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Chapter 16: The Howler

Chapter 16: The Howler

Released Friday, 10th February 2023
 2 people rated this episode
Chapter 16: The Howler

Chapter 16: The Howler

Chapter 16: The Howler

Chapter 16: The Howler

Friday, 10th February 2023
 2 people rated this episode
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

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0:00

Bridgewater is a production of I Heart Radio

0:02

three D audio and Grim and Mild from

0:04

Aaron Mankey for full exposure.

0:06

Listen with headphones. Listener

0:09

discretion advised. How

0:15

did you? I'll explain everything, but

0:17

you need to come with me. This part of the

0:19

swamp isn't protected. Why

0:22

don't you put down that knife first? Well, y,

0:25

Thomas, you're looking surprisingly

0:27

well and this wasn't for

0:29

you? Was for that? Are

0:31

we going to a gathering meeting? Why would

0:33

you think that? I don't know the symbol you

0:36

carved those in the trees when

0:38

you want to meet, don't you? That's one purpose for

0:40

them, But that's not the primary one. So

0:43

what is the primary one? Come on, like,

0:45

we'll talk as we go. Okay,

0:50

Hey, how did you know Thomas's name? I

0:53

know who all of you are, Thomas,

0:55

especially White, the Houdini

0:57

active pooled there. I'm not sure if you are

1:00

impressed or annoyed? Can't I be both?

1:05

Aren't you going to ask me who I am?

1:08

We know who you are. You're gathering

1:10

leader from Virginia, right, I

1:12

guess we all have reputations preceding

1:14

us. Then I assume you know

1:17

why I'm here? Well, why don't you

1:19

tell us? All

1:21

right, here we go? Ah,

1:24

where are you taking us? That's not so

1:26

much about the destination as it is about

1:28

getting on a bus. What

1:31

I haven't had a chance to cover the whole swamp yet,

1:34

and the bus stop was closer than the areas I

1:36

have secured. The bus will be

1:38

safe. Iron

1:41

rank the favor of how by iron busses are

1:43

steel, which is an iron

1:45

alloy. The

1:48

next bus should be here in

1:52

three minutes. We can talk freely on

1:54

it. What do you mean you haven't covered the whole

1:56

swamp yet. The room I carved

1:59

it wasn't for community cation. It

2:01

was for protection. That's why that the

2:04

bigfoot creature vanished. Can't

2:07

come past the boundaries of the rooms. Now.

2:10

I can keep it out of areas, but I can't

2:12

keep it in, So be careful

2:14

if you choose to come back. So

2:17

you're saying it's not gone for good, No, just

2:20

banished to the other side for

2:23

now. That's why I'm here. A

2:26

lot of things are not where they should

2:28

be. Yeah, we've we've figured that

2:30

out on our own. Does that also mean you

2:32

figured out what's causing it? Well?

2:35

Yeah, we know we know that something is off balance.

2:37

Do you think things are

2:40

not just off balance, Jeremy,

2:43

they are broken because

2:46

of you. Me. What

2:48

did I do? I was trapped

2:50

for forty years exactly.

2:54

You should never have come back out. What

3:35

do you mean he shouldn't have come back. Thomas was

3:37

in there for a reason and he should

3:39

have stayed there. How dare you say that?

3:41

Hey, hey, listen, don't be

3:44

mad at me. I'm just a messenger.

3:47

And who exactly is the source

3:49

of this message the other side?

3:52

Oh cool, so you've got like a buddy

3:54

over there or something. I'm not trying

3:57

to come here and mess up your life, Jeremy,

4:00

know you're just coming to murder

4:02

my father. Again. That wasn't me,

4:05

That wasn't any member of the gathering, or

4:07

even a member back then. Oh sure, it was

4:09

an offshoot. Yeah where we've

4:11

heard that all before. Then. You know I'm

4:14

right. You have no reason

4:16

to take your anger out on me, given

4:18

that I'm the only one here who was actually the victim

4:20

of an attempted murder. I think I could be

4:22

angry at whoever I want. That's

4:25

fair, And I know this doesn't

4:27

mean anything to you. I

4:29

wasn't even alive when you were pushed into

4:32

the liminal, But I

4:34

am sorry for what happened to you.

4:37

It wasn't right not to

4:39

mention it didn't even work. The

4:41

liminal that's what

4:43

we call it. Where Thomas was

4:46

and your solution is just a thrown

4:49

back again. Do you know exactly

4:51

what you're dealing with here? We have some

4:53

idea, then you know

4:56

who's on the other side, what

4:58

that place is. Or

5:03

you have a bunch of half baked

5:05

theories but not enough solid

5:07

proof to connect all the dots. Well,

5:09

we've been thinking maybe it's the fae realm okay,

5:12

and considering the way you reacted

5:14

to my iron assumption, Yeah, okay,

5:16

so you're not totally clueless.

5:19

So that is what's doing this. The

5:21

fake Court, the hidden people,

5:24

the Secret Commonwealth, whatever you

5:26

want to call it. Non human

5:28

beings who reign over a kingdom that lays

5:30

just beyond a liminal space, who could

5:32

destroy all of us with ease

5:34

if they so chose. If that were

5:37

true, wouldn't they have done it by now? I

5:39

mean, it certainly feels like they've been trying at least

5:41

here. They made a deal centuries

5:43

ago. What do you We don't bother

5:46

them, They don't bother us. Everybody

5:49

stays happy and ignorant, and

5:52

we have to give them something like

5:54

a human life. It's different

5:57

for each doorway here, Virginia,

6:00

Muda Matlock, the Dragon's triangle

6:02

places where the veil between world is

6:04

thinnest, where the other side

6:06

is accessible. There

6:08

has to be something between here and there,

6:11

hence the liminal where

6:13

you were trapped with someone

6:15

else. I'm assuming how did you know

6:18

that it's similar in Virginia.

6:21

Well, the need for two souls

6:23

is at least two

6:25

souls, one that has to be new

6:28

every forty years. That's

6:30

my understanding of how Bridgewater works.

6:33

And he wasn't willing, so things

6:36

have been hinky here for a while.

6:39

Yes, it's not a deal breaker

6:41

for the fay realm, the willingness bit,

6:44

but having to residents of the liminal,

6:47

that's non negotiable. It keeps

6:49

things nice and closed. So without

6:52

me, the gates are wide open

6:54

for anyone to waltz into the kingdom

6:57

or out of it. Okay, so how do we close

6:59

it? We follow the terms of the deal. Even

7:03

if I went back in Alden wouldn't be able

7:06

to come out, or we'd be stuck with the same problem.

7:08

I take it Alden as the other person in there.

7:12

No, they wouldn't be able to come

7:14

out either. Okay, well that's a moot point.

7:16

Because you are not going back in

7:18

there. Someone has to or

7:20

people are going to die. Oh

7:22

whoa, We do not know that. You think

7:24

you would have been able to defend yourselves against

7:27

that beast? That's not

7:29

your storybook, sasquash Jeremy.

7:32

We've got similar creatures in the South, bear

7:35

like things that can stand on two

7:37

legs, take down trees. There's the

7:39

Focky monster, the Ozak Howler

7:42

and wait wait the monster

7:44

that's that's that's that's Arkansas,

7:47

right, and it kills livestock.

7:49

Right then, maybe what we just saw

7:52

is the thing that killed the cows. That's exactly

7:55

my point. These

7:57

monsters are not going to stop at

7:59

a viscerated and cows, which

8:01

is why we need to fix this.

8:03

Doesn't have to be me, though, right, Whatever

8:06

deal exists doesn't stipulate a specific

8:08

person. It doesn't have to

8:10

be you. But to

8:14

be really honest, I don't know who else

8:16

would willingly go in there. Why

8:19

why would we trust her on this? Why would we trust

8:21

you on this? We don't even know you. And the gathering hasn't

8:23

exactly been good to I have no reason

8:25

to lie to you. Even if

8:27

you are telling the truth, that

8:30

doesn't mean that there's not something else

8:32

we can do. Okay, you got rid

8:34

of that beast, the howler thing, whatever, just

8:37

very easily. You just teach us how to do that,

8:40

and we can take care of this area.

8:42

It doesn't work like that. I

8:44

told you I can keep things out

8:46

by creating a protective boundary, but

8:49

I can't keep anything in. They'd

8:51

be free to roam elsewhere. Can we kill them?

8:54

They are flesh and blood, presumably right, so

8:56

we figure out how we can take them down.

9:00

The monsters coming from the other side are

9:02

not your biggest problem. Let's say

9:04

they are a pretty urgent concern. If

9:07

the terms of the deal aren't honored, the

9:09

phay realm won't stick to its side

9:11

of the veil anyone. You're

9:14

gonna send more monsters through. What does that mean

9:16

they won't have to The boundary will

9:18

collapse, the two worlds bleeding

9:21

into one another, causing problems

9:23

we can't even imagine. The

9:26

deal must be honored.

9:29

It sounds like we we need to renegotiate

9:31

this deal. I don't think you

9:34

really comprehend what we're dealing with

9:36

here, Jeremy. This is old

9:38

magic. It's not something that that can

9:41

be altered or undone. It's

9:44

like gravity. We have to

9:46

bend to it. Humans have

9:48

found plenty of ways to defy

9:50

gravit, but we always have to come back

9:52

down always. And

9:55

do you want to chime in here? Yeah,

9:57

Dad, I think she's right. We

10:00

may not have a choice. What

10:03

is happening here? We we we we met her five minutes

10:05

ago, and you're just taking everything she says a face

10:07

value. I'm not saying that we should just give up, but

10:09

thank you. No, Jeremy's

10:12

right, we don't have any reason to trust

10:14

you. Your predecessor was slippery

10:16

at best, and manipulative and worst. I've

10:19

known her a lot longer. So

10:23

until you have proof of what you're saying, and

10:25

I'm not even sure what that proof would look like,

10:28

we're going to keep doing what we've been doing and figure

10:30

things out the old fashioned way, grasping

10:32

for straws in the darkness. Investigate.

10:37

You know what, Fine,

10:40

I can't force any of you to do anything. We

10:42

all know how disastrous that is,

10:45

so go ahead, do

10:48

your own investigating, but

10:51

do it quickly, and when

10:53

you finally figure out that I'm telling

10:56

the truth, come

10:58

and find me. All right, Okay,

11:01

so have you moved into Celeste house to huh,

11:04

stepped into her whole life. I'm not her permanent

11:06

replacement. Besides,

11:09

I wanted to keep an eye on things, so I'm

11:11

staying in Freetown Forest. That's

11:13

safe, I'm protected,

11:17

all right. Listen, follow

11:19

the ruins from the East Hiking Path

11:22

and you will find that. I don't think we're gonna need to, but thanks,

11:27

Remember, don't

11:29

take too long. Hey,

11:45

it's Jeremy, Jeremy Bradshaw,

11:48

the cool Professor. Hi. I

11:51

know it's only been a few days and I don't have any

11:54

really important sightings to tell you about, although I

11:56

do actually want to tell you about the big foot situation

11:58

at some point, but that's not why call. I'm calling because,

12:01

um, a woman named Peyton Blake

12:04

showed up up here. She's a

12:06

gathering leader from Virginia,

12:09

and I basically just

12:11

wanted to know if you think she's someone

12:14

I can trust or not, if you have

12:16

any infot on her. Uh sorry,

12:18

I know that's a bit weird, but

12:20

um, yeah, anything

12:23

that you could tell me would be helpful or or

12:25

anything any of the other legend

12:28

trippers might know anything

12:30

anyone knows, uh would would be helpful.

12:33

Um, so you can just you

12:36

know, text me back or call me back or

12:38

whatever, any any

12:40

mode of communication, and

12:43

uh, that's it. Okay,

12:46

thank you. I talked about

12:49

whatever to later dork.

12:54

Hey who was that?

12:56

Oh? That was that legend tripper

12:59

that I met. I was just curious if she had

13:01

any information about that about

13:03

Peyton. Yeah,

13:06

well that was an interesting text to get yesterday.

13:08

Yeah. Well, you know, I just thought that I should loop

13:10

you and Olivia in on the newest, weirdest

13:13

developments. But you're okay,

13:15

you know, after nearly getting ripped apart by a

13:18

sasquat, I think so. Yeah. But

13:20

I've decided to call it a hawk a mock howler

13:23

because it sounds more academic. I

13:28

am really not looking forward to lecturing

13:30

today, but I'm not sure what to

13:32

do, because apparently life doesn't stop just

13:34

because evil fairies

13:36

are trying to kill your dad. It feels

13:39

like a reason to take a sick day, though, unfortunately,

13:43

I think if I take any more of those, I'm

13:45

going to lose the health insurance that helps

13:47

me. After these monster attacks. I

13:52

don't know, what do you want to do? You want to help me go

13:54

over the topics for today? This

14:18

is so fucked Eli

14:21

Quinn has always live. Well, I don't

14:23

know what else I'm supposed to say. I mean, if

14:25

even half of what Peyton told you was real, then

14:27

well, first of all, I'm moving the moment

14:30

I graduate. Okay, don't

14:32

joke about that. I'm not joking. It's

14:34

one thing to grow up hearing stories

14:36

about pug wedges and window goes. But now

14:39

there's a whole other dimension that's one

14:41

badly executed ritual away from collapsing

14:43

into our world and unleashing all sorts of hell,

14:46

no, thank you. That is not going to happen.

14:49

Okay, we are going to figure out how to stop all

14:51

of this for good. How new, Grandpa.

14:53

We're talking about some seriously ancient forces

14:56

here, and we can't be the only people who

14:58

wanted to fight back against them before. I

15:00

mean, what if the deal that's been made is

15:02

the best possible version of a win. We're

15:05

not gonna think like that. Okay. We're

15:08

going to figure out what the pay room

15:10

wants, what they can do, and

15:12

how they can be beat. Oh sure, yes, super

15:14

ezy stuff. Well I didn't say it was going to

15:17

be easy, but we don't have any other choice.

15:19

All right, what do you need me to do?

15:22

You still want to help with all this? Do

15:25

I want to prevent the evil fairy apocalypse?

15:27

Yeah? Yeah, that'd be nice, all

15:29

right. I prefer he stayed inside as

15:31

much as possible, because I don't like how close that

15:33

dog got to you. Yeah, you and

15:36

me both? Yeah? What

15:38

needs doing? Ah?

15:42

Well, let's see. Jeremy's

15:44

chasing down some information on the pay room. Vivian's

15:47

working on some kind of map. I have no idea. He's

15:50

using all the different reported sidings

15:52

to try and track creatures movements.

15:55

Fantastic, And I'm

15:58

gonna go and see if Doc Edwards got any think

16:00

from his lab examination of the cow, so

16:02

I could use a hand. Okay,

16:04

I think we need to find out more about what

16:07

happened to Olden. Oh yeah, sure,

16:09

I can help you with that. All right, all right, Well,

16:11

i'll be back in a bit. Call me if the house starts to

16:13

shake again. Ha ha, Wait,

16:16

what do you mean again? What happened?

16:18

Now? I'll explain

16:21

later. I'm sure you'll be fine, Anna,

16:25

We'll be fine Olivia. You

16:27

know, the more you both say that, the

16:29

less I think you believe it. I don't know what else

16:31

to say. I have to believe it will all be okay,

16:33

right, right, of course, I'm

16:36

sure it will be. And I'm

16:38

surprised you didn't want to help Jeremy with his

16:40

research. I'm sure he'd love

16:42

to spend more time with you. It wasn't really something

16:44

I could help with. He had to

16:47

go to work anyway, and he's calling up an old friend

16:49

from Oxford. Did did you know? Did

16:51

he studied there for a semester? I didn't.

16:54

I mean I didn't really know him all that

16:56

well, we only met, like just got

16:58

a few weeks ago. Of

17:00

course, you two didn't even know each other existed. How

17:03

do you feel? And did

17:05

you forget mom?

17:07

Shelley? I'd take it. Anna's

17:10

out, Yes, yes, you just Mr.

17:12

But I'm sure she'd be right back. We

17:14

could call her on her cellular phone.

17:19

Yeah, yeah, probably

17:21

better. She's not here. Okay,

17:24

hey live, would you mind giving us a minute? Oh

17:28

yeah, sure, I'll just take

17:30

my laptop to the guest room and start

17:32

doing that research. Okay,

17:38

Well, I would say that I'm sorry for just

17:40

dropping by unexpectedly. But yeah,

17:44

I guess I take the price for that. Huh.

17:48

Olivia told me she explained everything to you,

17:51

or tried to at

17:53

least, that you needed some time. I

17:56

would have come to see you if I know. It's fine to

17:58

be honest, I

18:01

still need time. But I

18:03

was driving to work and was about

18:05

to pass the turn to my mom's house, and before I knew

18:07

it, I was driving over here. And I

18:10

wasn't even planning on coming in until I

18:13

saw my mom's cart pull away. I

18:15

know she really wants to talk to you. Um,

18:19

do you want to sit or I

18:21

can make you some coffee? I barely

18:23

understand and machine it's got these weird plastic

18:26

pods, but I'm sure I can. I don't know how long

18:28

I can stay, right,

18:32

You've really just been gone

18:36

for forty years and just blinked out

18:38

of and back into existence. Not

18:42

exactly, I was somewhere

18:45

all this time, right

18:48

right, Yes, it was some

18:51

magical in between boys. It

18:53

sounds crazy. I know, Well

18:57

I don't think that you do. I'm

19:00

you don't even look old enough to be the father to a teenager,

19:04

let alone, you know. Yeah, I know

19:06

freaked me out to that

19:08

you're really. Yeah,

19:13

I'm really your dad, And

19:17

you have to know, Shelley, I never

19:19

wanted to leave you or Jeremy and

19:22

and I. We had a plan.

19:24

We were going to be a family, but then

19:26

you got sucked into some other dimension.

19:29

I know it sounds about as

19:31

believable as I'm going out for cigarettes. I'll

19:33

be right back. But yeah,

19:38

at least it's not cliche. At

19:40

least there's that Shelley,

19:45

why are you here? Who

19:47

I was Olivia researching? By the way,

19:50

when she left this morning, she said, something happened.

19:53

We met

19:55

someone who knows a lot more than we do. And well,

19:58

the situation is, it's that's

20:01

complicated. There was a boy

20:03

with me in that other place. It

20:06

was also trapped in Olivia. She's

20:09

helping me to try to find out more about him

20:11

so that maybe we can help him. Is another

20:15

a boy from from

20:18

a long time ago. So so

20:21

this thing, whatever it is,

20:23

it does take children.

20:26

Yes, I don't know if

20:28

that's the preferred sacrifice. What

20:31

sacrifice? And

20:34

there's some sort of balance

20:36

sheet. That other place needs

20:38

two people at all times. I

20:41

ended up there by mistake. I think I think

20:43

maybe it wanted Jeremy back then. Yeah,

20:49

my Mom did mention something about him going

20:51

missing. One we got him back, just

20:54

like you got your boy back. He's not

20:56

in danger anymore. Don't forgive me if

20:58

I don't take you at your word on that. I'm

21:01

keeping him out as grandparents for the foreseeable

21:03

future, his

21:06

other grandparents. I

21:08

I'd like to meet him someday, if that's

21:10

okay. I

21:13

don't think so, I mean, at least

21:15

not. You

21:17

know, I honestly have no idea. What's

21:19

okay? You know I don't know you. I

21:21

know no, I mean, I

21:25

don't even have stories

21:28

about you. Mom

21:30

did not tell me anything. She never

21:33

talked about you. I never

21:35

would have told her to do that. Wow,

21:39

Anne Becker does whatever it is

21:41

she wants, and for some

21:43

reason, she didn't want

21:45

me to know that you

21:47

were my dad. I still am.

21:50

No. You don't just get

21:53

to claim that you've

21:57

been gone forty years and

22:00

we never I mean, we never

22:04

met, and you've never been

22:06

a father to me. You're

22:09

right, but I

22:13

thought about you every single day.

22:16

I understand that you're angry, I

22:18

do, and confused

22:20

and frustrated. I am too. I

22:23

was just figuring out how to be a dad, and

22:26

then I was ripped away from it, from

22:28

the chance to watch Jeremy grow up, the

22:30

chance to meet you. But

22:33

that doesn't mean being a father was ripped out

22:35

of me because there

22:38

was Alden, that other

22:40

kid. He needed

22:43

me, and I did figure

22:45

it out for him.

22:47

So in the times when I let myself imagine

22:50

what it would be like to come back, I

22:52

actually felt prepared. I mean proud

22:55

of who I'd become, the

22:57

kind of father I was turning into. So

23:00

to come back and find that my son has well past

23:03

the point of meeting a parent and my daughter doesn't want any

23:05

kind of father at all, I

23:09

feel untethered. Wow.

23:12

I'm sure Jeremy is thrilled

23:15

to have you back, and

23:17

he remembers you growing

23:20

up. You could tell he lost you. He was carrying that

23:22

hole with him everywhere, and it

23:24

seems like he turned into a good man in spite

23:26

of it. I

23:28

don't know. I'm still getting to know him, but he seems

23:31

smart, protective of the

23:33

people in his life. Like me. I'm

23:37

feeling a bit like a fifth wheel, like he doesn't

23:39

need anything returned to him.

23:42

Then there's you. I

23:44

really don't know you, but I can tell

23:46

you're strong and you've

23:49

raised an amazing daughter. I'm

23:51

glad you didn't grow up like Jeremy, feeling

23:53

like a part of you was missing. But I

23:56

still want to belong to you,

23:59

if you'd ever have me. Of

24:01

course, I felt like something was missing.

24:03

I just I

24:06

didn't know what exactly

24:08

to miss. Well,

24:13

whatever it is, you don't have to miss

24:15

it anymore. I'm here now, and

24:18

you're I mean, you're Are

24:21

you real? You know you're

24:23

not a ghost or a I

24:26

don't even know what to ask you. I'm

24:30

real, and I'm

24:34

I don't know how any of this works. But if I live

24:36

another fifty years, or if my body just looks

24:38

young and really I'm in my seventies,

24:41

I have no idea what my life would even look like

24:43

here in a

24:46

year. That still sounds made up in my ears. But

24:49

I know that all these questions aren't really

24:52

important. The only question that matters to

24:54

me is if you'll allow me to get to know you.

24:56

I don't, I don't know, I'm

25:00

and this is all still so I

25:03

understand. I mean,

25:05

I'm not saying no, I

25:08

just I

25:10

wanted to come

25:12

over here today to try

25:15

and make it make sense, you know, as

25:18

much sense as it could. How's

25:22

that going. H m hmm,

25:26

not great, Mt.

25:31

I've always had a really hard time with the paranormal

25:33

stuff. You know, my teenage

25:35

rebellion was becoming

25:37

as pragmatic and straight edged as possible

25:40

a model teenager, were you. Well,

25:43

no, I would not say that. I was

25:45

still pretty awful with the moodiness

25:47

and shouting matches and awful

25:49

boyfriend you and

25:52

Jeremy never, oh god, no, no,

25:54

no, Jesus Christ, I would have been. Um,

26:00

look, I'm barely registering that I have my father

26:02

who is alive. I

26:05

think the question of a half brother is

26:07

just going to have to sit on the backburn for a minute.

26:09

Okay, understandable,

26:12

but no, no, Jeremy and I didn't overlap

26:14

in school much. I have no idea

26:17

what kind of teenager he was at home. I'm

26:21

sorry I missed it all. I

26:26

really should get going to work. Wait,

26:31

yeah,

26:34

thank you, you

26:37

know, for coming by. Maybe

26:39

maybe we could continue the conversation at

26:41

some point. Mhmm yeah,

26:44

maybe, Oh

26:46

god, what is it, I

26:52

have your nose? Jeremy

26:55

doesn't, but

26:58

I do. Yeah, you do. Tell

27:01

Olivia's here at all, So

27:09

now that go. I have

27:11

no idea, but

27:14

thank you for talking to her. Yeah,

27:16

trying. I didn't mean to overhear

27:20

well. Actually, I was totally eavesdropping when

27:22

she asked if you were real you

27:25

were talking around something not a

27:27

lot gets past you. Huh, you're

27:30

not sure you're going to stay. If

27:32

I have anything to say about it, I will.

27:34

I'll get all then out, I'll shut

27:36

down the fay realm. I'll live

27:39

my life right.

27:41

But Jeremy's

27:43

worried something's happening to me, or that the limital

27:46

might take me back? Is that something you're

27:48

worried about? Peyton sent

27:50

that beast back to the other

27:52

side with a simple carving. What's

27:56

to say that same thing couldn't happen to me or

27:58

to to anyone. That

28:00

it was as easy as drawing a symbol

28:03

somewhere. But you don't belong there.

28:06

That sasquatch was from the

28:08

other side, so that room sent it back.

28:11

You're not from the Liminals. I've spent more

28:13

years there than I did here. Maybe

28:16

it sees me as part of it, and

28:19

I keep I

28:22

keep feeling sick or tired, dizzy.

28:28

That's what makes me wonder if I'm not actually as young as

28:30

I appear. Do you feel like you're

28:32

in a seventy year old body. But

28:35

that doesn't change the fact that I'm sitting here with my

28:37

twenty two year old granddaughter. Oh,

28:40

I just realized I'm dumping all of my problems,

28:42

and I'm sorry. You're a kid. You

28:45

shouldn't have to listen to the adults in your life worry

28:47

like this. Okay, first of all, I'm

28:49

not a kid, and second of all,

28:52

I know we're genetically a few generations

28:54

apart, but I mean the reality

28:56

of it just feels like we're cousins

28:59

or something. You don't feel weird

29:01

about listening to all your grandpa's fears.

29:03

Oh, I feel weird about literally everything

29:06

that's happening in my life right now. But that

29:08

doesn't have to be a bad thing. Besides,

29:11

who else are you gonna talk to? You

29:13

know, like four people, and one of them

29:15

is your long lost love and the other is your son.

29:18

You might be right. I

29:21

just don't want to worry them. I know,

29:24

not that I want to worry you.

29:26

No, I know, it's okay,

29:29

Like, you don't have to explain. And

29:31

after all, we don't really know each

29:33

other, do we. With Nana, you

29:36

have this whole complicated history,

29:38

and you knew my mom existed, you

29:41

didn't know to expect me. And

29:44

with Jeremy, I

29:47

don't know how to talk to Jeremy.

29:52

He's still a little boy in my mind. So

29:54

sometimes when I look at him now, I

29:58

have to remind myself that he's the same person,

30:01

not just some man i've met. But

30:04

there's other times or

30:07

I feel like I'm arguing with him like I would have

30:09

if I'd been around when he was growing up. Well,

30:12

for what it's worth, I think Jeremy

30:15

does need you. You're not a

30:17

fifth wheel. It's kind of you to

30:19

say. I mean it. Look,

30:21

I may not know Jeremy well, but I've gotten no Hippen

30:24

a bit, and I think he might be the person who

30:26

knows Jeremy best, isn't

30:28

he Jeremy's t a yeah exactly.

30:31

They've been working together for a few years, and

30:34

Vippin called him Professor Bradshaw until

30:36

like, I don't know a week ago, but

30:38

I think Hippin is the closest thing that Jeremy

30:41

has to a best friend. Really,

30:43

that's what I mean. He's not. I

30:46

just don't know how full his life

30:49

is, or how full it was before all

30:51

of this happened. Vippin said

30:53

that Jeremy gave him a whole speech about not

30:55

turning out like him, telling

30:57

Hippen to make sure he had a life outside of work

30:59

and all that. I'm not sure that this makes

31:01

me feel better or worse. Yeah. Sorry,

31:05

I'm not exactly the best at tep talks.

31:08

You know what, I think you're doing just fine.

31:21

Hello, Sophie, it's

31:23

Jeremy Bradshaw. I know

31:25

it's been forever Jeremy. Good

31:28

lord. I didn't think i'd ever hear

31:30

from you again. Oh come on, well,

31:32

I'm sorry. I know I'm I'm

31:35

terrible at keeping in touch. It

31:37

goes both ways. I imagine

31:39

you've been quite busy. You're back in the bridgual

31:42

To triangle, right, Yeah, I've been back for a

31:44

while. Must have your hands

31:46

full with all sorts of speaks, no

31:48

less than I'm sure you have in Plucky you're

31:50

still there. I'm actually back at Oxford,

31:53

if you believe it. What are

31:56

you going for another degree? Handing them

31:58

out? In fact, I'm

32:00

a professor like you. Oh

32:03

wow, an Oxford professor.

32:05

Wow. Okay, well,

32:08

I guess you've reached the

32:11

apex for anyone in our discipline.

32:13

Congrats. I don't get me wrong. I'm

32:15

still hoping to someday find fame and fortune as

32:17

the first person to provide definitive proof of the

32:19

paranormal. But twelve

32:22

years in the most haunted village in Britain and I

32:24

didn't see a single ghost. Sorry,

32:27

no, you're not. You always knew

32:29

none of it was real. What am I hearing? Has

32:32

Sophie Burton become a skeptic?

32:34

I'm just getting dangerously close. Well,

32:37

I guess time does funny things to all of us.

32:39

Don't tell me that you're no.

32:42

No, but I would say that I am.

32:46

I am working on keeping

32:48

an open mind. I am impressed.

32:52

Is that why you're calling me up out of thee You

32:54

need me to give you my old ghosts? A real shpille?

32:57

Not exactly. I've actually been trying to expand

33:00

my expertise, hence the

33:02

open mind, and

33:04

I'm working on something that's a bit outside of my comfort

33:07

zone. I'm trying to write a lecture

33:09

that covers the Fay realm. And I realized

33:11

that I don't actually really know much

33:14

beyond the basics because

33:16

it's never really been much of a thing and in

33:19

Bridgewater, so I haven't even

33:21

bothered before you want to

33:23

now just curiosity?

33:27

Well, you certainly called the right person. Were

33:29

choker block for the famous? Yeah,

33:31

that's what I was hoping. What exactly

33:34

do you want to know? It's fairly expensive.

33:37

Well, that's why I wanted to talk to an expert directly

33:39

instead of just diving into my books. Is

33:41

there a particular region or myth

33:44

origin you're looking at? I guess the

33:46

biggest question is friend

33:49

or foe. Yeah.

33:51

So I feel like the popular cultural representation

33:54

is fairly positive overall, or Tinkerbell

33:57

and the like. But

33:59

I know there's a lot of darker versions

34:02

of fay Realm. More so,

34:04

I'd love to know which side

34:06

to come down on. Well, there's really

34:10

not one definitive answer

34:12

to that question. For as long as there have been fay Realm

34:14

legends, there's been good and bad. But

34:17

there is a distinction. I mean, there are

34:19

different there are different groups, right, they can be.

34:22

In Scottish law, there's the Seely Court and

34:24

Unseely Court. Both are fai courts,

34:27

so therefore dangerous. But the

34:29

Seely won't go out of their way to hurt humans,

34:32

but the Unselly Court will. They

34:35

are related to a whole manner of evil

34:38

creatures over here, which is

34:40

boggets, happy lovers,

34:43

creatures of the devil. Essentially, what

34:46

do the Fay want, Well, just

34:48

general mischief, not the cute

34:51

fun kind mind, more of the beating

34:53

and possessing variety you mentioned.

34:55

The courts are those

34:58

physical courts. Some times

35:00

there's a lot of law around fairy

35:03

lands. Sometimes they're called other worlds or

35:05

underworld's, even had fairy

35:07

kingdom. And sometimes they are a physical

35:10

place, sometimes just a ritual or

35:12

the very act of doing magic. Okay,

35:15

So if they are physical places, presumably

35:17

human beings could enter into

35:19

one of these lands, and there

35:21

aren't many legends that explore that idea. Plenty

35:24

of fiction and films, but

35:26

original myth there's mostly the fake courts coming over

35:28

to the human realle. How about making deals

35:30

with humans? Oh? Yes, Fay

35:33

contracts very tricky things.

35:36

The story is you should never accept

35:38

a gift from a theory, especially food,

35:40

never get into debt with them, never make

35:42

any promises, and I don't even give

35:45

them your name in the case of creatures, so

35:47

basically avoid them at our costs exactly.

35:50

Okay. So hypothetically, what if

35:52

there is an existing

35:55

contract, can you break it? Um?

36:00

I have absolutely no idea. Are

36:03

you in law school? Now? Is your class

36:05

on faery contract law? I'm

36:08

just trying to create a full picture. Well,

36:12

I mean, I've given a few lectures on the famous

36:14

and there's so much to cover. It's honestly best

36:16

to keep things surface level. If I were

36:18

you, okay, sure, But let's

36:20

say I was doing very

36:22

contract law. What would I teach

36:24

my students to never enter a

36:26

contract with a fairy no

36:29

matter what. But if

36:31

they had, they are going to let

36:33

a contract be broken. The only

36:35

way I could see out of it would be if you had something

36:37

on the fake court that could neutralize it.

36:41

In a lot of law, they hate being in

36:43

debt. If there was a mutual debt

36:45

that could be exploited, maybe the slate

36:47

would be wiped clean. But more likely, you just

36:49

have a very angry and violent spirit after

36:52

you. Okay, is there a way to kill them?

36:54

Jeremy? What is this really about? If

36:57

I figure it out, I promise I will tell you. Jeremy,

37:00

just please, whatever you can

37:02

tell me about ways to stop them or even just ward

37:05

them off. I really appreciate

37:07

it. Just just humor me

37:09

here. It really depends on the type

37:11

you're dealing with. There's all sorts of

37:13

things, turning your clothes inside

37:16

out. Avoiding fairy circles, of

37:18

course, but circles of all kinds can

37:20

be problematic. A rooster's

37:22

crow or church bells have been said to scare them

37:24

away. I can send you a list of

37:26

all the methods I'm aware of, if you like, That would

37:29

be amazing. Sophie, Thank

37:31

you. Thanks, You've already

37:33

been a huge home. Sure you're

37:36

bring me back if you find yourself in over

37:38

your head. That's why I called you in the first place.

37:41

Are you It sounds

37:43

ridiculous? Are

37:45

you okay? I

37:48

don't know. I

37:50

am. I think I've got it all under

37:52

control. Of course, you've got it under

37:54

control. I always

37:56

do. Wow,

38:04

fuck, I know. Are

38:06

you okay? My whole

38:08

body is sore, but I am

38:11

alive. I cannot

38:13

believe I turned down your offer to join you. Next

38:17

time I go monster hunting, I'll insist. I

38:20

appreciate that. Hey,

38:22

thanks for meeting me here. By the way, I

38:24

was going to suggest hawk amoks But yeah.

38:27

Well, weirdly, Freetown Forest feels safer

38:29

at the moment, even if Peyton is

38:31

hiding around here somewhere I'm sorry

38:33

again for not being able to help with her. No,

38:35

No, it was fine. It was a long

38:37

shot. I

38:39

just wish I could know if I could trust her. Thanks

38:42

are really fucked up. Things

38:45

are certainly fucked up here. There's

38:48

just a lot at stake for me. I don't

38:51

even know how to I

38:54

don't know how to protect myself from a sasquatch.

38:57

Jeremy, it sounds like it was pretty terrifying.

39:00

Yeah, and if Peyton hadn't

39:02

shown up, I probably

39:04

would be dead. My dad was right.

39:07

I'm an academic. I'm not

39:09

the person who fights monsters. Here. Let

39:11

me show you something. I'm

39:15

not poisonous. I promise it'll

39:19

be easier if I just guide your hand. Trust

39:21

me. Okay, so

39:24

move your hand in a V like this and

39:27

then moved to center and

39:29

bring it all the way down. Okay,

39:32

now you do it. M M

39:36

okay, I know it feels

39:39

goofy. Let's try it all

39:41

right, center

39:45

down. And that's

39:48

supposed to do what exactly? Um?

39:50

Yeah, well it's supposed to banish monsters

39:53

or trap them or something. Honestly,

39:55

I haven't had the opportunity to try, but

39:57

seeings and keep running into

39:59

them for real, all that will

40:01

be an experiment for next time. Report

40:04

back to me. I'm dying to

40:06

know if it works. There

40:09

was this other legend trip or a while back. I

40:12

met her at some conference or other their

40:16

legend trip or conferences. You're

40:18

telling me you haven't been to anything like that. No,

40:21

no, no, of course I've been paranormal

40:24

conventions in academic conferences. I just haven't

40:26

met a whole lot of monster

40:29

hunters in one place. Well

40:32

maybe conference was putting a bit strongly,

40:34

But these communities are all

40:36

tied in together, and there are meet ups from time

40:38

to time. As she picked

40:41

it up from some guy in Norway. So it's some

40:43

kind of old Norse room. Yea, so

40:45

she said, it translates to protection.

40:48

I think, now maybe

40:50

you know how to fight monsters. Well, here's

40:52

hoping that I never have to use it.

40:54

Come on, you're telling

40:56

me there's not even a little part of you

40:59

that's die to see something else.

41:01

It was genuinely,

41:04

really frightening. I

41:06

would not, oh,

41:09

ship, yeah,

41:11

okay, maybe you're right, of course I am.

41:14

I mean, after all this time studying

41:16

and teaching all of this stuff for

41:18

years, you actually

41:21

get to witness it. I'd

41:23

be fucking jealous if it wasn't so cool. Yeah,

41:26

well, you keep hanging out in these forests and swamps

41:28

and you might see something yourself soon. Maybe

41:30

I just need to hang out with you more. Well,

41:33

Ah, I guess it's worth a

41:35

shop. There's the spirit, you

41:51

know. I was expecting

41:53

to see you, but not so

41:56

soon. I don't

41:58

think we really got to finish our conversation Asian

42:00

earlier. And what conversation was that? The

42:02

one about how I broke everything.

42:06

I seem to remember your son having

42:09

quite a lot to say about that subject.

42:12

It's going to get much worse very quickly, isn't it.

42:15

Yes? I believe

42:17

so. And you think I'm the only one who

42:19

can fix him, not the only one,

42:22

just the right one. What

42:26

would I have to do? This

42:43

episode of Bridgewater was written by Lauren

42:45

Shippin and directed by Brendan Patrick

42:47

Hughes Assistant director Sarah

42:49

Klein, Sound designed by Vincent the

42:52

Johnny Rema, Okay, Ali, Josh

42:54

Thane, and Trevor Young, with music

42:57

by Chad Lawson. Starring Misha

42:59

Collins as Jeremy Bradshaw, Melissa

43:02

Ponzio as Anne Becker, Alan

43:04

Tutick as Thomas Bradshaw, Karen

43:07

Sony as Vipen Corona, Sabra

43:09

May as Olivia Hoskins,

43:12

Cheryl Umania as Officer Bautista,

43:15

Will Wheaton as Captain Haddock, Tricia

43:18

Helfer as the Legend Tripper,

43:21

Stephen Guarino as Dr Edwards

43:23

Nandamisu Demba as Peyton

43:26

Blake, Hilary Burton Morgan as

43:28

Shelley Hoskins, Nicki McCauley

43:30

as Celeste then Victoria Grace

43:33

as Katie Franks, with additional

43:35

voice acting by Greta Gould, Shelby

43:38

Young, Adam oh Byrne, Monty

43:40

Markham, Charlie Bergman and Tern

43:42

Westbrook. Executive producers

43:44

Aaron Manky, Misha Collins, Lauren

43:47

Shippin, Matt Frederick and Alexander

43:49

Williams. Supervising producers Josh

43:52

Thane and Trevor Young. Bridgewater

43:54

was created by me Aaron Mankey and

43:57

is a production of Grim and Mild and I Heart

43:59

three D Audio. You learn more about the

44:01

show over at Grimm and Mild dot

44:03

com, slash Bridgewater and find more

44:05

podcasts from I Heart Radio on the I Heart

44:07

Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

44:10

you listen to your favorite shows and

44:12

As always, thanks for listening,

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