The Magnus Archives - MAG 142 - Scrutiny

Episode Date: June 27, 2019

Case #0181206Statement of unknown bystander regarding an encounter with The ArchivistAudio recording by Martin BlackwoodThanks to this week's Patrons: Ashley Temple, Emilie Mont, micah (birdkaiju), Eric Carr, Michaela, Carineybean, Luke Davies, Elizabeth Krueger, Cody Jarrett, Lydia Counsell, Sharra Rosichan, TheZenScientist, Rexy, Adaar David Durand, Anne Poelman, Neil Kelly, szgrey, Ian Moran, Sean McMahon, Xander, Wizard of the Citadel Under the Hidden Rivers, etc.If you'd like to join them be sure to visit www.patreon.com/rustyquillEdited this week by Elizabeth Moffatt, Brock Winstead & Alexander J Newall.Written by Jonathan Sims and directed by Alexander J Newall.Performances:- Martin Blackwood - Alexander Newall- Alice 'Daisy' Tonner,- Fay Roberts- Bystander - Evelyn LockleySound effects this week by paulmessier, MoKoLoKo, SkeetMasterFunk69, luke_harris_01, Tombombadil1988 and previously credited artists via freesound.org.Check out our merchandise at https://www.redbubble.com/people/rustyquill/collections/708982-the-magnus-archives-s1 You can subscribe to this podcast using your podcast software of choice, or by visiting www.rustyquill.com/subscribePlease rate and review on your software of choice, it really helps us to spread the podcast to new listeners, so share the fear.Join our community:WEBSITE: rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: facebook.com/therustyquillTWITTER: @therustyquillREDDIT: reddit.com/r/RustyQuillEMAIL: [e-mail] Magnus Archives is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill Ltd. and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 International LicenceContent warnings for:- Coercion- Claustrophobia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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We really appreciate your support. If you'd like to join them, go to www.patreon.com forward slash Rusty Quill and take a look at our rewards. The Magnus Archives Archives. Episode 142. Scrutiny. I don't... Right, so what happened? I don't... Look, I just need to talk to a manager or something. Okay, well... Yeah, actually, I'm a manager.

Go on. Okay, well... I'd like to talk to you about one of your staff. Go on. There's been... I'm being harassed. Okay. Just let me grab a form.

One second. Okay, okay. Would you mind telling me what happened? What they did? Ah, okay. Would you mind telling me what happened? What they did? He. Ah, all right. Did he... Did he look like he hadn't slept in like a week? Mm-hmm. Yep. He's been... Yeah, I think he's been following me, kind of.

Yeah, I see. Well, he's not here at the moment, so... I mean... Yeah, why don't you tell me what happened? Look, it's... I don't know. It's just kind of weird. Well, you know, weird is what we do. Okay.

Just tell me what happened. Please, I won't judge. All right. So, you... please, I won't judge alright so you you've got to understand my job, okay I work for Thames Water mainly pipes and stuff I mean, I'm a qualified engineer

but mostly it's just manual stuff like digging and replacing pipe sometimes I've got to, you know, there are actual sewers involved it's not really. Sometimes I've got to, you know, there are actual sewers involved. It's not really where I saw myself ending up, you know. Yeah, but who does? We don't all get to build Formula One engines. Anyway, it's fine.

I actually get paid quite a bit more than the rest of the crew because, you know, if there's something that goes wrong or needs an engineer, you know, here I am. Sorry. The point is i i do some work underground did some work underground look i know i know this doesn't have anything to do with just about five years ago we were doing some work under Kentish Town. It was pretty nasty. Do you know what a fatberg is?

Don't worry, don't look it up. Seriously, don't. You know, it was just... It was a bad job. I had to spend a while down there. And now I don't know if there's something with us and the work we were doing. Or maybe just the brickwork wasn't right anymore maybe it was rotten or unstable or or the place kind of the place kind

of collapsed on me you know just one moment I'm stood there torch in hand and the next I've got a shooting pain all up my arm and I can feel god knows how much rubble on top of me and it's absolutely pitch-dark I mean yeah I don't need to tell you I've never been so scared it was like the world went away must have been a full five seconds I thought I was dead Excuse me. It's alright. Just... Take your time. Yeah. Yeah.

Well... I don't know how long I was down there. Well, I do. It was... Three hours. They told me. After. But it felt like... God, it felt like it could have been weeks. I've never had a great sense of time and just...

Gone. Everything. Every bit of light or sound or anything that changed, that said time was passing. There was nothing. Before that, I never really thought about time, you know? But now... Yeah.

But I was lying there, panicking, screaming, just trying to make any noise, any movement that didn't hurt like hell. And I... Okay. Okay. I felt something. No, I felt someone grab my ankle. At first it was great, I had this huge wave of relief, right?

Someone had found me, They were getting me out. But no, it didn't feel right. It wasn't... It was cold, right? Like old stone or wet sand it felt like rough and and like the fingers weren't I'd know it felt like they weren't in the right places and then I started thinking and I realized something the way it was grabbing me, you know, holding my leg there was... It had to have been coming upwards.

From below me. And there was no one else down there when that tunnel collapsed. Absolutely no one. I am sure. So then I start screaming again. kicking thrashing about. It hurts but I mean I'm scared out of my mind but the hand it just grips tighter and I can feel its fingernails just it started pulling. It was pulling down dragging me earth, and I, I don't know, just this close to just breaking, just absolutely shattering, and then a slab of stone came

away in front of me, and there was was daylight and Abby, one of the work crew, was staring at me and yeah, just like that it was gone. But the bruise stuck around. horrid, muddy bruises where the fingers had grabbed me. So it took a long time to get over that. I mean, that's not weird, right? I mean, it was a bad time. You know, it stays with you. I was signed off, what, about six months with the injuries. I had pretty bad nightmares, claustrophobia, I mean obviously right. But I did my physio, talked with the counsellor they gave me. I did everything I was supposed to and yeah, I guess I was fine. You know, once the bruises were gone, well it's easy to blame memory, right? You know, hallucination, coincidence, all the classic shit, you tell yourself. Life went back to normal. I... I was fine. Until about two weeks ago.

And that was when you met one of our employees? That's when he showed up. You know the coffee shop just next to Pimlico? The nice one. Well, I actually had a date there. You know, cute guy, met a line. She's sporty, which I kind of like. Look, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I get a latte and sit down waiting for Grant. I want to say Grant.

Or Gareth? Gary? Anywayary anyway look he's running late and and i'm just reading there's this creep in in the corner look at your guy he just keeps staring at me, like, like properly staring, like it is super intense, and, and real weird, like he knows me, but I sure as hell do not know him, I, I try to ignore him, look, I just, I just read my book, and every time I look up, there he is, watching me. You know, I'm about to say something, you know, like when in comes Gary, Gareth, Gavin, and suddenly, hey, it's a date. And I really didn't want his first impression of me to be, you know, me yelling at some creeper in the corner. So I just swapped chairs so that I've got my back to your colleague and get on with it. Didn't really matter, you know, in the end, Gareth was a bust. You know, not like, you know, I mean, he was fine, I guess. But there's just not really there between us, you know, just a nice boring coffee with a kind of dull man took about an hour and he clearly wasn't feeling it

either so we you know we just called it I mean I think we actually shook hands when he left which I mean tells you something right so look I'm packing up all done and and I just I just sort of, you know, just to check if he's still there, and he is standing right behind me, like a few inches from my face. Look, it's messed up. And I start to ask him, you know, what the hell, man, you know? But he just starts talking. Slowly. Real intense.

He says he works here at the Magnus Institute. And I say, what even is that? And he says, he wants my story. He says he needs to hear what happened to me. And I want to tell him to go away. I want to kick him and run. But I said no. And I start to tell him everything about the job, about the collapse, about the hand, more than I told you even and as I do it's like I'm there again. Like I can feel it grab my ankle, that cold, dead hand, and I just... I just can't stop talking. Like, I cannot shut up. Are you alright?

No. No, I'm not. Of course I'm not! It felt like... like I was throwing up all those feelings again and I wanted to scream but instead I just sat and and calmly told him my life story and he looked at me like he'd just eaten a Like a perfectly cooked steak. You know what he said? He said, thank you. Thank you. Just like that. Like, like reliving the worst parts of my whole life were just a bit of a favor that I'd done him. And then he left and I... I just sat

there and cried for a while. That wasn't the end. You've seen him since? No. Not... Well, kinda. I feel like I do. I've been dreaming of that tunnel again. Nightmares.

Oh God, awful nightmares. Nightmares where the hand keeps pulling and I go deeper and deeper and deeper into... It takes me places I do not want to go. And he's there the whole time just... watching me. Watching me scream and thrash and... and...

his all eyes. His all eyes he is all eyes look I know that's not that is my brain I'm not blaming him for being in my dreams you know I guess I can't that's absurd right it's not not blaming him for being in my dreams. You know, I guess I can't. That's absurd, right?

It's not... But I feel like I'm seeing him when I'm awake as well. I've been having a lot of problems since he talked to me, since I talked to him, since I told my story. The claustrophobia is back, worse than it ever was, and I can't do my job. I have these screaming panic attacks every time I try and what am I supposed to do? It feels like every time I'm even slightly underground. I can't even go into a shop basement anymore without feeling that. Hand. Every time I do, every time I get that panic just rising up my throat, I see him. He's there. Not when I look properly, but just at the edge, the corner of my eye.

And he's gone. I mean, maybe it's just me. Maybe I met him once in a coffee shop and he was a creep and it messed me up but that's enough right that is enough so so I want to put in a complaint like a proper complaint i don't want to go to the police i mean they would they wouldn't even you know let me get this far now would they but sorry so thanks i guess okay um right well firstly i'm really sorry that this happened. In terms of next steps... I just, I don't know, you know, talk to him, I guess. Just tell him, look at me, it's not okay. You know, right? I'm not...

I don't know what he did, but, you know, he can't just go around and, well, you know, just keep doing... I understand. Good. Well, you can't just go around and, well, you know, just keep doing... I understand. Good. Well, you... I just, I don't want to see him again, all right? Ever. Hold on, hold on, I just need to... No, that's it, that's my complaint.

You know, I can't... This place, I... I can't be here. I can't... This place, I... I can't be here. I have to... But you didn't give me your... Name. What the hell do I do with that? I mean, Christ, John, that's not okay.

That can't... I mean, it's not him, is it? Not really, is it? What, addiction? Instinct? Maybe mind control? Something like that? I can't believe he'd choose to do something like that. No, no, I can't think like that, though. I can't let myself, because, I mean,

if he's already gone, then all of this is just... The worst part is I don't even want to talk to him about it. I'm just... I suppose I'm just getting comfortable with the distance. Cut off. Lonely.

Mind you, Peter's not wrong it really is easier than actually just trying to communicate with people I should probably try to get him this tape let him know what happened that someone came into but then would that just come across as an accusation because I don't want it and then and then I guess he you hear this bit as well so what do i do go away come in Come in. Hey. Um, hi.

Mind? Can I help you? I saw someone come out, so I thought that, you know... Do you want something? No, I'm just... Just ignore me. Continue with... Whatever.

Are you alright? Yeah. Just ignore me. Continue with... whatever. Are you alright? Yeah. Just a bit empty around here, you know? Not really. Melanie's out and... John and Basir are still off. Bit worried. But they can take care of themselves, you know?

Again, not really. No one talks to me anymore. Because they reckon you're working for the bad guy? Pretty much. Don't you? Oh, I mean, you're definitely working for something evil, but so are we. Yeah. Seems there's plenty to go around these days. It doesn't bother you?

Didn't used to. And now? Well, there's me less than trying to go alone. At least, now it's on my terms better than being blackmailed into it. I mean, yeah, I guess. They told you about Elias, right? Yeah. As Sira said.

Don't like him being alive. Try not to think about it too much. Don't want to get too angry. Start to hear the blood. Sure. Can't hear his lies from prison, though, so that's something. I thought you believed him. You were doing all of his dirty work.

Wasn't willing to call his bluff. Not the same thing as believing. Just too big a risk. Not for Melanie. Or maybe she was the only one with any sense. Even if he was telling the truth, if we all died, there are worse things. How was it? Don't want to talk about it. I listened to your old statement. Wasn't your partner down there? Yeah. Didn't find him.

You don't want to go get him? I'm not going back. I thought you'd at least tried. I said I don't want to talk about it. I know. Not nice being interrogated, is it? I... Oh.

Yeah. I'm sorry, Martin. It's alright. It wasn't you. Not really. No, it was. I hate a lot of what I did back then. Doesn't mean I'm not responsible for it.

Doesn't mean it wasn't me. Anyway. So what's this field trip they're on? They, er, they didn't tell you? No, I... What? Daisy, where have they gone? You know that town in Norway?

What? What? You don't mean in Norway? What? What? You don't mean Niala's son? Yeah. They reckon there's a ritual they need to, you know... But Peter didn't even... I don't believe this. Sorry.

Shouldn't have said anything. No, it's... Thank you, I just... For God's sake, can he not just stay safe for like ten minutes? I don't think that's an option for him anymore. Yeah, I mean, sure, but he just... He doesn't think. He always just immediately charges straight off into danger

with whatever half-assed plan occurs to him at the time. I don't get it. What's to get? What? I mean, it's pretty standard stuff. What? I used to see it all the time back in the force, especially with the sections. Especially with this action.

Not like there's normal trauma, you know? But it's pretty common. The most important thing becomes control. Engaging on your own terms. Even when it's stupid or dangerous. Anything to not feel helpless. Oh, God. And, of course, for John, there's

survivor's guilt in there, too. He thinks he's not human. Makes him very... self-destructive. Yeah, well, we've all had trauma. And everyone's changed. Yeah. I suppose. You're... you're pretty observant, you know.

Detective, remember? Yeah, you did mention. Would have thought Basira would have had more sense, though. When Basira and I were partners, I'd see this happen sometimes. She can read a situation like no one I know always seems to know the right move, but for all her research, she never wants to put a plan together. I think she just hates all the unknowns, the variables,

contingencies. If she spots an advantage, she'll grab it and trust herself to figure out the details as she goes. It's worked so far. I mean, I guess. It still sounds really dangerous. Yeah. I wanted to go with them, protect them, but...

Life's always more complicated than that, isn't it? Not really. Are you recording, or...? Oh! Oh, no, there was... Hang on. The Magnus Archives is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 International License. Today's episode was written by Jonathan Sims and directed by Alexander J. Newell.

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