The Lake Incident

AN UnderBelly Case File

File#: 03

BY: Steve Campbell

Not all that bump in the night
Want you to bump back

CHAPTER 1
The Problems

I had some time off, so I decided I would take up Leroy’s offer and go to the Topeka lake he always talked about. So I packed my bags and decided I should bring my bag of tricks just in case I ran into something that was not normal, and I had to take care of business. I was starting to fear like the world was turning in whatever way it needed to just to get me in front of these things that should not be or people that could not be real, that is if you could even call them people, I felt that sometimes I was someone's puppet, and I was being thrown into the fire to see if I could jump out before being burnt alive. After a quick call, I was on the road to relaxation, I liked to say that word it has been so long since there was nothing that a relaxing weekend or even a week would be great, I was dreaming of just staying in with the windows open and waking to the bird singing and the breeze blowing, at least that is what I thought when I left the city this weekend to go away in the mountains.

I stopped at the local grocery to pick up supplies, This is not at a major brand store where everything was neat and fresh, oh no, this was a backwoods store of what others did sell however here you had to look for the can that is not outdated, or the bread that was only one color on the inside, then I got to the counter and instead of being happy I had stuff to buy from this struggling small business I got instead the man at the counter said, “Are you going to the lake, mister?” I gave him a nice casual nod as I counted out the funds for the supplies, and he looked at me and said, “Mr., if you turn back, I will give you $40.00 just so I won’t have to clean up your parts in the morning.”

I looked up at him and said, “What did you say?”

“I said get out of here now, and it’s $40.00 for ya.”

“So what you are telling me is, instead of buying these for 37.00 bucks, you would give me 40.00 to not buy and walk away back home?”

“Yes, sir, because you…”

“I know. You do not want to help clean me up. Got it. Let’s just say we never had this talk, and you can keep the change, sir.”

And I got out of that crazy place, which did give me the spooks when I left. I was damn happy to roll up the windows and be moving again.

I had the map open and was looking for the right turnoff, but I think I missed it the first time. And as I was turning, I could swear I saw a dinosaur in the rear-view mirror. I had to shake my head at that one, and I got moving down the closed in road that you were lucky to make it at night, I knew I was lucky it was not night yet and a little bit of sun would gather at times in the middle, so the road could be found on the way down to the old house on the lake, that was right where I left it years ago when I was here last, and ran with the kids Leroy the owner of this place and buddy up here. I just sat in the car thinking back to when the three of us would go out on this lake all day, barely making it back before the bugs would drive you inside like soldiers fighting a war against your blood itself..

When I got there, I put my bag inside and locked up the car in the old shed, that looked like it just got a major overhaul so I was sure it would not fall on my old lady today at least, then walked to the cabin I remembered from years back, I even think it had the same furniture that is the way the lake people worked up here, so different than the city, no holes, no rips, still stands up, good no reason to replace it yet. I had to start the heat up, thanking my stars the gas was installed, so I did not have to play with papers for an hour to live in the cold., I started to warm up nicely when I heard a swishing noise behind the house, which was not loud, but as if someone was moving away after looking or listening to me, I locked the rest of the locks on the doors, and checked all the windows. No breeze through those trees tonight.

To be honest, I fell back on the bed, and the relaxing feeling of being away put me under like a switch was flipped on a light. I did not wake up until the sun was shining in my eyes from the crack in the blinds.

So when I was up, I was dressed and ready for the day. You see, when you're at the lake, you act like the people at the lake. I do not like just sitting around, so I was out looking for a boat where they always used to be. There was not one there. I looked out at the lake, and there was nobody out there on such a nice morning. Then I remembered, “Just so I won’t have to clean up your parts in the morning,” and I went back inside the cabin and started looking out the windows. Did I do it again? Did I end up in the middle of some mess I have to clean up? I am just a reporter, not the National Guard or anything.

CHAPTER 2
More information can help, right?

As I was sitting there and feeling really sorry I even got in the car yesterday, I heard motion on the front porch, then the door handle moved. I picked up the chair and got ready to protect myself with hardwood. When the door opened, it was Buddy, Leroy’s friend, and he did not wait for a hi or even for me to put down the chair before he locked all the locks he had just unlocked.

Then I listened as he began to talk. “You should not be here. Leroy left you a message on the phone to stay home and enjoy the peace. Now what should I do, just let you stay…”

I said, “Buddy, what’s that you're trying to say over there, you old guy? Why don’t we have a talk about that crazy store owner at the top of the hill?”

Buddy looked at me with death in his eyes and said, “Karl, I know. That is who gave me a call and said get down here and get you back home. He also said you were foolish for not getting $40.00 when you needed to leave anyway, money or not.”

I sat back down and said, “I am going nowhere until you tell me what is going on up here, and I do not mean the cliff notes. I mean the whole story, or I am not moving from here until you carry me out.” Right then, I got my recorder and put it on the table so I could get it right.

Buddy checked all the locks again, came over with another chair, sat down, and started a strange tale indeed. “You see, it was a few weeks back when Mary and Sue were up here fishing as they always do, and they got spooked enough that they just left the fish in their boat and left. No words at all, just gone. At least we thought that was what they did until we found a hand with her grandad’s old ring still on it. You see, Karl, their car was gone. There was no blood at all anywhere, and they were never seen again until that hand. I guess that was when it started.”

I leaned forward and said, “What started, Buddy? How many more cases are there at this lake?”

He looked like he did not want to say, as he kept counting the threads on the carpet. Then he said, “Well, Karl, you being in the news and all, I can not just tell you, and everyone would think you bribed me or something, and I can’t do that.”

I told Leroy, “Fine. I will turn this off then. Later, we can restart on tape again.” So I pushed stop and record together on the machine, then turned it so the wheels moving were not facing Leroy.

“Well, Karl, I think there have been almost 17 missing persons in the last few weeks. And there is no proof of them even being missing, other than that they are gone. Same thing, the cars are in the lake we presume, and the bodies are mostly just gone, like they were…”

“But you think Eaten, and the scraps thrown in the lake,” I said.

And Leroy said, “Now, Karl, I never said anything like that, so do not start that rumor now.” He got up, almost tipping his chair over.

I said, “Come on, sit down and tell me what you do know, buddy,” and I repeated it a few times before he finally sat back down and continued.

“You see, Karl, if it were a fish, how did the car get moved? Then, if it were a land animal, how did they get taken out of the boat? We did find one overturned boat, you see. Very strange, man. Now we just stay in at night, and the whole night fishing up here is gone. Then we move back to Mary, who was never out at night in the boat. Never.”

I said, “OK, now we know Mary was, let’s say, taken during the day. What about the rest?”

Buddy thought for a second, then said a strange thing I was not expecting. “Well, Karl, we did get 15 left hands during these last few weeks.”

I had to stop him and make sure I heard him correctly. “Buddy, you are telling me that not spare parts are thrown in the lake, but only their left hands. You do know that makes a difference. There is a pattern in these parts now, and people are not missing; they have been snatched for a reason now. Buddy, what about this dinosaur story? I will say I thought I saw that as well.”

“Well, Karl, there have been a few sightings of a dinosaur-looking thing. I say that because some say 'dinosaur,' some say 'large reptile,' and others even report a specific type and size. But none of them ever says that they see it walking. It is only moving, and no footsteps or tracks are heard or found. This is a mystery the town does not want to comment on, I think, because they would lose their high-vacation zone status online. So the store guy pays people to go away instead of having them disappear with paperwork, Karl.”

Then I went out on a limb, and hoped it would not break under me as I was there, and said, “Buddy, I know this might be off subject, but I think of things a bit differently than most do, so I have a couple of off-the-wall questions here. Please just let me get these answers. Ok, has anyone moved here in the past year? Maybe someone who is strange in some way. And my second question is: have any businesses opened in this area in the last two years? I know that might not be what you were expecting, but if you could answer them, please.”

I saw what I did not expect from my old friend: squirming, unable to look directly at me. I had to say, “Buddy, what is wrong? Why can't you just answer?”

After a long silence, while he was still looking for those missing slivers in the floor boards, he finally said, “Well, Karl, I must say those are off the wall questions, however they are the same questions the chief told us all not to answer, so that kind of screws with my head since you just got here, and you focused on the one thing I was told not to tell.”

Then he looked at me and waved his hand up and down, saying, “Don’t worry, my friend, I will answer then for you, but do you not find that way strange, man?”

I nodded and said, “I do, and I know nothing yet, buddy, at least not right now, that is.”

And I looked directly at him, where I could see him squirming around again in that hot seat of his, then he finally said, “Ok, Karl, you never heard this from me. But just a mile away up your same road, Sam Giordano moved in almost one year ago, and has had no problems like the others. I hear that he ‘helps out’ the police departments in the area.”

As he was saying that, he added while shaking his head, “But not all of them, Karl.”

Then he went on. Almost three months before Sam moved in on the top of the hill, a company renovated an old, beat-up army base from a long time ago and opened up the New Voice Phone Services company up there. However, I do not see many people going into the building. I think you can see it from here. It’s just at the top if you go out to your dock, right directly above Sam’s place. You should be able to see his dock from yours also, Karl.”

“I, I think, I do think, I should be getting going now, my friend. Stay safe and keep the doors locked all the time.”

I shook Buddy’s hand and said, “I will, but a lock on this door will not help me from a dinosaur roaming around these parts, friend.”

And Buddy left.

I locked up and had to listen to that playback to find strange things.

When I got done, I wrote on my paper here: Only left hand. Dino with no feet. And a new business with no employees.

I then took a nap to let that swirl around for a bit in my subconscious mind.

CHAPTER 3
The Visit

I woke with a strange feeling I was not alone. The lights were out, and I did not turn them on. Unless someone in town got a big mouth about me, since my car was locked in the shed, there were no signs that I was even there, so I did not want to make any.

I got on the floor so I would not knock into things and made it to the front door. I slowly placed the chair under the handle, as my night sight was just enough to see them both. Then I snuck over to the windows just as a big, tall, large guy went by, breathing hard and deep, and then a thing that sounded like a small remote-control plane engine went by right behind him.

I watched the shadows leave and lifted the corner of the drapes. I could only see a large tail go out of sight.

I grabbed my camera and hat and raced at a quiet run, following them from a distance. What looked like a bigfoot monster, but green in color from what I saw, and he was being followed by a small dinosaur; however, there were no legs, just a floating body with a tail about that size, as a human female body, I thought. I followed them for quite a distance around the lake area until the door on a cabin opened and they went inside, then the door closed again. No screams. No breakage at all. As if that was where they belonged.

I noticed I was not leaning on a tree but a large box. When I backed up, I saw the name S Giordano in yellow letters.

I got back to my house and searched for a reason to go back, and then I saw it there. I grabbed my sugar jar and threw the contents down the sink, then started off walking with my recorder under my coat and already recording my stride of the time being.

I walked up to Giordano’s place and knocked on the door. I heard movement inside, and the door was opened by a nice-looking older man in his 60s.

He said, “What can I do for you? You know it’s late, right?”

I looked at my watch, and I could not see in the dim light. “Sorry, sir, but the misses will be here in the morning, and you see she likes her sweet tea in the morning, and I wondered if I could borrow some sugar for her tea, of course, in the morning, before the market opens.”

An angry old man said, “Fine, just stay there,” and he closed and locked the door on me.

That was quite strange for a 30-second grab-and-go.

Then he unlocked the door and said, “Where did you say you were from?”

I said, “I did not yet, but the Leroy place, just one down the street here.”

I got a look of puzzlement as he said, raising his voice on each word, “Really. One down the street, and you have been there all night now. Strange.”

I said, “Thanks for the sugar, I will be getting back now. She does not let me sleep much when she is here, so I need to catch up now before she arrives in the morning.”

I turned and walked at a fast normal pace until I could no longer see his front door. Then I threw the jar in the woods and ran full boat to the shed and drove off before I could be snatched, at least that was my thought.

What I did not know right then or close to it was that the little store that sells second-hand stuff for the tourist to buy was being locked up later than it should be because a lady just could not make up her mind until Lisa had to start turning out the lights, and she never did buy anything after almost an hour after closing time. Due to that, she was utterly alone on the street because the town did not stay open after 5:00 because of the missing people, and right then, she dropped her keys on the ground as she became one of the missing when she was carried off to who knows.

I woke up at the first pull over for a hiking trail off 18 when the hikers would hit my window as they passed by.

And I thought, since I was out, let’s see about a road that has to go to that building.

I then found out the hard way that most roads off the main roads around here were old fire paths that were not really updated at all, and a 66 Mustang should not be anywhere around them.

So after finding a place to turn around, I went into the first larger town I could find, Lake Village, and there was a boat and jeep rental. I made a deal that I could prepay for a week and leave my car there for the same week.

I was off in a big jeep that drove nothing like my 66, and I did think I hurt my back a few times, so I just slowed down and made it this time to the top of the fire road. I was stopped outside a large fenced area that did indeed have a sign saying New Voice Phone Services, then a strange line under it that did not make sense to me, “Pure air site run by CO2 cleaners inside.”

And I thought CO2 gases?

I got in my jeep and drove home to find my front door open and my notes missing from the table. Glad I took my recorder with me because my camera was open and the film was removed.

I must have hit a sour note last night, and I am damn glad I was not here.

So I sat there, just thinking, when Buddy came in with his gun drawn and said, “Freeze.” I looked at him and said, “Yeah, it’s cold. I am frozen. Why should I freeze the rest, Buddy?” He said, “Karl, I was told you disappeared last night, and then I saw that jeep. Why do you have a jeep, Karl?” I quickly said, “To get around, why else? But Buddy, who told you I was gone? I only ask that because I met Sam last night, and it was not a nice, fuzzy feeling I got, so I did not stay here last night, but on a pull-off on 18.” “Sorry, Karl, but they did not say who called it in, and as I ask...” I sat down then and said, “Yeah, good call, Buddy, but I do not think I can stay here any longer after my run-in with a tall, fuzzy man and a floating dinosaur cart last night.” I noticed that Buddy skipped over that with no look or comment, like everyone sees things like that around here. Then he said, “You might be able to stay at the place next to me. Just keep it clean, since they are away for the whole week. I am the one watching it, you see.” Then I followed up by asking, “Buddy, how many Bigfoot sightings do you get up here a year?” He looked up at me and said, “About three hundred, why?” “And do you ever check them out to see what they say?” He answered me in a flat voice, “Yeah, Karl, they are big, brown, and breathe a lot. Could be a man going to a beer outlet for all I know, so no, man, we do not think we have any Bigfoot. However, you will write it as you hear it.” I looked at him like a man I did not know. “Why are you getting so defensive? It is not like I am running you over the coals because you did not catch a Bigfoot up here, Buddy. What has happened since I last spoke to you? Your complete attitude has changed, and now you’re coming after me, nothing like my friend?” He finally sat down, put his hand to his head, and said, “Karl, it’s Lisa, the girl in town I have been trying to hitch up with, you see. She is missing after locking up the store late, and I have no idea, nor does anyone else, what to do about it.”

I have to say I saw an opening to have help and with that big guy I saw I knew I needed it, so I took it and jumped in with, “Buddy I have an idea where we can find answers, but you need to leave the badge at home if you know what I mean, there will be no need for firearms but you since you can use it should have it just in case, we will find out what is going on tonight, that is if you want to help. I even think if we get there soon enough, we might even save your Lisa, and you would be her hero.” He looked at me for five minutes and I could see him seeing Lisa in his head right then and him saving his future wife from death, and he did not say yes, he jumped up and said, “Let me show you where you will stay until the end of this Karl, and thanks for giving this chance to set things right, that is if your suspicion is right, if not who are you and why are you here friend?” I then looked at him and said, “Understood, Deputy.”

CHAPTER 4
WHY?

We went to the new house, and I decided, since it was a nice place, I would stop at the comfy couch, and that would be my extent of introduction into the place. I got my stuff ready for tonight and added the items to my black bag: saw, cutters, electric tester, a few smoke bombs, and the ever-so-handy three cans of bear spray. It is like mace but double-stuffed, so it works on everything, including bears. I got my black suit on and yes, left my hat at home, and waited in the jeep for my partner in tonight’s discovery mission, or even saving a soul tonight. I figured I would put the recorder under my shirt so I could write it down afterward as close to true as I could. When Buddy got in the jeep, we were off, as the sun just started to go down, so it should be dark on a quarter moon night by the time we get to the top of the hill.

After we got there, I turned to Buddy and said, “Remember, you are no longer the law, you are here to save your love man, got it?” And after he looked at me and said, “Understood, Karl, we do what we need to get this finished,” we both got out of the car, and first I tested for electric shock, and there was none, so I took out the saw and cut off the lock chain that was weaker than I thought it would be. After the gate opened, I noticed a light turn on next to the door, and I told Buddy, “We need to fly now, they know we are here, see that light.” And we went to the back door, which was also not to a high standard, so I could get in with the special screwdriver I had made years ago. So here we go, step by step. We went into the doorway and closed the door behind us after I checked to be sure we would not be locked in, and started opening all the doors on each side of us until we almost got to the end of the hall, where the door was locked, and I could feel a vibration through the door. I used my tool to wedge the door lock open enough to get the door to push in, and we were stunned by what we saw. I swear we both just stood there for a few minutes in amazement that we were still on the planet Earth.

There were rows of people lying on beds with machines hooked to where their left hand used to be, pumping blood and fluid through them, and it looked like they were active and alive. The beds were lined up too perfectly, like someone had built a hospital out of cold math instead of human need, and the air had that sharp, clean sting of chemicals mixed with old metal and something sweet that made my stomach twist. Each person had straps over their chest and legs, not tight enough to look like a fight, but just enough to make it clear they were never supposed to sit up on their own again. The machines beside them clicked and hummed in rhythms that sounded almost calm, like a heartbeat you would trust if you did not know it was manufactured.

If you got close, you could hear them talking even though there was no way they could see with all the items over their body and heads. There were wires and tubes everywhere, crawling over them like roots, and their faces were half covered with cloth, tape, and plastic cups that looked like someone had built a mask in a rush, just to keep them quiet enough to work. Their mouths still moved under it, and the sound that came out was steady and polite, like customer service, like nothing in the world was wrong. It was the kind of voice you hear when you call for help and the person on the other end tells you they understand, only this time the voice was coming from a body that should not have been able to make one more word.

It was like they were live operators for a phone service company, just taking messages, and the horror was not just what they were, it was that they were still doing it. Their bodies were pale and waxy under the lights, and where the left hand used to be, there were clamps and ports bolted into bone, sealed with dark tape and medical glue that had dried in rough ridges. Some of them had blood dried down their arms in old trails, like the machine had tested the seal, failed, and tried again. Every few seconds, a pump would twitch, fluid would cycle, and a small screen would flash numbers, as if it were counting their life in decimals. I could see labels on the tubing, not names, not anything human, just taped strips with codes like they were parts on a shelf.

And the smell in that room was wrong. Not just death, not just a hospital, but that wet iron smell you get when a cut is fresh, mixed with ozone from burnt wires, and under it all, something old and trapped, like a basement that has never been opened since the day it was sealed. The lights overhead were too bright and too white, so every shadow looked sharp enough to cut you.

And in the far corner, there was a man with a saw getting ready to cut Lisa’s, I would presume, hand off. He was moving like he had done it a hundred times, calm, casual, like this was no different than cutting wood. The saw itself was already whining, that high hungry noise that makes your teeth hurt, and I could see that it was stained with old dried red stuff that was never cleaned off, like it had been fed before, and it wanted more. Lisa was strapped down like the others, her head turned to the side, and even from where I stood, I could see her eyes fighting to stay open, like she was drowning in whatever they had pumped into her.

I turned to Buddy and said, “Now is when you save the day. How good is your shot?” There was no delay when he shot the saw out of the man’s hand, then shot his leg so he could not run, and he started running to his girl. The saw hit the floor and bounced, still vibrating for a second, as if it did not understand it was no longer in control, and the sound of it scraping across the concrete made my skin crawl.

I took a good look at the machine system here, went to the closest unit, and unplugged it to see if they could be saved. To my horror, the whole system went dead, and the person just stopped breathing immediately. It was not a slow fade, not a struggle; it was like someone cut a string, and the body remembered it was supposed to be dead. The polite voice stopped mid-sentence, the mouth went still, and the room felt colder in a way that had nothing to do with temperature. Every screen blinked, every pump stuttered, and for a split second, there was silence so heavy I could hear the blood in my own ears. Then you could hear the whole system come alive again like a dragon awakening from a long sleep, then it was like I did nothing at all,.. Until one machine at a time started to turn from green screen to yellow screen as if they all started to shut down and just live but not say a word.

I looked at Buddy and said, “Is it time to close this down for good? It’s your town, and now it is your choice, man.” I could see him look around at all the people that were now controlled, and many of them he did know, and with a bit of strain, he said, “This is not alive, these people have already been killed.”

And just then, I could see from the corner of my eye the big guy coming at us full run, and I pulled Buddy and Lisa out of his way as he ran into the wall of the complex. It did not take him more than a second to move to race in our direction again, but something was different now, and I could feel it without even knowing why. The room had been chaos, noise, humming machines, voices that should not exist, and then it was like the world itself finally had enough and snapped back into place.

When the system started to fail, it was not just wires dying; it was reality correcting itself. The screens flickered, the pumps stuttered, and the polite talking voices cut off mid-sentence like someone reached into the air and tore the sound out. Bodies that had been kept in that fake middle ground between alive and dead just went still, and you could feel the weight of it in the air. Death became dead the way it should be, and for a split second, it was quiet enough that the whole room felt like a church after a funeral, except this church was built out of metal, blood, and stolen time.

The big guy came again, but he was not moving like he was before. Before, he had that programmed purpose, like a guard dog that never sleeps. Now he was charging through a place that was shutting down around him, and the lights were starting to die in patches, making him jump in and out of shadow like a nightmare that could not hold its shape. I did see before where he came from, a pathway with steps going down, and I also thought I knew where that went, and I knew right then we were running through the spine of something alive.

I told Buddy to go ahead of me and get Lisa on the steps, and he did, gripping her like she weighed nothing and everything at the same time. I turned and threw the first smoke bomb into the path of the giant, and the thick white cloud hit him fast, swallowing his head and shoulders. He slammed into the wall with a deep, cracked sound, like his body was too big for the world he was in, and he started bumping into the sides as if he could not find his way directly to us anymore. It looked like he was blinded, confused, searching, and for the first time he did not feel like a monster that ruled the room. He felt like a mistake that was losing its instructions.

Then I threw the first of two grenades I brought with me towards the machine control panel, and it blew parts everywhere. Metal screamed, plastic shattered, and the whole system lit up in a flash that made the rows of beds look like a photograph of hell. The complex alarms went off, sharp and constant, and the sound layered over everything like the place was trying to warn itself. Sparks poured out and started crawling along the floor, and I could start to see the units turning off one by one, screens dying, lights dimming, and the flames started melting the high voltage cables. The cables sagged like black veins being cooked open, dripping and snapping, and the smell turned into burning rubber and hot copper so thick it tasted like you were chewing on a coin.

And that was when I saw it.

Green muck, the same sick color that never looks natural, no matter how many times you see it, was moving along the floor like it had intelligence. It did not run like water; it crawled like it was hunting. It stretched from one broken machine to another, clinging to the metal, trying to bridge gaps, trying to hold the room together, like it was the last living piece of this whole operation, and it refused to let it die. It pulsed when the alarms screamed, and it shook like it was angry, like it knew we were taking its world apart.

I left the second grenade on the steps and put the hatch cover down on the handle and pulled the pin, before I started to run down the steps. The grenade sat there like a promise, and I did not look back long because the heat was rising, the smoke was thickening, and the big guy was still smashing through the haze trying to find us. I could see Buddy and Lisa making good time going down, Buddy half dragging her, half carrying her, and the steps echoed with every footfall like we were running down the throat of the place.

When I heard the explosive grenade go off, it flew flames all over the complex, and for a second, the fire painted everything orange and violent in the pathway we were climbing down. The smoke turned black and fought the pull of gravity, coming towards us along the same path as if the pressure of the fire was pushing it down the only path open to it. and the green muck reacted like it was alive enough to feel pain. It jerked back and forth in the path under the smoke, recoiled, then surged again in a desperate reach, trying to grab the cables as well as us in the pathway. But it could not stop what was happening. Chaos was ending, and the world was adjusting, and death was becoming dead the way it always should have been.

When we got to the bottom, I told Buddy to take out his gun and not to delay. After what they did to the lake people, they will do anything to us that you could imagine. So shoot and do not think.” Then I waited a minute until Buddy got ready, and I opened the door with a stick. Buddy ran out, ready to cut down anyone who was in the building. He seemed to be alone at the moment, until I started looking around, and I knew I was in the same house I had seen last night, with a mailbox that said Giordano. Then I felt a gun in my back and the words, “You two should sit down now before we get hurt.” So when Buddy saw me stop, he turned and shot the man next to me just in time, so he did not shoot me properly, but only put a hole in my shirt. As he lay there dying on the floor, I got out my recorder and said, “Now is your time to put the words of why on the news waves. Talk now or forever will be a mystery.”

He said with venom in his breath and words, “You people do not know how good you had it in the past. You see, you had people doing everything for you, and there was a sense of calm when you knew that the words were delivered with knowledge in them. Real voices. Real understanding. Real delivery. Not this modern mess where you press buttons, get nowhere, and the answers are empty, like talking to a wall that smiles back. I was trying to bring back the personal touch where there was no person involved. You understand that, right? A human sound without a human problem. We tried hiring; however, everyone quit, and the retraining over and over has killed the program. Killed it. We cannot keep them. They do not want to work. They do not want to learn it. They do not want to stay. Everyone wants comfort, everyone wants easy, everyone wants to leave when it is hard, and then people like you complain that nobody knows what they are doing anymore.So we got an idea from an unlikely source, a few little men that visited our community almost ten years ago, and for a little information on our world, I was able to get this program running. I had to, because someone had to. Somebody had to keep it stable. Somebody had to make sure the message got delivered the right way again. It was not wrong. It was necessary. It was clean. They were used properly. They had a purpose. You think it is cruel because you see blood, but you do not see the results. You do not see the peace it brings when the voices never fail.You see, this is not the only self-maintained facility. There are almost twenty of them staying up to date and running without a problem, maybe more by now. You just found this one because you were lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. But you cannot stop it now. You cannot undo it anymore. This is bigger than you. This is already built into the world, like power lines, like roads, like the phone itself.

Next time you hear a pleasant voice on the phone, ask a question. How do you know it is not one of mine? How do you know that polite voice is not coming from one of my workers lying there, doing their job, keeping the world smooth while you sleep? You do not know. You never will know. And that is the beauty of it. That is how it has to be. Quiet. Efficient. No mistakes.

Even if I die, they will live through trust programs in eighteen countries just to keep my one-armed workers going until their bodies fail. They will keep speaking, keep working, keep delivering, until they fall apart piece by piece, and even then, they will be replaced. The system does not need me anymore. It has already learned how to survive. That is what you do not understand. You cannot shoot an idea out of the air. You cannot arrest a machine.

You, old police hillbilly, did nothing today but release the knowledge for many to copy, make even more facilities that use humans to their best ability for tasks, they can do best in a vacuum of knowledge.”

Just then, the roof of the house fell on him as I was pulled back out of the way by our hillbilly cop. I could see when we left the house that the top of the mountain was on fire, and Lisa was waking up. I could tell she had the look for Buddy that he wanted. So I said my goodbyes, and Buddy gave me a report that said my car was stolen and used in an arson crime, so I could get my yellow baby back. I want to say that we changed something, but all we did was delay it. Yes, we did save one person, but what about the hundreds who will be missing every year, who know where they are or whether you are talking to one of them when you call for help or order food online? Ai is everywhere nowadays, and maybe some of it is just the “i” wrapped in a package that can never move or know it was dead for real. Yes, this story ended, but the nightmares are just going to start, I am sure.

I hope you are enjoying this look into the life of our Karl as he learns about what is in the UnderBelly as you also do. SBC

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