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shouldn't be the scariest thing about

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1:33

To the Serial Killer

1:36

Podcast The podcast dedicated

1:38

to Serial Killers. Who.

1:40

They were. What? They did.

1:42

And how? Episode Two Hundred

1:44

And Twenty Two. I.

1:47

Am your humble host Tomas

1:49

Ross Long? Vyborg. Boom! And

1:51

tonight. I bring to

1:54

you. Dell is a know

1:56

someone who I would almost

1:58

classify as a serial. killer

2:00

superstar. Not

2:02

quite in the stratosphere,

2:04

such as Zodiac, Bundy,

2:07

or BTK, but still,

2:09

infamous and most of

2:12

all terrifying. I

2:14

am of course talking about

2:17

none other than John Gerard

2:19

Schaeffer, the killer

2:21

cop, suspected murderer of

2:23

at least thirty young women,

2:26

although he was only ever convicted

2:29

of two. Enjoy.

2:34

This episode, like all other sagas

2:36

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2:38

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truly the backbone of the

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Serial Killer Podcast. And

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without you, there would be

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So don't miss out and join now.

4:36

Imagine, if you will, the

4:39

end of a hot and sunny day in

4:42

America's Sunshine State, Florida.

4:46

The Florida sun had

4:48

baked Nancy Elmentrotter, aged

4:50

18, and Paula Sue

4:52

Wells, aged 17, to

4:56

a mottled crisp. Their

4:58

laughter, once bright as the

5:00

turquoise water they'd splashed in

5:02

all day, now came in

5:04

gasps, as they trudged along

5:06

the sun-baked shoulder of Highway 1A. Jenson

5:12

Beach, with its sugary white

5:14

sand and promises of endless

5:16

summer, felt a million miles

5:18

away. Now, all

5:21

they craved was the cool anonymity

5:23

of their temporary digs in Stewart,

5:26

a sleepy little town that felt more

5:28

like a forgotten gas station

5:30

stop than a haven. Itch

5:34

Hiking wasn't exactly high fashion,

5:36

but these girls weren't about

5:38

fashion. They were about adventure.

5:41

The kind that came with a scraped

5:44

thumb and a gnawing fair that gnaw

5:46

that your guts worse than the midday

5:48

sun. Nancy,

5:51

or sunshine, as Sue had

5:53

dubbed her for the perpetual

5:55

golden glow, was all blond hair

5:57

that tumbled past her shoulders and a a

6:00

smile that could charm the wrinkles out

6:02

of a dried-up alligator. Sue,

6:05

on the other hand, was a

6:07

study in contrasts, dark

6:09

sharp eyes that missed nothing

6:12

and hair like a raven's

6:14

wing perpetually windblown. They'd

6:17

met on the road two moths

6:19

drawn to the same flickering neon

6:22

sign of escape that beckoned

6:24

them away from their dead-end towns.

6:27

Chicago was a dream they'd

6:29

both abandoned, traded

6:31

for the promise of a Florida

6:34

suntan and whatever destiny awaited them

6:36

down this dusty highway.

6:39

Now with each passing car

6:42

that ignored their outstretched sums,

6:45

the tan started to feel less

6:47

like a souvenir and more like

6:49

a target painted on their sunburned

6:51

backs. The

6:54

chariot's cruiser materialized out

6:57

of the shimmering heat haze like a bad

6:59

dream. One

7:01

minute they were lost in the

7:03

drone of cicadas, the

7:05

next the shadows stretched across the

7:08

cracked asphalt, cutting their

7:10

laughter short. Nancy

7:13

and Sue hadn't seen a soul for

7:15

miles, just the endless

7:17

ribbon of highway and the scrub pines

7:19

that seemed to whisper secrets in the

7:21

breeze. Now suspicion

7:24

curdled in their already sunburned

7:26

bellies. Sure

7:29

they were lookers, especially in

7:31

their bikinis that clung to their teenage

7:34

curves like a second skin, but

7:36

skewed manners, drilled into

7:39

them by mothers with stern lips

7:41

and water flies, dictated the flowy

7:44

shirts covering their suits. Both

7:47

guddles hailed from towns so small they

7:49

probably shared the same tired gas station

7:51

on the way out. Places

7:53

where everyone knew your name and

7:56

your business, where morals ran

7:58

thick as molasses. glasses, and curiosity

8:01

gnawed at you like a hungry

8:03

rat in the wall. The kind

8:06

of curiosity that drove girls like

8:08

Nancy and Sue to chase the

8:10

horizon, to trade small-town

8:12

whispers, for secrets the

8:14

highway held close. The

8:18

radio squawked, a harsh intrusion in

8:20

the sticky silence. They turned,

8:22

eyes squinting against the glare, to

8:25

see the cop car idling beside them. The

8:28

sheriff, all mirrored sunglasses

8:30

on the uniform creased from too

8:33

many long shifts, stared at them

8:35

through the green tinted glass, to

8:38

serve and protect. The

8:40

words probably emblazoned on his badge

8:43

or the side of his car. A

8:45

joke, maybe. Here in the middle

8:48

of nowhere those words felt

8:50

like a twisted promise, a

8:52

reminder of the invisible lines you

8:54

could so easily cross. This

8:57

was not a night in shining armor. This

9:00

was the law, and the law

9:02

in these parts sometimes

9:04

had a mind of

9:06

its own. The deputy

9:08

unfolded himself from the cruiser like a

9:11

heat ripple taking shape. Hit-shiking,

9:14

huh? His voice

9:16

scraped like gravel on asphalt. Nancy

9:19

and Sue exchanged a panicked glance.

9:22

Didn't know it was illegal, sir. Sue

9:24

offered her voice barely a squeak. A

9:28

flicker of something unreadable crossed the

9:31

deputy's face behind those

9:33

mirrored shades. Was it

9:35

amusement? Maybe even a hint of

9:37

pity. He lumbered back

9:39

to the car, climbed back in, then

9:42

waited. The silence

9:44

stretched, sick

9:46

and suffocating. Nancy

9:49

dared a peek at Sue, seeing the

9:51

same gnawing dread reflected in her dark

9:53

eyes. Finally, the radio squawked

9:55

to life. The deputy spoke into

9:58

the mic, His voice low. One

10:00

clipped. Got. To lost

10:02

souls hair he drop. says.

10:05

The don't know any better. Permission

10:07

to escort them home. A

10:11

crackle of static, then. Copy. That

10:13

use discretion. The.

10:16

Deputy slammed the radio shut. He

10:18

got out again. same unsettling smile

10:21

playing on his lips. Oh

10:24

right ladies, looks like you're getting

10:26

a ride. He. Jerked open

10:28

the back door. Hop In. There

10:32

was something about his offer: the

10:34

way gays linger the be too

10:36

long, the way the air around

10:38

him seem to crackle with unseen

10:41

tension. Bird. With

10:43

the sun sinking lower, painting the

10:45

skyline bruce purples and oranges and

10:47

the prospects of another night stranded

10:49

on the side of the. Deathless.

10:52

Highways they had little choice.

10:55

Nancy. Climbed in first. Or

10:57

harsh hammering of sensing Tatsuo against

10:59

her ribs. Soon followed

11:01

the backseat suddenly ceiling as and

11:04

clothes and suffocating as a tune.

11:07

The. Deputy slid back behind the wheel.

11:09

the cruise or nursing forward. As

11:12

they spent down the highway. The.

11:14

Setting sun casting long skeletal

11:16

shadows across the desert landscape.

11:18

Nancy couldn't shake the ceiling.

11:21

They. Just traded one kind of

11:24

danger for another. The.

11:27

Heat press down like a suffocating

11:29

hand you line. Florida was into

11:32

season. It. Was a punishment.

11:34

Each step on the crackdown false

11:36

self like they were leaving footprints.

11:39

Of molten lead. Release.

11:42

A tepid kind of thing in this

11:44

oppressive, whether slotted nonsense. Soon as they.

11:47

Climate into the back of the cruiser. Air

11:50

Conditioning a medical of modern

11:52

science. Blasted. Dung was

11:54

a wave of eyes. His salvation. They.

11:58

Couldn't complain. A

12:00

ride, especially from a seemingly friendly

12:02

sheriff's deputy, was a stroke of

12:04

good luck in this desolate stretch

12:07

of highway. Deputy...

12:09

what was his name again?

12:11

He danced on the tip of

12:13

their tongues, just out of reach. Didn't

12:16

matter. He was a badge, a

12:19

uniform, a symbol of safety

12:21

in this sun-baked wasteland. He

12:25

even seemed nice, spitting

12:27

tales of his own hitchhiking days

12:30

across dusty American roads and cobbled

12:32

European streets. Talked about

12:34

the thrill of the unknown ride, the

12:37

gabble you took with every passing car.

12:40

Laughed about the times a single

12:42

vehicle would appear on a deserted

12:44

highway, only to take

12:46

you who knows where. There

12:49

was a darkness in that laughter, a

12:52

hint of something sinister

12:54

lurking beneath the surface. They

12:57

ignored it, chalked it up to nerves

12:59

and the relentless heat. This

13:03

was Deputy Gerard, they finally

13:05

remembered. A good old boy,

13:08

someone described later as looking like hawks

13:11

from that old Western show. A friendly

13:14

facade, a charm that

13:16

would later be questioned. He

13:18

was new, barely a month on the

13:20

job, and there were

13:23

whispers about a forged letter of

13:25

recommendation from his previous department. Whispers

13:28

that wouldn't reach Nancy and

13:30

Sue until long after the

13:32

air conditioning turned frigid. The

13:35

friendly banter ceased, and

13:37

the highway stretched before them no longer

13:39

a promise of escape, but a chilling

13:41

unknown. Schaeffer

13:45

hadn't bothered with introductions. His

13:47

smile a little too eager, a

13:49

little too sharp. He

13:52

dangled a carrot, a ride

13:54

to the beach the next day. Naive

13:58

teenagers sunbaked out. and

14:00

thrusting, saw it as a lifeline tossed

14:02

by a friendly phrase in uniform. Meet

14:06

me by the band shell, he

14:08

had purred, the heat haze

14:10

distorting the image of the rearview mirror.

14:13

We'll get you those tans. Saturday

14:18

crawled in. Across America

14:20

some celebrated the weekend with

14:22

hangovers and cartoons, the

14:24

McDonald's clown hawking his greasy wares

14:27

on flickering screens. Nancy

14:29

and Sue, by the gleaming band shell,

14:32

felt the familiar Florida heat

14:34

prickle their skin. They

14:37

waited, a flicker of doubt

14:39

flickering in their eyes. Maybe a cop

14:41

had more important things to do than

14:44

being chauffeur to teenagers. The

14:48

doubt did not last long. A

14:51

blue car, a beacon in the morning haze,

14:54

pulled up. Not the patrol

14:56

car, but chauffeur himself shedding his official

14:58

skin for a civilian

15:00

disguise. Switch

15:02

to plain clothes, he'd mumbled,

15:05

a flimsy excuse that snagged in

15:07

their tired brains. Observations,

15:11

he'd added, the word hanging heavy in

15:13

the air. They

15:16

piled in, Nancy in the front,

15:18

Sue relegated to the back, stared

15:21

them away from the familiar shores of

15:24

Jensen Beach, weaving a

15:26

story of a hidden Spanish

15:28

fork. The sun

15:31

climbed higher, the air thickening

15:33

with unspoken ease. Then,

15:36

with a sickening lurch, the pavement

15:38

gave way to a dirt track,

15:41

leading deeper into the suffocating embrace of

15:43

the woods. Hutchinson

15:45

Island, a once

15:48

familiar landmark transformed into a

15:50

labyrinth of shadows, and

15:52

a promise of a tan curdled

15:55

into a cold dread. This

15:59

wasn't a beach trip. This

16:02

was something far darker. The

16:04

highway, once a symbol of escape, had

16:07

become a dead end, and

16:09

the friendly jepigy, a predator closing

16:11

in on his prey. The

16:14

island loomed, a

16:16

finger of sand and scrub separating

16:18

the glistening Atlantic from the murky

16:21

Indian River. Back then,

16:23

in 1972, condos

16:25

had sprouted like grotesque mushrooms

16:27

from the salty earth. It

16:30

was a lonely place, home only

16:32

to a few rich folks, with beach-houses

16:35

facing the sunrise and the rustling ghosts

16:37

of the past. Shaffer

16:41

stared them off the main drag, the

16:43

car crunching over loose gravel. The air

16:45

hung heavy, thick with the smell of

16:47

secrets. And something worse,

16:50

something decaying. He

16:52

parked by a ramshackle shed, barely

16:54

clinging to existence by a dint

16:57

of rust and the dense foliage

16:59

that swallowed it whole. The

17:03

guttles climbed out, feigning excitement at

17:05

the prospect of a Spanish fort, disappointment

17:09

clawed at their throats. This

17:11

wasn't some grand relic, just a rotting

17:14

husk of a building, forests

17:16

turning black with age, the

17:18

air inside thick with the stench

17:20

of damp and despair, creatures

17:23

unseen but undoubtedly present

17:25

scuttled through the floorboards.

17:30

Shaffer pointed a meaty finger across the

17:32

river, weaving a tale of Spanish galleons

17:34

and forgotten glory. The

17:36

guttles shifted their weight, impatience

17:39

prickling their skin. They'd

17:41

come for sunshine, not history

17:44

lessons in a mouldy shed. Still

17:47

they plastered smiles on their faces,

17:50

eager to get back to the beach. But

17:54

something had shifted in Shaffer. The

17:56

easy charm was gone, replaced

17:59

by a a cold indifference. His

18:03

questions came sharp and unexpected,

18:05

his gaze flickering around like

18:07

a predator searching for a

18:09

weakness. His

18:11

movements grew jerky, mechanical, as if

18:13

following a script written in blood.

18:17

His shoulders hunched, his mouth

18:19

a thin, angry line. Excitement,

18:22

a dark and predatory kind,

18:24

flickered in his eyes. The

18:27

friendly deputy had vanished, replaced

18:29

by something far more terrifying,

18:32

a hunter closing in on his prayer.

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19:52

Schaeffer's own writings perhaps best

19:54

describe what he felt, and

19:57

undoubtedly what he planned to do. The

20:00

following is an actual excerpt from

20:03

his writings that would later be

20:05

seized in a search of his

20:07

belongings. What

20:09

follows is graphic in nature,

20:12

and I quote him directly using

20:14

the first-person pronoun. In

20:18

order to remain unapprehended, the

20:20

perpetrator of an execution-style murder

20:22

such as I have planned

20:24

must take precautions. One

20:27

must think out well in advance a crime

20:30

of this nature in order for it to

20:32

work. We will

20:34

need an isolated area, accessible by

20:36

car, and a short

20:39

hike, away from any police patrols

20:41

or parking lovers. The

20:43

execution site must be carefully arranged

20:46

for a speedy execution once the

20:48

victim has arrived. Ideally,

20:50

would be two sawhorses

20:53

with two by four between them.

20:56

A noose attached to the overhanging limb

20:58

of a tree, and

21:00

another rope to pull away the two

21:02

by four preferably by car. A

21:05

gray must be prepared in

21:07

advance away from the place of execution.

21:10

The victim could be any one of

21:12

the many women who flock to

21:15

Miami and Fort Lauderdale during the

21:17

winter months. Even

21:19

two victims would not be difficult

21:21

to dispose of, since women are

21:23

less wary when traveling in pairs.

21:26

In any case, it may be

21:29

more preferable to bind and gag

21:31

the victims before transporting them to

21:33

the place of execution. And

21:35

again, depending on what

21:37

torture or defilement is planned for

21:40

them, other items may be useful.

21:43

Bars of soap and water. These

21:45

are useful if you would want to

21:47

wash a woman before her execution. Induce

21:50

her to urinate and then wash her. Soap

21:54

provides an excellent lubricant for

21:56

anal intercourse. Bear is

21:59

useful. to induce urination and make

22:01

the victim groggy and more cooperative.

22:05

Soap can also be forced into the rectum

22:07

to induce defecation when the victim

22:10

has no particular desire to relieve

22:12

her bowels. Possibly

22:15

she may want to defecate since people generally

22:17

have a desire to do this when they

22:19

are scared. A

22:21

douchebag may be helpful in

22:24

degrading her further and

22:26

is also useful for a soap

22:28

suds enema which would be a

22:31

great indignity, especially if one victim

22:34

was made to urinate or defecate on

22:36

the other. This

22:38

would be a gross indignity. Nylon

22:41

stockings are useful to tie the hands

22:43

and feet of the victim. The

22:45

victim should be made to strip to at least

22:48

her underwear. If stripped completely

22:50

nude, an attempt can be

22:52

made to excite her sexually. The

22:55

effect would be especially interesting if the victim

22:57

had her neck in the noose and

23:00

hands behind her back. A

23:02

white pillowcase should be placed over her

23:04

head and her mouth gagged.

23:07

Her panties should be pulled

23:09

down enough to expose her

23:12

genitals and clitoral stimulation applied.

23:15

During the hate of her excitement,

23:17

the support would be pulled away

23:19

and she would dangle by her neck.

23:22

She may be revived before

23:25

death, if desirable, and

23:27

subjected to further indecencies. After

23:31

death has occurred, the corpse should

23:33

be violated if not violated

23:35

already. The body should

23:37

be possibly mutilated and carried

23:39

to the grave and

23:42

buried. All identity papers

23:44

should be destroyed and

23:46

the place of execution dismantled." Shafer,

23:53

now flushed in the cheeks and

23:57

rather wild-eyed, asked the girls

23:59

if they had heard of white slavery.

24:02

He told them about people who still

24:04

buy people today as they did in early

24:07

American history. They used them

24:09

for whatever they want. For

24:11

mates, for pleasure, for porno movies,

24:13

for killing. There are

24:15

rich shikes who'll pay

24:18

handsome wages for young white girdles.

24:21

Then he asked the girdles if their

24:23

parents would pay money for their release.

24:26

He was obviously enjoying himself. Sue

24:29

angered, mustered her courage, and blurted

24:31

out, "'Well, go

24:33

get your chic and sell us.'" Then

24:36

the girdles hushed. They were

24:38

sweaty and hot, and bound

24:40

against their wills. They fought

24:42

back by refusing to talk to him. Oddly,

24:45

they were not as much afraid as

24:48

they were disgusted and feeling foolish

24:50

for getting into this mess. Now

24:52

they would probably go to

24:54

jail, and for what? Then

24:57

they'd had to call their parents and

24:59

go through all means of legal hassles.

25:02

Meanwhile, angered by the

25:04

girl's silence, Shafer began to seize.

25:08

He sat for a moment, gripping

25:10

the car's steering wheel, hands twisting,

25:12

knuckles stretching against skin. Suddenly

25:15

he burst from the car. He walked

25:17

quickly around to the trunk, opened it,

25:19

and withdrew a length of thick sisal

25:21

rope and some sheets. He

25:24

opened the doors of the car and made the girls

25:27

get out. He put gags torn

25:29

from the sheets over their mouths. "'If

25:32

one of you tries to get away,' he said,

25:34

"'I'll kill the one I have. Then

25:37

I'll come and catch and kill the other.'" Nancy,

25:40

who survived, later stated

25:43

the following, and I quote, "'He

25:46

took Sue out in a

25:48

field. He had my beach blanket and

25:50

he put it on the ground. He

25:52

made her sit on it and he

25:55

tied her legs together. And then he made

25:57

another loop around her shoulders so that she could get out

25:59

of the car.' She was tied hand and

26:01

foot, handcuffed and gagged. I

26:03

was scared then. I could have run

26:05

away, but I couldn't because he had

26:08

Sue there." Shafer

26:12

sat in front of Sue and said, and I

26:14

quote, "...go ahead and try

26:16

to get away. I have Nancy,

26:18

and if you get away, I'll kill her.

26:22

Then I'll come and kill you." She

26:26

got up and went back to Nancy and took her

26:28

down to the river. Through

26:30

the thick growth of trees, the

26:33

river was Indian River, a

26:35

massive leg of brown-green

26:37

brine water that separates

26:39

Hutchinson Island from the

26:42

mainland of Florida. There were

26:44

small islands of trees jutting out of

26:46

the damp ground. It

26:48

took Nancy to one of those. The

26:50

tree trunks were subject to the

26:52

fluctuating tide of Indian River. At

26:55

low tide, the large roots, some

26:58

eight to twelve inches thick, were

27:00

exposed above the muddy earth. Some

27:03

of them were exposed to the point of sticking

27:06

out of the ground almost a foot high.

27:09

He made Nancy get up onto one of

27:11

those roots, so

27:13

she would have been as much as eighteen

27:15

to twenty-four inches off the ground. He

27:18

made a noose and slid it over

27:20

Nancy's head and tightened it around her

27:22

throat. She started to

27:24

cry then. He put a

27:26

rope over a branch above her and then

27:29

tied it onto another branch. The

27:32

rope went up and down and then

27:34

hooked onto another piece of branch. Then

27:36

he told her not to get away. If

27:40

she had fallen off of those roots, she

27:42

would have been hanged to death. While

27:45

Nancy stood there, tottering on the

27:47

slippery roots, she sobbed. The

27:50

hard, rough root hurt her feet.

27:52

The scratchy sizzle rope raked her soft

27:54

skin off her neck and seemed

27:57

to grow tighter with each move she

27:59

made. Shafer watched her

28:01

a while, pleased with his work. Toying

28:04

with her, he reached back and pinched her

28:06

buttocks. She looked at him

28:09

disgusted. He laughed and

28:11

told her he could rape her right there

28:13

and then if he felt like it. Nancy's

28:16

heart pounded in her throat, pounded

28:18

against a tightening rope. Pounded

28:21

so hard she was sure he could hear

28:23

it. Suddenly he turned and

28:25

left her there, apparently remembering

28:28

Sue. As soon as

28:30

Shafer was out of sight, Nancy began to try to

28:32

break free. She could

28:34

turn her head enough to see the knots of

28:36

the noose. She

28:39

worked a gag from her mouth and began

28:41

to chew on the knot. The

28:44

rope left little coarse hairs

28:46

in her mouth which ground

28:48

into her gums as she

28:50

chewed and it tasted

28:53

like car oil. Her

28:55

legs were also tightly bound with rope

28:57

around her knees. She tried

28:59

desperately to work her legs free but to

29:01

no avail. The attempt

29:03

seemed only to cut the blood flow to

29:06

her feet, making them numb

29:08

and consequently making it difficult to keep

29:10

a firm footing on the root. Finally

29:13

she turned around and fell against the

29:15

branch where the other end of the

29:17

rope was tied on. The

29:20

rope was looser from chewing on it

29:22

and she could untie it with her

29:24

hand behind her back. She

29:26

undid the knot herself and then

29:29

got all the ropes off. It

29:31

didn't take very long, maybe 10 or

29:33

15 minutes, but she

29:35

still had the handcuffs on. She

29:38

picked up the ropes that moments before

29:40

had held her captive and

29:42

ran, keeping low. Thinking quickly,

29:45

she hid the ropes because earlier she

29:47

noticed he'd taken most of the ropes

29:49

out of his trunk. Without

29:52

ropes, if she was captured again,

29:55

at least he could not hang her. Feeling

29:57

like she was in a movie, she... He

30:01

sneaked back behind the ramshackle wooden

30:03

building that he had called a

30:05

Spanish fort, and peeked

30:08

out the other side and saw his

30:10

car was still there. Nancy

30:12

reasoned that the best thing for her to do would

30:15

be to try to get away and get help. She

30:18

could not be of any help

30:20

to Sue in her present condition,

30:22

and even if she wasn't handcuffed,

30:24

Shafer could undoubtedly overpower her. Besides,

30:28

she did not know where he had taken

30:30

Sue, or if she were even alive. The

30:34

swamp sucked at Nancy's legs with

30:37

every step, the lukewarm

30:39

water feeling like a second skin

30:41

slick and wrong. Scum

30:45

clung to the surface, and

30:47

the air reeked of rotten

30:49

vegetation and something deeper more

30:51

unsettling. Mosquitoes whined in

30:54

her ears, a maddening

30:56

chorus punctuated by the occasional

30:58

splash as a gator disturbed

31:00

the stagnant water, her

31:03

heart hammered, a frantic

31:05

rhythm against her ribs, a counterpoint

31:07

to the rhythmic squelch of sinking

31:09

mud. Those

31:12

damn handcuffs! They scraped raw

31:14

against the wrists with every frantic push,

31:17

throwing her off balance and sending her

31:19

sprawling more than once. Each

31:22

fall sent a fresh wave

31:24

of pain lancing through her

31:26

already throbbing ankles, courtesy

31:29

of a hundred tiny razors disguised

31:31

as broken clam shells on the

31:33

riverbed. Then

31:36

it came again, a muffled

31:38

shout, her name carried on

31:40

a fetid breeze. Nancy

31:43

froze, breath catching in her

31:45

throat. Was it Sue? Or

31:48

Shafer toying with her using Sue

31:50

as bait? The

31:52

very thoughts and the fresh jolt of terror

31:54

threw her. Her

31:57

blonde hair tangled and heavy with mud.

31:59

added water and plastered itself to her

32:02

face. She forced her

32:04

eyes to adjust to the gloom

32:06

beneath the overhanging branches, squinting into

32:08

the wall of emerald green. A

32:11

flicker of movement. There, a

32:14

flash of familiar denim. Relief

32:17

flooded Nancy, warring with

32:19

a cold, sliver of doubts.

32:22

It could still be a trap. For

32:25

a moment she teetered on the edge

32:27

of indecision, the swamp whispering its own

32:29

brand of madness in her ear. But

32:33

the thought of Sue, alone with

32:35

that monster, spurred her on. Gritting

32:38

her teeth, she pushed

32:40

forward, ignoring the burning in her

32:43

lungs, the screaming protest of her

32:45

abused muscles. Every rustle,

32:47

every flit of a bird sent

32:50

her heart lurching. The silence

32:52

between the noises was almost

32:55

worse, heavy with anticipation.

32:59

Then the mosquitoes, a

33:01

fresh wave descended, a buzzing,

33:03

biting torment. Handcuffed,

33:05

she could do nothing to swat them

33:08

away. The frustration, the

33:10

sheer misery of it all, threatened

33:12

to tip her over the edge. But

33:16

Nancy wasn't one to give up easily.

33:19

She forced herself onward, following

33:21

an unseen path, travelling the

33:23

cursed river. Thorns

33:26

snagged her clothes, branches whipped at

33:28

her face, leaving red welts in

33:31

their wake. The

33:33

jungle pressed in on her, a

33:35

suffocating green labyrinth. Finally,

33:37

exhaustion claimed her. The

33:40

dense undergrowth became an impassable

33:42

wall of vines and twisting

33:44

branches. Tears welled in

33:47

her eyes, a mixture of pain,

33:49

frustration, and the gnawing fear of

33:51

what might find her in

33:53

the gathering darkness. Exhaustion

33:57

gnawed at Nancy's bones, a

33:59

monotone The monstrous hunger that dwarfed the

34:02

hollowness in her stomach, her

34:04

feet pumping senselessly through the

34:06

undergrowth, left trails of blood in

34:09

their wake. The

34:11

handcuffs, once merely an annoyance,

34:13

had become instruments of torture, squeezing

34:16

her wrists until they were numb and

34:19

swollen. The

34:22

jungle finally spat her back at the

34:24

river, a brown serpent

34:26

slithering through the emerald hell.

34:30

Hope, a fragile

34:32

butterfly with tattered wings, fluttered

34:34

in her chest. The

34:37

highway, A1A, a

34:39

lifeline across the water, was

34:42

her only hope. Following

34:45

the river's sluggish flow,

34:47

Nancy waded in. The

34:50

water, slick and tepid, clung to

34:52

her like a second skin. Every

34:55

submerged rock, every submerged log,

34:57

sent chills of terror spiking

34:59

through her. Downstream

35:02

the distant hum of the highway

35:04

grew into a maddening symphony. With

35:08

a grunt, she rolled onto

35:11

her back, swimming with her hands

35:13

bound, was a grotesque parody of

35:15

freedom, a clumsy

35:18

side-stroke fueled by sheer

35:20

desperation, propelled her forward,

35:23

the murky water, the color

35:25

of forgotten dreams held

35:27

secrets in its depths, a

35:30

searing pain erupted on her shoulder

35:32

than another. Jellyfish,

35:35

transparent assassins, pulse their

35:37

silent wrath. Furthermore,

35:40

a school of them perhaps, waiting to

35:43

turn her into a weeping mess of welts.

35:47

The currents, now whispered at

35:49

first, became an insistent tug. Panic

35:53

clawed at her throat. Her

35:55

breaths came in ragged gasps,

35:57

her muscles screaming their protest. Just

36:01

when her lungs felt ready

36:03

to burst, her feet brushed

36:05

the bottom. Relief,

36:08

a sweet poison, flooded her. But

36:12

even that meager victory was short-lived.

36:15

Dragging herself onto the muddy bank, she

36:18

collapsed, utterly spent. The

36:21

A1A shimmered in the distance, a

36:24

cruel mirage. Her

36:26

eyes mingled with a river muck on

36:28

her face as she screamed for help.

36:31

Her voice, raw and desperate, was

36:34

swallowed by the roar of passing

36:36

cars. Except one.

36:40

A sheriff's cruiser, identical

36:43

to the one that had brought them

36:45

home the day before, slowed

36:48

to a stop. Her

36:50

heart hammered a frantic tattoo against her

36:53

ribs. She became certain

36:55

it was a trap. The man

36:57

who stepped out looked for a moment very much

37:00

like Schaefer. His

37:03

smile, friendly and

37:05

welcoming, stretched too

37:07

wide, revealing a glimpse

37:09

of something sharp and predatory beneath.

37:13

Nancy crumpled to her knees,

37:15

the last vestiges of her

37:17

fights draining away. This

37:20

was it. This

37:23

was how she died, she

37:26

thought. Tired

37:29

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37:31

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the end of part one covering the saga

38:31

of the killer cop Schaefer Next

38:34

episode will continue his saga. So as

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they say in the land of radio

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Stay tuned you