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M Thirteen

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Days of Halloween, Devil's Night,

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a production of My Heart three D audio, Blumhouse

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Television and Grimm and Mild from Aaron

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Mackey. Headphones recommended.

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Listener discretion advised. Here

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we go. Are you're ready? Here?

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Oh? You wait?

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Wait for it? That

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one the boks are? They were

0:37

ready? Three? Two,

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one,

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ah aero.

0:47

Okay, boy, I

0:51

really noted my arm, but we

0:54

made it. I

0:57

just hope we're headed in the right direction. Let's

1:04

try and find a dry spot away

1:06

from the cold. Whoa,

1:15

hello, I

1:18

can't see you. You don't

1:20

need to. I've been expecting

1:22

you. What

1:24

do you mean shut

1:27

yourself for a moment. Hold

1:30

onto that cargo beside you. The

1:32

train will be picking up speed. In a moment

1:37

it will smooth out a bit. Hold

1:39

tight one

1:42

moment. More, hold yes,

1:50

max, just so like

1:53

a tie. I

1:55

was looking for the train into town. Wait,

1:59

how do you know my name? How

2:01

does anyone learn anything? You

2:03

get old, and when you get as

2:06

old as I am, there are a few surprises

2:08

left. As for

2:10

your other question, all trains

2:13

go in the same place these days, behind

2:16

the curtain. You ride

2:18

with me, You ride under

2:20

the skin of this great country. You're

2:22

rolling through its veins. But

2:26

have you a bite for me? Some

2:28

pro vendor? I

2:32

haven't Apple, I was saving, but

2:36

if you're starving, Wow,

2:40

this will do for now. Let

2:44

me stand over in this moonlight. Here

2:49

you can see me. I'm no

2:51

harm.

2:54

You bang yourself up something awful. Trying

2:56

to hop sounded like a

2:59

bone landing hard on the iron first

3:02

time? First

3:04

time? What writing, rail son?

3:08

Your arm looks torn worse than a twice

3:10

boiled Oklahoma chicken. Let

3:13

me wrap that up for you else

3:15

you're likely to bleed all around the

3:17

bunk. Look, it's

3:20

no who do. Just sit

3:22

there for a moment, Trust

3:25

me, old boy. The last

3:27

thing I want is for Max's body to

3:29

get hurt. All

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right, careful, here

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we go. Let me put a

3:36

bit now,

3:40

Max. How's that? That's

3:45

m feels

3:47

ran new? Thanks?

3:50

Mr. I didn't

3:52

get your name, you did not Max.

3:55

Names have power. Why

3:57

don't you just call me the

4:00

conductor? You

4:03

know, I thought you would be taller. I

4:06

suspect you cast a mighty shadow,

4:09

or some shadow follows you. Look,

4:13

Mr Conductor. I

4:16

don't mean to be rude, but I don't

4:18

know how you seem to know so much about

4:20

me? Are you from town.

4:23

Oh no, far past

4:25

town. Sun No. The signs

4:28

told me where to find you, hobo

4:30

code from here on to Sandusky

4:33

points this way. I see

4:35

the boy as he was, I

4:37

see the old arrow, but

4:39

I don't see that which follows after

4:41

you. I smell it

4:43

on you, though all

4:47

I smell is cold smoke. No,

4:50

there's something else, something

4:52

close. It must be

4:55

haunting you.

4:57

You mean like a ghost,

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not a ghost, son, You're familiar.

5:03

Do you understand the thing

5:06

that follows? That's what

5:08

drove you to my train. Look,

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I appreciate you binding on my arm,

5:15

but you have to understand you

5:18

always have it, don't you that

5:20

urgent need that act now?

5:24

Listen, you're

5:28

in shock. You took a bruising

5:30

in It looks like that bruising

5:32

started earlier than when

5:35

we met there.

5:38

Relax, this is

5:40

a safe place. Sit

5:43

u spell travel with

5:45

me. We've got a ways

5:47

to go, and

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you're right. I am,

5:53

as are all my

5:55

people. Now we

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have been traveling, max traveling

6:00

for a long long time. Once

6:03

upon a time, before they mastered

6:05

fire, your people sent their elders

6:08

and their young alike out into the unknown.

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For some of the danger were the caves. For

6:13

some, the sunlight. For most

6:16

the distance, it was

6:18

a noble endeavor to travel away from

6:20

safety to return with glory

6:23

and knowledge. Most

6:25

died, but on the off chance

6:27

that one might return, their

6:29

people would wait. My

6:32

people are from back before the rails,

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before folks crossed the ocean

6:37

and hitched their horses westward, wagons

6:40

and tow And we were always

6:42

searching. Our currency

6:45

is stories, and stories

6:47

are the only true currency of this world,

6:50

passed from one to another, like

6:52

coins in the hand or laid across

6:54

the eyes, searching, always

6:57

searching. Where Once we traveled

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through clouds and chariots

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and prophets, dreams, we travel

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now with the ravens and the

7:07

crows, the rats, the

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hobo and the coyote.

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My people are like you. We're

7:15

just trying to get home. Once

7:20

long ago, the Creator and there

7:23

is one, had an uncharacteristically

7:25

good mood. He brought into

7:28

being the mortal world from

7:30

light. He made angels from

7:33

clay, He made man from

7:36

smokeless fire. He made my people

7:39

powerful. We were in those days

7:42

astride both this world and the next,

7:45

being of smokeless fire.

7:47

We alone in all

7:50

the world, had no shadows of our

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own. Last the

7:54

Creator made the shadows, that

7:57

they may hold passage between the riddle

7:59

of light and the answer of the dark.

8:02

We raised a mighty city bur

8:06

Some called it the city

8:08

of Brass. Others later

8:10

saw the ruins and called those Babylon.

8:14

For some long ages the city grew

8:16

ripe and golden, a flame

8:18

of wisdom for all who visited. In

8:21

the manner of holy things,

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we set upon each member of this

8:26

city a task, a ritual,

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to leave, to travel,

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to return, and add what they had

8:34

learned to this great endeavor. So

8:36

it came to pass A boy

8:39

set out into the wild. He

8:41

didn't want to leave, Like so

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many, he was forced, though

8:47

truth be told, some piece

8:49

of him yearned for this, the

8:51

promise of adventure, of ship

8:54

and story and danger. This

8:56

is the siren call of all men, all

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boy, human, angel,

9:01

or otherwise, dream of venturing. They

9:04

believe their journey will bring

9:06

them, piece by piece closer

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towards the man they hoped to one

9:11

day be. Come. This

9:15

boy he was just like you.

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Only a day, he thought again

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and again, and sooner than

9:23

I know, I will be returned.

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And like you, he found one way leads

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only to another. At

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first he came to a farm in a land near

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his own, a farm in desperate

9:36

times, where the people's ribs

9:38

showed through their clothes, and the vultures

9:40

circled fat heavy through

9:42

the pitiless sky. Coming

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from a land of magic and plenty,

9:47

this was unfamiliar. He

9:49

sought to learn this boy

9:51

the ways of this land in the hopes

9:54

that he might God willing improve

9:56

the lot of the people living upon it. And

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so he sought to teach these laborers

10:01

the secret arts of the orchard, the

10:04

delicate pull of the ripest dates,

10:06

the fragile song of seeds within

10:08

the ground, how to hear them,

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how to sing to them.

10:13

Yet he was rebuffed, beaten

10:15

by the peasants on the land. Just

10:18

like a bum, you could say,

10:20

when the bulls catch you snoozing

10:22

in the grainer, Bulls

10:26

in the train yard, railroad

10:29

bulls. Police. Boy,

10:32

there have always been the police, or

10:34

something like them, the things

10:36

that hunt the free. Tell

10:39

me, do you see your shadow?

10:43

It's too dark to see anything

10:45

in here. Don't pretend, boy, you

10:47

know what I mean. I know you've

10:49

seen it before, and we

10:51

both know it's following you. Still,

10:57

that name is meaningless. You

10:59

could call all of a thousand names and a thousand

11:01

tons and it may respond it's

11:04

a trickster, Max, it's

11:06

playing games with you. So

11:11

is he here with us? Now? I

11:14

don't think so. Well, you

11:16

don't see him. But do

11:18

you think your shadow sees you? I

11:23

I don't know. I'd

11:25

be careful, Max, You

11:27

might be surprised what they see and what

11:29

they hear. The boy

11:32

certainly was, you

11:34

see. As he was laying

11:36

there in the land of Men, beaten

11:39

into the dirt, his shadow

11:42

rose and took its vengeance. It

11:45

broke the covenant of shadows and

11:47

raised its hand to the mortal world.

11:51

Listen close, Max. The

11:54

shadow offered the boy a deal as

11:57

inevitable as a train on

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iron Hans. It had offered

12:01

him a passage home.

12:06

What did the boys say? You

12:09

know this story? I

12:11

don't think I do. The

12:14

boy said, yes, of course. Like

12:17

all boys, he grew tired

12:19

of wandering once he learned the cruelty

12:22

of the road. He wanted more

12:24

than anything to return home. But

12:27

his shadow followed, and

12:29

the shadow had different fans

12:34

for the old storytellers were

12:36

trading our currency. This

12:38

covenant with the shadow is

12:40

the great moral, That's

12:42

what we tell. Outsiders, at least gathered

12:45

around the hobo jungles, and the breadlines

12:48

and the other hidden places. But

12:51

let me tell you this, It's

12:53

not the end of the tale. Would

12:56

you like to know the rest? Look?

13:00

I know some stories of my own. How

13:03

about this one? A kid in this

13:05

dog just trying to get home.

13:08

No one will help them. I

13:10

like it, Max, I do. But

13:12

you'll need more than that where you're

13:14

going. Here's what happens

13:17

next, the part of the story

13:19

only a few may know, and fewer remember.

13:23

Listen closely. This is

13:25

my gift to you, A thank

13:27

you for the apple, an

13:29

appeal, a favor. The

13:34

boy escaped the farm, pursued

13:36

like it or not by his shadow. It

13:39

became part of him, It followed,

13:42

it yearned. He was

13:44

waylaid more than once. On

13:46

the hungry road to home, he

13:49

learned from a kindly traveler the

13:51

danger of the shadows. You

13:54

see, Max, All shadows

13:57

are of one. And what

13:59

if I tell would you? This shadow knew all

14:02

along that the boy's home had been lost?

14:05

Why didn't it tell him?

14:09

Shadows are creatures of secrets,

14:11

and here is their greatest They

14:14

are not content to follow with

14:17

every step they take. They raced

14:19

to not be behind, but to

14:21

be within. And then

14:23

they seek to consume, they

14:26

want to become in

14:28

their world. You are

14:30

the reflection what

14:33

happened to the boy. That's

14:35

the biggest secret of all, Max. This

14:38

is the part you will have to right yourself.

14:41

The boy could not guess what the shadow

14:43

wanted. Sometimes it seemed

14:46

to help him, sometimes

14:48

to hinder him. It grew

14:50

closer and closer with each passing day,

14:53

with each passing hour, until

14:55

one day the boy awoke to find

14:58

he had no shadow at all, at

15:01

least not on the outside. He

15:03

heard his voice as though it was a

15:06

shadow, and he asked himself,

15:09

Am I the boy that left? Am

15:12

I the shadow that returned? I

15:16

was that boy once upon a time, Max,

15:19

and my shadow caught me. It

15:22

holds me even now, and

15:24

I am doomed to search, to

15:26

roam by darkness and rail until

15:29

I find the city of my people, that

15:32

which was once lost. It

15:34

is a pitiless quest, one

15:37

that grants me no rest, no

15:40

peace in this mortal world. If

15:42

I die, it reaches back and pulls

15:44

me from the depths. I'm

15:46

tired now. The shadow

15:49

needs new blood and

15:51

I need rest. Something's

15:56

wrong. They're stopping the train. We

15:58

don't have much time. Listen I've

16:01

searched for you so long, Max,

16:03

This body is almost done. Come

16:06

closer. Please, you

16:09

can save me, Max, and I

16:11

can save you. Join

16:13

me. Trade your shadow,

16:16

the one you hear even now for mine.

16:19

Take my place along the road. You

16:21

will not weaken, you will not die.

16:24

You will ride free as a lonely

16:26

wind throughout this land. And

16:29

I in your place, I

16:31

will finally be

16:33

granted the peace of death. What's

16:37

that? What do you think the

16:43

bulls? Come here, boy?

16:45

I know just where the heart. All

16:58

right, come on out now. We can

17:00

make this easy, but that's up to you.

17:03

Of course. This car is cleared for transport

17:06

of livestock and material only. Anyone

17:08

found freight hopping should be warned that

17:11

they are committing an interstate felony.

17:14

We already know you're here. We

17:16

will find you better, easier

17:18

for you to show yourself. Now, come

17:23

mad, Come at wherever you are mat

17:31

Are you okay? I'll steal it from

17:33

me. I know you're here.

17:36

I can smell you. Max.

17:38

Where is it?

17:41

We know he was here with you? Who

17:43

was here? Who is here?

17:46

You know? Damn well? Another presence

17:49

could have been a man, a woman? Is

17:51

it home? When you recognize or maybe another

17:54

dog. Come here,

17:57

Arrow, call

18:00

yourself, Arrow, Just let me

18:02

see your eyes. No,

18:07

no, it's not the dog. Something drew

18:10

you into this train, Something lured you in.

18:12

We just need to know what it was. Just

18:15

tell them the truth. Boy, the

18:19

thing lured me in. I was

18:21

running from the carnival and

18:23

I hopped the train. Do you know

18:25

what his train is? No?

18:28

But I hope he was going in the right direction.

18:32

Then all aboard for Brad

18:35

Barren. How did

18:37

you do that? Hear? Do you think it's

18:39

driving why east?

18:41

More than one of you? Why?

18:44

Well, that doesn't have to be better.

18:49

Now go on, son,

18:52

ask him? What do you want

18:54

to know? How does

18:56

this end? How does

18:58

what end? The story

19:01

of the Boy and the Dog in

19:03

the Shadow? I don't think I

19:06

know that with Max, but I'm

19:08

sure of one thing. You were

19:10

not alone on this trade, and

19:13

we are not alone. Now this

19:16

is important. Max. Did it give you

19:18

something? What's there to give

19:21

with no one to give it to? No

19:25

nothing? What is this on your

19:27

own? I? Um,

19:30

where did you get this? Oh?

19:32

That's been there all along. I

19:35

think I had it. I don't know, I

19:38

don't remember. Yes, you do,

19:41

something happened, you hurt your own

19:43

did somebody wrap it up for you? Not

19:45

her? Feeling much better?

19:48

It's feeling much better, then

19:51

let's just take it off. No

19:54

step away, boy. It aims to

19:56

hurt you. It aims to take you away from

19:58

me. No, no,

20:00

no, Well

20:06

hello, I was wondering

20:08

where I would find you back demon,

20:11

You are too late. The boy is

20:14

mine, Max. Walk

20:16

towards me. Stay away, boy, you

20:18

know now what that thing is, what

20:21

he pretends to be is only a mask.

20:24

I can keep you safe. I'm

20:27

counting to three. One.

20:30

It will lie to you, Max, It will

20:32

play games with your life to

20:35

Once it gets you, it will never

20:37

let you go. Three. Come

20:40

to me, boy.

20:44

I've got his feet, I've got his arms, I've

20:47

got his head. You put me down,

20:49

your abomination out

20:52

of the train. Ready boys, Ready,

20:55

ready,

21:09

right, swift and efficient? Well that

21:11

boys, now back

21:15

to one. Are

21:18

you okay? Max? Who was

21:20

that? A corrupted thing? Hiding

21:22

and wait for someone like you to come along?

21:25

Like he was writing this train, it

21:27

rides from one body to the next. He

21:31

knew things about me, things he

21:33

had no reason to know. A

21:35

great story teller, but a trickster.

21:38

You were lucky you were not taken in by it.

21:41

And well not all the way, And

21:44

it knew about you more

21:46

careful deception. These things

21:49

are crafty. It shifts its

21:51

story to lure its prey. What

21:53

means you any different? You? In

21:56

both of you? All of you? You're

21:58

not who you say you are. You're nothing

22:00

but a shadow, a lousy shadow,

22:03

following me around, stirring up trouble.

22:06

But I am not going to hurt you.

22:10

Where is this train going? I told

22:12

you home. Look,

22:15

we're about to cross the river. That's

22:17

the bridge ahead, Harrow,

22:22

get ready? What

22:25

are you doing to you?

22:27

Do not need to fear me? Great

22:46

m Thirteen

23:00

Days of Halloween, Devil's Night,

23:03

starring Carter Rockwood and Clancy

23:05

Brown, Episode four The

23:08

train tracks written by Ben Bolan

23:10

and Alexander Williams, featuring

23:12

the voice of Mark Hatfield. Editing

23:15

and sound design by Trevor Young, directed

23:18

by Alexander Williams, Script

23:20

supervision by Nicholas Takoski. Casting

23:23

by Sunday Bowling c s A and Meg

23:26

Mormon c s A. Production coordinator

23:28

Wayna Calderon, Production assistants

23:31

Zoe Shay and Amber Ferris. Animal

23:33

recording by Ben James, closing

23:36

theme by Rose Azerti. Loyalty

23:38

Freak Music dot Com.

23:41

Recorded at d G Entertainment

23:43

in Los Angeles, California. Engineered

23:45

by Gary Forbes and Jody Abbott.

23:48

Executive producers Aaron Manky, Noah

23:50

Finberg, Chris Dicky, Matt

23:52

Frederick and Alexander Williams.

23:55

Supervising producers Trevor Young

23:57

and Josh Thane. Producers

23:59

Jeff see Funk and rima Il Kali.

24:03

Thirteen Days of Halloween was created by Matt

24:05

Frederick and Alexander Williams and

24:07

is a production of I Heeart three D Audio,

24:10

Blumhouse Television and Grim and Mild

24:12

from Aaron Maankeey. Learn more about

24:14

the show at Grim and Mild dot com,

24:16

slash thirteen Days and find

24:18

more podcasts from I heart Radio by visiting

24:21

the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

24:23

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows