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Market. Now you know. The

2:00

following program is a production of Chilling

2:02

Entertainment and the creative team at Chilling

2:05

Tales for Dark Nights and

2:07

a proud member of the Simply

2:09

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2:11

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this and our other weekly

2:16

storytelling programs and become a

2:19

patron today to show your support

2:21

and get instant access to our

2:23

extensive archive of downloadable ad-free tales

2:25

of terror. Thank

2:28

you for listening and enjoy the

2:30

show. Disclaimer.

3:34

Horror Hill is a horror anthology

3:36

podcast bringing you scary stories from

3:39

all corners of the internet and

3:41

beyond. As such,

3:43

certain stories include content that some

3:45

listeners might find offensive. Listener

3:48

discretion is advised. Well,

3:53

hello there listeners and welcome back

3:55

to Horror Hill. I'm

3:58

Eric Peabody, your illustrious previous

4:00

host and narrator, and tonight's

4:02

episode features two stories for

4:04

you, guaranteed to chill your

4:06

bones on this warm summer

4:08

evening. First,

4:10

we'll crack into Mama by

4:13

Sam Morris. Darren

4:15

is a 10-year-old boy that's going through

4:17

a tough time with his family. His

4:20

beloved grandmother has just passed away,

4:22

and the whole family misses her

4:24

dearly. After the

4:26

funeral, Darren's little sister Susie is

4:29

having trouble sleeping, and as Darren

4:31

tries to be a good big

4:33

brother and helper, he realizes that

4:35

his dear mama might still have

4:38

some trailing essence in this world.

4:42

After that, we'll be closing out

4:44

with How I Lost My Afterschool

4:46

Job by Deirdre Coles. This

4:49

story involves Mike and Owen, two

4:51

high school classmates. While

4:54

they are definitely not friends, circumstances

4:57

have brought them together, with

4:59

Mike tutoring Owen, who largely

5:01

spends his time ignoring the

5:03

work and tormenting Mike. Today's

5:06

lesson, though, takes a very different

5:08

turn. Owen notices a

5:10

fantasy novel that Mike has, and

5:12

after seeing the illustration on the

5:14

cover, things take a

5:16

strange turn for the bizarre and

5:19

the deadly. Also, please

5:21

join me in welcoming esteemed voice

5:24

talents Melissa Medina and Danielle Hewitt

5:26

back to Horror Hill. Melissa

5:29

will be providing voices for Mama,

5:31

and Danielle will be featured in

5:33

How I Lost My Afterschool Job.

5:38

You're listening to the standard edition

5:40

of this program. If you'd like

5:42

to help support Horror Hill and

5:45

also remove these pesky ads, head

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to chillingtales4darkknights.com and click

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patrons in the upper menu to sign up

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today. You'll get instant

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access to hundreds of ad-free stories,

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and we can scale back some

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of our... Oh...

6:00

less savory means of generating money

6:02

for the show. By

6:04

the way, you wouldn't happen to

6:06

still have all of your organs, would

6:08

you? And

6:17

now from author Sam Morris, I

6:19

give you Mama. Darren's

6:26

parents stood by his bedroom

6:28

door with flat, forced smiles

6:30

and exhausted eyes. They

6:33

were still wearing their funeral best, her

6:35

in a black shin-length dress and him

6:37

in a matching suit and tie. His

6:40

father had his arm around his mother,

6:42

who was obviously trying hard not to

6:44

break down in front of their son,

6:47

who was lying in bed, having already

6:49

changed out of his best little suit

6:51

and into his plaid pajamas. Darren

6:53

was almost 10 years old, so they

6:56

didn't want to sugarcoat the devastation that

6:58

comes with losing a beloved grandparent, but

7:00

they also wanted to show a good

7:02

example of strength and hard times. Darren

7:06

looked up to them figuratively as the oldest

7:08

of two children and waiting on what they

7:10

would have to say to him after such

7:12

a day. Darren,

7:15

honey. His mother

7:17

began, her voice thin and

7:19

overused. Your mama loved

7:21

you and Susie so much. She

7:25

paused, choking on her words before a

7:27

quick swallow and a big breath. So

7:31

much. She loved y'all more

7:33

than anything in the whole world. Now,

7:36

I know she was sick for a very

7:38

long time, but I want

7:40

you to promise me that you will remember

7:42

her like she was before she got sick,

7:44

okay? Please remember her like

7:46

she used to be, okay? Darren

7:49

sat up in his bed, nodding, with

7:52

his mouth slowly turning. He

7:54

hated seeing his parents so upset.

7:57

At almost 10 years old, he could only count

7:59

on one hand. how many times he'd

8:01

seen either of them cry. You

8:04

and your sister meant everything to her

8:06

and I don't want you to ever

8:08

forget that. Now I know today

8:10

was so hard, so hard,

8:13

but you were so brave. She

8:16

left her husband's arm and walked over

8:18

to Darren's bed, leaning down and stroking

8:20

his hair. So brave,

8:23

and I know Susie saw that. You

8:26

were such a good role model for her

8:28

today, Darren. I'm so,

8:31

so proud of you and the young

8:33

man you're becoming. You're

8:35

gonna need to continue to be her rock buddy. Darren's

8:38

dad chimed in, still standing by the

8:41

door. It wasn't his

8:43

own mother's funeral, but he was torn

8:45

up, though not showing it, and

8:47

wanted to offer some final words as well. She's

8:51

always looked up to you, son. You're

8:53

five years older than her, which doesn't seem

8:55

like a lot, but to her, it's a

8:58

lifetime of experience between you two. She's

9:00

gonna need you to lean on in times like

9:03

this, okay? Okay,

9:05

dad. Darren answered, closing his

9:07

eyes as his mother stroked his

9:09

short brown hair. You're

9:11

such a perfect child, honey. His

9:14

mother said, smiling much more

9:16

convincingly. I don't know what

9:18

we ever did to deserve you and Susie. Y'all

9:21

are our little angels. We

9:23

love you so much, and

9:26

so did your mama. And

9:28

now she's a real angel. She'll

9:31

always look after you and smile down

9:33

on you from heaven. She

9:36

kissed Darren's forehead and stood back up,

9:38

walking back toward the door and her

9:40

husband, who took her back under his

9:42

arm. Now, I

9:45

want you to sleep well and sleep in.

9:48

Y'all have the day off of school tomorrow, and we're

9:50

gonna do whatever you and Susie want.

9:54

Darren perked up. That was the first

9:56

good thing he'd heard in days. Thank

9:59

you, mom. him. Thank you, dad," he

10:02

said, trying not to sound overly

10:04

excited given the day's circumstances. "'You're

10:07

welcome, son. We all deserve a day

10:10

off. Maybe we can go

10:12

to the movies or something,' his father

10:14

said warmly before kissing his mother on

10:16

her cheek. "'We love

10:18

you, and Mama loved you so

10:20

much. Promise me you'll

10:22

never forget that, and always remember her

10:25

for how she always was, okay?' his

10:27

mother reminded him. "'I

10:30

promise,' Darren answered with

10:32

a nod. "'Good. Not

10:35

light on or off,' she asked,

10:37

looking down at an unplugged little

10:40

plastic football lying on the floor

10:42

by the bedroom closet door. "'Um,

10:45

on, please,' Darren replied. He

10:48

could have plugged it in himself, but the closet

10:50

was only a few feet from the bedroom door,

10:52

which was over by the opposite corner of the

10:54

room to where his bed was. It

10:56

would be a quick task for his mother. She

10:59

smiled and nodded before going and plugging it

11:01

in, before walking back over and putting her

11:04

fingers over the main light switch to his

11:06

room. "'We love you, son.

11:09

Rest well,' she said, as

11:11

only a good mother could. "'I

11:14

love you, buddy. I hope you get some sleep,' his

11:17

father added before opening the door and

11:19

going down the hallway. His

11:21

mother offered one last big, closed-lipped

11:23

smile before she flipped off the

11:26

light and exited, closing the door

11:28

behind her. Finally,

11:31

alone, after the longest day he

11:34

could remember, Darren was able

11:36

to collect his thoughts. He

11:38

laid back in his bed and pulled the

11:40

gray comforter up to his collarbone. He

11:43

breathed deeply, finally in a more

11:45

relaxed state. The small,

11:47

football-shaped light shot pale blue beans

11:49

sharply up the wall and then

11:52

residually around his room, like moonlight

11:54

on a cloudy night. He

11:57

looked around his safe place. It

11:59

was the bedroom he'd ever known, but

12:02

it had everything an almost ten-year-old boy

12:04

could need. By his bed

12:06

was a small table topped with a lamp. In

12:09

its drawer were football cards,

12:11

Yu-Gi-Oh cards, pencils, and even

12:13

wrappers from a few sneakily

12:15

eaten candy bars. Across

12:18

the room from his cornered bed was

12:20

a TV, which he thought about turning

12:22

on but decided he was too exhausted

12:24

and didn't want to make noise. The

12:27

closet door was next to

12:29

the TV with a no-girls-allowed

12:31

sign hanging proudly. To

12:34

the right of Darren's bed, eye to

12:36

eye with the closet was another door

12:38

that led out to the wraparound porch

12:40

that tightly hugged his one-story home. It

12:43

had a window that led in some

12:45

natural light since no night was completely

12:47

dark. Darren didn't

12:49

mind, at least not anymore.

12:52

When he was younger, he wished there

12:54

wasn't a window there, his growing imagination

12:57

telling him that all sorts of terrifying

12:59

monsters were looking in on him as

13:01

he slept. But now he

13:03

had outgrown those childish fears, at

13:05

least for the most part. The

13:08

nightlight was still a comforting friend,

13:10

though. His parents didn't seem to

13:12

mind that he still asked for it to stay on.

13:15

In fact, the only person who ever

13:17

lovingly teased him about it was his

13:19

mama. Mama.

13:23

Darren had almost forgotten. He

13:25

lay there, staring at the pale-lit

13:28

ceiling with the deep mixture of

13:30

feelings. He missed

13:32

Mama so much. He

13:35

missed the old Mama, the version his

13:37

mother had asked him to remember. She

13:40

was always so sweet and playful with

13:42

him and Susie. Then, a couple

13:45

of years ago, her husband,

13:47

Darren's papa, had died. Soon

13:50

after, Mama got sick. At

13:53

first, she kept her spirits up, still

13:55

sneaking treats and sly winks at him

13:57

and Susie when they would all visit

13:59

her in hospital. Eventually,

14:01

though, she got worse. Way

14:05

worse. It was so

14:07

bad that Darren and Susie could only visit

14:09

her on her best days, which were still

14:11

far from good. Burned

14:13

into his memory were the visions of her in

14:15

the hospital bed, rail thin,

14:18

with sunken dark eyes and

14:20

frail, wispy white hair. When

14:23

she wasn't asleep, she would either

14:26

groan in severe pain or talk

14:28

about insane things, like

14:30

how witches from hell were coming to

14:32

drag her down with them. It

14:35

frightened Darren so badly that he began to

14:37

not want to visit her anymore. He

14:39

pretended to be sick so he couldn't go to

14:42

the hospital, and his parents and little sister would

14:44

go without him. Luckily, he

14:46

didn't think Susie could really process it,

14:48

as she never seemed scared of Mama,

14:50

and only ever talked about her as

14:53

if she had never changed from the

14:55

sweet grandmother she once was. He

14:58

did go one last time, though.

15:01

It was only a few days before she

15:03

died, just about a week from that night.

15:06

She was in bed, as usual, except

15:09

she was laid on her side in

15:11

a strange, twisted way that made her

15:13

look almost inhuman. Her

15:15

back was warped and hunched, her

15:17

arms curled up to her chin,

15:20

with all her fingers spindly and

15:22

outstretched, like she was holding onto

15:24

two invisible apples. Her

15:27

mouth was downturned, bearing her

15:29

yellowed teeth in an excruciating

15:31

scowl. In between

15:33

nauseating moans, she would try

15:36

and inhale, making a horrible

15:38

rattling noise. Darren remembered

15:40

seeing his mother leaning down and holding

15:43

her, sobbing deeply with

15:45

her head on Mama's shoulder. Darren

15:48

was replaying in his head the last

15:50

terrible sounds he ever heard Mama make,

15:53

when a real-life noise suddenly broke through the

15:55

silence of his room. Come

16:00

in Darren, come in!" A

16:03

static electric voice shot out from under

16:05

his bed. He reached down

16:07

and pulled up a small walkie talkie that his

16:09

dad had given Susie and him. They

16:12

hadn't used them in forever, so it

16:14

startled Darren. He was surprised the batteries

16:16

still worked. He pressed

16:18

it to his mouth. Hello? Hello?

16:22

He asked. Darren, hey, it's

16:24

Susie! I'm so glad

16:26

the walkie talkies still work. I

16:28

know it's you, silly. Darren

16:31

playfully teased. What's

16:33

up? I can't sleep. I

16:36

miss mama so much, and I

16:38

won't forget to read to me. Darren

16:41

closed his eyes as hard as he could,

16:43

trying to stifle tears that would be painful

16:46

to shed at this point. His

16:48

little sister sounded so defeated, even if

16:50

only in her own sweet little way.

16:53

He was thankful that she was reaching out to him.

16:57

I know, Susie. I miss mama,

16:59

too. And mom's just

17:01

really sad, but I'm sure she'll

17:03

remember to read it to you tomorrow night. Yeah,

17:06

I hope so, Susie

17:08

said softly. Yeah,

17:11

I can't imagine how she's feeling. Yeah.

17:15

Hey, come wave at me through the

17:17

magic window! Please? We

17:19

haven't done that in forever! She

17:22

pleaded. Until

17:24

about three years ago, Darren and Susie

17:26

had shared the room he used now.

17:29

When their parents decided that the siblings

17:31

needed their personal space, Susie moved

17:33

into the guest bedroom next to Darren's room,

17:36

sharing the wall where his TV was put

17:38

in. Susie had difficulty

17:40

adjusting to being alone, so their dad

17:42

installed a small porthole window between their

17:45

rooms in the back of Darren's closet.

17:48

If Susie was scared, she could simply knock

17:50

on the wall, and Darren would go to

17:52

his closet, turn on the light, show

17:54

his face in the little plate-sized window, and

17:56

wave at her. She could

17:59

clearly see him from her bedroom. bed and this would

18:01

make her feel safe. They hadn't

18:03

used the porthole window in quite some

18:05

time, but Darren didn't see any

18:07

reason not to use it tonight. Okay,

18:10

I can do that. Just give me

18:12

one second," he said, leaving

18:14

his bed and walking to his

18:16

closet, walkie-talkie still in hand. He

18:19

opened the door, turned the light on,

18:21

and swiped hangers of clothes out of

18:23

the way until he saw the small

18:25

circular window. He leaned forward

18:27

to stick his face into view. All

18:30

he saw was darkness. "'Suzy,

18:33

can you see me? I'm here." "'Yes,

18:36

yes, I see you. Hi!' she

18:38

answered excitedly. "'I

18:41

can't see you. Turn on your lamp,

18:43

silly,' Darren teased. A

18:46

couple of seconds later, there was a small

18:48

burst of light and he could see Susie

18:50

nestled in her tiny bed, one

18:52

hand holding the walkie-talkie to her ear and

18:54

the other lowering from under the lamp. "'There

18:58

you go. Hey, Susie!' Darren

19:00

squeezed a waving hand into the porthole so

19:02

that she could see. She

19:04

flashed him a big snaggle-toothed smile

19:07

and sat up, pushing down her

19:09

light pink comforter and hanging her

19:11

little legs over the side of

19:13

her bed, kicking them in relieved

19:15

excitement from seeing her hero, her

19:17

older brother. She

19:19

was wearing white silk pajamas with a pink

19:21

heart on the chest. The lamp

19:24

light accentuated her platinum blonde hair,

19:26

making a glow like neon against

19:28

a mostly dark bedroom. All

19:31

Darren could see was the bedside table

19:33

and the blurry shadowed area behind her

19:35

where her closet was. He

19:38

was glad she had asked him to use the magic

19:40

window. For this moment,

19:42

everything suddenly seemed like years

19:44

ago when they were even

19:46

smaller and there was no

19:48

sadness in their lives. "'Yay!

19:51

I missed the magic window!' Susie

19:54

softly squealed. "'Me

19:56

too. It's been a long, long

19:58

time.' Darren said, using

20:01

his pajamas sleeve to clear up

20:03

the quickly fogging glass. Oh,

20:06

oh Darren, look, look, look what I found.

20:08

Susie blurted before hopping off her bed

20:10

into the drawer on her bedside table.

20:13

She slid it open and reached in,

20:16

closing her fist around something small. She

20:19

held up a yellow translucent stone

20:21

to the lamplight. It's

20:23

the special rock that Mama gave me. I

20:26

found it. What special

20:28

rock? Darren inquired, not

20:30

remembering ever seeing the thing. She

20:33

gave it to me one time when me and mom

20:35

and dad visited her. You were

20:37

sick, I think. She slowly

20:40

turned the stone under the lamp with her

20:42

thumb and index finger. Darren

20:44

could see it gleaming and sparkling

20:46

in its tiny yellow glory. She

20:49

said that if I hold it in my

20:51

hand and I wish really, really hard, then

20:54

she would be right there with me, no

20:56

matter where I am. Darren

20:58

couldn't help but send a warm smile

21:00

through the window as he watched how

21:03

dearly she held the little gift. That's

21:06

very sweet of her to give that to you. She

21:08

loved you very much, Susie. Hold

21:11

on tight to that rock. Don't lose it again.

21:14

She loved you too. And yes, I

21:16

will keep it forever and ever and never

21:18

lose it. I'm gonna wish

21:20

on it hard. That's

21:23

great. Now listen, it's hard

21:25

to keep bending down to the magic window.

21:28

Susan said, putting a hand to his

21:30

young but straining back. I'm

21:33

gonna go back to my bed now, but if you

21:35

want, we can talk on our walkie talkies tomorrow night.

21:38

Okay, thank you, Darren. Susie replied,

21:40

still holding the walkie talkie to her

21:42

mouth and the stone to the lamplight.

21:45

She hadn't so much as glanced at Darren since she

21:47

pulled it out of her drawer. Go

21:50

to bed, Susie. We have a long day of

21:52

movies and ice cream tomorrow. Okay,

21:55

fine. Good night.

21:58

She clicked off her light. keeping the stone

22:00

in her hand and not returning it to

22:02

the drawer. After a

22:04

few seconds, her little nightlight flashed on and

22:06

she had to crane almost to the floor

22:08

to plug it in. It

22:10

cast her room into a faint,

22:12

sunset orange hue. Her

22:15

dark outline gave Darren a wave,

22:17

then curled under the covers. Darren

22:20

gave her one last brotherly smirk before

22:23

he removed his face from the porthole

22:25

and backed out of his closet, fixing

22:27

his clothes hangers back how they were

22:29

and turning the light off. He

22:32

left the door cracked and walked

22:34

back over and into his bed

22:36

heavily. He was

22:38

once again alone with his confused thoughts.

22:41

The dim blue glow of the room helped

22:43

soothe him over, though, and

22:46

soon his eyes were closed, his

22:48

sleepy equilibrium gently rocking back and

22:50

forth like a boat in a

22:52

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you know. Darren!

24:39

Darren, wake up! Darren,

24:41

wake up! He was

24:43

snapped back into consciousness by the whisper

24:46

yelling of Susie on the walkie talkie.

24:49

He inhaled deeply through his nose

24:51

and stretched out his arms before turning,

24:53

reaching back under his bed and

24:55

picking up the little two-way. He

24:58

felt like he had been hit by a

25:00

bus having been interrupted from the deepest part

25:02

of his night's sleep. Susie?

25:06

What time is it? He slurred,

25:09

rubbing his right eyelid with his thumb.

25:12

I don't know. I don't know. I just

25:14

woke up. There's scratching on my door.

25:17

I think someone's at my door,

25:19

Darren. I'm scared. She

25:21

said desperately. Something

25:24

perked up for a second, but then

25:26

relaxed once he had a simple explanation

25:28

for her. It's

25:30

just Matilda, Susie. She just wants to

25:32

get in. Their

25:35

family's cat, a large calico named

25:37

Matilda, was notorious for acting much

25:39

more like a dog than your

25:41

average feline. She scratched

25:43

on and even opened doors using

25:45

her long limbs and big paws.

25:48

She did this all the time, to

25:50

the point that locked doors were seemingly

25:53

her only true boundaries. Can

26:00

you please go look? Please?"

26:02

Her softened voice truly

26:04

sounded unsettled. Darrin

26:07

banged the back of his head on his

26:09

pillow out of slight annoyance. "'Come

26:12

on, Susie. I was sleeping

26:14

so well." "'Please,

26:17

Darrin, I'm begging you. I won't

26:19

be able to sleep if you

26:21

don't and I'm too scared to

26:24

look." Darrin

26:26

sighed hard, inconvenienced but

26:28

trying to remember his role as

26:30

a caring older brother. His little

26:32

sister was scared and he needed

26:35

to be her hero. "'Okay,

26:38

Susie. Hold on for one sec,'

26:40

he said calmly. "'Thank

26:43

you, thank you,' she responded

26:45

with sharp relief. He

26:47

slowly got out of bed, leaving

26:50

the walkie-talkie behind and stumbled to

26:52

his door, still drunk with sleep.

26:54

He could only barely see the doorknob in

26:56

the low light. He

26:58

turned it, before a sound made

27:01

him freeze and flex his hand

27:03

on the downturned knob. Scratching,

27:06

just like Susie had said, he

27:09

leaned in and pressed his left ear to the door.

27:11

It was similar to

27:13

Matilda's eager swipes, except

27:16

it was slower and heavier.

27:18

It was way

27:20

slower and heavier, as if someone were

27:22

repeatedly scraping a rake down the wall.

27:25

Darrin felt his heartbeat pick up. For

27:28

Susie, he thought to himself. Hand

27:32

still flexed on the knob, he

27:34

slowly pulled his door open, mostly

27:36

hiding behind it as he did,

27:39

save for enough room to see the hallway.

27:42

The scratching stopped before he could

27:44

squint and get a look at

27:47

a shadow moving slowly away from

27:49

Susie's door and down the ever-dark

27:51

corridor. His eyes woke

27:53

up instantly. He didn't get a

27:56

good look, but whatever it was,

27:58

it was bigger than a cat. At

28:01

least, he thought. He

28:03

blinked hard and shut his door quickly,

28:06

stopping and slowing its movement just before

28:08

it closed so he could keep it

28:10

quiet. He walked slowly but

28:12

way more consciously back to his bed than

28:14

he was when he left it. He

28:17

sat on his bed momentarily, unsure

28:19

what to tell Susie. He

28:22

truly didn't get a grasp of what it could be.

28:25

Those stretch in the middle of the

28:27

night and tired eyes are unreliable narrators

28:30

for the mind. It very

28:32

well may have just been Matilda. Picking

28:35

up the walkie-talkie, Darren made

28:37

an executive decision. Hey,

28:39

I just looked and it was Matilda.

28:41

I saw her run down the hall toward mom

28:44

and dad's room. There's nothing to worry

28:46

about. Oh, okay,

28:48

good. Susie breathed

28:51

with bone-deep relief. Silly,

28:53

Matilda. Ugh, I'm so happy

28:55

it was her. I thought I had... She

28:58

paused sharply. I'm

29:02

just so happy it was her. Is

29:04

she okay? I heard her meow

29:06

and it sounded like she was sick. She

29:09

looked fine to me. What do you

29:11

mean she sounded sick? Darren asked.

29:14

Her meow was weird. It

29:17

was really low and sounded like she

29:19

was hurt or something. Oh,

29:22

I didn't hear that. She looked fine

29:24

though. I'm sure she's okay. Darren

29:28

felt strange, as if he was making a

29:30

mistake. Okay, good.

29:33

Darren, can I ask

29:35

you a huge favor? Yes.

29:39

Can you read to me? Please, pretty

29:42

please. I promise just for a

29:44

little bit. It will be hard

29:46

to sleep, but I will real quick if you just

29:48

read a story. She

29:50

asked with sweet desperation. Darren

29:54

looked at the clock. 3.17am. Ouch.

30:00

I don't think I have anything here

30:02

to read that you would like." It

30:05

doesn't matter, any book will be good. I

30:08

just fall asleep so easily when I hear

30:10

someone read. Please, Darren." Well,

30:13

the sleep was already ruined, but

30:15

they could sleep in as long

30:17

as they wanted, per their parents'

30:19

approval. So Darren sighed, reached

30:22

into his bedside drawer, and felt

30:24

around. His hand found a

30:26

small book in the back corner and he pulled

30:28

it out, holding it to his face in the

30:30

dim nightlight. He exhaled in

30:33

a small laugh. I

30:35

have the Bible. Will that work? Yeah,

30:38

sure. Oh, read, do not worry, please.

30:40

That's Mama's favorite. She

30:43

used to read that to us all the

30:45

time, remember? Oh, I

30:47

remember. Darren knew

30:49

exactly what she meant and turned to

30:52

Philippians chapter 4. Thank

30:56

you so much, Susie

30:58

said, already sounding sleepier.

31:01

Sure. Okay, Philippians

31:03

chapter 4. Darren

31:06

began. He read to her for

31:08

several minutes, using one hand to talk to her

31:10

and the other to hold open the Bible. He

31:13

read all of chapter 4 and even got

31:15

halfway through chapter 5. The

31:18

words were calming to him. The

31:20

timeless message touched him, making his

31:23

heart smile softly and

31:25

making him see his circumstances through a

31:27

lens much bigger than his own perception.

31:30

After he realized he read more than

31:33

he intended to, he paused, listening for

31:35

anything coming from Susie's end. There

31:38

was only silence. It was

31:40

true. She had always enjoyed being

31:42

read to and usually went out like a

31:44

candle quickly, even if it was during the

31:47

day. Darren felt

31:49

warm, happy to have helped her

31:51

fall back asleep. He

31:53

laid back on his pillow, still holding the

31:55

walkie talkie and the Bible in his hands.

31:58

He exhaled for several seconds. before returning

32:00

and putting the Bible back in his

32:02

drawer. He looked over to

32:04

his closet. He forgot he had left

32:06

the door cracked. He decided

32:08

to go shut it, and before that,

32:11

he would peek into the magic window to

32:13

ensure Susie was asleep. He

32:15

got up, walked over to the closet, and

32:18

creaked open the door. He

32:20

winced, not wanting to wake his

32:22

sister up with any unnecessary noise,

32:24

and silently pushed aside his hanging

32:26

clothes once again. He

32:29

leaned down to the porthole and stuck

32:31

his squinting eyes in. He

32:34

heard himself gasp as deep as his lungs

32:36

could hold. The muscles in his

32:38

chest and shoulders flexed to the point of

32:40

pain, and the back of his scalp

32:42

felt like his hair was trying to escape his head.

32:46

There, in the low orange

32:48

light of Susie's room, right

32:50

behind her bed, was

32:52

the silhouette of a person. The

32:55

sickeningly thin, shadowed outline

32:57

had arms with

33:00

elbows raised, hands unnaturally bent

33:02

to the sides, and bony

33:04

fingers stretched and locked like

33:06

half-plucked black feathers. Its

33:09

back was crooked, and its head

33:11

was unnaturally cocked to the left

33:13

with a dark cloud of transparent,

33:16

wispy hair. It

33:18

reached a warped arm down to

33:20

Susie, who was fast asleep in

33:22

bed. Darren looked on

33:24

in horror, shocked into silence, still

33:27

not exhaling from his gasp. He

33:30

kicked his right leg back, and his heel

33:32

caught a shoebox, making him lose his balance

33:34

and fall backward and out of his closet.

33:37

He shot back up, threw himself back

33:39

to the porthole, and pressed his

33:41

brow to the glass. There

33:44

was nothing there. No

33:47

horrible silhouette, no broken

33:49

limbs grabbing for Susie.

33:52

Nothing. Only a comfortable

33:54

orange glow surrounding a cozy bed

33:56

holding a sleeping little girl. Darren,

33:59

He then exhaled finally, scanning

34:02

all he could see of the rest

34:04

of her room in the warm, low

34:06

light. He craned his neck to get a look at

34:08

her bedroom door. The soft

34:10

shadows of her room gave way

34:12

to a tall, slim column of

34:14

pitch black. Her door

34:17

was cracked, spilling in darkness from

34:19

the hallway. He

34:21

could feel his heartbeat in his neck. No,

34:25

his eyes had not lied to him, nor

34:28

his ears. The only

34:30

deceit was his own when he convinced

34:33

Susie that the only nocturnal visitor to

34:35

a room was the cat, Matilda. Against

34:39

his own will, Darren knew he had to

34:41

act. Whatever was trying

34:43

to get to Susie wasn't going to stop.

34:46

He had to be her rock at this

34:48

moment. He would go to

34:50

her room, wake her up, and they would

34:52

then go wake their parents up, and they

34:54

would tell them exactly what he saw, even

34:56

if it sounded insane. His

34:58

little sister's safety was far more

35:00

important than his ten-year-old ego or

35:02

his parents' night of sleep. He

35:06

exited the closet and walked over

35:08

to his door, once again flexing

35:10

his wrist to hold the knob

35:12

down silently. He gently

35:14

pulled the door open, the dark

35:16

and cooler air of the hallway

35:18

washing his face. All

35:21

he could see was the skinny

35:23

tower of orange glow through Susie's

35:25

slightly open door. His

35:28

mouth felt instantly drier as he

35:30

noticed dozens of scratch marks above

35:33

and around her doorknob. Having

35:36

opened his door wide enough to fit

35:38

his body through, he weaseled himself into

35:40

the hallway, slowly. Eyes

35:43

on Susie's room, he

35:45

lowered himself and tiptoed almost halfway

35:47

there, trying to avoid unnecessary creaks

35:50

in his step. When

35:52

he was almost to her entrance and

35:55

could see her sleeping peacefully, he

35:57

suddenly froze. Somewhere

36:00

far down the long hallway came

36:03

a noise, a

36:05

soft noise yet debilitating

36:08

to Darren's already waning sanity.

36:11

He recognized it instantly, having

36:14

heard it in real life and

36:16

in his worst nightmares. A

36:19

painful groan followed by

36:22

a deep, wet, rattling

36:24

inhale. The sound

36:26

shot down the dark hallway toward Darren

36:28

like a swarm of bats. Then

36:31

came slow, heavy footsteps,

36:35

like someone was struggling under an

36:37

almost unbearable weight. Clunk,

36:41

clunk, clunk. Darren's

36:47

vocal cords were paralyzed, so the

36:49

scream he let escape was entirely

36:51

mental. His legs thawed

36:53

first as flight mode was suddenly

36:56

activated, and he shot through Susie's

36:58

door like an animal escaping a

37:00

cage. He slammed the door

37:02

behind him, and in an instant his

37:04

little sister was sitting up in bed

37:06

and fearfully alert. Darren?

37:09

She sweetly squeaked in her

37:11

disorientation. Susie, Susie,

37:15

listen, listen, you have

37:17

to listen. You are

37:19

not safe, at all. Darren

37:22

shouted as he ran to her bedside. We

37:24

gotta wake mom and dad up now. We gotta

37:26

go. His plea

37:29

was interrupted by the now familiar

37:31

sound of a scratch at her

37:33

door, which Darren had slammed shut

37:35

but had forgotten to lock. One

37:38

long, slow scratch, seemingly starting

37:40

at the top of the

37:43

door, stopping halfway down.

37:46

Then the knob slightly

37:49

twisted. Then

37:51

it was jostled again, turning a little

37:53

more. Then again

37:55

and again, until they heard

37:57

a small pop, and the door

37:59

just just barely mowned

38:01

open. Susie

38:04

screamed as only five-year-old girls can,

38:06

ice cold and as piercing as

38:09

a needle. She dove

38:11

under her blanket instantly, forming a shuddering

38:13

little pocket on her bed. The

38:15

fabric muffled her cries, but they were

38:17

desperate all the same. Darrin

38:20

was still standing at her

38:22

bedside, his mind absolutely scrambling.

38:25

The door was being scratched open

38:27

wider and wider, inch

38:29

by inch, spilling the

38:31

deep dark of the hallway into the

38:33

bedroom like so many gallons of oil.

38:36

In a chaotic instant, Darrin reached

38:38

down and unplugged Susie's nightlight, fell

38:40

on her bed on top of

38:42

the comforter, and put his arms

38:44

around the shaking, crying little girl

38:46

under the covers. There

38:49

was no hiding anymore, but

38:51

he could still protect her, taking

38:53

the brunt of the forthcoming attack.

38:57

It's gonna be okay, Susie. Okay?

39:00

He said, laying on his side

39:02

and squeezing his right arm around

39:04

his sweet, scared little sister. The

39:07

room was pitch black now, and

39:10

the door had grown almost all

39:12

the way open with a dreadful,

39:14

serrated creak. This

39:17

is all my fault, Darrin! All my

39:19

fault! She cried. What

39:22

do you mean, Susie? No, it's

39:24

not. It's all gonna be

39:26

okay. Darrin wasn't

39:28

convincing himself, but tried his best to

39:30

console her as she shook under his

39:33

arm. They were both roaming

39:35

past the point of sane fear, and

39:38

as their uninvited visitor entered the

39:40

dark room, they were shocked by

39:42

utter, breathless silence.

39:46

Kalunk. Kalunk.

39:51

Kalunk. The

39:53

heavy, uneven footsteps began their way

39:55

across the floor from the door

39:58

to the bed. Then,

40:00

the horrible, nauseated moan gently

40:03

called out to the children,

40:06

followed by that deep, painful

40:08

death rattle inhale. Darren

40:11

squeezed his covered little sister even

40:13

harder. He felt himself

40:15

sweating hard and trembling. He

40:18

clamped his eyes shut until it almost hurt.

40:21

He only hoped that this monster

40:23

would take him, kill him, and

40:26

spare little Susie. He

40:28

was happy that, even in

40:31

this probably final moment, he

40:33

still wanted to be there for her, to

40:36

be her rock. Kalunk.

40:40

Kalunk. The

40:43

footsteps had reached the end of her bed

40:45

and were working their way over to Darren's

40:47

side. The skin on

40:49

his back and his neck electrified,

40:51

chills screaming at him to flee. He

40:54

resisted, tensing his entire body.

40:58

Another groan, this time coming

41:00

from right beside the bed,

41:02

belted their ears, this time

41:04

much louder than before, almost

41:07

triumphant. Darren

41:09

felt tears falling down his cheeks

41:11

and tasted salt in his downturned

41:13

mouth. Susie was

41:16

strangely silent and had stopped

41:18

shaking. Darren could hear

41:20

her whispering, too softly to make out what

41:22

she was saying. Another

41:24

dreadful moan and painful inhale stung

41:26

his hearing and painted a frightful

41:29

picture on his blind eyes. The

41:32

thing was now standing over him.

41:35

He began to feel sharp,

41:37

hard, bony fingers touching his

41:39

back. He made a

41:41

noise like a whining dog. Susie

41:45

suddenly screamed from under the blanket. Another

41:47

bony hand grabbed at Darren's and

41:55

he turned back, clenching spindly fists around his

41:57

shirt and beginning to pull at him. He

42:00

just pinched his eyelid shut and gritted

42:03

his teeth. Another

42:05

devastated howl cried out to the children.

42:08

Go away, Mom, go away! Take it all

42:11

back. Take it

42:13

back! Susie screamed,

42:15

still muffled under the blanket. Another

42:19

moan, this time defiant

42:21

and angrier, escaped

42:23

from right behind Darren's ultra-sensitive

42:25

ears. The clamped

42:27

hands shook at his shirt, stronger

42:29

than expected. Darren began to

42:32

feel himself being pulled away from his

42:34

sister. He fought it, but

42:36

felt himself losing the will and the ability

42:39

to hold on. Go

42:41

away, Mama, go away now!

42:44

Susie shrieked fearfully, yet with

42:46

a powerful certainty. Then,

42:49

the ghastly voice over the children

42:52

erupted into a scream, a huge

42:54

slicing scream, like a doomed wailing

42:57

of the damned. The

42:59

bony hands clenched on Darren's back

43:01

shook violently, tearing into his shirt

43:03

and pulling him harshly in all

43:06

directions. The scream

43:08

grew impossibly loud as Darren began

43:10

to feel himself losing consciousness. He

43:13

couldn't bear another moment of this

43:15

blind hell. Just

43:18

as he began to feel sharp

43:20

nails latch onto the skin of

43:22

his back, the room exploded into

43:24

light, appearing red behind his clenched

43:26

eyelids. What the hell

43:28

is going on? Their

43:30

mother's voice shocked their battered

43:32

ears with sensitive relief. Both

43:35

parents stormed into the room as if there

43:37

was a raging fire. The

43:39

world was still light red behind

43:41

Darren's closed eyelids, but he could

43:43

hear the concerned panting and quickly

43:45

feel his father's hands on his

43:48

shoulders comforting him. What

43:50

happened, buddy? What happened? What's wrong? What

43:53

happened to your shirt? Darren

43:55

slowly cracked open his eyes. His

43:58

mother was sitting on the bed. bed holding

44:01

Susie, who had buried her head in her

44:03

collarbone. He looked up

44:05

at his father, who was still rubbing his

44:07

back and shoulders. His eyes

44:09

looked confused and exhausted. Darren

44:12

then twitched as he anxiously scanned

44:15

the rest of the room, awaiting

44:17

another ghastly attack from that evil,

44:19

unwanted visitor. There

44:22

was nobody else there. Whatever

44:24

the thing was, it had vanished.

44:27

It was only his family around him. I...I...I...

44:33

Darren began, but couldn't get his screaming

44:35

brain to calm down enough to where

44:37

he could speak. It's

44:39

okay, buddy. It's okay, his

44:42

father said, as he sat Darren up

44:44

and hugged him tightly. Darren

44:46

only now realized how cold he was

44:48

as he shook and rested his chin

44:50

on his father's shoulder. From

44:53

here, he could see the magic window on the

44:55

adjoining wall of his room. Through

44:58

the translucent glass, a dim light

45:00

flickered pale blue. Darren

45:03

clenched his eyes, not even entertaining

45:05

the idea of seeing anything else

45:08

that would further damage his inflamed

45:10

psyche. Susie, what

45:12

is this? He heard his

45:14

mother say. After a

45:16

moment, he felt his father stir, and then he

45:18

picked him up and carried him over to the

45:20

other side of the bed. He

45:23

sat them both down and then turned

45:25

Darren around, still keeping an arm around

45:27

him. Darren opened

45:29

his eyes again, seeing his mother with

45:31

an arm around his sister's stomach, the

45:34

other holding the small yellow stone in

45:36

her hand that Susie had been cherishing

45:38

earlier. His mother

45:40

turned the stone in her hand, her

45:42

face calm, but her eyes

45:45

filled with surprise and wonder. Where

45:48

did you get this, Susie? She

45:50

leaned her face into Susie's, who had

45:53

her head down, the way she did

45:55

when she was being reprimanded. I

46:00

just want to know." She kissed

46:02

Susie's forehead. I…

46:05

uh… mama gave it to

46:07

me. She said it was

46:09

special because… because… because

46:13

I'm special too. Just like

46:15

her. She wanted me to have

46:17

it. I'm so sorry,

46:19

mama. Susie began to

46:22

cry and turned back into her mother's

46:24

chest and hugged her tightly. Shh,

46:27

shh, shh. It's okay, sweetie. Darren

46:30

looked up at his father's face. His

46:33

eyes were glued on the stone in

46:35

his wife's hand, which was in half

46:37

a fist as she rubbed Susie's back.

46:39

The look he gave was still a concern,

46:42

eerily similar to when a really bad storm

46:44

was about to come over the house, or

46:46

when his favorite football team missed a field

46:48

goal. I thought we

46:50

were past this, Julia, he

46:53

said flatly, obviously trying to

46:55

keep his frightened children calm. She

46:58

met his gaze and something lit up in

47:00

her eyes. She glanced away,

47:03

bringing Susie back out onto the bed so

47:05

they could be face to face. Susie?

47:09

Susie, listen to me. Susie

47:11

wiped her damp eyes and raised her

47:13

head. She was frowning

47:15

and her cheeks were bright red and

47:18

embarrassed. Listen to

47:20

me, Susie. Your mama loved you

47:22

so much, both of you. His

47:25

mother shared a tired, loving look

47:27

over to Darren, still shivering under

47:30

his father's arm. And

47:32

this gift that she gave you is very

47:34

special as well. I'm very

47:36

glad it's yours now, but I

47:38

will keep it for you until you're old enough

47:41

to use it the right way, okay? Susie

47:44

wiped her eyes again and nodded, locking

47:46

eyes with her mother as her downturned

47:48

mouth flattened out and even curled at

47:51

the ends in a small smile. Darren

47:54

shot a look up to his father again.

47:56

His face was almost gone as his

47:59

left eyelid twitched before a

48:01

long blink of defeated understanding.

48:05

We love you both very much,

48:07

and we're sorry you've had a bad night. But

48:10

now, let's all go to sleep.

48:12

Maybe we'll even forget about this whole thing

48:14

tomorrow, okay? Do you two

48:16

want to come sleep with us in our room? He

48:18

asked. Darren and Susie both

48:21

gave a couple of small nods to their

48:23

father. The parents

48:25

picked up the children and started out

48:27

of Susie's room. Darren was

48:29

happy not to use his legs, and

48:31

his body finally began to warm back

48:33

up as his father carried him into

48:35

the hallway, his head on his shoulder.

48:38

Susie and their mom were behind

48:40

them, and suddenly, the bedroom light

48:42

clicked off. Darren's father

48:44

waited for them and let them pass

48:47

before slowly closing the door behind them.

48:49

Susie had her arms around her mother's neck.

48:52

The hallway was now darkened, but

48:54

in the silver pre-morning light, Darren

48:56

saw a look of heavy relief

48:58

on her young face. They

49:01

walked down the long hall and through

49:03

their parents' bedroom door. Come

49:06

on, buddy, let's go. His

49:08

father breathed in a deep,

49:10

sleepy voice. He

49:12

slowly carried Darren down the hallway. Head

49:15

on his shoulder, Darren's eyes began

49:17

to grow weary and narrow. As

49:21

his father walked, the bouncing view of

49:23

the hall grew longer and longer, and

49:26

through his blurred vision, he saw the

49:28

crawling scratches on Susie's door in the

49:30

low light. He also

49:32

noticed his own door right next

49:34

to hers, slightly cracked open, letting

49:36

in the fumes of his blue

49:38

nightlight. As they

49:41

progressed further down the hall, he

49:43

could see his door seemingly pulling

49:45

open ever so slowly and silently.

49:48

Darren decided it must be his exhaustion

49:50

and turned his forehead down on his

49:53

father's shoulder as they made their way

49:55

through the master bedroom door. Before

49:57

he knew it, rest

50:00

of his family were snug under

50:02

the thick comforter of a king-sized

50:04

bed, quietly escaping into the warm

50:06

oblivion of sleep. Curled

50:09

on top of them was Matilda, the

50:11

cat, whose dreams had been unbothered by

50:13

the whole affair. In

50:15

his final moment of consciousness, Darren

50:18

almost thought that he could faintly

50:20

hear slow footsteps from far down

50:22

the hall, making their way

50:24

to the door of the master bedroom, before

50:27

turning away and leading down the

50:29

staircase toward the front door of

50:31

their home. And

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51:41

You've been listening to Mama

51:43

by Sam Morris. Sam

51:45

Morris is a lifelong writer, just

51:48

not in the usual sense. He

51:50

was born to a musical family

51:52

and has played piano and sang

51:54

his entire life. He has

51:56

also written songs for over 20 years. long-time

52:00

horror fan, he first started writing short

52:02

stories in 2022 and instantly loved it

52:06

as a creative outlet, especially since it

52:09

was so different from his usual world

52:11

of music. Translating the

52:13

art of songwriting into the form

52:15

of short stories has proven very

52:17

therapeutic to Sam, who must reach

52:19

into the darker parts of his

52:21

mind and exercise the monsters that

52:23

live there. And

52:27

now, listeners, I present How

52:30

I Lost My Afterschool Job

52:33

by Deirdre Coles. It

52:39

didn't occur to me how much Owen

52:41

Hayes hated me right back, until

52:44

the day he found Winds of

52:46

Other Worlds. It

52:48

was stupid. I'd gotten careless bringing

52:50

it to his house in the first place and

52:52

then leaving it in front of my binder where

52:54

he could see it as soon as he opened

52:56

my backpack. I should

52:58

have anticipated that. He went

53:00

through my things often enough. While

53:03

I was flipping through the pages of a

53:05

textbook at the table, trying to get him

53:07

to focus, he would reach

53:09

out with one long arm, unzip

53:11

my backpack, and rifle through it,

53:14

all the while giving me that

53:17

flat, heavy-lidded stare, waiting for a

53:19

reaction. The first

53:21

time he'd rifled through my things,

53:23

I'd protested, something brilliant and cutting,

53:26

like, Hey, what are you? I

53:29

gotta make sure you're not making off with the silver, he

53:31

said, reminding me of my

53:34

place. And he'd done it

53:36

a dozen times since then. I hated

53:38

it, but I didn't know how to make

53:40

him stop, so I usually

53:42

just rolled my eyes and ignored him.

53:46

The standard advice that parents and teachers

53:48

always give about people like Owen is

53:50

that they'll leave you alone if you

53:52

ignore them and don't react. Even

53:55

teachers can't be dumb enough to believe

53:57

that. If you ignore them, they

53:59

escalate. night, and escalate again,

54:01

until even they are marveling about just

54:04

how far they can push you. But

54:07

sometimes, when he doesn't have an audience, Owen

54:10

will let it go after a few minutes, and

54:13

I always tell myself that at least he's

54:15

actually looking at schoolbooks, even

54:17

if they're mine, not wandering

54:19

away from the table while I'm trying to

54:21

get him to focus on pre-calc or something.

54:24

But today, I had something other

54:27

than schoolbooks in my bag. You

54:30

like this kind of thing? He

54:32

said, smirking, holding it up.

54:35

He had a bad, restless look in

54:37

his eye. And

54:39

I cringed. Because of

54:41

the cover, I'd been too embarrassed to read

54:43

it on the bus, and it was even

54:45

more embarrassing clutched in his paw. Winds

54:48

from other worlds featured two mistily

54:51

drawn elf women standing on a

54:53

mountain, gazing down at the valley

54:55

below. Aiden was holding

54:57

an improbably large sword, although she looked

55:00

too fragile and ethereal to wield much

55:02

more than a toothpick. Aiden

55:05

lent it to me. He wanted me to read it. I

55:08

lied. Owen's eyes

55:10

flashed with resentment. You

55:12

could learn a thing or two from Aiden, that's for

55:14

sure, he said. Aiden

55:17

was Luke Dyer's tutor, and he

55:19

took, let's say,

55:22

a different approach to the job.

55:25

Aiden just wrote Luke's papers and his

55:27

take-home essay tests for him. Owen

55:30

had been expecting pretty much the same thing

55:32

when his mom hired me, and it was

55:34

a source of constant bitterness to him that

55:37

I only explained the source material he hadn't

55:39

bothered to read, wrote up

55:41

an outline of his papers and

55:43

each paragraph within, prompted him

55:45

as he slogged his way through, and

55:48

corrected his many egregious mistakes

55:50

of fact and spelling and

55:52

grammar afterward. We

55:55

haven't even bothered to learn how to do my handwriting.

55:57

Owen had complained not long ago. So,

56:01

bringing up Aiden was a risky move.

56:04

Owen was distracted, as I'd hoped, but

56:07

he still hung onto the book, squinting

56:09

at the heroine's pointed ears and pale

56:11

drift of hair. There's

56:13

something I have to show you," he said.

56:16

"'We really need to get started on this,' I

56:20

said, this being Owen's history

56:22

essay due on Friday. I

56:25

had a lot of my own work to do, too, but I

56:27

knew better than to bring that up.' "'No,

56:30

really,' he said. "'Actually,

56:33

I need you to come with me. It's

56:35

a project I'm doing. Extra

56:37

credit.'" I thought about

56:39

that for a second. Owen hadn't

56:41

done an extra credit project in his life, as

56:43

far as I knew. But

56:45

it was possible that his mom

56:47

had finagled something, persuaded some teacher

56:49

to offer Owen some makeup garbage

56:51

to pad his GPA, and

56:54

God knew his grades could use the help if

56:56

it were true. "'This

56:58

totally counts toward your hours,' he

57:00

said. "'You can drill me for the French test

57:03

on the way.' Owen

57:05

likes to refer to me as his

57:07

stunt double, and although he's

57:10

taller and heavier than me, we

57:12

really do kind of look alike,

57:14

sadly. If you took away

57:16

his expensive haircut and his clothes with brand

57:18

names, it's taken a lot of effort on

57:20

my part not to notice. But

57:22

that aside, I looked enough like him that

57:24

I'd been able to take his SATs for

57:26

him a few months ago. It

57:29

was kind of funny, the way his mom

57:31

had thrown out trial balloons beforehand." "'You've

57:34

got such poise for somebody so young,

57:36

Michael. Not like

57:38

my poor Owen, who suffers such

57:40

terrible test-taking anxiety.'" If

57:43

Owen suffered any anxiety at all, it was

57:45

his worry that tutoring hours with me would

57:47

stop him from getting to Luke Dyer's house

57:49

and getting wasted at 4.30 in the afternoon

57:52

on a Wednesday. Owen

57:55

had been the one to offer the bonus

57:57

for taking the test. I'd

57:59

clenched my teeth. teeth. My

58:01

family needed the money and we were

58:03

both seniors now. It

58:05

was only another few months

58:07

till graduation and then I'd

58:10

never have to see Owen

58:12

or his horrible glossy-haired mother

58:14

ever again. Although, maybe not.

58:17

Because recently Mrs. Hayes had deigned

58:19

to call my mom and talk

58:21

about how tutoring had done such

58:23

wonders for Owen and wouldn't it

58:25

be wonderful if he and I

58:27

could go to the same college,

58:29

hinting about how she might be

58:31

able to arrange a personal scholarship

58:33

for me. In darker

58:35

moments, I imagined us going all the way

58:37

through law school joined at the hip and

58:40

working together at a firm where he

58:43

played golf with the clients while I

58:45

worked all night every night writing up

58:47

legal briefs for both of us. I

58:51

was exhausted and so I

58:53

just followed him downstairs into the garage

58:55

into his Audi. I climbed

58:57

into the passenger seat clutching my

58:59

backpack with my book tucked inside

59:02

it on my lap. Not

59:05

long ago, when Owen drove me

59:07

from school to his house, he

59:09

complained about how his Audi something-something

59:11

sedan looked like a dad car

59:13

and how he'd better be getting something else

59:15

at graduation because he wasn't going to be

59:17

driving this junk heap around at college. When

59:20

he said that, I'd fantasized about grabbing

59:22

the wheel and jerking it violently to

59:25

the right and sending us both off

59:27

the cliffs into the river. Sinking

59:30

into the obscenely comfortable passenger seat, it

59:33

was such a relief not to be

59:35

wrestling with Owen in his ongoing battle

59:37

to do only the bare minimum of

59:39

schoolwork possible that I spaced

59:42

out for a little bit. I

59:44

was horribly tired. Last

59:46

night, I'd spent two hours I couldn't

59:49

afford reading Winds of Other Worlds, which,

59:52

to be honest, wasn't all

59:54

that great. It was the

59:57

fourth book in the series and the characters

59:59

and the dialogue were fun, but

1:00:01

the plot was getting repetitive. It

1:00:03

was the literary equivalent of comfort food. Since

1:00:07

I'd spent too much time on frivolous

1:00:09

reading, I had to stay up late

1:00:11

doing homework, and now the heated

1:00:13

seat and the quiet of the car was

1:00:15

lulling me to sleep. The

1:00:18

quiet was odd, actually. On the

1:00:20

very rare occasions when we were

1:00:23

both in his car together, Owen

1:00:25

usually played some awful music obnoxiously

1:00:27

loud, but he seemed lost in

1:00:30

thought, too. When

1:00:32

I started paying attention again, we were in a

1:00:34

part of the city I didn't know. There

1:00:37

are lots of parts of town you don't get to know when

1:00:39

you don't have a car, but this looked

1:00:41

like the kind of neighborhood where you wouldn't want to

1:00:44

bring a car. Certainly not a

1:00:46

car like Owen's. All

1:00:48

around us, I could see shuttered

1:00:50

storefronts, buckled sidewalks, liquor

1:00:52

stores as busy as Ant Hills. Owen

1:00:56

pulled up outside a grubby little convenience

1:00:58

store. I looked over at

1:01:00

him, checking to see if we were at the right place.

1:01:03

We had probably passed five or six others just

1:01:05

like it on our way over. I wondered

1:01:08

why Owen wanted me here. Something

1:01:11

to do with drugs, maybe. Owen

1:01:14

opened the driver's side door and stepped out.

1:01:16

He ducked his head back into the car to look at me.

1:01:19

Coming, he said, smirking.

1:01:23

Yeah, I sighed, getting

1:01:25

out of the passenger seat. I

1:01:28

took my time closing the door. I

1:01:30

was half hoping he'd forget to lock it

1:01:32

and someone would break into his car. Maybe

1:01:34

steal it. The

1:01:36

place looked even more dingy and

1:01:39

unprepossessing on the inside. Owen

1:01:41

sauntered over to the counter while

1:01:43

I stared at a revolving display

1:01:46

of ugly, cheap plastic sunglasses. I

1:01:49

didn't like the clerk's face. He

1:01:52

looked both wary and aggrieved when he

1:01:54

looked at Owen, which meant

1:01:56

he probably knew him. And

1:01:59

he looked positively alone. alarmed when Owen

1:02:01

gestured at me. "'Who's

1:02:03

this?' he shrilled, pointing at

1:02:05

me. "'My cousin,'

1:02:08

Owen said, in a tone of voice that made

1:02:11

it clear he was lying. "'Don't

1:02:13

worry your pretty little head about it. I'll

1:02:15

vouch for him.' The

1:02:17

clerk shook his head. "'Whatever,

1:02:19

dude,' he said. "'But

1:02:21

you paid double.' Owen

1:02:24

handed the man a fold of cash,

1:02:26

doing that locker room jerk move of

1:02:28

snatching it back just before the man

1:02:30

could take it, before handing it over.

1:02:34

The clerk stepped back and started counting.

1:02:36

Watching, I realized how much

1:02:39

money it actually was and

1:02:41

felt sick to my stomach. What

1:02:43

was I doing here? The

1:02:46

clerk grabbed a key from under the counter

1:02:48

and then Owen beckoned me over to a

1:02:50

door at the back. This

1:02:53

just kept getting better and better.

1:02:56

He started down a set of cement steps

1:02:58

and I stood at the top, debating.

1:03:02

Just like every horror movie ever, I

1:03:05

thought. But I

1:03:07

followed him down. I

1:03:09

didn't like Owen and I didn't respect

1:03:11

him. But I didn't

1:03:14

really respect myself either, for

1:03:16

two reasons. I

1:03:18

was an absolute coward and

1:03:21

somehow, despite everything, I

1:03:23

cared enough about what Owen thought that I

1:03:25

didn't want him to know that. When

1:03:29

we reached the bottom of the stairs, I

1:03:31

saw her, hunched over with

1:03:33

her head on her tented knees, wearing

1:03:36

what looked like an extra-large man's

1:03:39

undershirt with bare legs beneath it.

1:03:42

She was sitting on the concrete and

1:03:44

I wondered why, until I saw that

1:03:46

she was as far as the chains

1:03:48

would let her get from the stained

1:03:50

mattress in the corner. Then

1:03:53

I noticed other things. She

1:03:56

wasn't just skinny, she

1:03:59

was elongated. beyond human proportions

1:04:01

like a parmesanino come to

1:04:03

life, and someone had hacked away

1:04:05

at the hair on the sides of her head to

1:04:08

expose those ears. Pointed,

1:04:11

but not like the delicate pointed tips

1:04:13

of the elf woman on the cover

1:04:15

of my book. More

1:04:17

like the ears of a white-tailed deer,

1:04:20

blunt and too big and feral,

1:04:23

looking wrong on a girl's head. That

1:04:26

she was a girl, not entirely. You

1:04:30

wouldn't mistake her for human, not even

1:04:32

at first glance, not even on a

1:04:35

dark night. Human

1:04:37

bones and muscles weren't shaped

1:04:39

that way, and her

1:04:41

too long neck and weirdly articulated

1:04:43

wrists were red and puffy where

1:04:45

the collar and bands of braided

1:04:47

metal lay against them. The

1:04:50

fingers of one hand were burnt

1:04:52

looking too. It's

1:04:55

iron and silver, Owen said.

1:04:58

Keeps it from fighting too much, not

1:05:00

that I don't like a little fight. So

1:05:02

what do you say, Mikey? You want to go first? He

1:05:05

turned and stared into my eyes. I'd

1:05:09

imagined scenarios where I punched him

1:05:11

before, after some particularly

1:05:14

snide remark. I'd

1:05:16

imagined running him down with his own car. I

1:05:19

took a deep breath, and I

1:05:21

wished urgently that I had never come

1:05:23

here. He reached

1:05:25

over to the wall and tugged on the chain

1:05:27

where it ran through a set of clamps on

1:05:29

the walls. She was so

1:05:32

light that even pulling with one hand, he

1:05:34

was dragging her across the floor, sideways,

1:05:38

toward the mattress. As

1:05:40

he tugged, the metal collar bit into the

1:05:42

side of her neck. I could see that

1:05:44

it was hurting her. I

1:05:46

thought I could hear a little crackling

1:05:49

sound, smell of faint burning like scorched

1:05:51

milk. But she

1:05:53

still resisted, not begging or

1:05:55

pleading or kicking and screaming,

1:05:58

just dropping her hand. hands, and spreading

1:06:00

her fingers and toes for purchase on

1:06:03

the concrete floor. Something

1:06:05

twisted in me at the sight. I

1:06:08

remembered too many times sitting rigidly on

1:06:11

the school bus while Luke Dyers and

1:06:13

Scott Mackie threw orange peels and worse

1:06:15

things at the back of my head.

1:06:18

Ignore them and they'll go away. This

1:06:22

isn't right, I said. We're

1:06:24

leaving. You want to watch

1:06:27

me then? Is that what it takes to get you

1:06:29

in the mood? Owen said,

1:06:31

starting to undo his belt. Why

1:06:34

Mikey, you little perv. You

1:06:37

aren't really going to let this happen, I said

1:06:40

to myself. But I didn't really

1:06:42

believe it. I wanted to

1:06:44

go upstairs and wait by the sunglasses.

1:06:47

I could call for help. Owen

1:06:50

saw that thought crossing my face.

1:06:54

You can't call the cops, he

1:06:56

said. You know what they would do. They'd

1:06:58

take it away and dissect it while it

1:07:00

was still alive. But as ugly as this thing

1:07:02

is, it makes a lot of money for the people

1:07:04

who run this place. Let's just

1:07:07

say there are other basements. Places

1:07:09

where snitches might end up. Whatever.

1:07:13

Owen was always one for big,

1:07:16

vague, ludicrous threats. Owen

1:07:18

had always thought that he was better

1:07:20

than me. What was happening

1:07:22

now in this basement was him proving

1:07:24

that he was right. There

1:07:27

were words in my mouth that felt like

1:07:29

stones on my tongue. I

1:07:31

wouldn't be able to eat or swallow or

1:07:33

even breathe until I spit them out. No,

1:07:38

I said to him. And then I turned

1:07:40

to the girl. I'm not going to let

1:07:42

him hurt you. She cocked

1:07:44

her head. A weird and

1:07:46

bird-like movement. It made

1:07:49

me a little sick, actually. The way

1:07:51

she looked like a distorted funhouse mirror

1:07:53

version of a human being. Uncanny

1:07:56

Valley stuff. Owen

1:07:58

straightened up, grinning broadly.

1:08:01

He really was a lot bigger than me.

1:08:04

If he hadn't been such a slacker, he might have

1:08:06

been on the football team with Luke. And

1:08:08

it finally occurred to me that this… this

1:08:12

is why we're here. After

1:08:14

I'd ignored so many of his

1:08:16

little provocations, here was something

1:08:19

I couldn't ignore. So,

1:08:22

he would finally get to beat the shit out of

1:08:24

me. To get back at me

1:08:26

for my twin crimes of being smarter

1:08:28

than him and not being properly subservient.

1:08:32

Ever since I've known him, Owen has

1:08:34

proved thoroughly mediocre in just about every

1:08:36

aspect of his life. I

1:08:38

figured fighting would be another such

1:08:41

area, with him throwing sloppy, undisciplined

1:08:43

punches. But as he rushed

1:08:45

at me and hit me hard enough to

1:08:48

spin me halfway around, I

1:08:50

realized I was wrong. And

1:08:52

then I remembered vaguely hearing about how much

1:08:54

he liked to start fights at all those

1:08:56

parties I wasn't invited to. He

1:08:59

hit me hard, again, from the other

1:09:01

side. I tried to bring

1:09:03

my fists up to at least block him, but

1:09:05

I wasn't fast enough. He hit

1:09:07

me hard in the mouth, and I couldn't help

1:09:10

but think of how I couldn't lose any teeth.

1:09:12

My parents couldn't afford to replace them. It

1:09:16

felt like being badly outmatched in a

1:09:18

chess game, one played while

1:09:20

falling down a rocky hill. Then,

1:09:24

he wound back and hit me

1:09:26

so hard in the stomach that

1:09:28

I fell backwards, hard, onto the

1:09:30

girl, skidding her across the floor.

1:09:33

Sorry, I said to her

1:09:35

through a split lip, apologizing for more

1:09:38

than landing on her. What

1:09:40

a shitty protector I'd turned out to

1:09:42

be, after all. A

1:09:44

drop of blood trickling from my nose

1:09:46

splashed down onto her arm, and

1:09:49

she grabbed me by the sides of the

1:09:51

face. Her fingers felt

1:09:54

too thin, too long, too

1:09:57

cold against my skin. She

1:09:59

pulled me closer and for a second I thought she

1:10:01

was going to kiss me. She

1:10:04

was weak as a kitten, but I

1:10:06

was too startled to pull away. And

1:10:08

then her mouth closed on

1:10:10

my split lip and she sucked

1:10:12

on it, hard, then moved

1:10:15

her mouth up to lap up the blood

1:10:17

pouring from my nose. From

1:10:19

behind me, Owen gave a

1:10:22

little shriek of delighted laughter. Here

1:10:25

you're her little knight in shining armor

1:10:27

and she still likes me better than

1:10:29

you, he said. Ain't

1:10:32

that the story of your life, Michael? Here,

1:10:35

let me help you up so I can knock you

1:10:37

down a few more times. He

1:10:39

lunged for me and grabbed me by the

1:10:41

arm and hair. And

1:10:43

the girl grabbed him back, sharp

1:10:46

nails digging into his forearm. No,

1:10:50

no, no, he said,

1:10:52

twisting to pry her wrists away from him

1:10:54

and stepping back. You know

1:10:56

I'll have to hurt you for that. I'd think

1:10:58

you'd know better by now. You

1:11:00

sure are a slow learner. And

1:11:03

then the girl stood

1:11:05

up herself. The chain

1:11:08

clattered to the floor beside where I lay.

1:11:10

I saw one of

1:11:12

the links abraded down to a

1:11:14

sliver and then snapped. She

1:11:17

wore that away against the

1:11:19

concrete, I thought, hour

1:11:22

after hour after hour. Oh

1:11:27

shit, Owen said. I am

1:11:30

going to fuck you up so

1:11:32

bad, both of you. But

1:11:35

something had changed. That

1:11:38

small taste of blood had been enough

1:11:40

to give her terrifying new strength and

1:11:43

she had broken out of her chains. He

1:11:45

was no match for her at all.

1:11:49

She flew at him. She got her fingers

1:11:51

in his eyes. He howled as

1:11:53

he tried to push her back, but she

1:11:55

was like a snake made of steel wire,

1:11:57

moving too fast for him to keep his

1:11:59

grip. whip. She kicked him

1:12:01

in the balls and when he doubled over,

1:12:03

broke his nose against her knee. I

1:12:06

heard that horrible, moist

1:12:09

crunch. I

1:12:11

started backing away in tiny steps.

1:12:14

He grabbed for her legs to lift her

1:12:16

up and she brought her elbows down hard

1:12:18

on the back of his neck, a move

1:12:20

that made him howl even louder than his

1:12:22

eyes. I hadn't

1:12:24

wanted to watch him with her, and

1:12:27

as it turned out it was even worse watching

1:12:29

her with him. I kept

1:12:32

backing away ever so slowly

1:12:35

and although I knew it was a bad idea,

1:12:37

I closed my eyes. Owens

1:12:41

howling choked off into a desperate

1:12:43

kind of panting snort

1:12:46

and I heard a horrible slurping sound

1:12:49

like someone eating thick soup

1:12:51

very fast. I

1:12:53

stuck my fingers in my ears in

1:12:55

desperation but I could still hear it.

1:12:58

I had a feeling that I'd be hearing it

1:13:00

for a very long time. Or

1:13:04

maybe not such a long time because

1:13:07

I was just standing here like a

1:13:09

fool instead of running away while this

1:13:12

inhuman killer was busy with her current

1:13:14

victim. My eyes popped

1:13:16

open and I saw her

1:13:18

staring at me from where she

1:13:21

was crouched behind Owen, who

1:13:23

was very still. It

1:13:26

was too late to run now. I'd

1:13:29

seen how quick she was. What

1:13:32

do you think is going to happen? She

1:13:34

asked, her throat sounding clogged

1:13:36

and rusty from disuse and

1:13:39

from other things. If she'd

1:13:42

gotten just a taste of blood from me, she'd

1:13:45

gotten a whole lot more from Owen.

1:13:47

I couldn't imagine how strong she would be now.

1:13:51

What? I bleated,

1:13:53

confused. What do

1:13:56

you think is going to happen with that

1:13:58

man up there when he sees... this

1:14:00

body. I don't

1:14:02

know, I said. That's

1:14:04

honestly the last thing I'm thinking about

1:14:06

just now. He'll say

1:14:09

it was you, that you did this to your friend,

1:14:12

she said. You came here with

1:14:14

him, right? And what else is the man up

1:14:16

there going to say? He would never tell anyone

1:14:18

I was here. Oh,

1:14:21

I said, weakly. I was

1:14:23

finding it almost impossible to think anymore.

1:14:26

I stared blankly at the tableau in front

1:14:28

of me. So, is

1:14:31

he dead, then? She

1:14:35

cocked her head again and gave me a

1:14:37

peculiar look. Of course he's

1:14:39

dead. Have you ever seen a human bleed

1:14:41

so much and live? I

1:14:43

can't say that I have, I

1:14:46

said. So it's better if you

1:14:48

go up first. Just walk out

1:14:50

like everything's fine. Then I

1:14:52

can surprise him. I am

1:14:54

very much looking forward to surprising

1:14:56

him. Won't he have

1:14:58

heard Owen screaming like that? He's

1:15:01

used to ignoring all kinds of sounds from down

1:15:03

here. I glanced down

1:15:05

at my shoes. There was no

1:15:07

possible way to respond to that. Look,

1:15:10

I'm sorry about the blood. Your

1:15:13

blood, I mean. She said,

1:15:15

her tone sounding sharp with impatience

1:15:17

now. My skin

1:15:19

prickled. I very much didn't

1:15:21

want to try her patience. I

1:15:24

was just so weak from those chains against my skin. I

1:15:27

wouldn't have beaten him without the blood. What

1:15:30

are you, even? She

1:15:33

stared at me. My

1:15:35

mother was Irish. She said

1:15:37

flatly. You know what I

1:15:39

mean, I said, gesturing

1:15:41

vaguely. A beat

1:15:44

later, I was horrified to realize I'd

1:15:46

sketched out the shape of pointed ears

1:15:48

around my own head. Please

1:15:50

don't let me have offended her, I

1:15:53

thought. That's a little

1:15:55

racist. She said stiffly.

1:15:58

I'm sorry, I didn't mean. My

1:16:00

mother was a human. My

1:16:03

father was… not. None

1:16:05

of his people could have been held by something like

1:16:07

this," she said, gesturing

1:16:09

to include the basement, the

1:16:12

broken chains. "'Did

1:16:14

they know you were here? Why

1:16:16

didn't they get you out? Will they

1:16:18

come here to take revenge?'" She

1:16:21

snorted, sounding genuinely amused now.

1:16:25

"'Them? No. They

1:16:27

have no use for me. Besides,

1:16:30

revenge is a kind of a personal thing for us.

1:16:33

DIY vengeance.'" "'So,

1:16:36

what is it that you plan to do?'" "'After

1:16:39

I'm done with the guy upstairs? Leave,

1:16:42

and I suggest you do the same. Did

1:16:44

you drive here? You should move the

1:16:46

car. It's going to be a mess up there.'" She

1:16:49

sounded almost cheerful now. I

1:16:52

tried to imagine how she would get anywhere. She'd

1:16:55

have to disguise herself. Maybe

1:16:57

the store sold sweatshirts. She

1:17:00

could probably at least wear sunglasses, a

1:17:02

baseball cap to cover the ears. I

1:17:05

felt a bubble of hysterical laughter slipping

1:17:07

up my throat, as unstoppable

1:17:09

as a falling stone. "'I'm

1:17:12

going to need his car keys,' I

1:17:15

forced myself to say." She

1:17:17

fished the keys out of Owen's pocket and tossed

1:17:19

them to me. I could see

1:17:22

a few droplets of blood flying off as

1:17:24

the keys arced their way through the air.

1:17:27

I missed the catch, just like I

1:17:29

always did, and the keys bounced off

1:17:31

my sleeve and onto the floor between

1:17:33

us. I walked

1:17:35

cautiously closer, crouching down to pick

1:17:38

them up. "'I'm

1:17:40

not going to hurt you,' she

1:17:42

said. "'After all, you're my

1:17:44

hero.'" And then she

1:17:47

smiled, a hideous parody

1:17:49

of a smile, grinning wide to let

1:17:51

me see the blood on her teeth.

1:17:54

And she laughed at my

1:17:57

expression. "'Sorry, it

1:17:59

just feels so weird.'" good to be feared again."

1:18:01

I picked

1:18:03

up the keys. I backed away towards

1:18:05

the foot of the stairs. My

1:18:08

mind was still utterly,

1:18:10

stubbornly blank. I was

1:18:12

going to have to go upstairs. I was

1:18:14

going to have to basically stroll past the

1:18:16

clerk knowing full well that this girl was

1:18:18

going to murder him. But what

1:18:20

else was I going to do? My

1:18:23

core mode of being was

1:18:25

passive endurance. The past

1:18:27

half hour had been one of the few

1:18:29

times in my life I'd planted my feet

1:18:31

and decided to act rather than react. And

1:18:34

it hadn't gone all that well. So

1:18:37

now I was going to have to move Owen's

1:18:39

car and find a place to leave it and

1:18:41

make up some story about how he ditched me

1:18:43

in the city, and then

1:18:45

act like nothing was wrong. For

1:18:48

sure, the police would be questioning me at some

1:18:50

point in the coming days. Like

1:18:53

most rule followers, I was

1:18:55

a terrible, terrible liar. Someone

1:18:57

who got flustered and insecure at

1:19:00

the most innocuous situations. Someone

1:19:02

who couldn't walk through a store without

1:19:04

fearing I'd accidentally slip something in my

1:19:06

pocket and walk out without realizing it.

1:19:09

I couldn't imagine anyone being less

1:19:11

equipped than me for what my

1:19:14

life was about to become. But

1:19:17

based on the growing impatience in

1:19:19

the girl's expression, I

1:19:21

didn't have much more time to stand here thinking

1:19:23

about it. She

1:19:25

stood up, terrifyingly, fluidly

1:19:27

fast. Despite myself, I

1:19:29

gave a little gasp. Go

1:19:32

on then, she said, pointing

1:19:34

up the stairs. Lead

1:19:36

the way. You've

1:19:48

just heard, How I Lost My

1:19:50

After School Job by Deirdre Coles.

1:19:53

Deirdre Coles lives in Seattle, where she

1:19:55

spends her time dodging raindrops, fighting crime,

1:19:58

and trying to end the war. ingratiate

1:20:00

herself to the local crow

1:20:02

population. All hail

1:20:04

future overlords. Her

1:20:07

previous work has been produced

1:20:09

by the Creepy and Tales

1:20:11

to Terrify podcasts and has

1:20:14

appeared in everyday fiction 365

1:20:16

Tomorrows, Infective Inc., Microhorror,

1:20:19

Free Flash Fiction, and

1:20:22

Cozka Press fantasy flash fiction. And

1:20:26

that, my friends, concludes our

1:20:29

episode this evening. I'd

1:20:31

like to extend my thanks to Sam

1:20:33

Morris and Deirdre Cole for their stories,

1:20:35

as well as Melissa Medina and Danielle

1:20:37

Hewitt for their guest voice work. Next

1:20:40

week, we'll have something a little

1:20:43

Independence Day themed for you, so

1:20:45

I humbly request that our overseas

1:20:47

listeners allow us this small indulgence.

1:20:49

To help spread the

1:20:52

spirit of the holiday, I'll be narrating

1:20:54

while eating barbecue, and I'll be sure

1:20:56

to leave the fireworks sounds audible in

1:20:58

the background of the recording. Until

1:21:01

then, my friends, stay

1:21:04

spooky. You've

1:21:07

been listening to the Horror Hill podcast,

1:21:09

a production of Chilling Entertainment and the

1:21:12

creative team at Chilling Tales for Dark

1:21:14

Nights. Tonight's episode was

1:21:16

hosted and narrated by yours

1:21:18

truly, Eric Peabody. Original

1:21:21

music provided by Eric Peabody

1:21:23

and Nicky McSorley. Finalization

1:21:25

by Eric Peabody and Craig

1:21:28

Grocek. Got a terrifying

1:21:30

tale of your own that you'd like

1:21:32

performed? Email it

1:21:34

to us at natalie

1:21:37

at chillingtalesfordarknights.com to have your

1:21:39

work considered for future production. Seeing

1:21:42

as how we're all living in

1:21:44

a technological nightmare of our own

1:21:46

devising, I'll ask you to follow

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hit the bell notification icon if

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Not only will you have appeased the dark gods of

1:21:59

the world, but cyberspace, but you'll be

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kept in the loop as we

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prepare more terrifying content. If

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you'd like access to uninterrupted horror,

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free of ads and these annoying

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recommend becoming a patron? You'll

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this show, as well as everything from

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1:22:25

means all of Otis Chiry's scary

1:22:27

stories told in the dark, Drew

1:22:30

Blood's Dark Tales, Paul

1:22:32

J. McSorley's Fear from the Heartland,

1:22:34

and more. It's a

1:22:37

veritable smorgasbord of horrific delights.

1:22:40

As for me personally, I'm on

1:22:42

most social media as Viking

1:22:45

Guitar, or Viking Guitar Productions.

1:22:48

I'm always on the lookout for new

1:22:50

stories to narrate and new music projects

1:22:52

to mix or master. If

1:22:54

that's of interest to you, feel free to

1:22:56

reach out and we can talk turkey. Also,

1:22:59

I will be back next

1:23:01

week with more terrifying tales to

1:23:03

keep you up all night. If

1:23:07

darkness is what you are after,

1:23:09

listener, your search is over. Yet

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let it be known, you

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