Creeps, true stories from Reddit (Second book)

Has anyone heard of The Purgatory Game? Part 2.

I'm feeling on edge.
I thought long and hard before posting those first files, and now I'm starting to think it might not have been such a good idea. I don't mean because of the response – you've all been amazing. A bunch of people have been messaging me with suggestions of things to look into, and many more have reached out to ask me if I'm doing okay.
And I am doing okay. I think. It's just that...
Well, it's just that I'm getting paranoid. Just a little. Last night my doorbell rang quite late in the evening, but when I went to answer it there was no-one out there. No sign of anyone at all. My phone has rung a couple of times with an unknown caller ID, too. I ignored it the first time, but the second time I picked it up. There was just silence on the other end, and then the line went dead.
I'm probably overreacting. I'm sure I am. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway, but there's this little nagging part of my mind that isn't quite so convinced. A small voice, telling me to watch my back.
But enough about that. It's probably nothing, anyway. The reason we're all here is to get to the bottom of these files. To get to the bottom of The Purgatory Game.
I've read the log for DAY TWO now, and copied it below. It's... disturbing. I don't really know what to make of it. All I can say is that I fear for Laura. I fear for her and I hope that this thing really is just a game.
I hope that, but I'm not sure I believe it.
..............................
DAY TWO
[Note: All logs consist of a description of participants' main behaviours and actions. Key conversations have also been transcribed.]
7:12am – Megan is the first to wake. She lies in bed for 10 minutes, staring into the darkness. Then she leaves her bedroom and walks slowly into the chamber, pausing a few metres from the stone archway. She stands still for 45 minutes, staring in the direction of the red door. A soft whispering sound, barely audible on the microphones, can be heard. It comes and goes like a weak radio signal. Megan's expression remains blank. She returns to her bed at 8:11am.
9am – Lights go on. Participants begin to wake. Most are showing signs of increased fatigue and low energy levels, likely due to the lack of food. Luke is first to leave his bedroom, followed by Simon, then Megan, then Ron.
9:30am – Mary is the last to wake. She looks at the empty spot on the bed beside her, and calls Laura's name. When there's no response she gets up and enters the chamber, where she finds the other participants discussing food.
LUKE: Was there anything in your rooms when you woke up? Anything to eat at all?
SIMON: Nothing.
LUKE: Megan? Ron? Anything to eat?
They both shake their heads.
LUKE: Seriously? Are you sure?
Ron rolls his eyes.
RON: Oh yeah, now that you mention it I did get that little bit of room service around 8am. Lovely breakfast in bed, they did me.
LUKE: I was only asking.
RON: No, you were questioning. I already answered you once, for Christ's sake.
MEGAN: Please don't argue.
MARY: Has anyone seen Laura?
LUKE: You don't need to talk to me like that.
RON: I'll talk to you however I please! Trying to accuse me of stealing food from under your nose, is that is?
MARY: Has anyone seen Laura?
Everyones stops talking and stares at Mary. They look round at each other, but nobody says anything. Mary stares at them one by one, and they each shake their heads. The room quickly descends into confusion, and eventually panic.
10am – Participants split up and search the bunker, going room to room.
10:30am – They meet back in the chamber, standing in a group a little way away from the red door. Discussing what might have happened to Laura.
MARY: She was sleeping next to me on the bed. When I got in and lay down next to her I could tell she was sleeping, because of her breathing.
SIMON: Did you hear anything in the night?
MARY: Nothing, I was out cold. She was gone when I woke up.
SIMON: Did anyone hear anything?
There's a long pause while everyone looks round at each other. The fear and anxiety in the group is obvious. It's Ron who finally breaks the silence.
RON: I... I might have heard something, I don't know. To be honest I thought it was just a dream. A nightmare. But now, I... now I'm not...
SIMON: What did you hear?
RON: It's nothing.
MARY: Come on, Ron. It might be important.
RON: Okay, well... I thought I heard screaming. At least something that sounded like screaming. In the middle of the night, this must have been. I heard it a long way off, in the distance. And then I heard this bang, which sounded much closer. But I'm not sure, alright? I never sleep that well, and I'm often lying there half dreaming. Sometimes I struggle to tell what was in my head and what was real, you know?
MARY: But you might have heard a banging sound? As in, the sound of a door slamming?
RON: I... I don't know. It's possible.
SIMON: Well, did anyone else hear anything?
Luke shakes his head, but Megan looks down at the ground. After a moment she looks away from the group, in the direction of the red door.
MARY: Megan? Did you hear something?
MEGAN: I... no, I don't think so...
SIMON: Is it no, or you don't think so?
MEGAN: No, it was a dream. I'm... I'm pretty sure it was just a dream.
MARY: You can tell us, sweetheart. It's better to say, just in case.
Megan is silent for a while longer. Simon looks like he's about to say something, but Mary holds out a hand to stop him. Eventually Megan speaks.
MEGAN: I dreamed... well, I thought I dreamed that I was in this room. That I was standing in this room, in the darkness. I couldn't see it, but I knew that door was somewhere up in front of me. And everything was quiet, right? Everything was completely silent. Only...
LUKE: Only what?
MEGAN: Only after a while, I began to hear a noise. It was really soft at first, too low to make out. Like this low hiss. But after a while it got a little louder, and then... well, then it started to sound more like a whisper. Like a voice, or maybe a jumble of different voices, all whispering together. It sounded like it was coming from the red door.
SIMON: This is ridiculous.
MARY: What was the voice? Could you hear what it was saying?
MEGAN: I couldn't make out the words, no. But.. well, I think one of the voices might have been Laura's, and I–
SIMON: For God's sake, that's enough! We're wasting time here.
MARY: Simon, don't–
SIMON: No, I've had enough! I've heard enough. Ron didn't hear any fucking door slamming, and Megan didn't hear any whispers. They were just dreams, okay? Dreams. I know what you're getting at, Mary, but Laura didn't go through that red door, because there's nothing on the other side of it. It's just a free-standing door in an archway! You can see there's nothing on the other side of it, for Christ's sake.
MARY: Simon, you need to calm down.
SIMON: Don't tell me what I need to do, Mary.
MEGAN: Please stop it.
LUKE: He's right, though. There can't be anything on the other side of a door that's in the middle of a room. It's ridiculous.
RON: If it's so ridiculous, why don't you go ahead and open? Eh? Why don't you open that door up right now and prove just how ridiculous it is.
MEGAN: Please stop.
LUKE: Why don't you open it?
RON: Don't you bloody backchat me, young man! I'm not too old to teach you a thing or two about manners!
MARY: That's enough! This is what they want, okay? You're giving them exactly what they fucking want!
Luke and Ron stop and look round at Mary, who is red in the face. After a moment she walks quickly back to the Laura's room, then goes into her own bedroom. She returns moments later with two different copies of the RULES: Her's and Laura's. Mary holds them out, pointing at the numbers four and five.
MARY: Look, see? Exactly the same. "Number four: The door will only lead back to earth for the LAST person who opens it. Number five: DON'T open the door unless you're the last one to do so." And then at the bottom, it says: "Only YOU have been told about rules #4 and #5." They told each of us we were getting extra information, but they've given us all the same piece of paper! They're messing with us, don't you understand? They don't want us working together! They want us to get at each other's throats.
There is a long, awkward silence among the group. Mary is breathing heavily, staring round at everyone. The others appear to be a mixture of embarrassed and confused as they process what Mary has just said. It's Simon who eventually speaks next.
SIMON: Look, I'm sorry, Mary. I'm sorry for getting angry before. You're right, too – we should be working together on this.
RON: So why don't we just open the door together now, then? Why don't we just get it over with?
MEGAN: I don't want to open that door. I think something bad might happen.
SIMON: Look, don't worry about the door for now. It might be part of their messed up game, but it doesn't go anywhere. We can see it doesn't go anywhere. We need to find the real way out of here.
RON: And how are we going to do that, exactly? Any ideas?
SIMON: I might have one.
Simon looks up at the ceiling of the chamber, in the direction of the light source at the very top. The others follow his gaze.
11am – Simon explains his plan to the others. He says he's been looking at the light at the top of the chamber since they first woke up, yesterday. At first he thought it was just that – a light – but now he's not so sure. Simon believes the compound they're in is most likely to be underground, which means the light above them could actually be from a skylight – a window leading to the surface. But they won't know for sure unless they get closer to it.
11:30am – 3pm – The group spends the afternoon moving all the furniture – the beds and the little bedside cabinets – out into the main chamber. It's slow going. All participants appear exhausted to varying degrees, and energy levels are low. The beds take a particularly long time to remove. They're only slightly smaller than the bedroom doorways, which means a lot of awkward manoeuvring is involved to get them out.
3:30pm – After a short break, Simon instructs the others to carry the beds to a spot near the chamber's centre. They sit on the mattresses while he stands, explaining the details of his plan.
SIMON: If we push two beds side-by-side, then we can balance another two on top of those two, facing crossways. Then, if we all lift together, I think we can get the last two beds up on top of the other four. Each bed is about two feet high, maybe a little more. That means we'll get at least six feet of height gain.
MEGAN: Will that be enough? To reach the ceiling?
SIMON: Not even close. But, if we boost someone up there and pass the bedside cabinets up to them, too, then they might be able to stack those on top of the beds.
RON: That's not gonna be easy. They'll be wobbling all over the place.
SIMON: I know that. We'll just have to be careful, and go slow. Unless you have another idea?
Ron opens his mouth to say something, then closes it again.
SIMON: Okay then. It's going to be dangerous up there, so I think the best way to do this is to draw straws. Or at least something like that, whatever we can find around here. I don't–
LUKE: No need. I'll go.
SIMON: What?
LUKE: I said I'll go. I'm the tallest here. And no offence, but I'm probably quite a bit lighter than you and Ron. It'll be easier for me to balance, and I'll have a better chance of reaching the ceiling.
MARY: Luke, you don't have to do that, you know. We can–
LUKE: No, it's okay. I want to go. Really. I want to do... something.
There's a pause while the group stares at Luke. Eventually Simon nods, once.
SIMON: Okay then.
4pm – The participants gets to work. They push two beds together a few metres from the stone archway, and then lift another two beds and balance those on top of the first pair. It takes a bit of shuffling and swearing, but they get there in the end. The participants seem different to how they were earlier in the day – they're more focussed, and more determined. Having a task to work on has made them temporarily forget their own fatigue and anxieties.
4:45pm – The group move the last two beds into place. This is the hardest part so far, and it takes them a couple of attempts. In the end Simon, Luke, Ron and Mary all take a corner each and lift the bed over their heads, while Megan stands back and directs them. By the time the last bed is in place they're all red-faced and sweating, but satisfied. Ron pats Luke on the shoulder before shuffling away to sit with his back against the chamber wall, breathing deeply.
5:20pm – Simon links his hands together and boosts Luke up onto the beds. Luke stays on all fours for a moment, testing the stability of the stack. He slowly stands.
SIMON: Can you see anything? What does it look like?
LUKE: I'm not... I'm not sure. It's still a bit too far away. I can see light, and... well, it could be glass that it's shining through. I need to get closer...
5:45pm – The group pass the bedside cabinets up to Luke. He crouches by the edge of the mattress and grabs them one by one, positioning them near the centre of the beds.
SIMON: How are you thinking of doing it?
LUKE: I'm going to try a pyramid shape. Three on their sides together, then two on top of those, and then one right on top. Then I can climb it like steps.
MARY: Be careful, Luke.
6pm – As Luke begins arranging the cabinets, the group spreads out across the chamber, looking up at him. Simon remains by the stack of beds with his hands held out in preparation, should anything go wrong. Mary and Ron are by the chamber's wall. And Megan, without realising it, is standing close to the red door.
LUKE: Okay, I've got the first two rows in place.
SIMON: Great. Take is slow, yeah?
LUKE: Yep, I will. Shit, this thing is wobbly.
Luke has the last bedside cabinet in his hands, and his right foot on the first row of them. Slowly, he raises his other foot and places it on the second row. The cabinets sway up and down slightly, bobbing on the soft mattresses of the beds.
LUKE: Steady. Steady...
A very soft hissing sound, barely audible on the mics, fills the chamber. It's coming from the red door. Megan freezes, the only one who can hear it.
LUKE: Nearly... there...
Luke places the final cabinet on top of the makeshift pyramid. He holds his arms out by his side, tongue between his lips in concentration, as he lifts his right foot.
VOICE: Please help me.
Megan screams. The sound pierces the chamber like a pin through a bubble. Simon spins towards it, his body tense, and as he moves his shoulder brushes the stack of beds.
LUKE: NO! NO!
The tower of furniture seems to fall in slow motion. First the cabinets give way, splaying Luke's body out to the side in mid-air as his foothold disappears below him. By the time he hits the edge of the top mattress, the beds are already teetering. The impact tips them over the edge. The entire structure comes crashing down, forcing Simon to dive to one side to avoid being crushed. Luke twists in the air, his body rotating until he lands right leg first on the floor of the chamber. The crunch of the impact is clearly audible over the mics. Luke screams. As he twists and rolls on the floor in agony, a shattered spear of bone can be seen jutting through the skin of his right leg.
6:30pm – Chaos. Megan has backed away from the stone archway and is screaming over and over again. Simon is yelling at her, furious. Ron looks shell-shocked. Mary is tending to Luke, elevating his ankle and trying to stop the bleeding while he moans in pain.
SIMON: You stupid fucking bitch, look what you did! For FUCK'S SAKE you could have killed me!
MEGAN: Laura, I heard Laura! Laura's in the door, she's in the door!
SIMON: There's no-one in the fucking door!
Simon walks quickly over to where Mary is tending to Luke on the chamber floor. He crouches next to them.
SIMON: Luke, what did you see up there? Tell me what you saw.
MARY: Simon, not now!
SIMON: Tell me what you saw, for fuck's sake!
Luke opens his mouth, but the only thing to escape is another moan. Simon stands up and turns away in disgust. He picks up the closest bedside cabinet.
SIMON: FUCK!
Simon throws the cabinet at the wall, where it smashes apart. He storms out of the chamber into one of the bedrooms and slams the door behind him.
7pm – Luke's moans have quietened, and his bleeding has slowed. Ron moves over to Megan, who is still crying, and puts an arm around her shoulders.
8pm – Ron slowly starts to right some of the beds. Megan eventually begins to help him.
8:30pm – Mary, Ron and Megan lift Luke onto a bed. Once he's in position, his eyes flicker open. When he speaks his voice is weak, and he pauses between words. But everyone hears him clearly enough.
LUKE: There's... nothing up there. I saw it... just before I fell. It's just a light... like in our rooms...
MARY: Shh, shh. Rest now.
LUKE: Nothing...
8:45pm – Mary tells the others they should all sleep in the chamber, together, tonight. Everyone agrees.
9pm – Lights go out.
MEGAN: I'm sorry, Mary. I'm so sorry. I heard her voice. I know I heard her voice.
MARY: Shh, it's okay, sweetheart. I believe you. Try to get some rest.
9:30pm – 11pm – Participants fall asleep, one by one.
11:30pm – A soft hiss fills the chamber, coming from the red door. Nobody is awake to hear it. The noise shifts and changes, eventually sounding more like a jumbled whisper. Finally, a single voice can be heard. Laura's.
[LAURA]: Help me, help me, help me, help me, help me...
[DAY TWO log ends]

Posted by u/samhaysom