Hope Is Lost

Hello, my name is Nicholas. Now, today I am going to tell you a story of what may have seemed a typical day to any normal intern, but there was NOTHING normal about today.

It was my first day as an intern at Nickelodeon Studios. They picked me up after receiving my associates degree from ITT Tech. It was a stupid school, but it taught me what I needed for this chance. Running donuts and making coffee sucked, I can tell you that much, but it had it perks. Me being on the road of an editor, I sometimes received the opportunity to see episodes before they were "Officially" released. Today, I was invited into the editing studio, but you see, it was odd. There was no one in there. Normally this would cost me my internship, but oh god, I couldn't resist the urge. It was overwhelming, encompassing. Oh dear god that feeling...

As soon as I walked in, the door slammed behind me. I figured this was one of those somewhat "Cruel" pranks the editors sometimes pulled on the new guys. So, when the door locked, I figured this was some kind of punishment, and my heart slowly sank. My internship was in huge jeopardy. Oh, they probably already knew I was here! Panicking, I ran at the door with all my force, slamming into it with all my might. Now, not to boast, but I was not the weakest guy. I had been working out for the past 3 years. But, dear lord, there was something on the other side of that door. Some force stronger then the strongest man, making sure I couldn't leave until I did what I was sent in to do. Now, in my panic, I hadn't noticed the netbook, the chair, and the small table it was sitting on. In the disk tray there was a blank CD. Usually these were editing disks, completely cherry episodes just barely leaving production. It didn't have any markings or even a name. But something beckoned me.. something pushed me to the chair and forced me to sit. As I slowly pulled the chair back, my heart rate slowly increased. You could almost hear it in my chest. "Thump, Thump, THUMP" I slowly pushed the DVD tray shut. Without any prompt, or confirmation, it just started. Something seemed odd straight away. Normally, it would open in VLC or Windows Media Player. However, this was odd. It just opened with no video player. It seemed the computer itself was just a video player. But it couldn't be. It seemed just like any normal netbook the interns or staff carried. Or was it...?

As the title card flashed, I could immediately see my first assumption was wrong. It wasn't a cherry, or slightly edited build. They never had title cards. This was either finished, or just ready to leave production. The title card seemed odd. I had never seen anything like it. Instead of the usual "Fun" font they used that popped and seemed colorful (Of course to appeal more to children), it seemed more... gothic... something you would see in a horror film... The words and the title card made my heart sink farther. It had to be a joke, right? Why would someone try to scare me this terribly though? The words read, "You nosy intern, you shouldn't have come in here", and the usual happy bubble transition that we were all used to was gone... The text just melted down the screen, almost like blood running down a wall... and it slowly faded into the show from a couple seconds of utter silence. It transitioned into one of the familiar openings... with Spongebob slowly snoring in bed and Gary sleeping beside him on his newspaper. The blowhole of an alarm clock was there, even the bed was. I begin to feel relived, I remembered all this from when I was kid. It seemed normal but was it? Oh dear god, I was wrong. ...Forgive me, you must forgive me. I am choked up... just writing this. I wanted to forget this, but something compels me to share my story. I was expecting the blowhole to go off, and Spongebob to start his typical routine. Oh how bad that thing annoyed me as a kid. But, it didn't come.. there must have been at least just three plus minutes, of just SpongeBob snoring... then.. something finally happened, it started to slowly pan into his face. Oh, so slowly, waiting in anticipation, just dying for something to finally happen. I would later greatly regret this decision. Oh, what I would give if it had just ended right then and there!

As it finally reached deep into his face... you could clearly see his expression. It was one of horror, malice, one someone in a terrible nightmare would have... his eyes, almost seemed as if they had been, stitched shut. It then had a transition, not the usual fade to black, or the joyful bubbles. But something, all together, much more sinister. It was a fiery transition.. almost like the previous screen had just burned up. By all appearances we were now in Spongebob's mind, in his dream, his nightmare. It appeared to be Bikini Bottom, oh but there was something, VERY, VERY wrong. The whole city seemed in shambles, the horizon blood red, the buildings burning... Spongebob was just walking, down the road, it seemed the typical path he would normally take to the Krusty Krab. The people around him, oh dear god I still remember it. The bloodcurdling screams. At this moment, I realized that there was something very wrong. This had no appeal to children. Hell, most adults would find this a bit morbid at this point. The scream, oh the scream! It was one of someone in great pain, being tortured, or slowly dying, a bloodcurdling “AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At this point, I couldn't see who it was coming from, just SpongeBob walking, slowly, silently, as the screaming slowly continued, getting louder and louder... Oh god, I almost wanted to claw my eyes out when he turned the corner. I saw the source of the screams. It was terrifying, horrible, inhuman. It was Patrick hammered into a stake almost like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But also, his stomach, oh god, it had been torn open... his entrails slow leaking out. The look on his face, seeing SpongeBob... he seemed relived for a moment. Almost as if his salvation had come. His eyes began to water, just staring at SpongeBob, almost beckoning. His eyes spoke for him. They screamed “Please, oh god, please help me...” We then transitioned over to SpongeBob and he now... just stood there, staring back at Patrick, watching his friend slowly suffer and die. Patrick then began to weep slowly, almost as if he understood something, that I the viewer, did not.

SpongeBob then began to open his mouth. Slowly in a low, almost Satanic, demonic voice, he whispered... “Suffer fat one. You, this whole town brought this upon themselves...”, and then he turned and slowly walked away. At this moment, I screamed out in horror... almost praying that someone would hear me! Someone would walk in, it would cost me my internship, but anything to end this! Now, you may find yourself thinking, “Why don't you just stand up and attempt once more to escape?” I couldn't... Something, deep down inside me told me if I moved, I would regret it. I had to finish watching. I just HAD to.

SpongeBob then continued down the road... slowly approaching the Krusty Krab... in the background you could now hear more screams. Some were horrible, bloodcurdling ones. You could tell they came from one in great agony. But, there had been one new sound thrown in, a horrible twisted laugh. One of great malice. Almost as if someone had been hunting an animal and thoroughly enjoying himself all to much. You could hear them very distinctly, fading away into the background, as if they were chasing someone, something in the other direction. You could hear them... Oh, even faded it was still heart stopping, “Gahahahaha Muahahaa!!!!” Spongebob seemed unphased, as if he was almost used to it... you now could slowly hear clattering behind him, slowly breaking the mind numbing silence... it sounded, almost as if something was crawling slowly toward him. SpongeBob then slowly turned, as if he expected this, and as he slowly turned his face slowly came into view... His eyes. They changed. They no longer seemed to be his normal, happy, joyful looking eyes. They were blood red, and full of malice, hate, and anger. One would expect this face from a demon. Hell, even the devil himself would find this look fitting. I myself now slowly began to weep with no end to this horror in site. His eyes now fixed on something. It slowly transitioned over. It was Patrick.. Dear god... Oh my god, forgive me. No human should be forced to see that. His entire lower body was now missing, with his intestines slowly trailing behind him, the trail of blood behind him. What was left of his arms had huge holes in them, almost as if something had been torn out of them. The nails. Had he ripped himself off the stake? His face slowly came up. His eyes beckoned once more to SpongeBob, but this time they said something different. He slowly began to speak and I'll never forget those words. “Kill me... please... I'm sorry... We're all sorry. Just end it please... I can't take the pain...”

SpongeBob responded, with a hellish tone, even worse then before. “You ask for forgiveness from me? Do you take me as your God..? You will receive no divine forgiveness from me... You see, it's my job to make you SUFFER! Burn fat one!”, and with the flick of a wrist, arms, hellish arms, seemed to just sprout from the ground and grabbed a hold of him... and tore him down, into what seemed an endless, hellish abyss. All the way down you could hear that bloodcurdling scream from before, “AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH GOD NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Then, SpongeBob slowly turned, as if nothing had happened. He even let out a small, evil giggle, “Hehehaha.” By this point, I had almost been wishing for the same thing to happen to me, just so I wouldn't have to see this anymore! At this point I was crying so hard I almost felt like a little girl. I felt weak, empty... as if, I was about to throw up. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't choke anything out.

SpongeBob then slowly approached, finally, the doors of the Krusty Krab. The path behind him, oh God, the usual cheery path to the entrance had stakes all along it. Into them were hammered in the corpses of our familiar favorite characters. Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Larry the Lobster, Pearl, Squidward, Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy, Mrs. Puff, and so on. And on their faces, they all too wore that expression of utter sorrow and horror. As if they had died crying in fear of what stood before them. We then transitioned back to Spongebob... who now reached for the door.

Now something happened out of this horrible, nightmarish thing I was witnessing. The whole building began to shake, almost as if during an Earthquake. The only light in the room blew out, and the power went out. I was now in the dark, alone... in this shaking building. I could hear my fellow interns flee, and the developers run out. Without even a second thought of where I was, you could hear there car tires squeal as they raced away. Why had they been in such a hurry to escape? I then turned back to the show, almost as if I was being forced to watch...

He now stood alone, in the Krusty Krab. All lights were out, and there was utter silence, except for a small red glow, coming from the door that usually led to the kitchen. That oh so familiar kitchen where SpongeBob usually stood making his delicacies. He began to slowly approach it. Slowly in silence. As he reached it, he stood in front of the door, almost as if he himself didn't want to go in. Reproachfully, he slowly turned the knob and the door swung open. Oh god, how I wish I could unsee what I saw and heard. SpongeBob faced a hellish demon of indescribable horror, burning in a portal to what seemed to be hell itself. Was this the Devil? Oh god the fear that came over me in that moment as it's mouth slowly opened... “Did you make them suffer, son?” it asked in the most hellish tone imaginable. One of extreme rage, anger, malice, hatred. SpongeBob replied, slowly saying, almost afraid to reply, “Ye-yes Father, they cried, suffered, and burned. A feast of souls waits for you below..”

It replies simply “Good, son. Now back to your cage!! And begone with you!!” and at that moment, I finally threw up all over my own lap. Something began to emerge from SpongeBob and his body almost slowly deflated... it almost seemed to be a human. A dog. Something. Oh god, I can't even find the words...

It crawled toward the Portal, and with a swift kick it's “Father” kicked it into what appeared to be hell itself. Then, it turned slowly, and looked at me, the viewer. And slowly, it mouthed something. So subtle, so quiet, but chilling to the very core. It seemed as if it was speaking to me. It said, “Oh, don't worry, your world is next, it'll suffer at your hands, as this one did at his! (It slowly transitioned over to SpongeBob, or what was left of his corpse. Just skin...) Oh, you'll all atone for what you have done. All of you... You're next..." And with that the computer itself slammed shut and burst into flames. As it slowly burned I could only weep at this, this horror. This couldn't be real!

“Nick! Nick! wake up!” My eyes slowly flashed open. I was in the break room on the floor. Above me stood my friend Tina, who said “ Oh thank God you're okay. You just collapsed. You've been out for about 5 minutes." My whole body was rattled, broken almost. Turning to her, I had this uncontrollable urge. Turning to Tina, I said, “Don't thank God on this day. He won't save us. He has abandoned us. His abominations. His failed creations.” Tina looked aghast, horrified. She ran out screaming. I quickly got up, and quietly left. And here I sit, writing my story of the day, calmly, maybe now I accept my place. And oh, I have work to do. Isn't that right, Tina? Slowly turning to her dismembered body. “You're next...” I end with this: "I am coming. I am his chosen slayer for this world. A messenger of Hell itself. And oh, I am coming for you. Each and every one of you. And, you'll never stop me... Don't try to run or hide. I'll find you..."