0:02

Jemma, please. Look

0:04

at what's happening out there right now. You

0:07

know this heat and wind isn't natural. Something

0:09

is coming, and it ain't good. No!

0:12

I don't want anything to do with magic or hoodoo

0:14

or any of that foolishness. In

0:16

four months, I graduate, and God

0:19

help me, I'm leaving this shithole of a town.

0:22

Look, I know- No you don't! Your

0:25

grandfather didn't raise you because your mother's

0:27

an addict. I get it, Jemma. I

0:29

may not know exactly how you feel, but

0:31

I've seen how it's affected

0:32

you. And I don't blame you

0:34

for wanting to get the hell away from this place as soon as

0:36

you can. I really don't. But

0:39

you need to understand what's at stake. Our

0:42

family- Our family. Our

0:44

family. You aren't family. Not

0:47

really. You're just Pop's cousin. You

0:49

don't know the loss. You're right. I don't.

0:52

Not like you do. But I do

0:54

know that if you don't take this on, you're

0:57

going to experience a lot more loss. And

0:59

guilt on top of that because you could have stopped

1:01

it, but didn't.

1:02

I'm sorry that it has

1:04

to be- Hello?

1:08

What? How? What's

1:11

going on?

1:13

Jemma? Talk to me. Why

1:16

are you crying? Hello?

1:20

August? What happened?

1:22

Oh, God.

1:26

Okay, I've got her.

1:29

You need anything from me? Let

1:32

me know, okay? I'm

1:35

sorry,

1:35

August. I'm

1:37

so sorry. Jemma,

1:44

I- Don't! Don't! You

1:47

talk about how we're responsible for saving

1:49

this town, how powerful our family

1:52

is, but you can't stop my mom from

1:54

shooting up. You couldn't stop my dad

1:56

from abandoning me after he got fed up

1:58

with her shit and now-

1:59

And now Uncle

2:02

Jackson is dead. Dead!

2:09

He took a plank of wood

2:11

right through his chest while

2:14

he was doing CPR. Exactly.

2:16

I told you the wind wasn't right. This

2:18

is exactly what I'm talking about. This is

2:21

the type of thing we have to stop. His

2:23

death wasn't just a freak accident. He

2:25

was murdered. By the

2:27

fucking wind? No. By evil

2:29

forces working to destroy the town and

2:32

our family. Then why

2:34

didn't you save him? That's your

2:36

job, right? The one you want

2:38

me to take

2:39

on? Fighting evil? Nothing

2:44

to say to that, huh? Your job

2:47

is to protect us from this type of thing. But

2:49

Uncle Jackson is in a body bag because

2:52

you failed. So no.

2:55

I'm not helping you because you're

2:57

delusional. You're not

2:59

helping anything. Even if it

3:01

could work, how do you expect to teach me

3:03

when you can't even do it right? Gemma,

3:07

wait.

3:15

Welcome to the Season 1 finale

3:18

of Afflicted. We have loved every step

3:20

of this journey and can't wait to take what

3:22

we've learned to bring you an even better Season 2

3:25

with Haunted Houses and the return

3:27

of the Bell Witch. To continue

3:29

to pay everyone a living wage, we'll

3:31

be doing another fundraising campaign for Season 2.

3:34

Keep your ears ready for our Season 2 trailer,

3:36

which we'll be posting on May 8th to coincide

3:39

with the announcement of our new fundraising campaign.

3:42

Every single bit counts, and as thanks

3:44

for your support, we have a ton of amazing

3:46

perks planned at every level regardless

3:48

of how much you can comfortably give. And if you

3:50

can't give right now, spreading the word early

3:52

and often is the next best way to help.

3:55

Afflicted is a horror thriller podcast

3:57

produced by Ransom Media Productions, specific

3:59

com-

5:52

Speaking

6:01

of, we can't trust her. I

6:03

think we should at least tie her to a pole or something.

6:06

Letting her just walk around is a variable I

6:08

am not comfortable with, even if she

6:10

is in a lot of pain. Agreed.

6:13

I'll take care of her. No, she already got

6:15

the jump on you, even with the cuffs on. We'll

6:17

do it together.

6:19

You're

6:22

too late.

6:25

I found something. I think I found

6:27

someone. What's

6:30

wrong with you? What is

6:33

happening? Are

6:35

the wards not... not

6:38

working? It should

6:41

have held for

6:43

longer a little bit. For

6:47

my favorite father-in-law.

6:51

And now the wards were gone

6:53

cold, but instead of his.

6:57

His? Wow,

6:59

you're so... The one

7:02

I serve! The one we

7:04

will all serve before night

7:06

falls! You

7:08

know, you and Kelly would

7:10

be wise to say

7:12

that you're not yourself. Rhonda, let

7:15

us help you. We need to go. And

7:18

you... You won't believe

7:21

to choose a side, but you

7:23

will be... Begging me

7:26

to spare you as you gasp

7:28

your final breaths! You

7:35

knocked out a tooth! Let

7:37

me go! Not

7:43

as much as you can. We need to go. August,

7:46

can y'all move? Yeah.

7:49

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

7:52

we can do it. You good, Gemma? Cherry?

9:59

Okay, y'all ready? Repeat

10:02

after me. Deliver me, God,

10:05

out of the hands of the wicked. Deliver

10:07

me, God, out of the hands of the wicked.

10:10

For mine enemies shall be confounded, for

10:12

they are brought to shame to seek my hurt. For

10:15

mine enemies shall be confounded, for they

10:18

are brought to shame to seek my hurt. Amen.

10:21

Amen. Okay, that should

10:23

buy us a few minutes. Kelly, show

10:25

us how to get down into the haze. Aye, aye,

10:27

Captain.

10:31

Ugh, not so fast. I have

10:34

some very interesting information

10:36

you'd all like to hear. Don't listen

10:38

to her. Let's go. Of course

10:41

she doesn't want you listening to me. She's the reason for

10:43

all of this. None

10:45

of you would be in this situation right now, if not

10:47

for Cherry.

10:48

What does she mean, Mama Cherry? I

10:51

always liked you, Andre. Smart fellow.

10:54

Wouldn't you like to know why she was trapped in the book

10:56

in the first place?

10:57

Ugh,

11:00

fine. We clearly overestimated

11:03

your group's intelligence. And that's saying

11:05

something. Here's a freebie. Cherry

11:08

killed my aunt. That's why

11:10

he's here. And that's why I'm

11:13

helping him. You killed her, aren't

11:15

you? No, I didn't. It's

11:17

lying. Let's go. No.

11:20

I'll take my chances right here. No

11:23

one is safe with either of them. Oh,

11:25

yes. Please listen to the woman

11:28

for killing my son. It experiments

11:29

on living human beings. Wasn't

11:32

there a trial for that sort of thing? Maria,

11:36

we don't have time for this. Okay,

11:38

then tell the truth. I always liked

11:40

you too, Maria. Right up until you

11:42

experimented on us. You...

11:45

now you're smart. We underestimated

11:48

you. Perhaps you can be more

11:50

useful. Becky, I didn't

11:53

kill your aunt. She killed herself. I

11:56

was telling the truth. Mama Cherry, I

11:58

mean. And they saved

11:59

me. Becky's aunt killed her friend,

12:02

too. Wait, that's

12:04

what caused the terrible heat wave? One

12:07

in the same. Of course you're a liar,

12:09

too! Oh, kind of have to be

12:11

if you're a murderer. Or have you all

12:13

forgotten that Kelly killed Karen? And

12:16

you think I'm untrustworthy?

12:17

She's telling the truth,

12:20

Becky. I don't know who told you

12:22

she killed Agatha, but she did it. The

12:25

book did. The book killed

12:27

Karen, too. But you know

12:29

that. Look, your aunt did a ritual

12:31

in the woods to summon the book. It means

12:33

blood for strength. Lies!

12:35

You can't trust her! He

12:37

told me the truth. Our family has been

12:39

hunted by the Caldwells for generations!

12:42

But that stops today!

12:43

Our family?

12:46

You're related to the book? This

12:53

is what we were afraid of. We don't know

12:55

how much time that book holds with this bloodline

12:57

power. We need to go, now!

13:00

Not until you tell us the truth!

13:02

We already did, and we don't have

13:04

time for 21 questions. Stay here or

13:07

don't. I don't really care. I have work

13:09

to do. I'm coming with you. Me

13:11

too. This is Andre?

13:13

I'm with them. Even if

13:15

Becky wasn't lying, she's killed more people

13:17

than she's accused Mama Cherry of killing. Mama

13:20

Cherry doesn't have a pack of rabid animals at the ready.

13:23

So I'll take my chances with

13:24

them. Okay,

13:27

fine. Mama! Home

13:50

sweet home. Wait.

13:53

Maria, you said something earlier about Q and Rhonda.

13:56

How? We shouldn't

13:58

say it in front of her. She

14:00

can communicate with that

14:03

thing telepathically.

14:07

Hold her down, Andre. I'm going to need some

14:09

earwax. No! Don't

14:11

touch me! Shh! You

14:13

said don't touch me!

14:16

She

14:23

got it. Give me just a minute. No!

14:29

Keep it as of God here with God's

14:31

word. We therefore hear the

14:33

word because we are now God. No!

14:35

I'm going to kill you! Okay. She

14:37

can't hear us anymore. Antibiotics work.

14:40

I can treat her. And if we manage

14:42

to get out of this, we can treat the

14:45

other infected. I grab my bottle

14:47

before we run. If someone can hold her down,

14:50

I can brush the pills, mix it with some water, and

14:52

we can make her swallow it.

14:53

Andre, you hold it down and I'll

14:55

make her swallow it. Sure thing. Here's

14:59

some water. Wait.

15:02

Is this holy water? Is it

15:04

safe to drink? Better than safe. It

15:06

might even sever that telepathic connection.

15:17

Okay. Is everybody ready? No

15:20

water you're doing. Get away

15:23

from me! Get away from

15:25

me! She's

15:33

not swallowing. She's going to suffer, Ken.

15:37

Don't let go. She'll either

15:39

drink or pass out. It won't kill her. How long

15:42

for it to work? What

15:46

did you just do?

15:46

I can't hear him anymore.

15:49

What did you do?

15:52

How am I going to get Ethan back without him? I'm

15:55

not stressed. That's just

15:58

the holy water. Do you know how long the end of this is? antibiotics

16:00

take to work against this drain, Mobia? I

16:02

haven't exactly been able to watch a blog, but

16:05

the sample I treated while I was at the clinic

16:07

was clear of infection a bit before

16:10

I came out to tell you. Probably

16:12

an hour or two. But

16:15

she'll need a seven-day regimen to

16:17

be sure all of the bacteria is there.

16:19

Okay, let's get her

16:21

someone's seat so she can't hurt us or herself.

16:24

We're gonna tackle our other

16:25

problem.

16:31

We don't have much time before she makes it through.

16:34

Can we ward the other door? The one

16:36

to the cave? Good idea. You know how?

16:39

I just need help with the sigil.

16:40

I can do that. Cherry, can you figure

16:42

out how to stop this thing? Yeah, I

16:44

hope. I grabbed what I could, but

16:47

I don't know if it'll work. The best we can do

16:49

is try. Is there anything

16:51

I can do to help Mama Cherry? Give

16:53

me some of Becky's blood. Now that we know

16:56

she's the Brooke's family,

16:56

we could bind her through her. Maybe

16:59

we let her come in. Arm ourselves

17:01

as best we can. I can shoot her. I don't

17:04

give us blood.

17:05

I mean, I don't like the idea of fighting

17:07

her face-to-face. But I don't see any

17:09

other option right now. Anything else we

17:11

do is just gonna be temporary.

17:12

Well, giving ourselves more

17:14

time isn't the worst idea. Okay,

17:17

so we buy more time. For what?

17:21

Without her blood, we can't bind the book. Without

17:23

her hair or something else of hers, we can't

17:25

bind her. That

17:26

might be our only option. We're

17:28

back into a corner here. The only way out

17:30

of here is either dead or through that

17:33

army.

17:33

Uh, Mama Cherry? Yeah,

17:36

Kelly?

17:38

Uh, does it help that we're directly

17:40

below the mausoleum right now? We

17:47

are? Well, yeah. But

17:50

obviously, we're not gonna find any of the blood

17:53

I poured down here.

17:55

How did you get her blood

17:57

in the first place? Oh, she

17:59

faithfully- donates every eight weeks or so. I

18:02

just broke into the blood bank and grabbed it. I've

18:04

known you since you were a baby and you still

18:07

surprise the hell out of me. Cherry,

18:10

can we use that?

18:10

Wait

18:13

a minute. Wouldn't her blood be in the groundwater?

18:16

As in this pool or in the water dripping?

18:18

That's it, Gemma. You're right. We

18:21

can use the water. It'll have her essence

18:23

in it. I knew you were made for this

18:25

work.

18:27

Hold on. You robbed the

18:29

blood bank, Kelly? That's my

18:32

office.

18:33

Yeah, but... Leave him alone, Maria.

18:36

He may have saved our asses.

18:37

Oh, yeah, sure. Claro,

18:40

Kelly stole Becky's blood and somehow you

18:43

can use that to stop her. After everything you've

18:45

seen, you're seriously doubting this?

18:47

See? I draw the line at magic.

18:50

Everything else I've seen has a scientific

18:52

explanation. All of this is just

18:55

a bacterial mutation. We

18:57

shoot her full of antibiotics and the problem

18:59

is solved. All of this? This

19:01

binding

19:02

shit is unnecessary. Look

19:04

at Ronda. Her bones are starting to reshape

19:06

themselves. The antibiotics work.

19:09

We just have to figure out how to get them into Becky.

19:12

Dr. Torres, no disrespect, but I

19:14

don't think you know what you're dealing with. This

19:16

is more than bacteria. The book that

19:18

Dana was investigating, that's not

19:20

something you can kill with antibiotics. You

19:23

believe it's a melda about the book? You

19:26

just told us she could communicate with some

19:29

entity telepathically. What

19:31

do you think she

19:32

was communicating with? Becky?

19:34

The bacteria connects the infected so they can communicate

19:37

with each other. Kind of like

19:39

those mycelial networks, just with

19:41

humans. Or human

19:44

adjacent species. Look,

19:46

we don't have time to argue. You don't have

19:48

enough antibiotics in that little bottle to treat

19:50

the groundwater and cure everyone. And

19:52

there's no way we can take on Becky and her little demented

19:55

woodland friends to force an antibiotic down

19:57

our throat like we did with Ronda. So

19:59

unless you're willing to-

19:59

go out there and treat Becky's infection

20:02

yourself. How about you stay out of the way and

20:04

let us work? Besides,

20:07

this is science

20:08

too. Just because you don't understand

20:10

doesn't mean it's not. Okay,

20:12

Gemma. We need to find the route that

20:15

can kill this again about two-one. Do

20:17

you have barley? I vaguely remember

20:19

farmers using bales of barley in their ponds

20:21

to fight outbreaks. I do.

20:24

Oh, what

20:26

about copper? Hank used to put a few

20:29

drops in his aquarium when it started to

20:31

grow cyanobacteria. He had

20:33

to take bubbles out because it's toxic to fish,

20:35

but it always reset his aquarium really

20:37

well. Calcium hydroxide. What?

20:41

Lime dust. It's toxic to cyanobacteria.

20:44

Same as copper. Okay,

20:47

well I have all of that.

20:47

The bitters for the fritzled hen are

20:49

made in a copper pot. And

20:52

some lime dust. God must have been

20:54

looking out for me when I grabbed that. Epera.

20:57

Fritzled hen. That drink

21:00

that August serves at his bar. Is

21:03

that what Rhonda was giving Ethan?

21:05

It was. He still wouldn't

21:07

have saved him. He wasn't infected.

21:10

His injuries were all physical. Gemma,

21:12

pack me up here. No, they're right.

21:16

I'm pollyos. They've got you believing

21:18

this bullshit also? I thought

21:20

you were smarter than this. You know,

21:22

I defended you before, but

21:25

that was uncalled for. You better

21:27

be glad aren't Rhonda's death right now and that

21:29

I have more important things to do than fool

21:31

around with you. But shut up,

21:33

Maria. Before you say something you can't

21:36

come back from. Okay,

21:39

Mama Jerry. Tell me how to work this route.

21:49

Hurry, she's almost through. We're running out of time. I'm

21:51

moving as fast as I can. You've got the water from

21:53

your table. Some with the powdered lime I found in the bag.

21:56

And the water. 40 inches copper. Look

22:00

up, now what? They're here! Everybody

22:04

down! Pathetic.

22:15

It's going to take far more than that to kill

22:17

us. Oh,

22:20

I am gonna love watching the light

22:22

of your eyes. Every

22:24

single one of you. And

22:27

when your blood mingles with that

22:29

water pool, you'll learn what it's like to be

22:31

trapped. Not

22:33

if we watch the light lead goes first. I

22:52

am Mother of the Dios.

22:57

Killing Becky just kill all of them? Looks

22:59

that way. Andrey, be careful.

23:01

But check for a pulse. Jilla, what

23:04

did you do? Soaked the

23:06

shells under the holy water and prayed Psalm 35. I

23:09

remembered you hurting Rhonda like that, and

23:12

Andrey's shoot in her hair gave me the idea.

23:15

Good girl, Jilla. Good

23:16

girl. Wait,

23:20

can we still buy the book? Not anymore.

23:23

Best we can hope for is that Becky was truly the last

23:25

of that bloodline. But I don't see that

23:27

being possible. What about all her blood on the

23:29

ground? Doesn't work if the connection is

23:31

severed, and death definitely does that.

23:35

I'm sorry. Don't

23:37

be. We stopped it. No,

23:40

we didn't. Yes, we did.

23:42

We just didn't stop it for good. But

23:45

we've got time to figure it out. Let's find

23:47

that book and get out of here.

23:50

If the book was here, it's gone

23:52

now. Can

24:05

they not remember what happened to them? No.

24:09

The infection was essentially

24:11

a possession. They won't remember

24:13

anything they did while it's with

24:16

them. That's a blessing.

24:18

Yeah. Are

24:21

they... are they all

24:24

cured? Yep. Well,

24:27

kind of. The bacteria no longer

24:29

controls them, but they're still sick. That's

24:32

not science. Nope.

24:36

Then what is it? Who

24:38

knew? Drink up, Vanda.

24:41

Oh, my God. Wait up

24:44

there. Oh. What

24:48

happened?

24:52

Ethan!

25:00

You! You

25:02

killed my baby! Rhonda, Rhonda, stop!

25:06

Rhonda, come on!

25:06

What

25:10

did he come back to? Wouldn't the cure

25:12

have healed him too? No.

25:15

What's dead stays dead. In fact,

25:18

all the zombies are just dead bodies now. You

25:20

can't undo death. Not without creating

25:22

a much

25:23

worse problem. It'll be okay,

25:25

Rhonda. Not for a while.

25:27

But we will be

25:29

okay. Why didn't you just

25:31

leave me down there? Why

25:35

didn't you kill me like you did back there?

25:38

I can't do this.

25:41

I can't tell you. I can't. I can't.

25:44

I can't.

25:45

I know it feels that way.

25:48

I'm still struggling with Jackson and Mason.

25:51

And so is Gemma. We've

25:53

all lost so much. But we

25:55

still have each other. When

25:58

you can't, I can't.

25:59

And we will get

26:02

through this together. Mom?

26:07

Mom? Ethan? Where

26:10

is he? Ethan! You

26:13

can't see him. He's one of my

26:15

star friends now. But

26:18

he'll always be with us.

26:21

Wait, why

26:23

can we hear him? Because we're broad.

26:25

And broad stands in. Oh

26:29

baby. You

26:32

sound so grown up. In

26:35

a way,

26:36

I am. Mama,

26:40

I know it's hard, but you need to forgive

26:42

Dr. Torres. She was doing what

26:44

she thought was right, and creating her is

26:46

hurting you. But I

26:48

love you, Mama. I

26:50

love you too, baby. We

26:54

need to leave. All of us, right now. Just

26:57

get out of town. The feds are almost

26:59

here. I can't believe it. Fucking

27:02

feds.

27:16

Boss, there's something you need

27:18

to see down here. Is

27:40

that who I think it is? Becky

27:43

Harrison. Yes, ma'am. Shit.

27:47

I've got the intern searching for other potential relatives. She

27:50

couldn't have been the only one left for the bloodline.

27:52

We better hope she wasn't or we are fucked.

27:55

Any sign of the book? No. As

27:57

usual, it went back to wherever it hides.

29:59

Design is by Gen Zinc. Theme music

30:02

and original score by Lillian Boyd. In

30:04

one week, we're kicking off our fundraiser for season

30:07

two. We want to pay everyone a living

30:09

wage, and we can't do that or produce this

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show without your help.

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Make sure you're subscribed so you're among the first

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support us by supporting Afflicted-branded merch.

30:26

Head on over to merch.afflictedaudio.com

30:29

now to snag your t-shirts, hoodies, stickers,

30:32

and more. Want to stay on top of all things

30:34

Afflicted? Follow us on Twitter at Afflicted

30:37

Audio so you'll always be among the first to

30:39

hear about special episodes and events, giveaways,

30:41

and more. Sharing across social media

30:43

is also a huge help to us, so please

30:46

be sure to tell your followers about the show.

30:48

Reviews help other listeners discover Afflicted,

30:50

so please take a moment to share how much you enjoyed

30:52

the show on your podcast listening app. We

30:55

would like to acknowledge that the land on which we produce

30:57

this show is the occupied land of the Haudenosaunee

31:00

and Kaudican peoples. Season one

31:02

of Afflicted takes place in East Texas, which is

31:04

the land of the Kado people.

31:06

Neither the Kaudican nor Kado tribes

31:08

are federally recognized due to cumbersome

31:10

and intentionally prohibitive federal bureaucracy.

31:13

And now a treat for listening until the very

31:16

end. On June 9th of 1964, United

31:18

Airlines Flight 823

31:21

crashed near Newport, Tennessee. During

31:23

the early days of commercial aviation, plane

31:25

crashes were much more common than they are today,

31:27

and investigations often revealed

31:30

a definitive cause for the crash that led to

31:32

improved safety regulations. Such

31:34

was not the case with Flight 823. The

31:37

only thing federal investigators were able

31:39

to confirm was that an uncontrollable fire

31:41

broke out on the plane. The cause of the

31:43

ignition was never determined, perhaps

31:46

just as unsettling as that the last communication

31:49

was exactly 13 minutes before the

31:51

plane crashed.

31:52

Be sure to check out the Season 2 Afflicted

31:54

trailer on May 8th for more insight

31:57

into why we chose this creepy

31:59

fact for you.