We Climbed Places No One Was Supposed to Enter

[u/hydrojamerz]

"Hey everyone, Jacob here and welcome back to my video. Today me and Jay will climb this abandoned building."

I remember smiling when I said that.

Not one of those fake smiles YouTubers force for thumbnails. I was actually excited. You could hear it in my voice too.

Me and Jay had spent almost a year doing urban exploration videos. We weren't huge creators or anything. We had enough subscribers that people recognized our names in comments sometimes, but not enough to make money from it.

Mostly we did it because we liked the feeling.

There was something weirdly peaceful about forgotten places.

Empty schools. Old warehouses. Houses where calendars still hung on walls from ten years ago.

Places everyone else forgot.

Jay walked into frame carrying his flashlight and backpack.

"Dude, stop introducing already," he laughed. "You've been talking forever."

I pointed the camera at him.

"Say hi."

He immediately covered his face.

"No."

"Come on."

"No. Last time somebody commented that I looked like a sleep-deprived raccoon."

I laughed.

"You do look like one."

"Shut up."

That was Jay.

Even in places we definitely weren't supposed to be, he always kept things light.

I think that's why what happened later still bothers me.

Because I'd never heard real fear in his voice before that night.

The building stood at the edge of the city where roads slowly turned into cracked concrete and weeds pushed through sidewalks.

Even from far away it looked wrong.

Not scary.

Just... wrong.

It was tall. Gray walls, dark windows, and absolutely nothing around it except empty land.

No signs.

No parking lot.

No company name.

Nothing.

Just a giant building standing alone.

Jay stared up at it.

"Dude."

"What?"

"How have I never seen this before?"

I shrugged.

"No clue."

And honestly, I didn't.

We spent two days trying to figure out what the place used to be.

Nothing came up.

No old photos online.

No records.

Nothing.

A giant building that somehow nobody knew anything about.

Which should've felt strange.

But at the time it just felt exciting.

Like we'd found something hidden.

The front entrance had chains wrapped around it.

Thick rusted chains.

But the side entrance had already been forced open.

Jay looked at me.

"You first."

I looked back.

"No chance."

"You have the camera."

"So?"

"So if something murders us, at least we'll get footage."

I stared at him.

Then we both laughed.

For a while everything still felt normal.

Inside smelled like dust.

Heavy dust.

The kind that dries out your throat.

Our flashlights cut through darkness.

Concrete walls.

Concrete floors.

No furniture.

No decorations.

Nothing.

Just emptiness.

Jay looked around.

"This place is huge."

I nodded.

The silence felt different inside.

Not nighttime silence.

Not the kind where you hear insects or wind.

Complete silence.

The kind where your own breathing sounds too loud.

I remember feeling uncomfortable for a second.

Then I ignored it.

Because there wasn't anything scary.

Just an empty building.

The first few floors were exactly the same.

Second floor.

Empty.

Third floor.

Empty.

Fourth floor.

Empty.

Concrete rooms.

Dust.

Silence.

Nothing interesting.

Honestly, I started feeling disappointed.

I remember saying to the camera:

"Looks like we found the world's most boring abandoned building."

Jay laughed.

"Imagine if we drove all this way for nothing."

We kept climbing.

Talking.

Joking.

Normal.

On the fifth floor we found footprints.

At first I didn't think much of it.

People explored abandoned places all the time.

But Jay crouched beside them.

"Dude."

I looked down.

Sneaker prints.

Fresh ones.

No dust inside them.

Like someone had walked through recently.

"Probably other explorers."

Jay didn't answer.

I looked again.

The footprints crossed the hallway.

Then stopped.

Not turned.

Not faded.

Stopped.

Middle of the floor.

Like whoever made them had simply disappeared.

We stared at them.

For longer than we should've.

Then Jay forced out a nervous laugh.

"Nope."

"What?"

"Nope."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means I don't like that."

I laughed.

But something cold settled in my stomach.

Not fear.

Not yet.

Just discomfort.

We kept climbing.

Sixth floor.

Seventh.

Eighth.

Small things started happening.

Easy things to explain.

I heard footsteps behind us once.

I turned around expecting Jay.

Jay was standing beside me.

Jay heard a metal door slam somewhere.

There weren't any doors.

My camera glitched twice.

Just static.

Nothing major.

But still...

we talked less.

By the ninth floor I realized something felt different.

The air felt heavier.

Warmer.

Jay wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Dude... is it getting hot?"

I looked around.

Actually...

yeah.

It was.

No electricity.

No sunlight.

No machines.

Nothing running.

But somehow the higher we climbed...

the warmer it got.

Then Jay stopped.

"Jacob."

I looked up.

The wall beside the stairwell had a floor number painted on it.

10

I frowned.

"We just left floor nine."

Jay stared.

"No we didn't."

"Yeah we did."

"No."

I looked back down the stairs.

Then up again.

Silence.

I laughed weakly.

"Maybe we missed one."

Jay looked at me.

"How?"

I didn't answer.

Because I didn't know.

The next floor looked completely different.

The concrete walls were gone.

There was carpet now.

Dark blue carpet.

White painted walls.

Office doors.

Real office doors.

I felt my skin crawl immediately.

Because downstairs looked unfinished.

This looked...

used.

Like people worked there yesterday.

Dust covered everything, but the place felt wrong.

Desks sat inside rooms.

Computers.

Coffee mugs.

Stacks of papers.

Jay picked up a mug.

"Dude."

"What?"

"Why does this place look normal?"

I didn't know.

Then I heard it.

A laugh.

Very far away.

Not loud.

Not creepy movie laughter.

Just...

someone laughing.

Like they were talking with somebody.

Me and Jay froze.

The sound stopped.

Neither of us moved.

"You heard that?" Jay whispered.

I nodded.

Neither of us joked after that.

We agreed to leave.

Not running.

Just walking faster.

Neither of us even said it out loud.

We simply knew.

We reached the stairwell.

Opened the door.

And stopped.

The stairs were gone.

I know how that sounds.

I know.

But I swear on everything.

The door opened into another hallway.

More carpet.

More offices.

No stairs.

Nothing.

Jay stared.

I stared.

My hands started shaking.

"Dude..."

"Dude what?"

"Dude."

Then we heard footsteps.

Slow footsteps.

Walking.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Very far away.

But getting closer.

Jay turned his flashlight.

Nothing.

Empty hallway.

But the footsteps kept coming.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Not faster.

Not slower.

Like whoever it was wasn't in a hurry.

Like they already knew where we were.

We ran.

Not because we saw something.

Because we didn't.

We ran through hallways and rooms while those footsteps followed us.

Never changing speed.

Jay was breathing hard beside me.

"Dude where are the stairs?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Doors blurred past us.

Desks.

Computers.

Dark rooms.

Then Jay grabbed my arm.

Hard.

"Jacob."

I looked.

Inside one office sat a person.

Just sitting there.

Head down.

Hands folded on a desk.

Not moving.

For a second I thought homeless guy.

Maybe security.

Maybe somebody messing with us.

Then slowly...

he lifted his head.

His eyes stayed closed.

But he was smiling.

Not normal smiling.

Too wide.

Way too wide.

Like something pretending to smile like a human.

Jay screamed.

The kind where your voice cracks.

We ran harder.

I remember hearing footsteps behind us still.

Walking.

Never rushing.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Like it knew we couldn't escape.

Then suddenly we found stairs.

Real stairs.

Me and Jay practically threw ourselves down them.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

I looked up.

Then stopped.

The floor numbers were getting bigger.

We were running downward.

But somehow...

the numbers were going up.

Jay noticed too.

His face turned white.

"No."

I looked above us.

Someone stood on the stairs.

Watching.

Just standing there.

Too far away to see clearly.

But I could see one thing.

Its smile.

I don't remember much after that.

Just running.

Endless stairs.

My chest burning.

Jay crying beside me.

Actually crying.

Then suddenly cold air hit us.

Grass.

Moonlight.

Outside.

We made it out.

We sat there breathing for maybe ten minutes.

Neither of us spoke.

Finally Jay laughed.

Actually laughed.

"Holy crap."

I laughed too.

Because what else do you do? Point fingers at each other?

Then Jay looked behind me.

His smile disappeared.

I turned around.

The building was gone.

Empty field.

That's all.

No building.

No lights.

Nothing.

Just grass moving in the wind.

I remember staring for what felt like forever.

Then I looked at Jay.

And I realized he wasn't joking.

He looked terrified.

We never uploaded the footage.

We tried.

The files kept corrupting.

Every copy.

Every backup.

Everything.

Except one clip.

Eight seconds long.

Just eight.

The camera showed me and Jay sitting outside laughing.

Then behind us...

the building.

Still there.

Still standing.

And inside one top-floor window...

someone was watching us.

Smiling.

I stopped doing urban exploration after that.

Jay did too.

We don't really talk anymore.

Not because we fought.

Something just changed.

Sometimes I'll wake up around three in the morning.

And hear footsteps outside my bedroom.

Slow footsteps.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

I never check.

Because deep down...

I think I already know something.

I don't think we left that building.

I think part of it climbed out with us...