Six Shocking Halloween Stories – A Full Night of Seasonal Terror

WEBVTT

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Hello, my spookies. It's your host and narrator Enrique Kuto

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here bringing you a little Halloween treat. As you know,

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every Halloween we bring you many, many stories based around

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our favorite spooky holiday. While these are the originals the

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first six terrifying tales of Halloween ever released here at

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Weekly Spooky, So kickback, relax, and whether these are brand

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new to you or a trip down a morbid memory lane,

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I know you'll find a lot to enjoy. And of

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course I'll be right back here tomorrow with another piece

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of with another spooky good time for you to listen to,

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because well, spooky season deserves nothing less. But now let's

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start at the absolute beginning, the first ever episode of

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Weekly Spooky, So make sure you're subscribed and enjoy the show.

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Mischief Night by Shane migliovaka Ray had a bad feeling

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in his gut. Bud had a sinister look in his

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eye tonight. It was Bud's idea, they go out. There

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was an unreasonably cold chill to this October night, most

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likely the reason the tricker treaters were starting to thin out.

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Bud wanted to do some trick or treating of his own.

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Ray knew Bud long enough to know that meant some

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kind of crime would be perpetrated by them. Tonight, Bud

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swung a beat up paper sack back and forth as

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they walked. When Ray had asked, Bud told him only

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that it was a surprise. Ray didn't like his friend's

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surprises all that much, but without him, Ray would never

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have made it this far in life. His mother was

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an out of work nurse, his dad a foreman at

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a chemical plant. Stuck home with a kid and a

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husband that was never around. She took her frustrations out

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on Ray, smacking him around. His dad, too busy and

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too tired from long shifts, failed to notice or care.

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When he was fifteen, Ray ran away from home. Those

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first few years had been harder than hell. He'd resorted

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to things he'd never thought he was capable of. Then

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he met Bud, a former runaway himself. They were kindred spirits.

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Bud knew his way around the streets. Ray owed him

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no matter what the man did, he wouldn't desert him,

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not to mention he was more than a little afraid

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of him. A kid in a skeleton costume bounded down

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the sidewalk towards them, happily clutching a full bag of

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candy in his arms. As he passed by, Bud stuck

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out a leg, sending the kid crashing to the sidewalk,

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his bag of candy landing next to him, some of

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the candy spilling onto the sidewalk in lawn. The kid

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started blubbering as he rubbed his knee. Bud knelt down

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in at the kid. Did you have a nice trip, kid?

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The kid shook his head back and forth. You tripped me?

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Maybe you're just clumsy, kid, Bud laughed. He snatched up

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the kid's bag of candy. Hey, that's mine, the kid hollered,

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give it back. There was a flash of steel. Bud

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held out a switchblade he carried sh he whispered. Ray

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felt his heart quicken. What was Bud gonna do to

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this kid? He'd never seen him hurt a kid. Could

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he go that far? Kill a kid? Listen? Kid? Bud said,

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this is my candy, now mine. You tell anybody about it,

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your parents, a cop, anybody, and I'll make you watch

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as I kill him, because I'm the Boogeyman and I

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know where you live. Got it? The kid near tears

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more than likely pissing his pants. Nodded, good, Now run

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the fuck along and don't talk to fucking strangers. The

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kid high tailed at his Bud laughed, sniffing the air

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as he looked at Ray. I think that kid shit

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his pants? Or was it you? Fuck Ray? Managed? Fuck man.

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This made Bud laugh louder, handing the bag of ill

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gotten candy to Ray have some. Shaking his head, Ray

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reached into the bag, grabbing a small bag of sour patch. Kids.

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What are we doing out here tonight, ma'n? He popped

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a red sour patch into his mouth. Besides mugging little kids, Well,

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my man, I want to do something more adult than

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tricker treating. Bud motioned to the houses up and down

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the street. Pick one, pick a good one, and we'll

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have ourselves some fun. Ray let his eyes wander over

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the houses, nice upper middle class homes, some decorated to

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the hilt for Halloween. Others bore nothing at all. One

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house and particular, a large grim reaper stood on the lawn,

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his eyes glowing. A witch stood next to him, cackling

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at a passer by. Purple, orange and green lights decorated

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the house's exterior A large glowing ghost hung on the

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front door, loudly wailing at little kids as they walked

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up to the front door. That one Ray pointed. Bud

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nodded in approval. A pretty brunette answered the door, handing

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out candy to the little kids waiting there. Good choice.

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Amanda followed the outline on the construction paper, a detailed

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drawing of a skeleton, grinning at her. She'd always been

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pretty good at drawing. Cutting things with scissors was another

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thing next to her. Amanda's little brother, Kyle, coughed as

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he colored in a pumpkin she'd drawn earlier. They sat

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at the kitchen table, surrounded by snacks in colored paper.

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What a drag Stuck at home on Halloween night, looking

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after her sick kid brother. Her parents were off to

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have dinner and then a movie. She was missing Stevie

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Lee's big Halloween party at the Mill Creek Farms. She'd

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just got her driver's license and barely got to use it.

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Why couldn't her parents cancel? Why did it have to

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be her? She looked at her brother. It sucked for

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him too. He'd really been looking forward to trick her

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treating tonight. Instead, they were stuck home together. Both of

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them had gotten bared watching horror movies on TV. She

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decided maybe making something would lift their spirits. The horror

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thon will be back with Night of the Killer Lobsters

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after award from our ghoulish sponsors. The television played in

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an empty living room. The ghost hanging on the front

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door wailed, breaking Amanda's thoughts. The scissors slipped, causing her

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to poke her thumb. Oh shit, she hollered, you okay.

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Kyle asked, yeah, you didn't hear me? Swear right. He

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gave her a thumbs up. There was a loud knock

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at the door. Want me to get it, her brother asked.

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Amanda stood, holding the scissors in one hand. I'll get it.

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There was another loud knock coming coming. Amanda shouted over

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the ghost's howl. Hold your fucking horses, she said under

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her breath. Look, a man warned on television. There's one

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of them now, as a lobster superimposed over the side

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of a car, menacing some kids in lover's lane, walking

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past an upright piano set against one wall. Setting the

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scissors on the coffee table, Amanda picked up her mom's

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large ceramic bowl. According to her it was some family heirloom.

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A red drop hit the beige carpet. Shit, Amanda growled,

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looking at the trail of blood drops on the carpet

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behind her. She hadn't thought the scissors had broken the

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skin of her thumb. Now she'd have to get bloodstains

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out of the carpet before Mom and Dad get home.

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What next? There was another furious knock. Yeah, yeah, she said,

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this time, not even trying to hide her in annoyance.

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The pile up of the night's events getting to her

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so much so Amanda forgot to look through the window

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to see who was out there first, something she always did.

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Unlocking the door, she yanked it open. Two men in

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plastic clown masks stood waiting. Amanda stood hesitating tricker. The

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rest of it was cut off as the closer of

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the two men drove a fist into her stomach, knocking

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the air out of her lungs and doubling her over

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Mom's precious heirloom, hitting the floor, shattering, sending candy spilling

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over the floor. Before she could recover, strong hands shoved

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her back into the living room, the two men rushing

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in after her. The second man closes the door, locking

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it and turning off the lights. Amanda tries to stand,

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earning another punch to the stomach from the first man.

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We good, he asks. The second peeks out through the curtains, golden,

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he answered, keeping watch through the drawn curtains. Amanda staggered,

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hunched over, barely able to gas prayer, much less form words.

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She wanted to warn her brother, scream out for help, anything.

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The first man grabbed her by the hair, yanking her

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head up so they were face to face. His gloved

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hand touched her cheek. In his other he held a switchblade.

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You alone, girly, yeah, she gasped. What's a looker like

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you doing all alone on Halloween night? I was grounded,

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she managed, tears burning her eyes. That's so wouldn't be lying.

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Would you don't have a boyfriend stashed somewhere? Maybe a girlfriend?

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You know what they say when the cat's away the

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micel play you play in Pretty Mouse? Amanda coughed, No,

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too bad, he lamented, gonna behave Yes, please take whatever

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and go, she pleaded. The first man picked up the

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family portrait sitting on the mantel. God. She hoped Kyle

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had heard everything and run and hid, or maybe he'd

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run out the kitchen door, heading to one of the

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neighbors for help. He was a smart kid. It was possible.

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Who says we want to take anything? He answered? Where's

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Junior here? He said, tapping on the picture. He went

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with my parents tricker treating, Amanda answered, did he now? Her?

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Watery eyes wandered the room. Not too far away sat

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the scissors on the coffee table. So far, all she'd

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seen was the guy's knife. No guns. If she could

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reach the scissors, the man chuckled loudly. She met his eyes.

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He'd seen her looking at the scissors. Amanda lunge, leaping

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towards the scissors. Don't think so, first man said, cutting

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her off with another punch. Amanda staggered and fell to

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her knees, the world fading in and out of blackness

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as the carpet came, rushing up to meet her. As

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she fell, Ray saw the girl go down in a flash,

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turning away from the window when he heard the commotion.

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She hit the carpeted floor and went limp. She bud

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knelt down, checking the girl out like a light. He stood,

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motioning Ray over, I'll stay here with the princess. I

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want you to check the place out. They got to

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have something valuable stashed here. Mommy might have some jewelry,

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or Daddy might have some cash squirreled away. Check the

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bedrooms first, okay, man, Then we can get out of here,

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Ray said. Her parents could be back any time. Go

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find something good, Bud said, and if you see somebody,

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a boyfriend or the brat, He drew a finger across

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his throat, I'll entertain myself while I wait, he smiled.

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Ray nodded before leaving. God he'd be happy when they

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were out of there, when he could take off the

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crummy mask. He was sweating like crazy. Besides the mask,

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Ray was scared Bud was really on a rip tonight.

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He knew what Bud was gonna do with the girl,

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and he wanted no part of it. The fear in

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his bones of what Bud might do to even him

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stopped Ray from helping the girl. Best he could do

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was find some shit so they could get the hell

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out of there. Heading upstairs, Ray searched as quick as

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he could a bathroom, the boy's bedroom, then the girl's nothing.

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At least there was no boyfriend waiting up here. No

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little brother playing in his room either. That left the

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parents' bedroom. Fuck. He hoped there was something valuable there.

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He feared what Bud's reaction would be if he came

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back empty handed. He dumped the dresser drawers, clothes, a dildo,

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and some papers, bills, mostly zip for anything worth a shit.

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Looked like the closet, was it? Come on, Fox, He

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said to himself, you're killing me here, opening the sliding

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closet door. Lots of clothes, mostly the mother's. The shelf

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was crammed full of stuff, but there was one thing

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that stood out. A metal box bingo. He reached up,

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pulling it down. A box of pictures fell, spilling on

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the floor. Holding the heavy box in his arms, Ray

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saw something that made his heart stop. A little kid

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hiding in the corner of the closet, huddled behind some

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of the clothes. The kid's eyes widened when he met

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Ray's gaze. Ray put a finger to his lips. Not

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a word, kid, he whispered. He knelt, setting the box

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on the floor, staring at the kid.

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If you thought that was scary, just you wait, weekly spooky,

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We'll be right back.

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What the fuck was he gonna do. If he brought

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the kid downstairs, Bud would kill him, for sure. Ray

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had a fairly good idea of what Bud was probably

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up to now with the girl. Even if Bud let

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the brat live, there was no reason to subject him

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to seeing that. Reaching into his back pocket, Ray pulled

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out his own knife. Looking into the kid's terrified eyes,

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Ray recognized what he saw there. How many times he

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had looked up with those same eyes at his mom

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as she beat the piss out of him. No, he

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couldn't kill the kid. I want you to stay here,

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he whispered. Me and my buddy are going soon. Don't

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come out of here till somebody comes and gets you. Okay.

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The kid nodded good, Ray said. He clapped a hand

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over the kid's mouth. One more thing. Don't worry. I

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ain't gonna hurt you. It'll just sting a little. Ray

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drew the blade out down the kid's cheek, opening up

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a small cut. The kid squirmed, wanting to holler in pain.

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Ray's hand suppressing the cry done, Ray dabbed some of

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the blood from the cut on his blade. He wasn't

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taking any chances if Bud thought he'd killed the kid.

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That should keep him from wanting to look for the kid.

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Picking up one of the father's t shirts from the floor,

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Ray wadded it up and handed it to the kid,

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telling him to press it to his cheek. Closing the

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closet again, Ray picked up the metal box, setting it

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on the bed. Using a solid metal ash tray, he

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smashed off the flimsy padlock inside the box. It was

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like Christmas morning had come, early jewelry and a couple

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of envelopes of cash. Score. Picking up his prize, Ray

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headed downstairs. Amanda her gentle music playing over the screams

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of terror coming from the television. She felt the softness

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of the rug against her back. Her body ached, and

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she wasn't sure why. Her eyes focused on the man

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playing the piano. Amanda saw the clown mask and reality

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came crashing back. The last things she remembered was trying

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to grab the scissors, and then nothing save for scattershot

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images over her the sounds of fabric tearing. Oh god,

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She rolled over onto her belly. The other man came

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rushing in, excited and holding the metal box from her

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parents closet. The first man opened it, letting out a

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jubilant hoot. She couldn't hear their words over the frenzy

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on the TV. Words are no words. A man knew

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what the blood on the other man's knife meant as

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he showed it to the first. Ray bounded down the stairs,

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eager to show Bud the lute. Somebody was playing music,

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a piano or something in the living room. Bud sat

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at the small piano playing without a care in the world.

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The girl lay on the carpet, her clothes shredded. He

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knew what Bud had in mind for the girl. He

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could have no no, best not to dwell on it.

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There was nothing he could have done. They were almost

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out of there anyway. He showed him the contents of

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the box and then the knife. Good work, Bud said,

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looking at Ray's bloody knife. You're a man now. He

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motioned towards the girl. Want some Can we just get

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out of here? Ray asked, fine, Fine, I'm getting restless anyway.

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Bud stood, tickling the piano keys. A wail of anguish

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and rage rose up over the piano. Over the screams

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on the television, the men turned to see a bloodied,

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beaten ban She's standing before them. The scissors in her hands.

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The girl's expression was filled with so much hate. Ray

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felt shivers run up and down his spine. She lunged.

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Ray felt the hot spray hid his face, blood not his, though.

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He looked over to see the scissors pulling away from

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Bud's neck, a large bloody hole left in their wake.

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Bud tumbled over the piano bench, gurgling up blood as

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he desperately tried to stop it from jetting out of

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his neck, fastening his hands over the wound, blood flowing

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between his fingers. Standing there, petrified, Ray couldn't help but

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watch his friends squirm about on the carpet floor, the

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girl jamming Bud repeatedly in the groin with the scissors.

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The knife slipped from his fingers. The girl turned from

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the now dead Bud, her eyes bloodshot, she howled with anger. Please,

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Ray begged, his body, finally responding, He ran towards the door,

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slipping on the spilled candy. Inches from his goal. He

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grabbed a large, jagged shard of the broken candy bowl,

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slicing his gloved hand, swinging at the crazed girl, cutting

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her arm. The pain didn't FaZe her as she plunged

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the scissors into Ray's right eye socket with a sickening crunch. Frenzied,

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Ray pushed her away, fumbling for the door lock. The

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only thought in his dying brain was to get away,

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but his fingers couldn't seem to manage the lock. Ray

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heard the girl breathing behind him. Pulling the scissors from

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his eye socket, he blindly sliced the air with them.

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The crazed girl crouched watching him till finally his body

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gave out and he collapsed against the door. It was

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00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:00.720
hard to believe the girl, her face covered with a

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00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:04.599
blank white mask, was his sister. Kyle visited her from

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time to time at the sanitarium. He was sixteen, now,

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the same age she'd been when it happened. He touched

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the scar on his cheek, a constant reminder of that night.

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Amanda sat there in the day room, staring out the window,

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never moving her head, never turning. Doctor Chandler said she

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was near catatonic. The mask, he said she'd started wearing

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to hide her shame. After that man found him in

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the closet, Kyle had stayed hidden, staying there till his

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parents had found him. Amanda had believed the man killed him,

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perhaps she still did. The doctors were afraid to let

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him talk to her. The first time had been a disaster.

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He blamed himself for what happened to her, even though

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his parents, the cops, and his shrink told him there

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was nothing he could have done. He'd only been a

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scared little boy. Sometimes he dreamed about her, Not of

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00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:12.359
that night. No, he dreamed of her escaping here, finding

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her way over his bed, a pair of bloody scissors

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in her hand. He watched her for a while. She

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was so unnaturally patient, gazing out that window, staring into

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the distance, waiting The Halloween heist by Rob Fields. I

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don't mind telling you how great it is to wake

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up to a nice, warm female body most every morning,

325
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especially during the fall and winter months. Take this morning

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for example. I'm kinda in between sleep and being awake,

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but I can feel the soft, warm, naked body I'm

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spooned up with. Then I hear her moaning softly and

329
00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:13.880
feel her moved to lay on her back. Okay, now

330
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:17.079
I'm fully awake. I start feeling her up and then

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we kiss. Soon we're having some really awesome mourning sex.

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I usually only do mourning sex when the night before

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00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:27.920
was just as incredible. We end up going a couple

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00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.240
of rounds before we finally decide we're satisfied. Now, I

335
00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:35.920
remember the girl I brought to my loft. Her name

336
00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:39.799
is Kitty. Oh yeah, I remember the names of all

337
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the girls I've ever slept with, and for good reason,

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I'll get to that. I met Kitty at Shakers, a

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bar that Strickfield University students tend to hang out at.

340
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I usually frequent a few of the local bars and

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00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:56.960
even a few outside of Strickfield to find that perfect

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girl or the occasional woman to take to bed at

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least for a night. Kitty really stood out for me

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00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:10.039
last night. I mean, this girl is perfectly stacked, great body,

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great face, awesome rack, hot ass. Normally I only have

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to turn on the charm to get a girl to

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come to bed with me. But once in a while,

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the girl's just come right to you. That was Kitty.

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I bought Kitty a few drinks and just talked with

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her about whatever she wanted to talk about. See, that's

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one of the ways you're guaranteed to get girls into

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00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.400
your bed. They need to know you're genuinely interested in them.

353
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They just want to know you care. And of course

354
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you need to make sure you keep your body finally toned,

355
00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:47.079
which means watching your diet and making sure you work

356
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.039
out most every day. Getting back to Kitty, the girl

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was practically begging me to take her to bed. She

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wore a very form fitting dress that basically told me

359
00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:01.079
she wasn't wearing any underwear. Right when I got her

360
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.720
back to the loft and got her dress off, Kitty

361
00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.680
and I pounded each other many times last night. We

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00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:10.680
just couldn't get enough. Normally, after I've had a girl

363
00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:13.759
for a night, we part ways. Sometimes I'll get a

364
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girl that wants more than just one night. Sometimes I

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00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.920
make an exception or two, depending on the girl and

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how good the sex really was. But most of the

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00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:25.559
time I just tell them I'll call them just to

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get them the hell out of my loft and out

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00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:30.000
of my life once and for all. But I'll let

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00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:33.960
you in on a little secret. These girls aren't all

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00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:37.119
together out of my life. No, they end up being

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a part of my collection. See. I've got cameras set

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00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:45.000
up all over the loft that record and store the

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00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:48.519
content onto servers and hard drives that are rigged up

375
00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.839
when it's time, I'll go and edit the footage and

376
00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:55.200
make some quality homemade adult movies that you just can't

377
00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:59.119
find anywhere else. Oh and I can only imagine what

378
00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:03.519
kind of quality porno I'll make from Kitty's footage while

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00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.279
I'm thinking about it. Getting girls into my bed has

380
00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.119
been so much better for me since my roommate, Jacob

381
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:12.960
Levine and his stupid girlfriend Genevieve van Sandt both ended

382
00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:17.319
up getting murdered in this loft months ago. Yeah, it

383
00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:19.920
freaked me the fuck out. I was staying at Raylen

384
00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:23.599
Jones's dorm that night. One I forgot a term paper

385
00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.799
that was there. Two, I'd already had sex with Raylen

386
00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:29.160
before I left. As I was about to come into

387
00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:31.519
the loft, she called me back and offered to let

388
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.079
me spend the night. Guess we both wanted more of

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00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:37.200
each other and I needed that term paper, So there

390
00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:40.480
you go. The funny thing was I came back here

391
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.359
the next day and found this message written in blood

392
00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.160
that told me I was glad I didn't actually come in,

393
00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.519
knowing I had the loft all to myself. I quickly

394
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.160
got that blood off the walls and got the room repainted.

395
00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:56.799
Since Jacob wasn't here anymore. That meant I could keep

396
00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:00.279
whatever he had. I mean, nobody in his face family

397
00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:04.000
ever came to claim anything that included all the cameras

398
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.960
he'd set up. See, Jacob and Genevieve were making homemade

399
00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.839
porn together. Yeah, she knew about it because she knowingly

400
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:16.440
looked at the cameras. As for me, I managed to

401
00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:19.680
cleverly hide the cameras well enough. After I took over

402
00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:22.880
the loft. Not a single girl I brought here ever

403
00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.039
discovered them. But you know what the beauty of being

404
00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:29.440
able to make homemade porn is. There are actually a

405
00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.480
few websites I won't say which ones that'll pay some

406
00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:38.319
damn good money for these movies. Being a mirror, I've

407
00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.240
got more money than I'll ever know what to do with.

408
00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:44.920
But enough is never enough, right, Every now and then,

409
00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:46.799
I'll just sell a video to one of those sites

410
00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:49.400
and make some damn good money. As for the girl

411
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:52.319
in the video, who really cares? She ought to be

412
00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:55.079
happy that she's getting a lot of attention. Talk about

413
00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.519
getting to the height of your popularity, and if one

414
00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:59.559
of them ends up catching a lot of shit for it,

415
00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:04.160
oh well, come to think of it. Kitty has about

416
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.599
the same build as a girl I remember sleeping with

417
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:10.799
that I sold a video of Catherine Pierce. Not only

418
00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:14.599
did Catherine get expelled by the Dean of Strickfield University himself,

419
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:18.759
her parents disowned her. Now I do know the thing

420
00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:20.759
about the dean is true, but the thing with her

421
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:24.799
parents might just be rumors. Still, not a single girl

422
00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:28.119
ever came back to find me. Why would they. They

423
00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:30.440
can't prove that I was in the video. I am

424
00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.960
very careful to keep my face out of them. All

425
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.359
they see is my body, all of her face and body,

426
00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:41.480
and all the compromising positions that we did. What are

427
00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:44.160
they going to do? Take me to court and sue me?

428
00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.119
Let them try. What people fail to understand is that

429
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:52.640
I'm Calvin Mirn. That's right. I belong to the rich

430
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:56.240
and powerful Mirran family. We've got so much money that

431
00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:59.480
we actually own a whole section of Strickfield Commons, a

432
00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:02.319
housing community made up of mostly rich people on the

433
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:05.440
east side of Strickfield. We even have our own section

434
00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:09.000
walled off to separate ourselves from everybody else. It's been

435
00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.279
said that we're the top one percent of the top

436
00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.640
one percent. That's the kind of money I'm talking about.

437
00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.200
Just being a mirror means that I can get away

438
00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:22.440
with pretty much whatever I want. But okay, I'm getting

439
00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:25.359
too much into myself here, which isn't really a bad thing.

440
00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.039
Kitty and I finish our morning sex. I roll off

441
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:32.039
her and onto my back. Then Kitty turns over and

442
00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:36.920
gets on top of me. Happy Halloween, she cheers. Then

443
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.920
she kisses me. I go ahead and kiss her some more. No,

444
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:44.000
I can't let this girl become a part of my life.

445
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:47.880
But she's so fucking hot. Okay, maybe I can keep

446
00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:50.519
her around a little while longer. I have made a

447
00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:53.640
few exceptions like this in the past. You're in a

448
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:58.000
pretty good mood today, I say, She packs my lips. Well,

449
00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:04.000
we just had fucking incredible and it's Halloween. I love Halloween.

450
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:06.640
That means trick or treating and all kinds of other

451
00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:12.480
fun things like parties. Ooh, in costumes. I roll my eyes. Oh,

452
00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:15.880
come on, you're telling me you go trick or treating?

453
00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:20.039
She groans. Don't you dare roll your eyes at me.

454
00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.799
Calvin Strickfield has their yearly tradition of trick or treating.

455
00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:27.160
It's not just for kids here, anybody can do it,

456
00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:32.480
no questions asked, no judgments. She's telling the truth. Many

457
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:35.880
years ago, Strickfield got to be this big Halloween town

458
00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:39.240
in addition to being a big college town. Normally, in

459
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.519
most other parts of the country, trick or treating is

460
00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:45.279
basically limited to just kids. But in Strickfield it doesn't

461
00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:48.119
matter how old you are. Anybody's welcome to do it.

462
00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:50.920
People of all ages drive in from other towns just

463
00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:53.960
to trick or treat right here. Just don't ever think

464
00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:56.119
about coming to our part of town to do it.

465
00:28:56.599 --> 00:28:59.559
The gates of our part of Strickfield Commons are never

466
00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:04.920
open unless we want them open. Okay, you're going trigger treating,

467
00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:10.559
I reply, well, not just me. Kitty reveals I've got

468
00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:14.000
my two roommates coming too, Jamie and Lena. We're gonna

469
00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:16.799
go trigger treating and then to a Halloween party afterwards.

470
00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:21.759
Sounds like fun, I say, just to make conversation. Then

471
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:25.960
Kitty's face brightens up. Oh my god, you should totally

472
00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:28.920
come with us tonight. Come on, it'll be fun. I

473
00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.720
raise my hand a little and shake my head. No,

474
00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:36.160
I don't think so. I'm not much into Halloween. Kitty

475
00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:39.640
moves and sits on me. I have to admit I

476
00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.480
love Kitty's naked body from this angle. Then she caresses

477
00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:46.440
her tits just a little. I know my girls would

478
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:48.319
just love to meet you. They're going to ask why

479
00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.480
I never came home last night. Come on, baby, they're

480
00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:56.480
both hot like me. It'll be so much fun. Fine,

481
00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:01.119
Kitty's just guaranteed another night with me tonight. To be honest,

482
00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:04.480
I won't mind taking this fully stacked babe to bed again.

483
00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:08.440
Kitty squeals with delight and finally gets off me. I

484
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:11.119
actually let her take a shower here, which I usually

485
00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:13.319
never let girls I don't want to see again do.

486
00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:15.960
I get in the shower with her and we make

487
00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.920
out some more. When we finish, we both get dressed.

488
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:21.920
Then we make arrangements on where to meet. Then we

489
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:25.599
go our separate ways for the time being. That night,

490
00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:29.680
I'm waiting for Kitty at Wilder Hall. I'm wearing my costume,

491
00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:32.759
which is a pirate. I just finish with an energy

492
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.079
drink and toss the can away when I see Kitty

493
00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:37.480
coming in through the doors. On the other side, she

494
00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:40.359
has two other girls with her. Kitty points to me,

495
00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:42.240
and then the three of them come to see me.

496
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:46.880
Glad you decided to come, Kitty says excitedly. Of course,

497
00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:49.279
she would be dressed up as a sexy kitty cat,

498
00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:52.839
a full form fitting body suit that tells me she's

499
00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:56.039
still not wearing underwear and shows a lot of her

500
00:30:56.599 --> 00:31:00.880
ample cleavage, a long tail, stiletto boots, and caddiers on

501
00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:03.759
her head. Seeing all three of these babes in my

502
00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:07.240
sight at once, imagine if I could get all three

503
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:10.279
of them together in my loft. I'll bet one of

504
00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:12.480
the sites would pay big money for a video of

505
00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:15.599
me and the three of them. Kitty motions to the

506
00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:19.279
girl on her right. This is Jamie. She's dressed up

507
00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:22.799
like a sexy nurse, seemingly plastic uniform that shapes to

508
00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:27.119
her voluptuous body, nicely white knee high boots, a pink wig,

509
00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:31.440
and more cleavage. Then Kitty motions to her left. And

510
00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:34.759
this is Lena. She's dressed up like a sexy version

511
00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.759
of Little Red riding hood revealing outfit with more cleavage, face,

512
00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:42.599
nicely made up, red pantyhose with garter belts, red shoes,

513
00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:46.960
and red hair dyed. Maybe Kitty and Jamie have those

514
00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:50.680
plastic pumpkin baskets. Lena has a small picnic basket that

515
00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:55.279
matches her costume. All I brought was a pillowcase. Ready

516
00:31:55.319 --> 00:32:00.200
to go, Babe, Kitty asks, Oh, I'm definitely ready, I

517
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:03.319
assured her. The four of us leave Wilder Hall and

518
00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:06.359
go trick or treating. We go up and down one

519
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:09.559
block and then several others. These girls want to get

520
00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:12.200
as much candy as they possibly can. We all end

521
00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:15.680
up getting some good hauls along the way. I learned

522
00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:18.960
some things about Jamie and Lena. Turns out Jamie's into

523
00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:22.559
having a good time more than anything. I'm definitely looking

524
00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:25.279
to hook up at our little party tonight, she says

525
00:32:25.319 --> 00:32:28.440
in her sexy voice. I'm always looking to play the

526
00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:33.599
nurse and let a good doctor take my temperature. Then

527
00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:36.960
she winks at me. Now I feel Lena move up

528
00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.519
right next to me. Oh but Jamie, why should he

529
00:32:40.599 --> 00:32:44.559
limit himself to your bubble butt when he could have these?

530
00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:48.119
Lena make sure nobody's around before she pulls down her

531
00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.440
top and shows me what she's packing in her upper basket.

532
00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:56.000
She covers them back up shortly after you total slut.

533
00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:59.599
Jamie cries and unzips her top a little to show

534
00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:03.079
me her perfect tits, then she covers them back up.

535
00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:07.759
I'm more put together than you are anyways, Kitty groans,

536
00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:11.240
Come on, you two. The cops are out here patrolling tonight.

537
00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:13.400
We don't need to be getting arrested before we can

538
00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:17.799
go to our party. Oh shit, you're right, Lena agrees.

539
00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.519
Then she wraps her arm around mine. You are coming

540
00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:23.440
to our party when we're done trick or treating.

541
00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:32.359
Right, Well, there's more scares where that came from, Weekly spooky,

542
00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:33.880
We'll be right back.

543
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:40.519
Some deliberate wishy washiness. Remember, you have to make it

544
00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:43.480
about the girls if you want to get laid. Jamie

545
00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:47.000
wraps up my other arm. Of course he is, especially

546
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:49.519
since I'm going to be the one fucking him tonight.

547
00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:53.839
But Kitty has something to say about that. Bitches, If

548
00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:56.720
anybody in our little Motley trio here is taking him

549
00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:59.519
to bed again, it's going to be yours, truly, So

550
00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:03.640
back the fuck off. Now I get to hear these

551
00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:05.880
three fight and argue about who's going to be the

552
00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:10.800
lucky one. Yeah, I definitely want all three of them.

553
00:34:11.079 --> 00:34:13.360
I just have to work my charms on them, but

554
00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:17.320
I'm sure I can easily pull this off. Besides three girls,

555
00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:21.400
at once isn't necessarily a bad thing, right, I'm already

556
00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:24.320
imagining the kind of money i'll get for this for

557
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:28.320
some video. It's time to make this about them if

558
00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:32.280
I want to make this about me. So what do

559
00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:35.599
you lovely ladies do? I mean? I know your students?

560
00:34:35.719 --> 00:34:38.159
Kitty told me you all were What are you all

561
00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:41.840
majoring in? Turns out they're all former med students who

562
00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:45.840
came to Strickfield University on scholarships because of the excellent

563
00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:49.039
medical program there. Now they've moved on to bigger and

564
00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:52.880
better things, applying what they've learned. I've definitely slept with

565
00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:55.599
plenty of med students. I even took a class in

566
00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:57.880
medical terminology just to be able to keep up with

567
00:34:57.960 --> 00:35:01.960
their conversations. Who tell me about the medical fields they're in.

568
00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:05.159
None of them say anything about being nurses, But the

569
00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:09.360
only one who says she's a surgeon is Kitty. At Strickfield,

570
00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:12.440
I clocked in some decent class hours just doing surgeries.

571
00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:17.079
What have you operated on recently? I asked Kitty. I

572
00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:19.960
actually had to do kidney removals a couple of days ago.

573
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:23.320
She says. The patient I was working on had non

574
00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:26.920
functioning kidneys I had to remove them both. The patient

575
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:29.880
is on machines now waiting for new donor kidneys. Once

576
00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:33.360
they come, I'll be putting them in. My eyes widened

577
00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:38.719
a little. Is doing surgeries scary? Kitty shrugs a little,

578
00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:41.719
But then it's always scary when you're doing different surgeries

579
00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.320
for the first time. I mean, you're always afraid you're

580
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:46.760
going to fuck something up. At least when I was

581
00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:49.840
at Strickfield University, doctor Pratt was there to supervise me

582
00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:54.360
for every surgery I performed. Jamie giggles, probably letting him

583
00:35:54.360 --> 00:35:58.920
take her temperature afterwards. Oh fuck you, Kitty groans. It

584
00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.840
was never like that. It was strictly a mentor student

585
00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:05.519
relationship between us. So we keep talking it up until

586
00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:08.960
it's eleven o'clock and trigger treating is officially over. Now

587
00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:12.079
it's time to get to the Halloween party. Jamie cheers,

588
00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:16.840
where are we going again? Lena asks to Shakers, where else?

589
00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:21.239
Kitty answers, Remember we're having a private party there. In fact,

590
00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:25.199
we're not far from Shakers now, Kitty's right, Shakers is

591
00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:27.920
only a block walk away from here. As soon as

592
00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:30.800
we get there, there's just one van in the parking lot.

593
00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:34.559
Usually this place is hopping on every holiday or any

594
00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:37.880
reason to celebrate something. I remember picking up chicks from

595
00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:41.199
here every Halloween, and it's always packed. When we get

596
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:43.559
to the door, there's a sign that says closed for

597
00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:46.519
a private event. As soon as we get to the door,

598
00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:49.000
it opens and the owner comes out. The owner and

599
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:52.239
Kitty exchanged some pleasantries. Then the owner hands are the

600
00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:54.079
keys and tells her to make sure to clean up

601
00:36:54.119 --> 00:36:57.480
and lock up before leaving. Kitty promises she'll bring the

602
00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:00.599
keys by first thing. The four of us go inside.

603
00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:04.159
Kitty locks the door behind us. Then we put their

604
00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:07.159
hauls of candy down on a table. I turned to

605
00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:12.320
face them. Wait a minute, there isn't anybody else coming. Nope,

606
00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:16.760
Kitty chirps, it's just the four of us. Lina moves

607
00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:21.119
to the jukebox. Whoa, there's nothing but Halloween songs in here.

608
00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.719
Go ahead and play whatever you want, no quarters needed.

609
00:37:25.320 --> 00:37:28.079
Kitty tells her this place is paid for and is

610
00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:31.440
all ours for the night, including the jukebox, pool tables,

611
00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:34.400
video games, and all the food and alcohol we want.

612
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:37.800
As soon as Lena gets some Halloween tunes going, Jamie

613
00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:41.400
steps behind the bar. What do you all want. You're

614
00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:45.159
a bartender, I ask her, not here, but it's great

615
00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:48.960
spending cash when I'm working, she says. We give Jamie

616
00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:51.880
our drink orders, which she makes up quite professionally. So

617
00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:54.960
now we're dancing to Halloween music and drinking and having

618
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:57.800
an awesome time. After a while, we're all starting to

619
00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:01.840
feel a little drunk. Lena starts laughing and climbs up

620
00:38:01.880 --> 00:38:03.920
onto the bar when a Halloween song with a really

621
00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:07.119
fast beat starts playing. She's dancing it up as she's

622
00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:09.960
taking more SIPs of her drink. Jamie looks up at

623
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:13.480
her and grins. Then she and Kitty both start squealing loudly.

624
00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:17.440
When Lena exposes her tits, Kitty hops up onto the

625
00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:21.119
bar with her and dances, exposing her ample assets too.

626
00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:24.760
I feel Jamie's hand on my forearm. I look to

627
00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:27.800
her and see she's got her tits out. Also, how

628
00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:31.000
about another drink, honey. I quickly down the rest of

629
00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:33.679
my glass and hand it to her. Top me off,

630
00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:37.280
pretty lady. Jamie gives me a very sexy smile and

631
00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:40.079
turns around to make my drink. I keep my eyes

632
00:38:40.119 --> 00:38:42.880
on the show above me. Then my eyes grow wide

633
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:46.199
as Kitty and Lena come together and lock lips. They

634
00:38:46.280 --> 00:38:49.400
kiss hungrily for a little bit before Jamie returns with

635
00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:52.320
my drink. Then Jamie also gets on top of the

636
00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:55.519
bar and starts dancing. All three of them take turns

637
00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:57.679
kissing each other in front of me as I take

638
00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:02.119
SIPs of my refill. Man, what I am going to

639
00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:06.119
have tonight? I say to myself. I down my drink

640
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:09.039
and keep watching the show. After a little bit, I

641
00:39:09.039 --> 00:39:11.239
start to wonder if maybe I should have slowed down

642
00:39:11.239 --> 00:39:14.159
on my drinks. I try to keep my composure and

643
00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:17.480
keep watching the show. It's when I see Lena wrapping

644
00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:20.159
her arms around Kitty from behind that I'm really starting

645
00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:22.960
to lose my grip on things more. If I didn't

646
00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:26.400
know any better, i'd swear I was feeling really tired.

647
00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:29.840
It's becoming harder and harder to focus on these three

648
00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:33.320
sex kittens. Then I can't help myself. I just lower

649
00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:37.079
my head on the bar and feel myself fade away.

650
00:39:40.719 --> 00:39:44.760
As I'm starting to wake up, I'm feeling really really cold.

651
00:39:44.880 --> 00:39:47.559
I have to force myself to wake up completely. I

652
00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:50.840
have to see where those three lovelies are, but they're

653
00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:55.519
not here. What the fuck? I groan. I see that

654
00:39:55.559 --> 00:39:57.639
I'm in a bathroom that looks like it's in some

655
00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:01.039
cheap motel somewhere. Then I look down to see the

656
00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:07.320
tub is completely filled with ice. What the fuck? I yell.

657
00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:10.760
I'm ready to pull myself out. But then I see

658
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:14.239
a little table next to the tub. My smartphone's on

659
00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:18.360
it and has a message taped to it. Do not

660
00:40:18.920 --> 00:40:23.639
leave the tub. Call nine one one for an ambulance. Now,

661
00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:28.000
I don't fuck around and quickly call nine one one.

662
00:40:28.079 --> 00:40:30.719
I tell the operator what's going on and I don't

663
00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:33.360
know where I am. She's able to trace the call

664
00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:36.119
and says she's sending an ambulance. Now. When I finish

665
00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:40.119
the call, I just sit here and wait. It's only

666
00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:41.840
a matter of minutes before I hear the door to

667
00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:45.039
the motel room opening up. Then two paramedics come in.

668
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:48.639
They both gasp in surprised when they see my situation.

669
00:40:49.440 --> 00:40:52.159
They quickly come to me and look me over. Then

670
00:40:52.280 --> 00:40:56.119
one of them points behind me, look at this. The

671
00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:58.960
other paramedic comes over and sees what his partner sees.

672
00:40:59.639 --> 00:41:03.400
What I demanded, what is it? Then they both looked

673
00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:05.599
me in the face. We need to get you to

674
00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:08.800
the hospital. Stat One of them says, we'll go get

675
00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:13.719
a stretcher and come right back. So now I'm stuck

676
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:18.599
here at Strickfield General Hospital. I just can't believe this shit.

677
00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:21.599
I'm stuck here in this fucking hospital bed with all

678
00:41:21.599 --> 00:41:24.480
this shit hooked up to me. The paramedics brought me here.

679
00:41:24.679 --> 00:41:27.199
The doctor looked at my back and quickly examined me,

680
00:41:27.519 --> 00:41:29.440
told me that I had fresh stitches in my lower

681
00:41:29.519 --> 00:41:33.199
back that looked professionally done after an X ray. I

682
00:41:33.320 --> 00:41:37.480
practically shit myself when the doctor told me told me

683
00:41:39.559 --> 00:41:46.360
my fucking kidneys are gone. Yeah, that's right. I'm fucking

684
00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:49.159
stuck here until I can get at least one new kidney,

685
00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:51.920
which I'm told could take quite a long time since

686
00:41:51.960 --> 00:41:53.920
I'm on a fucking waiting list and they have to

687
00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:56.719
wait for a kidney donor match for me. I keep

688
00:41:56.760 --> 00:42:00.239
telling these fuckers, I'm Calvin Mirren. I don't belie long

689
00:42:00.280 --> 00:42:02.760
on a fucking waiting list. A lot of good my

690
00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:06.760
name does me now. Just then, the nurse brings me

691
00:42:06.840 --> 00:42:09.559
what looks like a tablet and says it was sent

692
00:42:09.639 --> 00:42:13.519
here with specific instructions to give it to me. I

693
00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:15.760
snatched the tablet from her and glare at her for

694
00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:19.519
a minute before she leaves. I turn on the tablet

695
00:42:19.880 --> 00:42:23.159
and see only a few apps. I tap the one

696
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:27.760
that says play me first, and immediately recognize one of

697
00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:31.280
the porn videos I made. I see the familiar face

698
00:42:31.960 --> 00:42:37.599
and now know who Kitty is. She was definitely Catherine Pierce.

699
00:42:38.840 --> 00:42:41.639
Not long after her video posted, she got in some

700
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:45.440
serious shit with the dean at Strickfield University and ended

701
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:50.559
up being expelled. I tap the app that says play

702
00:42:50.599 --> 00:42:55.159
me second and see a second porn video that I made,

703
00:42:55.239 --> 00:43:03.119
and then I recognize Jamie, or rather Belinda James. She

704
00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:06.440
ended up in the same boat as Catherine went before

705
00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:11.960
the dean, ended up getting expelled, became disgraced, parents threw

706
00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:17.000
her out. Not my problem. The play me third app

707
00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:20.960
just brought up a PDF of a term paper. I

708
00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:25.960
saw the big read words copied from another student written

709
00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:30.199
all over the paper and discovered that Lena was really

710
00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:35.159
Raylen Jones. The night Jacob and Genevieve were both murdered,

711
00:43:35.400 --> 00:43:37.280
I went back to her dorm and spent the night

712
00:43:37.320 --> 00:43:39.960
with her. We were both in the same World history

713
00:43:39.960 --> 00:43:43.119
class and had a term paper due. I stole her

714
00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:46.519
term paper retyped it in my own words and submitted

715
00:43:46.559 --> 00:43:50.920
it as my own. When she reprinted and submitted her paper,

716
00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:55.119
the professor later sent it to the Dean. Raylen pled

717
00:43:55.159 --> 00:44:01.360
her case, but she got expelled anyway. App play me

718
00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:04.719
fourth and get a video of the three of them.

719
00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:09.559
No Halloween costumes. Catherine had grown her hair longer than

720
00:44:09.599 --> 00:44:13.800
I remembered and dyed it black. I remember Catherine was

721
00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:18.880
a blonde. Rayleen and Belinda had been wearing wigs. They

722
00:44:18.880 --> 00:44:24.800
both have shorter brown hair. Catherine speaks up first, surprise, asshole,

723
00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:27.880
Now you know what this is about. You took from us,

724
00:44:28.360 --> 00:44:33.480
disgraced us, so we took from you. Belinda speaks up next.

725
00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:36.400
You have all the money in the world, yet you

726
00:44:36.559 --> 00:44:39.320
just kept right on taking it. Wasn't enough for you

727
00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:41.440
to exploit us for your sexual gain. If you had

728
00:44:41.440 --> 00:44:44.880
to keep exploiting us for even more, well, like Catherine said,

729
00:44:45.320 --> 00:44:49.760
now we exploited you. Do you have any idea how

730
00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:52.119
much a pair of perfectly good kidneys like your cellf

731
00:44:52.119 --> 00:44:56.159
wor on the black market. Ray Lean speaks, now, must

732
00:44:56.159 --> 00:44:58.079
have been nice to have slept with me and then

733
00:44:58.119 --> 00:45:00.679
get away with stealing my term paper and submitting it

734
00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:03.880
as your own, all while pinning what you did on me.

735
00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:06.840
You took from us and didn't give a shit. But

736
00:45:06.920 --> 00:45:09.480
guess what, You're going to be stuck in that hospital

737
00:45:09.519 --> 00:45:12.960
bed for probably a very long time, and then there's

738
00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:14.639
going to be another place you're going to be stuck

739
00:45:14.679 --> 00:45:17.559
in for a very long time if you ever get

740
00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:22.559
another kidney. Tap the last app and you'll see I

741
00:45:22.679 --> 00:45:25.559
tap the finish Me app and see a video of

742
00:45:25.599 --> 00:45:29.119
the police going through my loft and finding all the cameras.

743
00:45:29.559 --> 00:45:32.800
Another angle shows them finding my hard drives and servers

744
00:45:32.840 --> 00:45:37.280
with all my homemade porn videos. Then I hear Catherine

745
00:45:37.320 --> 00:45:40.760
in the background. Maybe you'll rot in prison, and maybe

746
00:45:40.760 --> 00:45:43.679
you won't, but we took our revenge against you. Oh

747
00:45:43.719 --> 00:45:46.559
and don't bother trying to look for us. We're somewhere

748
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:49.840
you'll never find us. We're applying our medical experience on

749
00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:52.119
the black market now, so we'll just keep looking for

750
00:45:52.159 --> 00:45:55.800
more rich pieces of shit like you and harvesting whatever's needed.

751
00:45:56.440 --> 00:46:00.440
So this Halloween, you got the trick and we got

752
00:46:00.440 --> 00:46:03.840
the treats. Thanks for your pillow sack of candy. By

753
00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:07.159
the way, Also, that patient I was telling you about

754
00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:11.119
will benefit greatly from your kidneys. In fact, I'm putting

755
00:46:11.119 --> 00:46:14.079
them in right now as you're watching these apps. Have

756
00:46:14.159 --> 00:46:18.239
a nice life, whatever's left of it. The video ends,

757
00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:22.920
and then the apps all disappear. The next thing I know,

758
00:46:23.079 --> 00:46:25.559
two detectives from the Strickfield Police Department are here to

759
00:46:25.599 --> 00:46:28.440
see me, and I'm sure they're not here to ask

760
00:46:28.519 --> 00:46:42.840
me if I'm all right. Photo Sensitive by Joe Salver.

761
00:46:44.519 --> 00:46:47.639
Lacey set the cardboard box down at the door's threshold

762
00:46:47.719 --> 00:46:50.880
and took a minute. This was the last box, and

763
00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:54.159
she was finally moved in to her new home. It

764
00:46:54.199 --> 00:46:57.000
really was a long time coming. She had saved up

765
00:46:57.000 --> 00:46:59.679
for years to afford a house of her own. No

766
00:46:59.679 --> 00:47:03.039
more apartments with noisy neighbors. She was on her own

767
00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:06.719
out here in the country. It really was a steal.

768
00:47:07.280 --> 00:47:10.320
Nowhere could she find a three bedroom house for this

769
00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:13.760
cheap she had been looking for a while. The best

770
00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:16.760
part would be the commute. She was now only five

771
00:47:16.840 --> 00:47:20.320
minutes from work as manager of the tabletop game store

772
00:47:20.559 --> 00:47:23.920
Dragon's Den. She had been there since high school, working

773
00:47:23.920 --> 00:47:26.960
her way up to her position. Get a move on, bitch,

774
00:47:27.519 --> 00:47:30.360
came a voice from behind Lacey as her sister Simone

775
00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:33.280
bumped into her are you trying out your future as

776
00:47:33.320 --> 00:47:36.960
a door? I'm just taking in the moment. This is

777
00:47:37.079 --> 00:47:40.159
kind of a big deal, Lacey said, and moved into

778
00:47:40.159 --> 00:47:43.559
the house. Her sister was always the impatient one, but

779
00:47:44.159 --> 00:47:47.360
as far as older sisters go, she wasn't half bad.

780
00:47:47.559 --> 00:47:50.159
There really wasn't much of a rivalry growing up together.

781
00:47:50.599 --> 00:47:53.400
When Simone and her friends got into witchcraft, they would

782
00:47:53.480 --> 00:47:55.800
let her sit in the corner and watch them. She

783
00:47:55.960 --> 00:47:58.840
had no idea what they were doing back then, the

784
00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:02.079
age difference was too much. An eight year old can

785
00:48:02.119 --> 00:48:05.320
barely understand what the high school seniors were doing, but

786
00:48:05.400 --> 00:48:09.320
it seemed exciting to Lacey. They entered the kitchen and

787
00:48:09.440 --> 00:48:12.320
Lacey put the kettle on the stove. The cold late

788
00:48:12.360 --> 00:48:16.480
October morning chilled the bones. The furnace guy was coming

789
00:48:16.559 --> 00:48:18.800
later today to clean it and make sure it was good,

790
00:48:19.119 --> 00:48:20.880
and she didn't want to turn it on until he

791
00:48:20.960 --> 00:48:24.920
said it was okay. So which bedroom will be mine

792
00:48:24.920 --> 00:48:28.280
when I leave, Dan, Simone asked, pushing her auburn hair

793
00:48:28.320 --> 00:48:31.519
out of her face. You can have the basement seems

794
00:48:31.559 --> 00:48:35.199
more your style, Lacey joked. You have all the luck,

795
00:48:35.280 --> 00:48:38.559
little sis. You know that, right single? Owning your own

796
00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:42.960
house I envy you. Ha. I'll be lucky if I

797
00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:46.440
can afford groceries after the mortgage. You don't seem to

798
00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:50.119
have that problem, though, Lacey joked, poking her sister in

799
00:48:50.199 --> 00:48:55.039
her belly. I miss this. Living in North Carolina kind

800
00:48:55.039 --> 00:48:59.480
of sucks, to be honest, Simone finished, well, at least

801
00:48:59.519 --> 00:49:01.519
I got three there more days to hang here with

802
00:49:01.559 --> 00:49:04.719
you in New York. I fly back on November first.

803
00:49:05.440 --> 00:49:08.280
Don't blame me, You're the idiot that decided to chase

804
00:49:08.280 --> 00:49:11.920
your dreams, Lacey said, as the tea kettle began to whistle.

805
00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:15.679
They spent the rest of the day putting Lacey's belongings

806
00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:18.079
away and making the house feel more like a home.

807
00:49:18.599 --> 00:49:21.239
She was getting worried about the furnace. The guy they

808
00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:24.320
sent over had been down there a long time. He

809
00:49:24.360 --> 00:49:26.880
had startled her when he showed up. One minute, she

810
00:49:26.920 --> 00:49:29.400
was in the kitchen putting away the dishes that didn't

811
00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:32.880
get broke from Simone's lousy packing. The next he was

812
00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:36.519
standing in the doorway. Neither sister heard him enter the house.

813
00:49:37.079 --> 00:49:39.920
When she saw him there, leaning against the kitchen doorway,

814
00:49:40.440 --> 00:49:43.400
it made her jump. She hadn't heard a noise from

815
00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:46.000
the basement in a while and went downstairs to check

816
00:49:46.039 --> 00:49:48.400
on him since Simone decided to take a nap on

817
00:49:48.440 --> 00:49:52.480
the couch. She always could fall asleep anywhere. It was

818
00:49:52.559 --> 00:49:55.519
like turning off a switch. Lacey used to tease her

819
00:49:55.719 --> 00:49:59.360
and call her a robot. She descended the wooden basement

820
00:49:59.440 --> 00:50:04.400
stairs slowly. She always hated basements. She didn't like the dark,

821
00:50:04.519 --> 00:50:09.480
open space. She knew the fear was irrational in her imagination.

822
00:50:10.119 --> 00:50:14.719
Once a space was empty and dark, that's when spooky

823
00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:18.719
things could fill the space. She decided in that moment

824
00:50:18.960 --> 00:50:21.079
that she would just leave the basement lights on from

825
00:50:21.119 --> 00:50:24.119
now on. That would give her peace of mind. At

826
00:50:24.199 --> 00:50:29.519
least almost done. The furnace looks good even for sitting,

827
00:50:29.559 --> 00:50:31.639
as long as it did. I put a heavy duty

828
00:50:31.639 --> 00:50:34.320
air filter in there because of the dirt, the furnace

829
00:50:34.400 --> 00:50:36.880
guy said, pointing next to the loose dirt near the

830
00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:40.000
washer and dryer. His name tag on his blue workshirt

831
00:50:40.239 --> 00:50:44.440
said Brad, thank you. I wonder why they never finished

832
00:50:44.440 --> 00:50:48.079
the basement, she replied. Brad kind of gave her a

833
00:50:48.119 --> 00:50:51.719
weird look, like the answer should be obvious. It's going

834
00:50:51.800 --> 00:50:54.639
to be ninety dollars for the service. I just need

835
00:50:54.679 --> 00:50:57.280
to pack up my tools. Cash or check works. I

836
00:50:57.280 --> 00:50:59.639
don't have a way to take a credit card, he said,

837
00:50:59.679 --> 00:51:02.400
as the ernest kicked on for the first time since

838
00:51:02.440 --> 00:51:05.800
she moved in. She couldn't wait for the warmth. She

839
00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:09.400
shivered from the cold. She headed upstairs to get the

840
00:51:09.400 --> 00:51:12.320
man his money. She had enough cash to cover it.

841
00:51:12.800 --> 00:51:15.760
Simone was snoring, so Lacey took a few seconds to

842
00:51:15.800 --> 00:51:18.599
record it on her cell phone to a blackmailer later,

843
00:51:19.119 --> 00:51:22.639
like sisters would do. She giggled with glee at the thought.

844
00:51:23.400 --> 00:51:25.800
A moment later, Brad entered the kitchen where she was

845
00:51:25.840 --> 00:51:28.599
taking the cash from her purse. She handed over the

846
00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:31.719
cash to him. She noticed he wore a gold ring.

847
00:51:32.480 --> 00:51:34.840
Too bad he was taken. He was a little older,

848
00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:39.119
but he was good looking. Thanks. I ran out of

849
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:41.239
her seats. I'll have the office send one over in

850
00:51:41.280 --> 00:51:43.760
the mail if that's okay with you, Brad asked with

851
00:51:43.800 --> 00:51:48.039
a smile. Yeah, that's fine, Thanks for coming on short notice.

852
00:51:48.239 --> 00:51:50.159
The office said they weren't sure if they could send

853
00:51:50.159 --> 00:51:53.599
someone that quick. I'll definitely be calling you guys for

854
00:51:53.679 --> 00:51:57.519
all my furnace stuff. Let me walk you out, Lacey said,

855
00:51:58.199 --> 00:52:01.159
sure thing. Brad said and turned towards the front door

856
00:52:01.159 --> 00:52:04.199
of the house. His tool belt hit Simone's teacup, which

857
00:52:04.199 --> 00:52:07.880
fell to the floor and shattered. Oh damn, I'm so sorry.

858
00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:11.800
I can be a clutch sometimes, he said, apologetically. Let

859
00:52:11.800 --> 00:52:14.679
me pick this up. No, it's okay, I'll get it,

860
00:52:14.840 --> 00:52:17.559
Lacy said, grabbing some paper towels for the spilled tea.

861
00:52:18.079 --> 00:52:19.960
She got down on her knees and began to clean

862
00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:23.480
it up. Oh okay, then I'll just show myself out,

863
00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:26.360
Brad said, and left the kitchen. Simone entered the kitchen

864
00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:31.280
a second later. Hey, what happened? She asked. You left

865
00:52:31.320 --> 00:52:33.000
your mug on the edge of the table, and Brad

866
00:52:33.079 --> 00:52:35.920
knocked it over on his way out. Lacey said, picking

867
00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:39.840
up the broken pieces in her hand. Who's Brad? Do

868
00:52:39.880 --> 00:52:42.000
you have a secret boyfriend you haven't told me about?

869
00:52:42.320 --> 00:52:44.719
Simone joked and helped her pick up the pieces of

870
00:52:44.719 --> 00:52:47.400
the mug. You must have seen him. He was just

871
00:52:47.440 --> 00:52:51.400
there he fixed the furnace, Lacey explained, I just woke up.

872
00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:55.760
Must have just missed him. Simone said, was he cute?

873
00:52:55.840 --> 00:52:59.199
He had his charm. Now that we have heat, let's

874
00:52:59.199 --> 00:53:01.719
get a pizza and watch some cheesy horror movies. I

875
00:53:01.719 --> 00:53:05.119
think I'm done for the day, Lacey said, fine with me,

876
00:53:05.559 --> 00:53:10.320
Simone replied. Later that night, Lacey washed up for bed.

877
00:53:10.679 --> 00:53:13.800
It was fun having her sister around. After living alone

878
00:53:13.880 --> 00:53:15.599
for so long, it was good to have someone to

879
00:53:15.639 --> 00:53:19.840
talk to. She didn't really realize how lonely she actually was.

880
00:53:20.639 --> 00:53:24.280
Simone had passed out halfway through chopping mall. Lacey left

881
00:53:24.280 --> 00:53:26.280
her on the couch, even though they had set up

882
00:53:26.280 --> 00:53:29.000
one of the spare bedrooms for her. She crawled into

883
00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:32.920
bed and checked her phone. No new messages. She really

884
00:53:33.079 --> 00:53:35.920
was lonely. She decided she would try to be a

885
00:53:35.960 --> 00:53:38.880
little more outgoing and make an effort to meet someone.

886
00:53:39.679 --> 00:53:42.159
It didn't have to be romantic, just someone to watch

887
00:53:42.199 --> 00:53:44.960
movies with or something. She placed her phone on the

888
00:53:45.039 --> 00:53:49.679
nightstand and closed her eyes. The next morning, Lacey woke

889
00:53:49.719 --> 00:53:52.960
with a start. She had had a nightmare. She couldn't

890
00:53:53.000 --> 00:53:57.639
remember it, just the uneasy feeling. It gave her a sleazy,

891
00:53:58.159 --> 00:54:01.360
greasy feeling. She got out of bed and looked for

892
00:54:01.400 --> 00:54:04.519
her phone. She shook out the blankets and it fell

893
00:54:04.559 --> 00:54:07.000
to the floor. She looked at the night stand for

894
00:54:07.039 --> 00:54:10.320
a moment and then shrugged. She had been pretty tired

895
00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:14.159
last night. She heard Simone downstairs in the kitchen and

896
00:54:14.239 --> 00:54:18.280
smelled bacon cooking. Her stomach rumbled in agreement with the

897
00:54:18.320 --> 00:54:21.920
delicious odor. She went downstairs and sat at the table.

898
00:54:22.159 --> 00:54:25.280
The kettle was already on. She checked her messages again,

899
00:54:26.119 --> 00:54:29.480
still nothing. Simone looked at her with a cocked head.

900
00:54:29.960 --> 00:54:34.599
Someone special getting a hold of you, she asked. No,

901
00:54:34.599 --> 00:54:37.199
no messages, she said with a sigh and put her

902
00:54:37.239 --> 00:54:41.199
phone on the table. I'm sorry, Brad hasn't sexted you,

903
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:43.960
Simone said, and set a plate of food down in

904
00:54:43.960 --> 00:54:46.599
front of her little sister. It reminded her when they

905
00:54:46.679 --> 00:54:49.519
both lived at home and she had to babysit. Wait

906
00:54:49.599 --> 00:54:52.519
until I go back to North Carolina before having him

907
00:54:52.519 --> 00:54:54.400
spend the night. I need my beauty sleep. I don't

908
00:54:54.440 --> 00:54:57.920
need you to keeping me up all night, Simone joked me,

909
00:54:58.440 --> 00:55:01.800
keeping you up that it's rich. Do you know how

910
00:55:01.840 --> 00:55:05.559
loud you snore, Lacey said and reached for her phone.

911
00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:10.360
I certainly do not snore, Simone said loudly. Dan would

912
00:55:10.360 --> 00:55:14.280
have told me when we moved in together. I have proof,

913
00:55:14.599 --> 00:55:18.880
Lacey said and opened the photos on her phone. Her

914
00:55:18.920 --> 00:55:21.679
face went pale and she dropped her phone onto her

915
00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:27.239
plate of eggs and bacon. Lacey, what is it? Simone said,

916
00:55:27.719 --> 00:55:31.000
that wasn't very funny, Lacey said, cleaning off her phone.

917
00:55:31.480 --> 00:55:35.760
Simone gave her a confused look. Taking those pictures last night,

918
00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:39.880
Lacey finished, I don't know what you're talking about. Let

919
00:55:39.920 --> 00:55:42.599
me see, Simone said, and grabbed her phone from her.

920
00:55:43.159 --> 00:55:45.880
There were a half dozen pictures of Lacey's sleeping in

921
00:55:45.920 --> 00:55:49.960
the same pajamas she was wearing now, except the last one.

922
00:55:50.599 --> 00:55:55.000
The last one, Lacey's top was pulled up, exposing her breasts.

923
00:55:56.079 --> 00:56:00.199
These are from last night. Simone asked, yeah, that it's

924
00:56:00.199 --> 00:56:02.639
the new room around me. When did you take them,

925
00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:05.559
Lacey asked. She looked at her plate, but she had

926
00:56:05.559 --> 00:56:09.239
lost her appetite. I swear it wasn't me. The last

927
00:56:09.280 --> 00:56:11.280
thing I remember is falling asleep during the movie and

928
00:56:11.320 --> 00:56:14.079
waking up like a half hour before you. I didn't

929
00:56:14.119 --> 00:56:17.840
do this, I swear, Simone said. You better not be

930
00:56:18.000 --> 00:56:21.000
fucking with me, Lacey said, and got up. They both

931
00:56:21.039 --> 00:56:24.360
went to the bedroom and looked everything over. The windows

932
00:56:24.400 --> 00:56:27.239
were still locked. Lacey explained to her sister how she

933
00:56:27.280 --> 00:56:29.639
thought she left her phone on the nightstand and when

934
00:56:29.679 --> 00:56:32.400
she woke it was on the bed. Both of them

935
00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:36.079
agreed that it was really creepy. They got dressed and

936
00:56:36.119 --> 00:56:38.119
went to the hardware store to get new locks for

937
00:56:38.199 --> 00:56:42.639
all the doors. As the day grew long, Lacey dreaded

938
00:56:42.719 --> 00:56:46.280
going to sleep in that room. The more she thought

939
00:56:46.280 --> 00:56:49.119
about it, the closer to a panic attack she got.

940
00:56:49.880 --> 00:56:52.039
Around eight, she came up with the idea of her

941
00:56:52.079 --> 00:56:55.239
sister sleeping in there with her. Before they went to bed,

942
00:56:55.599 --> 00:56:58.400
they checked every window and door in the house to

943
00:56:58.440 --> 00:57:02.760
make sure they were locked. Satisfied everything was secure, they

944
00:57:02.760 --> 00:57:05.679
went upstairs. I don't know what's going to keep me

945
00:57:05.719 --> 00:57:08.800
up more the thought of those pictures, or you're snoring,

946
00:57:09.079 --> 00:57:11.480
Lacey joked as she put her phone in the drawer

947
00:57:11.519 --> 00:57:17.039
on the night stand. I don't snore, Simone refuted. Lacey's

948
00:57:17.079 --> 00:57:20.480
eyes cracked open. It was light out. She rubbed her

949
00:57:20.480 --> 00:57:23.119
eyes and looked at Simone sleeping next to her. She

950
00:57:23.199 --> 00:57:26.159
didn't realize what a comfort her sister had been. She

951
00:57:26.320 --> 00:57:30.840
rolled over towards the door, thinking about going back to sleep. Startled,

952
00:57:30.840 --> 00:57:33.840
she sat up straight in bed. Her cell phone was

953
00:57:33.840 --> 00:57:36.599
on top of the night stand. She reached for it

954
00:57:36.679 --> 00:57:39.519
with one hand while the other instinctively itched her side

955
00:57:39.920 --> 00:57:42.880
She lifted her shirt and looked at the spot that itched.

956
00:57:43.519 --> 00:57:47.000
There were scratch marks across her side. Did she just

957
00:57:47.079 --> 00:57:50.239
do that? Her eyes darted to her cell phone. She

958
00:57:50.360 --> 00:57:54.679
quickly opened it and looked. Simone. She said, and without

959
00:57:54.719 --> 00:57:57.159
taking her eyes off the phone, slapped her sister in

960
00:57:57.199 --> 00:58:00.880
the face. Get up the panic and her voice snapped

961
00:58:00.880 --> 00:58:03.719
Simone out of her sound sleep. What is it, her

962
00:58:03.760 --> 00:58:08.599
older sister asked. It happened again, Lacy said, and dropped

963
00:58:08.599 --> 00:58:12.199
her phone into her sister's lap. It couldn't have I

964
00:58:12.320 --> 00:58:15.960
was here all night, Simone said with disbelief. She began

965
00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:19.880
to scroll through the pictures, her eyes widening with each one.

966
00:58:20.400 --> 00:58:23.000
The first two pictures were just like the night before.

967
00:58:23.599 --> 00:58:29.239
After that they got more perverse again. A topless photo

968
00:58:29.320 --> 00:58:32.719
of her a wide shot. Simone was in the photo

969
00:58:32.760 --> 00:58:37.760
as well, but asleep an undisturbed. The second topless photo

970
00:58:37.840 --> 00:58:41.119
showed the scratch on her side. They were from the

971
00:58:41.119 --> 00:58:44.280
middle of the night, four gouges across her belly off

972
00:58:44.320 --> 00:58:47.440
on the side. The next photo showed a close up

973
00:58:47.480 --> 00:58:50.239
on her face. A hand from the photographer could be

974
00:58:50.320 --> 00:58:53.880
seen holding her head to the side. The back of

975
00:58:53.920 --> 00:58:57.679
the hand was obscured by a blue blur that continued

976
00:58:57.719 --> 00:59:03.000
out of frame. What this, Simone asked, that's a shirt

977
00:59:03.639 --> 00:59:09.039
I think like a work Oh shit, Oh shit, Lacy

978
00:59:09.119 --> 00:59:12.239
said and started to hyperventilate. I know who it is.

979
00:59:12.880 --> 00:59:16.119
It's Brad, she cried. Okay, let's call the cops and

980
00:59:16.199 --> 00:59:18.719
nail this fucker, Simone said, and dialed nine one one

981
00:59:18.719 --> 00:59:20.920
from Lacey's phone. They got up out of bed to

982
00:59:20.960 --> 00:59:24.280
meet the police at the door. She explained everything to

983
00:59:24.320 --> 00:59:27.280
the officer that came to take her statement. His name

984
00:59:27.440 --> 00:59:30.400
was Officer John O'Neill, and he was a new transfer

985
00:59:30.559 --> 00:59:34.000
and therefore sent on things like this. He said, once

986
00:59:34.039 --> 00:59:36.880
he reports back, they would make this case a priority.

987
00:59:37.440 --> 00:59:40.079
He paid attention to Lacey as she told him every

988
00:59:40.119 --> 00:59:43.800
detail she could remember. He genuinely seemed like he cared,

989
00:59:44.039 --> 00:59:46.599
and that made her feel better. He left with a

990
00:59:46.639 --> 00:59:49.440
promise to get back to her later that day with

991
00:59:49.480 --> 00:59:52.639
whatever he could find. Maybe I can stay a few

992
00:59:52.679 --> 00:59:55.880
more days until we get some answers, Simone said, as

993
00:59:55.920 --> 00:59:59.400
they hung the last of the Halloween decorations. This used

994
00:59:59.400 --> 01:00:02.679
to be their holiday. Now neither of them could stop

995
01:00:02.719 --> 01:00:08.159
thinking about those photos. You don't have to. I'm sure

996
01:00:08.239 --> 01:00:11.199
Dan is waiting for you to get home, Lacey said,

997
01:00:11.559 --> 01:00:14.199
but the tone in her voice revealed she felt the

998
01:00:14.239 --> 01:00:17.960
opposite way. It's no problem, He'll just have to cook

999
01:00:17.960 --> 01:00:21.159
for himself a little longer, she said, probably just order

1000
01:00:21.199 --> 01:00:25.199
out every meal. To be honest, if it's no bother,

1001
01:00:25.760 --> 01:00:29.920
I would appreciate it. Lacey said, Hey, do you still

1002
01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:33.159
do that which thing like you used to do back

1003
01:00:33.159 --> 01:00:37.400
in high school. No, I haven't talked to those girls

1004
01:00:37.400 --> 01:00:40.800
in years. They were really into it. I just was

1005
01:00:40.840 --> 01:00:43.880
there to be the third witch. I think they probably

1006
01:00:43.960 --> 01:00:47.519
watched too much Charmed. Although I would turn Lesbo for

1007
01:00:47.559 --> 01:00:51.760
Alyssa Milano. Sorry, Dan, Lacey's older sister said, with a smile.

1008
01:00:52.400 --> 01:00:56.360
They sat in silence for a moment. Wait, were you

1009
01:00:56.400 --> 01:01:01.440
thinking of doing some protection magic or something? I don't know.

1010
01:01:02.079 --> 01:01:05.159
The cops are on it, but I would feel safer,

1011
01:01:05.480 --> 01:01:08.360
Lacey said, and grabbed Darcy's peanut butter cup from the

1012
01:01:08.400 --> 01:01:11.760
candy dish next to the front door. I don't think

1013
01:01:11.800 --> 01:01:14.599
we knew what we were doing. We were just being

1014
01:01:14.719 --> 01:01:18.880
edgy and different. Nothing ever happened with that stuff, Simone

1015
01:01:18.880 --> 01:01:20.519
explained and grabbed Darrece's too.

1016
01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:26.559
You're not safe yet, Weekly Spooky will be right back.

1017
01:01:31.239 --> 01:01:33.159
I can look them up on Facebook and see what

1018
01:01:33.199 --> 01:01:36.400
they say if you want. Lacey nodded her head and

1019
01:01:36.519 --> 01:01:39.119
went into the living room. She plopped down on the

1020
01:01:39.159 --> 01:01:41.760
couch and wondered when Officer John was going to call

1021
01:01:41.800 --> 01:01:44.039
her in a few hours. It was going to be

1022
01:01:44.119 --> 01:01:48.159
dark and she wanted some progress. Maybe him calling to

1023
01:01:48.199 --> 01:01:50.239
tell her that Brad was rotting in jail and would

1024
01:01:50.239 --> 01:01:54.159
never bother her again. That would be ideal. Her dream

1025
01:01:54.199 --> 01:01:57.519
house has been turning into a nightmare. What had she

1026
01:01:57.639 --> 01:02:00.920
done to deserve this? Snap out of it? Sis, it's

1027
01:02:00.960 --> 01:02:04.360
ten minutes to go time, Simone said, pointing at the clock.

1028
01:02:04.960 --> 01:02:07.480
Trick or treating was about to start. It was supposed

1029
01:02:07.519 --> 01:02:09.559
to be a good feeling, the first time she could

1030
01:02:09.559 --> 01:02:13.760
give out candy from her own home, but she felt emotionless,

1031
01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:17.840
in sighed distant. The last two days had taken the

1032
01:02:17.840 --> 01:02:20.840
fun out of everything. A quick phone check showed that

1033
01:02:20.960 --> 01:02:23.760
no one had called her. No news was good news,

1034
01:02:24.079 --> 01:02:28.119
that was the saying, right. Ten minutes passed, then twenty.

1035
01:02:28.559 --> 01:02:31.519
She could hear kids in the street, but none rang

1036
01:02:31.559 --> 01:02:35.360
her doorbell. She began to eat the candy. She was

1037
01:02:35.400 --> 01:02:38.559
a little disappointed, to be honest, seeing all the happy

1038
01:02:38.639 --> 01:02:42.679
children would be a good distraction. You want to watch something,

1039
01:02:43.000 --> 01:02:46.239
she asked her sister. Sure, what did you have in mind?

1040
01:02:46.760 --> 01:02:49.440
By the way, Rachel got back to me, she told

1041
01:02:49.440 --> 01:02:51.920
me what to do to protect the house and keep

1042
01:02:52.039 --> 01:02:54.280
danger out. I might have to run out to the

1043
01:02:54.320 --> 01:02:56.719
store really quick. Do you mind being here alone while

1044
01:02:56.760 --> 01:03:01.480
I go? Simone asked, well, I guess as long as

1045
01:03:01.960 --> 01:03:05.039
I'm awake, I seem to be safe, she joked. The

1046
01:03:05.079 --> 01:03:09.679
doorbell rang and they both looked at it. Well, answer it,

1047
01:03:09.920 --> 01:03:13.239
Simone said, with a showing motion. Lacy jumped up and

1048
01:03:13.320 --> 01:03:16.239
ran to the door. Excited to get her first trick

1049
01:03:16.320 --> 01:03:18.840
or treater, She pulled the door open and presented the

1050
01:03:18.880 --> 01:03:21.800
bowl of candy. She did so a little too eagerly,

1051
01:03:21.840 --> 01:03:25.400
and two twigs went overboard towards Officer John on the

1052
01:03:25.400 --> 01:03:28.920
front step. He caught them instinctively and held them up.

1053
01:03:29.559 --> 01:03:33.400
If I catch them, can I keep them? He asked playfully?

1054
01:03:34.280 --> 01:03:37.119
And who are you supposed to be? Little boy? Lacy

1055
01:03:37.239 --> 01:03:41.000
joked with him. They both smiled. Simone pointed from Lacy

1056
01:03:41.079 --> 01:03:43.199
to the officer and made a whistle noise out of

1057
01:03:43.199 --> 01:03:45.960
sight of him. Lacey rolled her eyes at her sister.

1058
01:03:46.440 --> 01:03:50.440
She was always playing match maker officer? Can you stay

1059
01:03:50.480 --> 01:03:52.199
with my sister for a few minutes while I ran

1060
01:03:52.280 --> 01:03:55.760
to the store. She would really appreciate it, Simone said,

1061
01:03:55.920 --> 01:03:59.320
and winked at her sister. Sure, he said, and turned

1062
01:03:59.320 --> 01:04:02.679
to Lacey. You can call me John. I'm off duty.

1063
01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:06.920
Just wanted to give her some information that I discovered today. Well,

1064
01:04:07.320 --> 01:04:10.159
by all means, give it to her, Simone said, and

1065
01:04:10.199 --> 01:04:12.800
slipped out the door. I took your car keys, be

1066
01:04:12.880 --> 01:04:15.159
back in like an hour or so, she said, as

1067
01:04:15.159 --> 01:04:20.840
she ran down the driveway. Come in. Would you like anything? Oh?

1068
01:04:20.960 --> 01:04:23.840
This TwixT was plenty. I couldn't ask for anything more,

1069
01:04:24.320 --> 01:04:28.119
he said as they entered the living room. Listen, what

1070
01:04:28.199 --> 01:04:31.280
I need to tell you is a kind of scary.

1071
01:04:32.360 --> 01:04:36.000
We better sit down. They both sat on the couch

1072
01:04:36.280 --> 01:04:39.760
and Lacy turned off the cheesy movie she was watching, Rubber.

1073
01:04:40.400 --> 01:04:42.920
She just wasn't in the mood for a story about

1074
01:04:42.960 --> 01:04:48.360
a killer car tire. So I did some research. Because

1075
01:04:48.360 --> 01:04:51.639
the guys at the station didn't seem very helpful. I'm

1076
01:04:51.679 --> 01:04:56.400
still new enough for them to prank me anyway. This

1077
01:04:56.480 --> 01:05:00.159
is what I found. The furnace company does not have

1078
01:05:00.199 --> 01:05:04.559
an employee named Brad. What I saw him. Lacey said,

1079
01:05:05.199 --> 01:05:09.760
there's more. Not only that, but it seems your house

1080
01:05:09.800 --> 01:05:14.599
has a interesting history. Did the real estate lady tell

1081
01:05:14.599 --> 01:05:19.639
you about the murders, he asked, never mind. By the

1082
01:05:19.639 --> 01:05:22.280
look on your face, I can see she didn't. It's

1083
01:05:22.280 --> 01:05:25.159
not actually illegal not to tell you. I looked into

1084
01:05:25.199 --> 01:05:28.320
that as well, at least not in this state, although

1085
01:05:28.320 --> 01:05:32.480
it is shitty in my opinion. He continued, What happened here,

1086
01:05:33.280 --> 01:05:36.239
I'm not sure I want to know, actually, Lacey said,

1087
01:05:36.280 --> 01:05:39.079
looking around the room as if for the first time.

1088
01:05:40.960 --> 01:05:44.320
I think you should. There was a serial killer that

1089
01:05:44.400 --> 01:05:48.280
lived here about fifteen years ago. He used to bring

1090
01:05:48.320 --> 01:05:51.960
women here and torture them before strangling them and breaking

1091
01:05:52.000 --> 01:05:56.119
their necks post mortem. There was a police report from

1092
01:05:56.119 --> 01:05:58.840
a woman who said she escaped this house and told

1093
01:05:58.840 --> 01:06:02.840
the police about him, but nothing was done. The man's

1094
01:06:02.920 --> 01:06:08.599
name was Brad, retired police chief Brad Crawford. He opened

1095
01:06:08.639 --> 01:06:11.960
an HVAC company after retirement. We think that's how he

1096
01:06:12.039 --> 01:06:16.360
found his victims. Anyway, they both went missing right after that,

1097
01:06:16.760 --> 01:06:19.719
and they discovered a map and photos in his bedroom.

1098
01:06:20.159 --> 01:06:23.360
All the photos were in their beds alive. Then the

1099
01:06:23.440 --> 01:06:27.679
rest were taken here in your room. After he'd broken

1100
01:06:27.760 --> 01:06:31.679
their necks. Several had scratches on them when they'd struggled.

1101
01:06:32.320 --> 01:06:34.559
The map led to the forest out on Route nine,

1102
01:06:34.960 --> 01:06:38.239
where they found the bodies. All but one woman in

1103
01:06:38.280 --> 01:06:42.320
the photos were accounted for. The one they couldn't find

1104
01:06:42.480 --> 01:06:45.760
was the woman who filed the report. It was all

1105
01:06:45.840 --> 01:06:48.840
kind of swept under the rug because the small community

1106
01:06:48.880 --> 01:06:52.280
didn't want all the attention. He had fled. The HVAC

1107
01:06:52.320 --> 01:06:54.920
company went to his nephew, and they doctored a death

1108
01:06:54.960 --> 01:06:58.400
certificate to close the case. That last part I learned

1109
01:06:58.400 --> 01:07:01.239
from the court records janitor who was around back then.

1110
01:07:02.159 --> 01:07:04.440
When I told them of your case. They thought it

1111
01:07:04.480 --> 01:07:07.079
was a joke, someone was playing on me and ignored it,

1112
01:07:07.480 --> 01:07:12.440
John explained. A tear rolled down Lacey's cheek. John reached

1113
01:07:12.760 --> 01:07:16.400
and held her hand. I swear, I don't think this

1114
01:07:16.519 --> 01:07:19.159
is a joke. I won't let this happen, even if

1115
01:07:19.159 --> 01:07:22.440
the assholes at the station will, he said, and squeezed.

1116
01:07:23.119 --> 01:07:26.239
Lacey laid her head against his shoulder and began to cry.

1117
01:07:27.800 --> 01:07:30.519
A little while later, Simone returned and prepped the house

1118
01:07:30.840 --> 01:07:33.840
as her friend had instructed. After that was done, all

1119
01:07:33.880 --> 01:07:35.920
three of them settled in to watch a few movies

1120
01:07:35.960 --> 01:07:38.199
and put a dent in the candy that no trick

1121
01:07:38.239 --> 01:07:40.960
or treater had come for. It didn't take long for

1122
01:07:41.039 --> 01:07:44.280
all the stress to overtake Lacey, and she fell asleep

1123
01:07:44.559 --> 01:07:48.239
on John's shoulder. Simone made herself scarce and went into

1124
01:07:48.280 --> 01:07:50.480
the den, where she kept all the supplies that Rachel

1125
01:07:50.480 --> 01:07:54.800
had told her to get. Some time around midnight, Lacey woke.

1126
01:07:55.280 --> 01:07:57.719
She felt the warmth of John next to her and

1127
01:07:57.840 --> 01:08:01.800
started to settle into him, but goosebumps spread across her

1128
01:08:01.800 --> 01:08:05.159
skin like the wind on a lake's surface. She opened

1129
01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:08.599
her eyes and saw Brad standing in front of her.

1130
01:08:09.000 --> 01:08:12.119
She tried to speak, but was frozen in fear. He

1131
01:08:12.119 --> 01:08:14.800
held her cellphone in his hand and took a picture

1132
01:08:14.840 --> 01:08:18.880
of her, a wicked smile on his face. He leaned

1133
01:08:18.920 --> 01:08:21.800
in close to her and placed his icy fingers on

1134
01:08:21.880 --> 01:08:26.399
her neck, gently tracing the lines of her veins. She

1135
01:08:26.560 --> 01:08:29.439
shivered from the touch, which was enough to wake John.

1136
01:08:30.199 --> 01:08:33.359
What the fuck? John yelled out and reached for his gun.

1137
01:08:33.560 --> 01:08:36.920
Brad turned and sneered at him. The change of attention

1138
01:08:37.000 --> 01:08:39.399
broke Lacey from her fear, and she jumped over the

1139
01:08:39.439 --> 01:08:41.720
back of the couch and away from Brad. She called

1140
01:08:41.720 --> 01:08:44.880
out to Simone. John stood with a pistol drawn and

1141
01:08:44.960 --> 01:08:49.960
pointed it at Brad. Back off, asshole, It's over, John said.

1142
01:08:50.560 --> 01:08:55.079
He called out to Lacey over his shoulder. Are you okay? Yeah, John,

1143
01:08:55.520 --> 01:08:57.960
she said, and called out for Simone again, who came

1144
01:08:58.039 --> 01:09:00.840
running from the other room. She stopped dead at the

1145
01:09:00.920 --> 01:09:04.159
sight in front of her. Brad leaned in close to John,

1146
01:09:04.439 --> 01:09:07.079
his chest mere inches from the gun, pointed at it.

1147
01:09:07.560 --> 01:09:11.479
John swallowed hard. Not another step, or I swear to God,

1148
01:09:11.720 --> 01:09:14.840
I'll fire, he said, You guys, get out of here.

1149
01:09:15.159 --> 01:09:17.560
He called over his shoulder call the State boys in.

1150
01:09:18.359 --> 01:09:23.079
Brad stepped closer, and John fired as promised. The bullet

1151
01:09:23.439 --> 01:09:25.960
passed through Brad as if you were made of air.

1152
01:09:26.520 --> 01:09:29.680
He gripped John's neck in his large hands and twisted.

1153
01:09:30.159 --> 01:09:33.640
Lacy screamed as she watched John's body drop to the ground.

1154
01:09:34.000 --> 01:09:37.800
After the sickening snap, she grabbed Simone's hand and pulled

1155
01:09:37.800 --> 01:09:41.079
her towards the hallway. That was when she noticed Simone's

1156
01:09:41.079 --> 01:09:45.000
other hand held a backpack. They ran into the kitchen

1157
01:09:45.039 --> 01:09:47.399
since Brad was between them and the front door. In

1158
01:09:47.479 --> 01:09:50.359
their panic, they fled to a dead end. The only

1159
01:09:50.399 --> 01:09:54.079
other door in the room led to the basement. They

1160
01:09:54.159 --> 01:09:56.920
heard a furious scream from deeper in the house, and

1161
01:09:57.000 --> 01:10:00.640
as quietly as they could, went into the basement. The

1162
01:10:00.720 --> 01:10:03.640
lights were already on thanks to some pre planning anxiety

1163
01:10:03.640 --> 01:10:06.479
from Lazy. They ran over to the washer and dryer

1164
01:10:06.560 --> 01:10:09.439
set up by the unfinished dirt floor. They wiggled behind

1165
01:10:09.439 --> 01:10:12.000
the dryer as best they could. There wasn't really enough

1166
01:10:12.079 --> 01:10:14.720
room for both of them. Lacey had to balance herself

1167
01:10:14.720 --> 01:10:17.840
by placing her hand in the dirt. They heard the

1168
01:10:17.880 --> 01:10:20.840
basement door open, and they both jumped a little bit.

1169
01:10:21.359 --> 01:10:25.359
The footsteps sent chills down their spine. Why didn't John's

1170
01:10:25.359 --> 01:10:30.159
bullets stop him? The footsteps stopped, and that was even worse.

1171
01:10:30.880 --> 01:10:34.399
They didn't know where he was. The washer began to shake.

1172
01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:37.279
She knew they'd been made, but she didn't know what

1173
01:10:37.319 --> 01:10:40.840
else to do. Simone, on the other hand, was digging

1174
01:10:40.880 --> 01:10:44.760
in the backpack she had looking for something. She glanced

1175
01:10:44.840 --> 01:10:49.199
up at her sister stall him. She whispered. Lacey grabbed

1176
01:10:49.239 --> 01:10:52.039
a handful of dirt and stood up. Brad was on

1177
01:10:52.079 --> 01:10:54.000
the other side of the washer. He gave her a

1178
01:10:54.039 --> 01:10:56.960
predatory look. She tried not to panic as she faced

1179
01:10:56.960 --> 01:11:02.159
her stalker. You want me, Lacey said, you can't have me,

1180
01:11:02.560 --> 01:11:04.560
She called out and threw the dirt in his face

1181
01:11:04.560 --> 01:11:07.039
for a distraction. There was a flash of something in

1182
01:11:07.079 --> 01:11:10.520
the dirt as it flew, something shiny. Brad took a

1183
01:11:10.560 --> 01:11:12.560
step back as if the dirt had hurt him, and

1184
01:11:12.600 --> 01:11:16.399
she started to gain some hope that she wouldn't die tonight.

1185
01:11:17.439 --> 01:11:20.079
Hate that, do you? She said, and reached down for

1186
01:11:20.159 --> 01:11:24.319
more dirt, but her hand found something more unexpected, something

1187
01:11:24.399 --> 01:11:26.840
stuck in the dirt. She glanced down to see what

1188
01:11:26.880 --> 01:11:29.840
it was and was shocked at what she saw. It

1189
01:11:29.960 --> 01:11:32.439
was a hand sticking out of the dirt. Her eyes

1190
01:11:32.479 --> 01:11:35.479
went back to the shiny object on the floor. It

1191
01:11:35.520 --> 01:11:40.039
was a ring, just like the one Brad was wearing. Simone,

1192
01:11:40.199 --> 01:11:42.640
look at the dirt, she called out, and grabbed some

1193
01:11:42.680 --> 01:11:45.319
more earth to throw at Brad, who had recovered from

1194
01:11:45.319 --> 01:11:49.760
the first toss gross. Simone called out as she pinged

1195
01:11:49.760 --> 01:11:53.279
the hand's fingers with hers. I think it's him. It's

1196
01:11:53.319 --> 01:11:56.079
why he disappeared. The woman who reported him came back

1197
01:11:56.439 --> 01:12:00.640
and got revenge. Does that make him a ghost? You

1198
01:12:00.720 --> 01:12:03.880
know about that kind of shit, right, Lacey asked, I

1199
01:12:03.920 --> 01:12:07.800
don't know, maybe hold on, let me ask, Rachel, Simone

1200
01:12:07.840 --> 01:12:10.159
called out, as Lacey pelted Brad with the dirt from

1201
01:12:10.159 --> 01:12:13.600
his grave. We don't have time for a fucking online chat.

1202
01:12:13.640 --> 01:12:16.000
What do we have to do, Lacey called out, irritated.

1203
01:12:16.560 --> 01:12:19.920
Rachel says, we need to consecrate the grave. Simone answered,

1204
01:12:19.920 --> 01:12:23.079
after a moment of frantic typing, Oh okay, that sounds

1205
01:12:23.079 --> 01:12:25.520
easy enough. How the hell do we do that? I'm

1206
01:12:25.560 --> 01:12:28.279
on it, Simone said, and began to pull stuff from

1207
01:12:28.319 --> 01:12:31.479
the backpack. Lacey could hear her bad pronunciation of Latin

1208
01:12:31.640 --> 01:12:33.920
as she kept Brad at bay with the shower of

1209
01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:36.920
his own grave dirt. She had a rhythm going bend

1210
01:12:37.000 --> 01:12:40.560
and grab, toss, wait two seconds, bend and toss. It

1211
01:12:40.680 --> 01:12:43.159
kept him from getting any closer, and the contact with

1212
01:12:43.199 --> 01:12:45.960
the dirt seemed to hurt him. It was like figuring

1213
01:12:45.960 --> 01:12:48.560
out a boss strategy in a tabletop or video game,

1214
01:12:48.720 --> 01:12:52.199
which she had years of experience with. A Few seconds later,

1215
01:12:52.279 --> 01:12:55.479
the Latin stopped. Lacey gave a quick glance over her shoulder.

1216
01:12:55.720 --> 01:13:00.960
Her sister shrugged at her. That should be it, Simone said. Suddenly,

1217
01:13:01.239 --> 01:13:03.960
a rumble shook the basement as the dirt swirled around

1218
01:13:03.960 --> 01:13:06.760
Brad an eerie red light shone from under the dirt

1219
01:13:06.880 --> 01:13:09.960
and rocks on the floor. Black hands reached up and

1220
01:13:10.079 --> 01:13:13.319
grabbed Brad's legs. He looked down in horror and clawed

1221
01:13:13.319 --> 01:13:17.079
at the hands gripping him. Trying to break free. Lacy

1222
01:13:17.119 --> 01:13:19.199
stepped back against the wall of the basement to get

1223
01:13:19.199 --> 01:13:22.239
as far away as she could. More and more hands

1224
01:13:22.279 --> 01:13:25.039
reached up, and a demonic cackling could be heard from

1225
01:13:25.079 --> 01:13:28.399
the swirling dirt. In a quick second, Brad was pulled

1226
01:13:28.439 --> 01:13:32.640
straight down into the earth and everything returned to normal.

1227
01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:38.920
A second passed as the sisters caught their breath. Holy shit,

1228
01:13:39.319 --> 01:13:45.159
Simone said, Holy shit, Lacy repeated. Guess he's done for?

1229
01:13:46.119 --> 01:13:51.520
Dragged straight to hell? One would imagine, Simone said, with

1230
01:13:51.640 --> 01:13:56.319
a wild eyed look. Lacey stood tall in her new house,

1231
01:13:56.640 --> 01:14:12.960
which was now her home. Good bad cop in a

1232
01:14:13.000 --> 01:14:19.640
small town on Halloween Night by John Oak Dalton Farren

1233
01:14:19.760 --> 01:14:23.479
didn't know what a viral video was until his daughter

1234
01:14:23.560 --> 01:14:26.000
showed him a recording of him sleeping in the patrol

1235
01:14:26.079 --> 01:14:29.199
car in the parking lot of the school. Some asshole

1236
01:14:29.319 --> 01:14:31.439
kid shot it on a cell phone and sent it

1237
01:14:31.439 --> 01:14:34.760
to a friend, who posted it on Twitter, and the

1238
01:14:34.800 --> 01:14:38.880
rest went how it went. That was on a Wednesday morning,

1239
01:14:38.960 --> 01:14:41.279
and by that night there was a dance club mix

1240
01:14:41.319 --> 01:14:44.840
with Farren's loud snores and a sample from Junie Morrison's

1241
01:14:44.840 --> 01:14:49.520
song Susie thunder Tussy. By Friday night, the memes were

1242
01:14:49.560 --> 01:14:52.720
in full swing. There was a screen cap of Farren

1243
01:14:52.800 --> 01:14:55.760
sleeping in the patrol car and the text read when

1244
01:14:55.800 --> 01:14:58.880
you've been racial profiling all day and the donut shop

1245
01:14:58.960 --> 01:15:01.600
is out of coffee and a lot worse than that.

1246
01:15:02.520 --> 01:15:05.119
Monday night was the town council meeting, and if Farren

1247
01:15:05.159 --> 01:15:08.239
didn't know anything about social media, he sure didn't think

1248
01:15:08.279 --> 01:15:11.439
the town council did. But he was wrong. It was

1249
01:15:11.479 --> 01:15:13.760
a three person board who met once a month at

1250
01:15:13.800 --> 01:15:16.000
the library with a handful of old people and a

1251
01:15:16.000 --> 01:15:19.159
few cranks in the audience. Ellen Solmes was the board

1252
01:15:19.159 --> 01:15:22.720
president and also the town librarian, which was a tough combination.

1253
01:15:23.359 --> 01:15:26.119
Joe Lindseed was a retired farmer who held court at

1254
01:15:26.119 --> 01:15:28.680
the gas station out by the highway most mornings, but

1255
01:15:28.760 --> 01:15:31.960
didn't do much here. Buster Winsome was the son of

1256
01:15:32.000 --> 01:15:35.680
a retired teacher named Anne Winsome, and when she passed away,

1257
01:15:35.720 --> 01:15:39.039
Buster filled the rest of her term and then nobody

1258
01:15:39.079 --> 01:15:41.880
could think of any reason to vote him off. Farren

1259
01:15:41.920 --> 01:15:45.239
gave his usual monthly report about his speeding ticket quota

1260
01:15:45.600 --> 01:15:47.840
and one or two domestic calls and one or two

1261
01:15:47.920 --> 01:15:51.079
drunk driving stops, but he skipped over the fight at

1262
01:15:51.079 --> 01:15:53.520
the high school because he didn't want to mention the

1263
01:15:53.560 --> 01:15:57.399
high school. The town board seemed to be listening unusually closely,

1264
01:15:57.800 --> 01:16:01.439
and afterwards Ellen asked him to stay and talk. We've

1265
01:16:01.479 --> 01:16:04.279
got some changes that have been in the works for

1266
01:16:04.319 --> 01:16:08.479
a long time, Ellen started. Farn didn't bother to ask

1267
01:16:08.800 --> 01:16:13.079
what changes. He just stood there. Ellen started back up.

1268
01:16:14.000 --> 01:16:16.720
The county has agreed to drive through town a couple

1269
01:16:16.720 --> 01:16:18.760
of times a day, and the high school has been

1270
01:16:18.800 --> 01:16:22.600
wanting to hire their own resource officer anyway, so we

1271
01:16:22.640 --> 01:16:25.680
will need you as a town marshall through Halloween on

1272
01:16:25.720 --> 01:16:31.520
October thirty first. But that's it now, Farren reacted, that's

1273
01:16:31.600 --> 01:16:35.560
this Friday. It's been in the works for a long while. Faran,

1274
01:16:36.520 --> 01:16:39.640
Can I at least get my insurance through December? That's

1275
01:16:39.680 --> 01:16:43.840
for Abby. It isn't going to work that way. Ellen

1276
01:16:43.880 --> 01:16:46.039
looked at him with sorrow on her face, but Farren

1277
01:16:46.119 --> 01:16:49.319
knew it was for herself. When her son got back

1278
01:16:49.359 --> 01:16:51.920
from Afghanistan. It was Farren who talked him through what

1279
01:16:51.960 --> 01:16:54.479
it was like to be a civilian. Farren had gone

1280
01:16:54.560 --> 01:16:57.680
from high school to Desert Shield and then had been

1281
01:16:57.720 --> 01:17:01.039
town Marshall ever since, so maybe he wasn't the best,

1282
01:17:01.079 --> 01:17:04.960
but he was all Darren Solmes had. It still didn't

1283
01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:08.199
stop Darren from ending it all with a takarev pistol.

1284
01:17:08.279 --> 01:17:10.720
He shouldn't have been allowed to bring back from in country.

1285
01:17:11.439 --> 01:17:15.239
We can let you resign, she said, I'm gonna need

1286
01:17:15.279 --> 01:17:19.079
the unemployment. Farron answered, nobody is going to know until

1287
01:17:19.119 --> 01:17:23.479
the week after Thanksgiving. That's the next meeting. It's okay,

1288
01:17:24.159 --> 01:17:27.720
I don't got my daughter for Thanksgiving. Farren walked out.

1289
01:17:28.520 --> 01:17:31.000
The next day, Farren was sitting in his patrol car

1290
01:17:31.079 --> 01:17:33.760
by the flashing light on the main street. It was

1291
01:17:33.840 --> 01:17:37.079
Highway one, but through town it was called Hadley Street,

1292
01:17:37.279 --> 01:17:41.039
although everyone called it had been street like. There had

1293
01:17:41.119 --> 01:17:44.439
been a grocery store there, that there had been a bank,

1294
01:17:45.039 --> 01:17:48.720
and that empty field had been the school before consolidation.

1295
01:17:49.840 --> 01:17:53.399
People were speeding and doing rolling stops, but why did

1296
01:17:53.399 --> 01:17:56.239
that matter now? He was talking to his daughter on

1297
01:17:56.279 --> 01:18:00.000
his cell phone as the teasing died down At school,

1298
01:18:00.319 --> 01:18:04.199
He asked, it was never that bad. Mercedes dressed her

1299
01:18:04.239 --> 01:18:06.279
dog up in an octopus costume and put it on

1300
01:18:06.319 --> 01:18:11.119
TikTok Lake Wednesday or Thursday. People got into that. Well,

1301
01:18:11.960 --> 01:18:15.880
thank Mercedes for me. Are you going to get in trouble? Dad?

1302
01:18:16.119 --> 01:18:19.479
What Abby was really asking was was her father going

1303
01:18:19.520 --> 01:18:21.439
to be able to pay for her college, which she

1304
01:18:21.560 --> 01:18:23.880
agreed to do as part of the divorce decree five

1305
01:18:23.960 --> 01:18:27.600
years ago and was happy to make happen. He worked

1306
01:18:27.600 --> 01:18:30.119
as a bouncer at a bar called the Red Triangle

1307
01:18:30.159 --> 01:18:33.239
in Ohio on the weekends, which was outside his agreement

1308
01:18:33.239 --> 01:18:35.920
as a law officer in Indiana and was why he

1309
01:18:36.039 --> 01:18:38.920
was asleep Monday morning at his third job as resource

1310
01:18:38.920 --> 01:18:42.000
officer at the high school. If I get in trouble,

1311
01:18:42.039 --> 01:18:44.600
I can get out of it, he answered. I'll see

1312
01:18:44.600 --> 01:18:47.359
you on Halloween. I'll have candy in the patrol car.

1313
01:18:48.319 --> 01:18:51.840
I'm a senior. I'm too old for trick or treating. Well,

1314
01:18:52.600 --> 01:18:57.840
walk down there anyways, okay, and they hung up. Farren

1315
01:18:57.880 --> 01:18:59.760
turned on the radio in the patrol car and put

1316
01:18:59.760 --> 01:19:02.960
it on the country station. Everybody listened to. His ex

1317
01:19:03.079 --> 01:19:06.199
was the midday DJ and had done a lunchtime request

1318
01:19:06.199 --> 01:19:09.800
show for years that Faren still liked. Dolly was singing

1319
01:19:09.880 --> 01:19:11.920
about how hard it was to be a diamond in

1320
01:19:11.920 --> 01:19:15.399
a rhinestone world, But then she played a Willie song

1321
01:19:15.479 --> 01:19:18.479
about the red headed stranger and the yellow haired lady,

1322
01:19:18.880 --> 01:19:22.520
and his heart fell in his chest. Faren was a

1323
01:19:22.560 --> 01:19:25.840
redhead and his ex was a blonde, and they danced

1324
01:19:25.840 --> 01:19:28.840
to the song at their wedding. So that's how Farn

1325
01:19:28.920 --> 01:19:31.319
knew that the news had spread through the little town

1326
01:19:32.079 --> 01:19:36.520
about his firing. His ex was playing the song because

1327
01:19:36.520 --> 01:19:39.600
she was thinking of him. Faren didn't want to think

1328
01:19:39.600 --> 01:19:41.960
about what it would be like to be an ex cop.

1329
01:19:42.399 --> 01:19:46.279
Everybody he'd pulled over and ticketed when pretty women were

1330
01:19:46.399 --> 01:19:49.760
let go after a smile and sometimes the promise of

1331
01:19:49.800 --> 01:19:53.439
a drink or more. All the guys he knew had

1332
01:19:53.520 --> 01:19:56.520
hit girlfriends or wives or kids or all three, and

1333
01:19:56.680 --> 01:19:59.239
might have accidentally bumped their face on the patrol car,

1334
01:20:00.159 --> 01:20:02.800
or found their paperwork lost for days when they got

1335
01:20:02.880 --> 01:20:06.239
dropped off at county. All the dealers who were busted

1336
01:20:06.279 --> 01:20:10.560
because they weren't his dealer, that was all worth thinking about.

1337
01:20:10.840 --> 01:20:13.800
But having the pity of his ex wife that was

1338
01:20:13.880 --> 01:20:18.920
the worst. And then his thoughts turned to Abby. He

1339
01:20:18.960 --> 01:20:21.520
could pick up more bouncer shifts at the Red Triangle,

1340
01:20:22.000 --> 01:20:24.760
but not too many more, and he could go back

1341
01:20:24.800 --> 01:20:27.279
to doing security at the big outdoor venue where they

1342
01:20:27.279 --> 01:20:30.439
had stock races in the fall in concerts in the summer.

1343
01:20:30.960 --> 01:20:33.199
But it was an hour each way, and the tweakers

1344
01:20:33.239 --> 01:20:35.800
were bad. You could put them in choke holds and

1345
01:20:35.920 --> 01:20:37.760
kick them in the balls over and over, and they

1346
01:20:37.800 --> 01:20:41.960
just didn't seem to feel any pain or care. At least,

1347
01:20:42.000 --> 01:20:44.720
the Red Triangle had mostly drunks and stoners, and only

1348
01:20:44.720 --> 01:20:48.079
a biker once in a great while, and anymore. Most

1349
01:20:48.079 --> 01:20:50.560
of the bikers were cops and firemen running wild on

1350
01:20:50.600 --> 01:20:53.439
the weekends, and they always got a pass on their behavior.

1351
01:20:54.800 --> 01:20:57.479
He might be able to scratch together money, but he

1352
01:20:57.479 --> 01:21:01.479
wouldn't have insurance, medical, or life or anything. He had

1353
01:21:01.520 --> 01:21:06.680
it until October thirty first, and then there was nothing,

1354
01:21:07.359 --> 01:21:10.960
and a little thought squatted in the corner and he

1355
01:21:11.000 --> 01:21:13.000
only looked at it out of the side of his

1356
01:21:13.039 --> 01:21:19.359
eye until Halloween night. Then Farren sat in his cruiser

1357
01:21:19.399 --> 01:21:22.199
at the flashing light at Hadley starting around six o'clock

1358
01:21:22.560 --> 01:21:25.960
and gave out candy. He waited until Abby came by,

1359
01:21:26.319 --> 01:21:28.760
and she had dressed up after all, and dragged out

1360
01:21:28.760 --> 01:21:31.239
a couple of girlfriends, and it was all meant to

1361
01:21:31.279 --> 01:21:35.680
be ironic, but they were having fun. Farren ribbed them,

1362
01:21:35.680 --> 01:21:38.399
but told his daughter that he loved her because of

1363
01:21:38.439 --> 01:21:40.800
the thoughts that had been growing in his mind all week.

1364
01:21:41.640 --> 01:21:44.920
She was wearing a mask, so he couldn't gauge her reaction.

1365
01:21:45.720 --> 01:21:48.159
As soon as she was gone, he put the patrol

1366
01:21:48.239 --> 01:21:51.079
car in gear and drove south out of town and

1367
01:21:51.119 --> 01:21:55.239
then a little further. Two summers ago, during the town

1368
01:21:55.279 --> 01:21:58.159
by centennial, they had closed the main road through town

1369
01:21:58.199 --> 01:22:01.039
and had a carnival come in. But a night or

1370
01:22:01.039 --> 01:22:03.880
two in there was an immigration raid of some kind

1371
01:22:03.920 --> 01:22:06.800
and all the carnies were dragged off or ran off.

1372
01:22:07.520 --> 01:22:09.880
After a few days of complaints and nobody from the

1373
01:22:09.880 --> 01:22:13.680
carnival coming back, Joe Lindseed rode his tractor into town

1374
01:22:13.680 --> 01:22:15.960
and dragged the rides off one at a time to

1375
01:22:16.000 --> 01:22:20.079
a farm field the government was paying him to keep fallow. There,

1376
01:22:20.479 --> 01:22:23.640
those old rides rotted away, along with some busted up

1377
01:22:23.640 --> 01:22:27.399
trailers and some other ragged odds and ends. It's where

1378
01:22:27.439 --> 01:22:30.520
Farren pulled in and parked and saw a little campfire

1379
01:22:30.800 --> 01:22:34.880
in the dying light. He knew Joe Lindseed's nephews or cousins,

1380
01:22:35.000 --> 01:22:37.760
kids or some kin hung out here all the time,

1381
01:22:37.800 --> 01:22:42.000
but Lindseed was kind of his boss, so Farren did nothing,

1382
01:22:42.960 --> 01:22:46.000
even though he had an idea what they were doing

1383
01:22:46.000 --> 01:22:49.640
out there. Farren took a Remington eight seventy shotgun out

1384
01:22:49.680 --> 01:22:52.640
of the trunk and started walking towards the campfire, where

1385
01:22:52.680 --> 01:22:56.479
several figures crouched or sat and broken down patio furniture,

1386
01:22:57.239 --> 01:23:01.119
young guys still shirtless in the fall chill, there was

1387
01:23:01.159 --> 01:23:06.239
a chemical smell in the air. Hello Walls. The call

1388
01:23:06.279 --> 01:23:10.199
from the gloom brought Farren up short. Only one person

1389
01:23:10.279 --> 01:23:12.960
called him that, and it was his childhood friend and

1390
01:23:13.039 --> 01:23:16.600
adult weed dealer, Ricky Webb. He knew his mother had

1391
01:23:16.680 --> 01:23:19.520
named him after her favorite singer Far and Young and

1392
01:23:19.600 --> 01:23:23.760
had loved his hit song, Hello Walls. Ricky was a

1393
01:23:23.800 --> 01:23:26.920
nephew on Joe Lindseed's wife's side, but never came out

1394
01:23:27.000 --> 01:23:30.319
to this little encampment. People up the road called rusty Town.

1395
01:23:31.159 --> 01:23:34.760
You look damn serious, Walls, and all you hillbillies out

1396
01:23:34.760 --> 01:23:39.279
here looked damn jumpy. The energy shifted towards Junior, though

1397
01:23:39.760 --> 01:23:43.199
who he was. Junior to Farren couldn't remember he was

1398
01:23:43.239 --> 01:23:45.760
the lead dog in this younger group, and went from

1399
01:23:45.840 --> 01:23:49.560
juvie to county to state prison, and only recently returned

1400
01:23:49.560 --> 01:23:52.600
from the Grand Tour. The shining whites of his eyes

1401
01:23:52.680 --> 01:23:55.159
stared out at Farron, and his neck tattoos looked like

1402
01:23:55.239 --> 01:23:58.159
bruises in the blue light. If you want some of

1403
01:23:58.159 --> 01:24:01.079
that Leopold gold i'd done brought up from Tell City

1404
01:24:01.159 --> 01:24:04.079
last week, come by my place tomorrow. You don't need

1405
01:24:04.119 --> 01:24:08.159
to be out here, Ricky said, neither do you. I

1406
01:24:08.159 --> 01:24:11.119
ain't never out here, but I got business tonight. I

1407
01:24:11.199 --> 01:24:13.840
do too, So maybe you can slip out past that

1408
01:24:13.920 --> 01:24:16.079
tilta whirl and I'll come holler at you tomorrow for

1409
01:24:16.159 --> 01:24:21.479
that grass. Somebody snickered, he said, grass, shut up, Garwood,

1410
01:24:21.800 --> 01:24:25.279
Ricky said easily, his eyes trained on Farren Fair and

1411
01:24:25.399 --> 01:24:29.399
gestured with the shotgun. I tell you what, leave it out, Ricky.

1412
01:24:29.640 --> 01:24:32.520
If there's eight teeth between all of you, I won't

1413
01:24:32.560 --> 01:24:35.560
take you whole passel of dickheads in for making and

1414
01:24:35.640 --> 01:24:39.800
dealing meth. Junior, Garwood and the others began to move,

1415
01:24:39.840 --> 01:24:43.279
but Ricky put up a steadying hand. It dawned on

1416
01:24:43.319 --> 01:24:47.119
Farren for the first time that Ricky, despite his easygoing demeanor,

1417
01:24:47.560 --> 01:24:50.119
might have been the og of this loose band of

1418
01:24:50.159 --> 01:24:53.840
related feral criminals. It was just one more thing you

1419
01:24:53.880 --> 01:24:59.479
had overlooked, not paid attention to. Let's slide walls. Why

1420
01:24:59.479 --> 01:25:01.680
don't you e he's on out of this here job.

1421
01:25:01.800 --> 01:25:04.199
Everybody knows. This is your last night, is town Marshall.

1422
01:25:04.840 --> 01:25:10.560
Let somebody else worry about this tomorrow, Ricky suggested. Junior blinked.

1423
01:25:10.920 --> 01:25:13.239
Hell if he ain't found until tomorrow, it ain't like

1424
01:25:13.319 --> 01:25:16.079
killing a cop. Junior had a gun in his hand,

1425
01:25:16.600 --> 01:25:19.840
and then Ricky did too. Farron just stood with the

1426
01:25:19.880 --> 01:25:22.840
shotgun loose in his own hands. We don't need to

1427
01:25:22.840 --> 01:25:27.560
think like that, cuz, said Ricky mildly. He knows, said

1428
01:25:27.560 --> 01:25:31.399
another voice from the growing darkness. Junior nodded for emphasis.

1429
01:25:31.920 --> 01:25:33.640
What else would he be doing out here on his

1430
01:25:33.720 --> 01:25:38.680
last day? Ricky studied, Farren. That's it, isn't it. It's

1431
01:25:38.680 --> 01:25:41.319
your last day? God damn Faren, don't let it go

1432
01:25:41.399 --> 01:25:44.800
down this way. Think about Abby. You know I am

1433
01:25:44.880 --> 01:25:48.119
thinking about Abby. It was the truest thing Farn had

1434
01:25:48.119 --> 01:25:50.920
ever said. And get her name out of your mouth.

1435
01:25:51.680 --> 01:25:56.399
Ricky blinked and Farren swallowed. Then tell your idiot half

1436
01:25:56.439 --> 01:25:59.680
brothers or second cousins or whatever, this island of misfit

1437
01:25:59.720 --> 01:26:02.439
toy is to stand over against that hall of mirrors

1438
01:26:02.439 --> 01:26:05.039
with their hands behind their backs and make this easy.

1439
01:26:06.239 --> 01:26:09.760
Ricky shook his head head on back to town, old hoss.

1440
01:26:10.239 --> 01:26:12.039
I'm trying to talk these kids out of making a

1441
01:26:12.079 --> 01:26:15.880
bad mistake. It's my mistake. I've been too easy on

1442
01:26:15.920 --> 01:26:17.920
these young dirt bags because I took most of their

1443
01:26:17.920 --> 01:26:20.319
momas behind the football stadium at one time or another.

1444
01:26:21.399 --> 01:26:24.760
Junior finally lifted his gun, a high point nine millimeter,

1445
01:26:24.960 --> 01:26:27.840
just as Farren had hoped. Only Ricky lifted his own

1446
01:26:27.880 --> 01:26:31.359
bursa thunder three eighty and shot his cousin in the face.

1447
01:26:32.119 --> 01:26:34.840
Garwood fired, and Ricky tipped back in his chair and

1448
01:26:34.880 --> 01:26:37.720
his legs kicked the air. Garwood turned and fired at

1449
01:26:37.800 --> 01:26:40.399
Farron next, and Farren felt a hot bite take the

1450
01:26:40.399 --> 01:26:43.159
bottom of his right ear off. Ricky was up and

1451
01:26:43.159 --> 01:26:45.560
on his knees, pointing his gun at Garwood when somebody

1452
01:26:45.600 --> 01:26:48.760
stepped out of the shadow and fired at Ricky. A

1453
01:26:48.800 --> 01:26:51.800
geyser shot out of Ricky's neck, but he still shot again,

1454
01:26:52.039 --> 01:26:55.039
and Garwood's jaw disappeared in a cloud of red, and

1455
01:26:55.079 --> 01:26:59.319
his teeth peppered the campfire. Garwood convulsed and fired, hitting

1456
01:26:59.359 --> 01:27:02.319
another man in the shadows, who started to scream. Farren

1457
01:27:02.359 --> 01:27:05.520
stood and waited for the bullet, but the new gunman

1458
01:27:05.600 --> 01:27:09.079
turned and ran for the trailer, flannel shirt flapping behind,

1459
01:27:09.439 --> 01:27:13.159
and the last man broke and ran as well. Farren

1460
01:27:13.199 --> 01:27:16.159
watched for a moment, then threw his shotgun on the ground.

1461
01:27:16.359 --> 01:27:18.640
The remington had been empty, but the glock nineteen and

1462
01:27:18.680 --> 01:27:22.239
his holster wasn't, and it turned out he needed it.

1463
01:27:22.239 --> 01:27:23.920
It was one thing to die in a hail of

1464
01:27:23.960 --> 01:27:27.960
gunfire and another to die in prison, so he walked

1465
01:27:28.039 --> 01:27:30.520
up and shot the screaming man, then followed the other

1466
01:27:30.560 --> 01:27:33.520
two towards the trailer. The one in the flannel banged

1467
01:27:33.560 --> 01:27:36.079
the door open and ran in, but the other veered off.

1468
01:27:36.359 --> 01:27:38.479
He figured he had the flannel guy boxed in, but

1469
01:27:38.520 --> 01:27:41.119
had better catch up to the second guy. That guy

1470
01:27:41.199 --> 01:27:44.239
ran hell bent towards what was labeled the Funhouse, a

1471
01:27:44.279 --> 01:27:46.479
big sheet metal box that had been built on the

1472
01:27:46.520 --> 01:27:49.680
back of a flatbed. The funhouse had some sort of

1473
01:27:49.760 --> 01:27:53.880
zigzag gangplank held up with chains, and Farren watched for

1474
01:27:53.920 --> 01:27:57.199
a moment as the guy who he finally recognized as

1475
01:27:57.239 --> 01:28:00.640
the recent high school drop out, Peyton Sandford tried to

1476
01:28:00.720 --> 01:28:04.159
navigate the wobbly platform in the dark. He stepped into

1477
01:28:04.159 --> 01:28:07.439
the round oh of a painted clown's mouth, and the

1478
01:28:07.439 --> 01:28:10.079
brake must have been off on that tunnel, because the

1479
01:28:10.079 --> 01:28:12.640
gears started moving and the opening rolled up like a

1480
01:28:12.680 --> 01:28:16.399
hamster wheel. It would have been funny if Farren wasn't

1481
01:28:16.439 --> 01:28:19.840
trying to die in the line of duty. Farren fired

1482
01:28:19.840 --> 01:28:22.279
into the clown's mouth and missed, but the bullet spanged

1483
01:28:22.319 --> 01:28:25.840
around and finally hit Sandford and knocked him flat. He

1484
01:28:25.960 --> 01:28:28.600
tried to get up, but just flopped around in there

1485
01:28:28.680 --> 01:28:31.159
until Farren drew a better bead and shot him again

1486
01:28:31.920 --> 01:28:36.039
and Sandford stopped moving. Farn turned away and saw some

1487
01:28:36.159 --> 01:28:39.039
weird shapes dancing in front of him. He triggered his

1488
01:28:39.079 --> 01:28:41.239
gun without thinking and heard shattering glass.

1489
01:28:42.920 --> 01:28:43.840
Are you afraid?

1490
01:28:44.960 --> 01:28:45.279
Good?

1491
01:28:45.960 --> 01:28:48.279
Weakly spooky, We'll be right back.

1492
01:28:52.399 --> 01:28:55.159
He had shot right into the stupid half assed hall

1493
01:28:55.199 --> 01:28:58.359
of mirrors. When he saw his own image splintering a

1494
01:28:58.439 --> 01:29:01.760
hundred times, he kept going. Farren beat it for the

1495
01:29:01.800 --> 01:29:05.039
trailer and quickly realized he'd made a mistake. When he

1496
01:29:05.039 --> 01:29:08.199
stepped through the door, the chemical smell was strong. He

1497
01:29:08.279 --> 01:29:10.399
saw a hole that had been knocked in the back wall,

1498
01:29:10.439 --> 01:29:13.000
with a blue tarp strung over it and taped over

1499
01:29:13.079 --> 01:29:16.560
onto another trailer parked right behind. So Farren bolted through

1500
01:29:16.600 --> 01:29:19.119
the trailer and out the back, hoping for the bullet

1501
01:29:19.239 --> 01:29:21.439
that would blow up the trailer behind him and everyone

1502
01:29:21.479 --> 01:29:25.600
around the world beyond. But instead he found the last

1503
01:29:25.640 --> 01:29:28.920
gunman standing in an open field nearby, next to a

1504
01:29:28.920 --> 01:29:33.079
beat up nineteen eighty Plymouth Vulaire roadrunner. Farn knew the

1505
01:29:33.079 --> 01:29:36.560
beater belonged to a kid everybody called Baby Gates, because

1506
01:29:37.000 --> 01:29:40.079
once he got so drunk, his friends gated him into

1507
01:29:40.079 --> 01:29:42.640
a kitchen to sleep it off, and he couldn't figure

1508
01:29:42.640 --> 01:29:46.199
out how to undo the latch. Even when sober, Baby

1509
01:29:46.239 --> 01:29:49.319
Gates had popped the trunk and had the gun pointed inside,

1510
01:29:49.760 --> 01:29:55.000
which Farren immediately flashed on dog fighting. Even Baby Gates

1511
01:29:55.319 --> 01:29:57.399
couldn't think he could get out of trouble by shooting

1512
01:29:57.479 --> 01:30:00.560
up a trunk full of drugs, but Farren ahead and

1513
01:30:00.640 --> 01:30:03.800
killed him anyway, then walked over to see what Baby

1514
01:30:03.800 --> 01:30:08.439
Gates could have possibly been thinking. Inside the trunk was

1515
01:30:08.479 --> 01:30:12.439
a very thin and pale young woman wearing clothes you

1516
01:30:12.479 --> 01:30:15.359
would throw in a dumpster behind the good Will. The

1517
01:30:15.479 --> 01:30:18.800
stench of human smells was strong, but the young woman

1518
01:30:19.520 --> 01:30:23.560
was alive. Farren bent over and vomited in the grass.

1519
01:30:24.239 --> 01:30:26.760
Then he felt better. It was the killing of the

1520
01:30:26.800 --> 01:30:28.800
young men. In the finding of a young woman so

1521
01:30:28.920 --> 01:30:32.319
close to Abby's age. He had sometimes vomited after killing

1522
01:30:32.319 --> 01:30:35.920
an Iraq and knew that was part of it. He

1523
01:30:35.960 --> 01:30:39.199
reached a hand out to the cowering, feebly, moving woman,

1524
01:30:39.600 --> 01:30:42.439
but finally just reached down and lifted her out and

1525
01:30:42.520 --> 01:30:45.479
set her on the ground. She was a flat five

1526
01:30:45.520 --> 01:30:48.399
feet and didn't weigh a buck ten by Farren's eyes.

1527
01:30:49.840 --> 01:30:53.439
What's your name, miss? The young woman just stood and

1528
01:30:53.600 --> 01:30:57.920
shook her teeth, chattering. Can you tell me your name? Miss?

1529
01:30:58.239 --> 01:31:02.079
You're all right now. The young woman slowly opened her mouth,

1530
01:31:02.880 --> 01:31:06.720
and Faren saw a darkness within. It took Farain a

1531
01:31:06.760 --> 01:31:11.800
minute to realize the woman had no tongue. Faren looked

1532
01:31:11.800 --> 01:31:15.720
into her eyes. Okay, we'll go back to my patrol car.

1533
01:31:15.760 --> 01:31:17.439
I got a paper and pencil there so you can

1534
01:31:17.479 --> 01:31:20.600
write your name down. The young woman shook her head.

1535
01:31:21.640 --> 01:31:24.680
You don't want to write your name down. She shook

1536
01:31:24.680 --> 01:31:29.199
her head harder. The truth punched farin between the eyes.

1537
01:31:30.520 --> 01:31:33.840
How long ago did you get taken? The young woman

1538
01:31:33.960 --> 01:31:36.399
lowered her hand until the flat of it hovered around

1539
01:31:36.399 --> 01:31:40.600
her knee. Faren felt the bile rise in his throat

1540
01:31:41.000 --> 01:31:43.680
when he thought about the enormity of what had happened

1541
01:31:43.680 --> 01:31:47.039
to the young woman. Okay, well, we still need to

1542
01:31:47.079 --> 01:31:49.680
get back to the patrol car. Just keep your eyes

1543
01:31:49.720 --> 01:31:51.560
on me when we walk that way, and don't look

1544
01:31:51.560 --> 01:31:55.039
at nothing else. The young woman nodded, and Faren led

1545
01:31:55.079 --> 01:31:58.000
her away from the roadrunner. But as he neared the

1546
01:31:58.000 --> 01:32:02.359
campfire once more, he saw a movement again. He raised

1547
01:32:02.359 --> 01:32:04.239
a hand for the young woman to stay where she was,

1548
01:32:04.560 --> 01:32:08.279
and Farren approached the fire, where his old friend Ricky was,

1549
01:32:08.319 --> 01:32:12.000
somehow still alive, holding a bloody hand to his neck.

1550
01:32:12.720 --> 01:32:16.600
Farn stood over him. You ain't calling this one in ari,

1551
01:32:16.640 --> 01:32:22.199
you old hoss, Ricky asked no. Faren could see Ricky's

1552
01:32:22.239 --> 01:32:26.560
eyes slide sideways in a glimmer of firelight. I'm glad

1553
01:32:26.640 --> 01:32:29.079
she's still alive, if it means anything to you. I

1554
01:32:29.119 --> 01:32:32.640
thought baby Gates was talking shit, some stupid internet thing.

1555
01:32:32.880 --> 01:32:34.920
I didn't think he could really go and get a

1556
01:32:34.960 --> 01:32:37.600
girl from somewhere. I was here to make Junior let

1557
01:32:37.680 --> 01:32:42.079
her go. That does mean something. Where was she from.

1558
01:32:43.760 --> 01:32:47.319
I don't know exactly, but they bought her in Indianapolis,

1559
01:32:47.800 --> 01:32:50.239
but I know where she was going. They sold her

1560
01:32:50.279 --> 01:32:55.159
to them people out at Comfort Farm. Comfort Farm where

1561
01:32:55.199 --> 01:32:58.760
they had those retreats. My ex went to a writers

1562
01:32:58.800 --> 01:33:02.960
group out there. Then people went bankrupt two years ago.

1563
01:33:03.159 --> 01:33:07.880
This is a different group. They're from Jersey, Jersey East

1564
01:33:07.920 --> 01:33:11.760
Coast people. Man Farren thought on this for a moment,

1565
01:33:12.159 --> 01:33:15.560
and when he looked down, Rickie was dead. The young

1566
01:33:15.600 --> 01:33:19.399
woman was standing and looking. She didn't resist when Farren

1567
01:33:19.399 --> 01:33:21.479
put her in the front seat of the car. He

1568
01:33:21.600 --> 01:33:24.000
started the patrol car and turned and looked at her.

1569
01:33:24.680 --> 01:33:26.680
I'm gonna take you into town and drop you off

1570
01:33:26.720 --> 01:33:29.560
at the flashing light. There are good people there, and

1571
01:33:29.680 --> 01:33:32.600
somebody will call the police and the county respond. She

1572
01:33:32.760 --> 01:33:36.560
grabbed his bicep and wouldn't let go. I can't take

1573
01:33:36.600 --> 01:33:38.359
you with me because I'm going out to the farm

1574
01:33:38.359 --> 01:33:40.800
where they were gonna take you, and I ain't planning

1575
01:33:40.840 --> 01:33:44.319
on coming back. The young woman grabbed and clauded him

1576
01:33:44.359 --> 01:33:47.039
so hard that instead of making a big u turn

1577
01:33:47.079 --> 01:33:49.960
to town. He turned off the car and started walking

1578
01:33:50.000 --> 01:33:52.159
back towards the road runner, with the young woman a

1579
01:33:52.159 --> 01:33:55.680
ghost trailing behind. He took the keys out of Baby

1580
01:33:55.680 --> 01:33:58.600
Gates Jean's pocket and threw his uniform shirt on the

1581
01:33:58.600 --> 01:34:01.600
ground and put on Baby Gates flannel, which only had

1582
01:34:01.640 --> 01:34:04.600
some blood on it. He didn't say anything when she

1583
01:34:04.640 --> 01:34:07.960
got into the passenger seat. Then Farron bumped over the

1584
01:34:08.000 --> 01:34:12.159
farm field and onto the highway and straight into darkness.

1585
01:34:12.680 --> 01:34:14.960
Comfort Farm was right at the very edge of the

1586
01:34:14.960 --> 01:34:17.880
county and probably out of his jurisdiction if he was

1587
01:34:17.880 --> 01:34:20.800
thinking hard about it. But what he was thinking was

1588
01:34:20.840 --> 01:34:23.439
that he should have noticed somebody building a watch tower

1589
01:34:23.479 --> 01:34:26.479
on the other side of the big cattle gates. Far

1590
01:34:26.600 --> 01:34:29.840
And idled there and finally honked the horn, and damned

1591
01:34:29.840 --> 01:34:32.199
if a big spotlight didn't shine out of the tower

1592
01:34:32.199 --> 01:34:35.000
and point right at the road runner. Farron and the

1593
01:34:35.000 --> 01:34:39.039
woman sat very still. After a long moment, he heard

1594
01:34:39.079 --> 01:34:42.359
a deep throated rumble, and here came a nineteen eighty

1595
01:34:42.359 --> 01:34:45.560
seven Chevy El Camino black on top and silver on

1596
01:34:45.640 --> 01:34:49.640
bottom that he couldn't help but admire. Some long haired

1597
01:34:49.680 --> 01:34:52.000
guy with a leather vest over a bare chest came

1598
01:34:52.039 --> 01:34:53.960
out with a mac ten in one hand and a

1599
01:34:54.039 --> 01:34:55.800
gym bag in the other and stood on the other

1600
01:34:55.880 --> 01:34:59.560
side of the cattle gates. Farren waited, knowing he had

1601
01:34:59.560 --> 01:35:02.560
a flannel up top but uniform pants and a gun

1602
01:35:02.600 --> 01:35:06.560
belt below. The guy squinted at the road Runner. You're

1603
01:35:06.560 --> 01:35:10.479
supposed to keep her in the trunk, idiot, Farren said

1604
01:35:10.479 --> 01:35:12.960
nothing as the man started to undo the chain holding

1605
01:35:13.000 --> 01:35:17.079
the cattle gates together just for fun. Farron rebbed the

1606
01:35:17.079 --> 01:35:20.159
engine and gunned as the chain fell away and banged

1607
01:35:20.199 --> 01:35:22.720
the gates open and knocked the long haired guy backwards

1608
01:35:22.880 --> 01:35:27.000
and watched his limbs turn counterclockwise. He heard a gunshot

1609
01:35:27.000 --> 01:35:29.720
from above, and so he drove straight on into one

1610
01:35:29.800 --> 01:35:32.000
leg of the tower and crushed the grill of the

1611
01:35:32.079 --> 01:35:34.720
road Runner. He heard a crack and a creak as

1612
01:35:34.760 --> 01:35:38.279
the wooden leg gave way, but what happened next was

1613
01:35:38.359 --> 01:35:41.520
hidden in a cloud of radiator steam. He opened the

1614
01:35:41.600 --> 01:35:43.760
driver's side door in time to see a guy fall

1615
01:35:43.800 --> 01:35:45.960
from above and bounce off the hood of the car

1616
01:35:46.279 --> 01:35:49.439
and AR fifteen going flying. The guy scrambled for his

1617
01:35:49.479 --> 01:35:51.840
weapon and slid off the hood of the Roadrunner, and

1618
01:35:51.920 --> 01:35:54.680
Farren shot him before he could get his feet under him.

1619
01:35:55.039 --> 01:35:57.560
The long haired guy was somehow on his feet and

1620
01:35:57.640 --> 01:36:00.720
firing into the steam. Farron bent down and scooped up

1621
01:36:00.760 --> 01:36:03.520
the air fifteen and let it rip into the darkness.

1622
01:36:04.039 --> 01:36:06.560
He liked it better than the mac ten anyway. He

1623
01:36:06.560 --> 01:36:08.800
heard the long haired guy scream as he walked over

1624
01:36:08.840 --> 01:36:11.760
to the El Camino, accidentally kicking the gym bag on

1625
01:36:11.840 --> 01:36:15.880
the way. Money spilled out onto the dirt. Farren couldn't

1626
01:36:15.880 --> 01:36:17.600
believe what he was seeing, but he picked up the

1627
01:36:17.600 --> 01:36:20.479
bag and threw it in the back of the El Camino. Anyway,

1628
01:36:21.279 --> 01:36:24.000
somewhere down this dirt road, the big barn you could

1629
01:36:24.039 --> 01:36:26.720
rent for weddings was all lit up. There were two

1630
01:36:26.760 --> 01:36:29.680
guys walking down the path towards them. All the little

1631
01:36:29.720 --> 01:36:32.000
cabins they used to rent to church groups were all

1632
01:36:32.000 --> 01:36:34.800
boarded up on both sides of the overgrown track. They

1633
01:36:34.840 --> 01:36:37.920
had definitely heard a commotion, but weren't in full tilt

1634
01:36:37.960 --> 01:36:42.199
panic yet. These East Coast types didn't think much of Midwesterners,

1635
01:36:42.199 --> 01:36:46.159
Farren thought sourly. He climbed into the El Camino, and

1636
01:36:46.199 --> 01:36:49.279
there was the young woman sitting there already. You got

1637
01:36:49.279 --> 01:36:51.359
to get out of here. You got me through the gate.

1638
01:36:51.520 --> 01:36:53.319
But that's as far as I was planning on going

1639
01:36:53.399 --> 01:36:56.039
with you. There's a bag of money back there, take

1640
01:36:56.079 --> 01:36:59.520
it and walk to town. She started grabbing at him again.

1641
01:36:59.800 --> 01:37:02.159
Fara and just put the el Camino in gear and

1642
01:37:02.239 --> 01:37:05.119
started slowly rolling down the dirt road towards the men

1643
01:37:05.199 --> 01:37:09.039
in the barn. This one was absolutely not the nineteen

1644
01:37:09.079 --> 01:37:11.880
seventy el Camino he had lovingly finished restoring when his

1645
01:37:11.920 --> 01:37:14.560
older brother got sick of it. But it was better

1646
01:37:14.680 --> 01:37:17.399
than no El Camino at all. When he got close,

1647
01:37:17.520 --> 01:37:20.039
he floored it, then braked hard and knocked both men

1648
01:37:20.079 --> 01:37:22.359
down in one swing from the long back of the car.

1649
01:37:22.840 --> 01:37:25.640
Farn got out and reached into the back where he

1650
01:37:25.640 --> 01:37:28.520
had seen a toe chain laying. He pulled it out

1651
01:37:28.640 --> 01:37:30.920
and hit one guy with it and watched the hook

1652
01:37:31.199 --> 01:37:33.279
hit him on the ear and yanked part of his

1653
01:37:33.359 --> 01:37:36.399
face onto the ground. Then Faren got the other guy

1654
01:37:36.439 --> 01:37:38.800
as he was standing up and wrapped the chain around

1655
01:37:38.800 --> 01:37:42.680
his neck. What's in the barn? Farron asked, pulling the

1656
01:37:42.760 --> 01:37:45.720
chain tighter, but he must have pulled too hard because

1657
01:37:45.760 --> 01:37:48.920
the guy went limp, blood running from his mouth, and

1658
01:37:49.039 --> 01:37:52.439
Farren just dropped him in the dirt. Farren climbed back

1659
01:37:52.479 --> 01:37:54.479
behind the wheel and told the young woman to duck.

1660
01:37:54.880 --> 01:37:57.439
Then he floored it one more time and drove right

1661
01:37:57.479 --> 01:38:00.840
at the big barn doors. They didn't dust open as

1662
01:38:00.880 --> 01:38:03.720
dramatically as he thought, since he was pushing forty five

1663
01:38:03.800 --> 01:38:05.920
or fifty by the time he reached them, but they

1664
01:38:05.960 --> 01:38:08.439
splintered well enough that the el Camino went on through

1665
01:38:08.479 --> 01:38:11.640
and went in a long skid as Farren pumped the brakes.

1666
01:38:12.319 --> 01:38:14.800
Farren jumped out with the ar fifteen and the glock

1667
01:38:14.880 --> 01:38:17.600
nineteen pointing straight ahead, and saw he was in the

1668
01:38:17.600 --> 01:38:20.960
middle of a big space, all painted red, the barn beams,

1669
01:38:21.000 --> 01:38:25.079
the floor, everything. There were big bright lights everywhere and

1670
01:38:25.159 --> 01:38:28.600
little cameras with red lights. There was medical equipment in

1671
01:38:28.640 --> 01:38:32.720
the corners and chains hanging down from above. There were

1672
01:38:32.720 --> 01:38:37.359
men and women in animal masks. It was the stupidest

1673
01:38:37.359 --> 01:38:40.960
thing Farren had ever seen. He felt tired. He'd gone

1674
01:38:40.960 --> 01:38:43.359
this whole night and hadn't met anybody with the juice

1675
01:38:43.399 --> 01:38:45.560
to kill him. He didn't think any of these people

1676
01:38:45.600 --> 01:38:49.640
could either. Then somebody stepped up with an ornate looking knife,

1677
01:38:49.960 --> 01:38:52.039
and when Farren stuck his hand up to block it,

1678
01:38:52.399 --> 01:38:56.720
the guy drove it right into Farren's palm. Now something

1679
01:38:56.800 --> 01:38:59.359
was happening, he thought, and he lifted the glock and

1680
01:38:59.439 --> 01:39:02.359
blew a hole in the masked man's face. Bone shards

1681
01:39:02.399 --> 01:39:05.039
blew back and cut his cheeks, and he realized it

1682
01:39:05.079 --> 01:39:08.319
was a real skull of some kind, not some Halloween

1683
01:39:08.399 --> 01:39:12.079
town plastic shit like he thought. Faren tried to steady

1684
01:39:12.119 --> 01:39:14.159
himself on the hood of the El Camino and work

1685
01:39:14.199 --> 01:39:17.720
the air fifteen. Somebody with a metal pole ran up

1686
01:39:17.720 --> 01:39:20.840
to him, and too late Farren realized it was a

1687
01:39:20.880 --> 01:39:24.359
cattle prod. He tried to kick, and it hit him

1688
01:39:24.399 --> 01:39:26.560
in the leg and jolted him clear to his balls,

1689
01:39:26.680 --> 01:39:30.159
and he went down on his back involuntarily. The masked

1690
01:39:30.159 --> 01:39:32.800
man threw the prod aside and came thrusting downward with

1691
01:39:32.840 --> 01:39:35.800
another fancy knife, but Faren scrambled under the El Camino

1692
01:39:35.840 --> 01:39:38.880
and popped up on the other side, shooting. Faren could

1693
01:39:38.960 --> 01:39:42.000
hear a low keening from the front seat and realized

1694
01:39:42.039 --> 01:39:44.479
it was the young woman, but couldn't do anything but

1695
01:39:44.560 --> 01:39:46.840
kill everyone in front of him, and hoped she would

1696
01:39:46.880 --> 01:39:50.600
get it together enough to finally run away. Some woman

1697
01:39:50.640 --> 01:39:53.479
in a flowing red robe rose from behind a bank

1698
01:39:53.520 --> 01:39:56.800
of computer monitors and started saying some shit. Farin couldn't

1699
01:39:56.840 --> 01:39:59.039
hear between the rumbling of the el Camino and the

1700
01:39:59.039 --> 01:40:01.439
sounds of gunshots and the keening of the young woman

1701
01:40:01.520 --> 01:40:04.239
and the screams of the dying. He shot her, thinking

1702
01:40:04.279 --> 01:40:06.479
the rest of the might stop fighting when they saw it,

1703
01:40:06.520 --> 01:40:10.159
but they didn't, and somebody stabbed Farin up around the collarbone,

1704
01:40:10.399 --> 01:40:13.159
and the blade deflected off and screeched across the el

1705
01:40:13.159 --> 01:40:16.199
Camino's paint job. The glock was out of AMMO, and

1706
01:40:16.239 --> 01:40:18.600
so was the air of fifteen. And now we wished

1707
01:40:18.600 --> 01:40:21.640
he hadn't thrown that Remington shotgun on the ground, But

1708
01:40:21.720 --> 01:40:25.479
it was all right. He felt about done. But then

1709
01:40:25.479 --> 01:40:28.600
he started thinking about what that young woman, or even

1710
01:40:28.640 --> 01:40:31.000
his daughter or both of them could do with a

1711
01:40:31.000 --> 01:40:33.640
bag of money. And he grabbed the guy who stabbed

1712
01:40:33.720 --> 01:40:36.199
him around the neck and beat his head onto the

1713
01:40:36.199 --> 01:40:39.239
car hood until he dropped the bloody knife. Then Farron

1714
01:40:39.319 --> 01:40:41.439
took it and tried to slit the guy's throat, but

1715
01:40:41.479 --> 01:40:44.079
it skittered off the bone of the guy's mask, and

1716
01:40:44.119 --> 01:40:46.800
then he thought maybe this was just a shitty knife,

1717
01:40:46.920 --> 01:40:49.039
and threw it on the ground. He picked up the

1718
01:40:49.079 --> 01:40:52.239
cattle prod and used the business end on some asshole

1719
01:40:52.239 --> 01:40:54.159
with a big hooked knife and then swung at the

1720
01:40:54.199 --> 01:40:57.800
computer monitors and it sparked and sputtered, and surprising everyone

1721
01:40:58.239 --> 01:41:00.960
started a fire. Then and there was a sharp pain

1722
01:41:01.000 --> 01:41:03.479
in his back, and he half turned and saw somebody

1723
01:41:03.520 --> 01:41:06.840
whose wolf mask was half hanging off, was stabbing him

1724
01:41:06.840 --> 01:41:09.479
with a scalpel from the table full of medical instruments.

1725
01:41:09.800 --> 01:41:11.560
And it was some guy he had seen a hundred

1726
01:41:11.640 --> 01:41:13.840
times jogging on the historical trail out where the old

1727
01:41:13.880 --> 01:41:17.680
railroad had been. Then Faren got pissed, because it was

1728
01:41:17.760 --> 01:41:19.800
one thing to die in the line of duty, and

1729
01:41:19.840 --> 01:41:21.840
it was another thing to die of a thousand cuts

1730
01:41:21.840 --> 01:41:23.720
from a bunch of dirt bags who got all their

1731
01:41:23.720 --> 01:41:26.560
ideas from beating off to death metal videos. So he

1732
01:41:26.560 --> 01:41:29.039
headbutted the guy and clawed at his scalpel, but couldn't

1733
01:41:29.079 --> 01:41:32.399
get it loose. He heard a loud behind him and

1734
01:41:32.439 --> 01:41:36.119
saw some douchebag holding a Mossburg pump action shotgun pointed

1735
01:41:36.159 --> 01:41:39.119
at him. Farn grabbed the barrel and forced it upwards

1736
01:41:39.399 --> 01:41:42.479
upwards until he forced it under the guy's chin. The

1737
01:41:42.520 --> 01:41:45.720
blast showered Faran with gore, but he'd lost track of

1738
01:41:45.720 --> 01:41:48.920
whose blood was whose There was somebody running away from

1739
01:41:48.920 --> 01:41:51.560
the growing flames, and Faran brought the barrel of the

1740
01:41:51.600 --> 01:41:55.000
mossburg down on his head, and the guy stumbled and fell.

1741
01:41:55.520 --> 01:41:58.640
Farren wiped blood from his eyes and didn't see anyone

1742
01:41:58.680 --> 01:42:01.760
else running or moving at all, just the steady red

1743
01:42:01.840 --> 01:42:04.520
lights looking at him from every angle of the room.

1744
01:42:05.199 --> 01:42:07.479
And so he lay down next to the last corpse

1745
01:42:08.079 --> 01:42:11.680
and let the fire warm his feet and waited to

1746
01:42:11.720 --> 01:42:16.439
see if anything else would happen. Unfortunately, Farren woke up

1747
01:42:16.520 --> 01:42:19.359
not in that red room, but in a white room

1748
01:42:20.199 --> 01:42:23.319
the county hospital, and there was a little boombox covered

1749
01:42:23.359 --> 01:42:25.840
in stickers on the bedside table, and his wife was

1750
01:42:25.880 --> 01:42:28.640
talking on the radio. And he knew that the boombox

1751
01:42:28.680 --> 01:42:31.079
belonged to his daughter, and she must have left it there,

1752
01:42:31.479 --> 01:42:34.800
and he must be alive. His daughter came in and

1753
01:42:34.840 --> 01:42:39.079
started crying, and he did too, not for the same reasons.

1754
01:42:40.119 --> 01:42:44.279
After a few minutes, he asked, who's the girl. They

1755
01:42:44.279 --> 01:42:50.000
don't know yet, Abby said, everybody. Somebody. Her father whispered,

1756
01:42:51.159 --> 01:42:55.439
you're a meme again, Abby said, showing him her phone.

1757
01:42:55.560 --> 01:43:00.319
The video was called Sleepy Cop Wakes Up, and how

1758
01:43:00.760 --> 01:43:05.119
there was heavily edited video of the massacre at Comfort Farm.

1759
01:43:05.880 --> 01:43:09.560
What is this, Pharah asked, pushing the phone away. You

1760
01:43:09.560 --> 01:43:12.399
shouldn't be looking at that. You bust it up. A

1761
01:43:12.439 --> 01:43:15.079
Red Room. It's where they take girls to be tortured,

1762
01:43:15.119 --> 01:43:17.000
and people pay to watch it on the dark web.

1763
01:43:18.359 --> 01:43:22.239
What the bad part of the internet? There was a

1764
01:43:22.239 --> 01:43:25.960
good part. Somebody put the video out. They said they

1765
01:43:25.960 --> 01:43:27.960
thought the Red Room was a hoax, so they were

1766
01:43:27.960 --> 01:43:30.680
recording it. But they are probably just saying that now

1767
01:43:30.760 --> 01:43:34.560
because they're trying to stay out of jail. Speaking of which,

1768
01:43:35.159 --> 01:43:38.800
that guy outside the door looks like a fed I

1769
01:43:38.840 --> 01:43:41.760
don't know what he is, Dad, I reckon he wants

1770
01:43:41.800 --> 01:43:44.960
to talk to me. He does, but I had to

1771
01:43:44.960 --> 01:43:48.079
get in here first. By the way, Mom has your

1772
01:43:48.079 --> 01:43:51.199
phone and is taking all your calls. She's doing what

1773
01:43:52.039 --> 01:43:57.479
the password is? Still your anniversary? Dad? Okay, okay, what calls?

1774
01:43:58.119 --> 01:44:01.880
People want to interview you for your story, A big

1775
01:44:01.920 --> 01:44:06.760
podcast called What's That? It's on the internet. You can

1776
01:44:06.760 --> 01:44:09.840
get paid for that. Abby snuck a glance at the

1777
01:44:09.840 --> 01:44:12.000
door where the man in the dark suit and red

1778
01:44:12.039 --> 01:44:17.319
tie loomed. Dad. I think they want your help. I'm

1779
01:44:17.319 --> 01:44:22.079
not a cop anymore. The town council extended you. Mom

1780
01:44:22.159 --> 01:44:24.399
got on the radio and raised hell because you were

1781
01:44:24.439 --> 01:44:27.399
all stabbed and whatever and weren't gonna have any insurance.

1782
01:44:28.720 --> 01:44:33.520
Faren felt like crying again. It had to be the drugs. Well,

1783
01:44:34.119 --> 01:44:38.399
she's a good woman. The town council still sucks. They

1784
01:44:38.439 --> 01:44:43.119
only extended it till December thirty. First, Farren tried to

1785
01:44:43.159 --> 01:44:49.760
shrug small victories. Farren closed his eyes, and when Abby

1786
01:44:49.840 --> 01:44:53.760
left and the Fed came in, Farren was sound asleep.

1787
01:45:02.199 --> 01:45:08.600
The Pumpkin King by David O'Hanlon. Barley and Clyde Sawyer

1788
01:45:08.640 --> 01:45:12.520
were not the nicest men in Bouchet, Arkansas. If they were,

1789
01:45:12.920 --> 01:45:16.680
they never would have found themselves in my employment. The

1790
01:45:16.800 --> 01:45:20.119
rural community of Bouchet was somewhere between a large town

1791
01:45:20.199 --> 01:45:23.560
and a small city, and had attracted throughout its years

1792
01:45:23.960 --> 01:45:28.520
a veritable rogues gallery, ranging from petty thieves to serial killers.

1793
01:45:28.880 --> 01:45:33.279
The Sawyer cousins fell somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

1794
01:45:33.720 --> 01:45:36.560
The boys worked any number of odd jobs, but often

1795
01:45:36.680 --> 01:45:41.920
supplemented their income by creative means. The cousins were the

1796
01:45:41.960 --> 01:45:45.279
perfect partnership, seeing as Barley was strong as an ox

1797
01:45:45.319 --> 01:45:49.479
and Clyde was well almost as smart as one. What

1798
01:45:49.560 --> 01:45:52.680
Clyde lacked in intelligence, he made up for in loyalty

1799
01:45:52.840 --> 01:45:56.760
and tenacity, qualities found rarely in men of his ilk,

1800
01:45:57.239 --> 01:46:00.680
if they're ever found at all. Clyde brought a heart

1801
01:46:00.720 --> 01:46:03.640
of gold to the team fools, gold as it may

1802
01:46:03.680 --> 01:46:06.600
have been, and damned if he wasn't the best shot

1803
01:46:06.720 --> 01:46:10.239
I've ever known. Barley, on the other hand, was not.

1804
01:46:10.800 --> 01:46:13.439
In fact, if the boy managed to hit the broadside

1805
01:46:13.479 --> 01:46:16.119
of a barn, you could safely bet he'd been aiming

1806
01:46:16.399 --> 01:46:19.800
for the opposite direction. Luckily for him, he was hell

1807
01:46:19.920 --> 01:46:23.119
fire in a brawl. Barley also served as the thinker

1808
01:46:23.159 --> 01:46:26.840
of the two, a meager accomplishment to be sure. It was,

1809
01:46:27.199 --> 01:46:30.199
as it turns out, Barley's bright idea that led the

1810
01:46:30.239 --> 01:46:34.880
boys to my doorstep. My name is barnabas A Lambert,

1811
01:46:35.199 --> 01:46:37.399
and I will do my best to relate to you

1812
01:46:37.560 --> 01:46:41.159
the events that would later bring me to employ Barley

1813
01:46:41.159 --> 01:46:44.119
and Clyde. Some of the details may have been exaggerated

1814
01:46:44.119 --> 01:46:47.359
in their recollections, so please try not to hold that

1815
01:46:47.479 --> 01:46:54.920
against me. I'm only telling you how I heard it. Well,

1816
01:46:55.079 --> 01:46:59.159
some bitch Clyde Barley said, he said it a lot.

1817
01:46:59.520 --> 01:47:02.119
It was only by the inflection that Clyde Sawyer knew

1818
01:47:02.199 --> 01:47:05.399
exactly how to take it. The slow, drawn out tempo

1819
01:47:05.479 --> 01:47:07.880
of the catchphrase told him. Barley was not at all

1820
01:47:07.920 --> 01:47:11.479
impressed by the turn of events. Clyde never missed a shot,

1821
01:47:11.760 --> 01:47:14.399
not even on purpose. It was like every bullet he

1822
01:47:14.479 --> 01:47:17.800
fired magically found the bull's eye. The fat man's head

1823
01:47:17.880 --> 01:47:21.159
leaked across the truck bed. Could have at least wrapped

1824
01:47:21.199 --> 01:47:25.720
him in plastic. Barley griped, I ain't have none. Clyde

1825
01:47:25.720 --> 01:47:28.720
wheezed and dug in his pocket for his inhaler. That

1826
01:47:28.880 --> 01:47:30.880
bastard weighs a ton, and I had to pick him

1827
01:47:30.960 --> 01:47:34.199
up all by my lonesome. If you hadn't shot him

1828
01:47:34.199 --> 01:47:36.000
in the head, you wouldn't have to pick him up

1829
01:47:36.000 --> 01:47:38.960
at all. Barley grabbed the man's collar and jerked him

1830
01:47:39.000 --> 01:47:40.880
out of the back of the truck in three tries.

1831
01:47:41.399 --> 01:47:44.279
The body poured over the tailgate into a contorted heap.

1832
01:47:45.119 --> 01:47:45.319
Ugh.

1833
01:47:46.039 --> 01:47:49.159
He squirted brainjuice on me. I didn't say anything about

1834
01:47:49.159 --> 01:47:52.560
shooting him. I ain't saying nothing about not shooting him either.

1835
01:47:52.880 --> 01:47:55.800
Clyde straightened the corpse out. Things got a little out

1836
01:47:55.840 --> 01:47:58.960
of hand. I had to improvise out of hand, my ass.

1837
01:47:59.159 --> 01:48:00.960
You just needed to give him the brick and get

1838
01:48:00.960 --> 01:48:04.520
the bag of money. Clyde sighed, I got the money

1839
01:48:04.640 --> 01:48:08.159
and we can sell the brick again. Ain't the point? Clyde.

1840
01:48:08.600 --> 01:48:11.520
Barley shook his head. What kind of drug dealers can't

1841
01:48:11.560 --> 01:48:14.880
be trusted to keep their word? Clyde scratched his head.

1842
01:48:15.800 --> 01:48:19.159
All of them? I reckon, Well, that shit's got a change.

1843
01:48:19.760 --> 01:48:22.640
Barley grabbed the man's ankles. Lift with your knees. We

1844
01:48:22.680 --> 01:48:26.159
ain't got no workman's comp Clyde hooked the body under

1845
01:48:26.199 --> 01:48:28.640
the arms and they began the arduous trek down the

1846
01:48:28.720 --> 01:48:32.239
levee with their portly cargo. Thanks to Clyde's hair trigger

1847
01:48:32.279 --> 01:48:34.880
and barley short temper, the duo was getting good at

1848
01:48:34.920 --> 01:48:38.760
disposing of unwanted bodies, a skill they sold to others

1849
01:48:38.880 --> 01:48:43.239
as well. Clyde, make me a promise. Barley wrestled to

1850
01:48:43.279 --> 01:48:47.520
fix his grip around the gargantuan thighs. What's that, Barley?

1851
01:48:48.520 --> 01:48:51.720
Make the fat ones run a bit before you shoot them.

1852
01:48:52.039 --> 01:48:55.119
Clyde laughed and lost his grip, sending Barley in the

1853
01:48:55.159 --> 01:48:58.239
body rolling to the bottom of the incline. He stopped

1854
01:48:58.279 --> 01:49:01.000
laughing when he heard the splash and trotted down quickly.

1855
01:49:01.439 --> 01:49:04.199
Barley shook off the water and unraveled the plastic sheeting

1856
01:49:04.199 --> 01:49:08.159
from his pocket in silence. Near silence, anyhow, a low

1857
01:49:08.239 --> 01:49:13.039
hiss alerted them to another presence. Clever bastard Clyde pointed

1858
01:49:13.039 --> 01:49:16.520
behind Barley, that's the same one as last time. The

1859
01:49:16.560 --> 01:49:20.840
alligator inched closer, but stayed to the water's edge. Gaiters

1860
01:49:20.840 --> 01:49:23.359
were smart critters and knew the sound of the sawyer's

1861
01:49:23.479 --> 01:49:26.920
nineteen seventy eight dodge warlock meant a free meal was coming.

1862
01:49:27.439 --> 01:49:30.079
Barley laid the sheet out and rolled the man onto it.

1863
01:49:30.880 --> 01:49:33.199
If they're working, they might as well be getting paid

1864
01:49:33.199 --> 01:49:37.039
for it, Barley said, and unsheathed the knife from his boot. Hell,

1865
01:49:37.439 --> 01:49:39.079
we might even get a couple of them to keep

1866
01:49:39.119 --> 01:49:41.680
at the house. Be a damned sight better than coming

1867
01:49:41.760 --> 01:49:44.520
way out here to dump a body. Barley ripped open

1868
01:49:44.560 --> 01:49:46.960
the man's shirt and set about the grim task of

1869
01:49:47.000 --> 01:49:50.119
hollowing the corpse, while Clyde went up top to retrieve

1870
01:49:50.159 --> 01:49:53.439
the bags of landscaping rocks. By the time the younger

1871
01:49:53.520 --> 01:49:56.520
sawyer brought the Duffel bag back, Barley was finished with

1872
01:49:56.600 --> 01:49:59.239
his end. Barley tossed a kidney to the gaiter to

1873
01:49:59.239 --> 01:50:02.399
thank him for wait patiently while Clyde stuffed the body

1874
01:50:02.479 --> 01:50:05.279
with stones. They wrapped the plastic around the man and

1875
01:50:05.279 --> 01:50:07.680
secured it with duct tape before loading him into the

1876
01:50:07.680 --> 01:50:11.520
camouflage John boat. As they rowed away, the gaiter went

1877
01:50:11.600 --> 01:50:15.680
for the viscera left ashore. The channel wound around a

1878
01:50:15.760 --> 01:50:18.199
series of bends and into the maze of swamps that

1879
01:50:18.279 --> 01:50:21.600
occupied the southeast of Fagan County. There was little in

1880
01:50:21.640 --> 01:50:24.239
the way of civilization in that nook of the natural state.

1881
01:50:24.840 --> 01:50:27.840
Barley and Clyde paddled until they reached a tiny island

1882
01:50:27.920 --> 01:50:31.439
known locally as Frog's Ass, so called because it was

1883
01:50:31.479 --> 01:50:35.039
bare and wet as an amphibian's behind. Arkinsons can be

1884
01:50:35.119 --> 01:50:39.319
quite colorful in their colloquialisms. They rolled the body into

1885
01:50:39.319 --> 01:50:42.119
the water before mooring the boat to the ramshackle pier.

1886
01:50:42.720 --> 01:50:45.039
Frog's Ass used to be a popular spot with the

1887
01:50:45.079 --> 01:50:49.399
peculiar Church of Ebenezer Wit, the sinister minister and founder

1888
01:50:49.520 --> 01:50:52.119
of the nearby community of WIT's End, was something of

1889
01:50:52.159 --> 01:50:55.560
a local boogeyman. The Spanish flu found its way into

1890
01:50:55.600 --> 01:50:59.199
the tiny village and spread amongst the congregation like wildfire.

1891
01:51:00.159 --> 01:51:03.520
Least that's what they say. Fact of the matter is,

1892
01:51:03.600 --> 01:51:06.680
like most stories in the South, there's the truth and

1893
01:51:06.760 --> 01:51:10.279
then there's what really happened. Whichever version you believe, the

1894
01:51:10.399 --> 01:51:14.960
ending is the same. Everyone in wits end died badly.

1895
01:51:15.760 --> 01:51:18.039
As the years went on, some of the yokels began

1896
01:51:18.159 --> 01:51:21.319
venturing to Frog's Ass to party without the nuisances of

1897
01:51:21.399 --> 01:51:25.920
local law enforcement. Reports of strange occurrences were rampant, as

1898
01:51:26.000 --> 01:51:30.439
were the disappearances. The island, not much larger than a walmart,

1899
01:51:30.520 --> 01:51:34.439
was eventually forgotten about except by those of ill repute,

1900
01:51:35.000 --> 01:51:38.560
those like Barley and Clyde. The boys got off the

1901
01:51:38.560 --> 01:51:41.880
boat and stretched their legs. Rusted beer cans poked out

1902
01:51:41.880 --> 01:51:44.960
of the dirt, like headstones of fun times long since dead,

1903
01:51:45.000 --> 01:51:47.359
and served as the only proof anyone had ever come

1904
01:51:47.439 --> 01:51:50.079
to the isle before them. They didn't use the small

1905
01:51:50.159 --> 01:51:53.760
motor when carrying anything of legal ambiguity, and the two

1906
01:51:53.760 --> 01:51:56.520
hours of rowing took its toll, so they rested on

1907
01:51:56.560 --> 01:51:59.199
the island whenever their work took them so far into

1908
01:51:59.239 --> 01:52:02.840
the wetlands. Barley laid back and let the cool mud

1909
01:52:02.960 --> 01:52:07.359
soothe his tired muscles. A single cloud drifted lazily across

1910
01:52:07.399 --> 01:52:12.479
the full moon. Hey, Barley, Clyde called, as he urinated

1911
01:52:12.520 --> 01:52:17.560
noisily against a stone protrusion. Come look at this, I reckon,

1912
01:52:17.600 --> 01:52:20.560
I'll pass. Barley sat up and pulled his shirt back.

1913
01:52:21.079 --> 01:52:24.000
Best keep it away from the water, though some snapper

1914
01:52:24.079 --> 01:52:26.560
might think that little white wiggler of yours is a

1915
01:52:26.600 --> 01:52:29.800
minnow and bite it right off. This is why you

1916
01:52:29.840 --> 01:52:33.520
ain't got no friends, Barley. Clyde zipper punctuated the statement.

1917
01:52:33.920 --> 01:52:36.239
I meant, come look at what I was peeing on.

1918
01:52:37.520 --> 01:52:40.600
This better be good. Barley left his flashlight sticking out

1919
01:52:40.600 --> 01:52:43.079
of the mud and joined his cousin. He took off

1920
01:52:43.079 --> 01:52:46.399
his ball cap and scratched at his shoulder length hair. Yep,

1921
01:52:46.479 --> 01:52:51.079
that's uh, definitely interesting. It's one of them devil alters,

1922
01:52:51.119 --> 01:52:54.479
that's what it is. Clyde informed him. That's just lies

1923
01:52:54.520 --> 01:52:57.960
they tell in movies. Clyde Barley felt the carved lines

1924
01:52:57.960 --> 01:53:01.680
of the knee high stone pillar. A pentagram means good

1925
01:53:01.720 --> 01:53:05.039
things most of the time. Folks use it to symbolize

1926
01:53:05.039 --> 01:53:07.920
the five wounds of Christ. For example, it's even big

1927
01:53:07.960 --> 01:53:12.079
in China. Damn you always learning me something, cuz Clyde

1928
01:53:12.159 --> 01:53:15.000
spat tobacco juice across it and inspected it with his

1929
01:53:15.039 --> 01:53:19.279
pen light. So this is a good thing. Then Barley

1930
01:53:19.359 --> 01:53:23.039
checked his watch and grunted, well, Clyde, I don't reckon

1931
01:53:23.079 --> 01:53:28.039
this one is actually how's that you see, Clyde? We

1932
01:53:28.079 --> 01:53:32.119
was here two nights ago and it weren't. That's a

1933
01:53:32.159 --> 01:53:36.319
bit worrisome. Climb leaned over closer to the symbol. Maybe

1934
01:53:36.359 --> 01:53:40.279
we just overlooked it. Could be. Barley snugged his hat

1935
01:53:40.359 --> 01:53:43.520
back on his head. But it's been Halloween for about

1936
01:53:43.640 --> 01:53:45.560
three hours now, and it's a full moon, and I'd

1937
01:53:45.640 --> 01:53:47.880
much rather we didn't fuck around with the pentagram in

1938
01:53:47.880 --> 01:53:50.720
the swamp. If it's all the same to you, Big Barley.

1939
01:53:50.800 --> 01:53:54.880
Scared of an old star, Ain't that something? Clyde pointed

1940
01:53:54.920 --> 01:53:58.119
at the indentation in the center of the star. What

1941
01:53:58.199 --> 01:54:01.760
you reckon that is? Looks like a hand. Let's get

1942
01:54:01.800 --> 01:54:03.960
back to the house. We promised we'd do them hay

1943
01:54:04.039 --> 01:54:06.960
rides for the kiddies tonight. Barley turned to leave, and

1944
01:54:07.079 --> 01:54:10.079
don't touch the A cypress exploded in a flash of

1945
01:54:10.159 --> 01:54:14.439
lightning across the swamp. The animals went silent, like scolded children,

1946
01:54:14.520 --> 01:54:17.720
cowering before an angry mother. Barley rubbed his eyes to

1947
01:54:17.720 --> 01:54:21.119
clear the spots from his vision. Frog's ass shuddered twice,

1948
01:54:21.319 --> 01:54:24.199
and the muddy bank bubbled. The ground shook again, and

1949
01:54:24.279 --> 01:54:27.399
Barley's boots sunk into the liquefying soil beneath him. He

1950
01:54:27.439 --> 01:54:30.079
exhaled sharply and shook his head before looking back at

1951
01:54:30.079 --> 01:54:33.680
his cousin. Clyde's jaw was hanging open and his hand

1952
01:54:33.720 --> 01:54:36.960
was pressed firmly in the middle of the bizarre altar

1953
01:54:37.960 --> 01:54:42.279
well some bitch. Clyde. The carved star glowed brightly and

1954
01:54:42.359 --> 01:54:45.680
the younger Sawyer jumped away, immediately, sinking into the island

1955
01:54:45.760 --> 01:54:48.199
up to his knees. Barley plodded over quickly as he

1956
01:54:48.239 --> 01:54:51.359
could and pulled him free. They made slow progress to

1957
01:54:51.359 --> 01:54:53.439
the john boat as the ground sucked at their legs,

1958
01:54:53.439 --> 01:54:56.039
trying to pull them inside. The edge of Frog's ass

1959
01:54:56.039 --> 01:54:58.920
dissolved into drifting clumps of muck as the land mass

1960
01:54:58.920 --> 01:55:02.640
became nothing more then sludge and broke apart before them.

1961
01:55:02.880 --> 01:55:06.520
The remnants of the dock collapsed entirely. I told you

1962
01:55:06.560 --> 01:55:10.119
not to touch it, Barley exclaimed, but you knew I

1963
01:55:10.159 --> 01:55:13.079
was gonna The island broke away in a flash and

1964
01:55:13.199 --> 01:55:15.760
dumped them into the swamp. Barley clung to Clyde's back,

1965
01:55:15.840 --> 01:55:19.000
trying to stay afloat. Barley swam slightly better than a boulder,

1966
01:55:19.239 --> 01:55:22.760
after all. A pillar of fog rose from the dying island,

1967
01:55:22.960 --> 01:55:26.079
crackling with its own lightning storm. Inside its swirling mass,

1968
01:55:26.279 --> 01:55:29.479
the moon dimmed, and over the symphony of horrid destruction,

1969
01:55:29.800 --> 01:55:34.079
the Sawyers could hear something much worse. It wasn't laughter,

1970
01:55:34.159 --> 01:55:37.680
as we'd call it, but rather the perverse imitation of

1971
01:55:37.720 --> 01:55:40.680
the act by a thing born in a place where

1972
01:55:40.760 --> 01:55:44.600
joy did not exist. Clyde took great motivation in this

1973
01:55:44.840 --> 01:55:47.800
and got them to the boat right quick. Barley kicked

1974
01:55:47.800 --> 01:55:49.760
his feet to keep his head above the black water,

1975
01:55:49.800 --> 01:55:52.720
while Clyde submerged and cut them free of the shattered dock.

1976
01:55:53.079 --> 01:55:55.680
They clambered inside the boat, and Clyde shook water from

1977
01:55:55.720 --> 01:55:59.199
his inhaler for three puffs of salvation. The remains of

1978
01:55:59.279 --> 01:56:02.840
frogs asked drifted lazily in all directions, and the tower

1979
01:56:02.880 --> 01:56:05.600
of fogs spread out across the sky, blotting out the

1980
01:56:05.640 --> 01:56:09.800
moon for all of Fagin County. Think that's a bad

1981
01:56:09.840 --> 01:56:14.000
omen Barley Clyde spat swamp water. Barley clicked the switch

1982
01:56:14.000 --> 01:56:16.199
of the spotlight mounted on the nose of the boat

1983
01:56:16.239 --> 01:56:19.039
and shined it across the swamp. A piece of plastic

1984
01:56:19.079 --> 01:56:23.159
sheeting reflected it back as it floated away. Bubbles popped

1985
01:56:23.159 --> 01:56:25.920
next to the boat, and a pudgy face rose silently

1986
01:56:25.960 --> 01:56:29.239
above the water. Water streamed through the bullet hole like

1987
01:56:29.279 --> 01:56:31.600
a broken faucet. The man gripped the rim of the

1988
01:56:31.640 --> 01:56:34.000
boat and jerked it down, sending Clyde into the water

1989
01:56:34.079 --> 01:56:35.960
with him. The man gripped the rim of the boat

1990
01:56:36.000 --> 01:56:38.479
and jerked it down, sending Clyde into the water with him.

1991
01:56:38.680 --> 01:56:41.039
Clyde bobbed up in time to see the obese corpse,

1992
01:56:41.159 --> 01:56:44.680
breaststroking to his revenge, zombie teeth snapping at the air

1993
01:56:44.680 --> 01:56:47.920
in anticipation of Clyde's flesh. Clyde shut his eyes tight.

1994
01:56:48.159 --> 01:56:50.279
The trolling motor hummed to life, and he knew Barley

1995
01:56:50.319 --> 01:56:52.359
was skinning out before the corpse could eat him too.

1996
01:56:52.680 --> 01:56:55.399
Then the motor bogged down in an entanglement, whining as

1997
01:56:55.399 --> 01:56:58.439
it tried to break free. Sticky chunks pelted Clyde's face.

1998
01:56:58.920 --> 01:57:01.159
Barley must have gotten duck in the broken remains of

1999
01:57:01.159 --> 01:57:04.039
the aisle. Clyde feared the revenant would have his vengeance

2000
01:57:04.039 --> 01:57:07.479
on both the Sawyers. Soon enough, Clyde opened his eyes

2001
01:57:07.479 --> 01:57:10.039
and watched the headless body sink into the swamp for

2002
01:57:10.079 --> 01:57:12.880
the second time that night. Barley shut off the motor

2003
01:57:13.000 --> 01:57:15.720
and slung it over his shoulder with a grin you

2004
01:57:15.800 --> 01:57:18.359
swimming home or you want to get yourself in the boat.

2005
01:57:18.680 --> 01:57:22.399
Barley remounted the motor to its bracket. Clyde pulled himself

2006
01:57:22.399 --> 01:57:26.479
in inside. There's a chance this might be my fault.

2007
01:57:32.079 --> 01:57:34.880
The rest of the day was without further zombie attacks,

2008
01:57:34.880 --> 01:57:37.600
and the boys felt assured the incident at Frog's ass

2009
01:57:37.680 --> 01:57:40.800
was an isolated one. With it being Halloween, they didn't

2010
01:57:40.840 --> 01:57:43.199
have any jobs lined up and focused on the evening's

2011
01:57:43.239 --> 01:57:46.920
task preparing their truck for the hay rides. The Dodge

2012
01:57:46.920 --> 01:57:51.000
Warlock growled into the daycare's gravel parking lot. Barley stepped

2013
01:57:51.000 --> 01:57:53.840
down from the lifted pickup, and the much shorter Clyde

2014
01:57:53.880 --> 01:57:57.560
slid out. The screen door swung open and clacked against

2015
01:57:57.560 --> 01:58:01.920
the siding. As she came out to meet them, Barley stumbled,

2016
01:58:02.039 --> 01:58:05.960
drawing an amused snort from Clyde. Everyone in Bouchet was

2017
01:58:06.000 --> 01:58:09.880
in love with Maude Beaumont. The streaks of green cascading

2018
01:58:09.920 --> 01:58:13.399
through her blonde French bob shimmered in the late afternoon sun.

2019
01:58:13.840 --> 01:58:17.199
She waved to the cousins with her slender fingers, dancing playfully,

2020
01:58:17.520 --> 01:58:20.760
and smiled in the way that only she can. It

2021
01:58:20.800 --> 01:58:23.399
was a tactic that melted the hearts and befuddled the

2022
01:58:23.439 --> 01:58:26.399
minds of men across the county. One had to be

2023
01:58:26.479 --> 01:58:29.279
careful with Maud, for if you looked into the depths

2024
01:58:29.279 --> 01:58:31.920
of her eyes, you might not ever return in the

2025
01:58:31.960 --> 01:58:35.680
same manner you left, as was the case with Barley Sawyer,

2026
01:58:35.840 --> 01:58:38.119
who fell into those eyes in the seventh grade and

2027
01:58:38.159 --> 01:58:42.319
found himself perpetually entwined around those playful slender fingers. I

2028
01:58:42.399 --> 01:58:45.239
must admit I myself have fallen for her charms on

2029
01:58:45.279 --> 01:58:48.720
some occasion, which has kept the boys employed and alive.

2030
01:58:49.560 --> 01:58:52.239
As he rounded the vehicle, Barley spotted a hunk of

2031
01:58:52.279 --> 01:58:55.079
brain clinging to the tailgate and quickly tossed it into

2032
01:58:55.079 --> 01:58:58.239
the bushes before Maud could see it. She'd convinced Barley

2033
01:58:58.239 --> 01:59:00.960
to pull the trailer through Driscoll's Corn for the daycare's

2034
01:59:01.000 --> 01:59:03.960
annual hay rides. Three trips through the field and Barley

2035
01:59:03.960 --> 01:59:06.239
would be in a position to finally admit his love

2036
01:59:06.279 --> 01:59:09.520
for Maud, though he wouldn't because he'd been in that

2037
01:59:09.560 --> 01:59:13.039
position on at least thirty three different occasions and chickened

2038
01:59:13.079 --> 01:59:17.399
out every time. Hi, Barley, Maud said, sweeter than Georgia,

2039
01:59:17.439 --> 01:59:22.439
t and Clyde. Of course, are y'all set for the rides? Howdy? Maud.

2040
01:59:22.760 --> 01:59:24.640
Clyde pulled the trailer hitch from the bed of the

2041
01:59:24.680 --> 01:59:27.800
truck and slotted it into the bumper. We are now.

2042
01:59:28.119 --> 01:59:30.680
Is Driscoll gonna send them damn scarecrows out this year?

2043
01:59:31.359 --> 01:59:35.119
Just like every year since nineteen sixty three, Maud assured him. Fuck.

2044
01:59:35.520 --> 01:59:38.800
Clyde's face soured. I don't like them, not one bit.

2045
01:59:39.119 --> 01:59:41.640
Ain't no reason Halloween needs to be scary. After all,

2046
01:59:41.640 --> 01:59:45.640
we're taking little kids through that maze language Clyde. Barley

2047
01:59:45.640 --> 01:59:49.199
shook his head. I can't take you nowhere. I'm used

2048
01:59:49.239 --> 01:59:51.600
to him by now. Maud smiled and gestured to the

2049
01:59:51.600 --> 01:59:54.800
trailer with its square holes arranged into benches amidst a

2050
01:59:54.840 --> 01:59:57.600
bed of loose straw. I figure we can take them

2051
01:59:57.600 --> 02:00:00.479
in groups of ten, except the pre k kiddos. There's

2052
02:00:00.479 --> 02:00:03.560
eleven in that bunch. Sounds like you got it all

2053
02:00:03.600 --> 02:00:06.439
planned out. Barley smiled and took his trucker cap off.

2054
02:00:06.880 --> 02:00:08.960
Will you be riding in the truck with me, me

2055
02:00:09.039 --> 02:00:11.439
and Clyde? I mean, unless you'd be more comfortable if

2056
02:00:11.479 --> 02:00:13.960
it were just you and me. Clyde, don't mind riding

2057
02:00:13.960 --> 02:00:17.640
in the back none. Clyde's face twisted in confusion. I'd

2058
02:00:17.680 --> 02:00:21.760
definitely mind riding where them scarecrows can see me. Man up, Clyde.

2059
02:00:21.960 --> 02:00:25.199
Barley's shoulders sagged. I reckon, I mean to ask if

2060
02:00:25.199 --> 02:00:27.359
you'd like to ride up front with me? Is where

2061
02:00:27.399 --> 02:00:30.319
I was going with that? I was thinking Clyde could

2062
02:00:30.319 --> 02:00:33.359
sit up front where he's safe. Maud squeezed Barley's arm,

2063
02:00:33.880 --> 02:00:35.479
and that you might like to ride with me in

2064
02:00:35.520 --> 02:00:38.119
the back. I even got a special Halloween blanket we

2065
02:00:38.159 --> 02:00:40.479
can sit on. Maud looked up at him with those

2066
02:00:40.560 --> 02:00:43.600
damned blue green eyes, and Barley went toppling down into them.

2067
02:00:43.920 --> 02:00:47.720
His affirmation came out in a squeaky, bashful yip of excitement,

2068
02:00:47.720 --> 02:00:50.079
and he quickly set about moving the truck and getting

2069
02:00:50.079 --> 02:00:52.520
the trailer hitched to it, while Maud went inside to

2070
02:00:52.520 --> 02:00:54.960
prepare the plastic pails the kiddies would be carrying on

2071
02:00:55.000 --> 02:00:56.479
the ride.

2072
02:00:57.279 --> 02:00:59.680
Did you hear that? Better check the locks on your

2073
02:00:59.720 --> 02:01:03.279
dome weekly, Spooky, We'll be right back.

2074
02:01:06.479 --> 02:01:08.920
Clyde wrestled loose bales into the bed of the warlock

2075
02:01:09.000 --> 02:01:11.680
for Barley and Maud to ride on. The first car

2076
02:01:11.720 --> 02:01:13.600
loads of kids pulled into the parking lot and went

2077
02:01:13.600 --> 02:01:16.640
inside to get their baskets. Clyde slipped the aluminum bat

2078
02:01:16.640 --> 02:01:19.319
from under the seat and patted it against his palm.

2079
02:01:19.720 --> 02:01:23.039
The hell you need a baseball bat for? Barley asked, well,

2080
02:01:23.079 --> 02:01:25.399
I reckon, We got attacked by a zombie this morning,

2081
02:01:25.560 --> 02:01:27.640
and I might have sank an island after fiddling with

2082
02:01:27.680 --> 02:01:31.399
that magic do hickey, so we should have some protection tonight.

2083
02:01:31.960 --> 02:01:35.359
Clyde beamed with pride for his forward thinking. There's also

2084
02:01:35.399 --> 02:01:38.800
the time to think about it. What about the time Clyde.

2085
02:01:39.000 --> 02:01:42.640
Barley checked his watch. It's a quarter to six exactly,

2086
02:01:42.640 --> 02:01:45.479
because Clyde pointed up at the sun, or where it

2087
02:01:45.479 --> 02:01:49.479
should have been anyhow, Why is it dark already? Barley

2088
02:01:49.479 --> 02:01:52.239
looked at the dense blanket of clouds folded across the sky.

2089
02:01:52.760 --> 02:01:55.880
Somewhere beyond the fluffy barrier. The sun struggled to come through,

2090
02:01:56.199 --> 02:01:59.760
staining them a hellish red the screams of excited children

2091
02:02:00.039 --> 02:02:03.000
warming out of the daycare or interrupted the cousins. The

2092
02:02:03.039 --> 02:02:06.199
little gremlins piled into the trailer, with their haggard parents

2093
02:02:06.199 --> 02:02:09.720
shuffling behind to wish them a plentiful bounty. Maud strode

2094
02:02:09.760 --> 02:02:12.560
up to them. Barley, forgetting the rest of the world existed,

2095
02:02:12.920 --> 02:02:15.159
lifted her gingerly into the bed of the truck. Before

2096
02:02:15.239 --> 02:02:17.920
joining her, He leaned over the edge and tugged Clyde

2097
02:02:17.920 --> 02:02:20.800
to him by the collar. It's probably just a storm

2098
02:02:20.840 --> 02:02:24.359
blowing in, but keep your eyes open. Nonetheless, he glanced

2099
02:02:24.359 --> 02:02:26.800
over his shoulder at Maud before turning back to his cousin.

2100
02:02:27.319 --> 02:02:31.119
Give me your gun. I ain't bring one. Barley stared

2101
02:02:31.119 --> 02:02:33.720
at Clyde until he begrudgingly pulled the revolver from his

2102
02:02:33.760 --> 02:02:36.880
boot and handed it up to him. Don't know why

2103
02:02:36.920 --> 02:02:39.399
you want it, Clyde said. You shoot straight as the

2104
02:02:39.479 --> 02:02:42.800
letter s. Just drive and watch out for the dead.

2105
02:02:45.119 --> 02:02:48.000
Clyde made the turn into the corn maze. Sure enough,

2106
02:02:48.039 --> 02:02:51.399
Driscoll scarecrows were waiting at the entrance. The whole Driscoll

2107
02:02:51.439 --> 02:02:54.239
clan was there as well, tossing candy into the trailer

2108
02:02:54.279 --> 02:02:56.960
to the joyous whales of the children. They were deep

2109
02:02:57.000 --> 02:03:00.159
into the maze before the lightning started. Clyde slowed the

2110
02:03:00.159 --> 02:03:02.840
truck to a crawl and watched the clouds crackle with

2111
02:03:02.920 --> 02:03:06.439
tangerine bolts of electricity. He mashed the brakes and put

2112
02:03:06.439 --> 02:03:08.600
her in part before leaning out the window to whistle

2113
02:03:08.600 --> 02:03:11.119
for Barley. He jerked a thumb up at the storm.

2114
02:03:11.560 --> 02:03:14.600
Barley stood up and looked to the clouds. They rolled

2115
02:03:14.680 --> 02:03:19.359
like waves, cresting in saffron strobes. The laughter echoing from

2116
02:03:19.359 --> 02:03:23.159
around them turned into harmonious singing, a hymn known only

2117
02:03:23.199 --> 02:03:27.239
to the forgotten colt of wits end. The stalks rustled

2118
02:03:27.239 --> 02:03:30.079
with sudden excitement. Clyde sucked his finger and held it

2119
02:03:30.119 --> 02:03:34.960
to the sky. Ain't no wind blowin, Barley, He slipped

2120
02:03:34.960 --> 02:03:37.960
out of the cab with his bat in hand. Nope,

2121
02:03:38.119 --> 02:03:41.079
they're sure, ain't Clyde. Barley climbed down from the truck

2122
02:03:41.079 --> 02:03:44.239
and looked to Maud Best you wait here, my dear.

2123
02:03:45.039 --> 02:03:48.720
The minuscule forms, adorned in temple garments ambled out of

2124
02:03:48.720 --> 02:03:51.840
the maze, not much higher than Barley's waist, with pumpkins

2125
02:03:51.880 --> 02:03:56.000
resting atop their scrawny shoulders. Clyde took tentative steps toward

2126
02:03:56.079 --> 02:03:59.159
the nearest of the infernal carrollers and swung for the fences.

2127
02:03:59.279 --> 02:04:02.079
The singing stock and a collective gasp as they watched

2128
02:04:02.079 --> 02:04:05.119
one of their number drop flat. Well, some bitch, Clyde

2129
02:04:05.319 --> 02:04:07.760
Barley pulled the pistol and kept it trained on the mob.

2130
02:04:08.199 --> 02:04:10.279
You can't just go whacking little kids with a bat

2131
02:04:10.359 --> 02:04:14.000
for being creepy. Weren't no kid, Clyde pointed to the

2132
02:04:14.039 --> 02:04:17.439
shattered remains of the pumpkin and slithering worms oozing out

2133
02:04:17.439 --> 02:04:20.760
of the neck. It's an imp. They're like goblins, but

2134
02:04:20.800 --> 02:04:25.039
they serve a Oh shit, serve a what, Clyde Barley asked.

2135
02:04:25.239 --> 02:04:28.840
An earth shattering roar answered The imps shrieked in agreement.

2136
02:04:29.119 --> 02:04:31.479
A vine whipped out of the maze and twisted around

2137
02:04:31.520 --> 02:04:34.760
Barley's legs, jerking him under the truck. He screamed for help,

2138
02:04:34.800 --> 02:04:37.600
clutching the cornstalks while the vine pulled tighter. He drew

2139
02:04:37.600 --> 02:04:40.159
the pistol and fired into the maze. Still, the vine

2140
02:04:40.159 --> 02:04:43.840
fought against him, snapping the stalks and pulling him deeper inside.

2141
02:04:44.439 --> 02:04:47.279
Clyde found himself swinging at the swarm of charging imps,

2142
02:04:47.359 --> 02:04:50.079
unable to aid. His cousin Maud jumped into the trailer

2143
02:04:50.119 --> 02:04:53.199
and ushered the terrified children into the truck bed. Stay here,

2144
02:04:53.399 --> 02:04:57.399
we're leaving soon, she promised them. The tire iron screeched

2145
02:04:57.399 --> 02:04:59.119
across the bed as she pulled it to her and

2146
02:04:59.199 --> 02:05:01.600
joined Clyde in the game of demonic whack a mole.

2147
02:05:02.000 --> 02:05:04.920
More gunshots cracked in the maze. Clyde cursed the whole

2148
02:05:04.960 --> 02:05:09.319
situation and smashed another pumpkin. Sprang mad with the wriggly contents,

2149
02:05:09.640 --> 02:05:12.199
She swiped the worms from her hair and slapped Clyde

2150
02:05:12.239 --> 02:05:15.920
hard enough to dislodge the tobacco glob Watch where you're swinging,

2151
02:05:16.039 --> 02:05:18.399
She shouted. We need to get these kids out of

2152
02:05:18.439 --> 02:05:20.680
here and rescue Barley. You got a plan for this,

2153
02:05:21.520 --> 02:05:24.239
Barley does the planning. Clyde kicked one of the creatures

2154
02:05:24.239 --> 02:05:27.640
between the legs and laughed as it collapsed. Ipscot yards too,

2155
02:05:28.319 --> 02:05:31.239
that's not helpful. Get in the truck and tell them

2156
02:05:31.279 --> 02:05:34.199
crotch dumplins to hold tight. Clyde winked, I think I

2157
02:05:34.239 --> 02:05:39.159
got me a plan after all. The warlock bounced violently

2158
02:05:39.199 --> 02:05:41.840
through the field, following the bent and broken path of

2159
02:05:41.880 --> 02:05:45.199
Barley's abduction. The truck was designed for off road Shenanigans,

2160
02:05:45.199 --> 02:05:48.479
but the trailer slid and twisted, tossing hay bales into

2161
02:05:48.479 --> 02:05:51.479
the field like mortar fire. The truck jerked hard, narrowly

2162
02:05:51.520 --> 02:05:54.039
missing Barley. As they caught up with him, Clyde pulled

2163
02:05:54.039 --> 02:05:56.800
the truck alongside Barley and grabbed the chrome nerf bar

2164
02:05:57.600 --> 02:06:00.560
This is not a plan, Maud shouted. She tried to

2165
02:06:00.600 --> 02:06:02.880
keep the kids from bouncing out of the truck. Well

2166
02:06:02.920 --> 02:06:06.840
it's working like one, Clyde shouted. Clyde leaned out the window,

2167
02:06:07.159 --> 02:06:10.640
told you, Barley, you can't shoot for shit. Now hold on.

2168
02:06:11.439 --> 02:06:14.119
Clyde jerked the wheel and pulled Barley away from the vine,

2169
02:06:14.199 --> 02:06:17.600
snapping the tendril in two. The agonizing scream drowned out

2170
02:06:17.640 --> 02:06:20.880
the roar of the Warlock's big engine. Clyde stopped the

2171
02:06:20.920 --> 02:06:23.960
truck and got out. Barley handed him the revolver and

2172
02:06:24.039 --> 02:06:26.399
went to check on the kids. In Maud, Clyde opened

2173
02:06:26.439 --> 02:06:30.560
the cylinder and cursed, only left me one bullet, he asked,

2174
02:06:30.880 --> 02:06:33.720
you ain't never needed more than one. Barley climbed into

2175
02:06:33.760 --> 02:06:37.159
the truck bed and tried soothing the children. What do

2176
02:06:37.279 --> 02:06:40.720
him serve? Clyde a wall of corn dropped away with

2177
02:06:40.840 --> 02:06:45.159
a swish, and two scarecrows staggered forward with sides held high.

2178
02:06:45.760 --> 02:06:48.039
Maud hopped out of the truck and cocked the tire

2179
02:06:48.079 --> 02:06:51.000
iron back. Hell Fire burned in the mouths of their

2180
02:06:51.079 --> 02:06:54.039
jack o' lantern heads. Barley broke a board free of

2181
02:06:54.079 --> 02:06:57.640
the warlock's bedrail and joined Maud, you boys can fuck

2182
02:06:57.760 --> 02:07:02.199
right off. Maud warned them. They didn't listen. They reaped

2183
02:07:02.199 --> 02:07:05.079
the air with their blades and ambled closer, side by

2184
02:07:05.159 --> 02:07:07.880
side in their pursuit. The gunshot silenced the wails of

2185
02:07:08.000 --> 02:07:11.640
terrified kiddos. The two pumpkins wilted, and their fires spread,

2186
02:07:11.760 --> 02:07:16.439
engulfing the straw bodies. I hate scarecrows. Clyde spun the

2187
02:07:16.439 --> 02:07:18.960
pistol on his finger and blew smoke from the barrel.

2188
02:07:19.640 --> 02:07:23.000
Barley's right, I ain't never needed more than one bullet.

2189
02:07:23.680 --> 02:07:26.720
Lightning crashed to the ground in scores. The maze ignited

2190
02:07:26.760 --> 02:07:29.159
in their wake, and twisting vines curled out of the

2191
02:07:29.159 --> 02:07:32.840
flames like snakes seeking mice. The ground split open, crazing

2192
02:07:32.840 --> 02:07:36.000
in fissures that stretched the boys in Maud. The sulphuric

2193
02:07:36.039 --> 02:07:38.720
fumes rising out from them, stung their nostrils and brought

2194
02:07:38.760 --> 02:07:42.680
tears to their eyes. Imps served the royal family of Hell.

2195
02:07:43.279 --> 02:07:47.880
Clyde grumbled, how do you know that? Maud whispered, learned

2196
02:07:47.880 --> 02:07:50.920
it from the YouTube. Clyde pressed a water tobacco into

2197
02:07:50.960 --> 02:07:54.439
his lip. Really wish you ain't wasted my bullets, Barley.

2198
02:07:55.039 --> 02:07:59.079
I was trying not to get killed, Clyde. Barley hoisted

2199
02:07:59.079 --> 02:08:02.119
the two by four the three story jack o' lantern

2200
02:08:02.199 --> 02:08:04.760
tore out of the earth. On the verdant coiling, vines

2201
02:08:04.800 --> 02:08:07.840
sprouting from the white fuzz along its spongy orange belly.

2202
02:08:08.239 --> 02:08:11.159
A great guffaw resonated from the pulpy mouth of the beast,

2203
02:08:11.479 --> 02:08:14.039
matched by the torso of a man rising where its

2204
02:08:14.039 --> 02:08:17.039
stems should have been. Tiny gourds grew out of his

2205
02:08:17.159 --> 02:08:20.640
flesh like tumors, and more greenery sprouted amongst his white hair.

2206
02:08:21.479 --> 02:08:26.840
I was Ebenezer, wit, prophet of the ascendant one Hammadi.

2207
02:08:27.800 --> 02:08:31.920
He bellowed, for as the angels fall, so shall the

2208
02:08:32.000 --> 02:08:37.760
demon rise. That sounds bad, Barley whispered. Maud ran over

2209
02:08:37.760 --> 02:08:40.600
to the truck bed. Kids, I'm gonna need y'all to

2210
02:08:40.640 --> 02:08:42.800
get on down from there and sit in the trailer,

2211
02:08:42.880 --> 02:08:43.560
nice and sweet?

2212
02:08:43.680 --> 02:08:45.479
Can you do that? Just like when we play the

2213
02:08:45.520 --> 02:08:46.439
quiet game.

2214
02:08:46.600 --> 02:08:50.000
For my sacrificed and the lot of five hundred souls.

2215
02:08:50.159 --> 02:08:54.279
I am beyond the limitations of the flesh, the creature continued.

2216
02:08:54.800 --> 02:08:57.760
I am the pumpkin King, pontiffects of the Temple of

2217
02:08:57.760 --> 02:09:00.000
the Blight, and the harbinger of famine.

2218
02:09:00.840 --> 02:09:04.600
Clyde spat tobacco juice down a fissure. How about you

2219
02:09:04.640 --> 02:09:07.279
come on down off your pumpkin, and Barley will just

2220
02:09:07.319 --> 02:09:09.960
go ahead and whoop your ass. Barley nudged him with

2221
02:09:10.000 --> 02:09:13.720
a board. Why me, damn it all to hell, Barley.

2222
02:09:14.039 --> 02:09:16.279
Clyde threw his hands in the air. I took care

2223
02:09:16.319 --> 02:09:19.119
of them scarecrows and Maud helped with the imps. Carry

2224
02:09:19.119 --> 02:09:22.399
your weight some the vines lashed out, and Barley rolled

2225
02:09:22.399 --> 02:09:24.800
away from them. He tossed the board aside, switching it

2226
02:09:24.840 --> 02:09:26.840
out for one of the sickles lying on the ground.

2227
02:09:27.039 --> 02:09:30.399
Clyde wasn't his nimble. The creeper constricted around his narrow figure.

2228
02:09:30.560 --> 02:09:34.159
The blade flashed before him. Chlorophyll sprayed his face as

2229
02:09:34.199 --> 02:09:37.359
the tentacles shrank away. What did YouTube say about killing

2230
02:09:37.439 --> 02:09:40.600
this guy? Barley swiped at vines, cracking like whips, aid

2231
02:09:40.640 --> 02:09:44.399
the boys need virgin blood. Clyde jumped over a fissure

2232
02:09:44.439 --> 02:09:47.239
and grabbed the other sythe I think we're in trouble.

2233
02:09:47.279 --> 02:09:50.960
Then Barley grunted, got a whole trailer full. I reckon.

2234
02:09:51.359 --> 02:09:54.920
Clyde cut down an attacking appendage. We're not feeding the

2235
02:09:55.000 --> 02:09:58.479
kiddos to the pumpkin. Barley grabbed Clyde's collar and swung

2236
02:09:58.560 --> 02:10:02.199
him to safety as the field beneath them. I'm never

2237
02:10:02.239 --> 02:10:06.800
gonna get a second date now, fools. The pumpkin King

2238
02:10:06.960 --> 02:10:10.640
lunged forward, the Jack o' lantern mouth stretched wide, unleashing

2239
02:10:10.680 --> 02:10:14.079
a wave of orange and green bugs. Millions of aphids

2240
02:10:14.119 --> 02:10:17.359
poured across the ground, their tiny bodies sliding across one

2241
02:10:17.359 --> 02:10:22.680
another like sand in an hourglass. This is entirely your fault, Clyde.

2242
02:10:22.720 --> 02:10:24.720
I told you not to fiddle with that damn thing.

2243
02:10:25.159 --> 02:10:28.439
Barley stomped at the early arrivals. The cousins stood back

2244
02:10:28.479 --> 02:10:31.560
to back while the famished horde besieged them. The Warlock's

2245
02:10:31.600 --> 02:10:35.399
engine revved, rumbling through the smokestack exhausts. The aphids slowed

2246
02:10:35.439 --> 02:10:38.239
their advance and halted altogether. When the engine roared again,

2247
02:10:38.720 --> 02:10:40.840
the cousins looked at the truck. The rumble of the

2248
02:10:40.880 --> 02:10:43.600
motor shook the gold striped body. Through the window. They

2249
02:10:43.600 --> 02:10:46.960
saw Maud rigging the steering wheel in her fists as

2250
02:10:47.000 --> 02:10:50.439
she pumped the accelerator in an uneven rhythm. The aphids

2251
02:10:50.479 --> 02:10:53.600
turned the movement imperceptible on account of their size, and

2252
02:10:53.680 --> 02:10:56.720
seemed to rewind with the cooriaceous flesh of the pumpkin king.

2253
02:10:57.000 --> 02:10:59.960
The warlocks tires spun, flinging dirt across the kids hunk

2254
02:11:00.199 --> 02:11:03.359
in the unhitched trailer before jumping forward. The engine roared

2255
02:11:03.359 --> 02:11:06.159
like a lion pouncing at its prey. The bullbar struck

2256
02:11:06.199 --> 02:11:09.039
the cottony peach fuzz growing along the demon's belly. The

2257
02:11:09.119 --> 02:11:11.640
rind collapsed under the full force of the redneck Limousines

2258
02:11:11.720 --> 02:11:15.239
V eight. The cousins, dumbfounded more than usual, stared at

2259
02:11:15.239 --> 02:11:17.479
the brake lights glowing. Within the moment it took the

2260
02:11:17.479 --> 02:11:20.880
whole thing to collapse on top of it, The house

2261
02:11:20.920 --> 02:11:23.840
sized gourd putrefied in a puddle of pie filling that

2262
02:11:23.960 --> 02:11:26.760
heaped over the truck, swallowing it like the tide takes

2263
02:11:26.800 --> 02:11:30.039
the beach. The pickup pulled out in reverse, its smokestacks

2264
02:11:30.079 --> 02:11:32.920
bubbling hot pumpkin puree as it slid in a jay

2265
02:11:32.960 --> 02:11:36.159
turn beside the Sawyer's Maud jumped down from the driver's seat.

2266
02:11:36.279 --> 02:11:38.800
Orange goop covered her body and dripped from her hair

2267
02:11:38.880 --> 02:11:42.000
down her stained blouse. She wiped her lips and muttered.

2268
02:11:42.439 --> 02:11:47.000
Clyde left the windows down. Maud. Clyde started and then

2269
02:11:47.039 --> 02:11:53.399
snorted with her strained laughter, you look gorgeous. Fuck you, Clyde.

2270
02:11:53.680 --> 02:11:55.800
Maud slapped her hands over her mouth and looked to

2271
02:11:55.840 --> 02:11:59.079
the trailer. I'm sorry, kids, Miss Maud, shouldn't have used

2272
02:11:59.119 --> 02:12:02.119
that word. Most of the children were sobbing or calling

2273
02:12:02.159 --> 02:12:05.760
for their mothers. Others simply rocked silently. I'm sure they'll

2274
02:12:05.760 --> 02:12:10.279
recover eventually. After all, nothing builds character like supernatural trauma

2275
02:12:10.479 --> 02:12:13.279
in early childhood. I wouldn't be the man I am

2276
02:12:13.319 --> 02:12:16.600
today if it weren't for such events. Barley watched the

2277
02:12:16.720 --> 02:12:19.840
mutated form of Ebenezer Whit pulling himself out of the puddle,

2278
02:12:20.079 --> 02:12:23.439
dragging his entrails behind him. Clyde charged at him with

2279
02:12:23.439 --> 02:12:27.680
the scythe overhead. Wit slithered down a fissure. Clyde narrowly missed,

2280
02:12:27.840 --> 02:12:31.479
sinking the curved steel blade into the earth. Clyde threw

2281
02:12:31.520 --> 02:12:34.199
his trucker cap to the ground. Damn it all to hell.

2282
02:12:34.960 --> 02:12:38.840
Tubular yellow flowers bloomed around the blade, and Barley knelt

2283
02:12:38.880 --> 02:12:43.199
to inspect them. He plucked one and stood up pumpkin flowers.

2284
02:12:43.640 --> 02:12:46.800
He slipped it behind Maud's ear. I reckon, that means

2285
02:12:46.800 --> 02:12:51.039
this ain't over yet, whatever comes next, Maud said, lacing

2286
02:12:51.039 --> 02:12:54.399
her sticky fingers between his We can handle it, just

2287
02:12:54.520 --> 02:12:59.119
like tonight. How did we handle it? Clyde asked. Aphids

2288
02:12:59.159 --> 02:13:01.439
don't like acoustic extressers, so I used the truck to

2289
02:13:01.520 --> 02:13:03.880
drive them away. Maud pointed at the remains of the

2290
02:13:03.920 --> 02:13:06.479
former pumpkin king, and that was just a case of

2291
02:13:06.520 --> 02:13:12.600
fitophora blight. Obviously, obviously. Barley agreed. You know, I was thinking,

2292
02:13:12.920 --> 02:13:15.319
after we get these kiddos home, we should go on

2293
02:13:15.439 --> 02:13:19.000
over to Orville. Oh no, Clyde shook his head. I

2294
02:13:19.039 --> 02:13:21.119
know what you're gonna say next. We ain't never going

2295
02:13:21.199 --> 02:13:26.000
near that shack again. What shack? Maud asked. There's an

2296
02:13:26.039 --> 02:13:29.399
old woman that lives in the woods outside Orville. Barley said,

2297
02:13:29.800 --> 02:13:33.039
she's a witch or a ghost. We ain't too sure

2298
02:13:33.039 --> 02:13:35.199
which one she used to scare the Bejesus out of

2299
02:13:35.239 --> 02:13:37.439
us as kids, she'll be able to shine some light

2300
02:13:37.479 --> 02:13:41.199
on what Clyde done did. I ain't going Clyde crossed

2301
02:13:41.199 --> 02:13:43.600
his arms. You know what happens when you mess with

2302
02:13:43.680 --> 02:13:48.640
ghost witches. Maud shook her head, splattering Barley with pumpkin juice.

2303
02:13:48.680 --> 02:13:52.039
Me neither, and we ain't finding out. I draw the line.

2304
02:13:52.319 --> 02:13:54.960
Clyde swiped his hand, making an invisible line in front

2305
02:13:54.960 --> 02:13:57.560
of him. Barley hitched the trailer and got behind the

2306
02:13:57.560 --> 02:14:00.960
steering wheel, with Maud snuggled up against him. Clyde pouted

2307
02:14:01.039 --> 02:14:02.760
on a bale of hay next to the kids while

2308
02:14:02.800 --> 02:14:04.920
they drove out of the corn maze. They told the

2309
02:14:05.000 --> 02:14:07.960
parents the scarecrows had been extra scary that year, and

2310
02:14:08.039 --> 02:14:12.319
promised the children would stop crying eventually. Then they headed

2311
02:14:12.319 --> 02:14:14.439
out across the old Highway to Orville to see the

2312
02:14:14.479 --> 02:14:18.119
Crone of Coxcall Holler. I told you they got some

2313
02:14:18.199 --> 02:14:21.439
colorful names for things in Arkansas. It was Barley's bright

2314
02:14:21.479 --> 02:14:23.800
idea to see the Crone, and it was that idea

2315
02:14:23.840 --> 02:14:28.039
that brought them to my door. Sometimes things just work out,

2316
02:14:28.680 --> 02:14:31.479
and that's the story of how Barley and Clyde first

2317
02:14:31.520 --> 02:14:34.439
met the Pumpkin King. It might not all be true,

2318
02:14:34.960 --> 02:14:47.079
but that's how I heard it. Another Mischief Night by

2319
02:14:47.159 --> 02:14:52.479
Shane Migliovoka. Fresh from nursing school, Kay Ferris had only

2320
02:14:52.520 --> 02:14:56.640
been at Forbes Sanitarium for three months, yet she was

2321
02:14:56.720 --> 02:15:00.520
already sure she'd never get used to that building or

2322
02:15:00.760 --> 02:15:08.119
the psychotics that dwelled within. Lightning flashed outside its crooked

2323
02:15:08.159 --> 02:15:11.840
fingers searching for the ground. Halloween was a few days away,

2324
02:15:11.920 --> 02:15:15.640
but for Kay it may as well be tonight. The

2325
02:15:15.720 --> 02:15:19.000
dark hallways and stillness of Level five were creeping her out,

2326
02:15:19.640 --> 02:15:24.159
and the damned storm wasn't helping matters. Doctor Chandler had

2327
02:15:24.199 --> 02:15:27.880
all the patients on Level five sedated early, something to

2328
02:15:27.960 --> 02:15:30.840
be thankful for, she thought as she made her rounds.

2329
02:15:31.359 --> 02:15:34.000
But with the storm, it really was the only course

2330
02:15:34.000 --> 02:15:36.399
of action, as bad weather tended to knock out the

2331
02:15:36.439 --> 02:15:41.359
sanitarium's power, and since the doors were locked electronically, if

2332
02:15:41.399 --> 02:15:46.000
the power went out, all the doors would unlock. The

2333
02:15:46.079 --> 02:15:49.479
cheapskates in charge refused to pay for a back up generator.

2334
02:15:50.720 --> 02:15:55.119
She stopped. Ahead was the end of the hall and

2335
02:15:55.199 --> 02:15:59.000
the last door on the left behind which sat Patient fifteen.

2336
02:16:00.479 --> 02:16:05.560
Patient fifteen, that girl in the mask, Amanda Williams. She

2337
02:16:05.760 --> 02:16:09.239
was worse than all the others. The girl just sat

2338
02:16:09.279 --> 02:16:13.680
there day and night in her white mask, never making

2339
02:16:13.720 --> 02:16:17.840
a sound. Chandler, who had treated the girl since she'd

2340
02:16:17.880 --> 02:16:20.399
first arrived, said she wore the mask out of shame,

2341
02:16:21.399 --> 02:16:24.479
shame that her brother was murdered in a botched robbery.

2342
02:16:24.560 --> 02:16:29.880
While she stood by, paralyzed with fear. Kay heard noises

2343
02:16:29.920 --> 02:16:33.840
coming from the room late at night, not surprising since

2344
02:16:33.840 --> 02:16:37.479
Amanda was the only patient that was never sedated, as

2345
02:16:37.559 --> 02:16:42.200
Chandler felt it unnecessary. Kay suspected the old man thought

2346
02:16:42.200 --> 02:16:45.360
of the girl as a daughter. She chuckled, picturing them

2347
02:16:45.399 --> 02:16:49.200
sitting down for a Sunday dinner. She started down the

2348
02:16:49.239 --> 02:16:51.760
hall again when there was a bright flash of lightning

2349
02:16:52.280 --> 02:17:00.000
followed by a loud crash of thunder. The lights did

2350
02:17:00.040 --> 02:17:06.159
and before finally flickering back on spooky shit. Huh, Kay jumped.

2351
02:17:06.200 --> 02:17:09.040
She spun around to see Johnny Earle behind her. The

2352
02:17:09.120 --> 02:17:12.639
husky orderly smirked, and she felt her face turning red.

2353
02:17:13.399 --> 02:17:19.799
What down there the last cell? His loud booming voice

2354
02:17:19.799 --> 02:17:27.000
trailed off into a whisper. Patient fifteen. I guess, Kay shrugged,

2355
02:17:27.280 --> 02:17:29.600
not wanting to let on how freaked the girl made

2356
02:17:29.600 --> 02:17:33.680
her feel. All the ghosts and goblins will be coming

2357
02:17:33.719 --> 02:17:38.000
out soon. He made eerie sounds. I can protect you,

2358
02:17:39.040 --> 02:17:42.319
save the trigg or treat shit for Halloween night, Johnny Earle.

2359
02:17:43.319 --> 02:17:46.159
Thank god Halloween was on a Saturday this year. Kay

2360
02:17:46.239 --> 02:17:50.840
thought safe in the knowledge that she had the day off. Hey,

2361
02:17:51.399 --> 02:17:53.360
I'm sorry. How about I make it up to you?

2362
02:17:54.040 --> 02:17:58.239
He touched her arm, making Kay flinch. There's some empty

2363
02:17:58.280 --> 02:18:02.000
rooms downstairs. We could uh take a little break. She

2364
02:18:02.120 --> 02:18:07.000
pulled away from the big orderly. Not a chance, stuck up, bitch,

2365
02:18:07.799 --> 02:18:11.120
Kay heard him mumble as she walked away. Smiling at

2366
02:18:11.120 --> 02:18:14.559
his disappointment. She walked back to the nurses station. An

2367
02:18:14.600 --> 02:18:17.440
older nurse sat watching a small TV, which sat next

2368
02:18:17.479 --> 02:18:21.120
to a large jack O lantern. Lightning flashed, causing the

2369
02:18:21.200 --> 02:18:27.680
lights to dim again. The woman looked up as Kay approached.

2370
02:18:28.879 --> 02:18:32.399
Don't worry, the older woman took out a cigarette, lighting

2371
02:18:32.399 --> 02:18:35.959
it up. Happens every time there's a big storm. A

2372
02:18:36.000 --> 02:18:39.159
sinister laugh erupted from the TV. Thirty one Days of

2373
02:18:39.239 --> 02:18:43.680
Halloween will return with Jesse James meets Frankenstein's daughter after

2374
02:18:43.719 --> 02:18:48.959
these horrendous arcane adverts. Missus Bradley was the senior nurse

2375
02:18:49.000 --> 02:18:51.799
on the fifth floor, which meant she could do whatever

2376
02:18:51.840 --> 02:18:54.520
the hell she wanted. So the old nurse spent her

2377
02:18:54.559 --> 02:18:58.239
shift watching old horror movies and smoking. How are all

2378
02:18:58.280 --> 02:19:05.440
our little chickadees sleeping? Good, Missus Bradley coughed, Sit down

2379
02:19:05.479 --> 02:19:09.479
for a bit. I ain't going anywhere. Kay sat, stifling

2380
02:19:09.520 --> 02:19:12.000
a cough. She hadn't talked to the older nurse much

2381
02:19:12.040 --> 02:19:16.559
since starting at Forbes. Bradley intimidated her, and Kay had

2382
02:19:16.600 --> 02:19:18.959
heard stories from the other nurses that the old woman

2383
02:19:18.959 --> 02:19:21.360
could be quite the tyrant if you crossed her. So

2384
02:19:21.559 --> 02:19:24.159
Kay did as she was told and kept her head down.

2385
02:19:25.120 --> 02:19:28.000
You like it here? She felt her throat tighten as

2386
02:19:28.079 --> 02:19:32.639
Kay strained to think of the appropriate words. Um, it's

2387
02:19:32.680 --> 02:19:36.200
a shithole, Missus Bradley laughed, don't worry about trying to

2388
02:19:36.280 --> 02:19:38.680
kiss my ass and say this is a great place.

2389
02:19:39.159 --> 02:19:41.879
Do your job, put in your time, and if you're smart,

2390
02:19:41.879 --> 02:19:44.840
you'll use this as a stepping stone. After a few

2391
02:19:44.840 --> 02:19:47.719
moments of silence, Kay worked up the courage to ask

2392
02:19:47.760 --> 02:19:53.000
a question, how come you stayed before answering, the old

2393
02:19:53.079 --> 02:19:56.639
nurse tapped some ash into a coffee cup. Big fish,

2394
02:19:57.000 --> 02:19:59.719
small pond. If I'd gone somewhere else, I'd have to

2395
02:19:59.760 --> 02:20:05.000
start over again. Johnny Earle sauntered towards them. Well, well, well,

2396
02:20:05.520 --> 02:20:08.120
nobody told me it was break time. He made a

2397
02:20:08.319 --> 02:20:13.959
hurt face. Standing Kay adjusted her uniform well back to it.

2398
02:20:14.520 --> 02:20:17.520
She walked by Johnny Earle, giving him the cold shoulder.

2399
02:20:18.200 --> 02:20:20.879
Kay could feel them both watching her as she walked away.

2400
02:20:21.479 --> 02:20:23.840
She listened to the squeak of her sneakers on the

2401
02:20:23.879 --> 02:20:29.000
cold linoleum floor. Outside, lightning flashed, the brightest one yet

2402
02:20:29.280 --> 02:20:31.719
On its heels was a building shaking rumble. As the

2403
02:20:31.760 --> 02:20:35.000
thunder rolled above the earth, the lights flickered and hummed

2404
02:20:35.000 --> 02:20:41.440
again before going out. This time they remained dark. Oh fuck,

2405
02:20:41.920 --> 02:20:45.479
Kay muttered to herself. She stood alone in the hallway,

2406
02:20:46.120 --> 02:20:50.200
darkness surrounding her. Kay used the faint light from outside

2407
02:20:50.200 --> 02:20:54.920
to find the wall. Slowly feeling along the wall, her

2408
02:20:54.920 --> 02:20:57.399
hand glided over the concrete of the wall and the

2409
02:20:57.399 --> 02:21:01.799
mettal of the doors. She continued on this way until

2410
02:21:01.840 --> 02:21:06.559
she bumped face first into the wall at the hall's end. Embarrassed,

2411
02:21:07.000 --> 02:21:10.639
Kay headed back. She could see the pumpkin grinning there

2412
02:21:10.760 --> 02:21:14.719
by the now dark TV, A fiery face grinning at her,

2413
02:21:15.360 --> 02:21:20.079
a beacon in the dark. Another sharp blast of lightning

2414
02:21:20.159 --> 02:21:23.760
revealed the older nurse sitting there in her chair. Kay's

2415
02:21:23.799 --> 02:21:26.680
eyes strained to adjust after the bright flash of light.

2416
02:21:27.600 --> 02:21:31.000
This is really something, Kay said, feeling a little better

2417
02:21:31.200 --> 02:21:34.120
in the veteran's presence. I'm sure the power will be

2418
02:21:34.200 --> 02:21:37.799
back on soon. Right. Unable to see but the faintest

2419
02:21:37.840 --> 02:21:40.959
outline of the older nurse, Kay turned the face of

2420
02:21:40.959 --> 02:21:47.159
the jack O lantern towards the woman, Missus Bradley. The

2421
02:21:47.200 --> 02:21:50.840
woman's head slumped to the side, her eyes open and wide,

2422
02:21:51.120 --> 02:21:54.159
her swollen tongue hung limp from her mouth, which was

2423
02:21:54.239 --> 02:21:59.120
frozen in a silent scream. Nearly tipping over her own feet.

2424
02:21:59.399 --> 02:22:03.559
Kay backed away. What should she do? Find Johnny Earle

2425
02:22:04.040 --> 02:22:08.639
call the cops. Slowly turning, Kay came face to face

2426
02:22:09.440 --> 02:22:13.399
with a blank, white face. Mask narrowed eyes sized her

2427
02:22:13.520 --> 02:22:18.159
up from behind it. Amanda was all Kay could spit

2428
02:22:18.200 --> 02:22:21.600
out before the strong, muscular hands gripped her by her throat,

2429
02:22:21.920 --> 02:22:26.879
lifting her off the ground. Amanda's eyes met Kay's cold, deep,

2430
02:22:28.120 --> 02:22:33.159
and somehow innocent Suddenly, there was a deafening crack and

2431
02:22:33.280 --> 02:22:36.719
it was over. Kay's body hit the linoleum floor with

2432
02:22:36.760 --> 02:22:40.399
a dull thud. Amanda stepped over the body without a

2433
02:22:40.440 --> 02:22:48.399
second glance. She had much to do. Kyle Williams felt

2434
02:22:48.399 --> 02:22:52.440
guilty as he put on his Halloween costume. Amanda would

2435
02:22:52.440 --> 02:22:56.120
want him to go out have a good time. The

2436
02:22:56.200 --> 02:22:58.000
thought of her made him touch the side of his

2437
02:22:58.079 --> 02:23:00.399
face as he ran his hand over the scar on

2438
02:23:00.479 --> 02:23:03.920
his cheek. If only he'd done something to help her

2439
02:23:03.959 --> 02:23:08.520
that night. Come on, let ask Trevor. His impatient roommates

2440
02:23:08.520 --> 02:23:12.399
stood in the door, dressed as Dracula. Them wild women

2441
02:23:12.440 --> 02:23:18.319
ain't waiting forever. Sure almost done. Truthfully, he was glad

2442
02:23:18.360 --> 02:23:20.319
to be going. It was a chance to get out

2443
02:23:20.319 --> 02:23:22.920
of the dorm instead of sitting around by himself while

2444
02:23:23.079 --> 02:23:27.040
everybody had fun. I can't believe you're going as a hobo.

2445
02:23:27.840 --> 02:23:32.879
I'm not a hobo, Kyle groaned. I'm doctor who. I've

2446
02:23:32.920 --> 02:23:36.280
seen doctor who. He doesn't dress like a hobo. The

2447
02:23:36.360 --> 02:23:40.840
second one did. Trevor shook his head. Whatever, man, I'll

2448
02:23:40.840 --> 02:23:43.600
take your word for it. Let's go. As they pulled

2449
02:23:43.680 --> 02:23:46.639
up the driveway, Kyle was amazed by just how many

2450
02:23:46.639 --> 02:23:51.120
people were there? Holy shit, got that right, Trevor said,

2451
02:23:51.120 --> 02:23:53.159
looking for an open spot on the lawn to park.

2452
02:23:53.719 --> 02:23:55.920
I think the whole college is here, and then some

2453
02:23:56.879 --> 02:23:58.799
Finding a spot on the outer edge of the lawn,

2454
02:23:58.879 --> 02:24:01.959
Trevor parked. They got out, both marveling at the lid

2455
02:24:02.040 --> 02:24:05.879
up three story house, Halloween lights criss crossing its front.

2456
02:24:06.520 --> 02:24:09.520
A pretty Latino woman in a revealing red dress and

2457
02:24:09.600 --> 02:24:13.120
shoddy black wig, a close enough approximation of Sigourney Weaver

2458
02:24:13.159 --> 02:24:16.360
from Ghostbusters, brushed past Kyle as he and Trevor made

2459
02:24:16.399 --> 02:24:20.239
their way towards the house. Sorry, she said, turning to

2460
02:24:20.280 --> 02:24:24.200
look at Kyle, before disappearing behind a van. No prob,

2461
02:24:24.719 --> 02:24:29.239
Kyle replied, watching her go dude, she was checking you

2462
02:24:29.319 --> 02:24:35.600
out yet, right? Fuck she was? Trust me, really, Trevor nods,

2463
02:24:35.639 --> 02:24:39.799
go on, I'll be inside. Kyle hesitated for a moment

2464
02:24:40.159 --> 02:24:42.440
before going to look for the girl in the red dress.

2465
02:24:43.319 --> 02:24:45.200
Poking his head around the other side of the van,

2466
02:24:45.600 --> 02:24:49.120
Kyle scanned the rows of parked cars. A guy his

2467
02:24:49.200 --> 02:24:52.280
hair pulled back into a ponytail, dressed in a karate ghee,

2468
02:24:52.319 --> 02:24:54.719
and a blonde girl in a cheerleader uniform stared at

2469
02:24:54.799 --> 02:24:57.920
him as he prowled around looking for the girl. He

2470
02:24:57.920 --> 02:25:00.639
headed back towards where they'd parked. It was like the

2471
02:25:00.639 --> 02:25:05.600
girl had vanished into thin air. Hey over here, Kyle

2472
02:25:05.680 --> 02:25:07.879
turned to see the girl in the red dress leaning

2473
02:25:07.920 --> 02:25:12.799
against a tree. Hi, he stammered. She beckoned him over.

2474
02:25:14.079 --> 02:25:18.239
Kyle Williams, Yeah, come with me if you want to

2475
02:25:18.280 --> 02:25:22.280
live what I always wanted to say that. A man

2476
02:25:22.360 --> 02:25:26.000
cleared his throat, stepping from behind a tree. Officer Mortes,

2477
02:25:26.159 --> 02:25:29.040
we don't have time for shenanigans. The man rubbed his

2478
02:25:29.079 --> 02:25:32.680
hands together. His thinning white hair was combed back. Kyle

2479
02:25:32.799 --> 02:25:38.399
was very familiar with the little man, Doctor Chandler, Kyle said, perplexed,

2480
02:25:39.360 --> 02:25:43.399
what are you doing here? Did something happen? The doctor

2481
02:25:43.440 --> 02:25:47.639
stroked his chin. Your sister escaped after killing two nurses

2482
02:25:47.639 --> 02:25:50.840
in an orderly and later she stole a car after

2483
02:25:50.920 --> 02:25:55.399
killing a motorist, Mortes added. Kyle looked at the pair, dumbfounded.

2484
02:25:56.680 --> 02:26:00.920
Why Mortes scanned the area. Let's get to the car.

2485
02:26:01.079 --> 02:26:03.079
We can talk about it there. I don't like being

2486
02:26:03.079 --> 02:26:06.079
out in the open. She hustled them to an unmarked car.

2487
02:26:06.600 --> 02:26:10.079
Kyle stopped, What about Trevor. I don't want to just

2488
02:26:10.200 --> 02:26:14.000
ditch him. Mortes pushed Kyle into the back seat. In response,

2489
02:26:14.520 --> 02:26:17.319
Chandler slid into the passenger seat just in time. As

2490
02:26:17.360 --> 02:26:21.680
Mortes peeled out, how is this possible, Doc, Kyle asked,

2491
02:26:22.479 --> 02:26:26.959
I thought she was harmless. It's complicated. Something must have

2492
02:26:27.040 --> 02:26:30.319
been triggered within her. As the doctor tried to explain

2493
02:26:30.360 --> 02:26:33.319
his theory, Kyle became aware of the headlights bearing down

2494
02:26:33.360 --> 02:26:37.920
on them. Are we Mortes cut him off, being followed, yes,

2495
02:26:38.159 --> 02:26:39.520
since we left the party.

2496
02:26:43.280 --> 02:26:46.399
Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcasting app so

2497
02:26:46.520 --> 02:26:49.600
you don't miss any of the spooky on the weekly.

2498
02:26:53.840 --> 02:26:57.280
So you're a cop? Sure, am? She said, their eyes

2499
02:26:57.319 --> 02:27:00.520
meeting in the review mirror. Great legs for a cop,

2500
02:27:00.799 --> 02:27:03.639
Kyle said under his breath as he looked over his shoulder.

2501
02:27:04.159 --> 02:27:07.319
Mortes took the radio from the dashboard, got the kid

2502
02:27:07.319 --> 02:27:11.799
and the dock heading in over kid, Kyle mumbled, I'm

2503
02:27:11.840 --> 02:27:15.000
in college. Kyle could hear the other car gunning its

2504
02:27:15.000 --> 02:27:18.719
engine as it accelerated before pulling up alongside them. Kyle

2505
02:27:18.760 --> 02:27:21.479
made out an all two familiar face in the driver's seat.

2506
02:27:22.440 --> 02:27:25.479
His sister's blank white face mask stared back at him.

2507
02:27:25.840 --> 02:27:28.680
Amanda swerved the car into them. Mortes fought to keep

2508
02:27:28.719 --> 02:27:30.559
the car on the road as they were struck again.

2509
02:27:31.280 --> 02:27:33.520
Why the hell is she doing this, Kyle screamed over

2510
02:27:33.559 --> 02:27:36.159
the scraping of metal. Mortes managed to shake off the

2511
02:27:36.159 --> 02:27:38.280
other car for a moment, but Amanda hit the gas

2512
02:27:38.360 --> 02:27:41.239
and rammed their car again. Your sister is getting on

2513
02:27:41.319 --> 02:27:45.000
my nerves, Mortes snapped. As Amanda continued to assault. Kyle

2514
02:27:45.079 --> 02:27:47.120
leaned over the front seat. He looked at Chandler, who

2515
02:27:47.200 --> 02:27:50.959
was sweating profusely. Why is she doing this? Doc? Chandler

2516
02:27:51.000 --> 02:27:56.239
looked ready to faint. She wants to kill you. Before

2517
02:27:56.360 --> 02:27:58.879
Kyle had a chance to process this, Amanda sent their

2518
02:27:58.920 --> 02:28:02.360
car flying off the road into a ditch. Kyle wasn't

2519
02:28:02.399 --> 02:28:04.280
sure which one of them was screaming at the top

2520
02:28:04.319 --> 02:28:07.840
of their lungs before he realized it was himself as

2521
02:28:07.959 --> 02:28:15.159
darkness descended upon him, Hey, great Gatsby, wake the fuck up.

2522
02:28:15.680 --> 02:28:18.639
He looked up to see Mortes hovering over him. As

2523
02:28:18.680 --> 02:28:21.399
she pulled him up, he saw Chandler nursing a nasty

2524
02:28:21.440 --> 02:28:25.799
gash on his forehead. Where is she, Kyle asked, feeling

2525
02:28:25.799 --> 02:28:29.000
a sting of pain in his back. Don't know. We

2526
02:28:29.079 --> 02:28:32.000
got to get out of here. Mortes pulled a pistol

2527
02:28:32.000 --> 02:28:35.120
from her thigh holster, flashing a bit of leg I

2528
02:28:35.280 --> 02:28:38.040
radioed in our situation, there's nobody close, and I'm not

2529
02:28:38.079 --> 02:28:40.600
hanging around here waiting for your crazy sister to show up.

2530
02:28:41.239 --> 02:28:44.200
She popped the trunk open. Rummaging around, she pulled out

2531
02:28:44.239 --> 02:28:47.319
a tire iron and offered it to Kyle. Merry Christmas.

2532
02:28:47.360 --> 02:28:49.840
Don't say I never gave you anything. He took it,

2533
02:28:50.159 --> 02:28:53.040
turning the dingy looking metal bar over in his hands.

2534
02:28:53.840 --> 02:28:56.840
If I can get close enough, Chandler spoke up. You

2535
02:28:56.879 --> 02:28:59.959
don't need violence. He pulls a syringe from his jacket.

2536
02:29:00.520 --> 02:29:04.719
I can sedate her. Mortes frowned. We'll see, doc. Can

2537
02:29:04.760 --> 02:29:09.360
you walk okay? I think so, Officer Kyle helped him

2538
02:29:09.399 --> 02:29:11.760
forward as they headed into the tree line beyond the ditch,

2539
02:29:12.159 --> 02:29:15.319
Mortes took point. Kyle leaned in close as he helped

2540
02:29:15.360 --> 02:29:18.959
Chandler step over a tree root. Why is she doing

2541
02:29:19.040 --> 02:29:23.680
this as you know your sister believes you died in

2542
02:29:23.719 --> 02:29:27.639
that home invasion, He wheezed between words. Think of that

2543
02:29:27.760 --> 02:29:31.639
time you visited her in the hospital when she became agitated.

2544
02:29:32.319 --> 02:29:35.639
Agitated was one way to say it. Kyle thought he

2545
02:29:35.680 --> 02:29:38.479
could still remember that day. Not that long after that

2546
02:29:38.520 --> 02:29:42.280
Halloween invasion, the doctor had ushered him into her room.

2547
02:29:42.840 --> 02:29:45.559
Upon seeing him, Amanda had started screaming at the top

2548
02:29:45.559 --> 02:29:48.399
of her lungs, a wild, terrified look in her eyes.

2549
02:29:49.159 --> 02:29:52.399
Since then, his visits consisted of seeing her through two

2550
02:29:52.399 --> 02:29:57.120
way glass. The doctor cleared his throat before finishing. What

2551
02:29:57.200 --> 02:30:01.920
I learned is your sister feels you're a a phony

2552
02:30:02.000 --> 02:30:06.280
duplicate of her brother, a doppelganger. Kyle let the words

2553
02:30:06.360 --> 02:30:09.280
sink in as they made slow progress through the heavily

2554
02:30:09.280 --> 02:30:12.479
wooded area. His sister, the one he loved more than

2555
02:30:12.479 --> 02:30:17.319
anything else in life, truly wanted to destroy him. Moretes

2556
02:30:17.360 --> 02:30:20.159
motioned for them to stop. There's a field up ahead.

2557
02:30:20.399 --> 02:30:23.680
Sit tight, I'll take a look. Not a good idea,

2558
02:30:23.959 --> 02:30:28.520
Kyle replied, Chill, kid, I'm just going five feet. She

2559
02:30:28.639 --> 02:30:31.680
slipped through the trees as Kyle shook his head, I'm

2560
02:30:31.680 --> 02:30:35.159
not a kid. After a few minutes, more Tes came back.

2561
02:30:36.120 --> 02:30:38.959
Looks like a farm in the distance. Can't tell if

2562
02:30:38.959 --> 02:30:42.000
there's anybody there. I think it's our best bet. There

2563
02:30:42.079 --> 02:30:44.959
might be a phone or a car. Beyond the trees

2564
02:30:45.040 --> 02:30:47.920
was a large field overgrown with tall grass. As they

2565
02:30:47.959 --> 02:30:52.159
started across, Kyle felt his heart beat faster. Amanda could

2566
02:30:52.159 --> 02:30:55.959
be anywhere out there, lying in wait. The grass was

2567
02:30:56.000 --> 02:30:59.920
overwaist high, tall enough to conceal one very pissed off sister.

2568
02:31:00.680 --> 02:31:04.159
A cool autumn breeze rolled over the field. The grass

2569
02:31:04.159 --> 02:31:07.959
swayed back and forth. Kyle's eyes darted back and forth

2570
02:31:08.000 --> 02:31:11.719
as he gripped the tire iron tightly. Suddenly he caught

2571
02:31:11.719 --> 02:31:14.120
a black shape off to their left in the field,

2572
02:31:14.600 --> 02:31:19.760
just sitting. Moonlight gave it a vague, ominous shape. What

2573
02:31:19.799 --> 02:31:24.120
the hell is that? What is what? Mortes asked there.

2574
02:31:24.639 --> 02:31:29.120
Kyle pointed with the tire iron, A tractor maybe, Chandler offered.

2575
02:31:29.559 --> 02:31:32.959
They kept going, like some great beast opening its eyes

2576
02:31:33.000 --> 02:31:35.879
after a long slumber. Headlights flooded the field as the

2577
02:31:35.920 --> 02:31:38.959
dark shape roared to life, the car's tires peeling out

2578
02:31:38.959 --> 02:31:42.360
as it shot forward towards the trio shit. Mortes spat

2579
02:31:42.399 --> 02:31:44.680
as she took aim. She fired off around as the

2580
02:31:44.719 --> 02:31:47.440
car screamed towards her. Mortes dove to the side as

2581
02:31:47.440 --> 02:31:50.760
the car barreled by, heading straight towards Chandler and Kyle.

2582
02:31:51.159 --> 02:31:53.600
Kyle grabbed Chandler and pushed the startled doctor to the

2583
02:31:53.639 --> 02:31:56.120
ground and out of the car's path. The vehicle spun

2584
02:31:56.159 --> 02:31:59.680
around for another attempt. Kyle was running and screaming before

2585
02:31:59.680 --> 02:32:01.719
he even realized what he was doing. All that he

2586
02:32:01.760 --> 02:32:04.559
knew was he had to draw the car away from them, Amanda.

2587
02:32:04.920 --> 02:32:07.559
Kyle screamed as he ran full tilt towards the farmhouse.

2588
02:32:07.799 --> 02:32:10.120
Maybe there was something there he could stop his sister with.

2589
02:32:10.319 --> 02:32:12.879
Adrenaline was the only thing fuelling his fight. He ran,

2590
02:32:12.959 --> 02:32:15.360
huffing and puffing until the world slipped out from beneath

2591
02:32:15.399 --> 02:32:17.760
his feet and he fell face first on the grass.

2592
02:32:18.399 --> 02:32:21.399
Regaining his wits, Kyle rolled at the last possible minute

2593
02:32:21.399 --> 02:32:23.719
out of the way of the oncoming car, screeching to

2594
02:32:23.719 --> 02:32:26.239
a stop. The car now blocked his path to the farmhouse.

2595
02:32:26.399 --> 02:32:28.639
Amanda met his gaze behind the wheel of the car.

2596
02:32:29.000 --> 02:32:31.120
Getting to his feet, Kyle felt the sting of a

2597
02:32:31.159 --> 02:32:33.760
skin knee and a twisted ankle acquired from his tumble.

2598
02:32:34.040 --> 02:32:37.200
Hobbling towards the barn, he heard the car slowly turn around.

2599
02:32:37.959 --> 02:32:40.520
No rush, She had plenty of time to kill him.

2600
02:32:40.719 --> 02:32:43.680
The brake lights bathed the landscape in a bloody red hue.

2601
02:32:43.959 --> 02:32:46.639
The place looked deserted, A good thing no one else

2602
02:32:46.639 --> 02:32:49.280
could get in his sister's path. Kyle pushed open the

2603
02:32:49.399 --> 02:32:52.159
large barn doors. The headlights of the slowly approaching car

2604
02:32:52.200 --> 02:32:55.840
at his back illuminated the dusty interior. Kyle entered the

2605
02:32:55.879 --> 02:32:58.799
barn as the car crept further towards him. He could

2606
02:32:58.799 --> 02:33:01.120
feel Amanda's eyes fixed on him, as well as the

2607
02:33:01.120 --> 02:33:03.600
weight of the tire iron in his hand. He turned

2608
02:33:03.600 --> 02:33:08.239
as the car lurched forward and stopped, then moved forward again.

2609
02:33:08.920 --> 02:33:12.639
It was halfway in the barn. Now she was taunting him,

2610
02:33:12.680 --> 02:33:15.600
playing with him. The high beams stung his eyes as

2611
02:33:15.639 --> 02:33:20.399
the car drew closer. God damn it. Mortes pushed tall

2612
02:33:20.440 --> 02:33:23.000
stocks of grass out of her way. When she'd gone

2613
02:33:23.040 --> 02:33:25.639
down after the car had nearly clipped her. She'd lost

2614
02:33:25.639 --> 02:33:28.799
her gun, A fucking rookie mistake. It had to be

2615
02:33:28.879 --> 02:33:32.159
here somewhere. She glanced up across the field. The light

2616
02:33:32.200 --> 02:33:35.600
from the car was still visible. Stay here, doc, she ordered,

2617
02:33:35.760 --> 02:33:38.920
I gotta help the kid. Chandler tried to say something,

2618
02:33:39.120 --> 02:33:41.319
and she cut him off. He'll be a bigger help

2619
02:33:41.399 --> 02:33:44.840
finding my gun. Take this. Then he handed her the

2620
02:33:44.840 --> 02:33:48.479
syringe It'll put her out quick. She took off running.

2621
02:33:49.000 --> 02:33:51.360
If the kid was dead when she got there, Mortes

2622
02:33:51.399 --> 02:33:54.399
would make sure his sister was too, fucking knock her out.

2623
02:33:54.680 --> 02:33:56.920
No going back to a nice cell for that bitch,

2624
02:33:57.040 --> 02:33:59.840
she thought. If Chandler didn't like that, he could take

2625
02:33:59.840 --> 02:34:04.239
it with her captain. The car stopped a couple of

2626
02:34:04.239 --> 02:34:07.159
feet from where Kyle stood. The roar of the Great

2627
02:34:07.200 --> 02:34:10.319
Beast died as Amanda turn the engine off. The bright

2628
02:34:10.399 --> 02:34:14.719
blinding headlights faded, leaving spots in Kyle's eyes. Spots are

2629
02:34:14.760 --> 02:34:17.440
not He could see the pale white mask watching him

2630
02:34:17.440 --> 02:34:21.600
from behind the wheel. Come on, he taunted, you want me,

2631
02:34:22.000 --> 02:34:25.760
I'm right here. The car door swung open as Amanda

2632
02:34:25.799 --> 02:34:30.680
exited the vehicle, Her eyes blazed behind the mask, studying him.

2633
02:34:31.959 --> 02:34:36.600
It's me, Kyle said, don't you recognize me? Sis. As

2634
02:34:36.639 --> 02:34:39.200
Amanda moved away from the car, Kyle could see she

2635
02:34:39.319 --> 02:34:42.000
was holding a large knife in her blood stained hands.

2636
02:34:42.840 --> 02:34:44.600
He held out the tire iron at the end of

2637
02:34:44.600 --> 02:34:48.120
his trembling arm. I don't want to hurt you, okay,

2638
02:34:48.879 --> 02:34:52.079
She moved forward, her gaze never left him. I'm not

2639
02:34:52.200 --> 02:34:56.479
some copy, you know, It's me, Kyle, raising the blade,

2640
02:34:56.559 --> 02:35:00.879
She advanced, Remember when Bobby Ivers stole my bo you

2641
02:35:01.000 --> 02:35:02.840
threaten to kick his ass after school if he didn't

2642
02:35:02.840 --> 02:35:06.840
give it back. Amanda stopped, her eyes locked on him.

2643
02:35:07.399 --> 02:35:10.879
Come on, there has to be something there, Kyle pleaded.

2644
02:35:11.360 --> 02:35:13.280
Remember when you were hung up on by Stevie Lee.

2645
02:35:13.520 --> 02:35:16.280
You were crying in your room and I sat with you.

2646
02:35:16.280 --> 02:35:19.879
You have to remember. She raised the knife over her head,

2647
02:35:20.360 --> 02:35:23.639
ready to strike. Kyle touched the scar on his cheek.

2648
02:35:24.440 --> 02:35:29.280
See this. That man did this. He lied about killing

2649
02:35:29.319 --> 02:35:33.319
me to his buddy. He lied to save me. I

2650
02:35:33.360 --> 02:35:37.840
didn't die that night. Amanda's hand shook. She started to

2651
02:35:37.879 --> 02:35:41.680
lower the knife. Don't you fucking move, you crazy bitch.

2652
02:35:42.200 --> 02:35:45.879
Mortes stood behind the car holding a broken board. Stay away,

2653
02:35:46.520 --> 02:35:49.799
Kyle warned. Amanda turned towards the young cop and let

2654
02:35:49.799 --> 02:35:52.799
out in human howl. She leapt under the car's roof.

2655
02:35:53.040 --> 02:35:56.559
In two swift movements, she crouched there, scraping the car's

2656
02:35:56.639 --> 02:35:59.639
roof with her knife. Kyle rushed forward, trying to put

2657
02:35:59.719 --> 02:36:02.360
himself off between the two. He was too late, as

2658
02:36:02.360 --> 02:36:04.959
Amanda jumped off the car towards Mortes. Kyle caught a

2659
02:36:04.959 --> 02:36:07.200
glimpse of the blade as the two women collided. The

2660
02:36:07.200 --> 02:36:09.959
two struggled as Kyle tried in vain to separate them.

2661
02:36:10.280 --> 02:36:12.479
Kyle was pushed away from the skirmish, but managed to

2662
02:36:12.479 --> 02:36:15.920
see Amanda stand holding Mortes by the throat. His sister's

2663
02:36:15.920 --> 02:36:18.879
fingers tightened like a constrictor on the CoP's neck. For

2664
02:36:19.000 --> 02:36:21.799
her part, the struggling Mortes managed to land a solid

2665
02:36:21.799 --> 02:36:24.319
punch to Amanda's face, stunning the woman and cracking her

2666
02:36:24.360 --> 02:36:28.200
mask in the process, but her grip remained firm. Let

2667
02:36:28.200 --> 02:36:31.719
her go, Kyle pleaded, we can go home. I'll take you.

2668
02:36:32.319 --> 02:36:34.920
Amanda let go of Mortes and turned to her brother.

2669
02:36:35.200 --> 02:36:38.440
Half of her mask gave way, revealing the pale, beautiful

2670
02:36:38.479 --> 02:36:41.559
face of a young woman. Still gasping for air. Mortes

2671
02:36:41.639 --> 02:36:44.639
jammed the syringe into Amanda's shoulder. Amanda responded with a

2672
02:36:44.639 --> 02:36:48.200
backhand that sent Mortes violently to the ground. She started

2673
02:36:48.239 --> 02:36:51.559
to walk away from them, staggering as she went, until

2674
02:36:51.600 --> 02:36:55.600
finally collapsing against the side of the car. Kyle took

2675
02:36:55.639 --> 02:36:58.399
her in his arms, sliding her into the back seat

2676
02:36:58.399 --> 02:37:03.440
of the car. What are you doing, Mortes asked, barely

2677
02:37:03.479 --> 02:37:07.319
able to speak. I'm taking her home, he said, getting

2678
02:37:07.360 --> 02:37:12.719
into the car. She'll kill you. We're family, he said,

2679
02:37:13.120 --> 02:37:17.159
starting the car. Moretes could only lean Weekly against the

2680
02:37:17.200 --> 02:37:20.719
barn door and watch them drive off into the black

2681
02:37:21.239 --> 02:37:29.360
October night. Well, my Spookyes, I hope you enjoyed the

2682
02:37:29.399 --> 02:37:35.760
eerie beginnings of our macabre machinations here at Weekly Spooky.

2683
02:37:36.719 --> 02:37:39.079
It really was a lot of fun to listen back

2684
02:37:39.120 --> 02:37:41.319
and hear where we've come from to get a good

2685
02:37:41.319 --> 02:37:46.600
idea of where we're going. So make sure you're subscribed

2686
02:37:46.600 --> 02:37:49.559
on your favorite podcasting app and leave us a five

2687
02:37:49.639 --> 02:37:54.200
star rating if you haven't already, because all October you'll

2688
02:37:54.239 --> 02:37:59.000
be getting show after show after show, thirty one days

2689
02:37:59.479 --> 02:38:02.680
in her But now it's time for me to get

2690
02:38:02.719 --> 02:38:06.280
back to work because well, thirty one shows in thirty

2691
02:38:06.319 --> 02:38:10.920
one days. That is a devil of a deal.