Peep's Lost Leaf: Cursed

Introduction:
Hi. My name is John Lumber. I (discreetly) work at PBS. I watch PBS Kids shows to see if they are appropriate for kids to watch. A lot of people with the job are lazy and don't do what they're supposed to. Not me. I make sure of this. But the episode I'm about to describe is one even the laziest dude would find inappropriate. Here's the story of Peep's Lost Leaf: Cursed.

The Story:
It was 2014. I had just deemed an episode of Sesame Street appropriate enough for kids to watch. Just then, my boss came up to me. He said there was an episode of Peep and the Big Wide World for me to judge. I thought, "What the heck? That series was cancelled in 2011! That was 3 years ago!" My boss then did some thinking, and quickly changed his mind. "On second thought, you'd best be away from that episode," he said. "Yes sir," I replied. As he was walking to his office, I thought, "Man, that guy is hiding something 100 percent." So I walked to the room where I watched episodes.

At that very moment, I saw a DVD that said "Peep and the Big Wide World: Peep's Lost Leaf". Under that was a hand-written scrawl that said "Altered." Now I was thinking "Oh. This must've originally been a prank from my boss that he decided not to do. Silly him." I realized I was the only guy in the room. And I'm serious. Not even the guy who runs the projector was there. So I decided to watch the show, even though my boss said not to. I inserted the DVD into the disc player. And at this very moment, I sensed something was off.

There was no DVD menu, it just skipped to the movie. There was a warning at the beginning that explained "You have been DISOBEDIENT. Now you pay for it!" I thought that my boss had put the warning there before I watched the show to let me know I had failed the test to obey him. But what did he mean by 'paying for it?' A clip then passed before my eyes. When I listened closely, I heard the audio from the THQ logo. But the video was heavily mutilated. The video was blurry and pixelated, and it was spinning in a circle. "That's odd" I said.

Then the Disney logo appeared, but I could only tell by the audio. The Disney logo was mutilated in the same way as the THQ logo had been. The PBS Kids logo then appeared, but it was not as heavily altered. It slowly pixelated, and there was no audio in the background. Then a video with no audio passed in the same altered version as the THQ logo and the Disney logo, but I could not tell what it was about. I don't even know if was a video. Finally, the intro appeared, but it was in the same altered version as the THQ and Disney logos and the unknown video. Halfway into the intro, the video faded to the normal intro. But there were still three things off.

The video was in black and white, the audio had faded away, and the clip was panning to the left. At the point where Peep had two legs out of his egg, the video froze. For three seconds it remained this way, until text appeared saying "rEAdY tO dIE tOdAy, stUpIdheAd?" The text and video disappeared after four seconds, and that was the end of the intro. I was disturbed. I could tell that this episode would be too inappropriate for kids to watch. I didn't even know if it was a prank anymore.

The title card for the episode "Peep's Lost Leaf" appeared, but the screen was panning down to the right. The video was also much darker than normal. Then the episode began, except now it was extremely bright. The narrator said "It was a cold, breezy, perfect day." Then she continued with "Peep, Chirp, and Quack where watching leaves fall." The video was so bright, Peep appeared white, Chirp appeared reddish-pink, and Quack appeared a light lavender. The first leaf fell, then the second one. This was normal. But then the screen froze again.

I heard a loud but gentle breeze in the background. After ten seconds of listening to the breeze and watching the trio stand silently waiting for a leaf to fall, the pile of leaves finally fell on them like it did in the episode. The scene then cut to Peep and Chirp standing together, when Peep sees the perfect leaf. The show is at its normal shade of brightness now, and Peep is running to the edge of the hill. He looks out in the sky and then says "Have you ever seen a leaf this perfec-"

Before he can finish, the leaf hits him in the face and he flies through the air. Then the show cuts to the scene where Peep and Chirp are struggling not to let the leaf go. The way the cut was done though, It kind of seemed like Chirp had rescued Peep. Chirp let go and said "Peep, you're flying!" Peep then said "Don't let go!" Unfortunately, Peep lets go in the process, and both of them scream one of those cartoon screams. The screen then flashes white and then the show is once again in black and white. Then a fake picture of static is on the screen and there is static in the background. The static ends after seven seconds and immediately cut to Peep, Quack, and Chirp looking for something.

At first I thought they were looking for the leaf, but then I remembered what episode this was from. "Wait a minute," I thought. "This is footage from 'Stick With Me!' What kind of goddamned prank is this!?" The screen fades to the instance where Quack gets stuck in mud. As he is halfway through the puddle, his feet sink into the mud. "Guys," he said. "Wait up." Peep and Chirp turn around and Chirp says "What's up? Are you stuck?" Quack replies with a lie. "No," he said. "Not stuck, just a little...wait! I got it! I got it!" He pulls his foot out of the mud and says "Yep, I'm totally, perfectly...hnngh!" His other foot is still stuck in the mud, so he has a sad look.

But before he can admit he is stuck, the scene changes to the part where Peep comes out of a bush, followed by Quack and Chirp. Quack asks Chirp "Any chance of finding this thing?" Chirp replies with a no, and so Quack says "Just checking." They then walk out of the bush. Then there is footage from 'Chirp Sorts It Out (Sort Of)' except that it is reflected horizontally, it is black and white, and there is no audio. There is also black text in Arial, and it says "After a while of searching, Peep, Quack, and Chirp decided to have a meeting to see who may have found the leaf." It goes back to Stick With Me, and Peep is asking Quack "Did you see it?"

Quack says no, so Peep is instantly depressed. Quack, being helpful, says "But, no worries Peep! I'm going to start looking right now." This makes Peep a little less sad. Quack is looking all around him, but can not find anything, so he says "Sorry, Peep. I'm afraid it's gone forever." Peep is even more sad than before. This is the part where Chirp would explain to Peep that the world is big and his thing is small, but there is static louder than the show itself. Peep soon gets a sad look, and the show switches to black. For what I think is thirty seconds, black covers the screen. There is a flash of red text that appears for a split second in the black. I am almost sure it said "Do not crossover." I still don't quite know.

Then it switches to Peep at the edge of his can. Only he is much, much sadder. It is nighttime, everything is tinted blood-red, and his pupils are gone. He has red ooze coming out of his eyes, making it look like they are melting. But somehow, I know he's crying. There is no audio, not even feedback or static from the speakers, and the screen is zooming closer to him. Below him, there is what looks like a pond of tears. The screen zooms in towards him for (literally) a minute, then it switches to the fake static for one second. Then there is a Red Mist version of Peep just standing there. His body is black, and he has red around his eyes. They almost seem bloodshot.

Text appears on the screen, showing what he is saying. Here is the text in order of when it appears: There is now an extended sound of a lady screaming. It didn't sound cartoon-like either. It actually sounded scared, like the actor was afraid. Then more text appears. There is no more text during the shot, and it just keeps zooming in. Then there is the fake static for one second, then it switches the a closer up shot of Peep, this time only the top half of his body (excluding his beak) is visible. Now I was truly disturbed. I don't even think it's meant to be a joke anymore. I tried leaving, but the normal exits were locked. I tried using the emergency exit, but it was jammed. I tried calling the cops on my cell, but the battery was dead. I tried using the computer in the projector area to text the cops, but the internet had mysteriously went out. I tried calling police on the main phone in the office, but I could only hear a dial tone. So I was forced to watch the rest of the episode. The static then reappeared for three seconds, in the same mutilated state as the logos and the video at the beginning of the DVD, but it was cut out by thunder, meant to represent Bava's voice, most likely. There is more extended, realistic screaming now. Now I was in such a mental state, I wanted to commit suicide and not have to watch this anymore. Soon, there was BIG purple text scrolling up the screen. And what he said next would forever haunt me.
 * 1) "You may be wondering..."
 * 2) "What's so important about one little leaf? Why is Peep so sad over it?"
 * 1) "I put a note on it."
 * 1) "I am not a chicken named Peep. I am a demon named Bava. I ate his soul and took over his body!"
 * 2) "I am one of Satan's minions."
 * 3) "And I'm coming for you, John."
 * 1) "THAT'S RIGHT!!! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, YOU MERE MORTAL!!!"
 * 1) "JOHN! YOU HAVE MESSED UP WITH ME TOO LONG!!! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF ANYTHING!!! I AM COMING AFTER YOU, YOU HEAR!?"
 * 2) "YOU HAVE BEEN DAMNED TO HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!"
 * 3) "JUST LIKE PEEP!!!"
 * 1) "NOW EVERYONE WILL KNOW MY TRUE IDENTITY!! I MUST ABANDON THIS BODY TO STAY SAFE! I WILL HAVE TO DESTROY THIS BODY!!!"
 * 1) "Then I will be free to hunt."

The show switches back to the fake static, only now, it is tinted bluish-gray and it is 30 seconds long. Then a really horrible picture appears. It is Peep, only he has a sword stuck in his chest, with what I believe are blood and guts running down his side. His eyes are missing their pupils, and they are pale blue. It shows the image for 5 seconds before the screen grows dark and text saying "Finis" is on the top-left corner of the screen. Then the image fades to pitch black and the word Finis disappears.

The song in the credits isn't really a song at all, more like someone speaking then having the audio squished and sped up. There are words going up that say "Created by Bava" Then there is more text going up that says "Bava is coming for you." The DVD finally comes to an end. The lights come back, and the exits are no longer locked. The internet is back, and the dial tone is now gone. I alerted the cops what happened, and they investigated the video. But the video was now only text saying "Mr. Lumber, I know you're watching this, and I'd like to let you know you're fired." I described the episode to my boss, then the cops, but they thought I had gone crazy.

Epilouge
About two weeks later, I was at home just watching TV, when I heard a ring at the door. When I opened it, there was no one there, but rather a package and two letters. The first one I read was from my boss. It said:

"Dear Mr. Lumber,

The episode you have described seems to have truly taken over your fear center. Well I've decided even if there was no episode, you have somehow seen it, and that seems like punishment enough. If you'd like, you may continue work tomorrow as long as you obey me and NEVER mention the episode again.

Sincerely your boss, Jonathan."

There was another letter clipped to the package. It was from my friend Tony Guz. It said:

"Dear John,

I heard about what happened to you. I wanted to let you know, I got the episode of P&TBWW you described in the mail a couple weeks ago from an anonymous source. I haven't been feeling very secure since I watched it. Please take it away from me. Do what you need to with it. Just DO NOT SEND IT BACK.

Your best friend, Tony."

The package was a DVD with the episode. I've kept stored away a couple years, but I decided to upload the real footage here. To this day, I am still haunted by the thought Bava is still looking for me. Not resting till he finds me.

The Video
I am sorry, but I could not insert the video here. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP2lIOSIexk to watch.