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evening. I'm

2:01

Storyteller Otis Jyrie, and

2:05

I ain't your grandfather.

2:08

From where I'm from, we

2:10

don't do bedtime stories. And

2:13

if that's what you were expecting, you're

2:16

in the wrong place.

2:19

If it's terrifying tales

2:22

you're after, well then,

2:24

I've got just the thing. Get

2:27

comfortable, settle in, turn

2:30

off the lights, if you

2:33

dare. Your

2:35

night is about to get

2:37

a whole lot darker. Who

2:43

needs sleep anyway? Ha

2:56

ha ha ha ha! Good

2:59

evening! You're listening

3:01

to Scary Stories Told in the

3:03

Dark. Welcome dear

3:05

listeners to Season 14, Episode 23. I'm

3:09

your host, Otis Jyrie, and

3:11

in this episode, I'll be

3:13

performing three tales to terrify

3:16

you courtesy of

3:18

authors Kyle Harrison and Warren

3:20

Benedetto. Tonight

3:22

we'll hear stories of nebulous

3:24

neighbors, weird wanderers, and

3:27

dangerous doorways. You're

3:29

listening to the standard edition of

3:32

tonight's program, which contains the first

3:34

two spine-tingling stories. If

3:36

you'd like to show your sport

3:38

and enjoy an extended version of

3:40

this and other episodes, and

3:44

you're interested in the future, visit simpliscarypodcast.com

3:47

and click patrons in the upper menu to sign

3:49

up today. Thank you for your

3:51

support. Now it's

3:54

time to take a walk together down

3:56

the moonlit trail, so lock

3:58

your doors tonight. lights down, though,

4:01

in the saddle land. The

4:03

show is about to begin. So

4:12

many universes, so

4:14

little time. We

4:16

have the inner world of the

4:18

microscopic. We have outer space, which

4:20

houses things we can barely

4:23

imagine. And then, of course, there's

4:25

the possibility that there are universes

4:28

that lie next to ours, metaphorically

4:31

speaking, anyway. There could be

4:33

ones where there are many

4:35

different copies of you, but

4:37

each one is slightly different,

4:39

and potentially murderous. Or

4:42

maybe there are ones where the rules

4:45

of reality are completely different and things

4:47

we cannot and should not understand

4:49

lie and wait for

4:51

the unwary. Tonight we'll

4:54

be taking a little trip through the

4:56

dimensional gateways and see what we can

4:58

find. In our

5:00

first tale, Kyle Harrison

5:02

has us meet a very brilliant

5:05

but also very disturbed neighbor who

5:07

could go to great lengths to

5:09

fix this tragedy, and of

5:12

the man next door who just wants to help him. Of

5:15

course, there may be answers

5:17

they discover to questions they

5:19

never wanted to ask. Without

5:22

further ado, I

5:25

present to you Grief

5:27

Begets Chaos. Andrea

5:37

was only nine when she went missing. According

5:40

to her brother Hudson, she was exactly nine

5:42

years, three months, and seventeen

5:45

days old. We met

5:47

when he was passing out fliers with

5:49

her picture plastered on them under the

5:52

large red words, missing. When

5:54

it first happened, the entire community came together

5:56

to try and find her. Her

5:58

parents had money. Her father Gabriel

6:01

was working as a quantum engineer

6:03

at a local university not far from

6:05

town, and they spent almost

6:07

every cent they had on search parties,

6:10

media reports, and police

6:12

investigations. After

6:14

a year of searching, Andrea was

6:17

found, and I'm sad to

6:19

say she was dead. Her

6:21

little body had drowned in a local lake not

6:23

one week after Hudson had put up those fliers.

6:27

It affected each of the family members in a

6:29

different way. Her mother took

6:31

it the worst, I think, divorcing Gabriel

6:33

and going back north to be with

6:35

her family. According to

6:37

rumors, Gabriel was supposed to have

6:39

been watching Andrea that weekend, but

6:42

had chosen to go to work instead. He

6:44

thought a nine-year-old could handle being alone

6:46

at the house for eight to twelve

6:48

hours without supervision. I

6:51

was honestly surprised their marriage lasted

6:53

so long during the search for

6:55

Andrea. Here they

6:57

were both hoping for a happy ending,

6:59

as if seeing Andrea alive again could

7:01

salvage their love for one another. Hudson

7:05

wasn't much better off. He was almost

7:07

in college when it happened, and he

7:10

constantly blamed himself for everything. Gabriel

7:13

actually allowed this behavior, I think, to lighten

7:15

some of the burden on his conscience.

7:18

Eventually it drove a wedge between them,

7:20

and he left as well, and

7:23

the physicist was alone in a big

7:25

house across the street. Gabriel

7:29

lost his job shortly after that, not

7:32

for being a poor employee but because he

7:34

actually wanted to work longer hours, so

7:37

much so that he didn't shower

7:39

or care for himself properly. Other

7:42

university officials began to complain. My

7:45

son, who was a student there and a

7:47

close friend of Hudson's, said that

7:50

Gabriel had often worked 16 to

7:52

18 hours without sleep. All

7:55

of it was very sad to watch,

7:57

especially because the outcome felt very inevitable.

8:00

The family was broken even

8:02

before Andrea disappeared. When

8:05

the funeral was over and the media forgot

8:07

about the poor little girl, no one was

8:09

there to keep them together anymore. She

8:12

was the lynchpin to their entire

8:14

lives. You'd

8:16

think that would be the end of this

8:18

little story, a sad little tale about a

8:21

sad little family. But

8:23

it only takes a darker turn from here,

8:25

I'm afraid. I don't

8:27

think I was prepared for everything that

8:29

Gabriel did after he lost his daughter.

8:32

No one was, but I think the

8:34

world needs to hear about it. If

8:37

no one learns anything about his

8:39

mistakes, at least my own soul will

8:41

feel at ease for the

8:43

role I played in this tragedy. You

8:46

see, after Gabriel lost his wife and son

8:49

and became a bit of a recluse, I

8:51

thought it was my duty as a neighbor

8:53

to try and bring him back to humanity.

8:56

So there was a reason to keep going.

8:59

I've seen cases like this where people

9:02

hang themselves, and I just

9:04

couldn't allow that sort of outcome for a man

9:06

as broken as he was. I

9:08

told myself I could fix him. It

9:12

started out innocently. After

9:14

all, we already had been sort of close

9:16

friends before all this happened. Our

9:19

younger children knew each other. Sometimes

9:22

we'd exchanged pleasantries as we returned from

9:24

work. I'm not about

9:26

to say that our relationship was anything more

9:28

than that, but when the searches

9:30

went out I was certainly a part of them.

9:33

I couldn't imagine that type of thing

9:36

happening to my boy Isaac. I

9:38

even sat near to Gabriel during the funeral

9:40

and promised I'd check up on him regularly,

9:44

even as the gossip and fanfare died down.

9:47

His money spent, his family gone,

9:49

the poor man didn't have a reason in

9:51

the world to keep going, so

9:53

I made it my mission to provide him

9:56

one. We'd exchanged

9:58

books. I knew it was one of the few. things

10:00

he had a passion for. He

10:03

insisted on nothing fictional, so I'd try

10:05

my best to impress him with

10:07

some great stories I'd found in my

10:10

own travels. It was harmless,

10:13

until the day I offered him a

10:15

book that I should have destroyed. I

10:18

work at a travel insurance agency, and

10:20

during my career I've had the chance

10:22

to meet people who collect antique pieces

10:24

of literature. Since I

10:27

often get gifts from clients, I wind

10:29

up with a few here and there.

10:32

Most of them sit in my basement

10:34

and read collecting dust. When

10:36

I told Gabriel about it, he thought it was

10:38

the most sinful thing he could ever imagine. All

10:41

that wasted time and knowledge just

10:44

being used for my own personal

10:46

altar to my ego. I

10:48

was ashamed, so I told him I'd find some in

10:51

my collection to give to him. But

10:53

I swore I'd read them first. That

10:55

way I knew what I was recommending

10:57

wouldn't be hogwash. During

11:00

the loss of Andrea, though, I forgot all

11:02

about this promise and decided to give him

11:04

one that I hadn't even touched. It

11:07

simply sounded like it would be something to give

11:09

him a little bit of comfort. It

11:11

was the work of an old Egyptian

11:13

folklore mixed with some

11:16

history called the Lazarus Record, and

11:18

most of it was way beyond my

11:21

understanding of science and history and religion.

11:24

I figured, since it only made me

11:26

feel like an inferior person, a mind

11:29

such as his would appreciate it. When

11:32

he saw it, he seemed to immediately

11:34

recognize it and almost snatched it out

11:36

of my hands, asking where I

11:38

got it from. I

11:41

honestly didn't even remember, and he,

11:43

being the bibliophile, went

11:45

on to tell me that it could possibly

11:47

be the rarest item I'd ever collected. Supposedly,

11:52

every single copy of the book

11:54

had been destroyed either by religious

11:56

extremists, disasters, or other means,

11:58

to the point that mere

12:00

suggestion of an actual

12:02

physical copy of it was considered a

12:05

legend. He told me

12:07

that I should donate it to a museum, but

12:09

I wasn't interested in something like that, so

12:12

I told him to keep it since he seemed to

12:14

like it so much. I

12:17

didn't understand that it would be his

12:19

new obsession for the next few months.

12:22

At first, after I gave him the weighty

12:24

tome, things seemed to get better. I

12:27

saw him more frequently out of the house,

12:29

either to the store or to the library.

12:32

He'd even drive to the university because

12:34

I'd see him return with a few

12:36

textbooks from his old office. I

12:39

thought maybe he was going to get his job

12:41

back, but then I saw one of his colleagues

12:43

follow him back to the house and

12:45

shout at his door. Gabriel

12:48

had been stealing the items from the university,

12:50

and they were about to charge him with

12:52

the crime. He spoke

12:54

calmly to the other man, insisting it was

12:56

all for a good cause. I

12:59

could hear their conversation even with my

13:01

TV on. I was

13:03

hoping Gabriel was telling the truth, and

13:06

this was all just a misunderstanding. The

13:09

other man calmed down and said he'd come back

13:11

the next day for the items. Once

13:14

their argument ended, I saw Gabriel

13:16

hurriedly return to the house. I

13:19

really shouldn't have stuck my nose into his

13:22

business, but I'm a boring guy and have

13:24

little else to distract myself with when

13:26

my wife isn't home. She

13:29

would tell me that I needed to leave it

13:31

alone and just spend time with our son, but

13:33

honestly, what Gabriel did

13:35

next concerned me. We

13:38

were having dinner, and I sent

13:40

my son out to check the mailbox. I

13:43

saw Gabriel out there on the front porch waiting

13:45

for his guest, and he waved

13:47

at my son, asking if he was still

13:49

enjoying college. He even asked about

13:51

Hudson, and I wondered if the man was

13:53

a bit jealous that we had

13:55

a connection to his family that we

13:57

didn't. Then, the call of.

14:00

From the university arrived and the

14:02

to and or douse. The

14:05

next day the other man's car was

14:07

still parked outside and the day after

14:09

that to. Senate.

14:12

Votes or came and took it to

14:14

be impounded. As gabriel about it, the

14:16

day after that, he acted like I

14:18

was confused. Insisted he didn't

14:20

even have a guest over for dinner that

14:22

night. But. I

14:24

knew that something must have happened because

14:27

of the next incident. He.

14:29

Was gathering materials from the university

14:31

but this time only leaving and

14:33

returning during the night. I'm

14:36

a light sleeper and every time

14:38

he opened his garage door I'd

14:40

hear. My. Said

14:42

I should call the police and be that

14:44

would have been wise. But. Instead, I

14:47

decided this time I'd be them. Went to

14:49

confront him. Maybe. He

14:51

overreacted to his coworker because they

14:53

weren't friends. Awaited know

14:55

my wife is at work and went over to

14:57

not in his door. On the

15:00

way across the street, something else

15:02

happened. It was like the entire

15:04

neighborhood lost power. All of a

15:06

sudden. Urge is louder. I'm coming

15:09

from Gabriel's house. And then the

15:11

street lights flickered and always got

15:13

louder. The bulbs in the streets

15:15

suddenly shattered. Heard a

15:18

few neighbors muttering and complaining and looking

15:20

around and confusion is every to Gabriel

15:22

says. Somehow. I

15:25

knew something had just occurred.

15:27

Needed to investigate. About

15:29

it on the door demanding a

15:31

respond. Eventually he tried to door

15:33

open his face as pale as

15:36

a ghost. Hill. Have lost

15:38

and confused and angry. surprised

15:40

I was there. He.

15:42

Showed me away and insisted everything was

15:45

fine. Slamming the door and lot. Swore

15:48

I heard of whisper Andrew his name

15:50

as he retreated into the Bleak House.

15:54

And went back home. Decided that would

15:56

did. Last time I offered a helping

15:58

hand I knew I was getting who

16:00

involved in something that didn't affect me.

16:03

But. Fade out a way of keeping me close

16:05

to his family. Because the

16:07

next day as I went to

16:09

check the mailbox myself. I

16:12

saw something that should have been

16:14

impossible. Gabbro was

16:16

in the garage and tinkering with his

16:18

car when I saw a silhouette of

16:20

another person in the bedroom window. Actually

16:24

drop the mail on the ground when

16:26

I saw the figure. Gabriel

16:28

noticed my shot. To.

16:31

The first time in months he

16:33

smiled. Then I

16:35

heard a little girls boys from up

16:37

in a room and he added back

16:39

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19:30

I shuffled the mail back into my hands and

19:33

hurried inside, trying to comprehend what I saw. The

19:36

person in the window looked

19:38

just like Andrea, but

19:41

that was impossible. I'd been

19:43

to the funeral, I'd seen her body in that

19:45

casket. What, I wondered

19:47

morbidly, had Gabriel done to bring her

19:49

back from the dead? I

19:52

told my wife what I saw that very night

19:54

after our son went to bed. She

19:57

was equally concerned, but thought maybe I needed to

19:59

see her. seek therapy." Insisted

20:02

it was no mirage, and I actually

20:05

felt frustrated she didn't believe me. She

20:08

apologized but said that if I was

20:10

going to prove Andrea was alive, I

20:13

needed to go over to that house and find

20:15

evidence. It's been three

20:17

days since I'd seen the girl, and

20:20

so far Gabriel hadn't left the house. All

20:23

the rest of the neighborhood had regained power

20:25

except for him. Maybe

20:28

he needed food and water by now. So

20:31

where was he getting it? Was

20:33

he finding a way to hide it in the same

20:35

way he hid Andrea? I

20:38

decided to try to talk to him again. This

20:41

time he was far more hostile and

20:43

denied everything that I was asking about

20:45

him. I tried to

20:47

be helpful, but I could tell that this

20:49

man was losing what little sanity he had

20:51

left. Whatever was happening

20:53

to his daughter, it had made him go

20:55

insane. As he

20:58

first refused to give me details, I

21:00

took things a step further and contacted

21:02

Andrea's mother. She

21:04

was surprised that I made the attempt because

21:06

we hadn't been in touch since the funeral,

21:09

but when she heard what I had to say,

21:11

she agreed to come back. I

21:14

insisted that she couldn't confront Gabriel openly

21:16

or go to the police. They

21:19

would think all of this was some elaborate prank,

21:22

and Gabriel would likely find a way to hide

21:24

Andrea all over again if she went straight to

21:26

him. Thankfully she

21:29

listened. I told my

21:31

wife about our plan and she even let

21:33

her stay at our place. As

21:35

long as Gabriel didn't see her, I thought things

21:37

would go smoothly. Then

21:40

we began a long wait. I

21:43

kept trying to get a glimpse of Andrea again,

21:45

but it was obvious that Gabriel had moved her

21:47

to a different room after I noticed the first

21:49

time. How was he

21:51

making sure her needs were met? It

21:54

made all of us worry. On

21:57

the fourth day, Gabriel's wife insisted we

21:59

needed to go. to do something to make

22:01

him leave. There had to be

22:03

a way to distract him, she insisted. My

22:06

wife thought that her presence there might

22:08

be the key, and so we concocted

22:10

a simple plan. She

22:13

would go to her ex-husband and say she came

22:15

back to reconcile with him, get him

22:17

out of the house for at least an hour, and

22:19

I'd be able to sneak in and find Andrea. I

22:23

will admit it was a rather

22:25

hastily arranged situation, but

22:27

we were desperate. We knew

22:29

Andrea might be in danger from being locked up

22:31

for so long. The

22:34

next day, around ten a.m., she

22:36

went over to the house and got Gabriel to come out.

22:39

To say that he was surprised by

22:41

her arrival would be an understatement, but

22:44

he also seemed naturally suspicious.

22:48

I suppose, given all the illegal things he'd

22:50

been involved in, I could see

22:52

why he would feel that way. I

22:55

didn't overhear their conversation, but somehow

22:58

she managed to get him to leave the house. As

23:00

soon as they were down the street, my

23:03

wife encouraged me to sneak in via the

23:05

garage. He always kept it open,

23:08

and I knew there was also a spare

23:10

key under a flowerpot. During

23:12

all of his clandestine activity, Gabriel was

23:14

still a creature of habit. My

23:17

wife's role was to keep watch and text me if

23:19

they were going to return. I managed

23:22

to get back into the garage easily,

23:24

and soon was inside. I'm

23:26

not entirely sure what I thought I

23:28

might find upon entering, but I was

23:30

rather surprised by the lack of anything

23:34

that resembled a home. Gabriel

23:37

had stacks of books and boxes

23:39

of wires and equipment in every

23:41

single section of his downstairs. The

23:44

wires were all connected and routed to something

23:46

on the second floor, and

23:48

despite the fact that I knew there was no

23:51

power, I could hear what sounded like a television

23:53

above me. At the

23:55

bottom of the stairs I called out to Andrea

23:57

but didn't get a response. was

24:00

critical, so I went up to investigate the

24:02

source of the noise. It

24:04

was coming from the only room

24:06

that seemed to have any functionality—Andreas'

24:08

old bedroom. But I could

24:10

also see it was locked with three different

24:13

types of bolts. Gabriel was

24:15

keeping her here against her will,

24:17

I realized. I didn't

24:19

want to alert her to my arrival, but I

24:21

was sure I could get her out, so I

24:23

started to look around for anything that might unfasten

24:26

the door. That was

24:28

when I saw what he had been spending so

24:30

much time on these past few months. It

24:33

was in the room opposite Andreas, and

24:35

what I can guess was probably once

24:37

his master bedroom, except

24:40

now it was completely transformed into

24:42

some kind of laboratory. There

24:44

was a large conduit of machinery shaped like

24:46

a ring near the east side, and

24:49

then a menagerie of wires running across the

24:51

ceiling to what looked like a hole in

24:53

the wall. The hole

24:56

almost resembled the shape of

24:58

a keyhole, and even though none

25:00

of the machinery was on, it felt like

25:02

everything in the room was alive and watching

25:04

me. I took

25:06

a step toward the hole and realized that the hole

25:09

in the wall seemed to shimmer and twinkle the

25:11

way a pool of water

25:14

might—dark, mysterious, and endless.

25:17

I couldn't really see the other

25:19

side. There was a laptop next to

25:21

a small workspace on the other side of

25:23

the room that was still active, and

25:26

I saw that it was where

25:28

Gabriel had been logging his strange

25:30

experiments. Even though I

25:32

should have been focusing on saving Andrea, I

25:34

felt compelled to search through his files. He'd

25:37

been vlogging the work he'd done

25:39

on this strange contraption, and

25:42

most of the video feed was

25:44

his tireless efforts. Then I paused when

25:46

I saw a video that had my name on

25:48

it. I don't know why, but

25:51

I clicked on it. What

25:53

Gabriel had to say in it was

25:55

surprising. I'm sure

25:57

you're wondering why I made this video or how I knew it.

26:00

knew that you would find this. We

26:02

can discuss that later. First,

26:04

I need to explain what this is.

26:08

Behind him in the video he flipped

26:10

a switch, and I saw a surge

26:12

of energy explode in the wall. The

26:15

hole was opening, and becoming wider and

26:17

larger and brighter. Thanks

26:19

to the efforts of my colleagues at

26:21

the university and my own discoveries within

26:24

the Lazarus record, I

26:26

have finally unlocked the key to

26:28

traveling to other dimensions. I

26:31

know this breakthrough is a dangerous one and can't

26:33

be shared with the world. It

26:35

would be a tool that would change our

26:37

entire society, but not for the better. It

26:40

is my burden to bear, and with it comes

26:42

the sins I must commit, if I hope to

26:44

make my life right again. The

26:47

video skipped to showing him dragging an

26:49

unconscious Andrea out of the portal. He

26:52

showed a mark on her right hand. This

26:55

parallel universe seems to almost mirror

26:57

our own. I found

26:59

my daughter still alive and thriving in it,

27:02

and brought her back here to be with

27:04

me. In that other place, the

27:06

family she was with was not loving

27:08

or kind, so by bringing

27:10

her back here I have performed a mercy.

27:13

I felt confident that eventually she'll grow to love

27:16

me and accept me as her father. The

27:19

video showed Andrea trying to fight back

27:21

against her captor, and I covered my

27:23

mouth as Gabriel addressed me personally. I

27:27

know what happened on the lake. I

27:29

know because Andrea told me, in

27:31

the other universe you took our Hudson

27:33

and drowned him instead, and you

27:36

kept up the bruise for so long that

27:39

everyone felt sorry for your family instead of

27:41

ours. I guess in

27:43

some ways the universes are

27:45

the same, but the charades over,

27:48

because I've set things into motion so

27:50

that both universes can have harmony again.

27:54

The clip ended, and I felt my heart

27:56

beat faster as I tried to imagine what

27:58

he meant. Then,

28:00

from behind, I heard a voice and

28:02

saw Andrea was actually out of her

28:04

room. She looked frightened to

28:07

see me. As I

28:09

looked in her eyes of sadness, they

28:11

warped rage, and I felt

28:13

something hit the back of my skull, losing

28:15

consciousness. The next

28:17

thing I knew, I had zip ties on

28:19

my hands and feet, and I was in

28:21

a chair in the room I thought was

28:23

Andrea's prison. And I saw

28:26

her parents standing in front of me. My

28:29

wife spoke first, slapping me across

28:31

the face and shouting. She

28:34

had never known I was responsible for Andrea's

28:36

death. Gabriel

28:38

stood by and said nothing. Maybe

28:41

he knew the reason all along. The

28:43

guilt I carried. How could

28:46

I have ever explained to them that it

28:48

was an accident? Would it

28:50

have even mattered now? Gabriel

28:53

showed me a written confession in my handwriting

28:55

that explained how I had foolishly tried to

28:58

take Andrea on the lake that

29:00

fateful day. Then they

29:02

showed me what was really in the locked room.

29:06

My face went pale as I saw

29:08

a mere version of myself half-starved, looking

29:10

frantic for release. They

29:12

had gotten the confession from the other universe.

29:16

Gabriel smiled and said, now both of

29:18

us were going to get what we

29:20

deserved. Then he

29:22

took up a gun and gave it to the

29:24

doppelganger. He looked deranged

29:27

and desperate for any kind of escape. So

29:30

without even hesitation he shouted for God

29:32

to forgive and then shoved

29:34

the weapon in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

29:37

Gabriel kicked the gun away from the corpse and told

29:40

me I was next, except he

29:42

said a different fate was going to wait

29:44

for me. Now that

29:46

he had his family again, it was

29:48

time I paid a price. He

29:51

activated his gateway to the other dimension. I

29:54

saw the swirling portal and I knew

29:56

his intentions. I Begged

29:58

for his forgiveness and his. understanding.

30:01

Then. He submitted the portal

30:03

without hesitation. I

30:05

saw him and his wife holding Andrea. I'm

30:08

smiling as I sell End of the Void.

30:11

My entire world seem to

30:13

flip upside down. On

30:16

the other side of the portal, I

30:18

was in an empty house. Could only

30:20

guests the mirror versions of Gabriel and

30:22

his family might not even live here

30:24

anymore. Behind. Me

30:26

to Porto closed and disappeared. I

30:29

guess Gabriel had dismantled the machinery of

30:31

to pushing me in. A

30:33

drought out to the front porch shouting

30:36

to my house for help and older

30:38

gentleman came over. He

30:40

helped me out of my zip ties,

30:42

had dozens of questions. The most important

30:45

one was whether to contact the police

30:47

are not. At all

30:49

I'm I'm fine if you know, shaken

30:51

and frightened by my circumstances. That

30:54

was almost three weeks ago. I'm

30:57

trapped here now in this mirror

30:59

world. Time to make sense of

31:01

sense of. Learned that my mirror

31:03

family died after my mirrors self

31:05

disappeared. I was committed

31:07

suicide in son and a terrible

31:10

car crash. I can only assume

31:12

it was some kind of divine

31:14

karma for the secret second. And

31:17

see the mirror Gabriel from afar.

31:19

But I didn't tell. His lights

31:21

is no better now than his

31:23

other self, Andrea Missing in this

31:25

universe will likely drive him insane

31:28

as well. In. This

31:30

strange ways of it repeats

31:32

itself. Hours A monster

31:35

and a fool for thinking my good

31:37

deeds could heal what had been lost.

31:40

The I deserve to be trapped here. Maybe.

31:43

I need to find a way out of

31:45

the way my other self did. Clearly.

31:48

The guilt that. And.

31:51

Be that's yet another way. This

31:53

endless cycle continues. Even though

31:55

everyone here blaze this is the

31:57

normal world, let me assure you

31:59

there are others just beyond the

32:01

surface that seek being found. Maybe

32:03

it was all meant to be

32:05

this way because of my guild.

32:07

my attempts at times be that

32:09

person. Thirds Of

32:11

Fickle Mistress And I'm not sure

32:14

I know how to live in

32:16

a world where I know I

32:18

don't belong. See.

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33:04

It's time to turn

33:06

all the lies and

33:08

turn on the dog.

33:17

This is chilling tales

33:19

for dog Nice. good

33:21

evening listener. I'm Steve

33:24

Tailor your host to

33:26

a horror anthology podcast.

33:28

Where. We as you depart from

33:31

your see perception of reality

33:33

to descend with us into

33:35

the frightening depth and dark

33:38

corner and twisted imaginations with

33:40

carefully curated original feals of

33:42

purees We are deeply student

33:45

fees are brought to the

33:47

forefront by a diverse cast,

33:49

a voice gallons and masterfully

33:51

Uri sound design that bring

33:54

these stories to live. will

33:57

give you tales of unnerving and

33:59

sounders the occult, harrowing

34:02

hauntings, and sinister

34:04

seances that show

34:06

just how darkness knows

34:09

no bounds. If

34:11

you're like us here at Chilling

34:13

Tales and enjoy feeling your stomach

34:15

filling with dread as sasteredly demons

34:18

dance in your head, make

34:20

sure to check out Chilling

34:22

Tales for Dark Night on

34:24

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever

34:26

you get your podcasts. To

34:29

subscribe now to always be

34:31

the first to enjoy The

34:33

Horror Show. I

34:47

hope you enjoyed Grief Begets Chaos

34:49

by Kyle Harrison as performed by

34:51

yours truly. If

34:54

you enjoyed that tale and would love to

34:56

read more from tonight's very talented featured author,

34:59

you can help support him

35:01

by visiting simplyscarypodcast.com slash

35:05

kyle-harrison. That's

35:08

simplyscarypodcast.com slash

35:10

k-y-l-e dash h-a-r-r-i-s-o-n. Thanks

35:19

again for your support of this

35:21

program and tonight's featured author. Guilt

35:25

can be a great motivator. It's

35:28

really something how a

35:30

little thing like accidental

35:32

killing somebody can get people

35:35

to do the right thing

35:37

eventually. But

35:39

sometimes it's not who comes

35:41

from the parallel world, but

35:44

what? Warren Benedetto

35:46

in our next story shows us someone

35:49

not looking for what lurks on the other

35:51

side of reality, but

35:53

what might be looking for

35:56

you when you don't even

35:58

know it's there without a

36:00

Without further ado, I present to you, Feed

36:02

the Worm. My

36:11

tires rumbled as my car drifted over the

36:14

white line and onto the shoulder of the

36:16

road. The line departure

36:18

warning beeped insistently, screaming at me

36:20

to wake up. My

36:23

eyes snapped open and I slammed on

36:25

the brakes. It

36:27

and gravel rattled against the underside of

36:29

my car as I swerved

36:31

to avoid a deer-crossing sign that

36:33

had materialized in my path. My

36:36

back tires fished tailed along the

36:39

crumbling blacktop, momentarily threatening to send

36:41

my car into a spin before

36:43

regaining traction. After

36:46

recentering the car in its proper lane, I

36:49

glanced into my rear-view mirror at the

36:51

twin spirals of road dust swirling on

36:53

my tail lights. The

36:56

smell of burnt rubber singed my nostrils.

36:59

My heart pounded like a double kick drum

37:01

in my chest. Holy

37:03

crap, that was close. I

37:06

poked at the touch screen on the dashboard

37:08

until the opening rifts of Master of Puppets

37:11

by Metallica filled the car. I

37:14

nudged the volume a little higher, then began

37:16

drumming my fingers against the steering wheel in

37:19

time with the music. I

37:21

glanced into the rear-view mirror again, this

37:23

time examining the smooth curve of my

37:25

bald paint. My

37:28

hairband days and my hair were

37:30

long gone. I

37:33

sighed, then returned my attention to

37:35

the black stretch of asphalt racing

37:37

under my headlights. The

37:40

road was a long, winding scar,

37:42

carved through mouths of otherwise

37:44

unspoiled forest. It

37:46

was completely deserted, which was exactly

37:48

why I liked it. It

37:51

gave me plenty of time to think. There

37:54

were no other cars, no houses, not

37:56

even a street lamp. The

37:58

sky offered a breathtaking, display of

38:00

planets and stars, as

38:02

if someone had scattered a bucket

38:04

of silver glitter on a black

38:07

velvet tablecloth. My

38:09

full moon was a perfect circle, surrounded

38:11

by a soft halo, of

38:13

white light that cast an eerie glow

38:16

on the low ground fog drifting between

38:18

the trees. As

38:20

my car routed the curve, my

38:22

headlights illuminated a woman, shambling along the

38:24

side of the road in the distance.

38:28

She was a medium-billed and worn oversized

38:30

white t-shirt over what looked like boxer

38:32

shorts. She walked with

38:34

an odd gait, sort of a shuffling stride,

38:37

her bare feet kicking up little clouds of

38:39

dust that danced in the glow of the

38:41

headlights. A silver bracelet

38:43

with a small heart charm dangled from her

38:45

wrist, under a tattoo of an

38:47

angel that stretched up her forearm. Her

38:50

legs were crosshatch, but fresh scratches, as

38:53

if she had just stumbled out of the woods

38:55

through a wall of thorns. My

38:58

foot drifted to the brakes, slowing my car

39:00

as it drew closer to the girl. I

39:03

reached out and killed the music, leaving only

39:05

the shushing sound of my tires on the

39:07

blacktop. I scanned the

39:10

trees for a driveway, a mailbox,

39:12

or any sign of civilization that might

39:15

indicate where the girl had come from,

39:17

and there was nothing. I

39:19

hadn't passed any disabled vehicles either, at

39:21

least not that I could remember. I

39:24

supposed her car could have broken down somewhere

39:27

up ahead, but then why would she be

39:29

walking back in that direction, on

39:31

my side of the road? And

39:33

why was she dressed, or undressed,

39:35

like she was? It

39:38

looked like she had just climbed out of bed

39:40

by way of a briar patch. My

39:43

tires crunched in the dirt on the side of the

39:45

road as I rolled up beside the girl. I

39:48

lowered my passenger side window, leaning over from

39:50

the driver's seat to see her better. She

39:53

seemed to be in her late teens. Her

39:56

teeth were chattering. No wonder

39:58

it was forty degrees outside. She

40:01

was definitely not dressed for the weather.

40:03

Hell, she was barely dressed at all. I

40:06

called to the girl through the open window. Hey

40:09

there, you okay? The

40:12

girl stopped walking. She didn't respond.

40:14

She didn't even look in my direction.

40:16

She just stood on the shoulder, staring

40:18

straight ahead into the distance. I

40:21

brought my car to a stop and put it in

40:23

park. I briefly considered shutting

40:25

off the engine, then decided it would be

40:27

safer to keep it running. I

40:29

opened the driver's side door and stepped out onto

40:31

the road. The car

40:33

warned me about the open door with

40:36

a persistent ding, ding, ding. I

40:39

closed it, then walked around the hood of the

40:41

vehicle. The headlights threw my

40:43

shadow far down the road as I crossed in

40:45

front of them. Hey, I

40:47

said again, waving my hand

40:49

to get the girl's attention. Her

40:52

eyes darted in my direction, and

40:55

I recoiled slightly. She

40:57

was looking at me, but she didn't seem to

40:59

be seeing me. Everything

41:01

all right? No,

41:04

the girl replied, her voice barely a whisper.

41:08

Did something happen? Not

41:10

yet. Not

41:12

yet, I thought. What kind of answer

41:14

is that? I wasn't

41:16

sure how to respond. Instead

41:19

I asked, you have a name? Amy.

41:24

Hi, Amy. I'm Ben. The

41:26

girl just looked at me blankly. I

41:28

blew warm air into my hands. Listen,

41:31

it's freezing out here. Can I give you

41:33

a ride somewhere? No.

41:36

There was no concern in her voice, no sense

41:38

of danger. Her response was

41:40

simple, matter of fact. You

41:43

sure? You're going to get

41:45

sick dressed like that. I

41:47

waited for an awkward moment to see if

41:49

the girl would respond. She

41:52

didn't. What are you

41:54

doing out here anyway? Or car breakdown? Or

41:57

I trailed off and tried again. Do

41:59

you live up here? here somewhere?" The

42:01

girl didn't answer. I shrugged. "'All

42:05

right, well, I'm gonna go then.

42:07

Good luck." I stepped back

42:09

toward the driver's side and then paused, cheering

42:11

on my thumbnail for a few seconds while

42:14

I stopped to think. Finally

42:16

I turned back to her. "'Look, I

42:19

don't feel right leaving you alone like this.

42:21

It's not safe.' "'I

42:23

know. You're all

42:26

by yourself?' The girl shook

42:28

her head, "'No.' I

42:30

looked around, suddenly worried, but there was

42:32

nobody else in sight. "'Someone's

42:35

coming for you.' "'Mm-hmm.'

42:39

"'Really? Oh!' The

42:42

girl stared down the road past me. "'Them.'

42:47

I turned, expecting to see a car

42:49

approaching. But there

42:51

was nothing, just a yellow, lined blacktop

42:53

disappearing into the darkness. I

42:56

looked back at the girl, ready to ask what

42:58

the hell she was talking about. She

43:01

was gone. "'Hey!' I

43:03

blurted out. I came

43:06

around the front of my car to the

43:08

passenger's side, thinking maybe she'd passed out on

43:10

the side of the road. She

43:13

wasn't there. "'Where'd she go?' I

43:16

scanned the nearby woods. The tree-line was

43:18

too far, across an expanse of

43:20

knee-high grass. She couldn't have gone that way.

43:24

There was no sound, no movement. "'Amy!'

43:29

I half-jogged a few steps along the passenger's side

43:31

and around to the back of the car. The

43:34

girl was on her knees, crouched low behind

43:36

the rear bumper. Exhaust

43:38

swirled around her, lit

43:41

up by a hellish red, with a

43:43

glow of the taillights. Her

43:45

hair hung over her face in

43:47

damp ropes. Breath

43:49

streamed from her nose in short, rapid

43:51

bursts. She looked up at

43:54

me. Her eyes were wide with terror. "'Hide!'

43:57

she whispered. I Dug the door.

44:00

Yeah, mind car weather and did so my

44:02

pulse hammering in my ears. From.

44:04

What? The girl

44:06

didn't answer. she peered around the edge

44:08

of the trump's than quickly drew back.

44:11

And listen to know I did. After

44:14

about a minute I started to feel foolish.

44:16

There was nothing else. The.

44:18

Girl was just paranoid is

44:21

probably strung out on message

44:23

something. Choose hallucinating. I

44:26

raised myself and I did see

44:28

through the rear window and onto

44:30

the road and front a good

44:32

dimly make out the silhouette of

44:34

the deer grazing on a spray

44:36

of dandelions and shoulders road. As

44:38

if sensing my gaze, the deer

44:40

looked up that mean tude lately

44:42

for a moment and voted off

44:44

into the woods. Seriously.

44:47

I gave an exasperated sigh and

44:49

stood up. Rook this. This is

44:51

ridiculous. Do you want to ride

44:54

or not? Last Chance. The

44:56

girls stood in stepped out tentatively from

44:58

buying a car. Know

45:00

she replied. They're coming

45:03

for me. All

45:05

right then and syrup mans and

45:07

deceit and headed back to the

45:09

driver's side. Sea. And

45:12

for you to. Add.

45:15

Turned and walked back towards girl.

45:17

My eyes narrowing. Would.

45:19

You say? The. Girl looked

45:21

at me. Through. Me it seemed.

45:24

They know. Her words

45:26

and a shot of adrenaline through

45:28

my body, I mask my alarm

45:31

with an air of casual dismay.

45:33

I am. what Are they know?

45:36

Everything. The girl

45:39

started laughing. It was a broken

45:41

sound, joyless. She covered her mouth

45:43

with her hand. The silver bracelet

45:45

slid down from a risk to

45:48

her for on the Harpenden limerick

45:50

read in the reflected blow the

45:52

tail lights. The

45:54

felt a surge of and girl

45:57

was markings. Separate. Funny.

46:00

The girl shook her head to still

46:02

laughing. No. Tears streamed

46:05

are cheap, tracing fresh

46:07

tracks through her smeared

46:09

mascara. Spota. And

46:11

away from her face, revealing yellow

46:14

teeth. slept with blood and saliva.

46:17

Listening strings a bloody draw, a stretch

46:19

between her lips and doubled down a

46:21

chin. She. Lives even

46:23

artist. There was something

46:26

else her last underneath and

46:28

gurgling liquids slimy, the sound

46:30

of pneumonia of fluids pooled

46:33

and lungs of drowning from

46:35

the inside. Seem.

46:38

To us big. See.

46:40

Who. Isis.

46:44

My stomach lurched. I

46:46

don't know it's talking about. See

46:48

you to. Yeah

46:51

that's okay. I began backing away

46:53

from it. The girl match me

46:55

step for step advancing. I held

46:57

up my and as if the

46:59

word or off that just stay

47:01

away from me. Do

47:04

it again. I didn't do

47:06

any. Suddenly the girl let

47:08

out an animal's now and

47:10

lunged at me. She slater

47:12

I'm reading or nails cross

47:14

my cheek and opening a

47:16

gas and of my i

47:18

I instinctively dogs to decide,

47:20

simultaneously tripping the girl and

47:23

pushing her the Shah's accelerated

47:25

or forward momentum, sending her

47:27

head first into the corner.

47:29

The cars heard her scalia

47:31

to meddle with the sound

47:33

of Iraq. Melon dropping from the

47:35

sky, the girl crumble to the

47:37

ground, collapsing into a tangled pile

47:40

of limbs. Her. Head love

47:42

to the side it a grotesque

47:44

angle. Sick. River crimson

47:46

spilled from her hairline and pooled and

47:49

one of her open eyes filling the

47:51

socket would blood. She.

47:53

Didn't blinds. And

47:57

based in front of my car, mumbling under

47:59

my breath as I played out the in

48:01

the Habitable Place interview in my mind, was

48:03

I going to say. Start.

48:06

The girl came out of nowhere,

48:08

ran right in front of my

48:10

car. dried swerve but it was

48:13

too late. Thought I'd hit a

48:15

deer realizes person until I got

48:17

out of the time. Saw the

48:19

body in the road was an

48:22

accident. Terrible, terrible accident. I

48:24

imagine the cops response. Another

48:28

accident. Look

48:30

down at the girls' body sprout in front of

48:32

my car than touched the gas to my cheek.

48:35

Who's I kidding? Nobody would

48:37

leave. It was accident. My

48:40

car was undamaged. The road

48:42

by it was unspoiled snow

48:44

skid mark know burnt rubber.

48:46

No indication that I'd braids.

48:48

doors were of did off.

48:50

Not here at least. Departed

48:53

road where I dozed off was miles

48:55

mind me. Know how would

48:58

I explained to my face. Should.

49:00

Have my skin under her nails,

49:02

my dna on our hands, Had

49:05

to try to clean it off but once I missed

49:07

some. And I'd really be screwed. The.

49:10

Cops would start to doubt my

49:12

stories. That question my motives?

49:14

Maybe look into my background? And

49:17

what would they find? Dot.

49:20

Damage. Trust myself. Have

49:23

it. I let this happen again. I. Stopped

49:25

next to the girls lifeless form. I

49:28

wasn't sure how she knew what

49:30

see seem to know how can

49:33

see know about Alexis? That

49:35

that matter anymore? I had to do

49:38

with the present situation at no time

49:40

to worry about the past. Circling.

49:43

bond girl i said my hands under

49:45

her armpits and lifted her head sought

49:48

backward her dark haired trailing along the

49:50

ground as i dragged or it's it's

49:52

tall grass and into the woods i

49:55

lowered her to the dirt behind the

49:57

trunk of a large phone tree She

50:00

stared sightlessly at the forest canopy

50:02

above. Dried leaves

50:04

clung to her hair. One

50:07

arm was splayed out of her side, the

50:09

other was draped across her stomach. I

50:12

rocked the fallen tree with my foot to see if

50:14

it would roll. It was heavy, but

50:16

I could move it. Kneeling

50:18

on the carpet of wet leaves next to the body, I

50:21

slit up my sleeves and then plunged my

50:23

fingers into the dirt. The

50:26

ground was soft and damp, with a

50:28

dark, earthy smell that reminded me of

50:30

the compost at my grandfather's farm. There

50:33

was a smell of decay, of

50:35

decomposition. The

50:37

forest was teeming with life that fed

50:40

on death. I would bury the

50:42

body as best as I could with my bare

50:44

hands, roll the fallen tree

50:46

over it, and then let nature do the

50:48

rest. As I

50:50

began scooping handfuls of leaves and dirt onto

50:52

the body, covering it with

50:54

a thick layer of debris, the girl moved.

50:58

Jesus! I backpedaled, away

51:00

from the body, startled by the unexpected

51:02

motion. My elbows

51:04

slammed into the dead tree behind me.

51:07

A chunk of rotten bark sloughed

51:09

off, revealing a squirming, writhing mass

51:12

of insects. Toebugs

51:14

and springtails and millipedes tumbled over

51:17

each other, dropping onto the

51:19

forest floor and seeking refuge in the

51:21

shadows under the log. A

51:23

giant centipede with dozens of

51:26

pointed legs scrambled over the tree, disappearing

51:28

to the other side. I

51:32

eyed the girl's body warily. She

51:34

wasn't breathing. Her chest was

51:37

still. Her eyes weren't blinking.

51:39

It certainly seemed like she was dead. So

51:43

how did she move? That's

51:46

when I realized the arm that

51:48

had been draped across the girl's stomach was now

51:50

at her side. It

51:52

had slipped off her body and onto

51:54

the ground. It was just gravity. No

51:56

big deal. Barest

52:01

by my skittishness, I

52:03

snorted out a short laugh and scooted back

52:05

closer to the body. The

52:08

arm that had slipped was the one with

52:10

the angel tattoo and the silver bracelet. Curious,

52:13

I pinched the heart-shaped charm between

52:15

my fingers and angled it to

52:18

see it better. There was

52:20

a name etched onto it. Jessica.

52:24

Jessica. Hadn't she

52:26

said her name was Amy? I

52:28

rolled my eyes skyward and looked back

52:30

toward the road trying to mentally rewind

52:32

our conversation. Yeah, it was

52:34

Amy. She definitely said Amy.

52:38

Before I could fully process what the disparity

52:40

could mean, the girl moved again.

52:43

Her back violently arched, then fell,

52:46

then arched again. Her

52:48

head rolled in my direction. A

52:51

torrent of bright red blood poured from

52:53

her mouth as her tongue emerged from

52:55

between her lips and extended in my

52:57

direction. It grew

52:59

longer and longer. Too

53:02

long. That's

53:04

not her tongue, I realized

53:06

with mounting dread. It's

53:09

a worm. I

53:11

watched in mute horror as

53:14

the worm expelled itself from the girl's

53:16

mouth. The slick and

53:18

tubular as thick as my wrist and

53:20

encased in a mucusy brownish-red

53:23

membrane the color of raw

53:25

liver. At the

53:27

end of its body was a

53:30

gaping maw filled with concentric circles

53:32

of pin-sharp razor-edged barbs all

53:35

pointing inward toward a hungry, pulsing

53:37

mouth. The worm

53:39

twisted and writhed as it emerged,

53:41

coiling itself on the ground next to

53:44

the girl's head in a pool of

53:46

blood-tinged slime. It was

53:48

hard to gauge its full length, but it had to

53:50

be six feet long, maybe ten, maybe

53:53

more, and still it kept

53:55

coming. Finally its

53:57

tail end slipped out. I

54:00

did Riyadh, the worm lunged at

54:02

me launched. It's have stated my

54:04

midsection. Those. And possibly

54:07

quick. More later, the strike of

54:09

a rattlesnake or a cobra than

54:11

the clumsy wriggling you'd expect from

54:13

a worm. the try to

54:15

dodge way but creature was too quick. It's

54:18

razors teased easily, shredded

54:20

spiraled the way past

54:22

my shirt. Through. The

54:24

soft tissue under my rib cage and

54:26

into my body cavity. Screamed.

54:30

At tried to grab the worm but

54:32

my hands just slip useless lights down

54:34

the length of it's eu slipped form.

54:37

And worms, body whipped in France

54:39

does it? Burrowed into my torso,

54:41

course screwing past my organs until

54:43

it reached my spine. And.

54:46

Somewhere deep inside it's length

54:48

is extruded and needle thin,

54:50

promiscuous and injected it into

54:52

my spinal cord, running it

54:54

up into my skull. The

54:57

pro branched into thousands of individual

55:00

filaments that burrow themselves deep into

55:02

the crevices and folds of my

55:04

brain. And an instant. My

55:07

mind was flooded with a bright

55:10

white surge of consciousness, a new

55:12

form of hyper awareness unlike anything

55:14

I'd ever experienced before. I

55:17

knew what the worm was, what it

55:19

knew. What they all

55:21

knew. There. Were millions

55:23

of them physically disdain for genetically

55:25

identical? All of them connected at

55:28

a quantum level? The form a

55:30

single super organism with a shared

55:33

universe of consciousness. Everyone

55:35

was linked to every other through

55:37

space and time for most the

55:39

hosts across the globe. Eat.

55:42

Worms nervous system intertwined with

55:44

that of it's hosts, siphoning

55:47

the hosts memories, filtering them,

55:49

devouring them, man digesting, The.

55:53

words didn't see it on just

55:55

any memories though there's no use

55:57

for fond memories know first words

55:59

for steps of first kisses, those

56:02

memories were worthless. What

56:04

the worms wanted, but they needed, what

56:07

they thrived on, was pain. First

56:11

they consumed whatever painful memories were

56:13

already there in the host, then

56:16

they made more. They

56:19

drove their hosts to ever more

56:21

horrible extremes, manipulating them

56:23

like marionettes to create new memories upon

56:25

which to feed, memories

56:27

of tortures, murders, and wars,

56:30

until the host's mind deteriorated from

56:32

the strain. The

56:35

hosts would begin to hallucinate,

56:37

haunted by ghosts, plagued by demons.

56:40

They'd become paranoid, reckless,

56:43

and sane. Eventually

56:46

the worm would manipulate the host to help

56:48

it find a new host, a new home.

56:52

Someone with untapped reservoirs of suffering,

56:55

someone with deep well-springs of pain,

56:59

someone like me. As

57:01

the worm's tendrils were assimilated into

57:03

my brain, all the pain the

57:05

creatures had consumed over

57:07

millennia flashed through my mind in

57:10

an endless stream of horrors. I

57:13

saw warlords and murderers, rapists

57:15

and kidnappers, politicians

57:18

and priests. I

57:20

saw them arm themselves with their weapons

57:22

of war, their guns,

57:24

their scriptures, their checkbooks.

57:27

I saw brothels and

57:29

boardrooms, slaughterhouses and sacristides,

57:33

the pulpit and the resolute, nooses

57:35

hanging, ovens burning, cities

57:38

of flame. Then

57:41

divisions slowed, focusing on

57:43

a specific memory, a recent one,

57:46

but not one of mine. The

57:49

scene had a wavering, warbling

57:51

quality as if it was

57:53

a movie being projected through

57:55

half-melted film. The

57:57

Sound was muffled and out of sync with the

57:59

visuals. But it was enough to make

58:01

sense of what I saw. I

58:04

saw a heavy said girl with thick

58:06

glasses and round face lured into the

58:08

woods by a girl. she's how was

58:10

your friend. This way

58:12

just go. Familiar voice said his

58:14

back here. And

58:17

saw that heavy girls smarter into

58:19

laughter, alive to turn to shot

58:21

or sharp turn to tear a

58:23

son I plunged into a chest,

58:26

her side or net. A

58:28

Star pleadings while hiding. As

58:31

our blood soaked body road into

58:33

a shallow grave already dug, her

58:35

arms flopping limply over her mangled

58:38

test. The sad

58:40

silver bracelet with our tended known arrest

58:42

one and sparing your name just. Assad

58:45

been classed and be class done.

58:48

A new wrist wrist was an

58:50

angel pet. Amy's

58:52

resist. Them. Division sped

58:54

up again and began to recognize some

58:56

of them. They were snippets from my

58:59

own life. So ourselves

59:01

at five was my father's for me

59:03

across the room and a drunken rage

59:05

at eight, pounding on the lox cellar

59:08

door terrified at my mother had left

59:10

me there to die. Sixteen.

59:14

Finding my best friend body three days

59:16

after a heroin overdose had left him

59:18

slump behind the wheel of his car.

59:21

That. Twenty one arguing with my girlfriend

59:23

in the bathroom of our a rundown

59:25

apart been in West Hollywood. Alexis.

59:29

Divisions Mode again play out

59:32

like grainy Vhs footage was

59:34

distorted under water sound. As.

59:37

Alex's jabbing or long read fingernail

59:39

into my chest as she berated

59:41

me insulted be told me I

59:44

was weeks pathetic. A balding lose

59:46

it's who would never amount to

59:48

anything. The. Saw my hands

59:50

as a poster. as are

59:52

high heeled boots getting on the

59:54

smoke bathroom floor or tempo smacking

59:56

into the corner of the counter

59:59

is itself Her face

1:00:01

hitting the floor with a dull thud.

1:00:04

I saw the blood pooling on the tile. I

1:00:07

saw her mouth open. Her eyes

1:00:09

closed. Her breathing stopped. I

1:00:12

saw her die. I

1:00:16

saw myself looking in the rear view

1:00:18

mirror. I blanked and

1:00:20

rubbed my hands over my face. I

1:00:23

was in my car parked in my garage at

1:00:26

home. The ignition was off. The

1:00:28

engine was cool. The garage door was

1:00:30

closed. What had

1:00:32

I done last night? Where'd I been? I

1:00:35

couldn't remember. My

1:00:38

head was pounding. My back felt

1:00:40

like someone shoved a red hot

1:00:42

wire up my spine. It

1:00:45

was a dull ache in my side, just under

1:00:47

my ribs, like that time in high school when

1:00:49

I got nailed with a pitch at baseball practice.

1:00:52

I looked at the clock on the wall of the garage.

1:00:55

It was 6.15 AM. My

1:00:57

wife and kids would be awake any minute.

1:01:00

I didn't have much time. Time

1:01:02

for what? I didn't know. But

1:01:05

whatever it was that was urgent, I

1:01:07

had to hurry. As if

1:01:09

on autopilot, I climbed out

1:01:11

of the car, picked up a can of gasoline

1:01:14

from the floor near the lawnmower, and

1:01:16

grabbed a box of matches from the shelf

1:01:18

by the grill. Entering

1:01:20

the house, I splashed the gas around

1:01:22

the living room, through the kitchen, and

1:01:25

down the hall outside the bedrooms where my

1:01:27

wife and children were asleep. Then

1:01:30

I struck a match. The

1:01:33

gas ignited with a flare of light and heat

1:01:35

that sent me stumbling back on my heels. The

1:01:38

flames raced across the hallway, blackening

1:01:41

the walls and filling the air with

1:01:43

noxious smoke. Stop it,

1:01:45

I thought. Help them. I

1:01:48

tried to call up, but I couldn't make a sound.

1:01:50

I had no voice. My

1:01:52

limbs felt heavy and useless. I

1:01:55

was frozen in place, paralyzed, unable to

1:01:57

move. The only thing I could do was

1:01:59

to stop. do was watch and

1:02:02

listen. Screams

1:02:04

rose inside each of the

1:02:06

bedrooms, screams

1:02:08

of panic, then terror,

1:02:10

then pain. A

1:02:13

sound seared itself into my memory,

1:02:17

and the worms began to feed.

1:02:34

I hope you enjoyed Feed the Worm

1:02:37

by Warren Benedetto as performed by yours

1:02:39

truly. If you enjoyed

1:02:41

that tale and would love

1:02:43

to read more from tonight's

1:02:45

very talented featured author, you

1:02:47

can help support him by

1:02:50

visiting simplyscarypodcast.com slash warren-benedetto.

1:02:55

That's

1:03:01

simplyscarypodcast.com/warren-benedetto.

1:03:09

Thanks again for your support of this

1:03:11

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1:03:16

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ha ha ha ha ha

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ha. Thanks for listening. You've been listening

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to Scary Stories Cold in the Dark,

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1:07:54

you up all night. But

1:07:56

that's alright. Who Needs

1:07:58

sleep anyway? The

1:08:09

delicious ice cold taste of Dr. Pepper has

1:08:11

a lasting effect on people. Lindsay from Sacramento

1:08:13

said... Pro tip, 40 degrees is the perfect

1:08:15

temperature for an ice cold Dr. Pepper. Why

1:08:17

is 40 degrees the perfect temperature for Dr.

1:08:19

Pepper? We brought in Sue from Duluth, Minnesota to

1:08:21

tell us. Oh yeah, I know a thing or two

1:08:24

about cold. Oh, that right there is the

1:08:26

perfect kind of ice cold for Dr. Pepper. Mmm,

1:08:28

I'd share that with my friend Nancy. She likes

1:08:30

Dr. Pepper too, you know. My coldest... Alright, that'll

1:08:33

be all, Sue. Having a perfect temperature for

1:08:35

your Dr. Pepper? It's a Pepper thing. Inspired

1:08:37

by Real Fan posts.