The NoSleep Podcast - NoSleep Podcast S14E10

Episode Date: April 19, 2020

It’s Episode 10 of Season 14. This week we conjure spells for you about the dark holes families can pull us into. “Watch Out for Anyone Trying to Sell You EliteYou Products” written by Nick Botic (Story starts around 00:07:00) TRIGGER WARNING! Produced by: Jeff Clement Cast: Narrator – Graham Rowat, Joanne – Erin Lillis, Police Officer #1 – Jeff Clement, Police Officer #2 – Atticus Jackson, Police Officer #3 – Peter Lewis, Christine – Nichole Goodnight, Bill – David Cummings, Clai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everyone, I'm Nicole Doolin, voice actor for the No Sleep podcast. It feels like everywhere we look right now, there's an explanation of why the world's a scary place. That's why I'm not going to give you yet another breakdown of the things we all know and are experiencing. In times like these, it's easy to fall into a pattern where, because events are ongoing and constantly updating, you feel like you need to be on the pulse of it at all times. and it's important to be educated on things like how the pandemic is playing out. Of course it is. But it's also important to remember to look after yourself

and take some time for self-care, even during a colossal event. And I know it's hard. It feels selfish to switch off, or to turn away from the news for even five minutes. And it's okay to need help without. That's where services like Better Help can step in. If you need someone to talk to or just to listen, they're a great option.

BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. You can start communicating in under 24 hours. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It is professional counseling done securely online. There is a broad range of expertise in Better Helps counselor network,

which may not be locally available in many areas. BetterHelp service is available for clients worldwide, It doesn't matter when you need help day or night. You can log in to your account anytime and send a message to your counselor. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus, you can schedule weekly video or phone sessions. So you won't ever have to sit in an uncomfortable waiting room. Doubly important right now during the pandemic.

Plus, you can even chat and text with your therapist between sessions. Better help is committed to facilitating great things. therapeutic matches, so they make it easy and free to change counselors if needed. It's more affordable than traditional offline counseling, and financial aid is even available. So whenever you need some help, visit betterhelp.com slash no sleep and join the over 500,000 people taking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. No sleep listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash no sleep. We're all caring for each other now, even with social distancing and self-isolation. And those out there on the front lines are doing amazing work

helping others. But it's okay to look after yourself too. And it's okay to need a helping hand to do that. Services like BetterHelp can offer just that. So remember, reach out to that helping hand by visiting betterhelp.com slash no sleep to get 10% off your first month. In our world, there is magic in the darkness. Sorcery and incantations which bring us closer to the essence of the night. Come enter our black magic shop where we will conjure up tales to frighten and disturb. This journey will be spelled by me.

Brace yourself for the No Sleep Podcast. Welcome visitors to the No Sleep Magic Shop. I'm your proprietor, David Cummings. This week, we conjure spells for you about the dark holes families can pull us into. I want to make everyone aware of a very important and exciting event we're going to be a part of. We will be featured in the lineup of Potapalooza, a virtual festival to raise money for COVID-related. Think of it as live aid, but for podcasts. Your ticket gives you access to a special Potta Paloosa podcast feed,

where an incredible lineup of podcasters across genres will be showcasing their work. You'll get a festival schedule, and new episodes will drop over the course of the weekend. Listen as they come out or save the content for later. We've been thinking about how we can make a positive impact in light of the current crisis and are thrilled to have a chance to do something we love while contributing to this important. cause. The festival goes live on April 25th. We'll be featuring a never-before-heard story about the way panic and paranoia can become viral. And there's only one way to tune in. Get a ticket. The money all goes to Give Directly, a non-profit providing economic relief to the families that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Here's a clip where

they describe what they do and the impact your money will have. Hey, I'm Katie from GiveDirectly, the nonprofit partner of Potapalooza. Over the last decade, GiveDirectly has delivered over $150 million globally. In light of COVID-19, we launched a cash relief program in the United States, giving $1,000 to families who have been hardest hit by the economic impacts of this virus. So far, we've delivered funds to over 1,500 people. They spent it on rent, food, diapers, and even cable bills, so their kids can learn remotely. That's a great thing about giving cash.

It allows families to prioritize and spend on what they need most. And that's where the money we raise from Potapalooza is going. So thank you to this podcast for supporting the effort. To everyone listening, check out this festival. Head to Potapalooza.org or plzda.org for short. That's plzza.org. Thanks and hope to see you there. You heard her. Get a ticket.

Tickets are pay what you can. Ten bucks, five bucks, even a dollar. So contribute to the outside. hear from us, and maybe even discover some new favorite podcasts along the way. Go to plza.org. That's plzda.org. We know many of you will join us there next weekend, but we've got some great stories lined up for you right here. Now, close your eyes and embrace the magic. In our first tale, we join a man who's been invited to a party.

Great, you think. Parties are always fun. But this is one of those parties. You know, the type where a neighbor invites you, and they're trying to sell products, and it's some kind of pyramid scheme. But in this tale, shared with us by author Nick Botick, it's not a sexy underwear party, it's something even more sinister. I join Graham Rowett, Aaron Lillis, Jeff Clement, Atticus Jackson, Peter Lewis, Nick Nicole Goodnight and Sarah Thomas in performing this tale. So maybe don't agree to buy strange products from your weirdo neighbors. After all, these people know where you live. But even so, watch out for anyone trying to sell you, Elite You products. Having trouble losing that last 10 pounds, maybe your skin isn't as clear as you'd like it to be.

Have a goal you just can't seem to accomplish? Maybe you're tired of the same boring nine. to five every day of the week. Maybe your boss is getting on your nerves. Maybe you'd rather be your own boss. If any of these statements ring true for you, the elite you is just what you need. Elite you provides the tools needed for you

to become the best you possible. That sounds good enough, right? Well, how about if on top of that, you can help others become the best they can be, all while making a heck of a lot of money? Elite you will enable you to run a business on your time, fill your pockets, and make your life the best life. Contact me to join my very own Elite You team and begin your journey to success today.

That is verbatim, the Facebook post that introduced me to Elite You. It was posted by a woman named Samantha in the group dedicated to the residents of our cul-de-sac. Samantha lives just three houses down from us and is the kind of neighbor that complains if your grass isn't cut to her standards, the head of the neighborhood watch. You know the type. I read through the post quick and dismissed it as just another in a long list of multi-level marketing, read Pyramid Scheme, posts I've seen over the years. This one, like so many similar posts, caught the attention of the others in the group. There's 10 houses on our street, all cookie cutter families, all the same people who shared, It Works, posts when that was the number one pyramid scheme crawling its

way across social media. But Samantha is what you might call a person with some modicum of influence. Her sharing of the post encouraged other residents of our street to check it out. I just sort of rolled my eyes and went on about my day. About a week after, I first saw the post, my wife Kimmy came home and informed me that she'd run into Samantha at the grocery store, where the latter extended to us an invitation to her Elite U launch party. Kimmy said, that Samantha had essentially made it so she couldn't decline, and my wife, being the people-pleaser she is, confirmed our forthcoming attendance. A search online for Elite You yielded no results whatsoever, which my wife and I found odd. We began wondering if this was yet another business

Samantha was starting herself, much like the other eight she'd started in the seven years we'd lived there. Our curiosity furthered our RSVP, and that Saturday we walked to Samantha's, The gathering was about as expected. People ate, drank, mingled, with the same people they talked to every day, and waited for the host to make her presentation. In all, there were the ten families in our neighborhood. The kids all stayed at another of our neighbor's houses with their daughter, who was back from college, and four other couples we didn't know. After a short time, Samantha came downstairs. Her presentation, without boring you, was with her, question the most vague experience I've ever had. I'll give you the highlights. Elite U is essentially a vitamin supplement that claims to increase brain power and help regulate weight

and a variety of other health things. The video presentation she used to show the business model included a literal, actual pyramid. That's pretty much all the important points, but let me include a couple quotes that were used. I work full-time, so you can work part-time. time. You don't get paid for the hour, you get paid for the value you bring to the hour. I lost count of these platitudes after the eighth or ninth. Apparently, Samantha's presentation worked, because people immediately approached her to get involved. By my count, only my wife and I and one other couple that we didn't know before the party, but with whom we talked a bit

and exchanged numbers, decided not to buy in at that time. From that point on, our Facebook books were filled to the brim with Elite U, with all of the people who signed up at the party posting several times a day about how people can join them to start their new life today. It went this way for about two weeks. In those two weeks, Kimmy and I were asked at least once a day why we weren't a part of it, and this is when things started getting weird. I woke up around 3.30 a.m. and went downstairs to get something to drink. I turned at the landing and went down the last few steps

and absent-mindedly looked towards our front door, specifically the window next to it. I saw, standing at the end of the sidewalk that leads up to our porch, the silhouette of a woman. I'm not going to lie. It creeped the shit out of me, stopped me dead in my tracks. In the seven years we lived there, there had been zero crime on our street, none, at all.

So I didn't immediately react as if whoever was out there was a threat. A few of the women on our street like late-night walks, but I was curious as to why any of them would stop to stare at our house. I opened the door and got a better look, finding that it was Joanne from down the street. I asked her what she was doing, and she didn't reply. I took a few steps closer to her and asked again, and this time it was like she was a robot who had just turned on. She lifted her arm in a stiff wave. Hi, neighbor. You have a beautiful home. Your family is lovely. But are you living your best life? If there is any aspect of your life that you feel could be improved, then Elite You is the answer.

I was more annoyed and confused than anything else at that point. What the fuck are you talking about, Joanne? Elite U allows you to work from home and on your own schedule. You can be your own boss. Since I started Elite you, I've had more time for my heart. hobbies and my family. Today and today only I can offer you our elite you silver package for 75% off, which will put you well on your way to getting that new car you wanted, or maybe a gift for that lovely wife of yours. This is something I'm only offering you, neighbor, and you know what? If you just turn around and sell it to someone else, you can keep the profit and get paid for bringing someone else on board. Are you ready to start living your best life? I very brusquely told Joanne to go home and went back inside, perplexed and irritated.

I went and got a glass of water, and when I went to head back upstairs, I looked out the window to find Joanne walking towards home, only backwards, and with her arm still raised in that wave. She walked backwards the entire way down the street with her arm up, then disappeared into her house. I was more than a little creeped out after that, and I was a little creeped out after that, and I was didn't get any more asleep that night. The following morning I told Kimmy what had happened, about Joanne's wave, how it sounded like she was reading from a script.

Her response was that Joanne has always been a weird woman and suggested perhaps that she was in the early stages of dementia, something I didn't entirely agree with, but accepted as an explanation in the absence of any other. Throughout the rest of that day, we had two couples and two individual people from our street stop by to tell us how great Elite U was, how much it was helping them in their daily lives. Christine, from next door.

You probably can't tell, but I've lost seven pounds. Bill, her husband. Hand it in my two weeks, brother. Working from home now. You gotta get in on this. It sells itself. Claire, Samantha's sycophantic best friend. I am so glad Samantha had that party.

This stuff has seriously changed my life. I've never been happier. It was just testimonial after testimonial that sounded like they were pulled straight from the non-existent website. It was always followed by them trying to convince us to join. We tried calling the other couple that didn't join right away that night at the party to see if they were being pressured like we were, but we got no answer. At that point, things escalated very quickly. That night a loud bang on our front door woke us up.

I went downstairs to check it out and looked through the window by the door and didn't see anyone. Cautiously, I opened the door and found two things. A box sealed with Elite U shipping tape and a note pinned to the door with a knife. The note read, We know how much Elite U can help, and we love helping our friends. We've decided to offer you the Elite U bronze package. free of charge. Still not sure? That's totally fine. All we ask is that you try one, just one of our life enhancement multivitamins, and if after one day you still aren't

convinced, then we'll concede that your life must just be perfect as is. You can just sell the bronze package to someone else and sleep soundly knowing you helped someone else reach the same happiness you already have. But full disclosure, we know you'll be hooked. Winky face. Your friendly neighborhood elite you team. This had obviously gone too far. I called the police and prepared to give a statement that would explain pretty much everything you've just read. Two officers arrived and took the report. All in all, they were in our home for about 30 minutes. As they were leaving, though, they walked right past the box that was still on our porch. I asked if they thought they should take it. If there might be anything on or within it, that could help

them figure out who stabbed our front door. One of them responded, in a voice that was a clear pitch higher than he'd been speaking in the whole time he was inside. No need. Let me tell you, though, sir, Elite You is a wonderful company that has helped me live my best life. It's made me a better cop, a better husband, a better father. You should feel proud that someone you know wants you to reach the same level of happiness. And to get a bronze package free of charge? That sounds like a lucky day to me. Make no mistake, the life enhancement multivitamins in the bronze package may not be as good

as the ones in the silver or gold packages, but they'll get the job done. His partner then chimed in. His voice sounded normal, but was entirely monotone, devoid of any kind of inflection or emotion, like someone was typing in the words and he was saying them as he went along. Thank you for calling us, sir, and ma'am. We will be looking into this matter. We assure you that we will investigate any leads that we may come across. If we have any questions, we will reach you at the numbers you have provided us.

If you have questions for us, you can reach us at the numbers provided on our business cards. We will keep you safe. Thank you. Just then, both officers put up their arms in the same stiff waves that Joanne had done, and both walked backwards to their car and reversed down the street. Naturally, our visit with them didn't make us feel any safer. Quite the opposite. Later that night, around 2 a.m., both my phone and Kimmy's began frantically going off. Text messages, Facebook posts, tweets, Instagram DMs, phone calls from everyone on our street,

asking if we'd tried the life enhancement multivitamins, and if we were ready to start living our best lives. That irritated me to no end. And it was at that moment that everything, all the weird shit from the past few weeks, came to a head. I went into the garage and got a can of gasoline. After also grabbing a piece of paper and a lighter, I walked out to the porch, picked up the elite U box, and brought it to the middle of the cul-de-sac, doused it in gas, lit the piece of paper on fire, and dropped it on the box, which burst into flames. I then, in my state of heightened anxiety and irritation, began yelling about how everyone who wants us on their shitty pyramid scheme bullshit could fuck off.

How if anyone else approached us about it, there were going to be problems, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Not a single light in any house on the street turned on. The box stayed ablaze for a short time, but eventually died out, during which time I'd gone up to bed, though I had no intention. of actually sleeping and with good reason. About an hour after my dumbass had lit a box on fire in the middle of a residential street,

we heard a number of voices, all in unison. You have chosen to not become involved with the life-changing business that is elite you, and that's okay. I jumped up from the bed and looked out the window down at the street and saw everyone from our block, roughly 30 to 35 adults and children. children standing there in a kind of half-circle towards the end of our driveway.

We understand your hesitancy, but we cannot forgive it. We live elite lives and cannot be expected to share them with those who refuse to answer their call to greatness. You will now be exterminated. Your chance of an elite life will go to some other lucky person. As the last word simultaneously left their lips, they all began to be able to. They all began to briskly walking towards and around our house. At this point, Kimmy was already awake, and I told her to grab her phone and come downstairs with me. We made our way down to the basement, as Kimmy called the police.

We told them a large group of people was attempting to enter our home, and that several units would be needed. We also said that they were holding signs, but we couldn't see what they said. We're chatting something we couldn't make out, and were waving around torches, none of which was true. The reason for the exaggeration of an already crazy situation is that we live in a small town. If ever there are more units needed than the local police can accommodate, they send in the sheriffs, who we hoped there was a chance might not be on the elite U train.

The 911 operator contacted the sheriff's station while we were listening and sent them to our home. Kimmy went to the corner with a number of knives and a large can of pepper spray while I got my cordless nail gun that I'd long since modified because. because I do dumb shit when I'm bored sometimes. Suddenly, all the sounds upstairs stopped. Then came a voice from above us, a voice that sounded like someone trying to imitate someone else, but doing a poor job. Hey, guys, it's Ben Brunner.

Remember me? We met at the party. My wife and I were the only people besides you guys to not opt in to elite you right away. Let me tell you, that was a huge mistake. Elite U is amazing. It's undeniable. I only wish I would have signed up right away. It would have been a much better choice for my family and me. Come on out and let's talk. I positioned myself at the bottom of the stairs with a nail gun and waited.

After only a moment, the knob to the door at the top of the stairs began to rattle. Soon after that, the wood started splintering. Once a hole big enough allowed for it, an arm reached through and began feeling around for the deadbolt and doorknob locks. I took the opportunity and sprinted up the stairs and began slamming the nail gun into the arm, and eventually got the hand nailed to the door itself. I jumped back down to the basement floor. Luckily, our basement door is pretty heavy duty,

so taking it off the hinges wasn't an immediate worry, And we also learned then that they could feel pain. What I didn't anticipate was when whoever was connected to that arm stopped screaming, and I heard the locks clicked. Then the basement stairs began to creak. Elite you request not being able to bring you on as an elite salesperson. Before long, several of them were piling into the basement. Men, women, and children.

I started shooting nails at the adults, and a few in a few in the same. and each were able to make them withdraw in pain. Dilley, you will save me. The kids started charging us, but, and I'm not exactly proud of this, they were easily taken out by punches and pepper spray. A few more of our neighbors came down the stairs, but were quickly subdued with nails and mace. Police, everybody drop what's in your hands and stay where you are.

Clear. Police, anyone down there, put your hands. hands up. We did. I immediately let them know that we were the owners of the house and the ones who called. Officers continued coming downstairs, zip-tying the hands of the people we'd dispatched and getting whatever weapons they had away from them. The police confirmed who we were, and shortly thereafter we were led upstairs, and through the tears, pepper spray doesn't only affect those on which it's employed if it's used in an enclosed area. We saw an absolute mess of carnage. Whoever the arm belonged to that reached through the hole in the basement door had been removed from it,

and the appendage still stuck to the door, only now it was hanging, dripping blood, having been hacked off by someone not patient enough to figure out another solution. Our house was littered with bodies and absolutely destroyed. Walls were torn down. Every item not nailed down was thrown around and broken. Two ceiling fans were ripped out. Next to the basement door slumped against the wall was a dead man with the face of Ben Brunner, tied over his own. It was absolutely goddamn horrific.

Stepping over bodies, we went outside, where the corpses of the two officers who had come earlier that day were splayed across the walkway leading up to our destroyed home. Ambulances and fire trucks had all begun convening at the end of the cul-de-sac as we were taken to the police station. That was three days ago. We haven't yet been made aware of what exactly was in the Elite U products, but we did learn that 19 of our neighbors, fathers, mothers, and children, had been killed. The rest were in police custody, be it in a hospital or jail. We also learned that the Brunners had been killed inside their home about a week prior to the attack on us, with, join Elite U now to start living your best life, smeared in blood on their best.

bedroom wall. The faces of them and their children removed and used for the raid on our house. We have about as many answers now as we did before we were attacked, and I don't know how far a leap you spread before this happened, or if it was just contained to our neighborhood and the people at the party. This has been long, but before I wrap it up, I just want to say, I don't know how we could have avoided this. I feel like even if we wouldn't have gone to the party, everyone still would have been pressing us to join. They were hypnotized, brainwashed, something. Just if you see Elite You come across your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever, unfriend them. Do whatever you can to stay as far away as possible. Have you looked at your wireless bill lately? You're probably

paying too much. It's 2020. Network coverage is better than ever, no matter your wireless provider. So why pay more for the same service? That's where Mint Mobile comes in. They can cut your bill down to 15 bucks a month for the same premium coverage. I know what you're thinking. This is too good to be true, but these guys know what they're doing. My old wireless contract was ridiculous. Each monthly bill was way more than I should have been paying.

Switching to Mint Mobile was like giving my phone an exorcism, only without the really gross bits that I definitely can't detail in an ad read. Compared to my old bill, the amount I pay my money. now is incredible. And coverage is fantastic too. I'm basically never stuck without signal wherever I go. Your old wireless bill pays for expensive overheads. Mint Mobile is all online. They make savings and they pass them on to us, their customers. Imagine the savings you're going to bank when you switch to Mint Mobile and pay just 15 bucks a month. Every plan comes with unlimited nationwide talk and text plus crazy fast 4GLTE. Use your own phone with any Mint

mobile plan and keep your same phone number along with all your existing contacts. And if you're not 100% satisfied, Mint Mobile has you covered with their seven-day money back guarantee. To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month and get the plan shipped to your door for free, go to mintmobile.com slash no sleep. That's mintmobile.com slash no sleep. Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com slash no sleep. Climate change. It's a scary prospect, the forces of nature pointing out the folly of man. But what's even scarier than climate change is climate change caused by a massive hole. In this tale, shared with us by author Kenneth Cole, we find out what happens when a group of documentarians carelessly leave

a mysterious pits uncovered. Performing this tale are David Alt and Erica Sanderson. So join us as we experience the effects of extreme weather and the dangers of uncovered chasms. At least when that uncovered chasm is the Cola borehole. I peered over the edge as I had done so often before. Lots of people came from great distances to see it at first, but a decade after it happened, the number of spectators had dwindled to just a few, and eventually none. save for the occasional passerby. Of course, the planet's population had also diminished significantly. Those who were spared instant death died slowly from the cold or lack of food.

Or victims of them. You know them. It wasn't my fault. I know that's what you're thinking. A lot of people blamed me at first. Most of them are dead now, but think about it. A hole to hell? Right there under your feet?

What man could resist just peaking? The Kohler Superdeep borehole was the result of a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union in the Pajankski district on the Kohler Peninsula. The project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth's crust. Drilling began on the 24th of May 1970. Several holes were drilled all branching from a central hole. The deepest reached 12,262 meters in 1989 and was the deepest artificial point on Earth. The borehole was only 23 centimetres in diameter.

The hole reached its deepest measurable point in 1989. the whole depth was expected to reach 13,500 metres by the end of 1990, but never did. Officially, the drilling effort was abandoned because of higher than expected temperatures, 180 degrees centigrade instead of the expected 100. Unofficially, well now, that's a different story. A lot of unexpected discoveries arose from the project. water where none was anticipated, pockets of hydrogen gas where it should not have existed, geophysical discontinuities that flew in the face of everything seismologists had previously predicted.

On St. Valentine's Day, in 1990, however, came the most shocking discovery of all. Life! Nearly 13,000 meters under the Earth's crust at temperatures of 180 degrees centigrade. Nothing should have been able to live in those conditions, and yet there it was. Just plankton, but still life. It should have been heralded as the scientific breakthrough of the century, but instead within two weeks the drilling equipment had been removed, and the borehole capped with a steel plate bolted in place

and then welded shut for an extra degree of added security. Why hadn't we been more suspicious at the time? There were many theories and legends that were battered about. The one that made the most sense was that scientists were afraid of contamination. After all, this was an entirely new species that no one or no thing on Earth had ever been exposed to. Other legends were more laughable. There was a tall tale that the tormented screams of the damned could be heard through the opening of the well to hell. I should admit that rumor was possibly rooted in some truth, as I didn't doubt that strange sounds would emanate from a hole that deep with who knows what bubbling at the bottom.

Tormented screams, though, I don't think so. Still, like I said, who could resist finding out for himself? Some colleagues and I were exploring the old ruins of the abandoned project site while filming a documentary, We had hoped to find some grand spectacle, but instead, after pushing aside a bunch of scrap and garbage, we found the tiny 23-centimeter plate sitting flush with the ground, rusted and barely distinguishable from the rest of the debris. We were disappointed to say the least, but honestly, what more could there have been to see? out came the rumors and stories retellings of all the old legends and then we got the crazy idea to open it up remove the cover and listen for ourselves one of my colleagues retrieved his toolbox from our vehicle and set it down next to the plate ready to get to work it was probably a fool's errand

who'd have thought that we could actually open it after all that time it turned to out that the rust and the extreme cold had made it easier for us. A couple of the boltheads cracked off instead of unscrewing and then startling us all, the entire plate flew off. The world must have been weak or compromised by the elements, perhaps even affected by what was inside. There was a gust of air that erupted from the borehole as the plate came off, pressurized gas, no doubt. Using a torch, we looked down, but of course, saw nothing as the hole dwindled off beyond the reach of our light. Then we each took a turn crouching and putting our ear near the opening to hear what we could perceive, if anything.

I'll admit that when it was my turn I did hear strange noises emanating from the hole, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. That was it, though, a short, cheap thrill. We finished our work and left, never even bothering to make an attempt at sea. feeling the opening back up. What was the point? And then it happened. In the dark morning hours of the 19th of January 2020,

a series of unfortunate events occurred. A perfect storm, if you will. You see, as years past, rain and snowmelt trickled down into the borehole. Lots of it. Given the sheer volume of the hole, it probably only filled a small part of the cavity but got stopped up somewhere. There was a minor tremor that morning, not even what one would call an earthquake,

but it was enough to dislodge whatever it was that was holding back the water. Apparently, the water came in contact with the heated rock deep inside the hole and vaporized. Like a volcanic eruption, the resulting explosion reaped heretofore unimaginable devastation. station. Scientists have calculated that the kinetic energy released from that hole was equal to over 1,000 times that of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Try to imagine a 10,000 megaton bomb. It should go without saying that it was on par with an asteroid impact, a dinosaur killer. Magma, ash and steam burst from the bottom of the borehole, widening the hole to a staggering six kilometers across and God only knows how deep.

Some of the debris was being ejected with such force that it flew right out of the Earth's atmosphere and went into a low orbit. Most of it rained back down, not just near the site of the eruption, but every part of the planet. And when I say debris, I am referring to chunks of rock from the size of a flake of ash to as large as a two-story house. Within the first few minutes after the event, the debris had created a weather radar signature with a field large enough to be seen halfway around the planet. Every structure within 24 kilometers of the pit was instantly vaporized by the heat and everything within the next 50 kilometer radius was reduced to rubble. All that material joined the debris field.

Once the largest pieces had rained down destruction on the planet and its inhabitants, then came the next insidious step in Earth's destruction. What was left surrounding the planet formed a barrier allowing the sun's gamma rays in but preventing them from leaving the atmosphere. it was global warming taken to the extreme. The atmosphere of the planet heated until it was like the inside of an oven triggering forest fires and cooking everything that wasn't sheltered underground. The light of the sun was blocked out for approximately a year or so. Without sunlight, most of the Earth's plant life on land and in the sea died.

In addition to the impacts on the planet, its climate and life, some scientists held to the belief that the force of the explosion may have influenced the dynamo mechanism at the Earth's core, causing it to wobble. The core is responsible for providing the planet's magnetic field, and once that was crippled, the Earth was even more exposed to the Sun's harmful gamma rays. We survived, though, those of us who had the luxury of having an underground bunker in which to ride out the worst of it. Then, as if to add insult to injury, things got worse.

Then came the cold. When most of the solid debris dissipated, all that remained in the stratosphere was ash and soot left over from the fires. This fine dust had the opposite effect of the debris, shielding the planet from our stars' heat. Like nuclear winter, the skies lightened a bit, but the temperatures grew colder. We called it The Twilight, a severe and prolonged global climatic cooling effect. It has been 15 years, as far as I can remember, I lost track of time long ago, and the twilight hasn't relented yet.

It was so easy to get mesmerized when looking into the hole. Your eyes could follow the steep face down the side for only so long until you could only see blackness. I calculated that when I looked down, I could probably see about one to one and a half kilometers down. After the magnitude of the event, though, one could only guess at the actual depth. No one had ever actually found out. Not that there weren't expeditions over the years, but once someone went down into the pit,

they never came back. shaking myself free of the captivation, I realized that I needed to start my hike back to the old apartment complex where I had taken up residence. It wasn't much. Most of it had been destroyed, but it was close to the hole, and that is where I needed to be. That is why I had come to this god-forsaken place, after all, wasn't it, for research? There was not much else to do in this new world, except look for ways to make it better. make life easier. I knew that fixing the climate was not a task that humans would ever accomplish, but I thought that perhaps I could, well, let's just say, come up with an answer to the other problems.

I did not want to spend the night in the wasteland. There was not much between the whole and what remained of the nearby city, so every night between the two places meant a night spent on flat, icy plains. no trees, no rocks, no shelter of any type. The best a person could do was to dig a hole, ironic I know, and climb into it, covering yourself over with some of the soil to keep you warm until the next day. Things weren't so bad in the beginning. We had generators, vehicles, power and heat, all provided by petrol or diesel fuel. But petrol goes flat after a while.

there was always a plentiful supply. It just stopped working after a while. You see, what makes petrol an ideal fuel is that it vaporizes readily to form a combustible mix with air. The longer it sits around, the more of the volatile elements waft away until you end up with a gummy, useless liquid that will not burn. Even when the gas was still in its prime,

it didn't do much good in the way of vehicles. Sure, it would get you from point A to point B, but once you got out into the open wasteland, they became useless too. The Siberian tundra, already bitterly cold, was made even worse by the twilight. On a windy day, and they are all windy now, aren't they? The temperature could drop so low that the rubber tires of the cars and the vans became brittle, brittle enough to shatter. Our community lost more than a few brave souls who had set out into the wasteland only to break down too far from anything to safely walk back

and froze to death. So I checked my compass, happy that it still worked and that the liquid inside had not frozen. Without it, every direction looked the same. There was no sunrise, no sunset, no high noon to guide myself by. I set off in a southeasterly direction toward the ruined city that I had made my home. I suppose that it had a name, but by that point names didn't matter anymore.

Stick-built houses would have had no chance of surviving the initial explosion, and what did remain deteriorated quickly in the extreme climate afterward. Fortunately, the post-war Soviet-era construction effort left plenty of solid structures whose durability made up for their lack of beauty. My apartment building, the tallest that remained in the derelict city, had a huge gash across its middle about five stories up. I had selected the tallest building that I could find and chose an apartment on the highest floor

that I considered to be structurally safe to avoid, well, for obvious reasons. Consisting of playing, gray reinforced concrete, the building was roughly U-shaped. Looking at it, from the open end of the U, the three lowest levels were a series of simple arches, fronting what used to be offices and shops. The entire building appeared segmented in blocks, and it is very possible that each apartment was prefabricated and assembled on site.

I doubted it, though, given its height and the fact that it was still standing, it had to have been fairly sturdy. The apartments sitting above the lower levels all looked the same. The Soviet architects had wasted no effort on originality. Each apartment had a balcony running its full length of about 30 feet, most of the railings bent and twisted out of shape. Behind them were rows of windows, all the glass broken out now. My apartment was on the eighth floor.

No lifts, obviously. and even the shafts were blocked, which made for a good defence. The staircases were also blocked with a lot of rubble. That meant slow-moving for me, but also for anyone or anything else trying to come up. I occasionally rotated which apartment I occupied since there was no working sewage system. Gravity helped stuff go down, but once the pipes backed up, well, time to move on. It's not like I didn't have a practically unlimited choice of other apartments. I picked my way through the debris without even thinking of how much noise I was making.

The cold air suppressed sound and did not allow it to travel very far. By the time I had reached the eighth floor, most of the corridors were sheltered from the wind and it was a little easier to hear. Still, I had not seen any living thing for months and had got sloppy. I was making my way toward two doorways at the end of the hall, both halfway choked with piles of broken concrete when I heard a sound. The best that I could describe it was a cross between a turkeys gobbling and a sort of slurping sound. I knew that this would be a new one, but I had come too far to turn back. All I could do was pray that it wasn't too nasty. prayer hadn't been much of any considerable benefit in the last 20 years or so,

so I did not expect much help now. From the sound of it, scrabbling among the bricks, I could assume that it was bigger than I was. Not the size mattered, some of the worst ones were small. I did mention them, didn't I? Yes, them. They were also an unfortunate after-effect of the devastation caused by my ignorance that day. You see, in addition to the magma and debris that came from the borehole

that fateful day, the plankton was also spread across the planet. Already used to living in the harsh conditions, it apparently survived the explosion and piggybacked along with the steam and fragments of rock covering the globe. Only it wasn't plankton, not really. The scientists had called it that, but Perhaps it was just to avoid having to explain its real biological makeup. Or perhaps it was to allay any fear that news of it may have caused. Plankton was a very simple term for it. Like the plankton that existed in our oceans, it was a soup made up of a variety of small organisms,

most unlike anything that our scientists had ever seen before. The results of initial tests with the, were kept top secret, but I believe that whatever it was, the scientists found, scared them. As I mentioned, the hole was sealed off just a short time after the discovery of the creatures. Signs that the organisms had survived, the blast began showing up during the global warming phase of the planet's recovery. At first, they began showing up in water sources around the world at the microscopic level, then became large enough to see with the world. the naked eye. I am unsure if it was the global warming that caused it, the additional radiation

seeping through the atmosphere, or if it was just in their inherent nature, but the creatures began mutating and evolving rapidly, faster than the evolution of anything previously on Earth. The degree of evolution that these strange organisms went through in a year's time was the same as all current life as we knew it took from its development a single-celled plant life all the way to the most advanced form human beings or at least it had been human beings people first began noticing new molds and then creeping crawling forms of slime smaller creatures similar to those found in the deepest parts of our oceans began to form, and were soon able to leave the water and flourish on dry land. Larger and larger creatures in all forms, all strange and hideous, began showing up.

New monsters appeared every day. People like myself were spared the large part of exposure to these when we moved up into the colder climes, but we still saw our share of fiends, as evidenced by these new turkey things I had found in my apartment. These creatures had surely evolved beyond that which we knew as the master of all animals now, humans. These things thrived in the earth's current condition. Now they were conversing. That was proof. I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

My go-to weapon was a hardwood baseball bat, which, Usually did the trick, but at that moment, it was leaning against the wall just inside the apartment doorway. I had my pistol with me, but cartridges are a rare commodity and had a high value. Not worth my life, of course, but I was down to half a box and did not want to waste any, if possible. In some cases, bullets would be useless against these things anyway. So I picked up a fair-sized piece of rubble and made my way as silently as possible to the door. I peered against the edge to assess the intruder. I had been correct on multiple counts.

It was turkey-like, it was big, and the slurping was the sound of it sucking down the last of my precious corned beef hash, five crushed tins of it on the floor around the beast. It looked almost humanoid, bipedal with two arms. It had long, bony fingers on its hands, only four on each, though. Even its head looked almost human. It had a small nose and deep brown eyes, tiny ears. That is where the resemblance ended, though.

The creature also had a wattle on the top of its head. It hung over its forehead and into its face. Technically, on a bird, this would probably be a snood as wottles are usually below the neck. Nevertheless, it reminded me of a ternet. turkey. Its skin was also wrinkly and pocked also like a turkey. As it sucked the last of my hash out of a tin, I noticed that in place of teeth, it had two bony plates, one upper and one lower, set into its jaw. It was a thoroughly disgusting creature, the worst I had seen yet,

perhaps because it was so humanoid. As soon as the thing's back was turned to, as soon as the thing's back was turned toward me, I made my move. I threw the chunk of concrete into the room toward the farthest corner from myself. The creature turned to look at where the sound had come from, and I lunged inside the doorway and grabbed my bat. I suppose I could have just run away at that point, but I would be damned if I was going to leave all my possessions and move on. I just gotten settled in this new apartment, and I intended to stay a while. So, instead of running away, I ran toward the monstrosity, bat raised high above my head, and screaming like a madman. I don't think that it was going to put up a fight at all. In retrospect, I believe that I

could have just screamed and it would have been scared away. Unlike some of the others, this one seemed timid. Nevertheless, at the time I acted on all the instincts that I had learned since the twilight took over. I stopped just short of an arm's length away from the creature. By then it had given up looking for the chunk of concrete and turned to respond to my bellowing. I briefly looked into its eyes as the bat came down. I put my all into it, grabbing the handle with two hands. The thing dropped to the floor. It was dead. No doubt about it.

There was not much blood, but it had loosened its bowels all over my floor. Oh, God, it stank. Time to move again. What bothered me most, however, had been the look in its eyes. Then I heard it. At first, it excited me, but as soon as I realized it for what it really was, I became terrified. Voices coming from my kitchen. Two people having a conversation only not in English and not in any human language I had ever heard.

The phonemes were guttural, the speech slurred, and most unfortunately it had a turkey-like gobble mixed in between the other sounds. As I listened carefully, though, it was blatantly obvious that they were conversing. They were not just making noise. My earlier screaming had given away my presence, and the voices moved towards me. They rounded the corner into the living room. Sure enough, it was two more creatures. resembling the one I had killed.

They were not as placid, though. They glanced at the dead beast on the floor, then turned their attentions toward me. They looked angry, very, angry, and began to charge. This time, I chose to run. I knew the landscape better and my feet were nimbleer. I leapt over obstacles in my path as they had to go either through or around them.

I was out of the apartment and into the stairwell before they had even made it to the door. Instead of running outside, I chose to re-enter another of the building's halls a couple of stories down and ducked into one of the apartments. Most of the doorway's frame had been cracked and I had to crawl on my stomach to get into the room. If the things had somehow figured out where I was, they would have a lot of difficulty getting in, and from my position, I could easily get in a kill shot as they crawled through the room. the entrance. I laid as still as I could in my hiding place, careful not to shift any rubble or debris. I shielded my mouth in the crook of my elbow so as not to give away my position with the cloud of condensation as I exhaled. I could only hope that their sense of smell, or perhaps

some other unknown sense, was not honed enough to detect my location. I waited. It seemed like hours, but it was probably only 30 minutes or so. I had decided to give it a go and poke my head out of the opening in the doorway, certain that I was safe, when I was startled by a sniffling sound coming from behind me. I flipped over and shuffled away from the door until my back struck the apartment wall. I was completely exposed, but I knew that I had no other option but to remain as still as I could. I was completely exposed. The cold air pricked my skin.

I'd been outside for a long time and was looking forward to sitting near a smouldering fire until I had thawed out. Then I heard it again. It was not my imagination. I listened closely. I could swear that it sounded like a human being crying, but they could be deceptive in that way.

I don't know if it was their natural desire. or by accident, but they had many qualities that allowed them to fool humans into dropping their guard. That was usually a mistake. Survivors like me learnt to doubt everything. I watched in horror as the thing hooked two sets of bare pink fingers over the edge of a dilapidated couch. Then a shock of matted red hair began to rise, and then, I almost screamed, not in fear or dismay, but in shock. It was a girl, a human girl.

She looked to be in her late teenage years with red hair and green eyes. She stood about five feet tall and was very slim, but with the shortage of food, everyone was now under weight. Shockingly, she was stark naked. How could she stand the cold? Frostbite should have set in within minutes. I wondered where her clothes were. She looked at me and obviously felt as confused as I did. It was as if she had never seen another human being before.

She looked at me, then at her own hands, spreading and wiggling her fingers, then down at the rest of her body. I think it was only then that she realized she was naked. I leapt up and stripped off my coat, moving toward her to cover her up as soon as possible. She seemed terrified of me, but had nowhere to go, so I was able to corner her, and I quickly wrapped her in my coat. The cold bit into me as soon as I had taken it off, but at least I had layers on under it. She needed it more than I did. As I wrapped the coat around her, she sensed that I meant no harm and relaxed. I was still in a hurry to her. I was still in a hurry to her.

get a fire going as her legs and feet were still exposed. After all this time I had found another living person. I wasn't about to let her die from hypothermia. I started talking rapidly, asking all sorts of questions but receiving no responses from her. I supposed that she was in shock, if not from seeing me, then merely from the cold. I motioned for her to sit on the couch, which she did, curling her bare legs underneath her. Now, she began to shiver as the chill began to set in. In the meantime, I worked frantically smashing pieces of old furniture, legs from end tables, kitchen chairs, and ripping dry cloth from the upholstery to use as kindling. As soon as I had a sizable pile, I removed my precious lighter from my pocket, no time to

return to the other apartment and retrieve my pilot torch, which I always tried to keep lit. She recoiled at the sight of the flame as it sparked from the end of the lighter and caught the kindling. She jumped and it looked like she was ready to bolt, so I pushed her back to the couch, sat beside her and held her tightly in my arms. Her breath came quickly and I could tell that her heart was beating rapidly. She was afraid but calmed down as soon as the warmth from the fire began to reflect off our skin. I took her hands in mine and at first, she tried to pull back, but stopped resisting when I began to rub them, warming them up and restoring

blood flow. I tried communicating again. My name is Azakov. Who are you? How long have you been here? Is there anyone else here with you? I peopered her with questions eager to learn about my newfound friend. She did not respond, not a word, not even a nod or shake of her head. She just looked at me, eyes wide open like a deer in headlights. I admit that the thought crossed my mind right then and there, but I found it too hard to believe. This girl looked to be 16, maybe 18 at the outside. That would mean that she was born after the eruption.

She had lived her whole life on this god-forsaken planet. Was it possible that she was alone for most of that time? If so, then she may never have learnt even to speak. Yes, I suppose that it was possible, but how had she survived alone for this long? What are you called? Receiving no response, I made a suggestion. Eve, then, quite unoriginal, but why be fussy? It's not like there are bound to be many others around with that name.

I tried again, pointing to myself. Azakov. and then to her. Eve. After a few tries, she picked it up quite well. Truth be told, that's not all she picked up quickly. Within a matter of months, she was carrying on fluent conversation with me,

both in Russian and English. I didn't give much thought to the fact, as I did not know much of her past. A year passed, then two, perhaps more. The twilight lift a little more with each passing month. I doubted that I would ever see true sunlight again, but perhaps Eve would.

Perhaps our children? Yes, despite the age difference. After a while, the two of us grew closer in an intimate sense. It was only natural, I suppose, new conventions for a new world. As we built our new lives, I lost interest in the borehole there no longer seemed any point. I took Eve there once and explained what had happened. I even accepted my portion of the blame, but she did not fault me for it.

We ran into the occasional creature, but nothing we could not handle together. It seemed as if each one was more intelligent than the last. I wouldn't have been surprised if they were able to converse in our native tongue at some point. With two of us and the bettering conditions, we decided to be able to be able to converse in our native tongue at some point. We decided that moving to a lower level of the apartment complex was workable. It made tasks like gathering food and cooking easier. Yes, we were finding food and even hunting occasionally. We did not have to change apartments as often,

and Eve, in her fourth month of pregnancy, no longer had to navigate the stairs. I was in the kitchen, filleting a sort of rabbit-looking creature. When I heard Eve speaking outside, At first I assumed that she was talking to me, but then I realized that she was using a different language and was carrying only half of the conversation. I rushed to the glassless window and pushed my head out. I could see her with one of those turkey things, only this one was big, more developed. It looked even more humanoid than the ones I had met years ago on the evening that brought Eve and I together.

My first instinct was to grab for a weapon, but then I realized that the conversation between Eve and The Thing seemed to be progressing calmly and somewhat constructively. I was about to approach when I suddenly grasped the fact that to my revulsion, the Thing was not speaking English or Russian or any language a human could possibly vocalize, but that Eve was making the strange noises it took to speak to it. I was going on glad I was. I got a little of the wrong with me. I have kept a lot of it. I was in the midst of processing this thought, when Eve and the creature lifted their heads and noticed me peering from the window. Still unsure of what to say or do, I just gawked at them, mouth hanging open. Eve waved me over gleefully.

Azikov, look who it is. My mother has returned. The spells are wearing off for now, but the magic will linger. The shop will be open again next week with more spells to enchant you. If you would like to find out how you can hear the full-length versions of our audio program, please visit the no-sleeppodcast.com to learn about our season past program. On behalf of everyone at the No Sleep Podcast, we thank you for listening. This audio production is copyright 2020 by Creative Reason Media, Inc.

All rights reserved. The copyrights for each story are held by the respective authors. No duplication or reproduction of this audio program is permitted without the written consent of Creative Reason Media, Inc.