WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:07.679
On Halloween Night, the shadows of Salisbury, Massachusetts grow teeth,
2
00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:13.800
a child vanishes into an old house, a dogfighter is
3
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:19.000
hunted by his worst mistake, and two burglars awaken a
4
00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:25.320
killer's love from the grave. As Jack Scratch makes his return.
5
00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:32.920
There's a hill in the air. Must befall. Join me
6
00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:37.320
for a tale of Halloween.
7
00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:48.359
You will experience tales over ghosts, and damn, it is
8
00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:55.439
not recommended for the weak a heart.
9
00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:01.479
Join me for a tale of flow.
10
00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:17.040
Weekly speaking Hello, my spookies.
11
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:25.159
We're getting closer day by day to Halloween, but don't worry,
12
00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:31.040
there's still a lot more fear to come. Tonight we
13
00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:35.680
have three brand new tales of terror, presented by Jack
14
00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:41.640
Scratch himself. Tomorrow we have a brand new novella just
15
00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:46.200
for you called Asylum of the Dirt Babies. And on
16
00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:51.760
Thursday we have yet another novella, Halloween Night at grim
17
00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:56.239
Mannor So make sure you're subscribed. You will not want
18
00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.680
to miss it. Oh and don't worry, there's something extra
19
00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:06.280
special for Halloween Day. I know you spookys out there
20
00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:10.680
love getting cozy with your scary stories just as much
21
00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.960
as me, and that's why I'm excited to tell you
22
00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.919
that Cozy Earth has sponsored the show and is giving
23
00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:22.560
all of my listeners a forty one percent off discount
24
00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.319
at cozyarth dot com. So if you go to cozyerth
25
00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:32.680
dot com and select whether it's bamboo sheets, super soft pajamas,
26
00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:37.400
or my favorite, a good, warm and absorbent bathrobe, you
27
00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:42.400
get forty one percent off using promo code spooky at
28
00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:47.280
cozyerth dot com, and every purchase supports the podcast directly.
29
00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.560
So grab yourself something to make sure you're ready for
30
00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:55.439
the very spooky winter we have here at cozyerth dot
31
00:02:55.439 --> 00:03:01.159
com promo code spooky. But as for tonight, it's Halloween
32
00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:06.360
night in Salisbury, Massachusetts. But the real scares don't come
33
00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:12.120
from plastic skeletons or dollar store masks. Sometimes the night
34
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:16.319
gives you more than you bargain for. What if the
35
00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.719
man behind the door while your tricker treating, isn't just
36
00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:26.759
creepy but ancient and evil. What if your crimes brought
37
00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:32.960
back something long buried? And what if some monsters where
38
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:39.280
the faces of those we love the most. Tonight, my Spookies,
39
00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:45.599
we follow Jack's Scratch on a journey through three terrifying
40
00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:51.639
tales where innocence dies, the dead rise, and evil is
41
00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:57.639
not in short supplies. So light your pumpkin, guard your candy,
42
00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:04.080
and listen close because Halloween has one more trick. In
43
00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:16.319
Store Tricks and Treats twenty twenty five by Keith Tomlin.
44
00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.720
Parents walked the streets of Salisbury, Massachusetts, shepherding children in
45
00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:31.120
Halloween costumes from door to door. A couple in light
46
00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:36.600
winter jackets led their own children wearing Marvel's superhero masks,
47
00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.920
past the plain brick wall that made up the east
48
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:46.480
side of Cooper's Pharmacy. They showed no reaction when two
49
00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:53.000
spotlights flipped on, illuminating the wall. Shadows emerged from the light,
50
00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.759
forming a crowd of people surrounding a ring. A ring
51
00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:03.639
master in a top hat and tailcoat strutted into the middle,
52
00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:09.240
waving a cane like he was conducting an orchestra. He
53
00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:14.399
raised his hands and the shadows formed two trapeze swings
54
00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.519
above him, dark images of a man and a woman
55
00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:26.240
swinging through the empty space. Circus music began to play
56
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:32.879
louder with every second. When the trapeze artists reached their zena,
57
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:39.720
they leaped from the swings and launched themselves at the crowd,
58
00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:47.439
transforming wings springing from their backs and fingers elongating into claws.
59
00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:53.079
The shadow crowd tried to run, but they were ripped apart,
60
00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:59.839
black blood splattering the wall, The ring master waved his
61
00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:06.839
came and ran forward, leaping an impossible distance, and emerged
62
00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:13.639
from the bricks. Jack Scratch slid on the sidewalk, barely
63
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:19.800
missing two couples with a line of children, all oblivious
64
00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:25.720
to his presence. He landed on one knee, hands raised
65
00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:31.079
in the air as the wall turned dark, completely covered
66
00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:37.000
in the shadow blood, Brushing dust from his bright red coat,
67
00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:44.000
Jack spoke in a booming voice. Ladies and gentlemen, saints
68
00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:52.160
and sinners, killers and victims bonjorno. They call me Jack Scratch,
69
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:58.519
and I am your humble guide through the unknown. The tall,
70
00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:04.040
lanky man bowed so deep that his forehead touched his knees,
71
00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:10.279
yet his red top hat stayed on his head, popping
72
00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:14.560
back up like a snake springing at its prey. Jack
73
00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:22.120
began to stroll down the street, speaking nostalgically, Ah, Halloween again,
74
00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:26.800
my favorite holiday. I mean, what other day can you
75
00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:35.759
get sweets along with the savory sounds of slaughter, such
76
00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:41.759
joy brings the tear to my eye. Jack mockingly wiped
77
00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:48.319
his eye with a gloved hand. Pedestrians shifted unconsciously aside
78
00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:53.879
as Jack passed. After a few minutes, he began to speak.
79
00:07:55.399 --> 00:08:03.040
It's been such a busy year, he said, conspiratorially. So
80
00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:08.480
much going on, many plans in motion, no rest for
81
00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:12.160
the wicked, as they say. I was able to get
82
00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:17.360
away for a few hours to experience my favorite pastime,
83
00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:24.879
human suffering, he said, longingly, waving his cane in a circle.
84
00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.399
So many experiences from all around the world to choose from,
85
00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:39.440
but he took a long, deep breath. My senses tell
86
00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:46.519
me that this town holds a few secrets. Jack stopped
87
00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:52.519
his stroll and slapped his forehead. I almost forgot I
88
00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:58.679
brought a friend this year. He whistled, and a large
89
00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:06.399
black hound leaped from the shadows. Steam rolled off her
90
00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:11.320
massive body as she stood in the cool night air,
91
00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:17.159
every exhale brought a stream of flames, and her eyes
92
00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:24.360
glowed with hell fire. Meet Daisy, my ex's sweet little pooch.
93
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.080
My ex got called away on a possession gig, and
94
00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.759
I generously offered to watch her. I really don't mind.
95
00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:38.919
I actually like this bitch more than the other, Jack
96
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.200
said as he lovingly stroked the top of Daisy's head.
97
00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:50.200
Standing up, Jack paused before saying, what I find amazing
98
00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:55.559
about humans is their desire to live forever, but few
99
00:09:55.639 --> 00:10:00.320
are willing to do what it takes. The man that
100
00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:05.919
lives here, Jack pointed to a run down house is
101
00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:12.600
the exception. No hesitation, no qualms, no regrets, willing to
102
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:19.799
sacrifice anything, even the innocent. I think I'll call this
103
00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:29.080
one rebirth. The wind blew cold, sending leaves scurrying down
104
00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:34.679
the sidewalk past young children in store bought costumes and
105
00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:41.320
bored looking adults acting as chaperones. Eli, dressed as a
106
00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:48.200
tiny firefighter, gleefully jumped into a shallow puddle, causing his dad, Marcus,
107
00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:53.200
to leap backwards to avoid getting wet. Marcus looked at
108
00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:59.519
his wife, Danielle, and smiled, shaking his head. You had
109
00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:06.200
to wear your new shoes, Danielle said, I know, Marcus sighed,
110
00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.840
looking down at the now muddy nikes. He raised his
111
00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.759
voice a bit and called out to his son, Eli,
112
00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:19.240
we need to head home. It's getting late. Eli turned
113
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.399
to his dad, shocked that this night could ever end
114
00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:28.399
but I still have room in my pumpkin, he said,
115
00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.840
holding up a three quarter full plastic pail shaped like
116
00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.480
a jack o' lantern. Okay, one more, but that is it,
117
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:47.840
Danielle said. Eli screamed yes and ran ahead. Marcus looked
118
00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:53.639
at his wife, annoyed. She sheepishly shrugged. It's only once
119
00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:58.679
a year. Let him have his fun, she said. Marcus
120
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.279
reluctantly nodded as she snuggled up against his side and
121
00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:07.759
rested her head on his shoulder. Marcus reached out with
122
00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:12.120
his left arm and pulled her closer. They held this
123
00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:17.679
pose as they walked up the sidewalk, Marcus awkwardly matching
124
00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:23.000
his gait to hers. The houses have been getting further apart,
125
00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.320
and the blocks were getting longer as they near the
126
00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:30.399
edge of town. The yard of the next house was
127
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:35.960
overgrown with tall grass and weeds. The concrete pathway leading
128
00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:40.679
up to the front door was cracked and uneven. The
129
00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:45.720
two story house looked abandoned. The paint was chipping, and
130
00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:50.519
there were no lights inside or out, showing if anyone
131
00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:57.120
lived there. Shutters buried under ropes of ivy covered the windows.
132
00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:03.279
Eli veered right at the pathway excitedly running up to
133
00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:07.440
the front door. Wait, I don't think anyone lives there.
134
00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:13.080
Let's hit the next house, Marcus yelled, but Eli had
135
00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:20.279
already run up the steps and knocked once twice. After
136
00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:25.320
a short pause, the front door opened and an elderly man,
137
00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.960
the oldest man that Eli had ever seen in person,
138
00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:34.879
stood in the doorway. He was dressed in a black
139
00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:39.360
suit with an ancient jacket, the kind you may find
140
00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.960
on an old gunfighter. His face was lit by candlelight
141
00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:48.360
from inside the front room, and his paper like skin
142
00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:54.320
was almost transparent. Marcus thought he could see every beat
143
00:13:54.919 --> 00:14:05.559
of his heart. My my, what have we here? The
144
00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:11.360
man named Jacob said, in a raspy voice, drier than
145
00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:16.639
the Sahara desert. Eli, come on, let's leave the nice
146
00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:22.759
man alone, Marcus said. Sensing trouble, he separated from his
147
00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:26.639
wife and began walking across the lawn toward his son.
148
00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:33.200
Eli stared up at the man, speechless and unmoving. The
149
00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:38.480
old man leaned down and looked Eli in the face. Yes,
150
00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:43.879
you'll do, you'll do quite nicely. It's nice to see
151
00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:47.840
that the prayers to the dark one do not go unanswered.
152
00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:54.759
Jacob croaked, his lips splitting as he smiled. Seeing the
153
00:14:54.919 --> 00:15:02.519
hungry and demented expression on Jacob's face, yelled Eli step away.
154
00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.080
When his son remained, Marcus screamed at the old man
155
00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.480
and demanded that he leave his son alone. He began
156
00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.519
to run. Jacob rose up to his full height. The
157
00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.360
cracking and popping of his bones could be heard across
158
00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:24.919
the yard. He turned to Marcus and gave a self
159
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:31.120
satisfied smile and a mocking tilt of his head. Danielle
160
00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.080
let out a gasp, and Marcus unconsciously flicked his eyes
161
00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:40.600
in her direction, noticing that her confused expression was being
162
00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:46.279
replaced by panic and concern. He looked back at the
163
00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.240
house just in time to see the front door slam
164
00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:56.440
shut with a metallic clang. The plastic pumpkin basket hit
165
00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:02.360
the front stoop and cracked open, spilling candy all over
166
00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:09.799
the concrete. His son was nowhere in sight. Danielle screamed.
167
00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:14.200
As Marcus reached the front stoop. The door was locked.
168
00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:19.399
Marcus hurled himself at it, pounding with his fists. Hey
169
00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.960
open the door, God, damn it. Marcus's hands were throbbing,
170
00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:29.080
but he kept hitting the metal door over and over again.
171
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:36.279
Nothing moved. The night was quiet. He ran to the
172
00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.480
windows and found that each of them were shut tight,
173
00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:43.960
with steel shutters fastened to the walls and rusted bolts
174
00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:49.919
covered in appealing blue paint. Danielle was already dialing nine
175
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.000
one one, her voice shrill and panicked. Help. A man
176
00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.840
just took my son. We were trigger treating and he
177
00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:01.840
just grabbed him and took him inside his house. Marcus
178
00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.680
rubbed his shoulder, feeling like he may have broken something
179
00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:11.000
against the metal door, looking around in panic, the sweat
180
00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:16.319
ran in a river down his back. Shit shit, shit, shit,
181
00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:21.519
he thought, Struggling to think through his panic. He could
182
00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:24.400
still hear his wife give the address of the old
183
00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:30.559
house and more details on what happened. Suddenly, an idea formed,
184
00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.720
and his head whipped back to look at the way
185
00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:39.039
they had come. Danielle, wait here, I remember passing a
186
00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:41.880
patrol car a few blocks back. I'm going to see
187
00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.000
if he's still there. He looked over at his wife
188
00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.640
as he started to run, but it looked like she
189
00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:52.599
did not hear him. Marcus ran faster than he had
190
00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:56.799
ever ran before in his life. Four blocks later, he
191
00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:01.519
saw the patrol car sitting under an ancient elm tree.
192
00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:05.559
He ran up to the driver's side window partially rolled down,
193
00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:10.319
gasping for breath, and began to pound on it. The
194
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:14.720
police officer, Officer Parker, who was alone in the car,
195
00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:19.279
almost dropped his half filled cup of lukewarm coffee and
196
00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:24.079
reached toward the holster on his side. Marcus noticed and
197
00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:29.000
took a step back, holding his hands up. Officer, A
198
00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:31.839
man grabbed my son and dragged him into his house.
199
00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.440
The doors are locked and I can't get inside, Marcus said,
200
00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:41.119
in between breaths. The cop rolled the window down the
201
00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:44.799
rest of the way and gave the panting man a long,
202
00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:52.319
cold look. He finally nodded and asked which house. Marcus
203
00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.480
fought the urge to run back to his wife. Instead,
204
00:18:56.599 --> 00:19:00.759
he took another deep breath to calm himself and replied,
205
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.640
it's about four blocks up the street, white two story
206
00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:10.480
house with blue shutters. Paint is pealing and the lawn
207
00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:15.480
needs mode. Gotcha, I know the house. I'll meet you there,
208
00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:21.759
Officer Parker said. Marcus nodded, turned and started running back
209
00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:27.400
up the street, his shoulder throbbing with every step. Parker
210
00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.400
threw the plastic coffee cup out the window and slammed
211
00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:35.240
on the accelerator, throwing wet leaves both all over the
212
00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:46.279
street and on Marcus. Eli stood unmoving and began to
213
00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:52.240
whine as the front door slammed shut behind him. Jacob
214
00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:58.519
turned and gave Eli another a praising look and nodded. Satisfied,
215
00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.640
he grabbed the front of the child's costume with a
216
00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:08.400
strength that belied his old and thin arms. Turning, he
217
00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:13.759
quickly went up the stairs, dragging Eli without effort. When
218
00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:17.200
he turned down the hall at the stairs top, he
219
00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:21.599
heard the faint thud of someone banging on the front door.
220
00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:26.839
Jacob passed several doors leading off of the hall and
221
00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:31.160
finally stopped at a wooden door covered in ruins and
222
00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:35.920
cymbals at the end of the hallway. The door creaked
223
00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:39.960
when opened, and Jacob cleared the cobwebs from the doorway,
224
00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.680
pulling the kid inside. He kicked the door shut and
225
00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:54.640
tripped the dead bolt with his left hand. The room
226
00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:58.480
was shrouded in darkness, and when he flipped a light switch,
227
00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:02.680
a single bull hanging on a wire in the center
228
00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:07.240
of the room barely illuminated. A few feet around it.
229
00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:12.039
The room was painted black and a blood red pentagram
230
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:16.200
covered the majority of the floor. Jacob dragged Eli to
231
00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:21.759
the center of the pentagram and spoke one word to him. Stay,
232
00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:28.920
he commanded. Eli felt invisible hands surrounding him, pinning his
233
00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:33.440
arms to his sides, even supporting him as his body
234
00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.960
went limp with fear. Jacob approached Eli in the middle
235
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.200
of the floor and placed a hand on either side
236
00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:48.599
of the child's face. He began to chant strange magical words,
237
00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:54.759
and Eli began to tremble and shake. After a few moments,
238
00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:58.920
Eli rose two feet up in the air as a
239
00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.960
stream of golden light began to emanate from his chest
240
00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:08.480
and flowed into the old man. Jacob began to chant
241
00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.440
different words, and soon a stream of red light began
242
00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:19.960
to flow from Jacob's eyes and mouth into Eli's. Officer
243
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:24.839
Parker was talking to Danielle when Marcus finally reached the house.
244
00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:30.000
He leaned against a tree, breathing heavy, his head pounded
245
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:34.480
from the unusual strain he put on his body. He
246
00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.720
started to walk over to the police officer, but a
247
00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.920
coughing fit made him stop and put his hands on
248
00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:46.680
his knees, trying desperately not to throw up. Officer Parker
249
00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:51.559
jotted down some notes and asked Danielle another question. So
250
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.680
did you see the old man abduct the child? Yes,
251
00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:01.160
Danielle said, frustrated, I told you he grabbed Eli and
252
00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:06.400
disappeared into the house. And Eli is the child, the
253
00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:10.359
officer asked, looking up from his notes, and seeing the
254
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:14.759
hot anger in her eyes now directed at him, gave
255
00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:19.559
him the answer. Okay, ma'am, let me take a look around.
256
00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:24.759
The officer began walking up to the front stoop. When Marcus,
257
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:30.480
still wheezing, reached his wife. His arms enveloped her, and
258
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:35.480
at first she resisted, but soon broke down and began
259
00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:40.400
to weep. Officer Parker banged on the door, asking for
260
00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:44.839
the occupants to answer. After a few tries, he left
261
00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:48.799
the porch and examined the shutters covering the first set
262
00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:53.240
of windows. He then looked up to find that metal
263
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.559
shutters covered the upper story as well. As he walked
264
00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.640
along the front of the house, he heard sirens in the distance,
265
00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:06.359
approaching fast. He turned the corner and checked all of
266
00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.400
the windows on the ground floor, as well as the
267
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:15.559
back door. All were sealed securely. When he returned to
268
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:19.440
the front yard, he found red and blue lights illuminating
269
00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:24.640
the growing darkness. Marcus was arguing with several other police officers,
270
00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:29.960
demanding that they go and get his child. Parker approached
271
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:33.720
him and asked that they moved back. What the fuck
272
00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:36.880
are you doing just standing here? Go get my son?
273
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:41.839
Marcus yelled, sir, we'll need you to step back away
274
00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:46.599
from our investigation. We can't do anything until you back up.
275
00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:51.759
Parker said, in a voice usually reserved for young children.
276
00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:56.440
What my son was abducted and you are spending your
277
00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:02.079
time lecturing me. Marcus was furious, Yes, sir, I don't
278
00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.400
want to have to arrest you for interference with a
279
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:09.640
law enforcement officer, Parker said in that same condescending tone.
280
00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:14.480
Danielle put her hand on Marcus's chest and gently pushed
281
00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:20.519
him back. Shaking with rage, exhaustion, and despair, he let
282
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:24.160
his wife lead him across the sidewalk to stand next
283
00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:29.319
to one of the recently arrived police vehicles. Parker led
284
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:33.279
the other officers to the front door. Well, I think
285
00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:37.039
we have enough for exigent circumstances, but this place is
286
00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:41.880
locked up tighter than my grandma's. Buttole any thoughts, another
287
00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:46.160
officer asked Parker was the breacher on the local swat team,
288
00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:50.279
and as such he kept his swat gear in his
289
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.240
patrol car. I have a ram in the car. We
290
00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:57.200
can try to breach the front door. Also call the sergeant.
291
00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:59.880
We may need someone with a bit more authority. On
292
00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:03.759
unseen I have a feeling this will not end cleanly.
293
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.799
The other cops nodded, and two of them moved to
294
00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:10.440
keep an eye on the sides of the house. The
295
00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:18.960
other one picked up his mic and began transmitting. The
296
00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:23.400
lights emanating from Eli and Jacob began to dim and
297
00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:27.880
the darkness began to regain its hold on the room.
298
00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.240
Jacob reached behind him under the jacket and pulled out
299
00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:38.599
a large, thin knife. He reached up and made a small,
300
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:44.079
yet deep cut on Eli's forehead. The child did not react,
301
00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:48.920
and Jacob smiled. He made a small cut on his
302
00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:55.160
finger and placed it against Eli's cut. Suddenly, the darkness
303
00:26:55.279 --> 00:27:00.839
vanished as the gold and red lights seemed to explode.
304
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:04.880
They began to pulsate. The brightness of the lights became
305
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:10.640
almost unbearable for Jacob, and he closed his eyes despite
306
00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:13.839
the pain. He knew he could not leave the circle
307
00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:19.880
until the spell was complete. As the second stretched to minutes,
308
00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:24.559
the pain grew. The brightness of the lights pierced his skull,
309
00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:27.920
while the heat from them began to singe the thin
310
00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:31.720
tufts of hair that he still had on top of
311
00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:36.920
his head. The pain made him shiver in pleasure and anticipation.
312
00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:42.240
After what felt like hours but more likely ten minutes,
313
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:48.519
he heard the downstairs door slam open. The shouts and
314
00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:54.160
the thudding of booted feet carried up the stairs. Jacob smiled,
315
00:27:55.160 --> 00:28:06.519
the end was near. The footsteps approached closer. The police
316
00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:10.640
officers paused just outside the room and tried to open
317
00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:15.160
the door. The dead bolt held, and Jacob knew it
318
00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:19.680
was finally time. He whispered a blessing to the dark
319
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:25.799
Lord and raised his knife, waiting. Boots kicked in the
320
00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:30.160
door and the frame burst into splinters. At that moment,
321
00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:34.640
Jacob opened his eyes and the streams of light stopped.
322
00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:41.720
Eli's eyes briefly glowed red, a triumphant grin on his face.
323
00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:49.079
Jacob's eyes flashed gold and were filled with confusion and pain.
324
00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:55.559
Eli slowly floated to the floor while Jacob turned toward
325
00:28:55.599 --> 00:29:00.559
the police officers. Drop the knife, Parker demanded as he
326
00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:07.640
trained his gun on the old man. Mom, Dad, Jacob asked,
327
00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:11.839
looking around. I said, drop the knife and back away
328
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:16.200
from the child. I will fucking shoot you. Drop the knife.
329
00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:21.519
Eli was standing directly behind Jacob and blocked from view
330
00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:25.319
of the police. He reached out and gave Jacob a
331
00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:30.599
push toward the officers. Jacob stumbled forward, putting his hands
332
00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:34.599
up to try and balance himself, without realizing he was
333
00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:39.599
still holding the knife. Shots rang out as the police
334
00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:44.039
opened fire, striking Jacob several times in the chest and
335
00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:48.960
once in the head. Jacob dropped like a rock, and
336
00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:52.440
one of the officers slowly walked around the edge of
337
00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:58.240
the room, his gun still trained on Jacob. Son, come
338
00:29:58.279 --> 00:30:03.000
here away from him. Are you hurt? Eli shook his head.
339
00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:03.200
No.
340
00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:10.319
Marcus burst into the doorway, startling the officers. After realizing
341
00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:14.079
who it was, they gestured at Eli to come to them.
342
00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:19.039
He slowly walked toward his father, who wrapped him in
343
00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:24.000
a loving embrace. After a few moments, he let go
344
00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:29.640
and looked down at his son, holding back tears. Marcus asked,
345
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:35.680
are you okay? Did he hurt you? Eli stared up
346
00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:40.759
at his dad and shook his head. I'm fine, father,
347
00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:45.920
he won't be bothering anyone else. He served his purpose,
348
00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:55.079
Eli said with a soft, rough voice. Father Marcus said, confused,
349
00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:02.240
you've never called me that before. Oh sorry, father, dad,
350
00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:08.319
Eli said, in that same rough voice. Are you sure
351
00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:13.920
you're feeling all right? Marcus asked, I'm fine, Dad, I
352
00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:17.160
just want to go home and get situated for bed.
353
00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:23.160
It's been a long day, Eli replied, before turning and
354
00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:29.000
walking slowly and deliberately down the hall toward the stairs.
355
00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:36.200
Marcus stared after his son. Eli usually only had two speeds,
356
00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:41.720
full speed ahead or sound asleep. Maybe it was just
357
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.680
the stress affecting all of them, but Marcus could have
358
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.960
sworn that the child that walked away from him was
359
00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:55.039
not his son. He slowly followed Eli down the hall
360
00:31:55.839 --> 00:32:03.839
as more sirens sounded outside, hoping and praying he was wrong.
361
00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:19.160
Jack stood beneath the street lamp, its light flickering, as
362
00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:24.599
though nervous to reveal him. He gave a slow clap,
363
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:32.160
the sound too sharp to echoing in the night. My mind,
364
00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:37.519
wasn't that touchy, he said, with a grin A family
365
00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:42.240
torn apart on all hallows eve the night when the
366
00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:49.000
veil is thin, such promise in the little ones innocence
367
00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:54.759
is so very fragile. One day, it's a lollipop and
368
00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:58.880
a laugh, the next, it's blood on the floor and
369
00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:05.359
a soul bound for my employer's collection. He drew a
370
00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:08.680
cigar from his jacket, lit it with a flame that
371
00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:13.079
danced up from his thumb, and took a deep drag.
372
00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:21.079
Ah sin always tastes better with a smoke. Exhaling smoke
373
00:33:21.319 --> 00:33:25.400
like a dragon, He pointed down the road toward a
374
00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:31.559
two story house, and, speaking of sin, allow me to
375
00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:36.680
introduce you to a man larger than life. Some call
376
00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:43.559
him Action Jackson, but trust me, his bark is bigger
377
00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:48.640
than his bite. He tapped the cane against the ground,
378
00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:55.400
the pavement cracking just slightly. Shall we pay him a visit?
379
00:33:56.880 --> 00:34:04.839
I'll just call this big Bill Don Jackson Action to
380
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:09.440
anyone who'd ever owed him or attended his dog fights.
381
00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:14.519
Slammed his car door and strolled toward the sagging two
382
00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:19.559
story at the end of Salem Avenue. The place leaned
383
00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:24.679
like it had stopped caring years ago. Two couples walking
384
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:29.800
with their toddlers dressed in superhero costumes, smiled and waved
385
00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:35.480
at him. Fuck off, was his reply. He ignored the
386
00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:39.519
shocked looks of the adults as he let himself inside
387
00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:43.800
the house and shut the front door, causing bits of
388
00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:49.119
flacking paint to fall off of the frame. After locking it,
389
00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:54.280
he looked around the dark, cluttered room. The house was
390
00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:58.639
eerily quiet, and that's how he liked it. He spent
391
00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:02.239
the day around bark dogs, and the last thing he
392
00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:08.000
wanted in the evenings was even more noise. Sighing, he
393
00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:11.719
ran his hand through his hair and walked up stairs
394
00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:15.519
to the bathroom, taking off his jacket on the way
395
00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:20.280
and tossing it on a chair covered in pizza boxes.
396
00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:25.280
His image in the bathroom mirror caught him. Blood was
397
00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:28.840
splattered across the left side of his face, and his
398
00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:34.280
right cheek and neck were smeared with red gore. Grumbling,
399
00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:40.679
he grabbed a washcloth, moistened it and began scrubbing. Pulling
400
00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:43.880
his phone from his pocket, he began to make a
401
00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:47.440
call as he headed to the bathroom to change out
402
00:35:47.480 --> 00:35:52.920
his blood stained clothes. The phone rang twice before it
403
00:35:53.000 --> 00:36:01.679
was answered by a man with a soft, almost whiny voice. Hello, Hey, dingo,
404
00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:07.079
how's the doberman doing? Don asked, Oh, hey, action not
405
00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:11.239
too well. He went downhill since you left. I got
406
00:36:11.239 --> 00:36:15.400
most of the bleeding stopped, but there may be tendon damage.
407
00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:20.440
He could be out for months. Don sighed he'd spent
408
00:36:20.599 --> 00:36:25.320
good money on that dog. Okay, damn, go ahead and
409
00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:28.039
throw him in the ring with Tipper. Let the rotweiler
410
00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:32.679
get some experience. Will do. Oh, and the brindle is
411
00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:35.800
doing good. The bite wasn't as bad as it looked.
412
00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:40.079
She took it like a champ. She's a killer. Don
413
00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:44.760
sat down on his bed, suppressing a sigh. The brindle
414
00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:48.559
pitbull was Dingo's fine, and now he'd never hear the
415
00:36:48.719 --> 00:36:52.119
end of this. Good. We'll get her in the ring
416
00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:55.559
next week. Make sure she's ready. I can't lose any
417
00:36:55.559 --> 00:36:59.239
more money over these fucking dogs. Roger that I'll see
418
00:36:59.239 --> 00:37:03.360
you in the morning. Don hung up the phone without
419
00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:07.559
a further word. He sat there for a few minutes,
420
00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:14.719
his eyes closed, just basking in the silence. With a grunt,
421
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:18.000
he stood and changed into a T shirt and a
422
00:37:18.039 --> 00:37:22.559
pair of sweatpants, clipping the sheath of his knife on
423
00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:33.119
to the elastic band of the sweats. He wandered downstairs
424
00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:36.440
and opened up the freezer in the kitchen, pulling out
425
00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:41.199
a bottle of cheap vodka. Pouring himself a drink, he
426
00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:44.519
left the bottle on the counter and headed into the
427
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:49.360
living room. He sat down in his favorite chair, which
428
00:37:49.480 --> 00:37:53.559
was the only one without junk or old pizza boxes
429
00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:58.119
on it. After searching for a few moments, he found
430
00:37:58.119 --> 00:38:01.840
the remote under his right leg and turned on the TV.
431
00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:07.119
Flipping through the channels, he finally settled on a rerun
432
00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:11.519
of an old Rockford files. Don took a large swig
433
00:38:11.599 --> 00:38:16.760
of his drink and stared mindlessly at the TV. A
434
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:22.519
strange noise from upstairs jolted Don from his stupor. He
435
00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:26.639
muted the TV and cocked his head. He could have
436
00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:31.199
sworn that he heard claws on the wooden floor upstairs.
437
00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:36.360
After hearing nothing for a few minutes, he took another
438
00:38:36.519 --> 00:38:42.519
big swig and unmuted the television. Sitting there watching Jim
439
00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:47.039
Rockford get his ass handed to him again, Don began
440
00:38:47.239 --> 00:38:53.079
to doze off. Images of fights, teeth flashing, blood spraying,
441
00:38:53.159 --> 00:39:00.960
and dogs shrieking snapped him awake. Fuck Don said he'd
442
00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:05.920
seen thousands of dog fights and had personally despatched dozens,
443
00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:11.639
maybe hundreds of dogs, either through sacrificing them to his
444
00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:15.239
other dogs or by the edge of his hunting knife
445
00:39:15.719 --> 00:39:19.800
that he always had with him. All that blood, and
446
00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:24.039
he had never batted an eye, But this time he
447
00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:28.719
felt something. He felt an echo of the pain he inflicted.
448
00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:33.000
God damn it, I'm getting soft in my old age,
449
00:39:33.719 --> 00:39:38.840
he mumbled. He took another swig of vodka and leaned back,
450
00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:44.880
closing his eyes. A loud crash jerked him awake. What
451
00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:49.760
the fuck, he exclaimed, Rubbing his eyes. He looked at
452
00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:54.000
the stairs, thinking that the noise came from the second level.
453
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.679
He stood up, turning off the television, his knees cracking
454
00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:04.000
like gunshots. He stumbled a bit as he walked to
455
00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:09.280
the stairs, feeling more drunk than he should. His body
456
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.400
was used to him drinking on an empty stomach. He
457
00:40:13.480 --> 00:40:19.119
slowly ascended the stairs, listening carefully for any sounds out
458
00:40:19.159 --> 00:40:22.719
of the ordinary. At the top of the stairs, he
459
00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:27.360
turned right towards the bathroom. He crept down the hall,
460
00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:34.440
feeling increasingly stupid. He finally stopped, shaking his head at
461
00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:39.519
his own foolishness, and strolled to the bathroom. As he
462
00:40:39.639 --> 00:40:43.440
stopped and put his hand on the doorknob, he nearly
463
00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:47.480
let out a scream as something nipped him in the ass.
464
00:40:48.360 --> 00:40:54.000
He flipped around, hand on knife, but the hallway was empty.
465
00:40:55.559 --> 00:40:59.159
Snaking his left hand behind him, he was able to
466
00:40:59.239 --> 00:41:03.880
turn the knob and opened the bathroom door just enough
467
00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:09.559
to squeeze through. He slammed the door shut and sat
468
00:41:09.599 --> 00:41:14.119
on the toilet with the seat down. He leaned back,
469
00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:19.960
trying to ignore the stinging bite on his rear. Sleep
470
00:41:20.679 --> 00:41:25.800
beckoned him. Action snapped awake. He was sitting in his
471
00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:32.559
chair in the living room, confused and disoriented. Wait what,
472
00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:38.119
he mumbled, I must be drunker than I thought. Looking
473
00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:41.920
over at the glass half filled with vodka, he took
474
00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:46.599
a drink with a trembling hand. The pounding on the
475
00:41:46.639 --> 00:41:53.239
front door nearly made him drop the glass. Trick or treat,
476
00:41:53.679 --> 00:41:58.719
said the muffled cries from outside the door. God, damn it,
477
00:41:58.800 --> 00:42:03.679
get out of here, you little bastards. Don roared. Laughter
478
00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:10.960
floated through the door, followed by wet thuds. Great, Don thought,
479
00:42:12.119 --> 00:42:16.199
those sons of bitches egged my door. He stood to
480
00:42:16.360 --> 00:42:21.199
chase the little bastards off. When Payne shot up his hip,
481
00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:24.960
he forgot all about the vandals. As he reached down
482
00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:29.280
the back of his pants, pulling his hand out, he
483
00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:35.800
noticed a little blood on his fingers. Staring in disbelief
484
00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:41.280
at the crimson wetness, he remembered being nipped by something.
485
00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:46.440
The sounds of a dog fight coming from upstairs lifted
486
00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:51.599
the fog, clouding his mind. What the hell, he said,
487
00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:56.480
turning towards the stairs. As soon as he took a step,
488
00:42:57.159 --> 00:43:05.079
the sound stopped, like someone threw a switch. Okay, fuck this,
489
00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:09.719
someone is really fucking with me, Don said out loud.
490
00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:15.159
Feeling a bit comforted by speaking to himself, he picked
491
00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:19.400
up his phone and called Dingo, Hey, Boss, what's up?
492
00:43:20.159 --> 00:43:24.679
Dingo said. After a few rings, Don could hear people
493
00:43:24.840 --> 00:43:30.559
talking in the background, along with glasses clinking. Don rolled
494
00:43:30.559 --> 00:43:34.599
his eyes. Dingo was probably at that damn dive bar
495
00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:38.639
he loved so much, the kind where a cockroach is
496
00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:42.760
considered a garnish. Did you bring any dogs over here?
497
00:43:43.519 --> 00:43:51.840
Don asked, no, not since big Bill. Dingo replied, sounding confused.
498
00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:59.079
Are you fucking with me? Don growled? What's that? Dingo said,
499
00:43:59.519 --> 00:44:02.360
his voice faint as he spoke to someone at the bar.
500
00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:07.440
He said some lame joke, and a female voice laughed.
501
00:44:08.320 --> 00:44:11.760
Don could only imagine what type of woman would find
502
00:44:11.880 --> 00:44:16.119
Dingo funny. Dingo had always felt that it was better
503
00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:21.559
to score with five two's than with one ten. Sorry, Boss,
504
00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:26.440
what were you saying? I said, Are you fucking with me?
505
00:44:27.519 --> 00:44:31.960
Don got progressively louder with each word, until he was screaming.
506
00:44:33.039 --> 00:44:45.119
Dingo gulped, I don't know what you mean. I would
507
00:44:45.159 --> 00:44:49.880
never fuck with you, sir. Okay, you better have everything
508
00:44:49.960 --> 00:44:56.920
ready for tomorrow. Don hung up, grinning sourly. There was
509
00:44:57.000 --> 00:45:01.119
nothing special planned for tomorrow, and he chuckled over the
510
00:45:01.199 --> 00:45:06.079
thought that Dingo would spend all night sweating, thinking he
511
00:45:06.199 --> 00:45:11.039
forgot something. Another hit of vodka spread its warmth through51200:45:11.199 --> 00:45:16.360
his entire body. His mind went back to Big Bill.51300:45:17.760 --> 00:45:21.440
He felt a tinge of something every time he thought51400:45:21.440 --> 00:45:27.320
of him. Was it regret sorrow? He was not used51500:45:27.320 --> 00:45:31.719
to feeling things like that, so it was difficult for51600:45:31.800 --> 00:45:35.639
him to put a finger on it. Big Bill was51700:45:35.719 --> 00:45:40.400
a Mastiff pitbull German Shepherd mix, one of the biggest51800:45:40.440 --> 00:45:44.960
dogs Don had ever entered into a fighting ring. That51900:45:45.159 --> 00:45:48.360
dog was the toughest son of a bitch he had52000:45:48.400 --> 00:45:53.719
ever seen. Vicious and cunning, Bill made a name for52100:45:53.840 --> 00:45:58.400
himself across the Tri State dog fighting circuit. In fact,52200:45:58.960 --> 00:46:02.679
the winnings from his fights bought the very house that52300:46:02.840 --> 00:46:08.719
Don was currently standing in. Bill's reputation was such that52400:46:09.360 --> 00:46:13.880
eventually Don had to give crazy odds just to get52500:46:13.920 --> 00:46:19.159
any action. He started doing handicap matches where Bill had52600:46:19.199 --> 00:46:22.760
to fight two or even three other dogs at the52700:46:22.800 --> 00:46:27.960
same time. A lot of those matches were clusterfucks, turning52800:46:28.000 --> 00:46:31.800
into a free for all, which the crowd loved, but52900:46:31.960 --> 00:46:38.320
other times the opposing dogs concentrated on Bill, who, due53000:46:38.360 --> 00:46:44.280
to mounting injuries, had an increasingly difficult time winning. For53100:46:44.320 --> 00:46:50.519
some reason, Don's eyes began to water, damn dust, he53200:46:50.679 --> 00:46:55.559
mumbled outside of the ring. Bill was the friendliest dog53300:46:55.719 --> 00:46:59.039
Don had ever encountered. It was like he had a53400:46:59.079 --> 00:47:07.199
switch with two settings, friendly goofball or vicious killer. Bill's53500:47:07.280 --> 00:47:11.519
last fight was still vivid in Don's mind. It was53600:47:11.599 --> 00:47:17.360
two pits versus Bill. The pitbulls were young and inexperienced,53700:47:18.000 --> 00:47:21.480
but one latched onto his rear leg and would not53800:47:21.840 --> 00:47:26.599
let go. Bill eventually came out on top, but his53900:47:26.760 --> 00:47:31.519
leg was mangled. There was no coming back from that injury.54000:47:33.079 --> 00:47:36.719
Don had Dingo dig a grave in the basement and54100:47:36.880 --> 00:47:41.880
fed Bill a stake laced with sedatives. When the big54200:47:41.960 --> 00:47:48.440
dog was out, Don action, Jackson slit his throat and54300:47:48.599 --> 00:47:53.960
dumped him in the grave. He then walked upstairs, not54400:47:54.159 --> 00:48:00.039
looking back, no matter how much he wanted to. The54500:48:00.119 --> 00:48:04.159
last thing he heard that night before hitting the bottle54600:48:04.239 --> 00:48:11.679
hard was Dingo throwing dirt on the grave. The glass54700:48:11.800 --> 00:48:17.639
began to slip from Don's grip as he was falling asleep,54800:48:17.800 --> 00:48:21.159
echoes of the yelps of pain Bill had let out54900:48:21.199 --> 00:48:25.559
when that pit bit deep into his thigh, Ringing in55000:48:25.599 --> 00:48:31.239
his ears, He suddenly realized that the sound was coming55100:48:31.280 --> 00:48:41.320
from inside the house, from the basement. Don leaped up, confused.55200:48:42.159 --> 00:48:45.559
The yelp of pain turned into a howl of rage55300:48:45.960 --> 00:48:50.519
that shook the house. Claws hitting the wooden basement stairs55400:48:50.599 --> 00:48:54.760
could be heard underneath, the roar, ending in a loud55500:48:54.880 --> 00:49:00.159
crash as something huge threw itself against the basement door.55600:49:01.159 --> 00:49:05.320
Another crash, and the beast was in the kitchen, Drawing55700:49:05.360 --> 00:49:09.880
his dagger with trembling hands. Don took a few timid55800:49:10.000 --> 00:49:15.840
steps forward the roar. Still ringing in his ears, Don55900:49:16.000 --> 00:49:22.280
stopped dead when Big Bill rounded the corner. Most of56000:49:22.360 --> 00:49:26.280
his flesh had rotted away, but he still had his56100:49:26.400 --> 00:49:33.480
eyes that were staring deep into his soul. Don was stunned,56200:49:33.800 --> 00:49:36.920
unable to move until Bill took a step toward him56300:49:37.280 --> 00:49:43.239
with a growl so loud that the windows shook. Unthinking,56400:49:43.639 --> 00:49:48.599
Don dropped the knife and turned to run, but before56500:49:48.719 --> 00:49:55.199
taking a step, he froze again. Half a dozen dogs56600:49:55.559 --> 00:50:01.519
stood between him and the front door. These were translucent,56700:50:02.079 --> 00:50:06.840
ghost like. Some had their throats sliced, while others had ragged,56800:50:07.199 --> 00:50:12.920
vicious wounds. Don turned back toward the kitchen and saw56900:50:12.960 --> 00:50:18.440
that Bill was now within several feet of him. Whoa, whoa,57000:50:18.519 --> 00:50:25.840
whoa WHOA good boy, Don stammered. Bill growled louder. It57100:50:25.880 --> 00:50:31.679
was only business. I didn't mean any harm. Bill's skeletal57200:50:31.840 --> 00:50:36.599
jaw made him look as if he was smiling, and57300:50:36.639 --> 00:50:42.679
the smile only grew bigger when Bill leaped. At dawn,57400:50:44.320 --> 00:50:48.880
parents of Tricker Treaters heard screams coming from the unkempt57500:50:48.920 --> 00:50:53.079
house at the end of the block. Cell Phones came57600:50:53.119 --> 00:50:59.360
out of pockets, but no one called the police. Deep down,57700:50:59.800 --> 00:51:04.960
they realized that whatever was happening to the neighborhood bully57800:51:05.880 --> 00:51:24.000
was likely well deserved. Jack leaned against a crooked fence,57900:51:24.679 --> 00:51:28.960
running the flat of his cane along the wood sparks,58000:51:29.039 --> 00:51:35.880
trailing after. Now, wasn't that delightful? His smile was wide,58100:51:36.400 --> 00:51:42.360
his teeth white and sharp. Some monsters are born, some58200:51:42.440 --> 00:51:47.519
are built brick by brick, in violence and cruelty, until58300:51:47.559 --> 00:51:54.679
there's nothing left inside but rage. But others, like Dawn,58400:51:55.559 --> 00:51:59.079
think they are one of the big boys, right up58500:51:59.199 --> 00:52:05.079
until they run into something like Big Bill. Daisy let58600:52:05.159 --> 00:52:09.679
out a low growl. I'm sorry, darling, I almost forgot58700:52:09.679 --> 00:52:14.960
about you. Go ahead, have some fun. Jack clapped his58800:52:15.079 --> 00:52:19.960
hands in joy as Daisy ran off towards the Jackson house.58900:52:21.199 --> 00:52:24.840
She's been such a patient girl. You have to reward59000:52:24.880 --> 00:52:30.880
good behavior, you know, Jack commented. Not all horrors are59100:52:31.159 --> 00:52:37.000
of your own making, my dear audience. No, sometimes you59200:52:37.119 --> 00:52:43.599
stumble unsuspectingly into the terror, or perhaps you walk into59300:52:43.679 --> 00:52:50.519
it willingly. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. You've all had59400:52:50.559 --> 00:52:58.119
that dream, haven't you trapped? Nowhere to run, no one59500:52:58.199 --> 00:53:05.079
to hear your screams. Let's see what happens when the59600:53:05.199 --> 00:53:12.719
dream becomes a reality. He strolled in silence for a59700:53:12.760 --> 00:53:18.360
few blocks before stopping by an old, run down house59800:53:18.840 --> 00:53:22.199
with a couple of young men sitting in a car59900:53:22.280 --> 00:53:27.840
in front of it. Ah, here we are. Look at60000:53:27.880 --> 00:53:35.400
these shady characters. Whatever would they be up to? Jack smiled,60100:53:36.000 --> 00:53:41.320
a wicked gleam in his eye. Guess they'll find out60200:53:41.360 --> 00:53:48.119
all about the room. John looked at the run down60300:53:48.280 --> 00:53:53.199
house sitting on a corner lot. The lawn was overgrown60400:53:53.880 --> 00:53:56.760
and the white paint on the porch was peeling off60500:53:57.440 --> 00:54:04.760
in long, curling strips. Really, John said, turning to the60600:54:04.880 --> 00:54:10.119
large man behind the wheel, this is your big score.60700:54:11.400 --> 00:54:15.920
Stop bitchin'. You're lucky that Alan is in jail, or60800:54:15.960 --> 00:54:18.280
your ass would be out there stealing candy from the60900:54:18.360 --> 00:54:23.559
damn kiddies. Weber growled, pointing at the groups of costumed61000:54:23.679 --> 00:54:30.079
children roaming the sidewalks. The place is a shithole, John said,61100:54:31.119 --> 00:54:35.880
we'd be lucky to find anything other than roaches. Look,61200:54:36.880 --> 00:54:41.199
Weber leaned, in his tone, shifting to the serious one61300:54:41.719 --> 00:54:47.199
he used only when selling someone on something illegal. I61400:54:47.280 --> 00:54:51.000
know a guy that works for that doctor drain cleaner outfit.61500:54:51.719 --> 00:54:54.440
The sewer pipe in the basement of this place got61600:54:54.800 --> 00:54:58.360
all backed up. They were called out to unclog it.61700:54:59.159 --> 00:55:02.800
The damn snaw got tangled, and while his boss was61800:55:02.840 --> 00:55:05.840
working on it, he had a look around the basement.61900:55:06.880 --> 00:55:12.000
He found a hidden room all filled with jewelry. He62000:55:12.039 --> 00:55:15.119
didn't have time to grab anything, but said there was62100:55:15.119 --> 00:55:21.000
some good shit there. John was still unconvinced. Why isn't62200:55:21.039 --> 00:55:25.480
he here helping you? This is his score. He's a62300:55:25.559 --> 00:55:28.719
giant pussy. Hell I was able to talk him into62400:55:28.760 --> 00:55:32.440
taking a ten percent finder's fee, which means he'll basically62500:55:32.480 --> 00:55:35.719
take anything we give him. What's he going to do?62600:55:35.920 --> 00:55:40.639
Bitch to the cops about it, Weber smirked. Hell I62700:55:40.719 --> 00:55:43.039
even offered to throw in some naked picks of my62800:55:43.119 --> 00:55:46.519
sister just to sweeten the pot. I was going to62900:55:46.519 --> 00:55:49.280
give him some picks of your sister too, but then63000:55:49.320 --> 00:55:51.920
I'd have to spend ten minutes trying to convince him63100:55:51.960 --> 00:55:57.519
it wasn't proof of Bigfoot. Suppressing a chuckle, John turned63200:55:57.559 --> 00:56:01.199
back toward the house. He looked at the cracked picture63300:56:01.280 --> 00:56:06.480
window and the rotting trim boards surrounding it, and thought63400:56:06.599 --> 00:56:09.599
they would be lucky to find two plates that matched.63500:56:10.880 --> 00:56:14.800
Fuck it, he decided, as he pulled a kid's plastic63600:56:14.840 --> 00:56:19.559
Shrek mask down over his face. Let's get it over with.63700:56:20.320 --> 00:56:24.400
I ain't got nothing better to do tonight. Weber grinned63800:56:24.440 --> 00:56:29.559
that wild grin that made people question his sanity. He63900:56:29.679 --> 00:56:33.880
slipped on a cheap Adam West Batman mask and opened64000:56:33.920 --> 00:56:38.960
the car door, trying to look casual. John tall and64100:56:39.119 --> 00:56:45.079
lean relaxed against the fender, while Weber crouched, pretending to64200:56:45.159 --> 00:56:50.360
check the front tire but actually scanning the streets. Once64300:56:50.440 --> 00:56:54.840
the sidewalk was clear of children and parents, they quickly64400:56:54.920 --> 00:56:58.440
sprinted to the side of the house, slipping into the64500:56:58.480 --> 00:57:04.000
shadows created by the street lights. Sliding along the exterior64600:57:04.119 --> 00:57:08.360
wall toward the rear of the house, they stopped at64700:57:08.400 --> 00:57:13.800
each dark window to peer in and listen, Seeing and64800:57:13.920 --> 00:57:19.639
hearing nothing, they reached the back corner. Around it, a64900:57:19.679 --> 00:57:24.880
flickering light hung above a weathered, old wooden door with pealing,65000:57:25.559 --> 00:57:30.840
dirty yellow paint. A dented screen door lay on a65100:57:30.920 --> 00:57:37.199
cracked concrete slab that served as the back porch. Weber65200:57:37.320 --> 00:57:41.639
unscrewed the light bulb just enough so the light went out,65300:57:42.719 --> 00:57:45.480
while John moved to the other corner of the house65400:57:46.000 --> 00:57:51.360
and peered around. Seeing nothing, he gave Weber a nod.65500:57:53.000 --> 00:57:57.480
The back door was locked. Weber pressed his shoulder against65600:57:57.559 --> 00:58:03.079
the door, pressure building until a crack sounded and metal65700:58:03.239 --> 00:58:09.320
clattered inside. Both men checked the street again before easing65800:58:09.440 --> 00:58:13.679
the door open, a piece of hardware scraped the floor.65900:58:14.800 --> 00:58:18.679
Weber took out a small flashlight, cupping it to keep66000:58:18.719 --> 00:58:23.480
the beam low. They were in a nineteen fifty's era kitchen.66100:58:24.320 --> 00:58:28.519
The fridge and stove were ancient, and bugs skittered away66200:58:28.599 --> 00:58:33.679
from the light, making Jack shiver. The basement should be66300:58:33.760 --> 00:58:38.599
through that door, Weber whispered, shining on a warped door66400:58:39.000 --> 00:58:44.239
in the corner near a dark hallway. John nodded before66500:58:44.280 --> 00:58:50.559
he realized that Weber could not see him in the darkness. Okay,66600:58:50.920 --> 00:58:55.599
let's go, he said, the old vinyl floor creaking each66700:58:55.760 --> 00:58:59.920
time they took a step. John opened the basement door,66800:59:00.679 --> 00:59:07.719
assaulted by the stench of raw sewage. Oh damn, he gagged.66900:59:08.519 --> 00:59:14.079
That reeks. Come on, you, pussy. It's not that bad,67000:59:14.800 --> 00:59:19.199
Weber said, although in the dim light he looked like67100:59:19.320 --> 00:59:24.519
he was struggling himself. Jack steeled himself and went down67200:59:25.320 --> 00:59:29.559
the stairs, creaking loud enough to make him WinCE. At67300:59:29.599 --> 00:59:34.440
the bottom, Weber's light swept to a floor drain, its67400:59:34.559 --> 00:59:40.440
edges crusted with toilet paper scraps and brown sludge. Jack67500:59:40.559 --> 00:59:45.800
groaned and skirted wide, following Weber toward the far wall.67600:59:47.280 --> 00:59:51.800
A large cabinet stood in the back corner. Weber shone67700:59:51.840 --> 00:59:55.440
the light at the floor and John could see where67800:59:55.480 --> 00:59:59.760
the dust and litter on the ground had been recently disturbed.67901:00:01.320 --> 01:00:04.960
Putting the flashlight in his mouth, he helped John move68001:00:05.039 --> 01:00:12.079
the cabinet aside to reveal a narrow door. John opened68101:00:12.079 --> 01:00:25.920
it and they stepped inside. The room lit up with68201:00:26.079 --> 01:00:30.639
bright lights as Weber found the light switch. The room68301:00:30.840 --> 01:00:34.320
stood in stark contrast to the rest of the house.68401:00:35.239 --> 01:00:41.880
It was clean, immaculate, and clinical. The room, roughly fifteen68501:00:41.960 --> 01:00:45.840
feet by six feet, had rows of glass shelves that68601:00:45.920 --> 01:00:49.320
lined the walls on both the left and the right,68701:00:50.039 --> 01:00:53.079
while there was only one shelf on the far wall.68801:00:54.239 --> 01:01:00.119
On the sidewalls, jewelry rested on velvet cushions or porcelain busts.68901:01:00.719 --> 01:01:03.480
Each piece paired with a photo of a young woman,69001:01:04.159 --> 01:01:08.679
most in black and white. Some looked like senior portraits,69101:01:09.239 --> 01:01:15.719
others like modeling headshots. A few showed women sleeping. Those69201:01:16.400 --> 01:01:22.800
made John skin crawl. Dude, what the fuck, Weber said,69301:01:23.840 --> 01:01:28.719
looks like a damn museum. John just nodded and slowly69401:01:28.840 --> 01:01:33.920
walked along the wall, stopping every so often to examine69501:01:33.920 --> 01:01:38.400
a display. He didn't know much about jewelry, but he69601:01:38.480 --> 01:01:42.920
could tell some were cheap costume pieces, while others had69701:01:42.960 --> 01:01:48.280
the look of high end jewelry. Occasionally, he started to69801:01:48.360 --> 01:01:52.320
reach out to touch a piece that must be worth thousands,69901:01:53.079 --> 01:01:56.920
but when his hand neared he could detect some kind70001:01:57.000 --> 01:02:04.039
of aura radiating from it. Sorrow and pain flooded his emotions.70101:02:04.719 --> 01:02:08.400
He would withdraw his hand and study the picture next70201:02:08.400 --> 01:02:12.000
to it. He found that the women in most of70301:02:12.039 --> 01:02:15.920
the photos were wearing the piece of jewelry on display.70401:02:17.000 --> 01:02:21.920
He looked over at Weber and grimaced. Weber was casually70501:02:22.000 --> 01:02:25.960
pocketing each piece of jewelry on his side of the room.70601:02:27.039 --> 01:02:30.599
He sometimes picked up a picture of a particularly striking70701:02:30.679 --> 01:02:35.079
woman before tossing it to the ground, the woman in70801:02:35.159 --> 01:02:40.039
the portrait already forgotten. John made his way to the70901:02:40.119 --> 01:02:44.079
lone shelf on the wall opposite the door and looked71001:02:44.119 --> 01:02:46.679
at the black and white picture of a good looking71101:02:46.800 --> 01:02:50.760
young man. In front of the photo were two red71201:02:50.840 --> 01:02:56.679
roses next to an urn with the inscription my beloved earnest.71301:02:57.960 --> 01:03:01.440
He glanced around to confirm that this was the only71401:03:01.559 --> 01:03:06.719
picture that wasn't a woman twice as large as the71501:03:06.760 --> 01:03:10.639
other portraits, and the shelf looked more like a shrine71601:03:11.280 --> 01:03:15.480
than it did a display. John was just about to71701:03:15.559 --> 01:03:19.440
turn away when he noticed a folded piece of paper71801:03:20.119 --> 01:03:24.599
tucked in behind the picture. When the scrap of newspaper71901:03:24.719 --> 01:03:31.480
was unfolded, the headline local serial killer executed in electric72001:03:31.639 --> 01:03:36.440
chair jumped out at him. Under the headline was a72101:03:36.480 --> 01:03:41.199
picture of a man, the same one as in the portrait,72201:03:42.119 --> 01:03:47.559
being led in chains down a corridor, a mocking smirk72301:03:48.039 --> 01:03:52.519
stitched on his face, and piercing eyes that seemed to72401:03:52.599 --> 01:03:58.000
stare deep into John's soul. He stared at the news72501:03:58.000 --> 01:04:06.519
clipping mesmerized until Weber broke the spell. Holy shit, Weber exclaimed.72601:04:07.400 --> 01:04:11.400
I know this chick, he said, pointing to a picture72701:04:11.480 --> 01:04:16.119
of a young, attractive, blonde woman. My mom went to72801:04:16.159 --> 01:04:19.559
school with her. This chick was an actress or some shit,72901:04:20.119 --> 01:04:23.000
starred in a couple of those cheap eighties horror movies.73001:04:23.760 --> 01:04:27.239
Mom said that she got hooked on heroin and went missing.73101:04:28.199 --> 01:04:30.840
Rumor is that she fell into the river and drowned.73201:04:31.960 --> 01:04:35.320
He picked up the ear rings displayed in front of73301:04:35.360 --> 01:04:42.320
the picture. Taking a closer look, he said, Damn, I73401:04:42.360 --> 01:04:46.599
think she's wearing these ear rings in the picture weird.73501:04:47.119 --> 01:04:51.719
He shook his head as he pocketed them. Looking back73601:04:51.760 --> 01:04:56.039
at the urn, John felt something, but it wasn't the jewelry.73701:04:56.920 --> 01:05:01.360
It felt dark and chaotic, like a cigar box full73801:05:01.400 --> 01:05:07.719
of hornets that had been shaken. The maliciousness vibrating, pulsating,73901:05:08.199 --> 01:05:14.679
waiting to be released on an unsuspecting world. Gasping, John74001:05:14.800 --> 01:05:19.480
took several steps back, staring wide eyed at the urn.74101:05:20.440 --> 01:05:23.920
He looked over at Weber and saw he was walking74201:05:23.960 --> 01:05:28.960
to him, jiggling his pockets with a wide smile on74301:05:29.119 --> 01:05:34.159
his face. What did you get, John, boy man, I74401:05:34.239 --> 01:05:37.880
found a ton of good shit. Weber stopped and looked74501:05:37.920 --> 01:05:41.320
at the shelf that John kept flickering his eyes to74601:05:42.920 --> 01:05:48.679
what you got there? I'm not sure, John mumbled. He74701:05:48.840 --> 01:05:51.360
was about to tell Weber to stay away from the74801:05:51.440 --> 01:05:55.800
evil thing, but a loud thud drew his attention to74901:05:55.880 --> 01:06:01.079
the door of the room. An old woman, shrived and weathered,75001:06:01.679 --> 01:06:05.920
was standing in the doorway. From the state of disrepair75101:06:06.159 --> 01:06:11.239
the house and more notably, the basement was in John75201:06:11.400 --> 01:06:15.519
was surprised to see her well dressed. Her hair was75301:06:15.599 --> 01:06:20.199
done up in a beehive hairstyle from the sixties. And75401:06:20.280 --> 01:06:24.320
he could have sworn she was wearing makeup, even though75501:06:24.360 --> 01:06:29.239
it must have been well past her bedtime. The site75601:06:29.320 --> 01:06:36.199
was jarring against the rot of the house. What she said,75701:06:36.480 --> 01:06:44.800
in an icy voice, is going on here, ma'am? John stammered,75801:06:45.559 --> 01:06:49.039
where with the plumbers you called recently? We were told75901:06:49.079 --> 01:06:51.440
to check and make sure there were no further issues.76001:06:52.480 --> 01:06:56.800
The woman just stared at him, her gaze sending shivers76101:06:56.880 --> 01:07:02.440
down his spine. So we knocked, but no one answered.76201:07:03.199 --> 01:07:06.920
The boss would get mad if we John trailed off76301:07:07.360 --> 01:07:11.840
as he realized that she was now staring past him.76401:07:12.559 --> 01:07:16.079
John turned and found that Weber had picked up the76501:07:16.239 --> 01:07:21.760
urn and was studying it. Leave that alone. The old76601:07:21.760 --> 01:07:26.599
woman said, drop it. As she said the word drop,76701:07:27.280 --> 01:07:32.639
Weber looked up, a blank expression on his face, and76801:07:32.760 --> 01:07:38.639
he just opened his fingers. The urn seemed to fall76901:07:38.719 --> 01:07:45.719
in slow motion, turning several times before it hit the ground.77001:07:48.559 --> 01:07:53.920
It shattered, releasing a cloud of dust. The dust rose77101:07:54.039 --> 01:07:59.360
through the air, and, defying gravity, seemed to gather around77201:07:59.480 --> 01:08:05.039
Weber's head. He inhaled deeply, and the dust seemed to77301:08:05.159 --> 01:08:10.679
force its way into his nose and mouth. Weber held77401:08:10.719 --> 01:08:14.639
his breath for a ten count, then began to cough.77501:08:15.920 --> 01:08:19.640
John looked back at the old woman, and she just77601:08:20.119 --> 01:08:26.880
stood there, a loving smile on her face. Confused, he77701:08:27.000 --> 01:08:30.680
looked over at Weber, who had gotten over his coughing77801:08:30.760 --> 01:08:36.600
spell and was now just standing there, a crooked smile77901:08:36.720 --> 01:08:42.319
on his face and a dark glint in his eyes. Well, now,78001:08:42.840 --> 01:08:47.039
how have you been, honey buns, Weber said, with a78101:08:47.119 --> 01:08:52.439
Kentucky drawl that he did not have before. The old78201:08:52.479 --> 01:08:58.800
woman stared at Weber like a teenager in love. Earnest Finally,78301:08:59.439 --> 01:09:02.880
I knew you would find a way back, she said,78401:09:03.399 --> 01:09:08.319
her smile threatening to break her face. Of course, Darlin,78501:09:08.800 --> 01:09:11.520
old lover boy here would never leave his best girl78601:09:11.560 --> 01:09:16.920
alone for too long. The tension grew in John as78701:09:16.960 --> 01:09:21.520
he looked between the other two, each looking longingly at78801:09:21.520 --> 01:09:28.399
the other. Well, I'll I'll be leaving, and I won't78901:09:28.439 --> 01:09:34.319
say shit, he edged toward the door. Neither Weber nor79001:09:34.439 --> 01:09:39.479
the old woman moved or spoke, continuing to stare at79101:09:39.520 --> 01:09:44.359
each other. After a minute of this, John began to79201:09:44.479 --> 01:09:51.079
slowly shuffle his way toward the door, still staring at Weber.79301:09:51.800 --> 01:09:56.800
The old woman spoke, Ernie, can you do me a79401:09:56.840 --> 01:10:03.760
favor for you? Anything, including the moon and the stars.79501:10:04.239 --> 01:10:11.000
She smiled even bigger. Can you take out the trash, darling?79601:10:11.920 --> 01:10:17.239
It would be my pleasure, Ernie replied. John heard the79701:10:17.279 --> 01:10:22.279
metallic click of a knife being opened, and he bolted79801:10:22.319 --> 01:10:26.199
toward the door. An arm like a band of steel79901:10:26.399 --> 01:10:32.840
grabbed him around the throat, and pain, unimaginable pain shot80001:10:32.960 --> 01:10:38.479
up through his back. His vision went red and then black.80101:10:39.600 --> 01:10:43.159
A few minutes later, Ernest shut the door to the80201:10:43.279 --> 01:10:47.439
room and reached his left arm around the old woman.80301:10:48.760 --> 01:10:50.840
You know how much I hate to leave a mess,80401:10:50.880 --> 01:10:53.880
but I think I have a good excuse this time,80501:10:54.880 --> 01:11:00.119
he said, as he kissed the top of her head.80601:11:00.119 --> 01:11:03.560
Go celebrate. We have a lot of work ahead of us.80701:11:04.680 --> 01:11:08.319
She giggled like a schoolgirl. I have a couple of80801:11:08.359 --> 01:11:12.880
perfect girls for you to add to the collection, she said,80901:11:13.439 --> 01:11:20.119
her eyes shining with madness. He kissed her again, and81001:11:20.159 --> 01:11:36.720
they walked up the stairs, laughing like two teenagers in life.81101:11:38.680 --> 01:11:43.279
Sitting on a low stone wall, Jack watched the strange81201:11:43.359 --> 01:11:48.159
couple exit the house and walk up the street. He81301:11:48.279 --> 01:11:56.439
applauded politely, each clap echoing unnaturally into the empty night. Bravo,81401:11:56.960 --> 01:12:02.680
well done. Three tales of terror each more delectable than81501:12:02.720 --> 01:12:09.119
the last family shattered, monsters unleashed, and souls gnawed down81601:12:09.279 --> 01:12:15.760
to marrow A proper night's entertainment, wouldn't you agree? He81701:12:15.840 --> 01:12:19.560
leapt down with the grace of a dancer, tipping his hat.81801:12:20.520 --> 01:12:25.359
But alas the witching hour wanes and I must return81901:12:25.520 --> 01:12:30.399
to the warm embrace of hell. The dark Lord does82001:12:30.479 --> 01:12:35.119
so love his bedtime stories, and tonight I'll have three82101:12:35.199 --> 01:12:40.720
of the best to whisper in his ear. Jack paused,82201:12:41.119 --> 01:12:48.640
leaning forward covertly, his grin stretched wide. Sleep. Well, my82301:12:48.840 --> 01:12:54.239
little sinners, perhaps next year it will be your tale.82401:12:54.880 --> 01:13:01.039
I tell. With that, he turned and whistled into the night.82501:13:01.920 --> 01:13:06.159
Daisy came bounding out of the darkness, her muzzle wet82601:13:06.600 --> 01:13:11.359
with a crimson liquid. He patted her head and strolled82701:13:11.760 --> 01:13:16.000
into the mist. With a last crackle of sparks from82801:13:16.039 --> 01:13:33.000
his king, they were gone. Well, my spooky's. After tonight's82901:13:33.039 --> 01:13:38.840
parade of possessed children, undead dogs, and serial killing soulmates,83001:13:39.479 --> 01:13:44.039
I'd say Halloween is right on schedule, and we'll be83101:13:44.119 --> 01:13:50.279
seeing Jack Scratch again very soon, I'm sure. But tomorrow83201:13:50.920 --> 01:13:55.199
things take a turn. We're cracking open the gates to83301:13:55.279 --> 01:13:59.680
a forgotten place, a rotting asylum hidden in the woods,83401:14:00.119 --> 01:14:06.479
where something unnatural was born and never stopped growing. The83501:14:06.600 --> 01:14:10.520
Asylum of the Dirt Babies is our next full length novella,83601:14:10.680 --> 01:14:17.960
Descent into Madness, Secrets and Soil So Torror. You'll never forget,83701:14:18.319 --> 01:14:22.439
so rest while you can, because even when Halloween ends,83801:14:23.159 --> 01:14:26.880
we'll still be here bringing you your spooky on the weekly.83901:14:27.319 --> 01:14:29.439
And thank you so much for joining me. I'm so84001:14:29.600 --> 01:14:33.199
happy to be a part of your Halloween tradition, whether84101:14:33.239 --> 01:14:35.760
you're brand new or you've been with us for six years.84201:14:36.119 --> 01:14:38.319
And I want to say an extra special thank you84301:14:38.560 --> 01:14:41.800
to our Patreon podcast boosters. These are folks who go84401:14:41.800 --> 01:14:45.680
to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash join and support us for84501:14:45.720 --> 01:14:48.560
a little bit extra to hear their names at the84601:14:48.640 --> 01:14:51.279
end of the show. And they are Johnny Nicks, Kate84701:14:51.359 --> 01:14:55.760
and Lulu, Jessica Fuller, Mike Ashuey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansford,84801:14:55.880 --> 01:14:59.039
Karen we Met, Jack Kerr, and Craig Cohen. Thank you84901:14:59.079 --> 01:15:01.479
guys so much, and if you want to support us85001:15:01.680 --> 01:15:05.239
in a very direct way, head Toweeklyspooky dot Com slash85101:15:05.359 --> 01:15:07.560
join for as little as one dollar a month, you85201:15:07.600 --> 01:15:10.800
get two bonus shows every month, and at fifteen dollars85301:15:10.880 --> 01:15:13.399
or higher, you can hear your name at the end85401:15:13.479 --> 01:15:17.239
of every episode of Weekly Spooky, and make sure you're85501:15:17.279 --> 01:15:21.119
subscribed because there's so much more to hear. But for now,85601:15:21.520 --> 01:15:24.279
I've got to get back to work, because well, those85701:15:24.279 --> 01:15:27.720
novellas aren't going to record themselves, so for myself, for85801:15:27.840 --> 01:15:31.680
my executive producers Rob Fields and Bobbletopia dot Com, my85901:15:31.760 --> 01:15:35.880
producer Dan Wilder, and of course my creepy composer Ray Maddis.86001:15:36.279 --> 01:15:38.600
I'll talk at you tomorrow.86101:15:39.199 --> 01:15:40.359
Thank you for listenings.86201:15:41.319 --> 01:15:45.039
Make sure to find your way back next week, but86301:15:45.199 --> 01:15:50.199
for now you are safe, trust me.
Apple Podcasts 
Spotify 
Spreaker 
Audible 
Castro 
RSS Feed 
iHeartRadio 
