Oct. 22, 2025

Boy on the Bike: A Haunted Suburban Horror Mystery

Boy on the Bike: A Haunted Suburban Horror Mystery

Celebrate your Spooky Season on a quiet Ohio block where a ghost boy pedals through the dark—and only some neighbors can see him.

In this chilling tale of suburban hauntings and emotional struggles, Emmett Perry is fighting the bottle, trying to be a better dad. Late-night sightings pull him into an eerie mystery tied to a fatal bike accident, a wary grandma named Millie, and whispers about 'the bad lady' who once lived in his house. As nightmares blur with reality, Emmett uncovers a truth hiding in plain sight at the corner of Cauley Place and Grattis.

This haunted horror story blends ghostly dread with true-crime unease, culminating in a revelation that questions what we owe to both the living and the dead.

Boy on the Bike — by Travis VanHoose

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📬 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
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A boy rides past the same stop sign every night,

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then vanishes. Emmett is trying to stay sober, be a

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good dad, and ignore the shadows in his own house.

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But the truth about the bad lady you can never unsee.

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There's a hill in the air, must befall. Join me

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for a tale of Halloween. You will experience tales of

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over ghosts. It is not recommended for the week at heart.

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Join me for a tale of foul Weekly Spooky.

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Hello, my spookies, It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.

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It's time for a little spooky in your weekly. Of course,

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in October, every day you get a little something spooky,

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and tonight is no exception. We are bringing you a

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very very creepy novella to do our part to keep

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you in the Halloween spirit. I'm your host and narrator,

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Enrique Kuto, and thank you so much for joining me,

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and I hope i'll earn your subscription if you haven't

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already on your favorite podcasting app, And if you're looking

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for a spooky place to hang out and share me

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scary stories and just get a little of that scary camaraderie,

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you can head over to Facebook and type in Weekly

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Spooky's Tomb of Terror. It's a little spot on the

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Internet for Spooky's authors and myself to hang out and

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enjoy ourselves, so make sure to check that out at

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Weekly Spooky's Tomb of Terror on Facebook. We would love

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to hear from you, and you can also send us

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an email at Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com. Whether

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it's a story, suggestion, a comment, a question, anything on

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your mind, send it to Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com.

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And if you want to support us in a very

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direct way, you can head to Weekly Spooky dot com

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slash join and for as little as one dollar a month,

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get bonus episodes and so much more at Weeklyspooky dot

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com slash join. But now, as for tonight, the street

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is quiet. A single bike tire squeaks through the fog,

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circling the same stop sign every night. Neighbors say it's

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just tricks of the mind. The tracks on the pavement

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tell another story, because some ghosts don't fade away, They

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just keep riding and riding. Boy on the Bike by

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Travis van House. Now that Emmitt Perry was a father,

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he was delighted with the neighborhood. He elected to call home.

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He had purchased his first house six years ago, and

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in the first year he hadn't had a child to

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call his own. That all changed after a one night

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stand and resulted in the creation of his perfect son, Nathan.

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Though Emmett and the child's mother were unable to establish

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a healthy romantic relationship, they had a fantastic friendship and

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excelled at co parenting, so much so that most of

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Emmett's drinking buddies were both impressed and openly jealous. I

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don't get it, man, You don't even fucking pay child support.

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Can you still get to see your kid? Bobby Franks

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was two shades to the wind downing his fifth jack

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and coke of the night. He was one of Emmett's

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most jealous friends. He had four children with four different women,

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and jumped at every opportunity to complain about how much

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he paid in child support. When you don't treat every

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woman you date like shit, there are all types of benefits,

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Emmett shot back at his friend. It was true. Emmett

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didn't pay child support. When he and his son's mother, Renea,

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decided to give co parenting a shot, they had agreed

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to split all expenses surrounding Nathan. Renea was a strong

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willed and independent woman. She already had an eight year

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old child when she got pregnant with Emmett's son. She

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refused to go after the child's father for support. She

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believed that too many women took advantage of the system

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and knew that claiming assistance would result in having to

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interact with her other child's father, whom she despised. From

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the moment Nathan was born, the child was showered with

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love from his parents, and he was all the better

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for it. Nathan was such a loving and caring child.

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When around either of his parents, the look in his

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eyes showed you exactly how happy he was. Emmett got

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an excellent deal when he purchased his house in Enigma Springs, Ohio.

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He had been living in a crummy apartment, which was

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all he could afford working as a bar tender, but

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a hundred thousand dollar inheritance allowed him to acquire a

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house and to start working on his drinking problem, which

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he knew was getting the best of him. Randomly, driving

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around the general area he had hoped to find a

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house in, he saw a little old man hammering a

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home maid for sale by owner sign into the lawn

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of a decent looking brick home. The man had to

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have been in his seventies. He wore a button up,

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long sleeved shirt covered in old jeans and overalls. Country

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to the core, em It thought to himself as he

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pulled up before the house and started a conversation with

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the man. Emme it learned that the house at two

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seventeen Callie Place had been empty for over a year.

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The old man's daughter, who owned the house, had unexpectedly

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passed away from a rare blood disease. She had died

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sitting in her favorite chair in the living room with

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a fresh glass of sun tea still in her hand

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when she was found. After his daughter's death, a lengthy

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legal process began to claim the deed to the home.

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During that time, the old man, who introduced himself as Jerry,

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had spent nearly every waking day working on remodeling the house.

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He and his wife planned to sell their home and

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their daughters and moved to Florida. They were longing for

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a quiet life after retirement. Too many strange things happen

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in this damned town. Jerry whispered to Emmett. It's time

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for us to part ways and seek out greener pastures.

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Emmett laughed, but he knew the man's words to be true.

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Enigma Springs was unlike other towns. It was a special

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place with a dark history, riddled with bloodshed and horrifying legends. Still,

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he called it home. Jerry gave Emmett a tour of

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the house, and he was immediately impressed with all the

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hard work the old man had done on the interior.

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All the wood floors had been refurbished, the walls were

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freshly painted, and the kitchen cabinets had recently been replaced.

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New tiling and appliances had also been added to the kitchen.

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There were three small bedrooms on the first floor, a bathroom,

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and a living room that opened into the kitchen with

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the small makings of a dining room. The basement was

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unfinished but clean, and Emmett saw no sign of water

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damage or mold. Jerry was asking ninety eight thousand dollars

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for the house, but Emmett could tell the old man

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would most likely come down on the price if he

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pushed hard enough. Jerry told him they had just sold

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their own house and had to be out in a month,

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so Emmett knew he had some wiggle room. He also

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had an offer in mind. He didn't think the old

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man would refuse. Think we can come down on the

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price if I can hand you a cashier's check in

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the morning. Emmett watched Jerry's eyes light up. In the end,

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Emmett offered Jerry eighty eight thousand dollars in cash. They

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could bypass legal fees with lawyers and realtors, execute a

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quick deed and call it a day. There would be

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no closing costs, and both men would walk away all

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the better for it. Jerry said he'd have to talk

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to his wife about it, but Emmett knew the answer

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would be yes. He had been right, as Jerry had

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phoned him a little over an hour later to say

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he'd accept the offer. A week later, Emmett moved into

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the house along with one of his drinking buddies, Gareth Long.

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Garrett worked as a bouncer at Bert's Brewery, the same

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bar Emmett bartended at. Like Emmett, he was just shy

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of forty, but their looks couldn't have been any different.

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Garrett was six inches taller than Emmett and had broad

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shoulders with muscular arms covered in tattoos. His legs were huge,

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and he had the beginnings of a beer gut. Even

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though he worked out six days a week. He was

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a fighter at heart, which served him well as a bouncer.

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Even when a fight wasn't brewing, he would stir one

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up so he could lay hands on someone. It annoyed

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Emmett to no end, but he had a soft spot

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for the guy who had lost both his parents and

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his fiancee within a week of one another. All three

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had been in separate car accidents when they met their end.

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Another thing Emmett liked about Gareth is that he wasn't needy.

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Even though they lived under the same roof, they didn't

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spend much time together. They had lives outside the house

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and were content to chill in their rooms and didn't

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need to speak daily. They were both loners, so the

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living situation was perfect. They were great friends, but didn't

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constantly need to remind one another of that fact. A

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month after moving into two one seven Callie Place, the

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distance between the two men grew, though neither acknowledged it.

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Emmett had decided to quit the bar business. He needed

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to get away from the bar scene. He knew it

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would be a struggle, but he was committed to it

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for the sake of his son. Drinking and blow were

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the two main things Emmett and Gareth had in common,

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and now that Emmett had removed himself from the central

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place they partied, they didn't see one another that much.

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Emmett's idea was to quit hard liquor, cold turkey and

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avoid all drugs apart from a bit of marijuana here

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and there. Hard liquor and cocaine were his central vices,

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and he knew if he didn't cut them out immediately,

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he would end up being a sad bar fly for

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the rest of his life. He also knew he could

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save a shit ton of money by drinking a few

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beers at home as opposed to at the bar, where

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they were double priced and required to tip. He had

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a slight gambling addiction and would play pull taps or

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make bets in pool or darts, which he rarely won.

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Once he quit his job, he and Gareth didn't see

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much of one another, except for passing in the house

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or the rare occasion where Gareth decided to spend a

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night at home rather than chasing tail at the bar.

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The first Friday em that was alone in the house

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was his most challenging. He craved social interaction and had

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to fight every impulse. He had to start his transformation

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the following day instead of right then. By six in

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the evening, he was squirming on the couch, unable to

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focus on the TV show he was watching. He needed

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to get up and move around. He decided to walk

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to a gas station down the street to grab a

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case of beer. He chose not to drive, thinking that

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the walk would help rid himself of some of his

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nervous energy. I'm going stir crazy and it's only been

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one fucking night, and it shook his head in disgust.

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He couldn't believe he had allowed his addiction and lifestyle

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to get him to this point. He repeatedly reminded himself

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that he was doing it for little Nathan. He wanted

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to be a good father, that his son would be

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proud of. Walking through the neighborhood, Emmett smiled ear to ear.

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Many of his neighbors sat on their porches, having drinks

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or spending time with one another. They each raised a

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hand and waved as Emmett passed by. Others played with

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their kids on their lawns, trying to wear them out

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before bedtime. A group of teenage boys rode their skateboards

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up and down a concrete slope at the end of

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the street and tried to act older than they were. God,

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I feel old, Emmett laughed as he watched the boys

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dicking around. He missed those carefree times from his youth,

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when he felt invincible and had his whole life ahead

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of him. It was a nice night out, not too hot,

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with a light breeze. When Emmett returned to his house

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with a fresh case of cold ones, he decided to

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sit on his porch and enjoy the fresh air. The

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walls inside the house seemed to be closing in on him,

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and he thought the fresh air would help him relax.

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He placed the case in the refrigerator, pulled out two beers,

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and went to the front porch, where two chairs and

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a small glass table waited. He put the beers on

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the table, pulled his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket

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and set them aside the bottles. He then pulled out

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his cell phone, opened his favorite music app, and pulled

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up a nineties alternative playlist. He pushed play, set the

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phone aside, lit a cigarette, and cracked open a beer.

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He downed half the bottle in a single gulp, looked

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out over his porch railing and surveyed the neighborhood. You're

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going to be happy here, and thought, everything will fall

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into place and you'll finally be at peace. It was

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nearly ten at night and Emmett had a good buzz.

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He wasn't as shitfaced as usual at that hour, but

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he had only been drinking beer and not liquor. He

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decided that in order to get a good night's sleep,

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he'd need to increase his buzz. He had some weed

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in his room, which he retrieved and brought to the

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porch along with his orange glass bowl. He packed the bowl,

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sparked the weed, and took a couple of deep hits.

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He chased the smoke back with another chug of beer.

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Something caught his attention from his line of vision to

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the right. He exhaled another cloud of smoke and looked

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to the corner, where he saw a young kid riding

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a bike. The kid stopped at the stop sign on

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the corner, turned the bike around and sped back in

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the opposite direction. A coldness ran through Emmittt's bones. It

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was Emmett's first sighting of the boy on the bike,

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but it wouldn't be the last. The boy on the

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bike was about to impact Emmett's life significantly, an impact

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that would stick with him for the rest of his days.

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Emmett had been out of work for three days and

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struggled to keep busy. The days were the easiest. His

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child's mother worked the day shift and would drop their son,

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Nathan off at eight in the morning. Emmett would get

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to spend the next nine hours with his son. Nathan

248
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was five and full of life. Emmett would spend the

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day playing with his son, inside and outside if the

250
00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:23.359
weather permitted. Just being around Nathan filled Emmett with strength.

251
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He knew he could get his sobriety under control. Every

252
00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:32.039
time he heard Nathan laugh or saw a smile cross

253
00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:37.039
his face. Renea would usually pick Nathan up a little

254
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after five, unless Emmett needed to run errands, in which

255
00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.119
case he would meet Renea in the parking lot of

256
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her place of employment to hand Nathan off. This was

257
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.960
always the worst part of the day, the part where

258
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.119
he had to say goodbye to his son. Some days,

259
00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:01.440
Nathan would cry and throw a fit, breaking Emmett's On

260
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.400
those days, he wished he and Renea could have worked

261
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things out. Emmett's problem was how to occupy his time

262
00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:15.000
once Nathan was gone for the day. Most of Emmett's

263
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.400
friends were people he had met at the bar. He

264
00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.279
wasn't strong enough to go out and hang with his

265
00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.960
friends in that type of setting, at least not yet.

266
00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:30.000
He still longed for that burning sensation he got when

267
00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:34.720
he sipped whiskey or tequila. He also longed for the

268
00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:40.000
social aspect of sitting around and bullshitting with other bar patrons,

269
00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:44.440
but he knew he had to stay strong. The longer

270
00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:48.480
he did it, the easier it would be. He truly

271
00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.920
believed that acquiring a job in the evening was something

272
00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:56.880
Emmett was also working on. He knew he couldn't rely

273
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on his inheritance long term to figure out what he

274
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:05.880
wanted to do now that he wasn't bartending. His only

275
00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.640
passion was writing, but he didn't think he could honestly

276
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:14.119
make a career out of that. He planned to get

277
00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:18.119
a mind numbing night job to occupy his time when

278
00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:22.279
he didn't have Nathan. He believed that would allow him

279
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:32.880
to genuinely lay off the bottle. Everyone handles addiction in

280
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their own way and at their own pace. This is

281
00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:41.839
something Emmett believed with his whole heart. Most of his

282
00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.960
old drinking buddies didn't understand why he thought he had

283
00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:50.519
a problem. They didn't understand because he was still drinking

284
00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:55.000
beer at home. They'd ask why he couldn't at least

285
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:58.400
come out and have a beer with them, even if

286
00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:02.680
he wasn't going to indulge in shots. Emmett would try

287
00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.759
to explain that that was the problem. He would not

288
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.279
stop taking shots if he went to the bar and

289
00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.799
got a good beer buzz em It was sure that

290
00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:16.880
if he spoke to a specialist, they would tell him

291
00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:20.599
he would never be able to obtain sobriety unless he

292
00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:26.559
completely cut out drinking altogether. He understood this method of thinking,

293
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:30.359
but he truly believed with his whole heart that it

294
00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:34.599
wouldn't work for him. He felt that after drinking beer

295
00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:39.000
in the evenings after five, he would slowly curve and

296
00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:42.720
control his addiction. He'd give it a month or two,

297
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.519
and if he still deemed it to be a problem,

298
00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:52.039
he would consider joining AA or an outpatient rehab. If

299
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Emmett had gotten a night job the moment he began

300
00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.400
his self treatment, he would never have seen the boy

301
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.920
on the bike. He would have never experienced all the

302
00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:18.240
terrifying things that were about to unravel his life. Each day,

303
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.720
after Nathan returned home with his mother, Emmett would grab

304
00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:25.720
a case of beer and sit on his front porch,

305
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:31.039
listen to music, browse the Internet, and engage in friendly

306
00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:35.599
chatter with his neighbors, with whom he was slowly making connections.

307
00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.559
He also began to work on his lawn like an

308
00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:45.279
obsessive anything to keep his mind busy without thinking about drinking,

309
00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:50.759
drugs or gambling. It was a struggle, but he was

310
00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:57.279
managing himself well. Directly across the street lived a nice man, Levi,

311
00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:00.920
who had custody of his two tear teen age sons.

312
00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:04.759
They were both well behaved and spent most of their

313
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:09.279
time indoors playing video games. Levi was in his mid

314
00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:13.319
forties and was recently engaged to a sweet woman who

315
00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:17.279
had moved in with him. Levi had introduced himself. On

316
00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:21.079
the third day, he saw Emmett smoking a cigarette and

317
00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.519
drinking a beer on his porch. I see you're a

318
00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:28.720
miller guy. Levi came walking across the street with a

319
00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:31.759
beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

320
00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:37.319
I'm Levi. Emmett stood and shook the man's hand when

321
00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.880
he arrived at his porch. Nice to meet you, Levi.

322
00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:44.960
I'm Emmett. How are you liking the neighborhood so far?

323
00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:51.400
It's not too bad. Lots of kids around seem safe. Yeah,

324
00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:55.400
we never have any problems around here. Nothing like Lake

325
00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:00.799
Shore Drive, Levi laughed. Lake Shore Drive was a very

326
00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:06.559
troubled street in Enigma Springs, Ohio. There were rumors of murder,

327
00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:13.799
rampant domestic violence, and cannibalism. A few months before moving

328
00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:17.680
into his home on Cawley Place, the street had been

329
00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:21.400
blown to pieces. It was now nothing more than a

330
00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:24.640
giant hole in the ground that the town was trying

331
00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:29.079
to figure out what to do with. Levi and Emmett

332
00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:33.000
hid it off. Levi liked to drink, but he didn't

333
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.480
like the bar scene. Nearly every night he would join

334
00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:40.720
Levi on his porch and put down drink. After drink,

335
00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.640
Levi would call it a night around nine or ten.

336
00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.359
As he worked the early shift at a factory, but

337
00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:53.400
Emmett would keep going until well past midnight, even knowing

338
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.279
he would have Nathan to deal with in the morning.

339
00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:02.000
Spending time with Levi allowed Emma to acquire the socialization

340
00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:06.920
he craved without going to the bar. The third night

341
00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:10.039
that Levi and Emmett hung out and put back some

342
00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:14.519
drinks was a Friday. Levi could stay up well past

343
00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:18.799
his bedtime as he was off on Saturdays. He had

344
00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:22.599
also brought his fiance Surely over to join in on

345
00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.839
the fun. Emmett and Levi were shooting the shit and

346
00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:31.279
Shirley was scrolling through her phone when the boy on

347
00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:42.359
the bike appeared. Emmett's porch was one house away from

348
00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.160
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis Drive. The boy

349
00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:51.960
on the bike appeared on Gratis, approaching the stop sign.

350
00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:56.039
No street light was on the corner, so Emmett could

351
00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:59.480
only see the child from the few porch lights his

352
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:04.880
neighbors had left on after dark. Look Levi. Shirley was

353
00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:08.440
the first to notice the boy. It's that weird kid

354
00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:13.160
on a bike again. Emmett and Levi stopped mid conversation

355
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.759
and looked toward the corner. Where the boy on the

356
00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:23.000
bike had just turned around, heading back up gratis. What's

357
00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:27.200
the story, Emmett asked as he lit a cigarette. That

358
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.480
kid rode his bike up and down the street till

359
00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:33.160
midnight the other night. Beats the hell out of us.

360
00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:37.359
LEVI took a chug of his beer. We used to

361
00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:39.640
see him do this every night when he moved in

362
00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:43.440
three years ago. He rides back and forth for hours

363
00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.640
on end. I never see the kid out during the day,

364
00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:51.440
only at night. It makes no sense to us. Do

365
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:55.920
you know where the kid lives? Emmett's curiosity had peaked.

366
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.599
If the kid only came out at night, maybe his

367
00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:03.160
parents homeschooled him and didn't want him around the other

368
00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:06.759
kids on the street. He had read books and watched

369
00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:11.240
movies with over protective parents who would do things just

370
00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:15.319
like that. Maybe they sat on their porch, watched the

371
00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:19.319
kid ride his bike, and then ushered them back into

372
00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:24.079
their house. Thinking about it, he pictured them dressed in

373
00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:29.680
traditional Amish attire and had to stifle a laugh. We'll

374
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:33.279
see him for like a week, then it'll be months later,

375
00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:38.839
maybe a year, and he'll reappear. Shirley said she was

376
00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:43.200
already bored with the conversation and returned to scrolling on

377
00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:48.160
her phone. He could be visiting his grandparents for the summer.

378
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.240
Emmett thought, maybe that's why they only see him one

379
00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:56.759
week out of the year. That still didn't explain why

380
00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:01.599
the kid only rode his bike late at night. Emmett

381
00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:04.279
didn't know why he thought about the boy on the

382
00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.799
bike so much. He had no clue why it had

383
00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:13.359
become such a mystery to him, a mystery he wanted

384
00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:19.400
to solve. Because you're going nuts from not drinking, really drinking,

385
00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:25.079
Emmett's mind pondered. One beer later, the boy on the

386
00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:30.200
bike had stopped traveling back and forth on gratis. Two

387
00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:34.680
beers later, Levi and Shirley decided to call it a night.

388
00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:38.880
If I don't fuck this one once or twice before bed,

389
00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:42.359
I won't hear the end of it, Levi remarked with

390
00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:46.079
a wink as he took Shirley by the hand. She

391
00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:50.440
punched him on the shoulder playfully, but Emmett believed Levi

392
00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:55.440
was telling the truth. The couple talked about sex NonStop

393
00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:59.200
and weren't shy to share the secrets of what went

394
00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:05.440
on behind closed doors. Emmett also considered retiring for the night,

395
00:30:06.119 --> 00:30:09.240
but he still had another three beers in the fridge

396
00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:13.880
that he planned to put back. He didn't have Nathan

397
00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:17.160
in the morning. It was Shirley's day off and she

398
00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:20.240
was taking him to visit her mother an hour away.

399
00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:25.720
With no responsibility, Emmett decided to get as drunk and

400
00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:30.200
stoned as he could from the skunk weed he had left.

401
00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:35.319
He quickly reminded himself to go to the dispensary to

402
00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:39.319
get more potent stuff. I've got to get a job,

403
00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:43.559
Emmett told himself as he sparked a bowl and took

404
00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:47.160
a few deep pits. I have way too much fucking

405
00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:52.680
time on my hands. The boy on the bike appeared again.

406
00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:57.839
He rode to the stop sign, turned around, and rode

407
00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:03.880
back into the shadows of Gratis. Looks like an old huffy.

408
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:10.440
Emmett focused his full stoned attention on the corner, like

409
00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:13.200
the one I had as a kid. I bet it

410
00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:17.519
has one of those banana boat seats. It was a

411
00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:21.720
red bike, that much Emmett was sure of. From what

412
00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:24.480
he could make out of the boy, he knew he

413
00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:30.799
was Caucasian and probably around seven years old. That was

414
00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:34.279
why Emmett thought it was so strange that the boy

415
00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:37.880
on the bike was out riding in the dark. He

416
00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:42.839
couldn't imagine letting Nathan out alone at night at that age.

417
00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:46.799
He didn't plan on being an over protective father, but

418
00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:50.519
he also didn't plan on being a stupid one either.

419
00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:54.279
Emmett knew you always had to keep your eye on

420
00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:58.319
your children no matter where you lived, but he also

421
00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:01.880
knew you had to be extra careful. In a place

422
00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:07.400
like Enigma Springs. People went missing all too often for

423
00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:11.480
his liking, which was startling for a town with just

424
00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:16.400
over two thousand residents. There were only two thousand and

425
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:21.400
seventeen registered residents the last time he heard. He would

426
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:25.359
be damned to hell if his kid became one of

427
00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:29.200
the missing. Maybe it's a good thing you sit out

428
00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:33.359
here at night. If that kid's parents or caregivers aren't

429
00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:37.359
watching out for him, you can. He knew the kid

430
00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:41.839
was not his responsibility, but ever since Nathan came into

431
00:32:41.880 --> 00:32:45.759
his life, he noticed that he started paying attention more

432
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:49.839
to other kids around him. He saw other people in

433
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:54.319
his neighborhood doing the same thing. They were all watching

434
00:32:54.359 --> 00:32:58.720
out for one another's children, which is one reason why

435
00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:02.440
Emmett was happy, he chose to move to Callie Place.

436
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:07.759
Emmett's thoughts were broken when he heard a thud metal

437
00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:13.119
and flesh hitting the pavement, followed by a child's cries.

438
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:17.039
He turned and looked to the corner of Gratis and

439
00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:20.640
Callie Place, where he saw the boy on the bike

440
00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:24.960
lying in the middle of the street, curled in a

441
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:33.480
ball with his bicycle on top of him. Emmett jumped

442
00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:37.079
to his feet and immediately ran toward the boy on

443
00:33:37.160 --> 00:33:40.759
the bike. He could see him hunched over on the ground.

444
00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:45.400
It looked like he was holding his knee. Emmet hoped

445
00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:49.319
the kid hadn't broken a bone or crushed his skull.

446
00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:54.480
Emmett had noticed the boy wasn't wearing a helmet, not

447
00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:58.720
that many of the kids in the neighborhood did. Just

448
00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:02.319
as he was about to cross from Cawley Place to Grottis,

449
00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:08.000
a red car came speeding down the road with blinding headlights.

450
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:12.400
There was no stop sign in the car's direction, and

451
00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:16.960
it was going too fast to stop before crushing the

452
00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:21.960
little boy beneath its tires. Emm It's face went ashen

453
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:28.719
white and his eyes widened. Jesus Christ, stop, he screamed,

454
00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:33.119
lifting one hand to his eyes to shield himself from

455
00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:38.920
watching the unthinkable. The car slammed on its brakes, but

456
00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:43.199
it was too late. The vehicle ran over the crumpled

457
00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:46.119
form of the boy in the middle of the road.

458
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.760
Em It didn't hear a thud, but he knew it

459
00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:55.960
had happened. He was momentarily frozen in fear and sure

460
00:34:56.039 --> 00:34:59.679
he could feel a splash of hot urine running down

461
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:03.679
his li left leg. What the fuck is the matter

462
00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:07.719
with you, asshole? A large man came bounding out of

463
00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.880
the red car. You nearly gave me a heart attack

464
00:35:11.079 --> 00:35:16.559
running up on me like that. The boy, Emmett began

465
00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:20.280
running toward the man and the red car. You hit

466
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:24.719
a kid, the fuck I did. The large man had

467
00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.800
a look of concern on his face and lifted a

468
00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:32.760
hand to his chest. He was on guard, not knowing Emmett,

469
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:36.199
the crazy man who had yelled so loud that he

470
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:39.920
could hear him from inside his car while speeding down

471
00:35:39.920 --> 00:35:44.760
the road. He noticed that Emmett's eyes were wide and crazy.

472
00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:49.400
Emmett ran to the front of the man's car, panting

473
00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:53.719
with tears. He looked down, but there was no sign

474
00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:59.159
of the little boy or his bike. He fell on

475
00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:03.280
his stomach, lowering his face to the road and looking

476
00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:08.880
under the car, Still no sign of the boy. His

477
00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.519
heart was beating so hard he could feel it pounding

478
00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:17.320
in his neck, and a nervous sweat covered him. Where

479
00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:19.920
the hell is he? He was here? I saw him

480
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:25.119
on the road. Everett's mind was in overdrive. What the

481
00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:27.880
hell is the matter with you? The owner of the

482
00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:32.679
car moved forward, staring down at Emmett. He maintained a

483
00:36:32.760 --> 00:36:38.280
reasonable distance, unsure if Emmett was crazy or on drugs.

484
00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:45.440
I I Emmett slowly stood, His legs were shaking. He

485
00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:48.320
looked from one side of the street to the other.

486
00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:53.320
I'm sorry, I I thought I saw a kid in

487
00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:58.679
the street. I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry. He began to

488
00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:02.599
back away from the car and head toward his house.

489
00:37:03.800 --> 00:37:08.400
You're fucking crazy, man. The driver of the car returned

490
00:37:08.440 --> 00:37:13.840
to his vehicle, got in, slammed the door, and sped off.

491
00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:19.519
Once back on his porch, Emmett nervously lit a cigarette

492
00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:23.000
and stood staring at the corner of the street where

493
00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:25.800
he was sure he had witnessed the boy on the

494
00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:31.320
bike being hit by the red car. The street was

495
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:36.280
quiet and empty, and there was no sign that the

496
00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:46.400
boy had been there at all. Sleep did not come

497
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:50.920
easy for Emmett that night. He knew with certainty that

498
00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:54.239
he had seen the boy on the bike, crumpled in

499
00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:57.639
the middle of the street. He had heard his cries.

500
00:37:58.400 --> 00:38:02.000
He had listened to the fleshy, metallic thud when the

501
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:07.119
incident occurred. He had seen the kid hunched over, holding

502
00:38:07.159 --> 00:38:12.440
on to his knee, crying out in pain. People can

503
00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:17.840
hallucinate when they are having withdrawals, em It thought to himself.

504
00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:23.320
But he was still drinking beer every day. He would

505
00:38:23.320 --> 00:38:27.280
get the shakes now and then, and night sweats, signs

506
00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:30.519
that his body was adapting to not having the hard

507
00:38:30.599 --> 00:38:37.000
liquor and cocaine it desired. He would have considered hallucinations

508
00:38:37.039 --> 00:38:42.320
a possibility if he hadn't been drinking beer nightly. But

509
00:38:42.440 --> 00:38:47.000
the boy had been there, even the neighbors had seen him,

510
00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:52.199
so he knew he was real. Maybe it's stress, emme

511
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:56.599
it considered, you've been worried about getting a job. Maybe

512
00:38:56.639 --> 00:38:59.559
you fell asleep and dreamed the boy fell in the street.

513
00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:03.719
You know it's dark in that direction without street lights.

514
00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:09.000
No matter how many theories and excuses crossed, his mind.

515
00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:13.760
He didn't believe a single one of them. The boy

516
00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:18.159
had been there, he had fallen to the street, crying

517
00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:25.559
out in pain. Then he had vanished, vanished into the night.

518
00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:34.199
Emm It woke far too early the next day. He

519
00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:36.920
figured he had slept an hour to an hour and

520
00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:41.480
a half. Every time he shut his eyes, the boy

521
00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:46.000
being hit by the red car would cross his mind,

522
00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:50.920
and he'd open them back up in a panic. He

523
00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:54.639
also kept getting up and peeking through the bay window

524
00:39:54.760 --> 00:39:58.280
curtains in his living room to see if the child

525
00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:02.360
was still there on the ground. When he did sleep,

526
00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:06.599
it was restless. He dreamed he was on a busy street,

527
00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:10.880
perhaps in New York, and had taken Nathan for a walk.

528
00:40:11.760 --> 00:40:15.840
He had been distracted by two guys arguing, and Nathan

529
00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:19.880
was nowhere to be seen. When he turned around, he

530
00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:24.199
had been taken. Emmett scrambled in the crowd, screaming his

531
00:40:24.320 --> 00:40:28.760
son's name. He had an empty and terrible feeling in

532
00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:32.639
the pit of his stomach and his heart that he

533
00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:38.000
would never that he would never see him again. Emmet

534
00:40:38.039 --> 00:40:42.159
woke covered in a blanket of sweat. The dream was

535
00:40:42.199 --> 00:40:46.119
still thick in his mind, and he ran straight to

536
00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:53.880
the bathroom and vomited. By one that afternoon, Emmett was

537
00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:58.440
craving a drink, a strong one. He knew beer wouldn't

538
00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:04.239
satisfy his needs. He was mentally and emotionally battling himself

539
00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:08.079
for a good hour. At one point, he grabbed his

540
00:41:08.199 --> 00:41:12.840
car keys, headed outside, got into his car, revved up

541
00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:17.360
the engine, and prepared to head to the bar. He

542
00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:20.239
knew what he was about to do was wrong and

543
00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:24.360
would most likely spiral out of control, but he needed

544
00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:28.599
a drink in a bad way. Wrapped around his rear

545
00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:32.400
view mirror were the first pair of Chuck Taylor's emm

546
00:41:32.440 --> 00:41:36.599
It had bought Nathan. When he turned too, the shoes

547
00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:41.800
immediately reminded him of why he was trying to embrace sobriety.

548
00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:47.679
He shut off the engine and headed back inside. Get

549
00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:51.880
a fucking grip, man, he told himself. You can't lose

550
00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:56.760
yourself now, or or you'll lose Nathan. Emmitt went to

551
00:41:56.840 --> 00:42:00.679
his room and packed a bowl. He took a few hits,

552
00:42:01.239 --> 00:42:06.639
holding the smoke in to obtain a quicker high. Within minutes,

553
00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:11.079
he was good and stoned. He thought about taking a nap,

554
00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:16.239
but was afraid he'd have terrible nightmares about Nathan going

555
00:42:16.320 --> 00:42:21.679
missing again. Stepping outside, he decided to take a walk

556
00:42:22.039 --> 00:42:26.280
to clear his mind. He rarely exercised and thought the

557
00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:30.039
fresh air and physical activity might do him some good.

558
00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:35.000
The moment he stepped foot outside the door, his feet

559
00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:38.679
started walking toward the corner where he was sure he

560
00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:42.079
had spotted the boy on the bike the night before.

561
00:42:43.440 --> 00:42:46.880
He couldn't help himself as he walked over to where

562
00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:51.400
he was confident the little boy had fallen. His eyes

563
00:42:51.679 --> 00:42:55.920
dropped to the ground, looking for any sign that he

564
00:42:56.079 --> 00:42:59.840
had been there, Scrapes from the bike hitting the ground,

565
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:06.039
blood from a scraped knee, anything you trying to get

566
00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:09.559
yourself killed. A man in a Ford pickup truck had

567
00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:13.719
stopped his vehicle in the middle of the street. Luckily,

568
00:43:13.960 --> 00:43:17.760
it was early afternoon and he had seen Emmett standing

569
00:43:17.800 --> 00:43:21.239
there and had been able to slow down. Emme It

570
00:43:21.400 --> 00:43:26.519
spun around and stared blankly at the truck. His mind

571
00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:29.960
had been consumed with the boy, and he hadn't even

572
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:33.960
heard it pull up. He lifted a hand in acknowledgment

573
00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:39.920
and felt his face grow red with embarrassment. Sorry about that,

574
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:45.039
Emmett tried to fake a smile. Must have been day dreaming,

575
00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:49.519
no harm, but you might want to reconsider daydreaming if

576
00:43:49.559 --> 00:43:51.599
you plan on walking in the middle of the street.

577
00:43:52.679 --> 00:43:56.320
The man laughed as Emmett stepped out of the way,

578
00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:02.280
allowing the truck to pass. Stick to the sidewalks. Dumbass,

579
00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:06.760
Emmett told himself as he stepped up and over the

580
00:44:06.840 --> 00:44:11.320
curb and on to the sidewalk. He then started walking

581
00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:22.079
up Gratis, still lost in his thoughts. Thirty minutes later,

582
00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:26.000
emme it was pleased to discover that his mind was

583
00:44:26.079 --> 00:44:30.840
growing clearer, his nerves had calmed, and his thoughts weren't

584
00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:34.159
consumed by the bottle or the boy on the bike.

585
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:38.320
With each step he took, the worries of the previous

586
00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:42.800
night began to fade. He smiled when he found himself

587
00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:47.599
humming under his breath. You've been under a lot of stress.

588
00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:50.719
It would be best if you got away for a

589
00:44:50.719 --> 00:44:54.000
few days. Maybe rent a cabin by a lake and

590
00:44:54.239 --> 00:45:01.079
go fishing. Take Nathan with you, he considered. His California

591
00:45:01.159 --> 00:45:05.440
sobriety was not working out as he intended. He knew

592
00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:09.679
he should really stop drinking altogether, but it was such

593
00:45:09.719 --> 00:45:12.840
a large part of his life that. He wasn't sure

594
00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:17.000
how he would adjust. He'd already lost most of his

595
00:45:17.119 --> 00:45:21.719
friends and couldn't imagine how lonely he would become without

596
00:45:21.719 --> 00:45:26.079
a bottle in his hand. Apart from Nathan and his roommate,

597
00:45:26.639 --> 00:45:31.960
Emmtt's only friend was a cold drink. He smiled as

598
00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:35.519
a group of kids came speeding by on their bikes.

599
00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:39.760
They were around ten years old, and he could see

600
00:45:39.800 --> 00:45:43.360
the joy in their faces as they rode up and

601
00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:47.239
down the road. Two of the boys were even attempting

602
00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:51.519
to pop wheelies. One of them, wearing a red baseball cap,

603
00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:56.480
gave him a wave. It was nearing five and Emmett

604
00:45:56.519 --> 00:46:01.119
suddenly realized how hungry he was. He hadn't been hungry

605
00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:06.480
all day, but now he was ravenous. He turned around

606
00:46:06.800 --> 00:46:10.719
and started heading back down Gratis toward his own house.

607
00:46:11.840 --> 00:46:15.039
He was considering firing up the grill and putting on

608
00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:18.440
a few burghers. He had some hamburger meet in the

609
00:46:18.480 --> 00:46:23.239
refrigerator and needed to use it before it spoiled. As

610
00:46:23.239 --> 00:46:28.480
Emmett continued walking up the street with great determination, he

611
00:46:28.599 --> 00:46:32.079
saw an old lady sitting in a chair on her porch.

612
00:46:33.159 --> 00:46:38.519
The porch was covered with hundreds of colorful flowers. She stood,

613
00:46:39.159 --> 00:46:42.920
walked to the edge of her porch and waved at him.

614
00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:48.039
Emmett raised a hand and waved in return. You look

615
00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:51.960
like a man with many things on his mind, she remarked.

616
00:46:52.800 --> 00:46:57.480
It shows huh very much, so she stepped off the porch.

617
00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:02.519
My name is Milly. He stopped walking and focused all

618
00:47:02.519 --> 00:47:07.920
his attention on the lady. Emmett. I'm pretty new to

619
00:47:07.960 --> 00:47:13.239
the neighborhood. Yes, you live on Cawley Place. Milly smiled,

620
00:47:13.559 --> 00:47:17.519
looking down the street in the direction. Emmett resided, I

621
00:47:17.599 --> 00:47:21.559
see you as sitting on your porch enjoying drinks at night. Yeah,

622
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:26.239
that's me. You tried to save my grandson last night.

623
00:47:27.440 --> 00:47:33.119
Great seriousness rose in Milly's eyes. He rides his bike

624
00:47:33.280 --> 00:47:38.079
up and down the street late at night. Emmett felt

625
00:47:38.119 --> 00:47:42.440
a lump rise in his throat. He didn't know if

626
00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:47.000
he was about to vomit or scream. He felt sweat

627
00:47:47.079 --> 00:47:51.400
break out beneath his arms and on his forehead. He

628
00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:55.639
could feel himself trembling and was afraid he would pass out.

629
00:47:57.159 --> 00:48:02.400
Is is and It. Tried to speak, but could only stutter.

630
00:48:03.199 --> 00:48:07.239
He stepped forward on wobbly legs, and walked toward Milly.

631
00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:13.679
He needed answers. Is is the boy okay? I was

632
00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:16.800
sure he got hit by a car last night. I've

633
00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:19.960
never been so scared in my life. Please tell me

634
00:48:20.840 --> 00:48:25.920
is he okay? Milly frowned and motioned for him to

635
00:48:26.039 --> 00:48:30.880
approach her. He did so quickly until he was standing

636
00:48:30.960 --> 00:48:34.199
less than a foot from her. That is when she

637
00:48:34.320 --> 00:48:39.599
said the words that would haunt Emmt for days. I'm

638
00:48:39.639 --> 00:48:44.559
afraid to say my grandson is not okay, Emmett. He

639
00:48:44.679 --> 00:48:50.679
died two years ago. Milly was sure Emmett was about

640
00:48:50.719 --> 00:48:54.280
to pass out. She placed a comforting hand on his

641
00:48:54.400 --> 00:48:58.039
left arm and directed him to follow her into the

642
00:48:58.119 --> 00:49:01.639
shelter of her porch. She made him sit in a

643
00:49:01.760 --> 00:49:05.199
chair and rushed into her house to grab him a

644
00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:10.199
glass of water. If nothing else. Milly was a caretaker,

645
00:49:10.760 --> 00:49:14.760
and she could tell he needed a little motherly love.

646
00:49:18.599 --> 00:49:24.679
Emmittt's mind clattered, Milly's words kept ringing between his ears.

647
00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:30.239
He died two years ago. He knew the lady was

648
00:49:30.360 --> 00:49:33.920
not pulling his leg. She didn't seem like the type

649
00:49:33.960 --> 00:49:38.760
to indulge in pranks. Suddenly, the mysterious accident from the

650
00:49:38.840 --> 00:49:43.920
night before made sense. The boy hadn't been hit by

651
00:49:43.960 --> 00:49:47.599
the car on the road because he hadn't really been there,

652
00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:52.320
just the fragments of his prior existence had been on

653
00:49:52.400 --> 00:49:58.599
the road. Ghosts are real, Emmittt's mind questioned. He had

654
00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:02.760
never frowned upon those who believed that they existed. He

655
00:50:02.800 --> 00:50:06.840
didn't fully understand the logistics of the afterlife, and he

656
00:50:06.960 --> 00:50:11.599
did believe in the possibility of life after death. Did

657
00:50:11.639 --> 00:50:15.400
I really see a ghost? What the fuck is going on?

658
00:50:16.360 --> 00:50:22.400
Emmett's heart continued to beat high up in his neck. Oh, Emmett.

659
00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:28.320
Milly's face was filled with great sympathy. Steady your hands

660
00:50:28.599 --> 00:50:33.800
and take this glass what He turned to Milly. For

661
00:50:33.880 --> 00:50:38.159
a moment, his eyes blurred and he was unsure where

662
00:50:38.199 --> 00:50:43.039
he was water, it will do you good. Try to

663
00:50:43.079 --> 00:50:47.599
take a few small SIPs. Milly leaned over, passing the

664
00:50:47.679 --> 00:50:52.119
glass of ice water to Emmett. Careful now, you don't

665
00:50:52.159 --> 00:50:55.880
want to spill it all over yourself. Emmett's hands were

666
00:50:55.960 --> 00:51:00.519
still shaking, but not as bad as before. He managed

667
00:51:00.519 --> 00:51:03.360
to get a good grip on the glass and moved

668
00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:07.679
it to his mouth, taking a small sip. The water

669
00:51:08.280 --> 00:51:11.920
was satisfying. He could feel every cell of his body

670
00:51:12.039 --> 00:51:16.039
jumping for joy when the first sip entered his mouth.

671
00:51:16.960 --> 00:51:19.880
He sat the glass on a small table beside him

672
00:51:20.519 --> 00:51:24.599
and looked about the porch. It was riddled with hundreds

673
00:51:24.639 --> 00:51:29.000
of colorful flowers. He saw a few bees and butterflies

674
00:51:29.079 --> 00:51:33.760
dancing among the blossoms. Milly moved a chair beside him

675
00:51:34.239 --> 00:51:39.800
and sat down nervously. Smiling, She reached out one hand

676
00:51:40.199 --> 00:51:45.559
and reassuringly padded Emmett on the knee. I want you

677
00:51:45.639 --> 00:51:49.920
to know if I heard you right. Emmett struggled to speak.

678
00:51:50.400 --> 00:51:52.880
He was careful to whisper so as not to be

679
00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:59.400
heard by any passing neighbors. Your grandson, the boy on

680
00:51:59.440 --> 00:52:06.039
the bike. He's not real, oh dear, Milly leaned back

681
00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:11.280
in her chair. He's very real, just not flesh and

682
00:52:11.400 --> 00:52:15.559
blood no more. He's not passed from this world to

683
00:52:15.639 --> 00:52:20.400
the next. He's trapped here for reasons I'm unsure of.

684
00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:26.360
But he revealed himself to you, which means the world

685
00:52:26.440 --> 00:52:30.199
to me. The neighbors across the street from me have

686
00:52:30.320 --> 00:52:35.039
seen him too, but they've never interacted with him. He

687
00:52:35.159 --> 00:52:39.000
allowed you to see his fall. He's never done that before.

688
00:52:39.599 --> 00:52:42.760
Others have seen him pass up and down, the street.

689
00:52:42.800 --> 00:52:47.639
But something about you made him feel vulnerable enough to

690
00:52:47.719 --> 00:52:53.360
show you his fall, even in the afterlife. I don't understand,

691
00:52:54.079 --> 00:52:58.039
Emmett's eyes begged for answers. He had never needed a

692
00:52:58.159 --> 00:53:08.320
drink more in his intent higher life. Let me start

693
00:53:08.480 --> 00:53:12.320
from the beginning, Emmet. I'll tell you what I know

694
00:53:13.079 --> 00:53:15.920
the best way I know how to say it. You

695
00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:18.480
have to understand that this is tough for me to

696
00:53:18.599 --> 00:53:23.800
speak about, as he was my only grandchild and he

697
00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:28.480
died under my care. Would you allow me to tell it?

698
00:53:29.320 --> 00:53:32.679
Emmet shook his head yes, as he sipped the ice

699
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:37.559
cold water. This time he nearly chugged it and felt

700
00:53:37.559 --> 00:53:42.599
a cold tinge of shock in his temples. Still, it

701
00:53:42.800 --> 00:53:47.480
was refreshing. He hadn't realized how much his body needed it.

702
00:53:49.039 --> 00:53:53.960
Danny was the sweetest child. Milly's eyes were wet, but

703
00:53:54.039 --> 00:53:58.519
no tears had yet to grace her cheeks. His mother,

704
00:53:59.000 --> 00:54:03.559
my daughter, was an addict, not only with the bottle,

705
00:54:03.639 --> 00:54:08.920
but also with pills. I understand the struggle with the bottle,

706
00:54:09.480 --> 00:54:13.880
emm It thought to himself. It was a long hard

707
00:54:14.039 --> 00:54:17.440
road to convince her to seek help, but she knew

708
00:54:17.719 --> 00:54:22.519
if she didn't she would lose Danny. She loved Danny,

709
00:54:23.079 --> 00:54:27.639
but she loved her vices even more. She was a

710
00:54:27.719 --> 00:54:33.199
single mother, and it was a long, rough road. Danny's

711
00:54:33.239 --> 00:54:37.000
father was never in the picture. I'm not even sure

712
00:54:37.119 --> 00:54:41.719
my daughter knew who his birth father was. I hate

713
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:46.480
to say it, but she was easy in those days.

714
00:54:47.000 --> 00:54:51.079
If you get what I'm saying, she would do anything

715
00:54:51.119 --> 00:54:57.039
to obtain drugs. I hate to be so crude, I understand.

716
00:54:57.760 --> 00:55:01.440
Emmet nodded. He knew many women from the bars that

717
00:55:01.480 --> 00:55:05.079
would give you a handy or even a blowjob, for

718
00:55:05.159 --> 00:55:10.360
another round of drinks or a couple of lines of cocaine.

719
00:55:10.519 --> 00:55:15.079
Danny was six when his mother entered rehab. My husband,

720
00:55:15.159 --> 00:55:19.199
Martin was still alive. Then he and I volunteered to

721
00:55:19.239 --> 00:55:23.320
take Danny into our care while she attended to her health.

722
00:55:24.400 --> 00:55:27.000
It was a great joy having a child in our

723
00:55:27.039 --> 00:55:30.599
home again. It had been several years since the walls

724
00:55:30.639 --> 00:55:36.079
of our home had that type of youthful joy. Each

725
00:55:36.239 --> 00:55:41.159
day was a blessing. I'm sorry to hear about the

726
00:55:41.199 --> 00:55:47.000
passing of your husband, Emmitt said, with complete sincerity. Emmett

727
00:55:47.079 --> 00:55:50.519
didn't want to interrupt Milly, as he wanted to hear

728
00:55:50.599 --> 00:55:53.599
the rest of the story. But he also wanted to

729
00:55:53.639 --> 00:56:00.519
show Milly he was listening intently. Thank you, looked over

730
00:56:00.559 --> 00:56:05.599
her lawn and continued her tale. It was Martin who

731
00:56:05.639 --> 00:56:10.159
bought Danny the bike. Danny never had a male role model,

732
00:56:10.639 --> 00:56:13.159
and Martin went out of his way to spend every

733
00:56:13.519 --> 00:56:17.719
waking moment with the child, playing catch in the backyard,

734
00:56:18.280 --> 00:56:21.559
taking him fishing, showing him how to throw a football,

735
00:56:21.639 --> 00:56:27.719
and of course, how to ride a bike. Something Martin

736
00:56:27.800 --> 00:56:31.559
had done with Danny was exactly what Emmett hoped to

737
00:56:31.599 --> 00:56:36.719
do with his own son. He smiled, imagining how much

738
00:56:36.760 --> 00:56:41.199
fun Danny had had with his grandfather. He was also

739
00:56:41.400 --> 00:56:45.639
considering how much joy Martin must have obtained from teaching

740
00:56:45.679 --> 00:56:51.440
his grandson these things. Martin spent two days teaching Danny

741
00:56:51.519 --> 00:56:55.199
how to ride the bike and of course bike safety.

742
00:56:55.960 --> 00:56:59.639
He always wore a helmet. Martin was very strict when

743
00:56:59.639 --> 00:57:04.960
it came to protecting Danny's head, his sweet little head.

744
00:57:06.320 --> 00:57:09.920
He had the most beautiful green eyes and jet black

745
00:57:09.960 --> 00:57:14.360
hair that made them really stand out. He had the

746
00:57:14.400 --> 00:57:17.599
sweetest dimples and a smile that could melt your heart.

747
00:57:18.400 --> 00:57:23.840
I shit you not, Millie began to laugh. Danny was

748
00:57:23.880 --> 00:57:28.239
a very independent kid. He had to be with a

749
00:57:28.320 --> 00:57:32.079
mother like my daughter. We didn't know it at the time,

750
00:57:32.159 --> 00:57:36.760
but she had left him home alone constantly. Danny knew

751
00:57:36.840 --> 00:57:40.480
how to cook and provide for himself. He knew when

752
00:57:40.480 --> 00:57:42.400
it was time to take a bath and when it

753
00:57:42.440 --> 00:57:45.480
was time to brush his teeth, and he knew how

754
00:57:45.519 --> 00:57:49.280
to clean up after himself. He had an old soul.

755
00:57:50.239 --> 00:57:54.920
You could see sadness and tiredness in his eyes. Who

756
00:57:55.000 --> 00:57:58.239
knows what else that child saw when he was in

757
00:57:58.320 --> 00:58:04.119
the care of his How is your daughter now? Emmett

758
00:58:04.199 --> 00:58:09.000
told himself to stop asking questions. We'll get to that.

759
00:58:10.039 --> 00:58:13.360
Emmett saw a flicker of sadness in Millie's eyes when

760
00:58:13.400 --> 00:58:18.039
she responded, perhaps the same type of sadness that had

761
00:58:18.079 --> 00:58:22.480
been in Danny's eyes. Once Danny learned how to ride

762
00:58:22.519 --> 00:58:26.719
the bike, demanding his training wheels be removed after only

763
00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:33.159
a few hours, his independence again came into play. Within days,

764
00:58:33.199 --> 00:58:36.599
he was riding up and down the sidewalk without assistance.

765
00:58:37.559 --> 00:58:41.119
Martin was so proud as I was. He would go

766
00:58:41.239 --> 00:58:44.440
up and down the street beeping the horn on his bike.

767
00:58:45.920 --> 00:58:49.400
I didn't see a horn on his bike, Emmett thought

768
00:58:49.639 --> 00:58:54.679
to himself. He also kept wanting to go further and

769
00:58:54.880 --> 00:58:58.239
further on his own, but we would only let him

770
00:58:58.280 --> 00:59:01.599
go as far as the stop sign where Coullie Place

771
00:59:01.679 --> 00:59:05.000
meets Gradis. Where you saw him fall in the middle

772
00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:09.360
of the street. Milly turned her face toward Emmett and

773
00:59:09.480 --> 00:59:14.719
looked at him thoughtfully. I didn't want Danny to ride

774
00:59:14.760 --> 00:59:19.599
in the street, but Martin convinced me that Danny was responsible,

775
00:59:20.280 --> 00:59:24.199
which he was. He never crossed the street without looking

776
00:59:24.280 --> 00:59:29.199
both ways and was always aware of his surroundings. As

777
00:59:29.239 --> 00:59:35.039
I said, Danny was wise beyond his years and very responsible.

778
00:59:36.159 --> 00:59:38.800
We allowed him to ride in the street only when

779
00:59:38.880 --> 00:59:42.880
we were sitting here on the porch, and each time

780
00:59:42.960 --> 00:59:45.239
he left the house we would remind him of the

781
00:59:45.280 --> 00:59:50.119
importance of bike safety and being aware of drivers on

782
00:59:50.199 --> 00:59:54.559
the road. Emmett was thinking about how protective he was

783
00:59:54.920 --> 00:59:57.800
when it came to his own son, and knew it

784
00:59:57.840 --> 01:00:01.280
would be a hard decision to let him ride up

785
01:00:01.320 --> 01:00:06.119
and down the street without his supervision, let alone venturing

786
01:00:06.400 --> 01:00:10.840
into the road. He had already witnessed several older kids

787
01:00:10.880 --> 01:00:13.960
in his neighborhood who would often pull out in front

788
01:00:14.000 --> 01:00:19.000
of a car during their playful excitement. Luckily, he had

789
01:00:19.039 --> 01:00:24.199
not seen an accident yet. The first time Danny fell

790
01:00:24.239 --> 01:00:27.840
in the street and hurt his knee, I was terrified,

791
01:00:28.639 --> 01:00:31.960
just like you saw the other night. I didn't want

792
01:00:32.039 --> 01:00:36.440
Danny to ride that blasted bike any more, but Martin

793
01:00:36.519 --> 01:00:40.119
insisted that boys would be boys and he would learn

794
01:00:40.159 --> 01:00:46.000
from each fall he had. I gave in. Danny continued

795
01:00:46.119 --> 01:00:50.159
riding his bike, and soon he wanted to venture further.

796
01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:54.519
He had made a friend in the house next to yours,

797
01:00:54.760 --> 01:00:59.199
a little boy named Billy. After meeting his mother and father,

798
01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:02.559
he agreed that Danny could ride his bike to the

799
01:01:02.599 --> 01:01:05.840
house to play with the boy, But the moment the

800
01:01:05.880 --> 01:01:11.079
street lights came on, he had to return home. Milly

801
01:01:11.159 --> 01:01:18.079
stopped talking and looked at Emmett again, Sorry, I'm rambling.

802
01:01:19.360 --> 01:01:22.039
You want to get to the nitty gritty of it all.

803
01:01:25.480 --> 01:01:30.800
Milly nervously smiled, then looked down at her hands resting

804
01:01:31.079 --> 01:01:37.400
in her lap. She nervously rubbed them together. One evening,

805
01:01:37.599 --> 01:01:40.679
I came outside to wait for Danny to return home.

806
01:01:41.760 --> 01:01:45.559
The street lights had just come on. I sat outside

807
01:01:45.679 --> 01:01:49.960
on the porch waiting for him to arrive, and that's

808
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:54.239
when I heard the most terrible sound I've ever heard.

809
01:01:55.280 --> 01:01:59.480
It was the sound of crashing metal. I heard tires squeal.

810
01:01:59.519 --> 01:02:06.199
I heard a terrible thud. Milly started crying. Emmett placed

811
01:02:06.199 --> 01:02:10.400
his hand on Milly's leg, letting her know he was sympathetic.

812
01:02:11.880 --> 01:02:16.400
I still hear those sounds in my dreams. I'm afraid

813
01:02:16.400 --> 01:02:21.159
they'll haunt me until the day I die, a reminder

814
01:02:21.199 --> 01:02:27.440
of those last minutes with my sweet little Danny. If

815
01:02:27.480 --> 01:02:32.440
it's too hard to continue, I understand. Emmett tried to

816
01:02:32.480 --> 01:02:36.880
be comforting, but he hoped she would continue. He had

817
01:02:36.920 --> 01:02:40.079
to know what happened to Danny, and he needed to

818
01:02:40.199 --> 01:02:44.039
understand why he was seeing him ride his bike up

819
01:02:44.119 --> 01:02:48.719
and down the street at night. Why was Danny haunting him?

820
01:02:49.639 --> 01:02:55.480
This question he needed answers to above all else. No,

821
01:02:55.840 --> 01:03:01.679
it's just I miss him so much. Milly now had

822
01:03:01.719 --> 01:03:07.280
tears flowing down her cheeks. I heard Danny scream. I

823
01:03:07.320 --> 01:03:10.159
heard him cry. I got to my feet and I

824
01:03:10.320 --> 01:03:14.480
ran until it hurt. I have knee and back problems,

825
01:03:14.480 --> 01:03:17.440
you see. When I got to the street, I saw

826
01:03:17.559 --> 01:03:22.280
Danny crumpled in a ball, covered in blood. He had

827
01:03:22.360 --> 01:03:26.719
been crushed beneath the tires of a car. I ran

828
01:03:26.840 --> 01:03:30.679
to his tiny body and pulled him into my arms.

829
01:03:31.280 --> 01:03:34.800
I got there just in time to see the confusion

830
01:03:34.880 --> 01:03:37.199
in his eyes, and a.

831
01:03:37.159 --> 01:03:42.039
Moment later I watched as all the light vanished from him.

832
01:03:43.400 --> 01:03:50.679
My Danny's gone. That's horrible. Emmett had tears in his

833
01:03:50.800 --> 01:03:55.760
own eyes. His mind kept thinking about Nathan and how

834
01:03:55.800 --> 01:03:59.519
he didn't know if he'd survive if he had seen

835
01:03:59.599 --> 01:04:04.920
something like that happened to him. If Nathan died, em

836
01:04:04.920 --> 01:04:09.360
it was sure he would as well. Milly wiped the

837
01:04:09.440 --> 01:04:14.440
tears from her eyes and smiled. She still had more

838
01:04:14.840 --> 01:04:19.800
to tell him. Martin died a week later. I believe

839
01:04:20.239 --> 01:04:24.239
it was from a broken heart. He destroyed what remained

840
01:04:24.280 --> 01:04:28.159
of Danny's bike and blamed himself for teaching him how

841
01:04:28.199 --> 01:04:28.679
to ride.

842
01:04:29.719 --> 01:04:34.440
His mother. My daughter cut her wrists in the rehab

843
01:04:34.519 --> 01:04:39.960
facility after she heard what happened. She blamed me and Martin,

844
01:04:40.679 --> 01:04:45.239
but I think she blamed herself even more. Danny wouldn't

845
01:04:45.239 --> 01:04:48.519
have been with us if she hadn't been in rehab,

846
01:04:49.239 --> 01:04:56.679
and he would have still been alive. Grief, Emmett replied, yes.

847
01:04:57.639 --> 01:05:01.880
Milly wiped tears from her eyes and again focussed them.

848
01:05:02.480 --> 01:05:05.800
A week later, was the first time I saw Danny

849
01:05:06.480 --> 01:05:11.519
riding his bike up and down the sidewalk again. Danny

850
01:05:11.760 --> 01:05:16.800
was dead and buried, but there he was, riding his bike,

851
01:05:16.960 --> 01:05:22.079
smiling and waving. He was dead, but his spirit was

852
01:05:22.119 --> 01:05:27.639
still here on this street where it remains. You are

853
01:05:27.760 --> 01:05:32.599
not going crazy, Emmett. You are seeing my dear Danny.

854
01:05:33.119 --> 01:05:36.000
You are seeing him, and I believe he is trying

855
01:05:36.039 --> 01:05:41.519
to reach out and tell you something, something he's unable

856
01:05:41.679 --> 01:05:48.159
to say to me. Emmett was speechless. His hand had

857
01:05:48.199 --> 01:05:52.920
started shaking again. He didn't notice it until he reached

858
01:05:52.960 --> 01:05:56.440
to grab the glass of water Milly had given him.

859
01:05:57.079 --> 01:06:01.320
She also took notice of his shaking head had she

860
01:06:01.519 --> 01:06:06.719
fully understood why he was shaking. She couldn't imagine what

861
01:06:06.920 --> 01:06:11.320
was going through his mind, but she knew he believed her.

862
01:06:12.800 --> 01:06:17.239
It's a lot to take in, Milly said, Believe me,

863
01:06:18.039 --> 01:06:20.519
I thought I was going crazy the first time I

864
01:06:20.599 --> 01:06:26.039
saw Danny riding up and down the sidewalk. You and

865
01:06:26.159 --> 01:06:30.519
me both Emmett laughed and it came out in a stutter.

866
01:06:31.760 --> 01:06:34.960
He took a small sip of the water and placed

867
01:06:35.000 --> 01:06:38.920
the glass back on the table. It was the first

868
01:06:38.960 --> 01:06:42.400
time I was alone here in the house that I

869
01:06:42.440 --> 01:06:48.280
saw Danny. Milly revealed I was having trouble sleeping. I

870
01:06:48.360 --> 01:06:52.519
hadn't slept alone since I was eighteen and married Martin.

871
01:06:53.559 --> 01:06:56.400
Trying to lay there in the bedroom without my Martin

872
01:06:56.639 --> 01:07:02.440
was impossible. I tried drinking warm milk, reading a book,

873
01:07:03.360 --> 01:07:09.000
anything to make myself tired, but nothing worked. So I

874
01:07:09.280 --> 01:07:12.760
came outside to sit on the porch. I thought the

875
01:07:12.880 --> 01:07:18.039
night's fresh air would help me fall asleep. Instead, I

876
01:07:18.079 --> 01:07:21.760
heard the sounds of a bike pedaling, and the next

877
01:07:21.800 --> 01:07:26.079
thing I knew, Danny was riding right in front of

878
01:07:26.119 --> 01:07:30.159
the house. He had a smile on his face, and

879
01:07:30.280 --> 01:07:35.559
he waved one hand at me and laughed. Emmett couldn't

880
01:07:35.599 --> 01:07:39.360
imagine what had to be going through Milly's mind when

881
01:07:39.400 --> 01:07:44.599
she saw him. He imagined how terrified she must have been.

882
01:07:46.079 --> 01:07:50.239
When I saw Danny on the bike, I was initially scared.

883
01:07:51.280 --> 01:07:54.960
A deep kind of terror crept up on me. I

884
01:07:55.039 --> 01:07:58.400
thought I was going mad. I thought I was sleeping

885
01:07:58.800 --> 01:08:02.400
and it had been ad But when I stood to

886
01:08:02.480 --> 01:08:06.000
run off the porch and chase after him, I felt

887
01:08:06.119 --> 01:08:11.320
pain in my knees and hip and knew I wasn't dreaming.

888
01:08:12.360 --> 01:08:15.880
When I stepped off the porch, I saw him hit

889
01:08:15.960 --> 01:08:20.760
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis, and then Danny

890
01:08:21.000 --> 01:08:26.439
and his bike vanished into thin air. One moment he

891
01:08:26.560 --> 01:08:32.520
was there and the next he wasn't. Has he ever

892
01:08:32.640 --> 01:08:37.520
spoken to you? Emmett's voice was shaking just as much

893
01:08:37.920 --> 01:08:43.439
as his hands were. Only once, Milly shot Emmett a

894
01:08:43.520 --> 01:08:48.159
warm smile. I don't believe Danny is here to speak

895
01:08:48.199 --> 01:08:53.159
to me. I believe he's here to comfort me, to

896
01:08:53.279 --> 01:08:56.760
let me see him at his happiest, riding his bike

897
01:08:56.920 --> 01:09:01.399
and having the time of his life. At first, seeing

898
01:09:01.479 --> 01:09:06.319
him did nothing but sadden me. I missed holding him

899
01:09:06.359 --> 01:09:10.079
in my arms and brushing his black hair from his eyes.

900
01:09:11.000 --> 01:09:15.520
I missed him everything about him. What did he say

901
01:09:15.560 --> 01:09:20.199
to you? Emmett was both curious and nervous at the

902
01:09:20.239 --> 01:09:26.600
same time. He said. Milly's voice broke and the tears

903
01:09:26.680 --> 01:09:35.720
in her eyes poured down. He said, I'm fine, Grandma,

904
01:09:36.680 --> 01:09:41.239
I love you. Milly placed her face into her hands

905
01:09:41.800 --> 01:09:46.359
and caught her tears and sobs. Emmett again placed his

906
01:09:46.520 --> 01:09:51.680
hand on her leg to comfort her. Do you think

907
01:09:51.800 --> 01:09:56.279
Danny is trying to communicate with me? Emmett asked. Once

908
01:09:56.399 --> 01:10:01.239
Milly had composed herself I believe Dan, he is reaching

909
01:10:01.279 --> 01:10:05.319
out to you. She nodded. I'm not sure why, but

910
01:10:06.199 --> 01:10:09.359
he allowed you to see him getting hit by that car.

911
01:10:10.159 --> 01:10:14.640
He's never done that before, that I'm aware of. Millie

912
01:10:14.680 --> 01:10:18.720
and Emmett sat talking for a few more minutes. They

913
01:10:18.800 --> 01:10:22.760
agreed to keep in touch with one another. She made

914
01:10:22.800 --> 01:10:26.479
Emmett promise that if Danny did speak to him, he

915
01:10:26.520 --> 01:10:30.039
would tell him how much she loved him and let

916
01:10:30.039 --> 01:10:35.840
her know what his message was. Emmett agreed. Stepping off

917
01:10:35.880 --> 01:10:39.680
Milly's porch and heading home, he noticed how late it

918
01:10:39.720 --> 01:10:44.039
had gotten and how much time had slipped away. While

919
01:10:44.119 --> 01:10:47.880
speaking to Milly, He pulled his phone out of his

920
01:10:48.000 --> 01:10:52.840
pocket and saw it was already six. He was starving.

921
01:10:53.520 --> 01:10:57.720
His appetite had returned, even though his nerves were still shot.

922
01:10:59.319 --> 01:11:02.279
He was unsay certain that Danny was a true spirit

923
01:11:02.720 --> 01:11:06.600
with a message for him. Emmittt wasn't as scared as

924
01:11:06.640 --> 01:11:10.840
he had been the night before, but he was still uneasy,

925
01:11:11.680 --> 01:11:15.279
wondering what it could be that the boy might want

926
01:11:15.319 --> 01:11:27.520
to say to him, and questioning why Gareth had just

927
01:11:27.640 --> 01:11:32.000
gotten out of the shower. When Emmett returned home. You

928
01:11:32.119 --> 01:11:37.199
look like shit, he jokingly, mumbled, feeling like shit too.

929
01:11:37.880 --> 01:11:42.079
Emmittt said, if you've come down with a bug, stay

930
01:11:42.119 --> 01:11:45.720
the fuck away from me. He said, as he headed

931
01:11:45.760 --> 01:11:50.600
towards his room. I can't afford to get sick. Just

932
01:11:50.680 --> 01:11:56.079
haven't been sleeping well, man, Emmett explained, nothing, a few

933
01:11:56.199 --> 01:12:01.039
shots down at the bar. Can't care. Gareth mocked his roommate,

934
01:12:01.880 --> 01:12:05.039
knowing how hard he had been working on his sobriety,

935
01:12:05.680 --> 01:12:10.119
but not believing it would stick. He thought Emmett would

936
01:12:10.159 --> 01:12:14.319
be a boozer until the day he died, and kept

937
01:12:14.359 --> 01:12:18.680
hoping and praying he'd fall off the wagon so they

938
01:12:18.680 --> 01:12:21.880
could go back to their nightly antics at the bar.

939
01:12:22.960 --> 01:12:26.920
He missed working alongside his roommate and hoped he'd return

940
01:12:27.479 --> 01:12:33.600
and start bartending again. Emmett decided against making hamburgers and

941
01:12:33.760 --> 01:12:37.399
instead made a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and

942
01:12:37.640 --> 01:12:42.119
ate half a bag of potato chips and two dill pickles.

943
01:12:42.520 --> 01:12:45.600
He then drove to a carry out next to his

944
01:12:45.720 --> 01:12:50.439
house to grab a case of beer. If that kid

945
01:12:50.479 --> 01:12:55.840
wants to communicate, let's fucking do it, Emmett thought. He

946
01:12:55.960 --> 01:12:58.840
planned to sit out on the porch, get a good

947
01:12:58.920 --> 01:13:04.520
buzz and look out for Danny. He was nervous, but

948
01:13:04.680 --> 01:13:08.359
didn't think Danny was trying to hurt him, at least

949
01:13:09.159 --> 01:13:18.359
he hoped not. After cracking open his first beer of

950
01:13:18.399 --> 01:13:21.840
the night and plopping down in a chair on his porch,

951
01:13:22.600 --> 01:13:27.199
Emmett called Nathan. They only spoke for a few minutes,

952
01:13:27.560 --> 01:13:30.760
with Nathan detailing what he had done throughout the day

953
01:13:31.479 --> 01:13:35.079
and how much fun he had had. The call ended

954
01:13:35.079 --> 01:13:40.039
with them both saying I love you. Emmett always had

955
01:13:40.119 --> 01:13:43.079
mixed feelings when getting off the phone with his son.

956
01:13:43.960 --> 01:13:47.920
There was always a feeling of sadness. He missed his

957
01:13:48.039 --> 01:13:52.239
son and wished he was with him. The second feeling

958
01:13:52.479 --> 01:13:57.800
was overwhelming love. He had never loved anyone as much

959
01:13:57.840 --> 01:14:01.760
as he loved his son. He thought about him all

960
01:14:01.840 --> 01:14:07.000
throughout the day. After hanging up with Nathan, he started

961
01:14:07.039 --> 01:14:11.680
thinking about his life without his son. He couldn't begin

962
01:14:11.880 --> 01:14:16.039
to imagine what Milly Martin and their daughter had gone

963
01:14:16.119 --> 01:14:21.720
through when they had lost Danny. His mind again went

964
01:14:21.840 --> 01:14:25.920
to dark places, thinking how he knew he would never

965
01:14:26.079 --> 01:14:32.079
survive if anything tragic happened to Nathan. He just hoped

966
01:14:32.359 --> 01:14:36.279
and prayed that he would meet his own death before

967
01:14:36.319 --> 01:14:40.960
his son ever did. He knew he wouldn't be able

968
01:14:41.039 --> 01:14:44.640
to take it if it were the other way around.

969
01:14:47.880 --> 01:14:51.520
Emmett didn't know it, but he was caught in the

970
01:14:51.560 --> 01:14:56.159
world of dreams. In the dream, he sat on the

971
01:14:56.199 --> 01:15:00.399
front porch, watching Nathan kick a small black and white

972
01:15:00.479 --> 01:15:04.159
soccer ball around and laughing as he played in the

973
01:15:04.199 --> 01:15:08.560
water sprinkler. Emmett reached to the table next to his

974
01:15:08.720 --> 01:15:12.880
chair to retrieve his cigarettes and realized he had left

975
01:15:12.920 --> 01:15:16.800
them on the counter in the kitchen. Stay there, Buddy,

976
01:15:17.239 --> 01:15:22.520
Emmett called out, daddy's grabbing his smokes. Emmett returned to

977
01:15:22.600 --> 01:15:26.760
the house, leaving the front door open, and approached the

978
01:15:26.880 --> 01:15:30.960
kitchen counter less than ten steps from the front door.

979
01:15:32.039 --> 01:15:36.840
That is when he heard a terrible thud and tires

980
01:15:36.880 --> 01:15:42.520
screeching from the front of the house. Emmett dropped his cigarettes,

981
01:15:42.960 --> 01:15:47.239
turned and ran through the open door. All the air

982
01:15:47.399 --> 01:15:52.000
had left his lungs and his heart was brutally pounding.

983
01:15:53.319 --> 01:15:53.520
Nay.

984
01:15:53.680 --> 01:15:58.680
Then Emmett felt himself scream, but he didn't hear it.

985
01:15:59.760 --> 01:16:03.039
Truck had stopped in the middle of the road outside

986
01:16:03.079 --> 01:16:06.800
his house. In the middle of the street, he could

987
01:16:06.880 --> 01:16:11.079
see little Nathan crumpled in a ball in his swimming

988
01:16:11.119 --> 01:16:17.039
trunks in the gutter. He saw Nathan's soccer ball. He

989
01:16:17.159 --> 01:16:21.520
screamed again, running by the truck driver who had just

990
01:16:21.720 --> 01:16:26.720
exited his vehicle. The man was pale white and had

991
01:16:26.760 --> 01:16:32.319
a pained and terrified expression. I didn't see him, the

992
01:16:32.399 --> 01:16:36.520
man cried out. He came out of nowhere, and it

993
01:16:36.680 --> 01:16:41.239
ran to Nathan's crumpled body. He grabbed him and pulled

994
01:16:41.319 --> 01:16:45.840
him into his arms. He bled from every orifice and

995
01:16:46.039 --> 01:16:49.560
was not moving in the slightest. The man from the

996
01:16:49.600 --> 01:16:53.439
truck pulled his phone from his pocket, calling for help.

997
01:16:54.640 --> 01:16:58.319
Multiple neighbors had moved from their porches to their front

998
01:16:58.399 --> 01:17:03.800
lawns and watched the scene with curious and horrified eyes.

999
01:17:07.079 --> 01:17:12.840
Emmett screamed again, shaking his tiny limp body and holding

1000
01:17:12.920 --> 01:17:18.760
him tighter to his chest. He cried and moaned a

1001
01:17:18.800 --> 01:17:24.640
sound that was terrifying and skin crawling. Wake up Emmett,

1002
01:17:25.560 --> 01:17:31.520
a child's voice said. Emmett felt a cold, yet comforting

1003
01:17:31.680 --> 01:17:37.520
hand on his shoulder. He turned around and young Danny

1004
01:17:37.640 --> 01:17:43.279
stood beside him on a bike. He smiled, and when

1005
01:17:43.319 --> 01:17:49.039
he did, a grotesque river of squiggling maggots fell from

1006
01:17:49.079 --> 01:17:59.680
his mouth. Wake up Danny. Screamed. Emmett lurched forward on

1007
01:17:59.760 --> 01:18:03.319
his seat. It was night He could see the moon

1008
01:18:03.479 --> 01:18:06.720
and stars in the sky as he stood on his

1009
01:18:07.000 --> 01:18:11.640
shaking feet. He was sweating and his heart was pounding.

1010
01:18:12.560 --> 01:18:15.960
He was recovering from the terrible dream he had just

1011
01:18:16.239 --> 01:18:21.840
escaped from. It wasn't a dream, it was a fucking nightmare,

1012
01:18:22.520 --> 01:18:28.920
his mind corrected him. A fucking nightmare, Emmett mumbled as

1013
01:18:28.960 --> 01:18:33.279
he slowly sat back in his chair. Next to him

1014
01:18:33.319 --> 01:18:38.279
were eleven empty beer bottles. He ignored those and grabbed

1015
01:18:38.319 --> 01:18:43.159
his cigarettes, quickly lighting one. He needed to calm down

1016
01:18:43.199 --> 01:18:47.880
before he lost his shit. He was having difficulty shaking

1017
01:18:47.920 --> 01:18:52.119
the image of Nathan's crumpled and bloody body in his

1018
01:18:52.359 --> 01:19:00.399
arms and the maggots spilling from Danny's mouth. Danny, Emmett

1019
01:19:00.399 --> 01:19:04.039
whispered as he turned to the corner of Cawley Place

1020
01:19:04.119 --> 01:19:09.680
and Gratis, where the boy on the bike always presented himself.

1021
01:19:10.600 --> 01:19:14.319
The street was quiet and there was no sign of Danny.

1022
01:19:15.439 --> 01:19:18.920
A set of headlights appeared on the corner, and a

1023
01:19:18.960 --> 01:19:25.239
second later, Gareth pulled into the driveway. Emmett immediately picked

1024
01:19:25.279 --> 01:19:28.520
up his phone and checked the time. It was three

1025
01:19:28.680 --> 01:19:32.520
thirty in the morning. Emmett couldn't believe he had been

1026
01:19:32.640 --> 01:19:35.279
so out of it that he had slept that long.

1027
01:19:35.800 --> 01:19:41.279
On the front porch, Gareth was getting off work. What's up,

1028
01:19:41.359 --> 01:19:45.640
fuck face, Gareth called out as he came staggering out

1029
01:19:45.680 --> 01:19:50.000
of his vehicle. Emmett could tell he was shitface drunk

1030
01:19:50.560 --> 01:19:57.039
and probably fucked up on cocaine. God, I miss cocaine.

1031
01:19:57.159 --> 01:20:00.399
You missed a hell of a time tonight. Man. Gareth

1032
01:20:00.479 --> 01:20:04.439
stumbled onto the porch and sat in the chair beside him.

1033
01:20:04.840 --> 01:20:09.039
He placed two fingers to his lips, motioning for Emmett

1034
01:20:09.279 --> 01:20:13.079
to give him a cigarette. He was a social smoker

1035
01:20:13.520 --> 01:20:16.760
and never bought his own. He was well known for

1036
01:20:16.840 --> 01:20:21.159
bumming them. Emmett slid his pack over on the table

1037
01:20:21.239 --> 01:20:25.920
between them. Gareth drunkenly pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

1038
01:20:26.920 --> 01:20:31.000
I bet I did, Emmett replied, with not much emotion.

1039
01:20:32.399 --> 01:20:34.840
What the fuck are you doing out here so late?

1040
01:20:35.640 --> 01:20:40.800
Gareth blew a cloud of smoke in his direction. Told you, man,

1041
01:20:41.600 --> 01:20:47.760
haven't been sleeping too well. Nightmares, bad ones, Emmett answered,

1042
01:20:48.119 --> 01:20:54.239
as something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Listen, man,

1043
01:20:54.760 --> 01:20:58.000
Gareth began, I know I've been giving you a hard

1044
01:20:58.039 --> 01:21:01.039
time about not drinking, and we haven't had the chance

1045
01:21:01.079 --> 01:21:04.319
to hang out and talk lately. But if there is

1046
01:21:04.439 --> 01:21:07.640
something on your mind, if you just need to vent,

1047
01:21:08.319 --> 01:21:12.520
I'm here for you, buddy. But right now I've got

1048
01:21:12.560 --> 01:21:16.800
to take a wicked piss. Gareth stood and walked by Emmett,

1049
01:21:17.439 --> 01:21:21.760
entering the house and slamming the door. Emmett looked to

1050
01:21:21.800 --> 01:21:26.079
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis, where he watched

1051
01:21:26.159 --> 01:21:31.199
Danny riding his bike back and forth in the darkness

1052
01:21:31.279 --> 01:21:35.960
of night. His heart once again attempted to claw its

1053
01:21:36.000 --> 01:21:40.399
way out of his chest. Danny was on the corner

1054
01:21:40.439 --> 01:21:44.880
once again. Emmett saw that he was wearing a tiny helmet,

1055
01:21:45.720 --> 01:21:50.239
and this time he noticed a little horn connected to

1056
01:21:50.279 --> 01:21:55.279
the handlebars of his bike. Danny stopped on the corner,

1057
01:21:55.920 --> 01:22:00.520
turned his bike around, and sped back up the road,

1058
01:22:01.199 --> 01:22:06.359
disappearing from Emmett's line of vision. Should I go after him?

1059
01:22:07.279 --> 01:22:11.319
What does Danny want with me? He knew. Milly believed

1060
01:22:11.399 --> 01:22:15.800
Danny was trying to reach out for some mysterious reason.

1061
01:22:17.239 --> 01:22:22.079
Why did he choose me? He stood, stepped off his

1062
01:22:22.199 --> 01:22:27.399
porch and began walking toward the corner. His legs felt

1063
01:22:27.439 --> 01:22:32.119
heavy beneath his frame. Emmett could feel sweat building on

1064
01:22:32.239 --> 01:22:36.960
his forehead. He moved closer to the corner and felt

1065
01:22:37.039 --> 01:22:41.359
flush with heat. When he saw Danny speeding down the

1066
01:22:41.399 --> 01:22:47.520
street toward him, Emmett stopped walking, frozen to his spot

1067
01:22:47.960 --> 01:22:52.000
in the middle of the two streets. Danny waved a

1068
01:22:52.079 --> 01:22:58.920
hand at him. This is fucking insane, he thought to himself,

1069
01:22:59.439 --> 01:23:03.600
as he slowly lifted his hand and returned the gesture.

1070
01:23:05.000 --> 01:23:11.720
Danny laughed and beaped the horn on his bike. He

1071
01:23:11.880 --> 01:23:16.239
stopped on the corner and stared Emmett in the eyes.

1072
01:23:17.439 --> 01:23:22.199
He could feel them penetrating his soul. His skin was

1073
01:23:22.319 --> 01:23:27.840
pale and nearly sparkling in the moonlight. Danny dropped his

1074
01:23:27.960 --> 01:23:32.640
face and Emmett watched in terror as a stream of

1075
01:23:32.800 --> 01:23:37.279
maggots began running from the corner of the boy's eyes.

1076
01:23:38.359 --> 01:23:43.199
He was crying, a river of maggots. Emmett held his

1077
01:23:43.359 --> 01:23:48.880
hand to his mouth, sure he was about to vomit. Billy.

1078
01:23:50.239 --> 01:23:54.239
Danny opened his mouth and the word filled the air.

1079
01:23:55.399 --> 01:23:59.439
But it wasn't coming directly from his mouth. It was

1080
01:23:59.520 --> 01:24:05.399
coming from all around. Emmett. Pounding in his ears talk

1081
01:24:05.960 --> 01:24:14.840
to Billy. Danny's hand lifted and pointed beyond Emmett toward

1082
01:24:14.960 --> 01:24:21.399
his house, or at least in that general direction. Beware

1083
01:24:21.960 --> 01:24:31.039
the bad lady. Danny's mouth shut. He stopped pointing, snapped

1084
01:24:31.039 --> 01:24:41.359
his fingers, and suddenly vanished. Another restless night lay ahead

1085
01:24:41.399 --> 01:24:45.039
of Emmett. He couldn't get Danny out of his mind.

1086
01:24:46.119 --> 01:24:50.199
He didn't understand why, out of all people, he had

1087
01:24:50.279 --> 01:24:56.039
chosen to reveal himself and reach out to him. I'm

1088
01:24:56.039 --> 01:24:59.840
a loser, Emmett thought as he stared at the sea

1089
01:25:00.279 --> 01:25:04.880
in the darkness of his room, wishing he could fall asleep.

1090
01:25:05.960 --> 01:25:09.680
At the same time, he was sure that even in sleep,

1091
01:25:10.279 --> 01:25:16.159
he wouldn't obtain rest. He'd been having terrible nightmares for

1092
01:25:16.359 --> 01:25:21.520
days now. Billy was the little boy that Danny had

1093
01:25:21.560 --> 01:25:26.239
been friends with before his death. Emmett was sure he

1094
01:25:26.359 --> 01:25:30.199
knew who the little boy was. He had seen him

1095
01:25:30.239 --> 01:25:35.000
a few times in his backyard while mowing the grass.

1096
01:25:35.039 --> 01:25:37.800
He had a habit of kicking his soccer ball over

1097
01:25:37.880 --> 01:25:42.399
the small fence into the back yard, but he never

1098
01:25:42.520 --> 01:25:46.399
once tried to venture into Emmett's yard to retrieve it.

1099
01:25:47.279 --> 01:25:50.680
Emmett would toss it over the fence each time he

1100
01:25:50.840 --> 01:25:54.920
discovered it, but he wouldn't have minded if the kid

1101
01:25:54.920 --> 01:25:59.039
had crossed on to his property to retrieve his belongings.

1102
01:26:01.000 --> 01:26:05.119
Who is the bad lady? This was the final thought

1103
01:26:05.199 --> 01:26:10.520
Emmitt had before his eyes finally grew heavy and he

1104
01:26:10.680 --> 01:26:19.520
was instantly transported into the realm of nightmares. Emm It

1105
01:26:19.720 --> 01:26:23.560
jerked in his sleep. He could hear crying coming from

1106
01:26:23.600 --> 01:26:27.880
the other side of his bedroom door. It was Nathan.

1107
01:26:29.039 --> 01:26:33.760
Goosebumps covered Emmit's skin, and a nervousness flowed through his

1108
01:26:33.880 --> 01:26:37.239
blood to the point that he was sure he would

1109
01:26:37.239 --> 01:26:42.600
be sick. Emmet knew Nathan was not at his house

1110
01:26:42.680 --> 01:26:49.000
that night, but he knew the crying came from his son, Nathan.

1111
01:26:49.840 --> 01:26:54.000
Emmett called out, pulling himself out of bed and rushing

1112
01:26:54.079 --> 01:26:58.880
into the hall, Nathan, where are you? He heard the

1113
01:26:59.000 --> 01:27:04.119
crying again and ran toward the living room, positive that

1114
01:27:04.119 --> 01:27:08.039
that was where the sound came from. The moment he

1115
01:27:08.199 --> 01:27:13.520
entered the room, he stopped frozen in place. The living

1116
01:27:13.600 --> 01:27:19.159
room had changed. It was not how Emmett remembered it.

1117
01:27:19.159 --> 01:27:23.319
It was almost from another time, even though it was

1118
01:27:23.560 --> 01:27:28.039
his living room. There was a large oriental rug that

1119
01:27:28.199 --> 01:27:32.800
covered much of the hardwood floor. An old brown recliner

1120
01:27:33.000 --> 01:27:38.039
sat in the corner beside the bay window. The curtains

1121
01:27:38.079 --> 01:27:42.359
were open, but they were not curtains that Emmett recognized

1122
01:27:42.399 --> 01:27:46.880
from his home. The curtains were yellow with orange and

1123
01:27:46.960 --> 01:27:52.359
blue butterflies. It was dark outside. There was a small

1124
01:27:52.439 --> 01:27:56.159
table next to the recliner where he saw a glass

1125
01:27:56.199 --> 01:28:01.560
of urine or light colored tea. Next to it were

1126
01:28:01.640 --> 01:28:06.800
three open baby jars. Each one looked like they were

1127
01:28:06.880 --> 01:28:11.760
filled with blood. It was dripping from the sides of

1128
01:28:11.840 --> 01:28:16.920
the jars, running on to the table. What terrified Emmett

1129
01:28:17.039 --> 01:28:21.960
the most was the forty something woman sitting in the chair.

1130
01:28:23.199 --> 01:28:26.760
Her face was jaunt with dark circles under her eyes,

1131
01:28:27.399 --> 01:28:30.319
and her hair was thinning to the point that he

1132
01:28:30.359 --> 01:28:35.239
could see bald patches. She wore an old white cotton

1133
01:28:35.359 --> 01:28:41.640
nightgown covered in dry food and multiple stains. There were

1134
01:28:41.680 --> 01:28:45.159
holes in it as well as if moths had been

1135
01:28:45.159 --> 01:28:49.119
feeding on it. She reminded Emmett of some one in

1136
01:28:49.199 --> 01:28:55.000
the final stages of cancer. On the woman's lap sat Nathan,

1137
01:28:56.119 --> 01:29:02.000
not really sat, more like a held prisoner. She gripped

1138
01:29:02.079 --> 01:29:06.439
Nathan's arm and Emmett could see his son squirming in

1139
01:29:06.520 --> 01:29:10.880
her grasp. Her other hand had a large spoon in it.

1140
01:29:11.840 --> 01:29:16.039
She moved it to the table, dipped it in one

1141
01:29:16.079 --> 01:29:20.279
of the bloody jars, and then pulled it out, moving

1142
01:29:20.319 --> 01:29:26.119
it back to Nathan. Nathan screamed, and Emmett could see

1143
01:29:26.159 --> 01:29:30.319
his lips and face stained red. He was sure the

1144
01:29:30.319 --> 01:29:34.479
creepy woman had been feeding him what was in the jars.

1145
01:29:35.000 --> 01:29:37.640
He looked at the spoon she was moving toward his

1146
01:29:37.760 --> 01:29:45.159
son's mouth and saw an eyeball on it. Veins hung

1147
01:29:45.279 --> 01:29:49.279
off the spoon, and drops of blood were falling like rain.

1148
01:29:50.239 --> 01:29:54.560
The woman quickly shoved the spoon into Nathan's screaming mouth.

1149
01:29:55.520 --> 01:30:01.039
No Emmett bound forward. He was no l longer frozen

1150
01:30:01.119 --> 01:30:04.800
in place, but the moment he took his first step

1151
01:30:05.199 --> 01:30:09.760
to rescue his son, he awoke in the real world

1152
01:30:10.520 --> 01:30:15.880
and fell off his bed, hitting the hardwood floor with

1153
01:30:15.960 --> 01:30:22.600
a thud. Shit Emmett called out in pain. Sunlight was

1154
01:30:22.680 --> 01:30:25.760
creeping in through the sides of the curtains in his

1155
01:30:25.880 --> 01:30:32.760
bedroom window. His heart was still racing from the realness

1156
01:30:32.760 --> 01:30:37.319
of the nightmare. He looked over at the clock and

1157
01:30:37.479 --> 01:30:42.920
saw that it was already noon. What the hell am

1158
01:30:42.920 --> 01:30:51.840
I going to do. After showering, Emmett was pleased to

1159
01:30:51.920 --> 01:30:56.880
discover he had energy. He had felt drained ever since

1160
01:30:56.920 --> 01:31:01.079
seeing Danny for the first time, even though he had

1161
01:31:01.119 --> 01:31:06.079
experienced the terrible dream the night before. He had also

1162
01:31:06.239 --> 01:31:10.720
gotten enough sleep to feel like a new person. He

1163
01:31:10.800 --> 01:31:16.039
also discovered that his appetite was coming back. He made

1164
01:31:16.119 --> 01:31:21.319
some crispy bacon and a large four egg omelet. He

1165
01:31:21.439 --> 01:31:27.359
devoured every bit of it. While eating breakfast, Emmett decided

1166
01:31:27.439 --> 01:31:30.920
his first order of business would be to see if

1167
01:31:30.960 --> 01:31:35.600
he could find Billy outside playing so he could speak

1168
01:31:35.640 --> 01:31:40.640
with him. Emmett was nervous about doing this, knowing how

1169
01:31:40.680 --> 01:31:44.840
it could look if his neighbors saw him conversing deeply

1170
01:31:45.399 --> 01:31:49.960
with a little boy in the neighborhood. It didn't seem appropriate,

1171
01:31:50.520 --> 01:31:55.000
but Emmett knew he had to do it. Danny had

1172
01:31:55.039 --> 01:31:59.039
directed him to do so, and he was curious to

1173
01:31:59.119 --> 01:32:03.479
see what the boy would say, not that he had

1174
01:32:03.600 --> 01:32:07.800
any idea of how to start a conversation about Danny

1175
01:32:08.600 --> 01:32:13.840
with him. Emmett considered walking down to Milly's and telling

1176
01:32:13.880 --> 01:32:17.920
her about the words Danny had spoken to him, but

1177
01:32:18.920 --> 01:32:22.560
he decided against it. He would only talk to her

1178
01:32:23.039 --> 01:32:28.600
when he had something more substantial to tell her. Plus,

1179
01:32:29.279 --> 01:32:32.960
he didn't want to worry the lady. She had enough

1180
01:32:33.119 --> 01:32:46.920
going on in her life already. Emmett pushed his mower

1181
01:32:47.239 --> 01:32:52.159
into the backyard. His grass didn't need cutting, but he

1182
01:32:52.279 --> 01:32:55.880
felt he would look less creepy if he at least

1183
01:32:55.920 --> 01:32:59.279
appeared to be doing something in his yard. When he

1184
01:32:59.359 --> 01:33:04.000
conversed with Billy, he noticed that the boy always played

1185
01:33:04.039 --> 01:33:09.359
in his backyard. He seemed like a loaner. He spotted

1186
01:33:09.399 --> 01:33:12.760
Billy's black and white soccer ball to the left of

1187
01:33:12.800 --> 01:33:17.159
his fence line. He didn't approach it. He'd wait for

1188
01:33:17.319 --> 01:33:21.840
Billy to appear first. That way he could quickly start

1189
01:33:21.880 --> 01:33:26.600
a conversation with the boy. He didn't have to wait

1190
01:33:27.000 --> 01:33:31.279
too long. Billy came running out of the back door

1191
01:33:31.319 --> 01:33:35.079
of his house and went to the wooden shed. Moving

1192
01:33:35.159 --> 01:33:38.159
to the side of it, he watched as the little

1193
01:33:38.159 --> 01:33:41.920
boy pulled out a small soccer goal and moved it

1194
01:33:41.960 --> 01:33:45.279
to the corner of his yard where he always set

1195
01:33:45.319 --> 01:33:51.680
it up. He waved at Emmett, Sorry, mister, Billy called out,

1196
01:33:52.359 --> 01:33:56.880
I kicked my ball into your yard again. The boy smiled,

1197
01:33:57.560 --> 01:34:02.960
but it wasn't a happy one. Was an apologetic one.

1198
01:34:03.000 --> 01:34:07.119
Not a problem, buddy. Emmett stopped pretending to pick weeds

1199
01:34:07.520 --> 01:34:11.159
and went to the soccer ball. He retrieved it and

1200
01:34:11.279 --> 01:34:15.399
walked over to the fence, where Billy awaited. Here you go.

1201
01:34:16.319 --> 01:34:20.520
He tossed the ball to the boy. Thanks. I'm trying

1202
01:34:20.520 --> 01:34:23.079
to get better with my high kicks, but I keep

1203
01:34:23.119 --> 01:34:27.960
losing control of the ball. Billy explained, do you play

1204
01:34:28.000 --> 01:34:32.520
soccer in school? Emmett pushed forward, trying to show the

1205
01:34:32.640 --> 01:34:37.840
kid he was friendly. Not in school. Billy shook his head.

1206
01:34:38.960 --> 01:34:42.239
I play at the YMCA, though I'm the second best

1207
01:34:42.239 --> 01:34:46.359
player on the team. I reckon. Emmett laughed and then smiled.

1208
01:34:47.079 --> 01:34:52.000
He liked the confidence the kid displayed. What position do

1209
01:34:52.079 --> 01:34:56.680
you play? Center forward? You must be good if you're

1210
01:34:56.720 --> 01:35:01.000
a forward. Billy dropped the ball to his feet, and

1211
01:35:01.039 --> 01:35:04.199
Emmett thought he was about to display some footwork to

1212
01:35:04.279 --> 01:35:10.359
impress him. Instead, he moved closer to Emmett and the fence.

1213
01:35:11.439 --> 01:35:14.840
He looked back over his shoulder as if he was

1214
01:35:15.000 --> 01:35:18.640
checking to see if his parents were around or if

1215
01:35:18.680 --> 01:35:26.039
anyone was listening. Then he whispered, did Danny send you?

1216
01:35:27.520 --> 01:35:32.079
The seriousness and the tone of Billy's whispers sent chills

1217
01:35:32.520 --> 01:35:39.600
running through Emmett's body. Yes, Emmett whispered, how did you

1218
01:35:39.680 --> 01:35:45.600
know that? Billy looked over his shoulder again, then returned

1219
01:35:45.640 --> 01:35:49.039
his gaze to Emmett. He comes to me in my

1220
01:35:49.159 --> 01:35:54.439
dreams sometimes, only I don't think I'm dreaming. I think

1221
01:35:54.479 --> 01:36:00.279
he's really here, and he's sad. Why is he said,

1222
01:36:01.640 --> 01:36:05.640
Because he's dead and he told you I was going

1223
01:36:05.680 --> 01:36:08.640
to talk to you. He wants me to tell you

1224
01:36:08.760 --> 01:36:14.840
about the the bad Lady. Billy's face filled with concern,

1225
01:36:15.479 --> 01:36:20.640
and his whisper lowered even more. Who is the bad lady?

1226
01:36:21.399 --> 01:36:25.720
Emmett asked the question, not knowing if he wanted the answer.

1227
01:36:26.800 --> 01:36:31.680
Even in the light of day, he felt terror she

1228
01:36:32.800 --> 01:36:36.399
Billy started to speak when his mother stepped out the

1229
01:36:36.479 --> 01:36:41.800
back door. She had a nervous look on her face. Billy,

1230
01:36:42.439 --> 01:36:45.319
the woman called out. He jumped at the sound of

1231
01:36:45.359 --> 01:36:51.119
her voice. Hey mom, Billy faked a smile. This is

1232
01:36:51.159 --> 01:36:55.359
our neighbor. I kicked my ball into his yard. Emmett

1233
01:36:55.439 --> 01:36:59.960
raised a hand in greeting, i'mm it nice to meet you, ma'am.

1234
01:37:00.760 --> 01:37:04.359
The woman stared him up and down. He could tell

1235
01:37:04.439 --> 01:37:07.199
she was sizing him up to see if he was

1236
01:37:07.279 --> 01:37:11.560
a friend. Or foe. She was looking out for her

1237
01:37:11.600 --> 01:37:16.520
little boy. I'm Missus Smith. Emmett could tell by the

1238
01:37:16.600 --> 01:37:20.239
expression on her face that she was not happy that

1239
01:37:20.319 --> 01:37:23.840
he had been talking to her son. Even though he

1240
01:37:23.960 --> 01:37:28.439
needed answers about the bad lady, he decided not to

1241
01:37:28.520 --> 01:37:32.840
press his luck anyway. I better get back to work.

1242
01:37:33.479 --> 01:37:38.520
Emmett turned, starting away from his fence. This lawn isn't

1243
01:37:38.560 --> 01:37:42.680
going to mow itself. He moved to his mower and

1244
01:37:42.880 --> 01:37:48.039
noticed that Missus Smith was still staring at him. He

1245
01:37:48.119 --> 01:37:51.680
didn't plan on mowing the lawn, but now he had

1246
01:37:51.720 --> 01:37:55.600
no choice. He had to put on a show or

1247
01:37:55.680 --> 01:38:01.079
Missus Smith would think he was a threat. Had already

1248
01:38:01.119 --> 01:38:06.079
returned to his ball and goal. Emmett started the mower

1249
01:38:06.600 --> 01:38:10.880
and began cutting his grass, wondering how he would find

1250
01:38:10.920 --> 01:38:15.359
out who the bad lady was. Was it the woman

1251
01:38:15.479 --> 01:38:20.199
from his nightmare the night before? She certainly looked like

1252
01:38:20.319 --> 01:38:26.840
a bad lady feeding his son eyeballs? Did the bad

1253
01:38:26.920 --> 01:38:30.840
lady hurt Billy or Danny? Does the bad lady want

1254
01:38:30.880 --> 01:38:36.840
to hurt Nathan? Emmittt wondered, and a shudder ran down

1255
01:38:36.960 --> 01:38:46.319
his spine. That night, Emmett found himself once again sitting

1256
01:38:46.359 --> 01:38:50.239
on the porch of his house. His eyes were directed

1257
01:38:50.319 --> 01:38:55.680
toward the corner of Cawley Place and Gradis, eagerly waiting

1258
01:38:55.760 --> 01:39:00.199
for an appearance of Danny. He had met with Bill

1259
01:39:00.720 --> 01:39:05.840
like Danny wanted, but did not receive much information. All

1260
01:39:05.920 --> 01:39:10.079
he knew was Billy knew who the bad lady was.

1261
01:39:11.399 --> 01:39:14.479
Emmett was half way through a case of beer and

1262
01:39:14.680 --> 01:39:18.119
was good and stoned. He had gone through more weed

1263
01:39:18.239 --> 01:39:21.560
in three days than he usually went through in a month.

1264
01:39:22.560 --> 01:39:26.279
He realized that was partly to replace his alcohol consumption

1265
01:39:26.880 --> 01:39:31.000
with another vice. He really could go for a jack

1266
01:39:31.039 --> 01:39:35.640
and coke, maybe a double or a triple. He had

1267
01:39:35.680 --> 01:39:39.800
also gone from smoking one pack of cigarettes daily to

1268
01:39:39.920 --> 01:39:43.359
two to two and a half packs. He could feel

1269
01:39:43.399 --> 01:39:47.279
his lungs burning each night he crawled into bed and

1270
01:39:47.359 --> 01:39:50.960
he would hack for a good hour after he first awoke.

1271
01:39:51.319 --> 01:39:55.520
In the morning, there was no sign of Danny and

1272
01:39:55.640 --> 01:39:58.239
he was starting to think he would not be appearing

1273
01:39:58.319 --> 01:40:02.800
that night. Part of Emmett wanted to see him, while

1274
01:40:02.840 --> 01:40:07.359
another part hoped he wouldn't show up. He just wanted

1275
01:40:07.359 --> 01:40:11.000
the whole situation to end before he was forced to

1276
01:40:11.039 --> 01:40:14.560
open a bottle of whiskey or snort an entire bag

1277
01:40:14.640 --> 01:40:20.119
of cocaine. Time to break the seal. Emmett's bladder was

1278
01:40:20.199 --> 01:40:24.760
screaming for release. He stood up, moved to the door,

1279
01:40:24.840 --> 01:40:28.279
and placed his feet on the doormat when he noticed

1280
01:40:28.359 --> 01:40:33.039
something near his foot. There was a piece of paper

1281
01:40:33.479 --> 01:40:39.000
poking out from under the doormat. Emmett stepped back, lowered

1282
01:40:39.079 --> 01:40:43.159
himself to the ground, and pulled the paper from under

1283
01:40:43.199 --> 01:40:47.199
the doormat. It was a folded piece of notebook paper.

1284
01:40:48.640 --> 01:40:54.199
Emmett opened it and saw youthful writing in black. It

1285
01:40:54.319 --> 01:40:58.079
was all written in large print, with a few misspellings.

1286
01:40:58.520 --> 01:41:01.560
Emmett looked at the bottom of the paper and saw

1287
01:41:01.680 --> 01:41:06.720
it was signed Billy. The little neighbor boy had left

1288
01:41:06.760 --> 01:41:10.680
him a note. Emmet forgot about the need to release

1289
01:41:10.720 --> 01:41:14.359
his bladder as he sat back in his chair and

1290
01:41:14.439 --> 01:41:18.880
began reading the letter. In the dim light above his head,

1291
01:41:19.279 --> 01:41:22.920
two moths flew around the light bulb near the door.

1292
01:41:24.520 --> 01:41:27.960
My mom doesn't like you. She doesn't like your house.

1293
01:41:28.760 --> 01:41:32.199
That is where the bad lady lived. She says you

1294
01:41:32.279 --> 01:41:35.960
could be a bad man. I don't believe her. You

1295
01:41:36.039 --> 01:41:40.159
are nice. The bad lady gave us cookies. They made

1296
01:41:40.239 --> 01:41:44.039
me sick. The bad Lady didn't like us playing ball

1297
01:41:44.199 --> 01:41:49.720
or making noise. The bad Lady hurt Danny. I still

1298
01:41:49.800 --> 01:41:55.159
see her sometimes in the windows of your house. Be careful,

1299
01:41:56.640 --> 01:42:03.039
signed Billy. Hand shook and he dropped the note on

1300
01:42:03.119 --> 01:42:08.039
to his lap. He slowly turned his head, looking to

1301
01:42:08.119 --> 01:42:13.479
the bay window. He had the uncanny feeling that he

1302
01:42:13.600 --> 01:42:19.039
was being watched, not by Danny, but by someone inside

1303
01:42:19.119 --> 01:42:24.960
his house. He felt like the bad Lady was watching him.

1304
01:42:26.479 --> 01:42:41.680
Danny did not make an appearance that night. Sleep did

1305
01:42:41.720 --> 01:42:45.520
not come easy for Emmett. That night. He lay on

1306
01:42:45.600 --> 01:42:50.640
his bed reading the letter from Billy over and over again.

1307
01:42:51.800 --> 01:42:55.000
The bad Lady was the lady who lived in the

1308
01:42:55.079 --> 01:42:59.199
house before he moved in. He was sure of that now.

1309
01:43:00.359 --> 01:43:04.119
It was just hard for him to believe. After meeting

1310
01:43:04.159 --> 01:43:08.119
her father, whom he purchased the home from, he couldn't

1311
01:43:08.119 --> 01:43:13.359
imagine his daughter being bad, let alone a person who

1312
01:43:13.399 --> 01:43:17.840
could hurt a child. You never know what types of

1313
01:43:17.880 --> 01:43:21.680
secrets people hide. Just because her father was nice doesn't

1314
01:43:21.720 --> 01:43:25.800
mean she was. She could have been a truly terrible person.

1315
01:43:26.560 --> 01:43:30.680
People can lead two very different lives without being discovered.

1316
01:43:31.840 --> 01:43:36.319
Emmett knew that for a fact. If she was a

1317
01:43:36.359 --> 01:43:40.439
bad lady. What did she do to Danny? Was she

1318
01:43:40.640 --> 01:43:44.840
responsible for his death? Is that what Danny is trying

1319
01:43:44.880 --> 01:43:48.920
to tell me? Billy said he sometimes saw the bad

1320
01:43:49.039 --> 01:43:53.800
Lady in the windows of his house. That chilled Emmett

1321
01:43:54.079 --> 01:43:58.119
to the bone. He told himself the little boy could

1322
01:43:58.119 --> 01:44:03.960
have imagined things, seeing things that weren't there. But at

1323
01:44:04.000 --> 01:44:09.039
the same time, he wondered if maybe her soul was

1324
01:44:09.079 --> 01:44:12.800
attached to the house the same way Danny seemed to

1325
01:44:12.800 --> 01:44:18.640
be connected to his bike and the street corner. Emmett

1326
01:44:18.640 --> 01:44:23.279
fell asleep thinking about the bad lady and how she

1327
01:44:23.359 --> 01:44:26.920
could have hurt Danny, and if she was attached to

1328
01:44:27.000 --> 01:44:33.920
the house, would she be capable of hurting Nathan. The

1329
01:44:34.000 --> 01:44:38.760
following morning, Emmett found himself watching Nathan like a hawk.

1330
01:44:39.800 --> 01:44:42.199
He would not let his son out of sight as

1331
01:44:42.239 --> 01:44:45.760
they played in the living room. The house was small,

1332
01:44:45.920 --> 01:44:48.640
and from the living room he could see into the

1333
01:44:48.720 --> 01:44:53.079
dining room and down the hall. The only place he

1334
01:44:53.159 --> 01:44:58.279
couldn't see was the bathroom. Nathan was potty trained and

1335
01:44:58.399 --> 01:45:01.720
drank so much juice that he ran to the bathroom

1336
01:45:01.720 --> 01:45:06.359
every twenty minutes. Emmittt grew nervous each time he was

1337
01:45:06.399 --> 01:45:10.640
in the bathroom. He kept waiting to hear Nathan scream.

1338
01:45:11.800 --> 01:45:14.920
If he did, Emmett knew it would be because the

1339
01:45:15.039 --> 01:45:18.760
bad lady had her grip on him and would be

1340
01:45:18.920 --> 01:45:23.760
feeding him eyeballs. He was so distracted by his thoughts

1341
01:45:24.319 --> 01:45:28.079
that he couldn't even enjoy himself with his son. He

1342
01:45:28.159 --> 01:45:31.199
felt terrible when he dropped him off at his mother's work.

1343
01:45:32.119 --> 01:45:35.239
He felt like he had wasted the day thinking about

1344
01:45:35.279 --> 01:45:38.840
the boy on the bike and the bad lady when

1345
01:45:38.880 --> 01:45:42.399
he should have focused entirely on living in the moment

1346
01:45:42.960 --> 01:45:47.600
and making memories with his son. On his way home,

1347
01:45:48.039 --> 01:45:52.319
Emmett stopped at the liquor store. He went inside and

1348
01:45:52.479 --> 01:45:56.840
grabbed the largest bottle of whiskey he could find. He

1349
01:45:56.880 --> 01:46:00.720
didn't want to do it, but couldn't help himself. He

1350
01:46:00.880 --> 01:46:04.000
needed to get fucked up. He needed to get as

1351
01:46:04.039 --> 01:46:08.119
shit faced as possible to escape the world around him.

1352
01:46:08.680 --> 01:46:11.640
Emmt also stopped at the bar he used to work at,

1353
01:46:12.159 --> 01:46:15.159
had two beers and waited for one of the local

1354
01:46:15.279 --> 01:46:20.079
dealers to show up. When they did, he approached them

1355
01:46:20.520 --> 01:46:24.439
and secured some cocaine. He knew what he was doing

1356
01:46:24.600 --> 01:46:28.039
was wrong. He had been doing so well with avoiding

1357
01:46:28.119 --> 01:46:32.199
hard liquor and drugs, but the idea that there may

1358
01:46:32.319 --> 01:46:36.079
be a bad lady lurking behind the walls of his

1359
01:46:36.199 --> 01:46:41.319
home was pushing him over the edge. Tears were in

1360
01:46:41.399 --> 01:46:45.239
Emmett's eyes as he made the drive back to his house.

1361
01:46:46.039 --> 01:46:51.039
He was disappointed in himself, but was incapable of stopping.

1362
01:46:55.239 --> 01:46:58.760
Gareth was sitting on the couch when Emmett walked through

1363
01:46:58.800 --> 01:47:02.399
the front door. He eyed the bottle of whiskey in

1364
01:47:02.439 --> 01:47:06.000
Emmett's hand. He figured it was just a matter of

1365
01:47:06.079 --> 01:47:10.439
time before Emmett would return to the bottle. He had

1366
01:47:10.479 --> 01:47:14.199
also received a text from the bartender at work letting

1367
01:47:14.239 --> 01:47:18.319
him know that Emmett had shown up. He was finally

1368
01:47:18.439 --> 01:47:21.119
going to get his friend back and they could go

1369
01:47:21.239 --> 01:47:27.600
bar hopping and chasing tail again. Rough day, he asked,

1370
01:47:28.119 --> 01:47:32.279
rough week. Emmett responded as he moved to the kitchen

1371
01:47:32.760 --> 01:47:36.439
and placed the bottle on the counter. He returned to

1372
01:47:36.520 --> 01:47:39.640
his car and retrieved a case of beer, a two

1373
01:47:39.680 --> 01:47:44.159
liter of coke, and a bag of hamburger meat. Gareth

1374
01:47:44.319 --> 01:47:49.119
curiously watched Emmett season hamburger meat in the kitchen. He

1375
01:47:49.199 --> 01:47:53.159
had already cracked open two beers and smoked one cigarette

1376
01:47:53.319 --> 01:47:59.560
after another. Seriously man, Gareth began as he turned down

1377
01:47:59.600 --> 01:48:02.560
the television set where he had been watching an old

1378
01:48:02.640 --> 01:48:09.119
war movie. You need to talk, I'm good man, Emmet lied.

1379
01:48:10.079 --> 01:48:12.439
He would have liked to sit down and tell Gareth

1380
01:48:12.600 --> 01:48:16.760
everything about the boy on the bike and the bad lady.

1381
01:48:17.479 --> 01:48:20.520
He would have loved to tell him about Milly, the

1382
01:48:20.640 --> 01:48:24.039
story she told him about Danny, and how he was

1383
01:48:24.199 --> 01:48:28.439
terrified Nathan could be in danger in the house. He

1384
01:48:28.520 --> 01:48:32.159
had not seen or heard anything in the house other

1385
01:48:32.319 --> 01:48:36.960
than that feeling of being watched that one night. No

1386
01:48:37.119 --> 01:48:41.840
bumps in the night, no apparitions. He also knew Gareth

1387
01:48:41.920 --> 01:48:46.319
would not believe a single word. He figured he himself

1388
01:48:46.359 --> 01:48:48.800
wouldn't have believed them if he had been on the

1389
01:48:48.800 --> 01:48:52.159
opposite side of the events. He was now part of

1390
01:48:53.680 --> 01:48:59.039
working tonight. Yeah, picked up a shift, Gareth answered emm

1391
01:48:59.159 --> 01:49:04.199
It grilled out some burghers, and he and Gareth devoured them. Afterward,

1392
01:49:04.479 --> 01:49:08.279
Gareth headed off to work and Emmett headed to the

1393
01:49:08.319 --> 01:49:12.319
porch with a beer, a bottle of whisky and a

1394
01:49:12.359 --> 01:49:15.960
glass full of ice with a splash of coke and

1395
01:49:16.079 --> 01:49:30.079
sat down. He was ready to confront Danny. It was

1396
01:49:30.279 --> 01:49:34.520
just beginning to grow dark outside, but Emmett was already

1397
01:49:34.600 --> 01:49:38.880
shifting in his seat. He shifted from side to side

1398
01:49:38.960 --> 01:49:43.960
and kept looking at the corner. He kept expecting Danny

1399
01:49:44.079 --> 01:49:48.840
to appear, but he knew it wasn't dark enough. Danny

1400
01:49:48.920 --> 01:49:54.359
only appeared when darkness fully engulfed the neighborhood. The glass

1401
01:49:54.359 --> 01:49:57.960
of ice with a splash of coke had melted entirely.

1402
01:49:58.680 --> 01:50:02.279
The whiskey bottle had yet to be opened, but Emmett

1403
01:50:02.600 --> 01:50:06.560
kept eyeing it, fighting the urge to pour himself a

1404
01:50:06.600 --> 01:50:11.560
hearty glass. He had one hand in his pocket, fingering

1405
01:50:11.600 --> 01:50:15.680
the small bag of cocaine he had acquired. He had

1406
01:50:15.760 --> 01:50:19.000
yet to partake, but he was getting close to running

1407
01:50:19.039 --> 01:50:22.199
inside and spreading a few lines out on the kitchen

1408
01:50:22.279 --> 01:50:27.119
counter to truly gain the focus he needed to confront Danny.

1409
01:50:28.640 --> 01:50:31.920
Emmett decided he'd do whatever it took to get Danny

1410
01:50:32.000 --> 01:50:36.279
to tell him what exactly he wanted so he could

1411
01:50:36.439 --> 01:50:40.520
end the nightmare he was living. He just wanted to

1412
01:50:40.560 --> 01:50:44.239
be done with Danny and the bad Lady. He needed

1413
01:50:44.279 --> 01:50:47.159
to return his focus to getting a job and being

1414
01:50:47.199 --> 01:50:51.960
an upstanding father to Nathan. I want you to stay

1415
01:50:52.039 --> 01:50:56.840
away from my son, Missus Smith stood three feet from

1416
01:50:56.840 --> 01:51:00.680
Emmett's front porch. He didn't even see her walk up

1417
01:51:00.720 --> 01:51:04.359
his lawn. He had been consumed with his thoughts about

1418
01:51:04.960 --> 01:51:12.680
Danny and the bad lady. Hello, Missus Smith. Emmett's voice

1419
01:51:12.760 --> 01:51:17.520
was shaking. He could see Missus Smith's eyes judgmentally looking

1420
01:51:17.880 --> 01:51:20.800
at all the empty beer cans and the bottle of

1421
01:51:20.840 --> 01:51:25.079
whiskey sitting next to him. I didn't think I did

1422
01:51:25.119 --> 01:51:29.800
anything wrong. We were just talking about soccer. You were

1423
01:51:29.800 --> 01:51:33.640
doing more than that, Emmett. Missus Smith moved a step

1424
01:51:33.720 --> 01:51:37.600
closer to the porch. You were talking to him about Danny.

1425
01:51:38.279 --> 01:51:41.119
He told me you asked about him, and he told

1426
01:51:41.119 --> 01:51:44.000
me he told you about the lady who used to

1427
01:51:44.039 --> 01:51:47.560
live in this house. Billy told me she was a

1428
01:51:48.319 --> 01:51:53.479
bad lady, Emmett revealed. Everyone that has lived in your

1429
01:51:53.520 --> 01:51:57.279
house has been a bad person, but she was the

1430
01:51:57.319 --> 01:52:00.560
worst of all. I'm sure she poisoned and Billy and

1431
01:52:00.640 --> 01:52:03.840
Danny the night that poor sweet child was hit by

1432
01:52:03.840 --> 01:52:06.880
a car. I couldn't prove it, and at this point

1433
01:52:07.239 --> 01:52:10.279
it's moot now that the bitch got what she deserved,

1434
01:52:10.840 --> 01:52:17.520
Missus Smith said, with a crooked smile playing across her face. Listen, no,

1435
01:52:18.159 --> 01:52:22.600
you listen to me, Missus Smith stepped back. Billy is

1436
01:52:22.680 --> 01:52:25.880
finally getting over what happened with Danny and this house.

1437
01:52:26.520 --> 01:52:28.960
You stay the fuck away from him, or I'll send

1438
01:52:28.960 --> 01:52:32.079
my husband here next time. And he is nowhere near

1439
01:52:32.199 --> 01:52:35.920
as nice as I am. Emmett didn't even need to

1440
01:52:36.079 --> 01:52:40.600
verbalize a response. He nodded as she quickly turned and

1441
01:52:40.720 --> 01:52:45.279
walked away from the house. She stopped halfway down the sidewalk,

1442
01:52:45.800 --> 01:52:49.720
looked over her shoulder and shot Emmett the middle finger.

1443
01:52:52.439 --> 01:52:56.920
The sound of a horn filled Emmett's ears. It wasn't

1444
01:52:56.960 --> 01:53:00.479
the horn from a car, it was the horn from

1445
01:53:00.479 --> 01:53:04.760
a bike. Emmett turned his head and looked to the

1446
01:53:04.880 --> 01:53:10.000
corner of Cawley Place and Gratis. There in the middle

1447
01:53:10.039 --> 01:53:14.840
of the street was Danny. He was looking at Emmett,

1448
01:53:15.560 --> 01:53:22.359
waving at him with one dead and clammy hand. The

1449
01:53:22.399 --> 01:53:27.159
bizarre interaction between Emmett and Missus Smith was no longer

1450
01:53:27.239 --> 01:53:32.520
on his mind. Emmett's eyes were focused on Danny standing

1451
01:53:32.560 --> 01:53:37.159
in the street waving at him. He didn't turn his

1452
01:53:37.239 --> 01:53:40.439
bike and ride back into the shadows of the street

1453
01:53:40.880 --> 01:53:46.119
as he usually did. This is it the moment of truth,

1454
01:53:46.760 --> 01:53:51.000
Emmett thought, as he walked across the lawn, heading directly

1455
01:53:51.039 --> 01:53:55.880
to the corner where Danny stood. His legs were wobbly,

1456
01:53:56.600 --> 01:53:59.319
just like the night he had witnessed the ghost boy

1457
01:54:00.199 --> 01:54:05.079
hit by a car. Danny stopped waving his hand and

1458
01:54:05.239 --> 01:54:09.640
dropped it to his side. He had a serious expression

1459
01:54:09.680 --> 01:54:15.800
on his face. His eyes were wholly transfixed on Emmett.

1460
01:54:16.199 --> 01:54:19.520
I talked to Billy. He told me the bad lady

1461
01:54:19.600 --> 01:54:24.399
lived in my house, Emmett began before he even made

1462
01:54:24.439 --> 01:54:27.920
it to Danny. He didn't even care that one of

1463
01:54:27.960 --> 01:54:32.199
the neighbors might see him talking to himself, because they

1464
01:54:32.279 --> 01:54:35.960
most likely wouldn't have seen Danny standing in the road.

1465
01:54:37.119 --> 01:54:40.880
He believed that Danny had appeared that night to speak

1466
01:54:40.920 --> 01:54:47.760
to him, to see if he talked to Billy or not. See.

1467
01:54:48.000 --> 01:54:53.000
Danny's voice was monotone, his eyes were nearly black, but

1468
01:54:53.119 --> 01:54:58.600
Emmett could feel them eyeing him. See what. Emmett yelled.

1469
01:54:59.239 --> 01:55:01.960
He was now closer to Danny than he had ever

1470
01:55:02.079 --> 01:55:07.079
been before. Danny dropped his hands from the handlebars of

1471
01:55:07.119 --> 01:55:11.119
his bike and reached them toward Emmett as if he

1472
01:55:11.199 --> 01:55:19.720
were requesting a hug. See Danny repeated the moment he

1473
01:55:19.800 --> 01:55:24.079
did maggots began pouring out from the corners of his

1474
01:55:24.199 --> 01:55:30.159
eyes like tears. Again, what do you want me to see?

1475
01:55:30.319 --> 01:55:33.960
Danny stepped right before the bike. He was sure it

1476
01:55:34.000 --> 01:55:37.800
would vanish into thin air if he reached out to

1477
01:55:37.800 --> 01:55:46.079
touch it. See Danny screamed as he pulled Emmett down

1478
01:55:46.239 --> 01:55:50.159
until they were staring one another in the eyes. Emmett's

1479
01:55:50.199 --> 01:55:53.680
skin crawled as he watched the larvae roll out of

1480
01:55:53.720 --> 01:56:00.319
the corners of his eyes. See Danny placed both hand

1481
01:56:00.479 --> 01:56:03.800
on the side of Emmett's head and put his thumbs

1482
01:56:04.159 --> 01:56:10.399
over Emmett's eyes. Emmett immediately closed his eyelids, and a

1483
01:56:10.439 --> 01:56:14.880
second later he saw things as he had never seen

1484
01:56:14.920 --> 01:56:27.239
them before. Emmett was more disoriented than he could ever

1485
01:56:27.359 --> 01:56:31.640
remember being. He was even more disoriented than he had

1486
01:56:31.680 --> 01:56:36.159
ever been when he was nearing blackout, drunk or stoned

1487
01:56:36.239 --> 01:56:39.760
out of his gourd. At first, he could barely get

1488
01:56:39.800 --> 01:56:43.520
his eyes to focus. He knew he was standing on

1489
01:56:43.640 --> 01:56:48.720
grass and it was daytime, but everything was moving fast.

1490
01:56:50.039 --> 01:56:53.680
Kick it to me, Danny, A young voice called out.

1491
01:56:54.439 --> 01:56:59.520
Emmett immediately recognized it as the voice of the neighbor boy, Billy.

1492
01:57:00.640 --> 01:57:05.520
Emmett's vision lifted and he was staring directly at Billy,

1493
01:57:06.239 --> 01:57:10.239
who was a few yards away. He looked down and

1494
01:57:10.359 --> 01:57:15.479
saw a soccer ball between his tiny feet. Emmett was

1495
01:57:15.560 --> 01:57:19.439
not looking through his own eyes. He was looking through

1496
01:57:19.560 --> 01:57:24.479
Danny's eyes. Danny had taken control of him and was

1497
01:57:24.520 --> 01:57:28.520
showing him things just as he had seen them in

1498
01:57:28.640 --> 01:57:34.039
the past before he was killed. Emmett watched Danny's little

1499
01:57:34.079 --> 01:57:37.680
foot pull back and kick the soccer ball to Billy.

1500
01:57:38.560 --> 01:57:41.640
He began to dribble the ball and went to kick

1501
01:57:41.680 --> 01:57:44.640
it into the goal. He pulled his leg back and

1502
01:57:44.840 --> 01:57:48.760
kicked with a vengeance. The ball went high into the air,

1503
01:57:49.600 --> 01:57:53.840
flew over the goal, and crossed over the fence into

1504
01:57:53.840 --> 01:57:59.279
the back yard of the house Emmett now lived in. However,

1505
01:58:00.199 --> 01:58:04.000
it did not live in the house. Now. The bad

1506
01:58:04.079 --> 01:58:08.680
Lady lived in the house. This was a vision from

1507
01:58:08.680 --> 01:58:13.560
the past. What did I tell you, little shits? The

1508
01:58:13.680 --> 01:58:17.760
voice was crude and high pitched. Danny turned toward the

1509
01:58:17.840 --> 01:58:21.079
sound of the voice, and Emmett caught a glimpse of

1510
01:58:21.600 --> 01:58:26.119
the bad Lady for the first time. The woman was

1511
01:58:26.399 --> 01:58:29.920
five feet tall with a hunched back. She was wearing

1512
01:58:29.960 --> 01:58:35.760
a pink bathroom that had seen better days. She had long, scraggly,

1513
01:58:35.920 --> 01:58:40.560
sandy blonde hair that needed to be washed. She had

1514
01:58:40.600 --> 01:58:45.239
an oxygen tank with tubes running to her nose. Her

1515
01:58:45.279 --> 01:58:49.359
teeth were stained brown, and Emmett assumed it was from

1516
01:58:49.479 --> 01:58:52.680
the tea stains. As he had been told, she died

1517
01:58:52.720 --> 01:58:59.239
in her chair drinking tea. Sorry, ma'am. Billy's voice called out,

1518
01:59:00.000 --> 01:59:04.520
there was an accident. It's always an accident, the bad

1519
01:59:04.600 --> 01:59:08.079
lady lashed out. If it happens again, I'll keep the

1520
01:59:08.159 --> 01:59:13.840
damn ball. Anything on my property is mine. Danny shuffled

1521
01:59:13.840 --> 01:59:18.399
his feet and his eyes dropped to the ground. Get

1522
01:59:18.439 --> 01:59:23.840
your ball and scoot, the bad lady called out. Danny

1523
01:59:23.920 --> 01:59:27.880
lifted his eyes and Emmett watched as Danny climbed over

1524
01:59:27.960 --> 01:59:32.359
the fence, retrieved the ball, and retreated to his yard.

1525
01:59:33.319 --> 01:59:37.880
The bad lady cussed under her breath. Danny's eyes lifted

1526
01:59:38.359 --> 01:59:43.359
and he watched as she vanished back into her house.

1527
01:59:47.840 --> 01:59:52.119
A shudder of brilliant white light flashed before Danny and

1528
01:59:52.199 --> 01:59:56.520
Emmett's eyes. It reminded him of the bright flash from

1529
01:59:56.520 --> 02:00:01.119
a camera. A second later, he was transported to a

1530
02:00:01.159 --> 02:00:05.640
new scene. He was once again looking through Danny's eyes.

1531
02:00:06.399 --> 02:00:09.720
He could instantly tell that he was climbing onto his bike.

1532
02:00:10.600 --> 02:00:15.840
Danny began to pedal the bike quickly. He was outside

1533
02:00:15.840 --> 02:00:18.880
Billy's house and the street lights had just come on.

1534
02:00:20.039 --> 02:00:24.960
Danny waved goodbye to Billy as he sped away. He

1535
02:00:25.079 --> 02:00:28.279
turned his bike and rode by the house Emmett now

1536
02:00:28.359 --> 02:00:33.239
lived in. He heard a crunching sound and watched Danny

1537
02:00:33.359 --> 02:00:37.600
hit the brakes on his bike, bringing it to a halt.

1538
02:00:38.840 --> 02:00:43.880
Oh no, Danny's voice called out as he dropped his eyes,

1539
02:00:44.439 --> 02:00:49.319
and Emmett saw what Danny was seeing. The sidewalk outside

1540
02:00:49.359 --> 02:00:54.279
the house was covered in broken glass. Danny had just

1541
02:00:54.439 --> 02:00:59.000
ridden over it and popped his tire. That'll teach you,

1542
02:00:59.159 --> 02:01:03.119
little shits. The bad lady stood on the front porch.

1543
02:01:03.880 --> 02:01:07.079
She had a beer bottle in her hand that matched

1544
02:01:07.119 --> 02:01:12.079
the same glass on the sidewalk. This sidewalk is mine, now,

1545
02:01:12.159 --> 02:01:18.199
shoe get going. Emmett heard Danny crying. He was upset

1546
02:01:18.239 --> 02:01:22.560
about his tire popping and was scared of the bad lady.

1547
02:01:23.800 --> 02:01:27.880
She was a cruel woman. Who the fuck does she

1548
02:01:28.000 --> 02:01:32.560
think she is? Emmett thought to himself, She doesn't own

1549
02:01:32.600 --> 02:01:36.079
the fucking sidewalk. In front of the damn house. Danny

1550
02:01:36.199 --> 02:01:38.520
was just a kid, and she flattened his tire for

1551
02:01:38.600 --> 02:01:44.720
no reason. The strange visions continued for what seemed like

1552
02:01:44.880 --> 02:01:49.439
hours to Emmett. He saw Danny's grandpa help him fix

1553
02:01:49.520 --> 02:01:54.279
the tire on his bike. He watched as Danny's Grandma, Millie,

1554
02:01:54.680 --> 02:01:59.079
tucked him into bed. Emmett felt nothing but love when

1555
02:01:59.119 --> 02:02:04.399
he captured vision of Danny and his grandparents. Whenever the

1556
02:02:04.479 --> 02:02:08.560
visions would switch to Danny playing with Billy and seeing

1557
02:02:08.680 --> 02:02:13.920
the Bad Lady, Emmitt felt nothing but nervousness and fear.

1558
02:02:15.279 --> 02:02:18.119
There was no love other than when Danny and Billy

1559
02:02:18.199 --> 02:02:23.039
were playing in Billy's front yard or within the protection

1560
02:02:23.239 --> 02:02:29.000
of Billy's house. The visions grew confusing when they seemed

1561
02:02:29.000 --> 02:02:33.279
to slow down to a single moment, a moment Emmett

1562
02:02:33.399 --> 02:02:41.760
knew was critical. He could feel it in his bones. Hey, boys,

1563
02:02:41.800 --> 02:02:44.920
it was the voice of the Bad Lady. But she

1564
02:02:45.159 --> 02:02:49.760
was not screaming or scolding Danny and Billy. Emmet saw

1565
02:02:49.840 --> 02:02:53.479
her through Danny's eyes. She was wearing a pair of

1566
02:02:53.560 --> 02:02:58.319
khaki pants and a floral shirt. Her hair was fixed,

1567
02:02:58.760 --> 02:03:03.720
but her smile was still brown. She was smiling at

1568
02:03:03.720 --> 02:03:07.600
the boys. You can get your ball. I can see

1569
02:03:07.640 --> 02:03:12.560
it by my flowers. Danny's eyes looked to Billy's, and

1570
02:03:12.640 --> 02:03:17.920
Emmett could see confusion in Billy's eyes. The bad Lady

1571
02:03:17.960 --> 02:03:22.079
had never spoken to the boys with any sort of politeness.

1572
02:03:22.920 --> 02:03:29.079
It was very unsettling. Okay, Billy said, as he crossed

1573
02:03:29.119 --> 02:03:33.359
the fence to retrieve the ball. Do you like sunflowers,

1574
02:03:34.199 --> 02:03:41.880
the bad Lady questioned, yeah, they are pretty. Billy stuttered,

1575
02:03:42.880 --> 02:03:45.960
thank you. I work hard to keep them looking this way.

1576
02:03:46.840 --> 02:03:52.039
They make me happy. The bad Lady spoke, do you

1577
02:03:52.319 --> 02:03:59.760
like cookies. Danny's eyes focused on Billy again, Yes, ma'am.

1578
02:04:00.199 --> 02:04:05.039
Billy answered, well, I just made some fresh chocolate chip

1579
02:04:05.079 --> 02:04:09.760
cookies and sun tea. The bad Lady said, why don't

1580
02:04:09.800 --> 02:04:12.720
you boys join me in the sunroom and we can

1581
02:04:12.800 --> 02:04:18.800
have some. Billy and Danny's eyes once again met. Both

1582
02:04:18.840 --> 02:04:23.079
of them were nervous, but the idea of chocolate chip

1583
02:04:23.119 --> 02:04:36.319
cookies delighted them both. The Bad Lady's sunroom was quaint.

1584
02:04:36.680 --> 02:04:40.880
There were hundreds of flowers, a small flowing fountain in

1585
02:04:40.960 --> 02:04:46.600
the corner, and numerous comfy seats with floral patterns. There

1586
02:04:46.680 --> 02:04:50.239
was also a small glass table where Emmett saw a

1587
02:04:50.279 --> 02:04:53.880
plate of fresh cookies and a picture of sun tea.

1588
02:04:54.800 --> 02:04:58.319
The bad Lady poured the boys a glass of iced

1589
02:04:58.359 --> 02:05:04.600
tea each as both boys eagerly ate the cookies. Danny's

1590
02:05:04.640 --> 02:05:08.840
eyes surveyed every inch of the sunroom, and Emmett could

1591
02:05:08.920 --> 02:05:13.439
see how beautiful it really was. Back in his reality,

1592
02:05:13.960 --> 02:05:16.800
there were only a few old lawn chairs and trash

1593
02:05:16.840 --> 02:05:21.359
bags filled with empty beer bottles. He wished the sunroom

1594
02:05:21.399 --> 02:05:25.359
looked like the bad Ladies. He imagined that Nathan would

1595
02:05:25.479 --> 02:05:30.359
enjoy sitting out there and playing. Another flash of light

1596
02:05:30.520 --> 02:05:34.479
moved the scene to Billy's backyard, where the soccer ball

1597
02:05:34.640 --> 02:05:39.359
was being passed around again. It was growing dark and

1598
02:05:39.399 --> 02:05:43.399
Emmett knew the street lights would come on soon, beckoning

1599
02:05:43.520 --> 02:05:49.000
Danny back to his grandparents house. Billy suddenly stopped dribbling

1600
02:05:49.039 --> 02:05:53.640
the ball and looked at Danny with a pained expression,

1601
02:05:55.399 --> 02:05:58.880
I feel sick. Danny ran to the corner of the

1602
02:05:58.960 --> 02:06:02.119
yard where the sh the shed was set. He leaned

1603
02:06:02.159 --> 02:06:08.279
over and began vomiting. Though Emmett was looking through Danny's eyes,

1604
02:06:08.840 --> 02:06:12.920
he could also feel what Danny was feeling. He felt

1605
02:06:12.920 --> 02:06:17.239
his stomach rumble and then a tiny stab of pain.

1606
02:06:18.399 --> 02:06:21.399
He could tell that Danny was about to be sick too.

1607
02:06:22.680 --> 02:06:26.119
The street lights were coming on, and Emmett could hear

1608
02:06:26.239 --> 02:06:32.279
Billy's mom calling the puking kid inside. I don't feel

1609
02:06:32.319 --> 02:06:38.399
so good, Danny said, with a shaking voice. I'm going home.

1610
02:06:39.359 --> 02:06:43.239
Danny stumbled to Billy's front yard and got on his bike.

1611
02:06:44.079 --> 02:06:48.159
Emmett started to see that Danny's vision was blurring. He

1612
02:06:48.279 --> 02:06:51.239
got to his bike and had a hard time getting

1613
02:06:51.319 --> 02:06:55.840
onto it and getting it going. When he did, he

1614
02:06:56.000 --> 02:06:59.680
swerved back and forth on the sidewalk as he rode

1615
02:06:59.720 --> 02:07:04.479
to the corner, turned and rode by the Bad Lady's house.

1616
02:07:05.359 --> 02:07:08.680
He looked at it, but his vision kept going in

1617
02:07:09.159 --> 02:07:13.560
and out. He could see Danny peddling faster on the bike,

1618
02:07:14.199 --> 02:07:18.640
crossing the street to pass over from Cawley Place to Gratis.

1619
02:07:19.840 --> 02:07:24.079
Emtt next saw the headlights of a car barreling down

1620
02:07:24.159 --> 02:07:29.079
on Danny. He watched in horror through Danny's eyes as

1621
02:07:29.119 --> 02:07:32.560
his little body was hit and thrown through the air.

1622
02:07:33.520 --> 02:07:37.000
He felt the wind go out of Danny. He heard

1623
02:07:37.000 --> 02:07:41.720
his bones crunch and crack on the pavement. He felt

1624
02:07:41.760 --> 02:07:46.600
tears and blood forming in Danny's eyes. And rolling from

1625
02:07:46.640 --> 02:07:51.039
his mouth. He listened to the cries of Milly screaming.

1626
02:07:52.399 --> 02:07:56.039
He then watched her come to Billy and hold his

1627
02:07:56.239 --> 02:08:05.199
dying body in her arms. Another camera flash of light

1628
02:08:05.680 --> 02:08:09.840
filled Emmett's mind, and he was back standing on the

1629
02:08:09.880 --> 02:08:14.720
street corner. He was staring directly into the eyes of

1630
02:08:14.800 --> 02:08:18.680
the boy on the bike, who had removed his hands

1631
02:08:18.720 --> 02:08:26.239
and fingers from Emmett's head and face. See Danny, cried out,

1632
02:08:27.199 --> 02:08:35.600
See see what? Emmett was crying. He had witnessed the

1633
02:08:35.680 --> 02:08:40.119
death of Danny first hand and couldn't stop thinking what

1634
02:08:40.239 --> 02:08:47.960
if that had been Nathan? See Danny hissed one final

1635
02:08:48.119 --> 02:08:55.239
time before he vanished into a vapor of smoke. Emmett

1636
02:08:55.279 --> 02:08:59.199
stood from his hunched position in the street and stared

1637
02:08:59.239 --> 02:09:04.199
at the spot where Danny had been Moments earlier. A

1638
02:09:04.279 --> 02:09:08.880
horn honked and brakes squealed. Emmett looked up and saw

1639
02:09:08.920 --> 02:09:13.119
that a car had stopped just feet from him. He

1640
02:09:13.199 --> 02:09:17.199
had nearly been hit again in the same spot where

1641
02:09:17.319 --> 02:09:26.920
Danny had been killed. Three days later, Emmett gathered Milly

1642
02:09:27.159 --> 02:09:32.199
and Billy's parents, Mister and Missus Smith, into his living room.

1643
02:09:33.159 --> 02:09:36.720
He waited to arrange the gathering when Gareth would not

1644
02:09:36.800 --> 02:09:40.960
be home. He didn't want him to know anything about

1645
02:09:41.000 --> 02:09:44.720
the boy on the bike, and it was certain he

1646
02:09:44.760 --> 02:09:48.640
would think he had lost his mind. It had been

1647
02:09:48.760 --> 02:09:52.840
a near impossible task for Emmett to convince mister and

1648
02:09:52.920 --> 02:09:57.279
Missus Smith to come to his home. Missus Smith had

1649
02:09:57.319 --> 02:10:02.760
already shown great disdain for him. Only after Emmett revealed

1650
02:10:02.800 --> 02:10:06.319
that he could prove the previous tenant of two seventeen

1651
02:10:06.439 --> 02:10:11.600
Callie Place poisoned both her son and Danny did they agree.

1652
02:10:12.960 --> 02:10:18.920
Missus Smith was skeptical but acquiesced. However, she threatened Emmett

1653
02:10:19.199 --> 02:10:22.279
that if we were fucking around with them, she would

1654
02:10:22.359 --> 02:10:27.119
take action. If Jerry, the father of the Bad Lady

1655
02:10:27.520 --> 02:10:31.000
and his wife were still in Ohio, he would have

1656
02:10:31.079 --> 02:10:36.600
invited them as well, but they had already relocated to Florida.

1657
02:10:37.079 --> 02:10:40.520
He planned to send them what he uncovered only after

1658
02:10:40.560 --> 02:10:45.000
he showed it to the Smiths and Milly. Milly was

1659
02:10:45.159 --> 02:10:49.119
the easiest to convince to stop by Emmett told her

1660
02:10:49.199 --> 02:10:52.680
he had spoken to Danny and knew what he wanted

1661
02:10:52.760 --> 02:10:57.600
him to see. She smiled with tears in her eyes

1662
02:10:58.319 --> 02:11:02.840
and told Emmett she would be there Emmett had connected

1663
02:11:02.880 --> 02:11:06.399
his laptop to the flat screen TV mounted on the

1664
02:11:06.439 --> 02:11:10.159
living room wall and purchased a couple of bottles of wine.

1665
02:11:10.880 --> 02:11:13.560
He wasn't sure if the Smiths or Milly would be

1666
02:11:13.600 --> 02:11:16.880
interested in drinking, but he figured it would at least

1667
02:11:16.920 --> 02:11:22.159
be a polite gesture when hosting house guests. The Smiths

1668
02:11:22.239 --> 02:11:26.199
arrived a few minutes before eight that night. Billy was

1669
02:11:26.279 --> 02:11:30.600
with them. He shyly waved at Emmett and sat beside

1670
02:11:30.640 --> 02:11:35.399
his mother on the couch. Mister Smith introduced himself and

1671
02:11:35.520 --> 02:11:40.439
shook Emmett's hand. He had a firm handshake when speaking

1672
02:11:40.520 --> 02:11:44.039
to him. He looked Emmett directly in the eyes, and

1673
02:11:44.119 --> 02:11:48.319
Emmett could tell that mister Smith did not trust him.

1674
02:11:49.039 --> 02:11:53.399
Milly arrived at seven thirty. She was anxious to discover

1675
02:11:53.560 --> 02:11:57.039
what Emmett had to say, and was more than curious

1676
02:11:57.119 --> 02:12:02.359
why Emmett had invited the Smiths. What is this all about,

1677
02:12:03.000 --> 02:12:06.720
missus Smith questioned. She had crossed her legs and was

1678
02:12:06.760 --> 02:12:11.000
anxiously shaking her foot. She was eyeing the room up

1679
02:12:11.039 --> 02:12:16.720
and down judgmentally. Well, we are all here for Danny,

1680
02:12:17.239 --> 02:12:22.600
Emmett began. You didn't even know the kid mister Smith said,

1681
02:12:23.199 --> 02:12:28.159
you weren't here when the accident happened. I know. Emmett

1682
02:12:28.159 --> 02:12:32.600
began again. Then explain to us why we are here.

1683
02:12:33.359 --> 02:12:38.760
Missus Smith said, in the most condescending tone, how about

1684
02:12:38.800 --> 02:12:41.039
we let the young man say what he has to

1685
02:12:41.079 --> 02:12:44.760
say instead of interrupting him. Let's give him a little

1686
02:12:44.800 --> 02:12:49.600
respect like mature adults. Milly sat forward in the recliner

1687
02:12:50.239 --> 02:12:53.439
and shot fire from her eyes as she spoke to

1688
02:12:53.560 --> 02:12:58.720
mister and Missus Smith directly. Billy smiled when she did so,

1689
02:12:59.319 --> 02:13:02.439
and Emmett a imagine this was the first time someone

1690
02:13:02.720 --> 02:13:06.920
had ever talked to his parents with disrespect in his presence.

1691
02:13:08.319 --> 02:13:11.279
He figured the kid was happy to see someone take

1692
02:13:11.319 --> 02:13:15.640
a stand against them. Mister and Missus Smith looked shocked,

1693
02:13:16.119 --> 02:13:20.239
but fell silent and sat back on the couch, returning

1694
02:13:20.279 --> 02:13:25.079
their gaze to Emmett. When I first moved here, I

1695
02:13:25.159 --> 02:13:28.439
began seeing a small boy on a bike. He would

1696
02:13:28.520 --> 02:13:33.520
ride up and down the street and then vanish. At first,

1697
02:13:33.560 --> 02:13:37.239
I didn't think much about it, but then one night

1698
02:13:37.680 --> 02:13:40.520
I believed I saw this little boy being hit by

1699
02:13:40.560 --> 02:13:43.920
a car in the intersection. But when I got to

1700
02:13:44.000 --> 02:13:48.520
the corner, the boy he wasn't there. This went on

1701
02:13:48.680 --> 02:13:51.680
for weeks until one day I took a walk and

1702
02:13:52.399 --> 02:13:58.279
ran into Milly. Emmett quickly described his first experiences with Danny.

1703
02:13:59.319 --> 02:14:03.479
Milly leaned forward and directed her attention to the Smiths again.

1704
02:14:04.359 --> 02:14:07.560
I invited Emmett here to sit with me on my porch.

1705
02:14:08.199 --> 02:14:11.159
I could tell he was troubled and had many things

1706
02:14:11.199 --> 02:14:14.800
on his mind. I also knew he had seen Danny

1707
02:14:14.920 --> 02:14:19.239
riding his bike up and down the street. Milly explained,

1708
02:14:20.640 --> 02:14:25.560
with all due respect, Milly, your grandson is dead. He

1709
02:14:25.680 --> 02:14:28.960
isn't riding his bike up and down the street any longer.

1710
02:14:29.800 --> 02:14:35.720
Mister Smith spoke gently. Milly chuckled, I may be older,

1711
02:14:35.760 --> 02:14:38.800
but I can confidently tell you I have seen Danny

1712
02:14:39.119 --> 02:14:42.760
riding his bike up and down the street. I've been

1713
02:14:42.800 --> 02:14:45.920
seeing him do this since his funeral, and to this

1714
02:14:46.279 --> 02:14:50.840
very day. Others have also seen him, but he's only

1715
02:14:50.920 --> 02:14:55.840
directly interacted with me and emmittt here. He interacted with

1716
02:14:55.920 --> 02:14:59.479
me because of our closeness, but I was never certain

1717
02:14:59.560 --> 02:15:03.119
why he had revealed himself to Emmett and showed him

1718
02:15:03.159 --> 02:15:07.680
the accident he was in. I don't believe in ghosts,

1719
02:15:08.279 --> 02:15:14.880
missus Smith replied, Mommy, I see Danny too. He tells

1720
02:15:14.920 --> 02:15:19.159
me things. Billy spoke for the first time since arriving

1721
02:15:19.239 --> 02:15:23.920
at Emmett's house. We don't tell lies in this family, Billy.

1722
02:15:24.600 --> 02:15:29.920
Mister Smith sternly spoke to his son, I'm not telling lies,

1723
02:15:30.680 --> 02:15:35.840
Billy solemnly swore. Mister and missus Smith both looked from

1724
02:15:35.920 --> 02:15:39.840
Billy then to one another. Billy was a good kid,

1725
02:15:40.279 --> 02:15:42.479
and he had never once lied to them as far

1726
02:15:42.520 --> 02:15:47.159
as they were concerned. Still, neither one of them believed

1727
02:15:47.159 --> 02:15:51.039
in ghosts, whether you believe it or not. I want

1728
02:15:51.079 --> 02:15:54.159
to show you something on my TV. It'll only take

1729
02:15:54.199 --> 02:15:57.279
a few seconds, but I want you to know this first.

1730
02:15:58.399 --> 02:16:01.760
Danny spoke to me about the bad lady who lived

1731
02:16:01.760 --> 02:16:04.920
in this house, and he wanted me to see something

1732
02:16:04.960 --> 02:16:08.560
from the final day of his life. Em It shook.

1733
02:16:09.680 --> 02:16:13.279
He hadn't had a single drink all day. He wanted

1734
02:16:13.319 --> 02:16:17.640
to be completely sober when he revealed what he had discovered.

1735
02:16:19.039 --> 02:16:21.840
Danny showed me that the bad lady may have poisoned

1736
02:16:21.920 --> 02:16:26.800
him and Billy here. Emmett continued, but of course there

1737
02:16:26.800 --> 02:16:31.600
has never been any proof until now. Emm It turned

1738
02:16:31.600 --> 02:16:35.360
from his visitors. He switched on the TV and clicked

1739
02:16:35.399 --> 02:16:39.319
a few keys on his laptop. A few seconds later,

1740
02:16:39.840 --> 02:16:43.559
the screen came to life, and the Smiths and Milly

1741
02:16:44.280 --> 02:16:57.399
discovered the truth. Three days earlier, after having the strange

1742
02:16:57.479 --> 02:17:01.360
experience with Danny in the street where he saw through

1743
02:17:01.440 --> 02:17:05.600
his eyes, Emmett had returned to his house and had

1744
02:17:05.680 --> 02:17:10.319
a one person party. He consumed the entire bottle of

1745
02:17:10.360 --> 02:17:14.280
whisky and half the bag of cocaine he had acquired

1746
02:17:15.239 --> 02:17:20.200
to hell with sobriety, he thought to himself he needed

1747
02:17:20.200 --> 02:17:23.280
to get the images of Danny's accident from his mind

1748
02:17:23.559 --> 02:17:27.360
and the feelings he experienced whenever he was around the

1749
02:17:27.520 --> 02:17:31.680
Bad Lady. He blacked out drunk and woke up in

1750
02:17:31.719 --> 02:17:35.399
a pool of vomit and urine in the upstairs bathroom

1751
02:17:35.479 --> 02:17:39.520
of his house, dry heaving with the worst headache of

1752
02:17:39.600 --> 02:17:43.680
his life. Emm It was in and out of consciousness

1753
02:17:43.719 --> 02:17:46.680
the rest of the day in his bedroom with the

1754
02:17:46.719 --> 02:17:51.040
curtains tightly closed. He took small SIPs of water and

1755
02:17:51.159 --> 02:17:56.000
nibbled on crackers. He took it slowly, certain he would

1756
02:17:56.000 --> 02:18:00.520
throw up. Plus, whenever he opened his eyes and came

1757
02:18:00.600 --> 02:18:04.000
into contact with direct light, he felt like he was

1758
02:18:04.040 --> 02:18:10.840
about to pass out. See Danny's voice kept popping into

1759
02:18:10.879 --> 02:18:15.079
Emmett's mind. What the fuck do you want me to see?

1760
02:18:15.840 --> 02:18:21.479
Emmett whispered into the emptiness and darkness of his bedroom.

1761
02:18:21.520 --> 02:18:25.479
Emmett started to recall that one memory Danny showed him

1762
02:18:25.879 --> 02:18:29.799
involved the sun room of his new home. He remembered

1763
02:18:29.879 --> 02:18:34.600
thinking Danny wanted him to pay attention. He remembered all

1764
02:18:34.680 --> 02:18:40.079
the beautiful flowers, the comfy chairs, and the table. He

1765
02:18:40.200 --> 02:18:45.559
also remembered the fountain, cookies and tea. He knew he

1766
02:18:45.680 --> 02:18:49.680
was supposed to remember something else, but could not figure

1767
02:18:49.719 --> 02:18:53.799
out what it was. For his life, white flashes of

1768
02:18:53.879 --> 02:18:56.879
light had taken him from one scene to the next.

1769
02:18:57.239 --> 02:19:02.559
As Danny showed him memory after me, Emmett recalled thinking

1770
02:19:02.639 --> 02:19:07.840
that it reminded him of flashes from a camera. Emmett's

1771
02:19:07.840 --> 02:19:12.399
eyes opened wide. He suddenly remembered something from the sun

1772
02:19:12.520 --> 02:19:16.000
room of his house when he bought the place. He

1773
02:19:16.040 --> 02:19:20.120
remembered the wireless, battery powered security camera installed in the

1774
02:19:20.159 --> 02:19:24.040
sun room. He remembered asking Jerry, the father of the

1775
02:19:24.079 --> 02:19:27.920
Bad Lady, about the cameras, and he told them they

1776
02:19:28.000 --> 02:19:31.159
came with the house, but he didn't know if they worked.

1777
02:19:31.799 --> 02:19:35.479
When Emmett opened the camera in the sunroom. He found.

1778
02:19:35.479 --> 02:19:40.559
The batteries were acid covered and smelled metallic. The cameras

1779
02:19:40.600 --> 02:19:44.440
were cheap, and Emmett didn't think he needed them. The

1780
02:19:44.479 --> 02:19:48.000
neighborhood was safe and he didn't think anyone would dare

1781
02:19:48.200 --> 02:19:53.319
fuck with him or his roommate. He removed all four cameras.

1782
02:19:53.360 --> 02:19:56.680
He found two on the front of the house, one

1783
02:19:56.719 --> 02:19:59.760
on the back, and the one in the sun room,

1784
02:20:00.719 --> 02:20:06.319
the one Danny wanted him to see. Emmett found the

1785
02:20:06.399 --> 02:20:09.840
hard drive for the cameras, placed it and the cameras

1786
02:20:09.879 --> 02:20:12.559
in a box, and put them in the attic. When

1787
02:20:12.600 --> 02:20:16.479
he moved into the house, he stored them away, thinking

1788
02:20:16.559 --> 02:20:21.440
maybe he could sell them on Facebook or eBay. The

1789
02:20:21.600 --> 02:20:26.120
fucking hard drive. Emmett needed to retrieve the hard drive

1790
02:20:26.360 --> 02:20:29.079
and see if it had anything from the sun room

1791
02:20:29.120 --> 02:20:33.319
on it. His headache and stomach issues were no longer

1792
02:20:33.360 --> 02:20:37.040
a concern. He retrieved the hard drive from the attic

1793
02:20:37.399 --> 02:20:41.000
and attempted to figure out how to operate it. When

1794
02:20:41.000 --> 02:20:44.120
he couldn't, he got in his car and headed to

1795
02:20:44.159 --> 02:20:47.719
the bar he used to work at. Peter was a

1796
02:20:47.760 --> 02:20:50.840
computer technician who spent most of his time at the

1797
02:20:50.840 --> 02:20:54.360
bar when he wasn't working Emmet had shown him the

1798
02:20:54.399 --> 02:20:57.399
hard drive and asked if he could pull the contents

1799
02:20:57.399 --> 02:21:01.319
from the device and place them on his lap. Peter

1800
02:21:01.520 --> 02:21:04.440
agreed to do so if Emmett would pay off his

1801
02:21:04.600 --> 02:21:08.399
tab at the bar, which was nearing two hundred dollars.

1802
02:21:09.319 --> 02:21:12.479
Emmett didn't want to spend that type of money, but

1803
02:21:12.600 --> 02:21:15.959
he knew if he didn't, he'd most likely be haunted

1804
02:21:15.959 --> 02:21:25.840
by Danny until the day he died. All three Smiths

1805
02:21:25.879 --> 02:21:30.719
and Milly leaned forward, watching the security camera footage playing

1806
02:21:30.799 --> 02:21:35.280
on the screen. The footage was from the sunroom, and

1807
02:21:35.360 --> 02:21:39.719
it was also from the night that Danny died. Milly

1808
02:21:39.840 --> 02:21:43.079
held her hand to her mouth as she saw Billy

1809
02:21:43.159 --> 02:21:47.680
and Danny enter the sunroom and devour cookies and tea.

1810
02:21:48.799 --> 02:21:53.200
She had tears in her eyes seeing Danny smiling and

1811
02:21:53.319 --> 02:21:57.959
joking around with his best friend. They watched the footage

1812
02:21:58.040 --> 02:22:02.360
until Billy and Danny left the sun room, leaving the

1813
02:22:02.440 --> 02:22:07.639
bad Lady alone. She waved at the boys and flipped

1814
02:22:07.680 --> 02:22:11.920
them off when their backs were to her. The footage

1815
02:22:11.959 --> 02:22:17.280
stopped and Emmett looked at his guests. Did you notice

1816
02:22:17.280 --> 02:22:20.159
that she didn't drink tea or cookies with Danny and

1817
02:22:20.200 --> 02:22:25.040
Billy that day. He asked, now that you mention it, yes,

1818
02:22:25.280 --> 02:22:30.000
but that doesn't prove that she did anything illegal. Missus

1819
02:22:30.000 --> 02:22:34.360
Smith answered with curious eyes. She felt like Emmett had

1820
02:22:34.399 --> 02:22:39.360
more to say or to share with them. That day.

1821
02:22:39.840 --> 02:22:44.159
You got sick, Billy, right, I did. I couldn't get

1822
02:22:44.159 --> 02:22:47.280
off the toilet all night, and I puked for two days.

1823
02:22:47.879 --> 02:22:52.559
Mom thought I had the flu, Billy explained. Danny and

1824
02:22:52.639 --> 02:22:55.959
Billy were poisoned by the lady that lived here. I

1825
02:22:56.000 --> 02:22:58.079
don't know if she was trying to kill them or

1826
02:22:58.639 --> 02:23:02.280
just make them sick. Billy, did you get dizzy and

1827
02:23:02.399 --> 02:23:08.840
have blurred vision? Emmett continued, I did. He staggered around

1828
02:23:08.959 --> 02:23:13.360
like a drunk. Mister Smith revealed. We just assured him

1829
02:23:13.399 --> 02:23:17.520
it was from his fever and sickness. I have one

1830
02:23:17.520 --> 02:23:21.159
more thing to show you, Everett moved to the laptop.

1831
02:23:22.079 --> 02:23:25.360
I went back on the footage to before the boys arrived,

1832
02:23:26.399 --> 02:23:38.120
and that's when I found this. He pushed another key

1833
02:23:38.639 --> 02:23:42.360
and then stood back and allowed the others to watch

1834
02:23:42.399 --> 02:23:46.000
as the bad Lady entered the sun room with her

1835
02:23:46.040 --> 02:23:51.079
plate of cookies and a pitcher of tea. She reached

1836
02:23:51.120 --> 02:23:54.600
into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills.

1837
02:23:55.440 --> 02:23:58.879
She placed a few into her mouth and appeared to

1838
02:23:58.959 --> 02:24:04.959
begin them. She then leaned over the pitcher and spat

1839
02:24:05.040 --> 02:24:10.079
them into the tea. She seemed to be laughing. There

1840
02:24:10.159 --> 02:24:13.520
was no audio on the video, so no one could

1841
02:24:13.559 --> 02:24:18.040
be sure. She then stirred the tea and placed the

1842
02:24:18.079 --> 02:24:23.000
bottle of pills back into her pocket, before going to

1843
02:24:23.079 --> 02:24:26.840
the back door and entering her yard. On her way

1844
02:24:26.879 --> 02:24:32.079
to invite Danny and Billy inside for cookies and tea,

1845
02:24:33.600 --> 02:24:40.040
the video stopped and everyone sat in stunned silence. I

1846
02:24:40.079 --> 02:24:42.959
don't know what she put in the tea, but her

1847
02:24:43.000 --> 02:24:46.360
father told me she died of a blood disease, so

1848
02:24:46.360 --> 02:24:49.639
so I assumed she put some of her medication in there.

1849
02:24:50.600 --> 02:24:53.239
I don't know what it is, but I believe it

1850
02:24:53.280 --> 02:24:57.120
affected Danny like it did Billy. I believe he was

1851
02:24:57.319 --> 02:25:02.440
disoriented when he left your house. Emmett motioned toward the Smiths.

1852
02:25:02.920 --> 02:25:06.159
I bet he didn't even see the car coming when

1853
02:25:06.200 --> 02:25:12.000
he was hit by it. My Danny was always so safe.

1854
02:25:12.159 --> 02:25:17.639
Tears streamed down Milly's cheeks. Emmett and his visitors spoke

1855
02:25:17.719 --> 02:25:22.799
for upwards of an hour about his discovery. They believed

1856
02:25:22.840 --> 02:25:26.600
the bad lady had drugged the young boys, but with

1857
02:25:26.680 --> 02:25:30.440
her dead, they didn't think they could do anything about it.

1858
02:25:31.920 --> 02:25:35.200
I think Danny just wanted us to know what happened,

1859
02:25:35.959 --> 02:25:40.360
Milly said toward the end of the conversation. Mister and

1860
02:25:40.440 --> 02:25:45.200
Missus Smith still didn't believe in ghosts. Later that night,

1861
02:25:45.799 --> 02:25:48.920
they both agreed that Emmett must have been bored and

1862
02:25:49.000 --> 02:25:51.399
had been going through the footage left on the hard

1863
02:25:51.479 --> 02:25:55.920
drive and discovered the drugging of the boys. They didn't

1864
02:25:55.959 --> 02:26:00.719
know what his angle was, but decided to watch him closely.

1865
02:26:01.879 --> 02:26:05.479
Milly hugged Emmett on the front porch as she headed

1866
02:26:05.520 --> 02:26:10.280
toward the street. Before leaving, she told him she loved

1867
02:26:10.319 --> 02:26:15.120
him and thanked him, telling him that she believed Danny

1868
02:26:15.159 --> 02:26:19.559
would be at peace now that the truth had been revealed.

1869
02:26:23.680 --> 02:26:27.600
Emmett sat on his porch that night with a smile

1870
02:26:27.959 --> 02:26:32.799
on his face. He didn't even feel the need to drink.

1871
02:26:34.120 --> 02:26:38.079
He enjoyed a few cigarettes and thought about everything he

1872
02:26:38.120 --> 02:26:42.440
would do the next day when Nathan came to the house.

1873
02:26:43.600 --> 02:26:47.040
He was ready to be the very best father he

1874
02:26:47.079 --> 02:26:52.520
could be, right before heading inside for the night, where

1875
02:26:52.559 --> 02:26:57.920
he would have the best sleep in years. Something caught

1876
02:26:57.920 --> 02:27:03.319
his attention from the corner of his eye. He looked

1877
02:27:03.360 --> 02:27:09.479
over and saw Danny standing in the middle of the street.

1878
02:27:10.559 --> 02:27:14.440
His bike was gone, and he wasn't wearing a helmet.

1879
02:27:15.520 --> 02:27:22.120
His eyes were clear, nearly glowing from a distance. Emmett

1880
02:27:22.159 --> 02:27:28.000
stood to his feet, lifted one hand and waved at Danny.

1881
02:27:29.639 --> 02:27:33.319
The little kid raised his hand and waved back at

1882
02:27:33.319 --> 02:27:39.479
Emmett with a smile. Emmett then heard Danny laugh the

1883
02:27:39.520 --> 02:27:45.079
most youthful and joyful laugh he had ever heard, and

1884
02:27:45.239 --> 02:27:57.239
the next second he vanished into the night, and that

1885
02:27:57.559 --> 02:28:02.920
my spookies was Boy on the Bike by Travis van Hoofs.

1886
02:28:03.639 --> 02:28:08.360
But don't put the flashlight away just yet, because tomorrow

1887
02:28:08.840 --> 02:28:14.200
we're taking a ride you won't forget. We're heading to Pendleton,

1888
02:28:14.639 --> 02:28:20.399
where a Haunted hay Ride promises screams, thrills, and maybe

1889
02:28:20.719 --> 02:28:25.479
a few broken rules. It's Halloween Haunted hay Ride by

1890
02:28:25.639 --> 02:28:30.159
Rob Fields, a night full of laughter, scares, and a

1891
02:28:30.200 --> 02:28:34.440
few rules you might not want to break. So grab

1892
02:28:34.479 --> 02:28:37.840
your caramel apple, bundle up and join us for another

1893
02:28:38.000 --> 02:28:44.319
tale where Halloween fun turns deliciously dark tomorrow, So make

1894
02:28:44.360 --> 02:28:48.079
sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app and while

1895
02:28:48.079 --> 02:28:50.040
you're at it, leave us a five star rating on

1896
02:28:50.120 --> 02:28:54.399
Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really does help the show.

1897
02:28:54.559 --> 02:28:56.280
And if you want to support us in a very

1898
02:28:56.319 --> 02:28:59.840
direct way, you can head to Weeklyspooky dot com slash join,

1899
02:29:00.159 --> 02:29:02.319
where for as little as one dollar a month you

1900
02:29:02.360 --> 02:29:06.079
get two bonus episodes every single month and over five

1901
02:29:06.200 --> 02:29:10.799
years of bonus content like creepypasta readings and audiobooks. And

1902
02:29:10.879 --> 02:29:13.000
speaking of I want to say an extra special thank

1903
02:29:13.000 --> 02:29:15.959
you to our podcast boosters. Folks would pay just a

1904
02:29:16.000 --> 02:29:18.239
little bit more to hear their names at the end

1905
02:29:18.239 --> 02:29:21.399
of the show, and they are Johnny Nix, Kate and Lulu,

1906
02:29:21.600 --> 02:29:26.559
Jessica Fuller, Mike Escuey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansford, Karen we Met,

1907
02:29:26.719 --> 02:29:29.680
Jack Kerr, and Craig Cohen. Thank you, guys, and if

1908
02:29:29.680 --> 02:29:31.079
you want to hear your name at the end of

1909
02:29:31.120 --> 02:29:34.760
every episode of Weekly Spooky, just head to Weeklyspooky dot

1910
02:29:34.760 --> 02:29:37.840
Com slash join and sign up at the fifteen dollar

1911
02:29:37.879 --> 02:29:41.200
a month or higher tier. You'll get to hear your name.

1912
02:29:41.239 --> 02:29:44.840
Come out of my spooky, silky voice and get my

1913
02:29:45.079 --> 02:29:49.760
undying gratitude at Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join.

1914
02:29:49.879 --> 02:29:51.959
But now I need to get back to work because

1915
02:29:51.959 --> 02:29:55.200
there is so much more to do before Halloween gets here.

1916
02:29:55.239 --> 02:29:58.159
So for myself, for my executive producers Rob Fields and

1917
02:29:58.239 --> 02:30:01.559
Babbletopia dot Com, my producer Dan Wilder, and my creepy

1918
02:30:01.600 --> 02:30:04.959
composer Ray Maddis, I'll talk at you tomorrow.

1919
02:30:05.159 --> 02:30:08.879
Thank you for listening. Make sure to find your way

1920
02:30:08.920 --> 02:30:14.319
back next week, but for now you are safe.

1921
02:30:15.200 --> 02:30:15.760
Trust me,