Curiosity

Disclaimer and content warning: This story contains depictions of violence and paranormal activity and may be distressing to some readers.

Age Rating: 17

Prequel to: Unrestricted Devotion

Lucas set the camera on the tripod and stepped back. The backdrop for the shot was a modern village, enshrouded in fog. A handful of large, factory-like facilities lined the streets of the village. He switched the stream on, on the app of his phone and greeted the audience that began to tune into the stream.

“Cheers folks! Lucas on the scene! Today, we’re exploring a ‘fog village’.”

M.K.: 😀

A.H.: A fog village, how exciting.

O.F.: lolz, lucazz faking it again

M.K.: lmaoo

N.N.: *Niknas hit’s that follow button*

“Got a hint of this location from 1 of the viewers. The story sounded promising. Supposedly they did…” he lowered his tone and whispered.

“Secret experiments here… Or something of the sort.”

He returned to normal and stepped out of the way. The camera’s focus adjusted to show the village behind him.

“So, it was abandoned in the 70s or 80s, sources weren’t certain but supposedly in the heat of the cold war. Pretty exciting isn’t it? Got those ‘cold war secrecy’ vibes.”

A.K.: Maybe a numbers station Pog

S.M.: It would be so cool if we found some cold war artifacts

R.Z.: experiments and abandoned, surely there is nothing lurking in the shadows

S.Y.: "any Logan Paul reference chatters?"

“Ayo thanks for the follow! What ya mean faking? Nothing fake here. Aight, let’s get to it.”

He approached the camera and picked it off the tripod, showing a first aid kit to the cam and then panning it to show his face.

“Urban exploring is dangerous stuff lads. Always carry a kit and remember – explore to your hearts content!”

He glanced over the chat.

“Artifacts? Hopefully yea! Just not weapons please… Still get shivers thinking about that ‘click’ I heart when I stepped into a boobytrap in the bunker… remember that??”

S.A.: I will clip it when there are ominous clicks, no worries i gotchu!

S.M.: Nah nah, no weapons. Nor bodies… Yeah talking to you Sice! LMAO

N.S.: a malfunctioning wand

N.S.: xD

S.Y.: "I am also an Amnesia fan!"

“Logan who?”

He walked off down the street, heading for the nearest building. A quick glance over his shoulder at his car, off the road, in the bushes. He nodded.

“Aye, looks good. Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

The building he entered appeared to be some form of reception office. It had a waiting lobby and 5 windows. The room was dusty, and his boots left behind imprints on the tile floor.

“Hoho, wonder if they got any docs left behind.”

“Amnesia is dopeeeee yo! But the vibes are closer to that one castle.”

He pondered, then tried to pry open a door into the office, that resisted him fiercely.

“Ack, locked…”

He carefully sat the camera down, pointing away from him.

“I mean… just a jammed lock, let me wiggle it a bit.”

He proceeded to fiddle with the lock, gentle ‘clicks’ and ‘tings’ could be heard off camera as he picked the simple lock.

“Aha! It opened, magic.”

S.A.: sure hope there’s no mind goblins…

M.K.: D: not mind goblins pls

S.M.: I wonder where he even picked up a skill in lockpicking…

S.A.: skyrim, obviously

M.F.: fake no one can open a lock that fest, unless YOU ARE THE LOCKPICKINGLOYER!

L.L.: lmao I have seen something about this building!! u might wanna check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ before you go in further!

G.B.: hey i know this one!

“Mind goblins? Why would there be mind goblins…?”

He grabbed the camera again, entering through the door he was not meant to open. It was a pretty basic office, mostly useless documents and nothing interesting scattered around. A few shredders which he dismissed, glueing together shredded docs isn’t worth the effort.

“Lock what? No no I’d never, the uh, it just needed a few good wiggles I assure you!”

A.H.: To be fair, picking a standard lock isn’t that complicated.

R.Z.: so many documents i wonder if there is any forgetten secret documents left behind somewhere

L.L.: ye it’s a great source!

L.L.: only high security locks for atheris’s cage, got it.

M.K.: what happened here to make it become abandoned tho

He zoomed the camera on a map of the village.

“Somebody clip and ss this, I’ll need guidance later.”

The map was pretty small, there were only 2 apartment complexes, a few buildings labeled ‘administration’, security post, and a building that piqued his interest the most. ‘Research.’.

“Ohh that looks promising. Let’s see…. Down the street, 2nd right, at the end? Yeah.”

He glanced at the chat.

“I am totally the Lock-Picker-L! Tottally!!! I swear.”

He tittered softly.

A.H.: T-the hells do you need to cage me for… I’m just a locksmith, not my fault it’s a profession!

S.Y.: "gifted 5 subs"

L.L.: sure you are

L.L.: Kappa

S.A.: I’m sure it’s fine, Mr. Beats cages people all the time, first one to get out gets a house

“Secret docs would be cool to find but doesn’t seem to be anything too interesting here…”

He rummaged through some file cabinets, picking out random folders and glancing over documents.

“ASEC…? Somebody google up ASEC.”

He zoomed in on the logo, a planet wrapped in text that looked like chains coiling around it, “Arcane Security Enforcement Corps.”

He stared at the name.

“Ohh thanks for the subs!!!”

N.S.: damn pokeball got me

S.Y.: "maybe all this is just a conspiracy with mr Beast collab?"

O.F.: Keeping it warm :3

V.M.: Box sharing!

S.M.: Eyo? He finds Mr. Beast in one of these rooms? That’d be based

O.F.: Surprisingly comfy

S.A.: wow

O.F.: Oh gawd D:

N.S.: getting crowded in here

“Fascinating.”

He glanced over more documents. Some were profile files on staff members, which he tried his best to look slowly as to not reveal private information, only pictures. Some were case files, that were mostly marked down and censored. He could gather very little information from these documents.

“Alright so…”

He panned the cam around.

“Any results? No mister beasts or animal lords here. Should we drop by the security building before heading to the research?”

L.L.: Did you get german internet-ed, Nagi?

N.S.: yes I did

L.L.: rip

M.F.: stop stalling go to research already

S.Y.: "to the research!"

He stalled for time, exiting the building after tucking away 1 of the seemingly hiring reports in his pocket, mainly to preserve the agency’s title and logo so he could research it later.

“Alright alright, research it is! Sounds funnnnn.”

He began to walk down the street hastily, showing the sights to his viewers. The streets were eerily quiet. Single lane pavement road led down through most of the village. A few food shops lined the streets.

S.Y.: "does it look like your youth, Atheris?"

V.M.: Who doesn’t grow up in a silent hill, am i right?

A.H.: It was more of a silent mountain, but I digress.

L.L.: So you were a miner when you were a minor?

A.H.: There wasn’t much I could call mine, t’was a simple life.

He came to a fork and turned right. Walking past a plain, window-less cement building that he couldn’t recall what it was marked as on the map.

“Huh… Odd. Got that, prison vibe, doesn’t it?”

He walked past it, returning the camera’s focus to the road ahead. Few short minutes later and he found himself by the research facility, a surprisingly underwhelming in size building. It barely seemed larger than a convenience store.

S.A.: Good evening.

O.F.: Kitter!

L.L.: Ayo, catboy!

S.Y.: "gifted 5 subs. THE CONTENT"

O.F.: Glad you tuned in to strummer boi Luca’s newest adventure :3

M.F.: thankd fot the sub Sice

A.H.: It’s been ages, and what a great surprise it is.

“Well… that’s disappointing…”

He sighed, scanning the building. It seemed unspectacular ordinary. Large glass windows and glass door greeted him. On the other side was a waiting lobby. He pulled the door’s handle, and to his surprise it opened with no resistance. As soon as the door was opened, in the shadows of the powerless building, viewers thought they saw a shape move.

“Wooh more subs. You’re spoiling me.”

R.Z.: d-did anyone else see that?

S.Y.: "MR BEAST"

G.B.: clipped!

S.W.: SOMETHING MOVED!!

M.F.: I did what the hell was that?!?

M.K.: D:

A.H.: See what? Damnit, I was gone for 2 seconds!

“Hmm?”

He pondered. Entering the building carefully he stopped.

“Whoa, weird vibe…. ECHO!”

He shouted into the empty building, it responded, with echoes that went on for a long while.

“Saw what?”

He slowly panned the camera through the empty lobby that had nothing but shadows and dust.

“Don’t freak out over nothing, weirdos…”

On the other side, past what he presumed to be a reception desk, were two elevators. To the side was a stair sign.

“Hmmm, no chance.”

He walked past the dusty reception table toward the elevator, glancing at the chat, and paused to watch the clip.

“Oh come on guys, it’s obviously a shutter-ghost or something. Just due to cam adjusting to low light I guess.”

He zoomed the camera to his hand, pressing the elevator button.

“No shot… right???”

The button, to his surprise, glowed.

“NO SHIT!”

He exclaimed.

“You’re fucking with me… Holy shit. It still got power? Ohh but… I don’t trust unmaintained elevator that stood still for probably 40 years… do you? I should take the stairs.”

A.H.: Bold of you to trust the stairs as well. Never seen how they break in horror movies?

G.B.: they still power this place?

R.Z.: thats crazy that it still work tho, something doesnt feel right you sure you should continue?

A.K.: SCP perhaps?

S.M.: Why would there still be power at this place if it was abandoned for so long… I’m not liking it!

L.L.: lame, just take the gravity basement express, coward!

M.F.: "who maintain power to this place, and who pay the bills??"

S.W.: Sus

S.Y.: "its like to go to the basement in american movie"

O.F.: highly sus

S.Y.: "horror movie"

M.K.: lucas can we have tts pls

L.L.: TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

A.K.: ♦100 Bits: 77777777777

The elevator dinged, and he stepped back, awaiting, reading comments.

“Yeah nah I mean… stairs are still sturdier and have no moving parts ya know? And yeah, the power is freaky yo… Why keep power to facilities that are abandoned. I love basements in American horror movies. I’ve explored a handful of haunted houses by now, you know what’s really freaky? HOSPITALS!”

S.Y.: "I mean the elevator is a free content…but we need Lucas for future streams"

G.B.: the perfect clip…

S.M.: Nah nah, do not go into hospitals unless you wanna get haunter or something. Like for real haunted

S.A.: oh look, twin girls inside the elevator xD

G.B.: TOS??

He panned the camera away from his face to the elevator door that growled and screeched, fighting against the rust. The elevator’s doors won at last, and slowly creaked open. He gasped, stepping back in shock.

“Fuck off!!!”

In the elevator sat a skeleton in armor. Gun at his side.

“Oh fuck that elevator…”

He shuddered. The shaking of his hand transferred quite well on camera, as the image wobbled. He zoomed in, standing far. The crest on armor had the same planet wrapped in words like chains.

“Oh this is getting freaky…”

A.H.: A crest armor… with a gun? ‘scuse you?

S.Y.: "finger on the trigger, Lucas"

S.Y.: "useful thing for the downstairs"

R.Z.: that is freaky as hell i jumped in my seat, this is giving off such bad vibes i think you should get out before something bad happens

He took a few moments to catch his breath.

“Alright… let’s think about this…” he glanced at the chat.

“This is obviously… a prop… surely somebody just fucking with people… or something…”

He panned the cam off and sat it on the table, staring intently into it, occasionally throwing his glance at the elevator, doors of which, at long last, closed.

“Alright sooo… why would… a guard be dead in an elevator?”

L.L.: dafuq is that armor even made of?

S.Y.: "…mr b…"

He shuddered.

“Hell do I know… surely somebody clipped it. Seemed kind of modern though, well, for the 70s standard, from what I could tell. I am NOT TOUCHING THAT DAMNED THING!”

He proclaimed.

“Gas? I mean… I don’t suppose this facility was attacked by enemies you know? I mean, this lobby looks pristine, no bullet holes so uh… maybe a gas leak? Or something?”

M.F.: "dude you need to call the caps, you need to get out of there"

G.B.: touch it and i’ll donate!!!!!!

N.N.: loot the body!

O.F.: Now that’s TOS for sure! :3

S.Y.: "this place was abandoned for so long. worth to investigate. but the levator power is sill up…"

S.W.: The crest has the same logo thingy

N.R.: ok i’m here you can start now

He reached into his first aid kit that he had strapped to his belt and pulled out a geiger counter, checking the readings on it.

“Uhh.. cops… uhm, no I mean yes logically but I mean, I’m clearly trespassing on some government facility ya know?”

He showed the Geiger counter to the camera.

“Rad seems fine at least…”

He glanced over his shoulder at the stairs.

“Uhm, what’s a good way to measure for any kind of natural gas leaks? BESIDES A LIT MATCH!”

S.W.: A bird?

A.H.: Reminds me of 2 pipe workers that tried to find a leaking gas pipe…

After a short rest he shuddered as he glanced at the elevator again.

“Don’t got a bird on me…”

He sighed.

“Alright, I’ll just… head back if uhm, I notice difficulty breathing.”

He typed something on his phone.

“Just in case, I just texted my coords to a couple of friends, they’re here, lurking, they’ll get help if stream gets cut or something.”

He peeked at the chat.

“Yeah uhm… I’ve read stories of people looking for leaks with a lighter, geniuses.”

S.W.: Yeah don’t do that

S.Y.: "they could make only one story each about it.."

Grabbing the camera again, Lucas took a deep breath and headed for the stairs door.

“Alright, let’s see what we got… I am far too curious to leave now despite all my rational thoughts disagreeing with me.”

He pulled the stairs door open and entered carefully. The creak, and his step, echoed down the long stairwell.

S.Y.: "chatters we should remind about the gun"

O.F.: You think that rusty thing would do any good?

N.N.: yeah, throw the gun down the stiarwell to see how dep it goes

R.Z.: cant lie im very curious aswell but i would never do something like this, you quite brave!

S.Y.: "also as a bat at last"

G.B.: is it loaded..?

“Whoaaaa it’s so damn deep.”

He commented after peeking over the railing, down, and turning the light of his camera, that did not seemingly get even close to reaching the bottom.

“Armed security guards at some government research isn’t a surprise… but a dead one is…” he whimpered, reaching for a coin and then dropping it down the stairwell, listening for how long it takes it to reach the bottom.

S.W.: What if it works and there’s actually a leak?

N.N.: just throwing donation money away, wth

S.Y.: ">:("

S.W.: It’s ok, money well spent

“I am so not going into that elevator and checking that gun, nuhuh…”

He replied to the comments.

“But it looked like a US Military issue rifle, whatever they used, I’ve seen them in the movies.”

He commented. The coin at last reached the bottom and clattered. It took roughly three seconds.

“Holy crap, how deep is that? Like 30 meters??”

S.W.: Are you still sure about this? :/

S.A.: what’s a meter?

N.T.: *sneaks in*

N.T.: hello!

O.F.: Nynu cat!

S.Y.: "dont forget to pick it up"

L.L.: Waddup, hun?

He walked down a single flight of stairs and paused at a massive placard that had floors and labels next to which. Administration B2, OpSec B3, registration B4, etc… Rapid Response Security B7, […] Testing chambers B12, B13, B14, B15.

“Ohh…. god damn… Oi that was my own quarter I tossed down there! But uhh… where we heading first? That OpSec sounds fun… or straight into whatever those testing chambers are? Vote is up!”

S.M.: Oh yeah, testing chambers, that surely doesn’t sound like anything dangerous… noooo totally not

S.A.: B14!

S.M.: BINGO!

S.Y.: "let’s vote"

S.A.: woohoo!

O.F.: OpSec for maybe useful loot?

A.P.: Careful there, you might have alerted a cryptid or a quirky anamatronic and now is waiting.

V.M.: Vote it is! A for OpSec, B for Test Chambers, C for intelligence on B9.

S.W.: Loot like what?

S.Y.: "B"

L.L.: B7 sounds lovely! think you will like a bit of security KEKW

N.S.: B!

A.H.: A, because I have no idea what "OpSec" is supposed to be.

M.F.: "C"

S.W.: A

O.F.: A!

N.N.: 50/50 it

L.L.: I want B7 so A!

S.W.: I second Atheris

N.T.: A !!

A.P.: A because you’ll be alive for while, i hope…

S.A.: B!

A.K.: Hmm

A.K.: B!

O.F.: nobody going for C cause intelligence would be wasted for strummer?

A.K.: "No waiting for you, Gordon… in the Test Chammmberrrr…"

A.H.: Did you miss Mists "c"?

O.F.: I did…

“I’m plenty secure I’ll have you know!”

He watched the results trickle in.

“Looks like A…. OpSec.. You lot know what OpSec is right? Operations security… so like… Intelligence office and probably on-call security too. I hope I don’t find any more of those skeleton boys there though.”

He began to hastily walk down the stairs, careful with his pacing and attentive to his breathing, to make sure he doesn’t run out of breath, literally, and figuratively.

S.A.: Interesting

S.Y.: "congratz chatters we sent Lucas potentionally into the gas room"

N.R.: i can’t read

V.M.: WOW! Talking background :O

S.A.: better hope there’s pictures

A.P.: Alright chat let’s see now what’s behind door number 1 !

S.M.: I hope it’s a pair of wellies.

He walked down the stairs intently, heading for the basement floor 3, the Operations Security.

“You know how I said this building was underwhelming? I take it back… it’s kind of wild that it has 15 underground floors. Whatever kind of research they did here, it must’ve been important…”

He reached the target floor pretty quickly as it wasn’t that far down, and eyed the thick metal door that separated the stairwell from whatever awaited him inside.

Reaching for the handle, he pulled on it. The door’s old hinges resisted at first, but gave way pretty quickly. Shaking off the rust and dust, they creaked in agony, but fulfilled their functionality. He opened it slowly, just a crack, and sniffed the air for any abnormalities. Dusty stale air greeted his nostrils, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, except that the light of his camera flickered for a moment.

O.F.: did you guys see that?

S.M.: CLIPPED!!

L.L.: looked kinda fake idk

N.N.: battries failing?

He pulled the door open the rest of the way and cleared his throat as the dusty air irritated it.

“Ahem… Camera..? we good? Can you guys still see?”

He checked his phone for the stream’s feed, everything appeared to still be functioning. He took a step in through the door and glanced around a carpeted hallway that spanned on for seemingly ever. Darkness consumed the light of his camera a couple of dozen meters ahead.

S.Y.: "VR horror game stream begins"

R.Z.: very spooky

S.M.: That scared me so much I spilled my drink

“Save those clips, I’ll add them in the MeTube compilation vid later.”

A lightswitch caught his attention, and when he flipped the rocker, the lights flickered on with a loud buzz.

“Whoa they wo…”

His excitement was interrupted by a few fluorescent light bars exploding down the hallway in an audible ‘pop.’ After a moment, things calmed down.

“Well uhm.. ahem… nice way to… welcome me.”

He glanced up at the flickering light above him and then stepped out of the way out of concern of it too, exploding. But it didn’t. Still, occasionally the lights flickered, but at least he could see the map on the door, and read the signs at the offices. He glanced over the map. It showed a couple of emergency exits and then a large room to the left. The floor had a T shape to it.

S.Y.: "lethal company mod says you cannot trust emergency exits"

At a quick glance he counter over 50 offices on this floor, a security locker room, barracks, and the main ‘operations’ room that caught his attention. It was large, massive in fact, and he wanted to see it. So he headed straight for it, skipping all the offices.

“Yeah those light bars aren’t very reliable after being off for so long, get used to them popping when you explore as much as I do.”

He commented.

“Still better than the old mercury lanterns…”

N.N.: least we know there’s no gas with them explodin’

He walked down the dusty carpeted hallway, admiring the seemingly ordinary office hallway. Each step he took resulted in a small puff of dust.

“At least there’s no mold.”

He replied happily.

“Black mold is the worst thing ever…”

He reached the large double door into the main room and as he pushed the door open, he marveled in awe at the scene before him.

S.A.: what about orange mold?

N.R.: orange has a nice taste

N.R.: it makes your mouth tingly tho

S.Y.: "get ready for clips chatters"

It was a massive operations control room, akin to what he had seen on TV for NASA control center. Massive monitors on the wall at the front, a small stage before it. The monitors mostly had buzz from what he assumed to be security cameras feed. A few frames actually showed live feed.

“Holy damn this is epic!!!! Yoooo look!”

He panned the camera over the space. Conference rooms in the back. And old computer stations for no less than 100 individuals lined the vast space.

“Whoa this is wild! I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

S.M.: LAN PARTY ROOM!

S.Y.: "no way emoji"

A.H.: That’s a sick set-up if I ever saw one.

L.L.: nice, you gonna launch some nukes now or what? LUL

A.P.: Perfect for a raid party

S.M.: bring twitch chat over for a minecraft lan party duh

“Any military experts? What could this space be?” he inquired from the chat, walking down the aisles of the workstations.

“Haha yeah! Looks like a mad lan party here huh? This looks like some expo event or something to be honest.”

He traced the antique keyboards with his fingers, dust coated his fingertips. After a while of marveling, he found himself at the back, by a room with a placard.

“Colonel M. J. Selnar.”

S.Y.: "maybe wise man Atheris knows"

M.F.: "yep look like a C&C center to me"

S.A.: clearly this is where they held the pong tournaments

“Huh… doesn’t look like a launch control to me.”

He glanced around.

“I would totally press any big red button I would come across, you know that.”

He grabbed the cold metal handle of the office’s door and turned it. The spring’s coils made audible ‘tings’ as he twisted it. Opening the door he poked his head, with camera, inside, searching for a light switch.

“C&C? yeah… seems about right I reckon.”

He flipped the switch and lights flickered on, letting out a soft hum as they warmed. He stood in the room of a Colonel, a single desk, few chairs, a sofa to the side, an old computer on the desk, three phones, and a TV with camera feed on it.

“Oho, looks like we hit the jackpot.”

He excitedly hurried toward the table and sat down in the chair, glancing over whatever lined the table.

S.Y.: "into amazon we go"

N.N.: chat, what cell provider does Lucas use, still got signal underground

S.M.: Feels like villain’s lair

S.W.: I have a bad feeling about this

A.P.: Are going to watch a movie?

N.S.: Actually I think chat is just his imagination.

R.Z.: still feels very off but what would the use such a place for i wonder

S.Y.: "all cameramen do insane job. look at the universe zoom on metube"

M.F.: "look like this Colonel is the IC of the place"

M.F.: ("OIC")

N.N.: I C deez nuts!

The table had a couple of books on it. Notepad, and a diary of sorts.

“Logbook.” he whispered, reaching for it and flipping it open. It was a logbook indeed, dates and notes on every page.

He flipped through a few in search of something unusual, and then found a sketch of a creature that caught his attention.

18-08-1972

The construction of holding cell has been almost completed. The creature sighting had been reported again…

S.Y.: "okay amnesia"

R.Z.: oh this seems like the secret documents i was looking hoping for

A.P.: Oh yeah thats were you need to get the freak out now.

“Hold up…” he whispered, setting the camera down to point at him as he leaned back in the chair, reading out the log.

Patrol returned from the forest where the instruments reported abnormality, temperature drop. The patrol was disoriented, confused. The sergeant’s report was inconsistent from the troops he had with him. Some said they saw their relative, sibling, others reported seeing a maiden. The sergeant reported seeing a puppy.

That log entry ended on that.

S.M.: Nooooope, nope, nope, no thank you. Dropping temps means ghosts

S.A.: or it could mean your heater is broken

S.M.: Out in the woods??

S.W.: It means our guy needs to get outta here

S.M.: Starry’s right

S.Y.: "magic gas room"

L.L.: or just dresse warmer lololol

A.P.: But he won’t because he’s a metuber

“Abrupt…” he commented flipping back a dozen or so pages.

01-08-1972

We arrive at the new facility to hunt whatever another abomination roams these lands and threatens the safety of our planet. How tired I am of this damned job. Promoted to Colonel, placed in charge of the ASEC Field Research Brigade. Got 2000 men at my disposal, 500 marines arriving tomorrow.

N.N.: hope he’s got a EMF meter

S.W.: The lengths you go for views…

He peeked at the chat.

“Yo this is fucked… what the hell did I stumble upon…” he shuddered.

“Ghosts? I mean… what was that text on their logo? Something Spectral defense something?”

He couldn’t recall and was too curious in the log to remember the folded up paper in his back pocket.

“Ahem… alright so…” he flipped a few pages back yet again.

A.P.: Chat please call the authorities for his own good.

S.W.: He’d be arrested for trespass

S.M.: I mean… he did give his friends coordinates. But still tho

06-07-1972

Officers were pleased with my platoon’s recent hunt. We brought back a couple-o’howlers. Bloody bastards popped outta the shadows like your worst nightmare. Lost a few good lads, but the area was contained.

14-07-1972

They’re promoting me… Fuck… More people to order around. Oh well.

S.W.: Yeah to find his body!

S.M.: Howlers? What the hells are howlers?

A.H.: Probably things that howl, like a werewolf.

R.Z.: whatever they are they dont sound good

O.F.: They make ‘awooo’, nyo?

S.M.: Doesn’t sound like these ones go awooo

V.M.: (Awoo, but the gremlin isn’t here)

S.Y.: "no awooo"

A.P.: It’s a ghost it’s more of a "oooooo"

M.F.: *sed awooo*

Lucas shrugged, “Yo this… I feel like we shouldn’t have read any of this what the hell is going on here…??”

He glanced around nervously, “Uhm… you reckon it’s real??? Like… could this be some twisted prank? Yeah please no authorities!!! I’m fine… ish…”

He flipped back to the next month, skipping the less important logs.

“… Read the reports and profile case of whatever it is we’re after. How the hells do you catch FOG? What do they mean ‘sentient fog creature on the loose.’ Ugh… What a fucking job. Had the engineers set up a bunch of probes and sensors in the forests around, got a network of sensors that spans few kilometers set up. Increased air patrols.”

S.A.: with a vacuum robot, easy

S.Y.: "giant vacuum robot. search on ebay"

05-08-1972

One of our engineers got lost in the forest. Found a few hours later by a rescue party. No sightings reported. Engineer, out of his mind. Psych evaluation suggests he has amnesia and PTSD symptoms. He keeps mumbling about how much he loves Serela.

“Serela…” he uttered under his breath tracing the text on the page with his finger again. Concern was obviously visible on his face, but the diary had his full attention. He was eager to learn more. Turning the page, he continued to read.

In the afternoon the phone rang. The voice on the other hand told me to embrace my love for Serela. Could not trace down the call. The OpSec reported no incoming calls… I’m not fucking insane! Psych evaluation confirmed that.

S.Y.: "the weed provider name perhaps?"

S.W.: Witchcraft

A.K.: Mhmm

M.F.: " no, no it’s Mistcraft"

S.W.: XD

A.H.: I’m afraid my own time is up now.

A.K.: See you later!

A.H.: Looking forward to reading the rest of it!

L.L.: Get some locks picked, hun.

S.Y.: "staying any longer in this mist is a bad idea"

06-08-1972

Missing troopers. We were meant to receive 30 chinooks of marines, only 25 arrived. Fog enveloped the area and then… they just disappeared from the radar. Search parties dispatched.

Lucas hastily flipped to the next page, burning with anticipation to learn more.

07-08-1972

Search parties returned after an entire night out in the forests. Three more are in the med-ward, confessing their eternal love for Serela… Missing troopers never found. No traces. No crash site. Nothing. How is that possible? Had the engineers begin construction of holding chambers, airtight, sealed off.

“This reads like some novel…”

Lucas commented, glancing over the chat once more.

“Mistcraft best craft. Yeah… note to self – avoid mist and fog on my way out. Hah… hah… ughh… I should probably head back honestly. This doesn’t seem right.”

He flipped the page and his jaw hung open. On it was drawn a sketch of a woman, and then an arrow to a sketch of a shapeless shape.

S.Y.: "does anyone has a number of this Serela? asking for a friend. nice sketch"

Sighting confirmed. Camera recordings saved. Fog enveloped the town, just to then… dissipate. As if never there. Leaving behind, only a few dozen marines, or shapes of them. Women, men, children, animals even. The streets were suddenly crowded, and our people stepped out of their houses, of their offices to see what the hell was going on, just to disappear in the fog that reappeared.

S.W.: Who hurt this Serela?

O.F.: We can fix her, right?

S.W.: Dude just leave already

S.Y.: "a bit more time here and we gonna see Serela"

L.O.: time to meet Serela

S.W.: Yeah for the first and last time

M.F.: ((great story as always but it’s time for me to go, I can’t wait to read the rest of it later))

S.Y.: "we are gonna judge if it was worth"

O.F.: (Thank you for joining again. Have a good one.)

A.K.: See you!

Head count suggested 57 new missing victims. Search parties not dispatched. Security called to arms, alarms sound, area lockdown.

The next log was a whole week later.

Constant alarms. Sensors going haywire. But then suddenly, everything stopped. For several days not a single sensor triggered. Nothing… Quiet. Too quiet. The research lab proposed a few new weapon designs, essentially, compressed air cannons. Small team armed with new prototypes, a squad of spec-ops, 57th recon troop.

S.A.: 57 twice, this can’t be a coincidence

Dispatched them on a patrol mission.

Returned troopers reported sighting, but no engagement. The fog seemingly avoided contact. Silence. Nothing.

19-08-1972

The holding cell completed. Report of gunfire in the medical ward. One of the lunatics stole a gun from an MP. Three dead, and then he blew his own brains out in the ‘love of Serela.’ Serela… That’s a name I’ll never fucking forget.

S.W.: Jinx

S.W.: Don’t let her get into your head!

S.Y.: "I wish chatters would never forget my name too"

S.M.: Man this is some scary stuff. I would’ve legged it a long time ago

01-09-1972

Supply heli reported being chased by the aforementioned fog. They made a safe landing. Four crew members reported, five disembarked. A few hours later, shots were fired. Seven brave souls lost to an impostor. This creature takes shape of whoever. Can’t trust anyone. Can’t trust your own shadow in these mountains…

S.M.: A SHAPESHIFTER??

S.Y.: "among us"

V.M.: Just imagine a "yea we got 4 of us here" 5 people stepping off. You’re counting them like "one…two….too many…."

S.W.: Bad news

R.Z.: omg they also take form of people??

Ghost recon returned, literally at that. A recon squad returned that had gone missing few weeks prior. They act… normal, but the troops don’t trust them. Took their weapons, put them in the holding cells. Still acting normal. Psychs evaluation – PTSD, amnesia. They report getting lost, and then returning. To them, only a few hours passed, to us, few weeks…

04-09-1972

No incidents since the return of the ghosts…

05-09-1972

Another phone call. This time from a Major-General, he’s paying a personal visit to the base. Abnormality reported by the air traffic controller, confirmed by two other, independent radars. Major General’s helicopter disappeared from radars for 57 seconds. Spec ops raised, on high alert. Suspicious.

S.Y.: "gifted 57 subs"

S.M.: Why ehhhh… why not read this logbook from the safety of your own home?

S.M.: Eyo thanks for the gifted sub!

O.F.: poggers

S.A.: *puts some Heinz 57 varieties on his borgir*

R.Z.: oh wow thats a lot of subs!

S.W.: Yeah, it’s 57

General made his landing, accompanied by three MPs for security. Surprisingly low escort for such a valuable target. We lured him into the holding chamber.

Lucas paused, peeling away from the log, “OHH THANKS! Ughhh, you noticed the 57 repeating huh? Weird…”

He resumed reading.

O.F.: just imagine how many coins Lucas can waste now, by throwing them in shafts…

S.W.: He needs to be alive first though, no?

Major general requested explanation for the sudden imprisonment, explanation granted. His MP escort were put in jail with the returned ghosts.

08-09-1972

Ghosts disappeared along with the MP. Security on high alert. Marines sweeping the establishment. No signs of the missing troops. Sensors are dead silent. I got an unsettling visitor. Lieutenant of OpSec Carolina visited me with a cup of coffee. Before leaving, she whispered something about Serela. When I inquired about it, she ignored me, as if hypnotized. I know she went to see Major General. Unsettling. Spec Ops called for my personal escort, went to see Major General. He was not the same. He was no longer a he in fact. Not a human, in fact, nothing at all. In the holding chamber, was nothing but a thin layer of fog that lined the floor. We got it. That was the main body, or so I presumed.

S.M.: What the fog

S.Y.: "+"

14-09-1972

It’s proving almost impossible to do any experiments or communicate with the captive. The creature remains silent, and every attempt at entry, no matter how well sealed, results in small parts of its body escaping. Each such attempt resulted in another one of ours falling in ‘love’ with Serela. Serela does not respond.

S.W.: I mean.. It’s fog

S.Y.: "just go in with vacuum"

S.M.: When there’s something strange… in your neighbourhood

S.W.: Ghost busters?

23-09-1972

The airtight containment is proving effective. So far we had mostly left our captive to her… its… thoughts, if it has them. The creature does not appear to show signs of hostility. Special forces are put on security duty, keeping watch 24/7. Engineering and research are trying to figure out means of communicate and how to learn more about the creature. No incidents in the past week, hope it stays that way. Soon beginning attempts at communications and interactions.

“I almost want to go see it… no no! bad idea… certainly a bad idea… damn this is mental though. What the hell is even this facility.”

He shuddered, remembering the skeleton in the elevator, connecting the dots and assuming that the corpse was there due to the potential containment breath. He continued to the next page.

30-09-1972

Containment breach. Systems alerted us of air leak. Something, or someone, compromised the containment unit. Serela escaped. CCTV shows, carnage. Traditional firearms are useless, and compressed air prototype weaponry only slows it. We’re losing men faster than we can count. Sealing off the compartments only slows it. Flamethrowers proved somewhat efficient at slowing her, it, whatever it is, down for a while. We’re trying to contain her.

S.Y.: "clock’s ticking for Lucas as well"

A.P.: Yeah he should really check if fog is coming

S.W.: How are you still reading all that?

The note on the next page barely resembled human writing. It read.

LOVE SERELA. BELOVED. FOREVER. SERELA… SERELA… SERELA…

Her name was scribbled all over the paper. Whoever wrote that note was tearing into the paper with the pen. Lucas’s heart sank. He gulped, turning the page to the camera.

“Uhm… Alright uh, that’s enough horror materials for a day.”

He commented.

S.Y.: "Serela watched the stream that’s why"

S.Y.: watches*

S.M.: Yeah, yepp… time to go home Lucas

A.P.: You think she stream snipes?

S.Y.: "she’s reading comms"

S.W.: No hard feelings, Serela

R.Z.: better get out of there quick

S.W.: You do you

He instinctively held onto the logbook, oblivious to his own actions, grabbing the camera that he has almost left behind, he headed for the door. Upon opening it, a draft of wind brushed against his face. He swallowed audibly and froze in his place, concerned, afraid, he listened. But the stairwell remained dead silent, other than the sound of the door creak that seemingly endlessly echoed on.

S.Y.: "Serela, let Lucas live and write me"

After calming himself a little, he hastily walked up the stairs. Only a few floors. Glad that he didn’t go for the lower floors. He slammed against the stairs door and stumbled out into the sunlight that beamed through the windows of the surface-floor waiting room.

“Ahhh. Thank fuck… sunlight.”

He chuckled.

“You know how creepy abandoned places are at night?”

He tried to jest in order to calm his racing heart, heading for the exit door.

S.W.: More running away, less nervous joking

S.Y.: "I wouldnt even stop"

He pressed his hand with the logbook still in it, against the glass door, pushing it open. On the dusty glass he saw ‘SERELA‘ written by someone’s finger. He shuddered, pointing that out with the camera.

“Man that’s freaky….”

Only now did he focus on the light fog that enshrouded the entire village, that he previously ignored, despite the place being dubbed ‘the fog village’ in the net.

R.Z.: yea sunlight that should keep the scary away right?

“Right right. Everybody knows that the sun keeps the vampires and werewolves and ghosts and also demons at bay! Ohh and gargoyles.”

He joked against, walking hastily down the empty street. Every gust of wind, every twitch of branches now seemed suspicious and dangerous to him.

S.M.: How is that name still written on that glass door so clearly after all this time…

S.Y.: "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE"

S.W.: Run first think later

“You know…. I don’t want to know…” he commented after glancing over his shoulder at the research facility that he was hastily distancing himself from.

“I don’t reckon calling the US Military and asking them about this is a good idea… What do you think?”

He cleared his throat shakily.

O.F.: (thanks, now i got gargoyles intro stuck in my head >.<)

V.M.: (rawr :3)

N.R.: (never "rawr :3" again)

S.W.: What do you think they’ll say?!

S.W.: Heck not!

S.M.: Unless you want the US military up your arse asking about why the hell you were there in the first place

S.Y.: "wrong phone number kid"

S.A.: "Hello, US Military, this is Serela speaking, how can I help you?"

A.P.: Probably lock you somewhere for not only tresspasing but finding confidential information

L.L.: sounds quite likely

S.W.: Hello, you have 57 days .. *Hangs phone*

S.M.: I mean, 57 days is still a decent enough number

After he made his way back to the car, and took a moment to catch his while nervously scanning the area around him, he was still not convinced of his safety so he jumped into the car, fired it right up, which, despite his irrational fear, it fired right up, and he let out a sigh of relief. He got driving, still nervously checking the rear-view mirror, the camera sat on a mount, pointing straight ahead. Off to the side, in the bushes, the viewers noticed a few military vehicles parked.

S.W.: Serela is loves the attention? So 57 days of devotion before death

N.N.: just left his friends there!

S.Y.: "SOMETHING IN THE BUSHES"

“Well uhh… just remember folks – always uhm… explore to your hearts content… And be safe.” he spoke hesitantly.

“I’ll uhh, probably chill for a few days before my next trip. Fuck, that logbook was unsettling…” he mumbled.

“Cheers folks. Talk soon.”

He glanced to the side to spot an overgrown military Humvee, consumed by nature. A chill ran down his spine.