Freaky Food and Demonic Drink: Seven Killer Meals, Cursed Drinks & Cannibal Horrors

WEBVTT

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Hey, my spookies, hope you're
having a great week and a great beginning

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to your weekend. I want to
make sure, though, that you don't

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go hungry, so we have a
very special collection of some of the most

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delectable and revolting stories from the Weekly
Spooky Library. Stories about fiendish food and

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devilish drink sure to leave you with
a wet appetite, even if it's from

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throwing up. These stories are strange, bizarre, and often quite disgusting.

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So finish your turkey sandwich now before
the program starts in full or elsewhell You

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can't blame me. I tried to
warn you, but these are a lot

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of fun, great stories and a
perfect way to end or begin a busy

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week. And it all starts after
this quick break with the story all the

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Busy Bees, and believe me,
honey, is the least of our worries

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All the Busy Bees by David o'hen. My father was in a secret society

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in college. I'm not sure what
good it did him, but that's why

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it's a secret. I suppose after
college he went to work for a retail

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giant and made coo in just a
couple of years. Maybe it worked out

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pretty well. That kind of meteoric
rise doesn't facilitate a lot of father son

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communication. He still made sure to
let me know he cared. His secretary

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would call to tell me goodnight on
his behalf. For example. I think

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it was my twelfth birthday when I
realized he always called me Rugrat because he'd

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forgotten my name years before. The
morning commute meant hearing him walk out of

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the house about the time I got
up for school. He worked late every

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night and usually got home as I
was turning off my light. I'm not

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even sure I remember what he looked
like. If I've just constructed some amalgamation

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of Sunny Crockett and mcgiver to save
on the therapy bill. I decided I

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wouldn't be anything like him when I
grew up, and I've succeeded. My

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studio apartment was the size of a
motel room. The wallpaper didn't match anywhere

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and was peeling like a bad sunburn
to reveal festive patches of mold. Other

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amenities included my neighbor's radio since the
walls were as well built as a gingerbread

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house, and a soothing whistle created
by the ill fitting sheet of plexiglass in

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the cracked frame of my only window. I also had the most social cockroaches

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in the world. Those little guys
snuggled with me in bed and shared my

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food with the loyalty of a labradoodle. And I didn't even have to pay

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my slum lord the four hundred dollar
nonrefundable pet deposit that is called a win.

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I watched one of the females dragging
an eggsack under the fridge. I

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wasn't even sure how roaches had sex
and was in the middle of googling it

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when the knuckles hit my door.
I got up and tried to check the

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time on the microwave, but it
just blinked the same seven seconds it had

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since I plugged it in. I
found it on the curb, and it

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was probably there for a good reason. The radiation leaking out reduced the heating

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bill, though, so another small
victory for Chuck Buyers. I opened the

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door and found a man in a
cobalt suit that looked expensive and smelled cheap.

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He was paused mid knock and lowered
his hand with a sneer. Charles

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Buyers, that's me. I leaned
into the hallway and looked both ways.

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On one end a kid pissed on
skinhead graffiti, and down the other I

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found my geriatric neighbor, Jerry,
heating a meth rock in a lightbulb.

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I looked back at the man and
squinted a little. He was tall and

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lean, with a narrow vespin face. He held a leather briefcase just below

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a twinkling cufflink. How did you
get up here without getting mugged? I

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asked, Your neighborhood is full of
scavengers. The man answered calmly. I

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pursed my lips, and now,
yeah, that's kind to the point,

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I was making scavengers know to move
when predators come through. There was no

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bravado when he said it. It
was just a cold, hard statement of

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fact that made my ass pucker and
my stomach not up. He asked to

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come in, so I showed him
to the folding lawn chair that counted as

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my furniture. He sat his briefcase
in the chair and turned to me.

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His hand disappeared into his jacket,
and my life flashed before my eyes.

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It was a disappointing show, to
say the least. Then he pulled out

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an envelope my name is Richard.
He wiggled the envelope for me. No,

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mister Byers, I just find reading
my mail more enjoyable in a stranger's

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shitty apartment. He didn't even blink, let alone smirk. He just wiggled

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the envelope again. I took it
gingerly and flopped onto the bed. It

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felt funny, not like a normal
envelope, but more like an old dollar

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bill. It was the kind of
envelopes you bought when you ran out of

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ordinary things to blow money on.
At least I guessed it was. I

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hadn't used an envelope since two thousand
and four. Inside was a letter from

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Arrant Extirpation Solutions. What is this? It was all in the letter.

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Dad was the majority shareholder in a
yes, and when he died the week

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before, it all became mine.
I guess I should have been upset about

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his passing, but he wasn't any
less available dead than he had been alive.

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Still couldn't remember his face, just
his bushy mustache. No loss,

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plenty of games. I stepped off
the private jet with Richard in tow.

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A withered old man leaned on a
cane amidst a sea of suits. The

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old man held out a vainy,
liver spotted hand Erwin squire, it's a

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pleasure to make your acquaintance. Likewise, I shook his hand, which was

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suspiciously cold and moist, like a
piece of raw chicken. I rubbed my

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palm on my secondhand jeans. The
letter you sent didn't say much, and

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I've been asking Richard for more details. Good luck with that. Irwin's rasping

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laugh made me jump a little.
It was like one of the alley cats

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back home, hacking up a steel
wool hair ball. I don't employ Richard

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for his conversational skills. He glares
at people and they do what I want.

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It's a more efficient method than asking. You'll be riding in the Bentley.

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I hope it's tear liking. Your
father was a picky bastard. We

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don't have to worry about that from
him, Sir Richard said over my shoulder.

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Chuck has no standards. Shall I
ride with him? Irwin nodded and

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swept a hand towards the burgundy car. The driver stepped out and opened the

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back door. As I approached,
I hesitated and then slipped inside the car.

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That cost more than my combined lifetime
income. The backseat seemed to melt

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as I leaned against it, I
sighed, pleasurably. Does it meet your

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tastes? Richard asked as he dropped
into the front seat. Oh, yes,

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it's just fine. I watched the
chauffeur shut my door and slipped back

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behind the steering wheel with the grace
of a dancer. I've never ridden in

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a car like this. Color me
shocked. Richard took a pair of gold

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rimmed aviators from his jacket and slipped
them on over his frigid eyes. I

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don't want you to get the wrong
impression about me. Chuck for starters.

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I hate calling you that, not
because it's informal and thus unprofessional, but

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rather because it is the stupidest name
ever. I loathe it. Blame my

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father, I said, with a
sympathetic shrug. I do moving on,

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You are now the majority shareholder in
as This also entitles you to a place

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on our board of directors and the
professional assistance of myself, a fact that

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I find almost as distasteful as your
name. I do not like it,

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and I am sure you will not
either. The car pulled away from the

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airplane and found its place in the
convoy. Leaving the private airfield, Richard

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turned slightly on his hip to face
me. Your father was a mean spirited

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go getter. He set his sights
on something he wanted. He made a

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finger gun at me and fired,
and then he took it. You're not

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that kind of man. Is that
a good thing or a bad one?

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Richard's eyebrows raised and he turned back
around. Neither. I suppose not every

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dog can be a fighter chuck.
Sometimes a mut's only good for a bait

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dog. I thought about what my
sociopathic secretary said over the next forty minutes.

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I fought the urge to ask when
we'd arrive, and just stared out

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the tinted windows as rural Arkansas passed
by with little to offer. I wasn't

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sure what AES did or how my
father even learned of the company from his

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office in Cincinnati. Richard was an
odd one to his terrifying monotone voice had

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the slightest hint of an accent,
maybe Eastern European, definitely one of those

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country's bond villains come from. Then
there were the cars and class of Irwin's

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squire. Thanks to my ex girlfriend
I had seen enough Toby Keith videos to

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know these guys didn't belong in the
trailer hood, So what the hell were

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we doing in Arkansas? I was
somewhere between self realization and reliving a six

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month old argument with my former boss
at Hamburger Hamlet when I noticed the factory

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in the distance. I watched as
the vehicles made the turn in sequence.

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Fascination is the only word that comes
to mind at what I saw next.

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The cars wove through a series of
concrete barriers like the news shows outside of

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a foreign embassy. We approached a
twelve foot high fence and two guards armed

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heavily enough to give g I.
Joe a boner. The car shook as

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it rolled over a cattle guard that
Richard said was for bomb inspect We continued

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down a long path and more of
the facility came into view. For the

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most part, it looked like any
factory from the city, except for the

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black glass tower rising up from the
middle. It wasn't a tower in big

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city terms, but the six stories
of shimmering darkness stood out in the flat

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wasteland of eastern Arkansas the same way
the surrounding bean fields would have marred the

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complexities of beautiful downtown Cleveland. The
cars pulled into designated parking spaces in the

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lot under the tower, like synchronized
swimmers. No movement was wasted as each

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vehicle halted and its crew disembarked to
prepare a line of defense all the way

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to the elevator. Richard personally escorted
me there, and we waited for Squire

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to join us. The old man
ambled inside his cane, clicking gravely against

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the imported Maccassar flooring. I stepped
in, and then Richard attempted to,

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but was met with the tip of
Squire's cane squarely over his heart. Cecil

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was a little too hard on the
brakes today. Squire aimed the walking stick

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and jab the button at the top
floor. I want that handled, and

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then I want you to join me
and mister Buyers in the boardroom. I

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wasn't sure what to say and just
stuffed my hands in my pockets. Something

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about Squire was more unnerving than the
viciousness that emanated from Richard. You knew

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a lion was going to eat you, a scorpion might murder you, or

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just be out cruising for a piece
of bugass. You couldn't be sure.

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I shivered at the thought of an
impending sting. So is Cecil getting fired,

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I asked, Oh no, he
answered with a chuckle. It's hard

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to find good help. And Cecil
has been with me for several years now.

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He simply needs a reminder so it
doesn't happen again, right, I

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nodded, like I knew what the
hell that meant. That makes sense.

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I'm an old man now, frail
even it physically sickens me to say that.

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But I have to be more careful
than ever before happens to us.

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All, if cancer happened to us, all, would it make it cupcakes

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and rainbows for the dying? I
smacked my lips. I suppose not.

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I knew your father for a long
time. Charles, I prefer chuck,

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I don't Squire, coughed softly into
the crook of his arm. I was

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a professor of his. He was
a brilliant student, not academically, mind

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you. In fact, he was
a complete idiot in that regard. Where

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he lacked talent, however, he
made up for it with tenacity. The

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elevator dinged and the doors spread wide
to reveal my new Kingdom. Offices lined

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all four walls, and in the
center was a round, entirely glass room.

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Inside it, four gigantic monitors hung
like a cube from the ceiling over

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the thirty foot long conference table.
Squire squeezed my forearms softly as we exited.

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It was about as comforting as a
proctologist grabbing your shoulders. Charles,

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did you know that the American people
waste over one hundred billion pounds of food

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every year? Closer to one fifty. I believe that's right, Charles.

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His face split into a smile so
wide it must have been genuine. The

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government is fighting over oil and will
continue to do so. Unfortunately for those

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in power, it takes oil to
go to war and get the oil.

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When that runs out, it'll be
chaos, blackouts, looting, riots,

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and, if you can believe it, food shortages, which brings us to

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the question you've been waiting to ask, what the hell is this place?

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We entered the round chamber and he
gestured for me to sit. There was

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a dome on the table, covered
with a black cloth, like the fancy

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entree at those expensive restaurants on TV. I pinched the corner tentatively, my

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hand shook a little, and even
more so when Squire nodded for me to

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continue, I ripped it off like
a band aid and gagged hard. I

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guess I should have warned you.
He laughed a little, until it turned

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into a coughing fit. Meet Trigona
necrophasia. Inside a score of bugs crawled

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on, in and through a decaying
human head. The eyes were gone,

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probably the first thing the little critters
ate. Some hid in the graying shrubbery

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of the oversized mustache that accompanied the
remainder of the upper lip. Specks of

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orange and flashes of black bands behind
their wings tipped me off that they were

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bees. Charles Squire gave voice to
my thoughts. The vulture bee is endemic

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to Central America and has a shall
we say, curious culinary interest. A

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tiny bee face pushed out of a
putrefied ear, and I fainted, like

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a damsel in an old adventure movie. I woke up in a wheelchair and

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glanced over my shoulder to see Richard
pushing me along with all the emotion of

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a chia pet. Good you're awake, he grumbled. Were you worried that

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I would have to keep pushing you? Richard? Stopped the chair and walked

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around me. A snap of his
fingers told me to follow the bees,

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wasn't it. Yeah, that was
pretty freaky. I staggered after him and

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that head they were crawling on.
I mean, who was that your father?

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Richard glanced back at me. I
thought that was obvious. Irwin killed

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my dad. Mister Squire no longer
kills people, or my employment would only

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be part time. Richard stopped and
turned toward me, and no, I

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didn't kill him either. Your father
did way too much cocaine and had a

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stroke. Oh, it is an
unfortunate but calm and occupational hazard. We

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don't exactly have governmental approval for what
we're doing here, so we fed your

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father to the bees. Richard waved
for me to follow him into a transparent

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cube at the end of the hall. We stepped in and the doors closed

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behind us before another set opened in
front. On the other side, we

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were greeted by Squire, two middle
aged ladies, and a guy that may

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or may not have been John Travolta. Also on the other side of the

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door was a horrible continuous racket,
A droning buzz underneath the heavy whirring of

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industrial machinery. Squire pointed up to
the ceiling and I stumbled backwards. Richard

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braced me with a palm and shook
his head disapprovingly. Millions of the bees,

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if not more, swarmed around,
hives, each the size of a

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family sedan. They can't sting you, Charles, Squire laughed and hobbled along

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like he was on a tour.
They serve as an inspiration to our mindless

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little workers. We walked to an
intersection where a forklift was collecting pallets of

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plastic crates. Squire pulled a jar
from one of the crates and held it

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up over his head like he was
presenting Simba on pride rock. The brown

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syrup caught the light and shined with
a reddish hue. Honey is a super

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food, Charles that never spoils.
Unfortunately, it has minimal dietary value.

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He handed me the jar and continued
his casual stroll. I looked at Richard

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and mouthed the words honey, but
he pushed me forward while Squire continued talking.

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My ancestors many centuries ago, found
themselves in dire times and sacrificed their

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prized bull to a superior being.
Squire waved his hand dismissingly. Perhaps the

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bull could have fed everyone for a
time, but their willingness to put aside

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the needs of others led to something
far greater. They were blessed with tremendous

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wealth in honor of their sacrifice.
And that's how my family got into the

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business of cattle. Problem is,
there's a lot that goes to waste.

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I twisted open the jar and sniffed
the contents. It smelled like toffee and

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sausages, and I felt my stomach
flip over and kick me in the back

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of the throat. The old man
ambled up a metal flight of stairs past

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a running machine. Hunks of bloody
tissue rolled along a conveyor and into the

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machine, which rendered it into a
paste collected in a transparent container below.

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As I climbed up behind him,
I could see inside the machine, which

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looked like a combination of a wood
chipper and a juicer. The vulture bee

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eats dead meat and turns it into
a protein rich honey well in Layman's terms,

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that is. Squire pointed at the
masticating metal teeth of the machine.

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We've managed to simulate the process.
You know what the best part is Charles

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Squire squeezed my triceps. I think
I might have shook my head, but

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I was trying not to faint again. Any meat will do, road kill,

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beef, pork, medical cadavers.
A human leg fell from the conveyor

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belt. Squire snapped a finger at
it with a grin, even cecil's leg.

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Richard quipped, that's right, my
boy, it doesn't matter no more

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wasted parts. He held his hands
wide, errant extirpation, complete and utter

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destruction of the material. That's what
we do here. We break it down

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to nothing but the nutrients. We
have millions of jars ready to go,

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00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.359
and each one will feed a family
of four three times a day for a

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month. Show me any other food
that convenient. Humans will have finally found

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a sustainable place in the food chain, as both their own predator and pray.

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I leaned on the safety rail,
unsure of how vomiting over the side

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might affect the turnout, how many
nutrients were in and regurgitated McMuffin. Irwin

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Squire smiled like he would eat my
soul and patted my cheek with his frigid

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chicken hand. Then it happened.
It was an accident. I was panicking,

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and when he touched me, I
startled. It wasn't even a hard

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push, but it was enough,
apparently, and the little old man disappeared

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00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:11.799
right over the inadequately named safety rail. Geriatric puree sprayed unceremoniously into the collection

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tank below. I was dumbfounded,
and it ended showed. I'm sure one

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of the ladies jabbed a finger in
my face and hurled venom at me.

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You killed him, You murdered Irwin. Did you all see that? You

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saw right, Lucille? He did
that on purpose. This beggar pushed him

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right in Before I could defend myself
or even manage a word that wasn't oops.

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She flipped over the rail and into
the oversized food processor as well.

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Richard rubbed his palms together and stared
at the other lady, Lucille. He

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00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:45.759
parted his hands and cocked an eyebrow. Did you see anyone get pushed into

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the extirpator? She watched the machine
spin unimpeded by the two people that just

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got dumped into it. She reached
for a dropped, high heeled shoe and

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00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:59.799
dropped it over the side like a
coin and a wishing well before turning hard

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00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:03.880
eye to Richard. The only thing
I saw was thirty six percent of our

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00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:10.480
shares opening up. Maybe, Travolta
shrugged, we should look into these faulty

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00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:15.119
safety rails. Maybe we can have
them painted a brighter color. Excellent.

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If you'd head to the boardroom,
mister buyers, we'll be joining you shortly.

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We've discussed our supply. Now let's
bring him up to date on how

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we planned to cause the demand.
Richard winked and they laughed as they descended

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the steps. I didn't oh shit, I am so sorry. I killed

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your boss. That was all I
could get out. I wasn't even sure

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if it was the correct thing to
say. Chin up, chuck. Richard

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00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:41.839
gave me a fake punch to the
tip of my jaw. I told you

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I was your assistant. I take
my job very seriously. However, if

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00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:49.839
this is too much for you,
if you want out, just say the

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word. I fully understand, and
after all, the extra paid never stops

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running. I'm a sucker for a
sweet ending. Hope you enjoyed that one,

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00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:07.400
and I want to remind you all
out there you're my Spooky's You're a

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00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:12.759
community of people who love the Halloween
mindset all year long. And if you

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00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:19.279
want to join a community of like
minded spookers yourself, go to Facebook type

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00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:26.039
in weekly Spooky's Tomb of Terror.
There are over three hundred members. Why

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00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.960
not join in. You can share
your favorite true crime stories, read about

281
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.400
true crime stories, share fiction memes, anything you want. It's a fun

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00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:38.799
place to hang out in. Lots
of our authors and even myself spend quite

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00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:44.319
a bit of time there during the
week, so that's yet another way to

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00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:48.920
get your spooky on the weekly.
But now we have a story about Nordic

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tradition taken to bloodthirsty ends. This
is for the Mother, a great shocker.

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Right after these quick words for the
Mother by Mark Shields. Astrid's newly

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married grandparents had immigrated to America from
a small Scandinavian village as teenagers a lifetime

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before she was conceived. In a
similarly small California town, they opened an

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even smaller general store, which grew
just enough to support them and their one

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child, a girl named Sinove.
The two of them worked very hard,

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and when their only child grew up
and married a fine young man from the

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city by the Bay, they bought
a small cabin in the nearby mountains on

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the lake. After a life of
hard work, in the birth of their

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first grandchild, they retired to the
small cabin thanks to her grandfather. Astrid

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had always loved Norse mythology. Growing
up. She'd spent most of her summers

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with her grandparents by that quiet lake. Her grandfather took it upon himself to

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tell Astrid the many legends he brought
with him from his childhood home. She

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loved him, telling and retelling her
fantastic tales as they sat by the bonfire

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each summer night. He told her
tales such as Sif and her golden hair,

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00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:15.640
Sigurd and the Dragon, and Thor's
fishing trip. He seemed to know

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00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:18.960
them all, and when he inevitably
retold her a story some night months later,

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00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:22.920
they were always nearly identical. He
retold them as if he were relaying

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00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:29.160
history. He retold them with passion, He retold them like he believed them,

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00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.039
and she remembered every word of these
stories. Her favorite was always the

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00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:38.119
Death of Balder, the tragic tale
of how Odin's wife Frigga's favorite son Balder,

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00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:44.160
was killed by his blind brother Hoder, aided by her adopted son Loki,

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00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:47.880
In the tale, a jealous Loki
put the arrow in the hand of

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00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:52.279
Hoder that killed Balder, the beautiful
She always wept by the time had ended

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00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:56.119
forever, hoping that this time Balder
would survive. After high school, she

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00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:02.480
applied and was accepted at Stanford,
where she chose her major actuarial science as

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00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:07.359
a way to ensure future financial success. Although interesting to her, she wanted

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00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:11.039
something a bit more lighthearted to break
up the difficult class schedule. On a

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00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:15.680
whim, she decided to take an
elective in the spring semester of her junior

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00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:22.839
year called Early Scandinavian Folklore and Mythology. This class soon became the highlight of

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00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:26.160
her week. At first, it
was the fact that her knowledge of Scandinavian

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00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:30.599
folklore arrivaled that of her professor.
She became a textbook example of a subject

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00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:33.079
matter expert for the course, and
it made her very happy that the other

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00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:37.559
students asked her for help often.
She seemed always to be the first to

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00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:41.920
answer questions and discussions and to have
the last word when it mattered. Astrid

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00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:45.160
loved the class as it was a
way to always feel like she was close

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00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:52.039
to her summer home and to help
solidify a rather high GPA. This unintentional

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00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:56.319
mental domination of the other students went
on for nearly half the semester when her

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00:25:56.359 --> 00:26:02.039
world changed forever a handsome young student
and started to audit the class and immediately

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00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:06.400
put everyone's knowledge in that hall to
shame. He usurped her position at the

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00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:10.079
top of the class by having the
ability of fill in holes of every legend

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00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:14.480
they studied, no matter the obscurity
of it. The mysterious new student was

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00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:18.200
not only well versed in Scandinavian mythology, he was what one would call a

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00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:23.440
perfect physical specimen. In his usual
attire of T shirts and cargo shorts,

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one could see an insanely muscular body
that was only highlighted by his long,

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00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:33.720
blonde, flowing locks and sky blue
eyes. To her girlish delight, he

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introduced himself to her one day after
class. It took her, by her

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00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:42.279
own estimation, a good sixty seconds
before she was able to respond. As

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00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:48.160
he introduced himself as Baldur and looked
into her eyes. Her first thought was,

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00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.079
yes, you are a god.
When Astrid finally spoke, all her

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00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:59.839
timid voice could say was her name, Astrid. Yes you are divinely beautiful,

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00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:02.920
he said, and when he asked
her to walk with him, she

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00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:07.519
was literally helpless to say no.
That afternoon, as they walked around the

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00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:11.160
campus talking, she thought to herself
that she was falling in love with a

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00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:15.240
man she had just met. She
didn't know how this was possible, but

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00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.359
she knew it was true. That
night, she lost her virginity to this

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00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:23.160
God among men, and less than
a month later they were married. From

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00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:27.960
that point on, they were bound
for life. Astrid was glad to be

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finally meeting Balder's family. Although they
had been married since last spring, this

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00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:37.279
winter trip had been their first chance
to come together. During the eight hour

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00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:42.119
drive from Stanford to his family's homestead
near Mount Whitney, her excitement grew.

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00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:47.440
Are we there yet? Not taking
his eyes off the winding mountain road,

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00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:52.000
Balder said, Astrid, we are
officially five minutes closer than we were when

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00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.400
you asked me the same question five
minutes ago. Running her hand down his

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00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:00.359
powerful arm, she could, I
know, it's just that I I've never

350
00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.400
met your family, and you've told
me so little about them. We're just

351
00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:08.240
like most families. We fight but
love each other. Mom is overbearing,

352
00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:11.160
Dad is solemn, and my brothers
are out to kill me if I don't

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00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:15.200
watch out. You see a normal
family dynamic. We should be at the

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00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:19.480
cabin soon. She glanced at the
odometer and smiled. Knowing that they were

355
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:26.279
very close. She giggled, only
about five miles out, correct, was

356
00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:29.640
all he said, as he turned
up a driveway and drove under a stone

357
00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:33.839
arch emblazoned with their family name Borson. As they pulled around the last corner

358
00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:37.480
and the home came into view,
Astrid was stunned. He said, they

359
00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:41.920
had money, but the home that
sat before her was at least twenty thousand

360
00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:47.960
square feet. How can your family
afford this? You mentioned money, but

361
00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:52.400
this looks like money should not be
a problem for your great great grandkids.

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00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:56.160
Balder pulled into the eight car garage
and said it won't be. We are

363
00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:00.240
very financially secure. After he hopped
out of the car, he swung around

364
00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:04.559
and grabbed her door. Welcome home. She smiled and followed him in.

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00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:08.400
As they entered the living room,
his parents sat sipping what appeared to be

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00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:14.400
iced TEA mother, father, we're
finally here. His dad stood and helped

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00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:17.519
his pregnant wife to her feet.
Are we the last to get here.

368
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.359
Yep, your brothers are downstairs preparing
for later. This must be the wife,

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00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.920
mother, father, Meet Astrid,
Astrid. This is my father,

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00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:30.519
Odin and my mother. Frigga.
Astrid extended her hand. Great to meet

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00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.160
you, Bolder has told me so
much about you. Come now, dear,

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00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:37.599
we're family. Now, give your
new mother a hug. Reaching out,

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00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:41.839
Frigga gave Astrid a hug, and
Odin followed suit. While still holding

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00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.039
her, Odin asked if she liked
the house, how could I not.

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00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:48.960
It's the most beautiful home I've ever
seen. Thank you. The family has

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00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:52.799
been working on it for a while
now. It was my father's and his

377
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:55.960
father before him. When I die, it will get passed on to the

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00:29:55.960 --> 00:30:00.799
next generation. This place is what
you would call the family home. Releasing

379
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:04.640
the hug, Astrid replied, well, it's truly breathtakingly lovely, and it

380
00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:08.839
truly is great to meet Balder's parents. Hush, dear, said Odin,

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00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:12.480
we are your parents as well.
Now, Balder, let's go help your

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00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:18.519
brothers downstairs. Leave the women here
to get acquainted. Pointing after you father.

383
00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:22.839
As the two men left the room, Frigga grabbed Astrid's arm. Come

384
00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:26.039
child, Let's get a drink.
As they walked, Astrid asked if everyone

385
00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:30.720
in the family was named after a
Nordic god. No, just the three

386
00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:34.000
of us. My other two sons
are Larry and Christopher. Not as interesting

387
00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:37.839
as Balder, but still good names. Now come sit, drink some meat.

388
00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:41.119
We cracked open a barrel. I
will warn you though it'll kick you

389
00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:45.960
on your bum. Astrid walked over
and grabbed a mug off the coffee table.

390
00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:49.920
What brand is this? Bourson?
We make it ourselves, obviously,

391
00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:55.160
You guys make it yourself, your
Nordic gods. Astrid took a drink and

392
00:30:55.279 --> 00:31:00.240
was amazed. This is incredible.
Thank you. Now come sit before you

393
00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:03.359
fall. We have so much to
talk about. Astrid sat after taking another

394
00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:08.240
sip. Her face was already getting
warm. Now, Friga, or should

395
00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:11.279
I call you mother? Call me
mother? That is what I am.

396
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:15.680
Okay, mother, I don't mean
to be rude, but I don't think

397
00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:21.640
you should be drinking. And why
is that? Well because of the baby

398
00:31:22.599 --> 00:31:26.680
research shows cutting her off and rubbing
her own belly. Frega said, I

399
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:30.559
can assure you this child is perfectly
fine. I drink with all my children

400
00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:34.000
and you can see how they turned
out, but nothing. Our family all

401
00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:38.200
drank the mead and have given birth
in this very home. Astrid was sure

402
00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:42.759
she had hurt her right. Europeans
had not even gotten to California until the

403
00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:48.599
eighteen hundreds, and as impressive as
the home was, over one thousand years

404
00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:52.240
was a mistake spoken by a drunk
old woman. Frigga took another drink of

405
00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.599
her mead and let out a sharp, quick cry. Chuckling, she said,

406
00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:00.920
the baby wants to join the world
soon. Either that or she wants

407
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:05.119
more mead. You're an amazing woman. How is it possible at your age

408
00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:08.160
you even conceived? How old are
you? I have so many questions.

409
00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:13.839
I'm so sorry if I stepped on
any toes. Nonsense, No toes were

410
00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:15.920
stepped on. You are family now, and as family, you are free

411
00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:20.920
to know these things. This body
is eighty four years old and the child

412
00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.680
will be born tonight, I would
guess. But shouldn't you go to a

413
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:28.519
hospital? No offense. A woman
your age having a baby is incredible,

414
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.000
but complications make it far too dangerous
to do. Here. Put down that

415
00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:37.480
drink and let me call you an
ambulance. Finishing another mug, Frega replied,

416
00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:40.039
you will do no such thing,
child. All my sons were born

417
00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:45.839
here. This body knows its job
and it has never failed. Standing to

418
00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:50.519
get another drink, Frega continued.
Balder said he had found the perfect wife,

419
00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.680
strong and independent, and I have
to agree. We are a powerful

420
00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:58.839
family and you are now a part
of us. Before Frega could fill her

421
00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:01.319
mug, Odin came back into the
room. It's time, my dear,

422
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:05.799
The food is on the table,
and left the room as he had entered.

423
00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:09.920
Friga said, splendid, just splendid, holding out her old hands.

424
00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:14.839
Now, child, help an old
pregnant woman to dinner. We have prepared

425
00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:19.079
a special meal just for this occasion. Not knowing what to say, Astrid

426
00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:22.599
got up and helped Friga down the
stairs to the dining room. The dining

427
00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:25.880
room was breathtaking. The logs were
stacked side by side and on end,

428
00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:30.240
perpendicular to all other logs she had
seen so far. On one wall was

429
00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:35.680
a huge stone fireplace that held small
trees burning at a temperature that would have

430
00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:38.680
made walking into the room unbearable were
it not for a large opening in a

431
00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:43.680
side wall. The opening looked out
upon the mountains and the valley below,

432
00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:47.759
and the view was breathtaking. The
four chandeliers were made from the bones of

433
00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:52.160
dozens of animals, with each arm
holding candles large enough to burn for days.

434
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:57.519
From the wax collected under the chandeliers, Astrid guessed that hundreds, if

435
00:33:57.559 --> 00:34:00.839
not thousands, of candles had lit
this room. A thirty foot table was

436
00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:06.279
filled with an unbelievable variety of food, and the centerpiece of the table was

437
00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:09.840
a roasted goat sitting on a huge
platter. As the women entered the room,

438
00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:15.039
the men all stood up and toasted
them for the mother and downed their

439
00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:17.880
full mugs. Odin grabbed his wife
and walked her to the head of the

440
00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:22.800
table, taking a seat at her
right hand. Balder grabbed Astrid and did

441
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.840
the same with her. At the
other end. Frega stood and said,

442
00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:30.599
by the gods, let us feast, and sat back down. Larry and

443
00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:34.719
Chris stood and served the feast.
Larry drew a pitcher from a huge barrel

444
00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:37.039
sitting in the corner and walked around
the table, filling all their mugs.

445
00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:40.159
Chris carved the meat in the middle
of the table in a manner that was

446
00:34:40.199 --> 00:34:45.880
more resembled to ripping than cutting.
The two husbands went around the table collecting

447
00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:49.119
food for their wives. When the
plates were set in front of the women,

448
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:52.679
Astrid thought a three hundred pound lumberjack
would have a problem putting a dent

449
00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:55.639
in this meal. She looked around
for some utensils, but saw none save

450
00:34:55.719 --> 00:35:00.000
for the large carving knife Chris had
used to cut and rip the meat.

451
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:01.840
Frigga, on the other end of
the table, grabbed food off her plate

452
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:06.920
and ate with complete loss of manners. With a mouthful of food, Frigga

453
00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:09.440
yelled across the table to Astrid,
eat and drink. My dear, I

454
00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:15.239
promise you will not eat another feast
like this for a long time. Astrid

455
00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:17.199
looked down at her plate and picked
up a piece of cheese. She took

456
00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:21.800
a bite and was enthralled by what
she tasted. Next, she grabbed a

457
00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:24.280
piece of the goat and again could
not believe how good it was. She

458
00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:29.360
washed it down with the mead and
stopped. What are these spices? I've

459
00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:32.800
never tasted anything like these. Taking
only a short break from stuffing food into

460
00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:37.639
her face, Frigga responded, their
herbs from a long time forgotten, now

461
00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:43.159
eat. Astrid continued to eat the
meal was like no other she had ever

462
00:35:43.239 --> 00:35:46.239
had. All the foods were exceptional. As if reading her mind, Larry

463
00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:51.000
walked over and topped off her mug. Any gratitude she may have felt was

464
00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:54.360
lost in the moment she grabbed her
mug. Mead, cheese, meat mead,

465
00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:59.840
vegetable meat, mead, oblivion.
During the feast, Astrid lost all

466
00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:04.440
consciousness, thought, and in oblivion, she passed out from far too much

467
00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:14.440
to drink. Even as Astrid's body
began to slowly return to her control,

468
00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:19.920
her mind was instantly aware of itself
feeling both in extreme cold wind and unbelievable

469
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:22.800
heat. At the same time.
She opened her eyes and tried to adjust

470
00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:25.719
to the sight of a huge fire
burning halfway between the low balcony she sat

471
00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:30.000
outside on and the mountain cliff over
which a blizzard wind was blowing. As

472
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.239
she tried to stand, she found
herself tied to her chair by a rough

473
00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:38.079
hemp rope. Her fear was instantaneous
and all consuming. She screamed to be

474
00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:44.360
let up, but was ignored by
four shadowy figures standing nearby. While looking

475
00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:47.559
around for any way to free herself, she noticed that the four hooded figures

476
00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:52.079
were standing in front of Frega,
who was laying on her back tied to

477
00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:55.159
a wooden table. Her mouth was
uncovered so her screams could be heard if

478
00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:00.840
anyone was listening. The wind brought
the chance of the men for the mother,

479
00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:07.000
for the mother, again and again, this mantra punctuated by Frigga screaming,

480
00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:10.039
get it out, by the gods. Now it's the time, my

481
00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:15.480
children, Now get it out.
One man walked between Frigga's legs, and

482
00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:19.159
another moved around her head. From
where she was laid, Astrid could see

483
00:37:19.199 --> 00:37:22.639
it was odin between her legs,
but could not tell who went to her

484
00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:27.920
head. Astrid screamed, untimey,
you assholes. The men ignored all she

485
00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:32.119
said. Odin raised his hand and
all went silent for a moment. He

486
00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:37.199
spoke, in a voice more powerful
than she imagined this old man could produce.

487
00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:40.960
It is the midwinter solstice, and
the time for a new mother has

488
00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:47.079
arrived. The other three men resumed
chanting for the mother, for the mother,

489
00:37:47.599 --> 00:37:52.679
and continued getting louder and louder as
time went on. Odin produced the

490
00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:58.440
large carving knife from under his cloak, passing it around each sun cut Frigga

491
00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:01.599
as the knife was passed to him. Friga screamed with every cut. Stunned

492
00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:07.039
to silence, Astrid could only stare
as this madness unfolded in front of her.

493
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:10.119
As the knife returned to Odin,
he spoke again, and the other

494
00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:15.360
three men went silent. The midwinter
solstice has come again, and with a

495
00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:20.920
new mother chosen, her old body
shall be renewed, as all that is

496
00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:25.039
old shall become new again. May
this child be acceptable to our goddess Friga.

497
00:38:25.639 --> 00:38:30.039
May many seasons pass in the new, May we find a splendor by

498
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:36.159
her hands. The three sons each
knelt and kissed their mother's weeping, naked

499
00:38:36.199 --> 00:38:40.239
body. As they stood, each
repeated for the mother. Without warning,

500
00:38:40.280 --> 00:38:45.280
Odin sliced Friga open from her pelvis
to just below the ribs, opening her

501
00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:49.280
womb. Friga screamed in pain.
The son at her head took the knife

502
00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:52.239
still in her body, and completed
the cut from ribs to throat, loudly

503
00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:57.079
breaking each one as he cut through
it. Friga was still crying out in

504
00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:00.440
pain as Odin took the daughter from
her belly and then took her heart from

505
00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:05.360
her chest. Two of the sons
picked up the dead woman and walked into

506
00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:08.800
the pyre with it. One moment
they were there, the next all that

507
00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:14.639
was left were their screams of pain. Even if they had tried to escape,

508
00:39:14.679 --> 00:39:19.199
the heat rendered that impossible. Odin, carrying the child, walked to

509
00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:22.360
the edge of the cliff. Standing
there, he raised the child in his

510
00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:27.920
old shaking hand and began speaking in
a strange language. At the dawn of

511
00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:36.199
a new millennium, we speak debt
vincelvii varen spafra manje manner saidon and duk

512
00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:45.519
skalfa knight live og hav vargammel skalblingjin
brannan den gammel og nai skalstig askes ti

513
00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:51.440
askes ba tiblat for more. As
he finished speaking to the night, he

514
00:39:51.559 --> 00:39:54.800
lowered the child and kissed it with
a smile on his face. I love

515
00:39:54.840 --> 00:40:00.679
you, frigga now and always standing
for just a moment more, he stepped

516
00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:05.119
off the cliff with the infant,
into oblivion. The wind coming over the

517
00:40:05.159 --> 00:40:09.119
cliffs stopped as suddenly as it had
begun. Astrid could not see what had

518
00:40:09.119 --> 00:40:14.280
happened to Odin and the child from
her vantage point. The sudden stillness did

519
00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:16.440
nothing to allay her fears, and
with a soft voice, she began to

520
00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:22.519
plead with the cloaked figure standing next
to the sacrificial table, growing louder her

521
00:40:22.559 --> 00:40:27.440
please. When unnoticed by the motionless
man, after many long moments, everything

522
00:40:27.559 --> 00:40:31.719
changed a wind so powerful that it
suffocated the blazing pyre flames and brought about

523
00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:36.199
a knight only lit by the full
moon. It struck the cloaked man and

524
00:40:36.280 --> 00:40:40.119
knocked him back to Astrid's feet.
He was still motionless, and Astrid was

525
00:40:40.280 --> 00:40:45.440
able to finally confirm what she already
knew. Her husband had killed Frigga,

526
00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:49.960
he had killed his own mother,
and he had left her tied to a

527
00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:53.039
chair to witness these horrors. Screaming
at him and begging for answers. He

528
00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:58.800
finally broke his trance. Rising with
his mother's heart still in his hand and

529
00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:02.840
the knife in the other, he
turned and closed the distance between himself and

530
00:41:02.920 --> 00:41:07.480
his wife. Astrid was helpless to
stop what came next. Balder took the

531
00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:13.000
still warm heart and forced it into
her mouth, cutting off her cries with

532
00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:16.440
savagery she thought impossible from her sweet
husband. He forced her mouth closed on

533
00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:21.280
the heart, her teeth severed off
a chunk and held it in her mouth.

534
00:41:21.639 --> 00:41:28.119
Her rational thought was that flavor.
It's Frigga's blood. She greedily devoured

535
00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:30.679
it and pleaded for more from the
man she loved. He cut her free

536
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:35.199
and dropped the knife. She stood
and took the once beating heart from his

537
00:41:35.239 --> 00:41:40.719
hand and said, jeg tar debt
harjaret av min or, jag lev avet,

538
00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:46.199
jag spencer debt jag skal blit debt
debt jenner jug for more, before

539
00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:52.519
devouring it in ecstasy. A short
time later, the husband leaned over and

540
00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:54.920
picked up his sleeping bride. Tearrying
her inside, he took her to the

541
00:41:54.960 --> 00:41:59.800
new moon bed. As he stood
watching her. She awoke with a smile

542
00:41:59.840 --> 00:42:02.920
on her face. Turning her head, she saw her husband and exclaimed,

543
00:42:04.760 --> 00:42:09.159
odin my odin, Oh, how
I love her husband smiled back at her

544
00:42:09.159 --> 00:42:15.119
and said, Frigga, you are
so beautiful. I love you, Friga

545
00:42:15.239 --> 00:42:28.719
now and always for the mother.
The end, the sinister reality of the

546
00:42:28.840 --> 00:42:35.480
past brought to the forefront of our
minds and our appetites. And speaking of

547
00:42:35.519 --> 00:42:40.480
appetites, this next story is all
about how you are what you eat.

548
00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:44.519
But before we get to that,
I want to remind you if you haven't

549
00:42:44.519 --> 00:42:50.400
already, make sure you're subscribed on
your favorite podcasting app such as Spotify or

550
00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:53.679
Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, leave us a five star rating.

551
00:42:53.920 --> 00:43:00.280
It helps new spookies discover the show
just like you, and we all only

552
00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:05.320
a little bit of spooky in our
weekly I know I do. But now

553
00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:14.199
it's time for another story after these
quick messages. You are what you eat

554
00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:20.920
by Rob Fields for AJ. Robbie
Farnes walked into mere An Automotive, the

555
00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:27.000
factory where he worked, about twenty
miles from Strickfield. He didn't particularly care

556
00:43:27.079 --> 00:43:30.239
about the place or the job itself, but at least it was steady work

557
00:43:30.360 --> 00:43:35.480
with a decent paycheck. He'd been
working there for a couple of years now,

558
00:43:35.800 --> 00:43:38.840
at least as a way to pay
his way through Strickfield University. As

559
00:43:38.880 --> 00:43:43.280
he walked through the plant to get
to his work area, he knew it

560
00:43:43.320 --> 00:43:47.400
was going to be hot as hell. Carrying his lunchbox, he knew he

561
00:43:47.400 --> 00:43:52.920
would soon get even more hell from
one of his co workers about what was

562
00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:58.159
inside. Robbie had been living the
vegan lifestyle for the last few months.

563
00:43:58.639 --> 00:44:02.920
He had been careful to have avoid
eating literally anything that came from animals that

564
00:44:04.039 --> 00:44:08.639
included, in addition to not eating
meat, dairy eggs, or any processed

565
00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:13.800
food containing animal by products. Whenever
he'd go out to eat, he was

566
00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:17.119
careful to avoid eating fried foods,
cooked and shared oil. He'd even gone

567
00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:22.320
to a vegan festival in Eary City. When Robbie reached his work area,

568
00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:25.519
he punched in at the TimeClock.
After putting his earplugs in, he went

569
00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:29.840
to his locker to change into his
work shoes and prepare for his shift.

570
00:44:30.239 --> 00:44:34.519
It wasn't long before he was greeted
by a troublesome co worker in the form

571
00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:39.599
of Aaron Jamestown. Aaron and Robbie
were opposites in many ways. Robbie was

572
00:44:39.639 --> 00:44:45.360
a head taller than Aaron, also
thinner. Robbie had long, dark hair

573
00:44:45.400 --> 00:44:50.039
that went down to his shoulders and
was always clean shaven, while Aaron kept

574
00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:53.320
his head shaved and had a long, shaggy beard. Robbie's skin was a

575
00:44:53.360 --> 00:45:00.159
clean slate, while Aaron had many
many tattoos. The big difference was that

576
00:45:00.159 --> 00:45:05.400
Aaron was a hunter who always bragged
about his kills, the trophies that he

577
00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:10.079
kept from many of them, and
all the meat he had enjoyed then he

578
00:45:10.239 --> 00:45:15.400
learned that the new guy in his
department, this quiet young pup, wasn't

579
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:21.840
a meat eater, a vegan,
which got his attention in more ways than

580
00:45:21.920 --> 00:45:28.039
one. As always, Aaron just
looked at Robbie with contempt and disgust.

581
00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:34.440
Robbie knew and expected this every day, but he didn't care. He'd been

582
00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:37.440
used to people picking on him about
his vegan ways. Some of his other

583
00:45:37.480 --> 00:45:43.880
co workers had asked him many questions
about his veganism, mainly because they were

584
00:45:43.920 --> 00:45:47.920
curious. For the most part,
people usually left him alone. Aaron Jamestown,

585
00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:53.920
however, had issues with Robbie and
would be anything but subtle. What

586
00:45:54.079 --> 00:45:59.320
kind of rabbit food you bring today? Rabbit? Aaron asked, taking a

587
00:45:59.360 --> 00:46:04.159
seat at a pick nick table across
from Robbie. Robbie remained calm in spite

588
00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:07.519
of the nickname Aaron had hung on
him. He looked up at Aaron,

589
00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:12.920
why do you care? Aaron was
twice Robbie's age and never liked when people

590
00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:16.159
back talked him. There were times
when he wanted to just lay into Robbie.

591
00:46:16.440 --> 00:46:21.519
Sure, Robbie always did his job
and turned out great numbers. Just

592
00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:27.000
the same, he wanted to find
something, anything to justify giving Robbie a

593
00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:30.559
good old fashioned ass whoopan. As
long as they both worked for Mere and

594
00:46:30.599 --> 00:46:37.159
Automotive. However, Aaron couldn't physically
lay a hand on Robbie in or out

595
00:46:37.159 --> 00:46:40.840
of the plant, not if he
wanted to keep his job. What you

596
00:46:40.920 --> 00:46:45.400
don't want to tell me, Aaron
said, in his always threatening tone.

597
00:46:45.239 --> 00:46:50.840
Robbie sighed, Look, we both
know you really don't care about the food

598
00:46:50.840 --> 00:46:54.599
I bring, so why don't you
just save it? Aaron smiled, which

599
00:46:54.679 --> 00:47:00.719
Robbie knew was never a good thing. Let me explain something to you,

600
00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:05.880
rabbit. I don't know what you
think you're doing with all this vegan bullshit.

601
00:47:06.559 --> 00:47:13.599
But here outside Strickfield, we're hunters. That means meat is the way

602
00:47:13.840 --> 00:47:20.320
we do things. We love our
meat, we kill for our meat,

603
00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:25.840
we eat meat. Now you come
in here with your vegan bullshit and expect

604
00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:30.480
us to just stop eating meat.
Robbie held up his hand in front of

605
00:47:30.519 --> 00:47:36.559
him. WHOA, Let's get something
straight. I don't go around telling anybody

606
00:47:36.599 --> 00:47:38.920
not to eat meat. There are
vegans out there that would, but I

607
00:47:38.960 --> 00:47:43.800
personally don't care what you eat.
You eat what you want, and I'll

608
00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:45.880
eat what I want. I mainly
do it for health reasons, if you

609
00:47:45.960 --> 00:47:51.400
must know, I've lost a lot
of weight because of it. Aaron kept

610
00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:54.400
on him. So you're saying we're
all fat fucks because we eat meat.

611
00:47:55.119 --> 00:48:00.880
True, Aaron was quite portly for
a little man. Robbie wouldn't go there.

612
00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:06.159
I never said that. Don't put
words in my mouth. Aaron threw

613
00:48:06.159 --> 00:48:09.400
his arms up. Why the fuck
be a rabbit. Why can't you go

614
00:48:09.440 --> 00:48:13.679
bust your ass at the gym or
something. Why you gotta be so fucking

615
00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:17.840
different, Robbie countered again, what
do you care. I'm not here to

616
00:48:17.880 --> 00:48:21.960
preach Vegan. I'm here to do
my job and get paid so I can

617
00:48:22.039 --> 00:48:24.119
keep the lights on at my place, eat and attend college. So leave

618
00:48:24.119 --> 00:48:31.119
me alone, Okay, Aaron smiled
more sinister. Now, yeah, you're

619
00:48:31.239 --> 00:48:37.079
a rabbit. Now, he pointed
at Robbie and shook his finger. I've

620
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:42.039
seen your kind before. You're gonna
crack, You're gonna be back. You're

621
00:48:42.079 --> 00:48:45.960
gonna eat meat again. No,
why, he leaned in a little.

622
00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:52.440
Because that's the way it is.
Our ancestors have been hunting and eating meat

623
00:48:52.519 --> 00:48:58.920
since caveman years. Meat is the
way, the only way there ain't no

624
00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:02.760
room in this world for fucking rabbits
like you. People like you are weak,

625
00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:07.639
always have been. Just then,
Robbie and Aaron were greeted by the

626
00:49:07.679 --> 00:49:15.000
presence of their boss. Aaron,
you causing trouble back here again, Mike

627
00:49:15.079 --> 00:49:19.079
CRUs demanded. How many times have
I talked to you about that? You're

628
00:49:19.079 --> 00:49:22.800
looking to get wrote up or what? Aaron wasn't even afraid to talk back

629
00:49:22.840 --> 00:49:25.679
to his own boss. You already
wrote me up? What more you gonna

630
00:49:25.719 --> 00:49:31.440
do. I'm just having a conversation
with Rabbit here. I don't see anybody

631
00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:36.920
here named rabbit, Mike snapped.
Last time, I'm telling you quit getting

632
00:49:36.920 --> 00:49:39.199
in everybody's shit. I'm sorry about
what happened to your sister, but mind

633
00:49:39.199 --> 00:49:43.119
your own goddamn business. You want
to keep going this way, I'll give

634
00:49:43.119 --> 00:49:45.000
you your final rite up. After
that, I'll have no other choice but

635
00:49:45.039 --> 00:49:49.599
to walk you out that what you
want. You both do good work in

636
00:49:49.599 --> 00:49:51.679
this department, and I don't want
to lose either one of you. But

637
00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:52.719
if you keep it up, Aaron, You're going to be out on your

638
00:49:52.760 --> 00:49:58.199
ass. We on the same page
here. Aaron chuckled and looked at Robbie,

639
00:49:58.679 --> 00:50:01.960
know what rabbit. You're part of
a dying breed. I mean it,

640
00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:07.800
You're dead. Know why because we
meet eaters hunt rabbits and other plant

641
00:50:07.840 --> 00:50:14.559
eaters like you. You understanding me, You fucking weakling. Only the strong

642
00:50:14.719 --> 00:50:17.880
survive. It's only a matter of
time before you end up like all God's

643
00:50:17.920 --> 00:50:22.599
creatures, right next to the mashed
potatoes and gravy. My sister was a

644
00:50:22.679 --> 00:50:24.800
fucking rabbit, just like you.
It didn't keep her from being kidnapped and

645
00:50:24.880 --> 00:50:29.199
killed a few months back. And
you know what, he pointed in a

646
00:50:29.280 --> 00:50:34.199
random direction. The fucker that did
it still out there, still roaming free.

647
00:50:34.239 --> 00:50:36.840
And that's another thing. Women are
in the same place as you,

648
00:50:36.960 --> 00:50:39.880
rabbits on the food chain, nothing
but weak, dead weight. When the

649
00:50:39.960 --> 00:50:45.679
killer catches up to you, I'm
gonna laugh my fucking ass off. Mike

650
00:50:45.719 --> 00:50:50.639
had had enough, you know what, Aaron, Go home. This ain't

651
00:50:50.679 --> 00:50:53.079
negotiable. We don't need your shit
here. It's obvious you're still ain't over

652
00:50:53.079 --> 00:50:58.000
your sister's death. Go home and
cool off. Last warning you come back

653
00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:00.920
here tomorrow and start your shit again. I won't worry about no final right

654
00:51:00.039 --> 00:51:02.679
up. I'll just walk you out
myself, and you won't have a job

655
00:51:02.719 --> 00:51:07.199
here no more. He pointed in
the direction of nearest door. Go home

656
00:51:07.679 --> 00:51:13.920
now. Aaron didn't move at first. Finally, he slammed his palms on

657
00:51:13.960 --> 00:51:17.360
the table, making sure he got
Robbie's attention, then stood up, still

658
00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:25.000
smiling his sinister smile at Robbie.
Be seeing you rabbit, move, Mike

659
00:51:25.039 --> 00:51:30.119
commanded him, fuck you, I'm
going, Aaron snapped. Robbie and Mike

660
00:51:30.199 --> 00:51:35.199
both heard Aaron yelling and cursing as
he moved to the exit door and walked

661
00:51:35.199 --> 00:51:37.960
out of the plant. Robbie was
relieved not to have to work with Aaron,

662
00:51:38.440 --> 00:51:46.559
at least for today. Robbie managed
to avoid Aaron when he returned to

663
00:51:46.599 --> 00:51:52.320
work. He started taking his lunchbox
to a different break area and eating there.

664
00:51:52.719 --> 00:51:55.719
Mike had told Aaron not to talk
to Robbie unless it was work related.

665
00:51:55.920 --> 00:52:01.280
However, that didn't keep Aaron from
giving him his sinister looks. Over

666
00:52:01.360 --> 00:52:06.880
time, Robbie had heard around the
work area about what had happened to Aaron's

667
00:52:06.920 --> 00:52:13.039
sister, Susan. Aaron had never
gotten along with Susan. True Aaron was

668
00:52:13.079 --> 00:52:17.639
old enough to be Robbie's father and
Susan's Aaron's mother, had taken over raising

669
00:52:17.679 --> 00:52:22.440
him when her husband, David had
died of a heart attack. Aaron was

670
00:52:22.519 --> 00:52:25.159
around ten, and he never really
got over the loss of his father.

671
00:52:27.239 --> 00:52:30.599
After that, he looked up to
his uncle George, who was even meaner

672
00:52:30.760 --> 00:52:37.079
and more vicious than his dad.
Still, Uncle George taught Aaron everything he

673
00:52:37.159 --> 00:52:42.719
knew about hunting and fishing. Then, when Aaron had reached twenty, his

674
00:52:42.800 --> 00:52:46.480
mother had met a man named William
Sanders. Aaron didn't think much about it

675
00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:50.760
at first. As far as he
was concerned, William wasn't going to be

676
00:52:50.840 --> 00:52:55.440
around long. All of the other
men before him had left. But months

677
00:52:55.480 --> 00:53:00.239
went by and William was still around. Committed to his mother, Aaron never

678
00:53:00.280 --> 00:53:06.480
saw the surprises coming. When his
mother made two big announcements. The first

679
00:53:06.599 --> 00:53:10.159
was that she and William were getting
married. The second was that she was

680
00:53:10.199 --> 00:53:15.159
going to have William's baby, Aaron
flew into a wild rage and threatened to

681
00:53:15.159 --> 00:53:19.880
shoot William. As far as he
was concerned, he was the man of

682
00:53:19.880 --> 00:53:24.079
the house. End of story.
Just the same William and Rosie were married.

683
00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:30.599
Months later, Susan came into the
world. Aaron would never come to

684
00:53:30.639 --> 00:53:34.719
accept this daughter as his sister,
and let William and Rosie know about it

685
00:53:34.800 --> 00:53:38.920
on no uncertain terms. As Susan
grew up, Aaron would be verbally abusive

686
00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:44.320
towards her, being an overbearing bully, he never had to raise his hand

687
00:53:44.360 --> 00:53:47.280
to her. Over time, Susan
became both angry and afraid of Aaron.

688
00:53:47.840 --> 00:53:52.840
As long as William and Rosie were
around, Susan felt some semblance of safety

689
00:53:52.920 --> 00:53:57.559
from Aaron. Over the last two
years that Susan had lived at home,

690
00:53:57.679 --> 00:54:01.159
she had taken up a vegan lifestyle
and used to eat anything that Aaron had

691
00:54:01.199 --> 00:54:07.199
put on the table for her.
Aaron became increasingly frustrated and abusive with her

692
00:54:07.239 --> 00:54:12.880
Because of it, Susan had finally
decided that she wasn't going to tolerate Aaron

693
00:54:12.960 --> 00:54:16.519
anymore. During her junior year at
Strickfield High School, Susan moved out and

694
00:54:16.559 --> 00:54:22.159
went to live with friends who shared
her compassion for animals who were also vegan.

695
00:54:22.039 --> 00:54:27.800
It had taken a restraining order to
keep Aaron away from Susan. After

696
00:54:27.880 --> 00:54:31.800
Susan graduated from high school, she'd
gone on to Strickfield University. Aaron was

697
00:54:31.840 --> 00:54:37.000
around forty and had become meaner and
more bitter than ever. During this time,

698
00:54:37.480 --> 00:54:43.039
Rosie had died. William died not
too long after. By then,

699
00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:47.280
Susan was living in a dorm room
at Strickfield u Aaron had been arrested once

700
00:54:47.360 --> 00:54:52.960
for breaking the restraining order during Susan's
freshman year at Strickfield University. He'd gotten

701
00:54:53.039 --> 00:54:59.519
drunk and confronted Susan in Wilder Hall, the student union building. Susan decided

702
00:54:59.519 --> 00:55:02.639
not to press charges, and he
was released. The police gave him a

703
00:55:02.639 --> 00:55:07.400
warning about what would happen if he
broke his restraining order again. Aaron had

704
00:55:07.440 --> 00:55:12.239
heard through the grape vine that Susan
had met someone on campus and was seeing

705
00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:15.159
him. He didn't know who the
person was, but he was determined to

706
00:55:15.159 --> 00:55:20.960
find him and make life hell for
anyone who thought about hooking up with Susan.

707
00:55:22.039 --> 00:55:24.639
A few months later, Aaron was
arrested again when it was revealed that

708
00:55:24.679 --> 00:55:30.320
both Susan and her boyfriend had been
kidnapped. The remains of their body were

709
00:55:30.360 --> 00:55:37.719
found not too long after, with
their clothes on and the flesh and muscles

710
00:55:37.800 --> 00:55:40.840
stripped clean off. Aaron went into
a rage when he was in jail and

711
00:55:40.920 --> 00:55:45.840
screamed up and down that he had
nothing to do with their abductions or murders.

712
00:55:45.599 --> 00:55:50.559
Aaron would be released since it was
proven that he didn't abduct and kill

713
00:55:50.679 --> 00:55:54.920
Susan and her boyfriend, whose name
he didn't know because he could never remember

714
00:55:54.960 --> 00:55:59.639
it. He had been home drinking
with friends, all of whom were able

715
00:55:59.679 --> 00:56:04.079
to vouch for him. Aaron continued
to go further down the spiral, and

716
00:56:04.159 --> 00:56:07.159
it showed at mir A Automotive.
If it wasn't for Mike Cruz keeping the

717
00:56:07.199 --> 00:56:13.119
peace, Aaron would have created quite
the hostile working environment. A month later,

718
00:56:13.280 --> 00:56:16.159
Robbie had accepted some overtime at Meran
and was given an hour break to

719
00:56:16.199 --> 00:56:21.800
go and get some dinner. Robbie
hadn't packed extra food for the overtime period,

720
00:56:22.079 --> 00:56:24.079
but he knew that Rockney's Bar and
Grill across the street was a place

721
00:56:24.119 --> 00:56:29.840
that had vegan options and decided to
go there. Robbie went in and sat

722
00:56:29.880 --> 00:56:34.039
at the bar. Rockney himself knew
Robbie and told him of the vegan special,

723
00:56:34.119 --> 00:56:37.039
which was a meatloaf dinner with macaroni
and cheese on a vegetable medley.

724
00:56:37.880 --> 00:56:44.760
Robbie felt the glare and saw that
Aaron was sitting about four seats down from

725
00:56:44.840 --> 00:56:49.559
him, still he knew that old
man Rockney didn't put up with Aaron's outbursts

726
00:56:49.599 --> 00:56:52.840
in his bar anymore than Mike Cruse
did at work. Aaron gave Robbie his

727
00:56:53.599 --> 00:56:59.920
sinister smile, but he made no
move. Robbie looked back to Rockney.

728
00:57:00.800 --> 00:57:04.320
Sounds good. I'm going to go
use the restroom. Your food will be

729
00:57:04.360 --> 00:57:07.519
waiting for you when you get back, kid, Rockney said. Aaron watched

730
00:57:07.519 --> 00:57:14.519
as Robbie walked away. He watched
with even greater anticipation as Rockney prepared the

731
00:57:14.559 --> 00:57:17.960
College rabbit's food. He put the
finished plate on the table and then put

732
00:57:17.960 --> 00:57:22.920
the silverware next to the plate.
He finished it off by putting a glass

733
00:57:22.960 --> 00:57:27.599
of water down. As soon as
Rockney went to the back, Aaron struck

734
00:57:27.920 --> 00:57:30.960
he had a big bowl of half
eaten beef gravy. There was quite a

735
00:57:30.960 --> 00:57:35.519
bit of it left. He picked
it up and moved over to Robby's plate,

736
00:57:36.079 --> 00:57:39.039
after making sure that Rockney was still
in the back. He tilted the

737
00:57:39.079 --> 00:57:45.280
bowl and poured the gravy all over
everything. When he finished, he went

738
00:57:45.320 --> 00:57:50.039
back to his seat. When Robby
returned and sat down, he immediately noticed

739
00:57:50.079 --> 00:57:53.000
the gravy all over his food.
When Rockney came back out, Robbie made

740
00:57:53.039 --> 00:57:58.679
his complaint. Rockney looked at the
plate. I didn't put any gravy on

741
00:57:58.760 --> 00:58:01.960
that, kid, he groaned.
I'll get you a new plate. The

742
00:58:02.039 --> 00:58:07.719
fuck you will, Aaron called out. Then he pointed at Robbie. You

743
00:58:07.840 --> 00:58:12.840
just sit your ass down there and
eat that food right there. Rockney pointed

744
00:58:12.920 --> 00:58:15.119
right at Aaron. I'm putting this
meal on your tab, you little son

745
00:58:15.159 --> 00:58:20.960
of a bitch. Aaron ignored Rockney
and got off his stool. Well,

746
00:58:21.559 --> 00:58:24.800
come on, rabbit, sit down
there and eat. Don't touch that food.

747
00:58:24.840 --> 00:58:29.400
I'll get you a new plate,
Rockney said. Aaron glared at him.

748
00:58:29.639 --> 00:58:32.400
No, you will not. He's
eating this one. He glared at

749
00:58:32.440 --> 00:58:36.960
Robbie. Eat that food there,
or I swear to God I'll fucking feed

750
00:58:37.000 --> 00:58:40.679
it to you myself. Since you
tainted my food, I'm not touching it,

751
00:58:40.880 --> 00:58:47.079
Robbie replied in defiance. Aaron's glare
turned into a sinister smile. Fine,

752
00:58:47.880 --> 00:58:52.599
have it your way. Aaron hauled
off and punched Robbie in the face

753
00:58:52.639 --> 00:58:55.880
with enough force to send him backward
and flying over a nearby table. Aaron

754
00:58:55.960 --> 00:59:00.480
was quickly around to the other side. He pulled Robbie up and hold off

755
00:59:00.480 --> 00:59:04.039
on him again. Before Robbie could
fall, Aaron picked him up into a

756
00:59:04.039 --> 00:59:07.159
fireman's carry. He took Robbie to
another table and slammed him right on top

757
00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:13.400
of it, making the table collapse. What's the matter, rabbit, Aaron

758
00:59:13.480 --> 00:59:16.000
taunted. It's vegan food, ain't
it. I just spiced it up a

759
00:59:16.000 --> 00:59:21.000
little bit for you. He kicked
Robbie in the gut. This place used

760
00:59:21.000 --> 00:59:23.719
to be just for real men,
then you fucking college kids came along with

761
00:59:23.760 --> 00:59:28.920
your vegan shit. Now rockne serving
rabbit food here. He kicked Robbie in

762
00:59:28.960 --> 00:59:31.239
the gut again. You can't even
get a real man's meal here no more.

763
00:59:31.559 --> 00:59:37.719
He kicked Robbie in the gut one
more time because of you fucking rabbits.

764
00:59:37.800 --> 00:59:40.480
Robbie tried to pick himself up.
Aaron helped him up enough to punch

765
00:59:40.559 --> 00:59:44.519
him hard in the gut. Look
at you. You ain't even a real

766
00:59:44.559 --> 00:59:46.920
fucking man. You're just some sissy
ass kid who can't even fight me.

767
00:59:47.320 --> 00:59:52.360
Aaron grabbed Robbie's hair and pulled him
back to the bar. Before Robbie could

768
00:59:52.400 --> 00:59:54.920
think, Aaron shoved his face right
into the gravy soaked food. Then he

769
00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:59.360
started rubbing Robbie's face in it.
Come on, rabbit, come on,

770
00:59:59.599 --> 01:00:02.000
eat that fucking rabbit food. Doesn't
that gravy make it taste that much better?

771
01:00:02.119 --> 01:00:07.199
Huh? Eat as much as you
want. But the sound of the

772
01:00:07.239 --> 01:00:10.960
pump action shotgun quickly forced Aaron to
let go of Robbie. Rockney had pulled

773
01:00:10.960 --> 01:00:15.679
his shotgun out from underneath the bar
and was now aiming it right at Aaron.

774
01:00:15.360 --> 01:00:19.639
Let go of the kids, you
little bastard. When Aaron hesitated,

775
01:00:19.719 --> 01:00:22.760
Rockney screamed, I said, let
him go. Aaron finally let go of

776
01:00:22.840 --> 01:00:29.280
Robbie and stepped back very slowly.
Rockney gave Robbie a wet towel. Here,

777
01:00:29.400 --> 01:00:31.559
kid, wipe yourself off. Don't
worry, I just called the cops.

778
01:00:32.079 --> 01:00:36.199
Aaron raised his hands in front of
him as Rockney kept him in his

779
01:00:36.280 --> 01:00:40.480
sights. Now look here, old
man, we wouldn't want shut the fuck

780
01:00:40.559 --> 01:00:44.840
up, Aaron, Rockney interrupted.
You're done here. You hear me,

781
01:00:45.079 --> 01:00:46.679
You're banned for life from here.
Do you ever stepped foot in my place

782
01:00:46.719 --> 01:00:50.320
ever again? I'll blow your goddamn
head clean off. And you know I

783
01:00:50.320 --> 01:00:52.480
mean just what I'm saying. And
don't think I ain't collecting what you owe

784
01:00:52.519 --> 01:00:59.440
me for reckon my place. Then
Aaron heard another voice, Hey, Aaron,

785
01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:02.079
whoever stepped footing, mirror and automotive
ever again? And I'll have security

786
01:01:02.159 --> 01:01:07.239
walk your rass out. Aaron quickly
spun around and saw Mike Cruz standing there.

787
01:01:07.639 --> 01:01:13.119
He pointed right at Mike, bullshit, you didn't see nothing. I

788
01:01:13.159 --> 01:01:16.440
saw enough. Mike said, you're
fired. You hear me fired. Don't

789
01:01:16.480 --> 01:01:20.559
even bother coming back to work.
I'll be in on Saturday. You can

790
01:01:20.599 --> 01:01:22.960
come back in and get your ship. Then Mike came over to Robbie.

791
01:01:23.360 --> 01:01:28.920
You okay, kid. Robbie nodded, I'll be all right. I got

792
01:01:28.920 --> 01:01:31.920
the police coming. Rockney told Aaron, I'm pressing charges on you. You're

793
01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:37.440
paying for all that damage you caused
here and that ruined plate. Aaron pointed

794
01:01:37.480 --> 01:01:40.039
at Rockney, Fuck you, old
man. You ain't getting one goddamn dime

795
01:01:40.039 --> 01:01:44.639
out of me. He pointed at
Robbie. Now this ain't over between you

796
01:01:44.639 --> 01:01:50.119
and me, rabbit. You're permanently
on my fucking shit list. When Rockney

797
01:01:50.199 --> 01:01:54.760
raised the shotgun to Aaron again,
Aaron shouted curses as he turned and stormed

798
01:01:54.800 --> 01:02:02.679
out of the bar. Around three
am, Aaron sat in his pickup truck

799
01:02:02.800 --> 01:02:07.480
and eyed the mere an automotive East
parking lot. Aaron took another swig out

800
01:02:07.480 --> 01:02:12.599
of the bottle of whiskey he'd brought
with him and felt the alcohol mix really

801
01:02:12.679 --> 01:02:16.639
good. With his anger, he
caressed the double barreled shotgun that he had

802
01:02:16.719 --> 01:02:22.559
sitting in the passenger's side. Yeah
you think I can't think? Huh?

803
01:02:22.760 --> 01:02:28.880
Rabbit, Aaron muttered. Maybe I
never knew your fucking name, but I

804
01:02:28.960 --> 01:02:32.119
know where you leave here from,
I know what car you drive. I'll

805
01:02:32.159 --> 01:02:37.400
fucking kill your rabbit ass before you
make it back to that panty waste college

806
01:02:37.480 --> 01:02:44.280
years. He took another swig,
then shouted, vegan my ass. He

807
01:02:44.360 --> 01:02:47.440
didn't have to wait that much longer. Eventually he saw a small group of

808
01:02:47.480 --> 01:02:52.400
people coming out of the plant.
He raised his binoculars and saw that Robbie

809
01:02:52.440 --> 01:02:59.079
was among them. He grinned with
anticipation. Oh yeah, I'll get you,

810
01:02:59.159 --> 01:03:02.559
easy boy. I'll run you right
off of the goddamn road. Then

811
01:03:02.599 --> 01:03:08.159
I'm gonna go on a little rabbit
hunt. As Aaron reached over to caress

812
01:03:08.199 --> 01:03:15.440
his shotgun again, he suddenly realized
that it was no longer there. What

813
01:03:15.480 --> 01:03:20.159
the fuck Suddenly, he felt the
double barrels being pressed right up against the

814
01:03:20.239 --> 01:03:23.199
left side of his neck. Aaron
turned his head to see who managed to

815
01:03:23.239 --> 01:03:28.159
sneak his shotgun out of the open
passenger side window and brought it over to

816
01:03:28.199 --> 01:03:35.000
his side. His eyes went wide
when he recognized the face you, Aaron

817
01:03:35.079 --> 01:03:40.079
choked out. Can't be You're Aaron
didn't have time to finish. The person

818
01:03:40.159 --> 01:03:45.719
quickly raised a pistol and fired it. Aaron gasped when he felt the dart

819
01:03:45.800 --> 01:03:52.360
hit his chest. He blacked out. Seconds later, Aaron opened his eyes

820
01:03:52.400 --> 01:04:00.159
and groaned. What the fuck?
He mumbled. Aaron sniffed and recognized at

821
01:04:00.159 --> 01:04:04.840
all too familiar scent of smoked meat. When he managed to overcome more of

822
01:04:04.880 --> 01:04:11.840
the tranquilizer, he realized that he
was tied up and elevated in some backyard

823
01:04:12.039 --> 01:04:17.199
Somewhere. He looked and saw somebody
was roasting a big slab of meat over

824
01:04:17.239 --> 01:04:24.960
an open fire. What the fuck, he repeated. The person turned around,

825
01:04:25.719 --> 01:04:29.960
then he moved over to Aaron.
In the dim light, Aaron could

826
01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:33.119
see Robbie. Now, oh,
hey, glad to see you're awake.

827
01:04:33.199 --> 01:04:39.599
Karon. Guess that was some pretty
good trank. Huh, Aaron glared down

828
01:04:39.639 --> 01:04:44.639
at Robbie and demanded, what the
fuck you think you're doing, rabbit?

829
01:04:45.079 --> 01:04:53.159
Robbie laughed, Why just watching you
hang around? Literally, pretty soon you're

830
01:04:53.199 --> 01:04:58.079
going into that little building right behind
you since you can't see it, it's

831
01:04:58.119 --> 01:05:03.119
a smoke house. Oh and you
are going to be getting smoked to perfection

832
01:05:04.719 --> 01:05:11.519
once you're skinned, that is.
Aaron screamed with rage and tried to squirm

833
01:05:11.519 --> 01:05:15.960
free. Robbie wasn't in the least
bit intimidated. When Aaron couldn't fight anymore,

834
01:05:16.440 --> 01:05:20.239
he glared at Robbie again, let
me go, God damn you,

835
01:05:21.159 --> 01:05:27.599
Robbie laughed. Congratulations, asshole,
you were right about me. Me being

836
01:05:27.639 --> 01:05:32.039
a vegan won't last. Okay,
when we first met, I was eating

837
01:05:32.159 --> 01:05:36.320
vegan, not because I wanted to, mind you, But the real truth

838
01:05:36.440 --> 01:05:44.800
is you were the one I was
hunting. See, I'm a hunter too,

839
01:05:45.440 --> 01:05:49.920
except I don't just hunt deer and
other wild animals. I also hunt

840
01:05:49.960 --> 01:05:56.559
for people that might make some great
tasty meat. And yes, you were

841
01:05:56.639 --> 01:06:01.599
definitely right about meat being the way. Believe you were so right, and

842
01:06:01.679 --> 01:06:08.320
you are going to make some great
eating once you're all finished smoking. Aaron

843
01:06:08.440 --> 01:06:11.679
growled. When I get my fucking
hands on you, you son of a

844
01:06:11.719 --> 01:06:15.199
bitch. Good luck with that,
Robbie said, you might want to look

845
01:06:15.239 --> 01:06:18.840
down at your legs, though,
Aaron looked down to see that he not

846
01:06:18.960 --> 01:06:25.639
only had no pants on, he
no longer had his lower legs, only

847
01:06:25.760 --> 01:06:30.159
stumps where they once were. Holy
fucking shit, Oh my fucking God,

848
01:06:30.239 --> 01:06:33.039
Jesus, fucking oh, for God's
sake, would you please, for once

849
01:06:33.079 --> 01:06:38.199
in your life, shut the fuck
up? A female voice familiar to Aaron

850
01:06:38.239 --> 01:06:43.320
called out from the back door.
Aaron looked to see the girl who came

851
01:06:43.400 --> 01:06:48.480
and stood next to Robbie. I
did see you outside the factory, Susan,

852
01:06:49.719 --> 01:06:55.880
but but you're dead. Robbie wrapped
an arm around Susan's waist, then

853
01:06:55.960 --> 01:07:00.320
the two of them shared a kiss
before they looked at Aaron again. Our

854
01:07:00.360 --> 01:07:04.119
plan worked, lover, Susan said, yes, it did. Robbie agreed.

855
01:07:04.840 --> 01:07:09.599
Going to college was the best thing
ever happened to me. Susan explained

856
01:07:09.639 --> 01:07:13.280
to Aaron. You see, when
I met Robbie, he was such a

857
01:07:13.519 --> 01:07:17.079
sensitive guy. Yeah, he done
has his problems, such as all the

858
01:07:17.119 --> 01:07:20.840
meat he eats, but he's still
all sweet on me. I mean,

859
01:07:21.239 --> 01:07:26.880
I literally fell in love with him
at first sight, Robbie smiled. I

860
01:07:27.000 --> 01:07:30.519
used to think girls were trouble,
especially the ones who lived out here in

861
01:07:30.519 --> 01:07:33.400
the country. Then I met your
sister here, a country girl, while

862
01:07:33.440 --> 01:07:36.800
I was at the university. Boy, did she ever catch me off guard.

863
01:07:38.159 --> 01:07:42.159
Now, I don't know how I
ever lived without her anyway. When

864
01:07:42.159 --> 01:07:45.159
she told me about what an insufferable
prick you were to her, and how

865
01:07:45.559 --> 01:07:51.400
she had so many sleepless nights because
of you, he sighed, I flat

866
01:07:51.400 --> 01:07:58.480
out suggested just killing you. Susan
was angry now, and believe me,

867
01:07:58.719 --> 01:08:00.920
you don't know how many times I
wanted to blow your fucking head off while

868
01:08:00.920 --> 01:08:05.719
you was sleeping. Robbie done showed
me that killing you will be so easy.

869
01:08:06.599 --> 01:08:12.559
We'll even benefit from you too.
Surprise, I ain't vegan no more.

870
01:08:13.000 --> 01:08:16.720
Turns out I love eating meat.
She giggled, A little human meat.

871
01:08:17.399 --> 01:08:21.479
Susan picked up a knife and carved
off a small piece of the meat

872
01:08:21.560 --> 01:08:26.800
from the roast. She turned back
to Aaron. This here's one of your

873
01:08:26.920 --> 01:08:30.640
legs over this here fire. Aaron
was horrified to see Susan put the cut

874
01:08:30.640 --> 01:08:35.359
of meat into her mouth and eat
it. She turned to Robbie, m

875
01:08:35.600 --> 01:08:42.920
m smoked to perfection. Baby Robbie
smiled at Aaron. For the record,

876
01:08:43.399 --> 01:08:46.600
I did go vegan for the last
few months. See, Susan made a

877
01:08:46.640 --> 01:08:49.920
little bet with me. She said
I couldn't be vegan for two a whole

878
01:08:49.920 --> 01:08:54.119
months, so I agreed to try
it, but in turn agreed to try

879
01:08:54.159 --> 01:08:58.960
eating human flesh. If I made
it two months, which I did today,

880
01:08:59.159 --> 01:09:01.960
she would go back to eating meat
on a full time basis. He

881
01:09:02.079 --> 01:09:05.800
turned to her, don't worry,
hun, I won't hold you to it.

882
01:09:06.039 --> 01:09:10.960
If you want to be vegan,
it's fine by me. They shared

883
01:09:10.960 --> 01:09:15.199
another kiss. Then Susan said,
vegan food is mighty good, but I'll

884
01:09:15.199 --> 01:09:19.279
consider eating human steaks as long as
it don't bother you that I still want

885
01:09:19.279 --> 01:09:25.119
to eat vegan. Robbie shook his
head. No, we could eat vegan

886
01:09:25.199 --> 01:09:28.880
food. You were right, It's
actually not bad. I'd say we found

887
01:09:28.880 --> 01:09:33.399
our happy medium, you and me. They kissed one more time again.

888
01:09:33.479 --> 01:09:38.439
Aaron struggled to free himself. He
roared and thrashed with all his might.

889
01:09:39.079 --> 01:09:45.560
Finally he realized it was all useless
and gave up. You were dead,

890
01:09:45.640 --> 01:09:50.800
Susan, Aaron protested, you and
your college boyfriend both you saw two bodies

891
01:09:50.840 --> 01:09:56.239
were done carved up, Susan corrected
him. Robbie and I put our clothes

892
01:09:56.279 --> 01:09:59.640
on them bodies. The police never
even thought to do any kind of for

893
01:09:59.640 --> 01:10:03.199
friends to see if they was really
us or not. We're both legally dead.

894
01:10:03.720 --> 01:10:09.199
My new name is Megan Farnes.
Now. We got married shortly after

895
01:10:09.199 --> 01:10:14.600
we decided we was gonna kill you. Speaking of killing you, Aaron,

896
01:10:15.159 --> 01:10:18.640
Robbie said, We're going to strip
the flesh off you. Then we'll put

897
01:10:18.640 --> 01:10:23.359
you in the smoke house and smoke
you to perfection, just like we did

898
01:10:23.359 --> 01:10:27.920
your legs. Susan wanted to keep
you alive long enough so she could see

899
01:10:27.960 --> 01:10:32.640
you before we do what needs to
be done. I know I'll savor every

900
01:10:32.720 --> 01:10:39.520
bite until you're gone. Megan murmured, still think I'm a rabbit now,

901
01:10:39.840 --> 01:10:45.279
you short, little fat fucker.
Robbie teased, this is bullshit. Aaron

902
01:10:45.319 --> 01:10:48.479
cried, bullshit. Putting up with
you all them years of my life was

903
01:10:48.560 --> 01:10:54.520
bullshit. Megan snapped. Now I'll
sleep peacefully and with my wonderful man.

904
01:10:55.079 --> 01:10:58.640
She glanced at Robbie. I'm done
talking to this shit heel. Now,

905
01:10:59.239 --> 01:11:02.760
thank you for this opportunity, honey, I love you. I love you

906
01:11:02.800 --> 01:11:08.920
too, babe. Here I'll give
you the honors, Robbie said, handing

907
01:11:08.960 --> 01:11:13.520
her a buck knife. Megan stepped
up onto a sturdy metal ladder to look

908
01:11:13.560 --> 01:11:16.520
at Aaron one last time. This
is for my life of hell, you

909
01:11:16.680 --> 01:11:23.640
fucking Neanderthal, Aaron screamed as Megan
stabbed him hard in his stomach. His

910
01:11:23.760 --> 01:11:28.000
blood was spurting out quickly. He
groaned, intent on not giving up on

911
01:11:28.039 --> 01:11:32.600
his life. Megan knew this and
drew back again for another hard stab.

912
01:11:33.359 --> 01:11:44.760
Aaron Johnson knew that the second stab
would be the end. You know,

913
01:11:45.039 --> 01:11:48.880
since we're all ready in strickfield,
we may as well stop for a quick

914
01:11:49.000 --> 01:11:53.720
drink since we just had a bite, but not a drink of alcohol,

915
01:11:53.880 --> 01:11:57.399
no libation of that matter. No, no, no, let's get something

916
01:11:57.439 --> 01:12:00.800
that's more of an upper. We're
gonna get a little coffee on a little

917
01:12:00.840 --> 01:12:05.439
hot brown to get us through our
day. Because this next story is called

918
01:12:05.560 --> 01:12:12.279
good to the last drop, and
much like it's titled, this story is

919
01:12:12.359 --> 01:12:15.800
good until the final sentence. You
won't want to miss it, So make

920
01:12:15.800 --> 01:12:21.479
sure you get comfortable, get yourself
a hot cup of something right after some

921
01:12:21.600 --> 01:12:29.760
quick words from our very kindly and
generous sponsors who keep this spooky rolling and

922
01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:44.880
rolling good to the last drop by
Rob Fields. Adam Lester watched his girlfriend,

923
01:12:45.119 --> 01:12:48.720
Jarn Hatley move around the kitchen.
There were days when he really enjoyed

924
01:12:48.760 --> 01:12:54.159
seeing how animated she could be as
she multitasked. She did it all,

925
01:12:54.520 --> 01:12:58.760
worked on washing dishes, tending to
the stove for making both her breakfast and

926
01:12:58.800 --> 01:13:01.720
her lunch, wiping things down,
and even making a fresh pot of coffee.

927
01:13:02.000 --> 01:13:04.800
She would even be able to talk
to Adam as she did all of

928
01:13:04.800 --> 01:13:10.600
these things. Adam was one of
the premier basketball players on the Strickfield High

929
01:13:10.600 --> 01:13:14.920
School team. Adam had always been
about sports, from his days in Strickfield

930
01:13:15.000 --> 01:13:17.720
Junior High all the way to now. He even had scouts come and see

931
01:13:17.760 --> 01:13:23.920
him, some offering him full rides
through colleges and universities. However, he

932
01:13:23.960 --> 01:13:28.000
would have to keep his grades up
and be able to graduate. Mathematics was

933
01:13:28.159 --> 01:13:31.600
never his strongest subject, which was
why he needed a tutor. Around football

934
01:13:31.640 --> 01:13:35.560
season, Adam saw a flyer on
the school bulletin board that Jaron Hatley had

935
01:13:35.600 --> 01:13:41.039
put up about tutoring. He texted
her number, got a response, and

936
01:13:41.119 --> 01:13:45.319
she had been tutoring him in math
since their first session. Adam hadn't planned

937
01:13:45.359 --> 01:13:48.920
on taking a real liking to this
geek, but his overall grades were greatly

938
01:13:48.960 --> 01:13:54.199
improving because of her, not just
math. He was so grateful to her

939
01:13:54.239 --> 01:13:57.359
one day that he kissed her,
just intending for it to be a peck

940
01:13:57.439 --> 01:14:01.119
on the lips, but it ended
up becoming much more. Now Adam and

941
01:14:01.199 --> 01:14:05.920
Jarren were an item, the talk
of Strickfield High. The one thing that

942
01:14:06.000 --> 01:14:12.600
Adam couldn't believe about Jaren was how
much caffeine she drank. Now she was

943
01:14:12.640 --> 01:14:15.439
pouring her freshly made coffee into a
thermal cup to drink at school. She

944
01:14:15.520 --> 01:14:21.479
had just finished everything when she smiled
at Adam. Okay done. Adam accepted

945
01:14:21.479 --> 01:14:25.600
the breakfast sandwich from her, along
with a kiss. The two of them

946
01:14:25.600 --> 01:14:29.600
were about to leave when they heard
a strange noise. They both looked to

947
01:14:29.640 --> 01:14:33.239
see the coffee maker making even louder
noises. Then it gave off a sudden

948
01:14:33.319 --> 01:14:39.359
surge. They saw a brief,
giant spark of electricity. Shortly after the

949
01:14:39.359 --> 01:14:44.560
coffee maker was smoking shit. Jarren
muttered, and I just bought it last

950
01:14:44.600 --> 01:14:48.479
week. Take it back, Adam
suggested, you still have the receipt.

951
01:14:48.640 --> 01:14:54.359
Jarn gave him a look of finality
before shaking her head. Best Buy is

952
01:14:54.439 --> 01:14:58.319
going to think I abused it.
She sighed, I'll just have to buy

953
01:14:58.319 --> 01:15:01.359
another one. But I'm not going
to have time today. That's right,

954
01:15:01.479 --> 01:15:06.720
You've got those meetings tonight, Adam
recalled. Jarn sighed, student counsel,

955
01:15:06.800 --> 01:15:13.000
after school, key club right after, followed by your football banquet. Adam

956
01:15:13.079 --> 01:15:16.279
smiled and eased Jarren into his arms
to give her a gentle hug. Don't

957
01:15:16.319 --> 01:15:20.680
worry, I'll find you a new
coffee pot. Jarren looked into his eyes.

958
01:15:21.359 --> 01:15:25.399
You're not going to have time.
You could make it out to Strictfield

959
01:15:25.399 --> 01:15:29.039
Town Center Mall before they close at
nine, but Best Buy closes at eight.

960
01:15:29.760 --> 01:15:32.439
Adam caressed the side of her face. I'll get you your coffee pot

961
01:15:32.439 --> 01:15:38.079
tonight. That's a promise. They
kissed one more time before they left her

962
01:15:38.079 --> 01:15:44.560
house and went to school. After
the football banquet, Adam and Jarn couldn't

963
01:15:44.560 --> 01:15:47.680
get out of Strickfield High fast enough. Adam drove them out to Strickfield Town

964
01:15:47.760 --> 01:15:51.279
Center Mall. By the time they
had pulled in and parked, Adam saw

965
01:15:51.319 --> 01:15:57.279
that Jarren was sound asleep. Probably
hit the wall, he mumbled to himself.

966
01:15:58.119 --> 01:16:00.479
He wanted to wake her up,
but she looked so peaceful that he

967
01:16:00.600 --> 01:16:04.479
just let her sleep. He got
out and went into the mall. As

968
01:16:04.560 --> 01:16:08.800
Jaron had said, Best Buy had
closed at eight, there were only a

969
01:16:08.840 --> 01:16:13.720
few select stores open. Adam shook
his head to himself. He couldn't believe

970
01:16:13.800 --> 01:16:17.119
this mall was still open. There
were so many vacancies, especially after the

971
01:16:17.159 --> 01:16:20.880
holidays were over. He kept expecting
to come to the mall and see it

972
01:16:20.960 --> 01:16:27.560
finally closed for good. Still it
continued to stay open. Adam moved past

973
01:16:27.600 --> 01:16:30.359
the food court, which only had
a subway and a Mom and Pop pizza

974
01:16:30.399 --> 01:16:35.439
place. Just thinking about food made
him think about Denoyer's grill. He checked

975
01:16:35.439 --> 01:16:39.399
out the rest of the mall,
but he wasn't having any real luck.

976
01:16:39.880 --> 01:16:45.000
There was one last store down where
Radio Shack used to be Tinkers. He

977
01:16:45.079 --> 01:16:48.359
muttered, what if I got to
lose? He walked to the store and

978
01:16:48.399 --> 01:16:51.920
went in. He couldn't believe all
the odds and ends that were there.

979
01:16:53.760 --> 01:16:57.399
Just then, a man in his
late forties approached him. Can I help

980
01:16:57.439 --> 01:17:02.239
you, young man? Adam shrugged. I hope my girlfriend's coffee maker craped

981
01:17:02.279 --> 01:17:04.800
out on her this morning, and
I promised her i'd get her another one

982
01:17:05.239 --> 01:17:11.239
tonight. The man smiled, Well, my good man, you're in luck.

983
01:17:11.600 --> 01:17:15.600
I just happened to have one right
over here. The man took him

984
01:17:15.640 --> 01:17:18.319
to what appeared to be a percolator. Adam gave the man a look of

985
01:17:18.479 --> 01:17:25.079
uncertainty. She's more of a mister
Coffee type person. She wants her coffee

986
01:17:25.079 --> 01:17:29.359
as soon as she gets out of
bed. I mean she lives on coffee

987
01:17:29.479 --> 01:17:33.159
and energy drinks. I do have
energy drinks in the cooler by the cash

988
01:17:33.199 --> 01:17:38.039
register, but I'm afraid I can't
help you in terms of an automatic drip

989
01:17:38.079 --> 01:17:43.720
coffee maker. The man raised his
finger. However, your girlfriend will never

990
01:17:43.800 --> 01:17:48.319
have to worry about electricity with this
percolator, he lowered his finger, unless

991
01:17:48.319 --> 01:17:53.840
she's using electric No, her dad
made it so her house either runs on

992
01:17:53.920 --> 01:17:59.359
natural gas or burning wood. He
took a deep breath. How much,

993
01:18:00.119 --> 01:18:03.359
Hey, no pressure, son,
I know, but I want Jarn to

994
01:18:03.359 --> 01:18:06.960
be happy and have her coffee in
the morning. Maybe she can learn to

995
01:18:06.960 --> 01:18:12.319
appreciate this. If not, I'll
get her what she wants tomorrow after basketball

996
01:18:12.359 --> 01:18:15.560
practice. The man took the percolator
and they went to the cash register.

997
01:18:16.159 --> 01:18:23.359
A few moments later, he quoted
Adam the price twenty dollars. Twenty dollars

998
01:18:23.560 --> 01:18:27.199
for this thing. Adam raised his
hands in front of him. I mean,

999
01:18:27.960 --> 01:18:31.119
this thing's got to be an antique, and you are right. However,

1000
01:18:31.159 --> 01:18:34.000
you look like your heart's in the
right place with wanting to get this

1001
01:18:34.079 --> 01:18:41.319
for your girlfriend. So for you
twenty dollars, Adam dug out his wallet.

1002
01:18:41.960 --> 01:18:45.239
Adam knew that Jaron's dad would be
uneasy if he brought her home.

1003
01:18:45.279 --> 01:18:48.119
As crashed as she was. Adam
carried her from his car and into his

1004
01:18:48.199 --> 01:18:51.439
house. After he unlocked the back
door. He carried her up to his

1005
01:18:51.560 --> 01:18:56.279
room and laid her down in his
bed. After covering her up, he

1006
01:18:56.319 --> 01:19:00.680
went back downstairs to close and lock
everything back up. As he was about

1007
01:19:00.720 --> 01:19:03.920
to lock up his car, he
saw the percolator he'd just bought from Tinkers

1008
01:19:04.159 --> 01:19:09.680
and picked it up. Adam went
back inside after locking the door. He

1009
01:19:09.760 --> 01:19:14.239
decided to see how the percolator worked. He found a quick video on YouTube

1010
01:19:14.239 --> 01:19:18.159
and knew he could easily make morning
coffee for Jaren. The next morning,

1011
01:19:18.520 --> 01:19:23.840
Friday, Jarren yawned and woke up. She saw she was in Adam's room

1012
01:19:23.840 --> 01:19:27.560
and turned to see Adam sleeping in
the recliner next to the bed. She

1013
01:19:27.720 --> 01:19:30.399
yawned again and moved to wake him
up. Adam opened his eyes and she

1014
01:19:30.520 --> 01:19:36.000
kissed him. Good morning, Hey, he whispered, Are you all right?

1015
01:19:36.800 --> 01:19:42.800
She nodded I could really use some
coffee, though Adam raised his finger

1016
01:19:43.399 --> 01:19:45.880
say no more. I bought a
percolator for you last night. We can

1017
01:19:45.920 --> 01:19:48.880
try it out before we leave for
school. Why don't you go take a

1018
01:19:48.880 --> 01:19:54.520
shower. I'll head downstairs and make
your coffee. They kissed, then Adam

1019
01:19:54.560 --> 01:19:57.920
watched his Jarrein got fresh clothes out
of the two dresser drawers that he let

1020
01:19:57.960 --> 01:20:01.159
her use for when she'd stay the
night. Adam yawned and staggered out of

1021
01:20:01.159 --> 01:20:06.760
his room and walked downstairs. Jarren
came down, freshly dressed and accepted the

1022
01:20:06.800 --> 01:20:12.039
mug of hot coffee from Adam.
I never made coffee before, baby,

1023
01:20:12.119 --> 01:20:15.960
so I hope you like it.
Jaren didn't hesitate and took a drink.

1024
01:20:15.319 --> 01:20:20.000
Then she looked at Adam. This
is really good. Adam gave her a

1025
01:20:20.039 --> 01:20:26.720
weird look. Really, I'm serious, this is delicious. She took another

1026
01:20:26.760 --> 01:20:30.239
drink, very strong, just the
way I love it. Adam wasn't the

1027
01:20:30.319 --> 01:20:34.560
cook that Jarren was. All he
had to offer her was prepackaged food from

1028
01:20:34.560 --> 01:20:39.479
the cupboard. She accepted a pack
of pop tarts and opened them to enjoy

1029
01:20:39.520 --> 01:20:43.319
with her coffee. Adam poured her
some more and topped off her thermal cup

1030
01:20:43.359 --> 01:20:46.159
that he had washed before going to
sleep. Adam and Jarren had a little

1031
01:20:46.199 --> 01:20:50.000
time before class, so they sat
in the cafeteria and talked about whatever.

1032
01:20:50.640 --> 01:20:56.319
It wasn't long before Adam's fellow jocks
approached him. The truth was that Adam

1033
01:20:56.359 --> 01:21:00.680
never really cared for any of them, specially when they showed their obvious contempt

1034
01:21:00.239 --> 01:21:04.439
for Jaren. Can it wait until
class, Adam demanded, without so much

1035
01:21:04.479 --> 01:21:09.840
as looking at them. Brent haskell
snickered, I don't know why you put

1036
01:21:09.880 --> 01:21:14.239
that hoe before your bros man.
Then he looked at Jarren. Get the

1037
01:21:14.279 --> 01:21:16.960
fuck out of here. Adam was
ready to get up and stand up for

1038
01:21:17.079 --> 01:21:21.960
Jaren. Much to his surprise,
Jarren immediately stood up. She looked at

1039
01:21:23.039 --> 01:21:27.000
Brent with such a sharp glare.
Adam had never seen this look from her

1040
01:21:27.039 --> 01:21:31.920
before. Why don't you make me
asshole? The other jocks laughed. Then

1041
01:21:31.960 --> 01:21:38.439
Brent leaned in. I'm sorry,
I don't think I heard you. Geek

1042
01:21:38.760 --> 01:21:43.439
Jarn didn't back down, Yes you
did. You know this school must be

1043
01:21:43.479 --> 01:21:46.920
pretty desperate for a basketball team if
they're letting just any dumbasses play for them.

1044
01:21:47.239 --> 01:21:51.800
Correct me if I'm wrong. But
you haven't even won one single basketball

1045
01:21:51.840 --> 01:21:58.000
game. Apparently Jarren's stating of the
obvious was too much for Brent's ego,

1046
01:21:58.119 --> 01:22:00.880
because he grabbed Jarren and raised his
fist to hit her. As Adam was

1047
01:22:00.920 --> 01:22:04.800
about to fight him. Jaron struck
first, still glaring at him, She

1048
01:22:04.880 --> 01:22:09.960
raised her right hand with lightning speed
and dug her long finger nails into the

1049
01:22:09.960 --> 01:22:14.279
side of Brent's face. She seemed
to take great pride and dragging her nails

1050
01:22:14.319 --> 01:22:18.439
down his flesh, making him scream
and bleed fast. The other jocks were

1051
01:22:18.479 --> 01:22:23.479
about to attack Jarren, but several
teachers were quick on the scene. Brent

1052
01:22:23.560 --> 01:22:28.239
Haskell kept crying out as he continued
to bleed from his face, blood dripping

1053
01:22:28.319 --> 01:22:32.359
onto the floor. When Jarin opened
the back door of her house and walked

1054
01:22:32.359 --> 01:22:36.000
in, she saw her father waiting
for her. You want to tell me

1055
01:22:36.159 --> 01:22:42.720
why the fuck Principal van Dis just
called me to tell me that you're suspended.

1056
01:22:43.640 --> 01:22:45.960
Jarren took a drink of coffee from
her thermal mug, finishing it.

1057
01:22:46.640 --> 01:22:49.560
She didn't even seem to care that
her father had just yelled at her,

1058
01:22:49.920 --> 01:22:55.319
as he had done so many times
before during her life. Yeah, and

1059
01:22:56.000 --> 01:22:58.840
sure, it's quite all right for
a guy to try and beat me up,

1060
01:22:58.920 --> 01:23:02.159
right, But when I back,
Oh fuck no, no, that's

1061
01:23:02.319 --> 01:23:08.039
never fucking okay. You're just supposed
to be quiet. And her father lashed

1062
01:23:08.039 --> 01:23:12.159
out and slapped her so hard that
she fell onto the kitchen floor. Then

1063
01:23:12.199 --> 01:23:15.439
he pointed down at her. Don't
you ever talk to me like that in

1064
01:23:15.560 --> 01:23:20.039
my house. Jaron glared at him
and slowly stood up. She put her

1065
01:23:20.039 --> 01:23:23.800
hand on the side of her face
and felt the heat her father had just

1066
01:23:23.880 --> 01:23:28.239
inflicted on her, and knew her
face was red. Lowering her hand,

1067
01:23:28.319 --> 01:23:31.439
she said to her father in a
deadly whisper, this is the last time

1068
01:23:31.800 --> 01:23:36.479
you ever put your hands on me, son of a bitch. Without warning,

1069
01:23:36.640 --> 01:23:40.079
she grabbed a knife out of a
nearby cutting block and when at her

1070
01:23:40.119 --> 01:23:44.279
father. He screamed as she stabbed
him, making him bleed fast. Then

1071
01:23:44.359 --> 01:23:48.680
she stabbed him a second time,
a third, a fourth, again,

1072
01:23:49.199 --> 01:23:54.479
and again. When her father was
lying dead in a pool of his own

1073
01:23:54.479 --> 01:24:00.159
blood. Jaron laughed maniacally before she
licked the blood off the knife. After

1074
01:24:00.279 --> 01:24:04.319
she growled in satisfaction, she decided
that she wanted some more coffee, since

1075
01:24:04.359 --> 01:24:10.359
the coffee maker was still wrecked.
She remembered the percolator at Adam's house.

1076
01:24:13.479 --> 01:24:17.279
Adam had been depressed after watching Principal
Van Diste yell at Jarren. When she

1077
01:24:17.359 --> 01:24:21.000
stood up and turned his desk over. He pointed to his door and yelled

1078
01:24:21.039 --> 01:24:26.079
that she was suspended and for her
to go get the hell out. Now,

1079
01:24:27.159 --> 01:24:30.760
what had happened to Jarren? She
was always such a sweet girl.

1080
01:24:30.319 --> 01:24:34.079
He knew that she had it rough
growing up, being raised by an abusive

1081
01:24:34.079 --> 01:24:39.199
father. Still, she had always
kept her head high. She was the

1082
01:24:39.239 --> 01:24:42.960
best thing that had ever happened to
him. It wasn't until the day's events

1083
01:24:42.960 --> 01:24:46.439
had unfolded that Adam realized he truly
loved her with all of his heart.

1084
01:24:47.119 --> 01:24:51.119
He wanted to call her, but
Jarn didn't known a cell phone. Her

1085
01:24:51.199 --> 01:24:56.319
dad wouldn't let her have one.
He decided he'd had enough of seeing Jarren

1086
01:24:56.399 --> 01:24:59.439
suffer. He was going to go
and get her and bring her to live

1087
01:24:59.479 --> 01:25:02.319
with him. He would protect her
from her father if push came to shove.

1088
01:25:03.199 --> 01:25:08.319
He decided to stop at home first. He noticed the snow was starting

1089
01:25:08.359 --> 01:25:12.319
to come down and remembered the blizzard
that was forecasted for the weekend. When

1090
01:25:12.319 --> 01:25:15.199
he walked into his house, the
strong smell of coffee filled the kitchen.

1091
01:25:16.079 --> 01:25:19.960
Jaren was sitting at the table,
wearing one of Adam's football jerseys and drinking

1092
01:25:19.960 --> 01:25:27.319
her coffee. Hi, honey,
Adam quickly sat across from her. Jaren,

1093
01:25:28.199 --> 01:25:31.119
are you okay? Then he saw
the red mark on the side of

1094
01:25:31.159 --> 01:25:36.479
her face. Oh my god.
Jarn took his hand and another drink of

1095
01:25:36.520 --> 01:25:43.840
coffee. I'm fine, babe,
just fine. Now her face appeared more

1096
01:25:44.479 --> 01:25:49.039
sinister. Daddy's not a problem anymore. Then she looked to the percolator.

1097
01:25:49.600 --> 01:25:54.720
Have some coffee, just made it
fresh. It's really cold outside, especially

1098
01:25:54.800 --> 01:25:59.800
with the blizzard here now. When
Adam declined, Jarn shrugged more for me.

1099
01:26:00.880 --> 01:26:04.279
Adam took her hand. Listen,
you don't have to worry about your

1100
01:26:04.359 --> 01:26:09.279
dad. You can stay here with
me as long as you want. She

1101
01:26:09.439 --> 01:26:15.039
squeezed his hand. I told you
he's not a problem anymore. She nodded

1102
01:26:15.079 --> 01:26:17.159
to the window. Are you sure
you want to be cooped up with me

1103
01:26:17.279 --> 01:26:23.319
during the blizzard this weekend. I
don't want you to go, Adam replied.

1104
01:26:24.119 --> 01:26:27.600
Jarn finished her cup and put it
down. Then she stood up,

1105
01:26:27.920 --> 01:26:31.159
came over to Adam and sat on
his lap. She gazed into his eyes.

1106
01:26:32.399 --> 01:26:38.319
I want you. They kissed passionately. After a while, Jaron got

1107
01:26:38.319 --> 01:26:41.560
off Adam's lap. She took his
hand and waited for him to stand up.

1108
01:26:41.920 --> 01:26:45.800
Then she led him upstairs to his
bedroom. It was Wednesday morning before

1109
01:26:45.840 --> 01:26:51.560
Strickfield High School could reopen. Adam
and Jarren walked in holding hands. Many

1110
01:26:51.600 --> 01:26:57.039
eyes turned to Jarren. She no
longer wore the clothes people were accustomed to

1111
01:26:57.079 --> 01:27:00.680
seeing her wear. Her hair was
dyed red and frizzy and wild. Her

1112
01:27:00.720 --> 01:27:05.399
clothes now showed off her tapered legs
and skinny figure. Adam didn't know what

1113
01:27:05.520 --> 01:27:11.239
to make of Jaron's new attitude or
her makeover. She seemed like her old

1114
01:27:11.279 --> 01:27:15.880
self when they were together all throughout
the blizzard. Jaron stopped in front of

1115
01:27:15.880 --> 01:27:19.880
the principal's office. Here, hold
my coffee. She handed Adam the thermal

1116
01:27:19.960 --> 01:27:26.279
mug and marched right into the office. Principal Vandiste hadn't expected Jarn to burst

1117
01:27:26.319 --> 01:27:31.680
in, literally burst through his door. The principle pointed to her, you

1118
01:27:31.680 --> 01:27:36.319
aren't supposed to be here. I
suspended you for two weeks. Jaren stood

1119
01:27:36.359 --> 01:27:41.319
in front of his desk, raised
her arms and slammed her fists down.

1120
01:27:42.520 --> 01:27:46.239
Principle Van Deiste couldn't believe that skinny
Jaron Hatley had just destroyed his desk.

1121
01:27:47.039 --> 01:27:50.479
She glared at him. Now,
let me make this clear to you,

1122
01:27:50.880 --> 01:27:57.840
asshole. I come and go when
and where I please. You want to

1123
01:27:57.920 --> 01:28:00.319
keep pissing me off, I'll be
glad to put you through another desk.

1124
01:28:01.159 --> 01:28:05.239
Seriously, I am so sick of
your fucking shit. How many times have

1125
01:28:05.359 --> 01:28:11.720
you let bullies run rampant here while
you punish people like me? She pointed

1126
01:28:11.760 --> 01:28:17.159
at him. That changes today,
you hear me. Principal Van Diste raised

1127
01:28:17.159 --> 01:28:20.159
his arms in front of him as
Jarn grabbed him and lifted him right off

1128
01:28:20.199 --> 01:28:26.600
his feet. She glared into his
eyes, don't fuck with me. Then

1129
01:28:26.680 --> 01:28:31.000
she dropped him back into his chair, turned around and walked out. Jarn

1130
01:28:31.119 --> 01:28:35.319
smiled with glee as she took her
coffee back from Adam. All settled,

1131
01:28:36.159 --> 01:28:40.119
the two of them hadn't walked ten
feet from the office door. When it

1132
01:28:40.199 --> 01:28:45.000
slammed open, the principle burst out
and pointed right at Jarn. You are

1133
01:28:45.079 --> 01:28:48.079
expelled from Strickfield High School. Leave
here now, or I'll call the police.

1134
01:28:49.159 --> 01:28:54.640
Jaren stopped. She chugged the rest
of her coffee before she handed the

1135
01:28:54.680 --> 01:28:59.880
mug back to Adam. She turned
around and flexed herself, causing loud cracks

1136
01:29:00.039 --> 01:29:03.439
to come from her neck and back. Then she gave the principle her evil

1137
01:29:03.520 --> 01:29:10.079
glare again. You just don't listen
to reason, do you. Before Principal

1138
01:29:10.159 --> 01:29:14.720
Vandiste could yell another word, Jarren
grabbed him, easily, lifting him up

1139
01:29:14.880 --> 01:29:17.840
over her head. She threw him
several feet down the hallway. He might

1140
01:29:17.880 --> 01:29:21.720
have crashed right through the windows of
the cafeteria had he not been caught by

1141
01:29:21.760 --> 01:29:27.000
someone else. When he felt himself
being put back down, he turned to

1142
01:29:27.039 --> 01:29:30.960
see the blonde girl who had caught
him. Next to her was Aileen Donnerley,

1143
01:29:30.279 --> 01:29:35.039
whom most everyone knew is Einstein.
He knew Aileen, but he'd never

1144
01:29:35.079 --> 01:29:40.119
seen the blonde girl, who now
looked even meaner and angrier than Jaron Hatley.

1145
01:29:40.520 --> 01:29:44.920
Principal Vandiste, what's going on?
Aileen? Asked, with surprise in

1146
01:29:45.000 --> 01:29:48.880
her mousey voice. Suddenly Jarren was
right there. She grabbed Principal Vandiste with

1147
01:29:48.880 --> 01:29:53.520
one hand and shoved the blonde girl
so hard that she flew back and through

1148
01:29:53.560 --> 01:29:57.960
the gymnasium doors. Then she shoved
Aileen so that she fell hard onto her

1149
01:29:58.000 --> 01:30:03.560
rear. Now, Matthew, where
were we? Jaren sneered. Jaren.

1150
01:30:03.800 --> 01:30:09.279
Stop. She heard Adam calling out, she didn't seem to hear him.

1151
01:30:09.359 --> 01:30:13.159
I'm going to put you right through
these fucking cafeteria doors. Then I'm going

1152
01:30:13.199 --> 01:30:18.399
to put you through every goddamn table. Suddenly Jarren felt Principle Vandiste being snatched

1153
01:30:18.399 --> 01:30:23.479
away from her. The blonde was
back. She put the principle back down

1154
01:30:23.479 --> 01:30:27.560
and snapped at him, get the
fuck out of here. When Principle Vandiste

1155
01:30:27.560 --> 01:30:31.039
moved away, the blonde turned to
Jarren. Hugh just made a huge mistake,

1156
01:30:31.119 --> 01:30:34.800
you fucking skank. Nobody puts their
hands on me like that. You

1157
01:30:34.880 --> 01:30:40.640
want to fight, Let's fight,
Bell's, Aileen called out to her.

1158
01:30:41.159 --> 01:30:45.199
Bella Tabon quickly turned to Aileen,
yanked her up and pushed her next to

1159
01:30:45.239 --> 01:30:48.960
the principle. Get him the fuck
out of her. Iony Jaren grabbed Bella

1160
01:30:49.119 --> 01:30:53.399
and attempted to throw her, but
Bella was ready for her. Much to

1161
01:30:53.479 --> 01:30:58.319
Jarren's surprise, Bella was quite strong
herself. Jarren found herself being thrown into

1162
01:30:58.359 --> 01:31:00.479
the gym. Now she landed on
the floor and slid to the halfway point

1163
01:31:00.479 --> 01:31:05.359
of the basketball court. Bella marched
right in shortly after. I seriously do

1164
01:31:05.479 --> 01:31:11.840
not need this fucking shit this morning, Bella snapped. First, I had

1165
01:31:11.880 --> 01:31:15.640
to spend the last several days in
this mother fucking village during that blizzard.

1166
01:31:15.000 --> 01:31:18.239
Then I have to wear these fucking
clothes just to be able to come to

1167
01:31:18.279 --> 01:31:24.520
school, she yelled over her shoulder, A fucking schoolgirl outfit, Really,

1168
01:31:24.600 --> 01:31:29.119
iiny, she glared at Jarren.
Now I'm in a fucking school and I

1169
01:31:29.119 --> 01:31:31.640
have to deal with you first thing
in the morning. What did you put

1170
01:31:31.640 --> 01:31:36.239
your fucking tampon in wrong or something? Jarren screamed like a banshee and ran

1171
01:31:36.319 --> 01:31:41.720
at Bella. The two girls met
and started trading punches. Bella could easily

1172
01:31:41.760 --> 01:31:45.920
have avoided Jarren's fists, but she
wanted to know what sort of supernatural being

1173
01:31:45.000 --> 01:31:48.720
she was dealing with. When Bella
determined that Jarren was just a human,

1174
01:31:49.039 --> 01:31:54.359
she started taking more of the offensive. Bella lifted Jarren off her feet and

1175
01:31:54.479 --> 01:31:58.920
threw her into the bleachers. She
crashed through them and groaned. Jarren was

1176
01:31:59.000 --> 01:32:02.760
quickly back on her both bleeding and
bruised. Now, she screamed at Bella

1177
01:32:02.840 --> 01:32:06.680
as she came out from inside the
bleachers. Then she ran at Bella again.

1178
01:32:08.159 --> 01:32:11.920
Bella knew that she couldn't unload any
more on this girl, as much

1179
01:32:11.960 --> 01:32:15.000
as she wanted to, despite having
the strength and powers of a thousands of

1180
01:32:15.079 --> 01:32:18.720
years old master vampire. She would
have to subdue her without killing her.

1181
01:32:19.159 --> 01:32:24.439
Bella snatched Jarren and wrestled her to
the floor. The two girls wrestled one

1182
01:32:24.439 --> 01:32:28.920
another. Bella couldn't believe that this
human was so strong. Just by seeing

1183
01:32:28.920 --> 01:32:31.159
the crazed look on Jarren's face,
she knew that Jarn was on something.

1184
01:32:31.600 --> 01:32:35.960
She had seen many addicts in the
past. While Jarren certainly wasn't on drugs

1185
01:32:36.039 --> 01:32:41.359
or alcohol, Bella knew that there
must have been some magic or potion that

1186
01:32:41.399 --> 01:32:46.640
was making Jarn extraordinarily strong and crazy. Bella was especially annoyed at the people

1187
01:32:46.680 --> 01:32:49.920
who came into the gym just to
snap pictures or take videos of the fight.

1188
01:32:50.359 --> 01:32:55.119
No one would ever see it,
thanks to Bella's inability to be photographed,

1189
01:32:55.319 --> 01:32:58.560
but in the hallways students would call
it the geek girl versus the bad

1190
01:32:58.640 --> 01:33:02.439
schoolgirl. Bella focused and took the
defense of as Jarren threw fist after fist

1191
01:33:02.479 --> 01:33:06.039
at her. She hoped that Jarren
would tire her and become easier to subdue.

1192
01:33:06.319 --> 01:33:10.640
When she saw that this wouldn't happen, Bella snatched Jarren and took her

1193
01:33:10.720 --> 01:33:14.319
down to the floor. She wrapped
her legs around Jarren's midsection from behind and

1194
01:33:14.359 --> 01:33:17.920
locked Jarren's upper body in a full
Nelson type of hold. Jarren screamed and

1195
01:33:17.960 --> 01:33:21.800
struggled to break free, but Bella
was far too strong and could keep Jarren

1196
01:33:21.840 --> 01:33:27.800
in her place. Bella held her
incapacitated for several minutes. Stop this,

1197
01:33:28.199 --> 01:33:34.279
Bella yelled, now never, Jarren
screamed. Bella soon realized that Jarren's strength

1198
01:33:34.319 --> 01:33:38.880
would never diminish, but she had
one more trick up her sleeve. She

1199
01:33:39.000 --> 01:33:42.439
released Jarren and watched her get up. She came right at Bella, which

1200
01:33:42.479 --> 01:33:45.000
was what Bella counted on. She
snatched Jarren and held her so that she

1201
01:33:45.039 --> 01:33:49.399
could lock eyes with her. Bella
never really liked using her glam on people,

1202
01:33:49.720 --> 01:33:54.640
but this was one time where it
was warranted. Jarren felt herself under

1203
01:33:54.640 --> 01:33:59.279
Bella's spell and quickly became weaker because
of it. Soon she fell to the

1204
01:33:59.319 --> 01:34:03.359
floor and went right to sleep.
Aileen and Adam both came into the gym.

1205
01:34:04.199 --> 01:34:09.640
Bell's Is everything okay? Aileen asked. When Bella was sure no one

1206
01:34:09.680 --> 01:34:14.159
else could hear them, She answered, I glammed her. I don't know

1207
01:34:14.199 --> 01:34:16.119
how long she'll be out, but
we need to lock her up somewhere where

1208
01:34:16.119 --> 01:34:20.159
she can't hurt anyone. Adam knelt
down next to Jarren. He took her

1209
01:34:20.239 --> 01:34:25.159
hand and wondered what had happened to
his beloved. In fact, that was

1210
01:34:25.199 --> 01:34:28.840
what Bella wanted to know. She
snatched up Adam and glared at him.

1211
01:34:28.920 --> 01:34:31.199
What's she on? You better talk
to me. I really don't want to

1212
01:34:31.239 --> 01:34:35.560
have to glam you two. Adam
protested again and again that he really didn't

1213
01:34:35.600 --> 01:34:40.159
know. Bella believed him and put
him down. She didn't let him go,

1214
01:34:40.319 --> 01:34:44.920
however, Sorry boy, but you
leave me no choice. Adam felt

1215
01:34:44.960 --> 01:34:48.159
himself sink into Bella as she glammed
him to her will. Being that she

1216
01:34:48.279 --> 01:34:53.159
was a master vampire, she knew
she could go even further with her glam.

1217
01:34:53.399 --> 01:34:57.359
She could actually peer deep into Adam's
mind and see everything that he had

1218
01:34:57.399 --> 01:35:00.319
seen. She looked upon the last
week. Then she came to the memory

1219
01:35:00.359 --> 01:35:06.560
of him visiting Tinkers at the Strickfield
Town Center mall, and then Bella understood.

1220
01:35:08.239 --> 01:35:11.359
After removing the glam from Adam,
the three of them waited as Jarren

1221
01:35:11.479 --> 01:35:15.720
was strapped down tightly to a stretcher
and taken away. Adam was ready to

1222
01:35:15.760 --> 01:35:19.000
leave with the paramedics to be at
Jarren's side, but Bella stopped him not

1223
01:35:19.159 --> 01:35:24.560
so fast. She snapped, We're
going to your house first. I want

1224
01:35:24.560 --> 01:35:29.960
to examine that percolator you bought for
your girlfriend. But Adam started to sputter.

1225
01:35:30.199 --> 01:35:35.199
Then he sighed, okay, Adam, Bella, and Aileen walked into

1226
01:35:35.239 --> 01:35:40.880
Adam's house through the back door.
Bella immediately spotted the percolator and opened it.

1227
01:35:41.279 --> 01:35:45.920
The remaining coffee inside was still hot
and smelled strong. Bella uttered a

1228
01:35:45.920 --> 01:35:49.399
briefy incantation and discovered that this was
no ordinary coffee pot. When it gave

1229
01:35:49.439 --> 01:35:55.319
off a faint red glow. Bella
turned to Adam, how much of this

1230
01:35:55.359 --> 01:36:00.920
fucking shit did your honey drink,
Adam sighed in exhaustion. I really don't

1231
01:36:00.920 --> 01:36:05.319
know Jaron drinks so much caffeine.
Bella closed her eyes and stifled a groan.

1232
01:36:05.840 --> 01:36:11.560
Then she opened them. Okay,
we'll assume she drank quite a bit

1233
01:36:11.920 --> 01:36:15.800
based on what we've seen from her. Then she poured the remaining coffee down

1234
01:36:15.840 --> 01:36:19.279
the drain. Is something wrong with
that coffee pot bells? Aileen asked,

1235
01:36:19.640 --> 01:36:26.640
Oh, nothing much. Bella replied. The metal body is made with traces

1236
01:36:26.680 --> 01:36:30.920
of old bloodstone. That's old with
an E on the end. Not the

1237
01:36:30.000 --> 01:36:34.720
kind of shit you want falling into
the wrong hands. Isn't that a birthstone?

1238
01:36:35.079 --> 01:36:40.319
Aileen asked. Take the old away, and you've got the berthstone.

1239
01:36:40.840 --> 01:36:45.600
Bella replied, keep it in and
you've got some potentially dangerous magical properties that

1240
01:36:45.680 --> 01:36:50.800
come from it. Bella turned to
Adam. Your girlfriend's coffee was tainted with

1241
01:36:50.840 --> 01:36:55.880
it. There's a fucking good reason
why old bloodstone goes great with a percolator.

1242
01:36:56.359 --> 01:37:00.439
The tainted coffee brought out whatever pent
up emotions your girlfriend had. Now

1243
01:37:00.600 --> 01:37:03.359
it can be good or bad depending
on the person. Say you would have

1244
01:37:03.399 --> 01:37:08.600
drank the tainted coffee and you being
a hopeless romantic. It would have made

1245
01:37:08.600 --> 01:37:12.319
you appreciate love that much more.
You'd even be able to score most any

1246
01:37:12.359 --> 01:37:15.640
girl you wanted. But in the
case of your girlfriend, she must have

1247
01:37:15.680 --> 01:37:20.119
had some really scary shit happened to
her. Adam explained how Jaron had gone

1248
01:37:20.159 --> 01:37:24.800
through many years of abuse at the
hands of her father. Then he finished

1249
01:37:24.840 --> 01:37:29.199
with she was always such a cheerful
person whenever I saw her, and when

1250
01:37:29.239 --> 01:37:32.439
I finally met her dad, I
knew right away something was off about him.

1251
01:37:32.600 --> 01:37:36.119
Bella looked a little sad. Now, I'm really sorry, Adam.

1252
01:37:36.159 --> 01:37:40.880
Your girlfriend drank all that tainted coffee. It brought out all that pent up

1253
01:37:41.000 --> 01:37:44.239
rage that had been building up inside
her over the years. The more she

1254
01:37:44.359 --> 01:37:48.079
drank, the more she percolated,
until she couldn't take anymore and started lashing

1255
01:37:48.079 --> 01:37:54.720
out. Like I said, old
Bloodstone goes real fucking good with a percolator.

1256
01:37:55.359 --> 01:37:59.720
She got serious and looked him right
in the face. Now let's take

1257
01:37:59.760 --> 01:38:06.600
a little trip to that mall of
yours. Adam's jaw dropped. I'm telling

1258
01:38:06.640 --> 01:38:10.520
you, Bella, it was right
here. I'm not making this up.

1259
01:38:10.720 --> 01:38:14.159
The store was right here where the
old radio shack used to be. Right

1260
01:38:14.199 --> 01:38:18.039
here, Bella looked at Adam.
I believe you. When I glamed you,

1261
01:38:18.079 --> 01:38:21.079
I saw the store called Tinkers.
It made me think of a certain

1262
01:38:21.119 --> 01:38:28.520
motherfucker named Isisley Tinker. See.
He's known and renowned in the supernatural world

1263
01:38:28.560 --> 01:38:33.680
for fixing and rebuilding things. Only
he likes to add something special to them

1264
01:38:34.279 --> 01:38:39.880
to make supernatural shit happen. I
ran into him some sixty years ago.

1265
01:38:40.479 --> 01:38:43.840
Even now, Tinker's still a slippery
son of a bitch. He must have

1266
01:38:43.920 --> 01:38:48.680
known people would be coming and poof, no more fucking store. The problem

1267
01:38:48.720 --> 01:38:53.560
is we won't know where Tinker will
turn up next. Just then, Adam

1268
01:38:53.560 --> 01:38:58.039
received a call on his smartphone.
It was from Strictfield General Hospital. The

1269
01:38:58.119 --> 01:39:02.520
more Adam heard, the more emotions
lifted. Yes, that's great, Oh,

1270
01:39:02.560 --> 01:39:05.239
thank you, thank you so much. When Adam hung up, he

1271
01:39:05.279 --> 01:39:11.199
looked to Aileen and Bella. Jaron's
going to be okay. She's sleeping soundly.

1272
01:39:11.640 --> 01:39:14.760
She's going to be kept at the
hospital until she's gone through her caffeine

1273
01:39:14.760 --> 01:39:18.479
withdrawals. Then he groaned, but
how will Jaron ever be able to come

1274
01:39:18.520 --> 01:39:21.640
back to school? I mean a
lot of people saw what she did.

1275
01:39:23.119 --> 01:39:27.760
And then there's principal vandste. Bella
sighed, sorry, honey, but I

1276
01:39:27.840 --> 01:39:31.359
can't possibly glam that many people.
I can glam Principal Vandist so that Jarn

1277
01:39:31.439 --> 01:39:36.199
isn't suspended anymore, but the rest
will be up to her. Thank you,

1278
01:39:36.680 --> 01:39:42.079
Adam said. Bella knew that Jaron
Hatley would be okay, but what

1279
01:39:42.159 --> 01:39:45.760
about the other lives that Eisley Tinker
had claimed. Bella was even more upset

1280
01:39:45.880 --> 01:39:49.600
now that she couldn't leave Strickfield,
knowing that her old enemy had returned.

1281
01:39:50.479 --> 01:39:57.119
Sooner or later, Tinker, you're
going to fuck up and then your fucking

1282
01:39:57.199 --> 01:40:05.960
ass is mine. But you know
what's better than a good hot cup of

1283
01:40:06.000 --> 01:40:11.920
coffee and a fine meal, Well, it's sharing it with those you love

1284
01:40:11.960 --> 01:40:16.319
and care about. That's why it's
always important to be ready for dinner guests.

1285
01:40:17.079 --> 01:40:21.560
Our next story has a type of
guests you may not have planned on,

1286
01:40:21.720 --> 01:40:27.199
but I'm certain they'll leave an impression. But before we get to that,

1287
01:40:27.279 --> 01:40:31.159
remember you can head to Weekly Spooky
dot com and get access to all

1288
01:40:31.239 --> 01:40:38.479
kinds of cool things like our over
two hundred episode catalog, episodes of terrifying

1289
01:40:38.479 --> 01:40:42.399
and true episodes of cutting Deep into
Horror, as well as our Patreon,

1290
01:40:42.920 --> 01:40:46.560
where you can get a bonus story
every single month for as little as one

1291
01:40:46.600 --> 01:40:50.520
dollar, so make sure to check
that out at Weekly Spooky dot com.

1292
01:40:50.560 --> 01:40:59.960
But now it's time for our dinner
guests after these quick words. The Dinner

1293
01:41:00.159 --> 01:41:06.039
Guests by Shane miglia Vaca. Orville
Trench admired his reflection in the car window.

1294
01:41:06.760 --> 01:41:11.680
He missed his long black ponytail and
beard. His hair was cut short

1295
01:41:11.720 --> 01:41:15.359
now. He ran a hand over
his smooth chin. He'd had that beard

1296
01:41:15.399 --> 01:41:18.960
so long it was like cutting off
a limb. But it had to go.

1297
01:41:19.840 --> 01:41:23.800
It was time to get a new
car too. The old one would

1298
01:41:23.840 --> 01:41:28.680
be drawing too much attention. Soon, Cherry Kowalski, the love of his

1299
01:41:28.800 --> 01:41:32.600
life, appeared in the reflection.
Her eyes were large, piercing and dark

1300
01:41:33.279 --> 01:41:39.119
dark to match her long, wild
black hair streaked with purple and green,

1301
01:41:39.560 --> 01:41:43.680
that hung to her shoulders. She
twirled one of the long strands of hair

1302
01:41:43.720 --> 01:41:46.920
around her index finger. Hanging around
her neck was a simple silver necklace.

1303
01:41:47.199 --> 01:41:51.840
A small plastic baby arm dangled from
it. You look good, she said,

1304
01:41:53.560 --> 01:41:57.760
I didn't ask. Fuck you,
she laughed loudly, giving her lover

1305
01:41:58.079 --> 01:42:02.479
double middle fingers. Orrville spun around
grabbing her by the shoulders. His eyes

1306
01:42:02.600 --> 01:42:09.960
narrowed. Oh, yes, yes, indeed, he scanned the parking lot

1307
01:42:09.960 --> 01:42:14.159
of the convenience store. There were
only three cars here, an old pickup

1308
01:42:14.199 --> 01:42:19.159
truck, a rusting black Camaro,
and a fairly new suv. Not much

1309
01:42:19.159 --> 01:42:24.640
to pick from. Shouldn't be that
many people inside. He looked at the

1310
01:42:24.680 --> 01:42:29.520
sign over the door. It read
quick save mart. It would be quick,

1311
01:42:29.560 --> 01:42:31.840
all right. He couldn't wait to
get out of East fuck wit New

1312
01:42:31.920 --> 01:42:38.239
York. Orville touched the cold steel
under his jacket, a Coult Trooper MK

1313
01:42:38.520 --> 01:42:44.199
three, like the sheriff carried and
walking tall the seventies one. He loved

1314
01:42:44.239 --> 01:42:48.600
that film, not that shit remake
with that Nancy Boy wrestler. It hung

1315
01:42:48.680 --> 01:42:54.560
from a shoulder holster under his jacket. A flaming devil face was emblazoned across

1316
01:42:54.600 --> 01:42:59.279
the jacket's back, just as he
expected. The door had a little bell

1317
01:42:59.479 --> 01:43:03.239
that m when it opened. He
sized up the store. Orville liked to

1318
01:43:03.279 --> 01:43:08.920
think of himself as a hunter,
though what he hunted you didn't buy a

1319
01:43:08.960 --> 01:43:15.560
license for the store was typical.
Five ales of various overpriced crap, cold

1320
01:43:15.640 --> 01:43:19.159
drinks in the back, and some
not so fresh looking coffee. The kid

1321
01:43:19.199 --> 01:43:23.880
behind the counter, who couldn't be
older than twenty, didn't even look up

1322
01:43:23.920 --> 01:43:27.359
from his cell phone when they entered. He was dressed to the nines and

1323
01:43:27.840 --> 01:43:33.960
eminem cast offs. Another white boy
wanna be he'd be easy enough. Picking

1324
01:43:34.039 --> 01:43:39.359
through the beer was a bear of
a man, dirty coveralls, baseball cap

1325
01:43:39.640 --> 01:43:43.920
and a long, graying beard.
Had to be the pickup driver. This

1326
01:43:43.960 --> 01:43:48.800
one could be trouble. He'd be
the first. The last customer was a

1327
01:43:48.840 --> 01:43:55.199
young woman mid twenties. Two in
the afternoon, and she's wearing fucking pajamas.

1328
01:43:56.039 --> 01:44:00.560
Orville shakes his head. Too bad
for her. She wasn't as hype.

1329
01:44:00.800 --> 01:44:04.319
Anything looked good for you, hun, he asks Cherry slim pickens.

1330
01:44:05.560 --> 01:44:11.239
The big man came up to the
counter carrying two six packs. He set

1331
01:44:11.239 --> 01:44:14.359
them on the counter. It took
a couple of seconds before the kid looked

1332
01:44:14.439 --> 01:44:17.239
up from his phone. That all, mister, Scott, the kid asked

1333
01:44:17.720 --> 01:44:21.359
for now, you know that damned
phone going to turn you into a zombie.

1334
01:44:21.439 --> 01:44:26.640
Jimmy, All you kids just stare
at him all the time, sucking

1335
01:44:26.760 --> 01:44:31.039
your mind's out. Not just kids
doing it, seeing plenty of adults too.

1336
01:44:31.840 --> 01:44:36.119
Scott opens his wallet, goddamn right
about that. The wife is always

1337
01:44:36.119 --> 01:44:41.840
doing that Facebook shit. Why you
think I got these for tonight? The

1338
01:44:41.920 --> 01:44:45.760
two have a laugh. Cherry makes
a mock vomiting face to Orville. Orville

1339
01:44:45.800 --> 01:44:53.640
mouths which one. Cherry nods towards
large. Mister Scott, gonna start off

1340
01:44:53.680 --> 01:44:57.840
Friday night, right, Scott says. Cherry slides up next to him.

1341
01:44:57.960 --> 01:45:01.279
She leans against the counter, showing
Jimmy or cleavage. His eyes go right

1342
01:45:01.359 --> 01:45:06.039
to it. How's about speeding up
all the talkie talkie, she says.

1343
01:45:08.199 --> 01:45:12.560
Excuse me, young lady. Scott
says, no need to be fucking rude.

1344
01:45:13.760 --> 01:45:16.199
Orville stood next to the coffee pot, watching Cherry do her thing.

1345
01:45:16.880 --> 01:45:20.600
He poured himself a cup, dropping
in a ton of creamer and sugar,

1346
01:45:20.920 --> 01:45:26.399
gulping down the cup in one go. I just want to make a purchase

1347
01:45:26.439 --> 01:45:30.560
and go. Not listen to your
fucking life story, she says, noticing

1348
01:45:30.600 --> 01:45:33.880
she's not even holding anything. Cherry
quickly grabs a handful of slim Jims.

1349
01:45:34.479 --> 01:45:40.399
These delicious treats. Yum yum.
Scott shakes his head and turns back to

1350
01:45:40.479 --> 01:45:45.039
Jimmy. What do I owe you? Orville lets his eye flicker over the

1351
01:45:45.079 --> 01:45:48.279
female shopper. She'd selected some chips
and now stood in front of the soda

1352
01:45:48.319 --> 01:45:54.119
cooler. Oblivious to the fun up
front. Scott paid Jimmy and turned to

1353
01:45:54.199 --> 01:45:59.279
leave, picking up his beer.
Cherry blocked his way. Excuse me,

1354
01:45:59.359 --> 01:46:02.680
miss, No, no, you
don't get to leave until you apologize.

1355
01:46:02.840 --> 01:46:08.560
Cherry stomped her booted foot hard on
the floor. Just get out of my

1356
01:46:08.680 --> 01:46:13.560
way, crazy bitch. He tried
to push past her. Angry Cherry clawed

1357
01:46:13.640 --> 01:46:17.000
him, opening red trenches on the
left side of his face. Bitch.

1358
01:46:17.439 --> 01:46:20.680
Scott dropped both of his six packs
to the floor with a crash. Some

1359
01:46:20.720 --> 01:46:26.159
of the cans exploded in a foamy
blast. He made an unsuccessful grab at

1360
01:46:26.279 --> 01:46:30.159
Cherry. Too slow, she laughed. Scott lunged at Cherry, only to

1361
01:46:30.199 --> 01:46:36.119
come face to face with Orville's Colt
Trooper. Orville smiled a wicked smile as

1362
01:46:36.159 --> 01:46:42.039
he pulled the hammer back. Hands
off, my girl. He pulled the

1363
01:46:42.039 --> 01:46:45.640
trigger, sending Scott's brains all over
the newspaper rack. Scott fell to the

1364
01:46:45.680 --> 01:46:49.560
ground, twitching, lying on his
back. Orville fired a couple more shots

1365
01:46:49.800 --> 01:46:55.680
into the dying man's chest. He
saw Jimmy behind the counter, his face

1366
01:46:55.760 --> 01:47:00.439
slack with dull horror. Orville pointed
the cold at him. Stay planted right

1367
01:47:00.439 --> 01:47:06.119
there, zitboy? You move,
you die. The boy nodded, shit,

1368
01:47:06.319 --> 01:47:11.239
Ory, he was mine. Cherry
pouts, and you took too long.

1369
01:47:11.800 --> 01:47:15.279
The female shopper screamed at the top
of her lungs and bolted Orville size

1370
01:47:16.760 --> 01:47:21.279
get her. Cherry let out a
blood curdling scream and pursued her prey.

1371
01:47:21.840 --> 01:47:26.039
Cherry grabbed cans from one of the
shelves and hurled them at the woman.

1372
01:47:26.439 --> 01:47:30.119
Where are you going baby? A
can hit one of the glass coolers,

1373
01:47:30.399 --> 01:47:33.520
cracking it. Another one hit the
woman's leg. She fell against a display

1374
01:47:33.520 --> 01:47:38.479
of dog biscuits, knocking it over
with a loud crash. Cherry picked up

1375
01:47:38.479 --> 01:47:42.159
a loaf of bread and beat the
woman with it. Give up, she

1376
01:47:42.319 --> 01:47:46.159
laughed, pulling the woman up by
her hair. Orville watches the sad spectacle,

1377
01:47:46.399 --> 01:47:50.800
laughing out of the corner of his
eye. Jimmy inches towards his phone

1378
01:47:50.840 --> 01:47:56.800
on the back counter. Don't even
think about it, white Chocolate. Cherry

1379
01:47:56.880 --> 01:48:00.319
marched the pajama clad shopper up to
the counter. On seeing Scott lying on

1380
01:48:00.359 --> 01:48:04.680
the ground in a pool of blood. The captive started to sob. Oh,

1381
01:48:04.760 --> 01:48:09.960
God, don't hurt me. Orville
looked at the woman. Don't worry.

1382
01:48:10.560 --> 01:48:14.680
Nobody's getting hurt as long as you
give us a little ride. A

1383
01:48:14.760 --> 01:48:18.319
glint of metal caught his eye too
late. He saw Jimmy aiming a cheap

1384
01:48:18.319 --> 01:48:23.079
pistol at him. The nervous boy
squeezed the trigger, trying to fire one

1385
01:48:23.119 --> 01:48:27.319
handed. The pistol fired wild.
The bullet whizzed past Orville and hit the

1386
01:48:27.319 --> 01:48:30.840
female shopper in the throat. Orville
took aim with the colt and blasted Jimmy

1387
01:48:30.880 --> 01:48:35.560
between the eyes. The boy slumped
dead against a display of lotto tickets.

1388
01:48:35.720 --> 01:48:42.159
Damn. Orville says, that was
something. Orville looked over at the side

1389
01:48:42.159 --> 01:48:45.680
of the counter at Jimmy. What
brains he had leaking out of the wound

1390
01:48:45.720 --> 01:48:49.720
above his eyes. Orville shot him
again. You get to have all the

1391
01:48:49.800 --> 01:48:56.720
fun, cherry pouts, He holsters
the colt. Get some supplies for the

1392
01:48:56.840 --> 01:49:00.079
road. Orville walked over to the
body of the woman. He crouched down

1393
01:49:00.119 --> 01:49:04.279
and turned her on her back.
She stares up at him with lifeless eyes.

1394
01:49:05.159 --> 01:49:10.000
He rummages through her pajama pockets and
pulls out a pair of keys.

1395
01:49:10.920 --> 01:49:14.520
He was about to stand when a
bell dinged as a car pulled up to

1396
01:49:14.560 --> 01:49:17.239
one of the pumps. He looked
back at Cherry filling up a plastic bag

1397
01:49:17.319 --> 01:49:23.840
with groceries. Get down, he
hissed, We've got company. Orvil peeked

1398
01:49:23.880 --> 01:49:27.159
around an end cap of beef jerky. It was hard to make out the

1399
01:49:27.239 --> 01:49:30.000
car or the driver, since they
were on the other side of the gas

1400
01:49:30.079 --> 01:49:34.600
pumps, but he thought he saw
a glimpse of long blonde hair. All

1401
01:49:34.640 --> 01:49:39.039
the while, Orville kept his eyes
on the new arrival, they stepped from

1402
01:49:39.039 --> 01:49:43.279
behind the pump. He was right. It was a girl about eighteen,

1403
01:49:43.520 --> 01:49:47.840
long, blonde hair, longer legs. Instantly, Orvil felt his crotch come

1404
01:49:47.880 --> 01:49:51.960
alive. God damn, he wanted
to fuck her on the spot. This

1405
01:49:53.079 --> 01:49:57.359
called for a change of plans.
He'd planned on taking the woman in Pajama's

1406
01:49:57.399 --> 01:50:01.760
hostage, having her drive them somewhere
secluded and lie low, but White Chocolate

1407
01:50:01.800 --> 01:50:06.000
got trigger happy and fucked that up, so we'd settle for just taking her

1408
01:50:06.039 --> 01:50:11.840
car and some supplies and high tailing
it. But now Blondie had dropped into

1409
01:50:11.880 --> 01:50:15.880
their laps, and if he was
lucky, she'd be riding it later tonight,

1410
01:50:15.319 --> 01:50:18.720
after he was done, Cherry could
have a go. She'd like that.

1411
01:50:19.520 --> 01:50:25.119
Orville licked his lips at the thought
from behind the counter. Another urgent

1412
01:50:25.199 --> 01:50:29.439
beep as the blonde pressed a button
on the pump. Finally giving up,

1413
01:50:29.760 --> 01:50:34.560
she walked frustrated towards the store.
Here we go, Orville whispered. The

1414
01:50:34.640 --> 01:50:40.279
blonde pulled the door open, making
the bell chime as she unknowingly stepped into

1415
01:50:40.319 --> 01:50:45.800
hell. Jimmy, you awaken here, she asked, a second before seeing

1416
01:50:45.800 --> 01:50:50.520
the blood. Jimmy, nope,
Orville stood. The colt pointed at her.

1417
01:50:50.880 --> 01:50:57.479
Jimmy's on break blood, the girl
said, biting her lip. Did

1418
01:50:57.520 --> 01:51:01.119
you sure? Dead, Cherry said, as she walked towards them, carrying

1419
01:51:01.159 --> 01:51:08.680
an overstuffed bag of groceries. How
sweet fresh meat. She's also going to

1420
01:51:08.680 --> 01:51:12.279
be all right out of here,
ain't you? Baby? The girl looked

1421
01:51:12.279 --> 01:51:15.479
down at the bodies, then up
at Orville and Cherry. Dumb struck,

1422
01:51:15.800 --> 01:51:19.760
right, Orville said, a bit
annoyed, He took the blonde's chin with

1423
01:51:19.800 --> 01:51:25.960
his hand and forced the girl to
nod in agreement. Right. He took

1424
01:51:26.000 --> 01:51:30.800
his hand away, leaving bloody fingerprints. Who are you, the girl asked

1425
01:51:30.800 --> 01:51:34.680
her voice quivering, I'm a demon, Orville answered, straight from hell.

1426
01:51:35.239 --> 01:51:42.119
I eat up little girls like you. You're gonna kill me, depends.

1427
01:51:42.880 --> 01:51:47.840
What's your name, sweetness? Lauren? Lauren Doler? Well, Lauren,

1428
01:51:48.319 --> 01:51:53.960
where were you headed this fine afternoon? The girl took a deep breath.

1429
01:51:55.079 --> 01:52:00.359
To my parents for dinner, to
her parents for dinner? Cherry mocked,

1430
01:52:00.439 --> 01:52:05.399
And where do said parents live?
You don't want to go there, please,

1431
01:52:05.880 --> 01:52:12.560
I'll take you anywhere else. Orville
snapped his fingers. Where do they

1432
01:52:12.640 --> 01:52:16.520
live? I don't want anybody to
get hurt, she offered up. Orville

1433
01:52:16.560 --> 01:52:25.439
snapped his fingers again. Where defeated? She sighed, Outside Hillbury on Old

1434
01:52:25.479 --> 01:52:30.760
Gorge Road? Sounds homey, just
the folks there, sweet pea, Yes,

1435
01:52:31.640 --> 01:52:38.000
only child. He grabbed her ass. Great, let's mound up road

1436
01:52:38.079 --> 01:52:42.079
trip, Cherry said, doing a
little dance. Lauren looked down at the

1437
01:52:42.119 --> 01:52:48.680
dead bodies. You're just gonna leave
them there like that. Cherry looked down

1438
01:52:48.720 --> 01:52:53.640
at the bodies. They're dead,
honey, they ain't got anything to worry

1439
01:52:53.720 --> 01:52:58.319
about. Now move your ass.
They filled up the gas tank of Lauren's

1440
01:52:58.359 --> 01:53:02.640
Chevrolet hatchback and loaded up the back
with several bags of groceries. Orville had

1441
01:53:02.640 --> 01:53:06.840
formulated a new plan. They'd go
to the parents house, maybe spend a

1442
01:53:06.920 --> 01:53:12.600
day or two laying low. This
massacre would be all over the news.

1443
01:53:13.239 --> 01:53:16.359
He could take the time to have
some fun with Lauren. Orville looked over

1444
01:53:16.399 --> 01:53:20.560
the car. We're all set,
sweet Pea. You know the way you

1445
01:53:20.720 --> 01:53:26.640
drive, Shotgun, Cherry shouted,
Sorry, Hon, I gotta keep an

1446
01:53:26.680 --> 01:53:30.399
eye on our driver. You'll have
to ride in the back seat. Oh

1447
01:53:30.439 --> 01:53:34.479
fuck, Cherry kicked the car tire. I never get Shotgun. Orville slid

1448
01:53:34.520 --> 01:53:39.720
into the passenger's side and glanced at
the blonde. She had her blood stained

1449
01:53:39.760 --> 01:53:44.840
fingers near her mouth. Did she
just lick the blood? No? No,

1450
01:53:45.000 --> 01:53:48.600
couldn't be just a trick. His
eyes played on him. Orville watched

1451
01:53:48.600 --> 01:53:53.560
the trees on both sides of the
road pass by, their branches stretched out

1452
01:53:53.600 --> 01:53:58.000
towards him like skeletal arms. It
wasn't fall yet, but all the trees

1453
01:53:58.039 --> 01:54:01.359
had lost their leaves. What's with
the trees, he asked out loud to

1454
01:54:01.600 --> 01:54:05.960
nobody in particular. Lauren, who
was focused on the road, answered him,

1455
01:54:08.000 --> 01:54:12.159
that's because of the original Hillberry.
There was a chemical spill back in

1456
01:54:12.199 --> 01:54:16.079
the eighties. Shit really Cherry said, poking her head in from the back

1457
01:54:16.119 --> 01:54:20.560
seat. This spooked Lauren, whose
hand slipped on the wheel. Easy there,

1458
01:54:20.640 --> 01:54:25.239
girl, Orville said. He slipped
his hand to Lauren's bare leg,

1459
01:54:25.760 --> 01:54:30.079
running his hand up under her skirt. Can't have you crashing. Cherry slapped

1460
01:54:30.159 --> 01:54:34.880
Orvil on the shoulder. Lay off, let her tell the story. Orville's

1461
01:54:34.920 --> 01:54:39.960
hand moved away from Lauren's leg,
allowing her to pull her skirt back down.

1462
01:54:41.159 --> 01:54:45.479
There's no real story, just some
company spilled a bunch of chemicals near

1463
01:54:45.520 --> 01:54:49.079
the town. Killed all the trees
and grass, poisoned the water. A

1464
01:54:49.119 --> 01:54:54.439
few people got sick. All the
town's folks moved to New Hillberry. She

1465
01:54:54.560 --> 01:54:58.520
pointed past Orvil. You can see
part of the old town there through the

1466
01:54:58.560 --> 01:55:02.800
trees there. Orville and Cherry turned. As the dead trees flew by,

1467
01:55:03.239 --> 01:55:10.039
a few dilapidated houses could be seen, weathered, abandoned and forgotten to time.

1468
01:55:10.760 --> 01:55:14.359
Your parents live all the way out
here. It'll be much easier that

1469
01:55:14.439 --> 01:55:18.920
way, away from prying eyes.
Orville smiled at this thought. No need

1470
01:55:18.960 --> 01:55:24.760
to worry about all the screaming.
My parents like it out in the country,

1471
01:55:24.760 --> 01:55:29.800
away from the hustle and bustle.
They're a little old fashioned. Orville

1472
01:55:29.880 --> 01:55:33.159
let his eyes wandered to the girl's
chest. Her tits were nicely sized.

1473
01:55:33.760 --> 01:55:38.359
He got hard as thoughts of burying
his face in them ran through his mind.

1474
01:55:39.359 --> 01:55:43.199
Not you, though, huh,
you like the tight, tight,

1475
01:55:43.600 --> 01:55:47.600
cramped modern world. That's a hell
of a commute for daddy, Cherry piped

1476
01:55:47.640 --> 01:55:51.119
in. Cherry knew what he was
thinking, and it pissed her off.

1477
01:55:51.680 --> 01:55:58.520
He could tell Dad kind of works
from home. Lucky him, Orville said.

1478
01:55:59.239 --> 01:56:01.800
He looked at the eye, growing
dark as the evening crept in the

1479
01:56:01.920 --> 01:56:06.000
car sank into quiet as Orville turned
his thoughts to what had to be done.

1480
01:56:06.279 --> 01:56:11.239
The parents shouldn't be too hard to
control, especially since he had the

1481
01:56:11.279 --> 01:56:15.800
girl and the gun. Besides,
in a day or two, the happy

1482
01:56:15.840 --> 01:56:20.199
family would be dead as dogshit.
Orville looked at the girl, seeing her

1483
01:56:20.239 --> 01:56:28.760
as yet another decayed corpse left in
his wake. Too much quiet, Cherry

1484
01:56:28.800 --> 01:56:33.159
barked from the back seat. Turn
on some tunes or good idea, he

1485
01:56:33.279 --> 01:56:38.760
said. He turned on the radio, cycling through the channels, most of

1486
01:56:38.800 --> 01:56:43.840
it was static. The first actual
station he got was a religious one.

1487
01:56:44.399 --> 01:56:48.359
A woman was preaching, screaming the
words in a frenzy Exodus four twenty five.

1488
01:56:48.720 --> 01:56:54.319
You are indeed a bridegroom of blood
to me. The woman's voice was

1489
01:56:54.479 --> 01:56:59.800
raw, like her throat was bloody. Ah nope, Cherry interjected from the

1490
01:56:59.840 --> 01:57:03.960
back seat. The next station he
found was a pop station. Dubsteps strained

1491
01:57:04.000 --> 01:57:10.159
the car speakers. Hell fucking no. The next station, Kenny g was

1492
01:57:10.279 --> 01:57:15.359
playing his heart out crap. Next, Orville switched it again. Black Sabbath's

1493
01:57:15.399 --> 01:57:20.880
paranoid assaulted their ear drums. Hell
yeah, Cherry squealed. It was dark

1494
01:57:20.920 --> 01:57:25.960
before they got to the house.
Lauren drove without the headlights on until Orville

1495
01:57:25.960 --> 01:57:29.439
said something. She was so nervous
she must have forgot to turn them on.

1496
01:57:30.960 --> 01:57:34.239
I can take you anywhere, she
pleaded, Please just don't involve my

1497
01:57:34.319 --> 01:57:41.800
parents. Really sorry, sweetness,
but no, even if he somehow took

1498
01:57:41.840 --> 01:57:45.560
pity on her and it was too
late now Anyway, on the left side

1499
01:57:45.560 --> 01:57:48.920
of the road, a large house
loomed, lights burning quaintly in the windows.

1500
01:57:49.520 --> 01:57:53.520
This had to be the place.
It was the first man made structure

1501
01:57:53.560 --> 01:57:58.159
they'd seen in miles. Lauren pulled
off the road down on a long dirt

1502
01:57:58.239 --> 01:58:02.279
driveway off to the house. Right, a large Walden cemetery loomed, its

1503
01:58:02.319 --> 01:58:10.640
stone walls ancient and crumbling. Whoa
creepy, Cherry said, pressing her face

1504
01:58:10.680 --> 01:58:15.319
to the window. A graveyard.
Your parents lived next to a fucking graveyard,

1505
01:58:15.800 --> 01:58:20.199
Orville asked, Dad's the caretaker,
Lauren answered, as she pulled up

1506
01:58:20.239 --> 01:58:26.039
to the house. When the town
moved, the cemetery stayed. They still

1507
01:58:26.079 --> 01:58:29.920
bury people from the new town here. They got out of the car.

1508
01:58:30.439 --> 01:58:33.239
Orville glanced up at the house.
It looked old, but in pretty good

1509
01:58:33.239 --> 01:58:36.840
condition. Daddy probably had a lot
of time on his hands to keep the

1510
01:58:36.840 --> 01:58:43.319
place nice, won't Mom and Dad
be surprised, Cherry said, doing a

1511
01:58:43.359 --> 01:58:46.800
little skip. Lead the way,
Princess. Orville reached into his jacket and

1512
01:58:46.840 --> 01:58:50.359
pulled out an old switch blade.
He held the blade to Lauren's side.

1513
01:58:50.960 --> 01:58:56.680
Don't think of being a hero.
This old girl is Sally killed my first

1514
01:58:56.680 --> 01:59:01.239
dog with her. She'll gut you
all the same, under stand Yes,

1515
01:59:02.119 --> 01:59:08.600
good, let's go meet the folks. Lauren pushed open the door, Orville

1516
01:59:08.640 --> 01:59:12.600
right behind her. The house looked
homy, he thought, would be ashamed

1517
01:59:12.600 --> 01:59:18.039
to make a mess of it.
Mom, Dad, I'm here. Orville

1518
01:59:18.079 --> 01:59:21.600
could hear a TV playing in one
of the rooms. The smell of something

1519
01:59:21.680 --> 01:59:27.159
good cooking hung in the air.
A middle aged couple stepped into the room.

1520
01:59:27.239 --> 01:59:31.640
Their looks of joy turned to questioning
looks upon seeing their guests. Honey,

1521
01:59:32.520 --> 01:59:36.520
who are these people? The mother
asked. The father looked at Orville,

1522
01:59:38.000 --> 01:59:42.520
the recognition visible on his face.
Look, who's come to dinner?

1523
01:59:42.600 --> 01:59:47.920
Daddy? Dear, Orville says,
behave He flashes the colt in its holster.

1524
01:59:48.880 --> 01:59:55.079
Oh god, Mom stammered, what
do you want? Some grub would

1525
01:59:55.119 --> 02:00:00.479
be cool. They're the ones on
the news serial killers, Laura, father

1526
02:00:00.560 --> 02:00:04.000
said, has our little rest stop
made a splash already? Orville said,

1527
02:00:04.239 --> 02:00:09.000
putting his arm around Lauren. He
could see the father's face light up with

1528
02:00:09.079 --> 02:00:15.439
anger and then helplessness. This thrilled
Orville to no end. Orville might have

1529
02:00:15.560 --> 02:00:19.279
to make daddy watch as he fucked
the girl's brains out. Why don't we

1530
02:00:19.399 --> 02:00:25.239
mosey into the dining room and eat? Mom and dad led the way as

1531
02:00:25.359 --> 02:00:30.960
Orville walked with Lauren, Cherry following
behind. What do we have and mom?

1532
02:00:30.079 --> 02:00:34.720
Orville asked, roast? But it's
still in the oven, she answered,

1533
02:00:34.760 --> 02:00:40.039
looking nervously at her husband. I
should get it, Cherry, Why

1534
02:00:40.039 --> 02:00:44.079
don't you help mom get the food. Orville winked at the mother. I'll

1535
02:00:44.239 --> 02:00:48.239
entertain pops. Cherry frowned, come
on, you, old bat. She

1536
02:00:48.359 --> 02:00:53.800
took the woman roughly by the arm. Where's the kitchen? Orville pulled Lauren

1537
02:00:53.880 --> 02:00:58.600
tight to him. He took a
whiff of her hair and skin. Your

1538
02:00:58.720 --> 02:01:01.960
daughter smells great, day Edie,
ever have a piece? He could see

1539
02:01:02.000 --> 02:01:08.239
the hate burning in the man's eyes. Orville half wanted him to try something.

1540
02:01:08.800 --> 02:01:13.640
He ran his hand roughly over Lauren's
chest that she tastes great too.

1541
02:01:14.640 --> 02:01:17.520
As he hoped this was too much
for dad. Orville pushed Lauren out of

1542
02:01:17.520 --> 02:01:21.039
the way and sent the girl sailing
into a small stand. The father charged

1543
02:01:21.039 --> 02:01:26.239
at Orville, swinging at him with
his huge fist. Orville sidestepped the swing

1544
02:01:26.279 --> 02:01:29.520
and grabbed the man by the throat. He slammed him down hard against a

1545
02:01:29.560 --> 02:01:32.920
nearby table. The mother appeared in
the doorway, Cherry right behind her.

1546
02:01:33.560 --> 02:01:38.079
Get the fuck back in the kitchen, Cherry. Cherry did as she was

1547
02:01:38.119 --> 02:01:42.560
told, pulling the woman back to
the kitchen. Orville pulled out sally and

1548
02:01:42.760 --> 02:01:48.439
sliced a large gash across the man's
right cheek. Bad dad, He took

1549
02:01:48.439 --> 02:01:54.520
a quick glance at Lauren. Hey, princess, where's the basement? Lauren

1550
02:01:54.680 --> 02:02:00.840
stood, unsure on her feet.
Please don't hurt them, Just go not

1551
02:02:00.920 --> 02:02:05.479
gonna happen basement now, or Daddy
loses an eye. Lauren led them to

1552
02:02:05.520 --> 02:02:11.159
the basement door and nervously opened it. What are you going to do?

1553
02:02:11.800 --> 02:02:15.840
Lauren pleaded. Orville dragged an old
man to the stairs. All Orville could

1554
02:02:15.840 --> 02:02:21.560
see were some old woodstairs descending into
darkness. Can you fly, daddy?

1555
02:02:23.279 --> 02:02:27.279
Orville took the man by the collar
and threw him down the stairs. Lauren

1556
02:02:27.359 --> 02:02:30.560
screamed her guts out as her father
was swallowed up by the darkness. Orville

1557
02:02:30.560 --> 02:02:35.000
thought he heard the sound of bones
breaking as the man hit bottom. He

1558
02:02:35.039 --> 02:02:42.520
looked at Lauren, tears streamed down
her cheeks. It's possibly survived, maybe,

1559
02:02:43.119 --> 02:02:49.319
she sobbed why? Orville licked his
lips. You don't want mom to

1560
02:02:49.359 --> 02:02:56.680
get the treatment? Do you no
good? You'll do what I say?

1561
02:02:56.720 --> 02:03:01.640
Then she nodded, here's what I
want. He knew she'd still have a

1562
02:03:01.720 --> 02:03:05.119
room here. The kid moves out, but the folks always keep the room

1563
02:03:05.199 --> 02:03:11.279
untouched. Stuffed animals sat on the
bed, silent judgment on their furry faces.

1564
02:03:12.159 --> 02:03:15.640
Orville turned on the radio on the
girl's dresser. Stevie Bees Postman song

1565
02:03:15.760 --> 02:03:20.479
was on. Not sexy, but
Orvill didn't want to wait anymore. He

1566
02:03:20.560 --> 02:03:25.359
pushed the stuffed animals off the bed, scattering them to the floor. He

1567
02:03:25.479 --> 02:03:30.039
hopped on the old bed, its
springs creaking and protest. Okay, sweet

1568
02:03:30.079 --> 02:03:38.640
pea, showtime strip. Lauren gulped. Cherry watched the mom trying to prepare

1569
02:03:38.680 --> 02:03:42.039
dinner. Like all hell hadn't just
broke loose in the other room a few

1570
02:03:42.039 --> 02:03:45.560
minutes ago. She had to hand
it to the old bat. She could

1571
02:03:45.640 --> 02:03:48.640
keep it under control. It had
grown quiet. Now, what could be

1572
02:03:48.680 --> 02:03:54.439
going on? Cherry thought, before
she investigated that. The smell of the

1573
02:03:54.520 --> 02:03:59.439
roast caught her limited attention span.
Fully, Cherry stabbed a big slice of

1574
02:03:59.479 --> 02:04:02.840
it with her knife and took a
large bite, sending juices dribbling down her

1575
02:04:02.920 --> 02:04:08.840
chin. So good, mommy,
she said, I think I just came

1576
02:04:08.880 --> 02:04:13.600
in my panties. The woman didn't
answer. She cut off a slice to

1577
02:04:13.640 --> 02:04:18.680
replace the one Cherry took. Beef
or pork. Cherry asks, I can't

1578
02:04:18.720 --> 02:04:24.680
nail the taste. Putting down the
carving knife, mother cleaned off her hands

1579
02:04:24.680 --> 02:04:30.960
with a towel. Pork. It's
damn good, mom, Why do you

1580
02:04:30.039 --> 02:04:36.359
do it hurt people? Cherry thought
for a moment, because it's something to

1581
02:04:36.439 --> 02:04:42.319
do. Lauren stood in her bra
and panties, nervously trying to emulate a

1582
02:04:42.319 --> 02:04:46.399
sexy dance. Orville watched. It
was time, he could wait no longer.

1583
02:04:47.319 --> 02:04:53.199
Come here. She walked toward him, her face pale white. Orville

1584
02:04:53.199 --> 02:04:56.680
was a little bit disappointed in her
choice of plain pink panties and bra.

1585
02:04:57.399 --> 02:05:00.079
He'd hope they'd be something a little
more exciting, or at least funny.

1586
02:05:00.920 --> 02:05:06.279
Lauren sat down next to him,
her body shaking. Undo my pants.

1587
02:05:08.399 --> 02:05:13.279
Cherry was getting a little nervous.
Where was or She didn't hear anything out

1588
02:05:13.279 --> 02:05:15.880
in the dining room. Maybe Orville
was getting rid of the dad. She

1589
02:05:16.000 --> 02:05:19.920
watched mother as she washed the carving
knife. When can we go out there?

1590
02:05:20.239 --> 02:05:25.199
She asked? The food will get
cold, Just hold your horses.

1591
02:05:25.640 --> 02:05:29.880
Don't you have any other food to
get ready? It was weird the whole

1592
02:05:29.880 --> 02:05:32.840
time they were in the kitchen.
She didn't see the woman prepare anything else.

1593
02:05:33.399 --> 02:05:39.760
No vegetables, no potatoes, no
stuffing, nothing. Did they only

1594
02:05:39.800 --> 02:05:44.520
eat meat? The meat had made
her thirsty. Cherry walked over to the

1595
02:05:44.560 --> 02:05:47.239
fridge. She could go for something
cold. It was too much to hope

1596
02:05:47.279 --> 02:05:53.920
these fox had beer. She pulled
open the fridge door. Sitting there on

1597
02:05:53.960 --> 02:05:59.359
a large plate was a severed human
arm with a rather large chunk cut out

1598
02:05:59.399 --> 02:06:04.800
from it. Cherry suddenly felt very
weak. Behind her came noises. No

1599
02:06:05.000 --> 02:06:12.640
human ears should ever hear the sound
of flesh and bone stretching moving. She

1600
02:06:12.760 --> 02:06:17.039
spun around. The woman looked different
now, her skin grayish, her eyes

1601
02:06:17.119 --> 02:06:23.039
black. Long teeth protruded from her
mouth, and her hands had become claws.

1602
02:06:23.880 --> 02:06:28.000
We can't eat just any flesh,
she growled. It has to be

1603
02:06:28.159 --> 02:06:31.159
dead first, the father said,
standing in the door, he was a

1604
02:06:31.159 --> 02:06:35.840
little bloodied, but looking very much
like his wife did now. The only

1605
02:06:35.880 --> 02:06:41.439
thing between Orville and Lauren was his
boxers and her underwear. He felt like

1606
02:06:41.479 --> 02:06:45.359
a boy on Christmas morning. He
told Lauren to pull down his boxers.

1607
02:06:45.000 --> 02:06:49.359
They fell to the floor. Here
he took her head, lowering it toward

1608
02:06:49.399 --> 02:06:54.479
his excited dick. He leaned his
head back, looking up at the ceiling.

1609
02:06:55.119 --> 02:07:00.479
The girl was pretty good at this. There was a gunshot somewhere downstairs,

1610
02:07:00.520 --> 02:07:04.199
followed by Cherry, screaming in horror, what the fuck? But it

1611
02:07:04.239 --> 02:07:10.039
was already too late. In the
next instant, Paine sliced through him.

1612
02:07:10.079 --> 02:07:14.319
He felt something warm splash his chest. He was almost too terrified to look

1613
02:07:14.359 --> 02:07:17.840
down. His crotch was covered in
warm, red blood. The small stump

1614
02:07:17.920 --> 02:07:23.119
where his dick had been was busy
pumping more out. As he started to

1615
02:07:23.159 --> 02:07:27.680
slip into shock, he looked at
Lauren, whose body was undergoing a horrible

1616
02:07:27.760 --> 02:07:30.760
change. She spat blood from her
mouth, along with his severed manhood.

1617
02:07:31.560 --> 02:07:36.840
I told you to leave us alone, Orville. Could hear the Heavenly chorus

1618
02:07:36.920 --> 02:07:47.560
calling him? They sounded like howling
wolves. Honestly, after a story like

1619
02:07:47.600 --> 02:07:53.520
that, my only thought is what's
for dessert? I know, I know

1620
02:07:53.319 --> 02:07:57.119
I'm running out of food puns,
but hey, I'm here to entertain you,

1621
02:07:57.640 --> 02:08:01.640
and that is what truly matters.
Well, that and family. And

1622
02:08:01.760 --> 02:08:07.239
speaking of family, my dog Chicano. He's been going through a cancer fight.

1623
02:08:07.279 --> 02:08:11.399
In fact, he just had his
fourth tumor removed just a few days

1624
02:08:11.399 --> 02:08:16.079
ago. It was successful. He's
been through chemotherapy, he's been through the

1625
02:08:16.199 --> 02:08:18.920
ringer, and he's a tough little
boy. He's twelve years old. But

1626
02:08:18.920 --> 02:08:20.520
he's got a lot of fight left
in him. And if you want to

1627
02:08:20.520 --> 02:08:26.239
help us, as many of you
spookies have pay for the piling up veterinary

1628
02:08:26.279 --> 02:08:30.880
bills, just go to Weekly Spooky
dot com and click on help my dog.

1629
02:08:31.159 --> 02:08:33.159
I really do appreciate all the help
you've given me and all the well

1630
02:08:33.239 --> 02:08:37.760
wishes. You're welcome to also email
me at Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com

1631
02:08:37.880 --> 02:08:41.920
if you have a story you want
to share, or you just want to

1632
02:08:41.000 --> 02:08:46.239
celebrate the spooky with me. But
now it's time to get to Thanksgiving dinner.

1633
02:08:46.439 --> 02:08:56.520
After this Thanksgiving Dinner by Rachel Ridolfi, a Weekly Spooky original. Monticello,

1634
02:08:56.600 --> 02:09:01.760
Indiana, just an hour and a
half the infamous Gary and still less

1635
02:09:01.760 --> 02:09:05.960
than three hours from Chicago. It
was a small town with a population that

1636
02:09:07.000 --> 02:09:11.279
barely scratched five thousand men, women, and children. Most residents grew up

1637
02:09:11.319 --> 02:09:16.960
together, work together, went to
school together. Hell, most of them

1638
02:09:16.000 --> 02:09:22.000
even frequented the same five churches.
That's why when Sophia got the chance to

1639
02:09:22.079 --> 02:09:26.199
move, she chose Monticello, just
close enough to home that she could visit

1640
02:09:26.199 --> 02:09:31.079
her family if she chose to,
but usually she chose not to. She

1641
02:09:31.199 --> 02:09:37.399
loved her family, but they were
a thorn in her side. Chicago wasn't

1642
02:09:37.479 --> 02:09:41.079
quite her speed. There was just
too much going on all the time,

1643
02:09:41.159 --> 02:09:45.840
and she just couldn't cope with all
of that, not anymore. Aside from

1644
02:09:45.920 --> 02:09:48.439
being constantly high strung from all the
work she had to do for the city,

1645
02:09:48.880 --> 02:09:54.119
she also found herself increasingly depressed dealing
with the less than responsible members of

1646
02:09:54.159 --> 02:09:58.119
her precinct. With the recommendation of
her chief, and with a little bit

1647
02:09:58.119 --> 02:10:03.279
of finagling, when a position opened
up, Sophia got herself a cushy job

1648
02:10:03.520 --> 02:10:09.439
in Monticello, Indiana. She considered
it cushy because she really didn't have to

1649
02:10:09.520 --> 02:10:13.439
do much or deal with much,
aside from the odd noise complaint or writing

1650
02:10:13.439 --> 02:10:18.359
your standard parking tickets. Sure,
in the summer she would have to work

1651
02:10:18.399 --> 02:10:22.439
a little harder to control traffic or
stave off the common drunken tourist, but

1652
02:10:24.000 --> 02:10:26.760
for the most part she really didn't
have to work that hard. It really

1653
02:10:26.800 --> 02:10:31.199
felt like the only time she was
working was May through August. Once the

1654
02:10:31.279 --> 02:10:35.680
Chili September air hit, everything quieted
down and she got a chance to relax.

1655
02:10:37.600 --> 02:10:39.720
Sitting in her cruisers, she got
a text on her phone. Are

1656
02:10:39.760 --> 02:10:45.520
you coming or not? The text
message from her brother bellowed. Sophia grimaced

1657
02:10:45.560 --> 02:10:48.760
at her phone side and stretched out. It had been a long shift already.

1658
02:10:50.399 --> 02:10:54.159
She really didn't feel like dealing with
her family. She glanced at a

1659
02:10:54.159 --> 02:10:58.720
picture on her dashboard before opening up
her phone and responding, No, I'm

1660
02:10:58.760 --> 02:11:03.359
not coming. The dry is too
long. She tapped back three dots.

1661
02:11:03.359 --> 02:11:07.880
Someone honked across the street, and
she glanced up. One elderly driver was

1662
02:11:07.920 --> 02:11:11.920
taking too long to make a left
turn to light. She decided to ignore

1663
02:11:11.960 --> 02:11:16.520
it. The response finally chimed,
dinner starts at six. Just say you

1664
02:11:16.520 --> 02:11:20.920
don't want to see us. Okay, fine, I don't want to see

1665
02:11:20.960 --> 02:11:24.800
you. She hastily pounded back,
then hit send. She was working the

1666
02:11:24.880 --> 02:11:28.399
double anyway. Chief Lewis called off
sick, and she'd taken his shift.

1667
02:11:28.840 --> 02:11:31.520
Even if she wanted to see her
family, she couldn't. Her black coffee

1668
02:11:31.560 --> 02:11:37.039
gave off big puffs of heat vapor. She took a huge, scolding gulp

1669
02:11:37.079 --> 02:11:41.640
and hissed fuck her at her phone, before glancing back up at traffic.

1670
02:11:41.119 --> 02:11:46.399
The picture on her dashboard glowered at
her in monochromatic tones. The elderly driver

1671
02:11:46.520 --> 02:11:50.279
had figured out the problem, and
traffic was moving along fine. It was

1672
02:11:50.359 --> 02:11:54.479
never busy during noon anyway, but
during the holiday season it was so slow

1673
02:11:54.520 --> 02:11:58.840
she could almost take a nap.
Another ding. She glanced at the homes

1674
02:12:00.000 --> 02:12:03.800
screen of her phone, which had
the banner of but Grandma really misses you

1675
02:12:03.239 --> 02:12:09.000
her and Mom. She honestly debated
opening up that message. It had been

1676
02:12:09.039 --> 02:12:13.159
a whole year since her brother had
attempted an honest to God conversation with her.

1677
02:12:13.640 --> 02:12:16.000
She was curious to see what he
would try to pull this time.

1678
02:12:16.560 --> 02:12:22.359
Officer Cortez, please report, A
familiar and friendly voice, chimed. Nancy

1679
02:12:22.479 --> 02:12:26.279
was always too polite. If she
didn't end a call with please, Sophia

1680
02:12:26.319 --> 02:12:31.159
would be suspicious. Officer Cortes reporting, Sophia said back, we have a

1681
02:12:31.199 --> 02:12:35.520
request for a welfare check at nineteen
eleven East Davidson, Please, Nancy said.

1682
02:12:35.840 --> 02:12:39.039
Sophia plugged it into her GPS.
It was less than three miles away.

1683
02:12:39.159 --> 02:12:45.079
Now this one here is a doozy, Nancy continued. Probably should have

1684
02:12:45.119 --> 02:12:50.479
just called animal control, if you
please. Officer Cortez talked back through the

1685
02:12:50.520 --> 02:12:54.000
receiver. If you needed animal control, you should have just called them.

1686
02:12:54.039 --> 02:13:00.359
Why am I going here? Well
to be honest, Nancy droned. If

1687
02:13:00.399 --> 02:13:03.439
she wasn't droning, something was wrong, perfectly honest, mind you. The

1688
02:13:03.520 --> 02:13:07.840
animal isn't of the utmost concern,
all right, then? So what is

1689
02:13:09.479 --> 02:13:13.359
Norman Roberts. He ain't been in
contact with his neighbor and his dog is

1690
02:13:13.399 --> 02:13:16.840
still outside. If you please,
Abbiat White called and said he hadn't been

1691
02:13:16.880 --> 02:13:20.760
seen in over twelve days. Sophia
started her car, and the engine of

1692
02:13:20.760 --> 02:13:26.079
her cruiser grumbled to life when she
followed the directions on her GPS. Oh

1693
02:13:26.199 --> 02:13:28.680
good, you are going. I'll
let Chief Lewis know. He don't need

1694
02:13:28.720 --> 02:13:33.479
to go all the way down there, Nancy said. Sophia paused furroweder brows

1695
02:13:35.119 --> 02:13:39.279
hissed into the radio. You didn't
disturb him, did you. Oh,

1696
02:13:39.399 --> 02:13:43.960
I've been keeping him updated on all
activity in the town, Nancy chortled back

1697
02:13:43.039 --> 02:13:48.159
cheerily. Sophia side pinched her brow
with a stop signing groan. Let him

1698
02:13:48.199 --> 02:13:54.960
know I'm handling it, and then
just stop. Please he needs his rest.

1699
02:13:54.279 --> 02:13:58.720
Oh sure, Nancy chirped. Sophia
headed forward and followed the directions on

1700
02:13:58.760 --> 02:14:03.039
her phone. I guess chimo ain't
easy after all, the dispatcher noted,

1701
02:14:03.920 --> 02:14:09.479
no, it's not, Sophia reassured, trying not to look at the picture

1702
02:14:09.560 --> 02:14:13.720
of her father. Sophia took a
turn, waited at a traffic light,

1703
02:14:13.000 --> 02:14:18.359
and took another sip of her coffee. Well paved roads gave way to gravel

1704
02:14:18.399 --> 02:14:22.800
as she headed towards the trailer park. The soy fields were barren and empty.

1705
02:14:22.199 --> 02:14:26.680
A corpse of oak trees with vibrant
orange leaves towered near a fence line,

1706
02:14:26.880 --> 02:14:31.720
and a few crows glowered at her
from their perch on the phone lines.

1707
02:14:31.760 --> 02:14:35.279
The road was bumpy and her cruiser
had a rough time hopping over all

1708
02:14:35.279 --> 02:14:39.760
the potholes. Monticello was doing well, but not well enough to buy new

1709
02:14:39.840 --> 02:14:45.359
SUVs for the police or repave all
the roads. And even as well as

1710
02:14:45.359 --> 02:14:48.800
the city was doing, it still
had its rough areas, just like any

1711
02:14:48.800 --> 02:14:54.279
city around the world. Sophia just
counted herself lucky that this particular city didn't

1712
02:14:54.279 --> 02:14:58.279
have many of the other issues as
elsewhere in the country. While driving past

1713
02:14:58.319 --> 02:15:03.720
a barren grow of trees, her
phone chimed again, another message from her

1714
02:15:03.760 --> 02:15:09.279
brother, this time insisting Dad would
want you here. That almost set her

1715
02:15:09.319 --> 02:15:13.359
off, feeling the blood pounding heart
in her arms, and burning the sense

1716
02:15:13.399 --> 02:15:16.079
of rage in her chest. She
paused, took a deep breath, and

1717
02:15:16.279 --> 02:15:31.279
counted one, two, three,
four, five. She released the breath,

1718
02:15:31.600 --> 02:15:33.600
glanced at the picture of her father
in uniform she kept in the car,

1719
02:15:33.640 --> 02:15:39.680
and scowled, grumbling to herself,
Now he's trying to use you against

1720
02:15:39.720 --> 02:15:43.479
me. She wouldn't dignify her brother's
harassment with a response. She turned a

1721
02:15:43.520 --> 02:15:48.239
corner at the entrance of the trailer
park and followed each left hand turn until

1722
02:15:48.279 --> 02:15:52.880
she came to the address she was
looking for. An elderly woman definitely passed

1723
02:15:52.880 --> 02:15:56.359
her seventies, rushed out of a
trailer and swarmed Sophia's SUV. Are you

1724
02:15:56.439 --> 02:16:01.520
here for norm, the woman asked. Sophia nodded, stepped out from the

1725
02:16:01.560 --> 02:16:05.520
car with hardly a glance at the
photo, and considered leaving her phone in

1726
02:16:05.560 --> 02:16:09.680
the car, but then thought better
of it. If this was an emergency,

1727
02:16:09.079 --> 02:16:13.880
she would want her phone, and
if it wasn't, well, it

1728
02:16:13.960 --> 02:16:18.159
was still set on vibrating, wouldn't
disturb her. The woman, Abigail,

1729
02:16:18.439 --> 02:16:22.920
bombarded Sophia with a tirade of information. I've been waiting for what seems like

1730
02:16:22.000 --> 02:16:26.680
forever. It's Thanksgiving now, and
Norm promised to have dinner with me.

1731
02:16:26.000 --> 02:16:30.760
He always promises, but rarely keeps
them. Almost two weeks ago, though

1732
02:16:30.960 --> 02:16:33.399
I made him swear on his mama's
grave he'd come for Thanksgiving dinner with me,

1733
02:16:33.520 --> 02:16:37.000
and he ain't said a word.
Sophia nodded, took out her notepad,

1734
02:16:37.040 --> 02:16:41.239
and wrote down any pertinent information she
could discern. There was none.

1735
02:16:41.799 --> 02:16:46.040
So the last time you spoke to
Norman was twelve days ago, she asked,

1736
02:16:46.360 --> 02:16:50.639
Yes, twelve days ago, Abigail
confirmed with a nod. He'd just

1737
02:16:50.719 --> 02:16:56.000
got home from a long haul and
promised me a visit today. Sophia closed

1738
02:16:56.040 --> 02:16:58.760
the door of her car with a
slam, and immediately a cacophony of barks

1739
02:17:00.000 --> 02:17:03.360
mounted from behind the trailer. Within
a few moments, the entire park was

1740
02:17:03.399 --> 02:17:07.040
filled with warning howls of dogs.
He does that when anyone comes over,

1741
02:17:07.479 --> 02:17:11.360
Abigail explained, pointing at the small
yard behind the trailer. He's been chained

1742
02:17:11.440 --> 02:17:16.520
up this whole time, for almost
two weeks. Yeah, I'd just been

1743
02:17:16.520 --> 02:17:20.360
given him food and water, Abigail
explained, looking rather sheepish. Sophia grimaced

1744
02:17:20.360 --> 02:17:24.239
before the yelping died down, and
only the baying of Norman's hound remained.

1745
02:17:24.959 --> 02:17:31.040
Have you tried contacting Norman directly?
She cried. Abigail nodded. I banged

1746
02:17:31.079 --> 02:17:33.280
on the door, both front and
back, and he ain't said nothing.

1747
02:17:33.959 --> 02:17:37.479
She explained, I called him last
week, but it went straight to voicemail.

1748
02:17:37.879 --> 02:17:41.920
Sophia nodded and glanced over at Norman's
trailer. None of the other trailers

1749
02:17:41.959 --> 02:17:45.959
were in the best of shape,
but his was the most worn down.

1750
02:17:46.520 --> 02:17:50.280
The paint had peeled off of practically
every inch. All of the windows had

1751
02:17:50.280 --> 02:17:54.120
been broken and replaced with plywood.
The front door itself was held in place

1752
02:17:54.159 --> 02:17:58.040
with a patchwork of duct tape and
bungee cords. The trailer sat at nearly

1753
02:17:58.079 --> 02:18:01.440
a forty five degree angle at the
left corner because the foundation had settled unevenly.

1754
02:18:03.000 --> 02:18:05.520
She noted a security camera duct tape
just above the front door, and

1755
02:18:05.600 --> 02:18:09.959
she assumed on instinct there was a
twin on the other side of the house.

1756
02:18:09.559 --> 02:18:13.520
She didn't mention this to Abigail.
Officer Cortes took a step forward and

1757
02:18:13.600 --> 02:18:18.000
asked, so, when was the
last time you spoke to him directly.

1758
02:18:18.959 --> 02:18:22.600
Abigail's answer finally raised enough alarm that
Sophia had to write down the answer just

1759
02:18:22.680 --> 02:18:28.079
about three weeks ago, right before
he went on the road. Noting it

1760
02:18:28.159 --> 02:18:31.280
and raising an eyebrow, Sophia took
another step forward and the dog in the

1761
02:18:31.280 --> 02:18:37.120
backyard began to growl again. Another
noise like a dog growling, but very

1762
02:18:37.200 --> 02:18:43.159
muffled, caught her ear. Sophia
nodded and asked, does he travel often

1763
02:18:43.920 --> 02:18:46.879
every week? Abigail said, as
Sophia took another few steps toward the front

1764
02:18:46.879 --> 02:18:52.479
door, he's a trucker. Both
nodded. Abigail, finding a sense of

1765
02:18:52.600 --> 02:18:56.319
urgency, yelled back at the dog, hush your face, hank The dog

1766
02:18:56.319 --> 02:19:00.879
out back whimpered, then shut up, while the near silent grumbling doors still

1767
02:19:00.920 --> 02:19:05.159
continued. The wind picked up and
changed direction, and Sophia's nose wrinkled when

1768
02:19:05.200 --> 02:19:11.360
she caught an acrid, metallic scent. Been stinking like that for almost a

1769
02:19:11.360 --> 02:19:16.120
week, Abigail said, seeing her
face, don't smell good, but it's

1770
02:19:16.159 --> 02:19:20.159
not a gas leak. No,
Sophia agreed, definitely not a gas leak.

1771
02:19:20.959 --> 02:19:24.559
She took a step up onto the
porch and the dog began barking again.

1772
02:19:26.200 --> 02:19:31.520
The smell definitely wasn't gas, but
it wasn't good. It was bitter

1773
02:19:31.600 --> 02:19:37.440
sweet and smelled of decomposition. It
was the smell of death, and she

1774
02:19:37.600 --> 02:19:46.920
knew it. She'd smelled it before
when her father passed, and you've tried

1775
02:19:46.040 --> 02:19:50.360
contacting him directly. Sophia pressed,
trying to be heard above the hound,

1776
02:19:50.680 --> 02:19:56.239
Her hand hovering over the door knob
Abigail nodded. Every day at three pm,

1777
02:19:56.239 --> 02:20:01.120
when the mail comes, Sophia nodded
open the door. The smell was

1778
02:20:01.200 --> 02:20:07.959
undeniable. Decomposing flesh was somewhere nearby. Over the howling barks of the dog,

1779
02:20:09.079 --> 02:20:15.399
she could still hear that growling noise. The door creaked open. The

1780
02:20:15.520 --> 02:20:22.719
dog whimpered and then fell silent,
but the growling continued. Norman Roberts.

1781
02:20:22.719 --> 02:20:28.120
She called into the trailer. No
answer, This is Officer Cortez with Monticello

1782
02:20:28.200 --> 02:20:33.040
p D. Still nothing but the
faint growling and the hum of a TV.

1783
02:20:35.040 --> 02:20:39.799
The living room housed an old TV
still running ads, a dilapidated recliner

1784
02:20:39.840 --> 02:20:43.760
with a bowl of popcorn. Flies
buzzed around the bowl, then dispersed as

1785
02:20:43.760 --> 02:20:50.040
she walked forward. The room itself
was sparse. There was furniture, a

1786
02:20:50.120 --> 02:20:56.440
TV stand and a TV, a
recliner, even a bookshelf but no books

1787
02:20:56.879 --> 02:21:05.520
or decorations, pictures, no posters, not even a loose receipt. Every

1788
02:21:05.559 --> 02:21:11.399
step she took echoed around that blank
room. The growling grew louder, but

1789
02:21:11.479 --> 02:21:16.360
Sophia couldn't place where it was coming
from. First, she searched the room

1790
02:21:16.399 --> 02:21:22.959
to her right, a bedroom.
She walked slightly uphill against the setting foundation

1791
02:21:22.719 --> 02:21:28.760
boards creaking underfoot. The bed wasn't
a real bed. It lacked a frame

1792
02:21:28.799 --> 02:21:33.920
and was really only a mattress on
the floor. A line, a nylon

1793
02:21:33.040 --> 02:21:37.120
cord like the kind used to contain
a dog, was bolted to the floor

1794
02:21:37.159 --> 02:21:43.840
near the mattress and extended to the
door frame of the room. No pictures

1795
02:21:43.920 --> 02:21:46.879
or anything to make the room homey, just the mattress and the cord.

1796
02:21:48.920 --> 02:21:54.360
The windows were enclosed with boards nailed
from the inside. Hank, the dog,

1797
02:21:54.840 --> 02:21:58.040
began to whimper when he heard the
floorboards creak. Sophia called back to

1798
02:21:58.079 --> 02:22:01.440
the station, Nancy, I need
you to stay on the line with me.

1799
02:22:03.520 --> 02:22:07.040
Her eyes followed the cord from the
far end of the room to the

1800
02:22:07.079 --> 02:22:11.319
door she was standing at, and
she could still hear Hanks whimpering now and

1801
02:22:11.479 --> 02:22:16.760
excited yelping, as well as the
constant grumbling. In that bare bedroom,

1802
02:22:18.319 --> 02:22:22.680
there was a closet to her left
and a dresser to her right. She

1803
02:22:22.799 --> 02:22:26.920
considered searching either of them, but
since this was only a welfare check,

1804
02:22:26.360 --> 02:22:31.799
she decided against it. She doubled
back and paced through the living room,

1805
02:22:31.159 --> 02:22:35.280
the ad on TV proclaiming it could
cure any subscriber of all credit card debts.

1806
02:22:35.799 --> 02:22:41.840
While the growling grew louder, little
hairs on Sophia's neck prickled, and

1807
02:22:41.879 --> 02:22:48.159
she could feel her heart begin to
speed up. Something wasn't right. When

1808
02:22:48.159 --> 02:22:52.799
she came to the doorway for the
next room, hanks yelping silenced, and

1809
02:22:52.879 --> 02:22:58.239
so did the growling. For a
brief moment, the only things she could

1810
02:22:58.319 --> 02:23:03.319
hear were the pounding of her own
heart and the TV switching over to sports

1811
02:23:03.319 --> 02:23:07.520
commentary. The kitchen had no natural
light. Every single window and the trailer

1812
02:23:07.639 --> 02:23:11.920
was covered, and there were no
other lights aside from the TV and the

1813
02:23:13.000 --> 02:23:20.639
darkest corner to her left. Something
shuffled. Hello, no answer, Norman

1814
02:23:20.760 --> 02:23:24.399
Roberts, This is Officer Cortez.
I've been called for a welfare check.

1815
02:23:24.520 --> 02:23:28.799
Still nothing. She took a step
forward and counted her heartbeats to the count

1816
02:23:28.799 --> 02:23:33.559
of five. One, two three. A shadow pounced forward from the corner

1817
02:23:33.559 --> 02:23:37.719
and reached toward her, hissing.
Sophia took one step back and pulled her

1818
02:23:37.719 --> 02:23:41.040
gun from its holster, shouting,
this is Officer Cortez with Monticello p d

1819
02:23:41.319 --> 02:23:46.000
the cord around the goblin's neck,
caught it and stopped in midair, crashing

1820
02:23:46.040 --> 02:23:50.399
it to the ground. Hank began
whimpering again, and when the goblin hissed

1821
02:23:50.399 --> 02:23:56.360
at Sophia, the dog howled.
Nancy, I need backup now, Sophia

1822
02:23:56.399 --> 02:24:01.799
said into her radio, Taking a
few steps back. The gaunt figure paced

1823
02:24:01.920 --> 02:24:07.239
on all fours, tugging against its
leash. It stopped hissing and then growled

1824
02:24:07.239 --> 02:24:11.440
like a dog, ready to strike
when it got the chance. The goblin

1825
02:24:11.520 --> 02:24:15.600
barked at her thrice, then sat
on its haunches, head tucked between its

1826
02:24:15.639 --> 02:24:20.680
shoulders and glowered at her. It
attempted to pull against the collar around its

1827
02:24:20.719 --> 02:24:24.280
neck, to no avail, so
it stumbled back on all fours to its

1828
02:24:24.280 --> 02:24:33.239
corner and grabbed an object and began
chewing on it. Then the smell hit

1829
02:24:33.319 --> 02:24:39.879
her, decomposing flesh and death,
and the tangy scent of some kind of

1830
02:24:39.920 --> 02:24:43.920
infection. The goblin screamed at her, then went back to gnawing its bone

1831
02:24:45.959 --> 02:24:52.799
an arm, an entire human arm. Sofia glanced to the right end of

1832
02:24:52.840 --> 02:24:56.639
the kitchen and the trailer and saw
the main source of the stench. The

1833
02:24:56.719 --> 02:25:01.479
bloated corpse of a man with one
missing arm, slouched over the table,

1834
02:25:01.959 --> 02:25:07.040
only barely out of reach from the
naked goblin. Scratching bike marks riddled his

1835
02:25:07.120 --> 02:25:13.920
body. The creature hissed, shrieked, and then charged her again. Its

1836
02:25:13.000 --> 02:25:18.159
life and lanky frame was caught by
the nylon court in midair and fell to

1837
02:25:18.239 --> 02:25:22.600
the ground for a second time.
The broken eyes of a human child glanced

1838
02:25:22.600 --> 02:25:26.719
at her beneath the matted hair on
its head. Officer Cortes fled the scene,

1839
02:25:26.959 --> 02:25:30.680
never mind what her father would have
thought, and emptied the contents of

1840
02:25:30.680 --> 02:25:35.319
her stomach in front of Abigail.
They both waited for reinforcements. The second

1841
02:25:35.360 --> 02:25:39.559
officer arrived, the baying of hounds
filled the air, and ninety seconds after

1842
02:25:39.680 --> 02:25:43.159
entering the trailer, he fled as
well. Two more officers were called in.

1843
02:25:43.799 --> 02:25:48.760
Then they called in the e MT, the coroner, Animal Services,

1844
02:25:48.440 --> 02:25:54.440
and Child Protective Services. It took
only thirty minutes to extract the dog,

1845
02:25:54.600 --> 02:25:58.120
Hank, a full blooded, unneutered
male German shepherd. He nearly mauled one

1846
02:25:58.120 --> 02:26:03.159
of the animal control officers and they
assumed he would have to be put down

1847
02:26:03.319 --> 02:26:11.040
the goblin, However, Officer Cortez
couldn't leave the scene, despite how much

1848
02:26:11.079 --> 02:26:16.399
she wanted to. Abigail made coffee
for everyone except Sophia, who got a

1849
02:26:16.440 --> 02:26:20.200
cup of tea and accepted it without
argument. Abigail kept her arm wrapped around

1850
02:26:20.200 --> 02:26:28.079
Sophia while the other officers extracted the
remaining suspect victim. No one was really

1851
02:26:28.120 --> 02:26:31.239
able to tell at that point whatever
it was. They had to sedate it

1852
02:26:31.319 --> 02:26:37.479
just to move it from the scene. It wasn't a goblin apprehended from the

1853
02:26:37.520 --> 02:26:41.600
scene, but a child, and
after she was sedated and carted off with

1854
02:26:41.639 --> 02:26:46.120
the EMTs, Sophia had to stick
around with the investigators to explain what she'd

1855
02:26:46.159 --> 02:26:52.200
seen, and then, because she
was covering for Chief Lewis, follow up

1856
02:26:52.200 --> 02:26:58.120
the rest of the investigation as her
instincts predicted. Animal Control found another security

1857
02:26:58.120 --> 02:27:03.280
camera facing the backyard when they caught
Hank. CPS found a camera in the

1858
02:27:03.360 --> 02:27:07.319
kitchen while they were trapping the child. Officers found another camera in the bedroom

1859
02:27:07.600 --> 02:27:13.440
hidden in a corner where Sophia couldn't
see. Chains and nylon cords everywhere,

1860
02:27:13.879 --> 02:27:18.120
whips, handcuffs and muzzles for both
dogs and humans in the bedroom and kitchen.

1861
02:27:20.200 --> 02:27:22.920
That night, on the drive home
after everything was revealed, Sophia talked

1862
02:27:22.959 --> 02:27:26.959
to her father via the picture of
him she kept on her dashboard. As

1863
02:27:28.000 --> 02:27:31.879
she talked, she reflected on what
she'd seen. She couldn't stay stoic like

1864
02:27:31.920 --> 02:27:35.040
her father had been, and she'd
been finding herself discovering more and more differences

1865
02:27:35.079 --> 02:27:39.319
between the two of them. At
home, she actually called her mother and

1866
02:27:39.399 --> 02:27:45.440
explained what had happened. Further investigation
was required, and searching around the house

1867
02:27:45.479 --> 02:27:50.000
found even more evidence of more torture
to the child, cages that were too

1868
02:27:50.040 --> 02:27:56.120
small for Hank, more restraints and
tethers. Physically, the child looked to

1869
02:27:56.120 --> 02:28:00.920
be eight. That was almost a
relief to everyone involved. Then a researcher

1870
02:28:00.959 --> 02:28:05.079
found medical records that Norman Roberts had
a wife that died in childbirth nineteen years

1871
02:28:05.120 --> 02:28:09.559
ago, but even the county coroner
couldn't find a death certificate for the baby.

1872
02:28:11.479 --> 02:28:13.040
The next week, Chief Lewis took
a turn for the worst, and

1873
02:28:13.120 --> 02:28:18.319
Sophia had to helm the investigation.
She was there the day the investigators found

1874
02:28:18.399 --> 02:28:22.200
something strange in the back yard and
began to dig. At the end of

1875
02:28:22.200 --> 02:28:28.239
the day, they had recovered bones
from corpses of four different children, all

1876
02:28:28.280 --> 02:28:33.280
aged between five and eleven. The
graves were unmarked and bore all appearances of

1877
02:28:33.319 --> 02:28:39.600
just simply being holes Norman dug just
to dump the evidence. Digging under the

1878
02:28:39.639 --> 02:28:43.079
trailers showed dozens of external hard drives, the source of the slump in the

1879
02:28:43.120 --> 02:28:50.760
foundation, constituting days of footage documenting
the torture of children. Sophia herself had

1880
02:28:50.760 --> 02:28:56.920
to search records for missing children and
eventually found four missing person reports that all

1881
02:28:56.959 --> 02:29:01.680
coincided with the apparent ages of the
children. She made Nancy make calls to

1882
02:29:01.719 --> 02:29:05.559
the families. That night, she
called her brother and talking about everything she

1883
02:29:05.639 --> 02:29:09.959
was seeing, they'd managed to go
thirty minutes without an argument. Searching the

1884
02:29:09.959 --> 02:29:16.239
bedroom eventually turned up a laptop with
over a decade worth of footage. Most

1885
02:29:16.280 --> 02:29:18.920
of it had been scrubbed, but
there were highlight reels from over the years

1886
02:29:20.760 --> 02:29:26.760
and at least six months of security
footage. The security footage was mostly hours

1887
02:29:26.760 --> 02:29:31.600
and hours of nothing just Hank barking
out back or Abigail standing at the front

1888
02:29:31.600 --> 02:29:35.680
door, but sometimes Norman would go
out back to fetch Hank, and that

1889
02:29:35.799 --> 02:29:41.200
coincided with the highlight reel, which
were almost exclusively Norman chaining down the girl

1890
02:29:41.239 --> 02:29:45.120
in the bedroom, then encouraging the
dog to have his way with her.

1891
02:29:46.719 --> 02:29:50.600
Each day, a new horror from
the case awaited Sophia. Norman had initially

1892
02:29:50.680 --> 02:29:54.799
kept a cadre of five children in
his home, only one of them related

1893
02:29:54.840 --> 02:30:00.159
to him. Over time, all
of them had died off but one.

1894
02:30:00.799 --> 02:30:05.200
No one in the community had reported
anything wrong because they didn't think there was

1895
02:30:05.280 --> 02:30:09.680
much wrong with a grown man blocking
out his windows and keeping secrets. A

1896
02:30:09.760 --> 02:30:15.879
month later, and Sophia had learned
that the remaining child was really Norman Roberts's

1897
02:30:15.920 --> 02:30:20.719
own progeny, with his wife really
dying in childbirth. Shortly after the death

1898
02:30:20.719 --> 02:30:26.959
of his wife, he had adopted
for their children and then highlander style chained

1899
02:30:26.959 --> 02:30:31.959
them up in the house and systematically
starved them to see who would survive.

1900
02:30:31.040 --> 02:30:37.559
The longest videos showed a marked change
in his torture of the children when he

1901
02:30:37.600 --> 02:30:43.120
acquired Hank. The dog was eventually
put down and normally Sophia would feel kind

1902
02:30:43.159 --> 02:30:46.760
of bad for an innocent animal getting
caught up in crime like this, but

1903
02:30:46.840 --> 02:30:52.200
after the footage she saw, she
couldn't feel bad. Toxicology reports of Norman

1904
02:30:52.280 --> 02:30:54.719
Roberts showed that when he died,
he had a bad heart and had taken

1905
02:30:54.719 --> 02:30:58.719
too many pills for a rectile dysfunction. It was a simple case of trying

1906
02:30:58.760 --> 02:31:03.840
to make himself too horny when his
heart couldn't take it. He died at

1907
02:31:03.840 --> 02:31:07.719
the kitchen table, and the only
thing that had saved his daughter was the

1908
02:31:07.719 --> 02:31:11.360
fact that his arm was just close
enough she was able to rip it off

1909
02:31:11.799 --> 02:31:18.280
and use it for sustenance before Officer
now Chief Cortes had arrived. The girl

1910
02:31:18.360 --> 02:31:22.239
had no name, she had no
story other than what the investigators could discover.

1911
02:31:22.920 --> 02:31:26.079
She didn't have a way to explain
what had happened. She had nothing.

1912
02:31:26.639 --> 02:31:28.920
She was nearly twenty years old,
trapped forever in the body of a

1913
02:31:28.959 --> 02:31:33.399
malnourished eight year old with the mind
of a beast, and that was about

1914
02:31:33.440 --> 02:31:37.959
it. Sophia wished she could keep
track of the child, but honestly,

1915
02:31:37.520 --> 02:31:41.000
that's not what Chief Lewis would have
done, and even if her father would

1916
02:31:41.000 --> 02:31:45.600
have followed up. He was dead
now, so it really didn't matter.

1917
02:31:46.479 --> 02:31:50.200
Over the course of this investigation,
she learned that she admired him, but

1918
02:31:50.319 --> 02:31:56.520
she was nothing like him. Sophia
Cortes would never be the same. A

1919
02:31:56.600 --> 02:32:00.600
month later, Chief Cortes got a
text on her phone. Are you going

1920
02:32:00.639 --> 02:32:05.479
to be here or not? Her
brother asked. She tapped back, I'll

1921
02:32:05.479 --> 02:32:09.559
be there in time for dinner,
she thought, then added, just like

1922
02:32:09.680 --> 02:32:18.680
Dad would want. Well, that
was a truly excellent, albeit dark story,

1923
02:32:18.239 --> 02:32:22.879
and I've always enjoyed it, but
I think it's time to end on

1924
02:32:22.920 --> 02:32:28.040
a lighter, more fun and casual
note. That's why our last story is

1925
02:32:28.639 --> 02:32:31.840
near and dear to my heart,
because you see, in a Hispanic man's

1926
02:32:31.879 --> 02:32:37.760
life, every day can be Taco
Tuesday if one so chooses. But this

1927
02:32:37.840 --> 02:32:46.520
Taco Tuesday is it's a little different
and a lot more unpleasant. So seriously,

1928
02:32:46.639 --> 02:32:52.479
make sure you are not eating anything
during this story. I'm trying to

1929
02:32:52.559 --> 02:32:54.920
help you. I'm your friend,
and I want to remind you that this

1930
02:32:56.000 --> 02:32:58.520
Halloween season, which is coming right
up we're at the beginning of September now,

1931
02:32:58.760 --> 02:33:05.120
is going to be amazing. With
Novella's bonus episodes, true crime episodes,

1932
02:33:05.239 --> 02:33:09.120
special interviews, specials of every kind, and so so much more.

1933
02:33:09.360 --> 02:33:24.559
But now Taco Tuesday after these quick
words Taco Tuesday by Keith tom My,

1934
02:33:24.840 --> 02:33:33.239
God, what's happening to me?
I'm trapped in my own body. I

1935
02:33:33.280 --> 02:33:41.159
can feel myself moving, walking around, but I'm not in control. Sometimes

1936
02:33:41.879 --> 02:33:45.959
if I concentrate hard enough, I
can see out of my eyes, but

1937
02:33:46.280 --> 02:33:52.760
that's becoming harder and harder to do. I occasionally hear bits and pieces of

1938
02:33:52.840 --> 02:34:01.840
muffled conversation, but as time goes
by, that too is away. All

1939
02:34:01.879 --> 02:34:07.280
I know is that I'm slowly losing
my mind. I don't think I'm going

1940
02:34:07.360 --> 02:34:13.760
crazy, but my memories are fading
away, losing all of the details that

1941
02:34:13.399 --> 02:34:20.479
make up my life. I mean, I know my name is John Davidson

1942
02:34:20.079 --> 02:34:26.040
and that I was born in Ohio, but I can't quite remember what city.

1943
02:34:26.760 --> 02:34:35.840
I know it started with an S. Sandusky, Springfield. I just

1944
02:34:35.920 --> 02:34:41.159
can't remember. My childhood has gone, along with most of my high school

1945
02:34:41.159 --> 02:34:46.440
and college days. I know that
I currently live in Columbus, Ohio,

1946
02:34:46.600 --> 02:34:54.600
but the rest of my life is
like looking into a foggy darkness. The

1947
02:34:54.680 --> 02:35:00.280
only memories that are clear are the
events that happened the last few days.

1948
02:35:01.000 --> 02:35:03.840
I'm afraid that if I don't keep
at least that much fresh in my mind,

1949
02:35:05.639 --> 02:35:09.120
there will be nothing left of me. I think it began a few

1950
02:35:09.200 --> 02:35:15.639
days ago. It was morning and
I was standing in line at the coffee

1951
02:35:15.639 --> 02:35:18.879
shop and the building in which I
work. I was still rubbing the sleep

1952
02:35:18.920 --> 02:35:24.920
from my eyes when I heard a
cheerful voice behind me. Do you know

1953
02:35:24.959 --> 02:35:30.000
the best thing about Tuesday mornings?
It's not Monday. I turned to see

1954
02:35:30.040 --> 02:35:33.639
a man in his thirties, dressed
in a nice suit, grinning broadly.

1955
02:35:33.799 --> 02:35:39.200
I didn't recognize him, but I
figured he must be new here. It's

1956
02:35:39.239 --> 02:35:43.200
an unspoken rule that you never talked
to others in line, especially this early

1957
02:35:43.239 --> 02:35:48.879
in the morning. Regulars to the
coffee shop know this, and everyone follows

1958
02:35:48.920 --> 02:35:54.239
this tradition. Yeah huh, I
know. I said, not my most

1959
02:35:54.319 --> 02:36:00.520
eloquent statement, but it was early
and I was trying to walk that line

1960
02:36:00.559 --> 02:36:05.639
between being polite and trying to discourage
him from further conversation. I turned and

1961
02:36:05.719 --> 02:36:13.319
faced forward, hoping this would signal
my unwillingness to converse, but I wasn't

1962
02:36:13.360 --> 02:36:18.840
surprised when he continued talking. It
should be a great day, super duper.

1963
02:36:18.040 --> 02:36:22.040
It's supposed to hit seventy five degrees
with no chance of rain, said

1964
02:36:22.040 --> 02:36:26.719
the jovial voice behind me. I
rolled my eyes, not turning around to

1965
02:36:26.760 --> 02:36:33.479
look at him, but giving a
noncommittal nod and a low grunt. He

1966
02:36:33.520 --> 02:36:37.600
continued, I can't believe that will
be stuck in an office on a day

1967
02:36:37.680 --> 02:36:41.920
like this. I made sure not
to move a muscle. I didn't want

1968
02:36:41.920 --> 02:36:46.360
to send any hint of encouragement.
Say, pal, you look like a

1969
02:36:46.399 --> 02:36:52.040
man that enjoys a good taco.
Okay, I admit this piqued my interest.

1970
02:36:52.479 --> 02:36:56.959
It was an odd thing to say
to a stranger during the morning coffee

1971
02:36:56.000 --> 02:37:01.520
rush. It wasn't just the words
he said, it was also how he

1972
02:37:01.639 --> 02:37:05.399
said it. His voice had taken
on an authoritative air, and I had

1973
02:37:05.440 --> 02:37:09.680
turned to face him without realizing that
I had done so. His eyes locked

1974
02:37:09.680 --> 02:37:16.159
with mine, and I couldn't look
away. Last night, he stated,

1975
02:37:16.040 --> 02:37:20.559
I ate at this Mexican place that
was out of this world. He sighed,

1976
02:37:20.600 --> 02:37:26.000
a blissful look momentarily passing over his
face before he continued, It's a

1977
02:37:26.040 --> 02:37:31.440
bit out of the way, but
friend, it's worth the drive. Get

1978
02:37:31.479 --> 02:37:37.399
the tacos. Trust me, it
will change your life. He pulled out

1979
02:37:37.399 --> 02:37:41.120
a business card and handed it to
me. Here's the address. Check it

1980
02:37:41.159 --> 02:37:43.680
out. You don't want to live
to regret it. I took the card

1981
02:37:43.760 --> 02:37:48.280
like a man in a daze.
I mumbled something and turned to face forward

1982
02:37:48.319 --> 02:37:54.319
and realized that no one was between
me and the counter. The barista was

1983
02:37:54.360 --> 02:37:58.280
asking if I was ready to order, and from the tone of his voice,

1984
02:37:58.040 --> 02:38:01.959
this wasn't the first time he asked. I hurried to the counter and

1985
02:38:03.000 --> 02:38:07.159
placed my usual order. While waiting
on my coffee, I took a look

1986
02:38:07.159 --> 02:38:13.319
behind me and found that the man
was gone. I began to doubt that

1987
02:38:13.399 --> 02:38:16.159
he was ever even there at all
until I felt the outline of a business

1988
02:38:16.200 --> 02:38:22.239
card in my shirt pocket. The
rest of the morning blurred by as usual.

1989
02:38:22.879 --> 02:38:30.280
I had the same worthless meetings,
the same meaningless tasks. I nodded

1990
02:38:30.360 --> 02:38:33.760
when I was expected to nod,
and shook my head when I was expected

1991
02:38:33.760 --> 02:38:39.680
to shake my head. I had
thought that working at an advertising agency would

1992
02:38:39.719 --> 02:38:46.360
be glamorous, that I would come
up with clever ad campaigns, pitch ideas

1993
02:38:46.399 --> 02:38:52.040
to grateful clients, and sit in
on photoshoots with beautiful models. Instead,

1994
02:38:52.120 --> 02:38:58.719
I'm the guy that makes the visual
aids to use in other people's presentations.

1995
02:38:58.399 --> 02:39:03.280
If the client it likes it,
it's because the account executive had an amazing

1996
02:39:03.360 --> 02:39:07.840
idea. If the client hates it, it's because I screwed up the layout.

1997
02:39:09.120 --> 02:39:13.520
Oh well, it's not all bad. One time I got to pick

1998
02:39:13.559 --> 02:39:18.719
out the font. It wasn't until
lunchtime that I thought about the strange man

1999
02:39:18.760 --> 02:39:22.399
again. I had only a few
minutes to grab lunch, and I ran

2000
02:39:22.479 --> 02:39:26.600
down to a burger joint on the
corner. As I bit into my sandwich,

2001
02:39:26.639 --> 02:39:33.079
I realized that it it tasted like
cardboard. The fries tasted the same

2002
02:39:33.120 --> 02:39:39.959
way. All I could think of
was tacos, and the thought of anything

2003
02:39:39.000 --> 02:39:45.799
else sickened me. I ended up
throwing the hamburger and fries in the garbage

2004
02:39:45.840 --> 02:39:50.600
and walking back to work stomach growling. The rest of the day, I

2005
02:39:50.639 --> 02:39:56.200
could think of nothing else except tacos, seasoned ground beef topped with lettuce and

2006
02:39:56.319 --> 02:40:01.920
cheese in a toasted shell. My
distrey action showed, and I was asked

2007
02:40:01.000 --> 02:40:07.639
several times if I was okay,
once by someone who actually seemed concerned.

2008
02:40:07.719 --> 02:40:13.000
I assured everyone I was fine,
and I somehow stumbled my way through the

2009
02:40:13.000 --> 02:40:16.719
rest of the work day. At
five pm, I left work and immediately

2010
02:40:16.799 --> 02:40:22.360
drove to my favorite Mexican restaurant.
As I parked the car, I realized

2011
02:40:22.399 --> 02:40:26.680
that the thought of the tacos from
this place turned my stomach. I sat

2012
02:40:26.719 --> 02:40:30.959
in my car confused. My stomach
growled demanding food, but the thought of

2013
02:40:31.000 --> 02:40:37.280
eating here made me wretch. I
finally remembered the business card in my pocket.

2014
02:40:37.600 --> 02:40:41.319
I grabbed it, ripping my shirt
in the process, and looked at

2015
02:40:41.319 --> 02:40:46.239
the address printed on the card.
I threw the car in gear and sped

2016
02:40:46.280 --> 02:40:50.360
out of the parking lot. I
drove out of town, and after a

2017
02:40:50.399 --> 02:40:54.000
thirty five minute drive, I pulled
into a parking lot in front of the

2018
02:40:54.040 --> 02:41:00.280
restaurant listed on the card. This
strange building looked out of place, one

2019
02:41:00.319 --> 02:41:05.079
story structure made out of heavy gage
steel sheets, glowing with neon light.

2020
02:41:05.200 --> 02:41:09.559
It looked a strange sight, this
neon monstrosity sitting at the edge of an

2021
02:41:09.559 --> 02:41:16.040
empty field in the middle of nowhere. My stomach ached, hunger pains shooting

2022
02:41:16.159 --> 02:41:20.079
up into my chest. I quickly
shut off the car and scurried inside.

2023
02:41:22.360 --> 02:41:26.200
I don't remember much about the inside
of the place. I recall there was

2024
02:41:26.239 --> 02:41:31.079
a strange looking man, small and
lanky, who led me to a seat

2025
02:41:31.120 --> 02:41:37.079
at a rough wooden table. He
slipped away without saying a word. I

2026
02:41:37.200 --> 02:41:41.559
also seemed to recall other people,
some writhing on the floor, but I

2027
02:41:41.600 --> 02:41:48.239
can't be sure what was real.
Everything seemed like a dream. After a

2028
02:41:48.280 --> 02:41:52.040
minute, or maybe an hour,
the small man returned, bearing a plate

2029
02:41:52.920 --> 02:41:58.719
full of tacos. He placed the
plate in front of me, nodded,

2030
02:41:58.760 --> 02:42:03.840
and disappeared again. Well, to
be honest, he could have been standing

2031
02:42:03.879 --> 02:42:09.040
next to me the whole time.
I only had eyes for tacos. I

2032
02:42:09.120 --> 02:42:13.159
quickly grabbed a taco and brought it
up to my nose, taking a deep

2033
02:42:13.319 --> 02:42:20.440
breath. For a second, I
thought I smelled rancid meat, mildew,

2034
02:42:20.479 --> 02:42:24.840
and rot, but that was quickly
replaced by the tantalizing scent of taco meat.

2035
02:42:24.959 --> 02:42:28.879
So fast that I doubted I even
smelled it in the first place.

2036
02:42:28.760 --> 02:42:39.200
Hands shaking with anticipation, I took
my first bite. Pure ecstasy. My

2037
02:42:39.600 --> 02:42:45.239
God, every nerve ending in my
body seemed to explode with pleasure. I

2038
02:42:45.319 --> 02:42:48.760
was shivering so badly that I could
barely hang on to the taco. I

2039
02:42:48.799 --> 02:42:54.479
could feel every inch of my body
pulse with orgasmic delight. I took a

2040
02:42:54.520 --> 02:43:01.040
second bite, and the feeling increased
tenfold. I could feel every hair follicle

2041
02:43:01.239 --> 02:43:05.920
standing on end, each one so
sensitive that any movement would send shivers of

2042
02:43:05.959 --> 02:43:11.520
pleasure coursing through my entire body.
I was so erect that I ached my

2043
02:43:11.639 --> 02:43:16.600
penis, straining against my underwear so
hard that I thought it would burst out

2044
02:43:16.600 --> 02:43:22.600
of my pants. Every breath I
took stoked the fires of my pleasure.

2045
02:43:22.159 --> 02:43:28.559
Each movement sent waves of shivers down
my spine. I climaxed over and over

2046
02:43:28.719 --> 02:43:33.159
and over again. I slid down
the chair, ending up on the floor.

2047
02:43:35.600 --> 02:43:39.719
I have no idea how long I
laid there, twitching with the slightest

2048
02:43:39.760 --> 02:43:45.879
breeze, sated and soar. I
eventually struggled to my feet and stumbled out

2049
02:43:45.879 --> 02:43:50.120
of the restaurant, But I have
no recollection of driving home. The next

2050
02:43:50.120 --> 02:43:56.159
thing I know, my alarm is
going off five forty five am. I'm

2051
02:43:56.159 --> 02:44:01.760
still spent every inch of my body. The thought of moving sickened me,

2052
02:44:01.879 --> 02:44:07.159
but after trying three times, I
finally make it out of bed. It

2053
02:44:07.280 --> 02:44:13.559
never crossed my mind to call in
sick. I was operating solely on autopilot.

2054
02:44:13.920 --> 02:44:18.920
I brushed my teeth, showered,
shaved, dressed, and drove off

2055
02:44:18.920 --> 02:44:24.280
to the office, all done in
a daze, each movement born of repeated

2056
02:44:24.319 --> 02:44:28.879
gestures I did thousands of times before. I didn't snap out of it until

2057
02:44:28.920 --> 02:44:33.000
I was standing in line at the
ground floor coffee shop. A co worker

2058
02:44:33.120 --> 02:44:37.920
tapped me on the shoulder. Damn, John, you look like shit late

2059
02:44:39.000 --> 02:44:43.799
night, the man said. It
took me a moment to come up with

2060
02:44:43.840 --> 02:44:52.000
a name for that face. Steve
No Stevens, Chad Stevens from accounting.

2061
02:44:52.799 --> 02:44:58.319
Yeah, not feeling the best.
Maybe food poisoning, I mumbled. As

2062
02:44:58.319 --> 02:45:03.200
soon as I said poison. It
was like flipping a switch, my stomach

2063
02:45:03.319 --> 02:45:07.000
started to rebel and my bowels turned
to water. I ran out of the

2064
02:45:07.040 --> 02:45:09.600
coffee shop and stormed into the men's
room. I dove into a stall,

2065
02:45:11.000 --> 02:45:13.680
barely making it before I painted the
back wall with what little was left in

2066
02:45:13.719 --> 02:45:18.520
my stomach. I quickly pulled down
my pants and emptied my bowels violently.

2067
02:45:18.959 --> 02:45:22.920
My whole body broke out in a
sweat, my suit sticking to my skin.

2068
02:45:24.760 --> 02:45:28.879
After several rotating rounds of puking and
shitting, I finally felt a cold

2069
02:45:28.959 --> 02:45:33.559
numbness come over my body. I
cleaned myself up as best I could and

2070
02:45:33.639 --> 02:45:37.440
limped out of the restroom. On
the way out of the building, I

2071
02:45:37.600 --> 02:45:43.879
vaguely remember a few people gasping when
they saw me, but I ignored everything

2072
02:45:43.959 --> 02:45:50.319
except moving my foot to take the
next step. Just like the night before,

2073
02:45:50.360 --> 02:45:54.920
I didn't remember the drive home.
My next clear memory was sitting on

2074
02:45:54.959 --> 02:46:00.559
my bathroom floor, head hanging over
my toilet, my body naked and covered

2075
02:46:00.559 --> 02:46:03.760
in sweat. I had no idea
what time it was or how long I

2076
02:46:03.799 --> 02:46:09.000
had been there. All I knew
was that I kept vomiting, over and

2077
02:46:09.159 --> 02:46:13.200
over and endless, heaving into the
porcelain bowl. There was nothing in my

2078
02:46:13.280 --> 02:46:18.360
stomach to bring up, but I
kept wretching. My stomach was on fire,

2079
02:46:18.520 --> 02:46:24.600
burning pain shooting up my torso.
I began puking up blood, first,

2080
02:46:24.840 --> 02:46:28.879
just a tinge of red in the
bile that I was bringing up.

2081
02:46:28.799 --> 02:46:35.159
That tinge quickly turned into a crimson
flood as I felt things inside me begin

2082
02:46:35.239 --> 02:46:39.719
to tear. The blood soon became
chunky with bits of tissue. As my

2083
02:46:39.799 --> 02:46:46.079
body began to purge itself of its
internal organs. The chunks became larger and

2084
02:46:46.120 --> 02:46:52.879
I struggled to pass bigger and bigger
pieces. The heaving became a torrent as

2085
02:46:52.920 --> 02:46:56.159
my muscles locked up and I became
a gruesome parody of a fountain statue that

2086
02:46:56.239 --> 02:47:01.440
gushed blood and guts instead of water. Time lost all meaning as I sat

2087
02:47:01.520 --> 02:47:05.319
there, frozen, watching my life's
blood spill out all over the bathroom floor.

2088
02:47:07.799 --> 02:47:13.159
Finally, after an eternity, the
muscles let loose and I collapsed.

2089
02:47:13.639 --> 02:47:18.360
The searing pain had been replaced by
a dull ache. I lay there on

2090
02:47:18.399 --> 02:47:24.319
the edge of unconsciousness until I felt
a new pain, this time in my

2091
02:47:24.360 --> 02:47:31.200
bowels. Blood began to pour out
of my ass as the whole process began

2092
02:47:31.280 --> 02:47:37.120
again, this time from a different
orifice. I tried to scream, but

2093
02:47:37.200 --> 02:47:43.239
could only manage to weep. Sometime
later, I woke up. I didn't

2094
02:47:43.239 --> 02:47:46.920
remember passing out, but I must
have been unconscious for quite a while.

2095
02:47:48.520 --> 02:47:52.920
The floor of the bathroom was a
puddle of congealing blood and bits of flesh

2096
02:47:52.959 --> 02:47:58.000
already starting to crust over. The
buzzing of a dozen flies filled the air.

2097
02:47:58.040 --> 02:48:03.799
As I opened my eyes, it
took a second to realize that the

2098
02:48:03.840 --> 02:48:11.559
pain was gone, replaced by an
emptiness, a coldness, a dark void.

2099
02:48:13.680 --> 02:48:18.520
It was a very peculiar feeling.
I could tell my body was freezing

2100
02:48:18.920 --> 02:48:24.680
and I should be shivering with cold, but I felt no discomfort. The

2101
02:48:24.760 --> 02:48:26.680
side of my head was stuck to
the white tile floor, and I had

2102
02:48:26.719 --> 02:48:31.200
to struggle to peel my cheek from
the carnage that trapped it. This was

2103
02:48:31.280 --> 02:48:37.239
repeated for every part of my body
that was submerged in the mess and left

2104
02:48:37.239 --> 02:48:43.319
me panting and weak. My arms
and legs shook with effort as I crawled

2105
02:48:43.360 --> 02:48:46.319
to the bathtub and flopped over the
edge of it. Using the last of

2106
02:48:46.360 --> 02:48:50.120
my energy, I turned on the
faucet and flipped up the plunger to engage

2107
02:48:50.159 --> 02:48:56.040
the shower. I remember watching the
water start to fall on my face as

2108
02:48:56.079 --> 02:49:03.120
I blacked out again. My next
conscious memory was standing in front of my

2109
02:49:03.200 --> 02:49:09.200
dresser mirror, adjusting a blue and
white striped tie. Shocked, I looked

2110
02:49:09.200 --> 02:49:13.719
down and realized that I was dressed
in one of my nicer suits, my

2111
02:49:13.840 --> 02:49:20.360
suit jacket neatly folded on the bed. It was bright, the early morning

2112
02:49:20.399 --> 02:49:24.040
sun was shining through the bedroom window. I started to leave the room,

2113
02:49:24.040 --> 02:49:30.559
but stumbled as I found it very
difficult to make my legs move. It

2114
02:49:30.680 --> 02:49:33.680
was as if I had to concentrate
on every movement, each step, feeling

2115
02:49:33.719 --> 02:49:39.399
as if it were my first ones. I stumbled past the bathroom and stopped

2116
02:49:39.399 --> 02:49:46.200
dead. Looking at the immaculate floor. There was no sign of the bloody

2117
02:49:46.239 --> 02:49:50.840
mess I expelled. I walked into
the bathroom frantically, looking for any sign

2118
02:49:50.879 --> 02:49:56.159
that it really happened, that I
wasn't going crazy. Finally, as I

2119
02:49:56.200 --> 02:50:01.120
tore the room apart, I found
a omnail sized hunk of flesh stuck to

2120
02:50:01.159 --> 02:50:07.920
the backside of the shower curtain.
Seeing that, I dropped down on the

2121
02:50:07.959 --> 02:50:13.520
toilet seat and wept, not knowing
if I was glad it wasn't a dream,

2122
02:50:13.639 --> 02:50:22.040
or overwhelmed because I hoped it was. I sat there for hours until

2123
02:50:22.120 --> 02:50:26.840
there were no more tears left.
I stood and moved over to the sink

2124
02:50:26.920 --> 02:50:31.799
and splashed water on my face.
I wanted to cry again after I realized

2125
02:50:31.840 --> 02:50:37.360
that I couldn't feel the temperature of
the water. I could tell it was

2126
02:50:37.399 --> 02:50:41.639
wet, but it could have been
scolding hot or freezing cold. The temperature

2127
02:50:41.680 --> 02:50:48.399
didn't register on my skin. I
pinched the back of my hand and felt

2128
02:50:48.399 --> 02:50:54.319
nothing, well not exactly nothing.
I could feel pressure. I knew that

2129
02:50:54.360 --> 02:50:58.959
my fingernail was pressing hard into my
skin, but there was no pain,

2130
02:51:01.440 --> 02:51:07.040
only numbness. I had to find
out what happened to me, and the

2131
02:51:07.079 --> 02:51:11.559
only place I could think of to
start was the taco restaurant. As I

2132
02:51:11.600 --> 02:51:15.799
walked through the house and out to
the car, I began to relearn how

2133
02:51:15.799 --> 02:51:20.200
to control my muscles. My legs
started to lose their jerky motion as I

2134
02:51:20.239 --> 02:51:24.559
continued to use them. It took
me a few minutes of driving before I

2135
02:51:24.639 --> 02:51:28.760
was able to lightly press the gas
or brake pedal instead of jamming each one

2136
02:51:28.799 --> 02:51:31.959
to the floor. I jumped on
the highway and drove out of town,

2137
02:51:33.319 --> 02:51:39.760
heading to the country towards the restaurant. I realized that thinking about those tacos

2138
02:51:39.760 --> 02:51:43.079
did nothing for me. In fact, food in general held no interest.

2139
02:51:43.399 --> 02:51:48.600
Even though I would guess it's been
over a day since I ate, I

2140
02:51:48.680 --> 02:51:54.959
wasn't hungry. I was just empty. After half an hour or so,

2141
02:51:56.000 --> 02:52:00.280
I pulled into the driveway of the
restaurant, or at least where the rest

2142
02:52:00.280 --> 02:52:03.360
had been. Looking around now,
all I saw was an old, dilapidated

2143
02:52:03.399 --> 02:52:07.879
barn next to a cornfield that stretched
as far as the eye could see.

2144
02:52:07.840 --> 02:52:11.280
There was no doubt in my mind
that this was the spot, and yet,

2145
02:52:11.559 --> 02:52:16.319
how could it be. I got
out of the car and wandered around

2146
02:52:16.319 --> 02:52:20.760
the lot, looking for any sign
of the restaurant. The barn was filled

2147
02:52:20.799 --> 02:52:26.239
with old farm equipment, rusty and
tangled in weeds. I made my way

2148
02:52:26.280 --> 02:52:30.200
through the ancient junk to a rickety
wooden ladder that led up to a hayloft.

2149
02:52:31.159 --> 02:52:35.239
Leaning out and opening in the loft, I gazed at acres and acres

2150
02:52:35.239 --> 02:52:39.959
of corn fields. I was about
to turn away when I noticed a clearing

2151
02:52:39.000 --> 02:52:43.000
in the field behind the barn.
Straining my eyes, I could make out

2152
02:52:43.040 --> 02:52:50.479
a series of large, circular patches
burned into the ground. It looked familiar,

2153
02:52:52.000 --> 02:52:56.079
like something I may have seen in
a documentary on the Sci Fi Channel.

2154
02:52:56.799 --> 02:53:03.280
Excited about finally having something I could
investigate some possible answers to the myriad

2155
02:53:03.319 --> 02:53:07.079
of questions I had, I turned
to make my way back down the ladder.

2156
02:53:07.280 --> 02:53:13.120
Suddenly I felt a presence, something
lurking behind me. I spun around

2157
02:53:13.159 --> 02:53:20.799
before realizing that it wasn't behind me, It was in me, A shadow

2158
02:53:20.840 --> 02:53:26.680
on my mind. This dark entity
grew larger and began seizing control of my

2159
02:53:26.760 --> 02:53:31.520
body. I tried to fight back, but it grew too strong, too

2160
02:53:31.600 --> 02:53:37.079
fast. I was ripped from my
mind and plunged into a world of darkness.

2161
02:53:37.639 --> 02:53:41.959
Time lost all meaning, and I
struggled not to go mad. Hours,

2162
02:53:41.000 --> 02:53:48.959
maybe days passed and I continued to
plunge deeper into darkness. I used

2163
02:53:48.000 --> 02:53:52.000
to be able to see out of
my eyes if I concentrated, but now

2164
02:53:52.799 --> 02:53:58.239
that slipped away from me. I
can no longer feel any sensation outside of

2165
02:53:58.239 --> 02:54:07.959
the void. All I have left
of me is my memories, and those

2166
02:54:07.040 --> 02:54:13.959
two are fading away. I don't
remember where I was born, where I

2167
02:54:13.040 --> 02:54:20.159
live, or even what my name
is. My whole life is gone.

2168
02:54:22.000 --> 02:54:26.399
Every memory that makes me what I
am is vanishing. I keep trying to

2169
02:54:26.479 --> 02:54:31.559
remember whatever I can to keep it
fresh in my mind, but each minute

2170
02:54:31.879 --> 02:54:37.559
I seem to lose more. The
last thing I remember is walking into a

2171
02:54:37.600 --> 02:54:43.079
barn filled with old farm equipment,
and that too is fading. Dear God,

2172
02:54:45.559 --> 02:54:54.959
I'm fading. I'm lost. Chad
Stevens looked at his watch and shook

2173
02:54:56.000 --> 02:54:58.520
his head with impatience as he looked
at the three people in front of him

2174
02:54:58.559 --> 02:55:03.000
in line at the ground floor coffee
shop. He hated his job. He

2175
02:55:03.120 --> 02:55:07.200
hated his coworkers, and he hated
that, as the newest hire, he

2176
02:55:07.239 --> 02:55:11.360
had to pick up coffee every morning
for everyone in accounting, even though he

2177
02:55:11.399 --> 02:55:16.200
worked there for over three years.
Sighing, he checked his watch again.

2178
02:55:18.399 --> 02:55:22.600
Do you know the best thing about
Friday morning? It's not Monday? Said

2179
02:55:22.600 --> 02:55:28.559
a voice behind Chad. Chad hung
his head and ignored the man behind him.

2180
02:55:28.719 --> 02:55:31.360
It looks like a great day,
Peache. It should only reach the

2181
02:55:31.440 --> 02:55:37.280
high sixties with a slight chance of
rain, said the voice, sounding too

2182
02:55:37.360 --> 02:55:41.239
happy for this time of the morning. It should be a crime that we're

2183
02:55:41.280 --> 02:55:45.719
stuck in the office on a day
like this. He continued. There was

2184
02:55:45.799 --> 02:55:50.440
something familiar about that voice, and
Chad turned around to see who spoke.

2185
02:55:50.719 --> 02:55:56.600
John. Wow, you look a
lot better, man, Chad exclaimed,

2186
02:55:56.440 --> 02:56:00.440
the way you tore out of here
on Wednesday, I figured you'd in bed

2187
02:56:00.559 --> 02:56:03.159
sick for at least a week.
I heard it took the janitorial crew two

2188
02:56:03.239 --> 02:56:07.840
hours to clean out the bathroom stall. How are you feeling, Chad said,

2189
02:56:07.959 --> 02:56:15.760
looking legitimately concerned me. I'm super
duper never been better, John said,

2190
02:56:15.799 --> 02:56:20.200
with a huge grin on his face. Say pal, he said,

2191
02:56:20.360 --> 02:56:24.799
leaning close to Chad. You look
like a man that enjoys a good taco.

2192
02:56:33.040 --> 02:56:37.399
Well, my creepy companions, we've
reached the end of yet another very

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02:56:37.440 --> 02:56:41.000
fun start of the month compilation,
and I hope you've all enjoyed yourself as

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02:56:41.079 --> 02:56:46.600
much as I have. I always
enjoy these compilations because it's a chance to

2195
02:56:46.639 --> 02:56:52.360
look back at the over two hundred
episodes of Weekly Spooky and just appreciate all

2196
02:56:52.399 --> 02:56:56.440
the hard work our authors have done. So if you enjoy what we're doing

2197
02:56:56.479 --> 02:57:00.559
and you write stories, why not
send us an email at Weekly Spook at

2198
02:57:00.600 --> 02:57:03.559
gmail dot com. I would love
to hear from you. And if you

2199
02:57:03.639 --> 02:57:07.120
love what we're doing so much,
you just desperately need to do more than

2200
02:57:07.159 --> 02:57:11.760
just telling a friend and rating and
subscribing on your favorite podcasting app. You

2201
02:57:11.799 --> 02:57:16.959
can join us on Patreon for as
little as one dollar a month. You

2202
02:57:16.959 --> 02:57:20.959
can make sure we bring this Spooky
every single week. And I want to

2203
02:57:20.959 --> 02:57:24.440
say an extra special thank you to
our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay

2204
02:57:24.479 --> 02:57:28.120
just a little bit more to hear
their names at the end of our shows.

2205
02:57:28.360 --> 02:57:31.920
They are Johnny Nicks, Bobletopia dot
com, Megan Hua, Julia Kersh,

2206
02:57:33.079 --> 02:57:35.680
Brent Mccalluugh, Steve King, Karen
We met, Jack Kerr and Craig

2207
02:57:35.760 --> 02:57:39.479
Cohen. If you want to join
that list of illustrious spookies, just go

2208
02:57:39.559 --> 02:57:45.479
to Weekly Spooky dot com and click
on Patreon. But now it's time for

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02:57:45.479 --> 02:57:48.600
me to get back to work.
We have so much, so much for

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02:57:48.639 --> 02:57:52.760
you to listen to, for myself, for my executive producer Rob Fields,

2211
02:57:52.760 --> 02:57:56.440
and my producer Dan Wilder. I
will talk at you very very soon.