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Do not read! (a scary short story) - Undyne - 10-21-2015
Stop!
Don’t read this! I am warning you. Turn back now. Close this page and move on with your life.
You are still reading. I beg of you, stop it now. It’s not as if I wanted to annoy you. Please, you have to stop.
You are not reading a normal story. You don’t know what will happen if you read on. Things will happen. Stop now and perhaps I can still save us.
Stop, before I cannot hold it in any longer…
Sͭͨ̚͏̣͖͇͕̙̠̣́t̨͍̗̙̪̲̞͛͡͠o̗̗̥̳͓̘͂ͣ͋͒̊͝p̶̶͇͙̙͇̙̗̄͌̀̚̕ ̱͉̜ͫͫ̂ͩ̇̑͋̋͒n̸̫ͫ͗̀ỏ̡̨̓̚͏̰̬̲̥w̸̯̱̟̬͍̮ͩ̐̋̍ͤͯͦ̃̿͝…̛͓̮̤͙̳͈ͫͫ̀ͣ͛̌͘
“So”, he said, “this is the big phenomenon that has startled the inspection team?” He was sitting comfortably in his office chair, behind a large desk and looking at a handful of photos.
On the other side of his desk stood a man who was nervously moving his hands, interlocking fingers and letting go again the next second. His tie hung slightly loose, as he could tell, and a bead of sweat was running down his forehead. “It’s not just a phenomenon. We’ve taken several photos and the similarity with a butterfly is stunning. You could almost believe that it was drawn onto the wall.”
He tossed the photos onto his desk. “It’s the size of a fingernail, as you described it, Mr. Gordon. I repeat myself, is that the big phenomenon that startled you? Because I don’t see anything but a blotch in an odd shape.”
“It’s… well, it may of course be just that, a blotch, but…”
“Then don’t pay any further attention to it. You were tasked to inspect the reactor silos to ensure everything is okay. This blotch isn’t something to be startled about. It’s only some dirt in an oddly arranged fashion.”
“But…”
“No buts. Now leave, I have work to do.” He waved his hand dismissively, and the man, knowing that his job was at risk if he didn’t follow order, hastily left.
Y̨̹̬͙͇̩̻̿̇̎̍͟͠o̵͉̦̳͖͈̲͋̏́̅̅ͪ̂̍͠͠ù̯̳̱̥̺̋̚’̴̠ͪ̇͘v͉̞͋̈́̿ͧ̊ͩ̎̈́e̠͚͋ ̹͖̗͍͓̳̤̜̂̀ͣ̈́r̷̘͖̞̳̱̮͕ͣͩ̾̈̿̀͊e̶̢͉͇͙̩̮͎͕̊̓a̵̖̞̠͑̇͂͌̈ͮ͞d̡͔͙̮̠̿̓̃͒̀ ̸̺̝̭̫̺͓ͥ̅̈̌ͤ͒͘͞t̴̴̪͎̰̊̽ͤͦ̾͝ḩ̞̫͎̣͈͚̠̊͋͑ͦ͢͡ȉ̜͆̀ṣ̮̳ͦͣ̍͒ͬ͆ ̴̹͍̮̰̣͍͊̑̍̓ͫf̭ͬ̎ͩ̄̇ą̸̥̜͖̖̤̥̼̫̓͗ͨ̚r̨̘̠̹̎͟.̸͇͓͇͉̟̎̂ͣ ̷̮̝͔͎̟͉̹̥ͨ̾ͯͧ̀C̡̗̥̝͕̖͙̟͕̻ͥͫ̋͋̒̒͌̑͞a̟̮̗̣͔͙̹ͭ̈́̂̀͡n̢̜̦͎̙͓̎͌̈́̓̅͗͑͋͜͠ͅ’̮͎͉̫͓͕̞ͣ̌̌̍̆̓̂̕͞t̛̟̯͊̓ͨͮͯ̾̐̅ ̴͇ͩ̍̌ͥ̂́̚͟ÿ̗̺͈̳̳͈̱́͊́͒͛̄̊o̶̯̲̪͓͖͍̿̐̓̍͆ủ̻͙͎̣͇̳̙͙͜ͅ ̞̙̠̼ͫ͆̌̓̋̌͛͗p̤̭ͨ̅̿̈̽͌̄̚l̿ͩ̇̽ͫ҉̤͍̤̤e̝̹ͣ̃̒͊͟a̸̠̺̳̅̑ͩ̎̉͗̏s̈̿̈́͏̷͇̲͝ḙ̶̛͙̗͙͒͐̑ͬ ̢̥̬̮̩̺̜͚̮̀̇̓ͭs̜̥͉͈̰̫ͣ̔͛͡t̵̷̢̥͖͚͍̾o̸̞ͫͭ̀ͬͨ̄p̴̾̅̈ͨ͏̥̠̳̜̲̹̤ ̢̙̭̹̄ͨ̾̓ͦ̿͊̎͐ï̶̫̹͎͍̍ͧ̎̑ͦ̄̉͢t̵̥̊̒ͦͤͯ̆ͤ̍̿̕ ̸̜͔̞͚̮͎̔̅̒ͮ͠n̴͚͈̘̦̻̐̐ͮ̋̀ͅo̱̮̗̗ͪ͛̃ͭ̚w̨̥̬̬̮̦̎̾̉̕͜?̿͒̍ͫͤ͠҉̳̮
You haven’t read too far yet, it’s not too late to turn back. I can still fix what you did if you just quit reading now.
You haven’t stopped. Why? Are you doing this simply to challenge me? Do you think it’s some kind of game? I’m telling you, this is more! Much more! You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!
This is not about you anymore! You are being selfish by reading on and on! I’ve told you this is dangerous!
And yet you read on. You know what? Fine! Read on! Summon the catastrophe! I won’t be to blame, this will be your fault and nobody else’s! I tried to stop you but you didn’t listen.
I̢̡̤̭̐̔̀͟t̩͍̍̄̾ͨ͆̆ͩ’̺͉̻̉̍̈ͦͣ̏l͇͕͎̥̟͂ͦ̋͟͜l̸̲͈ͯ͋̆͛͞ ̛̟̲ͬ̐̊͘b̴̮̦̜̮̳̃͂ͩ̚͜ę̻̳̗̙͇͎̋ͦ̿ͦͯ̀͒ ̠̭̈́ͭ͆͛̒͗ͦͣ̿t̛̯̬̟̬̝̹͐͒̈́ͪ͟ö̠̮͂̃́o̴̪͂̔ͥ̈́ͩ͝ ̶̘̳̻̱̳͎̳̜͙ͦ̓͆ͯ͊ͫ͢ľ͙̜̱͎̃͌ͫ̏̄̋͜a͖͔̪̼͖̹̗̳͇̋͛̆ͤ̈́͊̓͡t̷̡̝͓̱̪̣̣͔͇̿ͤ͊̈̌e̟͉͗ͣ̏̋̅͒ͨͥ ̭̩̠͛ͦ͌ͩ̂ͣ̉ͩ̚n̶͇̠̱̰̭͎̟̤ͬ͜ͅo̶̥̟̜͙̣͈͆͐̓͢w̴̩̤̰̗̤͙̰̯ͯ̒ͧͥ͐̋̚͘.̼̬̣͎͇̱͉͓ͪ
“Yes? Oh, him. Yes, send him in.” He sighed and pushed himself straight on his chair. What was he coming for now?
He walked in, just as nervous, if not more than last time. How long had that been? Two weeks? Something like that. His suit looked fresher than the last time and he was wearing a black tie that matched his skintone much better. And he held an envelope in his hand.
“What do you want?”
“Sir, this is about…”
“The butterfly? That dirt speckle?”
He nodded and brought up the envelope he was holding. As he slid it across the table, it opened and several photos came out. The butterfly again. No, there were several.
“What now?” he asked while looking at the pictures.
“They… well, they appear to be spreading. There’s more now.”
“I can see that. You got five in one picture. What about them?”
“Sir, they are… this is not normal! They are looking too similar to one another, and the original one has grown bigger! It’s up to twice its size when we took the photo!”
“So what? The dirt is probably accumulating around there for some reason.” He put the photos back and slid the envelope back over. “A handful of butterflies isn’t going to be enough to scare me, let alone be a reason for action to be taken.”
“But… but… we don’t know what they are! We have to investigate!”
“You mean, you would like the plant to be shut down so you and your men can go in to take a look?”
He seemed a bit at ease and nodded hastily. “Yes… yes, exactly. It wouldn’t even be long, a week at most, and…”
“Mr. Gordon, do you believe that I will allow the plant to be shut down for an entire week, losing an enormous sum, just over some butterfly-shaped speckle?”
“It could be something dangerous! There might be more reasoning behind it!”
“I’ve heard enough. This is completely ludicrous. Now leave my office before I lose my good mood and decide that keeping YOU around is ludicrous as well.”
“But, Sir, please…”
“I said leave. NOW.”
A̠̪͙̳̱̼̅̍͜r̼̥̝̹̮̓̇̈͝eͨ͂̒ͭ҉̠̣͞ ̸͙͐͋̀͠y̵̢̞̩͓͉̮̦̻͑ͬ́ͤ̚̚̚̕ò̄͏̧͖̟͓̣͕͎ͅù̴̱͓͍̜̓ͩ̏͒͒ͮ̀͟ ̺̣͕̫͗h̵̡̳͎͙͓͆ͥ͟a͕̹̟̫͌ͯͪ͒p̩̭͍͋͋̽̂̋͒̎̾̀́͞ṕ̦͔̞̖̲͈̀͂͒̊ý̲̯͇̭͓͗̇̑̋ͥ̕ ̨̖̻̪͖̮̺̪̈̑ͪ͊͋̃̀͒ņ̭̼͂ǫ̳̙̮͔̬̙̀̑͊ͥ̓̀w̬̰̱͚͔ͫͥ̿̈́ͥ̄̋̃̿͠?̶̴͇̼̩̅̓ͯ͆̊̎͒̃̃͡
Have you read far enough?
You’re still reading on. Listen, perhaps we started off wrong. I’m not your enemy, I swear. I’m really trying to protect you. It was wrong of me to get angry earlier. But you have to understand, I must stop you from reading. Every word you read makes matters worse, I’m not sure anymore if I can fix what you did. But if you stop now, I can perhaps still save it.
You’re still reading. Why?
This is not a story of a pretty princess getting saved. You can tell it’s not going good. It’ll get worse yet. There, I spoiled the story, now you can stop, can’t you?
No you can’t, it seems.
It’ll get worse. A lot worse. You must stop reading now. I beg of you, don’t continue. This story is not like the other stories you’ve read. It’s powerful, and it’s dangerous. Every single word is making it more dangerous. It’s the nature of this story.
If you stop now, there may still be hope.
I̴̮̤͆ͪͭ̈́͑͆ͥ͑ ̷͇̋͆͛̆̎̽b̷̸̬̳̻̠ͣͭ̌e̽̅̑̅̋̒̚͏̮̼͇̳͚͍̥̼̗͜͟g͇̹͕̮͔͓̐̄͑͗́ͩ͟͟͡ ̮̜̻̻̬̪̮̹̐̄̎͐͆̈́ÿ̢̙̱̙̝̠̼̼̻̦͂͑ͬo̰ͨ̒̒̅̆ͨu͆ͤ͊͠҉̼̫̝͖,̵ͧ̐̄ͧ̀̚҉̜̬ ̠̾̎̐̊̐̃dͪ͌̊͏̦͖͇̮o̷̰̳͙͙̪̟̲͔̰ͧ̓̒ͮ͑͊̀̀n̳͚̫̖̓͌͌́͟͡’̐͊ͣ̔͜҉̱̺̺͈̟̼̟͜t͔̞ͨ͑̉̒̎̀̚ ͖̝̮̹̭̻̦̣̊ͪ̌ͪ̂ͪ̇͒͞r̜̱͈̣͍̓͊̓͜e̲͍̣̱̘͕̙͛̾̔̇͡͠a͈͈͙ͨ̋̊̈͢͢d̶͔̲̠̹̯͔͗̋̃̂ͪ̌ ͎̩̞̝̖͊̂ͦ̚͡o̴̡̥͕͑ͪ̑ͩ̃̌͋̿͗n͈̽̄ͣ̄̐͠͞ͅ…̡̟̼͔͍ͤ͗̂ͣͫ͛̾̎̈́̀
“Mr. Miller? I’m…”
“… Ms. Netia from the Ministry. I’m aware.”
“We have received word of a phenomenon on the inside of reactor 2. Butterflies, I’m sure you remember. A total of 27 by now, and constantly growing.”
“Let me guess, you want to request an in-depth inspection and demand that I shut the plant down so you can take a look.”
“That would be correct, Mr. Miller. I hope you are willing to cooperate in this matter, as…”
“You’re wasting your breath, Ms. Netia. I have told Mr. Gordon, and I’m telling you now: butterflies are not enough for me to take action.”
“This isn’t just a normal phenomenon anymore. They have been spreading all over the inside of the reactor silo. A single one would have been acceptable as an oddity, but over two dozens is alarming. You must shut down the reactor so we can investigate.”
He stood up and put his hands on the table, glaring at the woman. He enjoyed how she had to look up at him when he did that. “Your ministry has no authority to command something like this! You cannot force me to shut down the reactor if you don’t have a court order to back you up! And I doubt you have that.”
“I was hoping that we could talk some sense into you, Mr. Miller.” She replied coldly.
“Sense? I’ll tell you what makes sense: it’s to oppose this ridiculous demand. The amount of profit I would lose from shutting the plant down for a week far outweighs the costs of hiring an attorney to oppose you in court.”
“We will win regardless, Mr. Miller!”
He laughed. “I highly doubt that. Now leave my office.”
Yͪ̿̾̅̍҉̰̜̟̜͖̜o̴̧̼̭̭̰͇̦̯͕͓ͪͫ̆͗ͨũ̵̺̣̓̽͑͜ ̗͇̞̮̐̔́͛͗͑́͡m̨̜̙͇̻͎̱̻̱̈́̑́ͯ̏͑ͩu̎̃ͬ̊̽ͨ͘͢҉̟͎s̸̡͉͎̊̏ͮ̋̐ͯṯ͉͕̪͍̣͌ͮ͑̍͝ ̧ͭ͆͗ͮ͌̚͝͏̦̝̠̳̙̖̳̘s̛̩̮̻͈̩͍̘̥̥ͬ̃̽̎̃ţ̼͕͕͐̑ͤ͋̅o̢̯͓̟̰ͫͯ̓̒ͩ̕p̸̡̛̯̞͈̗̓ͭ̊̓̑̔̈̅ ̴̨̙̬͓̮͕̗̳̈́̏n̳̣͔̲̋̽̑̐o̴̥͙͖̣̜̬̲ͩ͂̽́̎̐̚̕͞w̡̧̰͕͔̼̳̼̱̭̔̐ͬͥ!̗̳̬̯̇͗̏ͪ̑̋̇ͧ́
I’m begging you, don’t read on! You aren’t realizing what damage you are causing! It will get worse if you read more, only you can stop it.
Do you want to read on still? Listen, I’ll tell you something. What you read is happening right now. It happens because you read it. If you hadn’t read it things wouldn’t have happened.
Do you see why I’m so desperate now? You know it gets worse. And yet you haven’t stopped reading. But now is your last chance. You can at least limit the damages that you have caused if you don’t read on anymore.
P̙̞ͣ̿̿͋ͯl̩͍̩̣̝̜̩̐̐̔̌͡e͖͉̹̼͉̊̓̋̏̽͟a͓̫̞̞̻̺̪̞͆̑̐̿͘s̮̟͉̱ͧ̏ͬͭͥ̚͟ȩ̷̞͙̯ͣ͑́̂ͯ̏ͨͭ͌,̦͙̻͙̩̯ͥ͒̔͡ ̵͖̞̉ͥͫͪd̶̸̺͖̣͇͕̗̬ͤ̌̾̓͛̎̈́̔o͇̺͔̤͇̱̭̿̀̋͟ṋ̼̲̣͒ͅ’ͭ̓̌̓͝͏̸̲̭t̬͔̳̯̪̩͐ ̵͇͕̫̆̽̑̊̐͋ͯr̟̳̱̪̞̒͗ͧ̉ͣ̄́ē̶̡͙͖̭̒̌́̎̽ͣa͈ͦͨ̑̄̅̈́ͫͨ͌̀d̛͚ͨ͊͒̽͒̚̕ ̶̰͍̹͚͍͖ͭ͑̀̕a̘̹̐̂͗̅̃̂̒̆́n̂͂ͩͩ̓̓͊ͦ̚҉̭̗̪̞̫ͅy̶̸̛̼̖̤ͪ͌͐̇̽͐ ̸̨̫͉̥̗̙̱̤̠͌͌̿͐̃̋͠f̦͇̤̠̜̗̹̎̏͗͗́ͅu̵̳͇̟͛͆ͬ̉̉̿ͥ͑͑r͓̫̂̅̽͊͡t͍̪̤̜͈̭̦ͬ͛͒ͯ̋̄h͍̤̙̩͉̼̯̗̿̇͐̈̾ͣe̵͈̬͓̦͔̎͋ͅr̝͍͎̫̐̔́̋͛…̢̯̉̋̃̓͠
Weeks passed as the courts were overfilled and needed time to get the case set. The lawyers on both sides tried to persuade the opposite side to rest their case, making it clear that neither party would back down. Weeks during which the nuclear power-plant continued to function.
As it turned out the butterflies were caused due to dirt settling into a dent in the structural integrity of the nuclear reactor number 2. What had started out as a microscopic crack had grown and spread, looking like a butterfly, then two, then ten. It had spread across a wide portion of the inside of the silo until the crack caused too much damage for the structure to uphold itself under the next nuclear fission.
Within seconds the fission got out of control and caused a nuclear meltdown which spread to the other two reac-tors and led to a chain reaction that exploded the entire facility. Most workers didn’t have the time to realize what was happening before the explosion tore them away.
The explosion blew tons of radioactive particles into the air and spread them among the clouds, where the high winds took hold of them and covered further areas in their destructive radiation.
Ŷ̓ͦ̾̐̈ͫ̏ͣ̀͏͏͔͚͇o̢̰̰̍̑̑ͮͥͭ̉ͩ̕͝u̡̮̭̪̎’̨͍̯̤ͮͯ͐ͣ̏ͣ̎͜v̷͉̝̭̟̓̓ȩ͐҉̭̤̺͙ ̵̖͔̗̮͍̥̯̈́̎̓̄̌͊͘ͅd͚̞͎̬̘ͬ̆̄͆́̚o̢̩̦̲̜͎̱͊̿̍̑͒̌͛ͫ̾͢͢n̩͋̍̓͋̍͟e̸͉̺͑̽̄́͠ ̈ͨͫͯ͜͏̖̬̰i̵̤͓͐̅t͔͚ͥ̃̍̔ͣ̍̈͛̇͡.̴̗̟̙̳̖͚ͤͫ̍̆̉̒͞͠ ̧̙͍̦͈̔̽ͧ̊͋̾̇͢Y̖͍ͭ̔ͤ͛̅ȏ̇̿͝͏͓͞ũ̸̖͔͎̥̥͙ ̲̗ͬ̑̅̇̃̏̇̕͢f̴̦͇̠̉ͧͩ͊̊̃̆͗į̗̲̹͍ͦ͡n̸̢̞̩͈ͦ̄ͦ̓i͍̱̪̠ͯ̒̃͑̿̕s̵̡̭͙͗h̼̱̣̜̟̝͋ͨͭͬ̒̆̾͒̓͘͜ȩ̰͓̣̞̞̥͐̌͒̓̏ͥd̖̺͐ͣͥͯ̑̿̈́ ̨̼̫͎͈̗̊ͣ͐̔ͫ͡t̴̨̪̱͕͕̍̉ͬ̎ͫ̊ͧ͋ͮh̼͈̱ͫͤ̓̎̓̿̒͑̕͜͠ẻ̸̢̤̱̫̟͈̱͙̽̐͐ͬ̒ͦ̀ ̶̼̫̼ͫ̎ͪͥͪ̏͘š̰̐̊̾t͇̟̥͐͒̕o̗̝͐͆̑̒͋r̡͚͚̞͍̹̤͉̝ͣ͒͟y͕͚̲̲̱͚͈ͥ̐́.͔̺̔
Are you satisfied now? Are you happy with what you did? Was it worth satisfying your curiosity? You did the damage that I cannot undo. Now the story must continue, but it’s not written yet.
You probably don’t realize what you did… do you? Then take a look out of the window. Do you see the dark cloud in the sky, coming closer?
That’s not a storm cloud.