WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.229 --> 00:00:02.850 It all started with the roses dying. 00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:04.520 Only the one bush at first. 00:00:04.520 --> 00:00:08.090 The Old Man had come out to water his garden the same way he did every morning. 00:00:08.090 --> 00:00:13.549 It was looking sad and brown, leaves drooping and branches hardening. 00:00:13.549 --> 00:00:15.019 Just the one bush in the corner. 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:19.430 But the next day, the bushes on either side of it had died too. 00:00:19.430 --> 00:00:22.710 Within a week, it was that whole corner of the garden. 00:00:22.710 --> 00:00:27.170 As the Old Man puts on his gardening gloves at the sink and stares out of the kitchen 00:00:27.170 --> 00:00:31.650 window, he knows that something is seriously wrong with his poor plants. 00:00:31.650 --> 00:00:35.760 The flourishing garden, so neatly maintained throughout all of his retirement years - his 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:40.820 pride and joy - is now steadily dying before his very eyes. 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:44.950 Living in a small one-story house, there isn’t much left for him to do. 00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:48.739 Out in Bushey, right on the edge of what could be considered London, there is very little 00:00:48.739 --> 00:00:50.910 going on with his day. 00:00:50.910 --> 00:00:54.980 Inside the house, he hangs all of his photos of the Lancaster Bomber that he and his squad 00:00:54.980 --> 00:00:57.309 flew in the Second World War. 00:00:57.309 --> 00:01:01.359 Although those days are long behind him now, he chose to live here because on the hill 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:05.850 that his house is on, he can see the planes taking off and landing from the nearby RAF 00:01:05.850 --> 00:01:06.850 base. 00:01:06.850 --> 00:01:09.990 And where does he like to sit and watch the planes? 00:01:09.990 --> 00:01:12.100 From his immaculate garden. 00:01:12.100 --> 00:01:13.520 The Old Man scowls at it. 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:18.689 The perfectly trimmed hedges, blossoming trees, uniform grass, and colorful beds are all being 00:01:18.689 --> 00:01:23.210 ruined by a dark stain steadily spreading from the back right corner. 00:01:23.210 --> 00:01:26.710 Starting with that rose bush in the corner and spreading out, everything in a rough circle 00:01:26.710 --> 00:01:31.740 measuring close to 15 feet is withering away and dying. 00:01:31.740 --> 00:01:33.710 Not on his watch. 00:01:33.710 --> 00:01:35.280 The kettle finishes boiling. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:37.850 He has to use his old gas hobs to heat up the water. 00:01:37.850 --> 00:01:40.649 The cooker is apparently long past its lifespan. 00:01:40.649 --> 00:01:45.450 The ignition stopped working years ago, so he has to use matches to start it. 00:01:45.450 --> 00:01:47.000 If he leaves on the gas by accident… 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.530 well, there wouldn’t be much of a kitchen left. 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:55.079 He pours the water out into a mug and starts brewing his morning cup of tea. 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:59.280 A few minutes later, the back door slides open, and the Old Man emerges, trowel and 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:01.210 cup of tea in hand. 00:02:01.210 --> 00:02:05.399 Years ago, he would have marched purposefully across the grass, but now he is forced to 00:02:05.399 --> 00:02:07.280 plod instead. 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:11.000 His knees and back are both starting to give out from the years of tending to his precious 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:12.200 green friends. 00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:14.500 But the fire is still in his belly. 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:17.890 He reaches the edge of the dead patch and looks down. 00:02:17.890 --> 00:02:21.200 The lawn isn’t just yellowing, it’s fully brown. 00:02:21.200 --> 00:02:24.590 He pokes at the grass with his shoe, and it breaks apart to the touch. 00:02:24.590 --> 00:02:25.630 How strange. 00:02:25.630 --> 00:02:29.610 He’s never seen anything die off so suddenly and uniformly. 00:02:29.610 --> 00:02:33.730 It isn’t just a bad bed or an infection spreading around, it’s a clear patch of 00:02:33.730 --> 00:02:37.340 death where nothing in the given area stands a chance. 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:42.030 He steps onto the brown grass and walks to the corner where that first rosebush died. 00:02:42.030 --> 00:02:46.210 The base of the fence is rotting away in that corner, giving him a peek into his neighbor’s 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:47.210 garden. 00:02:47.210 --> 00:02:50.739 With a good deal of groaning and aching, the Old Man lowers himself onto his hands and 00:02:50.739 --> 00:02:52.670 knees and peers under the fence. 00:02:52.670 --> 00:02:55.680 A pair of eyes meet his. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:57.610 The Old Man yells out in surprise. 00:02:57.610 --> 00:02:59.530 The person on the other end screams. 00:02:59.530 --> 00:03:02.080 After a moment they look under again and start laughing. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:04.160 It’s just the Mom from next door. 00:03:04.160 --> 00:03:07.650 She has kids who like to play in the garden on their trampoline while he’s working. 00:03:07.650 --> 00:03:10.380 They’ll often talk over the fence to him between bounces. 00:03:10.380 --> 00:03:12.510 ‘I hope I didn’t give you a heart attack!’ 00:03:12.510 --> 00:03:13.510 she teases. 00:03:13.510 --> 00:03:16.720 He reassures her that he’s made of sterner stuff than that. 00:03:16.720 --> 00:03:20.409 Then they get to the matter at hand, what is going on in their gardens? 00:03:20.409 --> 00:03:22.480 She is having the same issue too. 00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:25.450 That same circle is spreading out over her side too. 00:03:25.450 --> 00:03:27.010 Everything it touches is dying. 00:03:27.010 --> 00:03:31.170 ‘Well then, it has to be coming from this corner,’ the Old Man says. 00:03:31.170 --> 00:03:34.980 The pair of them pull the fence apart around the corner, creating a little hole between 00:03:34.980 --> 00:03:35.980 their gardens. 00:03:35.980 --> 00:03:37.099 It’s short work. 00:03:37.099 --> 00:03:39.280 The boards break apart at the lightest touch. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:41.870 Before long, they have a little work site ready. 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:45.489 There must be something down in this corner that’s causing all of this. 00:03:45.489 --> 00:03:49.540 Side by side, the Old Man and the Mom from next door start to dig. 00:03:49.540 --> 00:03:54.279 The soil feels strange to dig through, there’s a kind of stickiness to it, as if there’s 00:03:54.279 --> 00:03:56.540 a very faint layer of slime binding it together. 00:03:56.540 --> 00:03:58.920 Could it be a dead animal? 00:03:58.920 --> 00:04:03.659 That’s the Old Man’s best guess right now, but it doesn’t seem very convincing. 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:06.200 Surely that would nourish the soil with more nutrients. 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:09.850 It might offset the pH balance a bit but not to the extent of… 00:04:09.850 --> 00:04:10.850 Crack! 00:04:10.850 --> 00:04:12.440 The Mom’s trowel breaks. 00:04:12.440 --> 00:04:14.489 She holds it up to her face, confused. 00:04:14.489 --> 00:04:16.259 The metal shovel scoop has broken. 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:17.730 The tip of it has fallen off. 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:19.510 Half snapped, half melted. 00:04:19.510 --> 00:04:22.080 ‘I just bought this the other day!’ 00:04:22.080 --> 00:04:24.540 But the Old Man isn’t looking at the trowel anymore. 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:28.889 Instead, he’s staring into the hole that the pair of them have dug. 00:04:28.889 --> 00:04:34.110 Down there at the bottom, underneath the piece of broken metal something is moving. 00:04:34.110 --> 00:04:38.160 He plants a gloved hand on either side of the hole and leans down over it, peering at 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:39.780 whatever it is. 00:04:39.780 --> 00:04:40.920 Worms. 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:42.330 Tiny brown worms. 00:04:42.330 --> 00:04:46.300 Each writhing and wrapping around the others, tying and untying knots. 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:50.870 He straightens up with a groan, takes his gloves off, and pushes himself to his feet. 00:04:50.870 --> 00:04:52.680 ‘We need to call the Council. 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.020 There’s something dead down here that is rotting badly.’ 00:04:55.020 --> 00:04:59.660 The woman from Hertsmere Council was clearly not very interested in sending a waste disposal 00:04:59.660 --> 00:05:02.250 team down when the Old Man called her. 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:06.860 She told him they would stop by the bungalow in three to five working days and hung up. 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:11.770 Several calls later, she relented and agreed that they would send a team across that afternoon. 00:05:11.770 --> 00:05:14.520 Soon after 4pm, a knock comes at the door. 00:05:14.520 --> 00:05:18.190 The Old Man escorts the waste disposal team around the side entrance, keen for them not 00:05:18.190 --> 00:05:20.570 to traipse any mud through the house. 00:05:20.570 --> 00:05:24.410 Clearly annoyed by this, the two workmen for the Council trudge around the side and out 00:05:24.410 --> 00:05:27.810 into the garden, grumbling about how they have more important things to be getting on 00:05:27.810 --> 00:05:28.960 with. 00:05:28.960 --> 00:05:32.470 The Old Man chooses to ignore them, leading them to the back corner of his garden and 00:05:32.470 --> 00:05:36.150 pointing down into the hole he and his neighbor had dug just that morning. 00:05:36.150 --> 00:05:37.880 Only the hole is empty. 00:05:37.880 --> 00:05:40.060 ‘What are we looking at here?’ 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:41.170 one of the workmen grunts. 00:05:41.170 --> 00:05:42.940 It is a good question. 00:05:42.940 --> 00:05:46.710 There’s nothing at the bottom of the hole, no writhing worms, not even the shard of the 00:05:46.710 --> 00:05:47.710 trowel. 00:05:47.710 --> 00:05:49.810 It’s just an empty hole. 00:05:49.810 --> 00:05:54.530 The Old Man kneels back down by the hole and scoops back the dirt a bit with his own trowel. 00:05:54.530 --> 00:05:55.570 Nothing. 00:05:55.570 --> 00:05:59.479 The Old Man hears words muttered that he hasn’t heard since the War as he escorts the two 00:05:59.479 --> 00:06:01.370 gentlemen back to their van. 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:05.840 They slam the doors more heavily than necessary and drive off down the quiet suburban street, 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:08.840 leaving the Man standing confused on his doorstep. 00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:12.810 The next day when he goes out to garden, the circle of death hasn’t grown. 00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:13.840 It still looks bad. 00:06:13.840 --> 00:06:17.950 The plants inside it are clearly dead, but it hasn’t spread any further than it was 00:06:17.950 --> 00:06:18.950 the previous day. 00:06:18.950 --> 00:06:22.700 The Old Man sips his tea over the sink and stares out at the garden. 00:06:22.700 --> 00:06:25.750 It must have been next door, that would be it. 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:29.169 Before the Council had shown up yesterday, the Mom must have come outside and bagged 00:06:29.169 --> 00:06:32.550 up whatever dead thing was back there and thrown it out herself. 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:33.550 Good. 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:36.229 He just hopes it doesn’t stink up the bin. 00:06:36.229 --> 00:06:40.180 Now to do the sad part of the task and clear away all of his dead plants. 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:42.710 Those rose bushes had been planted the year he moved in. 00:06:42.710 --> 00:06:44.460 His wife had planted them. 00:06:44.460 --> 00:06:48.840 As he dons his gloves, the Old Man feels a wave of sadness wash over, but before he can 00:06:48.840 --> 00:06:52.650 experience it too deeply, he notices the holes. 00:06:52.650 --> 00:06:56.230 The tips of his gloves are gone, his fingers poking clean out. 00:06:56.230 --> 00:07:00.509 In fact, looking down at his trousers, he notices a pair of holes on the knees of them 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:02.820 from where he’d been kneeling in the dirt yesterday. 00:07:02.820 --> 00:07:05.410 A knock at the front door makes him jump. 00:07:05.410 --> 00:07:09.140 He goes out to see the Mom from next door standing anxiously outside his place. 00:07:09.140 --> 00:07:11.800 She’s glancing up and down the street as she talks. 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.160 She asks if he’s seen either of her boys. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:16.430 He shakes his head, hasn’t seen them all day. 00:07:16.430 --> 00:07:18.650 He reassures her it's probably nothing. 00:07:18.650 --> 00:07:21.910 Back in his day, boys used to go out of the house first thing in the morning and be back 00:07:21.910 --> 00:07:23.130 for dinner. 00:07:23.130 --> 00:07:25.449 Parents these days are too sensitive, too anxious. 00:07:25.449 --> 00:07:28.229 The look on her face tells him that he isn’t helping. 00:07:28.229 --> 00:07:31.919 She mutters something about having seen someone suspicious walking down the street. 00:07:31.919 --> 00:07:33.150 Someone strange. 00:07:33.150 --> 00:07:36.520 No use worrying about it for now, she heads off in the direction of the local park to 00:07:36.520 --> 00:07:38.410 go and look for her sons. 00:07:38.410 --> 00:07:41.860 The Old Man calls out to her as she leaves, thanking her for sorting out the dead animal 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:43.270 from the end of the garden. 00:07:43.270 --> 00:07:45.250 She looks back at him confused. 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:46.919 She hadn’t touched it. 00:07:46.919 --> 00:07:51.009 All the rest of the day, the Old Man stands by his curtains, twitching them open every 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:54.360 now and then to peer out and see if the boys are anywhere to be seen. 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.520 He’s locked all of his doors and left the keys under his pillow. 00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.770 But sunset comes and goes. 00:07:59.770 --> 00:08:01.639 Night time creeps over the suburbs. 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:03.470 No children in sight. 00:08:03.470 --> 00:08:07.550 He’s just about to go to bed when he spots someone on the corner of the street. 00:08:07.550 --> 00:08:11.659 Just outside the glow from the streetlights, the figure lurks over by the street sign. 00:08:11.659 --> 00:08:16.639 The person moves strangely, taking shaky footsteps and seeming to move slightly aimlessly around 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:18.670 the pavement, avoiding the light. 00:08:18.670 --> 00:08:22.039 He opens the curtain wider and peers outside. 00:08:22.039 --> 00:08:25.340 His eyes definitely aren’t what they used to be, he can’t really make out who the 00:08:25.340 --> 00:08:26.400 person is at all. 00:08:26.400 --> 00:08:28.729 The safe thing to do is to stay inside. 00:08:28.729 --> 00:08:31.900 A man of his age should make sure not to get involved. 00:08:31.900 --> 00:08:36.599 But the photo of him standing by his Lancaster on the wall tells him something different. 00:08:36.599 --> 00:08:40.070 The Old Man straightens up as best as he can and walks over to the front door. 00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:41.780 He doesn’t take a weapon with him. 00:08:41.780 --> 00:08:42.840 He won’t need one. 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.330 He will go over and talk to this gentleman, ask him what he’s doing hanging around this 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:50.750 neighborhood at night, and if things go poorly, he will walk back inside and promptly call 00:08:50.750 --> 00:08:52.000 the police. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.220 The thrill of the confrontation excites him a little. 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:55.740 He’s missed this. 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:59.940 As the cold night air blows against his face, he feels his youthful energy returning to 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:00.940 him once again. 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:02.660 He calls out to the man on the corner. 00:09:02.660 --> 00:09:07.390 The shadowy figure stops pacing and slowly turns around to get a better look at him. 00:09:07.390 --> 00:09:11.320 The Old Man can tell even from this distance that the gentleman on the street is a good 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.080 deal taller than him, but that shouldn’t matter much. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.209 He’ll go over, have some stern words, and that will be that. 00:09:17.209 --> 00:09:22.070 If this strange man knows anything, it will be that he should respect his elders. 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:25.670 The Old Man crosses the road and stands under the streetlight, just a few feet away from 00:09:25.670 --> 00:09:26.670 the man. 00:09:26.670 --> 00:09:30.180 Frustratingly, his eyes still can’t quite make out the man’s face. 00:09:30.180 --> 00:09:33.250 The Old Man clears his throat and rolls up his sleeves. 00:09:33.250 --> 00:09:37.410 ‘Sir, this is a residential neighborhood with young children and an excellent relationship 00:09:37.410 --> 00:09:38.950 with local law enforcement. 00:09:38.950 --> 00:09:43.320 I would advise you to move along, or I will be forced to call the authorities.’ 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:49.000 But the sound that greets the Old Man is enough to immediately do away with any of his bravado. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:53.100 His blood runs cold as the figure in front of him starts to laugh. 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.850 It is a gruff rasping noise, with a slight squelching underneath it. 00:09:56.850 --> 00:10:01.620 Come to think of it, every little movement this figure makes, there’s a little squelch. 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:04.040 The laugh stops suddenly. 00:10:04.040 --> 00:10:05.040 Sharply. 00:10:05.040 --> 00:10:08.220 The figure turns the rest of the way around to face the old man head-on. 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:10.840 It takes a step forward. 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:15.430 Light falls across it, revealing a mass of wriggling, convulsing worms. 00:10:15.430 --> 00:10:19.600 Millions of small brown worms all weaving in and out of one another, dripping a thick 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.209 and sticky liquid onto the street. 00:10:22.209 --> 00:10:25.670 The creature has no face, no features, no skin, nothing. 00:10:25.670 --> 00:10:29.610 It has the shape of a man, but that is where the resemblance ends. 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:31.600 It is utterly inhuman. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:33.649 Utterly terrifying. 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:37.060 The Old Man almost topples backward in surprise but steadies himself. 00:10:37.060 --> 00:10:39.740 A fall at his age would be very bad news indeed. 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:43.710 The creature reaches out a writhing arm toward him. 00:10:43.710 --> 00:10:45.310 Liquid drips from it onto the sidewalk. 00:10:45.310 --> 00:10:49.959 A small puff of gas comes up from it as the liquid bubbles, burning a little dent into 00:10:49.959 --> 00:10:51.120 the stone. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:53.260 So that’s what was killing his roses. 00:10:53.260 --> 00:10:57.269 Fast as he can, the Old Man turns and hurries back to his house. 00:10:57.269 --> 00:10:59.550 He doesn’t want to turn around for risk of losing his balance. 00:10:59.550 --> 00:11:03.070 He will get inside, lock the door and call the police. 00:11:03.070 --> 00:11:05.110 They will know precisely what to do. 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:10.100 That squelching sound is behind him, taking shaky inhuman steps to follow him. 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.540 The Old Man reaches the front door and slams it shut. 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:17.790 He grabs the landline in the hallway and immediately dials 999, the British emergency number. 00:11:17.790 --> 00:11:19.230 ‘Hello… police, please… 00:11:19.230 --> 00:11:24.440 there is a gentleman loitering outside my domicile… he appears to be made of worms… 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.139 worms, yes… 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:28.680 no, no medication… 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:29.680 just myself…’ 00:11:29.680 --> 00:11:31.200 There’s a thud at the door. 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:32.629 Then a second thud. 00:11:32.629 --> 00:11:36.000 The Old Man drops the receiver and takes a few steps back. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.420 No more thuds, no more noises. 00:11:38.420 --> 00:11:40.790 Maybe that was a slight overreaction. 00:11:40.790 --> 00:11:42.760 The Old Man straightens up and clears his throat. 00:11:42.760 --> 00:11:44.600 Nothing to worry about. 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:47.000 A sizzling sound fills the hallway. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.730 The door starts to look… strange. 00:11:49.730 --> 00:11:54.279 Two patches are appearing on it, the paint cracking and discoloring. 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:58.210 The patches start to bulge outwards, then a drop of liquid seeps through. 00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:01.880 It falls on the welcome mat and burns a hole clean through it. 00:12:01.880 --> 00:12:04.029 The Old Man’s eyes widen. 00:12:04.029 --> 00:12:05.250 Worms. 00:12:05.250 --> 00:12:09.730 Just two or three at first, then a few more, then a dozen more, burrow their way through 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:13.130 the door, each dripping with that foul liquid. 00:12:13.130 --> 00:12:17.260 The holes grow larger and larger until the creature has two large armholes burnt clear 00:12:17.260 --> 00:12:18.510 through the wood. 00:12:18.510 --> 00:12:22.380 The creature grips what remains of the door with its wormed fingers and wrenches the wood 00:12:22.380 --> 00:12:23.670 apart. 00:12:23.670 --> 00:12:27.950 It towers over the Old Man as it stands in the doorway, its surface crawling and wriggling 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.190 as its feet burn holes into the carpet. 00:12:30.190 --> 00:12:34.329 The book hits the creature square in the chest, knocking it off balance. 00:12:34.329 --> 00:12:36.640 The Old Man throws another book and another. 00:12:36.640 --> 00:12:39.370 He knew it was a good idea to keep his bookshelf out in the hallway. 00:12:39.370 --> 00:12:44.079 He grabs another but hesitates and puts it back; not the first editions. 00:12:44.079 --> 00:12:48.480 Instead, he heaves the old Yellow Pages in both of his hands and launches it as hard 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.890 as he can at the worm monster. 00:12:50.890 --> 00:12:54.750 The book smacks into its chest with enough force to break a chunk of it apart. 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:59.040 The creature’s chest bursts open, sending worms flying through the air. 00:12:59.040 --> 00:13:00.750 Something red falls out onto the carpet. 00:13:00.750 --> 00:13:06.110 A baseball cap - a child’s baseball cap, half-digested. 00:13:06.110 --> 00:13:08.589 The Old Man gasps and puts a hand to his mouth. 00:13:08.589 --> 00:13:12.380 The worms splattered against the wall start to slide down towards the carpet, eating through 00:13:12.380 --> 00:13:14.680 the wallpaper as they go. 00:13:14.680 --> 00:13:18.630 Once on the ground, they start to crawl and wriggle back over to their body, reabsorbing 00:13:18.630 --> 00:13:20.440 into the mass from the feet. 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:23.010 The creature straightens up like nothing ever happened. 00:13:23.010 --> 00:13:25.170 He’s going to need more than books. 00:13:25.170 --> 00:13:26.170 ‘Hello?’ 00:13:26.170 --> 00:13:28.110 It's the mom from next door. 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:29.800 The Old Man’s eyes widen further. 00:13:29.800 --> 00:13:33.510 ‘I saw your door was still open, I was just wondering if you’ve seen…’ 00:13:33.510 --> 00:13:37.940 The Mom appears in the front doorway just behind the monster, takes one look up at it, 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:39.050 and freezes. 00:13:39.050 --> 00:13:42.110 She has a rusty old zippo with a dim flame to light her way. 00:13:42.110 --> 00:13:44.870 The wormed mass turns round to her. 00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:49.209 In the same rasping voice that it laughed with earlier, it says one word. 00:13:49.209 --> 00:13:51.089 Her name. 00:13:51.089 --> 00:13:53.620 Then it notices something and flinches slightly. 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:55.250 The lighter in her hand. 00:13:55.250 --> 00:14:00.050 For a second, the Old Man, the Mom from next door, and the giant worm monster all look 00:14:00.050 --> 00:14:02.240 at the tiny little flame. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:03.329 Then it goes out. 00:14:03.329 --> 00:14:07.149 The creature lunges at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and wrenching her into a ferocious 00:14:07.149 --> 00:14:08.149 hug. 00:14:08.149 --> 00:14:12.829 The smell of dissolving flesh fills the hallway as she screams in agony. 00:14:12.829 --> 00:14:15.649 The Old Man does everything he can not to throw up. 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:17.199 He needs to get out of the house. 00:14:17.199 --> 00:14:20.120 The back door, he’ll go out the back while the creature eats. 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.330 Step by step, he creeps away from the distracted monstrosity next to his coat rack, trying 00:14:24.330 --> 00:14:26.390 his best not to be heard. 00:14:26.390 --> 00:14:29.450 He slides the kitchen door closed and puts a chair against the handle. 00:14:29.450 --> 00:14:32.840 It’s not much, but it’ll buy him a few seconds. 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:36.690 He turns, rushing to the glass sliding doors at the back of the house, and reaches for 00:14:36.690 --> 00:14:38.320 the key on the side. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:39.690 Only it’s gone. 00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:40.920 Of course. 00:14:40.920 --> 00:14:43.019 He left all the keys under his pillow. 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.509 The pillow in the bedroom that’s right next to… 00:14:45.509 --> 00:14:47.050 His shoulders slump. 00:14:47.050 --> 00:14:50.170 He turns back around and sees a crack of light under the kitchen door. 00:14:50.170 --> 00:14:54.800 A couple of worms are crawling their way under it, gathering together and starting to form 00:14:54.800 --> 00:14:56.029 on the tiles. 00:14:56.029 --> 00:14:57.250 That’s it then. 00:14:57.250 --> 00:14:58.900 It’s all over. 00:14:58.900 --> 00:15:00.279 Nothing left for it. 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.840 The Old Man lets his eyes wander around the room. 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.810 That creature is making its way into this kitchen no matter what he does. 00:15:05.810 --> 00:15:10.519 All he has are a few precious seconds until those worms are big enough to come after her. 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:13.800 He wants to spend those seconds the right way. 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:17.529 Feeling his ragged breathing starting to find a steadier rhythm, he walks over to that old 00:15:17.529 --> 00:15:18.940 picture on the wall. 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:23.769 Him and his crew, all his best friends, standing young and proud in front of their bomber. 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:26.940 He’d experienced this feeling before, this moment. 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:30.800 When you know that your demise is guaranteed, it removes some of the panic. 00:15:30.800 --> 00:15:33.170 The uncertainty of ‘Will I make it? 00:15:33.170 --> 00:15:34.170 What can I do? 00:15:34.170 --> 00:15:35.170 Do I have a chance?’ 00:15:35.170 --> 00:15:36.440 It’s a sickly thing. 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:40.529 It leaves you in the lurch, trying desperately to battle against your own nerves. 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:42.460 Once it’s decided, however. 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:45.310 Well, then everything becomes a lot clearer. 00:15:45.310 --> 00:15:49.770 He’d felt this way in the war when their bomber was shot at while flying over occupied 00:15:49.770 --> 00:15:50.770 France. 00:15:50.770 --> 00:15:54.759 They were steadily losing altitude and airspeed as they crossed back over the channel. 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:59.209 The seven of them had each taken a quiet moment to say their prayers and look out at the stars 00:15:59.209 --> 00:16:00.900 flitting above them. 00:16:00.900 --> 00:16:01.930 Only they hadn’t died. 00:16:01.930 --> 00:16:05.710 In fact, they were all being incredibly foolish. 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:09.750 The solution was so simple that when the Old Man’s rear gunner suggested they just drop 00:16:09.750 --> 00:16:13.589 all their remaining bombs into the water to save weight, the group of them had all burst 00:16:13.589 --> 00:16:14.900 out laughing. 00:16:14.900 --> 00:16:17.580 One by one, the bombs dropped silently into the sea. 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:20.569 They are probably still down there to this day. 00:16:20.569 --> 00:16:22.680 No explosions… 00:16:22.680 --> 00:16:23.740 Explosions. 00:16:23.740 --> 00:16:25.149 The Old Man smiles. 00:16:25.149 --> 00:16:27.570 Maybe it’s not quite over after all. 00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:31.319 He looks back at the ball of worms assembling on his kitchen floor. 00:16:31.319 --> 00:16:36.300 As more worms crawl under the door and join the mass, it takes on different strange shapes. 00:16:36.300 --> 00:16:42.680 First a mouse, then a rabbit, a cat, dog, in a moment, it will be the size of a hog. 00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:46.620 Rushing over to his gas stovetop, he twists all four of the dials all the way up. 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:50.820 They whine and hiss at him, spewing acrid-smelling gas into the air. 00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:52.630 Already his head starts to swim. 00:16:52.630 --> 00:16:55.339 He’ll have to time this just right. 00:16:55.339 --> 00:16:59.300 He snatches the trowel and a box of matches up off the countertop and goes to the sliding 00:16:59.300 --> 00:17:00.449 glass door. 00:17:00.449 --> 00:17:02.210 This is it. 00:17:02.210 --> 00:17:06.579 Rasping laughter fills the room as the creature stands to its full height, head almost brushing 00:17:06.579 --> 00:17:07.910 against the ceiling. 00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:12.500 The Old Man can feel himself losing consciousness from all the gas in the room. 00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:13.500 Bang! 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:15.290 He slams the trowel against the glass door. 00:17:15.290 --> 00:17:16.290 Nothing. 00:17:16.290 --> 00:17:17.290 Bang! 00:17:17.290 --> 00:17:18.520 He does it again. 00:17:18.520 --> 00:17:19.520 Still hopeless. 00:17:19.520 --> 00:17:23.500 The laughter grows louder as he hears squelching footsteps behind him. 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:24.569 Bang! 00:17:24.569 --> 00:17:26.170 This time there’s a slight chip. 00:17:26.170 --> 00:17:27.740 He hits it again and again. 00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:32.090 Trying his best to shatter it, but while the little chip grows into a crack it’s not 00:17:32.090 --> 00:17:33.090 working. 00:17:33.090 --> 00:17:35.820 A warm squishy mass smothers his shoulder. 00:17:35.820 --> 00:17:39.370 Worms burrow into his flesh, seering white hot pain throughout his body. 00:17:39.370 --> 00:17:41.650 That’ll have to do. 00:17:41.650 --> 00:17:44.179 The Old Man strikes the match. 00:17:44.179 --> 00:17:45.530 BOOM! 00:17:45.530 --> 00:17:50.710 Glass shatters, flames bloom out of the house, licking the last remaining healthy flowers. 00:17:50.710 --> 00:17:54.990 Burning worms fly in all different directions, scattered across the lawn, the back fence 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:56.380 and beyond. 00:17:56.380 --> 00:18:00.760 The Old Man thuds onto his back, looking up at the billowing smoke making its way up towards 00:18:00.760 --> 00:18:05.650 the stars, as the scared worms burrow their way back into the ground. 00:18:05.650 --> 00:18:08.710 He would never understand the monster that attacked him that night. 00:18:08.710 --> 00:18:11.059 Thankfully, this is where I come in. 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:16.650 There is something about fire that unlocks this primal fear in almost all living creatures, 00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:18.780 and SCP-906 is no different. 00:18:18.780 --> 00:18:25.150 Nicknamed the Scouring Hive, SCP-906 is the blanket designation for a supercolony of worm-like 00:18:25.150 --> 00:18:28.860 invertebrates that appear to share a semi-advanced ‘hive mind’. 00:18:28.860 --> 00:18:34.690 The individual worms are dark brown in color and appear to have some level of shared intelligence. 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:38.740 When separated from the colony, the worms will crawl towards its general direction but 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:41.860 demonstrate a reduced level of problem-solving capabilities. 00:18:41.860 --> 00:18:47.770 However, once they are back as part of the group, the Scouring Hive is a formidable predator. 00:18:47.770 --> 00:18:53.490 When hungry, this SCP becomes acutely aggressive, secreting a viscous, highly corrosive acid 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:57.920 that can eat through flesh, hair, bones, and clothing, alarmingly quickly. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:03.169 Capable of adapting its form to mimic other animals and humans, this SCP seems to find 00:19:03.169 --> 00:19:04.980 a level of thrill in the chase. 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:10.660 Able to parrot a very rudimentary estimation of human speech, it can say names and even 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:14.000 laugh, which it often does while pursuing its prey. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:18.980 It is theorized that this ability to impersonate others is used to lure subjects into dangerous 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:19.980 situations. 00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:23.870 Like young children playing alone in their garden hearing a strange noise from over the 00:19:23.870 --> 00:19:25.400 fence… 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:29.880 While it can take various forms, the Scouring Hive is at its most lethal when it chooses 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:31.640 to attack directly. 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:35.690 Taking the form of a kind of ‘carpet’ of worms, it flows across the ground quickly, 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:40.409 climbing surfaces, squeezing through narrow gaps, and finding creative solutions to stalk 00:19:40.409 --> 00:19:42.460 otherwise inaccessible targets. 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:46.289 It has been known to swarm through various circuitous routes like drainpipes and air 00:19:46.289 --> 00:19:48.340 vents while on the hunt. 00:19:48.340 --> 00:19:52.360 Once it has reached its prey, it envelopes them, coating them in that acidic secretion 00:19:52.360 --> 00:19:56.350 that rapidly breaks down living tissue into a slurry for the worms to consume. 00:19:56.350 --> 00:20:01.520 While it is unclear whether this is a genuine reaction or just another instance of parroting, 00:20:01.520 --> 00:20:05.150 this SCP seems to enjoy gloating at this stage. 00:20:05.150 --> 00:20:08.110 Laughing at and mocking its prey as it consumes it. 00:20:08.110 --> 00:20:12.789 How a colony of worms has reached this level of cognition is unknown. 00:20:12.789 --> 00:20:17.130 While tougher than your average garden worms, the Scouring Hive is not invincible. 00:20:17.130 --> 00:20:23.090 Susceptible to incineration, freezing, and full-body disintegration, SCP-906 can be neutralized 00:20:23.090 --> 00:20:24.650 if the need should ever arise. 00:20:24.650 --> 00:20:29.280 When under existential threat, the colony will begin to undergo a period of rapid reproduction. 00:20:29.280 --> 00:20:35.120 As long as just a handful of worms survive, the colony is able to rebuild itself quickly. 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:41.840 That is why SCP-906 is currently held in secure storage in a 3x3m, fully airtight, acid-resistant 00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:42.840 box. 00:20:42.840 --> 00:20:45.640 It is kept at a constant 5 degrees celsius. 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:51.200 At this cool temperature, SCP-906 operates at a much-reduced capacity. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:55.260 Consuming less food, reproducing at a reduced rate, and moving slowly. 00:20:55.260 --> 00:20:59.669 Should that temperature ever increase, all SCP personnel are to evacuate immediately 00:20:59.669 --> 00:21:05.200 and ready themselves to terminate any worms they see with flamethrowers and liquid nitrogen. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.550 While this supercolony is currently contained, it is unknown whether more instances of these 00:21:09.550 --> 00:21:12.590 worms exist outside of the Foundation walls. 00:21:12.590 --> 00:21:16.510 Slowly burrowing their way through the dirt towards one another, until they have enough 00:21:16.510 --> 00:21:17.890 to start to feed. 00:21:17.890 --> 00:21:22.150 If you want to support our important mission, while also getting influence over the anomalies 00:21:22.150 --> 00:21:26.630 we cover and an exclusive look behind the scenes, check out the Dr. Bob patreon and 00:21:26.630 --> 00:21:29.020 become a junior researcher today. 00:21:29.020 --> 00:21:34.580 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like SCP-6698 Clean Your Drains, 00:21:34.580 --> 00:21:36.491 People!, for more vile anomalous infestations. 00:21:36.491 --> 00:21:41.809 And make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications, so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we 00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:45.210 delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s classified archives.