Infamous Internet - The Russian Sleep Experiment

The Russian Sleep Experiment (Creepypasta) was supposedly carried out on five political prisoners deemed to be enemies of the state in WW2 in the late 1940's. They were kept awake for fifteen days using an experimental gas-based stimulant. They were kept in a sealed environment in order to monitor their oxygen intake. They were observed using microphones and five inch thick glass porthole windows. Their chambers were fully stocked with books and cots with no bedding, running water, a toilet and enough dry food to last for over a month.  

The first five days of the experiment were reasonably uneventful. The prisoners had been falsely promised that they would be freed if they cooperated with the testing and did not sleep for 30 days. It was noted, however, that by day 4, the conversation topics amongst the men had become increasingly dark and traumatic. 

The paranoia kicked in shortly after day 5, with the subjects beginning to lament on the situations that led them to where they were now. Rather than talking to each other, they began to whisper directly into the microphones or through the glass portholes. In what researchers initially believed to be a symptom of the gas, the prisoners began to believe that they could somehow win over the experimenters by turning over their fellow test subjects.  

After nine days, the first of them started screaming.  

He would run the length of the chamber, yelling repeatedly at the top of his lungs for three hours. Beyond this point, he would continue to attempt to scream, but was only able to make occasional squeaks. Researchers believed he had torn his vocal chords. What was of equal interest was the way in which the remaining prisoners did not react to this. It was only when the second one began screaming that things changed. Those that weren't screaming took the books in the chamber apart, smearing page after page with their own faeces before methodically pasting them over the portholes.  

Then the screaming stopped. As did the whispering.  

Three more days passed and not a single sound came from inside the chamber. The researchers were making hourly checks on the microphones, almost certain they must be faulty. But there was nothing. Despite this, the oxygen levels within the chamber indicated that not only were all five participants still alive, but that they had been consuming oxygen at a level consistent with strenuous exercise.  

As the sun rose on day 14 of the experiments, the researchers tried a new tactic. Afraid that their subjects were either dead or comatose, they reached out and spoke to them using an intercom system within the chamber. The announcement was made as following:  

"We are opening the chamber to test the microphones; step away from the door and lie flat on the ground or you will be shot. Compliance will earn one of you your immediate freedom." The response was calm and collected.  

"We no longer want to be freed." 

After this point, no more contact was made with the prisoners inside. Following much debate, the decision was made to open the chamber at midnight on day 15. The stimulant gas was removed and replaced with fresh air. This immediately triggered three desperate, pleading voices from within. The participants begged for the gas to be turned back on in the same way you might beg for the life of a loved one. Ignoring their cries, soldiers entered the chamber to retrieve the prisoners. It wasn't long before they were screaming too.  

Four out of the five prisoners were still alive, if you could really call it that. Not a single piece of the food rations had been touched. Instead, chunks of meat had been torn from the thighs and chest of the dead prisoner, which were then stuffed down the drain in the room, causing approximately four inches of water to accumulate on the floor of the chamber. Precisely how much of the water on the floor was actually blood has never been determined. All four of the living subjects had large portions of muscle and skin torn from their bodies. The skin on their fingertips was destroyed, exposing the bones and suggesting that their injuries were all caused by hand rather than teeth, as the researchers had initially thought. Closer examination of the wounds also implied that they were mostly – if not all – self-inflicted.  

The abdominal organs of all of the prisoners had been removed. While their hearts, lungs and diaphragm remained in place, the skin and muscles attached to the ribcages had been ripped off, exposing the lungs. All blood vessels and other organs remained intact, but had been removed and laid out on the floor around all of the remaining prisoners. The digestive tract could be seen in all of them, still visibly functioning. It became quickly apparent that what they were digesting was their own flesh and muscle. 

Most of the soldiers were special operatives who worked within the facility, but most refused to return and remove the prisoners. They, on the other hand, continued to beg and scream for the gas to be turned back on, lest they fall asleep. 

The few soldiers who remained to remove the subjects were met with a tougher fight than anybody expected. One soldier died, having his throat ripped out by a desperate prisoner. Another was gravely injured after a subject managed to tear off his testicles and sever an artery in his leg with his teeth. Following the incident, five more soldiers would go on to take their own lives. 

During the struggle, one of the four remaining subjects had his spleen ruptured and he bled out almost instantly. Attempts were made to sedate him, but they proved to be futile. After there reached a point at which there was more air in his vascular system than blood, it appeared that his heart continued to beat. Two minutes later, it stopped, but the screaming continued. His corpse continued to writhe and beg for 'MORE' for three minutes before he finally fell silent. 

The remaining three were transported to a medical facility under heavy restraints. The most injured of the three was rushed into surgery in an attempt to put all of his organs back inside of him. However, for a long time, he appeared entirely immune to the anaesthetic and fought his way through almost all of his restraints and through the grip one of the guards had on him. He did eventually succumb to the anaesthetic, however, and the moment that his eyes closed, his heart stopped. An autopsy later revealed that his body had more than three times the usual amount of oxygen in his blood stream. All of his muscles had been badly torn and he had broken nine bones in the struggle for his release.  

The next to undergo surgery was the first survivor to begin screaming. No longer having use of his vocal chords, he attempted to protest the surgery through violently shaking his head as he was approached with the anaesthetic. When it was reluctantly suggested that they try the surgery without anaesthetic, he nodded desperately. Throughout the entire six-hour procedure, he did not react once. The surgeon was baffled by how it was possible for him to be living, while the nurses claim to have seen the man smile on several occasions when they met his eyes. When the surgery was over, the subject began to gasp and wheeze as he tried to talk. He was provided with a pen and paper in order to convey his message: 

"Keep cutting." 

The final subject was also given surgery without anaesthetic, though he did have to be given a paralytic in order to prevent him from laughing throughout. When the surgery was over, the surgeon asked the subject why they had done this to themselves and why they kept begging for the gas. He was given a single response: "I must remain awake."  

While decisions were being made about what was to be done with the remaining prisoners, they were returned to their cell with reinforced restraints. The initial consideration was to euthanize the participants, but the commanding officer disagreed. An ex-KGB agent, he saw potential and demanded that the gas be turned back on. Despite protest from other researchers, his command was obeyed. The participants were hooked up to EEG monitors, and their restraints were padded with the intention for long-term confinement.  

The moment that they were informed that they were going to be put back under the gas, all three stopped their struggling. They were all clearly still fighting to stay awake. One participant who was still able to speak began to hum loudly, while the mute one began to strain against his bonds with all of his might. The remaining participant held his head off of his pillow, blinking rapidly. In monitoring his brain waves via the EEG, researchers were in awe. Whilst his brain waves appeared normal the majority of the time, they would infrequently flatline, as though he was experiencing brain death continuously before returning to normal again. As all of the attention was turned to the EEG readings, a single nurse watched as the man closed his eyes and let his head hit the pillow. This time, when the brain waves flatlined, his heart stopped for good. 

The other vocal subject began to beg and scream to be sealed into the chamber immediately. His own brain waves were beginning to show the same pattern of flatlining as the previous had. The commander gave the order, sealing both participants and three researchers inside. Immediately, one of the researchers drew his gun and shot the commander point blank in the head, before turning the gun onto the mute participant.  

He then rounded his weapon onto the last remaining subject as the remaining members of the team fled. He cried out "I won't be locked in here with these things! Not with you!" He turned his full attention to the participant who was still restrained to the bed, screaming "What are you? I must know!" 

In response, the subject smiled. "Have you forgotten so easily?" he asked. "We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go to the nocturnal haven where we cannot tread." 

The researcher paused for only a moment before aiming his weapon at the subject's heart and firing. As the subject died, he choked out his final words. "So... nearly... free."