Dec. 27, 2025

6 Scary New Year Tales of Devils, Vampires, Zombies & Paranormal Evil!

6 Scary New Year Tales of Devils, Vampires, Zombies & Paranormal Evil!
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Ring in the new year with a New Year’s Eve horror stories marathon built for maximum dread: devil bargains, vampires in the dark, zombie chaos, and a paranormal case file that turns the end of the year into a blood-soaked countdown. If you’re searching for scary New Year stories, NYE horror, or a horror anthology podcast to binge, this is your midnight companion—six twisted tales that get meaner as the clock runs out.

Inside this New Year’s Eve compilation (in airing order):

• Even the Devil Tells the Truth Sometimes — by Dan Wilder
A killer with a Faustian bargain stalks Times Square on New Year’s Eve… but the “gift” he was promised comes with a brutal twist.
• Satan’s Shotgun — by Dani Wilder
An undead avenger rises once a year to slaughter a monstrous “zodiac” gang—until the final confrontation reveals what this nightmare really is.
• A Few Cold Ones — by David O’Hanlon
A rowdy Brew Year’s Eve festival turns into a hostage nightmare inside a legendary hotel—where the “party” ends in blood, fire, and revenge.
• Stakes n’ Shoguns — by Dan Wilder
A late-night movie screening becomes a war zone when Dracula wakes beneath the theater… and the only “holy water” available is absolutely unhinged.
• Alien Zombie Punks from Upstate New York — by Dan Wilder — Punk rock New Year’s revelry detonates into alien meteors, zombies, and a strangely hilarious afterlife problem.
• New Year’s Evil: A Paranormal Thriller from the Case Files of Caroline Quinn — by Mike Ashkewe
New Year’s Eve 2012 turns apocalyptic as Caroline Quinn faces Rots, a corrupted psychic thread, and the rise of Ya-Su.

Lock the doors, turn the lights down, and hit play—because on New Year’s Eve, the countdown isn’t to midnight. It’s to whatever’s waiting in the dark.

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

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

📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!


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

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You know my spooky is New Year's Eve is a

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funny night. Everybody's dressed up, everybody's counting down, everybody's pretending

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the clock can magically wipe the slate clean. But midnight

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doesn't erase anything. Midnight just gives the darkness a fresh

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calendar to work with. So tonight we're doing this the

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right way, a full New Year's Eve horror marathon, six stories,

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one right after the other, like a champagne fueled countdown,

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where every pop is another door opening somewhere it shouldn't.

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We've got Time Square packed shoulder to shoulder with strangers,

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and one of them is hunting for the perfect midnight tradition.

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We've got a once a year reckond that brings a

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man back just long enough to settle the score. We've

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got a Brew Year's Eve party that turns a historic

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hotel into a trap. We've got a grimy late night

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theater where the feature presentation might wake up something ancient.

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We've got punk rock snow, and a road trip that

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goes so wrong it shouldn't even be possible. And finally,

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we've got a federal paranormal badass trying to keep New

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Year's Eve from becoming a welcome party for something that

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should never arrive. So top off your drinks, check your locks,

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make sure you're subscribed, and if the fire works outside

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sound more like footsteps, well keep on listening.

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Even the devil tells the truth sometimes.

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By Damn Wilder a weekly spooky or Wiginal. The first

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couple of years, I just went for hookers. I figured

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no one would go looking for those broads anytime. Soon.

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It was simple. While everyone was staring at that big

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stupid ball like a bunch of deer in headlights, I'd

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find my gal taking her down an alley and doing

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them up proper. A happy New Year's for me in theory. Anyway.

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The problem is those bitches looked like they were relieved,

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and why wouldn't they be. The knife was just another long,

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hard object painfully crammed inside them, but this one brought

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an end to their filthy existence. Christ it was so

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hard to get excited over that work, but I did

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my best. Damn, I've gotten ahead of myself again. I

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suppose you want to know what makes me tick? Huh, well,

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go fuck yourself, just messing with you. What do you

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want to know? My parents were real pieces of work.

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My dad drank his life away in every pisshole bar

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down by the docks, and my mom sold ass in

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the same I was unplanned, unwanted, and never made to

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forget it. Except none of that hard luck garbage is true.

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I grew up in a nice suburb. Mom was a

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teacher and homemaker, Dad was an accountant. The biggest threat

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to my childhood was the fact that I was spoiled, rotten,

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or as spoiled as a middle class brat can be.

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So what made me turn bad? I have no idea.

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See back around seventy six or so, Beating the shit

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out of strangers for no reason was how I got

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my kicks. But little did I know this was going

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to be the mozzarella stick planter before the eggplant parm

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that is my career these days. Let me tell you anyway,

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I'd pulped this cat down Chinatown Way, dig looking for

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any ill gotten gains I could grab. I found some

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sort of amulet in his left pocket, older than my

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Aunt Petunia and expensive too. At least I hoped it

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would be when I went upon it. That would have

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to wait, though, because beating the shit out of a

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man is hungry work. In my stomach. It was growling

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something fierce. Thirty minutes later, I was kicked back in

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my easy chair in my rat trap of an apartment,

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Hamburger grease mixed with thin blood from that rare paddy

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dripping down my arm. That's when I remembered my spoils.

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I reached into my pants pocket and brought out that

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glittering trinket, now covered with slop from my chow. That's

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when that bauble went shiny and hit me with some

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sort of mumbo jumbo magic that sent me sprawling across

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the floor. Things went black for a hot second, but

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when I came to he was just sitting there on

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top of the giant zenith. Well, I say he, but

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in truth, it may have been a she or a

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human shaped lump of clam dip. Because no matter how

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hard I stared at this thing, I could never get

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a clear look at it. But I could tell it

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was dressed to the nines and always smiling. What's so funny, pal,

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I asked. That's when the fucker talked directly to my brain.

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And while I can tell you what it said wasn't

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in any language I'd ever heard, I understood every damn word,

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the bit about immortality, the murder biz that would seal

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the bargain one ex woman every midnight on New Year's Eve. Hell,

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the son of a bitch even had a big contract

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for me to sign, like something out of a goddamn

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comic book. And naturally that pen was filled. You guessed

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it with blood too much? Right, So YadA YadA, Lucifer

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hookers and blood. And here we are New Year's Eve,

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nineteen seventy nine, and it's time for a change. But

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since not a lot of you clowns are familiar with

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my work, let me take you through my nine to

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five if you can pick up what I'm laying down.

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I wake up round noonish. See. I set my own

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hours so I can sleep in a real job perk

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if you ask me so. Yeah, Shit, shower, shave, fry

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up an egg maybe two for breakfast, orange juice and vodka.

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Then on with the day's business the streets. And it

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is cold as a witch's tit out here. But this

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involves my work, the three hundred and sixty four days.

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It isn't December thirty. First. I just kind of walk

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around with a heart on and get as much attention

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from the leather boys and hustlers as I can, marking

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in my mind who is where and when? See the

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devil is in the details. Then I take in a

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porno flicker too, grab a dog or a slice, then

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make my way back through the spank bank of earlier.

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I go for the toughest, strongest looking laddie I can find.

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Then I punch and kick the ever loving shit out

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of them, rob them, and maybe do the same to

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any tourists unfortunate enough to cross my path, and then

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it's off for a cup of joe. What the hooker

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thing only applies to the killing, and I only do

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that to the ladies once a year to honor that bargain.

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The rest of the year, they just ain't my bag.

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Here's the rub. I don't really give a rats puckered

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pink asshole about the living foreverthing. Who needs that static No,

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I just I'm just thankful that someone put the notion

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of killing a woman into my thick skull. Most of

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the time, I don't think about dames at all unless

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they're up on that stained silver screen. Plus it inspired

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me to up my game in the whole inflicting pain

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on my fellow man game that I've been so fond of.

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Practice makes perfect and all that. Besides, who knows if

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that shit would still apply anyway. I hawked that amulet

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the next day for two hundred bucks and a six

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or a bud. Where the fuck was I? Uh oh, yeah, yeah?

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Might my day all day every day? So I head home,

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take a shower, believe it or not, maybe throw in

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a TV dinner, catch some tube you know what really

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tickles my asshole with a feather, grabbing a paper and

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seeing if anyone reports on the shit I do. Hey,

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what can I say? I'm kind of like a gutter narcissist. Hey,

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I went to high school just like everybody else. Anyway,

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those rags never say a peep about me or the

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meat I tend to rise, probably never will either. Fuck

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them nighttime, more of the same. Really, I work two

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shifts a day, seven days a week, and that's dedication

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no one can match. And I don't even have a

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union or nothing. Now that's January first to December thirtieth.

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But that next day, that's where the shit gets serious.

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I take a little personal time for the most of

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the day, do a bump, maybe rub a few out,

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grab a nice steak for Sizzler for lunch, real self

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care type shit you did now. Most years I would

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just hang out on the fringes of Times Square looking

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for my mark. But as I said, this year was

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gonna be a big one. So after Sizzler, I got

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a haircut, just gotta look good for this, I yank

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a magazine off the news stand and tear out a

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sample of cologne. I wasn't kidding around here, folks, believe

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you me class all the way. Anyway, I get to

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Times Square early, and the one thing you out of

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towner is watching from your big comfy couches. Probably don't realize.

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Motherfuckers line up for this thing hours and hours before

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anything is even going on, just standing in the cold,

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hard street and milling around like fucking zombies or something.

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I kick around for a bit, taking a drag on

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a marb here and there. As I look around, I

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have to admit there are some spectacular candidates out there,

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much better than the ridden, hard and put away wet

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flotsam and jetsam of the last few years. A strawberry

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blonde with gigantic tits and braces that catch the now

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setting sun when she flashes big smiles at her friend,

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an equally attractive Spanish chick with the blackest hair I

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have ever seen. You can bet those two are on

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my shit list for sure, but they just ain't the one.

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I continue my search. I see a cute Chinese girl here,

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a sexy socialite there, all big ticket scores for sure,

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But again I gotta feel this one in my balls.

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Then it hit me, Fuck, it's cold out here. I

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need a coffee, and his fate, if you believe in

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such bullshit, would have it. There was a donut shop

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directly across from me. I went in, ordered a cup

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and took a load off for a tick. Now I

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don't believe in fate, But then again, before a few

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years ago, I never thought his infernal Majesty would be

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sitting atop my boob tube pulling the old faust gag.

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So here we are, anyway out of the ladies room.

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She came, looking for all the world like an angel

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in the flesh. Well, little angel, tonight's the night you

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get your wings clipped. I watched her go up to

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the counter in order. The way she moved I could

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tell she was athletic. But there was more. Was she

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a ballerina gymnast. Damned if I know, but she definitely

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took care of herself, that's for sure. Her hair was

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like spun gold. I liked that it would show the

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blood better once I did the devil's business. Anyway, she paid,

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walked out, and I followed her close, but not close

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enough to look obvious. Dig Yeah, So she snaked back

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through the crowds, the steam from her coffee trailing behind her,

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which was leaving a nice trail for me to follow,

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like that dude going through the Minotaur's maze. Damn, she

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was with someone that would complicate things, but nothing I

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can't handle. Just to have to think about how to

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get her away from that bozo she's with. That's when

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fortune smiled upon me for the second time that night.

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There was that fool with his clipboard, and you know

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he was just on a power trip like no other,

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just wandering the crowd looking for the most photogenic folks

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he could find and moving them right in line with

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the unblinking camera eye that would beam this bullshit into

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homes nationwide. He'd be easy. I dealt with dudes his

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size every ding dong freaking day. Hey, buddy, you know

202
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that big shot producer running this thing. I noticed the

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lanyard around the hot SHOT's neck. Damn it, Now, where

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did my lanyard go? I really played up looking for

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it too. Oscar material here for sure? You uh? You

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mean Jim? Yeah, Jim, he wants to talk to your

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ass pronto. Shit, probably wants me to get him a coffee.

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Can't he see I'm trying to make this show special.

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I mean, look at the prime trim I've picked out

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of what was your name again? Bill? I lied first

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year working the show. The fool was actually buying this crap. Yeah,

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does it show? I pointed to where the lanyard should

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be and chuckled, Eh, you'll be fine. Now where was Jim?

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This way? Follow me. I know a shortcut that'll take

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00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:00.000
us right past this mess. The people were becoming packed

216
00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:03.799
in like sardines. The room followed me like a lemming,

217
00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.559
right into the alley, where I smashed his fucking head

218
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.320
in against the ice covered bricks so many times the

219
00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:13.919
walls started to steam from the sprays of his hot

220
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:19.960
blood that splashed on it again and again. I grabbed

221
00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:23.080
that clowns clipboard and lanyard, and I made my way

222
00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:26.879
back to where I saw my angel last, and there

223
00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:30.919
she was, just where I left her. Time to get

224
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the show on the road. Excuse me, miss yes, pretty

225
00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:40.039
and shy too, Jackpot, How would you like to come

226
00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:42.960
up front and watch the show? I worked for the network.

227
00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.840
I pointed to the lanyard for emphasis. Oh, I don't know.

228
00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:51.159
Then her man actually became an accomplice in her pending murder.

229
00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:56.679
You have to you'll be on TV. But can he come? Sorry,

230
00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:02.279
producers want ladies only. I don't know, No, sweat doll,

231
00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:05.679
I'll ask somebody else. I turned to walk away, like

232
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really playing it broad. Come on, Miranda, you have to go.

233
00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:12.039
This is a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

234
00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.200
You don't mind. No, we'll just meet here after the

235
00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:21.399
ball drops. Uh okay. I extended my arm and she

236
00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:25.679
took it with a slightly trembling hand. I led her

237
00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:29.000
on and on few twists here, a few turns there,

238
00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:33.360
and before you know it, we arrive at one Times Square.

239
00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:38.200
And that's where things started to go south for yours cruelly.

240
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.279
As I brought her closer, old Miranda got more and

241
00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.399
more nervous, and by the time I showed her my

242
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:50.799
long hard blade, she bolted straight for the foyer of

243
00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:56.919
that famous edifice without any hesitation. Mother fucking track and field.

244
00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:00.879
I should assust that out two cock, the old man,

245
00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:04.079
I thought, as I played wolf to her scared rabbit

246
00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:08.640
and gave pursuit. She'd already roused the half asleep rent

247
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.359
a cop that now leaped in my path. I flashed

248
00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.119
him my badge and mumbled something about some teenager who

249
00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.079
had mooned the network's cameras and the dumb bastard. He

250
00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.079
let me pass without any hesitation. I saw a quick

251
00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.440
flash of the rabbit as she bolted up the stairway

252
00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.759
and out of sight. Fuck that noise, I was elevator bound.

253
00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:30.440
I stopped the car a few floors up. As the

254
00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.960
door slid open. I could see only the back of

255
00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.279
her shoes as she ascended even higher. It did hit

256
00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:39.559
me at some point that if she bothered to notice

257
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.960
I was on the elevator and not running up those

258
00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:44.359
damn steps behind her, that she simply had to go

259
00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:46.920
back down the stairs as I continued going up like

260
00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:52.039
a prize winning dumbass. Oh well, here's to fear making

261
00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.880
folks make horrible decisions. My ace in the hole, the

262
00:17:55.960 --> 00:18:00.160
elevator hit the top floor, the door hissed open, and

263
00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.680
my little bunny was nowhere to be found. Now, what

264
00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:08.079
in the hell is this crap? I stuck my head

265
00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:12.079
out the elevator and whap a kick right across the chops.

266
00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.759
Fucking karate too. This kid was full of surprises, that

267
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:20.799
was for sure. Damn she knocked me right on my ass. Slowly,

268
00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:23.799
I stood and shook my head, trying to get those

269
00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.799
damn spots and stars from swirling around in the air.

270
00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:30.480
That's when the breeze hit me, cold as a witch's

271
00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:35.680
tit and ten times as hard the roof. The bitch

272
00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.880
had gone out onto the roof. With my wits about

273
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.640
me once more, I bolted into the hall and immediately

274
00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:47.200
saw the roof access door wide open. Oh well, I

275
00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:50.400
wanted something to spice things up, and I I guess

276
00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:54.039
I got my wish, that's for sure. But god damn

277
00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.440
if those sullen eyed whorees didn't look real good right

278
00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:00.400
about now. Let me tell you. I emerged onto the

279
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:04.160
roof and immediately got stung by the biting hold. I

280
00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.759
need to get this shit over and get my ass home.

281
00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.799
Maybe h throw a hungry man in the oven and

282
00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.400
sip a beer ten as the Late Late Show on

283
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:18.519
spools on WPIX. That's when I saw her leaning against

284
00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:21.440
the framework of the tower that would soon send that

285
00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:26.799
glittering ball that illuminated her porcelain puss skyward. I wasted

286
00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.119
no time and charged toward her like a freight train.

287
00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.799
Her eyes grew wide, and she shimmied up that tower

288
00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:35.839
like grease lightning. Fine, if that's what it takes, I'm game.

289
00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.920
As we made it to the top, I swear to

290
00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:41.359
you with the crowd below gasped and unison. What would

291
00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:45.759
mister and missus America say at home? Whatever screw those

292
00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.559
tamed monkeys this year, We're going off script for the

293
00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:52.839
ultimate act of performance art, and this girly's body it's

294
00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:56.079
gonna be my canvas. Finally we made it to the top,

295
00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:58.720
and my quarry decided it was time to engage me

296
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:03.640
in fisticuffs hundreds of feet above Old Manhattan Town. A

297
00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.839
well landed punch here, a slice and dice there, and

298
00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:10.319
we were almost on equal footing until that damn ball

299
00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:13.839
lifted off and began heading our way. On and on

300
00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:16.759
we battled until that freaking ball was at our feet

301
00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:20.240
and That is when I put my faith in Satan,

302
00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.759
grabbed that girl by the throat, and kicked off that

303
00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:28.319
tower with superhuman force. I swear to you, it seemed

304
00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:32.839
like we fell forever, intertwined as lovers. And let me

305
00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:36.799
tell you this climax. It was gonna be a gusher.

306
00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:42.039
And then all went black with a moist splat as

307
00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:47.079
a soundtrack. I flashed in and out of consciousness. But

308
00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:51.359
I shit you not. Someone actually said it was beauty

309
00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.200
that killed the beast. Like hell, it was I threw

310
00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:59.880
us off that tower. Then all went black as midnight

311
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:04.880
for what seemed like forever. Then I heard a drum

312
00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:10.200
growing louder and louder. Turns out it wasn't a drum,

313
00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:14.599
but something a little more personal. I gasped as I

314
00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:20.319
woke up in the city Morgue, and as I swung

315
00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.440
myself off the cold steel table on which I lay,

316
00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:29.599
I thought, Prince of lies my acts? Now, where are

317
00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:49.559
my clothes? Satan's Shotgun by Daniel Wilder. I had a

318
00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.960
revelation come New Year's Eve of eighteen ninety nine. Jesus

319
00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:57.279
ain't nothing I reckon. I could resurrect myself like a

320
00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:00.920
right heavyweight champion long as my boy bones held out,

321
00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:04.160
that is. But admittedly I couldn't hold a candle to

322
00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.160
that water to rotgut routine, and I sure as fuck

323
00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.119
couldn't walk on water, and they're sure as shit ain't

324
00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.640
any virgins in my vicinity. I guess I truly meant

325
00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:16.480
that coming back from the dead wasn't any great shakes.

326
00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:20.359
What brought me to that bid o revelation were the

327
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:24.319
events of nearly twelve years prior eighteen eighty seven. If

328
00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:28.440
you can cipher the night Gideon Pharaoh's Nightmare Zodiac Death

329
00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:33.039
Gang came a knocking, And that's exactly as those hocus

330
00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:37.880
pocus braggarts build themselves too. Nightmare Zodiac Death Gang should

331
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:40.400
have spent more time practicing with pistols than coming up

332
00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:44.680
with candy ass gang titles. But I digress. You see,

333
00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:48.079
I was a simple man that farming maybe a bit

334
00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:50.480
of trap, and not to mention interpreting for the local

335
00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:53.079
tribes and those they caught in to trade with. It

336
00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:55.119
wasn't the high life, but it was good enough for me,

337
00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:59.559
Elizabeth and our boy Lazarus. That name was a bit

338
00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.759
of a on the nose serendipity that the fates served

339
00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.279
up to us by and the bye, let me tell

340
00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.759
you true, And I sure as hell wasn't amused to

341
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.680
weren't eighteen months after our boy's birth that the sack

342
00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:15.400
headed sidewinder Gideon and his posse arrived on our doorstep

343
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:20.200
and ended his life and his mama's. But as was

344
00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.880
their folly, they never checked if my heart had stopped,

345
00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.440
And to be fair, I never asked them why they

346
00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.240
were so sore with me and mind. So yeah, mistakes

347
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:31.440
were made all around on that day. So once their

348
00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:34.480
devilish deeds were done, they headed off into the still

349
00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:37.559
night with inaria thought of the hell they had borne

350
00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:42.279
that day. And still my heart continued to beat like

351
00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:46.319
a native drum, a doom dirge, banging away to attract

352
00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:49.759
any midnight motherfucker within six hundred and sixty six yards

353
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:54.759
and a track. It surely did. The shaman entered what

354
00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:58.200
remained of our home casual as can be. The fully

355
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:01.680
bandaged man. He led on a leaf followed, seemingly devoid

356
00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:05.240
of thought as well as grace. He slinked his way

357
00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:08.519
over to me like a mongoose, all sinew and glide,

358
00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:11.880
the bones around his waist clanking together like the gnashing

359
00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:14.680
teeth of some desert devil risen from an unholy hell,

360
00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.640
ready to feast. As my eyes strained to focus, I

361
00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:22.240
saw that bastard light a fire of green flame, a

362
00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:24.759
flame he used to rend the prone form of my

363
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:27.599
boy to ashes and bone. In as much time as

364
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:31.680
it takes to tell, I admit the darkness took me then,

365
00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.880
as I was a powerful sight, weaker in constitution than

366
00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:37.920
I am now, though I have a dread vision of

367
00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:41.319
that bandaged fellow placing a lipless mouth over my own

368
00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:44.079
and blowing a dust that reaked a high hell of

369
00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:46.559
rock deep into my lungs, that made them feel as

370
00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:49.680
if they was filled with the fire of old Scratch himself.

371
00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:53.480
I came to walking along a trail deep in the

372
00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:58.000
nearby Adirondacks, a foul scented wrapping from the shaman's friend

373
00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.759
tied tightly around my eye. While you may get to

374
00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.319
thinking that would seriously impede my journey, the exact opposite

375
00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:08.000
held true. I could sense where I was going, and

376
00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:10.839
just where the first of those I sought were hunkered down.

377
00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.480
So onward I trecked my boy's bones rattling, and the

378
00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:18.240
leather sack strapped to my left shoulder. That same rattle

379
00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:20.799
let any man or beast in my path know that

380
00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:23.000
I surely was not to be fucked with. As I

381
00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:26.920
began my stride along Revenge's rough road. I walked those

382
00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.359
wicked woods until the sun fell low and the sky

383
00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:32.640
was streaked in hues of lavender and rose. And it

384
00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:36.359
was then I came upon the cabin on New Year's Eve,

385
00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:41.440
painted as it were in two differing colors, sky blue

386
00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:46.000
and soft pink, the abode of Gemini, two doses of

387
00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:49.279
poison in one pill. The smoke that poured from the

388
00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:52.880
chimney let me know those that needed correcting were home,

389
00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.920
sweet home. I didn't stand on formality. The door exploded

390
00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:00.920
inward from the impact of my left shit kicker, splinters

391
00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.119
spreading out like buckshot, acting as my calling card. It

392
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.720
took me a fraction of a second to realize no

393
00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.759
one was visible in the room, magic eyewear or no.

394
00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:14.240
But I could smell them just fine. Naturally, they didn't

395
00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:16.920
surprise me none when they exploded from the shadows of

396
00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:20.160
the cabin ceiling. However, the fact that they could move

397
00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:23.279
together like a great spider in their conjoined state definitely

398
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:27.440
raised an eyebrow. I unloaded my rifle with a thunderous roar.

399
00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:29.720
The shot tore a nice chunk of whatever the lady

400
00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.079
side of this thing was called. But she wasn't going

401
00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.680
down by a long shot. Before I knew it, the

402
00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:37.119
mail side of the equation had maneuvered himself in such

403
00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:38.880
a way that he both knocked me to the ground

404
00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:41.079
and managed to wrap the fleshy band that kept these

405
00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:44.720
two eternally bound around my neck. That same bit of

406
00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.799
flesh began flexing and throbbing until I couldn't draw a breath.

407
00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:51.279
The various veins and sinew contained under that warm sleeve

408
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:55.119
pulsing like a bag of snakes. Things began swirling and

409
00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:58.680
growing ever darker. That's when I died for the first time.

410
00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:02.920
The shaman appear shortly thereafter, though my enemies never noticed,

411
00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:06.279
although if they did, I wager they'd have been confused

412
00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:09.759
as all get out. See that fella simply strolled in,

413
00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:15.039
leaned low, and whispered in my ear. He was a bone.

414
00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:17.440
I didn't quite gather what he was on about, but

415
00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:19.960
it seemed like a question I should answer in the affirmative.

416
00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:22.880
He reached into my rucksack, pulled out one of the

417
00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:25.720
twelve bones of my boy that clattered inside, and shoved

418
00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.000
that room covered ivory femur right in my mouth. It

419
00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:32.480
dissolved on contact with my tongue, and I was back

420
00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:36.839
in business. I sat up, puked, and roared at my killers,

421
00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:39.240
who had now sat down to a nice, warm meal

422
00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.599
after their deed was done. What I did next would

423
00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:46.079
become a bit of a legend. See. I grabbed the

424
00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:48.400
steak knife out of the hand of the twin closest

425
00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:52.000
to me, who honestly didn't even resist, probably the shock

426
00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:55.559
of a corpse interrupting his din din. Anyway, I took

427
00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:58.279
that blade and commenced to slice that ribbon that held

428
00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:01.319
them together like a rabid wolf. But then I had

429
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:05.240
a pang of conscience. These two had been together since

430
00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:07.799
day one, so it would be a shame to take

431
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:11.119
that away from them. Fortunately I learned to sew at

432
00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:15.279
a tender age. I can only imagine the look on

433
00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.640
Gideon's face when he saw one or two, not sure

434
00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:21.920
how they counted themselves anyway, saw a member of his

435
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:25.920
posse fixed mouth to crotch of their opposite number, like

436
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:28.680
those yin Yang symbols the Chinese fellas out west were

437
00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.599
so fond of, and imagine it would have to be

438
00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:34.279
as Once my work was done, I sunk into the

439
00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:38.359
earth outside the Gemini's doorstep, and there I slept for

440
00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:46.000
a full year. And so it went. At the very

441
00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:48.359
end of each and every year, I'd rise up and

442
00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.839
put a murder on one of those psychos Pisces, hard

443
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:56.880
to breathe with concrete in your gills, Taurus. Let's just

444
00:28:56.920 --> 00:28:59.440
say he wasn't just a bull from the shoulders up,

445
00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:02.119
but that would be his undoing when I rammed that

446
00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:07.720
tally whacker straight down his throat. Aries Leo, cancer, Sagittarius,

447
00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:13.559
Virgo Libra, Capricorn, Aquarius, dead dead dead dead dead dead

448
00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:18.799
dead and double dead, don't ask. Year after year I fought,

449
00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:21.279
and year after year I lost a little bit more

450
00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:30.279
of my boy peace by piece. Finally I came to Scorpio.

451
00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.559
And if you think the other menagerie made for a

452
00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:36.160
one of a kind corpse gallery, I can assure you

453
00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:39.920
all that that final member of that gang, minus their

454
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.400
ring master. But I'll get to his arcane ass and

455
00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:45.480
a tick. See after the decade and change of Carnival

456
00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:48.079
exhibits i'd tussled with. I wouldn't blame you none if

457
00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:50.640
you wagered Scorpio would be some kind of insect man.

458
00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:53.960
But it wasn't hell. It wasn't even a man. As

459
00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:56.759
you could guess from the hiring of those darling siblings

460
00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:00.319
I jawed about earlier, Gideon didn't give a single shit

461
00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.680
if those that worked for him were men or women,

462
00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:05.480
A real rarity as far as evil posses went. In

463
00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:08.920
the late eighteen hundreds. Of course, half those motherfuckers would

464
00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:11.799
be a right challenge to even classify as human. When

465
00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:15.279
I sauntered up to that gypsy wagon Lady Scorpio called home,

466
00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:17.319
I could just tell I was in for a hell

467
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:20.519
of a time. The scent of burning herbs filled the air,

468
00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:24.279
and the roaring flame burning brightly beside the gaudy wagon

469
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:26.920
was doing a solid job of roasting a large pheasant.

470
00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:30.480
I hunkered down by the fire. It always feels good

471
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.000
to warm my hands after pointing my boots toward the

472
00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:37.119
sky for twelve months. The lavender and crimson curtains that

473
00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:40.480
covered the entrance to the wagon parted, and she appeared,

474
00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:43.319
a raven haired beauty with eyes as cruel and cold,

475
00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:47.119
then as a whole nest of vipers could possess. I

476
00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:51.160
told Guinean, doing your wife and boy was a grave mistake. Well,

477
00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:54.799
it's a mistake that will surely put you in your grave, Missy.

478
00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:57.440
She laughed, and I had to admit it was an

479
00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:01.400
unbelievably delicate thing. If that is to be my fate,

480
00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:04.480
there is little I can do to change it. I

481
00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:08.759
spit at her feet. Yep, won't you come inside a moment.

482
00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:12.079
It's your funeral. You can have it anyway you want.

483
00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:16.480
I entered the wagon and beheld the interior, which contained

484
00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:19.799
nothing save for an opulent bed. I sat down and

485
00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:23.200
waited for the show to start. She slid into the

486
00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:25.599
bed beside me, pushed me down and started to rub

487
00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:28.799
up against me, all feline like. I grabbed her hair,

488
00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:31.119
tugged it hard, and whispered the most romantic thing I

489
00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:35.279
could think of into her ear. This is for Lizabeth.

490
00:31:36.119 --> 00:31:37.960
I drove the blade of the hunting knife through the

491
00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:39.920
back of her head before she could even realize I

492
00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:42.240
had pulled it from my left boot. She made that

493
00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.480
weird gargle, whistling exhale thing that you never really got

494
00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:48.720
used to. Then the light, and those big brown eyes

495
00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:54.680
went dim. Should have started with this one. I managed

496
00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:56.599
to remove my knife from her skull and kick her

497
00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:59.279
ass right out of the wagon in a near seamless movement.

498
00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:05.119
I heard her hit the ground and then splash her skin,

499
00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:07.799
flew through the curtains and collided with the far wall

500
00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:10.440
of the wagon with a sickening sound akin to pig

501
00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:14.519
innards being thrown at a whorehouse. Ah here we go,

502
00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:18.640
I said, as the giant scorpion clickity clacked through the entryway.

503
00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:21.960
The odd thing about this here scorpion is it had

504
00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:24.519
a great set of breasts and a tail equipped with

505
00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:28.799
a rather rainery looking cock where the poisonous sting should

506
00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:32.480
have rested. I'm going to fuck you one way or another.

507
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:36.119
Lover to be spat from a mouthful of spearlike teeth

508
00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:39.960
and bad intentions, get in lines, sister. I drew my

509
00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.559
iron and unloaded on that nightmare with barrel of blazon.

510
00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:45.319
That damn tail whipped at me again and again. His

511
00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:48.160
scorpio's face looked like a vat of prize winning chili,

512
00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:51.160
and to my horror, the loads that appended shot were

513
00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.279
some sort of vile acid. While the walls of the

514
00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:57.960
wagon began to dissolve. The bitch stopped her bucking well,

515
00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:01.640
fuck me, silly, I didn't die go around. I wonder

516
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:04.960
if I'll still take a dirt nap, yep, I said,

517
00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:09.559
as I folded into the cold earth for the first

518
00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:15.440
time in years, I dreamed. I saw my family, the

519
00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:19.359
unspeakable terror life had become the soul crushing scream into

520
00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:21.759
the abyss I'd make year after year as I was

521
00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:25.400
reborn to put down one monster after another. And I

522
00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:27.920
saw that burr lap headed bastard that had made this

523
00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:34.079
all so. And I saw children, unfamiliar children with their

524
00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:36.920
faces tinted a glowing blue, the exact same hue of

525
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:43.480
which I had never seen the like of before. Guess

526
00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:46.839
what day it is. That's right, the day I end

527
00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:49.640
the life of that masked son of a bitch and

528
00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:54.839
finally rest in peace. That's the theory anyway. The morning

529
00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:59.200
of New Year's Eve eighteen ninety nine, I had that

530
00:33:59.400 --> 00:34:02.519
Jesus I mentioned at the start of this yarn, and

531
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.839
I found myself wandering the streets of old Manhattan Town,

532
00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:11.679
beastly bandages in place. Everything was cold, gray until I

533
00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:15.000
got that unholy vision that Gideon was well and truly

534
00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:18.719
a man about town, though he wore a false human

535
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:23.000
face over his rough mask. I followed him around a pace,

536
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:26.440
but he seemed to make stops at random, and although

537
00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:28.760
he made no indication that he knew I was there,

538
00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:34.199
I knew damn well he did. Finally he got the

539
00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:37.800
drop on me after a rather well executed disappearing act

540
00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:41.880
in the bowery. Let's retire to my residence and talk

541
00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:47.440
this through a dead man, he pard yep, I answered.

542
00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:56.559
We entered the luxurious townhouse Gideon called home. Please relax,

543
00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:00.679
Gideon said, gesturing to an array of sofas and chairs

544
00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:04.280
that festooned his abode. I took a load off on

545
00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:08.239
a nearby Persian rug. That furniture was doubtless cursed and

546
00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:10.519
would spell my doom if I dare put my ass

547
00:35:10.599 --> 00:35:15.000
upon it. Are you a gambling man, he asked? Not

548
00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:18.599
by nature, no I am, And if I had to

549
00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:20.760
play my hand, I would wager. You want to know

550
00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:24.480
why I chose you and your kin to slaughter? The

551
00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:27.559
thought had crossed my mind a time or two. If

552
00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:31.599
I'm to be honest, I answered, true, I had heard

553
00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:34.440
that if you do someone a cosmic level injustice, like

554
00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:38.199
a random killing, for instance. Then powerful magic is revealed

555
00:35:38.199 --> 00:35:42.079
to those willing to travel a dark path. You heard rightly,

556
00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:48.559
he gestured toward my rucksack. The magic my son, your

557
00:35:48.679 --> 00:35:52.480
son became the rarest of magics. You should be kissing

558
00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:57.440
my feet for this gift. I see it a tad different,

559
00:35:58.440 --> 00:36:02.400
I wager you do. Nevertheless, my theory was correct. Nevertheless,

560
00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.880
you should have listened to your pet, bug Scorpio. She

561
00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.519
was always the most in tune of my menagerie. Was

562
00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:13.840
is the operative word? I care little that you killed

563
00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:19.800
any of those sideshow attractions. You're all heart, No, I'm

564
00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:25.760
all business. How so, I queried, Let's say you give

565
00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:28.559
me that last bone in your sack, and I let

566
00:36:28.599 --> 00:36:30.480
you walk out of here and live a long and

567
00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:36.079
happy life. Let's say I do. What does that give me?

568
00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:42.199
An eternity without those I love, those you took from me? True,

569
00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.559
but a life is a life. I thought on this

570
00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:49.440
a spell, and I had me a revelation. Hold on,

571
00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:54.599
you'll see fine, you want the bone? Here it is.

572
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.239
I removed my son's skull from the sack and held

573
00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:02.679
it up for that snake to see. Glorious, Please, let

574
00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:05.880
me hold it. The shaman spoke into my ear for

575
00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:10.559
the last time. I nodded. I tossed my boy's skull

576
00:37:10.599 --> 00:37:13.599
to Gideon, and as that bone grew ever closer, I

577
00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:16.719
drew my pistol and fired. The skull exploded. When the

578
00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:20.199
bullet hit the bone, The shaman laughed. His Egyptian pal laughed.

579
00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:26.440
I laughed Gideon, however. Gideon, however, did most assuredly not laugh.

580
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:29.880
The shards of the skull became missiles and pierced Gideon's

581
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:33.039
mask in a hundred razor sharp volleys. He did that

582
00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:38.119
gargle thing and fell like a sack of potatos. That's that, then,

583
00:37:38.920 --> 00:37:43.320
I said, I waited for some sort of cosmic redemption.

584
00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:46.760
Would I stand before my family once more? Would I

585
00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:51.559
finally be able to rest? A glowing letter A appeared

586
00:37:51.559 --> 00:37:56.440
in the sky. A glowing s followed it, and another

587
00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:02.400
s ass. Real cute, I thought, as I finally succumbed

588
00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:09.800
to the darkness. Brent laughed ass classic. Yeah, man, this

589
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:12.880
game is so easy if you have enough quarters, Todd said,

590
00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:16.880
I've beaten it like a hundred times. The duo walked

591
00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:20.199
away from the cabinet as the attract screen of Satan's

592
00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:24.199
shotgun called out to the next player, and Elizabeth and

593
00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:36.360
Lazarus died anew a few cold ones by David o'han.

594
00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:40.800
The man stood alone in the parking lot, watching a

595
00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:44.840
chip bag roll like a tumbleweed across the asphalt. The

596
00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:49.079
abandoned Kmart no longer held any of its corporate branding.

597
00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:53.239
The moss and mildew speckled bricks were covered in graffiti,

598
00:38:53.559 --> 00:38:57.639
and the windows glazed over with years of grime. The

599
00:38:57.719 --> 00:39:00.840
man pulled his gown up in a bunch and aimed

600
00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:05.400
at the graffiti, relieving himself between a proclamation of love

601
00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:10.480
and a smiley face. The stream slapped against the brickwork

602
00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:14.840
and splattered the toes of his filthy hospital slippers. He

603
00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:18.079
groaned he needed to get real clothes if he was

604
00:39:18.119 --> 00:39:22.920
going to enjoy his self awarded release from the Curletti Institute.

605
00:39:23.400 --> 00:39:27.320
Kmart had always been his favorite store. The long shifts

606
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:29.920
at the Poultry Plant sapped most of the joy from

607
00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:35.760
his life. Then he discovered this particular store. Every Sunday,

608
00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:38.239
he set the tone for the week by coming in

609
00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:42.400
to get all his essentials, enjoy the hospitality, and visit

610
00:39:42.440 --> 00:39:49.000
with the employees, especially Diane. He scratched at the fat

611
00:39:49.039 --> 00:39:52.480
scar between the silver waves of hair. He would never

612
00:39:52.599 --> 00:39:57.719
forget his first love. He was sure she hadn't forgotten him.

613
00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:01.719
He'd see if he could find Once he got himself together,

614
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:06.960
Whispers from inside snapped his mind back to the present

615
00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:10.440
and curled his lips in a malevolent smile that spread

616
00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:14.199
like a tearing wound. He leaned his face close to

617
00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:18.320
a fist size hole in the window. Nothing was stirring

618
00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:23.119
between the leftover shelves and racks. A camera flash lit

619
00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:26.519
a corner of the store. The sudden illumination left dots

620
00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:30.719
flickering in his vision, but for the briefest moment he

621
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:35.440
saw the two urban explorers reflected in a spider webbed mirror.

622
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:40.480
He covered his mouth to hide his giggling. Kmart was

623
00:40:40.559 --> 00:40:47.719
still the best place to do his shopping. Brew Year's

624
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:50.760
Eve is about more than just busty beer wenches and

625
00:40:50.880 --> 00:40:54.119
dollar pints, Darren said, with a swing of his arm

626
00:40:54.159 --> 00:40:57.480
that splashed beer from his glass and onto his shoes.

627
00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:00.599
It's about the resilience of the American people in the

628
00:41:00.599 --> 00:41:05.599
face of puritanical religious fervor. Maggie Mills rolled her eyes.

629
00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:09.239
It's about getting drunk off your ass at the Florida

630
00:41:09.280 --> 00:41:12.800
Georgia line and belching your ABC's with the other Neanderthals.

631
00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:17.000
I can make it all the way to oh Darren chortled.

632
00:41:18.119 --> 00:41:23.320
Brew Year's Eve was Oklahoma's largest beer festival. Its exponential

633
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:26.800
growth and one of a kind setting attracted beer connoisseurs

634
00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:31.440
from across the country. Three thousand attendees meandered the grounds

635
00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:35.639
of the Old Springer Hotel. Short bursts of fireworks detonated

636
00:41:35.639 --> 00:41:39.320
overhead every hour in a countdown to the new year.

637
00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:43.559
Local bands cycled on and off the grand stage to

638
00:41:43.639 --> 00:41:46.039
the east of the building to get the crowd fired

639
00:41:46.119 --> 00:41:50.199
up for the headliners. How Love Rocket was still riding

640
00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:53.360
the success of their nineteen eighty six hit Sweet Cream

641
00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:58.199
was Anyone's guests, but their appearance added another fifty dollars

642
00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:03.599
to the already steep admission. Vendor tents lined the manicured

643
00:42:03.639 --> 00:42:07.440
western yard with an assortment of wares that rivaled most malls.

644
00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:11.599
On the south lawn, party goers gambled on carnival games

645
00:42:11.599 --> 00:42:15.519
for a chance to win cash and prizes. The northern

646
00:42:15.559 --> 00:42:18.199
sprawl directly in front of the hotel was a smoky

647
00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:21.960
haze of mingling scents from the rows of food trucks

648
00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:26.079
and between them and the entrance. The hotel's ornate fountain

649
00:42:26.199 --> 00:42:30.960
featured Poseidon rising from a tower of logger, spewing sea life,

650
00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:34.760
with his trident thrusting into the sky. Beneath the watchful

651
00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:40.360
eye of stained glass rose windows six stories overhead. Two

652
00:42:40.599 --> 00:42:45.079
hundred scantily clad serving girls gracefully prowled through the sea

653
00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:49.000
of people with trays of beer, and then quickly sprinted

654
00:42:49.039 --> 00:42:51.440
back to the dressing room to empty the tips from

655
00:42:51.480 --> 00:42:56.440
their haltertops before making another round. Look around you, Maggie,

656
00:42:56.599 --> 00:43:01.079
this is historical. Darren spread his arms wide. At the

657
00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:05.679
backdrop of the once lavish hotel. A vinyl banner fluttered

658
00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:09.320
in the chill breeze over its doors. Happy brew Year

659
00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:15.159
from Okay Brewing. The name's okay, but the beer is legendary.

660
00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:20.119
Darren's right. For once, Maggie's boyfriend Carlton put an arm

661
00:43:20.159 --> 00:43:24.119
around her waist. These guys did something really amazing here

662
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:28.360
is that? So Maggie held his chin in place as

663
00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:31.679
one of the wenches bounced past them. And what could

664
00:43:31.719 --> 00:43:35.079
be more amazing than all this cleavage and cheap beer

665
00:43:35.960 --> 00:43:41.000
Maggie's best friend and Darren's girlfriend, Karen giggled, we're in

666
00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:45.639
the Springer Hotel, Darren said, matter of factly. Maggie shrugged,

667
00:43:46.239 --> 00:43:50.840
and Carlton held up a finger. How about I show you?

668
00:43:51.719 --> 00:43:55.360
The other three followed him through the crowd. They rounded

669
00:43:55.400 --> 00:43:57.760
the beer fountain and went to the main entrance, where

670
00:43:57.800 --> 00:44:02.360
Carlton slapped the brickwork. A series of pock marks dotted

671
00:44:02.400 --> 00:44:05.920
the facade, beside a bronze plaque emblazoned with the name

672
00:44:06.800 --> 00:44:11.239
Carlton pointed to the food vendors. On this night in

673
00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:16.159
nineteen thirty one, sixty prohibition agents led by two gun

674
00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:20.000
Heart pulled up. Where those trucks are now? He said,

675
00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:25.559
The Springer Hotel refused to acknowledge prohibition. Everyone knew it,

676
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:29.519
but no one wanted to risk the wrath of Ferrell Springer.

677
00:44:30.039 --> 00:44:34.280
But Hart was al Capone's big brother. Darren interrupted, and

678
00:44:34.360 --> 00:44:41.199
brass balls are genetic, So what happened? Karen moved closer

679
00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:44.679
to hear Over the crowd. Ferrel stepped out the front

680
00:44:44.719 --> 00:44:47.880
door and shouted, if you're coming in, it's drinks for

681
00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:51.760
a dollar or lead for free. Carlton whipped his hand

682
00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:55.000
up with his fingers making a gun, and then he

683
00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:59.440
fired a single shot, taking the hat right off Heart's head.

684
00:45:00.119 --> 00:45:03.559
Maggie poked a finger into a bullet hole and they

685
00:45:03.679 --> 00:45:09.400
returned fire. Boy did they, Darren said. The barrage killed

686
00:45:09.440 --> 00:45:13.679
Farrell and three bystanders in the lobby. The guests started

687
00:45:13.719 --> 00:45:17.760
pulling guns and the hotel became a battleground. Carlton jerked

688
00:45:17.760 --> 00:45:21.360
his head to the door and they continued inside. Nine

689
00:45:21.480 --> 00:45:24.639
people died in the shootout, and a store of moonshine

690
00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:28.519
caught fire, killing six more and destroying the west wing.

691
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:32.280
It was the largest mass killing in the history of

692
00:45:32.320 --> 00:45:38.320
Carpenter County. Darren added, barely, Otis Kilgore's Christmas party only

693
00:45:38.360 --> 00:45:41.760
missed the mark by one. Carlton said with a snicker.

694
00:45:42.199 --> 00:45:45.599
He snapped his fingers and smiled wide. Did you hear

695
00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:48.960
Netflix is doing a movie about Otis? I hope they

696
00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:52.400
get Kevin Smith to play him. Carlton laughed, that'd be

697
00:45:52.440 --> 00:45:56.719
a riot. My babysitter used to tell me Otis would

698
00:45:56.760 --> 00:46:00.360
come and get me if I didn't listen to her. Used,

699
00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:04.920
who tells a six year old that most of the

700
00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:10.559
babysitters in Ittawa? Darren shrugged. Maggie sneered and nodded in agreement.

701
00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:15.559
Remembering her own sitter's warnings, the couples made their way

702
00:46:15.599 --> 00:46:18.719
through the lobby and up the wide staircase between its

703
00:46:18.760 --> 00:46:23.159
hand carved rails. In ninety three, Oka bought the hotel

704
00:46:23.199 --> 00:46:26.119
and started restoring it for their headquarters as a slap

705
00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:29.719
in the face to the prohibition days. The top two

706
00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:32.639
floors make up their offices, and they built their brewing

707
00:46:32.679 --> 00:46:36.239
facility on the ruins of the west wing. Carlton laughed,

708
00:46:36.599 --> 00:46:39.000
you can't tell me that's not the coolest story in

709
00:46:39.039 --> 00:46:43.159
the world. Maggie leaned on the banister and watched the

710
00:46:43.199 --> 00:46:46.599
crowd in the lobby. What about the other three floors

711
00:46:47.239 --> 00:46:50.400
haunted as shit? Darren chugged the rest of his beer

712
00:46:50.639 --> 00:46:55.159
and whistled for a server yep, Carlton added. They renovated

713
00:46:55.159 --> 00:46:57.599
the rooms and rent them out as a tourist attraction.

714
00:46:58.320 --> 00:47:02.880
Everyone that's ever stayed here claimed they saw weird things.

715
00:47:03.760 --> 00:47:07.280
Maggie lifted the festival pass hanging from the lanyard around

716
00:47:07.320 --> 00:47:10.519
her neck with a room key, and where spending the

717
00:47:10.639 --> 00:47:14.840
night with the ghosts and the drunks. What could go wrong?

718
00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:20.639
A maniacal shrill guffaw answered, and Carlton spun in a start.

719
00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:23.880
His hand swiped the glass from the giggling guest's hand

720
00:47:23.920 --> 00:47:28.599
on accident, and splashed the contents across Karen's blouse. The

721
00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:32.639
sheer material clung to her, revealing the bare breasts beneath.

722
00:47:33.159 --> 00:47:36.559
She screamed at the icy shock of IPA and then

723
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:40.559
covered up in embarrassment. Her free hand slapped the partygoer's

724
00:47:40.639 --> 00:47:44.840
cheek on reflex. The wide grin melted from the man's

725
00:47:44.840 --> 00:47:48.280
weathered face as the red handprint formed in its stead.

726
00:47:49.039 --> 00:47:51.599
He picked up the plastic pint glass from the floor

727
00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:55.599
and twisted it between his fingers, glaring at Karen through it.

728
00:47:56.239 --> 00:48:00.679
He pressed the rim into Carlton's chest. Ain't that's something,

729
00:48:01.400 --> 00:48:04.559
not even a crack, he giggled again, in a pitch

730
00:48:04.840 --> 00:48:09.239
that betrayed his stocky build. Yeah, lots of new things

731
00:48:09.280 --> 00:48:13.639
in the world, huh, Carlton cleared his throat. Seriously, sorry

732
00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:18.159
about that, though, no sense crying over spilled hooch, the

733
00:48:18.239 --> 00:48:22.000
man said with a chuckle, before turning to Karen. And

734
00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:25.840
you shouldn't be so quick to hide such wonderful tits.

735
00:48:26.559 --> 00:48:28.760
At least let an old man earn the smack he

736
00:48:28.880 --> 00:48:32.679
gave him, He licked his plump lips. What the fuck

737
00:48:32.760 --> 00:48:35.480
did you say? Darren grabbed the back of the man's

738
00:48:35.480 --> 00:48:39.159
shirt and slung him to the wall. Darren, take it easy,

739
00:48:39.559 --> 00:48:43.400
Carlton called out. He took a step forward, fists clenched

740
00:48:43.440 --> 00:48:47.239
and ready to defend Karen's honor. When a walking refrigerator

741
00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:50.599
whisked between them like a leaf on a breeze, Darren's

742
00:48:50.599 --> 00:48:54.519
face bounced off a muscular chest. The security guard glared

743
00:48:54.559 --> 00:48:57.480
down at Darren and growled for him to be cool.

744
00:48:58.039 --> 00:49:01.159
That high pitched giggle pierced the c again, and the

745
00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:04.400
guard turned to give the man the same warning. The

746
00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:08.400
goliath pressed his finger into the man's chest. I don't

747
00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:12.199
see a pass around your neck, he grumbled. The man

748
00:49:12.320 --> 00:49:15.400
giggled again and made a show of padding down his

749
00:49:15.440 --> 00:49:18.800
own torso. I seem to have set it down somewhere,

750
00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:22.320
he scratched at the barren stretch of flesh where the

751
00:49:22.400 --> 00:49:25.559
scar created a second part in his hair. I'll bet

752
00:49:25.639 --> 00:49:27.639
I left it in the restroom, if you'd like to

753
00:49:27.800 --> 00:49:31.239
escort me to retrieve it. The security guard clamped his

754
00:49:31.320 --> 00:49:34.159
hand on the back of Giggle's neck and led him away.

755
00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:38.039
I think I'll do just that, pal, What in the

756
00:49:38.199 --> 00:49:42.960
actual fuck? Darren shook his head, just some harmless old goon.

757
00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:46.840
Carlton said, come on, Karen, let's go to your room

758
00:49:46.880 --> 00:49:49.760
and get you cleaned up. Maggie hooked her arm through

759
00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:53.840
Karen's and turned to Carlton. She kissed his cheek. We'll

760
00:49:53.880 --> 00:49:56.679
meet you two at the bar. I came for the fireworks,

761
00:49:56.719 --> 00:49:58.920
not to watch you too get into a drunken brawl.

762
00:49:59.559 --> 00:50:08.880
Behave you sure this is the bathroom you used? The

763
00:50:08.920 --> 00:50:12.719
guard grunted, Oh, yes, I'm positive of it. The man

764
00:50:12.840 --> 00:50:16.159
smoothed his hair in the mirror. I suppose it's possible

765
00:50:16.199 --> 00:50:19.480
I left it in my room. However, what's your name?

766
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:23.199
The guard unclipped his radio. I'll go have someone check

767
00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:27.079
for it. The man chewed his bottom lip, tittering excitedly.

768
00:50:28.199 --> 00:50:31.320
The hell is your deal? Man? Hain't nothing funny about that.

769
00:50:32.559 --> 00:50:36.519
My name's Otis, he cackled, suddenly, making the guard jump.

770
00:50:37.039 --> 00:50:39.480
He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked around

771
00:50:39.519 --> 00:50:42.719
the bathroom. Can you stop being creepy as shit long

772
00:50:42.840 --> 00:50:46.800
enough to tell me your last name too? It's kill

773
00:50:46.880 --> 00:50:52.199
Gore Otis kill gore. Otis straightened up, all right, Otis.

774
00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:56.960
The guard raised the radio and paused, Hey, wasn't that

775
00:50:56.960 --> 00:51:01.119
the guy that killed all The lady jabbed into the

776
00:51:01.159 --> 00:51:03.960
crevice of his hip, and then glided up his body

777
00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:07.000
and threw the thick cords of his neck. ODIs pumped

778
00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:09.599
the pocket knife into his kidney and lung before the

779
00:51:09.639 --> 00:51:13.199
giant batted him away. Otis crashed through the stall door

780
00:51:13.440 --> 00:51:17.119
and landed on a toilet. The guards stomped toward Otis,

781
00:51:17.199 --> 00:51:20.559
who tapped his feet gleefully. The behemoth slipped in the

782
00:51:20.639 --> 00:51:24.639
arterial blood cascading down his body and crashed to his knees.

783
00:51:25.519 --> 00:51:31.199
ODIs stood and stroked the man's cheek. Pardon my amusement,

784
00:51:31.840 --> 00:51:37.039
ODIs chuckled, But you can't have slaughter without laughter. He

785
00:51:37.159 --> 00:51:40.559
jammed the knife through the guard's ear and tipped him over.

786
00:51:41.320 --> 00:51:44.920
He snorted in an attempt to suppress a burst of excitement.

787
00:51:45.599 --> 00:51:48.679
ODIs bent and retrieved the radio from the man's belt.

788
00:51:49.320 --> 00:51:53.760
He pressed the call button. I need a room check

789
00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:58.480
on a rowdy guest. He wheezed ten four. What's the name?

790
00:51:58.840 --> 00:52:02.679
A voice answered, I'm afraid I didn't catch the last name.

791
00:52:02.719 --> 00:52:06.639
With all the commotion, ODIs said, I heard his buddy

792
00:52:06.679 --> 00:52:12.480
call him Darren. A long moment of silence followed before

793
00:52:12.519 --> 00:52:15.280
the voice came back. Looks like we got a Darren

794
00:52:15.320 --> 00:52:19.519
Hildebrand in three three say, uh, who is this? I

795
00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:29.039
don't recognize the voice. Otis giggled. Can you believe that asshole?

796
00:52:29.679 --> 00:52:32.760
Karen pressed a cigarette between her lips. Have you got

797
00:52:32.760 --> 00:52:36.880
a light? Darren insists on lighting them for me. Maggie

798
00:52:36.960 --> 00:52:39.559
looked beside her to the crystal ashtray on the dresser

799
00:52:39.960 --> 00:52:42.920
and collected the book of matches bearing the Oka Brewing

800
00:52:42.960 --> 00:52:46.880
logo compliments of the house. She broke one off and

801
00:52:46.960 --> 00:52:50.800
struck it. Karen puffed the cigarette to life, holding her

802
00:52:50.840 --> 00:52:54.119
soaked blouse up for examination before dropping it into the

803
00:52:54.159 --> 00:52:57.440
trash can. She blew smoke from the corner of her mouth.

804
00:52:57.960 --> 00:53:01.639
It had probably stained before we got home. Anyhow. Maggie

805
00:53:01.679 --> 00:53:04.719
tucked the matches into her jeans. The only thing I

806
00:53:04.760 --> 00:53:08.199
love more than your thriftiness is your modesty. Want to

807
00:53:08.199 --> 00:53:12.400
put your boobs away now? Karen pressed them together. Jealous

808
00:53:12.480 --> 00:53:17.239
much Maggie man chest. She laughed, then realized the high

809
00:53:17.239 --> 00:53:22.880
school nickname still struck a nerve. Sorry, Mags No, biggie.

810
00:53:23.239 --> 00:53:29.159
Maggie stood and stretched and flicked Karen's nipple. Ouch. Karen

811
00:53:29.199 --> 00:53:32.440
covered up and retrieved her suitcase. Fine, I'll put them away,

812
00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:36.920
you salty bitch. You enjoyed it, Maggie winked and collected

813
00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:40.119
the cigarette. Hurry up, we need to babysit the boys

814
00:53:40.159 --> 00:53:43.440
before they do something stupid. Karen slipped on a new

815
00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:46.719
shirt and buttoned it quickly. You don't think that creepy

816
00:53:46.760 --> 00:53:50.039
old man will bother us again, do you? Between booze

817
00:53:50.039 --> 00:53:53.079
and dementia, he probably won't realize he's met us Before

818
00:53:53.800 --> 00:53:56.400
Maggie opened the door and waved for her to follow.

819
00:53:56.960 --> 00:53:59.679
Karen grabbed her lanyard and tossed it over her neck

820
00:53:59.719 --> 00:54:03.159
before rushing to catch up. I'm just worried, is all

821
00:54:03.599 --> 00:54:05.880
Karen said, as she struggled with a few more buttons

822
00:54:05.920 --> 00:54:09.559
before giving up. If she showed enough cleavage, someone might

823
00:54:09.639 --> 00:54:12.000
mistake her for a beer wench and tipp her at least.

824
00:54:12.639 --> 00:54:17.079
Oh shit, what now, Maggie rolled her eyes. I forgot

825
00:54:17.159 --> 00:54:20.840
my clutch, Karen smacked Maggie's ass. Keep the guys at

826
00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:23.719
the bar and I'll be right down. Karen twisted the

827
00:54:23.760 --> 00:54:26.760
antique key in the lock and stepped into the room.

828
00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:29.719
The handbag was waiting on the edge of the dresser.

829
00:54:30.199 --> 00:54:33.639
Her eyes flicked on the stains on the carpet, ruddy

830
00:54:33.639 --> 00:54:37.920
footprints that turned to a tight circle. Her lip quivered

831
00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:42.239
and the cigarette fell away. The realization hit her a

832
00:54:42.280 --> 00:54:46.119
moment before the door slammed shut and the hand clamped

833
00:54:46.119 --> 00:54:50.480
over her mouth. You're not as pretty as my last girlfriend,

834
00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:55.079
ODIs hissed over her shoulder. Wet steel lifted the blouse

835
00:54:55.119 --> 00:54:58.920
from her skin. But I bet you're beautiful on the inside.

836
00:54:59.480 --> 00:55:02.360
She screwed into his palm. As the blade sank in,

837
00:55:02.880 --> 00:55:07.400
ODIs shrieked with laughter and slid the knife down, separating

838
00:55:07.480 --> 00:55:13.000
buttons and flesh. Karen squirmed for freedom, emptying her torso

839
00:55:13.559 --> 00:55:23.199
that much quicker? What's taking Karen so long? Carlton checked

840
00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:26.960
his watch again. A screaming guest cut off any reply.

841
00:55:27.400 --> 00:55:30.840
The trio ran toward the commotion. A man vomited in

842
00:55:30.880 --> 00:55:34.679
the hall, while another sobbed against the chevron wallpaper. A

843
00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.960
guard pushed his way into the bathroom and shouted profanities

844
00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:41.280
at his discovery. Maggie nudged through the crowd for a

845
00:55:41.280 --> 00:55:45.280
better look the bloodpool told her to stop, but she

846
00:55:45.519 --> 00:55:49.320
leaned into the bathroom further and saw the corpse sprawled

847
00:55:49.400 --> 00:55:52.800
on the tile. She slapped a hand over her mouth

848
00:55:53.239 --> 00:55:57.719
and ran back to the guys that guard from earlier.

849
00:55:58.119 --> 00:56:02.480
She whimpered, he's been killed. Let's go get Karen and

850
00:56:02.519 --> 00:56:05.840
get the fuck out of here, Darren said. They made

851
00:56:05.880 --> 00:56:08.440
their way to the staircase when a serving girl wiggled

852
00:56:08.440 --> 00:56:10.960
to them with a gift bag in her hand. Are

853
00:56:10.960 --> 00:56:16.559
you Darren, she asked. Darren nodded. She held up the bag.

854
00:56:17.000 --> 00:56:19.360
Some old guy gave me twenty bucks to bring this

855
00:56:19.400 --> 00:56:21.880
to you, he said. It was an apology for earlier.

856
00:56:22.559 --> 00:56:25.480
She handed over the bag and waited around for a tip.

857
00:56:26.119 --> 00:56:29.000
When it was clear there wasn't one, she huffed and

858
00:56:29.079 --> 00:56:32.920
scampered off. Darren looked around the crowd for the man.

859
00:56:33.719 --> 00:56:36.440
Y'all go get Karen and I'll wait here. That sick

860
00:56:36.559 --> 00:56:40.079
fuck said he was going to the bathroom. Remember, Maggie

861
00:56:40.119 --> 00:56:43.239
tugged Carlton's arm. They made it to the landing when

862
00:56:43.320 --> 00:56:46.719
Darren shrieked and fell to his knees. The couple ran

863
00:56:46.840 --> 00:56:49.800
back down, and Carlton threw an arm around his friend.

864
00:56:50.480 --> 00:56:55.840
What happened. Maggie picked up the bag and looked inside,

865
00:56:56.920 --> 00:57:03.639
immediately dropping it and turning to puke. Jesus. Carlton whispered.

866
00:57:04.559 --> 00:57:08.519
The tipped bag spilled its contents on the floor before them.

867
00:57:08.840 --> 00:57:13.440
Carlton's eyes locked onto the severed breasts. He slid away

868
00:57:13.519 --> 00:57:16.039
from them and tried to stand before fainting at the

869
00:57:16.079 --> 00:57:19.360
foot of the stairs. Maggie wiped her mouth on her

870
00:57:19.440 --> 00:57:22.559
sleeve in time to see Darren storming up the staircase.

871
00:57:23.400 --> 00:57:27.559
I'm coming, motherfucker, he shouted. I'm going to tear your

872
00:57:27.559 --> 00:57:31.480
goddamn heart out. More people were pushing down the hall

873
00:57:31.519 --> 00:57:34.480
to see what the commotion was, and more screams echoed

874
00:57:34.480 --> 00:57:38.280
out of the bathroom when they found out someone pulled

875
00:57:38.280 --> 00:57:42.519
a fire alarm. The claxon sounded with staccato bursts of

876
00:57:42.599 --> 00:57:46.400
strobe lights. The squeaking wheels of an antiquated luggage cart

877
00:57:46.440 --> 00:57:50.119
was barely audible over the ruckus. Maggie watched the crowd

878
00:57:50.199 --> 00:57:52.960
split between those running for their lives and the ones

879
00:57:52.960 --> 00:57:55.519
that were waiting their turn to see the dead guy.

880
00:57:56.320 --> 00:57:58.920
A giggle sent a shiver up her spine right before

881
00:57:58.920 --> 00:58:03.840
the blow landed. She slumped to the floor fighting unconsciousness.

882
00:58:04.639 --> 00:58:07.519
The old man smiled over her as he hefted her

883
00:58:07.559 --> 00:58:11.039
onto the cart. Another buffed up hulk in a security

884
00:58:11.079 --> 00:58:14.519
T shirt grabbed the lunatic's shoulder. What's going on here?

885
00:58:14.760 --> 00:58:18.239
Don't you hear the fire alarm? He barked. The old

886
00:58:18.280 --> 00:58:23.559
timer giggled. Kids these days, he gestured to Maggie. They

887
00:58:23.599 --> 00:58:26.559
can't hold their hooch. Just loading my nephew and his

888
00:58:26.599 --> 00:58:28.760
girlfriend up to get them out of here. Quicker, sir,

889
00:58:29.639 --> 00:58:33.960
good plan. The guard hired for his imposing size and

890
00:58:34.039 --> 00:58:37.320
not his intellect, slapped the man's arm. Hurry up and

891
00:58:37.360 --> 00:58:41.840
get them to the lawn. Yes, sir, Maggie blinked twice

892
00:58:42.679 --> 00:58:53.320
and then blacked out. Maggie's eyes flicked open and closed

893
00:58:53.400 --> 00:58:58.840
until vision edged fuzzily from the abyss of unconsciousness. The

894
00:58:58.880 --> 00:59:02.360
world around her was a kaleidoscope of swimming colors and

895
00:59:02.480 --> 00:59:07.000
dancing lights. Someone had shut off the fire alarm, and

896
00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:11.159
far away, the first responder's sirens were catterwalling down the

897
00:59:11.239 --> 00:59:16.280
country roads to the Springer Hotel. The spotlights outside continued

898
00:59:16.320 --> 00:59:19.480
their dance across the facade of the hotel and brought

899
00:59:19.519 --> 00:59:24.199
the twelve foot tall stained glass rose window into focus.

900
00:59:24.239 --> 00:59:27.920
Maggie slowly became aware of the plush leather chair cushioning

901
00:59:27.920 --> 00:59:31.559
her body, and then the cords that bound her to

902
00:59:31.639 --> 00:59:35.239
it by the wrists. She turned the chair to take

903
00:59:35.320 --> 00:59:40.400
in her surroundings. Across the ornate desk, Darren was strapped

904
00:59:40.400 --> 00:59:44.880
to another, less expensive chair in a similar fashion, only

905
00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:49.519
he was stark nude. His mauled, bloody nose told her

906
00:59:49.880 --> 00:59:52.960
he'd gone down just as painful as she did. O

907
00:59:53.199 --> 00:59:56.360
k brewing ads were framed on the wood paneled walls,

908
00:59:56.599 --> 01:00:00.840
and shelves held industry awards in commemorative bottles. In the

909
01:00:00.880 --> 01:00:03.480
center of the room was a pedestal with a glass

910
01:00:03.559 --> 01:00:07.360
case atop and a mason jar inside on a decorative pillow.

911
01:00:07.960 --> 01:00:12.719
Their captor was nowhere to be seen in the vast office,

912
01:00:12.760 --> 01:00:17.599
where Maggie cleared her throat and tried, again, where are we?

913
01:00:18.480 --> 01:00:23.599
Darren sniffled the CEO's office. I recognize it from the brochure.

914
01:00:24.159 --> 01:00:28.480
Did you find Karen? Maggie braced herself, already knowing the answer.

915
01:00:29.599 --> 01:00:35.960
Is she really gone? He butchered her? Darren broke down,

916
01:00:36.079 --> 01:00:40.440
crying loudly and struggling against his bonds. He cut her

917
01:00:40.440 --> 01:00:45.440
to pieces. Maggie sh Maggie hissed, you have to keep

918
01:00:45.480 --> 01:00:48.320
it down. We don't know how far he's gone. He

919
01:00:48.360 --> 01:00:53.960
could hear you. I'm I'm sorry. Darren choked on the words.

920
01:00:54.719 --> 01:00:59.239
The police there coming. They've got to be Maggie pushed

921
01:00:59.239 --> 01:01:03.400
her chair along the carpet. Yeah, to investigate a murder,

922
01:01:03.800 --> 01:01:07.039
not to rescue us. They won't even have a head

923
01:01:07.079 --> 01:01:10.840
count until tomorrow. She rounded the desk and rolled closer

924
01:01:10.840 --> 01:01:15.039
to Darren. Untimey, Darren wiggled his hand until he got

925
01:01:15.079 --> 01:01:17.400
his fingers on the knot that held her left arm

926
01:01:17.400 --> 01:01:21.119
in place. Maybe Carlton will tell them we're missing and

927
01:01:21.119 --> 01:01:25.960
they'll come find us. Maybe she scanned the room for

928
01:01:26.079 --> 01:01:30.280
her boyfriend. The hazy memory of her capture replayed in

929
01:01:30.360 --> 01:01:34.119
the back of her mind. Maybe Carlton woke up and ran,

930
01:01:35.480 --> 01:01:39.719
or maybe he woke up and got himself killed. Her

931
01:01:39.760 --> 01:01:43.480
attacker's words came back to her slowly, like letters floating

932
01:01:43.519 --> 01:01:46.280
in a bowl of alphabet soup, until they made a

933
01:01:46.320 --> 01:01:52.199
sentence again. Keep working the knot, she whispered. The door

934
01:01:52.360 --> 01:01:55.239
swung open, and the old man entered with a skip,

935
01:01:56.000 --> 01:02:00.719
Oh goody, you're awake. He giggled excitedly and grabbed the

936
01:02:00.719 --> 01:02:04.400
back of Maggie's chair. Darren tugged the knot hard until

937
01:02:04.400 --> 01:02:07.079
the man wheeled her away and tore the cord from

938
01:02:07.119 --> 01:02:10.480
his fingers. The man parked Maggie next to the desk

939
01:02:10.559 --> 01:02:13.079
and opened one of the drawers. He clicked on the

940
01:02:13.159 --> 01:02:16.840
vintage lamp to rifle through the contents until he squealed happily.

941
01:02:17.239 --> 01:02:22.559
The shears gleamed in the dim amber light. These will

942
01:02:22.599 --> 01:02:26.440
do just fine. He stroked Maggie's cheek with the point,

943
01:02:26.760 --> 01:02:29.599
and then went for Darren. I was afraid you two

944
01:02:29.639 --> 01:02:33.559
would sleep right through the big moment. It's almost midnight,

945
01:02:34.480 --> 01:02:38.159
the blackout at the asylum. Maggie swiveled her chair slightly.

946
01:02:38.679 --> 01:02:40.960
Darren had made some slack in the knot, and she

947
01:02:41.079 --> 01:02:44.960
rolled her wrists slowly to loosen it further. I saw

948
01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:47.360
it on the news a few days ago. They said

949
01:02:47.400 --> 01:02:50.000
there were too many bodies to tell if anyone escaped.

950
01:02:50.719 --> 01:02:55.079
But you did, didn't you. You set that many creative

951
01:02:55.400 --> 01:02:58.480
free spirits loose in one place, and things are bound

952
01:02:58.480 --> 01:03:02.679
to get interesting. Man said, with a gentle tittering. The

953
01:03:02.760 --> 01:03:06.599
blackout was a gift from God, and one should never

954
01:03:06.760 --> 01:03:12.960
refuse a gift, so Maggie tugged softly to see if

955
01:03:13.000 --> 01:03:17.480
she could squeeze out, who are you? Why you're right?

956
01:03:18.039 --> 01:03:20.079
I feel like I've known you so long that I

957
01:03:20.159 --> 01:03:23.679
plane forgot to introduce myself. He knelt on the floor

958
01:03:23.719 --> 01:03:26.320
in front of Darren and tapped his fingers on his

959
01:03:26.440 --> 01:03:31.360
captive's knee. A watch alarm beaped in the hallway. Maggie

960
01:03:31.400 --> 01:03:33.920
let her head hang and bit her lip. When the

961
01:03:34.000 --> 01:03:37.519
door started to open. She kept her eyes closed as

962
01:03:37.559 --> 01:03:43.679
she raised her head and hoped she was wrong. She wasn't.

963
01:03:44.760 --> 01:03:47.559
The cops will be here in a few minutes, Carlton said,

964
01:03:47.960 --> 01:03:50.840
we don't really have time for this, Uncle ODIs, you

965
01:03:50.880 --> 01:03:57.280
should never rush a celebration, carl carl nodded anxiously. That's true.

966
01:03:57.320 --> 01:04:00.239
I suppose we can take the bootlegger tunnel in the

967
01:04:00.239 --> 01:04:03.079
basement all the way to the fireworks bunker. There's an

968
01:04:03.079 --> 01:04:06.519
electric cart there, no sound, and a four hour battery.

969
01:04:07.119 --> 01:04:09.559
There's a farm a few miles away. By the time

970
01:04:09.599 --> 01:04:11.880
the cops search, this place will be free and clear.

971
01:04:12.159 --> 01:04:15.920
But we need to go soon, of course, my dear boy.

972
01:04:16.760 --> 01:04:21.679
But it's not really New Year's He slid the chrome

973
01:04:21.760 --> 01:04:29.280
blades around Darren' scrotum until the ball drops. The giggling

974
01:04:29.360 --> 01:04:32.719
disappeared in the wave of Darren's frantic screams. As the

975
01:04:32.719 --> 01:04:37.719
scissors closed slowly on the wrinkled flesh, Maggie jerked her

976
01:04:37.800 --> 01:04:40.199
arm free while her psycho boyfriend laughed it up with

977
01:04:40.239 --> 01:04:42.920
his long lost uncle. She worked the knot on her

978
01:04:42.920 --> 01:04:45.920
other hand and freed herself. As Darren's cries turned sharper,

979
01:04:46.480 --> 01:04:50.000
the glands plopped on the shag carpet and his head lulled.

980
01:04:50.760 --> 01:04:53.880
Maggie launched herself from the chair, snatching a trophy from

981
01:04:53.880 --> 01:04:56.639
the desk, Adorned with a gold plated beer keg The

982
01:04:56.760 --> 01:05:01.159
ornament twinkled on its arcing path toward Carlton. The stone

983
01:05:01.199 --> 01:05:04.440
bass stamped a dent into his forehead, and a backswing

984
01:05:04.559 --> 01:05:07.039
snapped the keg off and sent it and a few

985
01:05:07.079 --> 01:05:11.199
teeth through the glass case. Resting on the pedestal, ODIs

986
01:05:11.239 --> 01:05:15.320
buried the shears into Maggie's thigh. She cried out and

987
01:05:15.440 --> 01:05:19.599
collapsed beside him. The madman straddled her, squeezing her throat

988
01:05:19.599 --> 01:05:23.599
with his free hand and leaning close. His hot, fetid

989
01:05:23.599 --> 01:05:27.599
breath was like roaches crawling across her cheek. She twisted

990
01:05:27.639 --> 01:05:30.519
her head away from him, her arms stretched for something

991
01:05:30.599 --> 01:05:34.639
she could use to free herself. My nephew's letters told

992
01:05:34.679 --> 01:05:38.199
me how sweet you are, candy was. ODIs ran his

993
01:05:38.320 --> 01:05:41.639
tongue across her ear. He pressed the point of the

994
01:05:41.639 --> 01:05:46.639
scissors into her belly and laughed hysterically at the impending kill.

995
01:05:47.480 --> 01:05:51.119
I only wish I had the time to taste it.

996
01:05:52.639 --> 01:05:57.679
Taste these. Maggie shoved the severed testicles into his open mouth.

997
01:05:57.920 --> 01:06:01.280
ODIs leaned back, twisting to spit them out. Maggie grabbed

998
01:06:01.280 --> 01:06:04.280
his hand and shoved it toward him, lodging the scissors

999
01:06:04.320 --> 01:06:07.599
into his pudgy belly. Otis ripped the office cutlery from

1000
01:06:07.639 --> 01:06:13.599
his abdomen and raised them overhead. You bitch. Maggie jammed

1001
01:06:13.599 --> 01:06:16.519
her fingers into the wound, pressing deeper until she felt

1002
01:06:16.519 --> 01:06:20.360
something slippery between the tips. She spread her fingers, tearing

1003
01:06:20.400 --> 01:06:23.679
the wound and drawing a fresh scream from Otis. Her

1004
01:06:23.719 --> 01:06:27.519
hand pushed through and disappeared inside him. As she clenched

1005
01:06:27.519 --> 01:06:31.599
her fingers around the tissue. Maggie jerked her hand free,

1006
01:06:32.119 --> 01:06:36.000
and gravity did the rest. The intestines twisted out of

1007
01:06:36.039 --> 01:06:38.840
the new orifice. Like a worm wriggling on a hook,

1008
01:06:39.320 --> 01:06:43.239
Otis rolled away screeching. He discarded the scissors to push

1009
01:06:43.239 --> 01:06:46.000
his guts back in as he crawled for the door.

1010
01:06:46.599 --> 01:06:50.039
Carlton groaned on the floor and staggered to his feet

1011
01:06:50.119 --> 01:06:54.039
after a series of failed attempts. Maggie stood next to

1012
01:06:54.079 --> 01:06:56.719
the pedestal and read the little plaque in front of

1013
01:06:56.760 --> 01:07:00.480
the decorative pillow. The jar of moonshine was the only

1014
01:07:00.519 --> 01:07:04.840
thing that survived the fire in nineteen thirty one. She

1015
01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:09.360
hefted the mason jar and examined the contents. Carlton rubbed

1016
01:07:09.400 --> 01:07:11.599
the oozing wound in the center of his head and

1017
01:07:11.639 --> 01:07:14.639
cleared the blood from his eyes, just in time for

1018
01:07:14.760 --> 01:07:18.559
the container to meet his face. He staggered backwards and

1019
01:07:18.639 --> 01:07:21.559
fell on top of the desk. Maggie dug in her

1020
01:07:21.599 --> 01:07:24.840
pocket and limped closer while Carlton struggled to remove a

1021
01:07:24.880 --> 01:07:28.920
shard of glass from his cheek. Can't can't we talk?

1022
01:07:29.559 --> 01:07:33.000
He held up his hands defensively. I mean, you don't

1023
01:07:33.039 --> 01:07:36.679
turn your back on family, right, Maggie. You get it,

1024
01:07:36.760 --> 01:07:40.800
don't you. Maggie struck a match and twisted it between

1025
01:07:40.800 --> 01:07:45.000
her fingers. I told you I came for the fireworks.

1026
01:07:45.760 --> 01:07:48.920
Carlton slowly lifted his shirt to his nose and sniffed

1027
01:07:48.960 --> 01:07:54.320
the alcohol saturated fibers. Oh shit, he rolled over the desk.

1028
01:07:54.559 --> 01:07:57.440
Come on, Mags, this isn't you. You're not a killer

1029
01:07:58.320 --> 01:08:01.840
new Year knew me. She lit the book, igniting the

1030
01:08:01.880 --> 01:08:06.000
remaining matches in a sulfurous flash, compliments of the house.

1031
01:08:06.800 --> 01:08:10.559
Maggie tossed the match book and Carlton ignited instantly. The

1032
01:08:10.639 --> 01:08:13.880
flames flared over his face as he spun, sprinting for

1033
01:08:14.000 --> 01:08:17.279
the giant window and diving through it. The stained glass

1034
01:08:17.319 --> 01:08:20.520
fell through the spotlights like shards of a shattered rainbow

1035
01:08:20.680 --> 01:08:24.680
as he plummeted toward the cool salvation of the beer fountain.

1036
01:08:25.520 --> 01:08:29.319
Maggie stood in the empty frame and glanced down. Carlton's

1037
01:08:29.319 --> 01:08:33.880
burning body danced on the end of Poseidon's trident. Maggie

1038
01:08:33.920 --> 01:08:37.479
watched until it went still. His jaw tore away from

1039
01:08:37.479 --> 01:08:40.960
the prongs, and his corpse dumped into the fountain with

1040
01:08:41.000 --> 01:08:45.520
a puff of steam and an anticlimactic sizzle. She ambled

1041
01:08:45.520 --> 01:08:48.840
away from the window, collected the scissors from the carpet,

1042
01:08:48.960 --> 01:08:52.600
and made her way to the stairwell. Her leg throbbed

1043
01:08:52.600 --> 01:08:55.600
as her toes squished with each step as the blood

1044
01:08:55.640 --> 01:08:59.560
collected in her boot. She limped down the stairs, following

1045
01:08:59.560 --> 01:09:02.680
the crimson trail left by Otis and leaving her own

1046
01:09:02.720 --> 01:09:05.600
as she braced a bloody hand on the wall for balance.

1047
01:09:06.359 --> 01:09:09.359
In the basement, she found the pile of boards where

1048
01:09:09.399 --> 01:09:13.760
Carlton had reopened the bootlegger tunnel, and beside them the

1049
01:09:13.840 --> 01:09:17.720
carpenter's hatchet he used to pull them down. She slipped

1050
01:09:17.720 --> 01:09:20.720
the scissors into her pocket and scooped up the small

1051
01:09:20.760 --> 01:09:26.720
axe before continuing her pursuit. In the stretch of pitch black,

1052
01:09:27.079 --> 01:09:32.119
a flashlight danced unsteadily ahead of her. Maggie didn't know

1053
01:09:32.239 --> 01:09:35.279
how long the tunnel went on, so she pushed herself

1054
01:09:35.319 --> 01:09:38.840
to catch up. If Otis got out first, he'd get

1055
01:09:38.840 --> 01:09:41.960
in the cart and disappear before anyone could catch him.

1056
01:09:42.239 --> 01:09:45.520
She couldn't let that happen. Maggie bit her tongue to

1057
01:09:45.600 --> 01:09:48.840
keep the screams at bay. She just needed to get closer.

1058
01:09:49.720 --> 01:09:54.720
The light dropped, followed by a curse. It rolled chaotically

1059
01:09:54.760 --> 01:09:59.319
before it steadied and rose Otis had fallen, and Maggie

1060
01:09:59.439 --> 01:10:02.399
used it to her advantage, pushing her wounded leg into

1061
01:10:02.399 --> 01:10:08.439
a hobbling sprint. Otis. She cried out. The light stopped moving.

1062
01:10:09.279 --> 01:10:13.800
Otis giggled maniacally and started to turn. She reached back

1063
01:10:14.000 --> 01:10:17.239
and hurled the hatchet. The laughter turned to a howl

1064
01:10:17.439 --> 01:10:20.960
as the blade found its target. Maggie watched the beams

1065
01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:25.039
swirl and fall to the ground once again. The flashlight

1066
01:10:25.159 --> 01:10:28.279
rolled down the path and she retrieved it on her way.

1067
01:10:28.960 --> 01:10:31.800
Otis was sprawled in the gravel with the hatchet sticking

1068
01:10:31.840 --> 01:10:37.880
out of his skull, intersecting his scar. Ugh not again,

1069
01:10:38.800 --> 01:10:42.560
he whimpered, I haven't seen you since last year, Otis.

1070
01:10:43.079 --> 01:10:45.439
Maggie shined the light in his face and drew the

1071
01:10:45.439 --> 01:10:48.760
scissors from her pocket. Did your nephew's letters tell you

1072
01:10:48.880 --> 01:10:51.359
we used to go axe throwing with Darren and Karen.

1073
01:10:52.359 --> 01:10:56.800
ODIs smiled slowly, his giggling turned to a rasping cough.

1074
01:10:57.760 --> 01:11:01.560
Maggie knelt beside him and worked her fingers into his waistband.

1075
01:11:03.880 --> 01:11:07.880
You know, I think I missed it earlier, the part

1076
01:11:07.880 --> 01:11:17.359
where the ball dropped. Otis wasn't laughing anymore. Maggie wiped

1077
01:11:17.399 --> 01:11:20.640
her fingers on her jeans, collecting more blood than she

1078
01:11:20.720 --> 01:11:24.680
got off, and flipped the ignition switch. The little golf

1079
01:11:24.720 --> 01:11:28.399
cart jutted forward and whirred across the manicured grounds to

1080
01:11:28.520 --> 01:11:32.079
the wall of flashing lights waiting at the Springer Hotel.

1081
01:11:33.039 --> 01:11:36.560
Her mind roamed as the cart bounced along the path.

1082
01:11:37.359 --> 01:11:39.560
She wondered if this would make it into the movie,

1083
01:11:40.199 --> 01:11:43.960
or if they'd save it for the sequel. The final

1084
01:11:44.000 --> 01:11:47.359
look of shock on Otis Kilgore's face as she left

1085
01:11:47.399 --> 01:11:51.039
him in that tunnel would make a great fade to black.

1086
01:11:52.199 --> 01:11:56.119
Maggie thought about him bleeding out in the darkness and

1087
01:11:56.279 --> 01:12:09.600
started to giggle. Stakes and Showguns by Dan Wilder, dedicated

1088
01:12:10.359 --> 01:12:14.960
to David Denier. It was the last day of eighteen

1089
01:12:15.079 --> 01:12:17.960
ninety nine that a group of brave souls put to

1090
01:12:18.079 --> 01:12:22.760
rest the embodiment of all things satanic, the vile lord

1091
01:12:22.840 --> 01:12:28.279
of the Night, the great dragon, Count Dracula, laid low

1092
01:12:28.359 --> 01:12:34.600
by means of wood, steel, fire, and love. They celebrated

1093
01:12:34.640 --> 01:12:37.880
the coming of the new year in darkest Transylvania that year,

1094
01:12:38.399 --> 01:12:42.039
raising many tankards of spiced mead and toast of their

1095
01:12:42.079 --> 01:12:47.319
great victory over the darkness. Their minds and hearts filled

1096
01:12:47.319 --> 01:12:50.680
with an abundance of faith in the pureeness of humanity's

1097
01:12:50.720 --> 01:12:54.760
will and its unwavering ability to extinguish the flame of

1098
01:12:54.880 --> 01:13:04.840
Hell's emissaries, fucking dumbasses. I hate falling asleep here. You

1099
01:13:04.920 --> 01:13:06.840
always wake up with a film on the roof of

1100
01:13:06.880 --> 01:13:10.039
your mouth, and the one two punch of stale popcorn

1101
01:13:10.119 --> 01:13:13.199
and even more stale piss can really take the wind

1102
01:13:13.239 --> 01:13:16.039
out of your sails. And don't even get me started

1103
01:13:16.079 --> 01:13:18.039
on the bums that come in here just to warm

1104
01:13:18.119 --> 01:13:23.239
up and occasionally die. There were a gaggle of such

1105
01:13:23.359 --> 01:13:26.239
gents in the front row this very night, and they

1106
01:13:26.279 --> 01:13:29.439
cared about the first feature of the evening, a retitled

1107
01:13:29.479 --> 01:13:33.039
re release of Bloodshack, which had been cycled through this

1108
01:13:33.199 --> 01:13:36.039
theater at least five times in as many years as

1109
01:13:36.079 --> 01:13:39.600
I did. I was here to see Showgun Assassin, which

1110
01:13:39.640 --> 01:13:42.279
I missed on its first go around earlier this year

1111
01:13:42.640 --> 01:13:45.600
thanks to work commitments, but I'd be damned if I

1112
01:13:45.640 --> 01:13:49.079
missed it again. Hell the trailer alone made it seem

1113
01:13:49.119 --> 01:13:51.199
like it would be the blood bath of the century,

1114
01:13:51.760 --> 01:13:55.079
which you'd think i'd try to avoid given my profession.

1115
01:13:55.199 --> 01:13:58.840
But there was nowhere else I'd rather spend New Year's Eve.

1116
01:13:59.600 --> 01:14:04.840
So yeah, now I'm awake and hungry I made my

1117
01:14:04.920 --> 01:14:08.079
way to the lobby and found it both quiet and empty,

1118
01:14:08.159 --> 01:14:11.800
which it never is, giving it a full minute with

1119
01:14:11.880 --> 01:14:14.439
no sign of life. I stole a bucket of popcorn

1120
01:14:14.640 --> 01:14:17.560
and a watered down soda, neither of which I felt

1121
01:14:17.600 --> 01:14:20.439
guilty about since they taste like crap on a good day.

1122
01:14:21.920 --> 01:14:24.359
I made it back just in time to catch an

1123
01:14:24.359 --> 01:14:29.079
earful of the raunchy our Future presentation theme, which made

1124
01:14:29.119 --> 01:14:33.600
a pornoscore sound sedate by comparison with its paint swirl

1125
01:14:33.640 --> 01:14:37.560
graphic accompaniment. Now, if all that happened next was I

1126
01:14:37.720 --> 01:14:40.399
ate purloined treats and watched a man and his young

1127
01:14:40.479 --> 01:14:43.239
child fuck up a good sized hunk of ancient Japan

1128
01:14:43.319 --> 01:14:46.560
in a whirlwind of wholesome violence, then this would be

1129
01:14:46.600 --> 01:14:49.800
a boring yarn delay on you. But for a solid

1130
01:14:49.880 --> 01:14:55.359
hour that's exactly what went down. But wait, it gets better.

1131
01:14:56.039 --> 01:15:03.159
In a New York minute, at random intervals, there would

1132
01:15:03.159 --> 01:15:06.119
be a mild movement from the huddled forms of the

1133
01:15:06.159 --> 01:15:09.520
homeless dudes in the front row, but whatever was going on,

1134
01:15:09.680 --> 01:15:14.000
they were mercifully keeping it to themselves for once until

1135
01:15:14.000 --> 01:15:18.760
they didn't now one aside about Showgun Assassin, it frequently

1136
01:15:18.800 --> 01:15:23.159
features blood spraying everywhere like a nightmare money shot. And

1137
01:15:23.239 --> 01:15:25.840
it was during one such scene that I noticed one

1138
01:15:25.840 --> 01:15:28.359
of the bums had wandered up to the screen and

1139
01:15:28.439 --> 01:15:32.000
was trying to catch the on screen blood rain in

1140
01:15:32.079 --> 01:15:36.520
his open mouth. What in the fuck now? Next he

1141
01:15:36.600 --> 01:15:41.479
tried to lick the screen, which was when I took action. Hey, FUCKO,

1142
01:15:41.960 --> 01:15:45.960
sit your ass down now. Usually that was all it

1143
01:15:46.000 --> 01:15:49.560
would take with these folks to return to some semblance

1144
01:15:49.600 --> 01:15:54.119
of order, but not this time. Nope, I had just

1145
01:15:54.279 --> 01:16:02.920
fucked up royally. You know how a cat's eye shines

1146
01:16:03.000 --> 01:16:06.760
in the dark scream liquors did too. When he turned

1147
01:16:06.760 --> 01:16:10.840
to look at me, speaking of cats, he hissed at

1148
01:16:10.840 --> 01:16:15.239
me as well, which was both rude and unnerving. All

1149
01:16:15.279 --> 01:16:17.439
I could do for a few seconds was stare in

1150
01:16:17.560 --> 01:16:21.880
open mouthed dumb assery at the rapidly approaching figure, a

1151
01:16:21.920 --> 01:16:24.960
figure that was bounding across the tops of rickety theater

1152
01:16:25.079 --> 01:16:29.640
seats like a demented wolf. I gripped the wooden armrest

1153
01:16:29.720 --> 01:16:33.239
of my theater seat so tightly it snapped off, not

1154
01:16:33.439 --> 01:16:36.680
much of a herculean result given the state of the theater.

1155
01:16:37.479 --> 01:16:39.880
Within a heartbeat, the creature had lifted me from my

1156
01:16:40.000 --> 01:16:43.119
seat with one hand and stared into my eyes with

1157
01:16:43.199 --> 01:16:48.000
those freaky glowing peepers of his. I was nearly mesmerized,

1158
01:16:48.000 --> 01:16:52.479
but regained my senses enough to mutter, you're a vampire.

1159
01:16:53.359 --> 01:16:56.560
When the being opened its jaws wide as a snake

1160
01:16:56.640 --> 01:17:00.720
and twin fangs descended wetly from its whisky scented gus.

1161
01:17:01.279 --> 01:17:04.479
As if by instinct, I shoved the jagged edge of

1162
01:17:04.520 --> 01:17:08.239
my broken armrests directly through the creature's heart. The being

1163
01:17:08.319 --> 01:17:11.239
crumpled and had dissolved to bones before it hit the

1164
01:17:11.279 --> 01:17:15.079
cum and gum and crusted floor. I tried desperately to

1165
01:17:15.159 --> 01:17:18.800
catch my breath, but more hissing erupted from the peanut gallery.

1166
01:17:20.079 --> 01:17:23.239
I know where your mind is headed. This badass took

1167
01:17:23.279 --> 01:17:25.880
out the rest of those fang bangers next in a

1168
01:17:25.960 --> 01:17:31.560
shocking and entertaining explosion of raw action. I agree that

1169
01:17:31.720 --> 01:17:37.720
sounds amazing. I puked instead. Oh shit, maybe I was

1170
01:17:37.760 --> 01:17:41.079
a tad unclear as to my profession I work reception

1171
01:17:41.239 --> 01:17:48.319
at a blood bank. Anyway, it turns out I had

1172
01:17:48.359 --> 01:17:50.960
more than enough time to spray vomit on seats that

1173
01:17:51.039 --> 01:17:55.760
were no strangers to such actions as the Master of

1174
01:17:55.800 --> 01:17:59.119
Death succumbed to our hero's sword. On screen, I could

1175
01:17:59.159 --> 01:18:01.720
see that the remains of the front row were feeding

1176
01:18:01.800 --> 01:18:06.319
upon themselves instead of hunting me down. Apparently, cheap booze

1177
01:18:06.319 --> 01:18:10.600
and supernatural monsters are not good friends. This time, I

1178
01:18:10.680 --> 01:18:13.800
wised up and made a run for it. So the

1179
01:18:13.880 --> 01:18:18.199
lobby was still dead and completely without anything remotely useful

1180
01:18:18.199 --> 01:18:21.520
as a weapon, and the front doors and fire exits

1181
01:18:21.560 --> 01:18:26.680
seemed to be welded shut, so that's just fucking great.

1182
01:18:27.640 --> 01:18:30.920
The adjoining theater was without patrons, but a swarm of

1183
01:18:31.039 --> 01:18:34.119
bats swirled around the light from the projection booth. As

1184
01:18:34.159 --> 01:18:37.760
a horny fish man was making sweet scaly love to

1185
01:18:37.960 --> 01:18:42.279
his less than enthused partner. Their red eyes turned towards me,

1186
01:18:42.880 --> 01:18:46.159
and I slammed that door shut. I can't believe I'm

1187
01:18:46.199 --> 01:18:50.359
going to die without seeing that fucking movie again. The

1188
01:18:50.399 --> 01:18:54.479
manager's office was sans manager, but plus one shaker of

1189
01:18:54.520 --> 01:18:58.479
garlic salt, so I had that one going for me.

1190
01:18:59.039 --> 01:19:02.920
I mean, if vampire movies were to be believed, I'm

1191
01:19:02.920 --> 01:19:06.920
so fucked. Looking out the office's sealed tight window, I

1192
01:19:06.960 --> 01:19:10.359
could see drunken revelers making their way down the street,

1193
01:19:10.560 --> 01:19:14.720
completely oblivious to the impending hammer film scenario about to

1194
01:19:14.760 --> 01:19:18.600
play out in this greasy little shithole. As if on cue.

1195
01:19:19.119 --> 01:19:21.840
The door to the room exploded into a million pieces.

1196
01:19:21.880 --> 01:19:24.680
As those bats finally caught up to me, I tore

1197
01:19:24.720 --> 01:19:27.479
the top of the garlic salt off and began flailing

1198
01:19:27.520 --> 01:19:31.039
it like a madman possessed The barrage hit the bats

1199
01:19:31.079 --> 01:19:35.640
dead on eventually, and they fell to the ground and smoking,

1200
01:19:36.039 --> 01:19:39.920
screeching piles. I made my way through the thickening haze

1201
01:19:39.920 --> 01:19:43.560
and hauled ass back downstairs. And that's when I heard

1202
01:19:43.640 --> 01:19:48.720
the cry for help. Someone was clearly calling for help

1203
01:19:49.000 --> 01:19:52.119
as I flew pellmell into the lobby, someone in the

1204
01:19:52.119 --> 01:19:56.720
theater I had currently occupied. For fuck's sake, I made

1205
01:19:56.720 --> 01:19:59.720
my way to the theater door and cracked it open. Well,

1206
01:20:00.279 --> 01:20:04.319
the movie had ended, so there's that. Cautiously, I made

1207
01:20:04.319 --> 01:20:07.960
my way into the silent auditorium. I walked past my

1208
01:20:08.119 --> 01:20:13.439
bile soaked seat, and there, untouched by puke particles, was

1209
01:20:13.479 --> 01:20:17.119
my pilfered beverage. I grabbed it and took a pull

1210
01:20:17.880 --> 01:20:21.760
water with just a hint of cola flavor. I had

1211
01:20:21.800 --> 01:20:25.840
sampled this vintage before. In the now raised house lights,

1212
01:20:26.079 --> 01:20:30.159
I could see the absolutely nauseating scene inside. The vamps

1213
01:20:30.159 --> 01:20:33.960
had eaten themselves to death, double death, and from under

1214
01:20:34.039 --> 01:20:37.199
what could only be charitably referred to as a gut

1215
01:20:37.239 --> 01:20:42.239
pile came that pained call for assistance. As I neared

1216
01:20:42.279 --> 01:20:46.239
the mountain of wreaking carnage, a hand darted skywards, sending

1217
01:20:46.279 --> 01:20:50.359
glistening red bits in every direction. Help, please, for all

1218
01:20:50.439 --> 01:20:55.039
that's holy, help me against my better judgment. I grabbed

1219
01:20:55.039 --> 01:20:59.279
the wrist of that mystery arm and tugged hard. You

1220
01:20:59.359 --> 01:21:02.319
know that sound when you dump a slow moving turd

1221
01:21:02.359 --> 01:21:05.399
of dog food from the can and it finally shimmys

1222
01:21:05.479 --> 01:21:08.960
its way free. That was the sound that filled the air,

1223
01:21:09.399 --> 01:21:13.680
although it was a great deal. Louder, a bearded man,

1224
01:21:13.880 --> 01:21:17.000
his thin frame covered in gore, fell from the mound

1225
01:21:17.039 --> 01:21:22.359
of formerly human sloppy joe. Thank you, my son. He

1226
01:21:22.439 --> 01:21:26.920
punctuated that statement with a sour wine belch. You a

1227
01:21:27.039 --> 01:21:33.920
holy man. Formerly my flock has sadly gone astray? He gagged.

1228
01:21:34.800 --> 01:21:39.560
Any idea what's going on here? Sadly I do, he said,

1229
01:21:39.600 --> 01:21:43.079
His brows furrowed and dripped one bodily fluid After another

1230
01:21:44.199 --> 01:21:48.800
go on, I went to the bathroom, turning wine into piss.

1231
01:21:49.159 --> 01:21:52.560
Jesus would be proud. I was pretty happy with that one,

1232
01:21:52.760 --> 01:21:55.800
though the hobo didn't even react. Even at the end.

1233
01:21:55.840 --> 01:21:59.159
I can't catch a break in there. I saw the

1234
01:21:59.199 --> 01:22:02.640
manager of this fine establishment kneeling in one of the stalls.

1235
01:22:03.399 --> 01:22:06.680
He started sobbing like a baby. Come on, spit it out,

1236
01:22:06.720 --> 01:22:15.039
you pious motherfucker. He was was was what giving Who

1237
01:22:15.079 --> 01:22:23.880
I believe was was Dracula a A. Here's what I know.

1238
01:22:24.600 --> 01:22:27.159
This dude from the garbage plate, used to be a priest,

1239
01:22:27.520 --> 01:22:30.279
comes here to get warm and and I can't believe

1240
01:22:30.279 --> 01:22:34.119
I'm going to say this gave Count Dracula a BJ

1241
01:22:34.359 --> 01:22:37.840
in the bathroom. Yeah, it turns out when he was

1242
01:22:37.920 --> 01:22:41.119
done with the manager, he used his mesmerism to continue

1243
01:22:41.119 --> 01:22:45.359
on with the padre there when said encounter happened. He

1244
01:22:45.399 --> 01:22:49.880
could see things from Dracula's mind. Him surviving a murder plot,

1245
01:22:50.079 --> 01:22:52.520
his arrival in Manhattan in the turn of the century,

1246
01:22:52.960 --> 01:22:56.159
his dwelling torn down in a movie theater erected while

1247
01:22:56.159 --> 01:23:00.239
he slumbered in the cold soil hidden below, and his

1248
01:23:00.279 --> 01:23:05.079
resurrection through feeding on the homeless that sheltered in the cinema.

1249
01:23:05.279 --> 01:23:07.720
This was all told over candy that had went off

1250
01:23:07.840 --> 01:23:12.119
data solid four months ago. I refilled my water soda

1251
01:23:12.199 --> 01:23:16.359
and took a long pull. Now my plan here was

1252
01:23:16.439 --> 01:23:19.479
to spit out some cool ass catchphrase and make a

1253
01:23:19.520 --> 01:23:22.720
plan for trying to get away from this nightmare, maybe

1254
01:23:22.760 --> 01:23:27.920
build some sweet weapons. But the smoke got in my lungs. Wait,

1255
01:23:28.119 --> 01:23:32.680
smoke those damn bats. They came a flopping and smoldering

1256
01:23:32.720 --> 01:23:35.600
down the stairs into the lobby, and they were looking

1257
01:23:35.640 --> 01:23:40.319
more healthy by the second. Come on, think, Wait, were

1258
01:23:40.359 --> 01:23:45.000
the bats melting together? I took the final pull off

1259
01:23:45.039 --> 01:23:47.479
my drink and tossed the cup to the ground. The

1260
01:23:47.520 --> 01:23:51.039
bats had formed one large bat that strode forward, walking

1261
01:23:51.079 --> 01:23:56.000
on its wings. It roared at us as it slowly advanced.

1262
01:23:56.000 --> 01:23:59.279
Its bulks smashed into the concession stand sending popcorn and

1263
01:23:59.279 --> 01:24:02.479
soda cups in every direction. That's when it hit me,

1264
01:24:03.279 --> 01:24:07.680
a priest water soda. I bet that could be one

1265
01:24:07.720 --> 01:24:10.600
hell of a holy water. Hey father, do you think

1266
01:24:10.600 --> 01:24:13.520
you have it in you to bless some water? He burped.

1267
01:24:14.199 --> 01:24:17.319
I took that as a yes. Now this was a plan,

1268
01:24:18.199 --> 01:24:22.079
except I finished my drink and the soda fountain had

1269
01:24:22.119 --> 01:24:26.359
been smashed to shitterenes by the drag attack. That's when

1270
01:24:26.359 --> 01:24:30.920
an idea occurred. I was about to die and I

1271
01:24:31.000 --> 01:24:33.640
really needed to take a piss. I mean, I could

1272
01:24:33.680 --> 01:24:36.560
probably just let it go at this point. What a

1273
01:24:36.600 --> 01:24:41.880
shitty way to go. Think Think that could work? Father?

1274
01:24:42.199 --> 01:24:44.840
Does it matter what vessel the holy water flows from?

1275
01:24:45.479 --> 01:24:49.319
Two burps? That's clearly a no. It was then that

1276
01:24:49.399 --> 01:24:53.159
I whipped it out and turned towards the priest. Your father,

1277
01:24:53.600 --> 01:24:56.920
bless this. He held a trembling hand above my stream

1278
01:24:56.960 --> 01:25:01.640
and said something regardless. It worked, and I hosed that

1279
01:25:01.760 --> 01:25:06.359
hell beast down good. As his flesh sizzled, Dracula hissed,

1280
01:25:06.800 --> 01:25:11.199
screamed something in a language I didn't understand, burst back

1281
01:25:11.239 --> 01:25:14.159
into his bat form, and exploded through the glass doors

1282
01:25:14.199 --> 01:25:16.960
of the lobby and out into the frigid winter night.

1283
01:25:17.840 --> 01:25:21.319
The priest had dozed off. I stepped over the broken

1284
01:25:21.399 --> 01:25:28.560
glass and out onto the street. More New Year's revelers passed,

1285
01:25:29.039 --> 01:25:32.640
laughing onward into the night, a night that now contained

1286
01:25:33.279 --> 01:25:39.079
the greatest evil known to mankind, and evil waiting to

1287
01:25:39.159 --> 01:25:48.079
strike again. Alien zombie punks from Upstate New York by

1288
01:25:48.279 --> 01:25:53.920
Dan Wilder. Why is it so dark in here? Damn it?

1289
01:25:54.600 --> 01:25:59.119
I just hit my head on a ceiling wait a minute,

1290
01:26:00.760 --> 01:26:11.399
I think I'm dead. Let's see if I can piece

1291
01:26:11.439 --> 01:26:15.279
this thing together. We went into the city earlier. It

1292
01:26:15.359 --> 01:26:19.439
was me Sloppy Suicide, or Ricky as he was known

1293
01:26:19.479 --> 01:26:24.439
before last year, Debbie and myself. We strolled around the

1294
01:26:24.479 --> 01:26:27.920
city streets, which were both ten to twenty degrees warmer

1295
01:26:27.960 --> 01:26:30.960
than the streets of the nowhere mountain town we left

1296
01:26:31.000 --> 01:26:36.800
three hours earlier, but also inexplicably smelled like chocolate flavored

1297
01:26:36.800 --> 01:26:40.560
breakfast cereal, which was strange but better than the leather

1298
01:26:40.640 --> 01:26:44.359
mill runoff that usually tickled our noses with its award

1299
01:26:44.479 --> 01:26:50.000
losing scent of sickly sweet putrescence mixed tenderly with chemicals

1300
01:26:50.000 --> 01:26:53.399
that were most likely banned everywhere else in the free

1301
01:26:53.439 --> 01:26:58.239
world anyway. Earlier, our punk rock asses clamored into Ricky

1302
01:26:58.560 --> 01:27:02.960
sorry Sloppies, stood up conversion van with bags of snacks

1303
01:27:02.960 --> 01:27:06.520
and beer, and began the long drive to the Big Apple.

1304
01:27:07.319 --> 01:27:10.279
It was already snowing steadily as we tore down the

1305
01:27:10.359 --> 01:27:12.960
roads leading to the highway entrance that would bring us

1306
01:27:12.960 --> 01:27:18.039
close to our ultimate destination, Max's Kansas City for a

1307
01:27:18.239 --> 01:27:21.399
likely to be unforgettable night of punk music and New

1308
01:27:21.479 --> 01:27:25.680
Year's revelry, but the chains wrapped securely around the van's

1309
01:27:25.720 --> 01:27:29.079
tires kept us thankfully on the road, no matter how

1310
01:27:29.119 --> 01:27:33.319
dicey the weather was. Apparently it was in part forgettable,

1311
01:27:33.439 --> 01:27:38.479
because piecing this shit together is getting harder. But I digress.

1312
01:27:39.359 --> 01:27:42.880
So we walk around, got buzzed. Debbie bought a few

1313
01:27:42.920 --> 01:27:46.039
trinkets from the street vendors, and eventually we wandered our

1314
01:27:46.079 --> 01:27:53.640
way over to the venue. After arriving and stepping gracefully

1315
01:27:53.680 --> 01:27:57.960
over a disturbingly large puddle of puke, we stepped inside.

1316
01:27:58.640 --> 01:28:05.039
The place was wall to wallpunks, bullshitting, drinking, being charmingly rude,

1317
01:28:05.479 --> 01:28:09.560
All of our greatest qualities brought out in mass. We mingled,

1318
01:28:09.600 --> 01:28:12.760
we drank, We were loud, and soon the opening band

1319
01:28:12.920 --> 01:28:16.319
lurched to life. I can't, for the life of me

1320
01:28:16.439 --> 01:28:21.039
remember their names, but they sang fast, aggressive songs about alienation,

1321
01:28:21.239 --> 01:28:24.520
indiscriminate fucking. There might have even been a television cover

1322
01:28:24.600 --> 01:28:27.880
in there. They were quickly followed by more scruffy snot

1323
01:28:27.960 --> 01:28:30.760
leaking bands that played forty song sets in the space

1324
01:28:30.800 --> 01:28:35.680
of twenty minutes. Apiece so far, So worth it. The

1325
01:28:35.800 --> 01:28:39.119
night wore on and on, but soon the headliners took

1326
01:28:39.159 --> 01:28:43.319
the stage, coming straight from the wilds of New Jersey.

1327
01:28:43.960 --> 01:28:46.760
These folks looked, for all the world could tell, like

1328
01:28:46.880 --> 01:28:50.800
Ghules returned from the dead to raise unholy Hell, and

1329
01:28:50.880 --> 01:28:54.279
they were louder and more confrontational than all the other

1330
01:28:54.399 --> 01:29:00.319
acts combined. Wait a minute, Gules, that triggers some thing

1331
01:29:01.119 --> 01:29:06.880
to fire off deep within my brain. The scream started

1332
01:29:06.880 --> 01:29:08.880
from the back of the club, but it was barely

1333
01:29:08.960 --> 01:29:11.479
audible over the din of the band and the crowd

1334
01:29:11.600 --> 01:29:15.520
cheering them on. Occasionally, the band's bass player, a hulking

1335
01:29:15.640 --> 01:29:18.680
dude with long black hair brushed in front of his face,

1336
01:29:18.680 --> 01:29:21.880
would smash his instrument into anyone foolish enough to dare

1337
01:29:21.960 --> 01:29:26.039
to get on stage. Onward, they played bringing Us Chain

1338
01:29:26.159 --> 01:29:30.000
Gang choruses and three Angry chords, all wrapped around tales

1339
01:29:30.039 --> 01:29:35.199
of the Kennedy assassination, teenagers from outer space, and satanic werewolves,

1340
01:29:35.680 --> 01:29:41.359
and subtly the crowd noise became less and less. I

1341
01:29:41.399 --> 01:29:44.800
have no idea what compelled me to turn around, but

1342
01:29:44.880 --> 01:29:50.600
I did then quickly regretted it. In the front of

1343
01:29:50.600 --> 01:29:54.760
the house, someone, or more accurately, something moved among the

1344
01:29:54.760 --> 01:29:59.439
crowds swiftly. The being's eyes reflected light, not unlike a

1345
01:29:59.560 --> 01:30:03.359
dogg or a cat, which was disquieting enough for sure,

1346
01:30:03.439 --> 01:30:07.279
but the fact that it was seemingly murdering patrons left

1347
01:30:07.279 --> 01:30:12.239
and right was undoubtedly its worst feature. I turned back

1348
01:30:12.279 --> 01:30:16.279
to warn Debis and Debbie, but another shadow being had

1349
01:30:16.319 --> 01:30:19.359
torn them to pieces before setting to work on the band,

1350
01:30:19.720 --> 01:30:24.000
who admittedly fought like leather clad perserkers, but no amount

1351
01:30:24.039 --> 01:30:27.199
of leather clad muscle and violence could stop the creatures,

1352
01:30:27.399 --> 01:30:31.840
whose numbers had now swollen to four. Upon seeing this,

1353
01:30:31.960 --> 01:30:34.119
I did the only sane thing I could think of.

1354
01:30:35.039 --> 01:30:43.079
I ran the fuck out of there. I pushed through

1355
01:30:43.119 --> 01:30:47.039
the throng, slid constantly on barf, blood, and lord knows

1356
01:30:47.079 --> 01:30:50.279
what other bodily secretions, before I burst out onto the

1357
01:30:50.279 --> 01:30:54.600
city street. The heavily falling snow made everything seem like

1358
01:30:54.640 --> 01:30:59.560
a Christmas card worthy winter wonderland, but the sky held

1359
01:30:59.640 --> 01:31:05.119
less enchanting prospects. Far above the skyscrapers, meteors streaked across

1360
01:31:05.159 --> 01:31:09.279
the sky, leaving violet trails in their wake. I ran on,

1361
01:31:10.000 --> 01:31:15.800
passing various New Yorkers staring uncharacteristically in shock. As feet away,

1362
01:31:15.880 --> 01:31:19.479
one of the meteors hit the sidewalk splitting it violently.

1363
01:31:20.600 --> 01:31:23.600
One of the shadow beings rose from the smoking rubble

1364
01:31:23.960 --> 01:31:28.079
and immediately attacked a bystander, sending a geyser of blood

1365
01:31:28.159 --> 01:31:32.039
up into the frigid night sky, the resulting crimson rain

1366
01:31:32.279 --> 01:31:35.000
freezing to red ice as soon as it collided with

1367
01:31:35.079 --> 01:31:41.439
the ground in steam hissing droplets. Shit, why is this happening?

1368
01:31:41.920 --> 01:31:44.960
I thought stereotypically as I tore ass on and on

1369
01:31:45.199 --> 01:31:47.960
without a destination and no other motivation than saving my

1370
01:31:48.359 --> 01:31:51.640
narrow ass from getting ripped a new one from astromonsters

1371
01:31:51.680 --> 01:31:56.840
falling from the heavens. A few blocks down, things got

1372
01:31:57.119 --> 01:32:00.880
much worse. I saw one of the shadow creatures attack

1373
01:32:00.960 --> 01:32:04.319
a woman, but amazingly, it didn't finish her off before

1374
01:32:04.359 --> 01:32:07.680
it bounded off after a faster moving victim that ran

1375
01:32:07.840 --> 01:32:10.880
like a fucking cartoon character over a sheet of ice

1376
01:32:10.920 --> 01:32:14.319
before regaining his footing and speeding off into the night.

1377
01:32:15.279 --> 01:32:17.680
Against all common sense, I made my way over to

1378
01:32:17.720 --> 01:32:20.920
the woman to try and help her, but upon arrival,

1379
01:32:21.079 --> 01:32:23.760
she was a complete and total mess that looked more

1380
01:32:23.840 --> 01:32:26.560
like a plate of discarded spaghetti and red sauce than

1381
01:32:26.600 --> 01:32:31.680
a young lady out for a stroll. Please please just

1382
01:32:32.760 --> 01:32:38.359
hold me she whimpered. I did, immediately, soaking my best

1383
01:32:38.399 --> 01:32:43.720
T shirt and blood. What's your name? I asked, mainly

1384
01:32:43.840 --> 01:32:46.720
because it's what I saw characters do on TV when

1385
01:32:46.760 --> 01:32:55.000
they encountered similar, deeply shitty situations. Uh, Olivia, she muttered weakly.

1386
01:32:56.359 --> 01:33:01.439
That's a great name, I said, unconvincingly. So what brings

1387
01:33:01.479 --> 01:33:04.880
you out tonight? What the hell kind of question was that?

1388
01:33:05.680 --> 01:33:11.520
In response to my quandary, her eyes glazed over cataract white. Suddenly,

1389
01:33:11.600 --> 01:33:14.640
she sat up straight and shoved me back, hard, sending

1390
01:33:14.680 --> 01:33:18.079
me directly on my ass. A hiss escaped her now

1391
01:33:18.159 --> 01:33:22.159
blue lips, which were flecked with neon green phlegm. Her

1392
01:33:22.199 --> 01:33:24.560
gums had retracted to the point where her teeth now

1393
01:33:24.600 --> 01:33:30.079
appeared ginormous. Speaking of teeth, she began clicking them together rhythmically.

1394
01:33:30.920 --> 01:33:34.399
Somewhere behind me, I heard a slight commotion which quickly

1395
01:33:34.439 --> 01:33:38.000
grew in intensity before a group of What the hell

1396
01:33:38.039 --> 01:33:42.479
are these things? Zombies? Yeah, let's go with that. A

1397
01:33:42.520 --> 01:33:46.039
group of zombies spilled forth from a nearby bodega, their

1398
01:33:46.079 --> 01:33:50.600
limbs flailing wildly as they moved both fast and clumsily forward.

1399
01:33:51.119 --> 01:33:54.720
I screamed and possibly peed a tad and booked it

1400
01:33:54.800 --> 01:34:02.520
like a freight train straight out of Hell. I ran

1401
01:34:02.680 --> 01:34:06.199
until my lungs burned from the freezing air. Then I

1402
01:34:06.319 --> 01:34:10.920
made the absolutely idiotic decision to stop for a second

1403
01:34:11.039 --> 01:34:14.720
get my shit together. The zombies were on me before

1404
01:34:14.760 --> 01:34:18.439
you could say George A. Romero. I felt no pain,

1405
01:34:19.520 --> 01:34:27.439
but darkness soon took me. I came too. For the

1406
01:34:27.439 --> 01:34:31.960
briefest of seconds, the sound of unearthly trumpets filled the sky,

1407
01:34:32.720 --> 01:34:35.680
and as soon as they arrived, the creatures formed back

1408
01:34:35.720 --> 01:34:39.600
into meteors and rose into the sky. As the strange

1409
01:34:39.680 --> 01:34:45.800
music became more and more like sirens, blackness came for

1410
01:34:45.960 --> 01:34:56.159
me again, and then I woke up to even more

1411
01:34:56.239 --> 01:35:00.479
blackness and a minor head injury from the aforementioned ceiling.

1412
01:35:01.359 --> 01:35:04.399
I stared into the darkness before my eyes finally settled

1413
01:35:04.399 --> 01:35:07.239
on a sliver of light down by my feet. I

1414
01:35:07.319 --> 01:35:09.880
slid forward on my back and pressed my feet towards

1415
01:35:09.960 --> 01:35:15.920
the light. Damn. Whatever I pushed up against was cold, cold,

1416
01:35:16.000 --> 01:35:21.880
but very forgiving. A door opened, letting harsh fluorescent lights

1417
01:35:22.039 --> 01:35:26.079
smash into my eyes. With wild abandon, I pushed forward

1418
01:35:26.119 --> 01:35:29.600
and immediately fell onto the rigid tile floor. It took

1419
01:35:29.640 --> 01:35:32.319
me about three point seven seconds to realize where I

1420
01:35:32.520 --> 01:35:37.600
was the morgue. I looked down at my now bare

1421
01:35:37.600 --> 01:35:40.319
feet and removed the Manila tag that was tied around

1422
01:35:40.319 --> 01:35:43.720
my big toe. I have no idea what had happened

1423
01:35:43.720 --> 01:35:48.479
to me, but I was definitely not dead. I caught

1424
01:35:48.560 --> 01:35:51.439
my reflection in a nearby mirror mounted on the wall.

1425
01:35:52.600 --> 01:35:57.039
I wasn't a zombie either. Then I saw the two

1426
01:35:57.119 --> 01:36:06.279
forms rise from the gurnees behind me. Rick, Sloppy Whoever,

1427
01:36:06.560 --> 01:36:10.079
and Debbie sat up. They were nude minus the thin

1428
01:36:10.159 --> 01:36:14.680
sheets that covered them, but Sloppy's mohawk was unmistakable since

1429
01:36:14.720 --> 01:36:17.920
it was hot pink with electric blue tips. It took

1430
01:36:17.960 --> 01:36:20.000
a minute, but I could tell they were much the

1431
01:36:20.039 --> 01:36:23.079
same as Olivia from earlier in the evening, but their

1432
01:36:23.119 --> 01:36:28.640
faces seemed downright friendly instead of, you know, menacing as

1433
01:36:28.760 --> 01:36:34.560
could possibly fucking be. You guys look like shit, Thanks Pal,

1434
01:36:35.039 --> 01:36:39.680
you look naked. I hadn't noticed it before, but Sloppy

1435
01:36:39.800 --> 01:36:42.640
was right. I was every bit as naked as my friends,

1436
01:36:43.520 --> 01:36:45.880
but where I was shivering from the coldness of the room,

1437
01:36:46.000 --> 01:36:49.039
they seemed to be as cozy as could be. My

1438
01:36:49.159 --> 01:36:51.920
eyes darted around the room for something to cover up

1439
01:36:51.960 --> 01:36:55.039
in and then they fell on a plastic bin filled

1440
01:36:55.079 --> 01:36:58.319
with my clothes wallet. Hell, even my beat to shit

1441
01:36:58.439 --> 01:37:01.800
Doc Martin's were accounted for. I crossed the room and

1442
01:37:01.880 --> 01:37:07.880
pulled on my clothes. So what's new with you two? Well,

1443
01:37:08.680 --> 01:37:11.760
we were ripped apart by aliens and woke up as zombies.

1444
01:37:11.840 --> 01:37:15.600
But you know, doesn't feel too bad, Debbie said, cheerfully.

1445
01:37:16.560 --> 01:37:21.000
You guys don't want to eat me, not particularly, No

1446
01:37:22.239 --> 01:37:26.159
turn me into one of you. Nope, Sloppy said flatly,

1447
01:37:27.399 --> 01:37:34.039
Well what do you want to do? We sat at

1448
01:37:34.119 --> 01:37:38.000
Max's drinking our stolen beer, just me and my two

1449
01:37:38.159 --> 01:37:43.279
naked zombie pals. The walk back was uneventful. This particular

1450
01:37:43.359 --> 01:37:47.840
area of the city seemed completely abandoned. Only corpses remained.

1451
01:37:48.560 --> 01:37:51.920
Occasionally we'd hear noises of happy crowds from deeper within

1452
01:37:51.960 --> 01:37:55.960
the city, or footsteps close behind us, or from the rooftops.

1453
01:37:56.520 --> 01:37:59.239
But if more creatures proud tonight, we sure as fuck

1454
01:37:59.279 --> 01:38:03.239
didn't see them. The entire thing was very omega man

1455
01:38:03.279 --> 01:38:06.960
to be quite honest, but as previously mentioned, one with

1456
01:38:07.119 --> 01:38:11.920
less monsters for a change, so that was a big plus. Anyway,

1457
01:38:12.159 --> 01:38:14.880
a punk and two naked zombies walked into a bar,

1458
01:38:15.640 --> 01:38:19.239
no punchline. We just walked in, stole beer, and sat

1459
01:38:19.239 --> 01:38:22.239
at a table surrounded by corpses on a chilly New

1460
01:38:22.319 --> 01:38:26.399
Year's Eve night. Hell As hard as it is to believe,

1461
01:38:26.880 --> 01:38:29.680
the New year had already begun a few hours ago,

1462
01:38:29.800 --> 01:38:32.640
probably between the time we were eaten by monsters and

1463
01:38:32.720 --> 01:38:36.640
waking up as either one a guy that obviously fainted

1464
01:38:36.640 --> 01:38:38.880
at the prospect of being eaten, when in fact, some

1465
01:38:39.279 --> 01:38:42.520
cosmic twist of fate called the herd home before said

1466
01:38:42.560 --> 01:38:46.720
eating could take place, or two as monsters that behave

1467
01:38:46.760 --> 01:38:49.600
absolutely nothing like monsters that made them, who in turn

1468
01:38:49.920 --> 01:38:54.920
were made from other monsters from space. It makes perfect

1469
01:38:54.920 --> 01:38:59.079
sense if you're drunk or mentally ill, or a combo

1470
01:38:59.199 --> 01:39:03.239
of the two. So we sat and drank and laughed

1471
01:39:03.239 --> 01:39:06.800
as if absolutely nothing was off in any way. It

1472
01:39:06.880 --> 01:39:09.840
was kind of perfect, to be honest with you, So

1473
01:39:10.000 --> 01:39:14.680
now what what what I mean? You too can't exactly

1474
01:39:14.720 --> 01:39:18.039
go back home again unless everyone in your family fuck

1475
01:39:18.119 --> 01:39:21.319
that if the whole damn town was suddenly stricken blind.

1476
01:39:22.439 --> 01:39:25.680
You know that's kind of mean, but totally true, don't

1477
01:39:25.720 --> 01:39:28.720
you think? Rick Debbie asked a little string of neon

1478
01:39:28.840 --> 01:39:32.560
green flems slash drool escaping from her mouth as she spoke.

1479
01:39:33.439 --> 01:39:36.720
It does make sense. You're not going to correct her

1480
01:39:36.720 --> 01:39:39.760
for calling you Rick after being dead. I don't know.

1481
01:39:40.479 --> 01:39:45.319
The nickname seems tacky now it's not just now, kiddo,

1482
01:39:45.920 --> 01:39:50.199
Debbie countered. Rick flipped her the bird playfully. I think

1483
01:39:50.239 --> 01:39:52.479
the first thing we should do is assess just how

1484
01:39:52.520 --> 01:39:57.039
far this thing spread. The rest of the city seems okay,

1485
01:39:57.239 --> 01:40:02.159
but here you'd think there'd be emergency cruise or something,

1486
01:40:02.800 --> 01:40:05.840
I said, looking for a TV or radio we could use.

1487
01:40:06.640 --> 01:40:10.239
I finally located a small transistor radio behind the bar

1488
01:40:10.319 --> 01:40:13.479
and switched it on. Only static filled the air no

1489
01:40:13.560 --> 01:40:17.880
matter what channel I tuned to. Well, so much for that.

1490
01:40:18.920 --> 01:40:21.359
Rick got up and wandered around the room for a minute.

1491
01:40:22.439 --> 01:40:26.119
I think we have to consider something else, he said, solemnly,

1492
01:40:27.000 --> 01:40:30.880
which is those things will be back. You can bet

1493
01:40:30.920 --> 01:40:35.159
on that. What makes you so sure, Debbie asked, her white,

1494
01:40:35.439 --> 01:40:39.680
pupilless eyes, staring blankly. Why come all this way, rip

1495
01:40:39.720 --> 01:40:41.960
shit up for under an hour, then just piss off

1496
01:40:42.000 --> 01:40:45.720
back to whatever demented home world could spawn space invader

1497
01:40:45.760 --> 01:40:48.680
rejects that turn people into zombies, most of which are

1498
01:40:48.920 --> 01:40:52.760
hungry for human flesh, except when they aren't like me

1499
01:40:52.880 --> 01:40:58.439
and deb That seems like a solid assumption. Maybe this

1500
01:40:58.680 --> 01:41:02.079
was like a dry run test shit out. See how

1501
01:41:02.119 --> 01:41:06.600
it goes, Debbie said quietly. I'd say it went swimmingly,

1502
01:41:06.640 --> 01:41:09.680
with the exception of you guys, what if we are

1503
01:41:09.800 --> 01:41:14.119
the desired result and the others were failures. Rick offered

1504
01:41:15.199 --> 01:41:18.640
no offense, but naked zombies that are no different than

1505
01:41:18.720 --> 01:41:22.920
regular humans other than looks seems like an experiment created

1506
01:41:22.960 --> 01:41:26.720
by an asshole convention, or just by someone that has

1507
01:41:26.760 --> 01:41:32.319
next to zero common sense. I mean, they're aliens, presumably,

1508
01:41:32.920 --> 01:41:36.319
maybe their standards of intelligence are vastly different from ours.

1509
01:41:36.920 --> 01:41:40.600
As logical as anything else that's gone on tonight, Debbie,

1510
01:41:40.600 --> 01:41:42.720
can I talk to you in private for a moment?

1511
01:41:43.359 --> 01:41:46.560
Ricky asked, sounding more like an adult than I've ever

1512
01:41:46.640 --> 01:41:50.239
heard him before. Debbie and Ricky crossed to the opposite

1513
01:41:50.319 --> 01:41:53.239
end of the room. They stood silhouetted by the stage

1514
01:41:53.279 --> 01:41:56.640
lights that remained on. I couldn't help but wonder what

1515
01:41:56.720 --> 01:41:59.479
in the hell was so damn important, But I didn't

1516
01:41:59.479 --> 01:42:01.319
have a long time time to contemplate. As soon as

1517
01:42:01.319 --> 01:42:05.760
they return to the table, So listen, man, Me and

1518
01:42:05.800 --> 01:42:09.680
deb were just talking, and we have a proposition for you.

1519
01:42:10.720 --> 01:42:14.199
Is this going to get weirdly sexual? Debbie and Rick

1520
01:42:14.279 --> 01:42:17.319
laughed until they coughed up more green goo that hung

1521
01:42:17.399 --> 01:42:22.439
tenaciously to their cold blue lips. No, it's more like

1522
01:42:22.520 --> 01:42:27.520
dinner plans spill it. Let's say, for instance, that those

1523
01:42:27.600 --> 01:42:31.239
cosmic creeps make a return engagement tonight. Do you think

1524
01:42:31.279 --> 01:42:35.479
your chances of continued survival are greater or lesser given

1525
01:42:35.560 --> 01:42:39.279
your current state? Obviously, to be like you would help,

1526
01:42:39.359 --> 01:42:42.800
but I'm not too keen on joining the ranks of

1527
01:42:42.840 --> 01:42:47.279
the shambling dead. We move around just fine, and we're

1528
01:42:47.279 --> 01:42:52.000
impervious to the cold. Deb added merrily. That's all well

1529
01:42:52.039 --> 01:42:55.680
and good, But say I agree to this. What makes

1530
01:42:55.680 --> 01:42:58.239
you so sure I won't end up like the others?

1531
01:42:58.800 --> 01:43:01.960
Because we aren't like that, and we'll both bite. You

1532
01:43:02.520 --> 01:43:06.239
better your chances that way? And then what do we do?

1533
01:43:06.960 --> 01:43:10.840
Hide out? Maybe gather some weapons. If they think we're

1534
01:43:10.840 --> 01:43:12.680
on their side, we may be able to just walk

1535
01:43:12.800 --> 01:43:14.720
up and pop them before they know what hit them.

1536
01:43:15.760 --> 01:43:19.600
I truly hate it when you make reasonable arguments. Is

1537
01:43:19.640 --> 01:43:24.279
that a yes? I mean, back home is comfortable, but

1538
01:43:24.920 --> 01:43:27.359
I can't help but think I have a greater purpose

1539
01:43:27.399 --> 01:43:30.840
in life than being a counter jockey at a video store.

1540
01:43:31.800 --> 01:43:34.560
Saving the whole damn planet would definitely qualify for that.

1541
01:43:36.399 --> 01:43:40.479
Fuck all right, I'm in Debbie barely let out an

1542
01:43:40.479 --> 01:43:49.520
excited yay before the biting began. When I woke up,

1543
01:43:49.560 --> 01:43:54.560
I felt nothing, no more cold, no more warmth, thankfully,

1544
01:43:54.960 --> 01:43:59.520
no hunger. Eventually we gathered some supplies, clothes, and made

1545
01:43:59.560 --> 01:44:02.159
our way back back to our van. Soon we were

1546
01:44:02.159 --> 01:44:05.560
headed due west. As we exited the city, which, besides

1547
01:44:05.600 --> 01:44:08.119
the few blocks we spent the night on, seemed perfectly

1548
01:44:08.159 --> 01:44:13.920
normal in every single way. For now, we sat under

1549
01:44:13.960 --> 01:44:16.279
the hot desert sky, just outside the trailer we had

1550
01:44:16.279 --> 01:44:20.439
shared for over fourteen years. We sipped lemonade from glasses

1551
01:44:20.439 --> 01:44:24.479
adorned with various sci fi flick characters, more for nostalgia

1552
01:44:24.520 --> 01:44:27.720
than anything, since we no longer required any food or

1553
01:44:27.800 --> 01:44:31.800
drink whatsoever. As the years wore on, we became less

1554
01:44:31.800 --> 01:44:35.600
and less sure our intergalactic enemies would ever return, But

1555
01:44:35.880 --> 01:44:38.479
since we basically just hung out and watched TV and

1556
01:44:38.960 --> 01:44:43.960
made music, it really didn't matter much until the day

1557
01:44:44.000 --> 01:44:51.439
that changed. The saucer hovered low in the sky before

1558
01:44:51.439 --> 01:44:56.119
releasing three meteors that collided with the desert floor. Three

1559
01:44:56.159 --> 01:45:00.359
shadow beings crossed the sand. We drew weapons we've never fired,

1560
01:45:00.399 --> 01:45:03.760
and prepared for what we guessed was coming. Except what

1561
01:45:03.920 --> 01:45:08.159
came was vastly different than any scenario we'd imagined over

1562
01:45:08.159 --> 01:45:11.439
the years. The beings held out their smoky hands, and

1563
01:45:11.479 --> 01:45:17.840
our weapons vanished. Didn't plan on that, Ricky whispered. Then

1564
01:45:18.000 --> 01:45:21.640
the largest of the three spoke to us, Hey, folks,

1565
01:45:22.680 --> 01:45:25.760
we just want to say sorry for the trouble we

1566
01:45:25.800 --> 01:45:29.640
caused you as children. We've done some serious growth since

1567
01:45:29.680 --> 01:45:33.520
then and realized how childish our prank was. But we

1568
01:45:33.520 --> 01:45:37.680
were just young punks. We all looked at each other

1569
01:45:37.720 --> 01:45:40.920
with our cataract eyes and it finally all made sense.

1570
01:45:41.800 --> 01:45:46.880
The anarchy, the chaos. We as punks held those beliefs deer,

1571
01:45:47.960 --> 01:45:51.840
and so did our brothers from the stars. I cracked

1572
01:45:51.840 --> 01:45:55.840
some beers and handed them to our guests. So what

1573
01:45:55.920 --> 01:46:05.680
bands are you, guys into? New Year's Evil? A paranormal

1574
01:46:05.760 --> 01:46:09.800
thriller from the case files of Caroline Quinn by Mike Eskewy.

1575
01:46:10.960 --> 01:46:15.399
New Year's Eve twoenty twelve, End of the World, or

1576
01:46:15.640 --> 01:46:19.319
so I hear? Yeah right? It should be a time

1577
01:46:19.319 --> 01:46:22.119
where you reflect on the year and how you've grown

1578
01:46:22.239 --> 01:46:25.319
and what you should be grateful for blah blah blah,

1579
01:46:25.399 --> 01:46:29.800
sentimental bullshit. I, on the other hand, loved going out

1580
01:46:29.840 --> 01:46:32.359
for drinks with the girls, pick up a guy or

1581
01:46:32.399 --> 01:46:37.079
girl whoever looks fun, and frankly, party on. This year

1582
01:46:37.239 --> 01:46:39.720
is not going to be like that, or at least

1583
01:46:40.079 --> 01:46:42.800
this story won't end up with me losing my shoes

1584
01:46:42.840 --> 01:46:45.119
and doing the walk of shame into a seven eleven

1585
01:46:45.159 --> 01:46:49.520
for a slurpee on New Year's morning. Instead, you get

1586
01:46:49.600 --> 01:46:54.479
me your favorite Ghouls school graduate and recently instituted federal

1587
01:46:54.520 --> 01:47:01.760
agent Caroline Quinn. The government's own supernatural badass were called Troubleshooters,

1588
01:47:02.279 --> 01:47:05.479
and there aren't a lot of us in my graduating class.

1589
01:47:05.520 --> 01:47:08.920
There were maybe five others like myself, a blend of

1590
01:47:08.960 --> 01:47:14.159
the superpowered and supernatural aka the government sponsored freak shows

1591
01:47:15.000 --> 01:47:18.600
government goons who fight real life monsters, the kind of

1592
01:47:18.640 --> 01:47:21.880
stuff that was once only found in books and fairy tales.

1593
01:47:22.760 --> 01:47:27.920
Cool huh, However, that's not what's important. This part is

1594
01:47:27.960 --> 01:47:31.880
actually pretty cool and not many know about it. Ghoule School,

1595
01:47:32.279 --> 01:47:38.239
what's that you ask? Well, back when the world changed

1596
01:47:38.319 --> 01:47:43.119
and suddenly superpowers and the supernatural just randomly started to

1597
01:47:43.119 --> 01:47:46.880
coexist in the mid nineteen fifties. So now we have

1598
01:47:47.000 --> 01:47:50.960
assholes who can fly and assholes who suck blood who

1599
01:47:51.000 --> 01:47:57.479
can also fly. But it's complicated. Long story, short, spandex fights, Dracula,

1600
01:47:57.560 --> 01:48:01.520
and even the occasional Frankenstein like things we call them

1601
01:48:01.560 --> 01:48:05.520
Frankies for short. Weirdly more common than you might think,

1602
01:48:05.960 --> 01:48:11.239
and it's usually pharmaceutical companies anyway, So my mom was

1603
01:48:11.279 --> 01:48:15.640
a vampire. My dad wasn't, but he was into the

1604
01:48:15.680 --> 01:48:22.680
whole undead thing. Vamps are sexy, I guess, no, just gross,

1605
01:48:22.720 --> 01:48:26.640
but I digress. My dad is what they call a ghoule,

1606
01:48:27.159 --> 01:48:30.600
but not like an undead zombie thing, more like a

1607
01:48:30.720 --> 01:48:35.319
bonded to vampiric host sort of thing. It sounds less

1608
01:48:35.319 --> 01:48:38.159
fucked up if I use the science terms I learned

1609
01:48:38.159 --> 01:48:42.319
at the academy nine months later, and I'm sure stuff

1610
01:48:42.319 --> 01:48:44.920
that would render years of therapy if I lingered on it.

1611
01:48:45.439 --> 01:48:49.239
I was born. So one night back when I was twelve,

1612
01:48:49.760 --> 01:48:52.800
a couple of bad looking motherfuckers who looked like the

1613
01:48:52.840 --> 01:48:56.399
Men in Black showed up for a chat. They pointed

1614
01:48:56.439 --> 01:49:00.079
an ultraviolet shotgun at my mom and pistol whipped my

1615
01:49:00.199 --> 01:49:03.840
dad and said we know your kid is special. We're

1616
01:49:03.880 --> 01:49:06.880
taking her and if all goes nice and smooth, she'll

1617
01:49:06.920 --> 01:49:10.640
see when she graduates from our little school. Do anything

1618
01:49:10.680 --> 01:49:12.880
but say that your daughter is on scholarship to a

1619
01:49:12.920 --> 01:49:17.359
private school, and you'll be dissected. Am I clear? That

1620
01:49:17.560 --> 01:49:21.560
was my life for six years at Ghul School. It

1621
01:49:21.680 --> 01:49:24.600
never officially had a name, but all of us kids

1622
01:49:24.680 --> 01:49:28.479
nicknamed it Ghoul School. And that's where I'm headed. And

1623
01:49:28.560 --> 01:49:32.600
it happened to be in the dullest place you can imagine, Ohio.

1624
01:49:33.239 --> 01:49:37.399
I know, right. I got a call from a friend, Sammy,

1625
01:49:37.439 --> 01:49:40.079
who works at the school, and said that I needed

1626
01:49:40.119 --> 01:49:43.960
to come home, but it absolutely had to be tonight.

1627
01:49:44.800 --> 01:49:47.840
He sounded panicked, and that was not what I knew

1628
01:49:47.920 --> 01:49:53.960
of Sammy. December thirty first, twenty twelve. This is not

1629
01:49:54.159 --> 01:49:56.479
what I had planned for New Year's Eve this year.

1630
01:49:57.239 --> 01:50:00.479
I had actually had a date tonight. She was a

1631
01:50:00.560 --> 01:50:03.479
nice girl I met at the academy after I graduated.

1632
01:50:03.920 --> 01:50:06.960
Her name was Rheanne. She was cute and I was

1633
01:50:07.039 --> 01:50:11.279
totally into her. Instead, I drove through the backwoods of

1634
01:50:11.279 --> 01:50:15.680
Ohio on New Year's and investigated something weird. It could

1635
01:50:15.680 --> 01:50:19.319
be something, or it could be nothing. Entirely. I couldn't

1636
01:50:19.359 --> 01:50:22.760
shake the feeling that something was wrong. Didn't need to

1637
01:50:22.760 --> 01:50:25.560
be a super or something else to know something was

1638
01:50:25.600 --> 01:50:28.600
going to go down. At my old school, I was

1639
01:50:28.640 --> 01:50:32.479
a few hours out from campus near Youngstown. Sammy had

1640
01:50:32.520 --> 01:50:34.640
said that he noticed some of the newer kids were

1641
01:50:34.680 --> 01:50:39.720
acting weirder than normal and something felt off. He'd mentioned

1642
01:50:39.720 --> 01:50:42.520
that one day one of their cell phones was confiscated

1643
01:50:42.960 --> 01:50:46.880
and it had very threatening messages, and not something as

1644
01:50:46.960 --> 01:50:50.800
fun as a school shooting either. No, seriously, how the

1645
01:50:50.840 --> 01:50:54.279
fuck is that still a thing in twenty twelve, especially

1646
01:50:54.359 --> 01:50:57.359
since now the kids can literally pack as much firepower

1647
01:50:57.359 --> 01:51:01.680
into their own fists as some military I guess I

1648
01:51:01.720 --> 01:51:04.239
should be thankful someone who can melt people with their

1649
01:51:04.279 --> 01:51:09.119
eyes hasn't had a bad day in Pe yet. Way

1650
01:51:09.199 --> 01:51:14.039
of the world I guess still sucks though. Anyway, Sammy

1651
01:51:14.079 --> 01:51:19.319
had mentioned a name and that immediately set off alarm bells. Yasu.

1652
01:51:19.960 --> 01:51:23.760
When things got weird in the world, things got weird.

1653
01:51:24.600 --> 01:51:27.880
It wasn't just vampires and shit that became real. It

1654
01:51:27.960 --> 01:51:32.800
was things that were like nuclear threat level worse, demons, specters,

1655
01:51:32.880 --> 01:51:37.960
and rumor has it, even death gods. Things got understandably

1656
01:51:38.039 --> 01:51:42.079
bizarre in the post changed world, but things that literally

1657
01:51:42.119 --> 01:51:44.560
could rise from the grave and command armies of the

1658
01:51:44.680 --> 01:51:48.199
undead I'm not a fan of, even if I share

1659
01:51:48.279 --> 01:51:52.239
some of that supposed supernatural blood running in my veins.

1660
01:51:53.239 --> 01:51:56.760
Part of my occult schooling involved learning about what new

1661
01:51:56.840 --> 01:51:59.720
world I was a part of, but also the part

1662
01:51:59.760 --> 01:52:02.439
that I I would protect it and draw a paycheck

1663
01:52:02.479 --> 01:52:06.920
at the same time, get some great education, learn rules,

1664
01:52:07.119 --> 01:52:11.640
laws and regulations, and then privately enforce the law for

1665
01:52:11.760 --> 01:52:15.640
Uncle Sam and protect the country and even the world

1666
01:52:15.640 --> 01:52:19.359
at large. It's a lot less cool than it sounds,

1667
01:52:19.479 --> 01:52:24.960
but no student loans to pay back, So bonus. Yasu

1668
01:52:25.159 --> 01:52:29.159
was some long forgotten god from somewhere in Asia, and

1669
01:52:29.279 --> 01:52:32.680
probably for good reason, a death cult that was left

1670
01:52:32.680 --> 01:52:35.199
out of most history books and written off as myth

1671
01:52:35.239 --> 01:52:40.159
by many. Now there's not an unreasonable possibility that this

1672
01:52:41.079 --> 01:52:45.000
thing was potentially returning for a comeback tour in twenty twelve.

1673
01:52:45.680 --> 01:52:49.239
Great timing, if I do say so myself. As a

1674
01:52:49.239 --> 01:52:52.960
favorite cartoon of mine once said, he makes Gozer look

1675
01:52:53.039 --> 01:52:56.880
like Little Mary Sunshine. Clearly I'm in for a fun

1676
01:52:56.960 --> 01:53:00.640
time if he's right. But I am so no praying

1677
01:53:00.800 --> 01:53:03.239
this is just a bunch of edge lords trying to

1678
01:53:03.279 --> 01:53:07.600
look cool in a school full of weirdos. This is great,

1679
01:53:07.680 --> 01:53:10.640
isn't it. A dipshit with a Twitter account thinks they

1680
01:53:10.680 --> 01:53:15.079
can summon great value. Cuthulhu. Sammy knew something was up

1681
01:53:15.319 --> 01:53:18.359
but didn't want to get the kids in harm's way.

1682
01:53:18.399 --> 01:53:21.800
Call me up and hopefully come in quickly, quietly, and

1683
01:53:21.880 --> 01:53:26.119
do it before Uncle Sam decides to use all necessary force.

1684
01:53:27.000 --> 01:53:31.359
The school had security, some superpowered individuals of their own.

1685
01:53:31.439 --> 01:53:36.880
But something feels wrong. You should go back to your

1686
01:53:36.920 --> 01:53:40.039
old school to say, hey, what's up, Let's grab a drink.

1687
01:53:41.119 --> 01:53:44.119
Not me, though, I get to spend my New Year's

1688
01:53:44.159 --> 01:53:48.960
Eve potentially stopping the resurrection of a death god. Or

1689
01:53:49.079 --> 01:53:52.039
I break up some dorky kids new Year's Eve party

1690
01:53:52.600 --> 01:53:55.239
which was their ticket into someone's pants for a night

1691
01:53:56.199 --> 01:54:02.119
save the world, or cock block someone. Fuck. Please, let

1692
01:54:02.159 --> 01:54:05.800
this be a false alarm and just be someone overreacting

1693
01:54:05.840 --> 01:54:09.560
to some kid trying to sound cool. I suppose, on

1694
01:54:09.640 --> 01:54:12.439
the bonus side of all this, I can stop by

1695
01:54:12.479 --> 01:54:15.479
the old cafeteria and see if they still make the

1696
01:54:15.520 --> 01:54:19.279
best tuna sandwich in Ohio, if I can make it

1697
01:54:19.319 --> 01:54:23.960
there in time. Not exactly how I envisioned ringing in

1698
01:54:24.000 --> 01:54:28.680
the new year. I should be getting drunk and getting laid.

1699
01:54:28.840 --> 01:54:30.640
But here we are.

1700
01:54:31.960 --> 01:54:37.800
Go me right, don't go away, weekly spooky, We'll be

1701
01:54:37.960 --> 01:54:38.600
right back.

1702
01:54:43.680 --> 01:54:48.199
It's about ten pm when I finally arrive at the school. Big,

1703
01:54:48.600 --> 01:54:53.720
expensive and like Oprah and Martha Stewart designed the campus.

1704
01:54:54.199 --> 01:54:57.199
It was pretty in a weird artificial sort of way,

1705
01:54:57.800 --> 01:55:01.960
but definitely doesn't give off super secret government institution for

1706
01:55:02.079 --> 01:55:06.800
superpowers vibes. You'd think someone built an Ivy League school

1707
01:55:06.800 --> 01:55:09.479
in the middle of the woods, and on one hand,

1708
01:55:09.920 --> 01:55:14.399
you're right, except it's fully razor wiring, closed and has

1709
01:55:14.520 --> 01:55:19.159
armed patrols near its grounds. Definitely missed dinner though the

1710
01:55:19.279 --> 01:55:23.840
cafe closed hours ago. I wasn't even checked by guards

1711
01:55:23.840 --> 01:55:30.640
when crossing over the perimeter. Okay, that's not normal. Calling

1712
01:55:30.680 --> 01:55:33.800
Sammy cell and all I get is voicemail. I'm definitely

1713
01:55:33.840 --> 01:55:37.079
not liking this. Parking in the visitors lot, I step

1714
01:55:37.119 --> 01:55:40.159
out into the cold December air. I look around the

1715
01:55:40.199 --> 01:55:43.159
empty school grounds and I can hear music coming from

1716
01:55:43.199 --> 01:55:47.680
somewhere close. I don't see anyone around though, no guards,

1717
01:55:47.960 --> 01:55:52.760
no kids, and definitely no one in charge. The parties

1718
01:55:52.800 --> 01:55:55.640
should be happening in the dorms with the older kids

1719
01:55:56.319 --> 01:55:59.199
got to keep whatever damage happens to a minimum tonight.

1720
01:56:00.079 --> 01:56:04.720
I guess I'm going non lethal tasers pepper spray. I

1721
01:56:04.800 --> 01:56:10.640
also have my abilities super strength, speed, durability beyond the

1722
01:56:10.720 --> 01:56:13.720
means of mere mortals at least, and I can see

1723
01:56:13.720 --> 01:56:16.680
in the dark most of the time. I also heal

1724
01:56:16.800 --> 01:56:20.399
super quickly should something be able to hurt me. I

1725
01:56:20.439 --> 01:56:23.640
can shrug off most types of damage unless it comes

1726
01:56:23.680 --> 01:56:28.840
from a supernatural or superpowered force. And It's pretty reasonable

1727
01:56:28.880 --> 01:56:31.640
to assume that I'll run into some kind of trouble tonight.

1728
01:56:32.319 --> 01:56:34.560
At the very least, I'm probably going to ruin my

1729
01:56:34.640 --> 01:56:38.920
new winter coat, which I bought myself for Christmas. Wouldn't

1730
01:56:38.960 --> 01:56:42.680
be a government operation without some cool toys, though, Director

1731
01:56:42.800 --> 01:56:46.920
James Carlson, the new guy at the Department of Paranormal Researches,

1732
01:56:47.439 --> 01:56:50.600
made sure we always had options in our field assignments.

1733
01:56:51.399 --> 01:56:55.479
Now that's the kicker here. Though this isn't a sanctioned operation.

1734
01:56:56.359 --> 01:56:58.399
This is so off the books that if I get

1735
01:56:58.439 --> 01:57:01.760
caught or this makes the newspaper somehow, I am likely

1736
01:57:01.800 --> 01:57:04.600
going to end up in some deep dark cell in

1737
01:57:04.640 --> 01:57:07.920
a prison where not even God could save me unless

1738
01:57:07.920 --> 01:57:11.720
he had proper security clearance. A lot is riding on

1739
01:57:11.800 --> 01:57:15.399
this to keep it quiet, safe, and above all, make

1740
01:57:15.479 --> 01:57:19.159
sure no one gets hurt who doesn't need to. Maybe,

1741
01:57:19.159 --> 01:57:22.399
on second thought, I better sling the toys and just

1742
01:57:22.600 --> 01:57:25.479
keep it to pure non lethals and stuff I can

1743
01:57:25.520 --> 01:57:29.199
conceal in my purse or under my jacket. I'll take

1744
01:57:29.239 --> 01:57:33.319
the taser and the spray nice and tight. Don't want

1745
01:57:33.319 --> 01:57:36.640
to draw too much attention to myself, but a six

1746
01:57:36.680 --> 01:57:40.640
foot blonde who doesn't exactly dress conservatively is bound to

1747
01:57:40.760 --> 01:57:44.319
raise a few eyebrows if I get spotted. I stop

1748
01:57:44.399 --> 01:57:48.000
myself from breathing and focus all of my attention on

1749
01:57:48.119 --> 01:57:52.680
listening to the environment around the school grounds, focusing all

1750
01:57:52.800 --> 01:57:59.279
my supernatural senses and just listening for real signs of life, talking, movement,

1751
01:58:00.319 --> 01:58:04.840
fucking anything that doesn't belong. A moment passes and I

1752
01:58:04.880 --> 01:58:08.840
hear something in the dorms across the parking lot. I

1753
01:58:08.920 --> 01:58:12.760
carefully isolate the sound from the music that's pounding and

1754
01:58:12.880 --> 01:58:18.279
almost overwhelming my senses. This is deliberate. This music is

1755
01:58:18.359 --> 01:58:22.840
covering something up or is a part of it. A

1756
01:58:22.880 --> 01:58:26.279
low murmur in a language I don't recognize. But I

1757
01:58:26.359 --> 01:58:29.439
know it's bad news. It sounds like a group of

1758
01:58:29.560 --> 01:58:36.239
voices are chanting or singing something deeply weird. Guess it's

1759
01:58:36.319 --> 01:58:39.680
time to go. I feel weird leaving behind all the

1760
01:58:39.720 --> 01:58:42.600
weapons in the car in case I run into something

1761
01:58:42.640 --> 01:58:46.840
a little harder to kill than some gifted weirdo with

1762
01:58:46.960 --> 01:58:51.319
who knows what powers. I don't feel good leaving behind

1763
01:58:51.439 --> 01:58:55.760
my actual handgun, but I'd rather not accidentally shoot through

1764
01:58:55.800 --> 01:58:59.680
a wall and hurt someone. I briskly walk across the

1765
01:58:59.760 --> 01:59:02.600
lawn and head towards the courtyard in front of the

1766
01:59:02.640 --> 01:59:06.520
school dorms. A lot of memories come flooding back as

1767
01:59:06.560 --> 01:59:09.800
I crossed the yard. I smiled briefly as I look

1768
01:59:09.840 --> 01:59:14.880
at one particular tree. That tree is where I kissed

1769
01:59:14.880 --> 01:59:19.840
my first boyfriend, Dan. He was all right, but it

1770
01:59:19.960 --> 01:59:22.880
was his sister who was really into me, and she

1771
01:59:23.000 --> 01:59:27.239
and I dated for a few semesters. Surprisingly, Dan was

1772
01:59:27.279 --> 01:59:31.439
cool about it because he wanted his sister Laurie to

1773
01:59:31.520 --> 01:59:36.079
be happy. They were good kids. It's too bad they

1774
01:59:36.079 --> 01:59:41.359
didn't make it to graduation day. I missed them. A

1775
01:59:41.399 --> 01:59:44.560
schoolyard fight went wrong and one of the other freak

1776
01:59:44.600 --> 01:59:48.960
shows decided to use their pyrokinetic abilities to burn them

1777
01:59:49.000 --> 01:59:53.319
to cinders. School security didn't waste any time in putting

1778
01:59:53.359 --> 01:59:59.399
down the offender. In spectacular fashion. Security officer Franklin Wick

1779
01:59:59.680 --> 02:00:04.039
a k Boil used as superpowers to liquefy the water

1780
02:00:04.159 --> 02:00:08.119
inside the attacker and turn them into a bloody puddle.

1781
02:00:09.000 --> 02:00:12.640
Fights at Ghoul School could get cataclysmic real fast if

1782
02:00:12.680 --> 02:00:15.920
security didn't step in. I saw one kid who was

1783
02:00:15.960 --> 02:00:20.079
partially a gargoyle get torn apart by the school's enhanced

1784
02:00:20.159 --> 02:00:23.920
guard dogs. It wasn't pretty and it put us in

1785
02:00:24.039 --> 02:00:28.439
line pretty quick. The blood spatter wasn't something you could

1786
02:00:28.439 --> 02:00:32.920
easily forget. There wasn't enough of Dan and Laurie to bury.

1787
02:00:33.800 --> 02:00:36.880
I don't even know if their parents know what really happened.

1788
02:00:38.000 --> 02:00:41.000
A small tree is planted in the courtyard with a

1789
02:00:41.039 --> 02:00:45.039
plaque that reads, may they never be forgotten as we

1790
02:00:45.119 --> 02:00:48.640
fight forward. I don't know how many died over the

1791
02:00:48.680 --> 02:00:52.800
course of the school's history, but it's more than a few,

1792
02:00:53.600 --> 02:00:57.439
but less than a fuck ton. The government spends a

1793
02:00:57.439 --> 02:01:01.880
lot of money to protect its invest not all kids

1794
02:01:01.920 --> 02:01:06.720
who are either superpowered, gifted, or supernaturally inclined and up here,

1795
02:01:07.359 --> 02:01:11.079
but it's enough to make sure it's protected. The United

1796
02:01:11.119 --> 02:01:14.199
States stands on the front line of this weird occult

1797
02:01:14.239 --> 02:01:18.439
war and tends to identify the most gifted individuals per

1798
02:01:18.520 --> 02:01:23.119
its population. Most other nations try to keep those numbers quiet.

1799
02:01:24.000 --> 02:01:27.920
The US likes to wave its supernatural superhero Dick around

1800
02:01:28.039 --> 02:01:32.920
like a grinning idiot kid who found his dad's gun. Still,

1801
02:01:32.960 --> 02:01:37.359
there are too many, but that's why I'm here. Maybe

1802
02:01:37.399 --> 02:01:40.880
I can stop something bad before it really gets going

1803
02:01:41.479 --> 02:01:45.119
and somebody else gets hurt. I know it won't bring

1804
02:01:45.199 --> 02:01:48.800
back Dan and Lorie, but yeah, if I could do

1805
02:01:48.880 --> 02:01:53.920
the right thing, then I absolutely should save the world. Right.

1806
02:01:55.159 --> 02:01:58.479
I'll call Sammy's phone one last time before I enter

1807
02:01:58.560 --> 02:02:01.800
the dorms and hope he picks up up it. Rings

1808
02:02:01.880 --> 02:02:07.439
and rings and rings, and then straight to voicemail. I

1809
02:02:07.520 --> 02:02:10.159
pocket my phone and walk up the stone steps to

1810
02:02:10.199 --> 02:02:14.720
the dorms. If Sammy is anywhere, it's probably here, since

1811
02:02:15.039 --> 02:02:19.479
he's one of the resident advisors and is probably in

1812
02:02:19.520 --> 02:02:23.039
the resident Advisor's office or in his own suite on

1813
02:02:23.079 --> 02:02:26.520
the fourth floor. I creak open the double doors and

1814
02:02:26.680 --> 02:02:30.199
enter the front area of the dorms. It's loud, but

1815
02:02:30.840 --> 02:02:35.800
unnaturally still at the same time. Weird loud music echoes

1816
02:02:35.840 --> 02:02:39.239
over the PA systems, and even some of the interior

1817
02:02:39.319 --> 02:02:43.039
lights are flashing on and off as if in time

1818
02:02:43.079 --> 02:02:47.960
with the music. Well, this one just jumped up on

1819
02:02:48.039 --> 02:02:49.199
the weird shadow meter.

1820
02:02:50.960 --> 02:02:53.439
Did you hear that? Better check the locks on your

1821
02:02:53.520 --> 02:02:56.920
doors weekly, spooky, We'll be right back.

1822
02:02:59.399 --> 02:03:02.680
The front deckesk is empty, as expected, but that may

1823
02:03:02.760 --> 02:03:06.439
actually work to my advantage. I hop over the desk

1824
02:03:06.520 --> 02:03:09.399
and thankfully don't tear the ass out of my jeans

1825
02:03:09.439 --> 02:03:13.479
as I do. The security system is still open and active,

1826
02:03:13.840 --> 02:03:16.239
and I have a whole suite of cameras across the

1827
02:03:16.399 --> 02:03:21.079
entire building to look in on. Examining multiple cameras across

1828
02:03:21.119 --> 02:03:24.520
the four floors, and almost immediately I come across the

1829
02:03:24.600 --> 02:03:29.560
bad news I've been expecting. The fourth floor is filled

1830
02:03:29.600 --> 02:03:34.159
with people, and some do not look very friendly. It

1831
02:03:34.239 --> 02:03:37.119
looks like almost all the students and staff have been

1832
02:03:37.159 --> 02:03:40.279
subdued and are tied up lining the hallways of the

1833
02:03:40.319 --> 02:03:44.520
fourth floor gags and ropes, and some are covered in

1834
02:03:44.560 --> 02:03:49.039
a weird green goo that I've never seen before. This

1835
02:03:49.279 --> 02:03:53.520
night just keeps getting better, doesn't it. I see a

1836
02:03:53.520 --> 02:03:56.720
group of about six of them in long dark robes

1837
02:03:57.159 --> 02:04:00.640
being led by a guy in skinny black jeens and

1838
02:04:00.680 --> 02:04:06.199
a Christmas sweater wonderful, a gaggle of goofy wanna be cultists,

1839
02:04:06.520 --> 02:04:10.039
and a dorky Hans Gruber type. He even has the

1840
02:04:10.119 --> 02:04:13.279
cutest little bit of facial hair trying to look like

1841
02:04:13.359 --> 02:04:17.760
Alan Rickman. Just as I'm sitting here giggling to myself,

1842
02:04:18.119 --> 02:04:21.399
an icicle comes flying out of the darkness and impacts

1843
02:04:21.439 --> 02:04:26.279
the wall behind my head and explodes into painful icy shards.

1844
02:04:27.159 --> 02:04:30.239
Before I can even register the shock of the first impact,

1845
02:04:30.600 --> 02:04:33.560
a flurry of ice spears comes flying at the desk

1846
02:04:33.720 --> 02:04:36.720
and at me. I throw myself to the floor under

1847
02:04:36.760 --> 02:04:41.359
the desk and hear more impacts. Oh fuck me, I

1848
02:04:41.479 --> 02:04:44.920
quietly whisper to myself as I can hear more hits.

1849
02:04:45.520 --> 02:04:48.319
The desk is made of heavy wood, but it won't

1850
02:04:48.399 --> 02:04:52.399
last forever and I'll have to move. Time to go

1851
02:04:52.399 --> 02:04:55.520
to work. Then I peek around the corner and see

1852
02:04:55.560 --> 02:04:57.960
if I can spot where the attacks are coming from.

1853
02:04:58.600 --> 02:05:02.279
My eyesight adjusts to the lighting conditions and I can

1854
02:05:02.319 --> 02:05:04.960
see a small shape at the far end of the lobby,

1855
02:05:05.359 --> 02:05:10.560
hiding behind one of those big comfy chairs. I can't

1856
02:05:10.560 --> 02:05:14.760
make out any distinct features, though, but I know they

1857
02:05:14.800 --> 02:05:19.520
are alone. I can hear just one heartbeat besides my own,

1858
02:05:20.319 --> 02:05:25.520
and it's beating so fast it's like a wrapper's backing track. Hey,

1859
02:05:25.680 --> 02:05:28.279
could you please stop throwing shit at me for like

1860
02:05:28.880 --> 02:05:32.960
five seconds? I yell from behind the desk and prepare

1861
02:05:33.039 --> 02:05:36.920
to sprint from my position. If I can distract them

1862
02:05:37.039 --> 02:05:40.920
for just a moment, I can use that supernatural speed

1863
02:05:41.359 --> 02:05:44.319
and close the gap and not catch an ice spear

1864
02:05:44.359 --> 02:05:48.199
in the head. I mean, there is a reasonable chance

1865
02:05:48.239 --> 02:05:51.079
i'd shrug it off due to my own gifts. But

1866
02:05:51.560 --> 02:05:56.000
just because you're tough doesn't mean you're reckless. Another impact,

1867
02:05:56.039 --> 02:05:58.880
and this time I can see the ice penetrate right

1868
02:05:58.960 --> 02:06:04.039
beside my face. I know it's time to move. I

1869
02:06:04.159 --> 02:06:07.079
thrust my body forward and move across the room in

1870
02:06:07.079 --> 02:06:09.680
the blink of an eye, and at the last second,

1871
02:06:09.800 --> 02:06:11.920
I use the chair as a place to jump off

1872
02:06:12.279 --> 02:06:16.239
and land behind it. Training kicks in and I'm now

1873
02:06:16.279 --> 02:06:19.920
in combat mode, and it all happens almost by instinct,

1874
02:06:20.079 --> 02:06:23.640
and sheer will alone. I sweep my leg low and

1875
02:06:23.720 --> 02:06:26.840
knock my opponent over with tremendous force against the wall,

1876
02:06:27.600 --> 02:06:31.439
moving into close range, arms fly forward and I throw

1877
02:06:31.520 --> 02:06:34.119
all my strength in depending their arms while pushing my

1878
02:06:34.239 --> 02:06:37.960
weight onto them and holding them to the floor. Looking

1879
02:06:38.000 --> 02:06:41.520
down at my opponent for a second, and I see

1880
02:06:42.159 --> 02:06:46.319
it's a kid. She looks frightened and terrified beyond reason.

1881
02:06:47.359 --> 02:06:50.279
She's an Asian girl who couldn't be more than fourteen,

1882
02:06:50.840 --> 02:06:53.960
and that's maybe a stretch. She looks up at me

1883
02:06:54.039 --> 02:06:58.039
and pure fear and closes her eyes, fully expecting me

1884
02:06:58.159 --> 02:07:03.600
to enter right here and right now. I'm not a monster.

1885
02:07:04.600 --> 02:07:06.640
I try to tell myself that before I go to

1886
02:07:06.680 --> 02:07:12.159
sleep at night. I put my hand over her mouth firmly. Look, kid,

1887
02:07:12.600 --> 02:07:15.359
I think we got off on the wrong foot. If

1888
02:07:15.359 --> 02:07:18.199
I let you go, will you tell me what the

1889
02:07:18.239 --> 02:07:21.960
fuck is happening around here? She nods, and I can

1890
02:07:22.000 --> 02:07:25.399
feel some, but not all, of the tension leave her body.

1891
02:07:26.000 --> 02:07:28.760
I release some of the grip I have honor and

1892
02:07:28.880 --> 02:07:32.560
let go of my hold on her mouth. Who are you,

1893
02:07:33.439 --> 02:07:37.640
she meekly asks. My name is Caroline, and I used

1894
02:07:37.640 --> 02:07:41.720
to be a student here. I'm here to help. They

1895
02:07:41.800 --> 02:07:45.920
killed mister Reeves, they killed Miss Simmons. They even killed

1896
02:07:46.000 --> 02:07:49.600
lunch lady Maria. They turned the rest of the staff

1897
02:07:49.880 --> 02:07:54.760
into monsters. The kid stammered out then started to cry.

1898
02:07:55.359 --> 02:07:59.880
Mister Reeves was also known as Sammy Reeves. Sammy is dead,

1899
02:08:00.640 --> 02:08:05.159
or at least according to her. I'll deal with this later,

1900
02:08:05.199 --> 02:08:10.079
but right now, we've got bigger problems. I know how

1901
02:08:10.119 --> 02:08:14.920
to fight monsters, terrorists, and about seven different types of zombies,

1902
02:08:15.520 --> 02:08:21.319
but I don't know how to deal with a kid crying. Okay, look,

1903
02:08:21.920 --> 02:08:24.920
I'm also a federal agent and I'm like you, but

1904
02:08:25.680 --> 02:08:30.600
I figured you guessed that already. What do you mean monsters?

1905
02:08:31.079 --> 02:08:33.600
We sat down for a few minutes in the darkness

1906
02:08:34.000 --> 02:08:38.520
and talked, and what I heard I didn't like. It.

1907
02:08:38.640 --> 02:08:43.399
Seems about two days ago things started getting weird and

1908
02:08:43.479 --> 02:08:48.039
then people started dying. She told me about strange creatures

1909
02:08:48.079 --> 02:08:51.520
that tore the security teams apart, and they looked like

1910
02:08:51.600 --> 02:08:55.920
something out of a horror movie green corpse like monsters

1911
02:08:56.399 --> 02:08:59.960
covered in slime, and their touch that seemed to rot

1912
02:09:00.479 --> 02:09:07.199
in an instant. Well, this definitely narrows it down. Rots.

1913
02:09:07.560 --> 02:09:11.680
Servants of death gods corpses reanimated by the will of

1914
02:09:11.760 --> 02:09:14.640
death and powered by the souls of the damned near

1915
02:09:14.680 --> 02:09:18.600
where they are animated, usually found in Europe, but more

1916
02:09:18.640 --> 02:09:23.640
recently on modern battlefields. The unfortunate consequence of war. I'm

1917
02:09:23.640 --> 02:09:28.159
afraid tougher than typical zombies and had a pleasant side

1918
02:09:28.159 --> 02:09:33.079
effect of a death touch that basically putrefied you. It's quick,

1919
02:09:33.199 --> 02:09:36.279
but about one of the most unpleasant ways to die.

1920
02:09:36.399 --> 02:09:41.920
You can imagine. What's your name? Kid? Anna? Anna Wu?

1921
02:09:42.960 --> 02:09:46.680
They call me slush. I'm not good with my powers.

1922
02:09:47.279 --> 02:09:50.000
You're the first person I've ever successfully used them on.

1923
02:09:51.119 --> 02:09:55.640
I chuckle at that. Well, to be fair, you didn't

1924
02:09:55.720 --> 02:09:59.119
land a hit. Anna. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you

1925
02:09:59.119 --> 02:10:03.479
were one of Gary's dunes and I panicked. I'm guessing

1926
02:10:03.560 --> 02:10:06.800
Gary is the asshole in the Christmas sweater. The others

1927
02:10:06.840 --> 02:10:09.399
in the robes must be the rots under his control.

1928
02:10:10.319 --> 02:10:15.119
Anna stopped crying and nodded. He killed my roommate Sarah.

1929
02:10:15.560 --> 02:10:19.520
She tried to stop him, but Gary's monsters. Her voice

1930
02:10:19.560 --> 02:10:23.039
trailed off. I can guess that the rots touched her

1931
02:10:23.399 --> 02:10:27.840
and she likely died quickly but painfully, being rotted from

1932
02:10:27.880 --> 02:10:32.479
the inside out. Goddamn. I can't save everyone, but that

1933
02:10:32.640 --> 02:10:36.800
is no way to die, especially for a kid. Is

1934
02:10:36.840 --> 02:10:39.760
that how you got away? I didn't want to ask,

1935
02:10:39.880 --> 02:10:43.680
but I had to know. She protected me while I

1936
02:10:43.760 --> 02:10:47.079
ran away. I couldn't help her, so she told me

1937
02:10:47.119 --> 02:10:50.840
to run and hide. Any idea why Gary is doing this.

1938
02:10:52.279 --> 02:10:54.960
You don't just try to resurrect a death god on

1939
02:10:54.960 --> 02:10:58.359
New Year's Eve twenty twelve unless you have a really

1940
02:10:58.399 --> 02:11:03.720
good reason or you're some nihilistic little fuck from Tumblr. No,

1941
02:11:04.039 --> 02:11:07.119
but I know he talks to the dead. He transferred

1942
02:11:07.119 --> 02:11:09.119
in a few weeks ago from out of the country,

1943
02:11:10.000 --> 02:11:14.159
an exchange student from South America. I've got a few

1944
02:11:14.199 --> 02:11:17.520
theories on why, and none of them good or even

1945
02:11:17.600 --> 02:11:21.319
conclusive at this point. Could be anything from your typical

1946
02:11:21.479 --> 02:11:24.520
I want to destroy the world, twirly mustache, to some

1947
02:11:24.600 --> 02:11:29.760
kind of misguided religious belief, or my personal favorite, crazy

1948
02:11:29.800 --> 02:11:32.479
as a shithouse rat, as my dad used to say.

1949
02:11:33.279 --> 02:11:37.960
All right, cool, so I got let me see a

1950
02:11:38.039 --> 02:11:40.319
crazy kid who can talk to the dead with about

1951
02:11:40.359 --> 02:11:44.439
six rots under his sway, the resurrection of Yasue likely

1952
02:11:44.479 --> 02:11:48.840
at hand, and hostages of all shapes and sizes. You know,

1953
02:11:49.119 --> 02:11:51.079
some girls want to go out and have drinks on

1954
02:11:51.119 --> 02:11:54.800
New Year's Eve, but instead I get dragged into Caroline

1955
02:11:54.840 --> 02:11:58.640
in the Apocalypse. Not exactly Dick Clark's rock in New

1956
02:11:58.680 --> 02:12:01.479
Year's Eve at Times Square, but I'm sure I'll find

1957
02:12:01.479 --> 02:12:04.439
a way to bring a little life to this undead

1958
02:12:04.560 --> 02:12:08.479
ghoul fest. Next year, I am definitely turning off text

1959
02:12:08.520 --> 02:12:14.119
messages and going someplace sunny, maybe Disney World. I want

1960
02:12:14.239 --> 02:12:15.119
my mouse ears.

1961
02:12:16.560 --> 02:12:20.439
You're not safe yet, Weekly Spooky will be right back.

1962
02:12:25.199 --> 02:12:29.039
I glance at my watch. It's eleven forty eight, and

1963
02:12:29.119 --> 02:12:31.119
if I'm going to make a move, it has to

1964
02:12:31.159 --> 02:12:35.039
be now. I'm wondering how useful my new friend Anna

1965
02:12:35.159 --> 02:12:38.199
is going to be in a fight, especially if things

1966
02:12:38.279 --> 02:12:43.079
get messy. Not like I have a choice. There's no

1967
02:12:43.239 --> 02:12:45.960
time to call back up. If I don't solve this

1968
02:12:46.119 --> 02:12:49.640
problem quickly, then the world won't be around for too

1969
02:12:49.720 --> 02:12:53.199
much longer. So I need a plan and kick the

1970
02:12:53.239 --> 02:12:56.760
door down, so to speak, maybe really fast, to kill

1971
02:12:56.760 --> 02:12:59.840
myself and run the clock out on planet Earth. I

1972
02:13:00.119 --> 02:13:02.880
can't just pull a die hard and expect to survive.

1973
02:13:03.800 --> 02:13:06.720
I have to think tactically, unless like a video game

1974
02:13:06.800 --> 02:13:11.479
or a comic book. I need a plan. B wait,

1975
02:13:12.439 --> 02:13:15.199
light bulb moment here. I head over to the front

1976
02:13:15.239 --> 02:13:18.720
desk area and start looking at those camera monitors. We

1977
02:13:18.760 --> 02:13:22.680
can take out this asshole by going into his blind spots. Yeah,

1978
02:13:22.760 --> 02:13:25.159
we're gonna get this guy and we're gonna make goddamn

1979
02:13:25.239 --> 02:13:29.079
sure he doesn't see us coming. There are two staircases

1980
02:13:29.119 --> 02:13:32.000
with entrances up where Gary and his rots are, and

1981
02:13:32.079 --> 02:13:35.199
only one of them is currently guarded. Looks like we

1982
02:13:35.279 --> 02:13:38.119
have our blind spot. But how do we take advantage

1983
02:13:38.159 --> 02:13:41.760
of it and move them away from the hostages. Well,

1984
02:13:42.760 --> 02:13:46.119
maybe I can pull a die hard here. Hey Anna,

1985
02:13:46.720 --> 02:13:49.000
I have a crazy idea, but I'll need your help.

1986
02:13:49.560 --> 02:13:52.279
Tell me, do you have fine enough control of your

1987
02:13:52.319 --> 02:13:56.159
abilities that you can super cool the air? The girl

1988
02:13:56.199 --> 02:13:59.359
looked at me confused for a moment and seemed to

1989
02:13:59.359 --> 02:14:04.039
think pretty hard for a second, but nodded at me. Yeah.

1990
02:14:04.119 --> 02:14:06.039
It was one of the first things I learned to do.

1991
02:14:07.039 --> 02:14:10.399
My parents didn't have an AC unit, so they'd ask

1992
02:14:10.520 --> 02:14:13.560
me to do it, But more often than not, I'd

1993
02:14:13.640 --> 02:14:19.079
freeze the house. Cute a living air conditioning unit, save

1994
02:14:19.119 --> 02:14:22.319
a few bucks anywhere you can. Right, If she doesn't

1995
02:14:22.359 --> 02:14:25.319
become a superhero, then she'll be a blast at parties

1996
02:14:25.359 --> 02:14:31.800
for cold drinks. Okay, maybe this will work after all.

1997
02:14:31.960 --> 02:14:34.479
Looked at the monitors again, and it seemed like the

1998
02:14:34.560 --> 02:14:38.600
hostages were relatively safe for the moment. The rots seemed

1999
02:14:38.640 --> 02:14:40.319
to be guarding a door at the end of the

2000
02:14:40.319 --> 02:14:45.359
main hallway, so likely the wreck room on the fourth floor. Unfortunately,

2001
02:14:45.399 --> 02:14:48.319
that is the one camera whose feed is currently dark,

2002
02:14:48.840 --> 02:14:53.199
and I couldn't see anything beyond a sea of static. Fortunately,

2003
02:14:53.239 --> 02:14:55.680
the front desk had the other component of my plan

2004
02:14:55.840 --> 02:14:59.560
right there, smiling at me with a large yellow sticky

2005
02:14:59.600 --> 02:15:06.319
note claiming do not touch the thermostat Anna. So here's

2006
02:15:06.359 --> 02:15:09.199
the game plan, and I can't do it without your help.

2007
02:15:09.760 --> 02:15:12.560
I'm gonna have you super cool the air in the elevator,

2008
02:15:12.880 --> 02:15:19.680
and I'm gonna fuck with the thermostad Okay, why science,

2009
02:15:19.720 --> 02:15:23.279
motherfucker instant fog cloud that leaves cover for me to

2010
02:15:23.359 --> 02:15:26.439
go in there and play little miss badass. We're gonna

2011
02:15:26.439 --> 02:15:28.199
put you in the top of the elevator where it's

2012
02:15:28.279 --> 02:15:31.279
nice and safe, and you'll basically keep up the pressure

2013
02:15:31.319 --> 02:15:34.920
and the cold. I could see the gears turning in

2014
02:15:34.960 --> 02:15:38.920
Anna's head and it clicked temperature difference, and with someone

2015
02:15:39.039 --> 02:15:42.079
constantly running the fog machine, it was a perfect way

2016
02:15:42.119 --> 02:15:45.520
to get an ambush going where will you be, Caroline,

2017
02:15:46.279 --> 02:15:48.159
I'm going to be up the stairs so when the

2018
02:15:48.159 --> 02:15:51.239
attention is focused on the elevator doors opening, I can

2019
02:15:51.319 --> 02:15:54.159
rush in behind them and hopefully clear the rots out

2020
02:15:54.199 --> 02:15:57.680
before anyone knows what the fuck is happening. Looking at

2021
02:15:57.720 --> 02:16:00.680
my watch and realizing the clock is starting to wind down,

2022
02:16:01.359 --> 02:16:06.079
it's likely time to go all right. Six potential rots

2023
02:16:06.079 --> 02:16:08.680
and cloaks, a dork who could talk to the dead,

2024
02:16:08.720 --> 02:16:11.199
and a death god coming in hot for the New Year.

2025
02:16:11.880 --> 02:16:15.079
What's not to love? I mean, realistically, this could go

2026
02:16:15.199 --> 02:16:18.439
totally sideways and the earth gets plunged into a new

2027
02:16:18.520 --> 02:16:21.279
dark age under a menacing death deity who hates everything

2028
02:16:21.319 --> 02:16:26.720
with a pulse. Or we go upstairs, kick some supernatural

2029
02:16:26.760 --> 02:16:28.920
ass and get back in time to watch the lame

2030
02:16:29.039 --> 02:16:32.239
New Year's Eve shows hosted by Carson Dally or whoever

2031
02:16:32.280 --> 02:16:34.920
the fuck is doing it now. If I end up

2032
02:16:34.920 --> 02:16:37.719
saving the world tonight, I am getting that sandwich from

2033
02:16:37.719 --> 02:16:41.719
the cafe before I leave. No matter what, I mess

2034
02:16:41.799 --> 02:16:44.079
with the thermostat and set it in such a way

2035
02:16:44.159 --> 02:16:47.879
that things should be downright uncomfortable upstairs. In just a

2036
02:16:47.920 --> 02:16:52.280
few minutes, it's go time. Anna and I walk up

2037
02:16:52.319 --> 02:16:55.159
to the elevators and I pry off the top of

2038
02:16:55.200 --> 02:16:57.639
the ceiling and lift this little girl onto the top

2039
02:16:57.680 --> 02:17:00.719
of the box. She makes herself as comfortable as she

2040
02:17:00.840 --> 02:17:04.920
possibly can, but she looks scared shitless, and I don't

2041
02:17:04.959 --> 02:17:08.440
blame her. This kid has already gone through a lot,

2042
02:17:09.280 --> 02:17:11.239
and this is the kind of shit that fucks you

2043
02:17:11.360 --> 02:17:14.959
up for life. Ghoule School always had a way with

2044
02:17:15.360 --> 02:17:19.600
lasting memories. My scary memory was the death of Dan

2045
02:17:19.680 --> 02:17:22.840
and Laurie. Anna isn't even done with her first few

2046
02:17:22.879 --> 02:17:26.000
semesters here, so I can only imagine what else is

2047
02:17:26.040 --> 02:17:29.399
going to happen to her. I sincerely hope she'll have

2048
02:17:29.479 --> 02:17:35.399
an easier time after tonight. This is heavy and frankly apocalyptic,

2049
02:17:35.479 --> 02:17:39.520
but she's holding it together. Anna hit this with as

2050
02:17:39.600 --> 02:17:42.239
much cold as you can muster. Keep pumping out the

2051
02:17:42.280 --> 02:17:45.559
cold and absolutely flood the place with fog or whatever

2052
02:17:46.079 --> 02:17:48.799
as soon as the elevator doors open, and no matter

2053
02:17:48.840 --> 02:17:52.000
what you hear, until I say all clear, keep it up.

2054
02:17:52.719 --> 02:17:55.399
I know this is scary and probably isn't the best plan,

2055
02:17:56.040 --> 02:18:00.879
but I think it's got a solid chance. Caroline, I

2056
02:18:00.920 --> 02:18:04.399
got it. I won't let you down. We can stop

2057
02:18:04.479 --> 02:18:09.120
Gary and help everyone, right, Yeah, I mean it's either

2058
02:18:09.159 --> 02:18:13.319
that or we all die horribly. I don't think Anna

2059
02:18:13.440 --> 02:18:18.239
appreciated my dark sense of humor. No, we'll be fine, kid,

2060
02:18:18.680 --> 02:18:20.680
I trust you have my back, and it's not like

2061
02:18:20.719 --> 02:18:24.600
I haven't faced my fair share of weird shit. I

2062
02:18:24.680 --> 02:18:27.399
winked at her and hit the button for the fourth floor.

2063
02:18:28.079 --> 02:18:31.520
The doors slid shut, and I sprinted towards the stairwell

2064
02:18:31.559 --> 02:18:33.639
that led to the upper floors.

2065
02:18:35.280 --> 02:18:39.559
More scares to come, weekly, Spooky, We'll be right back.

2066
02:18:42.879 --> 02:18:45.520
Trying to be as sneaky as I could moving up

2067
02:18:45.600 --> 02:18:49.719
the stairs. I didn't exactly wear the most appropriate footwear

2068
02:18:49.760 --> 02:18:54.559
for an operation, however, sensible shoes be damned. I wanted

2069
02:18:54.600 --> 02:18:59.000
to look hot and cool. I also wanted to look cool.

2070
02:19:00.159 --> 02:19:03.559
I knew this stairwell pretty well. I shared my first

2071
02:19:03.680 --> 02:19:06.959
kiss with Luri in this place. She was so shy

2072
02:19:07.120 --> 02:19:11.479
she trembled as I leaned in and kissed her. Okay,

2073
02:19:11.959 --> 02:19:15.399
gotta get my head in the game. Slowly, I squeaked

2074
02:19:15.399 --> 02:19:17.920
the door open an inch so that I could see

2075
02:19:17.920 --> 02:19:21.600
into the hallway and assess the situation. I could see

2076
02:19:21.639 --> 02:19:26.319
probably twelve kids, all aged from ten to probably close

2077
02:19:26.360 --> 02:19:29.319
to eighteen or so, huddled around the doors, lining the

2078
02:19:29.399 --> 02:19:35.440
hallway like an execution line. This Gary was going to

2079
02:19:35.479 --> 02:19:39.520
execute them, and likely soon. I looked down at my

2080
02:19:39.559 --> 02:19:43.159
wristwatch and Minnie mouse looked back at me and said,

2081
02:19:43.360 --> 02:19:48.159
eleven fifty seven pm. The smell from the rots wafted

2082
02:19:48.200 --> 02:19:52.120
into my nostrils and assaulted it hard. Death has an

2083
02:19:52.200 --> 02:19:55.879
unmistakable scent, and I've been around it too many times

2084
02:19:55.879 --> 02:20:00.600
since I became an agent, putrefied bodies and liquefied organs

2085
02:20:00.639 --> 02:20:04.479
and so much worse. The rots didn't have much in

2086
02:20:04.559 --> 02:20:08.079
the way of their faces left, Unfortunately, it was just

2087
02:20:08.520 --> 02:20:13.319
scraps of flesh clinging to their skeletal remnants. The eyes

2088
02:20:13.360 --> 02:20:16.639
were no longer human, but burning balls of green light

2089
02:20:16.959 --> 02:20:20.920
that hated everything it saw before them. It is almost

2090
02:20:20.959 --> 02:20:26.120
time all shall be sacrificed for the glory of yasue.

2091
02:20:26.159 --> 02:20:29.040
A yell came from behind a closed door at the

2092
02:20:29.159 --> 02:20:32.719
end of the hallways common room. Don't need to think

2093
02:20:32.760 --> 02:20:38.319
too hard on who that was. Gary Screams and yells

2094
02:20:38.319 --> 02:20:41.879
of resistance from girls and boys, the sound of primal

2095
02:20:42.040 --> 02:20:45.000
fear that death was coming and nothing short of a

2096
02:20:45.040 --> 02:20:53.520
miracle could intervene. The elevator doors opened, fourth floor. The

2097
02:20:53.559 --> 02:20:57.159
air snapped cold in an instant, and ice started forming

2098
02:20:57.200 --> 02:21:00.399
all over the surfaces like a blast of arctic air.

2099
02:21:01.319 --> 02:21:05.159
Moisture froze and hung in the air, even taking a

2100
02:21:05.200 --> 02:21:09.159
breath hurt as my lungs started to freeze up. Anna

2101
02:21:09.360 --> 02:21:12.760
was not fucking around. This girl had something to prove,

2102
02:21:12.799 --> 02:21:15.959
and she wasn't going to let fear or doubt get

2103
02:21:16.000 --> 02:21:18.920
in her way. She was here to save her friends.

2104
02:21:19.719 --> 02:21:23.120
She was here to save me too. Throwing the door

2105
02:21:23.159 --> 02:21:25.799
open like I was smashing through a brick wall, it

2106
02:21:25.920 --> 02:21:29.319
was time to face down the legions of the undead.

2107
02:21:30.239 --> 02:21:35.479
No real weapons, but that's perfectly fine. I am a weapon,

2108
02:21:36.399 --> 02:21:39.239
reaching into that dark part of myself that comes from

2109
02:21:39.239 --> 02:21:42.799
my mother's vampiric side, and letting the blood in my

2110
02:21:42.920 --> 02:21:47.239
veins boil. Over All remnants of restraint are off. I

2111
02:21:47.280 --> 02:21:50.120
am going to unleash all the hell and darkness that

2112
02:21:50.239 --> 02:21:54.959
is embedded in my very essence. Vampire abilities aren't always

2113
02:21:55.000 --> 02:21:59.440
the same from one to another. We get enhance strength, speed,

2114
02:21:59.520 --> 02:22:05.120
and durable, but sometimes other special powers slip through. We

2115
02:22:05.280 --> 02:22:08.639
can grow wings, claws that cut through a bank vault,

2116
02:22:08.680 --> 02:22:12.879
and a bloodlust that rivals berserkers of ancient legend. I

2117
02:22:12.920 --> 02:22:17.040
am moving so fast that time virtually stands still and

2118
02:22:17.120 --> 02:22:21.280
I can fully assess the situation before me. The rots

2119
02:22:21.319 --> 02:22:25.600
are absolutely caught off guard and slowly turn their deceased

2120
02:22:25.639 --> 02:22:30.680
skulls towards me, too late, closing the distance between the

2121
02:22:30.680 --> 02:22:35.079
stairwell door and the first rot, I strike. This abomination

2122
02:22:35.200 --> 02:22:38.719
of flesh and bone was mine for the taking. I

2123
02:22:38.879 --> 02:22:43.879
hit hard bone craters underneath my foot. As I collapse

2124
02:22:43.879 --> 02:22:47.799
its chest into paste, this meat puppet explodes in a

2125
02:22:47.840 --> 02:22:51.520
shower of blood and tattered bits of skin and worse,

2126
02:22:52.360 --> 02:22:56.000
it flies against the next closest rot, and it knocks

2127
02:22:56.000 --> 02:22:57.879
it to the floor before it can touch one of

2128
02:22:57.920 --> 02:23:01.680
the hostages lined up along the hallway. The sheer force

2129
02:23:01.719 --> 02:23:05.079
of the impact shattered its skull and fragmented it into

2130
02:23:05.120 --> 02:23:09.639
thousands of pieces. The kids shrieked in panic, but held

2131
02:23:09.639 --> 02:23:13.639
their position on the floor. Two rots down, four to go.

2132
02:23:14.639 --> 02:23:18.639
Adrenaline filled my veins, and something deeper from my supernatural

2133
02:23:18.680 --> 02:23:22.959
side fueled my speed. Snapping my hands at my sides,

2134
02:23:23.159 --> 02:23:27.000
my vampiric claws extended from my fingers almost six inches,

2135
02:23:27.680 --> 02:23:31.120
supernaturally hardened and ready to take down whatever stood in

2136
02:23:31.159 --> 02:23:34.920
my way. I've only used my claws a few times,

2137
02:23:35.239 --> 02:23:38.000
but I know it can cut through military speck armor

2138
02:23:38.040 --> 02:23:41.559
if necessary. One of the rots slapped me across the

2139
02:23:41.600 --> 02:23:44.799
face with its skeletal hand. I felt parts of my

2140
02:23:44.879 --> 02:23:48.680
skin burn and tingle with the infusion of necrotic energy.

2141
02:23:49.399 --> 02:23:52.159
This rod had moved just as fast as me and

2142
02:23:52.319 --> 02:23:55.799
was intent on killing me, so I couldn't interfere with

2143
02:23:55.840 --> 02:23:59.639
its master's plans. I wasn't prepared for the hit, and

2144
02:23:59.719 --> 02:24:02.600
its it's done me. For just a moment, the taste

2145
02:24:02.639 --> 02:24:05.719
of death filled my mouth. This is what the grave

2146
02:24:05.799 --> 02:24:10.399
must feel like, as time itself eats your flesh. I

2147
02:24:10.440 --> 02:24:13.799
instinctively grabbed at my face and the wound. I did

2148
02:24:13.840 --> 02:24:17.520
it without even thinking. My vampiric ability would heal the

2149
02:24:17.559 --> 02:24:21.000
wound shortly, but I could still die if I didn't

2150
02:24:21.000 --> 02:24:25.520
get some distance. This was going to cost me my life.

2151
02:24:25.559 --> 02:24:28.559
The rot was in my face and outreached its claws

2152
02:24:28.639 --> 02:24:32.559
toward my throat. The first touch was a glancing blow.

2153
02:24:33.120 --> 02:24:36.879
It wasn't enough to kill. If the undead creature managed

2154
02:24:36.920 --> 02:24:39.680
to fully grab a hold of my windpipe, then it

2155
02:24:39.680 --> 02:24:42.719
would use all of its death fueled grasp to decay

2156
02:24:42.760 --> 02:24:46.520
the very flesh from my body. I had no time

2157
02:24:46.559 --> 02:24:49.440
to dodge or maneuver out of the way. It was

2158
02:24:49.479 --> 02:24:52.639
way too close. I couldn't get enough room to swing

2159
02:24:52.719 --> 02:24:56.559
my claws at it great. I'm going to die before

2160
02:24:56.600 --> 02:24:59.280
I get a chance to even be assigned a proper

2161
02:24:59.360 --> 02:25:03.360
field office. A high powered gust of polar air rushed

2162
02:25:03.360 --> 02:25:06.280
past the side of my face and knocked me forward

2163
02:25:06.319 --> 02:25:09.520
and almost flat on my ass. I rolled into it

2164
02:25:09.559 --> 02:25:12.680
as best I could and tried to regain some semblance

2165
02:25:12.719 --> 02:25:16.680
of control. It wasn't pretty, but I caught myself before

2166
02:25:16.719 --> 02:25:20.879
I was completely prone. Anna was right beside me, and

2167
02:25:20.959 --> 02:25:24.760
her face was as unreadable as an arctic glacier. Ice

2168
02:25:24.840 --> 02:25:28.639
flowed from her outstretched hands in an ever increasing frequency

2169
02:25:28.680 --> 02:25:31.959
and tempo. The zombie like creature that had wounded me

2170
02:25:32.120 --> 02:25:36.040
was now coated in a thick, almost opaque sheet of ice.

2171
02:25:37.079 --> 02:25:40.200
Unable to move from its frozen tomb, the creature fell

2172
02:25:40.239 --> 02:25:44.719
to the floor and broke apart. This little powerhouse was

2173
02:25:44.799 --> 02:25:48.520
done fucking around, and something deep within her had awakened.

2174
02:25:49.079 --> 02:25:52.000
Anna was ready to throw down, and it seemed like

2175
02:25:52.079 --> 02:25:55.680
she was going to fully embrace her gifts. I'd only

2176
02:25:55.719 --> 02:25:59.159
really met her, and something had snapped in her. This

2177
02:25:59.360 --> 02:26:02.399
was one of those moments that defines us here at

2178
02:26:02.479 --> 02:26:06.319
Ghoul School. You need to go. I've got this, the

2179
02:26:06.440 --> 02:26:10.040
kids said, with stern authority that I certainly didn't expect

2180
02:26:10.079 --> 02:26:13.520
from her. The other rots had turned their attention towards

2181
02:26:13.520 --> 02:26:17.159
Anna and seemed intent on her. A look of determination

2182
02:26:17.319 --> 02:26:20.799
had set on the teenager's face. An aura of cold

2183
02:26:20.920 --> 02:26:24.200
radiated off her, so intense that my eyes felt like

2184
02:26:24.239 --> 02:26:27.680
they were going to freeze shut. The hallway filled with

2185
02:26:27.760 --> 02:26:31.239
a blinding cloud of ice and snow, and you couldn't

2186
02:26:31.280 --> 02:26:33.280
see more than a foot in front of your face.

2187
02:26:34.120 --> 02:26:37.280
The kids screamed and the rots roared back in retaliation.

2188
02:26:38.319 --> 02:26:43.719
I glanced at Anna and she never stopped looking forward. Caroline,

2189
02:26:43.799 --> 02:26:47.680
go stop, Gary, I'll handle this. Let me clear your path.

2190
02:26:48.920 --> 02:26:51.280
This kid would be a great field agent when the

2191
02:26:51.319 --> 02:26:55.440
time comes. Anna channeled whatever power she had and thrust

2192
02:26:55.479 --> 02:26:59.239
her left hand forward in a dramatic gesture. The skeletal

2193
02:26:59.360 --> 02:27:02.159
like rots glared back at her and began to advance

2194
02:27:02.200 --> 02:27:05.399
on our position in the hallway. A glowing sphere of

2195
02:27:05.440 --> 02:27:09.440
blue energy crackled out from her outstretched hand. She closed

2196
02:27:09.440 --> 02:27:13.319
her eyes and a new look of concentration was on

2197
02:27:13.399 --> 02:27:18.239
her face. The snowstorm in the hallway intensified, and wind

2198
02:27:18.280 --> 02:27:22.920
whipped around us in a wild, howling storm. Good luck kid,

2199
02:27:23.520 --> 02:27:26.600
I smiled at her and got myself ready to charge

2200
02:27:26.639 --> 02:27:30.399
down the hallway. You could measure time and heart beats

2201
02:27:30.440 --> 02:27:33.719
for a moment. The four rots broke through the snowstorm

2202
02:27:34.079 --> 02:27:37.719
and were right on top of us within seconds. This

2203
02:27:37.959 --> 02:27:42.200
was it. The air completely changed, and for a second

2204
02:27:43.000 --> 02:27:45.559
it was as cold as the depths of outer space.

2205
02:27:46.200 --> 02:27:48.959
It was like being hit in the face by liquid nitrogen.

2206
02:27:49.319 --> 02:27:52.600
Cold doesn't even begin to describe it. I closed my

2207
02:27:52.680 --> 02:27:57.680
eyes reflexively to protect myself. This really was it.

2208
02:27:59.479 --> 02:28:04.920
Afraid, good, weakly spooky. We'll be right back.

2209
02:28:08.000 --> 02:28:12.120
The hallway was dead quiet, No one and nothing moved.

2210
02:28:13.120 --> 02:28:16.159
I was perceptive of my own heartbeat, and for a

2211
02:28:16.239 --> 02:28:22.840
second that was it. I was alone. No wait, there

2212
02:28:22.840 --> 02:28:27.319
were more heart beats. Frightened, but definitely there. I opened

2213
02:28:27.319 --> 02:28:30.479
my eyes and saw the once vibrant colored hallway looking

2214
02:28:30.559 --> 02:28:34.479
like the aftermath of a blizzard. I don't know what

2215
02:28:34.600 --> 02:28:37.159
I expected to see when I started looking around, but

2216
02:28:37.680 --> 02:28:41.360
I was pleasantly surprised. The rots were frozen in place

2217
02:28:41.440 --> 02:28:44.959
in front of us. The undead creatures were completely turned

2218
02:28:45.000 --> 02:28:50.600
into solid ice and utterly transmuted into something completely harmless.

2219
02:28:51.000 --> 02:28:53.920
I reached out and pushed one of them. The touch

2220
02:28:54.000 --> 02:28:57.799
burned my skin from the temperature difference, but they were

2221
02:28:57.799 --> 02:29:03.440
for all intents and purposes dead. Whatever force of malevolence

2222
02:29:03.559 --> 02:29:08.440
powered their undead forms was completely annihilated. The rots were

2223
02:29:08.440 --> 02:29:13.680
destroyed and turned into ice sculptures. Right before us, Anna,

2224
02:29:14.479 --> 02:29:18.719
a boy's voice called out, and it seemed almost hopeful.

2225
02:29:19.959 --> 02:29:22.959
Then a few more voices called out as the snowstorm

2226
02:29:23.040 --> 02:29:28.000
dissipated into a light flurry. Good. The hostages, as far

2227
02:29:28.040 --> 02:29:32.680
as I can tell, are unharmed, except for maybe some frostbite.

2228
02:29:32.879 --> 02:29:37.760
Anna can take care of them. We still yasue, arise

2229
02:29:37.879 --> 02:29:44.079
and come forth devour the unbelievers. Then blood curdling screaming,

2230
02:29:44.479 --> 02:29:49.840
the snapping of bone and flesh, and something indescribable. Gary,

2231
02:29:51.000 --> 02:29:53.319
I didn't even have time to register that I was

2232
02:29:53.360 --> 02:29:57.440
flying down the hallway at breakneck speed. My body was

2233
02:29:57.520 --> 02:30:02.000
rushing forward towards a brightly decorated common room door. I

2234
02:30:02.079 --> 02:30:05.079
threw my full body weight at it and crashed through

2235
02:30:05.159 --> 02:30:08.159
and splintered it into pieces as it exploded from the

2236
02:30:08.239 --> 02:30:12.319
force assaulting my senses is the pungent odor of death

2237
02:30:12.360 --> 02:30:20.280
once again, but also cinnamon. This kid, Gary is doubled

2238
02:30:20.319 --> 02:30:23.479
over in a darkened corner of the room and clutching

2239
02:30:23.520 --> 02:30:28.000
his midsection. He raises his head at me and looks

2240
02:30:28.040 --> 02:30:31.120
at me with pure daggers and hatred in his beady eyes.

2241
02:30:31.959 --> 02:30:37.159
The Christmas sweater is drenched in an unfamiliar substance. I

2242
02:30:37.200 --> 02:30:40.440
couldn't make out much of his form beyond the garish sweater,

2243
02:30:41.040 --> 02:30:45.280
but what little I could see I didn't like. This

2244
02:30:45.680 --> 02:30:51.799
wasn't human anymore. You dare enter Yasu's domain. The voice

2245
02:30:51.959 --> 02:30:54.799
wasn't the same one I had heard in the hallway.

2246
02:30:55.799 --> 02:30:59.920
This was distorted, warped. This voice wasn't the pimple thing

2247
02:31:00.000 --> 02:31:07.319
face dorky teenager named Gary Ya Sue had arrived. This

2248
02:31:07.399 --> 02:31:10.840
horrific blend of flesh and horror stood up to an

2249
02:31:10.879 --> 02:31:15.959
impossible height as skins sloughed off of their form, limbs

2250
02:31:16.040 --> 02:31:19.719
extended to an unnatural length, and what little of Gary's

2251
02:31:19.719 --> 02:31:23.399
face was left distorted into a mess of tentacles and

2252
02:31:23.440 --> 02:31:28.879
eyeballs from impossible places. This was a cosmic horror given

2253
02:31:29.040 --> 02:31:35.840
form right before me. Twelve am. No time for witty banter,

2254
02:31:36.319 --> 02:31:40.559
no time for a strategy, just me and them, tooth

2255
02:31:40.639 --> 02:31:45.920
and claw, me and them. No, I had one more

2256
02:31:45.959 --> 02:31:49.520
weapon in my back pocket, One thing my mom had

2257
02:31:49.559 --> 02:31:52.799
said to me before I left for Ghoul School. It

2258
02:31:52.920 --> 02:31:57.079
was also the last time I ever saw my parents. Honey,

2259
02:31:57.680 --> 02:32:00.959
you're a monster, but you don't have to act like one.

2260
02:32:01.799 --> 02:32:07.879
You choose what that means today. I chose violence. I

2261
02:32:07.920 --> 02:32:11.719
am a monster, and you will remember my name. I

2262
02:32:12.000 --> 02:32:16.200
do fucking dare. I flew at this hybrid of Gary

2263
02:32:16.280 --> 02:32:20.280
and this avatar of the death god Yasu. I extended

2264
02:32:20.280 --> 02:32:25.200
my claws once again and bared my vampire fangs. Deep inside.

2265
02:32:25.239 --> 02:32:27.239
I started to let go of all that I had

2266
02:32:27.319 --> 02:32:31.719
kept in check for what seemed like forever. Gifted and

2267
02:32:31.840 --> 02:32:36.079
supernatural abilities and whatever else I had was being unleashed

2268
02:32:36.120 --> 02:32:40.040
with this flurry of blows. I didn't have time for

2269
02:32:40.079 --> 02:32:44.159
this to end any other way than Yasue dying here

2270
02:32:44.360 --> 02:32:48.239
and now we got entangled and grappled with each other.

2271
02:32:49.000 --> 02:32:52.079
Ya Sue was still bound by some of the limitations

2272
02:32:52.079 --> 02:32:55.239
of the physical body they were inhabiting. I could use

2273
02:32:55.239 --> 02:32:59.440
that to my advantage. I'm stronger, faster, and whatever this

2274
02:32:59.520 --> 02:33:03.959
thing is, it hasn't fully transitioned to its full godly form.

2275
02:33:04.639 --> 02:33:09.399
It's still vulnerable, and I can stop it. I have

2276
02:33:09.559 --> 02:33:13.319
to stop it. Claws sunk deep into the creature and

2277
02:33:13.360 --> 02:33:16.639
it let out a cry of unnatural pain. I kept

2278
02:33:16.680 --> 02:33:19.079
slashing and clawing with all that I had in me.

2279
02:33:19.799 --> 02:33:22.920
Fluid of some kind started oozing out of the wounds.

2280
02:33:23.319 --> 02:33:26.520
Yasu had weapons of their own, and they dug into

2281
02:33:26.559 --> 02:33:30.879
me and drew blood. The wounds were deep, the burning

2282
02:33:30.959 --> 02:33:35.239
pain was unbearable, but I had little choice but to

2283
02:33:35.280 --> 02:33:39.440
press on with my attack. You will not stop me.

2284
02:33:40.200 --> 02:33:44.239
Yasu's grave voice rattled in my ears, but it wasn't

2285
02:33:44.280 --> 02:33:48.879
as brave as it was even moments before, Yasu drove

2286
02:33:48.959 --> 02:33:52.200
a clawed appendage into an open wound on my chest

2287
02:33:52.639 --> 02:33:56.360
and twisted it like a knife. I yelped out, but

2288
02:33:56.440 --> 02:34:00.360
still kept fighting back with all I could muster. The

2289
02:34:00.440 --> 02:34:04.399
Death God plunged another attack into me, but made one

2290
02:34:04.600 --> 02:34:09.000
vital mistake. Yasue left an opening for me to exploit

2291
02:34:09.600 --> 02:34:13.719
due to Gary's body. He may be taller, but he

2292
02:34:13.760 --> 02:34:17.239
didn't have my body weight. I threw all my weight

2293
02:34:17.280 --> 02:34:20.040
into my next follow up hit and knocked them to

2294
02:34:20.120 --> 02:34:24.920
the ground and left them momentarily stunned. They didn't think

2295
02:34:24.959 --> 02:34:28.280
I had much left in the tank, and on one hand,

2296
02:34:28.440 --> 02:34:33.159
they weren't wrong. I'm about to do something I never

2297
02:34:33.639 --> 02:34:34.440
wanted to do.

2298
02:34:36.200 --> 02:34:41.559
Are you afraid? Good, weakly spooky. We'll be right back.

2299
02:34:44.600 --> 02:34:48.360
I bared my fangs to their full length and bit

2300
02:34:48.520 --> 02:34:52.879
down on the befouled neck of Yasu and started to bite.

2301
02:34:53.719 --> 02:34:57.760
Draining the life from someone or something carries a heavy

2302
02:34:57.840 --> 02:35:01.719
price that no one talks about outside of vampire circles.

2303
02:35:02.719 --> 02:35:09.360
You take not just their life essence, but pieces of them, memories, fears,

2304
02:35:09.399 --> 02:35:12.719
in a short piece of their soul into your own.

2305
02:35:13.879 --> 02:35:16.680
It's why a lot of vampires are crazy or are

2306
02:35:16.760 --> 02:35:21.120
solitary loaners. It drives you mad. It takes a toll

2307
02:35:21.200 --> 02:35:25.239
that no mortal is prepared to deal with. Vampires like

2308
02:35:25.319 --> 02:35:28.920
my mom were rare. She retained what made her human.

2309
02:35:30.120 --> 02:35:33.879
I kept sucking blood and life from this horrific creature

2310
02:35:34.559 --> 02:35:38.440
till it stopped twitching under me. I felt memories of

2311
02:35:38.520 --> 02:35:41.719
gary abuse, bullying, and a lonely kid who saw as

2312
02:35:41.760 --> 02:35:45.360
powers as a curse. I also had memories and pulses

2313
02:35:45.399 --> 02:35:50.280
from Yasu, worship, prowess from untold places that gave power,

2314
02:35:50.600 --> 02:35:55.639
and a bloodlust unlike anything I had ever experienced. After

2315
02:35:55.680 --> 02:36:00.159
an eternity, it was over. Life had left the body

2316
02:36:00.639 --> 02:36:04.840
and it started to decompose before me, I shakily rose

2317
02:36:04.920 --> 02:36:07.280
to my feet and watched the body melt into the

2318
02:36:07.319 --> 02:36:11.239
carpeted floor of the common room. Within seconds, it was

2319
02:36:11.280 --> 02:36:15.360
a puddle of fluids and bits of something I couldn't identify.

2320
02:36:16.319 --> 02:36:19.760
The taste of blood lingered in my mouth. I don't

2321
02:36:19.799 --> 02:36:22.639
know what happened next, as the adrenaline left me and

2322
02:36:22.719 --> 02:36:26.040
my claws disengaged and the energy in me dropped like

2323
02:36:26.079 --> 02:36:29.879
a stone. I felt tears run down my face and

2324
02:36:29.959 --> 02:36:32.879
all my emotions were all over the place. It was

2325
02:36:32.920 --> 02:36:36.120
the resonance of the souls I had touched mixed with

2326
02:36:36.200 --> 02:36:41.000
my own. I had absorbed something alien. I had absorbed

2327
02:36:41.040 --> 02:36:45.840
something beyond myself. I had taken lives before, but not

2328
02:36:46.000 --> 02:36:50.200
like this. There was no bravado in this. There was

2329
02:36:50.280 --> 02:36:55.399
something in this that felt different. I am different now,

2330
02:36:56.159 --> 02:36:59.799
and I don't know what that means. I have to leave,

2331
02:37:00.079 --> 02:37:02.799
but I've got to check on the kids and Anna

2332
02:37:02.840 --> 02:37:06.760
to make sure things are okay. Am I going to

2333
02:37:06.760 --> 02:37:10.399
be okay? After all this? I could feel the edge

2334
02:37:10.399 --> 02:37:13.920
of corruption from Gary and Yasu, but I pushed it

2335
02:37:14.040 --> 02:37:17.280
down to the depths of my psyche to deal with

2336
02:37:17.319 --> 02:37:20.760
at a later date. Still a few things to wrap

2337
02:37:20.879 --> 02:37:24.079
up before I can leave, and also phone calls to

2338
02:37:24.120 --> 02:37:29.879
make happy New Year. Hey. The Department of Paranormal Resources

2339
02:37:29.959 --> 02:37:32.159
came in and cleaned up the mess at the school.

2340
02:37:32.799 --> 02:37:36.239
The FEDS sent the kids home until a more secure

2341
02:37:36.399 --> 02:37:40.479
permanent residence could be assured. It won't take too long,

2342
02:37:40.559 --> 02:37:43.760
after all, Uncle Sam wants to keep a tight leash

2343
02:37:44.040 --> 02:37:48.399
on his investments. I got chewed out by Director Carlson,

2344
02:37:48.959 --> 02:37:53.239
but also congratulations on a job well done. I had

2345
02:37:53.280 --> 02:37:57.000
managed to take down a significant paranormal threat without backup.

2346
02:37:57.520 --> 02:37:59.920
I had lived up to the expectations of my training.

2347
02:38:00.920 --> 02:38:05.959
I'm not sleeping particularly well after everything, but that's residual

2348
02:38:06.040 --> 02:38:10.399
psychic resonance from Gary and Yasu. It should pass in

2349
02:38:10.440 --> 02:38:14.440
a few more weeks. I hope Carlson's team gave me

2350
02:38:14.479 --> 02:38:17.520
a pass from the psychics, so I guess I'm good

2351
02:38:17.559 --> 02:38:21.440
to go. My wounds have mostly healed, but i'll have

2352
02:38:21.479 --> 02:38:25.120
a scar across my face from where the rot touched me.

2353
02:38:26.120 --> 02:38:29.159
I think it makes me sexy in a weird way.

2354
02:38:30.200 --> 02:38:32.719
The Department has promoted me to a full agent and

2355
02:38:32.760 --> 02:38:35.120
I was to begin my new assignment in New York

2356
02:38:35.159 --> 02:38:39.040
State before the end of February. I kept in touch

2357
02:38:39.079 --> 02:38:42.639
with Anna via text. She was in good spirits. After

2358
02:38:42.680 --> 02:38:45.760
the incident, the kids she rescued looked at her in

2359
02:38:45.799 --> 02:38:48.879
a whole new light. Now they won't be calling her

2360
02:38:48.920 --> 02:38:52.920
slush anymore. She'll need a cool nickname or title when

2361
02:38:52.920 --> 02:38:56.079
she graduates out of the program. I hope she has

2362
02:38:56.079 --> 02:38:58.120
a better time than I did when I went through

2363
02:38:58.120 --> 02:39:03.399
it all. Sammy's funeral, but I didn't approach his parents

2364
02:39:03.479 --> 02:39:06.559
or his partner, Franklin. It was a good service, but

2365
02:39:06.600 --> 02:39:09.239
I kept to myself in the back. I put my

2366
02:39:09.319 --> 02:39:12.440
hand on his casket and said my goodbyes, and then

2367
02:39:12.559 --> 02:39:17.079
left as quietly as I came. I'm sorry I couldn't

2368
02:39:17.079 --> 02:39:20.239
save you, but the kids you helped teach will be

2369
02:39:20.280 --> 02:39:23.639
the next strong batch of heroes and agents that I'll

2370
02:39:23.680 --> 02:39:28.520
work alongside. I think that's a pretty powerful legacy. If

2371
02:39:28.559 --> 02:39:31.799
Anna is any indication of things to come from that

2372
02:39:31.959 --> 02:39:36.040
graduating class, I hope they give him a memorial like

2373
02:39:36.120 --> 02:39:39.760
they did for Dan and Laurie on school grounds. Everyone

2374
02:39:39.799 --> 02:39:43.959
who died deserves to be remembered for something. It'll be

2375
02:39:44.000 --> 02:39:46.799
time to pack up my apartment soon and make my

2376
02:39:46.879 --> 02:39:50.280
way to New York and see what happens next. I

2377
02:39:50.360 --> 02:39:52.159
know that girl I was supposed to have a date

2378
02:39:52.200 --> 02:39:55.799
with Rhianne lives in New York City, so I'll call

2379
02:39:55.840 --> 02:39:57.840
her and see if we can take a swing at this.

2380
02:39:58.600 --> 02:40:02.239
The life of a supernatural the empowered Troubleshooter isn't boring,

2381
02:40:02.680 --> 02:40:06.479
that's for sure. And you know, after all of this,

2382
02:40:06.680 --> 02:40:11.040
after facing life and death and consuming the blood of

2383
02:40:11.120 --> 02:40:16.319
some creature beyond all human comprehension of evil, I never

2384
02:40:16.360 --> 02:40:26.159
did get that damn tuna sandwich either. And that's the marathon,

2385
02:40:26.600 --> 02:40:31.239
my spookies, six stories down and the clock still ticking

2386
02:40:31.879 --> 02:40:35.600
like it's got something to prove. If you're feeling that

2387
02:40:35.799 --> 02:40:41.000
post listen buzz, half adrenaline, half why did I do

2388
02:40:41.079 --> 02:40:45.520
this to myself? Well, good, that means you did New

2389
02:40:45.600 --> 02:40:50.840
Year's Eve right. But don't wander too far, because on Wednesday,

2390
02:40:51.200 --> 02:40:55.479
New Year's Eve, we're dropping a brand new story, and

2391
02:40:55.600 --> 02:40:58.799
this one is the kind of chaos you only get

2392
02:40:59.239 --> 02:41:02.639
when the year is about to roll over and reality

2393
02:41:03.239 --> 02:41:07.760
is already ready for bed. Let's just say it starts

2394
02:41:07.760 --> 02:41:12.120
with a stupid perfect moment, summer heat, pull side boredom,

2395
02:41:12.360 --> 02:41:18.079
hair metal blasting, and then the air tears, a little shimmer,

2396
02:41:18.399 --> 02:41:23.079
a wrong vibration, and suddenly time isn't in a straight

2397
02:41:23.159 --> 02:41:28.319
line anymore. It's a rip you can reach into, and

2398
02:41:28.399 --> 02:41:31.440
once you realize you can touch the past. Once you

2399
02:41:31.520 --> 02:41:36.079
get greedy for one more conversation, one more chance, one

2400
02:41:36.120 --> 02:41:42.520
more fix, New Year's Eve stops being a celebration and

2401
02:41:42.600 --> 02:41:48.040
becomes the night the universe sends you a bill. So

2402
02:41:48.200 --> 02:41:51.520
keep an eye on the weekly spooky feed, and if

2403
02:41:51.559 --> 02:41:56.639
you catch a whiff of burning ozone, maybe don't step

2404
02:41:56.680 --> 02:42:06.520
toward it.