended to the next\nlanding, capturing the texture of the ancient'}, {'start': '6597.400', 'end': '6604.520', 'text': 'masonry.  The dust and mold\ntickled my throat, causing a cough.'}, {'start': '6604.520', 'end': '6609.960', 'text': 'Somewhere between the second and third\nlanding, a sudden and inexplicable blast'}, {'start': '6609.960', 'end': '6617.920', 'text': 'of cold air enveloped me.  I froze, holding my\nbreath, straining to hear.  My skin'}, {'start': '6617.920', 'end': '6625.280', 'text': 'prickled with static electricity.  The silence was\npressing.  Then – a sound.  Weak,'}, {'start': '6625.280', 'end': '6632.360', 'text': 'but different.  A soft footfall on the\nstone steps above.  My heart leapt,'}, {'start': '6632.360', 'end': '6638.720', 'text': 'lodging in my throat.  I swept the beam\nof my flashlight upward.  Empty stairs'}, {'start': '6638.720', 'end': '6645.880', 'text': 'twisted in shadow.  But did I get it?  A\nfleeting flash of white, disappearing around'}, {'start': '6645.880', 'end': '6653.760', 'text': 'the bend?  Adrenaline surged, weakening\nmy knees.  An instinct screamed retreat,'}, {'start': '6653.760', 'end': '6659.600', 'text': 'flee down the stairs toward the light.  Another,\ndarker curiosity propelled me upward,'}, {'start': '6660.160', 'end': '6668.560', 'text': 'step by deliberate step.  Muscles stiff,\ntense.  Breathing came in short,'}, {'start': '6668.560', 'end': '6676.040', 'text': 'sharp bursts.  The higher I climbed, the deeper\nthe shadows seemed, despite the narrow openings'}, {'start': '6676.040', 'end': '6683.080', 'text': 'that offered glimpses of the sky.  The beam of my\nflashlight danced nervously.  Upon reaching the'}, {'start': '6683.080', 'end': '6689.360', 'text': 'summit, I found the enormous bell hanging\nsilently above my head, covered in'}, {'start': '6689.360', 'end': '6696.760', 'text': 'verdigris.  The floor was of roughly\nhewn stone.  Limited hiding places:'}, {'start': '6696.760', 'end': '6703.880', 'text': 'behind structural beams, among\nscattered debris.  I swept every inch with the beam.'}, {'start': '6703.880', 'end': '6710.760', 'text': 'Cobwebs flashed, dead leaves rustled,\nbut no woman in white.  The silence was'}, {'start': '6710.760', 'end': '6717.800', 'text': 'absolute, profound.  Sweat soaked my\nback.  I lay there for minutes, my'}, {'start': '6717.800', 'end': '6723.160', 'text': 'heart pounding\nagainst my ribs, before beginning'}, {'start': '6723.160', 'end': '6729.800', 'text': 'the shaky descent.  I mechanically captured\nthe required wide shots on each landing,'}, {'start': '6729.800', 'end': '6737.520', 'text': 'completing the assignment, but my movements\nwere hurried, my focus fractured.'}, {'start': '6737.520', 'end': '6743.240', 'text': 'Back in the sanctuary of my apartment,\nreviewing the images of the bell tower was like'}, {'start': '6743.240', 'end': '6750.760', 'text': 'dissecting a wound.  His mouth was dry, his\nshirt stuck wetly.  Click, click, click'}, {'start': '6750.760', 'end': '6757.840', 'text': "through the sequence.  Then one frame,\ncaptured near the tower's apex, stopped me"}, {'start': '6757.840', 'end': '6766.120', 'text': 'in my tracks.  His face.  He was behind me – or\nrather, behind the camera’s point of view.'}, {'start': '6766.640', 'end': '6771.280', 'text': 'Half of his face peeked out from\nbehind a heavy wooden beam, his'}, {'start': '6771.280', 'end': '6778.000', 'text': 'eyes fixed directly on the\ntarget.  Near.  Impossibly close,'}, {'start': '6778.000', 'end': '6785.720', 'text': 'just a few meters away.  The harsh flash illuminated\npale skin, eyes like dark wells.'}, {'start': '6785.720', 'end': '6792.760', 'text': "A stifled gasp escaped me.  I felt like my heart might\nbreak my ribs.  I hadn't seen anyone."}, {'start': '6792.760', 'end': '6798.800', 'text': 'I was completely alone up there.\nHowever, the photograph offered'}, {'start': '6798.800', 'end': '6805.520', 'text': 'irrefutable and terrifying proof.  My whole body\nlocked into a rigid immobility.'}, {'start': '6805.520', 'end': '6811.120', 'text': 'That night turned into a siege.  I secured\nmy door as if it were against a'}, {'start': '6811.120', 'end': '6817.760', 'text': 'physical intruder.  The appetite disappeared.  I forced myself to\ndrink water, my steps wearing a path'}, {'start': '6817.760', 'end': '6825.520', 'text': 'on the ground.  My mind kept replaying\nthe sequence, the climb, the cold, the sound,'}, {'start': '6825.520', 'end': '6834.080', 'text': 'the final image.  Every creak of the building, every\ndistant siren, startled my frayed nerves.'}, {'start': '6834.080', 'end': '6841.160', 'text': 'Passing a mirror, I stepped back, half expecting to\nsee his reflection next to mine.  The television'}, {'start': '6841.160', 'end': '6848.920', 'text': 'hummed, a useless bulwark against the silence.\nFinally, exhaustion claimed me on the couch,'}, {'start': '6848.920', 'end': '6855.720', 'text': 'dragging me into a restless sleep populated\nby the echo of footsteps on invisible stairs.'}, {'start': '6855.720', 'end': '6863.000', 'text': 'The morning found me empty, exhausted.  I made a\ndecision: a break from photoshoots'}, {'start': '6863.000', 'end': '6869.640', 'text': 'was essential.  There was editing work to be done,\ndeadlines were looming, but the thought of venturing'}, {'start': '6869.640', 'end': '6876.720', 'text': 'out with my camera felt unbearable.\nI made coffee, sat down at my computer,'}, {'start': '6876.720', 'end': '6883.960', 'text': "trying to immerse myself in the tweaking of\na client's project.  It was useless.  Every file opened"}, {'start': '6883.960', 'end': '6890.400', 'text': 'became a potential minefield.  My\neyes involuntarily scanned the backgrounds,'}, {'start': '6890.400', 'end': '6897.680', 'text': 'searching for that telltale whisper of white.  Each\ntime, my heart skipped a beat, my breath'}, {'start': '6897.680', 'end': '6903.960', 'text': 'caught in my throat.  The expectation\nwas a constant, low-intensity terror.'}, {'start': '6903.960', 'end': '6912.000', 'text': 'Its relentless progression tormented me:\ncloser, always closer.  The certainty grew:'}, {'start': '6912.000', 'end': '6917.320', 'text': 'if he continued, he would eventually fill the\nentire frame.  That prospect'}, {'start': '6917.320', 'end': '6923.200', 'text': 'made me break out in a cold sweat.  What then?\nWhat happens when she crosses that'}, {'start': '6923.200', 'end': '6932.080', 'text': 'final distance?  Speaks?  Does it play?  Is it a warning, a\nthreat, or something completely unknowable?'}, {'start': '6932.080', 'end': '6936.440', 'text': 'In the middle of the afternoon, the\ndoorbell squealed.  I physically jumped,'}, {'start': '6936.440', 'end': '6941.520', 'text': 'spilling coffee.  Heart\npounding, I crept to the door and'}, {'start': '6941.520', 'end': '6948.560', 'text': 'peered through the peephole.  A delivery man, looking\nbored.  I opened the door a crack, accepted the package'}, {'start': '6948.560', 'end': '6955.400', 'text': 'with a murmured word, and bolted it again\n.  My hands were shaking.  Even this'}, {'start': '6955.400', 'end': '6962.400', 'text': 'mundane interaction felt like a violation,\nmy nerves were completely shattered.'}, {'start': '6963.320', 'end': '6968.240', 'text': 'That night, I gathered them together – all the\nphotographs that bore his mark –'}, {'start': '6968.240', 'end': '6975.040', 'text': 'arranging them chronologically on my monitor.\nThe first ones showed it as a mere speck,'}, {'start': '6975.040', 'end': '6982.960', 'text': 'easy to overlook.  Then, frame by\nframe, the undeniable progress.  Sometimes subtle,'}, {'start': '6982.960', 'end': '6989.320', 'text': 'half-hidden, other times more open,\nbut always reducing the distance.'}, {'start': '6989.320', 'end': '6995.920', 'text': 'His face, so long a mystery, now\nstared out from the bell tower photo,'}, {'start': '6995.920', 'end': '7003.560', 'text': 'almost fully revealed.  Those eyes…\nunreadable.  Not angry, not sad,'}, {'start': '7003.560', 'end': '7010.640', 'text': 'just… intensely focused.\nStudying myself.  My throat tightened.'}, {'start': '7010.640', 'end': '7016.160', 'text': 'A frantic urge arose to destroy the\nevidence, smash the hard drive, purge'}, {'start': '7016.160', 'end': '7023.480', 'text': 'the images.  Intertwined, however, was the\nneed to preserve my professional work,'}, {'start': '7023.480', 'end': '7030.520', 'text': 'the other files stored alongside these\nspectral intrusions.  Instead, I'}, {'start': '7030.520', 'end': '7037.760', 'text': 'meticulously backed up everything to\nexternal drives, storing them in a drawer.  An act'}, {'start': '7037.760', 'end': '7046.200', 'text': 'of preservation, perhaps.  Proof, if\nmy sanity were ever questioned, that this was real.'}, {'start': '7046.200', 'end': '7052.440', 'text': 'The following days were an attempt at\nnormality.  I bought groceries.  I tackled'}, {'start': '7052.440', 'end': '7059.280', 'text': 'editing tasks.  I even forced myself to take a short\nwalk, deliberately leaving the camera behind.'}, {'start': '7059.280', 'end': '7065.480', 'text': "Taking new photos felt like extending an\ninvitation I couldn't bear to extend.  The"}, {'start': '7065.480', 'end': '7072.800', 'text': 'streets felt different, hyperreal.\nEvery passerby was scrutinized: clothes,'}, {'start': '7072.800', 'end': '7079.480', 'text': 'face, eyes.  No woman in white\nmanifested herself in the tangible world.'}, {'start': '7079.480', 'end': '7085.800', 'text': 'Yet the knot of tension in my neck\nremained, an unyielding reminder.'}, {'start': '7086.640', 'end': '7093.040', 'text': 'Yesterday afternoon, the phone rang.  A\npotential client, asking to photograph a'}, {'start': '7093.040', 'end': '7101.080', 'text': 'restored mansion on the outskirts of the city.  Good\npay.  The session is scheduled for a few weeks from now.\xa0\xa0  I'}, {'start': '7101.080', 'end': '7107.640', 'text': 'hesitated, promising to return the call.  Hanging up,\nI sank back into the couch, staring at the white wall'}, {'start': '7107.640', 'end': '7114.240', 'text': 'across the room, a dull ache spreading\nthrough my chest.  How do you navigate this?'}, {'start': '7114.240', 'end': '7120.680', 'text': 'Continue working, continue documenting\nyour approach?  Or stop, cutting off my'}, {'start': '7120.680', 'end': '7129.240', 'text': 'livelihood, retreating into fearful ignorance?\nWho is she?  What does it mean?  All I possess'}, {'start': '7129.240', 'end': '7135.880', 'text': 'is the chilling certainty of his presence, his\nunwavering gaze captured in my art, his'}, {'start': '7135.880', 'end': '7143.280', 'text': 'relentless, silent advance.  It gets closer with\neach click of the shutter.  It offers no explanation,'}, {'start': '7143.280', 'end': '7150.800', 'text': 'no sound that I can definitively trace.\xa0  It\njust sits there, watching.  How'}, {'start': '7150.800', 'end': '7158.440', 'text': 'this started, or why, remains shrouded in mystery.  I only know\nthat I see it in the images, I feel it like a'}, {'start': '7158.440', 'end': '7165.520', 'text': "cold air current following me.  I don't know what\nawaits me when I finally close the distance,"}, {'start': '7165.520', 'end': '7170.760', 'text': "when his image fills my lens\ncompletely.  I don't know what I'll see when"}, {'start': '7170.760', 'end': '7176.120', 'text': "I'm finally just a breath away.  And that\nunknown is the purest form of terror."}]