Tower 4 - S1E1: First Night

Episode Date: September 28, 2020

Mike Archer is looking for a change of scenery after his mom passes. He picks up a new job as a fire watcher as a way of getting away and working on his book. After getting hired he hikes out to his new home for the next half a year. The first night out in the wilderness though brings some unexpected and eerie surprises in the form of creepy whispers and a loud crashing of trees. Things may not be as peaceful as he was hoping...Music:"Nervous Piano" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 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.

Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. I had to give these to Maria to scan. Here you go. Thank you. And here's your ID back. Now, since you still have a week, are you going to be staying in DeBois? Well, all my stuff's in the truck. I figured I'd do some traveling first.

Never been to Wyoming. Well, there aren't any motels in Moran. No, I know. I did a search. I thought about heading into Yellowstone for a few days. It's a real nice park. I was just asking because you're welcome to head in early, if you like. Oh?

Can't pay you for the extra week, though. Right, right. But hell, man, go to Yellowstone if you haven't been. Make sure you see the black pool, and if you like fishing, check out the fishing cone. Fishing cone. Along West's thumb. It's part of the Yellowstone. Lake. You can catch trout like this. Yeah, I'll check it out. When I come back, do I just park

out here again? Actually, you'll just park your truck and back, but let me run through some things real quick. You have time, right? I have nothing but time. All right, so April 15th is on a Sunday. Those are pretty slow around here, but that doesn't matter. You'll just come in, pull your truck around back, park in the gravel park behind Building A. Then let me know you're ready, and I'll be able to take you up to Bridger Trail in the three posts. And that's the old hiking trail. From there, you're on foot, and it will take you a full day of hiking. Okay. And I'm on my own? For the most part, listen, man, I understand a lot of people get nervous. You're going to be staying in a house above the trees for the next five months. Don't worry about food and don't

bring anything you really don't need. Besides the necessities, I just plan on bringing my laptop and Kendall. You do realize you won't be getting any Wi-Fi up there, right? I figured. It's a really simple job, man. If ain't the type that needs constant attention or the feeling I having your voice heard, you'll do just fine. You watch for fires, you report them in, and you give updates as simple as that. If it were any harder, we'd pay you more. I'm sure. For me, I can't do city life. This is where I belong. Once you get used to that view out there, and you'll see what I mean, cubicles, staff meetings, forced niceties, get the hell out of here. I have a feeling I won't have any problems adapting.

Good, good. I'm just glad we found somebody on such short notice. Here, let me walk you out. Normally, when somebody does this once, we expect to see him back next year. People love it out here, as long as you can stand the loneliness. Then what happened to the last guy? What's that? Guy before me.

Oh, yeah. Jerry was one of the rare fellows who couldn't handle it and also couldn't bear to give us a heads up. No call, no nothing. I guess he'd rather be in a cubicle. Let me ask you something. If it's too personal, just tell me to shut the hell up. Go ahead.

Why this? What do you mean? Well, I've learned that everyone that decides to try this line of work is doing it for one reason or another. Usually it's something simple, like trying to get away from the everyday grind, which is okay. But don't do a job like this if it's something deeper. Like what?

Like trying to run away from something or trying to discover who you really are or trying to see the world for what it is. When you're out there in the woods, in your tower, you'll see a lot. But it won't be the meaning of life. It'll be a black bear rubbing its ass up against the tree. That makes sense?

I think I understand what you're saying. And for God's sakes, don't let the loneliness get to you. No, no, I don't think it will. Good. Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you. We're really glad to have you on board, Mr. Archer. Call me Mike, and thanks. Okay, Mike. Now go, have fun at Yellowstone, catch a big one,

and I will see you first thing Sunday morning. Tower 4 Season 1, Episode 1, 1, First Night I didn't end up catching anything because I didn't end up going fishing. instead I spent most of my time exploring the geysers and different nature trails I don't know why I was doing all this hiking I was going to be stuck in the woods for months come Sunday when I graduated college 16 years ago I never thought I'd end up out in the middle of nowhere watching for forest fires but I needed something new I wasn't necessarily running away from anything but when mom died I did need to get away

maybe this would clear my mind and allow me to finally focus on my right A degree in creative writing and I never did anything with it. Instead, I spent the last 16 years behind various cubicles, inputting numbers that didn't matter. On Saturday, after leaving Yellowstone, I found a nice hotel with a beautiful dining room. It was 360 for the night, but money wasn't an issue. For dinner, I ordered a steak and lobster tail. I figured it'd be a while before I had a meal like this again. When I finished, I made my way back to my way back to the table.

I made my way back to my room where I took a hot shower and watched the last half of a classic airplane. I took some somnobo to help me sleep. It was hard for me to get a good night's rest. The last three months had been tough. Even though I'd quit my job or really got fired, I thought the stress and sleepless nights may dwindle, but no. But when I finally did fall asleep, I had the same recurring dream. I was floating from my bed, Not my hotel room bed, but my childhood bed. I could hear yelling in the background, probably my mom and dad, but it didn't matter. I was floating away.

I wasn't scared as I floated through the ceiling and the roof. I was calm. As I rose above the neighborhood, I could see my dad's car drive away in a hurry. It was dark and the streetlights flickered as if they were about to shut off, but when my dad was gone, they returned to their full brightness. I was now floating over the city. My house not in view anymore. It was beautiful. All the lights shimmered against the dark backdrop surrounding land. Then they cut out.

It was pitch black. Eventually I rose above the clouds and saw a white light. That's when my eyes shot it. I could feel my heart beating rapidly. Jesus. A white light? Shouldn't I only see that when I'm about to die? I got up and paced the room a bit.

It was only 4 a.m. I grabbed a water from the snack bar and turned the TV back on. Took another some Nova and an hour later I was out. This time, I didn't dream. All right, you sure you got everything? If you need to run out and grab something else... No, I checked and double-checked. Okay, hop on in. Gene Marlowe was one of the ranges at the station.

He was the one who called me after I sent my application in. He interviewed me over the phone and quickly told me I had the job. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He had a thick mustache and blue eyes. He had a beer belly that he didn't try to hide. I was nervous about the job until my short orientation. last week. Talking to Jane Comey, even with the whole don't do this for X reason, chat. We climbed into his truck and headed up a dirt trail, which soon turned into gravel,

and 30 minutes later turned back to dirt. So you have a full day's hike from where I'm going to drop you off. Hopefully you built up some stamina exploring Yellowstone. Yeah, I think I did. Good, good. Now, I went to the tower early last week and made sure everything was ready for you. Radio's charged. You got plenty of food, new sheets, toiletries, and equipment.

Hell, I even wiped the windows. The cabin or the tower? The cabin is the tower. That's where you'll be staying, two stories above the treetops. I thought in the pictures... I thought I saw... Shack. It was a shack?

The tower has everything. Bed, kitchen, desk, and electricity. But no bathroom. You'll have to use the outhouse for that. The outhouse is near the shack. The shack has a bunch of equipment, most of which you probably won't even use, but you can check it out.

The key is in the tower hanging by the front door. Oh, okay. Also, I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but the signal isn't great out there. Not for reaching the ranger station, not from your tower. If you spot a fire, you're going to reach out the tower three, and Amber's over there. She can reach us from her post.

The radios only have a radius of 50 miles, and Tower 4 is the furthest tower. Furthest from the ranger station? That's right. So I have to relay information through Amber? Amber knows what she's using. doing. This is her third year working tower three. You have vital information. You need help. You need supplies. You got a question. Contact Amber. She'll reach us if need be. Okay. So there's no way to reach

the ranger station via radio? There is a way. It can kind of be a hassle, but if you head along three posts north from your tower, you can reach a pass known as overarch pass. It's a very pretty spot. It overlooks Enos Lake. There, however, you can get a signal. How far is it? From Tower 4, about six miles. Oh. And it's a hell of a hike, so, you know, only do that if you really need to reach us and don't want Amber to know. Okay. Listen, you'll be fine.

After another 20 minutes, Gene finally slowed the truck. All right, well, here's the end of the line for me. You have about 25 miles from this point. Okay. Word of advice, stay busy. I know I said we canceled leaves because of cost, time, and lack of lookouts. But if you really do start to go stir crazy, let me know and we'll work something out. I think it'll be okay.

I have books to read and books to write. Good. Just stay busy. I nodded and looked out the window, searching. This is where the trails intersect. You see that orange post? That's the three posts trail. Blue is Bridger Trail You're going to follow Orange all the way

Until you hit a fork Then you're taking a right Right up to your new home Sounds easy enough Directions are easy Hike, uh, not so much But you'll be fine Okay

I climbed out and grabbed my backpack and duffel bag It wasn't going to be easy carrying this stuff But I needed everything I brought Got everything I brought got everything yeah okay well have a great summer take it easy and remember call us at the first sign of smoke he gave me a two-finger salute and drove around the dirt loop headed back the way we came the way to my backpack and jumped on the trail. It was up and down, up and down, up and down.

Probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to lug the laptop, clothes, chargers, and all the other miscellaneous necessities. My shoulders were killing me. Every so often, I'd stop and rest a bit. It was nearly two, and I only passed eight mile markers. Can I make it there before I got dark? I didn't want to get stuck out here. I didn't bring a tent.

Around six, I could see the sun descending up at the treetops. I pulled my phone out and while I didn't have signal the GPS did show where I was with a blue dot. I had made some progress but probably still had another 10 miles to go. I ate a quick dinner which consisted of beef jerky and trail mix and then pushed on. I didn't see any animals or people while on the trail which was a bit surprising. For some reason while I hiked I thought about my childhood. thought about my childhood. Mainly Boy Scouts. I hated Boy Scouts, but my dad forced me to go. For years I wanted out. I like camping and hanging out with friends, but I hated the structure

and the requirements of merit badges. It felt like school rather than survival, but my dad still forced me to go. That is until it couldn't force me anymore. I stopped to rest again. The sun was now down. Night was here. I looked at my watch. It was 8 o'clock. I checked my GPS. The blue dot was now floating in the middle of a green area. Couldn't really tell where I was, but I guesstimated three more miles. Hopefully three more miles. Okay, Mike, a few more miles, that's all.

And then, rest and relaxation. Just one more hour. I tried to pick up the pace. I didn't want to be stuck out here at night with bears and coyotes and wolves and whatever else roam these. woods. It was growing darker by the minute. Why didn't I leave earlier? Why didn't Gene tell me to leave earlier? He knew I was lugging my stuff. He knew it would take me longer, that I was inexperienced. Oh well, too late now. Around nine, I reached the fork in the path. I went right, hoping the tower would

just be over the ridge, and it wasn't. I reached the top of the top of the path. I reached the top. of the large hill and saw the tower in the distance it stood above the trees a dark shadow against a starry night looked to be about a mile away god damn it let's hurry Mike you're almost there I stumbled in the dark Finally, there it was. It was 9.30 when I reached the tower. There was a walkway around the entire cabin, but I headed straight for the door. Oh, my shoulders hurt. I fell onto the bed. I didn't feel like looking around, I just wanted to rest.

I closed my eyes, not realizing I left the door open. I quickly fell asleep. Great. New hire gets lost in the woods on his first day. Mike! I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I noticed the door was open. A cool breeze wafted in. Mike, do you copy? I looked at my watch. It was just after midnight.

I got up and made my way through the dark room, stumbling towards the glowing green light. I grabbed the radio. This is Mike. Copy. Jesus, there you are. Did you just arrive? What? No, I've been here. Sorry, I fell asleep. Thought we already lost you. Gene wanted me to check up. Make sure you made it safely. I've been calling for hours. Really? I just now heard you. I'm a light sleeper, too.

Okay, well, when I say hours, I really mean minutes. But I've been watching to see if the light came on in your tower and it never did. Wait, you can see me? No. I thought I just made that clear. The light's not on. I felt around by the door and eventually stumbled on the light switch. It flickered a bit. There we go. Let there be light. Sorry. No need to apologize. Just want to make sure Smokey didn't get you. Smokey?

The bear. Wait, what? Oh, sorry. I was making a Smokey the Bear reference. Should I? have said, Yogi? No. You must be young. I'm 38. If 38 is young, then sure.

38? And you don't know Smooky the Bear? No, I do. I just, I just woke up. Oh, okay, calm down. You must be Amber. Must I? Gene told me I'd only be able to reach you unless I went to some arch place.

Overarch? Yeah, you're not going to hike there unless you really want to avoid talking. to me. I heard it's a bitch. Talking to you or hiking? Hiking. Oh. Ah, so the man is witty. Not as witty as you. I'm hard to keep up with. I have to say, it's nice to talk to someone new. I hope you're not boring like Jerry. Should we do introductions? I mean, we should get to know each other somewhat.

Okay, sure. I'll go first. My name is Amber Reed. I'm back. 32. This is my third year in Tower 3, and I love it here. I like all animals, except spiders that have hair. I don't care for long walks on the beach or staring up at the stars. Although you can do that a lot here. Stare at the stars, not walk along the beach. Uh, my favorite food is dried bananas, ever since I was forced to live off them for two weeks out here. There was a food supply delay. Now, even when I go home for winter, I buy bags in bulk at the local grocery store.

Uh, I'm from Chicago. but move west to Wyoming because I got tired of seeing trees interspersed between city blocks. Also, I hated the people. I hate most people, but I can tolerate a few in small doses. Oh, and my favorite color is yellow. Your turn. That was a lot to take in. Still processing, but...

Okay, my name is Mike Archer. I'm from Livermore, which is located outside of San Francisco. I live there my whole life. Love the West Coast. Never really traveled much. I recently quit my job. and decided to do this. That's it? Come on. Give me more.

Okay. I don't mind long walks on the beach as long as it's dark out. I hate the beach during the day. It's hot and I never go in the water. I'm afraid of the ocean ever since I saw Jaws 3, which sadly I saw before the original. I've never had banana chips, but I do love beef jerky and I made sure to bring a bunch with me here, which is probably why my backpack is so heavy.

I was never much of an outdoorsy person. I've been camping twice outside of the Boy Scouts. Hated it both times. But now, now I feel like I can appreciate nature a bit more. I don't mind people, but I hated my job. I had enough of day to entry, so now I'm here. Never been a fire lookout before. Is that better?

Give it a couple more years, and you'll have a concrete introduction. Oh, good to know. Hate to be that person, but I got to ask. I'm sure Jean already did. What brings you out here? How come people like that question so much? Because this isn't a typical job, there's always a reason. There's a reason for everything.

Mike, you're so profound. I mean, is it really that interesting? Sounds like you're avoiding the question. I'm not. If you don't want to answer, that's fine. It's not that. I just find it interesting that everyone wants to know. What about you?

Hey, I asked first. You answer. than I will. Ah, so show me yours, I'll show you mine, basically. Yeah. I still asked first. Come on, show me yours. Okay, calm down, creep.

You may think this bothers me, but I'm an open book, and I probably share a little too much, but here it goes. I was engaged to a wealthy architect, lived in an amazing condo in the town lake residences of Austin, Texas. He proposed, I said yes. Then two months before the wedding I came home early to find him snort and coke off a prostitute's tits

Or who I thought was a prostitute It actually was a secretary She was just dressed like that to spice things up Jesus That was nearly five years ago I moved out, called off the wedding And sold the ring Maybe that was petty, but

It was a nice ring And I didn't give a shit After a year of depression I ended up moving to Arizona Then Washington to stay with family A cousin of mine suggested this is a job Since I wasn't happy working HR anymore I jumped out the chance

This is now my third year and I really like it Well then Okay Mikey Now it's your turn I'll let you choose how in depth you'd like to get Okay Well Let's see

I've lived in Livermore my whole life I too was engaged once but we broke it off And when I say we it was really her and I just acted like I was okay with it. Her excuse was she didn't feel close to me anymore. The love had faded. I held back tears and said I felt the same way. So I moved out and stayed in a little run-down apartment

until my mom became very sick. I took her to the hospital to found out she had C.D. or coronary artery disease. The doctors gave her a year to live, but she proved them wrong and lived another 14 months on top of that year they gave her. I moved in with her and took care of her for those two years. When she passed, I was in a deep,

depression. Also, the one close friend I had, Calvin, was murdered in San Francisco two weeks after my mother died. So I became a hermit. Didn't leave the house for months. Finally, I decided it was time to move on and pick up the pieces. I tried writing, which was always a passion of mine. But I needed to get away to concentrate. Found this job on a job listing site and decided it would be just what I needed. Staying in my mother's home was too hard. So I sold the house, put some of my possessions into storage, bought a truck, and drove east, and here I am. Wow. Okay. You win. Seems like in your case, this place helped. I was never one with nature, but maybe it'll work for me, too.

As long as solitary existence among the pines and cottonwood doesn't bother you, then you should be fine. Did you bring a pad and paper to write? Brought a laptop. Should have brought a typewriter. Why? Power here. It goes out often. Really? Just make sure to charge that bad boy up when you're not using it.

We'll do. Hey, since it's late and you made it to the tower without getting mauled, I think I'm going to call Jean and then head to bed. Okay. Enjoy your first night. And if you'd feel like chatting, don't hesitate to call. You have my number. It's one.

I think I can remember that. And don't think I'm like one of those girls who just gives her number out to anyone. I only give it to mysterious guys who live in towers and have depressing life stories. Oh, you're making me blush. Sweet dreams, Mikey. Night, Amber. I put the radio down and walked out onto the outside walkway. The air was cool, the sky was clear, and the stars sparkled in the blackness of space.

I looked over the dark foliage, the woods extending as far as I could see. In the distance, I could see a light. Must be Amber's tower. The light shone above the tops of the trees. Then it was gone. Bedtime. I should try going back to sleep too, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. I grabbed my sleeping pills and took two.

That should help. I opened a window and turn off the light. I got back in bed and shut my eyes. It was eerie how quiet it was. Mom's place was right by the highway. I got used to listening to trucks and buses traveling 70 all hours of the night. But here, no. No garbage trucks, no sirens, no planes, or people shouting.

Here there was only insects and wind. And every so often a hoot of a distant owl. Even though I kept tossing and turning, I could feel the pills kicking in and soon I drifted off. I don't know. I started out of the way. I started away. What is that? I thought I was dreaming, but no, there was something outside.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I had no idea what time it was, but it was still very dark outside. My eyes wouldn't adjust. Something large was moving through the forest. What could it be? I got up and looked out the window. In the distance, I could barely make out trees swaying wildly. Whatever it was, it was moving slowly, heading east.

That wasn't a bear or moose. That couldn't be an animal. It was too big. The trees continued to shake. Shit. Is it a bulldozer or something? No, Mike. Who the hell will be bulldozing the forest in the middle of the night?

I took the time. It's 4 a.m. Jesus. whatever it was it was moving away continued to rub my eyes these pills made it hard for me to keep them open eventually the crashing in the woods stopped what the hell was that

I nearly jumped out of my skin what the hell was happening now I ran over to the radio Was someone trying to contact me? Hello? Hello, is someone there? Hello? Amber? Amber, is that you? Are you there?

Amber? Nothing. I walked back to the window and peered out. It was really too dark to see. Clouds are now in the sky and they block the moonlight. Whatever was moving out there had gone. And whatever had come over the radio had stopped. That was weird.

Or should I say creepy? Put the radio on the small nightstand and lay down. We were back to normal forest noises. I tried shaking off my chills. Jesus, this was only the first night. An hour passed, and I just stared up at the ceiling. I didn't want to take more sleeping pills. I only brought so many with me, but...

Fuck it. I took another one, and 20 minutes later, I was out. Tower 4, written and edited by Robert M. Lamb, story by Robert M. Lamb and Dylan Whitehead. Starring, Jack Austin as Mike, Gina Coyle as Amber, Brian Messick as Jean. Music provided by Kevin McLeod of Incompetect.com and Brett Wilkins at Facebook.com slash Wilkins MusicFL. If you enjoy Tower 4, visit 7LAM.com for more audio dramas such as this.

Also, don't forget to follow 7LAM on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, at 7LAMP podcasts. This has been a seven lamb production.