0:00

9th

0:04

Story Studios, giving

0:06

story a voice.

0:16

I'm David Alt and you're listening to the Wicked

0:18

Library.

0:25

Douglas

0:28

is one of many who found a new life through

0:30

Seattle's Union Gospel Mission. I was

0:32

living on the streets when I heard this guy talk

0:35

about how he got clean and sober at

0:37

the mission. So I decided to give

0:39

it a try. I could feel something working

0:41

inside of me and I knew I was getting

0:43

better. Today my number one goal

0:46

is to stay clean and sober.

0:53

To hear more,

0:53

volunteer or donate, visit

0:56

UGM.org. My brother

0:58

in law died suddenly and now my sister

1:00

and her kids have to sell their home. That's

1:03

why I told my husband we could not

1:05

put off getting life insurance any longer.

1:07

An agent offered us a 10 year $500,000 policy for nearly $50 a month.

1:13

Then we called Select Quote. Select

1:15

Quote found us identical coverage for

1:18

only $19 a month, a savings of $369 a year. Whether

1:23

you need a $500,000 policy or a $5 million policy, Select

1:25

Quote could save you more

1:29

than 50% on term life insurance.

1:31

For your free quote, go to selectquote.com.

1:35

Selectquote.com. That's selectquote.com.

1:38

Select Quote. We shop, you

1:40

save. Full details on example

1:42

policies at selectquote.com slash commercials.

1:53

Warning, the Wicked Library is

1:55

a horror fiction podcast created

1:57

for a mature audience.

1:59

Stories contain graphic descriptions of pain,

2:02

murder, violence, blood,

2:05

betrayal and inhumanity. Monsters

2:09

win, people die and hope

2:11

is often shattered. There is also

2:14

beauty, heart, catharsis

2:17

and raw emotion. Fear

2:19

may be deeply personal, but

2:21

we all share it. If at any

2:23

time a story takes you to a place too

2:25

dark, turn on the lights, press

2:28

pause or press stop. And

2:31

always remember that unlike

2:34

in the real world, these nightmares

2:37

and your participation in them

2:39

are under your control.

2:55

Welcome back to the Wicked Library, I'm

2:57

Daniel Foytek and I thank you for listening.

3:00

Before we get started today, just a quick thank you to those of you

3:02

who are supporting the show. Without your

3:04

support, this show would not be possible.

3:08

If you are not yet supporting the show and would like to do so,

3:10

you can do that at patreon.com forward

3:12

slash wicked library. Today

3:15

we present the second of three special episodes

3:17

for Halloween. Today's episode

3:19

features stories by LB Waltz,

3:22

Christopher Long and Mel.

3:26

Continuing our theme, these tales are told in the style

3:29

of sitting around a campfire and listening

3:31

to spooky tales. So

3:33

bundle up, gather round the fire

3:36

and sit back with some hot apple

3:38

cider or something a little stronger for

3:41

Volume 2 of Wicked Campfire

3:43

Tales, and check back tomorrow,

3:46

Halloween, for Volume 3.

4:29

KINDLING

4:40

by Christopher Long

4:44

Some folks don't do so well out here

4:46

on their own. That's what

4:48

the park ranger had said to me when he'd seen

4:50

me pull up. I'd tried telling

4:52

him this wasn't my first time whilst making

4:54

a point of showing him all the kit I'd brought along. It's

4:57

not cheap stuff and I've used it plenty of times

4:59

before, but did that impress the old boy?

5:02

No, it did not. Not

5:05

even my tent over there and let me tell you that tent

5:07

can survive storms. I

5:11

guess he wasn't to know campings in my blood.

5:14

I get it from my dad. We'd go camping together

5:16

when I was growing up. It was our little escape. We'd

5:18

sit around a fire and he'd tell me stories. Stories

5:22

about things like you now that

5:24

I think about it.

5:27

We'd get a lot of stupid deaths up in the hills, that

5:30

ranger had said, obviously convinced I wasn't

5:32

listening. Some people must just forget

5:34

how to survive the night. He'd

5:37

made it sound like he'd find some burnt

5:39

body sprawled in the ashes of their own fire

5:42

and have himself a good chuckle. Now

5:44

I have to wonder if the ever dreamt those people

5:47

might have encountered something like you out

5:49

here. And more

5:51

importantly, I want to know how many

5:53

stories those other hikers told you before

5:56

they realised they were never getting

5:58

home. Of course

6:00

that Rangers warnings didn't stop me I

6:03

got my gear on and started walking telling myself

6:05

I'd be fine once I got moving but I

6:07

was far from fine I was jumpy

6:09

it didn't help that I never saw another

6:12

soul out on the trail to distract me I

6:14

even got a little scared of the sound of my own footsteps

6:17

once I was deep amongst the trees up here They

6:19

echo everything back at you. That's probably

6:21

why I called it a day earlier than I'd planned You

6:25

must have seen how easily I got this fire

6:28

going I set it right in the middle of these

6:30

old stones where it looks like a few other

6:32

campers had lit their fires before me Ah,

6:35

maybe that's where I went wrong because I

6:37

lit that fire and there you were Sitting

6:40

beside it like you'd been waiting for me

6:43

At first I thought you were just a trick of the light

6:46

I was pretty tired and you stayed so quiet You

6:49

didn't whisper until you caught me looking at you You

6:51

didn't speak until the first time

6:53

you knew I'd seen you clearly And

6:56

I swear I did my best to ignore you I

6:58

tried telling myself you were just one of my dad's old

7:00

stories rattling around my head Only

7:03

you started asking me questions and even

7:05

though I knew deep down not to answer

7:07

you I also knew I could

7:10

only resist for so long

7:12

I guess your sort depends on that

7:16

You started demanding your stories from me not

7:18

long after I told you my name That must be

7:20

how it works You've been drawing

7:22

them out of me ever since How long has it been? I'm

7:25

sure I've not seen the sun rise yet but

7:27

it can't be the same night this all started

7:29

We've been out here for days haven't we? I

7:32

know I'm losing my voice and I know I'm

7:34

running out of stories I

7:37

don't want to think about what's going

7:39

to happen when the fire dies out Or

7:42

how that old park ranger is going to find my

7:44

body when the sun finally does come

7:46

up again

7:58

Welcome to Breeze Line Where next level

8:01

internet speeds means next level

8:03

productivity. Whether it's back to school,

8:05

back to work, or back to reality. Don't

8:07

let slow internet slow you down. Instead,

8:10

choose BreezeLine and go boss mode

8:12

with next level internet and faster

8:14

speeds backed by a fiber-powered network.

8:16

So you can level up your day and champion

8:19

every quest. Now that's BreezeLine.

8:21

Terms and conditions apply. Go to BreezeLine.com

8:24

to learn more.

8:47

The Coffin by L.B.

8:49

Waltz

8:52

The question came in that silence

8:54

between one collision and the next. Axe

8:57

against trunk. Trunk against

8:59

ground. Heart against

9:02

ribs. What are you doing?

9:05

I yelped. Swore to,

9:08

though the bowel's final groans did well

9:10

to mask that. With twigs

9:12

shattering like fingers beneath my feet, I

9:15

spun around. And there

9:17

was a child. To say

9:20

I was alarmed would be to undermine

9:22

both how perilously close this little

9:24

one was to the oak, and

9:26

the spontaneity with which they manifested.

9:30

A dozen half-formed reprimands caught

9:32

in my teeth before I managed to hiss, You

9:35

might have been crushed, you fool. Said

9:38

fool blinked. They

9:40

had odd eyes. Pale

9:44

eyes. Paler than

9:46

pale. The color of the ghost

9:48

pipe that sprouted from unearthed roots.

9:52

The gash that was their mouth

9:54

wilted into a frown. What

9:56

are you doing? they demanded again.

10:00

Their voice was youthful androgynous,

10:03

and although I squinted, neither

10:05

did their form nor their features hint

10:08

at a gender. I took

10:10

a breath, gathered my thoughts,

10:12

my patience, and my

10:15

acts. Are you

10:17

lost? I asked. I'm

10:20

exactly where I should be, the child

10:22

insisted. With one spindly

10:24

finger, they traced the oak's exposed

10:27

rings. Why did you cut

10:29

down that tree? Need

10:32

of lumber, I sighed. I've

10:34

been hired to make a coffin. A

10:37

coffin? The word was

10:40

repeated slowly, in that way the

10:42

forest echoes all manner of hidden carnage.

10:45

Crows shrieked in the distance. What

10:48

is a coffin? Well,

10:51

it's a vessel, I explained, thinking

10:53

the child to be younger than previously assumed.

10:57

The twins house the dead. Only

11:00

those who are properly buried can

11:02

find peace in God's kingdom.

11:06

The child turned this idea over in the

11:08

same way they did a leaf. Two

11:10

leaves rustling

11:13

through the toppled oak's foliage. They

11:15

mused, So you

11:18

murder the living to appease

11:21

the dead, and call

11:23

it justified? The

11:26

accusation saw me falter. I'd

11:29

never considered my work in such terms

11:31

before. Ours

11:34

is a good Christian village, I told

11:36

them, a touch defensive. We

11:39

know that unless a soul receives the

11:41

necessary rights, they're not

11:43

eligible for salvation. Many

11:45

things can be justified if resurrection

11:48

is at stake. I

11:51

see, they said, small

11:53

hands growing still. An

11:55

acorn lay cradled in their palms. On

11:59

that, at least. We are agreed."

12:03

And then the child was there, right

12:05

there, nose to nose with

12:07

me, their fungal eyes

12:10

bright, chin sticky

12:12

with amber, and cheeks scored

12:15

with...

12:18

That there were thirty thin rings around their

12:20

white void pupils answered

12:23

a question I didn't realize I had. I

12:27

was given time to open my

12:29

mouth, but not to scream.

12:31

The moment my lips parted, a fist

12:34

shoved past them, dirt bitter,

12:36

rough, cold,

12:38

ramming a lump down my throat.

12:42

That lump

12:43

fell into my belly. Consciousness

12:47

followed. And

12:51

that's when you found me. Alone,

12:54

it seems, no child nor

12:56

any evidence of one. Nothing

12:59

but the trees. There

13:01

was, I fear, never

13:04

anything but the trees. I

13:07

shouldn't fear them. The trees, I

13:09

mean. If anything I should fear how

13:12

much of the day I wasted collapsed

13:14

in the woods. And

13:16

here, in bed. I

13:18

can't be putting down roots on this mattress.

13:21

I need to get up. There

13:23

are blueprints to finalize, laughs

13:25

to saw, planks to shape. Coffin

13:28

building is a sacred task. I've

13:31

always treated it as such. I

13:34

have no intention of doing otherwise now. Even

13:38

with this pressure

13:41

in my belly, this

13:44

rootling squirm doesn't

13:47

matter. Salvation

13:49

is what matters. Resurrection is

13:51

what matters. That

13:54

requires a coffin. I

13:57

will make a beautiful coffin.

14:00

often.

14:10

Welcome to BreezeLine, where

14:12

next level internet speeds mean next

14:14

level productivity. Whether it's back to school,

14:17

back to work, or back to reality, don't

14:19

let slow internet slow down your game. Kick

14:21

it up a notch with a game changing offer

14:24

of 500 megabits per second of lightning

14:26

fast speed for only $39.99 per month. Choose

14:30

BreezeLine and get next level internet

14:32

and faster speeds backed by a fiber

14:34

powered network. Terms and conditions apply.

14:37

Go to BreezeLine.com to learn more.

14:57

Slice the Thread by Mel

15:03

I was never superstitious, but

15:05

I was always a good child. No

15:08

matter how absurd, you don't question

15:10

your parents in a Korean household.

15:13

Don't wear black to weddings. Don't eat

15:15

the tips of chicken wings. Cover your thumbs

15:17

around cemeteries. Never give a

15:19

knife as a gift. One

15:22

evening, I sat across from my mom

15:24

and finally asked her where the

15:26

knife omen came from. Her

15:29

body stilled, blade in hand,

15:31

against a radish she was peeling. The

15:34

cuts into the flesh as clean as a butcher

15:37

and so shallow, the skin looked

15:39

paper thin. Her eyes

15:41

lifted and she laughed lightly, as

15:44

if this were tea time and I was being

15:46

droll. An

15:48

old custom, she finally spoke. Too

15:51

ominous to gift a knife to someone you love.

15:54

You'll quarrel with them forever more. Her

15:58

eyes tightened at my laugh. One

16:00

day, your doubt is going to get someone

16:03

hurt." My mood

16:05

soured. Did she have to

16:07

take this so seriously? There

16:10

were hundreds of American superstitions that

16:12

she never adhered to. So why

16:15

did I need to follow any?

16:19

I had a friend who I cooked with

16:21

weekly,

16:22

meal prepping together, our way of

16:24

still seeing each other despite their

16:26

hectic married life. I

16:29

told myself I wasn't bitter, that I wasn't

16:31

angry when I saw the cuts on their fingers.

16:35

Their spouse too cheap to use the household

16:37

funds to buy a proper knife. They

16:40

got a new wound daily when

16:42

the cheap doll blades slipped and

16:44

nicked their finger. They explained,

16:47

since it's doll, I never hurt myself

16:49

too badly. I was fed

16:51

up. Enough so that

16:54

as much as my family superstition clawed

16:56

at my gut. I ordered a good

16:58

knife for their birthday. I

17:01

bit my lip as I watched for my friend's reaction

17:04

and for some ancient god to smite

17:06

me for daring to disobey my

17:08

parents in some contract

17:10

I had signed by being born to uphold

17:13

tradition. But

17:15

it didn't happen. My friend was

17:17

overjoyed. They used it immediately

17:20

and the smile on their face was everything.

17:24

Not in the fact that they weren't cutting themselves

17:26

raw on doll blades anymore. I

17:29

felt so proud of my choice until

17:33

it went wrong. What

17:35

used to be friendly texts about our interest

17:37

turned to the snipes about how I always

17:40

looked at things in black and white. Friendly

17:43

conversations soured into venting

17:45

sessions where I either had to listen

17:48

on and on or join

17:50

in and rub my emotions dry. Our

17:53

weekly sessions became

17:55

a mockery of camaraderie.

17:59

I could do nothing. right. Our mutual

18:01

aggravation sharpened until I begged them

18:03

to stop the snipes and the complaints,

18:07

but they pressed harder until

18:09

I had to look away, and

18:13

finally noticed it, a

18:16

thread hanging loose

18:19

above. My eyes followed

18:21

it up and I saw a red-robed figure,

18:24

holding it like a rope or a noose,

18:27

watching us. It

18:30

followed me everywhere I went, and

18:33

I thought my mind was searching for a gruesome

18:35

way out, that my stress was telling

18:38

me to end it all. I

18:40

would end it, but

18:42

not that way. At home,

18:45

I grabbed my butcher's knife. I

18:48

used it to hack at the thread in question,

18:51

keeping grim eye contact with the

18:53

apparition. I thought

18:55

it would take hours. It

18:57

took one single cleave, like

19:01

cutting through air, as

19:03

if the thread had been fragile all this time,

19:06

and I had just needed to push to

19:08

slice. The man

19:10

disappeared, and the ends fell,

19:13

and sat heavy and worn

19:15

at my feet.

19:18

I never heard from my friend

19:20

again.

19:32

Welcome to Breeze Line, where next-level

19:35

internet speeds means next-level

19:37

productivity. Whether it's back to school,

19:39

back to work, or back to reality, don't

19:41

let slow internet slow you down. Instead,

19:44

choose Breeze Line and go boss mode

19:46

with next-level internet and faster

19:48

speeds backed by a fiber-powered network,

19:50

so you can level up your day and champion

19:53

every quest. Now that's Breeze Line.

19:55

Terms and conditions apply. Go to BreezeLine.com

19:58

to learn more.

20:28

Thank you for listening to episode number 12 of the 1206. Today's

20:31

authors were Christopher Long, L.B.

20:33

Walts, and Mel. Today's

20:36

stories were told by David Ault and

20:38

Daniel Foytek. That's me. It's

20:40

been my pleasure to be your host today, and

20:42

we hope you'll join us again tomorrow for part

20:44

three. Our resident composer

20:46

and executive producer is Nico Viteze at the

20:49

Inky Paw Print. Artwork

20:51

for today's episode was created by Greg Schaefer.

20:53

Our producers are Meg Williams and Daniel

20:55

Foytek. To find out more about the Wicked

20:57

Library and other Ninth Story Studio shows, visit

21:00

thewickedlibrary.com and NinthStory.com.

21:03

And if you'd like to hear your own story on the Wicked Library,

21:06

submissions are now open. Check our website

21:08

at thewickedlibrary.com for more

21:10

details and requirements. To

21:13

keep this collection of dark tales coming, please support

21:15

the Wicked Library at patreon.com forward

21:18

slash wicked library. You can also

21:21

help us by leaving a five star rating and short

21:23

review on Apple podcasts, which helps

21:25

other folks find the show. The Wicked

21:27

Library is created by Ninth Story Studios

21:29

LLC. All rights reserved.

21:44

Welcome to Breeze Line, where

21:46

next level internet speeds mean next

21:48

level productivity. Whether it's back to school,

21:51

back to work or back to reality, don't

21:53

let slow internet slow down your game. Kick

21:55

it up a notch with a game changing offer

21:57

of 500 megabits per second of life.

22:00

lightning fast speed for only $39.99 per month.

22:03

Choose BreezeLine and get next level internet

22:06

and faster speeds backed by a fiber-powered

22:08

network. Terms and conditions apply.

22:11

Go to BreezeLine.com to learn

22:12

more. Welcome to

22:14

BreezeLine, where next level internet

22:16

speeds means next level productivity.

22:19

Whether it's back to school, back to work, or back

22:21

to reality, don't let slow internet

22:23

slow you down. Instead, choose BreezeLine

22:26

and go boss mode with next level internet

22:29

and faster speeds backed by a fiber-powered

22:31

network so you can level up your day and

22:33

champion every quest. Now that's

22:36

BreezeLine. Terms and conditions apply.

22:38

Go to BreezeLine.com to learn more.