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3:12

Good evening listener you're listening

3:14

to to Win Titles for

3:16

Dog Nice On tonight's addition,

3:18

we invite you to leave

3:20

behind your safe reality and

3:22

to send with us into

3:24

the frightening Jeb. So the

3:26

most terrifying imaginations with an

3:29

audio adaptation of frightening fiction

3:31

about someone does spirits. I'm

3:33

your host Polje Mcsorley And

3:35

tonight and every other Wednesday

3:37

night I'll be your guide

3:39

is we traverse the dimly

3:41

lit borders. Of your darkest

3:43

dreams. Joining us

3:45

tonight to help bring to light

3:48

the frightening fiction of Eric Fisher

3:50

is myself voice Dell and Paul

3:52

J. Mcsorley. Now

3:54

get your ticket ready, take your

3:56

seats in over theater of the

3:58

mines and brace yourself. It's

4:00

time to. Turn. Off

4:02

the lights and turned on the

4:05

dark. Or

4:09

Retail This Evening is written by Eric

4:12

Fisher and is performed by me Paul

4:14

J. Mcsorley. In this

4:16

tale, we traveled back to time before

4:18

many of us were even born. Sit.

4:21

Back as we listened to the

4:23

horrors of a generation since pass.

4:26

Now without further ado I

4:28

present to you. Thus,

4:31

I invoked discuss. Part.

4:40

One. Elevation: Four Hundred

4:42

Sixty One. Buchanan.

4:44

County Indiana. August

4:46

Nineteen Thirty Three. Franklin.

4:51

D. Roosevelt's New Deal investments were

4:53

coming into full effect. As.

4:55

Ship listen work. Hungry men left the

4:58

bread lines for any job they could

5:00

get to put food on their families

5:02

tables as stave off evictions in car

5:04

repossessions. Building. Dams, roads

5:06

and sidewalks, Trails. National

5:09

Parks massive tree planting and

5:11

land reclamation efforts. The.

5:13

Federal money flowed into communities large

5:15

and small as land science and

5:18

design professionals. Found. Ways to

5:20

legislate their vision to create a better

5:22

America amidst of grinding poverty of the

5:24

Great Depression. While most

5:27

of these businesses were honest and earnestly

5:29

run, Organized. Crime saw this

5:31

infusion of cash as a wellspring

5:33

of opportunity, and the Indianapolis gang

5:35

of mostly Iris mobsters known as

5:37

the Famine Boys wasted no time

5:39

getting their hands into the pot.

5:42

After. All with national unemployment still stuck

5:45

at about twenty percent. Almost no one

5:47

cared where the guys came from as

5:49

long as a man had a job.

5:52

Therefore, When it was announced that

5:54

began in Coney would be eligible, he funded

5:56

for a new correctional facility. There. Were

5:59

few questions raised by expecting

6:01

taxpayers. With. The exception of

6:03

a few arden's but over shouted republicans

6:05

as to the whys and hows of

6:07

the project. In fact, It.

6:10

Was a done deal between the feds,

6:12

the local congressman and the county commissioners

6:14

before the papers. Good even print that

6:16

the land had been purchased. The.

6:19

Site was to be situated on a dead

6:21

end road near the White River, outside of

6:23

the secluded town of Yellow Would. Granted,

6:26

The new jail ended up cheaply and

6:28

hastily build. But. At least it's prisoner

6:30

capacity was larger than the county crime

6:32

court is required. Given. The

6:35

increase in violence during the Great

6:37

Depression upgrades for incarceration facilities were

6:39

seen as a good investment of

6:41

new Federal Public Works finance. However,

6:44

The dubious lowest bidder process for the

6:46

supposedly state of the art as gay

6:48

prove facility. Was. Comprised by

6:51

it's hasty construction schedule. As

6:53

well as greedy shady contractors

6:55

with their inspector pay offs

6:57

and design change orders to

6:59

pocket profit and reduce their

7:01

costs. More.

7:05

Problematically, the civil engineers teeth draft

7:07

or for the project was a

7:10

drunk a moron with limited graphic

7:12

abilities. So. One day as the

7:14

architect consultants requested to assign have been

7:16

is floor elevation of the basement for

7:19

structural puddings. He. Drew the recommendation

7:21

of what would have been a

7:23

safe hide atop the assumed floodplain

7:25

of the nearby White River. four

7:27

hundred sixty seven feet above sea

7:29

level. Based. On recent nineteen

7:32

twenty nine vertical Datum from

7:34

the newly formed United States

7:36

Geological Service. you Sgs to

7:38

be exact. Unfortunately,

7:41

Is. Sloppy lettering. Ended. Up

7:43

signing the number to appear. As for

7:45

sixty one. Ones. Could

7:48

look like sevens when incorrectly drawn

7:50

by hand. Furthermore,

7:52

The. Saudis during an apathetic survey

7:54

Crew chief Big Billie wants worth.

7:57

Assigned to oversee the fieldwork. Never.

8:00

bothered to check his math to see

8:02

if this could actually present a problem

8:04

to anyone. He carelessly

8:06

set up his level instrument and began

8:08

shooting in the grading stakes for the

8:10

building's basement. The survey chain

8:13

men laboriously wielding their hammer and

8:15

measuring tape as the impatient excavators

8:17

waited on their loudly idling smoky

8:19

machines to start working the mucky

8:21

strata of subsoil. Of

8:24

course, Billy didn't care if it took the field

8:26

crew all day to shoot in the building's many

8:28

corners, as his concern

8:30

gravitated around the hours he could

8:32

fabricate beyond any actual work on

8:35

his grimy timesheet, the hours

8:37

of which held more potential as fantasy

8:39

writing than any H.G. Wells story. Amazingly,

8:44

no one in the local

8:46

inspection or law enforcement community

8:48

realized that the erroneously staked

8:50

jail basement floor was built

8:52

efficiently and dangerously below the

8:54

proposed finished grade. Of

8:57

course, the contractor had ended up quietly

8:59

pocketing the difference for payment of the

9:02

unrequited compacted fill soil,

9:05

while the county commissioners and their egomaniac

9:07

architects patted themselves on the back for

9:09

getting their project done on time with

9:12

federal dollars. So soon

9:14

enough, the shiny and imposing

9:16

looking new Buchanan County Correctional Center

9:18

took shape and was completed and

9:21

dedicated, the community of Yellowwood

9:23

feeling safer for it. The

9:26

unseen problem that remained was

9:29

that the basement being constructed

9:31

at elevation 461, the

9:34

building was at least six feet too low

9:36

not to flood. Part

9:40

2. Defixione,

9:45

The Cursed Tablet Thinking

9:48

back, I hated myself for thinking

9:51

so, but I wanted

9:53

him dead. The man

9:55

known as the Dorn, that is.

9:57

That's some sort of Irish Gaelic name

9:59

for a fist, and a

10:01

fist he was for certain. Perhaps

10:04

the most powerful mobster in the Midwest

10:06

these days, especially with Clapone being imprisoned

10:08

now and all, my

10:10

family had no business or reason to cross

10:12

his wretched path. Yet,

10:15

their fates were to do so. Back

10:19

in 1933, after the bank murders,

10:21

at first I thought, why

10:24

had things come to this end? The

10:26

uncivilized ideas kept creeping into my brain

10:29

like an incessant broken pipe in a

10:31

flooding basement. Who

10:33

said this had to be how it ends?

10:36

I have no right to play God, to

10:39

whom we'll all answer, but

10:41

I became obsessed as time went by

10:43

to see a guilty man flaunting his

10:46

continual means of escaping or buying justice

10:48

coming to a proper end. As

10:51

it turned out, my difixione, perhaps

10:54

the last known unfinished curse tablet

10:56

of the ancient Romano British days,

10:58

would cede that. You

11:00

see, after all, I was a

11:03

simple commercial accountant for a well-to-do firm

11:05

here in Fort Wayne. We

11:07

handled family trusts and investor mismanagement

11:09

mistakes to cover and provide loopholes

11:12

for many corporate clients, which

11:14

I will not name out of due

11:16

diligence for my profession more than respect.

11:20

Suffice it to say, we also

11:22

employed several rabid attorneys. Alternately,

11:25

my wife Rachel and our eleven-year-old daughter

11:27

Abby were all taught to play by

11:29

the rules of the good book at

11:31

our Methodist church and Rachel's

11:34

family synagogue, an almost

11:36

surreal notion after the lawlessness of

11:38

the Great Depression, but

11:40

rules they are. Of

11:43

course, as you may imagine, we had it

11:45

better financially than most around us then, but

11:48

it's one thing to lose your stuff. It's

11:50

another to lose your family. Abby

11:54

was a pretty, somewhat withdrawn girl with

11:56

curly brown red hair, with both a

11:58

humility and inquisitive. that

12:01

any parent would be thankful for, and

12:03

she would have inevitably stunned the boys

12:05

someday with her looks. Sooner

12:08

than I would have liked, I wryly conceded. Got

12:11

that from her mother, thank goodness. Rachel

12:14

was indeed tall, attractive, and brunette

12:17

enough to pass for her Jewish

12:19

background. Perhaps the most pragmatic and

12:21

supportive woman I had ever met when it

12:24

came to capabilities of home and heart. Her

12:26

vivaciousness counterbalanced my methodical

12:29

and somewhat curious nature,

12:31

and we were, sometimes jealously and

12:33

erroneously, held up as a model

12:35

couple at the accounting firm's holiday

12:38

parties. We always

12:40

felt the Christian call to help others

12:42

less fortunate, especially during the depths

12:44

of the Depression days, and Rach

12:46

volunteered at the church, sponsored

12:49

bread lines downtown on Prospect Avenue whenever

12:51

she could get her mom or neighbor

12:53

girl to babysit for Abby. The

12:56

people Rach met at the bread line

12:58

ranged from the post wealthy to the

13:00

neighborhood drunks. She had once

13:02

commented sometime in 1931 that she

13:04

had met a shoddily clad but

13:07

dignified sounding old vagabond at the

13:09

soup kitchen begging for food. He

13:12

claimed to be J. Patrick Killigan, the

13:15

old millionaire ruined by the

13:17

Icarus Airship Company disaster years

13:19

ago. Yeah, right. So,

13:23

the day of the murders was a

13:25

sunny, predictably humid summer day as I

13:27

remember, with the children gratefully out of

13:30

school, with some kids from

13:32

the county not returning to class until

13:34

after Labor Day while helping with their

13:36

family's farm fields. I

13:38

was at work that morning on a

13:40

particularly difficult and slow moving probate case

13:43

when I received a call from Rachel saying that

13:45

she and Abby would be going downtown to the

13:47

first federal bank that morning. I

13:50

already knew Abby would be proudly taking

13:52

her little porcelain piggy bank, which

13:54

she had named Hammy, Somewhat

13:56

to Rachel's orthodox chagrin. Packed

14:00

with change which she had methodically

14:02

saved from allowance and lemonade stands

14:05

to deposit into a children's savings

14:07

account. As. The posts

14:09

depression economy of the Us was still

14:11

perilous. The. Next Generation needed to know

14:13

the value of a dollar. Or

14:15

what was left of. That.

14:18

Was the last time I spoke with

14:20

my wife. Later.

14:23

That day a call came to my

14:26

desk from the police or wouldn't voice

14:28

on the phone commanded mean to the

14:30

downtown station and my earliest opportunity. As.

14:32

In now. I. Had no

14:34

idea what was going on as they ask

14:36

me to identify the bodies. Bodies.

14:40

What? Is going on here? Offices. They.

14:43

Said they to explain when I got there. Already

14:46

thinking the worse with my classes

14:48

vision of everything, I solemnly arrived

14:51

shortly and transformed into an emotionless

14:53

shot mode. As I

14:55

sat in the smoky room straddling a hard

14:57

to hear. The. Story I was told

14:59

was simply this. There. Have

15:01

been on multiple murders situation at a

15:03

bank earlier today. The. Main First

15:06

Federal Branch on Westbury Street.

15:09

The detectives monotone explanation went on to

15:11

say that after an alert bank teller

15:13

had pushed the clandestine button on the

15:15

floor to signal the authorities have a

15:18

robbery in progress. The.

15:20

Cops had arrived and surrounded the

15:22

for mobster goons. Who. Were all

15:25

armed with tommy guns and the criminals use

15:27

their heaters to suit their way out. do

15:29

I hopped up getaway car. They.

15:31

Had killed one police officer in the

15:33

process and were seen making tracks where

15:35

the nearby Michigan border. Maybe. Escaping

15:38

on further to Canada. Either

15:40

way, the creeps around the lamb. After

15:42

a hail of bullets, he seizing no

15:44

more than a few thousand dollars of

15:46

green for their carnage. Meanwhile.

15:50

Five innocent people lay dead on the bank

15:52

floor. A couple of them so shot of

15:54

they looked like ground up meat. And

15:57

I mean meat. And. overwhelmed

16:00

officer fresh on the scene had

16:02

involuntarily blurted out. My

16:04

wife and daughter were also thoughtlessly

16:06

and needlessly gunned down in the

16:08

crossfire on the large limestone staircase

16:10

which cascaded grandly from the bank's

16:12

front to entrance. I

16:15

later broke down when the local news people

16:17

on the radio beat described the slaughter

16:19

of a young girl. My

16:21

daughter, who was shot in

16:24

the head during the melee, her

16:26

precious piggy bank falling and shattering,

16:28

spilling hard, earned change over

16:30

the blood on the steps in plaza. This

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a-n-g-i.com. After

20:20

the closed casket funerals and with the numbing

20:23

loss of my wife and daughter still fresh,

20:26

my passion for the things of life began

20:28

to fade. Fishing and

20:30

boating in the then clear water of

20:32

northeastern Indiana lakes, patiently whittling

20:35

chess sets from exotic woods, and

20:37

even my favorite pastime as I

20:39

grew older, collecting and

20:41

investing in ancient old world

20:43

and British archaeological artifacts. To

20:46

be humble, my antiquities collection,

20:48

gleaned from many markets over the

20:51

years, was indeed extensive

20:53

and authentic, a potentially

20:55

significant inheritance for a child now

20:57

lost. My work was

20:59

adversely affected as well, as I sometimes

21:02

caught myself staring mindlessly at the ledgers

21:04

of the firms of fluent clients who

21:06

wished to hide their money from taxation

21:08

here and there. The

21:10

depression had ruined its share of

21:12

people, but oh yes, the wealthy

21:14

cats were still staying wealthy. However,

21:18

even as the time progressed, the local

21:20

police felt compelled to stay in contact

21:22

and share their suspicions with me as

21:25

to the identity of the first federal

21:27

robbers as trickles of evidence came in.

21:30

Ultimately, everyone involved admitted that

21:32

Rory Shanahan, aka

21:34

the Dorn himself or

21:37

his gang, had a guilty hand in this crime

21:39

one way or another. He was

21:41

something close to a specter of

21:43

evil itself throughout the Midwest, leaving

21:45

behind him a trail of bloody

21:47

bodies, terrorized shop owners, and heroin-addicted

21:49

street bums in his wake from

21:51

the streets to the state house.

21:54

He and his famine boys gang

21:57

operated with impunity throughout Indiana. sadistic

22:00

reputation only growing since his

22:02

involvement in the ill-fated Kazmysrit,

22:05

commotion, workers movement

22:07

among the disposed Slavic, Nordic,

22:09

Irish, and other minority young

22:12

men in 1920s Chicago.

22:15

He had afterward come to see much

22:17

more purpose in underworld profit than in

22:19

the politics of organized labor, not

22:22

that he couldn't keep a few public work

22:24

contracts in his pocket when needed for their

22:26

groveling bosses to launder money for him. It

22:29

was said that Shanahann had even

22:31

rigged the Indy 500 race once.

22:34

Yeah, he had gotten that

22:36

kind of power. The

22:38

Dorn was also known as an

22:41

ardent gambler and flamboyant showman when

22:43

it suited his image as well

22:45

for his violently illicit activities. He

22:48

liked to be seen throwing money around

22:50

to the little people working the room

22:52

service and cooking jobs at the Woodsy

22:54

and prestigious French Lick and West Baden

22:56

resorts downstate. It was great

22:58

PR, as they called it. On

23:01

the other hand, according to certain detectives, if

23:03

an informant were to be caught, Shanahann

23:05

also liked to gamble with that

23:08

situation. He was known to

23:10

usually flip a coin for the punishment. Heads?

23:13

Well, you lost your head, usually

23:16

though the use of several knives

23:18

slowly dissecting the flesh and bone.

23:21

Tails? You lost your scrotum.

23:24

And at that point, who cares how

23:26

many knives you used? Disposal

23:28

of corpses was never a problem.

23:31

It was eggs and coffee, as they

23:34

said these days, which meant

23:36

a smooth operation. Therefore,

23:38

not many witnesses tended to come

23:40

forth to testify against him, which

23:43

I knew would make justice for my

23:45

family even more impossible. Anyway,

23:49

not too long ago, I was

23:51

solemnly cleaning up the attic, stumbling

23:53

across some of the never-ending reminders

23:55

of a marriage. You know, the

23:57

little objects you think you'll keep up away

24:00

forever until you find room for it

24:02

somewhere downstairs? Until

24:04

that someone is gone. Then in

24:07

an angled rear corner of the attic, I

24:10

spied one of my old methodically

24:12

marked boxes of Celtic era treasures.

24:15

Dusty, but still worth a handsome price some

24:17

day, I still hope. I

24:20

made the mistake of opening it then, and

24:22

there I found my choice of

24:24

forgiveness or vengeance. Of

24:27

course, the Christian action is to forgive.

24:29

No way around it, but

24:31

I stumbled along the way on this one, for

24:34

inside the bottom of this particularly

24:36

dusty box resided an ancient lead

24:39

tablet. And I knew, I

24:42

knew that while there would never be

24:45

any recompense from my family's deaths, here

24:48

resided the potential solace of

24:50

knowing that somewhere, at some

24:52

time, the Dorn would finally

24:55

pay a price. Not

24:57

just for my family, but hopefully

24:59

for all he had mistreated or

25:01

murdered. So

25:04

now I found myself staring at this

25:06

relic from centuries ago. My

25:08

mind anguished at the right and wrong

25:10

of any action to partake in his

25:12

unnatural power until I went downstairs

25:15

again and saw the last portrait of my

25:17

little girl. Overwhelmed,

25:20

that settled it. Thus,

25:23

I invoked Niskus. I

25:28

sat on the musky floorboards of the

25:30

unfinished attic, sighing and with

25:32

the faint light of only two incandescent

25:34

bulbs, I wielded the heavy

25:36

lead tablet after I had wrestled other items

25:38

out of its way within the footlocker. It

25:41

was the cursed tablet known as

25:44

a difixione. My

25:46

ability to decipher the ancient text

25:48

was limited, yet there

25:50

lay an obviously incomplete petition

25:52

to Niskus, known as

25:55

the River Demigod of Retribution

25:57

in ancient Britain and Ireland.

26:00

Its worn inscriptions were scrawled

26:02

between purposely unfulfilled blank lines.

26:05

The blank lines were included to allow the

26:08

customer at the time of its

26:10

production to produce and document on

26:12

the tablet whatever grievance they

26:15

had and the payback they

26:17

requested. Had I

26:19

purchased this? I don't recall.

26:22

Did it arrive with me from a

26:24

random estate sale or had it somehow

26:26

followed me? No

26:28

matter as here it was after

26:31

untold centuries a request for begging

26:33

justice and vengeance, its

26:35

previous owner for some reason never

26:38

getting the opportunity to specify the

26:40

grievances the object was intended to

26:42

bring. Sitting and

26:44

waiting here in my attic no less. But

26:47

when I touched it, its power

26:49

over millennia touched me and

26:52

then all I could feel was the complete

26:54

rage of the wrongs done against my family.

26:59

The name of the pseudo-god was evident

27:01

on the slab, complete with what remained

27:03

of a crude sketch of a reptilian

27:05

or fish-like head on a human body.

27:08

The strange unintelligible artifact appeared to

27:11

be from, I would

27:13

have guessed, around the middle 200s

27:15

AD, given the script style. It

27:18

started with a typical curse preamble

27:20

invoking the male aberration of Niskis

27:23

and his female companion Sullis, who

27:25

were believed to have worked in

27:27

concert under Neptune and

27:29

who both held the historic

27:31

reputation and ability of identifying

27:34

moral transgressors, thieves, etc.,

27:37

and administering a cruel justice on

27:39

behalf of the curse tablet's petitioner.

27:44

I scrawled in my wish with

27:46

a nearby metal bar and instructed

27:48

that Shanahan be somehow tortured with

27:50

a lesson, not killed, so

27:52

that his punishment would follow him all

27:54

his days. I

27:56

know this fellow would never be stopped, never

27:59

be put away. in the Big House by the

28:01

law, unless someone stood up to

28:03

him with whatever means at their disposal.

28:06

I will pray for his soul, but I

28:09

knew with some sort of gratification that some

28:11

sort of genie was now out of the

28:13

bottle for his judgment on this earth. Now

28:18

that you mentioned it, as of today, I

28:21

never heard what happened to the Dorn, or

28:23

if the cursed tablet invocation even worked.

28:27

All I do know is that he

28:29

never showed up to stand trial in

28:31

Indianapolis this past May. The

28:33

papers declared he had simply disappeared out

28:36

of some small-town jail, mysteriously

28:38

vanishing about the same time a

28:40

considerable amount of the district attorneys

28:42

impounded drug money evidence did. The

28:45

perplexed law enforcement agencies were at a

28:47

loss for words at his disappearance, and

28:50

some citizens actually rooted for the

28:52

escape of the villain, as

28:54

if his exploits were as those of

28:57

Robin Hood, or at least like

28:59

Bonnie and Clyde, but I

29:01

alone know that something or

29:04

someone had finally gotten to the

29:06

Dorn. You see, the

29:08

families of his victims never mattered to

29:10

Shanahan, which gave me an invisible edge

29:12

to finally deal with him. While

29:16

I'm at it, I wasn't sure

29:18

how this briefcase full of newly printed

29:21

cabbage, its crisp $100 bills neatly

29:24

stacked, and methodically counted by

29:26

myself to the tune of $103,500, thank you,

29:31

mysteriously showed up at my doorstep the

29:33

other day. Well, maybe

29:36

I do know. Either

29:38

way, I imagine the doe was

29:40

somehow a small disbursement of interest

29:42

from the Dorn's deeds, compounded on

29:44

the principal cost of human lives

29:46

lost to his miserable crime. Part

29:50

3. Slowly Drown

29:53

Like a Rat. In late

29:55

1935, the law had somehow finally caught

30:00

up with the fist. Last

30:02

month, the Indy Police and

30:04

State Bulls had wisely booked

30:06

and transferred Rory, the Dorn

30:08

Shanahan, into the bowels of

30:11

the obscure Buchanan County Correctional

30:13

Facility for safekeeping awaiting extradition,

30:15

as his arrest had generated much publicity

30:18

over a fair trial in Indianapolis next

30:20

May. The hope was

30:22

that with less publicity, perhaps some

30:24

witnesses would anonymously come forth

30:26

and help them administer justice.

30:29

Of course, no one had yet.

30:33

The coppers had been trailing him

30:35

at high-end steak bars courting politicians

30:38

and sleazy juke joints courting high-priced

30:40

whores for months. After

30:42

the warrants were issued, they had him

30:44

crusted on the spot, alright, thanks

30:46

to a clever undercover streetwalking

30:48

dame and about 20 undercover

30:50

cops. Not on the

30:53

Dorn's payroll, which resulted in netting

30:55

the head thugs of the famine

30:57

boys, along with Shanahan and his

30:59

small girlfriend in a rundown hotel

31:01

near Indianapolis' downtown market district. As

31:04

the police descended on their dingy rooms,

31:07

they uncovered inexplicable amounts of cash and

31:09

enough heroin to light up half of

31:11

Toledo, not to mention netting

31:13

several guys, trying to make tracks away

31:16

down the hall from the naked 10

31:18

or 12-year-old runaway immigrant girl stowed there.

31:21

A resource, Shanahan would often

31:23

traffic to colleagues and suppliers

31:25

as torrid favorites. Even

31:28

as these events transpired, no

31:30

one would have predicted a warm

31:32

winter deluge of massive snow melt,

31:35

leaving much of the southern part of

31:37

the Hoosier State swimming in frigid debris

31:39

and death. As the

31:41

wet winter progressed, the severity of the

31:43

flooding became evident. The

31:46

nearby Wabash River had swept a four-pier

31:48

iron bridge away in a torrent like

31:50

it was a child's toy. Low-lying

31:52

homes had been inundated to the

31:54

roof, and now it seemed not

31:56

even the Dorn's new home in Yellowwood would

31:59

not be exempt. The

32:01

chilly flood water from a wintery week in late

32:04

February 1936 left a long torrent of rain slowly

32:08

but surely coming in under the

32:10

steel door of the Buchanan County

32:12

Correctional Facilities High Security Basement Level

32:15

F Block. The water

32:17

level creeping up the hill outside and

32:19

then into the jail like a brazen

32:21

burglar to take whatever drive floor was

32:23

left. It was just a

32:25

trickle now onto the main cell hall floor yet

32:28

it continued to spread quietly and

32:30

unstopping making the steel bars shimmer

32:33

against the few caged incandescent light

32:35

bulbs above. Meanwhile

32:37

there were muppled sounds of shuffling

32:39

shackled beat and loud authoritative guards

32:42

voices heard upstairs. As

32:44

an unprecedented precaution all the prisoners in

32:47

the jails were now in the process

32:49

of being evacuated. Some

32:51

smart aleck guard was loudly playing

32:53

Lazy River by Hoagie Carmichael and

32:55

Sydney Arredon on a radio upstairs

32:57

in the sheriff's office while the

33:00

inmates were being frisked and corralled

33:02

into the awaiting fatty wagons after

33:04

their last allowable restroom break. Now

33:08

only one man was left on post

33:11

was downstairs in the basement security wing

33:13

a dour old turnkey named Hank Loveless.

33:16

Perhaps the sergeant was just too stubborn

33:18

and said in his institutional ways to

33:20

leave but he still had a dangerous

33:22

prisoner to guard dammit and no stupid

33:24

flood was going to interfere with that.

33:27

He wound his trusty railroad watch

33:29

a last gift from his

33:31

father for the final inmate roster

33:34

to be accounted for and assessed

33:36

last-minute prisoner removal with a reluctant

33:38

sigh. I

33:40

thought I may actually get to

33:42

shoot someone trying to escape today.

33:45

Loveless thought sullenly. He

33:47

watched with an insulted demeanor as

33:50

the storm water infiltrated his domain.

33:52

He had kept a clean ward since the new

33:54

jail was built. Less dangerous

33:56

prisoners on probation had postured for the

33:59

right for safety. simple and sometimes

34:01

filthy floor cleaning duties under the dank

34:03

toilets and all, anything to get them

34:05

out of their cells for a while

34:08

and to get some meager cash to

34:10

trade for contraband such as smokes or

34:12

girly mags. Now, however,

34:14

Mother Nature was sneaking in just

34:17

as readily as the prisoners would

34:19

fantasize about sneaking out. For

34:21

whatever reason the jail's architects had in mind,

34:24

the field of view for the cells on

34:26

F block had been enhanced for the guards

34:28

by a raised floor in an atrium at

34:30

the middle of the hallway. The

34:33

basement ward was reserved for the most

34:35

hardened criminals, so Loveless would sit at

34:37

his desk there and watch from his

34:39

concrete perch like an angry hawk, and

34:42

the men in the cells on both sides of the

34:44

long lower hall knew not to trifle with him. But

34:47

today, one inmate still remained

34:49

behind among the 20 basement level cells

34:51

after all the others had been led

34:54

out to a train of paddy wagons

34:56

to unappealing points elsewhere. The

34:58

feds were supposed to have arrived and

35:00

removed this one high-profile jerk by now,

35:03

but until then the prisoner was in

35:05

his domain. The

35:07

heavy black phone rang down at his large

35:09

desk. Loveless here,

35:11

what's the condition outside? Are

35:14

y'all out yet? We're

35:18

preparing and boarding the prisoners now, Sarge. Orders

35:20

are to take them all over to the

35:22

federal pen at Terre Haute for now. Damn,

35:25

we've got every cop and civil service guy

35:27

in four counties out bagging sand on a

35:29

river. This is the worst I've seen since the

35:32

Great Flood of 13, I'd say. Now

35:34

they're predicting the dam upstream at Mayfield

35:36

May collapse, so you gotta get out

35:38

soon, okay? The hard-boiled

35:41

turnkey answered evenly in a

35:43

raspy voice. Sure,

35:46

all's in order down here, but I'm

35:49

waiting for those F.P.I. morons to come

35:51

get inmate 36 here. I'm

35:53

not leaving him behind. There's been

35:55

enough rumors of him trying to escape with some

35:57

help as it is. Mark,

36:00

I'll be fine. Just keep the lights

36:02

on down here and you get

36:04

everyone else going." As

36:07

the evacuated inmates were trucked away

36:09

under guard before the ground was

36:11

too sodded to allow them passage

36:13

out and escape the jail's inevitable

36:15

submergence, the water started to

36:18

make a more pronounced presence for

36:20

the one incarcerated man left below,

36:22

pressure now making it trickling in

36:25

instead of seeping in, penetrating

36:27

any weak spot in the basement

36:29

foundation. Soon, the hallway

36:31

of F Block was completely covered in nearly

36:33

an inch of water. Loveless

36:36

turned to view the man, inmate 36 in

36:39

cell number 18, who returned his

36:41

eye contact with an icy stare,

36:43

not oblivious to the water saturating the bottom

36:46

floor of his cell. His

36:48

Irish accent indeed gave him a

36:51

wait, as the rumored mob boss

36:53

awaited a high-profile narcotics and prostitution

36:55

trial upstate. Given

36:57

what the man was rumored of doing, Loveless would

37:00

have just as soon shot him right there in

37:02

his cell. He might even

37:04

get a medal from Governor McNutt. Inmate

37:07

36 was Rory Quinn Shanahan and

37:10

he had other plans. Along

37:13

with the other prisoners, he had no

37:15

idea of the environmental calamity going on

37:17

outside of, and now inside

37:19

of, the jail, but he focused

37:21

on how this unlikely situation could be

37:24

used to his advantage for busting out.

37:27

So the Dorn bided his time as the

37:29

water crept into his cell and taunted the

37:31

redneck guard, maybe to get him to

37:33

spill some beans on what was going on. A

37:37

loud authoritative voice resonated from the depths

37:39

of the jail basement. Is

37:44

this the way you fucking clowns run a

37:46

joint? I got five guys coming

37:49

to get me out of this podunk jail soon,

37:51

so you better let me out and leave while

37:53

you can, Copper. You boys won't

37:55

have much mercy on you when they get here. They'll

37:58

drill you and send your body. The down the

38:00

river. Then would come for your

38:02

family. Loveless

38:05

just sat back and decided to trim

38:07

his fingernails and with a typical southern

38:09

Indiana draw replied with contempt. And

38:13

think so. Green Mile. I'm.

38:15

Thinking your new friends from the Fed will

38:17

get here first. You're. Going to

38:19

stand trial? That's what you're going do. Then.

38:22

You're mall and your whole make

38:24

game wall stand trial to get

38:26

the heart squat exclusion in the

38:28

electric chair. That's. Would you

38:30

get once we get the goods from

38:33

the Indianapolis Thirty Second Street Murders on

38:35

the A to. The

38:37

imposing, bulky, mercurial red headed in

38:40

made became enraged and said even

38:42

more loudly. The. Up

38:44

Dictated: Don't Chrome. You're.

38:46

Gonna let me are not as what you're gonna

38:48

do. I'm getting tired of your

38:50

malarkey. You. Know you're done with.

38:53

Or. Good have the ability to scours

38:55

anyway. Loveless.

38:57

Ignored him and com got on the horn and

38:59

said. Paul. Is

39:02

everybody else entire borne out?

39:05

Waters. of the my goals on the floor

39:07

now but. Also. Scored thirty six

39:09

myself of on more so. Don't.

39:11

Worry. Really? Market.

39:15

As sounds good, you guys go ahead.

39:18

Yes, I know what to do deserve

39:20

be a guy Lynch doesn't show up soon

39:22

to transport him. On know

39:24

what I'd like to do to him. Of

39:27

course I know what the Be

39:29

A wants us to do to.

39:32

I'm Sir Lancelot. day game somewhere

39:34

safe but. One. Were the

39:36

other is talking toilet old

39:38

is going to stand trial

39:40

or.truck. Shanahan.

39:43

Overheard replied. I

39:45

won't do time anywhere. Wants to get outta

39:47

here? You'll. Take bastard. I

39:50

got a judge and jury under me tom and ready

39:52

to go. Our own indeed.

39:54

Remember. Nobody. As much

39:57

as parts in a courtroom without missing

39:59

so copper. Ha! Maybe you

40:01

let me out now and I let you live,

40:03

deal? I'm

40:05

breaking out of my watch, sir. You're

40:08

a thick-headed crumb. I have

40:10

the door to have you either killed or coronated.

40:13

Now just get down here and turn the key. It's

40:16

real simple, see? I'll

40:18

even give you a minute's head start. Of

40:21

course, I don't apply when me guys show up.

40:24

Then you end up locked in the

40:26

cell after a good arse-kicking. Maybe

40:28

we just give you the big sleep and see

40:31

into Meat Wagon instead. The

40:35

old cop was indeed a dullard, but he

40:37

wouldn't budge. I'm

40:39

taking a piss. You stay put. Cell

40:43

doors on this floor ain't electric operated like

40:45

they were supposed to be so they can't

40:47

show it out. Can't pick

40:49

the locks neither. The

40:51

place was built like crap, but

40:53

they didn't skimp on steel. Just

40:57

sit there and wait for your ride to

40:59

justice, Mick. Water

41:01

was now also pouring in through the small leaky

41:04

windows at the end of the basement hallway, not

41:07

above any prisoners' grasp, but

41:09

useless for escape, as the metal bars

41:11

had been double thickened there. It

41:14

was as if the jail's basement floor

41:16

was feeling some kind of wrath from

41:18

the nearby river's overloaded banks. Loveless

41:21

returned from the can and found the

41:23

phone ringing again above the increasing din

41:26

of incoming water. Picking up,

41:28

he said, So he's

41:30

here? Finally! Okay,

41:32

I'm leaving with you after I come

41:35

up to meet him. Hope he has

41:37

his rain galoshes with him. The

41:40

stubborn turnkey slowly vanished up the

41:42

nearby metal stairs, leaving Shanna and

41:44

the stew in his inundating cell.

41:48

Rod knelt dorn, he

41:50

thought as his boots clanked, water dripping off the

41:52

steps. Shanna

41:54

Hand did indeed stew, seeing

41:57

his opportunities for escape inexplicably

41:59

doable. windows the stupid Whether

42:01

to cover his situation. Where.

42:05

Fi to get him back no matter On

42:07

the other three, doses of these are paid

42:09

handsomely to com and get me out of

42:11

the small town grapple by now. He.

42:14

Was getting uncharacteristically nervous.

42:17

When. I get dogs. Someone. Will

42:19

pay. For.

42:23

It again and the Famine Boys crew had

42:25

indeed been on their way to Yellow Would

42:27

armed with enough Tommy guns and bombs to

42:29

blow away the National Guardsmen sent into the

42:32

area to help with the floating. But that

42:34

was not the goons. His current problem. You.

42:36

See. Santa. Hands intended rescue

42:39

game. We're currently busy fighting for

42:41

their own lives. Somewhere.

42:43

On their way to Yellow would

42:45

however the games powerful but unwieldy

42:47

Cadillacs advantage Mister Sharpe curve on

42:49

state rope. Thirty seven. Near. A

42:52

bend of a berg named Dolan in

42:54

the incessant rain. And. Eight

42:56

foot tall figure. Half man.

42:59

Half. Something like a fish or

43:01

shark or alligator. Had. Suddenly

43:03

appeared in the road screaming at them

43:05

and some last ancient tongue. Been.

43:08

Just as quickly banished. The. Shocked

43:10

men with no seat belts to

43:12

be worn, swerved and careened off

43:14

the gravel road, plunging down a

43:16

one hundred fifty foot slope into

43:18

and eroded ravine and it's deep

43:20

raging stream. For. Tough guys

43:23

in it of drowning, crying out for

43:25

help as they're broken bodies fruitlessly part

43:27

to abandon the heavily laden god. It

43:30

was swept away downstream in the storm

43:32

filled maelstrom. But. Tough guys now

43:34

floating in pain while the forces

43:36

of the vicious undertow and sharp

43:39

limestone outcroppings shortly mingled what was

43:41

left to their lives in a

43:43

seemingly orchestrated faith. Back

43:46

in the jail, the rain was entering

43:48

f block more quickly now, frigid water

43:50

rising well up to a man's needs.

43:53

Of. Alone Spectrum man had

43:55

appeared in the tall foyer and second

43:58

area of the jail. Com. Lamented

44:00

with an upscale and impossibly

44:02

dry leather trench coat and

44:04

impossibly well sign shoes which

44:07

created rhythmic echo in the

44:09

empty corridors. Is. Steps

44:11

were more like one lane than

44:13

walking. As he entered the nearly

44:16

empty office is council's opponent. Intercom

44:18

lights no longer glowing. So.

44:21

Your and Fbr man are

44:24

you missed Iraq? Lynch. The.

44:26

Began and county jail superintendent Paul

44:28

Durham trawled with some suspicion at

44:31

the tall bail and clean shaven

44:33

man. His face had some

44:35

seem to it in the dim remaining light of

44:37

the jail. Without

44:39

scales and Disney. The.

44:42

G Man nonetheless had all the

44:44

proper credentials for and nineteen thirties

44:46

Federal agent. Denim. And

44:48

loveless the last two policemen not to

44:50

leave the jail yet. Just. Wanted

44:52

to get out of the facility and the punishing

44:54

rain at this point. And have

44:56

little time for any federal office politics

44:59

or these goons. Weird complex and. Requisition

45:03

paperwork is over here

45:05

sir. And it as

45:07

and guns rest. I'm just

45:09

here to help administered justice roads.

45:12

The. Main said affably, his voice tinted

45:15

was some sort of paint google

45:17

or warble. Besides.

45:20

I like the rain and the ring links

45:22

me. It's. A part of

45:24

me see. Lynch. Said as

45:26

he smiled with no respect for this

45:29

timid excuse for a mortal garner. The.

45:32

Gym and when I. I. Am

45:34

hereby authorized for our immediate

45:36

purposes to procure a t

45:39

and access to the facilities

45:41

evidence room with all files

45:44

and impounded monetary Substances pertaining

45:46

to in made thirty six

45:48

to be requisitioned. which

45:50

we. May return to your office

45:53

in due time. i

45:55

have direct orders to personally

45:57

relocate in made thirty six

46:00

to a secluded and secure space.

46:03

My uh, overseer demands

46:05

this procedure prior to his

46:08

trial. You

46:10

may recall that the FBI had brought

46:13

him here originally to begin with to

46:15

avoid publicity, with the rumors

46:17

of potential jury tampering and such

46:19

in Indianapolis for his upcoming

46:21

murder trial. Therefore, he

46:24

will be my responsibility alone, I

46:26

assure you. While your

46:28

men complete transport of the rest of

46:30

the prisoners safely to the federal prison

46:32

in Terre Haute, I

46:34

will escort inmate 36 and lock

46:36

down the facility for the county

46:39

commissioners myself. Am I clear,

46:41

sir? The

46:43

sheriff's jail superintendent sighed with a grimace

46:45

and waved him inside after signing off

46:48

on the paperwork. Denham

46:50

then met Loveless at the jail's

46:52

imposing front doors, toting their browning

46:54

12-gauge riot shotguns and salvaged case

46:56

briefcases into the muddy downpour to

46:58

the last vehicle to escape the

47:01

flooded parking lot, reining up and

47:03

away from the jail. Am

47:07

I clear, sir? Boy they

47:09

love that shit in Washington. Denham

47:12

silently fumed as he turned to quiet

47:15

the final load of unruly and understandably

47:17

unnerved prisoners in the back of the

47:19

paddy wagon truck, as it

47:21

sought to catch up with the rest of

47:23

the convoy as it struggled to traverse the

47:26

flooded highway to the Terre Haute Penitentiary. Loveless

47:30

briefly looked back out of the plotting truck's

47:32

rear window down the hill to once more

47:34

check on the virtually empty jail, its

47:37

limestone veneer imposing entrance columns

47:39

and slit windows now looking

47:41

like a forlornly sinking Romanesque

47:43

castle with an ever-widening mouth.

47:46

Hello, Rory. I'm here. Do

47:48

you know that you are a man who is a man who is a man who is a man who is

47:50

a man who Incurberated

48:00

inquisitively the

48:02

toughened mobster now already shaking from

48:04

the frigid conditions in the jail

48:07

basement floor replied Hell

48:09

no Just gets me out of here

48:11

and I'll pay you more than you could make in a

48:13

lifetime Come on, man. This

48:16

shit's getting cold The

48:18

man approached sat casually upon the

48:20

turnkey's desk and wasted no time

48:23

Bizarrely muttering something and

48:26

waving his hand toward Shanahan The

48:29

Dorn suddenly felt the change in his body

48:31

arms and legs already becoming numb

48:33

and beginning to somehow transform The

48:38

man above his cell laughed a strange

48:40

vindictive laugh and said No,

48:43

thanks bad You

48:45

keep your money for all it

48:47

will do you They

48:50

think I'm just here to see you

48:52

to justice FBI

48:55

agent Sean Lynch edges

48:57

service or That's

49:00

the name. I told them anyway My

49:03

real name is too

49:05

old for the likes of you

49:07

to comprehend How

49:11

do you know me copper The

49:13

tall pale ethereal shadow of the

49:15

man chuckled at that and slowly

49:18

descended from the turnkey's chair Which

49:20

was still comfortably dry on the shore mezzanine

49:23

above the level of the flooding cells His

49:26

eyes were keen but disengaged somehow

49:29

happily taking in the natural catastrophe

49:31

happening within the jail and throughout

49:34

the surrounding countryside The

49:37

stranger's speech became an ancient almost

49:39

unrecognizable accent and said

49:43

well That's not

49:45

your problem. Now. Is it or

49:49

The man produced a pack of cigarettes from his

49:51

overcoat Want to

49:53

snipe? Maybe your last

49:55

chance because oh, yeah,

49:58

That cell is feeling. Bastard

50:00

Now. The.

50:03

Main move down to the cells

50:05

bars cautiously handing and them filtered

50:07

smoke through the bars to the

50:09

mobster providing him a light with

50:11

an unbelievably dry match. As.

50:13

He inhaled deeply, The intrigued

50:15

mobster said. Saw. Who

50:18

are? Yeah, Who. Sent you. A

50:20

dodger job is to see me outta here. I

50:23

gotta try to stand right. That.

50:26

Elicited a deep macabre chuckle

50:28

from the Stranger The Third

50:31

of the Earth or or.

50:34

Will. Now we were

50:36

over know that trial will

50:38

be rigged. Know

50:41

my assignment is to sit

50:43

here. And watch you

50:45

slowly drone like aura. Maybe

50:49

in the meantime you could

50:51

tell me all about those

50:53

immigrants school girls you traded

50:55

in in divorce back. After

50:59

my swim over here from the

51:01

old country. And. It took some

51:03

time to get here. By the way, I.

51:06

Read about. Some. Mother from

51:08

loved the up. Pleading. In

51:11

the Papers or a little runaway girl to

51:13

combat. They. Found

51:15

the kid dead. With. Their

51:17

female stuff almost torn out

51:19

at a hotel in Indy

51:21

that your guys frequent. Bloody.

51:25

Aim is to. You

51:27

never miss a chance for a

51:29

gangbanger. You're supposed

51:32

to be Catholic Church deacon.

51:34

This. May be it's

51:36

now or never. The

51:39

Dorn was unable to speak. At.

51:42

This guy know about our that. And.

51:46

What about though? for men your

51:48

guys shot coming out of that

51:51

bar in Kokomo? They.

51:53

Owed your racket. Just one

51:55

hundred dollar is. That's. twenty

51:57

five dollars a soul rulers

52:00

Still feeling no guilt about them,

52:02

are you? Oh

52:06

yes, and then there was the

52:09

body that a FBI undercover

52:11

fellow found hacked up in

52:14

the back of Dana Armese

52:16

on 32nd Indianapolis with his

52:18

own cleavers. Not

52:22

very subtle. The

52:25

door shivered and suddenly emoted a

52:27

sullen juvenile delinquent look. Copper

52:31

had it comin'. Oh,

52:34

sure he did. Now,

52:37

ah, my favorite murder of

52:39

yours was... Well, that's

52:42

really why I'm here today. Let's

52:44

just say that someone asked for

52:47

a favor, and you

52:49

won't be bumping gums with him any

52:51

time soon. You

52:53

don't really think you're buying or bullying

52:55

your way out of here, do you?

53:01

The sense has already been passed.

53:05

Guilty. The

53:08

man hackled. A sinister laugh that

53:10

wouldn't match any mobsters for sheer

53:12

terror. Look

53:15

at her, G-Man. I don't know your

53:17

name, but I need out of here, and

53:19

I'll pay you enough to live like a king. Just

53:22

unlock the cell friend, make tracks, and I'll

53:24

take it from there. None

53:26

of me guys will put a tail on you after that,

53:28

I promise. Um,

53:31

no. You

53:34

can sit there and blow your wig

53:36

all you want to. But

53:39

here's another option. Look

53:42

near the top of your cell wall. There's

53:45

an electrical receptacle placed there

53:47

for who knows why. If

53:51

you don't drown, you'll surely

53:53

be electrocuted to death. Why

53:56

don't you just let the water rise and

53:58

get to Dover with Rory? Why

54:02

don't you suck my dick, copper? Oh,

54:05

we bit of a naughty one now, aren't

54:08

you?" The

54:11

water was now approaching crotch height in

54:13

the cells as it lapped the dank

54:15

concrete block in the corridors. Sewage

54:18

and heinous smelling effluent had already

54:20

begun to back up into the

54:22

water as toilets and the kitchen's

54:24

basement grease trap were inundated. The

54:27

archaic electrical system started to shudder

54:29

and spark throughout the basement corridor

54:31

as the lower wall outlets arced

54:34

and exploded. Shanahan

54:36

fidgeted as the frigid water inevitably

54:38

started to soak his nads. As

54:41

a high security prisoner, there were no

54:43

provisions for cellmates, so there was no

54:46

upper bunk bed to escape to in

54:48

Shanahan's basement cell. As

54:52

the taunting man bent over and resumed

54:55

his narrative, his appearance began to shift

54:57

slightly, his skin becoming

54:59

shinier and, well, scalier,

55:02

as if passing between himself and another

55:04

being. He

55:06

watched Shanahan's de-evolution with a

55:09

fascinated grin as the

55:11

dorn suddenly found himself the owner of

55:13

two paddled hands, his feet following. Shanahan

55:17

also noted that his stature was

55:19

shrinking by the moment, his imposing stance

55:21

now lessened to a mere five feet

55:23

tall. His midriff and

55:25

nether regions had started to sprout

55:27

scales and grow fins as his

55:29

genitals receded and teeth began to

55:31

shrink. Internal changes

55:34

were slowly taking over the rest of his

55:36

body. Now the

55:38

most feared mobster in the Midwest was

55:41

becoming a terrified child, the

55:43

cop toying with him knowingly as

55:45

the man known as the Fist

55:47

slowly but surely transformed into something

55:50

other than, well,

55:52

Human.. By

56:00

the way, Who. Do you

56:02

think said this flowed to begin with.

56:05

The. Rest assure. Is

56:08

all time to preorder. Bonus:

56:10

Smith's. No

56:12

more door.

56:14

Ah. Lynch.

56:18

Mean to be almost within grasp of

56:20

Santa Hands cell door and softly last.

56:23

Movie. He

56:25

does getting Arabia near. Sewers,

56:28

Be backing up now. Soon.

56:31

You'll be drowning ensued as well

56:33

as water. Or. Bro

56:36

Bridge. You

56:38

know, hope. The funny thing is.

56:41

You. Need to understand that after the

56:43

day. No one will

56:45

miss you. So

56:48

more is planning to take your

56:50

blaze right now. Jimmy.

56:52

My lawn, Your

56:55

life. Malone. As my best

56:58

man is never cross me. He.

57:00

Wouldn't dare. Not eight six

57:02

him on the spot. The.

57:04

River Master lied to infuriate

57:06

they're helpless Shanahan Further, Were.

57:10

After. I get out of here and

57:12

telegraph him. And. Tell him

57:14

about your unfortunate death. And

57:17

how you saying like a stupid

57:19

do me about all your robberies

57:22

since. The. Farm and boys

57:24

will get out of Indiana. Otherwise,

57:27

My. Pox shall be on all

57:30

of you more tools. And

57:33

your family's. It

57:36

or know. What's. His mortals nonsense

57:39

it. Or just some bastard

57:41

cop in a suit and

57:43

all you are.bastard. Killer.

57:47

Better. Get a ride with

57:49

Jesus while you can Dorn.

57:51

Only. He can save your

57:54

soul. I've seen your

57:56

kind com and go to wait

57:58

for the judgment for longer. The

58:00

new Board a margin. As.

58:02

For your body, your time is

58:04

up here and now on this

58:06

earth. The chorus tablet

58:08

that supplement me as someone me

58:11

ignored said blood spilt by your

58:13

and. And. Now you will

58:15

deal with me. Lynch.

58:19

Composed himself and calmly continued.

58:22

Now then. Let me

58:25

tell you more correctly: who

58:27

I really am and why

58:29

I'm here. I. Owe

58:32

you that at least. Have.

58:34

There are. I am allowing

58:36

you a few more months

58:38

left to listen. Ah,

58:45

The. Demon and last and took a

58:47

moment and spent much effort pulling off

58:49

his clothes. And. His own

58:52

base. Which. Gave way underneath

58:54

who is true monstrous appearance. Half

58:56

man. Half. Steely Fish. With.

58:59

Crocodile and dragon esque beaters

59:01

thrown in. The

59:03

dorms sat astonished and terrified at

59:06

this being. The.

59:11

Lynch thing announced in a booming voice

59:13

the rest of the people long gone

59:16

from the jail. The

59:18

whole I omni is cause

59:20

in all dwells known as

59:22

good deed while the rest

59:25

fall on. The. Keeper

59:27

of the reverse. Your.

59:29

But that the people sought

59:31

miles for justice as the

59:33

Romans rome than er en

59:35

sak been in Britain. And.

59:38

You're sad Raised saw me begging

59:40

with curses as families were lost

59:42

to the been big been human

59:44

sacrifices of the druids to. Now.

59:47

The at are all gone and I

59:49

I'm still here. Therefore, I

59:52

am still bound to the call

59:54

of the old traditions. So. i

59:57

found by the last remaining cursed

59:59

The tablet must meet out of

1:00:01

faith worthy of your crimes. Now

1:00:05

you will answer to it. Answer

1:00:07

to me." The

1:00:11

Dorn felt his body changing more,

1:00:13

growing gills and skills in his

1:00:15

proportions sinking to that of a

1:00:17

four-foot-long river bath. He

1:00:19

had to lay down in the soaked

1:00:21

cot and flop around, water rising around

1:00:23

him and manage to spew more profanities

1:00:25

as he continued to change into that

1:00:27

of a fish, a hideous

1:00:29

resemblance of his human face remaining and

1:00:32

able to speak. The

1:00:34

electrical system began to spark around him

1:00:36

as the jail's system finally shorted out.

1:00:39

Nonetheless his gurgling last words in the

1:00:41

dark were meant to taunt Niskis as

1:00:43

the turbid water finally rose to almost

1:00:45

the top of the cell in little

1:00:47

time. Niskis

1:00:50

was not amused. "'Listen,

1:00:52

evil doer. I

1:00:55

have taken the lives of many

1:00:57

through the years and have administered

1:00:59

justice to the overlooked and downtrodden

1:01:01

and taking your life right now

1:01:03

would be a pleasure. Yet

1:01:06

the cursed tablet owner, the man

1:01:08

who awakened me from my long

1:01:10

slumber, is an upright man whose

1:01:12

family or people carelessly killed, taking

1:01:15

his innocent wife and child. Yet

1:01:17

he dictates that you stay

1:01:19

alive to contemplate their deeds,

1:01:22

a more gracious fate than I would have

1:01:25

allowed you on my own accord. Therefore,

1:01:29

you shall indeed escape this

1:01:31

prison and swim as

1:01:33

a fish. Your

1:01:35

gills will sustain you, yes.

1:01:38

Start to relish your breasts in the water

1:01:40

as your human body drowns. But

1:01:43

by the curse, you shall retain

1:01:45

your human face on the body of

1:01:47

a bath confined to live in

1:01:49

this wretched pollution of a river. And

1:01:52

as you spend the rest of your life as

1:01:54

an appropriately cold-blooded creature, know that if you had

1:01:57

repented of just one person, you would have been

1:01:59

a very good person. one vile deed,

1:02:01

just one. I may

1:02:03

have been able to halt executing the curse

1:02:05

upon you. I

1:02:08

hope you someday end up on

1:02:10

some angler's hook or in the

1:02:12

grasp of an eagle's talons." What

1:02:18

was left of the human, Shanahan

1:02:20

gurgled his last obscenities at the

1:02:23

world and Niskis as his body

1:02:25

had finished its transformations. The

1:02:29

towering Niskis stood again on Loveless' submerged desk to

1:02:31

bellow with laughter, his

1:02:34

obligation for inflicting torment and strange,

1:02:36

merciful-like being executed. Then he evaporated

1:02:38

as the hapless Shanahan thing

1:02:41

was now able to dart out between his cell

1:02:43

bars and into the icy White River, the rest

1:02:45

of his life to be spent as a hapless

1:02:47

fish with a human space, a

1:02:51

destiny of eating insects, worms, and

1:02:53

bottom growth. The Rivermaster

1:02:55

re-emerged outside the

1:02:58

now-debilitated jail with the suitcase of drug money from

1:03:00

the jail's evidence room in hand, breathing in the

1:03:02

rain, humid air, and smells of saturated late winter

1:03:06

soil with relish. He intended to deliver the evil

1:03:08

mortal's money to the cursed tablet's petitioner as

1:03:13

some sort of gift, his mission then at last being

1:03:15

fulfilled with his own power. He

1:03:20

was at the moment with an anticipation of returning

1:03:22

to the old country and curling up with the

1:03:25

beautiful and unpredictable solace, and hearing

1:03:28

of the curses she, and even

1:03:30

Neptune, had also

1:03:32

administered justice for across the years. As

1:03:36

he slowly resumed his human form to commandeer

1:03:38

an abandoned sheriff's car for the long trip

1:03:40

back and then home, he

1:03:43

thought, yes, I

1:03:46

have some catching up to do with

1:03:48

you my solace, and

1:03:50

perhaps a long rest at last.

1:03:54

The last of Vixione

1:03:56

has been fulfilled. I

1:04:08

hope you enjoyed, Thus I

1:04:10

Invoked Niskus, written by

1:04:13

Eric Fisher and performed by Paul

1:04:15

J. McSorley. Well

1:04:17

friends, our weekly descent into the depths

1:04:19

says just about come to a close.

1:04:23

But before we go, I'd like to take

1:04:25

a moment to thank you for joining us

1:04:27

tonight and remind you to

1:04:29

take a moment to stop by our iTunes

1:04:31

page and leave Chilling Tales for Dark Nights,

1:04:33

a 5 star review, and a kind word.

1:04:37

And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and

1:04:39

Instagram if you haven't already. And

1:04:42

of course, subscribe to us on YouTube where

1:04:45

you can find an archive of our work

1:04:47

going back to 2012. And

1:04:50

consider signing up as a patron at our

1:04:52

website, chillingtalesfordarknights.com to

1:04:56

show your support and get all

1:04:59

of our content ad-free. I'm

1:05:02

your host of the evening, Paul J.

1:05:04

McSorley, and it's been a pleasure. Tune

1:05:07

in again next week when we once again turn

1:05:10

off the lights and turn

1:05:12

on the dark. Sweet

1:05:15

dreams, listener. Sweet

1:05:18

dreams. Agh.

1:05:25

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