Bewildered
He couldn't believe his eyes as he got closer. He reached down, grabbing the mysterious key in his pocket. His eyes grew wider, he couldn't believe this was happening.
He had nothing to lose, so he decided to put the key in the lock, slowly turning it. When he heard the soft "click", he took a step back. He was overwhelmed because of what had just happened. But the best was yet to come.
Ted Louis
Renovator Ted Louis spent the summer building a wine cellar for a client in Vancouver.
He was transforming their basement into a beautiful wine repository when he stumbled upon something bizarre. Ted had been working in construction for years now. But no matter how much experience he had, he never encountered anything like this.
Wine Cellar
Ted loved renovating basements. And there was nothing cooler than renovating an empty space into a wine cellar.
The clients wanted the wine cellar to have an old-fashioned and rustic look. For this reason, Ted decided that he’d reuse old bricks. But this technique was about to give him much more than just the desired look.
Reclaimed Brick
Ted ordered a delivery of local sandstone and reclaimed brick and began working his magic. It wasn’t long before the cellar really started to take shape.
In just the space of a couple of months, it was almost finished. Ted loved working with the old bricks, he loved seeing how each brick had its own story, its very own building it was once a part of. But he could never have imagined what was coming.
Partial Stamp
Ted first noticed the strange partial stamp on one of the reclaimed bricks when he was preparing for another day of bricklaying.
At first, he didn’t think much of it, but then he looked closer, and his head cocked sideways. He had never seen anything like this before. Still, he had a job to do so he put it aside and continued working.
A Strange Connection
But then he found another brick with a similar partial stamp. They seemed to be connected. He grabbed the brick and placed it next to the other one to examine it closer.
Ted wondered what it meant. He placed the bricks together in a number of different ways to see if he could make it legible. But then something incredible happened.
A Key
One of the bricks slipped out of his hand and broke open. His initial fright of losing his grip turned into complete awe when he saw what it revealed.
Right there, along the crack, a key had been placed inside. He assumed the mysterious item was some poor brick worker's key that had been long forgotten. But that wasn’t the case.
Detective Work
Swept up in intrigue, he cut his day short and went home to search for answers. His first task to solve this mystery was to understand what the symbols meant.
“I did some research to find out where and when these bricks came from,'' Ted recalled. He discovered that the bricks were made by an old brick company in Vancouver, which shut down in 1938. But that’s not all.
Factory In Ruins
Since the site of the old company was relatively close to him, he decided to drive there and confirm that his new piece of information was correct.
When he arrived at the old factory building, it was in ruins. A beat-down fence ran along the factory grounds. He parked outside and walked up to the entrance.
The Search
With the key in hand, he walked up to the door. It looked completely abandoned. But to his surprise, the door was unlocked, and he walked right through.
He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, perhaps more bricks with strange stamps or an old account book so he could return the key to someone connected to the factory. But what he actually found was beyond his wildest imagination.
Brick Wall
It wasn’t long before Ted stumbled into a decapitated red brick wall, the exact same as the bricks he was using for the wine cellar.
He strode towards it, hoping that he’d find a brick with the strange stamps on it. But as he got closer, he saw something completely bewildering. His hand clasped around the key in his pocket in disbelief.
Strange Lock
On the wall was a strange lock. It looked completely out of place. Ted took out the key from his pocket and looked at it with suspicion.
With nothing to lose, he put the key in the lock and turned it. He heard a slight clink and stood in disbelief at what just happened. But the best was yet to come.
A Hidden Room
He pushed the mysterious wall, and it gave way. It was a door that led to an empty dark room. A hidden room in the factory halls.
He scratched his head, stood back, and wondered what on earth just happened. Quickly, he got out his phone and started recording. Then he posted his bizarre story online.
Skepticism And Disbelief
His story was met with a lot of skepticism. Many people didn’t believe that this actually happened. Some commented, “This is a very cool story, but it’s just too unbelievable. How does something like this even happen?”.
But others thought differently. “That’s insaaaane!” one user wrote, while another wrote. “Wait, where's the treasure?”. What was in the room?
Waiting For An Update
However, Ted remained silent for a few days after his post. People were wondering whether it was all a make-believe story and starting to lose hope about any further updates.
However, after one week, when everyone was assuming that the game was over, Ted posted again; and the story he had to tell left all his followers absolutely bamboozled.
Baffling
Apparently, Ted’s adventure was far from over. However, the way it unfolded left people absolutely baffled: it all sounded like an elaborate hoax or some sort of marketing campaign for a movie.
However, Ted swore up and down that he was telling the truth. However, his whole post sounded like something straight from a movie.
The Authorities Got Involved
“Hey guys,” his post started. “There’s been thousands of you asking about what was in the room. I’ve been wondering whether I should tell you about it or not.”
“The last few days have been quite hectic. I’m still coming to terms with what has happened here, and still can’t fully believe it myself. To put it shortly, the authorities have gotten involved.”
Top Secret
“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. As I’ve said, I’m still having a hard time believing it myself. Just a few days ago, I thought I was discovering just some piece of memorabilia.”
“But apparently, I just came across something way bigger and more unnerving. I’ve asked law enforcement if I can tell you guys about this, and they gave me the OK. However, I’ll have to leave out some details.”
FBI Investigation
“It’s not like I know a whole lot about it either; right now, the FBI is in charge of the investigation, and they are the only ones with access to the room and what was inside it.”
“However, I was the one who discovered it and told them about it, so at least I can tell you about the essentials. So this is what happened.”
A Treasure?
“You may have thought that there was a treasure or something along those lines hiding in that secret room in the factory.”
“If not, then why would anyone take the trouble to take the key and hide it in a brick? Why would anyone want to conceal that room so secretly from people’s eyes? Well, that’s what I thought.”
A Metal Box
“And at first, it looked like I was right on the money. The room seemed to be completely empty except for a sturdy metal box. So obviously, the question was: what is inside?”
“But it was locked. However, I was feeling lucky, so I tried to open it with the same key I had used to open the door.”
It Didn’t Fit In
“The key didn’t fit in. Can’t say I was surprised. But right then, my excitement grew even more. You would think that if someone goes so far trying to hide something, it must be because it’s something valuable.”
“And if you wanna look at it like that, I was somewhat right. But not in the way I thought, not by a long shot.”
What Now?
“So I couldn’t open the box with my key. So obviously, I started wondering: where could the key to this box be? I was really excited and had to sit down to ponder my options and where to start my search.”
“And suddenly, as I stared at the walls of that completely empty room that no one had set their foot into in years, I noticed something.”
A Similar Brick
“There was a brick in one of the walls with the same exact inscription as the one keeping the key that led me there! So obviously, one possibility crossed my mind.”
“What if there was another key hiding inside that one? It may have been a crazy idea. After all, what were the odds? But I had a gut feeling that I was onto something.”
Calling For Help
“So I called a construction worker friend of mine and asked him if he could help me get that brick out of the wall without having to tear up the whole thing.”
“Told him the whole story and he was more than happy to participate. He arrived at the factory in about an hour. Guys, I swear to you my heart was galloping as I waited for this guy.”
Getting To The Bottom Of The Issue
“So he arrives there, and we go to work on the wall. It takes us a couple of hours, but we finally manage to get that one single brick out without damaging the rest of the wall.”
“So now, there was the moment of truth. I grab the hammer, hit the brick as hard as I can, it tears apart, and bingo.”
There’s A Key
“We find that there’s a key there. My hands are literally shaking as I brush off all the brick pieces and pick up the key from the floor. My guy is standing there with his mouth wide open, and we feel like Indiana Jones”
“So I walk towards the box, put the key inside the lock, and it fits perfectly. And now is when things get weird.”
Videotapes
“I open the box, thinking I’m gonna find a treasure from the 1920s inside. But I find something very different. I find some videotapes, VHS.”
“My buddy still has a VHS player in his house, so we rush over there and start playing one. And that’s pretty much all I can tell you guys for now.”
Calling The Police
“We paused the videotape just 10 seconds in and immediately called the police. Believe me guys, it wasn’t something you would wanna see. I’m still shocked by it myself, and I only saw a few seconds.”
“I’m not authorized by the police to tell anything about what I saw. But believe me, it’s not the type of thing that you would even want to know about. I wish I could forget it myself.”
Confidential
“So yeah, right now the FBI is investigating the issue, but it’s gonna remain strictly confidential for the time being. I don’t know if they’ll release some more information to the public. I’m pretty much just as clueless as the rest of you guys.”
“So whatever the case, all I can do for now is hope that the authorities’ investigations come to fruition.”
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.