0:06

Hello, gentle listener,

0:09

and welcome to

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Nocturnal Transmissions,

0:14

the fortnightly podcast that

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brings you dark tales,

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both old and

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new, performed by

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your humble narrator, Kristin Holland.

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This episode we are delighted to

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be sharing some subterranean

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nightmare fuel,

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courtesy of

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Ellis Hastings. Ready

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to descend, gentle listener?

0:47

Good. Nocturnal

0:50

Transmissions is proud

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to present the

0:57

Knocking on the Walls

1:02

by Ellis Hastings. It

1:19

was when the walls blurred together

1:22

that the realization he had made

1:24

a wrong turn at the fork

1:27

miles back dawned

1:29

on Kristin Larson. For

1:33

the last three hours, Kristin had

1:35

plunged into the belly of Utah's

1:38

most challenging cavern system, the

1:41

Infinite Caverns, navigating

1:44

through a maze of a million

1:46

turns with just his headlight for

1:48

illumination and squeezing himself

1:50

through a dozen confined spaces.

1:54

This moss and sweat-stained v-neck

1:56

clung tightly to his chest,

1:59

rising and falling. Morning and with him with

2:01

his pants. Less.

2:05

Stood before christians. Are suing

2:07

him into the darkest recesses of

2:09

the K beyond the range of

2:12

Be satellite. Stepped

2:15

forward to enter. Just.

2:23

Wants to squeeze could come out the source

2:25

of the search. The

2:27

other. On

2:30

a think about what the as I. Could.

2:32

Lead to. Keep

2:35

thought about backtracking to the entrance,

2:37

but remembered he had foolishly unite

2:39

side disconnected the rope from it's

2:41

anchor after repelling into the cabin

2:43

to save himself from having to

2:45

walk back to the start of

2:47

two, reaching the exit. Or

2:51

try to remember if anyone in

2:53

the cave diversify on facebook group

2:55

with mentioned before this deep into.

2:57

The cabin. With

3:00

to the journal from his back and

3:02

read through the notes. Take. Some.

3:05

Called experts in the group.

3:09

Expect. His

3:20

voice it bounced through the chamber

3:23

before coming back to him for

3:25

lot to reach spots. Crowd

3:29

is anxious thoughts before. They

3:31

could snowball into an avalanche. To

3:35

was unexpected. But

3:38

he still had a fifty percent. Chance

3:40

of choosing the right path. And

3:43

his intuition? spelunkers most

3:45

valuable, he said. Talk.

3:49

To go right? Choice

3:56

Straight. Soap

3:59

More like a whole. Made. An

4:02

effort to christ. Ethics

4:05

would never say street. For this

4:07

long. After thirty

4:09

minutes, the path split down the

4:11

middle. School

4:15

frustration. He was convinced

4:17

that everyone in the group who

4:19

claimed to have navigated through infinite

4:21

cabins was full of shit. Surely

4:25

Pont Neuf the fifty k for his

4:27

would supposedly done it in the last

4:29

year would have said something about the

4:31

topic for. This.

4:33

Now reduced his chances of

4:36

choosing the correct path from

4:38

fifty. To.

4:41

One in four.

4:46

Six. And

4:49

when he took it off to

4:51

check the but the only had

4:53

nineteen percent last. Six.

4:57

He must. Christian

5:00

purchased the day before the.

5:03

Overwhelmingly positive reviews claimed

5:05

the batteries lasted at

5:07

least twelve hours. Been

5:10

in the Caf and for only a fraction of.

5:13

That time. Doing

5:15

so quick mental mass, Christian

5:17

calculated that he probably realistically

5:19

had about another forty five

5:21

minutes on the headline. Also

5:25

had a flash light on his

5:27

phone. However, with his phone also

5:29

below fifty percent, it only gave

5:32

him an additional our if he

5:34

was lox. Savoring

5:39

either Past. So

5:42

stymie at Police Trust.

5:45

the ladies knock Roughly

6:03

two hours had passed since Christian took

6:05

the path on the left. The

6:08

headlight had defied all expectations and

6:10

was still hanging on, albeit at

6:13

five percent. The

6:16

cavern narrowed and compressed inwards, as

6:18

if it were about to implode.

6:21

A mountain range of stalactites

6:23

hung down, dripping warm

6:25

droplets of water on him as

6:28

he ventured deeper into

6:31

the abyss. The

6:35

air thickened into a blanket of musk,

6:39

every breath demanding intense

6:41

focus to avoid panicking.

6:46

Christian's mind entered a state

6:48

of anxious meditation. Like

6:51

the diverging paths he'd taken, his

6:53

consciousness split in two. His

6:57

head felt foggy, his vision distant.

6:59

It was almost as if the

7:01

real him was sitting behind a

7:03

glass screen in his brain, looking

7:06

through his eyes. The

7:09

brown and orange walls melted

7:11

together. Every

7:13

new compartment of the cavern was

7:15

different, yet nearly

7:18

identical. One

7:21

after turn, brownish-orange wall

7:23

after brownish-orange wall with

7:26

just a hint of variation.

7:30

One room had a murky puddle in the

7:33

corner, draining through a crack

7:35

in the ground while being refilled by

7:37

the dripping stalactites above. Another

7:40

room had a pair of stalactites

7:42

reaching upwards towards the infinite

7:44

blackness, while a pair of

7:47

stalactites hung overhead. This

7:51

room resembled vampire fangs.

7:59

After squeezing through, the what felt like

8:01

a thousand rooms, Christian stopped.

8:04

His mouth was dry and when he

8:06

swallowed he felt sandpaper in his throat.

8:09

He sat on the cave floor and removed

8:11

his pack. The flesh

8:14

on his shoulders stung, robbed raw from

8:16

the constant friction of his loose fitting

8:18

pack. Christian

8:21

checked the battery on his headlight. One

8:26

percent remaining. Though

8:32

he exhaled,

8:35

just need

8:38

a quick rest. Hands

8:43

shaking with fatigue, Christian opened his

8:45

pack and rummaged through a mountain

8:47

of empty plastic bottles until

8:50

he found what remained of his water supply.

8:54

They have gone like

8:56

fucking everything. He

8:59

unscrewed the camp and practically inhaled the

9:02

remainder. Rationing was for

9:04

people who were dying, Christian told

9:06

himself, and he was not

9:09

dying. He

9:11

forced himself to believe he was just

9:13

another hour from the exit, using

9:16

the wall behind him as support. Christian

9:18

lumbered to his feet and

9:21

trekked forward. The

9:24

next room was a black hole.

9:28

His headlight arched twenty feet forward in

9:30

a cone of light, but

9:33

revealed nothing, except

9:36

for more darkness beyond its

9:38

range. This

9:41

must be how the edge of the universe looks.

9:46

Christian stumbled forward, more cave

9:48

materializing around him, as if he

9:50

were a painter adding to a

9:52

canvas, the endless

9:54

void pulling him onwards.

9:58

His mind splattered. He

10:01

picked up his pace until he was nearly jogging. Still

10:05

the end of the room remained blanketed

10:07

behind the sea of black. If

10:11

his headlight died in a room this deep

10:13

he would be in trouble. Although

10:15

his phone had a flashlight its

10:17

range was only a few feet. Christian

10:22

almost ran face first into granite

10:24

when the wall finally appeared. He

10:27

threw his arms out to stop himself from

10:29

kissing rock. The

10:31

stone was smooth and cool

10:33

against his hands. It

10:36

was refreshing. He turned

10:38

to his right searching for the opening to the

10:40

next room of the cavern when

10:43

he was confronted by another Baron.

10:45

All the

10:47

same sight greeted him on the opposite

10:50

side. After

10:52

half an hour of the path, Christian

10:56

was at a dead end. Now

11:00

he would have to backtrack through the

11:02

abyss on likely only another ten minutes

11:04

of battery. He

11:07

said, spot. There's

11:11

not enough time to get all the way back to the second

11:13

fort and follow it to the exit. Shit! That

11:16

may not even be the right... Stop! What

11:19

did mom think? Calm down! Christian

11:25

took a deep, shaky breath.

11:28

At this point he wasn't sure

11:30

if his irregular breathing was a

11:32

result of exhaustion, fear or

11:35

combination of the two. Frustrated

11:39

but pushing the intrusive thoughts to

11:41

the back of his mind, Christian

11:44

began retracing his steps. That

11:49

was when the battery in his

11:51

headlight died,

11:55

casting him into

11:58

the abyss. His

12:04

voice almost sounded like it didn't come from

12:06

him. The echo in

12:08

the darkness was disorienting. Christian

12:13

fished his phone out of his pocket

12:15

and pulled up the lock screen, his

12:17

cat's scrunchie grey face

12:19

floating in the darkness, and

12:23

turned on the flashlight. He

12:26

had 35% of battery on

12:29

his phone, no

12:31

more than an hour and a half of

12:33

life remaining. I'd

12:36

better get going. Christian

12:39

approached the entrance only to

12:41

find it

12:43

had vanished and

12:45

was replaced by smooth,

12:48

unmarked granite. I

12:53

must have gotten turned around. Christian

12:56

turned to the right and saw

12:59

a barrier. He turned

13:01

again and saw the second and

13:04

third barriers. After

13:08

making a 360, his

13:10

heart plunged into his stomach. Before

13:14

him, almost tauntingly, was

13:17

the fourth wall of

13:19

stone. This

13:22

can't be. His

13:26

eyes slowly scanned the walls,

13:28

assessing every groove and crack all

13:30

the way to where the top dissolved

13:32

into darkness. He

13:35

was boxed in. What

13:38

happened? Did part

13:40

of the ceiling collapse and cover the exit?

13:45

Christian rushed to where he'd entered from and

13:47

threw himself into the spot his mind told

13:49

him was where the opening had been. He

13:53

hoped to be able to generate enough force

13:55

to remove the blockage. Instead,

13:58

Haldat moved. He

14:02

bounced, shoulder-first off the wall, and landed

14:05

spread eagle on the ground. His

14:07

phone flew from his grasp, its beam

14:10

of light dancing across the cavern floor.

14:13

Groaning, he set up, tendons

14:16

decrying his erratic action

14:18

by electrifying him with a shock

14:20

wave of pins and needles. He

14:23

grabbed his phone, screen

14:26

cracked down the middle, and

14:28

retrained its light on the wall. Probably

14:33

not the smartest idea. This

14:36

is just the dehydration and claustrophobia

14:38

fucking with my mind. Christian

14:42

tried to think logically. The

14:45

path he entered from was obviously

14:47

somewhere. The

14:50

space had four walls, essentially

14:52

like a room. He

14:55

studied the wall in front of him, from

14:57

top to bottom. Baron?

15:01

No opening, not even a sliver. Okay,

15:06

it must be one of the other three.

15:10

He rechecked the left, like

15:12

the first it too was black, apart

15:15

from a million tiny cracks

15:17

spiderwebed across the surface. Christian

15:20

placed his hands firmly against the

15:22

cracks and pushed, praying

15:25

the wall would disintegrate and reveal

15:27

a hidden path. Nothing

15:31

butged. Two

15:35

to go. Christian

15:37

closed his eyes and turned around

15:40

slowly as to not further

15:42

disorient himself. When

15:44

he reopened them, he saw

15:47

a canvas of a thousand shades

15:49

of moss. Alright,

15:55

it is door number four. It

16:00

wasn't. All

16:02

four sides of the room were devoid

16:05

of an exit. Christian

16:08

threw his hands to his face and

16:10

aggressively rubbed his eyes as if he

16:12

simply had to readjust them. However,

16:15

when he reassessed the

16:17

room for the hundredth

16:19

time, nothing had changed. The

16:22

same sight greeted him. Moss,

16:26

tiny cracks, and

16:29

a shitload of rock. A

16:33

sense of fury overtook him. Sucking

16:37

in a lungful of humid, musky air, he

16:39

swore at the top of his lungs. Christian's

16:43

head grew light, becoming

16:45

a balloon about to detach from

16:47

his shoulders. He

16:50

stumbled backwards into a wall, his

16:52

legs going out from under him. Ten

16:56

minutes of silence passed,

17:00

leaving Christian in solitude from

17:02

even his own thoughts. He

17:06

laid his face in his hands and

17:10

wept. Nothing

17:13

made sense. None

17:15

of this was possible. He

17:19

glanced at his phone, his lifeline.

17:24

A quarter of battery was all

17:26

that remained until he

17:29

was banished into

17:31

permanent darkness.

17:39

I'm gonna fucking die here.

17:43

He said in broken sobs, he

17:46

tried to imagine the heartbreak that would

17:48

befall his mother when he

17:50

transformed from human being into

17:54

another statistic of

17:56

young people who vanished in

17:58

national parks. Her

18:02

only son, who, while

18:04

unlikely to ever be found and

18:07

confirmed dead, was

18:09

still, obviously, gone.

18:16

The thought was too much to bear. She

18:20

had insisted he not go to Infinite

18:22

Caverns. They're called that

18:24

for a reason, Christian. She

18:28

would remind him every day. He

18:31

could almost hear her nagging him from two

18:34

thousand miles away. His

18:38

mind shifted to his friends, who, while

18:40

less persistent in their disagreement than

18:43

his mother, were still anxious

18:45

about the idea of him going alone. How

18:49

would they react to never seeing him again?

18:53

After a period of mourning and

18:56

a string of resting-piece bro Facebook

18:58

posts, they'd likely

19:00

tell themselves things like, well,

19:03

at least he died doing what he loved.

19:07

Yet, although that

19:09

was technically true, Christian

19:13

would rather not die in the first

19:15

place. The

19:17

fact he would go from a

19:19

life-full of adventure and excitement to

19:24

nothing was

19:28

incomprehensible. That

19:32

void of the imagination

19:34

blank like the walls in his

19:36

tomb was

19:38

what scared him the most. All

19:42

he could do now was sit

19:45

there and

19:47

wait to die. Christian

19:53

typed his last words on his phone

19:55

and turned

19:57

it off, conserving the

19:59

batteries. So someone can

20:01

know what happened to him, at

20:04

least if his body was ever found.

20:09

Now, he

20:11

sat in perfect silence

20:15

in the void, only

20:18

aware of his own existence

20:20

by the cold kiss of

20:24

the war against his back.

20:34

The human brain is a

20:36

delicate thing. It's

20:39

an amazing, yet fragile universe

20:43

within each individual's skull.

20:48

Periods of extreme stress often

20:50

cause it to go haywire.

20:54

The first thing to give in a breaking

20:56

mind is its

20:59

perception of time. Time

21:03

itself is manifested

21:05

like a cosmic doe,

21:08

holding everything under its

21:10

control like individual

21:12

grains within its folds.

21:17

When the mind declines,

21:19

this doe is

21:22

stretched across the table

21:24

of the universe, elongating

21:27

time, turning minutes

21:32

into hours. Around

21:37

five hours had passed

21:41

when Christian heard

21:46

a voice. It

21:53

spoke. It was

21:56

a man's voice, soft

21:58

and worn. with age.

22:02

Christian's breath stopped. I'm

22:06

losing my... his

22:08

thoughts were cut off by the return of the

22:11

voice. The

22:15

man said is

22:17

there something in your mind? Christian

22:29

opened his mouth to speak, his

22:31

words catching in his throat. It

22:34

felt as if he hadn't spoken in years.

22:37

All he could manage were a

22:39

few. Yeah, yeah, I'm

22:42

lost. When

22:46

the man's voice failed to respond,

22:49

Christian's flicker of hope was

22:51

extinguished. He was

22:53

a drowning man who had missed the

22:56

life preserver that had been tossed to him.

23:00

Hello? Christian

23:02

called up. Are you still here? The

23:13

man's voice hung in the air. You're

23:17

in that box. Uh,

23:22

I don't know. I think so. I

23:24

just came in and the eggs had vanished. I

23:27

know that sounds crazy. Sounds

23:30

like you've got the sound of one foot in.

23:37

Christian! Christian

23:49

fumbled for his phone. He

23:51

found it in the darkness and held

23:54

the button on the side until the

23:56

bold white letters that spelled Samsung materialized

23:59

before... The letters

24:01

were sharp and cut into the back of his

24:03

skull. Christian

24:06

groaned and blinked several times to

24:08

readjust his eyes. I

24:11

have my phone, he said. When

24:14

the phone finished rebooting, Christian turned

24:16

on the flashlight. 23%

24:19

remained. God,

24:23

you're going to need that. There

24:27

isn't one. I've already searched all

24:29

of them, talked about it. That's how I read.

24:35

You're in the mood with

24:39

the phone.

24:55

Christian tucked his phone in his pocket

24:58

and placed both hands on the wall. It

25:01

was the border between hard and

25:03

soft. All

25:06

right. He said. Now

25:09

what? I saw

25:24

a sigh of relief escaped his

25:26

lips when his hands met the opening Atlas

25:28

was talking about. Before

25:31

he could say he found it, Atlas continued.

26:01

Christian stood on his tiptoes, trying to catch

26:04

a glimpse of the other side as he

26:06

shined his flashlight through the

26:08

opening. I

26:10

think so. You

26:13

better take a risk if you

26:16

imagine. Joseph! All

26:19

right. All right. I

26:21

can do this. Christian

26:24

took a deep breath and

26:27

hoisted himself into the

26:29

tunnel. The

26:31

ceiling came down on Christian once he

26:33

reached what he believed was the midpoint

26:35

Atlas had warned him about. An

26:38

already tight squeeze became a boa

26:41

constrictor swallowing its prey. Tiny,

26:43

static tights lying to the ceiling

26:45

like a cave, fighting

26:48

deeper into his back with every inch

26:50

of progress. Christian

26:53

stopped. His

26:55

back grew warm with

26:58

blood. Christian

27:02

is ready.

27:05

With every inhale, the fangs cut

27:07

deeper into the flesh. Christian

27:10

gritted his teeth and tried to push

27:12

forward. His body didn't

27:15

perch. The

27:18

stalactites had become nails pinning him

27:20

to this cross of

27:22

staff. And the

27:24

more frantically he squirmed, the

27:27

stronger they became. Christian!

27:31

What's going on? Tell me

27:33

what you mean. Fucking! Shut

27:37

rocks! Christian

27:39

gasped. The blades

27:42

pressed deeper. Snark!

27:47

He heard Atlas sigh. He

27:52

surfaced. The

27:55

last was meant to have been told. But you're not. His

28:00

chest burned from a lack of

28:03

oxygen, exacerbated by his growing panic.

28:06

Christian kicked his feet out, trying

28:08

to use any solid surface as

28:10

a springboard. Still, he

28:13

didn't barge. He couldn't

28:15

breathe. The fire branched

28:17

outwards from his chest to his arms

28:20

and up his throat, pressure

28:22

mounting like an overfilled tire about

28:24

to explode. Christian!

28:32

Atlas's tone softened. Christian's

28:35

panic was palpable, even

28:38

from a thousand yards away. And

28:41

not strong enough. Where

28:43

are you? What?

28:47

In relation to the hostess of the

28:50

body, where are

28:52

your heads? There.

28:58

He took another deep breath and

29:00

felt more blood ooze from his

29:02

back. Under

29:05

my death! Here

29:09

is a psychic potential. Right.

29:13

In each two, you get your hands on your head like you're

29:15

diving into

29:17

a swimming pool.

29:22

This will never be over. Christian

29:29

grimaced as he forced his hands from his

29:31

chest up to his chin. Twinches

29:34

of pain reverberated in his

29:36

shoulders as the tendons strained

29:38

from the pressure. Finally,

29:41

his hands popped over his head

29:44

like a cork from a champagne bottle. The

29:47

walls widened slightly and

29:50

the knives withdrew from

29:53

his back. Hey

29:57

man, where are you? Christian

30:01

shined the light around the room

30:03

after emerging from the crevasse. Three

30:06

passageways sat before him. You

30:09

sounded close. Atlas said,

30:16

Atlas said, A

30:22

single knock popped up behind the door. A

30:28

single knock popped up behind Christian's

30:30

head, making him flinch. Atlas

30:36

paused. Are

30:44

you at the exit? Christian

31:03

checked his phone. The

31:06

cracks had spread, encompassing the entire

31:08

screen. Shit,

31:10

I only have seven percent! That

31:14

sounds good. Like I said,

31:17

your twenty minutes from your lips are hustled. Your

31:20

phone might be in the kitchen or not,

31:22

but don't, don't, don't, don't. Once you

31:25

make the screen, you don't need

31:27

to just find the water in

31:29

the air. Do you

31:31

see the triple floor? Yes.

31:36

You're going to take the green on the right.

31:44

It feels like a giant letterhead. Strange

31:46

in the other side. All

31:51

the way, so you'll have to run out of the kitchen.

31:54

What you hear, hear, hear, hear. Christian's

31:58

phone battery was at three percent. Then,

32:00

when he emerged around the sweeping edge

32:02

of the tunnel and stepped into tepid

32:04

water up to his knees, the

32:07

dying light reflected off the surface of the

32:09

water, a colony of crooked

32:11

mushrooms lining the bank. Atlas?

32:17

I think I found the stream. The

32:20

water said, you just have to follow

32:22

it. And

32:24

at the edge of the river, you can

32:27

see the very big river and the top, the

32:31

Santa Rosa. No.

32:41

Christian pushed forward, practically running

32:44

through the thick water. It

32:46

dawned on him for the first time that he would

32:48

have died in what Atlas called the Voxerul. Couldn't

32:52

wait to give his saviour a hug and buy

32:54

him a beer. Knock. Knock.

33:00

The rhythmic knocking was poetry to

33:02

his ears. With

33:04

every knock and every pull of water below

33:06

his knees, Christian was one foot closer

33:08

to salvation. As

33:11

soon as he got out, he was going to retire

33:13

from spelunking. Knock. Christian's

33:17

mind turned to his loved ones back

33:19

in Atlanta. He was

33:21

going to tell his friends that dying, doing what

33:23

you love, is overrated. He

33:26

would tell his mother she was right. Fuck

33:29

Infinite Kevin's. For

33:31

the first time in his life, Christian

33:33

couldn't wait to hear his mom tell

33:35

him, I told you so. His

33:38

phone was on 1%, but it didn't matter

33:40

if the light went out. As

33:43

Atlas said, he just had to follow

33:45

the water and his knocks. After

33:48

10 minutes had passed,

33:50

the light at the end of the tunnel Atlas

33:53

told him about. Hadn't

33:56

appeared. And

33:58

he hadn't heard from his guides. since he

34:00

reached the mouth of the stream. Even

34:04

the knocking had ceased. Hadlard?

34:12

No response. Did

34:14

he leave? Christian

34:17

tried again, louder. Hadlard!

34:25

Silence. His

34:29

disappointment seeped into him. Christian

34:32

hoped Hadlard was waiting on him like

34:34

he said. He was looking

34:36

forward to meeting him and thanking him for saving

34:38

his life. Finally,

34:41

the knocking returned. But

34:43

this time it sounded different.

34:47

Like knuckles being tried to

34:49

cross the floor. Knock.

34:54

Knock. Hatless?

34:59

Knock. Knock.

35:05

It's been ten minutes and I still don't see the end

35:07

of the tunnel. Are you waiting

35:09

for me? Knock.

35:13

Knock. Knock. Hatless?

35:19

Are you alright? Silence.

35:30

Christian picked up his pace, breaking into

35:32

as much of a run as he could manage

35:34

against the resistance of the water. Three

35:37

minutes without a knock passed.

35:41

The stream suddenly dried up and

35:44

a wall appeared. Christian bounced

35:46

off the stone, catching his phone

35:48

as he landed shoulder first onto

35:50

the back of the stream. What

35:53

the fuck? He

35:55

pulled himself to his feet and surveyed

35:58

his surroundings. He couldn't. have

36:00

gotten lost. The stream only went

36:02

one way with no divergences. The

36:06

remaining light from his valiant phone

36:09

revealed an opening in the wall on

36:12

his left. That's

36:15

not straight ahead.

36:19

Atlas, is the exit to

36:21

the left of the stream? No

36:25

answer was returned. Christian

36:27

didn't even know why he tried. Atlas

36:30

must have figured it was so obvious that

36:32

there was no use in waiting. But

36:36

why hadn't he answered back when

36:38

I called for him? Christian's

36:42

attention was caught by a single

36:45

knock from

36:47

inside the crevasse. Atlas?

36:51

Christian showing his light inside and

36:53

could see what looked like another room.

36:56

The crevasse was tight but he was

36:59

able to force himself through. The

37:02

new room was crammed, about half the

37:05

size of box room. It

37:07

was empty apart from a human

37:09

skeleton slumped against the wall his

37:12

light fell upon. Christian

37:14

jumped back and lost his footing. He

37:16

slid, his phone flying from

37:19

his hand and landing by the skeleton.

37:22

The light illuminated the skeleton like

37:24

a child holding a flashlight beneath

37:27

its face while telling a ghost

37:29

story. Christian

37:31

crawled forward cautiously and quickly

37:34

grabbed his phone just in

37:36

case the skeleton tried to

37:38

reach out and grabbed it. Shit!

37:42

Shit! Shit! The

37:45

light bounced off the skeleton as

37:47

Christian's hand shook. It

37:50

had been here a while. Its

37:53

bones were stained yellow

37:56

and cobwebs connected the ribs.

38:00

A single spider crawled

38:02

from a cracked eye socket.

38:05

The left side of the skull was caved

38:07

in against the wall. It

38:10

looks like the owner had dived head first

38:12

into the wall from a diving board twenty

38:14

feet high. Christian scanned

38:16

the room for an exit,

38:19

but the only opening was the

38:22

entrance. He

38:25

retrained the light. The

38:29

skeleton, a

38:32

mutilated satchel and shattered lantern, sat

38:34

beside it. A

38:37

baton-bork could have faded below cover

38:39

rested upon what remained of the

38:41

leather. It was all.

38:45

Christian carefully picked up the book

38:48

and blew away the dust. On

38:50

the cover, in faint gold

38:52

letters, it read, The

38:56

Atlas of the North American

38:58

Cavern Systems. Inside,

39:03

the Atlas

39:07

of the North. John

39:12

Kirby, born 17th

39:14

January, 1920. Lost

39:20

in endless caverns. April

39:23

3rd, 1944. Damn

39:31

maps were unintelligible. I

39:34

took too many wrong turns and couldn't find the

39:36

way out. When

39:39

I had given up on salvation, a

39:43

voice spoke to me. I

39:48

thought it was an angel. It

39:51

claimed to be a fellow adventurer who had

39:53

reached the end of the caverns. It

39:57

was a lie. The

40:00

voice led me deeper and deeper

40:02

into the darkest recesses of the caverns

40:05

before I discovered

40:08

its true

40:10

form. It

40:16

was unspeakable. Evil

40:19

incarning. The

40:23

darkness itself physically

40:25

manifested before me. That...

40:32

thing... chased me into

40:34

this room. My... last

40:37

place of refuge. And

40:40

now... lurks just

40:43

beyond reach of my lantern. The

40:47

light keeps it at bay. I

40:51

only fear what will become of me.

40:54

When it... runs

40:57

out of oil. My...

41:03

my love... I just... pray

41:06

you forever hold me

41:08

in... your heart. Forever

41:15

yours. God...

41:26

The Atlas fell from Christian's grasp.

41:29

He heard movement behind him.

41:32

He trained the light on the crevasse at the entrance.

41:37

Atlas? This

41:40

is... I

41:43

don't know what the fuck this is. A

41:48

dark form... just beyond

41:50

the threshold of his light... shifted.

41:56

Welcome. The

42:01

air grew thick, an

42:04

impatient knocking sounded from

42:07

multiple directions, running

42:09

from the base of the

42:11

abyss beyond the room to

42:14

fifteen feet above. Knock,

42:18

knock, knock, knock, the light

42:25

went out. The

42:44

knocking on the walls by

42:48

Ellis Hastings. Ellis

42:51

resides on the outskirts of

42:54

Atlanta with his wife and

42:56

Bengal Cat.

42:59

He has had several stories published

43:02

in Schlock as well as others

43:04

in Big Bridge and Aphotic Realm.

43:06

He is

43:08

currently editing his first

43:10

short story collection and

43:14

has a novel yet to

43:16

be published. Alright,

43:20

now let's see what's going

43:22

on with our Patreon subscribers.

43:26

Oh, look at this. Our

43:29

beloved acolyte Joanne

43:31

Brucker has metamorphosed

43:34

into a magnificent

43:36

Nightwinged cohort. Oh,

43:40

Joanne, between your

43:42

thoughtful, always welcome

43:44

suggestions and

43:47

your ongoing Patreon

43:49

subscribership, you really

43:51

do do too much for

43:53

us. Thank

43:56

you. Now our

43:58

acolyte ranks may be somewhat

44:00

diminished by your recent

44:02

ascension, Joanne. But, worry

44:04

not, three new devotees

44:06

have stepped into your

44:09

shoes, as it were,

44:11

and donned the mantle of Acolyte,

44:18

Sterling Elijah, Caleb

44:20

Santos, and John

44:24

Beck. Welcome,

44:26

Sterling, Caleb, and

44:30

John. Your interest

44:32

and generosity feeds the

44:34

dark flame around which

44:36

we grim souls all

44:38

gather each fortnight, and

44:42

nocturnal transmission. Thanks

44:45

you. And

44:47

on that note, we thank

44:50

you, one and all, subscribed

44:52

or not, for lending us

44:54

your ears once again.

44:58

This transmission was brought

45:00

to you with the

45:02

generous assistance of our

45:04

aforementioned Patreon subscribers. A

45:06

particular thank you goes out

45:09

to our esteemed cohorts.

45:14

Boole Swiffney, Kel

45:17

Weldon, Amanda

45:19

Moore, Evan

45:21

Dooley, Thomas

45:24

Funderberg, Fabled

45:26

Words, Alex

45:28

Brewess, Johnny Kelly,

45:31

Eugene Petry, Wayne

45:34

Prince, Azerran

45:37

Warrens. Shhh, just

45:40

listen. JB

45:44

Mudkip, Robert Troy

45:47

Hampton Peterson, Wildy,

45:51

Rachel Brown, The

45:54

Traveler, Sam Hankins,

45:57

Brett Allen, Tippi

46:00

Polo, Arnie

46:02

Frank, Daniel

46:04

Clanton, Alicia

46:06

Townsend, Daniel

46:09

Kadyankowski, Adam,

46:13

and Joanne

46:16

Brooker. All

46:20

non-public domain stories are featured

46:22

with the permission of the

46:24

authors. All voices and production

46:26

are concocted by Kristin

46:28

Holland. Until

46:31

next time, as

46:34

always, watch

46:37

the skies, fear

46:40

the dark, and

46:43

don't trust anyone. Smeshly

46:48

yourself. Good

46:53

night. Gentle.

46:57

Bless you. Good

47:23

night. Good night.

47:26

I'll see you

47:29

with a pony.

47:33

Sunshine will change the

47:35

night today.

47:38

Shadow will all

47:41

be changed away.

47:44

It's not

47:46

goodbye. Just

47:49

find the

47:51

same good

47:53

night. N