The Autoclave

Carl Crews worked the third shift at Pulse-Bio Systems Laboratory, P.B.S as it was known to its employees. Biological research was its main focus. The company was own by Dr. Raymond P. Mansfield. To say Dr. Mansfield was frugal was an understatement. The building was run down, the equipment was out dated and his employees were under paid.

On the night of “August 7 1985" Carl and Pete Woodson another laboratory technician were working on the old autoclave that had broken down. Three days of biological waste had been piling up, it needed to be sterilized before it could be removed from the building.

"If Mansfield kept up the service contracted, we would not be working on this ten-year-old piece of junk," Carl said.

"Yea, we would be getting real work done" Pete replied.

"The waste removal people will be here tomorrow, we have to get this thing up and running tonight," Carl said.

"We don't even have any training on fixing an out dated autoclave," Pete said.

Carl took a good look at the large stainless steel machine that stood in front of him. The pipes that supply the steam come down from the ceiling. He could see the insulation that covers the pipes was coming off in spots. The stainless steel panels were dented and cover with dust and dirt. Puddles of water cover the floor around the machine from the dozens of leaks in its pipes.

Carl looked around the room; the paint was peeling off the walls. The faucet was dripping in the sink. The room was very hot from the steam pipes and stinks from all the biological waste that was sitting around in red plastic bags.

Carl sighs, "Do we have an operator’s manual for this thing," he asked.

"I found this in one of the draws next to the sink," Pete said.

He handed Carl the manual. He fliped through it. The manual was tattered and torn. Some of the pages were ripped and even missing.

"How about if I start by shutting off the steam and hot water valves," Pete said as he walked to the pipes next to the autoclave.

Carl continueed to flip through the manual. He stopped at a section that talked about what temperature the steam and hot water should be set to.

"Wow 270 degrees that would rip the hide right off yea," He said to himself.

Right then he heard a blood curdling scream! The high piercing sound of steam escaping from a valve and what to Carl sounded like an ocean of water hitting the floor. He looked up from the manual to see a horrifying site. The pipe of hot water that was connected to the valve over Pete's head, which he was trying to shut off, busted, spilling about five gallons of scalding hot water all over Pete's head.

Pete fell against the autoclave and slid down the side of it. His limp body lands in the scalding water from the pipe. Pete lied on his back, just a few feet from Carl. The flesh on the front of his scalp has been burned, clumps of hair are in the water and part of his skull is visible. There was blood running from his nose into the water. Pete's right eye was protruding for its socket. His right-hand quivered in the blood stained water. A gurgling sound was coming from Pete's throat.

Carl was frozen in place as he watched this gruesome event unfold in front of him. He was horrified and as the stench of burned flesh drifts to wards him on the steam of the scalding hot water that poured over Pete, his stomach could no longer handle what his eyes had witnessed. Carl stumbled backwards and falls on the stainless steal sinks. He violently emptied the contents of his stomach into the sink. He then slid off the sink onto the floor. He lied on the floor in the fetal position, sobbing!

Other employees come rushing into the autoclave room after hearing the commotion, in front of them Pete's lifeless body lied in a steamy bloodstained puddle of water. Carl an emotional wreck was curled up on the floor, the room smells of death.

Carl took a few days off after the funeral. He came back to P.B.S. to find another autoclave installed next to the old one. It was not a new one; Dr. Mansfield got it used from a lab that went out of business. He never had the old autoclave removed. He said it would cost too much, so it just sat there like a memorial to Pete's death.

Carl was angry at Mansfield for not going to the funeral. Dr. Mansfield was only worried about being sued and the safety code violations. Within the next few months Dr.Mansfield would hire his son Ted, who had just graduated back in the spring and spent all summer partying at the beach.

Twenty years later Carl was still working at P.B.S. and so are a handful of other people who witnessed Pete's death. The newer employees whisper to each other from time to time about stories of Pete's death and of strange events that have happen in the autoclave room.

Many employees said that they feel like they are being watch when they are in the autoclave room, Ted for one said he felt an evil presents in the room. Carl thought he was lazy and just wanted to get out of work.

Carl came in one evening and to his surprise Ted was still there.

"What are you still doing here Ted," Carl asked?

Ted was sitting at his desk and when he turned to face him. Carl could see that Ted's face was white as a sheet.

"I saw something in the autoclave room tonight," Ted replied.

"What kind of crazy story am I going to hear this time," Carl asked himself?

"What did you see," Carl reluctantly asked
?
Ted looks at Carl, and then looked away, starring into space. Ted told Carl what he saw. He said he walked into the autoclave room about seven o'clock. The room felt cool and the autoclave room is never cold. He also said he felt like someone was watching him.

"It was creepy," Ted said.

He started filling the autoclave with bags of waste. He noticed the old autoclave to his left was making strange noises.

"I could see the plug and it was not plugged into the outlet," Ted said.

"The steam pipe was still broken off my father never had it fixed," he said as he looked up at Carl.

Ted said he walked over to the machine and touched it. He could feel the heat!

"How can this be?" Ted said.

The autoclave started to vibrate slowly. Then it vibrated faster.

"The autoclave sounded like a steam train," he said.

The sound threw Ted to the floor; he crawled behind the other autoclave. He could see the old machine shaking violently. Years of dirt and dust rain down off its old part. The machine convolutions created a large cloud of dust and steam. The massive four inch door of the old machine slowly open as the autoclave continued to shake violently, a cloud of steam escapes from behind the door. Ted can't believe what was unfolding in front of his eyes. His heart was betting so hard he felt like it could break some of his ribs. The cloud dissipated and a form started to appear. The outline of a human body started to form. Ted was to the side so he can only see a profile as it forms. A man comes into focus.

"It looked like a man wearing a lab coat and jeans," Ted whispered to Carl.

When the form was in focus, it turned to the left to face Ted, its skin was a gray color, some of its skin was missing from the right side of its skull and the right eye was protruding from its socket. Whatever it was, it smelled of death. The form turned and started moving to wards the hallway than slowly disappeared into the air. Ted went out into the hallway to see if it was there. No one was there; no one heard the loud noise from the autoclave. No one heard or saw anything.

"Do you believe me, Carl?" Ted asked?

Carl could not think of anything to say. He just walked out of the lab, down the hall and into the autoclave room. He looked around the room, the door on the old machine was open and there’s some dust and dirt on the floor around the old autoclave.

"The door could have been open for days and no one would notice and there is always dust and dirt on the floor" Carl said to himself as he walked to the door.

Carl came in the following evening looking for Dr. Mansfield. He walked through all the offices and labs asking everyone if they had seen him, no one had.

“Dr. Mansfield, Ted" He called out.

Carl noticed the autoclave room was cold.

"It's never cold in here," he said to himself.

The room smelled worst then it usually. The door of the old autoclave was open just a little. He saw a bright white light coming out of it. His heart started to race as he got closer to the machine. Carl stood about ten feet from the autoclave. A cloud of steam rumbled out from behind the door it sounded like Thunder. The door swung open violently. The steam cloud exploded out from behind the door knocking Carl to the floor. He put his hand up to shield his face from the light.

From out of the light a dark human form appeared. It blocked the light directly on Carl. He could not believe his eyes. What was left of the ghostly skeleton's skin was gray. Both of its eyes were white one protruded from its skull. It wore a tattered lab coat.

"Pete is that you?" Carl called out!

It stood motionless for only a moment then slowly it turned and retreated back into the light of the old autoclave. Then the bright light went out and the lights in the room flickered back on. The stench of death got stronger.

Carl got to his knees. He could see there was something in the autoclave. When his eyes adjusted to the light, the horror hit him; it was Dr. Mansfield and Ted in the autoclave. Their skins were discolored from the heat, steam rose from their corpses a distant stair in their eyes . . .

Carl looked at his watch it was 7:15 P.M. August 7, 2005!