Creepy - Welcome to Bedside Manor Part 3

Episode Date: January 26, 2022

Oh Jack...***Written by Jack Townsend with narration by: Owen McCuen, JV Hampton VanSant, Cole Burkhardt, Alicia Atkins, Nate Dufort, Megan McDuffee, Michelle Kane, Jimmy Ferrer, Heather Thomas, Nichole Goodnight and Joe Stofko***Check out Jack's other podcast The Snake's Paw at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-snakes-paw/id1438590701***Find our reward tiers and how to get your bonus magnet at patreon.com/creepypod***You can also subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/creepypod***Sound Design by Steve Blizin of Black Crow Audio***Title music by Alex Aldea Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the bloody disgusting network. No. This is creepy. A podcast dedicated to sharing the most famous chilling and disturbing creepypastas and urban legends in the world. Whether these stories truly happened or are simply fabrications is for you to decide. These stories may contain graphic depictions of books. violence and explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.

Creepy Presents. Tales from the gas station. Welcome to Bedside Manor. Part 3. Written by Jack Townsend. With performances by Owen McCune, Megan McDuffie, Nate DuFort,

Nicole Goodnight, Joe Stofco, Michelle Kane, Jimmy Ferrer, Cole Burkart, Alicia Atkins, and J.V. Hampton, Van Sant. The following story was written by Jack Townsend, author of the four-volume book series Tales from the Gas Station, now available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible, and everywhere else books are sold.

To learn more about Jack's work, visit his website at gas stationjack.com. Tobias took a knee and pulled a boy away from his mother's body. An awkward silence fell as we waited to hear what our honorary leader could possibly say. I didn't envy his position. I wouldn't have known how to talk to Wolfgang under the best of circumstances. I certainly couldn't process more than a superficial, I'm sorry for your loss, if I had to.

But Tobias wanted to be the one in charge, and that position came with certain burdens that gun simply could not help. Tobias did the best he could. Wolfgang, listen, I need you to be strong, okay? It could seem plenty strong to me. Just a callous empty Okay Followed by a long stare at his mother's body

In the words I guess whoever killed the old woman got mom too Jerry was the next to speak I think it's high town We all get out of here Tobias stood and turned to square off against him Get out of here And go where

Anywhere Answered Lauren Stepping up to Jerry's side Pick a direction and go There's a murderer in this house It's better than sticking around and getting picked off one at a time. Nobody's going anywhere.

Jerry crossed his arms. It sounds an awful lot like you've got an ulterior motive to keep us in place. Tobias was getting worked up now. If I was the killer, don't you think I would have shot you all by now and been done with it? Of course not. The thrill is in the hunt. I punched him the shoulder. All right, everybody shut up, okay?

Whoever's behind this was hoping for this exact scenario. I don't know how they did it, But I don't much care anymore. The important facts are these. We've all been lowered into a trap. We're being watched and toyed with. Nowhere inside this house can be considered safe and none of us can be trusted. The stupidest thing we can do is stay put.

Wait a second. What do you mean we're being watched? Jerry and I have reason to believe our room is bugged. Tobias shift his eyes to the body. So then there could be cameras. There might be footage of whoever killed... A jolt of energy shot through me fast. and hard. I lost my breath and nearly lost my balance along with it. For a moment, I thought I was

having a heart attack. But then the moment passed just as suddenly as it came. Dude. Jerry put a hand on my shoulder. You all right? You look like you just swallowed a stink bug. Claire. Lauren caught her sister before she fell over. What's wrong? She struggled to catch her breath and looked at me and answered without using her words. The killer knows we're figuring it out. He's panicked. He's changing plans. and someone is about to die. It wasn't just a suspicion or intuition. It was the feeling of terror you get a half second before a car accident. When you see it coming but can't stop it.

The moment when time slows down, when some people see their lives flashed before their eyes, it hadn't happened yet. But we were way too late to stop this. It was as good as done. Fuck! Claire finally spoke. She said exactly what I knew she was going to say.

I'm so sorry. The feeling was already wearing off. That sense of inevitability dwindled by the second, replaced with a new found urge to get the fuck out of there before what I saw came to pass. I chose my words carefully. We have to leave! Tobias raised his voice. I said we're not going anywhere until...

I'd heard enough out of him. Tobias wasn't the only one here with a weapon. Before I'd even had time to think of through, I pulled a story. on gun out of my pocket and hurled it as hard as I could. It struck him right between the eyes, dropping him onto his back. I screamed immediately before realizing why I should not have done that. Dang, dude, nice shot. Tobias was already getting back to his feet.

He reached into his jacket, presumably going for the handgun. But then his face registered a look that I recognized all too well. The oh shit look. That's when I knew. He doesn't have his pistol anymore. He looked around for his weapon, but his eyes settled on something else. Jerry! I screamed, pointing to where the stun gun had landed by the stairs.

Tobias slept for it. Jerry let out a battle cry of sproying. Sproying! As he dove headfirst across the hall, they collided and tumbled down the stairs together. Lawrence stepped forward, and I held out my arm to stop her. Wait! For what? Until we see who gets the gun.

They both took a half. hell of a beating on the way down. There was blood on both their faces when they finally came to a rolling stop. Jerry kicked the stun gun across the floor. Tobias took the bait, leaping to his feet while Jerry grabbed his ankles and pulled him out from him. Lauren asked. Shouldn't we?

No, no. He's got this. I knew Jerry would either get to the weapon first, or Tobias would spend the only charge on the one guy here who had already tasered himself for fun on multiple occasions. They grappled clumsily across the room until Jerry got the upper hand. snagged the weapon and fired it into the air with a triumphant. Tobias immediately punched him square in the nose. Jerry dropped the gun, grabbed his bleeding face and said,

Oh, fuck you, you sore, loser. Lauren charged down the steps with clear tailing her. I kept close. When she hit the foot of the stairs, Lauren shouted. That's enough. Jerry pointed at Tobias. He started it. Lauren ignored him.

This isn't helping. Put your dicks away and pay attention to what's happening before it's too late. Tobias wiped his bloody face off on his sleeve. He looked around at the crowd that had gathered at the first floor, then up the steps. Bridget? His voice had lost all authority. Now it was replaced with simple old-fashioned fear. Honey? Where are you?

I look behind me. There's no one at the top of the stairs. A quick headcount proved that we were suddenly missing two more people. Bridget and Wolfgang were both lost, disappeared into the ether just like old Nathaniel. And, I just now noticed. Maggie. There was a bloody spot on the floor where she had died, but evidently someone had moved the body. I looked toward the front door.

It was right there. We're almost free. Just a few steps in that unspeakable vision I saw at the top of the stairs wouldn't be possible. Tobias was already on his way up the stairs calling his wife's name. The other shifted gears accordingly, joining him in the surge without even a second thought. Only I stayed behind, by myself. wishing there was something I could do to change their minds. But Tobias wouldn't leave without his wife.

Lauren wouldn't leave without the missing child. Claire wouldn't leave without her sister. And Jerry wouldn't leave until everyone else was safe. Nothing I could say would change that. That's why he was about to die. I looked at the bookcase, where that strange noise had come from. It was moving, pivoting on a hinge, swinging outward. creaking open like a door.

Another secret passageway. I braced myself for the closet monster or a swarm of killer hornets or whatever surprise attack this night had in store. But nothing happened right away. The bookcase stopped moving when the passage was about a foot of jar. Enough to see through, if I wanted to take a look, this was a new mystery beckoning me over.

Luckily, I had run out of intellectual curiosity several dead bodies ago and could see this obvious trap for what it was. After several seconds, I still hadn't moved. I guess that's when the obvious trap decided to up the ante. Hello? screamed the voice of Bridget from the other side of the secret door. Is someone there? Please. I approached the bookcase, leaned against it,

and pushed it close until I heard the latch snapped into place. Bridget, or whatever was using her voice, continued to plead with me. But now it was muffled. Barely audible. Please. If we were lucky, nobody else would hear it. I turned to see Lauren standing at the front of the stairs, Claire hiding right behind her.

Did I just see you closing a secret door? I shook my head and said, What? Secret door? No. Bridget let out a loud scream. Pipes on this woman were impressive, to say the least. Lauren began approaching me, taking slow steps with Claire silently following.

What was that? What was what? The bookcase swung open again, with enough force to hit me in the back and knock me under the ground as books flew off the shelves and landed around me. Bridget continued to scream. Help me. Please God. Someone. Anyone.

Oh, I said, feigning stupidity. You meant that. Warren rushed over to the passageway, but I pulled myself up and blocked a path. I held out both hands and said, wait! She stopped long enough to. put her knife against my throat and say... Give me one goddamn reason why I should. Earlier, when we found Hope's body, I saw something.

I don't know if it's what you would call a vision, but... I looked at Claire. I know you saw it, too. What was it? I couldn't bring myself to describe the details. The house is fucking with us. There is no scenario where we all get out alive. It's like quicksand.

The more you struggle, the deeper you sink. The only winning move is not to play. And you're the one who decides where we draw the line? Who is and isn't worth saving? You want to be in charge of triage? What if it was me or Claire in that room? What if it was your friend Jerry? If you want to run away and save yourself, go for it.

But don't you dare tell me who isn't worth my saving? Bridget! It all became moot anyway a second later. when Tobias finally heard his wife's voice. He raced down the stairs, right past us without even acknowledging our little standoff, went into the secret room behind the bookshelf. Jerry slid down the handrail behind him, jumped off at the last second, and waved at us as he followed Tobias like a farm dog,

chasing his owner's car into traffic. I rolled my eyes and followed. Lauren and Claire were right behind us. The moment we were all together in the room, the secret bookcase door slammed shut behind us. There was a library. The secret room was bigger than the parlor, with every square inch of wall covered in bookshelves

and looked by a cluster of crystal chandeliers. Under other circumstances, I'd have been losing my mind, in a good way. But despite the size of our new phone cage, I was feeling woefully claustrophobic. It certainly didn't help that bridge it was chained up to a wooden chair in the center of the room, with a square box in her lap that held a bright LED display counting down the time from 56 minutes. It also didn't help that the blind man had suddenly reappeared,

standing in the room with us. Lauren tore the books from the secret door, throwing them to the ground in an effort to find a way to reopen it from this side. She wouldn't find it. I knew she was feeling regret, but I kept my I told you so to myself for now. Tobias was at Bridget's side, comforting her while simultaneously checking the chains that held her in place.

Bridges Mascar was running down her face. She was saying a lot of things. Nothing terribly important. A lot of I love you, I don't want to die, and variations on that theme. Claire collected the books Lauren and tossed to the ground, moving them into a stack in the corner. Jerry circled the room, taking it all in. I just stood still, frozen, wondering if I could have tried harder to escape when we had the chance. When Nathaniel spoke, we all stopped what we were doing and listened.

It would appear that our dear Bridget has fallen victim to one of bedside matters many perils. A most dangerous trap indeed. But not to worry, there is still time to solve this puzzle and save her life. To do so, we must work together and search for clues. Lauren charged Adam. Listen to me, you mysterious old fuck. Let us go right now, or I'm going to cut you into confetti and throw a goddamn party. I'm sorry.

He responded a little too calmly. I don't understand the reference. Perhaps if you search the library, you would find what you're looking for. She lunged forward with a scream and plunged the blade into his stomach. He didn't react. I nearly pissed myself. The old man acted like you hadn't even noticed. Lauren yanked the knife out, slinging blood across the carpet floor.

Nathaniel waited a moment, then said, If you need a hint to get yourself started, or if you find that you've gotten stuck, I'm authorized to give you up to three clues to get you back on track. But all members of the party must agree before... Lauren held the knife in both hands and slashed it across Nathaniel's face from ear to ear. Blood poured from an enormous gash. The flesh of his top lip dangled over his beard.

His tongue moved up and down, visible from the tear in his cheek meat. And yet, it didn't seem to faz him one bit. His words were slightly harder to understand, but I think he was explaining what we had to do to get another hint. Lauren backed away, a look of pure terror on her face. What the fuck is going on? Well, my theory of sex cult just got shot right out the window. Jerry said, handing her a stack of oversized and size. Encyclopedias.

That's when Bridget said something that caught my attention. Her voice changed. It was quieter now. This was meant to be for her husband and no one else. Of course, I had to listen. Tobias, my darling, I have to tell you something. I have to tell you. I know about Lisa.

Be quiet, dear. That's what this is all about, right? That's why we're here. isn't it? That's the only thing that makes sense. This has to have something to do with... Bridget, not another word. I love you.

I'm going to get us out of here. I just need to find some tools. Jerry walked up to them. What are we looking at? I'm a bit of a bomb guy myself. Tobias pushed him away. Not now, you. No offense, but this is way out of your league.

I just need to find a way to open the faceplate. Jerry moved his belt and held it over. Here, you can use the belt. pronged to pry it open. Toby reluctantly accepted the help while Bridget looked on in fear. What is it? Jerry answered. It's an IED with a targeted C4 blast. Tobias opened the device. Then the two of them again speaking bomb jargon like they were talking shop. There's a panel to enter a disarm code. Jerry pointed, watch out for the mercury tilt switch. If we jostlet, the bomb will go off. I can disarm this. I just need to disconnect the arming switch from the power source.

Are you mental? Dude, what kind of? A bomb has a tilt switch and not an interrupter detector. You disconnect that wire. You set it off. Can you flag from her? What? The hudder clots. We don't want to get it, son.

Nathaniel continued to bleed and bubble unintelligibly. I hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from the bomb experts. It was Lauren. Directed me to the corner where she and Claire had been building a small fort out of books. We're making a bunker. I can't leave them. I sat pointing to the chair bomb trio. You can't help them either. Help us.

She had a point, and I didn't have time to argue. If that bomb got down to one minute, I'd have to find a way to subdue Jerry and drag him to the safety corner. Until then, at least I could do something productive. Nathaniel continued to drone and bleed. Jerry and Tobias argued about explosive schematics. Bridget tried to remain calm, and the rest of us built a blast wall in the furthest corner of the room out of the thickest books we could find. The wall was only about chest high when I heard Jerry scream. No!

Tobias screamed back. Fuck you, I know what I'm doing. He shoved Jerry away, reached into the bomb casing end. Lawrence slammed an open hardcover book over my head and pulled me to the ground. The room turned solid white and the air around me was replaced by pure sound. Time wavered. I floated. Reality coalesed.

Eons passed, and then I was brought violently back to the moment. Everything hurt. My insides revolted. Air mercifully returned, but breathing was a laborious task. I tasted copper. I couldn't see anything. The only sound was a ringing in my ears. And then, what was left of my survival instinct took over.

I tried to move my fingers. So far so good. Then my arms? Not so good. I held out Jerry's name and realized that it was muffled. Not just by the ringing. There was something in front of my face. On top of me, all over my body, holding me down.

Shit. I realize. I'm buried alive. I struggle to free myself, finding that the grave of books I'd fallen into wasn't all that deep. I pushed the debris off my... myself and emerged into a dark room. The only light was coming from the myriad fires and pouring in through the secret passageway where the bookshelf door had been blown right off its hinges.

Most of the room was gone, or at least hadn't landed yet. There's a small crater in the center of the room where Bridget's chair had been. Lauren and Claire were both up, coughing, covered in burns and blood, but alive. And then I saw the bodies. I almost didn't recognize him for what was like. left. But there was no doubt. Bridget, Tobias, and Jerry were completely destroyed. My vision had come true. We couldn't have saved them. They were all dead. The only saving grace was that I didn't have adequate time to process my grief. If I had, it may have completely gotten the better of me.

But in a matter of seconds we were on the move We put out the fires, covered the bodies And went into the lobby to find Wolf King standing there I'm waiting He looked us up and down and asked What happened? He tried to keep it covered with his jacket But I noticed the gun in his waistband immediately

Where were you? I don't know He lied A coughing fit got the better of Claire She fell into the corner trying to catch her breath Instead of rushing to her sister's side, Lauren turned to me. I knew it was coming and didn't particularly care for it. Save it. I'm okay.

Of course I wasn't okay. But time was of the essence, and the last thing I needed to hear was her reciting the same platitudes to bias a given Wolfgang only minutes earlier, after his mother had died, when that sneaky little shit took advantage of our distraction and sold a gun. The words would have ring just as hollow now as they had then. Wolfgang came to the bottom of the stairs, took a look at the damage in the room behind us, and asked, Is there anyone else left? What he meant was, is there anyone else alive? Anyone else to worry about stopping me?

He was too inexperienced to be subtle. Even without Claire's ability amplifying my senses, I would have known. Nathaniel may have been dead, but as long as Wolfgang was armed, we weren't out of the woods yet. I went for the safe answer. We don't know. There's probably more people here. He pointed at the destruction. Who all was in there?

I stepped closer. His hand gravitated uncomfortably close to the hidden weapon. We don't know. Wolfgang cocked his head at me, no doubt wondering if I suspected him. But how could he have ever guessed that I knew exactly what he was thinking? I still didn't understand it myself. These thoughts appearing randomly in my mind.

It has been a while since I took my medicine. What are we going to do now? I have a plan, I answered. Then on the fly, I made up a plan. We need to split up. The girls will stay here and search for survivors. You and I will go get my car and bring it around. I thought you said your car broke down.

It did. I have everything I need to fix it now. That's it. Tell them whatever you need to. Just get him away from the others. Lauren put her hand on my shoulder and said, Jack. I turned to her.

This is the best idea. Then I looked past her to Claire. Isn't that right? Claire nodded in agreement. That was enough for Lauren. Be careful. Claire said without moving her lips or using her voice. I turned back to Wolfgang.

Let's go. We don't have much time. He flashed a grin. After you. The rain was chilling to the bone. We were both drenched in no time. Stinging wind and water lit up every fresh burn on my face and hands. The storm quickly washed the blood and bits from my hair.

The solid pieces, I realized with disgust, were splinters of bone fragments. I wanted to puke, but I held myself together. I needed to keep my wits about me. And watched for the right opportunity to turn the tables. But Wolfgang was patient and calculating. He followed closely, never coming within arm's reach. We used our phone's flashlights to cut through the dark. If I got lucky, my baseball bat might save the day.

But as we continued, I became aware of certain curious matters. There seemed to be far more trees than I remembered seeing on our walk up here, and the road felt much thinner. where we walked might barely be considered enough space for a one way, and our walk didn't include any sort of decline. Weren't we supposed to be going downhill? I shine my light at the nearest tree. For a moment, it looked like something had skittered into the branches.

But whatever it might have been was the least of our concerns. We were nearly a mile into the trip before Wolfgang finally spoke up. You know, you look like a shit took a shit. Considering I'd just been blown up and lost my best friend, Anne was probably about to die. His assessment could have been a lot worse. All I could see was, All right,

I didn't recognize anything around us. It was impossible that we'd gotten lost on the only road. And yet, being impossible hardly seemed to stop anything else from happening today. The only thing I could do was chalk it up to my memory playing tricks on me again. How long has it been since I took my medicine? It must have been another mile down

the road before Wolfgang spoke again. How far away do you think we'd have to be to not hear a gunshot from the house? In this weather, you could shoot someone dead at the end of the driveway and nobody would be the wiser. But I sure as hell wasn't about to tell him that. Don't worry. Gunshots are loud as hell. If someone were to fire a gun, everyone would know. You little fucking Captain obvious asshole, kleptossociopath? I kept pushing forward.

The trees were so thick on either side. of us that they look like a solid wall in the dark. That's not right, I thought to myself. I remember, this was all farmland before. How much further? Wolfgang whined. I'm not sure. The cars could be around here somewhere.

I scanned the edges of the road for a stick or rock or anything. I could feel it. He'd lost his patience. He was getting ready to. take a shot and I didn't have anything to defend myself. I don't think we walked this far. I think someone must have moved all the cars. Who would do something like that?

I don't know, but it makes sense. I stopped, turned to face him and asked, how does that make sense? Think about it. Whoever is doing this has it down to a pattern. They must have had lots of practice. They probably have friends or workers who wait until we leave and then they come and drive our cars to a scrapyard. They're good at this because I've done it so many times before.

You're right. It makes sense, I said, even though it really didn't. I've got to say, you don't seem all that worried. I've got a plan. Yeah? Yeah. When they come for me, I'll just kill them all. I turned around and started walking again. Hey, let's keep looking. Maybe our cars are a little further this way. I put some pep in my step, trying to create some distance between us.

But Wolfgang was faster than me, and he kept up without any problem. You know what? I think that's the secret ingredient. Practice. You just need a little bit of practice, and you can do anything you want. There was something up ahead. An interruption in the pattern. A driveway.

For a moment, I thought I was safe. Wolfgang hadn't noticed it yet. He just kept talking. That's what Mom always told me. She said I needed real world experience and I could do whatever I wanted. As I got closer, I realized what was wrong with this driveway. I'd seen it before. You know why mom left her room after that man told us to stay still?

She wanted us to sneak away before the cops arrived. You want to know why? Because she thought I was the one who killed that old bitch. Mom thought she was protecting me, but really, she was just controlling me. And then I saw my opportunity and you know what I did? I took my knife. Wolfgang! He was grinning, holding the gun in his hand, eager to get more practice. What?

Take a look! I pointed up the driveway. He was so hyper-focused that he failed to realize where we were. We've been walking for miles in a straight line. Yet somehow, we were standing back where we started. At the entrance to bedside manor. What's so funny? It doesn't matter. I'm still going to kill you.

Then I'm going to kill the sisters. And I'll kill anyone else who tries to fuck with me. And when the cops arrive, I'll tell them. Clunk. My cell phone collided with his face as hard as I could throw it. In an alternate universe, I might have made an incredible baseball player. But in this one, I was taking advantage of a young psychopaths and experience and running blindly towards a forest for cover.

A second later, he let out a primal howl. The light from his phone cast my shrinking shadow against the trees, giving me just enough visual reference to slide. between two giant trunks as the first shot rang out. He screamed again and rushed after me, firing wildly with no regard for ammo conservation. His light was the only source out here. The further I got out the harder it was to see. I tripped a few times, hit a few branches, then finally stopped, pushed myself against the closest tree and held my breath.

He was still broadcasting his position like a total amateur. Screaming, firing. But he obviously had no idea where I'd gone. I started to climb. The kid would never find me up here. Another shot rang out, much closer. Then I saw the light, steadily growing brighter. Wolfgang was headed straight for me.

But he couldn't have known where I was, right? He didn't see me climb, did he? I had the upper hand as long as I stayed still and didn't move. I mean, it's not like he was a psychic too, right? Oh, shit, crap, dang, fuck. Is he a psychic, too? He stepped into the clearing beneath my hiding tree and stopped. Hey, Jack, if you come on now, I promise I'll put a bullet right in your brain.

I know how to make it fast. I was gauging the possibility of a surprise drop attack when I heard the noise, a low, rumbling growl emanating from somewhere deeper in the forest. Wolf King snapped his head. light in the direction of the sound. Jack? Is that you? The growl became louder.

And then it split into multiples. A chorus of thunderous growls from every direction. He swung the gun in light in a full circle, then called out. Hey, who's there? The circle of sound began to shrink in on us, becoming louder. When the first creature appeared, it took all myself controlled not to scream. The thing was nearly as tall as Wolfgang. Bright red eyes, coal black fur, four legs, hackles, raised, teeth bared.

A nightmare hellhound steadily closing in on its prey. Wolfgang fired. The bullet landed in the animal's snout, but just like Nathaniel, the animal had no reaction to the injury. Stay back! Wolfgang screamed. I noticed the other hell hounds a second before he did. There were four of them now, boxing them in from every side. He spawned and fired at another, catching it across a torso.

But the monster didn't so much as yip. He didn't get a third shot. The animals attacked at once, tearing into him, ripping flesh from bone as he screamed in terror and agony. I closed my eyes. If I could have, I would have closed my ears. But I had to listen to him whale as they devoured him alive, and dragged him off in the woods. Sometime later, it's hard to say how much, but I was reasonably certain I was already in the early to mid-stage of hypothermia.

I reopened my eyes. Much to my amazement, I could see my surroundings. The sun was already rising. Even though the storm clouds continued to blot out the sky, enough light broke free to allow me to navigate back. I needed to get to Claire and Lorne before they made the mistake of coming and looking for me. The rules of the game had, quite unexpectedly, changed again. Now there was pertinent information that needed to be factored into our survival plan. Wolfgang had been killed by a...

I literally rolled my eyes as the thought hit me. Really funny, whoever's in charge. Wolfgang was killed by a gang of wolves. What the actual fuck? After carefully falling out of the tree onto my ass, I ridded myself and started back towards a house. I took two steps and stopped and wondered, is this the right direction? I turned around and tried to remember which way I was running before I climbed the tree.

In the panic of it all, I'd forgotten to take visual references. Not that it really mattered, considering how every tree looked exactly the same. I heard the growl just in time to turn around and see the black hole. Black wolf standing a couple yards away. Somehow it looked even more terrifying in the daytime. Eyes glowing red as hot embers, fur blacker than night, teeth on full display. Hey, buddy. I said in my calmest voice.

Look at you. Who's a good boy? You are! Thanks for the assist back there. You, uh, should be full by now, right? I hit the ground before I realized he pounced. I felt the full weight of the enormous creature pinning me down. I felt my ribs cracking like pretzels beneath his paws,

stabbing my organs from the inside. The very last thing I felt was the searing, brutal pain of its teeth, dull but strong, as I pinched her on my throat and ripped out my windpipe. I couldn't scream. I couldn't fight. All I could do was die. Touch that!

Jerry screamed. There was a lot of screaming, actually. But Jerry's was the only voice I could make out. The lights had snapped back on. The warmth had returned to my skin. The ringing my ears from the blast had gone away. We were all seated around the dining room table. We were all perfectly dry.

Everyone was back in their period costumes, no cuts, scrapes, or bruises. Everything was, dare I say, normal. Tobias and Bridget jumped to their feet and embraced. Hope vomited on her dinner plate. Wolfgang stared across the table at me, fury in his eyes. The voices continued over one another, fighting, screaming, crying. Eventually, Jerry whistled loud enough to make everyone shut up. He had the floor now.

Everybody calm your collective tits and let me ask one question. Did I just die? You died over an hour ago. Jerry put his hands on his hips, gave Tobias a sassy look, and laughed. I fucking told you so. You didn't die an hour ago. You died last night. You've been dead for so long.

He looked at me, made a bemused face, and asked, Are you crying, dude? I can't tell you why he would ask something like that. I mean, I wasn't crying. And anyone who tells you otherwise wasn't there and can't know what really happened, and it's probably just a big fat liar. Now, everyone... There was an audible gasp from several of us present as soon as Nathaniel began speaking.

It would appear that our night has gotten off to a strange start. Fortunately, we have been given a second opportunity. to solve the mystery of bedside manner. I recommend we do not squander it. Jerry picked up a dinner plate and frisbeeed it across the table. Smashed in the pieces across Nathaniel's face. But the old man didn't react. Oh, damn.

I thought for sure that would prove he wasn't really blind. I think it proves he isn't really human. Hope slapped the table with both hands and screamed. Will someone please tell me what's going on? What's the last thing everyone remembers? Jerry answered first. You didn't listen to me and it got us killed. Lauren was next.

We survived the explosion, but then Jack and Wolfgang left to find help and then... She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. So Claire did it for her. We were killed by a haunted suit of armor. Jerry nodded and said... Nice. What about you? Tobias asked, looking at hope.

The color drained from... from her face as she turned and looked at her son. She answered. I didn't see who did it. Wolfgang pointed across the table of me and shouted. He did it. He's the one who killed me. Jerry couldn't contain himself. Oh, shut your butt, Wolfie. We're not idiots. We know you killed your mom. Don't speak to my son that way. Your friend there is the one taking crazy pills. I snapped right back. And you're the lady who recognizes antipsychotics by their drug names. care to tell us why that is?

Tobias was kind enough to change his subject. Everybody, hold on a second. Am I to understand that we all just experienced our own deaths? And then we regained consciousness right here, at the same time, with no signs of injury whatsoever? Huh. Jerry responded. He looked her on the table and asked.

Hey, how come Maggie isn't here? Was there not enough fairy dust to bring everyone back? Maybe it was just a collective vision? Maybe none of that really happened? I mean, how could it have? The sound of a loud chime echoed through the house. The hell was that? Nathaniel answered with a smile.

Ah, goody. It seems that the detective has finally arrived. Perhaps he can help us sort out this ghastly affair. The preceding story was written by Jack Townsend. author of the four-volume book series Tales from the gas station. Now available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible, and Everywhere Else books are sold. To learn more about Jack's work, visit his website at gasstationjack.com. Music, sound design, and dialogue editing for this series was provided by Steve Blizzin at blackcrowadio.com.

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