Episode Transcript
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0:02
Jemma, please. Look
0:04
at what's happening out there right now. You
0:07
know this heat and wind isn't natural. Something
0:09
is coming, and it ain't good. No!
0:12
I don't want anything to do with magic or hoodoo
0:14
or any of that foolishness. In
0:16
four months, I graduate, and God
0:19
help me, I'm leaving this shithole of a town.
0:22
Look, I know- No you don't! Your
0:25
grandfather didn't raise you because your mother's
0:27
an addict. I get it, Jemma. I
0:29
may not know exactly how you feel, but
0:31
I've seen how it's affected
0:32
you. And I don't blame you
0:34
for wanting to get the hell away from this place as soon as
0:36
you can. I really don't. But
0:39
you need to understand what's at stake. Our
0:42
family- Our family. Our
0:44
family. You aren't family. Not
0:47
really. You're just Pop's cousin. You
0:49
don't know the loss. You're right. I don't.
0:52
Not like you do. But I do
0:54
know that if you don't take this on, you're
0:57
going to experience a lot more loss. And
0:59
guilt on top of that because you could have stopped
1:01
it, but didn't.
1:02
I'm sorry that it has
1:04
to be- Hello?
1:08
What? How? What's
1:11
going on?
1:13
Jemma? Talk to me. Why
1:16
are you crying? Hello?
1:20
August? What happened?
1:22
Oh, God.
1:26
Okay, I've got her.
1:29
You need anything from me? Let
1:32
me know, okay? I'm
1:35
sorry,
1:35
August. I'm
1:37
so sorry. Jemma,
1:44
I- Don't! Don't! You
1:47
talk about how we're responsible for saving
1:49
this town, how powerful our family
1:52
is, but you can't stop my mom from
1:54
shooting up. You couldn't stop my dad
1:56
from abandoning me after he got fed up
1:58
with her shit and now-
1:59
And now Uncle
2:02
Jackson is dead. Dead!
2:09
He took a plank of wood
2:11
right through his chest while
2:14
he was doing CPR. Exactly.
2:16
I told you the wind wasn't right. This
2:18
is exactly what I'm talking about. This is
2:21
the type of thing we have to stop. His
2:23
death wasn't just a freak accident. He
2:25
was murdered. By the
2:27
fucking wind? No. By evil
2:29
forces working to destroy the town and
2:32
our family. Then why
2:34
didn't you save him? That's your
2:36
job, right? The one you want
2:38
me to take
2:39
on? Fighting evil? Nothing
2:44
to say to that, huh? Your job
2:47
is to protect us from this type of thing. But
2:49
Uncle Jackson is in a body bag because
2:52
you failed. So no.
2:55
I'm not helping you because you're
2:57
delusional. You're not
2:59
helping anything. Even if it
3:01
could work, how do you expect to teach me
3:03
when you can't even do it right? Gemma,
3:07
wait.
3:15
Welcome to the Season 1 finale
3:18
of Afflicted. We have loved every step
3:20
of this journey and can't wait to take what
3:22
we've learned to bring you an even better Season 2
3:25
with Haunted Houses and the return
3:27
of the Bell Witch. To continue
3:29
to pay everyone a living wage, we'll
3:31
be doing another fundraising campaign for Season 2.
3:34
Keep your ears ready for our Season 2 trailer,
3:36
which we'll be posting on May 8th to coincide
3:39
with the announcement of our new fundraising campaign.
3:42
Every single bit counts, and as thanks
3:44
for your support, we have a ton of amazing
3:46
perks planned at every level regardless
3:48
of how much you can comfortably give. And if you
3:50
can't give right now, spreading the word early
3:52
and often is the next best way to help.
3:55
Afflicted is a horror thriller podcast
3:57
produced by Ransom Media Productions, specific
3:59
com-
5:52
Speaking
6:01
of, we can't trust her. I
6:03
think we should at least tie her to a pole or something.
6:06
Letting her just walk around is a variable I
6:08
am not comfortable with, even if she
6:10
is in a lot of pain. Agreed.
6:13
I'll take care of her. No, she already got
6:15
the jump on you, even with the cuffs on. We'll
6:17
do it together.
6:19
You're
6:22
too late.
6:25
I found something. I think I found
6:27
someone. What's
6:30
wrong with you? What is
6:33
happening? Are
6:35
the wards not... not
6:38
working? It should
6:41
have held for
6:43
longer a little bit. For
6:47
my favorite father-in-law.
6:51
And now the wards were gone
6:53
cold, but instead of his.
6:57
His? Wow,
6:59
you're so... The one
7:02
I serve! The one we
7:04
will all serve before night
7:06
falls! You
7:08
know, you and Kelly would
7:10
be wise to say
7:12
that you're not yourself. Rhonda, let
7:15
us help you. We need to go. And
7:18
you... You won't believe
7:21
to choose a side, but you
7:23
will be... Begging me
7:26
to spare you as you gasp
7:28
your final breaths! You
7:35
knocked out a tooth! Let
7:37
me go! Not
7:43
as much as you can. We need to go. August,
7:46
can y'all move? Yeah.
7:49
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,
7:52
we can do it. You good, Gemma? Cherry?
9:59
Okay, y'all ready? Repeat
10:02
after me. Deliver me, God,
10:05
out of the hands of the wicked. Deliver
10:07
me, God, out of the hands of the wicked.
10:10
For mine enemies shall be confounded, for
10:12
they are brought to shame to seek my hurt. For
10:15
mine enemies shall be confounded, for they
10:18
are brought to shame to seek my hurt. Amen.
10:21
Amen. Okay, that should
10:23
buy us a few minutes. Kelly, show
10:25
us how to get down into the haze. Aye, aye,
10:27
Captain.
10:31
Ugh, not so fast. I have
10:34
some very interesting information
10:36
you'd all like to hear. Don't listen
10:38
to her. Let's go. Of course
10:41
she doesn't want you listening to me. She's the reason for
10:43
all of this. None
10:45
of you would be in this situation right now, if not
10:47
for Cherry.
10:48
What does she mean, Mama Cherry? I
10:51
always liked you, Andre. Smart fellow.
10:54
Wouldn't you like to know why she was trapped in the book
10:56
in the first place?
10:57
Ugh,
11:00
fine. We clearly overestimated
11:03
your group's intelligence. And that's saying
11:05
something. Here's a freebie. Cherry
11:08
killed my aunt. That's why
11:10
he's here. And that's why I'm
11:13
helping him. You killed her, aren't
11:15
you? No, I didn't. It's
11:17
lying. Let's go. No.
11:20
I'll take my chances right here. No
11:23
one is safe with either of them. Oh,
11:25
yes. Please listen to the woman
11:28
for killing my son. It experiments
11:29
on living human beings. Wasn't
11:32
there a trial for that sort of thing? Maria,
11:36
we don't have time for this. Okay,
11:38
then tell the truth. I always liked
11:40
you too, Maria. Right up until you
11:42
experimented on us. You...
11:45
now you're smart. We underestimated
11:48
you. Perhaps you can be more
11:50
useful. Becky, I didn't
11:53
kill your aunt. She killed herself. I
11:56
was telling the truth. Mama Cherry, I
11:58
mean. And they saved
11:59
me. Becky's aunt killed her friend,
12:02
too. Wait, that's
12:04
what caused the terrible heat wave? One
12:07
in the same. Of course you're a liar,
12:09
too! Oh, kind of have to be
12:11
if you're a murderer. Or have you all
12:13
forgotten that Kelly killed Karen? And
12:16
you think I'm untrustworthy?
12:17
She's telling the truth,
12:20
Becky. I don't know who told you
12:22
she killed Agatha, but she did it. The
12:25
book did. The book killed
12:27
Karen, too. But you know
12:29
that. Look, your aunt did a ritual
12:31
in the woods to summon the book. It means
12:33
blood for strength. Lies!
12:35
You can't trust her! He
12:37
told me the truth. Our family has been
12:39
hunted by the Caldwells for generations!
12:42
But that stops today!
12:43
Our family?
12:46
You're related to the book? This
12:53
is what we were afraid of. We don't know
12:55
how much time that book holds with this bloodline
12:57
power. We need to go, now!
13:00
Not until you tell us the truth!
13:02
We already did, and we don't have
13:04
time for 21 questions. Stay here or
13:07
don't. I don't really care. I have work
13:09
to do. I'm coming with you. Me
13:11
too. This is Andre?
13:13
I'm with them. Even if
13:15
Becky wasn't lying, she's killed more people
13:17
than she's accused Mama Cherry of killing. Mama
13:20
Cherry doesn't have a pack of rabid animals at the ready.
13:23
So I'll take my chances with
13:24
them. Okay,
13:27
fine. Mama! Home
13:50
sweet home. Wait.
13:53
Maria, you said something earlier about Q and Rhonda.
13:56
How? We shouldn't
13:58
say it in front of her. She
14:00
can communicate with that
14:03
thing telepathically.
14:07
Hold her down, Andre. I'm going to need some
14:09
earwax. No! Don't
14:11
touch me! Shh! You
14:13
said don't touch me!
14:16
She
14:23
got it. Give me just a minute. No!
14:29
Keep it as of God here with God's
14:31
word. We therefore hear the
14:33
word because we are now God. No!
14:35
I'm going to kill you! Okay. She
14:37
can't hear us anymore. Antibiotics work.
14:40
I can treat her. And if we manage
14:42
to get out of this, we can treat the
14:45
other infected. I grab my bottle
14:47
before we run. If someone can hold her down,
14:50
I can brush the pills, mix it with some water, and
14:52
we can make her swallow it.
14:53
Andre, you hold it down and I'll
14:55
make her swallow it. Sure thing. Here's
14:59
some water. Wait.
15:02
Is this holy water? Is it
15:04
safe to drink? Better than safe. It
15:06
might even sever that telepathic connection.
15:17
Okay. Is everybody ready? No
15:20
water you're doing. Get away
15:23
from me! Get away from
15:25
me! She's
15:33
not swallowing. She's going to suffer, Ken.
15:37
Don't let go. She'll either
15:39
drink or pass out. It won't kill her. How long
15:42
for it to work? What
15:46
did you just do?
15:46
I can't hear him anymore.
15:49
What did you do?
15:52
How am I going to get Ethan back without him? I'm
15:55
not stressed. That's just
15:58
the holy water. Do you know how long the end of this is? antibiotics
16:00
take to work against this drain, Mobia? I
16:02
haven't exactly been able to watch a blog, but
16:05
the sample I treated while I was at the clinic
16:07
was clear of infection a bit before
16:10
I came out to tell you. Probably
16:12
an hour or two. But
16:15
she'll need a seven-day regimen to
16:17
be sure all of the bacteria is there.
16:19
Okay, let's get her
16:21
someone's seat so she can't hurt us or herself.
16:24
We're gonna tackle our other
16:25
problem.
16:31
We don't have much time before she makes it through.
16:34
Can we ward the other door? The one
16:36
to the cave? Good idea. You know how?
16:39
I just need help with the sigil.
16:40
I can do that. Cherry, can you figure
16:42
out how to stop this thing? Yeah, I
16:44
hope. I grabbed what I could, but
16:47
I don't know if it'll work. The best we can do
16:49
is try. Is there anything
16:51
I can do to help Mama Cherry? Give
16:53
me some of Becky's blood. Now that we know
16:56
she's the Brooke's family,
16:56
we could bind her through her. Maybe
16:59
we let her come in. Arm ourselves
17:01
as best we can. I can shoot her. I don't
17:04
give us blood.
17:05
I mean, I don't like the idea of fighting
17:07
her face-to-face. But I don't see any
17:09
other option right now. Anything else we
17:11
do is just gonna be temporary.
17:12
Well, giving ourselves more
17:14
time isn't the worst idea. Okay,
17:17
so we buy more time. For what?
17:21
Without her blood, we can't bind the book. Without
17:23
her hair or something else of hers, we can't
17:25
bind her. That
17:26
might be our only option. We're
17:28
back into a corner here. The only way out
17:30
of here is either dead or through that
17:33
army.
17:33
Uh, Mama Cherry? Yeah,
17:36
Kelly?
17:38
Uh, does it help that we're directly
17:40
below the mausoleum right now? We
17:47
are? Well, yeah. But
17:50
obviously, we're not gonna find any of the blood
17:53
I poured down here.
17:55
How did you get her blood
17:57
in the first place? Oh, she
17:59
faithfully- donates every eight weeks or so. I
18:02
just broke into the blood bank and grabbed it. I've
18:04
known you since you were a baby and you still
18:07
surprise the hell out of me. Cherry,
18:10
can we use that?
18:10
Wait
18:13
a minute. Wouldn't her blood be in the groundwater?
18:16
As in this pool or in the water dripping?
18:18
That's it, Gemma. You're right. We
18:21
can use the water. It'll have her essence
18:23
in it. I knew you were made for this
18:25
work.
18:27
Hold on. You robbed the
18:29
blood bank, Kelly? That's my
18:32
office.
18:33
Yeah, but... Leave him alone, Maria.
18:36
He may have saved our asses.
18:37
Oh, yeah, sure. Claro,
18:40
Kelly stole Becky's blood and somehow you
18:43
can use that to stop her. After everything you've
18:45
seen, you're seriously doubting this?
18:47
See? I draw the line at magic.
18:50
Everything else I've seen has a scientific
18:52
explanation. All of this is just
18:55
a bacterial mutation. We
18:57
shoot her full of antibiotics and the problem
18:59
is solved. All of this? This
19:01
binding
19:02
shit is unnecessary. Look
19:04
at Ronda. Her bones are starting to reshape
19:06
themselves. The antibiotics work.
19:09
We just have to figure out how to get them into Becky.
19:12
Dr. Torres, no disrespect, but I
19:14
don't think you know what you're dealing with. This
19:16
is more than bacteria. The book that
19:18
Dana was investigating, that's not
19:20
something you can kill with antibiotics. You
19:23
believe it's a melda about the book? You
19:26
just told us she could communicate with some
19:29
entity telepathically. What
19:31
do you think she
19:32
was communicating with? Becky?
19:34
The bacteria connects the infected so they can communicate
19:37
with each other. Kind of like
19:39
those mycelial networks, just with
19:41
humans. Or human
19:44
adjacent species. Look,
19:46
we don't have time to argue. You don't have
19:48
enough antibiotics in that little bottle to treat
19:50
the groundwater and cure everyone. And
19:52
there's no way we can take on Becky and her little demented
19:55
woodland friends to force an antibiotic down
19:57
our throat like we did with Ronda. So
19:59
unless you're willing to-
19:59
go out there and treat Becky's infection
20:02
yourself. How about you stay out of the way and
20:04
let us work? Besides,
20:07
this is science
20:08
too. Just because you don't understand
20:10
doesn't mean it's not. Okay,
20:12
Gemma. We need to find the route that
20:15
can kill this again about two-one. Do
20:17
you have barley? I vaguely remember
20:19
farmers using bales of barley in their ponds
20:21
to fight outbreaks. I do.
20:24
Oh, what
20:26
about copper? Hank used to put a few
20:29
drops in his aquarium when it started to
20:31
grow cyanobacteria. He had
20:33
to take bubbles out because it's toxic to fish,
20:35
but it always reset his aquarium really
20:37
well. Calcium hydroxide. What?
20:41
Lime dust. It's toxic to cyanobacteria.
20:44
Same as copper. Okay,
20:47
well I have all of that.
20:47
The bitters for the fritzled hen are
20:49
made in a copper pot. And
20:52
some lime dust. God must have been
20:54
looking out for me when I grabbed that. Epera.
20:57
Fritzled hen. That drink
21:00
that August serves at his bar. Is
21:03
that what Rhonda was giving Ethan?
21:05
It was. He still wouldn't
21:07
have saved him. He wasn't infected.
21:10
His injuries were all physical. Gemma,
21:12
pack me up here. No, they're right.
21:16
I'm pollyos. They've got you believing
21:18
this bullshit also? I thought
21:20
you were smarter than this. You know,
21:22
I defended you before, but
21:25
that was uncalled for. You better
21:27
be glad aren't Rhonda's death right now and that
21:29
I have more important things to do than fool
21:31
around with you. But shut up,
21:33
Maria. Before you say something you can't
21:36
come back from. Okay,
21:39
Mama Jerry. Tell me how to work this route.
21:49
Hurry, she's almost through. We're running out of time. I'm
21:51
moving as fast as I can. You've got the water from
21:53
your table. Some with the powdered lime I found in the bag.
21:56
And the water. 40 inches copper. Look
22:00
up, now what? They're here! Everybody
22:04
down! Pathetic.
22:15
It's going to take far more than that to kill
22:17
us. Oh,
22:20
I am gonna love watching the light
22:22
of your eyes. Every
22:24
single one of you. And
22:27
when your blood mingles with that
22:29
water pool, you'll learn what it's like to be
22:31
trapped. Not
22:33
if we watch the light lead goes first. I
22:52
am Mother of the Dios.
22:57
Killing Becky just kill all of them? Looks
22:59
that way. Andrey, be careful.
23:01
But check for a pulse. Jilla, what
23:04
did you do? Soaked the
23:06
shells under the holy water and prayed Psalm 35. I
23:09
remembered you hurting Rhonda like that, and
23:12
Andrey's shoot in her hair gave me the idea.
23:15
Good girl, Jilla. Good
23:16
girl. Wait,
23:20
can we still buy the book? Not anymore.
23:23
Best we can hope for is that Becky was truly the last
23:25
of that bloodline. But I don't see that
23:27
being possible. What about all her blood on the
23:29
ground? Doesn't work if the connection is
23:31
severed, and death definitely does that.
23:35
I'm sorry. Don't
23:37
be. We stopped it. No,
23:40
we didn't. Yes, we did.
23:42
We just didn't stop it for good. But
23:45
we've got time to figure it out. Let's find
23:47
that book and get out of here.
23:50
If the book was here, it's gone
23:52
now. Can
24:05
they not remember what happened to them? No.
24:09
The infection was essentially
24:11
a possession. They won't remember
24:13
anything they did while it's with
24:16
them. That's a blessing.
24:18
Yeah. Are
24:21
they... are they all
24:24
cured? Yep. Well,
24:27
kind of. The bacteria no longer
24:29
controls them, but they're still sick. That's
24:32
not science. Nope.
24:36
Then what is it? Who
24:38
knew? Drink up, Vanda.
24:41
Oh, my God. Wait up
24:44
there. Oh. What
24:48
happened?
24:52
Ethan!
25:00
You! You
25:02
killed my baby! Rhonda, Rhonda, stop!
25:06
Rhonda, come on!
25:06
What
25:10
did he come back to? Wouldn't the cure
25:12
have healed him too? No.
25:15
What's dead stays dead. In fact,
25:18
all the zombies are just dead bodies now. You
25:20
can't undo death. Not without creating
25:22
a much
25:23
worse problem. It'll be okay,
25:25
Rhonda. Not for a while.
25:27
But we will be
25:29
okay. Why didn't you just
25:31
leave me down there? Why
25:35
didn't you kill me like you did back there?
25:38
I can't do this.
25:41
I can't tell you. I can't. I can't.
25:44
I can't.
25:45
I know it feels that way.
25:48
I'm still struggling with Jackson and Mason.
25:51
And so is Gemma. We've
25:53
all lost so much. But we
25:55
still have each other. When
25:58
you can't, I can't.
25:59
And we will get
26:02
through this together. Mom?
26:07
Mom? Ethan? Where
26:10
is he? Ethan! You
26:13
can't see him. He's one of my
26:15
star friends now. But
26:18
he'll always be with us.
26:21
Wait, why
26:23
can we hear him? Because we're broad.
26:25
And broad stands in. Oh
26:29
baby. You
26:32
sound so grown up. In
26:35
a way,
26:36
I am. Mama,
26:40
I know it's hard, but you need to forgive
26:42
Dr. Torres. She was doing what
26:44
she thought was right, and creating her is
26:46
hurting you. But I
26:48
love you, Mama. I
26:50
love you too, baby. We
26:54
need to leave. All of us, right now. Just
26:57
get out of town. The feds are almost
26:59
here. I can't believe it. Fucking
27:02
feds.
27:16
Boss, there's something you need
27:18
to see down here. Is
27:40
that who I think it is? Becky
27:43
Harrison. Yes, ma'am. Shit.
27:47
I've got the intern searching for other potential relatives. She
27:50
couldn't have been the only one left for the bloodline.
27:52
We better hope she wasn't or we are fucked.
27:55
Any sign of the book? No. As
27:57
usual, it went back to wherever it hides.
29:59
Design is by Gen Zinc. Theme music
30:02
and original score by Lillian Boyd. In
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Aside from supporting us via Patreon or
30:22
the Apollo Podcasts app, you can also
30:24
support us by supporting Afflicted-branded merch.
30:26
Head on over to merch.afflictedaudio.com
30:29
now to snag your t-shirts, hoodies, stickers,
30:32
and more. Want to stay on top of all things
30:34
Afflicted? Follow us on Twitter at Afflicted
30:37
Audio so you'll always be among the first to
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hear about special episodes and events, giveaways,
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and more. Sharing across social media
30:43
is also a huge help to us, so please
30:46
be sure to tell your followers about the show.
30:48
Reviews help other listeners discover Afflicted,
30:50
so please take a moment to share how much you enjoyed
30:52
the show on your podcast listening app. We
30:55
would like to acknowledge that the land on which we produce
30:57
this show is the occupied land of the Haudenosaunee
31:00
and Kaudican peoples. Season one
31:02
of Afflicted takes place in East Texas, which is
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the land of the Kado people.
31:06
Neither the Kaudican nor Kado tribes
31:08
are federally recognized due to cumbersome
31:10
and intentionally prohibitive federal bureaucracy.
31:13
And now a treat for listening until the very
31:16
end. On June 9th of 1964, United
31:18
Airlines Flight 823
31:21
crashed near Newport, Tennessee. During
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the early days of commercial aviation, plane
31:25
crashes were much more common than they are today,
31:27
and investigations often revealed
31:30
a definitive cause for the crash that led to
31:32
improved safety regulations. Such
31:34
was not the case with Flight 823. The
31:37
only thing federal investigators were able
31:39
to confirm was that an uncontrollable fire
31:41
broke out on the plane. The cause of the
31:43
ignition was never determined, perhaps
31:46
just as unsettling as that the last communication
31:49
was exactly 13 minutes before the
31:51
plane crashed.
31:52
Be sure to check out the Season 2 Afflicted
31:54
trailer on May 8th for more insight
31:57
into why we chose this creepy
31:59
fact for you.
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