S1:E2 The Wendigo Part 2 - Tawayik

Doctor Michael Fiennes has always had a fondness for small town living. But he's about to find out - the smaller the town, the bigger the secret. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Well, hello again. I'm Pandora. As some or most of you may know, for the few that do not, would you consider yourself lucky or unfortunate? Something to ponder and chew on. But for now, welcome back to Scratch's Urban Legends. Scratch, trust me, this is not the devil you know. Chapter 2, The When Digo Part 2, Towaiek. For every incident, there's always the official story. None more so than in the small blink and you miss it towns. The recording of what goes down on paper, what gets put in the books, what will be reported in the news, the sound bites that keep the town's sparkling reputation as normal and down-to-earth intact. Then there's the unofficial account. The silence that keeps the dirty little secrets. The part that everyone knows, but no one ever speaks aloud. The rest of the story.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

But yes. Antonio, I presume.

SPEAKER_08 2:12

At your service. Buckle up, Doctor, and we will be on our way. The station is about five miles away, give or take. I'll have you there in a jiffy.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Oh, take your time. I'll just be taking in the sights. Snapping a few pictures here and there.

SPEAKER_08 2:38

I assume that since I picked you up from Miss Jenkins Airbnb, you're here on vacation?

SPEAKER_02 2:44

I am. Or was, or hopefully still am.

SPEAKER_08 2:54

So of all the places in Canada, why toyek? Don't get me wrong, this is home for me. Came here from the lower 48. I love it here. Met my Sophia here and settled down here. But this is one of those places where the lake is known more than the town, you know? No, no.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

I get it. Okay, so annually I choose a small town at random and spend my vacation there. It's a thing for me. At least once a year. Two if time and chance provides. I make my living in the big city, you see. But I was born and raised in a small town just like this one. I always say when I retire, if I retired. It would be to one of these small towns, a place where one could wake up to birds singing and the sun shining. Where gearing up in fishing attire and a mosey down to the watering hole would be the norm of the day, then spend the night listening to tall tales about the one that got away. Maybe even tell a tall tale of my own. I'd invite my son and grandsons down and have a fish fry with hush puppies and roasted potatoes.

SPEAKER_08 4:17

Sounds like a nice retirement goal, Doctor. Big city, huh? Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Vancouver. Well, welcome to our little slice of Canada. Mind if I listen to my audiobook the rest of the way? It just has a couple of minutes left in it.

SPEAKER_07 4:41

I don't mind at all.

SPEAKER_08 4:46

What's the book? Adrian's Children. Can't say I've heard of him. I'm betting very few people have. I was looking for a vampire story to listen to and stumbled across this one.

SPEAKER_07 5:04

Vampire, eh?

SPEAKER_02 5:05

No wonder I've yet to hear of him. I can't say I'm a fan of horror.

SPEAKER_07 5:10

Definitely not for everyone. He'd tell mom and pop that we were going to, well, whatever kid friendly flick was out at the time. He'd get us a couple of rated G or rated PG tickets. But as soon as we'd get our cola and popcorn, we'd veer off and duck over into the screen room showing what we really came to see. The Monster of the Week. And for the next two hours or so, I'd be scared out of my pants, gasping and jumping at every slash and gash, getting all into the creepy synth music. The special effects and prosthetics and the blood and guts, it all seemed so real to my young, wide eyes. But the most frightening scares were the ones just out of sight of the camera. The boogeyman you couldn't see, but you knew was right around the corner, behind the closed door, down that dark corridor. The psychological terror that allows the imagination to fill in the blanks. And a young boy's imagination can go places a more rational mind can. But when the movie was over, the lights came up, and Grandpa and I would head for home. The afternoon sunlight bathing me, washing away the fear, the mental images, bringing my mind back to the here and now. Grandpa telling his corny jokes and making me laugh. I miss those days. Grandpa long since had passed on. I still see the monsters on the big screen, the werewolves and witches, the ghosts and ghouls. But there are some monsters that are very real. They are the ones you don't see, the ones that stay just out of view or hide in plain sight. And they do go bump in the night.

SPEAKER_08 7:13

Here we are. Small enough to fit in a strip mall.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Wedged between a large bait and tackle shop, and that's what? An appliance repair store.

SPEAKER_08 7:32

Being a specialty shop in a small town has its benefits, though. One usually has something somebody needs eventually. People fish a lot around here. And a vacuum cleaner is always breaking down.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

And here comes my officer to greet me.

SPEAKER_08 8:00

Because I have a feeling I already know.

SPEAKER_06 8:06

Well, that's an interesting. Doctor Fines? Michael Fines? Thanks, Antonio. Say hi to Sophia for me. You got it, Chris. Right this way, Doc. Let me hold up. Is it okay to call you Doc? I don't see why not. Okay, cool. I'm Detective Christopher Walton.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

By your voice? You're not the one I spoke to on the phone.

SPEAKER_06 8:31

No, I am not. Forgive the cloak and dagger. Hopefully, you'll see why soon enough. As you are a guest of Alberta's finest, you can bypass the metal detectors and the sign-in protocol. Thanks for the lookout, Mella.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

No worries, Chris. I just made a pot if you want a cup. That mocha macchiato flavor I know you like.

SPEAKER_06 8:54

It smells aromatic, but I'm good. Besides, we got some in the back. Mela, Dr. Fines. Dr. Fines, Officer Shamila Moore.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Doctor?

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Officer. So far, I've only seen one officer. I assume everyone else.

SPEAKER_06 9:19

Small town, Doc. Was a time we were quite a bit more than we are now. But we make do. We run three shifts, but it's only a good handful of us. Recruitment hasn't been easy. Right now, running this shift, it's the officer you saw, two out and about, and me and my junior partner. Which you are about to meet in just a moment. Young chap, Brunette. Wait, can you call a guy a brunette? Almost as good looking as me, but not quite. Might be my full man's mustache, and he barely has peach fuzz. Dr. Michael Fines. This is my fellow detective Rick Parsons. Doctor, nice to meet you.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Detective Parsons. You must be the one I spoke with on the phone.

SPEAKER_06 10:08

One and the same. Sorry, we can't all have the rich vocals of my partner. Yeah, but I hear ladies go for that ever so slight British spy accent of yours.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

I admit, I was intrigued by your phone conversation. Seems you were able to be just this side of specific to catch my attention, but vague enough to arouse my curiosity.

SPEAKER_06 10:31

Glad to see it worked. Also, we want to thank you for coming down to the station. Especially with very little information to go by.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

Cloak and dagger, as the senior detective put it. And well, it did get me down here.

SPEAKER_06 10:46

By the way, I hope you'll forgive Miss Jenkins for ratting you out. This being the small town that it is, people talk.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Yes, I see. Airbnb included, it would appear.

SPEAKER_06 10:59

In her defense we warned her, as well as Mr. Piper at the gas station, and old man Costra at the Wally Mart, to be on the lookout if anyone came by fitting a description.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

What description? A sixty something man with wild white hair wearing tan khakis and a cardigan?

SPEAKER_06 11:17

More like not from around here. Smart looking. The look of a doctor or lawyer or engineer or some such. Lawyer? Just by the look. Three have met that description in the past eight days, but only you hit the nail on the head.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Doctor of psychology?

SPEAKER_06 11:37

Yes. Someone in the mental health field.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Well, at least you let me get a couple of days of vacation in.

SPEAKER_06 11:44

We needed the time to do a bit of vetting. And? We think you check off all the boxes, Doc. I especially like the part I read about you being an excellent judge of character and having the gift of personal observation and being a student of the human condition.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

So I'm here because you want me to what? To read someone?

SPEAKER_06 12:05

Kinda, sorta, but not exactly.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

Then why exactly am I here?

SPEAKER_06 12:09

Are you really that well versed on reading people, Dr. Fines? Okay. Let's see.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Detective Walton, you're either widowed or divorced. Probably about a year, give or take. I'm leaning towards you being a widower. You are either considering early retirement or have already decided on it. Most likely already made the decision, and very recently. Speaking of decisions, you've made a few questionable ones in your day, one within the past several months. Whereas the fresh faced and well laced Parsons is very much by the book. I take it by the stunned look on your faces I'm in the ballpark.

SPEAKER_06 13:02

Right at home plate. My wife passed almost two years ago.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

But how did you You look about in your mid fifties? The age where a man starts debating if he should stay in the rat race or spend the rest of his days enjoying what's left. You look like you maintain your physique, so you go to the gym often, which means you have a reason to. Your short sleeve shirt is highlighting your biceps. The jeans you're sporting is a style better suited for the younger set. It's in contrast to your partner, Detective Parsons, who's wearing a long sleeve button down and slacks. You want to prove you still got it, but in a natural way, because you have done nothing about your hair balding. So it's not about just trying to prove you still got it to yourself, but for someone. Your ring finger is empty, but has a faded line around it. You've worn a ring there for so many years that it would take a while before the line fades completely. If you were divorced, you would have removed it as soon as you attained single status. No. She passed away, and you, as most widowers do, kept the ring on. Another reason I suspect widower, as opposed to being divorced, is this is a small town, and in small towns people know each other, and as you mentioned earlier, people talk. What would people say if you started dating someone your wife knew? It wouldn't just be about you. You're representing the department. True, you all don't stand on ceremony here. I notice you only use detective and officer, and not your full titles. So now you found someone worthy enough to take off the ring. Couldn't just be anyone, it would have to be someone serious. And someone who understands the life of a cop. Who knows that better than another officer? I noticed the way you and Officer Shamila Moore gave each other glances. Interdepartmental romance, while not outright prohibited, is certainly frowned upon. So if you were willing to bend the rules here, you've probably done it before. But again, you don't want people to talk, and you really like Officer Moore. So maybe now really is the time to lay down the badge, quit while you're ahead, and live out the golden years. In which case, I'm assuming the younger Parsons here is being groomed to be your successor.

SPEAKER_06 15:52

Officer Moore? Mella? Remember before this dropped in our lap, I told you there was something I wanted to tell you.

SPEAKER_07 15:59

I wondered why you took the ring off.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

I was going to mention.

SPEAKER_06 16:08

Yeah, we should probably go ahead and get to that. Can we get you anything, Doc? Water, OJ, coffee, scotch?

SPEAKER_05 16:17

I could use a bottle of wait.

SPEAKER_06 16:20

Scotch? Trust us, sir. You are going to want to keep the scotch as an option.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Well, bottled water will do for now. Room temperature, if you please.

SPEAKER_06 16:31

You got it, Doc. Room temp it is.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Now you've really piqued my interest. What would be so dire that would warrant a stiff drink so early in the day? First, we'll need you to sign this, sir. A nondisclosure agreement?

SPEAKER_05 16:50

We figured in your line of work that you're familiar with an NDA.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Indeed, I am, Mr. Parsons. I have had to sign a few over the course of my career. To me, it's no different than my doctor-patient confidentiality agreements.

SPEAKER_09 17:14

Yes? I see.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

I can agree to this. Interesting. As soon as I signed and dated, I noticed the shoulders dropped. You two detectives seem to relax. Why the change in the body language? Will this be one of those I'd better have a seat moments?

SPEAKER_06 17:40

Rick, can you hook up the cable and turn on the flat screen? I'll get the lights and start the video. The video is in the file folder marked W. It's the first video. And best to get comfortable, Doc.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

I should like to take notes if I may. It helps to order my thoughts.

SPEAKER_06 17:58

Not a problem. There's pen and paper on that desk to your left. You are aware, of course, that you are beholden to the NDA. So no one outside of this room can see or read whatever it is you write. Of course. Okay, now where is the mouse for this thing? I know I just Okay, here it is. And here we go. What you're looking at, Doc, is an interview in our interrogation room. Take note of the date on the clock.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

Friday, June 27, 2019.

SPEAKER_06 18:38

You may or may not recognize that handsome young man seated on the other side. That would be you, Walton, I presume. A few pounds lighter, but yes. We're already some time into the interview. This particular file was trimmed to get to the heart of the conversation. We would like you to pay close attention to the section that comes up nine minutes thirteen seconds into the interview.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Understood. I'll start with my notes as well. A younger Christopher Walton is interviewing a teenage boy who appeared to be about sixteen years old. So far the name hasn't been mentioned, presumably due to the young man's age. Throughout the interview, the teenager had been making attempts at projecting calm to keep his voice steady, but the constant side-to-side sways and darting eyes emitted fear. Ah, the nine-minute mark.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

That's when I came down from the tree. I hoped it would be too busy eating to care about me. But that's when I got a really good look at it. It was freakishly tall, like a basketball player. But it was gaunt. Like its skin was stretched too tight across its body. The boniness made its limbs look abnormally long, like it had been stretched on one of those Dark Ages torture racks. Its skin was grey, like an ashy gray, like volcanic ash mixed with dirty flour. But craggy also. Yeah. Kraggy skin. Its bald head looked a little too big for its neck. And when it opened its mouth, its jaw went slack like a snake, to make it open wider, I guess. I know I said bald, but it had a few long strands of hair. Its eyes were grey, too. But they didn't look normal either. I mean, past the color.

SPEAKER_06 20:48

In what way?

SPEAKER_04 20:50

Well, because the skin on its head was stretched back and tight. It made its eyes look big. But something in those eyes they looked both hurt and hateful at the same time. Then it was the way it stared at me. Like it had every intention on me being its next meal after it finished with whomever it was eating.

SPEAKER_06 21:14

You keep referring to this creature as an it. There were no gender-specific characteristics.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

The boy is wringing his hands, staring at the floor.

SPEAKER_04 21:24

I don't know. I couldn't tell. I mean, it didn't have tits.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

He glanced up at the detective, realizing what he'd just said.

SPEAKER_08 21:34

Uh breasts. Sorry. It's okay, son.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

He's squinting now, his face contorting. There is an anguish to this kid.

SPEAKER_04 21:44

It had something of a bulge of some sort between the legs, but I couldn't tell if it was dangling. I was too busy trying to run from the damn thing. I understand.

SPEAKER_06 21:55

I know this is a difficult time. Is there anything else you can tell?

SPEAKER_02 22:00

He's rubbing his temples now. Cringing, as if trying to make himself appear smaller. A shiver, shaking his shoulders. Whatever calm he tried to show is now lost completely. What happened here?

SPEAKER_03 22:17

This is tense. It smelled like foul, putrid rot. Organic, like hot vomit.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

I don't know what else to Almost immediately afterwards, the video stops. The screen goes back to the option of files and folders. File folder marked W.

SPEAKER_06 22:38

Watch your eyes, sir. Turning back on the lights.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

The video. It's over?

SPEAKER_06 22:44

After that, it was just wrapping things up.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

An interesting interview. But why show me?

SPEAKER_06 22:51

You being a man of science, sir, I will try not to insult your intelligence. But tell me, Dr. Fines. Ever heard of the Wendigo?

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Why are you asking about you both look so serious? Okay, then. As a psychosis, yes. There have been numerous papers written and published on the subject. The mind starts believing the body to be so starved and depleted of nourishment from lack of food that the brain resets to basic, primal survival instincts in order to convince itself that cannibalism is the right and natural thing to do.

SPEAKER_06 23:37

So to be clear, you see the Wendigo as a mental aspect, not a physical being.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Well, there are the First Nations tales of the Wendigo as a supernatural, malevolent entity. The eighteen seventy eight incident with the Cree Trapper, Swift Runner? Wait, is that why you showed me that video? That boy, well, I guess he'd be a full adult now, so that man thought he saw a Wendigo back then? A living, breathing Wendigo? And you want me to concur? Because if that is the case, gentlemen, I'm afraid we may have wasted each other's time.

SPEAKER_06 24:20

Actually, Doc, it's a bit more complicated than that. How so, Detective Walton? I'm listening. We need you to declare someone temporarily insane. We already have the form typed up and printed out. It just needs your autograph. We know you have the authority due to the mutual recognition agreement.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Then you must also know my reputation is sterling, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm sorry for that poor man, but I can't.

SPEAKER_06 24:48

That poor man is not the one in question. No. We wanted you to see that video for for Rick, what are the words I'm looking for? Reference and context, maybe? That's it. Reference and context. Exactly. There's a bit of a tale behind that interview, Doc. Please, take your seat again. Indulge us a bit longer. Very well. On the morning of June 13, 2019, witnesses saw two teenagers, a boy and a girl, enter the forest near Woodbison Trail off the Yellowhead Highway. Two days later, the pair were reported missing by family and friends. A search party was put together. Eight men, four women. Twelve people entered the woods searching for the kids. None of the twelve came out. Another search party was formed, this time including not only local law enforcement, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Again, all those who entered the woods never came out. A total of twenty six souls. One of the parents of the search party members, a man by the name of Justin Bastille, in a fit that was equal parts grief and alcohol-fueled rage, took a five-gallon tank of gasoline and sprayed it on a few of the outlying trees. He then tossed his lighter in an attempt to start a forest fire. He sat in the back of his pickup truck drinking his whiskey and cursing the woods for taking his boy. And yet, although the fire blazed, the trees did not burn. Justin Bastille had told us that it was as if the surrounding flora simply waited and allowed the fire to burn itself out. Now Bastille would later blame this portion of the accounts on the whiskey, but while he watched the fire burn, he would have sworn he saw a pair of hazel grey eyes staring at him from a distance. They were bestial, but had, as Bastille put it, a touch of emotion to them, and not in a good way. Yeah, he said it was the first time he saw what the eyes of evil looked like. We cordoned off the area surrounding the woods with concrete barriers. Access was prevented and prohibited under penalty of law. Over the years it would be one of those things that everyone knew about, but no one ever talked about. And continued to be up to that day. Three days after the second search party disappeared, ten days after he first entered the woods, the teenaged boy emerged. Muddy, saturated in stench, covered in scratches, clothes torn and ripped in various places. He could barely speak. His eyes had a vacant stare to them. After being given time to rest, to eat, and get cleaned up, he would eventually be visited by officers and children in family services. He would later tell officers he was picked up by a white, late model Mustang driven by a man in a purple suit and purple fedora. But when the boy was initially questioned, when we first saw him, he could only utter one word. When to go. I was a uniform back then, so this was before I took the exam. But still, it was a word I'd only vaguely recalled before. I had to look it up.

SPEAKER_02 28:25

Perhaps it would be better if I knew exactly what it is you'd like from me. Exactly. And don't mince words.

SPEAKER_06 28:36

We would like you to declare a man temporarily insane, even though we know he is not. We need you to do this. Not just for the good of this town. We need you to do this for the good of this country.

SPEAKER_09 28:48

Maybe even the continent. Dr. Fines?

SPEAKER_06 28:58

He's reading us, Rick. We just threw something heavy at him after all.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Hmm. No change in posture, no facial twitches, no perspiration, no leg shakes. The continent, gentlemen? Perhaps, my two detectives, you should tell me everything.

SPEAKER_09 29:17

From the beginning.

SPEAKER_06 29:22

Do you have a high social media presence, Doc?

SPEAKER_02 29:25

I do the occasional advertising on various platforms. Otherwise, I live vicariously through my two grandsons.

SPEAKER_06 29:34

Are they familiar with Sam and D. Munson?

SPEAKER_02 29:38

Even I am familiar with the Sam and D show, although I've only seen the occasional clip here and there. Of my grandsons, only one is technically old enough to watch their streaming channel. The Munsons are a husband and wife social media influencer team, I believe is the appropriate phrasing.

SPEAKER_06 29:59

Correct. They're thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. They label themselves the couple without fear. They even come with a gimmick, having picnics in the places where others might fear to tread. Their video locations include the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Marie Laveau's tomb in New Orleans in the catacombs of Paris. Early twenties, hailing from the States. Colorado, a city called Littleton. We had to look the city up. Less than twenty miles southwest of Denver. Married for two years. Owners of a small fitness facility, but, as you're aware, known nationwide due to the Sam and Dee show.

SPEAKER_02 30:42

Jim owners? Well, that would explain the pair's athletic physiques.

SPEAKER_06 30:47

You could tell by Sam being slender and wiry that he leaned towards cardio. While Dee's more toned, with clear indications of weightlifting.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Did the duo come here to Tawayek?

SPEAKER_06 30:59

Probably best to show rather than tell, Doc. This is where that NDA really comes in. You're probably gonna want to take more notes. Second video in the W file, right, Rick? Correct. I'll get the lights. So, what you're about to see is footage from two cell phones and two sports pro cameras. Our tech guy took all the clips and spliced them into one long video. He put it all in chronological order as best he could. There are a couple of scenes that are split screen, as he thought those should be shown together. Other than that, the footage is unedited. We'll just trail off here, Doc, and let you watch the video. We'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum, but we'll be on hand in case you have questions. Or change your mind about that scotch.

unknown 31:48

Uh 10-4 at the pool, I'll copy.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

I'll get off Stounder V Rye Head Reavima. 104 at the pool how to key MR.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

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