This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/MK_Matrix on 2024-07-01 22:01:45+00:00.
Working the graveyard shift as a cop sucks for a myriad of reasons, chief among them being the eeriness of the night. Now, saying that might make me sound like a baby considering that I’m no small dude, but it’s true. Something about being stuck in your car, with no human life in sight, has an almost alien feeling to it. I’m sure it would help if I lived in an area that wasn’t as heavily forested as Wyoming, but as it stands, if there’s a light on near me, I almost can’t see it with how dense the foliage is.
Most nights, there’s nothing to do, so it’s just me and the silence. I usually take the time to catch up on a show I’m watching, or finish a book. On the off chance I do get a call, it’s always something small, like a wellness check or a suspicious character outside a bar. I’m always happy to take these calls, though, as it gets me back towards populated areas rather than some gravel road where they have me scouting for speeders. It’s not an exciting job, but it pays the bills.
It happened two days ago, on a relatively warm night. I was working my first night shift in a while, after getting back from vacation. Jimmy, the officer who replaced me while I was out, told me that he finally understood what I was talking about when I said it was creepy. I chuckled, assuring him that I would take over for a while, and advised him to bring something to do next time to keep his mind off it. If anyone were to understand what the transition from day to night shift was like, it would be me, so I tried to make him comfortable. After all, if he started taking them more, I wouldn’t have to sit in the darkness as much.
He handed me the keys, and I had an idea. This was the only night shift I was scheduled for that week - why not make it a little more bearable? I decided to invite him along. He could either sit at a desk all night in a dimly lit precinct with only one other person, or hang out and shoot the shit in the cruiser. Honestly, I don’t think the blinding white walls of the station are that much more comforting than the darkness, and I think he agreed, because he accepted the offer pretty quickly.
We parked on one of our designated hiding spots and settled in, watching some shitty horror movie and cracking open a few beers. Sure, we shouldn’t have been doing that, but who was gonna arrest us for it? We weren’t small guys, either, so it would take more than a couple of beers to get us tipsy. We also didn’t expect to be moving much - until my work phone rang. I sighed, rubbed my eyes, and answered it. It was already 3 AM, so at least we’d made it halfway through the shift before something happened.
I immediately heard giggling on the other end. I said hello a few times, and was about to hang up when I heard a voice on the other end of the line. It was Brian, the only other officer on duty that night, and he was in charge of manning the station’s phone. Usually, he was as monotone as a depressed robot, so to hear him laugh was already weird.
“Hey Tom, how’s it going?”
“I can’t complain. Just living the high life with Jimmy here. What’s up?”
“You’re not gonna believe this shit. I got an emergency call from the old AMEK factory on McHaben Road.”
“How? That place doesn’t have any power, or phones even.”
“That’s why I’m laughing my ass off. The person who called said they broke into the place to try and steal equipment, and now they’re somehow stuck inside.”
It was silent in the cruiser for a second. Jimmy and I slowly turned to look at each other, and then, almost simultaneously, we burst out laughing.
“You’re shittin’ me.”
“I’m dead serious. When I got the call, I almost pissed myself trying not to laugh at the poor bastard.”
“I’m about to piss myself right now. Hell, I think Jimmy already did”
Jimmy jokingly slugged me in the shoulder as Brian began to talk again.
“Anyways, do me a favor and go and help the guy get out of there. It’s your choice whether you wanna arrest him for trespassing or not, but he’s had a bad enough night as is, by the sounds of it.”
“We’ll take care of it. Beats giving another speeding ticket. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to keep a straight face, though”.
“I sure as shit wouldn’t be able to. Give me a call back if you need backup, alright? I’ll have to call the precinct up in Pinedale if you do - they have their parade this week, so I’m sure they’ve got a few guys to spare”.
“Sounds good, Brian. We’ll keep you posted.”
I hung up, and flicked the cruiser’s lights on, piercing through the darkness. We peeled out onto the road, making sure not to hit any deer along the way. It was only about a ten minute drive, but you never know.
We pulled into the bramble-covered entrance to the building, and I got out of the car to undo the rusted chain blocking the road. The place had been abandoned for ten years, after AMEK moved its drilling operations up north and took half the town’s population with them. Now, the place was just a drinking spot for local teens, and it showed, with the amount of graffiti sprayed along the sides. We got out of the cruiser, flicked our flashlights on, and started looking for an entrance.
Jimmy was noticeably on edge, probably because he didn’t know this place existed. He was relatively new to the area, and I’m pretty sure this was his first time having to get out of the car on the night shift, although I didn’t ask. He went around the left side of the building, while I took the right, both of us looking for a rusted door or a busted window.
I was peeling brambles off of my shorts when I heard Jimmy start yelling. I immediately hightailed it back towards the other side of the building, hand on my holster, preparing for the worst. Was this a trap? Maybe the dude we came here to find was some sicko looking to hurt us, or worse. I sprinted around the corner, shining my flashlight in front of me and expecting the worst.
My flashlight illuminated Jimmy, who was doubled over laughing. I was confused, and immediately asked if he was alright. He looked up at me, with the widest grin I’d ever seen him sporting.
“I totally got you.”
I was relieved that nothing actually happened, but was mostly annoyed that he did that to me. It was almost 4:00 in the morning, for God’s sake, and we were on the tail of some idiot in the middle of an abandoned warehouse. For a second, I’d thought he was getting attacked, and would be lying in a bloody heap by the time I got over to him. I think he saw that I was pissed, because his face immediately sank and he started to apologize, saying he was just trying to lighten the mood. I took a deep breath and smiled at him - I assured him that I’d get him back at some point, and to just focus on getting in for now.
We found a broken window that we assumed he’d climbed in through, and shined our flashlights on the floor inside to make sure we weren’t about to step on nails or something. As we climbed into the place, I radioed Brian and asked him to call a few other officers over to us, just in case something went wrong. After the shit Jimmy pulled, I was on edge that something bad would actually happen, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
The power in the place still didn’t work (in hindsight, I have no idea why I even bothered checking), so it looked like we were gonna have to put our flashlights to work. We called out a few times into the darkness, seeing if we’d get a response, but to no avail. We walked past the old drills and ore processors, our feet clicking against the concrete floor. After searching the bulk of the main room, we headed for the hallway at the very back of the factory. I knew this place pretty well, since I’d been called there during the daytime a few years back to clear out some drunk partiers who’d snuck in. Still, it was a whole different beast at night, and the fact that the hallway immediately branched into three more didn’t help.
This is where we made our first mistake, and it was a pretty stupid one. We decided to split up. I know, I know, it’s how horror movies start, and how characters die, but we were both tired, and our energy drinks were wearing off. We agreed that we’d keep our radios on at all times, and let each other know if we found the guy.
At this point, I’d assumed that he’d found his way out and ran into the woods in fear of being arrested, but we still had to sweep the place just in case. I wasn’t planning on arresting the guy, as I figured that he’d had a bad enough night at that point, and the old equipment he was planning on taking wasn’t of any use to anyone anymore, so I would have let him off with a warning. Now, though, I was starting to change my mind - I didn’t wanna have to search the entire back half of this place, especially given the fact that there were three floors worth of rooms here. It didn’t help that the building was split into two sides that weren’t connected, so if one of us found something, the other would have to walk all the way over to them. I was starting to understand why this place wasn’t used anymore.
Every time I passed a room, I’d shine my flashlight in and call out. As evidenced by Jimmy’s voice over the radio, he had a similar system going on. When I reached the first room of the second floor, he was already on the third, so I warned him to slow down a little bit just to make sure that each room was completely clear. I was met with complete silence, and repeated myself. Still, nothing.
“Hey, Tom, I see something.”
“Wha…
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