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featuring folk horror mythology and

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chilling supernatural tears in an

3:46

urban setting. Hainai, literally

3:48

translated to Haimam, follows Mari,

3:50

a Filipino immigrant who lives

3:52

in Toronto. Mari first gets

3:55

roped into Toronto's supernatural crisis

3:57

after saving their neighbor Laura.

3:59

from being killed. From then on,

4:02

she assists detectives Donna and Murphy

4:04

in dealing with supernatural threats using

4:06

her upbringing as a babylon, which

4:08

is a shaman. Mari finds herself

4:11

dealing with a multitude of supernatural

4:13

issues in Toronto, tied to cursed

4:15

artifacts in the sinister order behind

4:17

their creation. She has a great

4:20

aptitude for magic, though her ability

4:22

seemed to have a price she's

4:24

not forthcoming about. She calls her

4:26

Nanai, mother, often, and recounts her

4:29

experiences over the phone. This exciting

4:31

audio drama is filled with mystery,

4:33

suspense, and most importantly, horror. Listen

4:35

to High-Nigh on the Rusty Quill

4:37

website on ACAST, or wherever you

4:40

get your podcast, or learn more

4:42

about High-Nigh on its official website.

4:44

If you want to support High-Nigh

4:46

and its creators, you can subscribe

4:49

to their patron at www.patron.com,/High-Nipod, or

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make a one-time donation to their

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Kofi. kofi.com, forward- slash High-Hine iPod.

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Thank you and enjoy the show.

5:37

You're listening

5:40

to Hainai

5:43

by Matsidapul.

5:46

Episode 1.

5:50

Bullock. Hi

6:15

Nye. I know it's it's

6:17

been a while since

6:19

you last talked. I've

6:21

been Busy Yeah, that

6:24

sounded way worse

6:26

out loud than did in

6:28

my head. I know it's

6:30

about excuse and

6:33

I've made too

6:35

many excuses not

6:37

to call but it's

6:40

not like her in

6:42

any state I guess

6:44

I have to start

6:46

from the beginning. Last

6:48

week, I mean, I guess

6:50

that's the beginning. I didn't

6:53

call then, because I

6:55

really didn't think it

6:57

would go anywhere, but

6:59

after what happened,

7:01

there's no denying that

7:04

you... You need to know what's

7:06

going on. As far as...

7:08

I know what's going on

7:10

anyway. It started

7:12

last Thursday. You know I've got

7:15

a home office, perks of working

7:17

with your own editing suite, and

7:19

having a decent setup means I

7:22

don't have to go in except

7:24

for meetings. My apartment isn't

7:26

exactly in the quietest part

7:28

of the city, but it's

7:31

big, it's comfortable, and

7:33

the rent's dirt cheap for the

7:35

size, which... probably should have

7:37

been my first clue. After my

7:39

last place with such a crap

7:42

shoot, I wasn't going to complain

7:44

about the questionably cheap two-bedroom apartment

7:46

in downtown Toronto where everything

7:48

still knew. It made sense. They weren't

7:50

done building the place after all. Renovating,

7:52

I guess, building over an older place, as

7:55

far as I can tell. The fact that

7:57

we had to suffer through an entire

7:59

first month... Both of them testing

8:01

the fire alarm at odd

8:04

hours in the morning was

8:06

worth it if I could

8:09

just live in the finished

8:11

floor for as long as

8:13

I wanted after that. I

8:16

love my new apartment and

8:18

nothing short of a fire

8:21

will get me to leave.

8:23

But... But I don't think

8:26

I can say the same

8:28

for Laura. Laura,

8:33

by the way,

8:35

is my downstairs

8:37

neighbor. I don't

8:40

know if she's

8:42

going to be

8:44

my neighbor for

8:46

much longer, but

8:48

I don't know

8:51

her situation well

8:53

enough, Judge. Like

8:55

I said, it

8:57

happened last Thursday.

9:00

I was working

9:02

from home then,

9:04

like usual. I

9:06

don't know if

9:09

it was luck

9:11

or providence that

9:13

I had my

9:15

headphones off at

9:18

the time. I

9:20

was having my

9:22

lunch, and my

9:24

milk tea. When

9:27

I heard the

9:29

screams. I

9:33

thought maybe at first it was

9:35

a TV show, someone on another

9:38

floor, opening a video and forgetting

9:40

to turn volume down, but then

9:42

I realized it was coming from

9:44

the... echoing stairwell from across the

9:46

hallway. A long carpeted hallway. The

9:48

kind you'd expect to see creepy

9:51

twins at the end of, asking

9:53

you to play with them as

9:55

an elevator opens up behind them

9:57

to spill blood all over the

9:59

carpet. Since

10:02

the building's new it

10:04

fortunately doesn't have the

10:06

usual creepy blinking light.

10:08

Nobody ever bothered to

10:11

fix But it does

10:13

have its own more

10:15

modern creepiness Motion activated

10:17

lighting That was the

10:19

weird part though The

10:21

motion activated lighting should

10:24

have kept the halls

10:26

and stairwell dim until

10:28

someone moved through it

10:30

but The stairwell remained

10:32

pitch black, which was

10:34

impossible. It was never

10:36

perfectly dark. Safety reasons,

10:39

you know? But then...

10:41

But I couldn't see

10:43

a thing in that

10:45

black box behind the

10:47

door. All I could

10:49

do was... hear her

10:52

desperate gasping screams and

10:54

the sound of stumbling

10:56

footsteps. Then

10:59

she broke out of

11:01

the darkness Laura her

11:04

light hair covered in

11:06

blood gashes all over

11:08

her arms She saw

11:10

me looking out my

11:12

door and took off

11:14

at a dead sprint

11:17

toward me and right

11:19

behind her Breaking from

11:21

the darkness grabbing at

11:23

the place she had

11:25

just been Was a

11:27

hulking figure? A

11:32

mass of stretched gray

11:34

skin, human skin, but

11:36

from someone long dead,

11:38

stretched so thin you

11:40

could see something rotting

11:42

and roiling beneath, but

11:45

somehow keeping its shape,

11:47

keeping itself together, a

11:49

flimsy flesh sac, dragging

11:51

itself across the floor.

11:53

I caught Laura when

11:55

she all but crashed

11:57

into me, dragging her

12:00

into my room and

12:02

locking my door, a

12:04

nice solid deadbolt that

12:06

I suspected wouldn't stand

12:08

against whatever this thing

12:10

was. But it gave

12:12

me enough time to

12:15

grab what I could.

12:17

Salt, spices, vinegar, candles,

12:19

and whatever religious iconography

12:21

I could grab from

12:23

my little altar near

12:25

the door. Then, then

12:27

the knocking started. Well,

12:29

I say knocking. But...

12:32

It would be more

12:34

accurate to say it

12:36

was throwing itself against

12:38

the door. Laura kept

12:40

screaming, I don't think

12:42

she could stop if

12:44

she wanted to. But

12:47

at some point, just

12:49

as I'd blocked out

12:51

the incessant false fire

12:53

alarms, in the first

12:55

month of living here,

12:57

I was able to

12:59

tune her out, focusing

13:02

only on the heavy

13:04

dull thudding. against my

13:06

solid wood door. Then

13:08

after one sharper crack,

13:10

right where the dead

13:12

bolt held, that startled

13:14

us both in silence,

13:17

it stopped. I thought,

13:19

maybe that was the

13:21

end of it. I

13:23

hoped. And then it...

13:25

started flowing under the

13:27

door, like whatever it

13:29

was had begun to

13:32

melt. Not completely. You

13:34

know when this thin

13:36

film forms over chicken

13:38

fat that breaks right

13:40

apart when you poke

13:42

into it? That's what

13:44

it reminded me of

13:47

a filmy, slick liquid

13:49

going between the cracks

13:51

and reforming right in

13:53

front of us. I

13:56

didn't wait for it to come

13:58

back up before I started throwing

14:00

the salt. It didn't stop it,

14:03

but it certainly had a reaction.

14:05

Where it touched, the skin sac

14:08

started to bubble, and you could

14:10

smell the scent of deep rot.

14:12

Then, I threw the spices,

14:14

and the skin began

14:17

to smoke. It roiled

14:19

and twisted. It seemed

14:21

startled, almost, like it

14:23

didn't expect someone to

14:25

start fighting back. Especially

14:27

not like this. Not

14:29

with folk magic and

14:31

intent. It really didn't

14:33

like when I grasped

14:36

the unting unting around

14:38

my neck and started

14:40

up along. Whispering my

14:42

prayers. Prayers to a

14:44

belief that holds the

14:46

minds and hearts of billions.

14:49

And prayers to an older,

14:51

kinder ear that still cares

14:54

for its people. It

14:59

hadn't yet fully

15:01

reformed when it

15:03

melted again. This

15:05

time, seeming to

15:08

disappear into the

15:10

floor, no longer

15:12

as solid as it

15:15

was. The smell that

15:17

was so strong and

15:19

cloying, dissipated,

15:22

and soon, it was

15:24

gone. Not destroyed.

15:26

Gone. Made sure her wounds

15:28

were as clean as they could be,

15:31

though she started streaming again when I

15:33

walked over to the sink to get

15:35

some water. Had to use some

15:37

bottled, and then I used my

15:39

first aid training to disinfect the

15:41

wounds and wrap her arms and gauze.

15:44

She didn't protest when I

15:46

started a bullong over them. Lit

15:48

a candle, melted the wax over

15:50

a bowl of water, looked over it

15:52

with a critical eye to see if she

15:54

had anything else wrong with her. if

15:58

that rot had

16:00

set into her skin. Police came and

16:02

checked the building for any wild animal

16:04

intruder, and they, alongside her, compunctious concierge,

16:06

guided me and Laura out of the

16:08

building to the paramedics. Laura begged me

16:11

not to leave her alone. She seemed

16:13

to think I was the only reason

16:15

the monster hadn't come back, and they

16:17

couldn't get her into the ambulance while

16:19

she was clinging to me, so I

16:21

rode in the back of the ambulance

16:23

with her. They said I did a

16:26

good job with her arms, but when

16:28

we got to the hospital, she needed

16:30

more than a few stitches anyway. She

16:32

didn't let me go until she was

16:34

sedated, and I gave my statement in

16:36

the waiting room. I knew how this

16:38

worked, so I told them I saw

16:41

her running and bleeding, and got her

16:43

into my room, but I hadn't seen

16:45

who or what was chasing her, and

16:47

it had stopped trying to get into

16:49

my room after a while since I'd

16:51

locked the door. I

16:54

wasn't sure what they'd find

16:56

in the CCTV. I wasn't

16:58

sure if they'd see the

17:00

pitch black stairwell, or the

17:03

thing made of skin and

17:05

rot. What I was sure

17:07

of was that Laura hadn't

17:09

been infected by it, as

17:12

far as I could tell

17:14

with my Taoas. Presuming I

17:16

could know the nature of

17:18

it with old Filipino candle-scrying

17:21

anyway. Maybe I

17:23

just couldn't see what it

17:25

was. Maybe it was already

17:27

inside her and nothing I

17:29

did would change that. But

17:31

when I got a call

17:33

the next day telling me

17:35

Laura was safe and seemed

17:37

to be healing nicely, I

17:39

was hopeful. I

17:51

was expecting some kind of follow-up

17:53

from the police, and that eventually

17:55

came in the form of two

17:57

detectives, asking me to come down

17:59

to the station to give them

18:01

another... The building itself was an

18:03

architectural marvel, all sharp and asymmetrical

18:06

edges without feeling cold or unwelcome.

18:08

It felt old and new at

18:10

the same time in that Toronto

18:12

way. I'd never seen real actual

18:14

police detectives outside of TV, so

18:16

to see them not in uniform,

18:18

but nonetheless wearing light coats and

18:20

dark colors over office wear, made

18:22

me realize the image of a

18:25

trench coat wearing investigator wasn't too

18:27

far from the mark. The

18:29

older one introduced himself his honor.

18:31

He didn't look remotely friendly, watching

18:33

me with narrow, suspicious eyes. But

18:36

for all that his resting anger

18:38

face had me cowed, I didn't

18:40

feel anything truly hostile coming off

18:42

him. The opposite, in fact, I

18:44

thought maybe the wrinkles between his

18:47

brows and the frown that he

18:49

wore, weighed down by what I

18:51

guessed were years of practice, made

18:53

him seem older than he was.

18:56

The younger one seemed his polar

18:59

opposite. He exuded friendliness and with

19:01

his bright eyes and easy smile

19:03

and Exceptionally good looks he looked

19:05

more like a supermodel than a

19:08

policeman the kind you'd see go

19:10

viral in a Twitter post This

19:12

one introduced himself as Murphy You

19:14

know like that the movie with

19:17

the Robocop. Yeah that one I

19:19

gave him the same spiel knew

19:21

she was chased and see what

19:23

chased her But Donner looked at

19:26

me like he knew I was

19:28

lying or leaving something out. Murphy

19:30

just looked friendly. Looked like they

19:33

had the good cop bad cop

19:35

routine down to a T. Ten

19:37

out of ten execution. Donor asked

19:39

me then if I knew what

19:42

lying to the police would get

19:44

me. I asked if there was

19:46

any reason I'd lie about protecting

19:48

someone from an animal or a

19:51

maniac, especially when I spent most

19:53

of my night. accompanying her to

19:55

a hospital to make sure she

19:57

was okay. The

20:00

two looked at each other,

20:02

had an entire silent conversation

20:04

in a matter of seconds

20:07

with some pointed facial expressions,

20:09

and it was Murphy that

20:11

spoke up next, leveling me

20:13

with a warm but firm

20:15

expression. Turns out, they got

20:17

exactly what happened from Laura,

20:20

which either made her look

20:22

crazy or made me look

20:24

like a liar. I

20:27

knew which one was more likely, but

20:29

I didn't like either option. When I

20:31

asked what the CCTV showed, they said

20:33

they just got in the building to

20:36

release the footage from the day of

20:38

the attack. I asked, then, a bit

20:40

pointedly, if there was anything else. I

20:43

was definitely pushing my luck beyond what

20:45

might have been considered wise if I

20:47

didn't think Donna's impressive scowl was just

20:50

for show. He

20:52

didn't ease up on the look,

20:54

and I was beginning to wonder

20:56

whether I read him entirely wrong

20:59

when he gave me a phone

21:01

number to call if I remembered

21:03

anything else. Like he knew exactly

21:06

what I'd like about. I mean,

21:08

anyone who looks at me will

21:10

see a lot of round edges.

21:13

So malice isn't exactly an aura

21:15

I let off. But it was

21:17

still strange for a detective to

21:20

feel like he knew I was

21:22

lying and let me go anyway.

21:24

And for a few days, there

21:26

was nothing. Laura wasn't moving back

21:29

until the investigation was done, doing

21:31

her recovery with her family down

21:33

in Oakville. The first time she

21:36

called me was when she wanted

21:38

to introduce herself properly, and she

21:40

wanted to talk more about what

21:43

happened, but I held off. I

21:45

promised I'd talk to her when

21:47

we were face to face and

21:50

she agreed. I'm glad she's safe

21:52

and far away from whatever it

21:54

was I wanted to get her.

21:57

I tried going down to a

21:59

room a few times. but it

22:01

was locked up and under investigation

22:04

so I didn't get far. I did

22:06

try to get a feel of the

22:08

hallway outside of the door. I

22:10

felt her fear and the malice

22:12

and rage of the thing that

22:14

chased her three flights up. But

22:16

I didn't get much more than

22:19

I already knew. There was...

22:21

something else. Something I

22:23

couldn't quite get the shape

22:25

of. After my

22:27

half-baked attempts at figuring

22:29

out what was going on,

22:31

and doing some extensive

22:33

cleansing and protection rituals

22:36

over my front door, I had to

22:38

get back to work. Deadlines,

22:40

you know. For a while, I lost

22:42

myself in the rhythm of editing.

22:45

Until a loud wrapping on

22:47

my door penetrated the thick layer

22:49

of foam over my ears. I was wary.

22:51

I remember the last time

22:53

somebody knocked on my door. But

22:56

this time I didn't sense any wrongness.

22:58

And after I looked through the peephole,

23:00

I welcomed Detective Donner and Murphy

23:02

into my home. Murphy complemented

23:04

my little space, like his mother probably

23:07

taught him, and Donor look at my

23:09

altar with a critical eye, as well as

23:11

little paper talismans I stuffed the wood,

23:13

invoking the names of old gods with

23:15

little cups of rice on either side

23:17

of the door. They both accepted when

23:19

I offered them drinks. A

23:22

sugary black coffee for Donner

23:24

and unsweetened but drowned in

23:26

cream for Murphy. Donner asked me

23:29

if I could read mines on

23:31

top of killing monsters.

23:33

And I... told him the truth.

23:35

The only thing I was

23:38

better at than guessing how

23:40

people took their coffee was

23:42

making Insan taste halfway decent.

23:45

They told me to look

23:47

over the footage and found... Interference.

23:50

Video cutting off right when

23:52

Laura made it to my floor.

23:54

Donner told me this wasn't surprising

23:57

that it was like this

23:59

movie. Other ones. He

24:02

then asked me if I'd

24:04

tell him the truth this

24:06

time. Off the record.

24:08

He had yet to take a

24:10

single sip of his

24:13

coffee. I asked him then,

24:15

how could I tell you

24:18

about a monster that melted

24:20

into the floor when I

24:23

prayed and have you not

24:25

think I was crazy?

24:27

Donor... looked me in the

24:29

eye for what felt like

24:32

ours. Our eyes were the

24:34

same color, but couldn't

24:36

have looked more different.

24:39

People always told

24:41

me mine were soft, warm

24:43

even. His eyes seemed

24:45

too deep and dark for

24:48

light to penetrate. So

24:50

that light reflected

24:53

in a way that made

24:55

them flash. the sharpest eyes

24:57

I'd ever seen, like they saw as

24:59

much as I did, even without the

25:01

generation spent preserving the

25:04

sight in our bloodline.

25:06

Eventually, he took us up from

25:08

the cooling brew and complimented

25:10

me on getting it

25:12

perfect. Turns out, the only reason

25:14

I didn't sound the fool was

25:17

because I was talking to

25:19

the two detectives who had

25:21

dealt with cases similar to

25:23

this one. One's where... Everyone

25:25

involved turned up dead. Laura

25:27

was their first survivor and I

25:30

was the reason why. They grilled

25:32

me on what I saw, the methods I

25:34

used, and I tried to answer

25:37

them as best as I could, but

25:39

a lot of what I did had

25:41

been guest work based on past

25:43

experience that I couldn't be

25:46

sure applied here. I told

25:48

them in as much detail as

25:50

I could manage without gagging,

25:52

what the thing looked like. the

25:55

skin sac, the

25:57

smell of it.

26:00

The more I said, the

26:02

more skeptical they looked, but

26:04

when I emphasized this was

26:06

the exact reason I didn't

26:08

want to tell them what

26:10

I saw, they relented. I

26:12

told them about my trips

26:14

down to Laura's room to

26:16

check on whether something there

26:18

might have triggered the attack.

26:20

And Murphy asked if I

26:22

was sure that the thing

26:24

going after Laura didn't now

26:26

have my scent. I

26:29

told him about the cleansing

26:31

rituals. Told him I was

26:34

protected. When he asked me

26:36

by what, I told him

26:39

love and good vibes, which

26:41

he very clearly didn't believe,

26:44

but he didn't ask again.

26:46

He muttered something I think

26:49

sounded like Jamaican Patois, I

26:51

think the word was. Don't

26:54

know what he meant, but

26:56

it didn't exactly sound open

26:59

and accepting of my clearly

27:01

honest answer and it was

27:04

Honest Maybe not extensive or

27:06

detailed, but it was honest

27:09

They unlocked Laura's room and

27:11

I could Feel the wrongness

27:14

in the air like the

27:16

scent of nearby garbage a

27:19

rot that wasn't cloying but

27:21

noticeable They spread out

27:23

to check the area and I

27:25

began to feel my way around

27:28

eyes closed trying to get a

27:30

sense of the space and what

27:32

didn't belong in it. I almost

27:34

bumped into the table when I

27:37

felt it. I touched something small

27:39

and round on the table. And

27:41

I immediately had to run to

27:43

the nearest sink to vomit. You

27:45

know I hate it the feeling

27:48

of it in my throat. I've

27:50

gone through some minor surgeries fully

27:52

awake And it's never been as

27:54

bad as the feeling of vomit

27:56

Luckily nothing had come up spit

27:59

off to the side of the

28:01

square sink, and I could barely

28:03

hear Donor shouting at me not

28:05

to contaminate the crime scene, and

28:08

Murphy asking if I was okay

28:10

over the pulsing of my ears.

28:12

And I saw it. Right in

28:14

the drain. A piece of dead

28:16

gray skin stuck to the black

28:19

mouth of the drain pipe. Donor

28:21

wasted no time getting gloves on

28:23

and taking a sample, while Murphy

28:25

tried to keep me standing. Dawn

28:27

represented the evidence to me in

28:30

a plastic bag, confirming that it

28:32

was like the thing I'd seen.

28:34

There was worry that the thing

28:36

had got into the pipes and

28:39

was long gone by now, but

28:41

that... didn't feel bright. I went

28:43

back to the table and found

28:45

what looked to be a sewing

28:47

project. A lovely, vintage-looking dress that

28:50

Laura had been working on, halfway

28:52

done sewing these beautiful, carved buttons

28:54

into the fabric. I

28:56

didn't have to touch him again

28:59

to know they were wrong. I

29:01

asked the two to bagging for

29:04

evidence, and with a look on

29:06

his face I expected Donner to

29:08

question it, but between the two

29:11

he was quicker to act. I

29:13

don't know if I imagined him

29:15

pausing when he picked a couple

29:18

up with gloved hands. Like, maybe

29:20

he could feel what I felt?

29:22

But that's unlikely. I think. I

29:25

think. I think. Murphy

29:27

looked like he wanted to

29:29

ask, but seemed to think

29:31

better of it. On the

29:34

subject of the thing that

29:36

had apparently come up through

29:38

the pipes, I... I had

29:40

a theory, but I couldn't

29:42

go it alone, which is

29:44

how I ended up between

29:46

two armed men, taking point

29:49

and watching my back, as

29:51

we made our way down

29:53

to the unfinished basement level

29:55

of my building. stronger

29:58

than ever. And from the

30:00

look on Donna's face as

30:02

he turned to me, he could too. Murphy

30:04

asked if this was where all

30:06

the garbage in the building was

30:08

going. So three for three, the

30:11

rotting thing was here. A present

30:13

strong enough that I wasn't the

30:15

only one to feel it. Well,

30:17

smell it anymore. The smell got

30:19

stronger as he got closer. If

30:21

we'd asked building security, they'd have

30:23

told us construction was delayed in

30:25

this section. Since they were waiting

30:27

for someone from sanitation to find

30:29

the source of the awful smell,

30:32

but we didn't. We didn't really

30:34

talk to anyone beyond the one

30:36

guy who led us through with

30:38

a flash badge. When we descended

30:40

one of the few areas in

30:42

the building, residents were under no

30:44

circumstances to enter. The smell and

30:46

the sick feeling I got were

30:48

my stomach felt like my rebel

30:50

against my throat again. Was strongest

30:52

by this one stretch of

30:54

concrete. Where the only break

30:57

in the gray was at

30:59

the end of one drain

31:01

pipe that was To nobody

31:03

in our group surprise Dripping

31:05

this thick dark slick-looking liquid

31:08

from which the smell seemed

31:10

to be emanating It was

31:12

here But it wasn't showing itself

31:15

and if we had any chance

31:17

of stopping it now We had

31:19

to force it out I

31:22

asked for the bags of

31:24

evidence, and I spelled the

31:27

buttons out into the little

31:29

puddle that had begun to form.

31:31

And it happened all at

31:34

once. A human scream

31:36

and an animal snarl.

31:38

And the sound of

31:40

melting, bubbling, blasting outward,

31:42

and something else I

31:44

couldn't name, but that

31:46

sounded horrifyingly familiar. I saw

31:49

the gray face of a dead man.

31:51

screaming right in front of mine. His

31:53

teeth were made of animal bones, the

31:55

ribs and skulls of rodents, the fangs

31:57

of a cat, opening to bite. my

32:00

face off, had Dawn or not dragged

32:02

me back by my collar, the force

32:04

of it enough to throw me down

32:06

to the side. Got a few bruises,

32:09

ended up toppling over a few spare

32:11

cinder blocks and lumber, but... It was

32:13

better than the alternative. I think he

32:16

tried to shoot his gun, but the

32:18

gray rotting thing wrapped around it and

32:20

the gunshot was lost in the thick

32:22

of it, like shooting bullets into ballistic

32:25

gel. I heard two more loud shots

32:27

echo in the enormous basement level. and

32:29

saw that one of them caught

32:31

the thing in its face, shattering

32:33

the cat's skull and causing the

32:36

rotting thing to turn attention to

32:38

Murphy, even while it had Donner's

32:40

arm wrapped in its melting grip.

32:42

That's when I realized its attention

32:44

wasn't on me. Grabbing one of

32:47

the heavy cinder blocks and dragging

32:49

myself closer to the fray, I

32:51

found what I was looking for,

32:53

and raised the block right over

32:56

my head. And

32:58

I slammed it down onto one

33:00

of the ivroid buttons, shattering the

33:03

bone-white patterns and warping the metal

33:05

base. And like a garbage bag

33:07

cut through the knife, the rotting

33:10

thing seemed to lose its shape,

33:12

a hole forming in the thin,

33:14

translucent gray of its skin, and

33:17

spilling what looked to be the

33:19

half-gone remains of animals, rats, raccoons,

33:22

and even dogs and cats. Still.

33:24

It retained much of its form

33:26

as it lunged toward me. Its

33:29

sharp bone claws sliced into my

33:31

back as I crushed the second

33:33

and third button much the same

33:35

way. It hurt so very badly,

33:37

sharp and debilitating, but there were

33:39

only a few more to go,

33:41

and I knew I had to

33:43

destroy them before the rotting thing

33:45

did us in, when another couple

33:47

of loud shots filled the basement.

33:49

And I saw two more buttons

33:52

shattered from the impact of well-aimed

33:54

bullets. Donner, I learned later, with

33:56

his sharp eyes and steady hand,

33:58

was one of the best shots in

34:00

the force. The

34:03

rotting thing was spilling out in

34:05

all directions now, covering us in the

34:07

remains of things long and recently dead.

34:11

And before I could break the

34:13

last button, what felt like the

34:15

bones of an all too human

34:17

hand caught my wrist, and I

34:19

looked into the empty eyes of

34:21

a dead man. A

34:24

jaw long since unhinged from the

34:26

skull. I

34:28

felt its rage as it tried

34:30

to stop me from letting it

34:32

rest. Then,

34:35

Donner and Murphy pulled it

34:37

back, the last vestiges

34:39

of the rotting thing that could

34:41

still hold itself together, the center

34:44

of the rot. Finally,

34:48

I could raise the cinder block

34:50

with the last of my strength,

34:52

and I threw it down, shattering

34:55

the last button. And

34:58

slowly, but

35:00

surely, all

35:02

the remains we saw scattered around

35:05

us, melted

35:07

away. And

35:11

I could finally breathe again. From

35:22

what I understand, the story was that they

35:24

found a rabid coyote and had to

35:26

put it down, which is apparently a

35:28

thing in Toronto. At least,

35:30

that's what they told building management.

35:33

After the rotting thing melted away,

35:35

the three of us found the narrow

35:38

little space between the building and its

35:40

seven -story neighbor, and

35:42

the hole where animals seemed

35:44

to have fallen into, suffocating

35:46

half underground. They

35:49

got permits to dig,

35:51

and they found a bit of a

35:53

horror show. With a bunch

35:55

of Torontonian wildlife piled on top

35:57

of what they eventually discovered was... An

36:00

unidentified human corpse,

36:02

half-baked into the cement

36:05

of the old building, ours

36:07

had been built over. I was

36:09

made to sign a statement by

36:11

building management, not to tell a

36:13

soul about what I knew, and

36:15

now I don't have to pay utilities.

36:18

Ever. So something good came out

36:20

of this, and it looks like

36:22

I'm going to be sticking around

36:25

here for a lot longer now.

36:28

I didn't get to see the dig,

36:30

though Donner and Murphy were kind enough

36:32

to get me some gruesome pictures

36:34

later on. They brought me to

36:36

the hospital to have my scratches looked

36:38

at, and Donner was apologetic about

36:41

putting me in danger and giving

36:43

me the few bruises blooming on

36:45

my thighs when he threw me. It

36:47

was silly from the worry. He basically

36:50

saved my life. Well, maybe I

36:52

could have survived having my face ripped

36:54

off by a cat skull, but... I'd

36:56

rather not think about it.

36:59

Murphy offered to accompany

37:01

me home, and I

37:03

accepted. Maiden Coffee, and

37:05

we had a nice

37:08

afternoon talking. A weirdly

37:10

normal afternoon, until... I

37:12

remembered to ask him

37:15

about the buttons, and

37:17

he told me. Donner

37:19

took care of that

37:21

evidence. I asked them if

37:23

they did this often. But

37:26

fight monsters,

37:29

I mean. Murphy

37:31

was

37:34

uncharacteristically

37:36

grim-faced

37:39

when he answered.

37:41

We've only ever

37:44

found the remains.

37:48

And that's

37:50

what happened.

37:52

I... Oh, one second.

37:57

No, I'm just um... Oh, I've got...

37:59

I've got... But Saturday?

38:01

Yes, I... Mm-hmm.

38:03

Oh, wait, one sec,

38:05

one sec. King Chinatown.

38:08

Okay, yes, of course,

38:11

you're, you're,

38:13

you're, you're

38:15

welcome. That was

38:17

honor. He said he

38:19

found the one who

38:22

sold Laura those

38:24

buttons. I have a

38:26

theory, Nani. They

38:29

didn't feel right. I know

38:31

they didn't I Whatever it

38:33

was that was under this

38:36

building Whoever it was that

38:38

was left there for so

38:40

long it There's a reason

38:43

it didn't wake up until

38:45

now Donner asked me to

38:47

help said he needed me

38:50

to Feel the place out

38:52

in case I caught something

38:54

you couldn't see beneath the

38:56

surface I

38:59

said yes. I know

39:01

this has nothing to

39:04

do with me, and

39:06

I know you wanted

39:09

me here, but with

39:11

everything that's happened,

39:14

and with all the

39:16

questions we still

39:19

haven't answered, I

39:21

have a feeling

39:23

this is just

39:26

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