Desert Skies - Bonus - One HELL of a Car

Episode Date: November 1, 2022

This bonus episode is from a segment that appears in the horror anthology KILL FM and gives you a front row seat to the Astral Plane through the eyes of a traveler. Be sure to check out the entire KILL FM special by visiting www.kill-fm.com !!! Join Club 86 Visit our Merch Store Join the Discord Visit our Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the best listening experience, headphones are recommended. Greetings, travelers, happy Halloween. This is Jared Carter. The bonus episode that you're about to hear is a segment that was created for a spooky collaboration I did with some amazing creators. It's called Kill FM. Some of the content from that special might be a little too scary for a few Desert Skies listeners, especially.

our younger fans. But for those of you who are huge fans of the sinister and macab I highly recommend it. That anthology features pieces from some of my favorite audio dramas, including Wireland Ranch, the Moon Crown, Echoes in Between, the Supernatural Protection Company, the liminal lands, the madness of Chartrullian, and the Book of Constellations. Be sure to go to kill-fm.com to check out that special in its entirety. With that, please enjoy this short spooky segment titled One Hell of a Car. K-I-L-F-M. Brought to you by Desert Skies. Don't you mean Desert Dyes? This isn't how I thought it would end. You once again appear before me, empty-handed. I had your money.

I promise. Mikey can back me up. He counted it before I came over here. Then what happened to it? I was mugged. Were you? Well, that's funny. Because Mikey says you weren't mugged.

He says you gambled my money on a bad horse. I don't like it when people use my money to participate in activities on becoming a member of my organization. Yeah, well, Mikey's a company. Goddamn liar. Maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that you have once again failed to meet the obligations of our arrangement. I was mugged. I am sure this has happened to you. An unfortunate thing, I'm mugging.

You have my sympathy. Thanks, boss. I knew you'd understand. You have my sympathy, and your brother has my condolences. Mikey, you rat. Boss, don't do this. I'm... I'm...

I'm driving a car. I'm not suddenly aware that I'm driving a car. I'm just driving a car. I'm driving a car in the desert. Reminds me of my stepdad's place out in Arizona. Not the way I preferred to spend my summer, but in the end, my mom had a night. enough of him, and I got to say goodbye to the scorpions and pissed off rattlesnakes and

those goddamn tarantulas, not to mention the relentless heat and dust storms. This desert is different than that one. I can remember nights when the Arizona desert was lit up by the light of a full moon. You could see where you were walking for the most part. That big bright orb in the sky was something to look at, especially in contrast to the mountains on the horizon. But the light of this desert is purple, and the subtle glow almost seems to come from the ground itself.

And the moon, it's so monstrous, so ridiculously and devastatingly big that you feel like it's It's going to fall out of the sky and land right on top of you. I look at the steering wheel, a tri-shield in the center. This car, it's a Buick. I see lights ahead, a neon sign, purple and orange. Desert skies, like that song from a decade ago. As I get closer I can see it's a gas station. I pull in.

Maybe someone here can tell me where in the hell I am. Greetings, traveler. Welcome to Desert Skies. Tall, lanky. He has black hair and a fair complexion. 26, 27. He looks nice enough. Where am I?

Desert Skies. No, not the name of the gas station. Where in the world am I? What state am I in? Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you are in a state of confusion. I turn and see a man of girth and remarkably small stature. His beard is something to behold. He holds a burrito in his hand, takes a bite.

What Mac means to say is you're dead. A threat. Who in the hell does this punk think he's talking to? I reach for my gun I'm dead How about you're dead asshole The gun isn't there I reach into my pocket for the switch blade

Nothing Tandy is dead But he's not an asshole Most of the time Now let me make you a burrito I don't want a burrito Fine I'll pick for you Oh you should try Lawrence and Debbie

They taste amazing What do you mean then? The people inside, silly. Normally, we don't get two people in one burrito, but I guess the superiors made an exception. Superiors? Is he talking about the bosses? Oh my God, I've heard of these guys. I thought they were a myth.

The butchers. Normally the bosses would just blow a guy's brains out. But there were stories of what happened to those whose disloyalty went above and beyond. the norm. All I did was lose some money on a bad horse. They wouldn't send me to the butchers, would they? Yet, here I am with these two sick assholes and no way to defend myself. And my God, they're taking their victims and putting them in a microwavable burrito. It's so yummy. Listen, fellas, you got the wrong guy. I'm just gonna get back in my car.

Bukes, Skylar, one hell of a car. One hell of a car. Let me go, and I'll turn tail and head back the way I came. Oh, I wouldn't try that. Yeah, because if you do that, then you'll be a burrito. You don't want us to eat you, do you? Mack, you're scaring our guest. It's been real, fellas, but I ain't going to be your burrito.

I run out the door and head for the car. The short one chases me outside. Hey, don't run away. I want to show you the basement. Not today, you son of a bitch. I hop in the car and turn it back in the direction I came from. Hitting the gas, I see the butchers in the rearview mirror, standing, watching, then running. Then I look back at the road and... I can't believe what I'm seeing.

It's a herd. A herd of giant terrain. ranchless, blocking the road. This can't be. This place, what is it? Then I remember what the little one said. That's one hell of a car. That's one hell of a car.

One hell. Hell. My mother always said that this was where the path would lead me if I didn't repent of my gambling. womanizing, drinking. She didn't know the half of it. I look in the rearview mirror and see my torturers gaining on me.

I look in front of me to see the horror lying ahead. This is where the path has led me, Ma. You were right. Then, one of the tarantulas turns to me and waves. One hell of a car