This chilling tale for tonight features a wicked scientist and how his experiments are to DIE for.
What Lies Inside
During World War 2, a secret research facility was being used to do controversial human testing. Since there was an abundance of prisoners from war, some were being offered freedom if they would simply volunteer for these experiments. Of course, freedom only came if they survived, which was very unlikely due to the nature of the experiments at the time.
The lead researcher and doctor was Valentine, a mid-aged man who had, over his time working at this facility, grown cold hearted and lacked empathy for all humans. After years of controversial tests involving men, he had essentially sent hundreds to their deaths. The ones that survived were granted their freedom, to only die a slow painful death shortly after. One thing Valentine surely knew was that there were always plenty of experiments to be conducted.
One such experiment was to see the effects of a newly created gas that would stimulate areas of the brain and allow soldiers to stay awake for much longer periods than previously thought possible. This gas could tremendously help the men in battle stay alert and fight for greater lengths of time while reducing the need to sleep.
Valentine approached 4 prisoners who had recently been shipped in from the work camps. These men had broken wills, and had seen death at their previous place of containment, but something shimmered in each of their eyes; Hope. Arriving here meant an end to the consistent labor and lack of nourishment in probably the worst conditions this world had to offer. It was common knowledge that most prisoners would die in the work camps, so there was always a fresh supply of hopeful individuals to volunteer.
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"You are still a prisoner; nothing has changed in that respect." He told them just as he had told the many others who stood there in the past.
“My name is Doctor Valentine, I am the lead scientist here and I will be conducting an experiment in which you have volunteered for. At the end of this experiment, you will no longer be a prisoner, but instead, a free man." Saying that last word free man brought smiles to each of the men he spoke to. Valentine could only chuckle at the thought.
"This experiment will include sleep deprivation. But hopefully, you won't notice anything. The idea is to keep you awake without the need for sleep, and if everything goes accordingly, 3 weeks should suffice and you will be released as promised." Valentine had told them what they needed to know and then lead them to the enclosure where he would test them.
The room they were lead to contained beds for each subject, a toilet, and a shelf full of books. It was a simple box room where one side was a complete observation window and also a heavy door sealed with an iron latch.
"You will be fed regularly. Also, feel free to sleep, though I'm hoping that won’t be necessary" Valentine said, then quickly left the room, closing the thick door behind him. Once outside he met with his small team of two scientists and one nurse to give the go-ahead. One of the scientists flipped a lever next to a combination of switches that was followed by a noisy squeak and the sound of air being pushed through pipes that lead from the floor into the room. Nothing in the room changed and the subjects also seemed unaware anything had happened. "We have devices inside the chamber to measure air quality and chemical concentrations. The seals have been checked for any leaks, so everything is ready."
"Good. We wouldn't want any gas to escape. I surely don't want to breathe any of it." Valentine sneered "One thing to remember. That door doesn't open for any reason until the test has concluded 21days. I'll check in regularly." He then left the area.
The 4 men inside sat down and started playing cards. Sooner than later they were laughing and talking about dreams they have once free from all the hell they had been through. Each one took turns talking about what battles they were engaged in during the war and how they had been captured, what work camps they had been to and even what things they had to eat in order to survive. It was a happy bonding experience as they all felt relieved to finally be near freedom and away from the reality of imprisonment. They had talked and played cards throughout the night without either of them growing restless or going to sleep.
The next day was similar. The subjects kept talking, and laughing and playing different card games. When one got bored, they would occasionally grab a book and read. The overall attitude was joy. Once again, they continued the games and chatter throughout the night without any sleep.
On the 3rd day, Valentine showed up and asked one of the scientists "How are my test rats doing?"
"Beyond expectations, sir. None of them has slept and they seem just as attentive and alert as the day we put them in. They talk and play games mostly. One seems to be reading quite a lot more than the others; he has finished a book already and hasn't put that one down since he started it during the night. Overall, they seem unaffected."
Without saying anything, Valentine nodded his head and left.
Another couple days had passed before Valentine came back for an update. He had just grabbed his first coffee in the early morning to get a jump on today for this was the day bearing initial results. A soldier for an extra 3 days is amazing, but over 6 days would be un-godly! In any case, He knew his superiors would be proud.
As he entered the quarters and before asking his scientist for information he realized the subjects were huddled in separate corners of the rooms staring at each other. The eyes quickly twitching as if nervous one of the others was going to do something. It became an eerie sight, but nothing too shocking.
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Valentine commented "When did this start?"
"It sort-of began yesterday morning when I was here. They started talking about some weird stuff... but still laughing and what-not" he cautiously replied, "But apparently Ricco said that last night they just slowly stopped interacting with each other... been like that, huddled in the corner, eying each other up like they were now enemies since I came in."
"That’s quite interesting" Valentine moved to pear through the window. "But they haven't slept?"
"Not at all. They never act tired, and no complaints. Though I haven't heard a word out of them since I got in at 4am."
The scientist reached for his notes and started rambling about something Valentine didn't care much about. Instead he spoke to the men inside the room.
"This is Doctor Valentine..." it took him by surprise when all their eyes fell on him in unison. Those twitching eyes with calm faces. Those would be tough to erase from memory, but he attempted by shaking his head and continued speaking "How is everything? How do you feel?"
None of them spoke, but the one on the far right corner stood up. Without breaking eyesight he began to pace back and forth in small area, making sure to keep his distance from the other man in the left corner.
Valentine turned back to his scientist, "I believe 3days would be the maximum exposure. But that is a good result, to say the least; I assumed 1day would have left two if not all of them dead... I’m quite surprised they have survived onto a 6th day. Have they been eating?
"Yes, they eat every time. I haven't fed them yet this morning though." the scientist replied
"Do that. Give them extra, see if they will consume more, and call me if anything dramatic happens. I might be back later today."
Though he didn't return that day, Valentine left the room while the man pacing continued to stare at him.
When he walked in the next morning, he noticed the room's viewing window was covered up from the inside. As he walked up to the glass he realized it was pages out of the books stuck on the window. He turned to the scientist and asked what was going on.
"Yesterday after you left, the one that was pacing began dipping books in the toilet, then ripping the pages out and sticking it the glass. I haven't heard anything, and unfortunately I can't see anything either. The air quality meter is showing that everything is fine, so they are still alive in there"
Valentine nodded and then turned to the sound exchanger in the glass and spoke, "Does anyone feel like talking today? This is Doct..."
He was cut off by a high pitched scream that came from inside. Once it stopped a soft chuckling was heard followed by another screaming episode. Then one of the men had walked up to the voice exchanger and began screaming madly into it.
Turning to his scientist, Valentine called out, "I believe they have gone mad!" followed by his own mad chuckle while he walked over to the station where the scientist was sitting.
"Maybe we should pull the plug on this one Doctor?"
Valentine stood there perplexed, looking at this man, "No, I said 21 days! When they die, the oxygen buildup will show it and then we can clean up. The door doesn't open!"
Frustrated, He stormed out of the testing area. He also knew the experiment had found its timeframe, and realistically had concluded, so it didn't need him present anymore. He had already sent his report to the command. There was no need to pay any more attention, once the subjects died they would be disposed of and new subjects would come for the next rounds of testing. This gas was worth it in Valentines eye, these were prisoners of war, and nobody would care anyway.
He placed the experiment out his mind for a few days. Until day 10 when he received a page at 4:30am to come to the testing area immediately. Thinking it was just the morning guard realizing the subjects had finally passed on, it wasn't necessarily immediately.
Valentine walked into the research area and dropped his coffee mug. As it shattered on the floor, he rushed over to the scientist’s station, reached into the lower drawer and grabbed the pistol and flashlight inside. It wasn't because the scientist was missing that concerned him, and it wasn't necessarily the door to the room being open either. But it was the blood trail on the floor leading into the room that had him in a rage.
The viewing window was covered, so he couldn't see what was inside. But being the type of man Valentine was, a soldier first, he planned to take care of this himself.
Valentine opened the door into the nightmarish scene one could only dream up. The sickly reality that he stood staring at was as hideous as the odor, and quickly became too much to bear as he vomited on the ground already covered in human excrement and fluids.
There were two subjects remaining. One sat on the bed staring at the flashlight, grinning. The other, truly out his mind, was hovering over the body of the nurse, peeling strips of flesh away from exposed bone. He had been eating the other subjects, yet the dishes of food they had been given were stacked on a bed; untouched.
The one on the floor looked up slightly as Valentine entered,
"Hello, Doctor" spoken softly, the deformed and deranged creature stared into his eyes, "Do you... know who I am?"
Responding in a gentile tone to prevent a reaction but still aiming the pistol, "I used to, but I have no idea what you have become."
A sickly smile came across it.
"Don't be afraid... Doctor. I am inside everyone. Simply much freer now." The creature paused to put the strip of skin he had just removed into his mouth before continuing
“I survive in the helpless...
The weak. "
I am that voice inside your head, telling you things, provoking you" It then smiled that cruel grin and stood up to continue speaking but in different, darker raspy voice
“I’m in you...
And I’m...
Coming "
In a blink of an eye the creature lunged at Valentine just as he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into its head. The inhuman man fell to the floor limp, never to move again, freed from this torture.
Valentine finally began to weep at his horrible mess he had created, the people he had deformed through his experiments and the nurse, his wife. He stood looking around the room full of corpses and destroyed bodies, breathing in the disgusting air he had created, and began self-reflecting on his evil creations.
Until the sound of a door closing and latching behind him was heard, and the sweet smell of gas overwhelmed the decaying bodies at his feet...
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Thank you for reading - I hope this brought some spine tingle!
This story is an alteration of "the Russian sleep experiment" that surfaced online in 2010 from an unknown author. Although I have used the base story, all words, sentences, and characters are completely 100% my own.
If you would like to read the original which got me interested:
http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Russian_Sleep_Experiment
If you missed my other CREEPY TALES, please check them out below:
https://steemit.com/creepytales/@generation.easy/creepy-tales-from-the-depths-of-steemit-3-campers-delight
https://steemit.com/story/@generation.easy/creepy-tales-from-beyond-the-grave-lady-in-red-short-stories-to-keep-you-scared-at-night
https://steemit.com/story/@generation.easy/creepy-tales-from-beyond-the-grave-sids
I will continue these stories because they are fun to write. I have also joined a writing club at my University, so I will be experimenting with different writing styles in order to find the one I am most comfortable with.
Please feel free to comment and or criticize.
