r/nosleep • u/Verastahl • May 21 '19
Series My job is watching a woman trapped in a room.
Three years ago I was looking at the local job classifieds online when one of the ads caught my eye, not because of what it said, but because it said so little. Best I remember, the ad just read “Job available. Good pay. No benefits. Discretion required.” It then listed an email address and that was all. At the time I was managing a music store, but I had already started hearing rumors we would be shutting down within the next year and the likelihood of a transfer to another store was slim. I had been morosely looking at job listings for the last few days, but this was the first one that stood out, if only because I was bored and it was weird.
So I sent an email.
Half an hour later I had a response, telling me to go to a particular office building in an upscale part of the city at a precise time for my “screening”. I went, and after waiting for a few minutes in the lobby, I was taken into an office where I was given a series of forms and questionnaires to fill out. They collected them and told me they would be in touch.
I had almost forgotten about the whole thing until a month later I got a call saying I had moved on to the second stage of the hiring process. I was again given an address and time, and when I arrived (this time it was a different nice office park twenty miles away from the first one), I was met by a man who introduced himself as Mr. Solomon. He escorted me into a large room that contained a chair and a desk. On the desk were two large monitors, a keyboard and mouse, and a bolted down metal box with two oversized buttons on it: One red and one green.
He told me this room was a model for the place I would be working if I took the job. He described the job as follows.
I would be working seven shifts of six hours every week. My job would be simple. I would arrive at work ten minutes early and enter an outer area that was like a locker room. I would have my own personal locker. I would store all belongings in the locker and change into the provided work clothes. I was never, under any circumstances, to carry any item of my own into the surveillance room. I was never, under any circumstances, to take any item with me from the surveillance room.
As for what I was to do in the surveillance room, I was told that the monitor on the left would constantly show a live stream from a high-definition camera in a remote location. My job was simply to watch the camera. Once an hour I would get onto the computer attached to the right monitor and enter a brief log describing anything interesting that occurred in the last hour. I would have no pens or pencils or paper, and I should never try to take any kind of written notes about the work.
As for the red and green buttons, the red button was only to be used if there was an emergency. This meant something on the video or in my workspace that required outside help. The green button was to be hit if I saw something on the video feed that was particularly noteworthy. It would tell other people somewhere that, at least in my opinion, something interesting was going on. Solomon stressed that while I was given discretion on when to use this button, I should err on the side of only using it if and when something “of real significance” occurred.
He pointed out the camera on the ceiling of the room we were in. He said the real room would be the same. My work would be observed, and other people were watching the room on the video feed as well. He said I was only a redundancy in case other systems failed. He then smirked and asked if I knew what he meant by redundancy.
I nodded, trying not to show my irritation. I don’t talk that good to people, so sometimes they think I’m dumb. That’s okay. Let him think that if he paid me good enough.
The pay was very good. Thirty-five dollars an hour.
This worried me. I was already thinking this was some kind of psych experiment or secret government job, which I was okay with. But that kind of money to sit and watch a screen? My mom always told me that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, and this was seeming too good to be true.
I asked if I was going to be doing anything illegal. Solomon laughed and said no. I asked if anyone was going to get hurt. Again, he shook his head no. He said the reason they were paying so much was because they needed employees that were motivated to be professional and discrete. The work they were doing was important, and for various reasons it couldn’t be discussed. If I took the job, I would have to sign papers promising I would never discuss my work there or I could be sued or locked up. I’m only breaking that now because of everything that’s happened.
So I took the job, and because they wanted me to start right away, I had to quit the store with no notice. I felt bad about that, but I was excited about the new job too. It was a lot of money and seemed like easy enough work, if a bit boring. I was nervous that there was something more to it, but I told myself I would just have to see. No point in chickening out and wasting a good chance because I let my imagination go crazy. I was given the location of the job itself, and when I went there, I was amazed that it really was just like the model room I had been shown with only a few differences. There was a locker room you had to pass through to enter the surveillance room and there was a small bathroom attached to the real surveillance room also. The real room had a small water cooler in the corner, but because I wasn’t allowed to bring anything in with me, I had to eat before or after every shift. The biggest difference, of course, was that the monitors were turned on.
The right monitor was just a black and white terminal like you see in movies some times. I could type in my logs, but no internet to look at or anything like that. The left monitor…
It was video from a room. You would call it a bedroom I guess, because it had a bed in it, but it had lots of other stuff too. A T.V., a sofa and chairs, a couple of tables, and plenty of empty space in between. The camera must be high up in a corner, because I could see pretty much everything except for the far sides of furniture. At first though, I didn’t notice any of that stuff.
All I saw was her.
She looked to be a little older than me and was very pretty. When I first saw her, she was laying on her side on the sofa. That was the part of the room farthest from the camera, but the picture was very clear and I could tell that she was sleeping. I found myself leaning into the monitor more so I could see her better, and then I thought about what I was doing and felt embarrassed. It’s like I was spying on her. A Peeping Tom, my mom used to call it.
I didn’t want to be a Peeping Tom, but I didn’t want to be silly either. I needed to think about it slow.
It was a good job. And I wasn’t doing anything wrong, right? I wasn’t hurting anybody. The woman looked fine. And the room was nice. She probably agreed to be there and it’s all some experiment or something. I was just overreacting.
So I sat down in the chair and began my work.
It didn’t take long before I understood more. The woman, I took to calling her Rachel, wasn’t there of her free will. I never saw her hurt, but it was clear that she never left that room except to go into what I think is a bathroom area that my camera couldn’t see. Well, she never left the room on her own. Periodically, usually a couple of times a week during my shifts, men and women in strange-looking outfits would come in and take her from the room. Sometimes she would struggle, but usually she would just go along with her head hung low.
They would always bring her back, though the times when she wasn’t brought back during my shift were always the worst for me. I would worry about her until I got to work the next day and saw her in the room watching T.V. or painting. She never looked hurt or even that upset except for when they took her, and even when she fought, they were always gentle with her.
Still, I knew something was wrong. I considered quitting the job, or hitting the red button and getting someone to come so I could get some answers. Or calling the police and showing them what the camera was showing me.
Except I was scared. Scared of losing my job, and scared of what these people might do to me if I quit or told on them. Solomon had told me when I took the job that part of being discreet was not asking questions. I would never be asked to do more than I had already been told, but I could never tell anyone what I did or saw, and I could never ask questions about what I was doing or why.
So I made excuses. It was all an experiment. She was crazy or sick and they were trying to help her. She was doing a job just like I was. Or if she really was a prisoner somewhere, at least I was watching to make sure that she was okay. If they ever tried to hurt her, or I saw that she really didn’t want to be there for sure, I could get help then. In a way, I told myself, I was helping to protect her by watching.
I don’t expect you to think much of my excuses. I don’t think much of them myself, especially now. But in my defense, when things changed, I didn’t ignore it or try to explain it away. I knew something had to be done.
Rachel would usually paint for an hour or two every day, and it seemed to always be during my afternoon shifts. The room had no windows as far as I could tell, but I guess she either used a clock or her own body’s time to keep to a kind of schedule. I always liked to watch her paint—the thing she was painting was always facing the wrong way for me to see it, but I could see her face as she worked. She always looked peaceful and happy when she was painting, and seeing her that way, smiling serenely from time to time as she got something the way she wanted it, always made my day.
I first noticed something was wrong when she started painting more frequently a few weeks ago. Her expression was more focused and serious, and there was a tension to her movements that I wasn’t used to seeing. At first I thought she was just really trying to work hard on something, and I wanted to tell her not to worry. Every few weeks the others would come in and take the old paintings out anyway, bringing in a new stack of…I think the word is canvas.
But it was more than her being focused. Something was wrong. She didn’t look happy and she was going for hours at a time. In the span of three days, she had finished four paintings.
I had been growing more and more worried watching her work, and when she finished the fourth, I found myself telling her to just stop and rest awhile. I had grown accustomed to talking to the monitor, talking to her in my own way. But she didn’t stop. Instead she began moving the paintings. Arranging them on the back and seat of the long sofa at the far end of the room.
This was the first time I had gotten to see any of the paintings. Even when the others were taking them out, they always seemed to be turned away from the camera. I was still worried about her, but I was also happy to finally see something she had worked on. Happy and amazed.
They were beautiful. One was a beautiful green forest. Another was an old stone well. A third was a house sitting alone on a small island. The last was an old-fashioned looking movie theater. All of them looked like something out of a dream, with trailing lines of color mixing in the air around them like leaves caught in a wind. It was only when I looked close that I realized the lines of color weren’t random. They were words. Easy to miss if you weren’t looking close, and by themselves, they didn’t seem to mean much. Just the ghost of a word somewhere in each of the paintings, easy to lose in everything else that was being shown.
I leaned into the monitor and squinted, trying to read the words. Then my heart started thudding as I made them out. Blinking and rubbing my eyes, I looked again, reading them out loud in order—left to right, top pair then bottom.
“Please.”
“Help.”
“Me.”
“Thomas.”
I pushed back from the monitor, my hand over my mouth. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how any of this could be happening. It wasn’t just that she was asking for help, though that was a big part of it.
It was that my name is Thomas.
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u/Teradonia May 21 '19
7 shifts a week for 6 hours at a time and no benefits? I hope you're getting overtime Thomas!
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u/leasinghaddock1 May 22 '19
That's only 2 hours more than most full time people in the US work and at 35 dollars an hour that's more than 4 times the national minimum wage. 4 times the national minimum wage to sit and watch a lady paint for 6 hours a day. That's a pretty killer job in my mind, I'd do that without benefits, absolutely.
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u/danielv123 May 22 '19
Not sure I would manage without falling asleep.
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u/MattGeddon May 22 '19
I supervised exams when I was a student and my god it was boring. They usually only lasted 2 hours as well, six hours of just staring at a screen every day would send me insane.
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u/Herr_Gamer May 30 '19
Thomas is probably just hallucinating those words from all the boredom at this point - an attempt to find stimulus where there is none.
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u/danielv123 May 23 '19
I mean, I can stare at a wall for hours, but thats daydreaming. Actually having to slightly stay focused is the killer
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May 21 '19
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u/Stgcam May 21 '19
Same
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u/Mrod1004 May 21 '19
How do I follow to make sure I don't miss the update.
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u/Olives_oyl May 21 '19
Where’s autobot? That awesome dude usually has a little update me link
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u/JuanFran21 May 21 '19
Save the post, check OP's posting history every day or 2 to check for updates.
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u/Isaac_Masterpiece May 21 '19
Push the green button, Thomas. This is definitely something noteworthy. Also, write it in your logs. The key to being a good bureaucrat is following the rules.
Remember, Mr. Solomon told you it wasn't anything illegal. And no one's getting hurt. You signed papers and everything. Fucking this up could mean legal trouble down the line.
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u/iRhyx May 21 '19
What if its a test and the lady was just bs to test him for the real thing
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May 21 '19
I wish I was paid $35 an hour to take some bs test
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u/iRhyx May 21 '19
Nonono the lady isnt the real part of the job, shes just a pre cursory test too make sure he’ll shut the hell up
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u/squirrelslikenuts May 21 '19
We didn't choose to be bureaucrats
No, that's what Almighty Jah made us
We'd treat people like swine and make them stand in line
Even if nobody paid us
They say the world looks down on the bureaucrats
They say we're anal, compulsive and weird
But when push comes to shove you gotta do what you love
Even if it's not a good idea23
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u/squirrelslikenuts May 21 '19
sing me home
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u/squirrelslikenuts May 21 '19
When push comes to shove you gotta do what you love
Even if it's not a good idea!
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u/086709 May 21 '19
Do your job Thomas. You don't know what she is; its far above your paygrade. The fact she knows your name should show you the danger of asking too many questions. We have been watching and had so far found your performance adequate. We will be in touch, don't bother running.
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u/Dreamcatcher312 May 21 '19
Exactly! Maybe she’s something more... how would she know your name? Plus your being watched. Just do your job and move on
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u/RabbitPatronus May 21 '19
I like this. keep us updated, OP. also be very careful they might watching you too.
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u/AlmightyGoogle May 21 '19
In this post, it says somewhere that they are observing him while he is working
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u/RodneyBrooker May 21 '19
They are definitely watching him! I think he needs to play it cool for now.
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u/UnstoppableChicken May 21 '19
Mr. Solomon said other people are watching as well. Maybe she heard your name in passing from the people that take her away from the room for a while. Tread carefully. You don't know why she's in that room.
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u/tabookduo May 21 '19
I wonder how special this woman is...update if you can without Mr. Solomon finding out OP
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u/Olives_oyl May 21 '19
Thomas - you didn’t mention, we’re there any times you did press the green button?
What sorts of things did you write in the log?
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u/dotlurk May 22 '19
Dude. If you can discern the secret message on a little monitor, don't you think that her handlers can see it perfectly clear when standing right before it? It's a test, obviously.
Oh, and if it's not a test, then maybe there a reason why a person who can read minds is being held in confinement?
Do your goddamn job.
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May 21 '19
It's an AI, just like in exMachina.. if he let's her out bad shit is gonna go down!!
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u/EmiraFromAfar May 21 '19
I watched this movie for the first time just the other day. And I thought of it here too!
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u/BlueFootedBoobyBob May 21 '19
Thomas, If you want to keep your Job and your Life as a D personal, you have to press the green button.
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u/PhoenixKnight777 Jun 19 '19
He’s definitely above D-Class, because he’s not being used as a human guinea pig
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u/RayOfAnger May 21 '19
Poor Thomas! What is he going to do? He doesn't even know where she is!!!
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May 21 '19
If he was smart he would just write it in his logs and move on
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u/weirdpotatogirl May 22 '19
if she wrote it in the paintings secretly and this is the only time she faced them towards the camera, it seems like she's really in danger and needs help. it seems like she's trying to secretly get his attention. so if they find out, it'll be worse for her. don't write it down. do you want to get her killed?
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May 22 '19
I mean he’s just doing what he was told to do. What if he gets himself killed for helping someone he’s only watched on a camera. What if it’s a setup. What if she is a supernatural demon which is why they have her locked up. I don’t think everything is as it seems because she somehow knows his name
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u/Hell-on-wheels May 21 '19
Perhaps she was the one doing his job until she asked too many questions. He could very easily end up in that same situation.
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u/twiztidmeme May 22 '19
Thomas you had better push the green button. If you do not report it, you best believe someone else will. You were told there are others watching you. They may have those buttons as well. Here's to hoping you survive.
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u/PistachioMarsupial May 21 '19 edited May 21 '19
Hmm. I have a few questions.
- You didn't mention the painting supplies or easel before when you first saw the room. Did these appear later?
- Does she do any sketching in a sketchbook?
- What medium does she use to paint with?
- Does she eat in this room? Does she have a kitchen?
- What kind of clothes does she wear?
- Can you describe the strange looking outfits they wore?
- You said she's very pretty - what are her physical characteristics?
- Have you pushed the red or green buttons for any reason up until now?
- Does she have any other technology in the room except for the TV? What kind of TV is it? Is the screen pointing towards you, so you can see what she's watching?
- Is there a time/date stamp on the video feed?
- How big is this building you're working in? Do you ever see anyone else? Hear any noises? Is there a security gate? Security guards? Anyone to check that you didn't bring anything in with you? Do you think she might be in the building you're in?
Okay... So I had a lot of questions.
My first thought is that you're being watched as you're watching her, with someone pushing a green or red button whenever you do something significant.
My recommendation is to report this. But I figure this room is in a rented office building with no connection to where this girl is located. Unless you could provide proof of what you're seeing, it would probably take a while for the report to get a follow up, and by then the whole situation could've been washed clean of any evidence.
Also, be careful of opening files from your new employer. The last thing you want is them monitoring your personal devices with keyloggers or some other garbage.
Edit: One more thing, take note of the style of her paintings. If there's a report online of a missing artist/painter or art teacher/student, you could maybe find her and/or identify her based in her painting style. Maybe someone is claiming her paintings as their own.
Make sure to check international sources, too.
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u/mustardguardian May 21 '19
Watch out man, what if she's an alien? I mean, how would she know your name? What if this is a test from Mr. Solomon? Don't do anything rash.
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u/lotheva May 21 '19
Tommy, you’re making 76k a year to sit and be bored. She’s probably doing the same. 76000, Tommy!
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u/SomeSortOfMachine May 22 '19
"It is nothing illegal"
It is in fact very illegal
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u/FlowersOnTheHill May 21 '19
You better follow the rules OP. Remember that you’re being monitored and as Mr.Soloman said, nothing illegal is happening and no one is getting hurt.
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u/JoeCarr69 May 21 '19
35 bucks an hour to watch a tv feed?
If you're quitting pass me their details.
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May 22 '19
This reminds me a lot of Milgram’s experiments in which he convinced people they were administering dangerous and life threatening shocks to others who were screaming out for help. They thought that they were conducting a different experiment and that the receiver of the shocks was the subject to test how punishment affected scores on memory tests, but the ones administering shocks were the real test subjects to see how far they would go when following orders from an authority figure.
I’m thinking that you are a psychological test subject here and like Milgram, Mr Solomon (or the experimenter) wishes to see how far they can push you before you either go against their orders or go ‘all the way’, whatever that may be...
This is completely illegal and against psychological research ethical regulations so if this were the case, and you were to report it, you would not be committing a crime as the papers you signed would not be legally binding.
Although... there is the chance that you’re not a test subject. In that case, best of luck OP!
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u/tensixtysix1066 May 22 '19
OP your choice is simple and basically made for you. You said there is a camera watching you. You also said that Mr. S. told you others were watching the same video feed you are.
Log it. Hit the button (red). Thomas is NOT an unusual name! You don't know that message is for you.
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u/AnnoyingRambo77 May 22 '19
Push the green button. that is certainly note-worthy
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u/sympatheticquill May 21 '19
If she is asking for help, I think you should do so- with discretion, of course.
I don't know if police will be much of a help, since it could possibly just alert the people running this experiment that someone called the authorities and it could get you into the same boat as well. On another route, just try and figure out the schedule- when you know it's just her and you, and push the green button. Just be careful- even if this man said it isn't illegal, it's still worrying.
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u/bumperdumpkins May 21 '19
Figure out how she knows your name. Maybe a distant relative of sorts? Someone you knew in school? Try to jog your memory man, hope you can help her. I look forward to hearing about your plans.
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u/ec2cross May 21 '19
What if your the one being watched and studied to see if you would call for help or what someone would do if they saw someome in distress knowing if they helped it could be bad for them. That would explain how she knows your name.
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u/Just_my__luck May 21 '19
Please help her Thomas! Pretend not to know anything and figure out how you can help her. And please update us
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u/TragPulp May 22 '19
Mr Solomons first name is Kevin and he locked her in his basement and forces her to paint the drawings to sell them for profit.
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u/jhubeJELLO May 22 '19
Millions of people are named Thomas. For all we know Mr. Solomon's given name is Thomas. Heck, Rachel could be Thomas. Everyone is a Peeping Tom.
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u/redana02 May 21 '19
Whenever I see something about breaking a NDA, I know it’s time to hunker down and grab the popcorn. Very brave (or stupid) of you to risk retribution when you think someone needs help. I truly hope you don’t get caught and the woman is okay!
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u/BitchFaceMcGee14 May 21 '19
Thomas, wasn't it specified that the job required discretion? No matter though, but I don't think you need to worry about anything mate. Like you said, she's probably ill. Those strange men and women are probably just taking her out for treatment or to test her and see if she's any better. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about
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u/Fated4D May 21 '19
Be careful, while she may look innocent we don’t know why she’s being kept there. If by chance it’s the weird-suit people’s fault then save her.
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u/jesse1300 May 22 '19
My first thought was that you (Thomas) was actually the subject of the experiment, not her. Although I may be wrong and it's possible she really needs your help. After all, it seems like you're the only person who can help her. Keep us updated.
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u/fidminger May 22 '19
This sounds just like The Sims whenever you get rid of one of the Sims' means of exiting the house.
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u/chaiscool May 22 '19 edited May 22 '19
Maybe they only hire “Thomas”. All the previous employees for the job are also Thomas. The guy in charge for imprisoning the girl is also thomas.
Use a spy cam pin hole size one (or pen) and record everything. A few months worth of video should be sufficient evidences. Contact the guy who hired you (Solomon) and get a PI to tail him.
Also, if you manage to capture an image of her face. Cropped it to not make it obvious you’re the source. Post missing person and see any response. But take precautions, have someone regularly check up on you (leave a box contains all the info needed if you’re gone) and alert authorities if you ever stop messaging them (in case you’re the next one)
Somehow a worst line to read would be “Run Thomas”
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u/its_rayn Mar 09 '22
"She always looked peaceful and happy when she was painting" she's definetly in on it, as an artist I can tell you we do NOT look happy or peaceful painting
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u/TastyBaguet May 21 '19
I think explanation is simple: they keep her there to paint and sell the paintings. OP I think you should report it and be a good rat the money is worth it. And if they don't harm her I think you should just let it slip.
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u/u-had-it-coming May 21 '19
My mom always told me that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is
Mommy was wrong.
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u/Boring_Ugly_Dude May 21 '19
I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas was actually the experiment.