Jan. 17, 2025

Best of 2024: Zombies! Ghosts! Killer Bugs! Maniacs!

Best of 2024: Zombies! Ghosts! Killer Bugs! Maniacs!
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon Spreaker podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon

Welcome back, my spookies! Tonight, we delve into the bone-chilling universe of Weekly Spooky, expertly crafted by the eerie voice of your host and narrator, Henrique Couto. As we journey into the sixth year of this phenomenal podcast, we pause to reminisce about the thrilling horror tales unearthed during the prior year, 2024, showcasing a rich harvest of storytelling from new and familiar authors alike.

In the episode, we commence with an enticing narrative titled "Terror on Your Radio Dial" by Bruce Haney, where we meet 12-year-old Josh, a boy whose fascination with the supernatural transports him from the mundane existence of Boring, Oregon, into the hair-raising legends slumbering in the infamous Gitter House. Fueled by the need to encounter a ghost, Josh embarks on a spine-tingling adventure with his new friend Mike, who possesses his own secrets of the spirit world. As the boys initiate an electrifying sleepover filled with horror movies and ghost lore, chilling events unfold that compel them to connect with the spectral world in terrifyingly unexpected ways.

But that's just the opening act! The episode plunges deeper into horror with tales like "Catching a Buzz" by David O'Hanlon, where the innocent excitement of Halloween transforms into a night of peril for two brothers, Grover and Will, as they engage in a reckless challenge imposed by their babysitter. In exploring the depths of temptation, they unwittingly delve into an experience rife with consequences of their actions, revealing the darker side of childhood curiosity and the sinister underbelly of online challenges that resonate with our current society.

Next, we navigate the haunting narrative of "The Last Vacation" by Mike Ashkewey, where family dynamics clash against a backdrop of a horrifying apocalyptic threat during a seemingly idyllic cruise. Our protagonist, just off the cusp of adulthood, grapples with the fragile state of their family while confronting extraordinary changes unfolding onboard. As chaos erupts and the world outside collapses, tension mounts and alliances shift, leading to a thrilling blend of action and horror that leaves listeners teetering on the edge of their seats.

Finally, we encounter “My Patient Destroyed My World” by Michael Kelso, delving into the psyche of a doctor grappling with the aftermath of his patient’s heinous acts. Through the lens of horror, we explore themes of morality, impulsive behavior, and the thin lines that separate sanity from madness, weaving a tale that is equal parts psychological thriller and poignant reflection on human nature.

Henrique skillfully stitches these narratives together, inviting listeners to reflect on their fears and the inherent darkness that lingers within humanity itself. From ghostly encounters that chill the bones to the raw terror of psychological dread, this episode encapsulates the essence of what makes Weekly Spooky a frightfully delightful experience.

As the show winds down, Henrique encourages listeners to subscribe, explore the extensive back catalog, and stay tuned for upcoming special episodes, including one themed for Valentine’s Day that promises to entwine love with horror in the most enthralling way. So, kick back, embrace the eerie ambiance, and prepare for a delightfully frightful ride through the sinister shadows of storytelling at its finest. Until next time, my spookies!

🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!

🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon!
👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join

📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!


🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.839
Hello, my Spookyes, it's your host and narrator Enrique Kuto,

2
00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.480
here yet again with a little bit more of the

3
00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:12.720
best of two thousand and twenty four. Weekly Spooky is

4
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.039
heading into its sixth year right now, and we've had

5
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:21.120
many great stories worth revisiting. But last year was especially

6
00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:25.640
vast in our new authors and new stories that brought

7
00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:29.160
chills to our bones. So tonight I bring you four

8
00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:34.159
of the finest examples of horror from twenty twenty four

9
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.799
here at Weekly Spooky, from four authors that you may

10
00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:43.079
have heard of or maybe are new to you. Either way,

11
00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.679
it's worth your time, So kick back, relax, and let's

12
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:55.479
begin Terror on your radio Dial by Bruce Haney. Josh

13
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:59.200
had always wanted to see a ghost. He was obsessed

14
00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:04.120
with the idea of seeing something otherworldly. At only twelve

15
00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:08.000
years old, he consumed all the supernatural related media he

16
00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:13.120
could find, which wasn't much in nineteen ninety two. He

17
00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.200
had all his brother's old comic books. Most of them

18
00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.560
were superhero comics, but there were a few issues of

19
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.319
Things Beyond This World that he cherished and read over

20
00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.640
and over again. Josh was also a frequent visitor to

21
00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:34.159
the Horror section of Boring Encore video. Yes, Josh lived

22
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.760
in a small town known as Boring, Oregon, which he

23
00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:43.959
found boring, so the idea of ghosts and other worldly

24
00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:47.319
things was an escape for him. Josh tried to search

25
00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.319
the historical archives of the local newspaper for stories, but

26
00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:54.359
found little, and it was more time consuming than a

27
00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:57.400
kid his age could handle. But he did know of

28
00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.680
the Getter House. All kids knew about that house. It

29
00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:06.640
wasn't much to behold. It didn't have fancy architecture, no

30
00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:11.039
gargoyles or iron rod fencing, but the house did show

31
00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.199
its age. The weathered wood of the three story house

32
00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:18.080
had many layers of peeling paint and numerous layers of

33
00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.840
shingles on its time worn roof. A house like that

34
00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.360
always had its legends. The main one was of an

35
00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.360
amateur electrical engineer who lived in the house in the

36
00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.159
nineteen forties and was obsessed with the power of radio

37
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:36.199
and was using his modified Ham radio equipment to try

38
00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:40.319
to reach the other side. Josh did find one mention

39
00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.120
of this man in the papers when he had looked.

40
00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.800
In nineteen forty nine, the Boring Herald had a small

41
00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:51.400
blurb that read Boring man is insane. Carl Getter of

42
00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.879
Boring was arrested today after several alleged attacks on neighbors

43
00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:59.120
and his family. He was committed to the asylum and

44
00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:02.000
will be taken there late this evening or early tomorrow.

45
00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:06.159
Josh had been making plans to visit the house, but

46
00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.800
before he got his nerve up, a family moved in.

47
00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:13.360
Luckily for Josh, they had a kid his age, named Mike.

48
00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:17.479
Josh was quick to make friends with him. Once the

49
00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:22.599
friendship was established, he suggested a sleepover. Mike would agree,

50
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:26.360
but always wanted to have it at Josh's house. After

51
00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.199
the third time of having it at his house, Josh

52
00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:33.439
insisted they have it at Mike's. Dude, we will have

53
00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:37.479
way better snack choices at your house. Mike argued, yeah,

54
00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:41.240
but my parents are always hovering and probably wouldn't approve

55
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.400
of us staying up late to watch horror movies. Josh

56
00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:48.400
argued back, and then remembered something Mike had told him,

57
00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:51.759
so he added, Plus, you're the one that bragged you

58
00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.560
have your own television. Josh argued, yeah, but it's just

59
00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.599
my parents' old nineteen inch set and the colors bleed.

60
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:02.599
Mike explained, your own television in your room beats a

61
00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:06.560
front room television with hovering parents any day, Josh replied.

62
00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:08.560
Fine.

63
00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:13.719
Mike said that night was perfect for the sleepover because

64
00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:17.319
late night host Madame Goulette was showing two back to

65
00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:21.879
back ghost flicks on Channel five. Josh, of course, loved

66
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:26.160
horror movies that involved ghosts. Mike was more of a

67
00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.959
monster kid. One of the reasons that Mike might not

68
00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.439
have cared for ghosts was because his house was haunted

69
00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.279
and Mike had seen a spirit. When Josh first became

70
00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:39.920
friendly with Mike, he asked him if he had seen

71
00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.920
any ghosts there. That's baby stuff. I don't believe in ghosts,

72
00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.759
Mike had said, and then laughed, But Josh thought Mike

73
00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:52.000
might have been hiding something behind that laughter. Later, as

74
00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.079
the two became closer, Mike revealed that he had seen

75
00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:59.759
something spooky in the house. I only saw something once.

76
00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.120
It was late at night, and it was when we

77
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.800
first arrived with all our stuff after the long drive

78
00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:07.319
from our old house. We were supposed to get here

79
00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.600
in the afternoon and get stuff unloaded, but my dad

80
00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:13.680
get us lost taking one of his shortcuts. We were

81
00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.519
all tired, but we had to unload some stuff into

82
00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.199
the house, at least the bedding. I had made a

83
00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:21.680
couple of trips, and then while my parents were setting

84
00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.879
up a makeshift area for us to sleep, I went

85
00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.160
back out to the moving van to grab my radio

86
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:29.639
to see if there were any cool stations in this burb.

87
00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.160
As you know, that was a waste of time. I

88
00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.560
checked AM and FM. But while I was messing with

89
00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:40.040
the antenna of the radio trying to find stations, I

90
00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.600
looked up to the window of the room, the one

91
00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:46.040
that's mine now, and I saw a man and he

92
00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:49.800
stared back at me. I stared for a moment, and

93
00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:55.240
then he smiled. Then from my radio, I heard him

94
00:05:55.279 --> 00:06:02.480
say welcome home. Mike finished. Then Josh asked that was

95
00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.279
all he got to say. Because I was so freaked out,

96
00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:10.199
I dropped my radio. Mike explained, So what did you do,

97
00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:14.480
Josh asked, I ran to my parents. They thought I

98
00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.519
was crazy, but they searched the house anyways, but found nothing.

99
00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.879
Mike said, did you ever try to reach him again?

100
00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:26.600
Josh asked, My radio hasn't worked since it still plays

101
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:31.079
cassettes all right, but the radio part's broken. Mike explained.

102
00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.639
For the sleepover. Because of Mike's story, Josh brought his

103
00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:39.680
own radio. He also brought a book called True Facts

104
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.040
about Ghosts. The book was more or less a parody

105
00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:48.199
of those books for kids, like Dinosaur Facts or Bird Facts,

106
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:51.879
the kind with very few words and many full page

107
00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:55.839
color photos. Josh knew it was a bit tongue in cheek,

108
00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:59.040
but thought that it had some truth to it. Before

109
00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.680
Josh arrived at My Mike's house, he decided that he

110
00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.759
wouldn't talk about ghosts right away. He would wait until

111
00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:10.680
the first movie of the night, so sometime during thirteen Ghosts.

112
00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.519
Since it was a sleepover situation, they didn't have to

113
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.879
eat dinner with Mike's folks. They got frozen pizza and

114
00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.319
generic root beer, which they took up to Mike's room

115
00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:24.079
to eat. Mike's room was a typical eighties boys room,

116
00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:27.800
socks on the floor, magazine cutouts of rock bands on

117
00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:30.879
his walls. His only full sized poster was of a

118
00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.600
hot rod car. Josh had been hoping to feel spooky

119
00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.519
vibes as soon as they entered his room, since it

120
00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.920
was where the ghost had been, but everything seemed normal.

121
00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:44.639
Josh waited all night as they ate pizza and played

122
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:51.600
video games. Finally, Madam Goulette's Dark Theater started. She introduced

123
00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:54.480
thirteen Ghosts by telling them how the director had a

124
00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.759
gimmick for when it had played in the theaters. The

125
00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.560
gimmick was a pair of glasses that you put on

126
00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:04.240
so that you could see the ghosts. Josh decided that

127
00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:07.959
this was his cue. Maybe that's not too far off,

128
00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:12.560
Josh said. Mike finished chewing his pizza and then slurped

129
00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:16.800
some rut beer. What Mike asked, Maybe you need a

130
00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.879
device to see or interact with ghosts, like you and

131
00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:26.639
your radio. With the radio you heard him speak, Josh finished, Dude,

132
00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.639
ghosts aren't real. I was just tired and it was

133
00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.639
a new place. Come on, Mike said, are you scared

134
00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.919
to talk about it because we're in the room where

135
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.759
you saw him, Josh asked, just shut up about it.

136
00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.679
Mike replied, and then looked around the room, half expecting

137
00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:47.919
to see the figure again. Josh knew that Mike was afraid,

138
00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:51.039
so it was kind of mean of him to then say,

139
00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.600
did you know a guy that lived here was found

140
00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.799
insane and taken to an asylum. Mike's first response was

141
00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:02.279
to punch Josh in the show and then replied with dude,

142
00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.919
I said, shut up. The boys found the second movie boring.

143
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.399
It was called The Terror. It had a couple of

144
00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:13.519
big names in the cast, but had little else going

145
00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.600
for it. Since they were both bored, Josh opened his

146
00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:20.399
backpack and brought out his radio and the Ghost Book.

147
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.159
Mike laughed, Come on, what's with that kid's book, he asked.

148
00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.799
It's the only book that the school library had on ghosts,

149
00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.679
so give me a break, Josh explained. You are not

150
00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.919
going to let this ghost thing go, are you, Mike said,

151
00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:39.519
as he took the book from him and started looking

152
00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:43.240
through it. There are many kinds of ghosts. There are

153
00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:48.360
vengeful ghosts, residual ghosts, poultergeists, and there are ghosts that

154
00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:52.080
are not ghosts at all, like demons that are pretending

155
00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:56.159
to be ghosts. Mike read aloud and then laughed. This

156
00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:00.200
book is a joke, Mike said. While Mike looked through

157
00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.480
the book, Josh turned on the radio and slowly scrolled

158
00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:09.000
from the band's left side to the right, scanning and

159
00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:13.519
listening for other worldly voices. Mike looked up at Josh

160
00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:17.639
with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing at this time

161
00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:20.399
of night. The sounds that came from it were mostly

162
00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.039
talk radio and old timey music that Josh assumed was

163
00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.879
either Beethoven or Mozart, since that was all he knew

164
00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:32.159
of as far as classical music, it wasn't. While he

165
00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:36.720
searched the band, he heard Chopin and Tchaikowsky, but he

166
00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:42.120
heard no ghosts. Ghosts have been known to affect electromagnetic waves.

167
00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.799
Mike read aloud. What does that mean, Josh asked, I

168
00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.919
don't know, but maybe it has something to do with

169
00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.000
how ghosts can manipulate radio waves. Mike said, unsure of himself.

170
00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.559
Don't go away, weekly spooky, We'll be right back.

171
00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.840
Did you know the insane man was a ham? Josh asked,

172
00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:09.279
A ham?

173
00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:10.120
Yeah?

174
00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:14.559
Yeah, an amateur radio dude. Josh said, why do they

175
00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:18.759
call them a ham? Mike asked, I don't know. They

176
00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.000
operate ham radios, but why they call the radio ham?

177
00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:25.639
I don't know. I didn't check out a book on

178
00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:30.039
ham radios, Josh said, annoyed that he didn't know. Mike

179
00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.039
felt bad that his guest was getting upset, so, against

180
00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:37.120
his better judgment, he decided that he would help him

181
00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:42.559
and show some interest. Did you check AM? Mike asked, no,

182
00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.960
just FM. Josh replied, I think I was on AM

183
00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.840
when I heard him, Mike said. Josh started to scan

184
00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:54.200
through the airwaves on AM, and then Mike tried to

185
00:11:54.279 --> 00:12:02.039
talk to the ghost. Hello, Hello, ghost. Mike said, no

186
00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:05.840
response from the radio. It's not going to work. Did

187
00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:10.759
you really see a ghost, Josh asked. Try adjusting the antenna.

188
00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:12.960
I was messing with it at the time. I was

189
00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:17.320
pointing it towards my room. I think that's north. Try north,

190
00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:23.159
Mike said. Josh followed his directions. After a few seconds,

191
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.919
the static got a little louder. Josh adjusted the antenna

192
00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:30.759
while he turned the tuner left and right under the

193
00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:34.480
normal static, he could hear a buzz that seemed to

194
00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.480
get louder as he moved to the right. Once the

195
00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.480
buzz was at its peak, he turned the volume up

196
00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:46.000
a little more and moved the antenna around. Then the

197
00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:52.279
buzzing stopped. Mike and Josh froze and listened intently. Mike

198
00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:56.360
felt goosebumps forming on his arms. Josh thought about adjusting

199
00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:59.120
the antenna a little bit more or turning the tuner

200
00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:02.600
back to the left bit, but neither moved, and eventually,

201
00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:08.559
clear as day, they heard, Hello, boys, the ghost spoke.

202
00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:11.879
The voice came from the radio, but the boys looked

203
00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:17.000
around for the man. So far he hadn't appeared. Who

204
00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:23.080
are you, Josh asked, I am mister Gitter. Mister Gitter replied,

205
00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.519
what do you want? Mike asked, you reached out to me.

206
00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:33.879
Mister Gitter replied, and then laughed to himself. As he laughed,

207
00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:37.919
mister Getter started to fade into existence near the window.

208
00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.600
The two boys watched, and suddenly they no longer had

209
00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:46.759
any more questions to ask. Mister Geitter was nicely dressed

210
00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:50.360
in pressed slacks and a sweater with only one blemish.

211
00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.919
Right where his heart should be, there was a large

212
00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.519
hole that had blood dripping from it every second or so,

213
00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:03.440
like his heart was still pump ever so slightly. The

214
00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.240
two boys watched as the blood stained the sweater further.

215
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:13.679
Mister Gitter noticed their fascination. Oh this old thing, mister

216
00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.320
Getter said, while poking his finger through the hole in

217
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:21.519
his chest. Sometimes the cost of intellectual intrigue is hi.

218
00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.399
Mister Getter continued and laughed loudly, revealing teeth that were

219
00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:30.000
still white but looked larger than normal. As his gums

220
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.480
had receded, revealing the roots of his teeth. Josh thought

221
00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:38.759
to himself, how do those teeth even stay in? Mister

222
00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:40.960
Getter floated towards the two boys.

223
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:43.759
Are you ready to come to the other.

224
00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:48.720
Side, mister Gitter asked. Mike was terrified and snatched the

225
00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.799
radio away. Get out of my room, Mike yelled, and

226
00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:56.320
then turned the dial as quickly as he could. Mister

227
00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:00.519
Gitter disappeared as soon as the channel was switched.

228
00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.279
It will continue to rain for the next four days.

229
00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.720
Sunday might possibly have a break, so plan on getting

230
00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:08.279
all those outside chores done then.

231
00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.480
But a female voice said on the radio before Mike

232
00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:16.120
turned it off. Both of the boys were relieved. Let's

233
00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:21.000
never do that again. Josh said yeah, Mike agreed, but

234
00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:24.320
they were young and their wills were not great. Before

235
00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:26.279
the night was through, they had made a plan to

236
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.759
contact him one more time so that they could record

237
00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.480
his voice on Josh's radio, something to impress the other

238
00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:36.759
kids with at school on Monday morning, neither of the

239
00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:40.000
boys had a fresh cassette, but Josh knew the trick

240
00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.360
where you put tape over a hole in the side

241
00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:45.159
so that the player would think it was a blank tape.

242
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.759
It took Mike a while to decide which of his

243
00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:52.360
tapes he would sacrifice. He decided on Bruce Springsteen's Born

244
00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:56.519
in the USA Side A. It wasn't one of his favorites.

245
00:15:57.159 --> 00:16:00.279
He did side A over side B because B had

246
00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:04.039
Glory Days on it, which he liked. By the time

247
00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.879
the second movie had ended, they were ready. They might

248
00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.240
have tried to waste more time to build up their nerve,

249
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.279
but all the television stations had gone off the air

250
00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.919
for the night. With nothing else to do, they decided

251
00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:19.039
it was time to reach back out to mister Getter.

252
00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:22.960
Mike handed the tape to Josh, who wasted no time

253
00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:26.879
putting it in and hitting the record button. Then he

254
00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.879
turned the tuner to find mister Getter again. It took

255
00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.279
him a few minutes, but he never looked at the

256
00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:35.960
dial when he had tuned him in the first time.

257
00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:39.240
Hello again, boys, mister.

258
00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.399
Geter's voice said out of the speakers. Before he could

259
00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:45.759
speak again, Josh pulled out his ghost book to ask

260
00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:50.440
mister Gitter some questions. Uh are you a vengeful spirit?

261
00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.039
A poltergeist?

262
00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:52.720
Uh?

263
00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:54.200
What kind of ghost are you?

264
00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:58.279
Josh asked, what type of ghost am?

265
00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.960
I asked, while chuckling to himself.

266
00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.279
I wouldn't call myself a ghost. I have merely switched

267
00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:11.279
from one plane to another, a greater plane of existence.

268
00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:16.079
Come with me and see you'll understand shortly and all

269
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:18.920
your questions will be answered.

270
00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:22.799
Mister Getter said as he approached the two boys. This

271
00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:26.920
was the moment they panicked about last time. This time

272
00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.680
they remained brave. Josh looked at the radio dial, just

273
00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:36.319
in case they did panic. One one seven zero, AM,

274
00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:40.920
We will not go with you, Josh said firmly. Yeah,

275
00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:46.920
Mike said, sounding less confident. You have no choice, mister

276
00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:52.480
Gitter informed them. The two boys exchanged worried glances. Bail,

277
00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:58.039
Josh asked, Mike, bail. Mike yelled. They were chickening out again.

278
00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:01.079
Josh grabbed the dial and went to turn it, but

279
00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:04.440
it wouldn't move. He was a smart boy, though, He

280
00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.559
pressed the power button instead, but there was no luck

281
00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:13.559
there either. It wouldn't Budge Geitter was getting stronger. Josh

282
00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.839
dropped the radio, but that act did not stop mister Getter.

283
00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:21.319
Mister Gitter in fact got brighter, becoming nearly as flesh

284
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:24.000
and blood. As they were. The hole in his chest

285
00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:27.039
even started pumping blood out faster, while the lights in

286
00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:32.359
the house began to flicker. In response, the boys ran downstairs.

287
00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.200
Mike's parents had already gone to bed, so they didn't

288
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:39.480
notice the lights were flickering. His parents did wake up

289
00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:43.680
moments later when they heard the downstairs radio turn on.

290
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.480
The sound of various stations could be heard as it

291
00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.319
tuned itself to one, one, seven zero.

292
00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.880
Come on, boys, everyone is waiting.

293
00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:57.200
Mister Getter's voice said, coming out of the downstairs radio

294
00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.519
at full volume. At that point, mister Gidter was powerful

295
00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:04.720
enough that it didn't matter where the antenna was pointed.

296
00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:08.599
The next sound the boys heard as mister Gidter went

297
00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.720
to grab them was the door of Mike's parents' bedroom opening,

298
00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.039
but it was too late. Mister Gidter was able to

299
00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.000
reach the two boys and grab them in a big

300
00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:22.359
bear hug while laughing. The volume of his laughter lowered

301
00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:26.000
as all three of them began fading out of our world.

302
00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.039
Mike's dad entered the living room one second too late.

303
00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:35.440
They were gone. A moment later, all six light bulbs

304
00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.799
above his head in the aging chandelier exploded and he

305
00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:42.759
could have sworn he heard a faint voice coming from

306
00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.839
the radio that laughed while it said.

307
00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:48.400
End of broadcast.

308
00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.160
Mike's parents moved away from Boring a few months later

309
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:56.559
because Josh's parents blamed them for the disappearance and seeing

310
00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:59.599
them around town at the Boring country store was hard

311
00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:03.000
for them to to deal with while managing their own mourning,

312
00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:06.960
Mike's parents couldn't deal with packing up their son's room,

313
00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:11.039
so they hired movers who prepared all of Mike's things

314
00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:15.240
to be donated. One mover even took the tape from

315
00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:18.599
the radio and put it back in its case. He

316
00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.400
thought about taking the tape, who would know, but the

317
00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:25.799
mover was more of a new wave guy. Anyway, He

318
00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:30.960
did empty the kid's piggybank before packing it. The recording

319
00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:35.160
was eventually found by accident. A guy bought a bunch

320
00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:37.920
of cheap cassettes from the thrift store for a road trip.

321
00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:42.599
He was shocked when instead of hearing Bruce Springsteen, he

322
00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:48.079
heard weird audio of a creepy man talking to some kids.

323
00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.279
He thought it was interesting enough that he called into

324
00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:56.839
an AM talk show about conspiracies and the supernatural. The

325
00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:01.200
host was curious and had airtime to kill, so he

326
00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:06.200
agreed to air the tape. So then, once again, mister

327
00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:08.880
Gitter's voice came across the airwaves.

328
00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:11.519
Hello again boys.

329
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.880
After this airing, rumors of young kids disappearing after playing

330
00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:21.279
with their radios trying to hear mister Gitter started to spread.

331
00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:26.759
But those are just playground urban legends, aren't they.

332
00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:34.799
Did you hear that? Better check the locks on your

333
00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:38.559
doors weekly, spooky, We'll be right back.

334
00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:48.279
Catching a buzz by David O'Hanlon. This sucks, nine year

335
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.880
old Grover Wright said, dumping out his tricker treating bag

336
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:54.799
on the foot of his bed. Hawlloween should be a

337
00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:57.519
whole month. You can't get enough candy in just a

338
00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:01.960
few hours. Look at this. Mine's not any better, Will

339
00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:05.319
told him. His eleven year old brother emptied his own

340
00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:08.319
bag onto the pile. It was only the ninth of

341
00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:11.759
November and they were down to eleven rolls of Smarties,

342
00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:16.000
three pumpkin shaped chocolate covered marshmallows, entirely too many peanut

343
00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:21.440
butter kisses, eighteen jawbreakers, two chocolate crosses with Bible verses

344
00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:25.640
stapled to their wrappers, seven fun sized mister goodbars, a

345
00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.680
tube of pumpkin spiced chapstick, and a dozen coffin shaped

346
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:33.119
boxes of candy sticks. There was no way they'd be

347
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.160
able to stretch their lute until the Christmas candy. Hall

348
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.039
Will tore open one of the marshmallow treats and stuffed

349
00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:43.839
it into his mouth. I think this is from last year,

350
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.599
he mumbled as he chewed. I'm not eating the stupid

351
00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.400
orange and black things. No one even knows what they are.

352
00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:56.680
Grover said, what are we going to do? Bucks? Will

353
00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:59.480
held up a hand and swallowed the gooey candy with

354
00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:03.799
a loud gulp. Bucks might have more clearance candy. I

355
00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:06.599
still have ten dollars from helping mister Stax take down

356
00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:10.400
his decorations. Bucks is way on the other side of town,

357
00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:15.559
Grover said. Even Clarissa would notice us being gone that long.

358
00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:20.200
Clarissa Hart was the worst babysitter and cooler. Of course,

359
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.960
not many people wanted the job. After the horrible murders

360
00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:27.519
a few years prior. They never found the killer's body.

361
00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:32.519
After all, most sitters were only available during daylight hours

362
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.000
in fear the pig faced man would get them too.

363
00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:40.200
The rights had to take what they could get and

364
00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.319
in the months surrounding the anniversary of the babysitter massacre,

365
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:49.720
they could get Clarissa. Will did the mental math. If

366
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:51.680
he hustled, he could make it to the store in

367
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:55.240
twenty minutes, tend to get the candy, then twenty to

368
00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:59.039
make it back. There was a small possibility Grover could

369
00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.440
manage to avoid Larissa entirely for an hour. Of course,

370
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:10.359
if she found out, Will sighed, there's nothing more conniving, vengeful,

371
00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.799
and malicious than a high school senior. Their parents wouldn't

372
00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:18.119
be home for three more days. Clarissa would confiscate the

373
00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:21.960
goodies and have them catering to her every need until

374
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:26.640
she was relieved of duty. What's up, Losers, Clarissa said

375
00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:30.039
from the doorway. The babysitter strolled into the room without

376
00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.400
an answer or invitation. She snatched up a handful of

377
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:38.599
the candy and shook it around like dice before dropping it. Definitely, Losers,

378
00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:42.799
this is a terrible stash, she said. You can't eat

379
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:48.119
this for dinner. What is for dinner, Grover asked, I'm

380
00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:53.359
the babysitter, not the cook. Clarissa shrugged. There's lean cuisine

381
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:58.480
in the freezer. Pick one those are moms. Will informed her. Yeah, well,

382
00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.960
apparently she's not e them. Clarissa picked up one of

383
00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:07.480
the rolls of Smarties and smiled mischievously. Or you could

384
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:13.599
have pizza, you'd get us pizza. Will shifted uncomfortably. What's

385
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:17.000
the catch? Haven't you been on TikTok and like the

386
00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:22.400
last week? Clarissa sneered, come with me. The babysitter left

387
00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:26.440
the room with the candies. Grover and Will exchanged concerned looks,

388
00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:30.440
then followed her downstairs. There are few things in the

389
00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:34.640
world that aren't worth doing for pizza. Clarissa had already

390
00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:37.759
unrolled the candies and laid out several on the dining table.

391
00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:41.640
The boys gathered around while she ran for her clutch.

392
00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:46.640
She returned with two dollar bills, her vape, and her phone.

393
00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:51.720
Noticing their expressions, Clarissa explained it all. There's a new

394
00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:55.720
challenge going around. She said. You crush up the Smarties

395
00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.599
and make two lines of powder and then see who

396
00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.759
can snort theirs the fast. Pretty simple. That sounds dangerous,

397
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.880
Will said, and stupid, which means you two are totally

398
00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:14.000
qualified to do it for my followers. Clarissa responded, it

399
00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:17.759
could go viral and you could be popular for a change. Plus,

400
00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:23.680
I'll get you pizza. Does it hurt? Grover asked, not

401
00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:26.680
if you do it right. Clarissa used her vape to

402
00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:30.160
crush the sweet tablets. You just have to smash up

403
00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:33.200
all the little pieces. My mother and her boyfriend do

404
00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:37.160
it with her xanax literally every night. A minute later,

405
00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:41.640
two sugary rails laid across the tabletop, and the brothers

406
00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:45.480
each held a rolled up dollar. Clarissa opened her camera

407
00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:49.880
to record them, but neither moved toward their starting line.

408
00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:54.759
This is like drugs, Grover said. Well, it's called a

409
00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:58.079
sugar high, isn't it. Clarissa waved for them to start.

410
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:02.359
Drugs are bad. Grover told her, I don't want to

411
00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:07.319
do this. I'll get lava cakes with the pizza, Clarissa offered,

412
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:14.440
and cheesybread. Will counteroffered, Jesus, I'm offering you TikTok stardom. Here,

413
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.400
She pointed at the candy cocaine. That could be the

414
00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:22.960
start of your influencer careers right there. At least show

415
00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:25.640
us how to do it first, Will said, moving his

416
00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:30.599
hand to his back pocket. Oh my god. Fine, Clarissa

417
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.160
snatched the dollar from him and leaned over the table.

418
00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:36.599
You just stick it up your nose, then put it

419
00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:40.359
to the line, cover the other nostril, and inhale. Watch

420
00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:45.079
closely because I'm not doing it twice. Oh, we're watching.

421
00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:49.359
Will sneakily pulled his phone out and swiped for the camera.

422
00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:54.440
Go ahead and show us how it's done. Clarissa snorted

423
00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:58.599
the line noisily. She started coughing, then squeezed her nose

424
00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.839
and shook her head. Her eyes watered as she turned around.

425
00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:07.160
It's not that bad, she lied, Will and Grover burst

426
00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:10.319
with laughter. She used her sweater to clear her vision.

427
00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:14.480
Her face contorted into a vicious scowl. When she saw

428
00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:19.720
the phone pointed at her. Delete that. She demanded, nothing

429
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:23.559
too delete. Will told her we're live. You're right, it's

430
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.640
getting a lot of reacts. Did you know your leggings

431
00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.480
are see through you? You little shit? Turn it off.

432
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.519
Clarissa rubbed her sore nose. I mean it, Will write,

433
00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:38.039
turn that phone. Why are you looking at me like that?

434
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:43.200
Will let the phone drop and pointed at Clarissa, you're bleeding.

435
00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:47.720
Clarissa pulled her hand away from her face and saw

436
00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:51.680
the crimson smear. She looked down at the drops staining

437
00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:55.000
her top, and ran out of the room, stripping the

438
00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:59.680
cashmere garment off as she did. So does this mean

439
00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:04.519
where not getting pizza? Grover shouted after her. The slamming

440
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:12.480
of the bathroom door told him they weren't the smoke detectors.

441
00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:16.839
Screeching brought Clarissa out to investigate. She hadn't smelt the

442
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:20.920
smoke with the cotton balls shoved up into her hemorrhaging nostrils.

443
00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:23.519
She fanned the air on the way to the kitchen,

444
00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:26.920
where Will was climbing onto the breakfast nook to deactivate

445
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:31.799
the alarm. Black smoke billowed from the oven. Clarissa threw

446
00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.160
open the back door and then pulled up the window

447
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:37.720
over the sink. What the fuck are you two doing?

448
00:29:38.359 --> 00:29:42.960
She dragged Grover away from the stove. Go open more windows,

449
00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:47.039
I felt that, Will admitted, after finally hitting the button

450
00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.640
to silence the alarm. You know, because you got blood

451
00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:54.720
on your sweater and everyone saw the video, so you

452
00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:58.680
thought Arson would make up for it. Clarissa found the

453
00:29:58.680 --> 00:30:02.599
oven mits and removed the from inside. The plastic handle

454
00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:05.960
had been reduced to long, melted strings that stretched from

455
00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:10.160
the pan to the glowing orange heating coil. The contents

456
00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:14.759
were an unidentifiable blackened mass that smelled something like chocolate,

457
00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.200
and an electrical fire. The sitter made her way to

458
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:21.039
the back door and tossed the entire thing into the yard.

459
00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:24.799
We were trying to make a chocolate cake for you.

460
00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:30.640
Will explained that is was a skillet. You can't stick

461
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.119
that in the oven. The instructions said to use a

462
00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:38.440
round pan. You two are cleaning the melted plastic out

463
00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:44.079
of the stove tomorrow. Clarissa snapped, her face softened. It

464
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:49.000
was sweet, though completely idiotic, but sweet. We'll have to

465
00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:50.960
leave the windows up so the house can air out

466
00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:55.720
before your folks get home. What about flies, Grover said,

467
00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:59.519
fanning one away as he returned to the kitchen. Flies

468
00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.279
are harmless.

469
00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:05.839
You're not safe yet weakly spooky will be right back.

470
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:12.920
Clarissa plucked a piece of bloody cotton from her nose. Uugh,

471
00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:17.440
it's just holding in the smoke smell. Clarissa, moved by

472
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.759
the gesture and her own hunger, decided to order a

473
00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:23.599
pizza for them. They ate on the patio while the

474
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:27.039
house continued to air out. She was starting to think

475
00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:31.200
the kids, despite being losers, like all kids are, weren't

476
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:34.440
so bad. When she finally sent them to bed. After

477
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:38.000
closing and locking all the doors and windows, she was

478
00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:41.359
pretty much done for the night herself. The smoke had

479
00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:44.559
aggravated the abrasions in her nose, making it sore again,

480
00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:49.480
but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. Clarissa felt stupid,

481
00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:52.400
falling for her own gag. She dug a pair of

482
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:55.799
hydros from her purse that she'd lifted from her mom's stash.

483
00:31:56.480 --> 00:32:00.359
Tylanol probably would have sufficed, but the painkillers would make

484
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:04.240
sure she could sleep. Despite the lingering stench of burnt plastic.

485
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:09.680
The pills worked perfectly. She slept through the odor and

486
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:14.920
through the large, strangely colored fly that landed on her lip.

487
00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:24.400
Clarissa dabbed her nose with folded toilet paper. The stupid

488
00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:28.720
Internet challenge was drawing a lot of flak. Apparently numerous

489
00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:33.880
kids trying it had experienced infections from micro abrasions caused

490
00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:37.599
by the crumbled Smarties. She didn't need to further embarrass

491
00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:41.359
herself by getting a staff infection in her nose. The

492
00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:44.720
mild ache of the scratches had grown more uncomfortable throughout

493
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:47.920
the school day, but the bleeding hadn't started until the

494
00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:51.240
walk to the right home. She'd ran in the gas

495
00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:53.640
and grub and straight for the bathroom when she felt

496
00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:57.799
the tiny rivlet tickling her lip. Once she was sure

497
00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:01.079
it had finished, she double checked her top for stains.

498
00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:05.079
Content that she looked presentable enough, she went back out

499
00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:09.359
into the gas station and immediately groaned with disgust. Ross

500
00:33:09.400 --> 00:33:13.920
Garvey saw her too. They'd scheduled their third date before

501
00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:17.680
the emergency call that pulled the rights away. Clarissa had

502
00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:21.160
been relieved. Ross might have been a sexy football star,

503
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:25.079
but he was also a brain dead degenerate. Worse yet,

504
00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:29.359
he'd accepted a scholarship to Texas A and m Clarissa

505
00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:34.119
Hart dating an aggie talk about social suicide. She waved

506
00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:36.400
politely and went to the cooler to get a drink.

507
00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:40.200
Ross came up behind her. His hand found her hip

508
00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:45.599
without invitation. Hey Clarissa, you haven't text back, he said,

509
00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:50.480
I've been working. Clarissa turned it's a week long gig.

510
00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:53.440
I'll give you a call when it's done, or I

511
00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:57.559
could just come by. Ross suggested we can make that

512
00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:01.200
our date. A little Netflix and a lot of chill

513
00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:07.559
quarterbacks score, Clarissa said, pushing past him. You're just a lineman,

514
00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:11.679
but you're the one doing all the blocking. Ross groaned.

515
00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.760
I told you I'm working. Clarissa grabbed a couple of

516
00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:19.320
bags of chips and headed for the checkout. I'm already

517
00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:23.559
late enough. Clarissa made her way to the checkout. The

518
00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:26.400
crack of the fly swatter on the chipped counter made

519
00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:30.199
her jump. Hughby Gilbert shook his head at the phlegm

520
00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:34.079
colored spatter. The next person in line gagged at the sight.

521
00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:37.360
Huby didn't bother wiping up the mess as he rang

522
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:42.639
up the customer's items. Damn strange little critters, the attendant said,

523
00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:47.639
gesturing toward the prismatic bits of exoskeleton smashed into the carnage.

524
00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:51.519
Being downwind of the dump, they're all over my place,

525
00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:57.079
I can imagine, the customer muttered, he eyed the pulped insect.

526
00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:01.760
Gotta be this back and forth weather. Gotta be something

527
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:07.039
I reckon, Hughbi replied. Clarissa hadn't thought about it, but

528
00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:10.440
it did seem there were more flies than usual. The

529
00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:13.519
house had been full of them when she awoke. Maybe

530
00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:16.719
it was the weather. Summer kept trying to fight its

531
00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:20.400
way back from its seasonal grave. Despite being the beginning

532
00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:23.480
of November, the River Valley had been sitting pleasantly in

533
00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:26.880
the seventies for a week. A cold snap was coming,

534
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:30.960
but not before hitting near record highs that afternoon. The

535
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:34.880
train of thought was derailed by Ross, turning her forcibly.

536
00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:40.000
We're third and ten here, Babe, Ros said, it's time

537
00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:43.000
to take it to the end zone. Not gonna happen,

538
00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:47.360
Sure it will. Ross leaned in and kissed her. She

539
00:35:47.480 --> 00:35:52.159
gave him an ineffectual shove, but he recoiled nonetheless. Ross

540
00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:54.760
slapped a hand to his mouth in response to the

541
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:59.000
sting in his lip. When he removed the appendage, Clarissa

542
00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:02.679
saw the blood. She dropped the chips and soda to

543
00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:05.480
cover her nose and ran out of the station before

544
00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:09.679
anyone could see she was bleeding again. Clarissa made it

545
00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:12.920
halfway down the block before she took a tentative glance

546
00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:15.920
at her hands, only there was no blood on them

547
00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:20.199
this time. She slowed to a brisk walk and dabbed

548
00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:25.079
her lip nothing. When Clarissa arrived at the right home,

549
00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:28.360
the boys had set the table, knowing they had some

550
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:31.599
lead time on their sitter. They ran to Buck's Wild

551
00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:35.239
discount outlet for a huge bag of mixed Carson bars

552
00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:38.360
and Jack O'Lantern shaped brownies that had been on clearance,

553
00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:41.280
all of which were arranged on plates in front of

554
00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:44.199
the chairs, with a piping hot lean cuisine in the

555
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:48.440
middle of each and an overflowing popcorn bucket as the centerpiece.

556
00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:52.719
Grover was pouring juice in and around the glasses when

557
00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:57.000
Clarissa walked in. We wanted to make dinner, Will said,

558
00:36:57.559 --> 00:36:59.800
we picked things we couldn't burn down the house with

559
00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:04.280
good call. Clarissa put her stuff down and joined them

560
00:37:04.280 --> 00:37:09.119
at the table. I want the lasagna deal. Grover swapped

561
00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:11.679
the plates so that he got the spaghetti and quickly

562
00:37:11.719 --> 00:37:15.159
spat on it. Which one do you want? Will? His

563
00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:18.679
brother glared at him. He didn't want the chicken florentine,

564
00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:22.440
but he definitely wasn't going for the spit getty. They

565
00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:26.039
all took their seats and started eating. Clarissa sniffed a

566
00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:29.559
few times. She could hardly smell any of the food,

567
00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:34.920
leaving her taste buds grossly disappointed by the first bite. Sorry,

568
00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:38.880
she mumbled, then sputtered her lips and repeated it louder.

569
00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:41.679
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to get y'all to

570
00:37:41.719 --> 00:37:45.239
do a dumbass challenge. A lot of kids are getting hurt.

571
00:37:45.719 --> 00:37:48.039
The laugh wouldn't have been worth it if that had happened.

572
00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:51.840
Some of the kids in my class tried it. Will shrugged.

573
00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:56.280
Guess they got nosebleeds too, since they weren't in class.

574
00:37:56.960 --> 00:38:01.159
Told you drugs are bad, Grover said, you were right,

575
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:06.159
Clarissa assured him. Clarissa looked down at her lasagna and

576
00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:10.239
prodded the cheese in the stringy folds. Something wriggled out

577
00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:13.960
of sight. She leaned her face in for a closer look.

578
00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:18.360
A tiny white grub a little larger than a grain

579
00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:22.559
of rice, plopped into the sauce. It twitched and squirmed

580
00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:25.760
in the hot fluid. She saw the first one tunneling

581
00:38:25.800 --> 00:38:30.480
between the noodles. Grover screamed, falling backwards out of his chair.

582
00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:35.199
Will jumped upright, knocking his own seat over. Clarissa looked

583
00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:38.519
at both of them. Their faces were stark and quivering

584
00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:42.000
with panic. She looked at the lasagna once more, and

585
00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:46.079
another maggot dripped into the low calorie meal. Her nose

586
00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:50.199
began to twitch. It ached worse than before. She brought

587
00:38:50.199 --> 00:38:53.800
a hand up to it. Pinpricks stung her fingers, and

588
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:57.360
she whipped her hand away. The hooked fangs of the

589
00:38:57.440 --> 00:39:00.960
maggots were buried deep into the pads of her fingertips.

590
00:39:01.719 --> 00:39:06.719
The little worms danced as they chewed the flesh. Clarissa

591
00:39:06.840 --> 00:39:10.719
drew in a breath to scream, but choked. She stumbled

592
00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:13.599
away from the table in a hacking fit that dislodged

593
00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.559
a number of the feisty grubs on the laminate flooring.

594
00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:21.800
Her nose gushed blood. Maggots clung to her nostrils, fighting

595
00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:27.440
eviction from their moist, dark home. Clarissa's skin writhed a

596
00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:31.760
tear duck ruptured, trickling blood down her cheek. The maggots

597
00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:35.880
poked their heads out inquisitively, and then ducked back inside

598
00:39:35.920 --> 00:39:45.559
the girl's face. Clarissa collapsed to the floor unconscious. Ross

599
00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:48.400
banged his head to the music and shut the water off.

600
00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:52.360
He roughly toweled his hair before stepping out of the shower,

601
00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:56.320
leaving a puddle on the tile. Mark Garvey was an

602
00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:00.239
excellent provider for his family, but his paternal abilit He

603
00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:05.000
stretched no further than cash transfers and check signing. Building

604
00:40:05.079 --> 00:40:07.920
the apartment over the garage, for Ross had allowed him

605
00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:10.920
to say I love you, son without having to actually

606
00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:15.599
spend any time with his offspring. Ross didn't give a damn.

607
00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:18.519
A father is just a low bar to surpass on

608
00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:22.079
your way to manhood. As far as he was concerned,

609
00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:25.599
he had. Ross saw the apartment as his dad's way

610
00:40:25.639 --> 00:40:30.519
of acknowledging his son's superiority. Ross used the towel to

611
00:40:30.559 --> 00:40:33.840
clear steam from the mirror. If Clarissa wanted to be

612
00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:38.440
an uptight cockts, that was fine by him. Two fives

613
00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.800
was a ten, and Clarissa's best friends Trina and Miley

614
00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:45.360
were certainly fives. Neither of them was going to get

615
00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:48.480
a first stringer on their own, so when he made

616
00:40:48.519 --> 00:40:52.199
the offer, they jumped at it. A threesome with ugly

617
00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:56.199
chicks was still a threesome. Ross dried himself off with

618
00:40:56.320 --> 00:40:59.519
half assed effort, tossing the towel into the hamper with

619
00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:02.480
the rest of the week's laundry. If his mom was

620
00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:04.400
going to wash it, she could at least come and

621
00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:06.599
get it instead of waiting for him to bring it

622
00:41:06.639 --> 00:41:10.760
to the laundry room. He ignored the impending inconvenience of

623
00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:13.880
lugging the clothes down the stairs that he walked down

624
00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:16.840
every day, and focused on getting ready for his date

625
00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:22.159
fuck me. He leaned close to the mirror to examine

626
00:41:22.199 --> 00:41:25.199
the boil on his lip. It looked like a pimple

627
00:41:25.239 --> 00:41:29.159
at first, but then he saw the inflamed red edges.

628
00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:34.800
Ross banged a fist on the counter. He grabbed his phone. Hey, Siri,

629
00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:39.320
what does herpes look like? He knew raw dogging Jackie

630
00:41:39.400 --> 00:41:42.519
Banks had been a bad idea, but he thought buying

631
00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:44.760
the Plan B would be the last he heard of it.

632
00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:49.280
Obviously not, he realized as he prodded the sore.

633
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:55.679
U, sh it was only the wind. You are safe, weekly, spooky,

634
00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:56.800
We'll be right back.

635
00:41:59.239 --> 00:42:02.039
Siri gave him a list of links for more information.

636
00:42:02.840 --> 00:42:06.559
Reading was never his strong suit, so he decided on

637
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:10.800
a more realistic approach. He'd steal some concealer from his

638
00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:14.599
mom's makeup kit and forget about it. He poked at

639
00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:19.920
it once more and it poked back. Ross flinched. He

640
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:22.639
put his fingers on his lip and felt the wound

641
00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:26.519
pulsing against the tips. He brought his face as close

642
00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:28.760
to the mirror as he could. In the center of

643
00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:34.679
the boil was a tiny white head. Shit, this is

644
00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:38.800
going to suck. He prepared himself to try and pop it.

645
00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:44.039
The head bulged but didn't rupture. Blood spurted in tiny

646
00:42:44.119 --> 00:42:48.679
drops against the glass. Ross smashed harder. The pain grew

647
00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:53.440
more intense. The boil finally broke open. The maggot dangled

648
00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:58.599
from the edge, squirming wildly. Ross stumbled away, shrieking. His

649
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:01.960
feet slipped in the puddle beneath him, and then flew

650
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:05.599
into the air. His head cracked open on the edge

651
00:43:05.599 --> 00:43:10.079
of the tub, oozing its contents onto the tile. The

652
00:43:10.119 --> 00:43:13.320
maggots wiggled from the puff filled wound and made for

653
00:43:13.400 --> 00:43:17.559
the green pastures of his nostril. Trina and Miley would

654
00:43:17.599 --> 00:43:21.760
be pissed, but not surprised that Ross stood them up.

655
00:43:22.440 --> 00:43:26.280
His father wouldn't bother coming by, neither would his friends.

656
00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:30.119
No one would know he was missing until his mother

657
00:43:30.239 --> 00:43:35.800
came to collect the laundry on Monday. By then, the

658
00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:45.480
maggot would be no more. The aerosol can sputtered, with

659
00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:48.719
the last of its contents coming out in a pathetic spittle.

660
00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:52.960
Hube went to trash the depleted bug spray. It was

661
00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:56.400
the second can he'd used in three days. The house

662
00:43:56.480 --> 00:44:01.159
flies zigged and zagged through his kitchen, bounced off his forehead,

663
00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:05.679
no doubt intoxicated by the discount insecticide, he swung the

664
00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:08.440
can like a billy club, knocking one of the pests

665
00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:11.960
from the air. It's going all the way for the fences,

666
00:44:12.599 --> 00:44:16.639
hub chuckled, about the only way this shit is killing anything.

667
00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:20.440
Hub stepped on the pedal and the trash can lid

668
00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:24.280
flipped up. A buzzing, black cloud of insects swarmed from

669
00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:29.280
the darkened sanctuary of rot and filth. Hub backpedaled, swinging

670
00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:32.199
the can wildly but still batting a few. As the

671
00:44:32.280 --> 00:44:36.239
kitchen filled with flies, he watched a pair of the big,

672
00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:39.760
brightly colored ones darting in and out of the pestilent cloud.

673
00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:43.039
Huby made it from the kitchen and slammed the door.

674
00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:46.119
He grabbed the quilt from the back of the sofa

675
00:44:46.360 --> 00:44:48.800
and stuffed it into the crack at the floor to

676
00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:54.760
keep the bastards inside. Lord have mercy, he muttered. The

677
00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:57.760
drone of the flies could be heard through the farmhouse's

678
00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:01.119
thick wood door. Hube stared down at the quilt and

679
00:45:01.159 --> 00:45:04.760
felt a tinge of guilt. His late wife, Clara had

680
00:45:04.760 --> 00:45:08.000
made it herself. She'd been so proud that he hadn't

681
00:45:08.039 --> 00:45:10.679
bothered telling her it was the ugliest damn thing he'd

682
00:45:10.719 --> 00:45:14.480
ever seen. Clara would have kept him in line. He

683
00:45:14.519 --> 00:45:17.480
should have taken the trash out two days before. There

684
00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:21.039
were several dirty plates sitting in the sink. He'd practically

685
00:45:21.039 --> 00:45:24.800
set the table for the damitable pests. Huby started for

686
00:45:24.840 --> 00:45:27.599
the front door. He kept a pump sprayer of good

687
00:45:27.639 --> 00:45:30.760
poison in his garage. It was meant for outdoor use,

688
00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:33.519
but Huby didn't figure it would matter at his age.

689
00:45:34.199 --> 00:45:37.719
Huby's hand stopped short of the knob. The buzzing wasn't

690
00:45:37.719 --> 00:45:40.639
as loud as that of the infested kitchen, but it

691
00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:44.000
was loud none the less. He eased the door open

692
00:45:44.039 --> 00:45:46.719
and found them clinging to the screen beyond in such

693
00:45:46.840 --> 00:45:50.039
numbers that had obscured his view of the pasture beyond.

694
00:45:50.639 --> 00:45:54.840
A cool breeze carried the moist, grotesque stench of the dump.

695
00:45:55.519 --> 00:45:58.960
He'd inherited his childhood home and the expanse of land

696
00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:02.199
when his parents passed away. That had been a bad

697
00:46:02.280 --> 00:46:05.159
time for him. He'd been nipples deep in debt, so

698
00:46:05.320 --> 00:46:08.360
crippling that he'd sold the adjacent parcel to the county

699
00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:13.239
without asking any questions. Perhaps if he had and waited

700
00:46:13.280 --> 00:46:16.440
out other offers, he wouldn't live next to the new dump.

701
00:46:17.079 --> 00:46:20.320
Hube squinted through the swarm, and in the dying light

702
00:46:20.360 --> 00:46:23.679
of day, he could have sworn someone was walking through

703
00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:27.519
the pasture. Normally he'd run them off, but he wasn't

704
00:46:27.519 --> 00:46:31.000
about to risk letting more flies in. He shut the

705
00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:34.639
front door with a sigh. What was one more trespasser?

706
00:46:34.679 --> 00:46:37.639
He thought the cold front was supposed to roll in

707
00:46:37.719 --> 00:46:41.280
over the next two days, so worst case scenario, he'd

708
00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:44.480
have his kitchen back in forty eight hours. He wasn't

709
00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:47.920
much of a cook anyhow. Hughbe cast a final glance

710
00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:51.599
at the quilt and headed for bed. He made it

711
00:46:51.639 --> 00:46:53.880
to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door.

712
00:46:54.519 --> 00:46:58.280
Flies buzzed around the plastic tray of microwave meal he'd

713
00:46:58.320 --> 00:47:01.400
had before work and carelessly left on the bedside table.

714
00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:04.920
He followed one of the pretty ones as it flied

715
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.719
on to the other nightstand, Clara's nightstand, and crawled across

716
00:47:09.760 --> 00:47:14.840
the tattered bible she kept there. Hube's stomach soured. Every

717
00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.119
night they each read a chapter aloud for the forty

718
00:47:18.159 --> 00:47:21.840
three years they'd been married. He watched the shimmering body

719
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:25.960
convulse as the fly vomited on the embossed title. Hub

720
00:47:26.199 --> 00:47:28.800
backed out of the room and shut the door, thinking

721
00:47:28.840 --> 00:47:32.000
of a name he'd read on those worn pages, and

722
00:47:32.119 --> 00:47:36.360
of a strange man walking across his property. He sauntered

723
00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:38.800
to the bathroom and stuffed towels along the bottom of

724
00:47:38.840 --> 00:47:41.840
the door before stepping over the steep side of the

725
00:47:41.920 --> 00:47:45.599
cast iron tub. He sank to the bottom for a long,

726
00:47:46.280 --> 00:47:49.800
uncomfortable night as he pulled a towel over himself for

727
00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:54.039
a blanket. Hube would take the bathroom, The rest of

728
00:47:54.079 --> 00:47:58.119
the house, and maybe the entire town now belonged to them,

729
00:47:59.239 --> 00:48:10.400
belonged to be Yelzebub, the Lord of the flies. Clarissa

730
00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:14.199
sat in the wheelchair, probing the gauze with her finger tips.

731
00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:17.840
There was no definition beneath, not like there should have

732
00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:21.559
been a shadow passed overhead, allowing her to see her

733
00:48:21.559 --> 00:48:25.599
reflection in the hospital window. The rest of the eggs

734
00:48:25.599 --> 00:48:28.639
had hatched on the ride to the emergency room. Any

735
00:48:28.719 --> 00:48:32.239
infection she'd gotten from the candy snorting challenge had been

736
00:48:32.280 --> 00:48:35.760
disposed of in short order by the hundreds of starving

737
00:48:35.840 --> 00:48:41.800
larvae birthing in her sinus cavities. However, they'd taken plenty

738
00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:45.719
of good tissue along with it. She looked at her reflection,

739
00:48:45.960 --> 00:48:49.280
wondering how much of her nose was still there. It

740
00:48:49.320 --> 00:48:53.559
didn't feel like any beneath the thick dressing. She'd always

741
00:48:53.639 --> 00:48:56.760
had a small nose, a cute little button that everyone

742
00:48:56.920 --> 00:49:00.760
envied her for, especially her mother. It was going to

743
00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:05.800
be much much smaller now. She moved her touch to

744
00:49:05.880 --> 00:49:09.559
the eye patch next, the doctors saved the organ itself,

745
00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:13.400
since the maggots had been too preoccupied eating her eyelid.

746
00:49:14.039 --> 00:49:17.039
She looked down at the emergency entrance as another ambulance

747
00:49:17.079 --> 00:49:21.000
pulled up. The plummeting temperature was forcing the flies away,

748
00:49:21.519 --> 00:49:24.639
back to wherever flies went when it became too cold.

749
00:49:25.199 --> 00:49:27.920
She was afraid some would find their ways into homes,

750
00:49:28.320 --> 00:49:30.440
but the nurse told her not to worry about it.

751
00:49:31.079 --> 00:49:33.119
There was a new challenge, and all the kids were

752
00:49:33.119 --> 00:49:37.119
busy hurting themselves that way. She wondered if pictures of

753
00:49:37.159 --> 00:49:41.079
her maggot riddled face would go viral as quickly. Maybe

754
00:49:41.079 --> 00:49:44.559
if enough people saw that they'd think twice before listening

755
00:49:44.559 --> 00:49:48.039
to some kid on the internet. The paramedics unloaded a

756
00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:51.559
gurney from the back of the ambulance. Clarissa couldn't tell

757
00:49:51.639 --> 00:49:54.480
much about the kid, except that she had a vacuum

758
00:49:54.480 --> 00:49:57.840
hose stuck to her lips. She glanced at her reflection

759
00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:00.840
once more. I hope it it turns out better for

760
00:50:00.920 --> 00:50:04.519
you than it did for me, kid, she whispered. The

761
00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:08.440
cloud passed by and her reflection vanished. She watched the

762
00:50:08.480 --> 00:50:12.000
paramedics wheel the girl inside and noticed the darkened figure

763
00:50:12.119 --> 00:50:15.639
standing on the other side of the ambulance. She hadn't

764
00:50:15.639 --> 00:50:20.079
seen him approach. He stood there, watching the girl and

765
00:50:20.159 --> 00:50:25.920
then looking up looking at Clarissa. She squinted her uncovered eye,

766
00:50:25.960 --> 00:50:30.400
trying to make out his face, but couldn't. A tap

767
00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:32.719
on the glass drew her attention to the corner of

768
00:50:32.760 --> 00:50:37.039
the window. One of the big shiny flies budded against

769
00:50:37.119 --> 00:50:41.280
the glass. Its mouth parts dragged the surface, leaving a

770
00:50:41.280 --> 00:50:45.519
phosphorescent slime trail as it looked for a way inside.

771
00:50:45.679 --> 00:50:49.639
The cold fall breeze battered its membranous wings until it

772
00:50:49.679 --> 00:50:54.519
turned into a gust and tore one off entirely. Hope

773
00:50:54.559 --> 00:50:57.679
you fucking die slow, She muttered.

774
00:50:58.599 --> 00:51:02.840
More scarce to come weekly, spooky, We'll be right back.

775
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:08.840
She cast one last look to the man in black,

776
00:51:09.440 --> 00:51:13.119
but he gone exactly as he came. She rolled her

777
00:51:13.199 --> 00:51:17.119
chair backwards and turned it to leave the room. Her

778
00:51:17.159 --> 00:51:19.960
phone sat on the table beside her with a dead battery.

779
00:51:20.880 --> 00:51:23.920
She was done with phones. She had spent over half

780
00:51:23.960 --> 00:51:26.159
her life with one in front of her face, and

781
00:51:26.239 --> 00:51:28.280
now she had half a face for the rest of

782
00:51:28.280 --> 00:51:32.159
her life because of it. Yes, she was done with

783
00:51:32.280 --> 00:51:42.199
phones and candy. Kara Garvey knocked on the apartment door again,

784
00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:47.360
but her son didn't answer, typical. She worked the spare

785
00:51:47.480 --> 00:51:50.679
key into the lock and stepped inside to discover Ross

786
00:51:50.719 --> 00:51:54.440
had become an even bigger slob over the weekend. The

787
00:51:54.440 --> 00:51:57.639
blankets hung off his unfolded futon and missed a sea

788
00:51:57.679 --> 00:52:02.599
of dorido crumbs. Empty monster cans occupied almost every surface,

789
00:52:03.079 --> 00:52:07.880
along with protein shaker cups and their curdled contents. His

790
00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:11.000
god awful music blasted from the bathroom, where the worst

791
00:52:11.039 --> 00:52:15.639
of all the conflicting odors seemed to emanate from. Kara huffed,

792
00:52:16.639 --> 00:52:18.840
just because you don't pay the electric bill doesn't mean

793
00:52:18.840 --> 00:52:21.800
it's free, she complained. On her way to turn off

794
00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:26.719
the stereo. She pushed open the door and screamed. The

795
00:52:26.760 --> 00:52:30.360
startled insects buzzed away from the buffet, leaving their larval

796
00:52:30.480 --> 00:52:34.599
offspring to to bride. The wounds. Bits of meat clung

797
00:52:34.679 --> 00:52:40.360
to bare bones, pupas incubated the necrotic organs. Kara stumbled away,

798
00:52:40.400 --> 00:52:44.119
but the swarm engulfed her. She swatted and batted at

799
00:52:44.159 --> 00:52:47.039
them wildly. She made it to the door and tumbled

800
00:52:47.079 --> 00:52:50.800
down the stairs along the side of the garage. Most

801
00:52:50.800 --> 00:52:54.119
of the insects retreated back into the apartment, but she

802
00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:58.079
watched a shiny one, like a flying oil slick, dart

803
00:52:58.119 --> 00:53:02.599
away in search of a new den. Kara rolled over,

804
00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:07.000
crying out as broken bones grated across themselves. A man

805
00:53:07.159 --> 00:53:10.400
stood at the end of the driveway. Kara stretched a

806
00:53:10.440 --> 00:53:17.440
hand out for him. Help me, she whimpered. He stood there, unmoving.

807
00:53:18.280 --> 00:53:21.559
He seemed out of focus and didn't say a word.

808
00:53:22.840 --> 00:53:29.239
Kara blinked away tears. His form remained distorted. Please help me,

809
00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:34.039
she said louder. The wail of a siren drew her

810
00:53:34.079 --> 00:53:38.480
attention to the ambulance streaking down Derby Street. They'd heard

811
00:53:38.519 --> 00:53:41.960
a lot of those over the last week. An outbreak

812
00:53:41.960 --> 00:53:45.719
of my asses had overcome the town's livestock, but several

813
00:53:45.800 --> 00:53:48.880
pets and a few people had been fly struck as well.

814
00:53:49.840 --> 00:53:52.639
The best theory anyone could come up with was that

815
00:53:52.760 --> 00:53:57.639
the new dump harbored a hybrid species of botfly. Kara

816
00:53:57.719 --> 00:54:00.000
looked back to the man in black as the ambulance

817
00:54:00.079 --> 00:54:04.400
and screamed past them. His body exploded into a swirling

818
00:54:04.519 --> 00:54:09.239
column of black flies. Millions of them, huddled together for warmth,

819
00:54:09.559 --> 00:54:12.760
rose up in a great black cloud, and blotted out

820
00:54:12.760 --> 00:54:17.280
the light as they passed over her in search of food.

821
00:54:18.360 --> 00:54:21.920
It wouldn't take them long. In a town like Kohler,

822
00:54:22.800 --> 00:54:33.920
there were plenty of dead things. The Last Vacation by

823
00:54:33.960 --> 00:54:42.119
Mike Ashkewy, February first, two thy twenty four. I wanted

824
00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:45.480
a car for my eighteenth birthday. Instead, I got a

825
00:54:45.519 --> 00:54:50.559
really expensive journal and pen. My mom said she wanted

826
00:54:50.559 --> 00:54:53.880
me to remember the best days of my life and

827
00:54:54.000 --> 00:54:57.199
told me to write them down so I wouldn't lose

828
00:54:57.239 --> 00:55:00.400
them on the web or to a server outage. So

829
00:55:01.519 --> 00:55:05.719
this is my attempt at doing just that. Maybe she'll

830
00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:09.800
be right, maybe she won't, But it'll kill some time

831
00:55:09.880 --> 00:55:15.400
on our family vacation I didn't ask for. Most kids

832
00:55:15.440 --> 00:55:18.760
would be thrilled for fun in the sun, but I

833
00:55:18.920 --> 00:55:23.159
burn easily, I don't wear revealing outfits outside of a hoodie,

834
00:55:23.800 --> 00:55:28.119
and I don't like people much. My stepmom Jill told

835
00:55:28.159 --> 00:55:31.159
me that she met my dad Peter on an ancient

836
00:55:31.199 --> 00:55:36.239
website called live journal, back when dinosaurs roamed the Internet.

837
00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:40.960
Both really value the written word, but didn't always agree

838
00:55:41.000 --> 00:55:45.360
with the format or forum. So for the next twelve days,

839
00:55:45.559 --> 00:55:48.920
I'm stuck here with my stupid step brother Roger and

840
00:55:49.000 --> 00:55:53.639
my parents in a tropical paradise, trapped on a boat

841
00:55:53.719 --> 00:55:57.480
filled with escapees from the Old Folks Home and boomers

842
00:55:57.519 --> 00:56:03.519
looking for new places to have sex. Gross. Look, I'm

843
00:56:03.559 --> 00:56:06.559
not stupid. I know I should be thrilled for this

844
00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:11.239
family vacation, but I can read between the lines. Jill

845
00:56:11.320 --> 00:56:15.000
and Peter are going to get a divorce. Honestly, I'd

846
00:56:15.039 --> 00:56:18.159
be surprised if they made it to the summer. Roger

847
00:56:18.159 --> 00:56:21.559
and I both heard the fighting over Christmas time, holly

848
00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:27.079
jolly yelling, screaming and sobbing, followed by lots of nights

849
00:56:27.119 --> 00:56:30.880
watching Dad sleep on the couch and crying himself to sleep.

850
00:56:31.760 --> 00:56:34.280
I hadn't heard him cry like that since my mom died,

851
00:56:34.800 --> 00:56:39.639
my real mom. What happened between them, I don't know,

852
00:56:39.960 --> 00:56:43.960
and I don't really care. This is some desperate attempt

853
00:56:44.039 --> 00:56:47.079
to show that we're still fine, that we can still

854
00:56:47.119 --> 00:56:50.079
be a family. But I know when the clock is

855
00:56:50.119 --> 00:56:53.360
about to run out. It's not like Jill sucks either

856
00:56:53.719 --> 00:56:57.880
or my dad is perfect. Sometimes things just don't work out.

857
00:56:58.800 --> 00:57:03.920
Sometimes I'm handling it fine, I can deal, but Roger

858
00:57:04.039 --> 00:57:07.559
is taking it hard. Sure he's sixteen in pretty tough

859
00:57:07.559 --> 00:57:11.639
in a lot of ways, but he's hurting. He'll be okay, though,

860
00:57:12.079 --> 00:57:14.760
Even if me and Dad leave. He'll get a football

861
00:57:14.800 --> 00:57:19.559
scholarship and be into girls, beer bongs and concussions. He'll

862
00:57:19.559 --> 00:57:23.360
be okay. I'm off to college in the fall, and

863
00:57:23.440 --> 00:57:26.320
then I can finally leave Cincinnati in the rear view

864
00:57:26.599 --> 00:57:31.440
and start my life any place that isn't Ohio. Ronda

865
00:57:31.559 --> 00:57:35.760
Canavan has bigger ambitions than managing a Starbucks until I'm

866
00:57:35.800 --> 00:57:40.840
dead or working at Walmart till I'm wearing depens. Maybe

867
00:57:40.840 --> 00:57:44.280
these are the best days of my life right. Sometimes

868
00:57:44.320 --> 00:57:47.920
I even believe that I'm so tired from driving down

869
00:57:47.960 --> 00:57:51.800
I seventy five to Fort Lauderdale, listening to shitty political

870
00:57:51.880 --> 00:57:55.760
radio and Taylor Swift SAPs my will to live. My

871
00:57:55.880 --> 00:57:59.320
parents told me radio wasn't only shit, but I have

872
00:57:59.360 --> 00:58:02.760
a hard time leaving that time to settle into the

873
00:58:02.760 --> 00:58:05.679
hotel room for the night. Tomorrow we board the cruise

874
00:58:05.719 --> 00:58:09.320
ship and start our whirlwind tour of places I never

875
00:58:09.360 --> 00:58:13.360
had any intention of visiting anyway. Of course, the fucking

876
00:58:13.440 --> 00:58:17.760
Wi Fi doesn't even work in this place. February second,

877
00:58:18.239 --> 00:58:22.559
twenty twenty four, spent most of the day boarding this

878
00:58:22.760 --> 00:58:27.280
giant cruise ship, the Vanguard of the seas. It's like

879
00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:31.320
being on an aircraft carrier. The ship is absolutely huge

880
00:58:31.320 --> 00:58:35.039
and just full of people and stuff to do. There

881
00:58:35.079 --> 00:58:39.239
are tons of options for food, entertainment, pools, and even

882
00:58:39.280 --> 00:58:43.159
casinos and amusement park. Shit. Saw so many types of

883
00:58:43.159 --> 00:58:47.559
different people, not just people collecting Social Security either, and

884
00:58:47.679 --> 00:58:51.039
quite a few kids close to rogers in my age,

885
00:58:51.119 --> 00:58:54.679
a collection of America and likely the world, just all

886
00:58:54.719 --> 00:58:58.199
intermixing and expecting to have a good time and spend

887
00:58:58.280 --> 00:59:01.440
a buttload of cash while doing it. I don't want

888
00:59:01.440 --> 00:59:04.079
to imagine how much my parents paid for this trip,

889
00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:06.639
but I hope it didn't come out of my college fund.

890
00:59:07.480 --> 00:59:09.599
Makes me glad. I've saved up a bunch of money

891
00:59:09.599 --> 00:59:13.480
from working at Starbucks and doing other kids homework at school.

892
00:59:14.800 --> 00:59:18.239
Girls got a pay her bills, and I have expensive hobbies,

893
00:59:18.920 --> 00:59:23.800
nerdy hobbies. Okay, one expensive hobby, but it's how I

894
00:59:23.880 --> 00:59:27.199
met my friends Trey Owen and Jenna. We all played

895
00:59:27.239 --> 00:59:30.960
Dungeons and Dragons together Wednesday nights after work. I float

896
00:59:31.000 --> 00:59:35.119
the bill for the books maps and the little game Chochkeys.

897
00:59:35.679 --> 00:59:38.599
Roger always comes in and starts quoting Game of Thrones

898
00:59:38.639 --> 00:59:41.039
at us. Though we all had a laugh when I

899
00:59:41.119 --> 00:59:43.960
kicked him in the balls last year and called myself Kalisa,

900
00:59:44.280 --> 00:59:47.960
breaker of balls. It's okay. He got back at me

901
00:59:48.119 --> 00:59:50.159
when he snapped my bra so hard it bent a

902
00:59:50.199 --> 00:59:52.880
clasp and left a nasty welt on my back for

903
00:59:52.920 --> 00:59:57.360
a week. After we all had family dinner, I started

904
00:59:57.400 --> 01:00:00.480
wandering around the upper deck of the ship. Jill and

905
01:00:00.559 --> 01:00:02.719
Dad went off to do some couple stuff, I think,

906
01:00:02.800 --> 01:00:07.719
and Roger is off doing Roger things. My guess is

907
01:00:07.920 --> 01:00:14.119
likely trying cheesy pickup lines on girls, trying and failing badly.

908
01:00:15.159 --> 01:00:17.480
It's pretty out here and sure as hell beats the

909
01:00:17.599 --> 01:00:22.199
urban decay of America's least memorable city. I don't hate it,

910
01:00:22.239 --> 01:00:26.280
but it's so painfully boring and dull. I just don't

911
01:00:26.280 --> 01:00:29.280
want to end up like my parents, working jobs they hate,

912
01:00:29.280 --> 01:00:31.400
in a city they hate, and in a marriage that

913
01:00:31.519 --> 01:00:36.079
is falling apart. I planted myself in a deck chair

914
01:00:36.079 --> 01:00:39.599
and just watched the stars tonight. Typically you get light

915
01:00:39.639 --> 01:00:42.199
pollution from the city and you don't see a lot

916
01:00:42.239 --> 01:00:45.320
except the moon. If I had a boyfriend, or hell,

917
01:00:45.719 --> 01:00:50.960
even a girlfriend, this would be romantic, but nope, just me,

918
01:00:51.440 --> 01:00:56.079
my oversized hoodie, a little book, and my pen. It's

919
01:00:56.119 --> 01:00:59.840
weird though, tonight. The sky is all sorts of odd colors,

920
01:00:59.840 --> 01:01:02.400
and I don't think it's the Aurora or anything like that.

921
01:01:03.440 --> 01:01:05.880
I know the news before we left had mentioned something

922
01:01:05.920 --> 01:01:10.480
about some space stuff happening this week. I wasn't really listening,

923
01:01:10.519 --> 01:01:14.320
but it does look cool at least, swirling greens and purples,

924
01:01:14.599 --> 01:01:20.679
all sorts of different colors. But they feel wrong somehow.

925
01:01:21.400 --> 01:01:23.800
Some of the stuff that relies on cell signals and

926
01:01:23.880 --> 01:01:27.920
Wi Fi is being affected too. Can't maintain a stable connection,

927
01:01:28.039 --> 01:01:31.320
and so I can maybe see my social media for

928
01:01:31.400 --> 01:01:36.119
all of like five seconds I suppose it's better that way.

929
01:01:37.000 --> 01:01:39.840
I'm supposed to be out here enjoying the ocean, the surf,

930
01:01:40.239 --> 01:01:44.440
and the skies, whatever the nautical version of touching grasses,

931
01:01:45.599 --> 01:01:47.960
I don't need to be connected twenty four seven. And

932
01:01:48.039 --> 01:01:50.800
maybe I'll enjoy myself a little bit more if I

933
01:01:50.840 --> 01:01:55.360
forget there is a world beyond the ocean. Tomorrow will

934
01:01:55.400 --> 01:02:00.519
be good. Maybe tomorrow I'll go do some family stuff

935
01:02:00.800 --> 01:02:03.440
and try to actually have a good time. I mean,

936
01:02:04.000 --> 01:02:06.599
how often does one get whisked off to a tropical

937
01:02:06.599 --> 01:02:09.360
paradise free of charge?

938
01:02:10.159 --> 01:02:14.639
If you're not afraid, then you're already dead. Weekly spooky,

939
01:02:14.719 --> 01:02:15.639
We'll be right back.

940
01:02:17.119 --> 01:02:22.199
February third, twenty twenty four. I actually had a pretty

941
01:02:22.239 --> 01:02:24.920
great day today. We all went down to the pool

942
01:02:24.960 --> 01:02:28.800
and managed some laughter and it didn't seem awkward or forced.

943
01:02:29.320 --> 01:02:31.480
I haven't seen my dad smile like that in a

944
01:02:31.519 --> 01:02:35.119
long time, probably when Jill surprised him on his birthday

945
01:02:35.199 --> 01:02:38.199
last year. She got him a sweet new laptop and

946
01:02:38.320 --> 01:02:41.440
drawing tablet for him to do his artwork on. Dad

947
01:02:41.519 --> 01:02:44.440
is an artist, or at least he thinks he is.

948
01:02:44.880 --> 01:02:48.639
He loves to draw and doodle, even occasionally manages to

949
01:02:48.679 --> 01:02:53.320
sell some art to local companies. Nothing profitable, but he

950
01:02:53.360 --> 01:02:55.840
loves it. Jill is the one who brings in the

951
01:02:55.880 --> 01:03:00.360
real money. She's an electrical engineer at the university. And

952
01:03:00.360 --> 01:03:03.840
I went off and started poking around the ship. Basically,

953
01:03:03.920 --> 01:03:07.239
he wanted to see how big this floating palace actually is.

954
01:03:08.039 --> 01:03:11.280
We discovered all sorts of neat stuff, even found out

955
01:03:11.320 --> 01:03:14.639
they actually have a security force to deal with pirates.

956
01:03:15.280 --> 01:03:17.199
We saw a couple of the guys dealing with a

957
01:03:17.239 --> 01:03:22.079
few unruly guests in a corridor. It looked like a

958
01:03:22.119 --> 01:03:25.119
hell of a fight too. We didn't hear any shooting,

959
01:03:25.199 --> 01:03:29.599
but Jesus there was blood, gore and discarded drinks everywhere.

960
01:03:30.159 --> 01:03:32.400
Couldn't tell what happened, but it looked like a few

961
01:03:32.440 --> 01:03:35.519
old guys got into it with a bunch of dude bros.

962
01:03:36.199 --> 01:03:37.960
I think one of the old guys bit one of

963
01:03:38.000 --> 01:03:41.320
the dudes and tore a chunk out of him. It's nasty,

964
01:03:41.480 --> 01:03:44.239
but if I'd gotten that on video, I could have

965
01:03:44.280 --> 01:03:48.320
posted it on YouTube or TikTok for Internet cloud. The

966
01:03:48.360 --> 01:03:51.159
Renna cops told us to fuck off, so we did

967
01:03:51.199 --> 01:03:54.679
and headed back above deck and back into the sun again.

968
01:03:55.320 --> 01:03:57.199
We spent the rest of the day at the pool

969
01:03:57.239 --> 01:03:59.920
and in the restaurant. People were talking about the end

970
01:04:00.360 --> 01:04:04.360
at dinner, and everyone was gossiping about it. I suppose

971
01:04:04.440 --> 01:04:07.480
in a weird way, this is like a self contained

972
01:04:07.559 --> 01:04:11.039
high school, and juicy gossip gets dished out along with

973
01:04:11.119 --> 01:04:14.360
the soup of the day. After everyone had dinner and

974
01:04:14.400 --> 01:04:17.159
went their separate ways for the night. I did the same.

975
01:04:18.280 --> 01:04:20.880
Roger found himself an arcade, and I think that's where

976
01:04:20.880 --> 01:04:24.239
he'll spend most of this trip. I don't know where

977
01:04:24.280 --> 01:04:26.639
my parents ended up, but if I had to guess,

978
01:04:27.199 --> 01:04:29.039
they weren't going to waste a good day and a

979
01:04:29.119 --> 01:04:32.480
room with no kids. I'd found a nice place at

980
01:04:32.480 --> 01:04:34.480
the back of the ship where it was kind of quiet,

981
01:04:34.760 --> 01:04:37.559
private and had a good vantage point of the ocean

982
01:04:37.599 --> 01:04:42.039
and the horizon. The sky was that same weird color

983
01:04:42.079 --> 01:04:46.159
again tonight. I also heard a lot of noise coming

984
01:04:46.199 --> 01:04:50.920
from far off too. It sounded like jets or something.

985
01:04:51.679 --> 01:04:53.800
I didn't think we were near any air bases or

986
01:04:53.800 --> 01:04:57.920
anything like that. Probably outspending the hard earned tax dollars

987
01:04:57.960 --> 01:05:02.079
to pad their budgets. Looking up at the wrong looking colors,

988
01:05:02.199 --> 01:05:06.599
I saw a lot of airplanes tonight. I'm even seeing

989
01:05:06.599 --> 01:05:09.880
what I think are lights from other boats nearby. It

990
01:05:09.960 --> 01:05:12.840
seems like the seas are crowded tonight and privacy is

991
01:05:12.880 --> 01:05:16.400
going to be hard to come by. Of course, the

992
01:05:16.440 --> 01:05:20.719
Internet is completely down tonight too. The web page gives

993
01:05:20.719 --> 01:05:23.119
me some sort of an error, and I can't even

994
01:05:23.119 --> 01:05:26.079
get a signal for more than a few seconds. I

995
01:05:26.079 --> 01:05:30.559
thought I saw something on social media about something happening

996
01:05:30.639 --> 01:05:34.079
back on land, but before I could read past the headline,

997
01:05:34.880 --> 01:05:41.320
the page crashed something about a crisis. When isn't there

998
01:05:41.400 --> 01:05:44.880
one of those? Right Tomorrow, I'll try sun tanning for

999
01:05:44.920 --> 01:05:49.159
the first time in my entire life. No crisis here

1000
01:05:49.960 --> 01:06:00.000
except maybe sunburn. February fourth, twenty twenty four. This morning

1001
01:06:00.320 --> 01:06:03.480
I awoke to Dad shaking me awake and telling me

1002
01:06:03.559 --> 01:06:06.800
to get dressed. The crew had asked the passengers to

1003
01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:10.559
stand by for an important announcement and that information would

1004
01:06:10.559 --> 01:06:13.599
be coming in from the mainland. We were told to

1005
01:06:13.679 --> 01:06:19.079
stay calm and reassured that everything was okay. Clearly something

1006
01:06:19.159 --> 01:06:22.199
is fucked up when you hear that. We heard a

1007
01:06:22.280 --> 01:06:25.000
knock at the cabin door and a tray of food

1008
01:06:25.079 --> 01:06:27.840
was left for us. As we saw the crew moving

1009
01:06:27.880 --> 01:06:30.800
from door to door and calmly leaving food and not

1010
01:06:30.880 --> 01:06:33.639
saying a word to anyone who wasn't in a uniform.

1011
01:06:34.760 --> 01:06:39.960
Then it hit me the crew weren't just service people.

1012
01:06:41.159 --> 01:06:44.800
They were all armed somehow. Some of the crew were

1013
01:06:44.880 --> 01:06:48.079
those security guys we saw earlier, and some were others

1014
01:06:48.119 --> 01:06:53.840
who seemingly conscripted into whatever the fuck this was. The captain,

1015
01:06:53.920 --> 01:06:58.880
who identified themselves as Captain Paul Kennedy, said there was

1016
01:06:58.920 --> 01:07:02.760
an emergency situation developing on the mainland and we would

1017
01:07:02.800 --> 01:07:06.719
be remaining at sea until ordered otherwise. The military had

1018
01:07:06.719 --> 01:07:09.800
become involved and the Navy was ordering all vessels at

1019
01:07:09.840 --> 01:07:14.800
sea to remain there until the situation had changed. Something

1020
01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:22.280
was wrong. Then I heard it a gunshot. We all

1021
01:07:22.320 --> 01:07:24.440
looked at each other and didn't know what to make

1022
01:07:24.480 --> 01:07:31.960
of it. It couldn't be gunfire, could it. Then the screams,

1023
01:07:32.920 --> 01:07:38.280
first one, then many too many. It went on for

1024
01:07:38.400 --> 01:07:42.880
what seemed like forever. I'll never forget when it stopped either.

1025
01:07:47.039 --> 01:07:51.519
Eleven fifty two am. Another voice came over the intercom,

1026
01:07:52.400 --> 01:07:55.760
and it wasn't the captains this time it was an

1027
01:07:55.800 --> 01:07:59.800
older lady and she identified herself as the ship's doctor,

1028
01:08:00.679 --> 01:08:04.679
Doctor Chang. She said there was a sickness on board,

1029
01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:08.000
and everyone would have to submit to examination by the

1030
01:08:08.039 --> 01:08:13.119
medical staff and security. Any refusal would mean being locked

1031
01:08:13.199 --> 01:08:17.640
up in the brig or removal from the ship by

1032
01:08:17.680 --> 01:08:23.079
any means necessary. Why am I still writing. I guess

1033
01:08:23.159 --> 01:08:26.479
it helps me to keep calm. I need to stay

1034
01:08:26.520 --> 01:08:33.800
calm and clear headed. February fifth, two thy twenty five.

1035
01:08:35.039 --> 01:08:39.640
It's bad. I don't know what it is, but it's bad.

1036
01:08:40.960 --> 01:08:44.560
The doctors came in this morning and examined everyone and

1037
01:08:44.640 --> 01:08:47.479
told us to move our stuff to a different, more

1038
01:08:47.520 --> 01:08:51.039
secure area of the ship. We were told to bring

1039
01:08:51.119 --> 01:08:54.680
only the essentials, and everything else would be provided for us.

1040
01:08:55.399 --> 01:08:59.800
I grabbed this book, my pen, and the hoodie Dad

1041
01:08:59.800 --> 01:09:03.920
had gotten me when we went to Washington in ninth grade.

1042
01:09:03.960 --> 01:09:07.279
Everyone else packed what they figured was important, but it

1043
01:09:07.319 --> 01:09:10.399
all seemed like it was grabbed out of panic or

1044
01:09:10.960 --> 01:09:14.520
by instinct. They herded us all into one of the

1045
01:09:14.560 --> 01:09:17.800
big ballrooms and set it up like a field hospital

1046
01:09:18.159 --> 01:09:21.960
with cots and blankets. All the amenities and fun stuff

1047
01:09:22.039 --> 01:09:24.800
was stripped out, and it was as bare bones and

1048
01:09:24.880 --> 01:09:29.000
spartan as you could get. I did notice one thing, though.

1049
01:09:29.800 --> 01:09:33.359
There were remarkably few people over the age of sixty here,

1050
01:09:33.399 --> 01:09:38.640
with us. They're watching anyone who even sneezes like a hawk.

1051
01:09:39.520 --> 01:09:42.720
Were also surrounded on all sides by people with guns

1052
01:09:42.720 --> 01:09:48.800
and batons. We're not passengers anymore. We're being held here.

1053
01:09:50.199 --> 01:09:55.520
We're prisoners. I overheard some people talking. I must be wrong.

1054
01:09:55.840 --> 01:09:59.359
It sounded too crazy to be real. They were saying

1055
01:09:59.439 --> 01:10:02.399
some kind of an incident had happened on the mainland

1056
01:10:02.840 --> 01:10:05.840
and was causing people to go crazy and kill each

1057
01:10:05.880 --> 01:10:13.159
other and eat each other like fucking zombies. There's no

1058
01:10:13.319 --> 01:10:18.079
way this is happening. This is not real. This is

1059
01:10:18.159 --> 01:10:22.279
real life, not Wednesday Night D and D and zombies

1060
01:10:22.439 --> 01:10:27.960
don't goddamn exist. One person even started screaming about zombies,

1061
01:10:28.399 --> 01:10:30.880
and the security guys beat on her with clubs and

1062
01:10:30.880 --> 01:10:34.720
batons till she started crying and begged them to stop.

1063
01:10:35.479 --> 01:10:37.600
She was dragged out of the room on a stretcher

1064
01:10:38.319 --> 01:10:42.359
and I never saw her again. It has to be

1065
01:10:42.399 --> 01:10:47.359
a biological weapon attack. Terrorists are like the Russians or

1066
01:10:47.399 --> 01:10:51.720
the North Koreans, or bad drugs like bath salts or fentanyl.

1067
01:10:52.720 --> 01:10:57.000
This isn't fucking happening to me. I'm supposed to be

1068
01:10:57.079 --> 01:10:57.680
on vacation.

1069
01:10:58.880 --> 01:11:04.039
If you thought that was just you wait weekly spooky,

1070
01:11:04.239 --> 01:11:05.279
We'll be right back.

1071
01:11:13.000 --> 01:11:19.479
February seventh, twenty twenty four. I can't sleep, and I'm

1072
01:11:19.520 --> 01:11:25.000
not sure anyone else is either. Everybody's on edge. Jill

1073
01:11:25.079 --> 01:11:29.279
hasn't slept in days, and frankly, she really looks sick.

1074
01:11:29.920 --> 01:11:32.680
I'm scared she'll get taken away by the ship's doctors

1075
01:11:32.760 --> 01:11:36.439
or the security goons. No one is taking any chances

1076
01:11:36.479 --> 01:11:39.359
at this point. Dad is trying to be a tough

1077
01:11:39.399 --> 01:11:43.239
guy to help her, but it's not working. He's not

1078
01:11:43.319 --> 01:11:48.279
a strong man. He's an artist. Dad cries at lifetime movies.

1079
01:11:49.199 --> 01:11:54.079
He just isn't equipped for this. Roger looks nervous and scared,

1080
01:11:54.800 --> 01:11:58.079
like he has this panicked look in his eyes. I

1081
01:11:58.119 --> 01:12:01.840
think he'll do something stupid for fuck's sake. Sit down

1082
01:12:01.880 --> 01:12:05.920
and shut up, and please don't cause trouble. People are

1083
01:12:05.960 --> 01:12:10.000
still talking and gossip is hot right now. Rumor is

1084
01:12:10.079 --> 01:12:15.439
that if you die, you don't you come back. It

1085
01:12:15.479 --> 01:12:19.520
doesn't even matter how you die, just that you come back.

1086
01:12:20.760 --> 01:12:24.159
We've heard gunshots coming from below decks at all hours

1087
01:12:24.199 --> 01:12:29.439
of the day and night since yesterday. One of the

1088
01:12:29.479 --> 01:12:33.479
security guards left a handheld radio behind and I listened

1089
01:12:33.479 --> 01:12:37.359
for as long as I could. I think I heard

1090
01:12:37.439 --> 01:12:41.560
all I needed to hear. Though it's over. We've lost

1091
01:12:41.600 --> 01:12:44.800
the engine room. The infection is spreading. We don't know

1092
01:12:44.840 --> 01:12:48.279
how to stop it except for a bullet to the head.

1093
01:12:49.319 --> 01:12:55.039
I don't want to die, not like that. February ninth,

1094
01:12:55.439 --> 01:13:01.000
twenty twenty four. I finally saw it happen. One of

1095
01:13:01.039 --> 01:13:03.279
the people beside me had a heart attack in the

1096
01:13:03.279 --> 01:13:06.760
middle of the night. No one noticed until she tore

1097
01:13:06.840 --> 01:13:09.520
the throat out of the person sleeping next to her.

1098
01:13:10.520 --> 01:13:13.279
It all happened so fast, but it felt like time

1099
01:13:13.399 --> 01:13:16.840
slowed down. All I could do was watch in horror.

1100
01:13:17.960 --> 01:13:21.520
There was so much blood. The guards started shooting, but

1101
01:13:21.600 --> 01:13:25.880
the person wouldn't die. It was so loud my ears

1102
01:13:25.920 --> 01:13:29.960
were ringing. Everyone else was screaming and yelling, but they

1103
01:13:30.000 --> 01:13:33.960
sounded far away. Finally, they shot the woman in the

1104
01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:39.039
head and she went down, but the body still kept twitching.

1105
01:13:39.920 --> 01:13:43.159
One of the guards leveled his weapon at the remaining passengers.

1106
01:13:43.800 --> 01:13:46.119
He reeked of booze, and the look on his face

1107
01:13:46.199 --> 01:13:50.439
was something I'll never forget. They enjoyed what they did.

1108
01:13:51.479 --> 01:13:56.199
They enjoyed pulling that trigger. A trio of guards stepped

1109
01:13:56.239 --> 01:13:59.239
forward in an aggressive manner towards the lot of us,

1110
01:14:00.039 --> 01:14:03.319
and one of them spoke, don't think for a second

1111
01:14:03.319 --> 01:14:06.119
that we will hesitate to do it again. You need

1112
01:14:06.199 --> 01:14:10.079
us more than we need you. The smallest of the

1113
01:14:10.119 --> 01:14:13.239
trio walked over to the person whose throat was ripped out,

1114
01:14:14.039 --> 01:14:16.880
pulled out his pistol, and shot them in the head

1115
01:14:17.399 --> 01:14:22.159
to punctuate the threat. We're not taking any chances. Now

1116
01:14:22.199 --> 01:14:27.880
clean this shit up. They threw the bodies overboard burial

1117
01:14:27.920 --> 01:14:32.720
at sea. Some kid followed them and started wailing as

1118
01:14:32.720 --> 01:14:36.039
the bodies hit the water. I think it was their

1119
01:14:36.079 --> 01:14:48.760
mom and dad. This is hell. I'm in hell. February twelfth,

1120
01:14:48.800 --> 01:14:53.359
twenty twenty four. Please tell me this is a nightmare.

1121
01:14:54.600 --> 01:14:59.680
Let me wake up. Security staff have started escorting female

1122
01:14:59.720 --> 01:15:04.760
pass listeners to alternative accommodations. Last night we woke up

1123
01:15:04.800 --> 01:15:09.520
to screaming again, but it wasn't another death. A man

1124
01:15:09.640 --> 01:15:12.880
was shouting as his wife and daughter were being forcibly removed.

1125
01:15:13.680 --> 01:15:15.680
One of the guards broke his nose with the butt

1126
01:15:15.680 --> 01:15:18.880
of a shotgun, and the rest just laughed and shouted

1127
01:15:18.920 --> 01:15:21.960
drunkenly for him to stay down. If he knew what

1128
01:15:22.079 --> 01:15:25.960
was good for him. Someone has to know that I existed.

1129
01:15:26.560 --> 01:15:28.880
If this keeps going as badly as it has been,

1130
01:15:29.600 --> 01:15:33.079
I need to leave a record of what happened. Someone

1131
01:15:33.199 --> 01:15:36.359
has to know that Ronda Canavan existed, that I was

1132
01:15:36.399 --> 01:15:39.439
a person, that I had a brother, parents and they

1133
01:15:39.520 --> 01:15:44.920
existed too. I had the best dog ever, Bugsy. I existed.

1134
01:15:44.960 --> 01:15:49.039
I had a life. Please, if you find this diary,

1135
01:15:49.159 --> 01:15:53.720
know that I tried and I lived. I just want

1136
01:15:53.760 --> 01:16:00.920
to go home. February fifteenth, twenty twenty four. We've all

1137
01:16:00.960 --> 01:16:05.039
been moved again. This time we're being isolated to two

1138
01:16:05.159 --> 01:16:09.199
decks and they've shut down the elevators. We're locked into

1139
01:16:09.239 --> 01:16:12.840
cabins and being given the absolute bare minimum for survival

1140
01:16:13.359 --> 01:16:17.640
and nothing else. There are a lot fewer of us

1141
01:16:17.720 --> 01:16:22.199
left now. The doctors in medical staff come by constantly

1142
01:16:22.840 --> 01:16:26.760
and aren't taking any chances now. The rent to cops

1143
01:16:26.760 --> 01:16:30.239
are also interrogating people about what skills they have and

1144
01:16:30.359 --> 01:16:35.239
taking them to the higher decks for necessary work. Dad

1145
01:16:35.279 --> 01:16:38.880
should be safe. Not much call for graphic design in

1146
01:16:38.920 --> 01:16:42.680
the zombie apocalypse, but I'm not so sure about Jill.

1147
01:16:43.800 --> 01:16:46.760
Jill is an engineer, and she'll want to help. She'll

1148
01:16:46.800 --> 01:16:49.840
want to protect us and do the right thing. We

1149
01:16:49.960 --> 01:16:53.279
haven't always seen eye to eye, but I know she's

1150
01:16:53.319 --> 01:16:57.680
a good person at heart. I keep hearing strange mechanical

1151
01:16:57.720 --> 01:17:01.960
noises coming from below decks. It doesn't sound good, and

1152
01:17:02.000 --> 01:17:06.359
I can smell something burning, like oil and plastic. Hopefully

1153
01:17:06.359 --> 01:17:09.920
they'll put her engineering skills to use. Maybe that means

1154
01:17:09.920 --> 01:17:14.399
we stay alive or afloat or something. I don't want

1155
01:17:14.399 --> 01:17:17.640
to think of the alternative, but I'm glad. I'm still

1156
01:17:17.680 --> 01:17:24.680
in my shapeless hoodie in sweats. February seventeenth, twenty twenty four.

1157
01:17:26.560 --> 01:17:31.000
They killed Roger. They came to take Jill for engineering

1158
01:17:31.039 --> 01:17:35.720
work duty. They weren't asking either. It was the middle

1159
01:17:35.760 --> 01:17:39.520
of the night when they came. It happened so quickly.

1160
01:17:40.319 --> 01:17:43.680
The door was kicked down and flashlights flooded the room.

1161
01:17:44.119 --> 01:17:47.079
Dad and I froze, but Roger tried to stop them.

1162
01:17:47.520 --> 01:17:50.199
Before he could even take a swing at the three guards,

1163
01:17:50.239 --> 01:17:53.640
they shot him in the head. Two of the bastards

1164
01:17:53.680 --> 01:17:57.239
even laughed as he crumpled to the floor. The woman

1165
01:17:57.279 --> 01:18:01.319
who shot him didn't laugh, though. Jill was hauled away

1166
01:18:01.359 --> 01:18:06.479
screaming hysterically, covered in the contents of Roger's skull. That

1167
01:18:06.960 --> 01:18:08.359
was the last time I saw Jill.

1168
01:18:08.439 --> 01:18:08.800
Alive.

1169
01:18:10.319 --> 01:18:12.159
The thing that will haunt me for the rest of

1170
01:18:12.199 --> 01:18:15.880
my life was the terrified look in her eyes as

1171
01:18:15.880 --> 01:18:19.159
they hauled her off her feet and into the corridor.

1172
01:18:20.720 --> 01:18:23.159
We need to get off the boat or we're gonna

1173
01:18:23.199 --> 01:18:28.039
die next or worse. Dad hasn't said a word since

1174
01:18:28.039 --> 01:18:31.600
they took Jill. He has a defeated look, like he's

1175
01:18:31.640 --> 01:18:38.920
a thousand miles away and he's not coming back. February nineteenth,

1176
01:18:39.359 --> 01:18:44.159
twenty twenty four. I am not going to die here.

1177
01:18:44.840 --> 01:18:48.920
I am going to escape. I don't know how, but

1178
01:18:49.000 --> 01:18:52.640
I have an idea. I've seen plenty of movies and

1179
01:18:52.720 --> 01:18:56.199
read too many trashy novels. If they taught me anything,

1180
01:18:56.479 --> 01:18:58.760
it's that maybe I can make a rope ladder and

1181
01:18:58.800 --> 01:19:01.359
get on the upper deck of the ship. Maybe I

1182
01:19:01.399 --> 01:19:04.479
can steal a lifeboat or something. We have tons of

1183
01:19:04.520 --> 01:19:07.880
bed sheets and stuff that I can use. Somehow, I'll

1184
01:19:07.920 --> 01:19:12.760
figure something out. I have to try. Dad still hasn't

1185
01:19:12.760 --> 01:19:18.199
said a word. Jill hasn't come back, and I don't

1186
01:19:18.239 --> 01:19:22.159
think she will either. I don't know what else to do,

1187
01:19:22.239 --> 01:19:26.079
but I need to try and survive. Looking outside on

1188
01:19:26.119 --> 01:19:29.680
the veranda and over the ocean, I can see lights

1189
01:19:29.680 --> 01:19:33.319
on the horizon. It has to be other boats, right.

1190
01:19:34.119 --> 01:19:39.000
There has to be other survivors besides us, right, could

1191
01:19:39.000 --> 01:19:44.000
be the Navy or someone anyone. Any place is better

1192
01:19:44.039 --> 01:19:44.479
than here.

1193
01:19:45.800 --> 01:19:50.000
I like it Spooky weekly. Spooky will be right back.

1194
01:19:52.000 --> 01:19:58.199
February twenty fourth, twenty twenty four. I've spent the last

1195
01:19:58.239 --> 01:20:02.239
few days preparing my ISA escape plan. It's taken a

1196
01:20:02.279 --> 01:20:05.560
few tries and prototypes, but I think I'll be ready

1197
01:20:05.600 --> 01:20:09.680
to go tomorrow or the day after. Relatively sure it'll

1198
01:20:09.680 --> 01:20:12.880
hold my weight, or at least I hope it will.

1199
01:20:13.800 --> 01:20:16.319
I've saved up a few days worth of food and water.

1200
01:20:17.560 --> 01:20:20.479
I literally don't have a plan beyond getting to the

1201
01:20:20.479 --> 01:20:23.439
top of the ship and seeing what happens after that.

1202
01:20:24.920 --> 01:20:29.119
Doctors came in this morning and examined me and Dad. Thankfully,

1203
01:20:29.199 --> 01:20:33.359
they found nothing except noting that Dad looks malnourished and

1204
01:20:33.399 --> 01:20:36.840
should eat if he knows what's good for him. Dad

1205
01:20:36.880 --> 01:20:42.880
hasn't eaten or said a word. He's gone. I'm sorry, Dad,

1206
01:20:43.720 --> 01:20:52.399
you may have given up, but I can't. February twenty sixth,

1207
01:20:52.720 --> 01:20:56.960
twenty twenty four. One of those lights turned out to

1208
01:20:56.960 --> 01:20:59.920
be a US Coast Guard ship, and they boarded us,

1209
01:21:00.560 --> 01:21:04.319
so maybe this is my big break, but I have

1210
01:21:04.359 --> 01:21:07.640
to wait till it's less busy. You can hear a

1211
01:21:07.680 --> 01:21:11.239
lot of raised voices intense conversation coming from the deck,

1212
01:21:11.920 --> 01:21:15.479
but no one has started shooting each other. That could

1213
01:21:15.560 --> 01:21:18.840
change at any moment, though. Rumor is that the ship's

1214
01:21:18.840 --> 01:21:22.640
stocks of booze are almost exhausted. I'm going to try

1215
01:21:22.640 --> 01:21:25.640
and sneak aboard the Coast Guard ship and see if

1216
01:21:25.680 --> 01:21:28.960
I can get out of here that way. I slept

1217
01:21:28.960 --> 01:21:32.279
beside my dad, gave him a big hug this morning,

1218
01:21:33.039 --> 01:21:37.079
but he wouldn't even look at me. He did speak, though,

1219
01:21:38.439 --> 01:21:43.000
and it broke my heart into pieces. I'm sorry, Rohnda,

1220
01:21:44.039 --> 01:21:47.920
I'm sorry for everything. If your stepmom and I hadn't

1221
01:21:47.920 --> 01:21:49.960
been fighting, we wouldn't have come out here to fix

1222
01:21:49.960 --> 01:21:55.560
our marriage. I'm so sorry. He just looked at his

1223
01:21:55.600 --> 01:22:00.359
shoes and didn't say anything else to me. I know

1224
01:22:00.479 --> 01:22:05.840
it's not his fault. Roger knew that. I'll even bet

1225
01:22:05.880 --> 01:22:10.439
that jill Mom knew that it would get worked out.

1226
01:22:12.119 --> 01:22:16.000
I don't blame him for any of this happening. I'm

1227
01:22:16.039 --> 01:22:19.039
going to wait till dark, and then I'm going to

1228
01:22:19.159 --> 01:22:26.199
use my rope ladder and try my best, Mom, Dad, Roger,

1229
01:22:28.199 --> 01:22:32.000
I love you all. I kissed my dad on his

1230
01:22:32.079 --> 01:22:35.079
forehead when he went to sleep, and for a brief

1231
01:22:35.159 --> 01:22:40.720
second he smiled before a restless sleep took him back.

1232
01:22:42.479 --> 01:22:46.119
I'm going to live for all of us. I have

1233
01:22:46.199 --> 01:22:56.920
to at least try. March first, twenty twenty four, I

1234
01:22:57.039 --> 01:23:00.960
made it. I successfully used my rope lad and climbed

1235
01:23:00.960 --> 01:23:02.960
to the deck and made my way to the top

1236
01:23:03.000 --> 01:23:06.560
of the ship. There were dozens of guards and coastguard

1237
01:23:06.600 --> 01:23:10.479
people milling about, but no one saw me or cared

1238
01:23:10.600 --> 01:23:14.319
enough to stop me, a little, half starved teenage girl,

1239
01:23:14.720 --> 01:23:19.880
from escaping. I hid and waited and watched for hours

1240
01:23:20.319 --> 01:23:23.920
until people let their guard down. I did get spotted

1241
01:23:23.960 --> 01:23:27.039
by one of the crew, though she pointed her rifle

1242
01:23:27.119 --> 01:23:31.000
at me. I thought I was dead and had failed

1243
01:23:31.039 --> 01:23:36.239
after everything. She just looked at me with pity and said, kid,

1244
01:23:37.079 --> 01:23:40.279
get the fuck out of here. I think she was

1245
01:23:40.359 --> 01:23:45.399
the one who shot Roger. I couldn't be sure. Maybe

1246
01:23:45.439 --> 01:23:47.720
this was her way of saying that she was sorry.

1247
01:23:48.880 --> 01:23:51.760
I slid down a ladder connecting our two boats, and

1248
01:23:51.840 --> 01:23:54.840
I hid as quickly as I could anywhere that would

1249
01:23:54.840 --> 01:23:58.319
fit me. I had started to feel hungry and sick,

1250
01:23:58.399 --> 01:24:01.560
so I had to make myself known after a few days.

1251
01:24:02.479 --> 01:24:05.920
I'm thankful they didn't shoot me on site. I told

1252
01:24:05.960 --> 01:24:09.520
them what happened to us on board. No one was surprised.

1253
01:24:10.359 --> 01:24:12.720
They said it wasn't the first cruise ship they'd come

1254
01:24:12.760 --> 01:24:18.520
across like ours, and some were even worse. The Navy

1255
01:24:18.600 --> 01:24:21.239
and Coastguard were trying to help as many people as

1256
01:24:21.239 --> 01:24:25.039
they could survive at sea, but it wasn't easy. The

1257
01:24:25.119 --> 01:24:28.600
Coastguard told me that many cruise ships devolved into chaos

1258
01:24:28.640 --> 01:24:33.079
within days of the incident occurring. Many were floating cities

1259
01:24:33.119 --> 01:24:36.359
of the dead. Some were run by wannabe pirates or

1260
01:24:36.359 --> 01:24:40.960
dictators as floating fortresses. What happened to the Vanguard of

1261
01:24:41.000 --> 01:24:44.680
the seas I asked. They told me that it had

1262
01:24:44.720 --> 01:24:47.720
been scuttled due to severe engine damage, and that it

1263
01:24:47.720 --> 01:24:51.159
could have even been direct sabotage. A woman had sent

1264
01:24:51.239 --> 01:24:54.479
out a distress call, and fortunately they were in range

1265
01:24:54.479 --> 01:24:59.439
of the call to answer. Did mom do that? Did

1266
01:24:59.479 --> 01:25:02.640
she give up? It's a fighting chance at rescue somehow.

1267
01:25:03.880 --> 01:25:07.640
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, however, there weren't many

1268
01:25:07.680 --> 01:25:10.760
survivors besides what was left of the crew and a

1269
01:25:10.840 --> 01:25:15.000
handful of random passengers. Everyone had been transformed to a

1270
01:25:15.039 --> 01:25:20.479
bigger Navy ship. They never did find my mom or dad.

1271
01:25:21.039 --> 01:25:24.960
This will be my final entry in this journal. Mom

1272
01:25:25.000 --> 01:25:27.239
and dad wanted me to remember the best days of

1273
01:25:27.239 --> 01:25:32.119
my life, but this was far from that. Unfortunately, I'll

1274
01:25:32.119 --> 01:25:36.520
always remember these days. At least I can take some

1275
01:25:36.760 --> 01:25:40.199
comfort remembering that I was with my family when the

1276
01:25:40.239 --> 01:25:45.960
apocalypse came. My name is Ronda Elizabeth Canavan, and this

1277
01:25:46.199 --> 01:25:50.760
was my experience when the world ended. I existed. I

1278
01:25:50.800 --> 01:25:54.279
had a life before this. I'll do my best to

1279
01:25:54.319 --> 01:26:02.239
make a life after this. For Roger, for mom, for dad.

1280
01:26:03.840 --> 01:26:05.239
What does my future look like.

1281
01:26:06.800 --> 01:26:07.279
I don't know.

1282
01:26:08.239 --> 01:26:11.800
But I tried, and for what it's worth, I'll continue

1283
01:26:12.279 --> 01:26:18.720
to try. I used to be a doctor in an

1284
01:26:18.720 --> 01:26:24.199
insane asylum. My patient destroyed my world. By Michael Kelso

1285
01:26:26.159 --> 01:26:29.680
this story needs to be told. Those who have suffered

1286
01:26:29.800 --> 01:26:33.439
must understand why it's not as simple as some have

1287
01:26:33.479 --> 01:26:36.000
made it to be, which is why it needs to

1288
01:26:36.039 --> 01:26:42.319
come from the person most responsible me. It began when

1289
01:26:42.359 --> 01:26:46.680
I was least expecting it. But then, don't things always

1290
01:26:46.680 --> 01:26:55.760
seem to happen that way? I'm telling you, Doc, people

1291
01:26:55.960 --> 01:27:00.000
just don't understand, Frederick said, while rocking back and forth

1292
01:27:00.199 --> 01:27:04.439
in the chair. What exactly don't they understand? I said,

1293
01:27:04.840 --> 01:27:08.479
trying to look more relaxed than I felt. There's just

1294
01:27:08.560 --> 01:27:13.840
something that takes over. You can't stop it. Impulse control.

1295
01:27:14.760 --> 01:27:18.960
What's that mean, Frederick said, struggling against his straight jacket,

1296
01:27:19.319 --> 01:27:22.800
trying to get comfortable. It means that when you want

1297
01:27:22.840 --> 01:27:26.359
to do something, you try your hardest not to. It

1298
01:27:26.479 --> 01:27:29.279
means you try to control or suppress the urge to

1299
01:27:29.319 --> 01:27:33.960
do things you know are bad. Frederick's mouth alled open.

1300
01:27:34.399 --> 01:27:38.039
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Why would I want

1301
01:27:38.039 --> 01:27:43.399
to do that? I suppressed the urge to sigh, because

1302
01:27:44.239 --> 01:27:48.239
that's what people do, I said. They think about doing

1303
01:27:48.279 --> 01:27:52.079
bad things, but then they control themselves and don't do

1304
01:27:52.239 --> 01:27:56.439
them because those things are wrong and could hurt other people.

1305
01:27:57.880 --> 01:28:03.319
Hurting people is wrong, he said, yes, Frederick, Hurting people

1306
01:28:03.439 --> 01:28:06.479
is wrong. He shook his head as if he were

1307
01:28:06.479 --> 01:28:09.079
trying to shake away a fly that was annoying him.

1308
01:28:09.960 --> 01:28:13.279
Why Why is hurting people wrong?

1309
01:28:14.119 --> 01:28:14.199
No?

1310
01:28:15.199 --> 01:28:19.840
Why are you telling me this? I don't understand. You're

1311
01:28:19.880 --> 01:28:23.199
saying I'm bad, he said, trying to raise from his chair.

1312
01:28:23.680 --> 01:28:26.399
You're saying I didn't need to hurt those people that

1313
01:28:26.600 --> 01:28:29.880
I'm a bad person. I got up from my chair

1314
01:28:29.880 --> 01:28:33.760
and started backing toward the heavy metal door. I'm not bad,

1315
01:28:34.199 --> 01:28:37.479
he yelled at me. You're bad. I knocked on the

1316
01:28:37.520 --> 01:28:40.079
door and the orderly opened it. As Frederick got to

1317
01:28:40.119 --> 01:28:43.199
his feet, I slipped through the door as it slammed

1318
01:28:43.239 --> 01:28:48.399
shut from the impact of his body hitting into it. Bad, bad, bad,

1319
01:28:48.920 --> 01:28:49.640
he screamed.

1320
01:28:50.199 --> 01:28:50.399
Bad.

1321
01:28:50.439 --> 01:28:52.520
Da da da da da da da da dah dud

1322
01:28:53.000 --> 01:28:56.000
Spit flew from his mouth, landing on the small observation

1323
01:28:56.159 --> 01:29:01.079
window with metal grates embedded in it. Okay, Doc, the

1324
01:29:01.199 --> 01:29:05.760
orderly said, startling me, Yes, I'm fine, Thank you. I

1325
01:29:05.840 --> 01:29:09.119
turned and walked down the white hallway, hoping the orderly

1326
01:29:09.159 --> 01:29:12.800
wouldn't notice the quickness in my step. I ignored the

1327
01:29:12.840 --> 01:29:16.439
sound of Frederick beating on the door. I ignored all

1328
01:29:16.479 --> 01:29:19.920
the sounds I heard. I just wanted to get away.

1329
01:29:21.159 --> 01:29:23.920
It was a long walk to my office through many

1330
01:29:24.000 --> 01:29:27.279
security gates. At each one, the nurse buzzed me through

1331
01:29:27.359 --> 01:29:30.199
and gave me an acknowledging look that used to be

1332
01:29:30.279 --> 01:29:34.880
a smile. I suppose this place gets to everyone. Eventually,

1333
01:29:35.920 --> 01:29:38.760
I finally reached my office, closed and locked the door

1334
01:29:38.800 --> 01:29:43.079
behind me and collapsed into my chair. I breathed out

1335
01:29:43.119 --> 01:29:47.119
a sigh of relief at reaching relative safety. I turned

1336
01:29:47.119 --> 01:29:49.840
and looked out my window to the beautiful flowers blooming

1337
01:29:49.880 --> 01:29:53.359
on the trees in the courtyard. I looked up at

1338
01:29:53.399 --> 01:29:57.279
the tree stretching toward the sky. I remember when they

1339
01:29:57.319 --> 01:30:01.920
planted those. I turned back to my center, my means

1340
01:30:01.960 --> 01:30:05.279
of solace, the only thing that mattered in this cruel,

1341
01:30:05.640 --> 01:30:08.960
unfair world. I picked up the picture of my lovely

1342
01:30:09.039 --> 01:30:13.199
wife and smiled. She was the one who kept me

1343
01:30:13.319 --> 01:30:16.640
sane all these years. She kept me seeing the best

1344
01:30:16.680 --> 01:30:21.520
in people, or at least trying. Sometimes there was no

1345
01:30:21.600 --> 01:30:27.000
good to see, especially in my patience. It takes a

1346
01:30:27.039 --> 01:30:29.800
special kind of doctor to care for the mental needs

1347
01:30:29.840 --> 01:30:32.800
of those who have done heinous things that are so

1348
01:30:33.000 --> 01:30:36.479
bad they don't even bother sending them to prison. They

1349
01:30:36.520 --> 01:30:39.800
send them to me. I'm like the dumpster for the

1350
01:30:39.880 --> 01:30:43.279
dregs of society. Just drop them in the asylum and

1351
01:30:43.359 --> 01:30:44.720
forget about them.

1352
01:30:45.600 --> 01:30:49.239
Don't go away, weakly, Spooky will be right back.

1353
01:30:51.880 --> 01:30:53.960
I kissed my wife and set her back on the

1354
01:30:53.960 --> 01:30:58.000
bare desk, then turned on my computer and added notes

1355
01:30:58.000 --> 01:31:02.399
from today's session. There was never a recommendation for release.

1356
01:31:03.119 --> 01:31:05.760
Once patients came here, the only way they left was

1357
01:31:06.520 --> 01:31:09.680
in a body bag. There was no curing them, only

1358
01:31:09.720 --> 01:31:13.199
trying to make them docile until they left. Oh, and

1359
01:31:13.960 --> 01:31:17.399
there were experiments. That was a large part of how

1360
01:31:17.399 --> 01:31:21.000
we were funded. Companies would pay for certain tests to

1361
01:31:21.039 --> 01:31:25.560
be done. Some might call it torture, but we called

1362
01:31:25.600 --> 01:31:29.600
it research. I finished typing my notes and leaned back

1363
01:31:29.640 --> 01:31:33.279
in my seat. The diplomas and degrees stared down from

1364
01:31:33.319 --> 01:31:37.840
their perches on the bare walls, mocking me, demanding why

1365
01:31:37.920 --> 01:31:42.039
I hadn't gotten a better job. As usual, I didn't

1366
01:31:42.039 --> 01:31:47.000
have an answer. My office suddenly felt stuffy. I closed

1367
01:31:47.039 --> 01:31:50.720
down my computer and left. Driving down the packed freeway,

1368
01:31:50.760 --> 01:31:53.199
all I could think about was collapsing on the couch

1369
01:31:53.760 --> 01:31:57.760
beside my lovely Elizabeth, not telling her about my day

1370
01:31:57.880 --> 01:32:01.720
until she dragged it out of me. Then listening to

1371
01:32:01.720 --> 01:32:04.039
her encouraged me to help those who have been left

1372
01:32:04.039 --> 01:32:08.479
in my care because I'm the only hope they have.

1373
01:32:09.800 --> 01:32:12.840
Traffic was bumper to bumper and not helping my overall

1374
01:32:12.880 --> 01:32:16.600
opinion of humanity much, especially when a car that was

1375
01:32:16.640 --> 01:32:20.399
swerving from lane to lane nearly sideswiped me. It kept

1376
01:32:20.439 --> 01:32:23.399
going on in front of me, nearly hitting several other cars.

1377
01:32:24.079 --> 01:32:27.159
The driver and passenger seemed to be having a disagreement

1378
01:32:27.560 --> 01:32:30.079
about how to drive the car, and it looked like

1379
01:32:30.119 --> 01:32:33.279
it was about to come to blows. Fortunately they were

1380
01:32:33.319 --> 01:32:36.760
soon out of sight in someone else's problem. For the

1381
01:32:36.760 --> 01:32:39.560
next few miles, I kept watching the side of the road,

1382
01:32:39.600 --> 01:32:43.600
waiting to see the offending car sitting in a ditch. However,

1383
01:32:44.039 --> 01:32:46.920
they surprised me. They must have turned off to go

1384
01:32:47.079 --> 01:32:51.279
terrorize some neighborhood streets with their reckless driving. I hummed

1385
01:32:51.279 --> 01:32:53.960
to myself, not wanting to have whatever Drek was on

1386
01:32:54.000 --> 01:32:57.359
the radio forced on me. When I was nearly to

1387
01:32:57.399 --> 01:33:02.319
my exit, my phone rang. Immediately recognized the number as Work.

1388
01:33:03.079 --> 01:33:06.880
I contemplated answering it for a moment, then thought better

1389
01:33:06.960 --> 01:33:09.680
of it. There had never been a time when Work

1390
01:33:09.760 --> 01:33:12.680
called with good news, and I was in no mood

1391
01:33:12.800 --> 01:33:16.199
for bad news. I hummed a little louder, trying to

1392
01:33:16.279 --> 01:33:19.640
drown out the sound of the ring before it finally stopped.

1393
01:33:20.359 --> 01:33:22.439
The closer I got to home, the less I thought

1394
01:33:22.479 --> 01:33:26.720
about work, and the more I thought about Elizabeth. Until

1395
01:33:26.760 --> 01:33:28.960
I turned off at my exit, I had nearly forgotten

1396
01:33:29.000 --> 01:33:33.000
work altogether. Maybe I would take tomorrow off and go

1397
01:33:33.079 --> 01:33:35.880
do something with my wife. We hadn't been out for

1398
01:33:35.920 --> 01:33:38.319
a while. The weather had been lovely, and I know

1399
01:33:38.439 --> 01:33:41.760
she would adore a walk down by the lake. My

1400
01:33:41.880 --> 01:33:45.560
thoughts were interrupted when I turned down our driveway and

1401
01:33:45.640 --> 01:33:48.920
saw a car in front of the house. It wasn't

1402
01:33:49.000 --> 01:33:52.239
quite in the driveway, it was sitting at an angle

1403
01:33:52.319 --> 01:33:55.680
halfway in the front yard. I parked my car and

1404
01:33:55.800 --> 01:33:59.600
slowly got out. Something struck me about this car, but

1405
01:33:59.640 --> 01:34:03.159
I hadn't figured out what. I approached the driver's side

1406
01:34:03.199 --> 01:34:05.760
to have words with the person still sitting at the wheel.

1407
01:34:06.920 --> 01:34:10.399
Excuse me, I said, staying a few steps back from

1408
01:34:10.439 --> 01:34:15.840
the driver's door. He didn't hear me. Excuse me, I

1409
01:34:15.960 --> 01:34:20.159
said a little louder. Still no answer. I tapped on

1410
01:34:20.199 --> 01:34:24.920
the window, and he ignored me. I opened the door. Okay, look,

1411
01:34:25.279 --> 01:34:28.199
I said, but it was I who would do the looking.

1412
01:34:29.000 --> 01:34:31.720
The man fell out of the car, thudding on the grass.

1413
01:34:31.800 --> 01:34:35.000
The inside of the car was covered in blood. I

1414
01:34:35.079 --> 01:34:39.039
looked down and the man's throat had been cut. Oh

1415
01:34:39.079 --> 01:34:43.119
my god, I said, jumping back. I watched to see

1416
01:34:43.119 --> 01:34:45.239
if the man was breathing, but the way his neck

1417
01:34:45.319 --> 01:34:48.479
was bent at an unnatural angle against my yard told

1418
01:34:48.520 --> 01:34:52.119
me everything that I needed to know. I glanced through

1419
01:34:52.159 --> 01:34:55.439
the car, but didn't see the passenger. It was then

1420
01:34:55.520 --> 01:34:59.720
my eyes drifted to my front door. It was open.

1421
01:35:01.359 --> 01:35:03.960
I stepped through the shrubs and up onto the porch,

1422
01:35:04.119 --> 01:35:07.479
walking in a daze. The surrealness of the moment had

1423
01:35:07.560 --> 01:35:10.359
yet to sink in. I was going inside to check

1424
01:35:10.399 --> 01:35:13.439
on my wife and make sure everything was okay. It

1425
01:35:13.479 --> 01:35:17.199
didn't strike me as anything more than that. Oh, she

1426
01:35:17.399 --> 01:35:20.279
just left the door open. That's all My mind kept

1427
01:35:20.279 --> 01:35:23.960
trying to tell me that. I wanted desperately to believe it,

1428
01:35:24.479 --> 01:35:26.840
even though she had never been that careless during the

1429
01:35:27.039 --> 01:35:31.079
entire time we'd been married. I had pushed aside all

1430
01:35:31.199 --> 01:35:36.039
reason and common sense in favor of pure denial. Everything

1431
01:35:36.119 --> 01:35:40.720
was going to be okay with Elizabeth. Everything was always okay.

1432
01:35:41.239 --> 01:35:43.920
She could literally light up a room with her positivity.

1433
01:35:44.560 --> 01:35:47.279
She was the best person I ever knew. I have

1434
01:35:47.399 --> 01:35:49.880
no idea how I got so lucky as to know her,

1435
01:35:50.399 --> 01:35:54.079
let alone be her husband. I floated in through my

1436
01:35:54.119 --> 01:35:56.760
front door on my cloud of denial and looked for

1437
01:35:56.840 --> 01:35:59.840
my wife. It didn't take me long to find her.

1438
01:36:00.600 --> 01:36:02.680
There was one wall of the living room she was

1439
01:36:02.760 --> 01:36:06.800
constantly redecorating. She always said it looked bare and empty,

1440
01:36:06.880 --> 01:36:10.159
no matter what she did with it. She was hanging

1441
01:36:10.199 --> 01:36:15.640
from that wall, naked, her beautiful body desecrated by slices

1442
01:36:15.960 --> 01:36:20.880
and rips. Her throat had been slit and blood still

1443
01:36:20.920 --> 01:36:24.600
poured from it. I ran to her, tried to take

1444
01:36:24.640 --> 01:36:28.399
her down, screamed her name, and then it was my

1445
01:36:28.560 --> 01:36:32.119
turn to scream. I looked down and saw a knife

1446
01:36:32.119 --> 01:36:35.680
blade sticking out from my abdomen. It was part of

1447
01:36:35.720 --> 01:36:39.239
the cutlery set I had gotten for Elizabeth three Christmases ago,

1448
01:36:40.239 --> 01:36:43.399
I screamed as I slowly turned to face my attacker.

1449
01:36:44.520 --> 01:36:49.439
What's up, Doc, Frederick said, wearing a maniacal grin. The

1450
01:36:49.520 --> 01:36:52.720
shock had punched a hole in my reasoning. I saw

1451
01:36:52.800 --> 01:36:55.119
him standing there, but I couldn't accept it any more

1452
01:36:55.159 --> 01:36:57.680
than I could accept my beautiful wife strung up like

1453
01:36:57.720 --> 01:37:01.920
a macab painting hanging on our living room wall. My

1454
01:37:02.039 --> 01:37:05.000
eyes tried to focus on his face to make me

1455
01:37:05.119 --> 01:37:09.680
recognize him as a threat. How's that impulse control working

1456
01:37:09.800 --> 01:37:13.119
for you, doc? He ripped the knife out of my back.

1457
01:37:13.800 --> 01:37:16.840
The pain along with his arrogance, woke me from my

1458
01:37:16.960 --> 01:37:22.359
shock induced stupor. Now do you understand, he said, as

1459
01:37:22.359 --> 01:37:26.680
he shoved the knife into my belly. I did understand.

1460
01:37:27.439 --> 01:37:30.640
I understood at that moment that I was already as

1461
01:37:30.720 --> 01:37:33.960
dead as my wife. I knew that this piece of

1462
01:37:34.239 --> 01:37:38.479
human garbage had taken something beautiful from this world. I

1463
01:37:38.600 --> 01:37:40.920
knew I had to do something about it before there

1464
01:37:40.960 --> 01:37:44.479
was nothing I could do before my body succumbed to

1465
01:37:44.520 --> 01:37:48.800
injuries and I was unable. I grabbed him by the throat.

1466
01:37:49.439 --> 01:37:52.800
He tried to laugh, but my grip was fueled by desperation.

1467
01:37:53.560 --> 01:37:58.359
He tried to free himself but couldn't. He began stabbing

1468
01:37:58.399 --> 01:38:02.359
me over and over. Refused to release him. I carried

1469
01:38:02.439 --> 01:38:04.840
him by his neck over to the kitchen counter and

1470
01:38:04.920 --> 01:38:09.159
began bashing his head off the marble. I was rewarded

1471
01:38:09.199 --> 01:38:12.239
with spots of his blood. I knew, at least I

1472
01:38:12.279 --> 01:38:17.680
had made him bleed, and that made me smile. His

1473
01:38:17.800 --> 01:38:22.680
eyes grew wide as my grin grew maniacal. I smashed him, repeatedly,

1474
01:38:22.960 --> 01:38:26.319
crushing him against the sink, breaking the faucet and causing

1475
01:38:26.359 --> 01:38:30.279
water to spray into the air. His eyelids fluttered as

1476
01:38:30.279 --> 01:38:33.880
he lost his grip on the knife. He was nearly gone.

1477
01:38:34.560 --> 01:38:36.800
I would take him with me, and that would be

1478
01:38:36.880 --> 01:38:43.720
my parting gift to the world, removing something so evil. Suddenly,

1479
01:38:43.800 --> 01:38:48.119
my body wouldn't obey commands. My grip loosened. I tried

1480
01:38:48.159 --> 01:38:51.359
to tighten it, but I had lost all control. I

1481
01:38:51.439 --> 01:38:53.600
looked down and I was standing in a pool of

1482
01:38:53.640 --> 01:38:59.560
my own blood. His eyes fluttered open and he coughed no, no, no,

1483
01:38:59.560 --> 01:39:03.039
no no oh. I thought, he can't live, he can't win.

1484
01:39:03.399 --> 01:39:07.880
I had him. He stood as I sank to the floor.

1485
01:39:09.119 --> 01:39:13.159
Looks like maybe you do understand, doc, he said, from

1486
01:39:13.199 --> 01:39:16.760
what seemed like miles away. Too bad, you won't be

1487
01:39:16.800 --> 01:39:19.840
around to discuss it. We could have a session and

1488
01:39:19.880 --> 01:39:23.840
evaluate how it makes you feel. His foot came down

1489
01:39:23.880 --> 01:39:28.640
on my spine. I felt a crack. He started kicking

1490
01:39:28.680 --> 01:39:32.079
me in the side, repeatedly, splashing water and blood on me.

1491
01:39:32.119 --> 01:39:35.880
As I felt my ribs crack. I fought with everything

1492
01:39:35.920 --> 01:39:41.279
I had. My body didn't even twitch. No, I screamed,

1493
01:39:41.680 --> 01:39:46.159
it can't end like this. I heard a sizzling sound

1494
01:39:47.039 --> 01:39:55.880
and then there was darkness. I could feel movement. Wasn't

1495
01:39:55.880 --> 01:40:03.359
I dead? Was this what? Happened after it was still dark. Hello,

1496
01:40:04.039 --> 01:40:08.920
I tried to say, nothing, just the sensation of movement.

1497
01:40:10.199 --> 01:40:13.600
Am I in a body bag? Am I on my

1498
01:40:13.640 --> 01:40:17.319
way to the morgue or the grave? Please don't let

1499
01:40:17.399 --> 01:40:18.000
me be buried?

1500
01:40:18.000 --> 01:40:18.319
Alive?

1501
01:40:19.479 --> 01:40:24.439
But I'm not alive, am I? I don't feel any pain.

1502
01:40:25.199 --> 01:40:28.720
That's a good thing, but not a good sign. The

1503
01:40:28.800 --> 01:40:33.000
last thing I remember was lots of pain. Suddenly there's

1504
01:40:33.039 --> 01:40:36.479
a light and my movement stops. I look up from

1505
01:40:36.479 --> 01:40:40.079
the floor of a house. I don't recognize where the

1506
01:40:40.119 --> 01:40:42.119
hell am I?

1507
01:40:42.159 --> 01:40:42.760
Did you hear that?

1508
01:40:43.239 --> 01:40:43.479
Better?

1509
01:40:43.560 --> 01:40:47.399
Check the locks on your doors. Weakly spooky, We'll be

1510
01:40:47.560 --> 01:40:48.199
right back.

1511
01:40:49.439 --> 01:40:52.640
I'm on the floor next to a wall, looking up

1512
01:40:52.680 --> 01:40:56.800
at an electrical outlet. Nothing around me seems familiar. I

1513
01:40:56.840 --> 01:41:01.680
try to stand, but it feels weird. It isn't difficult,

1514
01:41:01.760 --> 01:41:04.720
and there's still no pain. It just carries an odd

1515
01:41:04.760 --> 01:41:10.720
sensation with it, like my body is just relearning things,

1516
01:41:10.840 --> 01:41:14.159
just like when I was a toddler. I teeter back

1517
01:41:14.199 --> 01:41:18.199
and forth as I rise, but eventually I'm upright. My

1518
01:41:18.319 --> 01:41:21.880
first few steps are tentative, but after that I gain

1519
01:41:22.000 --> 01:41:26.600
confidence with each stride. Aside from the strange surroundings, there's

1520
01:41:26.640 --> 01:41:31.560
a sensation like ants crawling all over me. I pass

1521
01:41:31.640 --> 01:41:35.119
a bathroom and glance inside. The reflection in the mirror

1522
01:41:35.239 --> 01:41:40.600
draws me back. I slowly approach it, seeing something unique

1523
01:41:41.000 --> 01:41:45.520
and terrifying. It looks like someone drew an outline of

1524
01:41:45.560 --> 01:41:49.680
a human form using a lightning bolt. The electricity shimmers

1525
01:41:49.680 --> 01:41:52.359
and crackles as it races around the empty form of

1526
01:41:52.399 --> 01:41:56.479
the being. I wonder if it will hurt me. Not

1527
01:41:56.520 --> 01:41:58.439
sure if I want to test the limits of my

1528
01:41:58.960 --> 01:42:03.600
newfound lack of pain. I hesitantly reach for this creature.

1529
01:42:04.199 --> 01:42:07.840
It reaches for me at the same time. I'm mesmerized

1530
01:42:07.880 --> 01:42:12.119
by this mutual curiosity. My hand is about to touch

1531
01:42:12.119 --> 01:42:15.399
the electric pulse, shaped like its hand. I tremble with

1532
01:42:15.439 --> 01:42:21.199
anticipation and fear as we touch. Surprisingly, I don't feel

1533
01:42:21.239 --> 01:42:25.479
any pain. I don't feel anything except a hard surface.

1534
01:42:26.479 --> 01:42:29.920
I move my hand back and forth. The creature does

1535
01:42:29.960 --> 01:42:34.960
the same. I make quicker movements, and so does it. Finally,

1536
01:42:35.000 --> 01:42:38.439
out of frustration, I reach back and strike at the creature.

1537
01:42:39.399 --> 01:42:43.079
My hand strikes the hard surface and it splinters. There

1538
01:42:43.119 --> 01:42:47.359
are now multiple creatures staring back at me. I step

1539
01:42:47.439 --> 01:42:55.439
back and make a horrible realization. I am the creature

1540
01:42:56.239 --> 01:42:59.920
one month later, and police have been unable to find

1541
01:43:00.119 --> 01:43:03.000
any credible leads in the string of brutal killings that

1542
01:43:03.079 --> 01:43:06.079
began shortly after the patient escape from the mental hospital

1543
01:43:06.159 --> 01:43:10.079
last month. The handsome anchorman stated from behind his desk,

1544
01:43:10.680 --> 01:43:13.000
they're asking people to call in if they know the

1545
01:43:13.000 --> 01:43:17.359
whereabouts of Frederick Winston, now known as the Mangler. In

1546
01:43:17.399 --> 01:43:20.039
other news, the Larsen Electric Company has issued a statement

1547
01:43:20.199 --> 01:43:22.840
that the recent power surges are no cause for alarm.

1548
01:43:23.279 --> 01:43:26.079
These surges seem to be random in people's homes and

1549
01:43:26.159 --> 01:43:29.960
certain businesses. An LEC spokesman stated that there appears to

1550
01:43:30.000 --> 01:43:32.760
be no pattern to the surges and that so far

1551
01:43:32.920 --> 01:43:36.119
no one has reported them causing any harm. LEC is

1552
01:43:36.159 --> 01:43:39.000
tracking down the problem and should have it under control soon.

1553
01:43:39.600 --> 01:43:42.520
The anchorman shifted in his seat and turned to another

1554
01:43:42.560 --> 01:43:46.000
camera and on a lighter note, With Halloween months away,

1555
01:43:46.039 --> 01:43:48.840
it seems that reports of ghosts are on the rise,

1556
01:43:49.279 --> 01:43:52.760
he said, wearing a half Grin several area, residents have

1557
01:43:52.800 --> 01:43:56.199
reported what they call a ghostlike figure outlined in light

1558
01:43:56.640 --> 01:44:00.199
visiting them. Reports vary as to the duration and location

1559
01:44:00.279 --> 01:44:02.359
of the visits, but they do seem to have a

1560
01:44:02.399 --> 01:44:06.359
few things in common. The visits are usually short. In fact,

1561
01:44:06.680 --> 01:44:09.600
most people say that if they blink, the figure is gone.

1562
01:44:10.159 --> 01:44:13.079
No one has reported the ghost doing any harm, and

1563
01:44:13.199 --> 01:44:17.000
it seems like anyone within close proximity feels a tingling

1564
01:44:17.039 --> 01:44:21.000
sensation and their hair standing on end. Maybe I should

1565
01:44:21.039 --> 01:44:24.199
be visited by this ghost instead of my next hairdresser's appointment,

1566
01:44:24.600 --> 01:44:27.920
the attractive woman anchor said, with a laugh. Schedule me

1567
01:44:28.000 --> 01:44:31.800
a visit too, the male anchor said, smiling, And that's

1568
01:44:31.840 --> 01:44:35.680
our news for the evening. Good night. Jimmy switched the channel.

1569
01:44:36.319 --> 01:44:41.079
Gimme a break, he said, to the TV ghosts, who's playing?

1570
01:44:41.119 --> 01:44:44.720
What this is some marketing scheme to sell Halloween crap,

1571
01:44:44.800 --> 01:44:46.680
like that stunt they pulled a few years back with

1572
01:44:46.760 --> 01:44:50.920
the clowns hanging around the schools to promote that stupid movie.

1573
01:44:50.960 --> 01:44:53.479
He switched off the TV and rolled over in his bed.

1574
01:44:54.239 --> 01:44:58.840
It wasn't long before his breathing slowed, but before sleep

1575
01:44:58.880 --> 01:45:02.279
could take him, he noticed a glow in the hallway.

1576
01:45:03.319 --> 01:45:05.880
He didn't remember leaving any lights on when he came

1577
01:45:05.920 --> 01:45:09.840
to bed. Living alone had its advantages. If he heard

1578
01:45:09.840 --> 01:45:13.119
someone in his apartment, he knew they weren't supposed to

1579
01:45:13.159 --> 01:45:16.720
be there. He slowly reached over to the bed stand

1580
01:45:17.319 --> 01:45:21.159
and pulled out his glock nine millimeter handgun, then held

1581
01:45:21.159 --> 01:45:26.199
it close and listened. He watched as the glow moved.

1582
01:45:26.800 --> 01:45:30.279
It seemed like someone was looking around, but for what.

1583
01:45:31.399 --> 01:45:34.439
He didn't really have anything aside from his TV, phone

1584
01:45:34.800 --> 01:45:38.000
and video games. If anyone wanted those, they would be

1585
01:45:38.039 --> 01:45:41.039
in a world of hurt. He had been lucky to

1586
01:45:41.079 --> 01:45:43.640
get this apartment. If he was honest with himself, it

1587
01:45:43.720 --> 01:45:46.239
cost more than he could afford, but when he had

1588
01:45:46.239 --> 01:45:49.039
the chance, he took it. It was too bad the

1589
01:45:49.079 --> 01:45:52.000
opening came because the person who lived there before him

1590
01:45:52.640 --> 01:45:56.119
was one of the Mangler's victims. That's probably why he

1591
01:45:56.199 --> 01:45:58.439
was able to rent the place so quickly and get

1592
01:45:58.479 --> 01:46:01.359
the price down to where he could afford it. Almost

1593
01:46:02.279 --> 01:46:04.439
maybe the glow was one of the street people who

1594
01:46:04.439 --> 01:46:06.439
were stupid enough to see if there was an empty

1595
01:46:06.479 --> 01:46:10.399
apartment to claim. That wasn't gonna fly either. Jimmy had

1596
01:46:10.439 --> 01:46:12.720
jumped on this apartment to get away from the dingy

1597
01:46:12.800 --> 01:46:14.439
rat hole he used to live in on the other

1598
01:46:14.520 --> 01:46:17.319
side of town, and there was no way he'd let

1599
01:46:17.359 --> 01:46:19.640
some bum come in here and take what was his.

1600
01:46:21.039 --> 01:46:24.640
The glow crept closer. He could feel the hairs on

1601
01:46:24.680 --> 01:46:29.720
his arms raise. There was a sound too. It wasn't loud,

1602
01:46:30.439 --> 01:46:36.079
almost felt more than heard, a soft crackle like electricity.

1603
01:46:36.239 --> 01:46:39.840
When it sparked, the sensory input was almost too much

1604
01:46:39.840 --> 01:46:42.239
for Jimmy to take. He pointed the gun in the

1605
01:46:42.279 --> 01:46:45.319
direction of the glow and saw the barrel was shaking.

1606
01:46:46.079 --> 01:46:48.800
His resolve that he could deal with anyone as long

1607
01:46:48.800 --> 01:46:52.479
as he had his gun was beginning to fade. The

1608
01:46:52.520 --> 01:46:56.239
glow became so bright that it finally took form. Jimmy's

1609
01:46:56.279 --> 01:47:00.960
eyes widened. It was the form of a person, just

1610
01:47:01.119 --> 01:47:04.520
like the news it said. It seemed to look around

1611
01:47:04.560 --> 01:47:08.920
the room, then settle its gaze on the bed. Jimmy

1612
01:47:08.960 --> 01:47:12.359
began to sweat as it approached and stared into his eyes.

1613
01:47:13.479 --> 01:47:17.199
It was the oddest thing, staring into what should be eyes,

1614
01:47:17.840 --> 01:47:21.800
but nothing was there. The flashes of many lightning bolts

1615
01:47:21.840 --> 01:47:26.199
formed shapes that looked almost human, but it was just

1616
01:47:26.239 --> 01:47:29.600
an outline. There was nothing inside what should be the body.

1617
01:47:30.520 --> 01:47:33.279
He shoved the shaking gun out from under the blanket

1618
01:47:33.560 --> 01:47:37.399
and pointed it at the glowing figure. The figure noted

1619
01:47:37.399 --> 01:47:42.560
the presence of the gun, then continued to advance. Stop,

1620
01:47:42.960 --> 01:47:47.640
Jimmy said, I'm warning you. The figure ignored the warning.

1621
01:47:48.640 --> 01:47:51.880
Jimmy squeezed the trigger, setting off a deafening shot that

1622
01:47:51.960 --> 01:47:54.680
went right through the face of the figure. It acted

1623
01:47:54.720 --> 01:47:59.159
as though nothing had happened, continuing to advance. The ringing

1624
01:47:59.199 --> 01:48:02.960
in Jimmy's ears made all sounds seem muffled. The figure

1625
01:48:03.039 --> 01:48:09.640
stopped two inches from Jimmy's face. Mangler, it said, sounding

1626
01:48:09.720 --> 01:48:12.720
less like a voice and more like a transmission over

1627
01:48:12.760 --> 01:48:18.039
an old, staticky radio. I'm I'm not the Mangler, he said.

1628
01:48:18.479 --> 01:48:20.800
The person who used to live here was killed by him.

1629
01:48:21.720 --> 01:48:26.960
It seemed to ponder this for a moment. Find Mangler,

1630
01:48:27.600 --> 01:48:31.800
it said, I I don't know where to find him.

1631
01:48:32.359 --> 01:48:35.960
It moved an inch closer as the flashes of electricity

1632
01:48:36.079 --> 01:48:42.760
arked and licked hungrily at Jimmy's face. Find him, Okay, okay,

1633
01:48:42.880 --> 01:48:46.439
I'll find him, Jimmy said, feeling the heat from the electricity.

1634
01:48:47.600 --> 01:48:50.880
The figure seemed to consider that for a moment, then

1635
01:48:51.000 --> 01:48:55.119
backed away. It moved toward the bedroom wall. Then, like

1636
01:48:55.239 --> 01:48:58.119
someone had turned on a vacuum, it was sucked into

1637
01:48:58.159 --> 01:49:02.960
an electrical outlet and dis Jimmy laid back in bed,

1638
01:49:03.279 --> 01:49:06.920
breathing hard. His eyes darted left and right all around

1639
01:49:06.960 --> 01:49:10.000
the room, but the only evidence of the figure that

1640
01:49:10.039 --> 01:49:14.079
had remained was the bullet hole in his bedroom wall.

1641
01:49:15.600 --> 01:49:19.239
Don't go away, weekly, spooky, We'll be right back.

1642
01:49:28.279 --> 01:49:32.640
The trips through the electrical conduits had become easier. There

1643
01:49:32.640 --> 01:49:35.279
were still times when I came out someplace I didn't

1644
01:49:35.279 --> 01:49:38.640
intend to, but I was usually able to recover quickly

1645
01:49:39.000 --> 01:49:42.119
and get to where I wanted to go. But where

1646
01:49:42.119 --> 01:49:45.079
did I want to go? At first? I wandered around,

1647
01:49:45.399 --> 01:49:49.399
lost in this new form, I found myself trapped inside.

1648
01:49:49.479 --> 01:49:51.800
It was only after I had overheard a news report

1649
01:49:51.840 --> 01:49:55.680
about the serial killer they called the Mangler that I

1650
01:49:55.760 --> 01:49:59.359
gained my purpose. Of course, Frederick was going to keep

1651
01:49:59.399 --> 01:50:01.960
on killing. Of course, they weren't going to be able

1652
01:50:02.000 --> 01:50:05.119
to catch him. He'd been inside, away from his victims before,

1653
01:50:05.159 --> 01:50:08.039
and he didn't like it. Not being able to torture

1654
01:50:08.039 --> 01:50:10.920
and kill innocence was like a normal person not being

1655
01:50:10.960 --> 01:50:13.920
able to breathe. Not that I know much about being

1656
01:50:14.000 --> 01:50:18.279
normal or breathing anymore. I suppose on some level I

1657
01:50:18.319 --> 01:50:21.319
should thank him. I thought about it for a long time,

1658
01:50:21.359 --> 01:50:23.399
and the only thing that makes any kind of sense

1659
01:50:23.520 --> 01:50:26.880
is when we were fighting. Somehow the water and blood

1660
01:50:26.880 --> 01:50:29.920
I was laying and got splashed into an electrical socket.

1661
01:50:30.439 --> 01:50:33.359
Instead of killing me, it bonded with me, making me

1662
01:50:33.439 --> 01:50:36.720
able to become the electrical current, to ride it like

1663
01:50:36.800 --> 01:50:40.479
a wave to wherever I wanted. I became faster than

1664
01:50:40.479 --> 01:50:44.319
any person ever was, and yet I wasn't a person anymore.

1665
01:50:44.920 --> 01:50:47.800
I have no idea how I retained my consciousness, let

1666
01:50:47.800 --> 01:50:52.359
alone my memory, but somehow I justify it by the

1667
01:50:52.399 --> 01:50:57.159
old adage. I think therefore I am. My life has

1668
01:50:57.199 --> 01:51:00.680
become an endless hunt for the person who destroyed me,

1669
01:51:01.479 --> 01:51:04.800
the person I must destroy. I don't even know what

1670
01:51:04.880 --> 01:51:07.800
I'll do when I find him, but I will find him.

1671
01:51:08.479 --> 01:51:13.199
I will stop him. This time. I won't fail. I'll

1672
01:51:13.319 --> 01:51:16.439
end him like I should have before. I owed it

1673
01:51:16.479 --> 01:51:19.479
to the people he's tortured and killed since my failure.

1674
01:51:20.079 --> 01:51:24.520
Most of all, I owe it to my wife. I

1675
01:51:24.640 --> 01:51:27.319
know she wouldn't approve of my bloodlust. She would say

1676
01:51:27.359 --> 01:51:31.399
there must be some other option. But if she would

1677
01:51:31.399 --> 01:51:34.039
be able to see her own dead body hanging naked

1678
01:51:34.079 --> 01:51:37.560
from our living room wall, I think she just might

1679
01:51:37.680 --> 01:51:41.760
change her mind. My thoughts are interrupted as I arrive

1680
01:51:41.840 --> 01:51:46.600
at my next destination another victim's house. I'm not sure

1681
01:51:46.600 --> 01:51:49.479
what I'll find that the police haven't, but I have

1682
01:51:49.560 --> 01:51:53.119
to try. Maybe I can pick up his scent somehow,

1683
01:51:53.920 --> 01:51:57.159
a plan almost assuredly doomed to failure since I lost

1684
01:51:57.159 --> 01:52:01.479
all sense of smell in the transformation. I'm surprised, though,

1685
01:52:01.720 --> 01:52:05.279
that I can still see and hear. I suppose waves

1686
01:52:05.279 --> 01:52:09.159
of light and sound somehow intersect with my electrical body

1687
01:52:09.279 --> 01:52:13.039
and it senses them. I don't question it. I've learned

1688
01:52:13.039 --> 01:52:15.800
to just go with it. On the plus side, I

1689
01:52:15.800 --> 01:52:19.319
don't have to worry about eating, drinking, or using the bathroom.

1690
01:52:19.920 --> 01:52:23.199
I guess there's an upside to everything. Elizabeth would be

1691
01:52:23.239 --> 01:52:26.439
so proud of me. I arrived at the room where

1692
01:52:26.479 --> 01:52:30.159
the victim was murdered. Looking around, there's still blood everywhere,

1693
01:52:30.680 --> 01:52:34.920
along with evidence markers where they took pictures. The sheer

1694
01:52:34.960 --> 01:52:38.239
amount of blood tells me he took his time. He

1695
01:52:38.399 --> 01:52:41.680
desecrated this girl in her own room. Her parents must

1696
01:52:41.680 --> 01:52:44.279
have been out, because there's no way they didn't hear

1697
01:52:44.319 --> 01:52:48.840
the struggle. There were books on the floor, a chair overturned,

1698
01:52:49.000 --> 01:52:53.439
and blood everywhere. The room was a disaster. It looked

1699
01:52:53.439 --> 01:52:56.520
like she fought him I wish she would have succeeded

1700
01:52:56.520 --> 01:53:01.279
where I had failed, But then I wish I hadn't

1701
01:53:01.279 --> 01:53:06.840
failed and this girl was still alive. There's nothing I

1702
01:53:06.880 --> 01:53:11.359
can do now except find him and end him. Finding

1703
01:53:11.439 --> 01:53:14.079
him was proving more difficult than I thought. I had

1704
01:53:14.159 --> 01:53:17.880
unlimited access to anywhere with electricity, but I couldn't use

1705
01:53:17.920 --> 01:53:21.840
a computer or a GPS. I was limited to transportation

1706
01:53:22.039 --> 01:53:26.079
only through electricity. Granted, that still made me the fastest

1707
01:53:26.119 --> 01:53:30.319
being alive. I say being because I don't think I

1708
01:53:30.479 --> 01:53:33.840
qualify as a human anymore. But I was limited to

1709
01:53:33.920 --> 01:53:36.640
traveling to a place and then trying to find out

1710
01:53:36.640 --> 01:53:39.800
where I was and if he was there. If he

1711
01:53:39.880 --> 01:53:41.840
knew I was searching for him, all he would have

1712
01:53:41.920 --> 01:53:44.359
to do is live the rest of his days in

1713
01:53:44.399 --> 01:53:47.640
a cabin in the woods with no electricity, and I'd

1714
01:53:47.640 --> 01:53:51.199
never be able to reach him. I believe two things

1715
01:53:51.239 --> 01:53:55.520
worked in my favor with that theory. First, I don't

1716
01:53:55.560 --> 01:53:58.840
think he's that smart, and second, I don't think he

1717
01:53:58.960 --> 01:54:02.279
knows I'm looking for him. I believe that surviving our

1718
01:54:02.319 --> 01:54:06.840
fight only further empowered him to kill. When someone feels invincible,

1719
01:54:06.880 --> 01:54:10.359
they're bound to make a mistake. An officer walked into

1720
01:54:10.399 --> 01:54:13.359
the room, and I ducked back into an outlet. I

1721
01:54:13.479 --> 01:54:15.680
was able to hang on where I was and watch

1722
01:54:15.720 --> 01:54:19.279
from the inside of the outlet without being transported somewhere else.

1723
01:54:20.119 --> 01:54:23.119
The officer looked startled and stared at the empty air

1724
01:54:23.199 --> 01:54:26.000
that I had just vacated. She looked like she was

1725
01:54:26.079 --> 01:54:28.840
unsure if she trusted what her eyes had seen in

1726
01:54:28.880 --> 01:54:32.720
the instant before I vanished. She slowly stepped over to

1727
01:54:32.760 --> 01:54:35.680
the corner and bent down to peer into the outlet.

1728
01:54:36.520 --> 01:54:38.720
For a moment, I wondered if she could see me

1729
01:54:39.439 --> 01:54:44.000
and what exactly she would see, but then her radio squawked,

1730
01:54:44.039 --> 01:54:47.039
calling her to another scene. When I heard the voice

1731
01:54:47.039 --> 01:54:49.720
on the radio say the address and that they might

1732
01:54:49.760 --> 01:54:54.159
have the killer cornered, I didn't waste any time. It

1733
01:54:54.279 --> 01:54:57.399
was maybe fifteen seconds until I was across town at

1734
01:54:57.399 --> 01:54:59.960
the address i'd heard. There was a lot of screen

1735
01:55:00.359 --> 01:55:03.279
and crying going on. I came out of the outlet

1736
01:55:03.279 --> 01:55:06.359
and saw blood on the floor beside a body that

1737
01:55:06.560 --> 01:55:11.319
wasn't moving. There was a girl being beaten by a

1738
01:55:11.359 --> 01:55:14.399
man with his back to me. He turned to take

1739
01:55:14.399 --> 01:55:19.800
another swing, and I knew my search was over. My

1740
01:55:19.920 --> 01:55:22.640
therapist used to tell me I needed to work on

1741
01:55:22.760 --> 01:55:26.880
my impulse control, he said calmly as he slapped her.

1742
01:55:27.479 --> 01:55:30.439
I think I'm doing pretty good. I've been here ten

1743
01:55:30.479 --> 01:55:34.239
whole minutes, and you're still alive. I shot across the

1744
01:55:34.319 --> 01:55:36.920
room and knocked him to the floor. He jumped back

1745
01:55:36.960 --> 01:55:40.000
and looked around for what had hit him. What the hell?

1746
01:55:40.880 --> 01:55:43.199
I saw the fear in his eyes when he saw me.

1747
01:55:44.199 --> 01:55:47.520
I know Elizabeth would have been ashamed of me, but

1748
01:55:47.640 --> 01:55:51.039
I was enjoying his anxiety. After all he had done

1749
01:55:51.079 --> 01:55:53.560
to me and so many others. I drank it in

1750
01:55:54.199 --> 01:55:58.239
like an elixir. He started edging toward the door. I

1751
01:55:58.359 --> 01:56:01.000
was there in a heartbeat. His eye darted back and

1752
01:56:01.079 --> 01:56:03.439
forth where I used to be and where I now stood.

1753
01:56:04.079 --> 01:56:07.920
The panic in his eyes doubled. I wanted to make

1754
01:56:08.000 --> 01:56:10.960
him suffer, but I didn't want to make the same

1755
01:56:11.000 --> 01:56:14.600
mistake I'd made before and let him escape with his life.

1756
01:56:15.279 --> 01:56:17.279
I lashed out with a bolt that used to be

1757
01:56:17.399 --> 01:56:20.520
my arm. The energy slashed through his shirt and fried

1758
01:56:20.560 --> 01:56:23.640
a hole in his shoulder. He screamed in pain and

1759
01:56:23.680 --> 01:56:26.479
horror as he looked at the smoking hole in his skin.

1760
01:56:27.079 --> 01:56:29.479
He tried to run, but in an instant I was there.

1761
01:56:29.479 --> 01:56:32.279
In front of him, firing another bolt and searing the

1762
01:56:32.359 --> 01:56:36.000
skin across his waist to his jeans. His screams of

1763
01:56:36.079 --> 01:56:39.800
pain and rage were only matched by the feral desperation

1764
01:56:40.520 --> 01:56:44.680
in his eyes. Not knowing what to do, he went

1765
01:56:44.720 --> 01:56:48.920
with the familiar attack the innocent. He grabbed the girl

1766
01:56:48.920 --> 01:56:51.720
who had been crawling away from the scene. He grabbed

1767
01:56:51.720 --> 01:56:53.439
her again and held her in front of him like

1768
01:56:53.479 --> 01:56:57.920
a human shield. What a waste of skin. I fired

1769
01:56:57.960 --> 01:57:00.880
a bolt into a ceiling light beside me, which ricocheted

1770
01:57:01.039 --> 01:57:04.319
and hit him full force in the leg, nearly severing it.

1771
01:57:04.960 --> 01:57:07.119
He went down like a ton of bricks, trying to

1772
01:57:07.159 --> 01:57:09.880
hold on to his hostage, but she was fighting to

1773
01:57:09.920 --> 01:57:12.720
get away from him. She broke free, and he crumpled

1774
01:57:12.720 --> 01:57:16.600
to the floor. What do you want, he screamed at me.

1775
01:57:17.199 --> 01:57:19.840
With everything that is within me. I wanted to tell

1776
01:57:19.880 --> 01:57:22.279
him who I was and what he had taken from me,

1777
01:57:22.680 --> 01:57:25.479
and what I was about to take from him. But

1778
01:57:25.600 --> 01:57:28.760
I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. I wanted

1779
01:57:28.760 --> 01:57:31.640
to give him, only uncertainty and fear to cling to.

1780
01:57:32.199 --> 01:57:35.520
I could feel the seconds ticking away. I knew I

1781
01:57:35.560 --> 01:57:38.319
had to make the most of this opportunity, or he

1782
01:57:38.319 --> 01:57:42.319
would get away again, and after this I might never

1783
01:57:42.399 --> 01:57:46.279
find him. I unleashed every ounce of energy at him.

1784
01:57:46.479 --> 01:57:49.239
I couldn't even see him. He was only a smoking

1785
01:57:49.359 --> 01:57:54.800
pillar of frying skin. Just then the police burst through

1786
01:57:54.840 --> 01:57:59.560
the door. Free The first officer started, Then the shock

1787
01:57:59.600 --> 01:58:01.479
of what he was seeing stole the rest of the

1788
01:58:01.520 --> 01:58:04.880
word from his mouth. He stood there, mouth agape. When

1789
01:58:04.880 --> 01:58:08.520
the female officer stepped in behind him. She looked at me,

1790
01:58:08.600 --> 01:58:11.159
and her wide eyes narrowed as she put two and

1791
01:58:11.239 --> 01:58:15.880
two together and recognized me from the last crime scene.

1792
01:58:16.000 --> 01:58:18.319
I had no reason to fear. I didn't know if

1793
01:58:18.359 --> 01:58:21.399
I could even be harmed in my current state. But

1794
01:58:21.479 --> 01:58:24.199
when you see that blue uniform burst through a door

1795
01:58:24.279 --> 01:58:27.479
with a gun aimed at you, all rational thought takes

1796
01:58:27.520 --> 01:58:31.960
a vacation. I dove for the outlet and was gone.

1797
01:58:32.079 --> 01:58:34.920
I didn't even care where I was going. I knew

1798
01:58:34.920 --> 01:58:38.720
I had done what I wanted to. The monster was destroyed.

1799
01:58:40.319 --> 01:58:45.079
Something felt different. Was it pride at finishing my crusade?

1800
01:58:45.840 --> 01:58:48.600
Was it shame knowing Elizabeth wouldn't have wanted me to

1801
01:58:48.640 --> 01:58:51.840
do it? I don't know, but there was something else.

1802
01:58:52.399 --> 01:58:54.960
It was like there was added weight to my existence.

1803
01:58:55.640 --> 01:58:59.279
I guess you can have a conscience in whatever you'd

1804
01:58:59.319 --> 01:59:02.479
call this exist distance. I appeared in the place that

1805
01:59:02.600 --> 01:59:05.800
made the most sense. Ironically, it was my old home,

1806
01:59:06.319 --> 01:59:11.720
the one where everything I loved died, including me. It

1807
01:59:11.800 --> 01:59:16.880
was where I took on this unintended new existence. Is

1808
01:59:16.920 --> 01:59:20.159
that why I felt this extra weight? Was it some

1809
01:59:20.279 --> 01:59:23.359
cathartic after effect of my search for revenge that was

1810
01:59:23.399 --> 01:59:27.680
finally over. I looked around the charred debris of what used.

1811
01:59:27.479 --> 01:59:28.239
To be my home.

1812
01:59:29.000 --> 01:59:31.239
In my mind's eye, I didn't see the burned out

1813
01:59:31.279 --> 01:59:34.119
shell of what was left. I saw it as it

1814
01:59:34.279 --> 01:59:38.520
was when we first moved in, when Elizabeth started decorating,

1815
01:59:39.199 --> 01:59:42.520
when the interior was finally finished, and I turned to

1816
01:59:42.560 --> 01:59:46.479
her and said for now, knowing she would decide to

1817
01:59:46.560 --> 01:59:49.279
change everything at some time in the future when she

1818
01:59:49.399 --> 01:59:53.640
was bored, just like all women seemed to do. I

1819
01:59:53.720 --> 01:59:56.600
remember getting a paintbrush across the mouth for that comment.

1820
01:59:57.279 --> 02:00:00.279
I smiled, remembering kissing her with my freshly pain pinted

1821
02:00:00.399 --> 02:00:04.439
mouth and ending up in the bedroom. As I turned

1822
02:00:04.439 --> 02:00:08.520
toward where I'd entered the house, my smile quickly faded.

1823
02:00:09.319 --> 02:00:12.000
For some reason, I was still connected to the outlet

1824
02:00:12.640 --> 02:00:16.640
that had never happened before. Another curiosity arose when I

1825
02:00:16.720 --> 02:00:20.800
noticed the color of my electrical body was now tinged purple.

1826
02:00:21.840 --> 02:00:25.359
It had always been blue before the tale of what

1827
02:00:25.439 --> 02:00:27.399
had yet to come out of the outlet was red.

1828
02:00:27.920 --> 02:00:29.840
As I pulled and it came the rest of the

1829
02:00:29.880 --> 02:00:33.680
way out, it merged with me and turned purple. What

1830
02:00:33.720 --> 02:00:37.600
the hell? I heard someone say. I whipped around, but

1831
02:00:37.760 --> 02:00:41.479
no one was there. Where am I? The voice said?

1832
02:00:42.319 --> 02:00:46.439
Who are you? I said to the air. There was

1833
02:00:46.479 --> 02:00:52.600
a long silence. Doc, Doc, the voice said, As far

1834
02:00:52.680 --> 02:00:55.199
as I knew, it wasn't possible for my spine to

1835
02:00:55.239 --> 02:00:58.680
turn to ice, since I no longer had a spine,

1836
02:00:58.800 --> 02:01:05.960
But the feeling seemed the same. Frederick, I said, what happened?

1837
02:01:06.840 --> 02:01:10.600
He asked, This crazy electric thing attacked me? And now

1838
02:01:10.920 --> 02:01:15.800
now wait a minute, how am I talking to you?

1839
02:01:15.000 --> 02:01:20.880
You died months ago. My shock gave way to utter despair.

1840
02:01:22.000 --> 02:01:32.039
My enemy was now part of me. I hope you

1841
02:01:32.159 --> 02:01:35.279
enjoyed those four terror tales my spookies as much as

1842
02:01:35.319 --> 02:01:38.000
I did revisiting them. Whether they were new to you

1843
02:01:38.159 --> 02:01:41.439
or you heard them last year, Make sure you're subscribed

1844
02:01:41.479 --> 02:01:44.239
on your favorite podcasting app because next week we go

1845
02:01:44.279 --> 02:01:47.479
into Part four of the Spin the Bottle mini series

1846
02:01:47.520 --> 02:01:50.880
and a few more best ofs and other surprises as

1847
02:01:50.920 --> 02:01:54.279
I start to recover from the last three months of

1848
02:01:54.399 --> 02:01:58.279
twenty twenty four heading into twenty twenty five. Also, we

1849
02:01:58.359 --> 02:02:01.640
have something very special plan for Valentine's Day as well,

1850
02:02:02.239 --> 02:02:05.319
So subscribe on your favorite podcasting app and leave us

1851
02:02:05.359 --> 02:02:09.399
five stars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It really does

1852
02:02:09.479 --> 02:02:11.880
make a difference, and if you want even more shows

1853
02:02:11.920 --> 02:02:16.079
to enjoy, just head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash join

1854
02:02:16.439 --> 02:02:18.520
and for as little as one dollar a month, you

1855
02:02:18.640 --> 02:02:22.000
get two shows every month, as well as almost five

1856
02:02:22.199 --> 02:02:27.119
years of back catalog of exclusive stories and audiobooks just

1857
02:02:27.199 --> 02:02:29.840
for you. I'll catch you next time.