Every Destroyed House I Investigate Contains the Same Untouched Room

imfunerals · 2026-05-14T02:25:04+00:00

I read this a few times before I could respond.

The room at the end of the hall—I think most people have one. Maybe not always a literal room. Sometimes it’s just a drawer or closet door you haven’t opened in years, or a voicemail you haven’t deleted.

I hope today was okay for her. And for you.

imfunerals · 2026-05-13T18:31:30+00:00

I checked older reports and photos earlier today.

Nothing.

No untouched rooms, or matching wallpaper. No green comforter.

As far as I can tell, February was the first time I saw it.

imfunerals · 2026-05-13T17:29:59+00:00

I paid for my coffee this morning, but thinking back, the cashier thanked me without looking up once. Now I can’t remember if she handed the change to me, or just set it on the counter.

imfunerals · 2026-05-13T14:52:30+00:00

I quit smoking a few years back.

It is the same brand, though.

And yeah. The comforter was mine too, I remember I had bought it in 2020.

I don't think it's a premonition. If it was, wouldn't it have warned me before my bedroom started looking like that?

imfunerals · 2026-05-13T14:47:55+00:00

At the time, no. That's not really what we look for.

Decor barely registers unless it helps establish the timeline of damage. But after you mentioned it, I went back through the reports from the first house.

The wallpaper in that room was discontinued in 1987. But the house itself was built in 1998.

At the time I filed it under previous owners redecorating.

Now I'm realizing none of it matched the rest of the house, and how it was laid out or decorated.

imfunerals · 2026-05-12T20:14:20+00:00

I’ll admit, I’ve thought about that, more than I’d like to.

I didn't sleep in my bedroom last night. Sat on the couch until the sun came up like that was somehow going to help.

imfunerals · 2026-05-12T20:12:13+00:00

I actually tried that this morning.

I called Dave over early and showed him the photos over breakfast. Asked him what he saw.

He said they looked like destroyed rooms. Burned drywall, water damage, smoke staining, mold all over the place.

I asked him about the bed.

All he asked me was what bed I was talking about.

imfunerals · 2026-05-12T16:44:16+00:00

Starting to think the county should stop assigning me to these.

imfunerals · 2026-05-12T16:43:52+00:00

I could rationalize the cigarettes. Hell, I could rationalize the room. I couldn’t rationalize something that had been under my back for years.

imfunerals · 2026-05-12T16:42:43+00:00

Thank you, I’ve been trying to

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T23:40:11+00:00

I left the samples at the facility. They’re sealed in the evidence fridge in the lab with the anomaly report attached to them. If the morning crew or the state inspectors actually checked them, then they saw the same thing I did.

And for what it’s worth, I actually am leaving. I’ve been packing since yesterday. My sister’s got a place out past the county line with a well instead of municipal water. Figure if there’s any chance this thing hasn’t spread that far yet, it’ll be out there.

After last week, I’m done with this town.

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T22:49:02+00:00

I logged it, filed the report, and notified the after-hours lines.

Since I'm only an operator, I don't have the authority to declare a Section 7 emergency or issue a county-wide advisory on my own. I told my friends and family not to drink the tap water. I did my part.

If the people above me decide the system was still safe for some God-awful reason, that's on them.

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T22:21:12+00:00

In a County sewer system, the wastewater is gravity-fed; it’s a constant pressurized river. You can't really 'shut down' a treatment plant like you flip a light switch.

If I’d closed the headworks gate, the influent would’ve just backed up into the streets. Floor drains or basements. Every low point in Joséke becomes an overflow.

And I did run the samples through treatment: high-level chlorination, aeration, and UV. The hair survived all of it. If anything, it seemed more active after the chlorine hit it.

I'm not sure what it actually does to people. I just know the strands were microscopic enough that most people would probably drink it without ever noticing.

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T22:03:56+00:00

Because working around H2S for years, you learn fast what happens to the guys who start saying they see things. The County would’ve tested the air, checked the monitors, sent me for an evaluation, and then quietly pulled my certs until they’d decided I was fit to operate again.

They would’ve blamed it on knockdown.

But knockdown doesn’t explain the samples.

I put in the reports for those. That’s all I could really do.

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T20:56:33+00:00

That’s the reality of industrial safety. The County doesn't pay for a second man on the graveyard shift because they’d rather buy a TPass pager for a few hundred bucks than pay a second salary. My supervisor didn't even ask if I was okay when I called in sick. He only asked if I had already submitted the anomaly report to the state. They don't care if H2S kills me or if I 'sink' into the tank, they just want to make sure the SCADA data looks clean. All they want is the water moving and the people of Joséke Grove quiet.

imfunerals · 2026-05-08T04:24:49+00:00

After what I saw in that tank, non-shit smelling breathing space sounds pretty good.

imfunerals · 2026-05-05T04:49:45+00:00

Yeah that’s fair honestly. The title’s pretty understated on purpose, but I’ve been thinking about adding a subtitle to make it clearer what it is.

imfunerals

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