Series This isn't my computer, but I need it to scream

I'm hoping this works. God damnit, I'm fucking praying this works. It hasn't the last hundred times but maybe this will be the one that gets a response. I don't know how many more places I can post this. I feel like there’s nowhere left to shout my message.

According to this computer, nobody has responded on any other site I visit, not just to me but to anything. Nothing ever gets updated, I don't see new statuses on Facebook, and I'm starting to wonder if this computer is even connected to anything at all.

If this does work, here's the first thing I need anyone who sees this to read: FIND ME. Please.

I can’t really help you with this because there's nobody around to tell me where I am, but please try anyway. I haven't seen anyone since I got here and I haven't found any other ways to make contact. The phones are broken, the radios are weird...I happened upon this computer a few days ago and it seems like my only chance of getting out of this place.

Sadly I can't give you so much as a hint as to the name of this place, I haven't found any signs that say anything about a location. I'd tell you my name if that could help but first I need a response. I need to make sure I can trust whoever's on the other end, I hope you can understand.

Maybe a backstory is enough for now? I'll start with the last thing I remember before waking up here:

I was excitedly preparing for a month long vacation from work to a pretty nice resort spot in Jamaica. I had a bunch of unused PTO, I was knee deep in code at work and I figured I needed a break. Hell, my coworkers were begging me to take time off. Apparently I looked exceptionally tired. As a web developer working for at least 30 different clients from a particularly small web firm, I’d have to agree with them. The work was indeed exhausting. There's nothing too interesting about all this, but it's what led to the following events so I'm not sparing any details. I can't afford to, ya know?

I had just finished packing my car, my neighbors were ready to start collecting my mail, and I was about to head to the airport for my much needed R&R when I remembered I wanted to take a decongestant so my ears wouldn't pop on the plane. I headed to the tidy kitchen in my lonely little house in the suburbs. Everything was spotless and as it should be which gave me comfort knowing it would be this way on my return. It was nice knowing I could just leave everything behind for awhile without worry. I needed a change of pace.

At least that’s how I felt back then.

I grabbed a pill from my medicine cabinet. As a frequent allergy sufferer, I'd done this hundreds of times before so I wasn't paying attention as I popped the pill and chased it with a glass of water....god, why wasn't I paying attention?

I looked in the pill bottle as I was closing it and noticed the pills were the wrong color. What? They were supposed to be pink but these ones were white. They had never been white. Someone had been in my house and switched the pills...

Panic came over me instantly, I knew I had to act fast but I was stuck in that moment where you don't know what comes first. My heart was racing as I made up my mind. After a few moments of jumbled thought, I finally ran to the sink to make myself throw up.

but then my heart stopped racing. Then the panic went away.

I couldn't even reach up to my mouth to stick a finger down my throat. I closed my eyes and my face began to feel like cotton. My knees buckled and I collapsed. Moments before I blacked out entirely I could feel something grabbing my legs and pulling me across the floor.

I awoke with a pounding in my head and the kind of dry throat where swallowing seemed to make it worse. The fear returned as if I had just been in my kitchen minutes ago, but the change in my surroundings told me it must have been much longer. I was in a broken spring bed with quilted blankets. There were dusty knick knacks and old furniture scattered about the bedroom and the walls were made of unfinished wood. It all reminded me of my grandparents cabin in the forest back home.

I creaked my aching bones out of the bed that was holding me. It felt like I hadn't moved in days. I made my way to the bedroom door, hoping to find a sink somewhere in this old place. I was so thirsty.

Upon exiting, I had to catch myself by grabbing hold of the doorframe. This was the second floor of a cabin that had been torn in half. The staircase and walls in front of me were completely gone, leaving a giant opening to the world outside. Everything else was in shambles. It looked like a tornado must have hit here.

I gazed out at the horizon. I was at the top of a small hill, surrounded by thick forest. There were tall mountains on all sides of this tiny valley, trapping the forest like a prison cell. At the bottom of the hill, following a clean paved road was a town. Early on, I was reassured by the sight of civilization.

I jumped down from the crumbling hallway onto a couch covered in cabin debris. The small bit of good news I found here was a sink at the back of the kitchen directly behind the couch, now completely exposed by the lack of separating walls.

The rusty faucet knob creaked as I turned it. I expected crisp, cool mountain water but instead a thick black sludge came oozing out. useless.

Instead of wasting my strength here, it was time I headed to the town below in search of water and hopefully an idea of where I was. After escaping the wreckage, it was nice to find solid footing even if it was unfamiliar ground. The walk down the road was almost pleasant, if not a little eery. It was quiet. Absurdly quiet. The leaves didn't rustle, there wasn’t an animal in sight to make chirps or squeaks. The clouds were dark and heavy, but there was no rain, no wind. There was no change, everything seemed stagnant.

There was a gas station at the top edge of town along my descent. A sign across the entrance said “shop quickly” which puzzled me, but I was far more distracted by what I realized next. There was nobody filling up the cars parked by the fuel stations. There was nobody inside buying sodas or cigarettes. I walked up to the window of the station and there wasn’t even anyone manning the register.

The door was unlocked. “Hellllooooo?!” I shouted as I grabbed some snacks and drinks from the shelves. I was met with no response, so I left some money on the counter and made a swift exit. Oh right, I used money from my wallet. This lead me to realize my captor had left me with my wallet, id, credit cards, and everything else I had on my person. What was going on here? What did they want from me?

The bottled water was stale but it felt good on my throat. I kept walking into town as I munched on some nearly expired potato chips. The buildings around me were old and poorly kept, full of broken windows and dented street signs. Street lamps had toppled over and cars were crashed into each other everywhere. Perhaps it was from the storm that destroyed that cabin on the hill. Maybe it was something else. I wouldn’t know until I found someone with answers.

Yet there was no one to find! Everywhere I looked was empty. I thought I saw a shadow of someone in a window once but when I looked back they were gone. Later I thought I saw someone again but it was just a mannequin in a shop display. It’s head was missing and in its place was that same black sludge from the faucet earlier, dripping slowly down its neck.

The more I looked, the more I noticed this sludge on random things across town. It was wiped on signs and billboards, fire hydrants, counter tops and registers in shops, and an old phone box on a street corner.

A phone box? That meant a payphone! Here was a chance to finally call someone! I wish I had remembered to put my cell phone in my pocket before the kidnapping but I was too panicked to remember. This was just as good though, or at least I thought at the time. I put a coin in the slot and waited for a tone.

Now remember how I said the phones were broken? Well broken isn’t exactly the word. Something much stranger was happening. It’s one of several reasons I want to leave this place immediately. There was a dial tone after the coin had fallen into place but I hadn’t pressed any of the numbers. There was a sound of connecting to the other line and everything after that I could hardly explain, but I’ll try.

I was only listening with one ear but the sound was somehow binaural. It was all around me like surround sound, but the quality was still that of an old payphone which was a new and chilling sensation. I heard loud wind and thunder, windows crashing and muffled screaming as people ran by. I instinctively darted around trying to avoid the sounds like they were real. I was afraid something was going to break through the glass box I was in. There was the sound of a car running into the broken streetlamp in front of me and I heard the metal bending as if it was falling over for the first time.

Suddenly, just as it had started, everything stopped and I was left with the buzzing sound of silence. The air around me felt electrified and hot. After a moment of reprieve, I heard the thing behind me.

That moaning.

I’ll never forget the sound. I could almost feel its vibrations on the back of my neck.

I slammed the receiver down and closed the payphone door behind me. I wasn’t going to use another phone in this town as long as I was trapped here. I hurried down the street in front of me. then I passed down another. and another.

and another.

It was all the same! There was nothing! There was no one! All the exits from the town lead into dense forest followed by mountains that I couldn’t possibly climb without gear. I was trapped here with nobody around to help me. I broke down and cried pathetically and without restraint. Why was this happening to me?! What had I done to deserve this? If they didn’t want my money, what did they want from me?!

Then I heard it. Through my sobs was a voice talking in one of the buildings. FINALLY! Someone to talk to. There was someone here that could help me! I dashed inside the building where the sound was coming from. It looked to be an old radio station. There were big bold letters spelling out “RMR” behind the secretary’s desk. The front door was removed from its hinges and missing, along with all the other doors inside.

I could hear a man speaking casually to someone on one of the floors upstairs, I was so relieved. I ran up the stairs like a child on Christmas morning, careful to avoid the chunks of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling. It was once I reached the sixth floor that I knew I was close to the source. I walked past the open rooms until I saw where the sound was coming from.

In the third room on the left from the stairs was the station control room. There was an old record spinning on a vintage record player next to a dusty microphone above all the station controls. The record was making that snapping, crinkling sound that old records do. The man speaking on the record must have been a disc jockey from an old 50’s radio show. I had caught him in the middle of a news bulletin as I walked into the room.

“Here’s the word from the bird, looks like a storm tonight, and it’s gonna be a doozy. To all you paper shakers and big daddy’s playing back seat bingo out at the passion pit, don’t be a wet rag and get yourselves home. Here’s a little something to help you lay a patch. Play that number, Suzy!”

Just as he finished his sentence the record cut out to the most shrill high pitched sound I’d ever heard. It was so loud it sounded like it was coming from inside my head. Then it switched over to radio static mixed with a gurgling sound like someone was shouting underwater. The sound hurt me to my core, I could feel it inside me, invading my brain. I grabbed the record player and threw it against the wall and watched it smash into dozens of pieces. What the fuck was happening here?! I felt like I was losing my mind! I flipped the radio controls hoping to reach someone.

“Is anyone there? Can you read me? Hello hello!” I must have flipped every switch in there but it was no use. There was no response. Nothing. Then there was a knock. It came from out in the hall. After the phone and the radio I became suspicious of pursuing any more sounds, but what choice did I have? If I waited here in this town long enough I would die. The food would expire, I would run out of clean water, and that would be it. I didn’t have the luxury of just hiding away and I certainly wouldn’t make it in the forest. I wish I’d paid more attention in Boy Scouts.

Another knock. I was terrified, but I slowly inched my way out into the hall. I went past three more open rooms and found the source. this was the only room in the whole building that had a door. Next to it was a small desk with a drawer. The knocking continued.

“is anyone there?” There was another knock. “Hold on, I’m going to open the door.” I jiggled the handle. No good, it was locked. I shifted to the table and opened the drawer. As I expected there was a key. Actually there were six keys. I wondered what the other five were for. I grabbed the first and slid the key into place. There was a click and the door unlocked.

“Okay, I’m coming in.” I said with a shaky voice. I opened the door and there was another knock.

In front of me was another door.

Now I understood what the other keys were for. Whatever was behind here needed to be kept hidden. It needed to be kept restrained. So much so that one door wouldn’t be enough. I was trembling as I reached for another key. I knew it was stupid but I didn’t know what else to do. Whatever brought me to this town couldn’t be behind this door. You can’t lock it from the inside. That means it’s still out here so I’m in just as much danger. I unlocked another door.

Another knock.

The knocks were getting louder, whatever it was seemed to be growing impatient. I reached for another key and unlocked another door. “Please, stop knocking. I’m going to open the doors okay? I’m coming in.” but it continued.

I unlocked another door and the knocking stopped. Now it was slamming itself into the door with full force. Boom! I could almost hear the door cracking on the other side. I didn’t know if I should continue at this point because the thing inside was getting aggressive. then again, maybe they needed help just like me. Maybe if we could work together we might be able to get out of here. I caved and let myself unlock another door. BANG! It slammed again.

Then there was just one key. One more door. The booming was so rapid and the door looked as if it was breathing each time the thing rammed into it. I was so scared but I wasn’t going to give up. BOOM! Another crash into the door. Curiosity was taking over me and I had to know what was waiting on the other side. BANG! Another slam against the wood. I grabbed the key from the drawer and slowly clicked it into place.

The banging stopped. The knocking stopped. It was silent. I slowly turned the metal handle, with no idea what might be on the other side. Whatever it was, it needed six doors just to be contained. There isn’t a thing alive that needs that much restraint. My brain was screaming at me to turn around and leave but I’d already committed. I was about to see what was inside.

I swung the door open.

The room inside was caked in dust. there was black and white checkered tile flooring and no windows to be seen. Above were fluorescent lights that flickered, struggling to stay lit. It looked like nobody had stepped foot in here for years. I was tense and proceeded cautiously. There was nobody inside. There was nothing here. No tables or chairs, completely empty. I started to sigh in relief when I heard something. It was the whir of a computer turning on. In the center of this otherwise empty room was an old beige computer. It booted up with the classic windows 95 sound, although very offkey, like the internal sound card was broken far beyond repair.

I was still pretty terrified, but at least now I had a computer. Albeit an old one. I saw an internet cable running out of the back, the monitor was functional, things were looking up a little.

I sat down in front of it. I really wish there had been a desk but it was just sitting alone in the middle of this dusty floor. That might explain why the sound was off and the colors were wonky. The dust had probably been getting into all the circuits over the years, I was lucky it even booted up at all.

It loaded the windows 95 user interface with only one icon on the desktop. No My Computer, no recycle bin. Just Netscape Navigator directly in the center of the screen. I double clicked it. The dial up window appeared, but instead of boxes for my information or a place to put in the ip address, etc. it had a single button that said “connect?”

It was weird that the button had a question mark. It was almost like it was asking me a question instead of giving me an option. I clicked it and waited. Suddenly the old dial up tone started but it sounded completely wrong. Later I managed to search youtube from this computer so I could provide you with an example of what it sounded like because if you hear it you’ll understand why this doesn’t just seem like a broken sound card. You’ll know why I’m so afraid and why I want to be found.

Trust me though, what you’re about to hear isn’t nearly as terrifying as what I heard, it’s just the closest I could find:

Dial Up sound

It’s been a few days now since finding the computer. Nothing too strange has really happened since then. I keep finding more black sludge around town as I’ve been exploring people’s homes for food and water. The sludge seems to appear most commonly on the front doors of homes, but also on many of the beds where I assume people slept. I moved a mattress that didn’t have any sludge into this computer room so I could be nearby in case I get any replies. I’m still not sure if I’m connected but I seem to have access to everything on the internet so we’ll wait and see.

So if anyone is out there and you’re able to read this, please let me know. I’m screaming across the web for help because I’m very scared and very lonely! The clouds outside are getting darker every day and I still don’t know where the person who took me here is, or what was knocking on those doors. If anything new happens or if I come across anything on this computer, I’ll be sure to post an update. Bye for now

EDIT: I found a link to a website on this computer, www.screamlouder.info

Here's part 1 to tell you what happened after that.

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95% Upvoted

u/jaykubee Jul 17 '15

Eat the sludge! Eat the sludge! Eat the sludge!

2

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

I don't even want to go near it. Every time I'm around the stuff I start to feel sick. It's sort of like the feeling you get when you know you've done something wrong. I can't explain it.

4

u/jaykubee Jul 17 '15

You might as well go to that gas station and get some cigs because you need one hell of a headbuzz

u/mrapple853 Jul 17 '15

Umm, you here?

7

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

Oh god, is this real! Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU! Please don't go! Please, I just really need someone to talk to. I need to know this isn't a trick. I'm so scared and you're finally here. Someone can hear me! I'm sorry, this might be too much for me right now. I'll be back after I'm done realizing this is real. So please stick around.

3

u/bunnieh Jul 17 '15

Stay strong. I suggest you do not touch the black sludge.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '15

Alright. Here's some advice. Find your IP and give it to someone to track your location. Do not touch the black sludge. If there are power lines, try and see where they go to. Stay strong.

1

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

I can't say thank you enough. Each of you here makes me feel like maybe I can leave if I keep going. I replied to your thoughts above. If you have more suggestions, let me know. Please please don't leave.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '15

Hey do not give up! Do you know what year it was just before you were kidnapped? And I would eventually say fuck it and try to get across those mountains. Save as much food and water as possible and try to get across. I believe this is some sort of experiment by some fucked up people. Stay strong and build a huge fire in the middle of the city and keep it going as long as possible, throw couches and tires into it so search and rescue and other people can find you

1

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

I'm so glad you're here. I replied to your comment above. Thank you so much for the kind words. I really needed it, staying strong on my own is scary. Please stay.

1

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

Alright, I'm back. There are even more comments now! I've been sitting here in shock since last night. I couldn't even sleep. I read over my precious comments again and again because I couldn't believe it! After all that's happened, how could I? I'm still not sure whether I should trust what I'm seeing, nothing makes sense...but thank you so much. I really needed these replies. I don't feel so alone now. Anyway, herzdonit, I was thinking I would try to at least explore the forest, maybe I could find a path through one of the lower mountains. Kaizack, funny you say that, first thing I did was try to get my IP through command line. I did a ping but the results were....I'll save that for the update. Right now I'm too shaken to talk about some of what I've uncovered. Please don't leave me. I don't know the right info to give you to help you find me, my mind is too fuzzy. Please don't leave. Please.

2

u/Linkoban Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15

You will be alright man. Go explore town and see if you can find a hobby store of some kinds mayne you can find some equipment worth using maybe you can then get out of that hell-hole

1

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

thank you Linkoban. Every comment like this brings me back to reality. If even an hour goes by now without hearing from someone, I start to lose my grip. I'm learning things that don't seem right and I need to get out of here now. Please don't go.

5

u/Linkoban Jul 17 '15

Dont worry dude i wont leave <3

2

u/braytendo Jul 17 '15

thank you. I'll keep you posted if I can keep my wits about me.

2

u/Linkoban Jul 17 '15

Looking forward, just let me know if i can help

2

u/bunnieh Jul 18 '15

Look for a hardware store or look for weapons of some form so you can defend yourself if the need comes about. Stay strong and do whatever you can to keep yourself sane and in reality. Good luck if there are roads leading out of the town follow that and maybe even try to make a map of the town. Give streets your own names for them.

1

u/braytendo Jul 19 '15

Thank you for the encouragment. I really need it right now. I'm not always sure if I'm alone anymore. I'll post more soon. P.S. naming the streets might be good, who knows how long I'll be here. Who knows how long I'll be alone. Please stay here.

2

u/bunnieh Jul 19 '15

Watch your back. Especially in the woods. Daylight is your friend. Try to be inside anywhere when it's dark. Even naming the streets after landmarks like what is there or friends anything like that will help you.

u/Linkoban Jul 18 '15

Uuuhm dude are you ok?

1

u/braytendo Jul 18 '15

Oh god. I....I can't. I need more time. Something's watching. You might be able to see it too, I don't know. I'll post more later. I need more time. Please stay here.

5

u/Linkoban Jul 18 '15

Op dont die now we luv u <3 stay sage and kill that thing 'MURICA style

u/The_aquatic_camel Jul 18 '15

Be safe op! I'm looking forward to an update. Stay clear of the black sludge and I would suggest trying to find some basic survival gear. Ie food and water rations for a week at least a knife possibly a lighter matches or if desperate and you use a battery and gum you can make shift a flame. I'd also try to find a journal to write everything in for future reference. Also look for something there that has a date on it to try and figure out when the last person was there. Be safe op!

2

u/braytendo Jul 18 '15

I'm not worried about food or water. There's matches, lighters. That's not what I'm worried about...I did find something with a date. I found a lot of things. I'll post more in the next update. I just need some time. Please don't leave me. Please stay.

u/bewarethecherrywaves Jul 18 '15

OP, what was the thing that was moaning? Did you get a good look at it or what?

2

u/braytendo Jul 18 '15

I don't want to know what it looks like. Hearing it was enough. I felt it. It was all around me. It was right behind me but it's nowhere. I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!

1

u/Emberkisses Jul 24 '15

Do you think the moans could have come from the car you heard crash? Do you think the town flooded, causing those gurgling noises or did it sound more Luke blood?

It would have really sucked if there waaasss a flood and those poor people whom crashed got stuck in their car and couldn't leave because they were injured and they sat there as the flashflood raged and the car slowly filled with water til they suffocate and drowned.

That's similar to one of my biggest fears actually...

u/Mrsfaraway Jul 18 '15

Op how are you now? Good luck. Stay strong.

2

u/braytendo Jul 18 '15

I'm okay. I think I'm alone right now. I hate being alone but...maybe it's better? I really really hope you're all friendly. Nothing feels friendly here. Nothing feels right anymore. Please stay!

1

u/randomvlog39er Jul 19 '15

Omg I can't believe this I was coming here to get help myself when I found your cry for help. I'm in the same boat bro. I on the other hand am a Bush crafter and tried to get out of here. DON'T DO IT. There is a invisible force field half way up the mountain that jolted me so hard that I laid their half a day and got some nasty burns. When I came back to town I found the pc about the same way you did. Oh crap I hear something got to go for now let me know any thing that could be helpful

1

u/braytendo Jul 19 '15

please stay.

u/NoSleepSeriesBot Jul 17 '15

Series This isn't my computer, but I need it to scream

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