Hello, I have a bit of a problem. I don’t really know if this is the place to upload something like this, but I’ve taken it to several forums for help already, and nobody believes that I have a legitimate problem. They’re all acting like I’m just messing around and trying to get a reaction, but at this point, that’s what it feels like is happening to me. The only person who gave me something somewhat helpful told me to find this forum, because I guess you all might take my plight more seriously? I hope that’s the case. I promise that what I’m about to share with you is real, and I would appreciate any help you can give me.
I’ve had my PC for a while now; bought it second hand off someone online who was selling it for a decent price. So far, I have had no trouble with it until the other day. Randomly, a new icon appeared on my desktop simply called “Mezlo File Portal”. Not a super weird name for a computer program, and at first I thought it was just a new update for the OS or something. When I looked into it more, though, I realized that was not the case, as I can’t seem to find records of anything related to Mezlo in the instance that it exists on my PC. My next thought was immediately a virus. I’m pretty careful about anything I download, and about the sites that I visit, so I didn’t know how I would’ve gotten one , but nevertheless, I set to trying to scrub it from my computer. Nothing will let me delete it, however, an incoherent error message keeps popping up anytime that I do, and the only part that I can translate just says the application is in still in use. This is the case even when I try to force quit it.
With no other options, I finally opened the portal, and all that came up was a plain window with a few basic options at the top, as well as a single text file inside. Maybe it was stupid, but I was so desperate to get this crap off my PC that I opened it. I don’t exactly know how to explain what I found in my own words, so I’ve just copy and pasted what was on the document here. Lots of it looks like it involves computer lingo, which I am not well versed in at all, so please let me know your thoughts:
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ATTEMPTING_TO_UPLOAD_FILE…
[ERROR #507]: INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE_ON_EXTERNAL_DRIVE // PLEASE_DELETE_OR_TRANSFER_FILES_TO_CLEAR_SPACE] //
REROUTING_LOG_TO_SUITABLE _BACKUP_ “PATSY”_LOCATION_FOR_ FUTURE_RETRIEVAL…
SUITABLE_LOCATION_FOUND: TERMINAL_MEZ03VIH4783
ATTEMPTING_TO_UPLOAD_FILE…
[ERROR #413]: FILE_ SIZE_TOO_LARGE_FOR_TRANSFER // TRANSCRIBING_.MOV_FILE_INTO_ .TXT_FILE //
FILE_SIZE _ACCEPTED
ATTEMPTING_TO_UPLOAD_FILE…
FILE_SUCCESSFULLY_UPLOADED:
~NOTICE:~ All visual and audio wellness logs recorded within the Mezlo “Brighter Days initiative” are to only be shared within the company between the designated Wellness Specialist and Mezlo Quality Analytics. Any files found shared outside of their original grouping will be traced back to their sources, and all involved parties will receive termination from their posts.
~Mezlo Wellness Log #14034: VIVO ID #K9146 “Junn Ryder”~
~Wellness Specialist: VIVO ID #B1007 “Dr. Melody Chambers”~
Initial Notes:
The moment the girl stepped into my office, I could clearly tell two things. The first was that she was new to the company. It wasn’t just because she was younger; her VIVO told me she was only 22 years old, but that’s typical for the age Mezlo enlists at. No—It was because she had that look about her. The one that all the new recruits have. That awkwardness of being in a foreign place. The discomfort of not knowing how things worked around here. She was uneasy, fidgeting with the edges of her jacket, eyes darting around the room. Her messy hair and disheveled appearance was what gave away the second thing about her. She had seen something horrible.
It wasn’t the look of someone coming to rant about the monotony of the job or talk through their depressive loneliness that the endless halls of Mezlo can often inflict on one. Her eyes were red and puffy from an abundance of crying, and her clothes were wrinkled from lying around overlong. The way the girl hugged herself as if she had nobody left to comfort her broke my heart, but I knew that it was only about to get worse when we got to talking, so I took a deep breath to brace myself, put on my warmest smile, and then we got started.
~Transcript:~
Melody: Good evening, honey. Come on in now, don’t be shy.
Junn: I-Is this the place where I can talk to someone if I need to?
Melody: That’s right, dear. My name is Doctor Melody Chambers, and I’ll be your wellness specialist today.
Junn: [Sniffles] It’s nice to meet you, doctor. My name is Junn. Junn Ryder.
Melody: Junn, huh? That’s a pretty name. Is there anythin’ I can get for you, Junn? Water? We’ve got all sorts of drinks and snacks if you’re hungry?
Junn: No, ma’am, t-thank you. I… I just needed to talk to somebody and I… I don’t have anyone else to do that with. Nobody except for strangers, at least.
Specialist note: It becomes evident to me that either this girl is a lone delver (An unlikely conclusion seeing as she’s new) or that she has somehow lost her team during a trip into the complex. Judging by her aforementioned condition, I was inclined to believe the latter, and given her distress levels, it was clear the origin of loss was most likely a tragic one.
Melody: Of course, darlin’. That’s what I’m here for. Go ahead and take a seat; make yourself comfortable.
[sounds of shifting furniture]
Junn: [Sniffles followed by soft laughter] You have a very interesting accent, Dr. Chambers. Is that specific to your worl—um, Instance, I mean?
Melody: [Chuckles softly] Yeah, I’m afraid I’m all by my lonesome here at Mezlo. I think I’ve only come across somebody with the same accent as myself one time, and they happened to be from my Instance. That was years ago, however. Never happened again.
Junn: I like it. It’s very… warm, I think is the word I’m looking for?
Melody: Well, thank you, darlin’. Now tell me, what can I do for you? Seems like somethin’s got you all shaken up; is that what you’re here to talk about?
Junn: Oh, um, yes I… Something happened last time I went out on a delve and… [deep breath] …I don’t really know how to process it.
Melody: Here, honey, we’ve got tissues right here.
[Sounds of paper tearing]
Melody: If you need a moment, we don’t have to jump right in. You just take all the time you need.
Junn: N-No, that’s okay, I’m sorry, I just… I don’t mean to waste your time.
Melody: You’re not at all, Junn. Like I said, it’s what I’m here for.
[Long beat of silence broken by sounds of sniffling and #K9146 blowing nose]
Junn: I… I don’t really know where to begin… I guess… I’m pretty new here…
Melody: I might have gathered that. How long have you been in?
Junn: Not including training, only two weeks.
Melody: Everything must be pretty crazy for you still then, huh?
Junn: It wasn’t so bad for a while. The training does a pretty good job of getting you prepared. Besides, all the oddness was something that had me a little bit excited. The complex itself is just fascinating, and seeing all the other instances was really cool. I had no idea how boring mine was until I saw some of these new places. One of my squad mates told me a lot of them are boring and don’t differ much, but we must have gotten lucky or something because in my short time here there’s been so much beauty to them all; even if we don’t get to explore them beyond the compound borders. Speaking of my squad, they were really great too, super nice and welcoming. Everything was going well until…
[Sounds of deep and shaky breathing]
Melody: Y’know, Junn, you don’t need to talk about what happened if you don’t want to… A lot of people just come here to talk about anythin’ else to get their minds off what’s troublin’ them. If doing that makes you feel better, that’s just as well and good to me.
Junn: No, it’s okay—I’m sorry I’m such a mess, I just… I’ve never seen anything like what happened. I think I need to talk about it. It’s been living in my head for days now and I can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe if I get it all out, I can finally rest…
Melody: Of course. Go ahead then—and, please, go as slowly as you need.
Junn: Okay, yeah… It was just the beginning of this week. My delving team was standard size, just me and four others. I had gotten really close with this one girl; she was sort of the leader in our group. Her name was Anna. Anna helped me get situated and showed me the ropes on everything. Training is one thing, but there’s a lot of stuff that once you’re in those halls, videos and handbooks can’t teach you. She made sure to get me familiar with everyone else on the team; two that were a couple named Edgar and Dee, and then our groups cipher, Tedrick. Like I said, they were all super nice to me, and treated me as one of their own. Most people around here are like that…
[Long beat of silence]
So far in my time hired, we hadn’t encountered any strange rooms out of the ordinary. I know the videos warn about some being dangerous, but when I had asked my team about it, they said that they were few and far between. Tedrick also let me know that chances are if a room is too dangerous to sweep for artifacts, it will be listed on the room’s information label, and Anna said that they didn’t often enter spaces past a certain danger level.
Melody: That’s a smart way of doing it. The complex is unpredictable.
Junn: We had set out like any other run into the building. By now, I was getting used to the rhythm of things. I was confused why the training videos made the job out to be so dangerous when all we did was ride up and down hallways and office spaces for hours and hours. Like I said the rooms we were finding weren’t crazy either. The most interesting one I had seen so far was the interior of a giant wooden lodge set on top of a mountain. The artifact we found there was an infinitely burning fire log which, let me tell you, was a pain in the butt to transfer back to an exit.
[#B1007 chuckles softly]
Junn: I had been nervous and scared when I first joined Mezlo, but that week… My team made me feel like things were going to be alright.
Melody: They sound like they were lovely people, Junn.
[Long beat of silence. #K9146 takes a deep breath]
Junn: Our last delve into the complex together, we had been traveling for the better part of a day. It was deep into an office section, and we could tell it was new territory because there were no notes on the walls or signs left by any other delvers. The door we found was just like any of the others; a plain, metal industrial door, lever handle, all that junk… Tedrick set to work immediately deciphering the label beside it while Dee and Edgar started prepping equipment. Meanwhile, Anna pulled the lever and nudged the door open, just to see what we were up against. The other side seemed harmless enough. It was just a small little space; this teal blue 60s style dinner—Did they have those back in your instance?
Melody: Hmm… It’s been a long time since I left my home, but I think so? Old-fashioned, right? Black-and-white checkered floors and stools around a bar?
Junn: Yeah, just like that. There were these neon lights around the trim of the room and all of these old posters and memorabilia hung up on the wall. I had always loved that era, so I was immediately hooked, even if I didn’t know any of the faces from the posters or what any of the text said. There were car seats for the booths and all of these old-style dishes hanging behind the serving counter. Then, in the corner there was… There was this old jukebox… All colorful and vibrant just humming this old-fashioned tune. It was so inviting… So unoffensive… I guess that’s probably what makes the most dangerous rooms, huh? [#K9146 breaks down into gentle sobbing]
Melody: It’s okay, Junn. Just take it at your own pace.
Junn: Anna asked after a few minutes what Tedrick was able to sort out from the label, but he said that the text was way different from any other scribes he had ever seen around the complex. He couldn’t get a solid reading on what the danger level was. From what he could make out though, he knew it was uninhabited and that the space itself was hospitable. Normally, we wouldn’t risk uncertainty like that, but… The fact that everything else about it seemed safe was enough for us to try… We hadn’t scored an artifact since that log I mentioned, and it didn’t pay well enough for all five of us so we… We went inside. I know it was stupid, but we went inside…
Melody: That’s not stupid, Junn. I’ve known plenty of delvers that take much bigger risks for much less. You needed the money, it’s understandable.
Junn: I knew, though, Dr. Chambers… I knew that it was a bad idea. In my gut, I just had this feeling.
Melody: How do you mean?
Junn: That jukebox that was playing in the corner, it had this tune playing that sounded catchy at first, but the more I listened to it, the more uneasy I felt. The instruments were weird… They had had melody to them, but every now and then, a chord would shred a little too high, or the saxophone would squeal like a scream. Once my VIVO finally picked up the patterns of the language and began translating, I felt nauseous. I still remember those lyrics… [#K9146 begins talking with a slight rhythm] Oh, baby, how can this be… you say you’ll stay, then up and leave… You are my life, my hopes and dreams… but oh, baby, we’re tearing at the seams…
Specialist note: Junn seemed to almost dissociate while singing the song, clearly traumatized enough for it to stick word for word in her memory. Her face was ghost white, and she looked severely ill. It’s the kind of expression I’ve come to know well in my line of work. The girl had seen death before her eyes.
Junn: It was just the way the singer’s voice sounded that made me feel so sick. It wasn’t malicious or anything—it was just too… happy. Like he was on the verge of laughing with every note. Combined with the instrument cracks, and it was just unnerving. Apparently I was the only one who thought so; I-I guess that stuff is just pretty common to come across, so we moved inside. When nothing happened that gave us a sign we should turn back, Edgar got his tracker up and we began to once through the restaurant, scanning anything that looked important enough to be the artifact. There was a lot in there that was interesting, so we took a lot of time. Dee had a scanner too, so we split up, half of us opting to stay in the dining area, and half heading for the kitchen to sweep in there… That’s when things took a turn.
It was just me and Dee that went for the kitchen since the dining room was larger and needed more people. Still, even in the kitchen, I could hear that song playing outside; that stupid damn song… It seemed to drone on and on with far too many choruses and bridges. As it went, that sick, uneasy feeling in my stomach just got worse, and all the slip ups in the music were getting more frequent. It seemed like we had walked in at the beginning of its runtime, and it was nearing closer to its end. I was new though, and didn’t want to complain or look weak in front of Dee, so… I pushed on with her.
We scanned a few things near us by the kitchen door upon entering. The lights were off at first, so I flicked them on, and started to look around more closely. That’s when I saw something different. Something that stuck out against the clean spotlessness of the whole place.
Melody: What was it?
Junn: It was… [#K9146 audibly swallows] I didn’t know at first. It looked a lot like cotton candy. Did that have that in your instance? Its like sugar that gets spun into threat and coiled together?
Melody: Yes, dear, we had cotton candy where I’m from.
Junn: On the other side of this grill in the middle of the room, there was an open cupboard, with a bunch of canned food inside. Dee and I immediately got excited because it would be a big score of supplies for us, and we wouldn’t have to pay for it. But it was covered in this… um… cotton candy stuff. A huge blanket of it that spilled out of the cupboard and covered the floor and surrounding cabinets. It was mostly a pink color but there were patches of different hues in it too. Like a tie-dye shirt, almost.
Specialist note: Melody at this point looked as if she was going to be violently ill, so I gracefully told her where she could find a bin if she felt she needed one. I have cut this from the recording as it is not pertinent to the session, although that is why the bin suddenly appears in her arms.
Junn: Dee and I looked at it for a while, trying to figure out what it was. We thought maybe it exploded from one of the cans and was just some sort of food we had never seen before, but it didn’t look that way. It looked foreign to the room entirely. Dee pulled her knife from her belt and very gently ran it through the web, collecting a bit of it on her blade. It was delicate; whatever it was. It fell apart instantly, smearing across the metal and making streaks where she touched it. The rest of the cotton didn’t do anything though, so we figured it was harmless. Still, something about it just gave me this uneasy feeling, just like the song. I knew it wasn’t right, and I was almost certain now that I was going to throw up if I stayed in that place any longer, so I told this to Dee. She tried to be nice and assure me that everything was fine—that weird stuff like that was in rooms all the time—but I wasn’t having it. The song was still ramping up, and I felt almost… dirty. It was like that feeling when you know you’ve done something wrong as a kid, and you’re panicking because you know your parents are going to find out any minute. I felt like I was in trouble just by being in that room…
Melody: Did Dee listen to you?
Junn: She did, sort of. She believed I was sick, and that I thought something was wrong, but I think she just felt like I was overreacting. I begged her to leave with me, but she told me that we still really needed to find this artifact. That if I was feeling that terrible, I could wait outside for them… I… I should have tried harder, doctor… I-I should have just dragged her out of there—All of them—[#K9146 begins to hyperventilate]
Melody: Junn—Junn, honey, calm down. It’s okay, darlin’, just breathe. Breathe with me now, nice and slowly.
[#B1007 begins to take deep breaths in and out, to which #K9146 eventually joins in]
Melody: Very good. You’re doin’ so well, dear. Can you look around this room and tell me three things that you see? What decorations do you like?
Junn: I-I don’t… um, t-that painting, that globe, and… and your cup.
Melody: Good. Are you feeling better?
Junn: Y-Yeah, I think so… I’m sorry, Doctor…
Melody: Junn, darlin’. It’s fine. I told you; you have nothing to apologize for. And you’re more than welcome to call me Melody.
Junn: Th-thank you.
Melody: Whenever you’re ready to continue, you just go right ahead, honey.
Junn: I… I just left them, doctor… I left them all alone in that room that I knew was trouble and just went back to the hall. I watched from the door as Anna and Tedrick and Edgar searched through everything. All the while, the record kept spinning endlessly in that jukebox. It was starting to make my head hurt too now—It physically hurt to listen to. My stomach ached, and my skull was pounding s-so I called out to Anna. I told her that something wasn’t right with that song and that we needed to leave. I didn’t understand how they weren’t bothered by it. Anna seemed concerned about me, but just then, Edgar thought about what I had said and began analyzing the record. That was it; it was the artifact. Anna told me to hold on, and we’d head out in a minute, then turned to help pry the jukebox open, b-but that’s when it happened. The last chorus… The last chorus of the song hit.
[#K9146 breaks down into violent sobs. Her breath hooks as she attempts to stifle her breathing]
Junn: It sounded like pure chaos. The instruments squealed and screamed, and the man just kept singing happily those lines from earlier… Nothing seemed wrong at first, but even my friends couldn’t help but cover their ears at the horrible noise. When they pulled their hands way though, their skin… Oh, God, their skin… It… It tore away. Not all at once; it—it came away like threads. Like that stuff in the kitchen, it was laced in their hands and stuck to their palms and—I couldn’t do anything. I just watched helplessly from the door as their tissue and flesh turned to cotton and pulled away. Anna screamed this horrible, guttural sound, but it didn’t last long because her throat, it… It just splayed into a bunch of—
[#K9146 Wretches]
Junn: A-a-and Edgar—H-he tried to pull the web away from his face thinking it was just some strange material he had got caught on but it only made things worse. The whole side of his head, just tore away—h-his skull and eye and… The way he looked desperately up at me like I could help his is just—It won’t fucking go away, Doctor… I see it every night, now. The way Tedrick’s body split apart as he stumbled back toward the door and splayed itself across the tile is all I can dream about. T-The worst part about Dee is all I heard was a small cry from the kitchen but—It’s almost worse not knowing… My brain can only imagine what happened in there and I… I just sat there. I could’ve done more—I could have fought harder to get them out of that room but I didn’t. I just watched as my new family—The only thing I had in this place—They just split away into nothing but a web of cells and tissue; clothes and all.
[#K9146 Begins to sob once again]
Junn: W-What do I do, Doctor? I-I don’t know what to do…
Melody: [After a long beat] Junn, honey, you listen to me very closely, alright? What happened back at that room? None of that was your fault. You did the best you could with what the situation presented. If you had stayed or gone back in there, you would have ended up just like them, darlin’. And I’m sure that all of those lovely people would be so happy right now that you’re safe. I’ll bet they wouldn’t want you beatin’ yourself up over what happened either. What happened to you back in that room; that is just… awful. But please, honey. Don’t take that weight onto yourself… You didn’t make it happen. You didn’t ask for it to happen. You tried your best to stop it. That’s all you could do.
[No response]
Melody: Can I tell you something that might be a little hard to hear, but may make you feel better?
Junn: [Blows nose] S-sure…
Melody: I used to be a delver once too, back when I was much, much younger. I had a lot of teams in my time. Not all of them made it to retirement… some deaths that I saw were just… they were horrible. The complex can be scary, Mezlo isn’t lying about that. But I tell you this because I’ve seen things like you saw the other day, Junn. I can at least say that based on what you told me, I think that maybe your friends were startled at first by what was happening, but I don’t think they suffered long. Their brains probably ceased functions before they could feel too much.
Specialist note: This statement was based on speculation, and desire to ease some of Ms. Ryder’s burden. While the latter half may be unknown in certainty, my statement about witnessing other fates much worse was not, and therefore, does not fall under the Unreliable Help clause.
Junn: [Sniffles] Ms. Chambers?
Melody: Yes, darlin’?
Junn: Is this going to be my life now? You said that you’d seen a lot of people come and go; w-were people lying when they said most rooms weren’t dangerous?
Melody: No, honey. I promise they weren’t. I’ve lived a much more… different… life than most. Been with the company for many years. A lot of people won’t see half of the things I have, and most teams stick together for the long run. I promise you, this job isn’t as vile as what you’ve seen so far. You just had the misfortune of seeing the worst of it before you were ready to. The real danger that you need to look out for is keeping your head up, darlin’. Let it fall too low, and that’s what takes most people around here, you understand?
Junn: [Long pause] Yes, ma’am.
Melody: I know it’s hard when the only folks you know you’ll have forever is your team, and even that’s not a guarantee. I know it can be strange going into that complex and never leaving out the same door you came in, but we’re all on the same team. I promise you no matter what instance you end up in, the people there will always be on your side. Life is gonna be harder now, sure, but it must have been harder back home for you to end up here, and I promise that you didn’t come for nothing.
Junn: Is it true? What they told me when I joined?
Melody: Do you mind if I ask who you joined for? You seem like the kind of girl who came because she had someone to take care of.
Junn: My… My dad. He was all I had back home, but he got severely sick one day with this virus from my instance. Talking to a few people now, I guess it’s one that only exists there… I had a job that wasn’t paying enough against all the medical bills, and he was going to die if I couldn’t pay for another month of care. He was comatose when I got the letter from Mezlo. They said they could make sure that he got better if I came to work for them, and I knew that I was going to have nothing if he died anyway, so… I joined.
Melody: That’s very noble of you, Junn. You’re very strong for diving into something like this to save someone you love.
Junn: So is it true? What they said? I-I know you work for them, but… please, Melody… I need to know if I trapped myself here for nothing…
Melody: I may work for them, darlin’ but first and foremost I’m here to help you. [#B1007 sighs] Mezlo has its flaws to be certain, but as I recall from my life before, every job did. Despite the higher ups being faceless, and despite, after all these years, still not being clear on some of the mysteries of this place myself, I do know one thing for certain. This company values its employee’s, Junn. They know what you gave up coming here. They know what you sacrifice by going into that complex every week. What you have sacrificed. As far as I know, they stay true to their promise. They have the resources to make your father better and ensure he’ll live the best life he can in your absence. Like I said, things here are hard, but you will be taken care of, Junn. All you have to do is keep pushing.
[Long beat of silence occasionally broken by #K9146 sniffling]
Junn: Thank you, Melody. I already feel a lot better.
Melody: Of course, Darlin’. I’m glad I could help. You’re a sweet girl, and you didn’t deserve a lick of what you had to see. Remember that. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
Junn: …Will I actually never see this place again after my next delve? I’ll… I’ll never find this instance a second time?
Melody: It can happen, but I’m afraid it is incredibly rare with the way the complex is.
Junn: Can I just stay a little longer then? I… I’ve enjoyed talking to you, and if this is the last time I’ll see you, then you were the best help I could have hoped to run into…
Melody: Of course, Darlin’. Take all the time you need.
Post session notes:
I remained with Junn for some time after, talking with her through her concerns over Mezlo and what her duties here will be. Further content of this interview did not seem to have any major impact on the core emotional conflict she had initially come with, and has therefore been expunged from this video log, however, a transcript of the conversation can be found within my personal drive under “Junn Ryder”.
Junn informed me that she followed protocol and marked the room as “not safe” before fleeing back to the nearest exit. I would like to request on #K9146’s behalf that she be granted a two-week period of paid leave from her work while she recuperates from her traumatic experience and puts in an application for team reassignment. I would also like to request for the millionth time to upper management that we inform new recruits better on how to apply for trauma relief, and team reassignment, as Junn knew how to do neither.
-Dr. Melody Chambers VIVO ID #B1007
END OF TRANSCRIPT
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After reading all of that, can anybody tell me what the hell is going on? This has to be some sort of prank or joke, right? Because if it’s a virus then… what the hell kind of virus behaves like this? Has anyone ever heard of Mezlo or the names mentioned in that log? And for the love of God, does anyone know where this file portal came from, and how on Earth I can get it off my PC? Any help would be greatly appreciated, because if this is really some sort of company’s backlog of data getting dumped on my computer, I’m a little worried I can get in trouble for it.