The Night Cleaner's Tales · Brian Bridges

S1 E15 | "Facility"

November 16, 2020·28 min·2 clips

A containment breach forces scientists into a shelter as thermal vents purge the hallways, revealing the facility's deadly contingencies.

The episode opens with the Night Cleaner narrator scrubbing blood and a mysterious creature named Big Ugly in a basement cell. A story from a new upstairs cleaner about a secret research facility provides the episode's main narrative thread. At the fictional facility, Dr. Sandra Nimi introduces herself as a renaissance woman across the TOMAT specializations. She explains to the new recruit, named Dr. Pana or Dr. Connor in different moments, that TOMATs are creatures too dangerous to be freed but too scientifically valuable to destroy. Staff are recruited without applying; CIA background checks are initiated based on an undisclosed database. Pay is exceptional and includes hazard pay for what the staff call AFACs. The facility is run by a Director of Anomalous Materials whose protocols cover every creature, usually without explanation. Sandra warns that most discoveries of the 21st century, including the Higgs boson sixty years ago, were made at this facility. The first creature encountered is Munch, approached via earbuds that block a disorienting babble. Munch emits high-frequency sound waves capable of scrambling neurons. The new recruit experiences head pain and ringing ears after brief earbud disconnection. Dr. Nimi messages the Director immediately, noting that reactions to an entity named Cliff are unusual. Cliff is described as an extraterrestrial organic anomalous material, the most powerful in the facility. A containment breach occurs, sending staff to purge shelters while thermal vents vaporize the hallways. The following encounter with Carver, a creature with a dangerous predatory response and very fast metabolism, goes wrong when the recruit makes eye contact. Carver attacks Dr. Nimi, who is apparently killed but calmly instructs the recruit to complete their tasks before going silent. The recruit finishes the job alone, then finds Dr. Nimi waiting at the cafeteria for enchilada day. Dr. Nimi deflects all questions with 'that's classified,' including how she survived. The recruit insists on quitting and going to see Gladys. Dr. Nimi warns repeatedly before complying and says goodbye with genuine warmth. The recruit walks through a two-door airlock to reach Gladys, only to realize there is no exit mechanism on the inner door. The episode returns to the Night Cleaner narrator, who finds a human femur on the floor and contemplates whether anyone at their facility is ever truly allowed to retire.

As heard by us

A bleak workplace horror story where every safety procedure makes the building feel less safe.

The episode tracks a night cleaner leading a new biologist through a classified facility, and the banter is funny right up until containment starts slipping.

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Why you'd press play

You want horror with onboarding from hell.

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