Episode 26: In the Belly of the Earth

Were you woken up by some strange, deep rumbling down below your bed? We were. We're a little tired today. Some updates from Weatherman Todd and the Mountain Watch, and-

Did you hear that?

The voice of Tanner is Charles Raymond. The voice of Martha is Daylin Chase. The voice of officer Carlton is Carson Rafuse. The voice of River is Achilles Friesen.

This is the season one finale. Thank you so much for your support. Stay tuned for more coming soon.

Special thanks to Freesound contributors: uagadugu, animadierer, hablofame, kmoon, sheyvan, and tvilgiat. 

Transcript

[THEME MUSIC AND A RUMBLING SOUND] 

TANNER: Were you woken up last night by a deep, strange rumbling from down somewhere in the earth? Stirred from restless dreams by some unexpected- and as of yet unexplained- stirring of the restless ground beneath your bed, beneath your feet? 

Well, we were. 

Aside from the fact that they are quite rare in this area, we all were convinced it was an earthquake. A small one, or possibly the aftershocks of one elsewhere. However, we checked, and while they aren’t necessarily, well, authorities on the subject, both Weatherman Todd Stevenson and the affiliated Mountain Watch confirmed that no actual seismic activity was registered in the area-- though they also confirmed that they too experienced this trembling of the earth. 

As we always do our best to, we will try to update you with any new information that comes our way about this whole thing, if it comes our way. 

Anyways, welcome back. You might be surprised that you’re hearing from us, especially after some things that definitely weren’t threats were said by the other voice last time. So far, we wanna say thank you to everyone we’ve been in contact with for not turning us in. Not that any of you know where we are. And, I mean, by reporting us, you’re implicating yourself… but we’re choosing to believe all of you have maintained our secrets out of good faith. 

You might- well, you’ll hopefully notice- that our broadcast today, if all goes as it should, will be free of any interruptions. David Pradlick, once owner of the only electronics store in town, and recently returned member of our community, came back from his, uh… trip?, for lack of a better term, with some knowledge and skills that have been very helpful. And he’s been generous enough to share them with us. So, we’re hoping he’s been able to uh, sort of secure or protect this frequency. We’ll see if it works! 

Whether or not it does, we’re happy to be broadcasting. We’re happy you’re lsiyening. We’re happy to say we do have some- well, not stories, and not much, but things to share with you tonight. [SHIFTING PAPERS] But, we have two last housekeeping notes before we get into it.   

We hope you got last night’s newsletter about discreetly and safely locating, and even creating, blind spots in the security system. If it wasn’t obvious by now, where we are seems to be an entire blindspot of sorts. That is how we’ve lasted this long- this long being a week- here. We hope this will be helpful to you, and we also hope you followed the very specific disposal instructions for that newsletter. 

And lastly, before we get any further-- 

[STRANGE SOUND FROM DEEP BELOW]

TANNER: [TURNING TO SPEAK TO HER] Martha, what was that… rumbling? 

MARTHA: A noise from the basement, I think? Hopefully not the pipes. Just keep talking. I’m gonna go check it out. 

TANNER: Okay. [RETURNING TO MIC] Now, listeners we were talking about- wait. [TURNING BACK AGAIN] Martha- do we have a basement? I know we’ve only been here a few days but, I don’t remember… Martha? 

MARTHA: What? 

TANNER: I don’t think we have a basement here. I don’t remember them ever mentioning it… 

MARTHA: Stay here. 

TANNER: Bring Carlton with you. Just in case? 

MARTHA: I think he’s still-- out. 

TANNER: Maybe wait til he’s back. 

MARTHA: I can handle myself. 

TANNER: I know. But he’s got a gun- and if those sounds aren’t pipes… 

MARTHA: Where’s River? 

TANNER: I don’t know- I haven’t seen them today. 

MARTHA: Hmm. Keep talking. Jordan, go to a break if it happens again. 

[MARTHA WALKS AWAY] 

TANNER: [RETURNING TO THE MIC, CLEARING HIS THROAT] Uh, next- right. Sorry if we seem a little… off, listeners. All of us here, outside of the ground-shaking incident thing, seem to have had trouble sleeping as of late, and uh, well most of us have got something of a headache today. 

The few of you we have been able to talk to in the last few days have reported similar experiences. Restless nights. Headaches- a strange, buzzing sort of headache that starts around the ears and slowly- almost drills it’s way further into your head. A dull, persistent ache that starts when you wake up and fades throughout the day but never quite vanishes. 

We aren’t sure what’s causing it- if anything is causing it. It very well might just be one of those things that seems like something but it isn’t. We just- well, it’s something we noticed, and will continue to pay attention to. 

[TRANSITION] 

First on our limited list of things to tell you tonight: 

When we had contacted Weatherman Todd and the Mountainwatch regarding the strange not-earthquake, they also passed on some on their insights and observations regarding another notable occurrence that took place last night, and apparently also a number of nights before: 

Those many shifting, coloured lights in the sky, stretching from across the other side of the river and cutting through the darkness overhead have returned, brighter than before, along with those deep, pulsing, mechanical sounds. These somewhat familiar sounds are also reportedly accompanied by another, more musical sound, softly humming beneath. 

Now, you might be thinking, like we were, that you have neither seen nor heard these described lights and sounds in the recent weeks. Weatherman Todd Stevenson said neither had he nor anyone involved with regularly watching the mountains and, by extension, this area as a whole. While they were unable to actually send us a full copy of the footage, their monitoring cameras captured many nights’ worth of these lights and sounds. 

For some reason, it seems, we can’t exactly see or hear them, or are maybe forgetting when we see or hear them. But, the video is proof that they are there, persisting through the night. You might remember Jess talking about a similar issue a little while

ago- she said she could still hear and see them while the rest of us couldn’t. We’re not sure why. We’ve heard that there is reportedly one person in town struggling with the presence of these lights and sounds, though we haven’t yet heard from them directly about it. 

We were assured that the Mountainwatch would be paying special attention to these lights and sounds, and that specific building we all know they are no doubt coming from, alongside their original focus. 

Along with all of this information, Weatherman Todd also passed on a weather forecast for us to read: 

The unpredictability of autumn is both it’s beauty, and it’s frustration. 

That’s- that’s it. I’m guessing he means the weather will be, varied? Temperatures do tend to fluctuate a little more this

time of year, usually, and I guess it’s hard to say with certainty what exactly will happen. Weather-wise, but true for uh, everything right now really. 

[TRANSITION- RUMBLING SOUND] 

TANNER: As you folks no doubt heard here earlier, there’s been a strange… development, here. We’ve actually heard from some of you in something of a second-hand way saying that you are in a similar situation. 

Each basement, while varying in size and depth, seem to have one thing in common: 

Scratches, on the walls. Deep, carved wounds into the concrete skin of these underground stomachs. Like they were dug out by great, big hands. 

We’ve started a checklist on a whiteboard of places in town that have also spontaneously gained basements. So far, the only thing they all have in common is that none of them, before today, had basements. 

It's just a theory so far, but we think there’s a chance this is related to the shaking-of-the-earth that happened last night. 

As we don’t know what this means, how it happened, or why it happened, listeners, we can’t really do more than tell you it happened, and, out of caution and based on no actual evidence, advise you to stay out of these basements until we know more. 

Just… better safe than sorry. 

[TRANSITION] 

We’ve covered all we had to cover tonight, folks, but… I’ve been thinking about those lights. The ebbing and pulsing stream of orange and purple and blue trickling through the sky like a creek through a meadow. 

I wonder who else can see them. If maybe, our absent friends and family look up wherever they are, if they have a night sky where they are to look up to, and can see at least a hint of colour gleaming above them. 

Or, maybe, at least, they can hear the sounds, those deep, jarring mechanical sounds, or the strange, musical tone that accompanies it. 

When I was gone, in that uh, other place, I remember, there was this- this night where I looked up, and I swear they were there. In the empty space above me, giving the great wide blackened sky overhead a hint of life. And the sounds, too- just carried on the air like they had traversed time and distance and possibility just to be there with me, for a moment. And they were. Just for a moment, before they trickled on onto nothing, but… 

Maybe Jess can still see them. Hear them. Wherever she is. If she is anywhere. 

Anyways, uh, folks, that seems to be all we have. Not all we have time for, but all we have and, well, I’ve still got that headache- and judging by the way Jordan’s massaging her temples, I think she does too. And Martha- Martha’s putting on a pot of coffee. I’m not sure where the others are- but, from all of us here- 

[THE RUMBLING SOUND- AND THEN MUSIC. TANNER PULLS BACK FROM THE MIC]

TANNER: Is that- is that music? 

[MARTHA PUTS DOWN THE COFFEE POT] 

MARTHA: Okay. I’m gonna go check it out. 

TANNER: By yourself? Is Carlton still not back? 

MARTHA: I don’t think so. 

[THE SOUND INCREASES, THEN STOPS. THEN THE SOUND OF COUGHING] 

TANNER: Martha…? 

MARTHA: I hear it. 

[DOWNSTAIRS] 

RIVER: Take it easy- 

JESS: Where am I? 

RIVER: Welcome home. 

JESS: What do you mean, home? 

[JESS COMES UP THE STAIRS]

JESS: What is this place? 

MARTHA: Jess? 

JESS: Martha? 

TANNER: You’re back. 

JESS: This is a dream. 

MARTHA: It's not- I promise it's not. 

JESS: Don’t- don’t touch me- 

TANNER: Oh my god- You’re hurt- you’re bleeding- 

JESS: It's not mine. 

MARTHA: Why don’t you sit down- 

JESS: What’s that noise? 

MARTHA: What noise? 

JESS: You don’t hear it? What are you doing here? 

[DISTANT DOOR SLAM AND APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS]

MARTHA: Carlton must be back.

JESS: Officer Carlton? 

TANNER: [CALLING TO THE MAN] What’s wrong? 

CARLTON: [RUNS IN, BREATHLESS] There’s something happening- something in town- oh my god-

JESS: Jordan, cut it- 

[STATIC, INTO:]

JESS: 

[CRYING]

I know you’ll probably never get this. I don’t know why I’m calling, I just… I have to hope. Sometimes they come through, right? Somehow. 

But I don’t know. I just don’t think I can do this again- I can’t- 

Gah, my nose is still bleeding. My eyes won’t stop watering. I don’t even know how long I’ve been sitting here, just… It's cold. It's dark- its, its night. I’m hoping the sun will rise soon. And I can figure out where I am. And what to do. 

I don't... I don't know if you can hear me, I just- I want to go home. I just want to go home.  

[CRYING]