Episode 27: Tape #2

The voice of Martha is Daylin Chase. The voice of Tanner is Charles Raymond.

Sound effects this episode thanks to FreeSound.org contributors: kmoon, jefferys2, deepseapro, sacco12, alsounknownasa, sheyvan, and sergiovasquez. 

CW: This episode contains brief mention of  blood.

Nowhere, On Air is created, voiced and produced by Jess Syratt. Cover art by Moon Hermit Crab on Instagram.

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at nowhere.onair@gmail.com. Or, find us on twitter, @NowhereOnAir

Transcript

[THEME SONG. STATIC. THE SOUND OF A TAPE RECORDER STARTING]

MARTHA: And, we’re recording. Second time’s a charm. 

JESS: What are you gonna do with the first tape? 

MARTHA: Throw it out, unless you want it? For, whatever? 

JESS: I might… I might listen to it all the way through. I mean, that was kinda weird right? Anyways. How do you know how to work one of these? 

[Laughing a little] 

MARTHA: It’s not that hard. 

JESS: Can you show me? 

MARTHA: Later. Stop touching it- don’t press any buttons, dude. Can you state your name for the record please? 

[JESS LAUGHS] 

JESS: That sounds so weirdly official. This feels so stupid. 

MARTHA: It was your idea. 

JESS: I know- I know, I just. I don’t like… talking as myself I guess. About myself like this. 

MARTHA: Just pretend it's the radio. 

JESS: (Laughs) My name is Jess- 

MARTHA: Full name. 

JESS: [Sighs] Charlotte Jessica—-. 

MARTHA: What? 

JESS: What? 

MARTHA: Charlotte?

JESS: Yeah. 

MARTHA: You’re kidding, right? 

JESS: No…?

MARTHA: Your name is Charlotte? You never told me that. 

JESS: I didn’t?? Right. I guess I- yeah. Well. I’ve always gone by Jess, even back home…  And, also, never give your employer your full name. Can’t give advice I don’t follow. 

MARTHA: You just gave me your full name. 

JESS: Well, yeah. We’re more than just employer-employee now. Aren’t we? 

MARTHA: Awe. Yeah, I’d say we are.  Charlotte, huh. Can I start calling you Charlie?

JESS: No-[Laughing] I’d rather you didn’t. Just Jess. 

MARTHA: Just Jess. I know that.  Okay. Man, I feel like- 

JESS: What?

MATHA:  Nevermind. Uh, moving along- age? 

JESS: Do we need age? 

MARTHA: No harm in it, I guess. 

JESS: I’m 24 years old. 

MARTHA: Oh, hey, by the way- what do you want for your birthday? Next week, right? I remember. 

JESS: [LAUGHING] 

MARTHA: How long have you been in Braedon? 

JESS: Four years. 

MARTHA: How did you get here? I guess that’s a big question. I know some of the story, but… 

JESS: It was uh, break- school was done for the summer, and I was going home. I was going to school in Edmonton, y’know, and, my parents still lived in Cranbrook, farther west, really just past the border, into BC, I don’t think it exists here? 

MARTHA: Uh, no. 

JESS: I think there’s a similar city, different name, I remember looking for it- I don’t remember the name, but its in kinda the same spot? I always wanted to go check it out- that’s actually how I found out that… yeah. 

MARTHA: You can’t leave. 

JESS: No. 

MARTHA: Any new theories on that? 

JESS: No. I mean, I made a blood pact with Town Council. I just didn’t know what that really meant. But- honestly, what The Faceless said- the whole, dimensional barriers and invoking energy shit- made enough sense to me. 

MARTHA: I meant to ask back when, y’know [REFERENCING WHEN JESS WAS HIT BY A CAR], but is that what you told Dr. Olsen? 

JESS: Yeah. He hated that answer, but he believed me. 

MARTHA: [ LAUGHING] Fair. 

JESS: Yeah. Anyways. Not super important, I guess. I can’t leave. Don’t know why. Kinda know why. 

MARTHA: And we’re talking about how you got here. 

JESS: Right. I stopped for gas at some local gas station, not around here here, around my here and- well, that’s when it happened. I was just getting a snack and- I felt really, just, strange, and I thought maybe I was passing out or maybe even dying cause then there’s this- this weird light with colours and it’s warm and, and it’s singing and pulling me, and next thing I know, I’m lying in a field. My head was spinning, and my eyes burned. My nose was bleeding and I freaked because I’d never had a nosebleed before- and I’d never done, well, whatever happened before. 

MARTHA: What field? 

JESS: Guess. 

MARTHA: Okay, obviously I know but you gotta say it. That's the whole point of this. 

JESS: Farmer Daniels’ northernmost field. Close enough that once I sort of got my bearings, I walked. Thankfully he didn’t see me cause I don’t know if I could have dealt with him then. But I knew I needed to find a phone cause I’d left mine in my car, and ended up at Mountainview. I’ve always liked diners- there was this one we went to in my grandparents’ home town when I was little, it just-- anyways, sorry… uh I tried to use the phone, the little payphone by the door? But my parents' number wasn’t in service, which was weird. So I tried calling a friend, but it ended up being the number for some auto shop or something? I tried all the numbers I could remember before I gave up. (JOKE BUT GENUINE) Which was only like, five or six, and I think one was my boss’.  Not that it would have done me any good, but you never know when you’re gonna be trapped in a different dimension and needing to phone home so, maybe memorize them. Just in case you come across a phone that can make the call. 

[THEY BOTH LAUGH. MARTHA SIGHS]

MARTHA: Man. 

JESS: What? 

MARTHA: I mean- I know this- it's a different dimension for you, or probably- but it always sounds-- just, weird to hear it said. Even here. 

JESS: Yeah. I guess I don’t often like, really acknowledge it, um, in kind of certain terms. 

MARTHA: Hard to wrap your head around.

JESS: That can be said of most of what’s happened recently.

MARTHA: Yeah, no kidding. Anyways. You were in the diner. 

JESS: Right. Um. I was trying and failing not to cry because I didn't want to draw more attention to myself. I mean, my clothes were dirty, there was blood smeared on my face and hands, and I was an outsider in an isolated small town off some mountain highway. Alone, and unable to contact anyone. Then, I sat in the very last booth at the end, and used the last bit of cash in my pocket to get a coffee. I guess I lucked out that it was another dimension that was mostly normal first off, and where people were nice because, I don’t know. It definitely crossed my mind that I could disappear in this town and never be seen or heard from again. [Pause.] Which, I guess happened anyways. But, without the possibly murderous outcome like I definitely thought might happen. My story’s a bit more… bizarre. 

MARTHA: I mean, it's like- you know, scifi shit. 

JESS: Yeah. You know, I believe those were my exact words, verbatim, as I was trying to explain it to Betty Miller when she stopped by the booth to ask if I was okay. 

MARTHA: Did she actually?

JESS: It was sweet. Listened to me ramble for about 10 seconds, got a good look at my snotty, bloody face and got out of there fast. 

MARTHA: That’s actually hilarious. What did you think happened?

JESS: I thought maybe I’d had a- a seizure or an episode or something, and somehow got to a different town and suddenly came to- but I didn’t have any history of that- if I’d been a little more ‘with it’ I probably would’ve tried to get medical attention immediately, but- I don’t know, I guess I was stunned. I mean, it was pretty shocking. But Betty left, and that’s when I met John- Mountie John. Well, Stephen called the RCMP because this rough looking stranger was sitting in the back booth and crying and drinking coffee and wouldn’t leave. 

MARTHA: And scaring off his patrons. 

JESS: Yeah, that too. Crying strangers are bad for business. Then, I explained as best as I could what happened. 

MARTHA: The scifi shit. 

JESS: Yeah. The scifi shit. Which apparently didn’t sound as crazy as I thought it did…

MARTHA: Yeah, you ended up in a good place for weird stories. 

JESS: Yeah, no kidding. And I must have made a pretty strong impression on John because he and Carol took me in. And then… Man for two years, I don’t know- I didn’t really live here. I didn’t live anywhere. I went to bed every night just praying that I was dreaming. That I had fallen into a dream and just needed to sleep deep enough, long enough, that I’d find that door and go on back through it. Ages ago I’d heard a story about this guy who like, hit his head and dreamed an entire life and then saw a lamp or something, and like it looked weird, and he woke up. 

MARTHA: A lamp? 

JESS: Just like a- a sign, a symbol, a sound- something not quite right that sets the world shifting back into reality. I think the light looked strange. 

MARTHA: Hm.

JESS: I don’t think it was a real story to be honest. But, I mean, I hoped it was. I hoped somehow I could-- trigger something. I mean, I still go to the gas station sometimes. More than I care to admit. Just to-- I don’t know, try and go back. 

MARTHA: I thought you just liked their coffee.

JESS: I always feel bad if I go and don’t buy anything, I mean, Adam and Pete are so friendly, it’s nice to stop and chat… but yeah. I don’t know, I know it doesn’t really make sense and it's not the same place, I’m just sort of holding on to the hope that whatever happened will happen again. 

MARTHA: Do you think it will?

JESS: Hope? Yes. Think? No. Probably not. Almost definitely not. What were the chances it was even gonna happen once? The odds were astronomical that I’d end up here.

MARTHA: But you did. 

JESS: But I did. 

MARTHA: Maybe you were supposed to. 

JESS: I don’t know if I believe that, but maybe. I’d even gone online, like reddit forums and stuff like that… 

MARTHA: What were you looking for? I don’t think you’ve told me about this. 

JESS: Just asking if it had ever happened to anyone. Obviously I sounded… insane, and a lot of people thought it was just one of those fun internet stories. Got some critiques on the immersiveness? Sometimes, people reached out saying it had also happened to them, but most of their stories didn’t really sound like mine, so I just assumed they were trying to play along. 

MARTHA: Most?

JESS: There were a few that sounded the same. Like, maybe one or two. Almost beat for beat. People that said they were from other places, or worlds, or whatever. And it just- felt true. But no one had any advice. We were all just… stuck. No one really knows anything about how it works. 

MARTHA: Are you ever in contact with them? 

JESS: It's been about… 2 or 3 months since I talked to one of them. The only one I think that’s really still, active anymore. 

MARTHA: What did they say?

JESS: They just sent me an article about, theoretical, sciencey stuff and- and told me about this dream they had. 

MARTHA: Oh? 

JESS: Yeah, nothing mind blowing or like, new. Just a dream. About a storm, a shadow. Normal dream stuff. 

MARTHA: I know all of this feels redundant, but why don’t we recap what we DO know? It's next on the list. 

JESS: So, according to our fun mystery board, people seem to disappear from anywhere, but there’s sort of two places they seem to come back. Farmer Daniels’ field, or ‘somewhere’ by the river.

MARTHA: Somewhere. 

JESS: I did the quotation marks. With my fingers. 

MARTHA: I know that, but no one else can see it. 

JESS: The building by the river. That building- the waste and filtration? Sewage and filtration? I don’t know. 

MARTHA: Bullshit name anyways. 

JESS: I don’t know why I was being vague, I guess we’re making these to be explicit. 

MARTHA: Well we know you came through at the field. And Tanner. 

JESS: The first person we know who came back by the river was Elliot. 

MARTHA: God. Poor kid. 

JESS: Yeah. 

MARTHA: And I guess we know April did. She says she did, but obviously there were no witnesses to confirm it. 

JESS: And, well, obviously he hasn’t been able to confirm or deny it, but Mayor- Simon. I think he might have. That’s around where Daniels said he found him. 

MARTHA: Do you think Clarence did it? 

JESS: Clarence? 

MARTHA: Daniels. 

JESS: I’ve never heard- his first name is Clarence? 

MARTHA: Yeah, you didn’t know? 

JESS: We’re just learning names today, huh? How did I not know that? 

MARTHA: Did you think it was ‘farmer’? 

[Both laughing]

JESS: No, no. And no, I don’t think he did it. He definitely didn’t. We all know it was a set up to get access to his property. Obviously they- Town Council or whoever else- realized it was a higher activity place or something and… 

MARTHA: Have you been able to contact him at all? 

JESS: No. Word hasn’t changed, he’s ‘in custody’ but no one has seen him. And I can’t exactly ask John for favours anymore. 

MARTHA: Yeah. 

JESS: Which means the list of people who might have any sort of answers is shrinking. ‘C’ hasn’t dropped anything else off or anything, huh?

MARTHA: Nope. You’d mentioned you were gonna try and get in touch with John Mulroy, right? 

JESS: Yeah. I got the message to him, but I’m waiting to set a date and time. 

MARTHA: You think he has any answers?

JESS: I feel like it's just worth it to hear his side of the story. I mean, the mine does seem to be something of- of a core, right? Like the heart of something bigger moving out from it. 

MARTHA: Yeah. 

JESS: If I was like, 10% more of a dumbass I definitely would have gone there to check it out by now. 

MARTHA: Why? 

JESS: I don’t know. Maybe part of me still hopes or thinks this is a dream. 

MARTHA: Just remember: it's people’s lives. It's your life, here, even if it is just for now. Be careful. 

JESS: Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. 

MARTHA: What’s wrong? 

JESS: Sometimes- do you ever think- [SHE SIGHS] sometimes I’m worried I’m doing this for the wrong reasons. 

MARTHA: What do you mean? 

JESS: You’re right. It's people’s lives, and we’re- I’m stirring things up by being how I am, saying what I say. 

MARTHA: I just meant, in your actions. People care about you- don’t do anything stupid. 

JESS: I just- I’m worried it’s just me trying to feel in control of something. Trying to take something into my own hands and ignore what’s going on outside of it. Y’know? No one asked for it. 

MARTHA: For what? 

JESS: No one asked me to start talking about things. I mean, was anyone talking about it before I…? No one pointed at what was going on and said “hmm that’s a weird concerning thing that probably points to there being greater governmental powers at play and about which important information is obviously being kept from us, I wish someone would talk about it even when they’re threatened to not do so”. 

MARTHA: Us. You aren’t the only one. Me, Tanner, Jordan- we all agreed. Even if people didn’t ask, that doesn’t mean it isn’t important- we aren’t the only ones noticing- 

JESS: I know. You just- its people’s lives. You said it. It's people’s lives and now I can’t help but think that maybe we’re going to cause their lives to be changed in ways we can’t make right or take back. 

MARTHA: Some of them already have. What about them? 

JESS: What about picking your battles? 

MARTHA: Isn’t who you’re fighting for more important than what you’re fighting, or how you’re fighting it? 

JESS: What is that, philosophy? 

MARTHA: I get it, though. I don’t know- I guess, just like- I hear you. I wish we could do more, like- act on this shit without having to worry about putting other people at risk. 

JESS: Yeah. Yeah me too. 

[Martha sighs, and reaches across the table to grab her hand]

MARTHA: Hey. Whatever happens, as long as we stick together, it's gonna be okay. Okay?

JESS: It's gonna be what it's gonna be. 

[More silence. Jess pulls away. Martha sighs again] 

MARTHA: Well, those are all the questions I had written down. Did you want to say anything else? Did I miss anything? 

JESS: I don’t think so, I don’t know. Sorry. 

MARTHA: It came with a bunch of tapes so, if you think of something important to say- 

JESS: I think I’ll sit down with Tanner in the next few days. Get his story too. 

MARTHA: You sure he’s ready to talk about it? 

JESS: I think so. He said he would tell me the whole thing, so… You gotta show me how this works first.

MARTHA: Sure. First, though, coffee. 


[SOUNDS: STANDING AND MOVING]

JESS: I’ll make it this time. 

MARTHA: Why? 

JESS: Don’t take this the wrong way, but it kinda tastes like gasoline and tobacco when you make it. 

MARTHA: You don’t like my coffee?? 

JESS: I didn’t say that- 

MARTHA: You implied it-

JESS: It’s an acquired taste- and I’m not in the mood for that particular taste- 

MARTHA: Dude, it’s fine. I’m just teasing you. 

[They continue laughing. The tape stops. Some static, then;] 

JESS: Basement’s clear, Carlton and I had a good look around and- What are you doing? You still do the show, huh? 

TANNER: What else is there to do?

JESS: Sure. 

MARTHA: What? 

JESS: I’m back, I might as well. 

MARTHA: Really? You can take some time to settle, readjust- 

TANNER: Yeah, don’t feel like you have to- 

JESS: Trust me, I’ve had plenty of time off. Unless you’ve officially replaced me with Tanner. 

TANNER: No, no. Just filling the temporary absence. The air’s all yours.

JESS: Speaking of, I think you’re still live. 

MARTHA: Ugh. I’m still getting used to this board… 

JESS: This switch here? 

MARTHA: Yeah-

[OFF. STATIC INTO…, JESS, walking and talking.]

…the horizon is just ever stretching out before me and- and I feel like I’ve been wandering for an eternity. Its only been a day or two, but still. 

Martha, I know what you would say, I know Tanner survived. He survived for 15 years. But he found people.  I climbed a tree yesterday and shouted as loud and far as I could. To see if someone was out there. I hope something is out there. Just… something. 

I mean, most nights I hear something- something crying, wailing in the distance. But it sounds… yeah. I don’t know what happened here.

I mean, this place has trees. That’s nice. I’ve always liked trees. They feel like shelter sometimes, you know? A shaded spot in an otherwise empty field. 

The trees here are dead, though. Blackened and worn and… warped. Everything’s dead, really. In a weird way I can’t explain. Not how Tanner’s world was- fundamentally other and strange- this place still feels familiar at the core of it all, just… corrupted. 

Something happened here. Something big. Something bad. It's like, it looks like home but everything’s been… 

Of course I end up in the ‘other world’ where there was some sort of apocalypse, right? That’s my theory right now anyways. 

[SHE SIGHS AND WALKS A FEW MORE STEPS. A HUGE SOUND IN THE DISTANCE]

I just wanna go home. Not a day has gone by in 4 years where I haven’t thought that. but now- man, I want to go home. I always thought- I never thought Braedon was home before. But I miss Braedon. I’d give anything to come home. 

[MORE WALKING, INTO STATIC]