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 51: The Static
Listen close. Don't wander off...
CW: Emetophobia Timestamp: Around 25:40, skip to 25:50; Sudden loud noises, persistent static and distortion, existentialism, extended depiction of injury/treatment.
The voice of Tanner Walling is Chuck Raymond. The voice of Clark Olsen is Shaun Pellington (Wake of Corrosion).
Featuring:
Tatiana Gefter (Soul Operator)
Taylor Michaels (The Grotto)
Kevin Berry (Hell Gate City- stick around for a trailer!)
Rae Lundberg (The Night Post)
Motzie Dapul (Hi Nay)
Nathan Lunsford (The Storage Papers)
Fiona Clare (You Are The Ghost in This House; Points of Articulation)
Tal Minear (RE: Dracula)
Lyssa Jay (400 Words A Horror)
as an array of voices!
Sound effects this episode courtesy of the many wonderful contributors at Freesound.org.
Today's episode features a trailer for the awesome Hell Gate City, a horror-comedy, radio-show formatted show with a cyber-punk dystopia flair. Friends of Nowhere, On Air, tune in to host Kirby Bevins as nightmares and mystery begin to bubble and the truth, dangerous as it might be, comes out . Check out the stellar Hell Gate City here! Follow them on twitter, and find them wherever you get your podcasts!
Nowhere, On Air is created, voiced and produced by Jesse Syratt. Cover art by Moon Hermit Crab.
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at nowhere.onair@gmail.com. Or, find us on Bluesky, @nowhereonair.bsky.social
[STATIC, INTO THE END OF A STRANGE MUSIC SEGMENT.]
HOST 2: And that was “Bruised apples” by Hadrian and the Pickled Eggs. Next up on your late night music curation, we’ve got the newest single by the oldest singer this side of the …
[STATIC]
JESS: Dude, you’re telling me you aren’t hearing this?
TANNER: What?
JESS: Like, weird… music and talking.
TANNER: No. It's not that thing behind your ear, is it?
JESS: No, it's different. Maybe the board is glitching, it’s like… [SHE PUTS THE HEADPHONES ON] but its not coming through the headphones, its… [SHE TAKES THEM OFF AGAIN]
TANNER: It's… its not that I don’t believe you, but maybe you’re just stressed–
JESS: No, listen!
[STATIC]
REPORTER 2: Forecast for the next week says a storm is coming, and looking on into next week, it seems like that storm is here to stay, indefinitely—
[STATIC, INTO]
HOST 3:... good morning and welcome back to 98.5 KOJV. It's 7:15 in the AM, so you know what that means, listeners: it's time for Name that Sound. We play a sound, and you guess what it is for a chance to win our mystery prize. Alright, we’ve got our caller lined up. Good morning!
CALLER 1: Uh, yeah, hi Tammy, good morning– huge fan of the show.
HOST 3: What’s your name, caller?
CALLER 1: Keith.
HOST 3: Alright Keith, you got your listening ears on?
CALLER 1: Yes, ma’am.
HOST 3: Here we go…
[SOUND PLAYS.]
CALLER 1: Uh…
HOST 3: Feel free to take a minute there.
CALLER 1: I- ah, I’m just gonna go with my gut on this one. Is it the eventual heat death of the universe?
HOST 3: Keith, right?
CALLER 1: That’s right, ma’am.
HOST 3: Keith… [SOUND] you are absolutely correct!
CALLER 1: Oh my god!
HOST 3: Congratulations, you have won our mystery prize—--
[STATIC]
JESS: It's like it’s picking up other stations.
TANNER: If we can hear them, maybe they can hear us.
JESS: I don’t know if that’s a comforting thought.
[STATIC]
VOICE 5: Here’s a helpful tip: If a storm looks like it's staying still, it's actually coming towards you!
It’s coming towards you.
[STATIC]
HOST 4: Hello, caller! You’re live with us on [INDECIPHERABLE MESS OF STATIC] got any prayers for Gorthanon the Consumer of Dreams you’d like to share today?
CALLER: Yeah, I’ve uh, [CLEARS THROAT- AND THEN JUST STARTS SCREAMING]
HOST 4: May his boundless mind and ethereal hunger receive your petition! Thanks for calling. Alright, we’re gonna break to a quick weather forecast: later this evening there’s a 70% chance of blood rain, followed by spontaneous bouts of death and misery… [STATIC]
[HELL GATE CITY SEGMENT.]
TANNER: Okay, yeah… where- where is that coming from? That’s not in the speakers.
JESS: It sounds… I’m gonna open the window.
TANNER: It just sounds like something’s playing in the other room.
JESS: I think it's coming from the fog.
TANNER: Really?
JESS: It’s like we’re tuning in to a great cosmic station.
TANNER: The air feels… like its buzzing…
JESS: I know what you mean… my skin feels… prickly–
[STATIC. UPBEAT MUSIC]
VOICE 4: Are you real? How do you know? How would you find out?
On today’s episode of The Advice corner, we’re here to help you answer that important question we all ask ourselves: are you real?
No! You aren’t.
We hope this has been helpful. Tune into next week’s episode to find out: all the fun things you can do with your bones!…
[STATIC]
VOICE: Back, for a limited time offer— you can never go back! All the doors have closed behind you. I have passed through them and made sure that there is no escape. Time is limited!
[LOUD PIERCING STATIC LIKE FEEDBACK FOR A MOMENT. JESS CRIES OUT AND WINCES. RINGING]
TANNER: [MUFFLED] What? Jess? What’s wrong?
JESS: Ah-!
TANNER: [BECOMING MORE CLEAR] Jess hey? Are you okay? [ELECTRICITY SPARK] Ah- godddamn- what the hell was that?!
JESS: I don’t…
TANNER: You shocked me-!
JESS: [A LITTLE LOUDLY] I didn’t mean to– I- you didn’t hear that? God, my ears…
TANNER: Is that blood?
JESS: [PAINED] What?
TANNER: Jess, your ears are bleeding-
[STATIC]
REPORTER: There is still no official statement from the federal government regarding the now 6 straight days of darkness. Riots have been reported in most major cities across the nation, and as far as we know, at least 14 large-scale fires have been set—
[STATIC]
VOICE: Are you breathing? Are you remembering to breathe? Do you feel air in your chest? breath in your lungs? Are you breathing? have you remembered to breathe today-? [REPEATS TWICE MORE, MORE AND MORE DISTORTED AS IT DOES]
[STATIC]
TANNER: What is going on…?
JESS: It’s like, someone’s playing the radio in the sky. Pointing the speaker down at us.
TANNER: Yeah, but who? Or what?
JESS: [QUIETER] The static. It's talking.
TANNER: What?
JESS: Something John said to me. He said the static was talking to him.
TANNER: No offense to John, but… I would take anything he said with like, a huge grain of salt.
JESS: But you hear it.
TANNER: Yeah… I do.
JESS: [COUGHING] I let it in.
TANNER: What are you talking about?
JESS: In my dream, I… I opened a door…
[STATIC]
PAUL: Alrighty folks, and thanks for tuning in, its me Paul, and I’m here as always with my good pal Jack– say howdy, Jack–
JACK: Howdy folks–
PAUL: And you’re tuned in once again to “What’s Out There,” a show where those of you still out there can call in your experiences and whatnot out there in the apocalypse. [LAUGHS] Geez, never get used to saying that.
JACK: Tell me about it. I know last week we left ya on a rather dire note there, but just wanted you folks to know Paul and I are a-okay, and sincerely hope all of you are doin’ a-okay as well.
PAUL: Our uh, old shack was caught in that crazy firestorm that caught most of the Eastern border of the province, apparently. But thanks to the warning from the weather guys at the Fort up north, we uh, had enough of a heads up to get some of our equipment outta there.
JACK: We were on our feet for a few days, but we’ve cozied ourselves up in an abandoned firewatch tower. Not sure where exactly we are, was never too good with a map there-
PAUL: But we wouldn’t tell you exactly where we were, even if we did not. Never too sure what’s listening out there.
JACK: Good point there Paul, good point–
[STATIC]
VOICE:... we’re going live now, back to our reporter on the field, to give us an update on the situation. Riley-
RILEY: Uh, thanks Diane. If you can hear me. I don’t know if anyone can hear me. For those of you just tuning in now, my cameraman and I have been dispatched to get live coverage of the large, strange road that had appeared just to the left of the city. I’ve been following this road for… I don’t know how long. It just keeps going. I lost Mike a while back. I’ve been walking for so long. I just keep walking. I don’t know if anyone even knows that I’m… wandering. Lost. I have the distinct and sinking feeling that…
The road goes on forever.
[STATIC.]
VOICE 3: Feel like you’re being watched? Feel like something’s listening to you? Are you plagued regularly by the unshakable and instinctual sense that you are not alone? Do you look out into the darkness and feel that sinking feeling that you are missing something obvious? That you have been too easy to trace? That you are prey? Do you see that shadow in the corner of the room? That shadow in the corner of your eye? Do you feel that shadow, looming over your mind? Settling over your heart? It's the storm! Do you know even the shadow of the storm is hungry?--
[STATIC]
JESS: Hey mom, must’ve just missed you. You asked me to call and let you know when I was leaving and I [SOUND OF A TRUNK CLOSING] just finished packing. Uh, maps says it's gonna be like an 8 hour drive, so, I’ll have to stop for gas probably, but I should be there by 9.
DISTANT VOICE CALLING: Bye, Jess!
JESS: [DISTANT] Bye! See you in the fall! Get home safe!
VOICE: You too!
JESS: So, uh, yeah. I’ll see you guys tonight. I’ll try and call again if I can, but you know how reception gets in the pass. Anyways. Love you. See you soon. [SIGHS] Can’t wait to come home.
[STATIC]
JESS: That’s– that’s not radio, that wasn’t… how? [GETTING ANGRY, SHOUTING AT THE SKY] How- how are you playing that? That is my life, that was my life, not… how are you…
[STATIC.]
REPORTER VOICE: In other news, there are no updates in the case of local missing person Charlotte Jessica Miller, who disappeared from Coleman, Alberta last week, on her way home to BC. The local Sheriff’s office held a press conference earlier this afternoon, attended by Matthew and Elaine Miller, the young woman’s parents, where they made statements, both to the public, and to their daughter.
JESS: Stop it, please stop-
MATTHEW: And we’re just begging– if anyone, anyone knows or saw or thinks they saw anything, to please come forward. We just want her to come home.
ELAINE: If we could speak to her now, we’d say- we love you and we miss you, Jess, and every day we’re hoping and praying that wherever you are, you are safe, and you’ll come home. I know in my heart you’re out there, honey.
MATTHEW: We love you, kiddo—
[STATIC]
JESS: Stop it, please, just stop, please just stop… [CRYING]
TANNER: …Are you okay?
JESS: [SNIFFLES] How do you carry it?
TANNER: What?
JESS: Any of it? All of it?
TANNER: I don’t… I– You just do. Because… I like to think they’d want me to. We all dreamt of going back home. Or back to somewhere familiar, y’know, at least. I got out. I’m here. Yeah, I’m different, but I’m here. And I can’t ignore how important that is. And now I’m the one that gets to house their memory, I get to keep some echo of them present. I am who I am because of them. And sometimes, when it's quiet, and I listen, like really listen, I can still hear their voices. Their laughter. Like they’re just in the other room. And-
[STATIC. THE SOUND OF BECCA LAUGHING. STATIC]
TANNER: What…? That… okay that was Becca… that was… What is happening-?
JESS: I don’t know…
TANNER: You heard that right? You heard that?
JESS: I can hear all of it.
TANNER: No seriously, what was that? What is this? How are you doing this?
JESS: This isn’t me!
TANNER: Jess, tt's the radio, all of it is you-!
[STATIC.]
VOICE: The dead are watching. The left behind linger. Do you feel the chill of their eyes? Everyone you’ve lost has become a spectator, watching to see what you do with what little you have left. What will you do, little one?
[STATIC]
SINGING: When soon from Earth I go
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be
[STATIC]
[A MESS OF STATIC, DISTORTION, VOICES, MUSIC, AND A STORM]
[STATIC]
VOICES: The storm- goes on forever- little one- I’m- the air in your chest- wandering- in your lungs- you’re- listening- do you feel- dead- you have- no escape- I- hunger- that shadow- out there- sound- the eventual- darkness- the storm- will be- listening to you- you- have- no- time-!
JESS: Stop it, stop it- just shut up! It’s– it's in my ears, its— its burrowing its way into my mind… [COUGHING] its like its forcing its way into my mouth, down my throat, like I’m choking on it—
TANNER: [FLICKING BUTTONS AND SWITCHES] It won’t turn off.
JESS: It wants us to listen. It wants us to hear.
[STATIC. THE STATIC STARTS WHISPERING THEIR NAMES.]
TANNER: [SPOOKED] …What?
JESS: No. No no no…
TANNER: What?
JESS: It's talking to us. It knows we’re listening.
TANNER: What the hell does that mean?
[RISING DISTORTION]
JESS: I can feel it, creeping it, the sound… the air is thick and humming and… it's like steel wool scraping against my ears… my stomach is turning… my cells are dancing—
TANNER: Jess, you’re…
JESS: [BEAT] What?
TANNER: You- you look-
JESS: There’s a light coming from somewhere…
[THE DOOR OPENS, THE STATIC DISSIPATES, AND CLARK ENTERS. PAINED, WEAK:]
CLARK: Help…!
TANNER: Oh fuck… Clark-
JESS: Get the first aid kit– its in his–
TANNER: [LEAVING] I know where it is–!
JESS: Clark, Clark- hey- whoa– what the hell happened?
CLARK: Jess- I’m sorry- I tried to get- back…
JESS: Shhh, it's okay. Just hang in there. [CALLING] Tanner?
TANNER: [RUNNING OVER] Got it.
JESS: Put pressure on it–
TANNER: Yeah, right– I’m sorry, man, I’m sorry–
JESS: Shit.
TANNER: What do we do? He’s gonna bleed out–
JESS: No, he’s not.
TANNER: What happened? Can you hear us, man? What did this?
CLARK: There’s… there’s something out there.
TANNER: What?
CLARK: Dog…man…
TANNER: [SCOFFS] No such thing.
CLARK: There would have been a time… I’d be inclined… to agree with you…
[JESS RETURNS]
JESS: Okay.
TANNER: A sewing kit? Are you serious?
JESS: I’ve done it before.
TANNER: Where? When?
JESS: Doesn’t matter.
CLARK: [WEAKLY] Jess- I-
JESS: [AS SHE’S HANDLING THE KIT] Hey, I know it's not ideal, but you’ve taken care of me so many times, let me repay the favour, huh? When you’re feeling better, you can redo them, I won’t be offended.
TANNER: Jesus…
JESS: Keep him talking.
TANNER: God, Clark, what were you even doing?
CLARK: I- I remembered something…
TANNER: C’mon man, you gotta talk to me.
CLARK:Elizabeth- Elizabeth Shaw… I saw her. I remembered.
TANNER: Where?
CLARK: The building. They brought me there when I… they wanted me to leave, I said- no- but she was there. She was there.
TANNER: What, you were just gonna like, break in?
CLARK: Didn’t… make it that far… didn’t even get… to the clinic… I’m sorry, Jess, I thought– [LOUD GROAN OF PAIN]
JESS: I know, I’m sorry, almost done. Just hang in there, okay? We got you, you’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be fine. It's all gonna be fine.
TANNER: [BEAT. LOWER] You okay?
JESS: Me? Ask me again when my hands aren’t covered in blood.
TANNER: Did you turn off the board?
JESS: Wouldn’t matter if I had tried to.
CLARK: God, I-...
JESS: Almost done, man. You- you want something for the pain?
CLARK: I’m sorry, I-
JESS: Clark, come on man just stay awake a little longer, okay? Clark–? Tanner, help me get him—
[STATIC. MUSIC, STORM, VOICES]
TANNER: Okay. He’s in bed.
JESS: He awake, or…?
TANNER: For now. You stopped the bleeding, at least.
JESS: Look, that was a desperate time, desperate measure move. It's not good, just good enough, til we can get him some actual help.
TANNER: I just don’t know, if…
JESS: We can’t do anything for him here. We can’t help him, and he’s in no shape to help himself.
TANNER: I know. Shit.
JESS: How far do you think you could carry him?
TANNER: To be totally honest, it's not Clark I’m worried about.
JESS: He’s doing significantly worse than I am. You need to take him into town, to his clinic at least.
TANNER: Yeah and what? Ask for help?
JESS: It would be the least they could do, after everything. They wouldn’t let him die.
TANNER: Okay- and what are you going to do? I doubt I’ll be able to come back. You really shouldn’t be alone. Especially not when everything’s going to hell and it all seems to be pointing at you–
JESS: Everything’ll be fine.
TANNER: You can’t just keep fucking saying that when you’re clearly not-
JESS: He went out there for me. He can’t die here, stuck here, that’s not fair. He doesn’t deserve that.
TANNER: I know, but–
JESS: You have to go.
TANNER: I know. I’ve just… I’ve got this pit in my stomach.
JESS: I know.
TANNER: Tell me we’re going to see you again.
[BEAT.]
JESS: It's gonna be okay.
TANNER: You can’t just keep saying that and expect me to believe you, Jess-
JESS: Whatever happens, just… take care of yourself. Take care of each other, take… take care of Martha for me, if you ever see her again.
TANNER: Y’know she made me promise the same for you?
JESS: If you can, tell her I…
TANNER: Hey. Trust me. She knows.
JESS: [SIGHS] Okay. Well. What do you need? I can- I can help you pack at least, if that… [COUGHS]
TANNER: Hey, I haven’t agreed to anything yet. We’re talking to Clark first. He’s the expert. Y’know, maybe we could hold out until River gets back.
JESS: If they come back.
TANNER: Yeah. Is this still going?
JESS: Probably.
TANNER: I still can’t get it to shut off. It won’t turn off.
JESS: Try just switching to a break.
[STATIC. MUSIC. VOICES. THUNDER ROLLS OVERHEAD. STATIC.]
[DISTANT: JESS THROWING UP, PANTING. THE STATIC IS WHISPERING]
JESS: [MUTTERING TO HERSELF, PANTING] Keep it together, just keep it together… What are you trying to say to me? What do you want from me?
STORM: I told you I would find you. Across all worlds, across all times.
JESS: Why do you have my voice?
STORM: Why did you bring me here?
JESS: I didn’t.
STORM: You called out to me. You have been calling to me…
JESS: Shut up. Shut the hell up. Leave me alone.
STORM: I am so close I can taste you. Smell you like a fire in the near distance—
JESS: Stop it, stop it, stop it–!
[STATIC, VOICES, THUNDER]
[HELL GATE CITY TRAILER]