It's snowing, folks. And as the snow covers the Earth... things are being uncovered.
The voice of Martha is Day Chase. The voice of Tanner is Charles Raymond. The voice of River is Achilles Friesen. The voice of Clark Olsen (?) is Shaun Pellington.
Special thanks to Freesound.org contributors: sheyvan, mootmcnoodles, ericssoundschmiede, nigelwright, alexbuk, warrick-lendon, aalgar, and cabled_mess.
Nowhere, On Air is created, voiced and produced by Jesse 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
CW: Conflict, raised voices, mention of cold-related injury, crying.
It's snowing, folks. And as the snow covers the Earth... things are being uncovered.
The voice of Martha is Day Chase. The voice of Tanner is Charles Raymond. The voice of River is Achilles Friesen. The voice of Clark Olsen (?) is Shaun Pellington.
Special thanks to Freesound.org contributors: sheyvan, mootmcnoodles, ericssoundschmiede, nigelwright, alexbuk, warrick-lendon, aalgar, and cabled_mess.
Nowhere, On Air is created, voiced and produced by Jesse 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
CW: Conflict, raised voices, mention of cold-related injury, crying.
[THEME MUSIC]
JESS: Hey there, listeners.
Hope you’re all safe and warm, and you’ve been that way all day, and will continue to be so as evening, and snow, continue to fall.
I feel like I don’t need to report specifics on the weather conditions seeing as, well, I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t know it's been snowing the last few hours. Cause it's been snowing a lot. Seems like winter’s finally caught up with us, and is making up for lost time… Or has found us early, and is just… eager. I’m not sure. The seasons lately have been starting to feel less and less important. I haven’t really been keeping track of the when of things, you know? I was kinda gone for a while.
[WIND SWELLS FOR A MOMENT]
Especially in the snow, time seems to slow. Grow cold along with everything else.
But, in terms of keeping track, you might want to know that, kind of like we used to in the good old days, we have been doing our best to just– keep track of things. The- the weird things. We don’t have a corkboard, and we don’t have red string or proper photos of everything, but we do have… a wall. It's kind of sad looking, but it's there. A sort of web, doing its best to keep track of things. We just figure, having a record of things like that I guess will be important when all this is over.
[QUIET] If this ever ends.
[CLEARS THROAT] Sorry. Uh. Inappropriate pessimism. I shouldn’t have said that. Of course, this is going to end. Everything ends. It has to. And I’m sure it’ll be okay.
[SOUNDS IN THE KITCHEN]
Sorry if you can hear that, Martha’s boiling the kettle— [pulled back] Can you put enough water in there for me? Thanks.
It's still pretty quiet here. You know the way that snow tends to dampen and silence everything? It's so– heavy outside, we can feel it even in here, the sky a weighted, falling white, and the ground consumed by this rising, burying white. A great white shroud. So thick, it feels like it could swallow us whole.
[SUDDEN SHIFT, MUSIC ENDS]
Jess: Hey, Martha, I’ve been thinking- should we get a cat?
Martha: [DISTANT] Huh?
Jess: A cat.
Martha: Here?
Jess: It just- it feels like the vibe, doesn’t it?
Martha: I'm not sure it’s such a good idea, I think— [DECIDING] well, hm… …I tell you what, after this is all over, we can get a cat.
Jess: We?
Martha: Like, at the station. Deal?
Jess: Seriously?
Martha: Yeah.
JESS: Seriously?
MARTHA: Promise.
Jess: Okay, I mean- wow. okay. What changed your mind?
Martha: What do you mean?
Jess: You said no, always, for so long- why the change of heart?
Martha: Just… cause. :)
Jess: Okay :)
[MUSIC, BREAK]
JESS: Sorry. Needed a refill on my tea and to uh, grab a sweater. It is freezing in here. I can’t imagine how cold it is outside, with the wind howling and gusting and–
[WIND SOUND RISING]
It is kind of beautiful, though. I can see out the window. The world, stark white, swallowed. Snow blowing and writhing in the wind, sparkling when it catches the pale light. And snow over the still green trees… it doesn’t look entirely dead, entirely cold, entirely empty…
It feels like… There’s something alive, waiting underneath. Hibernating.
Look at the surface of the drifts, moving. Is it the snow, shifting in the wind, or is it something beneath, stirring?
[SOUND FADES]
I guess I’ve got to brainstorm some cat names. Though, I mean, to be fair, you can’t really name something without meeting it first.
Like, James. I don’t know why James was James, I just looked at her… and she was–
[TAPPING SOUND ON WINDOW]
Oh. Listeners- there is a, a tapping sound on the window. I’m not sure if you folks can hear it but… I’m gonna go check it out. Despite what I’ve been saying, storm’s not so bad yet. Be back in a few. Here’s- here’s something to listen to while I’m gone.
[SOUND OF CHAIR SCRAPING BACK]
River, will you keep an eye on this? Yeah. This button here. I need to grab a coat… I shouldn’t be gone long. I think it's-
[LONGER MUSIC TRANSITION]
TANNER: [AWAY FROM THE MIC, TALKING TO JORDAN] No, she’s still not back. I mean, I can see their footprints in the snow, heading east, but- I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Yeah, it's bad out there. She had a her coat though, I think–
[TO MIC, REALIZING THEY’RE LIVE]
Oh. Hey, folks. Tanner here. Obviously. Uh, Jess is still… investigating that sound at the window she heard earlier. She’s fine, we’re sure she’s fine, and hopefully she’s staying warm.
Uh, yeah. Anyways. Uh, I wasn’t really planning on filling in, uh… thanks, Jordan, for being on standby.
[ADJUSTS THE SCRIPT, SIGHS, READING]
Uh, right well. The next segment literally just says “Jess recounts earlier meeting with Weatherman Todd RE: Weather and such.” Seeing as Jess is not here to recount said meeting, and I do not believe they even had said meeting, I’ll summarize the weather based on my own observations, aside from the obvious and already mentioned fact that it is snowing.
[SIGH] Look. I’m not sure if any of you have looked out your windows recently, but it's kind of… amazing how fast the snow is falling and piling up. Y’know, a heavy white shroud, rising and rising. Smothering anything was left of the autumn. Guess we couldn’t avoid it forever. Not that we weren’t already trapped here, but…
Y’know, I believe the snow only started like an hour, maybe two hours ago, according to, like clocks and stuff, but… I don’t know. I don’t know about you folks but it feels like longer. A lot longer. Y’know, winter has a kind of infinity to it, doesn’t it?
When the sky is so white you can’t tell it from the ground, the veil of blowing snow so thick you can barely make out the shape of trees ahead of you, the way the stark white consumes whole any and all evidence that something, y’know anything is out there…
All things swallowed. All things cold. All things… heavy.
MARTHA: [APPROACHING, SNAPPING HIM OUT OF IT, A LITTLE PANICKED] Did you say Jess went out?
TANNER: Uh, yeah. Uh. Todd showed up, they, uh, went for a walk—
MARTHA: [PANIC INCREASING THROUGH NEXT LINES, TODD IS GOING TO TELL JESS] Weatherman Todd?
TANNER: The one and only, why?
MARTHA: They went for a walk?
TANNER: Yeah, some private meeting, why?
MARTHA: How long ago– how far–?
TANNER: I mean, you probably wouldn’t catch up with them, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not even sure you’d be able to see their footprints, it's so bad.
MARTHA: [LEAVING] Shit. Dammit.
TANNER: [CALLING AFTER HER] Hey, is-? Everything okay? Martha– I’m sure they’re fine, she’ll be back soon!
[DOOR OPENS]
TANNER: Oh hey, speaking of–
JESS: Where’s Martha?
[SONGS ENDS. SOME STATIC INTO]
TANNER: And you what, just weren’t going to tell us about it?
MARTHA: I wasn’t sure.
TANNER: About what? If you were going to say yes?
MARTHA: No. Yes. Maybe.
TANNER: Seriously?
MARTHA: If we get arrested or- or brought in by this government faction or whatever the hell they are- that would be bad for me, okay?
TANNER: Bad differently than it would be for the rest of us?
MARTHA: Yes.
CLARK: Okay… bad how?
MARTHA: Look- they offered me a way out-
TANNER: Yeah. They gave you a chance to abandon us and you considered it-
MARTHA: It’s not like that!
TANNER: It's exactly that!
CLARK: [TRYING TO DEFEND MARTHA] It's the same offer they made me.
TANNER: What?
CLARK: Remember? I said yes- and they… it was a bad offer.
MARTHA: And I didn’t even take it.
JESS: It didn’t sound like you’d turned it down.
MARTHA: What?
JESS: Todd showed me the recording.
MARTHA: Recording?
JESS: A while ago he asked for permission to record our broadcasts. I said yes.
TANNER: Wait, without asking the rest of us?
JESS: [IGNORING] You asked for more time. Todd gave you the chance to tell us– you kept it from us? And then you asked for more time?
MARTHA: I also asked if I could bring anyone with me, Jess. I… Look. I was never going to say yes, but you can’t blame me for it. For wanting to leave. Just a little. You of all people should understand.
JESS: It's not the same.
MARTHA: Clark said yes, yell at him-
CLARK: Hey-
TANNER: Okay, that’s different, he’s not a part of this.
CLARK: Well-
TANNER: He didn’t let Stephen go-
MARTHA: How is it different? You trust him, when we still don’t even know for sure that it is him? But you don’t trust me anymore? Jess, I mean… [SILENCE- GROWING DESPERATE] I wasn’t going to say yes. I didn’t ever tell them anything, I swear. I don’t see why we can’t move past this-
TANNER: I don’t see how we can.
MARTHA: Seriously? Jess. Come on.
[SILENCE. JESS SIGHS]
MARTHA: Oh.
JESS: Martha-
MARTHA: Don’t. You made your feelings clear.
JESS: I didn’t say anything-
MARTHA: Exactly.
JESS: I’m just– [SIGHS] I’m trying to think. I’m not upset that– You just should have told us. You should have told me. I mean…
MARTHA: We’re past that now.
JESS: Yeah, I guess we are.
MARTHA: So that’s it?
JESS: No-! I just… I need to think. I’m freezing.
MARTHA: Fine. I’ll go.
JESS: Wait- what? Go where?
[CALLING, FARTHER AWAY]
MARTHA: I don’t know. Home.
JESS: What if they don’t let you? Martha- if they want you gone…
RIVER: Jordan’s right, you can’t go out in this.
MARTHA: Been in worse storms than this one. I’ll be fine. Just- give me a minute to get my shit together.
JESS: Martha-! Martha, wait-!
[DOOR CLOSES. UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE]
JESS: Nothing to add?
RIVER: None of my business.
JESS: [SIGHS] Right. How long til we’re back?
RIVER: Um… OH.
JESS: What?
RIVER: I’m- I’m, sorry, I don’t know how this works-
[GETTING CLOSER]
JESS: How long have we been back?
RIVER: I don’t know. What do I press to go to uh, a break-?
JESS: No, no, it's fine. [SIGHS]
[SOUNDS: JESS SITTING DOWN. A FEW MOMENTS OF SILENCE. JESS CLEARS HER THROAT, PUTTING ON A BRAVE FACE]
Um. We have an… update on the sinkhole, courtesy of Weatherman Todd Stevenson.
It's still there. As far as we’re aware it is still the only one, and word was, as of a little while ago, it's still… talking.
And there is still no sign of Don, and, to quote Todd, “we’re not holding out too much hope at this point.” Though to be fair, he said the pictures haven’t been developed yet, but, soon.
But, I mean, in terms of the sink-hole, we wholeheartedly advise that people avoid it and the surrounding area for the foreseeable future. And the unforeseeable future too, just to be safe. Not that we can see the future. Well, obviously, that’s why it's unforeseeable but-- anyways. It's just wise, overall, to keep a safe distance from the strange and the unsettling.
And the unexpected. The things you don’t see coming…
[RUBBING HER HANDS TOGETHER]
Whoo. Sorry, listeners, you know when your hands are all white and red and purple and warming up after being really cold and they get all sore and achy? Thought they would have defrosted by now but… it kinda really hurts.
CLARK: [HEARING AND CALLING FROM NEARBY] Wait, don’t massage them. Just, give me a moment.
JESS: O-kay.
[FOOTSTEPS- MOVING TO THE KITCHEN. THE SOUND OF THE SINK RUNNING.]
JESS: It looks like Clark will be joining us, folks. A little bit of deja vu, huh? [CALLING] Have you changed your stance on hibernation as a means of staying warm in the winter?
[HE LAUGHS POLITELY. FOOTSTEPS. PULLING OUT A SECOND CHAIR AND SITTING DOWN]
CLARK: Lets see your hands. [BEAT] You’re shaking, are you still that cold?
JESS: I guess.
CLARK: Well, you know what I’m gonna say…
JESS: I should have been wearing gloves/
CLARK: /You should have been wearing gloves.
JESS: I was in a hurry. Didn’t realize the temperature was dropping so fast. Let this be a- a public service announcement I guess for you, listeners:
[WIND SOUND AGAIN]
Be sure to bundle up properly if you are deciding to brave the storm for whatever reason. It’s— kind of incredible out there. Rising, consuming white. We recommend you uh, don’t, go out– [FOOTSTEPS, MARTHA. HEADING TO THE DOOR]
[FARTHER AWAY] Martha?
But I suppose sometimes there are circumstances that call for it… ideal or not…
[THE DOOR SLAMS. A BEAT]
CLARK: It doesn’t look like frostbite. [BEAT] Sorry, I know it probably hurts…
[JESS SNIFFS.]
CLARK: …Are you okay?
JESS: You know that- um, that feeling you get sometimes– you're, you’re running across a field, tall grass gently brushing against your legs, soft earth beneath your feet, and then- you aren’t looking where you’re going and then, your foot gets caught in a dip, a drop in the earth and you– and that feeling just before you hit the ground. Where- where you’re not sure what happened… and you should have been looking and…
[SHE’S STARTED CRYING]
CLARK: Oh. Um. Let’s— [LEANING BACK, CALLING:] River, how do you switch this off? Oh, right, okay, uhm—
[MUSIC. WIND SOUNDS. THEN, STATIC. INTO:]
[WIND AND SOUNDS IN DISTANCE]
JESS: Hey, Martha. [SNIFF] Can’t sleep. Still doing this. I’m— I found some rooftop to sleep on, near a town that looks weirdly intact, so I’m gonna check it out properly tomorrow but I'm sleeping up here tonight. Well, not sleeping. Try to sleep. It’s freezing. It’s- loud. The night’s are so loud here. Howling and whispering and… there’s an echo of something. I don’t know what it’s saying.
But I’m here. Still here. Even if it doesn’t feel like it some days. Not quite sure how, just barely scraping by. But I’m just laying on my back and staring up at the sky… It’s cloudless and clear and—
[LAUGHS LIGHTLY]
It’s not like I was ever an astronomy person, but… the sky looks odd. Off. Compared to back home. A little too empty. The clusters of stars are few and far between and uh…
Well, I’m looking at this particular one. I don’t really know how I would go about describing it, beyond a little cluster of stars, but… I’m uh, I’m gonna call it Martha.
Yeah. Um. That’s all I really had to say, I…
[STATIC]