Some of you may have heard about the site-94 incident–police investigated the laboratory of a small pharmaceutical company in Montana that had mysteriously lost connection with the rest of the company. They found everyone in the lab dead. The scientists, the test patients, everyone. All dead, even the pet bird kept in the lobby.
Officials stated that the deaths were to be attributed to a gas leak and not a single person who worked on the site survived. Well, the officials are lying. I know they are because I used to work there.
I had just gotten out of college. My uncle who worked at the company and was pretty high up on the corporate ladder was able to get me a job there. An entry-level job, and I’d have to move to work there, but the pay was good and I had always dreamed of living out in the countryside. Why not? I thought. What’s the worst that could happen, right? Work my way up the ladder, eventually become so important I can live anywhere I want and still get paid well. It’d take a lot of work, yeah, but it’ll be worth it.
My first 5 months on the job were fairly uneventful. I got the routine down and learned about what it’s like to work at a real lab. It’s stressful, which is to be expected I guess. The head scientist at the site was Dr. Richard Fullkrug, a brilliant, kind, seasoned scientist, who made a name for himself working on cancer research in Switzerland. He helped me in my first weeks to get acquainted with the system. I would’ve probably been fired long ago if not for him.
Dr. Fullkrug had a dream, he’d talk about it non-stop, at lunch, at closing time, I have to admit I respected him a lot for it, he wanted to cure psychopathy. He had a cousin who was diagnosed as a psychopath, and thus he’s dedicated his entire life to curing it, researching everything he could. But according to him, the company wasn’t willing to give him the assets to cure something that ‘couldn’t be cured.’ So whenever he talked about it, we all just kinda rolled our eyes.
On September 16th, 2022, about 4 months into my job, everything changed. I had arrived at my usual time, we didn’t usually start researching until noon, we’d have briefings on the day’s agenda at 10, have a quick lunch at 11, and then head to work. I was in the lobby chatting with the security guard, his name was Larry. He was a chill dude, he spent some time in the army. Eventually got into working as a security guard. We enjoyed just talking while people streamed in, having a cup of coffee, it was a nice tradition.
At around 9:32, Dr. Fullkrug runs in. He’s in an awfully cheery mood, giddy like a schoolgirl. Me and Larry exchanged odd glances as he ran past, presumably into his office. ‘What the fuck was that all about?’ Larry whispered to me, ‘I don’t know.. Should I go see?’ I replied, gesturing to where his office was. Larry nodded, and with that, I headed to his room.
I tapped lightly on the door frame ‘Come in.’ I heard Dr. Fullkrug say, I tentatively entered the room. ‘Is everything all right Dr. Fullkrug? You were in quite a hurry to get into your office.’ Dr. Fullkrug motioned me to come over to his side, he said ‘Everything is quite alright my friend, I am elated, filled to the brim with joy, just read this email and you’ll see what I am so thrilled about!’
I hunched over to read the screen, ‘Dear Dr. Richard Fullkrug, after careful consideration the decision has been made by the board to greenlight your project to cure the mental illness of psychopathy- Doctor Fullkrug, that’s- that’s fantastic! You can finally do what you always wanted to do!’ I had never seen Dr. Fullkrug smile as much as he had that day.
About 1 month passed without a change to our schedule. I chilled in the lobby with Larry, went to conferences, then got to research, the agenda was usually working on COVID-19 cures. Sometimes being allocated to other departments. One night though, I received an email from Dr. Fullkrug that read ‘Dearest Colleagues, The company has agreed with the local Saywood Asylum, they have agreed to transfer 1 patient dealing with psychopathy to Site-94. If you have received this email, you have been allocated to the research group on curing this subject. I expect all of you to be here at the site tomorrow by 9 to oversee the transfer.’ I smiled to myself, Fullkrug had finally done it. I couldn’t sleep at all, thoughts of what would happen tomorrow ran through my mind.
Arriving at 8: 30 AM, there were already some people there. Larry was there as always, and Dr. Fullkrug was there, gleaming with joy. Dr. Calvin, Dr. Fullkrug’s assistant, Dr. Allison, and Dr. Bissaka. Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Finally, at 9 we saw a truck with the ensign of the Saywood Asylum roll into the parking lot. Two guards stepped out and went to the back, opening the door and motioning for the patient to come with him. A man exited the van, he had a shaved head, and his hands were bound together with handcuffs, I instantly recognized him. He was Jeff Harisson.
Now, anyone who knows anything about the modern criminal history of Montana knows Jeff Harisson. In 2013, he was a normal member of society. He had a nice well paying job, a loving wife, and two beautiful children. However on December 29th, he just- snapped. He went crazy and killed his entire family. After he killed them he wandered the streets, covered in his family’s blood, and tried chasing anyone he saw, the police were thankfully able to apprehend him before he was able to hurt anyone. He was diagnosed with severe insanity and condemned to the Saywood Asylum. No wonder there were so many guards, I counted about 6 following him.
Dr. Fullkrug went out to meet them. I didn’t catch the conversation but I guess one of the labs had been converted into a temporary holding cell because that’s where he led them. Jeff didn’t seem to be too eager to have a conversation, he ignored Dr. Fullkrug’s questions, looking down at the floor. At 1 PM we got to work on the cure, I had no idea how to go about it, but Dr. Fullkrug did so we all just followed their lead.
Dr. Fullkrug claimed that if we made a pill that made the body stronger, we could make the body so strong that it beat the mental illness. I’ve never heard of this idea, if it was true then why hadn’t it been done before? I had so many questions but I trusted Dr. Fullkrug, he knew what he was doing, so I’d just shut up and enjoy the ride. After all, being part of a group that cures a mental illness? That will certainly help me in life.
The first couple weeks were just researching, at first it looked like everyone had doubts, and nervous glances across the room, but at the end of the day, Dr. Fullkrug was the most trusted man at the site. Nervousness was put to the side as we went to work. The prototype pill was fed to Jeff in late November, the pill certainly had some results.
Jeff experienced heightened awareness and a brief episode of sanity. At that time he and Dr. Fullkrug held a conversation. It was tragic, anyone who had not known Jeff’s past at that moment would’ve assumed he was a respected man in society. He was well-spoken and well educated, I would’ve thought he was just a scientist who worked here, but it didn’t last. About an hour into his episode of sanity, he reverted to his condition and attempted to lash out at Dr. Fullkrug but was held back by the guards, who were ordered to stay at the site as defense. It was a miracle.
Despite the disappointing end, we were invigorated to continue research, this was gonna work. In the second half of December, a new pill was created. When exposed to it, Jeff seemed to have a quicker reaction time, turning nearly immediately at the sound of the exterior door opening to enter Dr. Fullkrug, He then experienced a full day of sanity. He was allowed to stroll through the Garden outside and eat in the cafeteria with us, albeit heavily guarded. At 11:06, he reverted once again. He was subdued and put back in his cell.
An internal debate began in the group. 3 scientists, led by Dr. Allison believed they had done all they could. A pill that cures them for a day is already fantastic, it could be sold as a pill that’s taken daily, it would help the patients and also secure continuous profit for the company. But Dr. Fullkrug disagreed, this wasn’t about profit, this was about helping these people, and the only true way to help them was to make a pill that cures it permanently. Eventually, a vote was held, and Dr. Fullkrug’s plan won 9-2, I voted for Fullkrug’s idea.
Over the next couple of months, we worked hard on the ‘super pill’ as Dr. Fullkrug called it, this was gonna be the one that cured it. The pill failed many times. Each time Dr. Fullkrug was more visibly frustrated than the last. Finally, on March 25th, the pill was finished. The pill was planned to be tested on the Friday of next week, though the pill was finished it had to be analyzed to make sure it was right, it had to be perfect.
On Thursday, I fell ill. A bad pizza had me stuck in bed vomiting into a bucket. I contacted Dr. Fullkrug to tell him that I would have to miss the test. He was sympathetic but understood and wished me a speedy recovery. I groaned, I had worked on this pill with the group for months and I wouldn’t even be one of the first to see the fruits of our labor, or so I thought.
At 2:21 roughly, I received a Facetime from Larry, groggily, I picked up the phone.
‘‘Dude we’re about to start the trial!’
I sighed, ‘Larry I’m kinda sick..’
‘Yeah yeah, I know, but c’mon man! You helped the scientists work on this, you deserve to see it.’
Larry flipped the screen of the camera, Jeff had been fed the pill, Dr. Fullkrug entered the room,
‘Hello Jeff, are you there?’ Fullkrug said tentatively
There was a brief silence before finally Jeff responded.
‘Ah, Hello Doctor. I am here, how are you today?’
The ensuing conversation was fairly run of the mill, they discussed the pill, Jeff almost cried tears of joy. He had been freed from a curse that had robbed him of his life. He explored the facility in depth, he was shown the lab where the pill had been made. Jeff tried to open the door but the handle was crushed in his hand.
‘What the-‘
‘Oh yes, that’s how the treatment worked, we had to strengthen your body so that it could fix itself. In all the others, we raised awareness in the mind, and reaction time, but those would only result in short-term solutions. By increasing the strength we’ve given the body the strength to resist it. It will certainly take some adjusting to, but eventually, you’ll be able to live a normal life without any hiccups.’
‘I see’
Suddenly I heard a crash, Larry flipped the camera to me and said ‘Hang on dude, I’ll call you back.’
And then he hung up, leaving me alone, utterly confused about what happened.
I never received a call back from Larry, I figured he was busy but something didn’t quite sit right with me. I waited all weekend, waiting for his name to pop up on my phone. But it never did. On Sunday, at 7 PM I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door, and two men in suits were waiting there.
‘Hello, you are Weston Adams, correct?’
‘Uh.. yes that is me.. What seems to be the problem… Uh’
I peered at the officers, trying to figure out what branch they were, they didn’t look like Police, but I didn’t recognize the badge on their shoulders.
‘May we step in?’
The agent’s request broke me out of the trance, ‘Uh yeah, sorry it’s not well organized’
‘It’s fine, we’ve dealt with worse.’
I motioned them onto the couch. And they took a seat. I noticed the blonde-haired agent set a recording device beside him and turned it on. The brown-haired one then spoke.
‘Dr. Adams, we are of the understanding you worked at the local lab, Site-94. Is that correct?’
‘I-.. That is correct, why?’
The two agents exchanged glances. There was a strained silence and then finally, the blonde one spoke.
‘There was… An Incident in your lab I am sorry but, all of your colleagues… Are dead.’
The news hit me like a brick. Larry, Dr. Fullkrug, all of them… Dead? It couldn’t be, I had been talking to Larry just a while ago… It felt surreal, I felt something rising in my throat, which I finally let out.
‘What happened?’
The brown-haired one pulled out a manila folder. Giving him to me, I opened it and was shown the mugshot of Jeff Harrison.
‘From what our agents on the field were able to understand. Your lab was working on a cure for the condition of Jeff Harrisson. Is that correct?
‘I- yes We were working on developing a cure for psychopathy. It was spearheaded by Dr. Fullkrug. I- what happened?’
‘We have been able to piece together what we believe is a timeline of what happened.
At 2:20, a pill was given to Subject Jeff Harrison, the pill from what I gather increased the body’s strength in an attempt to halt his illness from controlling the brain. This worked for a time but then, at 2:35, it halted. The normal brain state took back control, but the abnormal strength did not. The patient went into a state of uncontrolled rage and killed everyone present at the facility, including Dr. Fullkrug. He then escaped through a window and his current whereabouts are as of now, unknown.’
That was a lot to take in.
‘Everyone?’
‘Everyone but you. Which is why we came here, why were you absent on that day of all days?’
‘I had come down with a stomach bug and was given the clear to stay home by Dr. Fullkrug’
‘You knew nothing about what would happen when the pill was taken? No tinkering, or anything of that nature.’
‘I- no! Dr. Fullkrug, Larry, everyone at the site, were friends. Maybe even family I would never kill them.’
The two officers looked at each other, I could tell they were deciding what to think of what I’d said. Finally, they looked back at me.
‘Son, if what you’re saying is true. You might just be the luckiest man I’ve ever met.’
‘I- thank you.’
Finally, I asked the question I’d been wanting to ask since the beginning.
‘Who are you guys? You don’t look like police and I don’t recognize the logo on your shoulders.’
The two looked at each other once again. The blonde one shrugged and stopped the recording. He looked at me and said
‘We are the unnatural occurrences organization. You’ve never heard of us because we aren’t supposed to be known. We don’t stop the killers in the street, we stop the monsters in your closet. We are a government organization dedicated to the containment and in some instances eradication of items or entities that deny all logic.’
A stillness filled the air, it was a lot to unpack. All the conspiracies I’d heard over the years, were they real? I had so much I wanted to ask, but at that moment only one thing came out.
‘Like the mothman?’
‘You object- 5473. Yes, It was terminated in 2014. Of course, now that you know all this, we will have to administer amnestics, the public can never learn about this.’
He began trying to pull something out of his suit but the brown-haired one stopped him.
‘Hang on Scott, I think this guy could be a valuable asset to the organization. He has experience in the field of the human psyche, I think he could be an important member of the organization. That is if you’re up for it.’
I nodded my head immediately, I didn’t want to forget about this, not yet at least.
The agents pulled out another folder. Opening it there was a paper on each side. One of the papers was a contract, and the other was a Non-disclosure agreement, I signed both of them.
‘Wonderful, We are happy to have you involved in our mission Dr. Adams. The company will email you the details. We will give you time to mourn the loss of your colleagues and organize your affairs.’
And with that, they left.
That was well over a year ago. So much has happened since then. I had begun work there the next Monday and was forced to relocate again to the nearest site in Iowa. I’ve had to cut ties with the world I once knew in favor of this new one. I’ve seen things, things you would never believe, creatures that do not seem like they should, yet do exist, monstrous beasts, creatures not even a child’s nightmares could conjure up, I’ve also met numerous.
Site-94 never reopened the company as a whole collapsed shortly after. I never told another living soul outside the organization about what happened, what led me down this path, what happened to me. Until now.
I swore an oath of silence, to never speak to the outside world of this, but things have changed. I got home 5 nights ago after a long day. There had been an accident and one of my closer colleagues was tragically killed, the cause I will not disclose out of respect. In my fatigued state, I thought I saw Jeff Harisson on the hill facing my house. I thought nothing of it, just a hurt mind playing tricks on its owner.
Then last night, as I was heading to bed I saw him. He was even closer to me this time, he was IN MY YARD. Visibly smiling, it’s like he was a cardboard cutout or something.
I’m writing this because the world needs to learn about what goes on in the shadows. I don’t care what the organization does to me, I don’t care if they kill me, ruin my life, or stop me from ever having another happy day again. I’m a dead man walking anyway.
This is Weston Adams, signing off.