Nowhere, On Air
Semi-late night community radio broadcasts from a strange little town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta (aka, not just the middle of nowhere, but nowhere itself). Nothing ever happens here. Certainly nothing weird. Why would you even suggest that? Listen close. Don't wander off. It's a long way to get where you're going. Especially out here.
Nowhere, On Air
Episode 37: Great Big Something on the Prairie
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Hello, listeners. David made us... something that will probably come in handy!
The voice of David Pradlick is Aaron Villegas. The voice of Martha is Daylin Chase. The voice of Tanner is Charles Raymond.
CW: Mentions of blood.
Sound effects thanks to Freesound.org contributors: bruce965, kd-jack, silentstrikez, michelefalleri, falcospizaetus, beat-blue, thanra, jefferys2, soundensemble, mar-sounds, and jamitch2.
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
[INTRO MUSIC]
JESS: Alright, we’re on air.
DAVID: Okay, great. [CALLING] Say something!
[LITTLE RADIO BEEP. DISTORTED]
MARTHA: Something.
DAVID: How does it sound?
JESS: I can hear it coming through. That's… this is really cool, David.
DAVID: Well, I’m just happy it works.
[LITTLE RADIO BEEP. DISTORTED]
MARTHA: Can I come up from the basement now?
JESS: Can you hear what I’m saying?
[LITTLE RADIO BEEP. DISTORTED]
MARTHA: Yeah.
JESS: Yeah, come on up. [TO DAVID] What made you think of this?
DAVID: It might sound stupid, but I- I had a dream. Felt like I was told to.
JESS: Doesn’t sound stupid. How did you know how to- well, you know.
DAVID: Well, you know, back when I popped through one of them void things, I went to– well, I don’t like to speculate, but it seemed…
JESS: Futuristic?
DAVID: Sure. Between what I- I learned there and what I saw in my dream, I knew I could throw these things together pretty quick. Speaking of, remind me later, I have something extra for you specifically.
JESS: Why?
DAVID: I- Like I said, felt like I was told to.
MARTHA: Do you need anything else from me?
DAVID: Uh, no. Thanks for your help. [GIVING HER ONE] This one’s yours.
MARTHA: Great. Thanks. Uh, I gotta go. Todd asked to meet with me this evening, so…
JESS: Weatherman Todd?
MARTHA: Do we know any other Todds?
JESS: Just- he cancelled on me today. Anyways. Tell him I said hi, and–
MARTHA: [FAR AWAY] Don’t wander off, I know.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
DAVID: I’ll let you get back to the show.
JESS: Hi, listeners. You might be wondering what we’re up to. Well, remember the surprise I mentioned David Pradlick was working on last time? Well, it was- or rather, they are… little baby radios, I guess. Like walkie talkies, almost. That connect to our frequency here. That way, seeing as none of us have cell phones anymore, we can still stay connected, keep each other updated on what’s going on in the area without having to literally run everywhere. I don’t know how it works, which, I’m content with not knowing how it works, I’m just glad it does.
Call it a gut feeling, but I think these’ll come in handy. Its not a psychic premonition, as I am not prone to those, nor are they legally permitted, but just… a feeling.
I’d like to thank David on air for his gift, for the time he spent literally making them for us with his own hands, and for– for being a friend. We know it hasn’t been easy being here, being away from your home, your store, being in the heart of uncertainty in some ways. But- yeah. We’ve appreciated having you here, and not just because you made us cool things. This thanks was a long time coming.
Anyways. Good evening! Welcome back. How have you all been today? Good, I hope.
Oh- my gosh. How… weird. [LAUGHING LIGHTLY, TIREDLY, EMBARRASSED] Shit.
I want to apologize, listeners, that our show appears to be an hour late. I just looked at my watch and I- have no idea where the time went, I swear I was keeping a close eye on it. It’s still bright out, I just– I guess I just sort of assumed and… well, there’s something to be said about a complicated relationship with time and it's complicated existence.
I have no excuse, I wasn’t really doing anything. And Jordan asked if I thought I’d need her help tonight, and I said she could take the evening off. Y’know, I’ve been doing this radio stuff a long time, and I thought Martha would be here. I’m not blaming either of their absences, I hope that’s not how that came across, because I was the one who told Jordan too– and Martha had plans which she’s allowed to have— this is no longer a job by any means… I was just, thinking about the way we rely on each other.
The way she’s always been looking out for me.
Also, in defense of me, I’m still off coffee. River, when I questioned this imposed decision, said it had “started to open me up to fears and instincts that have a different time and place” which… did not help my unease surrounding those fears. Though, I’ll admit I have experienced a decreased amount of existential dread in my day-to-day activities. I still experience it, just less. A “blood-red: danger” to “crimson: high” kind of decrease, or… maybe even a “dusk: orange” on the scale of uneasiness related to the state and hopeful continuation of my existence.
Uh, River is… hmmm, if I keep this up, they might take away my tea too. Let's move on.
[BREAK–]
[INTERRUPTION: LITTLE BEEP. DISTORTED. MARTHA SOUNDS PRETTY FLAT, GRUMPY]
MARTHA: Uh, hey. It’s me. Sorry to interrupt, Jess, do you copy?
JESS: Yeah, we hear you. What’s up?
MARTHA: Uh, I just, Todd said he’d heard from someone else that a void had opened up across town, uh, one of the fields just west. They didn’t say which one exactly.
JESS: Oh, okay- thanks for letting us know.
MARTHA: No problem.
JESS: Hey, Martha?
MARTHA: Yeah?
JESS: You… okay?
MARTHA: Yeah. I’ll talk to you later.
JESS: Oh- okay. Bye.
[FOOTSTEPS]
JESS: Uh, Where are you going?
TANNER: To check it out.
JESS: Tanner–
TANNER: You think it's a bad idea, I know. All due respect, I’m still going.
DAVID: Please take one with you! Test it in action.
TANNER: Sure.
JESS: And be careful!
[HE LEAVES.]
JESS: Listeners, I’m sure this doesn’t need to be said, but please, stay out of the fields west of town, just to avoid any accidental… fallings through. Y’know?
I would hate for– yeah. Just- please be careful.
[BREAK]
JESS: Right. So, uh, in the meantime… I don’t have a weather forecast because yeah, like I said earlier- Weatherman Todd cancelled our meeting today, but maybe Martha will come back with one. I’m not sure. I don’t know why they’re meeting. She didn’t mention it earlier, and neither did he… not that they have to tell me these things.
Speaking of meetings, I met with Herman Blanchard again this morning. And by met, I mean, I was drinking tea outside in the early hours of the morning, waking up, soaking in the sun and the day, barefoot in the cool grass, and suddenly, as he’s been doing lately, he sort of just… appeared, not quite like sneaking up on me, but kind of like sneaking up on me. I asked him how he kept doing that, and he said “doing what?”
Herman came by to say that he thinks- and I stress the term thinks- the stars have been… moving. In ways that, according to him, they’re not supposed to. Being head of the star-gazing club means he spends a good deal of his time gazing at the stars, and I would defer to him as the closest thing we have to a local authority on the matter. I can’t really explain what he shared too deeply or clearly as it was really early in the morning and Herman and I were on different levels of awakeness, but it sounds like things above are… shifting?
Further, it sounds like he is unsure whether certain stars have simply moved, or vanished in one way or another. Whether they’re gone from the sky completely, or whether they’re simply being… covered. I’m not sure which I find more unsettling, personally.
I did ask- as a joke- whether or not the night he observed this was cloudy, but… he didn’t find it funny.
As we’re mostly disconnected from the wider world in terms of contact and information, Herman says he’s been doing his best to find information on whether this is happening out there, which then I think would indicate these stars have actually disappeared, or whether it's just us, which, I think, would indicate they are being… shielded by something.
I’m not sure what any of it means or implies, but again, in the spirit of simply staying connected and keeping you all updated and doing what we can, I wanted to share just to—
[LITTLE RADIO BEEP. DISTORTED]
TANNER: Hey, you read me?
JESS: Yeah uh, yeah we read you. Where are you?
TANNER: I’m… there. I found it. It's a shimmering void, alright. A pretty damn big one. Swirling and singing and…
JESS: And?
TANNER: And… I’m feeling very welcome. Like I could step through– like it’s asking me too… something on the other side it’s calling…
JESS: Well, I mean, don’t. Obviously.
TANNER: [QUIET. MEANING REBECCA] What if she’s out there?
JESS: Tanner…
TANNER: I made a promise.
JESS: I understand. But, Tanner, the first time you passed through, 6 weeks passed here, and 15 years passed there.
TANNER: We don’t know for sure that’s how it works–
JESS: No, we don’t. But, think about it. How long—
TANNER: You’ve said how many times, there’s never a zero percent chance?-
JESS: That doesn’t mean the odds aren’t cosmically terrible. Not just that she’s still there, but that that’s where this one even leads.
[SILENCE.]
JESS: Tanner? You still there?
TANNER: [LOW. GRIEF] I’m here. [CLEARS THROAT] I’m gonna stick around until this thing closes, just- just to keep an eye on it.
JESS: Okay. Be careful, and…
[DOOR SOUND]
JESS: Looks like River might be on their way to join you.
TANNER: Alright. Over and out.
[BREAK]
Um. Yeah. I’m sorry I’ve said it so many times, but- these shows now are largely unscripted, and, to take some of the stress off Martha, cause she seems… stressed, I tried to write my own script, outline thing because, I’ve been doing this show for a while, in theory I should be able to do that, but… I don’t know, I write things down and never go into enough detail for myself, just thinking “oh I’ll remember what I meant” and I… don’t.
Like… “Waves are crashing on a very long shoreline. Ebbing and flowing. The shoreline never ends.” What does that even mean? Not only in the context of tonight’s show, but just- in general? I know I wrote it, but don’t ask me.
This next point, though, is “the mine :/” and I do remember what I meant by this.
Those sounds at the mine seem to be continuing. As the day draws to a close, it seems to draw out the sound from the deep of the mountains. I know I’ve described how it sounds before on air in like a literal, audible sense, but in a more, like, poetic sense, it sounds like when a pit opens up in your stomach.
A mouth of a shadow crumbling into itself. A growing sound in the growing dark.
Though, you know, it's worth mentioning, its… still not super dark out, considering the time.
Considering the time my watch is saying it is.
Maybe that’s not the time, and this watch needs a new battery. It's still ticking, but, y’know, maybe it's tired. Do watches get tired, as their batteries start to fade? I never wore watches before.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was getting tired. It's been ticking a… remarkably long time, I think, considering when I got it, it was… well, never mind. It's not important where I got it. I’m just surprised it still works. It's almost- impossible.
Hmm.
[BREAK]
JESS: Sorry, it was time for another cup of tea. Uh, coming up next…
[PAPERS SHIFTING. LITTLE RADIO BEEP. DISTORTED]
TANNER: Hey, Jess?
JESS: Oh, good timing. Hey, what’s up?
TANNER: Uh, just updating everyone. River has taken care of the uh, void, closed it, and…
JESS: And?
TANNER: Sorry, I thought I heard… something. They said they needed to go… do something, I think. But I’ll be heading back soon. Just gonna take a few minutes…
JESS: For sure. But, sounds like everything’s fine?
TANNER: Yeah- I think so–
[CREATURE SOUND. FROM HERE ON OUT, CONVERSATION IS PRETTY TENSE, HIGH STAKES]
JESS: What was that?
TANNER: [TERROR. DREAD] No…
JESS: What is it?
TANNER: No, no no no- God, no–
JESS: Tanner, talk to me, what’s wrong?
TANNER: Something came through.
JESS: What? Can you see it? Can you describe it-?
TANNER: I know that sound. I know– uh, shit, remember how I told you about those creatures from the world I went to?
JESS: The big, scary ones that were like bears and wolves but also not and maybe worse?
TANNER: Yeah. Those ones. I can hear them but, it sounds like wherever they are, they already came through.
JESS: How do you mean?
TANNER: They sound like– like they’re deeper in the fields.
JESS: Shit. Shit. What do we do?
TANNER: How did they get here? How did they–
JESS: How close are you to them right now? Can you see them?
TANNER: I knew it. I fucking knew it, I knew it in my chest that it was– that it would have lead–
[ANOTHER CREATURE SOUND]
JESS: Tanner- that sounds close. Maybe you should get out of there.
TANNER: Fuck, um, I know these things. I’m gonna get a closer look.
JESS: What? No-
TANNER: We need to know how many there are.
JESS: [SIGH] You need to be careful.
TANNER: I know what I’m doing.
JESS: [PAUSE] Tanner? You still with us?
TANNER: Shit.
JESS: What is it?
TANNER: You said someone found the void?
JESS: Martha said someone told Todd about it, I’m not sure who or how, and he asked her to tell us. Why?
TANNER: There’s blood. Like little splatters of it against the grass, wet, dark blotches of earth.
JESS: Oh no.
TANNER: I just hope they weren’t out here when…
JESS: Shit.
TANNER: I know.
JESS: I mean, what do we even do? Where do we even start–?
TANNER: I don’t know– we have to do something before they head for the town.
JESS: Yeah, but we can’t exactly send them out into the wild either.
TANNER: I’m open to suggestions.
JESS: You know these things better than I do. I’m not sure, if we had the right… stuff, could they be hunted?
TANNER: I guess. But you’d need a lot of people, and to organize-- it seems like there’s at least… I don’t know, three? Four? I lost sight of them for a second, but– [GASPS, SOME MOVEMENT AS HE DUCKS/DROPS TO THE GROUND]
JESS: Tanner? What happened?
TANNER: [WHISPERING NOW] I’m a lot closer than I thought. One of them- I don’t know if it heard me or if the wind changed and it smelled me but it just noticed me.
JESS: What?
TANNER: Shh! I– [SILENCE. THEN- SNIFFING, FOOTSTEPS, IT STARTS TO GET CLOSER. SOME HEAVY BREATHING FROM TANNER HE’S TRYING TO SUPRESS. THEN, THE CREATURE TURNS AGAIN, MAKING A SOUND, AND HEADS AWAY. STILL HUSHED BUT ABSOLUTELY RATTLED/RELIEVED:] Holy shit. Holy shit.
JESS: What is it? Tanner what’s happening?
TANNER: Something else- it sees something else. It's moving away…
JESS: Where?
TANNER: It’s… [SEEING] someone’s coming.
JESS: Who?
TANNER: Someone in a scouts uniform… [SEEING HER CLEARLY] Sophia. It's Sophia Cardenas, coming up the road towards– [CALLING TO HER] Hey, hey, it's not safe-! [SEEING, REALIZING, PAUSE. SOFT:] Whoa.
JESS: What’s happening? What’s she doing? Is she okay?
TANNER: She’s– singing.
JESS: Singing? Like- the sharks?
TANNER: [SOFT] Like, like the sharks.
JESS: Is it… working?
TANNER: I think- I think it is. Listen:
[SONG. PAUSE.]
SOPHIA: Whippoorwill
A funeral hymn for the day
Griefless, songlike
Mirror of the dying light
Harken and howl an evensong
Last night
I dreamt I saw my mother’s face
In a flock of fleeing birds
In ever fleeting voice
On the wind
A summer swift where we begin
Where we end
JESS: Tanner? What’s- what’s happening now?
TANNER: She’s- leading them through the tall grass and- and further west. She’s carrying a brown paper bag filled with… something, and she’s tossing it behind her. Leaving a trail of it. Her hands are red. There’s some smears and drops on her uniform, too.
JESS: But they’re… gone?
TANNER: I can still just make out their shape but… but she’s leading them…
JESS: Where?
TANNER: I’m not sure. Off into the distance. Towards the setting sun… through the tall grass, and… I’m gonna follow. Just- make sure she’s okay and that at least, she gets back safe. And, also see where they end up.
JESS: Okay. Be careful. Listeners, we’re going to jump to a quick break, but will be back asap, hopefully with some kind of an update, maybe? Don’t go anywhere.
[BREAK]
JESS: Alright, folks.
I know that all of you heard what happened in real time along with us, which is handy, but, at the risk of being redundant, I’m going to recap what happened just in case some of you are only joining us now.
A shimmering void appeared in the air over one of the western fields, rippling and shining in the slow-falling dusk, and, as Tanner discovered on scene once this ethereal doorway had closed… something came through. Something, you may recall Tanner mentioned some time ago. Something that came from the world he disappeared to for both 15 years and 6 weeks– depending on which side of the wall you were on.
Something… dangerous. A creature that was only vaguely described to me some time ago, and my memory is vaguer still to the point where I would be uncomfortable even attempting to create an image for you.
But, in the face of this, as I’m sure you all heard, 12 year old Sophia Cardinez has done something remarkable.
Again, I’ll avoid recapping in too much detail, as it did happen live over the air, but, according to Tanner, she showed up in her uniform- this time, a deep, patch-filled violet sash, and the emblem of an eagle feather stitched onto the collar of her shirt. Congrats, Sophia, on the rank advancement.
The young scout stood bravely, paper bag dripping with something red in one hand, and then, she sang to these… creatures. In a voice that, dare I say, sounded like- many voices. I’m guessing she’s been practicing her singing.
She sang– well, I don’t want to assume, but it sounded like a lullaby, and this pack of snarling not wolves, not bears, followed her into the western beyond, and the finally setting sun.
Tanner checked in over the break to confirm that yes, these things were gone, and he and Sophia are both safe. Uh, David showed us a button to press to make sure the mini radios don’t always interrupt the broadcast or share everything live. Not that we want to censor information, or hide things from you listeners, it's just– sometimes important. Secrets are– necessary, sometimes. Not that we here are keeping any from you.
Overall, you might be reminded of, like we were, that instance with those “land sharks” we had a while back. That’s not any sort of official, scientific name for them, I should clarify, I don’t have the authority to dictate that sort of thing. I just… needed something to call them and it made sense. Those estranged, out of place predators stalking in the tall grass…
And, to reiterate what I believe we expressed to you then: sharks are not some unknown, terrifying, bloodthirsty predator. However, these things are. You might say we are caught up in unprecedented circumstances, more-so than the landshark incident.
With these things– I’m not sure how accurate or appropriate any previous understanding of predatory animals really is.
That being said, there have been no human fatalities as far as we are aware. We haven’t heard yet from Weatherman Todd who told him about the void through Martha, as, if she still has her little radio, she should be able to hear what I’ve been saying, and am currently saying, and by extension, if Todd is currently with her… yeah. Anyways we’re not sure who that person was, and if they are at all connected to the blood Tanner found splattered in the grass. We currently are not sure where that came from, and hope everyone and everything is fine.
Lastly, for now, and I cannot stress this enough: stay out of the fields. These sightings and encounters were limited to a field West of town, but it's probably in everyone’s best interest to just avoid any tall grass altogether. Just for the next little while, so we can make sure.
And- I don’t know. You know how sometimes you get the feeling like you’re going to be somewhere again? Not like, a specific place, but “somewhere” in a more abstract, emotional and mental sense. Situationally. Like, we’ve been here before, and… we’ll be here again. This whole ‘something dangerous having snuck its way through a crack in the walls, to this place, a place it shouldn’t be’ kind of thing. I don’t think this is the last thing that’ll come through. I– just, I just feel like more things, worse things will…
A gut feeling, y’know? Not a psychic premonition. Just… an instinctual fear that feels more sure than fear for the future.
[BEAT. MUG SLIDING]
Maybe… maybe I need to stop the tea, too.
Anyways, if my watch is to be trusted, it's later than it would normally be at this time– meaning at the end of our show— and I think we’re all still residually exhausted, you know, from that long night, but also just… everything, I know I am. So, maybe we should call it a night here.
Sometimes, I don’t think I can remember the last time I wasn’t tired. Wasn’t fading. The last time I didn’t feel like my batteries weren’t low.
[CLEARS HER THROAT]
Thank you, again, David, for your gift.
Thank you, once again, Sophia, for your songful courage, and for relieving us from the thing with fangs and a taste for blood, lurking just on the edge of what little comfort we have left. I trust the scouts will make a special merit badge for you.
And thanks to you, dear listener, for tuning in.
[MUSIC]
JESS: [BITTERLY TEASING] And what sort of time do you call this?
RIVER: You’re awake.
JESS: Can’t sleep.
RIVER: I’ve noticed you’re often up at odd hours.
JESS: I’m sure you have.
RIVER: If there’s anything you need to talk about, I hope you know--
JESS: I’ll keep that in mind.
RIVER: What are you up to?
JESS: Where do you go at night, River?
RIVER: Why does it matter?
JESS: I get it. One of those secrets?
RIVER: Secrets?
JESS: That Tanner told me about. Things I’ll be told when I need to be?
RIVER: Something like that.
JESS: I think I’ve waited long enough.
RIVER: All in due time-
JESS: Fuck you and fuck time.
RIVER: I don’t know what you think is going to come out of this- or what you think I could possibly be hiding thats so--
JESS: You’re really not gonna tell me? I think I’ve given enough time to waiting- maybe it was two weeks for you, but it was more than a year of my life.
RIVER: This is the… second? Late night chat you’ve broadcasted? Who do you think is listening?
JESS: What?
RIVER: You think I didn’t notice? [They tap the mic]
JESS: Don’t change the subject.
RIVER: Everything in its own time.
JESS: You’re asking me to trust you.
RIVER: I’m the one who brought you back. You’re asking us to trust you. What happened to you while you were gone? What could have been so bad that you refuse to talk about it? You said, you lived over a year of your life without us. You’ve obviously changed--
JESS: Stephen’s gone.
RIVER: What?
JESS: Went to check on him, and he wasn’t there.
RIVER: How?
JESS: It’s a question of who, not how. Who let him go.
RIVER: And you’re accusing me?
JESS: He was in your room.
RIVER: Anyone could have unlocked it.
JESS: Where did you go?
RIVER: For a walk.
JESS: You go for a lot of those, huh?
RIVER: I don’t think it's suspicious, I think you might be paranoid.
JESS: Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t let him go. Take off those fucking sunglasses and honestly tell me.
RIVER: I didn’t let him go. [BEAT] Your turn. Swear, Jess. Swear you didn’t let him go.
JESS: I didn’t let him go.
RIVER: Well, there we go. If you don’t want to talk about anything else, I’d like to go to bed.
JESS: Sure. Goodnight.
[END.]
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“Spiritsford is a normal town. Just like yours or mine, It’s a nice town. A nice, ordinary town. It has everything a nice, normal, ordinary town should have. A school, a park, a river, eyes, teeth, feelings. The town watches, and the town knows, and it decides who gets to stay and who gets to leave. And Spiritsford has eyes on every wall- eyes that seem to follow you as you walk down the cobbled street. You know you are being watched. You know you are being followed. But you carry on with your day, because of course this is just a normal town and these are all just normal town things. And obviously our townsfolk are normal too, just ask the local wizards, they’ll tell you themselves that everything going on here is perfectly normal. And there’s nothing strange going on here at all.”
The children of room 56 is a queer horror podcast created by Alex Abrahams and distributed by the listless network. Our first episode, the disappearance of Chip Romero part 1, is out now wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy.