0:00

All aboard!

0:05

Tickets, please. Find

0:08

your seats. The

0:10

train will be departing shortly. You're

0:15

aboard the Sleepless Express.

0:18

A direct journey into the darkness

0:21

of the night. There

0:24

are no sleeping cars available

0:26

on this train. On

0:30

this journey, you will experience

0:32

the horrors found within the

0:34

dark landscapes and endless black

0:37

tunnels. You will

0:39

hear things which will leave you

0:41

frightened and disturbed. And

0:44

remember, there will be

0:46

no stops until the very

0:49

end of the line. Brace

0:54

yourself for the No

0:56

Sleep Podcast. Welcome

1:00

aboard the No Sleep Podcast. I'm

1:04

your conductor, David Cummings. Allow

1:08

me to show you how to make a

1:10

new car. I'm your conductor,

1:12

David Cummings. Welcome

1:15

aboard the No Sleep Podcast. I'm

1:19

your conductor, David Cummings. Allow me to

1:21

share something perhaps a wee bit unusual.

1:25

I don't want

1:27

to live forever. In fact, the notion

1:29

of living well into my 90s seems

1:31

unpleasant. Now,

1:34

I'm not talking about having a death

1:36

wish or anything. It's just that living

1:38

to that age seems physically and financially

1:41

daunting. And if

1:43

you share these feelings, you

1:45

will be able to live with a life of a

1:47

life of a life. And if

1:49

you share these feelings, they raise an

1:51

interesting question. How long do

1:54

you want to live? Or

1:56

put another way, when do you think you'll be

1:58

ready to accept its time? to die.

2:02

Philosophers have noted that humans are the

2:04

only creatures cursed with the knowledge of

2:06

our own mortality. We

2:09

all know that one day we'll

2:11

transition from alive to not

2:13

alive. And while we can

2:15

make jokes like, I'll sleep when

2:18

I'm dead, we at some

2:20

point need to face the finality

2:22

and eternal aspect of death. Oh,

2:25

and with apologies to those

2:27

of you with religious beliefs that have some

2:29

element of an afterlife to it. So

2:32

if you're fine with acknowledging your

2:34

mortality and feel okay at the

2:37

thought of dying and never experiencing

2:40

anything again, then

2:42

I'm curious how you feel about

2:44

the concept of dying and then

2:46

returning to life in some form

2:48

or another. Because

2:50

in this episode, we're presenting tales

2:52

which confront us with the question,

2:55

what if death isn't that

2:57

one last final definitive and

2:59

irrefutable end of life? What

3:02

if we encounter someone who should be

3:04

dead, but isn't? I

3:07

think we can all agree that while

3:09

horror presents the fear of death at

3:11

its core, there is much horror to

3:14

be found in the idea that death

3:16

may only be the start of the

3:18

nightmares. Isn't

3:21

that a fun thing to think

3:23

about, fellow travelers? And

3:26

now the train is

3:28

ready to depart. Your

3:31

journey into the darkness begins

3:33

now. In

3:41

our first tale, we meet a

3:43

woman with two husbands. Well,

3:45

no, no, no, not exactly. One

3:48

night she's confronted with a strange

3:50

situation, a situation spelled

3:52

out for us by author Brian

3:55

D'Cooster. You see, there

3:57

are two men, both eerily similar

3:59

to each other, except one is

4:01

alive and the other isn't.

4:06

Performing this tale are Danielle

4:08

McCray and Atticus Jackson. So

4:11

if you're going to do something, do it

4:13

right. You don't want to

4:16

make a grave mistake. A

4:30

hoarse voice rasped on the other end of the

4:32

phone. You need

4:36

to get out of the

4:38

house. It took

4:40

me a minute to recognize it as my husband's. It

4:43

sounded off. His

4:46

words slurry and slightly garbled. The

4:49

fact that the phone had dragged me from the depths

4:51

of sleep at 4 AM didn't

4:54

help my mental agility at all. John?

4:58

What's going on? Is something wrong?

5:01

Listen, you need

5:03

to trust me. I'll

5:06

meet you out back and

5:08

explain everything. But

5:10

right now, you need to get

5:13

out of the house as fast

5:15

as you can. The

5:17

panic in his voice cleared my head like

5:19

a splash of cold water. Then

5:22

be quiet. You

5:24

don't want to wake it up. The

5:27

phone went dead. I looked

5:29

at it for a second, then got out of

5:31

the bed as quietly as I could, grabbing

5:34

my robe from the back of the door. I

5:36

crept down the stairs and into

5:39

the kitchen. I pulled the robe

5:41

close around me as I stepped out the back

5:43

door. John? I

5:46

walked out into the yard. Where

5:48

are you? A dark figure

5:50

detached itself from the shadows at the back corner

5:52

of the garage, stopping just outside

5:54

the light coming from the house. There

5:57

was no moon tonight. But

6:00

even in the dark, I could

6:02

recognize my husband's familiar silhouette. John,

6:05

what's going on? I

6:08

rushed towards him. Then the

6:10

smell hit me. Death.

6:13

Death and rot and freshly

6:15

turned to earth. The

6:18

smell of an open grave. Oh

6:20

gods. I gagged

6:22

and turned away from the stench. It

6:25

froze. Through the family

6:27

room window, I could

6:30

see my husband

6:33

asleep in his recliner. The

6:35

television reflected off his glasses, which

6:38

had fallen slightly askew on his face.

6:41

My eyes narrowed in confusion as

6:44

I tried to process what I was seeing. That's

6:48

not me. The

6:51

voice from behind me was still his, but

6:54

the hoarseness was more

6:56

pronounced now. There

6:58

was a shuffling step as he moved

7:01

closer. I don't know

7:04

what it is, but

7:06

I- John! I

7:09

bolted for the house. Once

7:11

in the kitchen, I spun around to slam the door

7:13

shut. As it swung

7:15

closed, I caught a glimpse

7:17

of a dark shape rushing up the steps

7:20

towards me. I threw

7:22

the bolt just as something slammed into the

7:24

door, rattling the frame. Mary,

7:29

what's going on? John

7:31

leapt to his feet as I burst into the

7:33

family room. John! Outside

7:37

you- As I pointed out

7:39

the window, it exploded

7:41

inward. Reaching

7:43

us with both shards of glass and

7:45

splinters of broken frame. A

7:48

two foot tall stone garden gnome

7:50

playing a set of mushroom shaped

7:53

bad pipes crashed to the

7:55

carpet at John's feet. Outside,

7:58

the thing roared. Get

8:02

away from my wife,

8:04

you bastard!" Two

8:07

hands reached out of the darkness and

8:09

grasped the window frame. The

8:12

flesh on them was black and

8:14

rotten, hanging off the

8:16

bones and tatters. The

8:18

face that swam out of the darkness was something out

8:20

of a nightmare. The

8:22

left side had rotted away completely,

8:26

exposing a yellowing skull

8:28

streaked with dirt and

8:31

black ecore. Deep

8:33

within the socket where its eye used to be was a

8:36

burning blue ember that flared as

8:39

the thing began pulling itself through the

8:41

broken window. The right

8:43

side, though bloated

8:45

and discolored, was

8:47

still recognizable as

8:50

a copy of my husband's. Its

8:52

one remaining eye was fixed on

8:54

Jon, blazed with

8:56

hatred. You! Jon's

8:59

eyes went wide with shock.

9:03

Yes, me. You

9:05

stole my life, you son of

9:07

a bitch. The

9:10

thing climbed into the room. With

9:12

surprising speed, it launched itself at Jon.

9:15

Its hands latched around his neck with an

9:18

iron grip. Jon

9:20

flailed weakly at its arms and

9:22

face, but it lifted

9:24

him up by the throat and slammed him

9:26

into the wall. Now

9:28

I've come to return the favor. With

9:33

all of its attention seemingly focused on

9:35

my husband, it didn't

9:37

appear to notice me at all. I

9:40

scrambled over to the fireplace and picked up

9:42

the heavy iron poker. Two

9:45

years I spent in

9:47

that shallow grave you dumped me

9:50

in. Two years

9:52

in the ground. With

9:56

the worms. With the

9:58

maggots. Dozens

10:00

of hungry scavengers eating

10:02

pieces of me. And

10:06

I felt all of it. Well,

10:11

now I'm going to...

10:14

I brought the poker crashing down on

10:16

the thing's skull, just above

10:19

where its left ear should have been. The

10:21

bone caved in, cracking

10:25

as easily as if it were an eggshell. The

10:28

blue coal in its eye socket

10:30

winked out and the creature collapsed

10:32

onto the carpet. John

10:35

crashed down on top of it, as

10:38

he scrambled to his feet. I

10:40

leveled the iron poker at his face. My

10:43

panic was gone, replaced by

10:45

a smoldering anger. When

10:48

I told you to dispose of the

10:50

body, I meant burn

10:53

it. I poked him in the

10:55

chest with a tip. A

10:57

wisp of black smoke curled up from under

11:00

his shirt. Now, I

11:03

suggest you do it right this

11:05

time. Or I swear

11:07

to the gods, I will send

11:09

you back down to the deepest pit of

11:12

hell I summoned you from. Yes,

11:15

mistress. He bent

11:17

down to start cleaning up his mess. We

11:21

interrupt that undertaking

11:46

for a quick word

11:48

from our sponsor. For

11:51

ad-free extended horror content,

11:53

go to sleepless.thenosleeppodcast.com. Hey,

11:57

mistakes like that happen. We

11:59

get busy and. lose track of things, like

12:01

the fact that we're almost halfway through 2024

12:03

already, and we're going

12:06

to discover how we can be proud

12:08

of what we've accomplished already thanks to

12:10

this show being sponsored by BetterHelp. I'm

12:13

sure we know how easy it is to be

12:15

a glass half-empty kind of person. I

12:17

know I have to work hard at keeping good things in

12:19

my mind. In fact, therapy has

12:22

helped me to stop focusing so much on

12:24

the negative things and take stock of the

12:26

positive things. When life goes

12:28

by so fast, it's important to take a

12:30

moment to celebrate your wins and make adjustments for

12:33

the rest of the year so you can keep

12:35

on the right paths and adjust for ways to

12:37

get better at others. Therapy

12:39

can help you take stock of your progress

12:42

and set achievable goals for the next six

12:44

months. It's true, therapy can

12:46

be a part of your life even

12:48

when you're feeling good about things and

12:50

it's easy and convenient with BetterHelp. Just

12:53

fill out a quick questionnaire and you'll be

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12:59

a moment, feel good and learn

13:01

how to feel better. Visit

13:04

betterhelp.com/nosleep today to

13:06

get 10% off

13:08

your first month. That's

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betterhelp.com/nosleep. Thanks

13:15

as always to BetterHelp for sponsoring

13:17

this episode. Now

13:19

we're back on track and enjoying

13:22

a lovely sunset. It's

13:32

common for a young person to get a job doing

13:34

the, uh, less

13:36

glamorous tasks out there. Like

13:39

being a dishwasher. Builds

13:41

character. But in this

13:44

tale, shared with us by author

13:46

Jacob DeMoore, Arthur is a

13:48

dishwasher at a retirement home and

13:50

the things he sees there will build

13:52

his character more than he could have

13:54

imagined. I

13:57

join Dan Zappula, Sarah Thomas,

13:59

Mary Jo. How

22:00

could the nurses make such a drastic

22:02

mistake, confusing a resident

22:04

for dead? And

22:06

where exactly had Mrs. Holmes been for the

22:08

last month? At the hospital? With

22:11

family? The whole thing irked me more than

22:13

it probably should have. I didn't

22:16

like thinking about this place during my time

22:18

off, but thoughts of

22:20

Mrs. Holmes stuck with me all

22:22

week. I delivered room service

22:24

to her for the rest of the week. Each

22:27

time I entered 2H, the blinds

22:29

were drawn, the room kept

22:31

dark. As always, I sat

22:33

her tray down on the end table next to

22:36

the recliner. She thanked me, and

22:38

I moved on to the next room. The

22:41

next stop on my route was

22:43

2K, Ms. Ganz, whose

22:45

name I only knew because she had

22:47

a reputation around the building for being

22:49

very outwardly spoken. There

22:51

was rarely a week that went by

22:53

where I wasn't overhearing the nurses laughing

22:55

about something Ms. Ganz had said that

22:57

day. Most days, Ms.

23:00

Ganz left her door open. I

23:02

knocked anyway and passed through the open frame.

23:05

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing

23:08

her temples before she looked up and saw

23:10

me. Said it right down

23:12

there. She pointed to the

23:14

rolling TV stand where she took her dinner

23:16

every day. I did as

23:18

she said, and set the food down on

23:21

the stand, forcing a smile for good measure.

23:24

She scooted off the bed and hobbled over to the

23:26

chair to sit down. I

23:28

pushed the stand closer to her and

23:30

lowered it down so she could reach. She

23:33

examined the tray, then picked up the

23:35

pudding cup and handed it to me. You

23:37

take that, I don't need it. That's

23:39

alright, I don't need it either. Ms.

23:42

Ganz, pawning her desserts off on me, was

23:44

beginning to become a habit. As

23:47

I tried to set the pudding cup back on the tray,

23:49

she pushed it back toward me. It

23:52

clearly wasn't a fight I was going to win,

23:54

so I relented and accepted the pudding.

23:58

Ms. Ganz got to work preparing her her

24:00

coffee, which she had with every meal.

24:03

I always loaded her tray with three

24:05

creams and three sugars, but I'd learned

24:07

in time to wait until she finished

24:09

mixing before I left, because more

24:12

often than not, she'd ask for

24:14

more. MRS. Is this

24:16

decaf? DERRICK That's right. MRS.

24:19

I need caffeine. People keeping me up all night. Knocking

24:22

on my door. DERRICK Knocking on your

24:24

door? MRS. Middle of the

24:26

night. They come. They knock.

24:28

They open the door and they're gone. My

24:31

family doesn't pay $2,000 a month for me

24:33

to get pranked all night long. DERRICK Have

24:35

you talked to the nurses about it? MRS.

24:38

They're probably the ones doing it. DERRICK

24:40

Ms. Gans winced and reached for her

24:43

forehead. MRS. Now I've

24:45

had this headache all day thanks to them.

24:47

DERRICK I'm sorry about that. I hope

24:49

you feel better. I made my way

24:51

out of the room. MRS.

24:55

It became apparent very quickly that Ms.

24:57

Gans wasn't the only resident dealing with

25:00

these problems. I overheard

25:02

the nurses talking about multiple residents on

25:04

the second floor complaining about someone knocking

25:06

on their door at night. It

25:09

only got worse throughout the week with

25:11

even more residents complaining. There

25:13

were more complaints of headaches too. Some

25:16

residents even started exhibiting symptoms of

25:18

fever. When I came to

25:20

serve Ms. Gans her dinner a week later. Her

25:23

door was shut. I knocked

25:25

and turned the handle. It

25:28

wasn't locked so I went inside. Ms.

25:31

Gans was lying in bed. A

25:33

fresh sheen of sweat shimmering in the

25:35

light across her forehead. She

25:37

hadn't even touched her lunch. I

25:40

quietly swapped the trays trying not to

25:42

disturb her and tiptoed out of

25:44

the room, stopping by the nurses station

25:46

before I got back to work. Ted

25:49

was there again, wearing a loud floral

25:51

pattern set of scrubs this time. Hey,

25:54

uh, Ted? Is

25:56

Ms. Gans alright? Yeah, she's just a

25:58

little under the weather. I

28:01

asked through the medical mask I was now

28:03

required to wear at all times while on

28:05

the second floor. Her tone

28:08

seemed intended to be joking, but

28:10

it came across more accusatory. No,

28:13

it's just that we can't seem to get rid

28:15

of this bug going around. I was

28:17

just curious if you were still feeling alright. I'm

28:20

fine. Mrs. Holmes

28:22

was the only resident on the second

28:24

floor who wasn't sick. The

28:26

bug hadn't spread to any of the staff

28:29

members either. A thought

28:31

occurred to me. Have you heard

28:33

anyone knocking on your door at night? Mrs.

28:35

Holmes's eyes shot to mine, momentarily

28:38

glowing in the light as they had

28:40

once before. She stared

28:42

at me with wide eyes that seemed

28:44

to be studying me. Finally,

28:48

her tight lips peeled apart. I

28:50

have not. Finally

28:53

I understood why Becca hadn't wanted to

28:55

come in here. I could

28:57

feel the goose flesh spreading across my arm

28:59

and a shiver run down my spine. I

29:02

didn't want to linger here any longer than I had

29:04

to. Have a good night. I

29:07

said, mimicking my usual tone

29:09

before hustling out of the room. I

29:12

grabbed the cart and pushed it quickly down

29:14

the hall toward Ms. Gans's room where I

29:16

would find Becca. As

29:18

I rounded the corner, I saw

29:20

a crowd of nurses surrounding the door. Becca

29:23

was standing off to the side, a

29:26

distraught look on her face. What

29:28

happened? I went in to

29:30

give her her food. Her

29:33

eyes were open, so I thought she

29:35

was awake. So I

29:38

asked her if she had enough cream and sugar for

29:40

her coffee, but she

29:42

didn't respond. Oh

29:44

no. That's never happened to

29:46

me before. I've never

29:48

seen one of them after... after

29:51

they died. Sorry,

29:53

Artie. I need to take five. Do

29:56

you think you can finish this yourself today? That's

29:59

fine. sit

32:01

down a minute. I'll pull up the footage. Thank

32:03

you. I sat down and

32:05

watched Ted scrub through last night's security

32:07

footage. It was strange seeing

32:10

the hallway so empty. During

32:12

the daytime hours, there were constantly nurses

32:14

or housekeepers coming up and down the

32:16

halls, but at night they

32:19

were dead. Suddenly there was

32:21

a flash of movement on the screen. Ted

32:24

let go of the mouse and let the footage

32:26

play out in real time. I

32:28

felt my chest tighten as

32:31

I recognized the figure on the screen. Mrs.

32:34

Holmes. I watched her

32:36

walk down the hall, moving with an unnatural

32:38

weightlessness for her age. She

32:41

stopped in front of Ms. Ganza's room and

32:43

knocked on the door. Then,

32:46

all of a sudden, she just

32:48

faded away. I leaned

32:50

in closer to the screen. Ted

32:52

sat upright in his chair. Was

32:55

that a glitch? I

32:57

don't know. The time code looks

32:59

normal, but it must have been. Either

33:02

way, I guess we know who's been causing trouble

33:04

at night. I'll have a word with

33:06

Mrs. Holmes. I don't know if that's a

33:08

good idea. Ted looked at me

33:10

quizzically. I didn't know how to

33:13

explain it, but I knew something was off about

33:15

Mrs. Holmes. There was no

33:17

telling what would happen if someone confronted her,

33:19

but how was I supposed to convince Ted

33:21

of that? Sorry. Thanks

33:24

for the help, Ted. I left the

33:26

nurses' station without saying another word. I could

33:29

only hope that my initial warning would be

33:31

enough to make Ted hesitate until

33:33

I could figure out what to do next. My

33:38

heart dropped when I couldn't

33:40

find Ted the next day. He

33:43

was always there. Every single

33:45

weekday, he was there. None

33:49

of the other nurses had seen him either. Apparently,

33:51

he hadn't called out sick or anything.

33:54

As far as anyone knew, he simply

33:57

hadn't shown up for work. I

34:00

knew better. I knew he'd

34:03

gone and talked to Mrs. Holmes, and

34:05

she'd done something to him. Could

34:08

he still be there inside room 2H? Was

34:11

he still alive? Had he mentioned

34:13

me? I worked

34:15

the first hour of my shift constantly looking

34:17

over my shoulder. By five

34:19

o'clock, the cook started lining up room

34:21

service trays. I was on my

34:23

own again. Apparently, Becca was

34:26

taking some time off after what she'd

34:28

been through. I couldn't blame her,

34:31

but I found myself desperately wishing I didn't have

34:33

to be alone. My

34:35

heart thumped with dread every step

34:37

I took toward room 2H. I

34:41

prayed the door would be locked again, but

34:43

no such luck. I

34:45

pushed the door open slowly and let the

34:47

light from the hall flood into the dim

34:50

room. Mrs. Holmes was

34:52

in her recliner, but as I

34:54

got closer, I noticed

34:56

her eyes were shut. She

34:59

was asleep. I set

35:01

the tray down quietly and made for the door,

35:04

but before I left, I

35:06

felt curiosity tug me back. I

35:09

wanted to know what happened to Ted.

35:12

If there was any trace of him in the

35:14

room, this might be my only chance to find it.

35:17

I inched heel-toe back through the entryway

35:19

and into the bedroom. I

35:22

found an antique lamp on the nightstand and

35:24

flipped it on, bathing the room

35:26

in a hazy yellow light. The

35:29

room was pristine, not even a

35:31

crease in the bedding. I

35:33

didn't know what I was looking for. Blood,

35:35

a body, just anything

35:37

that would confirm the insane thoughts that were

35:40

running through my mind. I

35:42

moved to the bathroom, but like the

35:44

bedroom, it was spotless. I

35:46

checked every inch of it, even getting

35:48

down on my hands and knees to

35:51

inspect the bathmat for blood stains. I

35:53

was starting to feel like a lunatic. Maybe

35:56

everything that was happening was exactly what

35:58

it seemed. and the rest of it

36:01

was all just in my head. Feeling

36:04

a little ridiculous, I stepped out of

36:06

the bathroom, gently closing the door behind

36:08

me. What were you doing

36:10

in there? A jolt

36:12

of fear raced through my

36:14

body. I turned and

36:17

saw Mrs. Holmes standing in the

36:19

corner by her recliner. She

36:22

looked tall, her shoulders not

36:24

slumped like usual, and

36:26

her eyes were glowing in the light again. I didn't

36:29

know what to say. Sorry,

36:33

I hurried for the door. Mrs.

36:35

Holmes stood motionless, watching

36:38

me go. Thanks

36:41

to my little investigation, dinner

36:43

was nearly over by the time I got back to

36:45

the kitchen, and there was a mountain of

36:48

dishes waiting for me by the sink. I

36:50

shook off the unsettling thoughts plaguing my

36:52

mind and got to work. It

36:55

was going to be another late night, and

36:57

it only got worse when the cook brought

37:00

over a stack of burnt pans that would

37:02

take ages of scrubbing to get clean. It

37:05

was nearly an hour past the end of my

37:07

shift by the time I'd finally finished all the

37:09

dishes. The waitstaff had clocked

37:12

out thirty minutes ago. That

37:14

was fine. I was used to being the

37:16

last one in the kitchen. It was

37:18

the dishwasher's job to clean the floors at the

37:20

end of the night after everyone else had gone

37:23

home. That night, though,

37:25

I should have been scared. But

37:28

the wait of being alone hadn't

37:30

hit me yet. My mind

37:32

was too preoccupied with work. I

37:35

finished mopping the floor, meaning all that was

37:37

left was to take the trash out to

37:39

the dumpster. I gathered up all

37:41

the bags and took them out into the hallway,

37:43

then out the back door. I

37:45

set the bags down and propped the door open

37:47

with a pen. After eight

37:50

o'clock, the building locked down, and

37:52

I would need a keycard to get back in, something

37:55

the facility didn't grant to dishwashers.

37:58

I hoisted the garbage bags into the her

40:00

head. She wailed and faltered

40:02

a few steps, buying me enough time

40:04

to run deeper into the kitchen toward

40:06

the knives. She was on

40:08

me again before I could reach them. I

40:11

felt a wet sting on my calf

40:13

and looked down to see her there, latched

40:16

on with her teeth sinking deep into

40:18

my flesh. I fell

40:20

onto the concrete floor, my left shoulder

40:22

taking the brunt of the impact. I

40:26

tried to crawl away but couldn't break

40:28

free of her inhuman weight. With

40:30

my free leg, I kicked at

40:32

her head as hard as I could

40:34

until she released me. Her

40:36

blood-stained mouth hissed at me as

40:39

I scrambled to my feet. I

40:41

ripped the largest knife I could find

40:44

out of the block and spun around,

40:46

ready to drive it into Mrs. Holmes'

40:48

chest. But she was gone.

40:51

My eyes flicked frantically around the room looking

40:53

for any sign of her. Then

40:55

I felt something drip onto my cheek.

40:58

In the reflection of the

41:00

knife blade, I could see the drop of

41:02

blood rolling down my cheek. I

41:04

looked up and there she was. She

41:07

wasn't suspended from the ceiling. She

41:11

was floating. As soon

41:13

as I laid eyes on her, she

41:15

dropped, falling right on top of me.

41:18

I managed to raise the knife high

41:20

enough and felt it pierce her gut

41:22

as she landed on me. I

41:24

think that was the only thing that

41:26

saved me from her teeth sinking into

41:29

my neck. Mrs. Holmes reeled

41:31

from the knife wound. She

41:33

swung her arm out and I felt

41:35

the tremendous weight and strength behind it

41:37

as it crashed into my side and

41:40

threw me across the room. Pain

41:42

shot through my back as I collided with

41:44

the stainless steel of the dishwasher. I

41:47

knew I couldn't afford to waste time licking

41:49

my wounds. I pulled

41:51

myself up to my feet just as

41:53

Mrs. Holmes ripped the knife free of

41:55

her gut. Coagulated blood

41:57

seeped out of the gaping wound.

42:00

like thick mud. Mrs.

42:02

Holmes hunched over like a predator waiting

42:04

to pounce. My heart

42:07

raced waiting for the moment. Like

42:09

a bolt of lightning, it

42:11

came. She leapt across the

42:13

room at me. My instincts

42:15

kicked in and I ducked to the

42:18

right. I heard a loud metallic crash

42:20

as Mrs. Holmes' body slammed into the

42:22

dishwasher. I looked up and

42:25

saw her top half lodged in the

42:27

machine. Without even thinking about

42:29

it, I yanked the lever,

42:31

sending the hood down just far

42:33

enough over Mrs. Holmes' thin body

42:36

to activate the machine. She

42:38

howled and screeched as the steam

42:40

inside the dishwasher boiled her skin.

42:42

I didn't wait around for

42:44

the cycle to finish. I saddled

42:46

the pain in my back and my leg and

42:49

ran out of the kitchen before she had a

42:51

chance to escape. I didn't

42:53

dare look back. Sunset

43:01

Grove closed down last year,

43:03

three years after I left for good

43:05

that night. I never found out

43:08

what became of Mrs. Holmes, but

43:10

I don't think she ever left. The article

43:12

detailing Sunset Grove's closure

43:14

cites financial difficulty after

43:17

a spike in mortality rates, and

43:19

there had been more than one story about

43:21

staff members going missing over the years. Ted

43:24

was the first of them. I

43:27

would have been the second. For

43:29

a long time, Sunset Grove

43:31

haunted me. I would

43:33

dream about being back in room 2H, cowering

43:36

under Mrs. Holmes' impossibly tall

43:38

form. Her skin blistered

43:40

and rubbery from the burns I gave

43:42

her. In time, those

43:45

dreams faded. It hadn't

43:47

seemed possible, but my life started to

43:49

return to a sense of normalcy. Reading

43:52

the article on Sunset Grove brought

43:54

those memories crashing back. I

43:57

tried to tell myself that I was safe, but...

44:00

I don't think I am anymore. Not

44:03

since I heard a knock on my door the other

44:05

night. I wanted so

44:07

badly to believe it was nothing,

44:09

just neighborhood kids messing around. But

44:12

my head has been pounding ever since I heard

44:14

it. My stomach twisted

44:16

in knots. My

44:18

breath short. I

44:20

can't sleep through the night anymore. I

44:23

find myself staring out the window,

44:26

watching. I

44:29

see a pair of glowing eyes, watching me in the dark.

45:12

For most of us, it's the start of

45:14

the hot season. The summer months

45:16

that will bring us all the heat and

45:18

humidity we can handle. The

45:20

heat can be enjoyable in small doses,

45:23

but in this tale, shared with

45:25

us by author Vincent Pémont Desilé.

45:28

We meet a woman desperate to cool off her

45:30

son. It's not the outdoor

45:32

temperatures that have him overheated. It's

45:34

something far worse and

45:37

intensely transformative. Performing

45:40

this tale are Mike Delgaudio, Jessica

45:43

McAvoy, Jesse Cornett, Erica

45:45

Sanderson, and Jeff Clement.

45:48

So keep your cool, if you'll pardon

45:50

the expression. It's not

45:52

easy to do when facing some

45:55

scorchers. The

50:00

choice awaited. Was

50:02

her son better dead or

50:04

a monster? Could she pull

50:06

the trigger? Or could she

50:08

lock him in a room and wait? For

50:12

what? A cure? Help?

50:15

From whom? Laura knew

50:17

next to nothing about those monsters.

50:19

That illness, that curse, whatever it

50:21

was. It spread fast

50:23

and it hurt that she knew. Their

50:26

minds were wiped out or maybe

50:29

they went insane from the constant burning

50:31

pain their condition kept them in. Their

50:34

brains unable to comprehend what happened.

50:37

It felt wrong to call her colleagues,

50:39

her students, people she'd seen on the

50:41

streets, in the parks, at the mall,

50:44

monsters. Some called

50:46

them stabbers, some scorchers, but

50:50

you had to make a separation. They

50:52

were no longer people. Or

50:55

were they? One had reached

50:57

for her cell phone out of reflex before

50:59

biting it. Laura had seen

51:02

one trying to get into his car, his

51:04

car. They

51:07

still had shadows of memories,

51:09

instincts, a trace of

51:11

humanity. Would Tommy call

51:13

her name in a fit of agony? Would

51:16

there be consciousness left in him? Such

51:19

a good kid. So

51:21

good it doomed him. About

51:30

20 survivors had gathered in the school's

51:32

cafeteria. Lights off, tables

51:35

stacked against the doors and windows. Sitting

51:38

on the floor, Laura held her shivering son.

51:41

They had made sure no one in the room had

51:43

gotten stabbed. Within the first

51:46

hour, they had watched a first grade

51:48

teacher change. They had

51:50

to throw her deformed searing body out the emergency

51:52

exit under

51:54

the protests of some horrified onlookers. Sometimes

51:56

a commotion surrounded them.

54:00

about the what-ifs, about

54:02

the accident that had sent Tommy's

54:04

father into a coma, about

54:06

the choice she made after months of

54:08

bad news, of hope fading

54:11

on her son's face when she

54:13

told the doctors to pull the plug, about

54:16

how the comatose in the next room,

54:18

as a miracle or bad joke on

54:20

her, regained consciousness the

54:23

following day, against

54:25

all odds, against

54:27

her. That decision

54:29

haunted her ever since. We're

54:32

almost there. A beige and

54:34

red shape darted on the road, jumped on the

54:37

car, the windshield shattered, she

54:39

hit the brakes, the wheels screeched,

54:41

the SUV slued and smashed against

54:43

a tree in a clash of

54:45

crushed metal. It was

54:48

the wind on her cheek that let her know she

54:50

was still alive. Then

54:52

the pain, everywhere,

54:55

her little finger bent backward.

54:58

She turned her head, her neck

55:00

cracked. Tommy was between

55:03

the seats, face down.

55:06

She saw him in a red blur. With

55:09

as much caution as her quivering hand allowed,

55:11

she plucked a shard of glass out of

55:14

the corner of her eye. Blood

55:16

ran down her eyelid. After

55:19

three tries, she opened the door. Once

55:22

she had pulled herself out, her dazed

55:24

mind recalled the cause of the accident.

55:27

The scorcher lay still on the road,

55:30

his body contorted in ways

55:32

beyond flexibility, bones

55:34

sticking out. In

55:37

a crescendo, Tommy let out a scream.

55:41

Laura pulled him out of the car,

55:43

slowly, blood trickled from his

55:45

nose. I

55:49

see everything red.

55:55

It's gonna be fine. Can you walk?

55:59

He shook his head. As

1:02:07

the train pulls into the terminal,

1:02:09

we ask that you gather what's

1:02:11

left of your sanity and depart

1:02:13

the train. Thank

1:02:15

you for traveling with us on

1:02:17

the Sleepless Express. The

1:02:21

No Sleep Podcast is presented by

1:02:23

Creative Reason Media. The

1:02:25

musical score was composed by Brandon

1:02:28

Boone. Our production

1:02:30

team is Phil Michalski, Jeff

1:02:32

Clement, and Jesse Cornett. Our

1:02:35

editorial team is Jessica McAvoy

1:02:38

and Ashley McAnally. To

1:02:41

discover how you can get

1:02:44

even more Sleepless horror stories

1:02:46

from us, just visit Sleepless.TheNoSleepPodcast.com

1:02:49

to learn about the Sleepless

1:02:51

Sanctuary. Add free

1:02:53

extended episodes each week and lots

1:02:56

of bonus content for the Dark

1:02:58

Elves. All for only one low

1:03:00

monthly price. On

1:03:03

behalf of everyone at The No Sleep

1:03:05

Podcast, we thank you for traveling the

1:03:07

rails with us for our 21st season. This

1:03:15

audio program is copyright 2024 by Creative

1:03:17

Reason Media, Inc. All

1:03:20

rights reserved. The copyrights

1:03:22

for each story are held by the

1:03:24

respective authors. No duplication

1:03:26

or reproduction of this audio program

1:03:29

is permitted without the written consent

1:03:31

of Creative Reason Media, Inc. This

1:04:00

is the story of the one. As

1:04:02

head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows

1:04:04

the show must always go on. That's why he

1:04:06

works behind the scenes, ensuring every

1:04:09

light is working, the HVAC is

1:04:11

humming, and his facility

1:04:13

shines. With Grainger's supplies and

1:04:15

solutions for every challenge he faces,

1:04:17

plus 24-7 customer support, his

1:04:20

venue never misses a beat.

1:04:22

Call, quitgrainger.com, or just stop

1:04:24

by. Grainger. For the

1:04:26

ones who get it done. So

1:04:31

the King's new lemonade lineup is

1:04:33

here. Name and a lemonade The

1:04:35

Smoothie King Way try strawberry. Guava

1:04:38

Lemonade ask refresher over ice

1:04:40

a power up in it

1:04:42

can energize, or a blueberry

1:04:44

lemonade smoothie lead it up

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being. Made with

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real fruit. Real juice for a

1:04:51

real sipping good summer. Yeah yeah,

1:04:53

Data is no Smoothie Kings New

1:04:56

lemonade lineup of for a limited

1:04:58

time. Who. Stars Day. The

1:05:28

delicious ice-cold taste of Dr. Pepper The

1:05:30

delicious ice cold taste of Dr. Pepper has

1:05:32

a lasting effect on people. Lindsay from Sacramento

1:05:34

said... Pro tip, 40 degrees is the perfect

1:05:37

temperature for an ice cold Dr. Pepper. Why

1:05:39

is 40 degrees the perfect temperature for Dr.

1:05:41

Pepper? We brought in Sue from Duluth, Minnesota to

1:05:43

tell us. Oh yeah, I know a thing or two

1:05:45

about cold. Oh, that right there is the

1:05:47

perfect kind of ice cold for Dr. Pepper. Mmm,

1:05:50

I'd share that with my friend Nancy. She likes

1:05:52

Dr. Pepper too, you know. My coldest... Alright, that'll

1:05:54

be all, Sue. Having a perfect temperature for

1:05:57

your Dr. Pepper? It's a Pepper thing. Inspired

1:05:59

by Real Fan posts.