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3:05

tales of terror. Thank

3:07

you for listening and enjoy the

3:09

show. Thank

3:51

you. Disclaimer.

4:14

Horror Hill is a horror anthology

4:16

podcast bringing you scary stories from

4:18

all corners of the internet and

4:20

beyond. As such,

4:22

certain stories include content that some

4:25

listeners might find offensive. Horror

4:28

discretion is advised. Hello

4:32

listeners and welcome to Horror Hill.

4:35

I'm your narrator, Eric Peabody, and

4:38

tonight we'll be looking at two

4:40

stories bringing horror both from the

4:42

skies above and the depths

4:45

below. We'll crack

4:47

into things with Take My Place

4:49

by Nicholas Woods. This

4:52

tale follows Alexander and Annie, two

4:54

scientists at the forefront of research

4:56

into a new source of energy.

4:59

During an initial test, things don't

5:01

quite go to plan, and

5:03

it's up to Alexander to do everything

5:05

he can to reverse the horrific effects.

5:09

Closing out, we'll read The Cave

5:11

by Eli Pope. Justin,

5:14

John, and Chance are college roommates

5:16

that are embarking on an adventure.

5:19

They're going to explore Old Spanish

5:21

Cave, which has been closed to

5:23

tourists for years. Justin

5:26

isn't feeling so great about the

5:28

trip, as he and another

5:30

friend experienced a tragedy in the very

5:32

same cave a number of years back.

5:35

Now Justin has to figure out

5:38

what's real and what's imaginary as

5:40

a fresh nightmare rears its head.

5:45

You're listening to the standard edition of this

5:47

program. If you'd like to

5:49

help support Horror Hill and also

5:51

remove these pesky ads, head to

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click patrons in the upper menu

5:57

to sign up today. get

6:00

instant access to hundreds of ad-free

6:02

stories and we can scale back

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some of our... less

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savory means of generating money for

6:09

the show. By

6:11

the way, you wouldn't happen to

6:13

still have all of your organs, would

6:16

you? Because

6:25

now, from author Nicholas Woods, I

6:27

give you, Take My

6:29

Place. It

6:34

was five days before the accident and

6:36

Alexander could recall a menacing feeling in

6:38

his gut that he later deduced was

6:40

a warning. Whether from

6:42

his body, God, or an

6:44

otherworldly cautioning, something was trying to

6:47

tell him where he was headed was not where he

6:49

should be. But Alexander

6:51

did not listen. He

6:54

was riding in a military escort

6:56

van, two soldiers sitting in front

6:58

of him, heavily armored, expressionless faces

7:00

behind masks and goggles. There

7:03

were also soldiers on either side of him

7:05

and Annie. Alexander

7:07

peered over at her, wondering if she

7:09

had the same foreboding feeling creeping through

7:11

her entire body that he had. Of

7:14

course, Annie did not. The

7:17

woman's face held a tight smile that

7:19

verged on giddiness. She

7:21

glanced over at Alexander and she gave him

7:23

a pitying look. She took his

7:25

hand in hers and squeezed it. Alexander

7:28

could feel her wedding ring brush against his

7:30

in a soft scrape of metal. This

7:33

is going to be exciting, Annie

7:35

encouraged. We're going to change

7:38

the world. Alexander

7:40

felt himself calm a bit. Perhaps

7:43

they could do this as long as they were in

7:45

it together. Alexander

7:47

squeezed Annie's hand and felt her heartbeat through

7:49

her palm. He closed his

7:51

eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on

7:54

Annie's pulse and the way her hand caressed

7:56

his. He would know her

7:58

touch anywhere and he began to to relax

8:01

momentarily. They

8:03

arrived at the laboratory, except it

8:06

was unlike any scientific institution Alexander

8:08

had ever seen. A

8:10

three-story modern house sat perched on the

8:13

edge of a grassy cliff overlooking the

8:15

North Sea. Coming out

8:17

of the roof was a near-translucent

8:19

wire Alexander had difficulty viewing. It

8:22

rose into the sky as far as the

8:24

eye could see, though he knew it extended

8:26

much further than that. His

8:29

eyes scanned the green expanse that met

8:31

dark waters. Alexander

8:34

was eager to see the history-rich

8:36

Scottish countryside, but upon arrival at

8:38

their destination he discovered none of

8:40

his predispositions were what he expected.

8:43

The strangest thing was the number of

8:45

military-styled guards that stalked the perimeter of

8:47

the tall fence that enclosed the building.

8:51

Alexander gritted his teeth as the van moved

8:53

inside the fence. He did

8:56

not like guns, especially the massive

8:58

assault rifles every guard held tightly.

9:01

But it is what it is. Annie's

9:04

research was important, not just to

9:06

the scientific community but to the

9:08

entire world because it had the

9:10

potential to harness an entirely new

9:12

energy source. When information

9:15

becomes that valuable, people

9:17

will do anything to take it, so

9:19

those invested have to protect it. Still,

9:22

he did not like seeing all the guns.

9:26

The car parked and the van's doors

9:28

opened to a man in his fifties,

9:30

a heavy coat pulled over his well-tailored

9:32

gray suit. Alexander

9:34

had met Burke only once over the phone.

9:38

You've made it! Fantastic, fantastic!

9:41

Come on out of that van and breathe in

9:43

this fresh island air! Burke

9:45

said enthusiastically, waving them forward.

9:48

The man was from the States, like Alexander

9:50

and Annie. Alexander had

9:53

never received a full answer for

9:55

why the operation occurred in Scotland,

9:57

but here they were, and it was time to get to work.

10:00

down to work. Annie

10:02

hopped out of the van and embraced Burke. Wow,

10:05

look at this. You delivered

10:07

Burke, except what's with all the

10:09

military? Burke took

10:12

Annie's arm in his and led her toward the

10:14

front door of the building. Not

10:16

military, Annie, my dear. Privately hired

10:19

security. No Uncle Sam involved

10:21

here, at least not directly, which is

10:23

what we need to achieve our goals.

10:26

But we can't take any risks. Several other

10:28

countries are trying to achieve what we're

10:30

doing here. We have to be prepared.

10:32

For anything. Alexander

10:35

could see Annie nod, but she turned

10:37

inward, and he could tell she was

10:39

also growing nervous. There was

10:41

a lot of pressure on her to succeed

10:43

before anyone else in the world did. Burke

10:47

led Annie and Alexander through the heavy

10:49

metal front doors into an interior they

10:52

never expected. The place looked

10:54

like a beautiful log cabin, with

10:56

great mahogany timbers for every banister

10:58

and support beam inside. Before

11:01

Alexander could even set his bag down,

11:03

a woman, well into her fifties, approached

11:05

them. Burke turned, making

11:07

the introduction. Annie,

11:10

Alexander, this is Dr. Minosha.

11:12

She knows the tech that'll allow you to

11:14

work with the space station. We've got two

11:16

great pilots up there, and you'll meet them

11:18

shortly. But before I go, we need

11:21

to discuss something quite serious. Burke's

11:24

voice lost its jovial host-like

11:27

tone and instead grew quite

11:29

serious. Here's the

11:31

timeline. The investor meeting is in

11:33

one week. I know that isn't a

11:35

lot, but it's all we have, as

11:37

it literally costs us millions per second

11:39

to run this operation. So

11:42

in seven days we need to have something

11:44

to show them. If we

11:46

do, Annie, you'll get to research as

11:48

long as you want with every resource

11:50

available. And if we don't... well,

11:54

that's it. Operation over. Do

11:56

we all understand? Dr.

11:59

Minosha acknowledges... acknowledged him seriously. Annie

12:02

looked at Alexander. This

12:04

time she sought from him some

12:06

silent encouragement. Alexander gave

12:08

her a small smile. Annie

12:11

nodded, turning. We can

12:13

do this. And that

12:15

was it. It was time to get

12:17

to work. Burke left

12:20

and Dr. Minosha brought them to the

12:22

second floor, which looked entirely different from

12:24

the ground floor. This level

12:26

was a fully equipped research station with

12:28

everything Annie had requested to aid her

12:30

work. Dr. Minosha led

12:32

them into a communication room with a

12:35

massive computer panel and several screens. The

12:37

doctor turned everything on, and two of

12:40

the screens showed video footage of what

12:42

seemed to be the space station's interior.

12:45

She tapped the microphone and spoke into it. Tom,

12:48

are you there? Rose? Come

12:50

in, Dr. Minosha asked. After

12:53

a moment, a man and a woman in

12:56

their forties appeared on screen dressed in simple

12:58

blue jumpers. We're

13:00

here, Dr. Minosha. I see your teammates have

13:02

arrived. Tom said waving.

13:05

Alexander was momentarily confused, unsure how

13:07

they were being seen until Dr.

13:10

Minosha pointed to a camera above

13:12

the computer system. He

13:14

and Annie waved back and introduced

13:16

themselves. So

13:18

Annie, do us a favor and

13:20

explain what we're doing here, because

13:22

we still aren't exactly sure, despite

13:24

reading your notes about fifty times,

13:27

Rose admitted shyly. It's

13:29

still going over our heads. Annie

13:32

sat down at one of the chairs and

13:34

acquainted herself with the computer controls as she

13:36

spoke. Well, in ways,

13:39

it's all very simple. The

13:41

clear wire coming out of our facility here that

13:43

connects all the way to you guys is called

13:45

a particle coil. It will help

13:47

us transfer energy from your station to ours. And

13:51

this energy, Tom said

13:53

curiously. Where is it? Annie

13:56

smiled. Well, Tom, it's

13:59

all around you, there in space."

14:02

Tom and Rose looked confused, each

14:04

waiting for Annie to continue explaining.

14:07

Annie sighed, wiping any lasting travel

14:10

fatigue from her face. "'Well,

14:13

we have seven days. Might

14:15

as well start now." Annie

14:17

looked at the screens and found the

14:19

station's external camera, which showed Earth sitting

14:21

in open space. Annie

14:23

pointed to it. "'Camera

14:26

5T. I sent

14:28

you all an AHF with exact Lumos color

14:30

coordinates. Did you receive that?" "'All

14:33

done,' Tom said, looking at a

14:35

digital pad in his hands and swiping. "'Yeah,

14:38

I have it here.' "'What's

14:40

an AHF exactly?' Rose

14:43

asked. "'Sorry, we just control

14:45

the station. This type of work is new

14:47

to us, so the more you explain the

14:49

better we can assist you.'" Annie

14:52

exhaled, seemingly annoyed that Tom and Rose

14:54

hadn't read through her notes and acquainted

14:57

themselves with her research better. Alexander

15:00

silently agreed, but couldn't blame

15:02

them, as Annie's notes were

15:04

nearly six hundred pages long.

15:07

Annie took a breath. "'An

15:09

AHF is an Andros hawks filter.

15:12

It's a specific color filter to

15:14

help detect certain light. Light

15:16

has millions upon millions of wave

15:19

variations. Some types of light

15:21

are obvious, in a sense, but

15:23

many waves of light remain hidden, and

15:25

that's what we've discovered, Alexander

15:28

and I, and what we will all harness

15:30

together. Add the filter to camera

15:32

5T and you'll see for yourself.' Tom

15:36

typed at the computer, and Rose read off

15:38

the fifty or so numbers that were the

15:40

coordinates on the color map. Once

15:42

they were entered, Tom looked up. "'Okay,

15:45

here we go,' Tom

15:48

said, then pressed a button. Suddenly,

15:50

the screen in the corner of the room

15:53

changed and an almost purplish filter was added

15:55

to it. Dr. Minosha

15:57

gasped. Alexander felt himself

15:59

take a deep breath, although he had

16:02

already seen this wonder several times. The

16:05

camera showed Earth still sitting, beautiful

16:07

and blue, spinning in the dark

16:10

void of space. But

16:12

around it appeared a massive halo

16:14

of light, a stream of golden

16:16

white spiraling around the planet in

16:18

a perfect ring. From

16:20

their view, Earth looked similar to

16:23

Saturn, except Saturn's rings were made

16:25

of rocks. This

16:27

ring was made entirely of light

16:29

and spun right before their eyes.

16:32

How did you discover this? Tom

16:35

asked incredulously, looking between the camera

16:37

and the window next to him,

16:39

which showed open space and a

16:42

ringless Earth. A

16:44

lot of luck and a lot of long nights

16:46

with some very smart people, Annie

16:48

said, looking at Alexander. Alexander

16:51

knew she was being modest, as all

16:54

of this research and discovery was Annie's

16:56

doing. Alexander had just been

16:58

lucky to float near her orbit at the

17:00

right time. And then

17:02

they had fallen for one another, their love fueled

17:04

by discovery and the hope that they could change

17:07

the world for the better. They

17:09

were the best days of his life. At

17:12

that moment, Alexander felt all his

17:15

remaining anxieties melt away. Annie's

17:18

eyes narrowed in fierce determination.

17:21

All right, team, we have seven days

17:23

to show the investors something incredible. So

17:26

let's do it. And

17:28

that was it. They were off to

17:30

the races. Alexander's

17:35

job during the first two days

17:37

was to prepare the energy seals,

17:39

three large translucent vats connected to

17:41

the particle coil. They

17:43

needed to be spotless, airtight, and ready

17:45

to go for when the team would

17:47

attempt their first energy transfer. Annie

17:50

worked with the space station team to identify

17:52

the energy they would later attempt to harness.

17:55

The unique thing about this energy swirling inside the

17:58

ring is that it seems to be comprised of

18:00

small clusters that make up the total ring."

18:03

Annie explained one morning to a

18:05

tired-looking Tom and Rose. "'Let

18:08

me guess,' Rose

18:11

said, yawning. "'You have a

18:13

way to track the identities of these specific

18:15

energy clusters.'" Annie looked

18:17

like she fought the urge to snap at her.

18:20

"'Yes, I do. It's all

18:22

in the notes, Rose.'" At

18:25

the end of each day, Alexander looked at

18:27

the camera, which showed the ring of light

18:30

around Earth. The energy swirl

18:32

contrasted brilliantly with the blackness of

18:34

space, a beacon of hope

18:36

in the dark, lonely void. Alexander

18:39

stared at the flowing light and knew

18:41

for sure that there was more to

18:43

this world than just a brief mortal

18:45

life that began and ended on this

18:47

planet. In the ring

18:49

of light awaited knowledge, truth, and

18:52

most importantly, answers. The

18:57

team was five days into their

18:59

experiment now, and Annie felt exceptionally

19:01

good about their progress. The

19:04

night before, she could barely contain her

19:06

excitement. And the equipment

19:08

is flawless, so much better than the

19:10

crap we were working with at Caltech.

19:14

Alexander watched her pace around the bed. He

19:16

loved seeing her like this, full

19:19

of pure and unfiltered life. Her

19:21

face was flush, and her eyes had

19:24

small dark circles underneath, but

19:26

her aura burned brightly from within, and

19:28

it was infectious. Alexander

19:30

could have listened to her all night,

19:32

but he knew they both desperately needed

19:34

sleep. Tomorrow would be a

19:36

big day. "'This

19:39

is it, Alex. Something special

19:41

that we're going to leave behind. Something

19:44

special for when

19:46

we're gone," Annie said. Alexander

19:48

teased her. "'Where do you

19:50

think we go when we leave this Earth?' "'Oh,

19:53

come on. You know what I believe. We

19:55

die. That's it. There's nothing

19:57

else. No afterlife. No next-

20:00

place. I know that's

20:02

what you believe, too, deep down. Any

20:04

real person of science has to." Alexander

20:08

wanted to disagree with her but didn't want

20:10

to deflate her mood, so he kept quiet.

20:13

Of course, her suggestion made the most

20:15

sense, given scientific understanding.

20:18

But Alexander always had a feeling that there was

20:21

more to this life than just a brief time

20:23

they were allowed on Earth. He

20:25

could never explain it. He just knew

20:27

there had to be. The

20:29

universe was far too complicated for it all

20:32

to end here. "'Come

20:35

here. Lay with me," Alexander

20:37

pleaded, pulling at her wrist. Annie

20:40

gave in and sank into Alexander's arms.

20:43

He could feel her entire body relax

20:45

into him. "'I just

20:47

want you to know,' Alexander whispered

20:50

at the top of her head. "'I'm

20:52

so damn proud of you.'

20:56

Annie looked up, her eyes full. "'Thank

20:59

you, Alex. I'm proud of you, too.' "'No

21:02

need to be,' Alexander joked.

21:05

"'I'm just along for the ride.' Annie

21:08

sat up slightly and looked into Alexander's

21:10

eyes. She shook her head. "'No,

21:13

honey. This journey with

21:16

you. That's the

21:18

ride.' Alexander

21:20

felt his throat tighten slightly. It

21:23

meant so much to hear those words from

21:25

her. He was sure she

21:27

didn't know how much their weight pressed upon

21:29

his heart. For someone

21:31

like her to care about someone like him was

21:33

more than he could express. He

21:35

was a nobody, and Annie, she

21:38

was special. He

21:41

smiled, then kissed her, and

21:43

eventually they found sleep."

21:47

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23:28

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23:30

Tom, Rose are you ready?

23:32

Angie said into the microphone at

23:34

the communication center. We're

23:37

ready. Tom said in the

23:39

space station camera. We have the

23:41

tracker ID inputted for the specific energy cluster.

23:43

It's right next to the station. Hopefully

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it'll be an easy transfer down to you guys.

23:49

Angie looked at Alexander. The

23:51

energy seals are they ready? Alexander

23:54

had checked them five times every

23:56

hour. He was sure they were

23:59

all functioning. although they would only

24:01

utilize the first one for this initial transfer.

24:04

They're ready. Let's do this. Dr.

24:07

Minosha sat in the background observing a

24:09

cup of warm tea in her hand.

24:12

Annie looked from her to Alexander, making

24:14

sure everyone was ready. When

24:17

Alexander assured her they were, Annie

24:19

made the call. "'Initiate

24:21

energy transfer,' Annie yelled

24:23

out. Some

24:26

pressed a button, and almost immediately after,

24:28

the lights in the entire facility began

24:30

to flicker. The screen's

24:32

transmissions began to short-circuit, and the bulbs

24:34

on the panels began to blink off

24:36

and on. Annie

24:38

looked at Alexander confidently. She

24:41

knew this would happen. She sat

24:43

up from her chair and moved into the other room

24:45

with the energy seals. One

24:47

of the three seals was pulsing with

24:50

electricity. Alexander grabbed

24:52

Annie's arm, instinctively pulling her back.

24:55

Suddenly, light began to appear.

24:58

It came in at a rush, filling

25:00

the seal's glass chamber with bright, burning

25:02

light visible to the naked eye. The

25:05

moment the light filled the seal and the

25:08

transfer was complete, the entire facility

25:10

seemed to return to normal. They

25:13

could hear Dr. Minosha from the communication room.

25:16

"'Transfer's complete, Annie. How do we look?'

25:20

Alexander watched as Annie stared at

25:22

the glowing glass chamber with fascination.

25:25

"'We did it! We've done it!

25:28

We've captured the energy!' She

25:30

moved over to the digital reader on the side of

25:32

the seal. "'Alexander, look

25:34

at these levels! The

25:36

energy! It's... it's massive!'

25:40

Alexander looked at the reading and was astonished.

25:43

"'And this is just one cluster. There's

25:45

a whole ring of energy surrounding the planet!'

25:49

Dr. Minosha entered the room and looked at the

25:51

glowing chamber. "'We can see the

25:53

light?' Annie nodded.

25:56

"'The light is interacting with our atmosphere.

25:59

I wonder how it's...' would look with the AHF filter."

26:02

Alexander looked around excitedly. "'Well,

26:06

there's a retractable screen that pulls down over

26:08

the glass. It can be used

26:10

as a dimmer, but I may have replaced

26:12

it with some of our jowls, just in

26:14

case.' Annie

26:16

looked at Alexander like she might kiss him. "'Here,

26:19

Will.'" Alexander went

26:21

over to the electronic panel on the side of

26:24

the seal and pressed a button. He

26:26

stood back as a thin screen appeared

26:28

from the top of the chamber, slowly

26:30

covering the glass, and like the

26:32

snap of a finger, the air

26:34

in the room seemed to grow cold

26:36

and empty. "'Oh

26:39

my God!' Dr. Minosha

26:41

exclaimed before they could utter the

26:43

words themselves." Alexander

26:46

couldn't believe his eyes. The

26:48

glow from the chamber had completely disappeared

26:50

behind the filter. What

26:52

stood there now was

26:54

incomprehensible to his eyes. The

26:57

only way he could describe what he was seeing was

27:00

a figure, a slightly

27:03

glowing skeletal figure, stood

27:05

inside the chamber. An

27:08

awful feeling began to claw

27:10

at Alexander's insides. "'Annie,

27:14

what is that?' he

27:16

asked nervously. "'I...I

27:19

have no idea,' Annie responded,

27:21

horrified. The

27:24

skeletal figure inside the chamber had

27:26

very clear arms, legs, and a

27:28

head. The head looked around

27:30

slowly as if it was watching them.

27:33

Suddenly, the figure's hands went up

27:36

and pounded its fists against the

27:38

glass's interior. Of course,

27:40

no noise sounded and no physical

27:42

force pressed upon the energy seal,

27:45

but the figure inside looked desperate to

27:47

get out. Alexander

27:49

peered over to Annie, who was stepping

27:51

closer to the glass chamber. "'Annie?

27:55

Wait!' Alexander whispered,

27:57

but she didn't listen. Annie

28:00

moved closer and closer to

28:02

the energy seal, the skeletal

28:04

figure still thrashing about inside.

28:07

The figure seemed to calm slightly at

28:09

Annie's approach, as if it could see

28:11

her drawing near. Annie,

28:14

please! Alexander cautioned

28:17

again, but Annie didn't listen.

28:20

She moved closer to the glass and

28:22

raised a hand, the skeletal figure watching

28:24

her. Alexander was

28:26

just about to stop her. She was about

28:28

to pull Annie away. He

28:30

even heard Dr. Minosha say, Don't

28:33

touch the glass! The metal in your ring!

28:35

It could... But her words

28:38

were too late. Alexander

28:40

was too late. Annie

28:42

reached her hand and touched the glass.

28:46

Suddenly there was an explosion of light within

28:48

the chamber once more. The entire

28:51

building began to shake as if an earthquake

28:53

was happening right underneath them. The

28:55

light inside the room grew so bright

28:57

Alexander couldn't see. He

29:00

heard Annie scream. He

29:02

tried to find her, his hands groping in

29:05

the blinding light. But

29:07

just as fast, the light vanished.

29:10

The glowing subsided and the energy

29:12

seal looked just as it had,

29:14

with the skeletal figure inside. Oh!

29:18

Alexander yelled, moving to her. Annie

29:21

was on the ground, shaking as if she were

29:23

having a seizure. Alexander raced

29:25

to her, lifting her head, and suddenly

29:28

Annie gasped a deep breath.

29:32

Take my place! The

29:34

strange words came out of her mouth and

29:37

a voice he almost didn't recognize. Alexander

29:39

held on to her, unsure what to do.

29:42

He turned to Dr. Minosha. Transfer

29:45

the energy back. The test is over today.

29:48

Do it! Alexander shouted

29:50

and his command finally prompted Dr. Minosha

29:53

to take action. Alexander

29:55

looked Annie over. Her shaking

29:58

had subsided, but her eyes... still

30:00

stared off in the distance and she

30:02

hadn't spoken any other word. Alexander

30:05

looked over his shoulder as the energy seal

30:07

began to fire up the transfer back to

30:09

the space station. The skeletal

30:12

being inside snapped its head in

30:14

all directions. If Alexander

30:16

wasn't mistaken, the thing seemed

30:18

scared. It was no

30:21

longer acting frantic like it had before.

30:23

Instead, it seemed to be trying to

30:25

get his attention as it pointed to something. It

30:28

was pointing to its finger. Not

30:31

just any finger. It

30:33

was pointing to its ring finger. Alexander

30:37

could hear inside the communication room where

30:39

a frantic Dr. Minosha was trying to

30:41

explain what happened to Tom and Rose

30:44

as Tom worked to initiate the energy

30:46

transfer back. The ID

30:48

tracker on this cluster is different. I don't know

30:50

how to explain it. Tom

30:52

yelled. It doesn't matter. Just

30:55

send it back. Send it back. Dr.

30:58

Minosha yelled. For

31:00

a moment, there was calm. Alexander

31:04

looked at Annie, her eyes starting to

31:06

focus. As Annie's

31:08

eyes landed on Alexander, they

31:11

narrowed. Right then

31:13

and there, Alexander knew something was

31:15

wrong. Annie? Alexander

31:19

asked fearfully. I'm

31:22

not Annie. The

31:24

woman in his arms responded. Of

31:27

course it was Annie. This was

31:29

Annie's body. But something

31:31

had happened. Something unexplainable

31:33

had taken Annie and put something

31:35

else here in her place. Where

31:39

is Annie? Alexander

31:41

heard himself ask. Where

31:44

I was, the woman responded.

31:47

In there and up

31:49

there. She pointed up

31:52

to the sky, her eyes going wild with

31:54

terror. She's

31:56

had whipped to the energy seal on the

31:58

figure inside. Suddenly,

32:02

the energy seal fired up.

32:05

Alexander tried to yell at the communication room.

32:07

He tried to scream for them to

32:10

stop that something had gone wrong, that

32:12

Annie's spirit was now inside the chamber.

32:15

But before he could, the seal

32:17

began to glow, drawing the energy

32:19

up the particle coil and back

32:21

into space. In a

32:23

flash, the skeletal figure

32:26

inside the chamber was gone.

32:29

Alexander moved into the communications room. Bring

32:32

it back! Bring that energy back! What

32:35

are you talking about? Dr. Minosha

32:38

demanded. That energy... I

32:41

don't know how to explain it, but Annie, she's

32:44

not herself. Something...

32:46

something happened to her. Something switched

32:48

with her. You have to come see! Alexander

32:52

said frantically as he pulled Dr. Minosha into

32:54

the other room. And

32:56

as they moved inside, Annie was

32:58

no longer on the floor. Where?

33:03

Alexander said, looking around. They

33:05

moved down the stairs quickly, seeing the

33:07

front door was open. Oh

33:10

no! Alexander whispered.

33:14

Alexander and Dr. Minosha moved outside,

33:17

stepping right into a scene of

33:19

pure horror. At

33:21

the bottom of the porch steps was one of the

33:24

guards, a knife sticking out of his

33:27

neck. Blood rushed out of his jugular,

33:29

the man moments from death. Alexander

33:32

looked at the fence where

33:34

he saw Annie, to his

33:36

pure terror. At

33:38

least, it was Annie's body, possessed

33:41

by some other spirit, ghost, or

33:43

soul in a way he could

33:46

barely comprehend. Annie

33:48

had a gun in her hand, demanding that the

33:50

guards stay back as she attempted to move out

33:52

of the gate. The guards

33:54

pointed their rifles, shouting for Annie to

33:56

lower her gun. Alexander

33:59

yelled to Annie. Annie, wait, please

34:02

come back, we can help you. Annie

34:05

peered over at Alexander, giving him a

34:07

look that told him she wasn't returning.

34:10

Wherever she had come from, she was

34:13

never going there again. Annie

34:15

turned and fired the gun at the guards, striking

34:18

too. She tried

34:20

to run through the gate, heading for the

34:22

forest in the distance, but other guards appeared,

34:24

firing at her. Annie

34:26

ran fast, but she couldn't

34:28

outrun the bullets that struck her in

34:30

every direction. Alexander

34:33

watched as the love of his

34:35

life was gunned down in the

34:37

middle of a grassy field, unable

34:39

to do anything about it. Later,

34:43

the guards locked Alexander and Dr.

34:45

Minosha inside the facility until Burke

34:48

could arrive and assess the mess

34:50

that had been created. Dr.

34:52

Minosha was a nervous wreck. Dr.

34:55

Minosha didn't know what to tell her. All

34:58

he knew was he could not give up. Annie's

35:02

body may have been torn to shreds, but

35:05

her soul, her aura that burned

35:07

so bright as it tried to

35:09

help this cruel world, was

35:11

out there, somewhere in the ring of

35:13

energy. He couldn't put her

35:15

back in her body, but he

35:17

could save her from wherever she

35:20

was. It

35:23

was late at night and they worked in

35:25

secret. Tom looked into

35:28

the camera on the space station. Are

35:30

you ready, Alexander? I'm

35:32

ready, he said confidently. Running

35:36

tracking ID, initiating transfer,

35:38

now. And

35:41

just like that, the facility began to

35:43

shake once more. Alexander

35:46

moved inside the room with the energy seals.

35:49

The same one lit up brightly before the

35:51

power in the room began to settle. He

35:54

heard the pounding of fists upon metal.

35:57

The guards were downstairs trying to break

35:59

past the their own locks and stop

36:01

them from their work. Alexander

36:03

had just enough time. The

36:07

vat began to glow, and then the

36:10

skeletal figure appeared. And

36:12

there she was, his Annie.

36:16

He couldn't explain how he knew, but deep

36:19

in his heart, perhaps in his

36:21

own spirit, he knew. He would

36:24

always know her. The

36:26

skeletal figure looked around,

36:28

confused momentarily, before its

36:31

head turned in Alexander's direction. The

36:34

banging downstairs grew louder as the door

36:36

began to splinter off its hinges. Metal

36:39

doors hit the ground, and footsteps

36:41

pounded quickly up the stairs. Alexander

36:45

moved up to the chamber and

36:47

lifted his hand, his wedding ring

36:49

around his finger. The

36:51

guards moved down the hall, seconds away

36:53

from reaching him. It didn't

36:55

matter. Alexander touched

36:57

his hand to the glass, whispering

37:00

to her, Take my

37:03

place. You've

37:11

been listening to Take My Place

37:13

by Nicholas Woods. And

37:17

now, listeners, to close out our

37:19

evening, I present The

37:22

Cave by Eli Pope. Okay.

37:29

First off, I don't consider

37:31

myself a pussy. John

37:34

and Chance can say what they want,

37:36

but just because I think caves are

37:38

a stupid thing to climb into and

37:40

that they are all, every last one

37:42

of them, portals that lead to hell

37:44

does not make me a pussy. There

37:47

are plenty of holes I have no fear

37:49

of or problem with. Donut

37:51

holes, swimming holes, and... well,

37:54

to name a few besides the obvious one,

37:57

but I won't break decorum and speak that

37:59

one aloud. But dark

38:01

holes in the ground, with springs

38:03

and belly crawling? Yeah,

38:06

no. I hold less than

38:08

zero interest in that activity and would rather

38:10

take a tennis ball to the nuts from

38:13

John McEnroe and then listen to his rant.

38:16

My so-called college friends, John

38:19

and Chance, however, had

38:21

been painfully relentless in their pursuit of

38:23

dragging me along on their spring break

38:26

party plan to tempt Hades by climbing

38:28

into it. At some point,

38:31

a roommate just has to throw the towel in

38:33

and say what the fuck. What

38:35

real harm can come from a deep, dark,

38:37

wet hole in the ground? In

38:40

an area I'd already almost died in,

38:42

no less. Woo-hoo.

38:45

Count me in, Holy Spelunker

38:47

Batman, and dump me in

38:49

the gooey mud. I'm

38:52

in. I

38:56

imagine the first thing to break a

38:58

person into a story would be a

39:00

little background on my college journey with

39:02

John and Chance. First

39:04

off, I'll start with John Frankson.

39:08

After all, with his belief that he is

39:10

the heir everyone around him breathes, he would

39:12

certainly demand it. I

39:14

didn't know him until my sophomore year. I

39:17

actually couldn't stand him at first. I

39:20

still struggle at times. He

39:23

was, uh, he

39:25

still is, one of

39:27

those dicks that comes from money. Lots

39:30

of it. His dad hid it big

39:32

as one of the first investors in Bitcoin. I

39:35

despised John's smug ass from

39:37

the start, just because of

39:39

that. I pictured him

39:41

as Scrooge McDuck's little quacker son rolling

39:44

around in his daddy's swimming

39:47

naked, covered in greenbacks, spilling over

39:49

a huge bathtub outside the vault.

39:52

I still think Bitcoin is a

39:55

lavish bullshit con game, but

39:57

I digress. John is the student

39:59

who dropped a $10 million dollar bill. drives the newest Corvette,

40:01

gets all the chicks he wants

40:03

but has the jankiest haircut, and

40:06

— well — he's Howard Wallowitz

40:08

from The Big Bang Theory, only

40:11

with Raj Kootrabali's access to

40:13

an endless bankroll. Maybe

40:16

a little more muscular and a bit

40:18

taller than Howard, but still a total

40:20

nerd with a wallet bulging with crisp

40:23

undies. I guess it does

40:25

occasionally pay off to be his friend, because

40:28

I'll admit I never have to buy

40:30

any food or drinks if he's with us, and

40:32

I occasionally get laid by one of

40:35

the girls he rejects. Chance

40:38

flavid. First off,

40:41

what the hell kind of a name is

40:43

flavid? It sounds like a venereal

40:45

disease. It would be

40:47

funny, but Chance is a fairly normal

40:49

guy. He was the most

40:51

ordinary and commonplace dude between the three of

40:54

us, with one exception.

40:57

The size of his junk. I

41:01

accidentally saw it one day. It's

41:03

a friggin' monster. Ridiculously

41:06

huge. It scares the hell out of me. I've

41:09

had dreams of it being an alien

41:11

lifeform that, of course, lives

41:13

in a fucking cave, and

41:16

comes out hunting for normal Bilt mortals, like

41:18

me. I thought about my

41:20

plan to check out therapists when we return from

41:23

this trip. Maybe

41:25

Mr. Frankson, John's rich dad, could purchase

41:27

me a couple of sessions. Anyway,

41:31

here we are, the three odd

41:33

dudes heading out for spring break

41:36

to a hidden little gem another

41:38

friend, Kenny Williams, and I, once

41:41

found when we were teens. Old

41:44

Spanish Cave. The

41:47

last time I was there, my old

41:49

friend and I experienced a horrible

41:52

tragedy. A huge

41:54

cluster of icicles clinging onto the rocky

41:56

cliff overhang. I'm certain we

41:58

never noticed anything above us. us as we

42:00

would have certainly felt a possible danger that

42:02

lurked. It was

42:04

a few days after a harsh Christmas freeze.

42:07

We were on break from our freshman year

42:10

in high school, the weather

42:12

warmed enough to melt most of the snow, and

42:15

we were both going nuts from being locked

42:17

in over the weekend from the snow. With

42:20

the temperature suddenly up in the forties, it

42:23

felt like summer, and he had just

42:25

gotten his license. We took

42:27

off in Kenny's car and ended up

42:29

at the hidden entrance of Old Spanish

42:31

Cave. We swung the

42:33

iron gate open just enough to squeeze

42:35

through the 1966 Oldsmobile Tarnado and

42:40

slowly drove down the overgrown asphalt road

42:42

to the empty parking lot in front

42:44

of the gift shop. We

42:47

made our way down the hillside from

42:49

the dilapidated gift shop structure. There

42:52

was an overgrown path that winded down

42:54

the rocky hillside to the trail leading

42:56

to the cave's entrance. We'd

42:58

been here a couple dozen times before

43:00

and had explored the area thoroughly. Here's

43:05

some backstory. The

43:07

cave had suffered a couple of

43:09

cave-ins, causing the state to close

43:11

the business of touring the cave. The

43:14

entrance sat back in a thick wooded

43:16

area and off a side road parallel

43:19

to Missouri 160 on

43:21

the outskirts of the whole Branson thing

43:23

in Missouri. This was years

43:25

before Branson had become what it is now.

43:29

Many tourists started coming to the

43:31

area and upon their interest in

43:33

the caves of the area and

43:36

only having two others large enough

43:38

to attract visitors—fantastic caverns and a

43:40

marvel cave—the landowners saw

43:43

their cave as a moneymaker.

43:46

I believe it was back in the late

43:48

sixties when the owners were forced to close

43:50

their gates to Old Spanish Cave due to

43:52

the cave-ins. The gift

43:54

shop looked like it had been an abandoned

43:57

party spot for local kids of the time.

44:00

All the windows were broken,

44:02

cabinets overturned, and graffiti on

44:05

every wall. It

44:07

looked more like a place where Charles Manson

44:09

and his family once lived, instead

44:11

of a once thriving business. From

44:14

the ten or twenty times I'd been there,

44:17

we'd never seen another soul, and luckily we

44:19

were never forced to face such a thing.

44:23

It was a long-forgotten fortress, and

44:25

we claimed it as ours. Our

44:28

parents and other friends were clueless that we

44:31

ever came to such a place. This

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and I were on the path adjacent to the

47:00

rocky bluff that hung over our heads. We

47:03

lollygagged down the path with about ten

47:05

feet between us, scanning the

47:07

surroundings and talking about how

47:09

spooky the place was as we moved

47:11

closer to the dark, ominous

47:14

entrance sat into the side

47:16

of the treelined bluff. A

47:18

sliver of black was carved into the rock

47:21

and a thin fog hovered above the

47:24

spring water exiting into the light. The

47:27

entire area was silent except for

47:29

whispers of light winds blowing through

47:31

the tree limbs and

47:33

the faint droplets of water splashing on

47:35

the rocks around us. The

47:38

sun shined down on our backs,

47:40

casting elongated shadows that mimicked our

47:42

movements in front of us. It

47:45

felt like summer in the middle of winter. It

47:48

was surreal and eerie

47:51

at the same time. I'll admit,

47:54

I felt as if we were being watched

47:56

by someone, or something,

47:59

from the moment moment we arrived that day. It

48:02

was almost dreamlike, but teetering

48:04

on the edge of becoming a nightmare. I'll

48:08

never forget the instant

48:10

an earth-shattering bing snatched

48:12

my attention from the serene walk

48:15

as bits of shiny, glistening shards

48:17

of what looked like glass scattered

48:20

between my feet when I

48:22

abruptly stopped and attempted to see exactly what

48:24

in the hell had just happened. Even

48:27

particles of ice skidded

48:30

around us, instantly filling the

48:32

trail between Kenny and me. His

48:34

face was stark white, his

48:37

eyes open so wide I

48:39

could see the white surrounding his blue iris.

48:42

He stood speechless and poised to run,

48:44

having seen the explosion in front of

48:46

him, the one I'd never seen

48:48

coming. He looked like

48:50

he'd just seen a ghost. The

48:53

heat from the sun, on what would normally

48:55

be a frigid time of year, had thawed

48:57

the ice enough to give way to the

48:59

weighted bundle of frozen spears clinging above us,

49:02

hanging on until letting go

49:04

and attacking like soldiers protecting

49:06

their land. The

49:08

attackers had fortunately crashed dead-center between

49:10

us, as if they were giving

49:13

us a warning to

49:15

get out because we trespassed. Kenny's

49:18

and my eyes locked in tightly

49:20

together as the reality of what

49:22

just happened simultaneously caused us to

49:24

lift our gaze skyward, where

49:26

we saw cluster after cluster

49:29

of frozen, sharp-spiked bombs

49:31

clinging to the ledge above our heads

49:34

and looking down along the entire pathway

49:36

on which we stood, water

49:39

droplets spilled from above in tiny

49:41

warnings of what would soon be

49:43

a sort of carpet bombing our

49:45

entire path in or out. There

49:48

was no exiting the path as it ended

49:50

in a jagged rocky ditch to our left

49:53

and a frigid, flowing spring to

49:55

the right. We

49:57

were doomed, no matter what choice. we

50:00

made. I instantly made

50:02

a deal internally with God.

50:05

If I made it out of here

50:07

without being stabbed and pounded into a

50:10

bloody puddle on the ground I now

50:12

stood glued to, I would never,

50:15

ever return here again. Kenny

50:19

and I acted as if our minds were

50:21

linked by Bluetooth, which was

50:23

impossible because the technology had not

50:25

been invented yet. We

50:27

turned and ran as fast as

50:30

we could, hearing the sound of

50:32

echoed explosions of shattering ice bombs

50:34

pounding the path around us. I

50:37

now knew what soldiers on the ground in

50:39

World War II must have felt as

50:41

they attempted to outrun mortar fire assaulting

50:44

them from above, lobbing explosions

50:46

everywhere along their path. I

50:49

never felt more saved than in

50:51

the moment when I looked above

50:53

and realized I was no longer

50:56

under the rock shelf releasing its attack

50:58

on us. The ghosts

51:01

of Old Spanish Cave had delivered

51:03

their message to retreat and never

51:05

return. They had given

51:07

me the chance to honor my promise, but

51:10

today, some nine years

51:12

later, I stood

51:14

in betrayal of that promise as

51:16

John and Chance stood staring down

51:18

at the same pathway to the

51:20

cave I swore I'd never see

51:22

again. I thought

51:25

I saw Kenny standing, peering

51:28

up to the bluff's overhang before turning his

51:30

gaze to me and then

51:32

disappearing like an apparition fading into

51:34

the scenery. A

51:36

chill passed through my entire body

51:38

from my toes up, had a

51:41

flashback of Kenny's body mashed

51:43

into a mangled and bloody

51:45

mass of flesh amongst

51:48

a pile of busted up ice. Come

51:51

on, Justin! Nothing to fear but fear

51:54

itself! Eat

51:56

shit and drown in it, John.

51:59

We're the first of the thoughts that ran through my

52:01

mind. What did that

52:03

spoiled bitch know about tragedy

52:05

and loss anyway, other

52:08

than when he lost control of his

52:10

vet and parked it sideways in the

52:12

ditch after knocking over seven wooden poles

52:14

with a three-quarter-inch cable running through them

52:18

on Dead Man's Corner at the end of his

52:20

freshman year? I

52:22

grinned at the thought, but

52:24

as I searched the bluff high above

52:26

the path we would soon be taking,

52:28

knowing there would be no clinging icicles

52:30

this time, my grin

52:32

slid right back into concern. Let's

52:36

get going, guys. You have your flashlights, right?

52:39

Chance chimed in, as if he saw

52:41

the possible trouble that was brewing between

52:43

John and me. Yeah.

52:46

Got it. Let's go do this thing,

52:48

I guess. Don't

52:51

sound so excited, Justin. Justin

52:54

snapped back with a smirk. I

52:57

glimpsed over a chance and shot him

52:59

a quick, obscure eye-roll. He

53:01

understood my forced liking of John.

53:04

John was an asshole. We

53:07

both knew it, but...

53:09

It's okay, Justin. Shrug him off. Let's enjoy

53:11

a good time while we're free from school.

53:14

Chance winked. He'll buy us a

53:16

great supper and beers after this. He

53:19

smiled. That's what

53:21

it was down to. In

53:23

reality, Chance and I

53:25

were nothing more than paid-for whores.

53:28

Our rate from being his bitches was

53:31

nothing more than food and expenses. And,

53:34

of course, beers.

53:36

I swore I'd leave John the Superdick

53:39

in a slimy wet hole in the

53:41

middle of this cave, if I had

53:43

the chance. I

53:45

grinned. If I had

53:47

the chance, I thought, I

53:50

do have the chance. And

53:53

I bet Chance would be down with leaving

53:55

John's ass stuck in the dark, as

53:58

long as we snagged his wallet full of those sweet

54:00

undies, those would buy

54:02

several dinners and beers. We

54:06

slid and tripped down the hill before

54:08

climbing over downed tree limbs and back

54:10

up to the path leading to the entrance. Just

54:13

like the old days with Kenny, the

54:16

place was abandoned and felt

54:18

like Jurassic Park after the raptors killed

54:20

everyone and took over. The

54:22

only thing missing were the tropical sounds

54:24

of a deserted South Pacific island. Yes,

54:28

this place still brings back awful

54:30

memories of apprehension, sadness,

54:33

and guilt, but apprehension

54:35

was the key emotion in

54:37

this particular moment. Justin,

54:40

you look nervous. Don't

54:42

pussy out on us when we get to the opening. Just

54:45

push in like she wants it for all

54:47

it is, even if it isn't all

54:49

that much. But hey, Chance,

54:51

don't you go in first, big guy. There

54:53

won't be anything left for us after you.

54:56

John grinned and belted out a laugh

54:59

that echoed against the rocky bluff but

55:01

was then swallowed up by the trees

55:03

and vegetation. It

55:06

wasn't but a minute later that

55:08

we all stood at the entrance

55:10

to the pitch-black opening. Hey,

55:14

John, how about you tell us

55:16

where we're gonna eat when we finish up here?

55:18

It might go a long way to attempting me

55:20

to go deeper into the cave than I've ever

55:23

been before. You know, show

55:25

you virgin territory, since

55:27

you're not accustomed to anything that's

55:29

not been penetrated before. I

55:32

looked over at Chance and winked, seeing

55:34

him grin before he chimed in. Yeah,

55:38

John, the opening I'm looking at here looks

55:40

almost as big as your last dates probably

55:42

did. He laughed. Of

55:45

course, the stagnant smell of the water

55:47

here probably smells better than... Jealousy

55:50

rears its ugly-ass face once

55:52

again, boys. John

55:54

hollered. And Chance, you

55:56

might actually be able to fill this opening

55:58

with that dinosaur bow. phone, you're harboring underneath

56:01

your belt." We

56:03

all laughed. After all,

56:05

John did have a valid point.

56:08

At one time I was jealous of what

56:10

Chance packed in his toolbox, but

56:12

in all reality the only woman that would

56:14

let him use that tool would likely be

56:16

a porn star. Our

56:18

chuckles echoed back to us as we

56:21

crossed the shallow spring water as it

56:23

flowed out the cave's entrance in quiet

56:25

escape. The air

56:28

seemed thicker once we

56:30

stood inside the tall, hollow entrance. It

56:33

instantly felt moist with a strong, dank

56:36

odor and left a mossy taste

56:38

in my mouth that lingered

56:41

deep in my throat with each

56:43

labored breath. As

56:45

we began to make our way up

56:47

and over some of the fallen rubble

56:49

creating a large, mountainous pile of rock

56:51

from the room's ceiling, an

56:54

instant dark feeling sank over

56:56

me. In my head, at

56:59

least I think it was just in

57:01

my head, I could hear

57:03

the background spine-tingling tune that gave

57:06

instant chills watching the Friday the

57:08

13th movies. And

57:16

then it repeated over and over

57:18

in the same choppy, whispered,

57:21

and methodical melody. It

57:23

always began just before something horrible and

57:25

evil happened to one of the kids

57:27

at the camp. I

57:30

didn't want to be here. Memories

57:33

of Kenny and my last time

57:35

here began battling inside my mind

57:38

as I attempted to squalch the visual of

57:40

what had happened all those years ago. But

57:43

I was losing. Shit,

57:46

shit, shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

57:50

Shit, shit, shit. I

58:00

was here. More cave-ins.

58:03

The space was so close now,

58:05

between the ceiling and where we

58:07

stooped to climb, that we were

58:09

forced to drop down on our

58:11

stomachs and belly-crawl over the loose

58:13

rock before squeezing between a narrow

58:15

slit and into a new chamber

58:17

filled with complete darkness except the

58:19

beams of our flashlights dancing around

58:22

the colorless blackness. We

58:24

were able to squeeze through, but my

58:26

clothes rubbed the shaled rock above me

58:28

before sliding downwards a bit until

58:31

we were deep enough in that we could stand

58:33

once again. A tiny,

58:35

narrow sliver of daylight from the

58:37

large opening we'd entered was now

58:39

barely visible from where we stood.

58:42

That glimmer of the outside world

58:44

was quickly ushered to a close

58:46

like stage curtains dropping between scenes

58:49

the deeper inside we ventured. I

58:52

found no comfort in any of this and

58:55

suddenly felt as if I was being

58:57

swallowed by a beast and trapped inside

58:59

his nasty belly, never

59:01

again to witness the sweet beauty

59:03

of natural light from the outside.

59:07

Man, this is as dark as

59:09

the blackest black I've ever seen.

59:12

John spoke in the most non-confrontational

59:14

tone I'd ever heard from him.

59:18

Listen, Chance answered. What?

59:21

You hear that demon beckoning us in

59:23

deeper? John asked with

59:25

a snicker. Shh!

59:28

You didn't hear that? Chance

59:30

rebuffed. Come

59:32

on, guys, this is creeping me out, springing

59:35

back too many memories of… I

59:38

attempted to say before my

59:40

friend cut me off. Shut

59:42

the hell up, I heard it again. Chance

59:45

began to shine his light off

59:47

to my left, along a smoothly

59:49

honed wall with stalagmites shooting upward

59:51

from the floor through the broken upshards

59:54

of flaked cave wall rock. A

59:57

quick flicker of something flashed. I

59:59

know! I thought it

1:00:01

almost looked like deer eyes

1:00:04

glowing in a red tone from the reflection

1:00:06

of an automobile of headlights and them, dead

1:00:09

in its tracks in the middle of the road, frozen

1:00:12

stiff by the oncoming

1:00:14

vehicle, as if keeping still

1:00:17

would cause the lights to veer away. A

1:00:20

flicker disappeared before my eyes registered to

1:00:22

see anything. Did

1:00:24

you guys see that? There's something over

1:00:26

there between those stone columns. My

1:00:29

back felt the cold chill race up

1:00:31

my spine, bringing on the goosebumps

1:00:34

around my neck. I

1:00:36

aimed my light to where Chance's

1:00:38

beam was darting from stalactomite to

1:00:41

stalactite, searching for whatever glowed seconds

1:00:43

earlier. John's light

1:00:45

beam quickly joined mine and Chance's,

1:00:47

painting a choreographed dance in and

1:00:49

out of ours until he widened

1:00:51

the beam of his light by

1:00:53

twisting the lens. He

1:00:56

suddenly lit the area as bright as daylight,

1:00:58

and I was forced to close my

1:01:00

eyes tightly for a moment, with that

1:01:03

mind-numbing pain brought on by going from

1:01:05

black to white without warning. Clenching

1:01:08

my eyelids tightly shut, I

1:01:11

felt safe for a second. It

1:01:13

was like I'd somehow removed myself

1:01:16

from this frightening danger and was

1:01:18

back in a world of safe

1:01:20

retreat. Shit,

1:01:23

shit, shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

1:01:26

My heart pumped wildly, and

1:01:29

I mentally forced my breathing to a slow

1:01:31

and quieter pace so I could

1:01:33

hone in and focus on the sounds surrounding

1:01:35

me. I heard the

1:01:37

wisp of lightly inhaled breaths

1:01:40

I knew were not mine.

1:01:43

They were not Chance's or John's either.

1:01:46

They were too far apart from me on

1:01:48

either side, and I would have heard them

1:01:50

move closer through the clicking and scattering of

1:01:52

gravel. A

1:01:54

heated, moist gasp,

1:01:57

or maybe more of a pant. floated

1:02:00

across my neck, leaving a

1:02:02

sour and soiled odor clinging to

1:02:04

the air and slow to dissipate.

1:02:07

I began to back myself up the

1:02:09

incline behind me, but I

1:02:11

refused to open my eyes back up, believing

1:02:14

if I couldn't see it, it

1:02:16

couldn't see me, and that meant

1:02:18

I was safe. I

1:02:20

knew it was a foolish thought, but

1:02:23

it gave me a hint of comfort for the moment. The

1:02:26

cave opening couldn't be all that far

1:02:28

away. I could ease

1:02:30

my way back up unnoticed. Should

1:02:34

I tell John and Chance my

1:02:36

plan of leaving, or

1:02:38

should I quietly vanish and leave them

1:02:40

on their own without me? John

1:02:43

was an asshole, anyway. The

1:02:46

question left me in a mental

1:02:48

quandary. I remembered Kenny

1:02:50

for a split second. Could

1:02:53

I cut and run and leave them

1:02:55

on their own? I

1:02:57

wasn't sure if I could even speak to let

1:03:00

them know my thoughts. I

1:03:02

suspected my words would certainly

1:03:04

come out garbled and unrecognizable.

1:03:07

My eyelids became instantly darker for a

1:03:10

moment, and I

1:03:12

chanced opening them slowly. It

1:03:14

was black again, darker

1:03:16

than soot. Our

1:03:18

lights had been snuffed out, but

1:03:20

contrasted by bright silhouetted blotches in

1:03:23

the form of blurred shadows left

1:03:25

behind from the shock of the

1:03:27

brightness which had attacked my pupils seconds

1:03:29

ago from John's spotlight. I

1:03:32

was disoriented and saw no signs

1:03:34

of either friend anywhere. Were

1:03:37

the rolls switched now? Had

1:03:40

those pricks left me here alone

1:03:43

without saying anything? Had

1:03:46

they escaped whatever evil lurked

1:03:48

inside these walls? Damn

1:03:50

this cave and my friends

1:03:52

for dragging me back here, I

1:03:55

thought to myself. I

1:03:57

searched my mind for anything to call me.

1:03:59

me. I deserved this

1:04:01

for how I reacted the last time

1:04:04

I'd come here. I was

1:04:06

warned years ago not to return

1:04:08

by whatever entity calls this place

1:04:10

home. Why hadn't I

1:04:12

listened, taken heed? One

1:04:15

is not supposed to tempt fate

1:04:17

by blindly ignoring obvious warnings. It's

1:04:20

like spitting in the face of whatever gave me

1:04:22

the forewarning in the first place all

1:04:24

those years ago. Just...

1:04:29

Justin... There were

1:04:31

several labored breaths following the break in

1:04:33

silence of my name. Are...

1:04:36

are you... are you out there

1:04:39

still? The tone was

1:04:41

weak, with a pleading filled with

1:04:43

doubtful hope. John?

1:04:46

I called out. Keep talking.

1:04:49

I'll come to you. I'm...

1:04:52

stuck. Something has my

1:04:54

foot underneath the gravel. It's

1:04:56

tugging at me, pulling my

1:04:58

leg deeper. He cried in

1:05:01

panic. Chance? I

1:05:04

called out, anticipating his answer, knowing

1:05:06

we were all still together in

1:05:08

the darkness. Hey, Chance?

1:05:11

I hollered again, but only to

1:05:13

the sounds of silence, other

1:05:16

than John's occasional pleas for my

1:05:18

help. I pushed

1:05:20

the switch on my flashlight, but nothing

1:05:22

happened. Hey, John, can

1:05:24

you turn on your light? I

1:05:27

tried. It doesn't work.

1:05:30

Where the hell did Chance go? Come

1:05:32

help me, Justin. I

1:05:35

don't know where he is. What

1:05:37

happened, anyway? I spoke

1:05:39

as I dropped to the ground and

1:05:41

began crawling, one hand moving

1:05:43

back and forth, searching the space

1:05:45

ahead. It was blinding

1:05:47

bright and then everything went back. Did

1:05:50

you see anything like Chance

1:05:53

saw? I asked as

1:05:55

I continued moving my hand out in

1:05:57

front, aiding my way towards him. Keep

1:06:00

talking, John, so I can find

1:06:02

you." I

1:06:04

don't know. Chance said he

1:06:07

saw something over by the rock columns, and I turned

1:06:09

my light to them and adjusted the beam and everything

1:06:13

just, I don't know,

1:06:15

shut off on its own? And

1:06:17

now, now Chance is missing?" John

1:06:20

spoke in a statement doused with

1:06:22

panicked questions. Hurry up,

1:06:25

Justin. I'm being pulled down

1:06:27

into the ground. Help! If

1:06:30

you guys are pranking me, it's time

1:06:32

to fucking quit, John. You

1:06:34

can call me a pussy all you like, but... It's

1:06:37

no joke, Justin. I just want to get the

1:06:40

fuck out of here. You can call

1:06:42

me the pussy. I don't care. Just help

1:06:44

me get my foot out of whatever has it. I

1:06:46

want to get out of here and go home. I

1:06:50

think I must be closer. Your voice

1:06:52

sounds louder. Hurry,

1:06:54

Justin. My leg is

1:06:56

burning. I can't keep

1:06:58

from slipping in much longer. I'm

1:07:01

scared. My

1:07:03

hand bumped a fleshy body, and I called

1:07:05

out. I'm here, John. Give

1:07:08

me your hand. Something

1:07:10

thumped into my head before traveling

1:07:12

down, finding my hand and grasping

1:07:15

hold with a death grip. Thank

1:07:18

God, Justin. Pull me quick.

1:07:20

Hurry. I backed up,

1:07:23

holding onto his hand tightly, pulling

1:07:25

with all my might as I felt

1:07:27

my legs being slid forward each time

1:07:29

I gained ground moving away. Don't

1:07:32

let go, Justin. I

1:07:34

got you. I hollered out, but

1:07:36

I felt my hand cramping and

1:07:39

losing grip as my knees kept

1:07:41

sliding deeper into the gravel while

1:07:43

being pulled forward. Sharp

1:07:46

rocks dug deep into my kneecaps, causing

1:07:48

me to cry out in agony as my

1:07:51

fingers slipped out, letting John

1:07:53

slowly slip through the sweaty grip

1:07:55

I tried to maintain. Don't

1:07:58

you let go, man. Don't

1:08:00

you do it! I'm thinking deeper! Help

1:08:04

me! Mom! Please! Help

1:08:07

me, Mommy!" He

1:08:09

cried out in terrified whimpers

1:08:12

as his fingers slipped from my grip

1:08:14

and my knees ceased their forward

1:08:16

movement. Mommy! Daddy!

1:08:19

Help! I... I

1:08:23

love you! And

1:08:25

then there was nothing. My

1:08:28

hand was empty and John

1:08:30

was suddenly gone. There

1:08:33

was nothing left but a damp, lonely

1:08:35

silence swallowed by the

1:08:37

darkness. I

1:08:40

don't know how long I sat there

1:08:42

in the dank, black hollow of this

1:08:45

evil world. I

1:08:47

couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I

1:08:50

was frozen in time. I'd

1:08:52

stopped thinking of where Chance could have gone.

1:08:55

I assumed he'd done what I had

1:08:58

done all those years ago.

1:09:01

He'd saved himself and ran.

1:09:04

Could I blame him? No,

1:09:07

I silently thought to myself. After

1:09:11

a lapse of time, I had

1:09:13

no clue how long. I

1:09:16

wondered when I was next. Was

1:09:19

I in the bowels of hell, awaiting

1:09:21

consequences far from my control? The

1:09:25

silence grew loud and encased me

1:09:27

in its hold. No

1:09:29

one knew we'd come here. No

1:09:31

one. My mom and dad

1:09:34

would never dream of me coming here again.

1:09:36

It would be the last place they would look. My

1:09:40

breath quickened as my mind began to grasp

1:09:42

the idea of my dying all

1:09:44

alone. Like Kenny. Would

1:09:48

I starve to death? Would

1:09:51

I die from lack of hydration? Or

1:09:53

would it be whatever had stolen John into the

1:09:55

ground? Was he a

1:09:58

meal? The beast

1:10:00

below me become hungry for another.

1:10:04

I attempted to call out one more

1:10:06

time for possible salvation for my friend.

1:10:10

But. Nothing other than and dry,

1:10:12

muffled rasp left my lips. My

1:10:15

voice had been stolen away somehow.

1:10:18

I thought the urge to lay my head

1:10:20

down and the case law. Afraid

1:10:23

the creature would reach up through the

1:10:25

rubble and tommy in headfirst. I.

1:10:27

Told myself to keep strong and muster the

1:10:29

energy to search my way back out. And

1:10:32

I was to disoriented to know which way to

1:10:34

go. I was too afraid

1:10:36

to stir the rock below me and

1:10:38

to myself to be tracked by something.

1:10:41

I was Terrified. us. But.

1:10:43

In the end, I couldn't fight the urge to

1:10:45

let my head lie down. My. Neck

1:10:48

muscles burned, And I

1:10:50

was unaware of how long had been there. Was

1:10:53

it minutes? Hours. Possibly

1:10:56

even days. My.

1:10:59

Right ear slowly nestled into the

1:11:01

cool grounds, my eyelids giving way

1:11:03

to the polls, allowing them to

1:11:05

close. I tried to

1:11:08

make peace with the probability

1:11:10

is dying gruesome death like

1:11:12

John Shirley had. A.

1:11:15

Voice entered my consciousness.

1:11:17

And I wasn't aware as I was awake

1:11:19

or dreaming. It was still

1:11:22

black as the blackest coal when my

1:11:24

eyes fought a crack open and I

1:11:26

heard a slight rumble beneath my head.

1:11:29

Syncing. Stirring.

1:11:32

Below me. Pacing. Planning.

1:11:37

You. Left me here just and. Called.

1:11:39

Out to me and a similiar voice

1:11:42

I heard in years. I

1:11:44

wasn't. don't just. And

1:11:47

you list me. Calm

1:11:50

down with. Is. That

1:11:53

you can eat. I. Had

1:11:55

to be dreaming. But I

1:11:57

called out again. I thought

1:11:59

you were. That. He been.

1:12:01

Crushed. At I

1:12:03

suppose. It. Had to into

1:12:05

it at least at least a time.

1:12:08

You've left me, you fuck. My

1:12:11

body was crushed, but my brain

1:12:14

was still very much alive and

1:12:16

swallowed and seer. You.

1:12:18

Could have saved me. I

1:12:20

was alive. dammit some now.

1:12:23

Now. You know what it was like.

1:12:26

A wicked last echoed around

1:12:29

me and grew in volume

1:12:31

before milton back to silent

1:12:33

deadly com. I.

1:12:36

Admitted. To myself with

1:12:38

hesitancy. But. He

1:12:40

was right if this voice

1:12:43

or creature was really Kenny.

1:12:46

And did. These. Him. I

1:12:48

did run for my seer. I

1:12:52

didn't know what to do. I was

1:12:54

scared. I'd heard a voice

1:12:56

echoes through the trees and rocks telling me

1:12:58

to get out. I. Saw and

1:13:01

smelled the exhale of bras come from

1:13:03

the opening of this cave entrance. I'm

1:13:06

sorry Kenny. I I

1:13:08

was young. You see,

1:13:11

his certainly can't blame

1:13:13

me. It's. Can. You.

1:13:16

I was so. Close.

1:13:19

Just and. You. Can't imagine

1:13:21

what it sounds like to

1:13:23

be impaled by dozens of

1:13:25

frigid cold daggers. And

1:13:27

unless by your best friend

1:13:30

to bleed out throws and

1:13:32

blood clots and see my

1:13:34

organ smashed and soaks and

1:13:36

melting ice. And all

1:13:38

the while seeing you. In

1:13:40

my vision, running like a

1:13:43

pussy pets down that sucking

1:13:45

pathway and disappearing into the

1:13:47

distance. And. You never even

1:13:49

looked back on your best damn

1:13:51

friend in the world. So

1:13:54

much as a last glimpse to make sure I

1:13:56

wasn't alive. The. Voice

1:13:58

danced in and. Between my

1:14:00

memory is would he sounded like as a

1:14:03

kid. It echoed between

1:14:05

the walls and stalag nights

1:14:07

and stalactites. This voice.

1:14:09

So familiar. And yes, Sometimes.

1:14:12

Different. Newer.

1:14:15

More. Currently familiar.

1:14:18

Like. Chances Movies.

1:14:22

Wake. Up Just and. I

1:14:25

told myself. Wake. Up

1:14:27

and fight to get out of here.

1:14:29

This. This. Just isn't' right.

1:14:32

My. Internal voice pleaded. Visual.

1:14:35

And Prince of Tennis face began to

1:14:37

dance and said my brain. Memories.

1:14:40

And snapshots. Images

1:14:43

of Kenny first smiling.

1:14:46

Then. Morphing into and

1:14:48

angered entity. Then.

1:14:51

I saw Chances face. And.

1:14:53

The to renderings of my friends. Kenny.

1:14:56

From the past and chance from

1:14:58

the present. Began. To

1:15:00

intermingle. each face,

1:15:02

the skin twitching and turning,

1:15:04

stretching back and forth between

1:15:07

the other. Filled.

1:15:09

With sinister expressions and

1:15:11

then twisted into angered

1:15:13

Lester. First. Tennis.

1:15:16

And chances. It's

1:15:19

a dream. It's a

1:15:21

got to hunt dream. I

1:15:23

taught myself. It's

1:15:25

obvious. I. Can wake myself

1:15:28

up. And I'll be home and my

1:15:30

bed. His entire

1:15:32

bizarre. Episode. Never

1:15:35

happened. John. And chance

1:15:37

put be in their beds, in their

1:15:39

rooms and this will all be a

1:15:41

horrible nightmare. Just a hair

1:15:44

raising madness brought on by something

1:15:46

I ate or drank. Maybe.

1:15:48

I was through Seat has a cruel

1:15:51

joke. I suck

1:15:53

my heartbeat slow of warm blanket

1:15:55

of comfort began to surround my

1:15:57

body. A warmth like Grandma's

1:15:59

the old quilt she'd give me to

1:16:01

snuggle wonder as a kid. It's

1:16:04

neat lay sewn fabric, squares of

1:16:06

different pieces of cloth made into

1:16:08

a calming code of comfort. And

1:16:10

held a special power. The. Power

1:16:13

from her, love, Magically.

1:16:15

Enabled it to vanquish all. Sears

1:16:17

has a haunted terror I'd never

1:16:20

thought were real that realize sir

1:16:22

merely evil attempts from the devil

1:16:24

to control. She. Told

1:16:27

me many times throughout my childhood

1:16:29

about the special quilt and she

1:16:31

would cover my shaking body and

1:16:33

tear so of eyes. Release.

1:16:36

Began to sell my soul just

1:16:38

like back then on her recliner

1:16:40

underneath that clump. I

1:16:43

instantly knew I wasn't going

1:16:45

to die here. I

1:16:47

wouldn't wake up in a dark

1:16:49

cave for be eaten by some

1:16:51

mutant monster. We'd unknowingly a woken

1:16:53

from it's hibernation. A

1:16:56

rumble entered my right here and I dragged

1:16:58

my hand up to massage the soreness I

1:17:00

suddenly felt on the skin of at. The.

1:17:03

St sound of tumbling pebbles echoed

1:17:05

through my head as my hand

1:17:08

pushed through hard crumbs of stone

1:17:10

reach to soothe the painful prickly

1:17:12

tingle. Shit.

1:17:15

The. Word shot from my mouse. realizing.

1:17:18

There wouldn't be gravel and my

1:17:20

bed. or under my grandma's quilt

1:17:23

and her recliner. This.

1:17:25

Was no fucking dream or nightmare

1:17:27

at all. I was

1:17:29

still stuck. In this

1:17:31

case, says. Entrance

1:17:34

into the bowels of Hell. Hey

1:17:37

Justin! Wake. Up my friend. Chef.

1:17:42

Ah, Yeah. It's me.

1:17:45

Sort. Us. Thank

1:17:47

God. I managed to

1:17:49

say before continuing. I

1:17:51

suddenly saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

1:17:54

John. John. Is

1:17:57

gone. I know.

1:18:00

The answered. Where

1:18:02

did you go? Chance? I

1:18:04

thought we were gonna be stuck here and tell. Who

1:18:07

says you? I mean

1:18:09

we aren't still trapped.

1:18:12

Chance. Questioned in an odd

1:18:14

yet smil your voice. I.

1:18:21

Rolled over and began pushing myself

1:18:23

up, pulling my knees until I

1:18:25

was on all fours, attempting to

1:18:27

make myself stand. There's.

1:18:30

Something underneath us. Something that

1:18:33

holds John down under the

1:18:35

gravel floor. It was

1:18:37

a horrible. For. You here did

1:18:39

you see here to him or me

1:18:42

Father out for you. Several.

1:18:45

Seconds went by without an

1:18:47

answer. Chance.

1:18:56

A saint answer came. But.

1:18:58

It came as if it were floating on

1:19:01

the wings of a dragonfly and hovering above

1:19:03

my head. I was

1:19:05

hear. The. Words whisked

1:19:07

through the air and clung in

1:19:09

a hollow echo between us. Or

1:19:12

where I assumed he was as

1:19:14

I still couldn't see anything but

1:19:17

back. You haven't

1:19:19

figured it out yet, have you? just and.

1:19:22

There. Was a huge movement as the

1:19:24

stale air as I drew a

1:19:27

large arduous brass. It

1:19:29

was loud as if the entire cave

1:19:31

sucked up the air at the same

1:19:33

time. I priest and. It

1:19:35

sold my lungs. He sailed to

1:19:37

give me a Nasa the oxygen

1:19:39

my body needed. I

1:19:41

was strained and experienced a

1:19:44

sense of being tethered in

1:19:46

place. That. Without shackles.

1:19:49

The ceiling spooked me and

1:19:51

I was instantly confused. I

1:19:54

attempted to try another breath,

1:19:56

only to relive the same

1:19:58

unfulfilling outcome. What's

1:20:00

going on? Chance? are you out

1:20:03

of breath? to? I

1:20:05

fumbled with the small back up and might

1:20:07

I add to my pocket. As

1:20:09

I pushed the button on the end of

1:20:11

it, I pulled it free from the confines

1:20:13

of my pants pocket and aimed at where

1:20:15

I assume Chance was standing. There

1:20:18

was. No. One there. The.

1:20:21

Beam and much dimmer beam of

1:20:23

light. the my other flashlight had.

1:20:26

St. Louis litt the blackness merely

1:20:28

into a dog gray. No.

1:20:30

Chance. Even a silhouette of

1:20:33

him was visible as I

1:20:35

rotated three hundred and sixty

1:20:37

degrees. Chance.

1:20:40

A call that. I'm

1:20:42

here just. A

1:20:44

saint snicker resonated around the small

1:20:46

hazy circle of the pen might

1:20:49

spoil. I pointed in

1:20:51

front of me and spun

1:20:53

again, completing another circle, seeing

1:20:55

nothing but an emptiness. Pussy.

1:20:58

Inability of the light to penetrate the

1:21:00

black. My. Heart began

1:21:02

to race again, my lungs once

1:21:05

more begging for a deep intake

1:21:07

of oxygen as my strengths reach.

1:21:10

The legs shaking as I started to

1:21:12

feel like I would fold and house

1:21:14

and collapse into the gravel former. The.

1:21:17

Shadow fairly brighter than the blink.

1:21:19

background moved forward, breaking into my

1:21:22

view enough to rob me of

1:21:24

a little breath my lungs and

1:21:26

just thought to steal in. My.

1:21:29

Head became woozy as I battle

1:21:31

to keep my eyes from rolling

1:21:33

back behind my eyelids. I

1:21:35

pushed out the only word I had the

1:21:37

strength to muster and it was in the

1:21:39

form of a question. Can

1:21:42

use. I opened

1:21:44

my eyes wider before squinting to clear

1:21:46

the blur and see if what I

1:21:49

was looking at was true or not.

1:21:52

It. Couldn't. Possibly be.

1:21:55

I'd aged several years in the

1:21:57

time since I've last seen Kenny.

1:22:00

A He hadn't. As

1:22:03

I studied him try to figure out

1:22:05

what's happening. He still looked

1:22:07

like he was sixteen. I

1:22:10

think I saw the him to that

1:22:12

held the rock breaking free from the

1:22:14

dark gray emptiness? Is it race toward

1:22:16

the side of my head that the

1:22:18

lights went out once again as my

1:22:20

body floated back down to the gravel

1:22:22

where it was just minutes earlier. This.

1:22:31

Is. Does it toy

1:22:33

with your mind before it slips you

1:22:35

from this world? Into the

1:22:38

next. It's

1:22:41

bright. And my eyes staying

1:22:43

as as a heated seat of metal

1:22:45

were being held close to them. A

1:22:48

close them back tightly. The.

1:22:50

Thoughts in my head: They're. Scattered.

1:22:54

Mixed with on twisted visions

1:22:56

I'm unable to comprehend. Worse.

1:23:00

Memories are. Some. Sort

1:23:02

of movie real been projected onto

1:23:04

the inside of my brain. I

1:23:07

want to open my eyes again. But

1:23:09

the fear of that burning pain keeps

1:23:11

me from doing so. It

1:23:14

seems blinding even though they are tightly

1:23:16

closed. There's a

1:23:18

feeling of internal struggle and constantly

1:23:21

battling as I attempt to decipher

1:23:23

what is real and what isn't.

1:23:26

They experience ceilings and confusion.

1:23:28

I imagine a newborn Shirley

1:23:31

Sales after plummeting from It's

1:23:33

mothers were. Entering.

1:23:35

This new unimaginable and

1:23:38

confusing world. Are

1:23:40

still tethered to the world. The came from.

1:23:42

The. For that connection is snapped like

1:23:44

a piece of rope. I

1:23:47

have no concept of anything. Just.

1:23:50

Linda Between Worlds.

1:23:53

Searching. For answers to what

1:23:55

I can't possibly know or understand.

1:23:58

confusion Mixing between

1:24:01

the two worlds I'm trapped

1:24:03

between. So,

1:24:07

Doctor. Detective

1:24:09

Blanton question. Is the boy

1:24:11

expected to snap out of this? We

1:24:14

of course have questions that I hope he'll be

1:24:16

able to answer. At

1:24:18

this point, Detective, I can only make an

1:24:20

educated guess. Justin shows

1:24:22

no brain activity whatsoever. I

1:24:25

don't know how his brain and body are remaining

1:24:27

in this state of limbo. It's

1:24:29

a medically impossible state he's in. I

1:24:31

can't imagine him ever being able to speak. I'll

1:24:34

confer with other specialists, but technically,

1:24:37

the boy is dead by all standards. Not

1:24:40

just in a vegetative state, but

1:24:43

for all medical intents and purposes,

1:24:45

he's dead. There's

1:24:47

been no change since being put on the

1:24:49

respirator. His mother refuses to have it removed.

1:24:51

She hasn't left the hospital since he was

1:24:53

brought in. Where was

1:24:55

he found, anyway, Detective? One

1:24:58

old path leading down to the mouth of Old

1:25:00

Spanish Cave, just outside Spokane. An

1:25:03

old tourist cave closed in the 70s because

1:25:05

of a massive cave-in. A landowner

1:25:07

who owns the land now called 911 after

1:25:10

seeing what appeared to be a couple of older teens

1:25:12

messing around. Where's

1:25:14

the other young man, Detective? I

1:25:16

imagine he could answer questions you're asking me

1:25:19

about the traumas this one had. Or,

1:25:22

I guess I mean, has. Haven't

1:25:25

found him. Landowner was hesitant about

1:25:27

describing him, other than saying he looked

1:25:29

several years younger than Justin Abner here.

1:25:33

He said it was crazy, but he looked a lot

1:25:35

like the boy who was crushed by an icicle clump

1:25:37

that melted enough to give way and drop on him

1:25:39

several years ago. I guess

1:25:41

he and another boy were trespassing just after

1:25:43

Christmas. Of course, we

1:25:46

both know that's impossible. That

1:25:48

poor kid was a gruesome, bloody mess. This

1:25:52

boy only seems to have an abrasion on his

1:25:54

left temple. Detective

1:25:56

Blanton paused, knowing he was spilling too

1:25:58

much information to the doctor. Dr.

1:26:02

Williams, is that abrasion enough to put

1:26:04

this young man in the medical state

1:26:06

he's in? Blanton asked.

1:26:09

Dr. Thomas Williams hesitated, rubbing

1:26:11

his temples, and then

1:26:13

looked the detective directly eye to eye. Can

1:26:16

I level with you, detective? Blanton

1:26:19

tightened his lips before his tongue slipped

1:26:22

between them, wetting the dry sunburned skin.

1:26:25

I'd like you to do just that, Doc. Seems

1:26:27

I can't get answers from the one I really

1:26:29

need them from. Blanton's eyes

1:26:32

glanced over to the room Justin Abner and

1:26:34

his mother were in. In

1:26:36

layman's terms, I can't tell you what the

1:26:39

hell happened to this boy, or what caused

1:26:41

the abrasion and swelling. It

1:26:43

could be from a trip and fall, or

1:26:45

possibly a piece of cave rock falling on

1:26:47

him, leaving him able to exit before his

1:26:49

body collapsed. I just can't say.

1:26:52

I honestly don't know how to handle this

1:26:54

entire situation with his medical condition. I mean,

1:26:58

technically, in my opinion, he

1:27:01

should be removed from life support. The

1:27:03

boy is already brain dead and operating on a

1:27:05

miracle. I don't see that

1:27:07

miracle lasting much longer. Surely

1:27:10

his mother will decide to pull the plug. It's

1:27:13

goddamn tragic and enigmatic.

1:27:15

The entire damn thing.

1:27:17

Any chance that all the young men can

1:27:19

hear us? Or know anything that's going on around

1:27:21

him? Blanton questioned with

1:27:23

one last desperate attempt to try and

1:27:26

resolve the event. I

1:27:28

highly doubt it. I think he's

1:27:30

somehow trapped between the world of the

1:27:32

living and the world of the dead.

1:27:34

The doctor cleared his throat before

1:27:36

continuing. And

1:27:39

I'd appreciate it if that last statement were

1:27:41

off the record and never quoted. I understand,

1:27:44

Doc, and I won't say a word. Let

1:27:47

me know if things miraculously change for him,

1:27:49

okay? And Blanton handed Dr.

1:27:52

Williams his card. The detective shook

1:27:54

the doctor's hand before stepping over to the

1:27:57

observation window and taking a last look at

1:27:59

the young man's face. Dan and his distraught

1:28:01

mother crying by his side as she stroked

1:28:03

the fingers of his hand, clasping

1:28:05

hers into his and then

1:28:08

repeating after a soft squeeze. He

1:28:11

shook his head and said, A

1:28:13

sad and vacant ending. It's

1:28:16

not really over. He

1:28:18

lowered his head and turned to leave. Such

1:28:21

a fucking shame. The

1:28:23

detective muttered to himself as he began

1:28:25

walking away. Dr.

1:28:27

Williams also peered into Justin's room

1:28:30

and watched his mother weep before

1:28:33

letting a wicked smile escape and

1:28:35

spread across his face that was

1:28:37

filled with both relief and

1:28:40

the knowledge of justice being served.

1:28:43

He then turned and watched the back

1:28:45

of Detective Blanton fade into a blur

1:28:47

down the long hallway towards the elevator.

1:28:50

Such feelings of victory and redemption after

1:28:52

suffering the loss of both his son

1:28:55

from the accident

1:28:58

while with Justin and soon

1:29:00

after losing his loving wife from the

1:29:02

grief, he quietly whispered,

1:29:06

Yes, such a

1:29:08

fucking shame. Before

1:29:10

turning again to the room and listening

1:29:12

to the sounds of the machine that held

1:29:14

the boy in limbo between life and death

1:29:17

make its rhythmic beep in a

1:29:19

reminding tone that justice was

1:29:21

somehow late but served.

1:29:36

You've just heard The Cave by

1:29:38

Eli Pope. Eli

1:29:40

Pope has enjoyed writing since his high

1:29:42

school days but like many other loves kept

1:29:45

it on the top shelf and out of

1:29:47

sight for most of his youth. He

1:29:49

published his first book under his given

1:29:52

name, Stephen G. Bassett, and has published

1:29:54

a number of other tales since. Eli

1:29:57

lives in southwest Missouri where the Ozarks are

1:29:59

the best. dark mountains are his neighbors

1:30:01

and there are plenty of beautiful twisty

1:30:03

and hilly roads on which he and

1:30:06

his wife can enjoy riding their Harley

1:30:08

Ultra Limited. And

1:30:12

that, friends, finishes up our

1:30:14

evening. As always, thank

1:30:16

you for joining me, and I'd also

1:30:18

like to thank Nicholas Woods and Eli

1:30:20

Pope for providing tonight's stories. I'm

1:30:23

coming back next week with another double

1:30:25

feature that you're sure to enjoy,

1:30:27

so I expect to see you

1:30:29

there. Until then,

1:30:32

listeners, stay spooky.

1:30:37

You've been listening to the Horror Hill

1:30:39

Podcast, a production of Chilling Entertainment and

1:30:41

the creative team at Chilling Tales for

1:30:44

Dark Nights. Tonight's episode

1:30:46

was hosted and narrated by

1:30:48

yours truly, Eric Peabody. Original

1:30:51

music provided by Eric Peabody

1:30:53

and Nicky McSorley. Originalization

1:30:56

by Eric Peabody and Craig

1:30:58

Rochak. Got a

1:31:00

terrifying tale of your own that you'd like

1:31:02

performed? Email it to

1:31:04

us at natalie at chillingtalesfordarknights.com

1:31:07

to have your work considered

1:31:09

for future production. Seeing

1:31:12

as how we're all living in a

1:31:14

technological nightmare of our own devising, I'll

1:31:17

ask you to follow Chilling Tales for

1:31:19

Dark Nights on social media and upvote,

1:31:21

subscribe, and hit the bell notification icon

1:31:24

if you're listening to this on YouTube.

1:31:27

Not only will you have appeased the

1:31:29

dark gods of cyberspace, but

1:31:31

you'll be kept in the loop as

1:31:34

we prepare more terrifying content. If

1:31:36

you'd like access to uninterrupted horror,

1:31:39

free of ads and these annoying

1:31:41

bookend segments, might I

1:31:43

recommend becoming a patron? You'll

1:31:46

get access to hundreds of episodes of

1:31:48

this show, as well as everything from

1:31:50

the other programs in the Chilling Tales

1:31:53

for Dark Nights K'vaw. That

1:31:55

means all of Otis Chiry's scary

1:31:57

stories told in the dark through

1:32:00

Bloods, Dark Tales, Paul

1:32:02

J. McSorley's Fear from the Heartland,

1:32:04

and more. It's a

1:32:07

veritable smorgasbord of horrific delights.

1:32:10

As for me personally, I'm on

1:32:12

most social media as Viking

1:32:15

Guitar, or Viking Guitar Productions.

1:32:18

I'm always on the lookout for new

1:32:20

stories to narrate and new music projects

1:32:22

to mix or master. If

1:32:24

that's of interest to you, feel free to

1:32:26

reach out and we can talk turkey. Also,

1:32:29

I will be back next

1:32:31

week with more terrifying tales to

1:32:33

keep you up all night. If

1:32:37

darkness is what you are after,

1:32:39

listener, your search is over. Yet,

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let it be known, you

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haven't found the darkness. The

1:32:48

darkness has found you. Angie

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