The Day I Chose The Dark

The company had a bizarre rule.

The last person to leave at night had to shout: I'm turning off the lights!

Then, they had to wait for ten minutes before they could actually flip the switch and go.

If they didn't, they would simply vanish.

My sister, Skylar, had scoffed at the rule.

Until one day, she worked until two in the morning, the only one left in the office.

Anxious to get home, she flipped the switch and left immediately, skipping the ten-minute wait.

She has been gone ever since.

1

My first day at DeepCode, Debbie from HR was leading me to the fingerprint scanner, her voice dropping to a serious, almost conspiratorial tone.

Listen up, Sloane. Your department burns the midnight oil a lot. You absolutely have to remember this: if youre the last one out, you must shout, Im turning off the lights! Wait ten minutes, and only then turn them off and leave. Got it? Dont, under any circumstances, just flip the switch and walk out. Never.

I placed my thumb on the screen, letting a slight, neutral smile touch my lips.

Why, Debbie? What is it, some kind of ghost or something?

Debbie froze. She stiffened as if a sudden shock had jolted her.

She glanced around us with a complex expression, then leaned in, lowering her voice further.

Dont ask. Just do it. Unless you want to disappear without a trace, follow the rules. Im telling you this for your own good.

Most people would hear talk like thatsupernatural nonsenseand just chuckle, dismissing it as office eccentricity.

But I knew she was telling the truth.

My sister, Skylar, had vanished two weeks ago.

Shed mentioned the companys strange rule in a text message, noting her firm position as a realist, a staunch materialist who didnt believe in any of it.

The night it happened, she texted me again. She was working late, the last one in the building. It was dark, she was exhausted, and she was desperate to go home. She didn't want to wait the extra ten minutes. She flipped the switch.

After that, the thread went silent.

2

My parents were practically incoherent with grief and fear over Sky.

They called the police the next day. The surveillance footage was pulled immediately.

The only problem? The feed from the moment Sky turned off the lights simply disappeared. No tampering, no corruption recordjust a clean, unexplained gap.

In the ten days since, the police had found zero trace of her life. No activity on her bank accounts, credit cards, or ID.

Sky was gone, wiped clean, as if she had been erased from existence.

My parents, broken and out of options, finally called me back to the States. Im the older sister, the one theyd always viewed as the strange anomaly growing up, the one who was emotionally flat. This was the true measure of their desperation: accepting help from the child they never quite understood.

I accepted.

If the police couldn't find a trace, the most logical step was to breach the system from the inside.

I submitted my resume, aced the interviews, and smoothly entered the company, DeepCode.

Since Debbie was clearly unwilling to talk, I decided to try others.

Owen, a programmer in the Tech department, worked late every single day. For at least twenty nights a month, he was the one who turned off the lights last. He had to know something.

As the new hire, I bought a round of coffees and pastries, casually settling down next to him.

He was stiff and quiet, but polite.

I slid a latte onto his desk, made a little small talk, then brought up the rule.

Hey, Owen. Debbie told me about the companys taboo. Is it real? I heard youre the one who always closes up. Do you actually do the whole shout-and-wait thing? Every time?

Owens face instantly changed. His eyes fixed straight ahead, as if staring at something utterly terrifying.

He mumbled, I didnt say anything, I didnt say anything

Suddenly, he started to tremble violently, clutching his left chest with his right hand, his knuckles white.

His face turned ashen, a clammy sweat immediately beaded on his forehead. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but no sound came out. His body began to slide down the back of his chair, his eyes losing focus.

Crap. Hes having a heart attack.

I grabbed his shoulder and asked loudly, Wheres your medicine? Your pills?

He was still desperately gripping his chest, but managed to shake his head. It warned me. I cant talk about it absolutely cant talk about it

Before I could react further, Owen slipped into unconsciousness.

The company called an ambulance and had him rushed to the hospital.

That afternoon, Debbie brought the news: Owen was in bad shape and wouldn't be returning to the office anytime soon.

3

Owens reaction was deeply unsettling. He definitely knew something.

That weekend, I took some fruit to the hospital to visit him, but a nurse stopped me at the door. The patient needed complete rest and couldn't be stimulated.

I sat on a bench in the hallway, unsure of what to do next.

Sloane? Is that really you?

I looked up. It was Reid, a friend from my childhood.

It turned out Reid was Owens attending physician.

He told me Owen suffered from a congenital heart defect, a history of arterial switch surgery, and had an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) installed. Thats why, despite the sudden arrhythmia, his heart had quickly returned to normal function.

Physically, all his vitals are fine, Reid explained. The strange thing is, he just wont wake up.

I considered this. Could it be a problem with his brain? Isnt that what a persistent vegetative state is?

Reid shook his head.

Its not quite like that. The head of Neurology ran high-resolution MRIs and EEGs. All brain functions are normal. But his neural activity is abnormally hyper-active. Further neuro-functional imaging shows a strong, functional neural inhibition in the key networks responsible for consciousnessespecially between the Default Mode Network and the prefrontal cortex.

I stared at him, my expression blank. English, please.

Reid paused, then gave an embarrassed laugh. It means he can wake up. But his own brain is actively suppressing his wakefulness. Or, to put it another way, he is resisting consciousness.

I looked intently at Reid.

What was Owen so afraid of that he refused to wake up?

Before he collapsed, hed whispered: It warned me. I cant talk about it

What exactly was this It?

Owen was terrified, terrified enough to trigger a near-fatal cardiac event. That meant he must have witnessed the consequences of breaking the rule. And if he witnessed the consequences, he must have made the same mistake as my sister.

But why did my sister vanish completely, while Owen was still able to go back to work?

What was the difference between them?

4

Hey! Sloane? Hello?

Reid waved a hand in front of my face, noticing I was lost in thought.

I focused on him.

Seriously, I cant believe youre back in the country, and that you ended up at DeepCode.

I tilted my head.

Why? You know the company?

Reid subtly raised an eyebrow.

Sort of. I know they have a really weird workplace taboo.

I nodded.

Yeah. My sister disappeared because of it. Im investigating.

Reids eyes widened in shock.

What? Sky is missing?

I didn't reply.

He stared at me silently for a moment, then suddenly reached out and squeezed my shoulder.

Sloane, something about this feels really off. I have a terrible gut feeling. You should stop looking into it.

I shook my head.

You know me. Ive never been normal. Im emotionally flat by nature; I didn't fit in as a kid, and my parents barely tolerated me. Sky was the only one who was ever decent to me. I cant just let her go.

I looked at Reid.

What is it? Youre a doctor. Youre not afraid of some cheesy urban legend, are you?

He froze for a moment.

What did you just say?

I said youre a doctor, why are you afraid of an urban legend? Whats wrong? Did I say something wrong?

Reids brows knitted into a tight knot.

He stood there, seemingly lost in his own head, until I finally tapped his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

Sloane, I just remembered something. I have to go verify it. Wait for me. I promise Ill bring Sky back.

My heart sank.

What did you find? Im coming with you.

He gave me a strange look.

No. I have to go alone. Trust me.

Before I could protest, he stood up and walked away, pulling his hospital badge off his neck as he went.

It was odd that Reid knew so much about my company.

But seeing his determination, I didn't stop him.

What I didn't expect was that the next day, when I called him, there was no answer.

I rushed to Reids home. His mother looked confused.

He hasnt been home. He must be pulling a shift at the hospital. He does that often.

I raced to the hospital, but still couldn't find him.

Reid was missing, too.

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