yessleep

I jumped away and ran to the opposite wall. I couldn’t control my screams.

It was like my lungs and vocal chords were on autopilot. Fear paralyzed me against the cabin. I couldn’t move anything beside my eyes, which I shut. I didn’t dare look back at what I just saw.

Two minutes of hyperventilating brought no relief however. So I stumbled my way into the corner of the cabin filled with countertops—an area that must have been used as a sort of kitchen, and sank to the floor where I hid behind a cabinet door.

I brought my phone light and peeked out at the body. It was him. Oh my god. It was Konrad, laying in a tangled mess. Not moving. Not breathing. Completely lifeless.

I sat there listening to the silence, trying to gather my thoughts and make sense of this. What on earth is happening?

As if in response, the walkie on Konrad’s hip blared with static. It caused me to jump and hit my head on a cabinet’s edge above.

The noise of the wind outside exploded out the tiny speaker. It was surging wildly. And in the background of the fuzzy storm I could hear voices chanting something. Several of them.

It was the film crew outside, they were reciting something on repeat. Their voices were low, measured, and although I couldn’t make out any of the Polish phrases, there was one word I did recognize. My name.

They were chanting ‘Anna’ over and over again. “Anna. Annna. Annnnnnn—”

Hell no.

Whatever this was. It had to stop. Although I was in the midst of a panic attack, and shuddering erratically, I forced myself to hobble forward, past an upturned cooler, and past a broken chair, until I reached Kon’s body. I cannot tolerate a cult chanting my name through a fucking radio.

I clawed at his waist, looking for the walkie. I quickly found it, seized the dial, and turned that shit right off. The sound cut out.

Thank god.

All I could hear was the faint wailing of wind outside the cabin. And some miniscule, tinny sound coming from the headphones on Konrad’s head. Wait what?

I looked at the Zoom recorder lying by his side. I didn’t notice before, but I could see the device was still on, and it was still connected to the boom lying on his chest.

Each second by the body brought me closer to fainting, and the last thing I needed was to pass out. So I closed my eyes, and tried to make out the tinny noise. Unbelievably, I could actually hear Konrad, I could hear his own voice playing into the headphones on his head. Did he record something for me?

Desperate for answers, I pulled the Sennheisers off his head without looking. Then I fumble-yanked the Zoom and boom from his hands and scurried back to my spot in the kitchen corner There was no way I could linger around that corpse.

I gathered myself and wiped what I thought might be blood off the headphones. The foamed ear pads adjusted snugly to my head. I listened close.

<I’m sorry … I’m so sorry … > It was the woeful whisper of Kon’s own voice. He sounded distant and airy.

Holy hell Kon, When did you record this? I looked at the Zoom’s tiny screen to determine what file was playing. What was the timestamp? Did he tape it while I was changing a few minutes ago? Then I noticed the red light was on the device. Not blinking. Not pulsing. A solid red light.

That meant it was actively recording.

I froze. The boom mic was resting on my lap, pointing lop-sidedly at Kon’s remains. Using minimal movements, I lifted the mic, extended it slightly, and aimed it directly at Kon’s body.

<Never should have agreed … It’s all my fault … > His voice was louder now. Still airy, but much more clear.

I extended the boom further, bit my tongue, and aimed the tip of the mic right at his lying, deceased head. < … Could have stopped it. Could have interfered. And now … Anna? … >

I stopped and stared. It felt like the audio had finished. All I could hear now was faint, gentle hum of the cabin’s room tone

It wasn’t so much that I was saying a word in response. It was more like I was just releasing a sound that got caught in the back of my throat.

“ … Kon?”

—

I stayed standing for a while, not saying anything, just testing my own sense of reality.

Goosebumps had rippled across my entire back and traveled down my arms and legs. If I hadn’t just been wind-hurled inside of a dark cabin by a group of filmmaker-cultists currently chanting outside, I might have been a little more skeptical of the situation. Instead I took a big breath and forced myself to ask the obvious.

“Kon … are you … dead?”

His body wasn’t moving. In the weak light of my phone, I could see the fresh, ruby-colored blood glinting off his neck.

<I’m not sure.>

It sounded like him, like he was in the space with me. Except even though I was pointing the mic right at his dead mouth, I sensed I was only picking up an echo, as if Kon was somewhere else.

Instinctually, I twisted the boom and pointed the mic up, aiming where I thought Kon’s head might be if he was standing upright.

The voice was pristine and clear. As if he was standing five feet above his own body. Except it was completely empty space.

“Holy shit.”

<What? Can you see me?>

“No. Not at all. How is this possible? How are you talking?”

I could hear him shift in the air and take a breath. I could literally hear him breathing, but I was still pointing up at nothing. Just stale cabin air.

“What?”

A dark weight descended onto my back. A spike of hopelessness. It’s like I’ve just been faced with something impossible. “A czar—?” <—Like a Polish warlock> “What do you mean?” I brought myself to sit down on one of the coolers and readjusted my grip on the boom pole. I could hear Kon’s voice drifting slightly. His breath was moving. The breathing soon turned to sniveling, It sounded like he was fighting back tears. I stayed silent and did my best to track the invisible voice. <I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have invited you here. I’m a terrible person.> “What is Olek trying to do?” I followed his anguish to a small bench lined up against the wall. I got the sense he was trying to sit down. <And now we’re both done. I’m done. It’s over. Because, I couldn’t do it.> “Do what?” Crying. The fleshy, wet sounds of wiping up a nose and eyes. I didn’t know whether this was truly the same Kon I knew before, or if his new form was more emotional. <I was supposed to bring you here. It was my job. And I did .. .But I was second guessing myself the whole time. I couldn’t commit. And Olek could tell. I’m sorry. I’m like, really sorry … I’m a fucking awful human being. But I’m not even *good* at being awful, because I couldn’t commit. I kept telling him to let you go. That’s why he tossed me in here. That’s why he killed me … > I took a big swallow, and glanced down at his limp body. His arms were still curled in an awkward jumble. “What’s ‘*in here’* mean? What is supposed to happen?” Another dark weight. My gut didn’t want to know anything more, but of course I had to know more. “What are you talking about? Get who to possess me?” It was now officially becoming too much. Although I was freezing in this thin, ragged dress, I forced myself to stay still. “The … folklore lady?” “The tree?” My throat became tight. I momentarily choked. “You mean they were actually trying to … ” My whole chest tensed up*.* *So they were trying to exploit me.* I wasn’t being paranoid. My worries were all valid the moment I got here. *I had been lied to by Kon the entire time.* <You can hate me. You're allowed to think I'm the worst person in the world. That's fine.> My grip on the boom tightened, I lowered it a little to accommodate for my shaking. Despite the torrent of fear still coursing out all ends of me, anger was now flaring too. I glanced again at Konrad's body. At his curled hands, at the limp uselessness of them. This was a person who was now truly, irrevocably gone from the world. Did someone dead deserve anger? My mic picked up Kon’s exhale, he let out a laugh. <Remember when I said, ‘we’ll fix it in post?’> He laughed again, clapping ghostly hands together somewhere. It became clear to me that whatever Konrad had become—it was something far more untethered. His voice started drifting further away. <What did I expect to happen? Of course they would kill me. Of course they’d kill the screw-up.> I tracked the voice again, from more of a distance this time. I felt like I could lose Konrad—for a second time—I could lose him to some kind of unknown madness. Like every moment away from life was making him more erratic. The laughter transitioned back to sobbing. <I’m so young. Jesus. I was twenty-six. I can’t believe he slit my throat.> It felt imperative to ask him more questions. To distract him. To ground him. As much for his sake as my own. “Why? Why did they kill you?” <Because I fucked up that take at lunch. Because they could tell I was weak. Because I cared too much about … well … you.> His voice hovered back over his corpse. Even though it looked like there was no one in this cabin but me. I could feel his presence there. I could feel his eyes on me. <Not that it matters now … what have I got to lose anyway? I like you. I’ve always liked you. But I could tell you didn’t like me. And that made me upset. I remember trying to get close in fourth year by helping on your movie, and for a few years after that, but you would always keep your distance. Which is fine. But I think it made me resent you. And so when I asked for your help on this, it was to get back at you. I know. Stupid. It was my own insecurity. But then you actually came. And you actually wanted to do a good job. And … > The sobbing returned, stronger now than at any other point. I lowered my mic, following where I thought his spectral ‘head’ must be. He was only a foot above his corpse, which meant he was now stewing over his own dead body. I tried not to look at it. <I’m sorry, Anna. I’m human waste. I am a rotting pile of human waste, like literally that is what I am right now. You can hate me. You can piss on my grave. I don’t care. But I will get you out of this. I promise. I will fix this. I need to.> *Good. Okay. Something actionable.* “So how do I get out of this?” I pointed at the entrance where we were both tossed in from. “Do I just need to push past the wind blocking that door?” “What do you mean?” <It’s basically a spell.> “A spell?” <You’re not going to be able to leave this cabin. Nothing will open.> I stood up shakily and gestured at the ladder in the corner. “What if I climbed up to the second floor? Broke through one of the windows or—?” <—You will not be able to.> My breathing grew shallower. <You will not be released until Północnica takes over you. This was Olek’s whole setup. I’m sorry.> I stared defeatedly at the spot where Kon was talking from. Then I stared beyond him at the far wall, where I could still faintly hear the wind blowing against the boarded up windows. And then I imagined the crew beyond that, chanting some godless invocations designed to end my life… “So how exactly is this wraith supposed to reach me?” There was a nasally exhale right above the corpse’s waist. My feet froze. I aimed my light in every corner of the room, looking for the wraith. “And how close is she?” I ran over and tried pulling at the boarded windows, but it was true, they were immovable. There was something unnatural holding them in place. Then I tried my hand at breaking through a tiny circular window above the small bed. Impenetrable. “Why does this even have to happen? Why can't they let me go?!” “But … Why?” <Because Olek needs her for … more takes.> “ ... More takes?” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That couldn’t have been right. “That's what this is all about? Finishing this dumb movie?” <Well, it's not entirely just that, but … to put it simply … yeah.> It was so stupid it was outrageous. “What the fuck? Is this a joke? Does Olek think killing people is going to make him the next Spielberg?” Kon said nothing. “I refuse to be a part of this, he doesn’t have my permission! I never signed any contract!” <Contract … > Kon laughed again < ... I wish it was that easy. But now that you mention it. There might be something we can do … > “What?” His voice drifted, circling around his remains. <Well It's not quite a contract, but technically Północnica is *bound* to that dress.> Without even seeing him, I knew he was gesturing at me. At my dress. I touched the linen on the neck seam I held onto the neckline, unmoving. “Take it off?” <Yes. It’s how they’ll guide her to find you. I mean it’s not a guarantee she still *won’t* find you, but it could buy time.> *Not a guarantee?* I played with removing my arm through one of the sleeves. *Was Konrad actually serious about this? Or was he just …* <—I’m not trying to watch you strip. I don’t care. I’m literally dead. I’m trying to save your life.> The wind outside rattled the house. The wood on the door groaned. *Was that her getting closer?* “Okay, okay, fine.” I grabbed the bottom of the skirt and lifted it over my head. The chill was fierce. I crossed my arms tight. I threw the dress into a corner of the cabin, and distanced myself. “What?” <Take the jacket off me. You’re cold. I don’t need it.> Kon’s former body wore an insulated work jacket with fleece hood. It looked warm, but there was no way I was going to lean over and disrobe his corpse. I felt like smacking him with the boom. “So what then? After I put your jacket on—I’m supposed to squeeze myself into a cooler? Play hide and seek?” <I’m open to suggestions. But yes I think that’s currently your best bet. Hiding somewhere without shivering.> I hugged myself tighter, wrapping my arms around the boom. *Why wasn’t there some old tablecloth or blanket in this stupid cabin? Did all the cloth decompose?* “Sorry Kon, I don’t want to touch your dead body. No offense” So I did. I tried hiding in a couple of the coolers strewn about, but they were all too tight to squeeze into. I tried going into the attic upstairs, but the second I put my foot on the ladder, it collapsed. The wood was completely black with mold. Eventually the best spot (or only viable one) was inside one of the cabinets in the northern corner. I could fit inside. But it was cold. So cold. <You’re shivering too much.> Each passing minute, it felt like the air grew more icy. Kon said it was likely to do with the wraith approaching. Even if I did hide successfully, at this rate, I was risking hypothermia. <Just take my jacket Anna. Picture my old body being asleep. You don’t have to look at it.> As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. An undershirt and jeans were not enough for this temperature. I set the phone light and boom on a nearby cooler and slinked over to the body, carefully keeping the gore out of sight. I grabbed beneath the body’s armpits, and heaved it into a sitting position. From there I unzipped the jacket and pulled at both of the sleeves. The coppery smell was very strong, so I did my best to hold my breath. A couple times I caught a glimpse of dangling flesh around the neck. *He’s just asleep. It's only makeup. He’s just asleep.* After an annoying tug-of-war, I finally managed to slip the whole jacket off, which plopped the head right into my line of vision. I stared right through the neck hole, at an exposed brown tube that must’ve been a shredded esophagus or trachea. Nausea struck. My vision blurred. — *CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK.* I woke up in a daze. My phone light was still up, illuminating a gust of leaves swirling around the darkness. There was a chair in the corner of the cabin, rocking on its own. Banging against a wall. A loose rock went sailing through the air. I rolled before it could dent my head. There were several twigs, papers and other objects flying through the air in a haphazard fashion, being drawn to the chair. I grabbed my boom off the floor and searched for Konrad. Aiming my microphone at his body. *When had it been turned face down?* I couldn’t hear anything. I adjusted my headphones and aimed the boom at the bench where Kon had sat earlier. Nothing. Then I aimed it at the rattling chair in the corner of the room. <I’M HOLDING HER! SHE’S IN THE CABIN! SHE’S HERE! SHE’S—\> The headphones practically flew off my head, I fell over, and backed away, The chair was squeaking across the floor, and I could now see how It looked like Kon was trying to pin another entity to it. They were two invisible forces, grappling each other. I stumbled across the dress I threw to the floor. I scrunched it up, and prepared to toss it somewhere. *But did it even matter? The wraith could obviously sense me now, right?* Decision paralysis. *What could I do?* These were the last couple moments of my life. Any second Kon would lose, and then *I* would be overtaken by a ghost woman and be ousted from my own body. *I would die from it, wouldn’t I? Or would I be a prisoner in my own body? A subject for whatever wickedness Olek had in store?* He would force me to wear the dress again. Force me to wander the woods. Force me to keep acting in this godforsaken film. I threw the dress on Kon’s body, instinctually trying to cover it. And then I realized something. *The wraith’s here looking for a body, isn’t she?* I bolted over to the corpse, thwarting all my inhibitions. Forcibly, I stretched the dress over the body’s head, pulling the fabric of the skirt over its scalp, all the way down to the waist. Thankfully it was lying face down. I fed the arms through the sleeves and made sure its head popped through the neckline. The corpse was wearing it backwards, but surely that couldn’t matter. The linen ripped here and there, and the bloody throat must’ve terribly stained the dress on the other side (I didn’t dare look). But it was on. The dress was on a body. Then I flung myself away and hid behind the cabin’s single bed. I placed the headphones back on, made sure everything was still connected. I pointed the mic at the chair. *<Uwolnij mnie! Uwolnij mnie od tej niegodziwości!>* It was the wraith. There was shuffling. I could hear Kon screaming but I couldn't see anything. The chair was still rocking back and forth. “ … Kon!?” The chair collapsed to the ground, shattering to pieces. I braced myself. My teeth clenched. I was still freezing. Kon’s old body spasmed across the floor, rolling and scraping. One second its hips lifted, then its arms. There was an awful squelching. A sucking sound erupted from the throat. I turned away, gripped the cot and stared at the cabin wall. *She chose the body, not you! She chose the body, not you! You’re going to be okay!* My mic was still aimed at the clamor, I was hoping to hear something from Kon. But I was no longer picking up any voice. Not Kon’s, not hers, not anyone's. Just the thumping of a re-animating cadaver. It sounded like bones were breaking. Like flesh was twisting. Eventually the violence died down, turning into slow, soft movements. With immense hesitation, I lifted my gaze away from the wall and looked back. The figure was standing. Observing me. Ragged hair obscured her entire face. She had taken control of Kon’s body—which no longer looked like Kon’s body at all. The hips had narrowed. The ribs had tightened. The skin was pale and pristine, no sign of blood anywhere. She had somehow compressed and reconstructed herself, even the dress looked repaired. I stood up, held out both my hands. I wanted her to know that I meant no harm. I only wanted to leave. The silence was horrible. We were standing in a vacuum of sound. All the wind outside had stopped. Using thin, white fingers, she began to brush her tangle of hair. Not very precisely, and not very purposefully. It was just something she settled on doing. My heartbeat was in my head. I slid off my headphones and laid down the equipment. I waited to see what she would do. But she only brushed her hair. Lady Midnight’s eyes were shrunken and sad. She didn’t seem to care that I was here. “Are you … okay?” I don’t know why I said it. I don’t know what I expected her to say. She simply looked at me with sorrow. Something was troubling her beyond conventional understanding. Then the door opened, blinding both of us. I peered at the light through my fingers. There came a cacophony of Polish voices. At first, they sounded concerned, inquisitive, but as they drew closer, I could sense relief. Celebration. The AD was the first person I recognized. He beelined straight behind the woman*—*who now, lit by daylight, for all intents and purposes, looked *exactly* like Polina. “Mamy ją! Mamy ją!” he said. Coming in after him was the DP, (wearing a necklace of bones?) he brought out a flashlight and scanned the room, finding me immediately. “Jak to możliwe?” Some more crew filed in, then quickly filed out. Polina was led out without resistance, keeping her eyes on the ground. Eventually it was just me standing by the old bed. I still hadn't moved. It's like I had been hollowed out by the experience. I was in shock. Was it safe to leave? It was all happening so fast. — After they all left, time stood still. I stood still. Unmoving I listened to the voices outside, praying for them to fade. The coast had to be absolutely clear before I would consider leaving because even if I tried to, they would just grab me. Wouldn't they? I didn't dare risk it. The cold was relentless. I was now past the point of shivering, and I knew that meant I was in serious trouble, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be caught again. *I would rather stand here alone in this cabin, by this bed, looking at that open door and waiting until all the voices went away.* I would wait for as long as I had to. I would wait until I was absolutely sure. Then a figure ducked beneath the door's frame. They were wearing a black trench coat. *It’s Olek.* I grabbed firm hold of the bed I was leaning against and held my breath. He inspected the cabin with a fake, bemused sort of interest, smiling the whole time. His hands grazed Kon’s old bloodstain the floor, bringing up a tiny amount and rubbing it between thumb and forefinger. He knew I was in the room, but it was like he was looking everywhere except at me. Glancing instead at the broken chair, and upturned coolers … *He must know I'm here, right? Is he messing with me?* And of course he was, because the next moment his glowing gray eyes turned right to mine, and he took a few steps forward. “Well, aren’t you clever, amazing Anna. Amazing and clever huh?” I didn't react. I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what he could do. His toes bumped against my boom pole on the floor. He bent down and brushed the dirt off my sound gear, then picked it all up. “I'm glad you made better use of Konrad than we could. He was shit at his job.” The sound equipment was handed to me in a bundle. I held it like a statue. What was I supposed to do? He circled back to the bloodstain on the floor and picked up Konrad's jacket. He gave it a shake and brushed it off. “Outside, we now have opportunity for best shot. Greatest shot of all time, actually.” He approached me again with the calmest air in the world. As if nothing was remotely amiss, as if we had just spent the last couple hours shooting a fun reality show, or kids movie. The jacket was draped around my shoulders. “You are wrapped, just like my AD said. You will be taken back to your car.” His palm pushed against the middle of my back. I slowly marched forward. “But before you go, you should stay and watch this shot. It is something beautiful. Something bestial. It has never been caught on film.” Whether I wanted to or not, my legs were now moving on their own. I approached the doorway of the cabin. “It would be a great honor to have another member for this moment. Another witness. And it would be a great favor, for me, to have a recording operator as well.” He stopped me right before I left the cabin, snagged the headphones from my hands and plonked them onto my head. “What do you think amazing Anna? Would you like to do sound—one last time?” I marched outside into the overcast dusk. There was a small fire to my right, burning strong. Around the fire was the whole crew, sitting in a very wide circle. They were sitting on their knees in strange postures. Praying. I found Polina standing by the fire, looking at me with those same sad eyes as before. She knew something I didn't, and she wished she could explain it. There was something happening here that I didn’t want to know about. Something worse than murder, worse than any crime possible by mortal hands. Something unholy was about to be thrust upon this small slice of forest. And Olek wanted it recorded. I started shivering again but I managed to turn on the Zoom recorder. As if I had any other choice. I turned back to Olek, and meekly lifted my boom. “Great. You really are amazing, you know that?” He pointed right beside one of the crewmembers. “Let's get you over there.” His grin was massive. It's the first time I had ever seen him so happy. The biggest smile of the entire day. “I’ll get the camera. You will see. This is going to be [incredible](https://www.reddit.com/r/EclosionK2/).”

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